News Feed

15/03/2022

Russia plans to seize assets of western companies that pull out

President Putin has announced he could find legally viable ways to seize international firms by introducing external management and transferring these enterprises to those who want to work. It could also be possible to take temporary control of departing businesses where foreign ownership exceeds 25%.


Source: The Guardian

15/03/2022

Russia legalises intellectual property piracy

From 7 March 2022, intellectual property rights will not be paid to patent holders from “unfriendly countries”, among which all the EU members. This measure has been adopted to respond to Western sanctions in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and is considered, according to international law, intellectual property piracy.


Source: euractiv

15/03/2022

Russians bid hasty farewell to Instagram

Many in Russia wrote farewell posts on their Instagram account and directed their followers to other social media platforms such as Telegram. The app was officially blocked by the government. As a consequence, demand for VPN services in Russia skyrocketed 2,088 per cent. At the beginning of March, Moscow had also blocked Facebook.


Source: Financial Times

15/03/2022

Germany opens investigation into suspected Russian war crimes in Ukraine

Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office, which prosecutes terrorism, spying, and genocide-related crimes, began gathering evidence about possible deliberate attacks on the civilian population and Ukrainian infrastructure by Russian invaders. German investigators are collecting evidence of the use of weapons such as cluster bombs and alleged death lists of Ukrainian politicians and activists.


Source:  WSJ

23/03/2022

Ukraine suspends 11 political parties with links to Russia

According to President Zelenskiy, eleven Ukrainian political parties have been suspended for the period of martial law as a consequence of their connections to Russia. The aim is, according to Zelenskiy, to limit these politicians' attempts to divide society. Most of these parties were small, but one of them, the Opposition Platform “For Life”, has 44 seats in the Ukrainian parliament. The leader of the party, the oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, has close ties to President Putin.


Source: theguardian

23/03/2022

Dutch court releases two Ukrainian prisoners to fight for their country

Two Ukrainian prisoners, aged 27 and 29, have been released by a court in Breda. They were arrested in September 2021 after trying to smuggle a group of Albanians into the UK. The lawyer of Ukrainians asked for their release so that they could go back home and defend their country from the invasion. The court granted their release. The Dutch court showed solidarity with the Ukrainian president and his desicion to release from custody Ukrainians with combat experience so they can compensate for their guilt helping in the military conflict.


Source: euractiv.com

23/03/2022

New Russian Law On ‘False Information’ About Army Being Used Against Activists

On March 5 President Putin signed into force a new law calling for sentences of up to 15 years in prison for people who distribute false information about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Many and international and domestic media outlets have already suspended or shut down their operations in Russia. The Investigative Committee instituted criminal proceedings against bloggers Veronika Belotserkovskaya, Alexander Nevzorov and other people as a result of their posts containing "false information".


Source: rferl.org

23/03/2022

Russia declares Meta extremist

The company Meta Platforms Inc. and its social media networks Facebook и Instagram has been banned from operating in Russia. The General Prosecutor's Office declared the company as extremist as they allow users to call for violence against the Russian military and to wish death to the presidents of Russia and Belarus. The ban will not affect the messenger WhatsApp as its function is not to disseminate information to the public.


Source: businessinsider.com

23/03/2022

What does Russia leaving the Council of Europe mean?

The Russian Federation's exit from the Council of Europe, Europe's top human rights watchdog, means victims of the Kremlin will now find it hard to hold authorities accountable. The ECHR released a statement after Russia's withdrawal, stating that the court has "decided to suspend the examination of all applications against the Russian Federation". The possibility of access to an independent judiciary was extremely important for Russian citizens, especially at a time when the work of human rights organisations in the country has been subjected to severe restrictions. In 2021 alone, the court dealt with around 6,000 applications concerning Russia.


Source: dw.com