News

The discussion of the report on the presidential election in Armenia presented by John Prescott, head of the PACE's monitoring group, to the spring session of the PACE was accompanied by critical and strong comments of some of the Deputies.

Today, the photo of the supposed murderer of Anna Politkovskaya, journalist of the "Novaya Gazeta" was published; apparently, this is Rustam Makhmudov, 34, a native of the Achkhoy-Martan District of Chechnya.

The report on Armenian presidential election on February 19 and post-election processes, presented on April 14 to the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), states that the presidential election in Armenia passed basically in compliance with the standards of the Council of Europe.

Einullah Fatullaev, editor-in-chief of the "Real Azerbaijan" newspaper, who is serving his term in Colony No. 12, was placed in dungeon for the period of 10 days. After Fatullaev started singing the "International" there, he was awarded with a written reprimand.

A group of Azerbaijani students and teachers of the Harvard University (USA) has conducted an action entitled "The Press is Our Friend", demanding to ensure the freedom of speech in Azerbaijan.

Tomorrow, on April 15, the members of the All-Russian Public Organization "Voice of Beslan" will file an application asking to give them a chance to meet the commanders of the storm of School No. 1 in Beslan (North Ossetia).

In Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, the Appeal Court has upheld the decision of the first instance court of Gyumri obliging the GALA TV Company to remove its equipment from the old television tower, which is the property of the city mayoralty.

On April 14, a protest action organized by the wives and relatives of the arrested activists of opposition was held near the building of the representative office of the Council of Europe in Yerevan.

The number of victims in the clashes that took place in the capital of Armenia in early March between opposition supporters and the police has reached ten persons.

Yesterday, on April 11, the youth wing of the oppositional Republican Party of Georgia held a dramatized performance near the building of the National Parliament entitled "National Movement without Poverty."

The Armenian MPs representing the ruling coalition have moved a petition calling to change the freedom restriction measure concerning Suren Surenyants, an arrested member of the "Republic" opposition party.

On April 11, Gagik Dzangiryan, arrested ex-Deputy General Public prosecutor of Armenia, disseminated his statement that the criminal prosecution against himself and his brother has no legal grounds and has exclusively political character.

In the opinion of Stepan Grigoryan, head of the Analytical Centre for Globalization and Regional Development, the present internal political situation in Armenia is so serious that the general appeals to the authorities to hold dialogue and release the arrested persons to not correct.

Yesterday, on April 11, a policeman died in hospital from the wounds received during the disorders that burst out in Yerevan on March 1-2. Thus, the total number of victims of the disorders has reached nine persons.

The Labour Party is blaming the authorities of Georgia that falsification of elections was prepared at the legislative level.

Today, Miklos Harasti, Special Representative of the OSCE for the press issue, has made a statement on the occasion of prosecution of journalists in Azerbaijan, in which he has accused law enforcement bodies of falsifying cases against journalists.

In the evening on April 10, a picket was held in the Pushkin Square of Moscow in memory of the victims of the "zachistka" (clean-up) committed by Russian troops in the Chechen village of Samashki on April 7 and 8, 1995, during which over one hundred residents were killed.

Upon the initiative of the Karabakh-based company "Mlechny Put" (Milky Way) supported by the government of Nagorno-Karabakh, the website www.maragha.nk.am was launched with the information about the massacre of Armenians committed in the Karabakh village of Maraga, located in the Martakert District, on April 10, 1992.

The LiveJournal blogs in Internet continue discussing a fragment of the documentary "Chechen Trap" showing operations in Chechnya during the first war campaign, which was placed by one of the bloggers - dmitryhorse.livejournal.com.

In response to the request of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the first president of Armenia and leader of the opposition, the arrested oppositionists stopped their hunger strike on April 11.