News

On March 27, Christopher John Chivers, a correspondent of the American newspaper The New York Times, was detained in South Ossetia at an attempt to cross the border of this republic with Georgia, as reported by the press service of South Ossetia's KGB (State Security Committee).

At his meeting on Friday with Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the FSB and head of the National Antiterrorist Committee (NATC), President of Russia Dmitri Medvedev asked him to consider the issue of lifting the counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime in Chechnya, which has lasted for more than nine years.

The Public Chamber of Russia has approved the list of public observers to be in charge of public control over places of detention according to the Law of the Russian Federation of June 10, 2008, "On Public Control over Ensuring Human Rights in Places of Detention and on Assistance to Inmates".

Military inspectors suspect the commander of the brigade deployed in Vladikavkaz of using labour of ten soldiers at his private household.

In Ingushetia, the special operation conducted by power agents since March 26 in Ordzhonikidzevskaya village is over. According to the command of the Internal Troops, two persons who had rendered armed resistance were killed, and two others detained. Three militiamen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Ingushetia were wounded.

In Chechnya, fellow-villagers of Elza Kungaeva, for whose kidnapping and murder former Colonel Yuri Budanov was convicted, showed journalists a mass burial in Tanga-Chu village. The collective grave keeps remains of 23 persons.

Today, on March 27, several dozens of townspeople rallied in Grozny near the central mosque named "Heart of Chechnya" hoping to meet President of Chechnya and give him their petitions. However, Ramzan Kadyrov failed to appear.

The State Office of Public Prosecutor of South Ossetia has recognized about 3500 persons to be victims of the armed conflict with Georgia in August 2008. This was stated by Taimuraz Khugaev, General Public Prosecutor of South Ossetia, at the international seminar, held in Essentuki on March 24-26, on the problems of fighting crime, law enforcement activities and development of criminal and criminal-procedural legislation.

The official media of Kabardino-Balkaria are torn away from life; they have no analytics and little criticism. These statements were made at the hearings held by the Public Advisory Board under President of Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR).

The MIA of South Ossetia has reported that yesterday, on March 25, late at night, the South-Ossetian village of Mugut was shelled from the Georgian side. Nobody suffered.

Boris Nemtsov, a candidate for Sochi Mayor, believes that the secrecy regime imposed by the federal centre on the topic of Olympiad-2014 construction should be lifted. Candidate Alexander Lebedev, in his turn, is sure that Sochi residents' problems should be addressed before the Olympic ones.

The eyewitnesses assert the skirmish in the capital of Dagestan on March 20, as a result of which four persons were lost and three wounded, was launched by law enforcers. Earlier it was reported that the fire on the patrol car was opened by passengers of a "Zhiguli" car, who were named militants in official statements.

Yuri Budanov will be interrogated within the inquiry of the case related to kidnapping of residents of Chechnya in 2000. This was stated by Alexander Sorochkin, head of Military Department of the ICPO. However, all over again, Budanov should be found.

The skirmish between the agents of the Department of the FSB (DFSB) of the Russian Federation for Ingushetia and, presumably, militants who made their ambush in one of private houses in Ordzhonikidzevskaya village, Sunzha District, continues, as the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by a source in law enforcement bodies. Local residents say that more than 10 power agents were wounded and killed.

Forced migrants from Chechnya who live in temporary accommodation centres (TACs) in Ingushetia are forced to come back home. They say they have nowhere to go.

In Nazran, the capital of Ingushetia, the escort has taken away Madina Malsagova, 20, from hospital ward to SIZO (pre-trial detention facility) six hours after delivery. She had also spent her last pregnancy months in the facility.

In Chechnya, arsons of houses of militants' relatives continue. Since summer of 2008, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" has fixed 26 such cases. Human rights activists assert that arsons of houses are used as an instrument of pressure on relatives of those whose children are in the forest.

The Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) of Russia has evidences that Georgia made use of cluster ordnance and aviation bombs during the warfare in South Ossetia. This was stated by Vladimir Markin, official spokesman of the ICPO.

On March 25, Magomedkhan Gaziev, owner of the "Lotos" shop and the head of a charitable public organization under the same name, brought a written complaint to the Sovietskiy ROVD of Makhachkala. Mr Gaziev asserts that the Spiritual Department of Moslems (SDM) of Dagestan is to be blamed for the attack on his shop on March 8.

The situation in Gubden village and adjoining territories of the Karabudakhkent District of Dagestan causes alarm in the Republic's leaders and MIA, and has negative effect on the operative situation in the region. This was stated by Magomed Gazimagomedov, Deputy Interior Minister of Dagestan on March 24.