News

On December 11, two frontier sentry boats of the Russian FSB Border Department in Abkhazia - named "Mangust" and "Sobol" - arrived for permanent deployment to the Abkhazian port of Ochamchira.

The delegates of the Fifth Reporting-Election Congress of the Public Movement "For Human Rights", which took place in Moscow on December 10-12, called authorities to dialogue with those oppositional radical forces in Northern Caucasus, which essentially reject violence in politics. Human rights activists also called to lift the ban on professing certain religious trends, including the so-called "Wahhabism".

On the International Day of Human Rights, which was marked on December 10, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the office of the Ombudsman of Dagestan that as of December 1, 2009, they received 940 applications.

On the eve of the International Day of Human Rights, Moscow hosted a ceremony of awarding the medals of the Ombudsman of the Russian Federation "Hurry Doing Good". Two of the laureates were rewarded posthumously - human rights defenders Natalia Estemirova from Chechnya and Maksharip Aushev from Ingushetia.

The Ombudsman of Georgia and a number of local NGOs mark that in 2009 citizens of the country submitted their complaints most often with regard to legal proceedings, investigation of criminal cases and violations of prisoners' rights.

Today, over a hundred activists of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan held an action in front of Mosque "Fatmei-Zakhra" in Eni Guneshli settlement in a Baku suburb in protest against court decision to demolish this temple. According to the protesters, policemen did not let them to the mosque and detained about 50 activists.

Today, in the course of an emergency sitting of the parliament of Georgia, MPs have accused Russian and Abkhazian power agents of terror against the Georgian population.

Today, at the trial on the murder case of Ingush oppositionist Magomed Evloev, his relatives left the courtroom after they learnt that the main witnesses would not be interrogated. This was reported by the Evloevs' advocate Magomed Gandarov.

On December 11, 1994, under the decree of the then president of Russia Boris Yeltsin, federal troops were brought to the territory of the Chechen Republic, and the first military campaign, called "restoration of the constitutional order" began.

Specialists of the fire supervising service of North Ossetia will examine, together with local militiamen, all the places, where the New Year cultural and mass actions are planned. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has learnt that the count of such places is about a hundred, including ten night clubs, of them seven are round-the-clock ones.

Employees of Chechen power agencies have handed over the body of a 21-year-old citizen of the city of Argun to his relatives. He was kidnapped by armed persons several months ago after he had been released from a militia station. The militia asserts that the young man was killed in the recent armed clash with members of the armed underground. However, human rights activists and his relatives are sure that he fell victim of an extrajudicial execution.

Judge Murat Tungoev from the Karabulak City Court has sentenced Ibragim Evloev, accused of murdering Magomed Evloev, owner of the oppositional website "Ingushetia.Ru", to two years of imprisonment in a colony-settlement. Magomed Evloev's family is going to appeal against the verdict.

The consideration of the appeal complaint lodged by the bloggers Adnan Gadjizade and Emin Milli, convicted in Azerbaijan, was appointed for December 22 at the Baku Appeal Court under presidency of Gail Mamedov.

Today, at the process on the case on the attack on Nalchik at the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria, it became known that Galina Gorislavskaya, who was chairing the trial, was appointed, by the order of Russian President, to the position of a judge of the Moscow Regional Court.

Boris Zumakulov, Ombudsman of Kabardino-Balkaria, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the number of complaints and applications addressed to him is on the rise. At the same time, according to his story, the republic sees a positive trend towards greater openness and transparency of the work of various law-enforcement bodies.

The international human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) possesses information that Russia has sent an extradition request to Egypt in relation to Ibragim Mankiev, a native of Ingushetia, because he was slandered by someone under torture. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has learnt about it from Natalia Prilutskaya, an AI employee.

Militia Major Alexei Dymovskiy from Novorossisk has stated that militia bosses from his city issued orders on how to counteract human rights activists. This was stated by Vadim Karastelyov, an expert of the Novorossisk Committee for Human Right, who is Dymovskiy's official representative.

The two-day international conference, opened on December 10 in the Baku "Europe" Hotel, is on development of the civil society in Azerbaijan. Officers from power agencies are not taking part.

Marat Valeev, the figurant of the murder criminal case of Paul Khlebnikov, editor-in-chief of the Russian version of the Forbes magazine, shot dead on July 9, 2004, was set free. The accusation failed to prove his involvement in the murder of the journalist.

On December 9, the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan, presided by Judge Ilham Dzhafarov, considered the cassation complaint of three journalists of the "Nota" newspaper convicted for slander. The complaint was denied.