Countries

The Russian government is taking Ukraine to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) over 10 grievances ranging from violence during anti-government protests and the downing of flight MH17 in 2014. The filing marks Russia's first-ever interstate complaint with the ECtHR. The Russian prosecutor’s office said in a statement that it sought to “restore peace and harmony in Ukraine” with the ECtHR claim.

Source: The Moscow Times

After raids by law enforcement on 14 July, the Minsk City Executive Committee announced the liquidation of more than 25 NGOs, including Human Constanta, Lawtrend, Office for Youth Employment Assistance and Support "UlarConsult", "Office for the Rights of People with Disabilities", Belarusian National Youth Council "RADA", "Center for European Studies", "Office for European Expertise and Communication" and many others.

Source: Mediazona Belarus

Belorussian political activist Makar Malakhovsky has been detained in Poland under the Interpol warrant, which is used only for criminal offenses. As Polish Foreign Affairs minister said: “…It is a result of another attempt to use so-called Interpol red note for political purposes. This time by Belorussian regime. In July I’ve applied to the Interpol Authorities to emphasise the urgence of changes in this regard.”

Source: Mediazona

Encrypted email service ProtonMail has come under fire after it gave the IP address of a climate activist to the Swiss judiciary. The information was originally requested by the French police via the EU crime-fighting agency, Europol. The company said it had no other choice and criticized France’s tactics to obtain the information.

Source: Euractiv

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Afghan refugees, which are already hiding in Lithuania, should not be removed from the country. This decision came during the escalating conflict with Belarus, which is accused by Vilnius of encouraging migrants to illegally cross the border to destabilize the bloc.

Source: Euronews

The Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) Bill is scheduled for its second reading in the House of Commons. Campaigners, legal experts, scientists and academics drafted the Bill in response to government inaction over climate change, biodiversity loss and ecological deterioration. It calls for an emergency strategy for the UK to actively conserve and restore nature, and ensure annual legally binding targets, whilst making a legal commitment to ensuring warming is limited to 1.5C.

Source: Euronews

Ahead of upcoming elections in Russia, independent politicians and civil society activists felt a fierce pressure from the Russian authorities. In recent weeks, Russian authorities limited access to online broadcasting from the voting polls, intensified the labeling of independent media as “foreign agents” and disrupting their activity, banned Navalny’s “Smart Voting” initiative and denied independent candidates from being registered. As experts say, Russian authorities are preparing for massive frauds in order to ensure high results of the ruling party.

Source: BBC

The European Commission has pledged to introduce a law aimed at preventing products linked to deforestation from being sold in the EU. However, campaigners said that an impact assessment reveals of the leaked draft reveals “significant omissions” in the plans, including the exclusion of endangered grasslands and wetlands, as well as products that raise environmental concerns, such as rubber and maize.

Source: Guardian

The new law is supposed to eradicate disproportion when mothers are gifted custody almost in every case of divorce. However, opposition parties and rights groups raise concerns that this draft disregards the risk of domestic violence and could endanger victims.

Source: France24