News

Immediately after his inauguration, new President of Georgia Mikhail Kavelashvili has signed all the amendments to the Georgian laws that tighten the punishment for violations during protest actions and also simplify the process of dismissing and hiring persons for public service.

The court ruling that sentenced two law enforcers to conditional sentences for beating a female detainee is another episode in the widespread Russian practice of lenient punishments in torture cases.

Russian State Duma member Adam Delimkhanov has claimed that illegal cryptocurrency miners who create problems with the power supply of districts and cities in Chechnya will be treated as terrorists.

The case on the riots at an airport in Makhachkala should be further investigated, since at the next trial, public prosecutors presented evidence of defendants’ guilt with general wording, without examining the guilt and actions of each of the defendants. The above opinion has been voiced by advocates.

Over the past three months, more than 23.7 million reactions and comments have been left under the posts organized by the Chechen authorities on social networking services.

In 2024, as compared with 2023, the number of attacks on journalists in Georgia has increased fivefold and exceeded 200 cases, the NGO (non-governmental organization) "International Transparency-Georgia" has informed.

Azerbaijan will seek Russia's recognition of responsibility for the plane crash, although persistence won't result in any serious problems in mutual relations. If Moscow fails to react, then some diplomatic response is possible.

The Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliev, has demanded from Russia to admit its guilt in the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane, punish those responsible and pay compensation.

In Stavropol, five people have taken part in the party of writing letters to political prisoners.

The court has sentenced singer Eduard Sharlot* to 5.5 years in colony on charges of rehabilitating Nazism and insulting believers. In his final statement, the musician, who had earlier asked Ramzan Kadyrov for forgiveness, has apologized again for his video clips.

Tragedy of the Baku-Grozny flight, pollution in Anapa, drone attacks, persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia, protests in Georgia, victims of energy crisis in Abkhazia, 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 23-29, 2024, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

Zarifa Sautieva, an Ingush activist, has served her full custody term within the case of an extremist community and was released from her colony.

Odiljon Tozhiev, an Uzbek MP, has condemned Ramzan Kadyrov's statements about the officials who had survived the assassination attempt; he has called on Kadyrov to apologize and help find the suspects. One of them, Bislan Rasaev, was accused of political murders and espionage in Turkey, but could have been released within prisoners' exchange.

On the 30th day of protests against the suspension of European integration, IT specialists, people of creative professions, and social workers took to the streets in Tbilisi. Social workers, in particular, demanded an end to dismissals for political reasons.

Four administrative protocols have been drawn up against Inna Tishkina, a resident of Krasnodar, who had to voice her public apologies after a denunciation by local MP Sergey Klimov.

The authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina granted asylum to Selima Khadisova, a native of Chechnya, who fled from domestic violence.

The court has announced that the sentence against Timur Idalov, a Chechen advocate, has come into force, and released him from the SIZO (pre-trial prison), demanding from him to get registered for forced labour. Idalov has claimed his illegal keeping at the SIZO after the verdict.

Ramzan Kadyrov has treated the situation in Uzbekistan as provocation and threatened to respond according to Chechen traditions for slander to two officials who, according to the media, were the targets of an assassination attempt organized with the participation of Chechen authorities.

December 28 will be a day of mourning in Chechnya for those who perished in the aircraft crash near Aktau; entertainment events in the republic have been cancelled and state flags have been lowered.

On the 29th day of protests in Tbilisi, several marches took place in the city, including high school students from three Tbilisi schools, miners from Tkibuli, children of religious figures, and natives of Batumi.