News

On February 1, Farkhad Aliev, ex-minister of economic development, who is serving his term in prison, started his 48-hour hunger strike with a demand to ensure his medical examination by his personal doctor or other independent doctors in the presence of advocates.

Human rights activist Elchin Bekhbudov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that in 2007 63 persons were subjected to tortures in Azerbaijan, and four of them died.

The Maikop City Court has sentenced Victor Milkov, accused of disseminating a video depicting the scene of execution of residents of Dagestan and Tajikistan.

For more than a week, inmates kept in SIZO-1 of the city of Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, were on a hunger strike in protest against the actions of the facility's administration.

The leaders of the Bar Association of Kabardino-Balkaria sent a letter to Oleg Zharikov, Public Prosecutor of Kabardino-Balkaria, asking him to clear out the reasons why advocate Larissa Dorogova was not admitted to the Nalchik SIZO, where she wanted to render legal aid to one of the defendants.

Sergey Saveliev, second commander of the Lazarevskoe ROVD of the city of Sochi, asserts that the raid in July 2006 of the OMON to the "Druzhba" (Friendship) children's camp located in Nizhnee Makopse village was unjustified.

Alexander Bastrykin, Chairman of the Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office of Russia, spoke to the Russian FSB Collegium on January 30 and stated that the investigation had establishes the executors of the explosion of the "Neva-Express" train, and three of them were arrested.

The commission set up to investigate complaints of the soldiers from Dagestan who take their contractual army service in Khankala has visited the military unit and met its commanders.

Liudmila Sarkisyan, chair of the Social-Democratic Party, has treated the arrest of four members of the pre-electoral staff of Levon Ter-Petrosyan located in the city of Talin as a provocation.

Today, the police of the capital of Azerbaijan has detained 14 activists of the "Dalga" (Wave) youth movement who tried to hold a memory action dedicated to Mamed Emin Rasulzade, founder of the Azerbaijani People's Republic (1918-1920) and dated to his 124th birthday.

The Human Rights Watch calls on the leaders of the European Union to pay a more thorough attention to the situation with democracy in Azerbaijan.

Today, lawyer Larissa Dorogova was not let to the investigatory isolation facility of the Kabardino-Balkaria's Department of the Federal Punishment Enforcement Service, where her client - one of participants of the events of October 13, 2005, whom she consults on defence of his rights in custody, is kept.

The Strasbourg Court has notified the "Voice of Beslan" Public Committee about receipt of the documents evidencing violations of the rights of those who suffered in the Beslan terror act.

Ella Kesaeva, co-chair of the "Voice of Beslan" Committee, has stated, after receiving a reply from the RF President to the Committee's letter asking to stop prosecution of the organization, the end of illusions in relation to Mr Putin.

Kakha Kukava, one of the leaders of the United Opposition, has informed that the Central Electoral Commission of Georgia refused to present to the Opposition complete video records of the voting process at the early presidential election in Georgia and plebiscite held on January 5.

The Prosecutor's Office of the city of Nalchik has sent replies to the widows of the militants who were killed in the attack on October 13, 2005, in which the actions of militiamen are treated as illegal.

The authorities and residents of Chechnya hope that the militaries will be brought to responsibility for shelling the village of Gekhi, Urus-Martan District of Chechnya, from long-range guns.

The verdict of the Maikop City Court in relation to student Victor Milkov, who placed on the Internet a video clip showing a murder scene of natives from Caucasus and Central Asia, was cancelled by the Criminal Panel of the Supreme Court of Adygea for "lenient penalty."

Five out of eight defendants in the case related to explosion in Moscow's Cherkizovo marketplace on August 21, 2006, where 11 persons were lost, have partially pled guilty.

Irakliy Okruashvili, former Minister of Defence of Georgia, has been released from custody under his advocates' guarantee.