News

January 12, 2024 16:48

• Rights defender treats former combatants as potential victims of labour slavery

  The case of a former combatant who ended up in labour slavery in Kalmykia is not unique; and this trend is gaining momentum as recruiters are benefiting from people's vulnerable situation. The most problematic regions in Southern of Russia are the Rostov Region and the Stavropol Territory.

January 11, 2024 23:55

• Verdict to Mikhail Filatov, who set fire to military commissariat, upheld

  The Court of Appeal has approved the verdict passed to Mikhail Filatov, a resident of Uryupinsk, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for setting fire to a military commissariat (registration and enlistment office).

January 11, 2024 22:13

• Former SMO participant escapes from labour slavery in Kalmykia

  After leaving the combat zone, a participant in the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine, found himself at the railway station in Rostov-on-Don without money and agreed to an offer to work in a farm in Kalmykia, but ended up in labour slavery.

January 11, 2024 21:15

• Resident of Vladikavkaz accused of disseminating fakes about Russian Army

  A criminal case against Kazbek Alikov, accused of disseminating false information about the Russian Armed Forces, has been transferred to the Vladikavkaz District Court.

January 11, 2024 20:38

• Telegram users criticize “moral advocates” in Kuban

  A video posted on the Internet and showing a senior schoolboy dressed as a Snow Maiden displeased several local residents, who filed a complaint to the authorities about LGBT* propaganda during a New Year’s performance. There is nothing wrong with comic re-dressings, Telegram users point out.

January 11, 2024 13:58

• Rights defenders report health worsening of Chechnya native in deportation prison in Belgium

  Since 2019, Islam Albakov, a native of Chechnya, has been kept in a deportation prison in Belgium; his health condition has deteriorated greatly, he is almost blind, but does not receive full medical care, Fatima Gazieva, a human rights defender, has stated.

January 11, 2024 13:49

• Singer Sharlot apologizes to Kadyrov and Putin in court

  The musician, Eduard Sharlot, accused of rehabilitating Nazism and insulting believers' feelings, has apologized in court to the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, for "insulting" him, and to Vladimir Putin, whose portrait he had tore up.

January 10, 2024 18:24

• Court hearing in case against Zhuravel, who burned Koran, postponed at defence’s request

  In Grozny, a court granted the defence’s request and postponed a court hearing in the case against Nikita Zhuravel, accused of burning the Koran.

January 10, 2024 18:18

• Human rights defenders recognize Adygea resident Tatiana Moskalenko as political prisoner

  The criminal article under which Tatiana Moskalenko, a resident of Adygea, is accused allows any defendant’s statements regarding the authorities’ actions to be interpreted as calls for action against the state. That was stated by the “Support for Political Prisoners.Memorial” human rights project.

January 10, 2024 16:12

• Czech police asks for help in the case of stealing Kadyrov's horse

  The Czech police have sent inquiries to other countries as part of the investigation into the kidnapping of the horse owned by Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya. Besides, a genetic examination is underway to define the animal's DNA profile.

January 09, 2024 22:19

• Rights defenders assess prospects of prosecution for coming out in Stavropol Territory

  The explanation of the Stavropol Territorial Ministry of Justice (MoJ) that coming out is assessed as a statement of belonging to an extremist community has no legal force. Lawyers and human rights defenders have noted that the reasons for persecuting activists in this case are very broad.

January 09, 2024 21:18

• Court fines Volgograd activist for her pacifist statements

  Natalia Dorozhnova, an activist, has been fined for her statements in an interview that the court treated as discrediting the Russian Army. She refused to admit her guilt, reminding that the freedom of speech is enshrined in the Russian Constitution.

January 09, 2024 18:57

• Defence of Chechen Mukaev reports the risk of his return to Russia to court

  If deported to Russia, Salman Mukaev, a native of Grozny, risks persecution and violence, his defence has stated at a court session held in Yerevan. Mukaev himself said that threats to his relatives living in Chechnya stopped after the Chechen law enforcers became aware of his whereabouts.

January 09, 2024 16:21

• Picket in support of journalist Abdulmumin Gadjiev evokes response from Makhachkala residents

  Passers-by supported a solo picket in support of Dagestani journalist Abdulmumin Gadjiev, sentenced in a terrorism case, and asked about his fate, noted Magomed Magomedov, the deputy editor-in-chief of the Dagestani weekly newspaper “Chernovik” (Rough Draft).

January 09, 2024 16:08

• Chechen media remind about Kadyrov's threats to militants' relatives

  Relatives of those residents of Chechnya who are suspected of extremism must be held accountable along with them as accomplices, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, has stated. Before that, on the eve of the New Year, he expressed threats to relatives of people suspected of extremism.

January 08, 2024 23:56

• Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of January 1-7, 2024

  Repressions and presidential election in Azerbaijan, persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia, echoes of Nagorno-Karabakh, unabashed trolling and intensified repressions by Kadyrov, and official data on the natives of Southern Russia who perished in Ukraine, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of January 1-7, 2024, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

January 08, 2024 20:15

• Yeisk resident fined for posting pacifist comment on social network

  A court fined Igor Fedotov, a resident of Yeisk, 40,000 roubles, considering his pacifist comment on the “VKontakte” social network as discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.

January 08, 2024 17:52

• Contract soldier convicted in Rostov-on-Don for evading service

  A court in Rostov-on-Don has sentenced Sergey Zaitsev, a military contractor, to 5.5 years in prison, finding him guilty of leaving his military unit without permission.

January 08, 2024 16:39

• Rights defenders point to increased persecution of Chechen authorities' critics

  Chechen authorities are continuously persecuting their critics and, in an attempt to finally suppress them, use such methods as pressure on their relatives.

January 08, 2024 02:13

• Nalchik court sentences officer to freedom deprivation for evading service

  The Nalchik Garrison Military Court has sentenced Dagi Gadiev, an officer from Ingushetia, to five years in penal colony, finding him guilty of leaving his military unit without permission.