News

October 21, 2009 20:00

• Georgia: grenade detonator blows up in hands of a boy of 13

  Today, in the village of Dvani, Kartli District of Georgia, Alexander Makhachashvili, 13, found a grenade in the cemetery and decided to bring it home; however, the weapon blew up and wounded him.

October 21, 2009 19:00

• "Reporters without Borders" enlist Azerbaijan among countries with poor freedom of press

  On October 20, the international organization in defence of journalists "Reporters without Borders" (RwB) has published its annual rating list on the freedom of press in the world. The report entitled "Global Freedom of Press Index--2009" rank Azerbaijan in the 146th place among 169 countries.

October 21, 2009 18:00

• Over fifteen hundred cars detained in Chechnya within the "Automobile" campaign

  On October 16, broad-scale operative-preventive actions started in the territory of Chechnya aimed at revealing hijacked cars and those with excessively tinted glasses within the campaign named "Automobile".

October 20, 2009 23:40

• By "freedom of speech index" Armenia is ranked 111th

  The organization "Reporters without Borders" has presented its next regular report with assessment of the freedom of speech in 175 countries of the world. By the "freedom of speech index" Armenia was put in the 111th place.

October 20, 2009 23:00

• An inmate murdered in a Chechen colony

  The Prosecutor's Office of Chechnya has conducted a check on the fact of detection of a body of a convict with traces of murder in the territory of the colony-settlement (UKP) of the Corrective Establishment No. 2 of the Russian Correction Service (known as "UFSIN") for Chechnya, located in the city of Argun.

October 20, 2009 22:10

• Three residents of Kabardino-Balkaria disappear

  Three residents of Kabardino-Balkaria - Timur Begidov, born in 1975 in Kenzhe village, and Ibragim Shogenov and Anzor Nagoev from the village of Dugulubgei, who left on October 2 to the city of Ufa in a refrigerator truck with a cargo of fruits for sale, have disappeared. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has learnt about it at the Kabardino-Balkarian Human Rights Centre, where Timur Begidov's parents addressed for help.

October 20, 2009 22:00

• Plievo resident assassinated in Ingushetia

  In the evening on October 19, in Plievo village, a local resident Azhigov by name was shot dead in his car.

October 20, 2009 21:10

• Mikhalchenko: frauds with voters' lists were committed at elections in Nazran

  While the leader of the Ingush opposition Magomed Khazbiev tried to find out at his 72nd polling station in Nazran why some other people had voted for his family, the employees of the precinct amended the voters' list, having made a forgery in the eyes of journalists. Lydia Mikhalchenko, editor of the website "ingushetiyaru.org", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about it.

October 20, 2009 20:00

• Journalists' organizations of Azerbaijan call to resume foreign broadcasting

  The Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) and the Institute of Media's Rights (IMR) have made a joint statement today, where they resolutely condemned the utterances of Azerbaijani officials that broadcasting of foreign companies in FM-frequencies will not be restored.

October 20, 2009 19:00

• Militiaman's house attacked in Chechnya

  In the southwest of Chechnya, in its Urus-Martan District, unidentified persons shelled the house of an employee of the local Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). Besides, a fougasse was planted opposite the house.

October 20, 2009 18:00

• Titov: militia of Krasnodar Territory fails to react to SMS insults

  Evgeniy Titov, a journalist of the "Novaya Gazeta", complains that the militia makes no checks on his application about the insults sent to him as SMS messages from the telephone number of the director of a Novorossisk school; Mr Titov had a talk with him, when he prepared the material about the opponents of the "children's curfew".

October 19, 2009 23:50

• Oppositional businessman wants to adjudge 220 million euros from Armenia

  The European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) has accepted to consideration the complaint lodged on behalf of the "Bzhni" Mineral Water Factory, belonging to the oppositional activist Khachatur Sukiasyan, against the Republic of Armenia. The claimant demands compensation of 220 million euros for damage caused to the company.

October 19, 2009 23:30

• Georgia tries one of "Mukhrovani rebels"

  Today, a process on the case of military expert Vakhtang Maisaya, accused of espionage, started in the capital of Georgia.

October 19, 2009 23:20

• Authorities force Derbent PSS battalion commander to retire, his subordinates assert

  Bosses of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Dagestan want to dismiss Sirazutdin Ragimov, commander of the battalion of the patrol-sentry service (PSS) of Derbent and his deputy for work with personnel Andrei Basinskikh, as reported by the militiamen of the battalion.

October 19, 2009 23:10

• Makhmudov brothers interrogated again on Politkovskaya's murder

  The Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) of the Russian Federation reports that on the murder case of Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist of the "Novaya Gazeta", brothers Ibragim and Dzhabrail Makhmudov, who had been acquitted by the jury, signed recognizance not to leave.

October 19, 2009 23:00

• Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of October 12-18

  Scandalous post-election events in southern regions of Russia; a new figurant in journalist Anna Politkovskaya's murder case; continuation of Chechen President's litigation against human rights defenders; a mess around statements of Michael McFaul, President Obama's senior adviser for democracy and Russia on development of Russian-American relations, - look up these and other events in the review of the week of October 12-18 in the Caucasian regions prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

October 19, 2009 23:00

• HRC "Memorial": urgent inquiries to European Court helped in releasing three kidnapped residents of Chechnya

  As a result of complaints and requests to the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) about application of urgent measures under Rules 39-41 of the ECtHR, Russian human rights activists managed to prevent a number of complete disappearances or murders of the persons kidnapped in Chechnya and Dagestan; three of them are already at large.

October 19, 2009 22:10

• ICPO: Natalia Estemirova's murder is close to solving

  The investigation into the murder case of the Chechen human rights defender Natalia Estemirova has seen an essential progress and is "on the brink of solving." This was stated today by Alexander Bastrykin, Chairman of the Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) of the Russian Federation, at the celebratory conference, dedicated to the 55th anniversary of criminalistic service in the prosecution bodies.

October 19, 2009 22:00

• Armenians of France call Georgia to restore Chakhalyan's rights

  The Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF) calls the authorities of Georgia to stop the unfair trial and restore all the rights of the Armenian activist Dzhavakhk Vaagn Chakhalyan. The Tbilisi Court will consider the appeal against the verdict to the activist prescribing ten years of imprisonment.

October 19, 2009 21:00

• In Ingushetia, opposition states DDoS-attacks on their website

  Last night, the DDoS-attacks (Distributed Denial of Service attack), which continued during the last two months on the website of the Ingush opposition "Ingushetia.Org", reached its maximum; therefore the whole day today, as reported by the leader of the Ingush opposition Magomed Khazbiev, the work of the resource was paralysed, despite strong protection and permanent work of the website programmers.