News

The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" appealed to Russia's Ombudsperson Tatiana Moskalkova with a request to find out why the Russian Ministry of Finance demanded to review the documents submitted by victims of the counterterrorist operation (CTO) in Dagestan.

Over 24 hours, the positions of the Azerbaijani army in the Karabakh conflict zone, including in the border village, were shelled 24 times, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for Azerbaijan reports today.

On the eve of the holy month of Ramadan, prices for certain foodstuffs went up in Grozny, local residents report. The republic's authorities are unable to restrain food price growth, Ruslan Kutaev, the head of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, believes.

Because of the flooding, some villagers of the Gurdjaani and Lagodekhi Districts of Georgia have lost their crops. Local authorities indicate the need to restore protective facilities on the Alazani and Inaboti Rivers.

Charity events, collective Iftars and Nashid parties were held in Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and Ingushetia on the occasion of the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

The investigating authorities of Ingushetia have declared three women-residents of the republic to be accomplices to the militants fighting in Syria. The eldest woman is 27 years old, the youngest one is 19, investigators have reported.

The report of an attack on military servicemen in Chechnya on April 22, widespread by the "Islamic State" (IS), a terrorist organization banned in Russia by the court, is aimed at maintaining its image and strengthening its influence on militants, experts assert. At the same time, they noted that Chechen authorities failed to provide any evidence refuting this information.

The court has released Emin Babaev, a member of the "Republican Alternative" (ReAl) Party, from custody, having fined him for disobeying police. Babaev himself denies the charges. Azer Gasymly, the Chairman of the Party's Majlis, asserts that Babaev was detained for political reasons.

In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, a court refused to recognize that placing Aslan Cherkesov, a native of Kabardino-Balkaria, into the dungeon (a punishment cell, also known as ShIZO) for many times in a row was a violation, the inmate's advocate has informed.

Demonstrations on May Day; release of journalist Zhalaudi Geriev; aggravation in the Karabakh conflict zone, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of April 29-May 5, 2019, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

A resident of the village of Kveshi, located on the border with South Ossetia, was detained on May 5, the Georgian State Security Service (SSS) has reported today.

The General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Azerbaijan has allowed trips abroad for three journalists and a writer, who had been prohibited from leaving the country in connection with the criminal case against the "Meydan TV".

Activists of the "Strength in Unity" movement decided to start patrolling the territory of the "David Garedja" Monastery Complex since May 7, in order to prevent Azerbaijani border guards from blocking the road to the monasteries.

In the course of the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus, during the week from April 29 to May 5, 2019, no victims were reported. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

Emin Babaev, a member of the "Republican Alternative" (ReAl) Party, was detained on charges of disobeying the police and was kept in custody for more than 24 hours, although the judge has postponed the trial and released him, said Natig Djafarli, the Secretary of the Party.

The Georgian activists, who lined up in a living chain near the "David Garedja" Monastery Complex on the border with Azerbaijan, were closely watched by border guards of the two countries. Mamuka Bakhtadze, the Georgian Prime Minister, has stated that the solution of the problems of border demarcating and disputed territories will take a lot of time.

Law enforcers have announced a federal search for Akhmed Pogorov, a co-chairman of the World Congress of the Ingush People, who figures as a witness in the case of clashes at a rally in Ingushetia. Mr Pogorov could face an arrest, his advocates say.

In Chechnya, theologians have set the size of Zakat Al-Fitr (alms mandatory for Muslims) and Kaffarat (redemptive action for breaking the fast) in the amount of 100 and 50 roubles, respectively.

On Friday, May 3, law enforcers conducted another raid near the "Tangim" mosque in Makhachkala. At least two parishioners were taken to the police station.

Shafag Agabalaeva, the editor-in-chief of the website "Bakupress.az" has gone on a hunger strike after her arrest within a drug dealing case. Her supporters have suggested that she was slandered for her publications about the sale of psychotropic drugs at pharmacies. Her website had written a lot about the problem of drug addiction, human rights defenders have stated.