News

Today, activists have come to a protest action in front of the building of the Constitutional Court of Armenia with the demand to acquit Samvel Babayan, the former head of the Ministry of Defence for Nagorno-Karabakh.

In Moscow, investigators suspect Ramzan Tsitsulaev, a former Ramzan Kadyrov's plenipotentiary in Ukraine, of an attempt to organize a murder. This has been reported by his advocate today.

Start of Ramadan fasting by Caucasian Muslims; militants' attack on Orthodox church in Grozny; opening of the Crimean Bridge, – see the review of these and other events that occurred in the Caucasus on May 14-20, 2018, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

On May 20, drivers gathered near a car market on the road from Makhachkala to Derbent. They protested against the rise in price of gasoline at the filling stations of Dagestan.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has stated there are no emissaries of the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS), banned in Russia, on the territory of the Chechen Republic.

During the week of May 14-20, 2018, at least ten persons fell victim to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. Of them, seven persons were killed and three others were wounded. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

In Moscow, the "Ramadan Tent" to hold the charity and enlightening actions dedicated to the Muslim holy month of fasting is organized for the 13th year in a row. This year, at the evening dedicated to Ingushetia, guests of the "Ramadan Tent" watched a short film about Ingush villages and a theatrical performance and after sunset they could taste national treats.

The attempt to capture believers in the Chechen church has reminded by its style the actions of the "Islamic State" (IS), a terrorist organization, banned in Russia by the court. This is stated by the analysis of similar incidents since 2015, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot" after the attack in Grozny. This conclusion was confirmed today by the IS* itself, which claimed responsibility for the 20th time for attacks committed in Northern Caucasus.

Gamlet Grigoryan, a soldier of the Defence Army of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), received a mortal gunshot wound under unclear circumstances, the NKR's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reported today.

The Caucasian branch of the "Islamic State" (IS), a terrorist organization, banned in Russia by the court, has claimed responsibility for an attempt to capture believers in the Grozny church, where seven people perished.

The attack on believers of the church in Grozny was committed by Chechen natives Amir Yunusov, Ali Yunusov and Mikail Elisultanov, and by Akhmed Tsechoev, a resident of Ingushetia, a local law enforcement source has stated.

Aflatun Safarov, an activist of the Lankaran branch of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), has been sentenced to 30 days of administrative arrest on charges of disobeying policemen.

During militants' attack on the Archangel Michael Church in the capital of Chechnya, two policemen from Saratov, Kairat Rakhmetov and Vladimir Gorskov were killed. Three of the four killed militants are residents of Chechnya; the attackers' leader lived in a neighbouring region, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the republic, has stated.

One person was shot dead, another died of stab wounds as a result of the conflict of residents of the Sunzha District of Ingushetia.

An attempt to capture a church in Chechnya, in which seven persons perished, was the second attack on Orthodox believers in Northern Caucasus since the start of the year. The responsibility for the previous attack in Kizlyar committed in February was claimed by the "Islamic State" (IS), a terrorist organization, banned in Russia by the court.

Rights defenders treat as meaningless the statement of Alexander Konovalov, Russian Minister of Justice, who said there were no gay men in Chechnya who could be persecuted. The rights defenders have also noted that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is not authorized to carry out investigations.

There is antagonism in relations between the new Armenian government and delegates from the former ruling party. In case if no compromise is reached, the Prime Minister will resort to street protests, political analysts believe.

At trial, Karim Kasumov, a resident of Dagestan, rejected any intent to make obstacles for the activities of journalists during a rally in Makhachkala. The journalists and policemen who attended the rally reported to the court about the provocations at the rally.

In Nagorno-Karabakh, fourteen museums organized new exhibitions and events dedicated to the "Night of Museums". Some museums arranged exhibitions in honour of the 30th anniversary of the Karabakh movement and heroes of wars, while others presented works created by masters of applied art.

In Tbilisi, searches in nightclubs were carried out with the court's sanction and revealed a well-arranged infrastructure for drug trafficking, reported Giorgi Gakhariya, Georgian Minister of Internal Affairs. MPs from the "European Georgia" and "Georgian Dream" Parties supported the actions of the police to combat the drug trafficking.