News

According to final estimates, 63.37% of people voted in favour of the constitutional reforms in Armenia. This has been announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Armenia. 4.1% of ballots declared invalid.

Relatives of a resident of the Dagestani town of Izberbash, killed in a shootout with law enforcers, do not believe the law enforcers' version of his involvement in the armed underground and declare his innocence.

500 copies of the book "Deshan b1akhoy" ("Warriors of the Word") written by journalist Aza Gazieva was published in the Chechen language. The book contains essays about 15 journalists killed in the course of the first and second Chechen wars.

Today, in Rostov-on-Don, about 20 people have held a picket in support of the opposition action "March of Change" held in Moscow. Activists gathered in Builders' Park. In their hand, they were holding posters reading: "Power, respect the Constitution!", "TV reporters, tell the people the truth about truckers!", and "For alternativeness of power!"

In Volgograd, activists Galina Tikhenko and Natalia Dorozhnova held solo pickets against violations of the Constitution, the fundamental law of the country. The picket was dated to the Constitution Day.

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.