News

Russia has failed to essentially answer the questions asked by the countries of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) about violations of LGBTs' rights and extrajudicial executions in Chechnya. Sixteen countries have called to send an emergency mission to investigate these crimes in connection with Russia's violation of its OSCE commitments.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has accepted the complaint of a Dagestan Biyarslan Akaev, who was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of aiding militants. Akaev has stated in his complaint that he had slandered himself under torture.

Opponents of the border agreement with Chechnya stopped their protest rally in Magas after the decision of the Constitutional Court (CC) of Ingushetia; but they are ready to resume it, said its organizers. The CC's decision will not lead to cancellation of the border law, the head of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Evkurov, has stated.

Border guards did not allow Mustafa Gadjibeili, the editor-in-chief of the "Bastainfo.com" website, to fly to Georgia. According to his story, the website was blocked after the publication about the attempt on the Mayor of the city of Ganja, but he was not informed about the ban on leaving the country.

Dozens of prisoners in two correctional facilities of Armenia have gone on endless hunger strike, demanding to reconsider the draft amnesty law. Despite the protests, the parliament passed the draft as it was brought in.

Law enforcers have detained the organizer of a unit of the "At-Takfir Val-Hijra" organization, recognized as extremist in Russia and banned by the court, and four followers of this religious association.

On October 31, the Supreme Court (SC) of Kabardino-Balkaria began to consider a complaint filed by a student of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University (KBSU), who challenged the fines imposed on him after he had appeared on the place of the September riots. The student claims that he did not take part in the protest action.

The Chechen authorities plan to equip the territories on the border with Ingushetia to attract tourists, announces Ramzan Kadyrov. He has suggested detaining those who "provoke" conflicts between Chechen and Ingush people.

Not a single member of the Armenian parliament voted to appoint Nikol Pashinyan the Prime Minister of Armenia. Such a decision leads to the dissolution of the National Assembly.

After voicing criticism against the authorities of Chechnya, Isa Khamkhoev risks to lose support of Ramzan Kadyrov against the background of deterioration in his relations with Ingush leader Yunus-Bek Evkurov. This opinion was voiced by scientists engaged in studies of the Caucasus.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) for Azerbaijani complained about shelling of its positions in the Karabakh conflict zone after the monitoring held by OSCE observers.

Residents of Sochi who lost property because of flooding and who lived without registration, as well as those people who recently bought houses, did not get any assistance. The people left without compensation believe it has no sense to seek money through the courts.

In Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, violence on religious grounds is associated with the destruction of traditional hierarchies, increased individualism, and urbanization, believes Irina Starodubrovskaya, an author of the report on religiously-motivated violence.

The Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya has postponed the decision on the appeal for the conditional early relief (CER) of Zhalaudi Geriev, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, until November 8.

The decision of the organizing committee to stop the rally in Magas has nullified the two weeks of protest of Ingush activists; none of the demands have been fulfilled, the co-chairs of the "Mekhk Khel" movement have stated.

At the Congress of the Ingush People, delegates from foreign Ingush Diasporas expressed their disagreement with the transfer of land to Chechnya and opposed the Ingush-Chechen border agreement. Residents of Chechnya pointed to the negative consequences of the decisions of the congress.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation is studying the issue of changing the territory of the "Erzi" Natural Reserve in connection with the border agreement on the Chechen-Ingush border, the "Kommersant" reports. Environmentalists fear that the reserve will lose the land that was passed over to Chechnya.

Lawyers are engaged in studying the agreement on the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia, said Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov when answering a question about the Moscow's intervention in the situation.

Armenian MPs adopted the law on amnesty in the first reading. The pardon will affect more than 6500 people, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) reported. The hearing was held against the background of a protest held by relatives of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment who demanded that the amnesty should be extended to them.

While monitoring the contact line of the armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, OSCE observers did not reveal any violations of the ceasefire regime.