News

The activists who blocked the avenue near the building of the Armenian Parliament in protest against the signing of the border agreement with Azerbaijan announced by Nikol Pashinyan have been detained for resisting law enforcers.

An excavator operator was hospitalized after shelling near a village in the Askeran District. He was wounded by fragments of the glass, broken by shots, the Ombudsperson of Nagorno-Karabakh has stated.

In response to the shots from the Azerbaijani side, Armenian militaries opened fire on the border section of the Gegarkunik Region, the Armenian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed. The MoD has banned civilians from visiting the problem border areas because of the threat of conflict escalation.

Participants of the action held near the building of the Armenian Government have opposed the signing of an agreement with Azerbaijan announced by Nikol Pashinyan, the Premier. The police counted 800 protesters.

On Thursday (May 20), in Nalchik, at the "Tree of Life" monument dedicated to Circassians-victims of the Caucasian War, activists lit 101 candles, one for each year of the war. About a hundred people gathered at the monument.

The apologies for an offensive comment addressed to Ramzan Kadyrov could be voiced by random people, and the leader of Chechnya needs something like that to demonstrate his force, human rights defenders suggest.

The situation on the Syunik and Gegarkunik sections of the border remains tense, and about 500-600 Azerbaijani soldiers still stay there, Nikol Pashinyan, the acting Prime Minister of Armenia, reports.

The activists opposing the construction of the Namakhvani hydroelectric power plant (HPP) decided to hold a large-scale protest action in the centre of Tbilisi on May 23, organizers report.

Relatives of a teenager from Dagestan who called Ramzan Kadyrov a “shaitan” (demon) publicly apologized to the leader of Chechnya against their will, Dagestani Instagram users suggest.

Yerevan has accused Turkey of sending mercenaries to Nagorno-Karabakh, who had fought for Azerbaijan there. Such complaint was submitted to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The European Parliament has also condemned sending mercenaries by Ankara.

The film "Feat of Mercy" was created to exclude the repetition of such tragedies as the Holocaust, Askerbiy Nagaplev, the film director, has stated. The society needs films about the Caucasus made by Caucasian authors, Andzor Emkuzh, a film director from Kabardino-Balkaria, believes.

Ramzan Kadyrov has stated that he would not participate in the upcoming election, if at least "a few percent of the population" opposed his candidacy. Those who fail to support Kadyrov's nomination will face persecution or reprisals, Instagram users have suggested.

The demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is possible after the establishment of diplomatic relations by both countries, but first it is necessary to define the maps based on which the demarcation will be made.

A court in Stavropol has upheld the extension of the arrest of Ingush protest leaders accused of creating an extremist community. The defence intends to appeal against this decision.

Akraman Tataev, a resident of the city of Argun, was kidnapped by law enforcers and ill-treated; he is exhausted and on the verge of suicide, his mother has stated.

Azerbaijani officials have failed to appear at the next round of negotiations on the situation at the border, the Armenian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has stated. Yerevan agrees to discuss the border demarcation only after complete withdrawal of Azerbaijani military from the disputed territories.

A 15-year-old teenager from Dagestan who lives in the Moscow Region left a comment on Ramzan Kadyrov's live broadcast. Apologies for the poor upbringing of his son were brought by his father and other relatives, the "Grozny" TV Channel has informed.

With the aim of further reconciliation of the two nations, the European Parliament has urged Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.

Mansur Ismailov, deported from France, risks his health and life in Russia, human rights defenders believe. They treat his extradition as illegal, since the man has been tortured in Chechnya, while the medicines he needs are available only in France.

Ramzan Kadyrov’s threats against a user who called him a “shaitan” (demon) fall under the murder threat clause. However, even if the Instagram user or human rights defenders file a complaint, the Chechen Prosecutor’s Office will ignore it, the human rights defenders note.