Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of April 12-18, 2021

Beginning of Ramadan; attacks with hostage-taking in Tbilisi and Vladikavkaz; opening of a war trophy park in Baku; transfer of Magomed Gadaev, deported from France, to Chechnya, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of April 12-18, 2021, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Beginning of Ramadan

On the evening of April 12, believers from most regions of Southern Russia held collective prayers in mosques in connection with the onset of the holy month of Ramadan. In Dagestan, believers began to celebrate Ramadan on April 13. This year, restrictions imposed in connection with the coronavirus pandemic have been mitigated in mosques in Southern Russia, and believers can attend Friday prayers, but collective breaking of the fasting will take place in the open air in some regions, spokespersons for Muftiates and mosque imams announce. In Adygea, according to Asfar Myss, the imam of the mosque in the aul (village) of Takhtamukai, in addition to collective iftars (breaking of the fasting) in the open air, special lunch boxes will be distributed for believers. In connection with the onset of the holy month of Ramadan, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Kabardino-Balkaria opened the Cathedral Mosque of Nalchik after repairs.

Attacks with hostage-taking in Tbilisi and Vladikavkaz

On April 16, an armed man took seven people hostage at a branch of the Bank of Georgia in Tbilisi. Law enforcers detained the attacker, and none of the hostages was injured. The investigation into the case was initially launched under the article on the illegal acquisition and storage of firearms and the taking two or more persons hostage. However, later, the charge of illegal storage of firearms was dropped from detained Nikoloz Tsurtsumiya. An advocate explained that the man had no firearm, but a signal pistol. According to the advocate, the defendant did not explain why he decided to take people hostage, but added that “he had a pregnant wife who experienced serious health problems.” According to one of the versions, the attacker had overdue loans. This is at least the third such incident in Georgia within six months. In October 2020, a man who took people hostage in a bank in Zugdidi was paid the requested amount since, as Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri then said, human lives were “a priority.”

In the afternoon of April 12, a hostage-taking took place in Vladikavkaz. According to investigators, a 53-year-old resident of the city held 11 people hostage for about an hour in a clothing store in Kuibyshev Street. The attacker threatened to activate an improvised explosive device (IED). The man demanded to be contacted by the chiefs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) for North Ossetia. When he was detained, the police found a dummy explosive device in his bag, the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) reported.

Opening of a war trophy park in Baku

On April 12, a war trophy park with exhibited fragments of Iskander-M missiles was opened in Baku. It should be reminded that Azerbaijani combat engineers found fragments of Iskander missiles while clearing mines in the city of Shusha. The war trophy park has collected 300 exhibits, including about 150 pieces of heavy military equipment, small arms, and military vehicles found in Nagorno-Karabakh. While opening the war trophy park, President Ilham Aliev has said that Azerbaijan is waiting for an answer to the question of how it happened that Armenia used “the missiles the country was supposed not to have.” Azerbaijani analysts interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot” believe that the demand for clarification about the Iskander-M missile fragments in Nagorno-Karabakh is justified, and the attention is focused on the problem due to the Azerbaijan’s desire to obtain concessions from Russia as compensation for supporting Armenia during the combat actions in Karabakh. It should be noted some experts claim that Iskander-M missiles are exclusively in service with the Russian army. The scandal around the found fragments of Iskander missiles could deal a serious blow to the Moscow’s image as a mediator in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, experts in Baku suggest.

The very exposition of the war trophy park in Baku provoked indignation in Armenia and Karabakh. Amid the Armenia’s attempts to return prisoners of war (POWs), the decision to display helmets of killed Armenian soldiers and dummies of military personnel in the war trophy park in Baku has become a manifestation of the Azerbaijani authorities’ cynicism, note Armenian MPs and the Ombudsmen of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The derogatory nature of the war trophy park’s exposition does not contribute to the establishment of peace, the aspiration for which Ilham Aliev claims, Azerbaijani analysts admit.

Transfer of Magomed Gadaev, deported from France, to Chechnya

After on April 9, Magomed Gadaev, a 37-year-old refugee from Chechnya, was deported from France to Russia, human rights defenders stated that a criminal case could be fabricated against him. On April 8, Magomed Gadaev was detained and placed in a deportation prison in France for failure to come to a police station for a check. Magomed Gadaev injured his stomach in order to disrupt his deportation from France to Russia, but was deported on the same day. Once being at a police station in Novy Urengoy, Magomed Gadaev said that he needed state protection, as his life was in danger. On April 11, the police of Novy Urengoy handed over Magomed Gadaev to Chechen law enforcers, who took him to Chechnya in connection with a criminal case on possession of weapons. On April 14, the detainee refused the services of advocate Tsvetkov, provided to him by the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”*. On the same day, a video was posted on Instagram, in which Magomed Gadaev claimed that he was not tortured or beaten. Social media users considered the video to be staged. The video only increases fears for the life of Magomed Gadaev, say human rights defenders interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot”. They recalled that after their kidnappings, Salman Tepsurkaev and Zelimkhan Bakaev, natives of Chechnya, became heroes of similar videos. Let us remind you that Magomed Gadaev, who left Russia in 2010, is a witness in a criminal case instituted against Chechen law enforcers under articles “Kidnapping” and “Abuse of official power”. The investigation into the criminal case is still underway. In Chechnya, Magomed Gadaev was kidnapped and kept at a base of a Chechen law enforcement body, from where he managed to escape and go abroad.

* The organization is included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the “Register of non-profit organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent”.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 19, 2021 at 09:05 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.