News

The historical monuments, works of art and places of worship located in territories over which Stepanakert has lost control, are being destroyed; and memorials are desecrated, said Arthur Tovmasyan, Speaker of the Nagorno-Karabakh Parliament, in an appeal to international organizations.

The activists who blocked the road in Stepanakert have agreed to provide the authorities with two weeks to draw up a law on confiscation of illegally acquired property. Only protests can force officials to solve forced migrants' problems, the protesters have claimed.

The criminal case about Said-Mukhammad Djumaev's skirmish with law enforcers at a rally in support of Alexei Navalny has been submitted to a Moscow court. It was decided to admit only participants in the trial to the court sessions.

Chechen authorities have launched an information campaign against Suleiman Gezmakhmaev, since they have no real grounds to initiate a criminal case against him and cannot refute the information about extrajudicial executions, human rights defenders believe.

Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev lodged a complaint to the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) about their beatings and torture after the detentions in 2020 and 2021, the “Russian LGBT Network” reported.

At a protest action in Stepanakert, activists claimed that in order to solve the problems with accommodation of refugees, Nagorno-Karabakh should adopt a law on the confiscation of illegally acquired property. The protestors refuse to unblock a street in the city centre until the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announces the period of time, during which the bill is to be prepared.

Relatives of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev, arrested in Chechnya, threatened human rights defenders and the newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” with reprisals for publications about the alleged belonging of the brothers to the LGBT community. Residents of Chechnya recorded the video appeal under pressure from the authorities, a mother of the arrested men stated.

It is for political reasons that the authorities of Adjara do not voice clear criteria for allocation of new apartments for residents of the Dream City settlement in Batumi, activists say. The regulation for allocation of apartments has not been developed, since the houses under construction are not ready for use, the Adjara Ministry of Finance reports.

The dismissal of Apti Alaudinov from the post of the head of the Chechen Police confirms the information about his disgrace, while the new post of Kadyrov's assistant will allow keeping under control, Ruslan Kutaev, President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, Oyub Titiev, a Chechen human rights defender, and Dmitry Oreshkin, a political analyst. Alaudinov's dismissal was a concession to Moscow after the scandal over the "Novaya Gazeta"investigation, Alexei Malashenko, political analyst, has suggested.

In Saint Petersburg, activists have held solo pickets in support of the arrested leaders of the Ingush protest, demanding their release. They have treated the return of Zarifa Sautieva back to the SIZO (pre-trial prison) from house arrest as "demonstrative.”

The statements of the relatives of Suleiman Gezmakhmaev, in which they criticized him in reports of the "Grozny" ChGTRK (Chechen State TV and Radio Company) for his story about extrajudicial executions in Grozny, had been staged, Instagram users have suggested.

The threefold increase in compensations for libel, approved by the Armenian Parliament, expands the range of tools for pressing the media for criticizing officials, human rights defenders gave stated and asked the President not to sign the bill.

After the abolition of the martial law regime, the resignation of Nikol Pashinyan is the only obstacle to early parliamentary elections in Armenia. The Premier will do this because he has insured himself with an agreement with the opposition, political analysts believe.

The transfer of the case of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev from the district division into the regional department of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) for Chechnya will not lead to punishment of the law enforcers involved, human rights defenders believe.

In Chechnya, law enforcers detained about 20 relatives of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev in order to find out where the parents of the young men are, the "Russian LGBT Network" has reported. At night, all the detainees were released.

The "Grozny" TV Channel has posted new records with relatives and acquaintances of Suleiman Gezmakhmaev, who express their claims against the former law enforcer. Public renunciations from those disliked by Chechen authorities are temporarily protecting their relatives from problems, but for Gezmakhmaev's relatives, the problems are unlikely to end after such public renunciations, human rights defenders believe.

Turkmen oppositionist Rozgeldy Choliev has been forcibly deported to Turkey after his three-week stay in the neutral zone of the Russian Sheremetyevo Airport. His partner with a small child remained in Karachay-Cherkessia after the activist had been expelled from the university. Rozgeldy Choliev has been denied the consideration of his refugee status application in Russia.

Former policeman Suleiman Gezmakhmaev, who spoke about extrajudicial killings, made up a story to obtain asylum in Europe, said Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya.

Aslan Iraskhanov, a former commander of the Akhmat Kadyrov special-purpose police regiment, has been appointed the acting Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Chechnya to replace Apti Alaudinov. Earlier, Aslan Iraskhanov has been included in the US sanctions list.

Former policeman Suleiman Gezmakhmaev, who gave to the newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” an interview about the extrajudicial executions in Chechnya, used psychotropic substances and fled Russia, while owing large amounts of money. This was reported by his relatives on the air of the “Grozny” TV Channel.