News

December 18, 2023 21:31

• Verdict to KBR resident for evading military service upheld

  The appellate instance has upheld the sentence of Islam Margushev, who had been mobilized from the Zolsky District and earlier sentenced to five years in penal colony on charges of leaving his military unit without permission.

December 18, 2023 18:17

• Reposting extremist material criticizing "United Russia" results in arrest of Pyatigorsk resident

  A court in Pyatigorsk has found Oleg Vasilenko, a local resident, guilty of spreading extremist materials because of his posting a manifesto in a social network that recalled the promises of the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party announced before the 2002 elections.

December 17, 2023 16:27

• Dagestani villagers complain to Putin about infrastructure problems

  In their video message to Russian President, Vladimir Putin, migrants from the village of Tsumilyukh in the Tlyaratin District, who live in distant pastures in the Babayurt District, have asked him to help in solving the problems of bad roads, an emergency school and gasification of their village.

December 16, 2023 23:54

• Vladikavkaz resident fined for discrediting Russian Army

  The Promyshlenny District Court of Vladikavkaz has imposed a fine on Sergey Sidorenko, treating his words spoken in support of the people of Ukraine in the presence of his neighbours as discrediting the Russian Army.

December 16, 2023 23:16

• Rights defenders declare Dagestani resident convicted of fakes about Russian Army to be political prisoner

  The prosecution of Shakhban Abakargadjiev, a Khasavyurt resident, under the article on fakes about the Russian Army is unlawful and politically motivated. This was stated by the human rights project "Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial", which has demanded to release the convict and stop the criminal case against him.

December 16, 2023 22:54

• Sochi activist sentenced for discrediting Russian Army

  A court in the city of Adler has sentenced Marina Melikhova to 1.5 years in penal colony, treating the videos she had published in social networks as discrediting Russian militaries. This was reported by the human rights project "OVD-Info"* with reference to Maria Spasibukhova, an advocate.

December 16, 2023 20:36

• Daniil Vodolagin, accused of fakes about Russian Army, left at Volgograd SIZO for six months

  The Sovietsky District Court of Volgograd has extended the arrest of Daniil Vodolagin, accused of spreading fake news about the Russian Army, by six months. The judge has rejected the advocate's arguments in favour of mitigating the young man's freedom restriction measure.

December 16, 2023 17:06

• Witnesses refuse to testify in case against human rights defender Nagavkin

  At a court hearing in a case against Igor Nagavkin, a human rights defender from Volgograd, prosecution witnesses recanted their testimonies given during the preliminary investigation. The judge did not grant the defendant’s request to question a linguist specialist who conducted an examination on the investigator’s instructions.

December 16, 2023 15:10

• In Dagestan, Gerkhmakhi villagers explain reasons for their appeal to President Putin

  In Dagestan, residents of the Gerkhmakhi village suffer from regular power outages. There is no kindergarten in the village, and the buildings of local school and paramedic station are in need of repair. The above has been explained by local residents when they made another attempt to attract the authorities’ attention to the problems of their village.

December 15, 2023 22:49

• Sochi resident Roman Kharitonov challenges fines imposed on him for posted video

  The court in Sochi has considered three administrative cases against Roman Kharitonov formally and in his absence, Kharitonov has noted, demanding that the ruling be cancelled. Three fines totalling 100,000 roubles hit his family's small budget, he has stated.

December 15, 2023 21:14

• Twelve years since murder of Dagestani journalist Khadjimurad Kamalov

  Today marks 12 years since the murder of Khadjimurad Kamalov, the founder of the Dagestani "Chernovik" (Draft) outlet. He was killed on a symbolic date – the Remembrance Day of Perished Journalists.

December 15, 2023 17:07

• In Volgograd, court dismisses prosecutor’s claims against media posts about fighters perished in Ukraine

  The Volgograd “Height 102” online edition and the “Commonwealth of Volgograd Journalists ‘Island’” proved in the Volgograd Regional Court that their articles about military personnel perished in Ukraine do not violate the law on personal data.

December 15, 2023 16:05

• Defender criticizes court’s conclusions about Kalmyk pensioner allegedly discrediting Russian Army

  A court found Vera Kichikova, a resident of the village of Yashkul, guilty of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces and fined her, although the pensioner did not mention the Russian Army in her comments, said Vera Kichikova’s representative Valery Badmaev.

December 15, 2023 14:20

• Volgograd activist refuses to admit guilt of discrediting Russian Army

  The Tsentralny District Court of Volgograd has begun considering an administrative case against Natalia Dorozhnova, an activist, who, after a rally in defence of the Constitution, is accused of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces and violations in organizing a public rally. Dorozhnova has declared her innocence.

December 14, 2023 23:46

• Human rights defender Oleg Orlov accuses prosecutor’s office of “unfair play”

  By having achieved the return of an Oleg Orlov’s case for reconsideration, the prosecutor’s office violated the principles of adversarial proceedings, claim human rights defender Oleg Orlov himself and his public defender Dmitry Muratov*.

December 14, 2023 22:07

• Verdict to rights defender Oleg Orlov cancelled

  The court has agreed with the prosecutor and decided to overturn the sentence of human rights defender Oleg Orlov.

December 14, 2023 18:46

• Rights defenders treat charge reversal in Oleg Orlov's case as ridiculous

  The sharp change in the position of the Prosecutor's Office (PO) in the appeal submission and the demand to sentence Oleg Orlov, a human rights defender, to a real prison term for discrediting the Russian Army may be due to the dissatisfaction of the higher authority with the prosecution's actions at the trial.

December 14, 2023 18:13

• Sochi resident Kharitonov fined twice for video criticizing authorities

  A court in Sochi has imposed two fines of 30,000 roubles each on Roman Kharitonov for posting a video criticizing Russian authorities. The court has also sentenced him to a fine of 40,000 roubles under the article on discrediting the Russian Army.

December 14, 2023 16:13

• Chechen leader treats beating up Nikita Zhuravel for burning Koran down as heroic act

  Ramzan Kadyrov has justified his son's beating of Nikita Zhuravel, accused for burning the Koran down, and said that it would have been good if Adam "had killed him." Everyone who has awarded Adam Kadyrov after beating the arrested person is rooting for their religion, the head of Chechnya has noted.

December 14, 2023 15:45

• Human rights defenders evaluate role of guilty plea in Zhuravel’s case

  A commutation of punishment for Nikita Zhuravel after his admission of guilt is possible only if a court in Grozny believes in his sincerity, advocate and human rights defender Valentin Bogdan points out.