Russia’s Federal Migration Service says U.S. journalist David Satter has the right to appeal a decision that bars him from entering the country for five years. 

Deputy chief Dmitry Demidenko told journalists on January 15 that Satter was in Russia in late November 2013 without a valid visa «and therefore violated the rules of his stay.»

He said a new regulation that took effect in August 2013 stipulated administrative expulsion as the only possible sanction.

The U.S. State Department said it was «disappointed» by Moscow’s decision.

Satter, 66, had been living and working in Russia since September 2013 as an adviser to RFE/RL’s Russian Service.

Satter, who left Russia for Ukraine at the start of December, reapplied for a Russian visa in Kyiv.

He said he received notification that his request was approved but was told later that his presence in Russia was considered «undesirable.»

Based on reporting by Interfax and RIA Novosti

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-satter-can-appeal/25230893.html

RFE/RL has condemned the harassment and intimidation of independent journalists in Ukraine, including a smear campaign targeting RFE/RL contributor Vitaliy Portnikov. 

In December, a video containing intimate and illegally obtained images of the journalist appeared on the Internet.

His Kyiv apartment was also picketed last week by some 50 protesters who carried threatening posters and accused Portnikov of «immoral behavior.»

RFE/RL President Kevin Klose called the actions «an orchestrated effort to discredit independent, professional journalists, reminiscent of the most reprehensible tactics of Soviet times.»

Portnikov is a prominent Ukrainian journalist who heads the TVi channel.

He began working with RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service in the early 1990s.

He is a member of the public committee of Euromaidan, the organizing body of pro-EU demonstrations that emerged after President Viktor Yanukovych rejected an agreement on closer ties with the European Union in November.

http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-media-rferl-rights/25231079.html

The European Union Delegation issues the following statement in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission in Tajikistan. Читать далее Local Statement on the recent arrest of Abdurakhim Shukurov →

The U.S. State Department says it is «disappointed» that U.S. journalist and RFE/RL adviser David Satter has been denied a visa by Russian authorities. 

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said on January 14 that «hindering the free flow of information undermines… free debate and discussion.»

U.S. Representative Eliot Engel (Democrat-New York), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the visa denial was «another blow to freedom of the press and independent journalism in Russia.»

Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on January 14 saying Satter had «grossly violated» the country’s visa-entry rules by staying in Russia on an expired visa. It said Satter has been banned from entering Russia for five years.

Satter told RFE/RL that «this is a problem of their own making. And they have created it intentionally to cover up the real reasons behind their actions.»

Satter, who left Russia for Ukraine at the start of December, reapplied for a Russian visa in Kyiv.

He said he received notification in December that his visa request was approved — including an official notification number from the Russian Foreign Ministry — but was told later by a Russian Embassy official in Kyiv that his presence in Russia was considered «undesirable.»

«The question about the reasons why [I have been denied visa to Russia] has to be addressed to them, not me — they know their reasons far better than I do,» Satter said.

Satter had been living in Russia since September 2013 and working as an adviser to RFE/RL’s Russian Service.

RFE/RL President Kevin Klose said «the company and Mr. Satter acted in good faith at all times to conform to all instructions conveyed from the Russian Foreign Ministry regarding Mr. Satter’s visa application.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-satter-visa-rejection/25229610.html

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s President Kevin Klose says the Russian government has denied a visa request to David Satter — a distinguished U.S. journalist and adviser to RFE/RL. 

Klose said in a statement on January 13 that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow has been informed of the action against Satter and has lodged a formal diplomatic protest with the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Klose says the U.S. Embassy has sought an explanation from the Russian Foreign Ministry without success.

Satter had been living and working in Russia as an RFE/RL adviser since September 2013.

He had been reporting and providing commentary to RFE/RL’s Russian Service.

He had also been providing interviews and analysis to other news and opinion websites.

Satter received notification in December that his visa request was approved – including an official notification number from the Russian Foreign Ministry.

He’d been told to present that number to the Russian Embassy in Kyiv.

But Satter says he was told later by a Russian Embassy official in the Ukrainian capital that his presence in Russia was considered “undesirable” and his visa request had been rejected.

Klose said he considers the use of the term «undesirable» by the Russian official to be the equivalent of declaring Satter «persona non grata» in Russia.

http://www.rferl.org/content/rferl-satter-russia-visa/25229041.html

DUSHANBE — The mayor of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, has banned music in the city’s public transportation system that is «alien to national and universal human values.» 

The mayor’s office announced on January 10 that, according to a resolution signed by Makhmadsaid Ubaidulloev, special raids will be regularly held to monitor the usage of music.

The campaign will be conducted jointly by the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Culture.

Tajik authorities have been raising the issue of using music on public transport for months.

Concerns were expressed regarding songs glorifying the criminal world, songs with sexual content, and music that propagates «non-traditional Islam.»

A telephone hotline has already been established for complaints by passengers.

http://www.rferl.org/content/dushanbe-mayor-nontraditional-music-ban/25226122.html

YEKATERINBURG, Russia — A Russian court in Yekaterinburg has imposed a 24-month work ban on a prominent journalist after finding her guilty of extortion. 

Aksana Panova, founder and former editor of the independent news website Ura.ru, was found guilty of extortion in two instances and given a suspended two-year jail sentence.

Panova’s supporters have argued that the charges were fabricated in retribution for her critical reporting on local government.

She had originally faced charges of fraud, extortion, and abuse of office that could have landed her in prison for up to 15 years.

However, on January 9 the court dropped the fraud and abuse charges.

Panova was also fined 400,000 rubles ($12,000).

Her lawyers said the decision was an attempt to silence Panova and added they would file an appeal.

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-journalist-banned-work/25225256.html

Ajailed 61-year-old Uzbek rights activist has been denied his freedom, despite a recently passed amnesty law.

A court in Uzbekistan’s southwestern Bukhara region on December 27 upheld a decision by the General Directorate for Penitentiaries that the amnesty not be applied to Bobomurod Razzoqov.

A representative for the Ezgulik (Compassion) human rights group, Abdurakhmon Tashanov, told RFE/RL that the amnesty for Razzoqov was denied due to alleged violations of penitentiary regulations.

An amnesty adopted this month stipulated that inmates 60 years of age or older were eligible for early release.

Razzoqov, the chairman of Ezgulik’s Bukhara branch, was sentenced to four years in jail in September on charges of human trafficking.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement in September calling the charges against Razzoqov «retaliation» by Uzbek authorities for his human rights work.

DUSHANBE — Tajikistan’s national bank has denied any cooperation with an Iranian businessman blacklisted by the United States.

A bank spokesman, Abdugaffor Kurbonov, told RFE/RL on December 30 that a document presented by Iranian businessman Babak Morteza Zanjani to the Iranian parliament that purported to establish such a connection is fake.

Last week, a group of Iranian lawmakers also expressed doubts regarding the authenticity of the document, which allegedly showed that $2 billion had been transferred to Iran’s Oil Ministry from the Tajik National Bank.

In April, the U.S. Treasury Department accused Zanjani of operating a network of front companies to help Iran access oil revenues in violation of U.S. sanctions.

The department said the network moved billions of dollars, including tens of millions to a company controlled by Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).