News

The lawyers of the Committee against Torture (CaT) have joined the inquiry into the attack on Sirazhudin Datsiev, the head of the Dagestani office of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", as his representatives. They suggest that law enforcers could be involved in beating up the rights defender.

An abduction of a bride committed in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) has provoked debates in the network on religion and customs. Users' opinions diverged: some supported the guy, others sharply condemned the abduction.

The project on transit corridor through Abkhazia and South Ossetia is beneficial to Azerbaijan, as well as to other countries of the region, experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

After talks with Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg, Emmanuel Macron met Alexander Cherkasov, the head of the Human Right Centre (HRC) "Memorial", who reported to him about the case against Oyub Titiev and attacks on the HRC "Memorial" offices in the regions of Northern Caucasus.

Giorgi Kepashvili, a resident of the Gori District, was detained by the South Ossetian side on a charge of illegally crossing the border, the Georgian Service of State Security (SSS) reports.

Members of the Gevrigyan Armenian family based in the United States have donated 56 sports bicycles to children of soldiers and officers killed during the April war in 2016. According to the donators, this is their first donation action in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Real estate (housing) investors of the housing-and-building complex "Index" on hunger strike felt bad and an ambulance was called for them. Medical officers offered to hospitalize four women on hunger strike. The hunger-strikers refused to go to the hospital, but listened to the medical officers' advice and stopped participating in the protest action.

In Yerevan, the court refused to extend the arrest of Bogdan Kalyussky, also known as blogger Salman Sever. On May 30, he will be released, reported rights defender Arthur Sakunts, the head of the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly.

Law enforcers questioned students and teachers of the Grozny Medical College, where the young people killed in an attack on the Saint Michael the Archangel Church studied. The questioning was accompanied by threats, the students reported.

Eleven persons detained in Karachay-Cherkessia were adherents of the organization "At-Takfir Val-Hijra"*, a law enforcement source announced on May 24.

Today, the court in Adler has closed the case of Mardiros Demerchyan, who was accused of stealing some cable from the construction site, and of a false denunciation against policemen; however, the court did not rehabilitate him, Yuri Marikovsky, his advocate, has stated.

Today, Ilham Aliev, President of Azerbaijan, has signed a decree to pardon 634 convicts; however, it touched only 12 persons from the list of political prisoners; many of them were near their release time without pardoning, rights defenders assert.

The Armenian authorities can use force in case if supporters of the unit "Sasna Tsrer" do not stop acts of disobedience, political analysts and rights defenders assert.

In Krasnodar, five activists from the "Social Justice" Foundation and the movement "Putin's Detachments" are spending their fourth day on hunger strike in protest against frequent checks of the movement and the local authorities' attempts to close the Foundation. The hunger-strikers believe the local authorities underestimate the importance of support for the President by the "Putin's Detachments".

In Malgobek, two girls were hospitalized after they had been hit by a BMW car, driven by a 15-year-old teenager, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reports.

The statement of the Chechen rights defender Oyub Titiev that the marijuana had been planted on him was checked; however, it was confirmed only by his words, the investigator has stated today at the court session.

Today, Giorgi Margvelashvili, the Georgia's President, has signed a decree to pardon 143 prisoners. 84 pardoned inmates will be released today; and 59 others will have their terms reduced.

The information about poor conditions for deployment of policemen seconded on the eve of the FIFA World Cup to Volgograd is not true, reports the Department for the Volgograd Region of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) after checking a message posted in social networks.

The authorities of Kabardino-Balkaria are working on a project to create a ski patrol to ensure order at resorts in skiing areas, reports Murat Shogentsukov, Minister for Resorts and Tourism of the region.

Bogdan Kalyusskiy, also known as Salman Sever, has received a certificate of the status of refuge seeker, Arthur Sakunts, a rights defender and the head of the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on May 22.