News

On November 29, the National Assembly of Azerbaijan adopted draft amendments to the Criminal Code, providing for tougher penalties for insulting the President and liability for slander on the Internet. Civil society activists believe that the amendments are directed against those who criticize the authorities.

Darya Polyudova, an opposition activist, who is serving her sentence in a settlement-colony in Novorossiysk on the charge of extremism, has appealed to the court with a request to change her sentence. Darya Polyudova asks to replace the remaining sentence with restraint of liberty.

Investigators have completed an investigation into the criminal case on beating of inmates of the Belorechensk juvenile correctional facility, one of whom died. The final indictment is drawn up against 10 former employees of the correctional facility. This was reported by representatives of the victim party.

In his Decree "On some measures to further strengthen the public morality in the Republic of Dagestan", Ramazan Abdulatipov encourages local officials to reduce the number of celebrations financed from the budget and give up "all sorts of excesses."

In Saudi Arabia, members of the ruling family mark the name of Ramzan Kadyrov among the heads of other subordinate entities of the Russian Federation; however, they do not treat him as the leader of Muslims of Russia. This opinion was voiced by the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The case of Andrei Rudomakha and Dmitri Shevchenko, the leaders of the "Ecological Watch on Northern Caucasus" (EcoWatch), suspected of slandering the former vice-governor of the Krasnodar Territory Alexander Remezkov, has been sent to an official check in the context of violations, admitted at conducting searches.

The revision of tariffs on electricity and natural gas in Azerbaijan will inevitably lead price rise on goods and services, said the economists, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". This will negatively impact the population, oppositionists have added.

On November 28, employees of the Baku Chief Police Department summoned Zamin Gadji, the columnist of the "Yeni Musavat" newspaper, for questioning. Policemen were alarmed with his publication on his page in the Facebook, in which he protested against the absence of the inquiry into resonant crimes. This was told by Gadji himself to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Anzor Mamaev, a native of Chechnya, was beaten up in Colony No. 7 (known as IK-7), located in the town of Segezh, after his meeting with the Russia’s Ombudsperson Tatiana Moskalkova, Kameta Saidullaeva, Mamaev’s wife reported on November 28. Her statement came after the information of the Federal Penitentiary Service (known as FSIN) that facts of torture in the colony were not confirmed.

All the men of the family of Alam Khadjaev, whom investigators believe to be a person guilty of a large-scale road traffic accident in Chechnya, have left their village. This was reported by local residents, who pointed out to the fact that the road traffic accident could provoke a case of blood feud.

On November 28, the Kirov District Court of Makhachkala pronounced the decision to leave without consideration the claim for compensation for moral damages filed by Burliyat Tokbolatova, Dagestani Minister for Press and Information, against the newspaper "Chernovik" (Draft).

The Supreme Court (SC) of Kabardino-Balkaria has started to consider the case against Magomet Kushtov, a native of Ingushetia, accused of kidnapping Laura Likhtman, a citizen of Israel, in 1999.

By its decision of November 28, the Kirsanov District Court of the Tambov Region has transferred Igor Stenin from a penal settlement-colony to a common-security penal colony.

Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe (CE) Commissioner for Human Rights, has sent a letter to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in connection with the forthcoming consideration of the complaint filed by Khalid Bagirov, a lawyer from Azerbaijani, who was deprived of his advocate status.

In the course of his voyage to Saudi Arabia, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, has admitted that Salafis are not sectarians; and this is evidenced by the statement of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Chechnya. The Kadyrov's statement, which is contrary to the Grozny fatwa, was preceded by a serious pressure exerted on him by theologians and members of the ruling family of Saudi Arabia.

The outcomes of the October 8 parliamentary elections were "totally falsified," nine Georgian oppositional parties have stated today, expressing their readiness to join efforts to investigate violations and recount votes at disputed polling stations.

Today, at the court session on the case of Varvara Karaulova, accused of attempting to participate in a terrorist organization in Syria, Atach Fyrat, a Turkish citizen and a native of the Turkish city of Diyarbakir, was questioned as an additional witness, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports from the courtroom.

The Award "For Right Livelihood", known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, has been given to the rights defender Svetlana Gannushkina in Stockholm "for many years of commitment to defence of human rights and fair treatment of refugees and internally displaced persons”. The awarding of the laureates of the award took place in Stockholm on November 25, said the release of the “Right Livelihood Award” Foundation.

The government of the Rostov Region intends to spend the requested money to pay salary debts to over 2700 employees of the coal company.

On November 26, Talekh Bagirzade was placed in a punishment cell for a period of five days. This has been told today to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Yalchin Imanov, an advocate of Talekh Bagirzade.