News

Issuance of Georgian visas to Russian citizens suspended in early September 2008 will resume after opening of respective sections at the Embassy of Switzerland in March 2009, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia has reported.

One of the best projects presented at the exhibition of the Caspian Innovations Forum held in the city of Astrakhan was recognized to be the proposal moved by the scientists of the Caspian Branch of the P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Authors of the project told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about their achievements and plans for the future.

The Ombudsman of Armenia Armen Arutyunyan has expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that until now he has received no answers to the questions announced in his report on mass disorders on March 1, 2008, in Yerevan.

The Volgograd Region suffers from injurious plundering of the monuments of historical and cultural heritage. This was sated by the participants of the 20th Local Lore Readings held on February 12-13 in Volgograd. The event brought together 250 presenters from 11 Districts of the Region.

Tbilisi is displeased with the work of the International Commission of the EU (EUIC) on investigating the reasons of the August war in South Ossetia and recommends excluding several experts from the commission, whom they believe to be non-objective.

The Prosecutor's Office of Ingushetia is going to oblige the owners of the website "Ingushetia.Org" to register the website as a mass medium. However, Rosa Malsagova, owner and editor-in-chief of the website, is sure that under the law such registration can only be voluntary.

Two Georgian human rights NGOs - "Article 42 of the Constitution" and Association of Young Lawyers of Georgia - have filed complaints to the European Court on Human Rights on behalf of the peaceful citizens who suffered from the conflict of Georgia with the Russian Federation.

One of these days, they plan to extend the authorities of the temporary parliamentary commission in charge of investigating the tragic consequences of disorders in Yerevan on last March 1-2. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by Armen Arutyunyan, Ombudsman of Armenia and a member of the commission.

Today, a law was passed in Armenia, according to which the judge has now the right to remove defendants out of the courtroom for exhibiting disrespect of the court. Should any advocates refuse to take part in the trial, the judge has powers to appoint new advocates. The law has come into force after ratification by President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan (Sarkisyan).

One of the casualties of the explosion in Nazran (Ingushetia) - Khasan Mutaliev, declared by power agents to be terrorist, in 2007 addressed human rights activist for help in searching his brother and defending his rights.

The members of Gatagazhev family, who live in Sagopshi village, Malgobek District of Ingushetia, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that employees of the Department of FSB (DFSB) for Ingushetia, who searched their house, had first planted an explosive and then declared it detected.

The US Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is ready to provide space for Azerbaijani broadcasters in the Azerbaijani and English languages over the States in exchange of renewal of broadcasting of foreign radio stations over Azerbaijan. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports that this statement was made on February 11 by Ann Dears, US Ambassador in Baku.

The trial of Armenian oppositionists, known as the "Case of Seven", is postponed till February 26. The judge motivated his decision by the fact that after the start of the session the defendants refused to take their seats.

The data about the course of the special operation conducted in Ingushetia, as presented by various sources, are highly different. The count of casualties and details are unknown. According to the latest information, four militiamen were lost.

The process of identification is underway in Kabardino-Balkaria, where on February 11 in the vicinity of Nalchik seven persons were killed.

In mid-March, the members of the Public Chamber and human rights activists plan to arrive to Dagestan and consider in situ the situation in the Republic with kidnappings. The delegation will be headed by Nikolai Svanidze, chairman of the commission for interethnic relations and freedom of conscience.

Dmitri Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation, has signed a decree on awarding former head of the GTRK "Dagestan" Gadzhi Abashilov, assassinated in March 2008, with the Order of Courage.

At a press conference in Moscow on February 10, human rights activists reported that natives from Chechnya, who had been tortured with the aim to knock out evidences and then sentenced to long imprisonment terms, are still tortured in prisons out of hatred.

Today, at about 8 a.m. in Baku, General-Lieutenant Rail Rzaev, Commander of the Air Forces and Air Defence Troops of the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan was killed.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia asserts that Russian troops have entered the Georgian village of Kvemo-Nikozi in the border with South Ossetia.