News

October 20, 2020 23:59

• In Chechnya, two villagers tortured by law enforcers, local residents report

  Two residents of the village of Kenkhi in the Sharoi District were tortured and forced to incriminate their six fellow villagers in a case on drug use, their relatives said.

October 20, 2020 23:57

• HRC "Memorial": two persons kidnapped in Rostov-on-Don by Chechen law enforcers

  Chechen law enforcers detained two residents of the republic in Rostov-on-Don, took them to Achkhoi-Martan, and tortured them without informing their relatives about the detainees' whereabouts, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" reported. Criminal cases are being fabricated against three other kidnapped men, residents of the Chechen-aul, the HRC "Memorial" states.

October 20, 2020 23:50

• Human rights defenders assess chances for release of Chechen native Salman Tepsurkaev

  The hopes of a wife of Salman Tepsurkaev that he is alive are justified, because the young man could be left alive in connection with a public outcry around his case, human rights defenders believe. They also suggest that relatives will get a chance to see Salman Tepsurkaev if he is declared to be a defendant in some criminal case.

October 20, 2020 22:55

• Mozdok woman complains to President Putin about refusals to investigate beating of her brother

  A sister of Rostislav Melnichenko, who complained about the beating by a law enforcer and was refused in the institution of a criminal case, recorded a video appeal to the Russian President and asked him to intervene in the situation.

October 20, 2020 22:49

• Stepanakert residents stay in shelters due to fear of shelling attacks

  Over the past 24 hours, the situation in Stepanakert has been calm, but city residents still live in shelters, local residents say. People from Stepanakert use mobile phones to stay in contact with their relatives who have left the frontline villages.

October 20, 2020 18:39

• Lawyers believe that Chechen fighters' posts in support of Anzorov are punishable

  The posts by Chechen MMA fighters in support of Abdulak Anzorov, who is accused of assassinating the French teacher, Samuel Paty, give grounds for initiating a criminal case, lawyers assert.

October 20, 2020 18:06

• Baku court refuses to stop oppositionist Imanly's case

  The judge has rejected the defence's petition demanding to stop the criminal prosecution of Mukhammed Imanly, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), accused of deliberately spreading coronavirus. The oppositionist treats the case against his as fabricated.

October 20, 2020 17:50

• Armenia claims Azerbaijan's offensive operation

  In the morning, Azerbaijani militaries launched an offensive operation in the northern direction of the front in Nagorno-Karabakh, by using aviation and artillery, the Armenian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed.

October 20, 2020 11:15

• Residents of Agdam District report intensified shelling

  Four civilians, including Anar Gasanov, a correspondent for the "AzTV" State TV Channel, were wounded in the shelling of the Agdam District. Residents of the neighbouring Terter District reported a large fire at the local ginnery after shelling.

October 20, 2020 11:13

• Batumi hunger-striker resumes his protest

  On October 19, in Batumi, five women, who were on hunger strike demanding benefits for the unemployed and deferred payments on bank loans, stopped their protest after feeling worse. In his turn, Giorgi Gorgiladze, who had stopped his hunger strike, has resumed it in front of the building of the Adjara Government.

October 20, 2020 11:06

• Verdict to woman from Grozny for posts in social network approved

  The court has upheld the verdict to Medni Yaschurkaeva, a resident of Grozny, sentenced to two years in prison within the case of justifying terrorism.

October 20, 2020 10:57

• Journalists explain authorities' role in debates on Charlie Hebdo and teacher's murder

  Experts believe that secular and religious authorities are much more responsible than journalists for statements about crimes with mentioning criminals' nationality. This is the way they have commented on Ramzan Kadyrov's reaction to the murder in France of a teacher who had shown caricatures on Prophet Muhammad to his pupils.

October 20, 2020 10:37

• Baku rights defenders present custody details of prisoners of war

  The wounded Armenian soldiers can be held in Azerbaijan until the end of hostilities, Avaz Gasanov, the head of the Society for Humanitarian Studies, has stated. While in custody, the prisoners have the right to contact their relatives, said Novella Djafaroglu, the head of the Society for the Protection of Women's Rights.

October 19, 2020 23:59

• In Southern Russia, 21 children handed over to their relatives after return from Syria

  21 children returned from Syria have been handed over to their relatives in Dagestan, Chechnya, and the Volgograd Region, reports Anna Kuznetsova, Children's Rights Commissioner under the President of Russia.

October 19, 2020 23:57

• In Yerevan, protestors demand to recognize independence of Nagorno-Karabakh

  Activists handed over to the UN Resident Coordinator for Armenia a letter requesting him to visit the Karabakh conflict zone and recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. The protesters gave UN officers two days to examine the situation and threatened with holding large-scale protest actions.

October 19, 2020 23:48

• Azerbaijan reports 61 civilians killed since beginning of fighting

  During the escalation of the Karabakh conflict, the number of Azerbaijani civilians killed in shelling attacks reached 61, and 282 others were injured, the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan reported.

October 19, 2020 20:14

• Activists request UN to respond to civilian deaths in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan

  Today, in the US, the UN will hold the consultations on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Members of the Azerbaijani and Turkish communities gathered in front of the UN headquarters in New York. They requested the UN to respond to shelling attacks on the Azerbaijani city of Ganja.

October 19, 2020 20:04

• Armenia reports damage to schools during shelling attacks

  In the Armenian border villages of Sotk and Kut, school buildings had been damaged by shelling attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the Azerbaijani armed forces, the authorities of Armenia claimed.

October 19, 2020 18:43

• Azerbaijan claims capturing 13 villages in the conflict zone

  The Azerbaijani Army has taken control over 13 villages of the Djebrail District, Ilham Aliev has stated. The total number of settlements declared occupied by Azerbaijani troops has reached 74.

October 19, 2020 15:19

• Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of October 12-18, 2020

  Fighting in the Karabakh conflict zone and a new violated armistice agreement; CTOs in Dagestan, Chechnya, Volgograd, and Ingushetia; return of children from the Middle East; heinous murder in Paris, of which a Chechen native is suspected, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of October 12-18, 2020, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".