News

On July 19, the Muftiyat of Chechnya established the religious committee "Fetva", which would address issues related to Islamic law. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent at the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of the republic.

In Azerbaijan, space for the activities of the civil society is narrowed, freedom of assembly, expression and association is severely restricted, and pressure on political activists and journalists is increased. This was stated at the international conference in Baku.

In the villages of the Zugdidi and Tsalendjikh Districts (the Samegrelo Region), the damage inflicted by heavy rains exceeds one million laris (about 600,000 US dollars). This was reported by a representative of the local authorities.

The dismissal of the Dagestan's Government indicates the growing confrontation between the elites of the republic. This was stated by Enver Kisriev, the head of the Caucasus Section of the Centre for Civilization and Regional Studies of the Institute of African Studies of the RussianAcademy of Sciences (RAS).

In Dagestan, Alisher Fazilov and his brother Zhasurbek Fazilov, natives of Uzbekistan, disappeared. This was reported by Zhamilat Nazhmudinova, the wife of Alisher Fazilov, a resident of the Kizlyar District of Dagestan.

Vugar Aslanov, a member of the Youth Committee of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), who was detained on July 21 during his silent solo picket in Baku, was sentenced to 10 days of administrative arrest on charges of disobeying the police.

Sergey Plakhotnyuk, the Public Prosecutor of the Tsentralny District of Sochi has refused to approve the indictment against the journalist Nikolai Yarst, accused of drug trafficking and possession, and returned the case for further investigation, said the lawyer Marina Dubrovina.

Grachya Arutyunyan, a native of Armenia, suspected of committing a traffic accident near Podolsk, has refused to testify, the press service of the Moscow MIA reports.

Anatoly Karibov, the First Deputy Prime Minister Dagestan, has been appointed to be the Acting Prime Minister after the Acting Head of the Republic Ramazan Abdulatipov dismissed the government for poor performance.

Sappers have defused the two bombs found last night at a mosque in Khasavyurt; the power of each of them was about 40 kilograms of TNT (trotyl) equivalent, law enforcement sources report.

Under the updated version of the law "On Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) of the Republic of South Ossetia (RSO)", the local NPOs will now have to provide information to regulatory authorities about the funding sources of their projects and programmes, says the local Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

In the Altai Territory, the main prize of the 15th Shukshin Film Festival, held on July 18-21, was awarded to two films – the Armenian movie "If Only Everyone" by Natalya Belyauskene and "The Daughter" by Alexander Kasatkin and Natalya Nazarova.

Alla Kurbanova was detained by Dagestani law enforcers in Makhachkala on suspicion of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, including the so-called "shahid belt". Her father asserts that his daughter is innocent.

The managers of the village of Sabnava, Derbent District of Dagestan, have incorrectly compiled the list of victims of the flood in October 2012, while the payment of compensations is accompanied by violations, local residents assert.

Actions in support of opposition leader and blogger Alexei Navalny in cities of Southern Russia; death of a child from meningitis in North Ossetia; natural disaster in Georgia flooding 20 villages; nomination of incumbent heads of Ingushetia and Dagestan for the upcoming indirect elections; verdict in the case of the death of a tourist at "Zorb" entertainment in Karachay-Cherkessia; establishment of a new oppositional alliance in Azerbaijan in support of the National Council of Democratic Forces, – look these and other events in the Caucasus in the review of the week of July 15-21, 2013, prepared by the"Caucasian Knot".

A presidential candidate Merab Gorgadze was detained in Batumi, for disorderly conduct at a protest rally against the primaries of the "United National Movement" (UNM). The Batumi Court released Gorgadze after imposing a fine.

Over 500 Muslims of the religious communities of the towns of Yakhroma and Domodedovo were detained by law enforcers. Most of them returned home on the same day, believers report.

The Investigative Committee of the Krasnodar Territory has opened a criminal case against a local man who had allegedly posted an article justifying terrorism on the Internet.

German authorities have announced a sharp increase in the current year of the number of applications for political asylum filed by natives of Chechnya. Rights defenders see the reason for the increase in some unreliable rumours about facilitating the receipt of the refugee status in this country and the atmosphere of fear in the republic.

According to Tatiana Lokshina, the deputy head of the Moscow bureau of the Human Rights Watch, the set up of the Human Rights Council Created under the head of Chechnya was purely decorative in nature, while its appointed chairman Timur Aliev will not be able to change the situation.