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Policemen have detained Rafael Guseinzade, a Baku resident, who organized a solo protest action. He said that he came out to protest after the city Mayoralty refused to sanction the rally on January 26.

The clarification of Chechnya's borders with the neighbouring regions, including Dagestan, is explained by the instruction by the country's leadership, Ramzan Kadyrov has stated. He denied that the border changes are due to his "good appetite."

During their raid in the Chechen village of Tsotsi-Yurt, gas inspectors disconnected several private houses, local residents have reported. The gas specialists explained their raids by checking the safety and detection of possible gas thefts. The disconnections occurred amid the resonance around an attempt to write off billion-rouble debts accumulated by residents of the republic.

The position of the head of the "Yabloko" Party in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) is contrary to the principles of the party that supported sexual minorities, said the LGBT "Solidarity" Movement from Stavropol. The party does not share Khakim Kuchmezov's homophobic statements, the press service of the "Yabloko" Party has stated.

The attack on the DPS (road-and-patrol) post in Nalchik, in which four attackers were killed and a policeman heavily wounded, was the first armed incident this year in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) and the third one since October 2018.

Ms Thorhild Sunna Evarsdottir, the Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), has presented a list of Azerbaijani political prisoners. She intends to visit Azerbaijan and listen to the position of country's authorities on each of the 130 cases.

A policeman was stabbed in an attack on a DPS (road-and-patrol service) post in Nalchik, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reports.

The administration of the Russian President has agreed that the Hadji Murad's skull should be transferred from the Museum of Saint Petersburg to Dagestan.

The charge under the article on embezzlement filed against former Armenian MP Manvel Grigoryan does not correspond to the case materials, the defence states.

The criminal case about eight residents of Dagestan, killed in a shootout in the Gudermes District of Chechnya in October 2016, is closed. Relatives of the casualties demanded to investigate the case, but they stopped it anyway, the "Mediazona" reports quoting Andrei Sabinin, an Agora's lawyer.

A group of Azerbaijani military servicemen has been sent to Afghanistan to participate in the "Resolute Support" Mission. Two other officers have left for Southern Sudan as observers in the UN peacemaking mission, says the website of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan.

Salamkhan Sampiev, Ruslan Esmurziev, Khusen Kitiev, Magomed Amatkhanov and Elbert Kharsiev, accused of preparing terrorist acts in Ingushetia and at the French Embassy in Moscow, have declared their innocence. According to their version, they gave confessions under torture.

In Chechnya, in 2018, 21 alleged members of the armed underground were killed, whereas in 2017 the number was 18, the republic's Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has reported, thus confirming the data of the "Caucasian Knot" on the number of militants killed and suspected of involvement in the armed underground.

A rally against the border closure at the "Ingur" checkpoint took place near the administration building of the Gali District. Residents are unhappy with the time restrictions on crossing the border with Georgia, and they are concerned about the issue of obtaining Abkhaz passports.

Agil Magerramov, Ruslan Nasirli and Salekh Rustamov told at the trial, where the case of illegal financing of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) is considered, about torture and refused from their confessions. The Prosecutor's Office took no action to check their complaints of torture, the oppositionists' advocates have reported.

The decision of the court of Grozny that obliged to write off the gas debts does not mention the sum of 9 billion roubles, said the head of Chechnya. He explained the republic's debts by two military campaigns, worn-out networks and problems with consumers' accounting; he has also called on Russian regions to solve their problems with gas debts without mentioning Chechnya.

A homosexual from Chechnya, who left Russia after detention, told the "Caucasian Knot" how people with non-traditional sexual orientation live in the republic, and what the fate of his acquaintances from the LGBT community was after the start of mass raids on gays. According to the man, he managed to avoid torture, but his close friend was cruelly tortured by law enforcers, and his three familiar men were killed.

The Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has eloquently commented on his third meeting with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev. The society is insufficiently informed about his actions in the Karabakh settlement, the opposition asserts.

The North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) is strengthening cooperation with Georgia in the Black Sea. The next exercises will be held in March with participation of military servicemen from 17 countries, the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, announced at his meeting with the Georgian President, Salome Zurabishvili.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has issued its judgments on 20 disappearances of residents of Chechnya and Ingushetia in 2002-2005 and obliged the Russian authorities to pay compensations to their relatives. The total amount of compensations exceeds 1.6 million euros, says the website of the project "Legal Initiative".