News

Soldiers entered the Nadterechny District of Chechnya, set up camps near several villages, and arranged checkpoints, local residents reported. The Southern Federal District (SFD) claims that no additional forces were introduced into the republic.

By April 21, the regions of Southern Russia registered 49 deceased patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Of them, at least seven died within last 24 hours. Dagestan, where 11 people have died since the beginning of the epidemic, continues to show the highest death toll among the regions of Southern Russia.

Law enforcers tortured Khikmet Agaev, an arrested activist of the movement "Muslim Unity", claimed Arzu Abdullah, a member of the Public Committee for the Protection of Rights of Arrested Islamists. Human rights defenders treat the activist's arrest as politically motivated.

A court in Baku refused to satisfy the defence's complaint against the arrest of the oppositional politician, Tofig Yagublu. The activist himself said that his arrest was preceded by his publications criticizing the authorities.

There are many contradictions in the case of torturing Rustam Kuchmenov, a resident of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), the lawyers of the Committee against Torture (CaT) have noted and sent a complaint against the dismissal of the case to the court. Kuchmenov's father told about signs of beatings on his son's body and noted that this is not the first incident involving law enforcers.

The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" has demanded to ensure state protection of the journalist, Elena Milashina, and initiate a criminal case against the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. The rights defenders' appeal was signed by over a hundred people.

Alizamin Salaev, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), has been sentenced to a real prison term on charges of defamation and insult after posting a video clip in social networks criticizing a policeman. The PFPA treats the verdict as politically motivated.

During the week of April 13-19, in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus, one person was killed; no information about the wounded ones was received. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from open sources.

Residents of Chechnya, except for close relatives of the deceased, should not attend funerals and commemorations during the pandemic, said the Mufti, Salakh Mezhiev. The Orientalists interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have explained the Mufti's words by a desire to reduce the number of funeral participants.

The official's participation in the report criticizing a resident of Chechnya for raising money for treating her child indicates the intention of regional authorities to monopolize charity activities, human rights defenders assert. Requests to help a sick child always find sympathy among Chechens.

Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), announced that in Georgia, the Lugar laboratory could be engaged in development of dangerous pathogens. The laboratory does not conduct any research for military purposes, but fights against the coronavirus infection, states Paata Imnadze, the deputy director of the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC).

In Azerbaijan, the number of people infected with the coronavirus infection increased by 38 people and reached 1436. More than half of them – 791 people –have already recovered.

The positions of the Azerbaijani troops in the village on the border with Armenia and in the Karabakh conflict zone were shelled 30 times within 24 hours, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reported.

In Vladikavkaz, a spontaneous protest action against the regime of self-isolation is underway. Law enforcers called for reinforcements. Protesters began throwing stones and bottles at the law enforcers.

Increase in the number of coronavirus-infected people in Southern Russia and in the countries of Southern Caucasus; celebration of Easter by Orthodox believers amid the spread of the coronavirus infection; second round of the presidential election in Nagorno-Karabakh; attack on law enforcers in Dagestan, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of April 13-19, 2020, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Residents of Chechnya are so scared by authorities and law enforcers that they are afraid to inform doctors about COVID-19 symptoms, the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper writes. The information from the letter from Kadyrov's press secretary to the editor-in-chief of the "Novaya Gazeta" should lead to a check for coronavirus in the Chechen hospital, the journalist, Elena Milashina, has emphasized.

The increase in the number of coronavirus cases has to do not only with the infection spread, but also with the growing number of tests, experts have explained. The doubts of residents of Chechnya about the quarantine efficiency are caused primarily by the position of the authorities, Svetlana Gannushkina, a human rights defender, believes.

The woman from the Gudermes District, who was publicly criticized by officials for raising money for treating her child, had asked for help because of hopelessness, Instagram users have suggested.

The head of the Gudermes District has criticized, on the TV air, the woman who has raised money through social networks for the treatment of a child in parallel with receiving help from the Kadyrov Foundation. A woman's relative apologized to the camera for her.

At night on April 20, temples of Azerbaijan held their Easter services without believers because of anti-coronavirus measures.