News

Sarkis Atspanyan, former participant of the Karabakh war, activist of the opposition, currently a citizen of France, sentenced to two months of deprivation of freedom, has started a termless hunger-strike in prison "Vardashen" in Armenia; he demands to stop the illegal criminal prosecution against him. Mr Atspanyan also protests against tapping his telephone conversations and control of his correspondence.

The Investigatory Committee under the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) of Russia has initiated a criminal case on the fact of stealing money from the hostages after the terror act at the Dubrovka Theatrical Centre. The advocate of the suffered party Igor Trunov thinks that by doing so at the Prosecutor's Office tries to hamper consideration of civil suits lodged.

Five ecological organizations have sent a letter to the World Heritage Centre with description of the facts of defaulting by Russia of recommendations of UNESCO and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) on ensuring safety of the object of the World Natural Heritage "Western Caucasus".

On December 1, at 3 a.m., the house of the Ilaev family located in Pervomaiskaya village, Grozny District of Chechnya, was surrounded by employees of power agencies. Having rushed into the house, some of them dragged brothers Alvi and Adkhan out of their beds and pushed them into the cars, in which the agents arrived. Others searched the house and took away TV and video appliances.

The state prosecution at the process considering the murder case of Anna Politkovskaya has presented the results of comparative examination of video records and the pistol, by which the journalist was killed.

The Russia's leading human rights organizations demand that the European Union (EU) in its negotiations with Russia stop pretending that there was no war in South Caucasus this August.

The Council of Europe (CE) plans to negotiate with the government of Azerbaijan on continuation of broadcasting in local frequencies of radio stations Voice of America, Liberty and BBC.

The Special Investigatory Service of Armenia has sent the so-called "Case of Seven", related to the events of March 1, to the Criminal Court of Yerevan. Seven oppositionists are accused of an attempt of violent overthrow of the existing power.

The person has been established of the member of the armed group killed in a skirmish, when the group attacked militiamen in Makhachkala on November 30. According to the FSB Department for Dagestan, it was Rizvan Kurbanov, 16, an 11th form pupil of a school in the city of Kizilyurt.

Erosi Kitsmarishvili, former ambassador of Georgia to Russia, founder and former head the "Rustavi-2" TV Company, told in his interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the country leaders had forced him to give away his share in the TV Company a couple of months after "the revolution of roses".

The body of Irina Meboniya, born in 1926, an elderly resident of the village of Nabakevi, Gali District of Abkhazia, was found today in the morning some 500 meters away from her house. She disappeared on November 26, but the neighbours reported the fact to the militia a day later.

Kazbeg Karsanov, Deputy Minister on Special Matters of South Ossetia, has predicted a possible growth of the inflow of refugees from Georgia. Now South Ossetia has over 50 refugees from Georgia. At the same time, after the start of armed conflict, over 350 persons fled from Georgia to Russia via South Ossetia.

Ingushetia is creating an ad hoc commission under the President for operative reaction to human rights violations. It will include representatives of both the authorities and broad public. This was stated by Yunus-Bek Evkurov, new President of Ingushetia, on November 25, during his meeting with members of public organizations of the republic.

Today, the Supreme Court of Dagestan has continued hearings on the case about murder of Farid Babaev, head of the Dagestan regional branch of the "Yabloko" Party, human rights activist, public figure and candidate for the State Duma, where the defence witnesses were interrogated.

A corpse of citizen of Azerbaijan was found in Moscow on Sunday, November 30, near a house located in the Sportivny Proezd. The young man died from multiple knife wounds.

The overwhelming majority of the population of Georgia believes that the President shall be made responsible for most of the problems faced by the country. These are the outcomes of the poll published on December 1 by the weekly named "Kviris Palitra" (Weekly Palette).

Today, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia has stated that "last night the South-Ossetian party opened fire in direction of three villages in the Gori District." Earlier South Ossetia reported about bombardment of several villages from the Georgian Kveshi village on the previous night.

The British weekly The Economist writes in its special report on Russia that the main reason of instability in the Caucasus is in Russia's colonial methods, which have altered little since the time of General Yermolov.

The process on the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, journalist of the "Novaya Gazeta", has announced a break till 11:00 a.m. on December 2. Apart from two defendants' friends, none of the witnesses has appeared in the courtroom.

Sedredin Kanberov, a new suspect in the murder case of Farid Babaev, Dagestan human rights activist and member of "Yabloko" Party, is in hiding, but his brother Ruzmedin Kanberov, who is an employee of the central machinery of the MIA, exerts pressure on the witnesses, said the casualty's brother Arthur Babaev.