News

June 15, 2022 14:45

• Armenian opposition abandons round-the-clock protest action in Yerevan

  The opposition is closing down its tent camp in France Square in Yerevan and changing its struggle strategy, but not its goals; and activists should be ready to resume its round-the-clock protest regime if necessary. This was stated by Ishkhan Sagatelyan, an oppositional politician.

June 15, 2022 14:29

• Defence points to contradictions in statements of prosecution witness in case against Dagestani journalist Gadjiev

  At a court hearing in the case against Abdulmumin Gadjiev, Abubakar Rizvanov, and Kemal Tambiev, a secret prosecution witness found it difficult to remember her testimony, which she had given to an investigator.

June 15, 2022 11:45

• Resident of Baku detained for graffiti with letter Z

  The police detained Alexander Saprykin, a resident of Baku, suspecting him of depicting the letter Z on the wall of the State Historical-Architectural Reserve “Icherisheher”. The man faces administrative responsibility.

June 14, 2022 19:37

• Car driver detained after crashing into opposition tents in Yerevan

  The police detained a driver and two passengers of a car that drove into opposition tents in the capital of Armenia. No one was injured, the police report.

June 14, 2022 19:34

• Russia refuses to comply with ECtHR’s decision concerning law on foreign agents

  The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) considered complaints filed by 73 Russian NGOs against the Russian law on foreign agents and recognized it as inconsistent with the right to freedom of association. The ECtHR awarded compensation for moral and material damage to be paid to the complainants.

June 14, 2022 19:08

• Rights defenders call on the Azerbaijani authorities to release Ilham Aslanoglu

  The Azerbaijan Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) has condemned the country's authorities for arresting the lawyer, Ilham Aslanoglu, on defamatory charges, and demanded his immediate release.

June 14, 2022 19:02

• Kuban resident accused of discrediting armed forces

  The case of Evgeny Ostapenko, a resident of the Temryuk District of the Krasnodar Territory (also known as Kuban by the name of the main river), accused of discrediting the Russian militaries, has been brought to court.

June 14, 2022 18:56

• Journalists assess reaction of passers-by to pickets in Gadjiev's support

  Magomed Magomedov, a deputy editor-in-chief of the "Chernovik" (Draft) outlet, and Magdi Kamalov, the founder of the outlet, who held solo pickets in Makhachkala in support of their colleague Abdulmumin Gadjiev, have noted different reactions of passers-by to their pickets.

June 14, 2022 18:50

• Caucasian scholars explain goals of public reconciliation of blood feudists in Chechnya

  From ancient times, the respect for the clergy and authorities has helped resolving blood feudists' conflicts; and making these events public allowed priests and officials to demonstrate their influence, Caucasian experts have noted.

June 14, 2022 18:43

• Instagram* users condemn awarding Grozny Mayor with "Sword of Victory" bearing Stalin's portrait

  The commemorative "Sword of Victory" with engraved Stalin's portrait was presented to the Mayor of Grozny in connection with the fact that the capital of Chechnya has the title of "City of Military Glory". Commentators were surprised by this news, recalling the Stalinist deportation of Vainakhs.

June 14, 2022 18:35

• Court reduces prison term to resident of Dagestan who claimed torture

  A court in Pyatigorsk has almost halved the prison term of Islam Kubakhanov, a Dagestani resident, who had been sentenced to 8.5 years in prison on charges of links with militants. However, the court disregarded the Kubakhanov's statement about torture.

June 14, 2022 14:31

• Rights defenders note systemic nature of torturing detainees in Kuban

  In Sochi, a former policeman has been convicted of assaulting a female detainee, partly because the incident occurred in a public place; while torture cases at law enforcement bodies are more difficult to bring to court due to law enforcers' frank pledge and absence of video cameras in their offices.

June 14, 2022 00:47

• Social media users argue about idea of creating a “committee to combat obscenity” in Northern Caucasus

  An initiative has been sent to the presidential plenipotentiary office to create a “committee to combat obscenity” to ban performances of undesirable artists in Northern Caucasus, reports Saipuddin Guchigov, the head of the “Our Home is the City of Grozny” movement.

June 13, 2022 23:58

• Blogger Ramazanov sent to psychiatric hospital after complaining about torture

  Azerbaijani blogger Rashad Ramazanov, who was arrested in a case on drug trafficking and who complained about torture, was sent to a psychiatric hospital for examination. The prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into Rashad Ramazanov’s complaint about torture.

June 13, 2022 23:56

• Condition of Azerbaijani activist Bagirzade deteriorates on tenth day of his hunger strike

  Talekh Bagirzade, the convicted leader of the “Muslim Unity” movement, reported a deterioration in his condition on the tenth day of the hunger strike, but refuses the help of doctors, his spouse says.

June 13, 2022 23:54

• Colleagues of Dagestani journalist Gadjiev time their pickets to coincide with anniversary of his detention

  Colleagues of Abdulmumin Gadjiev, a journalist of the weekly newspaper “Chernovik” (Rough Draft), recalled that he was arrested three years ago. They held pickets in Makhachkala and called for the release of the journalist.

June 13, 2022 15:25

• Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of June 6-12, 2022

  Persecution of pacifists in Southern Russia; decision of the ECtHR on a complaint of Jehovah‘s Witnesses* from Taganrog; hunger strikes of political prisoners in Azerbaijan; decrease in protest activity in Armenia, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of June 6-12, 2022, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

June 13, 2022 14:10

• Tbilisi students demand authorities' reaction to their protest action

  Students of the Tbilisi State University (TSU) have agreed to unblock the rector's office in exchange for the rector's resignation and a meeting with the Georgian Minister of Education to discuss the issue of possible distance (remote) learning due to high rental housing prices in Tbilisi.

June 13, 2022 14:02

• Week of June 6-12 passed without victims of armed conflict in Northern Caucasus

  During the week from June 6 to June 12, 2022, during the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus, there were no reports about any casualties or wounded persons. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from open sources.

June 13, 2022 13:47

• Armenian political analysts note absence of public support of opposition

  The protest movement has no broad public support, analysts assert. The protests may come to naught if the opposition fails to move on to substantive changes, Armen Badalyan has noted.