News

The situation in the village of Gapanly in the Terter District of Azerbaijan, which was shelled by the Armenian military forces on the night of February 6, is calm. Villagers are engaged in their daily activities, and children have gone to school, say local residents.

Eight military servicemen, including those taken prisoner of war (POWs) on November 16, 2021, have been returned to Armenia, the Azerbaijani State Commission for POWs has informed.

During the week from January 31 to February 6, 2022, there were no reports about the dead and wounded persons as a result of the ongoing conflict in Northern Caucasus. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from open sources.

In the public of the human rights project "Marem", Instagram users have expressed their indignation at the attempted abduction of a native of Dagestan in Moscow by her relatives. The commentators have suggested that the girl would not be left alone, while the Russian legislation provides almost no protection to victims of domestic violence.

Involvement by Kadyrov of the public in Chechnya into the fight against the Yangulbaev family; determination of a candidate for the post of President of Armenia; explosion at a mine in Tkibuli; sentence to a native of Dagestan in a case on the terror acts in the Moscow metro, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of January 31-February 6, 2022, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

Armenian militaries have shelled the positions of the Azerbaijani Army stationed on the border in the Terter District; a bullet hit a residential house in the village of Gapanly, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reported.

Abubakar Yangulbaev, a former lawyer of the "Committee against Torture" (CaT)*, said that he left Georgia for Europe because of security threats.

Protest actions in Munich and Stockholm were held by Chechen émigrés who demanded that they stop mocking relatives of Kadyrov's critics and save them from extrajudicial executions. The protesters especially touched on the situation with the Yangulbaev family, expressing their support for them.

The subdivisions of the "Rosgvardiya" (Russian National Guard) don't subordinate to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and usually don't take part in its exercises and operations, Russian military experts told the "Caucasian Knot" in their comments on the information about the sending of military equipment from Chechnya in the direction of Ukraine.

Rustam Aguev, the head of the Kurchaloi ROVD (District Interior Division), has addressed the Chechens living in Europe and called on them to "cut off the heads" of Yangulbaevs and bring them to the republic. Those who would not do this are cowards, the high-ranking law enforcer has stated.

On February 5, Abubakar Yangulbaev, a lawyer of the "Committee against Torture" (CaT)*, sent an application to Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF). Abubakar has asked to check the threats against his family pronounced by Chechen leaders for the presence of death threats, incitement of hatred and enmity, solicitation, slander, insults and abuse of power.

Saidi Yangulbaev, a former federal judge, said that he had repeatedly appealed to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, asking him to protect his family from the persecution by "Kadyrov people", but no reaction followed.

The United States have expressed disappointment with the arrest of opposition politician, Ali Aliev, in Azerbaijan on charges of defamation. Washington has called on Azerbaijani authorities to respect their international obligations, including the right to the freedom of expression.

Armenian authorities refuse to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state, which casts doubt on its future existence; at the same time, they offer refugees to return to Karabakh, the NGO "In the Name of Gadrut" has stated.

The Russian qualification board of judges will cancel the decision to terminate the resignation, if it is guided by the law, since the order of this procedure was not observed in Chechnya, Saidi Yangulbaev has stated.

The parliamentary oppositional factions "Armenia" and "I have the honour" have decided not to nominate their candidates for the upcoming presidential election.

Akhmed Sagov, the head of the "Bart" Ingush Cultural and Educational Centre, who attended the rally against the Yangulbaevs in Grozny, may be subject to moral and psychological measures of influence so that he no longer speaks out on behalf of the Ingush nation, the human rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have suggested.

Chechen law enforcers violated the rights of the lawyer, Natalia Dobronravova, who was present at the Yangulbaevs' apartment in Nizhny Novgorod, when law enforcers broke into it, the Bar Chamber of the Nizhny Novgorod Region has concluded.

At the SIZO (pre-trial prison), Zarema Musaeva is kept in solitary cell; she "barely walks"; she was called an ambulance twice, said Alexander Karavaev, an advocate, who has managed today to visit her at the SIZO for the first time.

A petition demanding to release Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev, natives of Chechnya, who were kidnapped exactly a year ago from Nizhny Novgorod, has gathered more than 100,000 signatories. The authors of the petition note that the lives of the two brothers are in danger.