News

A court in Sochi has fined Valery Musarin, a local resident, by 30,000 roubles for his post placed in a social network that was treated as offensive to the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At night on December 7, in Tbilisi, law enforcers detained Beslan Kmuzov, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, who was covering the protests held by supporters of Georgia's European integration.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the detention of "Meydan TV" employees Ainur Elgunesh, Aitadj Tapdyg, Khayal Agaev, Aisel Umudova, Natig Djavadli and the freelance journalist Ramin Deko by Azerbaijani authorities.

Protests in Georgia, Kadyrov: pros and cons, persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia, new arrests of the opposition in Azerbaijan, 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 2-8, 2024, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

A court in Gelendjik has placed Vadim Kharchenko*, a blogger, accused of slander, in custody until February 4, 2025.

The Cherkessk City Court has sent Guzel Kasimova, a journalist from Kazan, accused of knowingly making a false report about a terror act, to the SIZO (pre-trial prison until January 22, 2025. The defence intends to appeal against the court ruling.

When criticizing the heads of the Investigating Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the leader of Chechnya is measuring his influence with theirs. At the same time, Ramzan Kadyrov drew his attention to a case of a Chechen teenager living in Moscow, although hundreds of Chechen natives have been convicted on fabricated charges.

The authorities are changing their tactics by detaining activists instead of dispersing protests, but that has only angered protesters. Participants of the rally in front of the Georgian parliament building spoke about their willingness to attend rallies every day to achieve new parliamentary elections.

The Dorogomilovsky Court of Moscow has sentenced Khavier Yarmagomedov, a native of Dagestan, to seven years in colony for trampling an Orthodox cross. He was also found guilty of spreading child pornography and was deprived of the right to administer websites for eight years.

Aytaj Tapdyg, Natig Djavadly, Ramin Djabrailzade, and Khayala Agaeva, employees of the “Meydan TV” portal, have been detained this evening. The Azerbaijani police reported an investigation into the smuggling of foreign currency.

A court in Gelendjik has released Vadim Kharchenko*, accused under several criminal articles, from custody, after which he was detained on suspicion of slander.

The air defence systems deployed in the republics of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) need to be strengthened to protect against drone attacks, while the Kadyrov's proposal to place Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) on building roofs is unable to protect from attacks.

The teenager, for whom Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov stood up, is accused of beating minors on the streets of Moscow, the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) reports. Investigators released a video of several fights involving the teenager.

The anger of the leader of Chechnya was caused by a criminal case instituted against a teenager from Chechnya for hooliganism.

Most of those detained during protests in Georgia, who were visited by representatives of the country’s Ombudsman, reported that the police used excessive force against them during detentions. Advocates for the detainees claimed that their clients were beaten in detention facilities as well.

On Friday, 6 December 2024, beginning around 1pm Baku local time, Meydan TV's newsroom lost contact with a number of individuals, some of whom collaborate with Meydan TV.

The prosecution has asked to sentence Boris Goncharenko to 11 years and Bogdan Abdurakhmanov to 12 years in colony, accusing then within the case of setting the military commissariat (registration and enlistment office) on fire. This was reported by the human rights project "Solidarity Zone".

Andrei Kolomiets, a 57-year-old resident of North Ossetia, was fined 50,000 roubles for his negative statements about the Russian Armed Forces. This has already been his second fine.

The court has groundlessly added an aggravating motive to Timur Idalov, a Chechen advocate, in the case of threats to the prosecutor, which led to a harsh punishment and left him in custody pending appeal, although he could have been released, lawyers have emphasized.

After detaining Elvin Karimov, an ethnic Azerbaijani, at a protest action in Tbilisi, ten law enforcers have beaten him up, recommending him to appeal to President Aliev for defence of human rights. Activists have gone out to the action in Karimov's support.