News

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).

On parade ground of a military unit in North Ossetia, recruits from Chechnya were beaten by unidentified men. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by a brother of one of the recruits.

In Volgograd, participants of the "roundtable" have declared absence of interaction between human rights activists and government officials. Besides, they have also claimed lack of transparency of grants and pointed out some financial problems. NGO members have noted the need to establish a human rights council in Volgograd.

Today, the convoy of the Russian Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) with humanitarian aid to residents of Donbas has arrived in Donetsk and Lugansk.

The "Armenian National Congress" (ANC) Party does not agree with the charge against Arshak Svazyan, who is suspected of attacking Aram Manukyan, the secretary of the faction in the Parliament. The ANC demands to reclassify the charge and choose an article providing more severe punishment, a representative of the ANC has stated.

In Northern Caucasus, the fears of some local residents, who in mid-August predicted the growth in food prices, are confirmed. According to residents of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), the average rise in prices reached 20-25%.

Family members of the Azerbaijani journalist Rauf Mirkadirov have received official notification of the court that they were granted political asylum in Switzerland.

The prosecutor's office of the city of Kislovodsk has cancelled the decision not to institute criminal proceedings on the fact of threats received by Imam Kurman-Ali Baichorov, said his advocate Alaudi Musaev.

At the International Conference in Grozny "Terek Turks as Cultural Bridge of Chechen Republic with Turkic World" Kumyk organization presented curricula for training Kumyk students at the leading universities of the Turkic countries and a project of a boarding Lyceum to be opened near the city of Gudermes.

Steven Silva, an acquaintance of Johar Tsarnaev, accused of organizing a terror act at the Boston Marathon race, has pled guilty to distributing heroin and illegal possession of firearms. According to the prosecution, Tsarnaev brothers used the pistol, kept by Silva, to kill a policeman.

On December 18, in the village of Koshkeldy, Gudermes District of Chechnya, a family home of a member of the armed underground was demolished, local residents report.

As stated by participants of a press conference in Yerevan, this year was rather strained for the press and journalists; and the number of incidents of physical pressure on journalists or obstruction to obtaining information practically did not go down.

Ilkin Rustamzade, a member of the movement "Free Youth", who is imprisoned in Azerbaijan, was put into the dungeon of the SIZO (pre-trial prison) – for the second time this month.

The Baku Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal lodged by Rasul Jafarov, the coordinator of the campaign "Arts for Democracy", who asked to replace his custody for home arrest.