The Week's Best: 12 Stories And Videos You Shouldn't Miss

Here are some of the highlights produced by RFE/RL's vast team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days, including content from Gandhara, the RFE/RL website focusing exclusively on developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Nobel Peace Prize 2022: The Lifelong Fight Of Belarusian Rights Icon Ales Byalyatski

Receiving the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize culminates a lifetime of human rights activism for Belarusian dissident Ales Byalyatski, who has been held in custody without trial by the government of Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka since July 2021. By Robert Coalson

See Also: The Ukrainian Group Fighting For Civil Rights and Documenting War Crimes

'Nothing Left To Lose': Afghan Women Refuse To Be Silenced In Face Of Taliban Violence, Restrictions

Afghan women have staged protests in major cities across the country in the largest demonstrations against Taliban rule in months. They have protested the Taliban's ban on girls' education and the inability of its government to protect religious minorities, despite mounting Taliban violence. By RFE/RL's Radio Azadi and Abubakar Siddique

Mother Of Dead Teen Protester Accuses Iranian Authorities Of 'Lying' About Her Death In Attempt To 'Exempt Themselves'

Nika Shakarami, 16, left to join anti-government protests in Tehran on September 20. She was never seen alive by her family again. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Nika's mother says the family is now being pressured to echo the official account of her daughter's death.

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Man Lost Whole Family In Russian Air Strike: 'They Killed Everything In My Soul'

Man Lost Whole Family In Russian Air Strike: 'They Killed Everything In My Soul'

Volodymyr Obodzinskiy lost his entire family in early March in a Russian attack. An air strike hit his house, killing his 40-year-old wife, Natalya, 14-year-old son Volodymyr, 19-year-old daughter Ivanka, and her 1-year-old twins. Obodzinskiy visited the wreckage of his home and spoke about the tragedy. By Yuliia Zhukova

Anger Over Russia's Battlefield Defeats Bursts Into The Open, Posing A Challenge For Putin

The Ukrainian victory in the Donetsk region town of Lyman is the latest in a series of major battlefield defeats for Russia's military. Criticism of Russian commanders is now bubbling to the surface. That's a problem for the Kremlin. By Mike Eckel

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Dead Russian Soldiers Litter Roads Around Liberated Lyman

Dead Russian Soldiers Litter Roads Around Liberated Lyman

Ukrainian volunteers check the corpses of Russian soldiers for booby traps as they clear the area after fighting around freshly liberated Lyman. Current Time correspondent Andriy Kuzakov also reports that a body was found with a sack on its head.

Join, Flee, Or Resist: Russia Pushed To The Brink Amid Putin's Chaotic Mobilization Order

The chaotic and haphazard mobilization process under way inside Russia is fuelling speculation that the Kremlin is aiming to activate far more than the 300,000 soldiers initially stated by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. By Artyom Leshko, North.Realities, Crimea.Realities, and Reid Standish

'I've Never Lived So Much': Kharkiv Street Artist Turns Hard-Hit City's Walls Into War Diary

Long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kharkiv artist Hamlet Zinkivskiy was known for the spare, thought-provoking murals that changed the face of his beloved city. Now he is turning its walls into a record of wartime experiences. By Aleksander Palikot

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Russians In Armenia Talk About Why They Left Their Country

Russians In Armenia Talk About Why They Left Their Country

Some say they're draft dodgers; one said he came for the shopping. RFE/RL's Armenian Service spoke to Russians who have left their country and traveled to Yerevan after President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization amid the faltering invasion of Ukraine. By Ray Furlong and RFE/RL's Armenian Service

Iran Arrests Singer Whose Song Became Anthem Of Ongoing Protests

Iran has arrested a singer whose song about the ongoing protests in the country has gone viral, RFE/RL's Radio Farda has learned. Shervin Hajipour's arrest comes amid a crackdown on artists, journalists, and activists. By Golnaz Esfandiari and Fereshteh Ghazi

Reporter's Notebook: Crossing The Caucasus Mountains To Dodge The Russian Draft

Unlike the Russians who had entered Georgia in the weeks immediately following the invasion of Ukraine in February, a new crop of Russians, many dodging the recent military draft, are arriving through a border in the Caucasus Mountains. By Nadia Beard