News

Return of refugees from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh and transfer of territories to Azerbaijan; coronavirus infection spread statistics in Caucasus; second round of parliamentary elections in Georgia, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of November 16-22, 2020, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

The experts of the anti-mine centre and special equipment delivered to the Yerevan Airport will be sent to Stepanakert for the demining work, the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed.

Residents of Kutaisi and Lentekhi and oppositional politicians have joined Namakhvani villagers, who keep protesting for almost a month against the construction of a hydroelectric power plant (HPP) on the Rioni River.

During the week from November 16 to November 22, 2020, no information was received about any casualties and wounded people during the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

The activists of the NGO "Alternative", detained during a rally near the regional election commission (REC) in Batumi, refuse to plead guilty. After being released from the police, they have joined the endless protest action near the building of the Adjara Government.

In five days, 25,000 people, who had earlier left their homes, returned to Nagorno-Karabakh, said Araik Arutyunyan, President of the unrecognized republic.

Russian peacemakers are ensuring safe return of residents of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia; about 7000 people have already returned, the Russian Defence Minister has stated.

A Georgian citizen has been detained near the demarcation line with South Ossetia, the Georgian State Security Service (SSS) has informed, treating the actions of South-Ossetian security services as illegal.

Peacemakers' escort of conflicting parties' military columns is justified, since one of the missions of the Russian contingent is to support the ceasefire regime, Telman Abilov, an Azerbaijani expert, believes. Mekhman Aliev, Director of the "Turan" News Agency, has added that movements of Armenian troops are also taking place under peacemakers' supervision.

The court, while considering the case of Georgy Guev, a native of North Ossetia, accused of financing terrorism, has supported the prosecution since the very first session, the advocate asserts.

Based on the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on violation of the rights of Khusein Tsetiev, a native of Chechnya, the Supreme Court (SC) of Russia has declared illegal all the earlier court judgements on the extension of his arrest. This allows Tsetiev to demand an increase in compensation for his three years of detention, said his advocate.

The historical and cultural monuments located in the territories that have passed under Azerbaijan's control need protection, the authors of the appeal to the Russian president have stated. They believe that the protection of monuments should be entrusted to Russian peacemakers, and then transferred under the protection of the UNESCO.

Seven children returned from Syria have been handed over to relatives in Dagestan and Chechnya; 16 other children are being prepared to be sent to their relatives in Dagestan, the office of the Children's Ombudsperson has informed.

Authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh have appointed scanty payments to refugees, while problems of forced migrants need a comprehensive solution, Arthur Sakunts, a human rights defender, believes. Refugees' support is not organized at the proper level, which indicates a crisis in the ruling system, Nina Karapetyants, his colleague, agrees.

On the walls of the children's play centre in Kurchaloi, instead of drawings with American superheroes, which were criticized by Ramzan Kadyrov, images of the first president of Chechnya, Akhmat Kadyrov, and heroes of the Caucasian War have appeared.

During the fighting, Azerbaijani troops have occupied about a third of the territory of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; and more than a third is transferred under Baku's control under the signed peace agreement, Grant Mikaelyan, a political analyst, has counted.

Villagers from the Martakert and Askeran Districts of Nagorno-Karabakh have completely left the territories that since November 20 are under Azerbaijan's control. Refugees managed to take only the most necessary things and have not yet received new housing.

Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh continue to arrive in Armenia, despite the process of returning internally displaced persons (IDPs). Some refugees stay with their relatives, while others have to rent housing at inflated prices. A little help from the authorities and part-time jobs do not solve their financial problems.

In Chechnya, Dagestan, and Kabardino-Balkaria, the portion of low-income families with children is higher than in other regions of Russia, and the republics of Northern Caucasus also registered higher number of disabled children.

At a court hearing in a case on the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, German policemen said that they almost missed the defendant during the detention. The court has not yet begun to consider evidence of the alleged involvement of the Russian authorities in the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, explains Ekkehard Maass, the chairman of the German-Caucasian Society.