Diplomatic tensions are growing between Russia and Azerbaijan amid the high-profile deaths of the Safarov brothers after being tortured by FSB officers. It all began on June 27 in Yekaterinburg – the city saw mass detentions and arrests of people from Azerbaijan in connection with the 2001-2011 contract killings. Two key suspects died after being detained, with signs of brutal beatings found on their bodies. For more details, watch our video.

Access to Azerbaijani news sites has been restricted in Russia. It is noted that problems with access are observed in Moscow, Astrakhan, Volgograd, St. Petersburg, Vologda, Chelyabinsk and other regions.

The Tbilisi City Court sentenced 21-year-old medical student and civil activist Giorgi Mindadze to 5 years in prison. He was found guilty of "assaulting a police officer" (Article 353 of the Criminal Code). The article provides for 4 to 7 years in prison.

The draft version of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly report for 2025 (the final version is not yet available) examines the issue of Georgia in several aspects. In particular, the document states that the parliamentary elections held in the country in October 2024 were marred by a number of violations, according to the final report of the observers of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Crimean Tatar Seyran Saliev was held in the punishment cell of IK-4 in the Tula region for more than four months. His wife was informed that he was recognized as a “malicious violator of the established order.” However, the administration of the colony did not explain what violations were in question.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on social networks the need for early elections of the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). Earlier, he called on all its followers to unite around the demand to replace Catholicos Karekin II. According to Pashinyan, he has evidence of the clergyman violating his vow of celibacy and having a child.

Tuva, Chechnya and Ingushetia have become leaders in the level of dependence on payments from the federal budget of the Russian Federation. The share of transfers in financing the expenses of these regions in 2024 was 79%, 78.8% and 78%, respectively, according to the Federal Treasury.

The US Embassy in Georgia hosted a reception in honor of American Independence Day, celebrated on July 4. Ambassador Robin Dunnigan, who will complete her diplomatic mission and leave Tbilisi at the end of July, delivered a speech about the United States' contribution to the development of democracy in Georgia. She made a special emphasis on the detentions of activists and opposition leaders in the country.

Employees of the Main Directorate of Internal Security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation conducted searches in the office of the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ingushetia Mikhail Korobkin. The investigative actions were carried out as part of a criminal case on the multi-billion-dollar theft of funds intended for the work of the department.

One of the leaders of the Georgian opposition, Giorgi Gakharia, commented on the parliament's decision to deprive members of his party of their deputy powers on the social network X. According to him, in such cases, we are talking about "opening the way for politically motivated criminal prosecution, abolishing immunity from fabricated charges and eliminating the main political threat before the municipal elections."