News

July 16, 2009 20:00

• About 100 persons came to Natalia Estemirova's farewell ceremony in central Grozny

  Today, a farewell ceremony with human rights defender Natalia Estemirova took place in the centre of Grozny, which brought together about 100 persons - journalists, human rights activists and people whom she helped.

July 16, 2009 20:00

• Investigation considers four versions of Natalia Estemirova's murder

  As stated in Rostov-on-Don by Arkadiy Edelev, Russian Deputy Interior Minister, the investigation has four versions of Natalia Estemirova's murder.

July 16, 2009 19:00

• Alekseeva: Kadyrov's resignation can stop murders of human rights defenders

  Russian human rights advocates are confident that the series of murders of the people who defend rights of other people can be stopped by removing Ramzan Kadyrov from the post of the President of Chechnya. This viewpoint was expressed by Liudmila Alekseeva, Chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group. In the opinion of Oleg Orlov, Board Chairman of the HRC "Memorial", murders will stop as soon as the authorities cease calling human rights defenders as bandits.

July 16, 2009 18:10

• Natalia Estemirova gave interview to "Caucasian Knot" one day before her death

  One day before kidnapping and murder of Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the HRC "Memorial", committed on July 15, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent had two telephone conversations with her about the situation with human rights in Chechnya.

July 16, 2009 18:00

• "Memorial" links Estemirova's murder to authorities' policy in Chechnya

  The statement of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" that has arrived to the "Caucasian Knot" runs that Ramzan Kadyrov has made the work of human rights activists in Chechnya impossible. Russia is under state terror; those who try to tell the truth and criticize the regime are assassinated; and Natalia Estemirova's murder is also a result of such policy.

July 15, 2009 23:10

• Journalists of Armenia call to cancel Nichol Pashinyan's arrest

  A number of Armenian mass media have adopted a joint appeal to Armenian authorities asking to change the freedom restriction measure applied to Nichol Pashinyan, an activist of the opposition and editor-in-chief of the newspaper named "Aikakan Zhamanak" (Armenian Time).

July 15, 2009 23:00

• Russian GPO finds drawbacks in corrective establishments of Astrakhan Region

  The General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Russia has inspected the situation with legality in Investigatory Detention Facilities Nos. 1 and 2, Corrective Colony No. 6 and Department of the Federal Correction Service (known as FSIN) for the Astrakhan Region. The result was a presentation submitted to FSIN Director on the necessity to eliminate the revealed drawbacks.

July 15, 2009 22:00

• Suspected militants' helpers detained in Chechnya

  Two residents of the mountainous Shatoy District of Chechnya were detained by power agents on July 13 as suspects of complicity to militants. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it at the Republic's MIA.

July 15, 2009 22:00

• In Armenia, ANC starts registry of human rights violations

  In the near future, the oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC) will start a special registry for gathering all the information about violations of citizens' constitutional rights and freedoms by Armenian authorities, as announced by Gagik Dzhangiryan, work coordinator of the ANC's Legal Defence Centre and former deputy general public prosecutor and former political prisoner.

July 15, 2009 21:10

• Isa Yamadaev asks Investigatory Committee to guard him from killers

  Isa Yamadaev has lodged an application to Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Russian ICPO, asking him to protect him from hired gunmen. He asserts that an attempt on him is being prepared, and the order to kill has already arrived to "very serious killers."

July 15, 2009 21:00

• Natalia Estemirova: "I'm sure that human rights defenders are murdered on authorities' blessing"

  In her last video interview to the "Caucasian Knot", Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the HRC "Memorial", who was shot dead on Wednesday, July 15, expressed her "complete confidence" that the murders of her friends - journalist Anna Politkovskaya and advocate Stanislav Markelov - were committed "upon blessing of those in power." She gave the interview on January 23, at the Ostankino cemetery, the day Markelov was buried there.

July 15, 2009 20:20

• Murdered resident of Chechnya announced to be a militant, was earlier kidnapped from his house

  According to residents of the Staropromyslovskiy District of Chechen capital, the young man, whom power agents announced as liquidated militant, was earlier kidnapped by them from his apartment in Grozny.

July 15, 2009 20:00

• In the near future, Chechen human rights activists will advance their version of Estemirova's murder

  Michael Ezhiev, leader of the NGO named "Human Rights Centre of the Chechen Republic", is shocked by the murder of Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" in Chechnya. According to Mr Ezhiev, now members of Chechen NGOs are discussing, who could Estemirova intervene with.

July 15, 2009 19:00

• Armenia: suspects of attempt on Kiviryan arrested

  In Armenia, Judge Gayane Karakhanyan has satisfied the petition lodged by the National Security Service (NSS) on arresting Vladik Serobyan and Gurgen Kilikyan, who had attempted to kill Argishti Kiviryan, coordinator of the Internet based edition "Armenia Today".

July 15, 2009 18:40

• HRC "Memorial" confirms Estemirova's murder in Ingushetia

  As reported today by Shakhman Akbulatov, head of the Grozny-based office of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, Natalia Estemirova, a well-known human rights defender and employee of the "Memorial" office, was found murdered near the village of Gazi-Yurt in Ingushetia.

July 15, 2009 18:00

• HRW: houses are burnt down again in Chechnya

  The international organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented two new cases two new cases in Chechnya in which the homes of families related to suspected insurgents were torched by local law-enforcement officials as well as a public extrajudicial killing of a man suspected of providing food to insurgents.

July 14, 2009 22:00

• Supreme Court of Ingushetia acquits sports minister accused of embezzlement

  The Supreme Court of Ingushetia has acquitted Isa Ozdoev, former minister of physical culture, sports and tourism, who was earlier sentenced to three years of minimum security colony for non-targeted spending of more than 14 million roubles of budget money.

July 14, 2009 21:00

• UN and EU officials speak positive on Gali meeting

  The today's five-sided meeting on prevention and investigation of incidents, held in the Gali office of the UN Mission with participation of representatives from Abkhazia, Georgia, Russia, United Nations and European Union was positively assessed by Johan Verbeke, special envoy of UN Secretary General for Georgia, and Hans-Jorg Haber, head of the EU's observation mission in Georgia.

July 14, 2009 20:00

• Solidarity picket with Uigurs dispersed in Azerbaijan

  Today, about fifty activists of the "Musavat" Party made an attempt to hold a picket in front of the embassy of the People's Republic of China in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The action was planed as a protest against oppressions of Uigurs (Eastern Turkis) in China.

July 14, 2009 18:00

• Armenian opposition is dissatisfied with Karabakh settlement and demands President's resignation

  The Armenian opposition believes that the process of Karabakh settlement goes not in favour of Armenians, and demands resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan. This is the topic of the statement disseminated today by the oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC).