News

Nikolai Paizulaev, a writer and public figure, was kidnapped in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya.

In the end of this April, the European Court for Human Rights started considering the cases of twelve Russian militaries, including those who had served in Chechnya, who complain of violation of their right to judicial defence.

Larissa Dorogova, a lawyer of the Bar of Kabardino-Balkaria, has sent a letter to President of the Republic Arsen Kanokov with a request to protect her and her son from incessant prosecutions.

Azerbaijani journalist Agyl Khalil, who earlier refused to give evidence on the motive that the case was falsified by the Prosecutor's Office, has reported his readiness to testify.

On March 14, the Administrative Court considered a claim of four diplomats who were dismissed from office and deprived of their diplomatic ranks in February 2008, after they made a statement on February 24 about post-election processes in Armenia.

The European Court for Human Rights has accepted to consideration a complaint lodged by Ali Insanov, former Minister of Public Health of Azerbaijan.

Late at night on May 13, Arshavir Bazinyan, ex-combatant from the district of Vanatur in Razdan, invalid of war in Nagorno-Karabakh, stopped his hunger strike, which he resumed on May 8.

Today, at the process on the criminal case dealing with the attack on power agencies of Kabardino-Balkaria, out of 145 candidates for the jury 67 persons have self-withdrawn.

On May 13, the members of the Youth Movement of the United Opposition of Georgia held an action in front of President's residence named "7 irreparable mistakes".

German diplomat Dieter Boden, former special representative of the UN Secretary General for the Abkhazian conflict and nowadays head of the mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights for observing elections, now, after recognition of independence of Kosovo, is supporting the independence of Abkhazia.

In Armenia, in the former district capital named Maralik, Babken Urutyan and Karapet Loretsyan announced a termless hunger strike starting May 11 with a demand to release Arutyun Urutyan and other arrested oppositionists.

Victor Orlov, a representative of the National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC), has stated that more than 50 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) abroad are supporting militants in Chechnya.

Today, the Ministry for Matters of Youth, Physical Culture and Sports of North Ossetia has opened an office with the aim to render assistance to the victims of the earthquake in China.

Agvan Ovsepyan, General Public Prosecutor of Armenia, has ruled to change former vice-speaker of the National Assembly Karapet Rubinyan's freedom restriction measure. He was released under recognizance not to leave.

Today, the Baku Appeal Court has upheld the verdict of the first instance court - 4 years of imprisonment - to Ganimat Zakhidov, editor-in-chief of the "Azadlyg" newspaper.

A native of Chechnya who is now living in Moscow accuses Badrudi Yamadaev - brother of the commander of the "Vostok" battalion - of kidnapping and extortion.

Should till June 20 the authorities go on denying the opposition's right to hold rallies, people will rally, in response to appeal of the Centre of All-National Movement, in the Freedom Square of Yerevan. This was stated by Levon Zurabyan late on May 12 in the "Europolice" programme at the Public TV of Armenia.

Today, the Azerbaijani General Prosecutor's Office has made a statement asserting an attempt of journalist Agyl Khalil to go out of the country as evasion from investigation. The information that he was twice attacked in recent weeks was treated by prosecutors as ungrounded.

Today, following their statement made earlier, 15 participants of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh have launched a termless hunger strike in the city of Gyumri with a demand of immediate release from custody of Ashot Zakaryan, head of the Gyumri branch of the combatants' public organization "Union of Erkrap Volunteers", and other political prisoners.

The state prosecution demands from two years to life imprisonment for the defendants in the case on the explosion committed in the Cherkizovo marketplace in Moscow, where 14 persons, including two children, were killed.