rferl--2020-07-29--U.S. To Move Troops From Germany, In Shift That Esper Says Will Strengthen NATO Against Russia

WASHINGTON -- The United States will move almost 12,000 troops out of Germany , relocating some of them to Belgium and Italy , in a strategic shift the Pentagon says will help deter Russia .
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on July 29 that the repositioning will strengthen NATO , enhance deterrence against Russia , and improve U.S. strategic and operational flexibility .
Of the 34,500 U.S. military personnel stationed in Germany , some 6,400 will be sent home , while nearly 5,600 will be repositioned to other NATO countries .
U.S. President Donald Trump in June announced plans to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a longtime hub for U.S. military operations in the Middle East , Africa , and Europe .
The decision came as Trump repeatedly criticized Europe ’ s richest country for failing to meet its NATO commitment to spend 2 percent of economic output on defense .
Trump ’ s announcement came as a surprise to the German government , suggesting there was a lack of coordination with a key NATO ally .
Esper said the scattered U.S. troop presence in Germany will be consolidated at other locations in Europe , including at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Repositioning air assets to Italy will move them closer to the Black Sea region , while moving U.S. command structures to Belgium will help improve coordination with the NATO command , Esper said .
The troop relocation out of Germany is tied to an agreement announced last year to move more than 1,000 U.S. troops to Poland .
Esper said some troops could also go to the Baltic states .
“ We are moving forces out of Central Europe , Germany , where they had been since the Cold War.… We are following @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where our newest allies are ” in the Black Sea region , Poland , and the Baltics , Esper said , addressing larger questions of strategy .
Even as about 6,400 troops will return to the United States , Esper said these units or similar ones will conduct continuous rotational deployments in Europe in the Black Sea region to enhance deterrence and reassure allies along NATO ’ s southeastern flank .
Esper did not provide a timeline for the troop repositioning but said some changes could happen within weeks , while others will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some resistance in the U.S. Congress against any troop withdrawals from Germany , even from some Republicans who say the move would be a gift to Russia and a threat to U.S. national security .
It ’ s also unclear whether the Trump administration ’ s plan will survive if the president is not reelected in November .
Earlier this month , the premiers of four German states housing U.S. bases urged members of Congress to block the withdrawal plans .
The letter said that U.S. forces in Germany -- with their bases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ -- form `` the backbone of the U.S. presence in Europe and NATO 's ability to act . ''

WASHINGTON -- The United States will move almost 12,000 troops out of Germany, relocating some of them to Belgium and Italy, in a strategic shift the Pentagon says will help deter Russia.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on July 29 that the repositioning will strengthen NATO, enhance deterrence against Russia, and improve U.S. strategic and operational flexibility.
Of the 34,500 U.S. military personnel stationed in Germany, some 6,400 will be sent home, while nearly 5,600 will be repositioned to other NATO countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump in June announced plans to accelerate a repositioning of troops from Germany, a longtime hub for U.S. military operations in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
The decision came as Trump repeatedly criticized Europe’s richest country for failing to meet its NATO commitment to spend 2 percent of economic output on defense.
Trump’s announcement came as a surprise to the German government, suggesting there was a lack of coordination with a key NATO ally.
Esper said the scattered U.S. troop presence in Germany will be consolidated at other locations in Europe, including at NATO bases in Belgium and Italy.
Repositioning air assets to Italy will move them closer to the Black Sea region, while moving U.S. command structures to Belgium will help improve coordination with the NATO command, Esper said.
The troop relocation out of Germany is tied to an agreement announced last year to move more than 1,000 U.S. troops to Poland.
Esper said some troops could also go to the Baltic states.
“We are moving forces out of Central Europe, Germany, where they had been since the Cold War.… We are following in many ways the boundary east, where our newest allies are” in the Black Sea region, Poland, and the Baltics, Esper said, addressing larger questions of strategy.
Even as about 6,400 troops will return to the United States, Esper said these units or similar ones will conduct continuous rotational deployments in Europe in the Black Sea region to enhance deterrence and reassure allies along NATO’s southeastern flank.
Esper did not provide a timeline for the troop repositioning but said some changes could happen within weeks, while others will take more time.
There has been some resistance in the U.S. Congress against any troop withdrawals from Germany, even from some Republicans who say the move would be a gift to Russia and a threat to U.S. national security.
It’s also unclear whether the Trump administration’s plan will survive if the president is not reelected in November.
Earlier this month, the premiers of four German states housing U.S. bases urged members of Congress to block the withdrawal plans. The letter said that U.S. forces in Germany -- with their bases, military hospitals, and other infrastructure -- form "the backbone of the U.S. presence in Europe and NATO's ability to act."


rferl--2020-07-29--Russian Prosecutor Seeks Lengthy Prison Term For Former U.S. Marine

A Russian prosecutor has asked a court in Moscow to sentence former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed to nine years and eight months in prison for allegedly assaulting police in the Russian capital in an incident he said he barely remembers .
The prosecutor on July 29 asked the court to find the U.S. citizen guilty of using violence against a law enforcement representative and endangering his life and health .
The 29-year old Reed , who is from Texas , traveled to Moscow in May 2019 to study Russian and spend time with his Russian girlfriend , Alina Tsybulnik .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ his trip back to Texas , Reed and his girlfriend attended a party organized by her colleagues .
He claims to have no memory of what happened following the party , where he says he was encouraged to drink large quantities of vodka .
In a car going home afterward , Reed said he felt unwell , asked the driver to stop , and got out .
His girlfriend 's co-worker called police and left the site with another colleague , leaving Tsybulnik alone with Reed .
Two police officers reportedly arrived at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sober up , telling Tsybulnik to come back in a few hours and pick him up .
Tsybulnik told RFE/RL that when she arrived at the police station later , Reed was being questioned , without a lawyer or interpreter present , by two men who introduced themselves as employees of the Federal Security Service ( FSB ) .
Tsybulnik was told that her boyfriend was accused of endangering the lives of the policemen who brought him in by yanking the driver 's arm and elbowing another officer who tried to intervene .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ been marred by inconsistencies .
Video evidence reviewed in court appeared to show no evidence that the police vehicle swerved as a result of Reed 's actions , as alleged by the police officers .
Speaking before the judge , the officers themselves have claimed to have no memory of key moments in the journey and have retracted parts of their statements on several occasions or failed to answer simple questions from Reed 's defense team .
Reed is one of several American citizens to face trial in Russia in recent years on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and in some cases the U.S. government have said appear trumped up .
Last month , another former U.S. Marine , 50-year-old Paul Whelan , was sentenced by a court in Moscow to 16 years in prison on espionage which he , his supporters , and the U.S. government have questioned .
Whelan 's lawyers said earlier in the month that their client might be exchanged for Russian nationals held in the United States , namely Konstantin Yaroshenko , a Russian pilot serving 20 years on a conviction of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States for illegal weapons trafficking .
A year ago , Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov proposed a prisoner swap that would involve the release of Yaroshenko in the United States and a U.S. national held in Russia .
Ryabkov did not specify whom he meant , but some took the comment as evidence that Moscow is using Americans like Reed as bargaining chips amid tensions with Washington .

A Russian prosecutor has asked a court in Moscow to sentence former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed to nine years and eight months in prison for allegedly assaulting police in the Russian capital in an incident he said he barely remembers.
The prosecutor on July 29 asked the court to find the U.S. citizen guilty of using violence against a law enforcement representative and endangering his life and health.
The 29-year old Reed, who is from Texas, traveled to Moscow in May 2019 to study Russian and spend time with his Russian girlfriend, Alina Tsybulnik.
On August 15, several days before his trip back to Texas, Reed and his girlfriend attended a party organized by her colleagues. He claims to have no memory of what happened following the party, where he says he was encouraged to drink large quantities of vodka.
In a car going home afterward, Reed said he felt unwell, asked the driver to stop, and got out. His girlfriend's co-worker called police and left the site with another colleague, leaving Tsybulnik alone with Reed.
Two police officers reportedly arrived at the site and took Reed in to sober up, telling Tsybulnik to come back in a few hours and pick him up.
Tsybulnik told RFE/RL that when she arrived at the police station later, Reed was being questioned, without a lawyer or interpreter present, by two men who introduced themselves as employees of the Federal Security Service (FSB).
Tsybulnik was told that her boyfriend was accused of endangering the lives of the policemen who brought him in by yanking the driver's arm and elbowing another officer who tried to intervene.
However, the case against Reed has been marred by inconsistencies. Video evidence reviewed in court appeared to show no evidence that the police vehicle swerved as a result of Reed's actions, as alleged by the police officers.
Speaking before the judge, the officers themselves have claimed to have no memory of key moments in the journey and have retracted parts of their statements on several occasions or failed to answer simple questions from Reed's defense team.
Reed is one of several American citizens to face trial in Russia in recent years on charges that their families, supporters, and in some cases the U.S. government have said appear trumped up.
Last month, another former U.S. Marine, 50-year-old Paul Whelan, was sentenced by a court in Moscow to 16 years in prison on espionage which he, his supporters, and the U.S. government have questioned.
Whelan's lawyers said earlier in the month that their client might be exchanged for Russian nationals held in the United States, namely Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot serving 20 years on a conviction of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine, and Viktor Bout, jailed in the United States for illegal weapons trafficking.
A year ago, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov proposed a prisoner swap that would involve the release of Yaroshenko in the United States and a U.S. national held in Russia. Ryabkov did not specify whom he meant, but some took the comment as evidence that Moscow is using Americans like Reed as bargaining chips amid tensions with Washington.


rferl--2020-07-29--Belarus Says Over 30 Russian Mercenaries Detained Ahead Of Presidential Vote

Belarusian authorities say they have detained 32 Russian members of the private military company Vagner who were allegedly plotting to “ destabilize ” the country ahead of a presidential election on August 9 .
State news agency BelTA reported on July 29 that security forces detained 32 foreign members of the Vagner Group at a health resort near Minsk overnight , after receiving information that more than 200 Russian military contractors had arrived in Belarus on July 24 to `` destabilize the situation in the country ahead of the election.
” Another suspect was detained in the south of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also published a list of the 33 Russian citizens , aged between 24 and 55 , who had been apprehended .
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka accused Russia of “ dirty intentions ” and instructed KGB security service chief Valer Vakulchyk to seek an explanation from Moscow .
“ We need to urgently ask the relevant structures of the Russian Federation to explain what 's going on , ” he said at a security meeting .
The Russian Embassy in Minsk said it had received notification from Belarus 's Foreign Ministry about the detention of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Russian paramilitary organization believed to be run by Yevgeny Prigozhin , an influential Russian businessman close to President Vladimir Putin .
Its fighters have turned up in conflicts in Syria , Libya , Ukraine , and Africa .
In 2018 , the U.S. State Department blacklisted the group along with more than 30 other Russian companies and individuals with ties to military and intelligence agencies .
BelTA reported that the detainees ’ behavior was `` uncharacteristic for Russian tourists '' because they did n't drink alcohol and their `` uniform military-style clothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ channel showed video footage it said was taken during the detainment of the suspects .
The footage showed several Russian passports that allegedly belonged to the detained men , as well as stacks of U.S. dollar bills , packets of condoms , and pieces of paper with Arabic script .
Other belongings captured on camera included Sudanese currency and a Sudanese phone card , suggesting the men may have been en route to or from the African country .
Unlike Russia , Belarus has kept its borders open during the coronavirus pandemic and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Minsk 's closest political and economic ally , but Lukashenka has repeatedly accused Russia of trying to force Belarus to abandon its independence .
The arrests push tensions between the neighbors to a new high , with some observers seeing the move as a stunt by the 65-year-old Belarusian leader , who is seeking a sixth term in the upcoming polls .
The Vagner group is known to operate in Sudan , as well as in neighboring Libya .
Lukashenka has faced mounting public opposition in recent months after 26 years in power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the government 's handling of the coronavirus pandemic .
In addition , hundreds of people , including activists and bloggers , have been arrested as the government has cracked down hard on rallies and demonstrations supporting opposition candidates who were not registered by election officials .
Despite the crackdown , Lukashenka faces one of his biggest challenges yet from an energetic opposition that has rallied around 37-year-old Svetlana Tikhanouskaya .
Lukashenka had said that unnamed forces might use trained fighters from unspecified foreign private military companies -- which are illegal in Belarus -- @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be similar to how pro-European demonstrations in neighboring Ukraine toppled pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014 .
`` They will be professional military fighters , bandits , who are specially trained , mainly at private military companies all around the world and make big money in these or those countries , '' Lukashenka has said .
With reporting by BelTA , Belarus-1 , TASS , and AP

Belarusian authorities say they have detained 32 Russian members of the private military company Vagner who were allegedly plotting to “destabilize” the country ahead of a presidential election on August 9.
State news agency BelTA reported on July 29 that security forces detained 32 foreign members of the Vagner Group at a health resort near Minsk overnight, after receiving information that more than 200 Russian military contractors had arrived in Belarus on July 24 to "destabilize the situation in the country ahead of the election.”
Another suspect was detained in the south of the country, according to BelTA, which also published a list of the 33 Russian citizens, aged between 24 and 55, who had been apprehended.
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka accused Russia of “dirty intentions” and instructed KGB security service chief Valer Vakulchyk to seek an explanation from Moscow.
“We need to urgently ask the relevant structures of the Russian Federation to explain what's going on,” he said at a security meeting.
The Russian Embassy in Minsk said it had received notification from Belarus's Foreign Ministry about the detention of its citizens.
The Vagner Group is a Russian paramilitary organization believed to be run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, an influential Russian businessman close to President Vladimir Putin. Its fighters have turned up in conflicts in Syria, Libya, Ukraine, and Africa.
In 2018, the U.S. State Department blacklisted the group along with more than 30 other Russian companies and individuals with ties to military and intelligence agencies.
BelTA reported that the detainees’ behavior was "uncharacteristic for Russian tourists" because they didn't drink alcohol and their "uniform military-style clothing" drew attention.
The state-run Belarus-1 television channel showed video footage it said was taken during the detainment of the suspects.
The footage showed several Russian passports that allegedly belonged to the detained men, as well as stacks of U.S. dollar bills, packets of condoms, and pieces of paper with Arabic script.
Other belongings captured on camera included Sudanese currency and a Sudanese phone card, suggesting the men may have been en route to or from the African country.
Unlike Russia, Belarus has kept its borders open during the coronavirus pandemic and operates flights as usual.
Moscow is Minsk's closest political and economic ally, but Lukashenka has repeatedly accused Russia of trying to force Belarus to abandon its independence.
The arrests push tensions between the neighbors to a new high, with some observers seeing the move as a stunt by the 65-year-old Belarusian leader, who is seeking a sixth term in the upcoming polls.
The Vagner group is known to operate in Sudan, as well as in neighboring Libya.
Lukashenka has faced mounting public opposition in recent months after 26 years in power, in part from public discontent over the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition, hundreds of people, including activists and bloggers, have been arrested as the government has cracked down hard on rallies and demonstrations supporting opposition candidates who were not registered by election officials.
Despite the crackdown, Lukashenka faces one of his biggest challenges yet from an energetic opposition that has rallied around 37-year-old Svetlana Tikhanouskaya.
Lukashenka had said that unnamed forces might use trained fighters from unspecified foreign private military companies -- which are illegal in Belarus -- to foment a revolution in Belarus that would be similar to how pro-European demonstrations in neighboring Ukraine toppled pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.
"They will be professional military fighters, bandits, who are specially trained, mainly at private military companies all around the world and make big money in these or those countries," Lukashenka has said.
With reporting by BelTA, Belarus-1, TASS, and AP


rferl--2020-07-29--COVID-19: Bosnian Minister Dies; Kazakhstan Extends Lockdown

The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 662,000 , with more than 16.8 million infections confirmed , causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the respiratory illness .
The veterans affairs minister in one of Bosnia-Herzegovina ’ s federal regions has died from the coronavirus .
Salko Bukvarevic , 53 , the cabinet member in Bosnia 's Muslim-Croat entity , died on July 29 from COVID-19 at a hospital in Sarajevo , where he had been admitted last week .
Bukvarevic had been put on a respirator on July 27 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Bosniak-Croat Federation since 2015 .
The region ’ s prime minister , Fadil Novalic , was also hospitalized with the coronavirus but was released on July 28 following two weeks of treatment .
The Balkan country of 3.5 million people has registered close to 10,700 virus cases , with 297 deaths .
Earlier this week , the World Health Organization warned the country risks being faced with overfilled and understaffed hospitals .
In the Western Balkans , North Macedonia and Serbia also face surging coronavirus cases .
Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by another two weeks to stem the outbreak of the coronavirus a day after officials began discussing a possible easing of restrictions .
Toqaev made the announcement on July 29 while meeting with Prime Minister Asqar Mamin and Health Minister Aleksei Tsoi .
A day earlier , Tsoi recommended that the government start easing coronavirus restrictions as of August 3 .
Kazakhstan imposed a state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March , which ended on May 11 with restrictions remaining across the country .
On July 5 , amid an abrupt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acute pneumonia , Kazakhstan imposed additional restrictions for 14 days .
On July 13 , the lockdown was prolonged until August 2 .
Kazakh health authorities said on July 29 that the number of coronavirus cases in the country was 86,192 , with 54,404 patients recovered and 793 died .
Kyrgyzstan says it is aiming to resume air flights to four countries -- Russia , Turkey , Kazakhstan , and the United Arab Emirates -- as of August 1 .
Kurmanbek Akyshev , the director of Kyrgyzstan 's civil aviation , told RFE/RL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issue with aviation officials of the four nations are currently underway .
All international flights have been suspended in Kyrgyzstan due to the pandemic since mid-March .
According to Kyrgyz health authorities , the number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached 34,592 , including 1,347 deaths .
In Tajikistan , authorities said on July 29 that some 488,000 people with social and financial needs will receive one-time financial allowances of 400 somonis each ( $ 38.5 ) from the government to help ease problems caused by the pandemic and lockdowns .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with low incomes , handicapped individuals , orphans or children with one parent , and children with HIV/AIDS .
Tajik Finance Minister Faiziddin Kahhorzoda told reporters in Dushanbe on July 29 that the government ’ s donation account opened to raise money for measures against the coronavirus had managed to collect about $ 2.5 million from individuals , companies , and other countries .
As of July 28 , the number of registered coronavirus cases in Tajikistan was 7,276 , including 60 deaths .
However , an investigative report by RFE/RL ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real number of lethal cases of COVID-19 in the country might be several hundred , including dozens of physicians and nurses who treated infected patients .
In Uzbekistan , health officials said on July 29 that 22,196 coronavirus cases , including 127 deaths , had been registered in the country .
Turkmenistan is the only country in the region that has not officially registered any coronavirus cases , but RFE/RL correspondents have reported that local hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients with pneumonia symptoms , some of whom , including medical personnel , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country , so-called quarantine zones have been established and some industrial facilities are being shut down , RFE/RL correspondents report .
The leader of a World Health Organization mission , Catherine Smallwood , told a press conference in Ashgabat on July 15 that the mission had concerns about reports of pneumonia in the tightly controlled energy-rich country .
Smallwood advised the Turkmen government to activate `` critical public-health measures in Turkmenistan , as if COVID-19 was circulating . ''
With reporting by RFE/RL 's Balkan , Kazakh , Kyrgyz , Tajik , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and AP

The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 662,000, with more than 16.8 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the respiratory illness.
Here's a roundup of COVID-19 developments in RFE/RL's broadcast regions.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
The veterans affairs minister in one of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s federal regions has died from the coronavirus.
Salko Bukvarevic, 53, the cabinet member in Bosnia's Muslim-Croat entity, died on July 29 from COVID-19 at a hospital in Sarajevo, where he had been admitted last week.
Bukvarevic had been put on a respirator on July 27.
He had served in the government of the Bosniak-Croat Federation since 2015.
The region’s prime minister, Fadil Novalic, was also hospitalized with the coronavirus but was released on July 28 following two weeks of treatment.
The Balkan country of 3.5 million people has registered close to 10,700 virus cases, with 297 deaths.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization warned the country risks being faced with overfilled and understaffed hospitals.
In the Western Balkans, North Macedonia and Serbia also face surging coronavirus cases.
Central Asia
Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has ordered an extension of a nationwide lockdown by another two weeks to stem the outbreak of the coronavirus a day after officials began discussing a possible easing of restrictions.
Toqaev made the announcement on July 29 while meeting with Prime Minister Asqar Mamin and Health Minister Aleksei Tsoi.
A day earlier, Tsoi recommended that the government start easing coronavirus restrictions as of August 3.
Kazakhstan imposed a state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, which ended on May 11 with restrictions remaining across the country.
On July 5, amid an abrupt increase in cases of the coronavirus and acute pneumonia, Kazakhstan imposed additional restrictions for 14 days. On July 13, the lockdown was prolonged until August 2.
Kazakh health authorities said on July 29 that the number of coronavirus cases in the country was 86,192, with 54,404 patients recovered and 793 died.
Kyrgyzstan says it is aiming to resume air flights to four countries -- Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and the United Arab Emirates -- as of August 1.
Kurmanbek Akyshev, the director of Kyrgyzstan's civil aviation, told RFE/RL on July 28 that negotiations on the issue with aviation officials of the four nations are currently underway.
All international flights have been suspended in Kyrgyzstan due to the pandemic since mid-March.
According to Kyrgyz health authorities, the number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached 34,592, including 1,347 deaths.
In Tajikistan, authorities said on July 29 that some 488,000 people with social and financial needs will receive one-time financial allowances of 400 somonis each ($38.5) from the government to help ease problems caused by the pandemic and lockdowns.
Citizens eligible to receive support include families with low incomes, handicapped individuals, orphans or children with one parent, and children with HIV/AIDS.
Tajik Finance Minister Faiziddin Kahhorzoda told reporters in Dushanbe on July 29 that the government’s donation account opened to raise money for measures against the coronavirus had managed to collect about $2.5 million from individuals, companies, and other countries.
As of July 28, the number of registered coronavirus cases in Tajikistan was 7,276, including 60 deaths.
However, an investigative report by RFE/RL’s Tajik Service last month revealed that the real number of lethal cases of COVID-19 in the country might be several hundred, including dozens of physicians and nurses who treated infected patients.
In Uzbekistan, health officials said on July 29 that 22,196 coronavirus cases, including 127 deaths, had been registered in the country.
Turkmenistan is the only country in the region that has not officially registered any coronavirus cases, but RFE/RL correspondents have reported that local hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients with pneumonia symptoms, some of whom, including medical personnel, have died.
In some parts of the country, so-called quarantine zones have been established and some industrial facilities are being shut down, RFE/RL correspondents report.
The leader of a World Health Organization mission, Catherine Smallwood, told a press conference in Ashgabat on July 15 that the mission had concerns about reports of pneumonia in the tightly controlled energy-rich country.
Smallwood advised the Turkmen government to activate "critical public-health measures in Turkmenistan, as if COVID-19 was circulating."
With reporting by RFE/RL's Balkan, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, and Turkmen services, AFP, and AP


rferl--2020-07-29--Serbia Launches Probe Into Media, Rights Groups Over Terror Financing, Money Laundering

Serbia ’ s Finance Ministry has launched a terrorist financing and money laundering probe into journalists and nongovernmental organizations that critics say is a blatant attempt at intimidation by President Aleksandar Vucic ’ s government .
The ministry has requested bank information since the start of 2019 from 20 individuals and 37 nongovernmental organizations and institutions known for their work on human rights , transparency , and exposing corruption , according to documents published by TV Newsmax Adria Serbia on July 28 .
The ministry ’ s order cites the need “ to determine whether the listed organizations and individuals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or money laundering.
” Zeljko Radovanovic , who heads the ministry ’ s anti-money-laundering unit , said the requests were standard procedure and not directed at government critics .
`` We need to check if there are donors , or if there are any donors that carry a certain amount of risk , '' he said .
But those on the list and others point out that the move is mostly targeted at critics of Vucic ’ s government .
The list includes individuals and organizations that have advocated for Serbia ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ International ’ s Europe director , Nils Muiznieks , called the move “ a blatant act of intimidation and the latest in an ongoing campaign by Serbian authorities to silence critics.
” “ This kind of arbitrary investigation that specifically targets those critical of the government undermines the right to freedom of expression and threatens freedom of the press , ” he added .
The list includes the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network ( BIRN ) and Serbia ’ s two main journalist associations , as well as rights group such as the Helsinki @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s “ a clear effort to intimidate government critics '' as Serbia slides further `` towards authoritarianism , ” Florian Bieber , the director of the Center for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz , wrote on Twitter .
A member of the European Parliament , Tanja Fajon , said the investigations appear to be an effort to apply pressure .
 '' Most of the civil society organizations , media , and individuals investigated for money laundering by the Serbian Government have been among the primary advocates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ values in Serbia , '' said Falon , who chairs a parliament committee on EU relations with Serbia , which is trying to join the bloc .
The director of the Center for Investigative Journalism , Branko Cecen , who is also on the list , said that the request for bank information was an abuse of institutions for the sake of settling accounts with critics of the government .
He advised the government to investigate itself if it wanted to tackle money laundering .
Under Vucic ’ s conservative ruling Serbian Progressive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizations have documented a steady erosion of democracy in the Balkan country .
The U.S.-based Freedom House has said that since the SNS came to power in 2012 , it `` has steadily eroded political rights and civil liberties , putting pressure on independent media , the political opposition , and civil society organizations . ''
With reporting by AP , AFP , NOVA.rs , and TV Newsmax Adria Serbia

Serbia’s Finance Ministry has launched a terrorist financing and money laundering probe into journalists and nongovernmental organizations that critics say is a blatant attempt at intimidation by President Aleksandar Vucic’s government.
The ministry has requested bank information since the start of 2019 from 20 individuals and 37 nongovernmental organizations and institutions known for their work on human rights, transparency, and exposing corruption, according to documents published by TV Newsmax Adria Serbia on July 28.
The ministry’s order cites the need “to determine whether the listed organizations and individuals have anything to do with terrorist financing or money laundering.”
Zeljko Radovanovic, who heads the ministry’s anti-money-laundering unit, said the requests were standard procedure and not directed at government critics.
"We need to check if there are donors, or if there are any donors that carry a certain amount of risk," he said.
But those on the list and others point out that the move is mostly targeted at critics of Vucic’s government. The list includes individuals and organizations that have advocated for Serbia’s EU accession and associated reforms.
Amnesty International’s Europe director, Nils Muiznieks, called the move “a blatant act of intimidation and the latest in an ongoing campaign by Serbian authorities to silence critics.”
“This kind of arbitrary investigation that specifically targets those critical of the government undermines the right to freedom of expression and threatens freedom of the press,” he added.
The list includes the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and Serbia’s two main journalist associations, as well as rights group such as the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and Civic Initiatives.
It’s “a clear effort to intimidate government critics" as Serbia slides further "towards authoritarianism,” Florian Bieber, the director of the Center for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz, wrote on Twitter.
A member of the European Parliament, Tanja Fajon, said the investigations appear to be an effort to apply pressure.
"Most of the civil society organizations, media, and individuals investigated for money laundering by the Serbian Government have been among the primary advocates for pro-EU reforms and supporters of EU values in Serbia," said Falon, who chairs a parliament committee on EU relations with Serbia, which is trying to join the bloc.
The director of the Center for Investigative Journalism, Branko Cecen, who is also on the list, said that the request for bank information was an abuse of institutions for the sake of settling accounts with critics of the government. He advised the government to investigate itself if it wanted to tackle money laundering.
Under Vucic’s conservative ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), human rights organizations have documented a steady erosion of democracy in the Balkan country.
The U.S.-based Freedom House has said that since the SNS came to power in 2012, it "has steadily eroded political rights and civil liberties, putting pressure on independent media, the political opposition, and civil society organizations."
With reporting by AP, AFP, NOVA.rs, and TV Newsmax Adria Serbia


rferl--2020-07-31--U.S. Says Man Killed In Pakistan After Blasphemy Charge Was U.S. Citizen, Demands Action

The United States has demanded action over the killing of a U.S. citizen in a Pakistani court this week as he faced blasphemy charges .
The State Department said in a statement on July 30 that the man , Tahir Nasim , was a U.S. citizen and it had urged Islamabad to protect him .
The statement said Nasim had been lured from his home in Illinois by individuals who then used Pakistan ’ s blasphemy laws to entrap him .
“ We are shocked , saddened , and outraged that American citizen Tahir Naseem was killed yesterday inside a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , using an alternative spelling of his name .
Nasim was shot dead on July 29 in a courtroom in the northwestern city of Peshawar amid tight security .
The U.S. government had called the attention of senior Pakistani officials to his case since his detention in 2018 aiming to “ prevent the type of shameful tragedy that eventually occurred , ” the statement said .
The statement also urged Pakistan to immediately reform its blasphemy laws , saying they are often abused , and its court system , saying it has allowed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the suspect to be prosecuted `` to the full extent of the law . ''
It was not clear how the suspect , identified as Khalid Khan , managed to gain access to the courtroom .
He told police the prophet Muhammad had ordered him to kill Nasim because he had belonged to the Ahmadi faith .
Ahmadis , a 4-million-strong minority group in Pakistan , have faced death , threats , intimidation and a sustained hate campaign for decades .
Ahmadis insist they follow Islam .
However , Pakistan declared the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sect 's founder , Ghulam Ahmad , as a prophet .
Orthodox Islam holds there can be no prophets after Muhammad .
Nasim was arrested two years ago on blasphemy charges after claiming he was Islam ’ s prophet .
Pakistan ’ s controversial blasphemy law carries an automatic death penalty for anyone found guilty of insulting God , Islam , or other religious figures .
While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy , even the mere accusation can cause riots .

The United States has demanded action over the killing of a U.S. citizen in a Pakistani court this week as he faced blasphemy charges.
The State Department said in a statement on July 30 that the man, Tahir Nasim, was a U.S. citizen and it had urged Islamabad to protect him. The statement said Nasim had been lured from his home in Illinois by individuals who then used Pakistan’s blasphemy laws to entrap him.
“We are shocked, saddened, and outraged that American citizen Tahir Naseem was killed yesterday inside a Pakistani courtroom,” the statement said, using an alternative spelling of his name.
Nasim was shot dead on July 29 in a courtroom in the northwestern city of Peshawar amid tight security.
The U.S. government had called the attention of senior Pakistani officials to his case since his detention in 2018 aiming to “prevent the type of shameful tragedy that eventually occurred,” the statement said.
The statement also urged Pakistan to immediately reform its blasphemy laws, saying they are often abused, and its court system, saying it has allowed such abuses to occur. It called for the suspect to be prosecuted "to the full extent of the law."
It was not clear how the suspect, identified as Khalid Khan, managed to gain access to the courtroom.
He told police the Prophet Muhammad had ordered him to kill Nasim because he had belonged to the Ahmadi faith.
Ahmadis, a 4-million-strong minority group in Pakistan, have faced death, threats, intimidation, and a sustained hate campaign for decades.
Ahmadis insist they follow Islam. However, Pakistan declared the group non-Muslim in 1974 for regarding their sect's founder, Ghulam Ahmad, as a prophet. Orthodox Islam holds there can be no prophets after Muhammad.
Nasim was arrested two years ago on blasphemy charges after claiming he was Islam’s prophet.
Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law carries an automatic death penalty for anyone found guilty of insulting God, Islam, or other religious figures.
While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, even the mere accusation can cause riots.


rferl--2020-07-30--Bomb Attack Kills At Least Eight Afghans Ahead Of Cease-Fire

Afghan officials say at least eight people were killed and dozens injured in a bomb attack in the eastern province of Logar on July 30 , just hours before a three-day cease-fire was to begin for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha .
The suspected car bomb went off in the central Azadi ( Liberty ) Square in the provincial capital , Pol-e-Alam , which was packed with people shopping for Eid celebrations , according to local officials and eyewitnesses .
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that all the victims were civilians , with women and children among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spokesman Shahpoor Ahmadzai said the attack targeted a police checkpoint and that there were security forces among the victims .
According to Ahmadzai , government forces had gathered in the city to prepare for security measures ahead of the Eid celebrations .
He said the civilian casualties were mainly in cars that had stopped at a checkpoint .
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack .
The Taliban denied involvement .
The Afghan government and the Taliban have agreed on a three-day ceasefire starting on July 31 , the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cease-fire is slated to last for the duration of the festival , which marks the end of the annual hajj pilgrimage .

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--2020-07-30--Russian Actor, Kremlin Critic Yefremov To Go On Trial Next Month

The high-profile trial of well-known Russian actor Mikhail Yefremov is set to start on August 5 .
Yefremov , who in recent years has criticized Kremlin politics in a one-man show , faces up to 12 years in prison for killing a person in an accident while he was driving under the influence of alcohol .
A court in Moscow set the date for Yefremov 's trial on July 30 , and prolonged his pretrial house arrest until January 22 next year .
He is barred from leaving his home , using the telephone , the Internet , regular mail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individuals , with the exception of close relatives , lawyers , and investigators .
Police say Yefremov was drunk when he drove his car at a high speed into an oncoming lane in central Moscow on the evening of June 8 , hitting another car .
Yefremov did not suffer any injuries in the accident , while the driver of the other vehicle , identified as 57-year-old Sergei Zakharov , was rushed to hospital with multiple injuries and died hours later .
After Zakharov was pronounced dead , Yefremov was charged with `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under the influence . ''
Performances by the 56-year-old Yefremov challenging President Vladimir Putin and his politics have been very popular in recent years .
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax

The high-profile trial of well-known Russian actor Mikhail Yefremov is set to start on August 5.
Yefremov, who in recent years has criticized Kremlin politics in a one-man show, faces up to 12 years in prison for killing a person in an accident while he was driving under the influence of alcohol.
A court in Moscow set the date for Yefremov's trial on July 30, and prolonged his pretrial house arrest until January 22 next year.
He is barred from leaving his home, using the telephone, the Internet, regular mail, and communicating with the media and individuals, with the exception of close relatives, lawyers, and investigators.
Police say Yefremov was drunk when he drove his car at a high speed into an oncoming lane in central Moscow on the evening of June 8, hitting another car. Yefremov did not suffer any injuries in the accident, while the driver of the other vehicle, identified as 57-year-old Sergei Zakharov, was rushed to hospital with multiple injuries and died hours later.
After Zakharov was pronounced dead, Yefremov was charged with "causing a deadly traffic accident while driving under the influence."
Performances by the 56-year-old Yefremov challenging President Vladimir Putin and his politics have been very popular in recent years.
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax


rferl--2020-07-30--Pompeo Says U.S. Will 'Do Everything' To Stop Nord Stream 2 Project

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has told lawmakers that the United States intends to impose sanctions on firms that continue to help Russia build a natural-gas pipeline to Europe as he sought to dispel concerns about Washington ’ s commitment to halt the controversial project .
`` We will do everything we can to make sure that that pipeline does n't threaten Europe , '' Pompeo told a senate hearing on July 30 , adding : `` We want Europe to have real , secure , stable , safe energy resources that can not be turned off in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told the panel that the United States has already been in touch with some companies working on Nord Stream 2 about the risks they face if they don ’ t halt their activities .
The State Department and Treasury Department `` have made very clear in our conversations with those who have equipment there the expressed threat that is posed to them for continuing to work on completion of the pipeline , '' he said .
The United States opposes the Nord Stream 2 pipeline , which would run under the Baltic Sea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exports to Germany while bypassing Ukraine .
Washington claims the pipeline would increase Europe ’ s dependence on Russian gas while also hurting Ukraine , which stands to lose billions of dollars in gas-transit fees .
Work on the nearly $ 11 billion project , which is more than 90 percent complete , was halted in December after the United States passed a law that imposed sanctions on vessels laying the pipeline , forcing Swiss-based AllSeas to pull out .
Russian vessels are now seeking to finish the project , but they require @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and ports , which Pompeo has now threatened to sanction .
Pompeo earlier in the month announced that he was removing guidelines from a 2017 Congressional bill that exempted the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from sanctions amid signs that Russia was taking steps to complete the project .
During the July 30 hearing , Senator Ted Cruz ( Republican-Texas ) said he had discussed Nord Stream 2 in `` considerable depth '' with President Donald Trump a day earlier during their trip to Western Texas , a major energy producing region .
Texas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nord Stream 2 as it opens the possibility of more U.S. liquefied-natural-gas exports to Europe .
Russia has accused the United States of using energy sanctions as a `` weapon '' to open up new markets for its oil and gas industry .
Cruz said Trump expressed `` frustrations '' with the leadership of Germany , which continues to support the Nord Stream 2 project .
U.S.-German relations have suffered under Trump , who recently announced he would be pulling about 12,500 troops from the country .

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has told lawmakers that the United States intends to impose sanctions on firms that continue to help Russia build a natural-gas pipeline to Europe as he sought to dispel concerns about Washington’s commitment to halt the controversial project.
"We will do everything we can to make sure that that pipeline doesn't threaten Europe," Pompeo told a senate hearing on July 30, adding: "We want Europe to have real, secure, stable, safe energy resources that cannot be turned off in the event Russia wants to."
Pompeo told the panel that the United States has already been in touch with some companies working on Nord Stream 2 about the risks they face if they don’t halt their activities.
The State Department and Treasury Department "have made very clear in our conversations with those who have equipment there the expressed threat that is posed to them for continuing to work on completion of the pipeline," he said.
The United States opposes the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would run under the Baltic Sea and double Russia's direct natural gas exports to Germany while bypassing Ukraine.
Washington claims the pipeline would increase Europe’s dependence on Russian gas while also hurting Ukraine, which stands to lose billions of dollars in gas-transit fees.
'Frustrations' With Germany
Work on the nearly $11 billion project, which is more than 90 percent complete, was halted in December after the United States passed a law that imposed sanctions on vessels laying the pipeline, forcing Swiss-based AllSeas to pull out.
Russian vessels are now seeking to finish the project, but they require help from international companies such as insurers and ports, which Pompeo has now threatened to sanction.
Pompeo earlier in the month announced that he was removing guidelines from a 2017 Congressional bill that exempted the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from sanctions amid signs that Russia was taking steps to complete the project.
During the July 30 hearing, Senator Ted Cruz (Republican-Texas) said he had discussed Nord Stream 2 in "considerable depth" with President Donald Trump a day earlier during their trip to Western Texas, a major energy producing region.
Texas potentially benefits from the continued delay of Nord Stream 2 as it opens the possibility of more U.S. liquefied-natural-gas exports to Europe. Russia has accused the United States of using energy sanctions as a "weapon" to open up new markets for its oil and gas industry.
Cruz said Trump expressed "frustrations" with the leadership of Germany, which continues to support the Nord Stream 2 project.
U.S.-German relations have suffered under Trump, who recently announced he would be pulling about 12,500 troops from the country.


rferl--2020-07-30--Ukrainian Ex-President Kravchuk Takes Presidential Envoy Post In Group For Resolving Conflict

KYIV -- Ukraine 's first President Leonid Kravchuk has agreed to take the post of presidential envoy in the trilateral @ @ @ @ @ armed conflict in the country ’ s east .
The 86-year-old Kravchuk announced his decision @ @ @ @ @ days after another former Ukrainian president , Leonid Kuchma , quit the post .
Kravchuk @ @ @ @ @ 1994 and was one of three Soviet leaders who signed the document on dissolution of @ @ @ @ @ 1991 .
Kuchma , who ran the country between 1994 and 2005 , served as @ @ @ @ @ the trilateral group consisting of representatives of Ukraine , Russia , and the Organization for @ @ @ @ @ ( OSCE ) from 2014 to 2018 .
After Volodymyr Zelenskiy was inaugurated as Ukrainian @ @ @ @ @ , Kuchma returned to the group , which has been involved in negotiations on finding @ @ @ @ @ conflict between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian armed forces in the eastern regions of Luhansk and @ @ @ @ @ killed more than 13,200 people since April 2014 .

KYIV -- Ukraine's first President Leonid Kravchuk has agreed to take the post of presidential envoy in the trilateral contact group on resolving the armed conflict in the country’s east.
The 86-year-old Kravchuk announced his decision on July 31, two days after another former Ukrainian president, Leonid Kuchma, quit the post.
Kravchuk led Ukraine from 1991 to 1994 and was one of three Soviet leaders who signed the document on dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991.
Kuchma, who ran the country between 1994 and 2005, served as Ukraine's presidential envoy in the trilateral group consisting of representatives of Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) from 2014 to 2018.
After Volodymyr Zelenskiy was inaugurated as Ukrainian president in May last year, Kuchma returned to the group, which has been involved in negotiations on finding a peaceful solution to the conflict between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian armed forces in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
The fighting has killed more than 13,200 people since April 2014.


rferl--2020-07-30--UN Expert: Kyrgyz Activist's Death In Custody Shows 'Cruel Disregard' For Human Rights

A UN human rights expert says the recent death of an ethnic Uzbek rights defender , Azimjan Askarov , while in Kyrgyz custody shows a `` cruel disregard '' for human rights in the Central Asian country .
In a statement on July 30 , Mary Lawlor , the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders , called Askarov ’ s death “ a stain on the human rights record ” of the government of Kyrgyzstan .
Askarov , a 69-year-old activist who also contributed to independent news websites , died in a Bishkek prison hospital on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as pneumonia .
For 10 years he had unsuccessfully challenged his life sentence that he and his supporters rejected as politically motivated .
Askarov was convicted of creating a mass disturbance and involvement in the murder of a police officer during deadly ethnic clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in the southern cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad in 2010 .
In her statement , Lawlor criticized the Kyrgyz government for ignoring `` multiple requests '' for Askarov ’ s early release on humanitarian grounds `` as his health deteriorated significantly in prison .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in the midst of COVID-19 , and despite his age and pre-existing conditions , Mr. Askarov did not qualify for early release under Kyrgyz law , '' Lawlor said .
`` I now question whether more could have been done to protect his health . ''
In the days before Askarov ’ s death , his lawyer made a number of urgent medical appeals to Kyrgyz authorities after he reportedly fell ill with a cough , fever , aches and pains , and had difficulty eating and walking .
Askarov was transferred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when he had already been sick for 10 days .
He died the following day .
In May , Human Rights Watch said Askarov suffered from cardiac and respiratory conditions and has not received `` appropriate medical attention in prison . ''
It also warned that he was at high risk of contracting COVID-19 , a disease caused by the coronavirus that disproportionately affects older people and individuals with underlying illnesses .
Lawlor said that Askarov ’ s case `` should act as a reminder to all states of the serious and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ face '' during the coronavirus pandemic .
She urged governments around the world to release jailed human rights defenders and all those detained without sufficient legal basis .
The UN Human Rights Committee has found that Askarov was arbitrarily detained , denied a fair trial , and tortured , .
It ruled that the activist should be released immediately and his conviction quashed .
However , Askarov 's conviction was upheld by Kyrgyz courts after several appeals .
More than 450 people , mainly ethnic Uzbeks , were killed and tens of thousands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that erupted in southern Kyrgyzstan in 2010 .

A UN human rights expert says the recent death of an ethnic Uzbek rights defender, Azimjan Askarov, while in Kyrgyz custody shows a "cruel disregard" for human rights in the Central Asian country.
In a statement on July 30, Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, called Askarov’s death “a stain on the human rights record” of the government of Kyrgyzstan.
Askarov, a 69-year-old activist who also contributed to independent news websites, died in a Bishkek prison hospital on July 25 of what Kyrgyz officials described as pneumonia.
For 10 years he had unsuccessfully challenged his life sentence that he and his supporters rejected as politically motivated.
Askarov was convicted of creating a mass disturbance and involvement in the murder of a police officer during deadly ethnic clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in the southern cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad in 2010.
In her statement, Lawlor criticized the Kyrgyz government for ignoring "multiple requests" for Askarov’s early release on humanitarian grounds "as his health deteriorated significantly in prison."
"We learned in June that, in the midst of COVID-19, and despite his age and pre-existing conditions, Mr. Askarov did not qualify for early release under Kyrgyz law," Lawlor said. "I now question whether more could have been done to protect his health."
In the days before Askarov’s death, his lawyer made a number of urgent medical appeals to Kyrgyz authorities after he reportedly fell ill with a cough, fever, aches and pains, and had difficulty eating and walking.
Askarov was transferred to a prison hospital on July 24, when he had already been sick for 10 days. He died the following day.
In May, Human Rights Watch said Askarov suffered from cardiac and respiratory conditions and has not received "appropriate medical attention in prison." It also warned that he was at high risk of contracting COVID-19, a disease caused by the coronavirus that disproportionately affects older people and individuals with underlying illnesses.
Lawlor said that Askarov’s case "should act as a reminder to all states of the serious and grave threat that prisoners in at-risk categories face" during the coronavirus pandemic.
She urged governments around the world to release jailed human rights defenders and all those detained without sufficient legal basis.
The UN Human Rights Committee has found that Askarov was arbitrarily detained, denied a fair trial, and tortured,. It ruled that the activist should be released immediately and his conviction quashed.
However, Askarov's conviction was upheld by Kyrgyz courts after several appeals.
More than 450 people, mainly ethnic Uzbeks, were killed and tens of thousands more were displaced during the ethnic violence that erupted in southern Kyrgyzstan in 2010.


rferl--2020-07-30--Russian Intelligence Hit In First Ever EU Sanctions Against Cyberattacks

The European Union has imposed its first-ever sanctions against alleged cyberattackers , targeting four Russian citizens and a unit of Moscow 's GRU military intelligence agency .
The EU sanctions list also includes two entities based in China and North Korea , as well as two Chinese nationals .
Restrictive measures will be taken against the six individuals and three entities “ responsible for or involved in various cyber-attacks , ” including the attempt to hack into the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons , the European Council said in a statement on July 30 .
The sanctions include @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the statement said , adding that EU persons and entities are also not allowed to directly or indirectly make funds available to those targeted .
The targeted entities include the GRU ’ s Main Center for Special Technologies , which the EU said is responsible for cyberattacks “ with a significant effect…and constituting an external threat ” to the bloc , its member states , and other countries .
One of these attacks was launched in June 2017 and `` rendered data inaccessible in a number of companies in the Union , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ computers with ransomware and blocking access to data , resulting amongst others in significant economic loss . ''
Another cyberattack directed at Ukraine resulted in parts of the country ’ s power grid being switched off during the winter of 2015 and 2016 .
The four Russian citizens hit by EU sanctions include Aleksei Minin , Aleksei Morenets , Yevgeny Serebriakov , and Oleg Sotnikov .
They are accused of taking part in an April 2018 attempt to gain access to the Wi-Fi network of the OPCW in The Hague , the Netherlands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the network and the OPCW ’ s ongoing investigatory work.
” The agency had been investigating a nerve-agent attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain in 2018 , as well as the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government .
In a declaration , EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc `` will continue to strongly promote responsible behaviour in cyberspace , and call upon every country to cooperate in favour of international peace and stability , to exercise due diligence and take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activities . ''
The legal framework for targeted sanctions against cyberattacks was adopted in May last year .

The European Union has imposed its first-ever sanctions against alleged cyberattackers, targeting four Russian citizens and a unit of Moscow's GRU military intelligence agency.
The EU sanctions list also includes two entities based in China and North Korea, as well as two Chinese nationals.
Restrictive measures will be taken against the six individuals and three entities “responsible for or involved in various cyber-attacks,” including the attempt to hack into the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the European Council said in a statement on July 30.
The sanctions include a travel ban and an asset freeze, the statement said, adding that EU persons and entities are also not allowed to directly or indirectly make funds available to those targeted.
The targeted entities include the GRU’s Main Center for Special Technologies, which the EU said is responsible for cyberattacks “with a significant effect…and constituting an external threat” to the bloc, its member states, and other countries.
One of these attacks was launched in June 2017 and "rendered data inaccessible in a number of companies in the Union, wider Europe and worldwide, by targeting computers with ransomware and blocking access to data, resulting amongst others in significant economic loss."
Another cyberattack directed at Ukraine resulted in parts of the country’s power grid being switched off during the winter of 2015 and 2016.
The four Russian citizens hit by EU sanctions include Aleksei Minin, Aleksei Morenets, Yevgeny Serebriakov, and Oleg Sotnikov.
They are accused of taking part in an April 2018 attempt to gain access to the Wi-Fi network of the OPCW in The Hague, the Netherlands, and compromise “the security of the network and the OPCW’s ongoing investigatory work.”
The agency had been investigating a nerve-agent attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain in 2018, as well as the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government.
In a declaration, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc "will continue to strongly promote responsible behaviour in cyberspace, and call upon every country to cooperate in favour of international peace and stability, to exercise due diligence and take appropriate action against actors conducting malicious cyber activities."
The legal framework for targeted sanctions against cyberattacks was adopted in May last year.


rferl--2020-07-30--Serbian President Defends Controversial Investigation Into NGOs, Other Critics

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has defended an investigation into alleged money laundering and terrorism funding launched against dozens of rights groups and independent journalists critical of his government 's policies .
The Finance Ministry has requested bank information since the start of 2019 from 20 individuals and 37 nongovernmental organizations and institutions known for their work on human rights , transparency , and exposing corruption , according to documents published by TV Newsmax Adria Serbia on July 28 .
The ministry ’ s order cites the need `` to determine whether the listed organizations and individuals have anything to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' In a press conference on July 30 , Vucic denied that the probe is a targeted attack on critics , saying it ’ s a regular proceedure and that “ everyone should be equal before the law.
” Vucic said that every country needs a strong civil society , but added that those who are being probed `` are making noise to look like they are under threat and thus get more money from their donors . ''
But those on the list and others point out that the move is mostly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ includes individuals and organizations that have advocated for Serbia 's EU accession and associated reforms .
Serbia is formally seeking EU membership , but under Vucic it has shifted close to Russia and China and their authoritarian style of leadership .
The list includes the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network ( BIRN ) and Serbia ’ s two main journalist associations , as well as rights group such as the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and Civic Initiatives .
The U.S. Embassy in Belgrade has voiced concern about “ what appears to be a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the United States remains ready to assist Serbia on its path toward European Union membership .
“ However the impression that official Belgrade wants to suppress civil society or the freedom of the media will damage Serbia ’ s reputation and make it more difficult to make progress toward this goal of great value , ” the statement said .
Rights group Amnesty International said that “ the targeting of journalists and NGOs on absurd allegations of money laundering and financing terror is a blatant act of intimidation and the latest in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ silence critics .
”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has defended an investigation into alleged money laundering and terrorism funding launched against dozens of rights groups and independent journalists critical of his government's policies.
The Finance Ministry has requested bank information since the start of 2019 from 20 individuals and 37 nongovernmental organizations and institutions known for their work on human rights, transparency, and exposing corruption, according to documents published by TV Newsmax Adria Serbia on July 28.
The ministry’s order cites the need "to determine whether the listed organizations and individuals have anything to do with terrorist financing or money laundering."
In a press conference on July 30, Vucic denied that the probe is a targeted attack on critics, saying it’s a regular proceedure and that “everyone should be equal before the law.”
Vucic said that every country needs a strong civil society, but added that those who are being probed "are making noise to look like they are under threat and thus get more money from their donors."
But those on the list and others point out that the move is mostly targeted at government critics. The list includes individuals and organizations that have advocated for Serbia's EU accession and associated reforms.
Serbia is formally seeking EU membership, but under Vucic it has shifted close to Russia and China and their authoritarian style of leadership.
The list includes the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and Serbia’s two main journalist associations, as well as rights group such as the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and Civic Initiatives.
The U.S. Embassy in Belgrade has voiced concern about “what appears to be a selective investigation.”
The embassy statement added that the United States remains ready to assist Serbia on its path toward European Union membership.
“However the impression that official Belgrade wants to suppress civil society or the freedom of the media will damage Serbia’s reputation and make it more difficult to make progress toward this goal of great value,” the statement said.
Rights group Amnesty International said that “the targeting of journalists and NGOs on absurd allegations of money laundering and financing terror is a blatant act of intimidation and the latest in an ongoing campaign by Serbian authorities to silence critics.”


rferl--2020-07-30--Georgian Opposition Figure Giorgi Rurua Sentenced To Four Years In Prison

TBILISI -- Georgian opposition figure Giorgi Rurua has been sentenced to four years in prison for the illegal possession and carrying of firearms , charges he and his supporters have called politically motivated .
The Tbilisi City Court found Rurua guilty on July 30 and sentenced him the same day .
Rurua , the founder and a shareholder of the opposition-aligned Mtavari Arkhi TV , was arrested on November 18 and charged with illegally purchasing , possessing , and carrying a firearm .
In mid-May , after President Salome Zurabishvili pardoned two opposition politicians -- Gigi Ugulava , the leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former mayor of Tbilisi , and former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili , who leads the opposition Victorious Georgia party -- many thought that Ruruawould be released .
Such a move would have met the demands of the opposition , who had threatened to abandon a foreign-brokered deal between the opposition and the ruling party on election reforms , if `` political prisoners '' were not freed .
Georgia ’ s opposition parties claim Rurua 's release was a condition of the deal , which the governing Georgian Dream party denies .
In recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress and the European Parliament have called on the Georgian authorities to release Rurua .

TBILISI -- Georgian opposition figure Giorgi Rurua has been sentenced to four years in prison for the illegal possession and carrying of firearms, charges he and his supporters have called politically motivated.
The Tbilisi City Court found Rurua guilty on July 30 and sentenced him the same day.
Rurua, the founder and a shareholder of the opposition-aligned Mtavari Arkhi TV, was arrested on November 18 and charged with illegally purchasing, possessing, and carrying a firearm.
In mid-May, after President Salome Zurabishvili pardoned two opposition politicians -- Gigi Ugulava, the leader of European Georgia-Movement for Freedom and a former mayor of Tbilisi, and former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili, who leads the opposition Victorious Georgia party -- many thought that Ruruawould be released.
Such a move would have met the demands of the opposition, who had threatened to abandon a foreign-brokered deal between the opposition and the ruling party on election reforms, if "political prisoners" were not freed.
Georgia’s opposition parties claim Rurua's release was a condition of the deal, which the governing Georgian Dream party denies.
In recent months, several members of the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament have called on the Georgian authorities to release Rurua.


rferl--2020-07-30--COVID-19: Kyrgyzstan Observes National Day Of Mourning; Uzbek Deputy Finance Minister Dies

The global death toll from the coronavirus is around 668,000 , with more than 17 million infections confirmed , causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the respiratory illness .
Flags are flying at half-staff in Kyrgyzstan as the country observes a national day of mourning to commemorate victims of the coronavirus pandemic that has swept across the Central Asian nation .
President Sooronbai Jeenbekov and other top officials attended a mourning ceremony on July 30 at the Ata-Beiit memorial complex , where a mass prayer was said to honor the deadly infection 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the number of coronavirus cases in Kyrgyzstan as of July 30 was 35,143 , of which 24,474 people had recovered and 1,364 patients had died .
In Kazakhstan , Sanitary Inspector-General Aizhan Esmaghambetova announced that as of July 31 masks must be worn by people when they are outdoors , in shops , pharmacies , public transportation , and other public places .
As of July 30 , the number of coronavirus cases in the country was reported at 87,644 , including 793 deaths .
In neighboring Uzbekistan , authorities said on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tursunov had died of COVID-19 at the age of 55 .
According to the Finance Ministry , Tursunov was hospitalized with acute COVID-19 symptoms two days earlier .
Also on July 29 , the country 's Sanitary Inspector-General Nurmat Otabekov said he had tested positive and is being treated .
Uzbek health authorities said that as of late on July 29 , the number of coronavirus cases in the country was 22,585 , including 131 deaths .
In Tajikistan , the chairman of the State Taxation Committee , Nusratullo Davlatzoda , said on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slow the spread of the coronavirus , 27,000 businessmen and entrepreneurs had to suspend their activities , due to which the State Treasury took in 40 million somonis ( $ 522,500 ) less in taxes than planned over the last six months .
Tajik health authorities said on July 29 that in the previous 24 hours , 44 new coronavirus cases were registered in the country , bringing the total number to 7,320 , of whom 60 people had died .
However , an investigative report by RFE/RL ’ s Tajik Service last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lethal cases of COVID-19 in the country might be several hundred , including dozens of physicians and nurses who treated COVID-19 patients .
In Turkmenistan , the only country in the region that has not officially registered a single coronavirus case , authorities in the eastern region of Lebap have ordered local residents to bury their dead in graves that `` are not visible from satellites , '' namely to have the graves flat and without stones .
The order came after the ASSA news website reported last week about COVID-19 victims in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pictures taken from Google Map archives showing increasing number of new graves in the city of Balkanabat .
RFE/RL correspondents report from the Lebap region that the number of graves in local cemeteries has increased fifteenfold since July 2019 .
Although Turkmen officials have insisted that there is no coronavirus in the country , RFE/RL correspondents have reported that local hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients with pneumonia symptoms , some of whom , including medical personnel , have died .
In Ashgabat , the capital , morgues have released the bodies of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in plastic bags and covered with a chlorine-penetrated fabric , local residents who lost their loved ones told RFE/RL .
In some parts of the country , so-called quarantine zones have been established and some industrial facilities are being shut down , RFE/RL correspondents report .
The leader of a World Health Organization mission , Catherine Smallwood , told a press conference in Ashgabat on July 15 that the mission had concerns about reports of pneumonia in the tightly controlled country .
Smallwood advised the Turkmen government to activate `` critical public-health measures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ circulating . ''
With reporting by RFE/RL 's Kyrgyz , Kazakh , Uzbek , Tajik , and Turkmen services

The global death toll from the coronavirus is around 668,000, with more than 17 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the respiratory illness.
Here's a roundup of COVID-19 developments in RFE/RL's broadcast regions.
Central Asia
Flags are flying at half-staff in Kyrgyzstan as the country observes a national day of mourning to commemorate victims of the coronavirus pandemic that has swept across the Central Asian nation.
President Sooronbai Jeenbekov and other top officials attended a mourning ceremony on July 30 at the Ata-Beiit memorial complex, where a mass prayer was said to honor the deadly infection's victims.
According to the Health Ministry, the number of coronavirus cases in Kyrgyzstan as of July 30 was 35,143, of which 24,474 people had recovered and 1,364 patients had died.
In Kazakhstan, Sanitary Inspector-General Aizhan Esmaghambetova announced that as of July 31 masks must be worn by people when they are outdoors, in shops, pharmacies, public transportation, and other public places.
As of July 30, the number of coronavirus cases in the country was reported at 87,644, including 793 deaths.
In neighboring Uzbekistan, authorities said on July 29 that Deputy Finance Minister Yorqin Tursunov had died of COVID-19 at the age of 55.
According to the Finance Ministry, Tursunov was hospitalized with acute COVID-19 symptoms two days earlier.
Also on July 29, the country's Sanitary Inspector-General Nurmat Otabekov said he had tested positive and is being treated.
Uzbek health authorities said that as of late on July 29, the number of coronavirus cases in the country was 22,585, including 131 deaths.
In Tajikistan, the chairman of the State Taxation Committee, Nusratullo Davlatzoda, said on July 30 that due to restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus, 27,000 businessmen and entrepreneurs had to suspend their activities, due to which the State Treasury took in 40 million somonis ($522,500) less in taxes than planned over the last six months.
Tajik health authorities said on July 29 that in the previous 24 hours, 44 new coronavirus cases were registered in the country, bringing the total number to 7,320, of whom 60 people had died.
However, an investigative report by RFE/RL’s Tajik Service last month revealed that the real number of lethal cases of COVID-19 in the country might be several hundred, including dozens of physicians and nurses who treated COVID-19 patients.
In Turkmenistan, the only country in the region that has not officially registered a single coronavirus case, authorities in the eastern region of Lebap have ordered local residents to bury their dead in graves that "are not visible from satellites," namely to have the graves flat and without stones.
The order came after the ASSA news website reported last week about COVID-19 victims in the western region of Balkan, providing pictures taken from Google Map archives showing increasing number of new graves in the city of Balkanabat.
RFE/RL correspondents report from the Lebap region that the number of graves in local cemeteries has increased fifteenfold since July 2019.
Although Turkmen officials have insisted that there is no coronavirus in the country, RFE/RL correspondents have reported that local hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients with pneumonia symptoms, some of whom, including medical personnel, have died.
In Ashgabat, the capital, morgues have released the bodies of people who officially died of pneumonia wrapped in plastic bags and covered with a chlorine-penetrated fabric, local residents who lost their loved ones told RFE/RL.
In some parts of the country, so-called quarantine zones have been established and some industrial facilities are being shut down, RFE/RL correspondents report.
The leader of a World Health Organization mission, Catherine Smallwood, told a press conference in Ashgabat on July 15 that the mission had concerns about reports of pneumonia in the tightly controlled country.
Smallwood advised the Turkmen government to activate "critical public-health measures in Turkmenistan, as if COVID-19 was circulating."
With reporting by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Uzbek, Tajik, and Turkmen services


rferl--2020-07-30--UN Says More Than 100,000 Afghans Displaced By Conflict This Year

The United Nations says that more than 100,000 people fled conflict inside Afghanistan ’ s borders so far this year amid continued violence , despite an agreement between the United States and the Taliban intended to pave the way for intra-Afghan peace talks .
The UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( UNOCHA ) also reported on July 30 that nearly 10,000 people were displaced due to heavy fighting between government forces and Taliban militants in the northeastern provinces of the country last week , while another 600 people were displaced in the south for the same reason .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreement in February intended to pave the way for intra-Afghan peace talks between the militants and the U.S.-backed government in Kabul to end nearly 18 years of war .
Although the Taliban has refrained from attacking U.S. and NATO forces , militants continue to stage near daily attacks on Afghan security forces .
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on July 28 that more than 10,000 government troops had been killed or wounded since the U.S.-Taliban deal was signed .
The UN has documented more than 1,200 civilian deaths in the first half of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three-day cease-fire for the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday , which will start early on July 31 .
The government has said it will reciprocate .
U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad , who arrived in Kabul on July 29 as part of a regional tour to push the peace process , hailed the development in a tweet , saying “ our hope is this Eid brings all Afghans together in understanding & mutual respect and one step closer to a sustainable peace.
” Under the U.S.-Taliban deal , Kabul was to release around 5,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1,000 government and military personnel .
To date , Kabul has freed about 4,000 militants and the Taliban nearly 800 government forces .
The Taliban has accused Afghan security forces of rearresting insurgents who had been released .
But Ghani on July 28 signaled progress in the prisoner exchange , saying Kabul would `` soon '' finish the swap .
Late on July 29 , the Taliban said it would complete the release of government prisoners by Eid as a `` goodwill gesture . ''
With reporting by AP , AFP , Reuters @ @


rferl--2020-07-30--Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed Handed Nine-Year Prison Sentence By Moscow Court

A court in Moscow has sentenced former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed to nine years in prison after finding him guilty of assaulting two police officers , a charge that he refused to admit .
Judge Dmitry Arnaut of Moscow ’ s Golovinsky District Court on July 30 also ordered Reed to pay 150,000 rubles ( $ 2,000 ) to each police officer as compensation for moral damage .
U.S .
Ambassador John Sullivan condemned the conviction and sentencing as `` theatre of the absurd , '' saying they were based `` on evidence so ridiculous that even the judge laughed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reed , who is from Texas , traveled to Moscow in May 2019 to study Russian and spend time with his Russian girlfriend , Alina Tsybulnik .
On August 15 , several days before his trip back to Texas , Reed and his girlfriend attended a party organized by her colleagues .
He claims to have no memory of what happened following the party , where he says he was encouraged to drink large quantities of vodka .
In a car going home afterward , Reed said he felt unwell , asked the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
His girlfriend 's co-worker called police and left the site with another colleague , leaving Tsybulnik alone with Reed .
Two police officers arrived at the scene and took Reed in to sober up , telling Tsybulnik to come back in a few hours and pick him up .
Tsybulnik told RFE/RL that when she arrived at the police station later , Reed was being questioned , without a lawyer or interpreter present , by two men who introduced themselves as employees of the Federal Security Service ( FSB ) .
Tsybulnik @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of endangering the lives of the policemen who brought him in by yanking the driver 's arm and elbowing another officer who tried to intervene .
However , the case against Reed has been marred by inconsistencies .
Video evidence reviewed in court appeared to show no evidence that the police vehicle swerved as a result of Reed 's actions , as alleged by the police officers .
Speaking before the judge , the officers themselves have claimed to have no memory of key moments in the journey , and have retracted parts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failed to answer simple questions from Reed 's defense team .
Reed is one of several American citizens to face trial in Russia in recent years on charges that their families , supporters , and in some cases the U.S. government have said appear trumped up .
Last month , another former U.S. Marine , 50-year-old Paul Whelan , was sentenced by a court in Moscow to 16 years in prison for espionage which he , his supporters , and the U.S. government have questioned .
Whelan 's lawyers said earlier in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Russian nationals held in the United States , namely Konstantin Yaroshenko , a Russian pilot serving 20 years on a conviction of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine , and Viktor Bout , jailed in the United States for illegal weapons trafficking .
A year ago , Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov proposed a prisoner swap that would involve the release of Yaroshenko in the United States and a U.S. national held in Russia .
Ryabkov did not specify whom he meant , but some took the comment as evidence that Moscow is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ amid tensions with Washington .
With reporting by TASS and Interfax

A court in Moscow has sentenced former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed to nine years in prison after finding him guilty of assaulting two police officers, a charge that he refused to admit.
Judge Dmitry Arnaut of Moscow’s Golovinsky District Court on July 30 also ordered Reed to pay 150,000 rubles ($2,000) to each police officer as compensation for moral damage.
U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan condemned the conviction and sentencing as "theatre of the absurd," saying they were based "on evidence so ridiculous that even the judge laughed in court."
The 29-year old Reed, who is from Texas, traveled to Moscow in May 2019 to study Russian and spend time with his Russian girlfriend, Alina Tsybulnik.
On August 15, several days before his trip back to Texas, Reed and his girlfriend attended a party organized by her colleagues. He claims to have no memory of what happened following the party, where he says he was encouraged to drink large quantities of vodka.
In a car going home afterward, Reed said he felt unwell, asked the driver to stop, and got out. His girlfriend's co-worker called police and left the site with another colleague, leaving Tsybulnik alone with Reed.
Two police officers arrived at the scene and took Reed in to sober up, telling Tsybulnik to come back in a few hours and pick him up.
Tsybulnik told RFE/RL that when she arrived at the police station later, Reed was being questioned, without a lawyer or interpreter present, by two men who introduced themselves as employees of the Federal Security Service (FSB).
Tsybulnik was told that her boyfriend was accused of endangering the lives of the policemen who brought him in by yanking the driver's arm and elbowing another officer who tried to intervene.
However, the case against Reed has been marred by inconsistencies. Video evidence reviewed in court appeared to show no evidence that the police vehicle swerved as a result of Reed's actions, as alleged by the police officers.
Speaking before the judge, the officers themselves have claimed to have no memory of key moments in the journey, and have retracted parts of their statements on several occasions or failed to answer simple questions from Reed's defense team.
Reed is one of several American citizens to face trial in Russia in recent years on charges that their families, supporters, and in some cases the U.S. government have said appear trumped up.
Last month, another former U.S. Marine, 50-year-old Paul Whelan, was sentenced by a court in Moscow to 16 years in prison for espionage which he, his supporters, and the U.S. government have questioned.
Whelan's lawyers said earlier in the month that their client might be exchanged for Russian nationals held in the United States, namely Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot serving 20 years on a conviction of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine, and Viktor Bout, jailed in the United States for illegal weapons trafficking.
A year ago, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov proposed a prisoner swap that would involve the release of Yaroshenko in the United States and a U.S. national held in Russia. Ryabkov did not specify whom he meant, but some took the comment as evidence that Moscow is using Americans like Reed as bargaining chips amid tensions with Washington.
With reporting by TASS and Interfax