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North Korean Successor Named As Head Of Powerful Committee
The post is regarded as a key one and suggests the son, Kim Jong Un, is on track to take full control of North Korea.
The reference, in an article in the "Rodong Sinmun" newspaper, came after North Korean media began hailing Kim Jong Un as the "supreme leader" of the 1.2-million strong North Korean military and images appeared of him flanked by senior military officers at a viewing of his father's body lying in state.
Kim Jong Un will be the third-generation Kim to rule the internationally isolated country of 24 million.
In another development, the wife of a former president of neighboring rival South Korea -- Lee Hee-Ho, the widow of late president Kim Dae-Jung -- and Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jung-Eun traveled to North Korea to pay respects to Kim Jong Il, whose remains are due to be buried on December 28.
South Korea has allowed only two groups to visit the North and pay condolences over the death of Kim Jong Il on December 17, prompting angry excoriation from North Korean media.
compiled from agency reports
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Yerevan Police Cordon Off Area Around Venue Where Pashinian Expected To Speak
YEREVAN -- Police barriers have been set up in areas of Yerevan leading to Freedom Square on May 15 as activists calling for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's resignation over a land deal with arch foe Azerbaijan pledged to form groups to march to the square, where Pashinian was expected to address an annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
An RFE/RL Armenian Service correspondent at the scene said protest leader Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian was in the area but none of the groups appeared to have tried to approach Freedom Square.
The correspondent said security cordons made it virtually impossible to reach the square.
There was no word on the progress of the EBRD's annual meeting and business forum, which was being held at Yerevan's Opera House, which lies directly in Freedom Square.
Galstanian, the leader of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, has encouraged a "civil disobedience" campaign to press for Pashinian's exit.
More than 170 protesters have been detained since the protests began in earnest on May 9 with tens of thousands of people rallying in the capital.
Galstanian has called for a meeting on May 16 with sympathetic political forces to discuss possible courses of action to ramp up pressure on Pashinian and his allies.
Under the border-demarcation deal agreed last month with Baku, Armenia cedes control of four villages that were part of Azerbaijan during the Soviet era, but which have been controlled by Armenia since the 1990s.
The United States and the European Union have hailed the deal, but the Pashinian government has been accused by opposition politicians of giving up territory to Azerbaijan with no guarantees.
Pashinian has said the unilateral concessions are necessary to prevent Azerbaijani military aggression against Armenia. The Armenian opposition maintains he is encouraging Baku to demand more territory from Yerevan and to use force for that purpose.
Ex-President Issues Sharp Rebuke Of Iran's Leadership After Election Disqualification
Former Iranian President Hassan Rohani has issued a stern rebuke of the country’s Guardians Council following his disqualification from elections to the Assembly of Experts earlier this year, accusing the body of undermining the role and freedom of future presidents.
Rohani said in a statement that the disqualification notice was as "an indictment against the institution of the presidency" that signals a "crisis" for political independence in Iran.
"What is mentioned in the letter from the secretary of the Guardians Council as the reasons for my disqualification is not only not a crime, but in some cases, I consider it an honor," Rohani said, criticizing the council for charging him with "insulting the judiciary and the Guardians Council," "a lack of political insight," "nonadherence to the constitution," and "an assault on genuine religious beliefs."
The 88-member Assembly of Experts, founded in 1982, appoints and can dismiss the supreme leader, but rarely intervenes directly in policymaking.
The March elections Rohani was barred from were considered more significant than usual given Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is 84 and could be succeeded during the new eight-year term that council members started this year.
In his statement, Rohani gave a sharp critique of the qualifications of the Guardians Council's jurists, challenging their legitimacy and expertise by asking "which elections and with the vote of which nation have these jurists earned the right to deprive the elected representatives of the people of their right to choose?"
He further accused them of lacking political, security, and diplomatic experience, and questioned their capability to evaluate candidates based on political knowledge.
The Guardians Council, consisting of six jurists appointed by the Supreme Leader and six legal scholars selected by the judiciary, has substantial influence over election candidates. Ahmad Jannati, 97, currently serves as the secretary of the council.
Rohani said his disqualification letter was a refusal by the Guardians Council to tolerate "the presence of an independent and critical movement in the sixth term of the Assembly of Experts."
The former president also said his disqualification came because of the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that he negotiated with world powers.
He defended the agreement saying it "was approved by the leader after tens of hours of discussion in the Supreme National Security Council."
The accord collapsed in 2018 when then-U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal and reimposed crippling sanctions that have battered Iran's economy and its currency.
Rohani warned that future presidents "must know that with this decision, they no longer even have political freedom, are unable to perform their legal duties, and, instead of the constitution, must follow the Guardians Council."
Analysts and activists have said the March 1 the elections were “engineered” because only candidates vetted and approved by the Guardians Council were allowed to run.
Official statistics released by the Interior Ministry revealed that voter turnout exceeded 50 percent in only eight of the country's 31 provinces.
Mostafa Tajzadeh, a prominent political activist currently incarcerated in Tehran's Evin prison, described the vote as a "historic failure" for the country's leaders that was directly attributable to Khamenei, whose policies have sparked widespread public discontent with the Islamic republic.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Kazakh Activist Serves 5 Days In Jail For Removing Soviet Flag From Private Car
Dozens of supporters of Kazakh activist Zhanbolat Shaizada held national flags and sang a patriotic song to greet him as he left a jail in Almaty late on May 14 after serving five days for forcibly removing a Soviet flag from a private car. Shaizada was arrested and charged with hooliganism on May 9 after he removed the flag from the vehicle, shouting: "This is Kazakhstan, take it away!" Shaizada told the Qamshy website that he considered flying a Soviet flag to be a provocation as Russia continues its full-scale unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
- By RFE/RL
Slovak PM In 'Life-Threatening Condition' After Assassination Attempt
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was in a "life-threatening" condition, the government said, after being shot as he walked among a small crowd after a government meeting outside Bratislava in what the country's Interior Ministry called an "assassination attempt."
Fico, a political veteran in Slovakia who returned to be the prime minister for a fourth time after his Smer-SD party won an election last September, had emerged from a government meeting in the town of Handlova, nearly 200 kilometers northeast of the Slovak capital, on May 15 when a lone gunman approached and shot him. Witnesses said four or five gunshots were heard.
Video showed Fico, 59, being bundled quickly into a car and taken away. Police could be seen holding down a person who is thought to be the shooter.
"Today, after the government meeting in Handlova, there was an assassination attempt on the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Robert Fico," a government statement said, adding that he was transported by helicopter to the nearby city of Banska Bystrica "in a life-threatening condition, because it would take too long to get to Bratislava due to the necessity of an acute intervention."
Fico's injuries were not disclosed, but several local media sites quoted sources as saying he was shot in the stomach and hand.
Slovakia's Prime Minister Injured In Shooting
A hospital official told journalists that Fico was treated at its vascular surgery clinic. She did not describe his injuries.
The shooting was immediately condemned by leaders around the world who expressed shock that a peaceful democracy like Slovakia would be the place of such a crime.
"Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the "news of the cowardly assassination attempt on Slovakian Prime Minister Fico shocks me deeply. Violence must have no place in European politics."
U.S. President Joe Biden said he was alarmed by the reports of the attack on Fico. He said he and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, were praying for a swift recovery, "and our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia."
Biden also said in a statement that he condemned "this horrific act of violence" and said the U.S. Embassy "is in close touch with the government of Slovakia and ready to assist.”
A populist who has taken several extreme policy positions over the years, Fico has been a critic of military support for Ukraine in its battle to repel Russian troops -- his coalition government halted Slovak shipments of weapons for Ukraine -- opposes sanctions against Moscow for the Ukraine invasion, and has said he would veto any move to invite Kyiv to join the NATO military alliance.
Slovakia's largest opposition party had planned a protest against government reforms to public broadcasters later on May 15, but canceled the event due to the shooting.
- By RFE/RL
EU Reportedly To Freeze Georgia's Membership Bid If Controversial Law Enacted
The Financial Times, citing a person briefed on the discussions between Georgian and EU officials in recent days, says the bloc will freeze the Caucasus country's membership bid if a controversial bill requiring organizations receiving foreign funding to register as "foreign agents" is enacted. Georgian lawmakers approved the bill on May 14 despite mass protests and warnings from the West that it endangers Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations. "We have been very clear...this is a showstopper, the source was quoted as saying.
Fugitive Opposition Politician's 'Accomplice' Returns To Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan's Anti-Corruption Agency said an "associate" of fugitive former banker and outspoken Kazakh government critic Mukhtar Ablyazov returned on his own to the Central Asian country, where he faces embezzlement charges.
According to the agency, businessman Aleksei Bogdanov's return to Kazakhstan from Brussels was the result of cooperation with Interpol.
Bogdanov was not sent to pretrial detention upon his arrival and instead was released on bail, the agency added in a statement on May 15.
In July 2023, Ablyazov's uncle, Quanysh Nurghazin, returned to Kazakhstan from Lithuania after living there for 12 years.
Kazakh authorities said at the time that Nurghazin was placed under house arrest on suspcion of being "the nominal director" of the BSC company, through which Ablyazov allegedly illegally transferred significant amounts of cash abroad.
Ablyazov, 60, the former head of BTA Bank, is wanted in Kazakhstan and Russia on suspicion of embezzling some $5 billion. Ablyazov and his supporters reject the charge as politically motivated.
Ablyazov was sentenced to life in prison in absentia in 2018 after a court in Kazakhstan found him guilty of masterminding the murder of a banker in 2004.
In a separate in-absentia trial in Kazakhstan that ended in 2017, Ablyazov was convicted of embezzlement, abuse of office, and organizing a criminal group and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
In December 2020, a court in Russia sentenced Ablyazov to 15 years in prison in absentia on embezzlement charges.
Ablyazov, who coordinates the activities of the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) opposition movement from abroad, denies all the charges.
The outspoken Kazakh government critic has lived in France for years.
Ablyazov has organized unsanctioned anti-government rallies in Kazakhstan via the Internet while in exile.
Kazakh authorities declared the DVK an extremist organization in 2017 and dozens of the movement's supporters have faced persecution for having links with Ablyazov and his movement.
Belarusian Doctor Who Said Lukashenka Lied About COVID Detained In Russia
Police in Russia's northwestern Leningrad region on May 15 detained Belarusian physician Uladzimer Martau, who is wanted in Minsk on extremism charges. Martau became known in 2020 when he openly challenged public statements by authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who said that "there are no viruses here," and "nobody died from the coronavirus" in Belarus. Martau insisted that scores of old and young people died of coronavirus in his native Vitsebsk. In 2021, Martau left Belarus after officals open an investigation into an interview he gave to a YouTube channel about the pandemic, calling the interview "extremist material." To read the original story by RFE/RL's North.Realities, click here.
Dutch Court Hands Russian Tornado Cash Developer Lengthy Prison Sentence
Russian national Aleksei Pertsev, a co-developer of the Tornado Cash cryptocurrency tumbler, has received a sentence of five years and four months in prison in the Netherlands for laundering $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency from 2019 to 2022. Pertsev is one of several people accused of developing the Tornado Cash program, which mixes potentially identifiable or "tainted" cryptocurrency funds with others to hide their origins. The platform's co-founder, Roman Storm, is expected to face trial on similar charges in the United States in September. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Two Airports Temporarily Closed In Russia's Tatarstan After Drone Attack
Authorities in the Russian region of Tatarstan on May 15 shut down two major airports -- one in the region's capital, Kazan, and another in the city of Nizhnekamsk -- for several hours "for security reasons" following a drone attack. The Russian Defense Ministry said that "a Ukrainian drone of a plane type" was shot down over Tatarstan at 7:30 a.m. local time. Last month, drones hit an oil refinery in Tatarstan and a dormitory in the Alabuga special economic zone in Nizhnekamsk that hosts more than 20 industrial enterprises, including chemical, mechanical engineering, and metal treatment factories. It also reportedly houses a facility producing drones. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.
Four Russian Journalists Recognized As Political Prisoners
The Memorial human rights center on May 15 recognized four Russian journalists arrested in recent months on charges of taking part in an extremist group's activities as political prisoners. It is not clear what exactly the charges stem from. Olga Komleva, a journalist with the RusNews website, was a member of late Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's team in Bashkortostan. Antonina Favorskaya covered several trials of political prisoners and Navalny's funeral in March. Konstantin Gabov cooperated with RFE/RL, Reuters, and Deutsche Welle. Sergei Karelin worked for the Associated Press and Deutsche Welle. All of Navalny's organizations were labeled extremist in 2021. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.
President Says Georgia's Survival 'At Stake' After Controversial Law Approved
TBILISI -- President Salome Zurabishvili warned that Georgia's survival as a state is in danger after parliament approved a contentious "foreign agent" law despite weeks of popular protests and warnings from the West that the move endangers Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
Speaking at a news conference in Tbilisi with the visiting foreign ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Iceland on May 15, Zurabishvili reiterated she would veto the legislation approved a day earlier, as the government "did not listen to the voice of its people, nor to the advice of its friends, nor to anyone's warning, and went its own way."
"The issue of Georgia's survival is at stake today," she said.
"I told our friends about our plans for the future, about what should be a European platform that I have been working on for several weeks now and which I will officially present to our people," Zurabishvili said, adding that her platform is meant to mobilize Georgians ahead of elections later this year.
"Our immediate plan is mobilization for elections, a peaceful path on which we will all undoubtedly win together, in order to bring our motherland onto a peaceful and European path," she said.
The law has been condemned by the United States, the European Union, and rights watchdogs for emulating a similar piece of Russian legislation used by President Vladimir Putin to crush dissent and stifle independent institutions.
A NATO spokesperson on May 15 called the legislation "a step in the wrong direction" that takes Georgia "further away from European and Euro-Atlantic integration."
Zurabishvili, who is at odds with the ruling Georgian Dream party that pushed the legislation through parliament, has 10 days to exercise her veto powers. However, the dominant position of Georgian Dream and its partners in parliament is strong enough to override a presidential veto.
Zurabishvili spoke shortly after thousands of Georgian demonstrators continued their protest into the early hours of May 15 in Tbilisi against the bill.
After nightfall, protesters marched from the parliament building some 2 kilometers to Heroes' Square, a main intersection in the Georgian capital, where riot police violently arrested at least 10 people, RFE/RL correspondents on the ground reported.
On May 14, in the third and final reading, lawmakers voted 84 to 30 in favor of the law initiated by the Georgian Dream party, which has used its control over security forces to violently crack down on protesters over the past weeks using water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets.
Thousands of protesters, mainly young people, massed in front of parliament ahead of the vote.
As word got out that final approval had been given to the bill, angry protesters outside parliament tried to break metal barriers near the building and were attacked violently by masked riot police. At least 13 people were arrested, some of whom were being violently snatched from the crowd by police.
TV and social media footage showed activist Davit Katsarava being violently detained outside parliament. He was later pictured with serious injuries to his face. Doctors at a Tbilisi clinic said he had suffered a broken clavicle and fractured jaw and undergone surgery.
Lazare Grigoriadis, a young protester, who was arrested during the police crackdown, was beaten while in custory, his lawyer, Eka Kobesashvili, told RFE/RL.
"His face is damaged, his head is also injured, his hands are cut from the handcuffs, his head and sides hurt," Kobesashvili said.
"The police beat him on the head, physically assaulted him and kept him in the courtyard of the parliament for several hours after his arrest, until he was taken first to the division and then to the isolation ward."
Another young protester told RFE/RL in English, "I'm Georgian and therefore I'm European," adding, "we want freedom, that's all. My name is Irakli Beradze, I am a student of Ilia State University, and I'm here protesting against the Russian law, against the Russian[-style] regime and I'm fighting for freedom."
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused the protesters of "following the agenda of the political minority" and charged that they were showing a "great irresponsibility" toward their country.
Kobakhidze has also criticized the United States, one of Georgia's biggest backers, for making "false" statements about the legislation.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien, who was in Tbilisi on May 14, said Washington's relationship with the South Caucasus country would be at risk and U.S. aid for Georgia would come under review if the bill officially becomes law.
"If the law goes forward without conforming to EU norms and this kind of rhetoric and aspersions against the U.S. and other partners continue, I think the relationship is at risk," O'Brien said.
"This is a dark day for Georgian democracy," a group of 11 U.S. senators said in a statement issued after the vote.
The massive rallies against the bill are some of the largest protests since Georgia became independent in 1991.
Under the terms of the proposed legislation, media outlets, NGOs, and other nonprofits would be required to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if more than 20 percent of their funding comes from abroad.
Blinken Announces Upcoming $2 Billion Tranche Of Military Aid For Ukraine
The United States is fast-tracking $2 billion in military aid for embattled Ukrainian forces, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, as they struggle to stave off a Russian advance in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Blinken, who made the announcement at a news conference in Kyiv on May 15 with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, said the funds, which are part of a recently approved $61-billion U.S. military aid package for Kyiv, are earmarked "to provide weapons today" for the outgunned and outmanned Ukrainian troops.
The package was approved several weeks ago following months of delays due to political bickering in the U.S. Congress.
Blinken's announcement came after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to him the previous day to speed up deliveries of desperately needed Patriot air defense systems, particularly in Kharkiv and its surroundings.
"We're rushing ammunition, armored vehicles, missiles, air defenses to get them to the front lines," Blinken said, adding, "For anyone who is tempted to bet against Ukraine, don't. It will be a big mistake."
Blinken, who has engaged in a round of personal diplomacy on a trip highlighted by meals at a local pizza place and a guest stint as a guitarist in a basement bar in the capital, said a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine could be signed in the coming weeks as most of what he called "the heavy lifting" of the negotiations had already been done.
"We've been through challenging times together, I have every confidence that together we will get through these difficult moments."
The top U.S. diplomat said President Joe Biden could meet with Zelenskiy within weeks and voiced strong American support for a peace conference in Switzerland that is expected to be held next month.
He said Washington will be "robustly represented" at the event.
Blinken said that while the United States is not in favor of Ukraine's using American weapons to strike inside Russia, such a decision ultimately belongs to Kyiv.
"We have not encouraged or enabled strikes outside of Ukraine, but ultimately Ukraine has to make decisions for itself about how it's going to conduct this war," Blinken said.
In a sign of the difficulties Ukrainian forces face on the battlefield due to lack of weapons and ammunition, Zelenskiy on May 15 postponed all his upcoming foreign trips.
Zelenskiy was due to visit Spain and Portugal in the coming days and sign a bilateral security agreement in Madrid with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on May 17. He was also due to meet with Spain's King Felipe.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
"Volodymyr Zelenskiy has instructed that all international events involving him scheduled for the coming days be postponed and new dates coordinated. We are grateful to our partners for their understanding," Zelenskiy's press secretary, Serhiy Nykyforov, wrote on Facebook on May 15.
No specific reason was given for the postponement, but Nykyforov wrote that Zelenskiy held a meeting on May 15 with his military commanders, including commander in chief Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskiy, where the situation in the Kharkiv region was discussed.
"Additional reserve forces are being deployed to the area," he wrote.
Russia has been pressing forward into the north of the Kharkiv region, and the Ukrainian military said on May 15 it was taking steps to prevent Russian forces from moving into the northern part of the disputed town of Vovchansk, situated just 5 kilometers from the Russian border.
Vovchansk has become the focal point of Russias latest offensive as the Kremlin's forces attempt to take settlements just east of Kharkiv -- Ukraine's second-largest city, with a prewar population of some 1.4 million people.
Moscow's troops entered the Kharkiv region on May 10, opening a new, northeastern front. The advance could draw some of Kyiv's depleted forces away from the east, where Russia has been slowly advancing.
Analysts say Russia is attempting to gain maximum momentum on the battlefield before a new wave of military aid for Kyiv from the United States and Kyiv's European allies arrives in the coming weeks.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov told Ukrainian television on May 15 that despite constant Russian shelling, there are currently no plans to evacuate the city.
However, Ukraine's Emergency Situations Ministry said some 8,000 people have been evacuated from Kharkiv region.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, a Russian strike on the city of Dnipro killed two people on May 15, regional administration chief Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram.
Separately, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of Ukraine's occupied Crimea, said a "massive" Ukrainian missile attack was repulsed over the city of Sevastopol early on May 15.
Razvozhayev said several missiles were shot down over the sea and in the area of the Belbek airfield. No casualties have been reported.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses had shot down 10 long-range missiles over Crimea.
The Russian claims could not be independently verified. Moscow in recent weeks has accused Ukraine, without providing evidence, of having started using the U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS).
Former Officer Detained As Police Seize Weapons Cache In Northern Kosovo
A cache of weapons and ammunition was seized in northern Kosovo on May 14 that authorities believe had been left there since a deadly attack in September 2023. Police chief Gazmend Hoxha said a former officer had been detained and questioned after the seizure. The cache included rifles, bullets, stun grenades, and explosives. Hoxha said the weapons belonged to a Serbian armed group responsible for last year's attack on police officers in Banjska. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, click here.
Iran's Ex-Agriculture Minister Gets 3 Years In Prison On Corruption Charges
Iran's judiciary chief said on May 14 that former Agriculture Minister Javad Sadatinejad was sentenced to three years in prison in connection with a corruption case involving the import of animal feed. Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei did not say when the verdict was issued or whether Sadatinejad was serving his sentence. Sadatinejad was appointed agriculture minister by President Ebrahim Raisi in September 2021 but was dismissed in April 2023 amid growing criticism over unfulfilled promises and corruption allegations. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.
Activist Of Unregistered Kazakh Opposition Party Fined
An Astana court on May 14 fined activist Elvira Bekzadina of the unregistered Algha, Qazaqstan (Forward, Kazakhstan) opposition party 110,760 tenges ($250) on a charge of disobeying police. Police detained Bekzadina two days earlier when she was going to hold a public poll on the results of President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev's time in office since March 2019. Bekzadina rejected the charge, accusing the police of physically abusing her during her detention. In November, a court in Astana sentenced the chairman of Algha, Qazaqstan, Marat Zhylanbaev, to seven years in prison on extremism charges that he also rejects as politically motivated. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
Kyrgyz Government Critic Handed Five-Year Prison Term
A Kyrgyz court on May 14 sentenced government critic and journalist Oljobai Shakir (aka Egemberdiev) to five years in prison on a charge of making calls online for mass unrest. Shakir was arrested in August 2023, days after he criticized the government's decision to hand four spa centers near Lake Issyk-Kul to Uzbekistan and called President Sadyr Japarov and the State Committee of National Security chief Kamchybek Tashiev to participate in public debates with him. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.
Putin Plans To Visit China On May 16-17
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China on May 16-17, according to the Kremlin's website. Putin is scheduled to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and Prime Minister Li Qiang. Putin will also take part in several events devoted to Russian-Chinese relations. It will be Putin's first foreign trip since his reelection to a fifth term in office in March. Putin, for whom an international arrest warrant has been issued by the International Criminal Court, has rarely traveled abroad since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Beijing has not condemned the attack. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Rapper Who Attended Scandalous 'Almost Naked' Party Flees Russia
Russian rapper Nikolai Vasilyev, who served 25 days in jail for attending the controversial "Almost Naked" party in Moscow wearing only a sock on his genitalia, has fled Russia, his colleague Yana Dzhalyu said on May 14. After serving his jail term, Vasilyev, known on stage as Vacio, was summoned to a military recruitment center. Pictures and videos taken at the party attended by many celebrities appeared online and caused a scandal among pro-Kremlin activists and lawmakers in late December 2023. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Death Toll In Russian Apartment Building Collapse Rises To 17
Russia's Emergencies Ministry said on May 14 that the number of people killed in a residential building collapse in the city of Belgorod two days before has risen to 17 after rescue teams found two more bodies. Russian authorities said the deaths occurred when a building collapsed in the border region of Belgorod after fragments from a Ukrainian-fired missile shot down by Russian air defenses hit it. The Conflict Intelligence Team investigative group has cast doubt on the Russian claim, saying the apartment building was most likely hit by either a Russian missile or bomb. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Siberian Man Gets 12 Years In Prison On Attempted Sabotage Charge
A court in Siberia sentenced a resident of Novosibirsk on May 14 to 12 years in prison on charges of attempted sabotage in 2022 and having links with the Freedom of Russia legion, a group fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against occupying Russian troops. The court also ordered 48-year-old Dmitry Gurulyov to pay a 300,000 ruble ($3,265) fine. Gurulyov pleaded not guilty, insisting that he had contacted the Freedom of Russia legion before it was officially labelled as a "terrorist" organization by the state. His lawyers also say that their client had abandoned any plans of committing sabotage after failing in his attempts to make an explosive device. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.
- By RFE/RL
Top Russian Court Upholds Kremlin Critic Kara-Murza's Treason Conviction, 25-Year Sentence
Russia's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by jailed dissident and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza against his conviction and 25-year sentence, the longest prison term handed to a Kremlin opponent in post-Soviet Russia. Kara-Murza was convicted of treason and discrediting the military over his criticism of the invasion of Ukraine and other government actions in speeches outside Russia. Local media reported the court decision on May 14. Kara-Murza was arrested in 2022 upon his return to Russia following talks in the United States and Europe where he called President Vladimir Putin a war criminal for his decision to invade Ukraine. A month before his arrest, Putin signed legislation that essentially outlawed criticism of the war.
Russia Detains Another Senior Defense Ministry Official In Corruption Case
Lieutenant General Yury Kuznetsov, who heads the personnel directorate of Russia's Defense Ministry, has been arrested in a corruption case after more than $1 million in cash and valuables were found during a search at his residence amid an ongoing crackdown on top military officials in Russia.
Kuznetsov is suspected of receiving a bribe from a commercial entity in exchange for an unspecified favor, Svetlana Petrenko, a spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee wrote on social media on May 14.
During searches of Kuznetsov's home, funds in Russian and foreign currencies worth more than 100 million rubles ($1.09 million), gold coins, collectible watches, and luxury items were found and confiscated, Petrenko said.
"A court placed Kuznetsov in detention at the request of investigators," Petrenko added.
Kuznetsov’s arrest is another signal the Kremlin is battling to contain corruption as the war it initiated in Ukraine rages on.
Two days earlier, President Vladimir Putin relieved his close ally Sergei Shoigu of his duties as defense minister, while on April 23, police detained Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov on bribe-taking charges and a court later sent him to pretrial detention for at least two months.
Kuznetsov was appointed to his position in May last year. From 2010 until his appointment to his last post, he served as the chief of the eighth directorate of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff which is responsible for the protection of classified information related to the Defense Ministry.
Media reports quoted unnamed sources as saying that Kuznetsov’s arrest is related to that period of his career.
The dramatic developments within the Russian Defense Ministry are taking place after pro-Kremlin bloggers and political observers criticized Shoigu and the Defense Ministry for poorly handling Russia's ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Some pro-Kremlin political observers have explained Russia’s failure to take over Ukraine in a short period of time by what they called widespread corruption among top military officials.
Putin replaced Shoigu with former First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, 65, a politician who specializes in economic matters. The move is seen as part of a strategy to make the armed forces more streamlined with the war now in its third year.
Shoigu's future as defense minister had been closely watched over the past year following the struggles of the military in Ukraine and other issues.
With reporting by Baza and Kommersant
Clashes Erupt Inside, Outside Georgia's Parliament Over 'Foreign Agent' Law's Approval
TBILISI -- Riot police and protesters briefly clashed outside parliament while inside lawmakers traded punches on the legislature floor, as tensions boiled over in Tbilisi after final approval was given to a contentious "foreign agent" bill that has triggered weeks of massive protests by Georgians who regard it as a threat to the country's European integration because it mirrors similar repressive legislation pushed through in Russia.
In the third and final reading on May 14, lawmakers voted 84 to 30 in favor of the law pushed forward by the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has used its control over security forces to violently crack down on protesters using water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets.
Ahead of the final vote, scuffles broke out in parliament between Georgian Dream and opposition lawmakers, with television footage showing deputies, men and women, pushing one another and exchanging blows as the angry debate rapidly degenerated.
The brawl inside erupted as thousands of mostly young people pushed forward toward the parliament building. Riot police pushed the crowd back, with several arrests reported.
TV and social media footage showed activist Davit Katsarava being violently detained outside parliament. He was later pictured with serious injuries to his face. Doctors at a Tbilisi clinic said he had suffered a broken clavicle and fractured jaw and undergone surgery.
"I'm Georgian and therefore I'm European," one of the young protesters outside the parliament building told RFE/RL in English, adding, "and we want freedom, that's all. My name is Irakli Beradze, I am a student of Ilia State University, and I'm here protesting against the Russian law, against the Russian[-style] regime and I'm fighting for freedom."
The draft legislation has been condemned by the United States, the European Union, and rights watchdogs for emulating a similar Russian law used by President Vladimir Putin to crush dissent and stifle independent institutions.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien, who is in Tbilisi, said Washington's relationship with the South Caucasus country would be at risk and U.S. aid for Georgia would come under review if the bill officially becomes law.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola praised the protesters, who she said were "dreaming of Europe," while German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also sent a message of solidarity and support to Georgian demonstrators.
"The rule of law, democratic standards, and media freedom are essential for accession to the European Union. And tens of thousands of people in Georgia show that Europe's heart beats not only between Warsaw and Lisbon," Baerbock wrote on Instagram.
The United Nations representative office in Tbilisi warned that the bill's adoption "threatens the freedom of expression" and urged the authorities to investigate the violent treatment of protesters.
RFE/RL’s Georgian Service said police started detaining protesters with no warning. The authorities say 13 demonstrators were arrested on May 14.
A photojournalist with the local news agency Interpress News told RFE/RL that he had been slapped and beaten with a baton by police officers.
A female protester who said her name was Irina Iramashvili said the legislation went against Georgia's fundamental law.
"We are here to protest the adoption of this totally anti-constitutional law," Iramashvili told RFE/RL in English.
"Adoption of this law is just an attempt to put Georgia again under full influence of Russia. And I'm sure that we will win...they must listen to the voices of Georgian people, and young, especially young generation. Because we, their parents, will not allow that they grow up in the same regime as us," she said, adding, "We will have no other way but to fight to the end and we should not get tired. Never."
Georgian police arrested 20 people as they violently dispersed a rally outside parliament on May 13.
Video footage shared on social media showed several masked riot police officers taking turns as they violently beat a fallen protester before they apparently detained him.
In another video, a man whose face was bleeding was seen being violently detained by numerous masked men, who beat him and tore off his shirt.
Human rights watchdogs had also urged Georgian Dream to immediately withdraw the bill.
"In advancing this damaging bill, the Georgian government openly supports the repression of human rights and civil society, which has reached alarming levels in recent days," Amnesty International said in a statement on May 14.
A day before the vote, U.S.-based advocacy group Freedom House warned that the bill's adoption would "align Georgia with repressive regimes such as those in Russia and Kyrgyzstan."
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused the protesters of "following the agenda of the political minority" and charged that they were showing a "great irresponsibility" toward their country.
The massive rallies against the bill are some of the largest protests since Georgia became independent in 1991.
President Salome Zurabishvili, who has come out in support of peaceful protests, has vowed to veto the legislation after it's approved. She has 10 days from when the bill is officially presented to exercise her veto powers.
However, the dominant position of Georgian Dream and its partners in parliament is enough to override the president's veto.
Zurabishvili told CNN on May 14 that given the "monolithic majority" she faces, her veto would be merely "symbolic." She insisted, however, that the only way to "reverse Russian laws" was for pro-European parties to win the general elections in October.
Under the terms of the proposed legislation, media outlets, NGOs, and other nonprofits would be required to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if more than 20 percent of their funding comes from abroad.
With reporting by Reuters
- By RFE/RL
In Surprise Kyiv Visit, Blinken Pledges 'Tangible Steps' For Ukraine At July NATO Summit
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in an unannounced visit to Kyiv, vowed Washington will take "tangible steps" to ensure Ukraine's accession to the NATO military alliance and that the United States will support the country to ensure its security and sovereignty as Russia's attacks in the east intensify.
In a televised address to students in the capital, Blinken said the United States had been by Ukraine's side since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and that it is still "with you today, and we will stay by your side.... You are not alone."
Blinken's speech focused mainly on enhancing Ukraine's security and building economic infrastructure as a means to pave the way for Kyiv's membership in NATO.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
"When we hold the Washington summit in July, we'll take tangible steps to increase NATO's role in building a resilient, capable Ukrainian force, supporting its ongoing reforms that are integrating Ukraine into the alliance," he said.
"We are bringing Ukraine closer to and then into NATO.... We will make sure Ukraine's bridge to NATO is strong," Blinken added.
Russia has claimed it was forced to launch the invasion because the West was escalating tensions after years of provocative NATO expansion eastward and that deeper ties between the alliance and Ukraine represented a red line.
The alliance's leaders reject the accusation saying NATO does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia.
Blinken told the students Russia would be made to pay for Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction and added that Congress had empowered the administration of President Joe Biden to seize Russian assets in the United States.
"It's what international law demands. It's what the Ukrainian people deserve," Blinken said, adding that Washington would work with its G7 partners on the seizure of Russian assets abroad for that purpose.
Before his speech, Blinken met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other senior Ukrainian officials and said badly needed weaponry had already arrived in Kyiv as part of a $61 billion military aid package recently passed by Congress.
Zelenskiy told the secretary of state that his country desperately needs Patriot air defense systems, particularly in the northeastern Kharkiv region, where Russia has ramped up its offensive in recent days.
Earlier on May 14, a Russian air strike hit a residential high-rise building in Kharkiv, killing nine people.
Russia has been pressing forward into the north of the Kharkiv region, with the Defense Ministry saying it had taken the border village of Buhruvatka. The claim could not be independently verified.
Blinken also met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, and dined at a military-themed pizzeria founded by a war veteran, where he gave a ringing endorsement of the food, calling it "superb." He was due to also meet with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
On the ground in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine's General Staff said on May 14 that its forces had repelled a new attack in the direction of Vovchansk, a small town near the border with Russia that has been the focus of Moscow's offensive in recent days.
However, the military later said it was moving troops to new positions in the north of Kharkiv in response to Russian advances.
"In certain sectors in the area of Lukyantsi and Vovchansk, units have moved to more advantageous positions as a consequence of enemy fire and storming action and in order to preserve the lives of our servicemen and avoid losses," the General Staff said in a statement.
Earlier, Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine's military intelligence, told Ukrainian television that the situation was stable in the Kharkiv area but that Russia may send in more reinforcements in the coming days.
Separately, Oleksandr Lytvynenko, the chief of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, told AFP in an interview that Russia had concentrated some 50,000 troops near the border with the region of Kharkiv, and that more than 30,000 Russian soldiers were currently taking part in the operation there.
However, Lytvynenko said the scope of Russia's move appeared limited. "We can say that we do not see the threat of an assault on the city of Kharkiv," he said.
British intelligence, meanwhile, said that, rather than attempting to take Ukraine's second-largest city, the Russian move was aimed at stretching Kyiv's depleted forces by forcing their reallocation from other battlefields.
"Russia is almost certainly attempting to divert Ukrainian resources from other parts of the front line and to threaten Kharkiv," the British defense ministry said in its daily intelligence update on May 14.
"It is unlikely that Russia has built up sufficient combat power to take the city without diverting additional forces into the area," it added.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Reuters
Kremlin Approves Bill Expanding 'Undesirable' Tag To State-Funded Organizations
The Russian government on May 13 approved a bill allowing it to label any foreign organization, including those established by a government, as an "undesirable organization." Russian lawmakers in the State Duma brought the bill forward in February. The current iteration of the so-called "undesirable organizations" law, which has been in effect since 2015, only allows foreign nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations to be labeled as "undesirable" and shut down. So far this year, Moscow has designated RFE/RL and the U.S.-based NGO Freedom House as "undesirable" organizations. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Russian Service, click here.
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
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