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Rustam Aguev, the head of the Kurchaloi ROVD (District Interior Division), has addressed the Chechens living in Europe and called on them to "cut off the heads" of Yangulbaevs and bring them to the republic. Those who would not do this are cowards, the high-ranking law enforcer has stated.

On February 5, Abubakar Yangulbaev, a lawyer of the "Committee against Torture" (CaT)*, sent an application to Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF). Abubakar has asked to check the threats against his family pronounced by Chechen leaders for the presence of death threats, incitement of hatred and enmity, solicitation, slander, insults and abuse of power.

Saidi Yangulbaev, a former federal judge, said that he had repeatedly appealed to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, asking him to protect his family from the persecution by "Kadyrov people", but no reaction followed.

The United States have expressed disappointment with the arrest of opposition politician, Ali Aliev, in Azerbaijan on charges of defamation. Washington has called on Azerbaijani authorities to respect their international obligations, including the right to the freedom of expression.

Armenian authorities refuse to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state, which casts doubt on its future existence; at the same time, they offer refugees to return to Karabakh, the NGO "In the Name of Gadrut" has stated.

The Russian qualification board of judges will cancel the decision to terminate the resignation, if it is guided by the law, since the order of this procedure was not observed in Chechnya, Saidi Yangulbaev has stated.

The parliamentary oppositional factions "Armenia" and "I have the honour" have decided not to nominate their candidates for the upcoming presidential election.

Akhmed Sagov, the head of the "Bart" Ingush Cultural and Educational Centre, who attended the rally against the Yangulbaevs in Grozny, may be subject to moral and psychological measures of influence so that he no longer speaks out on behalf of the Ingush nation, the human rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have suggested.

Chechen law enforcers violated the rights of the lawyer, Natalia Dobronravova, who was present at the Yangulbaevs' apartment in Nizhny Novgorod, when law enforcers broke into it, the Bar Chamber of the Nizhny Novgorod Region has concluded.

At the SIZO (pre-trial prison), Zarema Musaeva is kept in solitary cell; she "barely walks"; she was called an ambulance twice, said Alexander Karavaev, an advocate, who has managed today to visit her at the SIZO for the first time.

A petition demanding to release Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev, natives of Chechnya, who were kidnapped exactly a year ago from Nizhny Novgorod, has gathered more than 100,000 signatories. The authors of the petition note that the lives of the two brothers are in danger.

An application with a request to suspend the liquidation procedure of the "International Memorial"* was sent to the Appellate Board of the Russian Supreme Court (SC) by the organization's lawyers. They refer to the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), which has decided to apply interim measures to the organization until the consideration by the ECtHR of the complaint against the law on foreign agents.

Valery Fadeev, the chief of the Human Rights Council, addressed the chair of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) with a proposal to transfer the investigation into a Zarema Musaeva’s case to the federal level or to investigators from the ICRF’s Department for the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD).

According to human rights defenders and Caucasian experts interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot”, relatives of the Yangulbaev family were forced to curse and threaten them, fearing for their safety, but the declaration of revenge by relatives led to real danger for members of the Yangulbaev family.

A court in Baku held a hearing to consider an appeal filed by oppositionist Agil Gumbatov, who was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment for injuring a fellow villager. At trial, Agil Gumbatov pleaded not guilty and requested the court to acquit him.

Amid a scandal involving the threats from the Chechen authorities to the Yangulbaev family, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov has announced that the tradition of blood feuds does not comply with the laws of Russia.

Mikhail Saakashvili and his defence requested the judge to oblige the Penitentiary Service to let a private doctor visit the arrested politician. However, the court dismissed the request.

When commenting on the refusal of the Chechen Ministry of Tourism to pay for travel reports, travel bloggers explained their desire to receive money for advertising attractions by the cost of travel and the production of high-quality content.

Ilya Smolin, a resident of Kuban (the Krasnodar Territory), died after being detained in the city of Yeisk due to his heart problems, the police have informed. His parents have drawn attention to the haematomas on the body of their son, and demanded that a prosecutor's examination to be held of the circumstances of his death.

On February 3, an expert discussion on the reform of the legislation on foreign agents, organized by the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG), was held online by using the Zoom platform.