News

During the week of July 20-26, 2020, four suspected members of the armed underground fell victim to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

Malkhaz Lezhava, a resident of the village of Medjvriskhevi, detained at the border with South Ossetia, has been released and placed under quarantine in Georgia, the Georgian State Security Service (SSS) has reported.

Entrepreneurs, Sergey Sarkisov and God Nisanov, called on their fellow countrymen to stop clashes amid the aggravation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Sarkisov has promised to compensate for the damage caused to the Azerbaijanis' property in Moscow.

The mother and sister of Mamikhan Umarov, assassinated in Austria, who live in Argun, have refuted his earlier claims that the authorities had been putting pressure on them. Social network users and local residents have treated the video as a staged one.

Spread of the coronavirus infection in the Caucasus; CTO in Kabardino-Balkaria; conflicts between natives of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Russia and other countries; confession voiced by relatives of Chechen blogger Mamikhan Umarov killed in Vienna; new sanctions imposed by the US Department of State against Ramzan Kadyrov, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of July 20-26, 2020, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

A conflict broke out among the Kist nationals living in the village of Duisi and Kakhetians from the village of Matani. Anzor Machalikashvili, the uncle of Temirlan Machalikashvili, killed in a special operation in Pankisi, suffered in the clash.

Managers of budget-funded institutions are forcing, under a threat of dismissal, their employees to get registered in social networks and post their photos with the hashtag "#MySemyaKRA" (We are the family of Kadyrov, Ramzan Akhmatovich) in support of Ramzan Kadyrov, who occurred under US sanctions.

Ruslan Alkhanov, the head of the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), armed with hand-held grenade launchers, has stated, imitating Ramzan Kadyrov, who occurred under US, to the US Secretary of State that he "accepted the battle." Instagram users have treated the Minister's behaviour as frivolous.

In Baku on July 15, Mamed Ibragim, a member of the Presidium of the oppositional Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), and two party activists, Elnur Yusubov and Sarvan Djumaev, were detained in connection with the action in support of the Azerbaijani Army. The PFPA has claimed 38 detained party members.

The escalation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict may result in economic losses for Georgia and an influx of refugees, the political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

After Ramzan Kadyrov's statement on tightening control over the observance of sanitary standards, officials threatened entrepreneurs with fines during their inspections of shops, cafés and marketplaces. At the same time, actions in support of the regional leader are held in the republic, at which the restrictions imposed by the authorities are not always observed.

On July 24, Kestutis Yankauskas, the head of the EU Delegation to Baku, and Bert Shufs, the Belgian Ambassador, were invited to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Khalaf Khalafov, the MFA deputy head, called on them to investigate the attacks on Azerbaijani citizens at the rallies in Brussels and to punish those responsible.

The feature film "Conference" by the Russian film director, Ivan Tverdovsky, telling about the consequences of the terror act in the Theatrical Centre on Dubrovka in 2002 has been included into the programme of the Venice Film Festival.

A court in Baku has rejected a motion asking to terminate the criminal case against Tofig Yagublu, a member of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) and the "Musavat" Party. The politician himself denied the accusations and called the case fabricated under a political order, his daughter Nigyar Khazi said.

Units of Armenian Armed Forces have violated the ceasefire for 35 times by using sniper rifles, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has claimed.

The International Circassian Organization (ICO) has announced a scholarship programme for students of Adygea. The authors of best essays on the topic "Maikop Culture: Its History and Significance" will receive scholarships of USD 1000, the ICO has stated.

The Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan has sent for reconsideration the investigator's motion concerning Elmar Mekhtiev, an Azerbaijani citizen, accused of using violence during a protest action in the tent camp in Kullar; the defence insisted on his transfer from custody to house arrest.

Investigators have qualified the murder of Ibragim Eldjarkiev, the head of the Ingush Centre for Combating Extremism (CCE), under the article on terror acts, by presenting new charges to all those arrested within the case.

Svetlana Anokhina, a Dagestani journalist, has received threats from some unknown person who referred to "instructions to deal with feminists." Before that, Ms Anokhina had announced the creation of a group for emergency help to women-victims of domestic violence.

Fuad Gakhramanly, a member of the Presidium of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), was arrested in connection with the July 15 rally in support of the Azerbaijani Army. The party believes that he is persecuted under a fabricated and politically motivated charge.