News

The bill on adding the notion of "illegal enrichment" to the Criminal Code of Abkhazia will be considered at the next session of the parliament, Astamur Logua, an MP has announced. Astamur Kakaliya, the initiator of the amendments, has stated that the action will continue until the day of the session.

The temporary disability, by which Ramzan Kadyrov motivated the appointment of Muslim Khuchiev as the acting head of Chechnya, suggests Kadyrov's sick leave. The very fact of the appointment does not imply the decision taken about Kadyrov's successor, lawyers and a political analyst assert.

The court has postponed the selection of a freedom restraint measure to blogger Alibek Mirzekhanov, detained within the case of a mass brawl in Moscow, until February 21. Alibek has an alibi; but he testified against himself under pressure, his relatives and defence assert.

Artyom Shitukhin, the chairman of the "Solidarity" LGBT Movement, has linked his dismissal from the higher school with his efforts to draw attention to the discrimination of gays in Chechnya; he also stated constant threats received by him.

There is no information about the casualties and victims of the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus, registered during the week of February 11-17, 2019. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from open sources.

The construction of a Chechnya-Georgia border crossing, proposed by Ramzan Kadyrov, promises no economic benefits, and will give no military-strategic advantage either to Russia or Georgia, experts say.

The detention of residents of the settlement of Tersky had to do with a discussion of the situation in Syria, their relatives have informed.

Ramzan Kadyrov appointed Chechen government's chairman Muslim Khuchiev the acting leader of the republic for the period of his inability to work.

Experts, NGOs, and independent media should be involved in the coordination of borders between Dagestan and Chechnya, believe authors of the appeal to the authorities of the Russian Federation. The authorities should take into account the negative experience of work in Ingushetia, note Dagestani journalists.

Azerbaijani kick-boxer Anar Suleimanov is arrested for 20 days for beating his wife. Domestic violence against women is widespread, and recently the attitude of the police towards the problem has changed, notes Mekhriban Zeinalova, the head of the NGO "Clean World". Every year 30-40 victims of domestic violence seek help, reports Novella Djafaroglu, the head of the Association for the Protection of Women's Rights.

Attack on a Kuban journalist; strike of minibus drivers in Makhachkala; completion of the investigation into the "March 1" case and adoption of a new government programme in Armenia; events in Southern Russia on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of February 11-17, 2019, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

A native of Dagestan, Alibek Mirzekhanov, has been detained on suspicion of involvement in the brawl in the "Neolit" Cafe, a law enforcement source has informed. Mirzekhanov's subscribers have posted the hashtag #свободуалибеку (Freedom to Alibek) on the Instagram.

Alibek Mirzekhanov, a blogger, has disappeared after law enforcers visited his apartment in Moscow, where he lived with his family.

According to police estimates, over 400 people came to a rally in support of Oleg Khosonov, accused of the murder of Bichenov brothers in Beslan in June 2018. Oleg's relatives assert that his shooting was an act of self-defence.

Sedrak Kocharyan, the elder son of Robert Kocharyan, the former President of Armenia, has informed that he is under recognizance not to leave, because of charges of money laundering and tax evasion.

On February 15, Chechnya began receiving documents from those who wish to make a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. This year, it has been decided to increase the number of theologians who will accompany the pilgrims; and each participant of the Hajj will receive religious literature and will be able to bring home five litres of water from the holy source, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Chechnya has announced.

Talekh Bagirzade, the leader of the "Muslim Unity" Movement, has agreed to stop his hunger strike, the co-chairs of the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Inmates-Believers (CPRIB), who visited Talekh in an Azerbaijani prison, have informed.

After the protests, Georgian officials got convinced not to dismantle the monument to Mikhail Avagyan, a Karabakh War veteran, local politicians of Armenian origin have reported. The Georgian authorities will not let go of a conflict of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Diasporas, the political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

On February 10-16, Azerbaijani soldiers fired more than 1700 shots at the positions of the Defence Army of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), the NKR's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed.

After the meeting with the Armenian Vice-Premier, workers of the Alaverdi Copper Smelter unblocked the Yerevan-Tbilisi railway, agreeing to wait for the outcomes of the talks on the resumption of the factory operation.