26 July 2005
WEEKLY REVIEW FROM IDEL-URAL REGION
Kirienko Promotes Reappointment Of Chavashia�s Fedorov
Presidential Volga Federal District envoy Sergei Kirienko said on 22 July that incumbent Chavash President Nikolai Fedorov is one of major candidates for the post, Regnum reported on 22 July. Kirienko made his comments at a news conference following the meeting of the council of heads of Russia�s security agencies in the Volga Federal District that was held the same day in Cheboksary. Kirienko said �Chavashia in the past years has become one of the Volga Federal District regions that develop most successfully in many sectors� and he �is ready to give the highest estimation of [Fedorov�s] work,� adding �if something is going well, why we should make changes?�
Strasbourg Court Rules In Favor Of Former Cheboksary Resident
Former Cheboksary resident Vladimir Labzov has won a lawsuit against Russian Federation in the European Court for Human Rights, �AiF-Chuvashia� reported on 22 July. The court ruled that Article 3 of the European Convention saying everyone has the right not to be applied brutal and humiliating treatment was violated in Labzov�s case. According to the verdict, Labzov must be paid compensation of 2,000 euros. In the appeal sent to Strasbourg in 2000, Labzov informed that he was illegalle arrested and kept in custody under fabricated accusation. At that time, Labzov was a disabled and was incapable to work. Later he was released under an amnesty. In 2002, Labzov emigrated to Strasbourg to avoid pressure and lived there with his family as a refugee. On 16 June, the court gave him an official status of a victim of abuse of power.
�And Ulyanovsk Oblast Journalist
The European Court on Human Rights blamed Russia for violating journalist�s right of freedom of speech, �Kommersant-Daily� reported on 22 July, citing Ekho Moskvy. In an article published in the �Gubernia� newspaper in 2002, Isaak Grinberg accused then-Ulyanovsk Oblast Governor Vladimir Shamanov of fighting the press and supporting Colonel Yurii Budanov who was convicted of murdering Chechen girl Elza Kungaeva. Grinberg concluded that Shamanov has �neither shame nor conscience.� A Russian court recognized these words �slanderous� and fined the reporter. Now Russian authorities will have to pay 120 euros in compensation of financial damage and 1,000 euros in compensation of court costs.
Saratov Oblast Duma Deputies Dissatisfied With Statements By Former Governor
A group of deputies of Saratov Oblast Duma Unified Russia faction appealed on 21 July to Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov to comment on statements by Russian Ambassador to Belarus and former Saratov Oblast governor, Dmitrii Ayatskov, made during a news conference on 19 July, �Kommersant-Daily� reported on 22 July. Deputies said the statements by Ayatskov caused their �indignation and bewilderment.� During the news conference, Ayatskov sharply criticized his successor on the post of the governor, Pavel Ipatov, saying Ipatov is a temporary figure and will be soon replaced by State Duma Deputy Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. Volodin responded by advising Ayatskov �to stop colliding people�s foreheads as this is not very good for an ambassador.� Ayatskov also titled Unified Russia members �political kamikazes who threw themselves on the loophole today but who won�t reach the finish.� Commenting on relations between Russian and Belarus and Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, Ayatskov said �it is difficult to break the regime [headed] by Lukashenka. He stands firmly on his foot.�
Ayatskov was appointed the ambassador on 15 July.
Samara Journalist Sues Interior Employees
The Samara Oblast Prosecutor�s Office has filed a criminal case against employees of the Samara Industrial Raion Interior Board who are alleged of exceeding power as regards a correspondent of a Samara newspaper whose real name isn�t reported, Regnum reported on 19 July, citing Samara Human Rights Center Chairman Roman Devyatov and head of the Kazan Human Rights Center, Pavel Chikov. The reporter was detained on 15 January after he made conversations with pensioners who were staging a protest meeting against monetization of social benefits. The man was kept for three days in custody and severely beaten by interior employees. Forensic pathology center where he applied after being released registered numerous bloodshot, hemorrhage and other injuries. The Industrial Raion Prosecutor Office has refused since three times to file a criminal case on the victim�s complaint saying it wasn�t confirmed by interior employees. The case has been finally opened due to the efforts by human rights organizations where the journalist appealed.
FSB: No Preparations For Acts Of Terrorism In Samara�
Federal Security Service (FSB) in Samara Oblast spokesman Dmitrii Romanov told reporters on 20 July that earlier reports that preparations for acts of terrorism were held in Samara were wrong, Regnum reported on 21 July, citing samara.ru. Romanov said arms and explosives that were seized from members of a North-Caucasian group were prepared for using against competitors. FSB revealed storage of arms in garages where machine guns, self-made explosives and police uniform were kept.
�Unlike In Yamal-Nenets Okrug
Chief Federal Inspector to Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YaNAO) Stanislav Kazarez said on 21 July that facts of preparations for acts of terrorism have been revealed in the okrug current year, Interfax-Ural reported the same day. Kazarez made his comments following a meeting of okrug�s anti-terror commission. The inspector cited the case of detention of an automobile filled with explosives in Noyabrsk in May. �The vehicle was detained only on the territory of the okrug despite it has toured half-Russia,� he said. Losses and thefts of explosive and radioactive substances were also registered in the okrug, Kazarez said and called for boosting anti-terror measures in YaNAO.
Udmurtian Official Fined For Bribe-Taking
The Izhevsk Industrial Raion court on 19 July convicted Udmurtia�s Deputy Head of the Federal Service on Technological, Environmental and Atomic Supervision Mikhail Chebotarev of taking a bribe, Regnum reported on 20 July, citing the information portal Susanin. Chebotarev was detained on 2 June in his office as he was trying to take 10,000 rubles ($350) from a businesswoman for a technical and environmental examination of a trade pavilion. At the trial, Chebotarev, who has a seriously ill wife and two children, fully recognized his guilt, repented and promised that �he will never take money [in a bribe].� The court sentenced him to a 100,000 rubles� fine but didn�t release him from his post.
Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova