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The analysis of the amendments to the Electoral Code of Georgia has shown that, taken overall, the document "prepossesses for democratic elections," runs the brief press release of the Venice Commission, circulated after the meeting on December 16.

Death penalty could be reintroduced for terror acts, as it is done in Belarus, Alexander Khloponin, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and President's Plenipotentiary for the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), said on December 16 at a meeting with journalists in the city of Essentuki, Stavropol Territory.

On December 16, Inspector Alexei Petrechenko re-qualified the charge to Dmitry Putenikhin, an activist of "The Other Russia" from Article 296 of the Russian Criminal Code (a threat to an official) to Article 319 (public insult of a state official).

Investigators suspect two residents of the city of Mozdok in North Ossetia in beating of a 13-year-old Russian boy because of his nationality. According to the investigators, on that same day with an interval of 10 minutes, the teenager was twice attacked.

Aslan Sablirov, a resident of Nalchik, claims that power agents kidnapped and tortured him demanding to confess to possession of ammunition and aiding members of illegal armed formations.

On November 16, staff members of the "Maestro" TV Channel, working in emergency mode for several weeks, held a rally in front of the police building of the Vake-Saburtalo Districts in Tbilisi. They demanded to force Erosi Kitsmarishvili, the founder of the management company "Rustavi Media", out of the building.

Today, on December 16, the latest issue of the Dagestani weekly "Chernovik" (Draft) has published the last article, written by its founder Khadjimurad Kamalov. The article was published already after the death of the author.

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution condemning the murder of Rafiq Tagi in Azerbaijan and expressed their concern about the safety of Samir Sadagatoglu.

On December 16, the Baku Court of Appeal, chaired by Judge Vagif Mursagulov, upheld the verdict of the Sabail District Court to four opponents, who were arrested after the rally held in Baku on April 2.

The KGB (Committee for State Security) of South Ossetia has detained Uryzmag Dzutsev, a supporter of the oppositional leader Alla Djioeva on charges of illegal arms possession.

The incident with a throw-in of 92 ballot papers at the city polling station No. 21-20 in Krasnodar on December 4 was a provocation and had no effect on the outcomes of the voting, said Tatiana Shuruba, the chair of the Karasun Territorial Election Commission (TEC).

European Court of Human Rights started studying a lawsuit of four employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia discharged in February, 2008. This was reported by Vage Grigoryan, the diplomats' representative.

At about eight o'clock in the evening, December, 15, some unknown people kidnapped Alexander Misrihanov, General Director of the biggest network of jewellery stores in Dagestan.

Deputy Public prosecutor of Novocherkassk, Rostov region, was detained for suspicion of bribery, regional Public prosecutor's office reported today.

The name of Hajimurad Kamalov, constitutor of "Chernovik" ("Draft") newspaper, shot down in the evening of December, 15, in Makhachkala was included into the "punishment list" on the leaflets which were spread in Makhachkala in September, 2009.

Human rights activist Sergey Basmanov who served administrative arrest in Sochi for insubordination to the police was released.

A complaint signed by ten members of the Mekhk-Kkhel (Board of Elders) was received to the name of the head of the Sharia Court (Kadi) under the Muftiyat of Ingushetia. It demands to bring to justice under the Sharia laws Yunus-Bek Evkurov, the leader of Ingushetia, and Musa Evloev, the head of the Republic's Central Election Commission (CEC), who, according to the signers, are guilty of falsification of the election results.

In Dagestan, Abdullah Magomedov, a resident of the town Krasnoarmeisk, who was the observer from the CPRF (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) at the elections, conducted on December 4, reported that representatives of the local administration put strong pressure upon him. In particular, according to Abdullah Magomedov, after he had reported violations at the elections, they threatened to kill the observer himself and his family members.

A panel of judges announced the results of the contest "The most active, meaningful news commentator of 'Caucasian Knot'". 20 commentators participated in the contest, and five of them became winners.

On December 15, in Rostov-on-Don, resident of the region, discontented with the judges' decision, held a protest rally against court arbitrariness in front of the building of the Regional Court.