News

In connection with the disaster in the Darial Gorge, the press service of the Georgian Ministry of Energy has issued the statement which denies the responsibility of builders of the Darial Hydraulic Power Plant (HPP) for the landslide.

The visit of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to the Kashatag District of the breakaway and non-recognized Nagorno-Karabakh was met by a protest of local residents against the principles of conflict settlement proposed by James Warlick, the US Co-Chair of the above Group.

In Sochi, city officials fail to enforce their own decision of 2011 on demolition of the emergency house, situated in the settlement of Vesyoloe, Adler District, and on resettlement of its tenants. People claim that they have no sewage, heating, water and gas supplies, while officials disregard all their problems.

Today, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by Arslanali Zeinalov, the Chairman of the Board of Elders, that Magomedamin Magomadov and Zalimkhan Valiev, the leaders of community councils of Tarkin settlements, were detained in Karaman, near Makhachkala. Residents of the above settlements demand their release under recognizance not to leave.

Today, in the capital of Georgia, during a protest action against the anti-discrimination law, which prohibits harassment, including of people with non-traditional sexual orientation, a conflict burst out of the protesters with the police.

Tonight, at about midnight, in the city of Chegem of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), a crew of the road-and-patrol service (known as DPS) has been attacked. During the shootout, a policeman was wounded, two attackers were killed by return fire, and one more attacker managed to escape.

Today, during searches conducted in the village of Sogratl in Dagestan, law enforcers detained five persons, including the principal of the rural school. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by a local resident.

In Kabardino-Balkaria, Tamerlan Fargiev, Maxim Kolesnik, Azamat Tanov, and Azamat Khachev, inmates of the penal colony No. 3, have made a suicide attempt to protest against the use of physical violence against them. This was claimed by relatives of the prisoners.

Omaraskhab Alibegov, the imam of the village of Stalskoe of the Kizilyurt District of Dagestan, who was found murdered, was presumably kidnapped on May 14 by law enforcers. This was claimed by one of the relatives of the religious figure. The relatives have identified the murdered man as Omaraskhab Alibegov, who was a nephew of Abu Mukhammad (Aliaskhab Kebekov), the new leader of the "Imarat Kavkaz".

The Azerbaijani authorities should stop the practice of criminal prosecution of journalists. This was stated by Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. She has condemned the conviction of journalist and activist Parviz Gashimli, who on May 15 was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment.

The commission consisting of officials from the Government of the Stavropol Territory and the administration of the Plenipotentiary Envoy of the Russian President in the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) together with the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) has determined a land plot near the city of Pyatigorsk to build a mosque. The agreement to allocate the land plot has been signed at the travelling meeting at the office of the SAM for the Stavropol Territory.

In Azerbaijan, law enforcement and judicial authorities flagrantly violate the rights of Leila Yunus, Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD), and her husband Arif Yunus, who are witnesses in the case against journalist Rauf Mirkadyrov. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Khalid Bagirov, an advocate of the Yunus spouses.

Beslan Teuvazhev, an activist of the organization named "Adygekhem Ya Duney" and one of the organizers of making commemorative ribbons to the 150th anniversary of the end of the Russian-Caucasian War, was detained today by employees of a Moscow OVD (Interior Divisions), another Circassian activist, Evgeny Tashu, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

A burnt-down car with a man's body inside was found in the Buynaksk District of Dagestan. According to local residents, the casualty was the Imam of the mosque of the village of Stalskoe, Kizilyurt District. However, the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) argues that the body has not been identified yet.

Employees of the penitentiary system of Georgia create artificial obstacles to the officials of the Ombudsman in monitoring the prisons, Ucha Nanuashvili, the Ombudsman, said on May 15 the at a briefing in Tbilisi.

On May 15, the Baku Court of Appeal (CoA) dismissed the complaints lodged against the arrest of Kyamalya Bananyarly, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), for participating in the protest action on May 6, and the 15-day arrest of Tural Abbasly, an activist of the "Musavat" Party, for taking part in the same action.

The defence of Aisha Abakarova and Sadiyat Arslanova, the volunteers of the Charitable Foundation "Be Merciful!", who were detained for three days on charges of disobeying the police, has challenged the ruling of the Khasavyurt City Court on administrative arrest.

Today, four law enforcers, who had been wounded on May 15 in the shelling near the village of Sogratl of the Gunib District of Dagestan, have been delivered to Makhachkala. At the GunibHospital, the victims were visited by Abdurashid Magomedov, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Dagestan.

On May 15, the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic launched the traditional annual charity marathon "Hurry up to do good!" The campaign will last until November 1, and its main purpose is to raise funds for seriously ill children, orphans and children in difficult situations, and to support children's social institutions.

At the conference held in Ingushetia, about 40 persons have discussed law-enforcement practice in the fight against the ideology of extremism and terrorism in Northern Caucasus. Following the results of the meeting, the participants of the conference have made a decision to strengthen the prevention of exposure to extremist ideology among young people.