News

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has decided to take interim measures in relation to Eldar Gasanov, a former Azerbaijani Prosecutor General and Ambassador to Serbia, in connection with his state of health. His defence claims it necessary to urgently hospitalize him.

The closure of the "International Memorial" and the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", which the Russian General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) insists on, will seriously damage the defence of human rights in Northern Caucasus. Important projects will stop, and people will lose hope for help, human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists assert.

Vagif Alizad ogly Babaev, an employee of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), was hospitalized in critical condition after a mine blast in the Zangelan District.

The Arab racehorse coach has lost his license because of his ties with Ramzan Kadyrov. This measure hit the head of Chechnya, Alexei Malashenko, a political analyst, believes. Magomed Khamidov, another political analyst, has noted that residents of the republic treat Kadyrov's hobby for horses as a whim of a rich man.

The population of the villages located near deployment of Azerbaijani troops should be armed and trained. For this, legislative amendments are needed to allow villagers to possess weapons for self-defence, the participants of the "National Democratic Pole" action held in Yerevan have stated.

A court found Magomed Dolgiev, the former employee of the patrol-and-post police service, guilty of failure to comply with an order during a rally in Magas and pronounced a verdict of a suspended sentence.

The Ombudsperson of Georgia reports that the heath state of Mikhail Saakashvili, who has been on hunger strike, is life threatening and demands to transfer the former president of Georgia to a civil hospital. A member of the ruling party urges to wait for the new results of the medical examination of the politician.

Armed incidents on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan were initiated to disrupt the OSCE Minsk Group format for resolving the conflict between the two countries. Armenia can refuse the agreement on demarcation and delimitation of the border by proposing to appeal to the International Court of Justice, the Armenian political analysts note.

Six Armenian military servicemen perished during the recent hostilities that broke out on the border with Azerbaijan on November 16, the Armenian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed.

Most of the complaints about the absence of due marking, which have formed the basis of the lawsuits demanding to liquidate the "International Memorial" and the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", were lodged by the Ingush branch of the Russian FSB. Human rights defenders treat it as a revenge for supporting the protesters in Magas against the agreement on the realignment of the border with Chechnya.

Bachuki Kardava, an MP from the "United National Movement" (UNM) Party, who has been on a hunger strike for the sixth day in support of Mikhail Saakashvili, has refused to drink water after the third president of Georgia got into the intensive care unit. Two doctors' councils and the head of the Georgian Ministry of Public Health came to the conclusion that Saakashvili needed treatment in a civilian clinic.

After the transfer of Mikhail Saakashvili into the intensive care unit, the "United National Movement" (UNM) Party has cancelled the protest march and called on activists to gather for a large-scale rally on November 19. The leader of the "Georgian Dream" Party threatened the supporters of Saakashvili's transfer to a civil clinic with responsibility for possible incidents, which caused a protest of the country's Ombudsperson.

The enforcement practice of the law on foreign agents has created unprecedented pressure on human rights organizations, the participants in a press conference in Moscow have stated. The liquidation of the "Memorial" will inflict great damage to human rights activities in Northern Caucasus and to the defence of Russian citizens' rights at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), human rights defenders believe.

Military actions that took place on November 16 at the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan provided a tactical advantage for the Azerbaijani armed forces, but at the cost of heavy losses, analysts in Baku say.

The burning of the grass and the inability to use pastures near the Azerbaijani positions led to the ruin of cattle breeders in the border regions, and if the authorities do not provide assistance, a mass exodus from the villages will begin, Armenian villagers say.

Magomed Daudov, the speaker of the Chechen parliament, accused the Ingush Council of Teips of provocation in connection with the declaration about the land at the border between the two republics and announced his willingness to meet his opponents. Magomed Daudov repeated the Ramzan Kadyrov’s threat to “take off pants” voiced against those dissatisfied with the position of the Chechen authorities.

The Ossetian-language film "Unclenching the Fists" by Kira Kovalenko, a director from the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) has won the prize of the European Film Academy for the best film editing.

In the evening on November 17, from their positions in the Tavush District, Armenian militaries shelled the Azerbaijani positions, after which Azerbaijani militaries opened response fire, the Azeri Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed.

Azerbaijan has handed over to Armenia, through the mediation of Rustam Muradov, a deputy commander of the Southern Military District of Russia, the body of an Armenian soldier who perished in the recent hostilities on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The heads of the Sunzha District of Ingushetia and the Sernovodsky District of Chechnya have agreed that the Chechen party will coordinate any works on the bank of the Fortanga River with the administration of the neighbouring district of Ingushetia.