Belarusian singer Patrytsia Svitsina, who in 2020 refused to accept a scholarship from authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka, citing her "moral principles," has gone on trial on a charge of "actively participating in actions that blatantly disrupt social order."
Noted Uzbek blogger Olimjon Haidarov, who was arrested over the weekend in the eastern city of Qoqon on extortion charges that he rejects as politically motivated, has launched a hunger strike to protest against his incarceration.
Gunmen on motorcycles have shot dead two Pakistani police officers who were guarding a polio-vaccination team in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan Province, a police official told RFE/RL on August 1.
The head of USAID has called for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor, the only route linking Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been blocked by Azerbaijan for more than seven months, warning that the humanitarian situation in the breakaway region is "very troubling."
Imprisoned Russian anti-war activist Darya Polyudova has been placed in punitive solitary confinement after guards said they found a razor blade in her belongings.