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Today, about 50 activists of the National Independence Party of Azerbaijan held in front of the French Embassy in Baku a protest action against the draft law, criminalizing denial of Armenian genocide.

The Chechen authorities have allocated 73 apartments to children without parental care. During next five years, they plan to provide housing to more than 400 other orphans.

Lawyers of Apti Magmadov and Aishat Magmadova intend to appeal against the verdict against their clients. They will also insist on full court's acquittal of their client and his sister, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

In Azerbaijan, the list of those pardoned has included three persons, earlier recognized by human rights defenders as political prisoners: Jabbar Savalan, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA); Nizami Shakhmuradov, a former OPON (riot police) commander; and Mekhman Mamedov, the driver and ex-Prosecutor of Baku.

In Sochi, on December 24, the famous ski resort "Roza Khutor" started its work. The holiday held on the occasion was attended by more than a thousand people.

On December 26, in the city of Novocherkassk, Rostov Region, a picket was held against criminal prosecution and arrest of the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "I'm Authorized to State" Alexander Tolmachev, one of the leaders of local communists Vladislav Zhuravlyov and an activist of the entrepreneurs' movement Konstantin Astakhov.

Last night two unidentified masked and camouflaged persons fired upon a shop in Izerbash from self-firers. The shop flared up as a result. There are no victims or injured persons, the Ministry of Interior Affairs of Dagestan reports.

Committee for clemency with the President of Georgia granted the requests of 73 convicts. After the session of the Committee in the President's Palace in Tbilisi People's Defender Giorgi Tugushi said that 144 requests all in all were considered, five of them were from underage convicts.

Natives of Chechnya Apti and Aishat Magomedova accused of complicity in terrorism and creating paramilitary groups were acknowledged guilty.

The authorities of the country heard the voice of the demonstrators in December in Moscow who came out in opposition against the official results of State Duma election but their reaction was "weak and halved", participants of the protest actions in the Russian capital consider.

Today, in Yerevan, in front of the Russian Embassy to Armenia, a protest action was held against rigged elections to the Russian State Duma, initiated by an initiative group of students.

In Moscow, a rally against rigged elections to the Russian State Duma took place in Sakharov Avenue. Its participants adopted a final resolution.

The rally "For Fair Elections", which was coordinated with the authorities of Rostov-on-Don, attracted more than 500 people, who expressed their disagreement with the outcomes of the elections to the Russian State Duma.

About a thousand persons came in Krasnodar to take part in the rally "For Fair Elections" and express their disagreement with the results of the Russian State Duma elections. The event was coordinated with local authorities.

Law enforcers of Chechnya have detained two persons in Grozny, suspected of assisting the members of illegal armed formation (IAFs).

Activists of oppositional political parties of Astrakhan have reported to the recent rally against rigged elections to the Russian State Duma that they will file lawsuits in the context of numerous violations committed in the course of the election campaign.

In 2011, the situation in Azerbaijan with the freedom of speech was the worst in the past six years. For the first time after 2005, a murder of a journalist was committed – the publicist Rafiq Tagi was assassinated. This is stated in the annual report of the "Reporters Without Borders" (RWB), an international organization in defence of the press.

In the Azerbaijani city of Sheki, a local businessman made an attempt of self-immolation, claiming violation of his rights.

The Sochi Airport is implementing a programme of a barrier-free environment for disabled passengers. The programme was adopted after the Airport was criticized by the commission for preparation and holding the Paralympic Winter Games of 2014.

On December 23, the draft Electoral Code was adopted at an extraordinary sitting of the Parliament of Georgia in the second reading by a majority of votes of the MPs.