About: authoritarian regime
Beijing huddles with autocratic friends, seeks to fracture US-led ‘clique’
China is shoring up ties with autocratic partners like Russia and Iran, as well as economically dependent regional countries, while using sanctions and threats to try to fracture the alliances the United States is building against it.
Radio Free Europe petitions Strasbourg court to block Russian fines
The US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty news website in Moscow said Friday (16 April) it was urgently appealing to Europe's highest rights court to stop Russia from heavily fining the media outlet for hundreds of alleged infractions.
Navalny allies plead for EU to pressure Moscow over medical access
The European Union must pressure Moscow to allow Alexei Navalny to have access to his doctor, allies of the hunger-striking Kremlin critic wrote in a letter sent this week to EU foreign ministers.
Turkey frees journalist Altan after European rights court ruling
A Turkish court on Wednesday (14 April) released journalist and novelist Ahmet Altan after more than four years in prison on charges of involvement in a failed 2016 coup attempt that he had always denied.
Jailed Kurdish leader calls on Turkish opposition to unite against Erdogan
Former pro-Kurdish party leader Selahattin Demirtaş, jailed since 2016 despite Western calls for his release, said the Turkish opposition should unite against rising oppression and moves to divide them, including a court case to ban his party.
EU ‘deeply concerned’ over crackdown on pro-Kurdish party, Turkey rebuffs criticism
Turkey on Thursday (18 March) told foreign countries to keep out of its domestic affairs after Western powers uniformly condemned its bid to shut down the main pro-Kurdish party.
Turkey moves to ban pro-Kurdish HDP party
Turkey's pro-Kurdish party was fighting for its political survival on Wednesday (17 March) after a prosecutor asked the country's top court to shut it down for alleged links to militants waging a deadly insurgency against the state.
EU threatens China with ‘additional steps’ over Hong Kong vote
The European Union on Thursday (11 March) warned China it could take "additional steps" as it condemned a vote by Beijing's rubber-stamp parliament for sweeping changes to Hong Kong's electoral system.
‘Lukashenko. Goldmine’: film alleging Belarusian leader has gilded life gets 3 million views
A film accusing Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on gilded residences, planes and Rolls-Royce and Maybach cars has gained more than 3 million YouTube views since its release on Monday (8 March).
EU warns China against Hong Kong election rules change
The European Union warned China on Friday (5 March) that it may take "additional steps" in response to Beijing's move to grant itself a veto over the selection of Hong Kong lawmakers.
Navalny’s penal colony, a Kremlin weapon to ‘break’ him
Until last week, the provincial town of Pokrov outside Moscow, lined with Soviet-era residential blocks and teetering wooden homes, had only one claim to fame: a monument to chocolate.
Belarus court sentences two journalists to two years in prison
A court in Belarus on Thursday (18 February) sentenced two journalists to two years in prison on charges of fomenting protests against strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Belarusian police mount raids on journalists, activists
Police in Belarus raided the homes and offices of dozens of journalists, rights defenders and trade union members on Tuesday (16 February), investigators and activists said, as part of a probe into mass protests.
Lukashenko tells loyalists he defeated foreign ‘blitzkrieg’
Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday (11 February) declared victory over what he said was foreign attempts to overthrow his government and showed no signs of heeding the embattled opposition's calls for him to resign.
Lukashenko stages Belarusian ‘People’s Assembly’ as opposition cries foul
Veteran President Alexander Lukashenko launched a Belarusian “People’s Assembly” on Thursday (11 February), inviting 2,700 people to discuss political reform in what opponents dismissed as a sham exercise to help him to cling to power.
Turkey makes fresh arrests after EU, US censure
Police detained dozens of protesters across several cities on Thursday (4 February) after Turkey brushed aside US and EU condemnation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's crackdown on a month of escalating student rallies.
Russian court jails Navalny, sparking street protests and Western outcry
A Moscow court on Tuesday (2 February) jailed the Kremlin's most prominent critic Alexei Navalny for nearly three years, triggering fierce condemnation from the West and calls for his immediate release.
EU deplores ‘widespread detentions’ in pro-Navalny protests
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he deplored the "widespread detentions and disproportionate use of force" against protesters and journalists in Russia on Sunday (31 January).
Belarus stripped of ice hockey world championship over unrest, Covid
Belarus was on Monday (18 January) stripped of its role as co-host of the 2021 ice hockey world championship over "growing safety and security concerns related to both the rising political unrest and Covid-19".
EU rights watchdog warns of pitfalls in use of AI
The European Union's rights watchdog has warned of the risks of using artificial intelligence in predictive policing, medical diagnoses and targeted advertising as the bloc mulls rules next year to address the challenges posed by the technology.
EP adopts tough resolution on Belarus, Russia accuses West of meddling
Russia's foreign minister on Thursday (26 November) accused the West of interfering in Belarus as he met strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko who has faced months of protests over his disputed re-election.
Canada, Britain give first media freedom award to Belarus journalists
The first ever Media Freedom Award, bestowed by the governments of Britain and Canada, was given Monday (16 November) to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, the foreign ministries of the two countries said.
Thousands rally in Belarus after opposition protester’s death
Thousands of demonstrators turned out in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Friday (13 November) to mourn the death of a protester who was pronounced dead the day after police arrested him.