News

Three militants, one of the leaders of the armed underground among them, were killed in the course of an operative-combat action today in the morning in the Kizlyar District of Dagestan. This was reported by the Department of the FSB (DFSB) of Russia for Dagestan.

In the evening on September 18, Baku hosted the opening ceremony of the 11th International Film Festival named "East-West" with participation of prominent movie industry figures from many countries. The festival will last till September 23.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) - the organizer of "Eurovision" - considers a possibility to put a ban to compete for the countries, where the information about the voters is disclosed.

The wife of Nariman Mamedyarov, who disappeared again in Makhachkala, said that her husband was kidnapped on September 10 according to the same scenario as last year - after his call home, on his way home from work in a fixed-route taxi. According to her story, before the kidnapping Nariman should have evidenced at the trial of Magomed Kurbanov, accused of participating in an IAF (illegal armed formation).

The State Office of Public Prosecutor of South Ossetia has opened an investigation on the fact of burning books from the library of the South-Ossetian State University (SOSU) in Tskhinvali.

The situation in economy, with democracy and observance of human rights, and in foreign policy of Armenia continues to be extremely unfavourable. This was stated by former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, leader of the Armenian National Congress, at a rally in central Yerevan, where, by different estimates, from 5 to 25 thousand persons got together.

The chair of the trial on the case of Arshaluis Akopyan, and employee of the Helsinki Association, accused of applying violence to policemen, has rejected the petition lodged by advocate Gayane Khachatryan on changing the restraint of her client.

Yesterday, on September 17, a united detachment of the Ministry for Emergencies (MfA) of Russia came to Chechnya for demining the territory of the republic's state farm "Zarya" (Dawn). 31 specialists from the "Leader" Centre for Special-Risk Operations will work for six weeks in the Grozny District.

On September 17, a court sitting on suspension of the activity of Novorossisk Committee on Human Rights (NCHR) was held in the Krasnodar Territory. A repeated session was appointed. A number of Russian cities have launched solidarity campaigns with the NCHR.

So far, no preparation of the Georgian government to resettlement of Meskhetian Turks to Georgia is seen, as stated by Emil Adelkhanov, a representative of the "Caucasian Institute of Georgia".

Today, the Sabail District Court of the capital of Azerbaijan, chaired by Judge Araz Guseinov, continued judicial hearings on the case of young bloggers Adnan Gadjizade and Emin Milli, accused of hooliganism and infliction of bodily injuries. Evidences were presented by the victim and witnesses.

The European Union is concerned of the situation of national minorities in Georgia, which "are exposed to language, social and religious discrimination." This is the topic of the letter sent by the Deputy of the European Parliament Silvie Guillaume to Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU Commissioner on External Relations.

The Board of Elders of Balkar People (BEBP) has defined the date of holding the march of Balkar people. The action intended to draw attention to the problems of the Balkar people will take place on October 4.

A year ago Ukrainian experts were busy in the territory of Georgia during the Georgian-Ossetian conflict servicing the "Buk-M1" antiaircraft-missile complexes, which had been earlier sold to this country. These are, under unofficial information, the conclusions of the audit held by the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine.

The Prosecutor's Office of the Leninskiy District of Makhachkala is holding a pre-inquiry check of the application filed by relatives of Nariman Mamedyarov, in which they report that on September 10, Mamedyarov, who had been earlier kidnapped by power agents and released from custody under recognizance not to leave after interference of human rights activists, disappeared again.

Russia has lost three cases at the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg initiated under claims of residents of Chechnya and Ingushetia: now it is obliged to pay 210,000 euros for disappearances and deaths of their relatives.

After the former leader of the opposition of Ingushetia Maksharip Aushev made a report about the failed attempt of his kidnapping to President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov, the latter convoked an emergency meeting of his power top managers and initiated investigatory actions on the fact of the incident. Mr Aushev himself said about it to the "Caucasian Knot".

The final report of the interim parliamentary commission on studying the events on March 1, 2008, in Yerevan, published today, concludes that the actions of the police, who dispersed the actions of the opposition during those days, were, as a whole, proportional and within the Law "On Police". The commission included no members representing the opposition.

Maksharip Aushev, a member of the Expert's Council of the office of Russian Ombudsman, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent the details of the attempt of his kidnapping, undertaken on September 15 in Ingushetia.

The Spiritual Department of Moslems (SDM) of North Ossetia has disseminated a statement running that the ammunition found in the Beslan mosque in the days of sacred Moslem month of Ramadan is a provocation.