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COVID-19: Russia Closes Borders; Serbia Plans $5.5 Billion Aid Package
The global death toll has surpassed 34,000 with over 725,000 infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the new respiratory illness.
Here's a roundup of developments in RFE/RL's broadcast countries.
Russia
Russia is considering extending a nationwide lockdown after Moscow all but confined its 12 million residents to their homes and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church called on worshipers to avoid churches and pray at home instead to stem the coronavirus outbreak.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin asked regional governors during an emergency meeting on March 30 to mirror Moscow's move and consider introducing a partial lockdown in their areas, after Russia recorded its biggest one-day rise in coronavirus cases for a sixth day running.
The government also closed all of the country's borders as of March 30, allowing only Russian diplomats, freight, and other necessary vehicles and people to enter.
"This may now seem to some of you like some kind of game, a kind of Hollywood thriller. This is no game...," Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council, said in a video address on March 30.
"Unfortunately, what is happening now is a real threat to all of us and to all of human civilization," he said.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia has exceeded 1,800, according to a global database maintained by Johns Hopkins University on March 30, with nine fatalities.
Russian officials initially touted quick measures taken, such at strict quarantines for people entering the country and the closure of its border with China, as having blunted a rapid outbreak of the virus.
Indeed, the country appears so far to be less affected than many European countries, but critics and even ordinary Russians have voiced skepticism about the accuracy of official figures and raised questions about the state's testing for the virus.
According to a survey by the Levada Center, only 16 percent of Russians fully trust official information about the coronavirus, while 24 percent said they did not trust it at all.
In a sign of public indifference to the situation, Moscow authorities issued rules on March 30 that state residents will only be allowed to go out to buy food or medicines at their nearest shop, get urgent medical treatment, walk their dogs, or take out the trash. Those needing to go to work will also be allowed to leave their homes, and authorities will introduce a system of passes in the coming days.
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on March 30 that city control measures had revealed that some 20 percent of Moscow residents had failed to follow previous quarantine regulations, requiring the tighter restrictions.
According to Sobyanin, a special information system will be developed soon to increase control over the movement of the Russian capital's residents.
"It will enable us to practically fully control citizens' movements and prevent violations that may occur," Sobyanin said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 30 hailed Moscow's lockdown as "necessary and justified."
St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, and more than a dozen other regions from the westernmost exclave of Kaliningrad to the Arctic region of Murmansk and Tatarstan on the Volga River have followed Moscow's example and introduced compulsory self-isolation regimes.
Russia's coronavirus crisis center said on March 30 that the latest fatality from the coronavirus was confirmmed in the western region of Pskov. According to the center, the coronavirus cases were registered in 71 of the country's regions.
The virus has also touched the country's power center.
The Kremlin said that a member of President Vladimir Putin's administration has been infected with the coronavirus, but the person had not been in direct contact with Russia's leader.
Putin also called for the week between March 28 to April 5 to be a non-working week -- essentially a weeklong holiday for the country to "prevent the threat of the quick spread of the illness."
The government also ordered all vacation and health resorts closed until June.
Other restrictions ordered by the government included the cancelation of all international flights.
Iran
Iran's death toll from the coronavirus has reached 2,757 with 117 new fatalities over the past 24 hours, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state TV on March 30, adding that the official number of confirmed cases has climbed to 41,495.
"In the past 24 hours, we had 117 new deaths and 3,186 new confirmed cases of people infected with the coronavirus," Jahanpur said, calling on Iranians to stay at home.
Iran is one of the countries worst hit by the virus, and experts have been skeptical about the veracity of official figures released by the Islamic regime that keeps a tight lid on local and foreign media.
Live Map: The Spread Of The Coronavirus
State media reported on March 30 that inmates in southern Iran broke cameras and caused other damage during a riot, the latest in a series of violent prison disturbances in the country.
Enayatollah Rahimi, the governor of the southern Fars Province, was quoted by the state-run IRNA news agency as saying a riot broke out at Adel Abad Prison in the city of Shiraz. Rahimi said no one was wounded and no one escaped.
Iran had temporarily released around 100,000 prisoners as part of measures taken to contain the pandemic, leaving an estimated 50,000 people behind bars, including violent offenders and what authorities call "security cases" -- often people with dual citizenship and Western ties.
On March 29, the government announced the extension of the temporary releases of thousands of prisoners, after several prison riots in recent days and mass escapes from prisons.
Serbia
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic says his government plans to give about 5 billion euros ($5.54 billion) in loans and subsidies to businesses to help them deal with the economic pressure of the coronavirus pandemic.
The government will also make a one-off payment of 100 euros ($111) to every Serbian citizen older than 18, or around 5 million people, Vucic said on March 29.
So far, 13 people in Serbia, a Balkan country of 7 million, have died from the coronavirus and 741 have been infected.
Serbia has introduced a state of emergency and an overnight lockdown for all.
Vucic said the economic plan would prompt an increase in the deficit this year that would be covered from financial reserves and borrowing. The deficit was originally forecast at 0.3 percent of economic output.
Under the plan, agreed with the International Monetary Fund, Serbia's public debt should not exceed 60 percent of GDP, from 52.4 percent at the end of last year, Vucic said.
Serbia last month had 13.4 billion euros ($14.9 billion) in currency reserves, down from 13.7 billion euros ($15.2 billion) in January.
Vucic said the state would use 700 million euros ($780 million) to pay minimum wages of 30,367 dinars ($288.58) and allow tax delays for micro and small enterprises for the three months after the end of the state of emergency to avoid job losses.
Romania
Romania has reported six more coronavirus deaths, bringing the total inside the country to 46, as the number of confirmed infections reached 1,952, with 192 more cases registered over the past 24 hours.
A total of 16 Romanians have died from the coronavirus abroad, most of of them in Italy. An estimated 4 million Romanians work in Italy and Spain, two of the world's worst-affected countries.
Romania's government crisis group dealing with the pandemic also said 180 people had recovered from the COVID-19 illness caused by the coronavirus.
As of March 30, a total of 23,103 Romanians have been tested for COVID-19.
Romania, a country of 19.5 million, has been under a state of emergency since March 16. On March 22, authorities imposed a "total quarantine," stepping up restrictions.
Armenia
Armenia's parliament has passed in the first reading a government-drafted bill allowing the remote monitoring of coronavirus patients placed in self-isolation, a move that has been criticized by the opposition as a violation of privacy.
Armenia has been under a one-month state of emergency since March 16.
The 132-member National Assembly dominated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's My Step alliance on March 30 voted 57-24 to approve the bill. There was one abstention.
The text is expected to pass in its second and last reading with minor changes on March 31.
The Ministry of Health said the number of coronavirus cases in Armenia had increased by 58 over the past 24 hours, raising the total figure to 482.
Three people are reported to have died of the disease in the South Caucasus country of around 3 million.
Under the bill, the authorities will be allowed to use telecommunication technologies to monitor the location of coronavirus patients placed in mandatory self-isolation.
The patients' phone records and other personal data could also be used to identify their possible contacts.
Justice Minister Rustam Badasian, who presented the bill in parliament, said the measure would apply only to periods of national emergencies caused by epidemics and would not include snooping into telephone conversations.
The measure would help authorities enforce the self-isolation regime for coronavirus patients, including through a smartphone application, and help locate their contacts with the use of personal data provided by telecom companies, according to Badasian.
The minister said that metadata for all customers would be made available in one database, but authorities would focus only on confirmed coronavirus patients and their contacts.
Opposition factions that voted against the bill said the measure was a threat to the protection of personal data. "We are against yielding our freedom and we will vote against it," Edmon Marukian, the leader of the opposition Bright Armenia faction, said before the vote.
Naira Zohrabian, a representative of the opposition Prosperous Armenia party, described the proposed measure as a waste of money.
"Use the tremendous resources that you are going to waste on trying to [geo]locate us on purchasing [coronavirus] testing kits in order to test people entering the country," she said before the vote.
According to legal amendments passed on March 23, violators of self-isolation orders can face fines of up to $2,000. Up to five years' imprisonment is envisaged for cases where a breach of quarantine or self-isolation leads to fatal infections of other individuals.
Georgia
The Georgian government has decided to impose a night curfew, as part of new quarantine rules aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus in the South Caucasus country.
Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announced the new measures at a news conference on March 30, saying that "the dynamics of the growth in new cases [of coronavirus] is alarming."
The country of some 3.7 million people has so far reported 100 cases, with no fatalities.
Gakharia said that starting on March 31, a curfew will be imposed nationwide from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m., during which pharmacies will be the only shops allowed to open.
The government is also declaring a "general quarantine," during which people will only be permitted to leave homes for essential shopping.
Other new measures include a ban on public gatherings of more than three people and a suspension of public transport, except for taxis, the prime minister said.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan has suspended operations of all airports in Central Asia’s most-populous nation of 32 million to try to help slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that all airports were to cease operations on March 30 and remain closed until April 20.
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A special government commission had already restricted all vehicle traffic between Uzbekistan's towns and cities to those with a special permit. The restriction runs for the same period as the airport closure.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Uzbekistan reached 145 as of March 30, including two deaths, according to local health officials.
Kyrgyzstan
In Kyrgyzstan, the Interior Ministry said on March 30 that police detained 1,087 individuals across the country for violating a curfew that was introduced five days earlier over the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the curfew, the movement of individuals or vehicles is banned between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. each day.
Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov said on March 30 that the total number of registered coronavirus cases in the country had reached 94 after 10 more people tested positive in the southern Jalal-Abad region.
Kazakhstan
In Kazakhstan, more than 70 women rallied in the southern city of Shymkent to demand the distribution of free food promised by the local government last week as part of the assistance being given to low-income families amid the outbreak restrictions.
A representative of the Shymkent city administration, Sundet Seitov, told RFE/RL that city authorities have been unable to provide all of the food assistance due to financial shortages.
Last week, a similar rally took place in another southern city, Qyzylorda, where more than 100 people rallied in front of the city food depot demanding food distribution.
The Health Ministry said that as of March 30, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kazakhstan was 294, including one death.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Georgian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Romanian, Russian, Tatar-Bashkir, and Uzbek services, Reuters, AP, TASS, Interfax, dpa, AFP, Digi24.ro, Hotnews.ro, and Prva TV
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Court In Russia's Bashkortostan Orders Arrest Of Former Navalny Team Member
A former member of late Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's team in Bashkortostan, Olga Komleva, was sent to pretrial detention on March 28 on a charge of participating in an extremist group's activities. Komleva, 45, is also a journalist with the RusNews online media outlet. She covered mass protests in January against the imprisonment of Bashkir activist Fail Alsynov. All Navalny's organizations were labeled extremist in 2021. The former leader of Navalny's headquarters in Bashkortostan, Lilia Chanysheva, was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison on extremism charge last year. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.
Kazakh Flooding Caused By Rapid Snowmelt Affects Hundreds Of Homes, Prompts Evacuations
Kazakh emergency officials said on March 28 that almost 300 residential buildings have been affected by ongoing floods caused by an abrupt shift to warm weather that led to a mass snowmelt. More than 100 flooding cases were registered across the country's Abai, Aqmola, Aqtobe, Qostanai, and West Kazakhstan regions. An estimated 1,431 people, including 312 children, were evacuated from areas affected by the floods in a 24-hour period. Rescue teams are continuing to search for three people who went missing in the northeastern Abai region, where the floods destroyed a bridge. A state of emergency has been announced in several districts. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
Russian Fighter Jet Crashes Near Sevastopol, Says Moscow-Installed Governor
A Russian Su-35 fighter jet crashed on March 28 near occupied Sevastopol, the Russia-installed governor of the Ukrainian peninsula said. "A military plane fell into the sea.... Civilian objects were not damaged,” Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram. The pilot ejected and was picked up by rescuers about 200 meters from the shore, Razvozhayev said, adding that his life was not in danger. The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on the report about the downed plane. Russian Telegram channels reported earlier that a Russian Su-35 fighter jet had crashed near Sevastopol. The cause of the crash was unclear. To read the original story on RFE/RL’s Russian Service, click here.
Amnesty International Calls On Pakistan To Stop Expelling Afghan Girls And Women
Amnesty International has urged Pakistan to halt expelling hundreds of thousands of Afghan girls and women to neighboring Afghanistan.
“The deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan will put women and girls at unique risk,” Amnesty's South Asia Office wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on March 27.
The global rights watchdog's plea comes ahead of the beginning of a new phase of the expulsion of Afghan refugees from neighboring Pakistan. Islamabad plans to force some 850,000 documented Afghan refugees back to their country next month if they don't leave voluntarily.
Since October, Pakistan has already expelled more than 500,000 Afghans who lacked proper documents to stay in the country.
“Forced returns seriously curtail their rights to education, work, movement, and in some cases, expose them to imminent threat of violence,” Amnesty said.
“The Government of Pakistan must halt all deportations and take affirmative measures to ensure the safety of refugee women and girls,” it added.
After returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban’s ultraconservative Islamist government n Afghanistan has banned teenage girls and women from education. It also prohibited women from employment in most sectors.
Afghan women must also wear a niqab -- a strict head-to-toe veil -- in public. Taliban restrictions have severely curtailed women’s mobility by requiring them to be accompanied by a male chaperone outside their homes. Women are also banned from leisure activities, including visits to parks.
“Women and girls will experience serious repression of their rights to education, work, freedom of movement and more if deported,” Amnesty said.
The new warning comes two days after Amnesty called in a new report on Islamabad to reverse forced expulsions of all Afghans.
The report, Pakistan: Human Rights Charter, issued on March 25, asked Islamabad to protect all at-risk "refugees in compliance with Pakistan obligations under the principle of non-refoulement."
Non-refoulement is a fundamental principle of international law that prohibits a state from returning asylum seekers to a country where they would face persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.
Pakistan lacks a domestic law that offers a path to refugee status. It is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or the 1967 protocol intended to remove constraints on who can be considered a refugee.
Cryptic Serbian President Warns Of 'Difficult Days' Ahead
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic warned on March 28 that "difficult days" lie ahead for his country, without elaborating. Vucic added that he had spoken with the European Union and the Quint nations -- an informal decision-making group consisting of the United States, France, Germany, Italy, and Britain. He rejected assessments that Serbia is abandoning its European path after the announcement of a possible exit from the Council of Europe if that organization accepts Kosovo, Serbia's former province whose independence Belgrade does not recognize. He said he would provide more details “in the coming days.” To read the original story on RFE/RL’s Serbian Service, click here.
- By RFE/RL
Putin Says Russia Will Not Attack NATO, But Ukrainian F-16s Will Be Shot Down
Russia has no plans to attack any NATO country and will not attack Poland, the Baltic states, or the Czech Republic, but if the West supplies Ukraine with F-16 fighter planes they will be shot down by Russian forces, President Vladimir Putin said on March 28.
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.
Speaking to Russian Air Force pilots in the town of Torzhok in the western region of Tver, Putin said the U.S.-led alliance had expanded eastward toward Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 but that Moscow had no plans to attack NATO states.
"We have no aggressive intentions toward these states...This is absolutely absurd [to say that we plan to] attack some other countries -- Poland, Baltic states, and they also frighten the Czechs. It is mere nonsense, another way to cheat their population and force them to allocate additional resources [for Ukraine]," Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript released on March 28.
Answering a reporter's question on whether Moscow's military would attack F-16 warplanes deployed at NATO airfields if they were used against Russia from there, Putin said: "Of course, if they are used from third-country airfields, they will be legitimate targets, no matter where they are."
"...We will destroy their planes the same way we destroy their tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment today, including multiple-launch rocket systems," Putin added, stressing that, while organizing combat activities, "we will have to take into account" that "F-16s carry nuclear weapons."
Ukraine's Western partners have promised Kyiv at least 42 F-16s and Ukrainian pilots have been training in the West for months on how to fly the warplanes, but the planes would be housed by Ukrainian air bases, not Western ones.
However, it remains unclear how many Ukrainian air bases can accommodate F-16s, which require high-quality runways and well-protected and well-camouflaged hangars.
Putin also reiterated his previous statements, saying that Russian troops in Ukraine “are defending people residing on our historic territories.”
Before Russia launched its ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Western countries' warnings that Russia was planning full-scale aggression against its neighbor.
Kazakh Man Sentenced For Killing 4-Year-Old During 2022 Unrest
ASTANA -- A man was sentenced to seven years in prison in a high-profile trial related to the death of a 4-year-old girl during deadly unrest in Kazakhstan in January 2022.
The military court in Astana on March 28 annulled serviceman Arman Zhuman's acquittal from November and sentenced him after finding him guilty of abuse of power.
Aikorkem Meldekhan was shot dead in the Central Asian nation's largest city, Almaty, by what the court concluded was military personnel, when she and other members of her family were in a car on their way to a grocery store on January 7, 2022.
The vehicle was sprayed with at least 20 bullets, also wounding Aikorkem's 15-year-old sister.
Zhuman's lawyer, Oksana Musokhranova, said the court's decision will be appealed.
Aikorkem's father, Aidos Meldekhan, said he is not satisfied with the court's decision, insisting that the charge should have been changed from abuse of power to murder of a minor and attempted murder.
At least 238 people are believed to have been killed by Kazakh security forces during a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in January 2022.
With the country in the throes of unrest, President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev gave police and military troops the controversial order to "shoot to kill without warning." He justified the move by saying "20,000 extremists trained in foreign terrorist camps" had seized Almaty airport and other buildings.
No evidence of foreign-trained terrorists was ever presented.
The order sparked an outcry and Aikorkem's picture turned into an image symbolizing the victims of the crackdown, many of whom were killed -- some under torture -- by police, security forces and military personnel, including troops of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, whom Toqaev invited into the country "to restore law and order."
Poland Temporarily Opens Ukraine Border Crossing Amid Grain Talks
Poland has temporarily opened one border crossing with Ukraine, Kyiv said on March 28, as government representatives met in Warsaw to defuse a dispute over Ukrainian grain imports.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said in a statement on Telegram that 120 trucks were expected to cross the Uhryniv-Dolhobichuv checkpoint into Poland. It said the crossing would remain open until April 2.
The announcement was made as the Polish and Ukrainian governments met for more than six hours in Warsaw to discuss a row over Ukrainian grain imports, but a breakthrough appears unlikely.
Border crossings with Ukraine have been blocked for weeks as farmers in Poland demand the reimposition of customs duties on agricultural imports from Ukraine, which were waived following Russian’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
They argue that Ukraine is flooding Europe with cheap grain, making it impossible to compete.
"It is difficult to expect any breakthrough after these talks, any specific agreement, for example, on agricultural issues," said Jan Grabiec, head of the prime minister's office. "We are still in dialogue and both sides -- at least for today -- are not fully satisfied."
Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the talks were “difficult but frank.” He said solutions had been discussed, which would be “announced soon.”
Russian Journalist Faces Extremism Charge Over Alleged Link To Navalny
Russian journalist Antonina Favorskaya was not released on March 27 after serving 10 days in jail on a charge of disobedience to police orders and was sent to pretrial detention instead. The reporter for the SOTAvision media outlet is now accused of taking part in the activities of late opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation that was labeled as extremist in 2021. On February 15, Favorskaya recorded the last video of Navalny at a court hearing he was taking part in via a video link from an Arctic prison. The next day, Navalny suddenly died in the prison. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Imprisoned Mother Of Chechen Activists Hospitalized
Zarema Musayeva, the imprisoned mother of three self-exiled outspoken Chechen opposition activists, has been hospitalized.
The Team Against Torture human rights group in Russia said on March 28 that Musayeva, who is serving a five-year term in a colony settlement -- a dormitory-like penitentiary located near an industrial facility where convicts work alongside regular employees -- was hospitalized after her eyesight deteriorated sharply and swellings appeared on her body.
The rights group quoted Musayeva's lawyer Aleksandr Savin as saying that his client has an acute form of diabetes, cataracts, and constant pain in her knee.
According to Savin, Musayeva needs proper medical assistance. Earlier in March, Musayeva's lawyer said the penitentiary authorities in the city of Argun had refused to let Musayeva see a doctor for two months, although a medical examination could have resulted in her early release.
Musayeva's initial request for early release was rejected by a court in Chechnya in December.
Musayeva is the mother of Ibragim, Abubakar, and Baisangur Yangulbayev, all of whom have fled the country citing harassment from Chechen authorities over their online criticism of Kremlin-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
Chechen police and security officers detained Musayeva in January 2022 in her apartment in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, some 1,800 kilometers from Chechnya, and forcibly returned her to the North Caucasus region's capital, Grozny.
In July, a court in Chechnya sentenced Musayeva to 5 1/2 years in prison on charges of fraud and attacking a police officer, which Musayeva and her supporters have denied.
In September, the Supreme Court of Chechnya shortened Musayeva's prison term by six months and said Musayeva must serve her term in a colony settlement instead of a penitentiary colony.
Kadyrov, other Chechen officials, and a member of the Russian Duma have publicly vowed to kill all members of the Yangulbayev family, calling them "terrorists."
Journalists, rights activists, and other Russians have urged the government to punish those who issued the threats.
Abubakar Yangulbayev has accused Kadyrov's law enforcement and security officers of "lawlessness on a daily basis in Chechnya" and said the case against his mother is Kadyrov's retaliation for his activities.
Ibragim and Abubakar have said they faced years of pressure from Chechen authorities over their online criticism of Kadyrov and the rights situation in Chechnya.
Many of their relatives have been similarly harassed in Chechnya and even deprived of their homes since Kadyrov and his people vowed to kill them and their families.
The activists' father, retired federal Judge Saidi Yangulbayev, and a sister fled Russia in January 2022 following the threats.
Russian and international human rights groups have for years accused Kadyrov of overseeing grave human rights abuses, including abductions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and the persecution of the LGBT community.
Kremlin critics say Putin has turned a blind eye to the abuses because he relies on the former rebel commander to control separatist sentiment and violence in Chechnya.
- By Current Time
Tajik Man Detained In St. Petersburg Amid Migrant Crackdown
A 26-year-old Tajik national was detained in Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, on a charge of justifying terrorism, the Investigative Committee said on March 28.
The arrest comes amid an ongoing crackdown on labor migrants following a terrorist attack near Moscow last week that has left at least 143 people dead and hundreds wounded.
Investigators say the Tajik citizen, who was not named by authorities, posted comments justifying terrorism under a video taken from last week's attack on the Crocus City Hall entertainment center in the city of Krasnogorsk, near Moscow, that was claimed by the Islamic State extremist group.
In an online statement, the Investigative Committee posted a video that purportedly showed the detained man apologizing.
The independent Astra Telegram channel said the man's name is Bahodur Zuhurov.
A court decision on the suspect's possible pretrial arrest is pending. If convicted, the man may face up to five years in prison.
Earlier, a spokeswoman for the St. Petersburg court, Darya Lebedeva, said another Tajik national, Ahmad Faizulokhonzoda, will be deported from Russia for violating registration regulations and for being a member of a chat in the Telegram social network through which suspects arrested for attacking the Crocus City Hall on March 22 "had been recruited."
Faizulokhonzoda was ordered to pay a 5,000 ruble ($55) fine and placed in an immigration center.
The March 22 attack sparked a wave of anti-migrant and xenophobic manifestations across Russia after authorities detained 11 suspects, eight of whom -- mostly ethnic Tajiks -- were sent to pretrial detention.
This week, a banner saying "Visa-Free Regime Kills" appeared at a makeshift memorial near what was left of the Crocus City Hall.
Russian lawmaker Mikhail Sheremet proposed to restrict foreigners' visits to the country during the "special military operation" -- the official term for Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Another lawmaker, former presidential candidate Vladislav Davankov, said migrant laborers have to be placed under digital control and should be deported after committing even minor violations.
Some comments under the Russian lawmakers' online statements call for the closing of all mosques in Russia and keeping migrant workers in special dwellings without the right to freely move about in the country.
Members of indigenous ethnic groups from Russia's ethnic republics have also faced harassment, aggression, and violence in public places in Moscow and other Russian cities in recent days.
Human rights defender Valentina Chupik told Current Time that in one court in Moscow's Cheryomushki district, police have been bringing about 25 labor workers, mostly Tajiks, each hour for deportation.
"I have not slept for five nights. I receive about 1,000 complaints each day, of which some 700 are linked to migrants' detainments. In all, I have now 3,500 complaints from [migrant workers] detained by police. Some 150 complaints a day are about the beating of migrants by police," Chupik said.
She added that other complaints include migrants' statements accusing police officers of robbing them during questioning and falsely accusing them of disobedience to police orders.
According to Chupik, authorities intentionally incite anti-migrant sentiments "to distract people's attention" from the "fact that the terrorist attack was overlooked."
"The goal is to deflect people's anger from the authorities to a known weak group of people who can be easily subdued and is clearly 'alien,'" Chupik said.
Bulgaria Heading For Sixth Election In Three Years
SOFIA -- Bulgaria is preparing for yet another general election -- the sixth since April 2021 -- after the populist There Is Such a People (ITN) party on March 28 refused to form a government, the third party to decline the mandate.
Previously, the center-right GERB and its former coalition partner, the pro-Western Continue the Change/Democratic Bulgaria (CCDB) both said they could not form a new cabinet.
ITN's move paves the way for President Rumen Radev to appoint a caretaker government and schedule elections in two months.
Bulgaria will vote for the European Parliament on June 9, so the two polls could be held on the same day, but that depends on Radev's ability to quickly appoint a caretaker government.
Following the elections in April last year, Bulgaria had a joint government supported by the reformist CCDB and GERB. They had agreed on an 18-month government with a rotation of the prime ministers -- first Nikolay Denkov from CCDB and, after nine months, Maria Gabriel from GERB.
Denkov stepped down on March 5 to let GERB lead the government for the following nine months, as agreed. But Gabriel failed to form a government, and on March 27 Denkov also rejected Radev's invitation to try to put together a cabinet.
Bulgaria is the poorest of the 27 members of the European Union and has been wrestling with widespread corruption.
The Balkan country has been grappling with political instability since major anti-corruption protests in 2020.
Before the elections in April last year, the country was run by caretaker governments appointed by Radev in the absence of a stable elected coalition.
Radev on March 28 said he would start consultations with all potential caretaker prime ministers on March 30.
Following constitutional amendments, the president can choose between the chairman of the National Assembly, the governor or deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, the chairman or deputy chairman of the Audit Chamber, and the ombudsman or his deputy.
With reporting by Reuters
Iranian Women's Rights Activists Sentenced To Long Prison Terms
Lawyers for 11 women's rights activists who were detained in August in Iran's northwestern Gilan province say their clients have been sentenced to long prison terms amounting to more than 60 years.
The activists were detained separately by security and intelligence forces as officials attempted to silence critics ahead of the first anniversary of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death in police custody in September 2022 after being arrested for allegedly violating the country's strict Islamic dress code.
Mostafa Nili, representing two of the activists, told the Tehran-based Shargh network on March 27 that the sentences were handed down by an Islamic Revolutionary Court in Gilan's capital, Rasht.
The activists were charged in connection with their involvement in women’s rights campaigns.
Forough Samiminia received a sentence of three years, six months, and one day for "assembly and collusion to disrupt national security," and an additional two years, seven months, and 16 days for "membership in an illegal group."
Jelve Javaheri was sentenced to one year for "propaganda against the system."
Other activists, including Zahra Dadras, Sara Jahani, Matin Yazdani, Yasmin Hashdari, Shiva Shahsiah, Negin Rezai, and Azadeh Chavoshian, faced similar charges, receiving sentences ranging from one to six years for charges including "assembly and collusion" and "forming an illegal group."
Following their arrest, sources close to the activists told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that after being arrested, the activists were subjected to pressure to confess to "fabricated deeds."
One source said some of the women have faced "intense interrogation and physical abuse."
At least 500 people have been killed since protests broke out following the death of Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman who was arrested while visiting Tehran by Iran's notorious morality police for allegedly wearing a hijab scarf improperly.
The Women, Life, Freedom protests and civil disobedience against the compulsory hijab that swept the country following Amini's death involved tens of thousands of Iranians, many of whom were already upset over the country's deteriorating living standards. Campaigns were also launched against the discriminatory hijab regulation.
In the face of the unrest, some religious and government figures have repeatedly advocated for a tougher stance by the government against offenders, even going as far as encouraging a "fire-at-will" approach against noncompliant women.
The UN Human Rights Council's fact-finding committee has categorized such actions against women as a crime against humanity.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Czech Republic Sanctions Prominent Pro-Kremlin Ukrainians
The Czech Republic on March 27 imposed sanctions on pro-Russia Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk and his close associate Artem Marchevskiy. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said they had tried to carry out influence operations to Moscow's benefit on Czech territory. The German publication Der Spiegel identified Medvedchuk and Marchevsky as operators of the Prague-based pro-Moscow news website Voice of Europe. The German publication said the website played a key role in financing pro-Kremlin European Parliament candidates. To read the full story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Several Wounded As Russia Hits Ukraine With Drones, Heavy Artillery
Ukrainian authorities say Russia used kamikaze drones and heavy artillery to strike regions in the center and east of the country in the early hours of March 28.
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.
The Ukrainian air-defense systems intercepted 26 out of 28 Shahed-type drones over Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhya, the country’s air force said in a statement.
Local authorities in Zaporizhzhya said homes had been struck and at least two people wounded. Acting Mayor Anatoliy Kurtev said five houses had been partially destroyed while 40 had sustained damage.
The central Dnipropetrovsk region’s governor, Serhiy Lysak, said Nikopol was targeted by heavy artillery and drones. Two people were injured by shrapnel while four homes and a power line were damaged, Lysak added.
In Odesa, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said Russia initially launched drones before targeting the region with missiles. He added that there were no casualties in Odesa.
Offices, a shop, and a restaurant were damaged in Kharkiv, but there were no casualties, according to regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov.
Ukrainian authorities said Russia may have used a new type of guided bomb in air strikes on Kharkiv on March 27, in an attack described by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as “Russian terror.”
Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the Kharkiv regional police, said Moscow may have used a new type of guided bomb, which he described as the UMPB D-30.
"It seems that the Russians decided to test their modified bombs on the residents of the houses," Synyehubov said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba landed in New Delhi on March 28 for a two-day trip to enhance relations and cooperation with India, a longtime ally of Russia.
The Ukrainian chief diplomat will meet his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and hold talks with the deputy national security adviser.
Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin said Russia has no designs on any NATO country and will not attack Poland, the Baltic states, or the Czech Republic but that if the West supplies F-16 fighters to Ukraine, they will be shot down.
Speaking to Russian Air Force pilots on March 28, Putin said the U.S.-led alliance had expanded eastward toward Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union but that Moscow has no plans to attack a NATO state.
"We have no aggressive intentions toward these states," Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript.
With reporting by AP and Reuters
- By Reuters
Russians Visit Pyongyang To Discuss 'Cooperation Against Spying'
A delegation of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) visited North Korea this week and discussed boosting cooperation against spying, state media KCNA reported on March 28. SVR chief Sergei Naryshkin and North Koreaan Minister of State Security Ri Chang Dae briefed each other in Pyongyang on the international and regional situation regarding the Korean Peninsula and Russia, according to KCNA. The two sides also discussed further boosting cooperation to deal with the "ever-growing spying and plotting moves by hostile forces," KCNA said.
- By RFE/RL
Washington Event Aims To Keep U.S. Reporter's Detention By Russia In Public Eye
Dozens of people are expected to gather on March 28 at a plaza in Washington, D.C., to mark the anniversary of the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia and demand his release.
The National Press Club is sponsoring the event to mark one full year in jail for Gershkovich, 32, whose detention was extended to June 30 earlier this week by the Moscow City Court.
Wall Street Journal Associate Editor Paul Beckett, who is leading the newspaper’s efforts to free him, will take part in the Washington event along with Gershkovich's sister, Danielle Gershkovich.
The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have vehemently rejected the espionage charges against Gershkovich, saying he was merely doing his job as an accredited reporter when he was arrested on March 29, 2023, in Yekaterinburg.
Gershkovich is one of two U.S. reporters currently being held by Russian authorities. The other is Alsu Kurmasheva, an RFE/RL journalist who holds dual Russian-American citizenship.
Kurmasheva was arrested in Kazan in October and charged with failing to register as a "foreign agent" under a punitive Russian law that targets journalists, civil society activists, and others. She’s also been charged with spreading falsehoods about the Russian military and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
RFE/RL and the U.S. government say the charges are reprisals for her work. She had traveled to Russia for a family emergency and was initially detained while waiting for her return flight on June 2 at Kazan airport, where her U.S. and Russian passports were confiscated.
Gershkovich has been designated as wrongfully detained by the U.S. government, a designation that provides more dedicated resources in the effort to secure their release.
Kurmasheva, however, has not been designated as wrongfully detained, despite pleas from RFE/RL and from Kurmasheva’s family.
Representatives of RFE/RL and Voice of America will join Wall Street Journal employees and family members at the gathering in Washington on March 28. The Washington Post Press Freedom Partnership also plans to take part.
Beckett said other events to mark the anniversary of Gershkovich’s detention include a 24-hour read-a-thon of his work by his Wall Street Journal colleagues at the newspaper’s headquarters in New York and swimming events at Brighton Beaches in New Zealand, South African, Canada, the United States and Britain.
The beaches were chosen in recognition of his family’s connection to Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, New York, which is home to a large Russian immigrant community. Gershkovich's parents emigrated from the Soviet Union, separately, in 1979.
Kurmasheva is one of four RFE/RL journalists -- Andrey Kuznechyk, Ihar Losik, and Vladyslav Yesypenko are the other three -- currently imprisoned on charges related to their work. Rights groups and RFE/RL have called repeatedly for the release of all four, saying they have been wrongly detained.
Losik is a blogger and contributor for RFE/RL’s Belarus Service who was convicted in December 2021 on several charges including the “organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order” and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Kuznechyk, a web editor for RFE/RL’s Belarus Service, was sentenced in June 2022 to six years in prison following a trial that lasted no more than a few hours. He was convicted of “creating or participating in an extremist organization.”
Yesypenko, a dual Ukrainian-Russian citizen who contributed to Crimea.Realities, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, was sentenced in February 2022 to six years in prison by a Russian judge in occupied Crimea after a closed-door trial. He was convicted of “possession and transport of explosives,” a charge he steadfastly denies.
- By RFE/RL
Latvia Expels Russian Diplomat For 'Unacceptable' Actions
Latvia has declared one employee of the Russian Embassy persona non grata and expelled him from the country. At the request of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, the diplomat must leave by April 10. The ministry said in a statement on March 27 that it summoned the Russian charge d'affaires to protest "unacceptable and provocational public communication” pursued by the embassy that Latvia said was aimed at discreding its state institutions and stirring up hatred in society. Despite repeated reprimands, the Russian Embassy persisted in the inaccurate public communication, the ministry said.
- By AFP
Iranian Police Chief Sentenced To Death For Killing Protester In 2022
An Iranian court has sentenced a police chief to death after he was charged with killing a man during mass protests in 2022, local media reported on March 27. Jafar Javanmardi was arrested in December 2022 over the killing of a protester during demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest for allegedly violating the country's dress code. Javanmardi was sentenced to death "in accordance with the Islamic law of retribution…on the charge of premeditated murder," the lawyer for the victim's family said.
Russian Rights Defender Subject To 'Inhumane' Treatment In Jail: Lawyers
Lawyers for imprisoned Russian human rights defender Oleg Orlov say their client is being held in "inhumane" conditions. Orlov, 70, is being deprived of rest, hot food, and confidential meetings with his attorneys, they said on March 27. The Memorial rights group also commented on Orlov, saying that he does not receive regular daily meals as guards take him to a Moscow court each day to review materials of his case and bring him back to the detention center late at night. Orlov was sentenced last month to 30 months in prison for publicly condemning Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
More Civilians Killed Amid Kyiv's Desperation For Air-Defense Systems
Russian forces shelled the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, killing one person and injuring 16, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said, as Ukraine's president and foreign minister again appealed for more air-defense systems from the United States.
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.
The death of the civilian in Kharkiv was among at least three people killed by Russian attacks across eastern and southern Ukraine on March 27.
The attack in Kharkiv hit apartment buildings, Terekhov said on Telegram, describing it as “another act of bloody terror against Ukrainians."
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov said there were two strikes on a district of Kharkiv city that damaged residential infrastructure.
Five-story buildings where people lived were heavily damaged, and the Institute of Emergency Surgery was also affected, Synyehubov said.
Russian forces have escalated aerial attacks on Ukraine in the past few weeks, targeting key infrastructure, including power stations, in retaliation for fatal bombardments of Russia's border regions.
In the southern region of Kherson, a 61-year-old woman was killed in her home in a drone attack on a village; four children were among the wounded.
In the southeastern city of Nikopol, officials said artillery fire killed a 55-year-old man, while a ballistic missile strike on the coastal territory of Mykolayiv left eight wounded.
The Ukrainian armed forces said they shot down 10 out of 13 Shahed drones launched by Russia in the early hours of March 27. The drones were launched from Russia’s Kursk region and targeted the Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Sumy regions, the military said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, speaking on March 27 in an online briefing, again called for urgent deliveries of air-defense systems.
"The peculiarity of the current Russian attacks is the intensive use of ballistic missiles that can reach targets at extremely high speeds, leaving little time for people to take cover and causing significant destruction," Kuleba said.
"Patriot and other similar systems are defensive by definition. They are designed to protect lives, not take them," he said, referring to the U.S.-made missiles.
WATCH: Ukrainian drone operator "Riko" recalls dropping explosives on Russian units even as control of Avdiyivka was being lost to them in February.
Ukrainian President Volodymry Zelenskiy also called for the West to deliver air-defense systems, saying the protection is "required in Ukraine now" and urging Ukraine's partners to "demonstrate sufficient political will."
Ukraine has become more and more frustrated over the inability of the U.S. Congress to pass a massive military aid package because of partisan disagreements. The bill remains stalled as lawmakers are in the middle of a two-week break for the Easter holiday.
Zelenskiy was in the Sumy region on March 27 to inspect the construction of defensive fortifications such as trenches, dugouts, and observation posts.
He also visited troops in a hospital and presented awards to soldiers with the 117th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade.
Meanwhile, Moscow has vowed to respond to an escalation of strikes on its border regions.
Russia said on March 27 that the border city of Belgorod was targeted again and air-defense systems had shot down 18 Ukrainian missiles. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said two people were wounded during the barrage. Belgorod has recently experienced an increase in fatal attacks.
With reporting by AFP and Politico
Former Kazakh Economy Minister Goes On Trial Over Wife's Brutal Death
ASTANA -- Kazakhstan's former Economy Minister Quandyq Bishimbaev reiterated his not guilty plea to all charges as his trial by jury over his wife's death in November kicked off in Astana on March 27.
Bishimbaev is charged with torture, murder with extreme violence, and repeatedly committing serious crimes. Bishimbaev's cousin Baqytzhan Baizhanov is his co-defendant in the high-profile case. Baizhanov is charged with failure to report a crime in process.
Judge Aizhan Kulbaeva warned journalists that filming or taking pictures of the jury members are banned.
Prosecutor Aizhan Aimaghanova introduced the jury to the charges against Bishimbaev, accusing him of viciously beating his wife, Saltanat Nukenova, for hours in a restaurant that belonged to a relative. The body of the 31-year-old Nukenova was later found in the restaurant. Bishimbaev faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The case has attracted nationwide attention amid growing outrage over domestic violence in Kazakhstan, where 1 -in-6 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 Central Asian nation, where it is not considered a stand-alone criminal offense. The Kazakh parliament has been dragging its feet for years on a bill that would criminalize domestic violence. Women account for about one-quarter of Kazakh lawmakers.
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."
The 43-year-old Bishimbaev served as economy minister from May 2016 to late December the same year. Before that, he occupied different managerial posts in government agencies.
In 2018, Bishimbaev and 22 others faced a high-profile corruption trial that ended with Bishimbaev’s 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 said earlier that more than 100,000 cases of domestic violence are officially registered each year, though the number of unregistered cases, analysts say, is likely much larger.
International rights watchdogs have urged Kazakh officials to curb the spreading of domestic violence for years.
According to the United Nation's experts, about 400 women die in Kazakhstan as a result of domestic violence every year.
Alleged Former North Caucasus Insurgent Detained In Daghestan
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on March 27 that a suspected former member of the North Caucasus insurgency was detained in Daghestan last week. According to the FSB, Islam Batsiyev is suspected of taking part in an attack in Chechnya against Russian paratroopers in February 2000, in which 84 Russian soldiers were killed in one day. Batsiyev was charged with banditry, armed mutiny, and the attempted murder of military personnel. Russia fought two wars against separatists in Chechnya, in 1994-1999 and 1999-2009. The conflicts resulted in tens of thousands of civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands of displaced people. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Caucasus.Realities, click here.
Hungarians Rally As Whistle-Blower Exposes Alleged Corruption In Orban's Government
BUDAPEST -- Hungarians are keeping up public pressure on the ruling Fidesz party fueled by an audio recording a longtime insider claims is evidence of rampant corruption among senior prosecutors and members of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government.
Peter Magyar is a former high-ranking official at state-held companies including the Student Loan Center, a major lender, and is among the ruling party’s most senior defectors of the past decade.
Following weeks of public attacks on Orban and his inner circle, Magyar posted a recording on social media on March 26 purportedly of his estranged ex-wife, a former justice minister, acknowledging that government officials persuaded prosecutors to tamper with evidence in a major corruption case.
At a demonstration near Kossuth Lajos Square in downtown Budapest hours later, Magyar said he had shared the recording with investigators and he urged the crowd to demand justice and an investigation into what is known in Hungary as the Schadl-Volner case.
Thousands of people waved Hungarian flags and booed and whistled on cue as Magyar read a prepared statement laying out accusations against senior Fidesz officials he claims have been corrupted by long years in power.
“Jail them! Jail them!” the crowd chanted at one point.
Orban and Fidesz have dominated successive Hungarian elections since 2010 and have used their supermajority to reshape election rules and the judiciary, marginalize independent media, and effectively deny political opponents a significant role in oversight.
WATCH: A rally organized by Hungarian government critic Peter Magyar attracted thousands on March 26. The businessman addressed protesters outside the building of the Supreme Court and Prosecutor-General's Office.
Magyar broke publicly with Fidesz after a pardon scandal forced the resignation last month of Hungarian President Katalin Novak and a retreat from political life of Magyar’s estranged former wife, ex-Justice Minister Judit Varga.
Varga, who abandoned plans to lead Fidesz’s candidates in European Parliamentary elections in June, dismissed Magyar’s recording as coerced and a “vile manipulation” in a long-running effort to “blackmail” her. She repeated accusations that Magyar had abused her during their marriage.
Magyar has repeatedly denied mistreating Varga.
Magyar spent several hours in the Prosecutor-General’s Office on March 26 and emerged saying the recording implicates officials in multiple crimes. He also said he has many more recordings relating to the Schadl-Volner case and will continue to share them with investigators.
The long-running Schadl-Volner case involves possible activities by Gyorgy Schadl, head of the chamber of judicial officers, and a former secretary of state at the Justice Ministry, Pal Volner, and reportedly involves wiretaps and classified data.
In a copy of the recording that Magyar posted to YouTube and Facebook, he seemingly prompts Varga into discussing a case before a voice resembling hers says, “They told prosecutors what should be removed.”
“I think they can’t do anything other than to summon several members of the government as witnesses [and], in fact, I say they can’t do without summoning the prime minister as a witness,” Magyar said of prosecutors. “Obviously, [Orban] is aware of much more [wrongdoing] than what my ex-wife and I were aware of.”
Magyar has accused Orban loyalist Antal Rogan, who runs the prime minister’s cabinet office and shapes government messaging, of wielding enormous influence within a corrupt political syndicate.
Fidesz officials have dismissed Magyar’s allegations as unfounded opportunism and harassment of his ex-wife.
Magyar has called for another rally in Budapest on April 6 to push for change in what he hopes is “the biggest demonstration of the last 14 years.”
His call for an anti-government protest to coincide with a national holiday on March 15 attracted an estimated 35,000 people who heard Magyar announce his intention to launch a new political party.
That rally followed major anti-government demonstrations in February over a presidential pardon signed off on by Varga and granted by Novak to a man convicted for helping cover up sexual abuse at a children’s home.
Ex-Kyrgyz Customs Official Known As 'The Kingmaker' Sent To Pretrial Detention
BISHKEK -- Raimbek Matraimov, the former deputy chief of Kyrgyzstan’s Customs Service, was placed in pretrial detention for at least one month on March 27, a day after being extradited from Azerbaijan.
The Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek ruled that Matraimov must stay in the detention center of the State Committee for National Security (UKMK) at least until April 26.
The UKMK said earlier in the day that Matraimov, along with his brothers -- Tilek, Ruslan, and Islambek -- had been brought to Bishkek from Azerbaijan at Kyrgyzstan's request a day earlier.
According to the UKMK, Matraimov -- once known as "the kingmaker" -- is suspected of money laundering and the abduction and illegal incarceration of unnamed individuals.
Matraimov in 2020-2021 was at the center of a high-profile corruption scandal involving the funneling of close to $1 billion out of Kyrgyzstan.
A Bishkek court in February 2021 ordered pretrial custody for Matraimov in connection with the corruption charges. He received a mitigated sentence that involved fines amounting to just a few thousand dollars but no jail time.
The court justified the move saying that Matraimov had paid back around $24 million that disappeared through corruption schemes that he oversaw.
In November, the chairman of the state security service, Kamchybek Tashiev, accused Matraimov and crime boss Kamchy Kolbaev (aka Kamchybek Asanbek), who was added by Washington to a list of major global drug-trafficking suspects in 2011, of "forming a mafia in Kyrgyzstan."
Matraimov left Kyrgyzstan in October after Kolbaev was killed in a special security operation in Bishkek. In January, the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry said Matraimov was added to the wanted list of the State Committee for National Security.
ALSO READ: Investigation: The Matraimov Kingdom
In 2019, an investigation by RFE/RL, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and Kloop implicated Matraimov in a corruption scheme involving the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars out of Kyrgyzstan.
Last week, a court in neighboring Uzbekistan sentenced Kolbaev's close associate, influential Uzbek crime boss Salim Abduvaliev to six years in prison on charges of illegal possession and transporting arms and explosives.
Abduvaliev is believed to have ties with top Uzbek officials and leaders of the so-called Brothers' Circle, a Eurasian drug-trafficking network that included Kolbaev.
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