News

The fact that P. Siradjov, an emigrant from Azerbaijan held in the American Guantanamo prison, will be sent not to his home country but to Holland has been reported on June 14 by human rights activist Elchin Bekhbudov.

More than 100 residents of Zelenchuk district, Karachaevo-Cherkessia, who are dissatisfied with the construction of a system of Zelenchuk hydroelectric stations, have blocked traffic today on the highway in the vicinity of the village Hussa-Kardonik.

Aslan Bezrukov, a well-known public figure and entrepreneur in Adygea, was released on bail yesterday on June 14 from the pre-trial prison.

Lawyer Rashid Gadjily is going to act as defence lawyer for the students of the "Independent Azerbaijan" university who are on hunger strike.

Some ethnic groups residing in Krasnodar Territory have not been recognized as citizens of the Russian Federation.

Another criminal case has been initiated in Khasavyurt, Republic of Dagestan, against Osman Boliev, head of "Romashka" regional human rights organization.

The Moscow city court has postponed for unspecified period of time the consideration of release of notary Fail Sadretdinov acquitted earlier on the case of murder of Paul Khlebnikov, chief editor of Forbes Russian version.

The hunger strike of several scores of students of the "Independent Azerbaijan" university has been lasting for 14 days already.

Academician Eldar Salaev, former president of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, has left for the United States of America for a course of treatment. Elman Salaev, the son of the academician has reported this to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The Soldiers' Mothers Committee claims that a 19-year-old resident of Krasnodar region in Kuban, drafted to the army, was beaten and dropped from the train during transportation of a group of soldiers from Krasnodar region to Khabarovsk distribution centre.

Chechen prosecutor's office employees are conducting an additional check on the criminal cases initiated in the past against officers of Khanty-Mansijsk riot squad, suspected of illegal detentions of citizens and the use of torture with regard to them.

On June 8, 2006, Khamzat Shamsuldinovich Tushaev, born in 1959, was lost in Grozny on the territory of the Government Complex of Chechnya.

Intense rumours have been circulating in the republic during the recent days that traces of mass burials have been discovered in the village of Vesioloye of Mozdok district, North Ossetia, where the body of Uvais Dolakov, resident of Ingushetia kidnapped earlier, was found one of these days.

According to reports of human rights activists, on June 9, 2006, a picket near the monument to Pushkin in Krasnodar (Krasnaya Street) was dispersed by almost one hundred militiamen.

A study conducted in the Moscow metro shows that the number persons who are visually perceived as originating from the Caucasus or Middle Asia amounts to 50.9 % of persons stopped by militia, although the share of such people does not exceed 4.6% in the total passenger flow.

Officers of the riot squad combined unit from Khanty-Mansijsk autonomous okrug are suspected of arranging in Grozny, the Chechen capital, a secret prison where detainees were tortured.

Recently, a campaign to liquidate temporary shelters (TS) has been under way in Chechnya.

Leo Platvoet, a Dutch MP, rapporteur of the Commission on migration, refugees and population issues of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), has come to Azerbaijan.

"A temporary detention facility of the TDIA was located on this territory, it functioned normally and was not a secret site," yesterday, June 7, Valery Kuznetsov, prosecutor of Chechnya, stated before journalists.

On June 6, officers of the local power authorities carried out wide-scale checks of passports in the October district of the Chechen capital.