Lawyers for the former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, who are on trial in Azerbaijan on charges of serious crimes, have declared the cases groundless and politically motivated. They have demanded acquittals for their clients.

The Supreme Court of Russia upheld the sentence of Nikita Zhuravel, who was found guilty of treason. His combined sentence for two criminal cases, including the Quran-burning case, was 14 years in a maximum-security prison colony.

Rustam Murzagishiev from the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Ilkhom Shukurov, a resident of Tatarstan, and Chingiz Savchenko, a citizen of Ukraine, have been arrested and charged with armed rebellion, participation in a gang, and attempting to kill military personnel. They were charged with involvement in the attack on Pskov paratroopers during the Second Russo-Chechen War in 2000.

Relatives of Ali Karimli, leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), have stated that he is not receiving parcels while in pretrial detention. Azadeh Rojkhan, PACE General Rapporteur on Political Prisoners, called on the Azerbaijani authorities to review the charges against Karimli and ensure that his rights are respected during the investigation.

The US Helsinki Commission expressed grave concern over a BBC investigation into the use of chemical weapons by Georgia's ruling party to suppress peaceful protests last year. This was stated in a statement released by the organization's chairman and Senator Roger Wicker, co-chair Joe Wilson, and commission members Sheldon Whitehouse and Steve Cohen.

A military court in Rostov-on-Don found Dagestani blogger Arslan Mirzayev (Ali Charinsky) guilty of disseminating false information about the Russian army and calling for terrorism. He was sentenced in absentia to eight years in a general regime penal colony and a fine of 1 million rubles.

The Southern District Military Court found Albert Elakayev, a resident of Stavropol, guilty of armed rebellion and attempted murder of military personnel for his participation in the Second Russian-Chechen War. He was sentenced to nine years in a maximum-security penal colony.

The human rights organization Amnesty International expressed grave concern over the arrest of Ali Karimli, chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan. He was detained by the State Security Service following a search and remanded in custody for two months and 15 days.