News

At least 60,000 people took part in the "Home to Europe" action, held on June 24 in Tbilisi. They demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister, Irakli Garibashvili, and the formation of a government of national accord.

Russian leadership will gain no political benefits from the referendum in South Ossetia; besides, Russia would not escalate its relations with Georgia now, the political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, and his team are manipulating economic indicators by claiming growth of average wages and low inflation; however, they fail with their promises to voters, the oppositional MPs have stated during a march in Yerevan.

Head of North Ossetia Sergey Menyailo has handed over the Orders of Courage to relatives of the natives of North Ossetia who perished in Ukraine, namely, Sergeant Albert Tuloev, Senior Lieutenant Eduard Vasilenko and Junior Sergeant Nikolai Demeev, the press service of the republic's head reported on June 24.

Mikhail Shevchenko has appealed against the ruling of the court, which had found his post in the social network as discrediting the actions of Russian militaries in Ukraine and imposed a fine of 40,000 roubles on him. The protocol on the violation was drawn up under a template; and no proofs of the discrediting were presented at the trial, Vitaly Zubenko, an advocate, has stated.

The jury found Murtuzali Medjidov, a son of the former Prime Minister of Dagestan, guilty of murdering a female MGIMO (Moscow State Institute of Foreign Relations) student from Kazakhstan. A court sentenced the defendant to 13 years of imprisonment, the press service of the court reports today.

Information about a murder committed near the village of Ken-Yurt in Chechnya, disseminated on social media, caused indignation among Internet users. Some of them believe that the words of the President of Russia stating that Chechnya has become one of the safest regions in Russia are greatly exaggerated.

A court in Azerbaijan granted a request for conditional early relief for Shiite theologian Elshan Mustafaoglu, who was serving his sentence in a case on espionage for Iran. Theologian has been released from custody.

Minister of Culture of Chechnya Aishat Kadyrova received the highest award of the republic because of her family ties, Instagram* users suggested in their comments under a post reporting that the daughter of the leader of Chechnya was awarded the Order of Kadyrov.

A court in Rostov-on-Don has imposed a fine of 30,000 roubles on Natalia Bondareva, an activist, finding her guilty of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces after her pacifist picket.

The prosecution has failed to prove that Shamil Isaev, accused of killing Khadjimurad Kamalov, the founder of the "Chernovik" (Draft) outlet, had a motive to commit the crime, the defendant's advocate has stated at trial. The state prosecutor has ignored all the defence's proofs, including the alibis of three defendants, the advocates have stated.

In Freedom Square in Sukhumi, Abkhaz residents have held a rally in support of the hunger-striking Djansukh Adleiba and demanded to meeting Alexander Ankvab, the republic's Prime Minister. The increase in gasoline diesel fuel prices is caused by a similar increase in prices in Russia, Mr Ankvab said after coming out to protesters. In his turn, Adleiba refused to end his hunger strike, as Ankvab failed to convince him.

The preparation in France of an assassination attempt on Mukhammed Mirzali, an oppositional Azerbaijani blogger, was another attempt to intimidate the authorities' critics living abroad, the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" are sure.

The scandal with the publication of the recording of the conversation of the leaders of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has occurred amid the failure to reform the Armenian judicial and legal system, human rights defenders have stated.

The Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya has considered the complaint against the ruling of the first instance court to extend the arrest of Zarema Musaeva until July 12, and refused to satisfy it, Dmitry Kazakov, a lawyer for the "Team against Torture", has informed.

On the 20th day of his hunger strike, Talekh Bagirzade, the leader of the “Muslim Unity” Movement, stopped the protest action and called on his supporters to do the same.

Today, the Supreme Court (SC) of Azerbaijan has partially granted a cassation appeal of Azerbaijani blogger Aslan Gurbanov by reducing his term in Gobustan prison from two years to one year.

During World War II, Stalin made decisions to deport the Caucasian peoples despite the Soviet propaganda of internationalism, and in the regions where the deportees were sent, the Soviet authorities deliberately marginalized people from the Caucasus, historians interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" say.

Relatives of eight Chechen policemen perished in Ukraine have been handed over the Orders of Courage, Ramzan Kadyrov reports.

Ali Aliev, the chair of the “Citizens and Development” Party, was sentenced to six months of imprisonment on a complaint about insulting honour and dignity. As a result, the activist’s total prison term in three criminal cases was increased to a year. The defence plans to file an appeal against the court’s decision.