News

On February 2, 2006, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Ingushetia completed the hearing of the case of Murad Iraklievich Margoshvili, a Chechen resident accused of crimes under Article 205, Part 3 (terrorism), Article 209, Parts 1, 2 (banditism), Article 222, Part 3 (Illegal acquisition, storage, transportation or wearing of arms and explosives), Article 223, Part 3 (Illegal manufacture of arms), Article 34, Part 3 (Illegal trade in hard or poisonous substances).

On February 3, a clean-up ("zachistka") was carried out in the Kotar-Yurt settlement of Achkhoi-Martan district, Chechnya.

"It very much looks like a forgery," Yuri Dzhibladze, president of Moscow's Centre for Development of Democracy and Human Rights, said who was monitoring the Dmitrievskiy's trial progress.

The "Memorial" human rights centre has made a statement on the court trial over Stanislav Dmitrievskiy which runs that "the verdict to Dmitrievskiy is a further step towards liquidation of freedom of speech in the country."

"The declarative part of the sentence to Stanislav Dmitrievskiy is a full copy of the presentation of the prosecution case at the hearing," stated today Tatiana Lokshina, chair of the board, Moscow's centre "Demos."

The sentence given today to Stanislav Dmitrievskiy, human rights activist and journalist, has been commented on by Oleg Panfilov, director of the Centre of Extreme Journalism under the Union of Journalists.

It has just become known that no observers are being let into room No 40 of the Soviet district court in Nizhni Novgorod where at 12.30 p.m., after a break, Judge Vitaly Bondarenko is expected to announce the verdict on the "Dmitrievskiy's" case.

On February 3, at 10 a.m. the court session on the case of Stanislav Dmitrievskiy, executive director of Russian-Chechen Friendship Society and chief editor of the "Pravozaschita" newspaper, started in Soviet district court of Nizhni Novgorod.

The public organization "German-Russian Exchange" has made a statement condemning the accusations of Russian non-government organizations (NGOs) in connections with foreign secret services.

The human rights activists arrested yesterday on the Lubyanka Square will pay a fine for approaching the Russian FSB building.

On November 14, 2005, in the village of Varenikovskaya more than thirty Russian citizens expressed their concern that the Law of Krasnodar Territory of July 2, 2004 "On Measures to Prevent Illegal Migration to Krasnodar Territory" runs counter to article 27 of the RF Constitution which protects the right of citizens to the freedom of movement and choice of residence.

The Stavropol human rights centre, in close collaboration with "Novorossiysk Committee for Human Rights", has completed work on the full-length documentary "Iskhod" (exodus) about a long-standing discrimination, based on the nationality, of Meskhetian Turks in Krasnodar Territory.

Alexander Guryanov, activist of the "Memorial" centre and one of the persons detained in the course of an unsanctioned picket to protect NGOs held in front of FSB, reports to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that all the persons detained during the picket have been released from the Meschanski district militia station.

Mikhail Trepashkin, former FSB officer, serving his term at Nizhni Tagil colony, has again been placed to the isolation ward.

As reported earlier, the picket "FSB - hands off the civil society!", announced but not sanctioned, took place.

On January 31, 2006, Mr. Alvaro Hill-Robles, the head of the Council of Europe's (CE) Commission for Human Rights, replied to the leaders of the several leading Russian nongovernmental organizations (NGO).

Two policemen and one local resident were shot and killed in the Nardaran village on January 24, 2006. It is claimed the police misinformed the public about the event and without lawful reason announced a state of emergency in the village.

The chairman of the Georgian nongovernmental organization "Association of the Young Lawyers" was denied admission into Rustavi First Colony where the attempt of revolt was undertaken on the night of January 30, 2006.

Officers of some law enforcement or security agencies conduct a so-called "targeted clean-up" in Giliany, Nozhai-Yurt district.

Georgia is prepared to accept the population deported from Meskhetia in 1944. The law on rehabilitation of Meskhetians is going to be adopted in the course of the Georgian Parliament spring session.