The Supreme Court of Russia upheld the verdict of the Southern District Military Court against brother and sister Askerbiy and Lianna Khamukov from Kabardino-Balkaria. They were sentenced to 18 and 16.5 years in prison, respectively, for participating in the armed group "Imarat Kavkaz" and financing terrorism. They declared their innocence.

The Chechen Muftiate will not close private madrassas if the directors cancel the mandatory tuition fee. Information about the muftiate's order to stop work appeared on the resources of local religious institutions on August 6. For more details, see our video report.

Political prisoner Zakhar Zaripov, who is in the pre-trial detention center of the Khabarovsk region, was diagnosed with cancer. His lawyer clarified that the man was diagnosed with a parotid salivary gland tumor.

Russia is ready to facilitate dialogue between Georgia and the self-proclaimed republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to establish long-term peace in the region. This is stated on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. This statement was made in connection with the 16th anniversary of the August 2008 war between Georgia and the Russian Federation.

The court in the Kirov region, where Salyakh Bakanev, a resident of Urus-Martan (Chechnya), is serving his sentence, satisfied his claim to the FSIN. The man asked to be transferred to a correctional institution closer to the family's place of residence, but the department refused. It must now reconsider the application.

A representative of the ombudsman of Azerbaijan visited the doctoral student of Istanbul University, economist Fazil Gasymov, in the pre-trial detention center. He has been on hunger strike for 55 days. The management of the medical facility was given recommendations regarding the monitoring of the prisoner's condition.

Russian-Armenian relations will withstand all tests of strength from the West. US statements that Armenia wants to turn away from Russia are unfounded. This was stated by the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Zakharova.

On August 7, 2008, a column of Russian armored vehicles entered the Tskhinvali region of South Ossetia through the Roki Tunnel. This was the beginning of the short-lived Russian-Georgian war.

Before the start of the chess tournament in Makhachkala, one participant approached one of the tables, poured an unknown liquid and rubbed it with a chess piece. This moment was caught on surveillance cameras, Baza reported.

The US State Department called on Georgian authorities to release exiled Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov. On August 3, he was detained in Tbilisi and placed in a deportation center. If extradited to Azerbaijan, the opposition figure faces another prison term.