News

The US Department of State does not support any engagement with Syrian military forces, whether that engagement is to provide assistance to civilians or is military in nature, the US Embassy in Armenia declares. David Tonoyan, Armenian Defence Minister, noted the need to provide assistance to Syrian people.

In Stepanakert, more than 40 veterans attended a rally on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the Karabakh liberation movement. The new authorities of Armenia took a tough stance on the Karabakh issue and clearly identified the need for the participation of Nagorno-Karabakh in the negotiation process, stated activists of the Karabakh liberation movement interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

Giorgi Kobuliya, Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, has promised that the contract with "Gazprom" would be concluded till late February, but refused to report its details. The opposition demands to disclose the details of the contract.

Dagestani officials did not examine historical materials, and, before starting to clarify the border with Chechnya, they created an informational vacuum around the process and provoked tension in a number of regions of the republic, believe participants of a roundtable in Makhachkala.

The words of the deputy head of the Armenian National Congress about the need to make concessions to Azerbaijan caused a sharply negative reaction from supporters of Nikol Pashinyan.

The extortion and use of firearms by Murad Saidov, detained in the Crimea is "out of question," said Isa Khachukaev, Kadyrov's permanent envoy to the peninsula. Saidov could face charges of kidnapping, said a source close to investigators.

Workers of the Alaverdi Copper Smelter have suspended their protest action in order to give the authorities time to respond about the future of the enterprise. They threatened to block both the motor road and the railway running to Georgia.

One of the persons accused of beating up inspectors of the road-and-patrol service (DPS) in Vladikavkaz has been taken into custody; two more were placed under house arrest, investigators have announced today.

Today, at the session on the case of members of the "Sasna Tsrer" detachment, the Yerevan court has ruled to stop the criminal prosecution of Varuzhan Avetisyan and Pavel Manukyan, accused of plotting mass riots.

On February 12, the Russian Ombudsperson, Tatiana Moskalkova, asked the prosecutor's office to react to the claims of a Chechen resident to the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper, which wrote about his detention because of his suspected homosexuality.

On February 12, a Sochi court ruled that the publication of "The Insider" about a poaching hunting by high-ranking officials denigrates the honour of the director of the Caucasian Reserve, and obliged the website to delete the article; however, the edition challenged the court ruling.

Today, the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) has reduced the punishment of the convict Azerbaijani opposition leader Mamed Ibragim and ruled to release him. The defence intends to seek the full rehabilitation of the activist, said his advocate.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has considered the complaints, filed a few years after the death of Chechen residents, Alvi Bugaev and Alkhazur Atabaev, and ruled that their relatives should receive compensations totalling more than 200,000 euros, said the advocate Dokka Itslaev.

The Turkmenchay Peace Treaty of 1828 divided the territory of historical residence of Azerbaijanis among Russia and Iran; and the subsequent actions of the tsarist regime and the Soviet authorities created the basis for the Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani historians told the "Caucasian Knot".

The policemen found as victims in the case of the Krasnodar lawyer Mikhail Benyash have opposed the presence of journalists at the court sessions; and their petition was granted, the defence reports, noting that this decision is contrary to the open nature of the court sessions.

Makhir Rustamli and Idayat Rasulzade, activists of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), detained during the trial of their party comrade in the city of Sumgait, were found guilty of disorderly conduct (petty hooliganism). The activists are prosecuted on a trump-up accusation, the PFPA spokesman has stated.

Robert Kocharyan, the second president of Armenia, is accused of bribery, his advocate Ayk Alumyan has stated.

From year to year, in Russia, prosecutions under antiterrorist articles is becoming more and more widespread, with a third of such cases being initiated for publishing on the Internet, a review of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" asserts.

In the village of Khadjalmakhi, Levashi District, a policeman opened fire on a car driven by a 17-year-old schoolboy and wounded the teenager.

Aram Khachikyan, sentenced to life imprisonment, is seeking a review of his case, the spokesperson of the Armenia's Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has reported.