News

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).

The criminal case initiated on beating Emil Dadashov, a citizen of Azerbaijan, by a militiaman of Nizhni Novgorod has arrived to the Nizhniy Novgorod District Court.

Aslambek Apaev, expert of the Moscow Helsinki Group for Northern Caucasus, has addressed his open letter to President of Russia Dmitri Medvedev. The pretext was in the litigation against Abubakar Mezhiev, a resident of the Chechen Republic.

Today, on January 14, the European Court on Human Rights has passed a decision to satisfy claims of Zhora Sapeyan, Sarkis Amiryan and Maxim Gasparyan. The Republic of Armenia shall pay three thousand euros to each claimant as compensation.

The inmates of Corrective Colony OL 27/3 (light-security camp), located in Kalmykia, are beaten by employees of the Republic's Department of the Federal Service for Punishment Enforcement (the so-called "UFSIN") on a regular basis. This was reported by public figure Valery Badmaev who referenced the prisoners themselves.

In the 2009 report "Freedom in the World" of the international human rights organization "Freedom House", published on January 12, Armenia is named a partially free country. The "Freedom House" notes that Armenia exhibits regress in the area of democratic freedoms.

President of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov has stated that he does not trust in Yuri Budanov's repentance, when making his comments on the decision of the court on conditional early relief (CER) of former colonel convicted for murdering a Chechen girl.

The preparatory session of the Nasiminskiy District Court of Baku on the claim of Ramil Usubov, head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) against human rights activist Leila Yunus, due to take place today, on January 13, was re-appointed on January 23.

Vakha Chapanov, editor-in-chief of the IA "Maximum" and an eyewitness of the today's explosion in Nazran of the building of the Department of Court Marshals of Ingushetia, has expressed doubt that utility gas was the reason of the tragedy.

From the start of this year, the Charitable Women's Hospital, located in Makhachkala at No. 3 Ermoshkina Street, was to abandon all the occupied premises, as prescribed by the decision of the Arbitration Court of Dagestan signed by Judge R. Khanbekov.

Ahmed Abidov, head of the Russian Corrective Administration (the so-called "UFSIN") for Kabardino-Balkaria, said in his speech at the parliamentary session that spread of religious extremism in the region as a whole and in prisons, in particular, is one of the most acute problems.

President of Armenia Serzh Sarkisyan has pardoned nine convicts accused of participating in mass disorders in Yerevan on March 1, 2008.

Today, the Tbilisi City Court has satisfied the demand of the Prosecutor's Office to transfer the building in Tbilisi housing the head office of the oppositional political movement "For United Georgia" into the state management.

Suspension in the new year of broadcasting of western radio stations has actually deprived citizens of Azerbaijan of the last source of objective information. This statement was made by independent political scientist Ilgar Mamedov, co-founder of the public association named "Republican Alternative - REAL".

The number of complaints sent from the town of Zverevo, Rostov Region, to the European Court on Human Rights, has already reached 124. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by Valery Dyakonov, deputy of the municipal duma of Zverevo.

The All-Russia Public Organization "Voice of Beslan" plans to continue investigating the terror act committed in September 2004. In February, the organization will send another initiative group of 60 persons to Strasbourg to register a new complaint against the state.

This year, the Ministry of Defence of Armenia plans to reform the national army by changing its structure.

Most of Georgian political parties has welcomed signing the Georgia-USA Strategic Partnership Charter, however, they have warned the society against increased expectations from the document, and also expressed discontent with the non-transparent procedure of its drafting and adoption.

Arman Musinyan, press secretary of the oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC), has declared today that on December 23 ten persons in masks and camouflage came into the cell of inmate Vardges Gaspari, attacked him and started beating him.