News

Alexei Ulyanov, the coordinator of Volgograd truckers, and other four drivers, who were detained today by the police in Kashira Highway, were released after checking their documents.

The PR Centre (PRC) of the Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) has announced today liquidation in Moscow of a secret shop for manufacturing weapons and ammunition, and detention of its would-be owner – a 19-year-old native of Dagestan.

Today, in Freedom Square in Yerevan, 800 people gathered for a rally, organized by the Armenian National Congress (ANC) against the constitutional reforms. The rally turned into a march of 700 of them towards the building of the Central Election Commission (CEC), where they were met by a police cordon; however, later the protesters managed to go to the CEC building.

As reported by the Civil Society Institute (CSI), based on its applications about violations during the December 6 referendum in Armenian, law enforcers are drawing up over 30 materials, on which the CSI's observers are currently giving explanations to law enforcement bodies.

A Russian, suspected of involvement in terrorism, has been killed in the course of a special operation in Kiev, reports the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU). The casualty was a native of Dagestan, the Ukrainian mass media report.

In Freedom Square, which hosts the ninth day of the continued non-stop sitting picket of the opposition Front of National Salvation "New Armenia", the night has passed in a calm atmosphere, the protesters report.

Abdurashid Magomedov, Minister of Internal Affairs of Dagestan, has reported that a lot of natives of Dagestan left for Syria with their family members and children. According to the Minister, all of the men who left for Syria are put on the federal wanted list.

Advocates of Leyla Yunus and her husband Arif Yunus have positively assessed the abolition of their clients' prison sentences. However, the advocates are not satisfied with the fact that the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) has not pronounced the verdict of not guilty.

The introduction of the "Platon" system has launched a serious strike to small businesses in the field of transportation. The tariffs of the new system toll and of the transport tax should be revised. The speech of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev gives hope for the possible search for a compromise solution. This opinion has been expressed by experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

In Azerbaijan, Natiq Kerimov, one of the elders of Nardaran, who was detained on December 9, was questioned as a witness in the case of the events in the village. He had to sign a recognizance not to disclose the secrecy of the investigation. Natiq Kerimov was released after having spent six hours at the police station.

The police have notified Magomed Mutsolgov, the leader of the human rights organization "Mashr", about photos of child pornography found in memory of his PC. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" by the human rights activist himself.

In the 94th kilometre of M4 Highway "Don", eight drivers of heavy-duty vehicles are holding their protest action against the introduction of the "Platon" system.

Varuzhan Oktanyan, Executive Director of the Anti-Corruption Centre of the Transparency International (TI) has stated today at a press conference in Yerevan that gross violations were fixed at the recent referendum in Armenia, namely: facts of intimidation, non-registration of violations and other falsifications.

When sentencing Shamil Umakhanov, the court has disregarded two mitigating circumstances, said Sergey Serdyukov, a defender. His colleague, an advocate of another figurant in the case – Sultan Yakhyaev – does not rule out that the defendants were exposed to pressure.

The Azerbaijani General Prosecutor's Office insists on involvement of Fuad Gakhramanly, Deputy Chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) and a member of the National Council of Democratic Forces, in inciting people to religious extremism in the village of Nardaran. The PFPA denies the accusation and believes Gakhramanly to be a "prisoner of conscience".

Today, the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has treated the system of toll collection from trucks for use of federal highways, named "Platon", as unpopular but necessary measure. The truckers from Volgograd, who are on strike against "Platon" in the vicinity of Moscow, criticized Medvedev's statements and declared a continuation of their protest action.

The Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) has commuted the sentences for human rights defender Leyla Yunus and her husband Arif Yunus, a political analyst. The BCA has cancelled their sentences and replaced the actual terms of imprisonment with conditional imprisonment.

This morning, in Azerbaijan, Natiq Kerimov, one of the elders of Nardaran, has been arrested. None of human rights defenders have talked to Natiq Kerimov yet. According to the Prosecutor's Office, he is being kept at the Investigating Department.

At the contest for socially-oriented non-commercial organizations (NCOs) to receive state subsidies, 17 out of 37 NCOs registered in Chechnya and admitted to the contest became the winners. Staff members of independent NCOs have criticized the distribution of grants and treated the decisions as biased.

Residents of the Chechen village of Ras al-Ayn in Syria under siege by the "Islamic State" (IS) ask their countrymen from Northern Caucasus not to go to Syria to participate in the armed conflict on the side of the radicals.