All news

A resident of Makhachkala Sakinat Saidova said that she was forcibly taken away by power agents to the Kirov ROVD, where a DNA blood assay was taken from her; and now she fears for her life.

The celebrations of the Day of Russia in Grozny were attended by about 115,000 people; they passed without incidents, said the city officials. However, the participants themselves believe that the official figures are "highly overstated." Locals claim that the festivities were attended by people who checked the attendance of local residents.

On June 12, activists of the Krasnodar territorial branch of the youth wing of the "Yabloko" Party held an action – during celebrations of the Day of Russia – named "Putin's Russia", during which they expressed protest against the political repressions in the country.

On June 11, the National Museum of North Ossetia opened an exhibition of the Chechen painter Rustam Sardalov that is a reflection on the topics of Chechen war and human rights violations. The museum has exposed about 50 works of the painter.

The one-sided coverage of the issue of Karabakh settlement by reporters from Azerbaijan and Armenia is caused by the pressure of the authorities on the media, the journalist Kyamal Ali said at public hearing on the topic "Journalists in Karabakh Conflict: Peacemakers or Arsonists?"

As reported by a source from law enforcement bodies, the power of the explosive device, triggered in the capital of Dagestan at the entrance to the computer store "AS", was 200 grams of TNT (trotyl) equivalent; the reason of the act could be in an economic dispute.

The advocate and relatives of Zaur Gurbanly, an activist of the civil movement "Nida" (Shout), who was arrested on charges of illegal possession of explosives and drugs, express concern for the health of the young man. The authorities should release the sick person, civil society activists insist.

The mother of Sabina Sheikhmuradova, a resident of Makhachkala, who was detained on June 11 on suspicion of manufacturing an improvised explosion device (IED), has stated that the "suicide belt" had been planted into her house during the search.

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) can consider the issue of gas supplies to Armenia, should Yerevan revise its policy on the Karabakh conflict, a SOCAR's statement says.

On June 12, investigators finalized the renewed criminal inquiry into the case of journalist Nikolai Yarst, who had been charged with illegal possession and transportation of drugs, the journalist's advocate Alexander Popkov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "On June 13, Mr Yarst and his defence will start studying the materials of the criminal case," said the advocate.

Magomedrasul Shakhbanov, a resident of Makhachkala, after a search was detained and taken to an unknown place by law enforcers, said his mother Zumrud Mirzaeva. The on duty unit of the MIA said they knew nothing about Shakhbanov's whereabouts.

As reported by the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Azerbaijan, two policemen were fired for pressing journalists, when the latter covered in Baku the solidarity actions with the ongoing demonstrations in Turkey.

Leaders of Chechnya have acknowledged the fact of participation of republic's natives in the war in Syria. According to the source of the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent from the Council for Chechnya's Economic and Social Security, so far, 29 natives of the republic have taken part in the war in Syria; seven of them were killed.

The press service of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan has reported that on June 11 and 12 Armenian armed forces shelled the Azerbaijani positions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.

As stated by the local Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), Ramzan Abdrakhmanov, 20, a resident of the Urus-Martan District of Chechnya, will stand trial for his public calls to terror acts. The police say that this is the first case in Chechnya, when a person will face justice for committing such a crime.

The construction of the Islamic Centre in Nalchik has been suspended since September 2012 for technical reasons; and the date of resumption of the work is unknown, Sharafutdin Chochaev, the Rector of the Islamic University named after Abu Hanifa, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

On June 11, the Volgograd regional branch of the "People's Alliance" Party held a picket against political repressions and politically-motivated persecutions. The action was organized by seven picketers, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The journalist Khadija Ismailova, sentenced to public works in Azerbaijan, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the documents about her administrative offence had been drawn up illegally, because policemen wrote about what had never happened. Earlier, she was fined by 400 manats (about 510 US dollars), which Ismailova had refused to pay.

Zarema Bagautdinova, an activist of the Dagestani regional public organization (DRPO) "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy) was summoned to the magistrate court on charges of breaching the counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime, said an officer of the court. Bagautdinova associates this accusation of an administrative offense with her human rights activities.

The two-day strike of lawyers against non-transparent of the Armenia Court of Cassation (CoC) is over today, said the lawyer Sona Margaryan. So far, the CoC has not expressed its attitude to the lawyers' strike.