News

Merab Chigoev, deputy plenipotentiary representative of President of South Ossetia for post-conflict settlement, finds the last meeting on incident-prevention, held on September 24 in Ergneti village, Gori District, in the Georgian-South-Ossetian border, fruitless.

The Lefortovo Court of Moscow has arrested Albert Saaev, a native of Dagestan, suspected of hacker attacks on the websites of power bodies of some republics of Northern Caucasus.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has announced decoration of a group of journalists from several countries of the world with the award "Freedom of Press" for 2009. Among the recipients are journalists from Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Einullah Fatullaev, a convicted Azerbaijani journalist.

The judicial hearings on the claim of President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov to the head of the HRC "Memorial" Oleg Orlov were postponed till October 6, as the judge and the claimant should watch the video record, presented by Orlov. According to his story, the CD has records of the programmes of Grozny TV, where Kadyrov calls to illegitimate actions.

The opposition of Georgia is not going to give up and will continue its protest actions against the policy of President Mikhail Saakashvili. This was stated by Levan Gachechiladze, leader of the public movement "Defend Georgia" and one of the organizers of protest actions, held this spring.

On Thursday, September 24, President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili spoke at the sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, drew parallel between the Berlin wall and loss of territorial integrity of Georgia, and promised to bring Abkhazia back into Georgia.

Today, in the course of the court session, where the claim of President of Chechnya against the head of the HRC "Memorial" was considered, the respondent - Oleg Orlov - presented his explanations on the case. The claim was caused by Mr Orlov's statements about Kadyrov's involvement in the murder of Natalia Estemirova, a human rights defender, who worked in Chechnya.

Nakhichevan has just a few independent journalists; they have to be engaged in human rights activities at the same time, as Malakhat Nasibova, a journalist from Azerbaijan, said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. Ms Nasibova was awarded by the Norwegian human rights organization "Rafto Foundation" for her coverage of events in Nakhichevan.

Today, the Tver Court of Moscow has held its first hearing on the merits of the claim of President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov against Oleg Orlov, head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", on defence of honour, dignity and business reputation. The claim stems from Mr Orlov's statement that President of Chechnya is responsible for the kidnapping in Chechnya and murder of human rights defender Natalia Estemirova.

President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov has announced, in his interview to the newspaper "Zavtra" (Tomorrow), the name of his possible successor - Adam Delimkhanov, now - deputy of the State Duma of Russia. The prospect of seeing this person as President of Chechnya inspires not many of its residents.

Ambassador Hansjorg Haber, head of the Mission of Observers of the European Union (MOEU), has stated that the fifth meeting on incident prevention, held under the mechanism designed in the course of Geneva negotiations on September 24 in Ergneti village, Gori District, in the border of Georgia and South Ossetia, saw some progress.

Today, the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) has made a decision obliging Russia to pay compensation of 90,000 euros to relatives of two residents of the Chechen Republic, who disappeared in 2002 and 2003.

As reported by Magomed Dibirov, Deputy Public Prosecutor of Dagestan, Mamedyarov, who disappeared in Makhachkala on September 10, was identified among the militants liquidated on September 11 during a combat clash near Sirtych village, Tabasaran District.

For several days already Elman Abbasov, regional correspondent of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, is abused and threatened by telephone. The journalist links these threats with his human rights activities.

The statements of President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov about the work in the republic of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", made by him in his interview to the newspaper "Zavtra" (Tomorrow), can entail a suit against him, Oleg Orlov, the leader of the HRC, believes.

Today in the midday, the organization for Karabakh liberation and the "Union for Democracy", which unites a number of oppositional parties, have held a protest action in front of the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

On September 23, 1999, President of Russia Boris Yeltsin signed a decree "On Measures to Improve Efficiency of Counterterrorist Operations in the Territory of the North-Caucasian Region of the Russian Federation".Practically on that very day mass bombardments of Grozny and other cities and settlements of Chechnya began. On September 30, federal forces entered the republic.

Malakhat Nasibova, a journalist from Azerbaijan, has received an award of the Norwegian human rights organization named "Rafto Foundation". She was rewarded for her coverage of the events in Nakhichevan.

The Moscow Prosecutor's Office has cancelled its earlier refusal to initiate a criminal case against Oleg Orlov, head of the HRC "Memorial", under the suit lodged by President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov. This was announced by Andrei Krasnenkov, Kadyrov's advocate.

Advocates of Elimpasha Khatsuev, accused of participating in the murder of Ruslan Yamadaev, have announced disappearance in Chechnya of his younger brother suspected Ilyas.