News

The blogger Benjamin's trip to Chechnya, where he was forced to apologize for his joke about Chechen girls in the video, has not diminished his popularity. Meanwhile, YouTube users have recalled that the republic has an image of a region, where human rights are violated and where visits require extraordinary courage.

Believers have reported that on November 22, during their Friday namaz (prayer), there were no mobile posts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Dagestan near the "Tangim" Mosque. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, who visited the vicinity, has confirmed the absence of law enforcers there.

The court has ruled to release Nika Parulava, Beka Papashvili and Oto Shengeliya, activists of the "Smeni" movement by postponing the consideration of their cases. The proceeding of the case of Tite Gedenidze, an activist, has been stopped.

The Armenian government has decided to issue certificates for purchase of housing to families of refugees from Azerbaijan. In total, 112 families will receive them. This is the first authorities' decision in 11 years, which will help to solve the housing problem of at least a small part of the refugees.

Law enforcers have searched the house of parents of Izabella Evloeva, the founder and leader of the oppositional Ingush edition "Fortanga". Magomed Mutsolgov, a human rights defender, has linked the search with the professional activities of the journalist, who is temporarily living in Europe.

On November 22, Akhmed Dudaev, the head of the "Grozny" ChGTRK (Chechen State TV and Radio Company), has posted a video in the social network with a Canadian resident Azamat Ibragimov, a native of Chechnya, who decided to stay at his homeland, a voice-over-the-screen says.

Investigators have provided Murtazali Gasanguseinov, the father of the murdered shepherd brothers, with all the materials of the check regarding the law enforcer, who had reported on the killing of militants in the Shamil District. The demands of his solo pickets have been fulfilled, but Gasanguseynov's lawyers are ready to challenge the investigators' findings.

The police detained protesters who tried to block the building of the State Security Service of Georgia, and all six detainees have already been released, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia reports. The detainees did not render any resistance to the police, although administrative protocols on their alleged disobedience to the police were drawn up against them, one of the protesters reported.

Today, the Moscow City Court has upheld a decision on a fine of 150,000 roubles, imposed on Svetlana Gannushkina, the chair of the "Civic Assistance Committee", for a protest action on the anniversary of the Natalia Estemirova's murder. Svetlana Gannushkina requested the court to completely acquit her in the administrative case.

Azamat Ibragimov, a native of Chechnya, who arrived from Canada and disappeared, recorded a video of his walk around the centre of Grozny a week after his disappearance. In his video, Azamat Ibragimov called on natives of Chechnya living abroad to stop criticizing the republic's authorities. He did not record the video by his own will, suggested Instagram users and residents of Chechnya.

The Azerbaijani positions in the Karabakh conflict zone and in two villages on the border with Armenia were shelled 21 times within 24 hours, including from sniper rifles, Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reports today.

A member of the Orstkhoi teip (family clan) claimed that the disputed territories on the border with Ingushetia belonged to Chechnya. His statement provoked a negative reaction from Ingush users of Instagram.

The calls to kill, voiced by Ramzan Kadyrov, are undermining the authorities' prestige and can be perceived by subordinates of the head of Chechnya as a guide to action, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" and the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) have declared today in their statement to Alexander Bastrykin, the Chairman of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF).

A US court has sentenced Stanislav Lisov, a programmer from the city of Taganrog, to four years in prison, finding him guilty of cybercrimes. Lisov will be set free in a few months, since the court took into account the term already served by him.

Khafiz Babaly, an Azerbaijani investigative journalist, has become one of the laureates of the "Free Media-2019" Prize, awarded by the Norwegian Fritt Ord Foundation and the German ZEIT Foundation.

Chechnya is not very popular among foreign tourists; and the story of the public apology of the British blogger, Benjamin, will push away those few travellers who had planned a trip to the republic, Caucasian researchers interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The Committee against Repressions and Torture has appealed to international organizations urging them to pay attention to torture in Azerbaijan. Activists have also suggested conducting an expert investigation into the accident, in which Ogtai Gyulyalyev, the Committee coordinator, has suffered.

One week after the start of the action, the number of Makhachkala townspeople, who come to support Murtazali Gasanguseinov, the father of the slain shepherd brothers, has reached 35. Law enforcers have for the first time detained the picketers.

The psychiatrist who behaved unethically after his patient, Vladislav Pogorelov, answered the question about his sexual orientation, was disciplinary punished, the Public Health Committee of the Volgograd Region has reported. The Committee has apologized to Pogorelov.

Criminal cases on the clash between protesters and law enforcers in Magas contain no specific facts, and the arrested persons are subjected to pressure, their advocates note.