News

In Azerbaijan, cases of persecution of journalists for criticizing the authorities have become more frequent, announces the international organization "Reporters Without Borders" (RWB). Rights defenders have called on the international community not to stand aside to stop the repression against the media.

The defence of Anar Mamedov, the editor-in-chief of the "criminalaz.com", accused of voicing calls against the state, has requested the court to close the case. However, the court dismissed the defence motion.

Middle-aged and older repatriates find it difficult to adapt in Russia, learn the language, and find a job, report ethnic Circassians who moved to Adygea from Syria. The flow of repatriates fell due to the normalization of the situation in Syria, reported officials in Adygea.

In Azerbaijan, the court has considered two complaints about the rights violation of the imprisoned journalist Afghan Mukhtarly. The complaint about the inhuman treatment has been sent to the prosecutor's office for the investigation. The complaint about the restriction of his right to telephone conversations, relatives' visits and receiving books remained unsatisfied.

Ali Sadullaev, the Speaker of the Chechen Parliament, who took part in defining the Chechen-Ingush border, has received an order; five other members of the commission received honourable diplomas and letters of gratitude. The residents of Chechnya, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot", have disagreed with these awards, because they treat the border agreement as unprofitable for Chechnya.

The Polish authorities, who have decided to deport blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov to Russia, failed to take into account the recommendations of the report of the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) on human rights violations in Chechnya, rights defenders have stated at an action in Moscow. They pointed to cases of violent disappearances of other Chechens, who has been expelled from Europe to Russia.

Abu Umar Sasitlinsky, a preacher from Dagestan, declared by the law enforcement bodies as an organizer of terrorist financing, rejected any facts of his acquaintance with other persons involved in the criminal case. Earlier, fundraising for terrorists under the pretext of charity used to be widespread, but tight control over banking transactions and charitable foundations undermined the practice, declare experts.

After his exemption from punishment, Magomed Bekov, sentenced in a criminal case of torture in the Ingush "E" Centre (Centre for Combating Extremism), lives at home and visits a hospital, his advocate reports. An exemption from punishment for sickness is not a rare case, although many sick prisoners cannot achieve such a solution, rights defenders report.

Fans of the Korean "BTS" band did not believe in the seriousness of the threats, because of which the film about the musicians had been cancelled in Dagestan. Such threats pose a real danger, and the repeated disruption of cultural events in the republic causes serious damage to society, believe journalists and the head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" local office.

In Moscow, rights defenders have held three solo pickets near the Embassy of Poland. The protestors have stated that the return of Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov to Russia threatens his life.

The authority of Yunus-Bek Evkurov in the eyes of the Kremlin has shaken due to the establishment of the border with Chechnya against the background of protests in Ingushetia, political analysts assert.

The border with Georgia will be closed from December 30 to January 2 due to the increased security measures during the New Year holidays, the South Ossetian KGB (Committee for State Security) has announced.

Most Azerbaijani jails were built in Soviet times and fail to meet modern standards. The rights of arrested and convicted persons are violated. Corruption, administration arbitrariness and torture are common in penitentiary institutions, the Centre for the Protection of Political Prisoners (CPPP) has stated.

Additional checks of natives of Northern Caucasus at the border are a common practice for Russian law enforcers, who are guided by subjective perceptions of suspicious individuals. This was stated by human rights defenders and lawyers after the detention of Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The court has found a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses (an organization recognized as extremist and banned in Russia) from the city of Prokhladny guilty of extremism and sentenced him to 120 hours of compulsory work.

Traditional relations in Dagestan are undermined much more than in Ingushetia and Chechnya, the researchers have stated. They have studied the commitment to traditional values among Ingushes and Chechens.

On Thursday, December 27, the workers of the companies, engaged in building the North-South motor transport corridor, blocked the road to Yerevan in the Aragatsotn Region of Armenia for four hours.

On December 25, the "International Circassian Organization" sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to include compatriots from Syria living in Russia in the category of people eligible for simplified obtaining of citizenship.

Blogger Mekhman Guseinov, suspected of beating a penal colony warder two months before the release, has been transferred to a punishment cell. He has refused to testify and went on a hunger strike, relatives and friends of the prisoner report. An advocate of Mekhman Guseinov complained that she was not allowed to visit the defendant.

Participants of the AniDag anime festival, which was not held in November because of threats, demanded from the Dagestani law enforcement bodies to investigate a criminal case on incitement of hostility.