News

Four detainees in Tbilisi within the case of attacking journalists are charged with obstructing the work of media professionals, as well as with using insults and physical violence, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has informed.

In the evening on July 9, positions of the Azerbaijani Army deployed in the border Gadabay District were shelled from Armenia, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has stated today.

The only road leading to the high-mountainous Georgian village of Omalo has been blocked by a landslide.

Thirteen children brought back from Syria have been handed over to their relatives in Dagestan, said Marina Ezhova, the children’s ombudsperson in the region.

The help to victims of natural calamities will be allocated from the reserve fund of the President of Abkhazia, the authorities have informed. However, some residents of Abkhazia, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot", complain that issues of help allocation are solved for months.

Mikail Gorchkhanov and Anzor Pliev have been kidnapped from the village of Plievo, their relatives have informed.

Investigators have detained Suren Ogandjanyan, the head of the Vorotan village community, who was accused of providing financial support to villagers provided they vote for “Aiastan” bloc.

During eight years, investigators have failed to find either the executor or the customer of the murder of the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, Akhmednabi Akhmednabiev, who was shot dead in Dagestan on July 9, 2013.

The detentions of activists, Djalil Zabidov and Razi Gumbatov, was the expected authorities’ reaction to the growth of protest moods in the network, indicating a trend towards "tightening the screws", the human rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" assert.

Policemen checked the presence of vaccination certificates on those wishing to attend the Friday prayers; believers were allowed to enter mosques only with certificates, local residents have informed.

Relatives of Khasanbi Khupsirgenov, who was killed during a special operation in Kabardino-Balkaria, requested the police to investigate the circumstances of his death after they had discovered signs of torture on his body, human rights defenders said.

Today, a court has pronounced a pre-trial restriction measure for four men accused of using violence and obstructing the professional activities of journalists during the actions organized by opponents of the gay pride parade in Tbilisi on July 5-6.

Today, the “For the Sake of the Republic” Party has held a rally in front of the building of the Constitutional Court of Armenia, which is considering claims of the opposition demanding to cancel the results of the parliamentary elections. Participants of the protest action called on the judges not to try to encroach on the power of the people.

In its appeal to the Russian authorities, the European Union claims that the criminal prosecution of Krasnodar advocate Mikhail Benyash violated his right to unhindered protection of people. Intervention by the European Union may convince judges to hold court hearings in the case open for journalists, the advocate himself suggests.

Investigators are conducting a search of the house of the head of the village of Vorotan in the Syunik Region, the head of the village community has informed himself.

At the Makhachkala Airport, an air passenger refused to put on a medical mask and hit one of the policemen called by the crew, law enforcers have reported. The Instagram users who have watched the video of the incident filmed by an eyewitness criticized the man for refusing to wear a mask which caused the flight delay.

There is the authorities’ guilt in the July 5-6 events that escalated into clashes in Tbilisi; therefore, those guilty thereof must resign, Roman Gotsiridze, Secretary General of the oppositional “United National Movement” (UNM) Party.

On July 7, in Azerbaijan, policemen detained Djalil Zabidov, a member of the D18 movement; and his whereabouts are still unknown, said Samira Agaeva, a deputy chair of the movement.

The call of the Muftiate of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) to investigate the circumstances of the July counterterrorist operation (CTO) conducted in Nalchik is unprecedented, it evidences a categorical distrust of the society towards the law enforcers’ version, and to the authorities in general, the human rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled on the complaints of two journalists from Azerbaijan. The Court has found violations of their rights to the freedom of expression and personal inviolability.