The Orenburg Regional Court has begun hearing the state prosecution's appeal in the 6-million-ruble bribe case involving former senator Rauf Arashukov. The prosecution is seeking to increase the fine for the former official, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, from 120 million to 420 million rubles.
A conference dedicated to the 105th anniversary of the declaration of independence of the Mountainous Republic is being held in Kyiv. Among its participants are representatives of Circassian public organizations, the head of the government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria abroad Akhmed Zakaev, leaders of the Crimean Tatar movement Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov and others.
One of the main issues of the event was the discussion of the genocide of the Circassian people in the 19th century by the Russian Empire and the need for its recognition by Ukraine. In 2022, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine recognized Chechnya as a territory temporarily occupied by Russia, and also condemned the genocide of the Chechen people. In May, a group of people's deputies of Ukraine proposed drawing similar conclusions regarding the Circassian people. The document provides for the recognition of the mass extermination of the Circassians by the Russian army during the Russian-Caucasian war of 1763-1864 and their expulsion from their homeland as an act of genocide.