News

A social café "Time for Change", which employs people with disabilities, has opened in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan.

In Ingushetia, the second wave of mass protests within the last six months has undermined Yunus-Bek Evkurov's reputation in the eyes of the Russian federal authorities. The Kremlin is ready to replace the head of the republic in the near future, when it will not look like a concession to protesters' demands, political analysts believe.

In Yerevan, the participants of the memory action gathered in Freedom Square, and lit candles and torches to commemorate those who perished in the April 2016 war in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR); then, they went to the military cemetery.

After a meeting with participants of the protest action, who expressed their indignation about the dismissal of Konstantin Orbelyan and demanded the resignation of the Armenian Minister of Culture, Nikol Pashinyan agreed not to appoint a new director of the Opera Theatre. The Prime Minister offered the artists to refute the arguments of the Minister of Culture, who dismissed Konstantin Orbelyan.

Advocate Elchin Sadygov complained that the prison administration did not allow him to visit Bairam Mamedov, an arrested member of the movement "Nida".

In the cases on the attempted assassination of the Ganja Mayor and on the killing of two policemen, defendants were tortured, while law enforcers had no evidence of their guilt, relatives of the arrested persons complained.

A resident of Makhachkala, whose relatives filed a complaint about his kidnapping, sought the help of medical officers in court. His relatives reported the man had been tortured. The man himself denied all charges.

Four activists were summoned to the police for questioning as witnesses, reported Ismail Nalgiev, the head of the "Elections of Ingushetia".

Mass protests in Ingushetia demanding the resignation of the leader of the republic; meeting of the President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia; Ramzan Kadyrov's intervention in a road accident case in Mozhaisk highway in Moscow; transfer to the court of the case against Abdusamad Gamidov, the former Prime Minister of Dagestan; verdict of guilty to a resident of Georgia in the case on the murder of the US family; mass fight of policemen in Kalmykia, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of March 25-31, 2019, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

The sentence against Oyub Titiev entered into force, since the human rights defender refused to file an appeal against the verdict. He expects to return to his human rights activities after the conditional early relief (CER) in May, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" reports.

The authorities and the opposition of Nagorno-Karabakh positively assessed the meeting of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev in Vienna. Delegates of the "My Step" faction of the National Assembly of Armenia declared the protection of the unrecognized republic's interests.

The Genocide Day in connection with the events of March 1918 is marked on March 31 in Azerbaijan. On the eve of the tragic date, exhibitions and conferences were held across the country, and TV channels and radio stations cancelled entertainment programmes. According to politicians, the events of early 20th century have something in common with the Karabakh conflict.

Grozny has hosted the international conference "Islam – Message of Mercy and Peace", held with the participation of delegates from 43 countries. It was accompanied by enhanced security measures.

Students in Grozny told that they were forced to attend a football match of the local "Akhmat" Football Club (FC) versus "Spartak", which ended in favour of the Moscow team. Fans were unhappy with the play of local footballers.

After the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses* was considered to be an extremist one, and its activities were banned in Russia by the court, it became more difficult to defend them, rights defenders have stated. According to their version, the residents of Northern Caucasus, who have left the Islam, were especially suffering.

Bairam Mamedov, a member of the "Nida" movement, was arrested for 30 days on charges of disobeying the police. Activists have treated his arrest as pressure on Mamedov after his pardoning.

Arthur Sakunts, the head of the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, has appealed to the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Armenia, stating that during the 2015 dispersal of the action against the increase in electricity tariffs, policemen exceeded their powers in an organized manner.

Pavel Grib, a Ukrainian citizen, found guilty by the court of incitement to terror act, has stopped his protest action in order to avoid deterioration of his health, the head of the Public Oversight Commission (POC) of the Rostov Region has informed today.

In Kaspiysk, a former tutor of an orphanage is suspected of beating a child, investigators reported on March 29.

Muslim Djambekov who after the Ramzan Kadyrov's warning came to the police to surrender after a road accident in Moscow has been brought by policemen to the Russian capital to be handed over to investigators. A new video with his apologies to the leader of Chechnya caused bewilderment among residents of the republic interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". They noted that after a similar road accident in Grozny with the participation of a Ramzan Kadyrov's relative, the guilty driver was not punished.