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After the intervention of the local Prosecutor's Office, the Administration of Astrakhan has refused to sanction a rally in memory of the victims of the recent terror acts committed in Volgograd, and recalled the earlier issued sanction, said Igor Stenin, the organizer of the rally.

The refusals of the Organizing Committee (OC) "Sochi-2014" to issue fan's passports are political in nature and do not contribute to security of citizens, as politician Boris Nemtsov and political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin have stated.

The participants of the hunger strike in Volgograd state the absence of proper housing; some of them argue that they are on the waiting list for many years.

On February 16, in Sochi, activists of the movement "Law and Order" and "Yabloko" Party intend to hold a rally "against residence-based discrimination of Sochi citizens", and on environmental and socio-economic problems. On February 5, they notified the Mayor of Sochi about their intention.

The Sochi residents, who would like to welcome the Olympic Torch Relay, complain about the absence of information about the route of torchbearers. The "hotline" of "Sochi-2014" Organizing Committee (OC) answers that this information is not disclosed for security reasons.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg has finished the hearing of the case "Sargsyan versus Azerbaijan". The court decision has not been announced yet.

Anatoly Salin, an expert on legal matters of the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of the Astrakhan Region has sent an appeal to the military prosecutor of the Znamensk Garrison asking assistance in carrying out an additional expertise in connection with the death of Private Vadim Mambetov and establish the persons guilty of his death.

There is a political motive in prosecution of Rasul Kudaev, says the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", which took the decision to treat Rasul as a political prisoner.

Today, Madina Djamalutdinova, a native of Kyrgyzstan, was detained in Dagestan, said Aisha Selimkhanova, an activist of the Dagestani Regional Public Organization (DRPO) "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy), adding that the whereabouts of Djamalutdinova is unknown.

Activists of the LGBT Alliance named "Nefes" (Breath) have collected more than 200 signatures to the petition addressed to the President of Azerbaijan asking to set up a telephone "hotline" for psychological help to members of sexual minorities.

About 15 Circassian nationals living abroad have arrived in Sochi to participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. "In total, 26 Circassians from abroad will take part in the ceremony," said Anatoly Kodzokov, the head of the Department for External Relations of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University (KBSU).

In the course of a special operation, conducted in the Dagestani city of Izberbash, Mirzaev, the leader of the "Kadar" militants' grouping, was killed. According to preliminary data, he could send the suicide bombers for committing terror acts in Volgograd, said a source from the law enforcement bodies of the republic.

On February 4, Pavel Nagibin, an activist of "The Other Russia" Party from Rostov-on-Don, appealed to the court against the denial of "Sochi-2014" Organizing Committee (OC) to grant him a fan's passport that is required, along with tickets, to attend the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Contrary to the authorities of Sochi, the highway aimed to substitute the Kurortny Avenue has not been officially put into operation, said a source from the Road-Building Directorate (RBD) "Chernomorye" (Black Sea Area), a branch of the "Rosavtodor" (Russian Federal Road Agency).

On February 4, at the trial held in Sochi on the case of Mardiros Demerchyan, a builder of Olympic facilities, accused of slandering the police in his allegations of torture, the doctor Olga Krymova, a prosecution witness, was given the floor. She said that she did not sign the interrogation protocol, which had been submitted to the court, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Russian authorities have taken unprecedented measures to ensure security during the Olympic Games in Sochi; however, the terror threat has become real not only in the area of the Games, but elsewhere in Russia, says the report "Too Far, Too Fast: Sochi, Tourism and the Conflict in the Caucasus", prepared by the International Crisis Group (ICG).

Parents of large families and of children with disabilities have gone on an endless hunger strike. They demand to solve their housing problems and increase the amount of benefits and social help to large families and families with disabled children.

Today, the Rostov Regional Court has upheld the ruling of the Sovietskiy District Court of Rostov-on-Don to arrest Vladislav Ryazantsev, the coordinator of the movement "Left-Wing Front", for hooliganism for 15 days. Ryazantsev announced his intention to challenge the court ruling.

Igor Kharchenko, an activist of the public organization "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus" (EcoWatch) and a member of the "Yabloko" Party, who was detained today in Krasnodar, has been accused of disobeying a legitimate order of a policeman, said the Department of Internal Affairs.

The Austrian National Olympic Committee (NOC) has received a letter containing threats to abduct two Austrian female athletes, who go to compete at the Olympic Games in Sochi, Peter Mennel, the Secretary General of the NOC, has reported today.