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Recent Appearances...

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

The court sides with a convict from Chechnya in a dispute with the colony administration

2024-04-16

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] The appellate instance did not satisfy the appeal of the colony administration against the decision of the Grozny court, which recognized violations of the rights of a native of Chechnya, Arbi Dandaev, who was convicted in the case of the attack of Basayev’s

... Shamil Salmanovich Basayev, also known by his kunya "Abu Idris" and Emir Abdullah Shamil Abu-Idris (1965-2006). Chechen warlord in the post-Soviet Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which after his death became the Al Qaeda-linked Caucasus Emirate. In 2015 most of the hard boys changed their allegiance to the local Islamic State affiliate, Vilayat Kavkaz, whereupon a majority chose to escape the Russians hunting them by making hijra to the caliphate in Syria. Some of his projects were the 2004 Beslan school siege and the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis...

militants on Dagestan.

As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, the Supreme Court of Dagestan in March 2009 sentenced Chechen resident Arbi Dandaev to life imprisonment, recognizing that during the militant attack on Dagestan in 1999, Dandaev personally participated in the execution of six servicemen. The Supreme Court of Russia recognized the verdict as legal, and in August 2009 it entered into legal force.

On August 7, 1999, more than a thousand armed fighters led by Shamil Basayev and Jordanian Amir Khattab (also referred to as Emir Khattab) entered Dagestan from Chechnya. Fighting continued in the republic for more than a month; only on September 15, 1999, Defense Minister Igor Sergeev announced that the territory of Dagestan was completely liberated from the participants in the attack, according to the “Caucasian Knot” certificate “ Invasion of militants in Dagestan (1999) .”

The Supreme Court of Chechnya upheld the decision of the Visaitovsky District Court of Grozny dated June 28, 2022, which partially satisfied Arbi Dandaev’s claim against the colony in the Khabarovsk Territory. Dandaev demanded that the actions of the administration be declared illegal and that compensation be awarded to him for violating the conditions of detention; the district court’s decision was appealed by the colony’s management, as stated in the appeal ruling posted on the website of the Supreme Court of the Republic.

In his lawsuit, Arbi Dandaev stated that “the defendant violated the conditions of detention for a long time.” In particular, according to the document, the Constitution and the Chechen-Russian dictionary were confiscated from the convict, the electricity was turned off during the fasting month of Ramadan, his opportunities for watching films and videos and television programs were limited, and he was kept “in a metal cage during court hearings in a video conference room.” connections."

Arbi Dandaev demanded compensation of 500 thousand rubles. The court ordered the administration of colony No. 6 of the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Khabarovsk Territory to return to Dandaev the brochure “The Constitution of the Russian Federation” and the Chechen-Russian dictionary, declared the power outage during the month of Ramadan illegal and ordered the colony to pay Dandaev ten thousand rubles. The district court did not satisfy the remaining requirements, as indicated in the publication of the Supreme Court.

"In the appeal, the representative of PKU IK-6 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Khabarovsk Territory O.V. Shadrina asks the court to cancel the decision as illegal and unfounded, and to make a new decision in the case to refuse to satisfy the claims. In the court of appeal, A.Kh. Dandaev ., participating in the court hearing through the use of video conferencing systems, objected to the arguments of the complaint and asked the court’s decision to be left unchanged,” the document says.

Contrary to the arguments of the appeal, the district court, when determining the amount of compensation for violation of the conditions of detention of the convicted person, “took into account the nature and duration of the violations, the circumstances under which these violations were committed, the amount of compensation corresponds to the principle of reasonableness and fairness,” the Supreme Court indicated.

“The decision of the Visaitovsky District Court of the city of Grozny dated June 28, 2022 is left unchanged and the appeal is not satisfied,” the judge ruled.

Let us remind you that Arbi Dandaev has previously initiated litigation. So, in 2020, he demanded 300 thousand rubles as compensation for moral damages for prolonged detention in solitary confinement in a pre-trial detention center in Makhachkala in 2008-2009. The court refused to satisfy the claim, and Dandaev in a new claim changed the defendant from the Makhachkala pre-trial detention center to the department of the Federal Penitentiary Service for Dagestan. In May 2022, the Kirov District Court of Makhachkala again rejected his claim.

In addition, Dandaev challenged the decision of the Grozny district court, which refused to recognize as illegal the decision of the leadership of the colony in the Sverdlovsk region to place Dandaev on preventive registration as prone to escape. In August 2022, the Supreme Court of Chechnya upheld the decision of the district court.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Russian Foreign Ministry: Western media instructed to remain silent about number of Crocus terrorist attack victims

2024-04-09

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The media of Western countries were given instructions not to mention the number of victims of the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in order to distract the world community from the real organizers and beneficiaries of the incident, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on April 8.

The department noted that the editors of leading Western publications were given specific instructions to consolidate in the information space their own version of events around the terrorist attack about the involvement of the ISIS group (a terrorist organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation) in its organization, the denial of ties between Islamists and the government of Ukraine or Western intelligence services, discrediting the results of the investigation and promoting various kinds of conspiracy theories about the involvement of Russian special services.

“The inadmissibility of demonstrating sympathy and humanism towards the Russian people was noted,” says the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Telegram channel.

The department noted that the attempts of Western countries to distract the world community from the real organizers and beneficiaries are given a special cynicism by the categorical instruction not to cover the true scale of the tragedy in the media, namely not to mention the number of victims of the terrorist attack, dead children, and to exclude demonstrations of the reaction of ordinary citizens to what happened.

As IA Regnum reported, on the evening of March 22, armed terrorists attacked the Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow, where a concert of the Picnic group was to take place. The attackers opened fire on visitors with machine guns and set the building on fire. The terrorist attack killed 145 people, including six children. According to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Moscow Region, more than 500 people were injured.

The biggest jihadi attack in Russia since Beslan in 2004, as I recall.

In connection with the terrorist attack, 11 people were arrested, including four direct perpetrators, who were detained in the Bryansk region, not far from the border with Ukraine.

And very odd the location of their arrest appears, too. The four arrested reportedly claimed to be unremarkable Tajiks hired by ISIS-K to do the deed for $10,000, which is also odd.

On March 27, FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov said that the testimony of those involved in the terrorist attack case confirms the Ukrainian trace. He noted that the terrorists could not have organized the attack on their own; they had help.

On April 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that Russia would reach all the beneficiaries and customers of the terrorist attack. On April 4, the head of state also stated that the main goal of those who ordered the terrorist attack was to damage the unity of Russia.

On April 3, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in a telephone conversation with the head of the French Ministry of Defense, Sebastian Lecornu, said that Moscow has information about the Ukrainian trace in organizing a terrorist attack in the Moscow region.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: March 23, 2024

2024-03-24

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 21:32 Zelensky commented on the terrorist attack in the Moscow region: “What happened yesterday in Moscow, obviously, Putin and other scum are simply trying to blame it on someone else. They always have the same methods. This has already happened. And there were bombed houses, and shootings and explosions. And they always blame others."

20:49 The Russians launched a missile attack on the Slobodsky district of Kharkov, first with an X-35 missile. The warehouses and buildings of the enterprise were damaged, the prosecutor's office said.

20:03 According to the latest data from Russian media, 174 people were killed as a result of the terrorist attack in the Moscow region. According to propagandists, this is not the final number of victims. Thus, this massacre has already become the largest terrorist attack in Russia in terms of the number of deaths since Beslan. Russian officials ignore information about the possible involvement of ISIS militants in the shooting and continue to claim a “Ukrainian trace.” Why this version does not fit into the official facts - in the material What is wrong with the terrorist attack in Moscow

19:37 The UK Ministry of Defense published a photo of the first Ukrainian pilots who underwent intensive training under the guidance of Royal Air Force instructors and graduated from flight school. There are ten such pilots in total. The group will now move on to advanced flight training provided by the French Air Force before learning to fly F-16 fighter jets.

18:49 During the day, the Russians attacked the Dnepropetrovsk region 14 times, said the head of the OVA Sergei Lysak. In particular, a gas station in the Krivoy Rog region was hit by a drone, one person was injured.

16:02 Representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Andrei Yusov said that the version disseminated by Russia that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack in the Moscow region allegedly fled to Ukraine “does not stand up to any criticism”: “You don’t need to be a security expert for this. There has been a full-scale war for more than two years.” the border areas are saturated with enemy troops, special agents, representatives of special services, security forces. Now there is every sign that we are dealing with precisely such activities of the Russian special services. Further, in all likelihood, there will be whipping up of hysteria, tightening the screws and eliminating even the formal remnants of civil rights and freedoms."

15:25 In the morning, two enemy FPV drones attacked an invincibility point in one of the settlements of the Novoaleksandrovsk community, Kherson region. At that time, local residents were in the room, three of them were injured, the National Police reported.

14:43 Putin said that all the perpetrators of the terrorist attack in the Moscow region were allegedly found and detained. “They tried to hide on the territory of Ukraine. A window was prepared at the border to enter the territory of Ukraine,” says the head of the Kremlin.

13:32 Drone attacks have brought down Russian oil refining to a ten-month low, Bloomberg writes. The strikes hit 13 large and two small refineries.

13:14 In the morning, the Russians fired at the village. Volchanskie Khutor, Kharkov region, one person died, the prosecutor’s office reported.

12:50 As a result of a night Russian strike on the Osnovyansky district of Kharkov, four people were wounded, the prosecutor’s office reported. The enemy struck again when rescuers and police arrived at the scene of the first attack. As a result, two State Emergency Service workers and one policeman were injured. A resident of a neighboring house was also injured.

12:37 On the evening of March 22, a shooting occurred in the Crocus City Hall concert hall in the Moscow region before the concert of the Picnic group. According to preliminary information, 93 people were killed and another 160 were injured as a result of the incident. According to eyewitnesses, there were several attackers, some of them were allegedly eliminated by Russian security forces during the assault on Crocus, the rest were able to escape. This morning they were allegedly detained with shooting in the Bryansk region. About different versions of what happened and why the Kremlin does not believe in the involvement of ISIS - in the material Who is behind the terrorist attack in Moscow.

11:28 In the Dnepropetrovsk region, as a result of a night UAV attack and artillery shelling, some equipment at one of the substations was damaged and two 330 kV main lines were de-energized. As a result, the backup power supply circuit of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant was disabled. Currently, repair crews have already resumed operation of one 330 kV line, Ukrenergo reported.

After yesterday's attack, the most difficult situation remains in the Kharkov region. Specialists from Ukrenergo and oblenergo are working on the gradual restoration of power to consumers using a backup scheme. There are still consumer outages in the Khmelnitsky region, and repair work continues. Hourly shutdown schedules apply in the Odessa region.

11:19 The FSB of the Russian Federation stated that the terrorists detained in the Bryansk region, who participated in the terrorist attack in the Moscow region, intended to cross the border with Ukraine, “had relevant contacts on the Ukrainian side.”

09:16 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of March 23:

personnel - about 435,760 (+1050) people,
Recalling yesterday’s post on the subject, the real number may well be about half that, or 217,880.
tanks - 6852 (+12),

armored combat vehicles - 13,130 (+19),

artillery systems - 10 811 (+36),

MLRS - 1018 (+0),

air defense systems - 723 (+0),

aircraft - 347 (+0),

helicopters - 325 (+0),

UAV of operational-tactical level - 8463 (+75),

cruise missiles - 1992 (+39),

ships/boats - 26 (+0),

submarines - 1 (+0),

automotive equipment and tank trucks - 14,344 (+57),

special equipment - 1768 (+19).

09:04 Over the past 24 hours, 69 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report. In particular, the enemy tried 28 times to break through the defenses of Ukrainian troops in the Novopavlovsk direction - in the areas of Krasnohorivka, Georgievka, Novomikhailovka, Vodyanoye and Urozhainy, Donetsk region. Another ten enemy attacks were repulsed in the Avdeevsky direction (in the areas of Berdychi, Tonenkoye, Pervomaisky and Nevelsky) and the same number in Orekhovsky (in the areas of Staromayorsky, south of Novodarivka in the Donetsk region and near Rabotino in the Zaporozhye region).

In the Kupyansky direction, the Defense Forces repelled three enemy attacks in the Sinkovka, Tabaevka and Berestovo areas of the Kharkov region; in Limansky - seven attacks in the areas of Belogorivka, Lugansk region and Sporny, Donetsk region; on Bakhmutsky - five attacks in the areas of Ivanovsky, Andreevka and Kleshcheevka of the Donetsk region; on Kherson - two attacks.

08:56 Belgorod and the region are again under fire, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the air defense allegedly shot down 11 targets. One person died, five were injured.

08:41 At night, the Russians attacked Kharkov with drones, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA. The UAV hit a public utility building, causing the roof and room on the third floor of the building to burn. During the repeated shelling, a man from a nearby private house was injured. In turn, the State Emergency Service reports that during the repeated shelling, a rescuer and a policeman who arrived at the scene of the fire after the first strike were injured.

08:17 As a result of a night attack by drones, energy facilities in the Dnepropetrovsk region and Zaporozhye were damaged, the Southern Defense Forces reported. No casualties were reported.

08:09 Air defense at night destroyed 31 of 34 Shahed-type attack UAVs, which Russia attacked from the Kursk region and from the Crimean Cape Chauda, the Air Force reported. The drones were destroyed within the Poltava, Nikolaev, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. In addition, at night the enemy attacked the Donetsk region with four S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles.

07:28 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) claims that there are currently no signs of preparations for a Russian operation to encircle Kharkov. According to analysts, such an operation would be “too ambitious” a project. In particular, to encircle Kharkov, the Russians will require long movements across open terrain, which they have not carried out since the beginning of a full-scale invasion.

Currently, Russian troops are conducting an offensive operation along the Kupyansk-Svatovo-Kremennaya line, the goal of which is access to the Oskol River in the Kharkov region. However, even if the Russians achieve their goal, the prospects for the advance of Russian troops into the Kharkov region from the eastern bank of the Oskol River are very doubtful, experts say.

03:51 At the next NATO summit in Washington, the path to Ukraine’s future membership in the Alliance will be laid, US Undersecretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander said at the Kiev Security Forum: “Although it is too early to talk about this, you should know that during the Washington "At the summit, steps will be taken that will form a reliable bridge to Ukraine's future membership in NATO."

03:19 In the Belgorod region, a drone hit the Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant in the city of Stary Oskol, Russian telegram channels write. As a result of the attack, two workshops of the plant were allegedly damaged. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced “a blow to one of the enterprises.” Public accounts write that the plant produces metal used for military equipment.

Public accounts also report a fire at an oil refinery near the city of Novokuibyshevsk, Samara Region. According to preliminary data, the plant was attacked by a drone.

01:52 The New York Times writes, citing American officials, that the Islamic State group is behind the terrorist attack in Moscow. The information is also confirmed by CBS News with reference to an American official. According to media sources, the same group that carried out a terrorist attack in Iran during the anniversary of the death of General Qassem Soleimani in January 2024 may be behind the attack.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Attack at Moscow’s Crocus Hall Aftermath: News roundup for March 22nd, 2024 - 60 dead at rock concert, ISIS sez they dunnit

2024-03-23

Moscow concert hall shooting: At least 40 60 dead after three gunmen 'in camouflage uniform' open fire on crowd in 'terror attack' as huge venue is engulfed in flames as survivors cower trying to escape massacre

The usual Daily Mail: lots of photos, witness comments, and a map. badanov’s translations of local Russian reports follow below.

[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A mass shooting in Moscow during a rock concert has left at least 40 dead and over 100 wounded.

Up to five people in camouflage opened fire at the Crocus City Hall, with at least 40 people feared dead, according to reports.

TASS news agency reported a blast and a fire in the building where the shooting took place at around 8pm local time, in what was described as a 'terror attack' by the Russian foreign ministry.

Police, special forces and 70 ambulances have arrived at the scene, with some video footage showed a number of people lying motionless in pools of blood outside the hall.

Up to 100 may be trapped in the burning building as flames rage, as some were evacuated from the roof of the hall, which has a capacity of 6000.

On Friday evening there were warnings that a floor of the burning hall may collapse.

Security checks have been stepped at key places in Moscow including airports and train stations, as BBC News reported that one gunman may have escaped the attack.
Brought to mind Nord Ost or Beslan, didn't it?
Islamic State says it carried out terror attack at music venue which left 62 dead

[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Islamic State tonight claimed responsibility for a suspected terror attack which killed at least 60 people at a packed concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow.

Around 100 people were also left fighting for their lives when gunmen in camouflage clothing opened fire with automatic weapons on people at a concert in the Crocus City Hall on Friday.

Three men named by the authorities and believed to be the killers are feared to be on the run tonight after slipping away from the bloodbath.

In one of the worst atrocities to happen in Russia in recent years,
Nord Ost, Beslan, Nalchik, Grozny...
the attackers were shown in unverified videos firing repeatedly at screaming civilians cowering in the concert.

Audience members had been at the venue to see Soviet-era rock group 'Picnic' about to perform at 8pm when the massacre began.

But before the music started the gunmen marched out into the auditorium and started opening fire.

It brought back harrowing memories of the Islamic State assault on Paris's Bataclan concert hall in 2015 when 89 people were shot dead.

And in a statement released on Telegram tonight the extremist group said: 'IS fighters attacked a large gathering on the outskirts of the Russian capital Moscow' before they had 'retreated to their bases safely'.

Apocalyptic scenes outside Crocus City Hall after the armed assault saw flames leapt into the sky and plumes of black smoke rose above the venue.

Hundreds of blue lights from emergency vehicles flashed into the night as police and medics tried to help the injured.

Courtesy of badanov, the Russian press in their own words:

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
Terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. Chronology of the tragedy

[Regnum] On the evening of March 22, a group of armed militants broke into the Crocus City Hall building before a concert of the Russian group Picnic. The terrorists opened fire on visitors with machine guns, killing at least 40 people and injuring over 130. Then there was an explosion and a fire started. IA Regnum has restored the entire chronology of the events of the evening of the tragedy.

The Commissioner for Children's Rights in Moscow, Olga Yaroslavskaya, said that there were children among the victims.

“A terrible tragedy. Children were harmed. Sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims. There can be no mercy for terrorists who attack civilians. Strength and courage to all of us,” she wrote on social networks.

ATTACK AND PANIC
On the evening of March 22, a concert of the famous group “Picnic” was supposed to take place in the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk. Hundreds of people gathered for the event. Just before the start, there were claps.

According to eyewitnesses and the musicians themselves, at first no one thought of shooting. A member of the musical group told reporters that he mistook the loud sounds for special effects that had gone wrong.

However, at this time unknown persons shot several people. People rushed to the exits, panic arose, and, judging by the video from eyewitnesses, there was some kind of crush at the exit from the building.

EXPLOSION AND FIRE
Soon emergency services reported an explosion in the Crocus building. A large fire followed. Firefighters and rescuers were immediately dispatched to the scene. Moscow sent additional forces to help Krasnogorsk, including firefighting helicopters.

The first report of smoke came in at approximately 20:15 Moscow time. Three minutes later the first fire department was already on the scene. Rescuers could not immediately begin extinguishing the fire; according to information agency Regnum, an evacuation was taking place, and inside there could have been a fight between SOBR and OMON officers and militants. At 20:30 the building's structures began to collapse. At the same time, rescuers noticed about 50 people on the roof.

At 20:46, 100 people were evacuated from Crocus, including people from the roof.

RESCUE OF PEOPLE AND LIST OF WOUNDED
At 21:20 the FSB confirmed the terrorist attack. The department reported that all necessary measures are being taken.

Russian Railways and Moscow airports have strengthened security measures. At the same time, the first information about dead and injured began to arrive. According to official data, by 22:45 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured.

The head of the Ministry of Health, Mikhail Murashko, took personal control of providing assistance to the wounded. Prosecutors of the Moscow region and Governor Andrei Vorovyov arrived at the scene of the emergency, and an operational headquarters was organized.

According to Regnum news agency, among the victims there is a minor - a 12-year-old teenager.

Also on the list:

1. Novoselova M. 30 years old;
2. Koševarov A. 42 years old;
3. Nikulina N. 47 years old;
4. Nemova E. 50 years;
5. Galkina O. 65 years old;
6. Peas G. 65 years old;
7. Zaitseva T. 34 years old;
8. Cherenkova O. 42 years old;
9. Girina E. 47 years old, wounded in the leg;
10. Sokolovsky I., wounded in the back

A REACTION
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that the head of state was informed about the tragedy in the very first minutes.

Putin gave all the necessary instructions.

Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev expressed deep condolences to the families of the dead and injured. He noted that terrorists only understand retaliatory terror. No amount of trials or investigations will help if force is not countered by force.

“If it is established that these are terrorists of the Kyiv regime, it is impossible to deal with them and their ideological inspirers differently. All of them must be found and mercilessly destroyed as terrorists. Including officials of the state that committed such an atrocity,” he emphasized.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, called on the world community not to turn a blind eye to the terrorist attack in Russia and to categorically condemn it. However, in response, the office of the UN Secretary General only stated that he was “saddened” by the events.

“SADDEN? SHOOTING? This is a fight at a shooting range, or what? Live, people with all their might are broadcasting footage of a monstrous, bloody terrorist attack, which causes not “sadness,” but horror, shock, shock, unconditional condemnation, righteous anger and compassion for the victims,” said the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, indignantly.

At the same time, she expressed doubts that Western countries were not aware of the impending massacre.

Thus, the White House hastened to declare that the Ukrainians were not involved in what happened.

“On what basis do officials in Washington draw any conclusions in the midst of a tragedy about anyone’s innocence? If the United States has or had reliable data in this regard, then it must be immediately transferred to the Russian side. And if there is no such data, then the White House has no right to issue indulgences to anyone,” Zakharova said.

She added that the competent authorities will identify all those involved.

The Investigative Directorate of Russia has already opened a criminal case regarding a terrorist attack in the Moscow region

The Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under Art. 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Terrorist act”).

An investigative team from the central office of the Russian Investigative Committee went to the scene of the incident.

More from regnum.ru
Vucic said that the United States had information about the preparation of terrorist attacks in Russia

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on March 22 that the United States and Great Britain could have information about terrorist attacks being prepared in Russia, as they warned their citizens in Russia not to visit crowded places.

“On March 7, the American Embassy called on its citizens not to visit the shopping center. Then the British did the same. This means that their intelligence services intercepted certain conversations, received information and knew that something would happen,” Vucic said on the Prva TV channel.

The US Embassy in Russia reported that terrorist attacks were possible in Moscow on March 8–9. The British Foreign Office also informed citizens in those days.

“The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists are planning to attack large gatherings of people in Moscow, including concerts, in the near future, and US citizens are advised to avoid large crowds for the next 48 hours,” the message said.

The message was published only in English. The State Department has raised the danger level for its citizens in the Russian Federation to the maximum level of four.

As IA Regnum reported, before the concert of the Picnic group at Crocus City Hall on the evening of March 22, shooting was heard. Unidentified people in camouflage and masks opened fire from firearms. According to the FSB, 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured as a result of the shooting.

More than 50 ambulance teams were sent to Crocus. According to a Regnum news agency source, there is a shootout in the concert hall between security forces and militants who opened fire. OMON and SOBR are working on the spot.

Later, the first lists of victims as a result of the shooting appeared. In some cases, specific injuries were noted - a woman and a man were wounded in the leg and back. The list also includes a 12-year-old child.

A former employee of CHOP CROCUS PROFI LLC, which provides security for Crocus, told IA Regnum that on the territory of the concert hall there were not only guards with batons and stun guns, but also armed guards - units of the State Bureau of Investigation. The interlocutor noted that he did not know why they did not work at the right time.

Even more from regnum.ru
Zakharova commented on the White House's statements about the terrorist attack in Moscow

Zakharova: if the United States had information about the terrorist attack in Moscow, it should urgently transfer it to the Russian Federation

The United States must urgently transmit all information about the terrorist attack in Moscow, if it has such data, Russian official representative Maria Zakharova wrote in her Telegram channel.

“If the United States has or had reliable data on this matter, then it must be immediately transferred to the Russian side,” she noted.

Earlier, the White House said it saw no signs that Ukraine or Ukrainians were involved in the terrorist attack in Moscow. At the same time, the US administration claims that it did not have information about the preparation of this attack.

Zakharova was outraged that Washington was making statements in the midst of the tragedy about the non-involvement of anyone. She emphasized that if the United States still does not have information about what happened, then the American side does not have the right to protect any forces.

As Regnum reported, on March 22, a terrorist attack occurred at Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk near Moscow. As a result of the terrorist attack, 25 people were killed and another 45 were injured.

In addition, due to the terrorist attack, a fire broke out in the hall, which is why some of the visitors were blocked on the second floor. The area of fire spread was up to 3,000 square meters.

Yet, more from regnum.ru
Zakharova held the EU responsible for the terrorist attacks in Kyiv against Russians

The EU leadership, which supplies weapons to Kiev, must bear responsibility for the terrorist attacks of the Kiev regime against civilians of Russia, according to a commentary by the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, on the results of the EU summit on March 21–22.

“Responsibility should be equally borne by the current leadership of the European Union and its member countries, which supplies Kiev with weapons and provokes it to commit international crimes,” the statement says.

Zakharova pointed out that the goal set by the European Union to double arms purchases in European countries by 2030 indicates the EU’s plans, following the example of the United States, to start making money on wars. At the same time, as the diplomat emphasized, the allocation of €50 billion in financial and economic support to Ukraine and €5 billion in military assistance from the EU will not save the Kiev regime.

The Russian diplomat noted that the European Union is already openly telling Ukrainians that their place is not in Europe, but “on the battlefield” against Russia.

As Regnum reported, in February, the head of the Ministry of Defense Sergei Shoigu, at a thematic conference call with the leadership of the Russian Armed Forces, said that the Kiev regime’s terrorist attacks against civilians are needed to demonstrate at least some success to the West.

President Vladimir Putin said that Russia will never forget about Kiev’s crimes against Russian citizens.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces daily carry out massive attacks on residential areas of the border territories of the Russian Federation. In particular, the Belgorod and Kursk regions are under fire.

Putin said on March 20 that Russia could respond symmetrically to Ukrainian Armed Forces’ strikes on civilian targets in border areas, but it will not do so. The head of state emphasized that the country has its own views on this matter and its own plans.

Tangentially related from regnum.ru
FSB stopped the creation of an RDK cell in Moscow

The FSB detained seven Muscovites who were planning to create an RDK cell

The Federal Security Service prevented an attempt to create a criminal group in Moscow from among supporters of the nationalist organization “Russian Volunteer Corps” (RDK, recognized in the Russian Federation as a terrorist organization and banned) banned in the Russian Federation. This was reported on March 22 by the Public Relations Center (PRC) of the FSB.

In total, security forces detained seven residents of the capital - supporters of this organization.

“Seven detained residents of Moscow maintained contacts with the RDK, operating as part of the armed forces of Ukraine against the Russian army, and discussed ways of carrying out violent actions against representatives of law enforcement agencies, military personnel and foreigners,” the department reported.

FSB officers conducted searches at their places of residence. The security forces seized knives, a machete, an ax, an aerosol pistol and pepper spray, flags with Nazi symbols, as well as communications equipment containing active correspondence with the leaders of the RDK.

As Regnum reported, on March 21, a man was detained in the Belgorod region who was preparing acts of sabotage and terrorism against the Russian military. An explosive device ready for remote detonation in the area where Russian military personnel are stationed in the region was seized from a supporter of Ukrainian terrorists from the RDK. On the same day, the court arrested him.

In Crimea, on March 22, FSB officers detained a member of the illegal armed formation “Crimean Tatar Battalion named after Noman Celebidzhikhan” (a terrorist organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation). According to the department, in 2015 the man joined the ranks of an illegal armed group stationed on the territory of Ukraine and actively took part in its work directed against the interests of Russia.

More from korrespondent.net
GUR about the shooting in a shopping center near Moscow: Deliberate provocation on the orders of Putin
They would say that, wouldn't they?
There was a shooting, explosion and fire in the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk

Intelligence officials believe that the Kremlin will most likely blame Ukraine for this shooting in order to escalate military aggression.

The terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall shopping center near Moscow is a planned and deliberate provocation of the Russian special services on the instructions of dictator Vladimir Putin. The goal is the Kremlin’s attempt to justify intensifying attacks on Ukraine and total mobilization. This was stated by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Intelligence drew attention to the intention of the Russian leadership to escalate military aggression.

“The public execution of people in Moscow should be understood as Putin’s threat of an even greater escalation and expansion of the war. Peskov’s statement about “war”, made shortly before the terrorist attack, is just a false start of a carefully planned Kremlin special operation,” the GUR statement said.

It is noted that Putin “has extensive experience in organizing such terrorist attacks as a way to strengthen his own power, starting with the bombing of houses on the Kashirskoye Highway.”

“Just like then, today’s action to intimidate Russians will become a reason for maximum tightening of the screws in Russia itself,” the Main Intelligence Directorate stated.

Intelligence officials believe that the Kremlin will most likely blame Ukraine for this shooting in order to “use the shooting of its own citizens as a pretext for even more brutal attacks on civilian infrastructure and the killing of Ukrainian civilians.”

“Today’s attack on the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine is another link in the escalation initiated by Putin,” the GUR statement said.

As the intelligence service emphasized, the unhindered movement of a group of militants with machine guns in the center of Moscow, among other evidence, indicates that “the shooting at Crocus City Hall was organized by Russian special services.”

“International embassies also warned about the preparation of a terrorist attack. It is obvious to the whole world that the terrorist attack in Moscow is another crime by Putin to retain his own authorities,” the GUR stated.

Let us remind you that today, March 22, a shooting occurred in the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk near Moscow . According to Russian media, about 40 people were killed and at least 140 people were injured.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

14 people received real sentences in the Arashukov case

2024-03-05

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Organized crime in the Caucasus region.

There’s lots of that, one hears — a staple of a certain kind of thriller fiction.

[KavkazUzel] A court in Moscow sentenced 14 people to imprisonment, recognizing them as members of a criminal community operating under the leadership of Raul Arashukov and his son, former senator from Karachay-Cherkessia Rauf Arashukov.

As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, about 20 people were accused in the case of a criminal community, along with Rauf and Raul Arashukov. Among them are Beslan Arashukov \, Ruslan Arashukov and Igor Travinov.

On December 27, 2022, the Moscow City Court sentenced to life imprisonment the former senator from Karachay-Cherkessia Rauf Arashukov and his father Raul Arashukov, a former adviser to the general director of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz. On the day of the Arashukov verdict, the Moscow City Court announced the sentences of four other defendants in the case. The former head of the ICR department for Karachay-Cherkessia, Kazbek Bulatov, and the former head of the republican Center for Specialist Enforcement, Timur Betuganov, were sentenced to 22 years in prison, the former investigator of the ICR, Andrei Filippov, to 6.5 years in prison, and the former director of the Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Stavropol LLC branch, Guzer Khashukaev, to five years. years. The appeal court upheld the verdicts. What is known about the Arashukov clan can be read in the “Caucasian Knot” reference “ The main thing about the Arashukov case.”

The Preobrazhensky Court of Moscow sentenced Ruslan Arashukov to 16.5 years in prison in the case of a criminal association, RIA Novosti reports today. “Finally assign Ruslan Mikhailovich Arashukov... 16 years and 6 months to serve in a maximum security colony,” the agency quotes the judge as saying.

Beslan Arashukov was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The defendants, depending on their role, were found guilty of participation in a criminal community, theft from Gazprom structures in southern Russia and abuse of power, the publication says.

The Preobrazhensky Court also sentenced 12 more defendants in the case of a criminal community created, according to investigators, for the theft of gas by Raul Arashukov. In particular, the court sentenced the former general director of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Stavropol Igor Travinov to 19.5 years in a maximum security colony, Interfax reports today.

Among the other 11 convicts are relatives of the Arashukovs, former managers and employees of regional divisions of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz in the North Caucasus and other defendants.

Depending on the role of each, they were found guilty of participation in a criminal community (Part 3 of Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and from one to six episodes of especially large embezzlement (Part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Several defendants pleaded guilty, the agency writes, citing a court representative.

Let us recall that on September 23, 2022, the jury found it proven that Rauf and Raul Arashukov were involved in the murders of the deputy chairman of the Adyghe-Khase movement, Aslan Zhukov, and the adviser to the head of Karachay-Cherkessia, Fral Shebzukhov. The Arashukovs refused to admit guilt. More information about the murders of which Rauf Arashukov is accused of organizing can be read in the Caucasian Knot document “ Resonant murders in Karachay-Cherkessia.”

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Two residents of Chechnya were fined for publishing Mutsuraev’s song

2024-01-25

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited..

A court in Chechnya fined local residents Iles Paykhaev and Beslan Yusupov for publishing on a social network a song by Timur Mutsuraev,

...singer-songwriter on Chechen independence and Islamic themes (1995-2001), fought in the Chechen wars under Ruslan Gelayev. Some of his songs were banned in Russia in 2010...

included in the list of extremist materials.

As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, in 2010, more than 30 songs of the bard Timur Mutsuraev were recognized as extremist and included in the federal list of materials prohibited for distribution. Publication of such articles may result in a fine of one to three thousand rubles or up to 15 days of arrest. In December 2023, it became known that the court fined Gudermes resident Naib Manaev one thousand rubles for publishing Mutsuraev’s song “12 thousand Mujahideen” (also referred to as “12 thousand Mujahideen”) on a social network.

Timur Mutsuraev has been known in Chechnya since the first military campaign. He sang songs about the war in Russian, and later religious motifs and calls for jihad appeared in his work.

The Shatoi District Court in Chechnya found local residents Iles Paykhaev and Beslan Yusupov guilty of distributing extremist materials for publishing Timur Mutsuraev’s song “12 thousand Mujahideen” on social networks, Kavkaz.Realii reports today.

Paykhaev and Yusupov were found guilty under Article 20.29 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Production and distribution of extremist materials), which provides for citizens from a fine of 1,000 rubles to 15 days of arrest, as indicated in their case files on the court’s website.

According to the text of the resolution on the court’s website, Iles Paykhaev posted the song “12 thousand Mujahideen” in the public domain on the Odnoklassniki social network. Paykhaev admitted guilt and repented.

Beslan Yusupov, according to the court, also published this song on the Odnoklassniki social network. “He fully admitted his guilt in committing an administrative offense under Article 20.29 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and repented. He explained that in the future he would not allow illegal actions,” the resolution on Yusupov’s case says.

Both Paykhaev and Yusupov were fined 1,000 rubles, as indicated in court publications.

The audio recording “Timur Mutsuraev - 12,000 Mujahideen.mp3” is included in the federal list of extremist materials under number 4594 by decision of the Gusevsky City Court of the Kaliningrad Region dated April 18, 2017, as indicated in the list of extremist materials posted on the website of the Ministry of Justice.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Abkhazia denied information about the sale of Stalin's dacha on Lake Ritsa

2024-01-15

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Joseph Stalin's dacha on the territory of the Ritsinsky National Park is a national treasure of Abkhazia and cannot be transferred into private hands. This statement was made on January 14 by the head of the State Dacha Administration of Abkhazia Beslan Kvitsinia, reports Sputnik Abkhazia.

As Kvitsinia explained, the opposition media had distributed a video the day before in which a certain person claims to be the owner of Stalin’s dacha and bought it for 850 thousand rubles. According to the hero of the video, he is going to build a resort on the site of Stalin's dacha.

Kvitsinia denied information about the sale of Stalin’s dacha into private hands and pointed out that such rumors appear from time to time, but they should not be trusted.

“We would like to remind you that the spread of rumors around this dacha is not a new story. So, back in 2005, there was information in the media that Russian businessman and billionaire Oleg Deripaska allegedly wanted to buy the dacha. And the Abkhazian authorities even announced the amount of the deal - $10 million. After the refutation, they began to say that the object was sold to the then mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov,” Kvitsiniya said in a statement.

The head of the Department of State Dachas of Abkhazia called on the citizens of Abkhazia to be more selective in choosing sources of information and to trust only official statements of the authorities.

Stalin's dacha on the northern shore of Lake Ritsa was built in 1947. Joseph Stalin liked to relax in Abkhazia, there are several dachas built for him - in Gagra, Athos, Sukhumi, but the dacha on Ritsa was his favorite, here he managed to relax five times. After Stalin's death, the dacha was used by Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev. All dachas are state owned by Abkhazia and the authorities preserve their historical appearance.

Earlier, IA Regnum reported that the Parliament of Abkhazia ratified the agreement on the transfer of the Pitsunda state dacha to Russia at an extraordinary meeting. The agreement provides for the gratuitous transfer to Russia of a property complex in the city of Pitsunda, as well as the lease of land plots with an area of 180 hectares and an adjacent section of the sea. The land remains the property of Abkhazia.

The Abkhaz opposition opposed the ratification of the treaty, believing that the document contained clauses that contradicted the country's constitution, and organized a protest in Sukhumi, which turned into riots.

Link

Europe

France revokes the citizenship of a native of Chechnya convicted of training militants

2024-01-04

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] France deprived of French citizenship of a native of Chechnya, Khasanbek Turchaev,

...also spelt Khassanbek Turchaev, but not in our archives under either name...

who was sentenced in 2019 to 10 years in prison for training militants in Syria. The corresponding document was published on the website of the official government gazette Journal officiel.

“By a resolution of January 2, 2024, based on the relevant conclusion of the State Council, Khasanbek Turchaev, born on January 25, 1970 in Grozny, Russia (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), is deprived of French citizenship,” the document says.

As reported by IA Regnum, in November 2019, a guilty verdict was handed down in France to Khasanbek Turchaev, a native of Chechnya. A jury in Paris sentenced him to 10 years in prison for training militants in Syria.

Turchaev, who arrived in France to live from Chechnya in 2002, admitted in court that in the period from 2013 to 2014 he was in Syria, but, according to him, not at all to participate in hostilities on the territory of illegal armed groups. The accused stated that he was allegedly looking for his brothers in Syria.

However, the investigation received information that Turchaev, having left his wife and children in Strasbourg, arrived in Syria to participate in the war on the side of the militants and even trained them in the use of explosives. He was the so-called emir of one of the gang groups. In 2015, a native of Chechnya was detained in Moldova and extradited to France.

kavkaz-uzel.eu has more details
France revokes the citizenship of a refugee from Chechnya

A native of Chechnya, Khasanbek Turchaev, who is serving a sentence in the case of participating in the war in Syria on the side of militants, has been deprived of French citizenship.

As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, a court in France in November 2019 sentenced a native of Chechnya, Khasanbek Turchaev, to 10 years in prison, recognizing him as a participant in the fighting in Syria on the side of a terrorist organization. According to the court, Turchaev participated in combat operations in Syria, and also trained militants in sniper rifle shooting and explosives production, and was also an emir.

Khasanbek Turchaev, a 53-year-old native of Chechnya, who emigrated to France in 2002, having received the status of a political refugee, has been deprived of French citizenship, the Kavkaz.Realii publication reported today*. As stated in the publication, he received citizenship in 2008.

Le Parisien reported that Khasanbek Turchaev, the son of the former Minister of Energy of Chechnya, studied law in Grozny from 1994 to 1998, and subsequently worked in the criminal police of the Chechen capital. Turchaev was arrested in the summer of 2015 in Moldova, he stated that he was tortured there, and then was deported to France. At the trial, Turchaev claimed that he did not go to Syria to fight, but, on the contrary, to convince his two brothers to return to Europe, but they died in Syria. He also stated that this case is part of “a conspiracy conceived by Russian intelligence services with the complicity of the French judicial system,” according to the publication dated November 7, 2019.

According to the French publication Actu17, the decree depriving Turchaev of French citizenship was published today. Turchaev's adult children live in Alsace.

The deprivation of Khasanbek Turchaev's French citizenship is part of a wider pattern: between 2019 and 2023, France announced at least twenty cases of deprivation of citizenship for reasons related to terrorism. This measure, which only applies to dual citizens not born in France, is usually used in cases of attacks on the fundamental interests of the nation or convictions for terrorist crimes, the publication notes.

Let us recall that on October 13, 2023, a teacher was killed at a school in Arras in France, and two more people were stabbed as a result of the attack. French media named the attacker as 20-year-old Mohamad Mogushkov, a native of Chechnya, whose family came to France from Ingushetia. On October 19, French media reported that Mogushkov was placed under arrest and refused to communicate with investigators; his younger brother and cousin were arrested. Also, according to them, Mogushkov’s father was deported from France for involvement in terrorism and lives in Georgia.

On October 16, 2023, the French Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that about 60 people, including people from the North Caucasus republics, would be expelled from France after an attack on a school in the city of Arras, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported. On October 20, French media reported the detention of a 15-year-old native of Chechnya who was standing with a knife near a synagogue in Strasbourg. In his phone, law enforcement officers found threats to open fire at the lyceum with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, and in his browser history a search for prices for such weapons.

The "Caucasian Knot" also wrote that a court in France in early November 2023 sentenced Abdul Hakim Anaev, a native of Chechnya, to 10 years in prison. He was found guilty of inciting the terrorist attack of Khamzat Azimov, who attacked passers-by with a knife in Paris, killing one and injuring four others.

Earlier, on October 16, 2020, history and geography teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded in France, who had previously shown his students caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad from Charlie Hebdo magazine during a lesson on freedom of speech. When detained, the alleged killer shouted: “Allahu Akbar!” and was shot dead by police. He turned out to be a Russian citizen of Chechen origin, 18-year-old Abdulak (Abdullah) Anzorov, who was granted refugee status in France.

In December 2020, Anzorov was buried with honors in the Urus-Martan region of Chechnya. About 200 people took part in the farewell ceremony, mainly relatives and close families of the Anzorovs. For security reasons, local authorities introduced a special access regime; mainly local residents were allowed into the village, and 65 police officers were stationed in the surrounding area.

From 2019:

Chechen native convicted in Paris for links with Syrian militants

[CaucasianKnot] A court in La Belle France sentenced Khasanbek Turchaev, a native of Chechnya, to 10 years in prison, after finding him guilty of taking part in warfare in Syria on the side of a terrorist organization. In 2002, Khasanbek Turchaev received asylum in La Belle France; and in 2008, he received a French citizenship.

According to the court, Turchaev participated in battles in Syria, and also trained faceless myrmidons in sniper rifle shooting and manufacture of explosives, the Le Figaro writes.

Besides, according to Sherlocks, Turchaev was Emir of a grouping that was part of the terrorist organization “Imarat Kavkaz",

...Caucasus Emirate in English, it was established in 2007 by Chechen warlord Dokka Umarov as the local Al Qaeda franchise, but by 2015 most of the membership had moved to Syria as a branch of ISIS (Vilayat Kavkaz)...

banned in Russia, the "MBKh Media" has added.

Turchaev has admitted that in 2013 and 2014 he spent about three months in Syria; but he has emphasized that he went there "to search for his brothers, not to fight." "I didn't fight, I defended myself," Turchaev has stressed.

He also explained that he was the Emir for "only 15 days." "When I was at the frontline, the Emir died during a battle, so they needed a boss. Young people loved me; they asked me to become the Emir's heir," the newspaper quotes Turchaev as saying.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

The court in the Zhuravel case has completed interrogation of the victims

2023-12-21

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

[KavkazUzel] At a court hearing in Grozny, the last three of the 13 imams recognized as victims in the case of the burning of the Koran by Volgograd resident Nikita Zhuravel were interrogated. One of the imams stated that Zhuravel’s act caused him moral harm.

Your attitude causes moral harm to the universe, which is, of course, your point.

As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, on December 12, imams from Chechnya, who are victims in the case of Nikita Zhuravel, stated that the burning of the Koran insulted them and all Muslims. One of the imams complained that watching a video of the burning of the Koran caused his blood pressure to spike.

On November 2, the court in Grozny began to consider the case of Volgograd resident Nikita Zhuravel, accused in the case of burning the Koran. He is accused of violating the right to freedom of conscience and religion and hooliganism . On October 13, in court, Zhuravel apologized to Muslims for his action, but admitted guilt only in the very fact of burning the Koran, saying that he had no motive for gross violation of public order. You can read more about the Zhuravel case in the Caucasian Knot information “ The beating of Nikita Zhuravel: why did Kadyrov’s men need to publish the video .”

Today, in the Visaitovsky District Court of Grozny, imams of Grozny mosques, acting as victims in the Zhuravel case, were interrogated. One of them, the imam of the Sheikh-Mansurovsky district mosque Beslan Visitov, called for the defendant to be punished “to the fullest extent of the law,” Chechnya Segodnya news agency reports.

The imam of the mosque in the Baysangurovsky district, Sulimpasha Misaev, stated in court that Nikita Zhuravel personally caused moral damage to him. “The incident that occurred greatly offended the feelings of Muslims and caused moral damage to me personally,” the agency quotes him as saying.

The last three victims were questioned in court today. Thus, all 13 imams of Grozny mosques, who were declared as victims, spoke in court, TASS reports citing its correspondent.

The next meeting is scheduled for January 9. Witnesses are expected to be questioned that day, the agency writes.

Let us remind you that 19-year-old Nikita Zhuravel was detained in Volgograd on May 20, 2023. According to investigators, he “on instructions from the SBU” set fire to the Koran and filmed it for a promised reward of 10 thousand rubles.

The Chairman of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, transferred the Zhuravel case to Chechnya, responding to the demands of the residents of the republic, who considered themselves the injured party. On May 27, Zhuravel was taken to the Grozny pre-trial detention center. Vladimir Putin announced on June 13 that Zhuravel would serve his sentence in one of the Muslim regions.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Putin: Russia has experienced first-hand what international terrorism is

2023-10-26

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Russia has experienced and knows what international terrorism is, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on October 25 at a meeting with representatives of religious associations of the Russian Federation.

That’s very true. Islamofascist terrorists committed the Beslan atrocities, and more in that theater in Moscow.

He added that Russia will always feel the bitterness of the irreparable losses inflicted during the years of the fight against international terrorism.

International Muslim terrorism, to be precise.

At the same time, according to him, the fight against terrorism cannot be carried out on the principle of collective responsibility, when old people, women, children and entire families also die.

Hamas rules the Gaza Strip like a nation state, When nations start wars, as Hamas did on October 7th, they and their international partisans ought not be surprised when they get war back. Were Israel to do so proportionately, all the babies of Gaza would be beheaded in front of their families, who would then themselves be brutally murdered — some being raped before death and others afterward, just for funsies. Or Israel could do to Gaza what the Soviet Union did to Nazi Germany... How very lucky the residents of Gaza are, that Israel does not do either Russian-style or proportional response.

“Innocent people should not be held accountable for crimes committed by others. The fight against terrorism cannot be carried out according to the notorious principle of collective responsibility,” Putin said.

Go fuck yourself unsuccessfully, Vova.

The President called what is happening in the Middle East a humanitarian disaster. He also emphasized that Russia is following the situation in the Holy Land with anxiety and pain.

As Regnum reported, the situation in Israel worsened on October 7 after fighters of the Palestinian radical movement Hamas attacked areas adjacent to the border and rocket attacks on Israeli territory.

Tel Aviv has imposed a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, is preparing a ground operation and is launching strikes on Gaza. The death toll as a result of Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip exceeded 6,500, more than 17,400 people were injured, Palestinian authorities reported.

...most of them have splinters and stubbed toenails. A couple of torn hangnails, too. Still, they are injuries, and must be counted.

On October 25, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov noted that the foundation for resolving the conflict in the Middle East should be the creation of a Palestinian state. He stressed that Russia condemns all manifestations of terrorism, and also condoles with the relatives and friends of the victims.

More from regnum.ru, related
Netanyahu said Israel has already killed thousands of terrorists in Gaza

The Israeli Defense Forces have already eliminated thousands of terrorists and are preparing to enter the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on October 25, as quoted by RIA Novosti.

“We have already eliminated thousands of terrorists, and this is just the beginning. At the same time, we are preparing for the land entry,” he said.

The Israeli Prime Minister did not disclose the timing, specifics or scale of the ground operation. At the same time, he noted that the main goals of the government and military remain the complete liquidation of the Hamas infrastructure and the rescue of all hostages.

Earlier, the American newspaper Wall Street Journal wrote, citing Israeli and American officials, that Tel Aviv agreed to temporarily postpone the ground operation in the Gaza Strip. Israel, according to the publication, made this decision so that the US military could transfer air defense systems to the Middle East region.

CNN observers previously noted that American military advisers have repeatedly convinced the Israeli authorities not to launch a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, so as not to repeat the negative experience of urban battles during the Iraq campaign of the United States itself, and called for limiting it to air attacks and “targeted” raids.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously warned about the consequences of a possible Israeli operation in Gaza. According to him, the ground operation using heavy equipment in the enclave, which Israel is planning against Hamas, threatens to result in serious consequences and many casualties.

The New York Times noted that Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip would lead to the fiercest fighting since World War II. The publication also predicted that the operation in the enclave could take “several months, if not years,” and lead to “the spread of the war to Lebanon and Iran” and large civilian casualties.

If only Iran hadn’t paid — and trained — Hamas to invade so viciously, the entire Middle East would not have to anticipate the discomforting idea of their own mass deaths. FAFO, guys.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

MMA fighter Yakubov detained for publicly justifying terrorism

2023-10-23

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[REGNUM] Mixed style fighter Ilyas Yakubov was detained on October 22 on charges of publicly justifying terrorism. Izvestia reported this

The athlete was detained by employees of the capital's headquarters of the Russian Investigative Committee. According to investigators, the detainee recently recorded a video in which he justified the need to use terrorist methods, and then published it publicly on a banned social network. After this, the athlete was put on the federal wanted list, and he was soon detained.

“The investigation intends to petition the Chertanovsky court to select a preventive measure in the form of detention,” the Investigative Committee reported.

Yakubov is 31 years old. He made his debut fight at the professional level in 2013, defeating Ravil Risaev at the Pankration Black Sea Cup tournament. He entered the octagon for the second time two years later in the ACB league, losing to fighter Vitaly Slipenko by technical knockout. In the third battle, Yakubov was also defeated. The fighter participated in battles in various organizations in the period 2016–2020. Yakubov’s last fight was a fight with Roman Karasev at the Series 49 MMA tournament in February 2022, in which he won.

Athletistic adds:

On Sunday, Telegram channel 112 reported that Yakubov was accused of publicly justifying terrorism. The 31-year-old athlete made a video on which he superimposed the statements of terrorist Shamil Basayev,

...a.k.a.Shamil Basaev, Shamil Salmanovich Basayev, his kunya "Abu Idris" and Emir Abdullah Shamil Abu-Idris (1965-2006). Chechen warlord in the post-Soviet Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, linked to Al Qaeda. After his death it became the Caucasus Emirate. In 2015 most of the hard boys changed their allegiance to the local Islamic State affiliate, Vilayat Kavkaz, whereupon a majority chose to escape the Russians hunting them by making hijra to the caliphate in Syria, where those not dead yet remain. Some of his projects were the 2004 Beslan school siege and the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis. In 2003, the US State Department designated three Chechen groups affiliated with Shamil Basaev as terrorists, accusing them of receiving millions of dollars from Al Qaeda...

responsible for organizing terrorist attacks in Moscow, Beslan and other cities. Yakubov later deleted the video. According to the channel, the capital’s investigative committee intends to ask the court to arrest the athlete; under the article, he faces a heavy fine or imprisonment of five to seven years.

Link

Home Front: WoT

A Double-Edged Sword

2023-10-22

By Rantburg’s own Sgt. Mom.

[ChicagoBoyz] Almost as horrifying as Hamas going all murderously Einsatzgruppen in Israel two weekends ago, is the realization that yes, indeed — is the realization there are a not-inconsiderable number of Americans (and Americans-in-name-only) cheering them on. Cheering the remorseless slaughter of young and old alike, kidnapping for extortion and/or jollies, mutilation, torture, burning whole families and individuals alive, gang-rape ... it’s a sobering spectacle. I expect any minute a rousing chorus of "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" from the Jew-hating undergrads and their professors on the campus too many colleges and universities.

I used to wonder how Germans under Adolph Hitler came around to accept, support, or at least turn a blind eye towards the so-called "Final Solution", during the 1930s and ’40s. Well, wonder no more — I’ve seen it play out now in real time. Corked up resentments, envy and pure unadulterated hatred, given voice in classrooms, newsrooms, in social media and from the pulpits of certain churches, spewing from so-called leaders of various communities ... all spilling out, in the wake of October 7 ... it’s as sick-making as reports of all the rejoicing in the Arab streets, and the comments about how we Americans had it coming, after 9-11. To try and focus on the horror and misery inflicted on the innocent and the self-justifying replies from the usual pro-Palestinians boils down to something like the rationale from an abusive spouse — "Look at what you made me do!"

All that being said, we are seeing a backlash of sorts, this time around. The loud, proud, and indiscreet Jew-haters are getting called out, substantially. Fired from jobs, having job offers rescinded, wealthy alums withdrawing support from various schools ... outrage from parties who heretofore were rather sedate. I can see several reasons for this — First, because the Hamas raid into Israel was so brutal, duplicating Nazi atrocities in Occupied Europe, right down to setting fire to houses to smoke out anyone hiding who might have escaped. Second — because the Hamas raiders videoed themselves doing so, every sickening second. They posted to social media, to boast of every revolting bloody detail — and more than just their sympathizers could watch. The rest of us can watch, too — if we have the stomach for snuff videos. It’s almost impossible to explain all that away, to claim exaggeration, war propaganda, bias ... when it’s all out there on the internet, unmediated by reporters and a media which likely has a bias of their own. The internet and social media have become a double-edged sword. We can see events unfiltered.

Third — I do wonder how many Americans really have any warm feelings towards Islam and Islam-inspired wars of conquest. More than forty years since the Iran hostage crisis, twenty years since 9-11, how many years since the Beslan school murders, and the romp of ISIS and the new caliphate in the Middle East, a little more than a year since the debacle in Afghanistan ... it all adds up. Never mind how often in movies and TV series the obligatory Moslem character appears, whether in a historical epic or one set in the modern day. They are invariably painted as wise, kindly, tolerant, worldly, sometimes as a foil to bigoted and ignorant Christians, sometimes as a victim of the same. In the years since 2001, a fair number of American military personnel have served a rotation or two (or more) in Muslim-dominated countries and overall have been less than enchanted with what they saw there or experienced.

Are we finally seeing a turning point? Discuss as you will and while we still can.

Link

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