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- By RFE/RL
COVID-19: Kazakhstan Locks Down Two Main Cities; Iran Warns Virus Could Kill 'Millions'

Kazakh authorities have imposed a quarantine on the capital, Nur-Sultan, and largest city, Almaty, after the number of people infected with coronavirus in the country more than doubled overnight to 33.
The Health Ministry said in three different announcements on March 17 that 18 people had been diagnosed with the deadly virus in Nur-Sultan and 15 in Almaty.
After the announcement, Prime Minister Asqar Mamin held a gathering of the presidential commission on the implementation of the state emergency -- which runs until April 15 -- introduced by Presidnet Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev the day before
It was decided at the gathering to impose the quarantine at midnight on March 19 to prevent the further spread of the deadly virus.
The measures include dividing the two cities into sectors and creating checkpoints to control access, limiting the population's movement by foot and by vehicles in the two cities, regulating the operations of medical institutions in which patients infected or suspected of coming into contact with the coronavirus are being treated.
Also, all stores and shopping malls in the two major cities will be closed and only grocery and drug stores will be allowed to operate during the quarantine.
According to the website, special points to distribute food, medicine, and other items will be defined in Nur-Sultan and Almaty.
Last week, Toqaev canceled Norouz holiday celebrations scheduled for March 21-23 and a military parade devoted to the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany scheduled for May 9, due to the coronavirus.
Interactive Coronavirus Map: The Spread Of The Infection
Iran
Iran's state television has warned, with the official coronavirus death toll at nearly 1,000 people, that the outbreak could kill "millions" in the Islamic republic if the public kept ignoring health measures.
The warning was broadcast at midday on March 17, after the Health Ministry said 135 more people had died over the past day, a 13 percent spike that pushed the death toll to 988.
Iran has the third-most registered cases after China and Italy.
"Reports by more than 56 laboratories indicated that we have had 1,178 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in the past 24 hours," Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said.
"This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 16,169 as of today noon," he added.
The rise in deaths came amid the temporary release of some 85,000 inmates earlier on March 17 -- a measure that authorities said was meant to help curb the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
The husband of the jailed British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe said his wife was among those temporarily released.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained in Iran since April 3, 2016. In September 2016 she was sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly "plotting to topple the Iranian government."
The prosecutor-general of Tehran said in October 2017 that she was being held for running "a BBC Persian online journalism course that was aimed at recruiting and training people to spread propaganda against Iran."
The charges have been rejected by Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the BBC, and international rights groups as politically motivated.
Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili confirmed that those who were temporarily freed on March 17 included political prisoners, which Iranian authorities describe as "security-related prisoners."
"Some 50 percent of those released are security-related prisoners.... Also in the jails we have taken precautionary measures to confront the outbreak," Esmaili said, giving no further details.
There are suspicions that the outbreak in the Islamic republic -- whose government is known for its opaqueness and censorship -- is far worse than authorities are admitting.
President Hassan Rohani on March 16 urged Iranians to stay home for the Norouz holiday celebrations on March 20 and to avoid traveling over the festive period, while state TV announced the temporary closure of Shi'ite shrines to limit exposure to the corunavirus.
The announcement prompted angry crowds of hard-line Shi'ite faithful to storm into the courtyards of two major shrines -- Mashhad's Imam Reza shrine and Qom's Fatima Masumeh shrine -- late on March 16.
Crowds typically pray there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, touching and kissing the shrine. That's worried health officials, who for weeks have ordered Iran's Shi'ite clergy to close them.
Pakistan
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan has more than doubled for a second straight day, reaching 195 -- mainly due to what authorities said were mistakes in testing and the quarantine of travelers who recently returned from Iran.
Thousands of Pakistanis, mostly pilgrims, have been placed into quarantine in recent weeks at the Taftan border crossing in the southwestern province of Balochistan after returning from Iran, one of the world's worst-affected countries.
However, at least 119 of those people who were released have since tested positive after entering other regions of the country, officials said.
The chief minister of Balochistan said the area had housed some 5,000 people who had reentered Pakistan in recent weeks.
Amid the steep rise in known cases, Pakistani authorities have moved to discourage crowds and gatherings.
Islamabad on March 17 announced that all gyms, swimming pools, religious shrines, and children's parks will remain closed for three weeks.
Health officials in Punjab, Pakistan's largest province, on March 17 urged the public to avoid unnecessary social contacts or traveling and to stay indoors.
Pakistan also postponed its Super League cricket tournament.
Serbia
Serbia has declared a nighttime curfew and ordered that all elderly people remain at home as the Balkan country steps up measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
President Aleksandar Vucic on March 17 said the new, stricter regulations were necessary because many people had not followed earlier, less-restrictive recommendations in the country of some 7 million people.
Serbia has 72 confirmed infections of the coronavirus, which has affected every country in Europe as well as most countries worldwide since the outbreak began in China.
Under the new measures, people will not be able to move about in the evening hours as of March 18, Vucic said.
"There is a ban on the movement of all persons of any age from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. No one can be on the street, except the appropriate authorities who are on duty and those employed to work on the third shift," the president said.
He added that as of 10 a.m. on March 18, "it is absolutely forbidden for people over 65 to move about in urban areas and for those over 70 to go out in smaller towns and rural regions."
Most people who contract the highly contagious virus suffer only light to moderate effects, but it has proven to be fatal to many older people and those with underlying medical conditions.
Vucic said the penalties for those who do not respect the measures "will be very, very harsh."
Public transport will be suspended, except for special buses designated for workers in essential industries, the president said.
Vucic added that all border crossings, migrant centers, and hospitals will be under the control of Serbia’s military.
"Several doctors have been assaulted during this crisis. Medical staff will feel much safer with armed soldiers outside," Vucic said.
Serbia had already delayed general elections scheduled for April 26 until after the abolishment of a state of emergency previously imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
It also closed its borders to most foreigners and imposed quarantines on Serbian citizens returning from abroad.
Ukraine
KYIV -- Ukraine's government has suspended the operation of subways in three major cities, Kyiv -- the capital, and the eastern cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv -- as a measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Transport officials in Kyiv said on March 17 that the underground transportation operations will be stopped later in the day, but did not give an exact time.
Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes said that subway operations in the city will be suspended as of 8 p.m. on that day until April 3.
In Dnipro, an official with the Transportation Department at the city council said that all public transportation units are working and that any changes in operations will be announced later.
The government announced on March 16 that subway operations would be suspended as of March 17, while all rail, air, and bus transportation between towns and cities, as well as interregional passenger links will be stopped on March 18.
To date, 14 coronavirus cases have been registered in Ukraine, up from seven the previous day. Two deaths have been reported.
Armenia
Armenia has banned all public events involving more than two dozen people after the number of coronavirus cases nearly doubled in a day, pushing authorities to declare a national emergency.
Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian, who was appointed chief coordinator of the 30-day state of emergency, said the temporary measure applies to concerts, exhibitions, theatrical performances, sports as well as cultural, educational, and entertainment events.
The government has also placed a temporary limit of 20 people for private events, including, but not limited to, birthday, wedding and engagement parties, memorial services and funerals.
"As regards funerals and memorial services, we will try to provide a slightly wider opportunity for participation while keeping an eye out for crowding during ceremonies," Avinian said.
Under the state-of-emergency decree, Armenia has also prohibited entry to foreigners coming from countries most hit by the new coronavirus.
The strict measures come after Armenia's Health Ministry reported an additional 22 cases on March 16, bringing the total number of patients in the country to 52.
In a live broadcast, Health Minister Arsen Torosian said that a vast majority of patients identified in Armenia do not even have noticeable symptoms.
He said some of the new patients had only been tested because they had been in close contact with infected people.
“Only two of the patients have developed pneumonia, but they have it in a mild form,” the minister said.
Following the declaration of a state of emergency in Armenia, the Armenian Apostolic Church said it would conduct all liturgies behind closed doors, but will schedule regular open hours for believers to make individual visits.
The church also announced it would suspend marriage ceremonies and limit its services during funerals to graveyard ceremonies.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian also called on people to take basic protective measures to reduce the risk of contracting the highly contagious and potentially deadly virus.
He also assured the public that Armenia has no shortage of food supply and urged people not to buy more than they needed.
Romania
Some 6,000 Romanians have been blocked at the border between Austria and Hungary after Budapest closed its border crossings to slow the spread of coronavirus, Romania's government says.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government imposed the sweeping restrictions just after at midnight on March 17, closing land crossings to foreigners as well as border crossings at airports.
Most of the delayed Romanians are returning from Italy and Spain, the world's second- and fourth-most affected countries.
There was a 20-kilometer-long traffic jam at the Nickelsdorf-Hegyeshalom border crossing on the Austrian side on March 17, with cars and trucks waiting to enter Hungary.
Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said that some 6,000 Romanians -- including young children and elderly people -- had been prevented from crossing into Hungary since midnight.
Aurescu asked Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto for Budapest to take urgent measures to allow the Romanian citizens to pass through Hungary, his ministry said in a statement.
Aurescu "called for support for the opening of a humanitarian corridor to allow the uninterrupted access through Hungary for all Romanian citizens currently waiting at the Austrian border with Hungary," the ministry said.
It said the blockage was caused by the lack of prior official notice from Hungary about its intention to close the borders.
The statement from Bucharest quoted Szijjarto as saying that Hungary would allow, "as an exceptional, onetime measure," the repatriation of Romanian citizens as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Szijjarto confirmed on Facebook that Hungary will permit the one-off transit of Romanian and Bulgarian citizens who are stuck in Austria.
Szijjarto said the step was being taken at the request of the Bulgarian and Romanian foreign ministers. He said they will have to take a designated transit route.
"We expect Austrian authorities to maintain order on the Austrian side of the border and allow Hungarian citizens and freight traffic to use the border crossing," Szijjarto said.
Hungary reported having 50 confirmed coronavirus infections on March 17, up from 39 on March 16.
Moldova
Moldova has declared a 60-day state of emergency in a bid to slow the coronavirus outbreak.
Lawmakers on March 17 voted unanimously in favor of the measure presented to parliament by Prime Minister Ion Chicu.
Moldova, a country of 3.5 million sandwiched between EU member Romania and Ukraine, has reported 29 confirmed coronavirus cases, with no deaths recorded.
The country, one of the poorest in Europe, has already temporarily shut its borders and suspended all international flights from March 17.
Separately, Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniester declared a state of emergency until April 5 in the wake of the outbreak.
Transdniester declared independence in 1990 and fought a bloody war with Moldova two years later. It is unrecognized by the international community but is unofficially backed by Russia, which stations hundreds of troops in the region.
Montenegro
Montenegro’s government has confirmed the first two cases of the coronavirus in the Western Balkan country, becoming the final European country to report infections to the potentially deadly disease.
The government made the announcement in a brief Twitter statement late on March 17.
Prime Minister Dusko Markovic identified the patients as two females who had arrived from the United States and Spain 12 days ago.
Both have been hospitalized, he said.
Montenegro, a former Yugoslav republic on the Adriatic coast with around 620,000 people, had previously sealed its borders, halted public transport, and closed schools and restaurants in an effort to stem the spread of coronavirus.
Although the cases reported on March 17 were the first registered in the country, Montenegro has placed nearly 400 people in quarantine after they were potentially exposed to others with the virus.
North Macedonia
North Macedonia's main political parties have agreed to delay snap general elections scheduled for April 12 because of fears over the spread of the coronavirus.
Leaders from the parties met with President Stevo Pendarovski on March 17 to discuss the move. No new date for the vote was given.
"If the elections are postponed for a month or two, it will not be a collapse of the world," Pendarovski told a recent news conference.
The snap poll was called after former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev failed to get the go-ahead from the European Union to start accession talks in October 2019.
North Macedonia has confirmed 26 cases of the coronavirus, with no fatalities, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Uzbekistan
Uzbek authorities have warned against spreading "wrong" information to incite "panic" and fear among the public about the new coronavirus outbreak, saying offenders could face heavy fines and up to eight years in prison.
The country’s Justice Ministry said that, according to Uzbek laws, those involved in preparing material with the intention of inciting panic among the public -- and those saving such material for the purpose of distribution -- will face up to $9,400 in fines or up to three years in prison.
Those who spread such information through media and the Internet would face up to eight years in prison, the ministry said on March 16.
The statement came a day after the Central Asian nation announced its first confirmed coronavirus infection, which prompted the government to introduce sweeping measures to contain the outbreak.
The country has closed its borders, suspended international flights, shuttered schools, and banned public gatherings.
The number of infections rose to 10 as of the morning of March 17, the Health Ministry said.
The Health Ministry provides regular updates on its social-media accounts on the coronavirus situation in the country, frequently using the hashtag “quarantine without panic” in the Uzbek and Russian languages.
It also posts measures that the government has been taking to contain the spread of the virus and to protect the population.
The ministry said some of the precautionary measures have led to "misinterpretations and false rumors" on social media.
For example, the ministry said the number of passengers on intercity trains and buses rose considerably as students began going home following the closure of universities on March 16.
“This situation was misinterpreted by some residents, and incorrect information circulated on social media that all transport links to and from Tashkent will be suspended soon, and that people who come from provinces will be forcibly sent back to their home regions,” the ministry said.
The ministry said that this was “entirely groundless information” and that flights and train and bus services between the capital and provinces will continue “uninterrupted.”
The coronavirus outbreak also led to panic buying and food price hikes in grocery shops and bazaars across the country, while there was an immediate shortage of face masks and hand sanitizers in pharmacies.
The state-backed food agency, Uzbek-oziq-ovqat-holding, sought to reassure people that there “won’t be food shortages in Uzbekistan” despite the temporary border closure.
The agency said 98 percent of the food products Uzbeks consume is produced domestically and that only nonstaples, “such as cocoa and coffee grains and citrus fruits," are imported from abroad.
The Health Ministry said on March 17 that more than 640 people who were believed to have been exposed to the virus had been placed in quarantine in hospitals, while some 5,660 others were under quarantine at home.
Uzbek authorities say that the 10 individuals who tested positive for the coronavirus are all Uzbek citizens returning from Europe and Turkey.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Armenian, Kazakh, Romanian, Ukrainian, Uzbek services and Radio Mashaal, AP, dpa, IRNA, Reuters, UNIAN, Ukrayinska pravda, Nashe misto, Obozrevatel, Interfax, TASS, Hotnews.ro, Digi24.ro, and G4media.ro
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Ukraine and Poland will open a border crossing for empty trucks on December 4 in a bid to ease a blockade by Polish hauliers, whose protests have paralyzed traffic for weeks. Polish truckers have been blocking major crossings with Ukraine demanding the reintroduction of entry permits for their Ukrainian competitors. The Dolhobyczow-Uhryniv crossing, which currently serves cars and buses, will open to empty trucks traveling from Ukraine into Poland from December 4, Kyiv's border service said. Kyiv said December 1 that fallout from the Polish protest was "catastrophic" and Ukrainian drivers stuck at the border were in a "dire" situation.
Kyiv Police Cannot Confirm Whether Ukrainian Lawmaker Detained For Alleged Treason Injured In Custody

Kyiv police said on December 3 that following an investigation they were unable to confirm allegations that detained Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinskiy was physically injured while in custody.
The headquarters of the National Police in Kyiv earlier this week reported it had been informed by Dubinskiy's legal team in a message that the lawmaker, who is in detention in Kyiv as he awaits trial for alleged treason, was physically injured over the course of two days.
On December 2, Dubinskiy's lawyers claimed on his Telegram channel that an ambulance had been sent to facility and determined that he had suffered "multiple hematomas, as well as a suspected rib fracture."
After sending a team to investigate, the National Police in Kyiv said in its December 3 statement that it was unable to verify the claims.
"According to the results of an inspection and forensic examination" carried out at the facility, the National Police in Kyiv said, the information it had received "was not confirmed."
Dubinskiy, a former deputy for the ruling Servant of the People party who is under U.S. sanctions for interference in U.S. elections, was ordered by a Kyiv court last month to serve 60 days in pretrial detention on suspicion of treason.
Dubinskiy was expelled from the party in 2021 after he was put on a U.S. sanctions list for election interference, which he has denied. He has continued in parliament as an independent lawmaker.
The SBU said on November 13 that an investigation had determined that an unidentified current member of the Servant of the People party it said was suspected of treason went by the call sign "Buratino" and "was part of a criminal organization formed by the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces."
The SBU alleged that criminal organization had $10 million in financing and that its aim was "to disrupt the sociopolitical situation in Ukraine and discredit the state in the international arena."
The investigation, according to the SUB, also documented instances in which the unidentified lawmaker spread false information about Ukraine's military and political leadership, including the "alleged interference in 2019 of Ukrainian high-ranking officials in U.S. presidential elections."
Ukrainian media have reported that the lawmaker under investigation was Dubinskiy.
Ukrainian prosecutors have reportedly indicted Dubinskiy, along with another Ukrainian politician and a former prosecutor, for allegedly colluding in 2019 with Russian intelligence in an alleged effort to tie the family of then-U.S. presidential candidate and 2020 U.S. election winner President Joe Biden to corruption in Ukraine.
Also reportedly indicted are Kosyantyn Kulyk, a former Ukrainian deputy prosecutor general who is also under U.S. sanctions for election interference, and former lawmaker Andriy Derkach.
The three have also been accused of promoting conspiracy theories that Kyiv, and not Russia, had meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election won by Donald Trump.
Ukraine Says Apparent Shooting Of Surrendering Soldiers A Russian War Crime

Ukraine's military has decried the apparent killing of two surrendering Ukrainian troops by Russian forces and said it considers the incident evidence of a war crime.
Drone footage of the incident that appeared on social media on December 2 showed apparently unarmed Ukrainian soldiers leaving their shelter, lying on the ground, and then being shot by people in darker uniforms.
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The alleged execution reportedly took place near the village of Stepove, which is located a few kilometers from the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiyivka where heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces is taking place.
RFE/RL was unable to independently confirm the authenticity of the video or the date or location of the apparent killings.
On December 2, Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun said on Telegram that the drone footage "published in the media depicts the killing of two Ukrainian prisoners of war."
"All evidence will be handed over to the responsible international institutions dealing with war crimes," Shtupun said.
Ukrainian Human Rights Commission Dmytro Lubinets wrote on Telegram on December 2 that the video showed that the Ukrainian soldiers were disarmed with their hands raised and that they clearly posed no threat.
"The execution of those who surrender is a war crime," Lubinets wrote.
Lubinets said he will report the incident to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations.
"The Russian Federation must be punished for every such case of the execution of Ukrainian soldiers who surrender," Lubinets said, adding that the alleged incident was not the first in which Ukrainian prisoners of war had been killed by Russian forces.
Russia has widely been accused of committing war crimes and human rights violations in Ukraine, including the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, the use of cluster munitions, and the torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Russia has denied committing war crimes in Ukraine.
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While no group has claimed responsibility for the late-evening attack, the injury to the cleric led Interior Minister Shamsul Lone to suggest on December 3 that the aim was "to breed religious hatred."
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Interim Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar said in a statement that "anti-state elements would not be allowed to sabotage the peace of Gilgit-Baltistan," and vowed to continue fighting "against terrorists."
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Local and central government officials have requested that religious scholars work to lessen Sunni-Shi'a tensions that have risen since summer after scholars on both sides accused each other of insulting their respective branches of Islam.
In September, a joint committee of Shi'ite and Sunni leaders was formed with the aim of preventing conflicts.
Following the December 2 attack, the committee condemned the violence and called on people to remain calm.
Gilgit-Baltistan lies along China's One Ring One Road initiative and is the sight of a dam project being built with the help of Beijing.
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Ukraine and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said two power lines connecting the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant to the country’s electricity grid were cut overnight, again highlighting the risk of an accident at the plant.
The IAEA confirmed in a statement on December 2 that the plant in southern Ukraine lost offsite power overnight and temporarily relied on emergency diesel generators.
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The plant, which stopped supplying electricity to the Ukraine's grid in September 2022, has been rocked by repeated shelling and drone attacks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Although its six reactors have been shut down, it still needs power to operate cooling systems and other safety features.
The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant "lost the connection to both of its external power lines," IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said in a statement, adding that this is the eighth time since the start of the war that the plant, Europe’s largest, suffered a complete offsite power outage.
The IAEA team at the site reported that the connection to its sole back-up 330 kilovolt power line was cut around 10:26 p.m. local time on December 1 due to "an external grid fault," Grossi said. This was followed around five hours later by the loss of the plant’s sole 750 kilovolt line -- its main supplier of external electricity.
The cause appeared to be in the outside grid far away from the plant, Grossi said.
"The most recent external power outage is yet another reminder about the precarious nuclear safety and security situation at the plant, which can be affected by events far away from the site itself," Grossi said.
The safety situation at the plant has been a source of concern since it was captured by Russian forces last year, and the two sides have accused each other of compromising its safety.
Enerhoatom, Ukraine's nuclear energy operator, said in its statement that due to the outage the plant switched to 20 diesel generators.
The IAEA said these generators automatically started operating and the staff at the plant, which includes a team of IAEA experts, then reduced the number in operation to eight, which is enough to ensure that the plant’s reactors have enough power for cooling.
The affected 750 kilovolt power line was reconnected shortly after 8 a.m. local time on December 1, and the eight diesel generators were being gradually shut down.
Enerhoatom said the plant was on "the verge of a nuclear and radiation accident" before off-site power was restored.
"The situation was actually saved by the prompt actions of Ukrainian specialists who restored power supply to the plant from the Ukrainian power grid," it said.
It was not possible to verify Ukraine's claims.
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Ukraine's Security Service Cancels Former President's Trip To Meet With Orban

Ukrainian border guards prevented former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko from leaving the country on what Poroshenko described as a business trip that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said was to start with a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The SBU said on December 2 that it believes Russia intended to use the meeting, as well as other meetings of Ukrainian politicians with foreign officials, to spread a pro-Russian narrative.
Poroshenko's party, European Solidarity, pointed the finger back at the SBU, saying in a statement that it had "spread a false message" that the cancellation was related to the meeting with Orban. It also said that the "theoretical use of the conversation by Russian special services" was surprising.
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Poroshenko, who was president from 2014 to 2019, said he had planned a number of high-level meetings abroad but the trip had to be canceled because he was turned away at the border on December 1.
The SBU said in a statement that Poroshenko was turned back due to his planned meeting with Orban, whom the SBU said "systematically expresses an anti-Ukrainian position."
The SBU said it had received information indicating that Moscow planned to use the meeting "in its information and psychological operations against Ukraine." The purpose of such "provocations," it said, is to "reduce the support of foreign partners and try to split Ukrainian society."
Russia is trying to "change the mood in the partner countries" and encourage politicians to "declare narratives about the need for a negotiation process" with Russia, the statement added.
"According to the received counterintelligence data, it is in this context that information regarding the planned meeting of [Orban], who systematically expresses an anti-Ukrainian position, is a 'friend of Putin,' and calls for the lifting of sanctions from the Russian Federation," the SBU statement said.
After receiving the information, the SBU said it appealed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, the government, and the parliament proposing that this information be taken into account during the process of approving foreign missions of Ukrainian delegations.
Poroshenko said on the morning of December 1 that he was not allowed to leave Ukraine despite an order from the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada that clearly stated that the international business trip was from December 1-8.
Poroshenko said he had planned meetings at the highest level with representatives of the U.S. Congress and the Polish parliament. European Solidarity said in a statement that Poroshenko planned visits to only to the U.S. and Poland.
The party said it is surprising that the Ukrainian government would "justify the actual disruption of opposition leader Petro Poroshenko's visit to Washington with counterintelligence information from the SBU about the likelihood of a meeting between [Poroshenko and Orban]."
The SBU "spread a false message that the cancellation of the travel order signed by the head of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) and the travel ban on Poroshenko on December 1 were related to the meeting with Orban," European Solidarity said.
The statement said that Poroshenko's position that there is no question of negotiations with Russia remains unchanged.
It also said that the actions of the SBU create "artificial additional tension" with Hungary, which as an EU member will soon vote on the start of accession talks between Ukraine and the EU in Brussels.
With reporting by AFP
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At least two civilians were killed in Ukraine's Donetsk and Kherson regions in shelling by Russian troops that also caused damage to infrastructure and property, regional officials said on December 2.
"One person died in Horlivka [in Donetsk], and six private homes plus three high-rise buildings and an industrial facility were damaged," the region's military administration said in its report, adding that two more people were wounded.
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In the southern region of Kherson, one civilian was killed and another one was wounded by Russian shelling and missile strikes. "Kherson region was struck 82 times with mortars, artillery, Grad missiles, tanks, aircraft and drones," regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram, adding that Russian troops targeted residential areas and an educational facility.
Russian troops also attacked the border region of Chernihiv, injuring civilians in the town of Semenivska in northern Ukraine, the regional military administration said in a statement.
A man suffered shrapnel wounds and was treated at a local hospital, the military administration's press service said.
His daughter, age 4, was injured and transported to a hospital where she will undergo an operation, the administration added. A 4-year-old grandson was not injured.
The heads of the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Mykolayiv regions also reported that civilian settlements in their region were hit by Russian shelling, but no civilians were wounded.
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The heads of the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Mykolayiv regions also reported civilian settlements in their region were hit by Russian shelling but no civilians were wounded.
Earlier on December 2, Russian troops attacked the southern region of Odesa with 11 Iranian-made kamikaze drones, the Ukrainian Air Force Command reported. Ukrainian air defense shot down 10 drones over Odesa and a guided missile in Dnipropetrovsk region, the Command said on Telegram, adding that the drones had been launched from Cape Chauda in Russia-occupied Crimea.
Oleh Kiper, the governor of Odesa region, said no one was wounded but the drone attack caused damages.
"Unfortunately, an infrastructure objective was hit. A fire broke out, which was quickly extinguished by rescuers," Kiper wrote on his Telegram channel, without elaborating.
Inclement weather compounded by Russian attacks on infrastructure facilities have left almost 500 settlements in western Ukraine without electricity, the country's Energy Ministry said in a statement on December 2.
On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces fought 84 close-quarters battles over the past 24 hours, the General Staff of Ukraine's military said on December 2.
It said the fiercest clashes took place around the industrial hub of Avdiyivka in Donetsk, which Russian troops have been attempting to encircle for weeks.
General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, the Ukrainian commander near Avdiyivka, which is under his group's responsibility, said Russian forces have reduced the use of aviation in the area.
"The enemy has reduced the activity of aviation [and] artillery and the total number of combats. Russian forces continue to try to advance with infantry," he said, estimating losses at nearly 500 soldiers.
The battlefield claims could not be independently confirmed.
With reporting by AFP
Iranian Rapper's Violent Rearrest For Comments In Video Sparks Outrage

The rearrest of Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi has triggered a wave of outrage after reports that armed security agents beat the dissident while taking him into custody even though he is still recovering from being tortured during his previous prison time.
Police detained Salehi, a prominent voice in Iran's recent social and political movements, on November 30 on a street in Babol, northern Iran.
The Mizan News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran's judiciary, confirmed Salehi's rearrest, alleging it was for "spreading lies and unverified statements on social media," a charge of disturbing public opinion.
Salehi had only been out for 12 days after enduring 252 days in solitary confinement and a total of one year and 21 days in prison on charges that his supporters said were based on his music and participation in protests during the past year over the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022.
Ye-One Rhie, a German parliamentarian and Salehi's political sponsor, criticized the "violent abduction," linking it to Salehi speaking out about his prison experience. Salehi has said he needs surgery because of injuries sustained from beatings and torture while he was incarcerated.
"When I say he was arrested, I mean he was kidnapped. He was kidnapped without any without any warning, without any identification, without any reasons given why he was beaten and why he was taken so violently," she said.
"To say that he used his time as a free man after he was released on bail to spread false rumors and to spread lies just because he was talking about his time in prison and his time in solitary confinement, that doesn't hold against any rule of law," the German lawmaker added.
Salehi was initially arrested in November 2022 after a period in hiding. His detention then immediately sparked significant attention and demands for his release, both domestically and internationally.
He was sentenced to more than six years in prison but released on November 18 after the Supreme Court, responding to an appeal, found “flaws in the original sentence.” It sent the case back to a lower court for a reexamination and possible retrial.
Once out, Salehi produced a video where he described being injected with a substance, likely adrenaline, to prevent unconsciousness during torture. He recounted the severe beatings he endured, leading to broken hands and feet.
He also said in the video that he filed a complaint against the General Directorate of Intelligence in Isfahan, a claim disputed by the Mizan News Agency. However, Salehi's lawyer, Amir Raesian, contradicted Mizan's statement, affirming that a complaint had been filed over his treatment and was under consideration.
Nazanin Boniadi, an actress and prominent opponent of the Islamic republic, condemned Salehi's violent rearrest, calling it "devastating."
Salehi has gained prominence for his lyrics that rail against corruption, widespread poverty, state 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 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
Congress Must Pass Aid For Ukraine To Avoid Interruption Of U.S. Support, White House Says

The U.S. Congress should act swiftly to provide aid to Ukraine before the end of the month to avoid an interruption in support provided by the United States, White House national-security spokesman John Kirby said.
"We need that assistance immediately so we can provide them assistance in an uninterrupted way," Kirby said on December 1 at a news briefing.
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"We have been consistently providing Ukraine with a truly unprecedented level of security support for over a year and a half. And we were able to provide this with incredible speed," Kirby said.
U.S. aid so far has amounted to $40 billion, and Kirby said Washington plans to send more weapons systems but for this Congress needs to pass a package with additional funding.
President Joe Biden last month submitted to Congress a request for more than $105 billion in defense aid, which included $61.4 billion in aid to Ukraine and $14.3 billion in aid to Israel, but the measure remains blocked.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York) told reporters on November 28 that the U.S. Senate next week will begin consideration of a package that includes aid for Israel and Ukraine and he hopes it will achieve bipartisan support.
Schumer said the aid bill is needed even if there is no agreement on funding for border security measures that Republican lawmakers have demanded.
Kirby said every package provided by the U.S. and other countries to Ukraine thus far has been prepared based on comprehensive consultations with the Ukrainian military regarding their needs for its counteroffensive.
In response to a request for comment on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's assessment in an AP interview that "Ukraine did not get all the weapons it wanted," Kirby said, "Ukraine's desire to obtain more weapons is fully justified."
With reporting by Reuters
Azerbaijani Journalist Ordered Detained Amid Clampdown On Independent Media

Independent Azerbaijani journalist Nargiz Absalamova has been ordered in detention for three months -- the latest journalist from the independent Abzas Media to be detained in a smuggling case that the outlet rejects as trumped up and rights groups say is a part of a crackdown on the outlet's "pioneering journalism" to root out corruption.
The Khatai District Court in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, ordered Absalamova detained on a charges of conspiring to smuggle foreign currency into the country after summoning her for interrogation on November 30.
Absalamova is the fourth journalist of Abzas Media arrested in recent days.
Abzas' director, Ulvi Hasanli, chief editor Sevinc Vaqifqizi, and employee Mahammad Kekalov were arrested less than two weeks ago after police claimed they found 40,000 euros ($43,800) in cash at the Abzas offices.
The journalists insist the case against them is trumped up in retaliation for reports about corruption among officials.
Critics of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's government say authorities in the oil-rich Caucasus state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists, journalists, and civil-society advocates on trumped-up charges.
The crackdown on Abzas Media has sparked a wave of condemnation from human rights groups and journalism watchdogs.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a statement for the immediate release of Absalamova and her colleagues.
"The continued arrests of Abzas Media journalists are unacceptable and only show how Azerbaijani authorities are unable to forgive the outlet for its bold anticorruption coverage," said CPJ's Carlos Martinez de la Serna.
"Journalists should not be prosecuted in retaliation for their vital public interest reporting, nor should they be used as pawns in diplomatic spats. Azerbaijani authorities must immediately release Nargiz Absalamova, her Abzas Media colleagues, and all other unjustly jailed journalists."
Amnesty International has demanded the journalists' immediate release, saying the government's campaign "fits into a pattern of critics being arrested by the authorities to stifle their dissent," while Human Rights Watch (HRW) chided Azerbaijani authorities for pursuing "dubious, punitive criminal charges against their critics."
Aliyev has repeatedly rejected criticism from rights groups and Western governments accusing him of jailing his opponents and abusing power to stifle dissent.
Earlier this week, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S., French, and German envoys to protest what it called "illegal financial operations" by organizations located in the three countries to support Abzas.
Aliyev has ruled Azerbaijan with an iron fist since 2003, taking over for his father, Heydar Aliyev, who served as president for a decade.
Ukraine Repels Russian Drone Attack On Odesa Region

Russian troops attacked the Odesa region with 11 Iranian-made kamikaze drones overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force Command reported early on December 2. Ukrainian air defense shot down 10 drones over Odesa and a guided missile in Dnipropetrovsk region, the Command said on Telegram, adding that the drones had been launched from Cape Chauda in Russian-occupied Crimea. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, click here.
- By dpa
Second Batch Of Ukraine Troops Finish Training On Patriot In Germany

Germany's army, the Bundeswehr, has trained a second group of Ukrainian soldiers on the Patriot air-defense system. After more than six weeks, the training of around 70 men and women was nearing completion. The defense of Ukrainian airspace is a central task, said Lieutenant General Andreas Marlow, commander of the multinational Special Training Command, during a visit to the training site. He pointed out that Russian attacks were specifically directed against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
Police Raid Gay Clubs, Saunas In Moscow As St. Petersburg Club Shuttered

Russian police have conducted raids on LGBT-friendly clubs and saunas in Moscow, the Caution, News site reported on its Telegram channel.
The overnight raids came just one day after the Supreme Court of Russia declared "the international LGBT social movement" -- which legally does not exist -- as extremist and banned all its activities effective immediately in a closed-doors ruling at the Justice Ministry's on November 30.
One of the clubs raided by the police under the pretext of searching for drugs hosted a party for the LGBT community attended by about 300 people.
The police checked the attendees’ documents and photographed their ID cards before releasing them.
Similar raids took place in at least two more Moscow nightclubs, a bar, and a sauna under the same pretext of searching for drugs.
Although no drugs were found, masked police officers searching the sauna made everyone lie on the floor face-down, Caution, Moscow quoted witnesses as saying.
In Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg, the Central Station gay club was closed down.
“The site we rented refused to allow us to work because of the [new] law. We apologize, we are no longer in business,” the club said on the VKontakte social media site.
The raids came as it remains unclear what or whom the new regulation will affect given that no LGBT social movement is even registered in Russia.
Authorities claim the alleged LGBT movement is, among other things, stirring social and religious unrest.
Activists and rights defenders have warned the newly adopted legislation could lead to the blanket prosecution of not just activists but also those who seek shelter from homophobic violence under a threat of up to 10 years of imprisonment.
On December 1, the human rights initiative LGBT+ Cause announced that it was ending its Russia operation following the Supreme Court's ruling.
"Due to external circumstances, we are forced to announce the self-dissolution of our initiative and, accordingly, the cessation of activities" in Russia, LGBT+ Cause said on Telegram.
LGBT+ Cause has been active in protect the rights of people discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
- By Reuters
Swiss Have Frozen $8.8 Billion Of Russian Assets

Switzerland has frozen an estimated 7.7 billion Swiss francs ($8.81 billion) in financial assets belonging to Russians, the government said on December 1, under sanctions designed to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. The figure, a provisional estimate, represented a slight increase from the 7.5 billion francs the Swiss government said it had blocked last year after the neutral country adopted European Union sanctions.
Polish, Ukrainian Ministers Meet To Seek Solutions To Trucker Blockade On Border

Ukrainian and Polish government officials met on December 1 in Warsaw to try to find ways to end a weekslong protest by Polish truckers who want the European Union to reintroduce entry permits for their Ukrainian competitors heading for EU countries.
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Polish transport companies have blocked three border crossings with Ukraine since November 6, demanding the reintroduction of the permits, which the EU waived after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
As the government officials seek solutions, Ukraine’s ombudsman pointed to the urgency of the situation, saying it was “catastrophic” for Ukraine, while Slovak haulers also joined the protest at border crossings from their country into war-torn Ukraine.
The officials agreed at the Warsaw meeting to open the Ugriniv-Dolgobychev checkpoint for the passage of empty trucks from Ukraine to increase the capacity at the border and reduce the load on other checkpoints, the Ukrainian Ministry of Community, Territory, and Infrastructure Development said on Facebook.
They also agreed to create lanes for empty vehicles at two other checkpoints on both the Ukrainian and Polish sides and to launch a pilot electronic registration project for one month at another checkpoint.
The ministry emphasized in its message on Facebook that the issue of canceling or making changes to the entry permit policy was not discussed and was not on the agenda.
The protest has resulted in huge lines on both sides of the border, leaving drivers stuck in their vehicles in cold temperatures and with little food. Kyiv on December 1 said that some 2,100 trucks trying to enter Ukraine were blocked on the Polish side.
Ukrainian rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said in a statement that the blockade has put Ukrainian drivers in such a dire situation that they plan to go on hunger strike if the situation is not improved.
"Blocking traffic on the border between Poland and Ukraine: the situation is catastrophic!" Lubinets said.
Lubinets said he had contacted his Polish counterpart, Marcin Wiacek, but has not yet received a response.
The Warsaw meeting was between Jadwiga Emilewicz, Ukrainian deputy minister of community, territory, and infrastructure development, and Rafal Weber, Polish secretary of state of the Ministry of Infrastructure. Serhiy Derkach, a Ukrainian government commissioner for Polish-Ukrainian development cooperation, chaired the meeting.
Ukraine rejects the Polish protesters’ demands, saying they are discriminatory. The Ukrainian ministry said this was confirmed on November 30 in a meeting of the Ukraine-Poland-EU Coordination Platform, adding that it is working with the European Commission to develop “strategic solutions that will resolve the situation with queues at the border and reduce tension in the issue of road transportation.”
The Federation of Employers of Ukraine and the Association of International Motor Carriers last month appealed to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarding the blockade, which the association estimated has cost the Ukrainian economy hundreds of millions of euros.
With reporting by AFP
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Imposes Sanctions On Three Tankers And Their Owners For Shipping Russian Oil Above Price Cap

The United States on December 1 imposed additional sanctions related to the price cap on Russian oil agreed by the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations, the European Union, and Australia to curtail Russia’s revenue from seaborne oil shipments.
The sanctions target three entities and three oil tankers that the U.S. Treasury Department said carried Russian Urals crude above $70 per barrel, which exceeds the price cap by $10.
The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the three vessels and the three entities shipped the oil using Western maritime services, such as transportation, insurance, and financing.
The G7 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States -- set the $60 price cap on seaborne exports of Russian crude last December, and the European Union and Australia later agreed to join the mechanism, which bans Western companies from providing the services for oil sold above the cap.
The mechanism is designed to maintain a reliable supply of crude oil to the global market while reducing the revenues that Russia earns from oil, which it in turn uses to fund its war in Ukraine.
OFAC's action announced on December 1 is the third time in as many months that it has imposed sanctions against ships and their owners for carrying Russian oil priced above the cap.
Two companies based in the United Arab Emirates -- Sterling Shipping and Streymoy Shipping Limited -- are named by OFAC as the registered owners of two of the tankers designated. The other ship is registered to HS Atlantica Ltd based in Liberia.
The ships are blocked under the sanctions, while all property held by their registered owners in the United States is blocked and people in the United States and its jurisdictions are blocked from dealing with them.
"Enforcement of the price cap on Russian oil is a top priority for the United States and our Coalition partners," Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in the statement.
"By targeting these companies and their ships, we are upholding the dual goals of the price cap by restricting Russia’s profits from oil while promoting stable global energy markets."
The Treasury Department also issued a general license through February 29 authorizing limited safety and environmental transactions involving the targeted entities and vessels, including transactions necessary for their safe docking and anchoring.
With reporting by Reuters
- By AP
NATO Chief Tells Turkey's Erdogan 'Time Has Come' To Let Sweden Join The Alliance

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he has told Turkey’s president that “the time has come” to let Sweden become a member of the military alliance. Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO countries that have not yet formally approved Sweden’s accession bid. Stoltenberg told the Associated Press that he urged Turkey to finalize the process as he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on December 1 on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
Uzbek Court Suspends Trial Over Deaths Of Children Linked To Cough Syrup To Identify More Suspects

Uzbekistan's Supreme Court said on December 1 that the Tashkent city court has suspended the trial of 21 people allegedly responsible for the deaths of at least 65 children who consumed a cough syrup made by Indian pharmaceuticals company Marion Biotech. According to the statement, the case was sent back to investigators to identify more suspects in the high-profile case, which shocked the Central Asian nation in 2022. The current defendants include the former head of the State Agency for Pharmaceutical Network Development and senior employees of Quramax Medical LLC, which imported the syrup to Uzbekistan. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service, click here.
- By RFE/RL
More Than 400 People Punished Under Shari'a Law In Afghanistan, Rights Group Says

Afghanistan's Taliban-led government announced punishments handed out to 417 people under Shari’a law during a recent 12-month period, according to a report issued this week by Afghan Witness, an organization that monitors human rights abuses in Afghanistan.
Afghan Witness collected the data by reviewing the announcements of Shari’a punishments posted on the website of the Taliban-led Supreme Court. The announcements, which were also were published on X, formerly Twitter, have been made public since the Taliban’s Supreme Leader Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada announced the return of Shari’a punishments in mid-November 2022.
Akhundzada had previously ordered a return to Islamic retribution and corporal punishments shortly after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
Afghan Witness said in a statement on November 29 that it looked at punishments meted out between October 26, 2022 and October 26, 2023, and found 71 announcements handed down to 417 individuals.
It said this included nine “Qisas punishments” during the period, including two that resulted in the execution of alleged murderers, while the remaining seven were pardoned.
Qisas punishments are for offenses seen as violations of the boundaries set by God such as murder, theft, and adultery. Convicts can be executed, flogged, stoned to death, or have limbs amputated.
Afghan Witness said it has yet to record any stonings or amputations, but it said its sources in Afghanistan say there are stoning punishments awaiting approval by Akhundzada.
The most common punishment was flogging under a category of Shari’a law that includes discretionary punishments not specified in religious texts.
The report said the punishments occurred in 22 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces from October 2022 through September 2023. A gender breakdown of the punished indicates that 220 men were punished compared with 57 women.
The organization also noted that while the sentences are often referred to as “public punishments,” their public nature is often limited.
“Although these punishments are carried out with an audience, including Taliban officials and citizens, they are often fulfilled behind closed doors, or under significant publication restrictions,” Afghan Witness said, adding that this leaves little visual evidence of the punishments being carried out.
The Taliban has framed its implementation of Shari’a punishments as “fair, righteous and desired by Afghanistan’s citizens” and claimed that the punishments act as a deterrent, Afghan Witness said.
After seizing power in August 2021 as U.S-led international forces withdrew from the country, the Taliban dismantled Afghanistan’s judicial system, suspended or scrapped all laws, and replaced judges, prosecutors, and lawyers.
Afghan Witness is a project to independently collect, preserve, and verify information on the human rights, security, and political situation in Afghanistan, according to its website.
The organization aims to provide a reliable source of information for international organizations, policymakers, and the media, and to “raise awareness of the reality of everyday life for Afghans living in the country.”
Popular Uzbek Blogger Gets Eight Years In Prison On Charges He Rejects

A court in Uzbekistan's eastern region of Ferghana sentenced blogger Olimjon Haidarov on December 1 to eight years in prison on charges of extortion, defamation, and libel. Haidarov, who was arrested in late July, has rejected the charges as politically motivated. Haidarov, a popular blogger in Uzbekistan, has raised the issue of the arrest of several bloggers on extortion charges in recent months. In December 2022, a court in Ferghana ordered him to pay a hefty fine for his online reporting of the country's energy shortages. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service. click here.
- By RFE/RL
Former Kazakh Security Chief's Cousin's Appeal Against 10-Year Prison Term Rejected

A court in Kazakhstan has rejected an appeal filed by a cousin of the jailed former head of Kazakhstan's Committee of National Security (KNB) against his conviction and 10-year prison term on charges of bribery and embezzlement.
Nurlan Masimov, 49, a cousin of former KNB chief Karim Masimov, served as police chief of the Pavlodar region in northern Kazakhstan before deadly anti-government protests in January last year that left at least 238 people dead, including 19 law enforcement officers.
The court ruling on December 1 upheld the verdict against Nurlan Masimov and his 10-year sentence. It also upheld the verdict and eight-year sentence handed to co-defendant Damir Sirazidimov, his former deputy, on bribery charges.
But the court cut by two years the seven-year prison term handed to Masimov's other co-defendant, businessman Yevgeny Yevkovich, on a charge of embezzlement.
Kazakh authorities said in July last year that Nurlan Masimov was detained while trying to cross the border into Russia using forged documents.
His cousin, Karim Masimov, a close ally of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev, is serving an 18-year prison sentence over his role in deadly events that followed unprecedented anti-government protests in the former Soviet republic in January 2022.
Karim Masimov's former deputies, Anuar Sadyqulov, Daulet Erghozhin, and Marat Osipov, were sentenced to 16, 15, and three years in prison respectively at the trial in April.
The 58-year-old Masimov was arrested along with Erghozhin and Sadyqulov days after the protests turned into deadly unrest. Osipov was arrested in February 2022.
The protests began in the southwestern town of Zhanaozen in January 2022 over a sudden fuel price hike. But the demonstrations quickly grew into broader unrest against corruption, political stagnation, and widespread injustice.
Much of the protesters' anger appeared directed at Nazarbaev, who ruled Kazakhstan from 1989 until March 2019, when he handed power to President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev. However, Nazarbaev was widely believed to remain in control behind the scenes.
The protests were violently dispersed by police and military personnel, including troops of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization whom Toqaev invited into the country claiming that "20,000 extremists who were trained in terrorist camps abroad" had attacked Almaty.
The authorities have provided no evidence proving Toqaev’s claim about foreign terrorists.
With reporting by Tengrinews and Orda
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