Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of June 24-30

Fight of power agents with militants in the mountains of Chechnya, where two persons were killed and more than a dozen others were wounded; detention of a regional parliamentarian in Dagestan; shelling of the police and killing of a suspect at detention in the Stavropol Territory; a fruitless round of Geneva discussions on security issues in Southern Caucasus; the sentence for the murder of the head of the MIA of Dagestan Adilgerey Magomedtagirov; incident in the Volgograd Region, where the unloading dock – an object of cultural heritage – was burned down, – look these and other events in the Caucasus in the review of the week of June 24-30, 2013, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Two policemen lost and more than a dozen wounded in battle with militants in Chechen mountains

On June 29, in the western suburb of the village in Kharsenoy, Shatoy District of Chechnya, an armed clash with militants took place, where, according to initial data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), one policeman died from received wounds, and 13 more were injured. On the same evening, a source from the MIA said that two policemen were killed in the fight, and 17 more were wounded. According to his story, the policemen encountered with a group of militants of up to 20 fighters. One of the policemen died in a bomb explosion, and the second one died from gunshot wounds; among other victims there are those who received contusions. According to the latest data of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), the number of policemen wounded in the fight in the Shatoy District is 15. The losses of militants are yet unknown.

Regional MP detained in Dagestan on suspicion of aiding militants

On June 27, Magomed Magomedov, a Dagestani parliamentarian from the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party, was detained during a break in the session of the National Assembly. As reported by investigative bodies, Magomedov is suspected of organizing riots to help militants during the special operation conducted on March 20 in a suburb of Makhachkala – the township of Semender. On the same day, the parliament voted to depriving Magomedov of his MP's powers. On June 29, the ex-MP was taken into custody by the decision of the Sovietsky Court of Makhachkala. Magomedov's advocates insisted that he should be put under home arrest, but the court upheld the investigators.

Stavropol Territory: unidentified person shells policemen and killed at detention two days later

On June 26, one policeman was killed and another one was wounded by gunfire in the StavropolTerritory. The fire was delivered by an unknown person on a scooter, who fled from the venue. During inspection of the scooter, a grenade and a pistol silencer were found among other things. The identity of the assailant, as stated by investigators, has been established; and he was put on the wanted list, including in neighbouring regions. In the morning on June 28, while trying to detain him, the suspect was killed in the northwest area of Stavropol.

Geneva talks on security issues in Southern Caucasus end without results

On June 25 and 26, another round of international discussions on security and stability in Southern Caucasus was held in Geneva. It was assumed that the priority topics will be the security issues in the border areas and ensuring normal life of the local population on both sides of the border. Representatives of Russia and South Ossetia stated the failure of the talks, accusing the Georgian delegation of this. In their turn, the Georgian delegates accused Russia of a categorical refusal to sign the agreement on non-use of force and stated that the disruption of the talks was caused by the attempts of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to change the format of discussions – they left the working groups on humanitarian issues and decided to continue working in the group on security issues; however, the co-chairs did not allow to do it. Still, the parties agreed to hold the next round on October 16.

Court delivers its verdict on murder case of Adilgerey Magomedtagirov, head of MIA of Dagestan

On June 25, the North-Caucasian Military District Court in Rostov-on-Don passed a verdict on the case of the murder in Makhachkala on June 5, 2009, of the head of the MIA of Dagestan Adilgerey Magomedtagirov. The attempt also killed Abdurazak Abakarov, the head of the logistics subdivision of the republic's MIA; six more people were wounded. The court found a serviceman Andrei Rezanov guilty of killing Magomedtagirov and sentenced him to 15 years of imprisonment in a high security colony, also stripping the military rank of a Lieutenant from him. The case was considered within one day, as according to the defendant's request, it was considered under the special procedure, without examining the proofs. Rezanov pled guilty; and the state prosecutor demanded to sentence him to 22 years in prison and a fine of 270,000 roubles. It is noteworthy that Rezanov had been kept in custody for eighteen months after detention; and in February 2013, he was released under home arrest. The case went to court in April this year.

In Volgograd Region, unloading dock, recognized as object of cultural heritage, burned down, its defenders claim arson

On June 25, near the farmstead of Bobry, the Sredneakhtubinsky District of the Volgograd Region, a historical building – the unloading dock, – which was on the balance sheet of the Volgograd State Academy of Physical Culture, was burned down. Since the end of April, a group of activists took the structure under protection, demanding to abandon the plans to demolish it. The activists set up a tent camp near the old dock; and, according to their story, prevented several attempts to ruin the facility. According to the notice of the Regional Ministry of Culture of May 4, the unloading dock was recognized as a cultural heritage. The defenders of the unloading dock are confident that it was deliberately put on fire; they prepare a series of rallies demanding to find and punish those responsible for the arson.