News

May 27, 2013 23:00

• Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of May 20-26

  Two terror acts in Makhachkala, one of which committed by female suicide bomber; arrest on corruption charges of former Premier of Georgia Vano Merabishvili; election of Maikop Mayor; success of the Dagestani "Anji" FC to win bronze medals in Russia's football championships, - look these and other events in the Caucasus in the review of the week of May 20-26, 2013, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot.

May 27, 2013 22:50

• HRW: charges against Azerbaijani activists are fabricated

  The Azerbaijani government is using dubious charges of drug possession in order to silence the political activists who are criticizing the authorities, says the today's statement of the Human Rights Watch (HRW).

May 27, 2013 22:40

• Azerbaijani authorities treat AI's report on situation in the country as biased

  As stated by Elnur Aslanov, the head of the Division for Political Analysis and Information Support of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan, the international human rights organization "Amnesty International" (AI) uses outdated methodology to compile its reports on the human rights situation; therefore, there is no need to discuss its reports. At the same time, Azerbaijani human rights activists believe that the AI's conclusions are correct.

May 27, 2013 22:30

• CoE's Commissioner calls on Azerbaijani authorities to stop prosecuting citizens for their statements

  The Azerbaijani leadership should stop criminal prosecution of citizens for their statements and respect democratic norms in the country, Nils Mujzhnieks, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe (CoE), said after his visit to Azerbaijan.

May 27, 2013 22:20

• Head of Sochi sports department arrested on fraud suspicion

  The Director of the Department of Physical Education and Sports of the Sochi Administration has been arrested on suspicion of an attempted large-scale fraud. He is accused of soliciting a bribe of 1.1 million roubles, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) said today.

May 27, 2013 22:10

• Ministry of Public Health of Dagestan: 19 people were hospitalized after explosion in Makhachkala

  After the explosion near the MIA building in Makhachkala on May 25, 19 victims were hospitalized; 13 of them are still there, said the spokesman of the Ministry of Public Health of Dagestan.

May 27, 2013 22:00

• "Memorial": native of Chechnya disappears on Azerbaijani-Russian border

  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.

May 27, 2013 21:00

• In Stavropol, at trial of Bestuzhy, defence states his torture

  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.

May 27, 2013 20:00

• Suleiman Barbakadze, chairman of the International Society of Meskhetian Turks, released in Georgia

  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).

May 27, 2013 20:00

• In Azerbaijan, arrested "Nida" activist sues MNS and state TV

  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.

May 27, 2013 19:00

• At trial on attack on Nalchik, defendant Berov declared unlawful methods of inquiry

  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.

May 27, 2013 18:00

• Magomed Magomedov who disappeared in Georgia had left Dagestan because of conflicts with the police, his sister reports

  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.

May 27, 2013 17:00

• Abkhazia: two residents of Taglan convicted for spying in favour of Georgia

  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.

May 27, 2013 16:00

• Skinhead girl convicted in Moscow for attacking Dagestanis

  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.

May 24, 2013 23:30

• MIA: journalists detained in Sochi are suspected of drug possession

  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).

May 24, 2013 23:00

• Local resident disappears in Dagestan, his wife reports

  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.

May 24, 2013 22:00

• Amnesty International: special operations in Northern Caucasus are accompanied by violations of human rights

  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.

May 24, 2013 21:00

• Armenia: "Heritage" cancels a week of rallies

  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.

May 24, 2013 20:00

• Moscow court refuses to recognize prosecutors' actions in inspecting "Memorial" illegal

  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.

May 24, 2013 19:00

• Georgia: 2400 workers of ferroalloys factory in Zestafoni go on strike

  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.