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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".

The six oppositionists, who held a hunger strike in Azerbaijani colonies, demanding to release the blogger Mekhman Guseinov and other political prisoners, have stopped their protest. They explained this decision by the closure of the case against Guseinov and the public outcry, which they managed to achieve by their hunger strike.

For the first time, Russian authorities have made use of the repressive law on "undesirable organizations" to prosecute the Rostov activist, Anastasia Shevchenko, the Amnesty International (AI) has stated. She faces up to six years in prison.

The indictment in the case of Mustafa Gadjibeili, the editor-in-chief of the oppositional website "Bastainfo.com" has been announced at a session of the Baku Court of Grave Crimes. The advocate has treated the charges as unjustified.

There are no plans to create rubrics for public apologies in Chechnya, authorities and television professionals have explained, noting that the words of Minister Djambulat Umarov were misinterpreted. This happened amid new plots with repentances.

Three minor guys, who confessed to vandalism, put in order the memorial "Memory" in the park of the Dagestan city of Kizlyar. Users of social networks have approved the public punishment of the guys, expressing regret that the video failed to show their faces.

The Speakers of the Parliaments of Chechnya and Dagestan have decided to clarify the historical boundaries of the two republics in order to enter this information into the state real estate cadastre, the authorities of the two regions have announced.

The issue of writing off Chechnya's debts for the supplied natural gas has put the Russian authorities in a difficult position; the Kremlin is at a loss, experts say.

There are no legal grounds for catching critics of the authorities and forcing them to repent, the lawyer, Evgeny Chernousov, has noted.

The journalist Afghan Mukhtarly, held in jail in Azerbaijan, reports pressure on him in the colony. He said that a provocation was being prepared against him in order to put forward new charges against him.

The court has obliged the media company to refute the data about Robert Kocharyan, containing slander and defaming his honour and dignity, and to pay over USD 800 to the second Armenian president.

In Samara, the Prosecutor's Office (PO) has demanded to treat Muslim literature, including the book with the interpretation of the Koran in the translation of the Azerbaijani religious philosopher Elmir Kuliev, as extremist materials.