News

Today, the leaders of Russia and Abkhazia have signed a treaty on alliance and strategic partnership of the two states. Under the treaty, in 2015 Russia will donate 5 billion roubles to Abkhazia, said Vladimir Putin.

Three Makhachkala women went on hunger strike demanding resignation of the republic's leader and restoration of due order in the work of law enforcement bodies, Nurmagomed Gazimagomedov, the chairman of the Dagestani regional public movement "For Justice and Unity", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent today.

Today, the Nalchik City Court, which considers the case of Murat Nagoev, a resident of the village of Altud, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), accused of involvement in hostilities in Syria, listened to the defendant's last plea. He admitted his guilt in part, saying that he had fallen a victim of circumstances.

During the week of November 17-23, 2014, at least eight persons fell victim to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. Of them, six persons were killed, and two others were wounded. These are the results of calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources. Besides, this week, one more person was reported killed earlier.

End of drafting new Russian-Abkhaz cooperation treaty; funeral in Georgia of ex-Minister of Economy Kakha Bendukidze who died in London; hunger strike of Tarki villagers in Dagestan, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of November 17-23, 2014, prepared bythe "Caucasian Knot".

Residents of the village of Vremenny of the Untsukul District of Dagestan, which was cordoned off because of the counterterrorist operation (CTO), have written an open letter to residents of the republic, human rights defenders and journalists asking to attend a meeting with the Commission to assess the damage scheduled for November 26.

A resident of Derbent, sentenced for involvement in illegal armed formations (IAFs) was tortured when he was transferred to a prison. At present, he is in the medical unit of the SIZO (pre-trial prison) of Chelyabinsk. This was reported by a member of the Dagestani NGO "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy).

The Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR) launches a new social service to provide rehabilitation services to children with disabilities. The new service is to be provided as a part of the project "I can. Help me!" 40 families will benefit from the service "Home Nurse".

In Batumi, a group of 16 prisoners not satisfied with detention conditions in the Batumi prison No. 3 declared a hunger strike.

On November 22, the central square of Astrakhan hosted a rally held by city residents in protest against the abolition of the direct elections of the City Mayor. The protest action was attended by about 100 people, who held in their hands slogans, flags of various political parties, and black balloons that were later released into the air as a symbol of mourning for democracy.

Alexander Akhazov, the pastor of the Evangelical Christians' "Bethany" Church of Krasnodar, has sent an appeal to the General Prosecutor in connection with the prosecution of Alexander Kolyasnikov, the head of the "Christian Community" in Sochi.

The Supreme Court of Adygea has announced the decision to liquidate the Interregional ecological NGO "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus" (EcoWatch). The Court's decision has not yet entered into force.

The three-day-long celebration of City Day organized by the Sochi Administration on November 21-23 was criticized by Sochi residents questioned by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The Russian Historical, Educational and Human Rights Society "Memorial" is preparing documents for sending to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on amendments made in its Charter, which did not satisfy the MoJ earlier, said Arseniy Roginskiy, the leader of the Society.

The defence of Shant Arutyunyan, the leader of "Tsegakron" Party, and of other figurants in the "Millions Mask March" case has appealed against the conviction, demanding to cancel the verdict of the first instance court and acquit the activists.

The detention of the Azerbaijani journalist Rauf Mirkadyrov, accused of treason, was extended already after the official expiration of his arrest, which is a violation of the law, his advocates assert.

Two bodyguards and a brother of Ramzan Tsitsulaev, the representative of the leader of the Chechen Republic in Ukraine, have been arrested by the Khamovniki Court in Moscow for two months on suspicion of using violence to state officials.

In Azerbaijan, the health of Leyla Yunus, who is kept in Baku SIZO (pre-trial prison) No. 1, has sharply deteriorated. Because of chronic malnutrition, she has an aggravation of her diabetes, said her advocates.

The farewell ceremony with Kakha Bendukidze, the former Georgian Minister of Economy, is over in Tbilisi; and the funeral procession has departed to the Kukia Cemetery. At the end of the ceremony a letter of Georgian ex-President Mikhail Saakashvili was read out, saying that "the country is again on the brink of ruining."

The statements that the armed forces of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) are engaged in a special operation in the area, where the Mi-24 military helicopter was downed, are untrue, said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan.