News

The administration of Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, has accepted the offer of the European Coalition of Cities against Racism to join the organization. The decision was passed by Muslim Khuchiev, Mayor of Grozny.

Iulon Gagoshidze, State Minister of Georgia on Diaspora Matters, will not take part in the "Congress of Georgians", planned on February 2 in Moscow, since he thinks that the Congress was designed "under the aegis of the government and personally Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, who had encroached on the territorial integrity of Georgia."

On January 16, a rally was held in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, with a demand to stop bombardments of Gaza Strip by Israelis. A proposal was moved by the audience to start an assistant fund to help the Palestinian people. The rally was over 15-thousand strong.

A programme aimed to soothe tension in the labour market of the Rostov Region was developed and approved with the budget of 199 million roubles, to be allocated from the regional budget.

The Stavropol Territorial Court is holding a repeated hearing on charges moved against residents of Ingushetia Ruslan Kostoev and Zurab Tsuroev of blowing up the passenger bus "Pyatigorsk-Stavropol" committed at the bus station in the city of Nevinnomyssk on December 9, 2007.

In the course of the charitable action "Let Us Help Children Together" launched last autumn by the territorial administration, residents of the Krasnodar Territory have raised 5.7 million roubles intended to help heavily sick children.

An explosion of an apartment house in one of micro-districts of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, killed five persons.

The European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg has awarded a priority to seven claims against Georgia filed by residents of South Ossetia and a Russian Army soldier. They will be considered out of turn.

The early release from prison of former colonel Yuri Budanov, who has served his term for kidnapping and murder of a Chechen girl of 17, caused an extremely negative reaction in Chechnya.

The Pyatigorsk City Court, Stavropol Territory, considers a criminal case against a surgeon of the Municipal Establishment of Public Health (MEPH) "Central City Hospital", accused of manslaughter because of improper execution of his professional duties.

Gocha Chaava, a resident of Bargebi village who was kidnapped in the Gali District of Abkhazia has been released and now is at home. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by Laurens Kogoniya, head of the Gali ROVD.

On January 16, in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, at about 1 p.m. local time, in the Arshakunyants Avenue, a clash burst out between police units and participants of the protest action who rallied near the court building, where a session on the "Case of Seven" was held.

Ombudsman Armen Arutyunyan plans to launch a detailed study of the cases of violence and torture, registered in Criminal-Corrective Establishments (CCEs) of Armenia.

Today at 4:00 p.m., in the city of Zverevo, Rostov Region, a hunger strike was announced by miners-pensioners who demand that court decision be enforced, free-of-charge coal provided to them, as well as discounts in payments for heating.

Administration of Boarding School No. 5 in Nartan village, Chegem District of Kabardino-Balkaria, is roughly breaching the legislation on accommodation of children-orphans and children deprived of parents' care.

Ziyavutdin Uvaisov, advocate of detained Dinara Butdaeva, suspected of helping militants, operating in Dagestan, asserts that the fire-arm was planted on her by law enforcers.

The decision of the Dimitrovgrad City Court made the basis for conditional early relief (CER) of former colonel Yuri Budanov.

Today, the European Court on Human Rights has passed a decision on the case of Adam Medov, a resident of Karabulak, who disappeared in June 2004 (then he temporarily lived in Nazran). Adam Medov's wife was the applicant. According to the decision of European Court, Russia was found responsible for Medov's disappearance and obliged to pay 35,000 euros of compensation to his relatives.

The young man named Zaurbek Tagirov, who was kidnapped in Tsotsi-Yurt village, Kurchaloy District of Chechnya, had been prosecuted for several months by militiamen and them beaten after detention. The "Caucasian Knot" was informed about it by Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

Ombudsman in Armenia Armen Arutyunyan has stated that oppositional activists are exposed to violence and even torture in the country's criminal corrective establishments (CCEs).