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Today, about three thousand residents of the Magaramkent District of Dagestan have broken the police cordon and stopped the construction of a water intake near the village of Azadogly, which, according to villagers, threatens the ecology of the unique Samur forest, said Magomedanifa Beibutov, a Deputy of the District Assembly.

In 2013, the Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan sent to the court 38 criminal cases of frauds with the maternity capital, says the website of the Office. According to prosecutors, the women forged documents about the birth of their children in order to receive state certificates giving the right to receive maternity capital.

The lawyer Sapiyat Magomedova, who is defending the interests of the suffered party in the murder case of Gamzatovs in Kizlyar, states another attempt to influence the witnesses and the Gamzatov family. This time, she said, pressure is exerted by the gas company, which has stopped supplying gas to their house and the shopping centre "Planet Lux".

In the village of Tanusi, Khunzakh District of Dagestan, Shamil and Magomedsaigid Khatipov, pupils of the eighth and ninth grades, respectively, saved a six-year-old boy from drowning in an icy lake, the Republic's Department of the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) of the Russian Federation has reported.

Mansur Adjigisiev, a resident of the village of Kangly, Mineralovodsky District of the Stavropol Territory, detained on suspicion of illegal possession of firearms and treated under arrest at the city hospital of Georgievsk, needs a qualified care of gastroenterologists; however, law enforcers deny his transfer to a specialized clinic. This was stated by his wife Sofia Adjigisieva, who has turned to human rights defenders.

Russia has fulfilled all its commitments to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the organization of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. This was stated on December 23 by Vitaly Mutko, the head of the Russian Ministry of Sports.

Residents of Taganrog held a rally to protest against the existence in the city centre of the temple complex of the religious association of the Church of Jesus of Latter-Day Saints in Russia, parishioners of which are called Mormons. The protest action was held on December 21; and according to various sources, it was attended by 30-80 persons.

On December 25, the City Court of Tskhinvali will hold a session to define the legality of the unauthorized occupation of people in need of better housing of apartments in new houses.

On December 23, the Soviet Court of Makhachkala granted the lawsuit filed by Khabib Budaikhanov, a resident of the city of Khasavyurt, Dagestan, whose verdict was cancelled five years after announcement, and ruled to compensate his moral harm in the amount of 250,000 roubles.

During 2013, the law enforcement bodies of Dagestan took a number of repressive actions, which heightened the tensions and increased the level of discontent from the part of strictly practicing Muslims. These actions included mass detentions of Muslims for document check, taking their DNA assays, check and closing Muslim cafes, kindergartens, schools, and restricting access to mosques. The "Caucasian Knot" acquaints its readers with the chronicle of events.

On December 22, about forty persons, including public figures, human rights defenders and intellectuals, came to the library named after Dostoevsky in Moscow to meet the authors of the book "Nobody But Me" dedicated to the deceased advocate Stanislav Markelov.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has refused to go to the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, the German magazine Focus reported on Sunday, citing its sources in government circles. The German delegation will be headed by Thomas de Maiziere, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, says the magazine.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of "Yukos", recently released from colony, has stated that Russia's territorial integrity is a priority and it is necessary to prevent separation of the North-Caucasian regions from the rest of the country. While in prison, he was recognized by human rights activists to be a political prisoner.

Today, at a session of the National Assembly, the parliamentary majority has voted for the ratification of the gas agreements with Russia. The oppositional MPs did not vote and left the hall in protest.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has stated that Russian authorities should immediately stop their pressure on the activists of the movement for Circassians' rights, who criticize the preparations for the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

The Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan has reported today that Sultanat Krymova, a local resident, was sentenced by the Kaspiisk City Court to two years of colony-settlement for possessing the so-called "suicide bomber's (shahid's) belt".

Last night, a Nigerian citizen, who studies at one of the higher educational institutions of Volgograd, got a knife wound. This was reported by a source from the law enforcement bodies of the region.

Staff members of the Dagestani secret services have resolved the murder of Gadji Aliev, Imam of the village mosque in Dagestan, committed a year ago. This was reported by an official from the law enforcement bodies of the republic.

On December 20, a 23-year-old resident of Chelyabinsk, who was called for military service in this November, escaped from the military unit of Vladikavkaz, claiming moral humiliation and abuse occurring there. This was reported on December 22 by Valeria Prikhodkina, Principal of the Chelyabinsk "Schools of Conscript", who referred to the soldier's sister.

During the week of December 16-December 22, 2013, at least 25 persons suffered in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. Of them, 11 persons were killed, and 14 persons were wounded. These are the results of calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.