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The pardoning by Georgian President of only five prisoners amid hundreds of them, who hoped for amnesty, has been treated as unserious by rights defenders, while the refusal to pardon Archpriest Mamaladze – as unjustified.

Allegations of the immortality and supernatural abilities of the Chechen preacher Kunta-haji Kishiev fit into the Sufi doctrine, but contradict the Orthodox Islam, Russian Islamic scholars have stated.

Shamkhan Khamurzaev, a resident of Grozny, whose whereabouts were unknown to his relatives since December 26, was found in the territory of the patrol-and-post service (PPS) regiment named after Akhmat Kadyrov.

Residents of Makhachkala should increase their support for Abdulmumin Gadjiev and continue holding protest actions until justice is restored in relation to the arrested journalist, Makhachkala picketers have stated.

Dashgyn Agalarov, who was granted political asylum in Norway and who collaborates with the "Turan" TV Company, was detained at the airport of Gdansk. The Azerbaijani authorities continue to hunt dissidents even outside the country, declares Fikret Guseinli, a presenter of the "Turan" TV Company.

The positions of the Azerbaijani troops on the contact line of troops were shelled 23 times within 24 hours, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reports.

In 2020, the Russian authorities planned to review the legal grounds for marriage of minors and adjust the age of consent. It was decided to amend the Family Code taking into account the traditions of the peoples of Northern Caucasus, suggests Valery Ryazansky, the head of the Social Policy Committee of the Federation Council.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has lifted a moratorium on pardoning prisoners, but did not include Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze on the list of pardons before Christmas. A brother of the sentenced priest claims the Georgian Patriarch influenced the decision of the Georgian leader.

In response to allegations of human rights violations, the head of Chechnya has posted a video with a crowd of people going to the New Year Tree in Grozny. Local residents have found that the video confirms complaints about coercion to participate in the holiday.

In the supposed Iran-USA conflict, Azerbaijan should maintain neutrality and beware of involvement in the confrontation, Baku analysts believe. At the same time, the assassination of the Iranian General Qasem Soleimani has caused Azerbaijanis' controversial reaction.

Celebration of the New Year 2020 holiday; attack on DPS checkpoint and shootout between two teips in Ingushetia; public inspection of the central square reconstruction in Makhachkala; protest rally in Elista; opposition complaints about obstacles to participation in the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of December 30, 2019-January 5, 2020, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

During the week from December 30, 2019, to January 5, 2020, at least six people suffered in the course of the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus: two of them died and four were wounded. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

Employees of the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia have detained the author of a false post stating that the Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, had congratulated the US president on a successful operation in Iran.

All the temples of the Armenian Apostolic Church have held holy "Chragalujts" liturgies. Believers bring home candles and lampads, as well as consecrated water, which is considered to be healing.

Minor entrepreneurs refuse to fulfil the demand of the Tbilisi Mayoralty to transfer their trade from the square near the main New Year Tree to the parliament building. Opposition activists, dissatisfied with the dispersal of protesters, have joined their protest action.

The new deadlines for the completion of the reconstruction of the square in Makhachkala, voiced by Arslan Dydymov, the contractor's spokesman, caused ridicule remarks of social network users.

Since December 29, 2019, Azerbaijani soldiers fired more than 1200 shots at the positions of the Defence Army, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) has informed.

Law enforcers took to a police station the activists of the movement "Our City" and a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, who highlighted the public inspection of the reconstruction results on the central square in Makhachkala. All six detainees have already been released.

In the documentary "Repressions", parents of Barakh Chemurziev, a leader of the protests in Ingushetia, spoke about his detention and called on people to fight for the "people's cause." YouTube users who watched the today's premiere of the film noted that the history of the Chemurziev family was typical for Ingushetia.

A video with several couples waltzing in the centre of Grozny provoked social media claims about violation of the Chechen standards of behaviour. Users criticized both the dancers and the people who watched their dances and did not stop them.