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On June 26, Tbilisi held the conference devoted to the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Lawyers and politicians have discussed measures to prevent torture in places of detention. The participants of the conference have noted that the country has succeeded in that direction.

In Rostov-on-Don, the North-Caucasian District Military Court held the pleadings at the trial in the case against Said Amirov, Mayor of Makhachkala, temporary dismissed from office, and Yusup Djaparov, former Deputy Mayor of Kaspiysk. The defence has claimed the criminal case had been fabricated and asked the Court to acquit the defendants.

Human rights defenders applaud the resumption of the activities of PACE Rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan. However, they believe that Spanish MP Pedro Agramunt, who has been appointed to the position of PACE Rapporteur, is not the best candidate. The human rights defenders declare his loyalty to the authorities of Azerbaijan. In the current situation, Pedro Agramunt is unlikely to mitigate the acute problem of political prisoners. This opinion was expressed by the human rights defenders questioned by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Promising rewards for information about crimes is a usual practice of law enforcement bodies; however, in realities of Chechnya such initiatives may provoke false denunciations, extrajudicial executions and torture, the rights defenders questioned by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent believe.

Ruslan Izrailov, born in 1976, a resident of the settlement of Mirny, Stavropol Territory, was kidnapped today in the morning by unidentified masked men in the vicinity of Kislovodsk, said his wife. His wife associates the kidnapping with the repressions against Islam believers in the district.

Gadjimurad Izmailov, a lawyer from the Bar Association "Kavkaz" says that from the moment he entered the case as a defender of two suspects of committing a terror act near the GIBDD (traffic police) building Pyatigorsk on December 27, 2013, he cannot meet his clients.

Mikhail Stolyarov, the temporarily dismissed Mayor of Astrakhan, accused of receiving a large bribe, was placed into a prison hospital. The today's court session on his case has been postponed, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports from the courtroom.

Russian figures of culture and pop art and show business stars ask not to cancel the North-Caucasian Festival of Ethnic Music WOMAD. The authors of the appeal find it strange that the decisions that affect the peoples' cultural dialogue "are based on personal political estimates."

Inspectors believe that the murder of Akhtubek Malaev, a teacher from the village of Shauri, Tsuntin District of Dagestan, was committed by the militants of the grouping that acted in the district. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by a source from the Investigating Department for Dagestan of Russia's Investigating Committee.

This morning, during the special operation conducted in Derbent, a man, who was hiding in a cordoned off house, was killed. One more special operation, during which a man was killed, was conducted in Makhachkala.

In Rostov-on-Don, at the North-Caucasian District Military Court, a prosecutor has delivered his speech at the trial on the case against Said Amirov, Mayor of Makhachkala, temporary dismissed from office and accused of plotting a terror act. The prosecutor asked the Court to sentence Said Amirov to 13 years of imprisonment to be served in a high-security penal colony.

In the Rostov Region, Rodion Chepel, a correspondent of the "Dozhd" TV Channel, was detained. This was reported by Pavel Lobkov, a news presenter of the "Dozhd" TV Channel, during an on air news programme broadcasted in the evening of June 25.

Russia has deployed in its territory 262 temporary accommodation centres (TACs) for refugees from Ukraine. And at present, the TACs accommodate about 25,000 people. This was reported by Olga Golodets, Russian Deputy Prime Minister, at the meeting of the Russian President with the Cabinet of Ministers held on June 25. Most of the refugee camps and TACs are located in the regions of southern Russia.

The Investigating Department of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) for Dagestan has not yet reopened the investigation into the case against policemen, accused of beating Sapiyat Magomedova, an advocate from Khasavyurt. However, more than two months passed since the date, when the court had pronounced the relevant decision.

On June 20, residents of the Sagarejo District located in the eastern part of Georgia held an action to protest against operations for oil production near a source of drinking water. According to the protesters, in the case if the Polish company conducts blasting operations, the population of the Sagarejo District will be deprived of drinking water supply.

Today, a court in Yerevan that is considering the case of Shant Arutyunyan, the leader of the "Tsegakron" Party, and other participants of the "Million Mask March" on November 5, 2013, accused of hooliganism, has decided to leave Tigran Petrosyan, one of the defendants, in custody, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The refugees from Ukraine who arrived in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) report that local residents and authorities render them all the necessary assistance and create comfortable living conditions.

In Makhachkala, combat engineers have defused an explosive device that was planted near a house of a local resident engaged in the production of fodder for livestock. This was reported by an official of the Operational Headquarters.

Anatoly Bibilov, the speaker of the South-Ossetian Parliament said that after the final formation of the legislative body, the MPs will start preparing a referendum on the accession to Russia.

In Armenia, the Ombudsman demands from the police to explain the fact of clash between law enforcers and activists during a protest action against rise in prices for electricity. The Ombudsman has called the police actions unprofessional. This was reported by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.