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- By RFE/RL
IAEA Says Grossi To Visit Belarus
Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, is to visit Belarus on October 1, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement. Grossi will hold "high-level meetings" in Minsk and will visit the country's nuclear power plant in Astravets, in northwestern Belarus, the IAEA said. Grossi and his team "will assess the situation at the site almost four years after it was connected to the grid and its progress in addressing the findings of an IAEA operational safety review in 2021," the statement said, adding that Grossi's trip comes as the agency "is focusing on ensuring nuclear safety and security in the region."
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More Than 20,000 From Russia's Volga Regions Have Died In Ukraine War
More than 20,000 soldiers from Russia's Povolzhye -- territories comprising several regions around the Volga River -- have died in Ukraine since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbor, according to calculations from RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, another sign of the deep impact the Kremlin's war in Ukraine is having on more distant regions of Russia.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
Data from Idel.Realities, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, show Bashkortostan has the highest death toll at just over 3,000, followed by Tatarstan with 2,724 and Perm Krai with 2,296.
The fewest losses among the 14 regions of Povolzhye were reported in Penza (461) and Mordovia (307).
The data are calculated using reports from relatives of the deceased and official statements.
Authorities in the regions have actively supported the war by offering financial incentives to encourage enlistment.
In addition to soldiers called up through mobilizations, many from the region who joined the war included prison inmates and private military mercenaries, as well as "kontraktniki"-- men who voluntarily sign contracts to fight, induced by extraordinarily high wages and veterans benefits, including for widows and survivors.
The Russian government has been notoriously tightlipped about its war losses since it launched the invasion in February 2022. Its last official figure came in September that year, with 5,937 Russian soldiers killed. At the time, the Ukrainian side was reporting Russian losses at nearly 10 times that figure.
That has made it difficult for reporters, analysts, and outside observers to gauge the full impact of the war on specific populations.
The tally, along with data published by RFE/RL last week, is the latest indication of how the burden of the Kremlin's war on Ukraine is disproportionately falling on more distant regions of Russia, farther away from the wealthy population centers of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Mediazona and the BBC Russian Service have confirmed the names of 71,057 Russian soldiers killed as of last month, with Bashkortostan and Tatarstan ranking first and fourth in losses nationwide.
Overall, Russian casualties in the Ukraine war now exceed those from all of the post-World War II conflicts that have involved the Soviet Union and Russia since the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Ukraine Withdraws From Vuhledar As Russia Resumes Strikes On Danube Port
The Ukrainian military has confirmed that it is pulling out of the strategic city of Vuhledar in the east as Moscow continues its grinding offensive, while Ukraine's critically important Danube port of Izmayil was again targeted by waves of Russian drone strikes that raised the alarm in neighboring NATO member Romania.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
"The higher command has given permission for the withdrawal of units from Vuhledar in order to preserve personnel and combat equipment, and take position for further actions," Ukraine's Khortytsia ground forces formation, which commands eastern regions including Donetsk, said in a message on Telegram.
Russian forces used repeated attacks on the flanks of the city to exhaust the Ukrainian defenses, threatening to surround the hilltop city, the command said.
Moscow's troops, overwhelmingly superior in numbers and equipment, have been slowly advancing in eastern Ukraine despite huge losses, as Ukraine has been desperately appealing to its Western allies to provide it with more advanced weapons and give it permission to strike military objectives deeper inside Russia.
Vuhledar, a deserted former mining town with a prewar population of some 14,000, has been at the center of a ferocious battle since the start of Russia's unprovoked invasion in February 2022.
The city, perched on a hilltop, has been virtually razed to the ground, but it retains its strategic importance for the protection of Russia's supply routes and could act as a springboard toward Pokrovsk, a communications hub some 80 kilometers to the north that Moscow has been eying for months.
Russian Telegram channels posted videos of troops waving the Russian flag over shattered buildings.
As ferocious fighting rages in the east, Russia continued pounding Ukrainian cities and economic infrastructure with relentless drone strikes and shelling.
Early on October 2, Russian drones again struck Ukraine's Danube port of Izmayil, on the border with Romania, which has been Kyiv's only gateway to exporting its grain and other produce.
Two people, including a Turkish citizen, were wounded in the attack on Izmayil, Oleh Kiper, the governor of the Odesa region, said on Telegram.
"The Russians' target was port and border infrastructure. Two men, truck drivers, were wounded, one of them a citizen of Turkey. Currently, the injured are in moderate condition in the hospital," Kiper wrote.
"Russia continues to wage war against grain and global food security," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on Telegram, reporting damage to the grain facility and administrative buildings at the Orlivka border crossing with Romania.
Romanian authorities issued a drone alert for the public early on October 2 in Tulcea County on the border.
The Romanian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said NATO scrambled two Spanish F-18 and two Romanian F-16 jets from bases in southeastern Romania to monitor the situation for several hours.
"During this time interval, Romania's radar surveillance system did not detect the penetration of the drones involved in the attack on the Ukrainian targets into the national airspace," the ministry said in a statement.
In the southern Kherson region, a Russian drone strike on a shuttle bus in Antonivka killed one person and wounded another, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Telegram.
Earlier, Russian troops shelled Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported on Telegram.
Private residential buildings and a public garage were damaged, Terekhov said, adding that no injuries had been reported so far.
In a similar attack on Derhachi, a small town some 15 kilometers north of Kharkiv, several people were wounded, including a child, Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov reported.
"According to emergency medical personnel, five people, including a 14-year-old boy, sustained shrapnel wounds and were also treated for an acute reaction to stress as a result of the strike in Derhachi," Synyehubov wrote on Telegram.
Kazakh Activists Jailed Ahead Of Nuclear-Power Referendum
Five Kazakh activists opposed to the construction of a nuclear power plant have been placed in pretrial detention for at least two months, their lawyers said on October 2. The activists, charged with plotting mass unrest, were detained on September 29, just a week before a national referendum on the nuclear project. The government has pushed for the plant's construction despite widespread opposition. Critics argue that dissent is being silenced ahead of the October 6 poll. Given Kazakhstan's tightly controlled political landscape, many expect the referendum to pass, despite concerns over environmental and political issues. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
- By Mike Eckel,
- Mark Krutov and
- Sergei Dobrynin
U.S., British Authorities Publicly Link Ex-FSB Officer To Notorious Russian Ransomware Group
U.S. and British authorities for the first time publicly linked an ex-Russian special forces officer to one of the world's most notorious ransomware groups, adding further evidence of ties, formal and informal, between Russian intelligence agencies and criminal groups.
Eduard Bendersky, who served in the elite Vympel unit of the Federal Security Service, had been identified as early as 2019 as the father-in-law of Maksim Yakubets, the alleged founder of Evil Corp, whose malware has been used around the world to lock out corporate computer systems in exchange for ransom.
Yakubets married Bendersky's daughter Alyona at a lavish wedding ceremony on Moscow's outskirts in 2017, according to photographs and videos discovered by RFE/RL.
In a criminal indictment unsealed in December 2019 against Yakubets, the U.S. Justice Department alleged that he provided "direct assistance to the Russian government's malicious cyber efforts, highlighting the Russian government's enlistment of cybercriminals for its own malicious purposes."
But neither U.S. nor British officials, who have also hit Yakubets and Evil Corp. with financial sanctions, provided details of Yakubets' links to the Russian government.
On October 1, however, the U.S. Treasury Department and Britain's National Crime Agency publicly confirmed Bendersky as Yakubets' father-in-law, calling him a "key enabler of Evil Corp."
"Bendersky leveraged his status and contacts to facilitate Evil Corp's developing relationships with officials of the Russian intelligence services. After the December 2019 sanctions and indictments against Evil Corp and Maksim, Bendersky used his extensive influence to protect the group," the Treasury Department said.
After the December 2019 sanctions and indictments against Evil Corp and Maksim, Maksim sought out Bendersky’s guidance. Bendersky used his extensive influence to protect the group, including his son-in-law, both by providing senior members with security and by ensuring they were not pursued by Russian internal authorities," the department alleged.
Bendersky also, according to the Treasury, was also instrumental in brokering a business deal between Yakubets and Dmitry Kozak, a longtime aide of President Vladimir Putin, as well as German Gref, the current CEO of state banking giant Sberbank.
The National Crime Agency announced parallel sanctions against Bendersky, Yakubets, and more than a dozen other individuals it said were linked to Evil Corp.
Bendersky has made no public comment on the allegations, and could not be located for comment by RFE/RL. Yakubets, who previously had a visible presence on social media, showcasing his love for racing expensive sports cars, has all but disappeared from public view since the 2019 indictment.
The department also alleged that Yakubets' father, Viktor, helped provide technical equipment to his son, helping to facilitate the spread of the ransomware.
The Treasury announcement detailed other alleged links between Yakubets and prominent Russian government insiders. Yakubets, the department alleged, uses his employment at a Russian company to cover his work with Evil Corp. The company, called the National Engineering Corporation, was founded by the son of former Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika.
Relatedly, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment, first issued in March 2023, charging a Russian man named Aleksandr Ryzhenkov with conspiracy for his work with Evil Corp. Ryzhenkov, officials said, was "a long-term associate and second-in-command" for Yakubets. Ryzhenkov, the National Crime Agency said in its statement, was responsible for a affiliated bit of ransomware called LockBit.
Bendersky has also been linked to the 2019 killing in Berlin of former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, according to reporting by the open-source investigative group Bellingcat. An FSB agent named Vadim Krasikov was convicted of killing Khangoshvili, and served several years in a German prison before being released in August as part of a large prisoner swap with the West.
According to Bellingcat, Bendersky directly supervised the preparation for the killing.
Georgian President Refuses To Sign Anti-LGBT Bill Into Law
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has refused to sign into law a bill approved by parliament last month that rights groups and many opposition politicians say drastically curbs the rights of the country's LGBT community.
The so-called "family values" bill was pushed through parliament by the ruling Georgian Dream party on September 17 in an 84-0 vote, which was boycotted by the opposition while rallies were being held by protesters outside the parliament building.
In line with the provisions of the Georgian Constitution, Zurabishvili refused to endorse the bill and returned it to parliament without written comments, the presidential administration confirmed to RFE/RL on October 2.
The move highlights the dramatically polarized political landscape in the Caucasus nation ahead of national elections in October.
Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili, a co-sponsor of the bill and member of the Georgian Dream is now expected to sign the bill into law and publish it within five days.
The package of legal changes, whose complete title is On Family Values And Protection Of Minors, brings changes to 18 current laws, including legislation on free speech and expression as well as broadcasting.
The measures provide for the banning of gatherings that promote the right of a person to identify as a gender other than "his or her biological sex" and they also prohibit gatherings advocating for same-sex orientation or relationships.
The opposition has boycotted parliamentary meetings since May, when Georgian Dream lawmakers approved a "foreign influence" bill, which Western governments and many Georgians liken to Russia's "foreign agent" law used by the Kremlin to clamp down on dissent with broad discretion.
The law requires organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as "agents of foreign influence."
Zurabishvili vetoed that bill, but the ruling party overrode her opposition and promulgated it despite months of public protests and warnings from the United States and the European Union that the measure was eroding Georgia's democracy and its path to integration into the Western institutions.
In response, Washington on September 16 introduced sanctions on more than 60 Georgians, including two members of the government, who it said had "undermined" democracy and human rights in the country, prompting Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze to warn that Tbilisi might revise ties with the United States.
The European Union, meanwhile, reacted to the bill by pausing EU accession negotiations.
Ahead of the October 26 elections, Georgian Dream remains the country's single most popular party, according to opinion polls.
Kyiv Investigating 'Largest Mass Execution' Of Ukrainian Soldiers Captured By Russia
Ukraine's Prosecutor-General’s Office has initiated an investigation into what it describes as the "largest mass execution" of Ukrainian "prisoners of war" by Russian troops since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion more than 31 months ago.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
According to an official statement published on the office’s Telegram channel, Russian forces allegedly killed 16 Ukrainian "prisoners of war" near the villages of Mykolayivka and Sukhiy Yar in the Pokrovsk district of the Donetsk region.
Videos circulated on various Telegram channels appear to show Ukrainian soldiers, freshly captured by Russian troops, emerging from a forested area.
After the prisoners have lined up, Russian forces appear to opened fire. The videos then appear to show Russian soldiers approaching those who were only wounded and shooting them again at close range with machine guns.
The videos have not been independently verified.
Under international humanitarian law, executing soldiers who have surrendered is considered a war crime.
"This is the largest reported case of the execution of Ukrainian POWs on the front line and yet another indication that the killing and torture of prisoners of war are not isolated incidents," Ukraine's Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin said on X.
"This is a deliberate policy of the Russian military and political leadership."
Ukraine's Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said he had contacted both the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross over the deaths, citing violations of the Geneva Conventions, which govern the treatment of prisoners of war.
The incident is not the first time such allegations against Russian soldiers have surfaced.
In September, CNN released two videos purportedly showing Russian military personnel executing Ukrainian soldiers as they were surrendering.
The footage, filmed by drones and provided by Ukrainian military intelligence, included audio transcripts that seemingly captured the order to execute the soldiers.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General's Office informed CNN then that it was currently investigating at least 28 cases involving the murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war since Russia launched its full-scale aggression against its neighbor in February 2022.
Russia has yet to respond to the accusations.
Earlier in August, Danielle Bell, the head of mission for the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said that 95 percent of Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russia face torture.
- By RFE/RL
Iran Says Retaliation On Israel 'Concluded' As U.S., Israel Warn Of Response
Iran has said its missile attack on Israel has ended and it will not be renewed unless Tehran will be forced to act again amid growing fears of a wider regional conflict.
Tehran on October 1 launched a massive ballistic missile attack on Israel, its largest so far, in retaliation for the campaign launched by the Jewish state in southern Lebanon against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, prompting warnings of countermeasures from Israel and its main ally, the United States.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a message on X that the attack targeted "solely military and security sites" involved in what he said was the Israeli "genocide in Gaza and Lebanon" and was conducted by Iran in "self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter."
"Our action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation. In that scenario, our response will be stronger and more powerful," Araghchi said.
Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) earlier said the missile attack was in response to Israel's killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last week.
Hezbollah is both an armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.
People who left audio messages for RFE/RL's Radio Farda in response to the attack indicated they had little hope that anything would change.
"The Islamic republic wanted to show pragmatism, but some in analytical circles (experts and journalists) who live outside of Iran, voiced support for war [and] pushed Iran to attack. Nothing will happen and [it] went hand in hand with hard-liners inside," said one man. "You can't just call for war and bloodshed living in the free world. This is against the basics of democracy. Please help. The world needs peace."
A woman said it was "ridiculous," and noted that some missiles landed inside Iran.
"They think they can do anything. They lit a fire -- I hope they burn in it as well," she said.
Israeli air defenses intercepted most of the estimated 180 missiles that were fired, military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, though some landed in central and southern Israel.
Israel Counts The Cost After Iranian Missile Barrage
Israeli rescuers said two people were lightly injured by shrapnel while in the occupied West Bank, and a Palestinian was killed in Jericho "when pieces of a rocket fell from the sky and hit him," according to the city's governor Hussein Hamayel.
In Damascus, Syria, on October 2, an attack took place in the upscale Mezzeh neighborhood. The official Syrian news agency says three people were killed in the attack that targeted an apartment. The Syrian Observatory says the apartment is used by officers from the IRGC and Hezbollah.
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian arrived in Qatar for bilateral talks and a summit at which he hopes to enlist Asian countries' help in preventing what he called "Israeli crimes" in the Middle East.
Pezeshkian criticised Israel over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in July in Tehran, an assassination Israel has neither claimed nor denied responsibility for.
"We also want security and peace. It was Israel that assassinated Haniyeh in Tehran," Pezeshkian was quoted saying on his arrival in Qatar.
"If the Zionist regime (Israel) does not stop its crimes, it will face harsher reactions," Iranian state media quoted Pezeshkian as saying prior to his departure for Qatar.
As the UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the Middle East for October 2, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the October 1 attack "a big mistake" and said Tehran "will pay for it." He added: "Whoever attacks us, we attack them."
U.S. President Joe Biden said he would discuss a response with Netanyahu. Asked what the response would be, Biden replied: "That's in active discussion right now. That remains to be seen."
Separately, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin slammed what he said was an "outrageous act of aggression" by Iran, while Biden's national-security adviser Jake Sullivan told the media that the attack would have "severe consequences."
He added that the attack appears to have been "defeated and ineffective, and this is a testament to Israeli military capability and the U.S. military" and said the United States is "fully supportive of Israel."
Israeli police reported that at least six people were killed and nine wounded in a shooting and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv.
Police said it was a "terrorist" attack carried out at a light rail station and the two attackers were later killed by civilians and inspectors using their own firearms. There has been no claim of responsibility.
While the missile attack sent Israelis scurrying to take cover in bomb shelters, it prompted people in Iran to celebrate. State television broadcast images from the city of Mashhad showing people in the streets waving the yellow flag of Hezbollah and portraits of the group's slain chief, Hassan Nasrallah. Similar celebrations also took place in the capital Tehran and in several provincial cities.
The IRGC said the missile attack on October 1 targeted three military bases around Tel Aviv.
It also warned that if Israel retaliated Tehran's response would be "more crushing and ruinous." Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the EU, praised the attack as "heroic."
World leaders urged Iran and Israel to step back from the brink and negotiate a cease-fire.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the "broadening conflict in the Middle East" following fighting in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians since Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 Israelis. Guterres slammed "escalation after escalation" in the region.
"This must stop. We absolutely need a cease-fire," he said.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also called for an immediate cease-fire and condemned Iran's attack "in the strongest terms," while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the attack was "totally unacceptable" and should be condemned by the entire world."
Uzbek Teacher Fined For Hitting Student In Russian-Language Dispute
A teacher in Tashkent was fined 6.8 million soms ($534) for hitting a sixth-grade student who asked why she did not speak Russian during a Russian-language class. A video of the incident went viral, leading to the dismissal of the school principal. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on September 25 that Russia had requested official explanations from Uzbekistan. In response, Alisher Qodirov, deputy chairman of Uzbekistan's parliament, said that Russia should focus on its own issues rather than interfering in Uzbekistan’s internal affairs. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, click here.
First Georgian NGOs Added To 'Foreign Agents' Registry Under Controversial Law
Nine Georgian NGOs have been added to the country's register of "foreign agents," marking the first time since a controversial law on foreign influence came into effect two months ago that additions have been made to the list.
Five NGOs initially were added on October 1: Youth Organization of Ukrainians in Georgia -- Svitanok, Professional Union of Farmers and Agricultural Workers of Georgia, Kutaisi Youth House, Union of Christians, and the Jewish Cultural and Educational Foundation.
Shortly afterward, four other organizations were added: Girls -- World Leaders, Tbilisi Youth House, Inclusive Practices, and the Association of Initiatives, Development and Employment.
The names of these organizations, along with their financial disclosures, have been published on the official website of Georgia's public registry of foreign agents.
According to the law, media outlets and NGOs that received more than 20 percent of their funding from foreign sources in 2023 are required to register as entities working "in the interest of a foreign force." The majority of Georgian media and nonprofits received that level of funding from outside the country last year.
The registration process must be completed through the House of Justice in Tbilisi.
Additionally, the Justice Ministry has been granted broad powers to monitor and investigate organizations for compliance, including the authority to access sensitive information such as personal data.
Many organizations and media outlets have expressed strong opposition to the law, and several have publicly refused to comply. Noncompliance, including failure to register, carries heavy financial penalties.
Georgia's international partners have voiced serious concerns about the law, which critics argue mirrors Russia's controversial "foreign agents" legislation, a tool widely used by Moscow to suppress dissent and weaken democratic institutions.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski has warned the law significantly hampers Georgia's prospects of joining the European Union. He noted Georgia's EU accession process has been put on hold as a result. In addition, Georgia's visa-free travel in the Schengen Zone, a key diplomatic achievement, is now under threat.
Despite this, the ruling Georgian Dream party remains steadfast in its claims that the country is on track for EU membership by 2030.
While the law has drawn international criticism, it has been praised by Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, nationalist political philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have all commended the Georgian government for passing the law.
Legal challenges against the law have already been filed. Five lawsuits have been submitted to the Constitutional Court of Georgia requesting the law be suspended. Although the court concluded three days of hearings on September 1, no ruling has been announced.
In response to the law, the United States, a longtime supporter of Georgia's NATO and EU aspirations, announced visa restrictions on Georgian officials involved in passing the legislation and launched a comprehensive review of bilateral relations.
- By AP
Iran Preparing Imminent Ballistic Missile Attack On Israel, U.S. Official Says
Iran is preparing to "imminently" launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel, according to a senior U.S. administration official who warned of "severe consequences" should it take place. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the United States is actively supporting Israeli defensive preparations. Iran’s state media has not suggested any attack is imminent. This comes after the Israeli military on October 1 warned people to evacuate nearly two dozen Lebanese border communities hours after announcing what it said were limited ground operations against Hezbollah. White House officials did not immediately offer any evidence backing its intelligence finding.
Azerbaijani Opposition Figure Dies After Brutal Attack In France
Vidadi Isgandarli, an Azerbaijani opposition figure in exile well-known for his fierce criticism of the government, has died in France after being brutally beaten and stabbed in an attack at his apartment that his family says was politically motivated.
Oktay Isgandarli confirmed his brother's death to RFE/RL on October 1 after doctors fought for more than a day to keep him alive.
The deadly attack on Isgandarli follows a similar pattern of violence against Azerbaijani opposition figures in exile; in 2021, another politician in exile, Mohammad Mirzali, survived being stabbed.
"My brother had no idea who the attackers were or what motivated the assault.... They did not speak, and they wore masks, making it impossible to identify them," Oktay Isgandarli told RFE/RL.
"I have no doubt this is a politically motivated assassination. My brother survived a previous attack by approximately 15 assailants in 2022 here in France."
Oktay Isgandarli said he received a desperate video call from his brother early on September 29 as he clutched a pillow to his abdomen to try and staunch the bleeding after being attacked by three masked men who had broken into his apartment in Mulhouse in eastern France.
"I contacted the authorities and provided them with my brother's address," he said.
"When I arrived, the police had cordoned off the area, and I was unable to speak with him before he was rushed to the hospital."
Doctors said Vidadi Isgandarli was stabbed at least 21 times in the abdomen as well as blows to the body and head.
They managed to resuscitate him, but he never regained consciousness and succumbed to his injuries early on October 1, they said.
Vidadi Isgandarli was known as a vocal critic of the Azerbaijani government and President Ilham Aliyev, who has maintained a tight grip on power since 2003.
In 2010, Vidadi Isgandarli participated in parliamentary elections, which he denounced as fraudulent after opposition candidates failed to get elected. He then helped organize protests against the official election results.
Arrested in 2011 and charged with various offenses, including assault and interference with election officials, Vidadi denied the allegations, claiming they were politically motivated.
He was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison but was released early in December 2012 in a presidential amnesty.
Fearing further persecution, Vidadi, his brother, and their families emigrated to France in 2015.
With Azerbaijan set to host the climate conference COP29 in November, right groups have said it is imperative that the event is used also to shine a spotlight on the country and the deteriorating human rights situation there.
Earlier this year, Amnesty International noted that it and other human rights groups had documented the "widespread abuse" by the Azerbaijani authorities of the criminal justice system to crack down on human rights including the right to freedom of expression, often "detaining and falsely charging their critics with economic crimes."
- By RFE/RL
Israel Vows To Retaliate As Iran Launches Massive Missile Attack
Iran launched a massive ballistic missile attack at Israel on October 1 in retaliation for Israel's campaign against Lebanon's Hezbollah in a new escalation of the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the country’s air defenses intercepted many of the estimated 180 missiles that were fired, though some landed in central and southern Israel. He said the military was not aware of any injuries and told Israelis about an hour after the attack was launched that it was safe for them to leave their bomb shelters.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack "a big mistake" and said Tehran "will pay for it." He added: "Whoever attacks us, we attack them."
U.S. President Joe Biden said he would discuss a response with Netanyahu. Asked what the response would be, Biden replied: "That's in active discussion right now. That remains to be seen."
He added that the attack appears to have been "defeated and ineffective, and this is a testament to Israeli military capability and the U.S. military" and said the United States is "fully supportive of Israel."
One Palestinian was killed by falling debris from an intercepted missile, according to the mayor of the city of Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and Israeli police reported that at least six people were killed and nine wounded in a shooting and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv.
Police said it was a "terrorist" attack carried out at a light rail station and the two attackers were later killed by civilians and inspectors using their own firearms. There has been no claim of responsibility.
While the missile attack sent Israelis scurrying to take cover in bomb shelters, it prompted people in Iran to celebrate. State television broadcast images from the city of Mashhad showing people in the streets waving the yellow flag of Hezbollah and portraits of the group's slain chief, Hassan Nasrallah. Similar celebrations also took place in the capital Tehran and in several provincial cities.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee in the November 5 presidential election, monitored the attack together at the White House, and Harris said afterward that Iran is a "destabilizing, dangerous force in the Middle East."
National-security adviser Jake Sullivan called the attack a significant escalation by Iran but added that it was ultimately “defeated and ineffective” in part because of assistance from the U.S. military in shooting down some of the inbound missiles.
"Initial reports indicate that Israel was able to intercept the majority of incoming missiles and that there was minimal damage on the ground," Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder said, noting two American destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors as part of the defensive effort.
The number of ballistic missiles fired was about twice as many as were fired in an attack on Israel earlier this year, Ryder added in a briefing with journalists. The attack in April was in retaliation for a deadly Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the missile attack on October 1 targeted three military bases around Tel Aviv. It also warned that if Israel retaliated, Tehran's response would be "more crushing and ruinous." Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the EU, praised the attack as "heroic."
World leaders urged Iran and Israel to step back from the brink and negotiate a cease-fire.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the "broadening conflict in the Middle East" following fighting in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians since Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 Israelis. Guterres slammed "escalation after escalation" in the region.
"This must stop. We absolutely need a cease-fire," he said.
The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the Middle East to take place on October 2.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also called for an immediate cease-fire and condemned Iran's attack "in the strongest terms," while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the attack was "totally unacceptable" and should be condemned by the entire world."
Earlier on October 1, the Israeli military said it had launched "targeted and precise" raids inside Lebanon in what it called a "limited" ground incursion that started overnight, adding that its troops were engaged in "heavy fighting" with Hezbollah, the militant group that controls much of the area.
Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. The European Union blacklists Hezbollah's armed wing but not its political party, which has seats in the Lebanese parliament.
Israel has launched withering air attacks on Hezbollah in recent weeks, killing Nasrallah as well as claiming the lives of multiple Hezbollah leaders and other members of sanctioned militant groups.
At Least 8 Dead In Russian Strikes As Ukraine Marks 'Defenders Day'
At least eight people were killed and several wounded in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, and Sumy on October 1 as the embattled country marked Defenders Day amid an increasingly difficult situation on the battlefield in the east, where Moscow's grinding offensive is making incremental progress.
"A Russian strike on Kherson, right in the city center. As of now, 6 deaths have been confirmed," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on X, adding that six more people were wounded.
The deaths occurred when Russian projectiles struck a marketplace in downtown Kherson, while the other six were wounded in a separate strike on a bus stop in the southern city, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.
Kherson city was liberated by Ukrainian troops in November 2022, forcing Russian soldiers to retreat eastward across the Dnieper River. But Russia continued to pound Kherson on a regular basis from across the river, leaving numerous civilian casualties as well as damaging civilian and energy infrastructure.
In Zaporizhzhya, Russia attacked apartment buildings and infrastructure with glide bombs, killing one person and wounding six, regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Energy Ministry reported on October 1 that Russian troops attacked the main substation and cut off a power line to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant -- Europe's largest -- which was on the verge of a blackout.
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In Sumy, a northeastern region that borders Russia, air strikes killed a woman and wounded two men in the Esman community, the regional prosecutor's office reported.
The governor of Ukraine's Donetsk region said late on October 1 that Russian troops had reached the center of Vuhledar, a strategically significant city because of its high ground and location near the junction of the two main fronts in eastern and southern Ukraine.
"The enemy is already nearly in the center of the city," Governor Vadym Filashkin told Ukrainian TV, describing the situation as very difficult.
Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne quoted two Ukrainian soldiers in the brigade defending Vuhledar as saying that while Russian forces were in control of most of the town, some parts remained under Ukrainian control and the brigade had not received orders to leave the city.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said there had been 110 combat clashes at the front during the day. Ukrainian forces are "directing efforts to disrupt the execution of the Russian invaders' offensive plans and exhaust their combat potential," according to the General Staff in its evening assessment.
Russian forces unsuccessfully stormed the positions of Ukrainian units near Kharkiv five times, the report said, adding the situation is under control in another battle taking place near Vovchansk.
Russian troops carried out 23 attacks on Ukrainian fortifications in the Kupyansk direction, and 10 skirmishes are still ongoing, the General Staff said late on October 1.
October 1 was declared Defenders' Day in 2014, months after Russia illegally occupied Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and parts of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It replaced a former holiday marked on February 23 called Defender of the Fatherland Day, which had been instituted in Soviet times.
Across Ukraine, at 9 a.m. local time a minute of silence was held in memory of all Ukrainians who have given their lives defending the independence of their country.
In a message on Telegram, Ukraine's top military commander, General Oleksandr Syrskiy, congratulated the Ukrainian soldiers, whom he called "indomitable warriors," who took on the invading Russian forces and over the past 2 1/2 years "gave battle to the so-called 'second army of the world' and stopped it" in its tracks.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov also issued a statement thanking every Ukrainian soldier for their unity, courage, and resilience.
"We know what we are fighting for: for our home, for our relatives who dream of a peaceful sky. For cities and villages waiting for liberation. For future generations who will live on their land without fear. And for the memory of those who over the centuries gave their lives for our freedom. Eternal honor to the sons and daughters of Ukraine, who sacrificed their lives for our state," Umerov said in his address.
Separately, Umerov announced the dismissal of three of his deputies. He said on social media he had asked the government to relieve Stanislav Haider, Oleksandr Serhiy and Yuriy Dzhygyr of their duties as deputy defense ministers, and Lyudmyla Darahan as ministry secretary.
"I have set the task of completing the process of cleansing the system of procurement in close cooperation with law enforcement and anti-corruption authorities," Umerov said.
- By RFE/RL
Rutte Pledges Strong Support For Ukraine As He Takes Reins At NATO
Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte immediately pledged his strong support for Ukraine as he took over as the head of NATO on October 1 at a pivotal time in the military alliance's history as Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor approaches the 1,000-day mark.
Rutte, the longest-serving prime minister in the history of the Netherlands, met with outgoing Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO headquarters in Brussels, where they laid a wreath to fallen personnel from the alliance as they were surrounded by the flags of its 32 member countries.
They then proceeded into the great hall where top-level North Atlantic Council meetings are held, with Stoltenberg, who leaves after a decade at NATO's helm, presented him with a Viking gavel to use when chairing meetings.
"There can be no lasting security in Europe without a strong, independent Ukraine," Rutte told the hall in his first speech in office, giving an affirmation of the commitment made by the organization's leaders in 2008 that "Ukraine's rightful place is in NATO."
"We have to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation," Rutte told reporters afterward.
NATO, founded in 1949 to deter and defend against any attack on its members in Western Europe by the Soviet Union, has found itself back in the diplomatic spotlight due to the war in Ukraine and a Russia, led by its autocratic president, Vladimir Putin.
Rutte appears to enjoy close relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
As Dutch prime minister, he helped get F-16 fighter aircraft sent to Ukraine, secured stronger EU economic sanctions on Moscow despite Dutch dependency on trade, and helped move Ukraine along the path toward EU membership.
The Ukrainian leader applauded Rutte's taking the helm of the alliance, saying he "looks forward to working" together to strengthen Euro-Atlantic security as Ukraine continues on its path towards full-fledged NATO membership.
"Only together, Ukraine and its allies, can we truly guarantee a peaceful, stable, and secure Europe," he said in a post on X.
But Rutte, the 57-year-old Hague-born politician known for his affable manner, faces the tricky question of whether Ukraine will get an invitation to join NATO.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow that Putin knew Rutte well from previous meetings and that no change in policy is expected.
"Our expectations are that the North Atlantic alliance will continue to work in the same direction in which it has been working," he said.
"At one time, there were hopes for the possibility of building good pragmatic relations -- at least, such a dialogue was conducted -- but subsequently we know that the Netherlands took a rather irreconcilable position, a position on the complete exclusion of any contacts with our country," he added.
Adding to the balancing act, Rutte takes over NATO just over a month before the United States, the alliance’s biggest funding source, holds a presidential election between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.
The former president has been critical of NATO and has not said whether he wants Kyiv to come out victorious in repelling the Kremlin's invasion. Harris has supported continuing to send arms to help Ukraine fight back.
"I know both candidates very well.... I will be able to work with both. Whatever is the outcome of the election," he said.
"I worked for four years with Donald Trump. He was the one pushing us to spend more (on defense), and he achieved because indeed, at the moment, we are now at a much higher spending level than we were when he took office," Rutte added, noting Harris had a "fantastic record" as vice president and is "a highly respected leader."
With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak, Reuters, and AP
- By AP
Pakistani Court Denies Bail For Imprisoned Ex-PM Khan And His Wife
A Pakistani court on September 30 denied a bail application by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in a graft case, their lawyer said. It's another blow to the popular opposition leader, who has been in prison for more than a year after being convicted on multiple charges. Khan has been embroiled in more than 150 cases since 2022, when he was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in parliament after several political allies deserted him. He has accused the military and his archenemy and current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of ousting him under a U.S. plot, charges which they have denied.
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Must Prepare For 'Long-Term' Confrontation With Russia: Helsinki Commission
WASHINGTON -- The United States must prepare for a "long-term" confrontation with Russia that won't end when authoritarian President Vladimir Putin departs from the political scene, according to a new report by a bipartisan commission.
Ukraine's defeat of Russia on the battlefield is critical to winning that confrontation, and Washington should do all it can to ensure Kyiv is victorious, the U.S. Helsinki Commission stated in its September 30 report.
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The commission, which was set up in 1975 to monitor human rights in the Soviet bloc, is composed of 18 lawmakers evenly split between the House of Representatives and Senate as well as three representatives of the executive branch.
"There will be no hope for a peaceful and stable Russia while it remains engaged in war and occupation of its neighbors," the commission said in the report.
"Ukraine defeating the Russian invaders is a necessary, but not sufficient, step towards not only forcing Russia into significant reflection and reform, but also towards uprooting Russian influence and countering Russian aggression more broadly."
The commission's report comes as the future of U.S. military support for Kyiv in its nearly three-year defensive war against Russia is uncertain with a wing of the Republican party, led by presidential candidate Donald Trump, questioning the significant financial commitment.
Congress has allocated $175 billion to support Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, with the majority of the funding spent at home for weapons production and other goods and services. Ukraine would need another large U.S. aid package early next year if it hopes to drive Russian forces from its territory.
Trump, who claims to have a good relationship with Putin, has said he will quickly negotiate an end to the war if elected president. With Russia controlling nearly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, any deal now would likely force Kyiv to make territorial concessions. And without a U.S. or NATO security guarantee, there would be no assurance that Putin wouldn't invade again.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, backs aid to Ukraine but it is unclear how much further she is willing to go than her current boss, President Joe Biden. His administration has been criticized by Ukrainian supporters for slow-rolling military aid to Kyiv, giving it enough to survive but not enough to win.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy traveled to the White House last week to present his "victory plan" to Biden and request permission to strike military targets deep inside Russia with U.S. missiles. The White House did not announce any change in policy following the meeting.
The bipartisan report, led by Helsinki Commission Chairman Joe Wilson (Republican-South Carolina), can be seen as an exhortation for whichever party wins the presidency and controls the House of Representatives and Senate next year to continue aid.
Wilson is among those Republicans, including Senators Jim Risch of Idaho and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who are ardent Ukraine supporters.
Putin, who has been Russia's preeminent leader for nearly a quarter century, has tried to justify his invasion by claiming that Ukraine has historically belonged to Russia. At the same time, he is attempting to rebuild the Kremlin's sphere of influence in the former Soviet space. He has installed people in power in Russia that share his view to ensure his policies continue beyond his time in office.
"Until Russia can reckon with its imperial history and present, cease using repression and corruption as tools of power, and build governing institutions that are grounded in respect for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, Russia cannot be a responsible international actor. We need to be prepared to contest Russia for the long term," the report said.
The 68-page report also covers other parts of Eurasia, from the Western Balkans to Central Asia.
Russia's war on Ukraine "has motivated Central Asian states to diversify their relations with other countries and seek alternate economic partners and security guarantees, as well as to strengthen regional cooperation," it said. "These changes offer an opportunity for the United States to increase its engagement in the region to counter Russian influence and to support the efforts of Central Asian states to realign their foreign relations."
With Moscow "determined to maintain its influence through both overt and covert means," the South Caucasus is "at a pivotal moment in its history, standing on the edge of both opportunity and peril," the report said.
The United States "must reassess its approach to the South Caucasus.... For decades, U.S. policy has been based on a relatively simple understanding: Armenia was seen as a stalwart Russian ally, Georgia as a committed pro-Western partner, and Azerbaijan as a multivector state balancing its relations between the West and Russia. However, recent developments have upended these assumptions, revealing a more complex and fluid geopolitical landscape."
The commission urged the United States to "adopt a comprehensive, sustained strategy that recognizes the Black Sea as a critical theater of competition. A long-term approach should prioritize building a credible deterrent to Russian aggression, supporting democratic governance and rule of law, and fostering regional cooperation frameworks that limit Russia's ability to exploit divisions and vulnerabilities."
In the Western Balkans, meanwhile, "Russia has preyed on internal divisions and flagging U.S. engagement to disrupt the region's integration into Western institutions, including NATO and the EU," it said. "The U.S. should target poisonous, Russia-affiliated actors in the region who engage in corrupt and destabilizing behavior while redoubling our support for regional security, stability, and energy independence."
- By AP
Belarus Pressures Pardoned Political Prisoners, Rights Groups Say
Belarusian human rights activists accused the country's government on September 30 of pressuring political prisoners who have been pardoned by authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and forcing them to cooperate with authorities. During the past three months, Lukashenka has pardoned 115 activists who were convicted for taking part in protests against his rule. Those pardoned were a small fraction of more than 1,300 political prisoners in Belarus, according to the Vyasna human rights center. They include the group’s founder and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Byalyatski. Vyasna and other rights groups, including BYSOL, said those amnestied were barred from leaving the country and forced to take part in propaganda videos.
- By AP
Man Accused Of Attempting To Assassinate Trump Pleads Not Guilty
A man who authorities say spent 12 hours camped outside Donald Trump's golf course before the U.S. Secret Service spotted him with a rifle pleaded not guilty on September 30 to federal charges, including attempted assassination. Ryan Wesley Routh, who was known as an active supporter of Ukraine’s military in its defense against Russia’s invasion, appeared briefly in the federal court in West Palm Beach days after a grand jury handed down a five-count indictment stemming from what appears to have been the second attempt on Trump's life since July. Routh has been arrested over 100 times – many of which were because of traffic violations – and his travels to Ukraine and Taiwan show that he’s able slip across borders.
- By RFE/RL and
- RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Israel Moves Closer To Ground Offensive In Lebanon, Despite Biden Opposition
Israel appeared to move closer to launching a ground offensive against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, while U.S. President Joe Biden forcefully said he opposed such a move by the close U.S. ally, as events in the Middle East threatened to spin out of control.
"The next stage in the war against Hezbollah will begin soon," Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on September 30, as the U.S. State Department reported that Israeli special forces had launched small ground raids against Hezbollah and sealed off communities along its northern border.
"We will use all the means that may be required -- your forces, other forces, from the air, from the sea, and on land," Gallant told his troops.
"The elimination of [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not the final one."
Israel killed longtime nemesis Nasrallah on September 27 as it launched a series of massive air strikes in and around Beirut and southern Lebanon that has also claimed the lives of multiple Hezbollah leaders and other members of sanctioned militant groups.
Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its political party. Hezbollah’s political party has seats in the Lebanese parliament.
In a televised address, Naim Qassem, deputy director of Hezbollah -- an Iran-backed militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon -- claimed that his fighters were "ready if Israel decides to enter by land."
A Lebanese official told the AFP news agency that Lebanon had moved the soldiers of its small national army from regions near the Israeli border to avoid any conflict in the event of a ground offensive by Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, when asked whether he was comfortable with Israel launching a ground operation in Lebanon, Biden told reporters that “I'm comfortable with them stopping. We should have a cease-fire now.”
Later, as tensions mounted, the White House said in a statement that Washington believes the way to get an Israel-Lebanon cease-fire is to have a diplomatic resolution.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, speaking from Beirut, also urged Israel "to refrain from any ground incursion and to cease fire." He also called on Hezbollah "to do the same and to refrain from any action likely to lead to regional destabilization."
Israeli attacks in Lebanon and in Yemen against Iran-backed Huthi rebels and claims by Tehran-allied Hezbollah militants that they had fired into Israel with its new "nour missile" – which observers say might be a ballistic missile – led to increased fears on September 30 that there could be an all-out war in the Middle East.
Late on September 30, an Israeli air strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs, creating large explosions after Israel's military had warned civilians to leave three specific buildings that would be targeted in the densely populated neighborhood.
Separately, Iran said it will not deploy forces to Lebanon or the Gaza Strip to fight Israel amid the intensified attacks against the Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"There is no need to send extra or volunteer forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said on September 30, saying Lebanon and fighters in the Palestinian territories "have the capability and strength to defend themselves against the aggression."
Kanani's statement came as Qassem said in a video message that a replacement for Nasrallah will be chosen "sooner, rather than later."
In the message, he said the selection will be made within the regular mechanisms of Hezbollah. He gave no further details.
Nasrallah was killed last week in an Israeli air strike on the southern command center of Hezbollah.
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian visited the Hezbollah office in Tehran on September 30 "to pay tribute" to Nasrallah, according to the government's website.
Israel's air strikes continued on September 30, including a hit on central Beirut, the first in nearly a year of escalating conflict with Hezbollah, that began after another Iran-supported group designated as a terrorist organization, Hamas, launched an operation into Israel that killed some 1,200 people, with another 250 taken hostage back to the Gaza Strip.
Israel's military has also widened its attacks on Iran-backed militant groups, striking the Yemeni port city of Hodeida, which is held by Tehran-allied Huthi rebels, even as it intensified air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon.
The losses suffered by Hezbollah appear to be the heaviest since Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps helped create the militant group in 1982 to blunt an Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
Nasrallah joined Hezbollah to fight in that conflict, and in 1992 became its leader, building the group into Lebanon's most powerful military and political force.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
Navalny May Have Been Poisoned To Death In Prison, Investigative Group Says
Russian opposition politician and outspoken Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny, who died in prison in February, might have been poisoned, the Insider investigative group said, citing official documents that appear to have been edited to conform with the state's contention he died from cardiac issues.
According to a report by the Insider, published on September 29, the group obtained two variants of official documents on the decision not to launch a probe into Navalny's death in February in the remote Polar Wolf prison in the Arctic district of Yamalo-Nenets where he was serving a lengthy sentence on what he and his supporters said were politically motivated charges.
Both documents were issued on July 26, 2024, and the text in one, the Insider said, appears to have been amended and now complies with the official explanation for the anti-corruption crusader's death.
Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has said that her husband "in the last minutes of his life, complained of having a sharp pain in his stomach," while Navalny's associates have said he was killed in prison most likely on the Kremlin's command, which the Kremlin has vehemently denied.
One of the documents -- most likely to have been initially issued according to the Insider -- says that on February 16 Navalny "started complaining about sharp pains in his abdomen area, an impulsive rejection of his stomach's contents started, he began having convulsions and lost consciousness."
A second, apparently edited document, does not list the symptoms described in the initial document.
The official autopsy report said that hypertension and other diseases caused a heartbeat disorder which led to Navalny's death.
"The official cause of death -- heart rhythm disturbance -- would not explain the symptoms we see in the (first) report: sharp abdominal pain, vomiting and convulsions. It is unlikely that such symptoms can be explained by anything other than poisoning," according to resuscitation specialist Aleksandr Polupan, who treated Navalny in an Omsk hospital after he was poisoned with a Novichok-style nerve agent in 2020.
"The short time interval between the abdominal pain and convulsions suggests that it could have been, for example, an organophosphorus substance (a class of substances that Novichok belongs to), but only if it was applied internally, not topically," he added, which other doctors from various medical specialties interviewed by The Insider agreed with.
In 2020, Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok-like nerve agent but survived after he was airlifted to Germany and treated there. Navalny accused President Vladimir Putin of ordering his poisoning then, but the Kremlin has denied that.
The Insider did not specify how and from whom its journalists had obtained the documents.
Russian officials have yet to comment on the report.
After Navalny's death, officials refused to hand the body over to his mother for more than a week, prompting accusations from his supporters that officials were trying to hide evidence of his murder.
Controversy has continued to swirl with Navalny's former associate Ivan Zhdanov saying on September 3 that the refusal by the prosecutor's office in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District to launch a probe into Navalny's death was illegal.
The district’s authorities said at the time of death that a probe had been launched, though there was never a report and no findings were released.
The Insider said "other facts" also support the use of a toxic substance in Navalny's death.
"The authorities did not release the body for a long time and did not allow an alternative examination of the biomaterials. However, only now has the fact of poisoning been documented," it said.
Moscow Court Hands Life Sentence To Man For Attempted Murder Of Pro-Kremlin Writer
A Moscow court on September 30 sentenced a man to life in prison after finding him guilty of attempting to murder pro-Kremlin writer and political activist Zakhar Prilepin. The Second Western Military District Court ruled that Aleksandr Permyakov will serve the first five years of his term in a cell-like penitentiary and the rest of his term in a special regime prison. Permyakov was also ordered to pay 700,000 rubles ($7,600) fine. Prilepin was wounded in a car bombing in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod on May 6 last year. His driver died in the explosion, while Prilepin sustained unspecified injuries. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Exiled Belarus Opposition Hails Lithuanian Appeal To ICC On Lukashenka
Belarus's opposition in exile has welcomed Lithuania's plan to ask the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate alleged crimes against humanity by Aleksandr Lukashenka's regime, saying the process could bring international accountability and hope to Lukashenka's victims.
Lithuania's Justice Ministry announced on September 30 that it was referring the "situation in Belarus" to the ICC, listing a litany of alleged crimes against the population by the regime that include persecution, deportations, torture, and "other inhumane acts."
"We are grateful to the Lithuanian government for the principled decision and action," the United Transitional Cabinet, an exile opposition group formed in 2022 and led by former presidential challenger Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, said in a statement.
"For hundreds of thousands of victims, for all victims of repression, this gives hope. Hope for justice, hope that crimes will not go unpunished."
The ICC confirmed that it received Lithuania’s referral and said it would “examine the request within” and to determine “if there is a reasonable basis to proceed with the opening of an investigation.“
Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to Lithuania amid a brutal crackdown after the disputed 2020 presidential election claimed by Lukashenka, added, "The guilty should be brought to international responsibility, the repression should be stopped."
Lukashenka's forces jailed and intimidated the opposition and sympathizers and are thought to have jailed thousands of Belarusians amid the ongoing clampdown on dissent.
Western governments have refused to recognize Lukashenka's authority, and the former communist-era leader has increasingly relied on Russian President Vladimir Putin to keep his tight grip on power in his country of 9 million.
In its appeal to the ICC, Vilnius accuses Lukashenka's regime of a campaign that includes: "serious deprivation of fundamental rights; arbitrary detention, prosecution, and conviction; serious unlawful violence; unlawful killings; sexual violence; physical and mental harm; torture, inhuman and degrading treatment; intimidation and harassment; forced labour; and enforced disappearance among several others."
Lithuania has been a leader in the pursuit of international justice and accountability stemming from Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine with Minsk's help, from the ICC to appeals to Eurjust and Kyiv's genocide case against Moscow before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
A request by Vilnius in 2022 prompted the ICC to open proceedings over Russia and Belarus's aggression against Ukraine.
The ICC has since issued multiple warrants, including against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for children's rights, as well as Russian military commanders and others.
Signatories to the ICC's founding treaty, the Rome Statute, are bound to detain suspects for whom the court has issued an arrest warrant if they set foot on their soil, but the court has no enforcement mechanism.
Rights groups have previously urged the ICC to investigate Belarus and Russia over the fate of Ukrainian children they say have been forcibly taken to Belarus during Russia's 31-month-old full-scale invasion and are being "reeducated" to turn against their homeland.
"Belarusian democratic forces call on the countries participating in the Rome Statute to support the efforts of the Lithuanian side and the common aspiration of all Belarusians -- to ensure justice for hundreds of thousands of victims and bring Lukashenka and his accomplices to justice for the crimes he committed and continues to commit," the United Transitional Cabinet said.
Taliban Arrests Suspects In Deaths Of 3 Foreign Tourists
Afghanistan's Taliban-led government has announced the arrest of several alleged members of a regional branch of Islamic State who are suspected of killing three foreign tourists in Bamiyan in May and involvement in a mid-September attack on compliance officials in Kabul.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X on September 30 that the unspecified number of suspected Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) members includes one Tajik national.
He alleged that the Tajik national had come from neighboring Pakistan to carry out attacks in Afghanistan and said other IS-K fighters are in hiding in the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces of Pakistan with support from certain intelligence agencies. He did not provide evidence.
Islamabad has rejected past accusations that it provides shelter to militants.
Mujahid added that Taliban operations had forced IS-K militants out of Afghanistan, their former base.
The September 12 attack on employees of the High Directorate of Supervision and Prosecution of Decrees and Edicts -- which took over duties from the former UN-backed government's attorney-general's office -- resulted in six deaths and 13 injuries, according to the Taliban.
The Afghan Prosecutors Association said at least 16 prosecutors were killed.
The May 17 attack on a group of tourists at a market in the central Bamiyan Province killed three foreigners and an Afghan, and injured seven others, according to Taliban officials at the time.
An anonymous Taliban source, however, put the number of dead at eight in comments to RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Radio Azadi could not confirm that account.
Spain later confirmed that some of its nationals had been "murdered" in the attack, and simultaneous reports cited injured citizens from Australia, Norway, and Lithuania.
Four suspects were said to have been detained at the scene.
Bamiyan has remained a tourist destination despite a previous Taliban leadership's destruction in 2001 of two massive sixth-century Buddha statues to prosecute the hard-line fundamentalist group's extreme ban on idolatry.
Afghan Journalists' Group Slams 10-Year Sentences Given To Reporters
The Afghanistan Journalists' Support Organization (AJSO) has expressed concern at the 10-year prison sentences reportedly given to two reporters by a Taliban military court after their arrest in Kabul two months ago. The AJSO, a support nonprofit established by media professionals and German academics, said the court sentenced Mohammad Arif Hijran and Ahmed Kamran to prison immediately after their detention on July 16. It said they were convicted of reporting on and taking photographs of ceremonies to mark Ashura, an Islamic day of commemoration. The AJSO condemned the sentences and called on the international community to put pressure on Afghanistan's Taliban-led government to release the men. Government officials have not commented on the claims. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, click here.
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