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The Tsentralny District Court of Sochi has found Alexander Valov guilty of violating the order of organizing and holding rallies and sentenced him to 50 hours of mandatory works. Mr Valov would not agree with the court ruling and intends to appeal against it within 10 days.

The Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite has stated that she will not go to the Olympic Games in Sochi, indicating human rights violations in Russia and foreign policy factors as her reasons.

At the trial conducted by the Baku Court of Grave Crimes of seven activists of the movement "Nida" and of Ilkin Rustamzade, a member of the organization "Free Youth", the defendant Mamed Azizov said that during the investigation, he was forced to sign a testimony that he did not give, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Fifteen protesters against the construction of a water intake station on the Samur River have been released after serving their administrative arrest, said the on duty unit of the Magaramkent ROVD (District Interior Division). Meanwhile, the village meeting of deputies passed a resolution to suspend the construction of the water intake facility.

Today, the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria, which is considering the Nalchik attack case, has extended the term of detention of all the figurants by three more months – till March 26, 2014.

Activists of 30 human rights NGOs of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, which make up the South-Caucasian Network of Human Rights Defenders, have held a joint seminar, where they announced their countries' most typical problems in the human rights movement. After meeting the Georgian Ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili, they decided to intensify cooperation among themselves and with international organizations, and to expand their ranks by inviting new members.

The negotiations on security issues in Southern Caucasus ended on December 18 in Geneva. Georgia refused to discuss the issues of the state border with South Ossetia and sign a joint statement on non-use of force in the region.

The imprisonment in Dagestan of Zarema Bagavutdinova (or Bagautdinova, by other sources), a member of the Dagestani Regional Public Organization (DRPO) Pravozaschita" (Advocacy), accused of promoting terrorist activity, was applied to her exclusively because of her non-violent public activities, said the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" and decided to recognize the woman as a political prisoner.

Investigators have indicted Magomed Kaitov, the former Director General of the Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) "IDGC (Interregional Distribution Grid Company) of Northern Caucasus", on charges of a billion-worth embezzlement, said a source from law enforcement bodies.

On December 18, the city of Astrakhan hosted solo pickets in support of the Porfiriev family, evicted from their house without providing any other housing. Activists Mikhail Anisenko and Andrei Egorov came to the city administration and stood there, in turn, with a poster reading: "Constitution of the Russian Federation; Bosses of Housing Department, Resign!"

Sochi authorities toughen the passport regime; and policemen are inspecting house after house, local residents report. However, as noted by Alexander Valov, the editor-in-chief of the edition "BlogSochi", these actions of the police fail to increase the safety of residents and visitors of Sochi; and according to Semyon Simonov, the coordinator of the reception office of the network "Migration and Law" of the HRC "Memorial" in Sochi, believes that law enforcers themselves violate citizens' rights and freedoms.

In Sochi, the trial in the case against a policeman from the Adler OVD (Interior Division), who is accused of abuse of power in connection with beating of builder Pavel Solovyov, has been scheduled for December 19. Victim Pavel Solovyov has arrived from Novosibirsk to Sochi to participate in the trial and give his testimony in the case, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The top officials of the Centre for Election Monitoring and Democracy Training (CEM&DT) and the Public Association for International Cooperation of Volunteers (PAICV) are suspected of embezzling the funds of the US National Democratic Institute (NDI). The lawyer of Anar Mamedli, one of the suspects, has stated the invalidity of the charges presented by the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Azerbaijan.

The trial in the case against Zarema Bagautdinova, a member of the Dagestani Regional Public Organization (DRPO) "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy), will be held behind closed doors.

The case of Professor Mikhail Savva, accused of a fraud, will be reconsidered by a court in Krasnodar, since the judge in charge of the trial was replaced, said Elena Savva, the activist's wife, who is also acting as his public defender, adding that the first session was scheduled for December 20.

The person, suspected of involvement in illegal armed formations (IAFs), who was detained on December 17 in the city of Tyrnyauz, blew himself up, when he brought power agents to the place, where, according to his story, his accomplice could be hiding, said a source from law enforcement bodies of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR).

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will continue its activities in Nagorno-Karabakh. This was announced by Nicolas Fleury, the head of the ICRC mission, in Stepanakert at the opening of the photo exhibition dedicated to the ICRC's 150th anniversary of the organization. The exhibition presented 45 photographs of the ICRC's work around the world.

In Azerbaijan, the investigation into the case against Anar Mamedli is held in violation of his rights, the charges filed are unfounded, and the very case demonstrates the authorities' willingness to eliminate independent NGOs. This was stated by participants of the committee created in Baku to protect the rights of the arrested leader of the Centre for Monitoring Elections.

The draft of the new Armenian Code of Criminal Procedure has been approved by the government and submitted to the Parliament for consideration. This was reported by Grair Tovmasyan, Minister of Justice, at a special briefing. Lawyers interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent expect that the new Code will significantly reduce the proportion of arrests in all possible pre-trial restriction measures.

The public committee in defence of the rights of Anar Mamedli, the Chairman of the Centre for Election Monitoring and Democracy Training (CEM&DT), who was arrested on December 16, has been set up in Azerbaijan. The "Caucasian Knot" reports that this decision was made at an emergency meeting of civil society activists and country's oppositional politicians.