News

January 25, 2020 23:14

• PACE delegation points Baku to restrictions of political freedoms

  The election campaign in Azerbaijan is passing under restriction of the freedom of assembly and is accompanied by persecutions of oppositionists, which does not contribute to democratic parliamentary elections. This was stated by a delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) after its trip to Baku.

January 25, 2020 23:10

• After meeting minister, Karabakh activist continues his hunger strike

  On January 24, Alexander Kananyan, a political analyst, was visited by Grigory Martirosyan, a minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), and told him about the environmental threats of the operation of small hydropower plants (HPPs) on the Trtu River. Mr Kananyan refused to end his hunger strike, because no decision was made to stop the HPPs.

January 25, 2020 09:19

• Rights defenders point to domestic violence problems and LGBT people discrimination in Armenia

  After the “velvet” revolution in Armenia, cases of domestic violence and discrimination against LGBT people and people with disabilities have not been eradicated, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has stated. The authorities do not deny these problems, but not everything is done to solve them, Yerevan rights defenders believe.

January 25, 2020 09:15

• Gays’ murder case in Kuban reaches the court

  The prosecutor’s office has sent to the court the case to a resident of Kuban (a common name of the Krasnodar Territory by the name of the main river), accused of killing a same-sex couple of pensioners in the Seversky District.

January 25, 2020 07:27

• Social network users ridicule law enforcers’ reaction to Kadyrov’s threats

  Policemen have found no signs of an offense in Ramzan Kadyrov’s public appeals to crack down on authors of gossips about Chechnya, a Nizhny Novgorod journalist said. Facebook users have noted that they had expected no different response from law enforcers.

January 25, 2020 07:22

• Believers tell about long raids at “Tangim” Mosque

  On Friday, January 24, 2020, law enforcers began their raid at the “Tangim” Mosque in Makhachkala long before the Friday namaz (prayer); and it lasted longer than usual. Visitors to the mosque said that they are used to checks and take documents with them in advance.

January 25, 2020 07:08

• Dagestan couple accused of provocation against Chechen culture

  The Chechen Minister of Culture and Ramzan Kadyrov’s assistant have joined in condemning the spouses from Dagestan, who used Chechen music and a car in their wedding video. The minister called the video provocative.

January 24, 2020 22:12

• Chechen woman publicly repents for practicing witchcraft

  After a conversation with a theologian, Roza Murdalova, a resident of the Urus-Martan District, has repented of providing occult services, the "Grozny" TV Channel reports. The woman was forced to repent, some residents of Chechnya suggest.

January 24, 2020 22:10

• Sister of Ingush victim of torture explains her claim to MIA for 20 million roubles

  The woman said that in her struggle for a fair investigation into the case of her brother's death, she had to endure constant threats, surveillance, and slander. Despite her health problems, Pyatimat Yusupova intends to continue her human rights activities.

January 24, 2020 21:59

• Human rights defenders call on prisoners from Caucasus to report facts of torture in colonies

  A story of Chechen native Khasdin Murtazaliev, who succeeded in seeking prosecution of warders who beat him, shows that prisoners from the Caucasus should more actively defend their rights, human rights defenders note.

January 24, 2020 21:51

• Georgia falls in corruption perception rating

  Following the results of 2019, Georgia lost three places in the Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International (TI). Despite the above fact, Georgia is ahead of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia.

January 24, 2020 21:38

• Reprimand of persons detained for dissent points to new Chechen authorities' campaign

  Law enforcers, public officers, and a theologian held a "preventive conversation" with young residents of Chechnya detained "for digressing from the norms of traditional Islam." Residents of the region claim a new campaign by the authorities to combat dissent.

January 24, 2020 21:28

• In Azerbaijan, man accused of killing child claims torture

  Ilkin Suleimanov, accused of kidnapping and killing a ten-year-old girl from a village of the Tovuz District in Azerbaijan, said that he had confessed to the crime under torture. His advocate also claimed procedural violations. A father of the killed girl says he knows the family of the accused man very well and they never had any conflicts.

January 24, 2020 17:07

• Journalists call on Dagestani authorities to be transparent in determining borders with Chechnya

  The authorities of Dagestan should break the silence on the issue of determining the borders with Chechnya in order to prevent conflicts over disputed territories, journalists believe. Backstage meetings between representatives of Chechnya and Dagestan on the issue are possible, but in general, the process of demarcation of borders should be made transparent, political analysts note.

January 24, 2020 17:03

• Case against Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov to be considered by court

  A preparatory court hearing in a case against Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov is scheduled for February 3. The journalist denies charges of high treason and threat of murder and will seek the acquittal, an advocate reports.

January 24, 2020 16:56

• “Memorial” board head fined for eighth time for absence of “foreign agent” marking

  A court in Moscow has ruled to fine Jan Rachinsky, the head of the board of the “International Memorial”, by 100,000 roubles, for the absence of the marking of “foreign agent” in the organization’s website.

January 24, 2020 11:32

• Editor-in-chief of “Criminal.az” treats cyber attack as continuation of pressure on him

  The online Azerbaijani edition “Criminal.az” was subjected to a cyber attack, which resulted in the deletion of more than 400 articles. On January 23, Anar Mamedov, its editor-in-chief, called on law enforcers to investigate the hacking of the website and punish those responsible.

January 24, 2020 11:30

• Winners of contest of drawings in support of Ingush political prisoners announced

  In total, 45 drawings were sent to the contest held in support of Ingush political prisoners; the authors of four of them were announced winners.

January 24, 2020 11:27

• Ingush activist, Magomed Ozdoev, sentenced to 16 months in colony

  The court has sentenced Magomed Ozdoev, a participant of the rally in Magas, to a year and four months in colony. Ozdoev will be set free in late February, said his advocate.

January 23, 2020 21:42

• Chechen native Khasdin Murtazaliev claims grave consequences of beating in penal colony

  Khasdin Murtazaliev, a resident of Chechnya, reported that a beating in a penal colony in 2016 deteriorated his health. After the sentence is pronounced, all three warders accused of beating will be sued in order to recover compensation from the state, an advocate of Khasdin Murtazaliev reports.