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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.

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.