News of the Day: 15 September 2021

The Moscow Times: Russia on Wednesday reported 18,842 new coronavirus cases and 792 deaths.

RFE/RL: Moscow police have detained four activists and a reporter over a brief protest in support of jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny held on Red Square. Sergei Lukashov, Svetlana Lukashova, Sergei Rednikov, and Ilya Yermakov were detained on September 15, seconds after they unfolded a large banner saying “Free Navalny! Putin, go to jail,” and chanting “Free Aleksei Navalny!”

Human Rights in Ukraine: Another veteran of the Crimean Tatar national movement has gone on trial in Russia on charges that the renowned Memorial Human Rights Centre has already recognized as politically motivated.  58-year-old Azamat Eyupov is facing a 15-20-year sentence without any crime, and on the basis of ‘prohibited literature’ planted when the FSB burst into his home at 4 a.m. on 17 February 2021 and because of a taped conversation although the voice on the tape is not his.

The Moscow Times: The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which has authored several high-profile investigative reports into fraud in Russia and the post-Soviet world, has announced its closure in Russia on Wednesday.

The Moscow Times: Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s team has published its long-anticipated roster of candidates it hopes supporters will rally behind to oust pro-Kremlin incumbents during this weekend’s parliamentary elections.

RFE/RL: Imprisoned Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny has been included in Time magazine’s annual list of “the 100 most influential people of 2021.”

Human Rights Watch: Russian authorities continue expanding their use of facial recognition technology across the country, with no regulation, oversight, or data protection and against the backdrop of misidentification reports, Human Rights Watch said today. Their unregulated use of the technology has serious implications for human rights and fundamental freedoms and has already facilitated Russian authorities’ targeting of political opponents.

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