Watchdog

Four activists who were charged with preparing mass disturbances in Belarus have been released from custody by authorities in Minsk, a day after three others facing similar charges were freed.

RFE/RL’s Belarus Service reported that the four activists who were freed on June 28 were Uladzimir Rumiantsau, Tsimur Pashkevich, Ales Yaudakha, and Viktar Danilau.

Three other activists implicated in the case -- Syarhey Stribulsky, Alyaksandr Zimnitsky, and Uladzimer Fyodorov -- were freed on June 27 after reportedly agreeing to travel restrictions.

Authorities from the Belarusian State Security Committee in March detained 26 alleged members of from the groups White Legion and Young Front on suspicion of preparing for mass riots in the country.

Those detentions came after President Alyaksandr Lukashenka announced that he suspected some groups were trying to destabilize the country and carry out a revolution.

Charges against some detainees were dropped later.

Seven detainees in the case remained in custody on June 28.

With reporting by Interfax

The head of Russia’s telecommunications regulator says the social-networking entrepreneur Pavel Durov’s Telegram Messenger app has provided all the data required to be registered as an information distributor in Russia.

Roskomnadzor chief Aleksandr Zharov made the announcement on June 28, five days after the state regulator threatened to block Telegram for failing to hand over data and secrets about its encrypted-messaging service.

Durov said in a statement that Telegram will “not comply with unconstitutional and technically impossible” requirements of Russian antiterrorism laws that call for access to the correspondence of users.

Telegram promotes itself as an encrypted messaging and content-sharing tool for smartphones and computers that allows free international communication with a “secret chat” feature that promises extra protection against eavesdroppers.

Some governments have said Durov's encrypted-messaging app is used by terrorist organizations to conduct operations in secret.

Durov publicly defied the Russian government’s earlier demands to hand over secret information and data, saying the blocking of his app by the Kremlin would only force private conversations by Russian officials and others to be conducted over U.S.-controlled apps.

Based on reporting by TASS, Interfax, Reuters, and AFP