News

Relatives of Madina Ausheva who was killed by Russian power agents on February 28, 2008, as a result of a special operation in Nazran suburb, assert that her body handed out to relatives was without internal organs.

Yesterday, on March 24, the Union of Journalists of Dagestan held a mourning rally dedicated to the memory of Ilyas Shurpaev and Gaji Abashilov.

Gulnara Rustamova, Chair of the organization "Dagestan Mothers for Human Rights", has addressed the Moscow Helsinki Group and Human Rights Centre "Memorial" with a complaint against "arbitrariness and impunity" of the power agencies of the Republic.

Today, the Military Prosecutor's Office of North Ossetia held the final session on the case of soldier Darkhan Seitmagambetov, accused of killing a woman in November 2007 with the BTR-80 armoured troop carrier (ATC) that he was driving.

Tonight, on the 17th day of the protest action, the opposition of Georgia has made a decision to stop the hunger strike. Despite the end of the hunger strike, the protest action near the building of the Parliament will go on, Georgiy Khaindrava, one of the leaders of the opposition, has stated.

Tonight, people in Armenia have succeeded in raising the necessary sum of money to cover the fine imposed by the Administrative Court of the city of Gyumri on the GALA TV Company.

Today the air traffic between Georgia and Russia that was interrupted in 2006 has resumed. By the end of this week, the Georgia-Russia marine traffic will also restart.

The Special Investigatory Group has presented an indictment under several Articles of the Criminal Code of Armenia to Aram Sarkisyan, former prime minister, leader of the "Republic" Party and member of the Central Election Office of Levon Ter-Petrosyan.

In the evening on March 24, reinforced police units of Armenia pushed away the people who had gathered in the Severny Avenue of Yerevan, about one thousand in total.

Satirical journalist Sakit Zakhidov who is in custody in Azerbaijan is still heavily sick and needs serious treatment.

The American co-chairman of the Minsk OSCE Group Matthew Bryza has disclosed some details of the negotiations: firstly, recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan; secondly, return of 7 districts to Azerbaijan and return of forced migrants to these regions; thirdly, withdrawal of Armenian troops; fourthly, setting up a corridor ensuring communication of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia; fifthly, debate on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh that can be decided on the basis of compromises during negotiations.

About thirty thousand persons have gathered to take part in the action of the United Opposition in front of the Parliament of Georgia in defence of the "Imedi" TV Company. Appeals are heard not to disperse until the authorities restart broadcasting of the "Imedi".

More than 3000 persons are still considered missing in Chechnya. They disappeared in the course of the "counterterrorist operation" that was conducted since 1999 - the time of Vladimir Putin's advent to power in Russia.

Yesterday, on March 23, militiamen of Makhachkala held a rally with a demand of dismissal of the Interior Minister and Public Prosecutor of Dagestan.

By one of the versions of the murder of Gaji Abashilov, Chairman of the State Television and Radio Company (STRC) "Dagestan", the crime was committed with the aim to weaken the influence of Dagestan President Mukhu Aliev.

The teachers' collective and administration of School No. 2 of Aleksandrovskoe village, Stavropol Territory, where Valentina Neumyvakina, who is accused of driving a 9th form pupil to suicide, works, think the teacher to be innocent of what has happened.

According to Andrei Melamedov, former editor-in-chief of the private Dagestan newspaper "Nastoyascheye Vremya" (Present Time), the surnames of journalists Ilyas Shurpaev and Gaji Abashilov, who were murdered on Friday, were on the list of persons prohibited to mentioning.

The authorities of Armenia agree to admit the participation of international experts in the investigation of disorders on March 1-2 in Yerevan. This was stated today by the General Public Prosecutor of Armenia at his meeting with Peter Semnebi, Special EU's Representative in South Caucasus.

Today, on the 14th day of the hunger strike, the state of health of the leaders of the United Opposition of Georgia has worsened, and quarantine was introduced near the building of Parliament in Tbilisi in the Rustaveli Avenue.

On March 21, a picket was held in Moscow in defence of Boris Stomakhin, the author of the Chechen separatists' website "Kavkaz-Centre", who was sentenced to 5 years of colony for kindling interethnic enmity and extremism. The action was dated to the second anniversary of journalist's arrest.