rferl--2020-03-04--Freedom House Assails Russia, Iran For Protest Crackdowns, But Also Raps U.S.

WASHINGTON -- Freedom House has assailed crackdowns on protesters in `` authoritarian states , '' such as Russia and Iran , but also criticized traditional defenders of democracy -- including the United States -- for turning their backs on traditional safeguard roles to pursue `` populist agendas . ''
In its annual report released on March 4 , the Washington-based human rights watchdog also said that twice as many countries suffered setbacks relating to political rights and civil liberties in 2019 than those making gains , marking what it called the “ 14th consecutive year of deterioration in global freedom.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leaderless Struggle For Democracy , said North Macedonia ranked among nations recording the biggest gains in scores for rights and liberties , and it also cited hopeful signs with new leaders in Ukraine and Armenia .
It said , meanwhile , that of the 49 countries listed as “ not free , ” Turkmenistan and Tajikistan ranked among the 10 worst .
“ Democracy is under assault around the globe , and the effects are evident not just in authoritarian states like China , Russia , and Iran , but also in countries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basic rights and freedoms , ” the report said .
“ Dictators are toiling to stamp out the last vestiges of domestic dissent and spread their harmful influence to new corners of the world , ” it said .
“ At the same time , many freely elected leaders are dramatically narrowing their concerns to a blinkered interpretation of the national interest .
In fact , such leaders -- including the chief executives of the United States and India , the world ’ s two largest democracies -- are increasingly willing to break @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of critics and minorities as they pursue their populist agendas.
” In Russia , the report said , the ruling United Russia party won all of the year ’ s gubernatorial elections , mainly by preventing viable opposition candidates from running .
“ Even in the Moscow City Council elections , which featured a successful strategic-voting campaign organized by dissident leader Aleksei Navalny , the votes lost by United Russia largely went to Kremlin-approved alternatives , ” the report said .
The report likewise faulted parliamentary elections in Belarus and Uzbekistan , saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opposition . ''
In Kazakhstan , it noted that longtime President Nursultan Nazarbaev transferred power but lamented that it went to a hand-picked successor , Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev , “ through a rigged election ” and that a violent crackdown occurred when protests broke out against the move .
Freedom House also said that , in Montenegro and Serbia , `` independent journalists , opposition figures , and other perceived foes of the government faced ongoing harassment , intimidation , and sometimes violence , '' moves leading to large protests in both countries .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ indications in the region and within the former Soviet sphere .
It said that “ despite the grim picture overall , some positive signs were evident in several of the region ’ s ‘ partly free ’ environments.
” Newly elected leaders who came to office as reform candidates -- including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian of Armenia and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine — “ took initial steps to uproot the kleptocratic forces that have long stymied their countries ’ democratic aspirations , ” according to the report .
In Iran , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people and arrested thousands “ in a bid to stamp out anti-government protests ” in November .
It said authorities there “ set a worrying new precedent with a near-complete Internet shutdown that suppressed media coverage and ordinary communications during the crisis.
” Ethnic , religious , and other minority groups have borne the brunt of government abuses in both democracies and authoritarian states , the report said .
It said the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken its “ Hindu nationalist agenda to a new level , ” affecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ threatening the democratic future of a country long seen as a potential bulwark of freedom in Asia and the world.
” It called China ’ s treatment of its Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking indigenous people in Xinjiang Province “ one of the year ’ s most appalling examples of domestic repression , ” labeling it a campaign of “ cultural annihilation.
” The report criticized the United States , which it said democracy advocates have traditionally turned to for support .
It said the administration of President Donald Trump has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign policy based on the principles of democracy and human rights .
The report said that , while Trump has denounced “ authoritarian abuses ” in countries such as Iran and Venezuela , “ he has excused clear violations by traditional security partners such as Turkey and Egypt.
” “ He has also given a pass to tyrannical leaders whom he hopes to woo diplomatically , including Vladimir Putin of Russia and Kim Jong Un in North Korea .
”

WASHINGTON -- Freedom House has assailed crackdowns on protesters in "authoritarian states," such as Russia and Iran, but also criticized traditional defenders of democracy -- including the United States -- for turning their backs on traditional safeguard roles to pursue "populist agendas."
In its annual report released on March 4, the Washington-based human rights watchdog also said that twice as many countries suffered setbacks relating to political rights and civil liberties in 2019 than those making gains, marking what it called the “14th consecutive year of deterioration in global freedom.”
The country-by-country review, titled A Leaderless Struggle For Democracy, said North Macedonia ranked among nations recording the biggest gains in scores for rights and liberties, and it also cited hopeful signs with new leaders in Ukraine and Armenia.
It said, meanwhile, that of the 49 countries listed as “not free,” Turkmenistan and Tajikistan ranked among the 10 worst.
“Democracy is under assault around the globe, and the effects are evident not just in authoritarian states like China, Russia, and Iran, but also in countries with a long track record of upholding basic rights and freedoms,” the report said.
“Dictators are toiling to stamp out the last vestiges of domestic dissent and spread their harmful influence to new corners of the world,” it said.
“At the same time, many freely elected leaders are dramatically narrowing their concerns to a blinkered interpretation of the national interest. In fact, such leaders -- including the chief executives of the United States and India, the world’s two largest democracies -- are increasingly willing to break down institutional safeguards and disregard the rights of critics and minorities as they pursue their populist agendas.”
In Russia, the report said, the ruling United Russia party won all of the year’s gubernatorial elections, mainly by preventing viable opposition candidates from running.
“Even in the Moscow City Council elections, which featured a successful strategic-voting campaign organized by dissident leader Aleksei Navalny, the votes lost by United Russia largely went to Kremlin-approved alternatives,” the report said.
The report likewise faulted parliamentary elections in Belarus and Uzbekistan, saying they “also shut out any genuine opposition."
In Kazakhstan, it noted that longtime President Nursultan Nazarbaev transferred power but lamented that it went to a hand-picked successor, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, “through a rigged election” and that a violent crackdown occurred when protests broke out against the move.
Freedom House also said that, in Montenegro and Serbia, "independent journalists, opposition figures, and other perceived foes of the government faced ongoing harassment, intimidation, and sometimes violence," moves leading to large protests in both countries.
Still, the report cited some hopeful indications in the region and within the former Soviet sphere.
It said that “despite the grim picture overall, some positive signs were evident in several of the region’s ‘partly free’ environments.”
Newly elected leaders who came to office as reform candidates -- including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian of Armenia and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine — “took initial steps to uproot the kleptocratic forces that have long stymied their countries’ democratic aspirations,” according to the report.
In Iran, the report said security forces killed hundreds of people and arrested thousands “in a bid to stamp out anti-government protests” in November.
It said authorities there “set a worrying new precedent with a near-complete Internet shutdown that suppressed media coverage and ordinary communications during the crisis.”
Ethnic, religious, and other minority groups have borne the brunt of government abuses in both democracies and authoritarian states, the report said.
It said the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken its “Hindu nationalist agenda to a new level,” affecting different segments of its Muslim population, “threatening the democratic future of a country long seen as a potential bulwark of freedom in Asia and the world.”
It called China’s treatment of its Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking indigenous people in Xinjiang Province “one of the year’s most appalling examples of domestic repression,” labeling it a campaign of “cultural annihilation.”
The report criticized the United States, which it said democracy advocates have traditionally turned to for support.
It said the administration of President Donald Trump has failed to exhibit consistent commitment to a foreign policy based on the principles of democracy and human rights.
The report said that, while Trump has denounced “authoritarian abuses” in countries such as Iran and Venezuela, “he has excused clear violations by traditional security partners such as Turkey and Egypt.”
“He has also given a pass to tyrannical leaders whom he hopes to woo diplomatically, including Vladimir Putin of Russia and Kim Jong Un in North Korea.”


rferl--2020-03-04--Trump Campaign Sues Washington Post For Libel Over Russia Stories

U.S. President Donald Trump ’ s campaign sued The Washington Post on March 3 for defamation , arguing that two opinion columns published last year falsely asserted a connection between the campaign and Russian election interference .
The campaign sued The New York Times ( NYT ) on similar grounds last week over one opinion piece .
One column mentioned in the new lawsuit cites a June 13 opinion piece that said Trump `` tried to conspire with '' a `` sweeping and systemic '' attack by Russia against the 2016 U.S. presidential election .
Another opinion piece , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ published on June 20 and asked , `` who knows what sort of aid Russian and North Korea will give to the Trump campaign , now that he has invited them to offer their assistance ? ''
“ The statements were and are 100 percent false and defamatory , ” Jenna Ellis , a senior legal adviser to the Trump campaign , said in a statement .
An article about the lawsuit written in the Post says the `` campaign may be aiming to highlight its criticism of the mainstream media and to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ operatives . ''
Kristine Coratti Kelly , vice president of communications at the newspaper , said it was `` disappointing to see the president ’ s campaign committee resorting to these types of tactics and we will vigorously defend this case . ''
Trump has repeatedly lashed out at media scrutiny and criticized the Washington-based newspaper and its owner , Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos .
During a period in the previous campaign , Trump wouldn ’ t allow reporters from the Post to cover his events .
An investigation by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s campaign of hacking and social media propaganda to bolster Trump ’ s 2016 candidacy and damage his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton .
The probe discovered dozens of contacts between people associated with Trump ’ s campaign and Russian nationals , as well as 10 instances of potential obstruction by Trump .
Mueller concluded he didn ’ t have enough evidence to show a criminal conspiracy between Trump ’ s team and Russia but also didn ’ t exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice related to the investigation .
Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Harder , a lawyer with a reputation for waging combative legal battles against prominent news media outlets , according to the NYT .
With reporting by AP , New York Times , and The Washington Post

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


rferl--2020-03-04--Virus Crisis Shifting Westward As Kazakhstan Shuts Ports To Iranian, Azerbaijani Ships

As the COVID-19 virus crisis ebbs in China , it is shifting increasingly westward to areas in the Middle East , Europe , and the United States .
Clusters of the new coronavirus have emerged in South Korea , Iran , Italy , and Japan .
Iran on March 3 reported a total of 2,336 confirmed cases and 77 fatalities .
Twenty-three members of Iran ’ s parliament and the head of the country ’ s emergency services were reported to have been infected .
Kazakhstan closed its Caspian Sea ports of Aktau and Kuryk to ships carrying passengers from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the pathogen , the Central Asian nation 's government said on March 4 .
Deaths in Italy climbed to 79 , making it the deadliest reported outbreak outside China , where the virus originated in December .
South Korea , with a total of 5,328 cases reported on March 4 , is limiting human contact by introducing drive-thru testing .
And Ukraine and Morocco recorded their first cases on March 3 .
Mostly Muslim Tajikistan asked its citizens on March 4 to avoid attending mosques for Friday Prayers as a precaution , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported any cases of the virus .
There was no blanket ban on mosque attendance , according to a spokesman for the state committee on religious affairs , but several imams have asked for the measure .
Worldwide , more than 92,000 people have fallen ill and over 3,100 people have died , with China accounting for about 95 percent of them .
The death toll in the United States rose to nine on March 3 and more then 100 people have the infection across at least 15 states .
Seattle , Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the deaths occurring there .
“ What is happening now in the United States may be the beginning of what is happening abroad , ” said Nancy Messionnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) .
Most cases have been mild .
A $ 7.5 billion emergency bill to fund the U.S. government ’ s response to the outbreak is making its way through Congress .
Still , frustration has been mounting over lack of access to coronavirus tests in the United States .
CDC kits delivered to states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ providing inconclusive results .
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn told Congress that testing kits should be available by the end of the week and would give labs the capacity to perform about 1 million coronavirus tests .
As of March 3 , only 54 state and local labs were able to conduct tests , according to the Association of Public Health Laboratories .
With reporting by the BBC , CNN , AP , and Reuters

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


rferl--2020-03-04--Former Armenian Defense Minister Charged With Embezzlement

YEREVAN -- Former Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian has been charged with embezzling more than $ 2 million worth of state funds during his tenure .
Ohanian was banned from leaving the country while awaiting trial , a spokeswoman for the state investigation service told RFE/RL on March 4 .
The spokeswoman , Marina Ogandzhanyan , added that the investigation is ongoing as “ measures are being taken to clarify the entire circle of persons ” involved in the case , which related to the sale of government property at below-market prices .
Ohanian served as defense minister from 2008 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation for possible unlawful actions during events in March 2008 when 10 people were killed in clashes between police and protesters following a disputed presidential election .
Ohanian rejects the allegations in both cases .
He is among dozens of former officials , including former President Robert Kocharian , who are facing different charges and are awaiting trial .
Former President Serzh Sarksian , who succeeded Kocharian , is being investigated for allegedly embezzling about $ 1 million in state funds and abuse of power .
Protests erupted in April 2018 after Sarksian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prime minister following two consecutive presidential terms .
Under the rule of Sarksian and his former allies , critics said they have trampled on democracy , and engaged in large-scale corruption and state mismanagement .

YEREVAN -- Former Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian has been charged with embezzling more than $2 million worth of state funds during his tenure.
Ohanian was banned from leaving the country while awaiting trial, a spokeswoman for the state investigation service told RFE/RL on March 4.
The spokeswoman, Marina Ogandzhanyan, added that the investigation is ongoing as “measures are being taken to clarify the entire circle of persons” involved in the case, which related to the sale of government property at below-market prices.
Ohanian served as defense minister from 2008 to 2016.
He is also under investigation for possible unlawful actions during events in March 2008 when 10 people were killed in clashes between police and protesters following a disputed presidential election.
Ohanian rejects the allegations in both cases.
He is among dozens of former officials, including former President Robert Kocharian, who are facing different charges and are awaiting trial.
Kocharian denies wrongdoing.
Former President Serzh Sarksian, who succeeded Kocharian, is being investigated for allegedly embezzling about $1 million in state funds and abuse of power.
Protests erupted in April 2018 after Sarksian reneged on a promise not to become prime minister following two consecutive presidential terms.
Under the rule of Sarksian and his former allies, critics said they have trampled on democracy, and engaged in large-scale corruption and state mismanagement.
They deny those allegations.
With reporting by Reuters


rferl--2020-03-04--Jailed Azerbaijani Journalist 'Punished For Refusing To Vote'

BAKU -- The parents of a journalist serving a long-term prison sentence in Azerbaijan allege that their son has been punished by the authorities for declining to vote in last month ’ s parliamentary elections .
Bahruz Aliyev ’ s parents say he was confined to a special punishment cell at Baku ’ s Prison No .
13 for refusing to vote on February 9 .
Aliyev , the founder of the Neutral Information Agency , was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison on extortion charges .
He rejected the accusations .
The journalist 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , told RFE/RL that they learned of the alleged punishment when they went to the prison on March 3 but were not allowed to see their son .
They said they had turned to the Red Cross for help .
They also filed a complaint with Azerbaijan ’ s ombudsman and an appeal with the office of President Ilham Aliyev .
Mehman Sadigov , head of the penitentiary system ’ s public-relations department , told RFE/RL that the allegations of punishment were “ absurd.
” '' Voting is voluntary .
Who wants to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want to , doesn ’ t .
Therefore , it is absurd to punish anyone , ” he said , adding that Aliyev was punished for repeatedly violating disciplinary rules at the prison .
Aliyev was found guilty of allegedly soliciting money from people by threatening to disseminate information to discredit the purported victims .
His father said he was prosecuted for writing articles about high-ranking officials , including the president of the state-owned oil company SOCAR .
Aliyev 's case is currently awaiting an appeal in the Supreme Court .
The ruling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won 72 out of 125 seats in parliament in the February elections , which were marred by widespread reports of violations .
Nearly all other seats went to small parties and independents loyal to President Aliyev , who has ruled the country since shortly before his father 's death 17 years ago .

BAKU -- The parents of a journalist serving a long-term prison sentence in Azerbaijan allege that their son has been punished by the authorities for declining to vote in last month’s parliamentary elections.
Bahruz Aliyev’s parents say he was confined to a special punishment cell at Baku’s Prison No. 13 for refusing to vote on February 9.
The country’s penitentiary service denies the allegations.
Aliyev, the founder of the Neutral Information Agency, was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison on extortion charges. He rejected the accusations.
The journalist's parents, Imamverdi Aliyev and Yegana Aliyeva, told RFE/RL that they learned of the alleged punishment when they went to the prison on March 3 but were not allowed to see their son.
They said they had turned to the Red Cross for help. They also filed a complaint with Azerbaijan’s ombudsman and an appeal with the office of President Ilham Aliyev.
Mehman Sadigov, head of the penitentiary system’s public-relations department, told RFE/RL that the allegations of punishment were “absurd.”
"Voting is voluntary. Who wants to, does; who doesn’t want to, doesn’t. Therefore, it is absurd to punish anyone,” he said, adding that Aliyev was punished for repeatedly violating disciplinary rules at the prison.
Aliyev was found guilty of allegedly soliciting money from people by threatening to disseminate information to discredit the purported victims.
His father said he was prosecuted for writing articles about high-ranking officials, including the president of the state-owned oil company SOCAR.
Aliyev's case is currently awaiting an appeal in the Supreme Court.
The ruling Yeni Azerbaijan (New Azerbaijan) party won 72 out of 125 seats in parliament in the February elections, which were marred by widespread reports of violations. Nearly all other seats went to small parties and independents loyal to President Aliyev, who has ruled the country since shortly before his father's death 17 years ago.


rferl--2020-03-04--Georgian President Zurabishvili Reiterates Country's Transatlantic Path

TBILISI -- In her annual state of the nation address , Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has said Moscow 's policies will not divert her country from its path toward the European Union and NATO .
“ If Russia plans to use the occupation of Georgia 's territories ... to force Georgia to renounce its aspirations , that kind of goal will never be achieved , ” Zurabishvili said on March 4 in her second such address to parliament .
Moscow has been keeping its troops in Georgia 's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia since it recognized their independence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2008 .
The majority of the world 's countries consider Abkhazia and South Ossetia as Georgian territories .
In her speech , Zurabishvili reiterated her country 's goal of eventually joining EU and NATO , saying : “ Along with our membership , our objective is to be , even today , a more active player in the EU and NATO . ''
Zurabishvili also said that the bipartisan Georgia Support Act adopted by the U.S. Congress in 2019 was another proof of the close ties and trust between the two nations .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ parliamentary elections , to be held by October , calling on the opposition and the ruling Georgian Dream party `` to continue dialogue . ''
“ For Georgia , the country in a difficult situation with 20 percent of its territory occupied , we must be careful when dealing with political struggles as they might shatter our stability , '' she said .
Mass protests held in Tbilisi in June and July last year were violently dispersed .

TBILISI -- In her annual state of the nation address, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has said Moscow's policies will not divert her country from its path toward the European Union and NATO.
“If Russia plans to use the occupation of Georgia's territories...to force Georgia to renounce its aspirations, that kind of goal will never be achieved,” Zurabishvili said on March 4 in her second such address to parliament.
Moscow has been keeping its troops in Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia since it recognized their independence following a five-day Russian-Georgian war in August 2008. The majority of the world's countries consider Abkhazia and South Ossetia as Georgian territories.
In her speech, Zurabishvili reiterated her country's goal of eventually joining EU and NATO, saying: “Along with our membership, our objective is to be, even today, a more active player in the EU and NATO."
Zurabishvili also said that the bipartisan Georgia Support Act adopted by the U.S. Congress in 2019 was another proof of the close ties and trust between the two nations.
The president addressed Georgia’s upcoming parliamentary elections, to be held by October, calling on the opposition and the ruling Georgian Dream party "to continue dialogue."
“For Georgia, the country in a difficult situation with 20 percent of its territory occupied, we must be careful when dealing with political struggles as they might shatter our stability," she said.
Opposition parties have complained that Georgia's electoral system unfairly favors Georgian Dream.
Mass protests held in Tbilisi in June and July last year were violently dispersed.


rferl--2020-03-04--Rights Watchdog Urges EU To Press Azerbaijan On Human Rights

BAKU -- As the European Union and Azerbaijan are discussing closer ties , Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) is urging the bloc to press the South Caucasus country ’ s leadership to “ genuinely ” start respecting rights .
The New York-based watchdog issued the call on March 3 , ahead of the annual EU-Azerbaijan consultation on human rights to be held in Brussels this week .
The talks will follow the February 9 parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan , which were marred by widespread reports of violations .
Leading opposition figures were barred from running .
And days after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dozens of activists , as well as opposition and independent candidates , ahead and during protests against the election results .
The ruling Yeni Azerbaijan ( New Azerbaijan ) party won 72 out of 125 seats in parliament , according to election authorities .
Nearly all other seats went to small parties and independents loyal to President Ilham Aliyev , who has ruled the country since shortly before his father 's death 17 years ago .
In a statement , Philippe Dam , advocacy director at HRW ’ s Europe and Central Asia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among the most restrictive in the region and make it almost impossible for independent groups to receive foreign funding -- even from EU sources -- to carry out their work.
” Azerbaijan also “ stifles critical media , blocks prominent independent websites , and interferes with the work of independent lawyers by initiating disciplinary sanctions or disbarring them , ” Dam said .
The release a year ago of some 50 “ unjustly detained activists may have led some people to believe that Azerbaijan ’ s government was ready for reform .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dozens of journalists and members of the political opposition remain jailed on politically motivated charges , ” he said .
Others , like investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova , continue to face “ arbitrary and disproportionate ” travel bans .
The release of several political detainees last year shows that “ pressure can work , ” according to Dam .
He said Azerbaijani authorities should start by “ releasing unjustly and arbitrarily detained critics , lifting travel bans , and letting independent groups operate freely , ” adding : “ That ’ s the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the EU .
”

BAKU -- As the European Union and Azerbaijan are discussing closer ties, Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging the bloc to press the South Caucasus country’s leadership to “genuinely” start respecting rights.
The New York-based watchdog issued the call on March 3, ahead of the annual EU-Azerbaijan consultation on human rights to be held in Brussels this week.
The talks will follow the February 9 parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, which were marred by widespread reports of violations.
Leading opposition figures were barred from running. And days after the vote, police in Baku detained dozens of activists, as well as opposition and independent candidates, ahead and during protests against the election results.
The ruling Yeni Azerbaijan (New Azerbaijan) party won 72 out of 125 seats in parliament, according to election authorities. Nearly all other seats went to small parties and independents loyal to President Ilham Aliyev, who has ruled the country since shortly before his father's death 17 years ago.
In a statement, Philippe Dam, advocacy director at HRW’s Europe and Central Asia Division, said Azerbaijani laws are “among the most restrictive in the region and make it almost impossible for independent groups to receive foreign funding -- even from EU sources -- to carry out their work.”
Azerbaijan also “stifles critical media, blocks prominent independent websites, and interferes with the work of independent lawyers by initiating disciplinary sanctions or disbarring them,” Dam said.
The release a year ago of some 50 “unjustly detained activists may have led some people to believe that Azerbaijan’s government was ready for reform. But this wasn’t the case: dozens of journalists and members of the political opposition remain jailed on politically motivated charges,” he said.
Others, like investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova, continue to face “arbitrary and disproportionate” travel bans.
The release of several political detainees last year shows that “pressure can work,” according to Dam.
He said Azerbaijani authorities should start by “releasing unjustly and arbitrarily detained critics, lifting travel bans, and letting independent groups operate freely,” adding: “That’s the message that many Azerbaijanis want to hear from the EU.”


rferl--2020-03-04--Iran’s Coronavirus Death Toll, Infections Increase Amid Criticism Of Belated Government Response

The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Iran keeps growing amid criticism of what is seen as a belated state response and concerns about the real scale of the outbreak in the country , which has left dozens dead , including a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei .
The Health Ministry said on March 4 that the death toll had jumped to 92 from 77 -- the highest outside of China where the virus emerged in December 2019 -- while the number of those infected reached 2,822 people , up from 2,336 cases confirmed a day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ population , Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Masud Pezeshkian , a former health minister and a heart surgeon , voiced concern that the real number of infections in the country , which has become the epicenter of the outbreak in the Middle East , are far greater than current official figures .
“ The numbers are not real because a number of these patients don ’ t have any symptoms to be tested , ” Pezeshkian told the news site Ensafnews.ir .
“ The Health Ministry is telling the truth about its numbers but they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who have been infected ... .
We [ have not identified ] many [ of those infected ] and we haven ’ t tested them , but they are ill , ” he added .
Pezeshkian also blasted officials for not having quarantined the holy Shi ’ ite city of Qom , where the first cases of coronavirus were confirmed on February 19 .
Health Ministry officials have said that they don ’ t believe quarantining the city with its estimated 1.2 million residents would have been effective in fighting the outbreak .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ gatherings and stay home while closing schools , universities , cultural centers , and canceling Friday Prayers in major provincial capitals .
But religious shrines , including the Fatima Masumeh shrine in Qom which attracts tens of thousands of believers annually , have remained open while being sanitized .
“ What would have happened if they had shut the country for 15 days like for Norouz [ the Persian New Year ] when the country closes for 20 days ?
Unfortunately , they didn ’ t do it and this problem spread to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The former health minister called for forceful measures in fighting the outbreak of coronavirus while warning against the consequences of the outbreak for the country , which is already facing crippling U.S. economic sanctions that have contributed to a devaluation of the national currency .
“ Hospitals are full and things will get worse day by day .
The economy and everything else will be ruined , in my opinion , unless the issue is dealt with seriously and militarily , ” he said .
Pezeshkian also suggested that several of his colleagues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from serious symptoms .
“ Five or six of them are really struggling , ” he said .
Lawmaker Abdolreza Mesri was quoted on March 3 as saying that 23 members of parliament had tested positive for the coronavirus .
Vice President Masumeh Ebtekar and Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi , who appeared at a press conference , are among state officials who have contracted the virus .
Health officials have said in past days that 300,000 teams will become involved in the fight against the coronavirus .
Public places , including streets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as public buses and subway trains are being sprayed with disinfectants on a daily basis .
Iran ’ s judiciary has said that 54,000 prisoners will be released temporarily in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country ’ s prisons .
It ’ s not clear if jailed Iranian-Americans , including businessman Siamak Namazi , will be among those released .
Media have also reported that travel throughout the country could be restricted ahead of the Iranian New Year on March 21 .
Speaking on March 4 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reached almost all of the country ’ s 31 provinces .
He also promised that Iran will get through the crisis with the help of its doctors and nurses “ with the minimum fatalities in the shortest possible time ” while saying that the government was telling Iranians , many of whom have publicly expressed distrust over the government handling of the crisis , the truth about the number of those who have died and been infected in the country .
The president also blasted the United States for imposing sanctions on Iran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ honest about their offer to help Iranians during the outbreak of coronavirus , they would ease restrictions imposed on the country .
The U.S. maintains that medicine and other humanitarian goods are not sanctioned .
But according to Human Rights Watch , U.S. trade sanctions have limited Tehran ’ s ability to finance humanitarian imports , including medicines .
“ If you are honest , at least remove sanctions on medicine ; this is a first step , ” Rohani was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Mehr news agency .
Meanwhile , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first confirmed cases of the virus -- two Iranians studying in the Central European country .


rferl--2020-03-04--Amnesty: At Least 23 Children Killed In Iran Crackdown On November Protests

Amnesty International says it has evidence that at least 23 children were killed by Iranian security forces when they “ unlawfully used lethal force to crush ” nationwide anti-government protests in November 2019 .
An investigation by the London-based human rights watchdog has uncovered that at least 22 of the children were shot dead by security forces “ firing live ammunition at unarmed protesters and bystanders , ” it said in a statement on March 4 .
According to the findings , the children killed include 22 boys aged between 12 and 17 , and a girl reportedly aged between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ research and advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International , called for “ independent and impartial ” investigations into the killings and for the prosecution of those suspected of ordering and carrying them out .
Member states of the UN Human Rights Council should also mandate an inquiry into the killings of protesters and bystanders , including the 23 children , in the November protests , according to Luther .
Protests erupted in Iran on November 15 , 2019 following a government decision to raise fuel prices .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 304 people were killed and thousands injured over the next days as authorities crushed the protests .
Authorities “ arbitrarily ” detained thousands of people and subjected some to enforced disappearance , torture , and other ill-treatment .
In its latest statement , Amnesty International said the 23 children are recorded as having been killed in 13 cities in six provinces across Iran -- Esfahan , Fars , Kermanshah , Khuzestan , Kurdistan , and Tehran -- reflecting the “ widespread nature of the bloody crackdown.
” The vast majority of the children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place over just two days -- November 16 and 17 -- which Luther said is “ further evidence that Iranian security forces went on a killing spree to quash dissent at any cost.
” The remaining three deaths took place on November 18 .
Amnesty International said it had gathered evidence from videos and photographs , death and burial certificates , accounts from eyewitnesses and victims ’ relatives , friends , and acquaintances on the ground , as well as information gathered from human rights activists and journalists .


rferl--2020-03-04--Ukraine's Government Reshuffle Raises Concerns Over Reform Agenda

KYIV -- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has abruptly reshuffled the Ukrainian government , putting the country ’ s commitment to reforms into question at a time when Kyiv is seeking to finalize a new loan program with the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) .
At a special parliament session on March 4 , lawmakers voted to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk , and backed Zelenskiy ’ s choice for his successor , Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal .
The reshuffling comes six months after Zelenskiy ushered in the youngest and freshest government to reduce the influence of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two aspects that have dominated Ukrainian life since the country gained independence in 1991 .
The shake-up also comes days after a mission from the IMF visited Kyiv to discuss a long-delayed $ 5.5 billion loan .
Ukraine has failed to unlock the loan program , seen as crucial to economic stability and investor confidence , over policy and legislative disagreements .
In all , 291 members of the Verkhovna Rada approved Shmyhal 's appointment , with 59 opposing and 46 abstaining , while nine did not vote .
Earlier , 353 lawmakers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A total of 49 deputies abstained , and nine did not vote .
Parliament approved other cabinet members , including new foreign , defense , and finance ministers .
In a speech before parliament ahead of the votes , Zelenskiy blamed Honcharuk for failing to halt an industrial slump and for not meeting tax-collection targets .
Honcharuck , a political newcomer , was named prime minister in August 2019 .
“ We need new brains and new hearts in the government , ” he said .
But the reshuffle raised concerns that key @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delayed .
“ All of a sudden , when we expected stability and passage of major pieces of legislation , there is major upheaval and things seem to be up in the air , ” Morgan Williams , the president of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council , a D.C.-based lobby , told RFE/RL .
“ The business community is wondering why now , who is behind all these changes , ” he added .
Williams said the business community was concerned about the replacement of Finance Minister Oksana Markarova , who was well respected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ backers , and Economy Minister Tymofiy Mylovanov , who had been leading the controversial agricultural land-market reform that is now stalled in parliament .
John Herbst , a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and an analyst at the Atlantic Council , also questioned the merit of Zelenskiy ’ s sudden reshuffle .
“ We all understood that he was a newbie and that there would be some changes , ” he told RFE/RL .
“ The question is , what do those changes bring ?
There is a default position to expect the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s nearly 30-year history of promising reform and not delivering .
In the latest reshuffle , Makarova was replaced by her deputy , Ihor Umanskiy .
Dmytro Kuleba replaced Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko , who was appointed as deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration .
Andriy Taran , a retired general , is the new defense minister , replacing Andriy Zahorodnyuk .
The new health minister is Illya Yemets , who served in that post for several months in the administration of former President Viktor Yanukovych .
The new ministers of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environment have not been appointed yet .
Shmyhal , 44 , was named deputy prime minister in February .
He previously served as head of the regional administration in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region , where he made a name for himself as a business-friendly governor .
In 2017-2019 , Shmyhal worked as an executive at DTEK , an energy holding owned by Ukraine ’ s richest man , Rinat Akhmetov .
Shmyhal has rejected allegations that he was close to Akhmetov , saying he never met him and was hired to work for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ native of Lviv , he headed several business enterprises for most of the previous decade before entering the civil service at the Lviv regional administration .
He has studied abroad , including in Belgium , Canada , Georgia , and Finland .
Responding on March 3 to reports that Shmyhal had been chosen to replace Honcharuk , Michael Carpenter , a former deputy assistant secretary of defense with responsibility for Ukraine , cautioned Kyiv against allowing oligarchs “ a pathway ” back to power .
“ If you do , you will lose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said Carpenter , who is now a managing director of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement , during a March 3 conference dedicated to Ukraine .
“ So much is at stake here and if we see the influence of people like Dmytro Firtash , Rinat Akhmedov , and other oligarchs through proxies , through people more beholden to their interests than to the national interest , then the [ reform ] project starts to unwind .
I hope that they consider very wisely who they put into what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 35-year-old former lawyer and a political newcomer , Honcharuk was named prime minister in August 2019 .
He immediately fell into disfavor with Ihor Kolomoyskiy , the powerful oligarch that backed Zelenskiy .
Honcharuk fought Kolomoyskiy ’ s attempts to recover PrivatBank , which was nationalized in 2016 following a $ 5.6 billion bailout .
Western financial institutions could turn down Ukrainian aid requests if Kyiv hands the bank back to Kolomoyskiy .
Some analysts have speculated that Zelenskiy ’ s reshuffle is an attempt to get other Ukrainian oligarchs , such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kolomoyskiy .
Melinda Haring , a Ukraine analyst at the Washington-based Atlantic Council , rejected that interpretation , calling it a “ fat chance.
” Honcharuk previously submitted his resignation on January 17 , amid a scandal surrounding an audio recording in which he allegedly disparages the economic knowledge and competence of both himself and Zelenskiy .
Zelenskiy at the time declined to accept it .
Honcharuk and his ministers had submitted a land-market reform bill into parliament and turned over several hundred state-owned companies to be privatized in moves lauded by western @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a first reading in parliament in November 2019 , but opposition parties have submitted several thousand amendments , delaying its passage in a second reading .
Western analysts have said land reform would be the biggest driver of Ukraine ’ s economic growth in the coming years .
Ukraine is one of just six countries , including Cuba and North Korea , that doesn ’ t have a land market .
However , powerful interests inside the country have been opposed to land reform and other policies pushed by the Honcharuk government .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ period of uncertainty and instability and possibly delay what we thought could be a major year for Ukraine ’ s economy , ” said Williams .
Zelenskiy won a landslide victory in April 2019 on promises to end endemic corruption , attract foreign investment , and end the war in the east with Russian-backed separatists .
Three months later , his Servant Of The People party swept national elections , giving him unprecedented power to push through major economic reforms that had been stalled by oligarchs for decades .
However , public trust @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent in September to around 50 percent last month , polling figures from Kyiv-based policy center Razumkov Center show .

KYIV -- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has abruptly reshuffled the Ukrainian government, putting the country’s commitment to reforms into question at a time when Kyiv is seeking to finalize a new loan program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
At a special parliament session on March 4, lawmakers voted to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, and backed Zelenskiy’s choice for his successor, Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
The reshuffling comes six months after Zelenskiy ushered in the youngest and freshest government to reduce the influence of oligarchs and eliminate opportunities for corruption -- two aspects that have dominated Ukrainian life since the country gained independence in 1991.
The shake-up also comes days after a mission from the IMF visited Kyiv to discuss a long-delayed $5.5 billion loan. Ukraine has failed to unlock the loan program, seen as crucial to economic stability and investor confidence, over policy and legislative disagreements.
In all, 291 members of the Verkhovna Rada approved Shmyhal's appointment, with 59 opposing and 46 abstaining, while nine did not vote.
Earlier, 353 lawmakers voted to accept Honcharuk's resignation. A total of 49 deputies abstained, and nine did not vote.
Parliament approved other cabinet members, including new foreign, defense, and finance ministers.
In a speech before parliament ahead of the votes, Zelenskiy blamed Honcharuk for failing to halt an industrial slump and for not meeting tax-collection targets. Honcharuck, a political newcomer, was named prime minister in August 2019.
“We need new brains and new hearts in the government,” he said.
But the reshuffle raised concerns that key policy issues like land reform could be delayed.
“All of a sudden, when we expected stability and passage of major pieces of legislation, there is major upheaval and things seem to be up in the air,” Morgan Williams, the president of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council, a D.C.-based lobby, told RFE/RL.
“The business community is wondering why now, who is behind all these changes,” he added.
Williams said the business community was concerned about the replacement of Finance Minister Oksana Markarova, who was well respected by markets and Ukraine’s Western backers, and Economy Minister Tymofiy Mylovanov, who had been leading the controversial agricultural land-market reform that is now stalled in parliament.
Reshuffle Questions
John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and an analyst at the Atlantic Council, also questioned the merit of Zelenskiy’s sudden reshuffle.
“We all understood that he was a newbie and that there would be some changes,” he told RFE/RL. “The question is, what do those changes bring? There is a default position to expect the worst” because of independent Ukraine’s nearly 30-year history of promising reform and not delivering.
In the latest reshuffle, Makarova was replaced by her deputy, Ihor Umanskiy.
Dmytro Kuleba replaced Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko, who was appointed as deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
Andriy Taran, a retired general, is the new defense minister, replacing Andriy Zahorodnyuk.
The new health minister is Illya Yemets, who served in that post for several months in the administration of former President Viktor Yanukovych.
Controversial Interior Minister Arsen Avakov kept his job.
The new ministers of economy, education, energy, and environment have not been appointed yet.
Shmyhal, 44, was named deputy prime minister in February. He previously served as head of the regional administration in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region, where he made a name for himself as a business-friendly governor.
In 2017-2019, Shmyhal worked as an executive at DTEK, an energy holding owned by Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov. Shmyhal has rejected allegations that he was close to Akhmetov, saying he never met him and was hired to work for DTEK through a competitive process.
A native of Lviv, he headed several business enterprises for most of the previous decade before entering the civil service at the Lviv regional administration. He has studied abroad, including in Belgium, Canada, Georgia, and Finland.
Responding on March 3 to reports that Shmyhal had been chosen to replace Honcharuk, Michael Carpenter, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense with responsibility for Ukraine, cautioned Kyiv against allowing oligarchs “a pathway” back to power.
“If you do, you will lose the support of the Western community,” said Carpenter, who is now a managing director of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, during a March 3 conference dedicated to Ukraine.
“So much is at stake here and if we see the influence of people like Dmytro Firtash, Rinat Akhmetov, and other oligarchs through proxies, through people more beholden to their interests than to the national interest, then the [reform] project starts to unwind. I hope that they consider very wisely who they put into what jobs,” he added.
A 35-year-old former lawyer and a political newcomer, Honcharuk was named prime minister in August 2019. He immediately fell into disfavor with Ihor Kolomoyskiy, the powerful oligarch that backed Zelenskiy.
Honcharuk fought Kolomoyskiy’s attempts to recover PrivatBank, which was nationalized in 2016 following a $5.6 billion bailout. Western financial institutions could turn down Ukrainian aid requests if Kyiv hands the bank back to Kolomoyskiy.
Some analysts have speculated that Zelenskiy’s reshuffle is an attempt to get other Ukrainian oligarchs, such as Akhmetov, to back his standoff with Kolomoyskiy.
Melinda Haring, a Ukraine analyst at the Washington-based Atlantic Council, rejected that interpretation, calling it a “fat chance.”
Honcharuk previously submitted his resignation on January 17, amid a scandal surrounding an audio recording in which he allegedly disparages the economic knowledge and competence of both himself and Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy at the time declined to accept it.
Honcharuk and his ministers had submitted a land-market reform bill into parliament and turned over several hundred state-owned companies to be privatized in moves lauded by western governments and lenders.
Land reform passed a first reading in parliament in November 2019, but opposition parties have submitted several thousand amendments, delaying its passage in a second reading.
Western analysts have said land reform would be the biggest driver of Ukraine’s economic growth in the coming years. Ukraine is one of just six countries, including Cuba and North Korea, that doesn’t have a land market. However, powerful interests inside the country have been opposed to land reform and other policies pushed by the Honcharuk government.
“The government changes just create another period of uncertainty and instability and possibly delay what we thought could be a major year for Ukraine’s economy,” said Williams.
Zelenskiy won a landslide victory in April 2019 on promises to end endemic corruption, attract foreign investment, and end the war in the east with Russian-backed separatists. Three months later, his Servant Of The People party swept national elections, giving him unprecedented power to push through major economic reforms that had been stalled by oligarchs for decades.
However, public trust in Zelenskiy has slid from nearly 80 percent in September to around 50 percent last month, polling figures from Kyiv-based policy center Razumkov Center show.


rferl--2020-03-04--Preliminary Hearings Begin Into Deadly Clashes At Kyrgyz Ex-President's Compound

BISHKEK -- Preliminary closed-door hearings have begun into deadly clashes in and near former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev 's compound last year in a Bishkek suburb .
Atambaev and 13 other defendants were present as the hearings kicked off on March 3 at the Birinchi Mai district court .
Atambaev , however , was not present when the proceedings restarted on March 4 , according to people at the hearings .
Last August , security officials were sent to Atambaev 's compound in the settlement of Koi-Tash near Bishkek after he refused to obey three subpoenas calling him to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over his alleged involvement in the illegal release of a jailed organized-crime boss in 2013 .
Atambaev was arrested on August 8 after he surrendered to police following a violent two-day resistance .
The resistance by the former president and his supporters resulted in the death of a 47-year-old security officer , Usenbek Niyazbekov , and injuries to more than 170 others , including 79 law enforcement officers .
The charges against Atambaev and his 13 co-defendants included murder , attempted murder , threatening or assaulting authorities ' representatives , and hostage taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and called the case against them politically motivated .
Five more defendants in the case made plea deals with investigators and will be tried separately .
The clashes underscored a power struggle between Atambaev and his handpicked successor , Sooronbai Jeenbekov , which raised fears of instability in the Central Asian nation .

BISHKEK -- Preliminary closed-door hearings have begun into deadly clashes in and near former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev's compound last year in a Bishkek suburb.
Atambaev and 13 other defendants were present as the hearings kicked off on March 3 at the Birinchi Mai district court. Atambaev, however, was not present when the proceedings restarted on March 4, according to people at the hearings.
Last August, security officials were sent to Atambaev's compound in the settlement of Koi-Tash near Bishkek after he refused to obey three subpoenas calling him to the Interior Ministry for questioning in an investigation over his alleged involvement in the illegal release of a jailed organized-crime boss in 2013.
Atambaev was arrested on August 8 after he surrendered to police following a violent two-day resistance.
The resistance by the former president and his supporters resulted in the death of a 47-year-old security officer, Usenbek Niyazbekov, and injuries to more than 170 others, including 79 law enforcement officers.
The charges against Atambaev and his 13 co-defendants included murder, attempted murder, threatening or assaulting authorities' representatives, and hostage taking.
All 14 defendants pleaded not guilty and called the case against them politically motivated.
Five more defendants in the case made plea deals with investigators and will be tried separately.
The clashes underscored a power struggle between Atambaev and his handpicked successor, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, which raised fears of instability in the Central Asian nation.


rferl--2020-03-04--Serbian President Calls General Election For April 26

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has called a general election for April 26 , which most opposition parties are expected to boycott over corruption and complaints of a lack of democratic freedoms in the Balkan nation .
In announcing the date on March 4 , Vucic noted that by calling the election now , the election campaign will be more than 50 days , one of the longest in the country 's history .
“ I wish everyone the best of luck and that everything takes place in a democratic atmosphere .
It is important for everything to proceed peacefully , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ choose their representatives at will , ” Vucic said during the announcement of the vote .
Opposition parties have indicated they will boycott the elections over accusations that there is not a level playing field for the campaign .
Serbian independent media have repeatedly complained of being pressured by officials and have accused the government of fueling an atmosphere of intolerance toward journalists .
Vucic , who has vowed to lead Serbia toward European Union membership while also developing ties with China and traditional ally Russia , has been accused of curbing media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denied the accusations .

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has called a general election for April 26, which most opposition parties are expected to boycott over corruption and complaints of a lack of democratic freedoms in the Balkan nation.
In announcing the date on March 4, Vucic noted that by calling the election now, the election campaign will be more than 50 days, one of the longest in the country's history.
“I wish everyone the best of luck and that everything takes place in a democratic atmosphere. It is important for everything to proceed peacefully, democratically, and for the people to choose their representatives at will,” Vucic said during the announcement of the vote.
Opposition parties have indicated they will boycott the elections over accusations that there is not a level playing field for the campaign.
Serbian independent media have repeatedly complained of being pressured by officials and have accused the government of fueling an atmosphere of intolerance toward journalists.
Vucic, who has vowed to lead Serbia toward European Union membership while also developing ties with China and traditional ally Russia, has been accused of curbing media freedoms and democracy.
Vucic he has denied the accusations.


rferl--2020-03-04--U.S. Strikes Taliban After Afghan Security Personnel Killed In Attacks

The United States has conducted a “ defensive ” air strike against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan ’ s southern Helmand Province after a checkpoint manned by Afghan forces was attacked .
`` The US conducted an airstrike on March 4 against Taliban fighters in Nahr-e Saraj , Helmand , who were actively attacking an # ANDSF checkpoint .
This was a defensive strike to disrupt the attack , '' U.S. Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Sonny Leggett said in a tweet .
The strike came just hours after Taliban militants killed at least 20 Afghan security officers in a string of attacks and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s `` very good '' chat with the Taliban ’ s political chief .
The wave of violence is threatening to unravel a February 29 agreement signed in Doha between the United States and the Taliban that would allow allied forces to leave Afghanistan within 14 months in return for various security commitments from the extremist group and a pledge to hold talks with the Afghan government -- which the Taliban has so far refused to do .
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has warned he was not committed to a key @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners .
The Taliban said it would not take part in intra-Afghan talks until that provision was met .
And on March 2 , the militant group ordered its fighters to resume operations against Afghan forces , saying that a weeklong partial truce between the Taliban , U.S. , and Afghan forces that preceded the Doha agreement was `` over . ''
`` Taliban fighters attacked at least three army outposts in the Imam Sahib district of Kunduz last night , killing at least 10 soldiers and four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a member of the provincial council .
Another attack killed six soldiers in the same northern region , Amiri added .
Washington has said it would defend Afghan forces if they came under Taliban attack .
With reporting by Reuters and dpa

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


rferl--2020-03-05--Retired Uzbek Military Officer Sentenced On High Treason Charges

A retried Uzbek Army officer , Colonel Vladimir Kaloshin , has been sentenced to 12 years in prison on high treason charges in a case that was tried behind closed doors .
Kaloshin 's daughter , Anastasia Yepisheva , who resides in Moscow , told RFE/RL on March 5 that her father was convicted and sentenced a day earlier in Tashkent .
She does not know any of the case details , she said .
According to Yepisheva , the Military Court of Uzbekistan , also stripped her father of the rank of colonel .
Yepisheva quoted her father 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guilty and he will appeal the ruling with all possible courts , including international ones .
The lawyers have refused to give any details about the trial , saying they vowed not to disclose the case 's materials under oath .
Kaloshin had worked as a correspondent for the Interior Ministry 's newspaper Vatanparvar ( Patriot ) from 1992 until he retired in 2012 .
Sources close to Uzbek law enforcement structures told RFE/RL last month that , along with Kaloshin , a former director of a presidential think-tank Rafik Saifullin and chief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Uzbekistan 's Armed Forces , Akbar Yarbabaev , went on trial in February on similar charges .

A retried Uzbek Army officer, Colonel Vladimir Kaloshin, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison on high treason charges in a case that was tried behind closed doors.
Kaloshin's daughter, Anastasia Yepisheva, who resides in Moscow, told RFE/RL on March 5 that her father was convicted and sentenced a day earlier in Tashkent. She does not know any of the case details, she said.
According to Yepisheva, the Military Court of Uzbekistan, also stripped her father of the rank of colonel.
Yepisheva quoted her father's lawyers as saying that Kaloshin pleaded not guilty and he will appeal the ruling with all possible courts, including international ones.
The lawyers have refused to give any details about the trial, saying they vowed not to disclose the case's materials under oath.
Kaloshin had worked as a correspondent for the Interior Ministry's newspaper Vatanparvar (Patriot) from 1992 until he retired in 2012.
Sources close to Uzbek law enforcement structures told RFE/RL last month that, along with Kaloshin, a former director of a presidential think-tank Rafik Saifullin and chief of a directorate of the United Staff of Uzbekistan's Armed Forces, Akbar Yarbabaev, went on trial in February on similar charges.


rferl--2020-03-05--Iran Closes Schools, Takes Other Measures As Virus Toll Rises Further

Iran has closed all schools and adopted a series of other new measures as it battles the worst outbreak of coronavirus outside of China .
Health Minister Saeed Namaki told a news conference on March 5 that all schools and universities will remain closed until the end of the Iranian calendar year on March 20 , and that checkpoints will be used to limit travel between major cities .
`` People should not consider this as an opportunity to go travelling .
They should stay home and take our warnings seriously , '' Saeed Namaki said at a televised press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the death toll in Iran from COVID-19 , the illness sparked by the coronavirus had risen to 107 , while the number of confirmed cases had reached 3,513 .
The coronavirus has been found in almost all of Iran ’ s provinces , President Hassan Rohani said on March 4 , and many experts fear the real toll of both the dead and the infected could be much higher .
Friday Prayers in all provincial capitals this week have been canceled because of the outbreak .
Namaki listed several measures that Iranians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the coronavirus , including a reduction of the use of paper money .
He also said people should remain in their vehicles when filling up at the gas station and instead allow attendants to do the job .
In a sign of the growing nervousness across the region over the outbreak , Palestinian authorities on March 5 said the storied Nativity Church in the biblical city of Bethlehem , built atop the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born , will close indefinitely .
There have been more than 3,740 confirmed cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many of which have links to Iran .
The outbreak has disrupted Islamic worship throughout the Middle East .
Saudi Arabia on March 4 banned its citizens and other residents of the kingdom from performing the pilgrimage in Mecca , which attracts millions of people each year .
The move expands a previous ban on foreigners visiting Mecca and Medina , home to the holiest sites in Islam .
COVID-19 has killed more than 3,000 people and infected tens of thousands more , mainly in China .
The disease has now spread to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to multiple travel and other restrictions .
With reporting by RFE/RL 's Radio Farda , AP , Reuters , and CNN


rferl--2020-03-05--Kazakh Poacher Convicted Of Murdering Wildlife Ranger, Receives 18-Year Sentence

NUR-SULTAN -- A court in Nur-Sultan has sentenced a man to 18 years in prison in a high-profile case involving the killing of a wildlife ranger during a confrontation with suspected poachers .
The Aqmola regional court on March 4 found Anatoly Bonyakevich guilty of murdering Qanysh Nurtazinov , attempting to murder his colleague Samat Ospanov , and illegally hunting the endangered saiga antelope .
The deadly incident took place in July last year in the Aqmola region , when Nurtazinov and Ospanov tried to stop men who had been hunting the animals .
The suspected poachers attacked the two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 43-year-old father of four , to death and wounding Ospanov .
The sentence comes just two weeks after a court in the central city of Qaraghandy sentenced three men to life and six other people to six years each for their roles in the killing of another wildlife ranger and attempting to murder his colleague while illegally hunting saiga antelope in January last year .
The deadly attacks on rangers sparked outrage in the Central Asian nation and highlighted the growing threats to Kazakhstan ’ s famed saiga , an endangered ancient species @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Once plentiful in Central Asia , the saiga , known for their flexible noses that resemble a shortened elephant trunk , were hit hard in 2015 when about 200,000 of the animals died from a mysterious blood-related illness .
Only about 100,000 saiga , which have been hunted for centuries for their meat and horns , remain .

NUR-SULTAN -- A court in Nur-Sultan has sentenced a man to 18 years in prison in a high-profile case involving the killing of a wildlife ranger during a confrontation with suspected poachers.
The Aqmola regional court on March 4 found Anatoly Bonyakevich guilty of murdering Qanysh Nurtazinov, attempting to murder his colleague Samat Ospanov, and illegally hunting the endangered saiga antelope.
The deadly incident took place in July last year in the Aqmola region, when Nurtazinov and Ospanov tried to stop men who had been hunting the animals.
The suspected poachers attacked the two wildlife rangers, shooting Nurtazinov, a 43-year-old father of four, to death and wounding Ospanov.
The sentence comes just two weeks after a court in the central city of Qaraghandy sentenced three men to life and six other people to six years each for their roles in the killing of another wildlife ranger and attempting to murder his colleague while illegally hunting saiga antelope in January last year.
The deadly attacks on rangers sparked outrage in the Central Asian nation and highlighted the growing threats to Kazakhstan’s famed saiga, an endangered ancient species of antelope protected under Kazakh law.
Once plentiful in Central Asia, the saiga, known for their flexible noses that resemble a shortened elephant trunk, were hit hard in 2015 when about 200,000 of the animals died from a mysterious blood-related illness.
Only about 100,000 saiga, which have been hunted for centuries for their meat and horns, remain.


rferl--2020-03-05--Bosnia Records First Cases Of Coronavirus, Man And Child Test Positive

Bosnia-Herzegovina has reported its first two confirmed cases of the coronavirus , a worker and his child in the predominantly @ @ @ @ @ country .
Republika Srpska Health and Social Welfare Minister Alen Seranic told a news conference @ @ @ @ @ man had traveled to Italy and passed it on to his child in the city @ @ @ @ @ The man was transferred to a medical clinic .
The wife is negative , but @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus , '' said Seranic , adding the child had also been moved to @ @ @ @ @ fine and have not developed COVID-19 , the illness caused by the virus .
Seranic @ @ @ @ @ has been closed and measures are being taken to disinfect it and test its students @ @ @ @ @ more cases waiting , '' Seranic said .

Bosnia-Herzegovina has reported its first two confirmed cases of the coronavirus, a worker and his child in the predominantly Serb-populated area of the Balkan country.
Republika Srpska Health and Social Welfare Minister Alen Seranic told a news conference on March 5 that the man had traveled to Italy and passed it on to his child in the city of Banja Luka.
"The man was transferred to a medical clinic. The wife is negative, but the child is positive for the coronavirus," said Seranic, adding the child had also been moved to the facility where both feel fine and have not developed COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.
Seranic said the child's school has been closed and measures are being taken to disinfect it and test its students.
"There could be more cases waiting," Seranic said.
The coronavirus outbreak has infected more than 3,800 people in Italy, killing 148. Both totals are the highest in Europe.


rferl--2020-03-05--International Court Allows Afghanistan War Crimes Probe After Nixing Ruling

The International Criminal Court in The Hague has ruled that the prosecutor can launch an investigation into alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan , including possible atrocities committed by U.S. forces .
`` [ The court ] considers it appropriate to amend the appeal decision to the effect that the prosecutor is authorized to commence an investigation , '' Judge Piotr Hofmanski , president of the Appeals Chamber , said in rendering the judgement on March 5 .
In April 2019 , judges in a lower court unanimously turned down a request made by ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to proceed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the Taliban , Afghan security forces , and the U.S. military and intelligence agencies .
In a ruling condemned by victims and rights groups , the judges said that an inquiry `` would not serve the interests of justice '' because it would likely fail due to lack of cooperation .
Human Rights Watch warned that the decision sent `` a dangerous message to perpetrators that they can put themselves beyond the reach of the law just by being uncooperative . ''
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the lower court ruling when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a major international victory…for the rule of law . ''
Bensouda asked judges in November 2017 to initiate an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan since May 2003 .
Washington has said it would revoke or deny visas to ICC staff seeking to investigate the allegations of abuses .
The United States is among dozens of countries that have not ratified the Rome treaty that established the ICC in 2002 .
U.S. forces and other foreign troops intervened in Afghanistan 18 years ago following the September 11 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States and overthrew the Taliban government .
There are roughly 13,000 U.S. troops in the country , as well as European forces participating in the NATO-led Resolute Support mission .
More than 32,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict , according to the United Nations .


rferl--2020-03-05--Court In Russia-Controlled Crimea Sends Jehovah's Witness To Prison For Six Years

DZHANKOY , Ukraine -- A Russian-controlled court in Ukraine 's Crimea has sentenced a Jehovah 's Witness to six years in prison for being a member of an extremist group .
The Dzhankoy district court on March 5 found Sergei Filatov guilty of being a member of the religious group and handed down the sentence on the same day , the Jehovah 's Witnesses said in an email .
According to the group , Filatov is the religious organization 's first member sentenced in Russia-annexed Crimea , and the 30th Jehovah 's Witness convicted in modern Russia and Crimea since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ received prison sentences .
Russia officially banned the Jehovah 's Witnesses in April 2017 and deemed it an `` extremist organization , '' a designation the U.S. State Department has characterized as `` wrong . ''
Filatov , a father of four , had to move from continental Ukraine , where the Jehovah 's Witnesses are legal , to Dhankoy to take care of his ill daughter , his supporters told Crimean Solidarity , a rights group that has members in Crimea and other parts of Ukraine .
Crimea has been controlled by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ annexed the peninsula , sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted amid a wave of public protests .
Also , on March 5 , another court in the Crimean city of Yalta , convicted another member of the religious group , Artyom Gerasimov , of organizing extremist activities and fined him 400,000 rubles .
The group says the case against Gerasimov stemmed from his bible studies sessions with others .
The Jehovah 's Witnesses have been viewed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the views of its members about military service , voting , and government authority in general .
Since the faith was outlawed in Russia , nine Jehovah 's Witnesses have been imprisoned in Russia .
They include Danish citizen Dennis Christensen , who was sentenced in February 2019 to six years in prison in the western city of Oryol .
The charges against Christensen have been condemned by rights groups in Russia and abroad .
With reporting by the Crimean Desk of RFE/RL 's Ukrainian Service

DZHANKOY, Ukraine -- A Russian-controlled court in Ukraine’s Crimea has sentenced a Jehovah's Witness to 6 years in prison for being a member of an extremist group, in what Amnesty International called "the latest example of the wholesale export of Russia’s brutally repressive policies" to the Black Sea peninsula.
The Dzhankoy district court on March 5 found Sergei Filatov guilty of being a member of the religious group and handed down the sentence on the same day, the Jehovah's Witnesses said in an email.
According to the group, Filatov is the religious organization's first member sentenced in Russia-annexed Crimea, and the 30th Jehovah's Witness convicted in Russia and Crimea since 2017. Ten of the convicted have received prison sentences.
Russia officially banned the Jehovah's Witnesses in April 2017 and deemed it an "extremist organization," a designation the U.S. State Department has characterized as "wrong."
Filatov, a father of four, had to move from continental Ukraine, where the Jehovah's Witnesses are legal, to Dhankoy to take care of his ill daughter, his supporters told Crimean Solidarity, a rights group that has members in Crimea and other parts of Ukraine.
Crimea has been controlled by Moscow since March 2014 after Russia forcibly annexed the peninsula, sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted amid a wave of public protests.
“Sergei Filatov is a prisoner of conscience, facing years in a penal colony solely for expressing his faith. Across Russia, Jehovah’s Witnesses are being sent to jail, tortured and harassed under vague counter-extremism legislation,” said Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia director.
“It is chilling to see the Russian authorities roll out their pursuit of Jehovah’s Witnesses across the border,” Struthers said in a statement.
Also, on March 5, another court in the Crimean city of Yalta, convicted another member of the religious group, Artyom Gerasimov, of organizing extremist activities and fined him 400,000 rubles.
The group says the case against Gerasimov stemmed from his bible studies sessions with others.
The Jehovah's Witnesses have been viewed with suspicion in Russia for decades due to the views of its members about military service, voting, and government authority in general.
Since the faith was outlawed in Russia, nine Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned in Russia. They include Danish citizen Dennis Christensen, who was sentenced in February 2019 to six years in prison in the western city of Oryol.
The charges against Christensen have been condemned by rights groups in Russia and abroad.
With reporting by the Crimean Desk of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service