PARIS: France on Wednesday urged Russia to immediately release four journalists sentenced to long prison terms for their association with the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Navalny – Putin’s main opponent – was declared an “extremist” by Russian authorities, a ruling that remains in force despite his death in an Arctic penal colony on February 16, 2024.
Moscow also banned Navalny’s organizations as “extremist” shortly before launching its 2022 Ukraine offensive and has ruthlessly targeted those it deems to have links to him.
“France condemns the five-and-a-half-year prison sentences handed down yesterday,” French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said.
A judge sentenced the reporters – Antonina Kravtsova, Konstantin Gabov, Sergei Karelin, and Artem Kriger – who all covered Navalny to “five years and six months in a general-regime penal colony,” an AFP journalist heard.
“The ‘trial of the journalists’ is a new demonstration by the Russian authorities to repress any dissenting opinion and intimidate those who attempt to document the human rights violations for which the Russian government is responsible,” he said.
“France is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all those prosecuted for political reasons and for Russia to respect its international commitments regarding the right to information and access to information,” Lemoine added.
Kravtsova, 35, is a journalist who worked for the independent SOTAvision outlet.
Gabov, 38, collaborated with Reuters and other foreign outlets, while 42-year-old Karelin, who is also an Israeli citizen, with the Associated Press and Deutsche Welle.
Kriger, 24, the youngest among the accused, covered political trials and protests for SOTAvision.
France urges release of jailed Russian journalists who covered Navalny
https://arab.news/w9gnc
France urges release of jailed Russian journalists who covered Navalny
- A judge sentenced the reporters – Antonina Kravtsova, Konstantin Gabov, Sergei Karelin, and Artem Kriger – who all covered late opposition leader Alexei Navalny time in jail
Saudi ambassador becomes first foreign envoy to meet Bangladesh’s new PM
- Tarique Rahman took oath as PM last week after landslide election win
- Ambassador Abdullah bin Abiyah also meets Bangladesh’s new FM
Dhaka: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Dhaka became on Sunday the first foreign envoy to meet Bangladesh’s new Prime Minister Tarique Rahman since he assumed the country’s top office.
Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party made a landslide win in the Feb. 12 election, securing an absolute majority with 209 seats in the 300-seat parliament.
The son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, he was sworn in as the prime minister last week.
The Saudi government congratulated Rahman on the day he took the oath of office, and the Kingdom’s Ambassador Abdullah bin Abiyah was received by the premier in the Bangladesh Secretariat, where he also met Bangladesh’s new foreign minister.
“Among the ambassadors stationed in Dhaka, this is the first ambassadorial visit with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman since he assumed office,” Saleh Shibli, the prime minister’s press secretary, told Arab News.
“The ambassador conveyed greetings and best wishes to Bangladesh’s prime minister from the king and crown prince of Saudi Arabia … They discussed bilateral matters and ways to strengthen the ties among Muslim countries.”
Rahman’s administration succeeded an interim government that oversaw preparations for the next election following the 2024 student-led uprising, which toppled former leader Sheikh Hasina and ended her Awami League party’s 15-year rule.
New Cabinet members were sworn in during the same ceremony as the prime minister last week.
Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman is a former UN official who served as Bangladesh’s national security adviser during the interim government’s term.
He received Saudi Arabia’s ambassador after the envoy’s meeting with the prime minister.
“The foreign minister expressed appreciation for the Saudi leadership’s role in promoting peace and stability in the Middle East and across the Muslim Ummah. He also conveyed gratitude for hosting a large number of Bangladeshi workers in the Kingdom and underscored the significant potential for expanding cooperation across trade, investment, energy, and other priority sectors, leveraging the geostrategic positions of both countries,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The Saudi ambassador expressed his support to the present government and his intention to work with the government to enhance the current bilateral relationship to a comprehensive relationship.”
Around 3.5 million Bangladeshis live and work in Saudi Arabia. They have been joining the Saudi labor market since 1976, when work migration to the Kingdom was established during the rule of the new prime minister’s father.
Bangladeshis are the largest expat group in the Kingdom and the largest Bangladeshi community outside Bangladesh and send home more than $5 billion in remittances every year.
