News

The voting at municipal elections in Azerbaijan is over; the voter turnout was 38.93 percent. No complaints were reported in the process, the Central Election Commission (CEC) has reported.

Magomed Aushev, a resident of the Ingush village of Ekazhevo, Nazran District, detained by policemen, was tortured and beaten, his brother Murad Aushev reported today.

Today, 34 resident of the Novolak District of Dagestan have gone on hunger strike, demanding to provide them with land shares. The action takes place in the village of Shushiya; there are 14 women among the protesters.

As of December 23, in Chechnya, law enforcers demolished 15 houses of militants' relatives, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" has reported today, and confirmed, in particular, the data of the "Caucasian Knot" about burning down of a militant's family house in the Gudermes District.

All defendants in the case of the attack on Nalchik in October 2005 have been found guilty. Five of them received life sentences, and three were released in the courtroom, because their appointed punishment has expired, while they were in custody.

Last night the administration head of the village of Psedakh, Malgobek District of Ingushetia, was robbed in his house. The attack was committed by masked men, who fled from the crime scene in a car, which is on the balance sheet of the village administration.

The advocates of Johar Tsarnaev, who is accused of organizing the terror act during the Boston Marathon Run, have again petitioned to move the trial from Boston to some other city.

All the rooms and beds at ski resorts of Sochi have been booked for the New Year holidays; the demand is 1.5 times the proposal; therefore, the authorities of the Krasnodar Territory have to restrict the flow of tourists, said the Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak at a meeting of Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev with his Deputies.

The police failed to ensure safety of participants of the action in Tbilisi in defence of the gold mine Sakdrisi-Kachagiani. Instead, policemen forced the crowd from the roadway, said the organizers.

Georgian NGOs are drafting a lawsuit to the Constitutional Court demanding to recognize one of the provisions of the law that regulates the mechanism of secret investigative activities unconstitutional. The Parliament of Georgia does not rule out that the legislation may be revised in the course of the MIA reform.

The attack of members of the armed underground on Grozny resulted in the death of two civilians, not one, as stated earlier, the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) has stated today.

Today, Alexei Kolyasnikov, a resident of Sochi and the leader of the religious group named "Christian Community", and his advocate Alexander Popkov have filed a complaint against the court ruling to impose a fine for holding an alleged unsanctioned meeting in a cafe, where they read out the Bible.

The house in the village of Koshkeldy, Gudermes District of Chechnya, belonging to a militant's family and demolished on December 19 was uninhabited, rights defenders from the Joint Mobile Group (JMG) told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. According to their version, the Shabanov family, who owned the house, left the country more than a year ago.

The parliament of Abkhazia has ratified by a majority vote a new Russian-Abkhaz treaty on strategic partnership and alliance. Voting was held open; out of 28 MPs, 23 voted "for", and 5 – "against".

The latest court session dealing with the case of journalist Seimur Khazy, accused of hooliganism with use of arms in Azerbaijan, questioned the witnesses, who refused from their testimonies, signed earlier in the course of investigation.

During the week of December 15-21, 2014, at least three persons were killed in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. No wounded persons were reported. These are the results of the calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

Continued destruction of houses belonging to militants' relatives in Chechnya; resumption of investigation into the case on the Dubrovka terror act in Moscow; work of the South-Ossetian authorities on finalizing the new agreement on alliance with Russia, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of December 15-21, 2014, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

In Azerbaijan, law enforcers detained theologian Elshan Mustafaoglu. According to his relatives, the court has announced the pre-trial restriction measure against the detainee in the form of arrest. The prosecution against the theologian is a misunderstanding, stated Ilgar Ibragimoglu, the head of the Centre for Protection of Freedom of Conscience and Religion.

Vaginak Shushanyan, an activist of the social movement against rise in prices and tariffs, claims he has been attacked in the centre of Yerevan. As a result of the attack, the activist got his lip injured, and no serious consequences resulted from the attack.

The session of the Oktiabrskiy District Court of Grozny, dealing with the case of Beslan Tsintsalashvili, a citizen of Georgia, accused of persuading two residents of Chechnya to terrorist activities, questioned two witnesses, who had convoyed the defendant from Shali to the Kurchaloy RUVD (District Interior Department).