News

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is indignant with the murder of journalist Anastasiya Baburova, who was shot dead together with advocate-human rights defender Stanislav Markelov, and asks President of Russia Dmitri Medvedev to ensure a careful investigation of the crime.

On February 5, in the course of his meeting in Grozny with Ramzan Ampukaev, representative of the Chechen Diaspora in Europe, Ramzan Kadyrov invited former militants, now living in Europe, to come back home. The Chechen President also rejected his any involvement in the recent murder in Vienna of refugee from Chechnya Israilov, who had earlier worked for his security service. The Kadyrov's meeting with Ampukaev was shown by local television.

In the Czech city of Brno, a demonstration took place against political murders in Russia. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by Oksana Chelysheva, one of the organizers of the action and deputy head of the Finnish organization "Society of Russian-Chechen Friendship".

In Voznesenskaya village, Malgobek District of Ingushetia, power agents have kidnapped a local resident, Meskhetian Turk, and took him away in an unknown direction. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by local residents. The incident happened at about 8:00 p.m.

In the west of Moscow an unidentified person has opened fire at a man, who died in situ from the received wounds, as reported by a source in the law enforcement bodies of the capital of Russia.

Today, the Baku Appeal Court, presided by Judge Rizvan Safarov, considered the complaint of poet-satirist Mirza Sakit (Sakit Zakhidov) against the non-satisfaction of his petition on early release from custody by the Nariman District Court.

The European Court on Human Rights in Strasbourg has found Russia guilty of disappearances of Chechen residents and torturing residents of Ingushetia.

According to the Federation of Human Rights Organizations of Azerbaijan (FHROA), in total, there are now 66 political prisoners in Azerbaijan. This was stated by Leila Yunus, Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, in her interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent in the context of the forthcoming discussion at the spring PACE session of the issue of appointing a special rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

Ten former pupils of the boarding school located in Nartan village of Kabardino-Balkaria, where the prosecutor's office had revealed roughest violations of the legislation on accommodation of orphans and children remaining without parental care, have addressed for help to human rights activists. The pupils stand in defence of Mamkhegova, Liudmila Kerimovna, dismissed deputy director for pupils' life-support.

Pavel Ryaguzov, employee of the FSB, accused of excess of his official duties, has refused in the court from his evidences, which he had given in the course of investigation of the murder case of journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Human rights activists are indignant with the attacks on the public organization "Mothers of Dagestan for Human Rights" and plan to do everything to defend it. This is the topic of the statement made at today's press conference in the Independent Press Centre in Moscow by representatives of the leading human rights organizations of Russia.

The law enforcement bodies of Chechnya are finding out the circumstances of the incident that took place last night in Argun, the third city of Chechnya. A local woman-resident addressed the militia with a statement that at night on February 4 a group of armed persons kidnapped her adult son.

In Nazran, Ingushetia, a car of the lawyer engaged in investigating kidnappings was hijacked in broad daylight from near the building of the Investigatory Department. Law enforcers demonstrate unwillingness to investigate this incident, which makes human rights activists believe that this is a form of pressure on the advocate.

According to human rights activists, nine years ago, in the course of a wide-scale "zachistka" (clean-up) conducted in the settlement of Novye Aldy and adjacent districts of Grozny, 56 persons were killed. In spite of the fact that the power units, which held this "special action", have been established, those guilty of assassinating unarmed people remain unpunished.

The major issue for refugees is the fate of the Prigorodny District and their return there, as reports Bagaudin Khadziev, employee of the human rights organization "Union of Genocide Victims". Refugees complain that the compensations allocated to forced migrants from the Prigorodny District and Vladikavkaz, are given out not to them.

The Prosecutor's Office of Chechnya has delivered to the court the criminal case opened against a resident of the Republic, aged 56, who shot dead his daughter of 33 in autumn of last year. He is accused not only of the murder, but also of illegal purchase of firearms.

The film "City of Lonely Mothers" made by the "Russia Today" Russian English-language TV Channel on the life in Tskhinvali during the first days of last August South Ossetia-Georgia conflict was awarded a silver medal at the international festival named "New York Festivals".

In 2008, kidnappings in Dagestan did not stop, which is also admitted by spokesmen from the MIA of Dagestan. However, in estimation of their number and consequences the official data is essentially different from what human rights activists report. This is the topic of the statement of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", which was received by the "Caucasian Knot".

The today's meeting in Vladikavkaz of the Head of North Ossetia Taimuraz Mamsurov with Gesche Karrenbrock, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Russia, has ended with an agreement on continuation and strengthening of cooperation with the aim to settle the problem of forced migrants.

In Chechnya, law enforcers hold inquiry into a young woman's murder; her body with several gunshot wounds was found in the Shelkovskoy District.