News

The article of the Criminal Code of Armenia on attempting to overthrow the constitutional order contradicts two articles of the basic law of Armenia, the Constitutional Court points out. The Court’s decision comes into force from the moment it is pronounced, and the criminal proceedings against Robert Kocharyan under the above-mentioned article should be stopped, advocates of the second President of Armenia claim.

The Chechen “Grozny” TV Channel released another video reporting that Suleiman Gezmakhmaev left Chechnya after borrowing a large amount of money. The authorities of the republic describe Suleiman Gezmakhmaev as a dishonest person addicted to drugs, but in fact, they do not respond to his testimonies about the killings committed by law enforcers, Internet users note.

Three members of an extremist grouping, detained in Rostov-on-Don, planned to leave offensive inscriptions on government buildings and throw incendiary devices at them, the FSB reported.

The decision of the Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya to significantly reduce the multimillion fine imposed on the Ura.Ru edition for a publication about the road accident with the participation of the Chechen prosecutor could be a compromise, since the guilt of the edition is in doubt, while claimant is an influential person, said Galina Arapova, Director of the Media Rights Protection Centre.

The historical monuments, works of art and places of worship located in territories over which Stepanakert has lost control, are being destroyed; and memorials are desecrated, said Arthur Tovmasyan, Speaker of the Nagorno-Karabakh Parliament, in an appeal to international organizations.

The activists who blocked the road in Stepanakert have agreed to provide the authorities with two weeks to draw up a law on confiscation of illegally acquired property. Only protests can force officials to solve forced migrants' problems, the protesters have claimed.

The criminal case about Said-Mukhammad Djumaev's skirmish with law enforcers at a rally in support of Alexei Navalny has been submitted to a Moscow court. It was decided to admit only participants in the trial to the court sessions.

Chechen authorities have launched an information campaign against Suleiman Gezmakhmaev, since they have no real grounds to initiate a criminal case against him and cannot refute the information about extrajudicial executions, human rights defenders believe.

Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev lodged a complaint to the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) about their beatings and torture after the detentions in 2020 and 2021, the “Russian LGBT Network” reported.

At a protest action in Stepanakert, activists claimed that in order to solve the problems with accommodation of refugees, Nagorno-Karabakh should adopt a law on the confiscation of illegally acquired property. The protestors refuse to unblock a street in the city centre until the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announces the period of time, during which the bill is to be prepared.

Relatives of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev, arrested in Chechnya, threatened human rights defenders and the newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” with reprisals for publications about the alleged belonging of the brothers to the LGBT community. Residents of Chechnya recorded the video appeal under pressure from the authorities, a mother of the arrested men stated.

It is for political reasons that the authorities of Adjara do not voice clear criteria for allocation of new apartments for residents of the Dream City settlement in Batumi, activists say. The regulation for allocation of apartments has not been developed, since the houses under construction are not ready for use, the Adjara Ministry of Finance reports.

The dismissal of Apti Alaudinov from the post of the head of the Chechen Police confirms the information about his disgrace, while the new post of Kadyrov's assistant will allow keeping under control, Ruslan Kutaev, President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, Oyub Titiev, a Chechen human rights defender, and Dmitry Oreshkin, a political analyst. Alaudinov's dismissal was a concession to Moscow after the scandal over the "Novaya Gazeta"investigation, Alexei Malashenko, political analyst, has suggested.

In Saint Petersburg, activists have held solo pickets in support of the arrested leaders of the Ingush protest, demanding their release. They have treated the return of Zarifa Sautieva back to the SIZO (pre-trial prison) from house arrest as "demonstrative.”

The statements of the relatives of Suleiman Gezmakhmaev, in which they criticized him in reports of the "Grozny" ChGTRK (Chechen State TV and Radio Company) for his story about extrajudicial executions in Grozny, had been staged, Instagram users have suggested.

The threefold increase in compensations for libel, approved by the Armenian Parliament, expands the range of tools for pressing the media for criticizing officials, human rights defenders gave stated and asked the President not to sign the bill.

After the abolition of the martial law regime, the resignation of Nikol Pashinyan is the only obstacle to early parliamentary elections in Armenia. The Premier will do this because he has insured himself with an agreement with the opposition, political analysts believe.

The transfer of the case of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev from the district division into the regional department of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) for Chechnya will not lead to punishment of the law enforcers involved, human rights defenders believe.

In Chechnya, law enforcers detained about 20 relatives of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev in order to find out where the parents of the young men are, the "Russian LGBT Network" has reported. At night, all the detainees were released.

The "Grozny" TV Channel has posted new records with relatives and acquaintances of Suleiman Gezmakhmaev, who express their claims against the former law enforcer. Public renunciations from those disliked by Chechen authorities are temporarily protecting their relatives from problems, but for Gezmakhmaev's relatives, the problems are unlikely to end after such public renunciations, human rights defenders believe.