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On June 23, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia will destroy part of the archive accumulated as a result of secret surveillance over citizens. This decision was taken on Tuesday at a sitting of the special commission for monitoring the destruction.

Tuesday was the deadline appointed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for the government of Azerbaijan to answer the request of the Court on the case of Ilgar Mamedov, the leader of the civil movement "Republican Alternative" (ReAl). His advocate Fuad Agaev told that he had not been informed on whether the answer was dispatched.

The Secretary General of the "United National Movement" Party and ex-Prime Minister of Georgia Vano Merabishvili has stopped his hunger strike after he was allowed to have a TV-set in his cell, said his advocate Georgiy Chiviashvili.

On Tuesday, the state of health of Iles Tatiev, who is holding a hunger strike at the Ingush IVS (temporary detention facility), became worse, said his lawyer Zima Sautieva. She also told that an ambulance was called to the IVS because of the sharp deterioration of Iles Tatiev's health.

Today, the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria has decided to extend the detention of 53 defendants in the case of the attack on Nalchik, committed on October 13, 2005, for another three months, until September 26.

The bailiffs in Kabardino-Balkaria are going on impounding from Chernobyl cleanup veterans the sums of financial compensations paid off to them upon the verdicts of the courts, Chairman of republican organization “Chernobyl Union” Ali Kuchmezov told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

The Georgian MPs have initiated amendments to the Constitution regarding the powers of the Government and the Prime Minister. The amendments assume to allow the persons-holders of dual citizenship to hold high state posts and to reduce the quorum for adopting amendments to the Constitution.

Unidentified persons spread antigovernmental leaflets in the streets of Tskhinvali calling to come out for a meeting in Teatralnaya (Theater) square on June, 18. Mayor’s office of Tskhinvali states that no one submitted notifications of holding the action.

No criminal case against the policemen who beat up two builders of Olympic objects has been initiated yet, the builder’s attorney Alexander Boichenko told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent in the evening of June, 17. According to the lawyer, he cannot receive a determination of refusal to start criminal proceedings from the investigation.

Works on bank protection of Imereti lowland are in process along the seashore from the Mzymta to the Psou rivers. Professor Viacheslav Maltsev, Doctor of Engineering, warns about the danger of this project realized within the framework of preparation for the Olympics. The activists of territorial public self-government declare illegality of these works.

The Supreme Court of Dagestan took over the claim of lawyer Rasul Kadiev who appeals against the amendments to the Constitution of the republic cancelling direct election of Head of the region. The President and the Parliament of the republic were suggested to provide evidence of observation of the procedure during adoption of the disputable law until June, 18.

Vano Merabishvili, the General Secretary of the Party "United National Movement" and the former Prime Minister of Georgia, accused of a number of corruption-related crimes, has begun a hunger strike demanding to put a TV-set into his cell and allow his relatives to make use of his bank accounts, said his advocate Georgi Chiviashvili.

On June 17, the Krasnodar Territorial Court considered the complaint lodged by the advocates of the arrested Professor Mikhail Savva to the ruling of the district court to extend his custody. The Court upheld the ruling finding the decision of the Oktiabrskiy District Court to be lawful and justified.

Rustam Ibragimbekov, the chairman of the recently established oppositional National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) of Azerbaijan, has held a series of meetings in Washington, where, according to his story, he discussed the issues of reforming the political system of Azerbaijan and the upcoming presidential elections.

A meeting held in the city of Uryupinsk, Volgograd Region, has crowned the motor rally organized by activists of the Stalingrad Regional Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) against nickel developments on the Khopyor River, Ekaterina Pechenova, the press secretary of the above Regional Committee, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Underground hidings with the weapons intended to conduct large-scale warfare, a video archive of torture and lists of people, planned for detention on trumped-up charges, were found in Georgia, Nino Giorgobiani, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), has reported today. According to the MIA, its former officials had to do with the hides.

Member of Azerbaijani Institute of Freedom and Safety of Reporters (IFSR) Mehman Guseinov was detained on June 17, in the airport of Baku. The reporter was not let to fly from the country to Norway for participation in the ceremony of awarding him with prestigious international Gerd Bucerius award “Free Press of Eastern Europe-2013”. This decision was motivated by a criminal case initiated against Guseinov. The journalist himself considers the ban of leaving country groundless.

The Krasnodar Territorial Court has left the Sochi journalist Nikolai Yarst, suspected of drug possession, under home arrest. The OTR journalist is under threat of 3-10 years in prison.

On June 15, the Chistyakov Grove of Krasnodar hosted a picket, sanctioned by the Mayoralty "We demand a law that protects not kills!" The picketers protested against cruel treatment of animals as well as against cruelty and inhumane methods of catching stray animals. The action brought together about 30 civilian activists, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The ban on citizens' secret shadowing in Georgia should be reflected in the legislation, the members of the initiative group believe. The Georgian parliament has set up a working group to study these proposals and prepare the appropriate bills.