News

According to the opinion of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) of Azerbaijan, on March 1-10 the TV Channels gave little attention to the questions put out to the referendum on March 18 on amending the Constitution.

In the village of Prigorodnoe, Grozny District of Chechnya, unidentified persons kidnapped a young man, who had earlier worked as inspector. His mother was killed. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by employees of the Information Centre of the Union of NGOs of Chechnya.

Musa Pliev, advocate for the Evloevs family, has reported that the Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) of Russia initiated a criminal case on the fact of illegal arrest of Magomed Evloev, former owner of the website "Ingushetia.Ru" at the airport of the city of Magas.

The Krasnodar territorial authorities are ready to provide, within two weeks, the Old Ritualists from the village of Nekrasovskoe, located in the Imereti Valley, where Olympic objects will be erected, with sets of documents, drawings and plot layouts in a new village to be built for them.

Deputies of Russian State Duma Mikhail Grishankov and Ivan Melnikov have positively appreciated the offer moved by President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov to declare amnesty to those militants who were not involved in grave crimes. Thus, Mr Grishankov, first deputy chair of the State Duma's Security Committee, believes that Evkurov's offer to amnesty militants in Ingushetia is an indication of his desire to understand the situation and stabilize it.

Today, Ali Insanov, former Minister of Public Health of Azerbaijan, was transferred from the medical establishment of the Penitentiary Service back to Colony No. 13, where he serves his 11 years of imprisonment after being sentenced for committing economic crimes.

On February 27, Utsmi Banzhaev, 17, son of the human rights activist from Chechnya Vakha Banzhaev, who tried, together with his cousin Bislan Abubakarov, 24, to illegally cross the Lithuanian-Russian border, was detained in Lithuania for the term of one month.

Today in Georgia, under the initiative of the political association "Our Abkhazia" and a group of refugees from Abkhazia, a congress of refugees took place. It was attended by about 1500 refugees who left Abkhazia in early 1990s and now live in different areas of Georgia.

The parliament of Georgia has approved the bill on amendments to the Law "On Advertisement Business", according to which advertising of strong alcohol drinks in any kind is allowed in the country until January 1, 2011.

Currently, the Armenian Airline "Armavia" negotiates organization of flights between the capitals of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. This was stated by Norair Belluyan, Director General of the Airline, at the opening of the Yerevan-Tbilisi flight on March 13.

Employees of the Dagestan Department of the FSB (DFSB) have conducted an operation aimed to detain those militiamen who extorted bribes from residents of Makhachkala under a threat of criminal prosecution.

Administration of the city of Gyandzha, Azerbaijan, plans to bake a huge baklava (a sort of oriental candy) for the Novruz Bairam holiday, which by its size will claim to be included into the Guinness Book of Records.

The law enforcement bodies of Chechnya report that near the Roshni-Chu village, Urus-Martan District, the body of earlier kidnapped local resident was found.

Georgia will officially quit the CIS after August 18, as stated on March 13 by Alexander Nalbandov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. According to his story, one year will expire on that day - the mandatory term stipulated for all the procedures related to exit from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Several thousands rallied on March 13 in Tbilisi to a concert given by singer and musician Giorgiy Gachechiladze, brother of Levon Gachechiladze, leader of the United Opposition of Georgia. The protest event of the opposition in the form of action-concert came to an end without any incidents.

On March 13, Mnatsakan Martirosyan, Judge in the "Case of Seven", removed away from the courtroom for the period of 10 days Grigor Voskerchyan, the only defendant who was allowed to be present at judicial hearings. The others were removed on March 9.

The oppositional MPs of Georgia Georgiy Tsagareishvili and Roman Mersagishvili have quitted the Pardon Commission under the President of Georgia, having stated that they were revolted by Saakashvili's decision to pardon the four policemen guilty of death of Sandro Girgvliani, a bank employee.

In Sochi, the service for catching homeless animals has sped up its work, which contradicts the Russian legislation, runs the application sent to the prosecutor's office of the city by animal advocates.

The main goal of the analytical centre, now created in Ingushetia with the aim to check the institutions of religious training, is the work with youth. The employees of the centre will visit mosques on a weekly basis and hold meetings with villagers of Ingushetia. Azit Gudanilov, an employee of the centre, told about it to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Sergey Arakcheev, a former officer of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Russian Federation, convicted for murdering three peaceful residents of Chechnya, is now calling Russians, in the pages of his Internet website, to sign his appeal to President of Russia Dmitri Medvedev. As of today, the letter has been signed by 1284 persons.