rferl--2020-10-20--UN Security Council Calls On Armenia, Azerbaijan To Respect Cease-Fire

BAKU/YEREVAN -- The UN Security Council called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to respect a new cease-fire after closed consultations on October 19 on the situation in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh .
The council 's 15 members also reiterated a plea by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for parties to respect the truce , and one diplomat quoted by AFP said all members agreed that the situation is bad and both sides need to pull back and heed calls for a cease-fire .
The truce , which was announced October 17 , is the second attempt to establish a cease-fire since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ September 27 .
It appeared to be in jeopardy early on October 19 , with ethnic Armenian forces and Azerbaijan accusing each other of renewed shelling .
Moscow 's UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said during the Security Council ’ s meeting members discussed the need to ensure verification of the cease-fire .
The Russian envoy did not rule out that a verification process could be implemented by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ( OSCE ) .
`` Who will be there and in what capacity – who will be actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a question being discussed , ” Nebenzya told reporters after the council met , according to TASS .
Russia , which currently holds the UN Security Council 's rotating presidency , is working on a statement that would call for adherence to the cease-fire , AFP quoted unidentified diplomats as saying .
The text is expected to call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume negotiations facilitated by the Minsk Group and chaired by Russia , France , and the United States .
The diplomatic initiative of the OSCE is aimed at trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1988 in the waning days of the Soviet Union .
A deal brokered by Russia earlier in the month failed to halt the worst fighting in the South Caucasus since the 1990s , which has killed hundreds of soldiers and civilians .
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev , in an interview with TASS , said was he ready to go to Armenia to meet with the Armenian side and said that representatives of Baku are ready to meet in Moscow or anywhere else .
“ We are always ready to meet both in Moscow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to end the confrontation and find ways of settlement , ” Aliyev said , at the same time stressing he had not received such an invitation .
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said in a separate interview with TASS that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved exclusively by peaceful means .
“ I am ready to make all the necessary efforts to achieve such a result , including going , meeting , talking , ” he said .
Internationally recognized as part of mainly Muslin Azerbaijan , the mountainous territory has been controlled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Yerevan , since the 1994 halt in fighting .
The latest violence has stoked fears that conflict could engulf the region in a wider conflict involving Azerbaijan 's closest ally , Turkey , and Russia , which dominates the Collective Security Treaty Organization , which Armenia is a member of .
There has been no confirmed death toll from the fighting , but both sides appear to have suffered casualties .
Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh said on October 18 that they had recorded another 40 casualties among its forces , pushing the military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ erupted .
Azerbaijan has not released any military casualty figures .
Baku and Yerevan last week each claimed gains in the fighting in and around the territory , which was populated by around 150,000 ethnic Armenians prior to this round of violence .
With reporting by AFP and TASS

BAKU/YEREVAN -- A cease-fire in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh was under severe strain on October 20 after new clashes erupted between Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian forces despite international pressure for the warring sides to halt the fighting.
A second cease-fire, agreed on October 17, has done little to slow the fighting that began last month, amid concerns it could spark a wider conflict involving Russia and Turkey and fears over the security of gas and oil pipelines in the South Caucasus.
In the latest diplomacy to resolve the crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh during a phone call on October 20.
The two leaders said they agreed Armenia and Azerbaijan should relaunch "substantial negotiations" over Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist enclave in Azerbaijan and controlled by ethnic Armenians, the Elysee said.
Separately, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov and Armenia’s top diplomat, Zohrab Mnatsakanian, will both meet U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington on October 23, the two foreign ministries said.
Bayramov and Mnatsakanian were not expected to meet face-to-face.
The United States, France, and Russia are the co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has spearheaded efforts to resolve the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh since a 1994 cease-fire.
International powers are scrambling to halt fighting and bring Armenia and Azerbaijan back to the negotiating table following three weeks of fighting that has killed hundreds of soldiers and civilians.
Two humanitarian cease-fires have failed to hold, with the latest fighting on October 20 spread along multiple fronts separating the two warring sides.
Officials in Nagorno-Karabakh reported artillery bombardments, with fighting particularly intense in southern areas of the conflict zone.
Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry also reported battles in several areas in and around the disputed territory.
Fears Of Humanitarian Crisis
There are fears of a looming humanitarian crisis as the fighting spreads to cities and towns in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, with infrastructure ruined, scores of civilians injured or killed, and thousands displaced.
Nagorno-Karabakh said on October 19 that 729 of its military personnel and 37 civilians had been killed in the fighting.
Azerbaijan said 61 Azeri civilians had been killed and 282 wounded. It has not disclosed its military casualties.
Azerbaijan, a close ally of regional power and NATO member Turkey, says it has made territorial gains both in Nagorno-Karabakh and some of the seven areas outside the region controlled by Armenian forces.
But Armenia, which has a defense pact with Russia, says it has repulsed Azerbaijani attacks and has the situation under control.
Internationally recognized as part of mainly Muslim Azerbaijan, the mountainous territory of Nagorno-Karabakh has been controlled by mainly Christian ethnic Armenians, backed by Yerevan, since the 1994 halt in fighting.
The latest fighting has stoked fears that the violence could engulf the region in a wider conflict involving Azerbaijan's closest ally, Turkey, and Russia, which dominates the Collective Security Treaty Organization, of which Armenia is a member.
With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, and TASS


rferl--2020-10-19--U.S. Charges Six Russian Military Officers With 'Destructive' Global Hacking Campaign

The United States has charged six Russian military officers with a `` destructive , '' global criminal cyber-campaign that included the worldwide distribution of destructive malware and attempts to undermine the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Ukraine .
The indictment , announced by the Justice Department on October 19 , also accuses the men of hacking French elections , the Seoul Olympics , and an international organization investigating Russia 's use of a deadly nerve agent .
The charges are the latest in a series of cybercriminal indictments leveled by the United States against Russian state and nonstate actors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alleged to be officers in a unit of the Russian military intelligence directorate , known as the GRU , which the United States in 2018 accused of hacking into the computers of the Democratic National Convention two years earlier .
U.S. Attorney Scott Brady called the officers ' campaigns `` the most destructive and costly cyberattacks in history . ''
`` No country has weaponized its cyber-capabilities as maliciously or irresponsibly as Russia , wantonly causing unprecedented damage to pursue small tactical advantages and to satisfy fits of spite , '' according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Demers .
Also on October 19 , Britain 's Foreign Office said GRU hackers had targeted organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics , which were postponed until next year because of the coronavirus pandemic .
Officials declined to give specific details about these attacks or say whether they were successful , but said they had targeted the Olympics ' organizers , logistics suppliers , and sponsors .
`` The GRU 's actions against the Olympic and Paralympic Games are cynical and reckless .
We condemn them in the strongest possible terms , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States received help in its years-long investigation of the GRU officers from foreign governments as well as some of the largest U.S. companies , including Google , Cisco , Facebook , and Twitter , the Justice Department said in its statement .
Even though the United States is unlikely to ever bring the men to justice , the charges essentially prevent the men from traveling to countries that have extradition agreements with the United States .
The six men indicted are Yury Andrienko , Sergei Detistov , Pavel Frolov , Anatoly Kovalev @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They are charged with developing NotPetya , the malware that spread globally in 2017 , causing upwards of $ 10 billion in damages and impairing critical medical services in western Pennsylvania .
They are also blamed for the cyberattacks against a series of Ukrainian targets from December 2015 through 2016 , including the nation 's power grid and Finance Ministry , and cyberattacks against the Georgian parliament in 2019 .
Russia has tense relations with both countries , having invaded Georgia in 2008 and annexed Ukraine 's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ukraine .
The Justice Department said the men were also behind a series of international spear-phishing campaigns , including against the political party of French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017 , the International Olympic Committee in 2017 and 2018 , and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ( OPCW ) .
Spear-phishing is an e-mail or electronic communications scam targeting a a specific individual , organization , or business with the intent to steal data for malicious purposes or install malware on a targeted user 's computer .
The attack on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sergei Skripal , a former Russian military officer , and his daughter were found unconscious in the British city of Salisbury in 2018 .
The British authorities and OPCW confirmed the Skripals had been poisoned with the Russian nerve agent Novichok .
Britain accused two GRU officers of carrying out the attack .

The United States has charged six Russian military officers with a "destructive," global criminal cyber-campaign that included the worldwide distribution of destructive malware and attempts to undermine the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Ukraine.
The indictment, announced by the Justice Department on October 19, also accuses the men of hacking French elections, the Pyongcheong Olympics, and an international organization investigating Russia's use of a deadly nerve agent.*
The charges are the latest in a series of cybercriminal indictments leveled by the United States against Russian state and nonstate actors.
The six Russian nationals are all alleged to be officers in a unit of the Russian military intelligence directorate, known as the GRU, which the United States in 2018 accused of hacking into the computers of the Democratic National Convention two years earlier.
U.S. Attorney Scott Brady called the officers' campaigns "the most destructive and costly cyberattacks in history."
"No country has weaponized its cyber-capabilities as maliciously or irresponsibly as Russia, wantonly causing unprecedented damage to pursue small tactical advantages and to satisfy fits of spite," according to Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers.
Also on October 19, Britain's Foreign Office said GRU hackers had targeted organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed until next year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Officials declined to give specific details about these attacks or say whether they were successful, but said they had targeted the Olympics' organizers, logistics suppliers, and sponsors.
"The GRU's actions against the Olympic and Paralympic Games are cynical and reckless. We condemn them in the strongest possible terms," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said
The United States received help in its years-long investigation of the GRU officers from foreign governments as well as some of the largest U.S. companies, including Google, Cisco, Facebook, and Twitter, the Justice Department said in its statement.
Even though the United States is unlikely to ever bring the men to justice, the charges essentially prevent the men from traveling to countries that have extradition agreements with the United States.
The six men indicted are Yury Andrienko, Sergei Detistov, Pavel Frolov, Anatoly Kovalev, Artyom Ochichenko, and Pyotr Pliskin.
They are charged with developing NotPetya, the malware that spread globally in 2017, causing upwards of $10 billion in damages and impairing critical medical services in western Pennsylvania.
They are also blamed for the cyberattacks against a series of Ukrainian targets from December 2015 through 2016, including the nation's power grid and Finance Ministry, and cyberattacks against the Georgian parliament in 2019.
Russia has tense relations with both countries, having invaded Georgia in 2008 and annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Russia is also backing separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The Justice Department said the men were also behind a series of international spear-phishing campaigns, including against the political party of French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017, the International Olympic Committee in 2017 and 2018, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Spear-phishing is an e-mail or electronic communications scam targeting a a specific individual, organization, or business with the intent to steal data for malicious purposes or install malware on a targeted user's computer.
The attack on the OPCW came just a month after Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer, and his daughter were found unconscious in the British city of Salisbury in 2018.
The British authorities and OPCW confirmed the Skripals had been poisoned with the Russian nerve agent Novichok. Britain accused two GRU officers of carrying out the attack.
With reporting by Reuters
* This story has been amended to correct a reference to the Pyongcheong Olympics, not Seoul.


rferl--2020-10-19--Moscow To Begin Mass Coronavirus Vaccinations In Weeks

The mayor of Russia 's capital says the city will begin mass vaccinations against the novel coronavirus disease `` in December-January '' as he sets to open two more field hospitals to deal with a surge in cases .
Sergei Sobyanin made the announcement in a statement on his website on October 19 , without giving details on how the city would go about administering the vaccinations .
In August , Russia approved the Sputnik-V coronavirus vaccine for domestic use -- the first country to do so -- triggering controversy among the international scientific community amid claims that it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have adamantly backed the vaccine .
Russia has since approved a second vaccine and was expected to begin testing of its third vaccine on October 19 .
The country , which has recorded the world 's fourth-highest coronavirus caseload , with more than 1.4 million infected , is experiencing a second wave of cases , like many countries around the world .
Sobyanin said Moscow , Russia 's largest city with a population of 13 million , will open two more temporary field hospitals to deal with the spike in coronavirus cases .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a quarter over the past week to 1,250 a day , stressing the city 's bed capacity .
The coronavirus pandemic in Moscow `` remains extremely difficult '' and the capital is experiencing `` a serious '' peak comparable to the spring , Sobyanin said .
The two new field hospitals will be set up inside a building at a local park and at a large shopping center .
The facilities will be able to treat a total of 3,500 coronavirus patients at any one time .
Moscow registered 5,376 new cases on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ May 12 .
The city began experiencing a sharp increase in new cases last month , prompting the city government to open two field hospitals in early October .
The city has also begun stepping up measures to prevent the spread of the virus .
Moscow police are patrolling public transport to ensure people are wearing masks while the government is digitally tracking people visiting bars and clubs for COVID-19 tracing purposes .
The Moscow government has also asked companies operating in the capital to allow as many people as possible to work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he would not introduce a curfew or a ban on movement across the city , and insisted that closing down all businesses was `` absolutely unacceptable and impossible for us . ''
With reporting by dpa , Reuters , RBK , and RIA Novosti

The mayor of Russia's capital says the city will begin mass vaccinations against the novel coronavirus disease "in December-January" as he sets to open two more field hospitals to deal with a surge in cases.
Sergei Sobyanin made the announcement in a statement on his website on October 19, without giving details on how the city would go about administering the vaccinations.
In August, Russia approved the Sputnik-V coronavirus vaccine for domestic use -- the first country to do so -- triggering controversy among the international scientific community amid claims that it was not sufficiently tested. Russian health officials have adamantly backed the vaccine.
Russia has since approved a second vaccine and was expected to begin testing of its third vaccine on October 19.
The country, which has recorded the world's fourth-highest coronavirus caseload, with more than 1.4 million infected, is experiencing a second wave of cases, like many countries around the world.
Sobyanin said Moscow, Russia's largest city with a population of 13 million, will open two more temporary field hospitals to deal with the spike in coronavirus cases.
Hospitalizations in the city have risen by a quarter over the past week to 1,250 a day, stressing the city's bed capacity.
The coronavirus pandemic in Moscow "remains extremely difficult" and the capital is experiencing "a serious" peak comparable to the spring, Sobyanin said.
The two new field hospitals will be set up inside a building at a local park and at a large shopping center. The facilities will be able to treat a total of 3,500 coronavirus patients at any one time.
Moscow registered 5,376 new cases on October 19, the largest increase since May 12.
The city began experiencing a sharp increase in new cases last month, prompting the city government to open two field hospitals in early October.
The city has also begun stepping up measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
Moscow police are patrolling public transport to ensure people are wearing masks while the government is digitally tracking people visiting bars and clubs for COVID-19 tracing purposes.
The Moscow government has also asked companies operating in the capital to allow as many people as possible to work from home.
However, Sobyanin said he would not introduce a curfew or a ban on movement across the city, and insisted that closing down all businesses was "absolutely unacceptable and impossible for us."
With reporting by dpa, Reuters, RBK, and RIA Novosti


rferl--2020-10-19--Iran, Ukraine In New Round Of Talks Over Downed Plane

Iran is hosting officials from Ukraine in a second round of talks over compensation for a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed shortly after takeoff in Tehran in January after being struck by two missiles , killing 176 people .
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Yenin and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Baharwand met in Tehran on October 19 at the start of the two-day talks .
Baharvand said Iran `` has nothing to hide about this tragedy '' and was ready to `` honestly inform the Ukrainian people and delegation about the details '' of the crash , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Yenin also held talks with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif , who described the first round of talks in Kyiv in July as `` positive and constructive '' and hoped that those in Tehran achieve their desired results .
In a statement by Ukraine 's Foreign Ministry , Yenin welcomed `` Iran 's decision to take full responsibility for the downing of the Ukrainian plane , as well as its readiness to provide equal compensation to the relatives of all victims , regardless of their citizenship . ''
He also emphasized the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation of the circumstances of the air disaster and called on the Iranian side to ensure access '' to all of its elements .
Following the Kyiv talks in July , Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was `` cautiously optimistic '' about the process .
Iranian officials have said that the country 's forces accidentally shot down the Kyiv-bound Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on January 8 .
A misaligned missile battery and miscommunication between soldiers and superior officers were to blame for incident , according to Iran 's aviation authorities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night that Iran had launched a ballistic-missile attack that targeted U.S. soldiers in Iraq , and Tehran 's air defenses were on high-alert at the time in case of retaliation .
Iran 's missile attack was in response to a U.S. drone strike that had killed the powerful commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps , Major General Qasem Soleimani , in Baghdad five days earlier .
With reporting by AFP , TASS , and IRNA

Iran is hosting officials from Ukraine in a second round of talks over compensation for a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed shortly after takeoff in Tehran in January after being struck by two missiles, killing 176 people.
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Yenin and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Baharwand met in Tehran on October 19 at the start of the two-day talks.
Baharvand said Iran "has nothing to hide about this tragedy" and was ready to "honestly inform the Ukrainian people and delegation about the details" of the crash, according to a statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Yenin also held talks with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who described the first round of talks in Kyiv in July as "positive and constructive" and hoped that those in Tehran achieve their desired results.
In a statement by Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, Yenin welcomed "Iran's decision to take full responsibility for the downing of the Ukrainian plane, as well as its readiness to provide equal compensation to the relatives of all victims, regardless of their citizenship."
He also emphasized the "need for an unbiased and objective investigation of the circumstances of the air disaster and called on the Iranian side to ensure access" to all of its elements.
Following the Kyiv talks in July, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the process.
Iranian officials have said that the country's forces accidentally shot down the Kyiv-bound Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on January 8.
A misaligned missile battery and miscommunication between soldiers and superior officers were to blame for incident, according to Iran's aviation authorities.
Flight 752 was downed the same night that Iran had launched a ballistic-missile attack that targeted U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and Tehran's air defenses were on high-alert at the time in case of retaliation.
Iran's missile attack was in response to a U.S. drone strike that had killed the powerful commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Major General Qasem Soleimani, in Baghdad five days earlier.
With reporting by AFP, TASS, and IRNA


rferl--2020-10-19--Serbia Detains Belgian Accused Of Sexual Abuses

BELGRADE -- Serbian authorities say they have detained a 60-year-old Belgian man suspected of multiple sex crimes in his home @ @ @ @ @ detained in the central city of Kragujevac on October 7 under an Interpol warrant issued @ @ @ @ @ for the city 's High Court told RFE/RL on October 19 .
Ivana Obradovic said @ @ @ @ @ custody until his extradition to Belgium .
Obradovic did not elaborate on the nature of @ @ @ @ @ agency quoted a judicial source in Belgium as saying the case was linked to suspected @ @ @ @ @ under the age of 12 .
On October 8 , a Serbian pretrial judge in @ @ @ @ @ Lammers , who appealed against that decision .
The High Court later confirmed the judge @ @ @ @ @ is a former member of the Belgian neo-Nazi group Westland New Post .
He was @ @ @ @ @ a series of murders in Belgium in the 1980s .

BELGRADE -- Serbian authorities say they have detained a 60-year-old Belgian man suspected of multiple sex crimes in his home country.
Eric Lammers was detained in the central city of Kragujevac on October 7 under an Interpol warrant issued by Belgium, a spokeswoman for the city's High Court told RFE/RL on October 19.
Ivana Obradovic said Lammers would be remanded in custody until his extradition to Belgium.
Obradovic did not elaborate on the nature of the crimes.
AFP news agency quoted a judicial source in Belgium as saying the case was linked to suspected sexual abuse of a girl under the age of 12.
On October 8, a Serbian pretrial judge in Kragujevac ordered the extradition of Lammers, who appealed against that decision. The High Court later confirmed the judge's initial ruling.
Lammers is a former member of the Belgian neo-Nazi group Westland New Post.
He was previously suspected of links to a series of murders in Belgium in the 1980s.
With reporting by AFP


rferl--2020-10-19--Kyiv Court Orders Controversial Politician Removed From Book About Dissident

KYIV -- A court in Kyiv has ordered the removal of the name and information about Russian-friendly Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk from a book about Soviet-era Ukrainian poet and dissident Vasyl Stus , who died in a Soviet prison in 1985 .
The Darnytsya district court on October 19 suspended the distribution of the book The Case of Vasyl Stus , in which the author , Viktor Kipiani , alleges that Medvedchuk , who was appointed by the Soviet authorities as Stus 's lawyer at his 1980 trial , helped prosecutors to convict the dissident .
According to the court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been proven and the book can be distributed only after the sections mentioning Medvedchuk are removed .
Otherwise , the book 's contents `` damage the reputation and honor '' of the politician and lawmaker , the court ruled .
Medvedchuk heads the political council at the pro-Russian political party Opposition Platform -- For Life , and is known for his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin .
The book in question was published last year , prompting Medvedchuk to file a lawsuit requesting the withdrawal of the book from circulation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Dozens of activists rallied in front of the Darnytsya district court in support of the book and its author during the previous court session on October 16 .

KYIV -- A court in Kyiv has ordered the removal of the name and information about Russian-friendly Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk from a book about Soviet-era Ukrainian poet and dissident Vasyl Stus, who died in a Soviet prison in 1985.
The Darnytsya district court on October 19 suspended the distribution of the book The Case of Vasyl Stus, in which the author, Viktor Kipiani, alleges that Medvedchuk, who was appointed by the Soviet authorities as Stus's lawyer at his 1980 trial, helped prosecutors to convict the dissident.
According to the court, the author's allegations have not been proven and the book can be distributed only after the sections mentioning Medvedchuk are removed. Otherwise, the book's contents "damage the reputation and honor" of the politician and lawmaker, the court ruled.
Medvedchuk heads the political council at the pro-Russian political party Opposition Platform -- For Life, and is known for his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The book in question was published last year, prompting Medvedchuk to file a lawsuit requesting the withdrawal of the book from circulation, claiming it contained false information about him.
Dozens of activists rallied in front of the Darnytsya district court in support of the book and its author during the previous court session on October 16.


rferl--2020-10-19--Son-In-Law Of Exiled Former Pakistani PM Arrested

Pakistani police have detained the son-in-law of exiled ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after he led a crowd in chanting against the military at the tomb of the country 's founder .
The October 19 arrest of Muhammad Safdar comes as Sharif 's Pakistan Muslim League party joins a series of nationwide protests against the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan .
Demonstrators say Khan 's two-year tenure has seen mounting censorship and a crackdown on dissent , critics , and opposition leaders .
Safdar 's arrest drew condemnation from the opposition , which accused the authorities of targeting Sharif 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Karachi hotel room where he was staying with his wife , Maryam Nawaz , who addressed a large anti-government rally on October 18 .
Safdar on October 18 had visited the mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah , the leader of the independence movement for a separate homeland from Britain in 1947 .
During the visit , Safdar led a crowd in chanting : `` Give respect to the vote ! ''
That slogan is viewed in Pakistan as criticism of the country 's military , which has ruled the country of 220 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most of its existence .
Chanting political slogans at Jinnah 's tomb is widely considered taboo .
Police say they arrested Safdar , himself a member of the Pakistan Muslim League , after receiving a complaint from a private citizen .
Khan has denied the army helped him win and said Sharif 's accusation against the army was part of a conspiracy at the behest of India .
Maryam Nawaz told a news conference that police forcibly entered her room to take her husband away and added that opposition parties will continue their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Sharif who has had a long uneasy relationship with the military , served as prime minister three times .
A court in 2017 ousted him from power over corruption allegations .
Sharif , who is 70 , has been staying in London since November 2019 after being allowed to receive medical treatment abroad .
The next general election is scheduled for 2023 .

Pakistani police have detained the son-in-law of exiled ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after he led a crowd in chanting against the military at the tomb of the country's founder.
The October 19 arrest of Muhammad Safdar comes as Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League party joins a series of nationwide protests against the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Demonstrators say Khan's two-year tenure has seen mounting censorship and a crackdown on dissent, critics, and opposition leaders.
Safdar's arrest drew condemnation from the opposition, which accused the authorities of targeting Sharif's family.
Police detained Safdar at a Karachi hotel room where he was staying with his wife, Maryam Nawaz, who addressed a large anti-government rally on October 18.
Safdar on October 18 had visited the mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of the independence movement for a separate homeland from Britain in 1947.
During the visit, Safdar led a crowd in chanting: "Give respect to the vote!" That slogan is viewed in Pakistan as criticism of the country's military, which has ruled the country of 220 million people -- directly or indirectly -- for most of its existence.
Chanting political slogans at Jinnah's tomb is widely considered taboo. Police say they arrested Safdar, himself a member of the Pakistan Muslim League, after receiving a complaint from a private citizen.
Khan has denied the army helped him win and said Sharif's accusation against the army was part of a conspiracy at the behest of India.
Maryam Nawaz told a news conference that police forcibly entered her room to take her husband away and added that opposition parties will continue their protests until Khan is removed from power.
Sharif who has had a long uneasy relationship with the military, served as prime minister three times. A court in 2017 ousted him from power over corruption allegations. Sharif, who is 70, has been staying in London since November 2019 after being allowed to receive medical treatment abroad.
The next general election is scheduled for 2023.
With reporting by AP


rferl--2020-10-19--Hungarian Students, Artists Protest Government's Takeover Of Famed Film School

BUDAPEST -- Hundreds of students , celebrities , and faculty of Hungary 's University of Theater and Film Arts ( SZFE ) have protested outside the Ministry of Innovation and Technology ( ITM ) in Budapest , urging the government to restore the autonomy of their institution .
A sweeping overhaul ordered by right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the 155-year-old university is seen as the latest step in his attempt to reshape Hungary 's public life to fit his own nationalist and culturally conservative agenda .
The government forced a transfer of control of the public institution to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new board of trustees to guide key decisions at the storied SZFE .
At the October 19 protest , which was attended by up to 200 people including well-known artists such as Oscar-nominated director Ildiko Enyedi , letters of support for the autonomy of the university were read outside the building of the ministry , which is in charge of managing the Hungarian higher education institutions .
“ We have to get back the university ’ s autonomy to work as a real university .
That ’ s it .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protesters .
The SZFE management and a number of top professors , including Enyedi , have resigned in protest of the government 's move , while a group of students has been barricaded inside the university since September 1 .
The few dozen students barricaded inside the university on October 16 defied an order by its new government-appointed chancellor -- former army colonel Gabor Szarka -- to end their blockade .
Students have been guarding the building room-by-room since then .
`` We SZFE students reject the order to vacate the building , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of about 500 outside the school on October 16 .
`` We have reinforced the blockade and will sustain it until we are guaranteed the university 's autonomy . ''
The institution , which nurtured many of Hungary 's leading directors and filmmakers , has been caught up in a culture war as Prime Minister Viktor Orban 's nationalist government seeks to reshape the cultural and scientific life of the nation .
Orban 's Fidesz party changed laws to force Central European University , a major graduate institution funded by Hungarian-born U.S. billionaire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country .
The dispute over control of the landmark film and theater school has reverberated outside the country as well .
Last month several internationally recognized artists , writers , directors , actors , and academics -- including actresses Cate Blanchett and Helen Mirren , and author Salman Rushdie -- signed an open letter saying the changes are `` part of a general cultural war to plunder the autonomy of all cultural spaces and institutions '' in Hungary .
With reporting by Reuters and AP

BUDAPEST -- Hundreds of students, celebrities, and faculty of Hungary's University of Theater and Film Arts (SZFE) have protested outside the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (ITM) in Budapest, urging the government to restore the autonomy of their institution.
A sweeping overhaul ordered by right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the 155-year-old university is seen as the latest step in his attempt to reshape Hungary's public life to fit his own nationalist and culturally conservative agenda.
The government forced a transfer of control of the public institution to a private foundation as of September 1 and a new board of trustees to guide key decisions at the storied SZFE.
At the October 19 protest, which was attended by up to 200 people including well-known artists such as Oscar-nominated director Ildiko Enyedi, letters of support for the autonomy of the university were read outside the building of the ministry, which is in charge of managing the Hungarian higher education institutions.
“We have to get back the university’s autonomy to work as a real university. That’s it. It’s so simple,” Enyedi told protesters.
The SZFE management and a number of top professors, including Enyedi, have resigned in protest of the government's move, while a group of students has been barricaded inside the university since September 1.
The few dozen students barricaded inside the university on October 16 defied an order by its new government-appointed chancellor -- former army colonel Gabor Szarka -- to end their blockade.
Students have been guarding the building room-by-room since then.
"We SZFE students reject the order to vacate the building," a student speaker told a crowd of about 500 outside the school on October 16.
"We have reinforced the blockade and will sustain it until we are guaranteed the university's autonomy."
The institution, which nurtured many of Hungary's leading directors and filmmakers, has been caught up in a culture war as Prime Minister Viktor Orban's nationalist government seeks to reshape the cultural and scientific life of the nation.
Orban's Fidesz party changed laws to force Central European University, a major graduate institution funded by Hungarian-born U.S. billionaire and philanthropist George Soros, out of the country.
The dispute over control of the landmark film and theater school has reverberated outside the country as well.
Last month several internationally recognized artists, writers, directors, actors, and academics -- including actresses Cate Blanchett and Helen Mirren, and author Salman Rushdie -- signed an open letter saying the changes are "part of a general cultural war to plunder the autonomy of all cultural spaces and institutions" in Hungary.
With reporting by Reuters and AP


rferl--2020-10-19--Armenia, Azerbaijan Accuse Each Other Of Shelling Despite Cease-Fire

BAKU/YEREVAN -- A new cease-fire aimed at stopping the fighting over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh appears to be in jeopardy , with ethnic Armenian forces and Azerbaijan accusing each other of renewed shelling .
The United Nations Security Council is set to hold closed consultations on the situation at a meeting on October 19 after UN chief Antonio Guterres called on both sides to respect the truce and condemned attacks on civilians in the fighting .
The truce announced on October 17 was the second attempt to establish a cease-fire since heavy fighting erupted in the region on September @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a week earlier had failed to halt the worst fighting in the South Caucasus since the 1990s , which has killed hundreds of soldiers and civilians .
On October 19 , officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said Azerbaijani forces were shelling their positions in northern and southern areas of the Line Of Contact that divides them .
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Armenian forces had shelled its positions in the Goranboy , Tartar , and Agdam regions of Azerbaijan overnight and the Agcabadi region was being shelled on the morning of October 19 .
President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taken control over 13 villages in the Cabrayil region near the Iranian border .
The previous day he announced the capture of the 11th-century Khudaferin bridge over the Aras River between Azerbaijan and Iran .
The reports came a day after Josep Borrell , the EU 's top diplomat , called the foreign ministers of both countries on October 18 to condemn the continued fighting and urge them to stick to the cease-fire .
The fighting `` leads to more civilian suffering .
It aggravates the conflict between States and respective societies , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difficult , '' Borrell said in a statement published after his calls .
Internationally recognized as part of mainly Muslim Azerbaijan , the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh territory has been controlled by mainly Christian ethnic Armenians , backed by Yerevan , since the 1994 halt in fighting .
The latest violence has stoked fears that the fighting could engulf the region in a wider conflict involving Azerbaijan 's closest ally , Turkey , and Russia , which dominates the Collective Security Treaty Organization , which Armenia is a member of .
There has been no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but both sides appear to have suffered casualties .
Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh said on October 18 that they had recorded another 40 casualties among its forces , pushing the military death toll to 673 since the fighting erupted .
Azerbaijan has not released any military casualty figures .
Armenia and Azerbaijan posted identical statements on their respective Foreign Ministry websites when they agreed on the new cease-fire .
The statements said the decision was made following statements earlier this month from the presidents of France , Russia , and the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ( OSCE ) .
The Minsk Group is a diplomatic initiative aimed at trying to resolve the conflict , which dates to 1988 in the waning days of the Soviet Union .
Baku and Yerevan last week each claimed gains in the fighting in and around the territory , which was populated by around 150,000 ethnic Armenians prior to this round of violence .
With reporting by Reuters , AFP , AP , dpa , and Interfax

BAKU/YEREVAN -- A new cease-fire aimed at stopping the fighting over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh appears to be in jeopardy, with ethnic Armenian forces and Azerbaijan accusing each other of renewed shelling.
The United Nations Security Council is set to hold closed consultations on the situation at a meeting on October 19 after UN chief Antonio Guterres called on both sides to respect the truce and condemned attacks on civilians in the fighting.
The truce announced on October 17 was the second attempt to establish a cease-fire since heavy fighting erupted in the region on September 27.
A deal brokered by Russia a week earlier had failed to halt the worst fighting in the South Caucasus since the 1990s, which has killed hundreds of soldiers and civilians.
On October 19, officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said Azerbaijani forces were shelling their positions in northern and southern areas of the Line Of Contact that divides them.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Armenian forces had shelled its positions in the Goranboy, Tartar, and Agdam regions of Azerbaijan overnight and the Agcabadi region was being shelled on the morning of October 19.
President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijani forces had taken control over 13 villages in the Cabrayil region near the Iranian border.
The previous day he announced the capture of the 11th-century Khudaferin bridge over the Aras River between Azerbaijan and Iran.
The reports came a day after Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, called the foreign ministers of both countries on October 18 to condemn the continued fighting and urge them to stick to the cease-fire.
The fighting "leads to more civilian suffering. It aggravates the conflict between States and respective societies, rendering the healing of wounds even more difficult," Borrell said in a statement published after his calls.
Internationally recognized as part of mainly Muslim Azerbaijan, the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh territory has been controlled by mainly Christian ethnic Armenians, backed by Yerevan, since the 1994 halt in fighting.
The latest violence has stoked fears that the fighting could engulf the region in a wider conflict involving Azerbaijan's closest ally, Turkey, and Russia, which dominates the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which Armenia is a member of.
There has been no confirmed death toll from the current hostilities, but both sides appear to have suffered casualties.
Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh said on October 18 that they had recorded another 40 casualties among its forces, pushing the military death toll to 673 since the fighting erupted.
Azerbaijan has not released any military casualty figures.
Armenia and Azerbaijan posted identical statements on their respective Foreign Ministry websites when they agreed on the new cease-fire.
The statements said the decision was made following statements earlier this month from the presidents of France, Russia, and the United States, representing the co-chair countries of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The Minsk Group is a diplomatic initiative aimed at trying to resolve the conflict, which dates to 1988 in the waning days of the Soviet Union.
Baku and Yerevan last week each claimed gains in the fighting in and around the territory, which was populated by around 150,000 ethnic Armenians prior to this round of violence.
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa, and Interfax


rferl--2020-10-19--Marchers Keep Up Pressure For Lukashenka's Resignation As Hundreds Detained

MINSK -- Several thousand retirees marched through the streets of the Belarusian capital as protesters kept up their demand for the ouster of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka .
The participants in a so-called March of Wisdom in Minsk on October 19 chanted for Lukashenka to `` Go away ! ''
following a presidential election in August that the opposition and the West say was rigged .
Pro-Lukashenka pensioners also rallied in the city , many of them men in military and security forces uniforms , with banners with slogans such as `` For peace , prosperity , and traditional values @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of thousands of protesters marched in Minsk and other cities despite a threat from the Interior Ministry to use deadly force .
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Volha Chemodanova said on October 19 that police detained 280 people for violating the law on mass events , including 215 in the capital , Minsk .
Of those , 237 remain in custody pending a court appearance , she wrote on her Telegram channel .
The authorities deployed military trucks and water cannons in Minsk but police largely refrained from using them to quell the October 18 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members of law enforcement fired rubber bullets as a warning to protesters who threw stones at police .
In the days leading up to the rally , First Deputy Interior Minister Henadz Kazakevich threatened to use `` lethal weapons if need be '' on protesters to break up the demonstrations , which the authorities have called illegal .
Kazakevich claimed that protesters had become `` extremely radical . ''
His statement was the first time Belarusian authorities have explicitly threatened to use firearms against opposition demonstrators .
He did not carry out his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protests since Lukashenka , in power since 1994 , was declared the winner of the August 9 presidential election amid allegations of widespread vote rigging .
More than 12,000 Belarusians have been detained and hundreds tortured during protests over the ensuing weeks .
However , the authorities have been unable to stamp out the movement and a stalemate has ensued .
The Minsk marchers peacefully made their way down one of Minsk 's main avenues , where plants and factories are located , on the cool , overcast day waving the banned red-and-white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out the window , stop watching TV , '' the protesters chanted , a reference to state-controlled media downplaying the size and peaceful nature of the rallies .
The protesters also called for Lukashenka 's arrest and chanted `` Strike ! ''
and `` The workers are with the people . ''
Opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her supporters have stepped up their pressure by setting October 25 as the date for Lukashenka to step down or face a nationwide strike .
Lukashenka has lost the support of many state workers , long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has struggled under his rule in recent years .
In an interview with RFE/RL published on October 16 , Tsikhanouskaya -- who was forced to flee to Lithuania after the election that her supporters and others say she won -- said that the decision to announce the so-called `` People 's Ultimatum '' was not made solely by her , but by opposition groups , including her team , the opposition Coordination Council , opposition political parties , protest groups , representatives of striking workers , and Belarusian citizens who were beaten and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` The ultimatum was pushed forward by people , I just announced it to make it public , '' said Tsikhanouskaya , who could face up to five years in prison in Belarus if detained and found guilty .
Tsikhanouskaya added that even `` many '' officers in law enforcement were seeking help from opposition groups to take their families out of Belarus in order to be able to openly refuse to take part in beatings and violently dispersing protesters across the country .
With reporting by AP and AFP

MINSK -- Several thousand retirees marched through the streets of the Belarusian capital as protesters kept up their demand for the ouster of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
The participants in a so-called March of Wisdom in Minsk on October 19 chanted for Lukashenka to "Go away!" following a presidential election in August that the opposition and the West say was rigged.
Pro-Lukashenka pensioners also rallied in the city, many of them men in military and security forces uniforms, with banners with slogans such as "For peace, prosperity, and traditional values."
The previous day, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Minsk and other cities despite a threat from the Interior Ministry to use deadly force.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Volha Chemodanova said on October 19 that police detained 280 people for violating the law on mass events, including 215 in the capital, Minsk.
Of those, 237 remain in custody pending a court appearance, she wrote on her Telegram channel.
The authorities deployed military trucks and water cannons in Minsk but police largely refrained from using them to quell the October 18 march.
Chemodanova earlier told AFP that members of law enforcement fired rubber bullets as a warning to protesters who threw stones at police.
In the days leading up to the rally, First Deputy Interior Minister Henadz Kazakevich threatened to use "lethal weapons if need be" on protesters to break up the demonstrations, which the authorities have called illegal.
Kazakevich claimed that protesters had become "extremely radical."
His statement was the first time Belarusian authorities have explicitly threatened to use firearms against opposition demonstrators. He did not carry out his threat.
Belarus has been rocked by protests since Lukashenka, in power since 1994, was declared the winner of the August 9 presidential election amid allegations of widespread vote rigging.
More than 12,000 Belarusians have been detained and hundreds tortured during protests over the ensuing weeks.
However, the authorities have been unable to stamp out the movement and a stalemate has ensued.
The Minsk marchers peacefully made their way down one of Minsk's main avenues, where plants and factories are located, on the cool, overcast day waving the banned red-and-white flag of the opposition.
"Look out the window, stop watching TV," the protesters chanted, a reference to state-controlled media downplaying the size and peaceful nature of the rallies.
The protesters also called for Lukashenka's arrest and chanted "Strike!" and "The workers are with the people."
Opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her supporters have stepped up their pressure by setting October 25 as the date for Lukashenka to step down or face a nationwide strike.
Lukashenka has lost the support of many state workers, long considered his base, as the economy has struggled under his rule in recent years.
In an interview with RFE/RL published on October 16, Tsikhanouskaya -- who was forced to flee to Lithuania after the election that her supporters and others say she won -- said that the decision to announce the so-called "People's Ultimatum" was not made solely by her, but by opposition groups, including her team, the opposition Coordination Council, opposition political parties, protest groups, representatives of striking workers, and Belarusian citizens who were beaten and tortured by law enforcement in recent months.
"The ultimatum was pushed forward by people, I just announced it to make it public," said Tsikhanouskaya, who could face up to five years in prison in Belarus if detained and found guilty.
Tsikhanouskaya added that even "many" officers in law enforcement were seeking help from opposition groups to take their families out of Belarus in order to be able to openly refuse to take part in beatings and violently dispersing protesters across the country.
With reporting by AP and AFP


rferl--2020-10-20--Zelenskiy Says Those Who Gave Up Crimea Without A Fight Must Be Held Responsible

KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says those who allowed Russia to illegally annex Crimea in early 2014 must be held responsible .
In an annual address to parliament on October 20 , Zelenskiy did not name anyone in particular , but appeared to be taking clear aim at officials who assumed power after mass anti-government protests toppled Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych in late February 2014 .
`` Those who gave up on Crimea without a fight must be held responsible , '' Zelenskiy said , adding that his government is doing `` everything possible '' to return Crimea to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ building a Ukrainian Army that will be capable of defending Ukraine on the ground , in the sea , in the sky , in cyberspace , so that nobody would have the notion that it is possible to encroach upon our sovereignty , territorial integrity , or take part of Ukrainian territory without a single gunshot , '' he added .
Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014 and threw its support behind pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine 's eastern region of Donbas , where more than 13,200 people have been killed in the conflict , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a speech many consider to be an effort to promote his Servant of the People party before key local elections on October 25 , Zelenskiy said that his government supports the idea of an amnesty for `` the millions of our compatriots , who have no blood on their hands and remain hostage '' in Crimea and the districts of Donbas that remain under Russia-backed separatists ' control .
`` We will start a safe reintegration process after adopting necessary laws and regulations regarding the de-occupation of our territories , '' Zelenskiy said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occupied , and Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars are subjected to regular persecution there , the world should not forget about Crimea , '' he said .
Zelenskiy emphasized that 120 lawmakers from his the Servant of the People party will visit the Donbas region on October 21 .
`` [ They will ] visit Donbas , not Turkish resorts , not the Maldives as some did before , but the frontline , '' Zelenskiy said in a thinly veiled reference to his predecessor , Petro Poroshenko , who was accused of travelling to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intensive fighting between Ukrainian armed forces and Russia-backed separatists in Donbas during his presidency .
The annual presidential address to Ukrainian parliament , the Verkhovna Rada , is usually held in April , but this year it was moved to October 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic .
Zelenskiy 's critics have said that his annual address was moved closer to the local elections intentionally to give him a chance to promote his party .
On October 25 , voters in Ukraine will elect members of district councils and rural townships , as @ @ @ @ @

KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says those who allowed Russia to illegally annex Crimea in early 2014 must be held responsible.
In an annual address to parliament on October 20, Zelenskiy did not name anyone in particular, but appeared to be taking clear aim at officials who assumed power after mass anti-government protests toppled Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych in late February 2014.
"Those who gave up on Crimea without a fight must be held responsible," Zelenskiy said, adding that his government is doing "everything possible" to return Crimea to Ukraine's control.
"We are building a Ukrainian Army that will be capable of defending Ukraine on the ground, in the sea, in the sky, in cyberspace, so that nobody would have the notion that it is possible to encroach upon our sovereignty, territorial integrity, or take part of Ukrainian territory without a single gunshot," he added.
Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014 and threw its support behind pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine's eastern region of Donbas, where more than 13,200 people have been killed in the conflict, which continues to this day.
In a speech many consider to be an effort to promote his Servant of the People party before key local elections on October 25, Zelenskiy said that his government supports the idea of an amnesty for "the millions of our compatriots, who have no blood on their hands and remain hostage" in Crimea and the districts of Donbas that remain under Russia-backed separatists' control.
"We will start a safe reintegration process after adopting necessary laws and regulations regarding the de-occupation of our territories," Zelenskiy said.
"As long as Crimea remains occupied, and Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars are subjected to regular persecution there, the world should not forget about Crimea," he said.
Zelenskiy emphasized that 120 lawmakers from his the Servant of the People party will visit the Donbas region on October 21.
"[They will] visit Donbas, not Turkish resorts, not the Maldives as some did before, but the frontline," Zelenskiy said in a thinly veiled reference to his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, who was accused of travelling to the Maldives for rest during the most intensive fighting between Ukrainian armed forces and Russia-backed separatists in Donbas during his presidency.
The annual presidential address to Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, is usually held in April, but this year it was moved to October 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Zelenskiy's critics have said that his annual address was moved closer to the local elections intentionally to give him a chance to promote his party.
On October 25, voters in Ukraine will elect members of district councils and rural townships, as well as city mayors.


rferl--2020-10-20--Tsikhanouskaya Calls On Police Officers In Belarus To 'Take People's Side'

Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has called on the country 's law enforcement officers to join those taking part in ongoing protests against Alyaksandr Lukashenka , whose claim to power has not been recognized by Western governments .
In an October 20 statement on Telegram , Tsikhanouskaya said that orders by police commanders and other law enforcement structures to clamp down and use violence against protesters are `` illegal . ''
Tsikhanouskaya 's statement came a week after she announced what she called the People 's Ultimatum , which says Lukashenka must resign before October 25 or the ongoing protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` The People 's Ultimatum is your chance to take the side of Belarusians .
If you do not agree to carry out criminal orders , do not do so .
[ Lukashenka ’ s ] regime knows that it is dying and tries to share its end with all of you by muddying the honor of your uniform .
Do not allow that .
`` Those who personally committed crimes will be held responsible .
Lustration will not touch everyone , '' Tsikhanouskaya 's statement said , reminding law enforcement officers that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make a decision and `` follow the oath they gave to the Belarusian people . ''
The European Union and the United States have refused to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate president of Belarus after he claimed a landslide victory in an August election that has been widely criticized as fraudulent .
The results sparked weeks of mass protests and have been contested by Tsikhanouskaya , whose supporters claim won the vote , as well as opposition figures across the country .

Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has called on the country's law enforcement officers to join those taking part in ongoing protests against Alyaksandr Lukashenka, whose claim to power has not been recognized by Western governments.
In an October 20 statement on Telegram, Tsikhanouskaya said that orders by police commanders and other law enforcement structures to clamp down and use violence against protesters are "illegal."
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.
Tsikhanouskaya's statement came a week after she announced what she called the People's Ultimatum, which says Lukashenka must resign before October 25 or the ongoing protests and strikes will intensify across Belarus.
"The People's Ultimatum is your chance to take the side of Belarusians. If you do not agree to carry out criminal orders, do not do so. [Lukashenka’s] regime knows that it is dying and tries to share its end with all of you by muddying the honor of your uniform. Do not allow that.
"Those who personally committed crimes will be held responsible. Lustration will not touch everyone," Tsikhanouskaya's statement said, reminding law enforcement officers that "five days are left" to make a decision and "follow the oath they gave to the Belarusian people."
The European Union and the United States have refused to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate president of Belarus after he claimed a landslide victory in an August election that has been widely criticized as fraudulent.
The results sparked weeks of mass protests and have been contested by Tsikhanouskaya, whose supporters claim won the vote, as well as opposition figures across the country.


rferl--2020-10-20--Moscow Ready To Offer One-Year Freeze On Nuclear Warheads Number To Extend Deal With U.S.

Russia says it is ready to freeze its total number of nuclear warheads if Washington does the same in order to extend the New START agreement -- their last major arms-control treaty , which is due to expire in February -- by one year to buy time for the two sides to discuss nuclear arms control in greater depth .
The October 20 offer appears to narrow the gap between the two sides over the fate of New START , after Washington last week rejected a Russian offer to unconditionally extend the pact for one year .
White House national-security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the previous Russian proposal was a `` nonstarter '' in the absence of a freeze of nuclear warheads .
`` Russia is proposing to extend New START by one year and is ready , together with the United States , to make a political commitment to 'freeze ' the number of nuclear warheads held by the parties for this period , '' the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said in a statement .
The statement added that the freeze and one-year extension would be possible if the U.S. side did not make other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2010 , imposes limits on the two countries ' strategic nuclear arsenals .
Although it is due to expire in February , it can be extended for five years , which Moscow has said it is ready to do without preconditions .
A possible extension of the accord -- even by one year -- would mark a rare bright spot in the strained relationship between the two countries , while failure to extend it would remove the main pillar maintaining the nuclear balance between them .
The White House , which has already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accused Moscow of violating them and felt the agreements benefited Russia more than the United States , has called for China to join Moscow and Washington to find a replacement for New START .
China , which has a small fraction of the nuclear weapons that Russia and the United States possess , has rejected the idea .
Earlier this month Russia and the United States held an 11th-hour round of talks on the treaty in Helsinki , with Washington saying it was willing to extend the New START treaty for some period @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the freeze , a proposal the Kremlin quickly rejected .
The issue of the New START treaty comes two weeks before the U.S. presidential election .
Democratic challenger Joe Biden supports extending New START `` to use that as a foundation for new arms-control arrangements . ''
If Biden wins , the treaty will expire just weeks after he is inaugurated .
Biden calls the treaty -- which was negotiated when he was vice president under President Barack Obama -- an `` anchor of strategic stability between the United States and Russia .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 75 lawmakers across Europe called on the United States to extend New START before its expiration .
The Trump administration has already left the landmark Cold War-era Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces ( INF ) Treaty , after accusing Russia of violating it .
Washington also unilaterally exited Open Skies , a treaty that permits the United States and Russia to conduct reconnaissance flights over each others territory .
With reporting by Reuters and TASS

The United States says it is prepared to meet "immediately" with Russia to finalize a deal to extend their last major arms-control treaty, New START, by one year after Moscow backed a U.S. proposal to freeze its total number of nuclear warheads if Washington does the same.
"We appreciate the Russian Federation’s willingness to make progress on the issue of nuclear arms control," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a brief statement on October 20.
"The United States is prepared to meet immediately to finalize a verifiable agreement. We expect Russia to empower its diplomats to do the same," Ortagus added.
Hours earlier, Russia proposed extending the accord, which is due to expire in February, by one year, saying it was "ready, together with the United States, to make a political commitment to 'freeze' the number of nuclear warheads held by the parties for this period."
In its statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry insisted that the freeze and extension to buy time for the two sides to discuss nuclear arms control in greater depth would be possible if Washington made no other demands.
The Russian offer appeared to narrow the gap between the two sides over the fate of New START after Washington last week rejected a Russian offer to unconditionally extend the pact for one year.
White House national-security adviser Robert O'Brien said on October 16 that the previous Russian proposal was a "nonstarter" in the absence of a freeze on nuclear warheads.
“Good news,” Russia's ambassador to the UN in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, tweeted on October 20 after the State Department's announcement.
However, Ulyanov added that one point “needs to be clarified - what is the meaning of the word ‘verifiable’? Does it apply to the current verification regime under the Treaty?”
New START, signed in 2010, imposes limits on the two countries' strategic nuclear arsenals. It can be extended for five years, which Moscow has said it is ready to do without preconditions.
A possible extension of the accord -- even by one year -- would mark a rare bright spot in the strained relationship between the two countries, while failure to extend it would remove the main pillar maintaining the nuclear balance between them.
The White House, which has already withdrawn from other arms-control treaties because it accused Moscow of violating them and felt the agreements benefited Russia more than the United States, has called for China to join Moscow and Washington to find a replacement for New START.
China, which has a small fraction of the nuclear weapons that Russia and the United States possess, has rejected the idea.
Earlier this month Russia and the United States held an 11th-hour round of talks on the treaty in Helsinki, with Washington saying it was willing to extend the New START treaty for some period of time provided the Russians agreed to the freeze, a proposal the Kremlin quickly rejected.
The issue of the New START treaty comes two weeks before the U.S. presidential election.
Democratic challenger Joe Biden supports extending New START "to use that as a foundation for new arms-control arrangements." If Biden wins, the treaty will expire just weeks after he is inaugurated.
Biden calls the treaty -- which was negotiated when he was vice president under President Barack Obama -- an "anchor of strategic stability between the United States and Russia."
On October 13, more than 75 lawmakers across Europe called on the United States to extend New START before its expiration.
The Trump administration has already left the landmark Cold War-era Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, after accusing Russia of violating it.
Washington also unilaterally exited Open Skies, a treaty that permits the United States and Russia to conduct reconnaissance flights over each others territory.
With reporting by Reuters and TASS


rferl--2020-10-20--U.S. Reportedly Threw Out 45 Faulty Russian Ventilators Without Using Them

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ) has reportedly thrown away the 45 ventilators delivered by Russia at the height of the coronavirus pandemic without ever using them because of multiple defects .
The Aventa-M ventilators were sent to the United States after President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart , Vladimir Putin , discussed the shipment in a March 30 phone call .
FEMA told BuzzFeed News on October 18 that the ventilators have been scrapped , although it remains unclear when that happened .
“ The donated ventilators in question were disposed of following strict hazardous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. General Services Administration ( GSA ) and the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) , ” a FEMA spokesperson told BuzzFeed News .
The ventilators , which arrived in crates marked `` From Russia With Love , '' were part of a highly publicized exchange that would ultimately see Russia delivering a little more than $ 1 million worth of supplies to the United States in April , followed by American deliveries to Russia valued at $ 5.6 million over the following two months .
The ventilators arrived in New York City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by FEMA locally and in New Jersey , without even receiving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ’ s expedited Emergency Use Authorization ( EUA ) -- an emergency protocol to allow ventilators to be distributed without the agency ’ s routine -- and more time-consuming -- approval process .
A day after the shipment 's arrival , Trump praised Putin and was asked about whether he feared it could be seen as a propaganda ploy .
`` I 'm not concerned about Russia and propaganda , not even a little bit , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House on April 2 .
`` There is a lot of medical , very high-quality stuff that I 've accepted .
It may save a lot of lives and I will take it every day . ''
Furthermore , Trump himself , the Kremlin , and the U.S. State Department hailed the delivery as a rare example of collaboration between the two adversarial nations to fight a common enemy .
However , the ventilators presented problems from the very beginning .
The ventilators required an electrical voltage not compatible in the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adapter that hospitals did not have .
Several ventilators of the same models caught fire in Russian hospitals in May , causing six deaths and prompting the government to halt their manufacture .
Furthermore , the Russian maker of the devices , Ural Instrument Engineering Plant ( UPZ ) , was under U.S. sanctions at the time of the shipment .
That caused an uproar among congressional Democrats , who blasted the White House for receiving ventilators from a sanctioned company .
Democrats were also incensed at the difference in the cost and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the United States -- roughly $ 1 million -- versus that delivered by Washington to Moscow in June , estimated at $ 5.6 million , including 200 ventilators .
The United States and Russia are among the countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases .
According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University , the United States has recorded 8,214,754 infections and 220,133 deaths -- the highest number in the world -- while Russia has the fourth-highest infection rate , with 1,406,667 registered cases and 24,205 fatalities .
However , Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of infections and deaths .
With reporting by Buzzfeed and Reuters

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has reportedly thrown away the 45 ventilators delivered by Russia at the height of the coronavirus pandemic without ever using them.
The Aventa-M ventilators were sent to the United States after President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, discussed the shipment in a March 30 phone call.
FEMA told BuzzFeed News on October 18 that the ventilators have been scrapped, although it remains unclear when that happened.
“The donated ventilators in question were disposed of following strict hazardous waste disposal regulatory guidelines set by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),” a FEMA spokesperson told BuzzFeed News.
The ventilators, which arrived in crates marked "From Russia With Love," were part of a highly publicized exchange that would ultimately see Russia delivering a little more than $1 million worth of supplies to the United States in April, followed by American deliveries to Russia valued at $5.6 million over the following two months.
The ventilators arrived in New York City on April 1 and were rapidly distributed by FEMA locally and in New Jersey, without even receiving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s expedited Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) -- an emergency protocol to allow ventilators to be distributed without the agency’s routine -- and more time-consuming -- approval process.
A day after the shipment's arrival, Trump praised Putin and was asked about whether he feared it could be seen as a propaganda ploy.
"I'm not concerned about Russia and propaganda, not even a little bit," Trump told reporters at the White House on April 2. "There is a lot of medical, very high-quality stuff that I've accepted. It may save a lot of lives and I will take it every day."
Furthermore, Trump himself, the Kremlin, and the U.S. State Department hailed the delivery as a rare example of collaboration between the two adversarial nations to fight a common enemy.
However, the ventilators presented problems from the very beginning.
The ventilators required an electrical voltage not compatible in the United States and could not be used without an adapter that hospitals did not have.
Several ventilators of the same models caught fire in Russian hospitals in May, causing six deaths and prompting the government to halt their manufacture.
Furthermore, the Russian maker of the devices, Ural Instrument Engineering Plant (UPZ), was under U.S. sanctions at the time of the shipment. That caused an uproar among congressional Democrats, who blasted the White House for receiving ventilators from a sanctioned company.
Democrats were also incensed at the difference in the cost and amount of medical aid provided by Russia to the United States -- roughly $1 million -- versus that delivered by Washington to Moscow in June, estimated at $5.6 million, including 200 ventilators.
The United States and Russia are among the countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases.
According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, the United States has recorded 8,214,754 infections and 220,133 deaths -- the highest number in the world -- while Russia has the fourth-highest infection rate, with 1,406,667 registered cases and 24,205 fatalities.
However, Russia has been suspected of underreporting both the number of infections and deaths.
With reporting by Buzzfeed and Reuters


rferl--2020-10-20--Kyrgyzstan Detains Former Deputy Customs Chief Matraimov On Corruption Charges

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz authorities have detained Raimbek Matraimov , the powerful former deputy chief of the customs service and an ally of former President Sooronbai Jeenbekov , as part of a corruption investigation that could help solidify acting President Sadyr Japarov 's grip on power .
The Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security ( UKMK ) said in a statement that Matraimov , who was implicated earlier this year in a high-profile journalistic investigation revealing a corruption scheme involving hundreds of millions of dollars transferred out of the country , was detained and brought to the agency 's custody on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ detained as part of a pretrial investigation into corruption in customs authorities , '' the UKMK said , noting it had established that Matraimov and others were part of `` a corruption scheme aimed at extracting shadow income during customs administration , as a result of which the state budget suffered damage on an especially large scale . ''
Matraimov is one of three brothers from what is rumored to be one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Kyrgyzstan .
He was a key financial backer for political parties and presidents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party , which dominated October 4 parliamentary elections along with a party called Birimdik , which listed Jeenbekov 's brother among its ranks .
Protesters , angry at evidence of vote-buying and other improprieties during the vote , seized government buildings days after results were announced , prompting officials to annul the balloting and Jeenbekov to step down .
In the resulting power vacuum , Japarov , a former nationalist lawmaker and convicted kidnapper who was freed from prison when a mob stormed a Bishkek prison during the protests , was elected prime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential powers transferred to him when Jeenbekov left office .
One of Japarov 's public pledges after he obtained presidential powers was to fight corruption and support and protect investigative journalists .
At the time , Japarov also expressed concerns about Matraimov 's whereabouts , saying that he might have fled the country .
The UKMK said the scheme it was investigating began in 2016 , when Matraimov was still in his post .
On October 19 , the UKMK 's press service told RFE/RL that the investigation had identified 40 persons who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corruption schemes .
Last year , a joint investigation by RFE/RL 's Kyrgyz Service , the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project , and the Kyrgyz news site Kloop , implicated Matraimov in a corruption scheme involving the transfer of funds out of the country by Chinese-born Uyghur businessman Aierken Saimaiti , who was assassinated in Istanbul in November 2019 .
Prior to his killing , Saimaiti provided a trove of financial records to reporters showing how he moved money out of Kyrgyzstan via murky wire transfers and cash couriers over the course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family have denied any links to Saimaiti or corruption in the Kyrgyz customs service , and filed a libel suit over the investigation .
Earlier in June , the UKMK claimed reporters with RFE/RL had received money from Saimaiti , an allegation RFE/RL strongly rejected .
A reporter for RFE/RL 's Kyrgyz Service , known locally as Radio Azattyk , received death threats in connection with the publication of the information .
Separately on October 20 , Bishkek Mayor Aziz Surakmatov stepped down from his post .
Before the announcement , Surakmatov appointed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Many in Kyrgyzstan believe that Tuleev , who was arrested in September 2010 and three years later sentenced to 10 years in prison on corruption charges , may replace Surakmatov .
Tuleev served as Bishkek mayor between 2008 and 2010 , when the country was led by President Kurmanbek Bakiev , who was toppled by violent anti-government protests in 2010 that claimed the lives of almost 100 protesters .
Tuleev was granted early release in May 2016 .

BISHKEK -- A Bishkek district court judge has ordered that Raimbek Matraimov, the powerful former deputy chief of the customs service, be placed under house arrest.
Kyrgyz authorities detained Matraimov, an ally of former President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, earlier on October 20 as part of a corruption investigation that could help solidify acting President Sadyr Japarov's grip on power.
The Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said in a statement that Matraimov, who was implicated earlier this year in a high-profile journalistic investigation revealing a corruption scheme involving hundreds of millions of dollars transferred out of the country, had been placed under custody.
"Matraimov has been detained as part of a pretrial investigation into corruption in customs authorities," the UKMK said, noting it had established that Matraimov and others were part of "a corruption scheme aimed at extracting shadow income during customs administration, as a result of which the state budget suffered damage on an especially large scale."
The UKMK also said that Matraimov had agreed to pay about 2 billion soms ($24.7) million in damages to the state, and that 80 million soms ($1 million) had already been transferred to its account, according to TASS.
Matraimov is one of three brothers from what is rumored to be one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Kyrgyzstan. He was a key financial backer for political parties and presidents, including Jeenbekov and the Mekenim Kyrgyzstan party, which dominated October 4 parliamentary elections along with a party called Birimdik, which listed Jeenbekov's brother among its ranks.
Protesters, angry at evidence of vote-buying and other improprieties during the vote, seized government buildings days after results were announced, prompting officials to annul the balloting and Jeenbekov to step down.
In the resulting power vacuum, Japarov, a former nationalist lawmaker and convicted kidnapper who was freed from prison when a mob stormed a Bishkek prison during the protests, was elected prime minister by parliament and then had the presidential powers transferred to him when Jeenbekov left office.
One of Japarov's public pledges after he obtained presidential powers was to fight corruption and support and protect investigative journalists. At the time, Japarov also expressed concerns about Matraimov's whereabouts, saying that he might have fled the country.
The UKMK said the scheme it was investigating began in 2016, when Matraimov was still in his post. On October 19, the UKMK's press service told RFE/RL that the investigation had identified 40 persons who are suspected in taking part in the corruption schemes.
Last year, a joint investigation by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and the Kyrgyz news site Kloop, implicated Matraimov in a corruption scheme involving the transfer of funds out of the country by Chinese-born Uyghur businessman Aierken Saimaiti, who was assassinated in Istanbul in November 2019.
SPECIAL REPORT: The Matraimov Kingdom
Prior to his killing, Saimaiti provided a trove of financial records to reporters showing how he moved money out of Kyrgyzstan via murky wire transfers and cash couriers over the course of several years.
Matraimov and his family have denied any links to Saimaiti or corruption in the Kyrgyz customs service, and filed a libel suit over the investigation.
Earlier in June, the UKMK claimed reporters with RFE/RL had received money from Saimaiti, an allegation RFE/RL strongly rejected.
A reporter for RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Radio Azattyk, received death threats in connection with the publication of the information.
Separately on October 20, Bishkek Mayor Aziz Surakmatov stepped down from his post. Before the announcement, Surakmatov appointed Nariman Tuleev as his first deputy.
Many in Kyrgyzstan believe that Tuleev, who was arrested in September 2010 and three years later sentenced to 10 years in prison on corruption charges, may replace Surakmatov.
Tuleev served as Bishkek mayor between 2008 and 2010, when the country was led by President Kurmanbek Bakiev, who was toppled by violent anti-government protests in 2010 that claimed the lives of almost 100 protesters.
Tuleev was granted early release in May 2016.


rferl--2020-10-20--U.S. Sanctions Chinese Companies For Dealing With Iranian Shipping Line

The United States said on October 19 that it has blacklisted two Chinese men and six Chinese entities for their dealings with an Iranian shipping company that the United States sanctioned earlier this year .
The previously targeted Iranian company is the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines ( IRISL ) , the U.S. State Department said .
`` Today , we reiterate a warning to stakeholders worldwide : If you do business with IRISL , you risk U.S. sanctions , '' Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in the statement .
Pompeo said the international community has long recognized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and its subsidiaries to transport proliferation-sensitive items intended for Iran ’ s ballistic-missile and military programs .
The State Department designated IRISL and its Shanghai-based subsidiary E-Sail Shipping on June 8 and warned that any stakeholder who continued doing business with IRISL or E-Sail was at risk of sanctions , Pompeo said .
Since then , IRISL and E-Sail , Reach Holding Group ( Shanghai ) , and Reach Shipping Lines arranged for port berths for IRISL vessels at Chinese ports .
Reach Shipping Lines also supplied four large container vessels to another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The department listed Reach Holding Group ( Shanghai ) and Reach Shipping Lines among those sanctioned on October 19 .
The other entities are Delight Shipping , Gracious Shipping , Noble Shipping , and Supreme Shipping .
The individuals targeted are the chief executive and president of Reach Holding Group ( Shanghai ) .
As a result of being sanctioned , the entities ’ and individuals ’ assets that fall under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen and U.S. persons are generally barred from dealing with them .
The sanctions are the latest in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision to withdraw unilaterally from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal under which Tehran committed to limit its nuclear activities in return for relief from economic sanctions .
Trump has argued the deal did not go far enough and has said economic pressure will force Tehran to end its nuclear program and to stop supporting terrorists .
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons .

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