News

Yesterday, on January 29, three residents of Chechnya, suspected of complicity with the armed underground groups, were detained in the Urus-Martan District by power agents. They assert that confiscated a grenade from one of the detainees.

On January 29, in the Kremlin, President of Russia Dmitri Medvedev met Dmitri Muratov, editor-in-chief of the "Novaya Gazeta", and Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the USSR and a co-owner of the newspaper.

In Rostov-on-Don, about 50 former soldiers, the so-called "Afghans", have gathered today in the morning for holding a picket with a demand to allot land plots to them for building of dwelling houses.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports that already before the start of today's session on the "Case of Seven" at least five hundred participants of the protest action have rallied near the building of the General Jurisdiction Court of the Shengavit community.

In Dagestan, militiamen have detained two persons suspected of taking part in illegal armed formations.

The decision of the court on illegality of detention in the airport of the city of Magas by law enforcement bodies of Magomed Evloev, owner of the website "Ingushetia.Ru", who later perished in the militia car last August, has come into its legal force.

Ombudsman in Armenia Armen Arutyunyan has addressed Gevork Danielyan, Minister of Justice of Armenia, with a request to transfer Deputy Sasun Mikaelyan, accused under the "Case of Seven", who is suffering from cardiac insufficiency, into the prison hospital. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it at the press service of the oppositional Armenian National Congress.

The National Television and Radio Board (NTRB) of Azerbaijan has made its decision: the legislation is against foreign broadcasting in national frequencies. This was reported to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Nushiravan Magerramli, head of the Board, who made his comments on the statement of the US Embassy that the American party is waiting for proposals on restart of broadcasting of the radio stations Liberty and Voice of America.

On January 31, Nazran will host the Congress of Ingush People, which will be the first for the last 6 years. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by Magomed Mutsolgov, head of the Human Rights Organization "MAShR" and a delegate of the Congress.

Yesterday, on January 28, Valery Dyakonov, Deputy of the Municipal Duma of the city of Zverevo, joined the hunger strike of the miners-pensioners who demand enforcement of court decisions on granting them privileges on residential heating.

Deputies of the National Assembly of Armenia, accused on the "Case of Seven", namely - Akop Akopyan, Sasun Mikaelyan and Miasnik Malkhasyan - demand from the Parliament's speaker to convoke a session with their participation and the presence of the Public Prosecutor, so that the latter could present proofs of their guilt of organizing mass disorders on March 1 last year, which were accompanied by murders, and actions aimed at violent seizure of power.

In Chechnya, employees of power agencies continue detaining former participants of armed formations and their suspected helpers. Within the last 24 hours only, three local residents have been detained by law enforcers under suspicion of being militants.

Adgur Kogoniya, Public Prosecutor of the Gali District of Abkhazia, has categorically refuted the information disseminated today by Georgian media about the murder by Russian militaries of Koba Meboniya, a resident of Nabakevi village.

Yesterday, on January 28, in the evening, Finland hosted a rally in memory of advocate Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasiya Baburova assassinated in January in Moscow. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by Salla Pyuyukkonen, one of the organizers of the action and coordinator of the Finnish branch of Amnesty International (AI).

The European Court on Human Rights has ordered Georgia to pay out 6000 euros to Shalva Ramishvili, founder of the TV Company named "202", and David Kokhreidze, Director of the Company, each as compensation of the non-pecuniary damage suffered by them as a result of their "inhuman and humiliating" custody conditions in January 2006. Additional 14,694 euros shall be paid to the journalists to reimburse their expenses. Georgia shall make the payments within three months.

The oppositional parties of Azerbaijan complain of the pressure exerted on the activists who are gathering signatures for the constitutional amendments referendum forthcoming on March 18. The signing-in is conducted for registration of agitation groups for holding legal propaganda against the amendments, which will allow one and the same person to be elected the president of the country for unlimited number of times.

After the non-sanctioned protest rally held yesterday, on January 27, in the central square of the capital of Karachaevo-Circassia, Oleg Babenko, First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Karachaevo-Circassia and Head of Criminal Militia, had a meeting with relatives of businessman Boris Bairamkulov, who was killed in Dombai.

Sergeant of Russian Armed Forces Alexander Glukhov, who ran away from his military unit located in the Akhalgori District and went to Georgia, wants to receive Georgian citizenship and return to Russia.

The youth organization named "Reference Point", which is close to the local branch of "Spravedlivaya Rossiya" (Fair Russia) in the Astrakhan Region, has held a picket in defence of Lake Baskunchak.

War on corruption should be the priority direction in reforming the system of state administration in Azerbaijan. This is the opinion the experts' polling held by the Centre for Economic and Political Studies on the topic "What reforms should be undertaken in Azerbaijan in the system of state administration and how to increase the efficiency of such reforms?"