rferl--2020-07-06--Russia's Environmental Watchdog Wants Oligarch-Controlled Norilsk To Foot $2 Billion Spill Bill

Russia 's state environmental watchdog said metals producer Norilsk Nickel should foot the estimated $ 2 billion bill for damages caused by a massive fuel spill at the company ’ s operations in the Arctic .
Rosprirodnadzor said it had sent a request for `` voluntary compensation '' to a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel , putting the damage to Arctic subsoil and water resources at 147.8 billion rubles ( $ 2.06 billion ) .
A Norilsk Nickel spokeswoman said the company had not yet received the papers from Rosprirodnadzor .
Nornickel has promised to pay the costs of the cleanup @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rubles ( $ 140 million ) .
Norilsk Nickel , the world ’ s largest producer of nickel and palladium , is controlled by Russia 's richest man , Vladimir Potanin , whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at $ 23.5 billion .
Rusal , a company founded by powerful billionaire Oleg Deripaska , owns 25 percent of Norilsk .
The fine could impact the company ’ s ability to meet its high dividend expectations , much of which flows to Potanin and Rusal .
In what has been described as the worst @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 21,000 tons of diesel fuel spilled into the soil , two rivers , and a downstream lake on May 29 after a storage tank at a Norilsk Nickel-operated power plant collapsed or sank due to what the company said was the thawing permafrost soil .
Greenpeace has compared the incident to the devastating 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska and estimated the environmental damages at around $ 1.4 billion .
Two plant managers and two top engineers have been arrested on suspicion of violating environmental-protection rules while the mayor of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charged with negligence .
Norilsk Nickel has since said it plans to boost its cooperation with Russian and foreign researchers focused on the Arctic ecology and permafrost zones to find solutions and improve the industrial safety in the region .
With reporting by Reuters , dpa , and Interfax

Russia's state environmental watchdog said metals producer Norilsk Nickel should foot the estimated $2 billion bill for damages caused by a massive fuel spill at the company’s operations in the Arctic.
Rosprirodnadzor said it had sent a request for "voluntary compensation" to a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, putting the damage to Arctic subsoil and water resources at 147.8 billion rubles ($2.06 billion).
A Norilsk Nickel spokeswoman said the company had not yet received the papers from Rosprirodnadzor. Nornickel has promised to pay the costs of the cleanup, which it estimated at 10 billion rubles ($140 million).
Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium, is controlled by Russia's richest man, Vladimir Potanin, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at $23.5 billion.
Rusal, a company founded by powerful billionaire Oleg Deripaska, owns 25 percent of Norilsk. The fine could impact the company’s ability to meet its high dividend expectations, much of which flows to Potanin and Rusal.
In what has been described as the worst environmental disaster to impact the Arctic, more than 21,000 tons of diesel fuel spilled into the soil, two rivers, and a downstream lake on May 29 after a storage tank at a Norilsk Nickel-operated power plant collapsed or sank due to what the company said was the thawing permafrost soil.
Greenpeace has compared the incident to the devastating 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska and estimated the environmental damages at around $1.4 billion.
Two plant managers and two top engineers have been arrested on suspicion of violating environmental-protection rules while the mayor of Norilsk and a government inspector have been charged with negligence.
Norilsk Nickel has since said it plans to boost its cooperation with Russian and foreign researchers focused on the Arctic ecology and permafrost zones to find solutions and improve the industrial safety in the region.
With reporting by Reuters, dpa, and Interfax


rferl--2020-07-06--Austrian Police Investigating Whether Murder Of Russian Asylum Seeker Politically Motivated

Austrian police are investigating whether the murder of a Russian asylum seeker outside the capital of Vienna over the weekend was a political assassination .
The police had earlier said that a 43-year-old Russian man was shot dead on July 4 in a parking lot next to a shopping center in the Vienna suburb of Gerasdorf .
Two men have been detained in connection with the killing .
Though Austrian police have not named the victim , sources in the Chechen diaspora have told RFE/RL that the man killed was Mamikhan Umarov , a former Chechen separatist and critic of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regional intelligence and anti-terrorism body are investigating the case .
Roland Scherscher , the anti-terrorism agency ’ s head , said a political motive or an argument could be behind the killing .
According to initial reports , the asylum seeker was shot in the head and died before ambulances arrived .
An autopsy is being conducted .
Austrian police said on July 6 that the victim had declined police protection , but did not say when or specify why it was offered .
A suspect , who was also identified by Austrian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was captured several hours later about 200 kilometers west of the capital in Linz following a large-scale police manhunt .
Police arrested a second Russian man on July 5 whom they initially thought was a witness .
No further details of the suspects were given .
A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Vienna told the state news agency TASS that it had not been contacted regarding the murder and arrests of its citizens .
Umarov , also known as Anzor of Vienna , settled in Austria in 2005 and received asylum two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ posts , he has said he had been a mercenary and served in the late 1990s in the security service of the former de facto independent Chechen state of Ichkeria .
Umarov frequently accused the Russian security forces of carrying out the assassinations of former Chechen separatists in European countries , and , in some cases , posted what he said were audio recordings of officials discussing such plots .
He was expected to be a key witness in the assassination of Chechen Akima Okueva in Kyiv in October 2017 but was not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he created his own YouTube channel , posting 30 video addresses to his subscribers over that time period , with the last one uploaded on July 2 .
Most of his video addresses , which are conducted in the Chechen language , end with insulting remarks about Kadyrov as well as the leader ’ s family and associates .
A majority of the videos received in excess of 250,000 views .
Chechnya has a population of about 1.3 million though many Chechens are scattered around Russia and other parts of the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who has ruled Chechnya since 2007 , of numerous human rights abuses , including kidnappings , torture , extrajudicial killings , disappearances , and the targeted killings of political and personal rivals both in Russia and abroad .
In February , Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov was attacked in Sweden .
He was able to overpower his alleged attacker and hand him over to the authorities .
In March 2019 , the head of the Chechen parliament , Magomed Daduyev declared a blood feud against Abdurakhmanov .
On January 30 , Chechen blogger Imran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , was found dead in the French city of Lille .
He had been stabbed 135 times .
Prosecutors say they have identified a Russian-born man who returned to Chechnya immediately following the killing as the prime suspect in that case .
In August 2019 , Georgian native Zelimkhan Khangoshvili , a former Chechen separatist fighter , was shot dead in Berlin .
Prosecutors in Germany have filed murder charges against a Russian national in that case and accused the Russian government of ordering the killing .
 With reporting by TASS , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ORF

Austrian police are investigating whether the murder of a Russian asylum seeker outside the capital of Vienna over the weekend was a political assassination.
The police had earlier said that a 43-year-old Russian man was shot dead on July 4 in a parking lot next to a shopping center in the Vienna suburb of Gerasdorf. Two men have been detained in connection with the killing.
Though Austrian police have not named the victim, sources in the Chechen diaspora have told RFE/RL that the man killed was Mamikhan Umarov, a former Chechen separatist and critic of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
The Austrian regional intelligence and anti-terrorism body are investigating the case. Roland Scherscher, the anti-terrorism agency’s head, said a political motive or an argument could be behind the killing.
According to initial reports, the asylum seeker was shot in the head and died before ambulances arrived. An autopsy is being conducted.
Austrian police said on July 6 that the victim had declined police protection, but did not say when or specify why it was offered.
A suspect, who was also identified by Austrian authorities only as a Russian citizen, was captured several hours later about 200 kilometers west of the capital in Linz following a large-scale police manhunt.
Police arrested a second Russian man on July 5 whom they initially thought was a witness. No further details of the suspects were given.
A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Vienna told the state news agency TASS that it had not been contacted regarding the murder and arrests of its citizens.
Anzor Of Vienna
Umarov, also known as Anzor of Vienna, settled in Austria in 2005 and received asylum two years later.
In interviews and social-media posts, Umarov has said he was a former mercenary, who served in the security service under the separatist government that controlled Chechnya in the late 1990s between two devastating wars against federal forces.
Umarov frequently accused the Russian security forces of carrying out the assassinations of former Chechen separatists in European countries, and, in some cases, posted what he said were audio recordings of officials discussing such plots.
He was expected to be a key witness in the assassination of Chechen Akima Okueva in Kyiv in October 2017 but was not allowed entry into Ukraine.
In February, he created his own YouTube channel, posting 30 video addresses to his subscribers over that time period, with the last one uploaded on July 2.
Most of his video addresses, which are conducted in the Chechen language, end with insulting remarks about Kadyrov as well as the leader’s family and associates. A majority of the videos received in excess of 250,000 views. Chechnya has a population of about 1.3 million though many Chechens are scattered around Russia and other parts of the world.
Rights groups have accused Kadyrov, who has ruled Chechnya since 2007, of numerous human rights abuses, including kidnappings, torture, extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and the targeted killings of political and personal rivals both in Russia and abroad.
In February, Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov was attacked in Sweden. He was able to overpower his alleged attacker and hand him over to the authorities.
In March 2019, the head of the Chechen parliament, Magomed Daudov declared a blood feud against Abdurakhmanov.
On January 30, Chechen blogger Imran Aliyev, also a critic of Kadyrov, was found dead in the French city of Lille. He had been stabbed 135 times. Prosecutors say they have identified a Russian-born man who returned to Chechnya immediately following the killing as the prime suspect in that case.
In August 2019, Georgian native Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen separatist fighter, was shot dead in Berlin. Prosecutors in Germany have filed murder charges against a Russian national in that case and accused the Russian government of ordering the killing.
With reporting by TASS, AP, APA, Kurier, and ORF


rferl--2020-07-06--Putin's Relative Chosen To Lead New Political Party Focusing On Anti-Corruption Fight

A relative of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been chosen to head a start-up political party whose platform focuses on fighting corruption .
Roman Putin , the son of the Kremlin leader ’ s cousin , Igor Putin , was chosen July 5 as chairman of the People Against Corruption political party .
Roman Putin , a former officer of the powerful Federal Security Service ( FSB ) , which Putin headed in the 1990s , said the party will take part in regional elections this year and in national parliamentary elections next year , RIA Novosti reported .
Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ permitting widespread corruption during his nearly 21 years in power as either president or prime minister .
Several of Putin ’ s friends from the 1990s have become billionaires since his rise to power in 1999 .
Those friends , which include the Rothenberg brothers , have earned their wealth in part from state contracts .
Russia ’ s dominant political party , United Russia , has seen its ratings fall in recent years amid growing discontent over stagnating living standards .
Aleksei Navalny , a leading Putin critic and founder of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social-media following around his attempts to expose graft at the highest levels of government and in the United Russia party .
Roman Putin , 42 , ran a business in the early 2010s before becoming an adviser on economics and investment to the governors of Novosibirsk and the Yamalo-Nenets region .

A relative of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been chosen to head a start-up political party whose platform focuses on fighting corruption.
Roman Putin, the son of the Kremlin leader’s cousin, Igor Putin, was chosen July 5 as chairman of the People Against Corruption political party.
Roman Putin, a former officer of the powerful Federal Security Service (FSB), which Putin headed in the 1990s, said the party will take part in regional elections this year and in national parliamentary elections next year, RIA Novosti reported.
Russia’s opposition has accused Putin of permitting widespread corruption during his nearly 21 years in power as either president or prime minister. Several of Putin’s friends from the 1990s have become billionaires since his rise to power in 1999.
Those friends, which include the Rothenberg brothers, have earned their wealth in part from state contracts.
Russia’s dominant political party, United Russia, has seen its ratings fall in recent years amid growing discontent over stagnating living standards.
Aleksei Navalny, a leading Putin critic and founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, has built a large social-media following around his attempts to expose graft at the highest levels of government and in the United Russia party.
Roman Putin, 42, ran a business in the early 2010s before becoming an adviser on economics and investment to the governors of Novosibirsk and the Yamalo-Nenets region.


rferl--2020-07-06--EU-Backed Talks Between Kosovo And Serbia To Resume On July 12

The leaders of Kosovo and Serbia will hold talks in Brussels on July 12 , reviving European Union-backed negotiations that ground to a halt in 2018 , a European Commission spokesman said .
The meeting between Kosovar Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will resume “ the work on reaching a comprehensive and legally binding agreement on the normalization ” of bilateral relations , Peter Stano said on July 6 .
The meeting will be hosted by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell .
It will follow a video summit on July 10 , hosted by French @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Merkel aimed at easing tensions between Kosovo and Serbia .
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008 , a move Serbia has not recognized .
The United States and the European Union have been working to help normalize ties between the two countries and resolve one of the last major standoffs in the Balkans after the 1998-1999 war and a NATO intervention to stop a bloody Serbian crackdown against Kosovar Albanian separatists .
The EU-supervised talks began in 2011 and have produced some 30 agreements , but most of them have not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to host talks in the White House last month , but Hoti pulled out after international prosecutors indicted Kosovar President Hashim Thaci on war crimes charges .

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


rferl--2020-07-07--U.S. Citizen Pleads Guilty To Fleeing Country With Classified Data, Seeking Russian Help

A 46-year-old U.S. citizen has pleaded guilty after fleeing the country with her daughter and national-security materials that she hoped to offer Russia in exchange for Moscow 's assistance .
The U.S. Attorney ’ s Office in the Northern District of West Virginia said in a statement on July 6 that Elizabeth Shirley , who once served at the U.S. Air Force , Air Force Reserves , and Navy Reserves , had admitted to unlawfully retaining a document containing national-defense information and to international parental kidnapping .
The statement said that , in July 2019 , Shirley took her six-year-old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making contact with representatives of the government of Russia to request help in resettling in a country that would not extradite her to the United States .
While in Mexico , the statement said Shirley prepared a written message to Russian government officials , referencing `` an urgent need '' to have `` items shipped from the USA related to [ her ] life ’ s work before they are seized and destroyed . ''
`` When Shirley took classified information from her work with the Intelligence Community and later fled to Mexico @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her by the American people , '' Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said .
`` She doubled down on this betrayal when she sought to offer classified information to the Russian government , '' he added in the statement .
Shirley had held TOP SECRET/SCI security clearances at various times since 1994 .
Mexican police arrested Shirley at the request of the United States in August last year .
She faces up to 10 years in prison for illegally holding classified information and up to three years for illegally taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the noncustodial parent , to Mexico with the intent to interfere with the custodial father 's parental rights .
`` Given Shirley ’ s troubling conduct after fleeing the United States , the damage to national security could have been far greater had law enforcement not acted swiftly .
Shirley will now be held accountable for betraying the trust of the American people , '' Demers added .
Russia has not commented on the situation .

A 46-year-old U.S. citizen has pleaded guilty after fleeing the country with her daughter and national-security materials that she hoped to offer Russia in exchange for Moscow's assistance.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of West Virginia said in a statement on July 6 that Elizabeth Shirley, who once served at the U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserves, and Navy Reserves, had admitted to unlawfully retaining a document containing national-defense information and to international parental kidnapping.
The statement said that, in July 2019, Shirley took her six-year-old daughter to Mexico with the intent of making contact with representatives of the government of Russia to request help in resettling in a country that would not extradite her to the United States.
While in Mexico, the statement said Shirley prepared a written message to Russian government officials, referencing "an urgent need" to have "items shipped from the USA related to [her] life’s work before they are seized and destroyed."
"When Shirley took classified information from her work with the Intelligence Community and later fled to Mexico, she violated the confidence placed in her by the American people," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said.
"She doubled down on this betrayal when she sought to offer classified information to the Russian government," he added in the statement.
Shirley had held TOP SECRET/SCI security clearances at various times since 1994.
Mexican police arrested Shirley at the request of the United States in August last year.
She faces up to 10 years in prison for illegally holding classified information and up to three years for illegally taking her child, of whom she was the noncustodial parent, to Mexico with the intent to interfere with the custodial father's parental rights.
"Given Shirley’s troubling conduct after fleeing the United States, the damage to national security could have been far greater had law enforcement not acted swiftly. Shirley will now be held accountable for betraying the trust of the American people," Demers added.
Russia has not commented on the situation.


rferl--2020-07-07--Kremlin Vows Reciprocal Measures Over U.K. Sanctions Against Russians

Russia has threatened to respond with reciprocal measures to British sanctions against more than two dozen Russian citizens in connection with the mistreatment and death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 .
`` We can only regret such unfriendly measures , '' Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on July 7 , adding that `` obviously the principle of reciprocity will be applied . ''
Peskov did not elaborate on what retaliatory measures could be taken .
His comments come a day after London said it was imposing sanctions on dozens of people and organizations behind the most `` notorious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – the first such move taken independently by Britain outside the auspices of the UN and European Union , which the country left earlier this year .
Twenty-five Russians implicated in the death of Magnitsky , who died in Russian custody after uncovering widespread tax fraud by a group of Russian officials , will have their British assets frozen and banned from entering the country .
The sanctions list includes top officials from Russia ’ s Prosecutor General ’ s Office and Investigative Committee , as well as judges .
Those targeted also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a journalist in Istanbul , Burmese military generals implicated in violence against ethnic minorities , and North Korean organizations involved in forced labor , torture , and killings .
Addressing parliament , Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Britain was taking action against the `` thugs of despots and henchmen of dictators '' as the laundering of `` blood money.
” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo backed Britain ’ s new sanctions regime , saying in a statement that it `` marks the beginning of a new era for U.K. sanctions policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' The United States passed the Magnitsky Act in 2012 , imposing sanctions on many Russian officials , and widened it in 2016 to include individuals from other nations .
With reporting by the BBC , AFP , and Reuters

Russia has threatened to respond with reciprocal measures to British sanctions against more than two dozen Russian citizens in connection with the mistreatment and death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009.
"We can only regret such unfriendly measures," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on July 7, adding that "obviously the principle of reciprocity will be applied."
Peskov did not elaborate on what retaliatory measures could be taken.
His comments come a day after London said it was imposing sanctions on dozens of people and organizations behind the most "notorious" human rights abuses of recent years – the first such move taken independently by Britain outside the auspices of the UN and European Union, which the country left earlier this year.
Twenty-five Russians implicated in the death of Magnitsky, who died in Russian custody after uncovering widespread tax fraud by a group of Russian officials, will have their British assets frozen and banned from entering the country.
'Thugs Of Despots'
The sanctions list includes top officials from Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office and Investigative Committee, as well as judges.
Those targeted also included Saudi nationals involved in the death of a journalist in Istanbul, Burmese military generals implicated in violence against ethnic minorities, and North Korean organizations involved in forced labor, torture, and killings.
Addressing parliament, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Britain was taking action against the "thugs of despots and henchmen of dictators" as the laundering of "blood money.”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo backed Britain’s new sanctions regime, saying in a statement that it "marks the beginning of a new era for U.K. sanctions policy and cooperation between our two democracies."
The United States passed the Magnitsky Act in 2012, imposing sanctions on many Russian officials, and widened it in 2016 to include individuals from other nations.
With reporting by the BBC, AFP, and Reuters


rferl--2020-07-07--Russia Holds Space Agency Aide, Ex-Journalist On High Treason Charge

MOSCOW -- An adviser to the chief of Russia 's Roskosmos state space agency , Ivan Safronov Jr. , has been detained on a charge of high treason .
Roskosmos 's press service said that Safronov , who is also a former noted journalist , was detained on July 7 and added that the high treason charge he faces is not related to his position at the space agency .
The RIA news agency quoted the FSB Security Service as saying that Safronov worked for the foreign intelligence service of an unspecified NATO country and had been handing over classified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported on July 7 that , because of the classified nature of some materials involved in the case , the court will hold proceedings behind closed doors .
Safronov , who started his current job in May , used to work for leading Russian newspapers Kommersant and Vedomosti .
He was fired from Kommersant last year after writing an article about the possible resignation of Valentina Matviyenko , the chairwoman of the Russian parliament 's upper chamber .
His dismissal led to a crisis at the paper after all of the journalists in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In June 2019 , media reports surfaced saying that Kommersant might face administrative lawsuits for making state secrets public .
It was not clear which state secrets had been made public , but one of Safronov 's articles about Russia 's plans to deliver Su-35 military planes to Egypt was removed from the newspaper 's website .
At the time , U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo warned of possible sanctions against Egypt if Cairo were to purchase the planes from Moscow , The Bell website said at the time .
Kommersant Director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group on July 7 that there were no issues with authorities regarding Safronov 's article , which was published in his newspaper last year .
He added that the article in question did not contain any data that might be classified as a state secret .
With reporting by RIA , Open Media , TASS , and Interfax

BELGRADE -- President Aleksandar Vucic has called on Serbs to refrain from attending anti-government protests in order to curb the further spreading of the coronavirus infections.
Vucic's call on July 8 came after police said 24 people were detained and some 60 police officers and demonstrators were injured in clashes that erupted in Belgrade overnight as Serbs rallied to protest the decision to reimpose lockdown measures amid a new surge of coronavirus infections.
Several opposition parties have urged their supporters to protest again on later on July 8.
Serbian authorities have incrementally ramped up anti-pandemic measures amid a COVID-19 spike since rapidly reopening weeks before June 21 elections in which Vucic and his ruling Progressive Party allies scored a victory.
"There are no free beds in our hospitals, we will open new hospitals," Vucic said in his address to the nation on July 8.
The demonstrations late on July 7 turned violent when a group of protesters broke into the parliament building while others threw stones, bottles, and other projectiles at the officers, prompting officers to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Footage showed police kicking and beating people with truncheons.
Police chief Vladimir Rebic said on July 8 that 43 police officers and 17 demonstrators were injured in the rioting, while five police vehicles were set on fire.
A right-wing independent member of parliament, Srdjan Nogo, was among those detained, with police blaming far-right nationalists for stirring up the violence.
The protests were prompted by Vucic's statement on July 7 that gatherings will be limited to five people from the following day, and that he will request that a government task force declare a nationwide weekend curfew.
"Be prepared for a curfew starting on [July 10], probably from 6 p.m., until [July 13], 5 a.m.," Vucic said. "I personally would like to have this for all of Serbia. But whether the task force and Prime Minister [Ana] Brnabic will listen to me, that we will have to see."
There was initial confusion when Vucic appeared to be asserting a lockdown only in the capital and not nationally, but he later clarified his remarks to say that he will propose both to the task force.
"All regulations will be announced after a task-force meeting" on July 8, he said.
Thirteen COVID-19 deaths were reported in Serbia in the previous 24 hours, Serbia's deadliest day so far in the coronavirus epidemic, with 299 new infections logged.
Speaking after the protests, Brnabic condemned "the violent attack on the parliament building, in a moment when our country and health system is facing the strongest blow from the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic," according to public broadcaster RTS.
Officials say 330 people have died of COVID-19, while the total number of registered cases since the first coronavirus infection was detected in Serbia on March 6 is 16,719.
After initially mocking the gravity of the global coronavirus outbreak in February and March, Vucic declared a state of emergency on March 15 and imposed a strict lockdown and reported case numbers stayed relatively low.
Lawmakers announced an end to the state of emergency in early May and gradually reopened most areas of society ahead of the June 21 elections.
But the government reimposed the obligation to wear face masks on city and intercity public transportation just two days after the elections.
They followed up with a state of emergency in the capital, including a mask requirement for all public transport and enclosed public spaces, on July 3.
With reporting by AFP


rferl--2020-07-07--Amnesty Urges Pakistan To Allow Construction Of Islamabad's First Hindu Temple After Halt

Amnesty International has urged Pakistan to allow the construction of a Hindu temple in the capital , Islamabad , that was halted amid opposition to the project from religious and political circles .
`` Everyone has a right to freedom of religion or belief , a right that is guaranteed in Pakistan 's constitution and its international obligations , '' the London-based human rights watchdog tweeted on July 7 .
Halting the construction of the Hindu temple `` is an unconscionable act of bigotry that must be reversed immediately , '' it added .
The government of former Prime Minister @ @ @ @ @ @ @ build Islamabad ’ s first Hindu temple , with a crematorium , a community hall , and parking spaces .
The government of the current prime minister , Imran Khan , earlier this year approved a grant of Rs100 million ( nearly $ 600,000 ) for the construction of the Shri Krishna Madir temple , but Muslim clerics and politicians , including the chief of the PML-Q party , an ally of Khan , said they strongly opposed the move .
Last week , the Capital Development Authority ( CDA ) halted construction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying it did not have an approved building plan .
The move came after part of the wall was allegedly demolished by fundamentalists opposed to the project .
The government later said it was seeking advice from Council of Islamic Ideology ( CII ) , a body of Islamic scholars , on whether state money can be used for the construction of the temple .
Mainly Muslim Pakistan is home to an estimated 8 million Hindus , including some 3,000 in Islamabad .
With reporting by dpa and The Nation

Amnesty International has urged Pakistan to allow the construction of a Hindu temple in the capital, Islamabad, that was halted amid opposition to the project from religious and political circles.
"Everyone has a right to freedom of religion or belief, a right that is guaranteed in Pakistan's constitution and its international obligations," the London-based human rights watchdog tweeted on July 7.
Halting the construction of the Hindu temple "is an unconscionable act of bigotry that must be reversed immediately," it added.
The government of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved plans in 2017 to build Islamabad’s first Hindu temple, with a crematorium, a community hall, and parking spaces.
The government of the current prime minister, Imran Khan, earlier this year approved a grant of Rs100 million (nearly $600,000) for the construction of the Shri Krishna Madir temple, but Muslim clerics and politicians, including the chief of the PML-Q party, an ally of Khan, said they strongly opposed the move.
Last week, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) halted construction of the boundary wall at the site saying it did not have an approved building plan. The move came after part of the wall was allegedly demolished by fundamentalists opposed to the project.
The government later said it was seeking advice from Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), a body of Islamic scholars, on whether state money can be used for the construction of the temple.
Mainly Muslim Pakistan is home to an estimated 8 million Hindus, including some 3,000 in Islamabad.
With reporting by dpa and The Nation


rferl--2020-07-07--Afghan President Warns Of 'Serious Challenges' To Peace Process

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has warned that a spike in violence by militants in the country poses a `` serious '' threat to the peace process with the Taliban .
Speaking on July 6 during an online conference aimed at briefing the international community on the expected talks with the militant group , Ghani said the current level of violence was higher compared with last year even though preparations are being made for peace talks .
`` If the Taliban continues fighting , the Afghan peace process will face serious challenges , '' Ghani told online attendees .
Afghan authorities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in direct negotiations aimed at putting an end to the nearly two-decade-old war in Afghanistan .
But Afghan officials have blamed the Taliban for killing hundreds of security personnel and civilians in recent weeks , following a three-day cease-fire at the end of May .
The Taliban have denied responsibility for many attacks , but have acknowledged targeting Afghan security forces in rural areas .
The videoconference was attended by senior Afghan officials , as well as representatives of more than 20 other countries , including the United States , Russia , Pakistan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Qatar , Kazakhstan , Tajikistan , Uzbekistan , and Azerbaijan .
International organizations such as the United Nations also participated.. Ghani will host two other videoconferences later this week .
The Western-backed government in Kabul has released more than 4,000 Taliban prisoners as part of a deal between the militants and Washington that was signed in February .
The Taliban has so far released about 750 government prisoners .
Under the U.S.-Taliban accord , the United States agreed to reduce its forces in Afghanistan from 12,000 troops to 8,600 by mid-July .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , all U.S. and other foreign troops will exit Afghanistan by mid-2021 .

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


rferl--2020-07-07--WHO Mission Arrives In 'Coronavirus-Free' Turkmenistan After Months Of Delays

ASHGABAT -- A long-delayed mission from the World Health Organization ( WHO ) has arrived in Turkmenistan , the only Central Asian nation that has not officially registered a single coronavirus case .
Catherine Smallwood , the mission 's leader , said her group will work with Turkmen authorities on aspects of COVID-19 preparedness and response , namely coordination and control systems at the national level , epidemiology and surveillance , laboratory services , patient management , infection prevention and control , and risk communication .
The mission , which arrived late on July 6 , will be in Turkmenistan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been trying to send a mission to Turkmenistan for more than two months to investigate Ashgabat 's claims that there are no coronavirus cases in the country .
Smallwood said that her group 's trip to the energy-rich , mostly desert country of some 6 million people , was postponed due to travel restrictions imposed over the pandemic .
`` Turkmenistan managed to establish a national multisectoral COVID-19 task force ; approving a COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan ; and developing COVID-19 guidelines for prevention , diagnosis , and treatment .
Reorganization of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the health system is a critical step the government has been taking : this includes repurposing facilities and training healthcare workers , '' Smallwood said , stressing that the WHO has helped , and will assist Ashgabat deal with the long-term impact of the pandemic .
Although Turkmen officials insist that there is no coronavirus in the country , multiple reports have quoted medical personnel , unnamed officials , and local residents as saying that a significant number of people have been hospitalized with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 .

The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 538,000, with more than 11.6 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the respiratory illness.
Here's a roundup of COVID-19 developments in RFE/RL's broadcast regions.
Serbia
After a record daily COVID-19 death toll in Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic has announced a return to strict limits on physical gatherings and plans to reimpose a three-day curfew in the Balkan country starting on July 10.
He said on July 7 that the situation in the capital, Belgrade, was critical and that hospitals in the city of around 1.3 million are almost full.
Serbian authorities have incrementally ramped up anti-pandemic measures amid a COVID-19 spike since rapidly reopening weeks before June 21 elections that gave a landslide victory to Vucic and his ruling Progressive Party allies.
Vucic told a press conference on July 7 that gatherings will be limited to five people from the following day, and he said he will request that a government task force declare a nationwide weekend curfew ahead of a reassessment of the situation.
RFE/RL's Coronavirus Crisis Archive Features and analysis, videos, and infographics explore how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the countries in our region.
"Be prepared for a curfew starting on [July 10], probably from 6 p.m., until [July 13], 5 a.m.," Vucic said. "I personally would like to have this for all of Serbia. But whether the task force and Prime Minister [Ana] Brnabic will listen to me, that we will have to see."
There was initial confusion when Vucic appeared to be asserting a lockdown only in the capital and not nationally, but he later clarified his remarks to say that he will propose both to the task force.
Thirteen COVID-19 deaths were reported in Serbia in the previous 24 hours, officials said on July 7, with 299 new infections logged.
"We have to protect citizens, so I don't care about political reactions and protests," Vucic said. "The anger should be directed to me, not doctors."
Officials say 330 people have died of COVID-19, while the total number of registered cases since the first coronavirus infection was detected in Serbia on March 6 is 16,719.
In Belgrade, where around 80 percent of the confirmed infections are reported, officials have transformed the Stark Arena venue into a makeshift hospital.
Amid the curfew, Vucic said, officials would create possibilities of going outdoors for pet owners and "mothers with children," along with separate hours for the elderly.
"All regulations will be announced after a task-force meeting" on July 8, he said.
After the presumed weekend curfew, he said, "on [July 13] we will see what to do next."
Despite mounting cases in Serbia and many other parts of the Balkans, the European Council on June 30 included Serbia on a list of 15 countries from which it was lifting restrictions on nonessential travel into the EU.
But on July 6, Greece banned the entry of tourists from Serbia because of the spike in coronavirus cases in the country.
After initially mocking the gravity of the global coronavirus outbreak in February and March, Vucic declared a state of emergency on March 15 and imposed a strict lockdown and reported case numbers stayed relatively low.
Lawmakers declared an end to the state of emergency in early May and gradually reopened most areas of society ahead of the June 21 elections.
But as cases soared, the government reimposed the obligation to wear face masks on city and intercity public transportation just two days after the elections.
They followed up with a state of emergency in the capital, including a mask requirement for all public transport and enclosed public spaces, on July 3.
Emergencies have also been declared in a number of western Serbian municipalities where spikes and complaints of insufficient medical equipment have prompted protests.
Vucic has rejected as "not authentic" a recent report -- purportedly leaked from a key database -- suggesting that Serbia's infection and death figures are around twice what authorities are reporting.
Turkmenistan
A long-delayed mission from the World Health Organization (WHO) has arrived in Turkmenistan, the only Central Asian nation that has not officially registered a single coronavirus case.
Catherine Smallwood, the mission's leader, said her group will work with Turkmen authorities on aspects of COVID-19 preparedness and response, namely coordination and control systems at the national level, epidemiology and surveillance, laboratory services, patient management, infection prevention and control, and risk communication.
The mission, which arrived late on July 6, will be in Turkmenistan for 10 days.
The WHO has been trying to send a mission to Turkmenistan for more than two months to investigate Ashgabat's claims that there are no coronavirus cases in the country.
Smallwood said that her group's trip to the energy-rich, mostly desert country of some 6 million people, was postponed due to travel restrictions imposed over the pandemic.
"Turkmenistan managed to establish a national multisectoral COVID-19 task force; approving a COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan; and developing COVID-19 guidelines for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Reorganization of facilities and staff at all levels of the health system is a critical step the government has been taking: this includes repurposing facilities and training healthcare workers," Smallwood said, stressing that the WHO has helped, and will assist Ashgabat deal with the long-term impact of the pandemic.
Although Turkmen officials insist that there is no coronavirus in the country, multiple reports have quoted medical personnel, unnamed officials, and local residents as saying that a significant number of people have been hospitalized with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Balkan and Turkmen services, and Turkmenportal


rferl--2020-07-07--Prominent Iraqi Analyst Shot Dead After Pro-Iran Militia Threats

A leading Iraqi political analyst was assassinated on July 6 outside his home in Baghdad after receiving threats from Iran-backed militias .
Gunmen on a motorcycle fired shots at Hisham al-Hashimi , 47 , in the Iraqi capital ’ s Zeyouneh area and fled the scene .
Hashimi was later pronounced dead at the hospital .
He was one of the world ’ s most prominent analysts of the Islamic State extremist group , Al-Qaeda , and militia groups in Iraq .
Hashimi appeared regularly on television and his expertise was sought after by government officials , journalists , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against the power of Iran-backed militias and corruption among Iraq ’ s political elite .
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the killing , but friends and family say he had recently faced threats from Iran-backed militias .
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said in a statement that security forces would `` spare no effort '' in pursuing the killers of the political analyst .
`` We will work with all our efforts to confine arms to the state , so that no force will rise above the rule of law , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paramilitary organization , which is dominated by Iran-backed groups , also demanded an investigation into Hashimi ’ s death .
Since taking up office in May , Kadhimi has vowed to rein in Iran-backed militias , which are accused of carrying out rocket attacks on U.S. military and diplomatic facilities .
Last week , security forces detained 14 members of the Iran-aligned Kataib Hezbollah group during a raid in Baghdad , saying that they were planning attacks on U.S. interests .
Under pressure , the government released all but one of the militia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of how difficult it will be for the state to control paramilitary groups .
With reporting by AFP , AP , dpa , 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--2020-07-07--Austria Probes Checkered History Of Chechen Asylum Seeker For Clues Into Possible Political Murder

Austrian police are investigating whether the murder of a Chechen asylum seeker outside the capital , Vienna , over the weekend was a political assassination or related to organized crime .
Police have arrested two Russians from Chechnya as part of a widening probe into the July 4 murder of the victim , only identified by investigators as a 43-year-old Russian man .
Local media reported he was fatally shot five times outside an automobile-repair shop next to a shopping center in the Vienna suburb of Gerasdorf .
Though Austrian police have not named the victim , sources in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victim was Mamikhan Umarov .
He settled in Austria in 2005 and received asylum two years later .
Umarov , who was also known as Anzor of Vienna and had taken up the alias Martin Beck , was a former Chechen separatist and critic of Chechnya 's leader Ramzan Kadyrov .
Austrian police said they had offered Umarov protection , which he declined .
The main suspect , identified by RFE/RL as 47-year-old Sarali Akhtaev , was captured by police several hours after the crime about 200 kilometers west of the capital in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Police have also arrested a second man , identified by RFE/RL as 37-year-old Salman Magamadov , whom they initially considered a witness .
Both men are Russian citizens of Chechen origin who received asylum after they came to Austria in the early 2000s .
An Austrian regional intelligence and anti-terrorism body is investigating the high-profile case .
Roland Scherscher , the counterterrorism agency 's head , said a political motive or an argument could be behind the killing .
In interviews and social-media posts , Umarov has said he had been a mercenary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the security service of the former de facto independent Chechen state of Ichkeria .
Umarov frequently accused the Russian security forces of carrying out the assassinations of former Chechen separatists in European countries , and , in some cases , posted what he said were audio recordings of officials discussing such plots .
In February , he created his own YouTube channel , posting 30 video addresses to his subscribers over that time period , with the last one uploaded on July 2 .
Most of his videos , which are conducted in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remarks about Kadyrov as well as his family and associates .
A majority of the videos received in excess of 250,000 views .
Umarov was expected to be a key witness in a Ukrainian probe into an October 2017 assassination attempt against Adam Osmayev , a Chechen commander who fought against pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine , but he was not allowed entry into Ukraine to testify .
Osmayev 's wife , Amina Okuyeva , was killed in that attack in Kyiv .
Around the same time of that assassination attempt , Ukrainian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Radical Party , who had ties to Osmayev and Okuyeva , was targeted in a bombing that killed two people and left him wounded in Kyiv .
Umarov is known to have been in touch with Mosiychuk and had warned about the 2017 attack beforehand .
Rights groups have accused Kadyrov , who has ruled Chechnya since 2007 , of numerous human rights abuses , including kidnappings , tortures , extrajudicial killings , disappearances , and the targeted killings of political and personal rivals both in Russia and abroad .
In February , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sweden .
He was able to overpower his alleged attacker and hand him over to the authorities .
In March 2019 , the head of the Chechen parliament , Magomed Daudov , declared a blood feud against Abdurakhmanov .
On January 30 , Chechen blogger Imran Aliyev , also a critic of Kadyrov , was found dead in the French city of Lille .
He had been stabbed 135 times .
Prosecutors say they have identified a Russian-born man who returned to Chechnya immediately following the killing as the prime suspect in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ native Zelimkhan Khangoshvili , a former Chechen separatist fighter , was shot dead in Berlin .
Prosecutors in Germany have filed murder charges against a Russian national in that case and accused the Russian government of ordering the killing .
Austria 's Kurier newspaper reported that police are also considering the Umarov case as possibly linked to organized crime or revenge by Chechen clans .
Umarov has a criminal history in Austria and became a police informant , the Kurier said .
In 2017 , he was among 22 Chechens who were arrested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was also tied to extortion and insurance fraud in a case involving a blown-up pizzeria .
He was in prison until late summer 2019 , when he was conditionally released .

Austrian police are investigating whether the murder of a Chechen asylum seeker outside the capital, Vienna, over the weekend was a political assassination or related to organized crime.
Police have arrested two Russians from Chechnya as part of a widening probe into the July 4 murder of the victim, only identified by investigators as a 43-year-old Russian man.
Local media reported he was fatally shot five times outside an automobile-repair shop next to a shopping center in the Vienna suburb of Gerasdorf.
Though Austrian police have not named the victim, sources in the Chechen diaspora have told RFE/RL that the victim was Mamikhan Umarov. He settled in Austria in 2005 and received asylum two years later.
Umarov, who was also known as Anzor of Vienna and had taken up the alias Martin Beck, was a former Chechen separatist and critic of Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
Austrian police said they had offered Umarov protection, which he declined.
The main suspect, identified by RFE/RL as 47-year-old Sarali Akhtaev, was captured by police several hours after the crime about 200 kilometers west of the capital in Linz following a large-scale police manhunt.
Police have also arrested a second man, identified by RFE/RL as 37-year-old Salman Magamadov, whom they initially considered a witness.
Both men are Russian citizens of Chechen origin who received asylum after they came to Austria in the early 2000s.
Political Motive Or Argument?
An Austrian regional intelligence and anti-terrorism body is investigating the high-profile case. Roland Scherscher, the counterterrorism agency's head, said a political motive or an argument could be behind the killing.
In interviews and social-media posts, Umarov has said he was a former mercenary, who served in the security service under the separatist government that controlled Chechnya in the late 1990s between two devastating wars against federal forces.
Umarov frequently accused the Russian security forces of carrying out the assassinations of former Chechen separatists in European countries, and, in some cases, posted what he said were audio recordings of officials discussing such plots.
In February, he created his own YouTube channel, posting 30 video addresses to his subscribers over that time period, with the last one uploaded on July 2.
Most of his videos, which are conducted in the Chechen language, end with insulting remarks about Kadyrov as well as his family and associates. A majority of the videos received in excess of 250,000 views.
Umarov was expected to be a key witness in a Ukrainian probe into an October 2017 assassination attempt against Adam Osmayev, a Chechen commander who fought against pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine, but he was not allowed entry into Ukraine to testify. Osmayev's wife, Amina Okuyeva, was killed in that attack in Kyiv.
Around the same time of that assassination attempt, Ukrainian lawmaker Ihor Mosiychuk of the nationalist opposition Radical Party, who had ties to Osmayev and Okuyeva, was targeted in a bombing that killed two people and left him wounded in Kyiv.
Umarov is known to have been in touch with Mosiychuk and had warned about the 2017 attack beforehand.
Rights Abuses
Rights groups have accused Kadyrov, who has ruled Chechnya since 2007, of numerous human rights abuses, including kidnappings, tortures, extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and the targeted killings of political and personal rivals both in Russia and abroad.
In February, Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov was attacked in Sweden. He was able to overpower his alleged attacker and hand him over to the authorities.
In March 2019, the head of the Chechen parliament, Magomed Daudov, declared a blood feud against Abdurakhmanov.
On January 30, Chechen blogger Imran Aliyev, also a critic of Kadyrov, was found dead in the French city of Lille. He had been stabbed 135 times. Prosecutors say they have identified a Russian-born man who returned to Chechnya immediately following the killing as the prime suspect in the case.
In August 2019, Georgian native Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen separatist fighter, was shot dead in Berlin. Prosecutors in Germany have filed murder charges against a Russian national in that case and accused the Russian government of ordering the killing.
Austria's Kurier newspaper reported that police are also considering the Umarov case as possibly linked to organized crime or revenge by Chechen clans.
Umarov has a criminal history in Austria and became a police informant, the Kurier said. In 2017, he was among 22 Chechens who were arrested on weapons charges in Vienna.
He was also tied to extortion and insurance fraud in a case involving a blown-up pizzeria. He was in prison until late summer 2019, when he was conditionally released.


rferl--2020-07-07--Russia Launches New Probe Into Pussy Riot's Verzilov After 15-Day Sentence

Russia has launched an investigation into an activist and media publisher for failing to inform authorities he has a foreign passport on the same day he finished a 15-day jail sentence for swearing at police .
Russia ’ s Investigative Committee has subpoenaed Pyotr Verzilov , who publishes the independent Mediazona website , to appear on July 7 for questioning , the Kommersant daily cited him as saying .
The Investigative Committee confirmed the probe into Verzilov , but otherwise declined to comment , the paper said .
The subpoena was issued by Rustam Gabdulin , who handles very important @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protests in Moscow in 2012 and 2019 , Verzilov told the paper .
Moscow police on June 21 searched the home of Verzilov , who is also a founding member of the protest music group Pussy Riot , in connection with an investigation into an unsanctioned protest in July 2019 that ended in mass arrests .
Verzilov said he was in Estonia on that day .
He was then taken to a police station and questioned about his ties to popular opposition figure Aleksei Navalny .
Upon his release later on June 21 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a man who tried to provoke him into an altercation and was then immediately arrested on charges of fighting .
However , when there was no proof of a fight , he was then charged with swearing and sentenced on June 22 to 15 days in jail .
In 2018 , Verzilov drew worldwide attention when he and three other Pussy Riot activists ran onto the field during the World Cup soccer final in Moscow to protest police brutality .
He and the others served 15 days in jail .

Russia has launched an investigation into an activist and media publisher for failing to inform authorities he has a foreign passport on the same day he finished a 15-day jail sentence for swearing at police.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has subpoenaed Pyotr Verzilov, who publishes the independent Mediazona website, to appear on July 7 for questioning, the Kommersant daily cited him as saying. The Investigative Committee confirmed the probe into Verzilov, but otherwise declined to comment, the paper said.
Verzilov has a Canadian passport.
The subpoena was issued by Rustam Gabdulin, who handles very important cases and led the investigation into unsanctioned protests in Moscow in 2012 and 2019, Verzilov told the paper.
Moscow police on June 21 searched the home of Verzilov, who is also a founding member of the protest music group Pussy Riot, in connection with an investigation into an unsanctioned protest in July 2019 that ended in mass arrests. Verzilov said he was in Estonia on that day.
He was then taken to a police station and questioned about his ties to popular opposition figure Aleksei Navalny.
Upon his release later on June 21, Verzilov said he was followed by a man who tried to provoke him into an altercation and was then immediately arrested on charges of fighting.
However, when there was no proof of a fight, he was then charged with swearing and sentenced on June 22 to 15 days in jail.
In 2018, Verzilov drew worldwide attention when he and three other Pussy Riot activists ran onto the field during the World Cup soccer final in Moscow to protest police brutality. He and the others served 15 days in jail.
Reporting by Kommersant and Mediazona


rferl--2020-07-06--U.K. Puts Sanctions On Russians Over Link To Magnitsky Death

Britain has imposed sanctions on more than two dozen Russian individuals in connection with the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky as relations between the two nations remain frayed over what London calls Moscow 's destabilizing acts .
The list of 25 sanctioned Russian officials announced on July 6 includes Aleksandr Bastrykin , the head of the powerful Investigative Committee who is considered a member of President Vladimir Putin ’ s inner circle , as well as judges and prosecutors .
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab , a former human rights lawyer , said in a tweet on July 6 that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have committed the gravest human rights violations ” and will make Britain “ an even stronger force for good in the world , in the years ahead.
” Magnitsky , a lawyer for William Browder -- a U.S.-born investor who now holds British citizenship -- died in a Moscow prison from an untreated illness in 2009 after accusing Russian officials of a $ 230 million tax fraud .
The case attracted international attention amid an intensive lobbying effort by Browder , a well-known investor who made a fortune on Russian stocks .
Over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pushed Western nations to pass a global Magnitsky Act that would impose sanctions on individuals responsible for committing human rights violations or acts of significant corruption .
The United States passed the Magnitsky Act in 2012 , imposing sanctions on many Russian officials , and widened it in 2016 to include individuals from other nations .
Britain passed the law in 2018 , but said it would hold off imposing sanctions on individuals until it officially left the European Union in 2020 .
The British sanctions list also included Saudi individuals involved in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as North Korean officials .
The sanctions impose a visa ban and asset freezes on the individuals .
Browder described the British sanctions as a `` huge milestone ” in his decade-long campaign .
The Russian Embassy in London called the British decision “ hostile ” and said Moscow could take “ retaliatory measures ” without elaborating on what those steps could be .
`` In Russia , investigators , prosecutors , and judges carry out their responsibilities independently of executive authorities and are guided by law alone , '' the embassy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Magnitsky was killed and has lobbied hard against the bills , accusing Browder and his lawyer of crimes , including fraud .
The British sanctions add tension to an already fraught relationship with Russia .
London has accused Russia of `` destabilizing '' activities on its territory , including the 2018 chemical attack that almost killed former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter .
Russia has denied the accusation .
With reporting by AFP , Reuters , and the Financial Times

Britain has imposed sanctions on more than two dozen Russian individuals in connection with the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky as relations between the two nations remain frayed over what London calls Moscow's destabilizing acts.
The list of 25 sanctioned Russian officials announced on July 6 includes Aleksandr Bastrykin, the head of the powerful Investigative Committee who is considered a member of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, as well as judges and prosecutors.
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab, a former human rights lawyer, said in a tweet on July 6 that the sanctions would “target people who have committed the gravest human rights violations” and will make Britain “an even stronger force for good in the world, in the years ahead.”
Magnitsky, a lawyer for William Browder -- a U.S.-born investor who now holds British citizenship -- died in a Moscow prison from an untreated illness in 2009 after accusing Russian officials of a $230 million tax fraud.
The case attracted international attention amid an intensive lobbying effort by Browder, a well-known investor who made a fortune on Russian stocks.
Over the course of a decade, Browder pushed Western nations to pass a global Magnitsky Act that would impose sanctions on individuals responsible for committing human rights violations or acts of significant corruption.
The United States passed the Magnitsky Act in 2012, imposing sanctions on many Russian officials, and widened it in 2016 to include individuals from other nations.
Britain passed the law in 2018, but said it would hold off imposing sanctions on individuals until it officially left the European Union in 2020.
The British sanctions list also included Saudi individuals involved in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as well as North Korean officials. The sanctions impose a visa ban and asset freezes on the individuals.
Browder described the British sanctions as a "huge milestone” in his decade-long campaign.
The Russian Embassy in London called the British decision “hostile” and said Moscow could take “retaliatory measures” without elaborating on what those steps could be.
"In Russia, investigators, prosecutors, and judges carry out their responsibilities independently of executive authorities and are guided by law alone," the embassy said.
Russia has long rejected claims that Magnitsky was killed and has lobbied hard against the bills, accusing Browder and his lawyer of crimes, including fraud.
The British sanctions add tension to an already fraught relationship with Russia.
London has accused Russia of "destabilizing" activities on its territory, including the 2018 chemical attack that almost killed former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter. Russia has denied the accusation.
With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and the Financial Times


rferl--2020-07-08--Russia Accuses Former Military Reporter Of Supplying Arms Trade Data To Czech Republic

Russia has arrested a former journalist on a charge of high treason for allegedly passing military secrets to a NATO government in what some are calling a clear attack on press freedoms .
Ivan Safronov Jr. , who since May has been working as an adviser to the chief of Russia 's state space agency Roskosmos , was detained and searched by armed officers of the FSB security service outside his Moscow apartment on July 7 before being taken to court , where he entered a not guilty plea .
The court ordered him held behind bars until September 6 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Czech Republic in 2017 about the sale of Russian arms to the Middle East and Africa , his lawyer Ivan Pavlov said .
Safronov was working as a journalist at the time covering issues related to the activities of Russia 's military industrial sector .
Russia claims the United States was the final beneficiary of the information , Pavlov said .
Safronov could face up to 20 years in prison , if convicted .
His arrest -- the latest in a series of law enforcement actions against Russian journalists and researchers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prompted dozens to protest outside the FSB headquarters in Moscow .
“ The experience of the last few years shows that any citizen of Russia whose work is connected with public activities -- whether it is a human rights defender , scientist , journalist , or employee of a state corporation -- can face a serious charge at any time , ” Kommersant , the newspaper where Safronov worked for a decade until last year , said in a statement on its website .
Kommersant called Safronov a “ true patriot of Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ absurd.
” It also called on prosecutors to make the case as open to the public as possible , saying it 's hard for people accused of treason in Russia to get a fair trial .
Andrei Soldatov , a respected journalist who has written extensively about Russia ’ s security services , called Safronov ’ s arrest “ a new level of repression ” against reporters .
“ I can only think of one reason why this is happening - we are being told what other topics of importance for society @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ for those who should know , ’ ” he said in a Facebook post .
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Safronov ’ s arrest was linked to his work as a reporter .
`` He is accused of high treason , of passing secret data to foreign intelligence .
As far as we are informed , the detainment has nothing to do with the journalistic activities Safronov was involved with in the past , '' Peskov said .
Pavel Chikov , a top human rights lawyer whose organization , Agora , provides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ motivated cases , wrote on Telegram that police also searched the apartment of journalist Taisia Bekbulatova , who is believed to be close to Safronov .
According to Chikov , after the search she was questioned as a witness in an unspecified case along with her lawyer Nikolai Vasilyev .
TASS and Interfax both quoted unidentified sources as saying Bekbulatova is being questioned as a witness in the Safronov case .
As a journalist , Safronov mainly covered issues related to the activities of Russia 's military industrial sector , including an accident @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nation ’ s military exercises .
His father , Ivan Safronov Sr. , also worked for Kommersant , focusing mainly on the military industrial complex 's operations .
Safronov Sr. died at the age of 51 after he mysteriously fell out of a corridor window in his apartment block in Moscow in 2007 .
Police concluded the death was a suicide , though relatives and friends say they suspect foul play .
Safronov Jr. was fired from Kommersant in May 2019 after writing an article about the possible resignation of Valentina Matviyenko @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's upper chamber .
Matviyenko continues to serve as its chairwoman .
Safronov ’ s firing led to a crisis at the paper after all of the journalists in Kommersant 's politics department resigned in protest .
He soon joined Vedomosti , then the nation ’ s leading business newspaper , before quitting following an ownership change that installed a Kremlin-friendly chief editor .
In June 2019 , media reports surfaced saying that Kommersant might face administrative lawsuits for making state secrets public .
It was not clear which state secrets had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's articles about Russia 's plans to deliver Su-35 military planes to Egypt was removed from the newspaper 's website .
At the time , U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo warned of possible sanctions against Egypt if Cairo purchased the planes from Moscow , The Bell website said .
Kommersant Director General Vladimir Zhelonkin told the Open Media group on July 7 that there were no issues with authorities related to Safronov 's article published last year in his newspaper , adding that the article in question did not contain any data that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Following Safronov 's detainment on July 7 , more than 20 journalists were held by police as they staged single-picket protests in front of the Federal Security Service 's headquarters in Moscow .
They were demanding `` transparency , openness , and detailed information '' on Safronov 's case .
Other journalists continued the single-picket protests , which do not require pre-approval from the authorities .
Safronov ’ s arrest is at least the third of a current or former journalist in the past 13 months that has garnered national attention and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media freedom .
Ivan Golunov , an investigative reporter for Meduza , was arrested in Moscow in June on drug charges that were later dropped following street protests .
Police later admitted to planting the drugs on the reporter , who worked on stories about corruption at the highest echelons of the government and security services .
Svetlana Prokopyeva , a freelance contributor to RFE/RL 's Russian Service , was found guilty this month of “ justifying terrorism ” for a commentary she gave to a radio station .
Prosecutors sought a six-year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a suicide bombing with the country 's political climate .

Russia has arrested a former journalist on a charge of high treason for allegedly passing military secrets to a NATO government in what some are calling a clear attack on press freedom.
Ivan Safronov, who since May has been working as an adviser to the chief of Russia's state space agency Roskosmos, was detained and searched by armed officers of the FSB outside his Moscow apartment on July 7 before being taken to court, where he entered a plea of not guilty.
The court ordered him held behind bars until September 6.
Prosecutors accuse him of passing information to the Czech Republic in 2017 about the sale of Russian arms to the Middle East and Africa, his lawyer, Ivan Pavlov, said.
Safronov was working as a journalist at the time covering issues related to the activities of Russia's military industrial sector. Russia claims the United States was the final beneficiary of the information, Pavlov said.
Safronov could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
His arrest -- the latest in a series of law enforcement actions against Russian journalists and researchers -- sparked outrage among former colleagues and prompted dozens to protest outside the FSB headquarters in Moscow.
“The experience of the last few years shows that any citizen of Russia whose work is connected with public activities -- whether it is a human rights defender, scientist, journalist, or employee of a state corporation -- can face a serious charge at any time,” Kommersant, the newspaper where Safronov worked for a decade until last year, said in a statement on its website.
Kommersant called Safronov a “true patriot of Russia” and said the FSB allegations were “absurd.” It also called on prosecutors to make the case as open to the public as possible, saying it's hard for people accused of treason in Russia to get a fair trial.
Andrei Soldatov, a respected journalist who has written extensively about Russia’s security services, called Safronov’s arrest “a new level of repression” against reporters.
“I can only think of one reason why this is happening: We are being told what other topics of importance for society are now off-limits for all except ‘for those who should know,’” he said in a Facebook post.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Safronov’s arrest was linked to his work as a reporter.
"He is accused of high treason, of passing secret data to foreign intelligence. As far as we are informed, the detainment has nothing to do with the journalistic activities Safronov was involved with in the past," Peskov said.
Pavel Chikov, a top human rights lawyer whose organization, Agora, provides legal support to Russians detained in politically motivated cases, wrote on Telegram that police also searched the apartment of journalist Taisia Bekbulatova, who is believed to be close to Safronov.
According to Chikov, after the search she was questioned as a witness in an unspecified case along with her lawyer, Nikolai Vasilyev.
TASS and Interfax both quoted unidentified sources as saying Bekbulatova is being questioned as a witness in the Safronov case.
As a journalist, Safronov mainly covered issues related to the activities of Russia's military industrial sector, including an accident last year on an atomic submarine and the nation’s military exercises.
His father, also named Ivan Safronov, worked for Kommersant, too, focusing mainly on the military industrial complex's operations.
He died at the age of 51 after he fell out of a corridor window in his apartment block in Moscow in 2007. Police concluded the death was a suicide, though relatives and friends say they suspect foul play.
Safronov was fired from Kommersant in May 2019 after writing an article about the possible resignation of Valentina Matviyenko, the chairwoman of the Russian parliament's upper chamber. Matviyenko continues to serve as its chairwoman.
Safronov’s firing led to a crisis at the paper after all of the journalists in Kommersant's politics department resigned in protest. He soon joined Vedomosti, then the nation’s leading business newspaper, before quitting following an ownership change that installed a Kremlin-friendly chief editor.
In June 2019, media reports surfaced saying that Kommersant might face administrative lawsuits for making state secrets public.
It was not clear which state secrets had been made public, but one of Safronov's articles about Russia's plans to deliver Su-35 military planes to Egypt was removed from the newspaper's website.
At the time, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned of possible sanctions against Egypt if Cairo purchased the planes from Moscow, The Bell website said.
Kommersant Director-General Vladimir Zhelonkin told the Open Media group on July 7 that there were no issues with authorities related to Safronov's article published last year in his newspaper, adding that the article in question did not contain any data that might be classified as a state secret.
Following Safronov's detention on July 7, more than 20 journalists were held by police as they staged single-picket protests in front of the Federal Security Service's headquarters in Moscow. They were demanding "transparency, openness, and detailed information" on Safronov's case.
Other journalists continued the single-picket protests, which do not require preapproval from the authorities.
Safronov’s arrest is at least the third of a current or former journalist in the past 13 months that has garnered national attention and raised fears of a further curtailment of media freedom.
Ivan Golunov, an investigative reporter for Meduza, was arrested in Moscow in June 2019 on drug charges that were later dropped following street protests.
Police later admitted to planting the drugs on the reporter, who worked on stories about corruption at the highest echelons of the government and security services.
Svetlana Prokopyeva, a freelance contributor to RFE/RL's Russian Service, was found guilty this month of “justifying terrorism” for a commentary she gave to a radio station.
Prosecutors sought a six-year prison term for Prokopyeva, who linked a suicide bombing with the country's political climate.