At the Baku Military Court hearing on the case of Ruben Vardanyan, the former head of the unrecognized government in Karabakh, the prosecutor requested a life sentence. The former Russian citizen and billionaire is accused of serious crimes, including terrorism and crimes against humanity.

The international network Scholars at Risk, with the support of Amnesty International and the Norwegian Foundation, has appealed to the Azerbaijani government to release researcher Bahruz Samedov. The appeal is addressed personally to President Ilham Aliyev.

The Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan following the murder of fourth-grader Kobiljon Aliyev in the Moscow region. Dushanbe handed over a note demanding an immediate and objective investigation and the prosecution of those responsible.

In Rostov-on-Don, a military court extended the detention of Kazbek Emkuzhev and five other Nalchik residents accused of involvement in a terrorist organization for three months.

A teenager detained on suspicion of carrying out a terrorist attack at a school in Odintsovo, Moscow Region, who killed a 10-year-old Tajik boy, has confessed and described the preparation and details of the crime. This was reported by the Russian Investigative Committee.

During a live broadcast, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov commented on the case of political prisoner Zarema Musayeva—the wife of federal judge Saidi Yangulbayev and mother of opposition activists Abubakar, Ibrahim, and Baysangur Yangulbayev. He claimed the woman was "taken" to Chechnya because her family members "worked on social media." A relevant excerpt from the broadcast was published by Chechen opposition blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov.

A Baku court rejected a petition to change the pretrial detention measure against the arrested founder of Toplum TV, Alesker Mammadli, despite his need for surgery.

Elbai Karimli, a 23-year-old activist for the opposition Popular Front Party, has died in an Azerbaijani prison. He was previously recognized as a political prisoner and sentenced to five years for writing "Stalin" on a monument to Heydar Aliyev, the former president and father of current President Ilham Aliyev.

On December 15, 2011, Khadzhimurad Kamalov, the founder of the Chernovik newspaper, was murdered in Makhachkala. Fourteen years after the tragedy, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the sentences of those found guilty of the murder.

The seven-month prison sentence of Georgian opposition figure and leader of the "Girchi — More Freedom" party, Zurab Japaridze, expires on December 19. On Friday, the politician will leave Rustavi Penitentiary Institution No. 12, according to information on his Facebook page.