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U.S. Lawyer Imprisoned For Three Years In Belarus
Zeltser's secretary, Russian national Vladlena Funk -- identified by some sources also as Vladlena Bruskova -- was sentenced on August 11 to a year in prison in the same trial on similar charges.
The Zeltser trial was held behind closed doors. Zeltser's lawyer in Belarus, Dzmitry Harachka, told journalists that his client is going to appeal the verdict. According to Harachka, the accusations are "absurd."
"There was no evidence to support the prosecution case and there is not any. I feel ashamed for the Belarusian judiciary," Belapan quoted Harachka as saying after the verdict.
Harachka did not disclose any details of the trial, saying he signed an obligation not to do that.
More Questions Than Answers
Emanuel Zeltser's brother, Mark Zeltser, claims that self-exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky orchestrated the arrest of his brother over the disputed assets of the late Georgian oligarch Badri Patarkatsishvili.
According to this version of events, when Emanuel Zeltser traveled in Minsk to arrange some matters connected with Patarkatsishvili's inheritance, Berezovsky gave Zeltser his own plane but simultaneously informed Belarusian authorities that the latter would be carrying falsified documents with him. Zeltser was arrested at the Minsk airport, immediately after he got off the plane.
When Patarkatsishvili suddenly died in London in February, his assets became the subject of a dispute between Patarkatsishvili's widow and Patarkatsishvili's step-cousin, Joseph Kay, who was represented by Emanuel Zeltser. In May, a court in Tbilisi recognized Joseph Kay as a legitimate executor of Patarkatsishvili's estate.
Kay tells RFE/RL that he is sure it was Berezovsky who arranged for Zeltser's arrest in Minsk in March, "because, first of all, he has threatened not only Mr. Zeltser but myself as well, that he was going to destroy us unless we helped him to get 50 percent of this supposed wealth Mr. Patarkatsishvili had."
According to Berezovsky, who spoke with RFE/RL shortly after Zeltser's trial began on July 30, Zeltser forged Patarkatsishvili's testament in Kay's favor.
Berezovsky described Zeltser as "an absolute world-class swindler, who deceived thousands of people in the United States, and not only in the United States. It is a known fact."
Berezovsky confirmed the rumors that he gave his testimony in the Zeltser case to Belarusian investigators in London, but denied he secretly traveled to Minsk to stand as a witness in the trial on August 5.
Victim Of U.S.-Belarusian Row?
Zeltser was arrested on March 12, shortly after Minsk asked the U.S. ambassador to leave Belarus following U.S. sanctions against the Belarusian oil concern Belnaftakhim. A series of diplomatic expulsions reduced the staffs of the U.S. Embassy in Minsk and the Belarusian Embassy in Washington to five diplomats on each side.
Washington voiced protests over Zeltser's detention and raised concerns about his health.
While in custody, Zeltser was allegedly deprived of medicines prescribed for him in the United States. The Belarusian authorities accused Zeltser of smuggling narcotics into Belarus. "Over 100 tablets, containing drugs and psychotropic substances were seized from Zeltser," KGB spokesman Valery Nadtachayeu said in March. But the drug-related charges were dropped after Harachka explained that the tablets were to treat Zeltser's back ailment.
In April, U.S. Consul Caroline Savage visited Zeltser in custody. According to Savage, Zeltser told her that he had been beaten on the second and third days of his detention.
Some Belarusian human rights activists have suggested that Minsk may be using Zeltser as a bargaining chip in its relations with the United States.
"The [ongoing parliamentary] election campaign in Belarus is a time of increased risk for foreigners who come to visit our country, because you come with your own goals but then become hostage to some political situation," United Civic Party leader Anatol Lyabedzka says.
"Thus, it is uncomfortable for Americans to come today to Belarus because the official Minsk is in a state of information, political, and diplomatic war against the U.S."
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- By RFE/RL
Kazakh Journalist Fined For Voicing Support For RFE/RL
A court in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, on May 13 fined journalist Zhamila Maricheva for an online article she wrote supporting RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, known locally as Radio Azattyq.
The court ordered Maricheva to pay 73,840 tenges ($167) for "distributing false information."
The charge stems from an article she posted on her ProTenge Telegram channel in January where she raised the issue of problems faced by Radio Azattyq in obtaining official accreditation from the Foreign Ministry, which had sparked fears the government was trying to stifle independent media.
Maricheva praised Radio Azattyq for what she called its professionalism, stressing the importance of the broadcaster's programs in Kazakhstan.
Another Kazakh journalist, Askhat Niyazov, reposted Maricheva's article at the time and was charged with slander.
A court in late April acquitted Niyazov and closed the case, stressing that there was nothing criminal in Niyazov's actions.
Maricheva reiterated her innocence as her trial began on May 2 and stated that the police violated her rights on April 24 by detaining her for questioning while she was jogging instead of officially summoning her to a police station.
Maricheva's lawyer, Asel Toqaeva, asked the court to dismiss the case against her client, saying that Maricheva's constitutional rights were violated by the police during her detention and questioning.
In January 2023, the Foreign Ministry denied accreditation to 36 Radio Azattyq journalists. Some of the correspondents had not been able to extend their accreditation since late 2022.
The situation was exacerbated when a group of Kazakh lawmakers approved a draft bill that would allow the tightly controlled former Soviet republic's authorities to refuse accreditation to foreign media outlets and their reporters on grounds of national security.
RFE/RL reached an agreement with the Kazakh Foreign Ministry over the accreditations on April 23.
With reporting by KazTAG
Five Ukrainians In Crimea Receive Lengthy Prison Sentences On Espionage Charges
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on May 13 that the Moscow-installed Supreme Court of Ukraine's Crimea region sentenced five Ukrainian citizens to prison terms of between 11 and 16 years on espionage charges. According to the FSB, the five collected materials related to the location and movements of Russian armed forces on the peninsula -- which Russia illegally occupied in 2014 -- for Ukrainian military intelligence. Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, dozens of cases have been launched against Ukrainians and citizens of several other former Soviet republics on espionage charges. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Former Kazakh Minister Gets 24 Years In Prison For Wife's Murder
ASTANA -- Former Kazakh Economy Minister Quandyq Bishimbaev has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for the "violent beating" to death of his wife, Saltanat Nukenova, in November 2023 in a local restaurant.
In a high-profile case watched by millions around the country amid government pledges to strengthen women's rights, Judge Aizhan Kolbaeva of the Inter-District Criminal Court in Astana on May 13 also sentenced Bishimbaev's cousin Baqytzhan Baizhanov to four years in prison for not reporting the crime, which he witnessed while in progress.
Bishimbaev and Baizhanov, as well as the victim's relatives and prosecutors, have 15 days to appeal the court's ruling.
The victim's father, Amangeldi Nukenov, told journalists hours before the court pronounced its decision that "any ruling other than life in prison will be considered as unjust by us."
The jury found Bishimbaev guilty of torture, murder with extreme violence, and repeatedly committing serious crimes.
Bishimbaev, 44, showed no emotion while the judge handed down her ruling and said he had no questions after the judge asked him if everything was clear to him. Baizhanov seemed shaken and stated that the court "incarcerated an innocent person."
For millions of Kazakhs the courtroom proceedings streamed live by the Supreme Court and picked up by some of Kazakhstan's largest online media outlets has made for compulsive, if often harrowing, viewing.
Bishimbaev was arrested in November and accused of viciously beating his 31-year-old wife for hours in a restaurant that belonged to a relative. Nukenova's body was later found in the restaurant.
During the trial, security camera footage showed the former cabinet minister kicking and punching Nukenova repeatedly before he grabbed her by her hair and dragged her into a nearby room.
Video from his phone showed him insulting and yelling at Nukenova in the room for hours before she died after losing consciousness.
The case has highlighted growing outrage over domestic violence in Kazakhstan, where one in six women say they have faced some form of physical violence at the hands of their male partner.
Domestic violence has historically gone unpunished in the former Soviet republic, where it is not considered a stand-alone criminal offense.
Amid the public outcry over the brutal death of Nukenova, Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev publicly called on the Interior Ministry to take the case under its "special control" during the investigation.
Bishimbaev served as economy minister from May 2016 until late December of the same year. Before that, he held different managerial posts at government agencies.
In 2018, Bishimbaev and 22 others faced a high-profile corruption trial that ended with his conviction on charges of bribery and embezzlement while leading a state-controlled holding company.
A court in Astana sentenced him to 10 years in prison, but Bishimbaev, who comes from an influential family, was granted an early release through a mass amnesty issued by the government. He had served only 18 months of his term.
The Interior Ministry has said that more than 100,000 cases of domestic violence are officially registered each year, though the number of unregistered cases is much higher, analysts say.
International rights watchdogs have urged Kazakh officials to curb the spread of domestic violence for years.
Around 400 women die from domestic violence every year in Kazakhstan, according to UN Women, the United Nations agency for gender equality and the empowerment of women.
However, the actual number of cases and deaths, analysts say, is likely much higher.
Imprisoned Ex-Leader Of Navalny's Team Asks For Presidential Clemency
Lilia Chanysheva, a former leader of late opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's team in Ufa who is serving 9 1/2 years in prison on extremism charges, has asked President Vladimir Putin to pardon her.
Sources showed RFE/RL a letter from Chanysheva addressed to Putin in which the 42-year-old activist stresses that she has served 3 1/2 years of her prison term and fully paid off the 400,000 ruble ($4,330) fine she was ordered to pay by a court in her native Republic of Bashkortostan. She concludes the letter, dated April 19, by asking the president to release her.
Russia's state-owned RT news agency first reported about Chanysheva's letter to Putin on May 13, stressing that her parents, both 70 years old, also plan to ask Putin to pardon their daughter.
Chanysheva was initially sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison in June 2023 after a court in Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, found her guilty of creating an extremist community, inciting extremism, and establishing an organization that violates citizens' rights.
Last month, the Supreme Court of Bashkortostan extended Chanysheva's prison sentence by two years after prosecutors said her initial sentence for extremism was too lenient.
Chanysheva headed the local unit of Navalny's network of regional campaign groups until his team disbanded them after a Moscow prosecutor went to court to have them branded "extremist."
The request was accepted, effectively outlawing the group.
Chanysheva's defense team have said the charges appeared to be retroactive to the period of time before the organization she worked for had been legally classified as extremist.
Navalny died on February 16 in an Arctic prison while serving a 19-year term on extremism and other charges he and his supporters said were trumped up and politically motivated.
Several opposition leaders and associates of Navalny have since been charged with establishing an extremist group.
Since Russia launched its full-scale unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, several of Navalny's former associates have been charged with discrediting the Russian armed forces, distributing "fake" news about the military, and extremism.
The former leader of Navalny’s team in the region of Altai Krai, Vadim Ostanin, was sentenced last year to nine years in prison on an extremism charge.
With reporting by RT
- By Current Time
Father Of Rights Defender In Exile Detained In Moscow
The Memorial human rights group says the father of Konstantin Konoplyanko, a member of the group living abroad, was detained in Moscow on May 12 on unspecified charges. According to Memorial, Sergei Konoplyanko was taken to the city of Tver, 180 kilometers northwest of Moscow. Memorial continues its activities despite a decision by the Russian Supreme Court in 2021 to liquidate it and its umbrella organization -- International Memorial. In late February, Memorial’s co-chairman, 70-year-old Oleg Orlov, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for "repeatedly discrediting" the Russian armed forces involved in the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.
Floods Caused By Mass Snowmelt Continue In Russia, Kazakhstan
A state of emergency was introduced in the Siberian region of Yakutia on May 13 after four local villages were inundated with floodwaters. Residents of four other Siberian villages in the Omsk region were evacuated on May 12 as water levels in the Irtysh River jumped. Authorities in Kazakhstan's western town of Inderbor said the water level in the Ural River now threatens the area. In recent weeks, several Russian and Kazakh regions have faced devastating floods caused by abrupt warm weather that led to a massive snowmelt. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service and Siberia.Realities, click here and here.
Dozens Detained As Protesters Block Streets In Yerevan Over Azerbaijan Border Deal
Armenian police have detained at least 151 activists of the anti-government movement protesting against a controversial border demarcation agreement with Azerbaijan as they conducted “civil disobedience” campaigns by blocking streets in central Yerevan early on May 13.
Law enforcement authorities told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that those detained had failed to comply with police orders.
The civil disobedience actions were carried out following a call by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, who is demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian because of the border deal.
To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, click here.
Russia Says It Shot Down 31 Ukrainian Drones Overnight
Russia's Defense Ministry said on May 13 that its air defense systems shot down 31 Ukrainian drones and 16 missiles during the night over the regions of Belgorod, Kursk, Lipetsk, and Moscow-occupied Crimea. On May 12, Russian authorities said 15 people were killed when a building collapsed in the Belgorod region after fragments from a Ukrainian-fired missile fell on an apartment building after being shot down by Russian air defense systems. The claim could not be independently verified immediately. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Bloody Arrests In Tbilisi As Georgian Lawmakers Rush To Approve Controversial Bill
TBILISI -- Georgian police arrested 20 people as they violently dispersed a rally outside parliament early on May 13 as lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party push through the approval of a controversial "foreign agent" law seen by many as a threat to free speech and the country's drive toward the European Union.
Two U.S. citizens and a Russian national reportedly were among those arrested outside parliament, although no details about their identities were immediately made public.
Security personnel used force to disperse protesters who had staged a nightlong protest outside parliament as lawmakers arrived to debate the bill in a third and final reading. The draft legislation has been condemned by the United States, the European Union, and others as mirroring a similar Russian law.
Video footage shared on social media shows several masked riot police officers taking turns as they violently beat a fallen protester before they apparently detain him.
In another video, a man whose face is bleeding is being violently detained by numerous masked men who are beating him and tearing off his shirt.
For several weeks, tens of thousands of Georgians have protested against the "foreign agent" bill pushed forward by the ruling Georgian Dream party. The demonstrations have been repressed violently many times with water cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets, while being also attacked by gangs of thugs at night.
Protesters and journalists have shown injuries consistent with the use of rubber bullets, despite denials from officials that such methods have been employed against people on the streets.
Despite the massive rallies against the bill -- some of the largest protests since Georgia became independent in 1991 -- Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze vowed on May 12 to push ahead with the law, which is expected to receive final approval in a third reading in the coming days.
As Georgian Dream lawmakers arrived by car at parliament on May 13, protesters who were being pushed away shouted in their direction, “Slaves! Slaves!
Shortly after gathering in the parliament building following the violent dispersal of protesters, lawmakers in the Legal Committee took only 67 seconds to review and approve the bill, allowing it to move on to the full assembly.
Opposition lawmakers, who have not been allowed access to the parliament building for some time, did not attend the committee meeting.
Committee Chairman Anri Okhanashvili said the third reading only provides for editorial amendments, and none of the ruling party members proposed such amendments.
Kobakhidze said on May 12 that Georgian Dream lawmakers are certain to adopt the bill and that it will "reflect the will of Georgian society," while warning protesters that "violence will not remain unpunished."
In a briefing on May 12, President Salome Zurabishvili, who has come out in support of peaceful protests, strongly criticized the government and Georgian Dream leaders for not taking into account the views of the throngs of citizens on the streets.
"It's very funny when politicians pretend to be able to count with high IQs and they can't count how many people there were,” she said, adding that the government “has lost the confidence of the people."
Under the terms of the proposed legislation, media outlets, NGOs, and other nonprofits would be required to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if more than 20 percent of their funding comes from abroad.
Critics say it is modeled after decade-old "foreign agent" legislation that Russian President Vladimir Putin has used to crush dissent and punish independent institutions, and EU officials have said the bill could be a significant setback to Tbilisi's membership bid.
Armenian Archbishop Tells Rally He Would Be Willing To Become PM Candidate
YEREVAN -- An outspoken archbishop challenging the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian told a rally in Yerevan on May 12 that he would not avoid taking on new responsibilities -- including as a candidate for the premier’s post -- if his movement is able to bring about Pashinian’s impeachment in parliament.
Addressing a cheering crowd of thousands of supporters, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, head of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church -- who has emerged as the leader of protests against a controversial border demarcation deal with Azerbaijan in recent weeks -- reiterated his demand for Pashinian to step down.
He claimed that he has been in consultations with a parliamentarian not aligned with either the pro-government or opposition factions, on whose one vote the issue of launching the impeachment process in parliament hinges.
Galstanian said that the nonaligned lawmaker, Ishkhan Zakharian, at least did not refuse to support the bid by the two opposition factions that the archbishop said have earlier agreed to start the impeachment process.
Galstanian also said he would be holding meetings with different political forces and public figures, including unions of artists, writers, and intelligentsia to discuss matters.
Pashinian and his political team -- who hold a comfortable majority in the country’s legislative body -- have dismissed the resignation demand presented by the movement led by the archbishop.
Any impeachment move would need the support of at least 18 members of the pro-Pashinian Civil Contract faction in parliament to succeed.
Under Armenian law, any vote of no-confidence in the incumbent prime minister should come with the name of a premier candidate who could replace him or her immediately if the move succeeds.
Galstanian said on May 12 he would assume that role “with the supreme patriarch’s blessing” and “if God wills.”
“We need a new government, a people’s government, a government that cares, a government of reconciliation,” the archbishop said.
He called for more actions of civil disobedience on May 13, urging students and workers to boycott classes and jobs.
“Tomorrow morning, beginning at 8 a.m., we will try to organize total strikes, paralyze the entire city, and express our disagreement with lies and evil in different regions of Armenia,” Galstanian said.
Putin Fires Longtime Ally Shoigu As Defense Minister In Cabinet Shake-Up
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose military has been criticized at home for a perceived lack of progress and heavy losses during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, announced that he was replacing longtime ally Sergei Shoigu as defense minister.
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The Kremlin said that Shoigu, 66, would be replaced by former First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, 65, a politician who specializes in economic matters.
Shoigu, who has been defense minister since 2012 and has been leading Russia's military through its full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022, has been named to head Russia's Security Council, which advises the president on national security matters.
The Kremlin said that as part of Shoigu's Security Council duties, the former defense chief will advise on matters involving military-industrial issues.
He will replace Nikolai Patrushev as head of the Security Council. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Patrushev's next position will be announced in the coming days.
Russia’s upper house of parliament, the Federation Council -- which also announced the changes -- said Putin has proposed reappointing Sergei Lavrov as Russia’s foreign minister.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said Russia's next defense chief will be another Putin "puppet."
"Sergei Shoigu has overseen over 355,000 casualties amongst his own soldiers & mass civilian suffering with an illegal campaign in Ukraine," he wrote on X.
"Russia needs a Defense Minister who would undo that disastrous legacy & end the invasion - but all they’ll get is another of Putin’s puppets."
Russia analyst and economics professor at the University of Chicago Konstantin Sonin said on X that the changes illustrated the Kremlin’s thinking: "Things are not going according to Putin's plan, but he will endlessly rotate the same small group of loyalists."
"Putin has always feared to bring new people to the positions of authority -- even in the best of times, they must have been nobodies with no own perspectives. Toward the end of his rule, even more so," Sonin added.
Jimmy Rushton, a Kyiv-based foreign policy analyst, wrote that "Shoigu's replacement with a (relatively experienced and apparently competent) economist pretty clearly signals Putin believes victory in Ukraine will come via outproducing (and outlasting) Ukraine and her Western allies.
"He's preparing for many more years of war."
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at Foreign Policy Research Institute, said he did not see the move as necessarily a demotion for Shoigu, pointing out that he’s been handed additional powers in his new job.
“This doesn't appear to be designed as a demotion for Shoigu, who not only received an important position as secretary of the Security Council but also will retain oversight of domestic and foreign defense issues, taking that from the new minister of defense,” he wrote.
The actions must be approved by the Federation Council, but both houses of Russia’s parliaments are considered rubber-stamp bodies for Putin’s wishes.The council said that “senators will hold consultations on the candidates proposed by the president at meetings of the committees on May 13 and at a meeting of the Federation Council on May 14.”
The moves come after the Russian government officially resigned following Putin’s inauguration on May 7 for the fifth time in a ceremony to kick off a new six-year term that was boycotted by most Western countries over his war in Ukraine and an election victory they rejected as being orchestrated to provide him a landslide result.
Russian lawmakers on May 10 approved Mikhail Mishustin as prime minister on May 10, hours after Putin nominated him for reappointment.
Shoigu's future as defense minister had been closely watched over the past year following the struggles of the military in Ukraine and other issues.
Although not directly implicated, Shoigu's Defense Ministry came under scrutiny after it was reported that Russian law enforcement officials had detained Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov on suspicion of taking a bribe.
The next day, the Basmanny district court in Moscow sent him to pretrial detention until June 23 after charging him with receiving a bribe on an especially large scale.
Shoigu is considered close to Putin, with whom he has taken hunting trips in the past. He is one of the founders of the United Russia party, which was the main pro-Putin force in parliament in the first two terms of his presidency.
Peskov said the Kremlin wanted to appoint an economic expert to head the Defense Ministry in the face of rising costs related to Russian security measures.
“This demands special attention,” he told reporters. "The Defense Ministry should absolutely be open to innovation, to the introduction of all advanced ideas.
"At this stage, the president has decided that a civilian should run the defense ministry,” he added.
Anatoly Serdyukov, who preceded Shoigu as defense minister from 2007-12, also had a background in economics and had served as head of the Federal Tax Service from 2004-07.
With reporting by the Financial Times and Reuters
Georgia Vows To Arrest Protesters Who Seek To Block Parliament In Overnight Action
TBILISI -- As Georgian protesters – who numbered in the tens of thousands on May 11 – prepared for another mass rally in central Tbilisi, government officials vowed to arrest demonstrators who attempt to block the parliament building ahead of discussions on the controversial "foreign agent" bill that has been condemned by the United States, the EU, and others.
Opposition leaders have called on protesters to gather late on May 12 and spend the night on the streets ahead of parliament’s planned third reading and likely passage of what critics call the “the Russian law” – similar to legislation used by the Kremlin to silence media and civil society groups in that country.
The bill is scheduled to be heard by committee in parliament on May 13, with a full vote – and likely passage – expected on May 14.
In a press briefing on May 12, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze claimed that ruling Georgian Dream lawmakers are certain to adopt the bill and that it will "reflect the will of Georgian society."
He warned protesters that "violence will not remain unpunished," while urging police to "show maximum patience and in responding to violence and insults, to act with a high standard.”
Meanwhile, in a separate briefing on May 12, President Salome Zurabishvili, who has broken with the government and come out in support of peaceful protests, strongly criticized the government and Georgian Dream leaders for not taking into account the views of thousands of citizens on the streets.
"It's very funny when politicians pretend to be able to count with high IQs and they can't count how many people there were,” she said, adding that the government “has lost the confidence of the people."
In front of an estimated 50,000 demonstrators assembled in central Tbilisi on May 11, poet Rati Amaghlobeli, one of the protest organizers, called on Georgians to come to the streets again on May 12.
The aim is to show the world that Georgians strongly oppose the bill, which has raised concerns about its potential effect on media and civil society as well as the country's European ambitions.
"We've got to have this country united tomorrow. We need to be that and so much more tomorrow. Let the world see!" Amaghlobeli said.
Protesters were encouraged to gather around the parliament starting at 10 p.m. and stay overnight so their presence could be felt as parliament convenes early on May 13 for discussions on the bill. Organizers urged them to bring sleeping bags, tents, and board games and said that a stage will be set up for music and songs.
Under the terms of the proposed legislation, media outlets, NGOs, and other nonprofits would be required to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if more than 20 percent of their funding comes from abroad.
Critics say it is modeled after decade-old "foreign agent" legislation that Russian President Vladimir Putin has used to crush dissent and punish independent institutions, and EU officials have said the bill could be a significant setback to Tbilisi's membership bid.
Demonstrators on May 11 chanted "Yes Europe!" and "No to the Russian law" as they assembled in different areas of the capital before making their way to Europe Square, in the heart of Tbilisi's historic district.
Previous rallies have been met with a violent response by security forces, including the use of tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators, as well as arrests. Roving bands of thugs have targeted demonstrators. Protesters and journalists have also shown injuries consistent with the use of rubber bullets, despite officials' denials.
Reports of actions by security forces during the May 11 demonstrations were unclear, and there was no immediate confirmation of arrests.
Activist Gia Japaridze called for the release of all those detained during the weeks of protests.
"We must make our voices heard. We must demand the Russian puppet authorities release detained political prisoners," said Japaridze, a former diplomat and university professor and the brother of opposition leader Zurab Japaridze.
The United States has been one of the biggest backers of Georgia's efforts to join the European Union and other Western institutions and one of the biggest critics of the draft legislation.
U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan lauded the protesters on May 11.
"The Georgian people are making their views known," Sullivan wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Undeterred by intimidation tactics, tens of thousands of peaceful protestors turned out in rainy Tbilisi today to demand Georgian Dream withdraw the legislation."
Earlier in the day, the U.S. Embassy announced that Jim O'Brien, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, will visit the Georgian capital, along with the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, between May 14 and May 17.
The announcement came after 29 members of the U.S. House of Representatives issued an open letter to Kobakhidze expressing "grave concern" and "strongly" urging his government to withdraw the bill.
The U.S. lawmakers said in a May 10 letter that it was a "harmful bill" that would "undermine the will of the Georgian people who seek a future in the West."
The lawmakers said "in no uncertain terms" that its passage and further moves toward "Russian-style authoritarianism...would cause the United States to fundamentally reassess the nature of our relationship" with Georgia.
Also on May 10, 18 media and rights organizations, including the International Press Institute, said the proposed legislation "provides the authorities with a powerful tool to discredit, pressure, and eventually silence independent voices, thereby threatening press freedom and freedom of expression."
Kobakhidze's government insists the law is in line with EU standards and is only intended to increase "transparency" and prevent "harmful foreign influence" in the country's political scene.
The bill's backers appear to control sufficient votes for passage and possibly to override a veto that has been promised by President Salome Zurabishvili.
An earlier version of the bill was introduced by Georgian Dream allies last year but withdrawn amid public outcry.
Kremlin Critic Navalny Posthumously Awarded Dresden Peace Prize
Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny was posthumously awarded the 2024 Dresden Peace Prize in the German city on May 12. His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, accepted for her husband, who died in a Russian Arctic prison in February while serving a 19-year term on charges supporters and many governments considered politically motivated. The award "is intended to pay tribute to his commitment to freedom, democracy, and peace," the Dresden jury said. The prize goes to individuals who have made contributions to peace and international understanding. Navalny was the third Russian among its laureates after Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and former Soviet officer Stanislav Petrov, who played a key role in the 1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.
North Macedonia's First Female President Sworn In, Declines To Use 'North'
Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, North Macedonia's first female president, was inaugurated on May 12, although she declined to use the country’s full official name during the ceremony, angering opposition leaders. Siljanovska-Davkova has previously refused to use the word "North" before the country's name in public speeches, a snub directed at the divisive Prespa Agreement made with Greece in 2019 that resolved the countries' name dispute. The agreement, which mandated that Macedonia become North Macedonia, cleared the path for North Macedonia's further Western integration. In her speech, Siljanovska-Davkova said: "I will respect this parliament, forget the bad moments, only remember the good ones. I will be president on both the left and the right, for all citizens." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, click here.
Iranian Professor, Author Jailed On Multiple Charges
Iran's judiciary has said that Sadegh Zibakalam -- a university professor and critic of the government -- has been jailed and faces sentencing on multiple charges. The judiciary didn't specify the charges. Media reports said he was to serve a three-year prison term. The Telegram channel Pasdaran Cyber Corps said Zibakalam, 75, was arrested as he headed to a Tehran book fair to present his new book, Why Don't They Take You? Zibakalam has previously served time in prison for alleged propaganda against the state and for publishing false content online. He was also previously barred from engaging in political activities online. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.
Search For Victims Under Way As Death Toll Hits 315 In Afghan Flooding
Emergency crews battled the elements as they searched for victims in hard-to-reach areas of northern Afghanistan, where at least 315 people have died in flash flooding caused by heavy rainfall. The Taliban, Afghanistan’s de facto rulers, on May 12 said at least 1,630 people were injured in Baghlan Province, the worst-hit area, and more than 2,660 homes destroyed. Badakhshan, Takhar, Ghor, Faryab, and other provinces have also been hit by the flooding. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that the UN and “its partners in Afghanistan are coordinating with the de facto authorities to swiftly assess needs and provide emergency assistance.” To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, click here.
- By RFE/RL
Russian Assault On Kharkiv Intensifies As Belgorod Hit By Presumed Ukrainian Missile
Kyiv on May 12 said “all areas” of the Kharkiv region's border area are under Russian assault after Ukraine's top military commander said “decisive battles” were being fought there, while the Kremlin assailed what it called a Ukrainian attack on an apartment building in the Russian city of Belgorod.
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram that Russian forces “continue to fire on the civilian population.”
“As of today, the number of mass artillery and air strikes have increased. Vovchansk, Lyptsi, and all the points of the northern border are under enemy fire almost around the clock,” he said, adding that the “situation is difficult.”
Continuous Shelling And Fear Of Repeated Occupation: The Evacuation Of Ukraine's Vovchansk
Vovchansk, a border town with a prewar population of about 17,500, has become the focal point of Russia’s latest offensive as the Kremlin’s forces attempt to take settlements just east of Kharkiv -- Ukraine’s second-largest city with some 1.4 million people.
Ukraine's top military commander has said that his forces have prevented Russian troops from breaking through defenses, as large-scale evacuations of civilians continue in the country's northeast.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
"Units of the defense forces are fighting fierce defensive battles," Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskiy wrote on Telegram on May 12. "The attempts of the Russian invaders to break through our defenses have been stopped."
However, Syrskiy echoed warnings from Kyiv about the dire situation Ukraine faces, with Russia boosting offensive efforts in the northeastern Kharkiv region and the eastern Donetsk region.
Syrskiy said that Russia was attacking the front at several points with the aim of advancing deep into Ukrainian territory.
"The situation is difficult, but the defense forces of Ukraine are doing everything to hold defensive lines and positions, inflict damage on the enemy," Syrskiy said.
On May 12, Synehubov said more than 4,000 people had been evacuated from areas where "there is a threat to the lives and health of civilians" after fighting intensified in the territory bordering Russia.
Russia launched a fresh assault on the region on May 10 and the following day claimed it had captured five villages. On May 12, Russian forces claimed they had taken four more villages.
Ukraine has said it is battling for control in the affected areas and appears to have struck back with strikes in Russia itself.
Russian officials said multiple people were killed and 20 injured on May 12 when fragments of a downed Tochka-U TRC missile fired by Ukraine hit an apartment block in Belgorod, a Russian regional capital near the border with the Kharkiv region.
Varying death tolls have been given in the incident, ranging from at least two to seven people.
"The city of Belgorod and the Belgorod region were subjected to massive shelling by the armed forces of Ukraine," said Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, who added that more people could be buried in the rubble of the apartment building.
On his Telegram page, Gladkov posted what he said were video and images of the collapsed apartment building.
Russia’s TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman quoted Dmitry Peskov as saying President Vladimir Putin had been briefed about the "barbaric" attack on the apartment block.
While Moscow itself denies targeting civilians, Russian air strikes have frequently hit hospitals, schools, and residential areas with devastating effect, with thousands of Ukrainian civilians killed since the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Kyiv has not commented on the incident in Belgorod, which has often has been the target of Ukrainian drone and missile attacks.
Battlefield claims on either side cannot immediately be verified.
During his nightly video address on May 11, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy raised alarms about frontline conditions in the war against Russia, highlighting the fighting in the Kharkiv region while also saying the situation in the eastern Donetsk region was "especially tense."
The Ukrainian General Staff early on May 11 cited more than 100 areas of fighting in the previous 24 hours, in addition to overnight missile and drone attacks, hinting at the intensity of the Russian campaign 27 months into the full-scale invasion.
Russia has also expanded its use of advanced rockets and missiles in addition to barrages from unmanned attack drones, and recently has targeted power infrastructure far from the front lines.
With reporting by Reuters
- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda and
- AP
Iran Election Runoff Puts Hard-Liners Firmly In Charge Of Parliament
Iran's hard-liners won most of the remaining seats in an election runoff to give them full control over the country's parliament, authorities said on May 11, while not sharing any details on turnout and as some media reported extremely low turnout. The result, and that of the previous vote in March, gives hard-liners 233 of the 290 seats in Iran's parliament, according to an AP count. The Farhikhtegan news site reported that turnout in Tehran's major constituency was "only 8 percent.” Since protests in recent years -- especially after the mass demonstrations that began after the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody -- participation in Iranian elections has declined dramatically. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, click here.
Yerevan Braces For New Protests After Dozens Detained In 'Civil Disobedience Actions'
YEREVAN -- At least 48 people have been detained in Yerevan for disobeying police orders as protests calling for the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian continue following word of a land deal last month with arch foe Azerbaijan, with more demonstrations planned for May 12.
The Interior Ministry on May 11 confirmed the latest detentions as police tried to clear streets in the capital clogged with demonstrators.
Protest leader Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, who called on supporters to block street traffic on May 11, has said the next rally in Yerevan's central Republic Square would begin at 6:30 p.m. on May 12.
Galstanian said he would update his supporters on further actions during the May 12 rally.
Yerevan and Baku preliminarily agreed on a protocol signed on April 19 in which Armenia cedes control of four villages controlled by Yerevan since the 1990s.
Pashinian has said unilateral concessions are necessary to prevent Azerbaijani military aggression against Armenia.
A rally led by Galstanian on May 9 drew tens of thousands of people, and many returned the next evening to continue their challenge to Pashinian's legitimacy.
Police urged people to clear several main roadways in downtown Yerevan, including Azatutyun Avenue and Tigran Mets Avenue, before beginning the arrests on May 11.
Opposition lawmakers have vowed to try to impeach Pashinian.
Some Pashinian allies in parliament have accused his opponents of organizing a coup and have tried to link the movement to former President Robert Kocharian or Russian interests. They have also accused the 52-year-old Galstanian of being a Russian spy, without providing evidence.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars in the last three decades over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been a majority ethnic Armenian enclave since the Soviet collapse and is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory.
In 2020, Azerbaijan took back parts of Nagorno-Karabakh along with seven surrounding districts that Armenian forces had claimed during the earlier conflict.
After Baku took full control over the region as the result of a one-day military operation in September, nearly 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
Azerbaijan's and Armenia's foreign ministers completed two days of negotiations in the Kazakh capital on May 11 aimed at a lasting peace treaty between the longtime South Caucasus rivals.
Following the meetings, both foreign ministries released nearly identical statements saying that “differences” remain between the sides and that negotiations would continue in the future.
Siljanovska-Davkova's Presidential Win Certified In North Macedonia
North Macedonia's State Election Commission (SEC) on May 11 certified challenger Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova's victory over center-left incumbent Stevo Pendarovski in this week's second-round presidential runoff, clearing the way for the longtime law professor to be sworn in as the Balkan nation's first female president on May 12. Siljanovska-Davkova, who turned 71 on May 11, received 561,000 votes to Pendarovski's 252,000 votes. She was supported by the nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party that won the simultaneous parliamentary elections on May 8, and she is widely expected to pursue a more skeptical line on the country's long-standing efforts to join the European Union. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, click here.
- By RFE/RL and
- RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Report: EU Said To Agree On Security Assurances For Ukraine
Germany's Welt am Sonntag reports that the European Union is currently discussing with Kyiv possible security assurances with the aim of providing what the outlet says are "extensive security commitments" by the beginning of July.
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In a May 11 report, the news outlet cites a draft document it has seen in which Brussels also grapples with the question of whether soldiers from EU countries may be deployed to Ukraine.
It says envoys from the EU's 27 member states "recently agreed" on the 11-page "confidential" text.
The outlet quotes the text as, in Welt's words, "exclud[ing] the direct participation of EU soldiers alongside Ukrainian soldiers in combat operations against Russia."
But the draft reportedly pledges weapons and nonlethal supplies and training and other assistance.
While an overwhelming majority of the bloc agrees with providing military supplies to Ukraine, questions of degree have persisted between even staunch hawks to help that country beat back the full-scale Russian invasion that began in February 2022.
For months now, French President Emmanuel Macron has declined to rule out the possibility of troops from among Kyiv's Western allies being sent to Ukraine. Asked directly in mid-March, he said that "all these options are possible."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to paint the military supply of Ukraine as an indication that NATO and the West are already de facto involved in the conflict.
The United States and other supporters of Kyiv reject that characterization.
And NATO and the United States have cautiously limited their involvement to avoid giving Moscow the upper hand in what they regard as a war of conquest in Ukraine that threatens the international order and sovereignty.
Drone Sparks Fire At Russian Oil Refinery After Zelenskiy Says Front Line 'Especially Tense'
KYIV -- A suspected Ukrainian drone attack has caused a brief fire at an oil refinery in southern Russia's Volgograd region, according to a local official.
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"The fire was extinguished. There were no casualties,” regional Governor Andrei Bocharov said on Telegram on May 12.
Telegram channels close to Russian security services posted images showing flames rising from what appeared to be an industrial building at the site of the incident.
Neither the Russian energy giant LUKoil, which owns the refinery, nor Kyiv has commented on the incident.
The attack came just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy raised alarms about frontline conditions in the war against Russia.
Zelenskiy said during his nightly video address on May 11 that the situation in the eastern Donetsk region was "especially tense." In the northeastern Kharkiv region, meanwhile, thousands of local residents have reportedly been forced to flee in the face of relentless Russian air assaults.
"Today, the focus is primarily on the front line – on the situation in our regions where the risks of the Russian offensive actions are the highest," Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy stated that "defensive operations" were under way in the Kharkiv region, naming several villages near the border with Russia, and saying his forces were "bravely defending their positions."
Russian shelling in the region led the Ukrainian military to declare an air alert over most of the country, and Kharkiv authorities said on May 12 that more than 4,000 people had been evacuated.
The Ukrainian General Staff early on May 11 cited more than 100 areas of fighting in the previous 24 hours, in addition to overnight missile and drone attacks, hinting at the intensity of the Russian campaign 27 months into the full-scale invasion.
On May 10, Russian troops attempted to open a new front by breaking through Ukrainian lines in the northeastern Kharkiv region, a move Kyiv said its forces repelled, though fighting was reported to be continuing.
Ukraine's military was reportedly speeding reinforcements to the area, as local residents expressed shock over the scale of the attacks.
Residents of the Ukrainian town of Vovchansk near the Russian border said on May 11 that overnight strikes caused shortages of food, water, and fuel. Vovchansk, with a prewar population of about 17,500 people, is northeast of Kharkiv and about 6 kilometers from the border.
"It has already become really scary. All life is here: my grandchildren, children,” Antonina Kornuta told RFE/RL. “I don't want to evacuate."
Valeriy Dubskiy told RFE/RL that “water sources are far away and people must wait in long lines. You cannot get water after such bombardment. We are running away from the shelling, from the bombardment, from death -- from the Russian death."
Another female resident said that "planes dropped a lot of bombs on the town during the night. It looked as if the sky had exploded. It was very scary, very noisy."
Russia's Defense Ministry on May 11 claimed to have captured six border communities around Kharkiv -- Pletenivka, Ohirtseve, Borysivka, Pylna, and Strilecha -- and the village of Keramik in the Donetsk region.
But the Ukrainian side did not confirm such losses and RFE/RL could not independently verify the Russian assertion.
Russia has expanded its use of advanced rockets and missiles in addition to barrages from unmanned attack drones and recently has specifically targeted power infrastructure even far from the front lines.
Moscow denies targeting civilians, but Russian air strikes have frequently hit hospitals, schools, and residential areas with devastating effect.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
Aid Workers Say Death Toll Over 300 From Flooding In Northern Afghanistan
The latest wave of flooding in northern Afghanistan from heavy seasonal rains has left more than 300 people dead and many more injured and more than 1,000 homes destroyed, according to UN World Food Program (WFP) officials.
The WFP figure is twice the death toll reported hours earlier on May 11 by a spokesman for the Taliban-led government's Interior Ministry.
Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qaniee told Reuters that at least 135 people were injured.
Baghlan Province was initially said to be among the hardest-hit areas, but officials added Badakhshan, Ghor, and Herat provinces to that list.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid expressed "profound sorrow" and cited a "grievous toll" in those four regions.
He also cited "extensive devastation” and “significant financial losses.”
The Taliban Defense Ministry said on May 11 that air forces were evacuating stranded residents in Baghlan and had transported some to military hospitals.
The Taliban-led government is recognized only by China, although a number of countries work with those authorities in many cases to help alleviate the humanitarian hardships that have continued since the Taliban captured most of the country in mid-2021 as U.S.-led international troops withdrew and the UN-backed government fled.
With reporting by Reuters
'Differences' Remain As Azerbaijan, Armenia Conclude Peace Talks In Kazakhstan
Armenia and Azerbaijan negotiators continue to disagree on key provisions of a bilateral peace treaty, officials in Yerevan and Baku said on May 11 after the foreign ministers of the two nations ended two days of fresh negotiations in Kazakhstan.
The Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers were meeting in the Kazakh city, Almaty, in talks aimed at reaching a lasting peace treaty between the longtime South Caucasus rivals.
“The parties agreed to continue negotiations on open issues where there are still differences,” both ministries said in nearly identical statements.
The statements did not specify the differences. Nor did they indicate whether Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, had made any progress toward a peace deal.
The negotiations come against a backdrop of mounting street protests in Yerevan against a demarcation deal last month, as Baku tries to consolidate its gains from a lightning offensive last year to retake areas long held by ethnic Armenians.
Mirzoyan said on May 10 that his country is prepared not just for a peace treaty but also to move forward to unblock transport routes.
Mirzoyan and Bayramov last negotiated directly with each other in Berlin in February.
Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu hosted the talks in Almaty.
Yerevan and Baku preliminarily agreed in a protocol signed on April 19 on separate sections of the border line to align it with a Soviet-era border between the respective republics. In it, Armenia cedes control of four villages controlled by Yerevan since the 1990s.
The deal has been staunchly opposed by an outspoken Armenian archbishop who has attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators in Yerevan with calls for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's resignation and a civil disobedience campaign.
The border agreement has been hailed by the United States and the European Union, as well as by Pashinian, who has been accused by opposition politicians of giving up territory with no guarantees.
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, the leader of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, led a march on May 10 at which he called for university students to ratchet up pressure for Pashinian's resignation.
"We must continue our civil disobedience actions," he said.
- By AP
U.S. Announces $400 Million Package Of Weapons For Ukraine
The United States announced a new $400 million package of military aid for Ukraine on May 10, as Kyiv struggles to hold off advances by Russian troops in the northeast Kharkiv region. This is the third tranche of aid for Ukraine since Congress passed supplemental funding in late April after months of gridlock. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had warned a day earlier that his country was facing “a really difficult situation” in the east but said a new supply of U.S. weapons was coming and “we will be able to stop them.” To read the original story by AP, click here.
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