rferl--2020-05-13--Hungary's Orban Declines EU Parliament Debate Invite

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has refused an invitation from EU lawmakers to debate emergency powers and the rule of law in his country , the state news agency MTI reports .
European Parliament President David Sassoli invited Orban to speak at the debate in Brussels on May 14 , but MTI quoted the right-wing prime minister as replying in a letter that Hungary will be represented by Justice Minister Judit Varga .
In his invitation , Sassoli wrote on May 12 that only heads of state or government can attend such debates , which according to protocol can not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the fight against the pandemic consumes all my energy and strength , '' Orban replied to Sassoli , according to MTI .
Hungary 's parliament , where Orban 's Fidesz party holds a comfortable majority , approved legislation on March 30 giving him sweeping new powers under -- and possibly beyond -- the country 's state of emergency to fight the COVID-19 pandemic .
The move triggered a wave of criticism from both the European Union and the United States .
Orban has insisted the powers are needed to tackle the spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leftists and liberals playing politics when the continent is facing one of the greatest health and economic crises we 've seen in a century , '' Kovacs tweeted on May 13 .
The European Parliament on April 17 adopted a statement saying Hungary 's measures were `` incompatible with European values . ''
The center-right European People 's Party , the European Parliament ’ s biggest grouping , suspended Fidesz from its ranks in March 2019 over concerns over the rule of law in Hungary as well as attacks against the European Commission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ February , even before the Hungarian lawmakers ' move to grant Orban sweeping powers .
Hungary 's emergency law also prompted `` particular '' concern from European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen last month .
While saying EU countries may need extraordinary measures to fight the pandemic , she added , `` I am concerned that certain measures go too far -- and I 'm particularly concerned with the situation in Hungary . ''
With reporting by dpa , AP , and AFP

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has refused an invitation from EU lawmakers to debate emergency powers and the rule of law in his country, the state news agency MTI reports.
European Parliament President David Sassoli invited Orban to speak at the debate in Brussels on May 14, but MTI quoted the right-wing prime minister as replying in a letter that Hungary will be represented by Justice Minister Judit Varga.
In his invitation, Sassoli wrote on May 12 that only heads of state or government can attend such debates, which according to protocol cannot be held remotely.
"At present, the fight against the pandemic consumes all my energy and strength," Orban replied to Sassoli, according to MTI.
Hungary's parliament, where Orban's Fidesz party holds a comfortable majority, approved legislation on March 30 giving him sweeping new powers under -- and possibly beyond -- the country's state of emergency to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The move triggered a wave of criticism from both the European Union and the United States.
Orban has insisted the powers are needed to tackle the spread of the pandemic.
Separately, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs branded the upcoming debate in Brussels a "witch-hunt, a show trial."
"It's leftists and liberals playing politics when the continent is facing one of the greatest health and economic crises we've seen in a century," Kovacs tweeted on May 13.
The European Parliament on April 17 adopted a statement saying Hungary's measures were "incompatible with European values."
The center-right European People's Party, the European Parliament’s biggest grouping, suspended Fidesz from its ranks in March 2019 over concerns over the rule of law in Hungary as well as attacks against the European Commission.
The suspension was extended indefinitely in February, even before the Hungarian lawmakers' move to grant Orban sweeping powers.
Hungary's emergency law also prompted "particular" concern from European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen last month.
While saying EU countries may need extraordinary measures to fight the pandemic, she added, "I am concerned that certain measures go too far -- and I'm particularly concerned with the situation in Hungary."
With reporting by dpa, AP, and AFP


rferl--2020-05-13--Protests, Warning From Belgrade After Montenegro Arrests Serbian Priests Who Ignored Virus Ban

Montenegrin police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protests against the detention of eight Serbian Orthodox Church priests who led a religious procession despite a ban on gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic .
The incidents late on May 13 in the towns of Niksic and Pljevlja came a day after thousands of people attended a procession in Niksic without wearing face masks or maintaining a safe distance from each other .
Belgrade strongly criticized the detention of the eight Serbian Orthodox Church priests , including bishop Ioaniki , which opened fresh religious and political tensions between the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said they fired tear gas at protesters after crowds ignored orders to disperse and threw stones , bottles , and fireworks at officers .
There was also a mass gathering in Niksic , during which the police dispersed protesters with tear gas .
Police said several protesters were arrested .
Protests were held elsewhere in the country , including one that blocked a regional road .
Prosecutors said on May 13 that the eight priests are facing up to 12 years in prison on charges of violating virus restrictions .
Video and pictures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't wear face masks or practice physical distancing .
`` They ( the priests ) are accused of the criminal offense of violating health rules in the prevention of a dangerous contagious disease , '' district attorney Stevo Sekaric said in a statement .
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej voiced hope in a joint statement on May 13 that the arrests would not spark any “ unwanted unrest or clashes . ''
Vucic urged a peaceful resolution of the crisis and a quick release of the priests .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the Montenegrin state is conducting a purge of the Serbian Orthodox Church . ''
The arrests highlighted ongoing tensions between Montenegro 's pro-Western authorities and the Serbian Orthodox Church , which they see as a tool for meddling by Moscow-backed Serbia .
Earlier this year the Serbian Orthodox church led weeks of protests in Montenegro against a religious law that it says would strip the church of its property in the country .
The law that came into force in January says religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Yugoslavia and its church was subsumed by the Serbian Orthodox Church , losing all of its property in the process .
The Serbian Orthodox Church says the law is aimed at retaking its property .
Montenegrin officials have repeatedly denied the allegations .
Montenegro , a country of 620,000 people , split from Serbia in a referendum in 2006 and further turned away from Belgrade and its Orthodox ally Russia , taking a pro-Western course and joining NATO in 2017 .
The country has also been negotiating European Union membership .
Serbian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recognized Serbia 's separation from Montenegro , which they claim is a historic Serbian territory .
With reporting by AP and dpa

Montenegrin police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protests against the detention of eight Serbian Orthodox Church priests who led a religious procession despite a ban on gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The incidents late on May 13 in the towns of Niksic and Pljevlja came a day after thousands of people attended a procession in Niksic without wearing face masks or maintaining a safe distance from each other.
Belgrade strongly criticized the detention of the eight Serbian Orthodox Church priests, including Bishop Ioaniki, which opened fresh religious and political tensions between the two neighbors.
In Pljevlja, police said they fired tear gas at protesters after crowds ignored orders to disperse and threw stones, bottles, and fireworks at officers. There was also a mass gathering in Niksic, during which the police dispersed protesters with tear gas. Police said several protesters were arrested.
Protests were held elsewhere in the country, including one that blocked a regional road.
Prosecutors said on May 13 that the eight priests are facing up to 12 years in prison on charges of violating virus restrictions.
Video and pictures from the procession show most participants didn't wear face masks or practice physical distancing.
"[The priests] are accused of the criminal offense of violating health rules in the prevention of a dangerous contagious disease," district attorney Stevo Sekaric said in a statement.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej voiced hope in a joint statement on May 13 that the arrests would not spark any “unwanted unrest or clashes."
Vucic urged a peaceful resolution of the crisis and a quick release of the priests.
Irinej said the detentions are "proof that the Montenegrin state is conducting a purge of the Serbian Orthodox Church."
The arrests highlighted ongoing tensions between Montenegro's pro-Western authorities and the Serbian Orthodox Church, which they see as a tool for meddling by Moscow-backed Serbia.
Earlier this year, the Serbian Orthodox Church led weeks of protests in Montenegro against a religious law that it says would strip the church of its property in the country.
The law that came into force in January says religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918, the year when Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and its church was subsumed by the Serbian Orthodox Church, losing all of its property in the process.
The Serbian Orthodox Church says the law is aimed at retaking its property. Montenegrin officials have repeatedly denied the allegations.
Montenegro, a country of 620,000 people, split from Serbia in a referendum in 2006 and further turned away from Belgrade and its Orthodox ally Russia, taking a pro-Western course and joining NATO in 2017. The country has also been negotiating European Union membership.
Serbian nationalists in both countries have never fully recognized Serbia's separation from Montenegro, which they claim is a historic Serbian territory.
With reporting by AP and dpa


rferl--2020-05-13--Russian Investigators Reject Prosecutor's Motion To Drop Murder Charges In Khachaturyan Case

Russia 's Investigative Committee has rejected the recommendation of the Prosecutor-General 's Office to reduce the charges against three sisters accused of killing their father in Moscow .
Lawyers Aleksei Liptser and Aleksei Parshin said on May 13 that investigators had refused to change the charge from premeditated murder to self-defense in the high-profile case that fueled debate on the issue of domestic violence in the country .
Prosecutors wanted the case reclassified as self-defense , which many in the country saw as a sign that the criminal case against Maria , Angelina , and Krestina Khachaturyan would be closed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whom were teenagers at the time , stabbed their father to death in a Moscow suburb in July 2018 after enduring what they said was constant humiliation and sexual abuse .
The girls confessed to using a knife and hammer to kill their 57-year-old father , Mikhail Khachaturyan .
The Investigative Committee said in December 2019 that it had completed an investigation into the killing and was recommending charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder against the two older sisters , Krestina and Angelina , who were aged 18 and 19 at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two were of sound mind and aware of their actions when the killing occurred , but it also pointed to the long-term `` physical and mental suffering '' inflicted on them by their father as a mitigating circumstance .
They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the charges .
Investigators recommended that the third sister , Maria , who was 17 at the time of her father 's killing , should enter mandatory psychiatric care .
The case has received broad coverage in the media in Russia and abroad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abuse following the 2017 introduction of a law decriminalizing most forms of battery .
Some 350,000 people have signed a petition demanding the sisters ' release , while women 's rights activists inside and outside of Russia have rallied in their support .
With reporting by TASS and Interfax

Russia's Investigative Committee has rejected the recommendation of the Prosecutor-General's Office to reduce the charges against three sisters accused of killing their father in Moscow.
Lawyers Aleksei Liptser and Aleksei Parshin said on May 13 that investigators had refused to change the charge from premeditated murder to self-defense in the high-profile case that fueled debate on the issue of domestic violence in the country.
Prosecutors wanted the case reclassified as self-defense, which many in the country saw as a sign that the criminal case against Maria, Angelina, and Krestina Khachaturyan would be closed.
The three sisters, all of whom were teenagers at the time, stabbed their father to death in a Moscow suburb in July 2018 after enduring what they said was constant humiliation and sexual abuse.
The girls confessed to using a knife and hammer to kill their 57-year-old father, Mikhail Khachaturyan.
The Investigative Committee said in December 2019 that it had completed an investigation into the killing and was recommending charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder against the two older sisters, Krestina and Angelina, who were aged 18 and 19 at the time.
The statement said the two were of sound mind and aware of their actions when the killing occurred, but it also pointed to the long-term "physical and mental suffering" inflicted on them by their father as a mitigating circumstance.
They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the charges.
Investigators recommended that the third sister, Maria, who was 17 at the time of her father's killing, should enter mandatory psychiatric care.
The case has received broad coverage in the media in Russia and abroad and has triggered a debate on domestic abuse following the 2017 introduction of a law decriminalizing most forms of battery.
Some 350,000 people have signed a petition demanding the sisters' release, while women's rights activists inside and outside of Russia have rallied in their support.
With reporting by TASS and Interfax


rferl--2020-05-13--Life Sentence Of Kyrgyz Rights Activist Askarov Upheld

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyzstan 's Supreme Court has upheld the life sentence of ethnic Uzbek human rights activist Azimjon Askarov , despite calls by domestic and international rights groups for his release .
The Sweden-based group Civil Rights Defenders swiftly condemned the May 13 ruling and called on President Sooronbai Jeenbekov to `` intervene and free [ Askarov ] immediately . ''
Marie Struthers , Amnesty International ’ s Eastern Europe and Central Asia director , said the court decision `` compounds 10 years of deep injustice inflicted on a brave human rights defender who should never have been jailed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ this month , has been behind bars for nearly 10 years on what human rights and media-freedom watchdogs described as trumped-up charges .
The Supreme Court initially began the appeal hearing in February , but quickly adjourned to have more time to get acquainted with new materials in the case .
Ahead of the court ruling , Human Rights Watch reiterated its call for the activist 's release , saying his health had dramatically deteriorated .
The New York-based watchdog said Askarov `` suffers from cardiac and respiratory conditions and has not received @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and warned that he was at high risk of contracting COVID-19 , which disproportionately affects older people and those with underlying illnesses .
`` There is also one more compelling reason : it is the right and just thing to do , '' the New York-based watchdog added , as Askarov was sentenced to life following `` a deeply flawed trial and credible allegations of torture which were never investigated . ''
Prominent Kyrgyz rights activist Tolekan Ismailova said it was `` heartbreaking to see him -- at high risk due to his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ losing hope for a fair trial and release . ''
In 2010 , a Kyrgyz court sentenced Askarov to life in prison after finding him guilty of creating a mass disturbance and involvement in the murder of a police officer during deadly ethnic clashes between local Uzbeks and Kyrgyz .
More than 450 people , mainly ethnic Uzbeks , were killed and tens of thousands more were displaced during the violence .
Struthers said Askarov 's conviction `` is a blatant example of the disproportionate prosecution of and unfair trials against Uzbeks after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rights Committee has found that Askarov was arbitrarily detained , denied a fair trial , and tortured , and ruled that he should be released immediately and his conviction quashed .
However , Askarov ’ s conviction was upheld after several previous appeals in lower courts .

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court has upheld the life sentence of ethnic Uzbek human rights activist Azimjon Askarov, despite calls by domestic and international rights groups for his release.
The Sweden-based group Civil Rights Defenders swiftly condemned the May 13 ruling and called on President Sooronbai Jeenbekov to "intervene and free [Askarov] immediately."
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia director, said the court decision "compounds 10 years of deep injustice inflicted on a brave human rights defender who should never have been jailed."
The activist, who turns 69 this month, has been behind bars for nearly 10 years on what human rights and media-freedom watchdogs described as trumped-up charges.
The Supreme Court initially began the appeal hearing in February, but quickly adjourned to have more time to get acquainted with new materials in the case.
Ahead of the court ruling, Human Rights Watch reiterated its call for the activist's release, saying his health had dramatically deteriorated.
The New York-based watchdog said Askarov "suffers from cardiac and respiratory conditions and has not received appropriate medical attention in prison," and warned that he was at high risk of contracting COVID-19, which disproportionately affects older people and those with underlying illnesses.
"There is also one more compelling reason: It is the right and just thing to do," the New York-based watchdog added, as Askarov was sentenced to life following "a deeply flawed trial and credible allegations of torture which were never investigated."
Prominent Kyrgyz rights activist Tolekan Ismailova said it was "heartbreaking to see him -- at high risk due to his declining health and having endured torture -- losing hope for a fair trial and release."
In 2010, a Kyrgyz court sentenced Askarov to life in prison after finding him guilty of creating a mass disturbance and involvement in the murder of a police officer during deadly ethnic clashes between local Uzbeks and Kyrgyz.
More than 450 people, mainly ethnic Uzbeks, were killed and tens of thousands more were displaced during the violence.
Struthers said Askarov's conviction "is a blatant example of the disproportionate prosecution of and unfair trials against Uzbeks after the violence."
The UN Human Rights Committee has found that Askarov was arbitrarily detained, denied a fair trial, and tortured, and ruled that he should be released immediately and his conviction quashed.
However, Askarov’s conviction was upheld after several previous appeals in lower courts.


rferl--2020-05-13--Ukrainian Parliament Approves Bank Legislation That Paves Way For IMF Funds

KYIV -- Ukraine 's parliament , the Verkhovna Rada , has approved a banking bill that will help open up billions of dollars worth of aid to Kyiv from the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) .
The bill , approved by 270 lawmakers on May 13 , prevents the former owners of banks that were nationalized or liquidated in recent years during a widespread financial sector clean-up from regaining ownership rights or receiving monetary compensation .
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy , who was at the parliamentary session , called the bill a `` historic '' document that `` will help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Though the legislation also has other implications for Ukraine 's banks , analysts say its main purpose is to prevent one of Ukraine 's most powerful tycoons , Ihor Kolomoyskiy , the former co-owner of PrivatBank , from regaining ownership rights to the bank .
The IMF is said to have insisted upon approval of the banking law amid signs the government was considering returning PrivatBank , which is in the midst of a major legal and political fight involving The bank was nationalized in 2016 when international auditors found a $ 5.5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kolomoyskiy , who has close ties to Zelenskiy , has insisted that the bank was improperly nationalized by Ukrainian regulators .
Kolomoyskiy has denied any wrongdoing and maintains he is the rightful owner of PrivatBank .
Ukraine has been in talks with the IMF for months about a three-year , $ 5.5 billion loan tied to reforms to help the country meet a spike in debt repayments this year .
Matti Maasikas , the European Union 's ambassador to Ukraine , hailed the bill as `` a vital measure to protect public finances @ @ @ @ @

KYIV -- Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has approved a banking bill that will help open up billions of dollars worth of aid to Kyiv from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The bill, approved by 270 lawmakers on May 13, prevents the former owners of banks that were nationalized or liquidated in recent years during a widespread financial sector clean-up from regaining ownership rights or receiving monetary compensation.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was at the parliamentary session, called the bill a "historic" document that "will help us to defend our economy."
Though the legislation also has other implications for Ukraine's banks, analysts say its main purpose is to prevent one of Ukraine's most powerful tycoons, Ihor Kolomoyskiy, the former co-owner of PrivatBank, from regaining ownership rights to the bank.
The IMF is said to have insisted upon approval of the banking law amid signs the government was considering returning PrivatBank, which is in the midst of a major legal and political fight involving
The bank was nationalized in 2016 when international auditors found a $5.5 billion hole in its balance sheet. Kolomoyskiy, who has close ties to Zelenskiy, has insisted that the bank was improperly nationalized by Ukrainian regulators.
Kolomoyskiy has denied any wrongdoing and maintains he is the rightful owner of PrivatBank.
Ukraine has been in talks with the IMF for months about a three-year, $5.5 billion loan tied to reforms to help the country meet a spike in debt repayments this year.
Matti Maasikas, the European Union's ambassador to Ukraine, hailed the bill as "a vital measure to protect public finances and Ukrainian taxpayers."


rferl--2020-05-14--WHO Representative Downplays Doubts About Russian Coronavirus Figures

The World Health Organization ’ s representative in Russia has downplayed doubts about the country ’ s coronavirus statistics even as new public data suggests authorities may be undercounting the death toll from the pandemic .
The comments from Melita Vujnovic , in an interview with Current Time , a Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA , come after several media organizations highlighted discrepancies in localized fatality figures for the Russian capital , and comparative figures with other hard-hit European countries .
The data , highlighted by The Moscow Times , The New York Times , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added to evidence from skeptics , inside and outside Russia , that authorities may be underestimating the toll from the pandemic .
As of May 14 , Russian authorities said the country had 9,974 new infections , bringing the official number of confirmed cases to 252,245 , and putting Russia in second place , behind the United States , in terms of total infections .
The death toll stands at 2,305 , up 93 over the past day .
Though Russian officials took some major moves early on in the pandemic to curtail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crept up steadily , though at a slower pace than most of Europe , in February and March .
Experts began questioning whether testing procedures were flawed , or whether local and regional officials were misclassifying cases .
In some places such as St. Petersburg , for example , the number of pneumonia cases went sharply above seasonal norms .
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin , who has been a point man for the government ’ s response , made sobering remarks on the reporting situation in early April , saying testing had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Authorities have since stepped up testing nationwide , giving Russia one of the highest per capita testing rates .
But the death rate from the coronavirus continues to draw skepticism from experts , who say it is implausible that Russia ’ s creaky health-care system has the capacity to keep COVID-19 deaths so low .
By comparison , the United Kingdom , which has about 11,000 fewer confirmed cases , has a death toll of just over 33,000 , while Spain , with about 229,000 confirmed cases , has seen more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's reported mortality rate from the coronavirus also is significantly lower compared to other European countries .
In an interview on May 13 with Current Time , Vujnovic said the organization trusted the Russian official figures .
“ One of the reasons for the low mortality rate is that everyone who needed hospital treatment could go there .
There was no explosive increase in cases , and Russia bought time to strengthen its health-care system , ” she said .
She also noted that the rate of increase in new cases had decreased @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 14 , it was around 4 percent , compared with nearly 14 percent a few weeks ago .
“ We see a good decrease over the past 10 days .
We still have to watch it , but it seems that the epidemic is in the stabilization phase and is moving into the decline phase , ” Vujnovic said .
“ According to what we ’ re seeing , this means that the measures to reduce the growth trend have worked , ” she added .
Health experts have said the relatively low @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are classified ; for example , if a person with an underlying heart condition contracts COVID-19 and dies , the cause of death might be attributed to the heart problem and not to the coronavirus .
On May 13 , the city health department for Moscow , where the bulk of Russia ’ s cases are concentrated , released a statement saying that more than 60 percent of Moscow ’ s coronavirus deaths are not being included toward the city ’ s official virus death toll .
The discrepancy in mortality figures highlighted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Financial Times has drawn the ire of the Foreign Ministry , whose spokeswoman insisted the figures were “ another sensational anti-Russian fake ” and demanded they retract the reports .
“ Further steps [ by the Foreign Ministry ] will depend on whether they publish a refutation , ” Maria Zakharova said on May 13 , suggesting also the papers ’ reporters in Russia could have their ministry accreditations stripped .

The World Health Organization’s representative in Russia has downplayed doubts about the country’s coronavirus statistics even as new public data suggests authorities may be undercounting the death toll from the pandemic.
The comments from Melita Vujnovic, in an interview with Current Time, a Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, come after several media organizations highlighted discrepancies in localized fatality figures for the Russian capital, and comparative figures with other hard-hit European countries.
The data, highlighted by The Moscow Times, The New York Times, the Financial Times, and others, has added to evidence from skeptics, inside and outside Russia, that authorities may be underestimating the toll from the pandemic.
As of May 14, Russian authorities said the country had 9,974 new infections, bringing the official number of confirmed cases to 252,245, and putting Russia in second place, behind the United States, in terms of total infections. The death toll stands at 2,305, up 93 over the past day.
Though Russian officials took some major moves early on in the pandemic to curtail its spread, the number of cases crept up steadily, though at a slower pace than most of Europe, in February and March.
Experts began questioning whether testing procedures were flawed, or whether local and regional officials were misclassifying cases. In some places such as St. Petersburg, for example, the number of pneumonia cases went sharply above seasonal norms.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who has been a point man for the government’s response, made sobering remarks on the reporting situation in early April, saying testing had been too slow to give a complete picture.
Authorities have since stepped up testing nationwide, giving Russia one of the highest per capita testing rates.
But the death rate from the coronavirus continues to draw skepticism from experts, who say it is implausible that Russia’s creaky health-care system has the capacity to keep COVID-19 deaths so low.
By comparison, the United Kingdom, which has about 11,000 fewer confirmed cases, has a death toll of just over 33,000, while Spain, with about 229,000 confirmed cases, has seen more than 27,000 deaths from the virus.
Russia's reported mortality rate from the coronavirus also is significantly lower compared to other European countries.
In an interview on May 13 with Current Time, Vujnovic said the organization trusted the Russian official figures.
“One of the reasons for the low mortality rate is that everyone who needed hospital treatment could go there. There was no explosive increase in cases, and Russia bought time to strengthen its health-care system,” she said.
She also noted that the rate of increase in new cases had decreased in recent days: as of May 14, it was around 4 percent, compared with nearly 14 percent a few weeks ago.
“We see a good decrease over the past 10 days. We still have to watch it, but it seems that the epidemic is in the stabilization phase and is moving into the decline phase,” Vujnovic said.
“According to what we’re seeing, this means that the measures to reduce the growth trend have worked,” she added.
Health experts have said the relatively low number may be explained by how deaths are classified; for example, if a person with an underlying heart condition contracts COVID-19 and dies, the cause of death might be attributed to the heart problem and not to the coronavirus.
On May 13, the city health department for Moscow, where the bulk of Russia’s cases are concentrated, released a statement saying that more than 60 percent of Moscow’s coronavirus deaths are not being included toward the city’s official virus death toll.
The discrepancy in mortality figures highlighted by The New York Times and the Financial Times has drawn the ire of the Foreign Ministry, whose spokeswoman insisted the figures were “another sensational anti-Russian fake” and demanded they retract the reports.
“Further steps [by the Foreign Ministry] will depend on whether they publish a refutation,” Maria Zakharova said on May 13, suggesting also the papers’ reporters in Russia could have their ministry accreditations stripped.
A spokeswoman for The Times said that the newspaper stood by its reporting.
"We are confident in the accuracy of our material, based on data published by the official government agency, and interviews with experts from government institutions," Danielle Ha was quoted as telling Russian media. "No facts cited in our article are in dispute."


rferl--2020-05-14--'Content Unavailable': Facebook Again Blocks Kadyrov's Instagram Account

GROZNY -- Facebook has again blocked the Instagram account of Ramzan Kadyrov , the Kremlin-backed authoritarian leader of Russia 's North Caucasus region of Chechnya , as well as several other accounts that he used , saying it was following sanctions imposed by the United States against many Russian officials .
Facebook , the company that owns Instagram , said the May 13 move was taken to delete `` an account of a person who is under sanctions.
” It reportedly also blocked the Instagram accounts of Kadyrov 's close associates : Russian lawmaker Adam Delimkhanov , Chechen parliament speaker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deputy prime minister , Abuzaid Vismuradov .
Those trying to view Kadyrov 's purported account receive a message from Instagram saying the page is not available as `` the link you followed may be broken , or the page may have been removed . ''
Akhmed Dudayev , the director of Chechnya 's state television company , said that Kadyrov had never owned the blocked accounts , adding that they were opened by the TV company and a foundation named after Kadyrov 's father , Akhmat Kadyrov .
It is not the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been criticized at times for its limited and seemingly uneven response to such cases , has blocked Kadyrov 's accounts , which at one point had a combined total of 4 million followers .
In 2017 , when the Chechen leader 's accounts on Facebook and Instagram were blocked for the first time , Facebook said the move was taken to follow sanctions brought under the Magnitsky Act , a 2012 law that aims to punish Russian officials alleged to be involved in human rights violations .
Kadyrov , who was added to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 , opened new accounts that were also blocked in 2018 and 2019 .
Rights groups say Kadyrov uses repressive measures and has created a climate of impunity for security forces in the region .
Kremlin critics say Russian President Vladimir Putin has turned a blind eye to the alleged abuses and violations of the country 's constitution by Kadyrov because he relies on the former rebel commander to control separatist sentiment and violence in Chechnya , the site of two devastating post-Soviet wars and an Islamist insurgency that spread to other mostly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The U.S. sanctions law is named after Sergei Magnitsky , a Russian lawyer who was arrested after blowing the whistle on what he said was the theft of $ 230 million from Russian state coffers through tax fraud .
He died in jail in December 2009 .
Relatives and rights activists said he had been tortured and denied medical care .
A Council of Europe investigation concluded that the conditions leading up to his death amounted to torture .
With reporting by RIA Novosti and the BBC

GROZNY -- Facebook has again blocked the Instagram account of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed authoritarian leader of Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya, as well as several other accounts that he used, saying it was following sanctions imposed by the United States against many Russian officials.
Facebook, the company that owns Instagram, said the May 13 move was taken to delete "an account of a person who is under sanctions.”
It reportedly also blocked the Instagram accounts of Kadyrov's close associates: Russian lawmaker Adam Delimkhanov, Chechen parliament speaker Magomed Daudov, and the region's deputy prime minister, Abuzaid Vismuradov.
Those trying to view Kadyrov's purported account receive a message from Instagram saying the page is not available as "the link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed."
Akhmed Dudayev, the director of Chechnya's state television company, said that Kadyrov had never owned the blocked accounts, adding that they were opened by the TV company and a foundation named after Kadyrov's father, Akhmat Kadyrov.
It is not the first time the social-media giant, which has been criticized at times for its limited and seemingly uneven response to such cases, has blocked Kadyrov's accounts, which at one point had a combined total of 4 million followers.
In 2017, when the Chechen leader's accounts on Facebook and Instagram were blocked for the first time, Facebook said the move was taken to follow sanctions brought under the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 law that aims to punish Russian officials alleged to be involved in human rights violations.
Kadyrov, who was added to the United States' sanctions list in 2017, opened new accounts that were also blocked in 2018 and 2019.
Rights groups say Kadyrov uses repressive measures and has created a climate of impunity for security forces in the region.
Kremlin critics say Russian President Vladimir Putin has turned a blind eye to the alleged abuses and violations of the country's constitution by Kadyrov because he relies on the former rebel commander to control separatist sentiment and violence in Chechnya, the site of two devastating post-Soviet wars and an Islamist insurgency that spread to other mostly Muslim regions in the North Caucasus.
The U.S. sanctions law is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who was arrested after blowing the whistle on what he said was the theft of $230 million from Russian state coffers through tax fraud.
He died in jail in December 2009. Relatives and rights activists said he had been tortured and denied medical care.
A Council of Europe investigation concluded that the conditions leading up to his death amounted to torture.
With reporting by RIA Novosti and the BBC


rferl--2020-05-14--Trial Begins Of Russian Couple Charged With High Treason Over Wedding Photos

KALININGRAD -- A Russian couple charged with high treason have gone on trial for photographs taken at their wedding five years ago and published online that allegedly revealed the identity of a security operative .
Konstantin Antonets and Antonina Zimina were detained in July 2018 in Russia 's Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad .
Zimina 's father , Konstantin Zimin , told RFE/RL on May 14 that the Kaliningrad Regional Court had held preliminary hearings into the case several days ago behind closed doors .
He added that his daughter and son-in-law rejected the charge .
`` There were two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the second of which was held without the defendants and their lawyers in the courtroom .
At this point , there is no information about the process .
I know that the next hearing will be held on May 28 , '' Zimin said .
Zimin 's comments were the first indication that the trial had begun in a case that made headlines in February after the Kommersant newspaper initially reported about it .
Zimina 's parents told RFE/RL at the time that the Federal Security Service ( FSB ) suspected their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intelligence agency in the Baltic state of Latvia with information about a Kaliningrad FSB officer .
According to Zimina 's parents , among the guests who attended the couple ’ s wedding in April 2015 was an FSB counterintelligence officer , Maksim Denisenko , who was their daughter 's friend and former university classmate .
At the wedding , Denisenko spoke openly about his employer , offered `` assistance if need be , '' and handed out business cards and posed for photographs with guests , Zimina 's parents said .
The parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ friends from Latvia and Lithuania also attended the wedding .
Kommersant reported in February that some videos and photographs from the wedding were later published on social media and were eventually included in an unspecified Baltic television program , prompting the FSB to open a criminal investigation .
Russian military and intelligence agencies have grown increasingly concerned about social media and how content posted online by soldiers , officers , or security personnel to platforms such as Facebook or VK , Russia 's Facebook equivalent , can be used to identify people , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Last week , President Vladimir Putin signed a decree banning members of the armed forces from carrying smartphones , tablets , and other gadgets capable of recording and storing information while on duty .

KALININGRAD -- A Russian couple charged with high treason have gone on trial for photographs taken at their wedding five years ago and published online that allegedly revealed the identity of a security operative.
Konstantin Antonets and Antonina Zimina were detained in July 2018 in Russia's Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.
Zimina's father, Konstantin Zimin, told RFE/RL on May 14 that the Kaliningrad Regional Court had held preliminary hearings into the case several days ago behind closed doors.
He added that his daughter and son-in-law rejected the charge.
"There were two hearings held in the utmost of secrecy, the second of which was held without the defendants and their lawyers in the courtroom. At this point, there is no information about the process. I know that the next hearing will be held on May 28," Zimin said.
Zimin's comments were the first indication that the trial had begun in a case that made headlines in February after the Kommersant newspaper initially reported about it.
Zimina's parents told RFE/RL at the time that the Federal Security Service (FSB) suspected their daughter and her husband of providing the intelligence agency in the Baltic state of Latvia with information about a Kaliningrad FSB officer.
According to Zimina's parents, among the guests who attended the couple’s wedding in April 2015 was an FSB counterintelligence officer, Maksim Denisenko, who was their daughter's friend and former university classmate.
At the wedding, Denisenko spoke openly about his employer, offered "assistance if need be," and handed out business cards and posed for photographs with guests, Zimina's parents said.
The parents also told RFE/RL that their daughter's friends from Latvia and Lithuania also attended the wedding.
Kommersant reported in February that some videos and photographs from the wedding were later published on social media and were eventually included in an unspecified Baltic television program, prompting the FSB to open a criminal investigation.
Russian military and intelligence agencies have grown increasingly concerned about social media and how content posted online by soldiers, officers, or security personnel to platforms such as Facebook or VK, Russia's Facebook equivalent, can be used to identify people, their affiliations, or even military movements.
Last week, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree banning members of the armed forces from carrying smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets capable of recording and storing information while on duty.


rferl--2020-05-14--European Parliament Debating Hungary's Rule Of Law Amid Coronavirus Detentions

The European Parliament is discussing the rule of law in Hungary on May 14 after right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban was granted sweeping powers under a package of emergency measures aimed at fighting the coronavirus pandemic .
The debate comes amid a spate of detentions in Hungary under the law , which introduced potential prison sentences for people who spread false information about the outbreak .
Hungary will have no representative at the debate after Orban declined the invitation to attend in person and proposed to send Justice Minister Judit Varga instead -- a move rejected by Brussels .
Hungarian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scaremongering have been launched since the emergency legislation was adopted by parliament on March 30 .
On May 13 , a member of the Momentum opposition party was detained in southern Hungary after posting a message on social media about the government 's decision to make hospital beds available for coronavirus patients by throwing out non-COVID-19 patients .
On May 12 , a 64-year-old man in the northeastern city of Gyula was held for hours for allegedly `` publishing false facts on a social-media site '' last month , police said in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Orban 's Fidesz party holds a comfortable majority , approved legislation on March 30 giving him the right to rule by decree indefinitely .
The package of measures was criticized for lacking a so-called sunset clause to give a clear time limit to the state of emergency .
Orban has insisted the powers are needed to tackle the spread of the pandemic .
European Parliament President David Sassoli invited Orban to speak at the debate in Brussels on May 14 , but clarified that only heads of state or government can attend such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not be held remotely .
`` At present , the fight against the pandemic consumes all my energy and strength , '' Orban replied to Sassoli , according to the Hungarian news agency MTI .
The one-hour debate in Brussels will not result in binding measures but is likely to further deepen a conflict between the Orban government and the European Parliament .
`` It 's leftists and liberals playing politics when the continent is facing one of the greatest health and economic crises we 've seen in a century , '' Kovacs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 17 , the European Parliament adopted a statement saying Hungary 's measures are `` incompatible with European values . ''
The center-right European People ’ s Party ( EPP ) , the European Parliament ’ s biggest grouping , suspended Fidesz from its ranks in March 2019 over concerns over the rule of law backsliding in Hungary , as well as attacks against the European Commission .
The suspension was extended indefinitely in February , even before the Hungarian lawmakers ' move to grant Orban sweeping powers .
Hungary 's emergency law also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen last month .
While saying EU countries may need extraordinary measures to fight the pandemic , she added : `` I am concerned that certain measures go too far -- and I 'm particularly concerned with the situation in Hungary . ''
With reporting by dpa , AP , and AFP

The European Union’s commissioner responsible for upholding the bloc's values and transparency has expressed deep concern over the situation in Hungary, where right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban was granted sweeping powers under a package of emergency measures aimed at fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
EU Values and Transparency Commissioner Vera Jourova told EU lawmakers on May 14 that as countries begin to ease pandemic lockdowns, “the general states of emergency with exceptional powers granted to governments should gradually be removed or replaced by more targeted and less intrusive measures.”
She made the statement during a debate at the European Parliament in Brussels on the rule of law in Hungary amid a spate of detentions in the EU member under the emergency legislation, which introduced potential prison sentences for people who spread false information about the outbreak.
Hungary's parliament, where Orban's Fidesz party holds a comfortable majority, approved legislation on March 30 giving him the right to rule by decree indefinitely.
The package of measures was criticized for lacking a so-called sunset clause to give a clear time limit to the state of emergency.
Jourova said that “the case of Hungary raises particular concerns” and that “on a daily basis, we are assessing whether we can take legal action.”
Orban's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, told a briefing in Budapest on May 14 that the government could end emergency powers in late June, depending on the evolution of the pandemic.
The May 14 debate in Brussels did not result in binding measures but is likely to further deepen a conflict between the Orban government and the European parliament.
Hungarian police said that 86 criminal investigations into scaremongering have been launched since the emergency legislation was adopted by parliament on March 30.
On May 13, a member of the Momentum opposition party was detained in southern Hungary after posting a message on social media about the government's decision to make hospital beds available for coronavirus patients by throwing out non-COVID-19 patients.
On May 12, a 64-year-old man in the northeastern city of Gyula was held for hours for allegedly "publishing false facts on a social-media site," police said in a statement.
Hungary had no representative at the debate after Orban declined the invitation to attend in person and proposed to send Justice Minister Judit Varga instead -- a move rejected by Brussels. Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs branded the debate a "witch hunt, a show trial."
The European Parliament last month adopted a statement saying Hungary's measures are "incompatible with European values."
The center-right European People’s Party (EPP), the European Parliament’s biggest grouping, suspended Fidesz from its ranks in March 2019 over concerns over the rule-of-law backsliding in Hungary as well as attacks against the European Commission.
The suspension was extended indefinitely in February, even before the Hungarian lawmakers' move to grant Orban sweeping powers.
Hungary's emergency law also prompted "particular" concern from European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen last month.
While saying EU countries may need extraordinary measures to fight the pandemic, she added: "I am concerned that certain measures go too far -- and I'm particularly concerned with the situation in Hungary."
With reporting by dpa, AP, and AFP


rferl--2020-05-14--Taliban Truck Bomb Kills At Least Five In Eastern Afghanistan

At least five people were killed by a truck bomb near a military court in the city of Gardez in the eastern Afghan province of Paktia on May 14 , officials said .
`` Dozens of civilians are feared to be dead and wounded , '' said Tariq Arian , an Interior Ministry spokesman .
Emal Khan Momand , a military spokesman in Paktia Province , said the attack was carried out with a truck packed with explosives .
Five people were killed and 14 were wounded , Momand said .
In a statement , Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attack .
Arian blamed the militant Haqqani network , which has ties to Taliban militants .
The blast comes after gunmen attacked a maternity hospital in Kabul , killing 24 people , including new mothers and newborn babies , on May 12 .
A suicide blast claimed by the Islamic State militant group at a funeral in eastern Nangahar on the same day killed 32 people .
The Taliban denied any involvement in those attacks , which came amid a resurgence in violence that threatens to unravel a landmark agreement between the militant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put an end to the 18-year conflict .
Based on reports by Reuters and dpa

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--2020-05-13--Montenegrin Police Fire Tear Gas To Disperse Protests Against Arrests Of Serbian Priests

Montenegrin police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protests against the detention of eight Serbian Orthodox Church priests who led a religious procession despite a ban on gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic .
The incidents late on May 13 in the towns of Niksic and Pljevlja came a day after thousands of people attended a procession in Niksic without wearing face masks or maintaining a safe distance from each other .
Belgrade strongly criticized the detention of the eight Serbian Orthodox Church priests , including Bishop Ioaniki , which opened fresh religious and political tensions between the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said they fired tear gas at protesters after crowds ignored orders to disperse and threw stones , bottles , and fireworks at officers .
There was also a mass gathering in Niksic , during which the police dispersed protesters with tear gas .
Police said several protesters were arrested .
Protests were held elsewhere in the country , including one that blocked a regional road .
Prosecutors said on May 13 that the eight priests are facing up to 12 years in prison on charges of violating virus restrictions .
Video and pictures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't wear face masks or practice physical distancing .
`` [ The priests ] are accused of the criminal offense of violating health rules in the prevention of a dangerous contagious disease , '' district attorney Stevo Sekaric said in a statement .
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej voiced hope in a joint statement on May 13 that the arrests would not spark any “ unwanted unrest or clashes . ''
Vucic urged a peaceful resolution of the crisis and a quick release of the priests .
Irinej @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Montenegrin state is conducting a purge of the Serbian Orthodox Church . ''
The arrests highlighted ongoing tensions between Montenegro 's pro-Western authorities and the Serbian Orthodox Church , which they see as a tool for meddling by Moscow-backed Serbia .
Earlier this year , the Serbian Orthodox Church led weeks of protests in Montenegro against a religious law that it says would strip the church of its property in the country .
The law that came into force in January says religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Yugoslavia and its church was subsumed by the Serbian Orthodox Church , losing all of its property in the process .
The Serbian Orthodox Church says the law is aimed at retaking its property .
Montenegrin officials have repeatedly denied the allegations .
Montenegro , a country of 620,000 people , split from Serbia in a referendum in 2006 and further turned away from Belgrade and its Orthodox ally Russia , taking a pro-Western course and joining NATO in 2017 .
The country has also been negotiating European Union membership .
Serbian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recognized Serbia 's separation from Montenegro , which they claim is a historic Serbian territory .
With reporting by AP and dpa


rferl--2020-05-14--Bulgarian Ultra-Nationalists Protest Government's Coronavirus Measures, Vaccines, and Bill Gates

Some two thousand supporters of an ultra-nationalist and pro-Russian party protested in Sofia against the Bulgarian government and its response to the coronavirus pandemic .
The Vazrazhdane party organized the protest in front of the National Assembly in the capital on May 14 despite a ban on large gatherings to stem the spread of the virus .
Organizers had called on people to `` get their country back '' and demanded the resignation of the `` criminal government.
” It was the first public protest since Prime Minister Boris Borisov ’ s GERB-led government imposed a state of emergency on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus .
The state of emergency ended on May 13 but was replaced by a `` health emergency situation ” with similar restrictions .
The Interior Ministry said eight people were detained for various reasons and the large gathering amounted to a `` gross violation of anti-epidemic measures.
” Some of those at the protest claimed the novel coronavirus was part of a global conspiracy that includes Bill Gates , the co-founder of Microsoft whose foundation is supporting the development of a COVID-19 vaccine .
Other protesters carried slogans against compulsory vaccination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also provoked various conspiracy theories around the world .
As at other Vazrazhdane events , some participants waved Russian flags or wore T-shirts featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin .
The protesters also spoke out against the European Union .
In the last parliamentary election in 2017 , the Vazrazhdane party received 1.1 percent of the vote and remained outside the National Assembly .
Recent opinion polls suggest Borisov ’ s center-right government has gained popularity for its response to the coronavirus crisis , which has infected 2,100 people and caused 99 deaths in @ @ @

SOFIA -- Some two thousand supporters of an ultranationalist and pro-Russian party protested in Sofia against the Bulgarian government and its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Vazrazhdane party organized the protest in front of the National Assembly in the capital on May 14 despite a ban on large gatherings to stem the spread of the virus.
Organizers had called on people to "get their country back" and demanded the resignation of the "criminal government.”
It was the first public protest since Prime Minister Boris Borisov’s GERB-led government imposed a state of emergency on March 13 to halt the spread of the virus.
The state of emergency ended on May 13 but was replaced by a "health emergency situation” with similar restrictions.
The Interior Ministry said eight people were detained for various reasons and the large gathering amounted to a "gross violation of anti-epidemic measures.”
Some of those at the protest claimed the coronavirus was part of a global conspiracy that includes Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft whose foundation is supporting the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Other protesters carried slogans against the compulsory vaccination of children, a topic that has also provoked various conspiracy theories around the world.
As at other Vazrazhdane events, some participants waved Russian flags or wore T-shirts featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin. The protesters also spoke out against the European Union.
In the last parliamentary elections in 2017, the Vazrazhdane party received 1.1 percent of the vote and remained outside the National Assembly.
Recent opinion polls suggest Borisov’s center-right government has gained popularity for its response to the coronavirus crisis, which has infected 2,100 people and caused 99 deaths in the country.


rferl--2020-05-14--Founder Of Kaspersky Cybersecurity Lab: Cybercrime On Rise During COVID-19 Lockdowns

Russian cybersecurity magnate and CEO of Moscow-based cybersecurity Kaspersky Lab says cybercrimes have risen during lockdowns introduced across the world to slow down coronavirus spread , adding that the majority of cybercriminals are Russian-speakers .
In a big interview to TASS news agency that was published on May 14 , Yevgeny Kaspersky said that the quarantines `` have forced cybercriminals to hunt for prey with greater frenzy . ''
https : //tass.ru/business-officials/8436669 `` Every day we fish out several million files on the suspicion they may have malicious functions .
Also , every day we identify more than 300,000 malicious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' Kaspersky said , adding that each of those samples can be used hundreds of times .
According to him , as people have to stay at home due to coronavirus , they spend more time surfing the net to buy food and other items and sometimes venture into no-go areas , which led to an increase in cyberattacks by 25 percent globally .
Kaspersky also said that Russia and some other former Soviet republics train `` the best programmers in the world , '' but that has a negative side too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hackers are mainly Russian-speakers .
Programmers from Russia and other former Soviet states earn much less than their counterparts in the West partially explaining the greater proclivity to engage in cybercrimes .
`` We are known for having the world ’ s best programmers and software developers , but also for having the world ’ s top hackers .
They all graduated the same universities but went different paths in the end .
While one part works to create something new , the other one seeks to hack and destroy .
In almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ motivation is the same - to reap money , and money again , and still more money , and not only from a victim , but also from their clients , '' Kaspersky said .
The United States has arrested several Russians hackers over the past year .

Russian cybersecurity magnate and the CEO of the Moscow-based cybersecurity Kaspersky Lab says cybercrimes have risen during lockdowns introduced across the world to slow down the coronavirus spread, adding that the majority of cybercriminals are Russian-speakers.
In an interview with the TASS news agency that was published on May 14, Yevgeny Kaspersky said that the quarantines "have forced cybercriminals to hunt for prey with greater frenzy."
"Every day we fish out several million files on the suspicion they may have malicious functions. Also, every day we identify more than 300,000 malicious samples we’ve never come across," Kaspersky said, adding that each of those samples can be used hundreds of times.
According to Kaspersky, as people have to stay at home due to the coronavirus, they spend more time surfing the net to buy food and other items and sometimes venture into no-go areas, which has led to an increase in cyberattacks by 25 percent globally.
Kaspersky also said that Russia and some other former Soviet republics train "the best programmers in the world," but that has a negative side, too, as the world’s most advanced hackers are mainly Russian-speakers.
Programmers from Russia and other former Soviet states earn much less than their counterparts in the West, partially explaining the greater proclivity to engage in cybercrimes.
"We are known for having the world’s best programmers and software developers, but also for having the world’s top hackers. They all graduated from the same universities but went on different paths in the end. While one part works to create something new, the other one seeks to hack and destroy. In almost 100 percent of the cases, the hackers’ motivation is the same -- to reap money, and money again, and still more money, and not only from a victim, but also from their clients," Kaspersky said.
The United States has arrested several Russians hackers over the past year.
With reporting by TASS


rferl--2020-05-14--Georgian Opposition Says Not Freeing 'Political Prisoners' Means Deal Broken

TBILISI -- Georgia 's opposition parties have warned they will abandon a foreign-brokered deal on election reforms if `` political prisoners '' are not released .
The ruling and opposition parties on March 8 signed a memorandum of understanding in which they agreed , among other things , that parliament should consist of 120 members elected through a proportional voting system , while 30 members would be elected through a majority system .
The sides have since failed to move forward ahead of parliamentary elections set for October .
In a joint statement on May 13 , the opposition parties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fulfill the agreement , which they said included the release of `` political prisoners . ''
They also warned that `` opposition factions will continue boycotting parliamentary sessions '' if their demand is not met .
The opposition claims the release of several jailed politicians who they say have been convicted on politically motivated charges was a condition of the deal .
Earlier this week , the U.S. and European Union ambassadors called on the ruling and opposition parties to uphold and implement the deal , saying it was intended to `` depolarize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` create a better environment '' for the upcoming parliamentary elections .
The March 8 deal facilitated by U.S. and the EU officials also says that the party or candidate winning more than 50 percent of the vote in a constituency is awarded the contested parliamentary seat .
Under the accord , the electoral threshold for proportional elections will be set at 1 percent and a capping mechanism will mean that no single party receiving less than 40 percent of the votes cast will be allowed to hold a majority of seats in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 73 of 150 parliamentary seats are claimed by candidates who finish first in district races .
The remaining seats are distributed proportionally to the national share of the vote that a party wins .
This led to Georgian Dream , led by billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili , winning 76 percent of the legislature 's seats even though it won just less than half of the popular vote .

TBILISI -- Georgia's opposition parties have warned they will abandon a foreign-brokered deal on election reforms if "political prisoners" are not released.
The ruling and opposition parties on March 8 signed a memorandum of understanding in which they agreed, among other things, that parliament should consist of 120 members elected through a proportional voting system, while 30 members would be elected through a majority system.
The sides have since failed to move forward ahead of parliamentary elections set for October.
In a joint statement on May 13, the opposition parties urged the ruling Georgian Dream party to fulfill the agreement, which they said included the release of "political prisoners."
They also warned that "opposition factions will continue boycotting parliamentary sessions" if their demand is not met.
The opposition claims the release of several jailed politicians who they say have been convicted on politically motivated charges was a condition of the deal.
Georgian Dream representatives have denied that.
Earlier this week, the U.S. and European Union ambassadors called on the ruling and opposition parties to uphold and implement the deal, saying it was intended to "depolarize" Georgia’s political system and "create a better environment" for the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The March 8 deal facilitated by U.S. and the EU officials also says that the party or candidate winning more than 50 percent of the vote in a constituency is awarded the contested parliamentary seat.
Under the accord, the electoral threshold for proportional elections will be set at 1 percent and a capping mechanism will mean that no single party receiving less than 40 percent of the votes cast will be allowed to hold a majority of seats in parliament.
Under the current electoral system, 73 of 150 parliamentary seats are claimed by candidates who finish first in district races. The remaining seats are distributed proportionally to the national share of the vote that a party wins.
This led to Georgian Dream, led by billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, winning 76 percent of the legislature's seats even though it won just less than half of the popular vote.


rferl--2020-05-14--EBRD Expects Quicker Economic Recovery in Eastern Europe

BRUSSELS -- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ( EBRD ) says the coronavirus outbreak will deal a `` massive '' blow this year to the 37 countries it invests in , but the economies of Central and Eastern Europe are positioned to bounce back quickly .
The bank 's latest outlook report , published on May 13 , forecast the economies in its operating region will contract , on average , 3.5 percent this year , before rebounding next year .
Among the forecasts , EU member states that joined the bloc in 2004 and 2007 may contract @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic , before rebounding to 4.3 percent growth in 2021 , according to the bank .
The report notes that while strict containment measures in Central and Eastern EU member states , including shutdowns of business , hit hard , they suffered far less than other regions , such as Southern Europe , thus opening the door to a quicker recovery and the possibility of capitalizing on developing supply chains for countries that are looking to lessen their dependence on China , where the pandemic first broke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the region is set to fall in 2020 , but bounce back strongly in 2021 , '' the EBRD report says .
`` Governments are meanwhile providing significant relief measures to preserve employment and to support companies in a state of hibernation , '' it adds , noting that the projections are subject to `` unprecedented uncertainty '' and that `` if social distancing remains in place for much longer than anticipated , the recession may be much deeper , with the 2019 levels of output per capita not attained again for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report comes only a week after the European Commission ’ s spring economic forecast , which predicted that by the end of 2021 only Germany , Austria , Croatia , Slovakia , and Poland are forecast to record the level of economic activity seen in the last quarter of 2019 .
In the coming weeks , the European Commission is expected to come up with a new draft proposal for the next seven-year EU budget , which will be geared towards tackling the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic .

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says the coronavirus outbreak will deal a "massive" blow this year to the 37 countries it invests in, but the economies of Central and Eastern Europe are positioned to bounce back quickly.
The bank's latest outlook report, published on May 13, forecast the economies in its operating region will contract, on average, 3.5 percent this year, before rebounding next year.
Among the forecasts, EU member states that joined the bloc in 2004 and 2007 may contract collectively by 4.3 percent this year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, before rebounding to 4.3 percent growth in 2021, according to the bank.
The report notes that while strict containment measures in Central and Eastern EU member states, including shutdowns of business, hit hard, they suffered far less than other regions, such as Southern Europe, thus opening the door to a quicker recovery and the possibility of capitalizing on developing supply chains for countries that are looking to lessen their dependence on China, where the pandemic first broke out late last year.
"Output in the region is set to fall in 2020, but bounce back strongly in 2021," the EBRD report says.
"Governments are meanwhile providing significant relief measures to preserve employment and to support companies in a state of hibernation," it adds, noting that the projections are subject to "unprecedented uncertainty" and that "if social distancing remains in place for much longer than anticipated, the recession may be much deeper, with the 2019 levels of output per capita not attained again for years to come."
The EBRD report comes only a week after the European Commission’s spring economic forecast, which predicted that by the end of 2021 only Germany, Austria, Croatia, Slovakia, and Poland are forecast to record the level of economic activity seen in the last quarter of 2019.
In the coming weeks, the European Commission is expected to come up with a new draft proposal for the next seven-year EU budget, which will be geared towards tackling the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.


rferl--2020-05-14--Russian Court Rejects Crimean Blogger's Appeal

A Russian military court has rejected an appeal by Crimean Tatar blogger Nariman Memedeminov to overturn his conviction on charges of inciting extremism , leaving him to serve the rest of his sentence in prison .
The May 14 decision comes as Russia is accused of stepping up pressure on bloggers and independent media critical of the Kremlin 's policies .
Rights groups and Western governments have also denounced what they call a campaign of oppression targeting members of the Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar minority and others who opposed Moscow 's seizure of the Ukrainian peninsula in March 2014 .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russian takeover of their historical homeland .
Memedeminov was arrested in Crimea in late March 2018 on charges his YouTube videos dating from 2013 to 2015 incited followers to commit acts of terrorism .
In his video blogs , Memedeminov discussed political developments , voiced opinions on Russian holidays , and called on Muslims to observe their religious norms .
Most Crimean Tatars are Muslim .
In a ruling denounced by human rights and media-freedom watchdogs , a military court in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don in October 2019 sentenced him to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the May 14 hearing at the Moscow region 's military court of appeals , Memedeminov called on bloggers and journalists to continue to report on human rights abuses in Crimea .
`` I ask that you continue to pay attention to the persecution on religious , national and professional grounds on the territory of Crimea .
I hope soon to meet with you directly and not through the bars , '' he said .
Ahead of the court ruling , the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists called on the court to overturn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Forcefully transporting a Ukrainian citizen and independent journalist from Crimea to Russia and trying him in a military court on absurd charges is a violation of international legal norms , and the Russian authorities know it . ''

A Russian military court has rejected an appeal by Crimean Tatar blogger Nariman Memedeminov to overturn his conviction on charges of inciting extremism, leaving him to serve the rest of his sentence in prison.
The May 14 decision comes as Russia is accused of stepping up pressure on bloggers and independent media critical of the Kremlin's policies.
Rights groups and Western governments have also denounced what they call a campaign of oppression targeting members of the Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar minority and others who opposed Moscow's seizure of the Ukrainian peninsula in March 2014.
The majority of Crimean Tatars were against the Russian takeover of their historical homeland.
Memedeminov was arrested in Crimea in late March 2018 on charges his YouTube videos dating from 2013 to 2015 incited followers to commit acts of terrorism.
In his video blogs, Memedeminov discussed political developments, voiced opinions on Russian holidays, and called on Muslims to observe their religious norms. Most Crimean Tatars are Muslim.
In a ruling denounced by human rights and media-freedom watchdogs, a military court in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don in October 2019 sentenced him to 2 1/2 years in prison.
During the May 14 hearing at the Moscow region's military court of appeals, Memedeminov called on bloggers and journalists to continue to report on human rights abuses in Crimea.
"I ask that you continue to pay attention to the persecution on religious, national and professional grounds on the territory of Crimea. I hope soon to meet with you directly and not through the bars," he said.
Ahead of the court ruling, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists called on the court to overturn Memedeminov’s conviction, saying: "Forcefully transporting a Ukrainian citizen and independent journalist from Crimea to Russia and trying him in a military court on absurd charges is a violation of international legal norms, and the Russian authorities know it."


rferl--2020-05-14--Uzbekistan: France Transferred $10 Million Of Karimova's Assets

TASHKENT -- Uzbekistan says it has received from France assets worth $ 10 million illegally acquired by Gulnara Karimova , the imprisoned elder daughter of late President Islam Karimov .
The assets were transferred to Uzbekistan 's state coffers on May 14 , the Justice Ministry said .
The statement did not provide further details on the assets , which represent a fraction of the more than $ 1 billion Tashkent has sought from foreign jurisdictions since announcing Karimova 's imprisonment in 2017 .
Karimova , once seen as a possible successor to he father , was placed under house @ @ @ @ @ @ @ father was still alive and running the country .
Karimov died in 2016 and Shavkat Mirziyoev succeeded soon afterward .
In December 2017 , Karimova was sentenced to a 10-year prison term , but the sentence was later reclassified to house arrest and shortened to five years .
She was placed in jail in March 2019 for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest .
In March of this year , Karimova received an additional 13 years and four months in prison after being found guilty of extortion , money laundering , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Switzerland , the United States , Sweden , and the Netherlands have linked Karimova to a massive , years-long bribery scheme that revolved mainly around foreign telecommunications companies gaining access to the lucrative Uzbek market .

TASHKENT -- Uzbekistan says it has received from France assets worth $10 million illegally acquired by Gulnara Karimova, the imprisoned elder daughter of late President Islam Karimov.
The assets were transferred to Uzbekistan's state coffers on May 14, the Justice Ministry said.
The statement did not provide further details on the assets, which represent a fraction of the more than $1 billion Tashkent has sought from foreign jurisdictions since announcing Karimova's imprisonment in 2017.
Karimova, once seen as a possible successor to he father, was placed under house arrest in Tashkent in 2014 while her father was still alive and running the country. Karimov died in 2016 and Shavkat Mirziyoev succeeded soon afterward.
In December 2017, Karimova was sentenced to a 10-year prison term, but the sentence was later reclassified to house arrest and shortened to five years. She was placed in jail in March 2019 for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest.
In March of this year, Karimova received an additional 13 years and four months in prison after being found guilty of extortion, money laundering, and other crimes.
Criminal investigations in Switzerland, the United States, Sweden, and the Netherlands have linked Karimova to a massive, years-long bribery scheme that revolved mainly around foreign telecommunications companies gaining access to the lucrative Uzbek market.


rferl--2020-05-14--Iranian Journalist Begins Jail Term Over BBC Interview

International media-freedom watchdogs are urging Iran to stop jailing members of the press arbitrarily , particularly during the coronavirus pandemic , after a local journalist started serving an 18-month prison sentence in Tehran 's Evin prison .
Hassan Fathi , a freelance columnist , began his prison term last week after his appeal in a 2018 criminal case stemming from an interview with the BBC ’ s Persian service was denied , according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency ( HRANA ) , a U.S.-based outlet that covers news in Iran .
The Iranian authorities `` continue to jail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toll on the country 's prison population , '' Reporters Without Borders ( RSF ) said on May 14 .
Iran `` must stop their absurd practice of imprisoning journalists solely for speaking to foreign media outlets , especially during a pandemic , when any jail term could be a potential death sentence , '' said Sherif Mansour , Middle East and North Africa program coordinator at the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists ( CPJ ) .
Fathi was detained in May 2018 after he gave an interview with the BBC 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hassan Rohani , according to an interview with the journalist by Iran International .
Tehran 's Revolutionary Court charged Fathi with `` spreading lies and disrupting public opinion , '' before releasing him on bail , Fathi told the Britain-based broadcaster .
It was unclear when Fathi was initially convicted or sentenced , but a Tehran court early this month rejected his final appeal , HRANA reported .
Also on May 14 , RSF quoted the family of Mahmud Shariari , a former national radio and TV presenter , as saying he had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a section of a Tehran hospital that is reserved for coronavirus patients .
Shariari has been detained since mid-April for `` publishing false information about the coronavirus , '' the Paris-based group said .
RSF said that imprisoned journalists in Iran `` have routinely been denied adequate medical care in the past and ... are now in danger of dying from the coronavirus that is spreading in the prisons . ''

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