News

In Volgograd, the NGO "Mothers of Beslan" presented an exhibition of photographs and paintings about the seizure of hostages by terrorists in a Beslan school. The Beslan tragedy still terrifies people even 16 years later, visitors of the exhibition note.

The positions of the Azerbaijani troops, including in villages on the border with Armenia, were shelled 28 times over 24 hours, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reported.

The FSB reported about the detention of a man suspected in organizing the recruitment of residents of Dagestan and other regions into the "Islamic State", a terrorist organization banned in Russia by the court. According to the FSB, the detainee is also suspected of financing militants.

During the week of August 17-23, 2020, at least seven people fell victim to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus: five perished and two were wounded. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from open sources.

The film "Death/Survival Is Impossible", dedicated to the South-Ossetian-Georgian armed conflict has been declared the winner of the International Patriotic Film Festival in the nomination of "The Best Full-Length Film".

A clash with saboteurs occurred in the Karabakh conflict zone; an Armenian officer was taken in captivity, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reported. In its turn, the Armenian MoD has objected stating that Gurgen Alaverdyan is not a saboteur; he just got lost due to bad weather.

Spread of the coronavirus infection in the Caucasus; two CTOs in Ingushetia; actions in support of Alexei Navalny; attack on an MP in Kalmykia; new protests of Armenian residents against gold mining at Amulsar field, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of August 17-23, 2020, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Doctors found no coronavirus in 26 children-natives from Northern Caucasus evacuated from Syria. All the children were transferred to their relatives in Dagestan, Ingushetia and Karachay-Cherkessia, the children's ombudsperson has informed.

Three supporters of the "Islamic State" (IS or ISIL), a terrorist organization banned in Russia by the court, were killed, and two security officials were wounded in a counterterrorist operation (CTO) conducted in the village of Troitskoye, Sunzha District of Ingushetia. This was announced by the Russian National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC).

The whereabouts of Shamil Magomedov, the former head of the Untsukul District, cannot be established after unidentified persons took him away on August 22, his relatives report. According to their story, a search had been conducted in Magomedov's house a few days earlier.

The Ombudsperson of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) is collecting complaints of human rights violations during the quarantine introduced due to coronavirus. The main complaints concern restrictions on travel, self-isolation conditions and delayed test results, Artak Beglaryan, the Ombudsperson, has stated.

The Chechen authorities are worried about the existence of such authoritative opponents as Anzor Maskhadov; therefore, he is in danger, human rights defenders assert. Maskhadov has preserved the archives of the President of Ichkeria*, his father, and is voicing out facts that are disadvantageous to the Chechen authorities, the blogger, Tumso Abdurakhmanov, has noted.

In Volgograd, activists have held solo pickets in support of Alexei Navalny, and protests in Khabarovsk and Belarus. The picketers reported that they were obsessively video filmed and provoked with insulting shouts by people who refused to introduce themselves.

Azad Gasanov, an activist of the "Musavat" Party, has complained that he could not go to Lithuania to his family because of the ban on leaving Azerbaijan. He has stated that there are no legal grounds for such a ban, since the term of his criminal sentence and the restrictions associated therewith had expired.

The Azerbaijani side has violated the ceasefire regime on the troops contact line for about 350 times, firing more than 3500 shots, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) has reported today.

On August 21, in Tbilisi, about 50 people held an action "Women's solidarity chain against violence". The participants came out with posters "No to violence" and "Georgia, don't recognize the dictator! Support the people of Belarus!"

The Neftchala District Court of Azerbaijan has accepted a lawsuit against the activist Vafi Nagi. She believes that the libel charge is untenable, since her criticism of the head of the municipal council "fits into the freedom of expression."

After the judgement of the Azerbaijani Supreme Court (SC), Emin Sagiev, a political prisoner, went on a hunger strike, insisting on his innocence and demanding release, his advocate has informed.

The positions of the Azerbaijani Army have come under fire in two districts bordering on Armenia, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed.

Activists in Astrakhan took to pickets in support of Alexei Navalny. They are convinced that the oppositional politician was poisoned, and this crime continued a series of similar assassination attempts.