ICJ rejects most of Ukraine’s ‘terrorism’ case against Russia
Kyiv had accused Moscow of being a ‘terrorist’ state and claimed it funded separatists in eastern Ukraine. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rejected much of a case filed by Ukraine that accused Russia of funding separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine a decade ago, saying only that Moscow had failed to investigate alleged breaches. Kyiv had accused Moscow of being a “terrorist state” whose support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine was a harbinger of the full-fledged 2022 invasion. Ukraine also wanted Russia to compensate all civilians caught up in the conflict, as well as victims from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. The top United Nations court declined to rule specifically on alleged Russian responsibility for the shooting down of the plane. The ICJ tossed out most of Ukraine’s pleas, ruling only that Russia was “failing to take measures to investigate facts … regarding persons who have allegedly committed an offence”. The court added that only cash transfers could be considered as support for alleged “terrorist” groups under the terms of the international convention on terrorism financing. This “does not include the means used to commit acts of terrorism, including weapons or training camps”, the court ruled on Wednesday. “Consequently, the alleged supply of weapons to various armed groups operating in Ukraine … fall outside the material scope of the ICSFT” convention, the ICJ said. The 16-judge panel once again ordered Russia to investigate any plausible allegations of “terrorism” financing. ‘Russia trying to wipe us off the map’ Russia was also in the dock for alleged breaches of an international convention on racial discrimination due to its treatment of the Tatar minority and Ukrainian speakers in occupied Crimea. Here the court found that Russia had not taken sufficient measures to enable education in Ukrainian. During hearings on the case, Alexander Shulgin, Russia’s ambassador to the Netherlands, accused Ukraine of “blatant lies and false accusations … even to this court”. Top Ukrainian diplomat Anton Korynevych retorted that Russia was trying to “wipe us off the map”. “Beginning in 2014, Russia illegally occupied Crimea and then engaged in a campaign of cultural erasure, taking aim at ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars,” said Korynevych. On Friday, the ICJ will rule in another case in which Kyiv has accused Moscow of falsely applying the UN’s 1948 Genocide Convention to justify its February 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine. The court’s judgements are final and without appeal but it has no way to enforce its rulings. [embedded content] Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli soldiers taunt Palestinians at Gaza checkpoint
NewsFeed Israeli soldiers can be heard taunting Palestinian women and children as they passed by a checkpoint to monitor people being forcibly displaced in southern Gaza. The soldiers are also heard mocking leaders of Hamas over the loudspeaker. Published On 31 Jan 202431 Jan 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Russia and Ukraine complete first prisoner exchange since plane crash
The crash of a plane carrying prisoners of war had cast doubt on the future of prisoner exchanges. Russia and Ukraine have exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war, in the first prisoner swap since the crash last week of a Russian military transport plane that Moscow says was carrying 65 Ukrainian soldiers. The Russian Ministry of Defence said that each side got 195 soldiers back and that its soldiers would be flown to Moscow to receive medical and psychological treatment. “On January 31, as a result of the negotiation process, 195 Russian servicemen who were in mortal danger in captivity were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In return, exactly 195 prisoners from the armed forces of Ukraine were handed over,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement. It was cited by the RIA state news agency as saying that the United Arab Emirates had played a role in brokering the deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his official account on X that it was one of the biggest swaps so far. He gave a slightly higher number for the number of Ukrainians returned. “Our people are back. 207 of them. We return them home no matter what,” said Zelenskyy. Ukraine’s governmental body in charge of POWs said that this was the 50th prisoner exchange of its kind. It returned home soldiers involved in the defence of the cities of Mariupol and Kherson, as well as soldiers captured by Russia on Snake Island in the Black Sea. The body said marines and combat medics were among those handed back and that 36 of the returned Ukrainians had injuries or serious illnesses. The two countries have carried out periodic prisoner swaps via intermediaries since the war began nearly two years ago, despite the absence of any peace talks between them since the early months of the conflict. The latest and biggest exchange was on January 3, when they traded a total of 478 captives following mediation by the UAE. The crash on January 24 of a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 plane in a field before a similar planned swap had thrown doubt on the future of prisoner exchanges between the two sides. Moscow said Ukrainian soldiers being carried to a scheduled exchange were killed when the plane was shot down by Kyiv’s forces. Kyiv has not outright denied Moscow’s version of events but questioned whether captured Ukrainian soldiers were actually on board. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that a US-made Patriot missile was used to shoot down the military cargo plane. “The plane was shot down, it has already been established for certain, by an American Patriot system,” Putin said in a televised appearance. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Unwaveringly loyal’: Why El Salvador’s Bukele is poised for reelection
San Salvador, El Salvador – He suspended civil liberties. Led a mass incarceration effort. And provoked international criticism for human rights violations. But five years after he was first elected, President Nayib Bukele appears on track to secure a second term in office when El Salvador holds its general elections on Sunday. An estimated 69.9 percent of voters approve of his reelection bid, despite questions about its constitutionality: Before Bukele, presidents in El Salvador had historically been limited to one term. Bukele himself has embraced the condemnation he faces, labelling himself “the world’s coolest dictator”. “On the surface, his base appears unwaveringly loyal to him even if he implements policies that negatively impact a large number of people,” said Rafael Paz Narvaez, a professor from the University of El Salvador. Still, despite Bukele’s solid base of support, some observers question how long voters will back his strongman approach, particularly as more and more people feel its sting. Under Bukele, El Salvador has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, with an estimated 2 percent of its adult population behind bars. The country once had one of the highest homicide rates too: In 2015, there were 105 murders for every 100,000 residents, a towering sum. But Bukele has credited his “mano dura” or “iron fist” tactics for causing that number to tumble to just 7.8 homicides out of every 100,000 people — the lowest in Central America. Soldiers patrol the historic centre of San Salvador, El Salvador, on January 25 [Camilo Freedman/Al Jazeera] Security a primary concern That argument has proven compelling for many Salvadorans, who have struggled with decades of widespread gang violence. Douglas Guzmán, 35, counts himself among Bukele’s ardent supporters. Wearing a baseball cap emblazoned with the slogan “Bukele 2024-2029”, he recently joined dozens of people to watch the daily performance of street dancers in the Libertad Plaza, part of downtown San Salvador. “This square used to be deserted because of how dangerous it used to be, but now thousands of people come to enjoy life,” Guzmán told Al Jazeera. Gúzman arrived at the plaza with a selfie stick: He is part of an online community of content creators who use social media platforms like TikTok to preach their support for Bukele. When asked about the accusations of human rights abuses under Bukele, Gúzman was quick to dismiss the reports. “It doesn’t matter if they want to write negative things about the president,” he said of Bukele’s critics, among them non-governmental organisations (NGOs). “I’ve walked through the dangerous communities, and until those NGOs walk through those streets, they won’t understand that this isn’t what they’re calling human rights violations.” He emphasised that life had improved since Bukele took office in 2019. “The government is finally valuing human life. Bukele is saving the lives of Salvadorans.” Douglas, 35, livestreams people dancing at Libertad Plaza on January 25 in San Salvador, El Salvador [Camilo Freedman/Al Jazeera] An ongoing state of emergency Bukele’s ascent to the presidency marked a shift in Salvadoran politics. Only 37 years old at the time of his first presidential campaign, Bukele positioned himself as a political outsider, opposed by major parties on the right and left. His inauguration five years ago made him the youngest president in Latin America, and he proceeded to make good on his ambitions of shaking up the status quo. Some of his policies were aimed at shoring up El Salvador’s struggling economy: Under Bukele, for instance, the country started to accept the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as legal tender. But his signature issue has been his crackdown on crime. In 2022, Bukele declared an ongoing state of emergency to stamp out gang violence. The designation curtailed certain rights — including the rights to due process and public gatherings — and expanded the government’s authority to surveil, arrest and prosecute suspected gang members. An estimated 75,163 people have been arrested since then, according to government figures. Bukele’s administration also opened last year a new mega-prison, designed to house 40,000 people. In addition to the state of emergency, El Salvador’s legislative assembly — controlled by Bukele’s New Ideas party — approved a series of judicial reforms last July that gave prosecutors the ability to conduct mass trials. A mural depicting President Nayib Bukele is seen on the side of an apartment complex on January 26 in Mejicanos, El Salvador [Camilo Freedman/Al Jazeera] Under the reforms, up to 900 people could be tried at once, limiting their ability to prove their innocence. That tough-on-crime approach has formed the centrepiece for Bukele’s reelection campaign, as well as those of his fellow party members. To maintain his party’s hold over the legislature, Bukele has narrated radio advertisements, warning: “If we lose one Congress member, the opposition will let all gang members free.” Other party officials have echoed similar themes, playing on fears that the country could return to the high rates of crime it saw before. For instance, Christian Guevara, the head of the New Ideas caucus in Congress, posted on social media, “The opposition has already said it would open the prison doors and let [suspected criminals] free.” Narvaez, however, said that Bukele’s popularity is buoyed in part by his government communications strategy, one that has heavily invested state-run news sources and social media. Bukele himself is renowned for his media savvy: On the social media platform X alone, he has more than 5.8 million followers. “The Salvadoran people are grateful to not have to pay extortion any more. They’re grateful to be able to roam around the city with peace, but this is a feeling that has been constructed through the usage of public funds for Bukele’s propaganda machine,” Narvaez explained. “As long as undemocratic actions can be justified as bolstering Bukele’s carefully crafted image, they will continue to be applied, not only with no significant backlash from the other state powers but with their compliance.” Demonstrators from the organisation MOVIR protest against the state of emergency on November 18 in San Salvador,
Rolex to diamonds: What’s landed Pakistan’s Imran Khan a 14-year jail term?
EXPLAINER The ex-PM denies he profited from the sale of ‘state gifts’ but prosecution says their value was concealed. A court in Pakistan has sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 14 years in prison just a week before general elections, for unlawfully buying and selling state gifts. The former prime minister and his wife were also fined each 787 million rupees ($2.8m) in a case known as the asset concealment case, or Toshakhana case. The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-leader was jailed for 10 years for leaking state secrets on Tuesday. The former prime minister has said the cases are politically motivated and aimed at keeping him and his party away from the elections. So what is the case behind the latest ruling, and what gifts were part of it? What is the Toshakhana or state gifts case against Khan? The former prime minister has been accused of misusing his 2018-2022 prime ministership to unlawfully buy and sell gifts kept inside the Toshakhana, or treasure house – a government-owned department. The Toshakhana stores gifts received by prime ministers, presidents, ministers, members of parliament and government officials. Khan was sentenced to three years in prison in August for selling state gifts worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees ($500,000). The August sentencing, now suspended, was brought by the election commission. Wednesday’s conviction against the cricketer-turned-politician was brought by the anticorruption body in the same case. Khan and Bibi were indicted three weeks ago on charges they bought gifts – including jewellery and watches – at reduced prices and sold them at market value. They pleaded not guilty. What were the gifts mentioned in Khan’s Toshakhana case? Some 108 gifts have been listed by Pakistan’s information minister, including perfumes, diamond jewellery, dinner sets and cufflinks. The gifts allegedly also include seven watches, six of them Rolexes. The most expensive was a “Master Graff limited edition” valued at 85 million rupees ($300,000). (Al Jazeera) Why did Khan’s handling of the gifts become problematic? Expensive gifts given to Pakistani officials by foreign dignitaries range from Rolex watches to bulletproof BMW cars to a 21-karat gold crown. In Pakistan, government leaders are allowed to buy gifts received from foreign dignitaries and heads of state, but they aren’t usually then sold. If they are, the earnings must be declared. In many cases, politicians and bureaucrats have bought luxury gift items at a considerably lower price. Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf – who died last February – kept a pearl necklace worth about $250 by paying just 750 rupees (about $12 according to the exchange rate at the time) in 2006. Khan has said he declared the items and had bought them legally. He has also dismissed allegations that he held onto any state gifts or profited from them. But the prosecution said Khan did not correctly disclose his income after selling the gifts. The former prime minister’s aides were also accused of selling some gifts in Dubai and “concealing” their value. His wife, Bushra Bibi, became embroiled in the case after alleged leaked audio included her telling former Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Zulfiqar Bukhari to sell some of Khan’s watches, which opposition leaders have said referred to the state gifts. Bukhari said the audio was fake and that he did not sell any watches. The alleged buyer of a watch also came out saying he did not make any such purchase. Where is Imran Khan now? Khan has been in jail since August as he has been facing more than 150 cases ranging from corruption to “terrorism”. He is currently being held in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. Bushra Bibi surrendered at the jail on Wednesday. Khan’s lawyers are filing an appeal to the verdict. Adblock test (Why?)
Nearly eight million people displaced by war in Sudan: UN
Nine months into a bloody war, nearly eight million people have been forced from their homes in Sudan, the United Nations says, calling for urgent additional support to cope with the crisis. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported the alarming figure on Wednesday as High Commissioner Filippo Grandi concluded a visit to Ethiopia, to which many of the displaced people have fled. The UNHCR said it is facing a chronic shortfall in needed funds. Since April 2023, more than 100,000 people have crossed into Ethiopia from Sudan, including close to 47,000 refugees and asylum seekers. About 50,000 Sudanese refugees were already in the country. Grandi called for “urgent and additional support to meet their needs” as he inspected the efforts of the Ethiopian government and the UNHCR to assist. Five other neighbouring countries have also received huge numbers of Sudanese refugees. More than half a million people have fled to Chad since April. On average, 1,500 people cross daily into South Sudan. The latest wave of violence in the 20-year conflict has left nearly half of Sudan’s 49 million people requiring aid. The UN reports that 12,000 people had been killed by the end of 2023, but the actual death toll is believed to be higher. Chaos Sudan plunged into chaos last April when long-simmering tensions between the military, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, erupted into street battles in the capital, Khartoum, and other areas. Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, left, and RSF commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo [File: Ashraf Shazly/AFP] The violence has extended from an earlier conflict that began in 2003, when rebels from the territory’s ethnic sub-Saharan African community launched an armed rebellion, accusing the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum of discrimination and neglect. The government, under then-President Omar al-Bashir, responded with aerial bombings and unleashed the militia group Popular Defence Forces, also known as the Janjaweed, which is accused of mass killings and rapes. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes. Internationally-brokered deals and peacekeeping forces have struggled to subdue the violence over the last two decades. Khartoum ravaged According to a report by the UN agency International Organization for Migration last year, approximately three million of the displaced are originally from Khartoum, the epicentre of the conflict. A damaged car and buildings are seen at the central market amid clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF in Khartoum North, on April 27, 2023 [Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters] For months now, the RSF has controlled most of the city, making life impossible for locals, contributing to reducing entire neighbourhoods to rubble by embedding its fighters in residential areas, which are then indiscriminately shelled and bombed by the army. While millions have fled the city, some are too poor to leave, while others have stayed behind, fearing that the RSF will confiscate and loot their homes if they flee. Funding shortage Ethiopia hosts one of the largest refugee and internally displaced populations globally, the UN notes. As the third largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, it is currently home to nearly one million displaced people – mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan. An estimated 3.5 million Ethiopians are internally displaced. At the end of last year, UNHCR’s programmes in Ethiopia were less than half-funded, with just 36 percent of the $431m needed. In 2024, the overall requirements for UNHCR’s response in Ethiopia totals $426m. Adblock test (Why?)
Myanmar military further extends state of emergency
The military has continuously extended emergency rule since it took power in a coup in February 2021. Myanmar’s ruling military government has extended the state of emergency in the country for six months. The National Defence and Security Council decided to prolong emergency rule for another six-month stint on Wednesday, just ahead of the previous term’s expiry at midnight. The move further delays elections that were promised following the coup that put the military government in power in February 2021. The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the coup, which ended a 10-year experiment with democracy and sparked mass protests and a crackdown on dissent. The military says it is not able to lift the state of emergency while it is battling armed opposition across the country. “Myint Swe, the acting president, announced the extension of the state of emergency … as the situation is not normal and to be able to continue the process of combatting terrorists,” the government said in a statement. The council discussed “preparations for holding multi-party elections” and a national census at its meeting in the military-built capital of Naypyidaw, the statement added, without giving further details. Emergency rule extended The military has continuously extended emergency rule since it took power in February 2021, toppling ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. More than 4,400 people have been killed in a crackdown on dissent since, according to a local monitoring group. The military-drafted 2008 constitution, which the current government has said is still in force, requires authorities to hold fresh elections within six months of a state of emergency being lifted. However, the government is struggling to crush widespread armed opposition to its rule and recently suffered a series of stunning setbacks to an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups. More than two million people have been displaced by the violence, according to the United Nations. Spring Revolution eyes victory Since 2021, Myanmar has faced a barrage of international sanctions, undoing years of progress and leaving the economy 10 percent smaller than it was in 2019. On Wednesday, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch were among those calling on the international community to cut off the military’s access to jet fuel. The UN and human rights groups have accused military generals of rights abuses in their crackdown on the opposition, including crimes against humanity. Furthermore, economists say the generals who toppled the previous government increasingly rely on illicit revenues from gem mining and logging. The country’s anti-coup forces, however, say they are moving closer to victory against the military. “After three years, the Spring Revolution is stronger than ever,” Duwa Lashi La, the acting president of the National Unity Government (NUG), an alliance of ethnic armed groups and resistance fighters, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday. “With each passing day, we are edging closer to victory. The criminal military will never crush the will of the people.” Adblock test (Why?)
Lagos ban on styrofoam and plastics brings applause and concern
From trash-strewn pavements to street vendors packing meals in polystyrene containers, plastic waste is a constant menace in the urban landscape of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital and the continent’s most populous city. That image could soon change if the local Lagos State government manages to implement its recent ambitious ban on the use of polystyrene and single-use plastics. The announcement of the ban on styrofoam boxes and single-use plastics, “with immediate effect”, by Tokunbo Wahab, the state’s commissioner for environment, took many Lagosians by surprise, especially those who earn a living in the informal sector. “Styrofoam boxes are cheaper than reusable plastic ones,” said Cecilia Mathew, 20, who sells dishes of rice, meat and garri – or cassava flour – on the streets of the popular district of Obalende in Lagos. “It does not make sense to put food inside poly bag [plastic bag],” said another food vendor, Funmilayo Oresanya, 43. For environmentalists, the Lagos State move was a welcome one that could not only cut down on waste but also reduce carbon emissions. But other critics questioned the feasibility of an immediate ban on such commonly used products, especially for businesses. “It’s too sudden,” said Kehinde Bakare, 61, a polystyrene box seller. “There are people that are using it as a means of living so what will they be doing? How about the production people?” she said, asking that they be offered “substitutes”. Nigerian fast-food chain Food Concepts, known for its popular restaurants Chicken Republic, PieXpress, and The Chopbox, “applauded” the measure, saying in a statement it was “beginning its transition” to end polystyrene boxes and encouraging its customers “to come with their own containers”. Bakare Kehinde, a retired principal, holds various types of plastic plates in her store in Lagos. [Benson Ibeabuchi/AFP] Action plan Folawemi Umunna, co-founder of the NGO Initiative for Climate and Ecological Protection, said the decision to eliminate non-biodegradable materials was positive if Lagos State properly manages its action plan. On his X account, Wahab published a video on Tuesday showing health workers carrying out checks in the city. In 2019, Nigerian MPs passed a law banning plastic bags but it hit a dead end because it did not complete its legislative process. Other African countries have also attempted to ban plastic bags with mixed success. But in Lagos, a megacity of more than 20 million inhabitants, the issue of waste management is key as rubbish regularly blocks sewers and evacuation routes, particularly during the rainy season, causing floods and encouraging the proliferation of mosquitoes, vectors of malaria, in stagnant water. Nigeria is Africa’s second-largest importer of plastics, according to the German Heinrich-Boell Foundation, representing 17 percent of the total plastic consumption on the continent, and more than 130,000 tonnes of plastic ends up in Nigerian waters each year. If nothing is changed, imports and consumption of plastics will exceed 40 million tonnes by 2030, it warned in a 2020 report. Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) staff clean up waste from the roadside in Lagos. [Benson Ibeabuchi/AFP] ‘Socio-economic consequences’ Plastic microparticles are ingested by animals and can be found in human beings, said Temitope Olawunmi Sogbanmu, environmental toxicologist at the University of Lagos, pointing to the “non-degradable” nature of these materials. But if the ban on polystyrene and single-use plastic is “good news” for climate and sustainability, Sogbanmu says she still worries about “the socio-economic consequences” of this measure on “those whose livelihood depends on this value chain”. Climate benefits may be offset by the impact on vendors of food and water in plastic bags as well as waste collectors who are part of the informal economy in a country which is already undergoing an economic crisis with a tripling of fuel prices since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came to power in May. The annual inflation rate stood at almost 29 percent in December. “There will be more people impoverished and it will become even harder for people to get the basic things,” said Sogbanmu, who recommends the implementation of “strategic interventions” especially for the poor. Environmental activist Oluwaseyi Moejho said the Lagos government took a bold step, but agreed that state officials must ask people what they want and how it can support them. “There was once a Nigeria without plastic, and we survived it. It is very much possible,” she said. “I understand the convenience of plastics, it’s quite blinding, but convenience at the cost of our lives and future is too expensive.” Adblock test (Why?)
Thousands of protesting farmers have France’s government in a bind
Convoys of tractors have edged closer to Paris, Lyon and other locations in France as thousands of protesting farmers have appeared to ignore warnings of police intervention if they cross red lines laid down by the government. Farmers unions, unimpressed by concessions offered by President Emmanuel Macron’s government, encouraged their members on Wednesday to fight on for improved pay, less bureaucracy and protection from foreign competition. “I’m so proud of you,” Serge Bousquet-Cassagne, the head of the farmers association in the southwestern Lot-et-Garonne department, told protesters headed for the wholesale Rungis market south of Paris, a key food distribution platform for the capital. “You are fighting this battle because if we don’t fight, we die,” he said. The government has warned farmers to stay away from Rungis and large cities. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who has ordered police so far to tread lightly, said police stood ready to defend strategic spots. “They can’t attack police. They can’t enter Rungis. They can’t enter the Paris airports or the centre of Paris,” Darmanin told the France 2 broadcaster. “But let me tell you again that if they try, we will be there.” Despite the warning, a convoy of tractors that started in the southwest resumed its drive towards Rungis early on Wednesday after spending the night at farms along the way. Police units with armoured vehicles have been deployed along the A6 motorway leading to the food market in anticipation of its arrival. The government has scrambled to offer concessions with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal telling parliament on Tuesday that it was ready to resolve the crisis as he praised the agriculture sector as “our force and our pride”. But farmers said the promises, including assurances of higher payouts under the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy, did not go far enough. “Several of these measures will take three or four years to be implemented,” said Johanna Trau, a grain and cattle farmer in Ebersheim in eastern France. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Darmanin said there were 10,000 protesting farmers on French highways on Wednesday, blocking 100 spots on major roads. In addition to moving on Paris, the convoys were also trying to encircle Lyon, France’s third-biggest city. In Toulouse in the southwest, protesting farmers tried to blockade the local wholesale food market but were removed by police. The uproar by farmers has been widening across Europe with Spanish farmers saying on Tuesday that they would join protests by their French, German, Polish, Romanian, Belgian and Italian counterparts. Adblock test (Why?)
Ukraine war critic submits bid to challenge Putin for Russia’s presidency
Putin win seen as forgone conclusion, but Boris Nadezhdin’s opposition to Russia’s war in Ukraine has won him significant support. Boris Nadezhdin, a prominent critic of the Kremlin, has submitted the documents needed to register as a candidate for Russia’s presidential elections in March. The 60-year-old local councillor, who has promised to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, said on Wednesday that he had collected more than 100,000 signatures of support across 40 regions and submitted them and other documents to the Central Election Commission (CEC), which is technically enough to challenge President Vladimir Putin. Election officials will next check the authenticity of the signatures submitted by Nadezhdin and other potential candidates and announce next month who will join Putin on the ballot for the March 15-17 elections. The electoral body has in the past uncovered what it claimed were irregularities in signatures or documents collected by some candidates and disqualified them. Putin, who will be running as an independent rather than as the candidate of the ruling United Russia party, needs 300,000 signatures but has already collected more than 3.5 million, according to his supporters. In December, the 71-year-old incumbent announced his decision to seek to extend his rule. He is almost certain to win a fifth term as president, extending his 24-year leadership of Russia, including eight years as prime minister. Nadezhdin, who has criticised the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 as a “fatal mistake”, was born in Soviet-ruled Uzbekistan to a Jewish mother who was a music teacher and a physicist father. He has spent the last 30 years in Russian politics, working as a councillor in the town of Dolgoprudny outside Moscow. He will be standing as a candidate for the Civic Initiative party. He shot to fame with his calls to end the war, bringing out crowds of Russians across the country eager to add their signatures to his bid to get on the ballot. After a series of heating outages across Russia during an unusually cold winter, Nadezhdin said earlier this month that the country would be able to afford to spend more on its citizens if it was not pouring so much money into the military. He described the war as “catastrophic” in an interview with the AFP news agency, and said he wanted to “free political prisoners” in Russia. “This is my pride,” he said of the signatures collected, as he thanked his supporters in a statement posted on his official Telegram account. “The work of thousands of people going without sleep over many days. The result of the queues you stood in, in the cold, is in the boxes. It will be very difficult for the CEC and the authorities to say: ‘I didn’t notice the elephant in the room’!” He also posted a video from the CEC’s headquarters showing papers containing the signatures piled up on tables ready to be checked by officials, describing which region each stack had come from. Nadezhdin’s bid raises the question of just how far the Kremlin would let him go, at a time when speaking out against the conflict is politically fraught, often landing critics in prison. Putin has not allowed real electoral opposition in his 24-year rule, with rivals such as opposition leader Alexei Navalny behind bars. Navalny’s wife Yuliya signed her name in support of Nadezhdin in a symbolic photo posted by the jailed critic’s ally. Adblock test (Why?)