News

Investigators have got no real evidence base in the case on wiretapping of phone conversations of the heads of the Armenian law enforcement bodies, reports Arthur Vanetsyan, the chief of the National Security Service (NSS).

Nikol Pashinyan's opponents criticize him for losing the post of the CSTO Secretary General for Armenia, notes observer Akop Badalyan. Nikol Pashinyan is doing the same thing as the previous authorities, states Boris Navasardyan, the head of the Yerevan Press Club. The new government deserves criticism because of mistakes in foreign policy, believes political consultant Armen Badalyan.

When making a decision on the issue of the Chechen-Ingush border, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation should be guided by "reasonable terms," notes advocate Igor Trunov. He believes "it will not take more than a week or two." The decision creates a precedent for future verdicts on similar cases, notes advocate Yevgeny Chernousov.

In Georgia, after the counting of votes from 99.7% of polling stations in the presidential election, the independent candidate Salome Zurabishvili supported by the ruling "Georgian Dream" Party is in the lead. She gained 59.56% of the votes. Grigol Vashadze, a candidate of the "United National Movement" (UNM) Party, gained 40.44% of the votes.

Mikhail Saakashvili, the third president of Georgia, has claimed he does not recognize the outcome of the presidential election.

The release of rapper Husky, who was arrested in Krasnodar, did not solve the problem of relations between musicians and the authorities. The rapper Husky's case has turned out to be one among other cases of pressure on performers popular with young people, whose concerts are cancelled in different cities of Russia.

Among the violations registered by observers from Georgian NGOs during the second round of the presidential election there were bribing of voters and use of the administrative resource. Bidzina Ivanishvili actually recognized the victory of Salome Zurabishvili.

All activists, detained in Saint Petersburg during solo pickets held to support opponents of the agreement on the border between Ingushetia and Chechnya, have been released. Two of them are accused of rendering resistance to the police.

In Georgia, voting at the presidential election has a pronounced protest nature, and attempts of the ruling party to steal the victory of the opposition will turn into rallies of "unprecedented scale," believes political consultant Vitaly Shklyarov.

The Georgian opposition and the police expressed different opinions when assessing violations committed during the election. The "United National Movement" (UNM) Party reported that voters were bribed at polling stations all over Georgia, while the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) noted the calm situation during the voting.

Law enforcers accused a 17-year-old activist detained in Saint Petersburg of violating the procedure for holding a public action for "transferring" the Akhmat Kadyrov bridge to Ingushetia. After that, the teenager was released from the police station.

60 soldiers of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army were baptized at the Cathedral of Holy Christ the Saviour in the city of Shushi.

Relatives of wounded singer Mashidat Omaraskhabova have stated they found out who had shot at her and are ready to prove that.

At a rally in Baku, about 80 family members of soldiers and officers killed in the Karabakh conflict have demanded compensation. The authorities declare the money has been paid, but there are no payment documents, the protesters state.

The North-Caucasian District Military Court has started a consideration of the case against Shamil Soltamuradov, a 28-year-old resident of Gudermes. He is accused of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization in Syria and attending a training there.

The authorities do not have any clear position on aggression in Dagestani society, note analysts. According to them, aggression in the republic is associated with the system of social and religious classes in society.

In Makhachkala, Abidi Ramazanov held a picket at which he declared he had been illegally deprived of housing in the Novolaksky District of Dagestan.

People in civilian clothes detained Afghan Sadygov, who highlighted a rally in Baku, and the court sentenced him to 30 days of arrest for disobeying the police, reported a wife of Afghan Sadygov.

Participants and organizers of the anime festival disrupted in Makhachkala did not complain to the police about aggressive actions, and the Dagestani Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) did not find any direct threats voiced on the Internet against activists of the anime festival.

A resident of the Tuapse District has addressed rights defenders and complained that law enforcers beat him and demanded from him to confess to a crime, reports the "Committee against Torture" (CaT).