News

This morning, in Tbilisi, participants of a protest rally who set up tents at the entrances to the parliament building, allowed parliament staff to enter the building, but promised not to let MPs in.

On November 17, in their joint statement, the EU Delegation and the US Embassy to Georgia called on supporters of the opposition, involved in protests, and the Georgian government to retract political confrontation and to start a calm and respectful dialogue.

The leader of Chechnya counted about ten active critics and accused them of permanent attempts to misinterpret his phrases. According to Ramzan Kadyrov, threats to beat and kill people comply with the adat norms and should not be taken literally.

Three rallies of oppositional forces were held in Tbilisi. Despite similar demands put forward to the authorities, the rally participants decided not to unite.

Four residents of Makhachkala have joined the action held by Murtazali Gasanguseinov and Djambulat Gasanov, who demand to punish the law enforcers guilty for killing two shepherd brothers, Murtazali's sons.

On air of the Chechen TV, a resident of the Naur District has repented of violating traffic rules while trying to oust another car of the wedding motorcade off the road. Local residents treat his public repentance as excessive.

The Baku executive authorities have refused to sanction a picket scheduled for November 19 and applied for by the "Movement for Democracy and Welfare" (MDW) with the aim to demand a reduction of the retirement age and higher pensions, Gubad Ibadoglu, an economic expert and the head of the MDW, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Sanctions against Azerbaijani officials should be a sort of payment for violating the freedom of assembly, and for harassing their critics, the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) of Azerbaijan has stated.

The consideration of the complaint against the arrest of Razim Amiraslanly, Deputy Chairman of the "Musavat" Party, was postponed at the request of his defence, which found falsifications in the protocol of the court session. Amiraslanly treats his case as falsified.

Abu Umar al-Shishani, a deputy military Amir of the "Islamic State" (IS), a terrorist organization banned in Russia by the court, who was detained in Ukraine, is Tsezar Tokhosashvili, a native of the Pankisi Gorge. In Tbilisi, he had been sentenced in absentia to imprisonment, the State Security Service (SSS) of Georgia has announced.

The police of the Gudermes District have rebuked the detained young people for using psychotropic substances and alcohol. The respective video was disseminated in social networks, which has humiliated the detainees, local residents and Instagram users have stated.

Dozens of houses in the Dagestani settlement of Vremenny are unfit for residence today, five years after the counter-terrorist operation (CTO), during which people had to abandon their houses. Some villagers could restore their houses on their own; the authorities failed to take any part therein. Compensations for destroyed houses to villagers are under question due to authorities' inaction, lawyers assert.

Police posts on the Chechen border are needed for security, the experts, Andrei Serenko and Ruslan Gereev, believe. Alexander Perendjiev, a political analyst, thinks that Ramzan Kadyrov's calls to eliminate all the block posts in Northern Caucasus were just populism.

On November 15, activists of the AND movement held a picket in Strasbourg, demanding from Azerbaijani authorities to release political prisoners and respect the freedoms of speech and assembly. Employees of the Azerbaijani representative at the PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) failed to come out and talk to protesters.

The law enforcers, who are regularly conducting raids in the vicinity of the "Tangim" Mosque in Makhachkala, stopped detaining believers. Instead, they write down their personal data and that of the drivers moving in their cars near the mosque. Then, they are called to police stations and persuaded not to attend the mosque, which is considered to be a "Salafi" one, the local believers report.

The Security Service of Ukraine (known as SBU) has announced the detention of Al Bara Shishani, a native of Georgia and one of the key leaders of the "Islamic State" (IS, earlier, the ISIL), a terrorist organization banned in Russia by the court.

A court has ruled to arrest Vazha Gaprindashvili, a Georgian doctor, who was detained for breaching the border with South Ossetia. Tbilisi doctors and the Georgian "Young Lawyers' Association" have urged to release him, pointing to the humanitarian crisis associated with the closure of the border by South-Ossetian authorities.

The opening by Chechnya of law enforcers' posts on the border with Dagestan less than a year after Ramzan Kadyrov offered to remove all the checkpoints in Northern Caucasus was treated by social network users as inconsistent. Local residents fear that the new posts will complicate the traffic among the republics. Chechen authorities have explained the measure by the need to control the border section with Dagestan.

In Chechnya, public sector employees are still being obliged to join the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party, despite a refutation voiced by the republic's authorities, local residents say. Membership in the ruling party will not give anything to ordinary employees, but it can serve as a sign of person's loyalty, emphasize political analysts.

Six residents of Makhachkala joined Murtazali Gasanguseinov, a father of the killed shepherds, and activist Djambulat Gasanov, who went on pickets in Makhachkala. Protesters criticized the actions of the investigators.