News

The case against Mikhail Balabanov, convicted under the article on terrorism for preparing to set fire to a military registration and enlistment office in the Stavropol Territory, was the result of a provocation by the FSB, stated the “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial” human rights project.

A ban on wearing niqabs has been introduced in Dagestan; it will remain in force until a new theological conclusion, the republic's Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM or Muftiate) has announced.

Archpriest Andrei Drugai from Krasnodar, deprived of the right to conduct priestly services, reported that he had to leave Russia due to the threat of arrest for preaching about peace, contrary to the policies of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The court has appointed the freedom deprivation measure of two months for Dagestani blogger, Khadjimurad Khanov, with in the case of illegal arms trafficking.

The Tlyaratinsky District has fined Zharula Ramazanov, a school teacher, by 30,000 roubles for speaking against the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine and deaths of servicemen from Dagestan there.

Charges brought against Khadjimurad Khanov in a criminal case on possession of firearms and a grenade is absurd, and the attention of the law enforcement bodies is caused by the scandal surrounding the demands for an apology from a doctor in Khasavyurt, who asked a patient to remove her niqab during a medical examination, to which the leader of Dagestan reacted, Dagestani journalists and activists believe.

The kidnapping of the relatives of Khasan Khalitov, a Chechen blogger living abroad, is revenge for his call to Aishat Kadyrova, the current Vice-Premier of Chechnya; threats to Khalitov were voiced out by Adam Kadyrov, a son of the head of Chechnya, human rights defenders report, expressing concern for the health condition of the blogger's relatives, especially his elderly father.

After an arrest of porn actor Matvei Volodin, law enforcers in Dagestan launched a campaign against gay men and organized raids against them. Yusuf, one of the detainees, left Russia after he was forced to agree to cooperate with the law enforcement bodies.

Terror acts in Dagestan, Georgian government under pressure, persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia, Ramzan Kadyrov at the federal level, 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 June 24-June 30, 2024, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

Khasan Khalitov, an oppositional blogger and a Ramzan Kadyrov's critic, has stated that several days ago authorities summoned his father and two brothers to Grozny for a talk; and since then their whereabouts remain unknown.

A court in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) has fined Vladimir Kryachko, a 61-year-old local resident, twice in the amount of 15,000 roubles, finding him guilty of speaking negatively about Russian militaries.

The arrestees kept in a SIZO (pre-trial prison) in Rostov-in-Don were forced to shave their heads after an incident with hostage-taking. A spokesperson for the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (known as FSIN) explained the above as “educational work” and internal regulations of the SIZO. Coercion of the arrestees to shave their heads violated their rights, human rights defenders pointed out.

Sergey Melikov, the head of Dagestan, stood up for a doctor from Khasavyurt, who had faced threats and attacks after a misunderstanding during examination of a patient wearing a niqab. After Melikov's criticism, law enforcers detained the blogger Khadjimurad Khanov, who had earlier demanded from the doctor's bosses to apologize, sources report.

The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Dagestan, being a religious organization, may issue a fatwa (a ruling based on the principles of Islam), banning wearing niqabs, but this is only a recommendation, religious scholars and Caucasian experts believe. Violators of the ban face a maximum of condemnation and censure, they note.

The Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Dagestan will soon issue a fatwa (a ruling based on the principles of Islam), banning wearing niqabs. This has been announced by the Mufti of Dagestan after the leader of the republic spoke out against wearing niqabs.

The ideological work aimed to counter radicalization should be conducted by Muslims themselves; and Abdulmumin Gadjiev, the convicted "Chernovik" outlet journalist, is one of those who is able to influence his fellow believers, Dagestani journalists are sure.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ordered Russian authorities to pay EUR 5000 to convicted activist, Barakh Chemurziev, as compensation for his arrest at the rally in Magas. The ECtHR's decision was made amid Russia's refusal to enforce the Court's decisions.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ordered Russian authorities to pay EUR 3500 to Ruslan Gvashev, a Circassian activist, as compensation for the fine imposed on him for praying at the Tulip Tree in 2017.

The soft reaction of the press secretary of the Russian President to Kadyrov's threats to militants' relatives has demonstrated the Kremlin's agreement with the methods of the head of Chechnya, analysts have pointed out.

The hostage taking in the Rostov SIZO (pre-trial prison) and the attacks in Dagestan were committed by "Islamists," Alexander Bastrykin, the Chairman of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), has stated and supported the idea of banning niqabs (long garments worn by some Muslim women in order to cover their entire body and face, excluding their eyes).