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Alexei Mandrigelya, an activist from Krasnodar, accused of publicly demonstrating Nazi symbols by placing in a social network a photo collage depicting Vladimir Putin against the swastika, was sentenced to ten days of arrest.

Today, the initiative group of Eduard Kokoity has appealed to the Supreme Court (SC) with a complaint about the refusal to register Kokoity as a presidential candidate, a source from the Kokoity's electoral office told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In January, the website “Mashable.com” published, in the article "Peoples of the Russian Empire", some photos from the stock of the library of the US Congress, including a portrait of an "Afro-Abkhazian" – a man in a beshmet and a fur hat with a naked dagger, having Negroid facial features. According to the article, these photos are from the collection of the American writer and traveller George Kennan, made in the 1870-1880s.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has recognized transfer of convicts to penal colonies located far away from their home as violation of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Among others, family members of Ali Khadjiev, sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment, who is serving his sentence at the Blagoveschensk penal colony of the Amur Region, have also filed a complaint to the ECtHR.

Today, during the debate of the parties in the case on hostage taking at the Dubrovka Theatre Centre in 2002, the public prosecutor has requested the court to sentence defendant Khasan Zakaev to 23 years of imprisonment in a high-security penal colony. The public prosecutor has also requested the court to satisfy all civil claims filed by the victims.

The head of the Jalilabad District of Azerbaijan has filed a lawsuit on defamation against journalist Afghan Sadygov, already sentenced for disorderly conduct. This was reported by advocate Elchin Sadygov.

Beslan Basnukaev, a 42-year-old resident of the village of Aslambek-Sheripovo of the mountainous Shatoi District, disappeared when he left for Grozny in the evening of March 7. This was reported by a relative of the man.

On March 8, the Anti-Discrimination Centre (ADC) "Memorial" launched the "All Jobs for All Women" campaign to abolish lists of works and occupations prohibited for women. In some regions of Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, employment opportunities for women are severely limited. This was told by Stephaniya Kulaeva, the leader of the ADC "Memorial", to the "Caucasian Knot".

The petition to rename Ingushetia into Alania has caused an increase of tension in the society of North Ossetia, said the experts, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The searches of the house of Isa Tsechoev and cars of Khamzat Chumakov's relatives are attempts to intimidate these authoritative religious figures, said the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

A demand to the authorities to fully rehabilitate Balkars, including a transfer of four villages under the jurisdiction of Balkar districts and the return of historical names to a number of villages, was voiced out by the participants of the rally in Nalchik, dedicated to the 73rd anniversary of the violent eviction of Balkars.

Today, on March 8, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" has issued a statement with comments on the recent releases of the women from the list of political prisoners compiled by the HRC. In particular, rights defenders have supported the pardoning of the resident of Sochi Oksana Sevastidi.

In Georgia, women face obstacles in career growth. This opinion was voiced by female participants of the action "Break the glass ceiling", held today in Tbilisi.

In the evening of March 7, before leaving for Turkey from the Heydar Aliev Airport in Baku, Mekhriban Vezir, the leader of the Centre for Political Culture of Azerbaijani Women, was detained when she was passing the border control. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by the activist herself.

On March 6, in the Krasnodar residential district of Hydraulic Engineers, a dry cane caught fire on the territory of the Pavlovsky flooded area in the floodplain zone of the KubanRiver. The major part of the territory is supposed to be allocated for construction of multi-storey buildings, the "Ecological Watch on Northern Caucasus" (EcoWatch) reports.

The Khasavyurt City Court has sentenced Magomedrasul Magomedov, a brother of advocate Sapiyat Magomedova, to four years of conditional imprisonment on the charge of committing a rape. The advocate has announced her intention to appeal against the verdict and to file complaint against the judge and the investigator in charge for the case.

The North-Caucasian District Military Court considers a case against Arthur Panov, a 19-year-old resident of the town of Krasnodon of the Lugansk Region of Ukraine, and Maxim Smyshlyaev, a resident of Rostov, accused of plotting a terror act. At the trial, Arthur Panov has admitted his guilt in manufacturing and storing of an explosive device and, in part, in plotting of a terror act.

Today, seven employees of the local department of the Russian Penitentiary Service (known as the UFSIN) has stated their non-involvement in the death of the inmate Dmitri Batyrev.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg has indefinitely postponed the enforcement of the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) of Georgia on the case of the “Rustavi-2” TV Company, and started considering its claim.

The successors of the Avetisyan family have repeatedly sent a complaint to the Court of Cassation demanding a new trial in the case on the family massacre in Gyumri. Their advocate Aramazd Kiviryan has stated that the court refuses to consider the successors’ complaint for far-fetched reasons.