News

On August 5, the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) made a statement, in which it gave an assessment of the upcoming referendum on constitutional amendments to be held on September 26.

Users of the Internet disseminated calls for young people from Makhachkala not to come on August 7 to a festival of colours Holi, which originated from the Hindu tradition.

Activist Vardges Gaspari, who has been brought today to a police station in Yerevan, has refused to answer questions of law enforcers and is released.

On August 5, Pyatigorsk opened the seventh youth educational forum "Mashuk". The event is organized by the federal authorities and is aimed at attracting young people to address the socio-economic and socio-political problems.

Today, the first mountain tea festival has been organized in the Dagestani village of Sogratl. The programme of the festival included contests, sports competitions, excursions, and free tasting of national dishes.

Today, Vardges Gaspari, a Yerevan activist, has claimed being brought to the police station. According to him, the policemen refused to explain the reasons for their actions.

In Makhachkala, law enforcers have released all the believers of the Salafi mosque in Hungarian Fighters Street, detained on August 5. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by one of the detainees. Officials from the Soviet ROVD (District Interior Division) have confirmed the information.

According to the General Prosecutor's Office of Russia, the Astrakhan Region has entered the top three most corrupted Russian regions. According to the supervisory authority, in the first half of 2016, the Astrakhan Region faced a more than double increase in the number of registered crimes related to bribery. According to the report, in January-June 2016, the number of such crimes reached 74, while in the first half of 2015, there were only 36 of them.

In Dagestan, a squad of the patrol-and-post service is shelled from a grenade. As a result, three police officers and one local resident were wounded.

In Yerevan, 15 persons injured during the seizure of the police regiment building still stay in hospitals. Four of them, including one policeman and three members of the group "Sasna Tsrer" (Daredevils of Sassoun), stay in the resuscitation ward. The condition of the policeman is assessed as extremely serious, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by officials from the press service of Armenian Ministry of Health.

On August 4, Stepanakert held the festival of Armenian folk costume "Taraz". The central square of the city hosted a concert of folk groups from Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh and a show of Armenian national costumes. Pavilions were selling works created by Armenian folk art masters and students from creative centres. Besides, ancient Armenian carpets and exhibits from national museums of Armenia were exhibited.

Dagestani teachers have to work extra hours and look for additional sources of income, including illegal ones, and the answer of the Russian Prime Minister to the question of low salaries of employees of the educational sphere in the republic is shocking. This was stated by teachers interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The court has dismissed the motion for appointment of an investigative experiment in the house of the Avetisyan family members killed in Gyumri, since defendant Valery Permyakov did not agree to participate in it. This was reported by Arthur Sakunts, who represented the interest of the successors of the Avetisyan family members.

In Makhachkala, the police detained about 70 people near the Salafi mosque after the Friday prayer. The number of detainees includes a minor, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

44 people are involved as defendants in the case of the seizure of the building of the Armenian Police. Of them, 42 were arrested. This was reported by the Special Investigating Service of Armenia. Investigators urged not to treat arrests as a punitive measure.

The Human Rights Centre (HRC) of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) has made public the appeal of Aslan Konov, accused of trying to join Syrian militants. The appeal is addressed to the Commission for adaptation of militants, and the author asks to bring his appeal to young people.

All the participants of an action in support of the armed group "Sasna Tsrer" (Daredevils of Sassoun), detained in Yerevan in the evening of August 4, were released after drawing up of the protocols on violation of the order of meetings and rallies. This was reported by the Armenian Police.

Last night, law enforcers have detained a resident of Makhachkala, suspected of aiding and abetting militants. This was reported by a source from the law enforcement bodies. According to the source, during the search, law enforcers found ammunition and prohibited books in the detainee's house.

The appeal to the President of Russia with the demand of resignation of the Prime Minister, who treated the low incomes of teachers in Dagestan as the results of their personal choices, gained 144,255 signatures.

In Gukovo, miners, who demand the repayment of wage arrears, have met the bankruptcy trustee of the mine "Zamchalovskaya". The miners are not satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. According to participants of the meeting, in case if the demands of the protestors are not met until August 14, then on August 15, the miners will start a hunger strike.