News

The decision of the Moscow City Court (MCC) to award Nikita Tikhonov, convicted to life imprisonment for killing the lawyer Markelov, with additional 18 years in prison on charges of creating the extremist community known as BORN will be appealed against, said his advocate.

Nikita Tikhonov, convicted to life imprisonment for the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov, was found guilty of organizing an extremist community, six murders and two attempted murders and sentenced to 18 years in prison additionally.

The Krasnodar Regional Court has rejected the presentation of the Prosecutor's Office asking to change the punishment of Evgeny Vitishko, a member of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus" (EcoWatch), and upheld the verdict of the Tuapse District Court, said Andrei Rudomakha, the coordinator of the EcoWatch.

The repeated requests of the Muslim community to solve the problem of deficit of mosques in the Krasnodar Territory remain unanswered, believers assert. The attempt to contain the spread of Islam leads to aggravation of inter-religious relations, said the experts questioned by the "Caucasian Knot".

The opening of the Gimry Tunnel for motor traffic scheduled for September 23 did not take place. The reason was the deterioration of the situation in the settlement of Vremenny, Untsukul District of Dagestan, said a source from the district administration.

The alleged member of an illegal armed formation (IAF) killed in Ingushetia, in a shootout in the city of Karabulak, was identified as Arthur Murzabekov. Also, two persons suspected of aiding militants were detained, said the Ingush leader Yunus-Bek Evkurov.

An action demanding self-liquidation of the NGO "Free Zone", which is associated with the "United National Movement" Party of ex-President Mikhail Saakashvili, was held in Tbilisi on Tuesday, September 23, by activists of the Youth Movement "Free Generation".

The International Investment Forum in Sochi has presented projects in construction and industry, foodstuff production and tourism, which were submitted by the regions of the Southern and North-Caucasian Federal Districts (SFD and NCFD). Ingushetia and the Krasnodar Territory were leaders by the number of signed contracts.

Elchin Gambarov, an advocate of human rights defender Leyla Yunus, the Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD), kept at the Baku SIZO (pre-trial prison), has reported on the deterioration of the health state of his client. According to the advocate, on Tuesday, he has not been allowed to visit the human rights defender at the SIZO.

In Baku, the court has started hearings on the merits in the case against Ali, a minor son of oppositionist Oktai Gyulalyev, who is charged with disorderly conduct. In the course of the court hearing, the court has listened to prosecutors, defenders, and the victim.

In the course of the press conference, members of the organization "Mothers of Dagestan for Human Rights" have mentioned the cases of Imangazali Magomedov and Marat Nasredinov, two residents of Dagestan, as examples to declare biased actions of investigators against citizens complaining about being beaten by policemen.

A man killed in the shootout in Karabulak has been identified. He was a local resident, registered at the police as a member of the armed underground. This was reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Ingushetia. According to investigators, apart from the identified man, two other persons were shooting at the policemen; however, they managed to flee.

Officers of the Investigating Division of the Khasavyurt OVD (Interior Division) are delaying the opening of a criminal case on the facts of beating and sexual assault of a local woman. This was reported by Sapiyat Magomedova, an advocate of the victim. Law enforcers argue they are carrying out the check at the complaint.

Trials in the cases against Levan Chachua, Mikhail Dzadzamiya, and Koba Kharshiladze, who are accused of negligence in connection with the case on the death of Zurab Zhvaniya, the former Prime Minister, have been postponed at the request of the Prosecutor's Office.

Armenia strongly condemns the terror act committed in the Church "Srbots Naatakats" in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, where remains of victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and the important documents on the Armenian Genocide were stored. This was stated by Edward Nalbandyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

Photos and videos taken during the construction of the Chirkei Hydro Power Plant (HPP) in the 1970s, as well as photos of the drawings, made by Dagestani painters on the walls of the HPP within the art project, are presented at the exhibition "Heritage Energy" in Gallery One of the city Kaspiysk.

Today, a resident of the Untsukul District of Dagestan has informed the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about intense fire from large-calibre firearms in the settlement of Vremenny. The information about a shootout was confirmed by a source from the local ROVD (District Interior Division).

The PACE President Anne Brasseur has started her official visit to Azerbaijan with a meeting with civil society activists. At the meeting, the participants discussed the topics of the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, the problem of political prisoners, and the obstacles to the development of civil society.

Ilgar Nasibov, a rights defender beaten in Nakhichevan, has faced a pre-trial restriction measure against him he is transferred under police supervision. He treats the measure as a politically motivated move.

During the week of September 15-21, 2014, at least two persons were killed in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. One person was wounded. These are the results of calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.