Europe

Evidence mounts of Russian war crimes in Ukraine

A new UN report finds continued evidence of war crimes and human rights violations committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, including torture, rape and the deportation of children. The report, the latest issued by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, documents additional indiscriminate attacks with explosive weapons, resulting in deaths, injuries and the destruction and damage of “civilian objects.” For example, 24 people, mostly women and children, were killed in an attack on a block of residential apartments in Uman, a city in the Cherkasy region, in April. (Map: PCL)

Europe

Ukraine bans religious organizations linked to Russia

Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, adopted Decision Number 8371, banning religious organizations found to have “colluded with armed aggressors” from operating within the country. The measure is clearly aimed at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been accused of collaborating with Russia. Some 16% of Ukrainians follow the church, which is distinct from the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The church claims that it is not currently aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church and argues the law is unconstitutional. Passage of the law follows the prosecution of church leaders, including the three-year prison sentence of Metropolitan Iosaf, for distributing pro-Russian literature, and imposition of a 60-day house arrest on Metropolitan Pavel, for “supporting Russia’s armed action against Ukraine.” (Photo of Kyiv’s Pechersk Lavra via Wikipedia)

Europe

Synagogues attacked in Germany, Tunisia

Unknown assailants targeted a Berlin synagogue with Molotov cocktails, while rioters in Tunisia burned down the country’s historic El Hamma synagogue. There was no significant property damage at the Kahal Adass Jisroel synagogue in Berlin, but El Hamma in the Tunisian city of Gabes was effectively destroyed. Although El Hamma no longer functioned as a house of worship, it held major symbolic significance for Tunisian Jews, who are still shaken from a May shooting at the Ghriba Synagogue in Djerba, the oldest in Africa. (Photo showing damage to Tomb of Rabbi Yousef al-Maarabi at El Hamma synagogue via RadioJ)

Europe

UN commission sees ongoing war crimes in Ukraine

There is “continuous evidence” that Russian armed forces are committing war crimes in Ukraine, including unlawful attacks with explosive weapons and attacks harming civilians or targeting energy infrastructure, as well as torture and sexual and gender-based violence, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said in its latest update. The Commission said it is concerned that these crimes may be escalating to a campaign of genocide in Ukraine, and is investigating such allegations. (Map: PCL)

Europe

Russian officials sanctioned for abuse of Crimea journalist

The Council of the European Union announced sanctions on six Russians it says committed rights violations in Crimea. The six individuals were singled out for participating in legal proceedings against Ukrainian journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko, who was targeted by Russia for his outspoken opposition to the Russian occupation of Crimea. Two Federal Security Service (FSB) agents are sanctioned for torturing Yesypenko, and allegedly framing him on a weapons charge. Also sanctioned are two prosecuting attorneys, the judge in the case, and Viktor Krapko, the Crimean Supreme Court justice who allegedly authorized abusive searches against Yesypenko and others. Several of the sanctioned individuals were also named for their participation in “systematic persecution campaigns” against the Crimean Tatar community, and other minorities. (Map via Wikimedia Commons)

Europe

Ukrainian anti-fascist sentenced to prison in Russia

An appeals court in Moscow upheld the 13-year sentence imposed on Ukrainian human rights defender Maksym Butkevych, in what Amnesty International called “a grave miscarriage of justice.” Butkevych had been convicted in a “sham trial” by a de facto court in the Russian-occupied “Luhansk People’s Republic” in Ukraine, which Moscow has unilaterally declared annexed territory. A platoon leader in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Butkevych was taken captive in March and charged with war crimes. Amnesty dismisses the case as “a reprisal by Russia for his civic activism and his prominent human rights work.” Before the invasion, Butkevych led a Ukrainian NGO helping refugees find asylum in the country, and had long been a frontline opponent of the militant right in both Ukraine and Russia. (Image: Ukraine Solidarity Campaign)

Europe

Solidarity with imprisoned anti-fascists in Russia

In Episode 190 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg discusses the cases of Azat Miftakhov, Darya Polyudova, Aleksandra Skochilenko, Yelena Milashina, Larysa Schchyrakova, Maksym Butkevych and other Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian anti-fascist activists imprisoned by the dictatorships of Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko. These courageous women and men recognize these twin allied regimes as now actually having crossed the line into fascism—despite the paradoxical fascist pseudo-anti-fascism of their propaganda. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Photo: caseazatmiftakhov.org)

Europe

Russian anti-fascist released from prison, promptly re-arrested

Russian anti-fascist activist Azat Miftakhov was arrested by FSB agents immediately upon his release from a prison colony in Omutninsk. Azat had been in detention since February 2019, convicted in connection with the breaking of a window at a Moscow protest outside an office of the ruling United Russia party. At that time of that arrest Miftakhov was a mathematics graduate student at Moscow State University. Miftakhov endured torture, threats, and other mistreatment at the hands of authorities while imprisoned. After a trial marked by widespread judicial abuses and the use of “secret witnesses,” in January 2021 he was convicted of “hooliganism” and sentenced to five years. He was released on parole two days after an International Day for the Liberation of Azat Miftakhov was held in cities around the world. But just as he exited the prison to meet his family, he was taken into custody again—this time on charges of “publicly justifying terrorism.” (Photo: caseazatmiftakhov.org)

Europe

Screw tightens in Russia and Belarus

The Russian Ministry of Justice formally designated Dmitry Muratov, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning internationally esteemed journalist, as a “foreign agent.” The label, reminiscent of the “enemy of the people” designation of the Soviet era, imposes harsh constraints on activities and requires sources of funding to be disclosed. The law has been widely used by the Kremlin to silence critics. Muratov is editor at Novaya Gazeta, one of the rare media outlets in Russia openly critical of President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, a court in Belarus sentenced journalist and human rights activist Larysa Schchyrakova to three and a half years in prison on charges of “insulting” government officials, disseminating “false information,” and promoting “extremist” activities. Her organization, Gomelskaya Viasna, was aso ordered banned. The charges concern Schchyrakova’s advocacy and rights monitoring work during the 2020 anti-government protests in Belarus. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Europe

Russia: election monitor arrested ahead of vote

In the latest iteration of Russia’s ongoing crackdown on dissent, a Moscow court ordered the detention of Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of independent election monitoring organization Golos. The initial detention period was set at two months pending an investigation into charges that Melkonyants operated an “undesirable” NGO—a crime in Russia, punishable with six years in prison. Melkonyants’ arrest came amid a flurry of searches of the homes and offices of Golos associates. The organization attributed the timing of the arrest and searches to Russia’s upcoming regional elections. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Europe

Russia: court closes Sakharov human rights center

A Moscow court ruled to liquidate the Public Commission for the Preservation of the Heritage of Academician Sakharov, or Sakharov Center, one of Russia’s most respected human rights organizations, after an application from the Ministry of Justice. The Sakharov Center, established in 1996, had been convening public discussions for citizens to speak about the status of human rights and freedom in the country. The Justice Ministry contended that the Center’s discussion groups constituted a “violation of its territorial sphere of activity.” In a statement, the Center warned of closing political space in Russia, saying: “Uncontrolled power corrupts society… Sakharov warned about this, we see it with our own eyes today.” (Photo of Sakharov Center building via Wikipedia. Sign reads: “War in Chechnya since 1994. Enough!”)

Europe

Podcast: Ukraine and anarchist internationalism

In Episode 187, the CounterVortex podcast presents audio from the panel “Ukraine and Anarchist Internationalism” at the Los Angeles Anarchist Book Fair. Bill Weinberg urges solidarity with the Ukrainian anarchist units fighting the Russians—and calls out the American left for essentially supporting the wrong side in the war. For instance, the perennially problematic Democracy Now ignores the heroic Russian left-dissidents who have sacrificed their freedom or even lives to resist Putin’s war effort, such as Darya Polyudova, Aleksandra Skochilenko and Dmitry Petrov. But it gives splashy coverage to Yurii Sheliazhenko, the Ukrainian pacifist just arrested in Kyiv for “justifying Russian aggression.” Also: Yevgeny Lerner speaks on the national liberation struggle of the Crimean Tatars. Introduction by Javier Sethness, author of Eros & Revolution: The Critical Philosophy of Herbert Marcuse and the upcoming Queer Tolstoy. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Photo of Ukrainian anarchist football hooligan militia via The Resistance Committee)