All news

Arif Yunusov, a historian and the author of the newly published book "Islamic Factor in Azerbaijan", believes that Azerbaijan continues repressing Islamists, while the state tries controlling processes in the religious community; along with that, the authorities are using the Islamic factor for propaganda purposes.

In Azerbaijan, Avaz Zeinalov, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Khural", who was sentenced to nine years in prison, has filed an appeal to the country's Supreme Court (SC), asking to stop his prosecution on the grounds of acquittal. Zeinalov's colleagues have stated the political nature of his case and intend to hold a picket in defence of his rights on July 22.

The decision not to give out to relatives the bodies of the people, many of whom have never been convicted by any court, but simply called to be militants, is an absurdity that should be overcome, a journalist Maxim Shevchenko believes.

Today, Abdurashid Sheikhov, the advocate of the assassinated "Caucasian Knot" correspondent Akhmednabi Akhmednabiev, has filed a complaint against the actions of the prosecutor's office of the Kirov District of Makhachkala, which had refused to initiate a criminal case on the attempt to kill the journalist committed this January.

Today, residents of the village of Khachpar, Ararat Region of Armenia, have gathered to a protest action demanding to solve the problem of a long-term absence of water in their houses. Should the outage persist, the villagers will hold a protest in Yerevan, said Kazar Martirosyan, the head of Khachpar.

The Baku Court of Appeal of Azerbaijan dismissed the appeal filed by the defence of Akif Muradverdiev, the former head of the president administration, accused of smuggling, to cancel the decision of the first instance and to release the defendant on bail. The Court left Akif Muradverdiev in custody.

The Human Rights Council (HRC) under the President of the Russian Federation plans to move an initiative to amend the legislation and repeal the ban on giving out militants' bodies to their families for burial. This decision was made by HRC members during their visit to Chechnya. It is planned that this issue will be raised at the meeting with Russian President in September.

The citizen of Georgia, who was detained by Russian border guards on July 8 for illegally crossing the border, has been set free in South Ossetia. He was fined by 9000 roubles and handed over to the Georgian party. Russian border guards detain Georgian citizens outside the territory they control, an activist of the NGO named "Future Tskhinvali" told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

People living in the temporary accommodation centre (TAC) "Promzhilbaza" in Karabulak were to release those buildings long time ago, since a social facility is planned to be constructed in the place. This was declared by Yunus-Bek Evkurov, the temporary acting leader of Ingushetia.

In Armenia, veterans of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have demanded from the government to take measures to improve the social status of war veterans, invalids and volunteers. They also demand to define the status of volunteers and provide them with social benefits.

The Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan has postponed for two weeks the consideration of the appeal filed by the mother of the young woman, who was killed in the Kizilyurt District of Dagestan in August 2010, against the decision of the District Court that acquitted the relative of the young woman's father accused of the murder.

The Adler District Court chaired by Federal Judge Sergey Shepilov dismissed the appeal filed by advocate Alexander Boichenko about the inaction of investigator Artyom Semenets, who conducted the investigation into the complaint about beating and torture of builder Mardiros Demerchyan. Alexander Boichenko has announced his intention to appeal against the decision.

In Sochi, at the trial of Sergey Pavlenko, the head of administration of the Tsentralny District of Sochi, the witnesses of the prosecution have been questioned. The hearing with participation of new witnesses will continue on July 16.

The United States have started a trial of Johar Tsarnaev on charges of committing the terror act in Boston. At the beginning of the session, Johar Tsarnaev stated that he refused to plead guilty on any of the 30 indictment points.

Today, the Court of Appeal (CoA) has dismissed the complaint against extension of custody of Mamed Azizov, an activist of the civil movement "Nida" (Shout), accused of illegal possession of drugs. This was reported by his advocate Fariz Namazly.

The decision to ban wearing hijabs in schools of the Stavropol Territory will be challenged at the Presidium of the Supreme Court (SC) of the Russian Federation. This was announced by advocate Murad Musaev. In his turn, Vladimir Molchanov, a representative of the respondent, has emphasized that today the Russian SC announced a fair decision.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has started communicating with the government of Azerbaijan on the case of attack on Uzeir Jafarov, the leader of the public association "Military Journalists". The journalist demands to recognize a violation of his rights and to pay compensation for inflicted damage and legal costs.

The advocate Murad Musaev believes that the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) of the Russian Federation to ban wearing hijabs in schools of the Stavropol Territory contradicts to the provisions of the Constitution regarding the right to the freedom of religion.

At the Baku Court of Grave Crimes, at the trial against Hilal Mamedov, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Tolyshi Sado" (Voice of Talysh), the judge has dismissed the defence's motion to summon as a witness the investigator, who had sanctioned a search of the defendant's rented apartment.

The case of disobeying the police, on the basis of which builder Sergey Krbaschyan was fined by 1000 roubles, contains numerous violations. In particular, the detention protocol indicated that Sergey Krbaschyan was not placed to detainees' room. However, Sergey Krbaschyan and Mardiros Demerchyan, builders from Abkhazia, claimed that they spent the whole night at the police station and that they had been subjected to torture.