Babel Caucase banned in Russia

An announcement on the Babel Gazette website says that

The activities of the Babel Caucase Caravan, which left France on April 15, 2007 to organize cultural and friendship meetings in the Caucasus and make a planned stop in Grozny, have been banned throughout the Russian Federation. An official note handed to the French embassy in Moscow by the Russian foreign ministry said that the events planned by Babel Caucase on the territory of the Russian Federation were “impossible”… The group has decided to continue its journey to the North Caucasus nevertheless, and at least meet local people and distribute gifts to schools, NGOs and hospitals.