Russian Teenager Gets Five Years In Prison In Minecraft 'Terrorism' Case

A court in Siberia has sentenced a 16-year-old boy to five years in prison in a high-profile terrorism case prompted by plans he had with two friends to add the building of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) to the popular video game...

Russian Teacher 'Forced To Quit Job' For Reading Poems By Authors Persecuted Under Stalin

A Russian teacher says she was forced to quit her job at a school in the city of St. Petersburg after she read poems to her class by two authors who had been persecuted during Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's purge in the 1930s and 1940s.

Khamenei's Niece Kept Incommunicado In Tehran Prison, Brother Says

A civil activist and niece of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is being held in solitary confinement in Tehran's Evin prison following her detention last week after she took part in a celebration praising the widow of the ousted shah, her...

Chechnya's Kadyrov Says 'Real Prison' Awaits Prominent Lawyer's Mother

Chechnya's strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on January 21 that the detained mother of a prominent human rights lawyer faces a "real prison sentence," the Chechen authorities "will take care of" her son, and that her entire family could find...

Russian Artist Arrested For Giant Poop Snow Sculpture

A Russian artist has been arrested for creating a snow sculpture in the form of a giant turd near a burial site in St. Petersburg.

Used To Free Electricity, Kosovo's Bitcoin Miners Are Now Facing Difficult Times After Ban

Kosovo is targeting cryptocurrency miners, whose operations to produce virtual currency are draining the country's electricity grid, amid a state of emergency linked to an energy crunch. In Kosovo crypto mining is big business, so what happens next?

Women Protesters Injured In Stampede After Taliban Militants Fire In The Air

A number of Afghan women have been injured in a stampede caused by Taliban guards firing in the air during a protest in Kabul against discriminatory measures including new travel restrictions on women.

Iran Executes Kurdish Man Despite International Appeals, Rights Activists Say

Iran has executed a Kurdish man convicted of armed rebellion despite international appeals that his life be spared, activists said on December 20.

Iran Condom Ban Sparks Fears Of Disease, Unwanted Pregnancies, And A Black Market

Iran has passed a law banning the free, state-subsidized distribution of contraceptives in a bid to boost its population growth -- but the move has raised fears of catastrophic repercussions.

Russian Court Fines Alphabet's Google $98 Million

A court in Moscow said on December 24 that it was fining Alphabet's Google 7.2 billion rubles ($98 million) for what it said was a repeated failure to delete content Russia deems illegal, the first revenue-based fine in this kind of case in Russia.

Jailed Belarusian Journalist Kuznechyk Faces Criminal Charges

A jailed freelance journalist who has worked for RFE/RL’s Belarus Service, is facing unspecified criminal charges, his relatives told RFE/RL on December 23.

Revelations In Grisly Death Of Iconic Iranian Dissident: Did Tehran Hire A Friend To Kill Him?

Fereydoun Farrokhzad, an exiled entertainer and scathing critic of Iran’s Islamic leaders, was murdered in 1992 in his Bonn apartment -- a crime that remains unsolved. An RFE/RL investigation sheds light on his bloody demise and uncovers evidence...

New Persian-Language Website Exposes 'All-Out Assault' On Rights In Iran

Amnesty International has launched a Persian-language website, saying it aims to increase access to information on abuse in Iran amid "an all-out assault on human rights" by the authorities, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance,...

Nobel Peace Prize Winners Muratov, Ressa Call For Commitment To Independent Journalism

Nobel Peace Prize winners Dmitry Muratov and Maria Ressa have warned that a rise in authoritarian governments requires a continued commitment to independent reporting.

U.S. Prosecutors Indict American Seeking Asylum In Belarus On Charges Related To Capitol Riot

An American who has fled to Belarus has been indicted on charges of assaulting police officers and other crimes related to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Russia Blocks Privacy Service Tor In Latest Move To Control Internet

Russia's media regulator has blocked the online anonymity service Tor in what is seen as the latest move by Moscow to bring the Internet in Russia under its control.

Lukashenka Says Belarus Willing To Host Russian Nuclear Weapons

Belarus's authoritarian leader, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, has said that his country would be willing to host Russian nuclear weapons if NATO moved similar U.S. equipment from Germany to Eastern Europe.

Jailed Iranian Rights Defender At 'Imminent Risk' Of Flogging, Amnesty Warns

Amnesty International is calling on the Iranian authorities to immediately release prominent human rights defender Narges Mohammadi, who it said is at imminent risk of receiving 80 lashes following her arrest earlier this week.

No Dogs Allowed? Iran Considers Nationwide Ban On 'Dangerous, Harmful' Pets

Iranians might have to give up their "unclean" habit of keeping cats, dogs, and even bunny rabbits in their homes. Under newly proposed legislation, the pets would have to go or owners would face strict penalties.

U.S. Cybersecurity Researchers Link Belarusian Government To Hacking, Disinformation Campaign

U.S. cybersecurity researchers say they have uncovered evidence that the Belarusian government is linked to a hacking and disinformation campaign against Eastern European NATO members.