30 Apr 2021
Russian dissident Alexei Navalny appeared by video in a Moscow court on Thursday to appeal a libel case against him.
Navalny was difficult to recognize, shaven-headed and skeletal after losing 50 pounds in a hunger strike, but he gave a fiery speech to the court in an unsuccessful effort to get the charges dismissed.
Shortly after he returned to Moscow from Germany and was arrested on dubious parole violation charges, Navalny was fined roughly $11,500 for allegedly “defaming” a 95-year-old World War II veteran named Igor Artemenko who appeared in a state television commercial last June, promoting a package of constitutional amendments that allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to effectively remain in office until 2036, at which point he would be 84 years old and would have ruled Russia for 34 years of his life.
U.N. Asks UAE for Proof Missing Princess Latifa Is Still Alive
19 Feb 2021
The United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) said on Friday it has asked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to furnish proof that Princess Latifa bint Mohammed al-Maktoum, the 35-year-old daughter of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, is alive and well.
Latifa attempted to flee the UAE in February 2018 and has not been seen in public since she was captured at sea in a special forces raid. The BBC on Monday aired a series of videos she recorded on a smuggled cell phone in which she described herself as a “hostage” and said she feared for her life.