rferl--2020-09-24--Activist Predicts Navalny Will Need Month To Regain Fitness

The activist who helped bring Aleksei Navalny to Germany for treatment after he was poisoned has predicted the Kremlin critic will need a month to regain full fitness .
Navalny made his first public appearance on September 23 after being discharged from a Berlin hospital where Germany said he was being treated for poisoning with a potentially deadly Soviet-developed nerve agent .
`` He is still not 100 percent from what he was before [ falling ill ] , '' Jaka Bizilj , founder of the Cinema for Peace Foundation , told foreign journalists in Berlin on September 24 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we got the impression he had made a fast recovery and was fit , but we have to be careful , '' he said .
`` I think he will need at least a month to be fit again . ''
Navalny was flown from Russia to Berlin last month after falling ill on a domestic flight in Siberia .
The West has demanded an explanation from the Kremlin , which has denied any involvement in the incident and says it has yet to see evidence of a crime .
Bizilj , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Verzilov get treatment in Germany after a suspected poisoning , said he had no doubt Navalny would return to Russia .
`` His chief of staff has made clear there is no doubt he wants to go back to Russia , '' he said , adding that he had not seen Navalny in person but was in contact with his aides and family .
The 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner posted on social media a picture of himself sitting on a park bench in the German capital on September 23 after being released , adding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ full use of his left hand , he had started learning how to regain his balance by standing on one leg .
Navalny fell violently ill aboard a Moscow-bound flight on August 20 originating in the Siberian city of Tomsk , where he was carrying out his latest investigation into official corruption .
Days later he was airlifted to Berlin for treatment .
`` The first time they put me in front of a mirror after 24 days in intensive care ( of which 16 were in a coma ) , a character @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rings ' looked back at me and I can tell you , it was not an elf at all , '' Navalny said in the post .
`` I was terribly upset : I thought that I would never be discharged .
But the doctors continued to do their miracle , '' he added .
Navalny said he will continue to do physiotherapy , while doctors from the Charite hospital in Berlin said in a statement on September 23 that based on his `` progress and current condition , '' physicians believe that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' `` However , it remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning , '' the statement cautioned .
German authorities have said tests in Germany , France , and Sweden have determined Navalny was poisoned with a chemical agent from the Novichok group of bioweapons .
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated its demand to see evidence collected by the Germans .
`` We are n't inclined to reject anything , we only want to be certain and understand what 's going on , so as to compare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ convinced , and understand , we need to have information , which we , unfortunately , are currently being denied , '' Peskov said on September 23 .
Russia 's permanent representative to the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ( OPCW ) , Aleksandr Shulgin , said on September 23 that Moscow had sent a note to Germany 's mission to the OPCW demanding information on the Navalny case .
With reporting by Reuters and Interfax

The activist who helped bring Aleksei Navalny to Germany for treatment after he was poisoned has predicted the Kremlin critic will need a month to regain full fitness.
Navalny made his first public appearance on September 23 after being discharged from a Berlin hospital where Germany said he was being treated for poisoning with a potentially deadly Soviet-developed nerve agent.
"He is still not 100 percent from what he was before [falling ill]," Jaka Bizilj, founder of the Cinema for Peace Foundation, told foreign journalists in Berlin on September 24.
"When we got the first reports, we got the impression he had made a fast recovery and was fit, but we have to be careful," he said. "I think he will need at least a month to be fit again."
Navalny was flown from Russia to Berlin last month after falling ill on a domestic flight in Siberia. The West has demanded an explanation from the Kremlin, which has denied any involvement in the incident and says it has yet to see evidence of a crime.
Bizilj, who had previously helped anti-Kremlin activist Pyotr Verzilov get treatment in Germany after a suspected poisoning, said he had no doubt Navalny would return to Russia.
"His chief of staff has made clear there is no doubt he wants to go back to Russia," he said, adding that he had not seen Navalny in person but was in contact with his aides and family.
The 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner posted on social media a picture of himself sitting on a park bench in the German capital on September 23 after being released, adding that while he still didn't have full use of his left hand, he had started learning how to regain his balance by standing on one leg.
Navalny fell violently ill aboard a Moscow-bound flight on August 20 originating in the Siberian city of Tomsk, where he was carrying out his latest investigation into official corruption. Days later he was airlifted to Berlin for treatment.
"The first time they put me in front of a mirror after 24 days in intensive care (of which 16 were in a coma), a character from the movie 'The Lord of the Rings' looked back at me and I can tell you, it was not an elf at all," Navalny said in the post.
"I was terribly upset: I thought that I would never be discharged. But the doctors continued to do their miracle," he added.
Navalny said he will continue to do physiotherapy, while doctors from the Charite hospital in Berlin said in a statement on September 23 that based on his "progress and current condition," physicians believe that a "complete recovery is possible."
"However, it remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning," the statement cautioned.
German authorities have said tests in Germany, France, and Sweden have determined Navalny was poisoned with a chemical agent from the Novichok group of bioweapons.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated its demand to see evidence collected by the Germans.
"We aren't inclined to reject anything, we only want to be certain and understand what's going on, so as to compare. In order to compare, be convinced, and understand, we need to have information, which we, unfortunately, are currently being denied," Peskov said on September 23.
Russia's permanent representative to the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Aleksandr Shulgin, said on September 23 that Moscow had sent a note to Germany's mission to the OPCW demanding information on the Navalny case.
With reporting by Reuters and Interfax


rferl--2020-09-24--Kosovo Tribunal Says War Crimes Suspect Mustafa Taken Into Custody

The Specialized Prosecutor 's Office in Kosovo has arrested the former head of the intelligence service of the Kosovo Security Force , Salih Mustafa , on the basis of an arrest warrant and a confirmed indictment issued by a pretrial judge of the Kosovo Specialized Chambers .
`` Salih Mustafa was arrested today in Kosovo by the Specialist Prosecutor 's Office , pursuant to an arrest warrant , transfer order , and confirmed indictment issued by a pretrial judge of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers , '' a statement from the Specialized Prosecutor 's Office on September 24 said .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ detention facilities of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague and will appear before the pretrial judge without undue delay , '' it added .
Under the law on the Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor 's Office , police within the office have the `` authority and responsibility '' to exercise powers given to Kosovo 's police under the law .
The law also provides that a person against whom an indictment has been confirmed shall , pursuant to an order or an arrest warrant of the Specialist Chambers , be taken into @ @ @ @ @ @

The Specialized Prosecutor's Office in Kosovo has made its first arrest, detaining the former head of the intelligence service of the Kosovo Security Force, Salih Mustafa, on the basis of an arrest warrant and a confirmed indictment issued by a pretrial judge of the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers, based in The Hague, said in a statement on September 24 that Mustafa would be transferred to its detention facilities in The Hague and "appear before the pretrial judge without undue delay."
He is the first ethnic Albanian to be arrested on war crimes charges arising from the 1990s conflict.
"Salih Mustafa was arrested today in Kosovo by the Specialist Prosecutor's Office, pursuant to an arrest warrant, transfer order, and confirmed indictment issued by a pretrial judge of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers," a statement from the Specialized Prosecutor's Office said.
The Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) for war crimes is mandated to look into allegations that members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 1998-99 war to gain independence from Serbia.
It operates under Kosovar law but is based in the Netherlands to shield witnesses from intimidation.
Under the law on the KSC and Specialist Prosecutor's Office (SPO), police within the SPO have the "authority and responsibility" to exercise the same powers given to Kosovo police.
The law also provides that a person against whom an indictment has been confirmed shall, pursuant to an order or an arrest warrant of the KSC, be taken into custody, the statement said.
Kosovo's war of independence from Serbia left more than 10,000 people dead -- most of them ethnic Albanians from Kosovo. More than 1,600 people remain unaccounted for. The fighting ended after a 78-day NATO air campaign against Serbia.
Kosovo, which has a largely ethnic Albanian population, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move recognized by many Western states but not Serbia or its allies Russia and China.
In its most high-profile move so far, the SPO announced on June 24 that President Hashim Thaci and other prominent Kosovars were the subject of an indictment on suspicion of serious crimes, including "nearly 100 murders," enforced disappearances, and torture.
Thaci, who was a top UCK commander during the war, has said all of his actions were focused on the defense of Kosovo.
A pretrial judge at the SPO has yet to decide whether to put Thaci and the others on trial or throw out the case.
Thaci has told Kosovars that if he is tried, he will immediately resign and face the accusations.


rferl--2020-09-24--EU's Chief Diplomat Says Bloc Refuses To Recognize Lukashenka As Belarusian President

The EU 's foreign-policy chief has reiterated the bloc 's stance that it refuses to recognize Alyaksandr Lukashenka as president of Belarus following his surprise inauguration , which sparked large demonstrations across the country .
Belarus has been rocked by protests since the August 9 presidential election that handed Lukashenka , in power since 1994 , a sixth term in office despite claims the election was rigged .
Thousands of people have been detained , hundreds beaten by police , and opposition leaders either arrested or forced to flee the country in the brutal postelection crackdown .
Police were out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on September 23 as Lukashenka , who claims to have won 80 percent of the vote , took the oath of office before what appeared to be a few handpicked Belarusian officials .
State media reported the news , but did not cover the event , which is usually an elaborate affair , live .
Internet access in Minsk was also cut or limited for much of the time .
`` This 'inauguration ' directly contradicts the will of large parts of the Belarusian population , as expressed in numerous , unprecedented and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serves to only further deepen the political crisis in Belarus , '' Josep Borrell said in a statement issued on September 24 , adding that Brussels was reviewing its relations with Minsk .
`` The European Union 's position is clear : Belarusian citizens deserve the right to be represented by those they freely choose through new inclusive , transparent and credible elections , ” Borrell added .
As people took to the streets to protest Lukashenka 's swearing in , police intervened with truncheons and a water cannon to disperse the crowds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 24 that a total of 364 people were detained by police in Minsk and elsewhere .
`` We are impressed and moved by the courage of the Belarusian people who continue to demonstrate peacefully for democracy and for their fundamental rights despite the brutal repression of the Belarusian authorities .
We stand in solidarity with them and fully support their democratic right to elect their president through new free and fair elections , '' Borrell said .
The EU is preparing sanctions against around 40 people deemed responsible for the repression and also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sources told AFP .
But the unanimity of the 27 EU members is required , and Cyprus is linking its agreement to the adoption of steps to force Turkey to stop exploring for natural gas in the waters of its economic zone .
Two other countries , Sweden and Finland , are refusing to place sanctions on Lukashenka to allow for mediation by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that will be chaired by Stockholm , the sources told AFP .
The issue will be debated during an EU summit on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that President Vladimir Putin had not congratulated Lukashenka on his inauguration , but added this was not unusual .
Peskov told reporters on September 24 that Putin had already congratulated Lukashenka after the August 9 election by telephone and in person during their September 14 meeting in Sochi .
With Belarus facing a shaky future after the disputed election , Russia appears eager to keep the smaller country , a longtime ally , firmly in its orbit .
In a sign of that goal , Putin and Lukashenka @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a $ 1.5 billion state loan to keep his regime in Belarus afloat .
Meanwhile , the United States added its name to the growing list of Western countries that responded to the swearing in by saying they wo n't recognize Lukashenka 's presidency .
`` The elections on August 9 were neither free nor fair .
The announced results were fraudulent and did not convey legitimacy , '' a State Department spokesperson told RFE/RL on September 23 .
`` The United States can not consider Alyaksandr Lukashenka the legitimately elected leader of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a `` national dialogue '' culminating in `` a free and fair election under independent observation . ''
The spokesperson added , `` Release of those unjustly detained and an end of repression against peacefully protesting citizens is a first step toward genuine national dialogue . ''
After the swearing-in ceremony , the opposition , led by his exiled main challenger , Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , said it would never accept Lukashenka 's `` falsified '' victory and called for an immediate campaign of civil disobedience and open-ended protests .
`` This so-called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact , today Lukashenka just retired , '' Tsikhanouskaya wrote on her Telegram channel .
`` This means that his orders for security agencies are not legitimate anymore and must not be fulfilled .
Tsikhanouskaya , who officially finished second to Lukashenka but claims to have won , added that `` I , Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya , am the only leader recognized by the Belarusian people . ''
Lukashenka faces the biggest challenge to his 26-year rule amid the unprecedented nationwide protests , and has answered peaceful protests and demands for him to leave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ torture of detainees .

The EU's foreign-policy chief has reiterated the bloc's stance that it refuses to recognize Alyaksandr Lukashenka as president of Belarus following his surprise inauguration, which sparked large demonstrations across the country.
Belarus has been rocked by protests since the August 9 presidential election that handed Lukashenka, in power since 1994, a sixth term in office despite claims the election was rigged.
Thousands of people have been detained, hundreds beaten by police, and opposition leaders either arrested or forced to flee the country in the brutal postelection crackdown.
Police were out in force and central streets blocked off on September 23 as Lukashenka, who claims to have won 80 percent of the vote, took the oath of office before what appeared to be a few handpicked Belarusian officials.
State media reported the news, but did not cover the event, which is usually an elaborate affair, live. Internet access in Minsk was also cut or limited for much of the time.
"This 'inauguration' directly contradicts the will of large parts of the Belarusian population, as expressed in numerous, unprecedented and peaceful protests since the elections, and serves to only further deepen the political crisis in Belarus," Josep Borrell said in a statement issued on September 24, adding that Brussels was reviewing its relations with Minsk.
"The European Union's position is clear: Belarusian citizens deserve the right to be represented by those they freely choose through new inclusive, transparent and credible elections,” Borrell added.
As people took to the streets to protest Lukashenka's swearing in, police intervened with truncheons and a water cannon to disperse the crowds. The Interior Ministry said on September 24 that a total of 364 people were detained by police in Minsk and elsewhere.
"We are impressed and moved by the courage of the Belarusian people who continue to demonstrate peacefully for democracy and for their fundamental rights despite the brutal repression of the Belarusian authorities. We stand in solidarity with them and fully support their democratic right to elect their president through new free and fair elections," Borrell said.
The EU is preparing sanctions against around 40 people deemed responsible for the repression and also looking at punishing Lukashenka himself, diplomatic sources told AFP.
But the unanimity of the 27 EU members is required, and Cyprus is linking its agreement to the adoption of steps to force Turkey to stop exploring for natural gas in the waters of its economic zone.
Two other countries, Sweden and Finland, are refusing to place sanctions on Lukashenka to allow for mediation by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that will be chaired by Stockholm, the sources told AFP.
The issue will be debated during an EU summit on October 1-2 in Brussels.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that President Vladimir Putin had not congratulated Lukashenka on his inauguration, but added this was not unusual.
Peskov told reporters on September 24 that Putin had already congratulated Lukashenka after the August 9 election by telephone and in person during their September 14 meeting in Sochi.
With Belarus facing a shaky future after the disputed election, Russia appears eager to keep the smaller country, a longtime ally, firmly in its orbit.
In a sign of that goal, Putin and Lukashenka agreed in their September 14 meeting to a $1.5 billion state loan to keep his regime in Belarus afloat.
Meanwhile, the United States added its name to the growing list of Western countries that responded to the swearing in by saying they won't recognize Lukashenka's presidency.
"The elections on August 9 were neither free nor fair. The announced results were fraudulent and did not convey legitimacy," a State Department spokesperson told RFE/RL on September 23.
"The United States cannot consider Alyaksandr Lukashenka the legitimately elected leader of Belarus."
The State Department called for a "national dialogue" culminating in "a free and fair election under independent observation."
The spokesperson added, "Release of those unjustly detained and an end of repression against peacefully protesting citizens is a first step toward genuine national dialogue."
After the swearing-in ceremony, the opposition, led by his exiled main challenger, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, said it would never accept Lukashenka's "falsified" victory and called for an immediate campaign of civil disobedience and open-ended protests.
"This so-called inauguration is certainly a farce. In fact, today Lukashenka just retired," Tsikhanouskaya wrote on her Telegram channel. "This means that his orders for security agencies are not legitimate anymore and must not be fulfilled.
Tsikhanouskaya, who officially finished second to Lukashenka but claims to have won, added that "I, Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya, am the only leader recognized by the Belarusian people."
Lukashenka faces the biggest challenge to his 26-year rule amid the unprecedented nationwide protests, and has answered peaceful protests and demands for him to leave office with violent arrests and the alleged torture of detainees.
With reporting by AFP


rferl--2020-09-24--Russian Fund Says It Will Supply Another 17 Countries With COVID Treatment Drug

Russia 's sovereign wealth fund and its partner Chemrar say they have signed agreements with another 17 countries for supplies of the COVID-19 drug Avifavir .
The Russian Direct Investment Fund ( RDIF ) said in a statement on September 24 that Avifavir was the world 's first registered favipiravir-based drug against the coronavirus and Russia 's first drug approved for the treatment of COVID-19 .
Favipiravir was developed in Japan and is widely used there as the basis for viral treatments .
`` Based on our extensive clinical trials and the research in Japan confirming favipiravir 's efficacy against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ favipiravir-based products will be the leading antiviral medicines against COVID-19 in the world , '' RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriyev said in the statement , adding that favipiravir-based drugs were three to four times cheaper than remdesivir , another COVID-19 treatment .
Russia has been pushing hard to establish the lead in the development and deployment of drugs to combat the virus , which has led to more than 965,000 deaths worldwide in less than a year .
Authorities , however , have come under criticism for approving medicines such as the Sputnik-V vaccine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allow for peer review .
The vaccine is being developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology with support from the RDIF .
Last week it approved R-Pharm 's Coronavir treatment for outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 infections .
The company has said the antiviral drug may hit the shelves in pharmacies in Russia as early as this week .
The RDIF said Avifavir had already been delivered to Belarus , Bolivia , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan .
It will now be sent to Argentina , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Ecuador , El Salvador , Honduras , Kuwait , Panama , Paraguay , Saudi Arabia , Serbia , Slovakia , South Africa , the United Arab Emirates , and Uruguay .

Russia's sovereign wealth fund and its partner Chemrar say they have signed agreements with another 17 countries for supplies of the COVID-19 drug Avifavir.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement on September 24 that Avifavir was the world's first registered favipiravir-based drug against the coronavirus and Russia's first drug approved for the treatment of COVID-19.
Favipiravir was developed in Japan and is widely used there as the basis for viral treatments.
"Based on our extensive clinical trials and the research in Japan confirming favipiravir's efficacy against coronavirus we believe that Avifavir and other favipiravir-based products will be the leading antiviral medicines against COVID-19 in the world," RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriyev said in the statement, adding that favipiravir-based drugs were three to four times cheaper than remdesivir, another COVID-19 treatment.
Russia has been pushing hard to establish the lead in the development and deployment of drugs to combat the virus, which has led to more than 965,000 deaths worldwide in less than a year.
Authorities, however, have come under criticism for approving medicines such as the Sputnik-V vaccine before having published data on it to allow for peer review. The vaccine is being developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology with support from the RDIF.
Last week it approved R-Pharm's Coronavir treatment for outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 infections. The company has said the antiviral drug may hit the shelves in pharmacies in Russia as early as this week.
The RDIF said Avifavir had already been delivered to Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
It will now be sent to Argentina, Bulgaria, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Kuwait, Panama, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and Uruguay.
With reporting by Reuters


rferl--2020-09-24--China Expanding Detention Camp Network In Xinjiang, Researchers Say

China 's network of detention centers in the northwest Xinjiang region is much more extended than previously thought and has been expanded in recent years , according to research unveiled by an Australian think tank .
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute ( ASPI ) said on September 24 the number of facilities where China is believed to have detained more than 1 million Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking minorities is around 40 percent greater than previous estimates and the network has been growing despite China 's claims that many Uyghurs have been released .
Uyghurs are the largest Turkic-speaking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kazakhs .
Uyghurs and members of other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang have been subjected to the Chinese roundups and placed in concentration-camp-style facilities since 2017 .
Accounts have emerged of torture , rape , and other abuse in the camps .
ASPI said that by using satellite imagery , eyewitness accounts , media reports , and official construction-tender documents , it had identified more than 380 `` suspected detention facilities '' in Xinjiang .
`` At least 61 detention sites have seen new construction and expansion work between July 2019 and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adding that 14 more facilities were under construction in 2020 .
ASPI has divided the 380 facilities in four tiers based on the level of security at the sites .
Tier 1 and 2 facilities are less secure and appear to be mostly focused on political reeducation , as opposed to some of the more prison-like facilities in the higher 3 and 4 tiers .
Around 70 Tier 1 and 2 facilities have had fencing or perimeter walls removed , indicating their use has changed or they have been closed , the Australian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Tier 3 and 4 facilities have undergone significant new construction and expansion , ASPI said .
U.S. lawmakers recently voted to ban imports from Xinjiang , citing the alleged use of systematic forced labor .
In a recent white paper , China defended its policies in Xinjiang , where it says training programs , work schemes , and better education mean life has improved .
It has defended the so-called training centers as necessary to stamp out extremism .
With reporting by AFP and ABC

China's network of detention centers in the northwest Xinjiang region is much more extended than previously thought and has been expanded in recent years, according to research unveiled by an Australian think tank.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) said on September 24 the number of facilities where China is believed to have detained more than 1 million Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking minorities is around 40 percent greater than previous estimates and the network has been growing despite China's claims that many Uyghurs have been released.
Uyghurs are the largest Turkic-speaking indigenous community in Xinjiang, followed by Kazakhs.
Locked Up In China: The Plight Of Xinjiang's Muslims Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is partnering with its sister organization, Radio Free Asia, to highlight the plight of Muslims living in China's western province of Xinjiang.
Uyghurs and members of other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang have been subjected to the Chinese roundups and placed in concentration-camp-style facilities since 2017.
Accounts have emerged of torture, rape, and other abuse in the camps.
ASPI said that by using satellite imagery, eyewitness accounts, media reports, and official construction-tender documents, it had identified more than 380 "suspected detention facilities" in Xinjiang.
"At least 61 detention sites have seen new construction and expansion work between July 2019 and July 2020," ASPI said, adding that 14 more facilities were under construction in 2020.
ASPI has divided the 380 facilities in four tiers based on the level of security at the sites.
Tier 1 and 2 facilities are less secure and appear to be mostly focused on political reeducation, as opposed to some of the more prison-like facilities in the higher 3 and 4 tiers.
Around 70 Tier 1 and 2 facilities have had fencing or perimeter walls removed, indicating their use has changed or they have been closed, the Australian researchers said. However, "prison-style" Tier 3 and 4 facilities have undergone significant new construction and expansion, ASPI said.
U.S. lawmakers recently voted to ban imports from Xinjiang, citing the alleged use of systematic forced labor.
In a recent white paper, China defended its policies in Xinjiang, where it says training programs, work schemes, and better education mean life has improved.
It has defended the so-called training centers as necessary to stamp out extremism.
With reporting by AFP and ABC


rferl--2020-09-24--Saudi King Uses UN Speech To Call For Comprehensive Solution On Iran

Saudi Arabia 's King Salman bin Abdulaziz has taken aim at Iran during a speech to the UN General Assembly , calling for a comprehensive solution to contain the Islamic republic and stop it from getting weapons of mass destruction .
`` A comprehensive solution and a firm international position are required , '' he said in a video statement that was prerecorded and delivered on September 23 during the second day of the UN General Assembly 's virtual general debate .
`` Our experience with the Iranian regime has taught us that partial solutions and appeasement did not stop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' King Salman said in his debut speech to the 193-member UN General Assembly 's annual meeting , which this year has gone virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic .
He said Iran had exploited a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers `` to intensify its expansionist activities , create its terrorist networks , and use terrorism , '' adding that this had produced nothing but `` chaos , extremism , and sectarianism . ''
The United States quit the pact in 2018 and has since imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deal .
On September 21 it announced new sanctions against Iran 's Defense Ministry and other bodies involved in its nuclear and weapons program , continuing a policy it describes as `` maximum pressure '' in response to `` malign behavior '' by Tehran .
All the remaining parties to the nuclear deal and 13 of the 15 UN Security Council members say the U.S. claim on sanctions is void , and diplomats say few countries are likely to reimpose the measures .
In his speech King Salman also expressed support for U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Palestinians and called for disarming Hizballah in Lebanon .
`` We support the efforts of the current U.S. administration to achieve peace in the Middle East by bringing the Palestinians and the Israelis to the negotiation table to reach a fair and comprehensive agreement , '' he said .
He stopped short of endorsing recent U.S.-brokered agreements between the United Arab Emirates ( U.A.E . )
and Bahrain with Israel .
Palestinian leaders have condemned the warming of relations between the U.A.E .
and Bahrain with Israel , describing the development as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statehood in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip .
King Salman also said a deadly blast in Beirut last month occurred because of the `` hegemony of Hizballah over the decision-making process in Lebanon by force of arms '' and said Hizballah was a terrorist organization that must be disarmed .
Iran 's UN mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the king 's remarks , according to Reuters .
Iran 's president , Hassan Rohani , spoke to the UN General Assembly on September 22 , defiantly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make his country `` a bargaining chip in U.S. elections and domestic policy . ''
He said the United States could force `` neither negotiations nor war '' on Iran .
Sunni Muslim-majority Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite-dominated Iran are locked in several proxy wars , including in Yemen , where a Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Tehran-aligned Huthi rebels for more than five years .
Iran denies arming groups in the Middle East , including the Huthis , and blames regional tensions on the United States and its Persian Gulf allies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and AFP

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--2020-09-24--Ghani Urges World To Support Peace In Afghanistan In Speech To UN

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has urged the world to help his country achieve peace amid talks with the Taliban aimed at ending nearly two decades of conflict .
In a prerecorded speech to the UN General Assembly delivered on September 23 , Ghani said the Afghan government had demonstrated the `` commitment , compassion , and courage '' to make hard decisions to hold direct peace talks with the Taliban but said this would n't be enough .
`` For sustainable peace in Afghanistan we must get to the roots of the terrorism problem blighting our region and address it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is , '' Ghani said .
Afghanistan , he said , faced `` multiple drivers of turmoil all at once , '' noting that the coronavirus pandemic and climate change were among them .
But the main driver of turmoil is a wave of global terrorism in which terrorist networks are closely linked with global criminal networks , making warfare totally unconventional and peace-building even more of a challenge , he said .
But Ghani said peace remains Afghanistan 's `` most urgent and important priority , '' and at the talks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Qatar , on September 12 , the Afghan people have a `` clear and urgent priority '' to achieve a cease-fire .
The intra-Afghan talks are part of a process begun in February when the United States and the militants struck an agreement that could see foreign troops exit Afghanistan .
The Afghan government 's lead negotiator , Abdullah Abdullah , said on September 22 that negotiations with the Taliban had been positive , although the two sides reportedly remain far from agreement on virtually every issue .
Abdullah also said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the Afghan authorities as a condition for talks had resumed the fight against the government , and said that despite the negotiations , the level of violence inside Afghanistan had not fallen .
He called on Washington and Pakistan , which allegedly maintains ties to the militants , to pressure them to agree to a cease-fire .
In his UN speech , which was delivered to a largely virtual General Assembly because of the coronavirus pandemic , Ghani called on the members of the assembly to help the country achieve a `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
The Afghan president said that outcome would be an example of how the principles on which the UN was founded can work and would show `` how our collective will can overcome the turmoil and uncertainty that defines our world today . ''

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--2020-09-23--U.S., Europeans Say Belarusian Leader Illegitimate As New Crackdown Follows Surprise Swearing-In

Riot troops used truncheons and a water cannon and detained dozens of protesters as clashes escalated in Minsk and other cities following Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka 's surprise swearing-in for a sixth term despite weeks of unprecedented public calls for his exit .
Lukashenka 's secretive inauguration earlier on September 23 immediately met with criticism from members of the opposition , who refused to accept the results of an August 9 vote following jailings and other intimidation tactics to mute dissent and limit would-be challengers in the former Soviet state of more than 9 million .
As scenes of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States added its name to growing list of Western countries that responded to the swearing-in by saying they wo n't recognize Lukashenka 's presidency .
`` The elections August 9 were neither free nor fair .
The announced results were fraudulent and did not convey legitimacy , '' a State Department spokesperson told RFE/RL .
`` The United States can not consider Alyaksandr Lukashenka the legitimately elected leader of Belarus . ''
The State Department called for a `` national dialogue '' culminating in `` a free and fair election under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , `` Release of those unjustly detained and an end of repression against peacefully protesting citizens is a first step toward genuine national dialogue . ''
Following the inauguration ceremony , spontaneous demonstrations broke out in Minsk , the heart of more than six weeks of nationwide opposition to a vote that Lukashenka claims to have won with more than 80 percent support .
By late afternoon , thousands had gathered near the Stela Minsk Hero City World War II memorial in downtown Minsk before Interior Ministry troops moved in .
The black-and-green-clad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ followed by a truck with a water cannon , sending many Belarusians fleeing into nearby grassy areas and shops .
After nightfall , groups of protesters and anti-Lukashenka drivers blocked some streets in the capital .
The Vyasna rights group issued a list of more than 140 people it said had been detained in Minsk , the southwestern city of Brest , and other places .
The official news agency BelTA reported `` several hundred '' senior officials had been invited to the inauguration ceremony , though it did not say who or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lukashenka put his right hand on the constitution and took the oath office , before signing it .
The chairman of the Central Election Commission then presented him with the certificate of the president of the Republic of Belarus , it added .
`` Our statehood had to face an unprecedented challenge based on well-developed technologies that are aimed at destroying independent states , '' Lukashenka said during his inauguration speech , alluding to his previous claims that Western states were fomenting a pro-democracy revolution against him .
`` However , we turned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countries where a color revolution failed , or perhaps , we were the only such country .
It was a choice made by the Belarusian people who do n't want to lose their country . ''
The strength of the Belarusian government , Lukashenka added , `` lies in the fact that even in the most difficult times we have not abandoned our policy of a socially oriented state . ''
The inauguration drew harsh criticism from supporters of the opposition , who have called on the 66-year-old authoritarian leader to step down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claiming the vote was rigged in his favor .
After the swearing-in ceremony , the opposition , led by his exiled main challenger , Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , said it would never accept Lukashenka 's `` falsified '' victory and called for an immediate campaign of civil disobedience and open-ended protests .
`` This so-called inauguration is certainly a farce .
In fact , today Lukashenka just retired , '' Tsikhanouskaya wrote on her Telegram channel .
`` This means that his orders for security agencies are not legitimate anymore and must not be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ second to Lukashenka but claims to have won , added that `` I , Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , am the only leader recognized by the Belarusian people . ''
Earlier , while addressing the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Vilnius , Tsikhanouskaya called Lukashenka 's inauguration `` an attempt to seize power . ''
In a statement , her team said : `` Anyone can be president ... .
Take the constitution , put your hand on it , say a couple of times ' I swear , ' sign a paper saying ' I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in your pocket . ''
Paval Latushka -- who served as Belarusian ambassador to Poland , France , UNESCO , and Spain between 2002-19 and was part of the opposition 's Coordination Council set up to pave a transition to a new president -- wrote on his Telegram channel that the country was `` witnessing an unprecedented situation . ''
`` The outgoing president , who claims to have won more than 80 percent of the vote in the election , has carried out a special operation to be sworn in , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of riot police , in an atmosphere of secrecy , in a narrow circle of officials who were hastily brought in .
Where are the jubilant citizens ?
Where is the diplomatic corps ? ''
`` To be honest , '' Latushka added , `` it looks more like a thieves ' meeting for the coronation of another thief-in-law . ''
Lukashenka faces the biggest challenge to his 26-year rule amid the unprecedented nationwide protests and has answered peaceful protests and demands for him to leave office with violent arrests and the alleged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the head of Vyasna , told RFE/RL 's Belarus Service that the secret inauguration was a sign of Lukashenka 's `` weakness . ''
`` People do n't perceive this as a real inauguration .
But he probably could n't have done it any other way , '' Byalyatski said .
`` If the inauguration had been announced in advance , 200,000 demonstrators would have been standing under his palace . ''
He added that most Belarusians consider Lukashenka `` to be a man who stole power '' and that `` such an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against such actions . ''
Images posted on social media showed people holding placards reading `` the king is naked '' and `` victory belongs to the people , '' and holding up the banned red-and-white flags and banners associated with the opposition movement .
Protesters were reportedly blocking some streets in the city center .
Lukashenka said in his inauguration speech that `` we will deal with our issues on our own , without any external participation , will come to an agreement , will ensure the cooperation of all social classes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
On September 23 , before the U.S. announcement , a growing list of European countries said they would not recognize Lukashenka 's presidency .
Denmark , Latvia , Lithuania , Germany , Slovakia , the Czech Republic , and Estonia all said they did not consider Lukashenka the legitimate president of Belarus .
`` The minimum requirements for democratic elections were by no means met .
They were neither fair nor free , '' German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said after Lukashenka was sworn in .
`` Even after today 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the democratic legitimacy that would have been the condition for him to be recognized as a legitimate president . ''
The Polish Foreign Ministry , meanwhile , said in a statement that `` a president elected in an undemocratic election can not be considered to be legally exercising power , whether the oath was secret or official . ''
Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok said Lukashenka `` has no legitimacy to lead his country . ''
Former Estonian President Toomas Ilves , a frequent critic of Lukashenka , responded to Lukashenka 's swearing-in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as president is 'literally ' autocracy . ''
The United States , the European Union , and other Western allies have also denounced the violence used against demonstrators .
Following Lukashenka 's ceremony , the Belarusian military pledged allegiance to the long-serving authoritarian president and willingness to `` defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Motherland , '' according to the state agency BelTA .
In Moscow , Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Lukashenka 's inauguration , saying that `` if they made such a decision , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
Russia has given lukewarm support to Lukashenka amid the protests , offering military support if necessary and providing Belarus with a $ 1.5 billion loan after the embattled Belarusian leader flew to Sochi to meet with President Vladimir Putin earlier this month .
Peskov added that Putin had no plans to visit Belarus following Lukashenka 's inauguration .
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov on September 23 became the first leader from the Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States to congratulate Lukashenka on taking office for the sixth time .
With reporting from Current @ @ @ @ @ @ @ BelTA , Reuters , dpa , Tut.by , and TASS

Riot troops used truncheons and a water cannon and detained dozens of protesters as clashes escalated in Minsk and other cities following Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's surprise swearing-in for a sixth term despite weeks of unprecedented public calls for his exit.
Lukashenka's secretive inauguration earlier on September 23 immediately met with criticism from members of the opposition, who refused to accept the results of an August 9 vote following jailings and other intimidation tactics to mute dissent and limit would-be challengers in the former Soviet state of more than 9 million.
As scenes of the latest crackdown on Belarusian demonstrators emerged, the United States added its name to growing list of Western countries that responded to the swearing-in by saying they won't recognize Lukashenka's presidency.
"The elections August 9 were neither free nor fair. The announced results were fraudulent and did not convey legitimacy," a State Department spokesperson told RFE/RL. "The United States cannot consider Alyaksandr Lukashenka the legitimately elected leader of Belarus."
The State Department called for a "national dialogue" culminating in "a free and fair election under independent observation."
The spokesperson added, "Release of those unjustly detained and an end of repression against peacefully protesting citizens is a first step toward genuine national dialogue."
Following the inauguration ceremony, spontaneous demonstrations broke out in Minsk, the heart of more than six weeks of nationwide opposition to a vote that Lukashenka claims to have won with more than 80 percent support.
By late afternoon, thousands had gathered near the Stela Minsk Hero City World War II memorial in downtown Minsk before Interior Ministry troops moved in.
The black-and-green-clad riot troops descended on the crowd, followed by a truck with a water cannon, sending many Belarusians fleeing into nearby grassy areas and shops.
After nightfall, groups of protesters and anti-Lukashenka drivers blocked some streets in the capital.
The Vyasna rights group issued a list of more than 140 people it said had been detained in Minsk, the southwestern city of Brest, and other places.
The official news agency BelTA reported "several hundred" senior officials had been invited to the inauguration ceremony, though it did not say who or how many actually attended.
BelTA said Lukashenka put his right hand on the constitution and took the oath office, before signing it. The chairman of the Central Election Commission then presented him with the certificate of the president of the Republic of Belarus, it added.
"Our statehood had to face an unprecedented challenge based on well-developed technologies that are aimed at destroying independent states," Lukashenka said during his inauguration speech, alluding to his previous claims that Western states were fomenting a pro-democracy revolution against him.
"However, we turned out to be one of those few countries where a color revolution failed, or perhaps, we were the only such country. It was a choice made by the Belarusian people who don't want to lose their country."
The strength of the Belarusian government, Lukashenka added, "lies in the fact that even in the most difficult times we have not abandoned our policy of a socially oriented state."
The inauguration drew harsh criticism from supporters of the opposition, who have called on the 66-year-old authoritarian leader to step down and hold free and fair elections, claiming the vote was rigged in his favor.
After the swearing-in ceremony, the opposition, led by his exiled main challenger, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, said it would never accept Lukashenka's "falsified" victory and called for an immediate campaign of civil disobedience and open-ended protests.
"This so-called inauguration is certainly a farce. In fact, today Lukashenka just retired," Tsikhanouskaya wrote on her Telegram channel. "This means that his orders for security agencies are not legitimate anymore and must not be fulfilled.
Tsikhanouskaya, who officially finished second to Lukashenka but claims to have won, added that "I, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, am the only leader recognized by the Belarusian people."
Earlier, while addressing the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Vilnius, Tsikhanouskaya called Lukashenka's inauguration "an attempt to seize power."
In a statement, her team said: "Anyone can be president.... Take the constitution, put your hand on it, say a couple of times 'I swear,' sign a paper saying 'I am president,' and put it in your pocket."
Paval Latushka -- who served as Belarusian ambassador to Poland, France, UNESCO, and Spain between 2002-19 and was part of the opposition's Coordination Council set up to pave a transition to a new president -- wrote on his Telegram channel that the country was "witnessing an unprecedented situation."
"The outgoing president, who claims to have won more than 80 percent of the vote in the election, has carried out a special operation to be sworn in," Latushka wrote. "Under the protection of riot police, in an atmosphere of secrecy, in a narrow circle of officials who were hastily brought in. Where are the jubilant citizens? Where is the diplomatic corps?"
"To be honest," Latushka added, "it looks more like a thieves' meeting for the coronation of another thief-in-law."
Lukashenka faces the biggest challenge to his 26-year rule amid the unprecedented nationwide protests and has answered peaceful protests and demands for him to leave office with violent arrests and the alleged torture of detainees.
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.
Ales Byalyatski, the head of Vyasna, told RFE/RL's Belarus Service that the secret inauguration was a sign of Lukashenka's "weakness."
"People don't perceive this as a real inauguration. But he probably couldn't have done it any other way," Byalyatski said. "If the inauguration had been announced in advance, 200,000 demonstrators would have been standing under his palace."
He added that most Belarusians consider Lukashenka "to be a man who stole power" and that "such an inauguration will provoke even greater mass protests against such actions."
Images posted on social media showed people holding placards reading "the king is naked" and "victory belongs to the people," and holding up the banned red-and-white flags and banners associated with the opposition movement. Protesters were reportedly blocking some streets in the city center.
Lukashenka said in his inauguration speech that "we will deal with our issues on our own, without any external participation, will come to an agreement, will ensure the cooperation of all social classes while observing the law and mutual respect."
On September 23, before the U.S. announcement, a growing list of European countries said they would not recognize Lukashenka's presidency.
Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Estonia all said they did not consider Lukashenka the legitimate president of Belarus.
"The minimum requirements for democratic elections were by no means met. They were neither fair nor free," German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said after Lukashenka was sworn in. "Even after today's ceremony, Mr. Lukashenka cannot evoke the democratic legitimacy that would have been the condition for him to be recognized as a legitimate president."
The Polish Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said in a statement that "a president elected in an undemocratic election cannot be considered to be legally exercising power, whether the oath was secret or official."
Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok said Lukashenka "has no legitimacy to lead his country."
Former Estonian President Toomas Ilves, a frequent critic of Lukashenka, responded to Lukashenka's swearing-in ceremony by tweeting that "inaugurating oneself as president is 'literally' autocracy."
The United States, the European Union, and other Western allies have also denounced the violence used against demonstrators.
Following Lukashenka's ceremony, the Belarusian military pledged allegiance to the long-serving authoritarian president and willingness to "defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Motherland," according to the state agency BelTA.
In Moscow, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Lukashenka's inauguration, saying that "if they made such a decision, it means they considered it to be reasonable."
Russia has given lukewarm support to Lukashenka amid the protests, offering military support if necessary and providing Belarus with a $1.5 billion loan after the embattled Belarusian leader flew to Sochi to meet with President Vladimir Putin earlier this month.
Peskov added that Putin had no plans to visit Belarus following Lukashenka's inauguration.
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov on September 23 became the first leader from the Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States to congratulate Lukashenka on taking office for the sixth time.
With reporting from Current Time, RFE/RL's Belarus Service, BelTA, Reuters, dpa, Tut.by, and TASS


rferl--2020-09-25--Russian Citizen Pleads Not Guilty In Alleged Ransomware Plot Against Tesla

A Russian man accused of offering $ 1 million to an employee of U.S. electric car company Tesla to enable a ransomware attack denied wrongdoing on September 24 before a judge in Nevada .
Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov told the court he was not guilty of a conspiracy charge to intentionally cause damage to a protected computer .
Authorities have not alleged that Kriuchkov has ties to the Kremlin , but Kriuchkov , 26 , told U.S. Magistrate Judge Carla Baldwin that he knew the Russian government was aware of his case .
Kriuchkov was in the United States on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he tried to recruit an employee of what was identified as “ Company A '' to install software enabling a computer hack , according to the complaint against him .
Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged in a tweet on August 27 his company was the target of what he termed a “ serious attack.
” Tesla has a factory near Reno that makes batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage units .
The Tesla employee , who the FBI described as a Russian-speaking immigrant , notified Tesla and the FBI about the proposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first meeting with Kriuchkov , according to the court document .
Kriuchkov is accused of spending more weeks meeting and traveling with the unnamed employee , according to court documents .
Some meetings were monitored and recorded by the FBI , which said the plot was stopped before any damage occurred .
Kriuchkov , who spoke in English during the hearing on September 24 , told the court he wanted to go through the process “ as fast as possible . ''
Baldwin ordered Kriuchkov to remain in federal custody pending his trial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ December 1 .
He is being held without bail .
A conviction could bring a sentence of five years in prison and a $ 250,000 fine , according to a U.S. attorney in Nevada .
Deportation could follow a prison term .
His appointed attorneys , federal public defenders Sylvia Irvin and Brandon Jaroch , did not immediately respond to messages about his court appearance , AP reported .
The hearing was held by videoconference due to restrictions on in-person gatherings amid the pandemic .
Kriuchkov , who arrived in the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 22 in Los Angeles , where prosecutors say he was heading to an airport to fly out of the country .
With reporting by AP and ZDnet

A Russian man accused of offering $1 million to an employee of U.S. electric car company Tesla to enable a ransomware attack denied wrongdoing on September 24 before a judge in Nevada.
Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov told the court he was not guilty of a conspiracy charge to intentionally cause damage to a protected computer.
Authorities have not alleged that Kriuchkov has ties to the Kremlin, but Kriuchkov, 26, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Carla Baldwin that he knew the Russian government was aware of his case.
Kriuchkov was in the United States on a Russian passport and a tourist visa when he tried to recruit an employee of what was identified as “Company A" to install software enabling a computer hack, according to the complaint against him.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged in a tweet on August 27 his company was the target of what he termed a “serious attack.”
Tesla has a factory near Reno that makes batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage units.
The Tesla employee, who the FBI described as a Russian-speaking immigrant, notified Tesla and the FBI about the proposed payment of $1 million after his first meeting with Kriuchkov, according to the court document.
Kriuchkov is accused of spending more weeks meeting and traveling with the unnamed employee, according to court documents. Some meetings were monitored and recorded by the FBI, which said the plot was stopped before any damage occurred.
Kriuchkov, who spoke in English during the hearing on September 24, told the court he wanted to go through the process “as fast as possible."
Baldwin ordered Kriuchkov to remain in federal custody pending his trial, which is scheduled to begin on December 1. He is being held without bail.
A conviction could bring a sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to a U.S. attorney in Nevada. Deportation could follow a prison term.
His appointed attorneys, federal public defenders Sylvia Irvin and Brandon Jaroch, did not immediately respond to messages about his court appearance, AP reported. The hearing was held by videoconference due to restrictions on in-person gatherings amid the pandemic.
Kriuchkov, who arrived in the United States in late July, was arrested August 22 in Los Angeles, where prosecutors say he was heading to an airport to fly out of the country.
With reporting by AP and ZDnet


rferl--2020-09-24--U.S. Sanctions Iranian Judges, Prisons Following Execution Of Wrestler

The United States has imposed sanctions on an Iranian judge reportedly involved in the case of Navid Afkari , an Iranian wrestler who was executed earlier this month after being convicted of murder .
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally announced the sanctions against Judge Sayyed Mahmoud Sadati in a statement on September 24 .
The statement said Sadati and Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz were reported to be involved in Afkari 's case .
Pompeo , who previously called the execution of Afkari `` a vicious and cruel act , '' referred to it an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He said Afkari had a promising wrestling career ahead of him and said his trial was rushed and unfair .
`` Too often , the Iranian regime targets , arrests , and kills the brightest and most promising Iranians , thereby depriving Iran of its greatest asset – the skill and talent of its own people , '' Pompeo said .
Afkari , 27 , was executed after being convicted of stabbing a security guard to death during anti-government protests in 2018 , Iranian state media reported .
The case sparked international outcry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called for Iran to spare his life .
Afkari reported being tortured by Iranian officials at Adelabad prison , which was also sanctioned by the United States on September 24 .
Prior to his execution , Afkari said his confession was provided under duress , according to Pompeo 's statement .
The United States also sanctioned another judge , Mohammad Soltani of Iran 's Revolutionary Court system , Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz , and Orumiyeh and Vakilabad prisons , saying they were `` responsible for certain gross violations of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for sentencing members of the Baha ’ i faith on dubious charges related to their exercise of freedom of expression or belief , Pompeo said in the statement .
Vakilabad prison , which is where U.S. citizen Michael White was held , has also arbitrarily detained trade union activist and teacher Mohammad Hossein Sepehri for exercising his human rights , Pompeo said .
White , a U.S. Navy veteran , was detained in 2018 and returned home in June as part of a deal in which the United States allowed Iranian-American physician Majid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prison has subjected members of ethnic and religious minority groups and political prisoners to abuse , including beatings and floggings , Pompeo said .
The sanctions block any assets they have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar Americans from any transactions with them .
Earlier on September 24 , U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela Elliott Abrams told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the sanctions were forthcoming .
Abrams spoke at a hearing called to discuss the Trump administration ’ s foreign policy toward the Middle East .
Democratic members of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s policy toward Iran , saying the president ’ s decision to withdraw from a 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran has failed .
Trump in 2018 withdrew from the agreement amid concerns it created a clear path for Iran to develop nuclear weapons .
Trump has imposed punishing sanctions on Iran to get it to negotiate a new agreement .
The Trump policy “ has been a disaster , ” Senator Tim Kaine ( Democrat-Virginia ) told the hearing , adding it has alienated European allies that were part of the agreement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United Kingdom joined the United States , Russia , China , and the European Union in signing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ( JCPOA ) in 2015 .
Kaine also said the withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear agreement has potentially “ made it much more difficult ” to reach a similar deal with North Korea .
The United States has shown North Korea that it doesn ’ t stick to agreements , he said .
In response to questions from Senator Bob Menendez ( Democrat-New Jersey ) , Abrams admitted that Iran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make a nuclear bomb since the United States pulled out of the JCPOA .
However , Abrams said the Trump administration ’ s policy of “ maximum pressure ” against Iran , which includes hundreds of sanctions on individuals and companies , has significantly damaged Iran ’ s economy and expected Tehran to return to talks .
“ We think with that [ economic ] pressure , once the election is over , they will come to the table , ” Abrams said .
Trump is seeking reelection on November 3 .


rferl--2020-09-24--U.S., EU Lawmakers Call On Lukashenka To Free Political Prisoners In Belarus

WASHINGTON -- Hundreds of lawmakers from Europe and North America have written to Alyaksandr Lukashenka to demand he release Belarus 's political prisoners -- a move underscoring widespread outrage in the West over the violent repression of protests in the country .
The 270 legislators from 29 countries raised concerns about the detention of Maryya Kalesnikava and two of her colleagues on the opposition Coordination Council .
They also raised concerns about the detention since late July of Vitali Shkliarov , a political strategist with dual U.S. and Belarusian citizenship who is the husband of a U.S. diplomat .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and strengthening liberty , democracy , and human rights in Europe , we write with deep concern regarding the [ Lukashenka ] regime ’ s unjust detention of opposition leader [ Maryya ] Kalesnikava and her colleagues , ” the legislators wrote .
Kalesnikava , Maksim Znak , and Illya Saley are ranking members of the Coordination Council -- the opposition organization set up after Belarus 's disputed August 9 presidential election with the stated aim of facilitating a peaceful transfer of power .
Kalesnikava and her colleagues have been jailed along with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to squash the largest political protests in the country since the collapse of the Soviet Union .
Lukashenka 's security forces also are accused of torturing hundreds of citizens who oppose his grip on power .
Hundreds of thousands of Belarusian citizens have taken to the streets to protest the official results announced after the election -- which gave Lukashenka another five-year term with about 80 percent of the vote .
The demonstrators say the vote was rigged in Lukashenka 's favor .
They are demanding he step down from power and hold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shown any sign of giving in to the demonstrators ' demands .
He held a secretive inauguration on September 23 -- prompting the United States , Canada , the United Kingdom , and the European Union to declare him an illegitimate ruler .
The United States , Canada , the United Kingdom and the EU are preparing to impose sanctions against Belarusian officials deemed responsible for human rights abuses .
“ We strongly support carefully targeted sanctions against human rights offenders in and outside of Belarus , in coordination with transatlantic allies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in their joint letter .

WASHINGTON -- Hundreds of lawmakers from Europe and North America have written to Alyaksandr Lukashenka to demand he release Belarus's political prisoners -- a move underscoring widespread outrage in the West over the violent repression of protests in the country.
The 270 legislators from 29 countries raised concerns about the detention of Maryya Kalesnikava and two of her colleagues on the opposition Coordination Council.
They also raised concerns about the detention since late July of Vitali Shkliarov, a political strategist with dual U.S. and Belarusian citizenship who is the husband of a U.S. diplomat.
“As transatlantic legislators strongly committed to preserving and strengthening liberty, democracy, and human rights in Europe, we write with deep concern regarding the [Lukashenka] regime’s unjust detention of opposition leader [Maryya] Kalesnikava and her colleagues,”the legislators wrote.
Kalesnikava, Maksim Znak, and Illya Saley are ranking members of the Coordination Council -- the opposition organization set up after Belarus's disputed August 9 presidential election with the stated aim of facilitating a peaceful transfer of power.
Kalesnikava and her colleagues have been jailed along with thousands of demonstrators as Lukashenka has sought to squash the largest political protests in the country since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Lukashenka's security forces also are accused of torturing hundreds of citizens who oppose his grip on power.
Hundreds of thousands of Belarusian citizens have taken to the streets to protest the official results announced after the election -- which gave Lukashenka another five-year term with about 80 percent of the vote.
The demonstrators say the vote was rigged in Lukashenka's favor. They are demanding he step down from power and hold a new election.
Lukashenka has not shown any sign of giving in to the demonstrators' demands. He held a secretive inauguration on September 23 -- prompting the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union to declare him an illegitimate ruler.
The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the EU are preparing to impose sanctions against Belarusian officials deemed responsible for human rights abuses.
“We strongly support carefully targeted sanctions against human rights offenders in and outside of Belarus, in coordination with transatlantic allies and international partners,” the lawmakers stated in their joint letter.


rferl--2020-09-24--Moscow Mayor Urges Companies To Let Employees Work From Home As Coronavirus Cases Rise

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has asked Russia ’ s top companies operating in the capital to again have some employees work from home after new daily cases of COVID-19 reached a three-month high .
Sobyanin sent the letter to firms including Sberbank , the nation ’ s largest lender , Yandex , its largest IT company by value , and Rostex , the state-owned defense holding .
The letter follows an address by the mayor earlier this month on state TV calling on Moscow companies to shift more employees to distance working to stem the spread of the disease in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ -- and Europe 's -- largest city with an estimated 13 million residents .
The number of daily new infections from the coronavirus in Moscow rose on September 24 to 1,055 , the highest since June , RBK reported .
It represents a nearly 60 percent increase since the middle of September .
Hospitalizations in the capital have also increased .
Several nations across Europe are experiencing an increase in cases as people return to school and economies open up .
Russia has reported 1.1 million cases of the coronavirus , the fourth-highest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States , India , and Brazil .
The number of fatalities is just under 20,000 , the 12th highest in the world .

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has asked Russia’s top companies operating in the capital to again have some employees work from home after new daily cases of COVID-19 reached a three-month high.
Sobyanin sent the letter to firms including Sberbank, the nation’s largest lender, Yandex, its largest IT company by value, and Rostex, the state-owned defense holding.
The letter follows an address by the mayor earlier this month on state TV calling on Moscow companies to shift more employees to distance working to stem the spread of the disease in the capital.
Moscow is Russia's -- and Europe's -- largest city with an estimated 13 million residents.
The number of daily new infections from the coronavirus in Moscow rose on September 24 to 1,055, the highest since June, RBK reported.
It represents a nearly 60 percent increase since the middle of September. Hospitalizations in the capital have also increased.
Several nations across Europe are experiencing an increase in cases as people return to school and economies open up.
Russia has reported 1.1 million cases of the coronavirus, the fourth-highest total in the world after the United States, India, and Brazil. The number of fatalities is just under 20,000, the 12th highest in the world.
Based on reporting by RBK


rferl--2020-09-24--Afghan Forces Reportedly Kill 65 Taliban Fighters In Fierce Battle

Afghan government forces claim to have killed 65 Taliban militants during a battle in the nation ’ s eastern provinces as fighting continues to rage between the two sides while they hold peace talks .
The latest battle took place on September 23 after the Taliban fighters stormed a military headquarters building in the Wazi Khwa district of Paktika Province , local officials said .
Paktika police spokesman Shah Mohammad Arian claimed 65 Taliban fighters were killed and 35 others wounded during the battle , which he said lasted several hours .
The government forces suffered three deaths , while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bakhtiar Gul Zadran , the head of the Paktika provincial council , confirmed the information .
The Taliban did not immediately comment .
A day earlier , the Taliban said its fighters had killed 28 Afghan paramilitary policemen in Uruzgan in southern Afghanistan .
The bloodshed comes as Taliban and Afghan government negotiators are meeting in Doha , where they are trying to find a way to end 19 years of war .
The peace talks began on September 12 to find an agreement on a power-sharing structure and permanent truce .
Negotiations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not years , as the two sides are far apart on many issues .


rferl--2020-09-24--U.S. To Announce More Sanctions Against Iran, Envoy Tells Senate Hearing

The United States will impose new sanctions on a number of Iranian officials and entities including a judge who sentenced Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari to death , an envoy said .
U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela Elliott Abrams made the comment at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington on September 24 called to discuss the Trump administration ’ s foreign policy toward the Middle East .
Navid Afkari was executed earlier this month after being convicted of stabbing a security guard to death during anti-government protests in 2018 , Iranian state media reported , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ international outcry .
U.S. President Donald Trump had called for Iran to spare his life .
Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee used the hearing to criticize Trump ’ s policy toward Iran , saying the president ’ s decision to withdraw from a 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran has failed .
Trump in 2018 withdrew from the agreement , known as the JCPOA , amid concerns it created a clear path for Iran to develop nuclear weapons .
Trump has imposed punishing sanctions on Iran to get it to negotiate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ has been a disaster , ” Senator Tim Kaine ( Democrat-Virginia ) told the hearing , adding it has alienated European allies that were part of the agreement .
Germany , France , and the United Kingdom were signatories to the JCPOA , along with the EU , Russia and China .
Kaine also said the withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear agreement has potentially “ made it much more difficult ” to reach a similar deal with North Korea .
The United States has shown North Korea that it doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In response to questions from New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez , the leading Democrat on the committee , Abrams admitted that Iran has “ moved a little bit closer ” to making a nuclear bomb since the United States pulled out of the JCPOA .
However , Abrams said the Trump administration ’ s policy of “ maximum pressure ” against Iran , which includes hundreds of sanctions on individuals and companies , has significantly damaged Iran ’ s economy and that it expected Tehran to return to talks .
“ We think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once the election is over , they will come to the table , ” Abrams said .
Trump is seeking reelection on November 3 .


rferl--2020-09-24--U.S., U.K., Canada May Soon Announce Sanctions On Belarusian Officials: Report

The United States , Britain , and Canada could soon impose sanctions on Belarusian officials for their violent crackdown on protesters following a presidential election widely viewed to have been rigged .
The three countries could announce the sanctions as early as September 25 , Reuters reported , citing four identified officials , just two days after Alyaksandr Lukashenka held a secretive inauguration deemed “ fraudulent ” by many leaders in the West .
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on September 24 that the United Kingdom was initiating its own sanctions , in coordination with the United States and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures were delayed by Cyprus .
Raab said London was working with Washington and Ottawa `` to prepare appropriate listings as a matter of urgency '' against Belarusian authorities .
Hundreds of thousands of Belarusian citizens have taken to the streets across the country to protest the outcome of the August 9 presidential election that gave Lukashenka another five years in power .
The protesters claim the vote was rigged in Lukashenka ’ s favor and have called on him to step down .
Lukashenka , who was sworn in on September 23 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with mass arrests and beatings that have outraged Western officials .
Raab said that given the delay by the EU and Lukashenka ’ s “ fraudulent inauguration , ” he has directed the government to prepare sanctions against those responsible for the “ serious human rights violations . ''
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said on September 11 that Washington would “ soon ” impose sanctions on individuals in Belarus who are responsible for rigging the election as well the beatings and torture of protesters .
Biegun said the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sanctions list but that the timetable for announcing them may differ from Brussels due to different approval procedures in the bloc .
The passage of EU sanctions needs unanimous approval from all 27 member countries and Cyprus has so far refused to vote , insisting that the EU must extend sanctions over Turkish gas drilling operations in its waters at the same time .
The United States has been pressing Cyprus to lift its veto on proposed EU sanctions against Belarus to allow a coordinated response to the crisis .
With reporting by @ @ @ @ @ @

The United States, Britain, and Canada could soon impose sanctions on Belarusian officials for their violent crackdown on protesters following a presidential election widely viewed to have been rigged.
The three countries could announce the sanctions as early as September 25, Reuters reported, citing four identified officials, just two days after Alyaksandr Lukashenka held a secretive inauguration deemed “fraudulent” by many leaders in the West.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on September 24 that the United Kingdom was initiating its own sanctions, in coordination with the United States and Canada, after the European Union's measures were delayed by Cyprus.
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.
Raab said London was working with Washington and Ottawa "to prepare appropriate listings as a matter of urgency" against Belarusian authorities.
Hundreds of thousands of Belarusian citizens have taken to the streets across the country to protest the outcome of the August 9 presidential election that gave Lukashenka another five years in power.
The protesters claim the vote was rigged in Lukashenka’s favor and have called on him to step down. Lukashenka, who was sworn in on September 23, has sought to quash the protests with mass arrests and beatings that have outraged Western officials.
Raab said that given the delay by the EU and Lukashenka’s “fraudulent inauguration,” he has directed the government to prepare sanctions against those responsible for the “serious human rights violations."
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said on September 11 that Washington would “soon” impose sanctions on individuals in Belarus who are responsible for rigging the election as well the beatings and torture of protesters.
Biegun said the United States was consulting with the EU on its sanctions list but that the timetable for announcing them may differ from Brussels due to different approval procedures in the bloc.
The passage of EU sanctions needs unanimous approval from all 27 member countries and Cyprus has so far refused to vote, insisting that the EU must extend sanctions over Turkish gas drilling operations in its waters at the same time.
The United States has been pressing Cyprus to lift its veto on proposed EU sanctions against Belarus to allow a coordinated response to the crisis.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP