News

Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov, who continues his hunger strike in prison, is being subjected to moral and psychological pressure, his spouse says. International journalistic organizations call for the release of the imprisoned journalist.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan refused to launch an investigation into a criminal case in connection with a complaint filed by opposition politician Tofig Yagublu who claimed he had been beaten by law enforcers. The defence called the arguments of the Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan about the absence of corpus delicti as groundless.

Last night, the body of Private Vaag Babayan, born in 2003, who died from a gunshot wound, was found in the eastern section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the Armenian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed.

At night, Armenian military shelled, from small firearms and large-calibre machine guns, the positions of the Azerbaijani Army stationed in the Kelbadjar and Tovuz Districts, the Azeri Ministry of Defence (MoD) has stated.

On the following day after the shelling, the kindergarten of the village community of Karmir Shouka (Red Bazar) in the Martuni District of Nagorno-Karabakh announced the resumption of its work, but parents wouldn't bring their children there, fearing for the kids' safety. After intensive shelling, villagers of Nakhichevanik, Askeran District, have suspended their agricultural works.

The defence believes that the court has toughened the prison sentence for the Azerbaijani blogger, Aslan Gurbanov, based on applied disciplinary sanctions used to him under subjective conclusions of the colony administration. Until the judgement of the court of appeal, they have no right to transfer Gurbanov from the colony into prison, his advocate has explained.

When deciding to send the Armenian military personnel to Kazakhstan, the Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, acted based on Russia's geopolitical interests, political analysts in Yerevan believe. In their opinion, participation in the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) operation will not entail sanctions, but will affect the image of Armenia as a democratic state.

By his promise of retribution to kidnappers of relatives in Chechnya, Tumso Abdurakhmanov has expressed the common opinion of Ramzan Kadyrov's opponents living abroad, Ruslan Kutaev, a Caucasian expert, and members of Chechen Diasporas have stated. The promised revenge will not affect female relatives of Kadyrov's supporters, they believe.

The wife of Polad Aslanov has held a protest action at the building of the Azeri State Security Service (SSS) and promised to continue such actions daily until his release.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled on cases of several residents of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan, who complained of cruel treatment, torture, illegal detentions by law enforcers, and absence of efficient inquiry into these violations.

Long-term service soldier Ayaz Azer oglu Nazarov was killed in a shelling attack from Armenia in the direction of the Kelbadjar District of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reported.

The European Court of Human Rights upheld the complaint filed by 39 victims of the seizure of a school in Beslan and awarded them compensation for non-pecuniary damage. The Russian authorities did not take the necessary measures to investigate the circumstances of the terror act and the reasons for the death of the hostages, the Strasbourg Court decided.

An Armenian soldier got a wound of moderate severity near the village of Verin Shorzha in the Gegarkunik Region as a result of a shelling attack from Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Armenia reported.

Ramzan Kadyrov has threatened that if the claims stating that the authorities of Chechnya have illegally seized the territory of Ingushetia do not stop, then the “remaining villages” will also go to Chechnya. The leader of the republic call authors of the above-mentioned statements provocateurs.

The evidence proving the involvement in the preparation of a terror act in Odintsovo of Dagestani natives Vagid and Yusuf Guseikhanov, Azim Ismailov, Semed Nurmagomedov, and Asret and Ildarkhan Rizakhanov is doubtful, and the case is based on the testimony of secret witnesses, states the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”*.

In case of his return to homeland, Ali Bakaev, as a critic of Chechen authorities, risks being killed, the human rights association "Vayfond" has pointed out, calling on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to prevent the extradition of the Chechen native.

Near the city of Shushi, stones were thrown from the Azerbaijani side on a car with civilians; this was the fourth incident within the day in border districts, the Nagorno-Karabakh police have informed. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Ombudsperson of the unrecognized republic have demanded from Azerbaijani authorities to stop incidents and remove troops from village vicinities.

The Azerbaijani journalist, Polad Aslanov, who is on hunger strike in colony, managed to get a phone call to his wife only after he cut his hand with a blade. According to Gyulmira Aslanova, her husband has lost weight, he has severe headaches, and his arms have become numb.

The demand for sorcerers' services in Chechnya is dictated by people's disbelief in justice and fair trial, Svetlana Gannushkina, a human rights defender, has stated in her comment on the public scolding of local women detained for providing occult services.

The colony staff has taken away cigarettes and bottled water from the journalist, Polad Aslanov, in order to force him to stop his hunger strike, Polad's wife has stated. For seven months already, the Supreme Court (SC) of Azerbaijan has not accepted a complaint against the verdict for consideration; this violates Aslanov's rights, Yalchin Imanov, a lawyer, asserts.