SEPTEMBER 2007

From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 9/28/2007 6:13 PM
Friday, September 28, 2007

Moscow To Bolster 'Russia's Interests' In Strasbourg

EU/Strasbourg - An outside view of the European Human Rights Court in Strasbourg, 6 Nov. 2003.
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg
(epa)
September 28, 2007 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that will allow the country's Justice Ministry to send as many as five people to work with Russia's permanent delegation to the Council of Europe and assist Russia's representative to the European Court of Human Rights.





The decree, posted on the official Kremlin website, says the measure is meant to "enhance the protection of Russia's interests" at the Strasbourg court.

Some 12,000 complaints from Russia were brought to the court in 2006, amounting to one-fifth of all the cases sent to Strasbourg that year.

Many are filed by residents of Chechnya seeking redress for atrocities by federal forces in the North Caucasus.

(Interfax)

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/09/BFBDD157-832D-46F9-95FC-FA38ED6AC7C6.html

From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 9/28/2007 7:46 PM
 11:00 GMT, Sep 28, 2007   
 
 EU-Russia human rights dialogue must be more public, include
NGOs -human rights activists
 
     MOSCOW.  Sept  28  (Interfax) - Russian human rights activists have
proposed changing the format of talks on human rights between Russia and
the European  Union.  The next round of talks is scheduled to be held in
Brussels in early October.
     "We  suggest  changing the format of these talks, to make them more
public,"  head  of the Russian human rights center, Memorial, Oleg Orlov
told Interfax on Friday.
     "We   are   seeking   an   official   status  for  non-governmental
organizations  at  the  talks,  because it turns out that Russian and EU
officials  might  discuss  something  there  behind  closed  doors.  Why
wouldn't  they  invite  expert,  non-governmental  organizations?" Orlov
said.
     The EU expressed a willingness to expand the format to include more
participants to the talks on human rights, he said. "The trouble is that
the Russian delegation is reluctant to put ...
>> full...

From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 9/29/2007 9:33 AM
CAUCASIAN KNOT / NEWS

28/9/2007
Trepashkin transferred from his colony to Ekaterinburg's SIZO

On September 27, Mikhail Trepashkin, ex-lieutenant colonel of the FSB, condemned for disclosure of state secrets, was delivered from Corrective Colony No. 13 of Nizhni Tagil, where he was serving his term, to SIZO-1 (pre-trial prison) of Ekaterinburg. His advocate Lyubov Kosik told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about it.

The delivery of Trepashkin to Ekaterinburg was made with the aim of his participation in consideration by the Sverdlovsk Regional Court of the defence's cassation complaint against the decision on toughening the inmate's custody conditions. The court session on the case was appointed on October 10.

See earlier reports: "Mikhail Trepashkin complains to UN Secretary General of violation of his rights."

http://eng.kavkaz.memo.ru/newstext/engnews/id/1198281.html

From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 9/29/2007 10:08 AM
vendredi 21 septembre 2007
 
Dear Mr. Kuznetsov,
 
We are writing to express our concern about the recent abduction of Vagap Dudaevich Tutakov, a former representative of the self-styled Ichkeria parliament to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). We urgently request the Office of the Procurator of the Chechen Republic to take immediate action to investigate his abduction.
 
We are a group of international nongovernmental organizations that document human rights violations in the Europe and Central Asia region and worldwide. Our organizations have followed cases of enforced disappearances in Chechnya and have well-founded reason to believe that Tutakov’s life and well-being are in great danger.
 
According to reports, Vagap Tutakov disappeared on September 12, 2007 in the Urus-Martan district of Chechnya. Vagap Tutakov’s brother told a local non-governmental organization that he and his uncle were driving to meet Tutakov and were intercepted by ...
>> full...

     From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 9/30/2007 10:49 AM
CAUCASIAN KNOT / NEWS

29/9/2007
Criminal prosecution of Khasan Didigov in the case of blowing up the "Neva-Express" train stopped

The criminal prosecution of Khasan Didigov accused of involvement in blowing up the "Neva-Express" train has been stopped. Murad Yunusov, Didigov's defender, informed about in on September 28. So far, there is no confirmation of the fact from the law enforcement bodies.

According to the advocate, the investigation was to present charges to Didigov within 13 days after he was released under the recognizance not to leave, but failed to do so. Meanwhile, Mr Didigov is still kept at the investigatory isolation facility: he was released on the train explosion case, but immediately arrested on another one.

See earlier reports: "Homes of Chechen natives searched in relation to blowing up the "Neva-Express" train."

http://eng.kavkaz.memo.ru/newstext/engnews/id/1198357.html