News

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.

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".