News

May 20, 2009 19:00

• NSS: it was a murder attempt on Armenia Today's coordinator

  The criminal case on the fact of the attack on Argishti Kiviryan, coordinator of the Internet edition named "Armenia Today", which is investigated by the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia, was re-qualified from Article 117 of the Criminal Code to Articles 34-104 "Murder attempt".

May 20, 2009 18:00

• "Memorial": after cancelling CTO regime in Chechnya power agents strengthen pressure on youth

  After Chechnya ceased to be a counterterrorist operation (CTO) zone, law-enforcement bodies have strengthened pressure on young people. This sort of "actions" aimed to "prevent" terrorism give a boomerang effect - the young men, exposed to violence demonstrated by power gents, go away and join militants' groupings. This is the topic of the statement of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

May 19, 2009 23:40

• Sochi militia refuses from comments on detention of ten persons on May 14

  The press service of the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) of the city of Sochi failed to answer the questions of the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about the fate of the 10 persons, arrested on May 14 near the venue of sitting of the IOC commission in Sochi and delivered to the ROVD of the Tsentralny District of the city.

May 19, 2009 23:00

• Consideration of arrest petition of advocate Boris Kuznetsov delayed for the third time

  The Zamoskvoretskiy Court of Moscow has postponed till May 25 the consideration of the petition lodged by the investigation on arrest in absentia of lawyer Boris Kuznetsov, who was once representing the interests of Levon Chakhmakhchyan, ex-senator from Kalmykia, sentenced to nine years of imprisonment.

May 19, 2009 22:50

• Militiaman killed in Chechen village bordering on Ingushetia

  At night of May 19, in the Sunzha District of the Chechen Republic, unidentified persons killed an employee of the Republic's law enforcement bodies. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent received this information from a member of local NGO; it was also confirmed by a source in law enforcement bodies of Chechnya.

May 19, 2009 22:10

• Georgia: opposition gathers for protest rally

  In Georgia, at the MIA building in Tbilisi, the opposition is starting a rally with a demand to release the detainees, kept in the internal prison on political grounds. According to Soso Panuashvili, the Human Rights representative in Tbilisi, so far, no incidents have been registered.

May 19, 2009 21:20

• Chechen TV shows video of suicide bomber

  In the evening on May 18, the Grozny State TV Channel showed a part of a video, presenting suicide bomber Beslan Chagiev, who blew himself up on May 15 at the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Chechnya in Grozny.

May 19, 2009 21:00

• Suchkov: IOC wants to earn money from Sochi Olympiad

  The members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) closed their eyes on roughest violations admitted in the course of preparation for Olympiad-2014, because of corruption and the fact that the Olympiad has turned into a way to earn money. This was stated by Valery Suchkov, a member of the Public City-Planning Board of Sochi and an expert of the Public Chamber of Sochi on housing and utility services.

May 19, 2009 20:00

• All the victims of mass poisoning in Dagestan leave hospital

  All the residents of Buinaksk (Dagestan) who got poisoned by poor-quality confectionery products were rendered medical aid and discharged from hospital. The Republic's "Rospotrebnadzor" (Branch of Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Goods) has applied to the court on temporary stop on operation of the confectionery shop, which had produced the substandard products.

May 19, 2009 19:00

• Lady-acting Mayor of Kislovodsk wounded by radio-triggered bomb

  As reported by the press service of the Investigatory Department for the Stavropol Territory of the Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) of the Russian Federation, the explosion near the building of the administration of the city of Kislovodsk, which wounded Natalia Lutsenko, acting Mayor of the city, was allegedly caused by a radio-triggered bomb.

May 19, 2009 18:00

• Yamadaevs did not officially announce blood feud to Kadyrov

  A source of the "Caucasian Knot" in Chechnya, close to the family of Sulim Yamadaev, former commander of the "Vostok" special battalion of Russian GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate of Russian General Staff), has stated that Yamadaevs did not send anybody to Kadyrovs with a mission to declare blood feud.

May 18, 2009 23:40

• Ex-commander of National Guard is on hunger strike in prison

  General Koba Kobaladze, former commander of the National Guard of Georgia, accused of preparing a putsch, is on his 11th day of hunger strike at the pre-trial isolation facility, as reported on May 17 by his advocate Gela Nikolaishvili.

May 18, 2009 23:20

• Residents of Mairtup village in Chechnya report beatings of their fellow-villagers by power agents

  In the village of Mairtup, Kurchaloy District of Chechnya, power agents have violently beaten two local residents. One of the villagers told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the incident took place last Saturday, on May 16. Local residents believe it to be arbitrariness.

May 18, 2009 23:00

• MIA of Chechnya: special operations will last till liquidation of all militants

  A source from Chechnya's MIA asserts that the special operations aimed at searching and liquidating the militants, who hide in the mountain areas of Chechnya and in the vicinity of the administrative border with Ingushetia, will be conducted until all the militants are liquidated.

May 18, 2009 22:10

• Inspectors are ready to interrogate Isa Yamadaev outside Chechnya

  The Investigatory Department for Chechnya of the Russian ICPO has stated that they see no obstacles for interrogating Isa Yamadaev, brother of Sulim Yamadaev, former commander of the "Vostok" battalion, outside Chechnya, but Isa should have valid reasons for non-appearance under the summon.

May 18, 2009 22:00

• US businessman assassinated in Armenia

  As reported today by the police, they found the body of Nazaret Berberyan, a US resident of Armenian origin, who had disappeared earlier in Armenia, with traces of violence.

May 18, 2009 21:00

• In the capital of Dagestan, 30 persons block a street

  Today, the end of the Akushinskogo Street in Makhachkala was blocked by 30 townspeople, who demanded from a local businessman to stop his construction on the road.

May 18, 2009 20:00

• In Chechnya, power agents release two out of four detained locals

  In Chechnya, two of the four local residents detained on May 10 by power agents are still kept in custody, and two were set free. Law enforcement bodies of Chechnya have reported that these men - residents of Bachi-Yurt village, Kurchaloy District, were detained by militia for stealing horses.

May 18, 2009 19:00

• Mother asks Evkurov to protect her detained son from power agents

  Ilez Gardanov and Ilez Gorchkhanov, detained on May 14 near Sunzha River in the Pliev Municipal District of Nazran, were severely beaten and tortured by law enforcers. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has learnt about it from Gardanov's mother Raishat. She asks President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov to interfere into the matter.

May 18, 2009 18:00

• In Georgia, opposition blocks one of Tbilisi avenues

  On Monday, several dozens of oppositional activists held a protest action by blocking the Vazha-Pshavela Avenue, one of central streets in Tbilisi, where the "Rustavi-2" TV Company is located.