News

Today, in Makhachkala, eight members of NGOs from different districts of Dagestan have declared a hunger strike demanding the resignation of the Dagestani leader Ramazan Abdulatipov. Besides, the protestors also spoke against corruption.

Today, the failure of justice in the cases on journalists' murders is one of the main enemies of press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) states. According to the CPJ, 370 journalists were killed throughout the world during the period of 2004-2013. Meanwhile, according to the CPJ, no one has been held criminally liable for 333 of the above mentioned murders of journalists.

Alexander Tolmachov, a Rostov journalist and publisher, accused of extortion, has been sentenced to nine years in a high-security penal colony.

Today, the Baku Court of Appeal (CoA) has dismissed the appeal filed by Azerbaijani human rights defender Intigam Aliev about the extension of his arrest and refusal to replace the pre-trial restriction measure in the form of arrest by house arrest or release on bail.

The Kizilyurt District Court of Dagestan has sentenced Kasum Magomedov, found guilty of the murder of his niece, to seven years in a high-security penal colony. The defendant has pleaded guilty.

Azerbaijani Court has extended for four months the arrest of Arif Yunus, a staff member of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD). The defence treats the Court's decision groundless and intends to appeal against it.

On October 28, mothers of large families from the Volgograd Region held a picket in Moscow. The protestors demand from the authorities to fulfil social obligations of the state.

Last night, in the Staropromyslovsky District of the Chechen capital, law enforcers carried out "targeted" measures and detained young men, who were released after being beaten. This was reported by local residents.

Members of the Association of Azerbaijani students have held namaz (prayer) in front of the State Chancellery of Georgia to protest against the authorities' decision to close the mosque in the village of Mokhe of the Adigeni District.

In Dagestan, residents of the settlement of Vremenny of the Untsukul District claim that the actions of the headquarters of the counterterrorist operation (CTO) contradicts the Law "On Combating Terrorism" and violate the rights of civilians. The villagers have appealed to the leaders of the CTO headquarters with a request to let them enter the village to collect their personal belongings.

In the evening of October 28, in Makhachkala, policemen stopped a mass fight, which participants were carrying firearms. To restore order, the policemen had to use their service weapons. As a result, three persons were wounded. This was reported by the Dagestani Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

The advocates of Shant Arutyunyan, the leader of the "Tsegakron" Party, and of other defendants in the "Million Mask March" case, have announced their intention to appeal against the conviction. On October 27, they received the full text of the verdict in their arms, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

This afternoon, more than 15 people were detained at the exit of the mosque in Kotrov Street in Makhachkala after their afternoon namaz (prayer), eyewitnesses have stated. Then, the detained parishioners of the Makhachkala Salafi mosque were taken to the police, Kurban Askandarov, the Deputy Imam of the mosque, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Dmitry Bezdelov, the former head of the Federal Agency for Improving Russia's Border (known as "Rosgranitsa"), who was on the wanted list on suspicion of embezzling the funds allocated for modernization of the border checkpoint in Adler for the 2014 Winter Olympics, was detained by police in Rome.

The Special Investigating Service (SIS) of Armenia has initiated a criminal investigation into the violence used by policemen against a blind activist Alek Enigomshyan, said the press-service of the SIS; the case is now under inquiry.

The US State Department has stated that the Russia's Krasnodar Territory and Rostov Region pose a potential security threat to American travellers and tourists.

In Dagestan, children from families evicted during the special operation in the settlement of Vremenny of the Untsukul District were enlisted to go to schools in other towns and villages of the republic, where they had moved with their parents.

In Grozny, a former day-care attendant from the kindergarten "Orlyonok" (Eaglet), accused of improper performance of her duties and child abuse, has been sentenced to a fine and deprived of the right to hold positions in pre-school education institutions for a year.

In Chechnya, law enforcers still have not succeeded in revealing the whereabouts of a suspected member of the armed underground, who fled after a shootout with law enforcers that occurred in the Gudermes District on October 25. The law enforcement bodies do not rule out that the suspect could enter the territory of neighbouring Dagestan.

On October 27, MPs of the Astrakhan City Duma formulated and introduced to the regional Duma the amendments to the regional bill on the formation of local self-administrations in the region. According to those amendments, the Mayor of the regional centre is to be elected from the MPs. Such a formulation was supported by the majority of the Astrakhan City Duma MPs.