self-driving buses – The bus service will transport passengers between a car park outside Edinburgh and a train station in the city from 15 May
Five buses will run on the 22km route from May 15, connecting Feritol car park, in nearby Fife, with Edinburgh Park rail and tram station. The line will have a capacity of about 10,000 passenger trips per week. The buses have sensors that enable them to move along a pre-selected route at a speed of up to 80 km per hour.
However, two employees of the operator company will also travel in them. A driver will sit in the driver’s seat to monitor the equipment, and the so-called bus captain will assist passengers in boarding, purchasing tickets and enquiries.
According to the British government, it will be the world’s first public bus service served by self-driving standard-sized buses.
The new report on foreign interference, is illustrated by numerous examples such as EU political elites defending Gazprom’s interests and Hungary’s vulnerability to Russian intelligence activities
The EU needs a coordinated strategy against foreign interference and information manipulation (FIMI), including measures to enforce better existing provisions to fight it, say MEPs in a report adopted on Wednesday. They add that adequate funding should be provided for capacity-building activities to tackle disinformation and uphold democratic processes.
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine clearly made the link even more evident between attempts of FIMI and threats to the EU and its immediate neighbourhood, Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries, as well as global security and stability, warn MEPs on the Special Committee on Foreign interference (ING2).
MEPs are requesting that the Commission develop an effective Defence of Democracy Package, taking into account the Conference on the Future of Europe final proposals., MEPs suggest that, when dealing with foreign influence efforts, the EU should consider a more effective “risk-based approach” that bears in mind if a risk country, such as Russia, China, or Iran has been involved.
Critical infrastructure and interference during electoral processes
The report names many examples of foreign interference such as political elites advancing Gazprom’s agenda in Germany; susceptibility to Russian intelligence activities in Hungary; and targeting LGBTIQ+ community with disinformation campaigns in Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.
Concerned about the EU’s dependence on foreign actors and foreign technologies in critical infrastructures and supply chains, MEPs call on the Council and the Commission to exclude the use of equipment and software from manufacturers from high-risk countries, particularly China and Russia, such as TikTok, ByteDance, Huawei, ZTE, Kaspersky, NtechLab or Nuctech.
The report urges the Commission to enable donations to be effectively traced to counter prohibited financial transactions from non-EU countries entering into the EU’s political system and calls on the member states to urgently address the issue of donations from third countries to national political parties and close existing loopholes in their legislation.
More cooperation within the EU and with like-minded partners
To foster operational exchange between national authorities and EU institutions and agencies, the report calls for a specialised EU “knowledge hub” to deal with threat intelligence.
Stressing that increased interference and information manipulation is expected in the run-up to the 2024 European elections, MEPs suggest establishing a Rapid Alert System for members of European and national parliaments to counter online disinformation and prevent sharing.
Finally, MEPs call for closer cooperation with like-minded partners to counter FIMI, and to increase cooperation on strategic communication to counter manipulated narratives in the EU neighbourhood and the Global South.
The report was adopted by 27 votes in favour, 1 against and 1 abstentions.
Quote
Rapporteur Sandra Kalniete (EPP, LV) said: “Foreign interference in democratic processes represents a growing threat to the security of EU member states and the EU, particularly against the backdrop of rapid technological development and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Therefore, we must act urgently in adopting the INGE2 report and implement the INGE1 report more quickly. Significant and lasting investments must be made to build our democratic resilience, drawing on the experience of our partners like Ukraine and Taiwan.”
Next steps
The report will now be submitted to a vote in the Parliament as a whole at the May II plenary session.
As a response to the alleged attempts by foreign countries, including Qatar and Morocco, to influence MEPs, the special committee will prepare a separate report identifying the flaws in the European Parliament’s rules on transparency, ethics, integrity and corruption and make proposals for reforms to effectively fight corruption. The vote in the committee will be on 1 June.
The aim is to reinvigorate international engagement around key issues, such as human rights, in particular women’s and girls’ rights, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking.
“The meeting is intended to achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban on these issues,” the UN said in a statement issued on Sunday.
The Taliban returned to power in August 2021 and have restricted Afghan women and girls from participating in most areas of public and daily life.
Women nationals have also been barred from working with the UN in a country where nearly 29 million people depend on humanitarian assistance.
Last week, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the decision, saying that it undermines human rights and humanitarian principles.
The 15-member body called for the “full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women and girls in Afghanistan.”
General Assembly President to visit Jordan
The President of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, will conduct an official visit to Jordan, starting on Monday, to spotlight solidarity with Syrian and Palestinian refugees.
More than two million Palestinian refugees live in the country, which is also among those most affected by the Syrian conflict, now in its 12th year.
Mr. Kőrösi will meet with top officials and senior Government leaders to discuss topics of mutual interest, including water sustainability and follow up from the UN Water Conference, held last month in New York.
He will also visit the Zaatari Refugee Camp, the world’s largest camp hosting people who have fled the war in Syria. The Assembly President will be accompanied by representatives from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and others.
UN deputy chief highlights Africa’s role in multilateralism
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed was in Kenya this past weekend, where she urged African leaders to help shape the future of multilateralism as it struggles to remain relevant.
“The UN, under the leadership of ‘SG’ António Guterres, is here to accompany the best opportunity yet for Africa, which is to lead and bridge the broken trust of multilateralism. And let’s make no mistake about that: that trust is broken,” she said in remarks to the Mo Ibrahim 2023 African Leadership Ceremony held in Nairobi on Friday.
She called for action in the areas of leadership and governance, while urging countries to offer more opportunities to young people and women.
Ms. Mohammed prefaced her remarks by highlighting the crisis in Sudan, expressing deep sadness over the unfolding tragedy while also underlining the UN’s commitment to stay and deliver for the people.
“The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan. We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement.
The UN again urged the warring sides to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow safe passage for civilians fleeing hostilities, and respect humanitarian workers and assets.
The humanitarian situation in Sudan “is reaching breaking point,” Mr. Griffiths warned in a separate statement, underscoring the need to stop the fighting.
Essential goods are becoming scarce, especially in the capital, Khartoum, and families are struggling to access water, food, fuel and other critical supplies.
Furthermore, vulnerable people are unable to leave areas worst-hit areas as transportation costs have risen exponentially, while those injured in the violence find it difficult to access urgent healthcare.
Aid stocks dwindling
“The United Nations and our partners are doing our best to reboot the humanitarian response in the country,” he said.
“Massive looting of the offices and warehouses of humanitarian organizations has depleted most of our supplies. We are exploring urgent ways to bring in and distribute additional supplies.”
The UN “relief chief” said a shipment with five containers of intravenous fluids and other emergency supplies is currently docked in the city of Port Sudan, located on the Red Sea coast, awaiting clearance by the authorities.
On April 27, 2023, the Al-Imam Al-Kadhim School in Al-Geneina City, West Darfur State, which had been serving as an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) shelter, was burned to the ground amidst the ongoing crisis in Sudan.
Appeal for renewed ceasefire
The announcement of his deployment came just hours after the UN and international partners appealed for Generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as “Hemedti”, to agree to extend a 72-hour ceasefire for another three days, amid reports of ongoing airstrikes in Khartoum.
The Trilateral Mechanism – which brings together the African Union, East African bloc IGAD and the UN – also called on the rivals to ensure their forces fully implement the truce.
“As the people of Sudan urgently need a humanitarian pause, the Trilateral Mechanism urges the parties to the conflict to respect the ceasefire, to protect civilians and to refrain from attacks on civilian populated areas, schools, and healthcare facilities,” they said in a statement.
“This ceasefire would also pave the way for talks between both sides towards the establishment of a permanent cessation of hostilities,” they added.
Death and displacement
Sudan has been undergoing a turbulent transition to civilian rule in the wake of the April 2019 overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir. A power-sharing government that brought together military and civilian leaders was also toppled in a coup in October 2021.
The Trilateral Mechanism has been facilitating talks since May 2022 which resulted in an agreement towards restoring civilian rule, signed that December.
However, hopes shattered two weeks ago when fighting erupted between the regular Sudanese army, led by General al-Burhan, and paramilitary forces under General Dagalo, known as the RSF.
Hundreds of people have been killed, and thousands have been fleeing, including to neighbouring Chad, where some 20,000 Sudanese have found refuge. Others are sheltering in the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan, often among already vulnerable communities.
The fighting has also forced the UN to essentially halt all aid operations in a country where nearly 16 million people, roughly one third of the population, already were in need.
Commitment to stay
The UN relocated and evacuated staff from Khartoum and other locations over the past week, who will continue to work remotely, whether from inside Sudan or in other countries.
The UN and partners are establishing a core team in Port Sudan, which will be responsible for overseeing aid operations and negotiating humanitarian access with de facto authorities.
Humanitarians now based in the coastal city, capital of Red Sea state, are determined to quickly return to Khartoum, as the UN continues to uphold its commitment to Sudan.
Earlier on Sunday, Volker Perthes, head of the UN Mission supporting the transition, UNITAMS, was briefed by the Wali (Governor) and other officials in Red Sea State on the humanitarian and security situation there.
“He assured them that the UN is not leaving Sudan and that he will work from Port Sudan until the security situation in Khartoum allows our return,” UNITAMS said in a tweet.
Europe’s hunt for frog legs could drive amphibians to ‘irreversible extinction’, warns new study. Between 2010 and 2019, European Union countries imported 40.7 million kilograms of legs – the equivalent of around two billion frogs. Most of the frogs were purchased from Indonesia, Albania and Turkey. But Europe’s voracious appetite for frogs is decimating native populations in those countries, warns a report published in the journal Nature Conservation. “We call on [exporting] countries and their governments to take responsibility for trade sustainability,” the authors wrote.
Frogs predict earthquakes
In 2010, a study on frogs showed the effects of earthquakes on the animals. The frogs were found to have left the sites… Read more “The EU must take immediate action to target all imports through a single, centralized database and include sensitive species in the annexes to the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation.” In which country is the most frogs’ legs consumed? Frog legs are one of the most famous dishes in French cuisine. According to legend, in the 12th century, monks began eating amphibians, which the church classified as fish, to avoid the strict meatless diet. They are also consumed in other parts of the world, including Vietnam and China.
In the EU, Belgium is the main importer of frog legs (28,430 tonnes between 2010 and 2019), but around three-quarters of these are re-exported to France. France imports 6790 tonnes from non-EU countries (16.6% of EU imports), followed by the Netherlands (2620 tonnes; 6.4%), Italy (1790 tonnes; 4.3%) and Spain (923.4 tonnes; 2.2 %).
What impact does the frog trade have on the environment?
The kitchen has a price. French authorities have banned local commercial frog hunting – with the exception of a period in the 1980s, after the species’ numbers declined dramatically.
Now 80% of Europe’s demand for frogs comes from Indonesia. The crustacean grass frog (Fejervarya cancrivora), the giant Javan frog (Limnonectes macrodon) and the East Asian bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus rugulosus) are vulnerable to potential “overharvesting”, the report warned.
In Turkey, Pelophylax caralitanus, known as the Anatolian frog, is at “high risk of extinction”. “Overexploitation [of this species] for the frog legs trade in France, Italy and Switzerland has caused its rapid decline, so that the species is now considered endangered,” the report warns. The decline has an indirect effect on local ecosystems. Frogs hunt insects. In areas where amphibians are hunted, according to the researchers, the use of toxic pesticides tends to increase.
How can we protect frogs from overexploitation?
In the 1970s and 1980s, India and Bangladesh were the main suppliers of frogs to the EU, but their governments stopped exporting after the local population declined. To ensure the trade remains sustainable, the researchers are calling on frog-exporting countries to regulate the trade more tightly. They also called on the EU to publish more information on trade. Some enterprising Francophile vegans have invented plant-based frog legs made from wheat and soy.
The history of one of the most popular Turkish delicacies – lokum, mass-produced and consumed, as one of the few sweet delights offered on the market, begins in the distant 18th century. The confectioner Haj Bekir Efendi is considered the “father” of lokum, as he began to mass-produce it and sell it in his shop. He arrived in Constantinople in 1776 and thanks to his culinary skills and talent, as well as the lokum he prepared, he was appointed chief pastry chef in the palace by the Sultan. This is the beginning of the history of the sweet treat, but do you know how it developed and what the delight is made of?
The history of lokum
Turkish Delight is one of the oldest sweets in the world, believed to be more than 500 years old, meaning it was known and prepared even before the popular confectioner started selling it in his shop and turned it into a popular Turkish sweet treat . Haj Bekir Efendi wrapped lokum in special lace handkerchiefs and turned it into a symbol of love and a way of expressing feelings, with men offering it as a gift to the lady of their heart they were courting.
The story continues precisely with the presence of the pastry chef in the palace, and the lokum itself – with its spread outside of Turkey, which happened thanks to a British traveler in the 19th century, who liked lokum so much that he took boxes of all the flavors of Turkish to his native Britain a sweet gem he discovered. The name of this sweet morsel, called lokum, has an Arabic origin – from the word luqam, which translates as “bite” and “mouth full”. Its name in various Eastern European languages comes from Ottoman Turkish – lokum.
What is Turkish delight made of?
It is a curious fact that the recipe for Turkish delight has remained almost unchanged since the day it was created. Nuts, different notes and aromas are added to it, but in its essence it remains unchanged, preserved and passed down from generation to generation.
Lokum turns culinary history with its ingredients. Until the 19th century and the advent of refined sugar in these lands and its use in the preparation of sweets, they were made with honey or dried fruit, which gave them their taste. Lokum is prepared from a mixture of sugar syrup and starchy milk. It took 5-6 hours to prepare or more precisely cook the mixture, after which the aroma was added. The mixture was then poured into large wooden proofing trays and after about five hours it was rolled up, sliced and sprinkled with nuts or powdered sugar. These are the ingredients of lokum even today, the tradition has been preserved, the recipe – too.
In Bulgaria, f.e., the focus is mainly on traditional flavors and aromas related to our country, such as Bulgarian rose, walnuts, honey, while in Turkey the variety of Turkish delights is proverbial, the most popular being fruit notes, mint, lemon, orange, as well as Turkish delights with dates, pistachios or hazelnuts.
In Turkey, Turkish delight is also widely available, wrapped with dried fruits such as apricot, as well as variants with a lot of coconut. A special type of Turkish delight is also known, with a layer of cream (buffalo milk cream) between the sweet layers and topped with coconut shavings.
Schütz’s name and date of birth were found in SS documents
Former Nazi concentration camp warden Josef Schütz, who was imprisoned at a record age of 102 and sentenced last year, has died in Germany. However, he was not in jail as he was waiting for his appeal to be heard.
Schütz himself denied to the end that he was an SS member and a camp warden.
However, in June of last year, the court sentenced him to five years in prison, accepting as proven that in 1942-1945 he served as a guard at the Sachsenhausen camp near Berlin and assisted in the murder of 3,500 people.
Schütz appealed the sentence to the Federal Court of Germany.
During the Second World War, the Nazis sent more than 200,000 people to Sachsenhausen – political prisoners, Soviet prisoners of war, Jews and Roma.
Tens of thousands of them die. Some of them died of starvation and hard labor, others were killed in medical experiments, others were killed in gas chambers, and still others were simply shot.
Schütz’s name and date of birth were found in SS documents, but he still claimed that he was not an SS member and did not serve in the camp guard, but worked on a farm during the war.
“I don’t know why I’m sitting here in the dock. I have nothing to do with all this,” Schütz told the court.
However, the court concluded that Schütz did indeed serve in the concentration camp and knowingly and voluntarily participated in the mass extermination of people.
Germany has stepped up its hunt for Nazi criminals following the high-profile case of Ivan (John) Demjanjuk, who was extradited to Germany from the US and in 2011 was sentenced to five years in prison as a former warden at the Sobibor and Flossenburg concentration camps and an accomplice in the mass murders of prisoners .
Demjanjuk, who was 91 at the time of the sentencing, also did not go to jail because he appealed and died in a nursing home before the decision was made, back in 2012.
Four years after Demjanjuk’s trial, the “Auschwitz accountant” Oskar Gröning was sentenced to four years in prison. Thanks to an appeal, he also stayed out of prison until his death in 2018.
In December, the first woman accused of complicity in Nazi crimes in decades, 97-year-old Irmgard Fürchner, who served as secretary to the commandant of the Stutthof concentration camp near Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland), was sentenced to two years in prison with a suspended sentence.
The Danish government waived a law requiring all sermons to be translated into Danish
Critics have said justice takes too long, and perpetrators are not always held accountable in cases of sexual abuse and exploitation committed by UN personnel.
Appointed by the Secretary-General in 2017, Jane Connors, the UN’s first Victims’ Rights Advocate, is tasked with getting a victim-centred approach installed across the system’s more than 35 entities.
She shared with UN News her on-the-ground accounts of “extremely difficult conversations” with victims and their children, and how the UN is addressing issues from child support to DNA testing.
Jane Connors of Australia is the first Victims’ Rights Advocate for the United Nations.
UN News: How would you assess progress made to date?
Jane Connors: There has been good progress in getting people to understand from policy point of view that the victim of sexual abuse and their rights and dignity are extremely important. The challenge is to get that translated into reality on the ground.
We’ve had very good progress where we have victims’ rights advocates on the ground, in Central African Republic, DR Congo, Haiti, and South Sudan.
Sexual abuse or exploitation often results in a pregnancy, and the men almost always abandon the women because they have another family elsewhere. More reports have come forward, and more has been done in supporting victims and, in particular, pursuing paternity child support claims.
One of the big challenges is underrating the impact of sexual exploitation and the notion that there is consent. Just because you are able to use your power to exploit somebody and get them to apparently consent doesn’t mean they consent. Realizing accountability to victims should be our priority. Accountability from a victim’s perspective will be very different to what others might think.
Weaving a Way to Independence
UN News: Are States doing enough to make real progress?
Jane Connors: The paternity cases we know about pertain to personnel working in United Nations peace or special political missions, predominantly uniformed military or police. In terms of identifying the victims, the missions are a long way ahead.
I went to several countries to gain trust and urge them to use their good offices to get the men who fathered children and have been positively identified through DNA matching to do what they’re supposed to do.
It’s a joint responsibility of the Member States and the UN to make sure that the rights of children are realized. They have the right to know their father and be supported by him. It’s also the parental responsibility of the father.
UN News: Can projects supported by the UN Victims’ Assistance Fund make a real difference in the lives of victims?
Jane Connors: I think it does make a difference. Currently, we have projects in DR Congo and Liberia, we’ve had one in Haiti, and soon be in Central African Republic. We need to do much more with prevention, as prevention and response are inextricably linked; you can’t have one without the other.
You need to have the victim element to make people think about the consequences of their conduct. They victimize not only the individual, but also their community and their own family. When we’re talking about abuse, by and large, we are talking about very serious sexual misconduct with children under age 18.
I’d like to see much more focus on behaviour change. It takes a lot of work, sustained resources, and huge leadership to make something unacceptable. Remember when driving when drunk was fine, and now it is regarded as deeply unacceptable. It’s a long, long game.
UN News: Are investigations being carried out fast enough?
Jane Connors: More work needs to be done with investigators coming out of a law enforcement background. They need their minds to shift. They need to know that delay is very bad, that they need to be polite and compassionate, and they need to keep the victim informed. Giving victims information and follow up is not very good, and really has to improve.
UN Assistant Secretary-General Jane Connors concluded her five-day visit to South Sudan with a press conference in Juba, the capital, on 7 December 2017.
UN News: Are there common messages that you’re hearing from the victims?
Jane Connors: These are extremely difficult conversations. I will meet with anybody who wants to talk about this issue. I remember one country I visited some years ago where there are a lot of women with children born of sexual abuse and or exploitation, and they were very dissatisfied, had received no support, no assistance; the children were not going to school because they didn’t have money to pay for fees, and they didn’t know what was happening with the paternity claims.
One of them said, ‘People like you, we see you all the time. You come you talk to us, you go, we never hear anything’. I said to them, ‘Look, I’m not a very powerful person, but I will do what I can’.
I had some very good colleagues in the country concerned who raised about $40,000, so those children could go to school. That made an enormous difference. At the end of that year, they met with the women, who said ‘At least she did what she said she would do’.
UN News: You’ve met with victims in several countries. What is your message to them?
Jane Connors: I am amazed at their tolerance for the UN, their patience, their resilience, and I’m also extremely impressed by those who are able to move forward. In terms of ongoing projects, there have been women who have been able to move on to have businesses. This is something we do together.
“I have the right” | Victims of Sexual Abuse & Exploitation| United Nations
How the UN helps victims and addresses sexual abuse and exploitationcommitted by its personnel
Office of the Victims’ Rights Advocate: Working with all UN entities so victims get the assistance and support they need, the Office also collaborates with Member States and civil society to build support networks. Actions include conducting country visits and outreach, mapping services available to victims, and producing annual reports.
Victims’ Assistance Fund: Established in 2016, it relies on Member State contributions and funds withheld from troop or police contributing countries in substantiated cases of sexual abuse or exploitation. The project-based fund provides livelihood support to women, and, in cases of children born of sexual abuse and exploitation, psychological, educational and nutritional support.
System-wide training module: Launched in January, the 2.5-hour module for all UN staff and related personnel provides a clear understanding of victims’ rights, what a victim-centred approach means, and their responsibilities in responding as soon as they become aware of an allegation.
DNA-collection: Through a partnership between South Africa and the UN, DNA is collected from every soldier before deployment to the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
Not only Russian citizens disagreeing about Russia’s war on Ukraine or asking Putin to stop the war are sentenced to heavy prison terms. Jehovah’s Witnesses whose organization was banned by the Supreme Court in 2017 are arrested and sentenced to huge prison terms for merely practicing their faith in private. Moreover, SOVA CENTER, one of the main sources of information about human rights and religious freedom in Russia, is about to be liquidated. On 27 April 2023 Judge Vyacheslav Polyga of the Moscow City Court considered the request filed by Russia’s Ministry of Justice to liquidate the Regional Public Association “Sova” and decided to approve it. The source of the documented cases hereafter is SOVA CENTER, a non-faith-based NGO.
A Jehovah’s Witness sentenced to eight years in prison in Vladivostok
On 27 April 2023, the Pervorechensky District Court of Vladivostok sentenced Jehovah’s Witness Dmitry Barmakin to eight years in a general regime colony with an additional restriction of liberty for one year. He was found guilty under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization).
The criminal case against Dmitry Barmakin was initiated on 27 July 2018. On the next day he was detained together with his wife Elena and then arrested. In June 2019, the case was sent to court, and in October Barmakin was released from the pre-trial detention center, with a preventive measure in the form of a ban on certain activities. The investigation claimed that from 15 October 2017 to 28 July 2018, Barmakin was the driving force of the local religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Vladivostok.
In Akhtubinsk, three Jehovah’s Witnesses sentenced to seven years in prison each
On 17 April 2023, the Akhtuba District Court of the Astrakhan Region sentenced Jehovah’s Witnesses Rinat Kiramov, Sergei Korolev and Sergei Kosyanenko, accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code) and financing of extremism (Part 1 of Art. 282.3 of the Criminal Code). Each of them was sentenced to seven years in prison to be served in a general regime colony. In addition, the court imposed additional penalties on them: a three-year ban on activities related to the management and participation in public organizations, as well as restriction of liberty for one year.
According to the investigation, from July 2017 to November 2021, the accused continued to organize meetings, knowing about the national ban on the organization’s activities. The investigation claimed that they also promoted the benefits of their religious teachings, distributed literature recognized as extremist, recruited local residents and “collected money under the guise of donations, and “for the purpose of conspiracy” used videoconferencing for communication.
Korolev, Kosyanenko and Kiramov were arrested on 9 November 2021 in Akhtubinsk and Znamensk, Astrakhan region.
In the Kemerovo region, a Jehovah’s Witness was sentenced to six years in prison
On 31 March 2023, the Belovsky City Court of the Kemerovo region sentenced Jehovah’s Witness Sergei Ananin, accused under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization). He was sentenced to six years in a general regime colony. He was taken into custody in the courtroom.
During the debate of the parties on 21 March, the public prosecutor asked to sentence Ananin to eight years in prison.
According to the investigation, the accused held online gatherings from July 2017 to June 2020 to study materials sent from the “central office” of the organization and special literature “propaganda”, although their religious organization had been banned across the whole country.
The criminal case was initiated in February 2021.
A court in Moscow sentenced five Jehovah’s Witnesses
On 31 March 2023, the Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow issued a verdict in the case of five Jehovah’s Witnesses. Yuri Chernyshev, Ivan Tchaikovsky, Vitaly Komarov and Sergei Shatalov, were accused under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization) The court sentenced them to six years and three months in a general regime colony with a three-year ban on the management and participation in public organizations. As an additional punishment, the court sentenced them to one year of restriction of liberty. Vardan Zakaryan was found guilty by the court for violating Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (involvement in the activities of an extremist organization) and was sentenced to four years and three months in prison.
According to the investigation, the accused organized the work of the Management Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia banned in 2017. They shared religious literature promoting the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses with other people and “recruited” new participants from among residents of Moscow.
A Jehovah’s Witness sentenced to six and a half years in Khabarovsk
On 27 March 2023, the Soviet-Havan City Court of the Khabarovsk Territory issued a verdict in the case of Jehovah’s Witness Alexei Ukhov, sentencing him to six and a half years in a penal colony under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization).
Ukhov was arrested and detained on 22 October 2020 after a series of searches of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Soviet Harbor. On 9 July 2021, he was released from the pre-trial detention center on recognizance not to leave. His case went to court on 2 August 2021.
Six years in prison for a Jehovah’s Witness in Krasnoyarsk
On 17 March 2023, the Sosnovoborsk City Court of Krasnoyarsk Krai found Jehovah’s Witness Yuri Yakovlev guilty of organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code) and sentenced him to six years in prison in a general regime colony.
According to the investigation, Yakovlev organized online gatherings of the banned organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses, was engaged in “pastoral work” and led “preaching activities”.
Yakovlev was arrested on 28 March 2022 for his involvement in the activities of an extremist organization due to the fact that in April 2017 the Supreme Court of Russia banned the Management Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia and 395 local religious organizations said to be “extremist.”
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) sounded the alarm after 36,000 people of Haitian origin were deported during the first three months of the year, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Some 90 per cent were deported from the Dominican Republic.
The experts expressed concern over collective expulsions which did not take into consideration individual circumstances and needs.
They also highlighted alleged human rights violations and abuses against Haitians on the move along migration routes, at borders and in detention centres in the Americas region, “as a result of strict migration control, the militarization of borders, systematic immigration detention policies and the obstacles to international protection” in some countries.
Such obstacles exposed these vulnerable migrants to “killings, disappearances, acts of sexual and gender-based violence, and trafficking by criminal networks”, the Committee warned.
Demanding protection for Haitian refugees
Caribbean countries, such as the Bahamas as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands, have announced measures against undocumented Haitian migrants. The United States in January also made public new border policies to permit fast-tracked expulsions to Mexico of Haitian migrants and others, crossing the southern border of the US without documentation.
Considering the desperate situation in Haiti, which does not currently allow for the safe and dignified return of Haitians to the country, as pointed out by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Committee called for an end to the collective expulsions of Haitians on the move.
It also said assessments of each individual case needed to be carried out, to identify protection needs in accordance with international refugee and human rights law, with particular attention to the most vulnerable groups.
Combatting racism and xenophobia
The independent human rights experts requested States parties in the Americas to investigate all allegations of excessive use of force, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and racial profiling against Haitians.
They also demanded protection of refugees against other allegations of human rights violations and abuses committed by both State and non-state actors; including at borders, migrant detention centres and along migration routes, to punish those responsible and to provide rehabilitation and reparations to victims or their families.
The experts also called for measures to prevent and combat xenophobic and racist violence and incitement to racial hatred against people of Haitian origin, and to publicly condemn racist hate speech, including those uttered by public figures and politicians.
Independent human rights experts are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva. They are mandated to monitor and report on specific thematic issues or country situations. They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work.
