News

Two inmates serving their terms in Geguti Prison, who went on hunger strike, have sewn up their mouths, the spokesman of the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance of Georgia said today.

Members of several Volgograd NGOs have appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin about inadmissibility of holding a bike show on the Memorial Day of perished city residents.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has nominated Ramazan Abdulatipov, Malik Bagliev, and Ummupazil Omarova for the consideration by the Parliament of Dagestan for the position of the leader of the republic. This was reported by the Kremlin's press service of.

On August 19, the central square of the town of city of Dubovka of the Volgograd Region hosted a rally "For Fair Election" in support of Mayor Alexander Lyashenko, who was thrown away from the race for the position of the head of the Dubovka District.

Patimat Khakimova, a resident of Khasavyurt, appealed to human rights defenders with the request to assist in the search for her husband Rashidbek Shamsudinov, who was kidnapped by unidentified persons on March 26.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Azerbaijan; attempt on one of the defendants in Anna Politkovskaya's murder case in Moscow; Volgograd native Yelena Isinbayeva wins at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow, – look these and other events in the Caucasus in the review of the week of August 12-18, 2013, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Participants of the opposition rally held on August 18 in Baku demanded the authorities to create conditions for the return to the country of Rustam Ibragimbekov, Chairman of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF), and his participation in the election.

In the course of the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus, during the week from August 12 to August 18, 2013, at least 17 people suffered; of them 12 perished and five were wounded. These are the results of calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

Participants of the rally, held on August 18 in Rostov-on-Don demanded to tighten the immigration policy and to amend the Charter of the Region with provisions on the recognition of Russians and Cossacks to be the indigenous population of the region.

The rally against the construction of the well room in the park opposite the Winter Theatre in Sochi was attended by more than 50 persons and ended in the adoption of resolution demanding to stop the construction of the object and to restore the green zone.

On August 17, in Cherkessk, the first meeting of the Coordination Council of Repressed Nations of Russia was held. During the meeting, Ruslan Khabov was elected Chairman of the Council.

On August 18, about 20 tenants of a two-storey building No. 4 in Sevastopol Street held a rally, which resulted in filing a complaint to the City Mayoralty. Officials are going to cover the dilapidated building with a huge banner for the period of the Olympic Games.

During one day of August 17, in the course of raids in the Takhtamukai District of Adygea, policemen detained 78 illegal immigrants. This was reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Adygea.

In the context of the deaths of two conscripts in the Ashuluk Range, a criminal case was opened. The investigation is run by the Investigating Department of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) for the Caspian Flotilla. The perished soldiers were not prepared for the work they were ordered to do, human rights activists assert.

The detentions of relatives of the leaders of the Federal Lezgin National-Cultural Autonomy (FLNCA) are another attempt of the official Baku to find a lever for putting pressure on the leadership of the FLNCA, and on Russia as a whole. The detentions and continued custody are accompanied by human rights violations and violation of international agreements, said the participants of the press conference held in Moscow.

Today, in Abinsk, an ecological rally of residents of the district was held against the sale of land plots in the mountainous part of the district for extraction of marlstone – the raw material for cement production. The action brought together about 300 people, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Within one day, 51 out of 64 drivers of Novocherkassk ambulances applied for resignation because of low wages and unacceptable working conditions. They submitted their applications on August 16, and the immediate trigger was the closure of one of the garages.

In Sochi, a special committee has selected three priority projects out of 13 initiatives aimed to promote ecological routes. The new environmentally-friendly pathways are ready to receive tourists, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

As reported by locals, on August 16, before the collective Friday prayer, Imams of some Chechen mosques called their parishioners to take an active part in the local parliamentary elections.

The Mayoralty of Baku has sanctioned the rally appointed for August 18 by the oppositional National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) in support of the presidential candidate, the screenwriter Rustam Ibragimbekov.