rferl--2020-09-09--After G7 Rebuke, Russia Alleges 'Massive Disinformation' In Navalny Case Aimed At Sanctions 'Hysteri

After G7 Rebuke, Russia Alleges 'Massive Disinformation' In Navalny Case Aimed At Sanctions 'Hysteria'

Moscow has accused the Group of Seven ( G7 ) nations of an `` unfolding massive disinformation campaign '' to whip up support for sanctions over the case of poisoned Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny .
The 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner and Russian opposition leader is in a Berlin hospital after falling ill last month in Siberia from what German doctors say is exposure to a Soviet-style military nerve agent .
A statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry said `` groundless attacks on Russia continue '' amid an `` unconstructive approach by German authorities . ''
It said `` the whipping up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ growing '' and `` the main task is not in caring for A. Navalny 's health or discovering the true reasons for his hospitalization but in mobilizing sanctions sentiments . ''
Germany 's ambassador to Moscow was later summoned to the Foreign Ministry over Berlin 's statements regarding the case , according to Russian media .
`` We have gathered a lot of questions for our German colleagues on the completely inappropriate attitude toward official requests we send to Berlin , '' Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said before the summoning .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
German experts this week said tests show Navalny was poisoned with an agent from the Novichok group , prompting international calls on Russia to swiftly investigate the case .
Late on September 8 , G7 foreign ministers condemned Navalny 's `` confirmed poisoning '' and demanded that Russia quickly find and prosecute those behind the `` abhorrent '' attack .
The G7 statement came on the same day as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights called on the Russian government to `` fully investigate '' the poisoning , calling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' The top diplomats from the major industrial democracies also called on Russia `` to urgently and fully establish transparency on who is responsible for this abhorrent poisoning attack and…to bring the perpetrators to justice . ''
Navalny suddenly fell ill on a Russian domestic flight on August 20 , and was medically evacuated to Germany on a request by his wife several days later .
He awoke from a medically induced coma on September 7 and is said to be responding to verbal stimuli but it is unclear what long-term effects he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to open a criminal investigation , saying that no hard evidence of poisoning has been found .
The chief toxicologist of the Omsk region , where Navalny was treated after his flight to Moscow made an emergency landing in the city of Omsk , said on September 8 that `` there wasn ’ t a single indication of poisoning '' in the Navalny case .
The Kremlin has also vehemently denied allegations by Navalny ’ s team , his relatives , and others who believe that Russian authorities are behind the poisoning .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Vladimir Putin , and has been attacked with a dangerous chemical and fallen ill in Russian custody in the past .
`` We , the G7 foreign ministers of Canada , France , Germany , Italy , Japan , the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union , are united in condemning , in the strongest possible terms , the confirmed poisoning '' of Navalny , they said in a joint statement released by the U.S. State Department on September 8 .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continue to monitor closely how Russia responds to international calls for an explanation of the hideous poisoning . ''
`` Any use of chemical weapons , anywhere , anytime , by anybody , under any circumstances whatsoever , is unacceptable and contravenes the international norms prohibiting the use of such weapons , '' the group 's statement added .
The White House last week described Navalny ’ s poisoning as “ completely reprehensible ” and said Washington was working with the international community to `` hold those in Russia accountable . ''
Among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or targeted in recent years are investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya , former Russian security officer Aleksandr Litvinenko , former Russian Deputy Prime Minister and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov , and former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal , among others .
Skripal and his daughter , Yulia , were poisoned by Novichok in the British city of Salisbury in 2018 , and British investigators have implicated Russian security agencies .

Russia says it has protested strongly to Berlin's envoy to Moscow over "unfounded accusations and ultimatums" purportedly made by Germany over the illness of poisoned Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny.
During a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry on September 9, the German ambassador was warned that a refusal by Berlin to provide Moscow information in the case would be seen as a "hostile provocation" that would be "fraught with consequences," a ministry statement said.
The ministry also protested what it called Berlin's "obvious use of the situation as a means to discredit our country on the international stage."
In Berlin, the government said the test results showing that Navalny was the victim of a nerve-agent attack had been handed over to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The government sees no reason to hand the evidence directly to Russia, deputy spokeswoman Martina Fietz told reporters, adding, "We continue to appeal to the Russian side to deliver information."
Navalny suddenly fell ill on a Russian domestic flight on August 20 and was medically evacuated to Germany on a request by his wife several days later.
German experts say the 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner and Russian opposition leader was poisoned with a Soviet-style military nerve agent from the Novichok group, prompting international calls on Russia to swiftly investigate the case.
Russian authorities have refused to open a criminal investigation, saying that no hard evidence of poisoning has been found.
The Kremlin has also vehemently denied allegations by Navalny’s team, his relatives, and others who believe that Russian authorities are behind the poisoning.
Before the German ambassador was summoned by Russian officials, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized Germany's "completely inappropriate attitude toward official requests we send to Berlin."
He called Germany's tone "absolutely unacceptable."
Earlier in the day, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the Group of Seven (G7) countries of an "unfolding massive disinformation campaign" to whip up support for sanctions over the Navalny case.
"The whipping up of hysteria around this case is only growing" and "the main task is not in caring for A. Navalny's health or discovering the true reasons for his hospitalization but in mobilizing sanctions sentiments," the ministry said in a statement.
The statement came after G7 foreign ministers late on September 8 condemned Navalny's "confirmed poisoning" and demanded that Russia quickly find and prosecute those behind the "abhorrent" attack.
The G7 statement came on the same day as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights called on the Russian government to "fully investigate" the poisoning, calling the incident an "assassination attempt."
The top diplomats from the major industrial democracies also called on Russia "to urgently and fully establish transparency on who is responsible for this abhorrent poisoning attack and...to bring the perpetrators to justice."
The Berlin hospital where Navalny is being treated said on September 7 he had awaken from a medically induced coma and was responding to verbal stimuli. However, it said it was unclear what long-term effects he will suffer.
The chief toxicologist of the Omsk region, where Navalny was treated after his flight to Moscow made an emergency landing in the city of Omsk, said on September 8 that "there wasn't a single indication of poisoning" in the Navalny case.
The Kremlin has also vehemently denied allegations by Navalny’s team, his relatives, and others who believe that Russian authorities are behind the poisoning.
Navalny has led nationwide protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has been attacked with a dangerous chemical and fallen ill in Russian custody in the past.
G7 Protest
"We, the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in condemning, in the strongest possible terms, the confirmed poisoning" of Navalny, they said in a joint statement released by the U.S. State Department on September 8.
The G7 ministers said that they will “continue to monitor closely how Russia responds to international calls for an explanation of the hideous poisoning."
"Any use of chemical weapons, anywhere, anytime, by anybody, under any circumstances whatsoever, is unacceptable and contravenes the international norms prohibiting the use of such weapons," the group's statement added.
The White House last week described Navalny’s poisoning as “completely reprehensible” and said Washington was working with the international community to "hold those in Russia accountable."
Among the Kremlin opponents who have been killed or targeted in recent years are investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, former Russian security officer Aleksandr Litvinenko, former Russian Deputy Prime Minister and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, and former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, among others.
Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned by Novichok in the British city of Salisbury in 2018, and British investigators have implicated Russian security agencies.


rferl--2020-09-09--Tsikhanouskaya Urges Belarusian Opposition To 'Remain Peaceful' Amid Fears Another Leader Detained

The exiled leader of Belarus 's reinvigorated opposition to five-term President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has urged protesters at home to `` remain peaceful '' despite an intensifying crackdown that featured another suspected abduction by regime forces on September 9 .
Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya 's latest plea came during a visit to Warsaw , Poland , and with indications swirling that Belarusian masked men had quietly taken away lawyer Maksim Znak and might be trying to do the same to Nobel Prize-winning writer and Lukashenka critic Svetlana Alexievich .
`` The protests must remain peaceful , '' Tsikhanouskaya said in an address at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is impossible to fight violence and give violence , '' she said during a speech at Warsaw University .
Lukashenka , who has led the country for 26 years and claimed victory in a disputed presidential election on August 9 , has refused to meet with the opposition or agree to a new election .
A month of regular protests has ensued , including demonstrations from some of the workers and other prominent groups the strongman president has kept in tight lockstep in the past .
Lukashenka told Russian media in an extended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I overstayed a bit . ''
It was his strongest acknowledgement so far of any mistake on his part but was followed by a vow to stay on as president .
His postelection clampdown has included thousands of arrests , beatings and other mistreatment of peaceful protesters , and expulsions of foreign journalists .
UN rights experts have acknowledged receiving reports of hundreds of cases of torture , beatings , and abuse by police .
Hours before Tsikhanouskaya 's address , colleagues of one of the last free members of the Belarusian opposition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country reported signs that Znak had been snatched by authorities operating with no apparent public accountability .
Znak , a lawyer , was one of two members of the Coordination Council 's presidium who had managed to continue speaking out from inside the country .
The other is the ailing Alexievich , whose long-running health problems have limited her activities .
Swedish television quoted Alexievich 's Swedish translator as saying that Alexievich told her that `` men in black clothes and masks '' tried to enter Alexievich 's home on September 9 but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Sweden 's ambassador to Belarus said Swedish and other diplomats had gathered with Alexievich at her apartment in the capital .
`` She has signaled that she is worried and is now in the company of , among others , our embassy 's second in charge and some other ambassadors , '' the ambassador , Christina Johannesson , told Swedish television SVT .
Earlier in the day , Alexievich issued a statement via the Belarusian PEN Center on September 9 saying , `` There are no longer any of my like-minded friends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Everyone is either in jail or thrown abroad .
Today they took , the last , Maksim Znak . ''
`` [ T ] he best of us are being kidnapped , '' she said .
Alexievich rejected the notion , promoted by Lukashenka and his prosecutors , that the opposition was `` preparing a coup '' and instead said they sought `` to prevent a split in the country '' and instead wanted `` a dialogue to begin in society . ''
She appealed to `` the Russian intelligentsia '' to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behalf of `` a small , proud people being trampled . ''
Znak 's associates told the independent Russian-language Tut.by news website on September 9 that he failed to log on for a planned interview via Internet from the headquarters of jailed opposition politician Viktar Babaryka earlier in the day .
When they called his phone , they said , Znak said hurriedly that `` Somebody came here '' and hung up .
Then a text message came from his phone that said only `` Masks , '' after which his telephone went @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said an eyewitness reported seeing the 39-year-old Znak being marched down the street near his offices by masked men in civilian clothes .
On September 7 , another member of the presidium of the opposition 's Coordination Council , Maryya Kalesnikava , was grabbed off the street in Minsk by masked men .
She and two other opposition organizers turned up the next day at Belarus 's border with Ukraine in an apparent attempt to expel her , although she reportedly tore up her passport to avoid deportation .
Belarus 's authorities , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , later acknowledged that she had been detained .
The opposition leaders she was with at the border , council press secretary Anton Randyonkau and executive secretary Ivan Krautsou , reportedly are in Ukraine .
The Coordination Council has pressed for a peaceful transition of power since election officials declared Lukashenka the runaway winner of the August 9 vote critics say was fraudulent .
It was set up by Tsikhanouskaya , a political novice who has continued to press for Lukashenka 's exit and a new election from Lithuanian exile .
Belarusian chief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criminal proceedings against the Coordination Council in mid-August .
All but two of the council presidium 's seven members have been either arrested or forced to leave the country .
This week 's disappearances elicited accusations by the European Union that the embattled Belarusian regime was using kidnapping and intimidation to quash more than four weeks of unprecedented protests .
Thousands of people have been arrested , journalists have been harassed and expelled , and clips have emerged of Lukashenka 's security services brutally abusing detainees since the vote .
Germany , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has demanded information on those who went missing and the release of political prisoners .
An unnamed senior official in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump said on September 8 that the United States was “ extremely concerned by continued human rights violations ” in Belarus .
The official said the forced expulsion of opposition figures is one of the methods Minsk “ is using in its attempts to deny freedom of speech.
” Lukashenka is reportedly due to visit Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on September 14 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and AP

Prosecutors have opened a criminal case against a leading opposition figure inside Belarus as Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled leader of the country's reinvigorated opposition to five-term President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, urged protesters at home to "remain peaceful" amid an intensifying crackdown that featured another suspected abduction by regime forces.
Tsikhanouskaya's latest plea came during a visit to Warsaw, Poland, and with indications swirling that Belarusian masked men had quietly taken away lawyer Maksim Znak and might be trying to do the same to Nobel Prize-winning writer and Lukashenka critic Svetlana Alexievich.
Meanwhile, Belarus's Prosecutor-General's Office announced it had opened a criminal case against Maryya Kalesnikava, another member of the presidium of the opposition's Coordination Council, for what it called "public calls for seizing power in
the country."
Kalesnikava was grabbed off the street in Minsk by masked men on September 8 along with two other opposition organizers before they mysteriously turned up at the border with Ukraine.
The authorities tried to expel her, but she reportedly foiled them by tearing up her passport.
The opposition leaders she was with at the border, council press secretary Anton Randyonkau and executive secretary Ivan Krautsou, are reportedly in Ukraine.
"The protests must remain peaceful," Tsikhanouskaya said in an address at Warsaw University. "I think it is impossible to fight violence and give violence," she said during a speech at Warsaw University.
Lukashenka, who has led the country for 26 years and claimed victory in a disputed presidential election on August 9, has refused to meet with the opposition or agree to a new election.
A month of regular protests has ensued, including demonstrations from some of the workers and other prominent groups the strongman president has kept in tight lockstep in the past.
Lukashenka told Russian media in an extended interview on September 8 that "maybe I overstayed a bit."
It was his strongest acknowledgement so far of any mistake on his part but was followed by a vow to stay on as president.
Torture, Beatings
His postelection clampdown has included thousands of arrests, beatings and other mistreatment of peaceful protesters, and expulsions of foreign journalists.
European Council President Charles Michel on September 9 urged the EU member states to "speed up the process on sanctions" against senior Belarusian officials suspected of involvement in election fraud and a brutal crackdown against protesters.
"Political persecution in Belarus including detentions on political grounds and forced exile must stop. Belarusian authorities must free political prisoners and let citizens exercise their right to freedom of speech and assembly," Michel tweeted.
Meanwhile, in a statement on September 9, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) called for an international investigation into "human rights crimes" in Belarus.
It cited "multiple, credible reports of massive, serious violations of the right to free and fair elections, of the freedom of expression and assembly, of the right to liberty, and of acts of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment against peaceful protesters."
The committee also said that it didn't recognize the result of the presidential election and demanded that a new vote be held "in a fair and transparent manner, under the supervision of international observers."
Hours before Tsikhanouskaya's address, colleagues of one of the last free members of the Belarusian opposition's top organizing body still in the country reported signs that Znak had been snatched by authorities operating with no apparent public accountability.
Znak, a lawyer, was one of two members of the Coordination Council's presidium who had managed to continue speaking out from inside the country.
The other is the ailing Alexievich, whose long-running health problems have limited her activities.
Swedish television quoted Alexievich's Swedish translator as saying that Alexievich told her that "men in black clothes and masks" tried to enter Alexievich's home on September 9 but that the writer had not been detained.
Sweden's ambassador to Belarus said Swedish and other diplomats had gathered with Alexievich at her apartment in the capital.
"She has signaled that she is worried and is now in the company of, among others, our embassy's second in charge and some other ambassadors," the ambassador, Christina Johannesson, told Swedish television SVT.
Timeline: Postelection Developments In Belarus Some of the key events that have followed the contested reelection of longtime Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Earlier in the day, Alexievich issued a statement via the Belarusian PEN Center on September 9 saying, "There are no longer any of my like-minded friends in the presidium of the Coordinating Council. Everyone is either in jail or thrown abroad. Today they took, the last, Maksim Znak."
"[T]he best of us are being kidnapped," she said.
Alexievich rejected the notion, promoted by Lukashenka and his prosecutors, that the opposition was "preparing a coup" and instead said they sought "to prevent a split in the country" and instead wanted "a dialogue to begin in society."
She appealed to "the Russian intelligentsia" to speak out against Belarusian injustice and on behalf of "a small, proud people being trampled."
Znak's associates told the independent Russian-language Tut.by news website on September 9 that he failed to log on for a planned interview via Internet from the headquarters of jailed opposition politician Viktar Babaryka earlier in the day.
When they called his phone, they said, Znak said hurriedly that "Somebody came here" and hung up. Then a text message came from his phone that said only "Masks," after which his telephone went unanswered.
Babaryko's press service later said an eyewitness reported seeing the 39-year-old Znak being marched down the street near his offices by masked men in civilian clothes.
On September 7, another member of the presidium of the opposition's Coordination Council, Maryya Kalesnikava, was grabbed off the street in Minsk by masked men.
She and two other opposition organizers turned up the next day at Belarus's border with Ukraine in an apparent attempt to expel her, although she reportedly tore up her passport to avoid deportation.
Belarus's authorities, who had denied Kalesnikava was in custody, later acknowledged that she had been detained.
The opposition leaders she was with at the border, council press secretary Anton Randyonkau and executive secretary Ivan Krautsou, reportedly are in Ukraine.
Clampdown On Council
The Coordination Council has pressed for a peaceful transition of power since election officials declared Lukashenka the runaway winner of the August 9 vote critics say was fraudulent.
It was set up by Tsikhanouskaya, a political novice who has continued to press for Lukashenka's exit and a new election from Lithuanian exile.
Belarusian chief prosecutor Alyaksandr Konyuk announced the launch of criminal proceedings against the Coordination Council in mid-August.
All but two of the council presidium's seven members have been either arrested or forced to leave the country.
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.
This week's disappearances elicited accusations by the European Union that the embattled Belarusian regime was using kidnapping and intimidation to quash more than four weeks of unprecedented protests.
Germany, which currently holds the rotating EU Presidency, has demanded information on those who went missing and the release of political prisoners.
An unnamed senior official in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump said on September 8 that the United States was "extremely concerned by continued human rights violations" in Belarus.
The official said the forced expulsion of opposition figures is one of the methods Minsk "is using in its attempts to deny freedom of speech."
Lukashenka is reportedly due to visit Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on September 14.
With reporting by Tut.by, Reuters, and AP


rferl--2020-09-09--Afghan Vice President Saleh 'Unharmed' In Deadly Attack On His Convoy In Kabul

KABUL -- Afghan First Vice President Amrullah Saleh has escaped with only slight injuries after an apparent assassination attempt in the capital early on September 9 that killed at least 10 people .
A bomb was said to have targeted a convoy carrying the 49-year-old former intelligence chief and his son .
A video posted to Facebook after the incident showed Saleh standing next to a flag with a bandaged left hand but otherwise looking well .
`` I am fine but some of my guards have been wounded , '' Saleh says in the clip .
`` My son @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me , and I are both fine . ''
`` I have some burns on my face and hand .
The blast was strong . ''
The incident comes with fears that increasing violence in Afghanistan could erode trust and set back planned talks to end the two-decade insurgency against the central government formed after the ousting of the fundamentalist Taliban in late 2001 .
“ The enemies of Afghanistan and the enemies of our leaders who want to defend this country 's national interests with their lives and souls today again wanted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's spokesman , Rizwan Murad , told RFE/RL .
`` He survived the attack by the grace of God [ and ] having the prayers of his people . ''
A Taliban spokesman , Zabiullah Mujahid , in a message to media outlets denied the militant group 's involvement in the attack on Saleh 's convoy .
Afghan officials this week postponed a scheduled trip to Doha for long-awaited peace talks with the Taliban because of logistical issues at the venue of the talks in the Qatari capital .
Both sides had indicated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finalized a months-long prisoner exchange last week .
A spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on September 7 that both sides were making final preparations .
Saleh has been heavily involved in preparing for those negotiations .
He said last week that the Afghan government side would immediately press for a cease-fire to test whether the Taliban `` are committed to peace . ''
Details are still emerging of the attack on Saleh 's motorcade .
Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian told RFE/RL that `` at least 10 civilians '' were killed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were injured .
`` The blast occurred when the vice president 's convoy was crossing '' the scene , Arian said .
The delayed intra-Afghan negotiations should follow on a landmark deal signed between the United States and the Taliban in February .
Under the U.S.-Taliban agreement , international forces should withdraw from Afghanistan by May 2021 in exchange for counterterrorism guarantees from the Taliban , which pledged to negotiate a permanent cease-fire and power-sharing deal with the Afghan government .
With reporting by AFP and Reuters

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


rferl--2020-09-08--G7 Ministers Urge Russia To Find Those Behind 'Abhorrent' Navalny Poisoning; UN Rights Chief Calls F

G7 Ministers Urge Russia To Find Those Behind 'Abhorrent' Navalny Poisoning; UN Rights Chief Calls For Probe

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations have condemned the `` confirmed poisoning '' of Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny , and demanded that Russia quickly find and prosecute those behind the `` abhorrent '' attack .
`` We , the G7 foreign ministers of Canada , France , Germany , Italy , Japan , the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union , are united in condemning , in the strongest possible terms , the confirmed poisoning '' of Navalny , they said in a joint statement released @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 8 .
The top diplomats from the major industrial democracies also called on Russia `` to urgently and fully establish transparency on who is responsible for this abhorrent poisoning attack and…to bring the perpetrators to justice . ''
Navalny , a 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner who has led nationwide protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin , was flown to Germany on August 22 , two days after falling ill on a flight in Siberia .
German experts say tests show that he was poisoned with a Soviet-style military-grade nerve agent from the Novichok group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ swiftly investigate the case .
Russian authorities have refused to open a criminal investigation , saying that no hard evidence of poisoning has been found .
The Kremlin has also vehemently denied allegations by Navalny ’ s team , his relatives , and others who believe that Russian authorities are behind the poisoning .
Navalny continues to be treated at Berlin ’ s Charite Hospital , which on September 7 said the Kremlin foe had been removed from his medically induced coma and that he was responding to verbal stimuli .
However , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning . ''
Germany briefed the G7 , which the United States is chairing this year , on its determination that Navalny `` is the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve-agent of the 'Novichok ' group , a substance developed by Russia , '' the G7 statement said .
`` Any use of chemical weapons , anywhere , anytime , by anybody , under any circumstances whatsoever , is unacceptable and contravenes the international norms prohibiting the use of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The G7 ministers said that they will “ continue to monitor closely how Russia responds to international calls for an explanation of the hideous poisoning . ''
The statement came on the same day as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights called for for the Russian government to `` fully investigate '' the poisoning of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny , calling the incident an `` assassination attempt . ''
In her September 8 statement , High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet said that German specialists have `` unequivocal proof '' that Navalny was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flying from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow .
`` Navalny was clearly someone who needed state protection even if he was a political thorn in the side of the government , '' Bachelet said , noting that Navalny had been repeatedly harassed and attacked for years before the August 20 poisoning .
`` It is not good enough to simply deny he was poisoned…It is incumbent on the Russian authorities to fully investigate who was responsible for this crime -- a very serious crime that was committed on Russian soil , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numerous `` current or former Russian citizens '' had been targeted for assassination by poison or other means both within Russia and abroad , saying it was `` profoundly disturbing . ''
Among the Kremlin opponents who have been killed or targeted in recent years are investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya , former Russian security officer Aleksandr Litvinenko , former Russian Deputy Prime Minister and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov , and former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal , among others .
Skripal and his daughter , Yulia , were poisoned by Novichok in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and British investigators have implicated Russian security agencies .
Germany ’ s minister for Europe , Michael Roth , said on September 8 that Berlin was looking at `` the entire set of instruments '' in deciding how to respond to Navalny 's poisoning .
Chancellor Angela Merkel has said `` only Russia can and must answer '' questions about the case .
In the United States , the top Democrat and the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are calling for a formal U.S. investigation into whether “ Russia has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law or has used lethal chemical weapons against its own nationals ” — a request they say triggers a required 60-day evaluation period under the 1991 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act .
In a letter on September 8 , Eliot Engel ( New York ) , the Democratic chairman of the committee , and Michael McCaul ( Texas ) , the panel ’ s ranking member , urged President Donald Trump to enact additional sanctions on Russia if “ the Russian government is once again determined to have used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own nationals.
” The White House last week described Navalny ’ s poisoning “ completely reprehensible ” and said Washington was working with the international community to `` hold those in Russia accountable.
” Meanwhile , the German Embassy in Moscow told the Russian news agency TASS on September 8 that that the German ambassador would `` take part in a discussion '' at the Russian Foreign Ministry the next day .
The chief toxicologist of the Omsk region , where Navalny was treated after his flight to Moscow made an emergency landing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on September 8 that `` there wasn ’ t a single indication of poisoning '' in the Navalny case .
Aleksandr Sabayev called the German diagnosis `` just a fanciful assumption…with no documented or clinical proof . ''
With reporting by TASS , AP , Reuters , and AFP

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations have condemned the "confirmed poisoning" of Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, and demanded that Russia quickly find and prosecute those behind the "abhorrent" attack.
"We, the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in condemning, in the strongest possible terms, the confirmed poisoning" of Navalny, they said in a joint statement released by the U.S. State Department on September 8.
The top diplomats from the major industrial democracies also called on Russia "to urgently and fully establish transparency on who is responsible for this abhorrent poisoning attack and…to bring the perpetrators to justice."
Navalny, a 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner who has led nationwide protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin, was flown to Germany on August 22, two days after falling ill on a flight in Siberia.
German experts say tests show that he was poisoned with a Soviet-style military-grade nerve agent from the Novichok group, prompting international calls on Russia to swiftly investigate the case.
Russian authorities have refused to open a criminal investigation, saying that no hard evidence of poisoning has been found.
The Kremlin has also vehemently denied allegations by Navalny’s team, his relatives, and others who believe that Russian authorities are behind the poisoning.
Navalny continues to be treated at Berlin’s Charite Hospital, which on September 7 said the Kremlin foe had been removed from his medically induced coma and that he was responding to verbal stimuli.
However, the hospital also said that it remains "too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning."
Germany briefed the G7, which the United States is chairing this year, on its determination that Navalny "is the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve-agent of the 'Novichok' group, a substance developed by Russia," the G7 statement said.
"Any use of chemical weapons, anywhere, anytime, by anybody, under any circumstances whatsoever, is unacceptable and contravenes the international norms prohibiting the use of such weapons," it added.
The G7 ministers said that they will “continue to monitor closely how Russia responds to international calls for an explanation of the hideous poisoning."
The statement came on the same day as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights called for for the Russian government to "fully investigate" the poisoning of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, calling the incident an "assassination attempt."
In her September 8 statement, High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet said that German specialists have "unequivocal proof" that Navalny was poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent while flying from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow.
"Navalny was clearly someone who needed state protection even if he was a political thorn in the side of the government," Bachelet said, noting that Navalny had been repeatedly harassed and attacked for years before the August 20 poisoning.
"It is not good enough to simply deny he was poisoned…It is incumbent on the Russian authorities to fully investigate who was responsible for this crime -- a very serious crime that was committed on Russian soil," she said.
Bachelet added that numerous "current or former Russian citizens" had been targeted for assassination by poison or other means both within Russia and abroad, saying it was "profoundly disturbing."
Among the Kremlin opponents who have been killed or targeted in recent years are investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, former Russian security officer Aleksandr Litvinenko, former Russian Deputy Prime Minister and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, and former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, among others.
Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned by Novichok in the British city of Salisbury in 2018, and British investigators have implicated Russian security agencies.
Germany’s minister for Europe, Michael Roth, said on September 8 that Berlin was looking at "the entire set of instruments" in deciding how to respond to Navalny's poisoning.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has said "only Russia can and must answer" questions about the case.
In the United States, the top Democrat and the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are calling for a formal U.S. investigation into whether “Russia has used chemical weapons in violation of international law or has used lethal chemical weapons against its own nationals” — a request they say triggers a required 60-day evaluation period under the 1991 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act.
In a letter on September 8, Eliot Engel (New York), the Democratic chairman of the committee, and Michael McCaul (Texas), the panel’s ranking member, urged President Donald Trump to enact additional sanctions on Russia if “the Russian government is once again determined to have used a chemical weapon against one of its own nationals.”
The White House last week described Navalny’s poisoning “completely reprehensible” and said Washington was working with the international community to "hold those in Russia accountable.”
Meanwhile, the German Embassy in Moscow told the Russian news agency TASS on September 8 that that the German ambassador would "take part in a discussion" at the Russian Foreign Ministry the next day.
The chief toxicologist of the Omsk region, where Navalny was treated after his flight to Moscow made an emergency landing in the city of Omsk, said on September 8 that "there wasn’t a single indication of poisoning" in the Navalny case.
Aleksandr Sabayev called the German diagnosis "just a fanciful assumption…with no documented or clinical proof."
With reporting by TASS, AP, Reuters, and AFP


rferl--2020-09-08--Navalny's Team In Novosibirsk Attacked With Unknown Chemical Liquid

NOVOSIBIRSK , Russia -- Two attackers threw a glass jar with an unknown chemical liquid into an office housing the independent political coalition supported by opposition politician Aleksei Navalny 's team in Russia 's third-largest city , Novosibirsk .
The jar broke and the room , filled with dozens of people on September 8 , was quickly filled with a sharp , acidic smell .
The room was cleared immediately , but two people felt sick and an ambulance was called , Yelena Noskovets , a member of Navalny 's team in the city , told RFE/RL and Current Time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Navalny 's group was giving a lecture to staff and volunteers on how to monitor regional elections scheduled for September 13 .
A coordinator for Navalny 's team and a member of the coalition , Sergei Boiko , warned the attack `` will not save the [ ruling ] United Russia [ party ] anyway . ''
Police are investigating the attack .
Navalny 's associates have been on edge in recent weeks after the opposition figure fell sick during a trip to Siberia in late August .
The plane he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emergency landing in the Siberian city of Omsk , where Navalny was rushed to hospital .
He was later transferred to Berlin for treatment and on September 2 , Germany said that toxicology tests provided `` unequivocal evidence '' that the gravely ill Kremlin-critic had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent .
The 44-year-old politician continues to be treated at the Charite Hospital in the German capital .
His relatives and colleagues say Russian authorities were behind his poisoning , which the Kremlin has vehemently denied .
On September 13 , Russians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and local lawmakers .
Opposition parties in Novosibirsk have united into the Novosibirsk 2020 coalition to challenge the ruling United Russia party .
Navalny 's Smart Voting campaign has supported opposition and independent candidates across the country .
Navalny 's close associates , Lyubov Sobol and Leonid Volkov said to RFE/RL earlier in separate interviews that one of the most likely reasons for Navalny 's poisoning was his Smart Voting initiative , which the Kremlin has started to consider as a serious political challenge .

NOVOSIBIRSK, Russia -- Two attackers threw a glass jar with an unknown chemical liquid into an office housing the independent political coalition supported by opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's team in Russia's third-largest city, Novosibirsk.
The jar broke and the room, filled with dozens of people on September 8, was quickly filled with a sharp, acidic smell. The room was cleared immediately, but two people felt sick and an ambulance was called, Yelena Noskovets, a member of Navalny's team in the city, told RFE/RL and Current Time.
Noskovets added that the attack came as Navalny's group was giving a lecture to staff and volunteers on how to monitor regional elections scheduled for September 13.
A coordinator for Navalny's team and a member of the coalition, Sergei Boiko, warned the attack "will not save the [ruling] United Russia [party] anyway."
Police are investigating the attack.
Navalny's associates have been on edge in recent weeks after the opposition figure fell sick during a trip to Siberia in late August. The plane he was travelling on was forced to make an emergency landing in the Siberian city of Omsk, where Navalny was rushed to hospital.
He was later transferred to Berlin for treatment and on September 2, Germany said that toxicology tests provided "unequivocal evidence" that the gravely ill Kremlin-critic had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent.
The 44-year-old politician continues to be treated at the Charite Hospital in the German capital. His relatives and colleagues say Russian authorities were behind his poisoning, which the Kremlin has vehemently denied.
On September 13, Russians will vote for governors of 20 regions and local lawmakers. Opposition parties in Novosibirsk have united into the Novosibirsk 2020 coalition to challenge the ruling United Russia party.
Navalny's Smart Voting campaign has supported opposition and independent candidates across the country.
Navalny's close associates, Lyubov Sobol and Leonid Volkov said to RFE/RL earlier in separate interviews that one of the most likely reasons for Navalny's poisoning was his Smart Voting initiative, which the Kremlin has started to consider as a serious political challenge.


rferl--2020-09-09--Russian Deputy Energy Minister Arrested For Embezzlement

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Tikhonov has been arrested in Moscow on allegations of embezzlement .
The Basmanny district court @ @ @ @ @ for two months .
The Investigative Committee said Tikhonov and three other people were accused @ @ @ @ @ million rubles ( $ 7.9 million ) at the time he headed the state Russian @ @ @ @ @ of the Energy Ministry .
One of Tikhonov 's lawyers said his client was not @ @ @ @ @ , was focused on digital projects at the Energy Ministry .
He headed the agency @ @ @ @ @ being promoted to a deputy energy minister .
Investigators said the alleged embezzlement of state @ @ @ @ @ development of a digital system at the agency .
Based on reporting by Reuters , @ @ @ @ @

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Tikhonov has been arrested in Moscow on allegations of embezzlement.
The Basmanny district court ruled Tikhonov remain in custody for two months.
The Investigative Committee said Tikhonov and three other people were accused of embezzling at least 603 million rubles ($7.9 million) at the time he headed the state Russian Energy Agency, a unit of the Energy Ministry.
One of Tikhonov's lawyers said his client was not guilty.
Tikhonov, 51, was focused on digital projects at the Energy Ministry.
He headed the agency from 2014 to 2019 before being promoted to a deputy energy minister.
Investigators said the alleged embezzlement of state funds was related to the development of a digital system at the agency.
Based on reporting by Reuters, Interfax, and RIA Novosti


rferl--2020-09-09--Chechen Teen Who Appeared In Humiliation Video Was Kidnapped, Russian Paper Says

A teenage Chechen activist who appeared in a recent video in which he appears to have been tortured and humiliated was reportedly kidnapped by people with connections to the authorities in Chechnya .
The independent Russian newspaper Novaya gazeta said that 19-year-old Salman Tepsurkayev was kidnapped on September 5 while outside Chechnya and by the following day was being held at the base of the Terek special-operations unit in the Chechen capital , Grozny , according to information gleaned from Tepsurkayev 's cellphone signal .
Late on September 7 , a social-media video appeared in which a naked person -- @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was an administrator with the opposition 1ADAT Telegram channel -- stands on his knees and says , `` I am punishing myself . ''
He then apologizes and sits down on a glass bottle .
The video has been watched tens of thousands of times and has caused a public sensation across the North Caucasus republic .
In a second video posted on September 9 to a pro-government Instagram channel , Tepsurkayev explains that he made the first video because of a dispute he 'd had with the 1ADAT management and because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about Chechen police and other authorities .
The Memorial human rights group called on the authorities in Moscow to establish Tepsurkayev 's whereabouts and to investigate allegations that he was kidnapped and tortured .
The 1ADAT channel is highly critical of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov , who has been widely accused of human rights abuses , including torture , disappearances , and extrajudicial killings both in Russia and abroad .
It publishes information about people who it believes have been kidnapped and are being held by the authorities .
A source at 1ADAT @ @ @ @ @ @ @ RFE/RL that Tepsurkayev was not an administrator at the channel but was an activist with a Chechen opposition group and sometimes moderated chats for 1ADAT .
The source said the channel only learned Tepsurkayev 's real name from the video .
Chechen vlogger Tumso Abdurkhmanov commented that the Tepsurkayev video was `` extraordinary even for Kadyrov 's Chechnya . ''
A spokeswoman for the office of the Chechen human rights ombudsman told RFE/RL that the office was aware of the video but had not looked into it because there has been no request @ @ @ @ @ @ @

A teenage Chechen activist who appeared in a recent video in which he appears to have been tortured and humiliated was reportedly kidnapped by people with connections to the authorities in Chechnya.
The independent Russian newspaper Novaya gazeta said that 19-year-old Salman Tepsurkayev was kidnapped on September 5 while outside Chechnya and by the following day was being held at the base of the Terek special-operations unit in the Chechen capital, Grozny, according to information gleaned from Tepsurkayev's cellphone signal.
Late on September 7, a social-media video appeared in which a naked person -- who identifies himself as Tepsurkayev and says he was an administrator with the opposition 1ADAT Telegram channel -- stands on his knees and says, "I am punishing myself."
He then apologizes and sits down on a glass bottle.
The video has been watched tens of thousands of times and has caused a public sensation across the North Caucasus republic.
In a second video posted on September 9 to a pro-government Instagram channel, Tepsurkayev explains that he made the first video because of a dispute he'd had with the 1ADAT management and because he regretted the statements he'd made about Chechen police and other authorities.
The Memorial human rights group called on the authorities in Moscow to establish Tepsurkayev's whereabouts and to investigate allegations that he was kidnapped and tortured.
The 1ADAT channel is highly critical of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who has been widely accused of human rights abuses, including torture, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings both in Russia and abroad. It publishes information about people who it believes have been kidnapped and are being held by the authorities.
A source at 1ADAT who asked not to be identified told RFE/RL that Tepsurkayev was not an administrator at the channel but was an activist with a Chechen opposition group and sometimes moderated chats for 1ADAT. The source said the channel only learned Tepsurkayev's real name from the video.
Chechen vlogger Tumso Abdurkhmanov commented that the Tepsurkayev video was "extraordinary even for Kadyrov's Chechnya."
A spokeswoman for the office of the Chechen human rights ombudsman told RFE/RL that the office was aware of the video but had not looked into it because there has been no request from the victim or his relatives.


rferl--2020-09-09--Serbia Withdraws From Belarus Military Exercise, Citing EU Pressure

BELGRADE -- The Serbian government has decided to suspend all joint international military exercises for the next six months , just one day ahead of the beginning of the Slavic Brotherhood 2020 exercise to be hosted by Belarus .
Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said on September 9 that the decision was made under heavy pressure from the European Union not to send forces to Belarus , which has been beset by unrest since last month 's disputed presidential election .
The EU `` asked us to leave the planned exercise with Belarus or risk losing our European future , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exercise is scheduled to be held in the second half of September at a training ground near the city of Brest and was to include forces from Belarus , Russia , and Serbia .
Participants were scheduled to begin arriving in Belarus on September 10 , according to the Belarusian Defense Ministry .
Vulin said that Serbia would not participate in any military exercises with NATO , China , Russia , or any other international partner during the six-month moratorium .
`` Our participation in peacekeeping operations will be carefully considered and , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , adding that the decision was made to preserve Serbia 's `` position of military neutrality . ''
The Russian news agency TASS quoted a spokesman for the Belarusian Defense Ministry as saying Minsk had not yet been officially informed of Belgrade 's decision .
A NATO official said the Western military alliance had `` no specific events planned with Serbia for the coming months , but we remain committed to the partnership in the interest of stability and security in the region.
” '' NATO has a long-standing partnership with Serbia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ official said .
Serbia is a member of NATO 's Partnership for Peace program .
Although Serbia has close relations with the government of Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka , Belgrade endorsed an August 11 joint EU-U.S. statement saying the Belarus presidential election was `` neither free nor fair '' and criticizing the Belarusian government 's violent crackdown against protesters .

BELGRADE -- The Serbian government has decided to suspend all joint international military exercises for the next six months, just one day ahead of the beginning of the Slavic Brotherhood 2020 exercise to be hosted by Belarus.
Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said on September 9 that the decision was made under heavy pressure from the European Union not to send forces to Belarus, which has been beset by unrest since last month's disputed presidential election.
The EU "asked us to leave the planned exercise with Belarus or risk losing our European future," Vulin said.
The Slavic Brotherhood 2020 exercise is scheduled to be held in the second half of September at a training ground near the city of Brest and was to include forces from Belarus, Russia, and Serbia.
Participants were scheduled to begin arriving in Belarus on September 10, according to the Belarusian Defense Ministry.
Vulin said that Serbia would not participate in any military exercises with NATO, China, Russia, or any other international partner during the six-month moratorium.
"Our participation in peacekeeping operations will be carefully considered and, if necessary, suspended," Vulin said, adding that the decision was made to preserve Serbia's "position of military neutrality."
The Russian news agency TASS quoted a spokesman for the Belarusian Defense Ministry as saying Minsk had not yet been officially informed of Belgrade's decision.
A NATO official said the Western military alliance had "no specific events planned with Serbia for the coming months, but we remain committed to the partnership in the interest of stability and security in the region.”
"NATO has a long-standing partnership with Serbia, which we value," the official said.
Serbia is a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program.
Although Serbia has close relations with the government of Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, Belgrade endorsed an August 11 joint EU-U.S. statement saying the Belarus presidential election was "neither free nor fair" and criticizing the Belarusian government's violent crackdown against protesters.
With reporting by TASS


rferl--2020-09-09--Dozens Detained At Rally Demanding Release Of Jailed Azerbaijani Politician

BAKU -- Police in Baku have detained dozens of demonstrators demanding the immediate release of hunger-striking Azerbaijani opposition politician Tofiq Yaqublu , who was sentenced to more than four years in prison on hooliganism charges which he and his supporters call `` bogus . ''
The demonstrators initially planned to rally in front of the building of the Constitutional Court in Baku on September 9 , but police blocked all ways leading to the site as dozens of protesters gathered on central Azerbaijan Avenue .
The demonstrators were holding posters saying `` Freedom to Tofiq Yaqublu '' and chanting `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and started detaining them and forcing them onto buses .
Yaqublu 's daughter , Nigar Hazi-Yaqublu , well-known public figures Baxtiyar Haciyev , Rabiyya Mammadova , and journalist Fatima Movlamli , were among at least 20 people detained by police , RFE/RL correspondents reported from Baku .
The 59-year-old Yaqublu is a deputy chairman of the opposition Musavat Party and a senior politician in the National Council of Democratic Forces .
He was convicted of `` hooliganism '' and sentenced to four years and three months in prison on September 3 over a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and rights groups say was a setup for the `` bogus '' case .
Yaqublu 's lawyer , Aqil Layic , told RFE/RL on September 7 that the politician was being pressured to confess to nonexistent psychological problems to explain his hunger strike .
Yaqublu was arrested in March after the car crash .
Investigators accused Yaqublu of `` using a wrench to conduct an act of hooliganism '' against the other driver , a charge he has denied .
European officials have expressed concerns over Yaqublu 's conviction and called on Baku @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who frequently criticizes the government and authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev , spent 14 months in prison in 2013-14 on charges widely dismissed as politically motivated .
He was also sentenced to several days in jail in October 2019 after an opposition rally , during which he claims he was tortured in custody .
Critics of Aliyev 's government say authorities in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists , journalists , and civil-society advocates on trumped-up charges .
Aliyev has ruled Azerbaijan since 2003 , taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who served as president for a decade .

BAKU -- Police in Baku have detained dozens of demonstrators demanding the immediate release of hunger-striking Azerbaijani opposition politician Tofiq Yaqublu, who was sentenced to more than four years in prison on hooliganism charges which he and his supporters call "bogus."
The demonstrators initially planned to rally in front of the building of the Constitutional Court in Baku on September 9, but police blocked all ways leading to the site as dozens of protesters gathered on central Azerbaijan Avenue.
The demonstrators were holding posters saying "Freedom to Tofiq Yaqublu" and chanting "Free Tofiq!" as police arrived and started detaining them and forcing them onto buses.
Yaqublu's daughter, Nigar Hazi-Yaqublu, well-known public figures Baxtiyar Haciyev, Rabiyya Mammadova, and journalist Fatima Movlamli, were among at least 20 people detained by police, RFE/RL correspondents reported from Baku.
The 59-year-old Yaqublu is a deputy chairman of the opposition Musavat Party and a senior politician in the National Council of Democratic Forces.
He was convicted of "hooliganism" and sentenced to four years and three months in prison on September 3 over a dispute after a traffic accident that he and rights groups say was a setup for the "bogus" case.
Yaqublu's lawyer, Aqil Layic, told RFE/RL on September 7 that the politician was being pressured to confess to nonexistent psychological problems to explain his hunger strike.
Yaqublu was arrested in March after the car crash.
Investigators accused Yaqublu of "using a wrench to conduct an act of hooliganism" against the other driver, a charge he has denied.
European officials have expressed concerns over Yaqublu's conviction and called on Baku to revisit his case.
Yaqublu, who frequently criticizes the government and authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev, spent 14 months in prison in 2013-14 on charges widely dismissed as politically motivated.
He was also sentenced to several days in jail in October 2019 after an opposition rally, during which he claims he was tortured in custody.
Critics of Aliyev's government say authorities in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists, journalists, and civil-society advocates on trumped-up charges.
Aliyev has ruled Azerbaijan since 2003, taking over for his father, Heydar Aliyev, who served as president for a decade.


rferl--2020-09-09--Pakistani Transgender Woman Killed, Another Wounded In Shooting

Pakistani officials say unidentified gunmen have shot and killed a transgender woman in the northwest city of Peshawar , in the latest violence to target the long-oppressed community .
The attack occurred late on September 8 in on the outskirts of Peshawar , the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province .
A group of transgender women were returning home after performing at a wedding function when unidentified gunmen opened fire on them , police said .
One of them , identified as Gul Panra , was killed in the attack , while at least another one was wounded .
A local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspects had been detained in connection with the shooting , which sparked anger on social media with the hashtag # JusticeForGulPanra trending on Twitter in the country .
Transgender people , known officially as `` third-gender '' citizens in Pakistan -- a group that includes cross-dressers , transsexuals , eunuchs , hermaphrodites , and transvestites -- face widespread violence , intimidation , and abuse despite multiple laws passed to protect them .
The community , estimated to number around 500,000 , is known in the Urdu language as `` hijras . ''
Many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' but supporters say they are many times forced to earn income through begging and prostitution .
Following their official third-gender classification handed down by the Supreme Court in 2011 , members of the community were granted the rights to vote and run for office .
Based on reporting by AFP and Dawn

Pakistani officials say unidentified gunmen have shot and killed a transgender woman in the northwest city of Peshawar, in the latest violence to target the long-oppressed community.
The attack occurred late on September 8 in on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
A group of transgender women were returning home after performing at a wedding function when unidentified gunmen opened fire on them, police said.
One of them, identified as Gul Panra, was killed in the attack, while at least another one was wounded.
A local police official was quoted as saying four suspects had been detained in connection with the shooting, which sparked anger on social media with the hashtag #JusticeForGulPanra trending on Twitter in the country.
Transgender people, known officially as "third-gender" citizens in Pakistan -- a group that includes cross-dressers, transsexuals, eunuchs, hermaphrodites, and transvestites -- face widespread violence, intimidation, and abuse despite multiple laws passed to protect them.
The community, estimated to number around 500,000, is known in the Urdu language as "hijras."
Many describe themselves as "professional wedding dancers," but supporters say they are many times forced to earn income through begging and prostitution.
Following their official third-gender classification handed down by the Supreme Court in 2011, members of the community were granted the rights to vote and run for office.
Based on reporting by AFP and Dawn


rferl--2020-09-09--Pompeo Says Navalny Poisoning Likely Ordered By 'Senior Russian Officials’

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says there is a strong chance the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny was ordered by senior officials in Moscow .
Pompeo , speaking in a radio interview on September 9 , said people around the world “ see this kind of activity for what it is .
And when they see the effort to poison a dissident , and they recognize that there is a substantial chance that this actually came from senior Russian officials , I think this is not good for the Russian people . ''
Navalny ’ s team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Russian authorities are behind the poisoning .
The Kremlin has vehemently denied the allegations .
Navalny suddenly fell ill on a Russian domestic flight on August 20 and was medically evacuated to Germany on a request by his wife several days later .
German experts say the 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner and Russian opposition leader was poisoned with a Soviet-style military nerve agent from the Novichok group , prompting international calls on Russia to swiftly investigate the case .
Russian authorities have refused to open a criminal investigation , saying that no hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia said earlier on September 9 it had protested strongly to Berlin 's envoy to Moscow over “ unfounded accusations and ultimatums ” purportedly made by Germany over Navalny ’ s illness .
During a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry , the German ambassador was warned that a refusal by Berlin to provide Moscow information in the case would be seen as a `` hostile provocation '' that would be `` fraught with consequences , '' a ministry statement said .
The ministry also protested what it called Berlin 's `` obvious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to discredit our country on the international stage . ''
The German government said the test results showing that Navalny was the victim of a nerve-agent attack have been handed over to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ( OPCW ) .
The government sees no reason to hand the evidence directly to Russia , deputy spokeswoman Martina Fietz told reporters , adding : `` We continue to appeal to the Russian side to deliver information . ''
Before the German ambassador was summoned by Russian officials , Foreign Minister Sergei @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inappropriate attitude toward official requests we send to Berlin . ''
He called Germany 's tone `` absolutely unacceptable . ''
Earlier in the day , the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the Group of Seven ( G7 ) nations of an `` unfolding massive disinformation campaign '' to whip up support for sanctions over the Navalny case .
`` The whipping up of hysteria around this case is only growing '' and `` the main task is not in caring for A. Navalny 's health or discovering the true reasons for his hospitalization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ministry said in a statement .
The statement came after G7 foreign ministers late on September 8 condemned Navalny 's `` confirmed poisoning '' and demanded that Russia quickly find and prosecute those behind the `` abhorrent '' attack .
The Berlin hospital where Navalny is being treated said on September 7 he had awaken from a medically induced coma and was responding to verbal stimuli .
However , it said it was unclear what long-term effects he will suffer .
Navalny has led nationwide protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and fallen ill in Russian custody in the past .
Other Kremlin opponents have been killed or targeted in recent years , including investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya , former Russian security officer Aleksandr Litvinenko , former Russian Deputy Prime Minister and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov , and former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal .
Skripal and his daughter , Yulia , were poisoned by Novichok in the British city of Salisbury in 2018 , and British investigators have implicated Russian security agencies .
With reporting by Reuters , AFP , and dpa


rferl--2020-09-09--Tsikhanouskaya Urges Belarus Opposition To 'Remain Peaceful' As More Figures Detained

Prosecutors have opened a criminal case against a leading opposition figure inside Belarus as Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , the exiled leader of the country 's reinvigorated opposition to five-term President Alyaksandr Lukashenka , urged protesters at home to `` remain peaceful '' amid an intensifying crackdown that featured another suspected abduction by regime forces .
Tsikhanouskaya 's latest plea came during a visit to Warsaw , Poland , and with indications swirling that Belarusian masked men had quietly taken away lawyer Maksim Znak and might be trying to do the same to Nobel Prize-winning writer and Lukashenka critic Svetlana Alexievich .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced it had opened a criminal case against Maryya Kalesnikava , another member of the presidium of the opposition 's Coordination Council , for what it called `` public calls for seizing power in the country . ''
Kalesnikava was grabbed off the street in Minsk by masked men on September 8 along with two other opposition organizers before they mysteriously turned up at the border with Ukraine .
The authorities tried to expel her , but she reportedly foiled them by tearing up her passport .
The opposition leaders she was with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anton Randyonkau and executive secretary Ivan Krautsou , are reportedly in Ukraine .
`` The protests must remain peaceful , '' Tsikhanouskaya said in an address at Warsaw University .
`` I think it is impossible to fight violence and give violence , '' she said during a speech at Warsaw University .
Lukashenka , who has led the country for 26 years and claimed victory in a disputed presidential election on August 9 , has refused to meet with the opposition or agree to a new election .
A month of regular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of the workers and other prominent groups the strongman president has kept in tight lockstep in the past .
Lukashenka told Russian media in an extended interview on September 8 that `` maybe I overstayed a bit . ''
It was his strongest acknowledgement so far of any mistake on his part but was followed by a vow to stay on as president .
His postelection clampdown has included thousands of arrests , beatings and other mistreatment of peaceful protesters , and expulsions of foreign journalists .
European Council President Charles Michel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states to `` speed up the process on sanctions '' against senior Belarusian officials suspected of involvement in election fraud and a brutal crackdown against protesters .
`` Political persecution in Belarus including detentions on political grounds and forced exile must stop .
Belarusian authorities must free political prisoners and let citizens exercise their right to freedom of speech and assembly , '' Michel tweeted .
Meanwhile , in a statement on September 9 , the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into `` human rights crimes '' in Belarus .
It cited `` multiple , credible reports of massive , serious violations of the right to free and fair elections , of the freedom of expression and assembly , of the right to liberty , and of acts of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment against peaceful protesters . ''
The committee also said that it did n't recognize the result of the presidential election and demanded that a new vote be held `` in a fair and transparent manner , under the supervision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tsikhanouskaya 's address , colleagues of one of the last free members of the Belarusian opposition 's top organizing body still in the country reported signs that Znak had been snatched by authorities operating with no apparent public accountability .
Znak , a lawyer , was one of two members of the Coordination Council 's presidium who had managed to continue speaking out from inside the country .
The other is the ailing Alexievich , whose long-running health problems have limited her activities .
Swedish television quoted Alexievich 's Swedish translator as saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in black clothes and masks '' tried to enter Alexievich 's home on September 9 but that the writer had not been detained .
Sweden 's ambassador to Belarus said Swedish and other diplomats had gathered with Alexievich at her apartment in the capital .
`` She has signaled that she is worried and is now in the company of , among others , our embassy 's second in charge and some other ambassadors , '' the ambassador , Christina Johannesson , told Swedish television SVT .
Earlier in the day , Alexievich @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Center on September 9 saying , `` There are no longer any of my like-minded friends in the presidium of the Coordinating Council .
Everyone is either in jail or thrown abroad .
Today they took , the last , Maksim Znak . ''
`` [ T ] he best of us are being kidnapped , '' she said .
Alexievich rejected the notion , promoted by Lukashenka and his prosecutors , that the opposition was `` preparing a coup '' and instead said they sought `` to prevent a split in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dialogue to begin in society . ''
She appealed to `` the Russian intelligentsia '' to speak out against Belarusian injustice and on behalf of `` a small , proud people being trampled . ''
Znak 's associates told the independent Russian-language Tut.by news website on September 9 that he failed to log on for a planned interview via Internet from the headquarters of jailed opposition politician Viktar Babaryka earlier in the day .
When they called his phone , they said , Znak said hurriedly that `` Somebody came here '' and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came from his phone that said only `` Masks , '' after which his telephone went unanswered .
Babaryko 's press service later said an eyewitness reported seeing the 39-year-old Znak being marched down the street near his offices by masked men in civilian clothes .
On September 7 , another member of the presidium of the opposition 's Coordination Council , Maryya Kalesnikava , was grabbed off the street in Minsk by masked men .
She and two other opposition organizers turned up the next day at Belarus 's border with Ukraine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , although she reportedly tore up her passport to avoid deportation .
Belarus 's authorities , who had denied Kalesnikava was in custody , later acknowledged that she had been detained .
The opposition leaders she was with at the border , council press secretary Anton Randyonkau and executive secretary Ivan Krautsou , reportedly are in Ukraine .
The Coordination Council has pressed for a peaceful transition of power since election officials declared Lukashenka the runaway winner of the August 9 vote critics say was fraudulent .
It was set up by Tsikhanouskaya @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to press for Lukashenka 's exit and a new election from Lithuanian exile .
Belarusian chief prosecutor Alyaksandr Konyuk announced the launch of criminal proceedings against the Coordination Council in mid-August .
All but two of the council presidium 's seven members have been either arrested or forced to leave the country .
This week 's disappearances elicited accusations by the European Union that the embattled Belarusian regime was using kidnapping and intimidation to quash more than four weeks of unprecedented protests .
Germany , which currently holds the rotating EU Presidency , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ missing and the release of political prisoners .
An unnamed senior official in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump said on September 8 that the United States was `` extremely concerned by continued human rights violations '' in Belarus .
The official said the forced expulsion of opposition figures is one of the methods Minsk `` is using in its attempts to deny freedom of speech . ''
Lukashenka is reportedly due to visit Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on September 14 .
With reporting by Tut.by , Reuters @ @ @


rferl--2020-09-10--Azerbiajani Rights Activists Call For Release Of Jailed Politician Yaqublu

BAKU -- A group uniting leading human rights defenders in Azerbaijan is appealing to authorities to release hunger-striking opposition politician Tofiq Yaqublu , who was sentenced to more than four years in prison on hooliganism charges that he and supporters call `` bogus . ''
A member of the Joint Working Group on Human Rights ( BIQ ) , Novella Cafaroglu , said on September 10 that the group had turned to officials at various levels and agencies , including lawmakers , law enforcement officials , and members of the state commission on clemencies , urging them to focus on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ BIQ urged the officials to assist in expedited and open hearings into Yaqublu 's appeal , cancellation of his sentence , and his release , adding that the release of other political prisoners is also on the group 's agenda .
Cafaroglu 's statement came a day after police in Baku broke up a rally held by Yaqublu 's supporters demanding his immediate release .
At least 20 demonstrators were detained .
The 59-year-old Yaqublu is a deputy chairman of the opposition Musavat Party and a senior politician in the National Council of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` hooliganism '' and sentenced to four years and three months in prison on September 3 over a dispute after a traffic accident that he and rights groups say was a setup for the `` bogus '' case .
Yaqublu 's lawyer , Aqil Layic , told RFE/RL on September 7 that the politician was being pressured to confess to nonexistent psychological problems to explain the hunger strike he launched to protest his conviction .
Yaqublu was arrested in March after the car collision .
Investigators accused Yaqublu of `` using a wrench @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against the other driver , a charge he has denied .
European Union officials have expressed concern over Yaqublu 's conviction and called on Baku to revisit his case .
Yaqublu , who frequently criticizes the government and authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev , spent 14 months in prison in 2013-14 on charges widely dismissed as politically motivated .
He was also sentenced to several days in jail in October 2019 after an opposition rally , during which he claims he was tortured in custody .
Critics of Aliyev 's government say authorities in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists , journalists , and civil-society advocates on trumped-up charges .
Aliyev has ruled Azerbaijan since 2003 , taking over for his father , Heydar Aliyev , who served as president for a decade .

BAKU -- A group uniting leading human rights defenders in Azerbaijan is appealing to authorities to release hunger-striking opposition politician Tofiq Yaqublu, who was sentenced to more than four years in prison on hooliganism charges that he and supporters call "bogus."
A member of the Joint Working Group on Human Rights (BIQ), Novella Cafaroglu, said on September 10 that the group had turned to officials at various levels and agencies, including lawmakers, law enforcement officials, and members of the state commission on clemencies, urging them to focus on the issue.
Cafaroglu said that the BIQ urged the officials to assist in expedited and open hearings into Yaqublu's appeal, cancellation of his sentence, and his release, adding that the release of other political prisoners is also on the group's agenda.
Cafaroglu's statement came a day after police in Baku broke up a rally held by Yaqublu's supporters demanding his immediate release. At least 20 demonstrators were detained.
The 59-year-old Yaqublu is a deputy chairman of the opposition Musavat Party and a senior politician in the National Council of Democratic Forces.
He was convicted of "hooliganism" and sentenced to four years and three months in prison on September 3 over a dispute after a traffic accident that he and rights groups say was a setup for the "bogus" case.
Yaqublu's lawyer, Aqil Layic, told RFE/RL on September 7 that the politician was being pressured to confess to nonexistent psychological problems to explain the hunger strike he launched to protest his conviction.
Yaqublu was arrested in March after the car collision.
Investigators accused Yaqublu of "using a wrench to conduct an act of hooliganism" against the other driver, a charge he has denied.
European Union officials have expressed concern over Yaqublu's conviction and called on Baku to revisit his case.
Yaqublu, who frequently criticizes the government and authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev, spent 14 months in prison in 2013-14 on charges widely dismissed as politically motivated.
He was also sentenced to several days in jail in October 2019 after an opposition rally, during which he claims he was tortured in custody.
Critics of Aliyev's government say authorities in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists, journalists, and civil-society advocates on trumped-up charges.
Aliyev has ruled Azerbaijan since 2003, taking over for his father, Heydar Aliyev, who served as president for a decade.
With reporting by Turan


rferl--2020-09-10--Decision Denying Registration To Butun Kyrgyzstan  Party Reversed

BISHKEK -- A court in Bishkek has reversed a decision by the Central Election Commission ( BShK ) to refuse to register the Butun Kyrgyzstan ( United Kyrgyzstan ) political party for parliamentary elections next month .
The Administrative Court of Bishkek announced its decision late on September 9 and shortly after that the BShK announced that the party had been officially registered , putting the total number of parties registered for the October 4 election at 16 .
On September 3 , a day before the election campaign kicked off , the BShK said applications by Butun Kyrgyzstan and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , had been rejected as they did n't meet the necessary requirements .
The BShK cited `` violations '' and discrepancies in documentation -- including the list of candidates -- submitted by Butun Kyrgyzstan .
Newly established Aktiv was unable to provide the registration fee of about $ 63,500 .
Butun Kyrgyzstan then appealed the BShK 's rejection in court .
Kyrgyzstan 's unicameral parliament , the Jogorku Kenesh ( The Supreme Council ) , consists of 120 seats .
Pro-government parties , including Birimdik ( Unity ) , Mekenim Kyrgyzstan ( My @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as well as the opposition Ata-Meken ( Fatherland ) party are widely expected to do gain seats .
No party is allowed to hold more than 65 seats in the Supreme Council .

BISHKEK -- A court in Bishkek has reversed a decision by the Central Election Commission (BShK) to refuse to register the Butun Kyrgyzstan (United Kyrgyzstan) political party for parliamentary elections next month.
The Administrative Court of Bishkek announced its decision late on September 9 and shortly after that the BShK announced that the party had been officially registered, putting the total number of parties registered for the October 4 election at 16.
On September 3, a day before the election campaign kicked off, the BShK said applications by Butun Kyrgyzstan and another party, Aktiv (Active), had been rejected as they didn't meet the necessary requirements.
The BShK cited "violations" and discrepancies in documentation -- including the list of candidates -- submitted by Butun Kyrgyzstan. Newly established Aktiv was unable to provide the registration fee of about $63,500.
Butun Kyrgyzstan then appealed the BShK's rejection in court.
Kyrgyzstan's unicameral parliament, the Jogorku Kenesh (The Supreme Council), consists of 120 seats.
Pro-government parties, including Birimdik (Unity), Mekenim Kyrgyzstan (My Homeland Kyrgyzstan), and Kyrgyzstan, as well as the opposition Ata-Meken (Fatherland) party are widely expected to do gain seats.
No party is allowed to hold more than 65 seats in the Supreme Council.


rferl--2020-09-10--Prosecutors In Russia's Ingushetia Seek Five-Year Prison Term For Journalist

MAGAS , Russia -- Prosecutors in Russia 's North Caucasus region of Ingushetia have asked a court in the regional capital , Magas , to sentence Rashid Maisigov , a former editor of the opposition online media outlet Fortanga , to five years in prison on drug charges that he and his lawyers reject .
Maisigov 's lawyer , Magomet Aushev , told RFE/RL on September 10 that a date for pronouncing the verdict and sentence had not been set yet , adding that the trial was adjourned until September 15 .
Maisigov was arrested in June 2019 and charged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his lawyers insist that the drugs were planted and the whole case was fabricated by local authorities .
In February , Maisigov was additionally charged with separatism and his trial on that charge , which he rejects as well , is pending .
The Fortanga Telegram channel extensively covered mass rallies in Magas last year , where thousands of demonstrators protested a deal on the demarcation of administrative boundaries between Ingushetia and another Russian region , Chechnya .
The protests were violently dispersed by police and security forces , and dozens of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

MAGAS, Russia -- Prosecutors in Russia's North Caucasus region of Ingushetia have asked a court in the regional capital, Magas, to sentence Rashid Maisigov, a former editor of the opposition online media outlet Fortanga, to five years in prison on drug charges that he and his lawyers reject.
Maisigov's lawyer, Magomet Aushev, told RFE/RL on September 10 that a date for pronouncing the verdict and sentence had not been set yet, adding that the trial was adjourned until September 15.
Maisigov was arrested in June 2019 and charged with possession of illegal drugs. Maisigov and his lawyers insist that the drugs were planted and the whole case was fabricated by local authorities.
In February, Maisigov was additionally charged with separatism and his trial on that charge, which he rejects as well, is pending.
The Fortanga Telegram channel extensively covered mass rallies in Magas last year, where thousands of demonstrators protested a deal on the demarcation of administrative boundaries between Ingushetia and another Russian region, Chechnya.
The protests were violently dispersed by police and security forces, and dozens of demonstrators were detained and faced criminal charges.