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A story of Chechen native Khasdin Murtazaliev, who succeeded in seeking prosecution of warders who beat him, shows that prisoners from the Caucasus should more actively defend their rights, human rights defenders note.

Following the results of 2019, Georgia lost three places in the Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International (TI). Despite the above fact, Georgia is ahead of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia.

Law enforcers, public officers, and a theologian held a "preventive conversation" with young residents of Chechnya detained "for digressing from the norms of traditional Islam." Residents of the region claim a new campaign by the authorities to combat dissent.

Ilkin Suleimanov, accused of kidnapping and killing a ten-year-old girl from a village of the Tovuz District in Azerbaijan, said that he had confessed to the crime under torture. His advocate also claimed procedural violations. A father of the killed girl says he knows the family of the accused man very well and they never had any conflicts.

The authorities of Dagestan should break the silence on the issue of determining the borders with Chechnya in order to prevent conflicts over disputed territories, journalists believe. Backstage meetings between representatives of Chechnya and Dagestan on the issue are possible, but in general, the process of demarcation of borders should be made transparent, political analysts note.

A preparatory court hearing in a case against Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov is scheduled for February 3. The journalist denies charges of high treason and threat of murder and will seek the acquittal, an advocate reports.

A court in Moscow has ruled to fine Jan Rachinsky, the head of the board of the “International Memorial”, by 100,000 roubles, for the absence of the marking of “foreign agent” in the organization’s website.

The online Azerbaijani edition “Criminal.az” was subjected to a cyber attack, which resulted in the deletion of more than 400 articles. On January 23, Anar Mamedov, its editor-in-chief, called on law enforcers to investigate the hacking of the website and punish those responsible.

In total, 45 drawings were sent to the contest held in support of Ingush political prisoners; the authors of four of them were announced winners.

The court has sentenced Magomed Ozdoev, a participant of the rally in Magas, to a year and four months in colony. Ozdoev will be set free in late February, said his advocate.

Khasdin Murtazaliev, a resident of Chechnya, reported that a beating in a penal colony in 2016 deteriorated his health. After the sentence is pronounced, all three warders accused of beating will be sued in order to recover compensation from the state, an advocate of Khasdin Murtazaliev reports.

The FSB Department for Dagestan reported the detention of supporters of the "At-Takfir Val-Hijra" extremist organization banned in Russia.

In Georgia, the failure of the constitutional amendment to hold parliamentary elections and the persecution of protesters adversely affect the country's image, the US Congress notes. The congressmen's appeal will affect the electoral sympathies of Georgian voters, political analysts suggest.

A video showing how shoe covers were sold to visitors of a hospital in Gudermes was the reason for the inspection from the Prosecutor's Office. Instagram users note that other medical institutions of the republic have similar practices.

Djambulat Umarov, Chechen Minister of National Policy, called a "fake" a complaint filed by Aminat Lorsanova who claimed that a specialist in "expelling genies" had beaten her in the presence of her relatives. The traditional Islamic medicine does not provide for such treatments, Djambulat Umarov notes.

In Georgia, there is an informal hierarchy among prisoners in penal colonies, and because of the above fact the prisoners who are not "crime bosses" are forced to endure oppression, claims Ombudsperson Nino Lomdjariya. "Crime bosses" take money from other prisoners and forbid them to complain about problems in a prison, explain activists of NGOs.

In the course of the election campaign in Azerbaijan, oppositionists have faced administrative resources, which casts doubt on the democratic nature of the elections, the NGO “Institute for Democratic Initiatives” has stated. The elections are held according to the scenario common for the authorities, journalists have noted.

Ramzan Kadyrov sets up an Advisory Council aiming to strengthen his power in Chechnya, local residents assert. Kadyrov’s idea came up with the decision of Vladimir Putin to strengthen the status of the Russia’s State Council, political analysts have noted.

In Russian jails, they are biased towards natives of the Caucasus, residents of Chechnya have noted after posting the video with the beating of the prisoner Khasdin Murtazaliev. The video refutes the recent Ramzan Kadyrov’s statement about the respectful attitude to Chechens in jails, the blogger, Tumso Abdurakhmanov, has noted.

Rights defenders are wary about the bill that allows the Armenian police to tap citizens' phone calls.