News

In Tbilisi, protesters intentionally went out into the streets wearing masks, thereby violating the recently introduced ban. Students from two universities have joined the demands to release actors Andro Chichinadze and Vepkhiya Kasradze, who are accused of participating in group violence.

Tragedy of the Baku-Grozny flight, pollution in Anapa, drone attacks, persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia, protests in Georgia, and official data on the natives of Southern Russia who perished in Ukraine, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of December 30, 2024 -January 5, 2025, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

Ramzan Minazaev, a former law enforcer, was sentenced to freedom deprivation for taking part in a gang in Stavropol in 2020-2022, although his defence has proofs and witnesses that he had not left Chechnya during this period.

Ivan Elpashev has complained of a severe mental state after participating in the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine, and asked to be sent for psychological rehabilitation, but doctors, and then the court, refused him.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev has criticized Russian authorities for refusing to admit guilt in the crash of the "Azerbaijan Airlines" (AZAL) plane, and demanded that those responsible for the crash be punished.

According to court rulings, 25 foreign citizens who took part in protests last November and December will be deported from Georgia, the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has informed.

The police have banned the mother of the arrested human rights defender, Rufat Safarov, from leaving Azerbaijan, thus preventing her from accompanying her seriously ill husband to Turkey for medical treatment.

The authorities of Uzbekistan have perceived the statements voiced by Ramzan Kadyrov concerning Uzbekistani officials as interference in the country’s internal affairs, analysts from Uzbekistan note.

In Makhachkala, a court changed the pre-trial restriction measure for activist Ramazan Rabadanov to house arrest. The above information was reported by Shamil Khadulaev, the chair of the Public Oversight Commission (POC) of Dagestan, on his Telegram channel.

Contract soldier Ruslan Khasanov was sentenced by a military court in Nalchik to five years of suspended imprisonment for absence from his military unit. The court considered a suspended sentence possible given the Ruslan Khasanov’s intention to go to the special military operation zone in Ukraine.

The information on the espionage case against Martin Ryan and treason against Azad Mamedli is completely closed, while in Azerbaijan such accusations are often politically motivated.

A State Duma MP has sent an appeal to the head of the Russian General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) with a demand to check the progress of the inquiry into the murder of Anna Tsomartova, who went missing in Kaspiysk in February 2024.

Participants of a protest action against the suspension of Georgia’s European integration blocked traffic near the Georgian parliament. Supporters of European integration also held a protest action in Batumi.

A Movsar Kottoev’s relative, sentenced to imprisonment for carrying a grenade, has succeeded in seeking the cancellation of the court’s decision.

Human rights defenders have called for the release of Anar Mamedli, the head of the Centre for Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies (CEM&DS), treating the case against him as part of repressions against critics of Azerbaijani authorities.

Rashad Ramazanov, an Azerbaijani blogger, convicted in a drug case, has complained that the colony where he is being kept is overcrowded and unsanitary; and prisoners are under pressure.

Lawyer Timur Idalov, sentenced for threatening a public prosecutor, appealed to the judge of the Khimki City Court, pointing out the violation of the norms of criminal procedure law in the decisions on his case. Because of the above-mentioned violations, as Timur Idalov claims, he was unlawfully left in a SIZO (pre-trial prison).

A court fined Mikhail Bulatov, a resident of the Ilovlinsky District, finding him guilty of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.

Georgian authorities should help Abkhazia in solving its energy problems; this opens up opportunities for strengthening trust and restoring relations, Georgian analysts believe.

The New Year's assault of Grozny, launched by Russian militaries 30 years ago, forced residents to hide from shelling in basements and share leftover food with each other.