News

At night on May 10, in Bachi-Yurt village, Kurchaloy District of Chechnya, unidentified power agents kidnapped four persons. All of them are elderly people.

The bosses of the chemical factory "Nairit" in Yerevan, where a strong fire occurred in the evening on May 14, announced the names of their four lost workers. Russia has expressed its readiness to help Armenia in liquidating the accident consequences.

There are no grounds to look for any links between the murder of Vitaly Bogatyryov, deputy head of the investigatory isolation facility (SIZO) of Russia's UFSIN (Department of the Federal Punishment Enforcement Service) for Kabardino-Balkaria, with the complaints against custody conditions in SIZO of the defendants in the case about the attack on Nalchik on October 13, 2005. This is the opinion of advocate Magomed Abubakarov.

After the meeting of President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili with the leaders of the nongovernmental opposition, many oppositionists understood that the event was just Saakashvili's formal gesture aimed at the West, and he is not ready to make any concessions. This was stated by Georgian political scientist Paata Zakareishvili to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

As reported by the Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) of Russia, a result of the explosion near the building of the MIA of Chechnya in Grozny, four persons were lost and at least five wounded.

Tonight, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and the State Office of Public Prosecutor of Azerbaijan have made a joint statement on the course of investigation into the massacre committed in the Azerbaijani State Oil Academy (ASOA) on April 30. They now clear out involvement of certain Sergey Grigoryan in this crime.

In Moscow, Ahmed Maskov, a resident of Kabardino-Balkaria, was killed, and Arthur Borukaev, another resident of this republic, received heavy mutilations, when they were attacked by short-haired young men equipped with steel bars. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent learnt about it from well-informed sources.

Politicians and human rights activists of Azerbaijan believe that no-election of their country to the Council of the United Nations for Human Rights is a logical consequence of the policy of the official Baku.

The Embassy of the German Federal Republic in Russia refused to grant a visa to the young man from Abkhazia, aged 16, required to undergo a complicated surgery in one of clinics in Munich.

Sulim Yamadaev, former commander of "Vostok" special GRU battalion, who, according to some sources, was lost as a result of attempt in the end of this March in Dubai, and, according to his relatives, survived and was going to announce blood feud to President of Chechnya, can be brought to criminal liability. His threats to Ramzan Kadyrov arouse interest of the Chechen Prosecutor's Office.

On Wednesday, May 13, the Nasimin District Court of Baku, chaired by Ikram Shirinov, started a trial on the suit lodged by Emin Guseinov, Director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), against the police of Azerbaijan.

Militiamen of Chechnya, who decide to resign, are at risk of beating, and their bosses refuse to sign their dismissal applications. The "Caucasian Knot" was told about it in the Information Centre of the Board of NGOs of Chechnya.

The Kirov District Court of Volgograd has fined by 200,000 roubles journalist Elena Maglevannaya, who published materials about facts of torture in Russian colonies, having found her guilty of disseminating false information, discrediting the honour and dignity of the Federal Service of Punishment Enforcement (known as "FSIN"), as reported by official spokesman of the Service.

The collective of the newspaper "Corruption and Crime" is conducting its own investigation into the attack in Rostov-on-Don on journalist Vyacheslav Yaroshenko and plans to punish the culprit without involving the militia. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Sergey Sleptsov, deputy editor-in-chief of the edition, who complained of inactivity of law enforcers.

President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov failed to meet the expectations and trust of the population and could not bridle the special agencies guilty of spread of violence over the republic. This was stated by Magomed Khazbiev, one of the leaders of the Ingush opposition.

Today, a meeting took place of the foreign diplomats accredited in Tbilisi with representatives of the opposition. The leaders of the latter acquainted the diplomats with their vision of the outcomes of the meetings with President Mikhail Saakashvili and Parliament Speaker David Bakradze.

The First Congress of Orthodox Women of South of Russia, held now in Stavropol, hosted the first ever ceremony of awarding prizes "For Sacrifice and Mercy" named after George Cross (old Russian soldier's order) laureate charity nurse Rimma Ivanova.

The working group on problems of human rights and freedoms in Dagestan can turn into "a circle on interest" with no practical value, and its decisions will remain formal. This is the opinion of Dagestanian journalist Magomed Magomedov, who gave detailed coverage of the meeting of the head of Dagestan Mukhu Aliev with Russian human rights activists and members of the Commission of Russian Public Chamber on Interethnic Relations and Freedom of Religion that took place on March 10.

A "Zhiguli" car with two Chechen militiamen and a local resident inside was first blown up and then shelled from automatic firearms. This was stated by a source in law enforcement bodies of Chechnya.

Ombudsman of Georgia Sozar Subari has demanded to investigate the fact of beating of the five detainees, figuring in the mutiny case in the military unit near Tbilisi.