VISUAL REPORTS
More Video Emerges Of Russian Prison Abuse
More video has emerged appearing to show violent abuse in a Russian prison. The video, published by the Novaya Gazeta news website, raises new questions about conditions at Yaroslavl prison -- which was at the center of a torture scandal last year.
Hitler, Cows, And Lesbians: 25 Years Of Lukashenka
Bizarre, outrageous, and controversial. During his 25 years in power, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has often provoked shock and surprise with his public statements.
Georgian Journalists Say Independence Threatened At TV Station
Georgian journalists staged a live on-air protest after a European Court ruled to restore ownership of the Rustavi-2 TV station to a businessman they see as close to the government.
OTHER NEWS
Dutch Supreme Court Rules That Peacekeepers ‘Acted Unlawfully’ In Srebrenica
The Dutch Supreme Court has upheld an earlier ruling finding the Netherlands partly liable for the deaths of 350 Muslim men in Srebrenica during the Bosnian War. The court said on July 19 that Dutch United Nations peacekeepers evacuated the men from their military base near Srebrenica on July 13, 1995, despite knowing that they "were in serious jeopardy of being abused and murdered" by Bosnian Serb forces.
Volker Says Moscow Passport Proposal ‘Flies In The Face’ Of Peace Plan
Kurt Volker, the special U.S. envoy to Ukraine, says Russia’s move to fast-track the granting of citizenship to all residents of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk runs counter to efforts to achieve peace, and called on Moscow “to fulfill its Minsk obligations.”
Ukraine Proposes Sentsov, Vyshinsky Prisoner Swap
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office has proposed a prisoner exchange with Russia involving Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who is jailed in Russia, and Russian journalist Kirill Vyshinsky, who is in detention in Ukraine.
As Soldiers Disengage, 'Fragile Hope' For Peace Appears In One Ukrainian Town
For the first time since the war began in April 2014, the Ukrainian military and Russia-backed separatists agreed last month to pull their fighting positions back 1 kilometer each from the battle line at Stanytsya Luhanska, in eastern Ukraine, to create what the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM) calls a disengagement zone.
Russia Fines Google For Failing To Filter Banned Websites
Russia's media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, said on July 18 that it fined Google 700,000 rubles ($11,000) for failing to filter traffic in accordance with strict Russian Internet laws. A 2018 law requires online search engines to purge any hyperlinks to materials that are banned in Russia.
Russian Duma Proposes Banning Former FSB Agents From Travel Abroad
The Russian Duma is considering banning former Federal Security Service agents (FSB) from traveling abroad for a period of five years after they leave the service. An explanation attached to the proposal cites an increase in foreign detentions and arrests of former agents, but no examples are provided. (Russian Service)
Tatarstan’s Muslims Decry Plans To Install Surveillance Cameras In Mosques
A series of incidents in Tatarstan involving FSB cameras, influential imams, and their mosques suggests that a surveillance campaign may be underway at a time when members of Russia’s Muslim community fear they are being singled out for scrutiny amid a broader crackdown on some religious groups.
Four Members Of Afghan All-Female Orchestra Missing In Slovakia
Police in Slovakia are searching for four members of Afghanistan's first all-female orchestra who disappeared from their hotel after participating in a local festival.
IN MEMORIAM: Former U.S. Hostage Calls For Iran To Change: RFE/RL’s Golnaz Esfandiari Interviews Bruce Laingen, 2009