News

On March 20, the court held a hearing in the case against Zarema Bagavutdinova, a member of the Dagestani Regional Public Organization (DRPO) "Pravozaschita", who was accused of promoting terrorist activities. The court questioned Aisha Selimkhanova, a defence witness, a colleague of the defendant.

Bagauddin Evloev, a resident of the Ingush village of Sagopshi, whose uninhabited house was blown up by militaries on March 15, said that he had no claims to law enforcers, since he was sure that the explosive device found in the house could not be taken away.

The Olympic Park in Sochi needs some upgrade to become completely barrier-free, Sochi guests comment, but most of the people with disabilities appreciate the changes watched in the Olympic capital.

The conviction of Ilgar Mamedov and Tofig Yagublu on charges of rioting in the Azerbaijani city of Ismailly, is politically motivated, says the statement of Catherine Ashton and Štefan Füle, officials of the European Union.

Policemen and attached servicemen are conducting checks of every Khasavyurt house, local residents report, while a source from the GOVD (City Interior Division) asserts that the visits have to do with the passport regime.

Armenian experts disagree on the possible analogy of the situation in the Crimea with Nagorno-Karabakh. Sergey Minasyan, Deputy Director of the Institute of the Caucasus, said that the Crimean factor cannot affect the Karabakh issue, but geopolitical changes in the former Soviet space are inevitable.

Residents of the Russian Federation and Ukraine supplied smuggled weapons from the European Union (EU) to Northern Caucasus. Several persons have been detained. This was reported today by the Russian FSB.

On March 18, in Simferopol, two persons were killed as a result of shooting in front of Ukrainian military unit. One of the victims was a resident of the Volgograd Region, who went to Crimea as a member of a Cossack volunteer squad. According to journalists, deceased Ruslan Kazakov took part in the military campaigns in Chechnya.

On March 19, in Nalchik, twelve persons came to the building of the Investigating Committee to support the Lamina Gulieva's claim to give out her husband's body. After a four-hour wait, they went away with nothing. No official from the Investigating Committee came out to the protesters.

On March 19, the Nazran City Court chaired by Khamid Tambiev completed the consideration of the case against Musa Abadiev, an Ingush blogger, accused of inciting enmity and hatred. The Court has pronounced the decision to fine blogger Musa Abadiev by 100,000 roubles.

This year, the days of March 20-26 were declared to be official holidays on the occasion of celebrating Novruz Bayram, the holiday symbolizing the coming of spring. However, the festivities have been already started on March 19.

In Chechnya, relatives of Magomed Tokaev cannot locate him since January 22, claiming his kidnapping by law enforcers. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Chechnya does not confirm the information about Magomed Tokaev's detention.

The appointment of the new leader of "Imarat Kavkaz" – Aliaskhab Kebekov (Ali Abu-Mukhammad) was expected, said Mairbek Agaev, deputy editor-in-chief of the Dagestani weekly "Chernovik".

In Azerbaijan, local experts are unanimous in their negative assessment of the Crimea's incorporation into Russia. According to Vafa Guluzade, a former state adviser on foreign policy of Azerbaijan, "in fact, Russia annexed the Crimea by flagrantly violating the international law."

Twelve persons have gathered in Nalchik in front of the Investigating Committee (IC) to support the demand of Lamina Gulieva to receive the body of her husband Tengiz Guketlov, killed during a special operation on March 14, for burial.

On March 19, hundreds of people in Armenia again blocked the highway Ashtarak-Aparan demanding to remove machinery from the territory of the planned construction of a new hydropower plant (HPP) on the water supply line "Aparan-Yerevan".

The public civil movement "Law and Order" has appealed to the Adler District Court of Sochi to initiate a lawsuit against the six public institutions. The plaintiff demands to oblige the public institutions to take out the construction wastes from the Akhshtyr Quarry and to stop any works there.

One of the men killed during the special operation conducted in the Gumbet District of Dagestan was on the federal wanted list and was a member of the "Gimry" militant grouping. Law enforcers found a hideout at the place where shootout occurred.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) should speak publicly about the shortcomings of the Paralympic Games in Sochi and the problem of creating a barrier-free environment in the city, taking into account the situation as seen by independent observers. This was reported by the international human rights organization "Human Rights Watch" (HRW).

Members of Azerbaijani and international human rights organizations have criticized the decision of the court to sentence to long terms of imprisonment Ilgar Mamedov, the leader of the civil movement "Republican Alternative" (ReAl), and Tofig Yagublu, Deputy Chairman of the "Musavat" Party, a columnist of the newspaper "Yeni Musavat".