5 Stories from Europe You May Have Missed

[rpannier]

1. Surging Belarusian Presidential Candidate Plans Three Rallies Amid Security Concerns

Belarusian presidential candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, whose recent campaign events have drawn large crowds, is scheduled to hold three rallies on August 1.

Tsikhanouskaya, who announced her candidacy only after her husband was arrested last month after he expressed his intention to run for the presidency, will appear at rallies in Grodno, Volkovysk, and Slonim.

Tsikhanouskaya has said that all events planned for her campaign would proceed despite a warning from the Belarusian Security Council about the need for additional security measures at public events.

The warning came after Belarusian authorities this week said they had detained 33 Russian mercenaries who authorities allege wanted to destabilize the country ahead of the election. Moscow has rejected the claims, saying the men were only transiting through Belarus on their way to Turkey.

https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-presidential-candidate/30760999.html


2. Kremlin calls for release of Russians accused of conspiracy in Belarus

On Friday, Russia demanded that 33 of its citizens who had been arrested in Belarus be released. The detainees are accused of wanting to orchestrate "mass riots" in Belarus a few days before the presidential election, which is proving a difficult endeavour for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

According to the government in Belarus, the suspects are men from the private paramilitary company Wagner, a group long accused of being close to the Kremlin and of deploying its mercenaries in foreign countries.

"We hope that our Belarusian allies will explain this incident as soon as possible and that our citizens will be released," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

https://www.euronews.com/2020/07/31/kremlin-calls-for-release-of-russians-accused-of-conspiracy-in-belarus

3. Moscow Court To Decide Next Week On Trial Of Sisters Charged With Killing Their Father

A court in Moscow says it will make public next week its decision regarding how to proceed with the trial of two sisters, who along with their younger sister are accused of killing their father in 2018.

After holding a preliminary hearing, the Moscow City Court said on July 31 that the court's decision on the extremely high-profile case will be made public on August 3.

Lawyers for Krestina and Angelina Khachaturyan have asked the court to send the case back to prosecutors, saying that the two sisters must be tried together with their younger sister Maria.

Maria Khachaturyan, who was 17 when the alleged crime took place, is set to be tried separately. A medical evaluation following the killing found her mentally unsound at the time of the crime, and she was recommended for psychological treatment.

https://www.rferl.org/a/moscow-court-to-decide-next-week-on-trial-of-sisters-charged-with-killing-their-father/30759195.html

4. Azerbaijan's Despotic Ruler Throws 'Tantrum' In Unprecedented Crackdown On Pro-Democracy Rivals

Facing growing public dissent over corruption, a mismanaged economy, his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and no progress in the country's long-running conflict with neighboring Armenia, Azerbaijan's strong-arm ruler Ilham Aliyev decided to crack down on the opposition.

In an action widely seen as an attempt to eliminate pro-democracy advocates and political rivals once and for all, as many as 120 opposition figures and supporters have been rounded up in the past two weeks by Aliyev's security services.

They include senior members of the largest opposition group, the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AXCP).

Political analysts say charges of "attempting to overthrow the government" against the AXCP's Fuad Qahramanli and Mammad Ibrahim suggest Aliyev's regime is ultimately seeking to arrest and silence AXCP leader Ali Karimli.

https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-s-despotic-ruler-throws-tantrum-in-unprecedented-crackdown-on-pro-democracy-rivals/30757480.html

5. Catalan politicians to sue Spain's former spy chief over alleged phone hack

Two Catalan separatist politicians have filed a lawsuit against the former head of Spain’s intelligence agency for allegedly trying to hack their mobile phones.

Roger Torrent, the speaker of Catalonia’s regional parliament, and Ernest Maragall, a member of Barcelona’s town council, filed the suit at a Barcelona court against former spy chief Félix Sanz Roldán on Thursday.

The two politicians have also launched proceedings against an Israeli technology company, NSO Group.

snip

Earlier this month an investigation by newspapers El País and The Guardian reported that Torrent had been targeted by spyware that is only sold only to governments and national security services, according to its owner NSO Group.

https://www.euronews.com/2020/07/30/catalan-politicians-to-sue-spain-s-former-spy-chief-over-alleged-phone-hack

[Ilsa]

1. Dictators have gained a foothold in Europe.

Should be a lesson to Americans.

[secondwind]

2. Putin has a lot of pots on the stove.....

and Chump looks the other way...

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. He's just another pot.

[Hortensis]

5. Yes, with the U.S. the biggest pot and Trump Putin's assistant stirrer.

We don't know why, but he is.

[malaise]

4. I read that the Belarus president has Covid-19

Another fool who dismissed Covid-19 as 'psychosis.'

I can see why this candidate is surging.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/28/europe/alexander-lukashenko-coronavirus-infection-intl/index.html

The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has said he contracted coronavirus but recovered without suffering any symptoms, state-run news agency Belta reported Tuesday.

Lukashenko has repeatedly dismissed the threat posed by Covid-19, touted home remedies and refused to shut down his country, making Belarus an outlier in Europe.
"I apologize for my voice, lately I have to talk a lot. But the most surprising thing is that today you are seeing a person who managed to power through coronavirus standing on his feet," he said during a visit to a military base, according to Belta. "Doctors made this conclusion yesterday — it was asymptomatic."
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[Hortensis]

6. Thanks, Rpannier, for the reminder that what's happening here is

here is a big part of an international rise of fascistic authoritarianism. The corruption instilled and fostered in our government has become the major WMD of Russia warfare against many nations.