News

Continuation of the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, fate of Azerbaijani oppositionists, Kadyrov’s dispute with Russian generals, Yangulbaev family case, firing in Sagaredjo, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of January 16-22, 2023, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, reacted sharply to the action of Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the political party “Stram Kurs” (“Straight Course” or “Hard Line”), who burned the Koran near the Embassy of Turkey in Stockholm.

Natives of Dagestan beaten in a penal colony in Kalmykia said that they were tortured by about 40 people, most of whom were not taken into custody, advocate Aza Alieva reported.

Three employees of a police department have been detained in a case on the death of a resident of Makhachkala, the Prosecutor’s Office of Dagestan reports.

Kurban Dalgatov, a resident of Makhachkala detained by the police, died after being tortured, relatives of the deceased man suspected. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Dagestan reported about the conducted check and confirmed that the man had been injured before his death.

In Derbent, the court has obliged the administration of the local hospital to install ramps at the entrances to two hospital wards and seven first-aid posts, recognizing that their absence violates the rights of people with disabilities, the Prosecutor’s Office of Dagestan reports.

When commenting on the kidnappings of 25 people in the village of Alkhan-Kala, human rights defenders stated that families of people kidnapped in Chechnya more often tried to return their relatives through personal connections rather than with the help of publicity and lawyers.

The police launched an investigation into a complaint claiming that Natalia Garyaeva, an activist opposing the landfill in the Cossack village of Poltavskaya, ordered the murder of the official heading the administration of the Krasnoarmeisky District.

The computer, flash drives, and mobile phone seized during the search were returned to Dagestani historian Khadji-Murad Donogo, but his books are still being checked. The historian noted that the police apologized to him.

The first group of theologians completed a seven-day training at the Russian Special Forces University, and in total, about 300 imams and qadis from Chechnya plan to take such a course, Ramzan Kadyrov stated.

On the day when a year passed since the detention of Zarema Musaeva by Chechen law enforcers, her son Abubakar Yangulbaev called on Ramzan Kadyrov to release his mother on exchange terms.

In Novocherkassk, the teachers’ council of the medical college expelled five female students, including natives of Dagestan and Chechnya, for wearing hijabs.

Lieutenant Colonel Roman Novikov from Krasnodar, who was called up for service in the course of the partial mobilization, obtained through the court the payment of his monetary allowance for almost a month of military service.

Experts interrogated at trial of Abdulmumin Gadjiev have confirmed that no Sharia Law superiority was promoted in his publications. However, the arrest of the figurants in the case, Gadjiev, Abubakar Rizvanov and Kemal Tambiev has been extended for another three months.

For religious military servicemen, wearing beards is not only acceptable, but even desirable, Victor Sobolev, a State Duma MP and a member of the Defence Committee there, said after Ramzan Kadyrov's angry reaction to his words about soldiers' need to shave faces.

The statement made by Victor Sobolev, a member of the Russian State Duma Defence Committee, about the need for military servicemen to shave their beards sounds ridiculous in the conditions of the special military operation (SMO), and is an attack on the warring Muslims, Ramzan Kadyrov has stated.

During a search, law enforcers planted a grenade in the house of Akhmed Belkharoev, a son of Mustafa Belkharoev, a cousin of the chair of the Accounts Chamber, members of the Ingush religious brotherhood of the followers of Sheikh Batal-Khadji said.

The "Memorial" Centre for Defence of Human Rights has recognized the bloggers, Stanislav Andreev and Alexei Shamardin, from Kuban (Krasnodar Territory) as political prisoners; they used to post videos about violations of the law by state officials in their YouTube channels.

Five employees of the colony in Kalmykia, where prisoners from Dagestan, Magomed Atimagomedov and Daud Kuramagomedov, were serving their prison terms, have been charged with abuse of power with using torture. This was informed by Djamal Aliev, the Dagestani Ombudsperson.

The Court of Appeal has refused to satisfy the complaint of the "Rosgvardiya" (Russian National Guard) fighters from Kuban (Krasnodar Territory), who were fired after refusing to go to Ukraine, said Mikhail Benyash*, an advocate, whose application for taking part in the procedure was not even considered by the court.