News

Ruslan Rasulov, Chairman of the Dagestani Regional Public Organization (DRPO) "Union to Protect Human, Citizens' and Peoples' Rights and Freedoms", has appealed to the Dagestani Prosecutor's Office. He asks to bring to justice staff members of the Soviet ROVD (District Interior Division) in Makhachkala.

Starting today, four defendants in the case of the attack on Nalchik have announced an indefinite hunger strike in protest against Azamat Akhkubekov's placement into the dungeon, said one of their advocates.

The panel of judges of the Rostov Regional Court has upheld the verdict passed by the Pervomaiskiy District Court of Rostov-on-Don to the journalist and blogger Sergey Reznik.

On April 15, five persons were killed by law enforcers during a special operation in Makhachkala township of Stepnoy; three of them have been preliminarily identified, said a Dagestani law enforcement source.

Parviz Gashimli, an Azerbaijani journalist and human rights activist, kept in the SIZO (pre-trial prison) of the Ministry of National Security (MNS) has gone on a hunger strike in protest against violation of his rights, said his advocate Elchin Sadygov.

As reported by the Centre of Military Journalistic Studies named "Doctrine", since the beginning of 2014, human losses in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces made 28 people; 19 of them are the so-called "non-combat" losses. In the opinion of Djasur Sumerinli, the head of the Centre, the problem of great non-combat losses cannot be solved without a complex of measures.

Today, the Sochi Tsentralny District Court has recognized activist David Khakim guilty for holding a solo pickets near the building of the city administration on February 17.

Advocate representing the interests of family members of a resident of the Kizilyurt District of Dagestan who disappeared in 2012 has sent an appeal to the head of the Investigating Committee for Dagestan. The advocate requests to question staff members of the Kizilyurt ROVD (District Interior Division) in the case of the Akav Khalidov's disappearance.

Court hearing on the claim of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", which challenges the request of the Prosecutor's Office to get registered as a foreign agent, has been postponed till May 23 because of illness of a judge.

The population of Russia expresses a surge of optimism in relation to the situation in Caucasus. This was proved by the data of the recent survey led by the Levada Centre, conducted on March 21-24, compared to the survey conducted in this January.

The conference "Caucasus is our common home" held in Yerevan gathered 76 persons from all regions of Caucasus. Only the delegation from Azerbaijan failed to come to Armenia, and they took part in the event online.

Aliskhan Gurazhev and Mustafa Barkinkhoev, residents of the village of Maiskoe of North Ossetia, accused of possession of drugs, are kept in the SIZO (pre-trial prison) No. 1 of Vladikavkaz, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the office of the Ombudsman for the Republic of Ingushetia.

At the trial in the case of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist of the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta", held at the Moscow City Court on April 14, Lom-Ali Gaitukaev, one of the defendants, categorically declared his innocence of the crime.

The Azerbaijani oppositional "Musavat" Party has urged the authorities of the country to release political prisoners. Otherwise, the party plans to address the democratic countries of the world to boycott the upcoming European Olympic Games-2015 to be held in Baku, said Gyulyaga Aslanly, the deputy chairman of the "Musavat".

In Azerbaijan, Tofig Gasymov, an activist of the public organization "Promoting Democracy", which operates in the Salyan District, was not released after the completion of his administrative arrest. A criminal case was opened against him under the article of "extortion by threats", said a source from his NGO.

The Supreme Court (SC) of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) has partially upheld the complaint lodged by Otkhman Ayal, an ethnic Circassian and now a Syrian national, and reversed the decision to deport him, said a source from the local department of the Federal Migration Service (FMS).

Employees of the inter-municipal district "Baksanskiy" of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) found a hideout near the cemetery in Baksan with ammunition and a smoke bomb, said the press service of the Republic's MIA.

The action-concert "We Choose Europe" was held in Tbilisi on April 13 in Europe Square, in the old town. It was attended by about 1500 people, both ordinary citizens and NGO activists and politicians. They expressed Georgia's desire to join the European Union and to be a European nation.

According to Eduard Sharmazanov, the press secretary of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), Abramyan's candidacy was approved by the RPA's executive body.

Law enforcers failed to find any possible members of the armed underground in the Urus-Martan District of Chechnya, where on April 12 a militant who rendered resistance was killed, a source from the republic's law enforcement bodies told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.