News

May 20, 2019 10:41

• Pashinyan calls on his supporters to block courts after Kocharyan's release

  In response to the release from custody of the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has called on his supporters to block courthouses. Such actions can lead to the liquidation of the independent judiciary in Armenia, Grant Mikaelyan, a political analyst, has noted.

May 19, 2019 14:54

• Ex-president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, released from custody

  The court has released the second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, under the guarantee of the incumbent and a former presidents of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). This decision provoked a stormy reaction in hundreds of Kocharyan's supporters and opponents, who gathered outside the courthouse.

May 19, 2019 14:42

• Law enforcers look for bomb in Makhachkala mosque

  The threat of mining a mosque in Makhachkala has not confirmed, the Dagestani Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has reported. Instagram users urge to quickly find and punish the author of the bomb report.

May 19, 2019 14:38

• Miners block roads in Western Georgia

  Employees of the mining and processing combine in the Georgian city of Chiatura, who are demanding higher wages, have partially blocked the roads to the enterprise.

May 19, 2019 13:47

• By their reaction to "Magnitsky List", Chechen law enforcers show loyalty to Kadyrov

  The head of the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has offered to apply US sanctions to the entire ministry; and the commander of the "Terek" SOBR (special quick-response regiment) has linked the sanctions with the regiment's successful fight against terrorism. By their statements, law enforcers reconfirmed their loyalty to the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, local residents believe.

May 19, 2019 13:35

• Two women-natives of Ingushetia suspected of links with Syrian militants

  Investigators have suspected that two women left Ingushetia for Syria and were helping the militants of an international terrorist organization.

May 19, 2019 13:32

• New Athos is closed for tourists due to church conflict in Abkhazia

  The heads of the of New Athos (also known as Novy Afon) Monastery have accused an opponent church grouping of an attempt to seize the monastery and called on the authorities of Abkhazia to prevent believers' clashes. The decision to close one of the most popular tourist sites will seriously harm the industry, Anna Kalyagina, the head of the Abkhaz Tourism Union, has stated.

May 18, 2019 13:42

• Convict in case of torturing detainees in Ingushetia released on CER

  A court in the city of Nizhny Tagil has satisfied the petition on application of the conditional early relief (CER) to Mustafa Tsoroev, convicted within the case of torture at the Ingush Centre for Combating Extremism (CCE, also known as "E" Centre).

May 18, 2019 13:35

• Baku police warns oppositionist Fuad Gakhramanly

  On May 16, Fuad Gakhramanly, Deputy Chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), was summoned to the Baku police, where he received a warning concerning his posts in social networks. Mr Gakhramanly treats the police's actions as illegitimate.

May 18, 2019 13:15

• Ingushetia: Akhmed Pogorov's relatives released after search

  Magomed, a brother of Akhmed Pogorov, a co-chairman of the World Congress of the Ingush People, was fined for participating in protests in Magas; two other relatives of the activist were released without drawing up protocols.

May 18, 2019 12:40

• YouTube users ridicule Kadyrov's adviser

  Adam Shakhidov, a Chechen theologian, has equated the motto of Kadyrov's retinue, "Akhmat is power!", to the foundations of the Koran and the Sunnah, treating the chanting of this slogan as a duty of the residents of Chechnya. Social network users and local residents have criticized Shakhidov's statement. References to religion are often used as tools of political propaganda, and interpretations of sacral texts are adapted to the conjuncture, Islamic scholars have pointed out.

May 18, 2019 11:29

• Fifteen miners go on hunger strike in Georgia

  Part of the striking workers of the mining-and-refining combine, dissatisfied with the talks with the leadership, have gone on a hunger strike at the Mayoralty building of the city of Chiatura in Georgia.

May 18, 2019 10:46

• Film by KBR director screened at Cannes Film Festival

  The film "Dylda" (Lanky Fellow) by Kantemir Balagov, a filmmaker from the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) was met with a storm of applause at the Cannes Film Festival. The film is nominated for the Queer Palm Award – for films on the LGBT topic. Mr Balagov now plans to film a story about the today's residents of the Caucasus.

May 18, 2019 08:50

• Political emigrants tell about pressure on their relatives in Azerbaijan

  This May, law enforcers threatened with arrest and dismissal from work to relatives of the Azerbaijani activists who had left for Europe, the organization "Chose Democratic Azerbaijan" (CDA) has stated. Over a month, relatives of at least 50 political emigrants were summoned to the police, said Ogtai Gyulyalev, the head of the Centre for the Protection of Political Prisoners.

May 18, 2019 08:48

• Three relatives of Ingush activist Akhmed Pogorov detained

  Law enforcers have searched the houses of Akhmed Pogorov, a co-chairman of the World Congress of the Ingush People, and his relatives in the city of Karabulak, and detained two Pogorov's nephews and his brother.

May 17, 2019 22:57

• Georgian LGBT activists give up actions on Day Against Homophobia

  Actions in Georgia on the International Day Against Homophobia are risky due to possible conflicts with opponents of LGBT people, activists of the Movement for Equality have explained. In its turn, the Georgian Patriarchy announced a procession dedicated to the Day of Family Holiness.

May 17, 2019 22:55

• Social network users criticize Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov for video with Akhmat Kadyrov

  The publication of the video in which Akhmat Kadyrov, Ramzan's father, is disrespectful of Christians and non-believers, has provoked criticism of Tumso Abdurakhmanov by some social network users. They have urged the blogger to "leave the dead alone."

May 17, 2019 22:52

• Russian authorities threaten retaliating USA for sanctions against Chechen special unit

  The sanctions against the "Terek" special squadron and Chechen law enforcers reflect an intention to complicate cooperation in countering terrorism or fear of detachment's operations in the Arctic, the Russian Embassy to the United States has stated. Ramzan Kadyrov and his entourage have perceived the law enforcers' inclusion into the sanctions list with irony, residents of Chechnya say.

May 17, 2019 18:17

• Signatures in defence of Chechen gays handed over to President Putin's administration

  Representatives of the human rights organization "Amnesty International" (AI) have delivered a petition signed by Western Europeans to the administration of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, demanding to investigate crimes against members of the LGBT community in Chechnya. The signatures collected in the UK have been handed over to the Russian Embassy in London.

May 17, 2019 10:17

• Ramadan charity action attracts Dagestanis to volunteering

  The action of the movement "Companions of the Good" of the distribution of water and dates to fasting people in travel motivates young people to join the volunteer movement in Dagestan, activists have stated.