The U.S. government has removed sanctions on three former Iranian officials and two companies previously involved in trading Iranian petrochemical products.

The move, announced on June 10, immediately raised questions about whether they were related to efforts to revive Iranian and U.S. compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said they were not, describing them as routine sanctions "hygiene."

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the deletions from the sanctions list in a statement on its website.

"These delistings are a result of a verified change in behavior or status on the part of the sanctioned parties and demonstrate the U.S. government's commitment to lifting sanctions in the event of a change in behavior or status for sanctioned persons," it said.

OFAC said it removed Ahmad Ghalebani, a managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company; Farzad Bazargan, a managing director of Hong Kong Intertrade Company; and Mohammad Moinie, a commercial director of Naftiran Intertrade Company Sarl, from one of its sanctions lists.

OFAC also said it had removed some sanctions on Sea Charming Shipping Company Limited and on Aoxing Ship Management Shanghai Limited.

Price called the moves "something that is part and parcel of good sanctions hygiene," adding that there could be more delistings "in the months and years to come."

Price also said that the U.S. negotiating team would be returning over the weekend to Vienna for the sixth round of negotiations aimed at bringing the United States and Iran back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.

He said progress had been made in the preceding five rounds, but "issues do continue to divide the sides."

Negotiators from Britain, France, and Germany, known as the E3, and the other major powers that struck the deal with Iran have been meeting in working groups in the Austrian capital since early April, with the EU team overseeing indirect talks between Iran and the United States.

Thus far, the talks have allowed the Iranians an opportunity to "crystalize the steps they would need to undertake to resume compliance with the JCPOA," Price said, referring to the nuclear deal by the abbreviation for Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The U.S. side has been working to determine which of the existing U.S. sanctions would be inconsistent with the JCPOA, Price said, speaking at a briefing at the State Department.

He denied that the United States was dragging its feet or moving too fast.

"We are going at the speed that these negotiations need to move at," he said, declining to put a time limit on how long they would take.

Washington is engaged in the negotiations because it believes "principled diplomacy with our partners and allies...is the most effective and the only durable means to restrict Iran's nuclear program and to ensure once again that Iran is verifiably and, more important, permanently prohibited from obtaining a nuclear weapon," Price said.

The deal has been on hold since 2018, when then-President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the pact and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran's economy.

In response, Tehran has steadily overstepped the limits on its nuclear program spelled out in the deal that are designed to make it harder for the Islamic republic to develop an atomic bomb -- an ambition Tehran denies.

With reporting by Reuters

YEREVAN -- A senior U.S. diplomat has voiced concern over the lack of progress in the release of prisoners of war following the 2020 conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan in and around Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh ended in November with a Moscow-brokered cease-fire deal. More than 6,000 people were killed during the conflict.

Under the truce agreement, a chunk of Nagorno-Karabakh and all seven districts around it were placed under Azerbaijani administration after almost 30 years of control by ethnic Armenian forces. The agreement also provided for an exchange of POWs and other detained people.

"I think it's important to remember that this is about human beings, it's about people on both sides of the conflict who are the children, the spouses, the parents of people, and we want to see all detained people returned," acting Assistant U.S. Secretary of State at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker told RFE/RL.

In December, after several weeks of cease-fire, the two sides finally exchanged prisoners of war. Some 44 Armenian and 12 Azeri prisoners were exchanged on December 15.

Armenian authorities have said that about 60 Armenian servicemen were captured by Azerbaijan as prisoners of war. Azerbaijan has not confirmed the information.

It is unclear how many more prisoners remain in captivity on either side.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) in March called on Azerbaijan to investigate all allegations of ill-treatment against Armenian prisoners of war.

"I've expressed concern as has the United States government repeatedly over the need to have all prisoners, all detainees freed and returned home. We have to remember that this conflict affects people," Reeker said.

In recent weeks, the two sides have blamed each other for a number of incidents along their border, putting pressure on the cease-fire in the run-up to Armenia’s snap parliamentary elections on June 20.

SEE ALSO:

Report Warns Of 'Fragile' Prospects For Postwar Nagorno-Karabakh

Reeker said that Washington was ready to offer help, including technical expertise, to settle the issues regarding the border demarcation between the two sides.

"We may be able to help with technical expertise, with imagery and we are willing to do that, we are willing to work the other co-chairs [of the Minsk Group of negotiators for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict] or others as necessary," Reeker said.

The U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on what it says are members of a smuggling network that produces millions of dollars in revenue for Yemen's Huthi movement.

"This network generates tens of millions of dollars in revenue from the sale of commodities, like Iranian petroleum, a significant portion of which is then directed through a complex network of intermediaries and exchange houses in multiple countries to the Houthis," a Treasury statement said on June 10.

The network works with Iran's Quds Force, the elite arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), to generate the revenue, the statement said.

The move comes amid U.S. pressure on the Iran-aligned movement to accept a cease-fire and peace talks.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has sought to advance a UN effort to ease Yemen's humanitarian crisis and end fighting between Huthis and Yemen’s government and a Saudi-led coalition.

"The United States will continue to apply pressure to the Huthis, including through targeted sanctions, to advance those goals," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Twelve individuals and entities were slapped with terrorism-related sanctions blocking any U.S. property they hold and barring Americans from doing business with them.

Those targeted by the new sanctions include two Yemenis, two Syrians, one Emirati, one Somali and one Indian national, as well as entities based in Dubai, Istanbul, and Sanaa, which is controlled by the Huthis.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters

The new chief executive officer of Ukraine's state-owned gas behemoth has said he is committed to pushing reforms at the company after a recent management change sparked Western concerns about transparency.

Yuriy Vitrenko, who was named CEO of Naftogaz in late April, told RFE/RL on June 9 that he was behind many of the company's reform initiatives since 2014.

Vitrenko's comments came following a day of meetings in Washington with officials from the State Department and Energy Department, among others, and a day before addressing U.S. energy industry investors.

Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers, of which Vitrenko was a member in his capacity as acting energy minister, came under harsh criticism after it temporarily dismissed the supervisory board of Naftogaz on April 28 in order to fire longtime CEO Andriy Kobolyev.

The body then appointed Vitrenko to replace Kobolyev.

The United States, which has pushed reforms of the once notoriously corrupt company for years and viewed Kobolyev's efforts positively, sharply criticized the decision as "calculated."

Vitrenko said that Washington reacted as it did because of existing concerns over Ukraine's reform agenda and because Naftogaz had emerged as a "symbol" of the nation's reform progress.

The Naftogaz shakeup came in the wake of the Constitutional Court's decision in October to roll back many of the anti-corruption laws put in place with the help of the West following the overthrow of Kremlin-leaning President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.

The decision came as other key reforms stalled or were rolled back, including corporate governance at other key state-owned companies.

'It Hit A Nerve'

Senator Chris Murphy (Democrat-Connecticut), who visited Ukraine last week, summed up the U.S. view during a hearing of the Foreign Relations Committee on June 8, saying Ukraine appeared to be taking "one step forward and two steps back."

"I believe that it hit a nerve," Vitrenko told RFE/RL during his first trip to Washington since being tapped as CEO. He added, however, that he felt the criticisms were "less about Naftogaz" and "more about this general context" of reforms.

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Vitrenko said the purpose of his trip was twofold -- to push the United States to restore sanctions against Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and also to "rebuild trust" with officials in Washington and to share his vision as CEO of one of Ukraine's most crucial companies.

Vitrenko, 44, served for many years at Naftogaz, and was behind a victorious legal battle against Russian state-owned Gazprom that netted the company billions of dollars. He also negotiated a new transit contract with the Kremlin in 2019.

SEE ALSO:

Russia, Ukraine Reach Five-Year Gas-Transit Deal

He was considered Kobolyev's right-hand man, but the two had a falling out in 2020. Vitrenko left Naftogaz and began criticizing its performance before being tapped as acting energy minister, which put him in a position to oversee the company.

Vitrenko told RFE/RL that the government was right to fire Kobolyev for poor performance, citing the company's loss in 2020 as well as its failure to boost natural-gas production over many years.

Kobolyev had defended his leadership, saying the 2020 loss was driven in large part by unpaid debts from government-owned heating companies and private retail supply operators controlled by tycoon Dmytro Firtash, who is wanted by the United States on corruption charges.

Kobolyev also blamed the failure of Naftogaz to boost gas production to a lack of new fields, saying the company was unfairly denied dozens of licenses by local officials during his tenure.

Kobolyev has alleged that the government fired him in part to get its hands on the $2 billion in cash sitting on its balance sheet.

The Supervisory Board, which backed Kobolyev, initially criticized Vitrenko in a statement following his appointment.

The board said in a May 3 letter to the government that "it would appear difficult" to work with Vitrenko since he had backed the Cabinet of Minister's statement that its performance was "unsatisfactory."

The board also said Vitrenko failed to share a plan for the company, a claim Vitrenko dismissed during his interview with RFE/RL, saying it was an unreasonable expectation just days after his appointment.

Boosting Production

Vitrenko said he will focus on boosting Naftogaz's production with the help of Western partners, a request made by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in an effort wean the country off expensive imports.

Vitrenko also said he would look to tackle industry problems that hurt the company's performance.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 8 that Ukraine has "unrealized" potential to improve its energy production and efficiency, calling it a "really important story which gets missed."

SEE ALSO:

Germany In Talks To Make Ukraine 'Whole' For Losses From Russian Pipeline, Blinken Says

Vitrenko said he would try to push heating companies that historically have failed to pay their natural-gas bills into using other forms of energy, including biomass.

Vitrenko also said he would go after Firtash, whom the United States has been trying to extradite for seven years, in Ukrainian courts for not paying his natural-gas bills and seek assets as compensation.

Vitrenko also claimed that Firtash has historically charged Ukrainian residential users significantly more for natural gas than other supply companies yet shows almost no profit because he overpays for European gas.

SEE ALSO:

Dmytro Firtash: Who Is The Ukrainian Tycoon Wanted By The U.S. On Bribery Charges?

High natural gas prices led to protests late last year, pushing the government to impose a temporary price cap in January that has since been lifted.

Vitrenko said he is looking into a contract the previous Naftogaz management team signed with Firtash companies at the beginning of the year at below spot market prices for delivery to residential users. He said he is concerned that the Firtash firms may be selling some of the gas to commercial buyers, which pay higher prices, and pocketing the difference.

Vitrenko said he was confident he will get the backing of Washington for his leadership and his plans.

"I met all these people before, and I believe they trust me personally as a reformer, so they don't need to second guess if I'm a true reformer or not," he told RFE/RL.

BLAGOVESHCHENSK, Russia -- A contributor to the programs of RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities project in the Russian Far East city of Blagoveshchensk says he has been attacked by three unidentified individuals.

Andrei Afanasyev told RFE/RL that he was attacked when he was entering his apartment block late at night on June 9.

Afanasyev said one of the attackers hit him with a metal bar, knocking him down, before all three assailants severely beat him for about 10 minutes.

"While they were beating me, one of the them told me, 'Write fewer reports about decent people.' They called me 'an American whore.' When they had to flee [after people appeared at the site] one of them said, 'Report to Domik,'" Afanasyev said, adding that Domik is the nickname of a local lawmaker from the ruling United Russia party, Andrei Domashenkin.

Afanasyev said Domashenkin is also the founder of the Chechnya-linked local martial arts club Akhmat.

Afanasyev is an independent journalist who reports about corruption among local authorities and law enforcement.

One of his latest investigative reports was about the Akhmat club, whose manager, Adam Magomadov, used to be the leader of the Chechen diaspora in the Far Eastern Amur region.

In April, Magomadov was arrested on an extortion charge.

Afanasyev's investigation revealed that Domashenkin had founded the martial arts club.

Commenting on the attack against Afanasyev, Domashenkin told RFE/RL on June 10 that "law enforcement is taking care of that case." He did not elaborate.

Afanasyev said that, since his current address is not his registered permanent address, it is very likely that he had been under surveillance prior to the attack.

The New York-based media-rights watchdog Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ) called for an immediate investigation into the attack.

"Russian authorities should immediately investigate the vicious attack on RFE/RL freelance journalist Andrei Afanasyev, and ensure that the perpetrators are found and held to account," said Gulnoza Said, CPJ's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator.

"Russian law enforcement should take attacks on journalists seriously, and do its job by protecting members of the press and making sure that they can work freely and without fear of retaliation."

Amnesty International says Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in China's northwestern Xinjiang region face "systematic state-organized mass imprisonment, torture, and persecution" amounting to crimes against humanity.

In a new report published on June 10, the London-based human rights watchdog details "the extreme measures taken by Chinese authorities since 2017 to essentially root out the religious traditions, cultural practices and local languages" of the region’s Uyghur, Kazakh, Hui, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Tajik people in an effort to "forcibly instill a secular, homogeneous Chinese nation and Communist Party ideals."

"Under the guise of fighting 'terrorism'," the Chinese authorities have subjected hundreds of thousands of Muslim minority men and women to "mass internment and torture" and millions of others to "systematized mass surveillance" to create what Amnesty International's Secretary-General Agnes Callamard called "a dystopian hellscape on a staggering scale" in Xinjiang.

Beijing is facing growing international criticism over its policies in Xinjiang, with the United States using the word genocide to describe the treatment of Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim indigenous people.

The UN has estimated that at least 1 million members of these ethnic groups have been detained in what it described as "counterextremism centers" in the region.

SEE ALSO:

French Soccer Star Griezmann Ends Partnership With Huawei Over Treatment Of Uyghurs

The UN has also said that millions more have been forced into internment camps, though Beijing insists that the facilities are "vocational education centers" aimed at helping people steer clear of terrorism and allowing them to be reintegrated into society.

Rights defenders also accuse China of forcing hundreds of thousands of people into labor camps under a "coercive" scheme targeting ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang -- a claim rejected by Beijing.

Mass Detention In 'Prison-Like' Camps

In its report -- titled Like We Were Enemies In A War: China’s Mass Internment, Torture, And Persecution Of Muslims In Xinjiang -- Amnesty International released testimonies from more than 50 people who had been detained in Xinjiang's "vast network of hundreds of grim 'transformation-through-education' centers -- actually, internment camps."

Amnesty International said all the ex-internees were detained for what appears to be lawful conduct, such as "possessing a religious-themed picture or communicating with someone abroad."

Most of them were first questioned at police stations, where they were "often interrogated in 'tiger chairs' – steel chairs with affixed leg irons and handcuffs that restrain the body in painful positions."

"Beatings, sleep deprivation and overcrowding are rampant in the police stations, and detainees reported being hooded and shackled during their interrogation and transfer" to a "prison-like" internment camp.

SEE ALSO:

100 Days In, Kazakhs Continue Protests For Release Of Relatives In Xinjiang

There, detainees lives were "extraordinarily regimented," with every activity in their daily routine being "pre-ordained" and their behavior "constantly monitored and evaluated."

Internees had "no privacy or autonomy, and they faced severe punishments when they responded to prison guards or other officials in their native tongues instead of Mandarin."

They generally were "indoctrinated to disavow Islam, forgo using their language and other cultural practices, and study Mandarin Chinese language and Chinese Communist Party propaganda."

Detainees "practically never leave their cells and rarely see sunlight or have outdoor access or exercise."

Systematic Torture And Other Ill-Treatment

Amnesty International said all the former detainees it interviewed said they faced torture or other ill-treatment in the camps.

This included "the cumulative psychological effect of their daily dehumanization, as well as physical torture in the form of beatings, electric shocks, solitary confinement, deprivation of food, water and sleep, exposure to extreme cold, and the abusive use of restraints."

SEE ALSO:

Xinjiang Activists In Kazakhstan Dismiss Chinese Film Of Happy Muslims As Propaganda

After being released from a camp, the former internees have been under "near-constant electronic and in-person surveillance" for at least several months, and their freedom of movement has been "heavily restricted."

Religious And Cultural Persecution

Muslims are not free to practice their religion in Xinjiang, where basic religious and cultural practices are deemed "extremist," according to Amnesty International.

As a result, most people have stopped praying or showing any outward signs of observing Islam, while mosques, shrines, gravesites, and other religious and cultural sites have been demolished or repurposed throughout Xinjiang.

China has worked hard to cover up its violations of human rights in Xinjiang, with the authorities threatening, detaining, and mistreating "anyone who speaks out."

The fate of hundreds of thousands of detainees remains unknown.

Many may remain in detention in the camps, while others have been given long prison sentences or have been "transferred to situations of forced or coerced labor," Amnesty said.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has confirmed that Hungary will hold a referendum on a controversial project to build a Chinese university in Budapest after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest against the plan.

The decision to build a Budapest campus by 2024 using a $1.5 billion loan from a Chinese bank has put a spotlight on Orban's close ties to Beijing and raised concerns about the long-term impact of such a project on the country's higher-education system.

The government has argued that having a campus of the Shanghai-based Fudan University would allow Hungarian and international students to acquire high-quality qualifications, but Budapest’s liberal Mayor Gergely Karacsony and other critics fear a lack of transparency and academic freedom.

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Orban, who has notched three successive election landslides since 2010, faces stiff opposition for the first time in more than a decade, especially from the liberal mayor, Karacsony, who is eyeing a run against the right-wing nationalist at a general election next year.

Karacsony has long urged Orban not to force unwanted projects on the city, while a recent opinion poll showed that a majority of Budapest residents oppose the Chinese university campus, which is slated to be built at a site where affordable housing for Hungarian students had previously been planned.

"This has become a political issue and we should decide this in a way that is the most acceptable to all," Orban told a June 10 news conference days after plans to build what would be the first Chinese university in the European Union roiled the capital.

Last week the mayor announced that streets surrounding the project site were being renamed to "Free Hong Kong Road", "Dalai Lama Road", and "Uyghur Martyrs' Road" to highlight Chinese human rights sore points.

During his June 10 news conference, Orban dismissed accusations that allowing a Chinese campus would open the door to greater influence for Beijing.

"We are not afraid of the Communists, because we have defeated them once already," the prime minister said. "We know exactly what needs to be done and how, therefore, we consider economic cooperation with them and...education especially important."

Beijing has defended the project, calling on its critics to "avoid politicizing and stigmatizing the normal personnel exchanges between China and Hungary."

Orban has built friendly ties with China, Russia, and other illiberal governments, while repeatedly clashing with the EU by curbing the independence of the Hungarian judiciary and media.

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Last month, a poll showed a neck-and-neck race between Fidesz and a joint list of six opposition parties.

According to the survey, the opposition platform had the support of 33 percent of respondents with Fidesz getting 32 percent.

With reporting by Reuters

MOSCOW -- Larisa Shoigu, the older sister of the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a member of parliament's lower chamber, has died at the age of 68.

The press service of the State Duma speaker, Vyacheslav Volodin, said on June 10 that Larisa Shoigu had died, expressing condolences to relatives, friends, and colleagues of the lawmaker, who represented the ruling United Russia party.

The cause of death was not mentioned. Some media reports say Larisa Shoigu may have died of complications caused by COVID-19.

State Duma documents show that Larisa Shoigu voted for several bills at parliamentary sessions on June 8 and June 9.

However, her colleague, Aleksei Ponomaryov, told the Open Media news outlet that Larisa Shoigu was absent at the mentioned sessions. It was immediately unclear how she appeared to have voted during those sessions since Russian lawmakers cannot allow others to vote on their behalf.

Less than two weeks ago, on May 31, Larisa Shoigu officially won primaries in her native Republic of Tyva in southern Siberia held before September parliamentary elections.

She was elected to the State Duma three times after she worked at the central hospital of the Emergency Ministry, which her brother Sergei Shoigu led from 1991 to 2012.

With reporting by Open Media, TASS, and Interfax

A court in Moscow has fined social media outlets Facebook and Telegram for their "failure" to remove content "banned" by Russian authorities.

The Magistrates Court in the Taganka district on June 10 fined the U.S.-based social network giant Facebook 17 million rubles ($235,300) and Telegram 10 million rubles ($138,400) for what it called "administrative offenses."

Moscow claims it is trying to rein in Western tech giants and bolster what it calls its Internet "sovereignty," though many critics say authorities are trying to quell dissent with parliamentary elections looming in September and the ruling United Party's popularity slumping.

Several social media giants have been embroiled in a broad dispute with authorities who say posts on their sites, among other things, encouraged minors to join unsanctioned protests in January, when people across the country took to the streets to support opposition politician and Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny after he was detained on what he calls trumped up charges.

Russia's communications watchdog on May 24 threatened that it could eventually slow down Google's Internet traffic in the country if it fails to delete content that is prohibited by Russian authorities.

Russia has already imposed a punitive slowdown on the U.S. social network Twitter for refusing to delete content banned by the Russian government.

Last month, the same court fined Facebook 26 million rubles ($359,000) and the U.S. technology giant Google $82,000 on the same charge.

In April, a court issued three separate fines against Twitter totaling about $120,000 over accusations it had failed to delete banned content.

Social media site TikTok was also fined on similar charges earlier this year.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax

Latvia's parliament has voted to allow investigators to arrest Janis Adamsons, a lawmaker from the Saskana (Harmony) faction who is suspected of spying for Russia.

A total of 69 lawmakers on June 10 supported the move to arrest Adamsons and search his home, while five voted against, and four abstained.

Media reports said on June 9 that the Latvian Prosecutor-General's Office had requested parliament allow the arrest and search. The specific reasons for the move remain unclear, but local media reported that Adamsons is suspected of spying for Russia.

At the June 10 parliament session, Adamsons denied any wrongdoing, saying that he learned about the probe against him from journalists.

Adamsons graduated from the High Naval Political College in Kyiv in the 1970s, when Latvia was a Soviet republic.

From 1979 till the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, he served in the Soviet Border Guard forces in the Far East.

After Latvia gained independence in 1991, Adamsons served as the commander of Latvia's border-guard service and interior minister.

Adamsons is a member of the parliamentary committee for defense, interior affairs, and prevention of corruption.

He is a member of the opposition Social Democratic Saskana (Harmony) party that is known for its policies defending the rights of Latvia's Russian-speaking residents.

Adamsons' eligibility to be a lawmaker has been questioned in the past by politicians who accused him of serving in the ranks of the KGB as the Border Guard troops during the the Soviet era were under KGB command.

Latvia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Based on reporting by Delfi and Tvnet.lv

A day before the start of the European Championships, UEFA has told Ukraine it must remove the patriotic phrase "Glory to the heroes" because of its political connotations.

European soccer's governing body said on June 10 that while a map on Ukraine's new jersey for the tournament was not an issue, the combination of two phrases, "Glory to Ukraine" and "Glory to the heroes" was "clearly political in nature."

The new design was unveiled on June 7 by the president of the Football Federation of Ukraine, Andriy Pavelko, who said that "all Ukraine, from Sevastopol and Simferopol to Kyiv, from Donetsk and Luhansk to Uzhhorod will support them in every match."

Russia complained to UEFA the next day over the issue, saying it wanted an "explanation" over the why the jerseys, seen in Moscow as a "political provocation," were approved.

Specifically, Moscow was upset over the slogans and the map, which includes the Crimean Peninsula, which is legally part of Ukraine but was seized by Russia in 2014.

After the Kremlin took Crimea by force, Russia tried to legitimize its actions with a referendum widely derided as a sham.

The vote was conducted in a heavily militarized environment and was illegal under the Ukrainian Constitution. The result has never been recognized by most of the international community.

The "specific combination of the two slogans is deemed to be clearly political in nature, having historic and militaristic significance," so the slogan "must therefore be removed," UEFA said.

In a Facebook post on June 10, Pavelko said he had flown to Rome for talks with UEFA on the matter.

The slogan "'Glory to the heroes'...has long been a traditional greeting for our fans at all stadiums and at all matches of the national team of Ukraine," he wrote.

Donetsk and Luhansk are eastern cities held by Kremlin-backed separatist forces that seized them in 2014, at the beginning of a war that has killed more than 13,000 people. Sevastopol and Simferopol are in Crimea, which Russia occupied in March of the same year.

The jerseys are for the Euro 2020 championship, which was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and will be played from June 11 to July 11 in 11 cities including St. Petersburg, Russia, where Ukraine may play if it advances to the quarterfinals.

Independent investigative groups Bellingcat and The Insider say a detailed investigation shows Russian writer and poet Dmitry Bykov, a critic of the government, suffered a poisoning attack two years ago at the hands of the same agents suspected of being involved in the poisoning of opposition figures Aleksei Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Murza, Jr.

In a report released on June 9, the groups said they had identified "significant correlations" between the travels of members of a Federal Security Service (FSB) squad and the previously unexplained poisonings or deaths of several other public figures, including the twice near-fatal poisoning of outspoken the opposition politician Kara-Murza.

Other likely targets, they said, included two human rights activists in the Caucasus as well as an anti-corruption activist.

Bykov is an outspoken critic of the Russian government and twice refused personal invitations to meet with President Vladimir Putin as part of the president's regular sit-downs with representatives of Russia's cultural elite.

"The case of Dmitry Bykov's presumed poisoning bears a striking resemblance to that of Aleksei Navalny, including an extended FSB tailing period, presence of the same FSB officers near the victim shortly before the poisoning, an onset of symptoms and collapse into a coma during a flight, and an initial obstruction by authorities to the victim's relocation to a more sophisticated medical establishment," the report says.

In April 2019, Bykov, who has opposed Russia's seizure of Crimea and its intervention in eastern Ukraine, fell ill aboard a plane en route from Yekaterinburg to Ufa.

After landing in Ufa, Bykov was rushed to a hospital, where he was treated for an extended period. The diagnosis has never been officially announced but Bykov has said that he was poisoned.

The chief editor of The Insider, Roman Dobrokhotov, told Current Time on June 9, that his group and Bellingcat had discovered that the FSB had imposed constant surveillance on Bykov at least a year before his poisoning.

According to Dobrokhotov, the poison was most likely put on the writer's clothes while he was staying at the Domina Hotel in Novosibirsk on a trip with his wife.

Bellingcat and The Insider started investigating Bykov's poisoning after they followed the travels of FSB officers believed to be involved in the poisoning of Navalny with the Novichok nerve agent in Siberia in August 2020.

One of the officers implicated in the Navalny affair, Konstantin Kudryavtsev, described the details of a state operation to poison Navalny in a phone conversation with the Kremlin critic in December.

Navalny made the 49-minute conversation, in which he posed as an FSB official conducting an internal review, public.

SEE ALSO:

'Russian Watergate': Russian Social Media Reacts After Navalny 'Dupes' FSB Agent On His Poisoning

Navalny, who is currently in prison, was arrested in January upon his arrival from Germany, where he was treated after the poisoning with what was confirmed by European labs as Novichok.

Navalny has accused Putin of ordering the poisoning, which the Kremlin has denied.

A Moscow court in February converted a 3 1/2-year suspended sentence on a charge that Navalny and his supporters call politically motivated to real jail time saying he broke the terms of the original sentence by leaving Russia for Germany for the life-saving treatment he received.

The court reduced the time Navalny must spend in prison to just over 2 1/2 years because of time already served in detention.

Kara-Murza has said he was twice poisoned deliberately in Moscow in 2015 and 2017 due to his lobbying for U.S. sanctions against Russian officials allegedly involved in rights abuses.

In both cases, his Russian doctors indicated he suffered from the toxic effects of an "unidentified substance."

SEE ALSO:

Russian Lawmaker Calls For Probe Into Suspected Kara-Murza Poisonings

In February, Bellingcat said in a report that the FSB's hit squad had followed and surveilled Kara-Murza while he was traveling in Russia in May 2015 and February 2017, alleging that among the security agents was one linked to the poisoning of Navalny.

Dobrokhotov told Current Time that The Insider and Bellingcat are currently studying other strange illnesses of well-known persons in Russia and the travels of FSB officers implicated in poisoning Navalny.

MOSCOW -- Members of the political network built by Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny in Russia have pledged to continue their efforts to campaign for change and expose corruption in the upper echelons of power after a Moscow court declared their movement "extremist."

The Moscow City Court handed down its ruling late on June 9, preventing people associated with Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and his collection of regional political offices from seeking public office.

The ruling marks a watershed moment for Russia's opposition. Protests for Navalny's release from jail in January precipitated a concerted state crackdown against his supporters. Law enforcement raided the homes of protesters, opposition-minded journalists, and even defense lawyers involved in the multiple criminal and civic cases against Navalny and his employees.

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'This Is A Purge': Russian Authorities Dig Up Old Incidents To Sideline Potential Opponents

"I woke up an extremist," Georgi Alburov, a Navalny aide who has spearheaded investigations into corruption in Russia, wrote on Twitter early on June 10. "And sat down to work."

The message of defiance comes after a ruling that was widely expected and against the backdrop of an intensifying campaign by authorities to dismantle opposition networks ahead of elections to the State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, in September.

The court's decision makes it illegal to hold membership or participate in the activities of the groups tied to Navalny, who is serving a 2 1/2-year sentence in a prison outside Moscow on fraud charges he says are trumped up. It also means his supporters face fines and jail time for displaying symbols associated with the groups.

Prosecutors in Moscow claimed that "under the guise of liberal slogans," Navalny-linked organizations were "engaged in creating conditions for destabilizing the social and sociopolitical situation." Tens of thousands of Russians rallied in Navalny's support during waves of protest in January and April.

SEE ALSO:

'No One Is Leaving': Navalny's Backers Defiant As Threat Of 'Extremist' Label Looms

In a Facebook post published to his account after the ruling, Navalny called the court's decision and the closed trial that preceded it a "laughingstock," and insisted he and his supporters won't back down.

"When corruption is the basis of state power, fighters against corruption are extremists," he said.

"We'll figure everything out. We'll change, we'll evolve, we'll adapt. But we won't retreat from our goals and beliefs. This is the only country we have," he added.

But opponents of the anti-corruption crusader, who has spent more than a decade digging up evidence of graft and urging demonstrations against President Vladimir Putin, hailed what they called a long-overdue decision.

"That's it," tweeted Ilya Remeslo, a pro-Kremlin blogger who has consistently criticized Navalny online and claimed substantial credit for encouraging the legal crackdown against his network, which intensified after his January return from Germany after treatment for a near-fatal poison attack he blames on the Kremlin. "[We] swatted [them] like a fly."

The Russian opposition has for years operated in a climate of constant surveillance, physical assaults, and exclusion from formal politics, despite being broadly tolerated as a thorn in the Kremlin's side.

But in the more than 21 years that Putin has served as a president or prime minister, the space for dissent has gradually narrowed, culminating in the latest ruling that critics say eviscerates even the modicum of political freedom that activists had previously enjoyed.

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The Week In Russia: A Parallel Universe

Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Moscow office director, said that the designation of organizations founded by Navalny as "extremist" places tens of thousands of his supporters "at risk of prosecution."

"This is one of the Kremlin’s most cynical and brazen attempts so far to crack down on the rights to freedom of expression and association," she added.

"The opposition will become less organized," Abbas Gallyamov, a Moscow-based political analyst, told RFE/RL. "But it won't disappear, because the fundamental reasons that have facilitated its rise -- authoritarianism, falling quality of life, tiredness of the same faces in politics -- are not going anywhere."

The ruling also coincides with a flurry of laws that have outlawed most forms of political activism and provided tools for authorities to punish freedom of speech ahead of the September vote, with opinion polls showing support for the ruling United Russia party at a historic low.

Legislation signed by Putin this month banned people tied to "extremist" organizations from running for elected posts, and the ruling against Navalny's group was widely seen as the inevitable final step in a legal process that would allow authorities to formally exclude any political force deemed to pose a challenge.

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'Extremism' As A Blunt Tool: Behind The Russian Law Being Used To Shut Navalny Up

"The law has come into force, the president has signed it, and now they needed a court ruling to ban the maximum number of people from contesting elections," Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny's FBK, said in an interview with the independent TV channel Dozhd.

Zviagina denounced "an unparalleled campaign of politically-motivated repression."

"Vladimir Putin's regime is compensating for its waning public support by creating an atmosphere of fear and despair, throwing its political rivals behind bars, forcing them out of the country and banning one after another those organizations held in disfavor by the regime,” she said.

The designation is also seen as a message to U.S. President Joe Biden ahead of his meeting with Putin in Geneva on June 16. Biden's administration has condemned the court ruling, as have officials and leaders in Britain and the EU.

"It is another Kafkaesque attack on those standing up against corruption and for open societies, and is a deliberate attempt to effectively outlaw genuine political opposition in Russia," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.

SEE ALSO:

U.S., Britain Commit To Strengthening Partnership Ahead Of G7 Summit

Biden has pledged to challenge Putin on his human rights record and violations of international norms, even as Putin has dismissed any such rebuke from the West as interference in Russia's domestic affairs.

"You can have different opinions about our political system," Putin told reporters at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum last week. "But give us, please, the right to decide ourselves how to organize this part of our life."

Russia says it has declared an employee of North Macedonia's embassy in Moscow as persona non grata in response to a similar move by Skopje last month.

Calling North Macedonia's initial move "unwarranted," the Russian Foreign Ministry said the Balkan country's charge d'affaires was informed of Moscow's decision to expel the embassy worker on June 10.

The statement did not name the person who was being expelled or when that individual had to leave Russia.

North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said he regretted Moscow’s "unjustified" decision, which he said will "undoubtedly have negative influence" on bilateral relations.

In May, North Macedonia announced it had decided to expel a Russian diplomat "in accordance with Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations."

Based on this article, the host country at any time and for any reason can declare a particular member of the diplomatic staff persona non grata.

Several other former Soviet bloc countries in Central and Eastern Europe, all of them members of the European Union and NATO, have expelled Russian diplomats recently, triggering reciprocal measures by Moscow.

The series of expulsions began in April, when the Czech Republic expelled scores of Russian diplomats over the accusations that Russian spies were involved in a deadly ammunition depot explosion in 2014, prompting a tit-for-tat response from Moscow.

North Macedonia previously expelled Russian diplomats in 2018 in solidarity with Britain following a nerve-agent poisoning in England that targeted former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal.

Polish prosecutors have arrested a man they say was acting as a spy for Russia and placed him in pretrial detention for three months.

"The suspect carried out his activities in Poland, the European Union, and other countries, which was part of the Russian propaganda and disinformation projects undertaken in order to weaken the position of the Republic of Poland in the EU and in the international arena," the National Public Prosecutor's Office said in a statement on June 10.

The office identified the suspect as Janusz N, and said that in searches of his residence and offices of "related entities" over 300,000 zlotys ($81,450) in cash and a large number of "data devices" were seized.

It added that he was "commissioned by people working for Russian intelligence, and tried to establish contact with Polish and foreign politicians, including those working in the European Parliament."

Russia has yet to comment on the arrest.

The suspect faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. President Joe Biden committed to deepening and strengthening the long-standing partnership between their countries after their first face-to-face talks on June 10 ahead of the Group of Seven (G7) summit.

Johnson described Biden's desire to work with Britain on a range of issues from climate change to COVID-19 and security as "a big breath of fresh air."

"It’s new, it’s interesting and we’re working very hard together. We went on for about an hour and 20 or so. It was a long, long, good session. We covered a huge range of subjects," Johnson said after the meeting.

Biden set out on his first overseas trip as president to reassure European allies that the United States is a reliable partner again and to change the tone from former President Donald Trump's brash style and “America First” approach to foreign policy.

Johnson played down what had appeared ahead of the meeting to be a potential disagreement between the two leaders by saying they were in "complete harmony" on finding solutions to uphold the 1998 peace deal in Northern Ireland.

The U.S.-brokered accord, known as the Good Friday Agreement, ended decades of bloodshed in Northern Ireland, but Britain's exit from the European Union has strained the peace.

Johnson said the United States, Britain, and the European Union want to uphold the agreement, and "make sure we keep the balance of the peace process going." He said that it is "absolutely common ground" and "I’m optimistic we can do that."

'Arsenal Of Vaccines'

After his meeting with Johnson, Biden announced that the United States will purchase half a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses and donate them to lower income countries with no strings attached.

"Our vaccine donations don't include pressure for favors, or potential concessions. We're doing this to save lives," Biden said, vowing that America would be the "arsenal of vaccines" just as it was "the arsenal of democracy during World War II."

Biden also called on other countries to follow the United States, saying "it is in all of our interests to see the global economy recover."

Johnson and his wife, Carrie, greeted Biden and first lady Jill earlier on June 10 at the Cornish seaside resort of Carbis Bay, England, where the G7 summit with the other members of the world’s richest nations -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan -- will open on June 11.

Biden and Johnson also signed a new Atlantic Charter "building on the commitments and aspirations set out 80 years go" by predecessors Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in 1941.

The new far-reaching document looks to the challenge posed by countries like China and Russia with its promises to promote free trade, human rights, and a rules-based international order, and to counter "those who seek to undermine our alliances and institutions."

The two leaders also promised to build stronger global defenses against health threats.

The Johnson-Biden meeting kicked off a packed agenda for the U.S. president, whose trip culminates in Geneva on June 16 with the face-to-face meeting with Putin amid escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow.

Biden has made clear his intention to strengthen ties with U.S. allies to defend democracy and a warning to Russia against “harmful” activities.

Addressing U.S. Air Force personnel stationed at a British air base, Biden said he would deliver a clear message to Putin when they meet for bilateral talks next week following separate summits with the G7, NATO, and European leaders.

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Ahead Of Putin Summit, Biden Says U.S. Must Lead From 'Position Of Strength'

The White House has said Biden plans to discuss Ukraine during his summit with Putin. Russia seized the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014 and Kremlin-backed separatists took control of a chunk of eastern Ukraine the same year.

SEE ALSO:

Biden Invites Ukrainian President To White House

Biden will also discuss the diversion last month by Belarus, Russia's close ally, of a Ryanair passenger plane that led to the detention of an opposition activist.

The arrest and jailing of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and other contentious issues are also expected to be among the topics on the agenda.

With reporting by AFP, AP, the BBC, and Reuters

NUR-SULTAN -- Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has signed into law a controversial bill regulating the work of attorneys that lawyers have criticized as a move to impose state control over their professional activities.

Under the law that was approved by the tightly controlled former Soviet republic's parliament in April, all of the Central Asian country's lawyers will become members of a state chamber, pay monthly fees to the state collegium of lawyers, and register with a state-controlled online information system.

Kazakh lawyers had called on Toqaev to veto the bill and return it to parliament, saying that the legislation would deprive them of their independence.

The Justice Ministry, which created the bill, has rejected the criticism. On June 4, the Constitutional Council said the legislation was in line with the constitution.

Kazakhstan's first president, Nursultan Nazarbaev, who maintains vast political influence even though he stepped down in 2019 after almost 30 years of running the country, is a lifetime member of the Constitutional Council, which is led by close ally Qairat Mami.

Nazarbaev, who also leads the powerful Security Council and enjoys almost limitless powers as "elbasy" -- leader of the nation -- named Toqaev, then chairman of the parliament's upper chamber, the Senate, his successor after his resignation.

The family of Sofia Sapega, the girlfriend of Belarusian opposition activist Raman Pratasevich, has received the first letters from her since the couple was arrested more than two weeks ago.

One of the letters from a KGB prison in Minsk was shared by Sapega's mother with British broadcaster BBC and published on June 9, describing the young woman's outlook and activities since being imprisoned.

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.

The pair had been traveling from Greece to Lithuania on May 23 when authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka had their Ryanair flight forcibly diverted to Minsk, prompting international outrage and a series of Western sanctions against the government.

In the letters, written on June 1 and 3, the 23-year-old Russian national asks her mother not to blame Pratasevich for what happened as she laments missing out on life outside of prison.

"Today is the third day [in prison], the day when I was supposed to defend my master's thesis in the morning, and in the evening go with Raman to a restaurant, drink champagne, eat pasta, enjoy summer, kiss, and love. However, everything turned out a little differently," she wrote.

Instead, she had porridge for breakfast and drank tea with cookies in the evening.

"It's very bitter to think about it, but it seems that I'll miss a lot of things in life," she wrote.

Sapega also wrote how she spends time in her cell exercising, reading, and keeping a diary, saying that nothing will be easy but that she believes she will be able to handle the current situation.

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'Wrong Place, Wrong Time'? The Woman Detained With Belarusian Activist After Flight Diverted To Minsk

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Belarusian authorities have previously released a video of Sapega in which she confesses to being the editor of the Black Book of Belarus Telegram channel. Banned in Belarus as "extremist," the channel publishes personal information about employees of the country's security agencies.

Similar videos of Pratasevich were released in which he says he helped fuel "mass disorder" while working with Belarus's pro-democracy movement.

The opposition and the couple’s families says the confessions were made under duress.

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Jailed Belarusian Pratasevich Dogged By Claims He Fought For Azov Battalion In Ukraine

Sapega's lawyer has not yet reviewed the documents related to her detention and the exact nature of the alleged crimes she committed are unclear.

Pratasevich, 26, is facing charges of being behind civil disturbances that followed a disputed presidential election in August 2020, an offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

He was a key administrator of the Telegram channel Nexta-Live, which has been covering the mass protests against the official results of the presidential poll that handed Lukashenka a sixth presidential term since 1994.

Security forces have arrested more than 30,000 people, including dozens of journalists who covered the rallies.

With reporting by BBC and Current Time

Negotiations aimed at returning the United States and Iran to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal will resume this weekend, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has said.

The talks, brokered by European diplomats, include indirect contacts between U.S. and Iranian negotiators meeting in Vienna. So far there have been five rounds, with negotiators saying early this month that the talks are heading into their most delicate phase.

"I think there's been a lot of progress made, but out of my own experience, until the last detail is nailed down, and I mean nailed down, we will not know if we have an agreement," Sherman said on June 9 during a virtual event organized by the German Marshall Fund.

Sherman, one of the key U.S. negotiators of the original deal, said another factor complicating the negotiations was the June 18 elections to replace President Hassan Rohani, who promoted the 2015 deal and whose successor is widely expected to be a hard-liner.

Negotiators from Britain, France, and Germany, known as the E3, and the other major powers that struck the deal with Iran have been meeting in working groups in the Austrian capital since early April, with the EU team overseeing indirect talks between Iran and the United States.

The deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has been on hold since 2018, when then-President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the pact and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran's economy.

In response, Tehran steadily has overstepped the limits on its nuclear program spelled out in the deal that are designed to make it harder for the Islamic republic to develop an atomic bomb -- an ambition Tehran denies.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sounded pessimistic earlier this week when he told lawmakers that it remains "unclear whether Iran is willing and prepared to do what it needs to do come back into compliance."

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price raised a separate issue on June 9, saying that Iran had yet to provide the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with information the agency needs regarding potential undeclared nuclear material.

Price said the United States is deeply concerned Iran has yet to give the IAEA information about traces of uranium found at several undeclared sites.

Most of activity in question dates to the early 2000s, before the nuclear agreement, and has long been a center of inquiry about Iran's past nuclear program.

With reporting by Reuters

A Russian court has declared organizations linked to imprisoned opposition politician Aleksei Navalny "extremist," the latest move in a campaign to bar the Kremlin critic's allies from running in parliamentary elections in September.

The Moscow City Court ruling late on June 9 came into force immediately, preventing people associated with Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and his network of regional political offices across Russia from seeking public office.

The ruling also carries lengthy prison terms for activists who have worked with the organizations.

SEE ALSO:

'This Is A Purge': Russian Authorities Dig Up Old Incidents To Sideline Potential Opponents

Russian authorities have ramped up pressure on dissent ahead of the elections in September, with opinion polls showing support for the ruling United Russia party waning.

Navalny, the most vocal political foe of President Vladimir Putin, was arrested in January upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin -- an accusation that Russian officials reject.

Navalny was sentenced in February to 2 1/2 years in prison for violating the terms of a suspended sentence from a 2014 embezzlement conviction widely considered politically motivated. In April, tens of thousands of people protested for his release, following similar mass protests in January against his arrest.

SEE ALSO:

'No One Is Leaving': Navalny's Backers Defiant As Threat Of 'Extremist' Label Looms

The prosecution in Moscow claimed that "under the guise of liberal slogans," Navalny-linked organizations were "engaged in creating conditions for destabilizing the social and sociopolitical situation."

Defense lawyer Yevgeny Smirnov said during the hearing that the prosecutors' motion was intended to bar Navalny's associates from running for public office.

"This case has been linked to the law that bans all those who are connected with the FBK from getting elected," Smirnov said. He said they would appeal the ruling, which was made in a closed-door court session on the grounds that classified materials would be discussed.

Ahead of the parliamentary elections, Russian lawmakers pushed a new law that banned members of organizations declared extremist from running for public office.

The law, endorsed by Putin on June 4, bars leaders and founders of organizations declared extremist or terrorist by Russian courts from running for elective posts for a period of five years. Other members or employees of such organizations will face a three-year ban.

SEE ALSO:

Russian Bill Approved Expanding 'Undesirable' Organizations Law

Navalny's foundation has relentlessly targeted senior government officials over the past decade with widely watched videos that expose alleged corruption. His political network has been instrumental in implementing a "smart voting" strategy -- a project designed to promote candidates most likely to defeat Kremlin-linked figures.

Dozens of the network's offices in Russian regions already shut down in April after the prosecutors issued an injunction to suspend their activities pending the court's ruling.

On Instagram, a message posted after the court ruling on Navalny's behalf urged Russians to participate in the "smart voting" initiative while acknowledging his organizations will need to "adapt."

"We will not retreat from our goals and ideas. This is our country and we have no other," the message said.

The United States and Britain condemned the ruling, the latest development likely to fuel greater tensions between the West and Moscow.

"It is another Kafkaesque attack on those standing up against corruption and for open societies, and is a deliberate attempt to effectively outlaw genuine political opposition in Russia," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.

The U.S. State Department said the court ruling "puts staff members, volunteers, and thousands of supporters across Russia at risk of criminal prosecution and imprisonment for exercising fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Russian Constitution."

"With this action, Russia has effectively criminalized one of the country's few remaining independent political movements," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said, again calling for Navalny's release from prison.

With reporting by AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters, RFE/RL's Russian Service, and Current Time

WASHINGTON -- RFE/RL President Jamie Fly told a U.S. Senate committee on June 9 that Belarusian authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka has discussed copying Russia’s “foreign agents” law to further restrict media freedom in Belarus.

Fly, who testified remotely before the Foreign Relations Committee, outlined how the Russian law has affected RFE/RL’s operations in Moscow, saying the tactic of imposing such laws to restrict the free flow of information is spreading as authoritarian leaders are “learning from each other” and adapting such approaches in different forms and at different speeds.

“My concern is that we see this trend in Russia, we see it in Belarus at differing rates, of criminalization of journalism,” Fly said.

These are attempts by authoritarians “to control the information space, limit the options for their citizens to state propaganda outlets or outlets that the regime is comfortable allowing because they are noncontroversial.”

Russia’s “foreign agents” law requires nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign assistance and that the Russian government deems to be engaged in political activity to be registered, to identify themselves as “foreign agents,” to submit to audits, and to label their content.

Among the foreign-funded media that Moscow has targeted is RFE/RL, imposing on it millions of dollars in fines for noncompliance. The company has challenged the law in the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that Moscow is violating its international obligations.

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.

Fly told the committee that Russia’s most recent moves against RFE/RL include freezing of its bank accounts in Russia.

In Belarus, he said, RFE/RL journalists are performing "incredibly dangerous work" as they attempt to cover demonstrations and the political situation in general. He noted that one RFE/RL journalist was arrested just outside his apartment after leaving to take care of personal business, while others have faced risks on a regular basis just for doing their jobs.

“It’s almost impossible to do on-the-street journalism because of the laws the regime has put in place,” Fly said.

Fly said statements of support from Congress are helpful to push back against these efforts and ensure there are repercussions when journalists are targeted.

He told the committee that even if RFE/RL loses its bureau in Moscow and if its journalists are not able to operate inside Belarus, RFE/RL will “adapt its programming and redouble our efforts” to reach audiences in those countries.

But he added that changing tactics often requires technology, saying new funding “will go a long way” to reach audiences that need RFE/RL now “more than ever in these increasingly difficult environments in both Russia and Belarus.”

The Swiss government says a Kremlin-linked Russian businessman is fighting extradition to the United States following his arrest on a U.S. warrant issued over alleged insider trading.

The Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement on June 9 that Vladislav Klyushin, the owner of M13, a Russian company that offers media monitoring as well as cybersecurity services, was arrested in Valais canton on March 21.

The case was first reported by a Swiss-based news portal specialized in covering economic crime.

"Klyushin is accused, with accomplices, of insider trading in the tens of millions of dollars," the statement said.

His lawyer in Geneva did not comment on the case.

The website of M13 says its services are used by the Russian presidential administration and government.

According to Russian opposition media, Klyushin was very close to First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration Aleksei Gromov.

The Swiss Justice Ministry decides extradition requests but they can be appealed to the Federal Criminal Court and Switzerland's highest court, the Federal Court.

The Federal Court on May 20 rejected Klyushin's request to be released from custody in the Swiss town of Sion while he fights extradition.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and TASS

Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya told U.S. lawmakers on June 9 that authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka is turning Belarus into “a North Korea of Europe” and urged the United States to expand sanctions against the people and enterprises who finance his regime.

Tsikhanouskaya testified remotely from Prague to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, telling its members that Lukashenka’s decision to divert a Ryanair flight on May 23 in order to arrest dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich crossed a line and made him a threat to international peace and security.

“Hence the international reaction has finally been swift and effective, imposing practical measures and starting an ICAO international investigation,” she said, referring to the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization.

But she said the international reaction must not be limited to the Ryanair flight incident. The situation in Belarus deserves a “comprehensive and unwavering” response from the United States and its partners.

WATCH: Exiled Belarus Opposition Leader: 'I Want The West To Feel Our Pain'

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“Otherwise, we all will face such situations in the future as Lukashenka is turning my country into a North Korea of Europe -- nontransparent, unpredictable, and dangerous.”

The United States, its partners in Europe, and other like-minded countries have the power to “stop this trajectory,” she said, urging the United States to expand the sanctions against “cronies” of Lukashenka who finance the regime.

She also called on Western countries to discuss the crisis in Belarus during high-profile events such as the upcoming Group of Seven summit in Britain and invite Belarus’s pro-democratic leaders to participate, and she called for the European Union to launch a high-profile conference on the crisis in Belarus.

Earlier on June 9, Tsikhanouskaya addressed the Czech Senate, calling for the creation of an international tribunal to investigate and prosecute crimes reportedly committed by the Lukashenka regime. “We cannot allow dictators to write history,” Tsikhanouskaya told Czech lawmakers.

The U.S. envoy to Minsk meanwhile told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Lukashenka has increased his dependence on Russia to a point where he barely has a say within his own country, even over its military.

Ambassador Julie Fisher, who has been unable to take up her post in Minsk because the Belarusian government has denied her a visa, told the committee on June 9 that Lukashenka has shown a willingness “to increase dependency on Russia in every possible sphere.”

Fisher said it was not new that Russian troops are in Belarus, but the question of how many is new, adding that the United States will be monitoring upcoming military exercises between Belarus and Russia.

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.

Asked whether she could confirm that Russia has asked to put another military base in Belarus, Fisher said she could not.

Fisher also said the arrest of journalist and blogger Raman Pratasevich was further evidence of the regime’s "utter disregard for international norms and human rights and reflects the new lows to which Lukashenka is willing to sink in order to eliminate any trace of dissent."

She noted Lukashenka’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi just days after the diversion of the Ryanair flight and arrest of Pratasevich, who is now jailed in Belarus.

Fisher also said that the United States is “not done by a long shot” on imposing sanctions on Belarus, saying several business sectors are under consideration.

She said that since the economy of Belarus is still largely state-run it is important to acknowledge just how effective sectoral sanctions could be.

The State Department is working with the White House to determine which sectors should be targeted.

Fisher said the U.S. government is strengthening its assistance to the Belarusian people, including more than $20 million in additional regional and global assistance from USAID that has been identified to provide emergency support for people forced to flee Belarus and others supporting the opposition.

The testimonies of Tsikhanouskaya and Fisher before the Senate committee came ahead of a vote on June 10 in the European Parliament on a nonbinding resolution condemning Lukashenka's regime and its actions.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has criticized a proposed global minimum corporate tax, calling it "absurd" and warning that his government would need to consider contingency plans if the concept was adopted.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) on June 5 pledged to commit to a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15 percent, rallying behind a U.S.-backed plan.

The landmark move is aimed at getting multinationals -- especially tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon -- to pay more into pandemic-hit government budgets.

The G7 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States -- hope to reach a final agreement at a gathering next month of the expanded G20 finance ministers group.

Orban said his government opposed the move, which he said went against efforts to attract foreign investment with low taxes.

Hungary's 9 percent corporate tax rate is the lowest in the 27-member European Union.

Budapest has benefited from it, managing to attract large investments in its car and manufacturing sectors that have boosted economic growth and employment, which in turn helped Orban and his right-wing government stay in power for more than a decade.

"I consider it absurd that any world organization should assert the right to say what taxes Hungary can levy and what taxes it cannot," said Orban, who faces his first competitive election next year.

Orban, who was speaking at a business conference in Budapest, warned that his government would need to draw up contingency plans if the tax plan does get final approval.

Hungary needs "lines of defense" that can protect jobs, he said.

Hungarian Finance Minister Mihaly Varga said the global tax could affect 2,000 to 3,000 major companies in Hungary.

Ireland, another EU member with a low corporate tax rate -- 12.5 percent -- also opposes the global minimum levy move.

With reporting by Reuters