A native of Chechnya, Azamat Balayev, who served a five-year sentence in an Austrian prison, may be deported to Russia. In this case, human rights activists claim, he faces torture and forced transfer to the "SVO".

At a hearing in the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don, the judge refused the defense to disclose a secret witness under the pseudonym "Ibragimov." According to lawyer Emil Kurbedinov, this person is an agent of the state who wanders from one criminal case to another related to the Crimean Tatars.

The supply of offensive weapons by France to Armenia poses a practical threat to Azerbaijan. Baku has repeatedly conveyed to Yerevan and its patrons in the United States that the armament must be stopped. This was stated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in an interview with RIA Novosti.

In Georgia, after the adoption of the law on foreign agents, 476 foreign-funded NGOs and media outlets voluntarily submitted applications for registration within the established deadlines. 16 media organizations and 120 NGOs refused to do so. They appealed the law to the European Court of Human Rights.

The first investment project in Karabakh was carried out by Tatarstan. This was stated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in an interview with RIA Novosti.

On Tuesday, December 17, the EU Council published a report on enlargement, which Brussels considers a strategic priority in light of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The report reaffirms the full and unconditional commitment of Ukraine, Moldova and six candidate countries in the Western Balkans to European integration. It is noteworthy that Georgia and Turkey were mentioned in the text, but were not included in the list of "favourites".

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze thanked five countries "that expressed their support for the Georgian people" at a meeting of the EU Council. According to the head of the Cabinet, these are Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Spain and Romania.

On the eve of the trial of the Abzas Media journalists arrested in Azerbaijan, international human rights organizations Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders called on the country's authorities to release them. The human rights activists also appealed to foreign diplomats and the international community with a request to take part in the trial.

The Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria recognized the "crimes of the German fascist invaders committed on the territory of the Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous SSR during the Great Patriotic War as genocide of the Soviet people." The Investigative Committee of the republic reported that during the occupation, more than four thousand civilians and prisoners of war were killed, and also died of hunger and disease.

Civil journalist Ernes Ametov, sentenced to 11 years, reported that he lost 10 kilograms in IK-12 in the Vologda region. According to his wife, the prison administration did not allow her to give her husband vitamins and medicine during a visit.