News

A resident of Khasavyurt has admitted at a trial that he was an intermediary in the transfer of 250,000 roubles by Yulduz Kurashova, a Dagestani woman, to the policemen who had detained her. He repented and made amends for the damage.

Salakh Mezhiev, the head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Chechnya, has responded in an insulting manner to his opponents who had been dissatisfied with his public criticism of girls wearing niqabs. Calling his opponents "Allah's enemies", the Mufti stated that it is shameful not to wear "the clothes of one's own nation."

The parties have agreed on the principle of exchanging prisoners of war (POWs) under the "all for all" format. Both those who were captured during the last escalation of the Karabakh conflict and those who had been captured earlier will be exchanged, the Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has stated.

About 15 persons continue their action in Tskhinvali, demanding an investigation into the death of Inal Djabiev. His family intends to protest until the perpetrators are punished, Oksana Sotieva, Inal's widow, has stated.

Despite his grave health condition, a court in Baku has refused to transfer Afghan Sadygov, a journalist, who has been on a hunger strike for more than 30 days at the SIZO (pre-trial prison), under house arrest. The authorities had provoked Sadygov to receive a bribe, but there was no reason to accuse him under a grave criminal article, said his colleague. Khadija Ismayilova.

Amid regional authorities' threats to punish the residents who fail to observe the COVID-19 prophylaxis, Chechen officials are neglecting the mask regime, Instagram users have noted.

Most residents of the city of Berdzor and neighbouring villages in the Lachin Corridor have left their homes, despite the presence of Russian peacemakers. Local residents do not feel safe as the authorities failed to clarify their living conditions in these territories.

Inal Djabiev's twin brother Atsamaz, whose detention in South Ossetia was reported by his mother, has joined protesters in Tskhinvali after his release.

A court in Tskhinvali has arrested Mirian Taziashvili, a Georgian citizen, for two months on charges of trespassing the border. He could have been fined and released, but sentenced to arrest, the man's wife has complained.

The bills on the work of non-commercial organizations (NCOs) will make it almost impossible to work in Southern Russia, human rights defenders believe.

Over two days, 38 bodies of deceased Armenian soldiers were found in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan has still not allowed search rescue teams into a number of areas of the conflict zone and delays the exchange of bodies of deceased soldiers, the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) of Nagorno-Karabakh claims.

The resolution on the need to recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, adopted by the Lower House of the French Parliament, presents the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict as an interreligious clash, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) declares.

The Armenian and Azerbaijani sides transferred the information about prisoners of war to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

On December 3, in Vienna, members of the Chechen Diaspora and human rights defenders held an action to protest against the mass deportation of ethnic Chechens to Russia. By pronouncing such decisions, the Austrian authorities violate the Convention on Human Rights, suggests Svetlana Gannushkina, the chair of the NGO "Civic Assistance Committee".

The start of the consideration by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) of complaints lodged by the men sentenced in a case on an attack on Nalchik increases their chances not only for compensation, but also for commutation of their sentences, advocates note. Rasul Kudaev, sentenced to life imprisonment, suffers from serious diseases, but does not receive sufficient medical care, his mother complains.

The torture case of Shamil Atabiev, a resident of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR), by law enforcers is at the initial stage, his advocate has stated. The defence insists on a repeated medical examination in order to re-qualify the case on abuse of power into a heavier charge.

Wearing a niqab is voluntary, and no one, according to Islam, has the right to impose or prohibit it, Musa Lomaev, a blogger, has noted. The girls, deciding to make use of the authorities' demand to wear masks during the pandemic, have put on niqabs instead of medical masks, the blogger, Tumso Abdurakhmanov, has suggested.

It is undesirable for residents of Chechnya over 65 years old to come to mosques for collective Friday namaz (prayer) due to the threat of coronavirus spread, the republic's Mufti, Salakh Mezhiev, has declared.

The demining of the territories after the fighting in Karabakh may take a year, Alexander Perendjiev, a political analyst, has suggested. In his turn, Vasily Dandykin believes that Russian peacemakers, due to their experience, will cope with demining in a few months.

Law enforcers have posted on the Instagram a video with the repentance of two residents of Bachi-Yurt, who had spread their comic video with the participation of policemen in social networks. The authors' misconduct is not a crime; this case hardly needed any publicity, users have commented.