rferl--2020-01-20--Eight Countries Back European-Led Naval Mission In Strait Of Hormuz

Eight European Union member states have given their support for a European-led maritime surveillance mission in the Strait of Hormuz , a strategic route for world oil supplies .
Belgium , Denmark , France , Germany , Greece , Italy , the Netherlands , and Portugal backed the new force , they said in a `` political statement '' issued by France 's Foreign Ministry on January 20 .
The move comes amid `` rising insecurity and instability '' in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz last year , the statement said , citing `` multiple maritime and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been affecting the freedom of navigation and the security of European and non-European vessels and crews in the area for months .
It has also been jeopardizing trade and energy supplies with potential worldwide economic consequences , '' it said .
France , Denmark , Greece , and the Netherlands have already confirmed they will contribute to the so-called EMASOH mission , which is to be based at a French naval facility in the United Arab Emirates .
Amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington and U.S. allies in the region , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own operation alongside allies to protect shipping in the gulf .

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that there can be no advancement in the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unless there is an improvement in the treatment of women in the country.
Speaking to reporters on August 15, the two-year anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of power in Kabul, Blinken said the United States continues to work to hold the Taliban accountable for the commitments that it's made, particularly when it comes to the rights of women and girls.
"We've been very clear with the Taliban -- and dozens of countries around the world have been very clear -- that the path to any more normal relationship between the Taliban and other countries will be blocked unless and until the rights of women and girls among other things are actually supported," Blinken said.
No country has recognized the Taliban-led government, and the United States has avoided direct economic engagement in part over the treatment of women and girls, who have seen their rights drastically curbed by the hard-line Islamists. This includes a ban on women working in local and international nongovernmental organizations and a ban on education beyond the sixth grade.
The Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021 after President Joe Biden withdrew U.S. troops under the terms of an agreement reached in February 2020 between the Taliban and the administration of then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Blinken defended the pullout and said the United States was not focused on other priorities.
"The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was an incredibly difficult one, but also the right one," Blinken said. "We ended America's longest war. For the first time in 20 years, we don't have another generation of young Americans going to fight and die."
A number of international human rights organizations earlier on August 15 called the Taliban's two years of rule shameful and worrying.
Amnesty International and several other international human rights organizations demanded in a statement an effective response to the situation, noting the Taliban's strict decrees against human rights in Afghanistan, especially against women and girls.
The organizations said in a statement that in the past two years, the Taliban has increasingly imposed harmful policies against women and girls and religious and ethnic minorities that clearly violate Afghanistan's obligations under international human rights law.
The Taliban has previously rejected reports on the treatment of women as propaganda of international organizations. The militant group's leaders have said they have strengthened all the rights of women in Afghanistan in light of Islamic principles.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban, said in an interview with the AP marking the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of the country that the Taliban views its rule of Afghanistan as open-ended and as drawing legitimacy from Islamic law. He also suggested a ban on female education will remain in place.
Female activist Soheila Yousefi calls the situation alarming and wants the world to pay attention.
"The international community should take serious action in this regard because the world chose to be silent in these two years and did not take any practical steps. Our request is that they should look at the current situation in Afghanistan, then take a serious and comprehensive review."
The Taliban did not respond to Radio Azadi's questions before the release of the report, but the rulers have spoken of strengthening human rights in Afghanistan, especially the rights of women and girls, according to Islamic principles.
With reporting by AP and AFP


rferl--2020-01-20--Pakistan Urged To Release Journalist Held On 'Flimsy' Charge

Reporters Without Borders ( RSF ) is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of a Pakistani journalist who it says has been held for days on a `` flimsy '' charge of posting `` anti-state '' content on social media .
Police in the city of Lahore arrested Azhar-ul Haq Wahid on January 16 , and a local judge on January 20 rejected a request for his release , ordering him placed in judicial custody , RSF said in a statement .
The Paris-based media-freedom watchdog said Wahid , a reporter for Channel 5 TV and the newspaper Khabrain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in prison .
His arrest `` is clearly another attempt to intimidate journalists who refuse to be censored , '' said Daniel Bastard , the head of RSF 's Asia-Pacific desk .
`` We call on the Lahore courts to dismiss the charges against him and to free him at once .
The credibility of the rule of law in Pakistan is at stake , '' Bastard added .
RSF quoted the Lahore police report as saying `` anti-state and defamatory material against the public functionaries and state departments '' was posted on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report failed to identify the offending material , the group said .
RSF quoted Wahid 's lawyer as saying his client was being punished for his criticism of the government and his comments about a recent court decision overturning the death sentence passed on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in December .
Wahid was charged under two articles of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act ( PECA ) , which RSF said was `` often used by the authorities to silence journalists who dare to cross the regime 's implicit red lines .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ heavily censored , online platforms have become the only place where Pakistanis can express opinions at variance with the official line , '' according to the watchdog .
The country is ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in RSF 's 2019 World Press Freedom Index .

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of a Pakistani journalist who it says has been held for days on a "flimsy" charge of posting "anti-state" content on social media.
Police in the city of Lahore arrested Azhar-ul Haq Wahid on January 16, and a local judge on January 20 rejected a request for his release, ordering him placed in judicial custody, RSF said in a statement.
The Paris-based media-freedom watchdog said Wahid, a reporter for Channel 5 TV and the newspaper Khabrain, is facing up to three years in prison.
His arrest "is clearly another attempt to intimidate journalists who refuse to be censored," said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF's Asia-Pacific desk.
"We call on the Lahore courts to dismiss the charges against him and to free him at once. The credibility of the rule of law in Pakistan is at stake," Bastard added.
RSF quoted the Lahore police report as saying "anti-state and defamatory material against the public functionaries and state departments" was posted on Wahid's Facebook page.
But the report failed to identify the offending material, the group said.
RSF quoted Wahid's lawyer as saying his client was being punished for his criticism of the government and his comments about a recent court decision overturning the death sentence passed on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in December.
Wahid was charged under two articles of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), which RSF said was "often used by the authorities to silence journalists who dare to cross the regime's implicit red lines."
"As the traditional media are heavily censored, online platforms have become the only place where Pakistanis can express opinions at variance with the official line," according to the watchdog.
The country is ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2019 World Press Freedom Index.


rferl--2020-01-20--Ukraine Presses Iran Over Downed Plane's Black Boxes

Ukraine is urging Iran to return the black-box flight recorders of a Ukrainian passenger plane shot down by the Iranian forces earlier this month .
Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko made the call on January 20 as the Iranian minister of roads and urban development was visiting Kyiv to discuss the tragedy .
Mohammad Eslami 's `` main task is to apologize and acknowledge what happened , '' Prystayko told reporters .
`` We hope that we can go a little further than just political discussions and discuss practical problems .
Among them in particular is the return of the black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kyiv-bound Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8 , killing all 176 people on board .
Most of the victims were Iranian and Canadian citizens .
Three days later , Tehran said the plane was shot down `` unintentionally '' by an antiaircraft missile during a spike in tensions with the United States .
Last week , Afghanistan , Britain , Canada , Ukraine , and Sweden -- countries whose nationals were killed in the crash -- issued a joint statement calling for a `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation .
And on January 19 , Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne reiterated Ottawa 's request that Tehran hand over the black boxes to France or Ukraine `` as quickly as possible . ''
However , the Iranian official leading the investigation into the crash appeared to backtrack on plans to send the flight recorders abroad for analysis .
Iranian media quoted Hassan Rezaeifar as saying the country might send the black boxes abroad , adding , `` But as of yet , we have made no decision . ''
`` At first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over , then the same person stated that they were not handing them over , '' Prystayko said .
`` This created some misunderstanding in Ukraine and we were starting to be asked : 'Are they being handed over or not ? '
'' During his meeting with Eslami , President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that `` in the matter of clarifying the circumstances of the tragedy , the Iranian party had complied with most arrangements , '' according to Ukraine 's presidency .
A statement said Iranian experts were expected to assess Ukraine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boxes .
`` I promised the families and relatives of the victims , I promised the people of Ukraine that the truth will be established .
We must know what happened , '' it quoted Zelenskiy as telling the Iranian minister .
The coffins of the 11 Ukrainian citizens killed in the plane crash , including nine crew members , arrived in Kyiv on January 19 .
With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Ukraine is urging Iran to return the black-box flight recorders of a Ukrainian passenger plane shot down by the Iranian forces earlier this month.
Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko made the call on January 20 as the Iranian minister of roads and urban development was visiting Kyiv to discuss the tragedy.
Mohammad Eslami's "main task is to apologize and acknowledge what happened," Prystayko told reporters.
"We hope that we can go a little further than just political discussions and discuss practical problems. Among them in particular is the return of the black boxes," he added.
The Kyiv-bound Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8, killing all 176 people on board. Most of the victims were Iranian and Canadian citizens.
Three days later, Tehran said the plane was shot down "unintentionally" by an antiaircraft missile during a spike in tensions with the United States.
Last week, Afghanistan, Britain, Canada, Ukraine, and Sweden -- countries whose nationals were killed in the crash -- issued a joint statement calling for a "thorough, independent, and transparent" investigation.
And on January 19, Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne reiterated Ottawa's request that Tehran hand over the black boxes to France or Ukraine "as quickly as possible."
However, the Iranian official leading the investigation into the crash appeared to backtrack on plans to send the flight recorders abroad for analysis.
Iranian media quoted Hassan Rezaeifar as saying the country might send the black boxes abroad, adding, "But as of yet, we have made no decision."
"At first they stated that they were handing them over, then the same person stated that they were not handing them over," Prystayko said. "This created some misunderstanding in Ukraine and we were starting to be asked: 'Are they being handed over or not?'"
During his meeting with Eslami, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that "in the matter of clarifying the circumstances of the tragedy, the Iranian party had complied with most arrangements," according to Ukraine's presidency.
A statement said Iranian experts were expected to assess Ukraine's technical ability to decode the black boxes.
"I promised the families and relatives of the victims, I promised the people of Ukraine that the truth will be established. We must know what happened," it quoted Zelenskiy as telling the Iranian minister.
The coffins of the 11 Ukrainian citizens killed in the plane crash, including nine crew members, arrived in Kyiv on January 19.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP


rferl--2020-01-20--Blogger Flees Uzbekistan After Spending Weeks In Involuntary Psychiatric Care

An Uzbek blogger who spent weeks in involuntary psychiatric care after extensively covering alleged corruption and abuse among politicians has fled the country .
Nafosat Olloshukurova , known on Facebook as Shabnam Olloshukurova , told RFE/RL in a telephone interview on January 20 that she planned to ask for political asylum in an unnamed Western state .
In September , Olloshukurova was put under administrative arrest in the western Khorezm region for alleged violations including petty hooliganism and participating in unauthorized assemblies .
She had reportedly been documenting a march by a journalist and poet to petition the authorities to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told RFE/RL that police tortured her and threatened to rape her with a bottle in an attempt to force her to testify that exiled opposition figures were behind the march .
Days after she began serving her sentence , a court ordered that Olloshukurova be placed in a regional psychiatric center , where she was kept incommunicado for almost three months .
Olloshukurova , who was released in late December , said she had to leave Uzbekistan after the local authorities threatened to register her at a psychiatric clinic as an unstable person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Embassy in Tashkent ; the head of the Ezgulik human rights group , Abdurakhman Tashanov ; and lawyer Umid Davletov for their support .
Olloshukurova 's 3-year-old twin daughters are staying with the blogger 's mother in Tashkent .
The Committee to Protect Journalists said in October that the Uzbek authorities `` should not resort to the use of totalitarian practices like forced confinement of journalists in a psychiatric ward . ''

An Uzbek blogger who spent weeks in involuntary psychiatric care after extensively covering alleged corruption and abuse among politicians has fled the country.
Nafosat Olloshukurova, known on Facebook as Shabnam Olloshukurova, told RFE/RL in a telephone interview on January 20 that she planned to ask for political asylum in an unnamed Western state.
In September, Olloshukurova was put under administrative arrest in the western Khorezm region for alleged violations including petty hooliganism and participating in unauthorized assemblies.
She had reportedly been documenting a march by a journalist and poet to petition the authorities to drop a case against him.
Olloshukurova told RFE/RL that police tortured her and threatened to rape her with a bottle in an attempt to force her to testify that exiled opposition figures were behind the march.
Days after she began serving her sentence, a court ordered that Olloshukurova be placed in a regional psychiatric center, where she was kept incommunicado for almost three months.
Olloshukurova, who was released in late December, said she had to leave Uzbekistan after the local authorities threatened to register her at a psychiatric clinic as an unstable person.
She expressed thanks to the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent; the head of the Ezgulik human rights group, Abdurakhman Tashanov; and lawyer Umid Davletov for their support.
Olloshukurova's 3-year-old twin daughters are staying with the blogger's mother in Tashkent.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said in October that the Uzbek authorities "should not resort to the use of totalitarian practices like forced confinement of journalists in a psychiatric ward."


rferl--2020-01-20--Former Armenian Security Service Chief Buried, Probe Launched Into Incitement To Suicide

YEREVAN -- A former chief of Armenia 's National Security Service ( HAAT ) who was found dead with a gunshot wound to his temple last week has been buried in Yerevan .
The January 20 ceremony , held three days after Georgi Kutoyan was found dead in an apartment in the capital , was attended by his former colleagues and ex-President Serzh Sarkisian .
The Investigative Committee has launched a criminal investigation into possible incitement to commit suicide , and spokeswoman Naira Harutiunian told RFE/RL that no suspects had been identified so far .
Harutiunian said the autopsy had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's body beside the gunshot wound .
A lawyer by education , Kutoyan was appointed HAAT chief in February 2016 after serving as an assistant to then-President Sarkisian .
Kutoyan was dismissed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in May 2018 shortly after popular unrest forced Sarkisian to resign .
He kept a low profile while in office and did not make any public statements after his dismissal .
Kutoyan is the second former top security official to be found shot dead in the last four months .
Hayk Harutiunian , a former head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dead at his country house in September .
Harutiunian reportedly had a gunshot wound to the head , and investigators suggested he had committed suicide .
During the previous months , Harutiunian was interrogated several times in a criminal investigation into postelection violence in Yerevan in 2008 .
Investigators said Kutoyan was not questioned as a suspect or a witness in that case .

YEREVAN -- A former chief of Armenia's National Security Service (HAAT) who was found dead with a gunshot wound to his temple last week has been buried in Yerevan.
The January 20 ceremony, held three days after Georgi Kutoyan was found dead in an apartment in the capital, was attended by his former colleagues and ex-President Serzh Sarkisian.
The Investigative Committee has launched a criminal investigation into possible incitement to commit suicide, and spokeswoman Naira Harutiunian told RFE/RL that no suspects had been identified so far.
Harutiunian said the autopsy had not found trace of violence on Kutoyan's body beside the gunshot wound.
A lawyer by education, Kutoyan was appointed HAAT chief in February 2016 after serving as an assistant to then-President Sarkisian.
Kutoyan was dismissed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in May 2018 shortly after popular unrest forced Sarkisian to resign.
He kept a low profile while in office and did not make any public statements after his dismissal.
Kutoyan is the second former top security official to be found shot dead in the last four months. Hayk Harutiunian, a former head of the Armenian police, was found dead at his country house in September.
Harutiunian reportedly had a gunshot wound to the head, and investigators suggested he had committed suicide.
During the previous months, Harutiunian was interrogated several times in a criminal investigation into postelection violence in Yerevan in 2008.
Investigators said Kutoyan was not questioned as a suspect or a witness in that case.


rferl--2020-01-20--Putin Sends Proposed Constitutional Changes To Parliament

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted a package of proposed constitutional amendments to parliament , after announcing last week a surprise overhaul of the country 's political system .
Putin had suggested numerous revisions to the constitution during his state-of-the-nation address on January 15 , prompting speculation that the shakeup could help keep the 67-year-old former KGB officer in power beyond the end of his fourth presidential term in 2024 .
The proposed amendments include giving parliament the power to name the prime minister and limit the president to only two terms in total -- instead of two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ posted on the website of the Kremlin-controlled lower house , the State Duma , on January 20 .
It also proposes transferring some powers from the presidency to state bodies such as the State Council , which would be transformed from an advisory body to an organ that would shape domestic and foreign policy , as well as social and economic development , according to the amendments .
The sweeping reform would also give the constitution a clear priority over international law .
The Duma 's Legislative Committee is expected to discuss the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chamber is to decide the next day when to debate the amendments , according to speaker Vyacheslav Volodin .
A working group has been formed by Putin to study the proposed changes , and Putin has promised a popular vote on the amendments .
Putin 's speech was followed by the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev , who was replaced the next day by Mikhail Mishustin , the little-known head of Russia 's tax service .
On January 20 , the Kremlin announced that Russia 's prosecutor-general , Yury Chaika , will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in office .
Putin nominated Igor Krasnov , who has served as deputy chairman of the Investigative Committee , to replace Chaika .
With reporting by dpa , AP , and AFP

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted a package of proposed constitutional amendments to parliament, after announcing last week a surprise overhaul of the country's political system.
Putin had suggested numerous revisions to the constitution during his state-of-the-nation address on January 15, prompting speculation that the shakeup could help keep the 67-year-old former KGB officer in power beyond the end of his fourth presidential term in 2024.
The proposed amendments include giving parliament the power to name the prime minister and limit the president to only two terms in total -- instead of two successive terms, according to the bill posted on the website of the Kremlin-controlled lower house, the State Duma, on January 20.
It also proposes transferring some powers from the presidency to state bodies such as the State Council, which would be transformed from an advisory body to an organ that would shape domestic and foreign policy, as well as social and economic development, according to the amendments.
The sweeping reform would also give the constitution a clear priority over international law.
The Duma's Legislative Committee is expected to discuss the package on January 21, and the chamber is to decide the next day when to debate the amendments, according to speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.
A working group has been formed by Putin to study the proposed changes, and Putin has promised a popular vote on the amendments.
Putin's speech was followed by the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who was replaced the next day by Mikhail Mishustin, the little-known head of Russia's tax service.
On January 20, the Kremlin announced that Russia's prosecutor-general, Yury Chaika, will leave his position after nearly 14 years in office.
Putin nominated Igor Krasnov, who has served as deputy chairman of the Investigative Committee, to replace Chaika.
With reporting by dpa, AP, and AFP


rferl--2020-01-20--Serbia, Kosovo Sign Deal To Restore Direct Air Link

PRISTINA/BELGRADE -- U.S. diplomats have overseen the signing of an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo on the resumption of commercial flights between the two Balkan states , a rare sign of cooperation between the two neighbors .
Serbian , Kosovar , and NATO leaders on January 20 welcomed the signing of the deal to reopen the air link that was broken two decades ago , when the 1998-99 Kosovo conflict escalated .
Relations between Pristina and Belgrade have remained strained after the war that claimed more than 10,000 lives and left over 1 million people homeless .
Serbia continues to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ territory , although its independence , declared in 2008 , has been recognized by about 100 countries , including the United States .
The agreement to restore commercial flights between the Serbian and Kosovar capitals , Belgrade and Pristina , was signed at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin by Milun Trivunac , state secretary of Serbia 's Ministry of Economy , and Eset Berisha , director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Kosovo .
Kosovar President Hashim Thaci described the development `` an important step for the movement of citizens & normalization process @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Richard Grenell , who also serves as President Donald Trump 's special envoy for Serbia and Kosovo , and U.S. national-security adviser Robert O'Brien for facilitating the process .
The director of the Serbian government 's Office for Kosovo , Marko Djuric , said Belgrade and Pristina `` could soon be connected by an airline , for the first time in 20 years . ''
However , Djuric said Kosovo must withdraw its 100 percent trade tariff and dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina should resume before the air link can open .
NATO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` an important step , which will make the circulation of people and goods easier and faster within the Western Balkans region . ''
The 25-minute flight between Belgrade and Pristina would be operated by Lufthansa 's budget carrier , Eurowings .
Currently , it takes more than five hours to travel from Belgrade to Pristina .


rferl--2020-01-20--Kyiv Asks OSCE To Expand Ukraine Monitoring Mission

Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko says Ukraine has asked the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ( OSCE ) to expand its monitoring mission in Ukraine .
Prystayko made the announcement on January 20 after a meeting with OSCE Chairman-in-Office Edi Rama .
The OSCE 's special monitoring mission has been present in Ukraine since 2014 , when fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russia-backed separatists after Russia 's annexation of Crimea .
The war has killed more than 14,000 people and devastated Ukraine 's industrial heartland .
The mission 's civilian monitors keep track in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regions , with a special task of facilitating dialogue between the sides of the conflict .
Its mandate expires on March 31 .
Prystayko said Kyiv asked the OSCE not only to extend the duration of the mission , but to `` expand its possibilities and human resources '' and support it financially .
Rama called the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine `` the most pressing challenge to security and stability in Europe today . ''
Leaders of Ukraine , Russia , France , and Germany held talks in December , hoping to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talks did n't produce a breakthrough , but were hailed by both Russia and Ukraine as encouraging .
Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax

Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko says Ukraine has asked the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to expand its monitoring mission in Ukraine.
Prystayko made the announcement on January 20 after a meeting with OSCE Chairman-in-Office Edi Rama.
The OSCE's special monitoring mission has been present in Ukraine since 2014, when fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russia-backed separatists after Russia's annexation of Crimea.
The war has killed more than 14,000 people and devastated Ukraine's industrial heartland.
The mission's civilian monitors keep track in particular of the situation in the war-torn regions, with a special task of facilitating dialogue between the sides of the conflict. Its mandate expires on March 31.
Prystayko said Kyiv asked the OSCE not only to extend the duration of the mission, but to "expand its possibilities and human resources" and support it financially.
Rama called the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine "the most pressing challenge to security and stability in Europe today."
Leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany held talks in December, hoping to revive a 2015 peace deal. The talks didn't produce a breakthrough, but were hailed by both Russia and Ukraine as encouraging.
Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax


rferl--2020-01-20--Thousands In Azerbaijan Mark 30th Anniversary Of Deadly Soviet Crackdown

BAKU -- Thousands of Azerbaijanis have descended on the capital , Baku , to mark the 30th anniversary of the @ @ @ @ @ of people were killed .
Visitors from across the country made their way to the @ @ @ @ @ on January 20 to commemorate the victims of what is known in the Caucasus nation @ @ @ @ @ '' Members of the government , other top officials , and representatives of foreign diplomatic @ @ @ @ @ the ceremonies .
Meanwhile , special prayers commemorating the victims of the crackdown were performed @ @ @ @ @ .
Broadcasts of entertainment programs on television were canceled and somber music was played in @ @ @ @ @ January 20 , 1990 , the Soviet government sent troops to Azerbaijan to thwart efforts @ @ @ @ @ movement to overthrow the Soviet Azerbaijani government .
According to official estimates , 134 civilians @ @ @ @ @ 13 more in the cities of Neftecale and Calilabad .
Official figures also show that @ @ @ @ @ injured and five individuals went missing in the crackdown .

BAKU -- Thousands of Azerbaijanis have descended on the capital, Baku, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Soviet crackdown in which dozens of people were killed.
Visitors from across the country made their way to the "Alley of Martyrs" on January 20 to commemorate the victims of what is known in the Caucasus nation as "Black January."
Members of the government, other top officials, and representatives of foreign diplomatic missions also took part in the ceremonies.
Meanwhile, special prayers commemorating the victims of the crackdown were performed in the country's mosques.
Broadcasts of entertainment programs on television were canceled and somber music was played in the Baku subway.
On January 20, 1990, the Soviet government sent troops to Azerbaijan to thwart efforts by the country's independence movement to overthrow the Soviet Azerbaijani government.
According to official estimates, 134 civilians were killed in Baku and 13 more in the cities of Neftecale and Calilabad.
Official figures also show that at least 800 people were injured and five individuals went missing in the crackdown.


rferl--2020-01-20--Bishkek Court Opens Hearing Into Libel Lawsuit Against RFE/RL, Other Media

BISHKEK -- A Bishkek court has started a hearing into a libel lawsuit filed against RFE/RL 's Kyrgyz Service , locally known as Azattyk , its correspondent Ali Toktakunov , and the news site Kloop by the former deputy chief of the customs service , Raimbek Matraimov , and his relatives , following an alleged corruption scandal exposed by the media outlets .
The plaintiffs ' lawsuit also targets another independent news website , 24.kg , which published a summary of the joint media investigation .
The Sverdlov district court in Bishkek began hearing the case on January 20 and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the plaintiffs ' lawyers asked for more time for talks of a possible settlement , namely the publication of an official rebuttal refuting the findings of the joint investigation .
Lawyers for RFE/RL 's Kyrgyz Service and Kloop have rejected such a move , but they offered the plaintiffs an opportunity to discuss the investigation on programs of the media outlets .
A lawyer for 24.kg , meanwhile , said that his client was ready to discuss the settlement conditions with the plaintiffs .
The lawsuit was filed by Matraimov , his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jumaeva , Uulkan Turgunova , and the Ismail Matraimov Public Foundation against Toktakunov and the media outlets , who , according to the plaintiffs , damaged their `` honor , dignity , and business reputations . ''
The court has said the plaintiffs are demanding 10 million soms ( $ 143,150 ) from Toktakunov , 22.5 million soms ( $ 323,100 ) from RFE/RL 's Kyrgyz Service , 12.5 million soms ( $ 179,000 ) from Kloop , and 15 million soms ( $ 215,000 ) from 24.kg as compensation for the alleged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Prosecutor-General 's Office launched a probe to verify information revealed in the joint journalistic investigation .
The report showed that a 37-year-old Uyghur businessman from China 's northwestern region of Xinjiang , Aierken Saimaiti , secretly provided reporters with documents demonstrating how hundreds of millions of dollars were moved out of Kyrgyzstan , much of it via a business network led by Khabibula Abdukadyr , a secretive Chinese-born Uyghur with a Kazakh passport .
The chief of Kyrgyzstan 's financial police has said since then that the amount of cash illegally funneled out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 billion .
The joint investigation also uncovered video footage showing Abdukadyr sitting in the second row at President Sooronbai Jeenbekov 's inauguration in November 2017 .
The video shows Abdukadyr sitting next to the president 's brother , Kyrgyz Ambassador to Ukraine Jusupbek Sharipov .
Saimaiti , who was shot dead in Istanbul on November 10 , alleged that former senior official Raimbek Matraimov , while serving as deputy customs chief , was instrumental in providing cover for the Abdukadyr network 's cargo empire in the region .
The investigation also found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a joint investor in a Dubai property development with a company controlled by Abdukadyr .
Matraimov and his brother Iskender have denied all accusations of wrongdoing by the former customs official .
Saimaiti told reporters prior to his death that , in order to protect himself , he had applied for Turkish citizenship and expected to receive it on November 14 .
He said he planned to turn over more financial documents to reporters after that .
However , he was shot dead at a cafe in Istanbul .
Turkish police have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though details of the suspects ' motives and potential contacts remain murky .
Turkish police have made no official statements on the case .
The Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General 's Office said on November 22 that it had launched a probe to verify information revealed in the joint investigation , specifically that `` unknown persons repeatedly threatened [ Saimaiti ] with murder , which forced him to flee to the Republic of Turkey . ''

BISHKEK -- A Bishkek court has started a hearing into a libel lawsuit filed against RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, locally known as Azattyk, its correspondent Ali Toktakunov, and the news site Kloop by the former deputy chief of the customs service, Raimbek Matraimov, and his relatives, following an alleged corruption scandal exposed by the media outlets.
The plaintiffs' lawsuit also targets another independent news website, 24.kg, which published a summary of the joint media investigation.
The Sverdlov district court in Bishkek began hearing the case on January 20 and quickly adjourned it until January 29, after the plaintiffs' lawyers asked for more time for talks of a possible settlement, namely the publication of an official rebuttal refuting the findings of the joint investigation.
Lawyers for RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service and Kloop have rejected such a move, but they offered the plaintiffs an opportunity to discuss the investigation on programs of the media outlets.
A lawyer for 24.kg, meanwhile, said that his client was ready to discuss the settlement conditions with the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit was filed by Matraimov, his brother, lawmaker Iskender Matraimov, Minovar Jumaeva, Uulkan Turgunova, and the Ismail Matraimov Public Foundation against Toktakunov and the media outlets, who, according to the plaintiffs, damaged their "honor, dignity, and business reputations."
The court has said the plaintiffs are demanding 10 million soms ($143,150) from Toktakunov, 22.5 million soms ($323,100) from RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, 12.5 million soms ($179,000) from Kloop, and 15 million soms ($215,000) from 24.kg as compensation for the alleged damages.
In November, the Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General's Office launched a probe to verify information revealed in the joint journalistic investigation.
The report showed that a 37-year-old Uyghur businessman from China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, Aierken Saimaiti, secretly provided reporters with documents demonstrating how hundreds of millions of dollars were moved out of Kyrgyzstan, much of it via a business network led by Khabibula Abdukadyr, a secretive Chinese-born Uyghur with a Kazakh passport.
The chief of Kyrgyzstan's financial police has said since then that the amount of cash illegally funneled out of the country is closer to $1 billion.
The joint investigation also uncovered video footage showing Abdukadyr sitting in the second row at President Sooronbai Jeenbekov's inauguration in November 2017. The video shows Abdukadyr sitting next to the president's brother, Kyrgyz Ambassador to Ukraine Jusupbek Sharipov.
Saimaiti, who was shot dead in Istanbul on November 10, alleged that former senior official Raimbek Matraimov, while serving as deputy customs chief, was instrumental in providing cover for the Abdukadyr network's cargo empire in the region.
The investigation also found that Matraimov's wife, Turgunova, is a joint investor in a Dubai property development with a company controlled by Abdukadyr.
Matraimov and his brother Iskender have denied all accusations of wrongdoing by the former customs official.
Saimaiti told reporters prior to his death that, in order to protect himself, he had applied for Turkish citizenship and expected to receive it on November 14. He said he planned to turn over more financial documents to reporters after that.
However, he was shot dead at a cafe in Istanbul. Turkish police have made several arrests in the case, though details of the suspects' motives and potential contacts remain murky. Turkish police have made no official statements on the case.
The Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General's Office said on November 22 that it had launched a probe to verify information revealed in the joint investigation, specifically that "unknown persons repeatedly threatened [Saimaiti] with murder, which forced him to flee to the Republic of Turkey."


rferl--2020-01-20--Tajik Police Say No Probe Into Activist's 'Sex Video'

Tajik police have decided not to open a criminal probe to find the perpetrators behind a sex video shared online in an apparent smear campaign against a woman activist .
The copy of a letter issued by the Vahdat district police in Dushanbe says authorities will not open a criminal case “ because there have been no criminal elements found in the actions ” of the man who also appears in the video .
The activist , whose name is being withheld , told RFE/RL on January 19 that the police statement “ doesn ’ t make any sense ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ request .
“ What I asked police was to find out who has recorded and distributed the video and why , ” the Dushanbe-based activist and human rights campaigner said .
The video , which was shared online in September , shows the woman ’ s face clearly , while the man ’ s face is blurred out .
The activist had been dating the man for several months and they had planned to marry before the video was published .
He vanished after it was released online .
The woman said she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man .
The video was swiftly removed by YouTube and Facebook , while it took several weeks for Russian social media and several other sites to delete the footage .
The video has been condemned by Tajik activists as an attempt to defame the woman in the religiously conservative Tajik society and silence other critics of the state .
The footage was released after the woman joined a campaign against an unpopular plan by the government to raise the price of Internet access in Tajikistan .
The plan has since been scrapped .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ speech or criticism of the government .
The woman was also targeted with degrading digitally altered images , insulting comments , and threats on Facebook .
She filed a complaint to the Prosecutor-General ’ s Office and the Interior Ministry to find and bring to justice those responsible for recording and disseminating the video .
Police had initially said they were considering opening a probe to potentially charge perpetrators with illegally spreading degrading material about a person ’ s private life .
RFE/RL has contacted both state agencies for comment but officials refused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ respond to an “ official letter .
”

Tajik police have decided not to open a criminal probe to find the perpetrators behind a sex video shared online in an apparent smear campaign against a woman activist.
The copy of a letter issued by the Vahdat district police in Dushanbe says authorities will not open a criminal case “because there have been no criminal elements found in the actions” of the man who also appears in the video.
The activist, whose name is being withheld, told RFE/RL on January 19 that the police statement “doesn’t make any sense” and doesn’t address her formal request.
“What I asked police was to find out who has recorded and distributed the video and why,” the Dushanbe-based activist and human rights campaigner said.
The video, which was shared online in September, shows the woman’s face clearly, while the man’s face is blurred out.
The activist had been dating the man for several months and they had planned to marry before the video was published. He vanished after it was released online. The woman said she is “highly suspicious” of the man.
The video was swiftly removed by YouTube and Facebook, while it took several weeks for Russian social media and several other sites to delete the footage.
The video has been condemned by Tajik activists as an attempt to defame the woman in the religiously conservative Tajik society and silence other critics of the state.
The footage was released after the woman joined a campaign against an unpopular plan by the government to raise the price of Internet access in Tajikistan. The plan has since been scrapped.
Tajik authorities show no tolerance for free speech or criticism of the government.
The woman was also targeted with degrading digitally altered images, insulting comments, and threats on Facebook.
She filed a complaint to the Prosecutor-General’s Office and the Interior Ministry to find and bring to justice those responsible for recording and disseminating the video.
Police had initially said they were considering opening a probe to potentially charge perpetrators with illegally spreading degrading material about a person’s private life.
RFE/RL has contacted both state agencies for comment but officials refused to speak, saying they would only respond to an “official letter.”


rferl--2020-01-20--Pakistan To Import 300,000 Tons Of Wheat To Meet Flour Crisis

Pakistan on January 20 approved the import of 300,000 tons of wheat to alleviate the effects of a shortage of @ @ @ @ @ a crisis for Prime Minister Imran Khan 's government .
Prices of flour and bread @ @ @ @ @ the staple disappeared from shops and wholesale markets .
The decision to import the wheat @ @ @ @ @ Economic Coordination Council , with the first shipment expected to arrive by mid-February , the @ @ @ @ @ statement .
It was not immediately known from which country or countries Pakistan will import @ @ @ @ @ more than 600,000 metric tons of wheat from late 2018 to June 2019 , its @ @ @ @ @ the government banned exports in July last year , 48,000 metric tons was still sent @ @ @ @ @ Experts said it made no sense to export the wheat after poor crop yields in @ @ @ @ @ for an investigation into the exports despite the ban .

Pakistan on January 20 approved the import of 300,000 tons of wheat to alleviate the effects of a shortage of flour supplies that has triggered a crisis for Prime Minister Imran Khan's government.
Prices of flour and bread went up last week as the staple disappeared from shops and wholesale markets.
The decision to import the wheat was made by Pakistan's Economic Coordination Council, with the first shipment expected to arrive by mid-February, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
It was not immediately known from which country or countries Pakistan will import the wheat.
Pakistan exported more than 600,000 metric tons of wheat from late 2018 to June 2019, its statistics bureau says. Although the government banned exports in July last year, 48,000 metric tons was still sent overseas until October 2019.
Experts said it made no sense to export the wheat after poor crop yields in the last harvest and called for an investigation into the exports despite the ban.
With reporting by Reuters


rferl--2020-01-20--Lukashenka Reshuffles Top Military Leadership, Appoints New Defense Minister

MINSK -- Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has reshuffled the country 's top military leadership , including his defense minister .
@ @ @ @ @ that he decided to appoint Major General Viktar Khrenin , the commander of the Western @ @ @ @ @ of defense minister .
Khrenin 's predecessor , Lieutenant General Andrey Raukou , was moved @ @ @ @ @ of the Security Council , Lukashenka added .
The Belarusian president also said that he @ @ @ @ @ as the chief of general staff of the armed forces .
`` Naturally , some @ @ @ @ @ and I considered it inappropriate to delay this , '' Lukashenka said when appointing Raukou @ @ @ @ @ men and times are complicated now .
This does n't mean there 's going to @ @ @ @ @ we 'll have to fight someone , not at all .
But a military organization @ @ @ @ @ '' he added .
With reporting by BelTA and Interfax

MINSK -- Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has reshuffled the country's top military leadership, including his defense minister.
Lukashenka said on January 20 that he decided to appoint Major General Viktar Khrenin, the commander of the Western troops, to the post of defense minister.
Khrenin's predecessor, Lieutenant General Andrey Raukou, was moved to the position of secretary-general of the Security Council, Lukashenka added.
The Belarusian president also said that he appointed Major General Alyaksandr Valfovich as the chief of general staff of the armed forces.
"Naturally, some offices have become vacant, and I considered it inappropriate to delay this," Lukashenka said when appointing Raukou.
"We are military men and times are complicated now. This doesn't mean there's going to be a war tomorrow and we'll have to fight someone, not at all. But a military organization cannot tolerate uncertainty,"
he added.
With reporting by BelTA and Interfax


rferl--2020-01-20--Five Killed After Heating Pipe In Russian Urals Hotel Bursts

Russia 's Investigative Committee says a heating pipe burst in a hotel in the Urals city of Perm , killing @ @ @ @ @ A Committee statement said the deadly blast occurred at the Karamel hotel on January 20 @ @ @ @ @ in the emergency services as saying that one of those killed in the accident was @ @ @ @ @ individuals have been hospitalized with burns , the statement said , adding that a probe @ @ @ @ @ safety standards at the hotel were adequate .

Russia's Investigative Committee says a heating pipe burst in a hotel in the Urals city of Perm, killing at least five people.
A Committee statement said the deadly blast occurred at the Karamel hotel on January 20.
Interfax quoted a source in the emergency services as saying that one of those killed in the accident was a child.
Three other individuals have been hospitalized with burns, the statement said, adding that a probe had been launched into whether safety standards at the hotel were adequate.


rferl--2020-01-20--Putin Removes Top Russian Prosecutor, Replaces Him With Investigative Official

Russia 's top prosecutor , Yury Chaika , who as one of the most powerful law enforcement figures in the country oversaw a raft of politically charged criminal investigations , will leave his position after nearly 14 years in office .
The Kremlin said on January 20 that President Vladimir Putin had nominated Igor Krasnov , who has served as deputy chairman of the Investigative Committee , to replace Chaika as prosecutor-general .
Russia 's upper house of parliament must formally vote on Krasnov 's nomination , though an affirmative vote is all but guaranteed .
Krasnov is little-known outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Investigative Committee , which has been run by Putin ally Aleksandr Bastrykin since it was created in 2007 , is considered a rival law enforcement agency that has clashed in the past with the Prosecutor-General 's Office .
Chaika , 68 , was serving as justice minister in June 2006 when he was named to the position of prosecutor-general , taking over for Vladimir Ustinov .
Just three days before Chaika took office , prosecutors announced they had reopened a dormant investigation into a furniture-smuggling ring that came to be known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case , which implicated officers with the local and federal branches of the Federal Security Service , Russia 's leading security agency , became an embarrassment for the agency .
In December 2015 , Chaika and his family were the focus of an investigation by Kremlin gadfly and anti-corruption lawyer Aleksei Navalny , who accused Chaika 's two sons of using the cover of their father 's subordinates to illegally enrich themselves .
Chaika rejected the allegations , calling them `` a hatchet job '' financed by William Browder , an American-born British @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia before he was banned from the country in 2005 .
Browder employed a Russian lawyer and auditor named Sergei Magnitsky , who helped uncover a scheme that stole $ 230 million in Russian tax refunds using falsely registered companies linked to Browder .
Magnitsky died in a Moscow prison in 2009 , accused of committing the fraud he helped uncover .
His death led to the passage of the 2012 U.S. law called the Magnitsky Act , which initially punished Russian judges , law enforcement officials , tax investigators , and others @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was later broadened to include Russians deemed by the United States to have committed human rights abuses , and a related law called the Global Magnitsky Act was passed in 2016 .
In 2017 , one of Chaika 's sons , Artyom , was put under sanctions under the broadened law .
The original Magnitsky Act infuriated the Kremlin , which responded by passing a law banning the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens .
Russian officials also supported a secretive lobbying campaign in Washington , D.C. that aimed to undermined the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chaika 's name emerged in connection with a Trump Tower meeting between President Donald Trump 's eldest son , Donald Trump Jr. , and a Russian lawyer with close ties to Chaika 's office .
At the meeting , which was also attended by Trump 's then-campaign chairman , Paul Manafort , the Russian lawyer , Natalia Veselnitskaya , tried to discuss the Magnitsky Act and the ban on U.S. adoptions of Russian children .
But Trump officials said they quickly lost interest .
At the time of the meeting , Veselnitskaya also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accused by U.S. prosecutors of partially benefiting from the Magnitsky tax-theft scheme .
In January 2019 , U.S. officials unsealed an indictment charging her with lying to U.S. authorities about her cooperation with Chaika 's office during the Prevezon investigation .

Russia's top prosecutor, Yury Chaika, who as one of the most powerful law enforcement figures in the country oversaw a raft of politically charged criminal investigations, will leave his position after nearly 14 years in office.
The Kremlin said on January 20 that President Vladimir Putin had nominated Igor Krasnov, who has served as deputy chairman of the Investigative Committee, to replace Chaika as prosecutor-general.
Russia's upper house of parliament must formally vote on Krasnov's nomination, though an affirmative vote is all but guaranteed.
Krasnov is little-known outside of Russian law enforcement circles. However, the Investigative Committee, which has been run by Putin ally Aleksandr Bastrykin since it was created in 2007, is considered a rival law enforcement agency that has clashed in the past with the Prosecutor-General's Office.
Chaika, 68, was serving as justice minister in June 2006 when he was named to the position of prosecutor-general, taking over for Vladimir Ustinov.
Just three days before Chaika took office, prosecutors announced they had reopened a dormant investigation into a furniture-smuggling ring that came to be known as the Three Whales case.
The case, which implicated officers with the local and federal branches of the Federal Security Service, Russia's leading security agency, became an embarrassment for the agency.
In December 2015, Chaika and his family were the focus of an investigation by Kremlin gadfly and anti-corruption lawyer Aleksei Navalny, who accused Chaika's two sons of using the cover of their father's subordinates to illegally enrich themselves.
Chaika rejected the allegations, calling them "a hatchet job" financed by William Browder, an American-born British citizen who was a prominent investor in Russia before he was banned from the country in 2005.
Browder employed a Russian lawyer and auditor named Sergei Magnitsky, who helped uncover a scheme that stole $230 million in Russian tax refunds using falsely registered companies linked to Browder.
Magnitsky died in a Moscow prison in 2009, accused of committing the fraud he helped uncover.
His death led to the passage of the 2012 U.S. law called the Magnitsky Act, which initially punished Russian judges, law enforcement officials, tax investigators, and others linked to the death. The law was later broadened to include Russians deemed by the United States to have committed human rights abuses, and a related law called the Global Magnitsky Act was passed in 2016.
In 2017, one of Chaika's sons, Artyom, was put under sanctions under the broadened law.
The original Magnitsky Act infuriated the Kremlin, which responded by passing a law banning the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens.
Russian officials also supported a secretive lobbying campaign in Washington, D.C. that aimed to undermined the Magnitsky law.
In June 2016, Chaika's name emerged in connection with a Trump Tower meeting between President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and a Russian lawyer with close ties to Chaika's office.
At the meeting, which was also attended by Trump's then-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, the Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, tried to discuss the Magnitsky Act and the ban on U.S. adoptions of Russian children.
But Trump officials said they quickly lost interest.
At the time of the meeting, Veselnitskaya also represented Prevezon Holdings, a Russian company accused by U.S. prosecutors of partially benefiting from the Magnitsky tax-theft scheme.
In January 2019, U.S. officials unsealed an indictment charging her with lying to U.S. authorities about her cooperation with Chaika's office during the Prevezon investigation.


rferl--2020-01-20--Iran Foreign Minister To Skip Davos Forum Amid Tensions With U.S.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will skip the World Economic Forum which kicks off in the Swiss resort of Davos on January 21 , Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi told a news conference on January 20 .
The annual gathering has been overshadowed by escalating tensions between Iran and the United States .
U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend the summit .
Zarif had been scheduled to attend the four-day gathering after receiving a personal invitation , Musavi said .
`` They changed the original program they had for him , the program that had been agreed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ else , '' Musavi said .
`` Either way , this trip unfortunately will not happen , '' he told a news conference in Tehran .
Trump is scheduled to depart late on January 20 for Davos .
Tensions between Iran and the United States have worsened since 2018 when Trump withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers .
The two countries appeared to be on the brink of war after a U.S. drone strike killed one of Iran 's top military commanders , Qasem Soleimani , on January @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fired missiles at U.S. troops stationed in neighboring Iraq .
Hours later , Iran 's armed forces shot down a Ukrainian airliner , killing all 176 people on board , in what Iran said was an accident .
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

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--2020-01-21--'Mothers Of Srebrenica' Sue Netherlands In European Court of Human Rights

Relatives of the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre have filed a lawsuit against the Netherlands at the European Court of Human Rights ( ECHR ) in Strasbourg .
The lawsuit , which challenges a July ruling of the Dutch Supreme Court , is the latest development in a long-running legal battle by a group of relatives known as The Mothers of Srebrenica to hold the Dutch government liable for the deaths of 350 Bosnian Muslim men .
`` The Mothers of Srebenica have today filed a case against the Dutch state at the ECHR in Strasbourg , '' lawyers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a statement , accusing the Dutch state of `` not taking sufficient measures to protect '' the population .
Altogether , more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serb troops under the command of General Ratko Mladic in Srebrenica in July 1995 , the worst mass killing in Europe since World War II .
Many of the victims had fled to the UN-declared `` safe zone '' in Srebrenica , only to find the outnumbered Dutch peacekeepers there unable to defend them .
The Dutch Supreme Court ruled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` acted unlawfully '' when they evacuated the men from their military base near Srebrenica on July 13 , 1995 , handing them over to the Bosnian Serb forces despite knowing that they `` were in serious jeopardy of being abused and murdered . ''
However , the Supreme Court established that the Netherlands bore `` very limited '' responsibility and had only 10 percent liability for the deaths of the 350 men , as this was the probability that its soldiers could have prevented the killings .
The Supreme Court 's ruling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent liability set by an appeals court in 2017 .
Lawyers for the Mothers of Srebrenica said that was a `` totally arbitrary decision . ''
`` According to the Supreme Court , these men would probably have been killed whatever happened , even if they had been authorized to remain in the compound .
There was however no factual debate about their chances of survival , '' the lawyers for the victims ' group wrote on January 20 .
`` That violates article 6 of the ECHR which stipulates the right to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ verdict in 2014 ruled that Dutch soldiers should have known the men would be murdered by Bosnian Serb troops if they were forced to leave the base .
The Dutch government resigned in 2002 after acknowledging its failure to protect the refugees , but said the peacekeepers had been on a `` mission impossible . ''
With reporting by AFP and BBC

Relatives of the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre have filed a lawsuit against the Netherlands at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg.
The lawsuit, which challenges a July ruling of the Dutch Supreme Court, is the latest development in a long-running legal battle by a group of relatives known as The Mothers of Srebrenica to hold the Dutch government liable for the deaths of 350 Bosnian Muslim men.
"The Mothers of Srebenica have today filed a case against the Dutch state at the ECHR in Strasbourg," lawyers Marco Gerritsen Simon van der Sluijs said in a statement, accusing the Dutch state of "not taking sufficient measures to protect" the population.
Altogether, more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serb troops under the command of General Ratko Mladic in Srebrenica in July 1995, the worst mass killing in Europe since World War II.
Many of the victims had fled to the UN-declared "safe zone" in Srebrenica, only to find the outnumbered Dutch peacekeepers there unable to defend them.
The Dutch Supreme Court ruled on July 19 that Dutch UN peacekeepers "acted unlawfully" when they evacuated the men from their military base near Srebrenica on July 13, 1995, handing them over to the Bosnian Serb forces despite knowing that they "were in serious jeopardy of being abused and murdered."
However, the Supreme Court established that the Netherlands bore "very limited" responsibility and had only 10 percent liability for the deaths of the 350 men, as this was the probability that its soldiers could have prevented the killings.
The Supreme Court's ruling drastically reduced the previous figure of 30 percent liability set by an appeals court in 2017.
Lawyers for the Mothers of Srebrenica said that was a "totally arbitrary decision."
"According to the Supreme Court, these men would probably have been killed whatever happened, even if they had been authorized to remain in the compound. There was however no factual debate about their chances of survival," the lawyers for the victims' group wrote on January 20.
"That violates article 6 of the ECHR which stipulates the right to a fair trial."
The original verdict in 2014 ruled that Dutch soldiers should have known the men would be murdered by Bosnian Serb troops if they were forced to leave the base.
The Dutch government resigned in 2002 after acknowledging its failure to protect the refugees, but said the peacekeepers had been on a "mission impossible."
With reporting by AFP and BBC


rferl--2020-01-21--Ukraine Sending Its Youngest Research Team To Antarctica In March

Ukraine is sending its youngest ever expeditionary team to Antarctica in March , the Ministry of Education and Science said @ @ @ @ @ January 20 .
The average age of the 25th Ukrainian Antarctic expedition is 37 years @ @ @ @ @ be based at the Vernadskiy Research Base , which Ukraine bought from Britain in 1996 @ @ @ @ @ We want to give young people as much chance to further themselves and their scientific @ @ @ @ @ Dykiy , head of the ministry 's National Antarctic Center .
`` And for the @ @ @ @ @ the staff are 'newcomers , ' meaning they will go to Antarctica for the first @ @ @ @ @ The expedition consists of seven scientists , a doctor , a cook , a systems @ @ @ @ @ engineer , and a system communications administrator .
Two members of the team are women @ @ @ @ @ specialist at the National Antarctic Center , will lead the expedition and it will be @ @ @ @ @ research base .

Ukraine is sending its youngest ever expeditionary team to Antarctica in March, the Ministry of Education and Science said in a press release on January 20.
The average age of the 25th Ukrainian Antarctic expedition is 37 years. The 12-person team will be based at the Vernadskiy Research Base, which Ukraine bought from Britain in 1996 for 1 pound.
"We want to give young people as much chance to further themselves and their scientific potential," said Yevhen Dykiy, head of the ministry's National Antarctic Center. "And for the same reason, half of the staff are 'newcomers,' meaning they will go to Antarctica for the first time this year."
The expedition consists of seven scientists, a doctor, a cook, a systems mechanic, a diesel electrician engineer, and a system communications administrator.
Two members of the team are women.
Yuriy Otrub, a specialist at the National Antarctic Center, will lead the expedition and it will be his sixth winter at the research base.


rferl--2020-01-21--Rockets Fall Inside Baghdad Green Zone After Deadly Nationwide Protests In Iraq

Three Katyusha rockets struck the Green Zone on January 21 in central Baghdad where many government buildings and foreign missions are located , Iraqi police sources told Reuters .
They were launched from the Zafaraniyah district outside the Iraqi capital , Baghdad , and two projectiles fell near the U.S. Embassy in the heavily fortified zone .
No one was injured and only material damage was reported in the shelling , the Al Hadath TV channel reported .
The early morning shelling came a day after anti-government protests resumed in Iraq in which six Iraqis , including two police officers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Baghdad and other cities .
Protesters in southern Iraq burned tires and blocked main roads in several cities , saying that Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi had not delivered on promises , including naming a new government acceptable to Iraqis .
Mass demonstrations have been a common occurrence in Iraq since October 1 , with protesters demanding a makeover of a political system that they perceive as corrupt and which keeps most people impoverished .
More than 450 people have been killed in the unrest .
There was a lull of several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conflict between the United States and Iran following the killing earlier this month of Qasem Soleimani , a top Iranian general .
Tehran responded to the lethal U.S. drone attack on Soleimani by firing ballistic missiles on two Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops .
Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS

Three Katyusha rockets struck the Green Zone on January 21 in central Baghdad where many government buildings and foreign missions are located, Iraqi police sources told Reuters.
They were launched from the Zafaraniyah district outside the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and two projectiles fell near the U.S. Embassy in the heavily fortified zone.
No one was injured and only material damage was reported in the shelling, the Al Hadath TV channel reported.
The early morning shelling came a day after anti-government protests resumed in Iraq in which six Iraqis, including two police officers, were killed and dozens were wounded in Baghdad and other cities.
Protesters in southern Iraq burned tires and blocked main roads in several cities, saying that Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi had not delivered on promises, including naming a new government acceptable to Iraqis.
Mass demonstrations have been a common occurrence in Iraq since October 1, with protesters demanding a makeover of a political system that they perceive as corrupt and which keeps most people impoverished.
More than 450 people have been killed in the unrest.
There was a lull of several weeks when attention turned to the escalating conflict between the United States and Iran following the killing earlier this month of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian general.
Tehran responded to the lethal U.S. drone attack on Soleimani by firing ballistic missiles on two Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops.
Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS


rferl--2020-01-21--Fire At House For Migrant Workers In Siberia Kills 10 Central Asian Nationals, One Russian

A house fire in Siberia ’ s Tomsk region has killed 11 people and left two injured , the local @ @ @ @ @ Ministry said on January 21 .
The fire took place in a one-story wooden shack @ @ @ @ @ in the Asinovsky district at around midnight .
The blaze covered an area of 208 @ @ @ @ @ 's roof collapsed in the fire .
A Chinese company rents the house and it @ @ @ @ @ from China , Tajikistan , and Uzbekistan , according to local authorities .
The whereabouts @ @ @ @ @ , the TASS news agency reported .
Ten of the 11 killed in the fire @ @ @ @ @ Emergency Situations Ministry told the Interfax news agency .
Local officials said the remaining victim @ @ @ @ @ Representatives of the Tajik Consul-General in the city of Novosibirsk , however , told Interfax @ @ @ @ @ the victims may be Tajik .
Local authorities said a criminal case has been opened @ @ @ @ @ of which is under investigation .

A house fire in Siberia’s Tomsk region has killed 11 people and left two injured, the local unit of the Emergencies Services Ministry said on January 21.
The fire took place in a one-story wooden shack in the village of Prichulymsky in the Asinovsky district at around midnight.
The blaze covered an area of 208 square meters and the house's roof collapsed in the fire.
A Chinese company rents the house and it is occupied by 14 residents from China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, according to local authorities. The whereabouts of one occupant is unknown, the TASS news agency reported.
Ten of the 11 killed in the fire were Uzbeks, Uzbekistan's Emergency Situations Ministry told the Interfax news agency. Local officials said the remaining victim was a Russian woman.
Representatives of the Tajik Consul-General in the city of Novosibirsk, however, told Interfax that at least one of the victims may be Tajik.
Local authorities said a criminal case has been opened into incident, the cause of which is under investigation.
With reporting by Interfax


rferl--2020-01-21--Iran Confirms Two Missiles Fired In Downing Of Ukrainian Plane

Iran 's civil aviation authority has confirmed that two missiles were launched at a Ukrainian passenger jet just after it took off from Tehran 's international airport bound for Kyiv on January 8 .
The authority said in a second preliminary report on the crash , which killed all 176 passengers on board , that it was still assessing the disaster .
`` Investigators ... discovered that two Tor-M1 missiles ... were fired at the aircraft , '' the report said .
The Tor-M1 is a short-range surface-to-air missile originally developed by the former Soviet Union and designed to target @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statement confirmed last week 's report in The New York Times which included a video recording that appears to show two missiles being fired at the Ukrainian plane .
Iranian officials have said that air defenses on high alert during heightened tensions after Iranian missile strikes `` unintentionally '' fired antiaircraft missiles at the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 .
The Iranian report also said Tehran has requested equipment from U.S. and French authorities to download data from the flight recorders but it has not yet received a positive response .
Canada , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citizens on the flight have asked Iran to send the flight data and voice recorders to experts abroad for analysis .
`` We hope that we can go a little further than just political discussions and discuss practical problems ; among them in particular is the return of the black boxes , '' Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko told reporters on January 20 after a meeting in Kyiv with the Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami .
Afghanistan , Britain , Canada , Ukraine , and Sweden -- countries whose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issued a joint statement calling for a `` thorough , independent , and transparent '' investigation .
Most of the victims were Iranian and Canadian citizens .
Canada has said France would be the best place to send the black boxes because it was one of the few nations with the ability to read them .
However , Tehran has given mixed signals about whether the black boxes would be handed over .
The Iranian official leading the investigation , Hassan Rezaeifar , was quoted by the Iranian media as saying the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , adding , `` But , as yet , we have made no decision . ''
With reporting by Reuters , AFP , and RFE/RL 's Ukrainian Service


rferl--2020-01-21--Britain 'Regretful' Ukrainian State Symbol Appears In Police's 'Extremist' Guide

A statement by the British government says it is aware that Ukraine 's national symbol appears in a British police guide for identifying extremist symbols and that it is `` regretful '' of the fact .
`` We are aware and regretful of the insult caused by the appearance of the Ukrainian Trident in the British police 's visual guide , '' a U.K. government spokesperson said late on January 20 in a statement on the Facebook page of the British Embassy in Ukraine .
`` As stated by the police , the document clearly states that many of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the fight against terrorism . ''
Written in the Ukrainian language , the statement further said the British authorities `` deeply respect the official symbols of Ukrainian statehood…We recognize the Trident as a major element of the state emblem of Ukraine , which has constitutional , historical , and cultural significance for the people of Ukraine . ''
The statement came a day after the Ukrainian Embassy in Britain publicly called on police officials to remove the trident , Ukraine 's national symbol and state coat of arms , from a counterterrorism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , teachers , and medical staff last year .
The statement was in reference to a 24-page guide that British authorities produced while giving anti-extremism briefings last year to help front-line officers discern signs and symbols .
The daily newspaper The Guardian first reported on the guide 's contents earlier this month .
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistance Commissioner Dean Haydon told the BBC that the visual aid was produced in order to help police `` identify and understand signs and symbols '' so they could tell the difference between them .
In a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ listed in the guide `` are not of counterterrorism interest . ''
Based on reporting by The Guardian , BBC , UNIAN , and Interfax

A statement by the British government says it is aware that Ukraine's national symbol appears in a British police guide for identifying extremist symbols and that it is "regretful" of the fact.
"We are aware and regretful of the insult caused by the appearance of the Ukrainian Trident in the British police's visual guide," a U.K. government spokesperson said late on January 20 in a statement on the Facebook page of the British Embassy in Ukraine. "As stated by the police, the document clearly states that many of the symbols contained therein are of no interest in the fight against terrorism."
Written in the Ukrainian language, the statement further said the British authorities "deeply respect the official symbols of Ukrainian statehood…We recognize the Trident as a major element of the state emblem of Ukraine, which has constitutional, historical, and cultural significance for the people of Ukraine."
The statement came a day after the Ukrainian Embassy in Britain publicly called on police officials to remove the trident, Ukraine's national symbol and state coat of arms, from a counterterrorism guide that was distributed to police officers, teachers, and medical staff last year.
The statement was in reference to a 24-page guide that British authorities produced while giving anti-extremism briefings last year to help front-line officers discern signs and symbols.
The daily newspaper The Guardian first reported on the guide's contents earlier this month.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistance Commissioner Dean Haydon told the BBC that the visual aid was produced in order to help police "identify and understand signs and symbols" so they could tell the difference between them.
In a statement, he said that many groups listed in the guide "are not of counterterrorism interest."
Based on reporting by The Guardian, BBC, UNIAN, and Interfax


rferl--2020-01-21--Ukrainian Monitors Record 137 Episodes Of Violence, Confrontation By Ultraright Groups

There were 137 recorded incidents of confrontation and violence committed by ultraright groups in Ukraine over a one-year period from October 14 , 2018 , a monitoring report by a Ukrainian public advocacy organization stated .
Conducted by the Kyiv-based Institute Respublica and financed by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Germany , the report on January 20 stated that most acts of violence and confrontation during the one-year period were committed by two groups : C14 and National Corps .
Forty such cases were attributed to C14 , of which 25 were `` of a violent nature , '' including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ episodes were attributed to National Corps , the political wing of the far-right Azov movement , of which 21 were of a violent nature , including 15 toward people .
According to Oksana Dutchak , Institute Respublica ’ s resident sociologist , the group documented 48 cases of a `` confrontational nature '' and 89 incidents of violence toward people or property .
The most incidents of violence and confrontation -- 23 -- were recorded in November 2018 .
There were 14 incidents of violence committed against feminist or lesbian , gay , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against political party members ; 12 against representatives of state or law enforcement institutions ; four against journalists ; four against business representatives ; three against artists ; and two against ethnic minorities or migrants .
`` Ultraright violence continues to be systematic , regular and , with very rare exceptions , committed with impunity , '' Maksym Butkevych , a human rights activist and coordinator of the Without Borders project , told RFE/RL .
`` Impunity encourages a continuance of violent practices ; it 'beckons ' those who resort to violence…to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Party and its semimilitary wing , the National Militia , belong to the so-called Azov movement .
The latter was established by radically-minded former soldiers of the current Azov National Guard special purpose unit .
Azov started off in 2014 as a volunteer battalion , which fought in important battles against Russia-backed forces in eastern Ukraine , including in the liberation of the port city Mariupol , the Donetsk region 's second-largest city .
The U.S. State Department last year labeled the National Corps and C14 as `` nationalist hate groups . ''

There were 137 recorded incidents of confrontation and violence committed by ultraright groups in Ukraine over a one-year period from October 14, 2018, a monitoring report by a Ukrainian public advocacy organization stated.
Conducted by the Kyiv-based Institute Respublica and financed by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Germany, the report on January 20 stated that most acts of violence and confrontation during the one-year period were committed by two groups: C14 and National Corps.
Forty such cases were attributed to C14, of which 25 were "of a violent nature," including 10 violent incidents toward people.
Thirty episodes were attributed to National Corps, the political wing of the far-right Azov movement, of which 21 were of a violent nature, including 15 toward people.
According to Oksana Dutchak, Institute Respublica’s resident sociologist, the group documented 48 cases of a "confrontational nature" and 89 incidents of violence toward people or property.
The most incidents of violence and confrontation -- 23 -- were recorded in November 2018.
There were 14 incidents of violence committed against feminist or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activists; 13 against political party members; 12 against representatives of state or law enforcement institutions; four against journalists; four against business representatives; three against artists; and two against ethnic minorities or migrants.
"Ultraright violence continues to be systematic, regular and, with very rare exceptions, committed with impunity," Maksym Butkevych, a human rights activist and coordinator of the Without Borders project, told RFE/RL. "Impunity encourages a continuance of violent practices; it 'beckons' those who resort to violence…to do it again."
The National Corps Party and its semimilitary wing, the National Militia, belong to the so-called Azov movement. The latter was established by radically-minded former soldiers of the current Azov National Guard special purpose unit.
Azov started off in 2014 as a volunteer battalion, which fought in important battles against Russia-backed forces in eastern Ukraine, including in the liberation of the port city Mariupol, the Donetsk region's second-largest city.
The U.S. State Department last year labeled the National Corps and C14 as "nationalist hate groups."


rferl--2020-01-21--Trump's Impeachment Trial To Resume In U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON -- The historic impeachment trial of Republican U.S. President Donald Trump is due to resume in the Senate on January 21 .
The impeachment trial is expected to continue six days a week , with breaks each Sunday .
On January 20 , a brief filed by Trump ’ s lawyers presented the most detailed view of the defense they intend to use against Democrats who are trying to convict Trump and remove him from office over his dealings with Ukraine .
Democrats in the House of Representatives charged on January 18 that Trump `` used his official powers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` interfere in a United States election for his personal political gain and then attempted to cover up his scheme by obstructing Congress ’ s investigation into his misconduct . ''
The 110-page brief from Trump ’ s attorneys hinges on the president 's claim that he did nothing wrong and did not commit a crime .
Trump 's lawyers wrote that House Democrats committed `` a dangerous perversion of the Constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn . ''
They also claimed that House Democrats `` were determined from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way -- to corrupt the extraordinary power of impeachment for use as a political tool to overturn the result of the 2016 election and to interfere in the 2020 election .
A debate and vote is expected as one of the first orders of business on January 21 on trial rules proposed by the Republican Senate Majority leader , Mitch McConnell ( Kentucky ) , that would govern the first phase of the trial .
On January 20 , McConnell proposed a four-page resolution that would grant House Democrats and White House lawyers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two days .
It also contains an option for the White House to propose an early motion to dismiss all charges against Trump .
The rules proposed in the resolution would leave open the option of a vote later in the landmark proceedings on whether witnesses would testify and new evidence could be introduced .
Democrats are expected to try to amend McConnell ’ s rules to stipulate that witnesses must be called , possibly leading to an extended debate over the rules of the impeachment trial .
Once the rules governing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the House of Representatives who form the prosecution team would begin to present their case against Trump .
In order to convict Trump , a two-thirds majority in the 100-seat Senate must vote to remove him from office and disqualify him from holding any other federal office in the future .
Such a result is seen as unlikely as Trump 's fellow Republicans control a majority in the Senate and most Republican senators are expected to vote along party lines .
Trump was scheduled to leave Washington late on January 20 on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to spend two days at the yearly World Economic Forum in Davos , Switzerland .
Trump plans to return to Washington on January 22 .
With reporting by AP , CNN , NPR , PBS , and Reuters

A former top FBI counterintelligence agent pleaded guilty to charges related to his work for notorious Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, changing his plea after federal prosecutors filed new, reduced charges of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Russia by working for the billionaire industrialist.
The move by Charles McGonigal, made on August 15 before a federal judge in New York City, ends a prosecution that had stunned the FBI, where McGonigal had investigated Russian influence operations for years while climbing the bureau’s ranks.
The 55-year-old also still faces a separate set of foreign agent charges in Washington, D.C., related to work he did for Albanian officials.
McGonigal, who retired as head counterintelligence in the FBI's New York bureau in 2018, was originally indicted in January by a grand jury on more serious charges of money laundering and violating U.S. sanctions.
Prosecutors alleged that McGonigal and a former Russian diplomat with whom he was associated, were paid more than $200,000 to do work for Deripaska, a wealthy Russian metals tycoon who has long been seen as a Kremlin insider. Deripaska was hit with sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2018.
U.S. authorities said McGonigal was hired to dig up negative information on Vladimir Potanin, a rival oligarch to Deripaska. McGonigal and the former diplomat, Sergei Shestakov, also worked to try and get Deripaska removed from U.S. sanctions lists.
Shestakov has pleaded not guilty to the more serious charges than had been originally filed against McGonigal.
They "attempted to conceal Deripaska's involvement by, among other means, not directly naming Deripaska in electronic communications, using shell companies as counterparties in the contract that outlined the services to be performed, using a forged signature on that contract, and using the same shell companies to send and receive payment from Deripaska," the Justice Department said in a press release after McGonigal entered his plea.
McGonigal could receive up to five years in prison when he is sentenced in December.
The separate case filed in Washington, D.C., by federal prosecutors centers on work McGonigal allegedly did on behalf of a former Albanian intelligence officer, for which he was paid $225,000.
McGonigal also allegedly lied to the FBI about his contacts with foreign nationals and foreign travel while he was still employed by the bureau.
Deripaska also faces charges of violating U.S. sanctions through real estate deals and a complicated scheme under which he allegedly arranged for his girlfriend to travel to the United States to give birth to two of their children.