News

The events in Georgia on November 7, 2007, have contributed to the fact that the state with democracy in the country is now assessed also by the status of mass media.

Vatican is going to hold various humanitarian actions in Abkhazia and render assistance to the most vulnerable layers of the population of the Republic.

The Gimry village of the Untsukulskiy District, Dagestan, is still completely blocked; on December 16, a special operation was launched here with participation of more than 1000 employees of power agencies, united militia detachments attracted from adjacent regions.

The second suspect of participating in the explosion of the route bus "Pyatigorsk-Stavropol" at the bus station of the city of Nevinnomyssk; now, the investigation undertakes the necessary actions.

A group of representatives of Azerbaijani mass media has sent a letter to Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe with a story about heavy working environment for journalists in Azerbaijan.

Another suit has been lodged against the "Hural" newspaper to the Narimanovskiy District Court by Akif Mamedov, chairman of the Joint-Stock Company (JSC) "Kurort" (Resort).

The explosion in Tskhinval, as a result of which one person was lost and two more wounded, has been qualified by law enforcement bodies of South Ossetia as a terror act.

The resident of Ingushetia suspected of blowing up the Pyatigorsk-Stavropol bus in the city of Nevinnomyssk admits his guilt.

On December 15, in the city of Tskhinval, an attempt was made on the life of Kosta Koshty, chairman of the human rights NGO "Law is above Power", director of the South-Ossetian independent TV Company "Nog Bon" and director of the IA OSinform.

The Union of Non-Governmental Organizations (UNGO) of Chechnya was forced to transfer its office from the Republic's Print House after the conflict of the head of the Information Centre of the Union with securities of the building.

Today in the morning, Ganimat Zakhidov, editor-in-chief of the "Azadlyg" newspaper, who is in custody in Azerbaijan, has suspended his hunger strike.

On December 19, the Moscow City Court will start a trial on the criminal case about the explosion committed in the Cherkizovo marketplace in Moscow on August 21, 2006, which had killed, by different sources from 11 up to 14 persons.

On December 14, in Georgia, the board for administrative cases of the Tbilisi City Court accepted, on partial terms, for proceedings the claim lodged by the "Imedi" TV Company against the National Commission for Telecommunications.

The US Senate has approved the resolution with an appeal to President George Bush to hold a talk with the leaders of Georgia that the early presidential elections in this country should be democratic, accompanied by a free work of all independent mass media.

The prosecutor's office of the Dagestan city of Kaspiysk has revealed a fact, when militiamen had planted a pack of rounds into a pocket of a detained city dweller, after that, they threatened him with criminal prosecution for illegal possession of ammunition.

The Rostov Region will pay compensations to the persons who have fallen victims in Chechnya. The total sum of payments will make 1,318,000 roubles.

Armen Arutyunyan, Ombudsman of Armenia, has condemned the explosion that thundered yesterday, on December 13 at the door of the office of the oppositional newspaper "Chorord Ishkhanutyun" (Fourth Power).

On December 14, in the centre of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, several dozens of activists of youth organizations held a non-sanctioned protest action against suppression of the freedom of speech and independent press.

The preparatory session of the court on the case of Ganimat Zakhidov, editor of the "Azadlyg" newspaper is appointed on December 26.

Representatives of the Chechen Committee of National Salvation state that human rights activists are under "violent pressure" exerted by the authorities of Ingushetia.