News

Fatima Bokova, a resident of Karabulak, reports that under unofficial information her son Khizar in kept in Division 6 of the GUVD (Chief Interior Department), in charge of counteracting extremism. Earlier, the woman had informed human rights activist that on April 21 he was kidnapped by power agents from their house.

The political elite of Turkey is still in search of answer to the decision of Armenia to stop the process of ratification of Armenian-Turkish Protocols. Hardly the Ankara's answer to this decision will be tough, believes Ruben Melkonyan, a well-known turcologist and deputy dean of the department of oriental studies of the Yerevan State University.

A fortnight-long strike at the ferroalloy factory in the city of Zestafoni and seven manganese mines in Chiatura started on April 23. In total, about 6000 persons take part in it. Miners and factory workers were supported by the leaders of the Association of Trade Unions of Georgia.

On April 23, a self-made explosive device was found and neutralized near the building of the Lenin ROVD (District Interior Division) in Rostov-on-Don.

At night on April 24, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and Rescuers' Service of Georgia undertook the second round of evacuation of Velistsikhe village residents from the Gurdzhaani District because of threat of breakthrough of the dam in the Cherem Lake.

Ethan Zuckerman, a senior researcher at the Berkman Centre "Internet and Society" of the Law Department at Harvard and founder of the non-commercial organization "Geekcorps" and hosting company "Tripod", notes that it is often very difficult, and at times even impossible to define, who has organizes a hacker's attack - the government, amateurs upon a govt's sanction, or certain hostile persons. Therefore, one should be properly ready in advance how to counteract them.

Tomorrow, on April 24, Kalmykia will hold a civil protest action against xenophobia and fascism in the context of the murder in Russian capital at night on April 21 of Dolgan Nikeev, a student of the Moscow State Open University.

At their session on April 22, the MPs of Karachai-Circassia passed in the final reading the law "On Measures to Prevent Neglect of and Offences by Minors in the Karachai-Circassian Republic", which restricts minors' stay in public places.

The International Secretariat of the World Organization Against Torture (WOAT) has addressed Russian leadership with a request to interfere with the situation with Albert Saaev, who was convicted in Moscow for hacking the official websites of Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, and was taken away to Grozny.

In the opinion of Susanna Dudieva, head of the "Beslan Mothers" Association of Terror Act Victims, the investigation of the terror act in Beslan was deliberately "braked" and will be further protracted. Discontent with the course of investigation was also voiced by Ella Kesaeva, leader of the All-Russian Public Organization "Voice of Beslan". Alexander Khalin, head of the investigatory group, does not agree with them.

In Ingushetia, Ms Bokova, F. M., a resident of Karabulak accuses power agents of kidnapping on April 21 of her son Bokov, Khizar Batredinovich, born in 1986, right from their house. The woman has addressed human rights entities and organizations asking to help in searching her son.

As reported today to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Svetlana Isaeva, head of the NGO "Mothers of Dagestan for Human Rights", Gyulnara Rustamova, one of the activists of the NGO, has left it aiming to create a new human rights entity.

Remains of two residents of Chechnya captured by Russian militaries in the course of "zachistka" (cleanup operation) in spring 2002 were found in the Shali District. The Prosecutor's Office of Chechnya has restarted the criminal case, which was suspended several years ago because of non-establishment of the persons involved in this crime.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Russia has again rejected the entry visa to Dalai Lama XIV, spiritual leader of Buddhists. This was reported by Shadzhin Lama (Supreme Lama) of Kalmykia Talo Tulku Rinpoche at his regular quarterly press conference for republic's mass media. Buddhists had earlier stated that they would perceive such refusal as violation of their rights.

In the city of Budyonnovsk, Stavropol Territory, the worship building of the local community of Jehovah's Witnesses was set on fire. Examination has established that it was arson; besides, traces were detected of numerous previous attempts to burn the building down. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by Grigory Martynov, representative of the press service of the Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

Issues of improving the efficiency of and supporting the recently organized Russian system of public control over detention places were discussed on April 21 in Moscow at the international conference on defence of prisoners' rights.

On April 21, the members of the initiative group "Electrozink. Do we breathe?" in the website "Odnoklassniki.Ru" conducted a picket in the city of Essentuki with the aim to draw attention of the public and power bodies of the Russian Federation to the problem of poisoning of residents of Northern Caucasus with emissions of the "Electrozink" Factory, operating in North Ossetia.

Today, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found Russia guilty of disappearance of three residents of Chechnya - Sultan Khatuev, Louisa Mutaeva and Vakhit Dzhabrailov - in 2003-2004, while the inquiry into these disappearances was found inefficient.

On April 21, Georgi Tugushi, People's Defender of Georgia (Ombudsman), presented to the parliament his report for the second half of 2009. Most human rights organizations gave positive estimates to the Ombudsman's report having noted, however, that formulations of the recommendation part could have been tougher.

On April 21, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) announced its decision on the complaint of Einullah Fatullaev, editor-in-chief of the "Real Azerbaijan" newspaper, convicted in Azerbaijan, and found illegitimate all the verdicts of the Azerbaijani courts, which had imprisoned the journalist. The Azerbaijani authorities plan to challenge the decision at the High Board of the Strasbourg Court.