Watchdog

In a statement posted on its website on July 22, the Russian Foreign Ministry acknowledged receiving an offer from UN human rights experts to assist the Russian authorities in carrying out what they called an independent investigation into the killing of rights activist Natalya Estemirova last week.

The statement explained that under Russian criminal procedure, UN experts cannot conduct their own investigation, but are welcome to provide the Russian authorities with any information relevant to the official investigation.

Meanwhile, a group of prominent Russian human rights defenders called on Dmitry Medvedev to relieve Kadyrov of his presidential duties for the duration of the investigation.

"We do not believe it is possible to conduct an objective and efficient investigation into the abduction and murder of Natalya Estemirova in the Chechen Republic while power there rests with Kadyrov," the activists wrote in their open letter to the Russian president.

A complaint filed by jailed Azerbaijani bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizada about inhuman treatment by Sabayil district police was rejected by a district court judge on July 23 in a closed-court hearing.

The judge, Famil Nasibov, did not explain why the hearing was being held behind closed doors.

Milli and Hajizada are protesting police actions on June 8-9 when they were detained after filing a complaint to police about an assault by two people who attacked them in a restaurant.

Police used iron handcuffs to bind Milli and Hajizada to each other “in violation of European provisions of human rights," their lawyer, Isakhan Ashurov said.

According to their legal team, Milli and Hajizada were also denied proper medical treatment of wounds they received from assailants and a lawyer of their choice.

Meanwhile, the U.S. mission to OSCE and EU made statements at the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna today expressing concerns about the bloggers' case and the human rights in the country.

And in the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva, ambassadors of the 27 EU member states voiced disquiet "about the condition of human rights and freedoms" in the country where President Ilham Aliyev and his late father have held power almost uninterrupted for nearly three decades.

-- Khadija Ismayilova