News

In Adygea, about 1500 people took part in the festivities on the Day of the State Flag of the Republic, which is also the national Circassian flag. The activities carried out in this holiday have consolidated the authorities and public movements, said Zaurbij Chundyshko, the head of the Maikop public organization "Adyge Khase-Circassian Council".

The editorial staff of the on-line edition "Yukselish Namine" (In the Name of Revival), based in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait, has announced the pressure imposed by local authorities and police on Elchin Gasanov, the deputy editor-in-chief.

As a result of the hurricane, 25 houses got damaged in Adzharia, said Mamuka Turmanidze, the head of the Agency for Emergencies and Urgent Situations of the Autonomy; and local authorities have added that strong winds and rains that hit the East of Georgia killed hundreds of domestic animals. No human injuries have been reported.

The tenants of the apartment block at No. 5a Akatsij Street, which was blocked as a result of the construction of the M-27 highway, have gone to court against inaction of the Sochi service of court marshals, which fails to enforce the ruling of the Adler District Court of September 25, 2013.

The lawsuit concerns the protection of honour, dignity and business reputation of the police division of the Khosta District of Sochi, claimed to be damaged by rights defender Roman Shikarev in his Twitter account. Roman refuses to plead guilty.

The Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said that the crime detection in the republic is high, reaching 100% in some districts. However, as noted by Lev Levinson, an expert of the Human Rights Institute, this statistics indicates not the real state of affairs, but the attitude of district authorities to the Ministry bosses.

The human rights organization "Amnesty International" (AI) has called on the Georgian government to amend the Law "On Prohibition of All Forms of Discrimination", adopted by the Parliament in the first reading, so that to ensure a real ban on all forms of discrimination. The Georgian Ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili and several local NGOs sent a package of recommendations on the Law to the Parliament.

The critical statements made by the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov in relation to the Khasavyurt Mayor Saigidpasha Umakhanov cannot be explained by economic interests of the Chechen leadership related to Khasavyurt marketplaces, said the experts questioned by the "Caucasian Knot".

Circassian young people from Russia and abroad have encouraged their peers – youth organizations of Circassian Diasporas in Europe and United States – to develop constructive relations with Russia and Abkhazia, says the appeal of the Circassian Youth Forum; its participants add that they want to hold the event on a regular basis.

The defence lawyers have announced their final speeches to the court engaged in trying the "Nida" activists. All of them declared innocence of their clients and asked for acquittal. The defendants' last pleas are scheduled for May 1.

The Baksan Court has announced the pre-trial restriction measure in the form of taking into custody against Murad Pshikhachev, a resident of Baksan, suspected of possessing weapons. This was reported by advocate Aralbek Dumanishev.

The outbreak of intestinal infection in the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR), among residents of Ust-Djeguta was caused by water pollution, said Elena Pokrovskaya, the press secretary of the "Rospotrebnadzor" (Russian Federal Agency for Consumer Supervision), after the check conducted by the Agency.

Ruzana Ibragimova, who was killed on April 24 in a special operation in Khasavyurt, was a sister of one and a widow of three militants; she was preparing to become a suicide bomber, the Russia's National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC) has reported.

The Baku Court of Appeal (CoA) has refused to change the freedom restraint measure of journalist Rauf Mirkadyrov, who had challenged his arrest on charges of treason. The journalist's lawyer has treated the CoA's ruling as illegal.

On Friday, in Azerbaijan, an unidentified person attacked Faraim Ilgaroglu, a reporter of the oppositional newspaper "Yeni Musavat". It happened at the entrance of the house, where the journalist lives, in the Nizami District of Baku. Ilgaroglu himself says he does not know the reasons for the attack; policemen began investigating the incident.

Last night, in the village of Shamilkala of the Untsukul District of Dagestan, a private car owned by an inspector of the Dagestani road police (known as GIBBD), was blown up. This was reported by a local resident. According to a source in the Untsukul ROVD (Interior Division), no one was injured in the explosion.

On April 24, the Simonovo District Court of Moscow started to consider the claim on protection of honour and dignity filed by Shamil Isaev, a deputy of the National Assembly of Dagestan, against journalist Orkhan Djemal.

In Georgia, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused a surge of pro-Russian statements. In March, pro-Russian NGOs held several actions. Every time, those activities were opposed by local forces that expressed their support to the new Ukrainian authorities.

After 99 years passed since the Genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Turkey still "eschews an important step in the recognition of historical truth." The official Ankara's position has nothing in common with the reality, and Armenia should continue to seek recognition of the genocide by the international community. This opinion was expressed by Armenian experts.

The resolution issued by senior investigator of the Investigating Division for the city of Cherkessk of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) refuses to open a criminal case against the policemen who detained Arthur Aidinov and carried out investigative actions in his case. The reason is lack of evidence.