Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 10 issued a decree simplifying visa procedures for Georgian citizens, allowing visa-free entry to those traveling for work or education. The decree, effective immediately, extends to Georgian citizens staying in Russia for over 90 days. This development comes as tensions between Georgia's government and the West continue to rise. Tbilisi has been criticized for its increasingly close ties to Moscow, with the European Union and the United States expressing concerns over Georgia's democratic backsliding. Earlier this year, the Georgian parliament passed a controversial "foreign influence" law despite mass protests. The law is similar to a Russian law used to muzzle free press and dissent. The decree looks like another move by Russia to strengthen ties with Georgia, even as the country's government faces mounting pressure from Western allies over its stance on Russia and internal governance issues. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Echo of the Caucasus, click here.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Moldovans to participate in two crucial upcoming elections and announced that the European Union has earmarked 1.8 billion euros ($1.97 billion) in financial support for the economy of one of Europe's poorest countries in the next three years.

Pro-Western President Maia Sandu is running for a second term on October 20, when voters will also have their say in a referendum on joining the 27-member European Union.

Von der Leyen, who traveled to Moldova on October 10 in a show of support for the country's European aspirations, encouraged Moldovans at a joint news conference with Sandu to go to the polls to express their "free and sovereign choice," but stopped short of telling them how to vote.

Under the U.S.-educated Sandu, who came to power after defeating Russian-backed incumbent Igor Dodon in 2020, Moldova took an about-turn toward the West, condemning Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and joining the EU sanctions regime against the Kremlin.

Moldova secured EU candidate status in June 2022 and opened membership negotiations with the bloc earlier this year, steps that prompted Russia to step up attempts to undermine the credibility of Moldova's government and portray Moscow as a better alternative for Chisinau's future.

Von der Leyen said that "Moldova's place is in the European Union," and membership in the bloc could contribute to "doubling the country's economy in the next 10 years."

She said the 1.8 billion-euro package would be used to invest in "areas that will generate economic growth and public services" such as repairing schools, building two new hospitals in the cities of Balti and Cahul, building roads and bridges to connect Moldova with its neighbors, but also developing the country's energy network.

The two votes are seen as a make-or-break moment for the future of Moldova, a country of 2.5 million wedged between Romania and Ukraine, where Russia still wields massive influence and maintains more than 1,000 troops in the separatist Transdniester region, 33 years after Chisinau declared independence from the Soviet Union.

Von der Leyen praised Sandu for "how committed" she has been to "Moldova's European path" and for the advances made by Moldova toward EU membership and mentioned "the initiation of reforms of the judiciary, the fight against corruption, and the expulsion of oligarchs from the economic sector."

Sandu called the financial support package "a symbol of trust in Moldova's development potential."

"Thank you, dear Ursula, for your support for Moldova all these years," Sandu said.

A monument has been erected in the Siberian city of Nizhnevartovsk to honor victims of the brutal purges from the 1930s to the 1950s, despite efforts by the Russian government to glorify Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and downplay the extent of Soviet-era political repression.

The memorial, long delayed and initially resisted, was funded by local authorities and stands as a reminder of a dark chapter in Soviet history -- one increasingly subject to historical revisionism.

The rehabilitation of Stalin has been a feature of the rule by President Vladimir Putin since the former KGB officer came to power nearly a quarter-century ago.

In the early years, Stalin was promoted as an "effective manager" who led the Soviet Union to victory over Nazi Germany.

But over time, the tight connection between Stalin and the war has been loosened, and Stalin and Stalinist imagery now appear in a much wider array of contexts -- from advertising to the arts.

Sources familiar with the project to build the new monument, which flies in the face of Putin's narrative, told RFE/RL on October 10 that the idea dates back to 2008, when the Nizhnevartovsk city administration held a competition to design it.

Despite initial momentum, the project stalled for years, with officials citing various logistical reasons.

First, city officials claimed the site was unavailable due to construction. Later, they allocated a remote location in an old part of the city, further delaying its completion.

Frustrated by the city's inaction, residents took matters into their own hands in 2015, raising funds to erect a simple slab monument near a school. However, this unofficial tribute was destroyed in the fall of 2023 by unknown individuals.

The long-awaited monument was finally erected with the assistance of former Khanty-Mansi Governor and current Federation Council member Natalya Komarova and after years of persistent advocacy by activists from the Istoki Pamyati (Origins of Memory) group.

An official unveiling is planned for October 30, which is observed as the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repression in Russia, at a time when the condemnation of Stalin's crimes is being pushed aside by normalization of the era in the everyday lives of Russians.

Recently, the Prosecutor-General’s Office announced plans to review past decisions on the rehabilitation of repression victims, raising concerns that historical accountability for Soviet atrocities may be undermined.

Moreover, in June, changes were made to the official Concept On Victims Of Political Repressions, eliminating references to the mass nature of Soviet-era purges and removing the call to commemorate their victims.

The shift in the official stance was highlighted by the Moscow city government's decision to cancel the 2024 "Return of Names" event, where citizens traditionally gather to read aloud the names of those who were killed or jailed during the repressions.

The cancellation was ostensibly due to a "sharp increase in COVID cases," but activists see it as part of the broader effort to suppress discussion of Soviet crimes.

The Israeli military on October 10 said it had eliminated another important Hezbollah member as it kept up its attacks against the Iran-backed group.

Adham Jahout, a member of Hezbollah's "Golan Terrorist Network" was killed in an air strike in the area of Quneitra in Syria, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said.

Jahout was relaying intelligence from Syrian regime sources to Hezbollah and facilitating operations against Israel in the Golan Heights, the IDF said.

Israel annexed the Golan Heights after capturing them from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war. The annexation has not been recognized by most countries.

Separately, the Israeli military said on October 10 that it had eliminated two Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon and its warplanes attacked munitions depots in the Beirut area and in southern Lebanon. It did not immediately reveal the identities of the two commanders.

Hezbollah, a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its party, which has seats in the Lebanese parliament.

The latest strikes came as the United States, Israel's main ally, warned against bombardments in Lebanon similar to those that caused large-scale destruction in Gaza as Israel retaliated against Hamas following the U.S.- and EU-designated terrorist group's deadly attack on Israel that left more than 1,100 people dead.

Israel's bombardment of central and northern Gaza in recent days has killed dozens of people and trapped thousands in their homes, Palestinian officials say.

SEE ALSO:

Palestinians Count The Toll Of Israel's Devastating War In Gaza

"There should be no kind of military action in Lebanon that looks anything like Gaza and leaves a result anything like Gaza," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told journalists on October 9.

The warning came after U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized in a call on October 9 with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the need for a diplomatic arrangement for the return of both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes on both sides of the border.

Biden also condemned Iran's ballistic-missile attack on Israel on October 1, a White House statement said.

Biden "affirmed Israel's right to protect its citizens from Hezbollah, which has fired thousands of missiles and rockets into Israel over the past year alone, while emphasizing the need to minimize harm to civilians, in particular in the densely populated areas of Beirut," the statement said.

Biden spoke with Netanyahu earlier about Israel's plans to retaliate against Iran for a missile attack last week, according to statements from both the White House and the Israeli prime minister's office on October 9.

The White House statement said Biden and Netanyahu "agreed to remain in close contact over the coming days both directly and through their national security teams."

The call comes amid escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, an armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.

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Would An All-Out Israel-Iran War Send Oil Prices Skyrocketing?

The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel's expected response to Iran's largely ineffective missile attack, which Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel's escalation in Lebanon, including the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Biden last week said he would not support Israel striking Iranian nuclear sites as part of its retaliation. He also said that, if he were in Israel's shoes, he would think about alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields.

Israel has faced calls by the United States and other allies to accept a cease-fire deal in Gaza and Lebanon but has said it will continue its military operations until Israelis are safe.

Two journalists from the Kyrgyz anti-corruption investigative group Temirov Live have been sentenced to prison after being found guilty on charges that their supporters and media watchdogs say are politically motivated.

A court in Bishkek on October 10 sentenced Makhabat Tajibek-kyzy to six years in prison and Azamat Ishenbekov to five years after they were found guilty of "creating an organized criminal group" and "calling for mass riots."

Tajibek-kyzy is the wife of the group's founder, Bolot Temirov.

The court also sentenced Aktilek Kaparov and Aike Beishekeeva to three years of probation on the same charges.

Seven other current and former members of Temirov Live -- Maksat Tajibek-uulu, Akyl Orozbekov, Jumabek Turdaliev, Joodar Buzumov, Saparbek Akunbekov, Saipidin Sultanaliev, and Tynystan Asypbekov -- were acquitted.

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Watchdog Urges Bishkek To Drop 'Contrived' Charges Against 11 Journalists On Trial

The 11 journalists went on trial on June 7 amid calls from domestic and international rights groups for all charges to be dropped and for them to be released immediately.

Last month, one of the journalists on trial, Aike Beishekeeva, was named as the winner of the Gratias Tibi award of the Prague-based Clovek v Tisni (People In Need) rights group.

The annual award is given to people younger than 30 for their contributions to defending human rights worldwide.

SEE ALSO:

Kyrgyzstan's Vibrant Media Space In Peril After Journalists Raided, Jailed

Bolot Temirov was deported to Russia in November 2022 after a court ruled that he obtained Kyrgyz citizenship illegally.

Temirov, who held Kyrgyz and Russian passports, rejected the accusation and insisted the probe against him was launched after he published an investigation suggesting corruption among top Kyrgyz officials.

Kyrgyzstan's free press and civil society have traditionally been the most vibrant in Central Asia, but that has changed amid an intensifying government crackdown.

SEE ALSO:

Closing The Kloop: Kyrgyzstan's Media Crackdown Becomes Farcical As Leading Journalism Foundation Shuttered

In early April, President Sadyr Japarov signed into law a controversial bill that allows authorities to register organizations as "foreign representatives," which critics say mirrors a repressive Russian law on "foreign agents" that Moscow uses to muzzle independent journalism and NGOs.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has arrived in London to kick off a tour of several key European allies in a push to secure additional military and financial aid as Kyiv confronts relentless daily air strikes and a grinding Russian offensive in the east that is making incremental progress.

Zelenskiy was welcomed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street, where the two shook hands on the red carpet before starting their meeting.

Zelenskiy and Starmer are also set to meet with visiting NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who was in Kyiv last week after taking over at the helm of the military alliance.

Zelenskiy's trip comes after a summit of the Ramstein group of Ukraine's main backers was canceled at short notice when U.S. officials, including President Joe Biden, were forced to abandon travel plans as southern states braced for Hurricane Milton as it bore down on the Florida coast.

Zelenskiy's press service said he would start negotiations "with key partners on whom the military component of our strengthening depends."

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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A spokesman for Starmer told journalists that the British prime minister "will reiterate the UK's iron-clad support for Ukraine in the face of ongoing Russian aggression."

The Ukrainian leader is also scheduled to hold talks in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and then travel to Rome for meetings with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni on October 10 and Pope Francis at the Vatican on October 11.

Macron's meeting with Zelenskiy "will provide an opportunity for the president to reaffirm France's determination to continue to support, in the long run and with all its allies, an infallible support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," the French presidency said in a statement.

Zelenskiy is then due in Germany for consultations with Chancellor Olaf Scholz on On October 11.

The Ramstein group summit planned for October 12 as well as a so-called Quad meeting of the United States, Britain, France, and Germany for talks on Ukraine, were put off after U.S. President Joe Biden canceled his trip to Europe because of Hurricane Milton.

Zelenskiy is seeking to secure as much military and financial aid as possible ahead of next month's U.S. presidential election.

The United States has been Ukraine's main backer and by far the main contributor in terms of financial and military aid, but a Donald Trump victory in the elections could cast doubt about Washington's continued support for Kyiv.

On October 9, Zelenskiy attended a summit with Balkan leaders in Croatia, where he stressed the importance of European unity for a durable peace.

"No one in Europe needs to be reminded how precious peace is, especially here in the Balkans. What happens here in the Balkans and what happens in Ukraine in a way determines the stability of the whole of Europe," Zelenskiy said.

SEE ALSO:

Zelenskiy Urges European Unity At Balkan Summit

Summit participants passed a declaration condemning Russia's aggression against Ukraine and supporting Zelenskiy's peace efforts, Ukraine's membership in NATO, and its reconstruction after the war.

On the battlefield, outmanned and outgunned Ukrainian forces were fighting Russian troops inside the strategic city of Toretsk in the eastern region of Donetsk after abandoning Vuhledar, another strategic hub in the region, last week.

Russian forces, meanwhile, shelled Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhya regions, wounding several people and causing further destruction, regional authorities reported.

Separately, Ukraine's air force reported that it had downed 41 Russian drones out of 62 launched early on October 10 at targets in the Odesa, Poltava, and Donetsk regions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stressed the importance of European unity as he took part in a summit in Croatia with Balkan leaders on October 9.

If Europe is not united, it cannot expect peace, Zelenskiy said, speaking in Dubrovnik at the start of the third Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit.

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"Even though there is much political tension we must ensure that our unity in Europe remains as stable as possible," he added.

“No one in Europe needs to be reminded how precious peace is, especially here in the Balkans. What happens in the Balkans and what happens here in Ukraine in a way determines the stability of the whole of Europe.”

He also thanked Balkan leaders for their support “and for standing up against Russia's efforts to destabilize this region as well."

The leaders of 12 countries -- Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey -- joined Zelenskiy and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic for the summit.

Five of the countries whose leaders are participating in the event -- Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania, and Slovenia -- are EU members; the other nations are on different stages of their paths toward joining the bloc.

Zelenskiy said earlier that there is a chance to “move things toward peace and lasting stability” between now and the end of the year.

“The situation on the battlefield creates an opportunity to make this choice -- choice for decisive action to end the war no later than in 2025," he told the summit.

But a key meeting with international allies planned for October 12 has been postponed. U.S. President Joe Biden called off his scheduled visit to Germany as millions were warned to leave their homes in Florida because of Hurricane Milton.

A high-level meeting of the Ramstein group of Ukraine arms donors was subsequently canceled after Biden scrapped his trip. The Ramstein group, also known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, was due to convene during Biden's planned October 10-13 visit.

While a new date for the meeting of the Ramstein group is being sought, the Ukrainian president said he would hold talks later this week with the leaders of Britain, France, Italy, and Germany in each of the countries.

Zelenskiy's press service said he would start negotiations "with key partners on whom the military component of our strengthening depends."

Zelenskiy called on the summit's participants to get involved in the peace process, noting that his peace plan contains conditions which "need to be met for a just end to the war."

Plenkovic said investing in defense and showing solidarity with Ukraine were key geopolitical interests for everyone.

By helping Ukraine "we are investing in the future for our children in all of Europe," he said. "Not condemning Russia in this attack on Ukraine would encourage other regimes to do similar or the same thing. In Southeast Europe, we must not allow this to happen."

Prior to the start of the summit Zelenskiy and Plenkovic signed a 10-year bilateral agreement on cooperation and Croatia's support to Ukraine after their meeting.

The agreement is focused on Croatia's experience in prosecuting war crimes, supporting war veterans, demining, and the process of joining the European Union, Plenkovic said on X.

Zelenskiy said participants in the summit would also discuss the implementation of Ukraine's peace plan and the country's integration into the European Union and the NATO military alliance.

Summit participants passed a declaration condemning Russia's aggression against Ukraine and supporting Zelenskiy's peace efforts, Ukraine's membership in NATO, and its reconstruction after the war.

The declaration emphasized the importance of Ukraine's energy security. It also says that the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant must be returned to Ukrainian control and function in accordance with the principles of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

The editorial board of one of Ukraine’s most respected media outlets, Ukrayinska Pravda, has accused President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office of launching an "ongoing and systematic pressure" campaign against it that threatens the independence of its work.

In a statement released on October 9, the publication accused President Zelenskiy’s administration of attempting to influence editorial policy and individual journalists.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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Ukrayinska Pravda alleged that government officials are hindering its work by blocking interviews, pressuring businesses to withdraw advertising, and initiating "emotionally-charged communication" between President Zelenskiy and its journalist, Roman Kravets, during an August press conference.

“These and other nonpublic signals suggest attempts to influence our editorial policy,” the statement said, adding that such actions are particularly alarming during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when journalistic independence is critical.

The editorial board warned that any further efforts to sway reporting would be publicly exposed and "will have consequences at the international level."

Zelenskiy’s office has yet to comment on the allegations. RFE/RL reached out to his press office for comments on the newspaper’s allegations, but did not receive any.

Sevhil Musayeva, Ukrayinska Pravda’s editor-in-chief, has previously claimed that the President’s Office tried to block advertising on the media outlet's website and that the publication’s owner has resisted offers to sell it, which she described as part of the pressure campaign.

Ukrayinska Pravda was founded by Heorhiy Gongadze, a prominent Ukrainian journalist.

Gongadze gained international attention after his abduction and murder in 2000, which many believe was politically motivated.

His death sparked protests and became a symbol of the fight for a free press in Ukraine.

Ukrayinska Pravda continues to play a significant role in Ukrainian journalism under the ownership of Czech businessman Tomas Fiala.

Viktor Orban and European lawmakers have traded barbs in the European parliament, with the Hungarian prime minister urging the bloc to change while top EU officials chided Budapest for its Russia-friendly stance and backsliding on democracy.

The clash as Orban -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally within the European Union -- addressed the parliament in Strasbourg on October 9 came as little surprise with the two sides having sparred for months over aid to Ukraine, migration, allegations of the misuse of bloc funds and breaches of its laws.

Orban used his speech, which was interrupted at times by shouts and singing from European parliamentarians, to continue his calls for a hard line in the face of a "migration crisis", arguing that "the European Union needs to change."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen followed Orban at the podium and accused his government of "just throwing problems over your neighbor's fence," a reference to Budapest's early release of more than 1,000 convicted people smugglers and human traffickers.

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She also criticized Hungary's policy of issuing visas to Russian nationals without more thorough background checks compared to other nationals before chiding him on hindering the flow of aid to Ukraine as it battles invading Russian troops.

"There is only one path to achieve a just peace for Ukraine and for Europe, we must continue to empower Ukraine's resistance with political, financial and military support," von der Leyen said.

Meanwhile, the joint leader of the Greens-European Free Alliance, Terry Reintke, was more blunt in her message to Orban: "You are not welcome here," she told him.

A day earlier, Orban told a press conference in Strasbourg that the EU's current strategy of sending massive aid to Ukraine "does not work."

"If you cannot win on the battlefield -- you have to communicate, you have to negotiate, you have to have a cease-fire," he said.

Orban was in Strasbourg to mark his country's six-month stint in the rotating EU presidency.

The populist Orban government has maintained ties with Moscow despite Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Orban has opposed aid to Kyiv and has also angered the EU with his increasingly authoritarian rule and his ties to China.

Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed has been sentenced in absentia by a Russian court to 14 1/2 years in prison, on charges he joined the Ukrainian Army as a mercenary.

The Russian Investigative Committee said on October 9 that Reed enlisted with Ukrainian forces in May 2023 and participated in combat operations in the Donetsk region.

Reed’s participation in the war -- it was reported by some media outlets that he joined the Ukrainian military as a foreign fighter in November 2022 -- became public in July 2023 when he was injured by a mine explosion while fighting for Ukraine.

The U.S. State Department said at that time that he had been transferred to Germany for medical care after being injured.

Reed vaulted into the news in 2020 when he was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison for allegedly assaulting Russian police officers after a traffic stop, a charge he denied.

In April 2022, Reed, who by then had served nearly three years in a Russian prison, was exchanged for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who had been serving a 20-year sentence in the United States for drug trafficking.

Reed's conviction in absentia comes days after two other Americans were convicted and sentenced by Russian courts, fueling concerns over the political motivations behind their detentions amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington.

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'They Remain In Torturous Conditions': The Prisoners Left Behind In Russia After Historic Exchange 

Stephen Hubbard, 72, was sentenced by the Moscow City Court on October 7 to six years and 10 months in prison on charges of being a mercenary and fighting against Russia in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Robert Gilman, a 30-year-old former U.S. Marine, was sentenced to seven years and one month in prison for assaulting a prison official and a state investigator.

Gilman, already serving a 3 1/2-year sentence for attacking a police officer in 2022 while intoxicated, allegedly committed the assaults in late 2023 while in custody.

Both cases follow a pattern of high-profile arrests and detentions of Americans in Russia, which many analysts view as part of Moscow's broader strategy to exert pressure on Washington.

The detentions are increasingly being seen as politically motivated, with the potential for these individuals to become bargaining chips in future prisoner swaps.

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This comes in the wake of an exchange in August in which three U.S. citizens were released, including RFE/RL's journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich, and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, in exchange for Russian prisoners serving sentences in the United States and Europe.

The timing of the sentences coincides with a period of strained U.S.-Russia relations, exacerbated by Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions aimed at weakening Moscow's position.

U.S. authorities said they have arrested an Afghan citizen and charged him with conspiring to conduct a terrorist attack on Election Day in the United States in the name of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

The Justice Department said in a statement late on October 8 that Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, a resident of Oklahoma City, confirmed to U.S. investigators after his arrest that he was plotting an attack aimed at large crowds of people at an unspecified location.

Tawhedi and a co-conspirator, who has not been named because he is a minor, "expected to die as martyrs" during the attack, the statement said.

The Afghan national arrived in the United States on a special immigrant visa in 2021 and was waiting for the conclusion of his immigration proceedings, the Justice Department said.

He acquired two AK-47 firearms and ammunition and initiated the sale of his house and other assets while arranging for his family members to be resettled back in Afghanistan.

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"As charged, the Justice Department foiled the defendant’s plot to acquire semiautomatic weapons and commit a violent attack," Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said.

The arrests come as U.S. authorities are facing heightened concerns over the possibility of terrorist acts on U.S. soil in the run-up and during the presidential election on November 5.

The FBI searched Tawhedi's phone and obtained communications between him and an individual who he understood to be affiliated with IS and allegedly facilitated "recruitment, training, and indoctrination" for the terrorist group, according to the criminal complaint, which also said Tawhedi appeared in a video recorded in July reading to two children about "the rewards a martyr receives in the afterlife."

He also allegedly accessed and stored IS propaganda on his iCloud and Google account, was a member of pro-IS Telegram groups, and donated to a charity that gathers funds for IS.

“This defendant, motivated by [IS], allegedly conspired to commit a violent attack, on Election Day, here on our homeland," said FBI Director Christopher Wray.

The complaint, which does not say how Tawhedi came to the authorities' attention, says an FBI informant posing as a buyer of personal property listed by the suspect on Facebook got in touch with him ostensibly to buy a laptop for his firearms business.

Tawhedi and his co-conspirator tested firearms together with the FBI informant before "buying" two AK-47 assault rifles and 500 bullets from him on October 7.

Once Tawhedi took possession of the guns and ammunition at a location in the Western District of Oklahoma, the two were arrested.

If found guilty, Tawhedi, who was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to IS and receiving a firearm to be used to commit an act of terrorism, faces up to 20 years in prison.

The program under which Tawhedi obtained a U.S. visa was meant to allow Afghans who helped U.S. forces in Afghanistan to relocate to the United States.

U.S. and international forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, leading to an almost immediate takeover of the country by the Taliban.

Amid intensifying pressure on technology platforms, Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor on October 8 announced the official blocking of the Discord messaging platform, citing violations of Russian law.

The announcement was first reported by the state-run TASS news agency, which quoted Roskomnadzor.

According to Roskomnadzor, Discord had been involved in distributing content that violates Russian legislation, with almost 1,000 "illegal materials" found on the platform. The service had already been fined 3.5 million rubles ($36,270) in mid-September for alleged similar violations.

Anton Nemkin, a member of the parliamentary Committee on Information Policy, told another Russian state news agency, RIA Novosti, that this move should be seen as a "signal to other foreign IT companies that [our] patience and willingness to negotiate are running out."

Users of Discord had already begun reporting issues with the platform in September, with both the web version and the app experiencing service disruptions.

Despite these failures, users were still able to access the service via VPNs.

Originally developed for gamers, Discord has become a widely used platform for communities and interest groups. However, its increasing popularity has placed it under the scrutiny of Russian authorities.

On October 1, the Federal Security Service (FSB) reported the arrest of 39 individuals described as "pro-Ukrainian radicals" who allegedly used Discord to incite violence among teenagers.

The move to block Discord comes amid a broader trend of the Russian government intensifying its control over technology platforms as part of its efforts to control online information flows and enforce laws on content it does not want to be accessed by the public.

The pattern of blocking and fines imposed on other tech platforms in Russia in recent years, such as Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, and others has shown that any service that refuses to comply with the Russian government's demands for data access, information control, or censorship is at risk of being targeted.

With reporting by RIA Novosti and TASS

Belarusian authorities have impounded the home of Alyaksei Dzikavitski, the acting director of Belsat TV, an independent Belarusian news channel based in Poland.

The house, located in the Pinsk district in western Belarus, was built nearly a century ago by Dzikavitski's grandfather, a survivor of the Soviet Gulag.

The property seizure marks yet another act of repression under the regime of Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has escalated pressure on opposition figures and independent media outlets in recent years.

Dzikavitski, who resides in Poland, received an official notification from Belarus's Investigative Committee stating that his family home had been seized.

"Even the Stalinist authorities did not take away the house that my grandfather, labeled an 'enemy of the people,' built before he was sent to the gulag," Dzikavitski said.

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His grandparents once even let the house be used as a school for local children before a formal school was established in the village.

The precise legal grounds for the confiscation remain unclear, but Belsat TV has been labeled an "extremist organization" by Lukashenka’s regime, and the government has a history of targeting individuals associated with the opposition.

A law signed by Lukashenka in January 2023 allows for the confiscation of property from citizens and organizations engaging in so-called unfriendly actions against Belarus.

This law has been used to justify property seizures from prominent opposition figures, including Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Valer Tsapkala, and other dissidents.

The situation around Dzikavitski's home highlights the ongoing repression against media figures and activists in Belarus, as Lukashenka tightens his grip on power.

Meanwhile in Russia, lawmakers in Tatarstan on October 9 approved an initiative to allow authorities to confiscate properties of Russian citizens living abroad for committing administrative offenses.

Tatarstan lawmaker Aleksandr Chubarov said that the offenses include acts such as extremism, abuse of freedom of speech, and discrediting the Russian military.

These offenses, which were specified in the original document, target individuals whose actions, even from abroad, are seen as harmful to Russia’s state interests.

Chubarov said that the proposal had already received support from Russia's federal government and that the new draft incorporates feedback from the federal authorities.

The initiative is expected to be submitted to the Russian parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, for further consideration. The Russian government has previously supported the move, arguing that it would enhance “protection of the interests of society and the state.”

The move aligns with increasing efforts to extend state control and sanctions on Russian citizens living abroad, particularly those critical of government policies.

Cases of the alleged execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) fall under the mandate of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the court is entitled to try such cases, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan has said.

"Each of the provisions of the Rome Statute [the founding treaty of the ICC]...can be applied, they all matter. Our duty is to apply a methodological approach and put together an investigation strategy," Khan told a roundtable in The Hague attended by journalists from Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.

According to the latest data published by the Ukraine's Prosecutor-General's Office, investigators have so far obtained information on the execution of 93 Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian military, 80 percent of which were recorded this year.

The trend, Ukrainian authorities say, began to be observed from November 2023, when "there were changes for the worse" in the attitude of Russian troops toward Ukrainian POWs.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine presented a report in March about the execution of at least 32 Ukrainian POWs in 12 separate cases between December 2023 and February, which was significantly higher than in any other previous period.

In March 2023, the ICC's pretrial chamber issued warrants for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's commissioner for children's rights, charging them with the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia -- a war crime under international legislation.

"The message should be clear, regardless of whether someone is a head of state, government, commander, or soldier. As the UN secretary-general has said, even wars have rules, and no one has the right to execute a civilian or a prisoner of war," Khan said.

ICC Can Try Cases Of Alleged Executions Of Ukrainian POWs, Top Prosecutor Says

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"And if such a person acts with impunity, then it will fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC, because we have jurisdiction over the events in Ukraine," he added.

A high-level meeting of the Ramstein group of Ukraine arms donors has been canceled after U.S. President Joe Biden scrapped a visit to Germany this week due to the impending landfall of Hurricane Milton in Florida, two sources from NATO told RFE/RL on October 9.

The Ramstein group, also known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, was to meet while Biden visited Germany from October 10-13.

The president postponed his trip on October 8 "in order to oversee preparations for and the response to Hurricane Milton, in addition to the ongoing response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast," according to a White House statement.

Forecasters have warned the Category 5 storm, the second massive hurricane to hit Florida in as many weeks, could turn into the worst natural disaster to hit the state in a century.

Milton was centered early on October 9 about 580 kilometers southwest of the city of Tampa, with maximum sustained winds of 260 kph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Milton is expected to make landfall later on October 9 as western Florida still reels from Hurricane Helene, which flooded streets and homes in the area two weeks ago. That storm left at least 230 dead across the southern United States.

U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized the need for a diplomatic arrangement for the return of both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border in a call on October 9 with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said.

Biden also condemned Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on October 1, a White House statement said.

Biden "affirmed Israel’s right to protect its citizens from Hezbollah, which has fired thousands of missiles and rockets into Israel over the past year alone, while emphasizing the need to minimize harm to civilians, in particular in the densely populated areas of Beirut," the statement said.

Biden spoke with Netanyahu earlier about Israel's plans to retaliate against Iran for a missile attack last week, according to statements from both the White House and the Israeli prime minister's office on October 9.

The White House statement said Biden and Netanyahu "agreed to remain in close contact over the coming days both directly and through their national security teams."

The call comes amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, an armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.

The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel's expected response to Iran's largely ineffective missile attack, which Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel's escalation in Lebanon, including the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a video published on Israeli media that Israel's response "will be deadly, precise, and above all surprising."

Biden last week said he would not support Israel striking Iranian nuclear sites as part of its retaliation. He also said that, if he were in Israel's shoes, he would think about alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields.

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Israel has faced calls by the United States and other allies to accept a cease-fire deal in Gaza and Lebanon but has said it will continue its military operations until Israelis are safe.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller warned on October 9 that Israel must avoid conducting military operations in Lebanon like those it has conducted in Gaza.

"I'm making very clear that there should be no kind of military action in Lebanon that looks anything like Gaza and leaves a result anything like Gaza," Miller told journalists.

The White House statement said Biden and Netanyahu discussed the urgent need to renew diplomacy to release the hostages held by Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the EU. Biden also discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the White House said.

Israel’s bombardment of central and northern Gaza in recent days has killed dozens of people and trapped thousands in their homes, Palestinian officials said.

Hezbollah, a group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its party, which has seats in the Lebanese parliament.

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The call between Biden and Netanyahu took place as Israeli forces stepped up their ground offensive against Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon.

On October 9, Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters had used artillery and rockets against Israeli troops near the Lebanese border village of Labbouneh.

In a separate statement, the group said it engaged in combat with Israeli forces as they "attempted to infiltrate the border town of Blida" in southeast Lebanon.

The Israeli Army said early on October 9 that it had intercepted two projectiles fired from Lebanon as air-raid alarms sounded in and around Caesarea, a coastal city south of Haifa.

The latest fighting comes as fears grow of a larger conflict in the region after Israel also claimed that the successor to Nasrallah has likely been "eliminated."

Gallant said on October 8 that Hezbollah was an "organization without a head" and there's no one left to make decisions.

Netanyahu later echoed those comments, saying, "We've degraded Hezbollah's capabilities."

"We took out thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself and Nasrallah's replacement, and the replacement of the replacement," Netanyahu said.

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Hashem Safieddine, a top Hezbollah official and a cousin of Nasrallah, was widely expected to be named to the group's top position, but his whereabouts and condition remain unknown since an October 2 Israeli strike on a suspected Hezbollah leadership meeting.

Hezbollah has not commented on Safieddine's fate, although unidentified members have told various media that the group had lost contact with him since the attack.

Safieddine has been declared a global terrorist by the United States.

The Ukrainian military said on October 9 that its forces destroyed a facility storing hundreds of attack drones in Russia's southern Krasnodar region.

Ukrainian forces attacked a Shahed drone storage base near Oktyabrsky where about 400 attack drones were stored, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military said on Telegram.

After the strike was reported, Ukraine said five people were killed in a Russian ballistic missile strike on Odesa.

The attack on the Russian facility was carried out jointly by naval forces and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) near the settlement of Oktyabrsky, north of the city of Krasnodar, a statement from the General Staff said.

"According to available information, nearly 400 strike drones were stored there," the statement said.

Based on what it said were "objective control results," a direct hit was made on the target and secondary explosions were observed at the site.

The destruction of the Shahed storage base “will significantly reduce the ability of the Russian occupiers to terrorize peaceful residents of Ukrainian cities and villages," the General Staff said.

There have been no reports on the attack in Russian media.

Ukraine's deputy prime minister for the reconstruction of the country, Oleksiy Kuleba, said on Telegram that the deadly strike on Odesa hit port infrastructure. He said five people, all citizens of Ukraine, were killed and another nine were injured, but regional Governor Oleh Kiper said six people were killed.

According to Kuleba, a Panamanian-flagged container ship, the Shui Spirit, was damaged in the attack. He added that five of the nine people injured in the attack were in serious condition.

Earlier on October 9, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian military arsenal in the southwestern Bryansk region.

The strike “inflicted fire damage” on the 67th arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry located in the Bryansk region.

Ammunition for missile and artillery weapons, including some that came from North Korea, as well as guided aerial bombs, were stored on the territory of a warehouse. A significant portion of the weapons were in the open air, the General Staff said.

According to the General Staff, explosions were recorded at the facility and local authorities blocked the road in the area of the arsenal.

Also on October 9, Ukrainian air defense systems shot down 21 out of the 22 drones launched by Russia early in the day at the Odesa, Vinnytsya, and Kyiv regions, the air force said, adding that three Iskander ballistic missiles had been launched at the Poltava region.

Separately, authorities in the Kyiv region said several drones that were heading toward the capital had been downed.

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said its air-defense units destroyed 47 Ukrainian drones targeting its regions.

Some 24 drones were downed over the Bryansk region while the others were shot down over the regions of Belgorod, Kursk, Rostov, and Krasnodar and the Sea of Azov, the ministry said on Telegram.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Mahrang Baloch, a leading rights activist for the ethnic Baluch minority, was prevented from leaving Pakistan to attend a ceremony in the United States, she reported on October 8.

"I was unjustly stopped at Karachi International Airport with no legal or valid given reason, which is a clear violation of my fundamental right to freedom of movement," she wrote on X.

She said the action was intended to "silence Baluch voices from being heard internationally, control the flow of information about the situation in Balochistan, and conceal the decades-long human rights abuses occurring in Balochistan.”

She was set to attend an event in New York after being named in the TIME100 Next 2024 list recognizing her human rights work.

Earlier this year, Baloch helped organize a women's march against alleged unlawful enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killing by the authorities in Balochistan Province.

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Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders, said that she was "very concerned by the blocking of Mahrang Baloch from being permitted to travel to the USA yesterday and the reported harassment, intimidation and mistreatment that followed at the hands of the police."

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province, borders Iran and Afghanistan. Since 2000, numerous armed Baluch ethnonationalist groups have fought against Islamabad.

Baluch political groups, including those seeking greater autonomy through parliamentary politics, accuse Pakistan of engaging in grave rights abuses.

They accuse Islamabad of exploiting their vast natural resources and seeking to control the province by appointing pro-government figures who lack popular support.

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The Baluch people are a majority of their province's estimated 15 million residents but are a relatively small minority in the South Asian country of some 240 million people.

In January, Pakistan's caretaker prime minister at the time, Anwar ul-Haq Kakar, defended the government's action in the province, insisting that Islamabad was fighting separatist groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army, the Baloch Liberation Front, and the Baloch Republican Army.

"These groups have killed between 3,000 to 5,000 people," he said, adding that the security forces kill many of the militants involved in the violence.

"We do acknowledge the right of protest of the relatives of these terrorists," he said. "But we do not acknowledge the right of [those militants] to commit [acts of terror]."

The death count in the devastating floods in Bosnia-Herzegovina has risen to at least 22 while authorities on October 8 warned of additional rains and potential landslides in the coming days. Casualty figures are difficult to determine as crews and residents dig out from the destruction brought by heavy rains and flash floods that started on October 4. Rescue teams from throughout the region are aiding Bosnian crews, with emergency teams from the Serb-led Republika Srpska joining with federal authorities in rescue activities despite political differences. Authorities warned of potential landslides in the capital, Sarajevo, saying flooding along river embankments was putting residents in danger. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Balkan Service, click here.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- who has been assailed by the West for his often Russian-friendly stance -- has suggested that Ukraine cannot win its war with Russia and pressed again for negotiations, even as a Hungarian opposition figure disrupted his news conference at the European Parliament.

"We don't want to block anything. We just want to convince European leaders to change their strategy [regarding Ukraine] because the current strategy does not work," Orban told reporters on October 8.

"If you cannot win on the battlefield -- you have to communicate, you have to negotiate, you have to have a cease-fire."

Orban is in Strasbourg to address the parliament on October 9 to mark Central European country's six-month stint in the rotating EU presidency.

The populist Orban government has maintained ties with Moscow despite Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Orban has opposed aid to Kyiv and also angered the EU with his increasingly authoritarian rule and for his ties to China.

Marton Gyekiczki, an activist and city councilor for Hungary’s opposition Democratic Coalition (DK), interrupted Orban's news conference, tossing a stack of what appeared to be banknotes at the prime minister.

"How much did you sell out the country for? How much have you betrayed the country for, Mr. Prime Minister?” Gyekiczki shouted.

“He sold out to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. He sold out to [Chinese leader] Xi Jinping!”

A video posted online showed Gyekiczki approaching Orban before he was escorted out of the hall.

Shortly before Orban's press conference, the parliament's rapporteur on the situation in Hungary and the rule of law, Tineke Strik of the Netherlands, told reporters "what Orban will not say in his speech tomorrow."

Orban "will present himself as a competent and strong Council [of the EU] presidency, an honest broker even," Strik said "But he will stay silent about the corruption, the total state capture, his 24-hour propaganda machinery, and his authoritarian chokehold on virtual every aspect of Hungarian society."

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Orban also told reporters that U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump -- if elected – would immediately start working on a peace deal for Ukraine, not waiting until his January 20 inauguration, and that EU leaders would need to be prepared.

By law and tradition, newly elected U.S. presidents do not engage in setting government policies prior to taking office.

Orban has long endorsed Trump, who critics say would attempt to force Ukraine into agreeing to terms with Russia that have been unacceptable to Kyiv.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 8 announced an agreement that will see Russian border guards withdraw from the Armenian-Iranian frontier checkpoint as of January 1, 2025.

Under the deal, Armenian border guards will take over full operation of the checkpoint, with Yerevan's troops to also be involved in guarding the border with Turkey along with the existing Russian forces.

For decades, Armenia's frontiers with Turkey and Iran have been guarded solely by Russian troops.

This development signals a shift in Armenia's security arrangements, as agreed to in May, when the two leaders decided that Russian forces would withdraw from certain regions of Armenia, though they would remain deployed along Armenia's borders with Iran and Turkey.

It comes as Yerevan increasingly distances itself from its longtime ally following dissatisfaction with the role of Russian peacekeepers in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Armenian authorities have criticized Russia for failing to prevent Azerbaijan's rapid offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, which ultimately resulted in Azerbaijan regaining control over the region after nearly three decades of ethnic Armenian rule.

Following Azerbaijan's military success, the ethnic Armenian separatist government in Nagorno-Karabakh dissolved, leading to further discussions between Yerevan and Baku to establish a lasting peace.

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Pashinian announced at the Commonwealth of Independent States summit in Moscow on October 8 that Armenia was prepared to sign a draft peace agreement with Azerbaijan by the end of the month.

The proposed agreement includes mutual recognition of territorial integrity, a commitment to refrain from territorial claims, respect for noninterference, and the establishment of diplomatic relations, marking a potential resolution to the long-standing conflict between the bitter rivals.

Experts say this would represent a major step toward stabilizing the region after years of tensions.

With reporting by Reuters, TASS, and Interfax

Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court on October 8 changed the five-year prison term handed to vocal government critic and journalist Oljobai Shakir (aka Egemberdiev) with three years of parole-like probation. Shakir, who was sentenced in May on a charge of making online calls for mass unrest, was immediately released from a detention center in Bishkek. Shakir was arrested in August 2023 after he criticized the government's decision to hand four spa centers near Lake Issyk-Kul to Uzbekistan and called on President Sadyr Japarov and State Committee of National Security chief Kamchybek Tashiev to participate in public debates with him. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.

Pakistan's police on October 8 charged the country's imprisoned former prime minister, Imran Khan, with attempted murder over the death of a policeman during violent protests last weekend by his supporters. Khan, who has been behind bars since 2023, is accused of inciting people to violence, the police said. The police argued that Khan -- who had urged his followers to rally on his behalf and demand his release from prison -- had incited his supporters, leading to the killing of officer Abdul Hameed. According to the police, Hameed was injured in clashes between Khan's supporters and police in Islamabad and died in a hospital. Khan has so far been embroiled in over 150 cases and has been sentenced to prison in several of them.

Ilya Yashin, a Russian opposition figure who was exchanged in a historic prisoner swap between Russia and the West in August, says Russia needs a new federal treaty that allows for regions to secede from the federation. Speaking to RFE/RL in Warsaw, Yashin looked to clarify previous public statements regarding non-ethnic-Russian regions within the Russian Federation that sparked an outcry among Russian activists abroad, as well as his vision of governance if he were to come to power. "We need a new federal treaty, written from scratch," Yashin said, adding that such a treaty "must include mechanisms for secession." He also pointed out that current Russian law lacks such provisions, but emphasized that if he and his team gained power, they would ensure that these mechanisms were part of a new federal agreement. Yashin’s political journey has been tumultuous. He was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison in December 2022 for expressing his thoughts on the Russian Army’s alleged atrocities against civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha in 2022. In August, after the prisoner swap, he was sent to Germany. Yashin's controversial statement in September regarding the possible consequences of Russia's collapse sparked furious backlash, particularly from regionalists and national liberation movements and activists, most of whom are currently outside of Russia. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.

Authorities in Turkmenistan, an authoritarian state known for its tight control over citizens, have begun confiscating the passports of individuals trying to leave the country if they have outstanding bank loans.

The move is seen as a major blow to many who are migrant workers heading abroad to earn badly needed cash to send home.

RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service reports that authorities are stopping travelers en route to Russia and Turkey for work when they arrive at the airport, even if they hold valid visas.

The travelers said they were told by migration officials that their documents would only be returned once their loans, usually ranging from around $5,700 to $8,500, are repaid.

Officials were not available for immediate comment.

The move is part of an expanding system of travel restrictions in Turkmenistan and hits migrant workers hard, because many take out loans to pay for their travel to a destination where they can earn far more than at home.

Since August 2023, citizens wanting to travel abroad have been forced to provide a letter of guarantee from a government-employed relative confirming they will return and are not in debt.

The regime’s growing repression under President Serdar Berdymukhammedov has further isolated workers and highlights the state’s authoritarian control over personal freedoms.

To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service, click here.