News

The Tbilisi Mayoralty has imposed a fine of 10,000 laris (about 4100 US dollars) on Tamaz Elizbarashvili for installing safety railings in the Vere Gorge, flooded by high water in 2015. The businessman has explained his initiative by the fact that the area represents a threat to people and the authorities have failed to take any safety measures. Officials from the Mayoralty state that Tamaz Elizbarashvili has installed the safety railings without permission.

US Vice President Joe Biden has reiterated the US support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and condemned the ratification of the agreement on setting up a joint grouping of forces of Russia and Abkhazia, reports the White House.

Today, the Public Chamber of Russia in Moscow hosted a conference of members of the Public Oversight Commissions (POCs) of Russian regions. It was attended both by the current and former POC members. During the conference, rights defenders from Dagestan, including former member of the POC, sharply criticized the new composition of the Dagestani POC.

The picketers who held their action in the village of Krasnye Barrakady (Red Barricades), Astrakhan Region, told passers-by about the case of Igor Stenin, the leader of the nationalist movement "Russians of Astrakhan", convicted for incitement to extremism.

Samir Mamedli, an activist of the Youth Committee of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), has been sentenced to 30 days of administrative arrest.

Members of the Armenian community of Canada have posted bail for Saro Aivazyan, a defendant in the case of the capture of the building of the police patrol-and-post service (PPS) in Yerevan.

The international human rights organization Freedom House has called on Azerbaijani authorities to stop "the campaign of threats and insinuations" against the lawyers Elchin Sadygov and Fariz Namazly, who are defending political prisoners.

Krasnodar nationalists failed three times to coordinate the today's "Russian March" with the authorities; and, finally, only seven persons came to the action, and its route was essentially cut.

In Khasavyurt, a shootout occurred after law enforcers had tried to stop a car to check the driver's documents. The incident has occurred last night during the special operation in Khasavyurt.

Today, in the centre of Grozny, a rally dedicated to the Day of People's Unity was held in the square in front of the Mosque "Heart of Chechnya". Tens of thousands of people attended the rally. Some participants of the rally told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that they were forced to come to the celebration of the Day of People's Unity.

Temur Kobaliya, the head of the Human Rights Council of Volgograd, has reported about the visit of officials of the criminal investigation department to his apartment in the Krasnooktbyarsky District.

Vladimir Putin has signed a decree awarding Abdurashid Nurbagandov the Order of Courage. According to the leader of Dagestan, on July 10, the man was killed by militants after he came to the defence of his 10-year-old brother. Policeman Magomed Nurbagandov, an elder brother of Abdurashid Nurbagandov, was killed together with him after he had refused to call on his colleagues to quit their service at the police.

In a community of followers of the Ossetian paganism in "VKontakte", someone posted a message expressing support for the murderers of Ibragim Dudarov, Deputy Mufti of North Ossetia, and criticizing a speech delivered by a Muftiate's official in one of the higher education institutions. The Muftiate of North Ossetia has filed a complaint to the law enforcement bodies with a request to bring authors of the post to responsibility for inciting religious hatred.

The new judge, who is considering the complaints, lodged by the women-participants of the September 1 protest in Beslan, against the verdict, has upheld the fines imposed on two activists. The trial was accompanied by constant debates of the activists with the judge, who rejected all the motions of the defence, including three disqualification demands.

The Sovietsky Court of Makhachkala has placed Magomed Murtazaliev, Director General of the OJSC "Mahachkalavodokanal" (water supply and sewage authority), behind bars for two months, having accused him of rendering services, which fail to meet safety requirements, said a source from the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF).

The Moscow City Property Department has explained the closing of the Russian representative office of the Amnesty International (AI) in Moscow by the fact that the office was inaccurate in paying the due rental fee. However, rights defenders deny this and are ready to go to court, if necessary.

The court has granted the claims of the Prosecutor's Office (PO) of Chechnya demanding to block 39 Internet websites, dedicated to the ways of committing suicide and calls for committing it.

On October 31, residents, desperate and indignant with city problems, came out to a rally in Makhachkala; nobody directed their actions, said the experts, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

Today, about 50 workers of the "Nairit" factory have blocked Bagratunyants Street near the plant. The protestors demand to pay them wages for four months. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Grachya Tadevosyan, the leader of the trade union of the "Nairit" factory.

According to residents of Makhachkala, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot", there are sufficient amount of medicines in hospitals, and physicians render all necessary medical care to the victims of poisoning. However, the city residents believe the reaction of the authorities on the incident is insufficient.