News

Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov published at least 20 messages received from residents of the republic. Employees of Chechen organizations complain of being forced to work at subbotniks (voluntary cleaning works) and attend rallies and sports events. They also complain of deductions from their salaries.

In the Stavropol Territory, the court of Mineralnye Vody sentenced local residents to 2-5 years of imprisonment in a penal colony for extorting money from LGBT people under the threat to disclose their sexual orientation.

Alibek Mirzekhanov, a native of Dagestan, accused of having links to militants and recruiting supporters for the "Islamic State" (IS) banned in Russia by the court, will be kept in custody until June 20.

A case on the death of a soldier who died after getting a wound in a military unit is being investigated under the article of "bringing to suicide," the Investigating Committee of Armenia reports.

More than 200 people were involved in a subbotnik (voluntary cleaning work) to clean slopes of the Terek ridge, where a horse hiking campaign announced by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov would take place. Residents of Chechnya claimed their forced participation in the subbotnik.

In a dispute with blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov, theologians voice the position of the Chechen leader, and they are involved in the dispute to use their authority to protect the memory of Akhmat Kadyrov, experts believe.

After having searched his office and home, law enforcers came two days in a row to the home of Magomed Mutsolgov, the head of the Ingush human rights organization "Mashr". He himself believes that they are acting under pressure from the authorities.

A contract serviceman was taken to a hospital in Armenia with a gunshot wound, the country's Ministry of Defence has reported. Doctors assess his condition as extremely grave.

Two sisters from Saudi Arabia, who are hiding in Georgia from their relatives' persecutions, have asked the UN for protection, fearing a return to their homeland.

Zograb Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mamedyarov, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, respectively, agreed to take measures to allow relatives to visit inmates. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) has stated that simultaneous reciprocal visits of relatives to convicts will be a guarantee of personal security for those who have to spend their prison terms in a foreign country.

Miyasat Kitalaeva, a resident of Makhachkala, accused of involvement in the armed underground and kidnappings, was kept by militants in the forest against her will, and didn't join their regiment, her defence insists.

Every year, authorities of Ingushetia interfere with the actions dedicated to rehabilitation of repressed nations, Ismail Nalgiev, an activist, has stated, adding that officials telephoned the organizers of the rally and tried to press on them through their relatives.

A criminal case has been instituted against a 20-year-old man on suspicion of his participation in an illegal armed formation (IAF) in Makhachkala, investigators have reported.

The complaint of Aslan Cherkesov, a native of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), about the ban to pray is a sufficient reason to check the prison where he is being held, Valery Borschov, a lawyer and a co-chairman of the Moscow Helsinki Group, believes. Cherkesov's custody conditions are inhuman, said Valery Slepukha, a former head of the Public Oversight Commission (POC) of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Chechnya has committed a gross violation in fixing the border by accounting the disputable land plot from the Kizlyar District as its territory. This act should be appealed against, the participants of the sitting in Makhachkala have stated.

The government of Ingushetia has refused to sanction a rally to mark the anniversary of the adoption of the law on rehabilitation of repressed nations. The authorities claim that the organizers failed to indicate how they intend to ensure the public order.

The Armenian General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) has approved the indictment in the case of the MP, General Manvel Grigoryan. His wife, Nazik Amiryan, will also face justice.

The grandson of the former headman of the village of Zartonk in Armenia, who opened fire during a conflict with his fellow villagers, has been released under recognizance not to leave. The second detainee was arrested for two months; but villagers demand to release him.

The abolition of the counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime failed to stop kidnappings and extrajudicial executions in Chechnya, while the powers of federal law enforcers have long passed over to Ramzan Kadyrov, the Human Rights Centre "Memorial" has stated.

The positions of the Azerbaijani Army deployed in the Karabakh conflict zone were shelled, including from large-calibre machine guns, the country's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has stated.