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The departure of the former federal judge, Saidi Yangulbaev, and his daughter Aliya from Russia was caused by the threats voiced out by Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, Natalya Kurekina, the press secretary of the "Committee against Torture" (CaT)*, has stated.

The health condition of the Azerbaijani journalist, Polad Aslanov, who has been on a hunger strike for 18 days, demanding a revision of his case, has sharply worsened, his wife has informed.

The head of Chechnya has accused the family of the human rights defender, Abubakar Yangulbaev, of organizing an attack on a former Chechen law enforcer in Turkey and calling for terrorism; in his turn, Abubakar has asked the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) to check Kadyrov's threats for extremism.

Ilham Gussein, a member of the Presidium of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), was summoned to the Azeri General Prosecutor's Office (GPO), where he was issued a verbal warning in connection with his publication on the Facebook. The PFPA treats it as pressure on the activist and on the party as a whole.

The authorities of Chechnya have made kidnappings of the relatives of their opponents a constant practice, but the abduction of Zarema Yangulbaeva is something special, since she is the wife of a retired judge. Federal authorities must interfere, the human rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

Most likely, law enforcers from Nizhny Novgorod had known about the pre-planned abduction of Zarema Yangulbaeva by Chechen policemen, but they didn't dare to oppose them, since law enforcers in Chechnya, while bypassing Russian laws, obey directly the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, and not the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the human rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have noted.

Vladislav Kramskoy, a journalist, has stated that he was beaten up by law enforcers after he asked them to show their IDs and introduce themselves. As a result, he not only received traumas, but a protocol was drawn up against him for disobeying a law enforcer's lawful demand.

German authorities have extradited to Russia Osman Makhachev, who worked as an adviser to the former head of Dagestan, Ramazan Abdulatipov, and now is accused under the case of a large bribe.

When considering Polad Aslanov's case at the Supreme Court (SC), the Azeri General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) may advocate for a mitigation of his punishment, but one should not expect the Polad's acquittal, the human rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

Teya Tsulukiani, the Georgian Minister of Culture, is firing employees of her subordinate entities who have expressed dissatisfaction with her policies, protesters in Tbilisi have stated, adding that nearly 1500 people signed the petition demanding Tsulukiani's resignation.

In the video clips released by Chechen authorities, Zarema Yangulbaeva, the mother of Abubakar Yangulbaev, a lawyer from the North-Caucasian branch of the "Committee against Torture" (CaT), states that she is being treated well and provided with insulin injections and other necessary medicines.

The head of Chechnya has confirmed that Zarema Yangulbaeva had been taken to Grozny and stated that the woman had already "earned an article for herself." The Yangulbaevs are waiting for a place "in prison or in the ground," Kadyrov has threatened.

Eldar Gasanov, the former Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Serbia, has been sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment on the charge of committing economic crimes, and the court has also ruled to confiscate the defendant’s property. Eldar Gasanov pleads not guilty.

After the information about the state contract for the procurement of a car by the authorities of North Ossetia for 9 million roubles at the expense of budget funds was released, Instagram users reminded the authorities of the republic of the social problems that have accumulated in North Ossetia.

Public apologies made en mass have led to the fact that remorse has become insincere and is perceived as a tribute to fashion. This was noted by experts interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot”.

After a complaint about the kidnapping of Zarema Yangulbaeva, the police arrived only several hours later, and the prosecutor’s office of the Nizhny Novgorod Region refused to accept the complaint, said Sergey Babinets, a lawyer of the “Committee against Torture”, and advocate Natalia Dobronravova. According to them, the whereabouts of Zarema Yangulbaeva is still unknown.

Authorities of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) have decided to involve students and teachers of medical educational establishments in the fight against the new coronavirus wave. However, some Instagram users have suggested that students had been on distance learning for a long time, and they lack medical knowledge for the mission.

Russian authorities should intervene in the situation with the abduction of the mother of human rights defender, Abubakar Yangulbaev; this abduction continued the trend pursued by Chechen leadership of putting pressure on its opponents, the human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) has stated.

In Tbilisi, the striking employees of the Social Security Agency demand a meeting with Irakli Garibashvili, the country's Premier, to discuss the issue of raising their salaries.

Polad Aslanov, a journalist, has reported his complaints about the physical and psychological pressure in the colony to an employee of the Internal Investigation Department of the Penitentiary Service under the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of Azerbaijan, who visited him in custody, Polad's wife said.