News

Today, the Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya has completed considering the complaint against the verdict to Ruslan Kutaev, the President of the Assembly of Peoples of the Caucasus, and decided to reduce his prison term from 4 years down to 3 years and 10 months, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed at the SC.

Alexander Tolmachov, who was sentenced by the Kuschevskaya District Court to nine years in a high security colony, has lodged an appeal complaint to the Krasnodar Territorial Court. Another appeal was also lodged by one of his advocates – Eduard Uskov. Other advocates are also preparing their complaints.

The defendant Alautdin Dadaev was questioned today at the trial on terror acts in Volgograd, said his advocate Selim Magomedov. The defendant confirmed his earlier evidence about his innocence.

Mukhammed Mirzali, an activist of the youth branch of the Goichay district organization of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), has been sentenced to 20 days of administrative arrest. The court found him guilty of disorderly conduct (minor hooliganism) and disobeying the police.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has communicated the complaint filed by Sergey Butrin, an inmate of the Stavropol penal colony, who went blind and got several serious chronic diseases at penitentiary institutions. In his complaint to the ECtHR, Sergey Butrin indicates intolerable detention conditions during serving his sentence and complains about the courts' dismissal of his request for release because of his health state.

Mothers of large families from the Volgograd Region held a series of solo pickets in Moscow. They demanded to fulfil social obligations of the state to them. According to the picketers, the authorities have hardly responded to their protest actions.

Ingushetia has cancelled the celebrations in connection with the 60th birthday of Ruslan Aushev, the first President of Ingushetia, at his request. This was reported by Shamsudin Bokov, the Press Secretary of the leader of Ingushetia.

In Moscow, the problem with wearing religious clothes in the Pirogov Medical University has been solved: Muslim female students will be allowed to attend the university, including in hijabs; however, wearing of medical uniform is mandatory.

Today, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" has published a list of persons recognized as political prisoners. The list includes 46 persons, namely, Ruslan Kutaev, the President of the Assembly of Peoples of the Caucasus, Zarema Bagavutdinova, a member of the Dagestani Regional Public Organization (DRPO) "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy), Evgeny Vitishko, an ecologist from the KrasnodarTerritory, and others.

Maksud Gadjiev, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Akhvakh People", has joined the hunger strike demanding the resignation of the head of Dagestan Ramazan Abdulatipov. Maksud Gadjiev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that his goal is to draw – by means of the action – attention to the issue of indigenous minor nations of Dagestan.

Today in Volgograd, about 80 people have commemorated the victims of political repressions. The rally was held at the monument to victims of political repressions "Stretching into the Sky". It was organized by local authorities, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

In Azerbaijan, Djavad Djavadov, one of the advocates of arrested rights defender Leyla Yunus, has been withdrawn from the defence. According to him, investigators have motivated the withdrawal by the fact that he is involved in the case against Leyla Yunus as a witness.

Today, a verdict has been announced to the filmmaker Eldaniz Guliev, charged with insult and defamation under the lawsuit filed by the Azerbaijani Interior Minister Ramil Usubov. The court has sentenced Guliev to a fine of 1000 manats (about 1227 US dollars) and 480 hours of community works.

Defenders of Alexander Tolmachov, a Rostov journalist and publisher, who has been sentenced to nine years of imprisonment for extortion, intend to challenge the verdict announced by the Kuschevskaya District Court of the Krasnodar Territory. According to the public defender of the journalist, the Court has ignored the defence arguments in the case.

On October 29, the Soviet District Court of Makhachkala made a decision to re-take into custody Patimat Nasibova, a resident of the village of Kirovaul, who was detained after the special operation.

Svetlana Krivsun, a native of the town of Yeisk of the Krasnodar Territory, has become one of the defendants in the criminal case of the private jet crash that occurred at the Moscow Vnukovo Airport on October 21. She is under house arrest and interrogated as a defendant.

In Grozny, in the Press House, relatives of 60 disappeared and kidnapped citizens obtained the so-called "genetic passports". According to representatives of local NGOs, obtaining genetic passports significantly increases the chances to learn about the fate of disappeared persons.

Relatives of Ingush rights defender Maksharip Aushev have appealed to the Russian President, the head of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), and the leader of Ingushetia with a request to resume the investigation and send the criminal case to Ingushetia.

In Moscow, natives of Northern Caucasus hold solo pickets demanding to lift the decree issued by the Rector of the Medical University named after N. I. Pirogov. The decree bans "clothing indicating particular nationality or religion", and it is to come into force on November 1, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The next week, the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights (HRC) is to appeal to the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation in connection with possible violations of the rights of Kislovodsk Imam Kurman-Ali Baichorov, accused of drug trafficking. This is the result of the Imam's meeting with Mikhail Fedotov, the Chairman of the HRC.