News

The art project of Yekaterinburg painters named "Beslan", dedicated to the victims of the 2004 terror act in North Ossetia, was opened on September 1 inMoscow and will last in the Marat Gelman's Gallery at the Winery till the evening of September 5. Besides, within the public campaign "Remember Beslan!", by the anniversary of the tragedy, activist published brochures containing the data of the independent investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy.

Today, the town of Beslan has started a three-day mourning event to mark the tenth anniversary of the terror act committed on September 1, 2004. More than 3000 people came to the yard of the School No. 1 to commemorate the victims of the terror act.

In Chechnya, the markets raise prices for some food products. According to the Chechen Department of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), over the recent week, prices for meat, sausages and dairy products rose by 5-20 percent. Local residents have expressed their concern about the above price growth, and they are afraid of food shortages.

Summer camps of the armed underground and a hideout with ammunition were found near two villages of the Nazran District of Ingushetia, the Russian National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC) has reported.

Reports of involvement of Russian militaries, including soldiers from southern regions of the country, in combat operations in the territory of Ukraine; recognition of independence of Nagorno-Karabakh by the US State of California; abolition of the direct election of the Makhachkala Mayor and withdrawal of the banking license of the Dagestani "Mesed" Bank; several false reports on bombs in public places of Stavropol, Volgograd, and Rostov-on-Don; music festival "KaZantip" in Georgia, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of August 25-31, 2014, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

On August 31, Russia returned to the Ukrainian side the soldiers, who on August 27 crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border and entered the territory of the Rostov Region, stated Major-General Alexei Ragozin, Deputy Commander of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation.

In Azerbaijan, bank accounts of the Centre for Economic Research (CER) and its leader Gubad Ibadoglu have been frozen. On August 28, Gubad Ibadoglu was questioned by the General Prosecutor's Office as a witness in the case against a number of local and foreign NGOs, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by the CER leader.

In Sochi, Lavrikov family members have challenged the decision of the Krasnodar Regional Court to grant the request of the Sochi city administration to transfer the Lavrikov family members to "Olympic" housing. The appeal has been filed against the court's decision to evict four adults from the dilapidated house to a one-room apartment in a building for "Olympic" settlers.

On August 29, Vasily Golubev, the Governor of the Rostov Region, announced that all field temporary accommodation centres (TACs) for Ukrainian refugees would be closed during a week. The TACs are to be closed because of bad weather conditions in the Rostov Region. The authorities plan to transfer refugees to stationary accommodation centres.

Simon Mkrtchyan, a colleague of Vladimir Airapetyan, has been detained during the investigation into the case of the death of his colleague, a regular soldier of one of the military units. This was reported on August 30 by the press service of the Armenian Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Today, Seimur Khazi (Khaziev), 32, an oppositional journalist and an observer of the "Azadlyg" (Freedom) newspaper, has been arrested by a court in Azerbaijan for two months. The journalist was charged with disorderly conduct (hooliganism).

Today, on the International Day of Missing People, relatives of those missing and kidnapped held a rally in Grozny demanding to punish those responsible for kidnappings. The action was attended by about 60 people, the participants told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Residents of the village of Mekhelta, Gumbet District of Dagestan, have complained to the head of the republic about protraction with decision-making process and payment of compensations to the victims of the natural calamity – torrential rains that hit the region back in 2006, after which their houses became unfit for living, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Family members of Kurman-Ali Baichorov, the Imam of Kislovodsk, the Deputy Mufti of the Stavropol Territory, who is accused of drug possession, have appealed for help to rights defenders and staff members of the Ombudsman's Office in Chechnya.

The Chechen Prosecutor's Office has demanded from the investigating authorities to reopen the investigation into the criminal case on the fact of the murder of Aizan Amirova, a resident of Grozny, committed in 2000. Local residents claim that the crime was committed by soldiers of federal forces, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The charge against Ali Gyulalyev, who is accused of disorderly conduct, has been fabricated for political reasons, stated opposition activist Oktai Gyulalyev, the father of the defendant. According to Djamil Gasanli, the leader of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF), the criminal case against Ali Gyulalyev became the next one in a series of the cases instituted against relatives of opposition members and rights defenders.

Advocates of Chechen native Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is accused by the American authorities of organizing the terror act during the marathon in Boston in 2013, have filed a motion to postpone the beginning of the trial in the case until September 15, 2015. The defenders claim they have not enough time to get prepared for the trial, the beginning of which is scheduled for November 3.

Inmates of the SIZO No. 2 (pre-trial prison) of the Georgian town of Kutaisi continue a protest action. They demand reconsideration of their cases and attention of the administration. One of the hunger-strikers has been brought to the hospital, his wife reports.

The Maikop City Court has continued the questioning of witnesses in the criminal case against Zarema Khadjirokova, the former chief accountant of the Maikop State Technological University, who is accused of fraud. The trial was held in the absence of defence, and the defendant was brought to the courtroom by force, stated Lyudmila Alexandrova, the former advocate of the defendant.

An Armenian soldier with a gunshot wound was found dead at his combat post, the Armenian Ministry of Defence (MoD) reports. According to the Armenian MoD, "a criminal case was instituted under Part 3 of Article 365 of the Armenian Criminal Code.