News

On July 16, the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) passed a decision, obliging Russia to pay 50,500 euros to relatives of Arbi Karimov, a resident of Chechnya, as Russian authorities were found guilty of his disappearance in 2003.

The killing of Natalia Estemirova, prominent Chechen human rights activist, came a week after U.S. President Barack Obama met with Russian civil society activists, including members of Estemirova's group. The White House National Security Council issued a strong statement of condemnation, saying it was "deeply disturbed and saddened."

The White House has expressed sadness over the abduction and murder of Russian human rights activist Natalya Estemirova in the North Caucasus, and called on the Russian government to bring the killers to justice.

In the near future, miners-pensioners from the city of Zverevo, Rostov Region, who strive for their privileges in payment for heating, plan to send a letter to the Chairperson of the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) with the request to accelerate consideration of their claims because of the applicants' elderly age.

The Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) has addressed the delegation of the European Union's "trio", which arrives in Baku on July 19, with an appeal to raise, at negotiations with Azerbaijani officials, the issues of human rights violations and restriction of the freedom of press in the country.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed at the MIA of Dagestan that in the course of the skirmish near Shamkhal-Termen village near Makhachkala, three IAF (illegal armed formation) members were killed today and two militiamen were wounded. One of the casualties was Imam of one of rural mosques.

On Thursday, at the session of the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria on the events on October 13, 2005, the accusation party started disclosing the materials of the criminal case related to the episode named "Landysh" (Lily of the Valley).

As reported by Arkadiy Edelev, Deputy Interior Minister, 15 suspected IAF members were killed and two more were detained in the course of a special operation, conducted in the administrative border of Chechnya and Ingushetia.

The government of Armenia will provide compensations to the families of the victims of the catastrophe of the Iranian aircraft. This was stated by Gevork Pogosyan, Minister of Labour and Social Matters of Armenia. According to his version, every family will receive 1.5 million drams, or over 4000 US dollars, allotted from the state budget.

Natalia Estemirova's death is of no benefit to authorities of Chechnya. Probably, the human rights defender was assassinated by the people, who wanted to frame up the leaders of Chechnya and Ingushetia. This was stated in a telephone conversation with Oleg Orlov, Board Chair of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", of a person, who presented himself as President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov.

As stated in Rostov-on-Don by Arkadiy Edelev, Russian Deputy Interior Minister, the investigation has four versions of Natalia Estemirova's murder.

Today, a farewell ceremony with human rights defender Natalia Estemirova took place in the centre of Grozny, which brought together about 100 persons - journalists, human rights activists and people whom she helped.

Russian human rights advocates are confident that the series of murders of the people who defend rights of other people can be stopped by removing Ramzan Kadyrov from the post of the President of Chechnya. This viewpoint was expressed by Liudmila Alekseeva, Chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group. In the opinion of Oleg Orlov, Board Chairman of the HRC "Memorial", murders will stop as soon as the authorities cease calling human rights defenders as bandits.

One day before kidnapping and murder of Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the HRC "Memorial", committed on July 15, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent had two telephone conversations with her about the situation with human rights in Chechnya.

The statement of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" that has arrived to the "Caucasian Knot" runs that Ramzan Kadyrov has made the work of human rights activists in Chechnya impossible. Russia is under state terror; those who try to tell the truth and criticize the regime are assassinated; and Natalia Estemirova's murder is also a result of such policy.

A number of Armenian mass media have adopted a joint appeal to Armenian authorities asking to change the freedom restriction measure applied to Nichol Pashinyan, an activist of the opposition and editor-in-chief of the newspaper named "Aikakan Zhamanak" (Armenian Time).

The General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Russia has inspected the situation with legality in Investigatory Detention Facilities Nos. 1 and 2, Corrective Colony No. 6 and Department of the Federal Correction Service (known as FSIN) for the Astrakhan Region. The result was a presentation submitted to FSIN Director on the necessity to eliminate the revealed drawbacks.

Two residents of the mountainous Shatoy District of Chechnya were detained by power agents on July 13 as suspects of complicity to militants. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it at the Republic's MIA.

In the near future, the oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC) will start a special registry for gathering all the information about violations of citizens' constitutional rights and freedoms by Armenian authorities, as announced by Gagik Dzhangiryan, work coordinator of the ANC's Legal Defence Centre and former deputy general public prosecutor and former political prisoner.

Isa Yamadaev has lodged an application to Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Russian ICPO, asking him to protect him from hired gunmen. He asserts that an attempt on him is being prepared, and the order to kill has already arrived to "very serious killers."