News

A court in the Stavropol Territory has extended, until June 25, the custody of the five activists, who took part in protests in the city of Magas, including Musa Malsagov, Akhmed Barakhoev and Malsag Uzhakhov, accused of creating an extremist community.

On April 3, residents of Kabardino-Balkaria, Adygea, Ingushetia and Chechnya held their Friday namaz (prayer) at home in connection with the ban on visiting mosques. In Dagestan, believers did the same, as the local Muftiate recommended to refrain from collective prayers.

Today, a suspected militant from the "Islamic State"* has been killed in a special operation conducted in the city of Neftekumsk. In March 2019, far prior to the today's special operation in Neftekumsk, a shootout occurred between law enforcers and IS* supporters in Shpakovsky District.

Two residents of Chechnya left for Syria and joined militants of a terrorist organization, investigators suggest.

On April 2, a resident of the Achkhoi-Martan District denied the information that he had been detained and beaten by law enforcers for violating the regime of self-isolation. The man recorded his video appeal under pressure, Instagram users and residents of the republic suggest.

The FSB has reported that one of the supporters of the "Islamic State"* was killed, and his companion was detained. According to the FSB, the suspects were plotting a terror act. The special operation took place in an apartment building located in the city of Neftekumsk, the leader of the region announced.

Garegin Babakekhyan, a soldier of the Defence Army of Nagorno-Karabakh, died from a fatal gunshot wound, and an investigation into the circumstances of the incident is underway, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Nagorno-Karabakh reports today.

In connection with the ban on travels along streets introduced in Armenia, the authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) have called on their citizens to return to the homeland. There are no coronavirus cases in the NKR, the republic's Ministry of Public Health has reported.

Forced days-off and self-isolation measures have affected entrepreneurs in Kalmykia. Banks provide no exemptions; authorities make no steps halfway; and the quarantine has inflicted hundreds of thousands of losses, the entrepreneurs interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" has complained.

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has announced a strengthening of the quarantine regime and the introduction of curfew since April 3 for pedestrians and vehicles because of the coronavirus epidemic.

The father of Elmira Kenzhibulatova, a resident of the Tarumovka District of Dagestan, and the Nogai activists familiar with her family deny her links with militants.

Agil Gumbatov, an Azerbaijani oppositionist, was detained the day after his discharge from the mental clinic.

Since April 2, Georgian authorities banned online sales under the motive of concern for the health of employees of trading companies. Natiya Turnava, the head of the Ministry of Economy, has explained that companies will be allowed to continue working after they equip their employees with special protective uniforms.

The head of Chechnya, the Mufti and republic's senior officials came to Aslambek Akhmetkhanov, a resident of the village of Gekhi, and chastised him for drinking alcohol with women after the latter posted a video, where he mockingly speaks about quarantine measures with a glass of wine in hand. Then, Akhmetkhanov apologized on air of the state TV Company.

In Nalchik, the court has extended the pre-trial restriction measure in the form of detention until June 15 to Ingush activists Amirkhan Bekov and Isropil Nalgiev. No investigative actions involving the defendants are being carried out because of the quarantine regime, an advocate reports.

In Makhachkala, drivers reported about mass detentions for violation of self-isolation regime. Law enforcers arranged checkpoints at the entries to villages and towns in Dagestan.

While hiding behind the pretext of fighting against the spread of the coronavirus infection, the Azerbaijani authorities suppress freedom of speech and persecute oppositionists on trumped-up charges, the international human rights organization "Human Rights House Foundation" (HRHF) states.

In North Ossetia, two cases of the coronavirus infection have been confirmed. Now residents of North Ossetia over 65 years old and persons suffering from chronic diseases are banned from leaving their place of residence. The North-Ossetian authorities also temporarily suspended operation of public transport.

Over the past 24 hours, the Armed Forces of Armenia shelled the positions of the Azerbaijani Army in the conflict zone for 24 times, including from machine guns, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed.

During the special quarantine regime introduced in Sochi, medics are forced to work under heavy conditions, without protective means and for low salaries, hospital staff has complained. In their turn, entrepreneurs inform that because of the restrictions, their businesses are on the brink of bankruptcy.