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- By RFE/RL
U.S. Says Iran Believed Behind Hijacking Of Vessel In Gulf Of Oman
The United States said that it believes Iranian forces hijacked the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess tanker in the Gulf of Oman but is not in a position to confirm.
"We can confirm that personnel have left the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess, this commercial vessel that was seized yesterday. We believe that these personnel were Iranian, but we're not in a position to confirm this at this time, " State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on August 4.
The British Navy's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations on August 4 said the hijackers who boarded the Asphalt Princess off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) had left the vessel, without elaborating.
It had warned of a “potential hijack" under unclear circumstances the day before.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) denied that its forces or allies were behind any hijacking on the Asphalt Princess.
Any incident is an attempt by Western countries and Israel "to prepare the public opinion of the international community for hostile action” against Iran, the IRGC said in a statement run on state media on August 3.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzade also called the claims of a possible hijacking "completely suspicious.”
The incident comes after Israel, the United States, and Britain accused Iran of involvement in the July 29 attack on the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime.
Iran denied any involvement in the attack on the Mercer Street, which the U.S. Navy said was carried out with a suspected drone in international waters off Oman. The attack left one British and one Romanian crew member dead.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, echoing comments from Britain, said on August 2 that there would be a collective response to the attack on the Mercer Street.
Tehran said it would respond swiftly to any threat to its security.
With reporting by Lloyds List, AP, AFP, and Reuters
- By RFE/RL
Belarusian Opposition Leader Tsikhanouskaya Says She Knows She 'Can Disappear At Any Moment'
Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has said that she understands she "can disappear at any moment" as a result of her resistance to strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka, but that the movement against his rule will "continue without me."
Tsikhanouskaya, who considers herself the real winner of the disputed August 2020 presidential vote that gave Lukashenka a sixth-straight term, made the comments on August 3 after meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London.
When asked about the death of Belarusian activist Vital Shyshou in Kyiv, which has led to allegations that the Belarusian authorities might be responsible, Tsikhanouskaya said she was withholding judgment until she sees the results of the official murder investigation being conducted by Ukraine.
But alluding to the brutal crackdown on dissent by Lukashenka following the August vote, she said, "It is our pain when our Belarusian people are being kidnapped or being killed by the regime's cronies."
The 38-year-old opposition leader, who left Belarus out of fears for her safety amid a brutal state-orchestrated crackdown on dissent amid mass protests over the election, also said she knows she could be next.
"I understand that I can disappear at any moment," she said. "But I should do what I am doing. I can't stop, because I feel responsibility for the future of my country. The same as all those Belarusians who are fighting at the moment feel it's their responsibility. But I know that even if I disappear one day, this movement will continue without me."
In separate comments, Tsikhanouskaya said that after nearly a year of protests against the outcome of the landslide presidential vote, widely considered to be fraudulent, she still believes that a peaceful transition from Lukashenka can end Belarusians' "hell."
"I absolutely believe in a nonviolent transition of power," she told Reuters after meeting with members of the Belarusian diaspora in England. "What is going on in Belarus is our pain. We want this hell finished as soon as possible in our country."
Tsikhanouskaya told the news agency that "when you put enough pressure on the regime, there will be no other way out but to start dialogue with civil society."
Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have been detained in Belarus in the past year, while many opposition figures have been locked up or forced to flee. Media and civil society groups have been targeted through raids and arrests.
Johnson told Tsikhanouskaya during their meeting that Britain was "very much in support of what you are doing" and condemned Lukashenka's "severe human rights violations and persecution of pro-democracy figures."
After the talks, Tsikhanouskaya described the British prime minister as "a person who really shares common values with Belarusians," saying Johnson "let me understand that [Britain] will be with us."
With reporting by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, AP, and Reuters
Another Kazakh Activist Jailed Over Links To Ablyazov's Banned Political Group
NUR-SULTAN -- Kazakh activist Erbol Eskhozhin has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison over alleged links to the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement, as authorities continue to round up the group's supporters.
The DVK is led from abroad by fugitive former banker Mukhtar Ablyazov.
The Saryarqa district court in the Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan, pronounced the sentence against Eskhozhin on August 3.
Eskhozhin proclaimed his innocence in his final statement at the trial, which was held online due to coronavirus restrictions.
"I do not regret any of my deeds. If I showed my compatriots that they can use their constitutional rights and express their thoughts freely, then I consider myself the winner of this case," Eskhozhin said.
The 44-year-old Eskhozhin went on trial in April.
He was arrested in December and charged with taking part in activities of the DVK, which was labeled extremist and banned by Kazakh officials in 2018.
In December, the charge was changed to organizing activities for the DVK, which is an offense punishable by up to six years in prison.
Eskhozhin has rejected the charge as politically motivated.
In recent years, a number of Kazakh activists have been convicted for their involvement in the activities of the DVK and its associated Koshe (Street) Party.
Ablyazov, the former head of BTA Bank, has been living in Europe since 2009 and is sought for alleged financial crimes by Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Russia.
He has denied any wrongdoing.
In December, a Russian court sentenced him to 15 years in prison in absentia on embezzlement charges.
Two Uzbek Police Officers Arrested On Charges Of Beating Detainee To Death
Uzbek authorities have arrested two police officers in the southern Surxondaryo region for allegedly beating a detainee to death.
The Prosecutor-General's Office said on July 29 that the officers were charged with abuse of office and premeditated infliction of serious bodily harm, which led to the death in custody of Hasan Hushmatov.
Police brutality in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic has been an issue for decades.
President Shavkat Mirziyoev has sought to portray himself as a reformer since taking over Central Asia's most populous nation of 32 million people after his predecessor Islam Karimov's death in 2016.
Those efforts have included public statements and muted changes targeting Uzbekistan's woeful human rights record.
Mirziyoev signed a decree in June on "additional efforts to reveal and prevent torture cases" and ordered the creation of a commission led by the country's ombudsman to supervise its implementation.
Last week, the Prosecutor-General's Office in the country's Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakistan said it had launched a probe into the death in police custody of a local man in May.
On July 25, another man died in police hands.
Nursoat Muhammadiev's relatives told RFE/RL that police insist he died while being treated at a facility for drug addicts. But they say his body showed signs of having been beaten.
The chairman of the Tashkent-based rights group Ezgulik (Compassion), Abdurahmon Tashanov, told RFE/RL that police brutality has deep roots in Uzbekistan and it will take a long time for efforts to eradicate torture to bring tangible results.
"Just an initiative by the president is not enough," Tashanov said. "If police methods, in general, do not dramatically change, torture in custody will continue."
- By RFE/RL
Russian Opposition Politician Lev Shlosberg Barred From Elections
Russian opposition politician Lev Shlosberg of the Yabloko party and his colleague Nikolai Kuzmin have been barred from running in upcoming elections for the Pskov regional parliament.
Some politicians in the western Russian region say the decision was made due to Shlosberg and Kuzmin's support for jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, whose network of organizations has been deemed by the authorities as "extremist"
Yabloko said on its Telegram channel on August 3 that the party will provide Shlosberg and Kuzmin with all necessary support.
Also on August 3, a territorial election commission in Moscow registered Shlosberg as a candidate for the parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma.
Shlosberg told the Open Media news outlet that he would appeal the Pskov election commission's decision.
"I do not know if their decision to link me with [Navalny's] Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) can affect my State Duma campaign, where I have been registered at this point. All other facts will be appealed in court," Shlosberg said.
Shlosberg is one of the best-known figures in the liberal Yabloko party and a regional lawmaker who has openly criticized the Russian government for years.
On September 19, Russia will vote to choose members of the State Duma, 39 regional parliaments, and nine regional governors.
In the run-up to the elections, the Kremlin has cracked down on opposition political figures and independent media.
In June, a Moscow court ruled Navalny’s political network should be labeled “extremist” in what the opposition politician’s team has called a sign of a “truly new level” of lawlessness in the country.
Also in June, Putin endorsed a law that 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 face a three-year ban.
The two factors together prevent people associated with Navalny's FBK and his network of regional political offices across Russia from seeking public office. It also carries lengthy prison terms for activists who have worked with the organizations.
With reporting by Dozhd
Family Flees Russia After Commercial Exposes Their Pro-LGBT Lifestyle
A Russian family that has resettled in Spain says it was forced to flee their homeland after taking part in a commercial promoting a chain of grocery stores.
The family members were introduced in the advertisement as Yuma, her grown-up daughters Mila and Alina, and Alina's girlfriend Ksyusha.
The mother, Yuma, said the four started to receive death threats via telephone and social networks after the commercial was posted online.
On July 4, the VkusVill grocery chain removed the commercial from its website and Instagram page and offered apologies for what called "a mistake that exposed the unprofessionalism of some employees."
Yuma, who wanted to avoid using her last name, told RFE/RL on August 3 that her family is now in Barcelona, where they feel safe.
"Here there is no need to hide our happiness to be a family. We have not made a final decision yet if we will stay in Spain and for how long, if we will. But we do not plan to return to Russia in the foreseeable future," Yuma told RFE/RL.
VkusVill placed a series of advertisements under a "Recipes For Family Happiness" rubric on its website in late June, where Yuma's and other families were shown.
Yuma was described as a psychologist and LGBT activist with two daughters, one of whom planned to marry her girlfriend.
Yuma said in the advertisement that "family is not just blood kinship or a stamp in your passport."
"Family is people we love. Those who always can support and cover," Yuma said in the commercial.
It remains unclear where exactly in Russia the family lived.
Unknown individuals sent threats of violence to VkusVill and to the women.
Belarus Sent Hit Squads To Kill Lukashenka Critics, Says Man Who Found Activist's Body In Kyiv
The man who found the body of Belarusian activist Vital Shyshou in a park near his home in Kyiv is blaming the Belarusian government for his death. Yury Shchuchko told Current Time that he was briefed by Ukrainian intelligence officials that hit squads had been sent to Ukraine to "liquidate" them. Shchuchko was a close associate of Shyshou at the Belarusian House in Ukraine (BDU), which helps Belarusians fleeing persecution by the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka. He said Shyshou's face showed signs he'd been beaten up before his death. Shyshou was found hanged in the wooded area of a park.
UN's New High Representative For Bosnia Meets With Members Of Presidency In Sarajevo
Christian Schmidt, the UN's newly appointed high representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, met with Zeljko Komsic, the Croatian representative for the presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina and its current chairman, and Sefik Dzaferovic, the presidency's Bosniak representative. The representative from the Serb entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, was absent from the August 3 meeting as he is opposed to the ongoing international oversight in the Balkan state.
RFE/RL Correspondent Fined After Acquittal Reversed In Russia's Chuvashia
CHEBOKSARY, Russia -- A court in the Republic of Chuvashia in Russia's Volga region has fined an RFE/RL correspondent in a case in which she was previously acquitted.
A court in the republic's capital, Cheboksary, fined Darya Komarova 10,000 rubles ($137) on August 2 after finding her guilty of taking part in an unsanctioned public gathering organized a year ago by an ally of jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.
RFE/RL President Jamie Fly called the latest punishment part of a "systemic harassment" of journalists by Russian authorities.
"Darya Komarova was only doing her job as a journalist when she reported on a candidate’s meeting with potential voters 11 months ago. We support Darya as she endures this legal harassment," Fly said. "This systemic harassment of brave journalists like Daria across Russia only serves to deprive the Russian people of independent information about their country and political options."
Navalny's team leader in the city, Semyon Kochkin, met with potential voters in Cheboksary in August 2020 to promote himself as a candidate for the city council.
Komarova, a correspondent for RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, has insisted she was covering the event as part of her journalistic work, not taking part.
Komarova was also charged earlier this year with participating in two other unsanctioned rallies in Cheboksary in January, when demonstrators protested the arrest of Navalny in Moscow after his return from medical treatment abroad for a poisoning.
The Lenin district court initially ruled that Komarova was working, not participating in the events in question.
The case regarding the August rally eventually reached Chuvashia's Supreme Court following an appeal of all three cases against Komarova by the republic's Interior Ministry.
On June 22, the Supreme Court cited the absence of the date and registration number on her assignment papers to reverse the acquittal.
- By RFE/RL
Lithuania Begins Turning Back Migrants At Belarusian Border
Border guards in EU-member Lithuania have begun turning back illegal migrants attempting to enter the country from neighboring Belarus, as Brussels expressed concerns about Minsk using migrants as a political instrument.
Some 180 migrants, most of them Iraqi citizens, were directed back to Belarus on August 3 on orders from the Lithuanian Interior Ministry, which authorized border guards to use force if necessary.
"Anyone who tries to enter Lithuanian territory illegally will be refused entry and directed to the nearest operational international border control point," Border Guard Service head Rustamas Liubajevas told reporters.
Migrants will be able to apply for asylum legally at the border stations or at diplomatic missions. Liubajevas said that no force was used in sending the migrants back to Belarus on August 3.
The development comes amid a surge in illegal crossings from Belarus that Lithuanian and European officials say are being orchestrated by strongman leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka in retaliation for EU sanctions over his government's crackdown on the political opposition following Belarus's presidential election nearly a year ago, widely considered to be fraudulent.
"The whole situation at the Belarusian-Lithuanian border is of concern to the EU," Adalbert Jahnz, the European Commission's spokesman for migration, home affairs, and citizenship, said in Brussels on August 3.
"We have repeatedly rejected the instrumentalization of migrants by the Belarusian regime," he said.
Jahnz said that the European Commission is working with the Iraqi authorities regarding increased flights from Iraq to Belarus that are believed to be carrying many of the Iraqi citizens crossing into the European Union.
Jahnz also said the commission sees the implementation of proposed restrictions on Iraq and other countries regarding the readmission of migrants as key to resolving the situation on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border.
In announcing Lithuania's decision to authorize the use of force on August 3, Deputy Interior Minister Arnoldas Abramavicius told reporters that the measure "depends on the circumstances," including the possibility that border guards "will face aggression" from migrants.
The announcement came one day after a record 287 migrants crossed from Belarus as EU Commissioner of Home Affairs Yiva Johansson visited Lithuania to help tackle the crisis.
“This is a provocation of the Lukashenka regime," Johansson said in Lithuania, where the European Union pledged millions of euros in assistance to help Vilnius address the problem. "We must show that there is no free access to EU territory."
More than 4,000 migrants have been detained by Lithuanian authorities so far this year, officials say, compared to a total of 81 in 2020. The 679-kilometer Lithuanian-Belarusian border is mostly without physical barriers.
More than two-thirds of them are Iraqi nationals who appear to have arrived in Minsk from increased direct flights from Baghdad.
Belarus is said to be preparing more direct flights from Al-Basra and two other Iraqi cities.
With reporting by AP and AFP
Another Kyrgyz Ex-PM Detained Amid Growing Kumtor Mine Investigation
Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Temir Sariev has been arrested as part of a widening investigation into alleged corruption during the development of the Kumtor gold-mine project.
The State Committee for National Security (UKMK) says Sariev was detained for 48 hours on August 3 on corruption charges ahead of a court decision on pretrial custody.
Sariev served as economy minister in the post-Soviet Central Asian republic in 2011-15 and he was prime minister in 2015-16.
Kumtor has been a target of financial and environmental disagreements for years, and is currently the subject of an ongoing battle for control between the Kyrgyz state and the mine's operator, Canadian Centerra Gold.
On August 2, former Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev arrived in Bishkek for the first time since he was ousted by demonstrations in 2005 to be questioned about the Kumtor case.
The Kyrgyz government has temporarily taken over control of the mine in what President Sadyr Japarov has called a necessary move to address environmental and safety violations.
Centerra has called Kyrgyzstan's actions "wrongful and illegal."
In May, the Canadian firm said it had "initiated binding arbitration to enforce its rights under long-standing investment agreements with the government."
Several former top officials have been arrested in connection with the case in recent months, including former Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov, Deputy Prime Minister Taiyrbek Sarpashev, and former and current lawmakers.
Babanov was released last week and allowed to travel abroad to receive medical treatment for an unspecified illness.
- By RFE/RL
Navalny Associate Sobol Given Parole-Like Sentence In 'Sanitary' Case
A close associate of imprisoned Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny was sentenced to 18 months of parole-like limits on her freedom after a court in Moscow on August 3 found her guilty of publicly calling for the violation of sanitary and epidemiological safety precautions.
Lyubov Sobol was charged for allegedly calling on people to take part in unsanctioned rallies to support Navalny in January.
Sobol's lawyer, Vladimir Voronin, condemned the ruling by the Preobrazhensky district court, calling it "written by investigators and affirmed by prosecutors."
He said Sobol would appeal, but such efforts to challenge politically charged cases are rarely successful in Russia.
Bailiffs removed Sobol from the courtroom while the judge was pronouncing the ruling after she started filming the process on her mobile phone.
According to the ruling, Sobol is barred from leaving her home between 10.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m., attending public events, or leaving Moscow. Sobol was also ordered to report to a parole officer three times a month.
The case against Sobol was launched after she and several other Navalny associates and supporters were detained on the eve of unsanctioned mass rallies against Navalny's latest arrest, in late January.
Sobol's fellow detainees were: Aleksei's brother, Oleg Navalny; municipal lawyers Dmitry Baranovsky, Konstantin Yankauskas, and Lyusya Shtein; the chief of the Physicians' Alliance NGO, Anastasia Vasilyeva; a leading member of the Pussy Riot protest group, Maria Alyokhina; a coordinator of Navalny's team in Moscow, Oleg Stepanov; Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh; and activist Nikolai Lyaskin.
Most of them were placed under house arrest. Charges against Yankauskas were later dropped.
Separately, in April, another Moscow court sentenced Sobol to a one-year suspended sentence of correctional labor after finding her guilty of trespassing in what she described as a decision designed to silence her.
The court said she illegally forced her way into the apartment of Federal Security Service (FSB) officer Konstantin Kudryavtsev in December, hours after Navalny had published a recording of what he said was a phone conversation with Kudryavtsev incriminating the FSB in his poisoning.
During the 49-minute phone call, in which Navalny posed as an FSB official conducting an internal review, Kudryavtsev described the details of a state operation to poison the Kremlin critic with a nerve agent in August 2020.
Investigators claim Sobol pushed Kudryavtsev's mother-in-law, who opened the door, and forcibly entered the apartment.
Sobol rejected the charge, saying she had not pushed Kudryavtsev's mother-in-law but went to the apartment to meet Kudryavtsev to ask him about his conversation with Navalny.
Her team has described the case as political "revenge" for a lawyer who was unafraid of asking questions of an alleged assassin.
Navalny, 45, was arrested on January 17 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was treated for a poisoning with a Novichok nerve agent that he says was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has denied any role in the incident, which was the latest of a number of attacks on Navalny.
More than 10,000 people were rounded up by police during nationwide rallies protesting Navalny's arrest in more than 100 Russian towns and cities on January 23 and January 31.
On February 2, Navalny was found guilty of violating the terms of his suspended sentence relating to an embezzlement case that he has called politically motivated.
The court converted the sentence to 3 1/2 years in prison. Given credit for time already spent in detention, the court said the Kremlin critic would have to serve two years and eight months behind bars.
The court's ruling caused new mass protests across the country that were also violently dispersed by police.
More than 1,400 people were detained by police in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other Russian cities on that day.
With reporting by TASS and Meduza
Kosovar Gold Medalist Judokas Get Rapturous Welcome After Returning From Olympics
Two Kosovar Olympic gold medalists arrived back in Pristina on August 2 to a rapturous welcome. Distria Krasniqi and Nora Gjakova, who both won gold for judo in Tokyo, marched with Prime Minister Albin Kurti through Pristina's main square, where thousands of people waving Kosovar flags were out to greet them. After declaring independence from Serbia in 2008, Kosovo sent athletes to the Olympic games for the first time in 2016, when judoka Majlinda Kelmendi won her country's first gold medal.
- By RFE/RL
Poll Says Nearly Half Of Russians See 'Foreign Agent' Law As Pressure Tool
Forty percent of Russians consider the country's controversial "foreign agents" law a tool for authorities to pressure nongovernmental organizations, according to new research by the Levada Center, a Moscow-based pollster.
The figure represents a 10 percent rise on last year's public skepticism of the legislation.
More than half (57 percent) of respondents said they had never heard of the law, and just 11 percent of respondents said they generally understood it.
Launched after the adoption of legislation in 2012, the "foreign agents" law has been modified and toughened repeatedly and used increasingly against independent groups ahead of elections later this year, including the Levada Center and dozens of NGOs and media outlets.
It requires nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign assistance and that the government deems to be engaged in political activity to be registered and to identify themselves as "foreign agents," as well as to submit to audits.
The Levada Center poll, conducted on July 22-28 and released on August 2, says the the most critical views of the legislation are among people between 25 and 39 years of age who don't support President Vladimir Putin and prefer to get information from online news sources and social networks.
Fifty-eight percent said their attitude to a targeted NGO is unchanged by its registration as a foreign agent, while four percent said their attitude to such an NGO improves.
In general, 62 percent said they remain loyal to NGOs labeled as foreign agents.
The number of people who think the law helps oppose "negative influences of the West" fell from 48 percent in 2020 to 37 percent this year, most of them 55 years of age and older.
Such respondents prefer radio and television for information and many support President Putin and his policies, the researchers said.
The Levada Center polled 1,619 men and women across the country by phone.
Currently, 77 organizations are listed as "foreign agents," including 16 media organizations and 18 journalists.
Modifications of the law have targeted foreign-funded media, including RFE/RL's Russian Service, six other RFE/RL Russian-language news services, and Current Time.
Russian state media monitor Roskomnadzor last year adopted rules requiring listed media to mark all written materials with a lengthy notice in large text, all radio materials with an audio statement, and all video materials with a 15-second text declaration.
The agency has prepared hundreds of complaints against RFE/RL’s services.
RFE/RL has called the fines "a state-sponsored campaign of coercion and intimidation," while the U.S. State Department has described them as "intolerable."
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has described the foreign agent legislation as "restrictive" and intended "to demonize independent groups."
Russia's September elections are widely seen as an important part of Putin's efforts to cement his rule before a possible 2024 presidential bid, which would be his sixth.
Ukrainian Police Open Murder Case After Finding Missing Belarusian Activist 'Hanged' In Kyiv
Ukrainian police launched a murder investigation on August 3 after missing Belarusian activist Vital Shyshou was found hanged in a park near his home in Kyiv.
Shyshou, 26, who led a Kyiv-based organization helping persecuted Belarusians, had been reported missing by his girlfriend on August 2 after failing to return home from a run.
"Police have launched a criminal case under Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (premeditated murder) and will check all versions, including the version of murder disguised as suicide," Ukrainian police said in a statement.
Shyshou had been found with abrasions on his nose and knee, but it was so far unclear whether he had been attacked, Ukraine's national police chief, Ihor Klymenko, told a briefing.
Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been waging a brutal crackdown since massive protests challenged his claim to a landslide reelection for a sixth presidential term in August 2020.
Many exiled opposition voices fled to Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania.
Shyshou’s death immediately led to speculation of foul play amid growing concern that even Belarusians abroad are under threat from the tentacles of Lukashenka’s security apparatus.
Exiled opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has used her Lithuanian exile to rally international support for Belarus’s pro-democracy movement, said she was "devastated" by Shyshou's death.
“It is worrying that those who flee Belarus still can't be safe. I'm thankful to [Ukrainian] authorities for launching an investigation into this case,” she said on Twitter.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was “shocked” by the death of someone who has helped so many flee the Lukashenka regime’s "repression.” He commended Ukraine for opening an investigation into the death, including “possible murder.”
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.
Shyshou's organization, Belarusian House In Ukraine, said on Telegram that its members were being watched by Lukashenka’s agents and various sources had warned of “provocations, up to abduction and liquidation.”
"There is no doubt that this is an operation planned by Chekists to liquidate a Belarusian who presented a true danger to the regime," the NGO said in a statement, referring to security service agents.
Shyshou's girlfriend, Bozhena Zholudz, told RFE/RL’s Belarus Service that he had "no reason” to commit suicide.
A fellow Belarusian House activist, Yury Shchuchko, was part of the search party that found Shyshou's body in the park.
He told Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, that Lukashenka's security officials were known to be operating inside Ukraine and might be responsible.
"It is a usual [KGB security agency] scheme. The man was hanged with traces of beating on his face. Nothing is missing," Shchuchko said.
Shchuchko said Belarusian House members had been warned by Ukrainian authorities about "people from Belarusian special operations forces and other units coming to Ukraine to physically liquidate" them.
"The Security Service of Ukraine was also giving us such information," Shchuchko said. "They asked us to be cautious, because a network of Belarusian KGB agents is operating here, and anything is possible.”
Shyshou is originally from the southeastern Belarusian town of Rechytsa and moved to Ukraine in the autumn of 2020 following the crackdown on anti-government protests. He helped establish the Belarusian House In Ukraine.
With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters
- By RFE/RL
NATO, EU Join Criticism Of Iran After Deadly Tanker Attack
NATO and the European Union have added to Western criticism of Iran over a purported drone attack on a merchant ship in the Arabian Sea that killed two crewmen last week, urging Tehran to respect its international obligations.
The July 29 strike on the Mercer Street tanker killed two crewmembers, one Briton and one Romanian, making it the first known lethal attack on commercial shipping amid tensions in the region since the breakdown three years ago of a nuclear deal between world powers and Iran.
NATO spokesman Dylan White said the 30-nation military alliance joins members the United States, Britain, and Romania "in strongly condemning the recent fatal attack on the MV Mercer Street off the coast of Oman, and express our condolences to Romania and the United Kingdom for the losses they have suffered."
Israel has also blamed Iran for the incident, whose damaged target is operated by a company controlled by a wealthy Israeli.
"Freedom of navigation is vital for all NATO allies, and must be upheld in accordance with international law," White said. "Allies remain concerned by Iran’s destabilizing actions in the region, and call on Tehran to respect its international obligations."
The EU deplored the attack, voicing its condolences for the victims and calling for a thorough independent investigation.
"Such acts contrary to the security and freedom of navigation in the region are unacceptable," European Commission spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said. "All parties concerned must avoid all actions that could undermine peace and regional stability."
Tehran has denied any involvement in the attack and warned on August 2 that it would respond swiftly to any threat to its security.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on August 2 that there was "no justification" for the attack."
He called it an indication that Iran "continues to act with tremendous irresponsibility when it comes to, in this instance, threats to navigation, to commerce, to innocent sailors who are simply engaged in commercial transit in international waters."
Blinken echoed a British statement that there would be "a collective response."
Britain summoned the Iranian ambassador over the attack, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Iran should "face up to the consequences of...[an] unacceptable and outrageous attack."
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused Tehran of a "cowardly" denial of responsibility, while Foreign Minister Yair Lapid suggested the attack merited a harsh response.
Qatar also condemned the incident, with the Qatari Foreign Ministry calling for resorting to international law to ensure that such attacks would not be repeated.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
- By RFE/RL
Iran's Raisi Inaugurated Vowing To Fight 'Tyrannical' U.S. Sanctions
Ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi was credentialed by Iran's supreme leader on August 3 in a two-step inauguration process that will fully usher in the controversial former prosecutor's hard-line administration over the next two days.
Raisi takes over from the relative moderate Hassan Rohani vowing to take measures to rid the Islamic republic of "tyrannical" U.S. sanctions.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei inaugurated the 60-year-old Raisi in a ceremony broadcast live on state television.
"Following the people's choice, I task the wise, indefatigable, experienced and popular Hojatoleslam Ebrahim Raisi as president of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Khamenei wrote in a decree read out by his chief of staff.
Raisi is due to be sworn in before parliament on August 5 and will then submit his proposed cabinet.
Among the items high on his agenda will be talks aimed at reviving the nuclear deal from which the United States withdrew unilaterally in 2018.
Rohani's landmark achievement was the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers that is the focus of international negotiations to revive it.
U.S. sanctions were reimposed after then-President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, further hurting Iran’s economy. Tackling the country’s economic woes is expected to be Raisi's top challenge.
In his address after the inauguration, Raisi said his government will take steps to lift the "tyrannical" sanctions imposed by the United States.
Raisi said after his election victory that he backs talks to revive the deal, which lifted most sanctions on Tehran in exchange for commitments to limit and monitor its nuclear program.
Raisi also faces an immediate crisis as the United States, Israel, and Britain have blamed Tehran for a deadly attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman last week. Tehran denies responsibility.
Raisi's presidency will consolidate power in the hands of conservatives following their 2020 legislative election victory, which followed the disqualification of thousands of reformist or moderate candidates.
Critics say the June 18 presidential election was also skewed in Raisi's favor as strong rivals were disqualified.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
IOC Launches Probe Into Attempt To Force Belarusian Athlete To Go Home
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has launched a formal investigation into Belarusian officials' alleged attempt to force sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya home from the Tokyo Games, sparking her appeal to the international community for protection.
Tsimanouskaya has meanwhile urged punishment by the IOC of the specific national team managers involved but stressed that measures should not hinder Belarusian athletes' ability to compete in the Olympics.
The IOC must establish all the facts and hear all those involved before taking further action, spokesman Mark Adams said as he announced the move on August 3. He did not say when the investigation would be completed.
The IOC has already demanded an explanation from the Belarusian National Olympic Committee (NOC), which is led by Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka's eldest son, Viktar.
The 24-year-old Tsimanouskaya took refuge in the Polish Embassy in Tokyo on August 2 after refusing to allow team officials to force her onto a flight at Haneda Airport a day earlier.
The runner was granted a humanitarian visa by Poland following what she described as an attempted kidnapping to forcibly repatriate her after she criticized Belarusian sports officials. She said she fears for her safety if she returns to Belarus,
Adams said Tsimanouskaya had assured the IOC in several conversations that she felt safe and protected, and she is now in a safe place.
In a video interview with the Associated Press, Tsimanouskaya called for an investigation and "possibly taking sanctions against the head coach who approached me and who deprived me of the right to compete in the Olympic Games, or to investigate the situation, who gave the order, who actually took the decision that I can’t compete any more."
But she added that "the athletes aren’t guilty of anything and they should keep competing, and I don’t think there should be any sanctions against the athletes."
Tsimanouskaya is expected to travel to Poland this week.
"We have made sure that Krystina Tsimanouskaya is safe in the Polish Embassy in Tokyo and we will, if necessary, offer her the possibility of continuing her career," Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Facebook, describing her as "persecuted."
Tsimanouskaya's husband, Arsen Zdanevich, told several news outlets that he had fled Belarus and was hoping to join his wife "in the near future."
Zhdanevich had already entered Ukraine, an Interior Ministry source there told Reuters.
The Olympian's plight has been widely criticized as another attempt by Lukashenka's regime to stifle dissent amid a widespread crackdown against opposition activists and the independent media following his claim of victory in an August 2020 presidential election that has not been recognized by the opposition or the West.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Lukashenka’s government has committed "another act of transnational repression" by attempting to force Tsimanouskaya to leave "simply for exercising free speech."
Such actions "violate the Olympic spirit, are an affront to basic rights, and cannot be tolerated." Blinken said on Twitter.
Nabila Massrali, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the incident is another example of how Lukashenka's regime "hits all categories of Belarusian society, including athletes, and does not respect any Olympic truce."
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told a news conference on August 3 that the Belarusian athlete is "in a safe situation."
Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled leader of the Belarusian opposition, told CNN that her organization will ask for international protection for Tsimanouskaya.
“No doubt, [she] is our hero; she found the courage to speak out and faced repressions for her bravery. We should express solidarity and stand with her,” Tsikhanouskaya said, according to CNN reporter Jim Sciutto on Twitter.
Tsimanouskaya has expressed fears she could face arrest in her homeland over criticism she aired on social media of her coaches' decision to enter her in a race she had not prepared to run.
She criticized their decision and sought a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn it.
In a statement on August 3, the CAS outlined the legal steps Tsimanouskaya took in the hours after she sought protection.
The statement said the court denied Tsimanouskaya’s request because she "was not able to prove her case to get an interim relief" without giving details.
With reporting by Reuters and AP
U.S. Rejects Russian Envoy's Claim Diplomats Were Asked To Leave Country
The U.S. State Department has rejected a claim by Russia's ambassador to the United States who said Washington had asked 24 Russian diplomats to leave the country by September 3 after their visas expired.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said on August 2 that the Russian diplomats "can apply for an extension" of their visas. Such "applications are reviewed on a case by case basis," he added.
In an interview with the National Interest magazine, Russian envoy Anatoly Antonov said that the embassy received a list of 24 Russian diplomats who are expected to leave by September 3.
"Almost all of them will leave without replacements because Washington has abruptly tightened visa-issuing procedures," Antonov said in the interview published on August 1.
Last week, the State Department said it had laid off 182 local employees from its diplomatic missions in Russia ahead of an August 1 deadline set by the Kremlin to do so.
The move by the Kremlin came after Washington expelled Russian diplomats from the United States and tit-for-tat closures of diplomatic facilities in both countries amid deteriorating relations.
Russia announced its ban after President Joe Biden signed an executive order on April 15 outlining the expulsions of 10 Russian diplomats and sanctions against dozens of Russian individuals and entities.
Biden signed the order in response to Russian interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the arrest of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, and other actions against the United States and its interests.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AP
Belarusian Journalist Sentenced To 18 Months In Prison For 'Insulting' Lukashenka
A Belarusian journalist has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of insulting the country's authoritarian leader, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, and slandering two police officers.
The verdict in the case against Syarhey Hardzievich, 50, comes as part of a massive government crackdown in Belarus on independent media, human rights defenders, and activists.
The journalist from Drahichyn, a city 300 kilometers southwest of Minsk, was also ordered by a Belarusian court to pay a $1,600 fine, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said on August 2.
The charges against Hardzievich stem from messages in a Telegram chat group that were deleted last year.
Hardzievich, who worked for a popular regional news outlet, The First Region, rejects the charges.
The Vyasna human rights center declared Hardzievich a political prisoner.
Vyasna says that, in July alone, Belarusian police have conducted more than 200 raids on the offices and apartments of activists and journalists. Dozens of journalists remain in custody either awaiting trial or serving their sentences.
Belarusian authorities have ramped up pressure against nongovernmental organizations and independent media as part of a brutal crackdown against those who dispute the official results of the August 2020 presidential election.
Election officials declared Lukashenka the winner, but demonstrators and opposition leaders say the results were rigged in his favor.
With reporting by AP
- By RFE/RL
Iranian Journalist Who Fled Iran To Escape Prison Sentence Arrives In The U.S.
Mohammad Mosaed, an Iranian journalist who fled Iran last year to escape a prison sentence, says he is in the United States.
Writing on Twitter, Mosaed said he arrived six months after crossing the border into Turkey during winter, which he said made his escape more difficult.
Mosaed said he was grateful to the U.S. administration for allowing him into the country.
He added that he aims to remain independent and will not become the employee of any government, including the United States'.
Mosaed vowed to continue to raise his voice like millions of Iranians whose voices have not been silenced "by batons and bullets, nor by money and filtering."
Mosaed fled to Turkey in January by foot after being summoned by Iranian authorities to serve a nearly five-year prison sentence on charges of "colluding against national security" and "spreading propaganda against the system."
Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Court had also banned Mosaed from conducting journalism activities and from using all communications devices for two years.
The Committee To Defend Journalists (CPJ) had described the ruling as a further attempt by Iranian authorities to try to "suppress the truth."
A freelance economic journalist who had worked for several reformist publications, Mosaed was detained in late 2019 after posting a tweet critical of an Internet shutdown imposed by Tehran during the violent November 2019 antiestablishment protests sparked by a sudden rise in the price of gasoline.
"Knock knock! Hello Free World! I used 42 different [proxy sites] to write this! Millions of Iranians don't have [I]nternet. Can you hear us?" Mosaed tweeted with the hashtag #Internet4Iran that Iranians had been using to protest the Internet blackout. His tweet went viral and days later he was detained for two weeks.
Mosaed was again detained for several hours a few months later by the feared intelligence branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) for criticizing the establishment on social media, including the country's slow response to the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
While in custody, Intelligence agents ordered Mosaed to delete his Telegram channel and suspended his Twitter account, the CPJ reported.
The CPJ awarded Mosaed its 2020 International Press Freedom Award for his courage covering corruption, demonstrations, and the Iranian government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scores of Iranian journalists have in past years been summoned, harassed, threatened, and sentenced to prison.
Many have been forced to leave the country.
In December, authorities executed Ruhollah Zam, the manager of the popular Telegram channel Amadnews accused of inciting violence during Iran's 2017 protests.
The execution sparked a chorus of protests and condemnations, including by the CPJ, which said Iran's government had now joined "the company of criminal gangs and violent extremists who silence journalists by murdering them."
Iran is ranked 174 out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders 2021 World Press Freedom Index.
- By RFE/RL
Iran Threatens 'Prompt, Strong' Response To Threats As U.K. Chides Tehran Over Deadly Tanker Attack
Tehran warned on August 2 that it would respond swiftly to any threat to its security, as the United Kingdom summoned the Iranian ambassador over what London and allies say was a deadly attack on a commercial ship off the coast of Oman ordered by Tehran.
Britain, the United States, and Israel have accused Iran of being behind what they say was a deadly bombing last week by an unmanned drone on the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime.
All three have said they will work with allies to respond to the July 29 incident, which killed a Briton and a Romanian aboard the ship.
"Iran has no hesitation in protecting its security and national interests and will respond promptly and strongly to any possible adventure," Iranian state TV quoted an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Said Khatibzadeh, as saying.
The same day, Britain summoned the Iranian ambassador in London in connection with the attack.
"Iran must immediately cease actions that risk international peace and security," a British government statement announcing the summons said, adding that "vessels must be allowed to navigate freely in accordance with international law."
The Mercer Street attack marks what is thought to be the first fatal attack on commercial shipping since antagonism and tensions were ratcheted up amid naval confrontations in the vital shipping routes through the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Those incidents have piled up since the United States withdrew in 2018 from a 3-year-old nuclear agreement between world powers and Tehran trading sanctions relief for checks on Iran's disputed nuclear program.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on August 1 that "We believe this attack was a deliberate, targeted, and a clear violation of international law by Iran."
The U.S. Navy escorted the damaged vessel to a safe port and said evidence "clearly pointed" to a drone attack.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was “no justification for this attack, which follows a pattern of attacks and other belligerent behavior.”
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused Tehran of a "cowardly" denial of responsibility, while his foreign minister suggested the attack merited a harsh response.
Iranian television quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Khatibzadeh as saying he "strongly regretted the baseless accusations made by the British foreign secretary against Iran, which were repeated by the U.S. secretary of state in the same context and contained contradictory, false, and provocative accusations."
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
Russian Court Convicts Ukrainian For Trying To Smuggle Missile-Defense Parts
A court in central Russia has sentenced a Ukrainian citizen to more than three years in prison after convicting him of trying to smuggle parts from a Russian missile system to Ukraine.
Ukraine is fighting a seven-year war against Russia-backed separatists and Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) alleged on August 2 that the man has "links to the Security Service of Ukraine."
Russian media reports about the conviction, by the Yoshkar-Ola City Court in the Volga region's Republic of Mari El, did not disclose the man's identity.
A court in the southwestern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don last week sentenced a Russian and an Armenian to between 9 1/2 and 10 1/2 years in prison after finding them guilty of trying to smuggle parts of a S-300 missile system to Ukraine.
Russia has arrested and convicted multiple Ukrainian and Russian citizens on charges of spying for Ukraine or providing Kyiv with classified information.
Relations between Moscow and Kyiv have been tense since 2014, when Russia forcibly seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and armed Russia-backed separatists ignited a conflict in eastern Ukraine that has left more than 13,200 people dead.
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
- By RFE/RL
Russian Court Delays Verdicts In Case Against U.S. Investor Calvey And Associates
A court in Moscow has announced a three-day postponement of the verdicts and possible sentencing of U.S. investor Michael Calvey and his associates in a high-profile embezzlement case.
Judge Anna Sokova of the Meshchansky district court last month said that the court's decisions -- on a case that threatens to deal another blow to Russia's investment reputation -- would be given on August 2.
But the court instead offered a new date of August 5, without giving any reason for the change.
In his final testimony in a trial that is being watched closely by the international business community, Calvey said on July 19 that he and his co-defendants had acted "solely within the law."
He said he believes the case is aimed at pressuring him and his associates from the Baring Vostok private equity group as part of a business dispute over control of Russia's Vostochny Bank.
The case has rattled the investment community in Russia and internationally and prompted several prominent officials and businessmen to voice concerns about the treatment of the executives.
Calvey is a founder of Baring Vostok, and has been charged along with his associate Philippe Delpal, who is a French national, and five others -- Russian citizens Vagan Abgaryan, Ivan Zyuzin, Maksim Vladimirov, Aleksei Kordichev, and Aleksandr Tsakunov.
The case went to trial on February 2, almost two years after their arrests.
The charges stem from a long-running dispute between Baring Vostok and Vostochny Bank shareholders.
Baring Vostok owned a 52.5 percent in the bank, and prosecutors accuse the defendants of embezzling 2.5 billion rubles ($37.5 million) by persuading Vostochny Bank shareholders to approve a share deal at an unrealistically low price.
The prosecution has asked the court to find Calvey guilty and give him a six-year suspended prison term, adding that Delpal should receive a five-year suspended prison sentence. The others, the prosecution said, should be given suspended prison terms of between four and five years.
Baring Vostok is one of the largest and oldest private-equity firms operating in Russia. It was founded in the early 1990s and manages more than $3.7 billion in assets. It was an early major investor in Yandex, Russia's dominant search engine.
Calvey is one of several Americans currently being held in Russia on charges they and their supporters say are groundless.
Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, was sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years on espionage charges that he has vehemently rejected.
Another former U.S. Marine, Trevor Reed, was sentenced to nine years in prison in July 2020 after a Moscow court found him guilty of assaulting two police officers.
With reporting by Interfax and TASS
Kyrgyz Ex-President Akaev Returns For Questioning Over Gold Mine At Center Of International Dispute
BISHKEK -- The ousted first president of independent Kyrgyzstan has returned from Russian exile to Bishkek for questioning in connection with an investigation into possible corruption around one of the world's biggest gold mines.
It is ex-President Askar Akaev's first trip to the post-Soviet Central Asian republic since he fled peaceful pro-democracy rallies in 2005.
He was immediately taken to Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (UNMK), which said he was sought in connection with a probe into the development of the Kumtor gold mine.
After the questioning, Akaev told journalists outside the UKMK offices that he was "very happy" to be back in his native country and thanked President Sadyr Japarov for "allowing" him to visit Bishkek.
Akaev did not elaborate on the investigation or questioning, saying that the probe is still under way and adding, "I came to help the government with the investigations and further development of our country."
He also said that "there might have been some mistakes" during his tenure as Kyrgyzstan’s president.
Kumtor has been a target of financial and environmental disagreements for years and is currently the subject of an ongoing battle for control between the Kyrgyz state and the mine's operator, Canadian Centerra Gold.
UKMK chief Kamchybek Tashiev said on July 8 that Akaev and another exiled former Kyrgyz president, Kurmanbek Bakiev, had been added to the international wanted list as part of the Kumtor corruption probe.
Tashiev said the Kyrgyz government intends to prove in international court that Centerra Gold paid bribes to top Kyrgyz officials.
Akaev fled to Russia during the so-called Tulip Revolution in 2005.
Bakiev has been in exile in Belarus since being toppled by anti-government protests in 2010.
The giant Kumtor gold project has been the focus of international attention since a new Kyrgyz government moved to temporarily take over operations at the mine over what President Japarov said was a necessary move to remedy environmental and safety violations.
In May, the Kyrgyz government approved a law allowing it to take control for up to three months of any company that operates under a concession agreement in Kyrgyzstan if that firm violates environmental regulations, endangers the local environment or the lives of people, or causes other significant damage.
Centerra has called the Kyrgyz actions "wrongful and illegal" and said in July that it had filed additional arbitration claims against the government in Bishkek over Kumtor.
In recent months, Kyrgyz authorities have arrested several former officials and current lawmakers in connection with the case.
Akaev was president from 1990-2005 but since his departure had avoided returning to Kyrgyzstan even for the burial of close relatives.
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