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Hunger-Striking Navalny Says Prison Staff Threatened To Force-Feed Him
Jailed Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny said on April 16 that prison authorities have threatened to put him in a straitjacket to force-feed him unless he halts his hunger strike.
Navalny, 44, announced a hunger strike at the end of last month in protest at what he said was the refusal of prison authorities to allow him to receive proper medical care for acute back and leg pain.
In an Instagram post, Navalny said an official told him that blood tests showed his health was deteriorating and threatened to force-feed him if he continues his hunger strike.
“And then she detailed the joys of force-feeding to me. Straitjacket and other pleasures,” the politician said, adding that he urged the officials not to do it, “pointing to a clause in the law.”
Navalny did not elaborate on what he meant by "other pleasures."
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 last year. He has accused President Vladimir Putin of ordering the poisoning, which the Kremlin has denied.
A Moscow court sentenced the opposition leader in February to 2 1/2 years in prison on charges he says were politically motivated.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AP
- By RFE/RL
Russian Prosecutors Ask Court To Designate Navalny's Anti-Corruption Network As 'Extremist'
Russian prosecutors have asked a Moscow court to label jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny’s anti-corruption organization and its regional offices as "extremist" organizations.
"Under the guise of liberal slogans, these organizations are engaged in creating conditions for the destabilization of the social and sociopolitical situation," the Moscow prosecutor's office said in a statement on April 16.
It accused Russia’s largest opposition network of working to create conditions for “changing the foundations of the constitutional order.”
The extremist label, if approved, would severely limit Navalny’s allies and activists from organizing, criminalizing such things as calling for or participating in protests. Navalny's aides and organizations are already subject to frequent police raids and arrests over their political activities.
Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) exposes state corruption and his network of regional offices organizes political activities, including efforts to counter the Kremlin-controlled United Russia party in regional and local elections.
The latest move against Navalny’s opposition movement comes as his aides are pushing for massive nationwide protests in the coming weeks.
Navalny was sentenced in February to 2 1/2 years in prison on charges he says were politically motivated. He was arrested in January after returning from Germany, where he was treated for the poison attack that European laboratories said involved a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group.
His arrest in January triggered some of the largest nationwide protests in years and a harsh crackdown.
Navalny, 44, announced a hunger strike at the end of last month in protest at what he said was the refusal of prison authorities to allow him to receive proper medical care for acute back and leg pain.
With reporting by AFP, Current Time, and Reuters
- By RFE/RL
NATO, EU Condemn Russia's Plans To Close Parts Of Black Sea For Six Months
Russia’s reported plans to restrict maritime traffic in parts of the Black Sea for six months as it holds military maneuvers would be “unjustified” and “destabilizing,” NATO said on April 16, demanding Moscow allow Ukraine freedom of navigation.
The move to block traffic in the Black Sea was also swiftly condemned by Ukraine and the European Union. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine are elevated as Moscow masses troops near Ukraine's border and on the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.
“Russia’s ongoing militarization of Crimea, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov are further threats to Ukraine’s independence, and undermine the stability of the broader region,” a spokeswoman for NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. “We call on Russia to de-escalate immediately, stop its pattern of provocations, and respect its international commitments.”
Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency, citing a Defense Ministry statement, reported that Moscow plans to close parts of the Black Sea to foreign military ships and other state vessels from April 24 until October 31 to conducted navy drills.
The restrictions would apply to the western tip of the Crimean Peninsula, its southern coastline from Sevastopol to Hurzuf, and a "rectangle" off the Kerch Peninsula near the Opuksky Nature Reserve.
Restrictions
Such restrictions could prevent access to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait.
“We are concerned by reports that Russia plans to restrict access to parts of the Black Sea and the Kerch Strait. This would be an unjustified move, and part of a broader pattern of destabilizing behavior by Russia,” the NATO statement said. “We call on Russia to ensure free access to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov, and allow freedom of navigation.”
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry blasted the restrictions as a "usurpation of the sovereign rights of Ukraine."
It also stressed that under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, "Russia must neither obstruct or halt transit through the international strait to ports in the Sea of Azov."
The European Union called the Russian provocation "highly worrying" and echoed NATO's call for Moscow to allow the free passage of ships.
"The intention by the Russian Federation to close certain areas of the Black Sea for navigation until October 2021 under the pretext of military exercises is highly worrying," said the office of the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell.
"The European Union expects Russia to ensure unhindered and free passage to and from the Sea of Azov in accordance with international law," Borrell's spokesman, Peter Stano, said in a statement.
The Kerch Strait became a scene of confrontation in 2018 after Russia seized three Ukrainian ships there over alleged violations of its territorial waters.
The Kerch Strait is also the site of a much-hyped 19-kilometer bridge connecting Crimea with mainland Russia that Moscow opened in 2018.
With reporting by AFP and dpa
Prosecutor In Moscow Seeks 11 Years In Prison For Former FSB Officer
Prosecutors have asked a Moscow military court to sentence a former senior officer of Russia's Federal Security Service to 11 years in prison after he and two others were caught with millions of dollars worth of cash in 2019.
They also asked the Moscow Garrison Court on April 16 to fine Kirill Cherkalin 34 million rubles ($445,000), deprive him of his rank as colonel, and bar him from working in law enforcement structures.
Cherkalin was arrested in April 2019, along with two other FSB officers, Dmitry Frolov and Andrei Vasilyev, on charges of bribe-taking and fraud.
The case gained prominence after investigators said they had found 12 billion rubles ($157 million) in cash hidden in the trio's properties at the time.
In addition, investigators found 3.2 billion rubles cash in the apartment of Cherkalin's parents.
The case echoed the arrest of a Moscow police officer Dmitry Zakharchenko who was apprehended in September 2016 after investigators found $120 million in various currencies at his Moscow apartment.
Zakharchenko was found guilty of bribe taking and obstruction of justice and sentenced to 13 years in prison in June 2019.
Based on reporting by Interfax, Meduza, and TASS
Kyrgyz Officials Draw Criticism For Promoting Toxic Root To Fight COVID
BISHKEK -- An effort by Kyrgyz authorities to promote a toxic root for treatment of COVID-19 has been met with criticism in the Central Asian nation.
On April 16, Health Minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliev announced at a press conference that a solution with extracts of aconite root had been given to 300 coronavirus-infected patients.
He also sipped from a cup containing the poisonous root's extract in front of journalists and said that "the solution is not dangerous for health."
"The solution must be consumed when it is hot only and in two to three days anyone who tested positive on coronavirus will immediately feel better," Beishenaliev said.
The previous day, President Sadyr Japarov announced on Facebook that his country found an "effective" method to treat COVID-19.
Japarov posted a video on Facebook showing men without protective equipment bottling the solution with the extracts of the aconite root, warning that drinking the solution while it is cold might result in death.
The World Health Organization’s mission in the Central Asian nation harshly criticized the idea, saying that there’s no proof aconite root is safe for treatment of any illnesses, including coronavirus infection.
Several physicians who spoke with RFE/RL said use of the root to treat COVID-19 violates Kyrgyzstan’s law on public safety
Aconite root is found in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang and some parts of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
Some people use the root in herbal soups and meals, believing in its health benefits. But aconite roots contain aconitine, a cardiotoxin and neurotoxin. Consuming aconite root can lead to sickness or even death.
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Embassy Expresses 'Disappointment' Over Kyrgyz Powerbroker Release From Custody
BISHKEK -- The U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan has expressed concern over the release from pretrial detention of Raimbek Matraimov, the controversial former deputy chief of the Kyrgyz Customs Service who was placed on the U.S. Magnitsky sanctions list for his involvement in the illegal funneling of hundreds of millions of dollars abroad.
In a statement on April 16, the embassy said it felt "disappointment at the release of organized crime boss" Matraimov.
"We would note that Matraimov is the subject of U.S. State Department and Treasury Department Global Magnitsky and visa sanctions for his participation in a corrupt customs scheme in which at least $700 million was laundered from the Kyrgyz Republic, funds which could have been used by the Kyrgyz government for priorities such as health care, education, agriculture, and pensions. The United States remains committed to freezing his criminal assets overseas and returning them to the Kyrgyz people," the embassy statement said.
The statement came a day after Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said a probe against Matraimov was stopped after investigators failed to find cash or real estate belonging to Matraimov or members of his family abroad.
When Matraimov was rearrested in February, the UKMK said he was suspected of laundering money through the purchase of property in China, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. Embassy's April 16 statement stressed that Washington continues to cooperate with Bishkek to combat organized crime and corruption.
"In relation to Matraimov, we are working together with Kyrgyz law enforcement to identify properties and financial interests owned by Matraimov that could be frozen under the requirements of the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The 2019 return by the United States of $4.5 million of [fugitive former President Kurmanbek Bakiev's son] Maksim Bakiev’s corrupt money is evidence of U.S. commitment to fight corruption and return stolen assets to the Kyrgyz people," the statement said.
A Bishkek court in February ordered pretrial custody for Matraimov in connection with the corruption charges after hundreds of Kyrgyz protested a ruling mitigating his sentence after he plead guilty to offenses. People were upset that the mitigated sentence meant no jail time for Matraimov and fines of just a few thousand dollars.
The court had justified the move saying that Matraimov had paid back around $24 million that disappeared through corruption schemes that he oversaw.
That decision was based on an economic-amnesty law passed in December 2020 that allows individuals who obtained financial assets through illegal means to avoid prosecution by turning the assets over to the State Treasury.
The idea of economic amnesty was announced in October 2020 by Sadyr Japarov, then acting Kyrgyz president, just a day after Matraimov was detained and placed under house arrest. Japarov has since been elected as president on a pledge to stamp out graft and enact reforms. Japarov also championed a new constitution -- approved by voters earlier this month -- that expands the power of the president.
Critics say the amnesty legislation was proposed and hastily prepared by lawmakers to allow Matraimov and others to avoid a conviction for corruption, while the constitutional changes create an authoritarian system and concentrate too much power in the hands of the president.
In June 2019, an investigation by RFE/RL, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and Kloop implicated Matraimov in a corruption scheme involving the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars out of Kyrgyzstan by Chinese-born Uyghur businessman Aierken Saimaiti, who was subsequently assassinated in Istanbul in November 2019.
A U.S. report on human rights around the world, released in March, spotlighted threats to freedom of expression and a free press in Kyrgyzstan.
In a section on respect for civil liberties, including freedom of the press, the State Department noted threats to journalists involved in that report, which implicated Matraimov.
In January, the 49-year-old Matraimov changed his last name to Ismailov, while his wife, Uulkan Turgunova, changed her family name to Sulaimanova. The moves, confirmed to RFE/RL by a spokesperson for Kyrgyzstan's state registration service, were seen as an attempt to evade the U.S.- imposed sanctions.
There have been no official statements from lawyers for Matraimov's family to explain the name change.
Belarus Lawmakers Approve Second Reading Of Draconian Bills To Limit Freedoms
MINSK -- Belarusian lawmakers have approved a second reading of several amendments to legislation severely restricting civil rights and the free flow of information amid a crackdown on the country’s pro-democracy movement.
The bills approved by members of the lower house on April 16 define a broad range of activities as “extremist,” providing additional ammunition for authorities to use draconian tactics to target and intimidate protesters and opposition forces challenging the official results of a presidential election last year that handed authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka his sixth consecutive term.
In the wake of the election, thousands of Belarusians have taken to the streets in what has become the largest and most-persistent show of opposition to Lukashenka. More than 33,000 people have been arrested in a crackdown that has left much of the opposition leadership in exile or prison. The European Union, the United States, and other nations have refused to recognize the declared election results and slapped sanctions on Lukashenka and other senior Belarusian officials.
The new amendments are likely to spark an outcry for further action.
According to the amendments, any activities by individuals, political parties, or domestic or international organizations defined as undermining independence, sovereignty, the constitutional order, and public safety will be considered as "extremist."
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.
If approved and signed into law, the amendments would ban lawyers from defending people in some criminal and administrative cases. Most of the lawyers who worked with the Belarusian Association of Journalists and have defended RFE/RL reporters in recent months have already been stripped of their licenses.
The proposed changes also say that the following actions will be considered as extremist activities: the distribution of false information; insulting an official; discrediting the state; impeding activities of the Central Election Commission and other state organs; and participating in or organizing unauthorized mass protests.
One passage of the amendments says that any materials promoting unsanctioned public events that can be read, sung, or shown will be considered as "extremist symbols." That includes portraits of anyone who was legally found to be an extremist.
In other parts, amendments to the law on media will allow authorities to shut down media outlets after they receive warnings if their activities pose a "threat to the country's national security."
The amendments also expand the ability of authorities to limit access to online publications if they carry information banned for distribution and refuse to follow requests by officials to address violations.
Lawmakers also approved in a second reading of amendments to the Criminal Code. Among other things, the changes would toughen punishment for disobeying, threatening, and assaulting law enforcement.
Another amendment would prohibit live coverage of unsanctioned protests, making journalists a target for attending such events.
Amendments to other existing laws dealing with extremism would give law enforcement officers the right to use firearms at their own discretion without waiting for a command from supervisors. Police would also be given the right to create lists of individuals they feel are inclined to participate in extremist activities.
Once on such a list, a person would be banned from some activities, including journalism, publishing, and teaching, while their financial activities would be put under surveillance. The amendments allow the central bank to monitor cash withdrawals through foreign-issued debit cards and limit such withdrawals, as well as to freeze the bank accounts of "suspicious individuals."
With reporting by BelTA
Navalny's Team Targets Putin With New Exposé Ahead Of Planned Protests
MOSCOW -- The team of imprisoned Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny has published details of what it alleges is a lavish residence belonging to President Vladimir Putin and kept from public view, the latest salvo in the opposition’s push to boost expected turnout for planned protests and maintain pressure on the Kremlin ahead of parliamentary elections expected this fall.
The video investigation, which had attracted 2.7 million views on YouTube within the first 20 hours of its publication on April 15, alleges that Putin’s fourth official residence, on 150 hectares of land located near Lake Valdai northwest of Moscow, contains sumptuous interiors and includes a large spa center not revealed to Russian taxpayers.
"Why on earth are we financing the construction of Putin's private spa-complexes?” Navalny aide Maria Pevchikh asks in the video. "Why on earth are billions of rubles of taxpayer money going to one person’s decompression, mud-therapy and antiaging procedures?"
Investigations released by Navalny and his team over the past year have been viewed tens of millions of times on YouTube. The new probe comes just weeks after separate videos shed light on a $1.35 billion Black Sea palace allegedly built for Putin and the circumstances around Navalny’s poisoning in Siberia last August, which the anti-corruption crusader blames on Putin and the Federal Security Service.
Citing property records, Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) says part of the land is formally registered to a company called Praym LLC, which, according to the FBK, is owned by billionaire banker Yury Kovalchuk, the main shareholder of Bank Rossiya and one of Putin’s oldest friends.
FBK says that there are about 80 buildings on the land leased from Praym, including a four-story, 3,500-square-meter mansion, a Chinese-style pavilion, a Russian-style izba (wooden cabin), baths, saunas, a stable, a golf course, and a VIP restaurant that includes a cinema, bowling, billiards, and a small casino. The property also has its own church. Near the main building is an even larger one containing a spa complex with two underground floors and a total area of nearly 7,000 square meters (almost 75,350 square feet), according to FBK.
Navalny, Putin's most-vocal critic, was sentenced in February to 2 1/2 years in prison on charges he says were fabricated to sideline and discredit him. He was arrested in January after returning from Germany, where he was treated for the poison attack that European laboratories said involved a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group.
WATCH: Pole Dancing And Fancy Toilet Brushes: Millions Watch Navalny Video On Alleged 'Putin Palace'
The new video also comes amid a push by Navalny’s aides, who have pledged to continue opposition activism, to boost expected turnout at fresh protests slated to take place in coming weeks. Anti-government rallies across Russia in January elicited a violent law enforcement crackdown and a concerted legal campaign against Navalny’s supporters throughout the country, which continues to reverberate with new raids and arrests almost three months after the demonstrations ended.
Citing the violence deployed by police, and the clear dangers faced by protesters, Navalny’s aides in early February called for a cessation of street demonstrations in favor of a redoubled focus on compiling evidence of state corruption ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for September, which will occur against the backdrop of falling ratings for ruling party United Russia. The decision, which came as hundreds of protesters languished in squalid jails awaiting trial, prompted indignation from some Navalny supporters.
On March 23, Navalny’s aides placated some of the disillusioned supporters with a new initiative aimed at gauging protest potential. They launched a website on which Russians could register anonymously to take part in the next protest wave in support of Navalny, marking their location on an interactive map. Once the number of registered participants reaches 500,000, the team said, they will set a date for fresh protests.
Pevchikh and Georgi Alburov, her co-host in the latest video, ended the clip by urging viewers to sign up on the protest website.
But the same day the video was released, as the online protest tally reached 430,000, Navalny’s team was forced to apologize after reports emerged that thousands of e-mail addresses belonging to registered participants had been leaked online, apparently by hackers who then messaged the participants dismissing Navalny’s team as "losers."
Calling the leak “a retaliatory blow” in response to the latest video, Navalny aide Ivan Zhdanov said the leak contained only e-mail addresses, adding that their owners faced few consequences beyond receiving unsolicited messages discrediting Navalny and the broader opposition movement.
“We apologize for any nuisance caused,” Zhdanov wrote in a public message on the messenger Telegram. “We’ll do everything to make sure this never happens again."
With reporting by Meduza
- By RFE/RL
Russia To Expel 10 U.S. Diplomats, A Move U.S. Calls 'Regrettable'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on April 16 that Moscow will ask 10 U.S. diplomats to leave the country in retaliation for Washington's expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats over alleged election interference, cyberattacks, and other malign actions.
"We will respond to this measure in a tit-for-tat manner. We will ask 10 U.S. diplomats in Russia to leave the country," Lavrov told reporters at a news conference with his Serbian counterpart.
The U.S. State Department on April 16 called the Russian expulsions “escalatory and regrettable."
"It is not in our interest to get into an escalatory cycle, but we reserve the right to respond to any Russian retaliation against the United States,” a State Department spokesperson said in an e-mail quoted in U.S. news reports.
The Russian move comes a day after the United States imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Russia in retaliation for election interference, cyberattacks, and what Washington described as Moscow's other "harmful" foreign activities.
In an executive order, President Joe Biden on April 15 announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats and sanctions against dozens other Russian individuals and entities as it moved to hold the Kremlin accountable for actions against the United States and its interests.
In a potential blow to the Russian economy, the U.S. Treasury also placed additional limits on U.S. banks operating in the Russian sovereign debt market in a step that may spook investors.
Lavrov also said that President Vladimir Putin's top foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, had recommended that U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan return to Washington to conduct "serious consultations."
Russia's envoy to the United States last month returned to Moscow for consultations after Biden suggested that he believes Putin is a killer.
Lavrov said Moscow was also considering possible "painful" measures aimed at U.S. business in Russia and would place eight U.S. officials on a sanctions list.
Moscow also plans to end the activity in Russia of U.S. funds and nongovernmental organizations that interfere in the country's internal affairs, he said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also said five Polish diplomats would be expelled, in response to a similar move by Warsaw taken in solidarity with the United States.
In a symbolic act, the Foreign Ministry said eight top current and former U.S. government officials would also be banned from entering Russia, including FBI Director Christopher Wray, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
After announcing a raft of actions on April 15, Biden said the United States desires a stable, predictable relationship with Russia and is not looking to "kick off a cycle of escalation and conflict.”
The president also said there are areas in which the United States and Russia "can and should work together” and that in a phone call with Putin this week he suggested a summit over summer in Europe.
Lavrov said Moscow was "studying" Biden's proposal to hold a summit with Putin.
"We took the idea positively and are now considering various aspects of this initiative," Lavrov said.
Earlier on April 16, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "good" that Biden was seeking dialogue with his Russian counterpart.
"President Putin has spoken about the appropriateness of building relations, normalizing relations, and de-escalating relations," Peskov told reporters.
"He has repeatedly said that we are ready to develop our dialogue to the degree that our counterparts are ready for this," he said, but pointed to divergent views on sticking points between the two nations.
With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters
Wife Says Suspected Tajik Terrorist's Televised Confession Coerced
DUSHANBE -- The wife of a suspected terrorist in Tajikistan, whose confession was shown on television nationwide, says her husband's admission of guilt was coerced by investigators.
Imomali Idibegov's televised statement, where he admitted to having links with terrorists, was broadcast on April 14.
During the program where the statement was made, Idibegov's wife, Dilbar Ghanieva, confirms that her husband was detained on April 6 on terrorism charges.
But on April 15, Ghanieva told RFE/RL that police had forced them to confess to something her 38-year-old spouse had not done.
"The police interrogated us and insulted us with very vulgar words for a week. In the end, my husband could not stand it and said: 'Let my wife go, I will confess to anything you want,'" she told RFE/RL.
"I know for sure that my husband is not a terrorist. They also forced me...to say on television that my husband is a terrorist," Ghanieva said.
Though there was no immediate evidence to back up Ghanieva's claims, domestic and international human rights groups have said that police in Tajikistan often use illegal methods to coerce people suspected in different crimes, including terrorism, as well as individuals persecuted for their political views or rights activities to confess.
The Interior Ministry has said Idibegov has expressed support for the Islamic State and other terrorist groups via the Internet and distributed materials propagating terrorism while working in Russia as a migrant worker in 2015-2017.
According to the ministry, Idibegov is also wanted in Russia, where he, along with two Uzbek nationals, is suspected of planning a series of terrorist attacks and financially supporting the Islamic State terrorist group.
In all, 29 Tajik citizens are wanted in Russia on terrorism-related charges.
Authorities in Tajikistan have said that about 2,000 citizens of the country joined the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, of whom more than 500 were killed.
Attack Leaves Serbian Radio Journalist In Hospital
NOVI SAD, Serbia -- A Serbian broadcast journalist is in the hospital after being beaten by unidentified assailants in the northern city of Novi Sad, the latest in a string of attacks against media workers in the Balkan country.
Dasko Milinovic said in a tweet that he was tear-gassed and beaten with metal bars early on April 16 by two hooded men who then fled the scene.
The attack was condemned by Prime Ministe Ana Brnabic, who called it a "terrible and inadmissible" occurrence and vowed that the attackers will be "severely punished."
Serbia, which is formally seeking European Union membership, is under growing pressure from the bloc to improve press freedoms and safety for reporters, especially for those investigating crime and corruption.
Local police told RFE/RL that they were investigating the incident in which Milinovic suffered "minor injuries," according to a medical report quoted by the police.
Milinovic and his colleague, Mladen Urdarevic, host a daily satirical show called Alarm on their Internet radio station.
Following the attack, Milinovic wrote on Twitter that his state was good and blamed the attack on what he called "fascists."
"I'm fine. Fascists are stupid as hell. I was tear-gassed and hit in the arm three times. Thanks for caring. Death to fascism!" Milinovic wrote.
The Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina (NDNV) called for the perpetrators of the attack to be brought to justice.
"This is another incident in a very short period of time in which journalists were directly attacked," the NDVD said.
"Barbaric attacks show how seriously endangered the physical security of journalists and media workers in Serbia is today," NDVD said, adding that such attacks were "a direct consequence of the inaction of state institutions, which do not solve attacks on journalists."
Brnabic, speaking to journalists in Belgrade on April 16, said that the attack represented "a red line, which must not be crossed in a civilized society."
In its latest report on Serbia, the EU said that "cases of threats, intimidation, and violence against journalists are still a source of serious concern."
In February, a Serbian court sentenced Dragoljub Simonovic, the former mayor of a Belgrade suburb, to more than four years in prison for being behind a 2018 arson attack on the home of investigative reporter Milan Iovanovic.
President Aleksandar Vucic, who has been Serbia's president since 2017, has faced accusations of curbing media freedoms and democracy.
- By RFE/RL
Two Moscow Student Magazine Editors Appeal De Facto House Arrests
MOSCOW -- Two of four editors of the student magazine Doxa have appealed a Moscow court's decision to place them in de facto house arrest on a charge of "engaging minors in actions that might be dangerous" over a video related to unsanctioned rallies to protest the incarceration of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.
Pavel Chikov of the human rights group Agora quoted lawyers for editors Armen Aramyan and Vladimir Metyolkin as saying on April 16 that they filed an appeal against the court's order for the two journalists and their colleagues, Alla Gutnikova and Natalya Tyshkevich, to remain in their homes from midnight until 11:59 p.m. for two months, giving them only one minute to be outside each day.
It was not clear whether Gutnikova and Tyshkevich planned to appeal the ruling as well.
Human rights and media freedom groups have urged Russian authorities to let the four journalists do their jobs, and denounced an ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression in the country.
The four were detained for questioning at the Investigative Committee after their homes and the magazine's offices were searched over the video, which the magazine posted online in January.
The video questioned teachers' moves to warn students about possible repercussions they could face for participating in unsanctioned rallies on January 23 and 31 in protest of Navalny's arrest.
Doxa editors say the video was deleted from the magazine's website following a demand from Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor to remove it.
More than 10,000 supporters of Navalny were detained across Russia during and after the January rallies.
Many of the detained men and women were either fined or handed several-day jail terms. At least 90 were charged with criminal offenses and several have been fired by their employers.
Human rights groups have called on Moscow repeatedly to stop targeting journalists because they are covering the protests or express solidarity with protesters, since both are protected under the right to freedom of expression.
“It’s apt, but sad, that student journalism in today’s Russia must include a lesson in just how afraid Vladimir Putin’s government is of independent news coverage,” said Gulnoza Said, Europe and Central Asia program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Moscow office director, said that the Russian authorities “have stooped to a new low as they tighten their grip on media perceived to be disloyal to the Kremlin.”
“From slowly suffocating these outlets with economic penalties or forcing their owners to self-censorship, they have moved to an all-out attack on journalists and other media workers. Silencing those brave enough to speak up -- including students -- shuts down the future of press freedom in Russia,” Zviagina added.
Navalny was detained at a Moscow airport on January 17 upon his arrival from Germany, where he was recovering from a poisoning in Siberia in August 2020 that several European laboratories concluded was a military-grade chemical nerve agent.
Navalny has insisted that his poisoning was ordered directly by President Vladimir Putin, 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 to be politically motivated.
Navalny's 3 1/2-year suspended sentence from that case was converted to a jail term, though the court said he will serve 2 1/2 years in prison given the amount of time he had been held in detention.
Russian, Belarusian Leaders To Meet In Moscow Next Week
The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin and authoritarian Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka have agreed to meet in Moscow later this month.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on April 16 that the two will meet on April 22 to discuss cooperation between the two countries.
"You can see how active the dialogue has been. You can also see the abundance of joint projects and plans," Peskov said.
Belarusian state news agency BelTa quoted Lukashenka as telling visiting Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin that he would meet Putin to discuss "certain problems."
Russia has pressured Belarus in recent years to take steps toward integration in order to cement a 20-year-old agreement to form a union state, only to be rebuffed by Lukashenka's defense of the country's sovereignty.
But seven months of unprecedented street protests over last year's presidential election and the resulting Western sanctions have put the Belarusian strongman on the defensive and seemingly more reliant on Putin's support.
The Russian leader himself has been under pressure from the West in recent months over a raft of issues, including election interference, cyberattacks, and the poisoning and detention of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.
Based on reporting by Interfax, TASS, BelTa, and RFE/RL's Belarus Service
Iran Says 60 Percent Enrichment 'Under Way' At Natanz Site
Iranian officials say the country has begun enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity, higher than it has ever done before, despite ongoing talks between Tehran and world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
State television quoted parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf as saying that Iranian scientists had successfully started enriching 60 percent uranium after midnight local time on April 16.
Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, later said on state television that the centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear site were now producing 9 grams at 60 percent purity an hour, adding: “Any enrichment level that we desire is in our reach at the moment and we can do it at any time we want.”
The move raises the stakes as Iran negotiates with world powers in Vienna over a way to bring Washington and Tehran into full compliance with the 2015 agreement, abandoned by the United States under former President Donald Trump three years ago.
Iran announced on April 13 that it planned to start enriching uranium at up to 60 percent purity in reaction to an alleged attack on the Natanz nuclear site two days before that they have blamed on archenemy Israel.
The UN's nuclear watchdog has confirmed that Iran was preparing to enrich uranium to 60 percent purity at an aboveground facility at the site.
Under the 2015 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.
While enriching uranium to 60 percent would be the highest level achieved by Iran's nuclear program, it is still short of the 90 percent purity needed for military use. Tehran has repeatedly denied it is seeking nuclear weapons and that its nuclear ambitions are purely for civilian purposes.
Iran and other parties to the accord -- Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia -- last week launched what has been described as "constructive" talks aimed at reviving the nuclear agreement, with European countries working as intermediaries between Washington and Tehran.
Diplomats reconvened in Vienna on April 16 for a second consecutive day of talks. The previous day, they said two working groups would continue discussions and refine details on how to lift U.S. sanctions and bring Iran back into compliance with restrictions on its nuclear program.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late on April 14 that Tehran's "provocative" announcement on enrichment "calls into question Iran's seriousness with regard the nuclear talks."
Britain, France, and Germany have expressed "grave concern" over Tehran's "dangerous" announcement, saying it was "contrary to the constructive spirit and good faith" of ongoing efforts to revive the 2015 pact.
Few details have emerged about the alleged April 11 sabotage, which Iranian officials said knocked out power at the enrichment plant in central Iran.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement but 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.
Lawmaker Alireza Zakani, who heads the research center of Iran's parliament, said in an interview that "several thousand centrifuges were damaged and destroyed." Other officials said that only first-generation machines had been affected.
Citing two intelligence sources, The New York Times has reported that production at Natanz could be set back by at least nine months due to the attack.
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP
Two Men Detained In Georgia For Attempt To Sell Radioactive Substance
TBILISI -- Two men have been apprehended in Georgia for attempting to sell a radioactive substance.
Georgia's State Security Service said on April 16 that the two suspects were detained in Kutaisi, the capital of the western Imereti region, while trying to sell Americium-241, a radioactive isotope of the chemical element Americium, for 300,000 euros.
The case is under investigation by the service's counterintelligence department.
It gave no further details.
Georgian authorities have foiled several attempts to sell radioactive materials since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The situation around the security of Soviet nuclear materials and other nuclear wastes has been an issue the West has been concerned about for decades.
- By RFE/RL
RFE/RL Petitions European Court To Block Russian Fines Under 'Foreign Agents' Law
RFE/RL has filed an urgent petition with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to block Russia from enforcing penalties for violations of its controversial "foreign agent" law that could cost the broadcaster more than $1 million.
The broadcaster said in a news release late on April 15 that it had asked the court in Strasbourg to grant interim measures ordering Russia to refrain from enforcing hundreds of "administrative protocols" that it has brought or threatened to bring against the media organization under the law, which critics say is aimed at muzzling independent media, especially RFE/RL.
The interim measures would be in place until the court can rule on the Russian government's actions, RFE/RL said.
The "foreign agent" laws apply to foreign-funded media and to nongovernmental organizations that have been judged by the government as engaging in political activity and that receive foreign funding.
The laws have been widely criticized as aiming to undermine civil society and discredit critical reporting and dissent.
While RFE/RL has complied with all of its legal obligations under the "foreign agent" law, it has declined to implement the new labeling requirement established by the state media-monitoring agency Roskomnadzor.
The measures are "clearly intended to damage its reputation and viability as an independent media organization in Russia," RFE/RL's news release said.
As a result, Roskomnadzor has filed 390 violation cases, so-called protocols, against RFE/RL's Moscow bureau and its general director, Andrei Shary, over a period of three months. Fines from those actions total approximately $1,430,000.
Roskomnadzor is due to begin filing an additional 130 cases against RFE/RL and Shary on April 16, with additional fines estimated at nearly $1 million, RFE/RL said.
If the fines are not paid, Russian authorities have the power to place RFE/RL into insolvency and/or to block access to its media sites, while Shary faces the prospect of a prison sentence of up to two years and personal bankruptcy.
RFE/RL argues that Russia's actions violate the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the press that are protected by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and says that if the court does not act now, its Moscow bureau and its general director "will suffer irreversible harms."
RFE/RL also warned that, left unchecked, the Kremlin's campaign will have a chilling effect on what is left of independent media in Russia.
"RFE/RL will not be put in a position of undermining freedom of speech and journalistic integrity," RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said.
"We will not allow Roskomnadzor and the Kremlin to make editorial decisions about how we engage our audiences in Russia," he was quoted as saying.
RFE/RL hopes the ECHR "will view these actions by the government of Russia for what they are: an attempt to suppress free speech and the human rights of the Russian people, and a dangerous precedent at a time when independent media are under assault around the globe," Fly said.
Russia's so-called "foreign agent" legislation was adopted in 2012 and has been modified repeatedly. It requires nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign assistance and that the government deems to be engaged in political activity to be registered, to identify themselves as "foreign agents," and to submit to audits.
Later modifications of the law targeted foreign-funded media. In 2017, the Russian government placed RFE/RL's Russian Service, known locally as Radio Svoboda, six other RFE/RL Russian-language news services, and Current Time on the list.
Since October, Roskomnadzor has ordered broadcasters designated as foreign agents to add a lengthy statement to news reports, social-media posts, and audiovisual materials specifying that the content was created by an outlet "performing the functions of a foreign agent."
RFE/RL is an editorially independent media company funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress through the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Each week, nearly 7 million people access RFE/RL's news portals in Russia.
RFE/RL's Russian-language news services are the only international media outlets with a physical presence in Russia to have been designated "foreign agents."
- By RFE/RL
Merkel, Macron, Zelenskiy Call For End Of Russian Military Buildup Near Ukraine
The leaders of Ukraine, France, and Germany have called on Russia to pull back its troops from the Ukrainian border amid rising tensions in the region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and French President Emmanuel Macron were joined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in voicing "shared concerns about the buildup of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine and in the illegally annexed Crimea," the German chancellery said in a statement issued after a three-way video conference on April 16.
"They demanded the withdrawal of these reinforcements to reach a de-escalation," the statement added.
Macron earlier received Zelenskiy for lunch in Paris and both men were later joined by Merkel via video link.
Separately, Zelenskiy said that he was ready to hold four-way talks that included Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskiy said he thought peace talks were possible and that a separate meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Putin could help solve some issues.
Discussions in Paris were meant to prepare so-called Normandy Format talks involving the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany to try to resolve the Ukraine conflict, Zelenskiy said ahead of the talks. France and Germany have been mediators in the conflict since 2015.
Recent photographs, video, and other data suggest major movements of Russian armed units toward or near Ukraine's border and into Crimea, fueling concerns that Russia is preparing to send forces into Ukraine.
The United States and NATO have described it as the largest Russian military buildup since 2014, when Moscow illegally annexed Crimea and backed separatists in the east of Ukraine in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people.
Ukraine and the West also blame the separatists holding parts of the country’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk for a recent spike in hostilities, while Moscow has pointed the finger at Kyiv.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on April 16 called on Merkel and Macron to tell Kyiv to "decisively stop any provocative actions on the contact line and emphasise the need for an unconditional observance of the cease-fire regime."
The previous day, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for stronger Western backing, saying that "words of support aren't enough."
Kuleba, speaking after talks in Kyiv with his counterparts from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, asked the Baltic states to reach out to other European Union and NATO members about offering "practical assistance" to Kyiv.
Kuleba accused Moscow of "openly threatening Ukraine with war and the destruction of Ukrainian statehood" and said it was necessary to show Russia that its actions in eastern Ukraine could have "very painful" consequences.
"The red line of Ukraine is the state border. If Russia crosses the red line, then it will have to suffer," he warned.
Russia's Defense Ministry has said the troops are merely responding to "threatening" actions by the NATO alliance and participating in military drills.
With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and dpa
Poland Expels Three Russian Diplomats In 'Solidarity' With U.S.
Poland has ordered three Russian diplomats to leave the embassy in Warsaw in what it said was an act of solidarity with the United States.
The Polish Foreign Ministry said April 15 that three staff members at the Russian Embassy were declared personae non gratae for violating their diplomatic status and conducting activities harmful to Poland.
Earlier on April 15, the United States announced broad sanctions on Russia in retaliation for election interference, cyberattacks, and what Washington described as Moscow’s other "harmful" foreign activities.
As part of a raft of actions against Moscow, the United States said 10 Russian diplomats, including representatives of Russian intelligence services using diplomatic cover, would be expelled from the country.
The White House also formally blamed the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) for being behind a massive hack known as SolarWinds that hit large swaths of the U.S. public and private sectors last year, including at least nine U.S. federal agencies. Russia has denied the accusations.
Poland’s Foreign Ministry said the impact of the SolarWinds hack extends beyond the United States and affects European countries.
Poland stands in solidarity with the United States, it said in a statement. “We strongly advocate that states, the private sector, and individuals adhere to the principles of responsible behavior in cyberspace.”
Russia is likely to respond with a tit-for-tat move by expelling Polish diplomats.
Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee head Leonid Slutsky accused Poland of being “Russophobic” and “behaving like a true vassal of the United States,” according to comments run by Interfax.
With reporting by Interfax
- By RFE/RL
Iran Signs Deal To Buy 60 Million Sputnik Vaccine Doses From Russia
Iran’s ambassador to Moscow says Tehran has signed a contract with Russia to purchase 60 million doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.
Kazem Jalali told the state-run IRNA news agency on April 15 that the deal with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad, would provide enough shots to fully vaccinate 30 million people.
Jalali said 60 million doses would be sent to Iran between June and December.
He added that so far two Iranian companies have signed a contract with Russia for the joint production of vaccines in Iran.
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.
Iran is struggling to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections, with the coronavirus killing one person every four minutes in the country, state TV reported on April 15. The country of 83 million people has recorded a total of 65,680 coronavirus-related deaths and more than 2.1 million infections since the pandemic began.
Authorities imposed a 10-day lockdown on April 10 across most of the country to curb the spread of a fourth wave of the coronavirus, triggered in part by people ignoring health protocols during a two-week public holiday for Norouz, the Persian New Year.
In some cities, hospitals are inundated with the sick and running out of beds.
Businesses, restaurants, schools, and other public institutions have been forced to shut and gatherings are banned during the holy month of Ramadan.
Iran is testing a homemade vaccine that may be ready for distribution in the spring. The country has also began working on a joint vaccine with Cuba. It is also planning to import some 17 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine under COVAX, an international collaboration to deliver the vaccine equitably across the world. COVAX delivered its first shipment of 700,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses this week.
With reporting by AP, IRNA, and Reuters
Hunger Striking Kazakh Activist Rushed From Prison To Hospital With Heart Issue
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Jailed Kazakh activist Kenzhebek Abishev, who started a hunger strike several days ago protesting the cancellation of his release on parole and prison conditions, was rushed overnight to hospital in a critical condition.
Abishev's lawyer, Gulnar Zhuaspaeva, told RFE/RL on April 15 that an ambulance brought her client to the Qapshaghai City Hospital overnight.
According to her, physicians diagnosed Abishev, who was recognized by human rights groups as a political prisoner, with coronary heart disease.
Zhuaspaeva quoted the hospital’s doctor, Zubaira Sarsenova, as saying that Abishev's current condition had improved to "stable."
An opposition activist, Rysbek Sarsenbaiuly, told RFE/RL that Abishev did not stop his hunger strike, adding that he and other activists urged him via the hospital window to end it to stay alive.
Sarsenbaiuly said he and his colleagues will demand authorities restore the court decision on Abishev's early release on parole.
Abishev, who was jailed for being linked to a political movement founded by a fugitive tycoon, launched the hunger strike on April 11 and wrote an open letter to President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev asking him to intervene in his case.
In his letter, Abishev called the cancellation of the court 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 have been no official statements regarding Abishev's hunger strike either by Kazakhstan’s Penitentiary Service or the Prosecutor-General’s Office.
On February 1, the Qapshaghai City Court in Kazakhstan's south ruled that Abishev can be released on February 16, more than three years early, for good behavior while in prison, a procedure allowed by Kazakh laws.
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 has 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 pleaded not guilty, calling the case against him politically motivated.
The DVK was founded by Mukhtar Ablyazov, an outspoken critic of the Kazakh government who has been residing in France for several years.
Ablyazov has been organizing unsanctioned anti-government rallies in Kazakhstan via the Internet in recent years.
- By RFE/RL
Biden Says Latest Sanctions Not Intended To Escalate Tensions With Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden says the United States wants a stable, predictable relationship with Russian and is not looking to "kick off a cycle of escalation and conflict" through wide-ranging sanctions on Russia.
Speaking at the White House on April 15 after the White House announced the sanctions, Biden also warned that if Russia "continues to interfere with our democracy, I am prepared to take further actions to respond."
Biden said when he spoke with President Vladimir Putin he warned him that that United States would respond to election interference and the SolarWinds cyberattack "in a measured and proportional way."
He said the United States "could have gone further" in its retaliation, but he chose not to because he wants to avoid an escalation.
Earlier in the day, Biden announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats and sanctions against dozens other Russian individuals and entities as it moved to hold the Kremlin accountable for election interference and the SolarWinds cyberattack.
The salvo of measures "sends a signal that the United States will impose costs in a strategic and economically impactful manner on Russia if it continues or escalates its destabilizing international actions," the White House said.
In a potential blow to the Russian economy, the U.S. Treasury also placed additional limits on the Russian sovereign-debt market in a step that is sure to spook investors.
The sanctions, which Moscow swiftly denounced while warning of retaliation, come amid rising tensions between the West and Russia over a buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine and the imprisonment of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny after he was poisoned with a nerve-agent last year.
But Biden said there are areas in which the United States and Russia "can and should work together." He cited the decision shortly after he took office to extend the New START treaty "and maintain that key element of nuclear stability between our nations."
He said in his calls with Putin since taking office he expressed his belief that communication between him and Putin personally and directly "was to be essential in moving forward on a more effective relationship and [Putin] agreed on that point."
The summit Biden proposed to take place this summer in Europe could launch a strategic stability dialog to pursue cooperation in arms control and security, he said.
"We can address critical global challenges that require Russia and the United States to work together, including reigning in nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea, ending this pandemic globally, and meeting the existential crisis of climate change," he said.
Biden also noted U.S. "unwavering" support for allies and partners in Europe and concern about Russia's buildup on Ukraine's border and in occupied Crimea.
"Now is the time to de-escalate. The way forward is through thoughtful dialog and diplomatic process. The U.S. is prepared to continue constructively to move forward with that process," he said.
In a separate statement acknowledging the sanctions, Secretary of State Antony Blinken also voiced concern over Navalny's fate.
"We remain concerned about Navalny's health and treatment in prison, and call for his unconditional release," the statement said.
In targeting the Russian sovereign-debt market, Biden's executive order prohibits U.S. financial institutions from participating in the primary market for ruble or non-ruble denominated bonds issued after June 14. The United States already bans American investors from buying newly issued Russian government foreign-currency debt.
"Judging from history, removing U.S. investors as buyers in this market can create a broader chilling effect that raises Russia's borrowing costs, along with capital flight and a weaker currency. And all of these forces have a material impact on Russia's growth and inflation outcomes," a senior Biden administration official said.
Hacking Allegations
U.S. intelligence officials have previously pointed the finger at Russia for a massive hack known as SolarWinds that hit large swaths of the U.S. public and private sectors last year, including at least nine U.S. federal agencies. Russia has denied the accusations.
In the latest measures, the United States named those behind the SolarWinds hack.
"Today the United States is formally naming the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), also known as APT 29, Cozy Bear, and The Dukes, as the perpetrator of the broad-scope cyber-espionage campaign that exploited the SolarWinds Orion platform and other information technology infrastructures," the White House said.
"The U.S. Intelligence Community has high confidence in its assessment of attribution to the SVR."
The 10 diplomats being expelled include representatives of Russian intelligence services, the White House said.
Besides that hack, U.S. officials last month said that Putin authorized interference and disinformation campaigns to help former U.S. President Donald Trump in his unsuccessful bid for reelection as president.
The latest sanctions include six Russian companies that support the country's cyber activities, in addition to sanctions on 32 individuals and entities accused of attempting to spread disinformation and interfere in last year's presidential election. Russian election interference did not impact U.S. election systems or vote tallying.
The statement also said that Washington was using diplomatic, military, and intelligence channels to respond to reports that Russia encouraged the Taliban to attack U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan based on the “best assessments” of the intelligence community.
The White House did not publicly confirm the reports, but said that “the safety and well-being of U.S. military personnel, and that of our allies and partners, is an absolute priority of the United States.”
NATO and the European Union both expressed solidarity with the U.S. move.
"NATO Allies support and stand in solidarity with the United States, following its 15 April announcement of actions to respond to Russia's destabilizing activities," the statement said.
"The European Union and its Member States express their solidarity with the United States on the impact of malicious cyber activities, notably the SolarWinds cyber operation, which, the United States assesses, has been conducted by the Russian Federation," the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.
"The compromise affected governments and businesses worldwide, including in EU Member States," the statement added.
In reaction to the announced sanctions, U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, which said that "a response to the sanctions is inevitable."
Just before the sanctions were announced, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the TASS news agency that any sanctions would be considered "illegal."
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, TASS, and Interfax
Moldova's Top Court Rules Pro-Western President Can Dissolve Parliament
CHISINAU -- Moldova’s Constitutional Court has ruled that President Maia Sandu can dissolve parliament, paving the way for early elections.
The opinion is final and cannot be appealed, court President Domnica Manole said on April 15.
Sandu has accused the pro-Moscow, Socialist-dominated parliament of sabotaging her reform agenda and repeatedly pushed for snap elections in order to acquire a working majority in the 101-seat legislature.
In late March, Sandu appealed to the Constitutional Court for its opinion to dissolve parliament and call early parliamentary elections after the Socialist-led majority in chamber failed to approve two prime minister candidates nominated by the pro-Western president.
Under the constitution, the president has the right to ask for the dissolution of the legislature and organize snap elections after a second failure to approve a new prime minister within 45 days, or if the formation of a new government is blocked for three months.
In her argument before the court on April 15, Sandu said that she is "aware that dissolving parliament is a measure of last resort" to be used after all other political solutions have been exhausted.
"We have reached that point today," she told the judges, arguing that although they were aware of the outcome, the Socialist-led majority has twice rejected her appointees for prime minister.
Russian-backed ex-President Igor Dodon, who leads the Socialist Party, has said his party would use "all legal means" to prevent general elections from being held during the coronavirus pandemic.
A U.S.-educated former adviser with the World Bank, Sandu defeated Dodon in November 2020 on a pledge to fight entrenched corruption and improve relations with the European Union.
Moldova, with a population of about 3.5 million, is one of Europe’s poorest countries and is sharply divided between those who support closer ties with Russia and those who advocate stronger links to Brussels and neighboring EU member Romania, with which Moldova shares a common history and language.
- By RFE/RL
Iranian Opposition Group Members Charged In Denmark With Financing Terrorist Activity
Denmark's public prosecutor has charged three members of an Iranian Arab opposition group with financing and supporting terrorist activity in Iran and aiding Saudi intelligence services.
"This is a very serious case, where people in Denmark have carried out illegal intelligence activities and financed and promoted terrorism from Denmark in other countries," Lise-Lotte Nilas, a Copenhagen prosecutor, said in a statement on April 15.
"Of course, this cannot take place on Danish soil, and therefore I am satisfied that we can now bring charges in the case."
The three members of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA) were arrested in February 2020 and have been in custody since.
At the time of their detention, Danish officials said the three "collected information about individuals in Denmark and abroad and passed on this information to a Saudi intelligence service," among other things.
The prosecutor said the case was linked to a 2018 police operation over an alleged Iranian plot to kill one or more opponents of the Iranian government.
They said it was also connected with a criminal case that is currently pending against a Norwegian citizen of Iranian origin who is charged with having helped the Iranian intelligence service plan the murder in Denmark of one of the three.
A jury trial will start on April 29 for the three and be held at the Roskilde district court, the statement said.
The defendants face prison sentences of up to 12 years if convicted.
ASMLA, which has an armed branch and seeks a separate state for ethnic Arabs in Iran's oil-producing southwestern province of Khuzestan, was accused by Tehran as being behind a deadly 2018 terror attack on a military parade in the southwestern city of Ahvaz that left at least 25 dead, including civilians.
With reporting by Reuters
Turkmenistan's Authoritarian Leader Expands Grip On Power
ASHGABAT -- Turkmenistan's authoritarian president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, who is also the head of the government in the tightly controlled state, has added another title to his name: the speaker of the newly established upper chamber of parliament, the Halk Maslahaty (People's Council).
State media in the extremely isolated former Soviet republic reported on April 14 that Berdymukhammedov was "elected to the post by secret ballot" by the chamber's members.
During the session, Berdymukhammedov appointed eight additional members to the Halk Maslahaty, bringing the total number of members to 56.
The other 48 members of the upper chamber were "elected" in late March.
With a cult of personality around the 63-year-old authoritarian ruler, dissent is not tolerated in the Central Asian state and all media is under strict state control.
With the exception of turning the parliament into a two-chamber institution, other details of the constitutional changes that Berdymukhammedov signed into the law in September 2020 remain largely unknown.
Berdymukhammedov initiated the constitutional changes in 2019 and led a commission he established that prepared a bill of amendments.
The Halk Maslahaty was created in 2017 as a separate entity on the basis of the Council of Elders. Berdymukhammedov was the body's chairman.
Critics have said that Berdymukhammedov plans to use the constitutional amendments to secure his lifetime presidency and to pass it on to his son and grandchildren.
Before the bill was signed into law last year, dozens of Turkmen citizens held rallies in Washington, as well as in the cities of Houston and Pittsburgh, protesting the plan.
Government critics and human rights groups say Berdymukhammedov has suppressed dissent and made few changes in the restrictive country since he came to power after the death of autocrat Saparmurat Niyazov in 2006.
Navalny Ally Sobol Handed One-Year Suspended Sentence For Trespassing
MOSCOW -- Lyubov Sobol, a lawyer for jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), has been handed a one-year suspended sentence of correctional labor for trespassing in what she described as a decision designed to silence her.
The magistrate's court in Moscow on April 15 found Sobol guilty of illegally forcing her way into the apartment of Federal Security Service (FSB) officer Konstantin Kudryavtsev in December 2020, hours after Navalny had published a recording of what he said was a phone conversation with Kudryavtsev. Sobol told reporters outside the courthouse that she will appeal the verdict.
During the 49-minute phone call, in which Navalny posed as an FSB official conducting an internal review, Kudryavtsev described the details of an operation to poison the Kremlin critic in August.
Investigators say Sobol pushed Kudryavtsev's mother-in-law, who opened the door, and forcibly entered the apartment.
Sobol rejected the charge, saying she did not push Kudryavtsev's mother-in-law, but went to the apartment to meet Kudryavtsev to ask him about his conversation with Navalny.
Her team has described the case as political "revenge" for a lawyer not being afraid to ask questions of the alleged assassin.
In her final statement at the trial, Sobol reminded the court that no probe had been launched into Navalny's poisoning.
"I am sure that my verdict will be guilty. Because it is me on trial, not those who poisoned Navalny, not members of the [ruling] United Russia [party]," Sobol said.
Kudryavtsev was not summoned to the trial to testify, which investigators said was not necessary because he was neither a witness nor a plaintiff in the case.
Navalny was arrested on January 17 upon his return to Russia from Germany, where he received life-saving treatment for the poisoning in Siberia in August.
Navalny has insisted that his poisoning with a Soviet-style chemical nerve agent was ordered directly by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The FSB and the Kremlin have denied any role in the poisoning.
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 already served in detention.
The United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on Russia over the Navalny affair and ensuing crackdown on protesters.
Last month, Sobol said she planned to run for parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, in September elections
Sobol is currently under house arrest in another case. She and several other associates and supporters of Navalny were charged with violating sanitary regulations during unsanctioned rallies on January 21 to protest Navalny's incarceration.
According to Russian law, those handed a suspended sentence of correctional labor must pay the State Treasury a certain amount of their salary if they are employed. If they are unemployed, they must work at jobs defined by the Federal Penitentiary Service during the term of their sentence.
But the suspended sentence can also be made real prison time if she violates the terms of the court.
"We understand that a suspended sentence, on the one hand, in Russia in a political case can be considered an acquittal," Sobol told Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. "But on the other hand, conditional conviction is an insidious measure, because just like that, at the snap of a finger, it changes to a real punishment for any administrative violation."
"This is such a short leash that the Kremlin wants to put me on so that I'm silent," she said, adding that she would continue her human rights activities and questioning corruption.
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
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