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The Apsheron District Court of Azerbaijan has begun hearing the case of journalist Seimur Khazi, accused in hooliganism. During the court session, Khazi denied the charges and called them politically motivated. Magerram Gasanov, who is in the prisoner's dock together with the journalist, has refused to testify.

2013, were found guilty by the Dzerzhinsky District Court and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 years and 10 months to 19 years in a high security colony.

One of the militants killed on December 4 in Grozny turned to be the 26-year-old Anzor Taramov, a resident of the Achkhoi-Martan District of Chechnya, said a law enforcement source. However, back in September 2011, law enforcers already reported that Taramov was killed in Grozny at rendering armed resistance.

According to the non-governmental organization named "Freedom House" (FH), Georgia has the highest level of freedom on the Internet among the countries of Southern Caucasus. Armenia is a bit behind Georgia, while Azerbaijan is a country with "partially free Internet."

As reported by the Prosecutor's Office of Chechnya, law enforcers have suspected Beslan Tsintsalashvili, a 25-year-old citizen of Georgia, of persuading two residents of Chechnya to join the terrorist grouping named "Islamic State" (IS).

A court in Lithuania has sentenced Degi Dudaev, a son of the former leader of the self-proclaimed Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Johar Dudaev, to a fine of 940 euros. The defendant was found guilty of forging documents as a member of an organized group.

As a result of the checks of documents conducted by policemen yesterday near the Salafi mosque in Makhachkala, none of the parishioners was detained. The checks were not part of any operative measures, said a source from the Kirov ROVD (District Interior Division) of the city.

Murtazali Shamilov, a resident of the Dagestani settlement of Vremenny, who was detained by power agents on September 18 during a special operation conducted in the settlement, has returned home. The fate of another detainee, Sultanbeg Khapizov, remains unknown.

On Thursday, a special operation conducted in Grozny resulted in the killing of 10 members of the armed underground, reports the Russia's National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC).

The large militants' attack undertaken last night on law enforcers in Grozny, during which, according to latest figures, 19 people were killed and 28 others wounded, was the fifth attack on dwelling settlements of Northern Caucasus and since 2004, the second one on the capital of Chechnya.

Under the rubbles of the House of Press in Grozny, where militants were hiding, the body of a civilian was found, said the spokesman of the Operative Headquarters for Liquidation of IAF members.

The Adler District Court has considered the application lodged by Saveliev family, who asked them to suspend their eviction from the barns at 5/1 Akatsij Street. The court decided to reject the appeal.

The attack on Grozny could be the implementation of the threats announced by the leaders of the "Islamic State" (IS) to the leadership of Chechnya, said Alexei Malashenko, a political analyst and a member of the Scientific Council of the Moscow Carnegie Centre.

The attack on Grozny could be the implementation of the threats announced by the leaders of the "Islamic State" (IS) to the leadership of Chechnya, said Alexei Malashenko, a political analyst and a member of the Scientific Council of the Moscow Carnegie Centre.

The today's armed clashes in Grozny became the third major action of the armed underground in Chechnya after the terror act in October and blow up of an infantry combat vehicle (known as BMP) in April.

The increase of optimism in Russians towards the situation in Northern Caucasus continues; and the overwhelming majority of Russian citizens reject the idea of separatism – these are the outcomes of the latest polling conducted by the "Levada Centre".

The Penitentiary Service of Azerbaijan has refuted the statement of the arrested rights defender Leyla Yunus that she is exposed to physical and moral pressure at the Baku SIZO (pre-trial prison). The release of the Service reports that Leyla was reprimanded for unethical behaviour in relation to medics.

The France's "Europe Ecology-Green" Party has demanded from the Russian authorities to stop pressure on activists of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus" (EcoWatch) and review the court's decision in the case against ecologist Evgeny Vitishko.

Said Mazhaev, a resident of Grozny, sentenced to two years of imprisonment for involvement in the warfare in Syria, who is being kept at the SIZO (pre-trial prison), has reported that he is to be transferred to a penal colony, although the appeal against the sentence has not yet been considered.

In the settlement of Vremenny, the Commission to assess damage inflicted by the regime of counterterrorist operation (CTO) has found 42 houses unfit for habitation. 18 houses were completely destroyed during the CTO, and 24 houses with yards were recognized to be demolished.