News

Artak Gevorgyan, an activist of the art group "Counterstrike", who was detained in Yerevan for the art action criticizing the Armenian authorities, was released under recognizance not to leave. Artak Gevorgyan claims that law enforcers treated him rudely and kept him for a long time at the Department of the National Security Service.

In Volgograd, in the Krasnoarmeisk District of the city, where the "Caustic" Factory is located, activist have held an action calling to sign a petition to Vladimir Putin concerning the situation of air pollution in the city. According to ecologists, during two pickets, they managed to collect about 620 signatures.

On December 11, a regular soldier Karen Grigoryan was killed by a sniper at the contact line of armed forces. This has been reported today by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

In Dagestan, the court has pronounced the verdict against Zubair Mustafaev, the former head of the town of Izberbash. He was found guilty of abuse of power in connection with the allocation of land plots in the recreational area of the Caspian Sea. Zubair Mustafaev was sentenced to four years of imprisonment and a fine in the amount of 14 million roubles.

The "REN TV" TV Channel showed the videos depicting the executions of Migitin Djavadov, the head of the Dagestani village of Karamakhi, and Shamil Ibakov, a resident of the village of Chankurbe. According to the "REN TV" TV Channel, the videos of the executions were shot and disseminated by militants, who sworn allegiance to the "Islamic State" (IS), banned in Russia and recognized as a terrorist organization.

The new complex of buildings in Nalchik, built as an Islamic educational and cultural centre, is to be opened as the Children's Academy of Art "Sun City". The opening ceremony is scheduled for December 25.

According to the report "Foreign Fighters. An Updated Assessment of the Flow of Foreign Fighters into Syria and Iraq" prepared by experts on security of the US "Soufan Group", the number of fighters of the "Islamic State" (IS) has reached 31,000. Meanwhile, during this period, the number of fighters, who are Russian citizens, has tripled and increased from 800 up to 2400.

In Brest, a Russian citizen has been detained. In Russia, he was put on the wanted list on suspicion of organizing an illegal armed formation (IAF) and involvement in it.

Evgeny Vitishko, an ecologist from Krasnodar, who is on hunger strike in his colony-settlement, started having problems with his kidneys, heart and arterial blood tension.

The defence disagrees with the verdict of the court of appeal, but the decision to lodge a cassation complaint has not been made yet, Elchin Gambarov, an advocate of Leyla Yunus, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The parishioners of village mosque located in the village of Shamkhal in Makhachkala, detained today, include the Imam, said his deputy. The police department of the village has not confirmed the information about mass detentions, explaining that operative checks are being conducted in the village.

According to organizers, over 400 people gathered for a rally of the Front of National Salvation "New Armenia" in Freedom Square in Yerevan.

Activists of the "Memorial", the Moscow Helsinki Group, the movement "For Human Rights" and other leading Russian human rights organizations have sent a letter in support of Magomed Mutsolgov, the head of the "Mashr".

As reported by the Chief Department (ChD) for the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) of the Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), in Dagestan, a local resident suspected of having links with militants, when policemen tried to check his documents, opened fire and was killed by the return one.

In the village of Nardaran, law enforcers have blocked the roads to the sanctuary "Nardaran Feast" and thus prevented the holding of the memorial ceremony on the occasion of the anniversary of the death of Imam Rzy revered by Shiites. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reports on the seizure of weapons in the village.

In the Makhachkala village of Shamkhal, 80-100 mosque-goers were detained after the Friday prayer. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by one of the eyewitnesses.

Law enforcers conduct a special operation in the territories of three villages of the Tsumada District and in the area of Mount Alak. This was reported by an official from the operational headquarters for Dagestan.

Armenian experts have expressed their position concerning the actions of the opposition at the press conference held in Yerevan on December 10, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has started the procedure of communication of the complaint in the case of the murder of Natalia Estemirova, a staff member of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial". The ECtHR scheduled the announcement of the information about the progress of the investigation into the case in Russia for March 2016, the HRC "Memorial" reports.

The decision to conduct in the territory of the Russian military base a court session in the case of the shooting of the Avetisyan family members in Gyumri jeopardizes the transparency of the trial. This was stated by advocates of relatives of the Avetisyan family. The advocates intend to abolish the format of field sessions.