Police in Russia's North Ossetia have launched an inquiry following a campaign of online harassment targeting women through the Telegram channel Kavkazskaya Obshchina ("Caucasian Community"). The channel's administrators published women's personal information, insulted them and issued threats of violence over behaviour they claimed violated Caucasian traditions.
The Supreme Court has rejected the appeal against the 11-year sentence for Crimean Tatar activist and cook Yashar Shikhametov. Lawyer Emil Kurbedinov spoke about his grave physical condition.
“His health is bad. He was brought in on a gurney, he is in the hospital and can barely move. He said that he has huge problems with his spine, liver, kidneys – and a bunch of other ailments. During his detention, Yashar has become disabled. From a moral point of view, he is holding up well, his spirit is not low. He understands perfectly well that this is a test for all of us, not just for him,” the lawyer shared.
Yashar Shikhametov was charged with membership in the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in the Russian Federation but operates legally in most countries around the world. According to the case file, the accused did not have a weapon, did not plan to commit a terrorist act, and did not call on others to commit terrorist acts. The reason for the arrest was a search of his home, which revealed banned literature without fingerprints.