MMA

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Chechnya

Niqab and MMA under fire in North Caucasus following Daghestan terror attack

by Luiza Mchedlishvili

•3 min read

The niqab and mixed martial arts have come under fire from within the North Caucasus and Russia as a whole following last month’s deadly terror attack in Daghestan. On Wednesday, the Coordination Centre for Muslims of the North Caucasus decreed that niqabs cause harm to Muslims and threaten discord in interreligious and interethnic relations. The decree came days after Daghestan’s Muftiate issued and then retracted a decree banning the niqab throughout Russia. The Coordination Centre un

Patima Ayshalova. Photo: Evgeniy Kostin.

Daghestan

Voice | ‘I’m not a girl, I’m an athlete’

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•10 min read

When Patima Ayshalova came to the boxing gym, she was told, ‘I do not train girls’. One year later, she was one of Daghestan’s top boxers and had earned the title Master of Sport. ‘While my dad was alive, at night, he and my uncle used to watch fights on the telly. It was still black-and-white back then, they would connect the antenna to it and watch, meanwhile I thought: how they can watch this and when it is going to end? Later, I didn’t even understand how I, myself, started watching fil

Daghestan

Cancelled rap concert sparks freedom of speech debate in Daghestan

by OC Media

•4 min read

The cancellation of a concert by rapper Egor Kreed in Daghestan over online backlash and threats has led to heated debates in local social media. A spat between Kreed and fellow rapper Timati, and Daghestani MMA fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov has put freedom of expression and religion in Daghestan into the spotlight. On 7 September, Egor Kreed’s record label, Black Star announced that Kreed’s concert in the Daghestani capital Makhachkala would be cancelled despite being sold out. The label

Belarus

Chechen MMA fighter extradited from Belarus released

by OC Media

•2 min read

Murad Amriyev, the mixed martial arts fighter who was arrested in Belarus and brought to Grozny by Chechen police last week, was released from custody on 9 June on condition that he does not leave the republic. After leaving the police station, Amriyev gave a press conference in Grozny on 10 June to ‘clarify the situation’ around his arrest. Amriyev claimed during the press conference that he is staying in his home with his parents, and does not feel any pressure from the authorities. His p

Georgia

Georgian boxer and UFC fighter charged in New York ‘Russian crime syndicate’

by OC Media

•2 min read

World champion boxer Avtandil Khurtsidze and professional mixed martial arts fighter Levan Makashvili were among 33 members and associates of a Russian crime syndicate detained in New York on 7 June for allegedly engaging in a panoply of crimes around the country. Both Khurtsidze and Makashvili are charged with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisation (RICO) Act and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Both charges carry up to 20 years in prison and either a fine of $250,0

Belarus

Belarus to extradite Chechen sportsman Amriyev to Russia within 24 hours

by OC Media

•2 min read

The authorities of Belarus announced on 8 June that they intend to extradite Chechen sportsman and MMA fighter Murad Amriyev to Russia. Amriyev was detained by Belarusian border guards on 7 June while trying to cross from Russia. Murad Amriyev, who on 6 June managed to secretly flee from a police station in the Bryansk Oblast in Russia, was detained again 24 hours later by Belarusian law enforcement. ‘On 7 June at 17.24 a Toyota car with Russian plates carrying Murad Amriyev was stopped a

Chechnya

Chechen sportsman Amriyev released from detention in Bryansk

by OC Media

•2 min read

Chechen sportsman Murad Amriyev has been released by police in the Russian city of Bryansk, on the Russian–Ukrainian border, after spending two days in a temporary detention centre. Chechen security forces had been guarding the building in order to capture Amriyev if he left, and to transport him to Chechnya. However, Amriyev managed to evade them, leaving the building in secret. The official reason for his detention by border guards in Bryansk, as he returned from Europe to Russia, was