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An Azerbaijani unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, or drone) was shot down on April 21 during its reconnaissance flight over the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), its militaries have reported.

Because of the threat of coronavirus spread, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR) has suspended collective prayers in mosques. Ismail Berdiev, the Mufti, has urged his fellow countrymen to pray at home during the fasting month of Ramadan.

Help to those in need is welcomed in Islam; there are even special taxes aimed to raise funds to support the poor, Islamic scholars have noted in their comments to the criticism expressed by Chechen authorities concerning the woman who raised money for her daughter's treatment.

In the city of Gelendzhik, law enforcers beat up and tortured Denis Karimov, a resident of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR), trying to knock confessions out of him, says the complaint sent by the Committee against Torture (CaT) to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

Advocates of Khumaid Khaidaev, a native of Chechnya, have demanded from the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) and the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) to check the information that Khumaid was brutally tortured after the inmates' riots in the Irkutsk Region. Khaidaev, convicted in 2008, was preparing for release from colony and could not be the organizer of the riots, his brother has suggested.

Nine Russian and international human rights organizations asked the Rapporteur on human rights in Northern Caucasus to register threats voiced by the leader of Chechnya against Elena Milashina, a journalist of the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta".

Soldiers entered the Nadterechny District of Chechnya, set up camps near several villages, and arranged checkpoints, local residents reported. The Southern Federal District (SFD) claims that no additional forces were introduced into the republic.

By April 21, the regions of Southern Russia registered 49 deceased patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Of them, at least seven died within last 24 hours. Dagestan, where 11 people have died since the beginning of the epidemic, continues to show the highest death toll among the regions of Southern Russia.

Law enforcers tortured Khikmet Agaev, an arrested activist of the movement "Muslim Unity", claimed Arzu Abdullah, a member of the Public Committee for the Protection of Rights of Arrested Islamists. Human rights defenders treat the activist's arrest as politically motivated.

A court in Baku refused to satisfy the defence's complaint against the arrest of the oppositional politician, Tofig Yagublu. The activist himself said that his arrest was preceded by his publications criticizing the authorities.

There are many contradictions in the case of torturing Rustam Kuchmenov, a resident of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), the lawyers of the Committee against Torture (CaT) have noted and sent a complaint against the dismissal of the case to the court. Kuchmenov's father told about signs of beatings on his son's body and noted that this is not the first incident involving law enforcers.

The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" has demanded to ensure state protection of the journalist, Elena Milashina, and initiate a criminal case against the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. The rights defenders' appeal was signed by over a hundred people.

Alizamin Salaev, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), has been sentenced to a real prison term on charges of defamation and insult after posting a video clip in social networks criticizing a policeman. The PFPA treats the verdict as politically motivated.

During the week of April 13-19, in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus, one person was killed; no information about the wounded ones was received. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from open sources.

Residents of Chechnya, except for close relatives of the deceased, should not attend funerals and commemorations during the pandemic, said the Mufti, Salakh Mezhiev. The Orientalists interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have explained the Mufti's words by a desire to reduce the number of funeral participants.

The official's participation in the report criticizing a resident of Chechnya for raising money for treating her child indicates the intention of regional authorities to monopolize charity activities, human rights defenders assert. Requests to help a sick child always find sympathy among Chechens.

Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), announced that in Georgia, the Lugar laboratory could be engaged in development of dangerous pathogens. The laboratory does not conduct any research for military purposes, but fights against the coronavirus infection, states Paata Imnadze, the deputy director of the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC).

In Azerbaijan, the number of people infected with the coronavirus infection increased by 38 people and reached 1436. More than half of them – 791 people –have already recovered.

The positions of the Azerbaijani troops in the village on the border with Armenia and in the Karabakh conflict zone were shelled 30 times within 24 hours, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reported.

In Vladikavkaz, a spontaneous protest action against the regime of self-isolation is underway. Law enforcers called for reinforcements. Protesters began throwing stones and bottles at the law enforcers.