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The Novgorod Regional Court made a partial addition of two verdicts passed to Salambek Dzakhkiev, a resident of Ingushetia and a figurant in the case about blowing up the "Neva-Express" train in 2007, and increased his total term of imprisonment by six months.

On June 18, Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, saw a solemn ceremony of laying the first stone into the foundation of the Orthodox temple of Madonna Holy Protection and Holy Cross Day. The Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh is against construction of an Orthodox church "in occupied Azerbaijani territories" and is going to protest.

In the capital of Azerbaijan, policemen have again dispersed a protest action of the oppositional block "Azadlyg" (Freedom), which was held with a demand of the freedom of assembly and democratic character of the forthcoming elections.

The health condition of lawyer Sapiyat Magomedova, who was beaten by employees of the GOVD (City Interior Department) of Khasavyurt, remains grave. Her relatives, who feared that she would lack qualified medical help while in Khasavyurt, insisted on her transfer to the Republic's Clinical Hospital in Makhachkala.

Alexander Khloponin, Plenipotentiary of Russian President in the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), believes that the situation with safety in the Caucasus has already been "reversed", while the authorities are able to remove the administrative barriers, which hamper to implement investment projects.

Because of continuing torrential rains in high-mountainous Mestia District of Georgia, rivers have overflowed the banks; 17 automobile bridges were destroyed; and about 10 km of motorways are out of operation. The nature also damaged the Tsalendzhikh District.

The Chechen airline "Grozny-Avia" starts regular international flights. The first aircraft will take off from Chechnya to Turkey on June 20.

On June 18, the Moscow City Court made a decision to leave Tatarkhan Kartoev, a native of Ingushetia, one of the persons accused of blowing up the "Neva-Express" train in November 2009, in custody.

In the Imereti Lowland of Sochi, where 2014 Winter Olympiad objects are being erected, archaeologists found several ancient settlements dated back to the 4th-5th centuries BC.

On June 18, the Georgian human rights organization "Priority of Human Rights" sent a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg against the governments of Russia and Georgia in the context of breaching the Minsk Convention in the course of warfare in August 2008.

On June 18, the organization named "Help of Norwegian People" finished de-mining of the area from the city of Gori (Georgia) to Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia. The territory, which was full of cassette mines after the August war, is now completely cleared.

Today, in a small square adjoining the building of the Armenian Philharmonic Society in the capital of Armenia, a protest action was held in defence of political prisoners. Its participants held a sit-in strike and demanded immediate release of 15 political prisoners remaining behind bars after the amnesty, which was announced right one year ago.

At investigating especially important cases on kidnappings, an issue should be considered on setting up an interdepartmental investigatory group for several republics of Northern Caucasus. This was stated by Oleg Orlov, chairman of the board of the HRC "Memorial", at a press conference in Moscow.

As reported by the HRC "Memorial", on June 17 in the afternoon, employees of the GOVD (City Interior Division) of Khasavyurt, Republic of Dagestan, severely beat lawyer Sapiyat Magomedova.

The Finnish human rights activists who held protest actions in Helsinki against inefficient investigation in Russia of the murders of Anna Politkovskaya, Magomed Evloev, Natalia Estemirova and Maksharip Aushev, and an action in support of the Russian "Strategy 31", are going to continue their actions in support of human rights in Russia at the Russian embassy in Helsinki.

In Ingushetia, the session of the Malgobek City Court on the case of Tsechoev brothers, detained for administrative violations, due to take place on June 17, was reappointed for today. Now the case is given to Judge Kureish Kokurkhaev, who will consider it. Earlier, court sessions were held without the presence of brothers.

In Sochi, the participants of the 24-day-long hunger strike stopped their protest action in exchange for the promise of the authorities to get into every particular case of discontent or misunderstanding of Imereti Lowland residents.

Mr Itslaev accuses the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera, which published an article about the situation in the Chechen Republic, of distorting his words.

Ramzan Kadyrov did not file any new claims against Oleg Orlov, head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial". This was stated by Alvi Karimov, press secretary of the President of Chechnya, who confirmed that Kadyrov had recalled his claim against Orlov on his mother's request.

The Kuzminki Court of Moscow found militiaman Anver Ibragimov guilty of murdering, while in condition of alcoholic intoxication, a native of Abkhazia and sentenced him to 15 years of imprisonment.