News

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has reacted to the coronavirus threat with philosophical speculations about the death and said that a drink with honey and lemon would help to avoid coronavirus infection.

A criminal case on hooliganism has been opened against Tezekhan Miralamli, a correspondent of the "Azadlyg" newspaper, a member of the oppositional Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA). His party colleagues are sure that he is prosecuted for political reasons.

Eida Arsanukhaev, a resident of Chechnya, accused of justifying terrorism and recruiting people into the ranks of militants, insists on his innocence. The check of his torture applications was conducted formally, the defence claims.

Officials continue forcing their subordinates to attend the "Akhmat Arena", despite the recommendation to avoid crowded places, Grozny state servants and students have complained. They noted that the stadium staff was wearing masks and gloves.

Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian Prime Minister, and his wife, Anna Akopyan, have self-isolated after her visit to Brazil. Their coronavirus test results are expected today.

Kristina Kokaeva, a journalist, has quit the "Ossetia-Iryston" TV Channel after she was prohibited to invite the female athletes, who practise "masculine" sports, to take part in her broadcasts.

During the past 24 hours, positions of the Azerbaijani Army on the border with Armenia and in the Karabakh conflict zone were shelled for 30 times, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed.

A video clip of Marat Tsumaev's apologies is in line with public repentance for insulting women, traditional for the Chechen society, said Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations.

Because of the spread of coronavirus in Azerbaijan, all mass events have been cancelled for a month; the work of cinemas, entertainment centres and gyms is prohibited; the work of public catering establishments is limited.

After the Friday namaz (prayer), more than 40 law enforcers were stopping the cars of the visitors to the "Tangim" Mosque in Makhachkala and copying out their personal data. One of the believers was put on the so-called "prophylactic registry" after visiting the "Tangim"; and another reported being summoned to the police.

The Ministry of Defence of Armenia reported about a shelling attack on its positions near the city of Ijevan, while the State Border Guard Service of Azerbaijan reported about a shelling attack on residential buildings in the village of Abbasbeili.

Ramzan Kadyrov is the only Russian governor who distributes orders and medals to his close relatives, note experts on the oriental studies interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". Such actions stimulate subordinates of the Chechen leader to serve him with special zeal, explains Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations.

The Ingush police did not succeed in a search for Khamzat and Ilez Dzeitov brothers, who were put on the wanted list after their arrival to the republic on February 27. Nothing in the brothers' behaviour would confirm the version that they had been allegedly recruited by militants, notes a father of the Dzeitov brothers.

A video, shot on behalf of a daughter of Adam Delimkhanov, the adviser to the leader of Chechnya, where the girl is called the "sultana of the sun and moon," does not comply with the Chechen ideas about nobility, Caucasian experts note. The demonstration of luxury style life on the video looks ostentatious, residents of the Chechen republic agree.

In Armenia, classes in educational institutions are suspended until March 23 after the detection of new cases of the coronavirus infection.

Law enforcers are conducting searches in two houses of residents of Sunzha, sources have reported. According to their story, the searches have to do with the protests held in Magas in March 2019.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has satisfied the complaint of the Azerbaijani lawyer, Aslan Ismailov about expelling him from the Bar Association, finding a violation of his right to a fair trial. However, the ECtHR did not appoint any compensation, since Ismailov had failed to put forward such a claim on time.

The Chechen blogger, Tumso Abdurakhmanov, has stated that after the assassination attempt on him, he expects no change in the position of Swedish authorities, who refused to provide him with political asylum. The Russian Embassy has asked Sweden to organize a telephone conversation with the Russians detained under the assassination attempt case on Tumso, committed in the city of Gävle.

The tourist business suffers losses; employees are fired; and hotels are massively closed, a female employee of one of tourist companies has stated. Panic caused by coronavirus collapsed the Georgian national currency versus US dollar, the National Bank has informed.

The whereabouts of the three residents of Derbent who disappeared in Grozny on February 10 is still unknown, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Dagestan has informed. The mother of one of the missing persons has complained that law enforcement bodies fail to inform relatives about the course of the search.