Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Russia

CIA Might Probe Prison Leaks

9 November 2005 -- Several news agencies are reporting that the American intelligence agency, the CIA, has taken the first step toward opening an investigation of a leak of possibly classified information on secret prisons.

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November 09, 2005

The agencies quote unnamed sources as saying the CIA has sent a report to the Justice Department about a "Washington Post" story. That story published last week said the CIA had transported and interrogated some of its most important Al-Qaeda suspects to Soviet-era compounds in Eastern Europe.

The administration of President George W. Bush has refused to confirm or deny the "Post" story.

Yesterday, the Council of Europe announced it will look into whether the CIA is operating secret prisons on European soil.

In a related development, the Pentagon-- under pressure over the treatment of detainees held by U.S. military -- has issued new guidelines for treating them. Among other things, the new rules explicitly bar torture and prohibit use of dogs to intimidate prisoners.

(Reuters/AP/dpa)

Syrians in the northwestern town of Kfar Nubul pose with a cartoon depicting Russia

Angry Over Syria, Arab World Threatens Russian Boycott

Groups in a number of Arab states, angry over the Russian-Chinese veto of a UN resolution aimed at stopping the violence in Syria, have called for a one-day boycott of Russian and Chinese goods on February 12. More

Alla Dzhioyeva attends a protest by her supporters in Tskhinvali on January 28.

South Ossetian Opposition Leader Hospitalized After Raid

Alla Dzhioyeva, the opposition candidate whose victory in a runoff ballot in November for de facto president of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia was swiftly annulled by the republic's Supreme Court, was taken to a hospital after a raid by some 200 masked security personnel on her headquarters in Tskhinvali. More

Protesters gather behind a banner reading "Honest Elections" during a demonstration in Moscow on February 4.

How To Rig An Election

A whistle-blower in Samara explains how the authorities fixed the Duma elections in December -- and plan to do the same in the presidential vote in March. More