News

Celebration of Eid al-Adha by Muslims of the Caucasus; new cases of escalation of the situation in the Karabakh conflict zone; continuation of the hunger strike in Akhtubinsk despite the start of the debt repayments, see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of September 21-27, 2015, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

In the course of the re-interrogation, Shagid Gubashev, accused in Boris Nemtsov murder case, has retracted his initial confession. Therefore, all the defendants in the case pleaded not guilty. This was reported by a source close to the investigation.

Athletes from 37 countries have arrived in Sochi to take part in international competitions in summer sports among people with musculoskeletal system disorders.

During the week of September 21-27, 2015, no victims to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus were reported. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

In connection with the search for militants, a regime of counterterrorist operation (CTO) has been introduced within the territories of the Kurakh, Magaramkent, Suleiman-Stalsky, Tabasaran, and Khiv Districts of Dagestan.

On September 27, in Astrakhan, five activists joined the international campaign in support of Nadezhda Savchenko and held an action with an appeal to release the Ukrainian aviator.

On September 24-25, in Nagorno-Karabakh, residents of the near-border villages of Madaghis and Talish suffered from one of the most intensive attacks in recent years. They called on the parties to the conflict to stop endangering the civilian population.

At the public reception of Alexander Kamanin, a deputy of the regional Duma, employees of the municipal enterprise have been on the hunger strike for nine days. Vladimir Luschikov has stopped participating in the hunger striker for health reasons, and he is replaced by new hunger striker Sergey Ostapov.

In Sukhumi, on the 22nd anniversary of the liberation of the city, people paid tribute to the memory of the victims killed in the Georgian-Abkhazian war and laid flowers and wreaths to the Memorial of Glory.

The apartment rented by freelance journalist Islam Shikhaliev, who cooperates with the Azerbaijani Office of the "Radio Liberty", has been searched. During the search, his equipment and documents were confiscated. This was reported by Islam Shikhaliev himself.

Today, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Nagorno-Karabakh has reported that military units of Nagorno-Karabakh were shelled from mortar, grenade, and rocket launchers.

In Akhtubinsk, employees of the municipal enterprise "Akhtuba ATP" (auto transport company) held a series of pickets. In their hands, they were holding posters reading: "We want to eat", "Mayor, pay our wages", "We won't let bankrupt our ATP", and "Down with thieves of Mayor's office".

Several residents of the Gorodische District claim that as a result of the local officials' failure to act, they are being subjected to pressure from a local crime boss. According to the complainants, they are being threatened and beaten; however, they are unable to seek the protection of the law enforcement bodies, since the latter follow the orders of the local crime boss.

The book about the formation of ethnic identity among natives of Northern Caucasus, based on the study conducted by Russian researchers, is expected to be ready by 2016. This was reported by Nikolai Silaev, Researcher of the Centre for Caucasus and Regional Security.

The Tyrnyauz tungsten-molybdenum mining and processing plant is planned to be reconstructed under the advanced technologies. According to the preliminary estimates, the planned reconstruction requires 14.5 billion roubles of investment.

In Sochi, the police investigate the incident, which occurred in the Lazarevskoe District between a priest and local residents. As a result of the conflict, the priest was repeatedly beaten. Both sides appealed to the police.

In Saudi Arabia, a 69-year-old resident of Chechnya died during the rite of pilgrimage. His death is not related to the events in the valley of Mina, where the mass stampede killed hundreds of pilgrims. This was reported by the spokesman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Chechnya.

As a result of the armed clash with units of the Armenian armed forces, one soldier was killed and three others were wounded. This was reported by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan.

At the meeting with public activists held in Kasumkent, law enforcers of the Suleiman-Stalsky District have made a promise to find within one month the persons involved in the murder of five hunters.

In Ingushetia, the investigating authorities have completed the investigation into a number of criminal cases against seven Ingush residents. In particular, the defendants are charged with acts of banditry, involvement in illegal armed formations (IAFs), and attacks on law enforcers.