rferl--2020-09-02--Afghan Peace Negotiators To Fly To Qatar As More Taliban Prisoners Freed

KABUL -- Afghan officials say the government is dispatching a delegation to Qatar ahead of long-delayed peace talks after authorities pressed ahead with the release of Taliban prisoners .
Kabul broke an impasse with the Taliban this week by resuming a prisoner exchange , a key hurdle in the launch of negotiations in the Qatari capital , Doha , where the militant group has a political office .
A government source told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity that all of the remaining Taliban in custody will be released on September 2 .
`` All obstacles have been removed , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's High Council for National Reconciliation , the body leading the peace process , told AFP .
`` The prisoners ' exchange will be completed soon . ''
Speaking to Reuters , Khawzon said that a government-mandated negotiation team will leave for Doha on September 3 .
Najia Anwari , a spokeswoman for the State Ministry for Peace Affairs , said that a `` small technical team '' had been sent for Doha `` for logistical preparations . ''
Kabul 's team of negotiators will also leave for Qatar `` very soon , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as saying Kabul had released some 200 Taliban inmates since September 1 to spur the start of long-delayed peace negotiations .
The fate of a group of 400 `` hardcore '' Taliban prisoners has stalled peace negotiations between the government in Kabul and the Taliban to end nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan .
The Taliban has blamed Kabul for delaying the talks and said they are willing to begin peace talks `` within a week '' of the prisoner exchange being completed .
The negotiations are part of an agreement reached @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in February in an effort to end the Afghan conflict .
With reporting by AFP and Reuters


rferl--2020-09-02--Tajik Opposition Movement Says Its Activist Detained In Russia

A Tajik political opposition group that is labeled as extremist and banned in Tajikistan says one of its activists has been detained in Russia .
The Group 24 opposition movement said on September 2 that Shobuddin Badalov was detained a day earlier in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod by several men in civilian clothes , who introduced themselves as police officials .
Badalov 's current whereabouts are unknown .
According to the group , Badalov 's detainment is linked to his political activities and Tajik authorities must have been involved in it .
Neither Russian nor Tajik officials have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In June , Badalov and another Tajik opposition activist Rakhmatjon Muhammad , were arrested in Moscow and spent 15 days in jail after they organized a rally to protest Tajik President Emomali Rahmon 's visit to the Russian capital .
Group 24 was founded by well-known businessman and opposition politician Umarali Quvatov in 2012 .
In 2014 , Tajikistan 's Supreme Court found the group extremist and banned it .
Dozens of the group 's members and supporters were then arrested and many of them sentenced to lengthy prison terms .
In March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Turkey .

A Tajik political opposition group that is labeled as extremist and banned in Tajikistan says one of its activists has been detained in Russia.
The Group 24 opposition movement said on September 2 that Shobuddin Badalov was detained a day earlier in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod by several men in civilian clothes, who introduced themselves as police officials. Badalov's current whereabouts are unknown.
According to the group, Badalov's detainment is linked to his political activities and Tajik authorities must have been involved in it.
Neither Russian nor Tajik officials have issued official statements regarding the situation.
In June, Badalov and another Tajik opposition activist Rakhmatjon Muhammad, were arrested in Moscow and spent 15 days in jail after they organized a rally to protest Tajik President Emomali Rahmon's visit to the Russian capital.
Group 24 was founded by well-known businessman and opposition politician Umarali Quvatov in 2012.
In 2014, Tajikistan's Supreme Court found the group extremist and banned it. Dozens of the group's members and supporters were then arrested and many of them sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
In March 2015, Quvatov was assassinated in Istanbul, Turkey.


rferl--2020-09-02--Deputy Secretary Of State Vows Continued U.S. Support For Freedom In Belarus

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun says Washington and its European partners will continue to press Belarusian authorities to free political prisoners , end violence against protesters , and allow citizens to choose their government through a free and fair election .
Speaking in an interview with RFE/RL by telephone on September 1 following a European tour that brought him to Lithuania , Russia , Ukraine , and Austria last week , Biegun also warned that a Russian military intervention in Belarus would have a “ very negative ” impact on Moscow ’ s ties with the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the people of Belarus , have reminded us how important democracy and freedom are .
We are in awe of the courage that you have shown , and we wish you the very best , ” he said , vowing that the United States and its international partners “ will work as closely as possible to ensure that you have the right to select your own government through a free and fair election under independent observation that is guaranteed to you by the Belarusian Constitution and by relevant international documents.
” “ Please @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world as you advance your goals toward that end.
” Biegun ’ s comments came as President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is showing no signs of giving in to hundreds of thousands of citizens who have taken to the streets across Belarus since the results of the August 9 presidential election were published .
Lukashenka , who has kept a tight grip on Belarus for 26 years , was declared the winner of the vote , which was widely viewed as rigged in his favor , with just above 80 percent of the ballots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leader to step down , release all political prisoners , and hold new elections .
The United States and the European Union have criticized the vote as neither free nor fair and have called on the government to begin a dialogue with the opposition .
“ We don ’ t see any progress at all ” in the crisis , Biegun told RFE/RL , adding that the United States and the international community “ will continue to press the Belarusian government ” to meet its obligations under the charter of the Organization for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) and the United Nations ’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights .
“ Our basic demands are the immediate release of the unjustly detained… [ and ] an end the violence against protesters , ” he said .
Amid Western condemnation of the postelection crackdown , Russian officials have backed Lukashenka and condemned what they said were attempts from abroad to take advantage of unrest in the former Soviet republic .
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week announced that a contingent of Russian security forces was prepared to deploy to Belarus in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov , who met his Belarusian counterpart in Moscow on September 2 , has claimed that `` no one is making a secret of the fact that this is about geopolitics , the fight for the post-Soviet space . ''
However , Biegun told RFE/RL that the United States has “ never seen Belarus as a contest between East and West , nor do we see it in that manner now.
” “ This is a contest between the Belarusian leader and his own people .
And we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partners to keep this at the front of this , ” he said .
Biegun also said he had told Russian officials during his visit to Moscow that “ while we did not seek or see this as a geopolitical contest , there would be substantial consequences for the relationship between Russia and the United States , between Russia and Europe ” in the event of a deployment of Russian forces to Belarus .
“ The last four years has been very challenging for U.S.-Russian relations , but it is possible that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the things that would limit the ability of any president , regardless of the outcome of [ the U.S. presidential election in November ] , in developing a more cooperative relationship with Russia , in any sphere , would be direct Russian intervention in Belarus .
”

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun says Washington and its European partners will continue to press Belarusian authorities to free political prisoners, end violence against protesters, and allow citizens to choose their government through a free and fair election.
Speaking in an interview with RFE/RL by telephone on September 1 following a European tour that brought him to Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, and Austria last week, Biegun also warned that a Russian military intervention in Belarus would have a “very negative” impact on Moscow’s ties with the United States and European countries.
“You, the people of Belarus, have reminded us how important democracy and freedom are. We are in awe of the courage that you have shown, and we wish you the very best,” he said, vowing that the United States and its international partners “will work as closely as possible to ensure that you have the right to select your own government through a free and fair election under independent observation that is guaranteed to you by the Belarusian Constitution and by relevant international documents.”
“Please know that you have the support of the world as you advance your goals toward that end.”
Biegun’s comments came as President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is showing no signs of giving in to hundreds of thousands of citizens who have taken to the streets across Belarus since the results of the August 9 presidential election were published.
Lukashenka, who has kept a tight grip on Belarus for 26 years, was declared the winner of the vote, which was widely viewed as rigged in his favor, with just above 80 percent of the ballots.
The demonstrators want the 66-year-old Belarusian leader to step down, release all political prisoners, and hold new elections.
Western Criticism
The United States and the European Union have criticized the vote as neither free nor fair and have called on the government to begin a dialogue with the opposition.
“We don’t see any progress at all” in the crisis, Biegun told RFE/RL, adding that the United States and the international community “will continue to press the Belarusian government” to meet its obligations under the charter of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“Our basic demands are the immediate release of the unjustly detained…[and] an end the violence against protesters,” he said.
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.
Amid Western condemnation of the postelection crackdown, Russian officials have backed Lukashenka and condemned what they said were attempts from abroad to take advantage of unrest in the former Soviet republic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week announced that a contingent of Russian security forces was prepared to deploy to Belarus in the event of "looting" by demonstrators.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met his Belarusian counterpart in Moscow on September 2, has claimed that "no one is making a secret of the fact that this is about geopolitics, the fight for the post-Soviet space."
However, Biegun told RFE/RL that the United States has “never seen Belarus as a contest between East and West, nor do we see it in that manner now.”
“This is a contest between the Belarusian leader and his own people. And we’re trying to work with our partners to keep this at the front of this,” he said.
Biegun also said he had told Russian officials during his visit to Moscow that “while we did not seek or see this as a geopolitical contest, there would be substantial consequences for the relationship between Russia and the United States, between Russia and Europe” in the event of a deployment of Russian forces to Belarus.
“The last four years has been very challenging for U.S.-Russian relations, but it is possible that it could be worse. And one of the things that would limit the ability of any president, regardless of the outcome of [the U.S. presidential election in November], in developing a more cooperative relationship with Russia, in any sphere, would be direct Russian intervention in Belarus.”


rferl--2020-09-02--Watchdog Describes Iran's 'Shocking' Rights Violations After November Protests

Amnesty International has accused Iran of committing “ a catalogue of shocking human rights violations ” against those detained in connection with the November 2019 antiestablishment protests , including children as young as 10 .
The violent demonstrations were sparked by a sudden hike in the price of gasoline and spread to some 100 Iranian towns and cities .
The authorities responded with force , killing at least 304 protesters , according to Amnesty International , and arresting several thousand while also shutting down the Internet for several days to disrupt the free flow of information .
In a report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human rights group says Iran ’ s police , intelligence , security forces , and prison officials have resorted with the complicity of judges and prosecutors to arbitrary detention , enforced disappearance , torture , and other ill-treatment against protesters , bystanders , and others who were arrested during and after the 2019 protests .
Amnesty says the report is based on interviews with 60 victims of the state crackdown or their relatives or close acquaintances , two protesters who were hiding , and 14 informed individuals .
The groups says it has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inside the country while also analyzing video footage and court documents .
“ In the days following the mass protests , videos showing Iran ’ s security forces deliberately killing and injuring unarmed protesters and bystanders sent shockwaves around the world , ” said Diana Eltahawy , Amnesty International ’ s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa .
“ Much less visible has been the catalogue of cruelty meted out to detainees and their families by Iranian officials away from the public eye , ” Eltahawy added .
Amnesty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and details of more than 500 protesters and others , including journalists and human rights defenders , who have been subjected to “ unfair criminal proceedings ” in connection with the protests .
The rights group says prison terms for those convicted have ranged from one month to 10 years for vague charges , including “ gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security , ” “ spreading propaganda against the system , ” and “ insulting ” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei .
Three protesters were sentenced to death .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a public outcry .
Amnesty International says many of those arrested were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment .
Victims were punched , kicked , flogged , suspended or forced into holding stressful positions for prolonged periods , placed in prolonged solitary confinement , and denied medical care for injuries sustained during the protests , the watchdog said .
The report quoted one victim as describing being waterboarded .
“ [ My interrogators ] would drench a towel in water and place it over my face .
Then they would pour water slowly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feel like I was suffocating , ” the victim from the northeastern Khorasan Razavi Province said .
A victim from Tehran described being suspended from his hands and feet from a pole in a painful method .
“ The pain was excruciating .
There was so much pressure and pain in my body that I would urinate on myself , ” the man in the Iranian capital told Amnesty International .

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


rferl--2020-09-02--Women Join Belarus Protests After Dozens Of Students Detained

MINSK -- Throngs of women peacefully protested in central Minsk late on September 1 after earlier in the day security forces detained dozens of university students rallying in response to a call from Belarus ’ s opposition for a nationwide strike to coincide with the first day of the school year .
Several hundred women gathered near Independence Avenue in the capital , some singing and dancing as police looked on without intervening .
Women have taken a leading role in more than three weeks of protests against President Alyaksandr Lukashenka ’ s rule , often forming lines to shield @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day , columns of students carrying banned red-and-white flags representing the opposition gathered in front of universities and flocked into the center of Minsk .
`` September 1 is a day of knowledge .
Knowledge of the meaning of Belarusian solidarity .
Join this one-day strike , support the workers and show the government who is the real source of power , '' opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya ’ s team said in a statement .
At least 55 people were detained as riot police dispersed protesters at several locations , according to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on social media showed police dressed in black charging into a line of students and forcefully dragging them away .
The Belarusian Journalists Association said eight journalists covering the protests were detained for attending unauthorized protests .
Last week , authorities stripped at least 17 journalists of accreditation in a bid to control information about protests .
Lukashenka , who has kept a tight grip on Belarus for 26 years , was declared the winner in an August 9 presidential election , which was widely viewed as rigged .
Hundreds of thousands of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across the country to protest the results , calling on Lukashenka to step down , release all political prisoners , and hold free and fair elections .
Much of Europe , as well as the United States and other countries , have rejected the election results and criticized Lukashenka 's crackdown on protesters and opposition members both before and after the vote .
In a statement on September 1 , UN human rights experts said they had received reports of 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of people held in custody since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the non-derogable prohibition of torture and ill-treatment must be prosecuted and punished , '' they said .
The experts also said that most people reported missing have been accounted for , but the whereabouts and the health situation of at least six individuals are said to be unknown to their relatives .
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on September 1 called on the UN Human Rights Council to immediately convene to discuss the situation in Belarus .
Separately , Lithuania along with Latvia and Estonia announced on August 31 that they had slapped travel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including Lukashenka .
The European Union has agreed to impose sanctions on up to 20 senior Belarusian officials suspected of involvement in election fraud and the brutal crackdown on protesters .
With the goodwill built up during a thaw in relations with the West quickly evaporating , Lukashenka , who has rejected the opposition ’ s demands , has turned an eye towards the Kremlin , a traditional ally despite recent strains sparked by Minsk 's courting of others .
On September 1 , Lukashenka said that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brest to Vladivostok '' and that he was ready to reroute the country ’ s cargo from Baltic ports to Russian ports in response to the sanctions imposed by Lithuania , Latvia , and Estonia .
`` They say , it would be more expensive for Belarus , '' BelTa news agency quoted Lukashenka as saying .
`` Of course , it would be a little bit disadvantageous for us .
But we can agree with the Russians on tariffs , '' he said Addressing students at the Moscow State Institute of International @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Western countries of `` delivering verdicts '' on the crisis in Belarus , which he said is “ unacceptable in the modern world . ''
Moscow has consistently accused the West of interfering in the internal affairs of Belarus .
With reporting by Reuters , Interfax , and AFP

MINSK -- Throngs of women peacefully protested in central Minsk late on September 1 after earlier in the day security forces detained dozens of university students rallying in response to a call from Belarus’s opposition for a nationwide strike to coincide with the first day of the school year.
Several hundred women gathered near Independence Avenue in the capital, some singing and dancing as police looked on without intervening.
Women have taken a leading role in more than three weeks of protests against President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s rule, often forming lines to shield men from arrest.
Earlier in the day, columns of students carrying banned red-and-white flags representing the opposition gathered in front of universities and flocked into the center of Minsk.
"September 1 is a day of knowledge. Knowledge of the meaning of Belarusian solidarity. Join this one-day strike, support the workers and show the government who is the real source of power," opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s team said in a statement.
At least 55 people were detained as riot police dispersed protesters at several locations, according to the Vyasna human rights group. Video posted on social media showed police dressed in black charging into a line of students and forcefully dragging them away.
The Belarusian Journalists Association said eight journalists covering the protests were detained for attending unauthorized protests. Last week, authorities stripped at least 17 journalists of accreditation in a bid to control information about protests.
Lukashenka, who has kept a tight grip on Belarus for 26 years, was declared the winner in an August 9 presidential election, which was widely viewed as rigged.
Hundreds of thousands of citizens have since taken to the streets across the country to protest the results, calling on Lukashenka to step down, release all political prisoners, and hold free and fair elections.
Diplomatic Pressure
Much of Europe, as well as the United States and other countries, have rejected the election results and criticized Lukashenka's crackdown on protesters and opposition members both before and after the vote.
In a statement on September 1, UN human rights experts said they had received reports of 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of people held in custody since the election.
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.
“Any violation of the non-derogable prohibition of torture and ill-treatment must be prosecuted and punished," they said.
The experts also said that most people reported missing have been accounted for, but the whereabouts and the health situation of at least six individuals are said to be unknown to their relatives.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on September 1 called on the UN Human Rights Council to immediately convene to discuss the situation in Belarus.
Separately, Lithuania along with Latvia and Estonia announced on August 31 that they had slapped travel sanctions on several top Belarusian officials, including Lukashenka.
The European Union has agreed to impose sanctions on up to 20 senior Belarusian officials suspected of involvement in election fraud and the brutal crackdown on protesters.
With the goodwill built up during a thaw in relations with the West quickly evaporating, Lukashenka, who has rejected the opposition’s demands, has turned an eye towards the Kremlin, a traditional ally despite recent strains sparked by Minsk's courting of others.
On September 1, Lukashenka said that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin will safeguard "our common homeland from Brest to Vladivostok" and that he was ready to reroute the country’s cargo from Baltic ports to Russian ports in response to the sanctions imposed by Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
"They say, it would be more expensive for Belarus," BelTa news agency quoted Lukashenka as saying.
"Of course, it would be a little bit disadvantageous for us. But we can agree with the Russians on tariffs," he said
Addressing students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations on September 1, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Western countries of "delivering verdicts" on the crisis in Belarus, which he said is “unacceptable in the modern world."
Moscow has consistently accused the West of interfering in the internal affairs of Belarus.
With reporting by Reuters, Interfax, and AFP


rferl--2020-09-02--U.S. Announces New Sanctions Against International Court Over Probe Of War Crimes In Afghanistan

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) and one of her top aides for continuing to investigate Americans in connection with alleged war crimes in Afghanistan .
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the move on September 2 , calling the ICC a `` a thoroughly broken and corrupt institution ” and saying the United States `` will not tolerate its illegitimate attempts to subject Americans to its jurisdiction.
” Pompeo announced the sanctions against chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and head of jurisdiction Phakiso Mochochoko at a news conference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ include a freeze on any assets they hold in the United States or assets subject to U.S. law .
The ICC in March gave Bensouda the go-ahead to investigate whether war crimes were committed in Afghanistan by the Taliban , Afghan military , and U.S. forces .
Pompeo said people who provide Bensouda and Mochochoko with “ material support ” in investigating Americans could also face U.S. penalties .
The sanctions are the latest moves against the tribunal by the Trump administration for investigations into the United States and its allies .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never joined , said in a statement it stands by its employees and its mission and denounced the sanctions .
`` I strongly reject such unprecedented and unacceptable measures against a treaty-based international organization , '' said O-Gon Kwon , president of the ICC 's Assembly of States Parties .
Pompeo had previously imposed a travel ban on Bensouda and other tribunal employees because of an ICC investigation into allegations of torture and other crimes by Americans in Afghanistan .
The sanctions announced on September 2 came nearly three months after President Donald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sanctions and travel restrictions against ICC officials who are directly involved in investigating U.S. troops and intelligence officials for possible war crimes in Afghanistan .
The United States has not joined the ICC because of concerns the court might be used for politically motivated prosecutions of U.S. troops and officials .
The U.S. Congress also opposes an international court interfering in U.S. sovereignty .
The United States is among dozens of countries that are not party to the treaty that established the ICC in 2002 to prosecute war crimes , crimes against humanity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might not otherwise face justice .
Human rights groups and others have condemned the Trump administration 's moves against the court .
“ Today ’ s announcement is designed to do what this administration does best — bully and intimidate , '' said Daniel Balson of Amnesty International USA said on September 2 .
“ It penalizes not only the ICC , but civil society actors working for justice alongside the court worldwide.
” He accused the United States of demanding the “ a political carve-out of impunity ” for Americans accused of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ No one responsible for the most serious crimes under international law should be able to hide from accountability , under a cloak of impunity , ” he said .
Richard Dicker , the international justice director at Human Rights Watch , called it “ a stunning perversion of U.S. sanctions , devised to penalize rights abusers and kleptocrats , to persecute those tasked with prosecuting international crimes.
” “ The Trump administration has twisted these sanctions to obstruct justice , not only for certain war crimes victims , but for atrocity victims @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for justice , ” he said .
With reporting by Reuters , AP , and AFP

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


rferl--2020-09-02--Kazakh Officials, Family Members To Be Barred From Having Bank Accounts Abroad

NUR-SULTAN -- Kazakhstan 's government has announced that officials and members of their families will be barred from having bank accounts abroad amid growing public frustration over corruption following several scandals that have shed light on the enormity of their unexplained offshore wealth.. Finance Minister Erulan Zhamaubaev said on September 2 that the plan is linked to his ministry 's program to fight against the shadow economy and to enhance the development of financial regulations .
His announcement came a day after President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev said in an address to the nation that it was necessary as of 2021 to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ judges from having bank accounts abroad to prevent corruption .
Kazakhstan , once the poster child for economic reform in post-Soviet states , has seen its image tarnished in recent years as reports emerge of officials and their family members owning mansions and large bank accounts abroad .
Earlier this year , Britain ’ s National Crime Agency asked a grandson of former president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev to explain where he got the money to buy a multimillion-pound mansion along one of north London ’ s most expensive streets .
Though he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the global media attention put the entire Nazarbaev family in an unwelcome spotlight , especially at home .
`` For sure , a public announcement of this kind is meant to signal to the public , that has grown wary of corruption scandals , that the government intends a serious crackdown on graft and kleptocracy , '' Alexander Cooley , the director of Columbia University 's Harriman Institute and author of a book on corruption in Central Asia , told RFE/RL .
Zhamaubaev said that all bank accounts in the country will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on sharing information between member-states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ( OECD ) .
The OECD is an international group of 37 countries with market economies that cooperate with more than 70 nonmember economies to promote economic growth and sustainable development .
Zhamaubaev did not specify when exactly the plan will be implemented or what would happen if officials and their family members were found to have offshore accounts .
Cooley said he doubted the policy will stop Kazakh elites from holding money offshore because they rarely conduct foreign transactions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , their intermediaries use nested networks of offshore entities to conceal and store assets across multiple jurisdictions and domains , '' he said .
Deciphering the networks would be a costly and time-consuming process made “ even more challenging ” by the powerful personalities being investigated , Cooley said .
However , he said the new policy could potentially be a `` powerful weapon '' in a domestic political struggle .

NUR-SULTAN -- Kazakhstan's government has announced that officials and members of their families will be barred from having bank accounts abroad amid growing public frustration over corruption following several scandals that have shed light on the enormity of their unexplained offshore wealth..
Finance Minister Erulan Zhamaubaev said on September 2 that the plan is linked to his ministry's program to fight against the shadow economy and to enhance the development of financial regulations.
His announcement came a day after President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev said in an address to the nation that it was necessary as of 2021 to bar government officials, lawmakers, and judges from having bank accounts abroad to prevent corruption.
Kazakhstan, once the poster child for economic reform in post-Soviet states, has seen its image tarnished in recent years as reports emerge of officials and their family members owning mansions and large bank accounts abroad.
Earlier this year, Britain’s National Crime Agency asked a grandson of former president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev to explain where he got the money to buy a multimillion-pound mansion along one of north London’s most expensive streets.
Though he kept the London mansion and other properties, the global media attention put the entire Nazarbaev family in an unwelcome spotlight, especially at home.
"For sure, a public announcement of this kind is meant to signal to the public, that has grown wary of corruption scandals, that the government intends a serious crackdown on graft and kleptocracy," Alexander Cooley, the director of Columbia University's Harriman Institute and author of a book on corruption in Central Asia, told RFE/RL.
Zhamaubaev said that all bank accounts in the country will be checked in line with a program on sharing information between member-states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The OECD is an international group of 37 countries with market economies that cooperate with more than 70 nonmember economies to promote economic growth and sustainable development.
Zhamaubaev did not specify when exactly the plan will be implemented or what would happen if officials and their family members were found to have offshore accounts.
Cooley said he doubted the policy will stop Kazakh elites from holding money offshore because they rarely conduct foreign transactions in their own names.
"Instead, their intermediaries use nested networks of offshore entities to conceal and store assets across multiple jurisdictions and domains," he said.
Deciphering the networks would be a costly and time-consuming process made “even more challenging” by the powerful personalities being investigated, Cooley said.
However, he said the new policy could potentially be a "powerful weapon" in a domestic political struggle.


rferl--2020-09-02--Two Jehovah's Witnesses Get Lengthy Prison Terms In Siberia

KEMEROVO , Russia -- A court in Russia 's Siberian city of Kemerovo has sentenced two Jehovah 's Witnesses to four years in prison each .
Sergei Britvin and Vadim Levchuk were found guilty on September 2 of being members of an extremist organization and sentenced the same day .
The two were arrested in July 2018 after a `` secret witness '' testified against them .
Britvin is legally handicapped .
In December last year , a court in Kemerovo transferred Britvin and Levchuk to house arrest .
Russia officially banned the religious group in April 2017 and deemed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a designation the U.S. State Department has characterized as `` wrong . ''
For decades , the Jehovah 's Witnesses have been viewed with suspicion in Russia , where the dominant Orthodox Church is championed by President Vladimir Putin .
The Christian group is known for door-to-door preaching , close Bible study , rejection of military service , and not celebrating national and religious holidays or birthdays .
Since the faith was outlawed in Russia , several Jehovah 's Witnesses have been imprisoned in the country and in the Russia-annexed Ukrainian Black Sea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ banned two high-ranking regional officers from Russia 's Investigative Committee from entering the United States over alleged torture of seven detainees who are Jehovah 's Witnesses .
The Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center has recognized 29 Jehovah ’ s Witnesses who 've been charged with or convicted of extremism as political prisoners .
On January 9 , Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) said Russian law enforcement authorities had `` dramatically escalated the nationwide persecution '' of Jehovah ’ s Witnesses during the previous year .
HRW said Russian authorities have carried out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Jehovah 's Witnesses in dozens of Russian cities since 2017 .
More than half of those raids were conducted in 2019 .

KEMEROVO, Russia -- A court in Russia's Siberian city of Kemerovo has sentenced two Jehovah's Witnesses to four years in prison each.
Sergei Britvin and Vadim Levchuk were found guilty on September 2 of being members of an extremist organization and sentenced the same day.
The two were arrested in July 2018 after a "secret witness" testified against them. Britvin is legally handicapped.
In December last year, a court in Kemerovo transferred Britvin and Levchuk to house arrest.
Russia officially banned the religious group in April 2017 and deemed it an "extremist organization," a designation the U.S. State Department has characterized as "wrong."
For decades, the Jehovah's Witnesses have been viewed with suspicion in Russia, where the dominant Orthodox Church is championed by President Vladimir Putin.
The Christian group is known for door-to-door preaching, close Bible study, rejection of military service, and not celebrating national and religious holidays or birthdays.
Since the faith was outlawed in Russia, several Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned in the country and in the Russia-annexed Ukrainian Black Sea Crimea peninsula.
In September, Washington banned two high-ranking regional officers from Russia's Investigative Committee from entering the United States over alleged torture of seven detainees who are Jehovah's Witnesses.
The Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center has recognized 29 Jehovah’s Witnesses who've been charged with or convicted of extremism as political prisoners.
On January 9, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Russian law enforcement authorities had "dramatically escalated the nationwide persecution" of Jehovah’s Witnesses during the previous year.
HRW said Russian authorities have carried out at least 780 raids of houses owned by Jehovah's Witnesses in dozens of Russian cities since 2017. More than half of those raids were conducted in 2019.


rferl--2020-09-02--Azerbaijani Opposition Politician Facing Seven Years Starts Hunger Strike After Judge Deprives Him O

Azerbaijani Opposition Politician Facing Seven Years Starts Hunger Strike After Judge Deprives Him Of Final Statement

BAKU -- An opposition politician in Azerbaijan who is on trial on what he and his supporters call bogus charges has launched a hunger strike after the judge deprived him of his last statement at the process .
Tofiq Yaqublu , deputy chairman of the opposition Musavat Party and a senior politician in the National Council of Democratic Forces , a coalition of opposition parties and activists , was given the floor on September 2 for his final statement in the courtroom as his trial on hooliganism charges neared its end .
However , when Yaqublu used the opportunity to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him , calling it politically motivated , Judge Nariman Mehdiyev interrupted him several times , and then ruled to deprive the politician of his right to finish the statement .
Yaqublu then announced that he would begin a hunger strike to protest the judge 's ruling and the case against him in general .
Yaqublu 's verdict and sentence are expected to be pronounced on September 3 .
A group of his supporters marched in Baku after the trial 's September 2 session ended .
Yaqublu was arrested in March after a car @ @ @ @ @ @ @ driver of the car started heated debates with the politician .
Yaqublu and human rights groups say the car accident was most was staged to be used for the `` bogus '' case .
The politician , who frequently criticizes the government and authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev , could face up to seven years in prison if convicted .
Critics of Aliyev 's government say authorities in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists , journalists , and civil-society advocates on trumped-up charges .
Aliyev has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for his father , Heidar Aliyev , who served as president for a decade .

BAKU -- An opposition politician in Azerbaijan who is on trial on what he and his supporters call bogus charges has launched a hunger strike after the judge deprived him of his last statement at the process.
Tofiq Yaqublu, deputy chairman of the opposition Musavat Party and a senior politician in the National Council of Democratic Forces, a coalition of opposition parties and activists, was given the floor on September 2 for his final statement in the courtroom as his trial on hooliganism charges neared its end.
However, when Yaqublu used the opportunity to question the legality of the case against him, calling it politically motivated, Judge Nariman Mehdiyev interrupted him several times, and then ruled to deprive the politician of his right to finish the statement.
Yaqublu then announced that he would begin a hunger strike to protest the judge's ruling and the case against him in general.
Yaqublu's verdict and sentence are expected to be pronounced on September 3. A group of his supporters marched in Baku after the trial's September 2 session ended.
Yaqublu was arrested in March after a car hit his vehicle in Baku and the driver of the car started heated debates with the politician.
Yaqublu and human rights groups say the car accident was most was staged to be used for the "bogus" case.
The politician, who frequently criticizes the government and authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev, could face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
Critics of Aliyev's government say authorities in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists, journalists, and civil-society advocates on trumped-up charges.
Aliyev has ruled Azerbaijan since 2003, taking over for his father, Heidar Aliyev, who served as president for a decade.


rferl--2020-09-02--Pompeo: U.S. Demands End To Violence In Belarus, Consults With Allies On Sanctions

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the United States is demanding an immediate end to the violent crackdown by Belarus @ @ @ @ @ after a disputed election on August 9 that gave longtime authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka a @ @ @ @ @ also said on September 2 that the United States was reviewing significant targeted sanctions on @ @ @ @ @ abuses in Belarus in consultation with Washington 's transatlantic partners .
Speaking at a news @ @ @ @ @ Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun traveled to the region at his direction last week @ @ @ @ @ belief that `` the people of Belarus deserve the right to choose their own leaders @ @ @ @ @ of citizens have taken to the streets across Belarus to protest the `` rigged '' @ @ @ @ @ than 80 percent of the vote .
Many countries around the world have rejected the @ @ @ @ @ 's crackdown on protesters and opposition members both before and after the vote .

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the United States is demanding an immediate end to the violent crackdown by Belarus's government on opposition supporters after a disputed election on August 9 that gave longtime authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka a new six-year term.
Pompeo also said on September 2 that the United States was reviewing significant targeted sanctions on anyone involved in human rights abuses in Belarus in consultation with Washington's transatlantic partners.
Speaking at a news conference, Pompeo said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun traveled to the region at his direction last week and stated Washington’s belief that "the people of Belarus deserve the right to choose their own leaders."
Hundreds of thousands of citizens have taken to the streets across Belarus to protest the "rigged" results that gave Lukashenka more than 80 percent of the vote.
Many countries around the world have rejected the election results and criticized Lukashenka's crackdown on protesters and opposition members both before and after the vote.


rferl--2020-09-02--U.S. Demands End To Violence In Belarus As Dozens More Face Charges Over Protests

WASHINGTON/MINSK -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the United States is demanding an immediate end to the violent crackdown by Belarus 's government on opposition supporters after a disputed election on August 9 that gave longtime authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka a new six-year term .
Pompeo , speaking at a news conference on September 2 , also said that the United States , in consultation with its transatlantic partners , was reviewing significant targeted sanctions on anyone involved in human rights abuses in Belarus .
George Kent , who serves as deputy assistant secretary overseeing policy towards Belarus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talk to allies to coordinate on possible sanctions against those responsible for the beatings and election manipulation .
Kent , speaking at a conference in Washington , said the United States and its allies would have a tough response if Russia intervenes in Belarus , adding that if Moscow thinks relations with the West in the last few years have been tough , `` it can get worse . ''
Lukashenka 's government has `` lost all legitimacy in the eyes '' of the Belarusian people , he said .
Thus it would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ image in Belarus to intervene militarily on his behalf .
Hundreds of thousands of citizens have taken to the streets across Belarus to protest the `` rigged '' results that gave Lukashenka more than 80 percent of the vote .
The protesters are calling on the 66-year-old Lukashenka to step down , release all political prisoners , and hold free and fair elections .
Many countries around the world have rejected the election results and criticized Lukashenka 's crackdown on protesters and opposition members both before and after the vote .
Anti-government demonstrations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after more than 120 people were detained for taking part in unsanctioned rallies against longtime authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka .
A total of 128 people were held across Belarus on September 1 amid a crackdown on a weekslong protest movement , the Interior Ministry said on September 2 .
In Minsk , a total of 95 people , including more than 30 students , are accused of legal violations for attending unauthorized protests the previous day , the ministry said , adding that 39 of them will remain in custody until courts hear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ journalists gathered outside a police station in the capital in support for six of their colleagues from Belarusian news outlets who were detained while covering the protest .
Elsewhere , more than 100 students of the Minsk State Linguistics University formed a human chain to protest the detentions of students and professors .
At least eight participants were detained , according to the Vyasna human rights center .
The authorities raided the Minsk office of software company PandaDoc and detained its director in a move the company 's chief executive said was politically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who has launched an initiative to help law enforcement officers who will leave the service , said that the homes of employees had also been searched .
Much of Europe , as well as the United States and other countries , have rejected the election results and criticized Lukashenka 's crackdown on protesters and opposition members both before and after the vote .
Amid growing Western pressure , Lukashenka has vowed to cement ties with neighboring Russia .
During a visit to Moscow on September 2 , Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimer Makey thanked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the face of what he described as protests orchestrated from abroad .
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov , appearing alongside Makey , criticized `` destructive '' Western criticism of the Belarusian authorities and made an unsubstantiated claim that `` some 200 extremists trained on Ukrainian territory are now in the Republic of Belarus . ''
He said Moscow would respond `` firmly and with dignity '' to any attempts to destabilize Belarus or loosen its strong ties to Russia .
Lavrov also said the chiefs of staff of the Russian and Belarusian armies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Belarus this year ahead of a visit on September 4 of the Belarusian defense minister to Moscow .
Belarusian Defense Minister Major General Viktar Khrenin is to attend meetings of the Commonwealth of Independent States , the Shanghai Cooperation Organization , and the Collective Security Treaty Organization .
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is set to visit Belarus on September 3 .
The next day in Moscow , Belarusian Defense Minister Major General Viktar Khrenin is to attend meetings of the Commonwealth of Independent States , the Shanghai Cooperation Organization , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporting by RFE/RL 's Belarus Service , Reuters , AP , dpa , AFP , and Interfax

WASHINGTON/MINSK-- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the United States is demanding an immediate end to the violent crackdown by Belarus's government on opposition supporters after a disputed election on August 9 that gave longtime authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka a new six-year term.
Pompeo, speaking at a news conference on September 2, also said that the United States, in consultation with its transatlantic partners, was reviewing significant targeted sanctions on anyone involved in human rights abuses in Belarus.
George Kent, who serves as deputy assistant secretary overseeing policy towards Belarus, said the United States will continue to talk to allies to coordinate on possible sanctions against those responsible for the beatings and election manipulation.
Kent, speaking at a conference in Washington, said the United States and its allies would have a tough response if Russia intervenes in Belarus, adding that if Moscow thinks relations with the West in the last few years have been tough, "it can get worse."
Lukashenka's government has "lost all legitimacy in the eyes" of the Belarusian people, he said. Thus it would be "catastrophic" for Russia's image in Belarus to intervene militarily on his behalf.
Hundreds of thousands of citizens have taken to the streets across Belarus to protest the "rigged" results that gave Lukashenka more than 80 percent of the vote. The protesters are calling on the 66-year-old Lukashenka to step down, release all political prisoners, and hold free and fair elections.
Many countries around the world have rejected the election results and criticized Lukashenka's crackdown on protesters and opposition members both before and after the vote.
Anti-government demonstrations have continued in Belarus, a day after more than 120 people were detained for taking part in unsanctioned rallies against longtime authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
A total of 128 people were held across Belarus on September 1 amid a crackdown on a weekslong protest movement, the Interior Ministry said on September 2.
In Minsk, a total of 95 people, including more than 30 students, are accused of legal violations for attending unauthorized protests the previous day, the ministry said, adding that 39 of them will remain in custody until courts hear their cases.
Meanwhile, several dozen journalists gathered outside a police station in the capital in support for six of their colleagues from Belarusian news outlets who were detained while covering the protest.
Elsewhere, more than 100 students of the Minsk State Linguistics University formed a human chain to protest the detentions of students and professors. At least eight participants were detained, according to the Vyasna human rights center.
The authorities raided the Minsk office of software company PandaDoc and detained its director in a move the company's chief executive said was politically motivated.
PandaDoc CEO Mikita Mikado, who has launched an initiative to help law enforcement officers who will leave the service, said that the homes of employees had also been searched.
Much of Europe, as well as the United States and other countries, have rejected the election results and criticized Lukashenka's crackdown on protesters and opposition members both before and after the vote.
Amid growing Western pressure, Lukashenka has vowed to cement ties with neighboring Russia.
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.
During a visit to Moscow on September 2, Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimer Makey thanked Russia for supporting the Belarusian government in the face of what he described as protests orchestrated from abroad.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, appearing alongside Makey, criticized "destructive" Western criticism of the Belarusian authorities and made an unsubstantiated claim that "some 200 extremists trained on Ukrainian territory are now in the Republic of Belarus."
He said Moscow would respond "firmly and with dignity" to any attempts to destabilize Belarus or loosen its strong ties to Russia.
Lavrov also said the chiefs of staff of the Russian and Belarusian armies discussed preparations for a joint military drill in Belarus this year ahead of a visit on September 4 of the Belarusian defense minister to Moscow.
Belarusian Defense Minister Major General Viktar Khrenin is to attend meetings of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is set to visit Belarus on September 3.
The next day in Moscow, Belarusian Defense Minister Major General Viktar Khrenin is to attend meetings of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, Reuters, AP, dpa, AFP, and Interfax


rferl--2020-09-02--Germany Says Navalny Poisoned By Novichok Nerve Agent

The German government says tests on blood samples taken from Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny showed the presence of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group , a poison suspected of being used in other attempts to silence outspoken Kremlin opponents .
Steffen Seibert , Chancellor Angela Merkel ’ s spokesman , said in a statement on September 2 that tests at a special German military laboratory had shown proof of `` a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group . ''
Western nations and officials in unison expressed outrage over the use of a military-grade agent banned by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demanded that Russia investigate the case .
The German Foreign Office said it would be informing the Russian ambassador in Berlin of the result and demanded Moscow issue a response .
`` It 's a startling event that Aleksei Navalny was the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve agent in Russia .
The German federal government condemns this action in the strongest possible terms .
The Russian government is urged to explain itself over the incident , '' Seibert said in a statement .
Navalny , 44 , fell ill on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ August 20 , forcing the plane he was traveling on to make an emergency landing in Omsk , where he spent two days in hospital before being evacuated to Germany .
He is in a medically induced coma in an intensive care unit at Charite Hospital in Berlin and is on a respirator .
`` A longer course of treatment for the illness is to be expected .
Long-term consequences of severe poisoning can not be ruled out , '' the hospital said in a statement on September 2 .
Navalny is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a toxic substance .
Activist Pyotr Verzilov was flown to Germany from Moscow in September 2018 for medical treatment after he was poisoned with an agent that affected his nerves .
Verzilov 's poisoning came just months after former Russian double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter , Yulia , were found unconscious in a park in the English city of Salisbury .
A British investigation determined that the Skripals had been poisoned with the deadly nerve agent Novichok and alleged that the attack was carried out by Russian state agents .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a former state security service agent who defected to Britain and became a sharp critic of the Kremlin , died in November 2006 after being poisoned with the rare radioactive isotope polonium-210 .
Navalny , who has been attacked several times in the past , was visiting the Siberian cities of Novosibirsk and Tomsk for his latest investigation into government corruption when he fell ill. Navalny ’ s team published the results of their Siberian investigation on August 31 , claiming that 18 out of 50 lawmakers in Novosibirsk are owners or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activist has made many enemies over the years with his investigative videos , which have targeted Kremlin insiders , including former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and former Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika .
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the poisoning was aimed “ to silence him ” while the EU ’ s top diplomat Josep Borrell described it as an “ assassination attempt.
” The U.S. National Security Council called the poisoning `` completely reprehensible '' and said Washington would work with allies `` to hold those in Russia accountable , wherever the evidence leads @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activities . ''
Novichok would only be available to the `` richest and most powerful , '' said Mark Galeotti , an expert on Russia 's security services at the Royal United Services Institute in London , in a September 2 blog post .
`` No local FSB officer or city mayor would be likely to be able to access such a nerve agent .
Instead , someone would presumably need to be able to access the modern successors to the old Soviet ‘ Kamera ’ poisons lab , '' Galeotti said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FSB security service likely have access to Novichok .
Russian doctors in Omsk said last week that they did not find any evidence of poisoning in Navalny .
The doctors updated their findings on September 2 , saying the activist had carbohydrate metabolism complications and pancreatitis .
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov reiterated that message , claiming there were no poisonous substances found in Navalny before his transfer to Germany on August 22 .
Meanwhile , Navalny ’ s team said it had filed a lawsuit in Moscow against the Russian government for not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A hearing in that case will be held on September 4 .
Novichok group chemicals were developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War and are more toxic than other nerve agents .
They work by blocking messages from the nerves to the muscles , causing a collapse of many bodily functions .
They can lead to vomiting , sweating , a loss of consciousness , coma , and death .
Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention ( CWC ) treaty agreed in November to update the list of banned Schedule 1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Skripal poisoning .
CWC member states are not allowed to possess , develop , stockpile , use , or transfer Schedule 1 substances , said Julia Masterson , a researcher at the Washington-based Arms Control Association .
Russia initially objected to the proposal from Canada , the Netherlands , and the United States to add the Novichok group to the list .
They were officially included on June 7 , meaning its existence and use in Russia violated the international treaty .
Germany said it would contact the Organization for the Prohibition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the treaty ’ s watchdog , and `` discuss an appropriate joint reaction with the partners in the light of the Russian agreement . ''
The OPCW will carry out its own investigation into the incident .
Depending on its findings and Moscow 's cooperation , the OPCW Exeuctive Council could recommend that CWC state parties vote to restrict or suspend Russia ’ s rights and privileges as a member of the CWC or refer the case to the UN , Masterson told RFE/RL .
The OPCW 's Executive Council may discuss the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she said .
The British government expelled 23 Russian diplomats after Moscow refused to cooperate with an investigation into the Skripal poisoning .
`` We will work with international partners to ensure justice is done , '' British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement , calling the use of the agent `` outrageous . ''
With reporting by AP , dpa , and Deutsche Welle

The German government says tests on blood samples taken from Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny showed the presence of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group, a poison suspected of being used in other attempts to silence outspoken Kremlin opponents.
Steffen Seibert, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, said in a statement on September 2 that tests at a special German military laboratory had shown proof of "a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group."
Western nations and officials in unison expressed outrage over the use of a military-grade agent banned by an international treaty to poison Navalny and demanded that Russia investigate the case.
The German Foreign Office said it would be informing the Russian ambassador in Berlin of the result and demanded Moscow issue a response.
"It's a startling event that Aleksei Navalny was the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve agent in Russia. The German federal government condemns this action in the strongest possible terms. The Russian government is urged to explain itself over the incident," Seibert said in a statement.
Navalny, 44, fell ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow on August 20, forcing the plane he was traveling on to make an emergency landing in Omsk, where he spent two days in hospital before being evacuated to Germany. He is in a medically induced coma in an intensive care unit at Charite Hospital in Berlin and is on a respirator.
"A longer course of treatment for the illness is to be expected. Long-term consequences of severe poisoning cannot be ruled out," the hospital said in a statement on September 2.
Navalny is the latest Kremlin critic to take ill from a toxic substance. Activist Pyotr Verzilov was flown to Germany from Moscow in September 2018 for medical treatment after he was poisoned with an agent that affected his nerves.
Verzilov's poisoning came just months after former Russian double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were found unconscious in a park in the English city of Salisbury.
A British investigation determined that the Skripals had been poisoned with the deadly nerve agent Novichok and alleged that the attack was carried out by Russian state agents.
In the most infamous Russia-related poisoning, Aleksandr Litvinenko, a former state security service agent who defected to Britain and became a sharp critic of the Kremlin, died in November 2006 after being poisoned with the rare radioactive isotope polonium-210.
Infographic: A Timeline Of Russian Poisoning Cases
Navalny, who has been attacked several times in the past, was visiting the Siberian cities of Novosibirsk and Tomsk for his latest investigation into government corruption when he fell ill.
Navalny’s team published the results of their Siberian investigation on August 31, claiming that 18 out of 50 lawmakers in Novosibirsk are owners or represent owners of construction companies.
The activist has made many enemies over the years with his investigative videos, which have targeted Kremlin insiders, including former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and former Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the poisoning was aimed “to silence him” while the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell described it as an “assassination attempt.”
The U.S. National Security Council called the poisoning "completely reprehensible" and said Washington would work with allies "to hold those in Russia accountable, wherever the evidence leads, and restrict funds for their malign activities."
Novichok would only be available to the "richest and most powerful," said Mark Galeotti, an expert on Russia's security services at the Royal United Services Institute in London, in a September 2 blog post.
"No local FSB officer or city mayor would be likely to be able to access such a nerve agent. Instead, someone would presumably need to be able to access the modern successors to the old Soviet ‘Kamera’ poisons lab," Galeotti said, noting the SVR foreign intelligence service or FSB security service likely have access to Novichok.
Russian doctors in Omsk said last week that they did not find any evidence of poisoning in Navalny. The doctors updated their findings on September 2, saying the activist had carbohydrate metabolism complications and pancreatitis.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov reiterated that message, claiming there were no poisonous substances found in Navalny before his transfer to Germany on August 22.
Meanwhile, Navalny’s team said it had filed a lawsuit in Moscow against the Russian government for not opening an investigation into the poisoning. A hearing in that case will be held on September 4.
Novichok group chemicals were developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War and are more toxic than other nerve agents.
They work by blocking messages from the nerves to the muscles, causing a collapse of many bodily functions. They can lead to vomiting, sweating, a loss of consciousness, coma, and death.
Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) treaty agreed in November to update the list of banned Schedule 1 chemicals to include the Novichok group following the Skripal poisoning.
CWC member states are not allowed to possess, develop, stockpile, use, or transfer Schedule 1 substances, said Julia Masterson, a researcher at the Washington-based Arms Control Association.
Russia initially objected to the proposal from Canada, the Netherlands, and the United States to add the Novichok group to the list.
They were officially included on June 7, meaning its existence and use in Russia violated the international treaty.
Germany said it would contact the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the treaty’s watchdog, and "discuss an appropriate joint reaction with the partners in the light of the Russian agreement."
The OPCW will carry out its own investigation into the incident.
Depending on its findings and Moscow's cooperation, the OPCW Exeuctive Council could recommend that CWC state parties vote to restrict or suspend Russia’s rights and privileges as a member of the CWC or refer the case to the UN, Masterson told RFE/RL.
The OPCW's Executive Council may discuss the investigation at its upcoming meeting in October, she said.
The British government expelled 23 Russian diplomats after Moscow refused to cooperate with an investigation into the Skripal poisoning.
"We will work with international partners to ensure justice is done," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement, calling the use of the agent "outrageous."
With reporting by AP, dpa, and Deutsche Welle


rferl--2020-09-02--Bulgarian Protesters Clash With Police At Start Of ‘Grand National Uprising’

SOFIA -- Violent clashes erupted between Bulgarian police and protesters in central Sofia in one of the biggest showings in nearly two months anti-government protests calling for the resignation of the country ’ s prime minister and chief prosecutor .
Thousands of protesters gathered early on September 2 on Sofia ’ s Independence Square , home to the parliament , the government building , and the presidential administration , at the start of a so-called Grand National Uprising in response to the government 's plan for a new constitution .
The rally took place on the first sitting of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ followed weeks of mass demonstrations across Bulgaria against what protesters say is oligarchic control over Bulgaria ’ s government and judicial system .
Tensions rose protesters as tried to break through the police cordon and pushed police buses .
Riot police fired pepper spray against protesters who threw eggs , tomatoes , and stones , according to Sofia police chief Georgi Hadzhiev , who said officers were affected by an unknown gas aimed at them .
In the evening , some protesters threw firecrackers and small bombs at police .
Health officials said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were treated in hospitals .
State news agency BTA reported that more than 30 people were detained during the violence , in which protesters and journalists from the commercial channel bTV were also wounded .
A number of them were said to have been taken to hospital for treatment .
The Interior Ministry said a gendarmerie officer was taken to hospital with a wound in the head .
The protesters are calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov , his government , and Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev .
They also want parliament @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be held .
In parliament , President Rumen Radev called for the “ immediate ” resignation of Borisov and Geshev , and appealed to deputies to dismiss the plan for a new constitution .
`` It was not the lack of a new constitution…that brought the people onto the streets , but the lack of morality in the leadership , the erosion of statehood , and corruption , '' Radev said .
Borisov has pledged to resign if lawmakers approve his call for the election of a grand national assembly tasked with voting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days of negotiations with parties , the ruling GERB party on September 2 said it had collected the more than 120 signatures in parliament needed to start debate on a new constitution and convene a grand national assembly .

SOFIA -- Violent clashes erupted between Bulgarian police and protesters in central Sofia in one of the biggest showings in nearly two months anti-government protests calling for the resignation of the country’s prime minister and chief prosecutor.
Thousands of protesters gathered early on September 2 on Sofia’s Independence Square, home to the parliament, the government building, and the presidential administration, at the start of a so-called Grand National Uprising in response to the government's plan for a new constitution.
The rally took place on the first sitting of the National Assembly after summer recess. It followed weeks of mass demonstrations across Bulgaria against what protesters say is oligarchic control over Bulgaria’s government and judicial system.
Tensions rose as protesters tried to break through the police cordon and pushed police buses.
Riot police fired pepper spray against protesters who threw eggs, tomatoes, and stones, according to Sofia police chief Georgi Hadzhiev, who said officers were affected by an unknown gas aimed at them.
In the evening, some protesters threw firecrackers and small bombs at police.
Health officials said some 45 people including police officers, were treated in hospitals.
State news agency BTA reported that more than 30 people were detained during the violence, in which protesters and journalists from the commercial channel bTV were also wounded.
A number of them were said to have been taken to hospital for treatment.
The Interior Ministry said a gendarmerie officer was taken to hospital with a wound in the head.
The protesters are calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, his government, and Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev. They also want parliament to be dissolved and early elections to be held.
In parliament, President Rumen Radev called for the “immediate” resignation of Borisov and Geshev, and appealed to deputies to dismiss the plan for a new constitution.
"It was not the lack of a new constitution…that brought the people onto the streets, but the lack of morality in the leadership, the erosion of statehood, and corruption," Radev said.
Borisov has pledged to resign if lawmakers approve his call for the election of a grand national assembly tasked with voting on a new constitution.
After two days of negotiations with parties, the ruling GERB party on September 2 said it had collected the more than 120 signatures in parliament needed to start debate on a new constitution and convene a grand national assembly.


rferl--2020-09-03--Three Soldiers Killed In Roadside Bombing In Northwestern Pakistan

A Pakistani official says a roadside explosion in the northwestern South Waziristan tribal district has left three soldiers dead and @ @ @ @ @ officer Shaukat Ali told RFE/RL that the soldiers were on a routine patrol on September @ @ @ @ @ the vehicle they were traveling in .
Ali said four soldiers were initially injured but @ @ @ @ @ died in hospital , including a lieutenant .
The fourth wounded soldier was in critical @ @ @ @ @ police officer .
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the blast .
On @ @ @ @ @ were killed and another four wounded in an ambush in the Ladha area of South @ @ @ @ @ claimed by the banned Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan , also known as the Pakistani Taliban .
@ @ @ @ @ the Afghan border , had served as a militant base until recent years until Pakistan @ @ @ @ @ the area of the Taliban and other militant groups .

A Pakistani official says a roadside explosion in the northwestern South Waziristan tribal district has left three soldiers dead and another wounded.
District police officer Shaukat Ali told RFE/RL that the soldiers were on a routine patrol on September 2 when the explosion hit the vehicle they were traveling in.
Ali said four soldiers were initially injured but three of the them later died in hospital, including a lieutenant.
The fourth wounded soldier was in critical condition, according to the police officer.
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the blast.
On August 31, four soldiers were killed and another four wounded in an ambush in the Ladha area of South Waziristan.
That attack was claimed by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban.
On August 31, the militant group claimed an ambush in the Ladha area of South Waziristan in which four soldiers were killed and another four wounded.
South Waziristan, located near the Afghan border, had served as a militant base until recent years until Pakistan said operations there had cleared the area of the Taliban and other militant groups.


rferl--2020-09-03--Turkmen In U.S. Protest Berymukhammedov's Plan To Change Constitution

WASHINGTON -- Dozens of Turkmen citizens have held rallies in Washington , as well as in the cities of Houston and Pittsburgh , protesting the plan by Turkmenistan 's authoritarian leader , Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov , to introduce amendments to the constitution , the details of which remain unknown in the tightly-controlled Central Asian nation .
One of the organizers of the rally in front of the Turkmen Embassy in Washington , D.C. , on September 1 , Murat Gurbanov , who is the leader of a group called Democratic Choice of Turkmenistan established abroad , told RFE/RL during the rally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government cancel the plan to change the constitution .
`` Some 30 Turkmens residing in different parts of the United States gathered today in front of the Turkmen Embassy and we demand that the constitution of our country can be changed only via national referendum , '' Gurbanov said , adding that a change to the constitution without the involvement of citizen would `` deprive us all of our rights forever . ''
Berdymukhammedov initiated the constitutional changes a year ago and has led a commission he established that prepared a bill of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be informed about the exact changes to the constitution of the tightly controlled , energy-rich country , except that the single-chamber parliament , the Mejlis , will merge with the People 's Council and become a two-chamber institution .
The People 's Council ( Halk Maslahaty ) was created in 2017 on the basis of the Council of Elders .
Berdymukhammedov is the council 's chairman .
On August 19 , the commission announced that it had sent the proposed constitutional amendments to the People 's Council , which is expected to approve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 25 .
The protesters in the United States say that Berdymukhammedov plans to use the constitutional amendments to secure his lifetime presidency and its eventual succession to his son and grandchildren .
They held posters demanding Berdymukhammedov 's resignation and challenging his policies .
Gurbanov said that nobody from the embassy came out to talk to the protesters , while one person appeared with a videocamera and recorded the picket .
When protesters tried to talk to that person , he quickly retreated back inside the building .
After rallying in front of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Capitol Hill , where they demonstrated in front of the U.S. Congress .
Since June , protests against Berdymukhammedov have been staged by Turkmen citizens residing in the United States , Turkey , and Northern Cyprus .
Government critics and human rights groups say Berdymukhammedov has suppressed dissent and made few changes in the restrictive country since he came to power after the death of autocrat Saparmurat Niyazov in 2006 .
Like his late predecessor , Berdymukhammedov has relied on subsidized prices for basic goods and utilities to help maintain his grip on @ @

WASHINGTON -- Dozens of Turkmen citizens have held rallies in Washington, as well as in the cities of Houston and Pittsburgh, protesting the plan by Turkmenistan's authoritarian leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, to introduce amendments to the constitution, the details of which remain unknown in the tightly-controlled Central Asian nation.
One of the organizers of the rally in front of the Turkmen Embassy in Washington, D.C., on September 1, Murat Gurbanov, who is the leader of a group called Democratic Choice of Turkmenistan established abroad, told RFE/RL during the rally that the protesters were demanding the Turkmen government cancel the plan to change the constitution.
"Some 30 Turkmens residing in different parts of the United States gathered today in front of the Turkmen Embassy and we demand that the constitution of our country can be changed only via national referendum," Gurbanov said, adding that a change to the constitution without the involvement of citizen would "deprive us all of our rights forever."
Berdymukhammedov initiated the constitutional changes a year ago and has led a commission he established that prepared a bill of amendments.
Turkmen citizens have yet to be informed about the exact changes to the constitution of the tightly controlled, energy-rich country, except that the single-chamber parliament, the Mejlis, will merge with the People's Council and become a two-chamber institution.
The People's Council (Halk Maslahaty) was created in 2017 on the basis of the Council of Elders. Berdymukhammedov is the council's chairman.
On August 19, the commission announced that it had sent the proposed constitutional amendments to the People's Council, which is expected to approve the amendments at its session on September 25.
The protesters in the United States say that Berdymukhammedov plans to use the constitutional amendments to secure his lifetime presidency and its eventual succession to his son and grandchildren.
They held posters demanding Berdymukhammedov's resignation and challenging his policies.
Gurbanov said that nobody from the embassy came out to talk to the protesters, while one person appeared with a videocamera and recorded the picket. When protesters tried to talk to that person, he quickly retreated back inside the building.
After rallying in front of the embassy, the protesters walked to Capitol Hill, where they demonstrated in front of the U.S. Congress.
Since June, protests against Berdymukhammedov have been staged by Turkmen citizens residing in the United States, Turkey, and Northern Cyprus.
Government critics and human rights groups say Berdymukhammedov has suppressed dissent and made few changes in the restrictive country since he came to power after the death of autocrat Saparmurat Niyazov in 2006.
Like his late predecessor, Berdymukhammedov has relied on subsidized prices for basic goods and utilities to help maintain his grip on power.