Romania had a legitimate expectation to join Europe's open-borders Schengen area, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on December 7, rejecting Austrian claims that it is a gateway for illegal migrants as unjustified. European Union interior ministers are expected to vote on December 8 on whether to admit Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia into Schengen, a decision that requires unanimity. To read the original story from Reuters, click here.

Badri Hosseini Khamenei, the estranged sister of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has criticized her brother and his "despotic caliphate" in an open letter in which she also says she hopes to see him overthrown.

Badri Khamenei’s letter, published on her son's Twitter account on December 6, expressed sympathy to the mothers who lost their loved ones because of their opposition to the Islamic republic in the last four decades and declared that she opposes the actions of her brother.

“The regime of the Islamic Republic of Khomeini and Ali Khamenei has brought nothing but suffering and oppression to Iran and Iranians,” she added, referring to Ayatollah Khomeini, who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. “I hope to see the victory of the people and the overthrow of this tyranny ruling Iran soon.”

Khamenei's sister, who lives in Iran, wrote that her brother “does not listen to the voice of the people of Iran and wrongly considers the voice of his mercenaries and money-grubbers to be the voice of the Iranian people."

In recent years, as a humanitarian duty, she said she has tried to raise the voice of the Iranian people to her brother's ears but was disappointed and cut off contact with him.

Badri Khamenei also used the letter to address the violent arrest of her daughter, saying that if her daughter is arrested in this way, “it is clear that they will inflict thousands of times more violence on the oppressed sons and daughters of others."

Badri Khamenei’s daughter, Farideh Moradkhani, who is the supreme leader’s niece, was arrested a week ago after being summoned to Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office. In the last video she recorded before her arrest, she called on the international community to cut ties with the Iranian government.

Anger over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September has prompted thousands of Iranians to take to the streets nationwide to demand more freedoms and women's rights.

Amini died while in police custody after being detained for allegedly improperly wearing a hijab. Her parents and friends say she was beaten. The widespread unrest represents the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.

The activist HRANA news agency said that, as of November 29, at least 459 protesters had been killed during the unrest. The figure includes 64 minors.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

A Ukrainian lawmaker who has been sanctioned by the U.S. government has now been charged with violating the sanctions when he purchased two luxury properties in California.

The seven-count indictment against Andriy Derkach, unsealed on December 7 in New York City, also charges him with money laundering and bank fraud conspiracy in the purchase and maintenance of the two properties in upscale Beverly Hills, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Derkach purchased the properties in violation of U.S. sanctions and concealed his interest in the transactions from U.S. banks, prosecutors said.

Derkach, 55, was sanctioned for his efforts to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election on behalf of the Russian intelligence services. The U.S. Treasury Department alleged at the time that Derkach -- a member of the Ukrainian parliament who studied at the KGB school in Moscow -- had been "an active Russian agent for over a decade."

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in the Justice Department's statement on December 7 that Derkach’s conduct has shown that “he is ready, willing, and capable of exploiting [the] banking system in order to advance his illicit goals.”

The indictment alleges that, beginning in 2013, Derkach and a co-conspirator devised a scheme to purchase and maintain the two luxury condominiums while concealing his ownership and participation in the purchase. Derkach used the services of a corporate nominee, a multitiered structure of California-based shell companies, and numerous bank and brokerage accounts to purchase the properties, the Justice Department said.

Derkach used the network to wire approximately $3.92 million to the corporate nominee from overseas accounts in Latvia and Switzerland belonging to companies registered in the British Virgin Islands, the Justice Department said. The money was then used to pay $3.2 million in cash in the name of a corporate entity set up by the nominee, with Derkach having no visible affiliation with the purchase.

The remaining $800,000 was invested in a brokerage account and used to pay expenses on the condominiums, including taxes, homeowners’ fees, and utilities.

A parallel civil forfeiture action has been initiated to seize the condominiums and the remaining funds in the U.S. accounts, the department said. If convicted, Derkach, whose whereabouts are unknown, faces a maximum of 30 years in prison.

Ukrainian authorities in June said they had uncovered a Russian spy network involving Derkach. The State Security Service (SBU) on June 24 alleged that Derkach set up a network of private security firms to help facilitate the entry of Russian units into cities during Moscow's February 24 invasion.

Derkach has previously denied wrongdoing, claiming he was being targeted for exposing corruption.

MOSCOW -- A court of appeals in Moscow has rejected an appeal filed by Ivan Safronov, a prominent former journalist, against his conviction in a high-profile treason case that highlighted the Kremlin's crackdown on the media in September.

Safronov's conviction and sentence were upheld on December 7, and he is now expected to be transferred to a penal colony in the near future.

The Moscow City Court sentenced Safronov to 22 years in prison in early September after finding him guilty of handing secret materials to foreign agents in a case that is widely considered to be politically motivated.

SEE ALSO:

A 'Hard Rain': Five Takeaways From A Treason Charge In Russia

Safronov has repeatedly denied accusations that he passed documents to Czech secret service agent Martin Laris in 2017 about Russian arms sales in the Middle East. He also denies handing unspecified classified information to German secret service agent Demuri Voronin.

Safronov's supporters have held pickets in Moscow and other cities demanding his release.

Safronov, who was arrested in July 2020, went on trial behind closed doors in early April.

The 32-year-old journalist, who covered the defense industry for the newspapers Kommersant and Vedomosti, is also a former adviser to the former head of Russia's space agency, Roskosmos. Russian President Vladimir Putin has twice publicly stated that the charges are related to Safronov's work at Roskosmos.

Human rights organizations have issued statements demanding Safronov’s release and expressing concerns over an intensifying crackdown on dissent in Russia. The Russian human rights organization Memorial recognized him as a political prisoner.

Investigators deny that Safronov's prosecution is related to his work, but they previously offered him a pretrial agreement in exchange for disclosing journalistic sources.

Iran's judiciary has sentenced to death five people -- including one who is in the hospital recovering after reportedly being tortured -- over the killing of a member of the Basij paramilitary force during nationwide protests.

The judiciary said on December 6 that it had also sentenced 11 others to prison sentences for their alleged roles in the death of Ruhollah Ajamian, who was part of the Basij, a volunteer branch under the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

One of those sentenced to death is Hamid Qarahasanlou, a radiologist that human rights groups say was tortured during interrogation and is now in a hospital as a result.

SEE ALSO:

Iranian Lawmaker Says Government Is Seeking Alternative Punishments For Hijab Violators

The three others sentenced to death were not named. Of the 11 people sentenced, three were minors, judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi told a news conference, adding the sentences can be appealed.

Farzaneh Qarahasanlou, Hamid Qarahasanlou's wife, was sentenced to 25 years and exiled to a prison in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz.

Both of the Qarahasanlous denied any wrongdoing in court and said they were merely participants in protests over the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, who died while in custody over allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly.

Several of the defendants were charged with "corruption on Earth," which is punishable by death and often leveled in cases allegedly involving espionage or attempts to overthrow Iran's government.

The cases were decided within six days and after three court hearings.

Prosecutors said the 27-year-old Ajamian was stripped naked and killed by a group of mourners who had been paying tribute to a slain protester, Hadis Najafi, during ceremonies marking the 40th day since her death.

Human rights organizations have strongly objected to the death sentences being issued against protesters in Iran after "sham trials."

SEE ALSO:

The Farda Briefing: Iran's Apparent Disbandment Of Morality Police Prompts Skepticism And Confusion

Amnesty International wrote in a statement that, according to informed sources, the Iranian authorities tortured Qarahasanlou and forced Farzaneh Qarahasanlou to accuse her husband of wrongdoing.

"On 1 December, [Hamid Qarahasanlou] was removed from hospital, where he had undergone surgery for internal bleeding, and taken to court for trial while he was heavily sedated and recovering from surgery and then returned to hospital afterwards," Amnesty said in the statement.

"The couple’s first two lawyers dropped their case after intelligence and security agents threatened them," it added.

The BBC quoted an informed source as saying that, during the interrogations, Farzaneh was hit on the head with a baton so many times that, to save herself, she said that her husband may have kicked the victim. She later recanted the statement.

Iran is currently in the throes of unrest as people take to the streets across the country to protest Amini's death on September 16.

Police have met the unrest with deadly force.

The activist HRANA news agency said that, as of November 29, at least 459 protesters have been killed during the unrest, including 64 minors, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.

The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization says the number of executions in Iran exceeds 500 this year.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

An ancient bronze cauldron estimated to be more than 2,000 years old was used for almost 30 years by a household in Uzbekistan to cook food before it was recognized for its cultural value and turned over to a museum. Uzbekistan's Agency of Cultural Heritage said on December 6 that a school director in the Samarkand region found the cauldron in 1993 when digging a canal and did not know its cultural value. Experts assessed that the cauldron belonged to the ancient nomadic Saka people. It has now been acquired by a state museum in Samarkand. To read the original story from RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, click here.

A Russian woman was among more than two dozen suspects detained in Germany on December 7 during nationwide raids on an extremist group linked to the Reichsbuerger movement that allegedly aimed to overthrow the government. According to German prosecutors, the detained Russian citizen is suspected of facilitating unsuccessful attempts to make contact between a would-be group leader and Russian officials. The Russian Embassy in Berlin has denied any links with the group, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the arrests an internal issue for Germany. To read the original story from RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Students at Tehran University say they were beaten back by security forces as they tried to hold a protest as President Ebrahim Raisi arrived to deliver a speech amid anti-government unrest that has rocked the country since the September death of a young woman while in police custody for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly.

The Students' Union Council Telegram channel on December 7 said several students were injured and left bloodied by the attacking security forces.

Each year on December 7, which is Student Day in Iran, demonstrations are organized by many universities at which students put forward democratic demands.

WATCH: General strikes have been held for a third day in Iran, with shops and factories closed across the country. Meanwhile, students at Tehran University said they were beaten by security forces ahead of a speech on campus by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

Embed share

Iranians Strike For Third Day Amid Nationwide Protests Against Government

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width px height px

---

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

No media source currently available

0:00 0:01:15 0:00

Besides such issues as academic rights, freedom of speech, and academic independence from the government, the demands also often reflect broader democratic movements in Iran, including this year's protest movement that has built up across the country since Mahsa Amini died in Tehran on September 16.

Students have been one of the main forces behind the unrest, which has been met by security officials with a brutal, and often deadly, crackdown.

Raisi, an ultra-conservative leader, arrived at the school and in a speech held in front of a selected group of pro-government students said that "protest is different from rioting" and that it was rioters who were "unjustly killing our loved ones."

While Raisi spoke, many students gathered in different parts of the university and chanted slogans against the government, as well as the slogan "Women, Life, Freedom."

Reports from other universities, including AmirKabir University in Tehran, and other universities in Mashhad said students were severely beaten there as well.

An eyewitness from Ferdowsi University in Mashhad said that a gathering of students there was "attacked" by security forces.

Meanwhile, nationwide strikes at businesses and shops continued for a third day.

Videos received by RFERL’s Radio Farda showed shopkeepers in Isfahan, Bukan, and Tehran on strike in support of the protests.

The government has responded to almost three months of unrest with deadly force as it tries to suppress one of the deepest challenges to the Islamic regime since the revolution in 1979.

The activist HRANA news agency said that, as of November 29, at least 459 protesters had been killed during the unrest, including 64 minors.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

Time magazine says it has chosen Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the "Spirit of Ukraine" as its person of the year for 2022 for standing up in the face of Russia's invasion. Noting that the 44-year-old leader had no military background or interest in military affairs, he instead used instincts honed "from a lifetime as an actor on the stage" to guide him through the country's most difficult hour. "Zelenskiy's success as a wartime leader has relied on the fact that courage is contagious," the magazine said in an article making the announcement on December 7. To read the original story by Time, click here.

BISHKEK -- A well-known Kyrgyz jazz musician who was severely beaten while detained by police in Kazakhstan during deadly anti-government protests in January will seek financial compensation from Astana after an investigation into his treatment by police officers is complete.

Vikram Ruzakhunov's lawyer, Bakyt Avtandil, told RFE/RL on December 6 that the move will be made after the ongoing evidence-checking process and the investigation end.

Ruzakhunov, who says he suffered a chest injury, broken ribs, a concussion, and multiple bruises while in custody, visited Kazakhstan in September after Kazakh officials launched a probe into his beating in Almaty.

Anti-government protests sparked by a fuel-price hike erupted in Kazakhstan in early January. President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has publicly blamed what he said were "extremists" trained abroad for attacking Almaty during the unrest. He has not produced any evidence to back up the claim.

Ruzakhunov's situation was amplified when a Kazakh television channel showed a video in which he said he was recruited by an unspecified group to take part in the unrest for $200. In the video, severe bruises can be seen on Ruzakhunov's face, backing up his claims that he was forced to make the statement.

The video sparked protests in Kyrgyzstan, where Ruzakhunov was immediately recognized by fans. He was freed several days after his arrest and allowed to go to Bishkek after the Kyrgyz government demanded his release.

Kazakh officials said earlier that six people were tortured to death after being arrested for taking part in the protests, and 238 people died during or after the unrest, which was violently dispersed by law enforcement and the armed forces.

The Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office has said 25 people were officially considered victims of torture as investigators used hot irons during their interrogations.

Human rights groups insist that the number of killed during the unrest may be much bigger, presenting proof that many peaceful demonstrators and persons who had nothing to do with the protesters were killed by police and military personnel following Toqaev's "shoot-to-kill-without-warning" order.

In July, police in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, concluded that Kazakh authorities had inflicted severe injuries on Ruzakhunov's body during his illegal arrest in January.

Amid fears that Russia plans new attacks along with the Belarusian military against Ukraine from Belarusian territory, Belarusian lawmakers approved in the first reading on December 7 a bill that envisages the death penalty for high treason committed by officials and military personnel. The bill also includes criminal prosecution for "spreading false information discrediting Belarusian armed forces." Russia adopted a similarly controversial law in March, days after it launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in late February. To read the original story from RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.

Police in Russia's Rostov region have apprehended a man suspected of opening fire with a machine gun at a group of police officers on December 6, wounding one of them. The region's governor, Vasily Golubev, said on Telegram on December 7 that the suspect was found in an abandoned building in the town of Novoshakhtinsk. Some media reports identified the man as Pavel Nikolin, a 38-year inmate of a penitentiary in Bashkortostan, who was recruited in prison to join the war in Ukraine but deserted with a machine gun. To read the original story from RFE/RL's Crimea.Realities, click here.

More than 60 media outlets and independent journalists broadcasting and writing in Russian, including those based in Latvia, have expressed support for the independent Russian television channel Dozhd (Rain) after Latvia's electronic media authority revoked its broadcasting license.

The Latvia-based Meduza news website published a letter of support for Dozhd hours after the chairman of Latvia's National Electronic Media Council (NEPLP), Ivars Abolins, announced the license revocation on December 6, saying the decision, which takes force on December 8, was made "in connection with the threat to national security and public order."

Meduza's letter of support to Dozhd TV adds that statements saying "these violations pose a 'national security threat' are unconvincing," and that the television channel's position against Russia's war in Ukraine is "obvious" as it is critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin's policies.

"[Dozhd's] significance in countering Russian state propaganda is colossal. Roaring about 'national security' conceals what is actually a heavy blow to free speech and ultimately to European security as well," the letter says.

SEE ALSO:

Who's Helping Putin? Dozhd Controversy In Latvia Inflames Tensions Over Émigré Anti-War Russians

Dozhd said in a statement on Twitter earlier that the move was "unfair and absurd," adding that while it will cease broadcasting on cable, its YouTube station will continue to operate.

NEPLP granted Dozhd a broadcast license in June after it was forced to suspend operations in Russia in March amid pressure linked to its coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On December 2, Dozhd was fined 10,000 euros ($10,468) for using a map of Russia with Ukraine's Moscow-annexed Crimea on it and calling Russian armed forces invading Ukraine "our army."

On the same day, Latvia's state security service said it had launched an investigation in connection with statements "which raise suspicions about the assistance provided by this TV channel to the soldiers of the Russian occupation forces in Ukraine."

Dozhd anchor Aleksei Korostelyov on December 1 called on the Dozhd audience to write about cases of violations of Russian laws during the recent mobilization in Russia and about war crimes. In making the request, he said:

"We hope we also helped many military personnel, namely by assisting with equipment and bare necessities on the front line."

The security service said in a news release, "No provision of support to the aggressor Russia is justifiable," it said, adding that anyone helping the Russian forces was subject to criminal liability.

A Moscow court has postponed until December 9 its verdict and sentence in the case of opposition politician Ilya Yashin, who is charged with spreading false information about the Russian military amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The judge was scheduled to hand down a decision on December 7 but the court building was cleared after a bomb threat. Prosecutors seek nine years in prison for the outspoken Kremlin critic. The charge against Yashin stems from his YouTube posts about alleged crimes committed by the Russian military in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. To read the original story from RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to increase the number of police officers in the country to 938,000 by 2025. According to the decree, dated December 5, the number of police in the country will be 922,000 next year, and 934,00 in 2024. After Moscow illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea and threw support to pro-Russia separatists in 2014, the maximum number of the police personnel in the country was legally set at 894,000. Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of Russians have been called up for military duty. To read the original story by RFE/RL's North.Realities, click here.

The Belarusian Security Council says it plans to start a two-day program of moving military personnel and equipment on December 7 in "a counter-terrorism exercise." The announcement comes amid concerns that Russia may launch a new attack on Ukraine from Belarusian territory. Council officials told the BelTA state news agency that the move will include the transportation of vehicles and persons in unspecified parts of the country. To read the original story by BelTA, click here.

Russian forces attacked several Ukrainian regions with kamikaze drones and heavy artillery, officials said on December 7, killing two people and wounding several others, as heavy fighting continued in the east a day after Moscow accused Kyiv of hitting an airfeld inside Russia.

In Kherson, Russian troops shelled the region 51 times the previous day, killing two people, Yaroslav Yanushevych, the head of the regional military administration, said on December 7.

Dnipropetrovsk Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said all Russian drones were destroyed by Ukrainian forces in the overnight attack.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

"Military men from the East air command did a great job. We shot down all eight enemy drones that the enemy directed at the area,"Reznichenko wrote on Telegram.

He said Russian shelling targeted the Nikopol district and city, causing damage to gas pipelines, houses, and farm buildings, but no people were wounded.

"Nikopol suffered the most. Up to a dozen private houses, farm buildings, and gas pipelines were damaged in the city. Several shops, office buildings, and a college were destroyed by Russian shells," he said.

Russian troops also shelled two settlements in the Zaporizhzhya region, the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Starukh, said on December 7.

"Two houses were destroyed in one of the villages, and eight more were damaged. "We know about three wounded, including a 15-year-old girl," said Starukh.

In Washington, U.S. lawmakers agreed to provide Ukraine at least $800 million in additional security assistance next year, according to a defense policy bill unveiled on December 6.

WATCH: Soviet-era T-72 tanks are getting new optics, armor, and more at a Czech facility in Sternberk, thanks in part to the efforts of Ukrainian refugees working there.

Embed share

Czech Company Modernizes Tanks For Ukraine With The Help Of Refugees

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width px height px

---

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

No media source currently available

0:00 0:02:24 0:00

The Fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, authorizes the additional spending for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, an increase of $500 million over President Joe Biden's request earlier this year.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on December 7 the United States "neither encouraged nor enabled the Ukrainians to strike inside of Russia" after another Russian airfield was set ablaze by a drone strike on December 6, a day after Russia had said two of its air bases, had been hit by drones.

Blinken added that it was important to understand what Ukrainians are living through every day with the "ongoing Russian aggression," accusing Russia of "weaponizing winter" through attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Officials in the Russian city of Kursk, around 90 kilometers north of the Ukraine border, released pictures of black smoke above an airfield, where the governor said an oil storage tank had gone up in flames.

SEE ALSO:

Russian Soldier Says Commander Stabbed Ukrainian Woman To Death

While Ukraine did not directly claim responsibility for any of the three strikes -- one of which targeted a Russian military air base about 600 kilometers east of Ukraine in the Saratov region -- a senior Ukrainian official quoted on December 5 anonymously by The New York Times said the drones were launched from Ukrainian territory.

The official said at least two planes were destroyed at one of the Russian bases and several more were damaged.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said the air base in Saratov is Russia's only base fully equipped for the long-range bombers Russia has used in its campaign to damage Ukraine's energy grid that has plunged millions of Ukrainian homes into darkness and cold at the onset of winter.

“All this complicates their operation against Ukraine,” Arestovych said. “Yesterday, thanks to their 'unsuccessful smoking,' we achieved a very big result," he said, poking fun at an earlier claim by Russia that explosions at one of its bases had been caused by carelessness with cigarettes.

SEE ALSO:

Russia Is Using The Caspian Sea To Launch Strikes Against Ukraine. So Why Are The Caspian Countries Silent?

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said very heavy battles were taking place in the Donetsk region, "and the price is very high."

"For us, the epicenter of hostilities today is the Donetsk region, and the enemy has concentrated most of its forces there,” she said.

It was the sixth time in memory that Russian forces had tried to push to the borders of the Donetsk region and failed, she added.

"We must understand that when we liberate the temporarily occupied territories, it is a victory. When we stand firm and don't let the enemy in, it's also a victory," Malyar emphasized.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine earlier reported that Russian troops were concentrating their main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Bakhmut and Avdiyivka areas of the Donetsk region.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

U.S. lawmakers agreed to provide Ukraine at least $800 million in additional security assistance next year and to boost Taiwan with billions in aid over the next several years, according to an $858 billion defense policy bill unveiled on December 6. The Fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, authorizes the additional spending for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, an increase of $500 million over President Joe Biden's request earlier this year. To read the original Reuters story, click here.

The UN humanitarian chief on December 6 decried the “colossal” torment Ukraine is suffering from Russia’s destruction of its infrastructure. That view was echoed by Western allies of Ukraine at a UN Security Council meeting but strongly opposed by Russia. Humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths outlined the toll of “widespread death, displacement, and suffering.” He said more than 14 million people have been displaced -- 7.8 million to Europe and 6.5 million still within the country -- and 17,023 civilians have been killed, including 419 children, though the UN human rights office believes “the real toll is far greater.” To read the original story from AP, click here.

The spirits of shareholders of dismantled Russian oil company Yukos were low on December 6 after the top bid in an auction of several iconic vodka brands came up short. The financial holding company GML, the majority shareholder in Yukos before the Kremlin dismantled it in 2003, was hoping to sell the rights to Russian vodka brands Stolichnaya and Moskovskaya. Two bidders each placed a $250,000 deposit hoping to win the rights to use the trademarks in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. But GML reserved the right to reject the winning bids, and did so, deeming them as too low. To read the original story by AP, click here.

Iranian state television has aired for the second time the "confessions" of four Kurdish political prisoners -- admissions their families and supporters say were coerced -- raising fears that they may have been executed.

Pejman Fatehi, Vafa Azarbar, Mohsen Mazloum, and Hajir Faramarzi have been detained for four months and are thought to be part of a group of people who were identified by security police in November as allegedly being "Mossad-related agents."

On December 5, Javana Teymasi, the wife of Mohsen Mazloum, wrote in a tweet that she has no information about her husband's condition and that the rebroadcast of what she called his forced confession has added to her worries.

"We don't even know if their trial was held and if a verdict was issued or not. What is clear is that the link in their case is with the accusations of 'espionage,'" she wrote.

"Rebroadcasting forced confessions and raising these accusations has worried the families."

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has previously identified the group as operatives from the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, but the party itself has denied the claim. It has said previously that several of its members have been arrested.

In early November, the judiciary of the Islamic republic announced the indictment of 10 people who were identified as "Mossad-related agents" and announced that four of them were accused of "corruption on earth" -- a charge that is punishable by death and often leveled in cases allegedly involving espionage or attempts to overthrow Iran's government.

Earlier this week, Iran executed four people it accused of working for Israel's Mossad intelligence agency.

SEE ALSO:

Iran Executes Four Accused Of Working For Israel

The four were identified as Hossein Ordukhanzadeh, Shahin Imani Mahmudabadi, Milad Ashrafi, and Manuchehr Shahbandi. They were accused of receiving weapons and funds in the form of cryptocurrency from Mossad.

Israel, as is its policy, has not commented on the accusations.

Iran is currently in the throes of unrest as people take to the streets across the country to protest against the death on September 16 of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while she was detained by the notorious morality police for wearing a head scarf improperly.

Amini, who was taken into custody in Tehran, was from the Kurdish region of western Iran and many of the largest protests have taken there.

Police have met the unrest with deadly force.

The activist HRANA news agency said that, as of November 29, at least 459 protesters have been killed during the unrest, including 64 minors, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.

The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization says the number of executions in Iran this year exceeds 500.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda.

A member of the Iranian parliament has unveiled the government's plan for alternative punishments -- including financial ones -- to try and force women to wear a hijab in public despite massive protests across the country over the issue.

Hossein Jalali, a member of the Cultural Commission of the Iranian parliament, said that under the new plan, the actions of morality police would be curbed, allowing for less intrusive methods to be used for ensuring compliance.

"It is possible to notify nonhijab wearers in the form of a text message that they did not observe the hijab rule and that they must respect the law," Jalali said in an interview with Iranian media.

He added that after two warnings, the government would move to block the bank account of the offender as a way of punishing them. He did not explain how the government intends to recognize the identities of those who are supposedly in violation of the hijab law.

The issue has sparked massive protests across the country after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died while in police custody. She was detained by the morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab, or head scarf, improperly.

SEE ALSO:

'They Have Found The Courage': Iranian Women Go Hijab-Less In Public Amid Protests

The government has responded to almost three months of unrest with deadly force as it tries to suppress one of the deepest challenges to the Islamic regime since the revolution in 1979.

Since the outbreak of the unrest, morality police have been less visible in cities. Still, their status is unclear since the country's chief prosecutor said over the weekend that the notorious force had been closed, only to then walk it back by saying it was a decision for the Interior Ministry, which has jurisdiction over the force.

On December 5, a spokesman for the morality police said that the mission of the police unit has ended and that new methods should be used to enforce the country's mandatory hijab law, but the ministry itself has not commented on the issue.

The hijab -- the head covering worn by Muslim women -- became compulsory in public for Iranian women and girls over the age of nine after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and Jalali said that there will be no backing away from the hijab and chastity plan laid out by the state.

"Moving away from the hijab means a retreat of the Islamic republic," Jalali added.

The activist HRANA news agency said that, as of November 29, at least 459 protesters had been killed during the unrest, including 64 minors, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda.

Iran’s top Sunni cleric, a vocal critic of the government, says he has received reports of sexual assaults on female prisoners in Iranian prisons.

Molavi Abdolhamid wrote on his Twitter account on December 6 that the assaults on female prisoners were being committed with the intention of humiliating, suppressing, and obtaining forced confessions from them.

"If proven, the real corrupters on earth are the perpetrators of these crimes," Abdolhamid added, and asked the judiciary to punish these people severely.

"Corruption on Earth," is a common charge often leveled by Iran’s judiciary in cases involving attempts to overthrow the government.

Molavi Abdolhamid is regarded nationwide as a spiritual leader for Iran’s Sunni Muslim population, who are a minority among the mainly Shi'ite population of Iran. He is the director of the main Sunni seminary in Iran and has been under pressure for his comments against the Islamic republic.

SEE ALSO:

Leaked Document Says Iranian Leadership Is Seeking To Discredit Sunni Cleric

CNN first published an investigative report last month about the "sexual assault and rape" of some of the detainees from recent protests while they were being held in Iran's prisons. Citing the testimony of a number of released detainees or hospital sources, CNN said it has confirmed that young women and teenage boys and girls have been raped in prisons.

In response to the report, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price condemned the Iranian authorities' use of sexual violence as a tool for protest suppression.

Price said on November 23 that the United States “is disgusted by the reports and eyewitness accounts of protesters, including minors, being sexually assaulted while in the custody of law enforcement.”

Previously, in an open letter to Javaid Rehman, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist imprisoned in the notorious Evin prison, called for a special investigation into the assault of detained women.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda.

A top official at a heating plant in Kazakhstan’s northern city of Ekibastuz, Sergei Vidlog, has been found dead as parts of the city have been left without heat since late November. Authorities said on December 6 that Vidlog's body was found in his car in a garage two days earlier. Last week, Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev sacked the region's governor after experts described the situation in Ekibastuz, where temperatures have been minus 30 degrees Celsius for weeks, as "catastrophic." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

Hungary vetoed an 18 billion euro ($19 billion) EU loan for Ukraine and EU finance ministers delayed a decision on whether to unfreeze billions of euros in aid earmarked for Budapest. At a meeting in Brussels, Hungarian Finance Minister Mihaly Varga confirmed his government's opposition to supporting Ukraine with the loan. Locked in a tug-of-war with Hungary, the ministers decided to take off their agenda on December 6 any decision about 7.5 billion euros ($7.9 billion) in EU funds earmarked for Hungary, according to EU officials. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service story, click here.