New Leader Of Dagestan – Who Is He?

Nominated Magomedsalam M. Magomedov is to be the next president of the combustible southern republic of Dagestan.

Mr. Magomedov, 45, is an economist and businessman who rose to prominence thanks to his father, Magomedali Magomedov, who led Dagestan from 1987 until 2006. That year, Mukhu G. Aliyev was appointed to succeed him, amid a push to fight rampant corruption in the republic.

The nomination of Mr. Magomedov, a seasoned manager and industrialist, falls in line with the appointment of a new presidential envoy, Aleksandr G. Khloponin, who is beginning a campaign to bring order to the Caucasus through economic means. It seems to be that Kremlin wants significant changes, since Mr. Magomedov has been a persistent critic of Mr. Aliyev’s government.

Kazakhstan Lifts Critical Reporting Ban

A Kazakhstan court has overturned a ruling that banned the media from publishing criticism of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s son-in-law.
The Almaty court also threw out libel cases Timur Kulibayev had filed against three newspapers which had reported on corruption allegations against him.

Igor Vinyavski, whose newspaper was named in the lawsuit, said he was pleased by the court’s verdict “Charges dismissed”.

Mr Kulibayev is one of Kazakhstan’s most powerful businessmen and is often mentioned as a possible successor to president Mr Nazarbayev. The newspapers had been banned from printing anything about Mr Kulibayev which might have damaged his image.
But on Tuesday, the same court threw out all measures against the newspapers as Mr Kulibayev “had not sought a settlement before turning to the court,” said lawyer Sergei Utkin, representing one of the papers.

Tajikistan’s Supreme Court Has Sentenced A Suspected Al-Qaeda Member

A suspected Al-Qaeda member was sentenced to eight years in jail.The Supreme Court said in a statement that Makhmadsaid Mirzoev received military training in Afghanistan in the 1990s and was an active member of Al-Qaeda.

Tajikistan has jailed a total of 11 suspected Al-Qaeda members over the last two years.

Rights groups have often accused Central Asian governments of using the Islamist threat as an excuse to crack down on political dissent in a region where, like in Soviet times, alternative views are often branded as extremist.
Security analysts say, however, that radical groups with possible links to the Taliban are regaining strength in the region, emboldened by people’s growing frustration with economic hardship as a result of the global economic slump.