Ullubiy Khanmurzayev, the former head of Dagestan's Buinaksk district and accused of fraud, has ended his week-long hunger strike in a Makhachkala pretrial detention center. Investigators reportedly suspect him of organizing the fictitious employment of his common-law wife, who lives in Dubai, as a teacher-psychologist at two local schools.

In Azerbaijan, imprisonment is increasingly being used as a tool to pressure independent media, according to the international human rights organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which launched an international protest to clearly demonstrate the conditions in which Azerbaijani journalists are held.

A shootout in Dagestan resulted in the death of two local residents by police officers. According to the state news agency TASS, citing a law enforcement source, police claim the dead men opened fire first. Their names have not been released, and there is no evidence to support this claim.

In his congratulatory address on the occasion of the 34th anniversary of the formation of the Armenian Armed Forces, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the Armenian army is designed exclusively to protect the country's internationally recognized borders. He noted the significant buildup of military potential in recent years, including the acquisition of modern weaponry.

The Fifth Court of Cassation will hear the appeal of Alexei Safonov, the former head of the Stavropol Krai traffic police. Widely known as the "traffic cop with the golden toilet" due to the luxurious decoration of his home, he was previously sentenced by the Cherkessk City Court to 20 years in a maximum-security penal colony and a fine of 100 million rubles.

The ECHR has once again defended renowned Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova, finding her criminal prosecution in 2014-2015 unlawful. The court found that the charges of tax evasion and illegal entrepreneurial activity (working for foreign media without accreditation) were unfounded and violated Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Kazakh authorities have denied entry to Zelimkhan, a Chechen native who fled Russia to escape forced conscription. He has been held in the airport transit zone for a month, Kavkaz.Realii reports.

A memorial plaque dedicated to murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya has been vandalized in Moscow for the seventh time. A foam board plaque was stolen from the facade of a building on Lesnaya Street, and a photograph of Politkovskaya was also stolen.

The Azerbaijani Media Development Agency (MEDIA) reported the dissemination of false information in a number of foreign online publications and social media platforms aimed at undermining the strategic alliance between Azerbaijan and Turkey.

A Bank of Russia analysis has shown that residents of Ingushetia rank first among the country's regions in terms of mortgage repayment discipline. According to the regulator's report, the share of substandard mortgages in the republic has reached a record 10.8%. These are overdue and at-risk loans.