News

In his exclusive interview with the Caucasian Knot correspondent, Andreas Gross, the member of the PACE Monitoring Committee and co-rapporteur on Azerbaijan, said that the aim of his present visit was to monitor municipal elections in Azerbaijan.

In the evening of December 3, a Russian combat helicopter launched several missiles at the village of Tevzen-Kale, Chechnya's Vedeno district. One of the missiles hit the house of the Suleymanov family.

The PACE will consider the question of political prisoners in Azerbaijan and the country's obligations to the Council of Europe during the spring session.

Today, one day before municipal elections in Azerbaijan, 400 members of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party have withdrawn their candidacies registered earlier for the participation in the municipal elections.

Special Rapporteur on violence against women of the UN Commission on Human Rights Yakin Erturk is expected to arrive in Chechnya within the next few days.

Some sources say that the arms seized during the attack in Kabardino-Balkaria have most likely been taken out to Chechnya.

The election campaign in the country was conducted normally for the most part, with the exception of one application about a violation, Azer Saryev, spokesman for the Azerbaijan Central Election Commission told the Caucasian Knot correspondent.

Avaz Zeinally, the publisher of the book and editor-in-chief of the Khural newspaper, gives evidence at the Azerbaijan State Security Ministry in the criminal case opened under the article "inciting national and religious hatred".

Earlier, at a session of the State Duma, Russian Prosecutor General Vladimir Kolesnikov suggested taking terrorists' relatives hostages.

US troops will enter the territory of Iran through Azerbaijan, Iraq and Georgia and complete the occupation of the country in two weeks, reported the Arabian newspaper Ash-Shark al-Avsat.

Criminals killed four officers who were on duty that night and set the building on fire after it. They seized 79 automatic rifles, 182 pistols, and ammunition.

"When they ask me who is responsible for the beginning of the war in 1994, I always give two names - Boris Yeltsin and Dzhokhar Dudayev. Both of them planned to gain victory," Edilbek Khasmagomadov, a Chechen historian and political scientist, said.

On December 10, the Vladikavkaz Institute of Management jointly with the North Osetian President's Human Rights Commission held a conference devoted to International Human Rights Day.

Deputy chairman of Russian muftis, human rights activist Ismail Khazrat Shengereev said that Moslems are often denied employment, their rights are often infringed upon in educational institutions.

Ingush families live in the Prigorodny district of the Republic of North Osetia - Alania now as before. The majority of them are settled in the camp for displaced persons Maisky, which is situated on the border with Ingushetia. It was created in 1994 under the instruction of Ruslan Aushev, who hold the post of president of Ingushetia at that time.

Presidential candidate Sergey Bagapsh announced the intention to enlarge powers of the Abkhazian vice president, the post of which will be held by Raul Khadzhimba in case of Bagapsh's victory.

The Committee on Human Rights and Civic Integration of the Georgian parliament is preparing a concept of civic integration, chairwoman of the committee Elena Tevdoradze told the Caucasian Knot correspondent commenting on the discontent of Azerbaijanians living in Georgia.

According to vice speaker of the Azerbaijan parliament Ziyafet Askerov, the Azerbaijan opposition receives financial resources from abroad and prepares to repeat the Georgian and Ukraine scenarios in the country.

"I don't see another way of resolving this problem," US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish said.

Following the developments in Abkhazia, Russia imposed serious restrictions on the admission regime on the border with Abkhazia along the Psou River.