News

Yunus-Bek Evkurov has estimated the deportation period of the students detained in Egypt as one-two months, but their relatives doubt the estimate. They deny the detainees' involvement in extremism, but they fear that students will face criminal prosecution at home. Alexei Malashenko, a political analyst, believes that the case is unique.

On March 8, a memorial event was held in Nalchik on the 75th anniversary of the deportation of Balkars. Some locals found it inappropriate to celebrate the International Women's Day on a tragic date for the nation.

The refusal of some residents of Chechnya and Dagestan to celebrate March 8 is associated with religious motives. Young people in Dagestan tend to perceive March 8 as an ordinary day; while older people, out of habit, celebrate the holiday, said Makhachkala townspeople. Residents of Kabardino-Balkaria, who commemorate the Balkars-deportation victims on March 8, would like to celebrate the Women's Day on another date.

Senator Ziyad Sabsabi, who has returned the son of a resident of Dagestan from the Middle East, explained that the child had been stolen from the refugee camp by "our militaries." His words contradict the authorities' version that the boy was kidnapped by unknown persons, residents of Chechnya have noted, expressing doubts that a child was found in Syria in a few days.

The President of Georgia has not enough levers to implement her initiatives, political analysts have stated after Salome Zurabishvili's speech on the Georgia's Euro-Atlantic policies. On March 6, the opposition boycotted the president's speech in the parliament in protest against election frauds.

Today, some residents of Chechnya have refused to celebrate the International Women's Day for religious reasons. The woman's cult is one of the national traditions in Chechnya, said Saipuddi Nataev, a historian. The eighth of March was perceived in the Caucasus as a state, not family holiday, said Sergey Arutyunov, a researcher of the Caucasus.

Since 2001, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has made over 250 decisions on complaints about violent disappearances of residents of Chechnya and Ingushetia, the lawyers of the "Legal Initiative" Project and the Ingush branch of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" have stated. The ECtHR's decision on the disappearance of 17 residents of these republics has already entered into force.

On March 7, the US Congress Committee approved a resolution calling for the investigation into the murder of the oppositional politician Boris Nemtsov and to impose sanctions against those who were involved in it. The congressmen also offered to study the foreign business assets of the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.

Doctors assess the condition of a Russian serviceman of the Russian military base, who received a stab wound in Gyumri as stably grave.

Policemen prevented activists from marching in protest of violence against women. They explained their actions by the fact that the march was not sanctioned. Female activists argue stating that holiday actions require no sanctioning.

The units of the Armenian Armed Forces have violated the ceasefire regime for 26 times by using large-calibre machine guns, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has stated.

On March 7, at the request of the Prosecutor's Office (PO), the Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya postponed the consideration of the complaint lodged by the "Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Grozny" Company against the demand to write off gas debts to residents of the republic.

Annagi Gadjibeili, the head of the Azerbaijan Bar Association, is still under the ban on leaving the country, although the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found the ban to be a violation of his right to the freedom of travel. Mr Gadjibeili said that he could get the needed high quality treatment only abroad, as he was loosing his vision capacity.

The members of the public council and the Imam of the "Tangim" mosque in Makhachkala have complained about regular law enforcers' raids and detentions of parishioners. On March 12, they plan to meet the republic's prosecutor.

Akhmed Israfilov, detained within the case of the disruption of the anime festival and a concert of Yegor Kreed in Makhachkala, was released under recognizance not to leave, a source has reported. The festival organizers refuse to treat Israfilov as the main culprit in disrupting the event.

Russian authorities should immediately release Oyub Titiev, the head of the Grozny office of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", experts of the UN Human Rights Council have stated.

Ingush activists have linked the seizure of documents from the "Tesham" Charity Fund with the participation of its leaders in protests. The police carried out a routine inspection; law enforcers have no claims to the work of the Fund, "Tesham" employees have stated.

Activists have launched a campaign in the social networks "Free all!" demanding that the President of Azerbaijan release all the political prisoners on the occasion of the Novruz holiday. Authorities are now monitoring the public opinion in social networks, initiators of the campaign believe.

The sapper, who has arrived in Syria as a member of the humanitarian contingent from Armenia, was wounded at demining.

Hundreds of people attended the funeral of Sharip Ismailov, who disappeared in January 1995, his relatives reported. Family members of the people disappeared during the military campaigns in Chechnya still hope to find their relatives.