News

The kidnapping of Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband Alik Dzhabrailov, leaders of the NGO "Let's Save the Generation", who were found murdered today, was staged as an official detention by power agencies. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told about it by Alexander Cherkasov, a member of the Board of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

The Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Voronezh has found Alexander Chalenko, 22, guilty of causing heavy health damage to a native of Armenia and sentenced him to 4 years and 10 months of imprisonment.

Prime Minister Rashid Gaisanov, acting President of Ingushetia, believes that the opposition is "heating up" the situation around the actions of the Chechen militia in their republic. He thinks that there is no pressure from Chechnya.

Today, President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov was discharged from the Vishnevskiy Surgery Institute, where he took his treatment after the attempt on June 22. In a week, he plans to get back to work.

Resignation of Government and appointment of new Prime Minister in South Ossetia; closing of Georgian-South-Ossetian border; first anniversary of 2008 August War in Transcaucasia and related Russia's and Georgia's loud statements on the occasion; start of dialogue between the authorities and opposition in Georgia; new details about the attempt on Isa Yamadaev, - look up these and other events in the review of the week of August 3-9 in Caucasian regions prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Last Friday, August 7, Veronica Kotek, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CE) in Azerbaijan, visited Novruzali Mamedov, a linguist, head of the Talysh Cultural Centre and editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Tolyshi Sado" (Voice of Talysh) in the hospital of the Penitentiary System.

An employee of the MIA of Chechnya has received a heavy wound as a result of explosion of a trip wire mine in the high-mountainous Nozhay-Yurt District of the republic, as reported by the law enforcement bodies of the republic. The victim was hospitalized.

On August 10, Judge of the Sabail District Court of Baku Nuraddin Bagirov rejected the claim of bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Gadjizade against the MIA and the State Office of Public Prosecutor of Azerbaijan.

Today, at about 5:30 p.m., in Verkhnie Achaluki village, Malgobek District of Ingushetia, near his house No. 61 in the Bekova Street, Kureish Evloev, whose shop was selling alcohol, was shot dead from a sub-machine gun. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by Vakha Chapanov, head of the "Maximum" Information Agency in Ingushetia.

Relatives of Mussa and Adam Khautiev, who, according to the official statement of the Department of the Federal Security Bureau (DFSB) of Russia for Ingushetia, were killed on August 6 as a result of a special operation in Kantyshevo village, Nazran District, and residents of this village told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that in fact employees of power agencies had committed an extrajudicial execution.

Human rights defenders of Chechnya have stated kidnapping of two activists of the local NGO named "Save the Generation" - the NGO leader Zarema Sadulaeva and her husband.

The words of Chechen President that the prominent human rights activist Natalia Estemirova, who was kidnapped and murdered on July 15, "had never had honour, dignity and conscience," pronounced by Ramzan Kadyrov on air of Radio Liberty on August 8, caused resolute criticism among members of local NGOs. Some of them perceive this statement as scoffing at the memory of the victim, others - as a warning to all those who try to oppose the ruling power.

A museum of genocide opened in Tskhenval today. Its exhibits include photographs of victims in August 2008, pictures of the war, fragments of exploded shells.

Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili has announced that he is prepared to sacrifice "the parts of his body for which Vladimir Putin hunts" in order to restore the territorial integrity of his country and return South Ossetia and Abkhazia to Georgia.

The first enlarged session of the Georgian Security Council was held at the presidential palace on August 6. Members of the parliamentary and non-parliamentary opposition took part in the sitting along with the full members of the Council. A meeting of opposition leaders with heads of power authorities is planned on August 12.

Special investigation service in Armenia has completed investigating the case of Nikol Pashinian, chief editor of the "Aikakan Zhamanak" ("Armenian Time") newspaper and opposition activist. He is charged with organizing mass disorders and violence with regard to representatives of the authorities.

Trade pavilions at the local market of the Ingushetia town of Karabulak were bombarded from grenade launchers by unidentified persons on the night of August 8.

Today, August 8, is one-year anniversary of the start of war actions in South Ossetia which turned into a conflict between Georgia and Russia. The anniversary of the 2008 war is marked by Russia and Georgia by mutual accusations of unleashing the last-year armed conflict and of new provocations. An obvious growth of tension is also observed in the relations between Georgia and South Ossetia.

The European Court on Human Rights in Strasburg will soon consider on its merits the complaint on the case of murder of Anna Politkovskaya, observer of the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper, states Karina Moskalenko, lawyer of the deceased journalist's children, at the today's press-conference.

Virtually all people who left South Ossetia during the last August events have returned, however, many of those who lost their houses at the time are living under very hard conditions now, while the construction of new housing is done very slowly and many people are dissatisfied with its quality, tells Inga Kochiyeva, resident of Tskhinval and correspondent of South Ossetia newspaper "Respublica", to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.