rferl--2020-09-08--Lukashenka Says He 'Maybe Overstayed A Bit' Amid Outrage Over Missing Foe's Detention At Border

MINSK -- Embattled Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenko has reportedly acknowledged on Russian television that he `` maybe overstayed a bit '' as anger mounts over the disappearance and subsequent detention of a leading opposition organizer on September 8 .
Belarusian border officials said they detained Maryya Kalesnikava at the border with Ukraine after a full day of Belarusian and international calls mount for answers from Minsk on her suspected abduction and other disappearances of influential Lukashenka critics .
The deputy interior minister of neighboring Ukraine called the circumstances of Maryya Kalesnikava 's detention an attempt at a `` forcible expulsion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Belarusian opposition , '' after weeks of massive anti-government demonstrations .
Kalesnikava reportedly arrived at the Alyaksandrauka border checkpoint on September 8 at around 5 a.m. in a car with two other opposition organizers who went missing the previous day , council press secretary Anton Randyonkau and executive secretary Ivan Krautsou .
All three are key figures on the Coordination Council that has pressed for a peaceful transition of power since election officials declared Lukashenka the runaway winner of an August 9 vote they say was fraudulent , and colleagues raised alarm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 7 .
Meanwhile , the embattled Lukashenka -- who has led the country for 26 years -- was quoted by Russian media as vowing once again that he wo n't step down .
But he appeared to acknowledge that he might have been in power too long .
`` Yes , maybe I overstayed a bit , '' Lukashenka was quoted as saying .
He reportedly repeated his suggestion that a new election might be held after constitutional reforms are effected -- an offer that opposition leaders suggest is a delaying tactic to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Border Committee representative Anton Bychkouski initially said that Kalesnikava , Randyonkau , and Krautsou had all left the country early on September 8 .
But Belarusian state television later quoted Bychkouski as saying that Kalesnikava , a Coordination Council presidium member , was detained trying to cross the border while the other two had entered Ukraine .
Ukraine 's State Border Service later confirmed that Kalesnikava did not enter the country but that Randyonkau and Krautsou had arrived and were being processed .
Reports suggested Kalesnikava had torn up her passport in order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko appeared to confirm that version of events in a Facebook post describing the Belarusians ' arrival at the checkpoint as `` a forcible expulsion from a native country with the aim of compromising the Belarusian opposition . ''
Herashchenko said Kalesnikava `` was unable to be removed from Belarus because this brave woman took action to prevent her movement across the border . ''
He accused Lukashenka 's regime of trying `` to present everything as if opposition leaders [ were ] throwing hundreds of thousands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fleeing to cozy Ukraine . ''
He added of the Belarusian oppositionists ' appearance at the border : `` It was n't a voluntary trip ! ''
Lukashenka 's exiled opposition challenger in last month 's election , Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , issued a call for Kalesnikava 's immediate release .
`` Maryya Kalesnikava must be released immediately , as well as all previously apprehended members of the Coordination Council and political prisoners .
The Coordination Council 's goal is to be a negotiating platform , '' Tsikhanouskaya said , according to her press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's leadership , Paval Latushka , said that `` the government did n't achieve its goal . ''
`` The Coordination Council has not lost its morale , it continues to work , '' he added .
An eyewitness reported seeing Kalesnikava swept up by unidentified men from the street and into a minivan in downtown Minsk on September 7 .
Acquaintances said contact was lost soon afterward with Randyonkau and Krautsou .
Their disappearances elicited accusations by the European Union that the embattled Belarusian regime was using kidnapping and intimidation to quash @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Thousands of people have been arrested , journalists have been harassed and expelled , and clips have emerged of Lukashenka 's security services brutally abusing detainees .
Germany , which currently holds the rotating EU Presidency , has demanded information on those who went missing and the release of political prisoners .
`` We demand clarity on the whereabouts and the release of all political prisoners in Belarus , '' German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the Bild daily in statements published on September 8 .
`` The continued arrests and repression @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Coordination Council , are unacceptable , '' Maas added .
Members of the Coordination Council and its decision-making presidium have been summoned by police and in some cases sentenced to jail .
An eyewitness reported seeing Kalesnikava swept up by unidentified men from the street and into a minivan in downtown Minsk on September 7 .
Acquaintances said contact was lost soon afterward with Randyonkau and Krautsou .
The opposition 's leading hope in last month 's election was political novice Tsikhanouskaya , who fled into exile in Lithuania days after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virtual meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ( PACE ) 's Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy on September 8 during an exchange of views on the situation in Belarus .
She is also scheduled to visit Warsaw this week to hold meetings with top Polish officials .
The chairman of the Belarusian parliament 's Foreign Affairs Committee , Andrey Savinykh , suggested to the same PACE meeting that Poland was behind the anti-Lukashanka protests .
`` Belarusian authorities have information showing that the protests had been meticulously planned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ -- through social networks from abroad , specifically via the Nexta Telegram channel , whose activities , according to the information provided by a number of media outlets , are run by the central group of psychological warfare of the Polish armed forces , '' Savinykh said .
WATCH : How Lukashenka Demeans And Insults His Opponents In Belarus Lukashenka , who has served five terms already , has refused to hold talks with his opponents and dismissed calls to hold a new election .
The EU `` expects the Belarusian authorities to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on political grounds before and after the falsified August 9 presidential election , '' the bloc 's foreign policy chief , Josep Borrell , said on September 7 .
Belarusian authorities have acknowledged detaining some 633 protesters as tens of thousands marched in the capital and other cities on September 6 to pressure Lukashenka to leave .
With reporting by Current Time , AFP , TASS , AP , and Reuters

The United States is considering “targeted sanctions” on people involved in human rights abuses and repression in Belarus, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on September 8 that also expressed deep concern over the reported abduction of Belarusian Coordination Council member Maryya Kalesnikava.
Pompeo commended the courage of Kalesnikava and two other Coordination Council members who were allegedly abducted and forcibly deported to Ukraine and of the Belarusian people in asserting their right to hold free and fair elections “in the face of unjustified violence and repression by the Belarusian authorities.”
The statement specifically cited “brazen beatings of peaceful marchers in broad daylight and hundreds of detentions” on September 6.
Pompeo said the United States is considering the sanctions in coordination with its partners and called on Belarusian authorities to end the violence against their own people, release all those unjustly detained, including U.S. citizen Vitali Shkliarov, and “engage in meaningful dialogue with genuine representatives of Belarusian society.” Shkliarov is a political consultant who was detained in July.
Germany, which currently holds the rotating EU Presidency, earlier on September 8 demanded information on those who went missing and the release of political prisoners, and the French Foreign Ministry issued a statement strongly condemning the arrests and forced exile of members of the Coordination Council and the detention of numerous demonstrators in recent days.
Belarusian border officials said they detained Kalesnikava at the border with Ukraine. The deputy interior minister of Ukraine called the circumstances of Kalesnikava's detention an attempt at a "forcible expulsion" with the aim of "compromising the Belarusian opposition" after weeks of massive anti-government demonstrations.
Kalesnikava reportedly arrived at the Alyaksandrauka border checkpoint at around 5 a.m. on September 8 in a car with two other opposition organizers who went missing the previous day, council press secretary Anton Randyonkau and executive secretary Ivan Krautsou.
Speaking to journalists in Kyiv, Randyonkau said Kalesnikava tore up her passport, escaped from the car, and returned to the Belarusian side of the border, where she was taken into custody.
All three are members of the Coordination Council that has pressed for a peaceful transition of power since President Alyaksandr Lukashenka was declared the runaway winner of the August 9 election, which the opposition says was fraudulent.
Belarusian State Border Committee representative Anton Bychkouski initially said that Kalesnikava, Randyonkau, and Krautsou had all left the country early on September 8.
But Belarusian state television later quoted Bychkouski saying that Kalesnikava, a Coordination Council presidium member, was detained trying to cross the border while the other two had entered Ukraine.
Ukraine's State Border Service later confirmed that Kalesnikava did not enter the country but that Randyonkau and Krautsou had arrived and were being processed.
Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko appeared to confirm that version of events in a Facebook post describing the Belarusians' arrival at the checkpoint as "a forcible expulsion from a native country with the aim of compromising the Belarusian opposition."
Herashchenko said Kalesnikava "was unable to be removed from Belarus because this brave woman took action to prevent her movement across the border."
Lukashenka's exiled opposition challenger, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, issued a Wcall for Kalesnikava's immediate release.
WATCH: Tsikhanouskaya Urges International Pressure On Lukashenka In PACE Address
"Maryya Kalesnikava must be released immediately, as well as all previously apprehended members of the Coordination Council and political prisoners. The Coordination Council’s goal is to be a negotiating platform," Tsikhanouskaya said, according to her press service.
Several hundred people gathered in Minsk in the evening on September 8 for a “march to support the repressed.” Marchers carried banners supporting Kalesnikava, calling her “our hero.”
RFE/RL’s Belarus Service reported that more than 50 people were detained.
Meanwhile Lukashenka, who has led the country for 26 years, was quoted by Russian media as vowing once again that he won't step down but he appeared to acknowledge that he might have been in power too long.
"Yes, maybe I overstayed a bit," Lukashenka said.
He reportedly repeated his suggestion that a new election might be held after constitutional reforms are effected -- an offer that opposition leaders suggest is a delaying tactic to quell the mass demonstrations.
With reporting by Current Time, AFP, TASS, AP, Interfax, and Reuters


rferl--2020-09-08--RFE/RL Relaunches Operations In Hungary Amid Drop In Media Freedom

The Hungarian Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , closed after the Cold War ended , relaunched on September 8 in response to the country ’ s steep decline in media freedom .
“ We are very excited to return to Hungary with state-of-the art programming and RFE/RL ’ s signature commitment to serving the public interest by reporting the issues that our audiences say matter most , ” said RFE/RL acting President Daisy Sindelar .
“ We have an outstanding team of local journalists , and they are determined to be the go-to source for reliable , unbiased news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is led by Gyula Csak , formerly a journalist and editor with the pan-European network Euronews and a producer and Hungary correspondent for the BBC .
Csak has also worked as a senior news executive for numerous Hungarian media outlets .
RFE/RL announced its plans for a Hungarian Service in autumn 2019 in response to the dramatic constriction of the country ’ s media landscape -- reflected in a 16-point plunge , to 89th place , in Reporters Without Borders ’ 2020 World Press Freedom Index .
Over the past 10 years , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has taken control of most of the country ’ s press outlets either directly or indirectly .
Public television and radio stations and the state news agency came under government control in 2011 .
In 2019 , about 500 private media outlets were concentrated into the Central European Press and Media Foundation ( KESMA ) , which has close ties to the Orban government .
RFE/RL ’ s original Hungarian Service , known as Szabad Europa Radio , operated from Munich during the Cold War and closed in 1993 .
RFE/RL ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in an EU member state .
In 2019 , it opened new bureaus in Bulgaria and Romania -- countries , like Hungary , where the broadcaster played a critical local role during the Cold War .

The Hungarian Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, closed after the Cold War ended, relaunched on September 8 in response to the country’s steep decline in media freedom.
“We are very excited to return to Hungary with state-of-the art programming and RFE/RL’s signature commitment to serving the public interest by reporting the issues that our audiences say matter most,” said RFE/RL acting President Daisy Sindelar.
“We have an outstanding team of local journalists, and they are determined to be the go-to source for reliable, unbiased news,” she added.
WATCH: Thousands Form Human Chain Protesting Hungarian Government Obstruction Of University's Independence
The service is led by Gyula Csak, formerly a journalist and editor with the pan-European network Euronews and a producer and Hungary correspondent for the BBC. Csak has also worked as a senior news executive for numerous Hungarian media outlets.
RFE/RL announced its plans for a Hungarian Service in autumn 2019 in response to the dramatic constriction of the country’s media landscape -- reflected in a 16-point plunge, to 89th place, in Reporters Without Borders’ 2020 World Press Freedom Index.
Over the past 10 years, the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban has taken control of most of the country’s press outlets either directly or indirectly.
Public television and radio stations and the state news agency came under government control in 2011.
In 2019, about 500 private media outlets were concentrated into the Central European Press and Media Foundation (KESMA), which has close ties to the Orban government.
RFE/RL’s original Hungarian Service, known as Szabad Europa Radio, operated from Munich during the Cold War and closed in 1993.
RFE/RL’s return to Hungary marks its third reentry in an EU member state. In 2019, it opened new bureaus in Bulgaria and Romania -- countries, like Hungary, where the broadcaster played a critical local role during the Cold War.


rferl--2020-09-07--Tsikhanouskaya Urges Belarus Sanctions In PACE Address

Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has called the situation in her country `` absolutely unacceptable '' and said embattled President Alyaksandr Lukashenka no longer represents Belarus .
In a virtual appearance before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ( PACE ) on September 8 , Tsikhanouskaya urged international pressure including sanctions on Lukashenka and his government .
She told the PACE representatives that a democratically elected government would not uphold treaties agreed with Lukashenka .
Tsikhanouskaya ran against Lukashenka in an August 9 election that the opposition says was rigged .
She fled to Lithuanian days later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been slated for arrest .
Unprecedented daily protests have continued , calling for Lukashenka to resign and a new election to be held .
Her PACE appearance comes just hours after Belarusian authorities said they had detained a Tsikhanouskaya ally after she and two other opposition organizers mysteriously appeared at a checkpoint on the Ukrainian border amid fears they had been abducted in Minsk a day earlier .
All three are part of a Coordination Council pressing for a transition away from Lukashenka 's 26-year rule .
PACE President Rik Daems recently called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” in Belarus to ensure a peaceful and democratic transition .
Belarus is not a member of the Council of Europe , but since its guest status was suspended in 1997 the assembly has continued to hold a dialogue with Belarusian authorities and frequently invites Belarusian politicians to attend its committee meetings .
Lukashenka has refused to hold talks with his opponents and rebuffed calls to hold a new election .
Tsikhanouskaya was quoted by Reuters as saying that the apparent abductions of oppostion Coordination Council members on September 7 looked like authorities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and intimidate the opposition .
Tsikhanouskaya is scheduled to visit Warsaw later this week to hold meetings with top Polish officials .
Lukashenka is doing his own travel , with plans to visit Russia “ within days , ” a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 7 .
Dmitry Peskov reportedly told TASS that `` preparations are in full swing.
” Opposition groups are also calling for the release of political prisoners and for an independent investigation of the police crackdown that swept up thousands in the days after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , AP , TASS , AFP , and Reuters

Exiled Belarus opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has called the situation in her country "absolutely unacceptable" and pleaded for international pressure to dislodge embattled President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who she said no longer represents Belarus.
In a virtual appearance before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on September 8, Tsikhanouskaya urged international pressure including sanctions on Lukashenka and his government.
"My country, my nation, my people now need help," she said. "We need international pressure on this regime, on this one individual desperately clinging on to power. We need sanctions on individuals who issue and execute criminal orders that violate international norms and human rights. We need an immediate release of all political prisoners and to start a civilized dialogue in order to find ways for our country to move forward."
She added an appeal on behalf of Belarusians currently being victimized by the mass detentions, beatings at the hands of security forces, and apparent forced disappearances.
"I refuse -- as millions of Belarusians -- to accept that this is the fate of my country. I refuse, as do millions of Belarusians, to accept that the world will simply stand and watch these countless abuses of human rights, this blatant disregard for human dignity, this complete annihilation of any basic respect for human decency. I refuse, like millions of Belarusians, to stand down and give up.”
Tsikhanouskaya told the PACE representatives that "countries and parties that make deals with Mr. Lukashenka do so at their own risk" and should not expect a subsequent, democratically elected government to uphold treaties "made against [Belarusians'] will by an illegitimate regime."
Tsikhanouskaya ran against Lukashenka in an August 9 election that the opposition says was rigged.
She fled to Lithuanian days later amid massive protests and rumors she had been slated for arrest.
Unprecedented daily protests have continued, calling for Lukashenka to resign and a new election to be held.
Her PACE appearance comes just hours after Belarusian authorities said they had detained a Tsikhanouskaya ally after she and two other opposition organizers mysteriously appeared at a checkpoint on the Ukrainian border amid fears they had been abducted in Minsk a day earlier.
All three are part of a Coordination Council pressing for a transition away from Lukashenka's 26-year rule.
PACE President Rik Daems recently called for “an all-inclusive national political process” in Belarus to ensure a peaceful and democratic transition.
Belarus is not a member of the Council of Europe, but since its guest status was suspended in 1997 the assembly has continued to hold a dialogue with Belarusian authorities and frequently invites Belarusian politicians to attend its committee meetings.
"It is symbolic that I speak today here at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, representing a country, Belarus, that is right at the geographic center of Europe. And yet I have to speak here as an outsider," Tsikhanouskaya said on September 8. "I firmly believe that this situation will not last long. The Belarusians are now fighting for the values that this organization is created to uphold -- the human rights, democracy, and the rule of law -- the very thing that the current regime in my country despises and mocks."
Lukashenka has refused to hold talks with his opponents and rebuffed calls to hold a new election.
Tsikhanouskaya was quoted by Reuters as saying that the apparent abductions of oppostion Coordination Council members on September 7 looked like authorities were trying to stamp out protest momentum and intimidate the opposition.
Tsikhanouskaya is scheduled to visit Warsaw later this week to hold meetings with top Polish officials.
Lukashenka is doing his own travel, with plans to visit Russia “within days,” a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 7. Dmitry Peskov reportedly told TASS that "preparations are in full swing.”
Opposition groups are also calling for the release of political prisoners and for an independent investigation of the police crackdown that swept up thousands in the days after the vote.
With reporting by Current Time, AP, TASS, AFP, and Reuters


rferl--2020-09-08--Senior Russian Energy Official Detained In Fraud Probe

MOSCOW -- Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Tikhonov has been detained in Moscow and questioned as a suspect in a @ @ @ @ @ on September 8 that Tikhonov would be held in custody pending the filing of charges @ @ @ @ @ , deputy general director of the state-company Russian Energy Agency , was also detained in @ @ @ @ @ reported that agents of the Federal Security Service conducted searches at the homes and offices @ @ @ @ @ as well as those of `` several '' other Energy Ministry employees .
An unidentified @ @ @ @ @ told MBKh Media that the alleged fraud was carried out under a state-subsidy program called @ @ @ @ @

MOSCOW -- Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Tikhonov has been detained in Moscow and questioned as a suspect in a fraud investigation.
Officials said on September 8 that Tikhonov would be held in custody pending the filing of charges against him.
Igor Kozhukhovsky, deputy general director of the state-company Russian Energy Agency, was also detained in the case.
Russian media reported that agents of the Federal Security Service conducted searches at the homes and offices of the two men, as well as those of "several" other Energy Ministry employees.
An unidentified source at the Investigative Committee told MBKh Media that the alleged fraud was carried out under a state-subsidy program called Energy Efficiency And Development.


rferl--2020-09-08--Pakistani Christian Sentenced To Death Over 'Blasphemous' Text Messages

A Pakistani court has sentenced a Christian man to death after convicting him of sending text messages containing `` blasphemous '' content .
Asif Pervaiz , 37 , was sentenced on September 8 after a trial in the eastern city of Lahore that had been running since 2013 .
He had been accused by the supervisor of the factory he was worked at of sending derogatory remarks about the Muslim Prophet Muhammad to him in text messages .
His lawyer said he would appeal the verdict with the Lahore High Court .
`` He has already spent seven years [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many more years he will have to wait till this is over ? ''
Saiful Malook asked .
Pervaiz has denied the allegations , telling the court during his trial that his supervisor made the accusation only after he had refused to convert to Islam , Malook said .
The complainant 's lawyer , Murtaza Chaudhry , denied Pervaiz 's allegation .
The court order said Pervaiz would first serve a three-year prison term for `` misusing '' his phone to send the text messages in question before being “ hanged by his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Reuters .
The man was also fined 50,000 Pakistani rupees ( $ 300 ) .
Insulting Islam is punishable by death in Pakistan , and the mere rumor of blasphemy can lead to lynching by mobs .
In July , a Pakistani-American man accused of committing blasphemy was shot dead inside a courtroom in the northwestern city of Peshawar .
Nearly 80 people were known to be imprisoned in the country on blasphemy charges , half of whom face life in prison or the death penalty , the U.S. Commission on International @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report released in April .
Earlier this month , the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan ( HRCP ) said police had filed blasphemy charges against at least 40 people over the last month .
Most of the charges were filed against Shi ’ as and related to speeches made at religious processions , it said .
With reporting by AFP , Reuters , and dpa

A Pakistani court has sentenced a Christian man to death after convicting him of sending text messages containing "blasphemous" content.
Asif Pervaiz, 37, was sentenced on September 8 after a trial in the eastern city of Lahore that had been running since 2013.
He had been accused by the supervisor of the factory he was worked at of sending derogatory remarks about the Muslim Prophet Muhammad to him in text messages.
His lawyer said he would appeal the verdict with the Lahore High Court.
"He has already spent seven years [in custody]. Who knows how many more years he will have to wait till this is over?" Saiful Malook asked.
Pervaiz has denied the allegations, telling the court during his trial that his supervisor made the accusation only after he had refused to convert to Islam, Malook said.
The complainant's lawyer, Murtaza Chaudhry, denied Pervaiz's allegation.
The court order said Pervaiz would first serve a three-year prison term for "misusing" his phone to send the text messages in question before being “hanged by his neck till his death," according to Reuters. The man was also fined 50,000 Pakistani rupees ($300).
Insulting Islam is punishable by death in Pakistan, and the mere rumor of blasphemy can lead to lynching by mobs.
In July, a Pakistani-American man accused of committing blasphemy was shot dead inside a courtroom in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Nearly 80 people were known to be imprisoned in the country on blasphemy charges, half of whom face life in prison or the death penalty, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its 2020 annual report released in April.
Earlier this month, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said police had filed blasphemy charges against at least 40 people over the last month.
Most of the charges were filed against Shi’as and related to speeches made at religious processions, it said.
With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and dpa


rferl--2020-09-08--G7 Ministers Urge Russia To Find Those Behind 'Abhorrent' Navalny Poisoning, UN Rights Chief Calls F

G7 Ministers Urge Russia To Find Those Behind 'Abhorrent' Navalny Poisoning, UN Rights Chief Calls For Probe

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations have condemned the `` confirmed poisoning '' of Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny , and demanded that Russia quickly find and prosecute those behind the `` abhorrent '' attack .
`` We , the G7 foreign ministers of Canada , France , Germany , Italy , Japan , the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union , are united in condemning , in the strongest possible terms , the confirmed poisoning '' of Navalny , they said in a joint statement released @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 8 .
The top diplomats from the major industrial democracies also called on Russia `` to urgently and fully establish transparency on who is responsible for this abhorrent poisoning attack and…to bring the perpetrators to justice . ''
Navalny , a 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner who has led nationwide protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin , was flown to Germany on August 22 , two days after falling ill on a flight in Siberia .
German experts say tests show that he was poisoned with a Soviet-style military-grade nerve agent from the Novichok group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ swiftly investigate the case .
Russian authorities have refused to open a criminal investigation , saying that no hard evidence of poisoning has been found .
The Kremlin has also vehemently denied allegations by Navalny ’ s team , his relatives , and others who believe that Russian authorities are behind the poisoning .
Navalny continues to be treated at Berlin ’ s Charite Hospital , which on September 7 said the Kremlin foe had been removed from his medically induced coma and that he was responding to verbal stimuli .
However , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning . ''
Germany briefed the G7 , which the United States is chairing this year , on its determination that Navalny `` is the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve-agent of the 'Novichok ' group , a substance developed by Russia , '' the G7 statement said .
`` Any use of chemical weapons , anywhere , anytime , by anybody , under any circumstances whatsoever , is unacceptable and contravenes the international norms prohibiting the use of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The G7 ministers said that they will “ continue to monitor closely how Russia responds to international calls for an explanation of the hideous poisoning . ''
The statement came on the same day as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights called for for the Russian government to `` fully investigate '' the poisoning of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny , calling the incident an `` assassination attempt . ''
In her September 8 statement , High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet said that German specialists have `` unequivocal proof '' that Navalny was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flying from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow .
`` Navalny was clearly someone who needed state protection even if he was a political thorn in the side of the government , '' Bachelet said , noting that Navalny had been repeatedly harassed and attacked for years before the August 20 poisoning .
`` It is not good enough to simply deny he was poisoned…It is incumbent on the Russian authorities to fully investigate who was responsible for this crime -- a very serious crime that was committed on Russian soil , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numerous `` current or former Russian citizens '' had been targeted for assassination by poison or other means both within Russia and abroad , saying it was `` profoundly disturbing . ''
Among the Kremlin opponents who have been killed or targeted in recent years are investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya , former Russian security officer Aleksandr Litvinenko , former Russian Deputy Prime Minister and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov , and former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal , among others .
Skripal and his daughter , Yulia , were poisoned by Novichok in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and British investigators have implicated Russian security agencies .
Germany ’ s minister for Europe , Michael Roth , said on September 8 that Berlin was looking at `` the entire set of instruments '' in deciding how to respond to Navalny 's poisoning .
Chancellor Angela Merkel has said `` only Russia can and must answer '' questions about the case .
In the United States , the top Democrat and the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are calling for a formal U.S. investigation into whether “ Russia has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law or has used lethal chemical weapons against its own nationals ” — a request they say triggers a required 60-day evaluation period under the 1991 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act .
In a letter on September 8 , Eliot Engel ( New York ) , the Democratic chairman of the committee , and Michael McCaul ( Texas ) , the panel ’ s ranking member , urged President Donald Trump to enact additional sanctions on Russia if “ the Russian government is once again determined to have used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own nationals.
” The White House last week described Navalny ’ s poisoning “ completely reprehensible ” and said Washington was working with the international community to `` hold those in Russia accountable.
” Meanwhile , the German Embassy in Moscow told the Russian news agency TASS on September 8 that that the German ambassador would `` take part in a discussion '' at the Russian Foreign Ministry the next day .
The chief toxicologist of the Omsk region , where Navalny was treated after his flight to Moscow made an emergency landing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on September 8 that `` there wasn ’ t a single indication of poisoning '' in the Navalny case .
Aleksandr Sabayev called the German diagnosis `` just a fanciful assumption…with no documented or clinical proof . ''
With reporting by TASS , AP , Reuters , and AFP

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations have condemned the "confirmed poisoning" of Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, and demanded that Russia quickly find and prosecute those behind the "abhorrent" attack.
"We, the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in condemning, in the strongest possible terms, the confirmed poisoning" of Navalny, they said in a joint statement released by the U.S. State Department on September 8.
The top diplomats from the major industrial democracies also called on Russia "to urgently and fully establish transparency on who is responsible for this abhorrent poisoning attack and…to bring the perpetrators to justice."
Navalny, a 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner who has led nationwide protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin, was flown to Germany on August 22, two days after falling ill on a flight in Siberia.
German experts say tests show that he was poisoned with a Soviet-style military-grade nerve agent from the Novichok group, prompting international calls on Russia to swiftly investigate the case.
Russian authorities have refused to open a criminal investigation, saying that no hard evidence of poisoning has been found.
The Kremlin has also vehemently denied allegations by Navalny’s team, his relatives, and others who believe that Russian authorities are behind the poisoning.
Navalny continues to be treated at Berlin’s Charite Hospital, which on September 7 said the Kremlin foe had been removed from his medically induced coma and that he was responding to verbal stimuli.
However, the hospital also said that it remains "too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning."
Germany briefed the G7, which the United States is chairing this year, on its determination that Navalny "is the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve-agent of the 'Novichok' group, a substance developed by Russia," the G7 statement said.
"Any use of chemical weapons, anywhere, anytime, by anybody, under any circumstances whatsoever, is unacceptable and contravenes the international norms prohibiting the use of such weapons," it added.
The G7 ministers said that they will “continue to monitor closely how Russia responds to international calls for an explanation of the hideous poisoning."
The statement came on the same day as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights called for for the Russian government to "fully investigate" the poisoning of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, calling the incident an "assassination attempt."
In her September 8 statement, High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet said that German specialists have "unequivocal proof" that Navalny was poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent while flying from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow.
"Navalny was clearly someone who needed state protection even if he was a political thorn in the side of the government," Bachelet said, noting that Navalny had been repeatedly harassed and attacked for years before the August 20 poisoning.
"It is not good enough to simply deny he was poisoned…It is incumbent on the Russian authorities to fully investigate who was responsible for this crime -- a very serious crime that was committed on Russian soil," she said.
Bachelet added that numerous "current or former Russian citizens" had been targeted for assassination by poison or other means both within Russia and abroad, saying it was "profoundly disturbing."
Among the Kremlin opponents who have been killed or targeted in recent years are investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, former Russian security officer Aleksandr Litvinenko, former Russian Deputy Prime Minister and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, and former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, among others.
Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned by Novichok in the British city of Salisbury in 2018, and British investigators have implicated Russian security agencies.
Germany’s minister for Europe, Michael Roth, said on September 8 that Berlin was looking at "the entire set of instruments" in deciding how to respond to Navalny's poisoning.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has said "only Russia can and must answer" questions about the case.
In the United States, the top Democrat and the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are calling for a formal U.S. investigation into whether “Russia has used chemical weapons in violation of international law or has used lethal chemical weapons against its own nationals” — a request they say triggers a required 60-day evaluation period under the 1991 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act.
In a letter on September 8, Eliot Engel (New York), the Democratic chairman of the committee, and Michael McCaul (Texas), the panel’s ranking member, urged President Donald Trump to enact additional sanctions on Russia if “the Russian government is once again determined to have used a chemical weapon against one of its own nationals.”
The White House last week described Navalny’s poisoning “completely reprehensible” and said Washington was working with the international community to "hold those in Russia accountable.”
Meanwhile, the German Embassy in Moscow told the Russian news agency TASS on September 8 that that the German ambassador would "take part in a discussion" at the Russian Foreign Ministry the next day.
The chief toxicologist of the Omsk region, where Navalny was treated after his flight to Moscow made an emergency landing in the city of Omsk, said on September 8 that "there wasn’t a single indication of poisoning" in the Navalny case.
Aleksandr Sabayev called the German diagnosis "just a fanciful assumption…with no documented or clinical proof."
With reporting by TASS, AP, Reuters, and AFP


rferl--2020-09-08--Watchdog Denounces Growing 'Persecution' Of Journalists In Iran

Reporters Without Borders ( RSF ) is urging the UN Human Rights Council to take measures to defend Iranian journalists and citizen-journalists who are being `` censored , threatened , detained arbitrarily , mistreated and sometimes tortured '' for their journalistic activities .
In a statement on September 8 , the Paris-based media freedom watchdog said at least five journalists have been targeted in the latest crackdown on the media in Iran , weeks after the Human Rights Council published a damning report on the situation of human rights , including the freedom to inform , in the country .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iranian government has resulted in an increase in the persecution of journalists , '' said Reza Moini , the head of RSF 's Iran-Afghanistan desk .
The latest victims of the authorities ' crackdown on the media include Mohammad Mosaed , a freelance economic reporter who was sentenced last month to four years and nine months in prison for `` distorting reality , '' among other charges .
Mosaed was also banned from conducting journalism activities and from using all communications devices for two years .
He was first detained in November 2019 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on social media during an Internet shutdown implemented by the government amid widespread protests over high gas prices .
RSF also cited the case of Kosar Karimi , a reporter for the semiofficial Mehr news agency who was arrested in August for covering a protest in a village near the southern city of Ahvaz , according to RSF .
Karimi was released on bail , but , according to RSF , the vice president of the Islamic Development Organization , which runs Mehr , said that `` an official threatened to have the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get this journalist to stop covering these events . ''
It said freelance journalist Babak Tahmasebi was meanwhile notified that a court in Ahvaz had confirmed his sentence of two years in prison and 74 lashes for publishing `` false news '' and `` defamation . ''
The case was the result of a lawsuit by the National Iranian Drilling Company ( NIDC ) related to an article about worsening conditions for its workers .
Amirreza Amir Taimouri , a reporter for the popular Tabnak news website , was summoned for questioning by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Kerman following a complaint by a local parliamentarian accusing him of `` publishing false information with the aim of upsetting public opinion , '' RSF said , adding that he was released on bail pending trial .
And in the northeastern province of Golestan , a court sentenced freelance journalist Aman Mohammad Khojamli to pay a fine for `` publishing false information . ''
He said he had been convicted for articles about the country 's economic crisis .
The arrests and sentencings came after the UN special rapporteur on the situation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rehman , said in a July report that the country 's authorities `` continued to target journalists for critical and independent reporting , with a detrimental effect on access to information . ''
Iran is ranked 173rd out of 180 countries in RSF 's 2020 World Press Freedom Index .

A polytechnic school in Russia’s Tatarstan, a region some 900 kilometers east of Moscow, is using manufacturing facilities that are part of a nearby special economic zone to assemble Iranian attack drones and are increasingly turning to underage students as laborers, many of whom often work in exploitative conditions.
The revelations at Alabuga Polytechnic University raise troubling implications about the lengths that Russian authorities are going to in order to boost the war effort and how the advanced Iranian weaponry -- which is increasingly used to bombard Ukrainian cities and has only recently begun to be manufactured inside Russia -- could contribute to escalating tensions and rising civilian casualties.
The use of underage students as drone factory workers and the details of the manufacturing facilities were first reported by Russian independent media outlets Protokol and Razvorot, which published a series of investigations in July.
Since then, RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities has spoken with students who describe grueling working conditions and interviewed dozens of parents whose children have been enrolled at Alabuga Polytechnic University -- some as young at 15 -- who say that their children were forced to work exceedingly long hours, often without proper breaks or meals, and under hostile conditions that have deeply affected their mental health.
“My son enrolled and 2 1/2 months later he called for me to take him away,” Zhanna, who asked to be identified only by her first name to protect against reprisals for speaking about the operation, told RFE/RL. “He said to me on the phone, ‘Come and get me or I’ll die,’ so I picked him up immediately.”
Zhanna, who asked that her underage son’s name also not be used, says that she sent him from Nizhny Novgorod to study at Alabuga Polytechnic University in 2022 because of its reputation as a leading technical institution inside Russia.
The school offered students -- often between the ages of 15-18 -- an opportunity to get vocational training as part of a dual program that combines a classroom education with practical work experience. Students were also promised an opportunity to work and earn a locally competitive salary of up to 70,000 rubles ($700) a month as part of the work experience program that could further their career growth.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
But, instead, those enrolled were encouraged and in some cases pressured into working at the drone facility, where the salaries of the mostly underage laborers are contingent on meeting tough production quotas.
“This is a textbook definition of what constitutes exploitation,” Sergei Podsytnik, an investigative journalist at Protokol who worked on the series of reports, told RFE/RL. “[Students] assemble drones, with the work taking priority over their studies.”
The pressure to fulfill these quotas has allegedly led to strenuous back-to-back days -- with some shifts lasting up to 15 hours -- with little time for sleep or adequate sustenance. Overtime work is often unpaid, further highlighting potential labor violations. Exhausted students also reported not always meeting their quotas, which led to them not earning the salary initially promised by the school. Many students came from disadvantaged backgrounds and relied on their earnings to cover costs for tuition, room, and board and would send the remainder home.
Other parents, such as Marina, said she decided to take her daughter out of the program when she discovered that she was working in apparent unsafe conditions and that staff from the school had instructed students not to tell their parents about the drone assembly work.
“This was the last straw for me,” Marina, who also asked for her identity to be concealed, told RFE/RL. “This is a dangerous production process that involves dangerous chemicals. They also forbid the kids from telling everything to their parents.”
RFE/RL sent multiple requests for comment to various staff and administrators at Alabuga Polytechnic University but received no replies.
Making Iranian Drones In Russia
The complicated and concerning dynamic at Alabuga Polytechnic University stems from growing military cooperation between Iran and Russia that has accelerated since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Iran has said it provided drones to Russia before the start of the war, but not since. However, U.S. intelligence officials have warned for months of continued deliveries and deepening cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, saying the two sides were exploring how to set up a manufacturing plant for Iranian drones inside Russia.
According to The Wall Street Journal, an Iranian delegation visited Yelabuga in Tatarstan on January 5, touring a potential site for such a factory at the Alabuga special economic zone close to Alabuga Polytechnic University. U.S. officials released satellite images in April of the plant being built.
Russia already possesses an array of unarmed aerial vehicles, or UAVs, which are used mainly for surveillance and artillery spotting, but has turned increasingly to Tehran for attack drones.
After being forced to abandon Ukrainian territory that its troops captured in the early stretches of the war, Moscow shifted to a strategy of relentless air assaults on Ukrainian cities. These attacks often rely on a combination of cruise missiles and self-detonating drones packed with explosives to knock out electricity and running water for the civilian population in Ukraine.
So far, Iran has provided Russia mostly with so-called "suicide" drones, known as the Shahed-136, that contain a modest amount of explosives that can detonate when the drones crash into targets, military experts say.
In acquiring its own domestic assembly line, Russia could dramatically increase its stockpile of the relatively inexpensive but highly destructive weapons systems.
WATCH: Russia has resorted to using Shahed-136 drones from Iran in its war on Ukraine. Ukraine says it's already downed many of the drones, which work by slamming into their intended target, laden with explosives. Ordinary Ukrainians say they can already recognize the sound of the drones, which use two-stroke engines like lawnmowers or motorbikes. Iran has denied supplying the drones to Russia.
The arrangement also offers substantial economic and political benefits for Iran, which has sought to portray itself as neutral in the Ukraine war. The appearance of Iranian-made drones over Ukrainian cities, however, has triggered threats of new economic sanctions from the West. The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have also all issued rules in recent months designed to cut off the flow of drone components to Russia and Iran.
The Washington Post reported in November 2022, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, that the agreement to deliver Iranian drone schematics and materials for manufacture in Russia resulted from Iranian leaders believing that the arrangement would allow Tehran to avert new sanctions.
Foreign Recruitment And Patriotic Education
Alabuga Polytechnic University is formally not a college. All of its students are officially enrolled at nearby Yelabuga Polytechnic College, with the Alabuga institution existing on paper as a specialized program for students looking to break into high-tech industries.
Currently, about 1,000 students are studying at Alabuga Polytechnic University, with several hundred of them -- most of whom are between the ages of 15 and 17 -- involved in assembling the Iranian drones.
In addition to the work on the drones, there are other signs that point to blurred lines in Russia between the education system and the country’s military amid the war in Ukraine.
According to current and former Alabuga Polytechnic University students, team-building and organized extracurricular activities through the school often take on a “patriotic” character that may be designed to expose students to official government narratives of international events or echo talking points from state television.
Organized paintball games have become a mainstay for students, especially first-year arrivals, in which they are encouraged to compete against one another and then play together against more experienced outside players. Teachers and administration officials regularly refer to paintball as being part of a “patriotic” education needed to complement the technical aspect of their studies.
In one instance, a group of new students competed in paintball as Soviet soldiers against outside players who were dressed as troops from Nazi Germany in a capture-the-flag competition meant to simulate the World War II battle of Stalingrad. According to one student, the Nazi flag contained the compass symbol used by the NATO military alliance instead of the swastika used by Nazi Germany.
Other instances of political teachings from staff are more direct. In a recording obtained by RFE/RL from June 16, a senior administrator can be heard telling the teenagers that NATO launched a hybrid war against Russia back in 2011 and that it has slowly become more overt. The man then goes on to tell students that their hard work and exceeding long days at the drone factory are part of a nationwide struggle against the West and that their patriotism will be rewarded.
Several students and parents identified the man in the recording as Timur Shagivaleev, the director-general of the special economic zone where Alabuga Polytechnic University and the drone factory operate.
Shagivaleev did not respond to RFE/RL’s request for comment.
The man in the recording then goes on to tell students not to take holidays and to continue working “even if it's mom's birthday,” before ending his speech with, “Long live our great country.”
WATCH: Amid a new wave of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine, analysts in Kyiv are gaining useful intelligence from a collection of downed Russian aerial weapons. They have been studying the remains of Iranian Shahed drones and Russian Kinzhal missiles, among others.
Multiple current and former students told RFE/RL that students who work in the drone factory are often praised by staff, while those who have refused or asked to be reassigned due to the high workload are often publicly shamed. In some instances -- according to recordings heard by RFE/RL -- staff even encourage students to bully others who are not deemed “patriotic” enough.
According to Protokol and Razvorot’s investigations, Alabuga Polytechnic University has also turned toward recruiting foreign students to enroll. The majority of them come from African countries, but also from Central Asia and Azerbaijan, where they are promised “world class” salaries as part of the dual-track world experience program.
However, these foreign students are then given low-skill and menial tasks around the campus and the special economic zone, such as janitorial work, and are also paid lower salaries than initially promised.
Written by Reid Standish based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities


rferl--2020-09-08--New Building Started 'In The Heart Of The Mountain' Near Uranium-Enrichment Facility In Iran

Iran says it has begun to build an underground hall near the country ’ s main uranium-enrichment center in Natanz in the wake of a July explosion that badly damaged a building housing centrifuges .
`` It was decided to establish a more modern , wider , and more comprehensive hall in all dimensions in the heart of the mountain near Natanz , '' the head of Iran 's Atomic Energy Organization , Ali Akbar Salehi , said on September 8 , according to state TV .
`` Of course , the work has begun , '' he added .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Natanz facility , located some 250 kilometers south of Tehran , was the result of sabotage and that it could slow the development of advanced uranium-enrichment centrifuges .
An image released in the aftermath of the incident and satellite images released abroad showed significant damage at a building where centrifuges were assembled .
Iran has said it had found those who were involved in the alleged sabotage but that details of the issue would be released at a later date .
Some analysts have suggested that Israel or the United States could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a shadow war aimed at setting back Tehran 's nuclear program .
Inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog have been visiting Natanz , which includes underground facilities , to monitor uranium-enrichment activities since Tehran and world powers signed a nuclear agreement in 2015 .
Iran resumed uranium enrichment at Natanz in September 2019 in response to the United States withdrawing from the international nuclear deal that gave Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program .
Earlier this month , the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uranium continues to increase and now stands at more than 10 times the limit set down in the 2015 nuclear deal .


rferl--2020-09-08--U.K.-Iranian Zaghari-Ratcliffe Faces New Charge In Tehran

Iran 's state television is reporting that jailed British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is facing a new charge .
Citing an unnamed official , the report said that Zaghari-Ratcliffe was summoned on September 8 by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran and informed about the new indictment .
The report did not provide further details , and Zaghari-Ratcliffe ’ s lawyer has not immediately commented .
But her local member of parliament in London , Tulip Siddiq , tweeted that she could `` confirm that she was taken to court this morning and told she will face another trial '' on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Thomson Reuters Foundation , Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in April 2016 at a Tehran airport as she headed back to Britain with her daughter following a family visit .
She was sentenced to prison after being convicted of plotting to overthrow Iran ’ s clerical establishment following what Amnesty International called a `` deeply unfair trial . ''
In March , Zaghari-Ratcliffe was granted temporary release from Tehran ’ s Evin prison due to the coronavirus pandemic but she was barred from leaving the country .
Britain has demanded her release and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Tehran does not recognize dual citizenship .
Thomson Reuters Foundation CEO Antonio Zappulla condemned the new charge , saying it would prolong Zaghari-Ratcliffe ’ s `` inhumane and unjust ordeal . ''
Britain 's Foreign Office called Iran 's action `` indefensible and unacceptable . ''
`` We have been consistently clear that she must not be returned to prison , '' a spokesperson said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters .
The new indictment against Zaghari-Ratcliffe comes as London and Tehran negotiate the release of hundreds of millions of dollars frozen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Tehran more than 40 years ago for Chieftain tanks .
After the late Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown in 1979 , Britain refused to deliver the tanks to the new Islamic Republic but kept the money .
Officials in London and Tehran have denied that Zaghari-Ratcliffe 's case is linked to a repayment deal .
However , the British daily The Guardian reported last week that Defense Minister Ben Wallace had acknowledged he was `` actively '' seeking to repay a debt to Iran to secure the release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believed to owe as much as $ 530 million to the Iranian government arising from the Chieftain contract .
With reporting by AP , AFP , and Reuters


rferl--2020-09-08--Another Jehovah's Witness Jailed In Turkmenistan For Conscientious Objection To Military Service

A court in Turkmenistan has sentenced a Jehovah 's Witness to one year in prison for his objection to military service .
A spokesman for the religious group , Jarrod Lopes , told RFE/RL on September 8 that the Vekilbazar District Court in the southeastern region of Mary on September 3 found 18-year-old Myrat Orazgeldyev guilty of avoiding mandatory military service .
According to the group , Turkmen authorities have imprisoned 25 Jehovah ’ s Witnesses for their conscientious objection to military service , of whom 11 are currently in prison .
`` It is a shame that Turkmenistan continues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Young Christians like Myrat would be happy to perform alternative service .
Instead , they are thrown into prison , where they are stripped of the opportunity to support the families and community they love , '' Lopes said in a statement .
Lopes also cited Rachel Denber , deputy director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch , as urging Turkmen authorities to `` immediately free '' Myrat Orazgeldyev `` and vacate the criminal case against him . ''
`` Turkmenistan should , in line with recommendations by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offer alternative civilian service to people who , for reasons of conscience , can not serve in the military .
The authorities should also release the other Jehovah ’ s Witnesses in custody for exercising their right to freedom of conscience , ” Denber was cited .
Turkmenistan 's laws oblige all men between 18-27 years of age to serve in the armed forces for two years .
Failing to serve is punishable by up to two years in prison .

A court in Turkmenistan has sentenced a Jehovah's Witness to one year in prison for his objection to military service.
A spokesman for the religious group, Jarrod Lopes, told RFE/RL on September 8 that the Vekilbazar District Court in the southeastern region of Mary on September 3 found 18-year-old Myrat Orazgeldyev guilty of avoiding mandatory military service.
According to the group, Turkmen authorities have imprisoned 25 Jehovah’s Witnesses for their conscientious objection to military service, of whom 11 are currently in prison.
"It is a shame that Turkmenistan continues to mistreat peaceful young Christian men. Young Christians like Myrat would be happy to perform alternative service. Instead, they are thrown into prison, where they are stripped of the opportunity to support the families and community they love," Lopes said in a statement.
Lopes also cited Rachel Denber, deputy director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, as urging Turkmen authorities to "immediately free" Myrat Orazgeldyev "and vacate the criminal case against him."
"Turkmenistan should, in line with recommendations by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, offer alternative civilian service to people who, for reasons of conscience, cannot serve in the military. The authorities should also release the other Jehovah’s Witnesses in custody for exercising their right to freedom of conscience,” Denber was cited.
Turkmenistan's laws oblige all men between 18-27 years of age to serve in the armed forces for two years. Failing to serve is punishable by up to two years in prison.


rferl--2020-09-08--Assailants Use Unknown Chemical Liquid Attacking Navalny's Team In Novosibirsk

NOVOSIBIRSK , Russia -- Two attackers threw a glass jar with an unknown chemical liquid into an office housing the independent political coalition supported by opposition politician Aleksei Navalny 's team in Russia 's third-largest city , Novosibirsk .
The jar broke and the room , filled with dozens of people on September 8 , was quickly filled with a sharp , acidic smell .
The room was cleared immediately , but two people felt sick and an ambulance was called , Yelena Noskovets , a member of Navalny 's team in the city , told RFE/RL and Current Time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Navalny 's group was giving a lecture to staff and volunteers on how to monitor general elections scheduled for September 13 .
A coordinator for Navalny 's team and a member of the coalition , Sergei Boiko , warned the attack `` will not save the [ ruling ] United Russia [ party ] anyway . ''
Police are investigating the attack .
Navalny 's associates have been on edge in recent weeks after the opposition figure fell sick during a trip to Siberia in late August .
The plane he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emergency landing in the Siberian city of Omsk , where Navalny was rushed to hospital .
He was later transferred to Berlin for treatment and on September 2 , Germany said that toxicology tests provided `` unequivocal evidence '' that the gravely ill Kremlin-critic had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent .
The 44-year-old politician continues to be treated at the Charite Hospital in the German capital .
His relatives and colleagues say Russian authorities were behind his poisoning , which the Kremlin has vehemently denied .
On September 13 , Russians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and local lawmakers .
Opposition parties in Novosibirsk have united into the Novosibirsk 2020 coalition to challenge the ruling United Russia party .
Navalny 's Smart Voting campaign has supported opposition and independent candidates across the country .
Navalny 's close associates , Lyubov Sobol and Leonid Volkov said to RFE/RL earlier in separate interviews that one of the most likely reasons for Navalny 's poisoning was his Smart Voting initiative , which the Kremlin has started to consider as a serious political challenge .

NOVOSIBIRSK, Russia -- Two attackers threw a glass jar with an unknown chemical liquid into an office housing the independent political coalition supported by opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's team in Russia's third-largest city, Novosibirsk.
The jar broke and the room, filled with dozens of people on September 8, was quickly filled with a sharp, acidic smell. The room was cleared immediately, but two people felt sick and an ambulance was called, Yelena Noskovets, a member of Navalny's team in the city, told RFE/RL and Current Time.
Noskovets added that the attack came as Navalny's group was giving a lecture to staff and volunteers on how to monitor regional elections scheduled for September 13.
A coordinator for Navalny's team and a member of the coalition, Sergei Boiko, warned the attack "will not save the [ruling] United Russia [party] anyway."
Police are investigating the attack.
Navalny's associates have been on edge in recent weeks after the opposition figure fell sick during a trip to Siberia in late August. The plane he was travelling on was forced to make an emergency landing in the Siberian city of Omsk, where Navalny was rushed to hospital.
He was later transferred to Berlin for treatment and on September 2, Germany said that toxicology tests provided "unequivocal evidence" that the gravely ill Kremlin-critic had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent.
The 44-year-old politician continues to be treated at the Charite Hospital in the German capital. His relatives and colleagues say Russian authorities were behind his poisoning, which the Kremlin has vehemently denied.
On September 13, Russians will vote for governors of 20 regions and local lawmakers. Opposition parties in Novosibirsk have united into the Novosibirsk 2020 coalition to challenge the ruling United Russia party.
Navalny's Smart Voting campaign has supported opposition and independent candidates across the country.
Navalny's close associates, Lyubov Sobol and Leonid Volkov said to RFE/RL earlier in separate interviews that one of the most likely reasons for Navalny's poisoning was his Smart Voting initiative, which the Kremlin has started to consider as a serious political challenge.


rferl--2020-09-08--Iranian Anti-Hijab Activist Released Hours After Being Detained By Turkish Police

An Iranian anti-Hijab activist living in Turkey has been released hours after being detained by the Turkish police amid concerns that she could be deported back to Iran .
Mariam Shariatmadari , who was detained in Tehran in February 2018 and later sentenced to one year in prison for removing her scarf in public , said on Instagram on September 7 that she was held by Turkish police `` for no reason '' in the southwestern city of Denizli , and that she could be deported along with several others .
She called on her supporters to spread the news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she was reported to have been released .
Turkey-based lawyer Mousa Barzin , who had spoken to Shariatmadari while she was in detention , told RFE/RL 's Radio Farda that she had lived in Turkey on a tourist visa for a year and that about 7 months ago , after the expiry of her visa , she had asked for asylum .
`` It ’ s not clear whether her asylum request has been reviewed or rejected but the reason why she has been put under supervision is her illegal stay in Turkey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 8 telephone interview .
Shariatmadari was among dozens of Iranian women who publicly protested the compulsory hijab in 2018 by removing their headscarves in public .
They became known as the `` Girls of Revolution Street '' with authorities accusing them of `` encouraging corruption '' by removing their hijab .
Shariatmadari was reportedly injured after police pushed her off a utility box in the Iranian capital where she was waving her headscarf to protest the hijab rule , which requires women to cover their hair and body in public .
A video @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went viral .
The hijab rule became mandatory after the 1979 revolution and the implementation of Islamic law .


rferl--2020-09-08--Ministry Says First Batch Of Russian COVID-19 Vaccine Released For Distribution

MOSCOW -- Russia 's Health Ministry says the first batch of the country 's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine has been released for civil distribution .
The ministry said on September 8 that the first batch of the vaccine , developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology , passed all necessary quality tests and shipments to regions around Russia will begin in the near future .
The ministry also said that a mass , countrywide COVID-19 vaccination campaign will begin next month following post-registration tests .
Despite a lack of published data , Russia approved the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
President Vladimir Putin said at the time of the announcement that the vaccine provided `` sustainable immunity '' and that one of his own daughters had been inoculated .
This raised concerns among some scientists that Russia was rushing to use a vaccine without going through the rigorous scientific tests normally conducted on such medicines .
Pharmaceutical companies have called for postponing the new vaccine 's registration until the completion of a third phase of clinical trials .
More than half of the doctors surveyed by the polling agency Doctor 's Manual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine .
On August 15 , the Gamaleya center and Binnopharm pharmaceutical company started producing the vaccine .
Russian authorities have said that they expect the number of vaccines needed to cover Russia 's entire population will have been produced within one year .
Russia has recorded just over 1 million cases of the coronavirus , with almost 18,000 deaths .

MOSCOW -- Russia's Health Ministry says the first batch of the country's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine has been released for civil distribution.
The ministry said on September 8 that the first batch of the vaccine, developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, passed all necessary quality tests and shipments to regions around Russia will begin in the near future.
The ministry also said that a mass, countrywide COVID-19 vaccination campaign will begin next month following post-registration tests.
Despite a lack of published data, Russia approved the vaccine for domestic use on August 11. President Vladimir Putin said at the time of the announcement that the vaccine provided "sustainable immunity" and that one of his own daughters had been inoculated.
This raised concerns among some scientists that Russia was rushing to use a vaccine without going through the rigorous scientific tests normally conducted on such medicines.
Pharmaceutical companies have called for postponing the new vaccine's registration until the completion of a third phase of clinical trials. More than half of the doctors surveyed by the polling agency Doctor's Manual said they did not trust the new vaccine.
On August 15, the Gamaleya center and Binnopharm pharmaceutical company started producing the vaccine.
Russian authorities have said that they expect the number of vaccines needed to cover Russia's entire population will have been produced within one year.
Russia has recorded just over 1 million cases of the coronavirus, with almost 18,000 deaths.


rferl--2020-09-08--Lukashenka Says He 'Maybe Overstayed A Bit' Amid Outrage Over Missing Foe's 'Detention' At Border

MINSK -- Embattled Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenko has reportedly acknowledged on Russian television that he `` maybe overstayed a bit '' as anger mounts over the disappearance and subsequent detention of a leading opposition organizer on September 8 .
Belarusian border officials said they detained Maryya Kalesnikava at the border with Ukraine after a full day of Belarusian and international calls mount for answers from Minsk on her suspected abduction and other disappearances of influential Lukashenka critics .
The deputy interior minister of neighboring Ukraine called the circumstances of Maryya Kalesnikava 's detention an attempt at a `` forcible expulsion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Belarusian opposition , '' after weeks of massive anti-government demonstrations .
In the evening of September 8 , dozens of people were detained by security forces during a spontaneous march in Minsk .
Several hundred people gathered in the city center in the early evening in a `` march to support the repressed . ''
RFE/RL 's Belarus Service reported that police were detaining both male and female marchers , sometimes violently .
Marchers carried banners supporting Kalesnikava , calling her `` our hero . ''
Kalesnikava reportedly arrived at the Alyaksandrauka @ @ @ @ @ @ @ September 8 in a car with two other opposition organizers who went missing the previous day , council press secretary Anton Randyonkau and executive secretary Ivan Krautsou .
Speaking to journalists in Kyiv , Randyonkau said Kalesnikava tore up her passport and escaped from the car in which the three were being expelled .
She returned to the Belarusian side of the border on foot and was taken into custody , he said .
All three are key figures on the Coordination Council that has pressed for a peaceful transition of power since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of an August 9 vote they say was fraudulent , and colleagues raised alarm bells when they went missing on September 7 .
Meanwhile , the embattled Lukashenka -- who has led the country for 26 years -- was quoted by Russian media as vowing once again that he wo n't step down .
But he appeared to acknowledge that he might have been in power too long .
`` Yes , maybe I overstayed a bit , '' Lukashenka was quoted as saying .
He reportedly repeated his suggestion that a new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are effected -- an offer that opposition leaders suggest is a delaying tactic to quell the mass demonstrations .
Lukashenka also said during the interview that he and `` the Russian establishment '' had concluded that `` if Belarus collapses today , Russia will be next . ''
He said he calls Russian President Vladimir Putin his `` older brother '' and blamed the United States and the Telegram messaging service for Belarus 's unrest .
`` How are you [ Russians ] going to counteract the Telegram channels ? ''
he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of blocking these Telegram channels ?
No one does , even those who came up with this whole spider web -- the Americans .
You see what is happening there .
And Telegram channels are playing the leading role there . ''
Belarusian State Border Committee representative Anton Bychkouski initially said that Kalesnikava , Randyonkau , and Krautsou had all left the country early on September 8 .
But Belarusian state television later quoted Bychkouski as saying that Kalesnikava , a Coordination Council presidium member , was detained trying to cross the border @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ukraine 's State Border Service later confirmed that Kalesnikava did not enter the country but that Randyonkau and Krautsou had arrived and were being processed .
Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko appeared to confirm that version of events in a Facebook post describing the Belarusians ' arrival at the checkpoint as `` a forcible expulsion from a native country with the aim of compromising the Belarusian opposition . ''
Herashchenko said Kalesnikava `` was unable to be removed from Belarus because this brave woman took action to prevent her movement across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's regime of trying `` to present everything as if opposition leaders [ were ] throwing hundreds of thousands of protesters against Lukashenka 's regime and fleeing to cozy Ukraine . ''
He added of the Belarusian oppositionists ' appearance at the border : `` It was n't a voluntary trip ! ''
Lukashenka 's exiled opposition challenger in last month 's election , Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , issued a call for Kalesnikava 's immediate release .
`` Maryya Kalesnikava must be released immediately , as well as all previously apprehended members of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coordination Council 's goal is to be a negotiating platform , '' Tsikhanouskaya said , according to her press service .
A member of the council 's leadership , Paval Latushka , said that `` the government did n't achieve its goal . ''
`` The Coordination Council has not lost its morale , it continues to work , '' he added .
An eyewitness reported seeing Kalesnikava swept up by unidentified men from the street and into a minivan in downtown Minsk on September 7 .
Acquaintances said contact was lost soon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disappearances elicited accusations by the European Union that the embattled Belarusian regime was using kidnapping and intimidation to quash more than four weeks of unprecedented protests .
Thousands of people have been arrested , journalists have been harassed and expelled , and clips have emerged of Lukashenka 's security services brutally abusing detainees .
An unnamed senior official in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States was `` extremely concerned by continued human rights violations '' in Belarus .
The official said the forced expulsion of opposition figures is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using in its attempts to deny freedom of speech . ''
Germany , which currently holds the rotating EU Presidency , has demanded information on those who went missing and the release of political prisoners .
`` We demand clarity on the whereabouts and the release of all political prisoners in Belarus , '' German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the Bild daily in statements published on September 8 .
`` The continued arrests and repression , including and in particular against members of the Coordination Council , are unacceptable , '' Maas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a statement saying `` France strongly condemns the arbitrary arrests and practice of forcing into exile several members of the Coordination Council , as well as numerous demonstrators in recent days . ''
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also condemned the `` detentions and abductions '' of opposition figures .
Members of the Coordination Council and its decision-making presidium have been summoned by police and in some cases sentenced to jail .
An eyewitness reported seeing Kalesnikava swept up by unidentified men from the street and into a minivan in downtown Minsk on September @ @ @ @ @ @ @ soon afterward with Randyonkau and Krautsou .
The opposition 's leading hope in last month 's election was political novice Tsikhanouskaya , who fled into exile in Lithuania days after the vote .
Tsikhanouskaya appeared before a virtual meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ( PACE ) 's Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy on September 8 during an exchange of views on the situation in Belarus .
She is also scheduled to visit Warsaw this week to hold meetings with top Polish officials .
The chairman of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Andrey Savinykh , suggested to the same PACE meeting that Poland was behind the anti-Lukashanka protests .
`` Belarusian authorities have information showing that the protests had been meticulously planned and were coordinated -- among other means -- through social networks from abroad , specifically via the Nexta Telegram channel , whose activities , according to the information provided by a number of media outlets , are run by the central group of psychological warfare of the Polish armed forces , '' Savinykh said .
WATCH : How Lukashenka Demeans And Insults His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ served five terms already , has refused to hold talks with his opponents and dismissed calls to hold a new election .
The EU `` expects the Belarusian authorities to ensure the immediate release of all detained on political grounds before and after the falsified August 9 presidential election , '' the bloc 's foreign policy chief , Josep Borrell , said on September 7 .
Belarusian authorities have acknowledged detaining some 633 protesters as tens of thousands marched in the capital and other cities on September 6 to pressure Lukashenka to leave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AFP , TASS , AP , and Reuters


rferl--2020-09-09--Russian Fund Says Mexico To Get 32 Million Russian COVID-19 Vaccine Doses

The Russian Direct Investment Fund ( RFPI ) says it signed a deal with a Mexican pharmaceutical company , Landsteiner Scientific , to deliver 32 million doses of the Russian-made Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine .
The fund said on September 9 that shipments to Mexico will begin in November , pending approval by Mexican medical regulators .
According to the RFPI , Landsteiner Scientific will be Sputnik V 's distributor in Mexico .
Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on the same day that the Moscow-based Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology , which developed the vaccine , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other countries , while Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during talks with his Kazakh counterpart , Mukhtar Tleuberdi , that the two countries had reached agreements on deliveries of the Russian vaccine to Kazakhstan for tests and vaccinations .
The first batch of the new vaccine was released for civil distribution on September 8 , with Russian officials adding that a countrywide COVID-19 vaccination campaign will begin next month following post-registration tests .
Despite a lack of published data , Russia approved the vaccine for domestic use on August 11 .
President Vladimir @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announcement that the vaccine provided `` sustainable immunity '' and that one of his own daughters had been inoculated .
Data on the tests , however , was published later in the British medical journal The Lancet showing patients involved in early tests developed antibodies with `` no serious adverse events . ''
On August 15 , the Gamaleya center and Binnopharm pharmaceutical company started producing the vaccine .
Russian authorities have said that they expect the number of vaccines needed to cover Russia 's entire population will have been produced within one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 million cases of the coronavirus , with more than 18,000 deaths .
With reporting by TASS and Interfax

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) says it has signed a deal with a Mexican pharmaceutical company, Landsteiner Scientific, to deliver 32 million doses of the Russian-made Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.
The fund said on September 9 that shipments to Mexico will begin in November, pending approval by Mexican medical regulators.
According to the RDIF, Landsteiner Scientific will be Sputnik V's distributor in Mexico.
Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said the same day that the Moscow-based Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, which developed the vaccine, was open to make it available for other countries, while Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during talks with his Kazakh counterpart, Mukhtar Tleuberdi, that the two countries had reached agreements on deliveries of the Russian vaccine to Kazakhstan for tests and vaccinations.
The first batch of the new vaccine was released for civil distribution on September 8, with Russian officials adding that a countrywide COVID-19 vaccination campaign will begin next month following post-registration tests.
Despite a lack of published data, Russia approved the vaccine for domestic use on August 11. President Vladimir Putin said at the time of the announcement that the vaccine provided "sustainable immunity" and that one of his own daughters had been inoculated. Data on the tests, however, was published later in the British medical journal The Lancet showing patients involved in early tests developed antibodies with "no serious adverse events."
On August 15, the Gamaleya center and Binnopharm pharmaceutical company started producing the vaccine.
Russian authorities have said that they expect the number of vaccines needed to cover Russia's entire population will have been produced within one year.
Russia has recorded just over 1 million cases of the coronavirus, with more than 18,000 deaths.
With reporting by TASS and Interfax


rferl--2020-09-09--Armenian Ex-Lawmaker, Yerevan District Prefect Sedrakian Charged With Corruption

YEREVAN -- A former Armenian lawmaker and influential member of former President Serzh Sarkisian ’ s Republican Party of Armenia ( HHK ) , Mher Sedrakian , has been charged with corruption .
The Investigative Committee said on September 8 that Sedrakian is suspected of abusing his powers to secure the purchase of a large part of a public park by his son and brother when he ran Yerevan ’ s southern Erebuni district in 1999-2008 .
According to the committee , Sedrakian allegedly assisted his relatives in privatizing the 12,000-square-meter plot of land in 2004 after they illegally built @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear how Sedrakian will plead to the accusations .
The 69-year-old was not arrested , but he was ordered not to leave the country while the investigation continues .
Sedrakian has long been considered a power broker in Erebuni .
Local media have repeatedly implicated his clan in violent attacks on opposition activists and journalists as well as vote rigging , though he has never been charged .
Sedrakian was also dogged by scandals when he represented the former ruling HHK in the Armenian parliament from 2012-2017 .
He reportedly insulted and threatened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drawing strong condemnations from the country ’ s leading media associations .
Also facing criminal charges are several other controversial HHK figures and former officials .
Some of them have reportedly fled to Russia to avoid imprisonment .
Only one of them , former parliament deputy Levon Sarkisian , has been extradited to Armenia so far .

YEREVAN -- A former Armenian lawmaker and influential member of former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), Mher Sedrakian, has been charged with corruption.
The Investigative Committee said on September 8 that Sedrakian is suspected of abusing his powers to secure the purchase of a large part of a public park by his son and brother when he ran Yerevan’s southern Erebuni district in 1999-2008.
According to the committee, Sedrakian allegedly assisted his relatives in privatizing the 12,000-square-meter plot of land in 2004 after they illegally built properties there.
It was not immediately clear how Sedrakian will plead to the accusations. The 69-year-old was not arrested, but he was ordered not to leave the country while the investigation continues.
Sedrakian has long been considered a power broker in Erebuni. Local media have repeatedly implicated his clan in violent attacks on opposition activists and journalists as well as vote rigging, though he has never been charged.
Sedrakian was also dogged by scandals when he represented the former ruling HHK in the Armenian parliament from 2012-2017. He reportedly insulted and threatened journalists on at least two occasions, drawing strong condemnations from the country’s leading media associations.
Also facing criminal charges are several other controversial HHK figures and former officials. Some of them have reportedly fled to Russia to avoid imprisonment. Only one of them, former parliament deputy Levon Sarkisian, has been extradited to Armenia so far.


rferl--2020-09-09--Tajikistan Marks Independence Day Without Public Events

DUSHANBE -- Tajikistan is marking 29 years of post-Soviet independence in an uncharacteristically low-profile affair avoiding public events due to the coronavirus pandemic .
Each year on September 9 , concerts and public celebrations are held across the Central Asian nation to mark its declaration of independence from Moscow ahead of the dissolution of the Soviet Union .
But Tajik officials announced last week that this year there would be no public events for reasons of public health .
Dushanbe and officials at all levels of the Tajik government were among the last in the world to acknowledge any coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the official number of cases in Tajikistan was 8,860 , including 70 deaths .
An investigation by RFE/RL ’ s Tajik Service in June revealed that the actual number of COVID-19 deaths there might be several times that figure , including dozens of physicians and nurses who treated infected patients .
The pathogen behind the global COVID-19 outbreak had been confirmed in nearly 28 million patients worldwide by September 9 .
The Supreme Council of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Tajikistan adopted a declaration of independence that was signed by then acting President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , less than four months before the Soviet Union 's official dissolution .
The current Tajik president , Emomali Rahmon , emerged as leader early in a bloody civil war that lasted from 1992 to 1997 .
Rahmon has never won an election deemed free or fair by Western observers and is regarded by Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) as a dictator with an `` abysmal human rights record '' who routinely persecutes political opponents and stifles free media .

DUSHANBE -- Tajikistan is marking 29 years of post-Soviet independence in an uncharacteristically low-profile affair avoiding public events due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Each year on September 9, concerts and public celebrations are held across the Central Asian nation to mark its declaration of independence from Moscow ahead of the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
But Tajik officials announced last week that this year there would be no public events for reasons of public health.
Dushanbe and officials at all levels of the Tajik government were among the last in the world to acknowledge any coronavirus infections.
As of September 8, the official number of cases in Tajikistan was 8,860, including 70 deaths.
An investigation by RFE/RL’s Tajik Service in June revealed that the actual number of COVID-19 deaths there might be several times that figure, including dozens of physicians and nurses who treated infected patients.
The pathogen behind the global COVID-19 outbreak had been confirmed in nearly 28 million patients worldwide by September 9.
The Supreme Council of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Tajikistan adopted a declaration of independence that was signed by then acting President Qadriddin Aslonov on September 9, 1991, less than four months before the Soviet Union's official dissolution.
The current Tajik president, Emomali Rahmon, emerged as leader early in a bloody civil war that lasted from 1992 to 1997.
Rahmon has never won an election deemed free or fair by Western observers and is regarded by Human Rights Watch (HRW) as a dictator with an "abysmal human rights record" who routinely persecutes political opponents and stifles free media.


rferl--2020-09-09--Putin's Annual Direct Line Call-In Television Program Will Not Be Held This Year, Spokesman Says

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin 's annual TV call-in television program , Direct Line , put off since June because of the coronavirus outbreak , will not be held this year .
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the TASS state-run news agency on September 9 that it has been decided that holding the 18th iteration of the marathon in its traditional format during which Putin answers -- for hours -- prescreened questions from the Russian public was n't necessary .
`` The president has in fact been holding a direct line for the past few months already .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'Direct Line ' this year in its traditional format would be too much , '' TASS quoted Peskov as saying .
Peskov did not specify when and how Putin had held direct lines recently with Russian citizens , though since mid-March , he has made several addresses to the nations regarding the pandemic .
Peskov added that `` elements of the Direct Line program '' will be added to Putin 's annual marathon press conference in December .
Direct Line is a forum where citizens call into the television studio and ask Putin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hours and focuses on a wide range of issues .
Putin , who has been president or prime minister since August 1999 , riffed for just over four hours in last year 's broadcast on the state of Russia 's economy , its foreign-policy challenges , and other issues of concern .
He took questions asked over live video links from Russia 's regions , or read out by presenters in the studio .

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual TV call-in television program, Direct Line, put off since June because of the coronavirus outbreak, will not be held this year.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the TASS state-run news agency on September 9 that it has been decided that holding the 18th iteration of the marathon in its traditional format during which Putin answers -- for hours -- prescreened questions from the Russian public wasn't necessary.
"The president has in fact been holding a direct line for the past few months already. That is why, naturally, holding a 'Direct Line' this year in its traditional format would be too much," TASS quoted Peskov as saying.
Peskov did not specify when and how Putin had held direct lines recently with Russian citizens, though since mid-March, he has made several addresses to the nations regarding the pandemic.
Peskov added that "elements of the Direct Line program" will be added to Putin's annual marathon press conference in December.
Direct Line is a forum where citizens call into the television studio and ask Putin questions.
The event usually last several hours and covers a wide range of issues.
Putin, who has been president or prime minister since August 1999, riffed for just over four hours in last year's broadcast on the state of Russia's economy, its foreign-policy challenges, and other issues of concern. He took questions asked over live video links from Russia's regions, or read out by presenters in the studio.