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On December 29, at the process dealing with the Mukhrovani mutiny in Georgia, the defendants are given the floor for their last plea. On January 8, this stage will be over, and the judge should then pass the verdict.

The City Court of the city of Cherkessk (Karachai-Circassia) suspended 20 children's educational establishments, based on the materials of the "Gospozhnadzor" (State Fire-Prevention Agency). Children's parents are categorically against this decision.

Experts and politicians in Dagestan differ in assessing the failure to hold a regular session of the National Assembly of Dagestan on December 29 because of quorum absence.

As stated by Eduard Kokoity, President of the Republic of South Ossetia, at the press conference in Tskhinvali, the South-Ossetia-Georgian border should be toughly closed. According to his version, this decision stems from the instable situation in Georgia and threat of provocations.

The Ministry of Transports (MoT) of the Russian Federation has sanctioned the Georgian Airways to make Tbilisi-Moscow-Tbilisi charter flights on January 8, 9 and 10, and Tbilisi-St Petersburg-Tbilisi - on January 9 and 10. The Ministry's precondition is one flight per day.

The investigatory bodies have extended by a month the custody term of eight natives of Dagestan accused of a group rape of a resident of Astrakhan. The defendants' advocates have addressed the President of the country and Russian Ombudsman asking to restore justice and defend the rights of the Dagestan residents.

On December 29, early in the morning, Sochinka River brought used machine oil into the sea. In Mzymta River, there is a threat of washout of the right-bank workers' temporary container settlements, as the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

On December 29, the deputies of Sochi City Assembly adopted the "Rules of Land Use and Development of Sochi" (RLUD), while the public town-planning board was against them.

The report of the Ombudsman of Georgia for 2009 will be prepared by March next year, as it is stipulated by the legislation. Now, the parliament of Georgia has accepted to consideration the Ombudsman's report for the first half of this year.

The official Tbilisi finds Russia's accusations addressed to Tbilisi for delay of the planned New Year Tbilisi-Moscow flights groundless. This was stated by deputy minister of foreign affairs of Georgia Nino Kalandadze.

Residents of Sochi have promised to hold a protest actions if the felling of the trees separating apartment houses from the carriageway continues.

The inactivity of the investigatory bodies in searching the missing and kidnapped residents of Chechnya provokes protest actions. This is asserted by the Ombudsman of Chechnya Nurdi Nukhazhiev in his letter to Yuri Chaika, General Public Prosecutor of Russia, where he asked Mr Chaika to interfere.

The statement of Chechen NGOs criticizing the work of the HRC "Memorial" is nothing more but a vivid confirmation of impossibility for human rights activists to work in this republic. Oleg Orlov, head of the Centre, told about it to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Today, Zubair Omarov, inspector of the investigatory committee for especially important cases under the Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan, has invited two figurants of the "execution list" and explained that the issue of their status of witnesses under state protection may be solved soon after the New Year holiday.

On December 29, a resident of Ingushetia, who was on his way home from his student's session in the train "Novokuznetsk-Kislovodsk", was kidnapped by unidentified persons. His sister assumes that power agencies have to do with this kidnapping.

According to data of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", where statistics is run on kidnappings in Dagestan, in 2009 there were 17 kidnappings in the territory of this republic. Human rights activists note that the figure is far from being final. One of latest incidents recorded by the organization took place at night on December 25 at about half past midnight in the village of Gubden, Karabudakhkent District.

Activists of the civil society are indignant with the statement of the spokesman of the Penitentiary Service that as a result of a search heroin was found on Einullah Fatullaev, editor-in-chief of the "Real Azerbaijan" newspaper, who is serving his prison term.

The year of 2009, same as its predecessors, was lost from the viewpoint of democratization and people's prosperity growth. This was stated to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Ali Kerimli, leader of the Party of the National Front of Azerbaijan (PNFA), in his comments on 2009 totals.

The next session of the court on the case dealing with the attempt on Hero of Russia Sulim Yamadaev committed in March in Dubai will take place on January 7, 2010. This was stated by Andrei Nesterenko, official spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Basmanny Court of Moscow has extended by 3.5 months the custody of Nikita Tikhonov, accused of killing advocate Stanislav Markelov and journalists Anastasia Baburova.