News

During a year, the investigation of threats received by the staff of the Makhachkala branch of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", arson of rights defenders' car, and beating up of Sirazhudin Datsiev, has not progressed; investigators shy away from contacts with victims and their lawyers, stated the participants of the press conference that took place in the capital of Dagestan on February 15.

On February 15, policemen conducted a preventive raid in the area of the mosque in Omarov Street; all the detainees are already back at large, the spokesman of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Dagestan has stated. Such raids are held every Friday, the journalist, Idris Yusupov, has added.

Mass protests of residents of Ingushetia against the agreement on the border with Chechnya have demonstrated the significance of the religious factor in the region, the participants of the seminar on the history and modern state of Islam, held on February 13 at the Institute of Oriental Studies, have stated.

Workers of the Alaverdi Copper Smelting Factory have again blocked the Yerevan-Tbilisi railway after the disruption of the meeting of governmental officials, the factory owner and the bank, Armen Kirakosyan, one of the organizers of the rally, has stated.

On February 14, Tural Allakhverdiev, a believer and an active Facebook user, was arrested for 20 days for disobeying the police, the "Muslim Unity" Movement (MUM) has reported. MUM activists believe that Allakhverdiev was persecuted for calls to render material help to families of political prisoners.

Analysis of video records from polling stations in the Krasnodar Territory, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia has shown that the voter turnout in 2018 was overstated by 23-52%, the report of the movement for voters' rights named "Golos" (Vote) states.

The videos criticizing the authorities of Chechnya, which the Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov posts on the Internet, spoil the image of the Chechen people, Djambulat Umarov, the Minister for National Policy, External Relations, Press and Information, has stated. He invited the blogger to present a concept for the implementation of Chechnya's foreign relations, promising to solicit for him to Ramzan Kadyrov.

According to the Russia's FSB, the detained woman-resident of the Astrakhan Region was one of the organizers of the secret unit of the international terrorist organization "Islamic State", banned in Russia by the court. She is suspected of financing terrorists, investigators have stated.

On February 14-15, units of the Armenian armed forces 23 times violated the ceasefire in various directions of the front, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for Azerbaijan reports today.

In the city of Alaverdi, people have already felt the consequences of the copper plant's suspension. As a result, the purchasing power in the city decreased and people began to accumulate debts on their loans. If the plant is closed, at least 630 people will lose their jobs, workers of the plant report.

On the outskirts of the village of Znamenskoye in the Nadterechny District of Chechnya, houses are built for families in need of resettlement from the landslide zone. 54 houses are ready to accommodate people. Meanwhile, more than 4200 people need immediate resettlement.

In Chechnya, Valentine's Day passed without any public actions, but some young people used the holiday as a reason to present gifts to their girlfriends.

Installation of the monument to Mikhail Avagyan, a veteran of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, in the Akhalkalaki District is a provocation aimed to create problems in relations between Georgia and Azerbaijan, believe politicians and public figures interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

Talekh Bagirzade, the leader of the "Muslim Unity" Movement, told his wife about the oppression suffered by him in prison and confirmed his hunger strike, which continues for 14 days already.

The Circassian repatriates from Syria, who have received the right to Russian citizenship, face excessively strict demands to the knowledge of the Russian language and literature, said Asker Sokht, the chairman of the "Adyge Khase" organization in Krasnodar.

In a resolution adopted today, the European Parliament has demanded urgent release of Oyub Titiev, the head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" office in Grozny. MEPs have also called on international sports personalities and artists from all over the world to refrain from participating in public events in Chechnya.

During the today's protest action, students have called for an extraordinary meeting of the board of trustees of the Yerevan State University (known as YeSU) and for expression of distrust to Rector Aram Simonyan.

UN experts have stated they "are alarmed by information pointing to a new wave of persecution based on sexual orientation" in Chechnya, reports the appeal released on the UN Human Rights Council' page on February 13.

Law enforcers detained three persons on February 11. Till present, relatives are not aware of the detainees' whereabouts.

The dispute over the Chechen gas debt takes place amid tough measures to combat the inefficient operation of the Russian domestic market, say reporters of the Financial Times. The proceedings against the Arashukov family were launched against the background of their attempt to take control over the money for gas supplies to Chechnya, believes Oleg Bondarenko, the director of the Progressive Policy Foundation.