News

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called Russian authorities to investigate the attempt to intimidate employees of the independent edition "Novaya Gazeta".

In the near future, a united detachment of the Ministry of Emergencies (MoE) of Russia will come to demine agricultural lands in Chechnya. Earlier, sappers of the Ministry already worked in the Chechen Republic for a month in 2007 and managed to clean over 60 hectares of territory from land mines, shells and other ordnances.

Today in the morning, in the suburb of Nabakevi village, Gali District of Abkhazia, local residents found a man's body with gunshot wounds. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by Laurens Kogoniya, head of the Gali ROVD.

Today, the Tver Court of Moscow has sanctioned arrest of Sergey Hadzhikurbanov, a former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Russian Federation, who was earlier acquitted on the murder case Anna Politkovskaya, observer of the "Novaya Gazeta".

On April 8 - the International Gipsies Day - at 11:00 a.m., the Sakharov Public Centre (57-6 Zemlyanoy Val) in St-Petersburg will host a press conference on the problem of human rights reaction to violations of the rights of Gipsies-residents of the Russian Federation.

Relatives of Hero of Russia Sulim Yamadaev, ex-commander of the "Vostok" battalion, who was attacked in Dubai on March 28, continue insisting that he is alive. The photo of his tomb that allegedly appeared in the Internet, in their opinion, means nothing. Meanwhile, Dakhi Khalfan Tamim, head of Dubai police, has once again confirmed that Yamadaev is dead.

At the judicial session on April 1, activist of the opposition Sarkis Atspanyan, citizen of France and supporter of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, accused of a false denunciation with the aim to discredit a person, stated that he had tried to warn President of Armenia about a possible attempt and that it was for benefit of Robert Kocharyan and Armenian National Front "Dashnaktsutyun" (ANFD).

During the last year, Sulim Yamadaev, ex-commander of the "Vostok" special battalion of the GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian General Staff), often criticized the incumbent Chechen authorities.

The embassy of Norway in Baku has made a statement on the outcomes of the March 18 referendum on amending the Constitution of Azerbaijan, which remarks that lifting the restriction on the term for one person to be President is s step away from democracy. The US embassy has noted, in its turn, that the democracy in Azerbaijan has not rooted in yet.

Relatives of Sulim Yamadaev continue to deny the information about his death and insist that not the ex-commander of the "Vostok" special GRU battalion but some other man was assassinated in Dubai. However, they give no answer to the question why, if Sulim Yamadaev is alive, his brother or wife who are there with him cannot make a photo or a video of the wounded man to refute the rumours about his death.

In the evening on April 1, eight miners from the "Chikh Mine", located in the Rostov Region, stopped their strike and went out to the surface. They spent two days underground demanding to pay salary debts to them; and the money was paid out.

Employees of the Republic's Clinical Hospital of Ingushetia deny the information about the critical condition of the teenagers who were brought with symptoms of toxic poisoning in 2007. The Ministry of Public Health also knows nothing about the incident.

Today, three persons were found murdered in a large forest near Dylym village, Kazbek District of Dagestan.

Advocates of Lors Khamiev and Umar Batukaev, accused of an attempt on President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, who were sentenced today to eight and five years of high security colony, find the verdict unfair and plan to appeal against it. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told about it by Marud Musaev, Batukaev's advocate.

On April 1, an expanded sitting of the District Antiterrorist Commission was held in Gubden village, Karabudakhkent District, where Adilgerey Magomedtagirov, Minister of Internal Affairs of Dagestan, called residents of the district to present anonymous information about their fellow-villagers.

On March 31, residents of Karanai-Aul village, Kayaken District of Dagestan, sent a letter to President of Russia Dmitri Medvedev with a complaint against the actions of Magomed Suleimanov, incumbent speaker of the republic's parliament, when he was mayor of the city of Izberbash.

It is possible that the attempt on Sulim Yamadaev, former commander of the "Vostok" special battalion of the GRU, Hero of Russia, was has made by "a bald-headed feudist". Anatoly Tsyganok, candidate of military sciences, professor, corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences and head of the centre of military forecasts, told this to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The attack on Lev Ponomaryov, leader of the Movement "For Human Rights", is an act of political intimidation, which was preceded by minor provocations. This was stated by Evgeniy Ikhlov, head of the information and analytical service of the Movement.

Today, Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan, who presides over the trial on the "Case of Seven", has decided to make individual criminal cases against six defendants out of their united case.

Laurens Kogoniya, head of the Gali ROVD (district interior department) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Abkhazia, has assured the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that there was no shelling of the village of Khurcha from the territory of Nabakevi village, Gali District of Abkhazia.