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Azerbaijan's membership in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) may be suspended, as the country's authorities have failed to fulfil the organization's demand to abolish the state registration of foreign donors and grant agreements, said activists of the NGO Council on increasing transparency in extractive industries.

The human rights organization "Committee for the Prevention of Torture" (CPT) has received the Homo Homini Award for 2016, awarded for one’s significant contribution to the protection of human rights.

The defence of Oksana Sevastidi, a resident of Sochi, convicted on a charge of treason and pardoned today by President of Russia, insists on her complete innocence and will seek a review of the sentence, her advocate Evgeny Smirnov has stated.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on pardoning Oksana Sevastidi, a resident of Sochi, who was sentenced in 2016 on the charge of high treason for sending an SMS to Georgia concerning transportation of military vehicles.

In Rostov-on-Don, at the first court hearing in the case of an attack on soldiers in 2000 in the Argun Gorge, Ayub Tuntuev, a former agent of the security service of the Chechen president, pleaded not guilty. According to the defendant, the case against him was fabricated.

In Rostov-on-Don, at the trial in the case against Abdurakhman Usmanov charged with aiding and abetting militants in Syria, the native of Dagestan has claimed that after his detention he was subjected to torture with water and electric current. He signed a number of protocols included in the case after he could not stand the pain. This was reported by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent from the courtroom.

On March 5, Vyacheslav Bitarov, the leader of North Ossetia, attended the rally held against the renaming of Ingushetia into Alania to prevent escalation. This was reported by the press service of the leader and the government of North Ossetia.

In Dagestan, "immoral films" should not be screened, says the appeal of Magomed Abdurakhmanov, the head of the Dagestani Committee on Freedom of Conscience and Interaction with Religious Organizations, addressed to owners of movie theatres.

Today, the “Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus” (EcoWatch) has reported a receipt of another set of protocols from the Roskomnadzor, stating that the organization had violated the article of the law on the activities of the so-called “foreign agents”. The label of a foreign agent was absent in the press release of the EcoWatch, dedicated to the death of Alexei Yablokov, one of the founders of the Russian national environment-defence movement.

After his release, Arthur Sargsyan, who had been accused of helping members of the "Sasna Tsrer" detachment, was brought to the Yerevan medical centre because of his poor health condition, said his advocate Tigran Egoryan.

Victims of the hostage-taking in the Dubrovka Theatrical Centre have put forward about 20 lawsuits seeking compensation from Khasan Zakaev, said Karinna Moskalenko, the victims’ advocate.

The Naur District of Chechnya hosted the ceremony of consecration of the OrthodoxTemple of the Nativity, the second largest church, designed for 350 parishioners.

Draft amendments to the Laws "On Information, Informatization, and Information Protection" and "On Telecommunications" have been included into the agenda of the plenary session of the National Assembly to be held on March 7. Civil society activists treat the proposed innovations as restrictions on the freedom of the Internet.

As a result of a joint operation, the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) have neutralized an inactive unit affiliated with the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS) banned in Russia. The inactive unit involved four people, one of whom was killed in Derbent and three others were detained. This was reported by the National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC).

During the week of February 27-March 5, 2017, at least two persons were killed in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. No wounded were reported. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

In the evening of March 5, Vladikavkaz residents gathered at the square near the statue of Lenin. They were protesting against the initiative to rename Ingushetia to Alania, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The Azerbaijani Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) has condemned the verdict of guilty pronounced by the Baku Court against blogger Mekhman Guseinov, Chairman of the IRFS. A coalition of 24 international NGOs has also voiced support to Mekhman Guseinov.

Today, at about 6:00 p.m. Moscow time, on the road in the direction from the "Magas" Airport, law enforcers stopped three cars of escort of Khamzat Chumakov, a well-known Ingush Imam. Meanwhile, Khamzat Chumakov himself was not there.

Today, according to Imam Isa Tsechoev, agents of the FSB Department for Ingushetia has searched his house and yard located in the Ingush village of Ali-Yurt.

Today, law enforcers have reported cordoning off several houses in the area of Buynaksk Street in Derbent. The houses were cordoned off under the operation to detain members of the armed assault. This was reported by a source from the law enforcement bodies for Dagestan.