News

The Aleksandrovsky Court of the Stavropol Territory has sentenced the participants in the riots that broke at the Makhachkala Airport in October 2023 to freedom deprivation for the terms from 8 to 9 years.

The brutal dispersals of protests held near the Georgian Parliament is increasing the number of protesters; the number of them ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands, Georgian analysts have stated.

Human rights defenders counted 70 journalists who were injured by the actions of law enforcers during protest actions in Georgia.

A court sentenced Pavel Prokudin, a blogger from Volgograd, to 2.5 years of imprisonment in a penal colony, finding him guilty of insulting the feelings of believers and inciting hatred towards the Russian Armed Forces.

Activist Vyacheslav Koshelev from the city of Volzhsky, who had earlier been placed to a psychiatric clinic for using violence against a policeman, was transferred home under the supervision of medical officers.

In Georgia, after Beslan Kmuzov, a correspondent of the “Caucasian Knot”, had been detained at a protest in Tbilisi, the country’s migration service summoned him for a conversation. Meanwhile, the journalist has been legally living in the country since 2007.

Alexander Skvortsov, a Jehovah's Witness*, who is serving his term in a colony located in the Ulyanovsk Region, has complained about his deteriorating health. He has high blood pressure and often suffers from headaches due to working at a hazardous production facility.

The verdict for Islam Atavov, a Makhachkala policeman, for his involvement in the death of Kurban Dalgatov will be appealed against by the victims' advocate.

The appeal of the MPs unknown outside the Krasnodar Territory to the head of Chechnya has to do with an attempt to gain popularity, while hiding behind Alexander Bastrykin's protection. In their turn, political analysts and human rights defenders believe that the apology demand may turn against the MPs, if Kadyrov pays attention to it.

Six female activists representing public organizations of Chechen natives in Europe held a picket in solidarity with women, victims of repression in Chechnya.

At night, men in masks beat up activists of the “Akhali” Party in Tbilisi.

Sergey Kusmakov and Sergey Klimov, two MPs from the Krasnodar Territory, reprimanded Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov for his critical statements addressed to Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), and called on the leader of Chechnya to apologize.

The court has sentenced Islam Atavov, a Makhachkala policeman, to 7.5 years in penal colony for his involvement in the death of the detained Kurban Dalgatov.

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.