News

Ruslan Saifutdinov, a student of the Tyumen Medical Academy, who was wanted by the Dagestani Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), has died in a penal colony in the city of Kurgan, where he was kept after a conviction for participation in the war in Syria. Rights defenders assert that Saifutdinov was tortured, and doctors failed to help him.

After consultations with Moscow, the draft republic's budget for 2017 has been formed with a deficit of 8.5 billion roubles, said Usman Rassukhanov, the Finance Minister of Chechnya.

Starting from today, food is supplied to Volgograd kindergartens by three companies, which were chosen at the municipal contest. The decision to switchover to outsourcing was made with violations, the prosecutor's office believes.

The inquiry and the trial of 18 religious activists, accused of the riots in the Azerbaijani settlement of Nardaran, were biased, the defendants' guilt was not proved; therefore, they should be acquitted, their advocates have stated.

The case on the attack on the Director General of the "Rustavi-2" TV Company should be investigated under the article of persecution because of one's public activities, said Dmitri Sadzaglishvili, the advocate of Nika Gvaramiya. The attack on Gvaramiya was condemned by the US Ambassador to Georgia.

Today, Chechnya marks the 60th anniversary of the restoration of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), abolished after the deportation of Chechen and Ingush people in 1944. On the occasion of the anniversary, the authorities dated solemn assemblies. Local residents pay tribute to the memory of victims of Stalin's deportation.

In Ingushetia, a court has pronounced the pre-trial restriction measure in the form of two-month detention against Ruslan Djamaldinov, charged of killing journalist Amirkhan Kokurkhoev. This was reported by an official of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF).

At an antiterrorist rally held on January 8, family members of the young people killed in the special operation in Grozny have apologized for their actions. Relatives of the killed young men have claimed changes in their behaviour before the attacks on the police.

Orthodox believers celebrate Christmas; the release from prison of ex-Mayor of Tbilisi Gigi Ugulava; rally of fellow villagers of thesuspect of killing Ingush journalist; opening of first casino in new gambling zone "Krasnaya Polyana" in Sochi, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of January 2-8, 2017, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

According to the Azerbaijani State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs, the court enforcement action on separation of a 10-year-old girl from her aunt, who brought up the child, and transfer of the girl to her father do not meet the interests of the child. A new trial will be held. Lawyers claim the girl has experienced a lot of stress because of the negligence of officials.

During the week from January 2 to January 8, 2017, in the course of the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus no casualties and victims were recorded. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

According to local residents, the people from the village of Mokok, affected by fire of August 21, 2016, have no hope for compensation for loss of property. An initiative group is created to communicate with the authorities on the problems of the fire victims.

Sirazhudin Akhmedov, a resident of Kaspiysk, disappeared on December 31, 2016. And only on the second day after his disappearance, his family members found out that the man was kept at a police station on suspicion of illegal possession of explosives.

The third term for Ramzan Kadyrov and tightening of pressure in Chechnya, scandals at elections and attacks on policemen in Dagestan, attacks on human rights defenders in Ingushetia, struggle against natural disasters and swine fever in Kabardino-Balkaria, pressure on activists in North Ossetia and the Stavropol Territory, these and other events took place in the years 2016 in the regions of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) of Russia.

There are no Chechens among the detained foreigners suspected of an attempt to join militants in Syria. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by members of the Chechen Diaspora in Istanbul. Journalist Saslanbek Isaev associates frequent references to Chechens in the Turkish media with the preparation for mass extradition of immigrants from Northern Caucasus at the request of Russia.

On the Christmas Eve, tens of thousands of residents of the Southern Federal District (SFD) and the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) visited solemn worship services at Orthodox churches. In many cities of the south of Russia, the celebrations were continued with mass festivities, entertainments, concerts, and sporting events.

At night on January 7, the temporary memorial, created of flowers, wreaths and candles in memory of the victims of the aircraft crash near Sochi was removed by the staff of the "Mayak" Beach and workers engaged in paving the seafront promenade. People continue bringing flowers to the site of the memorial and throw them into the sea.

The attack on Nika Gvaramiya, Director General of the "Rustavi-2" TV Company, was committed in one of the restaurants in the capital of Georgia. The victim said that he lost consciousness from the blow on his head.

Rufat Safarov, a former investigator, convicted for bribe-taking, has been transferred from SIZO (pre-trial prison) to Colony No. 9 inAzerbaijan. There is no more threat to his safety, his advocate said.

Protests of Kuban farmers and miners in Rostov Region; disappointment in the Governor at the background of social problems in Volgograd Region; abolition of direct election of head of Adygea; interethnic conflict in Kalmykia; pressure on Circassian activists and environmentalists, – these and other events marked 2016 in the Southern Federal District (SFD) of Russia.