drugs

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Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Armenia

Brazilian dies after being ‘forced to drink’ from bottle by officials at Yerevan Airport

by Arshaluys Barseghyan

•1 min read

A Brazilian national has died on the way to the hospital after customs officials at Yerevan’s airport reportedly forced him to drink from a bottle of alcohol he had brought into the country. The incident, which occurred on 8 August, was first reported on by tabloid media. ‘Instead of checking the contents of the bottle, the customs officials forced the Brazilian to drink it, after which he suddenly felt sick and died minutes later’, the news read. Armenia’s Chair of the State Revenue Comm

Analysis

Datablog | How high? Georgia spends millions online on illegal drugs each year

by Ian Goodrich

•3 min read

Drug users in Georgia spent over $1.5 million dollars online between February and August 2020, according to a new study into the darknet market, Matanga, conducted by CRRC Georgia. When compared to similar online markets in Europe, this figure is substantial, exceeding monthly dark web drug revenue for Spain and Belgium combined. How does it work? Transactions take place through an elaborate process, beginning with a user interface familiar to any online shopper. Users of Matanga can

Spouses Nikolai and Evgeniya Zakharchenko. Photo via Ruslan Yelmirzokov's Facebook page.

drugs

‘Insignificant’ criminal case that led pensioner to take own life dropped

by OC Media

•2 min read

The criminal case against Nikolai Zakharchenko, a pensioner living in Kabardino-Balkaria, who took his own life after he was accused of storing large quantities of cannabis, was dropped ‘due to its insignificance’. Ruslan Yelmirzokov, the legal representative of the deceased’s wife, told OC Media that the case was dropped on Tuesday. Zakharchenko, 85, was from the city of Nartkala in the east of the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. He took his own life in the early morning of 18 Augus

Cannabis

How Georgia enforces its borders: drug trafficking since 2012

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•13 min read

Historically, international reports have referred to Georgia as one of the corridors for the transit of Afghan heroin towards Europe. Liberali tried to find out how Georgia is tackling drug trafficking and what has changed since 2012 under the Georgian dream government. In September 2009, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime published a report on the spread of Afghan heroin around the world. The report noted that seven tons of heroin reached Europe through Georgia each year. Hero

Chechnya

Rights activist arrested for ‘drug possession’ in Chechnya

by OC Media

•2 min read

Chechen authorities have detained a local human rights activist on drug charges. Activists and government critics say the charges have been fabricated in order to silence him. Sixty-year-old Oyub Titiyev, the head of the local branch of Moscow-based rights group Memorial, was arrested on 9 January. According to Russian news site Meduza, the Chechen Interior Ministry claim to have found a wrapped package of cannabis, approximately 180 grammes, in his car. According to Novaya Gazeta, Titiy

Chechnya

Chechen woman forced to publicly apologise to Kadyrov

by OC Media

•3 min read

The wife of man detained for ‘consuming alcohol and drugs’ has been forced to apologise to Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov, after she accused police of behaving illegally. Three dozen men were detained in Chechnya on 24–25 October suspected of consuming alcohol and drugs. They were ordered to clean a cemetery. According to the Caucasian Knot, people suspected of using alcohol, and illegal and psychotropic drugs were detained in several Chechen settlements. On 30 October, the head of the In

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court upholds 10-year ‘drug conviction’ for activist

by OC Media

•2 min read

Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of Azerbaijani activist Bayram Mammadov, who was arrested on drug charges after painting controversial graffiti on a statue of Heydar Aliyev in Baku. Mammadov has began a hunger strike, Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayil has reported. Mammadov intends to appeal his conviction to the European Court of Human Rights, Caucasian Knot reported. ‘We have already sent a complaint to the Strasbourg Court about the arrest, which has been acce