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rpannier

(24,304 posts)
Sat Sep 12, 2020, 09:31 AM Sep 2020

5 Stories from Europe You May Have Missed

1. Khabarovsk Protest Held For 64th Straight Day In Russia's Far East

Hundreds of people in the Far Eastern Russian city of Khabarovsk have taken to the streets for the 64th consecutive day to protest the arrest in July of the region’s popular former governor.

Protest organizers estimated the crowd on September 12 at about 2,000 people, while the city administration said about 700 people participated.

Former Khabarovsk Krai Governor Sergei Furgal was arrested on July 9 and taken to Moscow. He faces charges in connection with several killings that happened in the mid-2000s.

Many of the protesters in Khabarovsk on September 12 held up posters reading "Furgal – Our Choice," "Freedom for Furgal," and "I/We are Sergei Furgal."

https://www.rferl.org/a/khabarovsk-protest-held-for-64th-straight-day-in-russia-s-far-east/30835042.html


2. Italy reels as hundreds attend funeral of young black man brutally beaten to death

Hundreds of people in Italy walked in a funeral procession on Saturday for a young Black man whose brutal beating death has shaken up the country and drawn condemnation from the highest levels of government.

Premier Giuseppe Conte and Italy’s interior minister attended the funeral of 21-year-old Willy Monteiro Duarte, who was killed during a fight in Colleferro, a city on the outskirts of Rome, in the early hours of September 6.

Four Italians have been arrested, including a pair of brothers with police records, but to date, prosecutors haven’t indicated if the slaying was racially motivated.

Italian news reports have quoted witnesses as saying Monteiro Duarte, who was born in Rome and whose family is from the African island nation of Cape Verde, intervened while seeing a friend get beaten up in the fight and was then fatally beaten himself.

The funeral procession featured hundreds of people, most wearing white shirts and facemasks, walking toward the sporting stadium where Monteiro Duarte was honored and then clapping in respect as his casket was carried out. It was a strong show of solidarity for the young man, who was described as hard-working and upstanding by those who knew him.

Italy's prime minister was dismayed by Monteiro Duarte's death, calling the family to express his condolences. In a statement, Conte demanded justice and asked rhetorically what it means that someone could be killed in Italy for having tried to help a friend.

https://www.euronews.com/2020/09/12/italy-reels-as-hundreds-attend-funeral-of-young-black-man-brutally-beaten-to-death

3.Akhmed Zakayev, Former Member Of Chechen Separatist Government, Says His Relatives Detained In Chechnya

A former top official in Chechnya's separatist government, Akhmed Zakayev, who resides in London, says his relatives have been detained in Chechnya after a video statement he posted online condemning the humiliation of a teenage activist.

Zakayev told RFE/RL on September 10 that his two brothers and two sisters, as well as their children residing in Chechnya, had been detained and taken away by men belonging to unknown organizations.

Zakayev linked the detainments with his September 8 online video statement condemning the torture and humiliation of a 19-year-old Chechen activist, who criticized Chechen police and the region's authoritarian leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, on the opposition 1ADAT Telegram channel.

https://www.rferl.org/a/former-chechen-separatist-government-member-zakayev-says-relatives-detained-in-chechnya/30833258.html

4. Serbian Court Overturns Convictions In 1999 Murder Of Milosevic Critic

An appeals court in Serbia has overturned four convictions linked to the 1999 murder of news publisher Slavko Curuvija and ordered a retrial, local media reported on September 7.

Four former intelligence officers had been given lengthy prison terms over the killing of Curuvija, a prominent critic of Yugoslavia's president at the time, Slobodan Milosevic.

In a ruling handed down on July 15 but only reported this week, the court cited "significant violations of the provisions of criminal procedure." It reportedly concluded that the convictions from April 2019 went beyond the indictment and were not based on evidence.

Two of the men, Rade Markovic, the former head of state security, and Milan Radonjic, who was in charge of Belgrade's intelligence branch, received 30-year prison sentences each for instigating the murder. Markovic is already serving a 40-year sentence for other political killings.

https://www.rferl.org/a/serbian-court-overturns-convictions-in-1999-murder-of-milosevic-critic/30826664.html

5. Four men arrested in southern Italy after two British teenagers sexually assaulted

Police in southern Italy have arrested four men and are investigating another four on suspicion of sexually assaulting two British girls at a villa where a party was being held, authorities said on Friday.

The 15-year-old girls, who spoke no Italian, met one of the male suspects after arriving with one of their older sisters at the party in the southern province of Matera, according to public prosecutor Pietro Argentino.

The male suspects, whose ages range from 19-23, won their trust by acting in a friendly manner before taking advantage of the girls' altered states due to alcohol, police said.

As the party went on inside the villa, the adult sister lost sight of the girls, investigators said.

Private surveillance video released by police showed one of the minors, stumbling and appearing to protest, being pushed by one male toward a dark corner behind the villa after midnight on September 7, joined by three others.

https://www.euronews.com/2020/09/12/four-men-arrested-in-southern-italy-after-two-british-teenagers-sexually-assaulted
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