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On May 20, Muslim Bibulatov, a native of the Chechen city of Argun, disappeared under unclear circumstances on the Azerbaijani-Russian border, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" reports.

The confessions of Igor Bestuzhy, the former administration head and city manager of Stavropol, were obtained by torture, his advocate Inna Denisova said today at a preliminary court hearing.

The President of the International Society of Meskhetian Turks "Vatan", a citizen of Russia Suleiman Barbakadze has been released from custody in Georgia, said Konstantin Dolgov, the commissioner for human rights, democracy and the rule of law of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

Mamed Azizov, an activist of the youth movement "Nida" (Shout), who was arrested in Azerbaijan on charges of drug possession, has filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of National Security (MNS) and the AzTV State Channel, claiming to recognize a breach of his presumption of innocence and payment of monetary compensation of moral harm.

At the trial dealing with the attack on Nalchik on October 13, 2005, the prosecution announced the documents on refusals to institute criminal cases on defendants' complaints. The advocates and defendants complain that investigators use violence and threats in the course of inquiry.

So far, the whereabouts of Magomed Magomedov, a native of Dagestan, who disappeared on April 16 in Tbilisi, is unknown. Magomedov had left Russia because of problems with law enforcers, his sister Khadizhat asserts.

The Supreme Court of Abkhazia has sentenced Djemiko Okudjava and Otari Djgarkava, two residents of the Taglan village of the pre-border Gali District to 13 and 11.5 years of imprisonment, respectively in a high security penal colony.

Today, the Moscow City Court (MCC) has sentenced Darya Botvinskaya (Tikhanova) to five years at a minimum security colony for assaulting two natives of Dagestan under the motive of ethnic hatred. During the trial, the defendant pled guilty.

Narcotic drug was found in the car of the filming group of the Public Television of Russia Nikolai Yarst and Filipp Vasilenko, who were detained in Sochi, said the spokesman of the city UVD (Interior Department).

A resident of Buynaksk Gadjimurad Ilyasov was taken away to some unknown place by armed men in masks, his wife has reported. A source from law enforcement bodies said that Ilyasov was detained and is checked for involvement of the armed underground.

In its annual report on the situation of human rights in 159 countries around the world, the Amnesty International has declared suppression of freedoms in Russia, oppression of minorities and pressure of the state on NGOs.

The oppositional "Heritage" Party has cancelled the week of rallies, announced in Liberty Square in Yerevan from May 24 to May 30, said the party spokesman Ovsep Khurshudyan.

The Zamoskvoretskiy District Court of Moscow has dismissed the claim of the International Society "Memorial" that challenged the inspection of the Society by the Moscow Prosecutor's Office.

The strike of the workers of the Zestafoni ferroalloy factory continues for the fourth day, Tamaz Doloberidze, the chairman of the Metalworkers' Union of Georgia, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. According to his story, the strikers are all the 2400 workers of the factory.

Today, the Nariman District Court in Baku has extended the term of arrest of the theologian Talekh Bagirzade until June 30. The defendant and his defence treat this decision as unreasonable and intend to appeal against it at the Court of Appeal.

At a meeting, held in Ingushetia, of Yunus-Bek Evkurov with relatives of Djamalele Mutaliev and Aliskkhan Ozdoev, who were killed yesterday in a special operation in Nazran, the latter asked the head of the republic to get the bodies for burial.

The estimate of the human rights situation in Armenia presented in the annual report of the Amnesty International reflects the today's real picture in the country, said Larissa Alaverdyan, the first Armenian Ombudsperson.

It is supposed that in the course of the special operation conducted in the Karabudakhkent District of Dagestan Magomedkhabib Aigumov was killed.

Today, the Tbilisi Deda Ena Park has hosted a protest against religious fundamentalism under the motto "No to theocracy!"; it was attended by about a thousand people. The participants signed an appeal to the President and Prime Minister of Georgia demanding to punish the perpetrators of the events of May 17.

Today, Ali Taziev, a suspect of committing an attempt on the head of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov and organizing terror acts, has asked the court to allow him to use his personal notes.