A major court case was heard in Baku some days ago. The Azerbaijani security forces unmasked three spies, who were caught collaborating with the Chief Intelligence Agency of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. For this serious offence the court sentenced Seyar Akhundov and Sergei Namazov to eleven years imprisonment, and Mubariz Akhundov to ten years. The sentences reflected some extenuating circumstances, such as the remorse shown by the defendants, and also Namazov’s service in the war for Nagorny Karabakh. Full Story...
Chechen Abdulla Erzanukayev, 48, turned to the Austrian judiciary for protection against libel. Although Austria did not deny him his search for justice, immediately after the start of the court case he and his friend, who had come to Vienna as a witness for the defence, were arrested by the gendarmerie on the orders of the Austrian National Security Service. Forty-eight hours later they were deported. The question remains: who did not want the case to be heard, and why? Full Story...
Kirghiz President Askar Akaev told his people how much he earned last year. The government newspaper "The Word of Kyrghyzstan" published on 28 February "The Report on the Incomes of the President of Kirghiz Republic A. Akaev and Members of His Family in 2002 and the Property in His
Ownership". Full Story...
Policemen pulled out the hair on Roman Butenko’s head, they pressed out his eyes; they put a bag on his head and a running knot around his neck. They squeezed his fingers in a door and kicked him in the stomach. Butenko kept losing consciousness, but the monsters doused him with water and continued the torture. Tortures and beatings were accompanied by the screaming of a rooster, whom one of the policemen got as a bribe from an old woman who sold hen’s pluck in a forbidden place. Full Story...
Armenian authorities did exactly what they had been expected to. In the run-up to the presidential elections, on election day on February 19 and after it the authorities used all possible ways of breaching election laws to secure their places in the government. They intimidated and bribed voters, raised the number of those eligible to vote artificially, they filled ballot boxes with fictitious ballot papers (this method of vote-rigging is called “merry-go-round” in Caucasian republics) and raised the number of votes for the current president during the counting process. This massive vote rigging couldn’t but lead to the protests of the opposition and the electorate. Full Story...
No preliminary results have been yet announced but one could easily say that this year February 19 presidential elections are a replication of the previous ones. The present government has done everything possible to retain its power. State officials persisted in their efforts to make us believe that these elections would bring us one more step closer to democracy that, according to them, is the key goal of the government itself. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) decided to help the government achieve that, and brought to Armenia transparent ballot boxes. After that the government became even more confident of its own democratic nature. But it’s not transparent boxes that make the difference … Full Story...
18 February Chinese Ambassador Zhang Deguang gave a lecture in the International University in Moscow. According to the Ambassador’s words, his country has always stuck in its foreign policy to the postulate formulated more than two thousand years ago by ancient Chinese
philosopher Confucius: don’t treat the others the way you don’t wish to be treated yourself. Chinese Ambassador said that this saying could be slightly corrected. In Zhang Deguang’s view, this rule could sound like this: don’t foist on somebody even that what appeals to you. China’s
representative stated that this is the policy China has stuck to throughout the rule of emperors and communists. Full Story...
Last Saturday ( Ed. note: February, 8) the official Cuban press published final elections results for the members of the National Assembly of People’s Power, which took place on January 19. We don’t confirm these figures but note one significant issue about the elections: the number of people who followed the authorities’ instructions and unanimously supported their candidates — less than 85.75% of the voters. A real failure for a country with totalitarian government. Of course, the final result of the elections was predetermined, for the number of candidates was equal to the number of seats. Full Story...
Author Saparmurat Niyazov calls his remarkable literary work, the book “Ruhnama”, a spiritual guide destined to help Turkmens find their way in life. Now all people must read the book. It is compulsory throughout school and universities, places of detention and military units, industrial plants and government institutions. All national television channels are now singing praises to the “Ruhnama”. Full Story...
Cases of abductions of women by federal troops in Chechnya have recently become more frequent. In one of such incidents that happened in the early hours of January 14, 31-year-old Anzhela Shakhmurzaeva was taken away by Russian soldiers. Armored personal carriers and two "Ural" trucks drove up to apartment block no. 23 located near the Central Square in Grozny. Soldiers surrounded the house and began to loot it. Having looted a storage room on the first floor, the soldiers began to break doors of apartments, and ordered three young men - Aslan Baisultanov, Aslan Muzaev and Khasan Usterkhanov - out onto the street. When the wife of Usterkhanov rushed to his aid, the soldiers beat her up. Upon hearing the noise and screams for help coming from the street, Anzhela Shakhmurzaeva (the mother of two young children) went outside and attempted to prevent the young men from being led off: the soldiers did not let them go, and took Anzhela with them as well. Full Story...