In his defense speech at the Baku Court of Grave Crimes, Anar Mammadli, an Azerbaijani human rights activist and head of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDSC), claimed that the criminal prosecution was politically motivated, comparing it to Soviet repression.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is considering granting priority status to a class action lawsuit filed by Georgian NGOs against the "foreign agent" law, the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) announced.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that even full compliance with European standards does not guarantee the country's accession to the European Union. Speaking at a democracy forum in Yerevan, he emphasized that the adoption of the law on rapprochement with the EU is an important step towards strengthening democracy, but the government's main goal is to raise standards to European levels in all areas, which is more important than membership itself.

In Moscow, a Georgian woman was forced to record a video apology after an old recording of her calling Russians "murderers" went viral.

According to a study by Strategy Partners, at the beginning of 2025, 20% of elevators (2,800 out of 10,700) in the North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD) had reached the end of their service life.

The trial of Akhmed Sakalov, accused of preparing an act of sabotage at a fuel and energy complex (FEC) facility and illegally possessing explosive devices, has begun in Ingushetia. This was reported by the press service of the Ingush judicial system.

Law enforcement agencies in Kabardino-Balkaria have detained Ruslan Balbek, a former State Duma deputy and former deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea.

Aslan Artsuyev, director of the European Center for Human Rights – Ichkeria and Chechen blogger and lawyer, has been placed on the federal wanted list in Russia. According to Rosfinmonitoring, a criminal case has been opened against him on terrorism charges.

A group of 49 people who fled the Gaza Strip and hold Russian citizenship (or are relatives of Russian citizens) has arrived in Dagestan. Among the Palestinians are also children.

Speaking before the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Vice Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Ruben Rubinyan emphasized the importance of relations with Turkey for his country's foreign policy. He expressed hope that Ankara would share Yerevan's desire to quickly establish diplomatic ties and open borders, emphasizing the latter's readiness to do so.