News

March 07, 2025 23:48

• Rights defenders treat authorities’ help to domestic violence victims in Caucasus as insufficient

  The law is poorly protecting women from domestic violence; and the only way to really help the victim and save her life is often only immediate removal from the aggressor, human rights defenders have pointed out in their comments on the beating of a woman with four children in a Dagestani village.

March 07, 2025 23:16

• Rights defenders criticize trial over supporters of Georgia’s European integration

  The proofs in the case of the oppositionists accused of involvement in violence at protest actions were gathered with violations; and the decision to hold the trial behind closed doors violates the standards of fair trial.

March 07, 2025 22:19

• Search of lawyer Kuznetsova's home in Yessentuki declared illegal

  The court has found illegal the search of the home Ekaterina Kuznetsova, a lawyer, who figures in the case against her colleague Georgy Legkobitov, who was accused of slandering a law enforcer. Despite the ruling, policemen have not returned the confiscated belongings to Ekaterina.

March 07, 2025 21:32

• Tightening of laws on foreign agents becomes a threat to civil society in Georgia

  The draft law “On the registration of foreign agents” and amendments to the Law “On Broadcasting” will deprive non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and media of the opportunity to continue their activities even under other organizational forms, analysts state.

March 06, 2025 23:41

• Activist Lyudmila Borzilo forcibly taken to psychiatric clinic by police

  Activist Lyudmila Borzilo from the Rostov Region was taken to a hospital by an investigator’s order.

March 06, 2025 23:32

• Lawyer Ruslan Nurushev faces torture conditions during his trial

  International principles for the protection of prisoners’ rights were violated when Ruslan Nurushev was delivered to a court in Volgograd, claims lawyer Roman Melnichenko.

March 06, 2025 22:48

• European human rights defenders alarmed by persecution of journalists in Azerbaijan

  Azerbaijan is among the countries in Europe with the highest number of journalists kept in prison, with 30 at the end of 2024, reports the Council of Europe (CE) Platform for the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists.

March 06, 2025 22:17

• Rights defender Legkobitov treats his criminal prosecution as intimidation attempt

  The criminal case against the human rights defender from Yessentuki, Georgy Legkobitov, accused of slandering an officer of the FSB (Russian Federal Security Service), was opened after his statement about violations in the case of his son Sergey, who was convicted in a bribery case.

March 06, 2025 22:07

• EU educational programme suspended in Azerbaijan

  The termination of the Erasmus+ programme projects will negatively affect the country's educational sector, Parviz Bagirov, the head of the programme's office in Baku, believes.

March 06, 2025 21:57

• Makhachkala residents alarmed by law enforcers’ night special operation

  Residents of the Makhachkala village of Semender reported that they were alarmed by the night shootout, in which law enforcers killed four suspected militants.

March 06, 2025 21:16

• CTO in Dagestan triggers conflicting assessments

  The version about belonging of the militants killed in the dwelling settlement of Semender in Makhachkala to the “Islamic State” (IS)* is questionable, while the counterterrorist operation (CTO) was not duly planned, veterans of law enforcement bodies assert.

March 05, 2025 23:49

• Four people killed in shootout with law enforcers in Makhachkala

  During a counterterrorist operation (CTO) introduced in Makhachkala, law enforcers killed four men. The Russian National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC) has announced that the casualties were militants if the “Islamic State” (IS)*.

March 05, 2025 23:47

• CTO regime introduced in Dagestan for the first time since June 2024

  The counterterrorist operation (CTO) introduced in the settlement of Semender was preceded by the CTO regime on June 23, 2024, announced in Makhachkala and Derbent.

March 05, 2025 23:32

• Activist Lyudmila Borzilo faces pressure from law enforcers

  Lyudmila Borzilo, an activist from the Rostov Region, was taken to a hospital by order of an investigator. In the hospital, the activist was subjected to pressure with an attempt to convince her to agree to undergo tests for a psychiatric examination.

March 05, 2025 22:32

• ECtHR treats threats against Elena Milashina after her posting about Chechen gays as her rights violation

  The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found threats announced by Chechen leadership against journalist Elena Milashina, who wrote about persecution of gays in Chechnya, to be a violation of her privacy and the right to the freedom of expression.

March 05, 2025 22:17

• Activists’ houses searched in Stavropol Territory

  The police conducted searches at the houses of human rights defender Georgy Legkobitov in Yessentuki and of lawyer Ekaterina Kuznetsova.

March 04, 2025 23:39

• In Azerbaijan, critic of authorities sentenced to term of imprisonment in penal colony

  In Azerbaijan, a court sentenced blogger Arzu Sayadoglu to seven years of imprisonment in a penal colony, finding him guilty of extortion of money. The blogger, being well-known for criticizing the country’s authorities, called the charges fabricated.

March 04, 2025 23:18

• Georgian Parliament tightens foreign agents law

  The "Law on Registration of Foreign Agents", which introduces the notion of an individual-a foreign agent, was supported in the first reading by 84 Georgian MPs. The new bill is a literal copy of the American law, which provides for criminal liability for violating the requirements.

March 04, 2025 22:18

• Kurban Dalgatov's parents hold picket in Makhachkala

  The parents of Kurban Dalgatov, who died after being detained at the Makhachkala police station, have held a picket in the central square of Makhachkala. They believe that the sentence handed down to one of the law enforcers involved is too lenient.

March 04, 2025 22:15

• Father of Stavropol resident killed by police considers law enforcers’ apology belated

  The apology for the death of Stavropol resident Khalit Mustafaev during a chase is four years late, his father emphasizes. The man demands the authorities to bring to justice the police inspector, one of whom participate in the special military operation (SMO), and the other is involved in the criminal case only as a witness.