An official statement by Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry alleging that an RFE/RL correspondent was beaten in Kyrgyzstan has turned out to be false.

In its September 22 statement, the ministry accused the Kyrgyz government of persecuting its ethnic Tajik community, mentioning among alleged cases of such persecutions "an ethnically motivated attack in Kyrgyzstan's Osh region on September 18 against a Tajik woman, Nasibakhon Davronbekova, who is a correspondent for RFE/RL."

However, RFE/RL does not have any correspondent in Kyrgyzstan or elsewhere by that name.

The ministry removed the sentence in question from the statement shortly afterward.

The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry condemned the Tajik statement, calling it "provocative."

"The statement of the Tajik side about the existence in Kyrgyzstan of some kind of 'policy of persecution of citizens of Tajikistan and ethnic Tajiks' is completely inappropriate and indicates that representatives of the Foreign Ministry of Tajikistan are out of touch with reality and have no idea about the state of affairs in the Kyrgyz Republic," it said.

Tajikistan's accusations about alleged persecutions of ethnic Tajiks in Kyrgyzstan comes amid high tension between the two neighboring nations following deadly clashes along the border last week.

The Ukrainian military has said it is "smoothly but confidently" gaining ground against Russian forces in "one of the most important logistical arteries" of Ukraine's partially occupied Luhansk region.

The Strategic Communications Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Telegram post on September 22 that Russian occupying forces are "having a bad time" near Lysychansk, a city in the eastern Luhansk region.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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

Luhansk, part of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and one of four Russian-controlled territories that are set to hold disputed votes for annexation into the Russian Federation beginning on September 23, is nearly under the complete control of Russian forces. Ukraine and its allies have said that such votes would be illegal.

Kyiv's forces have in recent weeks regained territory in the east that was captured by Russia shortly after its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February.

Serhiy Hayday, the Ukrainian military governor of the Luhansk region, said on September 19 that Ukrainian forces had liberated some villages in the region. On September 21, Hayday said that a command office used by occupying forces had been destroyed by the Ukrainian military in Svatovo, which is about 160 kilometers northwest of the regional capital, Luhansk.

Elsewhere, Russian and Ukrainian forces exchanged missile and artillery barrages that killed at least six people on September 22.

Russian strikes in the southern city of Zaporizhzhya left one person dead and five wounded, according to Ukrainian officials.

Officials in Russia-controlled territory in the Donetsk region said that Ukrainian shelling targeting the regional capital, Donetsk, killed five people.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Hungary's right-wing populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has told a meeting of his ruling Fidesz party that sanctions against Russia imposed by the European Union should be lifted, the pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet reports.

Orban made the remarks at a closed-door meeting of his party on September 21 just days after the European Commission called for the elimination of 7.5 billion euros ($7.5 billion) in EU funding earmarked for Hungary due to corruption, rights, and rule-of-law disputes.

Fidesz quickly followed up on Orban's statement, calling on September 22 for a nonbinding, popular vote inside Hungary on whether to end the EU sanctions.

Orban, the only EU leader who maintains warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, is a harsh critic of EU sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

According to Magyar Nemzet, Orban said -- without giving a source -- that the EU sanctions had driven up gas prices and inflation.

EU natural prices began rising about a year before Brussels imposed sanctions on Russia.

Kremlin-controlled Gazprom began cutting natural-gas exports to the bloc last year, causing prices to jump, as it massed more than 100,000 combat-ready troops on Ukraine’s border in what European officials and energy experts said was an attempt by Moscow to pressure Brussels over its support for Kyiv.

Russia then further slashed natural0-gas exports this year to punish the EU for imposing sanctions on its economy following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February. The EU sanctions do not directly target Russian gas exports.

Orban claimed that if sanctions were rescinded, gas prices would drop by 50 percent immediately while inflation would also fall.

The paper quoted Orban as saying that without sanctions, Europe would be able to avoid a looming recession, reiterating his earlier false stance that the sanctions were hurting Europe more than Russia.

Western sanctions have already pushed Russia’s economy into a deep recession that could last for years, experts say. Russia’s economy is expected to contract more than 4 percent in 2022. Experts expect a mild recession for the EU.

On his Facebook page, Orban posted from the party meeting, "The Brussels sanctions have pushed Europe into an energy crisis."

In July, Orban said the EU had "shot itself in the lungs" with ill-considered economic sanctions on Russia, which, unless rolled back, risked destroying the European economy.

SEE ALSO:

Hungary Tries To Hush EU Talk Of More Russian Sanctions

Critics say Orban is putting short-term economic issues over long-term security, democracy, and human rights. Ending sanctions on Russia would enable Putin to better equip his soldiers and finance his war, they say.

The European Union is moving ahead with plans to diversify away from its dependence on Russian oil and gas. Experts now expect natural-gas prices to fall next year from record highs as those efforts make progress.

Hungary is one of the EU countries most dependent on Russian natural gas, but Orban has taken some steps during his 12 years in office to diversify the nation's energy supplies.

Orban, who was reelected to a fourth consecutive term in April, was forced to lift caps on some energy prices earlier this year. His government is now preparing for “national consultations” on the question of EU sanctions on Russian energy.

National consultations are nonbinding questionnaires sent to voters on issues that divide citizens. They usually including a series of multiple-choice questions and often include misleading statements or provide one-sided or extreme answer options.

Orban introduced the concept of national consultations earlier in his premiership as a way to fight EU polices he disagrees with. Previous consultations have been held about migration, terrorism, and the constitution.

Orban has clashed often with the EU over issues such as judicial independence, public procurement, LGBT rights, and media, academic, and religious freedoms.

With reporting by dpa and Reuters

ASTANA -- Prosecutors at the high-profile trial of a nephew of Kazakhstan's former strongman president, Nursultan Nazarbaev, have asked a court in Astana to sentence the defendant to six years in prison on fraud and embezzlement charges.

Prosecutors also asked the Baiqonyr district court on September 22 to deprive Qairat Satybaldy of the rank of major general in the Committee of National Security and of his state awards and medals, as well as to bar the defendant from occupying state posts for 10 years.

Satybaldy, whose trial started earlier this week, pleaded guilty to all charges and said he regrets his misdeeds, adding that he agrees with the prosecutor's proposal.

Satybaldy was arrested in early March while trying to board a plane heading to Turkey. The probe launched against him is one of a series of investigations targeting relatives and allies of Nazarbaev.

Kazakhstan’s Anti-Corruption Agency said late last month that Satybaldy and four other unnamed individuals are suspected of embezzling an unspecified amount of money from Kazakhtelecom and Transport Service Center state companies.

The agency also said at the time that $500 million had been returned to the state treasury and that 29 percent of Kazakhtelecom's shares that had been controlled by Satybaldy were put back under state control.

Satybaldy's former wife, Gulmira, was also arrested in March on charges of embezzlement and the illegal takeover of a private business.

After unprecedented anti-government protests in early January, the Kazakh regime began to quietly target Nazarbaev, his family, and other allies -- many of whom held powerful or influential posts in government, security agencies, and profitable energy companies.

President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, whom Nazarbaev hand-picked as successor after stepping down in 2019, started distancing himself from the former leader after the January unrest, which was fueled by Kazakhs’ exasperation with cronyism and corruption.

Toqaev stripped Nazarbaev of the sweeping powers he had retained as the head of the Security Council after resigning.

Just days after the protests, two of Nazarbaev’s sons-in-law were pushed out of top jobs at two major oil and gas companies.

Another son-in-law, Timur Kulibaev, resigned as chairman of the country’s main business lobby group, while in late February, Nazarbaev's eldest daughter, Darigha, was apparently forced to give up her parliamentary seat.

Authorities also launched probes against leaders of a company linked to Nazarbaev's youngest daughter, Aliya.

In June, Toqaev said he had created a commission to "return cash illegally taken out of Kazakhstan" by "a narrow circle of people who had illegally taken over" a large portion of the country’s wealth.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on UN Security Council members to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that the Kremlin leader’s invasion of Ukraine and attempts to annex more of its territory was threatening to destroy the international order.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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

Putin is pushing four Kremlin-controlled territories of Ukraine to hold disputed votes for annexation into the Russian Federation beginning on September 23 amid the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.

“The very international order that we have gathered here to uphold is being shredded before our eyes. We cannot -- we will not -- allow President Putin to get away with it,” Blinken said on September 22 in New York.

Blinken said international support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is about protecting an international order, where no nation can redraw the borders of another by force.

“If we fail to defend this principle, when the Kremlin is so flagrantly violating it, we send a message to aggressors everywhere that they can ignore it, too. We put every country at risk,” he said.

He said Putin was “violently uprooting” thousands of Ukrainians and busing in Russian citizens to manipulate the results of this week's vote on annexation, calling it a “diabolical strategy.”

The top U.S. diplomat also told the Security Council there is “mounting” proof of Russian war crimes in Ukraine and said he supported international efforts to collect and examine the evidence.

He described the violence as a “pattern” of behavior by Russian soldiers and not isolated acts of rogue units.

The UN “must hold the perpetrators accountable for these crimes,” he said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan were set to brief the 15-member Security Council on investigations into possible war crimes in Ukraine.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and representatives from several EU states and Belarus were expected to speak.

Ukraine's chief war crimes prosecutor is reportedly investigating nearly 26,000 suspected war crimes since Russia's invasion in February. Ukraine has charged 135 people with war crimes and officials have recently said they uncovered fresh mass graves containing bodies, some with their hands tied behind their backs, when Ukrainian forces retook the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum during a major counteroffensive.

Russia has denied targeting civilians during what it calls its "special military operation," describing accusations of human rights abuses as a smear campaign.

The September 22 meeting marks the 20th time the Security Council has met to discuss the war in Ukraine this year. But despite Russia's unprovoked invasion and subsequent accusations that its forces have committed war crimes, the Security Council has been unable to take any meaningful action against Moscow because of Russia's veto powers as one of the five permanent members of the body.

Ukrainian President Zelenskiy has called for Russia to be stripped of its veto rights.

In a prerecorded message to the General Assembly on September 21, Zelenskiy demanded that a special United Nations tribunal impose "just punishment" on Russia for its invasion.

SEE ALSO:

Zelenskiy Demands UN Punish Russia For Invasion; Biden Calls Moscow's Behavior Affront To UN Charter

Earlier the same day, U.S. President Joe Biden said Moscow "shamelessly violated the core tenets" of the UN Charter with its "brutal, needless war."

China, which has friendly relations with Moscow and also holds veto powers as a permanent member of the Security Council, will also be represented at the September 22 meeting.

During a discussion on the sidelines of the General Assembly on September 21, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Lavrov that his country would maintain an "objective" and "fair" position regarding the war in Ukraine, which is one of China's biggest trading partners.

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The same day, China called for a "cease-fire through dialogue" and for all countries' "territorial integrity" to be respected.

The comments from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin came after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial military mobilization to bolster its forces in Ukraine.

SEE ALSO:

No Game Changer: Russian Mobilization May Slow, Not Stop, Ukrainian Offensive

Putin's decree followed the September 20 announcement that Russian-occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine plan to hold votes on being incorporated into Russia.

The move to hold the referendums, which contradict international law and the UN Charter and which Western countries have already refused to recognize, are to begin on September 23 in Ukraine's Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya regions. All of the regions are partially controlled by Russian forces and are areas where Moscow has recently lost territorial gains.

Parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which collectively make up Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, have been under Russian-imposed administration since Moscow-backed separatist forces began fighting against Kyiv in 2014.

Putin has said his aim is to "liberate" Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, claiming without providing any proof that most people in the region did not want to return to what he called the "yoke" of Ukraine.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

DUSHANBE -- Tajikistan's Supreme Court has sentenced retired Major General Kholbash Kholbashov to life in prison for his alleged role in organizing deadly protests in the Gorno-Badakhshan region in May, a charge that human rights organizations have called "bogus."

Kholbashov's friends and relatives told RFE/RL on September 22 that the verdict and sentence had been pronounced the day before. The trial was held behind closed doors at the State Committee for National Security's detention center in Dushanbe.

Tajik officials said earlier that Kholbashov was charged with publicly calling for the violent change of the constitutional order, organizing a criminal group, murder, attempted murder, and terrorism.

Kholbashov was arrested on May 18 along with his ex-wife, journalist and human rights activist Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva, who faced the same charges. Mamadshoeva is being tried separately.

Shortly after their arrest, Kholbashov and Mamadshoeva were shown on the Tojikiston television channel saying that they, along with opposition politician Alim Sherzamonov and Mahmadboqir Mahmadboqirov, an informal leader in Gorno-Badakhshan, had planned and organized the protests.

The day before her arrest, the 65-year-old Mamadshoeva told RFE/RL that she had nothing to do with the anti-government protests in the region's capital, Khorugh, and in the district of Rushon.

SEE ALSO:

Tajik Rights Defender 'Confesses' On State TV To Organizing Deadly Riots Despite Earlier Denial

Authorities say in the footage showing the purported confessions that an unnamed Western country was involved in organizing the unrest. A total of 78 residents from the Rushon district were arrested at the time.

Mahmadboqirov was killed on May 22 in Khorugh. His relatives say law enforcement officers killed him, while the authorities insist he was killed "during score-settling by criminal groups."

Sherzamonov told RFE/RL that he had nothing to do with the planning of the riots in Badakhshan and that he suspected Mamadshoeva and Kholbashov were forced to make their televised confessions.

Tajik authorities have said 10 people were killed and 27 injured during the clashes between protesters and police. Residents of the Rushon district, however, have told RFE/RL that 21 bodies were found at the sites where the clashes took place.

SEE ALSO:

Fear And Outrage In Pamir: Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan Reeling From Brutal State Crackdown

Deep tensions between the government and residents of the restive region have simmered ever since a five-year civil war broke out shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Still, protests are rare in the tightly controlled country of 9.5 million where President Emomali Rahmon has ruled for nearly three decades.

The latest protests were sparked in mid-May by anger over the authorities' failure to investigate the death last year of an activist while in police custody and the refusal by regional authorities to consider the resignation of regional Governor Alisher Mirzonabot and of Rizo Nazarzoda, the mayor of Khorugh.

The protests intensified after one of the participants, 29-year-old local resident Zamir Nazrishoev, was killed by police on May 16, prompting authorities to launch what they called a "counterterrorist operation."

The escalating violence in the region has sparked a call for restraint from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Western diplomatic missions in Tajikistan, and human rights groups.

Gorno-Badakhshan, a linguistically and ethnically distinct region, was home to rebels who fought government forces during the conflict in the 1990s.

While it occupies almost half of the entire country, its population is a mere 250,000. The region is difficult to travel around because of the mountainous terrain, while its economy is wracked by unemployment, difficult living conditions, and high food prices.

North Korea's Defense Ministry has denied that it has provided weapons and ammunition to Russia amid the war in Ukraine, calling the allegations "rumors" spread by "hostile forces" aimed at tarnishing Pyongyang's image.

"We have never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia before and we will not plan to export them," an unidentified senior defense official said in a September 21 statement carried by state media.

The statement came after Washington earlier this month confirmed a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment that claimed that Russia was in the process of purchasing weapons from North Korea to ease supply shortages amid its war in Ukraine.

Such exports, said to include artillery shells and rockets, would violate UN resolutions stemming from North Korea's nuclear program that bar it from importing or exporting weapons.

Moscow has called the U.S. intelligence findings "fake."

The unidentified North Korean official, in the state media report, told Washington to stop making "reckless remarks" and to "keep its mouth shut."

SEE ALSO:

Zelenskiy Demands UN Punish Russia For Invasion; Biden Calls Moscow's Behavior Affront To UN Charter

Russia has recently purchased military drones from Iran, another state under U.S. and international sanctions, to boost its military campaign against Ukraine, which has reportedly depleted Moscow's stocks of ammunition and military equipment.

Sanctions limiting Russia's purchase of microchips and other equipment is also seen as contributing to Moscow's difficulties in maintaining military supplies.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby earlier this month said that Moscow could potentially purchase millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea, although he said that Washington had no evidence any sales had taken place.

Last week, British intelligence analysts said that Russia was "almost certainly increasingly sourcing weaponry" from Iran and North Korea.

With reporting by dpa and AP

Kazakhstan says it won't issue permanent residence permits to Russian citizens without Moscow's permission, as large numbers of Russians seek to leave following the Kremlin's announcement of a partial military mobilization.

Parliament speaker Maulen Ashimbaev told reporters in Astana on September 22 that the Central Asian state's law enforcement and migration officials were working in accordance with the law, processing requests by foreign nationals, including Russians, to obtain permanent residence in the country.

"Our official institutions will not issue residence permits to individuals who fail to provide documents proving that the countries of their citizenship have no objections against their move to Kazakhstan," Ashimbaev said.

"In general, the state entities are aware of the situation [regarding the abrupt increase of the number of Russian nationals entering the country]. We are holding talks on the issue."

After Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilization on September 21, thousands of Russians left for countries where Russians can enter without visas, such as Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Serbia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia.

SEE ALSO:

Russians Rush For Flights Out After Partial Mobilization Announced

Kazakh officials said earlier in April that the number of Russian nationals seeking permanent residence in Kazakhstan increased in the first four months of 2022 but did not link the trend with Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, launched in late February.

The RBK news agency reported last month that the number of Russian citizens who moved to Kazakhstan in April-May this year was 570,000, which is almost 30 percent higher that the number of Russians who settled in Kazakhstan in January-March.

With reporting by RBK

Several Iranian government and state-owned websites have been taken down by Anonymous, the international activist hacker group says, in a move of support for nationwide protests that followed the death of a 22-year-old woman following her arrest by the morality police.

The website of the Iranian presidency, the government-affiliated Fars news agency, and the forensic medical research center of Iran are among the hacked websites that are currently unavailable.

On September 20, a Twitter account purported to belong to the Anonymous group posted a video message that vowed support for the protesters and for women's rights. "We are here and we are with you! #OpIran Engaged. Expect Us!" the message read.

"This was the last straw," an altered voice on the video that claimed to be from Anonymous said of Mahsa Amini's death, "the Iranian people are not alone."

Demonstrations erupted across Iran recently over the death of Amini and the Iranian government imposed a near-total Internet shutdown on September 21 as nationwide protests continued.

SEE ALSO:

Iranian Internet Services Disrupted Amid Protests Over Woman's Death

NetBlocks, a London-based internet observatory group, says Iran is now subject to the most severe internet restrictions since violent November 2019 protests over the sudden rise in the price of gasoline.

The recent wave of protests have expanded to as many as 80 cities in Iran, with at least nine deaths confirmed by various sources.

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

Tajikistan has again accused Kyrgyzstan of continuing to violate its airspace by using drones following last week's deadly clashes, a charge denied by Bishkek, which says the situation along the border is calm.

In a September 22 statement, the Tajik Foreign Ministry urged "the Kyrgyz side to immediately stop violating the airspace of the Republic of Tajikistan."

"Otherwise, the Tajik side will regard the situation as preparation for the next aggression by Kyrgyzstan, the responsibility for which will lie with the Kyrgyz side," the statement said.

For its part, Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said in a statement on September 22 that the situation along the border was quiet, in accordance with the cease-fire agreements.

It's the second day in a row that Tajikistan has accused Kyrgyzstan of violating the cease-fire, which Kyrgyzstan denies.

Two days earlier, Bishkek and Dushanbe issued differing assessments of the situation, with Bishkek saying it had "normalized" while Dushanbe said it remained "complicated."

SEE ALSO:

Tajikistan Says Kyrgyzstan Hides Military Hardware Close To Border, Despite Cease-Fire Deal

On September 19, an agreement was signed that reportedly paves the way for a complete cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of troops.

Kyrgyz officials say 59 citizens died in the recent clashes, and 183 were injured. Tajikistan has put its death toll at 41, but RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported a higher number after talking to relatives and friends of people killed during the clashes.

It concluded that 63 people, about half of them civilians, lost their lives and compiled a list of those killed.

The two sides have set up a joint working commission to monitor and implement the agreement.

Many border areas in Central Asia have been disputed since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.

The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the volatile Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan meet.

Almost half of the 970-kilometer Kyrgyz-Tajik border has yet to be demarcated, leading to repeated tensions since the two countries gained independence more than three decades ago.

Six Jehovah's Witnesses have been handed prison terms on extremism charges in Russia's southwestern Rostov region amid an ongoing crackdown on the religious group that has been banned in Russia since 2017.

The Jehovah's Witnesses' Russian website said on September 21 that a court in Gukovo sentenced Aleksei Gorely and Oleg Shidlovsky to 6 1/2 years in prison on September 20 and handed seven-year prison terms to Nikita Moiseyev, Aleksei Dyadkin, Yevgeny Razumov, and Vladimir Popov.

According to the website, Gorely has a 7-year-old son, and the wife of Shidlovsky had three strokes since her husband and the other men were arrested in August 2020 after their homes were searched.

All six were charged with extremism.

Since the faith was outlawed, dozens of Jehovah's Witnesses have had cases launched against them, with many sentenced to prison in Russia.

The United States has condemned Russia's ongoing crackdown on Jehovah's Witnesses and other peaceful religious minorities.

For decades, the Jehovah's Witnesses have been viewed with suspicion in Russia, where the dominant Russian Orthodox Church is championed by President Vladimir Putin.

The Christian group is known for door-to-door preaching, close Bible study, rejection of military service, and refusal to mark national and religious holidays or birthdays.

ASTANA -- The Kazakh parliament's upper chamber, the Senate, has approved a motion to annul a state holiday instituted in honor of the country's first president, Nursultan Nazarbaev.

The bill to scrap the Day of the First President, observed on December 1, is the latest move by President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev in his apparent efforts to distance himself from his predecessor.

The Day of the First President was first marked as a state holiday in 2012.

The bill, which was approved by the lower chamber, the Mazhilis, in early September, will take effect after Toqaev signs it into law.

The Senate's approval of the bill comes three days after Toqaev's decree to change the name of Kazakhstan's capital city back to Astana from Nur-Sultan came into force.

SEE ALSO:

Kazakh President Signs Legislation Changing Presidential Term, Name Of Capital

Toqaev first changed the name of the capital from Astana to Nur-Sultan to honor Nazarbaev in 2019, one day after Nazarbaev, who had run the tightly controlled former Soviet republic with an iron fist for almost three decades, announced he was resigning and that Toqaev was his handpicked successor.

Though he officially stepped down as president, Nazarbaev retained sweeping powers as the head of the country's powerful Security Council. He also enjoyed substantial powers by holding the title of "elbasy," or leader of the nation.

Even after Nazarbaev stepped down, many Kazakhs remained bitter about the oppression felt during his reign.

Those feelings came to a head in January when unprecedented, nationwide anti-government protests started over a fuel-price hike, and then exploded into deadly unrest over perceived corruption under the Nazarbaev regime and the cronyism that allowed his family and close friends to enrich themselves while ordinary citizens failed to enjoy any of the oil-rich Central Asian nation's wealth.

Toqaev subsequently stripped Nazarbaev of his Security Council role, taking it over himself. Since then, several of Nazarbaev's relatives and allies have been pushed out of their positions or resigned. Some have been arrested on corruption charges.

In June, a Toqaev-initiated referendum removed Nazarbaev's name from the constitution and annulled his status as elbasy.

Kazakh critics say Toqaev's initiatives are mainly cosmetic and have not changed the nature of the autocratic system in a country that has been plagued for years by rampant corruption and nepotism.

The United Nations has warned that acute food insecurity is likely to "rise precipitously" by the end of the year in 19 "hunger hot spots" around the world in part due to Russia's war against Ukraine.

The findings were made in a joint report issued on September 21 by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program, which listed the war in Ukraine and other conflicts, climate extremes, displacement of people, and economic instability as "key drivers" of global food insecurity.

The report called for "urgent humanitarian action to save lives and livelihoods and prevent famine in hot-spot countries where acute food insecurity is expected to worsen" over the next three months.

Drought in the Horn of Africa, where food shortages have been compounded by obstacles to the import of Ukrainian grain due to Russia's invasion in February, was singled out as factor in people being pushed to the "brink of starvation."

The report also noted the impact of disastrous monsoon floods in Pakistan, which relies heavily on Russian and Ukrainian grain imports, and expected below-average rainfall and resulting water shortages in Afghanistan as major contributors to food insecurity in those countries.

Syria, in the Middle East, and the Latin American countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti are also among the 19 "hunger hot spots."

Overall, an all-time high of some 970,000 people are expected to face "catastrophic hunger" around the world if no action is taken.

Afghanistan was listed among the five countries expected to face "catastrophic hunger," as opposed to only two countries placed in that category six years ago. The report also said that Afghanistan, along with Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen, remain at the "highest alert" as hunger hot spots.

Up to 26 million people in the Horn of Africa, which is experiencing the worst drought in 40 years, are expected to face "crisis" levels of food insecurity.

The report also citied high prices for food, fuel, and fertilizers as contributing factors that are leading many governments to enact austerity measures that can affect the purchasing power of the most vulnerable families.

The expected increase in this trend, the UN warned, raises the risk of "civil unrest driven by increasing socioeconomic grievances."

In July, the UN and Turkey brokered an agreement between Moscow and Kyiv to remove Russian blockades on grain exports from Ukraine, one of the world's top suppliers.

Prior to the agreement, Russian warships involved in Russia's invasion of Ukraine had been enforcing a blockade that had help drive up global food prices.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month hinted at backtracking on the deal, claiming that the Ukrainian grain exports were failing to reach poorer countries as intended, despite ample evidence to the contrary.

Grain prices have tumbled since the deal was reached, easing economic pressures on poor countries.

Putin has also said that Western sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine were hindering the supply of Russian food and fertilizers to Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Kyrgyz and Uzbek authorities have warned citizens working as migrant laborers in Russia of serious repercussions for joining the Russian military in its ongoing war in Ukraine after Moscow announced a partial mobilization.

The Kyrgyz Embassy in Moscow issued a statement on September 21, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin's decree on mobilization, saying that any form of participation in military activities on the territory of foreign countries is considered mercenary activity and will be punished by up to 10 years in prison and the confiscation of all property.

"The embassy urges Kyrgyz citizens to immediately notify the diplomatic representation of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Russian Federation if they receive documents calling them to join any military operations," the statement said.

According to Kyrgyzstan's official statistics, more than 1 million Kyrgyz citizens reside in Russia as labor migrants.

Kyrgyzstan recognizes dual citizenship with countries that do not border the Central Asian state, so many Kyrgyz labor migrants in Russia also hold Russian citizenship and therefore are eligible for military mobilization.

On September 20, Russian lawmakers approved a bill on amendments to the Criminal Code that envisage lengthy prison terms for Russian citizens who refuse to join the armed forces.

SEE ALSO:

Amid Setbacks In Ukraine, Putin Moves Toward Escalation And Raises The Threat Level. Is It A Bluff?

Also on September 21, the Prosecutor-General's Office of another Central Asian state, Uzbekistan, issued a statement warning Uzbek labor migrants that it is illegal for them to join foreign militaries and they risk up to 10 years in prison.

Earlier this month, media reports in Ukraine said Ukrainian armed forces captured two Central Asian men in Russian military uniform during a counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region who said they were Uzbek nationals who resided in Moscow before joining a private paramilitary group in Russia.

Last week, the Uzbek Embassy in Kyiv asked Ukrainian authorities to provide detailed information about the two captured Uzbeks.

Uzbekistan does not recognize dual citizenship, but many of about 1.2 million Uzbek migrants in Russia seek Russian citizenship, with some trying to obtain naturalization through serving in the armed forces.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service

The Iranian government has imposed a near-total Internet shutdown as nationwide protests continue over the death of a 22-year-old woman after she was detained by the country's morality police.

NetBlocks, a London-based Internet observatory group, said Iran was now subject to the most severe Internet restrictions since violent November 2019 protests over the sudden rise in the price of gasoline.

Several social-media users reported on September 21 that the government had blocked Instagram and WhatsApp.

NetBlocks has also confirmed the widespread disruption of access to WhatsApp in Iran.

Iranian authorities already block tens of thousands of websites and regularly throttle or cut Internet connectivity during crucial periods, including a near-total shutdown for almost a week during the 2019 protests.

International social-media platforms are subject to regular blocking in Iran, and journalists and others rely on virtual personal networks( VPNs) to circumvent the restrictions and access services like Telegram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

The blocking of Instagram, which was the only important social network available to Iranian users, occurred as anti-government protests triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was taken into police custody for allegedly breaking rules on head covering entered their fifth day.

SEE ALSO:

Protesters, Police Killed In Iranian Unrest Sparked By Young Woman's Death

The protests have expanded to as many as 80 cities in Iran, with at least nine deaths confirmed by various sources.

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

Numerous Russians have rushed to reserve one-way tickets out of the country after President Vladimir Putin decreed a partial mobilization of military reservists for the war in Ukraine.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a televised interview that 300,000 reservists with relevant combat and service experience would initially be mobilized.

Ticket prices skyrocketed amid apparent fears that Russia's borders could soon close or that Putin might announce a general mobilization.

Large numbers of Russians have already left the country since Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine almost seven months ago.

Air Serbia, the only European carrier besides Turkish Airlines to maintain flights to Russia despite a European Union flight embargo, saw tickets for the Moscow-Belgrade flight quickly sell out for the next several days, while the price for flights from Moscow to Istanbul or Dubai reached as much as 9,200 euros ($9,119) for a one-way, economy-class fare.

A Belgrade-based group called Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, and Serbs Together Against War tweeted that there were no available flights to Belgrade from Russia until mid-October. It said flights to Turkey, Georgia, and Armenia also sold out.

Russians can enter Serbia without a visa. Belgrade has not joined Western sanctions against Russia for its aggression in Ukraine.

Allies such as Belarus and China also have not imposed sanctions on Russia.

Some social media postings alleged people already had been turned back from Russia's land border with Georgia and that the website of the state Russian railway company had collapsed because too many people were checking for ways out of the country.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

A U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts have arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) after blasting off on a Russian Soyuz rocket in a rare instance of cooperation between Moscow and Washington.

The Russian space agency Roskosmos and NASA both broadcast the launch live from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 21.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and cosmonaut Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin comprise the crew, who will spend six months on the ISS. They join three other Russian cosmonauts, three other U.S. astronauts, and one Italian currently on the orbiting space laboratory.

• AP
• Reuters

In a rare display of joint U.S.-Russian teamwork despite the war in Ukraine, flight crew members from both countries smiled and joined hands ahead of the Soyuz spacecraft's scheduled launch on September 21 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Dennis Matveyev, and Sergei Korsakov are scheduled to leave the station next week after their six-month stay, NASA said.

The flight marked the first time a U.S. astronaut traveled to the ISS on a Russian Soyuz rocket since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.

The United States and other Western countries have hit Moscow with unprecedented sanctions over the invasion, sinking Russia's relations with the West to new lows.

The ISS, a collaboration among the United States, Canada, Japan, the European Space Agency, and Russia, represents one of the last remaining areas of cooperation.

But the new head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos in July said Russia intended to quit the ISS after 2024 in favor of creating its own orbital station.

Speaking a few weeks ahead of the mission, Rubio called the cooperation between NASA and Roskosmos "good and strong" despite the heightened tensions between Moscow and the West.

With reporting by AFP and dpa

The head of the UN nuclear agency says he will not abandon a plan to create a protection zone around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine and hopes to go to Ukraine and Russia soon to push for an agreement.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told reporters at the United Nations in New York on September 21 that the situation at the plant "is still getting worse and we can't wait for something regrettable to happen."

Grossi said he was now entering "real negotiations" with both countries and wanted an agreement on a protection zone as soon as possible.

"Even in the worst of conditions diplomacy should never stop. We can't throw our hands up and say look at what's being said, go away and hope that something will happen to solve this situation," Grossi said. "It's our responsibility to do it by proposing pragmatic, realistic, and physical proposals on the table."

Grossi held separate talks in New York on September 21 with Ukrainian officials and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Issues being discussed include the radius of the protection zone and the role of two IAEA officials currently stationed at the plant.

SEE ALSO:

Ukraine Accuses Russia Of Attacking Another Nuclear Plant

Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for shelling at Zaporizhzhya, Europe's biggest nuclear power plant.

Shelling on September 21 damaged cables providing essential electricity to one of the reactors, temporarily forcing the unit to run on emergency diesel generators before external power was restored, the IAEA said.

The power lines ensure that the plant can cool nuclear fuel rods and waste, which is essential to prevent a meltdown.

Grossi has voiced alarm over shelling in the past that he said damaged buildings close to the plant's six reactors and risked nuclear catastrophe. He has noted that it is the first time in history that an active nuclear power plant has been caught in a war zone.

Russian forces took over the plant soon after launching their invasion of Ukraine in February, but Ukrainian technicians operate the power station.

The Ukrainian state agency in charge of the plant said earlier on September 21 that the power plant came under Russian fire overnight, causing a disruption of power at the facility.

In a statement released on social media on September 21, Enerhoatom said the shelling had damaged equipment of the only working reactor -- Unit No. 6 -- at the plant.

"Due to the loss of power, there was an emergency start-up of two diesel generators of the safety systems to ensure the operation of the fuel cooling pumps," Enerhoatom said in a post on Telegram.

On September 20 in the nearby Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar, shelling damaged a cooling system, a dining hall for staff, and an unspecified "special building," the city administration said in a statement. There were no further details about the damage.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has promised new punitive measures against Russia after Moscow announced a partial military mobilization to buttress its war effort in Ukraine.

"We decided to bring forward as soon as possible additional restrictive measures against Russia in coordination with partners," Borrell said on September 21 following an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Borrell said that the bloc "will study, we will adopt, new restrictive measures, both personal and sectoral," and that a final decision on the new sanctions would need to be made at a formal session of the EU ministers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier ordered a partial military mobilization to help "liberate" the Donbas region of Ukraine, where Russian forces have recently lost territorial gains made following its unprovoked invasion in February.

SEE ALSO:

Amid Setbacks In Ukraine, Putin Moves Toward Escalation And Raises The Threat Level. Is It A Bluff?

Putin's address came a day after Russian-occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold votes on being incorporated into Russia, triggering international outrage and condemnation.

Putin also said his threat to use everything at his disposal to protect Russian territory was "not a bluff." His words were widely seen as a reference to Russia's nuclear arsenal.

In a statement, Borrell said that "on 21 September, Russia chose a path of confrontation by announcing a partial mobilization in Russia, by supporting the organization of illegal 'referenda' in the Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russia and by threatening again with the use of weapons of mass destruction."

Borrell added that "the references to nuclear weapons do not shake our determination, resolve, and unity to stand by Ukraine and our comprehensive support to Ukraine's ability to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty as long as it takes."

Threatening Europe with the use of nuclear weapons, Borrell said, "is a real danger to the whole world, and the international community has to react."

The members of the 27-country EU bloc, he said, must reiterate their continuing support for Ukraine, and "alert the international community about the unacceptable situation in which Putin is putting all of us."

With reporting by dpa, AFP, and Reuters

Ukraine has announced the release of 215 of its soldiers, including fighters who led the defense of Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks, in exchange for dozens of Russian prisoners and a pro-Moscow politician.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the prisoner release in his nightly address on September 21.

Zelenskiy said five military commanders, including leaders of the defense of Azovstal earlier this year, were taken to Turkey as part of an operation prepared in advance and agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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

The released prisoners will remain in Turkey "in total security and in comfortable conditions" until the end of the war, Zelenskiy added.

Among the 55 prisoners turned over to Russia is Viktor Medvedchuk, a former Ukrainian lawmaker and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskiy said. Medvedchuk had been held under house arrest since May of 2021 on charges of treason and financing terrorism.

Zelenskiy had previously proposed swapping Medvedchuk for prisoners of war being held by Russian forces.

The swap is the biggest exchange between the two sides since the start of Russia's invasion in February.

"We have managed to liberate 215 people," the Ukrainian presidency's chief of staff Andriy Yermak announced on Ukrainian television. Yermak said 108 of them were fighters of the Azov Regiment.

Yermak said the exchange of prisoners took place in several stages and in different locations.

Ten prisoners of war including five Britons and two Americans, who were transferred from Russia to Saudi Arabia earlier, were part of the swap, Zelenskiy said.

Erdogan told U.S. broadcaster PBS on September 19 that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to swap 200 prisoners but gave no details.

• AP
• Reuters

Russia and Ukraine carried out an unexpected prisoner swap involving almost 300 people on September 21, the largest since the beginning of the war.

Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine, withstood weeks of relentless Russian bombardment as resistance fighters and some civilians remained in a network of underground tunnels at the Azovstal steel plant.

Ukrainian forces, including members of the Azov Regiment, in May ended the weekslong siege by agreeing to surrender.

Around 2,500 combatants were taken captive by Moscow's forces after calling a halt to their resistance. Some of the prisoners were part of an exchange that took place in June. Of the 144 freed then, 95 were Azovstal defenders.

SEE ALSO:

Russia's Capture Of Azovstal: Symbolic Success, 'Pyrrhic' Victory?

The Azov Regiment is a former volunteer battalion that has drawn controversy for its links to far-right figures.

An attack on a prison complex in July in an area of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine that is under Kremlin-backed separatist control killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war, reportedly including members of the Azov Regiment.

With reporting by AFP

Ten prisoners of war captured in Ukraine have been transferred to Saudi Arabia as part of an exchange between Russia and Ukraine, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said.

Among the prisoners released are American, British, Swedish, Croatian, and Moroccan nationals, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on September 21.

"The relevant Saudi authorities received and transferred them from Russia to the kingdom and are facilitating procedures for their respective countries," the statement said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the 10 were part of a major prisoner exchange on September 21 involving the release by Russia of 215 Ukrainian prisoners and the release by Kyiv of 55 Russians.

SEE ALSO:

Ukraine Announces Release Of 215 Prisoners In Largest Exchange Since Russia's Invasion

U.S. citizens Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh were among the group, a family representative told Reuters. The two military veterans were captured in June while fighting in eastern Ukraine in support of Ukrainian troops resisting Russia's invasion.

The prisoners were released following efforts by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman "in continuation of (his) commitment to the humanitarian initiatives towards the Russian-Ukrainian crisis," the ministry said.

The statement did not specify when the prisoners of war would be transferred to their home countries.

The war in Ukraine has caused tension between the United States and Saudi Arabia, a major oil producer and long-time U.S. ally.

Salman agreed to a slight increase in daily oil production capacity after meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in July, helping to ease oil prices in the United States, which shot up after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February.

But Saudi Arabia has also coordinated with OPEC+, a group of oil producers including Russia. The oil cartel earlier this month agreed to cut crude production as it sought to lift prices.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy has demanded that a special United Nations tribunal impose "just punishment" on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in a video address to the UN General Assembly just hours after U.S. President Joe Biden said Moscow "shamelessly violated the core tenets" of the UN Charter with its "brutal, needless war."

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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

In his prerecorded address to world leaders on September 21, the Ukrainian president demanded Russia be punished "for trying to steal our territory" and "for the murders of thousands of people."

He said there also should be financial penalties and Moscow should be stripped of its veto power in the Security Council.

"A crime has been committed against Ukraine, and we demand just punishment," said Zelenskiy, who is the only world leader permitted to address the General Assembly in a video message.

"A special tribunal should be created to punish Russia for the crime of aggression against our state.... Russia should pay for this war with its assets," he said.

Zelenskiy, wearing his signature olive-green military T-shirt, said a special tribunal would hold Russia accountable and provide a "signal to all would-be aggressors."

The General Assembly responded with a rare standing ovation.

Zelenskiy's address came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin mobilized reservists in Russia's first wartime mobilization since World War II and made a veiled threat to use nuclear weapons.

SEE ALSO:

Amid Setbacks In Ukraine, Putin Moves Toward Escalation And Raises The Threat Level. Is It A Bluff?

Zelenskiy made clear he saw no point to holding talks, saying Russia was "afraid of real negotiations" and only wants to use diplomacy as a delaying tactic.

"They talk about the talks but announce military mobilization. They talk about the talks but announce pseudo-referendums in the occupied territories of Ukraine," he said.

The mobilization, which could call up as many as 300,000 reservists, was met by anti-war protests in several Russian cities. More than 1,000 people were arrested across the country, according to OVD-Info, a human rights group.

SEE ALSO:

More Than 1,300 Detained In Russia After Putin's Partial Military Mobilization Sparks Protests

Russia hasn’t had its turn to speak at the UN General Assembly, which Putin is not attending.

Biden's address earlier on September 21 criticized Russia for launching the war.

"This war is about extinguishing Ukraine's right to exist as a state, plain and simple, and Ukraine's right to exist as a people. Whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever you believe, that should make your blood run cold," he said.

"If nations can pursue their imperial ambitions without consequences, then we put at risk everything this very institution stands for. Everything."

In issuing the firm rebuke of Russia's invasion, Biden also reaffirmed U.S. backing for Ukraine's efforts to defend itself.

"We will stand in solidarity against Russia’s aggression, period," Biden said.

Putin in his address earlier on September 21 warned the West that "it's not a bluff" that Russia would use all the means at its disposal to protect its territory.

Biden said Putin's nuclear threats against Europe showed "reckless disregard" for Russia's responsibilities as a signatory to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation Of Nuclear Weapons.

Biden also responded to plans by Moscow-installed officials in Russian-occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine to hold votes on being incorporated into Russia, criticizing them as "sham" referendums.

He called on all nations to speak out against Russia's invasion and to bolster Ukraine's effort to defend itself.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP

MINSK -- RFE/RL correspondent Aleh Hruzdzilovich, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison by Belarusian authorities for allegedly participating in demonstrations that he was covering as an accredited journalist, has been released.

Hruzdzilovich arrived in Lithuania on September 21 accompanied by his wife, Maryana, after he was released from a penal colony in the region of Mahilyou where he had been held since May.

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly, who previously condemned Hruzdzilovich's prison sentence as “illegitimate,” hailed the release of the journalist, who had served as RFE/RL’s correspondent focused on human rights since the 1990s.

“Aleh was robbed of time he will never get back with his family while wrongly imprisoned, and I am overjoyed that he will now be reunited with his wife and other loved ones” Fly said. “I am grateful to members of the international and advocacy communities for their unwavering support of Aleh’s case, but our work is not done.”

Fly noted that two other Belarusians who have been imprisoned since the crackdown, RFE/RL consultant and blogger Ihar Losik and RFE/RL freelance correspondent Andrey Kuznechyk, remain behind bars and “should also be released immediately.”

A court in Minsk sentenced Hruzdzilovich in early March for his presence at mass protests challenging the official results of the 2020 presidential election in Belarus that handed authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth term in office.

Hruzdzilovich was also ordered to pay 56,000 rubles ($16,600) in compensation to the Mensktrans city transportation agency, which was a plaintiff in the case.

Mensktrans claimed Hruzdzilovich’s participation in three unsanctioned rallies cost it revenue. At one demonstration, Hruzdzilovich said he was working as a correspondent with accreditation issued by the Foreign Ministry, while at the other two protests he was working as a correspondent for the Narodnaya volya (People's will) newspaper.

Hruzdzilovich was arrested in December amid a harsh crackdown by Belarusian authorities on independent media, rights activists, and democratic institutions in the wake of the protests. The opposition and the West say the vote was rigged and that opposition candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya won the election.

Thousands of people have been detained by security forces in the crackdown.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has reiterated his demand for guarantees from the United States that it will not again withdraw from a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program should negotiations to revive the deal be successful.

"We have before us the experience of America's withdrawal from the (deal)," Raisi said at the UN General Assembly on September 21. "With that experience and this perspective, can we ignore the important issue of guarantees for a durable agreement?"

Raisi also said Tehran wanted former U.S. President Donald Trump to face trial for the 2020 killing of Iran's top Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in an American drone attack in Iraq.

Trump in 2018 abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal under which Iran had agreed to restrain its atomic program in return for relief from economic sanctions. Tehran has since been rolling back its commitments in violation of the deal.

Raisi said Iran is not seeking to build or obtain nuclear weapons “and such weapons have no place in our doctrine." He also denounced the lack of pressure on Israel, an undeclared nuclear power, saying that Iran has complied with international commitments.

Raisi also sought to deflect criticism of the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by morality police in Tehran for allegedly breaking the hijab rules.

SEE ALSO:

The Farda Briefing: Rage Against The Hijab After The Death Of A Woman Arrested By Morality Police

Amini’s death has sparked deadly protests and an outcry over the Islamic Republic's heavy-handed policing of dissent and the morality police's increasingly violent treatment of young women.

Raisi said Iran “rejects some of the double standards of some governments vis-a-vis human rights." As long as there is a “double standard where attention is solely focused on one side and not all equally, we will not have true justice and fairness.”

He added: "Human rights belongs to all, but unfortunately it is trampled upon by many governments," drawing references to the discovery of unmarked graves of indigenous people in Canada, the suffering of the Palestinians, and images of migrant children held in cages in the United States.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

A London-based Persian-language television station says tech giant Meta has removed a large number of videos from its Instagram page that were related to the protests in Iran and which were shared by the station with its 10 million followers. It says Meta has also prevented the publication of new posts and videos.

Nationwide demonstrations erupted in Iran recently over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was taken into police custody for allegedly breaking the country's strictly enforced Islamic dress code.

Manoto TV, a free-to-air general entertainment channel, said that among the deleted posts is a video of Iranian protesters chanting "death to the killer patrols" -- a reference to the notorious morality police patrols that have become increasingly active and violent. Instagram has argued that the video violates its guidelines.

Manoto TV also said Instagram has removed from its page a September 20 video message by Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince of Iran, addressing the protesters.

In the past, journalists and social media activists reported that Meta had also removed many posts related to protests in Iran, especially posts with the slogan "Death to Khamenei," a reference to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Many Iranians complain that their Instagram posts related to anti-government protests in Iran have been blocked by other Iranians who work for Instagram's content-review subcontractor.

Manoto TV also told RFERL’s Radio Farda that the removal of the posts from its Instagram page was a result of the actions of content-review subcontractors.

Furthermore, Bammad Esmaili, a German-based Iranian journalist, had quoted several sources from the German branch of Telus International, a Canadian contractor that provides content moderation on Instagram, as saying that the Iranian government has offered financial rewards for the deletion of accounts opposing the Iranian government.

"We are talking about 5,000 to 10,000 euros per account deleted," Esmaili said.

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