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The appointment of Sergey Melikov to the post of the presidential envoy in the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) suggests that the Kremlin attaches more importance to the use of force in the region, Russian experts express their consensus opinion.

The Primorye Territorial Court of the Russian Federation has received appeal complaints from five members of the criminal grouping known as "Primorye Guerrillas" against their sentences passed in late April, Nina Bulanova, the press secretary of the court reported on May 13.

A young soldier Alexander Bochkarev, who was recruited from Bashkortostan in 2013, was killed in the city of Novocherkassk, Rostov Region. On May 12, it was reported by the Soldiers' Committee of Bashkortostan.

Today, a murder of a policeman was committed in the Nazran District of Ingushetia. This was reported by the Investigating Department (ID) for Ingushetia of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF).

In Azerbaijan, the defence lawyers of the journalist and human rights defender Parviz Gashimli have asked the court to acquit their client, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports. One of them – Elchin Sadygov – said that Gashimli "had fallen victim to intrigues within the power bodies and its policies to suppress the opposition."

In Dagestan, Gadjimurad Ibragimov, whose whereabouts was unknown since May 8, on May 10 has been set free from the police station, the lawyer Sapiyat Magomedova has reported.

Within his two-day visit to Azerbaijan, the French President Francois Hollande has discussed the human rights situation in Azerbaijan with journalists and members of public and oppositional political organizations. The activists believe that the visit of the French President may have an impact on the democratization process in Azerbaijan.

Today, policemen of Khasavyurt detained two local residents, said Aisha Selimkhanova, the spokesperson for the Dagestani Regional Public Organization "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy). A source from the Khasavyurt GOVD (City Interior Division) has confirmed that two women were taken there this morning to check documents, but later were released.

Investigators do not allow the arrested journalist Rauf Mirkadyrov to communicate with his relatives in person and by telephone, though these rights are established by the legislation, said his lawyer Fuad Agaev.

In Dagestan, the advocates of the volunteers of the Charity Fund "Be Merciful", arrested for three days for disobedience to the police, claim abuse of powers by policemen of Khasavyurt towards the girls-volunteers and their advocate Musa Abdulkadirov. They sent this information to the Prosecutor's Offices of Khasavyurt and Dagestan.

Azamat Tseboev, a resident of North Ossetia, whose relatives reported his illegal detention after expiry of his prison term, is finally at large, said the colony administration. Relatives will not challenge the decision of colony bosses to extend Azamat's term of imprisonment.

A source from the administration of Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the city authorities had resettled 60 families from an emergency multi-story building into new flats.

During the week from May 5 to May 11, 2014, at least 15 people fell victim to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus, including 11 killed and four wounded persons. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

The resolution of the State of California in support of Nagorno-Karabakh's efforts to develop as a free and independent state has a political significance, Karabakh experts assert.

On May 8, Tbilisi hosted a roundtable discussion on "Russian-Georgian Normalization: What Will Crisis in Ukraine Bring?" It was attended by about 25 experts from Russia and Georgia; the event was organized by the Russian-Georgian Public Centre.

In Volgograd, the family of Nina Chicherova, a former concentration camp prisoner, states that the ventilation extension, built under the windows of their apartment, creates undue discomfort. According to Olga Chicherova, Nina's daughter, she was repeatedly subjected to criminal prosecution because of her hampering the construction works.

On the eve of the two-day official visit to Baku of French President Francois Hollande that starts in the evening on May 11, Azerbaijani civil society activists had urged him to raise the issues of human rights violations in his talks with the country's leadership.

An action in Yerevan to commemorate those killed in Odessa during the opposition of pro-Russian activists and supporters of the Ukrainian authorities gathered about 20 people. The event was held on May 10 near the Ukrainian Embassy in Armenia. Its participants came with posters calling to stop fascism.

The Movement "Russians of Astrakhan" has held a series of pickets against Article 282 of the Russia's Criminal Code (incitement of hatred or enmity and humiliation of human dignity), the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Sergey Zaplavnov, an activist of the Volgograd regional branch of the unregistered party "The Other Russia", was detained by Ukrainian border guards, says the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU). The spokesman of "The Other Russia" fears that Sergey Zaplavnov may have been tortured.