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Russian Elections Set For September 19
The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree setting September 19 as the date for elections to Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma.
The decree inked on June 17 will enter into effect from the moment of its official publication, which under Russian law must occur within five days after its signing by the president.
The upcoming ballot will also include direct elections of nine regional governors and elections to 39 regional parliaments.
The elections were already expected to take place in September.
- By RFE/RL
Iranians Vote In Election Likely To Bring Hard-Liner To Presidency
Iranians voted for a new president among a small and heavily vetted field of candidates dominated by hard-line conservatives.
Ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi is expected to win the June 18 poll easily, after many potential rivals were barred from running by the powerful Guardians Council overseen by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to the Interior Ministry, first results are expected on June 19 in afternoon and final results should be released on June 20.
Raisi, 60, heads Iran's judiciary and was one of the judges in 1988 who oversaw a series of speedy trials in which thousands of political prisoners were sentenced to death and executed.
Human rights organizations say he is guilty of crimes against humanity, and the United States has placed him under sanctions.
Analysts have suggested that a win for Raisi would signal the rise of anti-Western hard-liners to the detriment of pragmatists like outgoing two-term President Hassan Rohani, a key architect of the moribund 2015 nuclear deal under which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Both Tehran and Washington have said they want to restore the deal, which was abandoned in 2018 by the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Negotiations to revive the accord restarted in April.
But Khamenei has said that he wants "actions, not promises" from the five world powers who originally signed the accord with Tehran, which has steadily flouted terms of the agreement by rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium and increasing its ability to enrich it to higher levels of purity.
At the same time, the Guardians Council, appointed directly by Khamenei, eliminated the vast majority of potential reformist candidates, bolstering Raisi's chances.
Raisi's main challenger is Abdolnaser Hemmati, the only relative moderate left in the race after another moderate candidate quit the race on the last day of the campaign. Two hard-liners also dropped out of the race on the last day, leaving four candidates for voters to choose from.
Hemmati, 64, served as Iran's central bank chief before he was dismissed in order to run for president.
Public opinion polls suggest Hemmati's support is in the single digits even after he gained some momentum late in his campaign by criticizing state restrictions and reaching out to reform-minded Iranians.
Two more hard-liners, Mohsen Rezai, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), and Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, who served as parliament's first deputy speaker, remain in the race.
Turnout is being watched closely by observers, who see it as a referendum on the ruling theocracy's handling of a growing number of crises, including an economy hit hard by punitive sanctions reimposed under Trump. Inflation has reached nearly 40 percent and the official unemployment rate stands at 11 percent.
Analysts say the vote could produce the country’s lowest-ever turnout, casting doubts over the popular legitimacy of the winner.
Khamenei has encouraged Iranians to participate in the election, while lashing out at unidentified "enemies" he claims are discouraging people from taking part.
State television reported that in some polling stations voting was extended by two hours -- to 2 a.m. local time on June 19 -- to allow late-comers to cast ballots.
Earlier, state TV had shown long queues outside polling stations in several cities, but RFE/RL's Radio Farda obtained several videos that appeared to show few voters at polling stations in Tehran and other cities. The authenticity of the clips could not be verified.
Contrary to state media reports, one voter who did not give her full name, told Reuters on June 18 that polling stations were "almost empty" in the central Iranian city of Yazd.
A survey conducted by the Iranian Student Polling Agency suggests that only 42 percent of the country’s 59 million registered voters planned to cast ballots. If prediction holds true, it would be a massive decline compared to the 73 percent turnout for Iran's last presidential election in 2017.
The highest turnout for an Iranian presidential election since the Islamic revolution of 1979 that brought the current theocracy to power was 85.2 percent in 2009. The lowest was 50.6 percent in 1993.
Solat Mortazavi, a representative of Raisi's campaign headquarters, said there had been "disruptions" in the voting process at some polling centers in southern Tehran.
But Interior Minister Abdolrahman Fazli said the election was proceeding smoothly at all 70,000 polling stations despite early reports of problems.
Hossein Hassanpour, a deputy police chief in Iran's northern province of Gilan, said 27 people were detained early on June 18 for endangering "the health and security of the elections." He did not provide further details.
Many Iranians have said they will not be voting due to severely restricted choices. They also cited frustration over the economy, state repression, and disillusionment with politicians who have failed to bring change.
“They’re offering five bananas, saying 'Choose any fruit you want,'" one Iranian man complained during a recent open tribune in the central city of Isfahan. "How can you pick an orange from five bananas?”
If no candidate wins an overall majority on June 18, the two with the most votes will go head to head in a second-round runoff.
Despite the attention paid to the election, it is the supreme leader, not the president, who has the last say on Iran’s nuclear and foreign policies.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, dpa, and AFP
- By RFE/RL
RFE/RL Welcomes European Court Decision Prioritizing Challenge Of Russia's 'Foreign Agent' Laws
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has welcomed a decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to accept, on a priority basis, the legal case that the Moscow bureau of the broadcaster brought to it last month against the Russian government.
RFE/RL said in a statement on June 17 that the decision, taken by the Strasbourg-based court a day earlier, has now also been formally communicated to the government of Russia.
The ECHR’s decision to grant “priority” status -- which it reserves for the most important, serious, and urgent cases -- within a month of its filing means that the case will likely proceed more quickly than ordinary cases.
The Russian government has until October 5 to submit its response in the case to the ECHR, the international court of the Council of Europe, Europe’s main human rights forum.
In their legal filing, RFE/RL and Andrey Shary, the general director of RFE/RL's Russian operations, are challenging Russia’s “foreign agent” laws, which have resulted in fines worth millions of dollars being imposed on them since January.
The law mandates that RFE/RL label itself a “foreign agent,” a term that in Russian, RFE/RL says, connotes that it is an enemy of the state. The label must be placed on all of its media content in the country or severe financial, and potentially criminal, punishment could be levied.
The case argues that Russia’s actions violate the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the press protected by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
In addition, it says that left unchecked, Russia’s campaign of imposing severe punishments on RFE/RL over its stand on labeling its content will have a "profound chilling effect" on what is left of the country’s independent media.
In recent weeks, Russia has already added independent media outlets such as the Latvian-based Meduza, Moscow-based First Anti-Corruption Media (PASMI), and Netherlands-based VTimes.io to its list of “foreign agents.” VTimes closed its operations on June 12 due to the designation, saying it made the venture economically unviable.
“The clear intent of the Kremlin’s campaign against RFE/RL and other independent media in Russia is to force these outlets to either abandon freedom of speech and journalistic integrity, or to abandon the profession," RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said in the statement.
"Given the imminent risk of irreparable harm to RFE/RL’s operations in Russia and the importance of the issue of information choice for the Russian people, we welcome the fact that the European Court of Human Rights has given the case priority,” he added.
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 targeted foreign-funded media. In 2017, the Russian government placed RFE/RL's Russian Service on the list, along with six other RFE/RL Russian-language news services and Current Time. The Russian Service of VOA was also added to the list.
Since January, Russian regulators have issued hundreds of administrative cases against RFE/RL and Shary in Russian courts, carrying fines that may eventually total more than $3 million.
Russian court bailiffs have visited RFE/RL’s Moscow bureau twice to notify the organization about enforcement proceedings for the fines arising from the broadcaster’s refusal to label its content.
RFE/RL’s Russian bank accounts have also been frozen by court order. RFE/RL has appealed every one of the hundreds of cases, but not a single court has upheld the legal challenges or decreased the levels of fines imposed by Roskomnadzor, the Russian telecommunications watchdog.
U.S. President Joe Biden raised the issue of Kremlin pressure against RFE/RL's Russian-language services at a June 16 summit with President Vladimir Putin.
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.
Last year, Russia passed a law giving its national legislation precedence over international treaties and rulings from international bodies in cases when they conflict with the Russian Constitution, in what critics said was a move intended to override ECHR rulings.
Bulgarian Leaders Look To End History Dispute With North Macedonia, Back EU-Accession Efforts
Bulgaria's leaders have expressed their strong support for North Macedonia's road to joining the European Union, a departure from Sofia's earlier objections to North Macedonia starting talks to join the bloc.
"Our aim is to create a favorable environment of trust, friendship, and open dialogue that will help our specialists to sit down and find the correct solutions," Bulgarian caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Yanev said on June 17 following discussions in Sofia with a Macedonian delegation headed by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.
The start of North Macedonia's accession talks was blocked by EU member Bulgaria in 2020 due to disputes over history, national identity, and language.
Bulgaria wants North Macedonia to formally recognize that its language has Bulgarian roots, while Skopje has said any question of its identity and language are not negotiable.
Sofia's decision to block the start of EU accession talks was backed by all of Bulgaria's political parties in parliament, and the current caretaker government is powerless to change the position. However, it could prepare changes to legislation that could be approved by the new parliament that will be voted in during early elections in July.
While a joint commission of historians have failed to resolve the standoff, the two neighboring countries have recently renewed efforts to resolve their differences, and the trip to Sofia by Zaev and other high-ranking Macedonian officials was seen as an opportunity for a breakthrough.
The North Macedonia delegation included the country's deputy prime minister for EU affairs, Nikola Dimitrov, and Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani.
Zaev met with representatives of Bulgaria's main parties, as well as Prime Minister Yanev and President Rumen Radev.
"I am convinced that today's meetings here in Sofia will bring about only good for both brotherly nations," Zaev said after he and Yanev agreed to put an end to the recent hateful rhetoric between the two countries.
"I appeal on the brotherly Bulgarian nation -- through its leaders -- to continue to help the Republic of North Macedonia on our path toward the European Union. We have no alternative," Zaev added.
President Radev called the improvement of bilateral relations with North Macedonia "of extraordinary importance," and said that "it is our duty to arrange things in a way so that our peoples are given a joint European future and the possibility to engage in mutual contact much more freely."
With reporting by AP and Balkan Insight
Pashinian Supporters Pack Central Yerevan Square Ahead Of Snap Poll
Thousands of supporters of Armenian caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian gathered in the center of Yerevan as he staged his last campaign rally ahead of early parliamentary elections this weekend.
Addressing his supporters packing Yerevan’s central Republic Square on June 17, Pashinian said security, law, and justice, as well as economic and human development would be his priorities if he returns to his post after the June 20 vote.
"Higher standards of justice and law create new opportunities for economic development," he said.
The June 20 poll is aimed at resolving a political crisis that has engulfed the country since last fall’s war against Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. There are 21 parties and four political alliances competing.
A close race for first place is expected between Pashinian’s Civil Contract party and the newly created Armenia Alliance of former President Robert Kocharian.
But it remains unclear whether either group will be able to control a majority of seats in parliament after June 20 -- either on their own or by forming a governing coalition.
A second-round vote would be held between the top two parties or alliances if nobody is able to form a governing coalition within six days.
Pashinian, 46, swept to power in 2018 after leading massive demonstrations that ousted his predecessor.
His popularity has plummeted since he signed a Russian-brokered cease-fire deal in November 2020 that halted a six-week war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.
The deal saw Armenia hand over swaths of territory around the region that ethnic Armenians had controlled since the early 1990s.
The conflict claimed at least 6,900 lives.
Note: This article was amended to correct Nikol Pashinian's age.
- By RFE/RL
Watchdog Says Belarus Health Workers Pay 'Heavy Price' For Political Crisis
Amnesty International says Belarusian health workers who participated in anti-government demonstrations or spoke out against official accounts are facing "brutal reprisals."
Health workers in Belarus have been at the "front line of the country's human rights crisis" stemming from mass protests against the results of its presidential election in August 2020, the London-based human rights watchdog said in a June 17 briefing.
The group said that “dozens of health workers have been dismissed amid the government’s crackdown on critics, with many barred from medical employment, while countless others have faced threats and prosecution.”
Health workers have paid a "heavy price," including the loss of their livelihoods and human rights, for treating injured protesters and exposing the government's attempts to downplay the bloodshed caused by its violent crackdown on dissent, said Bruce Millar, Amnesty's deputy director of campaigns for the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office.
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 crackdown has contributed to a "catastrophic situation" at medical facilities around the country, Millar said.
"The Belarusian authorities’ intolerance of peaceful dissent is eroding the health-care system and the medical community, amid a global pandemic," he said. "Doctors and nurses are among those who have paid an incredible human price for their professionalism and for showing human compassion.”
Rights groups recorded the arrests of thousands of protesters following the nationwide anti-government protests that erupted after strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka was declared the winner of the August 9 election. As of the end of 2020, the Vyasna Human Rights center had documented the testimonies of 1,000 people who had been tortured while in custody.
Pussy Riot Member Sentenced To 15 Days For 'Disobeying Police'
MOSCOW -- A Moscow court has sentenced a member of the Russian protest group Pussy Riot to 15 days in jail on the charge of disobeying police orders.
The court issued the ruling against Veronika Nikulshina on June 17 after she refused to go to a police station for questioning.
Police told the court they intended to question Nikulshina about whether she was planning any activities to disrupt Euro 2020 soccer events in St. Petersburg.
Nikulshina and several other members of Pussy Riot were sentenced to 15 days in jail for interrupting the 2018 World Cup final in Moscow between France and Croatia by running onto the field wearing fake police uniforms.
The group says such stunts are aimed at challenging government policies and raising awareness of human rights issues.
Pussy Riot came to prominence in 2012 when its members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, burst into Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral to protest ties between the Russian Orthodox Church and then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Their protest, the performance of a song they described as a "punk prayer," took place as Putin was campaigning for his return to the presidency.
Two were convicted on a charge of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" and sentenced to two years in a penal colony.
Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were close to completing their sentences when they were granted amnesty in December 2013.
Two dismissed their amnesty as a propaganda stunt aimed at improving Putin's image abroad ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi.
With reporting by Mediazona
Uzbek Police Detain 20 On Suspicion Of Distributing 'Extremist Materials'
Uzbek police say they've detained 20 people in the eastern region of Sirdaryo on suspicion of distributing "extremist materials" via the Telegram social-media app.
The region's Interior Affairs Department said the suspects were apprehended on June 16 in the districts of Mirzaobod and Yangier.
Authorities said those detained were suspected of using the social-media app to distribute audio and video material that supports terrorist groups.
Police say they confiscated extremist literature, a handgun, and a sniper rifle from the suspects.
On June 15, authorities in the eastern region of Jizzakh said they apprehended a group that was planning unspecified terrorist acts in Syria.
Earlier in June, law enforcement officials in the city of Samarkand said they detained 14 local residents who were planning to travel to Syria to join terrorist groups.
Russian Court Orders Psychiatric Treatment Over Social-Media Post
A Russian court has ordered an LGBT activist to receive outpatient treatment from a psychiatric clinic over a social-media post he made regarding an explosion at the headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in the northern city of Arkhangelsk.
The Second Western District Military Court in St. Petersburg also fined the activist, Aleksandr Merkulov, 200,000 rubles (about $2,770) on June 17.
Merkulov's lawyer, Leonid Krikun, told RFE/RL that the defense does not agree with the court's decision. But he said the defense would not appeal.
Howver, the prosecution said it considers the sentence too lenient and would appeal the decision. Prosecutors had called for Merkulov to receive a five-year prison sentence.
Merkulov was detained in early July 2020 after an investigation into his social-media posts. In one post, Merkulov questioned a claim by authorities that an explosion inside the FSB headquarters in Arkhangelsk was the result of a terrorist attack.
Russian authorities say a teenager identified as Mikhail Zhlobitsky was killed when he detonated an explosive device inside the FSB building in October 2018.
Authorities officially classified the explosion as a terrorist attack.
Merkulov was held in custody until he was transferred to house arrest in December 2020. He insists that he is not a supporter of terrorism.
- By RFE/RL
Russia's Navalny Calls Putin 'Liar' Over Remarks After Biden Summit
Jailed Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, responding to Russian President Vladimir Putin's accusations against him following a June 16 summit with U.S. President Joe Biden, has called the Russian leader "a liar who can't stop lying."
Putin told reporters after the summit in Geneva that Navalny had deliberately ignored requirements to report to the Russian judiciary in August 2020 when he was airlifted to Germany in a coma after he was poisoned with a Soviet-style nerve agent in Siberia.
Navalny wrote on Instagram on June 17 that Putin must have "a psychiatric pathology caused by being in power for a long time, having limitless amounts of money."
Putin "lies constantly. All the time, indeed. Simply does not utter a word of truth. Even when he knows that his lies will be immediately revealed. Even when his recent lies contradict his new lies," Navalny wrote, calling on Russians to take part in September parliamentary elections to make it possible to defeat candidates of the ruling United Russia party using the "smart voting" system created by his team.
Navalny's close associate Leonid Volkov told CNN on June 17 that Putin's answer on the Navalny question the previous day could only have come from someone with a mental disorder.
On June 16, Volkov, who is currently in the United States, told NPR radio that as long as the world follows Navalny's case, the stakes are too high for Putin to let the opposition leader die, and that the United States should keep up the pressure on the Kremlin with more targeted sanctions.
Putin's remarks about Navalny deliberately leaving Russia to avoid reporting to the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN), a requirement under his suspended sentence in a case Navalny and his supporters say was politically motivated, sparked outrage from the opposition.
"Uh, what? He deliberately flew abroad for treatment to avoid checks with his parole officer?" Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh wrote on Twitter, attaching a photo of Navalny being transported in a coma aboard a plane.
Another Navalny associate, Maria Pevchikh, also posted a photo of Navalny in a capsule on a medical bed being transported in a coma to Berlin last year.
"I clearly remember how Navalny in a coma was lying in a medical capsule with biohazard marks, and 'deliberately' ignored reporting to the FSIN's inspection," Pevchikh wrote.
Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, also posted a photo on Instagram of Navalny's transportation to Germany in August. She remarked that she had kept the photo as a reminder of how her husband had "consciously" flouted Russian laws.
Navalny was arrested on January 17 upon his return to Russia from Germany, where he received life-saving treatment for the poisoning.
The Kremlin's most vocal critic has insisted that the attack, with a Soviet-style chemical nerve agent, was ordered directly by Putin. The Federal Security Service (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. His 3 1/2-year suspended sentence was converted to a jail term, though the court said he will serve just over 2 1/2 years in prison given time already served in detention.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on June 17, when asked by a Ekho Moskvy correspondent if Navalny would be eligible for a prisoner exchange with the United States, that this would probably only be possible if the he was a U.S. citizen and worked for the CIA.
With reporting by dpa, NPR, Interfax, CNN, and TASS
- By RFE/RL
NATO Membership For Ukraine Would Be 'Red Line,' Kremlin Says
Ukraine becoming a member of NATO would be a "red line" for Russia, the Kremlin has said after U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first summit in Geneva.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on June 17 that Russia was concerned by talk that Kyiv may one day be granted a Membership Action Plan, a first step toward membership in the Western alliance.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on June 14 that he wanted a clear "yes" or "no" from Biden on giving Ukraine a plan to join NATO.
The United States has provided more than $2.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since 2014, when Russia forcibly seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and backed separatists in the east, sparking a war that has killed more than 13,000 people.
But Biden said Kyiv needed to root out rampant corruption and to meet other criteria before it could join.
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have risen in recent months after the two countries blamed each other for an increase in fighting in eastern Ukraine amid stalled peace talks between Kyiv and Kremlin-backed separatists.
Russia also amassed 100,000 troops on its western border with Ukraine and in Crimea, drawing Western condemnation and concern for what Moscow said was just a defensive exercise.
Although Russia later announced a pullback, both Washington and Ukraine say that the withdrawal is not complete.
In a Skype interview from Brussels on June 17, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland told RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service that the “swift reaction” of the United States and “all of our allies and partners in Europe” to Russia's military buildup showed that Moscow “confronts a united front of democratic nations demanding civilized behavior vis-a-vis Ukraine.”
"And that gives us a certain strength."
Nuland reiterated that the United States is "firmly committed" to the "sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine," and said the U.S. sanctions imposed over Moscow’s actions in the country “are going to stay in place unless and until Russia changes its behavior towards Ukraine.”
Peskov told the Ekho Moskvy radio station that Moscow is closely following Ukraine's efforts toward joining the alliance.
"This is something we are watching very closely and this really is a red line for us -- as regards the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO,” Putin’s spokesman said.
"Of course, this [the question of a membership plan for Ukraine] raises our concerns.”
However, Peskov said the summit between Putin and Biden was a meeting "with a plus sign."
"From the very beginning, we warned against exaggerated expectations in connection with this summit," Peskov told Ekho Moskvy. "But now we can say, primarily based on the assessment by the president himself, that it was more with a plus sign."
Putin later said in televised remarks that Russia was “ready to continue this dialogue” provided Washington was also willing to do so.
Biden and Putin agreed at the summit to regular talks to try to lay the groundwork for future arms-control agreements and risk reduction measures.
However, there are still differences between the two states, Peskov said.
Separately, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, in an interview published on the Foreign Ministry's website on June 17, said Russia expects arms-control talks with the United States that were agreed at a summit in Geneva to start within weeks.
Following an agreement during the summit between the two presidents to return their ambassadors to their posts in a bid to lower tensions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the Russian ambassador to the United States would resume his duties in Washington next week.
Ambassador Anatoly Antonov was recalled from Washington about three months ago, after Biden said in an interview that he believed Putin was a killer.
U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan left Moscow almost two months ago after Russia suggested he return to Washington for consultations.
"We opened a couple of channels where we are going to test whether this cooperation will be fruitful, particularly in the area of strategic stability -- looking at weapon systems that are destabilizing and how we might work on those as well as the issue of cybersecurity and ransomware,” Nuland told RFE/RL.
"So we've set up a couple of experts groups now and we will test whether Russia wants a predictable and stable relationship, [and] whether we can make some agreements on these things."
Nuland said “there is a lot of questioning whether Russia is ready for this kind of relationship with us, whether it will commit to trying to improve things.”
“But President [Biden] is committed to trying, but also profoundly clear that he will protect the American people and he will protect our allies and friends," she added.
With reporting by Reuters, dpa, TASS, AFP, and RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service
Russian Duma Gives Final Nod To Bill Compelling IT Giants To Establish Local Branches
The Russian parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, has approved in the third and final reading a bill that would require foreign information technology (IT) companies to set up local units or face penalties including a possible ban, as Moscow continues to tighten its control over the flow of information on the Internet.
The bill, approved by lawmakers on June 17, would require foreign IT companies with a daily audience of at least 500,000 people to set up full-fledged branches in Russia that would be "responsible for violations of Russian legislation."
All IT companies, owners of websites, information systems, and programs that distribute content in Russian or languages of the ethnic groups of the Russian Federation, targeting Russian citizens with ads, process personal data of users based in Russia, or receive financial support from Russian citizens or companies will have to establish branches in Russia.
In addition, under the new regulation, it will be mandatory for such entities to register on the website of Russia's media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, for mutual communication.
The bill must now be approved by the upper chamber of the parliament, the Federation Council, before being signed into law by President Vladimir Putin.
The bill comes as the Internet rapidly gains clout in Russia, offering a vehicle to challenge the official narrative and prompting the Kremlin to turn its sights on social-media companies.
In 2019, Russia passed a "sovereign Internet" law that gives officials wide-ranging powers to restrict online traffic, up to the point of isolating the country from cross-border Internet connections during national emergencies.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that it is ready to use the "sovereign Internet" law if unrest were to reach a serious scale.
In January and early February, a series of massive anti-government rallies actively promoted on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, the Chinese video app that played an outsize role in hosting content by jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny and his supporters, ushered in an intensified push to control what appears online in Russia.
With reporting by Interfax and TASS
Another Jehovah's Witness Sentenced To Lengthy Prison Term In Siberia
KRASNOYARSK, Russia -- Another Jehovah's Witness has been handed a lengthy prison term in Siberia amid an ongoing crackdown on the religious group, which has been banned in Russia since 2017.
The press service of the regional prosecutor's office in the Krasnoyarsk region said on June 17 that the Zheleznodorozhny district court had found a 48-year-old local resident guilty of organizing the activities of a banned extremist group and sentenced him to six years in prison.
The court also barred him from leading a public organization for three years. The man's identity was not disclosed.
The United States has condemned Russia's ongoing crackdown on Jehovah's Witnesses and other peaceful religious minorities.
For decades, the Jehovah's Witnesses have been viewed with suspicion in Russia, where the dominant Orthodox Church is championed by President Vladimir Putin.
The Christian group is known for door-to-door preaching, close Bible study, rejection of military service, and refusal to mark celebrations of national and religious holidays or birthdays.
Since the faith was outlawed, many Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned in Russia and the Russian-occupied Ukrainian Black Sea Crimea peninsula.
According to the group, dozens of Jehovah's Witnesses have either been convicted of extremism or have been held in pretrial detention.
The Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center has recognized dozens of Jehovah's Witnesses who've been charged with or convicted of extremism as political prisoners.
- By RFE/RL
Belarusian, Russian Envoys To Discuss Woman Detained On Diverted Flight
Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimer Makey starts a two-day visit in Moscow on June 17 focusing on the status of Russian citizen Sofia Sapega, the girlfriend of the detained Belarusian opposition activist Raman Pratasevich.
Russia says Makey was invited to Moscow by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss the situation with Sapega, who is being held in pretrial detention.
Lavrov and Makey are scheduled to discuss her case on June 18.
Belarusian authorities on May 23 pulled Sapega and Pratasevich from a civilian airliner en route from Athens to Vilnius after a Belarusian fighter jet diverted the flight and forced it to land in Minsk.
The diversion of the Ryanair flight by the Belarusian warplane has been condemned internationally as a state hijacking and has prompted Western sanctions against Belarus.
But a Belarusian court on June 14 rejected Sapega's appeal to be released, ruling that her arrest was legal under Belarusian law.
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.
Sapega's lawyer, Alyaksandr Filanovich, said criminal charges had been filed against her. But he has not elaborated, saying he is under a court order not to release details about the case to the public.
The Vyasna human rights center in Minsk says Belarusian authorities have charged Sapega with organizing and preparing activities that violate civil order, organizing "mass disturbances," and inciting hatred.
In an interview with the Kommersant newspaper in late May, Makey said authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka could decide to pardon Sapega or transfer her to Russia to serve a sentence.
The European Union has responded to the diversion of the flight between two EU countries by banning Belarusian airlines from EU airports and airspace. Europe's aviation regulator has also urged other airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace.
Russia has backed Lukashenka in the case.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Lukashenka on May 28 -- pushing for further integration between Moscow and Minsk within a so-called union state.
The decades-old bilateral agreement envisages a union with closer political, economic, and security ties between Russia and Belarus.
With reporting by TASS and Interfax
Close Ally Of Kyrgyz Ex-President Detained On Suspicion Of 'Illegal Enrichment'
BISHKEK -- Former Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov's ex-deputy chief of staff and close ally, Almambet Saliev, has been detained on suspicion of illegal enrichment.
Saliev was detained on June 16, the State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said in a statement on June 17.
According to the statement, Saliev allegedly used his position to interfere in the country's judiciary and law enforcement apparatus in order to lobby on behalf of private companies.
Also, the UKMK said, Saliev was suspected of obtaining properties whose value exceeded his official sources of income.
Jeenbekov appointed Saliev to be his deputy chief of staff right after his inauguration in December 2017.
Jeenbekov resigned in mid-October 2020 in the wake of anti-government demonstrations sparked by disputed parliamentary elections, the results of which were later annulled.
Jeenbekov's successor, Sadyr Japarov, dismissed Saliev several days after Jeenbekov's resignation.
UEFA Denies Greek Request To Alter North Macedonia's Jerseys At Euro 2020
UEFA, the European soccer's governing body, has rejected Greece's request to change the jerseys of the team from North Macedonia at Euro 2020 after the Greeks argued that the current shirt's initials violated a historic treaty between the Balkan neighbors.
Greece said the initials FFM (Football Federation of Macedonia) refer to the Balkan country's name before the treaty in 2018 resolved a long-standing diplomatic row.
Greece had refused to accept the name Macedonia for the former Yugoslav republic because it has a province of the same name.
UEFA confirmed it had received a letter from the Greek government requesting that the shirt be modified, according to AFP.
But said it had rejected the request because "UEFA uses the name Football Federation of North Macedonia in all its official communication and has adapted the relevant terminology accordingly, including in the UEFA statutes and with regard to UEFA Euro 2020."
Until recently, North Macedonia competed under the name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to avoid ire from Greece.
Greece's objection to the initials on the jersey comes after UEFA ordered Ukraine to remove a slogan from its shirt after it angered Russia.
Russia was furious at the slogan "Glory to the heroes" because the words became a rallying cry for pro-Western protesters who ousted a Kremlin-backed leader in 2014. It also objected to an outline of Ukraine on the jersey that includes the Crimean Peninsula, which is legally part of Ukraine but was forcibly seized by Russia in 2014.
UEFA ruled that the slogan was "political" but agreed a compromise with the Ukrainian soccer association that involved covering the slogan with a smaller version of the map of Ukraine.
Euro 2020, the European soccer championship, is being played a year late after the coronavirus pandemic caused it to be postponed.
Based on reporting by AFP
- By RFE/RL
'Disagreements Persist' At Iran Nuclear Talks, As IAEA Chief Sees No Chance For Deal Before New Government
The French Foreign Ministry says that "significant disagreements persist" in talks between Tehran and world powers aimed at reviving a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
The ministry said in a statement on June 16 that the negotiations had become more difficult, and "this means courageous decisions are needed, which will have to be taken quickly, because we all share the opinion that time is on no one's side."
The statement followed comments by UN nuclear agency chief Rafael Grossi, who indicated there was no prospect of a deal until a new Iranian government takes office.
"Everyone knows that, at this point, it will be necessary to wait for the new Iranian government," Grossi said in an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica, responding to a question about what stage negotiations on the deal were at.
Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), appeared to be referring to Iran's presidential election on June 18 and the naming of a new cabinet by mid-August.
"The discussions that have been going on for weeks have dealt with very complex and delicate technical questions, but what is needed is the political will of the parties," Grossi said.
The IAEA does not take any direct part in the negotiations but has been called on to verify any nuclear steps agreed in the talks, which aim to create a road map for Washington to lift its sanctions on Iran and Tehran to reinstate restrictions on its nuclear program.
Representatives from Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and Iran have held several rounds of talks in Vienna in search of a breakthrough. Negotiators from the United States are taking part indirectly in the EU-chaired talks.
Former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from deal that traded international sanctions relief for curbs on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities.
U.S. President Joe Biden has indicated a willingness to rejoin the agreement once Washington is certain that Tehran is willing to respect its commitments.
The expected victory of ultraconservative judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi in Iran's presidential election could add a new complication to the negotiations, even if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has always had the final say on the issue.
Raisi has been regarded as the clear favorite since rivals, including conservative figures, were disqualified in preelection vetting by the Guardians Council.
Three other candidates -- a reformist and two hard-liners -- dropped out of Iran's presidential election on June 16, leaving just four.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
- By AP
Putin On Meeting Biden: I Think There Were Glimmers Of Trust
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he didn't feel under any pressure during his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Geneva on June 16. He said he found Biden to be a very experienced leader with whom he had plenty to talk about during an almost two-hour face-to-face conversation that took place amid a low point in U.S.-Russian relations. In his solo news conference that followed, Putin stuck to his usual talking points about events in Ukraine and NGOs being deemed foreign agents in Russia, as well as the suppression of the opposition and independent media there. He promised a possible prisoner exchange and paraphrased a quote by Leo Tolstoy, saying that there may not have been an abundance of trust between the two sides during the meeting but there were "glimmers" of it.
'This Is Not About Trust': Biden Says 'Self-Interest' Is Key To Relationship With Putin
U.S. President Joe Biden said talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, focused on arms control mechanisms, avoiding unintended conflicts, and improving cybersecurity. But, he said, the relationship would be based on verification and self interest rather than trust. Biden was speaking after talks with Putin in Geneva on June 16.
U.S. Convicts Russian For Malware 'Crypting' Services
Russian national Oleg Koshkin has been found guilty by a U.S. jury in Connecticut of operating a "crypting" service that helped hackers infect computers around the world with malware, the U.S. Justice Department announced on July 16.
Koshkin, 41 and formerly of Estonia, reportedly operated websites that offered to make intrusive software like "botnets, remote-access trojans, keyloggers, credential stealers and cryptocurrency miners" virtually undetectable.
He could face 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on September 20.
"The defendant designed and operated a service that was an essential tool for some of the world's most destructive cybercriminals, including ransomware attackers," acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid said.
"The verdict should serve as a warning to those who provide infrastructure to cybercriminals...[that] our law enforcement partners consider you to be just as culpable as the hackers whose crimes you enable."
Koshkin provided services to Russian national Pyotr Levashov, the operator of the "Kelihos" botnet that compromised more than 50,000 computers before it was dismantled by the FBI.
Levashov is one of the world's most notorious spammers, and also used Kelihos to harvest account credentials, conduct denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, and distribute ransomware and other malicious software.
A botnet is a network of computers infected with malicious software that allows a third party to control an entire computer network without the knowledge or consent of the computer owners.
Levashov pleaded guilty to multiple counts in a U.S. court in 2018 after his extradition from Spain.
Koshkin was arrested in California in 2019.
A co-defendant, Pavel Tsurkan, has also been charged with cybercrimes.
Nephew Of Former Armenian President Sarkisian Sentenced To Prison On Criminal Charges
YEREVAN -- An Armenian court has sentenced a nephew of former President Serzh Sarkisian to 5 1/2 years in prison on charges of illegal obtaining ammunition for a pistol and illegal drug possession.
The court in Yerevan pronounced the verdict and sentence against Narek Sarkisian on June 16.
Sarkisian had pleaded guilty to the charges.
His lawyer, Artur Pivazian, said the sentence would be appealed.
Narek Sarkisian was detained in the Czech capital, Prague, in December 2018 with a fake Guatemalan passport in the name of Franklin Gonzales. He was later extradited to Armenia.
Narek is a son of Serzh Sarkisian’s younger brother, Aleksandr.
Ukraine Roots Out Ring Behind Hacks On U.S. Universities, South Korean Firms
Police in Ukraine said on June 16 that they exposed a ring of hackers who targeted some of the most prestigious U.S. universities as well as commercial companies in South Korea.
They said raids on the suspects' homes had found some 5 million hryvnyas (around $185,000) in cash.
But they didn't say whether any suspects were detained.
The group's attacks caused at least $500 million in damage, Ukrainian authorities said.
The hacks included the use of an encryption virus that blocked internal servers and network computers at four South Korean firms in 2019, at least some of which paid a ransom.
The group also targeted financial and personal records at Stanford University Medical School and the University of California, among others.
Based on reporting by AP
- By RFE/RL
Journalism Watchdog Warns That Russia Is 'Killing Off' Independent Media
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has warned of the "gradual disappearance" of independent media in Russia, and urged President Vladimir Putin to repeal a "draconian 'foreign agents' law" that has been used to target RFE/RL and other news outlets.
In a statement issued on June 16, the Paris-based media watchdog lists the demise of the Russia-based VTimes and risks to other media outlets such as the Latvian-based Meduza.
"Only a handful of independent media outlets are managing to survive the growing pressure from the authorities," it says, citing "intimidation attempts" against TV Dozhd, Fortanga and Chernovik in the North Caucasus, as well as the Kaliningrad-based Novye Kolesa.
"The gradual disappearance of independent outlets from the Russian media landscape in the past few years and the recent acceleration of this process are very disturbing," said Jeanne Cavelier, the head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk.
"We urge Vladimir Putin and the Russian justice ministry to immediately repeal the 'foreign agents' law, which is undermining media pluralism, throttling independent media and slowly killing them off."
Russia’s so-called “foreign agent” legislation was adopted in 2012 and has been modified repeatedly. It requires NGOs 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.
More recent modifications have targeted foreign-funded media, including multiple RFE/RL services, and individual journalists.
RSF cited RFE/RL Russian Service's Lyudmila Savitskaya and Sergei Markelov as among the first to be ordered to register as "foreign agents," related fines, and the freezing of RFE/RL bank accounts in Russia for refusing to comply with the strictures.
RFE/RL has called the fines "a state-sponsored campaign of coercion and intimidation."
The labeling of "foreign agents" has been interpreted by many civil society activists as another tool for the Kremlin to intimidate Russia's political opposition, especially with parliamentary elections looming in September and the ruling United Russia party slumping in opinion polls.
"The Russian government has worked hard to destabilize media outlets in recent years," RSF said, with "around 20 draconian laws targeting both traditional and online media" since major anti-Putin demonstrations eight years ago.
The watchdog said the Russian state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, which it calls "a digital press freedom predator,” has become “increasingly intrusive since first establishing a blacklist of websites in 2012."
- By RFE/RL
EU Will 'Look Into' Hungary's Controversial Law Banning LGBT Content In Schools
The European Commission says it will study a controversial Hungarian law banning the discussion and dissemination of information in schools that is deemed by authorities to promote homosexuality and gender change.
Critics have slammed the amendment, passed on June 15, as an attack on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
After passage, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said the new legislation "raises concerns" about "freedom of expression" and included restrictions that "have no place in democratic society."
Then, on June 16, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that she was "very concerned about the new law in Hungary."
"We are assessing if it breaches relevant EU legislation," she tweeted.
"I believe in a Europe which embraces diversity, not one which hides it from our children. No one should be discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation," von der Leyen added.
A commission spokeswoman, Dana Spinant, had cautioned hours earlier that "we need to base those [decisions] on a thorough reflection on what is actually in that law, and what the problems with that law would be."
Before the bill's approval, the European Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli warned that the EU could withhold funding over Hungary's move.
On June 14, thousands of protesters gathered in Budapest to condemn the legislation. It calls for a ban on books, films, and other content that are accessible to children and young people and in which sexuality is depicted other than heterosexuality.
The ban also applies to advertising by banning ads deemed to target people under 18 years of age if they are seen as showing solidarity with gay people.
The government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, which has backed a strongly conservative social agenda, has said that the legislation is needed to protect the "right of children to their gender identity received at birth."
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto defended the new amendment -- to a bill to combat pedophilia -- during a visit to Bratislava on June 16, saying: "No duty is more important than the protection of children. So yes, children must be protected from pedophiles."
During the debate of the bill in parliament on June 15, lawmaker Timea Szabo of the opposition Dialogue party accused Orban and his ruling Fidesz party of trying to "conflate pedophile crimes with people's different sexual identity."
Associations of the LBGT community and human rights advocates have said the law will "trample on the rights of homosexual and transgender youth."
They compared the ban to a discriminatory 2013 Russian law banning so-called "gay propaganda," which is viewed by human rights defenders as a tool of discrimination.
“This is a dark day for [LGBT] rights and for Hungary. Like the infamous Russian 'propaganda law' this new legislation will further stigmatise {LGBT] people and their allies. It will expose people already facing a hostile environment to even greater discrimination," Amnesty International's Hungarian office said on June 15 in a statement after the law was adopted.
"Tagging these amendments to a bill that seeks to crack down on child abuse appears to be a deliberate attempt by the Hungarian government to conflate paedophilia with LGBTI people," it added.
Orban's government has already embedded language in the constitution stating that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. It also has banned adoptions by same-sex couples.
Hungary's government has also retroactively prohibited legal status for transgender people in a move ruled as unconstitutional by the country's Constitutional Court.
With reporting by AFP
Belarusian Widow Ordered To Pay Taxes On Donations Received After Police Killed Her Husband
MINSK -- The widow of a Belarusian activist who was shot dead in August 2020 by riot police in Minsk has been ordered to pay taxes on donations she received after the killing.
Alena Herman, the widowed mother of a 4-year-old girl, received the donations after her 34-year-old husband, Alyaksandr Taraykouski, became the first fatality in a brutal crackdown by police on demonstrations against the disputed presidential election.
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.
Election officials said longtime authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka won the vote. But the United States, the European Union, and several other countries refuse to recognize the official tally and do not consider Lukashenka as the country's legitimate leader.
Herman said on June 16 that tax authorities in Minsk had ordered her to pay taxes totaling more than 11,000 rubles ($4,430) on the donations. She said she thinks the tax is wrong.
"My husband was self-employed and everything he earned he used to support our family," Herman said. "All donations I received from good people were made, I believe were made, from their own pockets, after taxes."
Belarus's Investigative Committee decided in February not launch a probe into Taraykouski death. It claims that Taraykouski was "very drunk" and "provoked" riot police to use "nonlethal weapons" against him.
Initially, officials said Taraykouski was killed by an improvised explosive device he was trying to throw at riot police. However, graphic footage of his death posted on social media contradicted official claims.
The site of Taraykouski's death near the Pushkin subway station in Minsk temporarily became a makeshift memorial where protesters gathered regularly, bringing flowers and renewing "We will not forget" inscriptions on the sidewalk.
Several protesters have been killed and thousands of people arrested during the months of demonstrations.
There have also been credible reports of detainees being tortured by the authorities during the crackdown.
Most opposition leaders have been arrested or forced to leave the country, including Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya -- the opposition candidate that many believe was the legitimate winner of the election.
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