News

Three women from Derbent have held pickets demanding to investigate the torture of their sons accused of terrorism. For six times already, investigators refused to open a case against law enforcers, but the prosecutor's office has launched a new inquiry.

Nagorno-Karabakh authorities must first of all provide housing to those who lost their homes in the autumn hostilities of 2020, refugees believe. The local Ministry of Social Security has informed that out of 34,000 residents who had lost their homes, temporary housing has been found for about 8000.

Dmitry Kalinkin, a resident of Astrakhan, who came to a protest action in support of Alexei Navalny, was detained and beaten at a police station, his relatives said.

A prosecution witness says he fully shares the point of view on the events in the republic voiced by the Ingush activists accused of creating an extremist community. Caring fellow countrymen come to every court hearing, but they are not allowed into the courtroom. One of the Ingush activists' supporters holds solo pickets.

Azerbaijan has given out to the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh the remains of other 31 military personnel killed during the hostilities, and the total number of the found bodies and remains reached 1318, the Nagorno-Karabakh Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) reports.

In Makhachkala, the mass detentions prove not the high level of protest activity, but the zeal of the police who follow the instructions of the federal centre, suggest Magomed Magomedov and Gadjimurad Sagitov, editors-in-chief of local newspapers.

Oppositionists, activists and businessmen have held protests in Tbilisi demanding to cancel coronavirus restrictions. Authorities continue using quarantine measures for political purposes despite the fact that during the pandemic the Georgian economy has lost about 20 percent, analysts assert.

The number of prison deaths has dropped four-fold, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of Armenia has reported. To assess the mortality statistics, we should study what has contributed to the above drop, Arthur Sakunts, a human rights defender, has stated.

Three out of four students from Ingushetia, accused by Egyptian authorities of extremism, have been extradited to Russia; diplomats are negotiating the transfer of the fourth one.

Chechen authorities have released the 14-year-old native of Derbent as a result of a campaign in media and social networks, the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper writes. The girl's mother recorded the talks with law enforcers and officials; she has gathered materials that refuted the version that her daughter was not kept in Chechnya.

Repeated summons of Makhachkala residents detained on January 23 to police stations, as well as law enforcers visits to them, are an attempt to intimidate activists, lawyers believe.

In Moscow, during a protest action in support of Alexei Navalny, one of the natives of Kalmykia hit a law enforcer, while another protestor hit a police inspector with a car, investigators say.

Residents of the Martakert District of Nagorno-Karabakh need an alternative route of communication with Armenia not to make a circle along the byroad, say taxi drivers from Stepanakert. The road through Kelbadjar, which activists seek to open, was not damaged during the hostilities, reports Gagik Bagunts, Vice-Speaker of the Karabakh parliament.

Baku seeks to show that following the military successes, Azerbaijan is also implementing programmes for the peaceful restoration of territories. Meanwhile, the society meets with enthusiasm the propaganda of victories and achievements.

The protests on January 23 became the largest in the past quarter century, journalist Sergey Smirnov reports. The main motive for participation in the protest actions is social discontent, while the political component has faded into the background, political analyst Yevgeny Minchenko suggests.

In 2020, in Armenia, the number of cases when force had been used against journalists and media had experienced pressure from the authorities increased against the background of the martial law declared in the autumn of 2020 and restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus infection. This was announced by the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression.

The decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on the claim of Georgia on the actions of Russian militaries in South Ossetia and Abkhazia will in no way affect the status of these regions and the recognition of their independence, political analysts believe.

Employees of budgetary institutions in Chechnya have reported that their bosses are forcing them to register on the Instagram and leave critical comments under negative posts about authorities.

The action held by relatives and friends of Inal Djabiev continues in Tskhinvali, despite the frosty weather. The protesters have noted that several policemen monitor them every day, but there are no conflicts with them. Anatoly Bibilov, the South-Ossetian president, decided to convene an extraordinary parliament session; some MPs of which support Djabiev's relatives and boycott the sessions.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has urgently sent questions to the applicant and Russian authorities about the state protection of Gulli Kazanbieva, a resident of Dagestan, after the release of her ex-husband, who was convicted of beating.