News

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports that today Ombudsman of Armenia Armen Arutyunyan has addressed an official letter to Gorik Akopyan, Director of the National Security Service, asking to ensure his personal and his family members' safety.

On July 4, Presidents of Transdniestria and South Ossetia Igor Smirnov and Eduard Kokoity signed a cooperation agreement of two non-recognized republics.

While discussing the outcomes of the first visit to Azerbaijan of Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, many analysts and political scientists agree that the visit has failed to settle many of the problems in mutual relations of the two states.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia has treated as "political hypocrisy" the refusal of Swedish authorities to extradite Chechen Aslan Adaev, suspected of terrorism and other crimes.

According to the statement of law enforcement bodies of South Ossetia, Georgia continues its "provocative actions" aimed towards further escalation of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, and has increased number of illegally deployed posts (check points) in the conflict zone.

It is possible that Armand Babadzhanyan, editor-in-chief of the "Zhamanak-Yerevan" newspaper, convicted for evasion of mandatory army service and serving his term at the criminal corrective establishment, will be released ahead of time, early this August.

Today at night, in the elite district of Nazran, unknown criminals have fired a new house of Vice-Premier of Ingushetia Bashir Aushev who is supervising in the government the so-called "power block" of the Republic.

Leaders of various political parties of Azerbaijan have different attitude to the possibility for the opposition to boycott the forthcoming presidential election.

Citizens of the Russian Federation who live in South Ossetia are asking President and Prime Minister of Russia, and Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation to protect them from liquidation.

Courts in Armenia have prolonged today the custody terms for two oppositionists - ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Alexander Arzumanyan and Head of the Board of the Party "Armenian Nationwide Movement" (ANM) Ararat Zurabyan.

The decision of the Kuban Investigatory Committee to reject initiation of a criminal case on the fact of journalist Rozhkov's beating has been cancelled. An additional examination has been appointed.

The International Human Rights Watch has called to release from custody Armand Babadzhanyan, editor-in-chief of the "Zhamanak-Yerevan" newspaper, before his term; he was convicted to 3.5 years of imprisonment for evasion of mandatory military service.

Speaking at the first sitting on mass media and freedom of speech of the Public-Advisory Board (PAB) under the President of Kabardino-Balkaria, Valery Khatazhukov, chairman of the Public Human Rights Centre, has stated that the role of the state in sphere of mass media should be restricted.

The authorities of Ingushetia have no attitude to the murders and kidnappings committed in the territory under their governance, the leaders of this Republic declared at the press conference held on July 1 at the RIA "Novosti" in Moscow.

The All-Russian Public Organization "Voice of Beslan" has finished collecting signatures in support of the bill named "On Social Defence of Terror Act Victims' Rights"; they managed to gather over 1600 signatures.

The Pervomaiskiy District Court of the city of Krasnodar has left behind bars the members of the Kurmanch community - Anatoly Dursunov and Rashid Gurzhiev, who assert that they were beaten by employees of the regional department of "Gosnarkokontrol" (Federal Drug Control Agency).

The locations of some Olympic objects to be built in Sochi will be changed. This was stated by Russian Premier Vladimir Putin at a sitting on the issue of observing ecological requirements at preparation for 2014 Olympics.

Ilya Zenchenko, leader of Evangelic Baptists of Azerbaijan has condemned "the recent pressure" on the members of his community who live in the village of Aliabad of Zagatalskiy District.

Today, the Nasiminskiy District Court of Baku continued the process on Sergey Strekalin accused of inflicting on March 13, 2008, a knife wound to Agil Halil, an employee of the "Azadlyg" (Freedom) newspaper. The victim was involuntarily brought to the courtroom.

The Ombudsman for the Volgograd Region has managed to convince the GUVD (Chief Department of Internal Affairs) commanders to improve custody conditions of the suspects and detainees kept in the pre-trial detention facility of the city of Volzhskiy.