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The court has sentenced Ibragim Dugiev to one year and two months of imprisonment for assaulting a policeman during a rally in Magas. On Tuesday, February 25, Mustafa Vysegurov, an activist, was set free from the SIZO (pre-trial prison).

In solidarity with all affected nations, residents of Northern Caucasus should refuse to celebrate the Russian state holiday on February 23, the date of the start of Vainakhs' deportation, the Instagram users believe.

The staff of the Adjara TV are going to strike, an NGO "Transparency International (TI)-Georgia" has informed urging the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) investigate the alleged pressure on journalists.

In Derbent, a mother of Nillan Aliev held a picket with an appeal to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Her son stopped contacting his relatives and friends after a trip to Grozny with his two acquaintances. Till present, the search for the disappeared men has not brought any results, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Dagestan reports.

At a rally held in front of the courthouse, supporters of Serzh Sargsyan, the third President of Armenia, called him a victim of political persecution. The defence claimed the biased attitude of the public prosecutor and demanded his challenge.

According to the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", Bagaudin Khautiev, the head of the Council of Ingush Youth Organizations, was called for political reasons an organizer of an extremist community and clashes with law enforcers. The human rights defenders demand to release the activist.

In Tbilisi, the court found Mikhail Kalandiya guilty of killing schoolchildren and sentenced him to 11 years and three months of imprisonment. The defence decided to appeal against the verdict.

The General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Azerbaijan has found no grounds for initiating a criminal case on the statement of Ali Kerimli, the leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), about the torture he had suffered after being detained at a protest rally in Baku. Mr Kerimli has demanded to oblige the GPO to conduct an inquiry.

The apologies of the residents of Chechnya detained for providing occult services were complemented by the "Grozny" TV Channel with repentances of their sons, who confessed to failure to keep track of their parents. The involvement of young people in persecuting their relatives was treated as excessive by residents of Chechnya and Instagram users.

An action against the actions of the new leadership of the Adjara TV was held in Batumi. Protesters claimed the unfair dismissal of the TV channel's employees, in particular, of Maya Merkviladze, the deputy director of the news service.

Authorities of Dagestan are unwilling to address the issue of restoring the Aukh District; while the programme adopted in the republic supports only the technical part for the resettlement of the Laks, activists from among Akkin Chechens assert. Journalists argue about the possibility of Chechnya's claims to the Aukh District in the future.

Chechen authorities have acted inconsistently by organizing a mourning rally on the 76th anniversary of Vainakhs' deportation after the earlier ban on commemorative events imposed on residents of Chechnya on that day. The rally was not announced; and only officials and law enforcers took part in it, local residents have complained.

The October 2019 cyber attack on Georgian agencies and media portals posed a threat to the country's security and was similar to a military attack, officials and the expert, Mamuka Zhgenti, believe. Georgia was targeted as part of standard militaries' cyber exercises, Vakhtang Maisaya, a doctor of political science, has stated in his turn.

Till present, a complaint filed to the police in connection with the disappearance in Grozny of three residents of Derbent has not brought any results, relatives of the disappeared men report. On February 23, a mother of Nillan Aliev held a solo picket at which she asked Ramzan Kadyrov to help in the search for her son.

On February 23, in Ankara and Istanbul, Circassian activists held protest actions with the demand to Russia to recall Ambassador Alexei Erkhov. The diplomat's apologies for his statements about allegedly voluntary resettlement of Circassians to Turkey during the Caucasian war are not credible, the protesters explain.

Ibragim Veliev, a border guard soldier, was killed in a shootout with Armenian soldiers, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reported. On February 23, an Armenian soldier was slightly wounded during a shelling attack from the Azerbaijani side, the Ministry of Defence of Armenia reported.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) requested the Russian authorities to submit a clarification concerning a complaint filed by Ziyavudin Ashikov, the former acting head of the Kaspiysk Police Department, for unreasonable detention in custody. This was reported by advocate Sapiyat Magomedova.

Border guards detained a 17-year-old Georgian citizen near the border line with South Ossetia, the Georgian State Security Service reported.

Members of the Gaisultanov family forgave a member of the Alkhazov family after he swore he had not been involved in the murder of their relative. Beslan Alkhazov, who was sentenced for the murder, still faces a blood feud, residents of Chechnya note.

Commemoration of victims of Chechens' and Ingushes' deportation; release of Vano Merabishvili, former Georgia's Premier, from custody; registration of presidential candidates in Abkhazia; victory of Elista activists at cassation court, – read about these events in the following review of major events in the Caucasus during February 17-23, 2020, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".