News

Ruslan Zeitullaev, recognized as an organizer of the Crimean unit of the terrorist organization "Hizb ut-Tahrir", banned in Russia, has began his new hunger strike in protest against the verdict and persecution of activists. This was reported by advocate Emil Kurbedinov.

A resident of North Ossetia offered a woman together with her friend to act as agents in the sale of her newborn baby. They were detained, investigators report.

In 2016, in Chechnya, 2245 local residents were resettled from dilapidated housing. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by an official from the Ministry of Construction for the Chechen Republic. Meanwhile, local residents argue that when resettled from dilapidated houses in Chechnya, tenants are provided with a smaller apartment than they had earlier.

On May 15, an advocate of blogger Mekhman Guseinov submitted to the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan a cassation appeal against the verdict to his client. He also noted that the defence is preparing a complaint to be filed to the European Court of Human Rights.

In the evening of May 15, the Azerbaijani side has shelled with controlled missiles a military object of the Karabakh Army. As a result of the shelling, some military vehicles were partially damaged. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has been told about that by the spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for Nagorno-Karabakh.

Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Russian Federation has reacted to Georgia's putting Yuri Luzhkov, a former Mayor of Moscow, on the list of undesirable persons. The Russia's MFA has treated it as a provocation and reminded Russians of the risks associated with travelling to Georgia.

In the course of the Islamic Solidarity Games, athletes are competing for medals in conditions of weak competition, and a low level of competition can be seen in comparison with Olympic Games, World and Europe Championships. This opinion was voiced by Azerbaijani sports commentators interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

Today, Sapiyat Magomedova, a Dagestani advocate, earlier accused of using violence and insulting policemen, has filed a complaint to the court about the cancellation of the decision on closure of the criminal case against her.

In Tbilisi, about 20 people attended a protest action against the adoption of the Draft Constitution. Protests were also held in the cities of Batumi, Gori, Zugdidi, Kutaisi, and Telavi, report members of the movement "Protect the Constitution".

In Georgia, organizers of the nationwide discussion of the Draft Constitution have made a decision not to hold a meeting in Tbilisi today because of the ongoing action in support of miners.

Young activist Elvin Abdullaev has reported that he was called to come to a police station. The activist has associated the call with his criticism of the authorities in social networks.

Starting from today, in Volgograd, the headquarters of Alexei Navalny began working under a new address in No. 7d in Pugachevskaya Street in the Voroshilov District.

Celebrations of the Victory Day in the regions of Northern and Southern Caucasus; elections to the Council of Elders in Yerevan; pronouncement of the verdict against warders of the penal colony in Belorechensk in the case on beating of prisoners; opening of the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku; story of the kidnapping of a child by foster parents of a deceased boy from the Volgograd Region; militant attack on a DPS checkpoint in Ingushetia, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of May 8-14, 2017, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Out of the received reports and the publications in the media, the working group has identified 79 reports with signs of electoral violations committed in the course of the elections to the Yerevan Council of Elders. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent at the press service of the General Prosecutor's Office of Armenia.

Political analyst Grant Mikaelyan, a researcher of the Caucasus Institute, has told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he expects no qualitative change in the future composition of the Yerevan Council of Elders. Anahit Bashkhyan, a member of the faction of the Council of Elders "Hello, Yerevan!", however, believes that the opposition will be able to influence the decision-making process.

During the week of May 8-14, 2017, four persons fell victim to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. Of them, three were killed, and one person was wounded. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

A suspected militant has been killed in a suburb of Makhachkala, while policemen tried to detain him, a source reports.

The law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation into 17 reports on violations committed in the course of the elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan. The verification on 52 cases of violations is underway, the Police of Armenia report.

Zaruhi Postanjyan, the leader of the "Apricot Country" Party, has demanded to open a drawer of the desk at the headquarters of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), where, according to her, there are lists of voters who were bribed to vote for the ruling party. Members of the RPA headquarters refused to open the drawer.

The FSB data on involvement of 183 residents of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) in military operations in Syria and Iraq are too much overstated, while many of the persons included in the lists of militants live in Europe. This opinion was voiced by human rights defenders.