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Ramzan Kadyrov has promised to help in checking the reports on oppressions of homosexuals in Chechnya, noting that "there had never been any gays among Chechens." He was opposed by a gay, who had left Chechnya and stated regular raids on the LGBT community in Chechnya.

Fourteen activists of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) have lost their jobs after the taking part in the oppositional rally on April 8 in Baku. Four other party members said that they had been dismissed after their participation in the rally against amendments to the Constitution, which took place on September 17, 2016. Only one oppositionist has managed to be reinstated at work through the court.

The advocate Nadezhda Ermolaeva has sent a cassation appeal against the verdict to Zhalaudi Geriev, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, to the Supreme Court (SC) of Russia. She insists that the SC should remove the violations committed by Chechen courts and return the case to the first-instance court.

Georgy Sveshnikov, a Sochi pupil, has stated that law enforcers took him away from lessons and beat him up, forcing to confess. He has demanded from the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) to find and punish those guilty.

The Khasavyurt City Court found Arsen Guseinov guilty of complicity with and financing a group of militants and sentenced him to 13.5 years in a high-security colony.

A case of disorderly conduct has been instituted against Ziya Asadli, a correspondent of the newspaper "Azadliq". Meanwhile, he himself appealed to the law enforcement agencies and filed a complaint about an attack on him. Ziya Asadli treats the criminal case instituted against him as a revenge of law enforcers for his report on protests of residents of the Neftchala District of Azerbaijan.

The law enforcement agencies will not check the statement of the Dagestani leader that he gave a bribe, since in Dagestan, the law acts selectively. This was declared by lawyers. The ratings of Ramazan Abdulatipov are unlikely to fall down, since his possible dismissal depends not on voters, but on his loyalty to the Kremlin, note local journalists.

The North-Caucasian District Military Court has found Abdurakhman Usmanov, a resident of Dagestan, guilty of involvement in the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS) banned in Russia.

Vladimir Putin's meeting with Anatoly Bibilov on May 2 in Sochi is a violation of the international law, said David Zalkaliani, Deputy Head of the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

Andrei Sabinin, an advocate, has filed a complaint against the investigator, who is dealing with the attack on journalists and rights defenders, committed on the Chechen-Ingush border in March 2016. According to Andrei, until now, he had no chance to study the case materials.

The North-Caucasian District Military Court has upheld the verdict passed by the Armenian court, which had convicted Valery Permyakov to life imprisonment for killing a family in Gyumri. According to the Russian court, the convict must serve his sentence in Russia.

A month after the publication by the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" of an article about a "prison" for gays, the chief of the Argun police showed journalists of the "Life" the building, which was discussed in the article. At present, the building looks abandoned. Meanwhile, not all of its territory was shown in photographs and videos.

Elkhan Nuriev, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), who worked as a driver, said that his bosses forced him to resign. He is fifth member of the party, who lost his job after the April oppositional rally.

The Azerbaijani authorities should carry out complete and transparent investigation into the circumstances of the death of activist Mekhman Galandarov. This was stated by the US Department of State. The leader of the public alliance "Azerbaijan without Political Prisoners" believes that the statement voiced by the US Department of State indicates a doubt in the version about the suicide of the oppositionist.

The team of the Azerbaijani website "Meydan TV" and Zaruhi Mejlumyan, a journalist of the Armenian edition "Hetq.am", have been granted the Free Media Awards in the sphere of freedom of speech.

Said Suleimanov, the head of the Kuli District of Dagestan, suspected of abuse of authority and forgery in acquisition of housing for orphans, pleads not guilty. He intends to appeal against the initiation of the criminal case against him.

In April-early May, the Environmental Protection Prosecutor's Office discovered 68 dead dolphins in the Black Sea off the coast of Novorossiysk.

According to sports commentators, Azerbaijan attaches great importance to its participation in the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games and expects to take the first place in the unofficial team scoring. Political analyst Khikmet Khadjizade has noted that Baku officials intend to conduct the Islamic Solidarity Games for political goals.

The practice of public humiliation of residents of Chechnya for criticizing Kadyrov will cease after the Kremlin's interference, but now, the federal centre ignores the problem. This was stated by Mikhail Roschin and Alexei Malashenko, experts on the Caucasus. Valery Borschov, a rights defender, believes that the situation will change only after the change of power in the republic.

A collective letter with a request to influence the situation with the persecution of gays in Chechnya was sent to Sergey Lavrov, the Russia's Foreign Minister, by his colleagues from Great Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands, France and Germany.