Tag: Journalist

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Politics

Belarus sanctioned after diversion of Ryanair flight to arrest journalist

Belarus sanctioned after diversion of Ryanair flight to arrest journalist

This Sunday, March 26, 2017, the Belarusian police arrested the journalist Raman Pratasevich (center) in Minsk, Belarus.

Sergei Grits | AP

WASHINGTON – The Biden government imposed a series of sanctions on Belarus on Monday amid western anger over the forced diversion of a Ryanair flight to arrest an opposition journalist.

Last month, a passenger plane flying from Greece to Lithuania was suddenly diverted to Minsk, the capital of Belarus. The Ryanair flight was escorted to Minsk by a Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jet. On landing, the authorities arrested the opposition journalist Roman Protasevich.

The extraordinary diversion of an airliner has been called a “hijack” by some leaders of the European Union. The 27-nation bloc immediately imposed sanctions on Belarus, including banning the use of airspace and airports within the EU for its airlines.

The State Department has now followed suit and has sanctioned 46 Belarusian officials for their involvement in the arrest of Protasevich. In addition, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against 16 individuals and five companies.

“These steps are also a response to the ongoing repression in Belarus, including attacks on human rights, democratic processes and fundamental freedoms,” wrote Foreign Minister Antony Blinken in a statement on Monday, adding that the sanctions are with Canada, the European Union and the UK.

“These coordinated designations show the unwavering transatlantic commitment to support the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people,” wrote Blinken.

The Belarusian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a staunch defender of Russian President Vladimir Putin, faced widespread calls for resignation after a controversial election that put him back into a sixth term. The almost daily protests rocked Belarus for almost three months.

“The persons named today have a declaration to the people of Belarus through their activities around the fraudulent presidential election on the 9th.

Members of the Belarusian diaspora and Ukrainian activists incinerate white and red smoke grenades during a rally in support of the Belarusian people who died on Aug.

Sergei Supinsky | AFP | Getty Images

Those sanctioned by the United States on Monday include some of Lukashenko’s closest associates: his spokeswoman Natallia Eismant and former chief of staff Natallia Kachanava, who is currently his ambassador for the president in Minsk, Mikalai Karpiankou, the deputy interior minister of Belarus and the current commander the Belarusian Police and the Belarusian Prosecutor General Andrei Shved.

The State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus, also known as the Belarusian KGB, has also been sanctioned by the United States

“The Belarusian KGB has arrested, intimidated and otherwise pressured the opposition to include Pratasevich,” the Treasury Department wrote in a statement, adding that the organization increased its crimes after Lukashenko’s 2020 election, by the US and their allies are viewed as fraudulent.

The Ministry of Finance has also sanctioned the internal troops of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Belarus, a Belarusian police force, for violently suppressing peaceful protesters since the 2020 presidential election.

The sanctions against Belarus, a Russian ally, follow President Joe Biden’s first face-to-face meeting with his Russian counterpart in Switzerland, at which the two agreed to resume nuclear talks and return their respective ambassadors to their posts.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Sunday the US is preparing additional sanctions against Russia for the imprisonment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

“We are preparing another package of sanctions to be applied in this case,” said Sullivan on CNN’s Sunday program “State of the Union”. “It will come as soon as we develop the packages to make sure we are achieving the right goals,” he added.

Concerns over Navalny’s detention and deteriorating health are the latest blow to already strained relations between Moscow and the West.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, accused of disregarding the terms of a suspended sentence for embezzlement, is attending a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, on February 2, 2021.

Moscow City Court | Reuters

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Politics

Household of imprisoned journalist Danny Fenster fights for his launch

Family of imprisoned journalist Danny Fenster fights for his release

Frontier Myanmar Managing Editor Danny Fenster can be seen in this handout picture taken in Yangon, Myanmar, in November 2020.

Reuters

The military regime that recently seized power in Myanmar has blocked virtually all attempts to reach Danny Fenster, a US journalist who has been detained there for more than a week without explanation.

His family want him to know that they are doing all they can.

Amid the silence of the Myanmar authorities, Window’s relatives have communicated with US officials, spoken to the media and recently launched a petition and website to raise awareness and press for his immediate and unconditional release.

“He probably has no idea about these efforts that are being made for him,” Bryan Fenster, Danny’s older brother, told CNBC in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “It’s the worst situation imaginable, but we’re incredibly proud of him and he’s a hero to many people.”

“My heart aches for all the families who have ever been through something like this,” said Danny’s mother Rose Fenster, who was also in the conversation. “But as a mom and he’s my son, I just won’t sleep until he’s home safely.”

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Danny Fenster, a 37-year-old Michigan native and executive editor of Frontier Myanmar news magazine, was arrested at Yangon International Airport on May 24 before boarding a plane to Kuala Lumpur.

His family says he was on his way home to Huntington Woods, near Detroit, to surprise them after more than three years of absence. But little else is known about why Danny was arrested and transferred to Insein Prison in Yangon, a supposedly harsh prison with a long history of holding political prisoners.

It is not known whether Fenster will be charged and neither his magazine nor US officials have been able to contact him directly.

“That’s the hardest part,” said Bryan Fenster. “We’re going on day 9 and you still have to answer.”

He said the first time he heard about his brother’s imprisonment, “I remember thinking, ‘Oh my god, where do you even start?”

“I got into combat mode pretty quickly,” said Bryan Fenster. “A quick breath of panic or two, but we’re just getting down to business.”

“I think I stopped breathing,” said Rose Fenster of her own reaction, calling it a “total out-of-body experience” that was “instinctive” and “heartbreaking”.

But she said she found solace in “knowing my son Bryan and other close family members are working on it,” along with the support of the community that “only stopped us.”

That work includes a just launched website instructing visitors to raise awareness by sharing information on social media and signing a petition from MoveOn.org that had more than 20,000 signatures as of Tuesday.

Frontier Myanmar Editor-in-Chief Danny Fenster is pictured in this undated handout received on May 25, 2021. The 37-year-old American is currently in custody in Myanmar.

Reuters

The family also sells T-shirts with the hashtag #BringDannyHome and an appeal to “Protect The Press”. The family said they plan to let Danny Fenster decide where that proceeds will be donated once he is exempt.

They also said that they talk to Fenster’s wife, who is in Myanmar, several times a day.

MP Andy Levin, D-Mich., Told CNBC in an interview that the government had confirmed the transfer of Danny Fenster to Insein, although consular access to him – a requirement under the rules of the Vienna Convention – has still not been granted has been.

Levin, who represents the congressional district where Window’s Family lives, drafted the House of Representatives resolution condemning the February coup in Myanmar. Levin is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and vice chairman of the Asia, Pacific, Central Asia and Non-Proliferation Subcommittee.

The day after the arrest was announced, Levin listed all 16 members of his state delegation in a letter asking Foreign Minister Antony Blinken to clear windows.

“It’s very, very personal to me,” Levin said, adding that he and Danny and Bryan Fenster attended the same high school.

In a statement on Tuesday, a State Department spokesman told CNBC that Myanmar had been pressing “to release him immediately and will continue to do so until he is safe to return to his family.”

“Free and independent media are essential to building prosperous, resilient, and free societies. The arrest of Daniel and the arrest and use of force by the Burmese military against other journalists constitute an unacceptable attack on freedom of expression in Burma, ”the statement said.

The Myanmar Embassy in Washington did not respond to CNBC’s request to comment on Fenster’s detention.

Fenster is not the only American journalist held in Insein Prison: In March, authorities arrested Nathan Maung from the online news site Kamayut Media, along with his co-founder Hanthar Nyein.

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that the Myanmar Embassy in Washington did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Categories
World News

Belarus Forces Down Ryanair Flight Carrying Journalist

Belarus Forces Down Ryanair Flight Carrying Journalist

In Russia – where the state media described the uprising against Lukashenko last year as a Western conspiracy – the arrest of Putin’s supporters met with approval. Margarita Simonyan, editor of the Kremlin-friendly RT TV station, wrote on Twitter that Mr. Lukashenko “played it beautifully”. And Vyacheslav Lysakov, a member of parliament allied with Putin, described the arrest of Protasevich as a “brilliant special operation”.

Belarusian authorities said they ordered the plane to land after receiving information about a bomb threat, even though Vilnius, the plane’s destination, was much closer than Minsk when the jetliner turned. The country’s defense ministry said in another statement that the country’s air defense forces have been placed on alert.

It is known that Mr. Lukashenko and his government use ruse to persecute their political opponents.

Mr Protasevich’s arrest comes months after the largest wave of street protests in Belarusian history failed to depose Mr Lukashenko, who has been the country’s authoritarian leader for more than 26 years.

More than 32,000 protesters were arrested and at least four died during the protests. Hundreds of people were brutally beaten by the police. NEXTA became the leading online outlet coordinating the demonstrations.

With Putin’s support and exceptional violence, Mr Lukashenko managed to crack down on demonstrators successfully, with the country’s security apparatus remaining loyal to him.

Ms. Tikhanovskaya, the main opponent of Mr. Lukashenko during the last presidential election in August, widely viewed as rigged, described the episode with the Ryanair flight as “an operation by the Special Services to hijack an airplane to arrest activist and blogger Roman Protasevich. “

“Not a single person flying over Belarus can be sure of their safety,” she said.

Aviation industry observers predicted a strong response from commercial airlines. “What is unique about this incident is that it was state sponsored,” said Kevin Murphy, an analyst at Morgan Stanley.

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Business

Laws geared toward transgender individuals is an election technique, journalist says

Legislation aimed at transgender people is an election strategy, journalist says

The Republican Party is turning to old tactics to build a new coalition after losing control of the Senate and Presidency in the 2020 elections.

Politico’s national political correspondent Gabby Orr said Friday the GOP’s strategy to pass laws banning transgender female athletes from women’s sports teams was motivated by its goal of overcoming election failures and recovering local voters.

“My sources, who are going behind the scenes on this issue and who want Republicans to talk about it, think this could be something that resonates … not just with non-ideological voters – when labeled a justice issue – but also with the socially conservative grassroots voters that the Republican Party has to bring out, “Orr said.

Mississippi is poised to become the first state against transgender people this year after its legislature passed a law banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports in schools and universities. Republican Governor Tate Reeves tweeted Thursday night that he would sign the bill.

Orr warned, however, that the strategy could “absolutely” shut down moderates.

“We’ve seen some of the loudest voices talking about it in the GOP are Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia Congressman) and Ted Cruz (Senator from Texas). So they’re not exactly popular politicians with moderate voters, let alone suburbanites Women, “Orr told CNBC’s” The News with Shepard Smith. “” There is a risk that the GOP will backfire at a time when we really saw the country’s trend in support of anti-discrimination laws, including Republicans. ” “

Orr cited a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute that found that 61% of Republicans were in favor of non-discrimination protection for LGBTQ Americans in 2020. That was five percentage points more than in 2019.

Idaho passed a law last year banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports, but one federal district suspended the law and it wasn’t enacted. At least 26 states have introduced similar bills across the country.

Categories
World News

Cheng Lei, Australian Journalist for CGTN, Is Arrested by China

Cheng Lei, Australian Journalist for CGTN, Is Arrested by China

Chinese investigators formally arrested an Australian journalist who worked for Chinese state television on suspicion of divulging national secrets, the Australian Foreign Minister said Monday. This is likely to increase tensions between the two countries.

Journalist Cheng Lei was hosting a business show on China Global Television News (CGTN) when she was arrested in August. The Chinese Foreign Ministry later announced that Ms. Cheng had been charged with a national security crime, but did not provide any further details.

“The Chinese authorities have announced that Ms. Cheng has been arrested on suspicion of illegally delivering state secrets overseas,” Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a brief statement on Monday. She gave no further details.

“We expect basic standards of justice, procedural justice and humane treatment to be met in accordance with international norms,” ​​added Ms. Payne.

Ms. Cheng, 45, was born in the southern Chinese province of Hunan and immigrated to Australia with her parents as a child. Her arrest on such a politically charged accusation comes while the two countries have clashed in a series of disputes that have dragged relations to the lowest point in decades.

“I don’t think it’s about the bilateral relationship, although it doesn’t help them,” said Geoff Raby, a former Australian ambassador to Beijing who has written about the deteriorating relationship, of Ms. Cheng’s arrest. China’s definition of state secrets is very broad, he said, adding, “acquittals are rare in such cases.”

Australia’s ability to secure Ms. Cheng’s release through diplomacy appears appallingly limited.

In recent years, Canberra has tried to discourage Beijing from engaging in influence-building activities on Australian soil, including the country’s large population of migrants from China. The Australian government has also angered China by blocking the potential involvement of Chinese tech giant Huawei in building the Australian 5G network.

Last year, Australia called for an international investigation into the causes and course of the coronavirus pandemic, which is enraging China, which has been looking into questions about its guilt at the origin of the outbreak.

China, in turn, has restricted imports of Australian goods such as wine, coal and barley. The Chinese government has not called these actions political retaliation, but few in Australia believe it.

Ms. Cheng’s 11-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son are cared for by their mother in Melbourne, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Monday.

“I have a feeling that the children do not fully understand the situation, so it is likely to be quite difficult for the children to wonder what is going on,” Louisa Wen, a niece of Ms. Cheng, told the broadcaster.

“We don’t understand anything about the case,” said Ms. Wen. “But we know she has been in detention for five and a half months and her conditions are deteriorating.”

Prior to Ms. Cheng’s case, Yang Hengjun, another Australian with Chinese heritage, was charged with espionage in China. Mr. Yang, a writer and businessman also known as Yang Jun, has been detained in China since early 2019 and charged with espionage last year.

Two Canadians – Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor, a businessman – are also awaiting trial in China for espionage. Her supporters said Beijing used her as a farmer to force Canada to refuse to extradite a Huawei executive, Meng Wanzhou, to the United States, where she is charged with fraud.

Ms. Cheng’s case has been linked to those of two Australian journalists who abruptly left China in September for fear of arrest. After a diplomatic standoff, journalists – Michael Smith, the China correspondent for The Australian Financial Review; and Bill Birtles, a correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, were interviewed by Chinese security officials, including about Ms. Cheng.

Haze Fan, a Chinese employee of Bloomberg News in Beijing, was arrested in December in the Chinese capital on suspicion of “criminal activity that endangers national security,” according to Bloomberg

Ms. Cheng first worked in Australia and China. As a CGTN journalist, she appeared keen to foster better relations between the two countries and had highlighted China’s economic success story.

“Passionate speaker on China history,” says the introduction on her Twitter account.

However, last year when the coronavirus pandemic was worst in China, Ms. Cheng made critical comments on Chinese government officials on her Facebook page. She mocked a Communist Party cadre who said citizens should be grateful.

“Even in China, where the satire pool never runs out, this is too rich,” she wrote. “In China, the belief ‘do what I say, not like me’ is deeply rooted in public office. “Serve the people” are the slogans. The reality is the opposite. “