Islamic State

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Malkhaz Paksashvili at the time of his arrest. Screengrab via Facebook.

Georgia

Georgia arrests ‘Islamic State commander’ in Tbilisi

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•2 min read

The State Security Service of Georgia (SSG) has said they arrested Malkhaz Paksashvili, a Georgian national alleged to be an Islamic State (IS) commander. Paksashvili denies his involvement with the terrorist organisation. In a briefing following his arrest, the SSG claimed that Paksashvili left Georgia in 2013 to fight in Syria with the IS. The SSG’s counter-terrorism centre carried out Paksashvili’s arrest and published a video purportedly of the operation. ‘In 2013–2015 Paksashvili join

Chechnya

Novaya Gazeta: Russian police forced abductees to swear allegiance to ISIS before killing them

by OC Media

•5 min read

Novaya Gazeta has revealed official documents proving the illegal detention of at least 27 Chechen men who were killed by the security forces in January 2017. The Russian authorities earlier denied the detentions took place. The documents suggest Russian security forces in Chechnya are complicit in the fabrication of terrorism charges to justify extrajudicial killing. The revelations are the first part of a three-year-long investigation by journalist Yelena Milashina conducted for the Russian

Corruption

Kabardino-Balkaria man sentenced to 11 years in prison for ‘aiding to the Islamic State’

by OC Media

•2 min read

A court in Rostov-on-Don has sentenced a man to 11 years in prison for aiding to the Islamic State, as well as on drugs and weapons charges. The court found that Ruslan Kasheshov, a resident of Kabardino-Balkaria, had transferred ₽8,000 ($130) to a member of the group. The Southern District Military Court in southwestern Russia sentenced Kasheshov, on Monday. At a hearing on 27 December, the state prosecutor stated that in 2015 Kasheshov transferred ₽8,000 ($130) to Yuriy Bitsuyev, ‘a mem

Chechnya

Georgia extradites Chechen terror suspect to Russia

by OC Media

•3 min read

A man accused of recruiting and fighting for the Islamic State has been extradited from Georgia to Russia. His lawyer insisted he is innocent and that he could face torture in Russia. On Thursday, Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani confirmed to journalists that Georgia had handed over Ramzan Akhiyadov, officially a resident of Chechnya and a Russian citizen, to the Russian Federation. Akhiyadov was wanted by Interpol for terrorist recruitment and for fighting for the Islamic State in 2013–2

Daghestan

Teens from Daghestan accuse police of forcing them to swear oath to the Islamic State

by OC Media

•4 min read

Four teenagers detained in Daghestan on terror charges have accused the authorities of forcing them to swear allegiance to the Islamic State at gunpoint. The Memorial Human Rights Centre, a Russian rights group, released testimony from the four on 22 May. They were detained in October 2018 accused of illegal possession of weapons, preparing a terrorist attack, and attempting to go to Ukraine and Syria to fight. On 20 May, it emerged in court that investigators in the Daghestani city of Bu

Daghestan

The disappeared men in Daghestan’s ‘fake war on terror’

by Saida Vagabova

•6 min read

For several years, young Daghestani men have been disappearing, reported missing by their families only later to be declared ‘destroyed in counterterrorism operations’. Evidence from the families of many of these men as well as local rights groups and experts, suggest they may have been kidnapped by the authorities, and that faking the war on terror is just another face of Daghestan’s raging corruption. Magomed Suleymanov disappeared on 3 June 2016 in Makhachkala, Daghestan, Russia. H

extremism

Kabardino-Balkaria’s commission on former militants — handcuffed by police ambitions?

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•6 min read

The Commission on adaptation of militants coming back from Syria to peaceful life has functioned in Kabardino-Balkaria for over 6 years. Despite its mandate to reintegrate former militants into society, a number of high-profile prosecutions has raised doubts over the authorities’ true commitment to peacefully returning them to civilian life. Islam Gugov left for Syria in September 2014. He joined Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, a militant group at the time connected to the jihadist underg