News

Elena Tardasova-Yun, an activist from Novosibirsk, became the second woman in Russia, who held a solo picket with the demand to investigate the disappearance of Seda Suleimanova in Chechnya. The situation with domestic violence in Northern Caucasus requires a separate law to protect women, Elena Tardasova-Yun has noted during her picket.

A court in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) has refused to transfer Kazbek Shkhagoshev to house arrest. Earlier, Kazbek claimed in court that he was tortured into self-incrimination within a case of attempting to sell narcotic drugs and slandering local officials.

The Prosecutor's Office (PO) of the Krasnodar Territory (also known as Kuban by the name of the main river) has appealed against the decision of the court in Anapa, which had fined Dmitry Lozner, an incompetent person from Moscow, for entering the fenced beach area.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR) has demanded from heads of city and district administrations to provide information about the teachers and students who attend schools wearing clothes with religious attributes.

A case on contempt of court was instituted against Vladimir Atamanchuk, a pensioner from Sochi, based on a complaint from a victim in a case on defamation. The activist was not informed what exact words became the reason for criminal prosecution.

A court in Krasnodar has fined a local resident by 30,000 roubles by treating his solo picket with a pacifist slogan as discrediting the Russian Army.

The prosecutor of the Prikubansky District of Krasnodar has cancelled the decision to institute a criminal case against a husband of Maria Smelaya. The woman complained about beating by her husband and abduction of her child.

A total of 140 people are in custody under the criminal cases related to the unrests at the Makhachkala Airport; 1200 people have been brought to administrative responsibility, Abdurashid Magomedov, the head of the Dagestani Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), has informed.

In its complaint, the defence claimed that the police forced Khava Gadjimuradova, a resident of Dagestan, to sign a confession of her intention to leave for Syria. The Supreme Court (SC) of Russia recognized the court’s decision, which sentenced the young woman to five years of imprisonment, to be legal.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has recognized the detention at a picket in defence of Oyub Titiev as a violation of the rights of the human rights defender Svetlana Gannushkina*. The Court has obliged Russian authorities to pay her compensation of EUR 4000.

A court in Adygea has fined Ilyas Soobtsokov, a Circassian activist, by 15,000 roubles, treating his announcement of an action in memory of the victims of the Caucasian War as a violation. He has denied the charge of organizing an unsanctioned rally.

The Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM or Muftiate) of North Ossetia recommends that believers refuse to wear niqabs, the republic’s Deputy Mufti has stated, noting that a complete ban on niqabs would be contrary to the Russian laws.

Wearing niqabs is a custom and not an obligation of Muslim women, the Muftiate of Kabardino-Balkaria has stated after the idea of banning niqabs was supported by Spiritual Administrations of Muslims (SAMs or Muftiates) of Dagestan and Karachay-Cherkessia.

Zurab Khatsukov, an activist of the initiative group standing against the construction of a waste sorting complex near the village of Urvan, was attacked. As a result, the activist was brought to a traumatology ward in a hospital and diagnosed with a brain concussion.

An employee of the “RusHydro” Company’s branch in Nalchik disgraced his colleagues by disrespecting the Russian anthem at a school graduation event, the “RusHydro” Company claims. The employee has been requested to voice public apologies.

The Abinsk City Court has found Valery Bailo, a Jehovah's Witness*, guilty of taking part in the activities of an extremist association due to discussion of the Bible and sentenced him to 2,5 years of freedom deprivation.

Explosion in Volgograd, drone attacks, persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia, about niqabs and hijabs, 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 July 1-7, 2024, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

Military correspondent Vladimir Romanov has voiced public apologies after he called members of the “Akhmat” Chechen special forces “TikTokers” and said that their units stayed behind the units in which conscript soldiers serve. Social media users considered the apologies inappropriate and suggested that Vladimir Romanov recorded his video with apologies under pressure.

The Supreme Court (SC) of Kalmykia has commuted the sentence of an HIV-infected convict, assigning him four years of freedom restriction instead of forced labour.

The eleven Makhachkala policemen, whose case has been sent to court, are accused of torturing Kurban Dalgatov and attempts to hide his violent death, the advocate for Kurban's family has stated. Dalgatov's relatives treat the defendants' boss as also responsible for his death.