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In the Salyan District of Azerbaijan, on charges of "hooliganism", Tofig Gasymov, 25, an activist of the NGO "Promoting Democracy", was sentenced to ten days of administrative arrest. Emil Mamedov, the head of the NGO, believes that the arrest was politically motivated, but local authorities, in their turn, deny any political pressure on civil society activists.

On April 7, at the Moscow City Court (MCC), the defendants in the murder case of the observer of the "Novaya Gazeta" Anna Politkovskaya refused to testify, despite the fact that earlier they promised to narrate their own version of events to the court.

The defendant Khatiz Djantemirov was beaten up in SIZO (pre-trial prison) of Cherkessk, says his advocate Vyacheslav Merzakulov. The defendant has sent his complaints to the prosecutor's office, the head of SIZO No. 1 of Cherkessk, and the head of the UFSIN (Department of the Russian Penitentiary Service) for the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR).

The Novocherkassk City Court has questioned Valentina Cherevatenko, the head of the "Don Women's Union", under the case of recognizing the Union a foreign agent. The next session is scheduled for April 16, and plans to continue interrogating the witnesses.

Local residents report about mass detentions by power agents of parishioners of the mosque situated in the Dagestani village named after Shaumyan. 131 believers were brought to the police station on April 4; and on the same day they were all released, says the head of the administration of the rural settlement.

The Ust-Djegutin District Court of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR) has sentenced two OVD (Interior Division) employees, accused of abuse of power with violence, said a source from the Supreme Court of the Republic.

On Monday, Magomed Suleimanov was officially presented as the new acting head (Mayor) of the Makhachkala administration to city activists, the Mayoralty staff and City Council Deputies. Suleimanov addressed his subordinates and promised not to make "cadre revolutions."

As reported by Dmitry Chernyshenko, the Chair of the Organizing Committee (OC) "Sochi-2014", the Winter Olympic Games of 2014 brought about 5 billion roubles of operating profit.

The woodland near the village of Yandi, Achkhoy-Martan District of Chechnya, was shelled after on April 3 an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) was blown up in the area, according to local residents. Chechen militants have claimed responsibility for the blast, but investigators believe that the mine that exploded under the vehicle could be planted long ago.

The Scientific and Production Association (SPA) "Mostovik" from the city of Omsk, one of the Olympic contractors, has filed a claim to the arbitration asking to recognize it bankrupt. The company has a complex financial situation in connection with losses on several projects, including the "Olimpstroy".

During the week from March 31 to April 6, 2014, the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus affected at least 18 people; of them, seven people were killed and 11 others wounded. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

Magomed Aliev, suspected of committing a robbery, who is kept in Makhachkala SIZO (pre-trial prison), sent an appeal to the Investigating Department (ID) for Dagestan of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), said his advocate Sapiyat Magomedova.

Robert Menendez, the Chairman of the Senate Committee for Foreign Affairs, and Senator Mark Kirk have submitted to the US Congress a draft resolution calling on the President to promote the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. The authors believe that the USA should recognize the Armenian Genocide.

In Azerbaijan, the former Public Health Minister Ali Insanov has been transferred from the SIZO (pre-trial prison) to Colony No. 13. His defence has stated that the custody conditions in the colony are poor; and it is located too far from the convict's home.

The Investigating Department for Ingushetia of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) has started an inquiry into the facts presented in the complaint lodged by relatives of Alikhan Kulbuzhev, who reported that he was tortured and brought to suicide.

In Georgia, a commission has been set up for protection of personal data; it will draft the National Strategy for protecting human rights in connection with electronic surveillance and secret investigating actions.

For seven days, from March 30 to April 5 Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire regime for about 200 times, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Nagorno-Karabakh has reported.

Despite the decision of the Constitutional Court (CC), the law "On Accumulative Pension" will remain in force until September 30 this year, state bureaucrats and members of the ruling Republican Party assert. In their turn, oppositionists believe that the CC took a too uncertain decision.

The Trade Union of the Volgograd "Khimprom" Factory has appealed to the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Russia asking to examine the activities of the shareholders and managers of the factory starting from 2007, said Nina Kulygina, the chair of the "Roskhimprofsoyuz" Association.

Three residents of the Sunzha district of Ingushetia joined the militants in Syria and are now fighting in the country, the Prosecutor's Office of Ingushetia reports.