The creation of the “Centre for Assistance to International Protection” organization 30 years ago was an important event for the development of human rights protection in Russia, and the “Centre” itself won hundreds of cases in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) when defending people whose rights were violated.

In Georgia, law enforcers brutally beat protesters, and criminal cases are being instituted against activists on formal grounds.

A public prosecutor requested six and a half years of imprisonment for Aleksei Pasynkov, a Jehovah’s Witness* from Karachay-Cherkessia, in a case on organizing extremist activity. Criminal cases have also been instituted against a wife and a mother of Aleksei Pasynkov, the “OVD-Info”* human rights project reports.

The vehicle gas cylinder equipment (GCE) often breaks down and poses a danger, experts said after reports of checks on Chechen roads. Drivers linked the raids with the fight against car window tinting; and GCE checks are conducted in parallel.

The Russian General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) has made a submission to the Chairman of the Russia Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) on the need to eliminate violations of the law in connection with the fatwa on the permissibility of polygamy. Citing this submission and the reaction of the public, the SAM has revoked the fatwa.

In the city of Urus-Martan, law enforcers conducted searches in the empty houses of Musa Vatsuev and Lecha Elmurzaev, who left Chechnya long ago. Both natives of the republic treat such law enforcers' attention as unexpected.

Activists demanding to hold repeated parliamentary elections and release those detained at protest actions have organized a motorcycle rally through the streets of Tbilisi.

The Russian Embassy has called on to find and punish the persons responsible for the murder of a heavy truck driver from Dagestan, who was found shot dead in Iran.

Researchers have found out how men who are in areas at risk of conscription and mobilization into the Russian Army, but would not take part in military operations, choose their life strategies. They have also compared the motives and methods of action of residents of Russian central regions with those in Northern Caucasus.

The Gelendjik City Court has fined a local resident by treating her comment posted in a messenger as discrediting the Russian Army.

As follows from a fatwa (a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia), – note of the “Caucasian Knot”) of the Ulema Council of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Russia, polygamy is permissible for Muslim men in Russia, and a Muslim can be in a religious marriage with four women with fair and equal treatment of all his wives.

Five residents of Dagestan have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from 8 years 6 months to 8 years 8 months in a penal colony in a case on the riots at an airport in Makhachkala.

The court ruling, which awarded Madin Gubzhokov compensation of 30,000 roubles for unlawful criminal prosecution, is incomparable with the moral harm caused by the actions of Azamat Kyaov, a former law enforcer. The amount is ridiculous and should be appealed against, lawyers and human rights defenders have stated.

The Georgian Government has decided to award the Order of Honour to eleven high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). Human rights defenders have pointed out that on November 28, MIA's employees had held a deliberate dispersal of the protest; and one of the awardees was involved in the abuse of detainees.

The authorities of Dagestan did not respond to requests from relatives of the people convicted and accused in the case on riots at an airport in Makhachkala, so they had to appeal to the leader of Chechnya for help. Analysts believe that Ramzan Kadyrov refused the meeting due to his unwillingness to conflict with Sergey Melikov and to be known as the defender of the pogrom participants.

In the city of Baksan, volunteers of the "Alternativa" Movement have managed to free a man from labour slavery, who had been held by a gypsy family for about four months. Labour slavery is not typical for the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR); only individual cases are reported, analysts believe.

The intensity of protests in Georgia is influenced by both the decisions of the authorities and the onset of cold weather and the approach of the New Year holidays. Given that protesters have been holding daily protest actions for 21 days already, another surge in activity can be expected on the day of the inauguration of the new president of Georgia.

Mansur Soltaev, the Chechen Ombudsperson, has petitioned the court for state protection for the family of Roman Murdiev, because they are receiving many threats.

The murder case of Magomed-Ali Sultanov, the 19-year-old resident of Kayakent, has been suspended, since the only accused person signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and asked to be sent to the special military operation (SMO) zone in Ukraine.

Relatives of those accused and convicted within the case of riots at Makhachkala Airport intended to ask for help from the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, but were unable to get an appointment with him. At a meeting with the Dagestani Ombudsperson, they wrote a letter to Sergey Melikov (the head of Dagestan) and threatened protests in case of no reaction.