News

One of the eyewitnesses of the special operation in Makhachkala on September 24 asserts that an innocent peaceful resident was killed in it and later announced to be a militant. Kurban Magomedov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that his nephew, Alikhan Dinov, 26, occasionally happened to be there and got into the skirmish.

In Tbilisi, the street traders, who worked in the territory adjoining the "Dynamo" stadium, sent a letter to Vano Merabishvili, Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, calling him to stop oppressions.

The city-resort Sochi has long-term experience of receiving guests, but by Olympic Games-2014 it will have to reach the European level of rendering of services, Anatoly Pakhomov, Sochi Mayor, said in the context of the 8th International Investment Forum "Sochi-2009".

Today, the Maikop District of Adygea hosts the traditional Dakhov commemoration of the Cossacks who perished in the years of civil war.

Next week, the parliament of Georgia will consider the issue of boycott of the Sochi Olympiad. Georgian Olympians will be also invited to the session.

After the States' refusal to deploy their ballistic missile defence system in Eastern Europe, the joint Russian-American use of the Gabal Radar Station in Azerbaijan is an alternative scenario, but, generally speaking, neither country in fact needs the station. This is the opinion of Azerbaijani political scientist Vafa Guluzade, former state adviser on foreign policy.

Georgia will simplify the procedure for obtaining dual citizenship for its compatriots from abroad, President Mikhail Saakashvili promised in New York on September 23 while present at a charitable concert, organized to raise money for buying a building for the St Nino Georgian Church.

Merab Chigoev, deputy plenipotentiary representative of President of South Ossetia for post-conflict settlement, finds the last meeting on incident-prevention, held on September 24 in Ergneti village, Gori District, in the Georgian-South-Ossetian border, fruitless.

The Lefortovo Court of Moscow has arrested Albert Saaev, a native of Dagestan, suspected of hacker attacks on the websites of power bodies of some republics of Northern Caucasus.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has announced decoration of a group of journalists from several countries of the world with the award "Freedom of Press" for 2009. Among the recipients are journalists from Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Einullah Fatullaev, a convicted Azerbaijani journalist.

The judicial hearings on the claim of President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov to the head of the HRC "Memorial" Oleg Orlov were postponed till October 6, as the judge and the claimant should watch the video record, presented by Orlov. According to his story, the CD has records of the programmes of Grozny TV, where Kadyrov calls to illegitimate actions.

The opposition of Georgia is not going to give up and will continue its protest actions against the policy of President Mikhail Saakashvili. This was stated by Levan Gachechiladze, leader of the public movement "Defend Georgia" and one of the organizers of protest actions, held this spring.

On Thursday, September 24, President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili spoke at the sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, drew parallel between the Berlin wall and loss of territorial integrity of Georgia, and promised to bring Abkhazia back into Georgia.

Today, in the course of the court session, where the claim of President of Chechnya against the head of the HRC "Memorial" was considered, the respondent - Oleg Orlov - presented his explanations on the case. The claim was caused by Mr Orlov's statements about Kadyrov's involvement in the murder of Natalia Estemirova, a human rights defender, who worked in Chechnya.

Nakhichevan has just a few independent journalists; they have to be engaged in human rights activities at the same time, as Malakhat Nasibova, a journalist from Azerbaijan, said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. Ms Nasibova was awarded by the Norwegian human rights organization "Rafto Foundation" for her coverage of events in Nakhichevan.

Today, the Tver Court of Moscow has held its first hearing on the merits of the claim of President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov against Oleg Orlov, head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", on defence of honour, dignity and business reputation. The claim stems from Mr Orlov's statement that President of Chechnya is responsible for the kidnapping in Chechnya and murder of human rights defender Natalia Estemirova.

President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov has announced, in his interview to the newspaper "Zavtra" (Tomorrow), the name of his possible successor - Adam Delimkhanov, now - deputy of the State Duma of Russia. The prospect of seeing this person as President of Chechnya inspires not many of its residents.

Ambassador Hansjorg Haber, head of the Mission of Observers of the European Union (MOEU), has stated that the fifth meeting on incident prevention, held under the mechanism designed in the course of Geneva negotiations on September 24 in Ergneti village, Gori District, in the border of Georgia and South Ossetia, saw some progress.

Today, the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) has made a decision obliging Russia to pay compensation of 90,000 euros to relatives of two residents of the Chechen Republic, who disappeared in 2002 and 2003.

As reported by Magomed Dibirov, Deputy Public Prosecutor of Dagestan, Mamedyarov, who disappeared in Makhachkala on September 10, was identified among the militants liquidated on September 11 during a combat clash near Sirtych village, Tabasaran District.