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Amnesty Says 'Hate Rhetoric' Makes World Divisive, More Dangerous
Amnesty International says human rights around the world are under threat because of politicians who are using "toxic, dehumanizing" rhetoric against ethnic or religious minorities in order to strengthen their political powers.
In the watchdog's annual report, titled The State Of The World's Human Rights, Amnesty International Secretary-General Salil Shetty on February 22 said "divisive fear-mongering has become a dangerous force in world affairs" -- creating a more divisive, more dangerous world.
"The global trend of angrier and more divisive politics was exemplified by [U.S. President] Donald Trump's poisonous campaign rhetoric, but political leaders in various parts of the world also wagered their future power on narratives of fear, blame, and division," Shetty said.
Shetty named Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte among an increasing number of politicians who call themselves "anti-establishment" and wield "a toxic agenda that hounds, scapegoats, and dehumanizes entire groups of people."
Amnesty's report says "us versus them" political rhetoric in the United States and Europe has been fueled by the global refugee crisis.
It says that, internationally, "hate rhetoric" has reached its worst level in politics since the 1930s and is "fueling a global pushback against human rights" which leaves a "global response to mass atrocities perilously weak."
The report predicts that 2017 will see "ongoing crises exacerbated by a debilitating absence of human rights leadership on a chaotic world stage."
Shetty said "2017 needs human rights heroes" to combat hateful political rhetoric that has unleashed "the dark side of human nature" and increasingly impacts government policies.
"In 2016, governments turned a blind eye to war crimes, pushed through deals that undermine the right to claim asylum, passed laws that violate free expression…justified torture and mass surveillance, and extended draconian police powers," he said.
Amnesty's report includes a survey of 159 countries and territories in an exercise to show how people have been suffering from conflict, displacement, discrimination, or repression.
Here is what the Amnesty International's latest report had to say about the human rights situation in RFE/RL broadcast countries.
Iran
Amnesty says Iranian authorities heavily suppressed the rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and religious belief.
It says peaceful critics of the government were arrested and imprisoned after "grossly unfair trials before Revolutionary Courts."
It says torture and other ill-treatment of detainees was widespread and committed with impunity by Iranian authorities.
The death penalty was used extensively by authorities with hundreds of executions carried out -- some in public.
The rights group notes that "floggings, amputations, and other cruel punishments" continue to be used in Iran.
It says religious and ethnic minorities faced discrimination and persecution while women and girls faced "pervasive violence and discrimination."
Russia
Amnesty International says Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to "surf the wave of popularity generated by Russia's excursions in Ukraine" and its "resurgent" international influence.
Meanwhile, the rights group says, Putin continued to undermine civil society within Russia.
The Amnesty report says restrictions on freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly increased in Russia during 2016.
Prosecutions of antigovernment protesters raised concerns about fair trial standards.
Individuals were charged under antiextremism legislation for criticizing state policy and publicly displaying or possessing alleged extremist materials.
Also noted was the initiation of the first criminal prosecution of a nongovernmental organization for failure to comply with Russia's "foreign agents" law.
NGOs can be declared "foreign agents" by Russia's Justice Ministry, after a court's approval, if they are deemed by the ministry to be engaged in "political activity" and have received some funding from abroad.
The report notes international criticism over allegations of war crimes by Russian forces in Syria -- including the alleged intentional bombing of hospitals by Russian warplanes.
It says serious human rights violations continued to be reported in connection with security operations in the North Caucasus.
That includes critics of authorities in Chechnya facing physical attacks by nonstate actors, as well as prosecution by authorities. A nonstate actor is an individual or organization that has significant political influence but is not allied to any particular country or state.
Human rights activists in the North Caucasus were harassed by non-state actors.
The International Criminal Court continued an investigation of crimes allegedly committed by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula.
Ukraine
Amnesty International notes that sporadic low-scale fighting continued in eastern Ukraine during 2016, and that both sides violated an internationally brokered cease-fire deal.
It says impunity continued for both Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russia separatist fighters who have violated international humanitarian law by committing war crimes like torture.
It says government forces and separatists unlawfully detained suspected supporters of the other side and used them in prisoner exchanges.
Independent media and activists were blocked from working freely in separatist controlled parts of eastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Amnesty says media seen by authorities in Kyiv as pro-Russian faced harassment in government-controlled areas.
In Russian-annexed Crimea, the report says Russian-installed authorities continued their campaign to eliminate pro-Ukrainian dissent.
It said those authorities increasingly used Russian antiextremism and antiterrorism laws to prosecute dozens of people seen as being opposed to Moscow's annexation of the region.
Belarus
Amnesty says the Belarusian government kept severe restrictions in place against the rights to freedom of expression, of association, and peaceful assembly.
It notes that the government in Minsk continued to refuse to cooperation with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Belarus during 2016.
The report says at least four people were executed and four sentenced to death in Belarus.
Central Asia
Amnesty says that repression of dissent, critical opinions, and political opposition could be described as the norm across most Central Asian republics.
It says those problems remain serious in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and were "not noticeably worse" in 2016 than in previous years.
It says "torture in detention centers and prisons continued to be pervasive" in Uzbekistan, where forced labor was also widely used.
Although Turkmenistan launched a so-called National Human Rights Action Plan in April, 2016, Amnesty says there was no improvement in the rights situation, and the country remained closed to independent human rights monitors.
In Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, the rights group reported a "marked deterioration."
It notes that Kazakhstan used criminal laws against leaders of nongovernment groups for the first time in 2016.
The report also highlights the arrests of hundreds of people who took part in protests against a new land code.
Amnesty says Tajikistan's "crackdown in the wake of the targeting of the banned opposition Islamic Renaissance party of Tajikistan" was "significant."
The report also notes a five-year-decree that gives Tajikistan's government the right to "regulate and control" all television and radio broadcasts through the State Broadcasting Committee.
In Kyrgyzstan, Amnesty's report says "the perpetrators of torture and of violence against women enjoyed impunity" during 2016.
It also says Kyrgyz authorities "continued to make no genuine effort to effectively investigate the June 2010 violence in Osh and Jalal-Abad."
Moldova
Amnesty says police in Moldova occasionally used unnecessary or excessive force against street protesters during the past year.
It says high profile criminal cases have raised concerns about unfair trials, including selective justice.
The report notes that there was no progress on addressing structural causes of impunity for torture and other ill-treatment.
It also points to laws that allow forced detention and nonconsensual treatment to people with disabilities in psychiatric facilities -- including forced abortions.
Armenia
Amnesty says police used "excessive force" to suppress largely peaceful demonstrations in Yerevan in July -- with hundreds of people arbitrarily arrested.
It documented many cases where Armenians complained that they were injured, beaten, or ill-treated while in police custody.
Torture and other ill-treatment by police and in detention facilities continued to be widely reported.
Azerbaijan
Amnesty International described Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev as a "long-established" strongman who strengthened his grip on power through a constitutional amendment extending presidential terms.
The report says Azerbaijan continued to repress opposition activists, human rights groups, and independent media.
Although some political prisoners in Azerbaijan were released in 2016, Amnesty notes that at least 14 remained in prison at the end of 2016.
It says most human rights organizations in Azerbaijan that previously were shut down were unable to resume their work.
Amnesty notes that reprisals against independent journalists and activists continued -- and human rights monitors were blocked from entering the country.
Torture and other ill-treatment was widely reported along with arbitrary arrests of government critics.
Some released political prisoners and journalists were banned from traveling abroad and most were prevented from continuing their work.
Georgia
Amnesty says concerns remain about the lack of judicial independence and political interference in the courts after a series of rulings favored the Georgian government in high-profile cases.
New cases of torture and other ill-treatment by police were reported.
The economic and social rights of local residents were negatively impacted by continued border fencing along Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Afghanistan
According to Amnesty International, widespread human rights violations and abuses resulted from Afghanistan's intensifying conflict with the Taliban, so-called Islamic State (IS) fighters, and other extremists.
Thousands of civilians were killed, displaced or injured in the violence.
Armed militants were responsible for the majority of civilian casualties, but pro-government forces also killed and injured civilians.
Amnesty says insecurity restricted access to education, health care, and other services for many Afghans.
Violence continued against women and girls -- with a reported increase in armed groups publicly executing and lashing women.
The report says human rights defenders and journalists continued to be threatened by state and nonstate actors.
Pakistan
Amnesty says that. despite a new law in Punjab to protect women from violence, so-called "honor" killings continue in Pakistan.
Its latest rights report says militant extremists caused hundreds of casualties in 2016 by intentionally targeting civilians, including government employees.
Meanwhile, in Karachi, Amnesty says paramilitary Rangers violated human rights with almost total impunity.
It said executions that have continued in Pakistan often were carried out after "unfair trials."
It also says rights activists and journalists continued to face threats and abuse from both Pakistani security forces and militant groups.
The report charges that religious minorities faced discrimination from state and nonstate actors in Pakistan.
It says other minorities faced discriminatory violations of their economic and social rights.
For poor women and rural residents, Amnesty says access to quality health care remained limited.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Despite the passage of new antidiscrimination laws, Amnesty's latest rights report says, vulnerable minorities faced widespread discrimination in Bosnia-Herzegovina during 2016.
Attacks and threats against journalists and media freedom also continued.
Access to justice and reparations for civilian victims of the 1992-1995 war remained limited.
Macedonia
Amnesty International says prosecutions after revelations in 2015 about high-level corruption were slowed by political infighting while witness protection was limited.
It says Roma faced discrimination that limited their basic rights and access to services.
Refugees and migrants faced detention in poor facilities within Macedonia or were routinely pushed back at the border with Greece, the report said.
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U.S. Confirms It Sent Missiles With 300-Kilometer Range To Ukraine
The U.S. State Department confirmed on April 24 that the United States sent long-range missile systems known as ATACMS to Ukraine for use inside its territory, and the weapons arrived in the country this month.
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters that the ATACMS, short for Army Tactical Missile System, were sent at President Joe Biden's direction.
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Patel’s confirmation came after U.S. media reports said they were used last week to bomb a Russian military airfield on the Crimean Peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight.
The ATACMS have a longer striking distance -- up to 300 kilometers – than the version of the weapon with a range of 165 kilometers provided by the U.S. in October. They were part of an aid package for Ukraine in March, not the one just approved by Congress and signed by Biden earlier on April 24.
“We did not announce this at the onset in order to maintain operational security for Ukraine at their request," Patel said.
White House national-security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that a "significant number" of the missiles had been sent to Ukraine, adding, "We will send more."
He said Ukraine has committed to only use the weapons inside Ukraine, not in Russia.
The weapons are being sent at a critical time as Russia continues advancing on the battlefield in the eastern region of Donetsk. Russia could make more gains against Ukrainian forces in the coming weeks, Sullivan said.
Patel said Biden directed his national-security team to send the ATACMS specifying that they be used inside Ukrainian sovereign territory.
The Biden administration declined to send them previously over concerns that it would risk further escalating the conflict. According to news reports quoting unidentified officials, Russia's use of North Korean-supplied long-range ballistic missiles against Ukraine in December and January led to a change in heart. Russia's continued targeting of Ukraine's critical infrastructure was also a factor, the official said.
The military aid bill signed by Biden clears the way for the Pentagon to announce an assistance package featuring desperately needed artillery and air defense munitions.
Air Force General Charles Brown, chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs, told a Washington conference on April 24 that the Pentagon had been preparing to send weapons to Ukraine as the bill moved forward in Congress.
“We’ve already leaned pretty far forward on a lot of areas. So we are moving out. We’ll get capability to Ukraine as quickly as possible,” he told the conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Ukraine’s demand for some armaments, like 155-millimeter artillery shells used in howitzers, has outstripped U.S. production, leading to a decline in U.S. stockpiles.
Following the passage of the aid package, the United States will be able to ramp up production of the shells from 30,000 a month now to 100,000 by next summer, General James Mingus, vice chief of staff of the Army, told the CSIS conference.
Ukraine has used more than 2 million shells during the 26-month war, he said, a rate of more than 75,000 a month.
“We've ramped up to a level that is going to be commensurate with the need,” Mingus said.
- By AP
Russia Vetoes UN Resolution Calling For Prevention Of Nuclear Arms Race In Space
Russia has vetoed a UN resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space. The vote in the 15-member Security Council on April 24 was 13 in favor, with Russia opposed and China abstaining. The resolution calls on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, as banned under a 1967 international treaty that included the United States and Russia, and to agree to the need to verify compliance.
Iran Sentences Dissident Rapper To Death
Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, detained during the nationwide protests of 2022, has been sentenced to death in what activists called "a new low" in Tehran's crackdown on dissent.
The charges against Salehi also include aiding in rebellion, assembly and conspiracy, propaganda against the regime, and inciting chaos -- all offenses classified under corruption on earth, as per Article 286 of the Criminal Code. Surprisingly, the court also imposed additional penalties, including a two-year travel ban and a prohibition on engaging in artistic activities.
Amir Raisian, Salehi’s attorney, said on April 24 that the Isfahan Revolutionary Court issued the sentence for a new charge of "corruption on earth" while refusing to acknowledge a prior Supreme Court ruling that might have mitigated the case.
Raisian criticized the judgment saying that, given its legal inconsistencies, his client would launch an appeal.
"The primary court's verdict has clear legal contradictions, particularly ignoring the Supreme Court's guidance which had advised reducing the charge count and considering a pardon," Raisian said in an interview with Tehran-based Shargh newspaper.
Since unrest rattled the country following the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 while in police custody for a supposed head scarf violation, Iranian authorities have launched a crackdown on even the slightest hint of dissent.
Thousands have been detained, hundreds have died, and there have been credible reports of torture, including by Salehi.
Still, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said Salehi's death sentence "underscores the glaring unlawfulness and injustice of the Islamic republic's judicial system, which has been weaponized and used as a tool by the state security forces to crush dissent and perpetuate political repression."
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"This grotesque manipulation of the judicial process aims to silence dissent. Toomaj’s imprisonment stems from his vocal advocacy against state oppression. It is imperative that supporters of free speech and dissent unite to demand his immediate release,” said CHRI Executive Director Hadi Ghaemi.
Raisian noted that the same court previously acquitted Salehi of other serious allegations, such as disturbing public order and insulting leadership, due to insufficient evidence.
Salehi, 33, was initially arrested in October 2022 after making public statements in support of the protests, which had erupted the previous month following Amini's death.
He spent much of his pretrial detention in solitary confinement and was subsequently sentenced to more than six years in prison but released after the Supreme Court, on appeal, found "flaws in the original sentence." His case was sent back to a lower court for reexamination and possible retrial.
He was released on bail in November after spending over a year in prison, including 252 days in solitary confinement, but rearrested two weeks later after publicly talking about his alleged torture in prison in a video.
Raisian said reports in local media about a possible pardon or sentence reduction citing Salehi's youth were false. The court, he said, only requested leniency from the pardon commission, which does not impact the execution sentence.
Salehi gained prominence for lyrics that rail against corruption, widespread poverty, executions, and the killing of protesters in Iran.
His songs also point to a widening gap between ordinary Iranians and the country's leadership, accusing the authorities of "suffocating" the people without regard for their well-being.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Kazakh Foreign Minister, U.K. Foreign Secretary Hold Talks In Astana
Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtileu and visiting British Foreign Secretary David Cameron held talks on April 24 in Astana, focusing on bilateral ties, regional security, cooperation, and the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said. Nurtileu said his country supports a “peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine.” An agreement on strategic partnership and cooperation between the two nations was signed during the talks. Earlier this week, Cameron also held talks with top officials in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. He is also scheduled to visit Mongolia during his ongoing diplomatic tour. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
On Genocide Remembrance Day, Armenians Told To 'Overcome Trauma' Of 1915 Mass Killings
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian urged Armenians to “overcome the trauma” of the massacre of their ethnic kin by Ottoman Turks more than a century ago and stop yearning for their “lost homeland” as they marked the anniversary of the Armenian genocide on April 24.
Pashinian said the enduring trauma prevents many Armenians from objectively assessing international affairs and challenges facing Armenia.
“Maybe this is also a reason why we get new shocks, reliving the trauma of the Armenian genocide as a legacy and as a tradition,” he said in a statement as tens of thousands of people marched to the Tsitsernakaberd memorial in Yerevan to commemorate the genocide.
The daylong procession followed a wreath-laying ceremony at the hilltop memorial led by Pashinian, Parliament Speaker Alen Simonian, and President Vahagn Khachaturian. Catholicos Garegin II, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, who has increasingly been at odds with Pashinian’s government, was again excluded from the ceremony.
Armenians Hold Somber Memorials To Mark Genocide Remembrance Day
The genocide began on April 24, 1915 with mass arrests of Armenian intellectuals and activists in Constantinople, now Istanbul. An estimated 1.5 million Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire were massacred or died from starvation in the following months and years. About three dozen nations, including Russia, France, Germany, and the United States, have recognized it as genocide.
Pashinian’s statement came amid Yerevan’s ongoing rapprochement with Ankara. Armenia recently said Yerevan seeks full normalization of relations with Ankara, including the opening of their border and the establishment of diplomatic ties. Their strained relationship stems from their differences over whether the killings were a genocide, a distinction Turkey has vehemently rejected.
Pashinian’s choice of words could risk more opposition allegations that he is helping Turkey deny that the 1915 events were genocide. He frequently used the Armenian phrase Meds Yeghern (Great Crime) in reference to the events of 1915 and did not condemn the regime of the so-called Young Turks that ruled the Ottoman Empire during World War I. He said instead that Ottoman Armenians “became victims of geopolitical intrigues and false promises.”
The commemoration of the genocide “should symbolize not the lost homeland but the found and real homeland, the Republic of Armenia, whose competitive, legitimate, thoughtful and creative policies can preclude a repeat [of the genocide,]” Pashinian said.
Armenians should speak the phrase “never again” only to themselves, not as an accusation but as a point of view that puts Armenians “in charge of our own destiny,” he added.
Earlier this month, a senior Armenian pro-government lawmaker allied with Pashinian, Andranik Kocharian, called for “verifying” the number of the genocide victims, saying Pashinian wants to “make the entire list of compatriots subjected to genocide more objective.”
The remarks sparked uproar from Armenian government critics, civil society figures, and genocide scholars. They accused Kocharian of echoing the Turkish narrative that the number of Armenians who died was lower than the 1.5 million estimated and that the cause was not a premediated Ottoman government policy.
Kocharian said the following day that it was his personal opinion rather than the Pashinian government’s position and denied casting doubt on the Armenian genocide. Opposition leaders dismissed the explanation, continuing to accuse Pashinian of planning another far-reaching concession to Ankara.
Pashinian’s wife, Anna Hakobian, was jeered by several dozen people when she visited the Tsitsernakaberd memorial later on April 24. The hecklers, who apparently included opposition supporters, chanted “Genocidal Nikol!” and “Nikol the Turk!” as Hakobian and one of her daughters surrounded by bodyguards laid flowers by the memorial’s eternal flame.
- By RFE/RL
With Conflicts Raging In Ukraine, Middle East, Amnesty Warns Rights Under Threat
Rights watchdog Amnesty International has warned that world order is under threat amid a wave of international rule breaking, deepening global inequality, superpower rivalries, and accelerating climate change.
The group said in its annual report on the state of global human rights, released on April 24, that the world is "reaping a harvest of terrifying consequences" from the pressures of escalating conflict and "a near breakdown" of international law, with advances in artificial intelligence likely to exacerbate the situation.
Amnesty said its report "presents a stark assessment of the betrayal of human rights principles by today’s leaders and institutions," and that in the face of multiplying conflicts, "the actions of many powerful states have further damaged the credibility of multilateralism and undermined the global rules-based order first established in 1945."
"Alongside Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine, the growing number of armed conflicts, and massive human rights violations witnessed, for example, in Sudan, Ethiopia and [Burma] – the global rule-based order is at risk of decimation," said Amnesty Secretary General Agnes Callamard.
The report noted that the war in Ukraine, launched by neighboring Russia in February 2022, was another key contributor to the decline in the global human rights situation.
Amnesty called out indiscriminate attacks by Russian forces "on populated areas and civilian energy and grain export infrastructure."
"Both Russian and Ukrainian forces used cluster munitions despite their inherently indiscriminate nature and lasting risks for civilians," the report reads.
The report pointedly criticizes the United States for its "brazen use" of its veto power to "paralyze" the UN Security Council for months as it tried to mediate a halt in fighting between Israel and Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by Washington and the European Union, in the Gaza Strip.
It also slams the "grotesque double standards" of European countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany, given their "well-founded protestations" about war crimes by Russia and Hamas, while they simultaneously bolster the actions of Israeli and U.S. authorities in this conflict.
The violence erupted after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7 that killed some 1,200 people, mostly citizens, while around 240 others were taken back to Gaza as hostages. Since then, an Israeli offensive aimed at neutralizing Hamas has killed almost 35,000 people, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry in Gaza.
“The confounding failure of the international community to protect thousands of civilians -- a horrifically high percentage of them children -- from being killed in the occupied Gaza Strip makes patently clear that the very institutions set up to protect civilians and uphold human rights are no longer fit for purpose. What we saw in 2023 confirms that many powerful states are abandoning the founding values of humanity and universality enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Callamard said.
Arson Attacks Reported In Kazakh Town After Alleged Rape Of Teen Girl
Law enforcement beefed up security measures in Kazakhstan’s southern town of Zaghambar on April 24 amid a series of crimes feared to be part of ethnic violence. Local police say a teenage boy suspected of sexually assaulting a teenage girl was detained. Media reports say police also launched a probe into arson attacks on two private cars and several households belonging to the suspects’ relatives. The town has been cordoned by police and access to the Internet was blocked in the area. Some 4,000 of the 5,400 residents of Zaghambar are ethnic Uzbeks. Similar situations in the past have caused ethnic conflicts in the Central Asian nation. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service, click here.
- By RFE/RL
Biden Signs Ukraine Aid Package, Says Weapons Shipments To Start In Coming Hours
U.S. President Joe Biden has signed a long-delayed military aid package hours after it was passed by the Senate, saying U.S. military aid will begin flowing again to Ukraine in the next few hours.
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"America is going to send Ukraine the supplies they need to keep them in the fight," Biden said, speaking from the White House after signing the aid bill on April 24. Biden said the package showed that the United States and its allies fully support Ukraine in its battle against invading Russian forces and that the approval was important to show "we stand up against Putin," a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"In the next few hours we will begin sending air defense munitions, for artillery, for rocket systems, and armored vehicles," Biden said. "I’m making sure the shipments start right away."
The State Department confirmed later on April 24 that the United States sent long-range missile systems known as ATACMS to Ukraine for use inside its territory and the weapons arrived in the country this month. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters that the ATACMS, short for Army Tactical Missile System, were sent at Biden's direction.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Biden for authorizing the desperately needed military aid that had stalled in Congress since late last year.
"No matter what anyone says, we are getting the support we need to continue to protect lives from Russian attacks," Zelenskiy said on X. "Over the past few days, we have already been actively working with our American friends on all levels to include the exact types of weapons that our warriors require in this package."
Biden said that the package was "literally an investment not only in Ukrainian security but in Europe’s security, in our own security." He said that if Congress had not stepped up and passed the aid to Ukraine, it would have sent the wrong signal to NATO, which he said the United States has worked to unify, strengthen, and expand since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
"Imagine instead if we had failed…to step up now and to support Ukraine. All those gains would have begun to unravel. The cohesion of NATO would have been weakened. And our national security would have been undermined without any question," the president said.
Biden spoke from the White House after the U.S. Senate easily approved a package of bills late on April 23. The legislation had stalled in the House of Representatives for months, but House Republican leaders decided last week to bring the measures up for a vote, and they passed on April 20, sending it to the Senate.
The bills provide $61 billion for Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel, and $8.12 billion "to counter communist China" in the Indo-Pacific. The fourth bill includes a potential ban on the social media app TikTok, measures for the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine, and new sanctions on Iran.
During debate, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York) had urged his Senate colleagues to pass the legislation as Kyiv struggles to hold its territory amid a shortage of weapons and ammunition caused in large part by the delay in U.S. aid.
"This is an is an inflection point in history. Western democracy perhaps faced its greatest threat since the end of the Cold War," Schumer said.
Schumer told a news conference after the aid to Ukraine passed that it was "one of the most important measures Congress has passed in a very long time to protect American security and the security of Western democracy."
Many of the no votes against the bill came from Republicans, most of whom are allied with former President Donald Trump. The Republicans said they oppose the bill in part because it doesn't include any U.S. security matters, particularly to strengthen the U.S.-Mexico border.
Zelenskiy said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that he was grateful to the United States Senate for approving the aid.
"I equally appreciate President Biden's support and look forward to the bill being signed soon and the next military aid package matching the resoluteness that I always see in our negotiations. Ukraine's long-range capabilities, artillery, and air defense are critical tools for restoring just peace sooner," he added.
In the face of an expected wave of weaponry from U.S. and Ukraine's other allies, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said his forces would expand their aerial bombardment of Ukraine to include storage bases that house Western-supplied weapons.
An intense Russian missile and drone strikes campaign on Ukrainian cities has taken a large toll in human lives and has caused huge damage to the country's already battered energy infrastructure after more than two years of war.
With reporting by Reuters and AP
Pardoned Georgian Activist Vows To Continue Protesting Law On Foreign Agents
Georgian activist Lazare Grigoriadis said after he was released from prison on April 24 due to presidential clemency that he will continue to protest Georgia's controversial bill on "foreign agents," which many say is a replica of a similar Russian law used to muzzle dissent in that country. Grigoriadis was sentenced to nine years in prison on April 12 over taking part in protests against the bill in March last year, when he threw two Molotov cocktails at police, according to investigators. The 22-year-old activist said right after his release that he would join ongoing protests against the bill later the same day. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Georgian Service, click here.
Another Former Wagner Fighter Imprisoned For Crime In Russia
A court in Russia's Kirov region sentenced a former fighter with the Wagner mercenary group on April 24 for murdering and raping a woman. Ivan Rossomakhin returned to his native village in March 2023 after taking part in Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. He was recruited by the Wagner group in 2022 from a penitentiary where he was serving a 14-year prison term for murder. He was pardoned after serving for Russia in Ukraine. The number of crimes in Russia committed by former Wagner recruits and other former ex-military personnel has been on rise since early 2023. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.
Russian Anti-War Activist Loses Appeal Against Conviction
A Russian court on April 24 rejected an appeal filed by anti-war activist Svetlana Marina against a "forced labor" sentence she was handed last month on a charge of discrediting the Russian armed forces. The charge stemmed from Marina’s online post last year where she called pro-Kremlin blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, who was killed in a blast in a restaurant after an explosive device in a gift handed to him detonated, "a murderer." Marina was sentenced to 18 months of work at a facility to be designated by the authorities. A portion of her salary will be deducted and given to the State Treasury. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.
Opposition Candidate Leads Presidential Race In North Macedonia
SKOPJE -- Presidential candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova of the main opposition VMRO-DPMNE held a big lead after the first round of presidential elections in North Macedonia, initial incomplete results showed late on April 24.
With 72 percent of the votes counted, Siljanovska-Davkova led with 39.25 percent over incumbent Stevo Pendarovski of the Social Democratic Union (SDSM), who had 19.24 percent. Both were well short of the 50 percent needed to win outright, making a runoff necessary.
Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, candidate of the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) party and the European Front, had 14.50 percent. Behind him is the candidate of the Vredi coalition, Arben Taravari, with 10.45 percent.
Seven candidates competed in the race, but the two favorites were Pendarovski and Siljanovska-Davkova, whose coalition's full name is the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian Unity.
According to a poll conducted just before the election by the Center for Political Research and Communications, Siljanovska-Davkova, who is 70, had a 3.6 point lead over the 61-year-old Pendarovski, whose SDSM has been in power since 2017.
The two faced off in the last election as well, with Pendarovski winning.
Among the other five candidates were law professor Biljana Vankovska from leftist party Levica and two ethnic Albanians, Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani and Arben Taravari. Approximately a quarter of North Macedonia's population is ethnic Albanian.
The voting process was generally peaceful, and turnout was 48.38 percent, the State Election Commission (SEC) said.
The runoff, to be held in two weeks, would coincide with a parliamentary election and would need turnout of at least 40 percent of the 1.8 million registered voters to be valid.
The main topics of the campaign have been accession into the 27-member EU, the fight against corruption, consolidating the rule of law, and alleviating poverty.
North Macedonia's 2.3 million people have become increasingly anxious to see their tiny Balkan country finally join the European Union. A candidate since 2005, Skopje opened EU membership talks only in 2022 after years of opposition from Greece and Bulgaria.
The dispute with Greece was settled in 2017 when the country agreed to change its name from Macedonia to North Macedonia, subsequently becoming a member of NATO in March 2020.
However, Bulgaria has continued to block more consistent EU membership talks with Skopje unless it amends its constitution to mention a Bulgarian minority in the preamble -- a highly contentious issue because of the overlapping histories and cultures of Bulgaria and North Macedonia.
Such a constitutional amendment would need a two-thirds majority in parliament, which so far has been not possible in the face of opposition from the VMRO-DPMNE.
With reporting by AP, AFP, and dpa
Relatives Demand Open Trial For Kyrgyz Group That Protested Border Deal
Dozens of relatives of 27 members of a Kyrgyz group that is on trial for protesting a border deal rallied in Bishkek on April 24, demanding the trial be open and nine defendants held in pretrial detention be released. The defendants were arrested in 2022 and charged with organizing mass disorders and plotting to seize power after they protested the deal that saw Kyrgyzstan hand over the territory of the Kempir-Abad reservoir to Uzbekistan. The trial is being held behind closed doors as materials of the case were tagged as classified. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.
8 Members Of Tajik Opposition Group Detained In Italy
Activists from the Tajik opposition movement Group 24 said on April 24 that police in Italy detained the movement's eight members a day earlier. According to the Group 24, Tajik opposition activists from the EU countries gathered in Rome to take part in a rally challenging policies of the Tajik President Emomali Rahmon during his ongoing official visit to Italy. Rahmon has been criticized by international human rights groups for years over his disregard for independent media, religious freedoms, civil society, and political pluralism. In March 2015, Group 24's founder, Umarali Quvatov, was assassinated in Istanbul, Turkey. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Tajik Service, click here.
- By Reuters
Russian Court Orders Seizure Of JPMorgan Chase Funds In VTB Lawsuit
A Russian court has ordered the seizure of funds in JPMorgan Chase bank accounts in Russia, court filings showed on April 24, in a lawsuit filed by state-owned bank VTB as it seeks to regain funds blocked abroad. JP Morgan Chase last week sued VTB in New York to halt its efforts to recover $439.5 million from an account that was blocked after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and VTB was hit with sanctions. JPMorgan Chase declined to comment on the Russian court's interim measures. VTB also did not immediately comment.
- By AFP
UK's Sunak To Discuss European Security, Ukraine With Scholz In Berlin
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will talk defense and security with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on April 24 when the British leader makes his first trip to Berlin since becoming taking office 18 months ago. Discussions are expected to focus on Ukraine, defense spending levels, and a push by Germany to bolster NATO's air defenses in Europe amid Russia's relentless missile strikes on Ukraine. "At this dangerous moment for the world, the U.K. and Germany are standing side by side to preserve security and prosperity at home and across our continent," said Sunak, hailing "a new chapter" in the countries' relationship.
Orthodox Priest Suspended After Presiding At Navalny's Funeral
Russian priest Dmitry Safronov has been suspended for three years and demoted after he oversaw a farewell ceremony at the funeral of outspoken Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny last month. Patriarch Kirill's decree on the move appeared on the website of the Moscow City Diocese on April 23 but it gave no explanation. Safronov also officiated a religious ceremony at the traditional Orthodox ceremony marking the 40th day of Navalny's death. He also was among priests who signed a petition demanding Navalny’s body be handed to his family after the politician died in an Arctic prison in February. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
- By Current Time
Ukraine's SBU Hit Oil Facilities in Russia's Smolensk, Says Source
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) carried out drone strikes early on April 24 that set fire to oil-storage facilities in Russia's Smolensk region, a source familiar with the issue has told RFE/RL.
Drones hit two fuel and lubricant storage depots in the settlements of Yartsevo and Rozdorove in the Smolensk region, causing major fires and prompting the evacuation of employees, the source said.
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"26,000 cubic meters of Russian fuel were stored in these depots. After powerful explosions, a large-scale fire started at the facilities and forced the evacuation of personnel," RFE/RL's source said.
The SBU considers the logistics facilities that supply the Russian Army with fuel to be legitimate military targets, the source added.
Earlier on April 24, Smolensk Governor Vasily Anokhin reported that Ukrainian drones struck fuel and energy facilities in his region, setting them on fire.
"Our region is again under attack by Ukrainian UAVs," Anokhin wrote, adding that there were no casualties and that the fires were being put out by emergency workers in the Smolensk and Yartsevo districts.
Separately, eyewitnesses reported fires at the Smolensk and Yartsevo oil refineries. The Astra Telegram channel published a video filmed by eyewitnesses purporting to show a large fire at one refinery.
Confronted with an increasing lack of air defense systems, weapons, and ammunition as Western aid dries up, Kyiv has increasingly resorted to air and naval drone strikes deep inside Russian territory, targeting both military installations and critical oil-refining capabilities.
The strikes are part of an effort to cut fuel supplies to the Russian military and also cut export revenues that Moscow uses to fund the war.
Earlier this month, the Istories website said Ukrainian drones might have destroyed 15 percent of Russia's oil refinery facilities, while the Russian statistics service said that by the end of last month, the country's gasoline production had decreased by 14.3 percent and diesel production had reduced by seven percent.
According to British intelligence, as of March 23, Russia lost at least 10 percent of its oil refinery capacity due to drone strikes.
London believes the strikes are causing financial losses for Russia by affecting its domestic fuel market.
- By AFP
Griner Says She Contemplated Suicide During Russian Prison Ordeal
U.S. women’s basketball star Brittney Griner has revealed she contemplated suicide during her ordeal in a Russian jail. Griner, who was detained in February 2022 on drug charges before being sentenced to nine years in prison, made the revelation in an interview with U.S. broadcaster ABC released on April 23. Asked if she had considered "ending it all," Griner said: "Yeah, I just didn't think I could get through what I needed to get through." Griner, who was freed in a prisoner swap, also gave details in the interview about the grim conditions at a Russian penal colony.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Detained On Suspicion Of Corruption
Russian law enforcement officials have detained Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov on suspicion of taking a bribe, the Investigative Committee said on April 23.
The committee announced the arrest of Ivanov on Telegram but provided no further details of the accusations against him, saying only that he is suspected of taking an especially large bribe -- a criminal offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The 49-year-old was the subject of an investigation published in December 2022 by Aleksei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK).
It said that Ivanov oversaw and profited from construction projects in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which was heavily bombarded and occupied by Russian forces in the first months of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The investigation showed that Ivanov and his wife, Svetlana, spent more than 1 million euros ($1.07 million) on vacations, renting villas and yachts, jewelry, and clothes. It also showed that the personal bills of Ivanov’s wife were paid by a company engaged in the restoration of Mariupol.
According to the FBK, which has been banned in Russia for alleged extremism, the minister divorced his wife to allow her to bypass EU sanctions.
"Today is a good day," said Maria Pevchikh, the head of investigations at the foundation, in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"The person involved in our investigation was detained on suspicion of bribery. We talked about the glamorous and luxurious life of Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov back at the end of 2022."
Ivanov was appointed deputy defense minister by presidential decree in May 2016.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a report on Ivanov's detention had been presented to President Vladimir Putin, according to Russian news agencies.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had been informed in advance of his detention, he said.
Ivanov's duties included overseeing housing for troops and the construction and overhaul of ministry facilities. Ivanov has been designated for sanctions by United States, the European Union, Britain, and Canada.
Forbes magazine listed Ivanov as one of the wealthiest men in Russia's security structures.
With reporting by AFP and AP
- By RFE/RL
Latest U.S. Sanctions On Iran Target Four People, Two Companies Suspected Of Hacking
The United States on April 23 imposed more sanctions against Iran, designating four people and two companies that the U.S. Treasury Department said were "involved in malicious cyber-activity" on behalf of the country's military.
"These actors targeted more than a dozen U.S. companies and government entities through cyberoperations, including spear phishing and malware attacks," on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' Cyber-Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC), the Treasury Department said in a statement.
In addition to the sanctions, the U.S. Justice Department and FBI unsealed an indictment against the four individuals for their alleged roles in cyberactivity targeting U.S. entities.
The defendants are accused of engaging in a coordinated hacking campaign originating in Iran that targeted more than a dozen American companies and the U.S. Treasury and State departments, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. The activity started in about 2016 and continued through about April 2021, the Justice Department said.
The Treasury Department said Iranian cyber-actors "continue to target the United States using a wide range of malicious cyber-activity, from conducting ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure to conducting spear phishing and other social-engineering campaigns against individuals, companies, and government entities."
It said the IRGC-CEC was one of the Iranian government organizations behind the malicious cyber-activity and worked through a series of front companies to target the United States and several other countries.
Much of the Iranian public is not aware that some companies in Iran such as Mehrsam Andisheh Saz Nik, one of the two companies designated for sanctions on April 23, are used as front companies to support the IRGC-CEC, the department said.
"The Iranian public should be aware that the IRGC-CEC uses private companies and their employees to achieve illegal goals," it added.
The sanctions freeze any assets the entities and individuals have in U.S. jurisdiction and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.
Writers, Artists Demand Iran Release Cartoonist Arrested For Trying To Hang Picture
PEN America, along with a group of organizations that support cartoonists and artists, has condemned the violent arrest of Atena Farghadani, an Iranian cartoonist currently being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison for attempting to hang one of her drawings on a wall near the presidential palace.
Farghadani's lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, said she was violently arrested on April 12 by intelligence officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and sustained facial injuries that were visible during her arrest.
Moghimi said in a post on social media that Farghadani refused bail in protest against her violent arrest and was initially transferred to Qarchak prison, only to be moved to Evin prison due to the refusal of Qarchak to accept her because of her injuries.
A statement issued jointly on April 22 by PEN America, Cartooning for Peace, Cartoonists Rights, and the Freedom Cartoonists Foundation expressed outrage over the treatment of Farghadani by Iranian authorities, noting her work in support of human rights and democratic values.
"We call on the Iranian authorities to immediately and permanently cease their deliberate and brutal campaign against artistic freedom, and artists like Farghadani, and for the charges against her to be dropped immediately," Julie Trebault, managing director of Artists at Risk Connection, said in the statement.
The groups highlighted Farghadani's courage in upholding democratic values under "severe repression" and called for her "unconditional and immediate release."
At a recent United Nations Human Rights Council meeting, PEN America joined an international coalition that urged the extension of a mandate of a commission that is investigating human rights abuses in Iran, underscoring ongoing concerns about the suppression of free expression in the country.
In 2022, the association reported that Iran was responsible for imprisoning over one-third of all female writers jailed worldwide, emphasizing the systemic suppression of women's voices amid their struggle for full human rights.
Farghadani was previously detained in 2015 and served 18 months on various charges including "propaganda against the regime."
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Five Suspects Named In Deadly Attack On Police In Russia's Karachai-Cherkessia
Authorities in Russia's North Caucasus region of Karachai-Cherkessia on April 23 identified five men suspected of opening fire on a police patrol a day earlier, killing two officers and wounding another. Ruslan Semyonov, Vladimir Averyanov, Kazbek Dzhazayev, Akhmat Elkanov, and Ruslan Elkanov were added to the wanted list, the regional Investigative Committee said. The committee said earlier that it launched an investigation into "a deadly attack against law enforcement officers and illegal firearms possession." The assailants managed to take a pistol, an AK-47, and ammunition from the officers during the attack. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Caucasus.Realities, click here.
Sister Of Iranian Teen Killed In Anti-Government Protests Released From Prison
The sister of a 16-year-old killed in 2022 in anti-government protests has been freed from an Iranian jail. Aida Shakarami, sister of Nika Shakarami, was released on April 23 after about a week of detention for violating Iran’s hijab law. Shakarami was arrested by the morality police during the government's attempt to reimpose the compulsory head scarf. Nasrin Shakarami, the mother of Nika and Aida, said the judge in the case had insulted and threatened her daughter, including accusations of promoting corruption and prostitution. Pictures of Aida Shakarami on social media after her release showed her without a hijab. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Journalist Gershkovich's Appeal Against Russian Detention Denied
A Moscow court on April 23 rejected an appeal by jailed U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich against the extension of his pretrial detention until June 30.
The judge in the case said a ruling on March 26, which extended Gershkovich's pretrial detention until June 30, "should be left unchanged."
The Wall Street Journal reporter, who has spent more than a year behind bars on espionage charges, has lost multiple appeals seeking to end his pretrial detention.
The 32-year-old U.S. citizen was arrested in late March 2023 in Yekaterinburg while on a reporting trip.
Russian authorities have not provided any evidence to support the espionage charges, which The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have vehemently rejected. They say Gershkovich was merely doing his job as an accredited reporter when he was arrested.
U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy said in March after Gershkovich's detention was extended that his case "is about using American citizens as pawns to achieve political ends."
The U.S. State Department said in December that Moscow rejected a significant offer it made to secure the release of Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, another American imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges.
Another U.S. citizen currently held by Russian authorities is Alsu Kurmasheva, an RFE/RL journalist who was arrested in Kazan in October 2023 and charged with failing to register as a "foreign agent" and spreading falsehoods about the Russian military.
Prior to her arrest, Kurmasheva, who faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted, had her passport confiscated following a visit to care for her elderly mother. RFE/RL and the U.S. government say the charges against her are reprisals for her work.
Russian officials have kept mum about any talks to win the release of the Americans. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly said that while "certain contacts" on swaps continue, "they must be carried out in absolute silence."
Russia is believed to be seeking the release of Vadim Krasikov, who was given a life sentence in Germany in 2021 for the killing of Zelimkhan "Tornike" Khangoshvili, a Georgian citizen of Chechen descent who had fought Russian troops in Chechnya and later claimed asylum in Germany.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked in February about releasing Gershkovich, appeared to refer to Krasikov by pointing to a man imprisoned by a U.S. ally for "liquidating a bandit" who had allegedly killed Russian soldiers during separatist fighting in Chechnya.
With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP
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