News

A court in Cherkessk, the capital of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR), has left three residents of the city of Teberda accused of illegal arms dealing, in custody. Their relatives wrote complaints about law enforcers, who had taken the detainees for several days to Chechnya.

In his petition to the president of Azerbaijan, activist Anar Mamedli noted that in country's penitentiary institutions, prisoners face the risk of the coronavirus infection. The activist called for mercy on political prisoners and people who did not commit serious crimes.

Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, a father and a coach of Khabib Nurmagomedov, a Dagestani mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, died. This was reported by his relatives, the "Makhachkala Izvestia" reports.

Activists have treated the refusal to use the conditional early relief (CER) in relation to the Azerbaijani oppositionist Babek Gasanov as discrimination on political grounds. The defence has appealed against the court judgement.

Five members of an extremist organization in the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR) have advocated the creation of a caliphate in Northern Caucasus; they stored weapons and banned literature, the Russian FSB (Federal Security Bureau) said.

The statement of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Chechnya about the high citizens' activeness during the vote on amendments to the Constitution of Russia were sceptically perceived by residents of the republic, who called the numbers "exaggerated" and the vote itself a farce.

The criminal case of Mikhail Zhigunov, a resident of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), accused of involvement in the terrorist community in the Kalmyk colony, the organizer of which is considered by investigators to be Shakhban Gasanov, who was killed in 2015 in Khasavyurt, has been sent to court.

A total of 572 new cases of COVID-19 infection have been diagnosed in Azerbaijan; the total number of those infected has reached 18,684. Amid this situation, authorities have extended the strict quarantine until July 20.

At least ten gays were killed in Chechnya over the past three years; while evacuation of LGBT people from the republic is hampered by falsification of criminal cases against them, Olga Baranova, an employee of the Moscow Community Centre, said in her interview with the "Meduza".

According to the official statistics, Chechnya showed the highest voter turnout in the Russian Federation at the voting on amendments to the Constitution. In Southern Russia, ten regions registered lower voter turnout as compared to the presidential election in 2018.

In recent weeks, residents of Gudermes suffer from interruptions in water supply, and in residential buildings, apartments located on the third floors and higher are completely cut off from water supply, city residents complain. People have to buy drinking water and refuse to use washing machines.

In Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has removed road checkpoints in order to involve more policemen in foot patrols. The police enhance the control over the compliance with the requirements of social distancing and the use of medical masks.

In Armenia, residents of the resort town of Jermuk blocked a road in protest against a new security company in the territory of the Amulsar field. The protest ended with the withdrawal of armed guards from the territory of the mine.

Experts have confirmed the version of Malika Djikaeva, a blogger from North Ossetia, that she had not taken narcotic drugs. The girl's arrest in Chechnya was extended until mid-August.

Journalist Rashid Maisigov, accused of drug possession, has refused to plead guilty, stating that the proofs had been planted on him, said Magomed Aushev, his advocate. The prosecution of Maisigov has to do with his professional activities, in particular, with his coverage of the protests of opponents of the border agreement with Chechnya in 2019, lawyers believe.

On July 1, Agil Gumbatov, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), was discharged from the psychiatric hospital where he spent three months under forced treatment after he criticized authorities on the Facebook. The activist intends to continue his political struggle.

The court has refused to apply the conditional early relief (CER) to Babek Gasanov, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), explaining that he had been placed into the dungeon (punishment cell) for violating the discipline.

Over 80 observers from the "Solidarity and Freedom" Committee, who monitored the voting on constitutional amendments in Dagestan, revealed facts of ballot stuffing, voting for relatives, the use of administrative resources and other violations. At one of the republic's polling stations, voters were given several ballots at once, as noted at the "Violations Map" of the "Golos" (Vote) movement.

In Makhachkala, voters for constitutional amendments liked patriotic music and the fact that disposable masks, gloves and pens were handed out at the polling stations. Well before the end of the vote, the turnout in Dagestan reached 82%.

Georgian authorities have postponed the opening of regular international flights by at least a month. Foreign tourists will be able to visit Georgia no earlier than August.