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The criminal case against the lawyer Murad Musaev, who was accused of bribing witnesses in the murder case of the former Colonel Yuri Budanov, was stopped due to the lapse of time, said the press secretary of the Preobrazhensky Court of Moscow.

Today, the Nasimi District Court of Baku has considered the presentation of the Investigating Department for Grave Crimes of the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Azerbaijan asking to extend the arrest of the rights defender Leyla Yunus by five months, her advocate Elchin Gambarov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Members of four large families of Volgograd have announced their intention to start – on March 1 – a three-month-long hunger strike right in the reception office of the regional governor.

The health status of the lawyer Murad Magomedov, who was beaten up in Makhachkala, does not allow him to continue representing the interests of the defendant Magomedali Amirkhanov at the trial on the terror act committed in the house of Sheikh Said Afandi al-Chirkawi. The court did not rule out the appointment of a state advocate for Amirkhanov.

The Leninsky District Court of Grozny has satisfied the lawsuit lodged by the Prosecutor's Office of Chechnya demanding to restrict access to 85 pages of the social network "VKontakte", because they posted extremist materials and caricatures on Prophet Muhammad.

On February 17, in the central office of the "Prosperous Armenia" Party (PAP) in Yerevan, about twenty persons were detained, said the party. According to the police, the detentions followed the information about a brawl.

Over the past five years – from 2010 to early 2015 – the number of victims of the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus has declined considerably: from 1705 persons in 2010 down to 525 – in 2014. The sustainable downward trend in the count of killed and wounded in the regions of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) is illustrated in the infographics drafted by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own data and information from other open sources.

The General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Georgia has sent a petition to Ukraine for the extradition of the former president Mikhail Saakashvili, who is now employed there as an adviser to the Ukrainian President. However, the Ukrainian party refuses to cooperate on the matter, said the GPO.

Several activists of the "Prosperous Armenia" Party were detained in Yerevan on February 16. The party issued a statement accusing authorities of exerting pressure.

The existing mechanism for unscheduled checks of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by the Prosecutor's Office is contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation and must be changed. This is the verdict of the Russian Constitutional Court (CC) passed on the complaint of human rights organizations, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" among them.

A petition for conditional early relief (CER) of the convicted ecologist from Krasnodar Evgeny Vitishko has been sent to the court. On February 18, the anniversary of Vitishko's convoying to the colony, rights defenders decided to demonstrate their solidarity with him.

On February 16, Angelo Gnaedinger, the co-chairman of the Geneva discussions from the OSCE, met relatives of citizens of South Ossetia, who were for three weeks on the indefinite hunger strike at the Gldani prison in Georgia.

Last night, in Nazran, the house of Magomed Khazbiev, an Ingush opposition activist, was attacked by unidentified gunmen. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Leila, the wife of Magomed Khazbiev.

In Ingushetia, the Prosecutor's Office has started verifying the complaint filed by human rights defender Magomed Mutsolgov, who asked to check the information about torture of Khadishat Albakova, a local resident.

The border between Russia and Abkhazia is to be abolished on the basis of the agreement on the alliance and strategic partnership between the two countries. This was stated by Vladislav Surkov, Russian presidential aide.

Advocates of Derbent residents Gamlet Kelbisov and Rustam Gabibov, arrested on suspicion of murder, have appealed to Ella Pamfilova, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation. In their appeal, the advocates have asked Ella Pamfilova for assistance in finding their clients and restoring their right for defence.

There are no signs that militants of Northern Caucasus decide to tighten their tactics after the act of suicide bombing in Chechnya and the attacks of militants on Grozny. The militants will hardly follow the tactics of the Islamic State (IS) recognized as a terrorist organization. This opinion has been expressed by experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The cadre reshuffling in the administration of Derbent indicates the strengthening of positions of Abdulatipov in Southern Dagestan; and the pressure on the city leadership will intensify, Dagestani journalists assert.

Ganipa Akaev, a resident of Dagestan, has reported that he was beaten up and tortured in one of the Makhachkala district police stations; he has addressed his complaint to the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

Ten persons continue their hunger strike in the village of Shushiya, the Novolak District of Dagestan, with a demand to allocate land plots to local residents. One of the hunger-strikers has quitted the action because of her health problems.