News

Today, the European Court on Human Rights has unanimously convicted Russia for violent disappearances of 13 persons in different districts of Chechnya in the period from January 2001 to January 2003.

In Chechnya, the woman-employee of the Federal Migration Service (FMS), accused of illegal issuance of a foreign passport to the expected murderer of the journalist of the "Novaya Gazeta" Anna Politkovskaya, will face justice. This was reported today at the ICPO (Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office) of Russia.

President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov does not find the young men who "would not go to the mosque with others" to be Wahhabites and instructed the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and Muftiyat to stop persecuting the youth on the basis of their religion. This was stated by President of Ingushetia in his interview to the "Caucasian Knot" and "Gazeta.Ru".

Murat Kardanov, a resident of Zolukokoazhe village, who was arrested on December 30, 2008, and before for three years was registered among the casualties, has been charged with participation in the attack on Nalchik on October 13, 2005. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has learnt about it from well-informed sources.

In Dagestan, four journalists of the "Chernovik" newspaper and their editor-in-chief were presented charges under Article 282 of the Russian Federation's Criminal Code, which assumes criminal liability for excitation of hatred or enmity, or humiliation of one's dignity. According to Magomed Magomedov, a "Chernovik" journalist, today his colleague Arthur Mamaev was summoned to the investigatory department of the investigatory committee at the prosecutor's office of Dagestan for getting acquainted with the materials of the case.

Today, photos of 30 Armenian higher schools teachers inscribed "Bribe-takers" stuck in central streets of Yerevan, underground passes and on walls of higher educational establishments. The youth movement "Miasin" (Together) claims to have organized the action.

On March 10, experts of the Inter-Regional Committee against Torture sent a complaint to the European Court on Human Rights in Strasbourg on violation of the right to life of Raisa Kosumova, a native of Chechnya, who perished in 2003 as a result of a mortar attack. The complaint was filed on behalf of the casualty's mother.

President of Dagestan Mukhu Aliev asserts that the situation with kidnappings in his Republic becomes better now. According to his data, during the last decade, 80 persons were kidnapped in Dagestan, of them 47 persons were returned, 4 bodies were found and whereabouts of the remaining 29 is unknown.

The European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) has registered 391 applications filed by citizens of Georgia who suffered in the Russian-Georgian conflict in August 2008, as reported by the Georgian human rights organization named "42nd Article of the Constitution".

"Freedom of press is in danger!" - this was the motto of today's action held in Baku at the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety by the "ASI Club" (Club of "Advocates of freedom of speech"), which unites columnists of the leading mass media of Azerbaijan.

President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov has met relatives of the 12 defendants in the case about the attack on Ingushetia in 2004, who are kept in custody for the fifth year already, and, according to the relatives, are exposed to torture. The President plans to take the case under his special supervision.

A delegation of the Russian Public Chamber headed by Nikolai Svanidze and well-known Russian human rights defenders held a meeting with top managers of the law enforcement bodies of Dagestan and Republic's NGOs. The delegation was also received by President of Dagestan Mukhu Aliev.

Armenia has exhibited some progress in the freedom of mass media, however, "in special cases" the authorities can strengthen their pressure on journalists; such pressure is the strongest on media of Yerevan, as Levon Barsegyan, President of the Journalists' Press Club "Asparez", has noted.

Huntsman Sergey Matveev who detained Vassily Farion, head of the Department of the Russian Federal Taxation Service for the Volgograd Region, and his two companions, who were hunting for roes without a license in the Scherbakov Game Husbandry in the Kamyshin District, now complains of threats.

In 2009, the Swiss Administration for Development and Cooperation (SADC) plans to build cottages in Ingushetia for 42 families of forced migrants from the Chechen Republic. This was stated by Peter Mikula, head of the coordination office for cooperation of the Swiss Embassy in Russia, during his meeting with President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov.

The militiaman who was burned by the explosion of the dining-car of the "Vladikavkaz-Moscow" train has died in the first-aid hospital of Rostov-on-Don. Thus, the death-roll of the explosion has reached four persons.

On March 10, at the presentation of his report on the situation with human rights in 2008, Ombudsman Armen Arutyunyan called the country leaders to give up the administrative repressive model that was inherited from Soviet times and pass over to democratic rule with ensuring the balance mechanism and actual division of power branches.

On March 7, another rally was held in the city of Novorossisk, Krasnodar Territory, demanding to cancel the curfew for children. The picketers voiced protest against two articles of the Law of the Krasnodar Territory of 21.07.2008 No. 1539-KZ "On Measures to Prevent Child Neglect and Minors' Offences in Krasnodar Territory".

Today at the picket in the city of Magas, relatives of the 12 inmates kept at the local IVS (pre-trial custody) have reported that they cherish hope for the meeting with President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov. The meeting should take place tomorrow, on March 11, in the President's Administration. The relatives demand to stop protracting the litigation.

The today's session on the "Case of Seven" lasted for a couple of minutes only and was postponed till March 11. The reason was the absence of advocate Stepan Voskanyan, who was busy in some other litigation. At the same time, only one defendant - Grigor Voskerchyan - was present at the session.