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- By RFE/RL
Kyiv Urged To Bring Home Ukrainian Women, Children Detained In Syria
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging Kyiv to repatriate dozens of Ukrainian women and children it says are being held in "horrific" conditions in Syrian camps.
An estimated 40 Ukrainian women and children are "unlawfully" detained in two camps in northeastern Syria, the New York-based human rights watchdog said in a statement on April 13. The majority of them are children, some as young as 2 years old, it added.
The group is among nearly 43,000 foreigners linked to the Islamic State (IS) extremist group who are being held by regional authorities.
HRW said it had sent letters to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba requesting the government take prompt action to assist and repatriate the Ukrainian women and children.
"Ukrainian women and children are being held in horrific and appalling conditions while their government chooses to look the other way," said Yulia Gorbunova, senior Ukraine researcher at HRW.
Kyiv "should comply with the regional authorities' repeated calls for countries to bring home their nationals, prioritizing the most vulnerable," Gorbunova added.
Ukraine's government, as well as administrations in several other countries with similar situations, have been reluctant to repatriate such cases, contending that it poses too high a security risk.
None of the 40 Ukrainian women and children detained at the Al-Hol and Roj camps have been brought before a court or investigated or prosecuted for any crime, and their "arbitrary" detention by the armed forces of the Kurdish-led autonomous administration of northeastern Syria violates international law, according to HRW.
The group said that the conditions in the camps were "often inhumane and life-threatening, with growing insecurity and shortages of vital aid."
The coronavirus pandemic "presents another threat to the lives of these detainees," with the United Nations reporting at least 8,537 coronavirus cases in northeastern Syria as of February.
The watchdog quoted Children in Syria and Iraq, a group of independent Ukrainian investigative journalists and activists that monitors the issue, as saying that the detainees "live in constant fear and are terrified for their health and safety."
Three of the detained women and one child were said to have disabilities, while one woman has an acute kidney disease, one child and one woman shrapnel injuries, and one child a severe gum infection.
HRW called on the Ukrainian government, which has already repatriated two women and seven children from northeastern Syria, to bring home its remaining nationals and their children.
The government should also increase consular assistance to its citizens and humanitarian aid to the camps and prisons in northeastern Syria "to complement -- not replace -- repatriations."
Citizens of dozens of countries are being held as IS suspects and family members in northeastern Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Turkey. Many countries cite the potential security risks posed by their nationals as a reason for not bringing them home.
"Detaining people in such inhuman and degrading conditions is clearly prohibited under international law," Gorbunova said, adding that countries whose nationals are being held as IS suspects had "a responsibility to protect its citizens and uphold their rights."
Georgian Opposition Leader Remanded In Detention Amid Protests
TBILISI – A court in Tbilisi has ordered the continued detention of the leader of the main opposition party, Nika Melia, whose case has roiled Georgia's political scene.
Judge Nino Chakhnashvili handed down her decision on April 13 while hundreds of Melia's supporters rallied outside the court building demanding release of the leader of the United National Movement (ENM).
Melia went on trial on April 8 charged with organizing "mass violence" during 2019 anti-government protests. Melia has rejected the charge, calling it politically motivated, which the ruling Georgian Dream party denies.
The decision to arrest Melia after he refused to pay an increased bail bond led to the resignation of Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia in February.
Gakharia said Melia's arrest was unacceptable if it threatened to fuel political divisions in the country of 3.7 million people.
The political scene in Georgia has been on the brink of crisis since October elections dominated by the Georgian Dream party, but which independent monitors said were marred by irregularities.
The Interior Ministry arrested Melia on February 23, five days after Gakharia stepped down, which further deepened an ongoing political crisis in the South Caucasus country caused by October parliamentary elections.
The 41-year-old politician faces up to nine years in prison if found guilty.
Two rounds of EU-mediated talks in March between the government and the opposition aimed at de-escalating the postelection tensions have failed to produce any breakthrough.
Jailed Kazakh Activist Starts Hunger Strike After Early Release Cancelled
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Kenzhebek Abishev, who was jailed for being linked to a political movement founded by a fugitive tycoon, has launched a hunger strike after his early release on parole was cancelled at the last moment.
Kazakhstan's International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law said on April 12 that Abishev started the hunger strike the previous day. It published a letter from the activist addressed to President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, urging him to intervene on his behalf.
In his letter, Abishev calls the cancellation of the court's decision to release him on parole in February and the case against him "illegal," adding that his medical conditions -- heart and respiratory problems -- had worsened due to the lack of proper medical treatment in prison.
"There is no sense for me to continue living, consuming food, and treat my illnesses. Do you want to kill me? Then kill me. I am tired of life," Abishev said in his letter to the president.
There have been no official statements regarding Abishev's hunger strike either by the Penitentiary Service or the Prosecutor-General's Office.
On February 1, a court in the southern city of Qapshaghai ruled that Abishev could be released on February 16, more than three years early, for good behavior while in prison, a procedure allowed by Kazakh law.
However, the Almaty regional prosecutor's office appealed the ruling at the very last moment, arguing that the 53-year-old activist's good behavior in custody was not enough for his release since he still had more than three years to serve.
The court then scrapped the move, leaving Abishev in prison.
Abishev was sentenced to seven years in prison in December 2018 after he and two other activists were found guilty of planning a "holy war" because they were spreading the ideas of the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement. His prison term was later cut by eight months.
Abishev, whom Kazakh rights groups have recognized as a political prisoner, pleaded not guilty, calling the case against him politically motivated.
The DVK was founded by Mukhtar Ablyazov, an outspoken critic of the government who has been living in France for several years.
Ablyazov has organized unsanctioned anti-government rallies in Kazakhstan via the Internet in recent years.
'He Speaks With Difficulty': Navalny's Wife Says She's Growing More Concerned For His Health
The wife of jailed Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny says she is growing more concerned over his health as the toll of prison life and a hunger strike mounts.
Yulia Navalnaya said in a post on Instagram that she visited the Kremlin critic on April 13 at the prison where he is serving 2 1/2 years for an embezzlement conviction widely considered as politically trumped-up.
Navalnaya said the two spoke via telephone and could see each other through a glass barrier in what she called "the best date of my life."
"He is just as cheerful and fun. But he speaks with difficulty and from time to time hangs up and lies down on the table to rest," she wrote in the post, noting his weight was down to 76 kilograms, 17 less than when he entered the notorious Correctional Colony No. 2, about 100 kilometers from Moscow.
"I know that he is not going to give up.... But after the visit with Aleksei, I worry about him even more," she added.
Navalny was arrested in January on his arrival from Germany, where he was treated for poisoning in Siberia with what was defined by European labs as a nerve agent in August 2020. Navalny accused President Vladimir Putin of ordering the poisoning, which the Kremlin has denied.
In February, a Moscow court ruled that while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an old embezzlement case that is widely considered as being politically motivated.
His 3 1/2-year suspended sentence from the case was converted into a prison term, though the court said he will serve a shorter sentence given time he had been held in detention.
Navalny has complained recently of back pain and numbness in his hands and legs and has accused the authorities of withholding adequate medical treatment.
Navalnaya said the prison was still refusing to allow her husband to be examined by an independent doctor, even though Russian law provides for such care.
"This is a completely legal right for any person -- the right to see a doctor. I have never seen skin wrapped so tightly around a skull like his now is," she said in describing the effects of illness and weight loss on her husband.
Earlier in the day Navalny said he had filed a lawsuit against the administration of the prison for not allowing him to read the Koran.
Navalny wrote on Instagram on April 13 that the holy book for Muslims and all of the other books he brought with him to the penitentiary in early March had been withheld, as the guards said that they needed three months to check all his books -- including the Koran -- for extremism.
"The problem is that they have not given me my Koran. When they incarcerated me, I made a list of tasks to improve myself while in prison. One of such points was to study deeply and understand the Koran and the Prophet's followers.... I understood that my development as a Christian also requires the study of the Koran," Navalny wrote in the post.
Navalny's statement came on the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, during which practicing Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, and sex from dawn to sunset.
Some 10 percent of Russia's more than 144 million population are Muslims or from an Islamic cultural background.
- By RFE/RL
In Call With Putin, Biden Urges De-Escalation At Ukrainian Border, Proposes Summit
U.S. President Joe Biden has urged his Russian counterpart to take measures to ease mounting tensions with Ukraine and proposed a summit between the two leaders in a third country as Washington and NATO reaffirmed their support for Kyiv.
In a phone call with Vladimir Putin on April 13, Biden "voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military buildup in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine's borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions," a White House statement said.
Recent photographs, video, and other data suggest major movements of Russian armed units toward or near Ukraine's borders and into Crimea, seized by Moscow in 2014, fueling concerns that Russia is preparing to send forces into Ukraine.
Some analysts have suggested that Russia's recent actions may be meant to test the new Biden administration and its commitment to Ukraine.
"President Biden reaffirmed his goal of building a stable and predictable relationship with Russia consistent with U.S. interests, and proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia," the statement said.
The Kremlin confirmed in a statement that Biden had proposed a summit between the two leaders "in the near future," but did not say whether Putin had agreed.
"Both sides expressed their readiness to continue dialogue on the most important areas of ensuring global security," the Kremlin statement said.
The summit would be the first between Putin and Biden, who took office vowing a tougher stance toward Moscow than that of his predecessor, Donald Trump.
The call came as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on April 13 held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, voicing grave concern about the buildup of Russian troops.
Blinken, who rushed back to Brussels after a visit last month to discuss the topic with top European allies, accused Russia of taking "very provocative" actions that have alarmed Ukraine and the West.
Blinken affirmed the United States' "unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia's ongoing aggression" and added that Kyiv's "Euro-Atlantic aspirations" would be discussed in the alliance.
Ukraine aspires to join NATO, and obtained the status of a NATO "enhanced opportunities partner" in June 2020.
"The secretary expressed concern about Russia's deliberate actions to escalate tensions with Ukraine, including through its aggressive rhetoric and disinformation, increasing cease-fire violations, and movement of troops in occupied Crimea and near Ukraine's borders," the State Department said in a statement.
Stoltenberg, meanwhile, called the Russian movements "unjustified, unexplained, and deeply concerning."
Kuleba said Kyiv welcomed the support and urged Western countries to make clear to Moscow that it would pay a price for its "aggression."
At a joint news conference with Stoltenberg, Kuleba said that "at an operational level," Ukraine "needs measures which will deter Russia and which will contain its aggressive intentions."
'40,000 Troops'
During the news conference, Stoltenberg called on Moscow to end "the largest massing of Russian troops since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014."
"Russia's considerable military buildup is unjustified, unexplained, and deeply concerning -- Russia must end this military buildup in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately," he said ahead of an emergency meeting of allied foreign and defense ministers.
According to Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy's office, Russia has massed more than 40,000 troops, both on Ukraine's eastern border and in occupied Crimea.
Kyiv and the West blame Moscow-backed separatists holding parts of Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk for a recent spike in hostilities, while Moscow has pointed the finger at Kyiv.
The Kremlin on April 13 accused the United States of "deliberately" turning the region into a "powder keg."
The Kremlin said recently that Moscow "will not remain indifferent" to the fate of Russian speakers who live in Ukraine's east.
"If there is any aggravation, we of course will do everything to ensure our security and the safety of our citizens, wherever they are," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
"But Kyiv and its allies in the West will be entirely responsible for the consequences of a hypothetical exacerbation," he added.
Separately, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on April 13 that Moscow had deployed troops to its western borders for "combat training exercises" in answer to NATO military moves.
"In response to the alliance's military activities that threaten Russia, we took appropriate measures," Shoigu said in televised remarks.
He said the troops "have shown full readiness" and that the exercises would be completed within two weeks.
A Journey Into The Trenches And Bomb Shelters As Military Tensions Escalate In Eastern Ukraine
It was not clear which moves Shoigu was referring to.
The Western security alliance denied making any military moves. Shoigu could have been referencing the DEFENDER-Europe 21 military exercises taking place in Europe and Africa, which began in March and involve almost 30,000 troops from 26 nations.
The exercises, which will run into June, will take place in various countries, including Estonia -- which shares a border with Russia -- Bulgaria and Romania.
The Kremlin said recently that Moscow "will not remain indifferent" to the fate of Russian speakers who live in Ukraine’s east.
Zelenskiy's office has said it made a request to speak directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine says that call has gone unanswered, though Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on April 13 “that in recent days, there have been no requests. Maybe they haven’t reached us through diplomatic channels yet."
The Kremlin has rejected Western calls to pull back its troops from the border region, denying they are a threat and adding that military movements within Russia are a sovereign, internal issue.
Ukraine's push to join the Western security alliance has irked Russia, but Stoltenberg said on April 13 that the 30 NATO allies, and not Moscow, would decide whether Ukraine joins in the future.
Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven group of industrialized countries, including the United States, Britain, and France, said in a statement on April 13 that they were "deeply concerned by the large ongoing buildup of Russian military forces on Ukraine's borders and in illegally annexed Crimea."
"These large-scale troop movements, without prior notification, represent threatening and destabilizing activities," the ministers said in the statement, released by the German Foreign Ministry.
"We call on Russia to cease its provocations and to immediately de-escalate tensions in line with its international obligations. In particular, we call on Russia to uphold the OSCE principles and commitments that it has signed up to on transparency of military movements and to respond to the procedure established under Chapter III of the Vienna Document," the statement said.
The Vienna Document is an agreement between the OSCE member states intended to implement confidence and security building measures.
French President Emmanuel Macron will host Ukrainian President Zelenskiy at the Elysee palace in Paris on April 16 for a working lunch, Macron's office said on April 13.
France is part of the so-called Normandy Format set up to try to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
Earlier on April 13, Moscow said it had suspended flights to and from Turkey due to the coronavirus pandemic, rejecting accusations the move was tied to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's support for Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova announced late on April 12 that flights to and from Turkey -- with the exception of two flights per week to Istanbul -- will be suspended from April 15 until June 1.
The decision to sharply cut the number of flights to Turkey, which is heavily reliant on revenue from tourism, was announced two days after Erdogan during talks with Zelenskiy expressed support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty and reiterated Turkey's stance of not recognizing Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Erdogan also called Russia's increasing numbers of military personnel and equipment close to the Ukrainian border a "worrying escalation" and called on Moscow and Kyiv to preserve a cease-fire in the Donbas region, some parts of which have been under separatist control for seven years.
"The situation is solely epidemiological in nature and is related to a quite sharp outbreak of the incidence in Turkey," Kremlin spokesman Peskov said.
With reporting by Reuters, Interfax, TASS, and AP
- By RFE/RL
Iran Threatens To Boost Level Of Uranium Enrichment After 'Attack' On Nuclear Site
Iran has warned that it will start enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity, two days after an alleged sabotage attack on the country's main Natanz nuclear site that it blamed on archenemy Israel.
The warning came hours after Iran's top diplomat said the alleged attack on Natanz was a "very bad gamble" that would strengthen Tehran's hand in talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of its intention to "start 60 percent enrichment," the state-run IRNA news agency reported on April 13.
The IAEA's director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, later confirmed that "Iran had informed the agency that the country intends to start producing UF6 enriched up to 60 percent."
Press TV, state television's English-language arm, said the enrichment would begin as of April 14.
Enriching uranium to 60 percent would be the highest level achieved by Iran's nuclear program, although it still short of the 90 percent purity needed for military use.
Under the nuclear deal, Iran had committed to keep enrichment to 3.67 percent. Recently it has been enriching up to 20 percent, saying the deal was no longer enforceable.
The White House said it remained committed to talks with Iran despite Tehran's "provocative" statement that it will ramp up uranium enrichment.
"We are certainly concerned about these provocative announcements," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. "We believe that the diplomatic path is the only path forward here and that having a discussion, even indirect, is the best way to come to a resolution."
Tehran's announcement comes after Iranian officials said an April 11 explosion caused a power failure at Natanz that affected Iran's first generation of centrifuges, and vowed it would take "revenge" and ramp up its nuclear activities.
While not claiming the attack, Israel is widely believed to have carried out the still-unexplained assault, which came a day after new uranium-enrichment equipment was unveiled at the site south of Tehran.
It also occurred amid diplomatic efforts to revive the nuclear agreement, abandoned by the United States under former President Donald Trump, and which Israel fiercely opposes.
"Israel played a very bad gamble if it thought that the attack will weaken Iran's hand in the nuclear talks," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told a joint news conference on April 13 with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Tehran.
"On the contrary, it will strengthen our position."
Last week in Vienna, Iran and the global powers held what they described as constructive EU-hosted talks centering on overcoming an impasse between Washington and Tehran to bring both parties into full compliance with the 2015 nuclear accord.
Further discussions were scheduled for April 14, but Russia's ambassador to the UN, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on April 13 that the talks in Vienna had been postponed for one day and would take place in the Austrian capital on April 15 in a “physical format.”
The pact lifted international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits on Iran's nuclear program. But the Trump administration imposed a raft of sanctions on Tehran under a "maximum pressure" campaign after it withdrew from the nuclear agreement in 2018.
Iran responded by gradually breaching many of the nuclear restrictions.
U.S. and Iranian officials have publicly clashed over the sequencing of possible U.S. sanctions relief and Iran reversing its breaches of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The reported incident at Natanz cast additional uncertainty over the talks in Vienna. It occurred a day after Iran launched new advanced centrifuges at the Natanz facility with the potential to accelerate uranium enrichment, in another breach of the country's undertakings in the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers.
Iran has "no problem with returning to implementing our JCPOA commitments," Zarif said on April 13. "But the Americans should know that neither sanctions nor acts of sabotage will give them negotiation tools and these acts will only make the situation more difficult for them."
The foreign minister also said that "in the near future more advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges will be placed” in Natanz, an underground site key to Iran's uranium-enrichment program and monitored by inspectors of the IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog.
Multiple Israeli media outlets quoted unnamed intelligence sources as saying that the country's Mossad spy service carried out a successful sabotage operation at the Natanz site, potentially setting back enrichment work there by months.
Israel is suspected of carrying out sabotage against Iran in the past, including cyberattacks and assassinations of nuclear scientists.
The IAEA said it was aware of the reports of an incident but would not comment.
The White House said the United States was "not involved in any manner" in the Natanz incident and had no comment on speculation about its cause.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said it was "alarming how this situation" could impact on the talks to revive the deal, while the EU warned against attempts to derail talks to return Washington to the Iran nuclear accord.
Speaking alongside Zarif, Lavrov said Moscow expected the Iranian nuclear deal to be saved and criticized recent EU sanctions on Iran, saying they raised "a huge number of questions" while talks aimed at reviving the agreement were ongoing.
The previous day, the EU added eight Iranian security officials, including the chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and three notorious prisons to a sanctions blacklist over a 2019 protest crackdown.
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, Interfax, and AP
Navalny's Personal Doctor Fined Over Attempt To See Him In Prison
PETUSHKI, Russia -- Anastasia Vasilyeva, the personal doctor of jailed Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, has been fined over her attempt to see the ailing Kremlin critic last week at the prison he is being held in outside of Moscow.
The Petushki district court in the Vladimir region late on April 12 ordered Vasilyeva, who is the chairwoman of the Alliance of Doctors union, to pay 180,000 rubles ($2,320), for what the court described as the "organization of a mass gathering near a penitentiary that led to obstacles for transport operations."
Vasilyeva's lawyer, Mikhail Arsenyev, said the court ruling will be appealed.
Vasilyeva and several others were detained by police on April 6 after they arrived at the Correctional Colony No. 2 in the town of Pokrov, some 100 kilometers from Moscow, demanding that the penitentiary's administration allow Navalny access to an independent physician to examine him amid concerns over his health condition.
Navalny has complained of back pain and numbness in his hands and legs and accused the authorities of withholding adequate medical treatment.
Prison authorities have said they were monitoring Navalny's health, which they evaluated as "satisfactory."
Vasilyeva and most of the Navalny supporters were released after several hours, but on April 8, the Pertushki district court found four of the detained supporters of Navalny guilty of illegally gathering near a penitentiary and sentenced them to several days in jail.
In February, a Moscow court ruled that while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an old embezzlement case that is widely considered as being politically motivated. Navalny's 3 1/2 year suspended sentence from the case was converted to a jail term, though the court said he will serve 2 1/2 years in prison given time he had been held in detention.
The 44-year-old politician has lost 13 kilograms since his imprisonment and continues a hunger strike aimed at forcing prison officials to allow him to be treated by his own doctor.
Belarusian KGB Detains Leader Of Opposition Party, Political Analyst
MINSK -- The Belarusian Committee of State Security (KGB) has confirmed the detention of the chairman of the opposition Belarusian Popular Front (BNF), Ryhor Kastusyou, and noted political analyst Alyaksandr Fyaduta amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent following a disputed presidential election last year.
In a statement on April 13, the KGB said the two men were being held on unspecified charges, adding that detailed information on the cases will be provided later.
Kastusyou's relatives said earlier that the politician had been detained in the eastern city of Shklou on April 12 and taken to Minsk.
Meanwhile, Fyaduta went incommunicado on April 12 in Moscow, where he works as a media consultant. Police in the Russian capital said they had started looking for him after his relatives raised concerns about his whereabouts.
His wife, Maryna Shybko, told RFE/RL on April 13 that she was currently in Moscow, where she went to look for him, only to learn that he had been detained.
"I do not know if he is in Minsk or in Moscow. It is funny to say that my husband is capable of committing a crime, as well as Kastusyou. I don't have the words to describe what is happening now," Shybko said.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has ruled the country since 1994, was declared the winner in the August 2020 election, which was widely viewed as rigged in his favor.
Thousands of citizens have since taken to the streets to protest the results, saying Lukashenka's challenger, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, actually won the election.
Tsikhanouskaya left Belarus for Lithuania after the election for security reasons, while Lukashenka has directed a brutal postelection crackdown in which almost 30,000 people have been detained, hundreds beaten, several killed, and journalists targeted in the action.
Many other senior opposition figures have also left, or were forced to leave Belarus, fearing for their safety, while several of those who haven't left have been detained by security officials.
Hungarian Authorities Evict Hospital For Homeless In Budapest
A Budapest hospital that was refurbished in 2012 to care for homeless people is facing eviction after the Hungarian authorities decided to evict it from its premises. But the city's mayor says the hospital, with a capacity of 164 beds, will not move out of its premises unless the government provides it with an alternative location.
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Denounces Crackdown On 'Independent Voices' In Crimea After RFE/RL Freelancer Targeted
The U.S. State Department has called for the release of an RFE/RL freelance correspondent arrested in Ukraine's Russia-annexed Crimea region and joined human rights groups in expressing concern over his treatment and a televised "confession" he gave.
“Troubled by reports that Russian occupation authorities in Crimea tortured @RFERL freelance journalist [Vladyslav] Yesypenko to coerce his confession. We call for his release, and for Russia to cease its reprisals against independent voices in Crimea,” spokesman Ned Price tweeted on April 13.
Yesypenko's lawyer on April 6 said his client testified during a closed-door court hearing that he was tortured with electric shocks, beaten, and threatened with death unless he "confessed" to spying on behalf of Ukraine.
Lawyer Aleksei Ladin said after the hearing that the torture lasted two days after Yesypenko's arrest on March 10 on what the defense calls false charges against the journalist, who has Ukrainian and Russian dual nationality.
RFE/RL President Jamie Fly at the time said that the broadcaster is “outraged” to learn what Yesypenko said during his testimony, saying the journalist “must be set free now, and allowed to rejoin his family in Ukraine immediately.”
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has said Yesypenko, a freelance contributor to Crimea.Realities, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, was suspected of collecting information for Ukrainian intelligence, and claimed that an object "looking like an explosive device" was found in his automobile during his apprehension.
The journalist was charged with “making firearms,” which is punishable by up to six years in prison.
Ladin said that a televised interview broadcast on March 18, in which Yesypenko "confessed" to spying for Ukraine, was staged. The lawyer quoted his client as saying he was given a written text to read aloud and then answered questions that people in charge of his detainment asked.
According to Ladin, Yesypenko also said at the trial that he has serious problems with his kidneys and needs medicine for the ailment.
RFE/RL President Fly has questioned the circumstances under which Yesypenko made his confession, saying it appeared "to be forced and made without access to legal counsel."
"The Russian authorities have similarly smeared RFE/RL Ukrainian Service contributors with false charges in the past. Vladyslav is a freelance contributor with RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, not a spy, and he should be released," he said.
Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service has described the arrest as “a convenient attempt to distract the attention of the population away from the numerous internal problems of the peninsula" around the seventh anniversary of its forcible annexation, which was marked on March 18.
The U.S. State Department has called Yesypenko's arrest “another attempt to repress those who speak the truth about Russia's aggression in Ukraine.”
Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014, sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted amid a wave of public protests.
Rights groups say that since then, Russia has moved aggressively to prosecute Ukrainian activists and anyone who questions the annexation.
Moscow also backs separatists in a war against Ukrainian government forces that has killed more than 13,000 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.
- By RFE/RL
India Approves Russia's Sputnik COVID Vaccine
India has granted emergency use authorization for Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, giving the nation of 1.3 billion people a third shot as it faces vaccine shortages and an intensifying second wave of the virus.
Pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy's Laboratories said on April 13 that it had received permission from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to import the vaccine, after an expert panel recommended its authorization.
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"India is the most populated country to register the Russian vaccine. Total population of 60 countries where Sputnik V is approved for use is 3 billion people or about 40 percent of the global population," the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad, said in a statement.
India has so far given more than 100 million doses of two approved vaccines: the domestically developed Covaxin and Covishield, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured locally.
The Russian sovereign wealth fund said it had agreements with five Indian pharmaceutical companies to produce more than 850 million doses a year for the population in India and global distribution.
India is the world’s largest producer of vaccines, making the strategic partnership between RDIF and India’s pharmaceutical industry key to expanding availability of the Sputnik V shot.
Sputnik V, developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, overcame international skepticism in February after peer-reviewed results published in the medical journal The Lancet showed it to be safe and 91.6 percent effective against COVID-19. Sputnik V is a vector vaccine based on the human adenovirus, which causes the common cold.
India is being hit by a record number of new COVID-19 infections and daily deaths, surpassing Brazil as the country with the second-most reported infections since the pandemic began.
It has added 168,912 cases and 904 deaths in the past 24 hours. Since the pandemic began, authorities have confirmed 13.5 million infections and 170,179 deaths linked to the virus, although real numbers are believed to be much higher.
Meanwhile, India's drive to vaccinate its population is running into supply issues, with just 94 million shots provided so far and stocks reportedly running low in some states, including Maharashtra state, home to financial capital Mumbai.
The CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine maker by volume, has warned that production capacity is "very stressed."
Countries around the world are relying on Serum for supplies of the AstraZeneca vaccine. But last month, India began limiting exports to prioritize domestic needs.
With reporting by The Times of India, Hindustan Times, and Reuters.
- By RFE/RL
Canada Blocks Defense Exports To Turkey Over Transfer Of Drones To Azerbaijan
Canada has halted some military exports to NATO ally Turkey after a probe confirmed Canadian drone technology was used by Azerbaijan in last year’s fighting with Armenia over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Canada suspended military export permits to Turkey last October pending an investigation into allegations Canadian technology was misused when the Turkish military provided armed drones to support Azerbaijan.
“Following this review, which found credible evidence that Canadian technology exported to Turkey was used in Nagorno-Karabakh, today I am announcing the cancellation of permits that were suspended in the fall of 2020,” Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said in an April 12 statement.
“This use was not consistent with Canadian foreign policy, nor end-use assurances given by Turkey,” he added.
Garneau said he had spoken with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu about the decision and offered to start a dialogue mechanism to ensure any future defense export permits are in line with end-user agreements.
The export ban affects 29 permits for military goods and technologies, including camera components used in Turkish drones.
The Canadian review found Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 armed drones were equipped with imaging and targeting systems made by Canadian company L3Harris Wescam. The Canadian camera system is exclusively used in the Turkish drones, but no export permits for Canadian sensors were issued for Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan and Armenian forces fought a six-week war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in the fall, during which Turkish support helped Azerbaijan prevail over ethnic Armenian forces.
Under a Moscow-brokered cease-fire, a chunk of Nagorno-Karabakh and all seven districts around it were placed under Azerbaijani administration after almost 30 years of control by Armenians.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the ethnic Armenians who make up most of the region's population reject Azerbaijani rule.
Canada had previously suspended export licenses during a Turkish military incursion into Syria against Kurdish forces in 2019. Those restrictions were then eased, but reinstated during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
One Day After Navalny's Team Established In Daghestan, Whereabouts Of Coordinator Unknown
MAKHACHKALA, Russia -- The coordinator of a team of Daghestani activists associated with imprisoned Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny went incommunicado in the North Caucasus region on April 12, a day after he announced the inception of the group.
Local activists in Daghestan's capital, Makhachkala, on April 12, raised concerns about the whereabouts of Eduard Atayev, whose telephone had been switched off since April 11 when he officially announced Navalny’s team in the city.
Atayev's assistant, Murad Manapov, told RFE/RL that after Atayev announced that Navalny's team started operating in Makhachkala, he left the city for his native village of Endirei near the regional capital "to have a rest."
"I asked him to message me when he gets there, which he did not. I thought then that he just forgot to do so, but in the morning it turned out that his phone was switched off," Manapov said.
Manapov said Atayev was expected to join his team in the morning and his "disappearance" is strange. He added that activists were looking for Atayev's relatives in order to turn to police for help to locate him.
Hours after Manapov talked to RFE/RL, he also "went missing," according to his associates.
September Elections
Earlier in February, an initial attempt to set up Navalny’s team in Makhachkala failed after its coordinator-to-be, Ruslan Ablyakimov, who arrived in the region from Moscow, was attacked and beaten by unidentified individuals.
The coordinator of the network of Navalny's teams across Russia, Leonid Volkov, has said that despite Navalny's incarceration in February the teams will continue their work to derail the ruling United Russia party's stranglehold on power in parliamentary elections in September.
Navalny and his supporters have developed a "smart voting" system, which is aimed at undercutting United Russia candidates.
Under the system, voters can enter their address into a special app, which will then give them a list of the candidates deemed most likely to defeat their United Russia rivals regardless of their party affiliation.
Navalny was imprisoned after returning to Russia in January from his recuperation in Germany after his exposure to a nerve agent last August in Siberia. He has accused President Vladimir Putin of ordering his assassination, something the Kremlin denies.
Navalny has complained of back pain and numbness in his hands and legs and accused the authorities of withholding adequate medical treatment.
Navalny declared a hunger strike in late March, raising even more concerns about his overall health.
Tsikhanouskaya Associates Reject Charges As Trial Starts In Belarus
HOMEL, Belarus -- Four associates of Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya have pleaded not guilty to charges of organizing protests against authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka as their trial started on April 12 in the southeastern city of Homel.
Tatsyana Kaneuskaya, Yury Ulasau, Dzmitry Ivashkou, and Alyaksandr Shabalin were members of Tsikhanouskaya's campaign team and arrested just days before an August 9, 2020, presidential election for organizing gatherings and demonstrations demanding independent candidates be registered for the vote.
The four were also charged with the seizure of a building, while Ulasau was additionally charged with publicly insulting an official.
RFE/RL correspondents reported that dozens of people came to support the four activists at the courthouse on April 12, but only one person for each defendant’s family was allowed to enter the building due to what officials called "coronavirus precautions."
Journalists were also not allowed into the courtroom.
Crisis In Belarus
Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
Those relatives who were allowed to enter the building were forced to leave their telephones at a security desk before entering the courtroom.
Kaneuskaya's son, Alyaksey Kaneuski, who was allowed to be present at the trial, told journalists later in the day that all four defendants pleaded not guilty.
Tens of thousands of Belarusians have taken to the streets, almost weekly, since the election when Lukashenka claimed reelection in a vote that Tsikhanouskaya and her supporters called fraudulent.
The demonstrators are demanding that Lukashenka leave and new elections be held, but Belarus's strongman has been defiant. Security officials have arrested thousands and forced Tsikhanouskaya and other top opposition figures out of the country.
Several protesters have been killed in the violence and some rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used against some of those detained.
Tsikhanouskaya left Belarus for Lithuania after the election for security reasons and has been rallying international support for the pro-democracy movement.
More than 30,000 people have been detained in the protests, with hundreds beaten, several killed, and reports from rights groups that there is credible evidence of torture being used by security officials.
In response to the ongoing crackdown, the West has slapped sanctions on top officials and refused to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate leader of the former Soviet republic.
In Latest Salvo Against Media, Belarus Takes Euronews Off The Air
MINSK -- Belarusian authorities have stopped the European news network Euronews from broadcasting inside the country amid a campaign to muzzle independent media and journalists as part of the government's crackdown on dissent following a disputed presidential election that returned strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka to power.
The Information Ministry said in a statement on April 12 that the right given to Euronews, a 24-hour television channel covering world news in 12 language editions, including Russian, to distribute its programs in Belarus had expired.
Crisis In Belarus
Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
It added that Russia's Pobeda (Victory) channel focusing on World War II had commenced broadcasting in Euronews's place. In recent years, Russia has been promoting the victory of the Soviet Union and allies over Nazi Germany in 1945 in its state propaganda against the West.
A ministry spokeswoman was quoted by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti as saying that Euronews's license had not been renewed because the channel violated legislation by running advertisements in English, instead of Russian or Belarusian.
Euronews, which is headquartered in the French city of Lyon, said that as of late on April 12, it had yet to receive official notification of the ban, but "deeply" regretted it.
"We have not been notified of this decision nor of the reasons for it, and learned of it this morning through the press," it said in a statement.
"Euronews values freedom of the press and will do its utmost to ensure that its audiences in Belarus can very soon again have access, on television, to Euronews' hallmark impartial and quality journalism. In the meantime, these audiences will be able to continue following us on our digital platforms,” it added.
Tens of thousands of Belarusians have taken the streets, almost weekly, since August 2020 when Lukashenka claimed reelection in a vote that opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her supporters called fraudulent.
The demonstrators are demanding that Lukashenka leave and new elections be held, but Belarus's strongman has been defiant. Security officials have arrested thousands and forced Tsikhanouskaya and other top opposition figures out of the country.
Several protesters have been killed in the violence and some rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used against some of those detained.
Meanwhile, Barys Haretski, deputy chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, says the government has embarked on the largest crackdown on journalists and rights activists Europe has ever seen.
"Since last summer, the authorities have systematically created, let us say, 'a Great Wall of China' around Belarusian society. They have repressed journalists and shut down media outlets," Haretski said.
Lukashenka, who has run Belarus since 1994, and other top officials have been slapped with sanctions by the West, which refuses to recognize him as the legitimate leader of the country.
Minsk-based media expert Paulyuk Bykouski said the move to ban Euronews cuts off a main point of access to fair and unfiltered news for Belarusians, who "do not have access to such information projects as CNN, Fox News, and any other channels that could be a possible alternative to what is being broadcast by Belarusian state media and Russian television channels."
With reporting by RIA Novosti and BelaPAN
- By RFE/RL
WWF Highlights Illegal Fishing, Trade In Sturgeon In Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has published a survey that it says shows that illegal fishing and trade in wild sturgeon is happening in the lower Danube region on a “rather serious scale.”
Poaching and the illegal trade of meat and caviar are often cited as major threats to many sturgeon populations worldwide, but the conservation group said that its survey, made public on April 12, provides “first-time evidence of the actual scale” of the threats in the lower Danube, specifically in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine.
The WWF said that nearly one-third of the samples of sturgeon products bought through the survey were illegal, while 214 cases of poaching-related incidents were recorded by authorities.
“This is the first assessment of the volume of sturgeon poaching and trade along the lower Danube and Black Sea -- and even if we have to assume that we found just the tip of the iceberg, it shows how serious the impact on the last wild sturgeons still is and how crucial our fight is to save them,” WWF project manager Jutta Jahrl said in a statement.
The methodology of the survey, titled Evidence For Trafficking Of Critically Endangered Sturgeons In The Lower Danube Region, combined official data on poaching activities and the results of a “large-scale” market survey and forensic analysis of meat and caviar samples in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine between October 2016 and July 2020, according to the WWF.
It said a total of 145 samples were collected at different locations from sturgeon populations that share the same migratory routes along the entire trade chain on the Lower Danube and in the northwestern Black Sea region.
Testing points included retailers such as shops, restaurants, local markets, and fishermen, and all samples underwent DNA and isotope analysis that the environmental nongovernmental organization said proved that wild sturgeon products were being sold in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine.
Of the samples tested, 27 (19 percent) proved to be from wild sturgeon -- 25 were meat and two were caviar.
Seventeen samples of caviar (29 percent of all caviar samples) were “sold without compliance” with mandatory regulations of the international Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
In one case, meat sold as farmed was proven to be wild. In several other cases products declared as wild sturgeon proved to be farmed, or to be meat from European catfish or Nile perch, which WWF said indicated “a worrying consumer demand for illegal, wild-caught sturgeon products.”
All fishing and trade of wild Danube sturgeon species was prohibited in Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine during the time period under study, and only the catch of sterlet measuring above 40 centimeters was allowed in Serbia until the end of 2018.
WWF said a total of 214 cases of illegal poaching-related incidents were recorded in the three other countries -- 82 cases in Romania, 82 in Bulgaria, and 50 in Ukraine -- between January 2016 and December 2020.
The WWF cited a number of recommendations to tackle poaching and the illegal trade of sturgeon, including control of CITES caviar labelling requirements, improved interagency cooperation and coordination, increased border controls, use of “state-of-the-art” forensic analysis, and conducting more and recurrent market surveys.
“The survival of these highly threatened wild sturgeon species in Central and Eastern Europe is dependent on continuous and increased efforts to reduce the threat of wild sturgeon trafficking,” it said.
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan Break Ground On Trade Hub
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have broken ground for a giant trade and economic-cooperation hub, the largest of its kind in Central Asia, along the border of the two neighbors.
The Uzbek government’s press service said a groundbreaking ceremony with the prime ministers of the two countries was held on April 10 at the Gishtkoprik-Zhibek Zholy border checkpoint.
"This unique project in the Central Asian region will be profitable for the two nations and contribute to the development of trade and economic ties in the region as a whole," the Uzbek government said.
Kazakh Prime Minister Asqar Mamin told the ceremony that Kazakh and Uzbek officials have a goal of tripling trade between the two biggest economies in the region to $10 billion.
The Kazakh prime minister's press service said the new hub will cover a territory of 400 hectares and allow some 35,000 people and up to 5,000 trucks to cross the border from both sides each day after it becomes fully operational.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev has taken steps to improve Uzbekistan's ties with its neighbors since he took office after the death of autocrat Islam Karimov in 2016.
During Karimov's 27-year rule in Central Asia's most-populous nation, its relations with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan were strained by disputes over transit routes, border security, water resources, and other issues.
- By RFE/RL
Ukraine Says Russia Ignoring Calls For Dialogue Amid Rising Tensions
Ukraine says it has requested talks with Russia to discuss escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine but has yet to receive an answer, prompting warnings from the West, including calls by Washington for Moscow to explain its actions at an upcoming security meeting.
Kyiv and the West blame Russia-backed separatists holding parts of Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk for a recent spike in hostilities, while Moscow has pointed the finger at Kyiv.
A recent accumulation of photographs, video, and other data also suggested major movements of Russian armed units toward or near Ukraine's borders and into the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, fueling concerns that Russia is preparing to send forces into Ukraine and giving rise to many Western countries demanding Russia explain itself.
In a statement on April 12, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said that in accordance with an agreement with Moscow and international partners, the Russian side was formally requested to clarify the "significant increase" in the military presence of Russian troops along the border with Ukraine and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in recent days.
"Unfortunately, the Russian side refused to provide substantive information in accordance with the request, stating that it does not conduct such activities," the statement said, adding that Kyiv had called on Russia "to withdraw troops from the border with Ukraine, to stop belligerent rhetoric and disinformation."
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy's spokeswoman, Yulia Mendel, added on April 12 that the president's office "of course" made a request to speak directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but that "we have not received an answer yet and we very much hope that this is not a refusal of dialogue."
Russia has massed more than 40,000 troops both on Ukraine's eastern border and in the occupied Crimean Peninsula, according to Mendel, who said Zelenskiy will head to Paris for talks on Russia's troop buildup and the escalating conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The West has voiced concern in recent weeks over the buildup.
The U.S. State Department said on April 12 that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had discussed "the immediate need for Russia to cease its aggressive military buildup."
Foreign ministers from the G7 group of nations, including the United States, Britain, and France, also condemned the increase in Russian troop numbers near its border with Ukraine and in Crimea.
"These large-scale troop movements, without prior notification, represent threatening and destabilizing activities," the joint statement released by Britain's Foreign Office said on April 12.
"We call on Russia to cease its provocations and to immediately de-escalate tensions in line with its international obligations," the statement added.
Earlier on April 12, the U.S. mission to the OSCE urged Moscow to explain its moves at an upcoming meeting in Vienna of the OSCE's Forum for Security Cooperation and the Permanent Council (FSC-PC).
"Within 48 hours Russia will have another chance to explain its actions at a special @OSCE FSC-PC meeting requested by Ukraine," the mission said on Twitter.
"Russia refused to notify its military movements or provide transparency under the #ViennaDocument. We urge Russia to adhere to its commitments & explain its actions," it said.
The Vienna Document is an agreement between the OSCE member states intended to implement confidence and security-building measures.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was "not aware of any [such] requests made lately," according to Russian news agencies.
The Kremlin has rejected Western calls to pull back its troops from the border region, denying they are a threat and adding that military movements within Russia are a sovereign, internal issue.
Some analysts have suggested that Russia's recent actions may be meant to test the new administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and its commitment to Ukraine.
Peskov on April 12 brushed aside "these calls for putting an end to some ephemeral aggressive actions and threats and warnings that some price will have to be paid."
The Kremlin had earlier warned that Moscow "will not remain indifferent" to the fate of Russian speakers who live in eastern Ukraine.
Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014, sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries.
Since then, overwhelming evidence suggests Russia has continued to lend diplomatic and military aid to armed separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine, known as the Donbas region.
Despite multiple cease-fire agreements, the violence has never really ended.
Zelenskiy last week said 26 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the start of the year, compared with 50 in all of 2020, when fighting in the conflict subsided as a new cease-fire deal came into force in July.
Separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk regions have said more than 20 of their fighters had been killed so far in 2021.
With reporting by Reuters, Interfax, TASS, and RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service
Tajik Officials Say Suspect Dead After 'Jumping' Out Of Police Building
DUSHANBE -- A man suspected of theft has died after officials say he "jumped" out of a police building in Tajikistan.
The Interior Ministry said on April 10 that the incident took place in the city of Vahdat, about 19 kilometers from the capital, Dushanbe.
According to the ministry, 31-year-old Mehriddin Gadozoda "jumped out of the window on the third floor with the intention of avoiding criminal charges" and died hours later in the hospital.
The ministry said that Gadozoda was detained and had been brought to police after investigators found him in possession of items that had been reported stolen in 12 robbery cases.
Gadozoda's relatives have yet to comment, and it was not immediately possible to verify the police account through independent sources.
The case is one of several in Tajikistan where suspects have died while in police custody. In most of the cases, the relatives of the deceased have alleged foul play, saying their loved ones were beaten or tortured to death.
Domestic and international human rights groups have criticized Tajik authorities for beating and torturing suspects and prison inmates for years.
Tajik authorities have acknowledged that brutality involving police or prison guards occurs, but insist that such cases are not common.
In March 2018, authorities in the southern city of Kulob said a suspect, Abdurasul Nazarov, died of a heart attack while in police custody, while his relatives said his body showed signs of beating and torture.
In 2015, Shamsiddin Zaidulloev, detained on suspicion of illegal drugs-related crime in Dushanbe, died while in custody. Officials said at the time that the death was caused by a heart attack. That explanation was rejected by the man's relatives, who insisted that Zaidulloev died after he was severely beaten by police.
Also in 2015, police in Vahdat said that Umar Bobojonov died in police custody after he fell inside a concrete well while drunk. Bobojonov's relatives said at the time that he had been beaten to death by police after he was detained for wearing a beard amid a government crackdown on radical Muslims.
In 2011, the Interior Ministry said that another theft suspect, Bahromiddin Shodiev, died in the hospital after he jumped out of a window on the second floor of a police station in Dushanbe. The man's relatives have insisted that he was severely beaten and tortured by police.
In March 2011, 37-year-old Dushanbe resident Safarali Sangov died several days after he was beaten and taken from his house by plainclothes officers. Police said then that Sangov, suspected of drug possession, tried to commit suicide by jumping out of a first-floor window during his interrogation, while the man's relatives said he was tortured by police.
Iran Blames Israel For Suspected Sabotage At Nuclear Facility, Vows Revenge
Iran has vowed to take "revenge" for an alleged act of sabotage at its main Natanz nuclear site that it blames on its archenemy Israel, an incident that could overshadow diplomatic efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said an act of "nuclear terrorism" caused a power failure at the Natanz nuclear facility on April 11, a day after new uranium-enrichment equipment was unveiled at the site, south of Tehran.
The underground Natanz site is key to Iran's enrichment program and monitored by inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, which said it was aware of the reports of an incident but would not comment.
State TV on April 12 quoted Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as putting the blame on Israel for the incident, saying the country wanted to "take revenge because of our progress in the way to lift sanctions."
"They have publicly said that they will not allow this. But we will take our revenge from the Zionists," Zarif added. He did not provide any hard evidence of Israeli involvement in the incident.
The European Union warned against attempts to derail talks to return Washington to the Iran nuclear deal.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on April 12 that it was closely following the situation surrounding the "serious incident."
It added that it was "alarming how this situation" could impact the talks to revive the deal, which are set to resume in Vienna on April 14.
The EU-hosted talks center on overcoming an impasse between the United States and Iran to bring both parties into full compliance with the 2015 agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which lifted international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits on Iran's nuclear program. The U.S. and Iranian sides have publicly clashed over the sequencing of possible U.S. sanctions relief and Iran reversing its breaches of the deal.
"We hope that what happened will not become a 'gift' to the assorted opponents of the JCPOA and will not undermine the consultations that are gaining momentum...to revive these agreements," the Russian statement said.
Multiple Israeli media outlets have quoted unnamed intelligence sources as saying that the country's Mossad spy service had carried out a successful sabotage operation at the Natanz site, potentially setting back enrichment work there by months.
Israel has not confirmed any role in the incident and generally does not comment on clandestine operations, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly has described Iran as the greatest threat facing his country.
The New York Times, citing American and Israeli intelligence officials, reported Israel had a role in what it described as a "large explosion" at Natanz that destroyed an internal power system that supplies underground centrifuges that enrich uranium.
The intelligence officials said the damage to the power system was enough to knock out Natanz's uranium enrichment for at least nine months.
Israel is suspected of carrying out sabotage against Iran in the past, including cyberattacks and assassinations of nuclear scientists.
Last year, a fire broke out at an aboveground part of the Natanz nuclear facility, which the government said was an attempt to sabotage Iran's nuclear program. In November, Iran's top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was killed in an attack on his car near Tehran. Iran blamed Israel for the assassination.
Israel has intensified a long-running shadow war against Iran, ranging from upping airstrikes on Iran-aligned forces in Syria to a suspected mine attack earlier this month on a ship used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps off the coast of Yemen.
The reported blackout at Natanz occurred a day after Iran launched new advanced centrifuges at the Natanz facility with the potential to accelerate uranium enrichment, in another breach of the country's commitments in the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers.
The incident casts additional uncertainty over the upcoming talks in Vienna to revive the nuclear accord long opposed by Israel.
"What we are hearing currently out of Tehran is not a positive contribution, particularly the development in Natanz," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said ahead of the Vienna talks.
EU foreign-policy spokesman Peter Stano said the bloc rejected "any attempts to undermine or weaken diplomatic efforts on the nuclear agreement," and insisted that "we still need to clarify the facts" over events at Natanz.
Zarif said Tehran would not allow the incident to affect the discussions, state news agency IRNA reported.
The EU-hosted talks in Vienna center on overcoming an impasse between the United States and Iran to bring both parties into full compliance with the 2015 agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which lifted international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits on Iran's nuclear program.
President Joe Biden has expressed a willingness for the United States to reenter the accord abandoned by the Trump administration, which then imposed a raft of sanctions on Tehran under a "maximum pressure" campaign. Iran responded to the U.S. exit from the deal in 2018 by gradually breaching many of the nuclear restrictions.
With reporting by AFP, AP, and The New York Times, Reuters, and Nournews
- By RFE/RL
Chechen Deported From France Faces Possible Torture And Death In Homeland, Amnesty Says
A Chechen refugee deported from France to Russia now faces potential torture or even death after being handed over to Chechnya’s security services, Amnesty International said on April 11.
The French branch of the rights group said in an emergency appeal that they were extremely concerned about the fate of Magomed Gadayev, who was deported from France to Moscow on April 9.
The 37-year-old was subsequently handed over by Russian security agents to authorities of the North Caucasus region of Chechnya, Novaya gazeta newspaper reported.
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Under strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's security services are notorious for carrying human rights abuses against political opponents.
“Due to the persecution he has suffered in the past and his role as a witness in proceedings against cases of torture committed by the Chechen authorities, Magomed Gadayev is in danger of being tortured again and, possibly, even killed,” Amnesty said in an appeal for action to French President Emmanuel Macron.
Gadaev is on the board of the Paris-based Chechen diaspora organization Bart Marsho and a member of the Assembly of Chechens in Europe, an organization representing the interests of the diaspora.
He lived in France for around a decade after fleeing Chechnya, where he served prison time on charges of having ties with separatists and was tortured. While in France, he spoke out about torture in his homeland and became a witness in cases related to torture and abductions committed by Chechen security forces.
Amnesty said France violated its international commitments and ignored the decisions of administrative courts when they allowed Gadayev to be deported.
With reporting by Current Time and Novaya gazeta
UEFA Calls On Serbia To Investigate Alleged Match-Fixing
UEFA, the governing body of soccer in Europe, has asked the Serbian Football Association (FSS) to investigate alleged match-fixing.
FSS spokesman Milan Vukovic said in an April 11 statement that "we have received certain information from UEFA suggesting possible irregularities pointing to breach of integrity in some games."
He added: "The FSS has opened proceedings but at this time we cannot reveal more details. We will inform the public about our findings in due course."
Serbia's Sport Klub television reported that UEFA had tracked "enormous" bets that were placed on two matches played in March.
Sport Klub added that UEFA tracked betting patterns in both Europe and Asia that included large sums placed on final scores during live betting.
"Players on two teams gave advantage to their opponents, thus securing huge profits to people who made bets," Sport Klub said.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
- By RFE/RL
Iran Urged To Halt Execution Of Man Convicted Of Raping Child
Amnesty International has called on Iran to halt the execution of a man sentenced to death for the rape of a minor.
The London-based rights watchdog said Farhad Salehi Jabehdar, 30, is scheduled to be executed on April 13 in the northern province of Alborz.
His execution has been scheduled even though a request for a judicial review of his case is pending before the Supreme Court.
Iran's Supreme Court on April 11 informed Jabehdar's lawyer that the judicial review request will be examined in several weeks but rejected the lawyer's request to order a stay.
In a statement on April 11, Amnesty said that "in addition to the fact that the use of the death penalty for the crime of rape is prohibited under international law, the death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment and is never the answer."
Jabehdar was arrested in June 2018 in connection with the sexual assault of a 10-year-old child in 2017.
He was convicted of "forced male-male intercourse" and sentenced to death in 2019. The conviction and sentence were upheld by Supreme Court.
The parents of the child have formally requested that the authorities not impose the death penalty on Jabehdar.
Iran is the world's second-most-active executioner after China, according to Amnesty.
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Warns Of 'Consequences' If Russia 'Acts Recklessly' In Ukraine
The United States has warned of "consequences" if Russia "acts recklessly or aggressively" toward Ukraine amid concerns over Moscow's troop buildup near Ukraine's borders.
"President Biden's been very clear about this," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC's Meet The Press on April 11. "If Russia acts recklessly, or aggressively, there will be costs, there will be consequences."
Fighting has escalated between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russian separatists in the country's east in recent weeks, with evidence of Russia moving troops toward or near Ukraine's borders and into Russian-occupied Crimea.
The Kremlin has rejected Western calls to pull back its troops, denying they are a threat while adding that military movements within Russia are a sovereign, internal issue.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on April 11 said that "nobody is planning to move toward war," but added that Moscow "will not remain indifferent" to the fate of Russian speakers who live in eastern Ukraine.
Earlier on April 11, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said London and Washington "firmly oppose Russia's campaign to destabilize Ukraine" and call on Russia to de-escalate the situation.
Blinken "& I agreed Russia must immediately de-escalate the situation & live up to the international commitments that it signed up to at @OSCE," Raab said on Twitter, referring to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
The statement by Raab comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy briefed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the situation.
After their talks in Istanbul, Erdogan called recent developments "worrying" and said he hoped the conflict would be resolved peacefully through dialogue and in line with Ukraine's territorial integrity.
"We believe that the current crisis can be solved with peaceful and diplomatic means on the basis of the integrity of Ukraine and international law," Erdogan said.
During their meeting, the presidents also discussed expanding defense cooperation between their countries. Zelenskiy said the stepped-up cooperation would apply especially to weaponry and the construction of fighter jets.
Zelenskiy, who visited Ukrainians troops in the Donbas region on April 8, said Kyiv and Ankara shared the same view on threats in the Black Sea region and the response to those threats.
Blinken consulted the German and French foreign ministers on April 9 about the need for Russia to cease its military buildup on the occupied Crimean Peninsula and near Ukraine's eastern borders.
Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries.
Since then, overwhelming evidence suggests Russia has continued to lend diplomatic and military aid to armed separatists fighting in the Donbas region.
The conflict has killed more than 13,000 people and displaced more than 1 million since April 2014.
With reporting from Reuters and AFP
- By RFE/RL
Iran Says Blackout At Atomic Site Act Of 'Nuclear Terrorism'
Iran has described a blackout at its Natanz nuclear site as an act of "nuclear terrorism," without specifying what country or entity might be behind the alleged sabotage.
Tehran had earlier said an "accident" on April 11 had caused a power failure at Natanz, one of the country's most secured underground sites.
Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, urged the international community to "confront this act of nuclear terrorism."
Salehi, in a statement carried by state TV, said the attack was staged by "opponents of the country's industrial and political progress who aim to prevent development of a thriving nuclear industry."
The blackout occurred a day after Tehran launched new advanced centrifuges that more quickly enrich uranium.
Last year, a fire broke out at the Natanz nuclear facility that the government said was an attempt to sabotage its nuclear program.
The Natanz site is key to Iran's uranium enrichment program and monitored by inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog.
Israel, Iran's regional archenemy, is suspected of carrying out sabotage against Iran in the past, including cyberattacks and assassinations of nuclear scientists.
Iran also blamed Israel for the killing of a scientist who began the country's military nuclear program decades earlier. Israel has not claimed any of the attacks, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly described Iran as the major threat faced by his country in recent weeks.
The incident at Natanz comes amid negotiations over the possible return of the United States to the 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran.
In 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the agreement, which lifted international sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear program.
In reaction, Iran breached many restrictions imposed by the accord. Tehran has abandoned all the limits of its uranium stockpile. It now enriches up to 20 percent purity, a technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent.
Earlier this week, talks began in Vienna aimed at bringing the United States and Iran back into full compliance with the deal.
On April 10, Iran announced it had launched a chain of 164 IR-6 centrifuges at Natanz, injecting them with the uranium gas and beginning their rapid spinning.
Officials also began testing the IR-9 centrifuge, which they say will enrich uranium 50 times faster than Iran's first-generation centrifuges, the IR-1. The nuclear deal limits Iran to only using IR-1s for enrichment.
Iran maintains its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP
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