rferl--2020-09-17--Navalny's Team Says Water Bottle With Traces Of Novichok Found In His Hotel Room In Tomsk

Associates of Aleksei Navalny say traces of the nerve agent used to poison the Russian opposition politician were found on a water bottle in the hotel room he was staying in in the Russian city of Tomsk .
Navalny , 44 , felt unwell while on a plane on his way from Tomsk to Moscow in late August , forcing the airliner to make an emergency landing in the city of Omsk , where he was rushed to a hospital .
He was later flown to the Charite clinic in Berlin , Germany , where toxicology tests provided `` unequivocal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been poisoned with a nerve agent from the Soviet-style Novichok chemical group .
Navalny 's blog on Instagram said on September 17 that his associates were still in the Xander hotel in Tomsk when news of the politician 's illness broke .
They immediately rushed to Navalny ’ s vacated and yet-to-be-cleaned room , where they collected any suspicious items they saw , including an opened bottle of mineral water with the brand name that translates as `` Holy Spring '' and is also referred to as `` Saint Spring . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of Navalny 's associates who said that the bottle was taken to Berlin by one of Navalny 's team members , Maria Pevchikh , who is a resident of the United Kingdom .
The Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ( OPCW ) said on September 17 that it is providing technical assistance to Germany in investigating Navalny 's case of poisoning with the nerve agent .
In Brussels , the European Parliament demanded tough EU sanctions on Russia over the Navalny poisoning , accusing the Kremlin of trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the assembly said the poisoning of Navalny was part of a `` systemic effort '' by President Vladimir Putin 's government to stifle opposition .
`` Political assassinations and poisonings in Russia are systemic instruments of the regime deliberately targeting the opposition , '' the European Parliament said in a nonbinding resolution , adding that Novichok was `` only available to military structures and secret services in Russia . ''
`` The attempted assassination of Aleksei Navalny was part of a systemic effort to silence him and other dissident voices , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ further exposing serious corruption in the regime and deter political opposition in the country in general . ''
EU diplomats are currently working on a new EU sanctions regime punishing human rights abusers .
According to sources RFE/RL have spoken with , work on the framework should be completed by the end of this year .
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell earlier this week floated the idea that the sanctions be named after Navalny .
Germany has demanded that Russia explain the incident , but Russia has vehemently denied any involvement and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that led to the verdict Navalny was poisoned .
Meanwhile , an investigator from Tomsk visited Navalny 's Moscow office on September 17 , the head of the office told Reuters .
Russian investigators are conducting a preliminary probe into the case and want to question two of the foundation 's employees , Ilya Pakhomov and Maria Pevchikh , who were with Navalny in Tomsk before he fell ill last month , Ivan Zhdanov said .
Navalny has led nationwide protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin , and has been attacked with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ custody in the past .
Among the Kremlin opponents who have been killed or targeted in recent years are investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya , former Russian security officer Aleksandr Litvinenko , former Russian Deputy Prime Minister and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov , and former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal , among others .
Skripal and his daughter , Yulia , were poisoned by Novichok in the British city of Salisbury in 2018 , and British investigators have implicated Russian security agencies .
OPCW tests confirmed use of the highly toxic substance .
Members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to expand the agency 's list of banned `` Schedule 1 '' chemicals for the first time to include the Novichok family of nerve agents .
That ban went into effect on June 7 , 2020 .
The OPCW was established in 1997 as a technical body to enforce the Chemical Weapons Convention .
It has played an active role in monitoring the use of banned chemical weapons in the Syrian war , which has made its work highly political .
With reporting by Proekt and Reuters

Associates of Aleksei Navalny say traces of the nerve agent used to poison the Russian opposition politician were found on a water bottle in the hotel room he was staying in in the Russian city of Tomsk.
Navalny, 44, felt unwell while on a plane on his way from Tomsk to Moscow in late August, forcing the airliner to make an emergency landing in the city of Omsk, where he was rushed to a hospital. He was later flown to the Charite clinic in Berlin, Germany, where toxicology tests provided "unequivocal evidence" that the gravely ill Kremlin-critic had been poisoned with a nerve agent from the Soviet-style Novichok chemical group.
Navalny's blog on Instagram said on September 17 that his associates were still in the Xander hotel in Tomsk when news of the politician's illness broke. They immediately rushed to Navalny’s vacated and yet-to-be-cleaned room, where they collected any suspicious items they saw, including an opened bottle of mineral water with the brand name that translates as "Holy Spring" and is also referred to as "Saint Spring."
The Proekt website on September 17 quoted one of Navalny's associates who said that the bottle was taken to Berlin by one of Navalny's team members, Maria Pevchikh, who is a resident of the United Kingdom.
The Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on September 17 that it is providing technical assistance to Germany in investigating Navalny's case of poisoning with the nerve agent.
In Brussels, the European Parliament demanded tough EU sanctions on Russia over the Navalny poisoning, accusing the Kremlin of trying to assassinate him to silence dissent.
Members of the assembly said the poisoning of Navalny was part of a "systemic effort" by President Vladimir Putin's government to stifle opposition.
"Political assassinations and poisonings in Russia are systemic instruments of the regime deliberately targeting the opposition," the European Parliament said in a nonbinding resolution, adding that Novichok was "only available to military structures and secret services in Russia."
"The attempted assassination of Aleksei Navalny was part of a systemic effort to silence him and other dissident voices, and to deter him and those voices from further exposing serious corruption in the regime and deter political opposition in the country in general."
EU diplomats are currently working on a new EU sanctions regime punishing human rights abusers. According to sources RFE/RL have spoken with, work on the framework should be completed by the end of this year.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell earlier this week floated the idea that the sanctions be named after Navalny.
Germany has demanded that Russia explain the incident, but Russia has vehemently denied any involvement and has pressed Germany to share the evidence that led to the verdict Navalny was poisoned.
Meanwhile, an investigator from Tomsk visited Navalny's Moscow office on September 17, the head of the office told Reuters.
Russian investigators are conducting a preliminary probe into the case and want to question two of the foundation's employees, Ilya Pakhomov and Maria Pevchikh, who were with Navalny in Tomsk before he fell ill last month, Ivan Zhdanov said.
Navalny has led nationwide protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has been attacked with a dangerous chemical and fallen ill in Russian custody in the past.
Among the Kremlin opponents who have been killed or targeted in recent years are investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, former Russian security officer Aleksandr Litvinenko, former Russian Deputy Prime Minister and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, and former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, among others.
Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned by Novichok in the British city of Salisbury in 2018, and British investigators have implicated Russian security agencies. OPCW tests confirmed use of the highly toxic substance.
Members of the OPCW agreed in November 2019 to expand the agency's list of banned "Schedule 1" chemicals for the first time to include the Novichok family of nerve agents. That ban went into effect on June 7, 2020.
The OPCW was established in 1997 as a technical body to enforce the Chemical Weapons Convention. It has played an active role in monitoring the use of banned chemical weapons in the Syrian war, which has made its work highly political.
With reporting by Proekt and Reuters


rferl--2020-09-17--Leading Independent Media In Belarus Publish Blank Pages In Solidarity With Jailed Journalists

MINSK -- Leading independent media outlets in Belarus have published blank front pages with the words , “ There should have been a photo here , '' in solidarity with two photographers -- including one from RFE/RL -- who have been jailed over their coverage of a mass protest in Minsk .
The blank pages published or posted on websites on September 17 noted that Alyaksandr Vasyukovich and Uladz Hrydzin were sentenced to 11 days in jail `` for taking part in an unsanctioned action . ''
Hrydzin , who had been an RFE/RL correspondent in Minsk before he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and Vasyukovich , a freelance photojournalist working for various media , were found guilty of violating Belarus 's law on mass gatherings on September 16 .
A third man and friend of the two journalists , Yahor Kalyahin , was fined 540 rubles ( $ 210 ) by the Frunze district court on the same charge .
The three were detained in a Minsk bar by a group of people wearing balaclavas on September 13 , the day when tens of thousands rallied in the Belarusian capital to protest against official results @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handed victory to the incumbent , Alyaksandr Lukashenka .
The Interior Ministry reported more than 400 arrests on that day .
“ RFE/RL deplores the jail sentences imposed on journalists Uladz Hrydzin and Alyaksandr Vasyukovich , simply for doing what journalists do -- reporting the news , '' acting RFE/RL President Daisy Sindelar said in a statement on September 16 .
`` These sentences are the latest examples of the Belarusian government ’ s ongoing assault on independent journalism -- and a clear attempt to silence reporters telling the truth about Belarus 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on citizens that the world has been witnessing for weeks , '' she added .
The protesters and opposition leaders say the election was rigged .
Lukashenka , who took just over 80 percent of the ballots according to official results , denies vote-rigging .
Since the vote , thousands of people have been detained and beaten by police while nearly all the opposition 's key leaders have been forced to leave the country or been arrested in a widening crackdown condemned by the United States and European Union .
On September 4 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three days in jail after being detained while covering an anti-government protest in Minsk .
Belarusian authorities have stripped accreditations from at least 17 journalists from major foreign news organizations -- including five from RFE/RL or its affiliates -- who have been covering the country ’ s turmoil .

MINSK -- Leading independent media outlets in Belarus have published blank front pages with the words, “There should have been a photo here," in solidarity with two photographers -- including one from RFE/RL -- who have been jailed over their coverage of a mass protest in Minsk.
The blank pages published or posted on websites on September 17 noted that Alyaksandr Vasyukovich and Uladz Hrydzin were sentenced to 11 days in jail "for taking part in an unsanctioned action."
Hrydzin, who had been an RFE/RL correspondent in Minsk before he was stripped of his accreditation on August 29, and Vasyukovich, a freelance photojournalist working for various media, were found guilty of violating Belarus's law on mass gatherings on September 16.
A third man and friend of the two journalists, Yahor Kalyahin, was fined 540 rubles ($210) by the Frunze district court on the same charge.
The three were detained in a Minsk bar by a group of people wearing balaclavas on September 13, the day when tens of thousands rallied in the Belarusian capital to protest against official results from an August 9 presidential election that handed victory to the incumbent, Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
The Interior Ministry reported more than 400 arrests on that day.
“RFE/RL deplores the jail sentences imposed on journalists Uladz Hrydzin and Alyaksandr Vasyukovich, simply for doing what journalists do -- reporting the news," acting RFE/RL President Daisy Sindelar said in a statement on September 16.
"These sentences are the latest examples of the Belarusian government’s ongoing assault on independent journalism -- and a clear attempt to silence reporters telling the truth about Belarus's deeply flawed elections and the brutal crackdown on citizens that the world has been witnessing for weeks," she added.
The protesters and opposition leaders say the election was rigged. Lukashenka, who took just over 80 percent of the ballots according to official results, denies vote-rigging.
Since the vote, thousands of people have been detained and beaten by police while nearly all the opposition's key leaders have been forced to leave the country or been arrested in a widening crackdown condemned by the United States and European Union.
The crackdown includes stifling the media.
On September 4, six Belarusian journalists were sentenced to three days in jail after being detained while covering an anti-government protest in Minsk.
Belarusian authorities have stripped accreditations from at least 17 journalists from major foreign news organizations -- including five from RFE/RL or its affiliates -- who have been covering the country’s turmoil.


rferl--2020-09-17--U.S. Charges Two Iranians Over 'Cyberintrusion Campaign'

U.S. prosecutors say they have indicted two Iranians on allegations they were hackers connected with a “ coordinated cyberintrusion campaign ” that targeted American and foreign universities , a Washington-based think tank , and other organizations in the United States , Europe , and the Middle East .
Hooman Heidarian , 30 , and Mehdi Farhadi , 34 , stole hundreds of terabytes of data , including national security intelligence , aerospace data , unpublished scientific research , and `` nonmilitary nuclear information , '' the Department of Justice alleged in a statement on September 16 .
It said the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city of Hamedan , conducted “ many of these intrusions on behalf of the Iranian government.
” They also “ often vandalized websites…and posted messages that appeared to signal the demise of Iran ’ s internal opposition , foreign adversaries , and countries identified as rivals to Iran , including Israel and Saudi Arabia.
” In some cases , the hackers privately sold the stolen data on the digital black market , the department said .
“ These Iranian nationals allegedly conducted a wide-ranging campaign on computers here in New Jersey and around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey .
“ They brazenly infiltrated computer systems and targeted intellectual property and often sought to intimidate perceived enemies of Iran , including dissidents fighting for human rights in Iran and around the world , ” he said .
Carpenito added that their conduct “ threatens our national security , and as a result , these defendants are wanted by the FBI and are considered fugitives from justice.
” Both suspects were charged in a 10-count indictment that included computer hacking , fraud , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their alleged targets were identified by name , but the statement said they included “ several American and foreign universities , a Washington , D.C.-based think tank , a defense contractor , an aerospace company , a foreign policy organization , nongovernmental organizations ( NGOs ) , nonprofits , and foreign government and other entities identified as rivals or adversaries to Iran around the world.
” U.S. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said that recent cases `` demonstrate that at least four nations -- Iran , China , Russia and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to victimize individuals and companies from around the world , as long as these hackers will also work for that country 's government -- gathering information on human rights activists , dissidents , and others of intelligence interest . ''
Iranian , Chinese , Russian , and North Korean authorities have denied such accusations in the past .

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


rferl--2020-09-17--Psychological Exam Ordered For Pakistani Doctor Charged In U.S. With Terrorism

A psychological exam has been ordered for a Pakistani doctor who has been in custody in the U.S. state of Minnesota since his arrest in March on a terrorism charge .
Muhammad Masood has been indicted on one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization .
The former researcher at the Mayo Clinic is accused of telling paid FBI informants that he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State ( IS ) and wanted to carry out lone-wolf attacks in the United States .
He also allegedly voiced his desire to travel to Syria to fight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March 19 by FBI agents at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport .
The psychological exam is meant to judge Masood 's “ competency to stand trial and assist in his defense , ” according to the order .
Masood 's attorney has said the defendant does not understand the court proceedings .
Prosecutors say Masood was in the United States on a work visa .
They allege in court documents that from January to March , Masood made several statements to paid informants pledging his allegiance to IS and its leader .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they say .
Court documents do not name the clinic where Masood worked .
The Mayo Clinic has confirmed that Masood formerly worked at the medical center , but said he was not employed there when he was arrested .

A psychological exam has been ordered for a Pakistani doctor who has been in custody in the U.S. state of Minnesota since his arrest in March on a terrorism charge.
Muhammad Masood has been indicted on one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
The former researcher at the Mayo Clinic is accused of telling paid FBI informants that he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) and wanted to carry out lone-wolf attacks in the United States. He also allegedly voiced his desire to travel to Syria to fight for IS.
He was arrested on March 19 by FBI agents at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
The psychological exam is meant to judge Masood's “competency to stand trial and assist in his defense,” according to the order. Masood's attorney has said the defendant does not understand the court proceedings.
Prosecutors say Masood was in the United States on a work visa. They allege in court documents that from January to March, Masood made several statements to paid informants pledging his allegiance to IS and its leader. He believed the informants were members of IS, they say.
Court documents do not name the clinic where Masood worked. The Mayo Clinic has confirmed that Masood formerly worked at the medical center, but said he was not employed there when he was arrested.
Based on reporting by AP


rferl--2020-09-18--Hundreds Of Hasidic Pilgrims Leave Belarus-Ukraine Border After Being Stopped By COVID-19 Restrictio

Hundreds Of Hasidic Pilgrims Leave Belarus-Ukraine Border After Being Stopped By COVID-19 Restrictions

NOVAYA HUTA , Belarus -- Hundreds of followers of the Breslov Hasidic movement , who were trying to reach the central Ukrainian city of Uman to celebrate Rosh Hashanah , the Jewish New Year , have begun leaving neutral territory along the Belarusian-Ukrainian border after they were refused entry to Ukraine over measures banning foreigners from entering the country to slow the spread of the coronavirus .
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said on September 18 that , of about 1,000 pilgrims who were waiting to cross into the country , only some 600 remain , the rest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ban on entering the country amid a spike in coronavirus cases .
Tens of thousands of followers of the Breslov Hasidic movement come to Uman every year to mark the Jewish New Year by praying at the grave of the movement 's founder , Reb Nachman , who died there in 1810 .
They began to gather on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border around September 14 , trying to get to Ukraine and go to Uman , in the Cherkasy region , to celebrate the holiday that runs from September 18 to September 20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last week that , due to the coronavirus restrictions , only about 3,000 pilgrims will come to Uman this year .
The number of pilgrims traveling to Uman for Rosh Hashanah has increased dramatically since Ukraine gained independence after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union .

NOVAYA HUTA, Belarus -- Hundreds of followers of the Breslov Hasidic movement, who were trying to reach the central Ukrainian city of Uman to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, have begun leaving neutral territory along the Belarusian-Ukrainian border after they were refused entry to Ukraine over measures banning foreigners from entering the country to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said on September 18 that, of about 1,000 pilgrims who were waiting to cross into the country, only some 600 remain, the rest having left the area after Kyiv upheld the ban on entering the country amid a spike in coronavirus cases.
Tens of thousands of followers of the Breslov Hasidic movement come to Uman every year to mark the Jewish New Year by praying at the grave of the movement's founder, Reb Nachman, who died there in 1810.
They began to gather on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border around September 14, trying to get to Ukraine and go to Uman, in the Cherkasy region, to celebrate the holiday that runs from September 18 to September 20.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said last week that, due to the coronavirus restrictions, only about 3,000 pilgrims will come to Uman this year.
The number of pilgrims traveling to Uman for Rosh Hashanah has increased dramatically since Ukraine gained independence after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.


rferl--2020-09-18--Kabul Says Afghanistan Will Sign Agreement On Strategic Partnership With Tajikistan

Afghanistan says it plans to sign a strategic partnership agreement with neighboring Tajikistan .
The Afghan Foreign Ministry made the @ @ @ @ @ but did not specify when and where the document would be signed .
The statement @ @ @ @ @ Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Mohammad Haneef Atmar held talks with his Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Muhriddin @ @ @ @ @ his two-day official trip to Dushanbe .
Tajik authorities have not officially said anything about @ @ @ @ @ agreement and have yet to comment on the Afghan Foreign Ministry ’ s statement .
@ @ @ @ @ with four countries -- China , Kazakhstan , Russia , and Uzbekistan .
Atmar stressed @ @ @ @ @ that his country needs a resumption of electricity supplies from Tajikistan , which Dushanbe cut @ @ @ @ @ July due to an abrupt decrease in water levels at reservoirs used by its major @ @ @ @ @ sides also discussed the construction of new transportation routes connecting Afghanistan with Tajikistan and other @ @ @ @

The education of girls and women is universally accepted in more than 200 countries and territories, including nearly 50 Muslim-majority nations.
But Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers have banned teenage girls from attending school after the sixth grade since they returned to power two years ago. The ban was extended in December to women in universities.
Countless protests by Afghans inside the country, pressure from the international community, and lobbying by Muslim scholars and clerics have failed to convince the fundamentalist Taliban leaders to reopen schools.
Experts are divided over whether the ban is rooted in how the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam is shaped by conservative Pashtun tribal customs and cultural practices or if it is prompted by how senior Taliban ideologues interpret Islamic teachings.
Most Taliban leaders are ethnic Pashtun, Sunni Muslim clerics. Many were educated in Deobandi madrasahs in neighboring Pakistan. Deobandism emerged as a puritanical Islamic revivalist movement in 19-century British Colonial India. Based on the Sunni Hanafi school of jurisprudence, it is a prominent strain among Islamists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Tribal Influences
Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator, argues that the Taliban restrictions against women are linked to social customs and cultural practices in eastern and southern Afghanistan.
Most Taliban leaders come from various Pashtun rural tribal communities in these regions bordering Pakistan.
"They believe that a woman's place is either inside a house or in a grave," Yousafzai said of the basic Taliban belief influenced by the status of women in the families of clerics and religious leaders in these Pashtun regions.
“Women living in the households of the current Taliban policymakers were never educated and never left their homes,” said Yousafzai, who has tracked the Islamist group since it emerged as a ragtag militia in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in late 1994. “These women never performed any government or nongovernmental jobs.”
Yousafzai says the Taliban backs policies shaped by this worldview by leaning on Islamic teachings supporting such ideas. He says Taliban leaders rely on sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that discourage women from leaving their homes.
“Their primary belief is that pubescent girls should not leave home under any circumstance,” he said. “This is why they view women leaving home for education or work as engaging in moral corruption.”
In Afghanistan, a Muslim nation of some 40 million people, activists and rights advocates accuse the Taliban of implementing "gender apartheid" by denying women education, work, freedom of movement, and deciding how they can appear in public.
Most Muslims agree that Islam allows women to get an education. Yet the Taliban publicly says that it will allow girls access to education only after ensuring complete gender segregation and other unspecified conditions.
Almost all Afghan secondary schools were gender segregated and universities imposed a strict separation between men and women after the Taliban takeover.
Yousafzai says in conservative and traditional Muslim societies around the world, some clerics also favor restrictions on women's education, work, and their role in public life. But the governments in those countries usually oppose or limit such ideas.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia -- one of the most conservative Sunni Muslim nations -- has allowed women to drive and granted them freedom of movement without a male guardian. These steps are part of a reform and modernity drive by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
The Taliban ban on education has invited universal condemnation from Muslims globally.
“The Taliban's ban on women's education is not rooted in [the Islamic] Shari’a law but rather reflects cultural biases that contradict the teachings of Islam,” said Salam al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in the United States.
He said that contrary to Taliban practices, “Islam emphasizes the importance of seeking knowledge and encourages all individuals, regardless of gender, to acquire an education.”
Historical Conflict
But Islamic scholars and those who have attempted to convince the Taliban about reopening girls schools offer a different explanation.
John Mohammad Butt, an Islamic scholar and former BBC broadcaster who is the only Westerner to graduate from India’s Darul Uloom Deoband, argues that the Taliban's policy on girls' education is not tribal but shaped by the century-old conflict over modern education.
“The problem is that girls' education in Afghanistan -- indeed, contemporary education in general -- has generally been introduced in Afghanistan in line with a secular agenda,” he said.
In the 1920s, a coalition of conservative clerics and tribal and community leaders deposed reformist King Amanullah Khan. He wanted to modernize Afghanistan along Turkish leader Kamal Ataturk's secular lines and championed modern education and rights for women.
This opposition to modernity and secularism continued, and conservative clerics opposed women's education and work. It became a key part of the Islamist opposition to the pro-Soviet Afghan communist governments after the April 1978 military coup that ended the Afghan monarchy. The mujahedin accused the communists of spreading immorality by promoting women’s education and empowerment.
“This has led to particular wariness on the part of conservative circles in Afghanistan with regard to girls' education,” Butt said.
'Deep Ideological Conviction'
Obaidullah Baheer, a political science lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan, became part of an effort to rescind the ban by talking to the Taliban last year.
But he says the effort failed because “the ban is a matter of deep ideological conviction” for the current supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
Baheer says that the most prominent Taliban leaders have studied in Pakistani madrasahs and were thus disconnected from village and tribal life.
“They have been indoctrinated by the Deobandi school of thought so that they now enforce the strictest version of Islam on the Afghan population,” he said.
He argues that the ban on girls’ schools is a deliberate policy championed by Akhundzada, who he says has endorsed Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani's Arabic language book The Islamic Emirate And Its System. In this book, Haqqani supports a fringe Islamic opinion of preferring the choice of one of the Prophet Muhammad's wives, Sawdah Bint Zam'ah, who chose to stay at home until her death.
Baheer says Haqqani ignores his other wives and other female companions that played an active role in many sectors of society and how they served as students and teachers for men.
“This fringe opinion is not held by all Taliban leaders but is one that the current absolute sovereign, the Taliban emir, seems to be convinced of,” he said.
Butt says that even Haqqani has acknowledged the principle that if there is something that women need to act upon, then that is also something that women need to learn about.
“I hope the Taliban authorities will come to realize in the not-too-distant future that education for women will make Afghan women into better Muslims,” he says. “It will enable them to make a stronger contribution to the well-being of their country.”
Two years after grappling with the issue, Western diplomats appear to be encouraging Afghan conservative and clerical circles to find ways to end the ban.
Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, recently tweeted that Afghan women must be educated and contribute to the economy to help their country stand on its own two feet.
“If change to policies is made, it will be because Afghans have asked for it, not a result of foreign requests,” he wrote.


rferl--2020-09-18--North Korean National Gets Seven Years In Prison For Attacking Russian Border Guards

A court in Russia 's far eastern city of Nakhodka sentenced a North Korean citizen on September 18 to seven years in prison for attacking Russian border guards .
Earlier in July , another North Korean man was sentenced to four years in prison in the high-profile case , in which the trials of dozens of other North Korean nationals are still pending .
More than 160 North Koreans were detained in September last year in a two-day operation after Russian border guards encountered two North Korean schooners and 11 motorboats in Russian territorial waters in the Sea of Japan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that one of the boat 's crew attacked the guards who boarded the vessel .
Four officers were injured in the incident , one of whom sustained gunshot wounds.. One North Korean national died in the incident .
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned North Korea 's charge d'affaires , Zin Jong Hep , over the incident at the time , expressing `` serious concern . ''
Russian coast guards frequently detain North Korean fishermen in the Far East , and some of them are handed prison terms .
Last July , North Korea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russian-South Korean crew after it had been detained because Pyongyang claimed it violated its territorial waters .
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax

A court in Russia's far eastern city of Nakhodka sentenced a North Korean citizen on September 18 to seven years in prison for attacking Russian border guards.
Earlier in July, another North Korean man was sentenced to four years in prison in the high-profile case, in which the trials of dozens of other North Korean nationals are still pending.
More than 160 North Koreans were detained in September last year in a two-day operation after Russian border guards encountered two North Korean schooners and 11 motorboats in Russian territorial waters in the Sea of Japan.
Russian authorities said at the time that one of the boat's crew attacked the guards who boarded the vessel. Four officers were injured in the incident, one of whom sustained gunshot wounds..
One North Korean national died in the incident.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned North Korea's charge d'affaires, Zin Jong Hep, over the incident at the time, expressing "serious concern."
Russian coast guards frequently detain North Korean fishermen in the Far East, and some of them are handed prison terms.
Last July, North Korea released a Russian fishing boat with a Russian-South Korean crew after it had been detained because Pyongyang claimed it violated its territorial waters.
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax


rferl--2020-09-18--Border Crossing Points In Belarus Continue To Function After Lukashenka's Order To Shut Down Borders

MINSK -- The Belarusian State Border Committee says it has strengthened border controls , but entry and exit crossing points remain open despite a statement by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka , beleaguered by six weeks of mass protests demanding his resignation , that the country needed to take measures on its western edge .
`` The border service has strengthened controls on the state border of the Republic of Belarus using tactical reserve forces , '' the committee said in a statement on September 18 .
`` At the same time , the entry and exit crossing points are functioning within @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Polish border guards told the Reuters news agency on September 18 that they had seen no issues at the Polish-Belarusian border , while a spokesman for Ukraine ’ s State Border Guarding Service , Andriy Demchenko , said in a televised interview on September 18 that there were no signs of additional border guards or equipment on the Belarusian side that would indicate any intention to shut the border with Ukraine .
On September 17 , Lukashenka , who has been challenged by weeks of mass protests over the results of an August @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many western countries say was rigged , accused Poland , Lithuania , and Ukraine of what he called attempts to ignite `` a hot war '' and said borders with those three countries needed to be shut down .
With reporting by Reuters and Ukrayina-24

MINSK -- The Belarusian State Border Committee says it has strengthened border controls, but entry and exit crossing points remain open despite a statement by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, beleaguered by six weeks of mass protests demanding his resignation, that the country needed to take measures on its western edge.
"The border service has strengthened controls on the state border of the Republic of Belarus using tactical reserve forces," the committee said in a statement on September 18.
"At the same time, the entry and exit crossing points are functioning within their capacity," it said.
Polish border guards told the Reuters news agency on September 18 that they had seen no issues at the Polish-Belarusian border, while a spokesman for Ukraine’s State Border Guarding Service, Andriy Demchenko, said in a televised interview on September 18 that there were no signs of additional border guards or equipment on the Belarusian side that would indicate any intention to shut the border with Ukraine.
On September 17, Lukashenka, who has been challenged by weeks of mass protests over the results of an August 9 presidential election that opposition members and many western countries say was rigged, accused Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine of what he called attempts to ignite "a hot war" and said borders with those three countries needed to be shut down.
With reporting by Reuters and Ukrayina-24


rferl--2020-09-18--COVID-19: Uzbekistan To Lift Ban On International Flights From October 1

TASHKENT -- Uzbekistan says it will lift a ban on international flights to and from the Central Asian nation as @ @ @ @ @ government commission said on September 17 that the country will be open for international tourists @ @ @ @ @ regulations imposed over the coronavirus pandemic .
Uzbekistan shut its borders and suspended transport links @ @ @ @ @ because of the outbreak .
Only charter flights and special trains have been in operation @ @ @ @ @ who were stuck in Uzbekistan .
As of September 18 , the number of registered @ @ @ @ @ 49,761 , including 415 deaths .
Just over 46,000 people have recovered from the virus @

TASHKENT -- Uzbekistan says it will lift a ban on international flights to and from the Central Asian nation as of October 1.
The government commission said on September 17 that the country will be open for international tourists on condition that they follow regulations imposed over the coronavirus pandemic.
Uzbekistan shut its borders and suspended transport links with other countries in mid-March because of the outbreak.
Only charter flights and special trains have been in operation and used for repatriating foreigners who were stuck in Uzbekistan.
As of September 18, the number of registered coronavirus cases in Uzbekistan was 49,761, including 415 deaths. Just over 46,000 people have recovered from the virus.


rferl--2020-09-18--Opposition Leader Says Monitors Needed In Belarus As UN Warns Of New 'Iron Curtain'

Belarus opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has demanded that Minsk allow an international mission to document possible crimes committed by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his government in a crackdown on protesters and media following a disputed election as the United Nations warned of the possibility of `` another iron curtain '' descending in Europe .
Speaking at a special urgent session of the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva on September 18 , Tsikhanouskaya , who joined in via video from Lithuania where she is in self-exile , called for an end to violence against the protesters by the Belarus authorities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election .
`` I once again emphasize our willingness to talk with the authorities and look for a peaceful solution to the crisis that has affected our nation , '' she said .
The session comes a day after the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution refusing to recognize Lukashenka as president of Belarus once his current term expires in November , rejecting the results of an August 9 election that the opposition and the West have said was rigged .
Thousands of people have been detained and beaten by police while nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been forced to leave the country or been arrested in a widening crackdown by Lukashenka , who has refused to negotiate with the opposition .
`` Let 's not allow another iron curtain to descend on the European continent , '' Anais Marin , UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus , told the debate , calling the current situation in Belarus `` catastrophic . ''
Marin , who said some 10,000 arrests have been made during the crackdown , was interrupted during her speech several times by delegations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and others .
The Belarusian ambassador to the UN in Geneva , Yury Ambrazevich , said it was not acceptable to use the body to interfere in a country 's election .
With reporting by Reuters , AP , and Interfax

The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution submitted by the European Union to launch closer monitoring of alleged rights violations in Belarus amid a crackdown on protesters calling for President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to resign.
The move came despite efforts by Russia, which has deepened its support to prop up Lukashenka, to water down the resolution that was adopted on September 18.
The council agreed to give the office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet a mandate to closely monitor the situation in Belarus and submit an oral report with recommendations by the end of the year.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said the UN’s move set a "dangerous precedent," and accused the council of meddling in its internal affairs.
The EU resolution was adopted after 23 countries voted in favor, two against, and 22 abstained at the 47-member state Geneva forum.
Russia, which does not have a vote as an observer, submitted 17 amendments to the resolution, but all were rejected.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lukashenka's main ally, agreed to loan Minsk $1.5 billion at a summit on September 14, and the two countries are conducting joint military training exercises in Belarus.
The UN's move came after Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya demanded Minsk allow an international mission to document possible crimes committed by Lukashenka and his government in a crackdown on protesters and media following a disputed election.
Her remarks came as the UN warned of the possibility of "another iron curtain" descending in Europe.
Speaking at a special urgent session of the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva on September 18, Tsikhanouskaya, who joined in via video from Lithuania where she is in self-exile, called for an end to violence against the protesters by the Belarus authorities and a new free and fair presidential election.
"I once again emphasize our willingness to talk with the authorities and look for a peaceful solution to the crisis that has affected our nation," she said.
The session comes a day after the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution refusing to recognize Lukashenka as president of Belarus once his current term expires in November, rejecting the results of an August 9 election that the opposition and the West have said was rigged.
'Catastrophic' Situation
Thousands of people have been detained and beaten by police while nearly all of the opposition's key leaders have been forced to leave the country or been arrested in a widening crackdown by Lukashenka, who has refused to negotiate with the opposition.
"Let's not allow another iron curtain to descend on the European continent," Anais Marin, UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus, told the debate, calling the current situation in Belarus "catastrophic."
Marin, who said some 10,000 arrests have been made during the crackdown, was interrupted during her speech several times by delegations from Belarus, its ally Russia, and others.
The Belarusian ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Yury Ambrazevich, said it was not acceptable to use the body to interfere in a country's election.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and Interfax


rferl--2020-09-18--South Africa Says Insufficient Evidence Of Iranian Plot To Assassinate U.S. Ambassador

South Africa 's State Security Agency said September 18 that it had found no evidence to support a media report that Iran was planning to assassinate the U.S. ambassador to Pretoria .
State Security Agency spokesman Mava Scott said that South African officials had met with their U.S. counterparts to request additional information .
`` At present , the information provided is not sufficient to sustain the allegation that there is a credible threat against the United States Ambassador to South Africa , '' Scott said in a statement .
Scott added that South Africa takes seriously any threat and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. diplomatic mission and personnel .
Citing unnamed U.S. officials , Politico reported on September 13 of an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Lana Marks , a friend of President Donald Trump who was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to South Africa in October .
Such a plot , said to involve the Iranian Embassy in Pretoria , was reportedly designed to avenge the U.S. killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani .
Washington and Tehran appeared to be on the brink of war after Soleimani , commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Force , was killed in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad on January 3 .
Trump responded to the Politico report by vowing overwhelming retaliation against Iran if it were to carry out an attack against the United States and its diplomats .
The Iranian Foreign Ministry denied the report of an assassination plot as `` baseless '' and part of efforts to `` create an anti-Iranian atmosphere . ''
With reporting by AFP , News24 , and SABC News


rferl--2020-09-18--U.S. Congressmen Urge Afghan Leaders To Preserve Women's 'Advances' During Taliban Talks

The top members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee have urged Afghanistan ’ s leaders to preserve the “ advances ” of women as Kabul negotiates a peace deal with the Taliban aimed at ending the nearly 19-year war .
Rights activists fear that hard-fought gains made by women since the collapse of the Taliban regime will be given away as part of a peace settlement with the extremist group .
Representatives Eliot Engel ( Democrat-New York ) , chairman of the committee , and Michael McCaul ( Republican-Texas ) said the government ’ s negotiating team “ must @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will have a significant role to play in any future Afghanistan.
” “ At such a critical moment in Afghanistan ’ s future , we offer our unwavering support and encouragement for the progress that your country has made in the area of women ’ s empowerment and urge you to make this an ongoing priority of your government , ” Engel and McCaul said in a joint statement on September 18 .
Under the Taliban ’ s 1996-2001 rule , the militants prevented women and girls from working or going to school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , millions of girls have gone to school and continue to study , women have joined the workforce in meaningful numbers , and dozens of women are members of parliament and work in the government or diplomatic corps .
The Taliban has said it will protect women ’ s rights , but only if they don ’ t violate Islamic or Afghan values , suggesting it will curtail some of the fragile freedoms gained by women in the past two decades .
The constitution guarantees the same rights to women as men , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discrimination in society , particularly in rural areas .
But the Taliban has demanded a new constitution based on `` Islamic principles , ” prompting concern among Afghan rights campaigners .
Intra-Afghan peace negotiations that started on September 12 will tackle tough issues , including a permanent cease-fire , the rights of women and minorities , and the disarming of tens of thousands of Taliban fighters .


rferl--2020-09-18--Afghan Mothers' Names To Be Printed On Children's National ID Cards

Afghan mothers will have their names on their children 's national identification cards , after a years-long campaign by women ’ s rights advocates .
President Ashraf Ghani on September 18 signed into law the amendment to the country ’ s Citizens Law .
The change has been long sought by rights activists in the deeply conservative and religious country where women are identified by the names of their male relatives .
For men , revealing the names of their female relatives in public is considered shameful .
Until now , only a father 's name was printed on ID @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decree , a draft of which was recently passed by parliament , mothers ' names will be included alongside fathers ' names on birth certificates and national identity cards .
The change comes after a high-profile campaign by Afghan women under the hashtag # WhereIsMyName .
“ The mother ’ s name is officially included in the national identity cards , along with other personal details , ” Ghani ’ s spokesman , Sediq Sediqqi , said on Twitter on September 18 .
Human Rights Watch said the amendment was “ a major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activists.
” “ This will have immediate real-world consequences for women , making it easier for them to obtain education , health care , and passports and other documentation for their children , and to travel with their children , ” Heather Barr , an interim co-director of the New York-based Human Rights Watch , said in a statement on September 18 .
Barr added that the decree is important amid ongoing peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban extremist group in Qatar .
Rights activists have raised concerns that a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ result in setbacks for women ’ s rights .
Under Taliban rule , girls and women were banned from working and going to school .
“ The struggle for women ’ s rights in Afghanistan has been long and hard , and many Afghan women fear their rights could be rolled back in the negotiations , ” Barr said .
Political observer Ahmad Saeidi told RFE/RL ’ s Radio Free Afghanistan that Ghani wants to “ highlight his commitment to women ’ s rights.
” Earlier this week , a former Taliban commander @ @ @ @ @ @ @ names on Afghan ID cards would be a “ dishonor . ''
Laleh Osmany , founder of the # WhereIsMyName campaign , told the BBC that she was “ overjoyed ” by the change .
`` There is no doubt that this victory is the result of a persistent campaign and consonance among the campaigners and citizens , '' she said .
With reporting by dpa and the BBC


rferl--2020-09-18--Jailed Azerbaijani Opposition Politician Yaqublu Transferred To House Arrest

BAKU -- Azerbaijani opposition politician Tofiq Yaqublu , who was sentenced to more than four years in prison earlier this month , has been transferred to house arrest after needing hospitalization due to health complications arising from a hunger strike he was on .
The 59-year-old deputy chairman of the opposition Musavat Party and a senior member of the National Council of Democratic was in a Baku hospital when Judge Elmar Rahimov changed the terms of Yaqublu 's sentence on September 18 .
Later in the day , Yaqublu left the hospital surrounded by his relatives and colleagues and addressed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the building .
`` Thank you very much for your support , the fight for justice and the truth will continue .
I have not changed my stance and consider all charges against me as bogus .
Courts , investigators , and their witnesses are all people who took part in the falsification and they must be held responsible for that , '' Yaqublu said .
Yaqublu was convicted of “ hooliganism ” and sentenced to four years and three months in prison on September 3 over a dispute after a traffic accident @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a setup for the “ bogus ” case .
The politician was arrested in March after the car collision .
Investigators accused Yaqublu of `` using a wrench to conduct an act of hooliganism '' against the other driver , a charge he has denied .
The Oslo-based Human Rights House Foundation welcomed the move but urged the government to overturn Yaqublu 's conviction .
`` He is innocent , the charges against him are false and they should be dropped altogether , '' Kety Abashidze , the foundation ’ s Eastern Europe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Union officials have expressed concerns over Yaqublu 's conviction and called on Baku to revisit his case .
Last week , Azerbaijan ’ s leading human rights defenders appealed to authorities to release Yaqublu and his supporters staged several rallies in Baku demanding his immediate release .
Yaqublu , who frequently criticizes the government and authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev , spent 14 months in prison in 2013-14 on charges widely dismissed as politically motivated .
He was also sentenced to several days in jail in October 2019 after an opposition rally , during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ custody .
Critics of Aliyev 's government say authorities in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists , journalists , and civil-society advocates on trumped-up charges .
Aliyev has ruled Azerbaijan since 2003 , taking over for his father , Heydar Aliyev , who served as president for a decade .

BAKU -- Azerbaijani opposition politician Tofiq Yaqublu, who was sentenced to more than four years in prison earlier this month, has been transferred to house arrest after needing hospitalization due to health complications arising from a hunger strike he was on.
The 59-year-old deputy chairman of the opposition Musavat Party and a senior member of the National Council of Democratic was in a Baku hospital when Judge Elmar Rahimov changed the terms of Yaqublu's sentence on September 18.
Later in the day, Yaqublu left the hospital surrounded by his relatives and colleagues and addressed dozens of his supporters as he exited the building.
"Thank you very much for your support, the fight for justice and the truth will continue. I have not changed my stance and consider all charges against me as bogus. Courts, investigators, and their witnesses are all people who took part in the falsification and they must be held responsible for that," Yaqublu said.
Yaqublu was convicted of “hooliganism” and sentenced to four years and three months in prison on September 3 over a dispute after a traffic accident that he and rights groups say was a setup for the “bogus” case.
The politician was arrested in March after the car collision.
Investigators accused Yaqublu of "using a wrench to conduct an act of hooliganism" against the other driver, a charge he has denied.
The Oslo-based Human Rights House Foundation welcomed the move but urged the government to overturn Yaqublu's conviction.
"He is innocent, the charges against him are false and they should be dropped altogether," Kety Abashidze, the foundation’s Eastern Europe officer, wrote on Twitter.
European Union officials have expressed concerns over Yaqublu's conviction and called on Baku to revisit his case.
Last week, Azerbaijan’s leading human rights defenders appealed to authorities to release Yaqublu and his supporters staged several rallies in Baku demanding his immediate release.
Yaqublu, who frequently criticizes the government and authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev, spent 14 months in prison in 2013-14 on charges widely dismissed as politically motivated.
He was also sentenced to several days in jail in October 2019 after an opposition rally, during which he claims he was tortured in custody.
Critics of Aliyev's government say authorities in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists, journalists, and civil-society advocates on trumped-up charges.
Aliyev has ruled Azerbaijan since 2003, taking over for his father, Heydar Aliyev, who served as president for a decade.


rferl--2020-09-18--Jailed Kazakh Civil Rights Activist Placed In Solitary Confinement For 'Attacking Cellmates'

ALMATY , Kazakhstan -- Jailed Kazakh civil rights activist Sanavar Zakirova has been placed in solitary confinement for allegedly attacking three cellmates , which her daughter called part of a politically motivated campaign against her .
Malika Zakirova told RFE/RL on September 18 that her mother , who is being held in a detention center in Kazakhstan 's largest city , Almaty , was defending herself from an attack by the three inmates , which lead to her being placed in solitary confinement .
Officials at the detention center told RFE/RL that Zakirova was transferred to solitary confinement for five @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Zakirova 's lawyer , Zhanar Balghabaeva , told RFE/RL on September 18 that her client had complained since mid-August that the detention center 's administration was using other inmates to pressure her and officially asked for a transfer to another penitentiary as her life was in danger .
Zakirova , who is well known for her political and civil-rights activities , was sentenced to one year in prison in mid-July after the Medeu district court in Almaty found her guilty of assaulting the daughter of a woman who had hurled vulgarities at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insisted that all of the accusations against her are groundless and politically motivated .
She was an initiator of and leading participant in rallies in Almaty and Nur-Sultan , the capital , last year by residents of Kazakhstan 's different regions , demanding action on what they called `` wrong court decisions '' in various cases .
In March 2019 , Almaty city authorities denied Zakirova permission to hold a congress to establish a new political party , Our Right .
In November 2019 , Zakirova and two other activists were found guilty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ false information about the ruling Nur-Otan party over the Internet .
They were ordered to pay the equivalent of $ 15,000 to the party .
Zakirova and her supporters said then that the case was politically motivated .
Days later Zakirova and three other female activists mocked Nur-Otan , staging a public action -- asking worshipers outside a mosque in Nur-Sultan for money to help pay a fine to the ruling party .
Police detained the women then and fined them the equivalent of $ 32 each for causing a public nuisance .

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Jailed Kazakh civil rights activist Sanavar Zakirova has been placed in solitary confinement for allegedly attacking three cellmates, which her daughter called part of a politically motivated campaign against her.
Malika Zakirova told RFE/RL on September 18 that her mother, who is being held in a detention center in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, was defending herself from an attack by the three inmates, which lead to her being placed in solitary confinement.
Officials at the detention center told RFE/RL that Zakirova was transferred to solitary confinement for five days "for attacking three inmates."
Zakirova's lawyer, Zhanar Balghabaeva, told RFE/RL on September 18 that her client had complained since mid-August that the detention center's administration was using other inmates to pressure her and officially asked for a transfer to another penitentiary as her life was in danger.
Zakirova, who is well known for her political and civil-rights activities, was sentenced to one year in prison in mid-July after the Medeu district court in Almaty found her guilty of assaulting the daughter of a woman who had hurled vulgarities at a rally in March.
Zakirova has insisted that all of the accusations against her are groundless and politically motivated.
She was an initiator of and leading participant in rallies in Almaty and Nur-Sultan, the capital, last year by residents of Kazakhstan's different regions, demanding action on what they called "wrong court decisions" in various cases.
In March 2019, Almaty city authorities denied Zakirova permission to hold a congress to establish a new political party, Our Right.
In November 2019, Zakirova and two other activists were found guilty by a court in Almaty of distributing false information about the ruling Nur-Otan party over the Internet.
They were ordered to pay the equivalent of $15,000 to the party. Zakirova and her supporters said then that the case was politically motivated.
Days later Zakirova and three other female activists mocked Nur-Otan, staging a public action -- asking worshipers outside a mosque in Nur-Sultan for money to help pay a fine to the ruling party.
Police detained the women then and fined them the equivalent of $32 each for causing a public nuisance.
Last week, Kazakhstan’s human rights organizations recognized Zakirova a political prisoner.


rferl--2020-09-18--Vehicle Breaches U.S. Ambassador's Moscow Residence

A vehicle driven by a Russian national breached the perimeter of Spaso House , the U.S. ambassador to Russia ’ @ @ @ @ @ said the U.S. Embassy .
The Russian national was intercepted by embassy personnel and handed @ @ @ @ @ Rebecca Ross said on Twitter on September 18 .
Ross added that there were no @ @ @ @ @ was not in the building at the time .
The incident occurred at approximately 4:20 @ @ @ @ @ said .
The 112 Telegram channel reported , without citing sources , that the driver @ @ @ @ @ .

A vehicle driven by a Russian national breached the perimeter of Spaso House, the U.S. ambassador to Russia’s central Moscow residence, said the U.S. Embassy.
The Russian national was intercepted by embassy personnel and handed over to authorities, spokeswoman Rebecca Ross said on Twitter on September 18.
Ross added that there were no injuries and Ambassador John Sullivan was not in the building at the time.
The incident occurred at approximately 4:20 p.m. local time, Ross said.
The 112 Telegram channel reported, without citing sources, that the driver of the vehicle was drunk.


rferl--2020-09-18--Man In Grave Condition After Setting Himself On Fire In Belarus

MINSK -- A man in Belarus has been hospitalized in a grave condition after he set himself on fire in @ @ @ @ @ Minsk .
The Interior Ministry said on September 18 that the man , whose identity @ @ @ @ @ a flammable liquid on himself and set himself on fire in front of a police @ @ @ @ @ the video of the incident on YouTube .
It was not immediately clear why the @ @ @ @ @ .
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Volha Chamadanava said that the man is a 36-year-old local resident @ @ @ @ @ and who had attempted to commit suicide in the past .
Some social-media users had @ @ @ @ @ a form of protest against President Alyaksandr Lukashenka .
Mass protests challenging the results of @ @ @ @ @ that declared Lukashenka the winner have swept across Belarus over the past month .

MINSK -- A man in Belarus has been hospitalized in a grave condition after he set himself on fire in the city of Smalyavichy near Minsk.
The Interior Ministry said on September 18 that the man, whose identity was not disclosed, poured a flammable liquid on himself and set himself on fire in front of a police directorate.
The ministry placed the video of the incident on YouTube.
It was not immediately clear why the man set himself on fire.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Volha Chamadanava said that the man is a 36-year-old local resident with a history of alcoholism and who had attempted to commit suicide in the past.
Some social-media users had speculated the man was attempting a form of protest against President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Mass protests challenging the results of an August 9 presidential election that declared Lukashenka the winner have swept across Belarus over the past month.


rferl--2020-09-18--Extension Of Pretrial Detention Of Former Khabarovsk Krai Governor Furgal Upheld

The Moscow City Court has upheld the extension of the pretrial arrest of Sergei Furgal , the former governor of the Far Eastern Khabarovsk Krai region , who is charged with attempted murder and ordering two killings in 2004-2005 , as his supporters continue to rally in the city of Khabarovsk .
The September 18 court session that approved the Basmanny district court 's decision to prolong Furgal 's pretrial arrest until December 9 was held behind closed doors .
Furgal , who took part in the hearing via a video link from the Lefortovo detention center , reiterated his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` a persecution '' and demanding all hearings in his case be open for the public .
`` I am outraged that all the hearings in my case are being held in a closed regime .
I do not have anything to hide , but it looks like investigators have .
I want everyone to know that I am being persecuted , '' Furgal said .
Furgal , of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , was elected in 2018 in a runoff that he won handily against the region ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party .
His arrest on July 9 sparked mass protests in the Khabarovsk Krai 's capital , Khabarovsk , and several other towns and cities in the region by his supporters that have been held almost daily since then .
The protests highlight growing discontent in the Far East over what demonstrators see as Moscow-dominated policies that often neglect their views and interests .
President Vladimir Putin 's popularity has been declining as the Kremlin tries to deal with an economy suffering from the coronavirus pandemic and years of ongoing international sanctions .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @

The Moscow City Court has upheld the extension of the pretrial arrest of Sergei Furgal, the former governor of the Far Eastern Khabarovsk Krai region, who is charged with attempted murder and ordering two killings in 2004-2005, as his supporters continue to rally in the city of Khabarovsk.
The September 18 court session that approved the Basmanny district court's decision to prolong Furgal's pretrial arrest until December 9 was held behind closed doors.
Furgal, who took part in the hearing via a video link from the Lefortovo detention center, reiterated his innocence, calling the case against him "a persecution" and demanding all hearings in his case be open for the public.
"I am outraged that all the hearings in my case are being held in a closed regime. I do not have anything to hide, but it looks like investigators have. I want everyone to know that I am being persecuted," Furgal said.
Furgal, of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, was elected in 2018 in a runoff that he won handily against the region’s longtime incumbent of the ruling United Russia party.
His arrest on July 9 sparked mass protests in the Khabarovsk Krai's capital, Khabarovsk, and several other towns and cities in the region by his supporters that have been held almost daily since then.
The protests highlight growing discontent in the Far East over what demonstrators see as Moscow-dominated policies that often neglect their views and interests.
President Vladimir Putin's popularity has been declining as the Kremlin tries to deal with an economy suffering from the coronavirus pandemic and years of ongoing international sanctions.
Based on reporting by Rapsinews and Interfax


rferl--2020-09-18--Kremlin Calls Report About Novichok Found On Navalny Water Bottle 'Absurd'

RFE/RL journalists report the news in 27 languages in 23 countries where a free press is banned by the government @ @ @ @ @ We provide what many people can not get locally : uncensored news , responsible discussion @ @ @ @ @

1 A Russian Factory Is Using Underage Workers To Assemble Iranian 'Suicide' Drones Destined For Ukraine
2 At Least Two Killed In Russian Strikes In Ukraine As Crimean Peninsula, Bridge Reportedly Targeted
3 Northern Russian Village Shaken After Discharged Wagner Fighter Accused Of Killing Six People
4 Live Briefing: Russia Invades Ukraine
5 Interview: War Journalist Says 'Nothing Will Change In Russia Until It's Defeated In Ukraine'
6 Russian Fighter Jet On Training Mission Crashes In Kaliningrad, Killing Two Pilots
7 Power-Line Cut Raises Alarm Over Russian-Held Nuclear Plant In Ukraine, But Expert Says Little Has Changed
8 In His First Public Statement After Latest Conviction, Navalny Slams 'Those Who Lost Russia's Historic Chance'
9 Explosions Over Kyiv, Air Strikes Elsewhere Keep Alert Level High Across Ukraine


rferl--2020-09-18--UN Rights Body Adopts EU Resolution On Monitoring Alleged Rights Violations In Belarus

The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution submitted by the European Union to launch closer monitoring of alleged rights violations in Belarus amid a crackdown on protesters calling for President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to resign .
The move came despite efforts by Russia , which has deepened its support to prop up Lukashenka , to water down the resolution that was adopted on September 18 .
The council agreed to give the office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet a mandate to closely monitor the situation in Belarus and submit an oral report with recommendations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said the UN ’ s move set a `` dangerous precedent , '' and accused the council of meddling in its internal affairs .
The EU resolution was adopted after 23 countries voted in favor , two against , and 22 abstained at the 47-member state Geneva forum .
Russia , which does not have a vote as an observer , submitted 17 amendments to the resolution , but all were rejected .
Russian President Vladimir Putin , Lukashenka 's main ally , agreed to loan Minsk $ 1.5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the two countries are conducting joint military training exercises in Belarus .
The UN 's move came after Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya demanded Minsk allow an international mission to document possible crimes committed by Lukashenka and his government in a crackdown on protesters and media following a disputed election .
Her remarks came as the UN warned of the possibility of `` another iron curtain '' descending in Europe .
Speaking at a special urgent session of the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva on September 18 , Tsikhanouskaya , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where she is in self-exile , called for an end to violence against the protesters by the Belarus authorities and a new free and fair presidential election .
`` I once again emphasize our willingness to talk with the authorities and look for a peaceful solution to the crisis that has affected our nation , '' she said .
The session comes a day after the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution refusing to recognize Lukashenka as president of Belarus once his current term expires in November , rejecting the results of an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the West have said was rigged .
Thousands of people have been detained and beaten by police while nearly all of the opposition 's key leaders have been forced to leave the country or been arrested in a widening crackdown by Lukashenka , who has refused to negotiate with the opposition .
`` Let 's not allow another iron curtain to descend on the European continent , '' Anais Marin , UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus , told the debate , calling the current situation in Belarus `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some 10,000 arrests have been made during the crackdown , was interrupted during her speech several times by delegations from Belarus , its ally Russia , and others .
The Belarusian ambassador to the UN in Geneva , Yury Ambrazevich , said it was not acceptable to use the body to interfere in a country 's election .
With reporting by Reuters , AP , and Interfax


rferl--2020-09-19--Iran's IRGC Chief Threatens To Go After Americans Who Killed Top General

The head of Iran ’ s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps ( IRGC ) has threatened retaliation against everyone who had a role in the January killing of a top IRGC general by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq .
The IRCG 's website on September 19 quoted General Hossein Salami as saying , “ Mr .
Trump !
Our revenge for martyrdom of our great general is obvious , serious , and real.
” “ We will hit those who had direct and indirect roles , '' Hossein said .
`` You should know that everybody who had role in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is a serious message .
We do prove everything in practice.
” Trump warned earlier this week that Washington would respond harshly to any Iranian attempts to take revenge for the death of General Qasem Soleimani , tweeting that “ if they hit us in any way , any form , written instructions already done we ’ re going to hit them 1000 times harder.
” Trump 's warning came in response to a report that Iran was plotting to assassinate the U.S. ambassador to South Africa in retaliation for Soleimani 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We took out the world ’ s number one terrorist and the mass murderer of American troops and many , many troops and many people all over the world , ” Trump said .
“ Qasem Soleimani is dead .
He ’ s dead .
Bad guy .
Bad guy .
Very bad guy.
” Salami rejected the report of an Iranian plot to assassinate the U.S. ambassador , Lana Marks , but made clear that Iran intends to avenge Soleimani 's death .
“ Do you think we 'd hit a female @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
’ Salami said .
In January , Iran launched a ballistic-missile attack targeting U.S. soldiers in Iraq in response to the fatal drone strike against Soleimani .
Trump has stepped up economic pressure on Iran with sanctions since he pulled the United States out of Iran 's nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 .
Tehran has continued to expand its stockpile of enriched uranium and has pressured other nations to offset the harm of U.S. sanctions .
But Tehran continues to insist that its nuclear program is not aimed at developing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Reuters


rferl--2020-09-19--Navalny Describes 'Clear, But Long' Road To Recovery After Poisoning

Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny has posted a message on social media saying that his path to recovery after being poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent is “ clear ” but “ long.
” In a statement issued via his Instagram account on September 19 , Navalny also posted a photograph of himself walking down stairs inside the Berlin hospital where he is being treated after falling ill in August aboard a domestic Russian airline .
Navalny said in the post that he still has difficulty walking up the stairs .
“ Let me tell you about my recovery , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a clear path now , albeit long…Now I ’ m a guy whose legs are shaking when he takes the stairs , but at least is thinking , ‘ Oh , that ’ s the stairs !
People use it to go up .
I probably should look for an elevator.
” Not so long ago , Navalny said , he would “ just stand and stare dumbly.
” Navalny also described his thought processes after he first came out of an induced coma at Charite hospital in Berlin , saying he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could not understand how to talk.
” Navalny wrote : `` The doctor visited me every morning and said , 'Aleksei , I brought you a whiteboard .
Let 's think what word to write on it ' . ''
`` It made me desperate , because even though I could generally understand what the doctor wanted from me , I could n't understand where to get those words from , '' he said .
`` In what place in my head do they appear ?
Where to find a word and how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of that was utterly unclear .
However , I did n't know how to express my despair as well and was just silent.
” Navalny fell ill suddenly on August 20 while on a Russian commercial flight from Siberia .
He was medically evacuated to Germany at the request of his wife several days later .
Doctors in Berlin removed Navalny from a medically induced coma on September 7 , saying his condition had improved but that it was unclear what long-term effects the “ severe poisoning ” would have on his health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countries have determined the 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner and Kremlin critic was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent , and Western governments have demanded an explanation and an investigation from Russia .
Russian investigators said on September 19 that they have not uncovered any evidence so far that might lead to criminal charges .
But Navalny 's team says a water bottle removed from his hotel room in the Siberian city of Tomsk after he fell critically ill had been taken to Germany and also was found to have traces of a Novichok nerve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that claim on September 18 , calling it `` absurd . ''
With reporting by Reuters and TASS

Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny has posted a message on social media saying that his path to recovery after being poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent is “clear” but “long.”
In a statement issued via his Instagram account on September 19, Navalny also posted a photograph of himself walking down stairs inside the Berlin hospital where he is being treated after falling ill in August aboard a domestic Russian airline.
Navalny said in the post that he still has difficulty walking up the stairs.
“Let me tell you about my recovery,” Navalny wrote. “It’s a clear path now, albeit long…Now I’m a guy whose legs are shaking when he takes the stairs, but at least is thinking, ‘Oh, that’s the stairs! People use it to go up. I probably should look for an elevator.”
Not so long ago, Navalny said, he would “just stand and stare dumbly.”
Navalny also described his thought processes after he first came out of an induced coma at Charite hospital in Berlin, saying he previously “did not recognize people and could not understand how to talk.”
Navalny wrote: "The doctor visited me every morning and said, 'Aleksei, I brought you a whiteboard. Let's think what word to write on it'."
"It made me desperate, because even though I could generally understand what the doctor wanted from me, I couldn't understand where to get those words from," he said. "In what place in my head do they appear? Where to find a word and how to make it mean something? All of that was utterly unclear. However, I didn't know how to express my despair as well and was just silent.”
Navalny fell ill suddenly on August 20 while on a Russian commercial flight from Siberia. He was medically evacuated to Germany at the request of his wife several days later.
Doctors in Berlin removed Navalny from a medically induced coma on September 7, saying his condition had improved but that it was unclear what long-term effects the “severe poisoning” would have on his health.
Germany says laboratory tests in three countries have determined the 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner and Kremlin critic was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent, and Western governments have demanded an explanation and an investigation from Russia.
Russian investigators said on September 19 that they have not uncovered any evidence so far that might lead to criminal charges.
But Navalny's team says a water bottle removed from his hotel room in the Siberian city of Tomsk after he fell critically ill had been taken to Germany and also was found to have traces of a Novichok nerve agent.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refuted that claim on September 18, calling it "absurd."
With reporting by Reuters and TASS


rferl--2020-09-19--Paktia Provincial Councilor Shot Dead In Southeastern Afghanistan

Afghan officials say the deputy head of the provincial council in the southeastern province of Paktia has been assassinated by @ @ @ @ @ media office said Ayub Gharwal was on his way to a university in the provincial @ @ @ @ @ was attacked and killed by the gunmen on September 19 .
There was no immediate @ @ @ @ @ the Taliban has long been active in the province .
There also has been fierce @ @ @ @ @ Afghan government troops and Taliban militants in the neighboring province of Nangarhar -- even while @ @ @ @ @ in Qatar .
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani expressed sympathy with Gharwal 's family and said @ @ @ @ @ quest of Afghans for a cease-fire .
The Taliban has repeatedly rejected calls for a @ @ @ @ @ are talking with an Afghan government negotiating team in Qatar in an attempt to find @ @ @ @ @ country 's ongoing conflict .
Based on reporting by RFE/RL 's Radio Free Afghanistan and @