Crimes

A Russian opposition leader, Sergei Mironov, said on Nov. 25 that his party had submitted a bill to the Russian parliament on holding to account anyone who denies that the 1915 killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire "was genocide." 

Albania should reject a bill introducing imprisonment for libel of public officials, says OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.

Following a hostile reaction from the media and pressure from international bodies such as the OSCE, the Albanian government has withdrawn a draft amendment that aimed to re-criminalize defamation of senior officials.

BIRN office in Albania had criticised an apparent initiative to restore defamation as a criminal offence in Albania and has called on the government to immediately distance itself from any such move.

On Wednesday, media reports said the government was intending to restore defamation as a criminal offence in the law code.

Kosovo’s War Crime Institute published four new books on the 1998-99 which the government said will be important documents when it begins its attempt to sue Serbia for genocide.

A bomb threat caused evacuation of citizens, magistrates and judicial officials from the Palace of Justice in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia on Monday.

Around 12:30 EET an anonymous signal was submitted, informing of an explosive device planted in the building, private bTV station informs.

Do?an Holding Honorary Chairman Ayd?n Do?an has once again refuted accusations against him regarding the Hilton Hotel in Istanbul.

Do?an?s remarks Oct. 22 came hours after President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an mentioned the businessman in a speech, saying, ?He would have been in high spirits had we given what he wanted about the Hilton.?

An Afghan man died in Bulgaria after being indirectly hit by a bullet of border police on Thursday, authorities say.

The incident took place around 22:00 local time (EEST), the Interior Ministry's Chief Secretary, Georgi Kostov, has announced.

Pretrial proceedings have been launched.

A case of blackmail in a small northern Greece city has shaken the local community, as the alleged victim is a well-known and long-time physician in the area, while the chief suspect is his 21-year-old secretary, who is accused of drugging her employer and taking nude pictures of him.

An exhibition presenting the most important evidence from the Hague Tribunal’s Srebrenica genocide trials opened in Belgrade as part of events to mark the 20th anniversary of the massacres.