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- By RFE/RL
EU Commissioner Says Georgian PM’s Reference To 'Threat' Was Taken Out of Context
TBILISI -- Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said he was warned by a European commissioner that if his government goes ahead with a controversial "foreign agent" law, he should be "very careful" in light of the recent assassination attempt of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, but an EU commissioner said his comments were taken out of context.
The Georgian prime minister alleged in a statement on May 23 that the commissioner "listed a number of measures that Western politicians might take" if the parliament overrides the president's veto of the law in a vote expected next week."
According to Kobakhidze, "While listing these measures, [the commissioner] mentioned, 'You've seen what happened to Fico and you should be very careful."
Fico was shot four times while greeting citizens last week in the central Slovakian town of Handlova. He is recuperating, and his condition was described on May 20 as stable.
Kobakhidze did not name the commissioner, but EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi subsequently issued a statement saying that he had spoken with the prime minister by phone and part of the conversation had been “taken out of context.”
He said that he told Kobakhidze that adopting the law "could lead to further polarization and to possible uncontrolled situations on the streets of Tbilisi."
"In this regard, the latest tragic event in Slovakia was made as an example and as a reference to where such a high level of polarization can lead in a society even in Europe," the enlargement commissioner said.
“Once again, I regret that one part of my phone call was not just fully taken out of context but was also presented to the public in a way which could give rise to a complete misinterpretation of the originally intended aim of my phone call,” he said.
He emphasized that he was still urging the Georgian authorities not to adopt the law and that he continues "to support Georgians working toward a European future."
Over the past few weeks, tens of thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets to protest the "foreign agent" law, amid fears it could be used to restrict civil society and free media. Under the proposed law, media outlets and NGOs that get more than 20 percent of their money from outside the country would have to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power."
The United States, the European Union, and rights watchdogs have all condemned the law and criticized the often violent crackdown by the authorities.
In his statement accusing the commissioner of threatening him, the Georgian prime minister said that "several high-ranking foreign politicians are not hesitating to use open blackmail against the Georgian people and their elected government."
In recent weeks, the EU and the United States have linked their relations with Georgia to the passing of the law.
In a May 15 statement, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Varhelyi said that "the adoption of this law negatively impacts Georgia's progress on the EU path."
A bill that expected to be unveiled this week by U.S. lawmakers is aimed at convincing Georgia's government to repeal the contentious law. Under the proposed Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia's Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence (MEGOBARI) Act, the United States would give Georgia more economic aid, lower trade barriers, and grant more access to U.S. visas if the law were to be repealed.
But if the "foreign agent" bill becomes law, the MEGOBARI Act would require the U.S. administration to impose sanctions on Georgian officials responsible for the legislation.
In his statement Kobakhidze said he felt obliged to inform Georgians about the “threat” and said the parallel drawn with the attempted assassination of Fico “reminds us that the Global War Party is an extremely dangerous force willing to do anything to bring chaos to Georgia."
In recent weeks, Georgian Dream leaders have ramped up their populist and conspiratorial rhetoric with increasing mention of the "global war party." Although it is not clear what or whom they are referring to, they have said the mysterious party is responsible for many of the country's ills.
British Police Charge Man With National Security Offenses Linked To Russia
British police have charged a 64-year-old man with suspected offenses under the National Security Act (NSA) following a counterterrorism investigation. A police statement on May 23 identified the suspect as Howard Michael Phillips and said the charge related to Russia. Phillips was arrested in central London and charged with violating a section of the NSA that relates to assisting a foreign intelligence service. The case was not connected to any other recent charges or investigations linked to NSA offences, police said. To read the original story on RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
UN Approves Srebrenica Genocide Resolution, As Some Serbs Remain Defiant
The UN has approved a resolution to commemorate the 1995 Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina annually, over strong opposition from Serbs.
The vote on May 23 in the 193-member UN General Assembly was 84-19, with 68 abstentions.
The resolution designates July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica, thus establishing an annual day of commemoration for the massacre of more than 8,000 local Bosnian Muslim men and boys almost 30 years ago.
The resolution had sparked protests and a lobbying campaign by Serbia's president and the Bosnian Serb leadership to block the adoption of the resolution, which was sponsored by Germany and Rwanda with 32 co-sponsors, including the United States, France, Britain, and Italy.
The nonbinding resolution condemns "without reservation any denial of the Srebrenica genocide as a historical event." It also "condemns without reservation actions that glorify those convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide by international courts, including those responsible for the Srebrenica genocide."
"Our initiative is about honoring the memory of the victims and supporting the survivors who continue to live with the scars of that fateful time," said German Ambassador to the UN Antje Leendertse.
Leendertse had noted earlier that there is an official official UN commemoration of the 1994 Rwanda genocide every year on April 7, and the Srebrenica resolution aims to do the same for Bosnia ahead of the 30th anniversary of the start of the genocide in 2025.
The July 1995 massacre, which was carried out by Bosnian Serb forces, has been ruled an act of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). So far, more than 50 individuals have been sentenced to some 700 years in prison for their roles in the massacre.
Radovan Karadzic, the first president (1992-1995) of Republika Srpska, one of the two entities that make up Bosnia-Herzegovina, was sentenced to life in prison by the ICTY for the Srebrenica genocide and crimes against humanity. Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serbs' military commander, was also sentenced to life by the same court for the part he played in the genocide
'We Are Not A Genocidal Nation'
Ahead of the General Assembly vote, the government of Republika Srpska planned to hold a special session in Srebrenica amid heightened security measures. Ethnic Serbs make up around 80 percent of the population of Republika Srpska.
About a dozen police vans and a police transporter were parked outside Srebrenica's local police station. A billboard leading into the town reads: "We are not a genocidal nation," a slogan that has become popular among Serb nationalists. The same poster featured prominently on a billboard in Belgrade as well.
Srebrenica's local government has welcomed the delegation, which includes Republika Srpska's pro-Russian president, Milorad Dodik, and urged residents to raise the entity's flag "as a sign of opposition" to the UN resolution. Dodik is under U.S. and U.K. sanctions for his alleged obstruction of the Dayton agreement and violating the legitimacy of Bosnia.
Dodik later repeated his threat that Republika Srpska would secede if the resolution was passed. He has repeatedly threatened secession.
Serbia's nationalist president, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Republika Srpska leadership vehemently opposed the adoption of the resolution, saying it brands Serbia as a "genocidal nation."
He also warned that if a day of remembrance for the genocide was created it would "open old wounds and that will create complete political havoc."
Vucic said the resolution should be subjected to a vote in the UN Security Council, not the General Assembly. Resolutions put to a vote in the Security Council can be vetoed by any of its five members.
Addressing the UN General Assembly ahead of the May 23 vote, Vucic asked, “Why is the resolution being adopted if we are talking about individual legal responsibility?”
Leendertse said the resolution was not directed against Serbia. She added that Montenegro's amendments that the crime of genocide is individualized and cannot be attributed to any specific group were included in the resolution to offset concern from Serbia.
Except for Serbia, all of the former Yugoslav republics voted for the resolution, while several EU nations, including Greece, Cyprus, and Slovakia, abstained.
On May 22, Vucic met with Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya in New York, saying afterward on Instagram that he had "asked the friendly Russian Federation to, this time, stand in defense of the pride and dignity of the Serbian people."
In 2015, Russia vetoed the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution on the Srebrenica genocide, which was proposed by the United Kingdom and supported by the United States and European Union countries.
Russia on May 23 rejected the UN General Assembly resolution, with Nebenzya predicting afterward that it would push Bosnia “towards confrontation,” according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
As expected, China also voted no. Fu Cong, China’s ambassador to the UN, said the resolution “does not serve reconciliation within Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also the countries of the region that want peace and stability in the Western Balkans.”
The families of victims of the genocide welcomed the result.
Nura Begovic of the Srebrenica Women's Association lost her brother and 18 family members in the Srebrenica genocide.
She and other families of the victims gathered to watch the UN proceedings at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center, where more than 6,700 of the estimated 8,000 victims have been buried.
Reacting to the vote, Begovic said she was grateful that some satisfaction had been given to survivors but expressed disappointment with Vuvic's speech at the UN General Assembly.
As expected, China also voted no. Fu Cong, China’s ambassador to the UN, said the resolution “does not serve reconciliation within Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also the countries of the region that want peace and stability in the Western Balkans.”
The families of victims of the genocide welcomed the result.
Nura Begovic of the Srebrenica Women's Association lost her brother and 18 family members in the Srebrenica genocide.
She and other families of the victims gathered to watch the UN proceedings at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center in Potocari, where more than 6,700 of the estimated 8,000 victims have been buried.
Reacting to the vote, Begovic said she was grateful that some satisfaction had been given to survivors but expressed disappointment with Vucc's speech at the UN General Assembly.
Kurt Bassuener, co-founder and senior associate of the Democratization Policy Council, a Berlin-based think tank, has said that Serbia should pay a price for lobbying against the resolution but doubted the West would take any punitive steps.
"I'm just not sure that there will be any, because the West's policy toward Serbia was very lenient, specifically towards Vucic, and he is taking full advantage of that. If he had expected serious consequences, he might not have done what he is doing," Bassuener told RFE/RL's Balkan Service.
James Ker-Lindsay, a professor at the London School of Economics and an expert on the Western Balkans, said the tragedy of Srebrenica was being politicized. "Everyone is using this policy to score their own political points, instead of acknowledging that this is a truly horrific event that has been classified as genocide," Kerr-Lindsay told RFE/RL.
According to Ker-Lindsay, Serbia needs to do more to tell Western countries, "Look, we accept what happened, and we can show it because that's what we teach our children in school now."
Natasa Kandic of the Belgrade-based Fund for Humanitarian Law argued that Serbia's denial that genocide occurred at Srebrenica has fueled nationalism and extremism in the country.
Kandic said Serbia's opposition to the UN resolution is putting it on the wrong side of history.
"After World War II, nothing this terrible has ever happened. It must be acknowledged, and this memorial day for the victims of genocide is the least that can be done," Kandic told RFE/RL's Balkan Service.
- By Current Time
Putin Signs Decree Allowing For Use Of U.S. Assets To Compensate For Russian Property Seized By Washington
In an apparent reciprocal move, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on May 23 allowing the use of assets, valuable papers, and property belonging to the United States or to U.S. citizens in Russia to compensate for damages caused by the confiscation of assets and property belonging to Russian tycoons and the Russian central bank in the United States. Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act, which allows Washington to seize about $5 billion in Russian state assets located in the United States. The legislation was included in the U.S. aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.
- By Reuters
Russia Says Main Power Line To Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant Goes Down
Russia said on May 23 that the main power line supplying the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine had gone down, but that there was no threat to safety and the plant was being supplied by a backup line. The six reactors at the Zaporizhzhya plant, held by Russia and located close to the front line of the conflict in Ukraine, are not in operation but the facility relies on external power to keep its nuclear material cool. The plant's Russian management said on Telegram that the reasons for the outage, which had not caused any change in the radiation level, were being investigated.
Belarusian Police Search Home Of Parents Of Athlete Who Defected To Poland
Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who defected to Poland after coaches attempted to force her to return home during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, said on May 23 that police in Belarus searched her parents' home. Tsimanouskaya condemned the search, calling it "retaliation for my actions and decisions" and called on the Belarusian police to leave her parents alone. Tsimanouskaya, who now competes for Poland, told Belarusian authorities to come "to my new home for searches and talks." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.
- By RFE/RL
Kremlin Denies Contact With Trump After Claim About Journalist's Release
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, expected to be the Republican candidate in November's presidential election, claimed Russian leader Vladimir Putin would release detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich "almost immediately" after the vote if Trump wins. In a social media post, Trump gave no details on how he would facilitate Gershkovich's release, saying only that Putin would "do that for me." After the post, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Trump and Putin have had no contact and that "complete silence" is needed "to achieve results" in any prisoner swap talks. Gershkovich has been held in detention since March last year on spying charges both he and the newspaper vehemently deny, saying the 32-year-old was merely doing his job as an accredited reporter when he was arrested.
Kyrgyz Activist On Trial Says He Was Tortured While In Detention
Kyrgyz activist Askat Jetigen, who is on trial on a charge of calling for mass unrest which he rejects as politically motivated, said in a courtroom on May 23 that police tortured him with an electric shocker for one hour after his arrest on March 20. The chief of the State Center To Prevent Torture, Bakyt Rysbekov, confirmed that his entity is investigating a claim filed by Jetigen with the agency in early April. Jetigen, who is known for his criticism of Kyrgyzstan's government, was arrested days after his last video criticizing reforms by the Culture Ministry was posted online. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.
Airports, Industrial Facilities Closed In Tatarstan Over Drone Attack
Authorities in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan on May 23 suspended operations at several industrial facilities and airports in Kazan, the capital, and Nizhnekamsk "for security reasons" over "possible drone attacks." Last week, the two airports were shut for several hours after authorities said "a Ukrainian drone" was shot down over Tatarstan on May 15. Last month, drones hit an oil refinery in Tatarstan and a dormitory in the Alabuga special economic zone in Nizhnekamsk that hosts more than 20 industrial enterprises, including chemical, mechanical engineering, and metal treatment factories. It also reportedly houses a facility producing drones. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.
Detained Kazakh Activist Charged With Illegal Drug Distribution
Kazakh opposition activist Aidar Syzdyqov, who was detained last week, has been charged with "selling illegal drugs," his lawyer said on May 23. Meiirzhan Dosqaraev added that the charge is politically motivated. He said the charges against his client were based on a statement by a person who claims he had put money on Syzdyqov's debit card for drugs he allegedly received from him. Meanwhile, Dosqaraev said, all of his client's payment cards had been blocked after a court in Astana handed Syzdyqov a parole-like three-year sentence in 2021 over links with the banned opposition Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan movement. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
U.S. Pushes Back On British Claim That China Sending Lethal Aid To Russia
In a split with Britain, U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan said he had not seen evidence that China was directly sending lethal military assistance to Russia for its war against Ukraine.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said on May 22 that there was evidence that “lethal aid is now, or will be, flowing from China to Russia and into Ukraine.”
That claim, however, was contradicted by Sullivan hours later when he seemed to take issue with Shapps’ comments, saying that Washington did not share the assessment.
“We have not seen that to date. I look forward to speaking with the U.K. to make sure that we have a common operating picture,” Sullivan told reporters.
Shapp’s accusation, which was provided without evidence or details, made headlines when it appeared to indicate that Beijing had stepped up its level of support for Moscow by sending weapons, ammunition, and other lethal aid to Russia.
“Today I can reveal that we have evidence that Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine,” Shapps said during his speech at the London Defense Conference.
“This is new intelligence which leads me to be able to declassify and reveal this fact today. I think it’s quite significant,” he added.
But Sullivan’s comments show that this assessment is not shared by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.
The U.S. national-security adviser said the possibility that China might “provide weapons directly – lethal assistance – to Russia” had been a concern earlier but said that it had not taken place.
Washington, Sullivan added, did have a “concern about what China’s doing to fuel Russia’s war machine, not giving weapons directly, but providing inputs to Russia’s defense industrial base.”
The United States has previously accused China of helping Russia with technology and sending militarily useful but nonlethal dual-use goods that have helped Russian forces on the battlefield, but stopped short of saying that Beijing was directly supplying arms.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Beijing in mid-May, where the two leaders put on a strong show of unity.
China has supported Russia economically through trade and purchasing oil and gas, and senior U.S. officials have said Beijing’s supply of dual-use goods has had a decisive impact in helping Moscow on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Independent analyses of Chinese customs data and a U.S. intelligence assessment show that in 2023 some 90 percent of “high-priority” dual-use goods used in Russian weapons production were imported from China.
Beijing has previously denied providing actual weapons and ammunition for Russia's war effort.
The Chinese Embassy in London told Reuters that Shapps’ comments were “totally groundless” and accused Britain of spreading “baseless accusations.”
With reporting from AP and Reuters
Investigative Group Confirms Russian Missile Carrier Ship Sank In Crimea
The investigative group Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) confirmed on May 23 that a Ukrainian missile attack four days earlier on the port of Sevastopol hit a Cyclone missile carrier ship belonging to Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
CIT said that, after reviewing photographs of a sunken ship showing a mast sticking out of the water, it concluded that the vessel was the Cyclone missile carrier. The Karakurt-class corvette joined the fleet six months earlier.
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Russia has not confirmed the loss of the vessel and no information has been made public about possible casualties among the ship's crew.
British intelligence said that the Russian ship was "almost certainly" sunk by a Ukrainian strike on Sevastopol in occupied Crimea on May 19.
The attack likely involved a combination of drones and ATACMS missiles, British intelligence said. The Cyclone missile carrier was one of four Russian vessels of the Karakurt class. It was armed with Kalibr cruise missiles, which have been used against Ukraine.
Two of the Karakurt-class vessels were likely diverted to the Caspian Sea to safely complete sea trials following a series of successful Ukrainian attacks, British intelligence said. The fourth vessel was previously seriously damaged in a Ukrainian strike in November 2023.
British intelligence noted that, while it is unlikely to significantly change the impact the Russian Navy is having on Ukrainian operations, the strike "does highlight a continued danger to Russian forces operating in the Crimea and the Black Sea region and continued Ukrainian success when conducting coordinated strikes."
The CIT also referred to a minesweeper called the Kovrovets, which it said was not visible in the port as of May 21. The Ukrainian military reported on May 19 that the ship was destroyed in its attack on Sevastopol. The Ukrainian Navy did not give additional details.
According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russia has lost 26 ships and boats and one submarine since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow does not comment on the losses.
The Ukrainian Navy claims that Russia almost never sends its ships to the Black Sea in light of the damage and destruction that Ukrainian forces have inflicted.
Russian Teen Gets 13 Years In Prison For Distributing Leaflets
A court in Siberia on May 23 sentenced a teenager to 13 years in prison for distributing leaflets containing the symbol for the Free Russia Legion, which is fighting alongside Ukrainian armed forces against Russian troops. A military court in Novosibirsk sentenced Vladimir Belkovich, 19, after finding him guilty of treason, attempting to participate in a terrorist group's activities, and inducing an individual to commit terrorism. Belkovich was initially arrested in July last year and handed 15 days in jail for distributing leaflets propagating the Free Russia Legion, which comprises mainly Russian citizens. To read the original story by Siberia.Realities, click here.
Lukashenka Appoints New Chief Of Armed Forces' General Staff
Belarus's authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka on May 23 appointed Major General Paval Muraveyka to the post of the chief of the Belarusian armed forces' general staff. Muraveyka's predecessor, Viktar Hulevich, 55, was relieved of his duties on May 10 for what was officially called "his age." Before the appointment, Muraveyka, 52, served as the First Deputy of the country's Security Council. Muraveyka has been under EU sanctions since December 2023 over Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Belarus has provided logistical assistance to Russia's armed forces to attack Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.
Senior Russian Military Official Held As Kremlin Continues Corruption Sweep
A military court in Moscow has sent to pretrial detention Lieutenant General Vadim Shamarin, who is the latest top military official arrested in what the Kremlin has called its ongoing fight against corruption.
Representatives of the 235th Garrison Military Court told RBK news agency on May 23 that Shamarin, who also leads the armed forces' main directorate for communications, is suspected of accepting a bribe of an "especially large amount."
Also on May 23, several media outlets and news agencies in Russia quoted sources as saying that investigators detained Vladimir Verteletsky, a top official of the Defense Ministry's Department for Handling Armament Orders, on corruption charges. Those reports have yet to be officially confirmed.
"The fight against corruption is a consistent work. It is not a campaign; it is a constant ongoing work," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 23 after news spread of Shamarin's detention.
President Vladimir Putin recently relieved his close ally, Sergei Shoigu, of his duties as defense minister.
Shoigu had been accused of incompetence and corruption by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who in June last year attempted a mutiny while demanding the dismissal of Shoigu and the military chief of staff, General Valery Gerasimov. Prigozhin was later killed in a plane crash that many believe was retaliation by the Kremlin for the mutiny.
The move to detain Shamarin comes days after the former commander of Russia’s 58th Army, Major General Ivan Popov, was arrested on fraud charges reportedly linked to the alleged embezzlement of 100 million rubles ($1.1 million) allocated for military needs in Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya region.
It also followed the arrest last week of Lieutenant General Yury Kuznetsov, who headed the personnel directorate of Russia's Defense Ministry, in an alleged corruption case.
In late April, police detained Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov on bribe-taking charges and a court later sent him to pretrial detention for at least two months.
Putin replaced Shoigu with former First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, 65, a politician who specializes in economic matters. The move is seen as part of a strategy to make the armed forces more streamlined with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine now in its third year.
On May 20, Putin appointed Oleg Savelyev, the former minister on Crimean affairs, to the post of deputy defense minister.
The 58-year-old Savelyev also served as deputy minister for economic development and as the auditor at the Audit Chamber, a parliamentary group that serves as a financial watchdog.
With reporting by Kommersant, RBK, TASS, and Interfax
Iran Buries President Raisi In His Hometown
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was laid to rest in his home city of Mashhad on May 23 as many thousands of mourners packed the streets ahead of the burial ceremony.
Raisi was buried next to the mausoleum of the eighth Shi’ite Imam Reza, an important Shi’ite site, state broadcaster IRIB reported.
Ceremonies that preceded the burial commenced earlier in the eastern city of Birjand, where thousands of black-clad people marched along the main avenue holding portraits of the president and others killed in a weekend helicopter crash.
Throngs of mourners accompanied Raisi's casket draped in the Iranian flag and placed on a platform truck that also displayed a sign reading, "This is the shrine" before the ceremonies were to move to Mashhad.
Although thousands of people joined the procession, the attendance was lower than on other similar occasions, a likely indication of a deepening rift between the country's Islamic theocracy and ordinary citizens frustrated by the increasing repression of their rights and declining living standards.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who was also killed in the helicopter crash, was buried on May 23 in the Shah Abdul Azim shrine in the city of Rey, just south of Tehran. Ahead of the burial, Iranian officials and foreign diplomats paid their respects to Amir-Abdollahian at a ceremony in Tehran.
A day earlier, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led funeral prayers in Tehran, where thousands attended a funeral procession.
Some reports said Tehran residents received mobile phone messages urging them to attend the funeral procession.
Khamenei presided over the start of the ceremony, where he delivered a traditional "death prayer" for Raisi and then left the ceremony without giving a speech. Iran's acting president, First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, was also in attendance.
Several foreign dignitaries attended, including Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, and a delegation from Afghanistan's Taliban rulers led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqqi.
No Western leaders attended. Three former Iranian presidents -- Mohammad Khatami, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, and Hassan Rohani -- were also not seen among dignitaries in attendance.
A presidential election to determine Raisi's successor was announced for June 28. The election is to be organized by a council consisting of the speaker of parliament, the head of the judiciary, and the first vice president.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri Kani was appointed acting foreign minister.
Analyst Mehdi Khalaji, from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that no matter who will become the next president, Iran's future leadership will not be endured by one person, but the regime will try to form a "special joint leadership stock company."
The ceremonies marking the deaths of those involved in the crash started on May 21 in the city of Tabriz, the capital of Iran's northwestern province of East Azerbaijan where the crash occurred, and the Shi'ite clerical center of Qom.
Beyond the official display of public grief, many Iranians who have been victims of acts of repression by Raisi and the Iranian regime or had relatives who suffered from such acts were adamant in voicing their satisfaction at Raisi's death.
A woman who lost 11 relatives, including two daughters, in executions allegedly coordinated by Raisi in 1988 told RFE/RL that she was celebrating his death.
"Truly, I cannot express how limitless my happiness is," Esman Vatanparast said. "When Raisi became president, it was very difficult for us hurting mothers, the survivors of the massacres committed by him."
Raisi was elected president in 2021 and had tightened many restrictions on Iranians through the enforcement of morality laws and a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests spurred by the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code on head scarves.
Thousands of people, including protesters, journalists, lawyers, athletes, and artists have been arrested and at least 500 people have been killed in Iran's brutal crackdown on the protests.
Raisi also pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers while also allowing the country to markedly increase its uranium enrichment program.
The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Raisi's has pushed back nuclear negotiations to improve Iran's cooperation with the agency.
"Now Iran is in a period of mourning and it should be respected, but when this period is over, we want to re-engage with Iran to improve cooperation," Rafael Grossi said on May 22 in Helsinki.
With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters
At Least 8 Killed In 'Extremely Brutal' Russian Strikes On Kharkiv, Donetsk
At least seven people were killed on May 23 in Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv in a wave of Russian strikes that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called "extremely brutal" as he again appealed to allies for more air-defense systems for his embattled country.
Ukraine's State Emergency Service announced the increase in the number of dead and injured on Facebook in a post that included photos of emergency response workers extinguishing a fire and assisting victims.
Oleh Synyehubov, the governor of Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, said on Telegram that Russia launched at least 15 missiles at the city, killing six civilians and wounding another 16, while two more people were still missing after the attack.
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"At this moment, we know about seven dead people, five of them are women, one man, the details of one person are still being established," Synyehubov said on Telegram. "All of them are civilians. All of them are employees of a well-known enterprise that printed magazines, newspapers, and other printing," he said, adding that about 50 people were working at the time of the strike.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said separately that one missile struck a printing press, triggering a large-scale fire.
Russian forces launched a surprise offensive on the Kharkiv region on May 10, shelling border settlements and attempting to capture Vovchansk, a small town just 5 kilometers from the Russian border.
More than 9,000 people have been evacuated from the area, although outgunned and outmanned Ukrainian forces have managed to keep the Russians at bay so far.
Kharkiv, a city of more than 1.4 million before the war, located at some 35 kilometers from the border, has been increasingly subjected to missile and drone attacks as Ukraine's lack of enough modern air-defense systems and ammunition became more evident by the day.
"An extremely brutal Russian attack on Kharkiv and [the nearby town of] Lyubotyn. According to preliminary data, Russia launched 15 missiles at once," Zelenskiy wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
"Russian terrorists are taking advantage of Ukraine's lack of sufficient air-defense protection and reliable capability to destroy terrorist launchers at their exact locations, which are close to our borders," Zelenskiy said.
"I am grateful to everyone who is helping us. But we need more determination, especially from world leaders," he said.
Separately, Donetsk regional Governor Vadym Filashkin said on May 23 that one person was killed and 26 others were wounded in Russian shelling of the town of Toretsk.
Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its air-defense systems repelled a large Ukrainian rocket and drone attack targeting Belgorod region on May 23.
"The air-defense systems on duty destroyed three Vilkha MLRS rockets, 32 Vampire MLRS rockets, and three UAVs over the territory of the Belgorod region," the ministry said in a message on Telegram.
Belgorod Governor Cyacheslav Gladkov said in a separate message that there were no casualties from the attack, but two children's camps were damaged by falling debris.
The claims could not be independently verified immediately. Ukraine has not commented.
In a separate development, the Conflict Intelligence Team investigation group said it had confirmation that the small Russian small missile corvette Tsiklon (Cyclone) was sunk following a Ukrainian attack on Sevastopol on the night of May 19. The Black Sea Fleet received this ship in the summer of last year.
- By RFE/RL
Norway Slaps Further Restrictions On Russian Visitors
Norway has announced further restrictions for the entry of Russian citizens in the Nordic country in reaction to Moscow's ongoing war in Ukraine. Oslo first introduced restrictions on visas for Russian visitors in the spring of 2022, after the start of Russia's unprovoked full-scale invasion. Under the new restrictions, police can refuse the entry of certain Russian citizens, the Justice Ministry said in a statement. "The decision...is in line with the Norwegian approach of standing by allies and partners in the reactions against Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine," it said. The new rules take effect on May 29.
- By RFE/RL
UN General Assembly To Vote On Resolution To Commemorate Srebrenica Genocide
The UN General Assembly has scheduled a debate on a UN resolution to establish an annual day to commemorate the 1995 genocide of more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims by Bosnian Serbs on May 23 to be followed by a vote.
The resolution would designate July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.
The resolution has sparked protests and a lobbying campaign by Serbia’s president and the Bosnian Serb leadership to block its adoption by the 193-member General Assembly. Approval requires a majority of those countries that take part in the vote.
The draft resolution condemns “without reservation any denial of the Srebrenica genocide as a historical event.” It also “condemns without reservation actions that glorify those convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by international courts, including those responsible for the Srebrenica genocide.”
Sponsored by Germany and Rwanda, the resolution also asks the United Nations to prepare an outreach program and invites countries, organizations, civil society organizations, and others to observe July 11 with “appropriate education and public awareness-raising activities" in memory and honor of the victims.
The killings began near the end of the 1992-95 Bosnian War, which broke out after the breakup of Yugoslavia and pitted Bosnian Serbs against the country’s two other main ethnic populations, Croats and Muslim Bosniaks.
On July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serbs overran a UN-protected safe area in Srebrenica and began targeting Bosniak men and boys. Those who tried to escape were chased through the woods and over the mountains around the town.
The International Court of Justice, the UN’s highest tribunal, determined in 2007 that the acts committed in Srebrenica constituted genocide, and the court’s determination is included in the draft resolution.
Germany’s UN Ambassador Antje Leendertse said the resolution “has the support of a large cross-regional group. She noted in a statement to the Associated Press last week that there is an official UN commemoration of the 1994 Rwanda genocide every year on April 7, and the Srebrenica resolution aims to do the same for Bosnia before the 30th anniversary of the start of the genocide in 2025.
Serbia’s nationalist president, Aleksandar Vucic, and the leadership of the Bosnian Serb entity, Republika Srpska, have vehemently opposed the adoption of the resolution, saying it brands Serbia as a “genocidal nation.”
Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Duric told the UN Security Council on April 30 that Serbia has consistently condemned the “horrific” Srebrenica massacre and other crimes committed during the Bosnian War. Duric called for the resolution to be withdrawn and replaced by one that honors all victims of the war.
Vucic said the resolution should be subjected to a vote in the UN Security Council, not the General Assembly. Those put to a vote in the Security Council can be vetoed by any of its five members, therefore allowing Russia and China to sink it.
Russia’s envoy to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, dismissed the resolution as “one-sided” and “politically charged” in his comments to the Security Council on April 30. Nebenzya said the move would not promote reconciliation among the peoples of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Milorad Dodik, Republika Srpska's Russia-friendly leader, has repeatedly threatened that if the resolution is adopted, the entity "will withdraw from the decision-making process in Bosnia."
Dodik, who has regularly reiterated his denial of the Srebrenica genocide, told supporters at a rally in Banja Luka last month that the actions of the Republika Srpska Army in Srebrenica in 1995 were "a mistake that left the crime," but he denied it was genocide.
With reporting by AP
Turkey Claims Its Drone Was Instrumental In Finding Wreckage Of Iranian Helicopter
Turkey says its Akinci drone deserves more credit for helping to locate the wreckage of the Iranian helicopter that crashed in a remote and mountainous area of Iran on May 19, killing President Ebrahim Raisi and other top Iranian officials, according to Turkish media reports on May 22.
The reports say that the Akinci drone was first to find the site of the wreckage and accused Iran of changing its narrative about the use of the Turkish equipment after it provided information about the location of the wreckage and then made counterclaims that its own drone found the site.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this week that the Akinci drone was sent at the request of the Iranian government.
According to Erdogan, despite the bad weather conditions the drone was able to conduct search operations in the region for seven and a half hours and fly a total of 2,100 kilometers.
After the Turkish drone identified the helicopter wreckage and detected heat sources believed to be the crash site in Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province, the Iranian search team successfully located the downed helicopter and the bodies of Raisi and the others in the mountainous terrain, according to Turkish media reports.
However, Iran rejected the notion that there was foreign participation in the search operation despite data from the Turkish drone that revealed the coordinates of the crash, and confirmation of this data by some Iranian news agencies.
After the Akinci drone captured images of the wreckage using its night vision and thermal camera and released them on the Internet, Pirhossein Kolivand, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, called foreign participation in the search a rumor.
“We did not stop the search in the dark, fog, and rain, and when we discovered the wreckage of the helicopter with our own drone, we moved to the exact place where the helicopter fell," Kolivand said.
He claimed that rescuers from the Red Crescent found the wreckage at an altitude of 2,500 meters and "it took 40 minutes from the time of finding the wreckage of the helicopter to reaching the accident site.”
But during the overnight search, the Red Crescent said in a statement at around 4 a.m. local time on May 20 that after the Turkish drone identified two potential “hot spots” the Red Crescent rescue teams headed toward the sites.
The head of the East Azerbaijan Red Crescent also cited the Turkish drone report that a “burning spot” had been detected and said rescue forces were sent to that area.
The head of Turkey, Asia, and Indo-Pacific studies at the Institute for International Relations and Strategic Research (ULISA) said in an opinion piece published by the state news agency Anadolu that the drone’s role in finding the wreckage site demonstrated the need to recognize Turkey’s commitment to fulfilling its humanitarian responsibilities through its defense capacity.
Professor M. Nazmul Islam said that, after Iran accepted Turkey’s offer to send the drone, the Akinci took off from a Turkish base at around 11:30 p.m. local time and began searching nearly an hour later. Turkey claims that it transmitted the image of the wreckage of the helicopter at 3:06 a.m. Iranian time and shared the coordinates with the Iranian authorities.
But according to Iranian media accounts, an Iranian drone belonging to the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps found the remains of the helicopter at around 5:30 a.m. local time.
A statement issued by Iran's military said that, despite Turkey sending a drone equipped with night vision and thermal cameras, it "failed to accurately locate the crash site due to its lack of detection equipment and control points below the cloud," referring to the adverse weather conditions.
Iran Radio reported that it was “five o'clock in the morning when the correct coordinates were finally found with Iranian equipment and Iranian relief forces.”
Iran, whose military has its own drone program, was not able to deploy its drones because they were located in the northern part of the Indian Ocean at the time, the Iranian military said. Western powers have accused Iran of providing drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
With reporting by Anadolu and Reuters
Bulgarian Prosecutor Seeks Closure Of 2 Pro-Russian Paramilitary Groups
Two pro-Russian paramilitary organizations operating in Bulgaria should be closed because their activities violate the constitution, a district prosecutor’s office said on May 22.
The request to shut down BNO Shipka and the Vasil Levski Military Union was submitted to the district court in Varna by the local prosecutor’s office. The court is expected to schedule a hearing to consider the request.
The two paramilitary organizations are connected to one another and known for their pro-Russian rhetoric. They have been conducting combat training for years and oppose Bulgaria’s Euro-Atlantic affiliations, including its membership in the European Union and in NATO.
The request comes a year and a half after the state prosecutor’s office announced that it was investigating BNO Shipka for sedition.
Investigators found that the two paramilitary organizations violated the constitution’s prohibition of actions “against the sovereignty [and] territorial integrity of the country and the unity of the nation” and its prohibition of inciting hatred and creating "secret or paramilitary structures."
The Varna district prosecutor's office said members of both groups had made organized visits to the border with Turkey aimed at "catching illegal migrants."
In addition, the leaders of the two associations have maintained contacts with representatives of German political factions, including people known for their far-right beliefs, the investigators said.
The groups describe their activities as patriotic.
The leader and spokesman for the organizations, a man who introduces himself as Vladimir Rusev, has spread conspiracy theories against NATO and the European Union on social media for years. Rusev, who has gained fame in the past with the nickname Walter Kalashnikov, opposes COVID-19 vaccination, linking it to disinformation that circulated on social media during the pandemic.
Questions about the organizations were raised last year by investigative journalist Hristo Grozev, who reported that they were linked to a 2016 attempt by Russia to destabilize Bulgaria using a model deployed in Montenegro the same year.
Grozev’s investigation looked into a protest in Sofia in April 2016 organized by BNO Shipka and the Vasil Levski Military Union in front of the National Assembly. Many of the activists of the paramilitary organizations were preemptively detained before the protest.
A few months later members of the organizations beat protesters who demonstrated against the visit of the pro-Russian biker Night Wolves club to the Black Sea port city of Burgas. The Burgas district court in April 2019 convicted three people in the case.
Custody Extended For Russian Teen Jailed For Posting Ukrainian Poet
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- A court in St. Petersburg has extended pretrial detention by another two months for an 18-year-old activist who is charged with repeatedly discrediting Russian armed forces involved in Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The Petrograd district court ruled on May 22 that Darya Kozyreva must stay in pretrial detention at least until July 25.
Kozyreva was detained on February 24, the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, after she glued a poster on a monument to prominent Ukrainian writer, poet, and thinker Taras Shevchenko with an excerpt of a well-known poem from his book, My Testament:
Oh bury me, then rise ye up
And break your heavy chains
And water with the tyrants' blood
The freedom you have gained.
The poster was so strongly glued to the monument that police were unable to remove it and had to cover it with a black plastic bag.
Kozyreva was initially charged with vandalism in January last year after she left a comment in December 2022 on an art installation symbolizing "friendship" between St. Petersburg and Ukraine's city of Mariupol, which was destroyed by Russian bombs at the start of the invasion.
An investigation into that case is still under way.
On December 18, 2022, less than a week after the installation was unveiled in St. Petersburg's Palace Square, the words “Murderers, you bombed it to ruins yourselves!" appeared on the installation.
Kozyreva was expelled from St. Petersburg State University in January after she was found guilty of discrediting Russia's armed forces and ordered to pay a 30,000 ruble ($330) fine in December.
That charge stemmed from Kozyreva's online posts criticizing Russian laws on discrediting the country's armed forces, which were introduced shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in late February 2022.
6 Kyrgyz, 4 Foreign Nationals Detained Over Mob Attacks In Bishkek
BISHKEK -- The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry said on May 22 that six Kyrgyz and four foreign citizens had been detained on suspicion of being involved in a brawl that sparked mob attacks on foreign students in Bishkek, triggering a mass exodus of Pakistani students from the Central Asian nation.
According to the ministry, nine investigations have been launched into hooliganism, robbery, mass disorder, and inciting ethnic hatred. Thirty-three people were injured in the violence, the ministry added.
Hundreds of Pakistani students have left Kyrgyzstan since the May 18 violence, which was triggered by the appearance on social media of a video purportedly showing a group of "people of Asian appearance" harassing foreign students on the night of May 13.
The group then pursued the students to their dormitory, where at least one foreigner was assaulted by several men and dragged along the floor.
Kyrgyz officials said later that the foreigners involved in the brawl on video were Egyptians.
The Kyrgyz government has vowed to pursue those responsible for the violence.
Still, it appeared to lay the blame for the attack on illegal migrants, saying authorities had been taking "decisive measures to suppress illegal migration and expel undesirable persons from Kyrgyzstan."
On May 22, Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said in a statement that five Egyptian citizens were arrested on charges of extortion, illegal drug possession, and violating immigration laws.
A day earlier, the UKMK said six Pakistani nationals were detained overnight while trying to illegally enter Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan.
Just three days before the violence, the UKMK detained 28 Pakistani nationals for "working illegally" in a sewing shop in Bishkek.
The same day, Bishkek city police shut down delivery services conducted by more than 400 foreign students, mostly from Pakistan, on motorcycles and scooters, citing traffic safety concerns.
Britain Accuses China Of Working To Provide Russia With 'Lethal Aid'
Britain has accused China of preparing to or already providing ‘lethal aid’ to Russia for its ongoing full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
Citing U.S. and British defense intelligence, Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said there was evidence that “lethal aid is now, or will be, flowing from China to Russia and into Ukraine.”
“Today I can reveal that we have evidence that Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine,” Shapps told a defense conference in London on May 22.
The British defense minister did not provide details or evidence to back up his claim, but his assertion, the first such accusation from a Western official, would indicate a new level of support for Moscow from Beijing and that China had pivoted to directly supporting Russia’s military.
“We should be concerned about that because in the earlier days of this war, China would like to present itself as a moderating influence on” Russian President Vladimir Putin, Schnapps said, adding that trade data since the Kremlin’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of invasion shows that Beijing and Moscow “are covering each other's backs.”
China has emerged as the Kremlin's leading international supporter as a vital consumer for oil and gas that has helped boost the Russian economy and by supplying Russia with key militarily useful, but nonlethal, dual-use components for the production and repair of weapons.
In April, senior U.S. officials said that Beijing was providing Moscow with drone and missile technology, satellite imagery, and machine tools.
Analyses of Chinese customs data show that in 2023 some 90 percent of “high priority” dual-use goods used in Russian weapons production was imported from China.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a late April visit to China that there was no evidence that Beijing was sending weapons to Russia to use in Ukraine.
“What China is doing, or what some of its enterprises are doing, is to provide critical components for Russia’s defense industrial base, things like machine tools, microelectronics, and optics,” Blinken said during his trip to the Chinese capital.
However, Shapps' accusation would mean that China is no longer shying away from directly helping Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, where fighting is in its third year.
Putin visited China in May for a state visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping where the pair touted their burgeoning ties as a “new era” and as “one of the main stabilizing factors in the international arena,” while criticizing the United States for “hegemonic” behavior.
With reporting by AP and Reuters
Extremism Trial Of Kazakh Journalist Resumes
QONAEV, Kazakhstan -- The trial of independent Kazakh journalist Duman Mukhammedkarim, who is accused of financing an extremist group and participating in a banned group's activities, resumed on May 22 after a pause of more than 100 days.
Mukhammedkarim's lawyer, Ghalym Nurpeiisov, told RFE/RL that the trial resumed after investigators concluded that his client's complaint about being tortured by jail guards was "baseless."
About 20 people came to the court in the southern town of Qonaev to support Mukhammedkarim but were not allowed to enter the building as the trial is being held behind closed doors.
Mukhammedkarim, whose Ne Deidi? (What Do They Say?) YouTube channel is extremely popular in Kazakhstan, was sent to pretrial detention in June 2023 over an online interview he did with the fugitive banker and outspoken critic of the Kazakh government, Mukhtar Ablyazov.
Ablyazov's Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement was labeled extremist and banned in the country in March 2018.
Mukhammedkarim's trial started on February 12 but was postponed after he complained of being beaten by jail guards, prompting prosecutors to launch a probe into the matter.
The journalist has held at least two hunger strikes demanding that his trial be open to the public and protesting against being held behind bars for such a long period when his trial was on hold.
If convicted, Mukhammedkarim could be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison.
Domestic and international rights organizations have urged Kazakh authorities to drop all charges against Mukhammedkarim and immediately release him.
Kazakh rights defenders have recognized Mukhammedkarim as a "political prisoner."
Rights watchdogs have criticized the authorities in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic for persecuting dissent, but Astana has shrugged the criticism off, saying there are no political prisoners in the country.
Kazakhstan was ruled by authoritarian President Nursultan Nazarbaev from its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 until current President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev succeeded him in 2019.
Over the past three decades, several opposition figures have been killed and many jailed or forced to flee the country.
Toqaev, who broadened his powers after Nazarbaev and his family left the oil-rich country's political scene following the deadly, unprecedented anti-government protests in January 2022, has promised political reforms and more freedoms for citizens.
However, many in Kazakhstan consider the reforms announced by Toqaev to be cosmetic, as a crackdown on dissent has continued even after the president announced his "New Kazakhstan" program.
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