News

In the Altai Territory, the main prize of the 15th Shukshin Film Festival, held on July 18-21, was awarded to two films – the Armenian movie "If Only Everyone" by Natalya Belyauskene and "The Daughter" by Alexander Kasatkin and Natalya Nazarova.

Alla Kurbanova was detained by Dagestani law enforcers in Makhachkala on suspicion of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, including the so-called "shahid belt". Her father asserts that his daughter is innocent.

The managers of the village of Sabnava, Derbent District of Dagestan, have incorrectly compiled the list of victims of the flood in October 2012, while the payment of compensations is accompanied by violations, local residents assert.

Actions in support of opposition leader and blogger Alexei Navalny in cities of Southern Russia; death of a child from meningitis in North Ossetia; natural disaster in Georgia flooding 20 villages; nomination of incumbent heads of Ingushetia and Dagestan for the upcoming indirect elections; verdict in the case of the death of a tourist at "Zorb" entertainment in Karachay-Cherkessia; establishment of a new oppositional alliance in Azerbaijan in support of the National Council of Democratic Forces, – look these and other events in the Caucasus in the review of the week of July 15-21, 2013, prepared by the"Caucasian Knot".

A presidential candidate Merab Gorgadze was detained in Batumi, for disorderly conduct at a protest rally against the primaries of the "United National Movement" (UNM). The Batumi Court released Gorgadze after imposing a fine.

Over 500 Muslims of the religious communities of the towns of Yakhroma and Domodedovo were detained by law enforcers. Most of them returned home on the same day, believers report.

The Investigative Committee of the Krasnodar Territory has opened a criminal case against a local man who had allegedly posted an article justifying terrorism on the Internet.

German authorities have announced a sharp increase in the current year of the number of applications for political asylum filed by natives of Chechnya. Rights defenders see the reason for the increase in some unreliable rumours about facilitating the receipt of the refugee status in this country and the atmosphere of fear in the republic.

According to Tatiana Lokshina, the deputy head of the Moscow bureau of the Human Rights Watch, the set up of the Human Rights Council Created under the head of Chechnya was purely decorative in nature, while its appointed chairman Timur Aliev will not be able to change the situation.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled on the case "Tazieva et al versus Russia", finding a violation of an Article of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and awarded a compensation of moral damage to the victims of five thousand euros.

A group of young Circassians representing Diasporas from different countries have climbed the western peak of Mount Elbrus, at the altitude of 5642 meters above sea level.

Journalists in Azerbaijan are still experiencing difficulties with access to information and are subjected to pressure. This is stated in the report, presented on July 19 by the Media Rights Institute (MRI) "Azerbaijan: State of Media Freedom in First Half of 2013".

Four masked men attacked Eldar Nazaraliev, the deputy chairman of the Committee on Tourism, and tried to kidnap him, said the spokesman of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Dagestan.

On July 19, plenty of A4 size leaflets with portraits of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny and slogans in his support appeared in the streets of Krasnodar.

Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, has begun building the State Museum of Armenian Genocide –the first one outside Armenia.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of South Ossetia has announced an unscheduled inspection of political associations concerning the membership of militaries in political parties. The procedure began on July 8 and will be over on July 31.

In Azerbaijan, the health condition of Dashgyn Melikov, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), who is kept in custody, has deteriorated; and he was taken into the prison hospital, said his father Alisafa Melikov.

In Dagestan, the rights of detainees to defence are massively violated, lawyers assert. They intend to raise the issue at a press conference scheduled for July 31 at the Bar building in Makhachkala, Dagestan.

Baku Court of Appeal (CoA) has separately considered the complaints of youth activists Ulvi Gasanli, Majid Mardjanly and Kenan Gasymly, who are kept under administrative arrest. Young people asked to declare the illegality of their arrest and release them from detention. The complaints were dismissed.

The Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has appointed Timur Aliev as the Chairman of the Human Rights Council, the press service of the Chechen president and government has reported.