News

Relatives of the brothers Isa and Musa Yamadaev, who were summoned by investigatory bodies to the North-Ossetian city of Mozdok for interrogation on the case about disappearance of one of the soldiers of the recently disbanded special-purpose GRU battalion "Vostok", are afraid for their life.

The health condition of Arshaluist Akopyan, a representative of the Helsinki Association, who is now in custody in Armenia, is currently normal; he was already visited by advocate Gayane Khachatryan. Mikael Danielyan, human rights activist and chairman of the Helsinki Association told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about it.

Jean-Francois Juliar, secretary general of the international organization in defence of the press "Reporters without Borders" (RwB) has sent messages to Ali Gasanov, head of the political division of President's Administration, and Nushiravan Magerramli, chairman of the National Television and Radio Board (NTRB), expressing his concern of the statements proposing to set up control over the Internet space of Azerbaijan.

The judicial session due today on the criminal case on attack on Nalchik on October 13, 2005, was cancelled because of absence of advocate Magomed Abubakarov, who left for Chechnya to take part in some other trial. His clients refused to be tried without him.

Today, the Mayoralty of Makhachkala hosted a regular sitting of the city's antiterrorist commission, which brought together activists, workers of power agencies, intellectuals, mass media and leaders of official confessions. In the course of the sitting, the participants criticised the work of militia.

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan has signed an order to nullify his Decree of October 23, 2008, which stipulated setting up and formation order of the fact-finding group about clashes of the opposition with the police on March 1, 2008, in Yerevan.

The murder of Adilgerei Magomedtagirov, Minister of Internal Affairs of Dagestan, can have something to do with the presidential election to be held in February 2010. According to some sources, Mr Magomedtagirov could be considered as a candidate for President of Dagestan, should the Kremlin decide to bank on a "strong hand" in the republic.

Advocates of the NGO named "Priority of Human Rights" have sent a complaint of the citizens, who suffered in the course of dispersal of a protest action in Tbilisi on November 7, 2007, to the European Court on Human Rights.

Law enforcers of Chechnya are now searching the unknown person who shot dead, last Saturday, on June 6, in Argun, Musost Khutiev, assistant for power agencies of the First Vice-Premier of the Government of Chechnya and former Brigade General of Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. Militants' revenge is viewed by inspectors as the main versions of the murder.

Starting June 7, the "Grozny" Chechen State Television and Radio Company (ChSTRC) broadcasts an English-language new programme "View from within by Crystall Callahan" run by a Canadian model. It is planned that the programme will appear once a week, every Sunday.

According to Natik Dzhavadly, a correspondent of the "Bizim Yol" newspaper, the Herd Bucerius Award granted to workers of Azerbaijani media is a serious support of the advocates of free press in this country.

Arshaluis Akopyan, a photo journalist of the website of the Helsinki Association and a member of a human rights NGO, who acted as an observer at election of Yerevan Mayor on May 31, was arrested on June 5 in Armenia and charged under Article 316, part 1, of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (CC RA): "Resistance to power officials".

Today, at the regular session of the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria considering the criminal case dealing with the attack on Nalchik on October 13, 2005, a dispute burst out between accusers and defenders in the course of interrogating a witness about the procedure of announcing witnesses' evidences in the course of preliminary investigation.

The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Armenia has refused to consider the application of the opposition demanding to recognize the outcomes elections to the Board of Elders of Yerevan null and void.

A four-level apartment block has collapsed in the Vaki District of Georgian capital. As a result of the accident, Makvala Bitsadze, 68, who happened to be inside the house at the moment, was killed.

Minister of Internal Affairs of Dagestan Adilgerei Magomedtagirov was not going to visit the wedding party on June 5, where he was killed, and, most likely, people linked with the customers of the murder urged him to go there. This was stated today by President Mukhu Aliev.

President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili has stated that the report presented by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in May at the UN Security Council was drafted under the influence of Russia.

The international scientific and practical conference "Genealogy of Caucasian Nations. Traditions and Contemporaneity" was held on June 6 in the North-Ossetian Institute of Humanitarian and Social Researches (known as "SOIGSI").

The World Bank (WB) expects stabilization in Armenian economy by the end of 2009. This was stated by Aristomene Varudakis, head of the Yerevan-based WB's office.

The "Olympstroy" has decided to give up its plans to build the second seaport in Sochi, as reported today by Vice-Premier Dmitri Kozak, supervisor of preparation for 2014 Winter Olympic Games, to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.