News

March 20, 2019 18:21

• Defence challenges extension of Robert Kocharyan's arrest

  The arrest extension by two months has been appealed against at the Court of Appeal, the advocates of the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, have reported.

March 20, 2019 18:13

• Court not to cancel fine imposed on Gannushkina for picket in support of Titiev

  A Moscow court has upheld its decision to fine Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the Civil Assistance Committee by 10,000 roubles, after she was detained at an action demanding the release Oyub Titiev, the head of the Grozny office of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

March 20, 2019 18:04

• Novruz Bayram celebrated in Azerbaijan amid eased repressions

  In connection with the celebration of Novruz Bayram, March 20-26 were declared non-working days in Azerbaijan. For the first time in many years, President Ilham Aliev refused from official celebrative events in favour of informal communication with residents of Baku. Rights defenders have linked the massive pardoning of political prisoners on the eve of Novruz-Bayram with changes in authorities' policies.

March 20, 2019 18:00

• Circassian activists tell about Umarov's links with Arashukov

  Oleg Umarov, the founder of the "Dobro Cherkessov" (Circassians' Wealth) charitable foundation, participated in the movement in support of Senator Rauf Arashukov, said Timur Zhuzhuev, the chairman of the youth branch of the "Adyge Khase" of the Kabardian people.

March 20, 2019 17:47

• Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of machine gun shelling

  Units of the Armed Forces of Armenia have violated the ceasefire regime in different sections of the frontline for 29 times, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reported.

March 20, 2019 11:07

• Rights defenders: Daudov's words about blood feud will affect all political refugees

  The absence of Kremlin's response to Magomed Daudov's threats to Tumso Abdurakhmanov can change the situation of other asylum seekers from Chechnya, says Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the Civil Assistance Committee.

March 20, 2019 11:01

• Armenian human rights defenders support Nasrin Sotoudeh

  Armenian rights defenders and activists have held an action at the Iranian Embassy in Armenia in support for Iranian rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh. They demanded to release her and stop persecuting women because of their refusal to wear hijabs.

March 20, 2019 09:32

• EU and USA urge Azerbaijan to completely solve the problem of political prisoners

  The European Union (EU), the PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe), the US Embassy in Baku and international human rights organizations have welcomed the clemency of 51 political prisoners in Azerbaijan, pointing to the need to release the rest of them. However, rights defenders have cautioned that until the country's repressive system itself is dismantled, it is not worth exaggerating the value of pardoning.

March 20, 2019 09:28

• Western diplomats criticize Russia for sentencing Oyub Titiev

  The verdict passed to Oyub Titiev, the head of the Grozny office of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", has shown that Russian authorities are making use of police and courts for political persecutions, the Rapporteurs of the PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) assert.

March 20, 2019 09:24

• Torture case of Anapa detainees closed

  The investigator has closed the case of torturing four residents of Anapa after their detention, having decided that they tried to slander law enforcers. For 15 months of the inquiry, no suspects appeared in the case, the "Committee against Torture" (CaT) has noted.

March 19, 2019 23:53

• "Restart Times" activists accused of trying to kidnap blogger in Yerevan

  Six members of the student movement "Restart Times" were charged with attempting to kidnap Narek Malyan, an opposition video blogger.

March 19, 2019 23:48

• Activists detained at picket in support of Oyub Titiev and accused of offenses

  Law enforcers accused two activists of disobedience to policemen and another one  of occupying a land plot without permission. The other five participants of the rally in support of the head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" office in Grozny were released without charges.

March 19, 2019 23:46

• Lazio recognizes Armenian Genocide

  The parliament of the Italian Region of Lazio adopted a resolution recognizing the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

March 19, 2019 20:51

• Verdict to journalist Anar Mamedov provokes criticism of Azerbaijan

  The case against Anar Mamedov, the editor-in-chief of the website "Criminalaz", who was subjected to a suspended sentence, should be reviewed, believes the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. Having pardoned the sentenced activists, the Azerbaijani authorities are "freeing up places in prisons" for new political prisoners, states the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS).

March 19, 2019 20:32

• Chechen officials distance themselves from Oyub Titiev's sentence

  Alvi Karimov, the press secretary to the leader of Chechnya, and Djambulat Umarov, Chechen Minister for National Policy, declared the Oyub Titiev's sentence mitigated in comparison with the prosecutors' request the evidence that the Chechen leaders had not interfered in the trial. The authorities have achieved their goal: they have forced independent human rights organizations out of the region, residents of Chechnya believe.

March 19, 2019 20:28

• Imam Makhmud Velitov asks to transfer him to civilian hospital

  Imam Makhmud Velitov, sentenced for justifying terrorism, is hospitalized, reports the Department for the Astrakhan Region of the Federal Penitentiary Service (known as FSIN). Prison doctors are to decide whether the transfer of the prisoner to a civilian hospital is justified.

March 19, 2019 16:53

• Resident of Georgian border village released in South Ossetia

  Givi Beruashvili, a resident of the Ditsi village on the border with South Ossetia, was released, the State Security Service of Georgia reported.

March 19, 2019 16:49

• In Ingushetia, court obliges authorities to provide housing for IDPs from Chechnya

  On March 18, the Constitutional Court of Ingushetia found the provision stipulating that internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Chechnya, who received monetary compensation, are not eligible to receive housing contradicts the basic law of the republic.

March 19, 2019 16:44

• EU urges to release Oyub Titiev

  The sentencing of Oyub Titiev is directly connected to his human rights work, and the head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" office in Grozny is to be released immediately, the European Union states.

March 19, 2019 12:59

• "Sasna Tsrer" collects signatures for NKR's reunification with Armenia

  Since March 18, the "Sasna Tsrer" Party is collecting signatures for the reunification of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) with Armenia. Supporters of the "Sasna Tsrer" believe that the unrecognized republic should join Armenia as a separate region.