Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of September 23-29

Suicide bombing and killing of SC judge in Dagestan; investment forum in Sochi, held after emergency situation caused by bad weather; conviction of Hilal Mamedov, editor-in-chief of "Tolyshi Sado", in Azerbaijan, – look these and other events in the Caucasus in the review of the week of September 23-29, 2013, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Dagestan: suicide bombing and assassination of Supreme Court judge

On September 23, in the village of Khuchni, the centre of the Tabasaran District of Dagestan, an explosion was triggered near the building of the district police department. The blast was qualified as a terror act; and investigators established that it was committed by a suicide bomber. Apart from him, the attack also killed a policeman and an employee of the local department of the Federal Migration Service; besides, 14 policemen and two civilians were wounded and hospitalized.

On September 25, two unidentified persons opened fire at Mukhtar Shapiev, a judge of the Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan; his son, who was with him, was also wounded. Both were taken to hospital, where they soon died. Investigators associate the attack on the judge with his professional activities.

Krasnodar Territory: investment forum in Sochi held after emergency caused by weather

On September 26-29, Sochi hosted the 12th International Investment Forum "Sochi- 2013", which was attended by more than 9000 people – more than any of the previous ones. The regions of the Southern and North-Caucasian Federal Districts (SFD and NCFD) presented their large-scale projects in the construction industry, food production and tourism.

On the eve of the opening ceremony of the forum, Sochi was struck by strong winds that damaged power lines, felled trees, tore the roofs off the maternity hospital and seven other buildings. In total, six dwelling settlements were covered by the calamity; three people were injured. The day before, on September 24, Sochi saw heavy rains that drove the Loo River out of its banks, demanding evacuation of local residents. The water level in the Sochi River went up to dangerous marks. Water flooded federal highways; a number of mudslides were registered.

Hilal Mamedov convicted in Azerbaijan

On September 27, the court found Hilal Mamedov, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Tolyshi Sado" and author of the video clip "Who are you? Come on, goodbye!" that had attracted public attention to the issue of the rights of Talysh nationals, guilty on charges of treason, inciting ethnic hatred and possession of drugs and sentenced him to five years in a high security colony. Human rights organizations in Russia and Azerbaijan have already declared that the verdict to Mamedov was politically motivated.

Armenia: guilty verdict on assassination attempt against former presidential candidate Paruir Airikyan

On September 23, a court in Yerevan sentenced Vardan Sedrakian, a former Armenian presidential candidate and the main figurant in the case of the attempt on another former presidential candidate Paruir Airikyan, to 14 years in prison. The second defendant – Khachatur Pogosyan – received the same punishment, while the third one – Samvel Arutyunyan – was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Their advocates disagreed with the decision and announced their intention to appeal against the verdicts at higher judicial instances.

Georgia: registration of presidential candidates is over

On September 23, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia completed the registration of presidential candidates. After checking the presented documents and signatures of supporters, the CEC registered 23 candidates, among them: Shalva Natelashvili, the leader of the Labour Party; Sergo Djavakhidze, the leader of the "For Fair Georgia" Party; Georgy Margvelashvily, who was nominated by the Party "Georgian Dream-United Georgia"; Nino Burjanadze, the leader of the "Democratic Movement-United Georgia"; David Bakradze, the nominee of the "United National Movement"; and Georgy Targamadze, the leader of the Christian-Democratic Movement. In total, initially, the CEC had received 54 applications from the persons interested to stand for the election.