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Azerbaijan lacks independent judiciary; and to put it in place, constitutional and institutional reforms are required. This was the keynote idea of most of the presentations at the roundtable on April 2 at the Baku Media Centre, where proposals were discussed on changes in the judicial sphere of Azerbaijan.

Six defendants figuring in the criminal case about the mass fight in the city of Kondopoga are sentenced to imprisonment for the terms from 3 years and 10 months to 22 years in colony.

On March 31, the Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) of the Russian Federation presented charges of terrorism to 11 natives of Ingushetia-figurants in the "Neva-Express" train explosion in autumn of 2009. The defendants fail to plead guilty and refuse to evidence at interrogations.

At night on March 27, access was stopped to two Sochi websites, where critical publications were placed about the problems of Olympic construction in the Krasnodar Territory. Experts emphasize that such attacks are undertaken on a regular basis.

As of the end of February, the number of Georgian detainees at the attempt to cross the border of South Ossetia made 12 persons. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent learnt about this fact, as well as about the procedure of returning the detainees and negotiations with Georgia about exchange of "all for all", from David Sanakoev, Ombudsman of South Ossetia.

Ella Pamfilova, head of Board at the President of the Russian Federation on promotion to development of civil society institutes and human rights, visited Ingushetia with the aim to study the situation in situ and meet and talk to activists of local public organizations.

Today in Makhachkala, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, who arrived in Dagestan, held a meeting with the heads of the regions of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), territorial subdivisions of the Federal Security Bureau (FSB) and law-enforcement bodies. The President emphasized the need to reform the system of law enforcement bodies and formulated five primary goals to be attained by the country's leadership.

The office of the Ombudsman of Georgia has presented its 328-pages report on the situation with human rights, which covers the second half of 2009. The report notes that Georgian prisons have heavy custody conditions, while court verdicts are often partial.

Alexander Bortnikov, head of Federal Security Bureau (FSB) said, speaking at the meeting convoked by President of Russia Dmitri Medvedev that the organizers of the terror acts in Moscow and Kizlyar are known; however, their names are not revealed yet. According to the investigation, the two women-suicide-bombers arrived to Moscow by bus from the city of Kizlyar, Republic Dagestan; all the way they had their bombs already attacked to them.

The man who was assassinated in Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, on Wednesday, March 31, was, according to power agencies, the financier of local militants, who replaced the earlier liquidated Anzor Astemirov, leader of the Kabardino-Balkarian and Karachai underground.

As a result of the explosion triggered last night in the Khasavyurt District of Dagestan two persons were lost, as reported by the press service of the republic's MIA.

On March 31, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) Liudmila Alekseeva, 82, was attacked by an unknown young man when she was laying flowers in a lobby of the metro station. The attacker on the human rights defender was detained by the militia; and a criminal case was opened against him.

As reported by a source in power agencies of the NCFD (North-Caucasian Federal District), so far, one woman-suicide-bomber, who blew herself up at the Park Kultury metro station, has been identified - she was a resident of Dagestan; her name is not disclosed in the interests of the inquiry.

Georgia feels indignant at recent statements made by Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Russia's Security Council that a "Georgian trace" may appear in terror acts at Moscow metro stations committed on March 29, where 39 persons were lost. Georgian politicians believe this statement to be groundless - they also sympathize with casualties' relatives and victims of the metro explosions and victims at explosions in the underground. Temur Yakobashvili, State Minister of Georgia for Reintegration, announced Tbilisi's readiness to cooperation with Russia in investigating the terror acts.

Armen Arutyunyan, the Ombudsman of Armenia, refused to speak at the forum of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) to open in Yerevan on April 6. Mr Arutyunyan said that he would take part in the forum as an invited guest and gave no other explanations. A number of Armenian human rights organizations also refused to take part in the event.

Law enforcement bodies of the Chechen Republic doubt that a native of the republic Kazbek Mataev, suspected as a potential accomplice of the women-suicide-bombers who committed terror acts in Moscow metro on March 29, could really be involved, as reported by a number of Russian mass media. According to Chechen power agents, Mataev has been living outside Russia for several years.

The Supreme Court has rejected the complaint lodged by the defence of the convicted residents of Ingushetia Salambek Dzakhkiev and Maksharip Khidriev on the case of blowing up the "Neva-Express" train in 2007, having upheld the earlier verdict of the Novgorod Regional Court.

On March 31, Azerbaijan marks Genocide Day in commemoration of the victims of events in 1918.

The Lenin District Court of Krasnodar has held today already the fourth preliminary hearing on the case of Anastasia Denisova, head of the public organization named "ETnIKa". The court has ruled to return the case to the prosecutor's office for elimination of inquiry mistakes.

Only due to operative actions of employees of the STSI (State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, known in Russia as "GIBDD") in Kizlyar, who blocked the terrorist-suicide-bomber's car, much greater damage of the explosion were avoided. This is the opinion of the Department for ensuring traffic safety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Russia.