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Before the sentence was pronounced, Mr Trepashkin had told journalists he was in the pessimistic mood. Asked whether he considered his case to be a political one, the former FSB colonel said, "Yes, absolutely."

The police believe the servicemen and policemen were lured into a trap thoroughly prepared by rebels.

The fire was opened form the Armenian territory from the direction of the village of Vazashen, Armenia's Idzhevansky district.

One of the released men told that the Russian military had abducted him from his house without any explanations three months ago and held him in a basement for all this time.

A press conference to present the book "Chechnya 2003: Political Process in Zazerkalye" will be held at the Independent Press Center in Moscow on May 20.

The signatures were collected mainly in the Achkhoy-Martan, Urus-Martan, and Shali districts of Chechnya, Grozny, and the tent camps Satsita and Rassvet in Ingushetia.

On May 15, a local herder reportedly found the mutilated body of a man near the village of Shami-Yurt, Chechnya's Achkhoy-Martan district.

The Azerbaijan leadership addressed a request to the European Union on May 18 to help settle the conflict situation in Nagorny Karabakh.

"Abductors demanded that the boys indicate who is a rebel in their village and asked other questions. They beat the teenagers and threatened to kill them. The boys are still in state of shock," a Chechen police officer said.

We call your attention to a statement by Director of the Institute of Peace and Democracy Leila Yunus.

"God, deliver us from such human rights activists, and we will find a way to get rid of offenders," Aleksandr Tkachyov said.

Eldar Zeinalov, Director of the Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan, makes a statement urging the nation's leadership to release political prisoners.

Lev Ponomariov, leader of the Movement for Human Rights, has applied to a court of law questioning the legality of the Moscow government's banning a meeting scheduled for February 23 this year.

A news conference devoted to the court verdict in the so-called Ulman case tried to give it a valuation. The verdict left servicemen accused of killing six civilians in Chechnya unpunished.

Terry Davis touched on his closed meeting with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia and emphasized one more time it was essential that the conflict be resolved in a peaceful way.

Their action is caused by the indifference of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees towards them.

Many participants underlined that the ruling regime in Azerbaijan would not fight corruption as it itself is completely corrupted and the new leader of the county has no political will to launch the fight against corruption.

The young men simply don't see prospects of peaceful life, it means workplaces for them haven't been created," Salambek Maigov said.

Participants explored the commitment of the two sides to their stated positions ? that of territorial integrity on the part of Georgia and that of recognition of independence on the part of the Abkhazians ? and whether they can articulate their positions in a way that better incorporates the aspirations of the other party.

The Georgian parliament has adopted a resolution today to arrange a nation-wide discussion about the status of Adjaria. In conformity with the document, amendments to the Constitution of Georgia concerning the division of power between the center and Adjaria will be proposed this week.