rferl--2020-09-14--EU Adds Its Voice To International Outcry Over Iranian Wrestler's Execution

Iran 's Foreign Ministry summoned Germany 's ambassador in Tehran on September 14 over a tweet condemning the execution of a champion wrestler convicted of murder , calling the German reaction an `` interference in the internal affairs '' of the country .
Iranian authorities say Navid Afkari , 27 , was executed two days earlier following a trial that was condemned by human rights groups as fraudulent , triggering a chorus of international condemnation .
Afkari was convicted of killing a security guard with the government 's water and sewage department in the southern city of Shiraz during mass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not acceptable for legal constitutions to be ignored in order to silence dissenting voices , ” the German Embassy in Tehran said in a September 13 post on Twitter .
Afkari ’ s two imprisoned brothers “ need our solidarity , ” it added .
Iran 's Foreign Ministry said in its September 14 statement that it `` strongly condemned '' the tweet and told German Ambassador Hans-Udo Muzel that `` interference in the laws , regulations , and judicial procedures of the Islamic Republic of Iran is not tolerable in any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Justice Department said that `` foreign embassies should not become the mouthpiece for Iranian opposition groups and should at the very least adhere to diplomatic norms . ''
`` Pressure from abroad '' would undermine neither the Iranian justice system nor the laws that govern the country , said Ali Bagheri , deputy head of the department 's office for international affairs .
The official did not mention Afkari by name or which embassies he was referring to .
Meanwhile , a German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman cited “ considerable doubts about the rule @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Afkari ’ s case and allegations that he `` confessed only under torture . ''
Iran 's judiciary has denied the torture claims made by Afkari ’ s family and activists .
EU Foreign Affairs spokesperson Peter Stano said that the bloc is opposed to the death penalty “ under all circumstances and cases with no exception.
” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called the execution of Afkari `` a vicious and cruel act . ''
The International Olympic Committee said it was `` deeply upsetting '' that pleas by athletes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had failed to halt it .
Afkari was a national champion in wrestling , which is a widely popular sport with a long and deep history in Iran and often referred to as the country 's `` first sport . ''
His two brothers , Vahid and Habib , were sentenced to 54 and 27 years in prison in the same case , rights activists have said .


rferl--2020-09-14--Uzbekistan, Switzerland Reach Agreement On Returning Funds Seized From Karimova

Switzerland and Uzbekistan have reached an agreement on returning more than $ 130 million to Tashkent that was seized in connection with criminal proceedings against Gulnara Karimova , the oldest daughter of late President Islam Karimov .
The Swiss government said on September 11 that , according to the nonbinding framework agreement , any returned assets `` shall be used for the benefit of the people of Uzbekistan . ''
Transparency and the creation of a monitoring mechanism are among the requirements for the restitution to take place , the statement said .
Switzerland froze around 800 million Swiss francs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in connection with criminal proceedings against Karimova , of which almost $ 131 million was confiscated in 2019 .
The remaining funds remain frozen , and the statement stressed that the framework agreement would cover any more assets definitively confiscated in the still-ongoing criminal case .
Earlier in May , Uzbek government officials said Tashkent received from France assets worth $ 10 million illegally acquired by Karimova .
Tashkent has sought over $ 1 billion from foreign jurisdictions since announcing Karimova 's imprisonment in 2017 .
Karimova , once seen as a possible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ house arrest in Tashkent in 2014 while her father was still alive and running the country .
Karimov died in 2016 and Shavkat Mirziyoev became his successor soon afterward .
Criminal investigations in Switzerland , the United States , Sweden , and the Netherlands have linked Karimova to a massive , years-long bribery scheme that revolved mainly around foreign telecommunications companies gaining access to the lucrative Uzbek market .
In December 2017 , Karimova was sentenced to a 10-year prison term , but the sentence was later reclassified to house arrest and shortened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in jail in March 2019 for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest .
In February , she sent a letter to Mirziyoev offering to return $ 686 million to the country 's treasury in exchange for the dismissal of the court case against her at home .
But a month later , she received an additional 13 years and four months in prison after being found guilty of extortion , money laundering , and other crimes .
With reporting by AP and AFP

Switzerland and Uzbekistan have reached an agreement on returning more than $130 million to Tashkent that was seized in connection with criminal proceedings against Gulnara Karimova, the oldest daughter of late President Islam Karimov.
The Swiss government said on September 11 that, according to the nonbinding framework agreement, any returned assets "shall be used for the benefit of the people of Uzbekistan."
Transparency and the creation of a monitoring mechanism are among the requirements for the restitution to take place, the statement said.
Switzerland froze around 800 million Swiss francs ($880 million) in 2012 in connection with criminal proceedings against Karimova, of which almost $131 million was confiscated in 2019.
The remaining funds remain frozen, and the statement stressed that the framework agreement would cover any more assets definitively confiscated in the still-ongoing criminal case.
Earlier in May, Uzbek government officials said Tashkent received from France assets worth $10 million illegally acquired by Karimova.
Tashkent has sought over $1 billion from foreign jurisdictions since announcing Karimova's imprisonment in 2017.
Karimova, once seen as a possible successor to Karimov, was placed under house arrest in Tashkent in 2014 while her father was still alive and running the country. Karimov died in 2016 and Shavkat Mirziyoev became his successor soon afterward.
Criminal investigations in Switzerland, the United States, Sweden, and the Netherlands have linked Karimova to a massive, years-long bribery scheme that revolved mainly around foreign telecommunications companies gaining access to the lucrative Uzbek market.
In December 2017, Karimova was sentenced to a 10-year prison term, but the sentence was later reclassified to house arrest and shortened to five years. She was placed in jail in March 2019 for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest.
In February, she sent a letter to Mirziyoev offering to return $686 million to the country's treasury in exchange for the dismissal of the court case against her at home.
But a month later, she received an additional 13 years and four months in prison after being found guilty of extortion, money laundering, and other crimes.
With reporting by AP and AFP


rferl--2020-09-14--Military Says 'Terrorist Commander' Killed In Northwestern Pakistan

The Pakistani military says it has killed a “ terrorist ” commander and three other militants in the country ’ s northwest .
“ In a major breakthrough , terrorist commander Ihsan Ullah , alias Ihsan Sanray , along with 3 other terrorists were killed during an Intelligence Based Operation ( IBO ) today in Ghariom , Shaktu near the inter district boundary of North and South Waziristan , ” army spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar tweeted on September 13 .
The spokesman said Ihsan Sanray had “ masterminded numerous terrorist activities , ” including recent attacks in the Shaktu @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lieutenant and a captain .
He did not provide further details .
The Pakistani military has claimed it had cleared North Waziristan of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan -– also known as the Pakistani Taliban -– and other militant groups following a major offensive that was launched in 2014 , but the region has been the scene of an increasing number of attacks on security forces and targeted killings of civilians .
On September 12 , at least one Pakistani soldier was killed in a roadside bomb blast in North Waziristan .
No group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The next day , a local assembly of elders called on the Pakistani government to ensure peace in the tribal districts , put an end to targeted killings , and repatriate thousands of people who have fled to neighboring Afghanistan after the launch of the military offensive in 2014 .

The Pakistani military says it has killed a “terrorist” commander and three other militants in the country’s northwest.
“In a major breakthrough, terrorist commander Ihsan Ullah, alias Ihsan Sanray, along with 3 other terrorists were killed during an Intelligence Based Operation (IBO) today in Ghariom, Shaktu near the inter district boundary of North and South Waziristan,” army spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar tweeted on September 13.
The spokesman said Ihsan Sanray had “masterminded numerous terrorist activities,” including recent attacks in the Shaktu area that claimed the lives of a lieutenant and a captain.
He did not provide further details.
The Pakistani military has claimed it had cleared North Waziristan of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan -– also known as the Pakistani Taliban -– and other militant groups following a major offensive that was launched in 2014, but the region has been the scene of an increasing number of attacks on security forces and targeted killings of civilians.
On September 12, at least one Pakistani soldier was killed in a roadside bomb blast in North Waziristan. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The next day, a local assembly of elders called on the Pakistani government to ensure peace in the tribal districts, put an end to targeted killings, and repatriate thousands of people who have fled to neighboring Afghanistan after the launch of the military offensive in 2014.


rferl--2020-09-14--Germany Says Two Independent Foreign Labs Confirm Navalny Was Poisoned With Novichok

Germany says independent reviews by laboratories in France and Sweden have confirmed evidence that Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent from the Novichok group .
`` Three laboratories have now independently provided evidence of a nerve agent from the Novichok group as the cause of Mr. Navalny 's poisoning .
We renew the call for Russia to explain what has happened .
We are in close contact with our European partners on further steps , '' the German government said in a statement on September 14 in announcing the corroborative findings .
Navalny suddenly fell ill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20 and was medically evacuated to Germany on a request by his wife several days later .
German experts say the 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner and Russian opposition leader was poisoned with a Soviet-style military nerve agent from the Novichok group , prompting international calls on Russia to swiftly investigate the case .
Russian authorities have refused to open a criminal investigation , saying that no hard evidence of poisoning has been found .
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on September 9 that there is a strong chance the poisoning was ordered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s team , his relatives , and others also believe that Russian authorities are behind the poisoning .
The Kremlin has vehemently denied the allegations .

The Berlin hospital treating Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny says his condition is improving as Germany announced two independent laboratories confirmed evidence that he was poisoned with a nerve agent from the Novichok group.
Charite hospital said on September 14 that Navalny has been successfully removed from mechanical ventilation and is now able to briefly leave his bed.
Doctors removed Navalny from a medically induced coma on September 7, saying that although his condition has improved it was unclear what long-term effects “severe poisoning” would have on the 44-year-old opposition leader’s health.
The news about Navalny’s recovery comes as Germany again called on Russia to conduct a transparent investigation into the poisoning after reviews by independent laboratories in France and Sweden confirmed that Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent from the Novichok group.
"Three laboratories have now independently provided evidence of a nerve agent from the Novichok group as the cause of Mr. Navalny's poisoning. We renew the call for Russia to explain what has happened. We are in close contact with our European partners on further steps," the German government said in a statement on September 14 in announcing the corroborative findings.
The French presidency later confirmed that France's own analysis had concluded that Navalny was poisoned with Novichok "in contravention of international norms on using chemical weapons."
French President Emmanuel Macron urged Russian leader Vladimir Putin to urgently shed light on “the circumstances of this attempted assassination and who is responsible,” according to the Elysee Palace.
In a call to Putin on September 14, Macron described the poisoning as an "attempted assassination," according to the Elysee Palace.
The Kremlin said the Navalny case was "thoroughly discussed" with Putin, emphasizing the "inappropriateness of unfounded accusations against the Russian side."
Navalny suddenly fell ill on a Russian domestic flight on August 20 and was medically evacuated to Germany on a request by his wife several days later.
German experts say the anti-corruption campaigner and Russian opposition leader was poisoned with a Soviet-style military nerve agent from the Novichok group, prompting international calls on Russia to swiftly investigate the case.
Russian authorities have refused to open a criminal investigation, saying that no hard evidence of poisoning has been found.
Doctors at Emergency Hospital No. 1 in the Siberian city of Omsk, where Navalny was treated after an emergency plane landing, have said that Navalny fell into a coma due to a metabolic disorder and blood sugar issues.
Despite Russian claims, that initial assessment has repeatedly been cast into doubt. Citing five medical sources, Reuters on September 14 reported that paramedics who treated Navalny in Omsk found no signs of a metabolic disorder and suspected he had been poisoned.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on September 9 that there is a strong chance the poisoning was ordered by senior officials in Moscow.
Navalny’s team, his relatives, and others also believe that Russian authorities are behind the poisoning. The Kremlin has vehemently denied the allegations.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters


rferl--2020-09-14--Navalny Allies Win Seats In Siberian City As Ruling Party Claims Sweeping Victory In Local Polls

Two allies of stricken Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny are expected to have won local parliamentary seats in the Siberian city of Tomsk when results are released on September 14 for a variety of regional and local elections across the country that the ruling United Russia party likely dominated .
Ksenia Fadeyeva and Andrei Fateyev came out on top in two constituencies in Tomsk , the city where Navalny fell ill last month with what his doctors in Germany have said was poisoning by a rare nerve agent from the Novichok group of chemicals .
Meanwhile , the ruling United Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with more than 24 percent of the vote , according to early results published by regional election officials on September 14 .
In another Siberian city , Novosibirsk , the chief of Navalny 's local team , Sergei Boiko , reportedly also won a seat on the city council in the September 11-13 voting .
The elections were closely watched for signs of protest against the ruling party that backs President Vladimir Putin amid mounting frustrations over declining living standards for many Russians and the government 's handling of the coronavirus pandemic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting strategy designed to hurt United Russia and fielded dozens of candidates for city councils in Siberia .
Citing data from exit polls and preliminary counting , Aleksei Turchak , the secretary of United Russia 's general council , said late on September 13 that the ruling party was set to win majorities in all regional legislatures and that its candidates for governor were well ahead .
However , the independent monitoring group Golos cited numerous reports of irregularities in the September 13 elections , including ballot-box stuffing and ballots cast by real @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concerns that early voting allowed over the previous two days because of the coronavirus pandemic had led to irregularities .
The local elections were also seen as a crucial test for the increasingly unpopular ruling party ahead of next year ’ s national legislative elections .
A total of 18 regional governor posts were contested , along with voters choosing 11 regional legislatures and 22 cities voting for municipal legislatures .
Four by-elections were also held for vacant seats in the lower house of the national parliament , the State Duma .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the August 20 poisoning of Navalny , who is currently hospitalized in Berlin from the suspected ingestion of the Soviet-developed nerve toxin .
His supporters blame Kremlin allies .
Navalny ’ s Anti-Corruption Foundation supported candidates it saw as best placed to unseat incumbents of United Russia .
With reporting by AFP , the BBC , RFE/RL ’ s Russian Service , and Current Time

Two allies of stricken Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny are expected to have won local parliamentary seats in the Siberian city of Tomsk when results are released on September 14 for a variety of regional and local elections across the country that the ruling United Russia party likely dominated.
Ksenia Fadeyeva and Andrei Fateyev came out on top in two constituencies in Tomsk, the city where Navalny fell ill last month with what his doctors in Germany have said was poisoning by a rare nerve agent from the Novichok group of chemicals.
Meanwhile, the ruling United Russia party topped the polls overall in Tomsk with more than 24 percent of the vote, according to early results published by regional election officials on September 14.
In another Siberian city, Novosibirsk, the chief of Navalny's local team, Sergei Boiko, reportedly also won a seat on the city council in the September 11-13 voting.
The elections were closely watched for signs of protest against the ruling party that backs President Vladimir Putin amid mounting frustrations over declining living standards for many Russians and the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Navalny had promoted a "smart" voting strategy designed to hurt United Russia and fielded dozens of candidates for city councils in Siberia.
Citing data from exit polls and preliminary counting, Aleksei Turchak, the secretary of United Russia's general council, said late on September 13 that the ruling party was set to win majorities in all regional legislatures and that its candidates for governor were well ahead.
However, the independent monitoring group Golos cited numerous reports of irregularities in the September 13 elections, including ballot-box stuffing and ballots cast by real voters being switched.
There were also concerns that early voting allowed over the previous two days because of the coronavirus pandemic had led to irregularities.
The local elections were also seen as a crucial test for the increasingly unpopular ruling party ahead of next year’s national legislative elections.
A total of 18 regional governor posts were contested, along with voters choosing 11 regional legislatures and 22 cities voting for municipal legislatures. Four by-elections were also held for vacant seats in the lower house of the national parliament, the State Duma.
The polls came less than a month after the August 20 poisoning of Navalny, who is currently hospitalized in Berlin from the suspected ingestion of the Soviet-developed nerve toxin. His supporters blame Kremlin allies.
Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation supported candidates it saw as best placed to unseat incumbents of United Russia.
With reporting by AFP, the BBC, RFE/RL’s Russian Service, and Current Time


rferl--2020-09-14--Lukashenka Meeting Putin In Sochi After Weeks Of Mass Protests

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has arrived in the Russian resort town of Sochi to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the first face-to-face talks between the two leaders since a wave of demonstrations demanding Lukashenka 's resignation erupted following his disputed reelection last month .
Lukashenka will hold crucial talks with the man he calls his “ older brother ” on September 14 as the Belarusian leader faces protests that show no sign of abating .
Belarus has witnessed daily demonstrations since Lukashenka , in power since 1994 , was declared the winner of the August 9 poll .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ by police in a brutal crackdown that has been condemned by the United States and European Union .
The meeting follows the fifth consecutive weekend of large protests in Minsk and other cities in the former Soviet republic .
Protests on September 13 drew tens of thousands of Belarusians into the streets , with chants of , `` You 're a rat ! ''
and , “ Sasha , you ’ re fired !
” The Interior Ministry said police had detained 774 people at the anti-government protests across Belarus over the weekend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ capital , for `` violating the law on mass events . ''
At total of 544 of them will remain in pretrial detention , it said .
The Belarusian opposition , led by Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , accuses Lukashenka of rigging the election , which handed Lukashenka a sixth term with 80 percent of the vote .
Since then , thousands of people have been arrested and nearly all the opposition 's key leaders have been arrested or forced to leave the country .
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on September 11 that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bilateral ties .
Lukashenka could also request economic and military support from Moscow .
Russia and Belarus plan to take part in joint Slavic Brotherhood military drills set to begin on September 14 .
Russia 's Defense Ministry said on September 13 that a Russian paratrooper division would participate alongside Belarusian soldiers in the annual tactical exercise at a training range in western Belarus .
Putin and Lukashenka have discussed the situation in Belarus several times by phone .
Last month , the Russian president called on both the Belarusian authorities and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the crisis .
He also promised military assistance under a bilateral military pact between the two countries and said a contingent of Russian security forces had been assembled but wouldn ’ t be used “ unless extremist elements in Belarus cross the line and begin acts of looting.
” He praised the Belarusian response to the protests and said in an interview with the state TV channel Rossia-24 on August 27 that Russia ’ s reactions had been “ much more reserved and neutral that of other countries , Europeans and Americans .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ not “ indifferent to what is going on there , ” noting the close ethnic and linguistic ties and economic cooperation between the two states .
Putin in the past has pressed Lukashenka on closer political and economic integration , but Lukashenka has resisted .
His need for Moscow ’ s backing now , however , might mean Lukashenka will have to reconsider Russia ’ s overtures .
With reporting by Reuters and BelTa

MINSK -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed with his embattled Belarusian counterpart Alyaksandr Lukashenka to a $1.5-billion loan for Minsk, in what the Belarusian opposition leader described as Russia “paying for our beatings.”
Putin, in comments broadcast on television from the talks in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on September 14, said the Belarusian people should resolve the country’s political crisis without foreign interference even as Moscow deepens support to prop up Lukashenka.
The meeting was the first between the two leaders since a wave of daily demonstrations demanding Lukashenka's resignation erupted following his disputed reelection in an August 9 poll.
In the latest mass protests, tens of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Minsk and other cities on September 13, chanting "You're A Rat" and demanding Lukashenka step down after 26 years in power.
The Belarusian opposition, led by Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, accuses Lukashenka of rigging the election, which handed him a sixth term with 80 percent of the vote.
Since then, thousands of people have been detained and beaten by police while nearly all the opposition's key leaders have been forced to leave the country or been arrested in a widening crackdown condemned by the United States and European Union.
Tsikhanouskaya has warned that any agreements between Lukashenka and Russia will be null and void because the longtime ruler lacks legitimacy and no longer represents the people.
In response to Russia’s financial lifeline, Tsikhanouskaya warned Putin and appealed to Russian citizens not to allow their tax money to be wasted on repressing their neighbors.
"I hope Putin understands that it is Lukashenka, and not our people, who is to repay this loan," the exiled presidential candidate wrote on her Telegram channel.
"My commentary is an appeal to Russian citizens: 'Dear Russians! Your taxes will pay for our beatings. We are certain that it's not what you'd want.' This may prolong Lukashenka's agony but not prevent the people's victory," Tsikhanouskaya said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after four hours of talks that the loan will partly be used to refinance earlier loans.
Putin has for years pressed for deepening a union agreement and envisages closer economic and political integration between the two ex-Soviet republics despite finding an often difficult and resistant partner in the Belarusian leader.
Analysts say that the political crisis in Belarus presents Russia a possible opportunity to extract demands from an embattled Lukashenka that were previously off the table.
But providing support to Lukashenka also risks triggering a backlash from a Belarusian public and opposition that is not openly hostile to Russia.
Despite an ostensibly rocky personal relationship with Lukashenka, Putin does not want to see a close ally toppled in street protests that could have a knock-on effect at home.
Feeding that perception, Lukashenka has claimed NATO members are plotting a "color revolution" to topple him and planning to use Belarus as a geopolitical launching pad to undermine Russia.
In addition to the loan, which Putin said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin had agreed to during a recent visit to Minsk, the Russian leader signaled military support for Lukashenka, saying defense cooperation would continue between the two countries.
Hours before the meeting, Russian paratroopers began joint exercises with Belarusian forces.
Last month, Putin raised the possibility of sending military support if Belarus "starts to get out of control” and “extremist elements in Belarus cross the line and begin acts of looting.”
In their talks, Putin also backed the plans for constitutional reform that Lukashenka had previously announced, and which the opposition has dismissed as a stunt to cling to power after an election it says was rigged. Putin said it was up to Belarusians to resolve the crisis themselves.
Lukashenka said that Belarus should maintain close ties with "elder brother" Russia, in particular economic cooperation.
"Economy is the basis for everything and we have always been sticking to this point of view, believe me. And these developments have demonstrated that we should stay closer to our elder brother and cooperate on all issues, including economic ones," he said at the talks in Sochi.
The Kremlin said the two sides also talked about trade cooperation and energy supplies for Belarus during nearly four hours of talks. Russian energy subsidies have long propped up the Belarusian economy although the two sides have often clashed over pricing.
Since the political crisis erupted, Putin and Lukashenka have discussed the situation several times by phone. Last month the Russian president called on both the Belarusian authorities and the opposition to find a political solution to the crisis.
But Putin also said Russia is not “indifferent to what is going on there,” noting the close ethnic and linguistic ties and economic cooperation between the two states.
With reporting by Reuters and TASS


rferl--2020-09-14--Hungarian Foreign Minister To Attend Israel-U.A.E. Accord Signing At White House

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will attend the signing ceremony in Washington of the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates ( U.A.E . )
to establish full diplomatic ties , according to his spokesman .
Mate Paczolay said Szijjarto will attend the signing ceremony on September 15 at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump and will be the only European Union minister at the ceremony at the White House , Paczolay was quoted as saying September 13 by the Hungarian news agency MTI .
Israel and the U.A.E .
announced on August 13 they were establishing full @ @ @ @ @ @ @ included an Israeli pledge to suspend its controversial plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank .
The deal made the U.A.E .
the first Gulf Arab state to establish full diplomatic ties and only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic relations with Israel .
Trump , who helped broker the accord , announced on September 11 that Bahrain would join the agreement .
Major European powers like France and Britain welcomed the Israel-U.A.E .
deal , and the European Union executive said it was good for regional stability .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on September 12 , saying Trump “ deserves gratitude ” and praising Israeli , U.A.E.
, and Bahraini leaders .
`` Since the White House prepared the agenda for stabilizing the region , this has been the second development to prove that this is the best peace plan thus far and promises to bring peace in the Middle East at last , '' he wrote .
While in Washington , Szijjarto will also hold talks with Trump 's son-in-law and chief adviser , Jared Kushner , the minister 's spokesman said .

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will attend the signing ceremony in Washington of the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) to establish full diplomatic ties, according to his spokesman.
Mate Paczolay said Szijjarto will attend the signing ceremony on September 15 at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump and will be the only European Union minister at the ceremony at the White House, Paczolay was quoted as saying September 13 by the Hungarian news agency MTI.
Israel and the U.A.E. announced on August 13 they were establishing full diplomatic relations in a U.S.-brokered deal that included an Israeli pledge to suspend its controversial plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.
The deal made the U.A.E. the first Gulf Arab state to establish full diplomatic ties and only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic relations with Israel.
Trump, who helped broker the accord, announced on September 11 that Bahrain would join the agreement.
Major European powers like France and Britain welcomed the Israel-U.A.E. deal, and the European Union executive said it was good for regional stability.
Szijjarto commented on the agreement on Facebook on September 12, saying Trump “deserves gratitude” and praising Israeli, U.A.E., and Bahraini leaders.
"Since the White House prepared the agenda for stabilizing the region, this has been the second development to prove that this is the best peace plan thus far and promises to bring peace in the Middle East at last," he wrote.
While in Washington, Szijjarto will also hold talks with Trump's son-in-law and chief adviser, Jared Kushner, the minister's spokesman said.
Based on reporting by Reuters


rferl--2020-09-14--U.S. Envoy In Pakistan As Afghan-Taliban Talks Begin With Calls For Truce

The Afghan government intensified calls for a cease-fire with the Taliban on September 14 as Kabul and the militants began the second day of historic peace talks .
Negotiations kicked off over the weekend in Qatar and are initially expected to focus on technical details such as schedules for the talks and a code of conduct , the Afghan government said .
The Afghan government and its allies , including NATO and the United States , are calling for the Taliban to agree to a truce to help advance what are expected to be long and grinding negotiations to end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Taliban have not agreed to a cease-fire and have conducted near daily attacks on Afghan security forces since the United States and the militants struck an agreement in February that could see foreign troops exit Afghanistan .
The deal , which paved the way for the Qatar negotiations , did not commit the insurgents to any reduction of violence , only requiring that it be `` an item on the agenda '' in negotiations .
Afghan presidential spokesman Sediq Seddiqi tweeted September 14 that the presence of government negotiators at the talks `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ending the violence , and ensuring lasting peace and stability in the country . ''
As talks were under way in Qatar , U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and a U.S. delegation visited Pakistan , a key regional power broker with sway over the Taliban .
The U.S. team met with Pakistan 's army chief , General Qamar Javed Bajwa , in the garrison city of Rawalpindi .
Pakistan claims its influence over the Taliban is overstated , but it says it is willing to do whatever is possible for peace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. delegation “ greatly appreciated '' Pakistan ’ s role in the peace process and that “ it could not have succeeded without Pakistan ’ s sincere and unconditional support . ''
In 2015 , Pakistan hosted the first ever face-to-face talks between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban , but those talks collapsed when the Afghan government announced the death of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammed Omar .
Since then , the United States worked with Islamabad to help convince the Taliban to meet with the U.S. and Afghan officials .
Last month @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar visited Islamabad to consult with Pakistani officials .
Pakistan freed Baradar from prison in 2018 in what was widely viewed as a coordinated move with the United States to advance U.S.-Taliban peace talks .
A comprehensive peace deal could take months or years to reach , involving other countries and the willingness of the warring sides to compromise on major sticking points and share power .
The Taliban have long been concerned that reducing violence levels could decrease their negotiating leverage , but heightened violence also risks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The U.S.-backed negotiations are already taking place six months later than planned due to disagreements over a controversial prisoner swap and ongoing violence .
With reporting by AFP , AP , and Reuters

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


rferl--2020-09-14--Tsikhanouskaya Says 'Illegitimate' Leader Lukashenka's Intimidation Tactics Losing Effect

Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , the self-exiled former presidential candidate who has become an unlikely leader of the Belarusian opposition , says the intimidation tactics of authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka are only hardening the resolve of the tens of thousands protesting against the contentious results from last month 's election that the West has called falsified .
Speaking in an interview with Current Time on September 14 as the Belarusian president met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi , Tsikhanouskaya called Lukashenka an `` illegitimate '' leader who has no authority to make agreements on behalf @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA .
Lukashenka faces the biggest challenge to his 26-year rule amid unprecedented nationwide protests against the results of the August 9 presidential election that handed him a sixth five-year term .
The Belarusian people have called on Lukashenka to step down and hold free and fair elections , claiming the vote was rigged in his favor .
On September 13 , almost 800 demonstrators were detained in Belarus during rallies denouncing the election results .
WATCH : It 's A Pity Russia 'Took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Belarusian leader has responded to the peaceful protests with violent arrests and claims of torture by some of those who have been detained .
Tsikhanouskaya , who claims to have won 60 to 70 percent of the vote , said the mass arrests on September 13 were aimed at showing the Kremlin before the talks that Lukashenka was still in control of the situation at home .
`` The mass show of force by sending so many riot police to the scene of the protests was likely organized to frighten people so that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ does n't work anymore .
People have the intention , people have the desire to live in a new Belarus without someone usurping [ power ] .
Therefore , people can not be stopped .
The more brutal the riot police behave and the more that people are jailed , the tougher people will respond , '' Tsikhanouskaya , who fled to Lithuania soon after the election , told Current Time in an interview via Skype .
Russia , Belarus 's most important economic and strategic partner , has been closely watching the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a repeat of what happened in Ukraine in 2014 when mass protests led to the ouster of the pro-Russian president there .
Underscoring the Kremlin 's potential involvement in the crisis , Lukashenka and Putin have held at least five phone calls since the election , while the September 14 meeting , where Russia agreed to a $ 1.5 billion loan to Minsk in a gesture of support for the beleaguered Belarusian leader , was their first face-to-face encounter since the vote .
Putin gave few details about the new loan , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other ways and said defense cooperation would continue .
Tsikhanouskaya said any agreements with `` an illegitimate '' Lukashenka `` will have no legal weight '' and be revised by any new leadership .
The West has condemned the vote and the harsh police crackdown on opposition protesters , forcing Lukashenka to look to Moscow for support .
Instead of talking to Putin , Tsikhanouskaya called on Lukashenka to establish a dialogue with the opposition , warning that any attempt to hold an inauguration would be `` illegal . ''
`` We have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that this is the best way out of the current crisis , only through dialogue .
And yes ... it is necessary to discuss with the current so-called authorities the transition , the peaceful organization of the next new elections , '' Tsikhanouskaya said , adding that the opposition Coordination Council continues to function despite the fact that the only member of the council , Nobel Prize laureate Svetlana Alexievich , remains free inside Belarus after several members were either forced out of the country or detained by police .
`` I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chose a role of a waiting observer weighing the developments in our country .
He indeed understands that we are friendly countries , and nobody wants to break our ties that have been established so long ago .
And it is clear that the future president [ of Belarus ] elected legally in a fair poll , will continue to build mutually beneficial ties with Russia .
We understand that Russia 's role is enormous for Belarus but anything can be solved via a dialogue , '' Tsikhanouskaya added .
Tsikhanouskaya became an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Her husband Syarhey , a potential challenger to Lukashenka in the August 9 presidential election , had been arrested before the vote and remains in police custody , reportedly in a jail on Minsk 's outskirts .
A proficient English speaker who previously was a stay-at-home mother , Tsikhanouskaya took up the mantle from her husband after he was jailed .
Tsikhanouskaya said that as soon as some sort of dialogue with Lukashenka 's government is established , she will return home `` to be close to people . ''

Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the self-exiled former presidential candidate who has become an unlikely leader of the Belarusian opposition, says the intimidation tactics of authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka are only hardening the resolve of the tens of thousands protesting against the contentious results from last month's election that the West has called falsified.
Speaking in an interview with Current Time on September 14 as the Belarusian president met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Tsikhanouskaya called Lukashenka an "illegitimate" leader who has no authority to make agreements on behalf of the country.
Current Time is a Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.
Lukashenka faces the biggest challenge to his 26-year rule amid unprecedented nationwide protests against the results of the August 9 presidential election that handed him a sixth five-year term.
The Belarusian people have called on Lukashenka to step down and hold free and fair elections, claiming the vote was rigged in his favor. On September 13, almost 800 demonstrators were detained in Belarus during rallies denouncing the election results.
WATCH: It's A Pity Russia 'Took The Side Of The Dictator'
The 66-year-old Belarusian leader has responded to the peaceful protests with violent arrests and claims of torture by some of those who have been detained.
Show Of Control
Tsikhanouskaya, who claims to have won 60 to 70 percent of the vote, said the mass arrests on September 13 were aimed at showing the Kremlin before the talks that Lukashenka was still in control of the situation at home.
"The mass show of force by sending so many riot police to the scene of the protests was likely organized to frighten people so that they would not demonstrate. But it doesn't work anymore. People have the intention, people have the desire to live in a new Belarus without someone usurping [power]. Therefore, people cannot be stopped. The more brutal the riot police behave and the more that people are jailed, the tougher people will respond," Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to Lithuania soon after the election, told Current Time in an interview via Skype.
Crisis In Belarus Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
Russia, Belarus's most important economic and strategic partner, has been closely watching the upheaval. Kremlin planners are wary of a repeat of what happened in Ukraine in 2014 when mass protests led to the ouster of the pro-Russian president there.
Underscoring the Kremlin's potential involvement in the crisis, Lukashenka and Putin have held at least five phone calls since the election, while the September 14 meeting, where Russia agreed to a $1.5 billion loan to Minsk in a gesture of support for the beleaguered Belarusian leader, was their first face-to-face encounter since the vote.
Putin gave few details about the new loan, but he also signaled support for Lukashenka in other ways and said defense cooperation would continue.
Tsikhanouskaya said any agreements with "an illegitimate" Lukashenka "will have no legal weight" and be revised by any new leadership.
The West has condemned the vote and the harsh police crackdown on opposition protesters, forcing Lukashenka to look to Moscow for support.
Instead of talking to Putin, Tsikhanouskaya called on Lukashenka to establish a dialogue with the opposition, warning that any attempt to hold an inauguration would be "illegal."
"We have always insisted on dialogue. I think that this is the best way out of the current crisis, only through dialogue. And yes...it is necessary to discuss with the current so-called authorities the transition, the peaceful organization of the next new elections," Tsikhanouskaya said, adding that the opposition Coordination Council continues to function despite the fact that the only member of the council, Nobel Prize laureate Svetlana Alexievich, remains free inside Belarus after several members were either forced out of the country or detained by police.
"I think that at the moment, Mr. Putin chose a role of a waiting observer weighing the developments in our country. He indeed understands that we are friendly countries, and nobody wants to break our ties that have been established so long ago. And it is clear that the future president [of Belarus] elected legally in a fair poll, will continue to build mutually beneficial ties with Russia. We understand that Russia's role is enormous for Belarus but anything can be solved via a dialogue," Tsikhanouskaya added.
Tsikhanouskaya became an unlikely leader of the Belarusian opposition.
Her husband Syarhey, a potential challenger to Lukashenka in the August 9 presidential election, had been arrested before the vote and remains in police custody, reportedly in a jail on Minsk's outskirts. A proficient English speaker who previously was a stay-at-home mother, Tsikhanouskaya took up the mantle from her husband after he was jailed.
Tsikhanouskaya said that as soon as some sort of dialogue with Lukashenka's government is established, she will return home "to be close to people."


rferl--2020-09-14--One Suspect Detained In Pakistani Highway Gang-Rape Investigation

Pakistani authorities on September 14 arrested a suspect in a gang-rape case that led to nationwide outrage after a police @ @ @ @ @ victim because she was driving at night without a male companion .
Hundreds of women @ @ @ @ @ Pakistan on September 12 after a woman was raped in front of her two children @ @ @ @ @ of fuel on the Lahore-Sialkot highway .
Punjab Province Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said one @ @ @ @ @ the case , Shafqat Ali , had been arrested .
`` His DNA has matched @ @ @ @ @ to the crime , '' Buzdar said in a tweet .
Meanwhile , a senior @ @ @ @ @ was ongoing for the second suspect .
Following last week 's incident , Lahore police @ @ @ @ @ angry backlash and calls for his resignation after suggesting the rape was at least partially @ @ @ @ @ Rape is notoriously difficult to prosecute in Pakistan , where lapses during the collection of @ @ @ @ @ practices contribute towards `` abysmal '' conviction rates , according to experts .

Pakistani authorities on September 14 arrested a suspect in a gang-rape case that led to nationwide outrage after a police official appeared to blame the victim because she was driving at night without a male companion.
Hundreds of women staged protests in cities across Pakistan on September 12 after a woman was raped in front of her two children after her car ran out of fuel on the Lahore-Sialkot highway.
Punjab Province Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said one of the two suspects in the case, Shafqat Ali, had been arrested.
"His DNA has matched, and he has confessed to the crime," Buzdar said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, a senior police official said a manhunt was ongoing for the second suspect.
Following last week's incident, Lahore police chief Umar Sheikh faced an angry backlash and calls for his resignation after suggesting the rape was at least partially the victim's fault.
Sheikh apologized on September 14.
Rape is notoriously difficult to prosecute in Pakistan, where lapses during the collection of forensic evidence and shoddy prosecutorial practices contribute towards "abysmal" conviction rates, according to experts.
With reporting by AFP


rferl--2020-09-14--Belarusian Catholic Church Head's Passport Annulled, Foreign Ministry Says

MINSK -- Belarus 's State Border Guard Committee says the barring of the leader of Belarusian Catholics , Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz , from entering the country is due to the fact that his passport had been annulled .
The Belarusian Catholic Church said in a statement on September 14 that it had received an official answer from the ministry last week after Kondrusiewicz requested an explain as to why he could not come back into the country .
`` We inform you that you have not been allowed to cross the state border due to a decision by interior affairs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republic of Belarus ... that you hold .
To get information on reasons why your passport was found invalid , you have the right to turn to the Interior Ministry , '' the statement said , citing an official letter signed by the chief of the State Border Guard Committee , Anatol Lapo .
The committee 's spokesman Anton Bychkouski confirmed to RFE/RL that Kondrusiewicz ’ s passport had been added to the list of invalid documents , but did not give any other details .
On August 31 , Belarusian border @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Mahilyou , who is a Belarusian citizen , from entering via neighboring Poland .
The president of the Belarusian bishops ’ conference has been a vocal critic of the brutal crackdown on protesters in the wake of the country ’ s contested August 9 vote .
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka , who has ruled Belarus for 26 years , was declared the winner of the election , which was widely viewed as rigged .
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets over the past several weeks to protest the results @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crackdown that has left hundreds injured and at least six dead .
In an address read at Catholic churches on August 30 , Kondrusiewicz wrote that the country faced an “ unprecedented socio-political crisis ” and the prospect of civil war .
Days before that , Kondrusiewicz condemned security forces after they blocked the entrance to the Church of Saints Symon and Alena in Minsk , a structure also known as the Red Church .
He has also condemned police beatings and detentions of protesters .
According to official numbers , about 6 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people are Roman Catholic , while 53 percent belong to the Belarusian Orthodox Church .
The remainder of the population identifies as atheist , uncertain , or belonging to minority religions .

MINSK -- Belarus's State Border Guard Committee says the barring of the leader of Belarusian Catholics, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, from entering the country is due to the fact that his passport had been annulled.
The Belarusian Catholic Church said in a statement on September 14 that it had received an official answer from the ministry last week after Kondrusiewicz requested an explain as to why he could not come back into the country.
"We inform you that you have not been allowed to cross the state border due to a decision by interior affairs organs that finds invalid the passport for the Republic of Belarus...that you hold. To get information on reasons why your passport was found invalid, you have the right to turn to the Interior Ministry," the statement said, citing an official letter signed by the chief of the State Border Guard Committee, Anatol Lapo.
The committee's spokesman Anton Bychkouski confirmed to RFE/RL that Kondrusiewicz’s passport had been added to the list of invalid documents, but did not give any other details.
On August 31, Belarusian border guards blocked the 74-year-old archbishop of Minsk and Mahilyou, who is a Belarusian citizen, from entering via neighboring Poland.
The president of the Belarusian bishops’ conference has been a vocal critic of the brutal crackdown on protesters in the wake of the country’s contested August 9 vote.
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, was declared the winner of the election, which was widely viewed as rigged. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets over the past several weeks to protest the results and demand he step down despite a crackdown that has left hundreds injured and at least six dead.
In an address read at Catholic churches on August 30, Kondrusiewicz wrote that the country faced an “unprecedented socio-political crisis” and the prospect of civil war.
Days before that, Kondrusiewicz condemned security forces after they blocked the entrance to the Church of Saints Symon and Alena in Minsk, a structure also known as the Red Church.
He has also condemned police beatings and detentions of protesters.
According to official numbers, about 6 percent of Belarus’s 9.5 million people are Roman Catholic, while 53 percent belong to the Belarusian Orthodox Church. The remainder of the population identifies as atheist, uncertain, or belonging to minority religions.


rferl--2020-09-14--UN Rights Body To Hold Urgent Debate On Belarus This Week

MINSK -- The United Nations Human Rights Council has agreed to hold an urgent debate on the human rights situation in Belarus on September 18 , amid a crackdown on protesters calling for President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to resign .
Twenty-five mostly Western countries on the council on September 14 voted in favor of a motion submitted by Germany on behalf of the European Union .
Venezuela and the Philippines opposed the debate , with 20 abstentions by developing and emerging countries .
German envoy Michael von Ungern-Sternberg described a `` steep deterioration '' in the situation in Belarus since last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gave Lukashenka a sixth term .
`` Enforced disappearances , forced abductions , expulsions , and arbitrary detentions continue to take place every day ” in the country , he said .
Belarusian Ambassador Yury Ambrazevich objected to the move , which he described as `` a form of direct intervention in the internal affairs of a sovereign state '' by EU countries .
The bloc “ is creating the conditions for preserving this political standoff in the society of Belarus , '' he said .
Addressing the Human Rights Council , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was receiving `` alarming reports of the ongoing violent repression of peaceful demonstrations `` in Belarus .
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that reports continue to indicate “ unnecessary or excessive use of force by law enforcement officials ; thousands of arrests , many of them apparently arbitrary ; and hundreds of allegations of torture or ill-treatment , including against children , with some reports indicating sexual violence.
” Machelet also noted the reported abductions by unidentified individuals of people associated with the opposition and the arrests and harassment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ All allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment by the security forces should be documented and investigated , with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice , ” she added .
With reporting by Reuters , dpa , and AFP

MINSK -- The United Nations Human Rights Council has agreed to hold an urgent debate on the human rights situation in Belarus on September 18, amid a crackdown on protesters calling for President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to resign.
Twenty-five mostly Western countries on the council on September 14 voted in favor of a motion submitted by Germany on behalf of the European Union.
Venezuela and the Philippines opposed the debate, with 20 abstentions by developing and emerging countries.
German envoy Michael von Ungern-Sternberg described a "steep deterioration" in the situation in Belarus since last month’s disputed presidential election that gave Lukashenka a sixth term.
"Enforced disappearances, forced abductions, expulsions, and arbitrary detentions continue to take place every day” in the country, he said.
Belarusian Ambassador Yury Ambrazevich objected to the move, which he described as "a form of direct intervention in the internal affairs of a sovereign state" by EU countries.
The bloc “is creating the conditions for preserving this political standoff in the society of Belarus," he said.
Addressing the Human Rights Council, the UN human rights chief said her office was receiving "alarming reports of the ongoing violent repression of peaceful demonstrations " in Belarus.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that reports continue to indicate “unnecessary or excessive use of force by law enforcement officials; thousands of arrests, many of them apparently arbitrary; and hundreds of allegations of torture or ill-treatment, including against children, with some reports indicating sexual violence.”
Machelet also noted the reported abductions by unidentified individuals of people associated with the opposition and the arrests and harassment of journalists reporting on the protests.
“All allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment by the security forces should be documented and investigated, with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice,” she added.
With reporting by Reuters, dpa, and AFP


rferl--2020-09-14--Iran Denounces Outside Interference Amid International Outcry Over Wrestler's Execution

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


rferl--2020-09-14--Navalny's Condition Improving As Germany Says Two Independent Labs Confirm Novichok Poisoning

The Berlin hospital treating Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny says his condition is improving as Germany announced two independent laboratories confirmed evidence that he was poisoned with a nerve agent from the Novichok group .
Charite hospital said on September 14 that Navalny has been successfully removed from mechanical ventilation and is now able to briefly leave his bed .
Doctors removed Navalny from a medically induced coma on September 7 , saying that although his condition has improved it was unclear what long-term effects “ severe poisoning ” would have on the 44-year-old opposition leader ’ s health .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Germany again called on Russia to conduct a transparent investigation into the poisoning after reviews by independent laboratories in France and Sweden confirmed that Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent from the Novichok group .
`` Three laboratories have now independently provided evidence of a nerve agent from the Novichok group as the cause of Mr. Navalny 's poisoning .
We renew the call for Russia to explain what has happened .
We are in close contact with our European partners on further steps , '' the German government said in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the corroborative findings .
The French presidency later confirmed that France 's own analysis had concluded that Navalny was poisoned with Novichok `` in contravention of international norms on using chemical weapons . ''
French President Emmanuel Macron urged Russian leader Vladimir Putin to urgently shed light on “ the circumstances of this attempted assassination and who is responsible , ” according to the Elysee Palace .
In a call to Putin on September 14 , Macron described the poisoning as an `` attempted assassination , '' according to the Elysee Palace .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` thoroughly discussed '' with Putin , emphasizing the `` inappropriateness of unfounded accusations against the Russian side . ''
Navalny suddenly fell ill on a Russian domestic flight on August 20 and was medically evacuated to Germany on a request by his wife several days later .
German experts say the anti-corruption campaigner and Russian opposition leader was poisoned with a Soviet-style military nerve agent from the Novichok group , prompting international calls on Russia to swiftly investigate the case .
Russian authorities have refused to open a criminal investigation , saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been found .
Doctors at Emergency Hospital No .
1 in the Siberian city of Omsk , where Navalny was treated after an emergency plane landing , have said that Navalny fell into a coma due to a metabolic disorder and blood sugar issues .
Despite Russian claims , that initial assessment has repeatedly been cast into doubt .
Citing five medical sources , Reuters on September 14 reported that paramedics who treated Navalny in Omsk found no signs of a metabolic disorder and suspected he had been poisoned .
U.S. Secretary of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that there is a strong chance the poisoning was ordered by senior officials in Moscow .
Navalny ’ s team , his relatives , and others also believe that Russian authorities are behind the poisoning .
The Kremlin has vehemently denied the allegations .
With reporting by AFP and Reuters


rferl--2020-09-14--Putin Promises Lukashenka $1.5 Billion Loan, Warns Of 'Foreign Interference'

MINSK -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed with his embattled Belarusian counterpart Alyaksandr Lukashenka to a $ 1.5-billion loan for Minsk , in what the Belarusian opposition leader described as Russia “ paying for our beatings.
” Putin , in comments broadcast on television from the talks in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on September 14 , said the Belarusian people should resolve the country ’ s political crisis without foreign interference even as Moscow deepens support to prop up Lukashenka .
The meeting was the first between the two leaders since a wave of daily demonstrations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disputed reelection in an August 9 poll .
In the latest mass protests , tens of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Minsk and other cities on September 13 , chanting `` You 're A Rat '' and demanding Lukashenka step down after 26 years in power .
The Belarusian opposition , led by Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , accuses Lukashenka of rigging the election , which handed him a sixth term with 80 percent of the vote .
Since then , thousands of people have been detained and beaten by police while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been forced to leave the country or been arrested in a widening crackdown condemned by the United States and European Union .
Tsikhanouskaya has warned that any agreements between Lukashenka and Russia will be null and void because the longtime ruler lacks legitimacy and no longer represents the people .
In response to Russia ’ s financial lifeline , Tsikhanouskaya warned Putin and appealed to Russian citizens not to allow their tax money to be wasted on repressing their neighbors .
`` I hope Putin understands that it is Lukashenka , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repay this loan , '' the exiled presidential candidate wrote on her Telegram channel .
`` My commentary is an appeal to Russian citizens : 'Dear Russians !
Your taxes will pay for our beatings .
We are certain that it 's not what you 'd want . '
This may prolong Lukashenka 's agony but not prevent the people 's victory , '' Tsikhanouskaya said .
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after four hours of talks that the loan will partly be used to refinance earlier loans .
Putin has for years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ envisages closer economic and political integration between the two ex-Soviet republics despite finding an often difficult and resistant partner in the Belarusian leader .
Analysts say that the political crisis in Belarus presents Russia a possible opportunity to extract demands from an embattled Lukashenka that were previously off the table .
But providing support to Lukashenka also risks triggering a backlash from a Belarusian public and opposition that is not openly hostile to Russia .
Despite an ostensibly rocky personal relationship with Lukashenka , Putin does not want to see a close ally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a knock-on effect at home .
Feeding that perception , Lukashenka has claimed NATO members are plotting a `` color revolution '' to topple him and planning to use Belarus as a geopolitical launching pad to undermine Russia .
In addition to the loan , which Putin said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin had agreed to during a recent visit to Minsk , the Russian leader signaled military support for Lukashenka , saying defense cooperation would continue between the two countries .
Hours before the meeting , Russian paratroopers began joint exercises with Belarusian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the possibility of sending military support if Belarus `` starts to get out of control ” and “ extremist elements in Belarus cross the line and begin acts of looting.
” In their talks , Putin also backed the plans for constitutional reform that Lukashenka had previously announced , and which the opposition has dismissed as a stunt to cling to power after an election it says was rigged .
Putin said it was up to Belarusians to resolve the crisis themselves .
Lukashenka said that Belarus should maintain close ties with `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic cooperation .
`` Economy is the basis for everything and we have always been sticking to this point of view , believe me .
And these developments have demonstrated that we should stay closer to our elder brother and cooperate on all issues , including economic ones , '' he said at the talks in Sochi .
The Kremlin said the two sides also talked about trade cooperation and energy supplies for Belarus during nearly four hours of talks .
Russian energy subsidies have long propped up the Belarusian economy although the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Since the political crisis erupted , Putin and Lukashenka have discussed the situation several times by phone .
Last month the Russian president called on both the Belarusian authorities and the opposition to find a political solution to the crisis .
But Putin also said Russia is not “ indifferent to what is going on there , ” noting the close ethnic and linguistic ties and economic cooperation between the two states .
With reporting by Reuters and TASS


rferl--2020-09-15--Moscow Court Upholds Extension Of Journalist's Pretrial Detention In Treason Case

The Moscow City Court has upheld the extension of pretrial detention for former journalist Ivan Safronov , who is charged with high treason , to December 7 .
The appeal of a September 2 ruling by Moscow 's Lefortovo district court to extend Safronov 's detention was held on September 15 behind closed doors as the case is classified .
Safronov took part in the hearing from the Lefortovo detention center via a videolink , the court said in a statement .
The 30-year-old Safronov , who has worked since May as an adviser to the head of Russia 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a prominent journalist who covered the military-industrial complex for the newspapers Kommersant and Vedomosti .
He was arrested on July 7 amid allegations that he had passed secret information to the Czech Republic in 2017 about Russian arms sales in the Middle East .
Safronov has rejected the accusations and many of his supporters have held pickets in Moscow and other cities demanding his release .
Human rights organizations have issued statements demanding Safronov ’ s release and expressing concerns over an intensifying crackdown on dissent in Russia .
Based on reporting @ @ @ @

The Moscow City Court has upheld the extension of pretrial detention for former journalist Ivan Safronov, who is charged with high treason, to December 7.
The appeal of a September 2 ruling by Moscow's Lefortovo district court to extend Safronov's detention was held on September 15 behind closed doors as the case is classified. Safronov took part in the hearing from the Lefortovo detention center via a videolink, the court said in a statement.
The 30-year-old Safronov, who has worked since May as an adviser to the head of Russia's space agency Roskosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, is a prominent journalist who covered the military-industrial complex for the newspapers Kommersant and Vedomosti.
He was arrested on July 7 amid allegations that he had passed secret information to the Czech Republic in 2017 about Russian arms sales in the Middle East.
Safronov has rejected the accusations and many of his supporters have held pickets in Moscow and other cities demanding his release.
Human rights organizations have issued statements demanding Safronov’s release and expressing concerns over an intensifying crackdown on dissent in Russia.
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax


rferl--2020-09-15--Russian Court Upholds Fine Imposed On Rogue Orthodox Priest Who Was Stripped Of His Rank

A court in Russia 's Ural city of Yekaterinburg has upheld a fine imposed on an ultraconservative , coronavirus-denying Russian priest who was stripped of his religious rank in July after he took control of a convent in the Urals with help from Cossack guards .
The Sverdlovsk regional court on September 15 ruled that the decision of a lower court in July to fine excommunicated Schema-Hegumen Sergiy ( Nikolai Romanov ) 18,000 rubles ( $ 240 ) for inciting hatred and discord in his sermons was valid .
Farther Sergiy was stripped of his rank by the Diocesan Court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for what the court called disobedience toward Russian Orthodox Church authorities .
The abbot of a men ’ s monastery in the Sverdlovsk region made headlines in June after he took over the Sredneuralsk Women ’ s Monastery by force with help from Cossack guards .
Father Sergiy is known for his public praising of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin , and for denying the coronavirus , which he calls a Western plot .
He also publicly condemned the Russian Orthodox Church 's order in April to stop church services to prevent the spreading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Yekaterinburg diocese barred him from preaching and launched a probe into his conduct , citing his stance on the coronavirus and his interference with church policy during the pandemic .
Still , he refused to follow the diocese 's ruling and continued to preach .
After forcibly taking over the convent in June , Father Sergiy issued several political statements saying that constitutional amendments offered by President Vladimir Putin `` would legalize a slave-owning system . ''
`` That means we will voluntarily legalize the power of the future Antichrist and his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Russia -- do not go to voting stations ! ''
Father Sergiy said in one of his statements in June .
Russian voters overwhelmingly approved the amendments in a vote that ended on July 1 .
Among other things , the constitutional amendments allow for Putin , a 67-year-old former KGB officer who has ruled Russia as president or prime minister for more than 20 years , to stay in power until 2036 if he chooses to run again after his current term ends in 2024 .
With reporting by Interfax and @

A court in Russia's Ural city of Yekaterinburg has upheld a fine imposed on an ultraconservative, coronavirus-denying Russian priest who was stripped of his religious rank in July after he took control of a convent in the Urals with help from Cossack guards.
The Sverdlovsk regional court on September 15 ruled that the decision of a lower court in July to fine excommunicated Schema-Hegumen Sergiy (Nikolai Romanov) 18,000 rubles ($240) for inciting hatred and discord in his sermons was valid.
Farther Sergiy was stripped of his rank by the Diocesan Court in the Sverdlovsk region on July 3 for what the court called disobedience toward Russian Orthodox Church authorities.
The abbot of a men’s monastery in the Sverdlovsk region made headlines in June after he took over the Sredneuralsk Women’s Monastery by force with help from Cossack guards.
Father Sergiy is known for his public praising of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, and for denying the coronavirus, which he calls a Western plot.
He also publicly condemned the Russian Orthodox Church's order in April to stop church services to prevent the spreading of the coronavirus.
Weeks later, the Yekaterinburg diocese barred him from preaching and launched a probe into his conduct, citing his stance on the coronavirus and his interference with church policy during the pandemic.
Still, he refused to follow the diocese's ruling and continued to preach.
After forcibly taking over the convent in June, Father Sergiy issued several political statements saying that constitutional amendments offered by President Vladimir Putin "would legalize a slave-owning system."
"That means we will voluntarily legalize the power of the future Antichrist and his slaves. I call on all peoples of Russia -- do not go to voting stations!" Father Sergiy said in one of his statements in June.
Russian voters overwhelmingly approved the amendments in a vote that ended on July 1.
Among other things, the constitutional amendments allow for Putin, a 67-year-old former KGB officer who has ruled Russia as president or prime minister for more than 20 years, to stay in power until 2036 if he chooses to run again after his current term ends in 2024.
With reporting by Interfax and TASS


rferl--2020-09-15--Blast In Northwestern Pakistan Kills Soldier, Wounds Three Others

A Pakistani soldier was killed and three others wounded when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the northwestern South Waziristan tribal district .
District police officer Shaukat Ali told RFE/RL that the soldiers were on routine patrol when the attack occurred in the Makeen area on September 14 .
The military launched a search operation following the incident , but no arrests have been made so far , said Ali .
In early September , at least four Pakistani soldiers were killed and four others wounded in two different attacks in South Waziristan that were claimed by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Pakistani Taliban .
The latest incident comes a day after the Pakistani military said it had killed a “ terrorist ” commander and three other militants near the boundaries of the North and South Waziristan districts .
The Pakistani military has claimed it cleared the two districts , located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province , of the TTP and other militant groups following a major offensive that was launched in 2014 .
However , the region has been the scene of an increasing number of attacks on security forces and the targeted killing @ @ @

A Pakistani soldier was killed and three others wounded when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the northwestern South Waziristan tribal district.
District police officer Shaukat Ali told RFE/RL that the soldiers were on routine patrol when the attack occurred in the Makeen area on September 14.
The military launched a search operation following the incident, but no arrests have been made so far, said Ali.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility.
In early September, at least four Pakistani soldiers were killed and four others wounded in two different attacks in South Waziristan that were claimed by the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban.
The latest incident comes a day after the Pakistani military said it had killed a “terrorist” commander and three other militants near the boundaries of the North and South Waziristan districts.
The Pakistani military has claimed it cleared the two districts, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, of the TTP and other militant groups following a major offensive that was launched in 2014.
However, the region has been the scene of an increasing number of attacks on security forces and the targeted killing of civilians.


rferl--2020-09-15--Navalny Posts Picture From Berlin Hospital Bed, Says He 'Generally Feels Like Himself'

Russian opposition figure Aleksei Navalny says he is able to breathe on his own and “ generally ” feels like himself as his recovery from being poisoned with a nerve agent continues .
“ I still can hardly do anything , but yesterday I was able to breathe on my own all day , ” Navalny said in a post on Instagram on September 15 .
“ Generally feel like myself .
I did not use any outside help , not even the simplest aid in my throat , ” he added in the caption , along with a photo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Separately , Navalny 's spokeswoman tweeted that the anti-corruption campaigner and Kremlin critic plans to return to Russia from Germany .
`` I 'll confirm again to everyone : No other options were ever considered , '' Kira Yarmysh wrote .
Navalny suddenly fell ill on a Russian domestic flight on August 20 and was medically evacuated to Germany on a request by his wife several days later .
Doctors removed Navalny from a medically induced coma on September 7 , saying that although his condition had improved it was unclear what long-term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have on the 44-year-old opposition leader ’ s health .
German experts say the anti-corruption campaigner and Kremlin critic was poisoned with a Soviet-style military nerve agent from the Novichok group , prompting international calls on Russia to swiftly investigate the case .
On September 14 , Germany said that two independent laboratories – one in Sweden and one in France -- confirmed evidence that Navalny was poisoned with the nerve agent .
Russian authorities , however , have refused to open a criminal investigation , saying that no hard evidence of poisoning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ September 15 that it was open to getting to the bottom of what happened to Navalny , and that it would be happy if he recovered and returned to Russia from Germany .
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that Moscow did not understand why , if French and Swedish laboratories had been able to test Navalny ’ s medical samples , why Russia was n't being given the same access .
With reporting by Interfax and TASS

Russian opposition figure Aleksei Navalny says he is able to breathe on his own and “generally” feels like himself as his recovery from being poisoned with a nerve agent continues.
“I still can hardly do anything, but yesterday I was able to breathe on my own all day,” Navalny said in a post on Instagram on September 15.
“Generally feel like myself. I did not use any outside help, not even the simplest aid in my throat,” he added in the caption, along with a photo showing him sitting up in bed.
Separately, Navalny's spokeswoman tweeted that the anti-corruption campaigner and Kremlin critic plans to return to Russia from Germany.
"I'll confirm again to everyone: No other options were ever considered," Kira Yarmysh wrote.
Navalny suddenly fell ill on a Russian domestic flight on August 20 and was medically evacuated to Germany on a request by his wife several days later.
Doctors removed Navalny from a medically induced coma on September 7, saying that although his condition had improved it was unclear what long-term effects the “severe poisoning” would have on the 44-year-old opposition leader’s health.
German experts say the anti-corruption campaigner and Kremlin critic was poisoned with a Soviet-style military nerve agent from the Novichok group, prompting international calls on Russia to swiftly investigate the case.
On September 14, Germany said that two independent laboratories – one in Sweden and one in France -- confirmed evidence that Navalny was poisoned with the nerve agent.
Russian authorities, however, have refused to open a criminal investigation, saying that no hard evidence of poisoning has been found.
Moscow reiterated on September 15 that it was open to getting to the bottom of what happened to Navalny, and that it would be happy if he recovered and returned to Russia from Germany.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that Moscow did not understand why, if French and Swedish laboratories had been able to test Navalny’s medical samples, why Russia wasn't being given the same access.
With reporting by Interfax and TASS