News

The parliamentary and presidential elections held in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) have no legal force, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has stated. According to the OSCE Minsk Group and the European Union (EU), the election results will not affect the legal status of the NKR and the outcome of negotiations on settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Policemen are excessively tough in performing their duties under the state of emergency in Marneuli and Bolnisi Districts, the NGO "Centre for Human Rights Training and Monitoring" has stated. Residents of the districts, having lost their earnings due to isolation, need social support, human rights defenders believe.

The head of Chechnya has signed a number of decrees, recommending local residents with chronic diseases, and those over 65 years old, to stay in self-isolation. The decrees were published amid Kadyrov's earlier threats to physical execute quarantine violators.

At some polling stations in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), violations of the secrecy of voting were observed, cases of voting for another person were recorded, while chairs of election commissions failed to turn to the police in such cases, Armenian observers have stated.

After the armed conflict has practically ceased in Northern Caucasus, the state and society should pay special attention to former militants' family members. This is stated in the report based on the studies conducted by the Conflict Analysis and Prevention Centre.

Oppositionists reported that they had registered a lot of violations in the course of the elections held in Nagorno-Karabakh. The number of the detected violations includes voters taking photos of ballots and not allowing opposition-minded contract soldiers to vote.

Police patrols monitoring the quarantine regime in Chechnya do not violate the law. This was announced by Ramzan Kadyrov after photos and videos of law enforcers armed with plastic pipes had appeared on the Internet.

Today, Azerbaijan marks the Genocide Day in connection with the events of March 1918 without mass events because of the spread of the coronavirus infection.

A statement voiced by the Chechen Minister for Public Health concerning no obligations to wear medical masks contradicts the law enforcers' requirements, local residents say. Despite the imposed quarantine regime, Ramzan Kadyrov considered outdoor recreation acceptable and called a bonfire a cure to prevent coronavirus infection.

Agil Gumbatov, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), has been sent for compulsory treatment after criticizing the authorities of Azerbaijan on social networks. This was claimed by a spouse of Agil Gumbatov and his political associates.

The human rights Union "For Freedom of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan" has included 140 persons into the updated list of political prisoners, including five journalists, seven political activists and 54 believers.

To prevent the spread of coronavirus, 780 employees of the Georgian penitentiary system have agreed to live in jail premises until April 21, the head of the country's Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has informed.

By majority of votes, the Armenian MPs have adopted, in the first reading, the bill allowing to follow, during the state of emergency caused by the epidemic, the citizens' travels through special applications on mobile phones, as well as to analyze the calls made by them. Human rights defenders have treated the bill as inefficient and able to negatively affect the authorities' image.

The authorities of Chechnya are reacting to the situation with the coronavirus spread in their common way, the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" said in their comments on the harsh measures introduced in the republic.

As a result of a shelling attack from the Azerbaijani side, two Armenian soldiers and a child from the village of Voskevan were wounded, the Armenian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reported. The wounded persons were taken to Yerevan; the health condition of the wounded child is assessed as grave.

During the week of March 23-29, 2020, three men were killed during the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus; there was no information about the wounded ones. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

Residents of Chechnya warn their acquaintances about raids on quarantine violators who may face beating up with plastic pipes. Djambulat Umarov, a Chechen Minister has called the video with law enforcers armed with pipes a "joke."

The "Eyewitness" mission has refused to monitor the elections in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) because of the coronavirus and urged to postpone them. Journalists from at least 13 Armenian media also decided not to go to cover the voting.

Starting from March 31, Georgia imposes a general quarantine and a curfew. Two new cases of the coronavirus infection have been confirmed in Georgia, and the total number of coronavirus-infected people reached 100.

Friends and colleagues of Abdulmumin Gadjiev retract the idea to hold solo pickets because of the coronavirus quarantine. The activists called on people to support the Dagestani journalist by writing posts in social networks and instant messengers.