English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For October 22/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
The Parable of the king who gave a wedding banquet for his son, but those he invited did not come...For many are called, but few are chosen.
Matthew 22/01-14: “Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. ‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.

Question: “What does the Bible say about legalism?”
GotQuestions.org?/October 21/2022
Answer: The word “legalism” does not occur in the Bible. It is a term Christians use to describe a doctrinal position emphasizing a system of rules and regulations for achieving both salvation and spiritual growth. Legalists believe in and demand a strict literal adherence to rules and regulations. Doctrinally, it is a position essentially opposed to grace. Those who hold a legalistic position often fail to see the real purpose for law, especially the purpose of the Old Testament law of Moses, which is to be our “schoolmaster” or “tutor” to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24).
Even true believers can be legalistic. We are instructed, rather, to be gracious to one another: “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters” (Romans 14:1). Sadly, there are those who feel so strongly about non-essential doctrines that they will run others out of their fellowship, not even allowing the expression of another viewpoint. That, too, is legalism. Many legalistic believers today make the error of demanding unqualified adherence to their own biblical interpretations and even to their own traditions. For example, there are those who feel that to be spiritual one must simply avoid tobacco, alcoholic beverages, dancing, movies, etc. The truth is that avoiding these things is no guarantee of spirituality.
The apostle Paul warns us of legalism in Colossians 2:20-23: “Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: ‘Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!’? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” Legalists may appear to be righteous and spiritual, but legalism ultimately fails to accomplish God’s purposes because it is an outward performance instead of an inward change.
To avoid falling into the trap of legalism, we can start by holding fast to the words of the apostle John, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17) and remembering to be gracious, especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ. “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (Romans 14:4). “You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat” (Romans 14:10).
A word of caution is necessary here. While we need to be gracious to one another and tolerant of disagreement over disputable matters, we cannot accept heresy. We are exhorted to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints (Jude 3). If we remember these guidelines and apply them in love and mercy, we will be safe from both legalism and heresy. “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 21-22.2022
Aoun says will continue work after leaving Baabda
Presidency says no 'concessions' or 'bargains' in border deal with Israel
Rifi prays in Khalde, vows to end 'Iranian presence in Lebanon'
Al-Khalil says 'sectarianism' blocking port probe-related decree, not him
Syrian ambassador: 89% of refugees want to return to Syria
Hezbollah says ready to help in refugee file, slams Western stance
Report: Jumblat tells LF he won't back Mouawad indefinitely
LF petitions for parliamentary review of border deal
UN 'urgently' needs $13 million for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 21-22.2022
Syrian air defenses confront Israeli missile attack over Damascus, state media
A dozen bodies found in Syria mass grave: state media
Iranian authorities forced athlete to apologize in hijab row, BBC reports
Almost 12,500 people arrested in crackdown on Iranian protests, says rights group
Risk of torture and death: Alarm over Iran protest prisoners
UK, France, Germany seek UN probe of Russia’s alleged use of Iranian drones
Beyond rhetoric, little West can do to change Iran trajectory
Iran's conflicting signals befuddle normalisation prospects with Saudi Arabia
U.S. Offer of Sanctions Relief Remains Active Despite Iran Protests
Iranian cleric calls for tough crackdown against protests
US: Iranian troops in Crimea backing Russian drone strikes
Russia's defense minister discusses Ukraine in call with US counterpart
'It Was Horror': Liberated Ukrainians Share Tales of Occupation
Vladimir Putin fires sniper rifle at Russian boot camp after Ukraine setbacks
So many mobilized Russian reservists had buy their own military gear that thermal underwear now costs up to $340 and a hiking backpack costs as much as $600
US sees no evidence Russia is interested in ending Ukraine aggression — Blinken
Algeria, Russia military exercise fuels debate on international alignments
Far-right Meloni named Italy’s first woman PM

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 21-22.2022
ISIS Terrorists Living in Turkey - with Yazidi Captives/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/October 21, 2022
An entertaining window into Turkey’s gross misspending/Alexandra de CramerThe Arab Weekly/October 21/2022
Everyone benefits when countries talk to each other/Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/October 21/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 21-22.2022
Aoun says will continue work after leaving Baabda
Naharnet/October 21/2022
President Michel Aoun said Friday that he will continue his work after the end of his presidential term on October 31. “Our work will be better,” Aoun told a delegation from the National Commission For Lebanese Women. He added that “the political class that has ruled Lebanon since 32 years is responsible for Lebanon’s current situation.”

Presidency says no 'concessions' or 'bargains' in border deal with Israel
Naharnet/October 21/2022
The Presidency’s press office stressed Friday that “what has been achieved as to the demarcation of the southern sea border is the result of a Lebanese decision that reflects the unity of the Lebanese stance and the result of tough and difficult negotiations that were led by the Lebanese negotiating team with the U.S. mediator.”“During the negotiations, Lebanon did not offer any concessions and it did not bow to any bargains, swaps, ‘deals’ or the wills of foreign nations,” the press office added, dismissing recent media reports that have claimed otherwise. “The issue of demarcation is an achievement at the level of the country and for the sake of its sons, not for the sake of a person, a side, a party or a foreign nation,” the President said, urging an end to “this approach that is profoundly insulting the country’s dignity and sovereignty.”

Report: New govt. unlikely, FPM to boycott cabinet sessions after Oct. 31
Naharnet/October 21/2022
No progress has been made regarding the formation of a new government, local media reports said, despite the intensified efforts of Hezbollah and General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim. Al-Akhbar newspaper reported Friday that the efforts have almost hit a dead end and that President Michel Aoun and the FPM are planning to take different steps to prevent the caretaker government from taking the powers of the President, once Aoun's term ends. The FPM ministers will boycott all cabinet session after October 31, the daily said, claiming that there are more steps, like Aoun's signing of a decree that accepts the resignation of Mikati's government. A political source has also told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that communication has been totally cut off between Aoun and Mikati, and that FPM chief Jebran Bassil is now trying to impose his conditions with threats of chaos, while Hezbollah is pressing to form a new government or keep the current one in order to avoid vacuum and chaos.

Rifi prays in Khalde, vows to end 'Iranian presence in Lebanon'
Naharnet/October 21/2022
MP Ashraf Rifi prayed on Friday at the Khalde Mosque before moving to the house of the father of Hassan Ghoson, who had been slain in clashes with Hezbollah-linked gunmen. “The incidents that happened in Khalde were in defense of the residents, Lebanon and all Sunnis in Lebanon,” Rifi said. “We tell Hezbollah that we will live with it as a Lebanese component, but we will not bow to the Iranian scheme. We call on you to draw lessons from Iraq, where the Arab Shiite Iraqis rejected the Iranian scheme,” Rifi added. “Shiites are our brothers, but we are against the Iranian scheme that killed all our icons, and I’m speaking from a security background. Together with the martyr Wissam al-Hassan and the martyr Wissam Eid we proved that the killers were a squad from Hezbollah,” the legislator went on to say. Turning back to the case of the Khalde clashes, Rifi lamented that “there has been no justice neither equality in this case.” “Those who caused the crime did not hand over anyone. Our Christian brothers in Ain al-Remmaneh defended themselves and they managed through their capabilities to secure the release of all detainees, whereas we have not been able to do so because we are fragmented,” Rifi added.
“The Arab tribes are our own army alongside the Lebanese Army and they have a presence across the area. We won’t accept that 17 young men stay at the Military Court after they were aggressed against, while the other group has no detainees,” the MP said. He added: “In Iraq they have ended the Iranian presence and in Lebanon we will end the Iranian presence and we will live with our Shiite, Druze and Christian brothers in accord, harmony and respect.”

Al-Khalil says 'sectarianism' blocking port probe-related decree, not him
Naharnet/October 21/2022
Caretaker Finance Minister Youssef al-Khalil on Friday defended himself in the face of accusations blaming him for blocking a judicial appointments decree that would allow the probe into the Beirut port blast to resume. “Youssef al-Khalil wants justice for the port’s victims and for their families. He wants it yesterday rather than today and today rather than tomorrow. It would have been easy for me to sign the draft decree and claim false heroism by sending the time bomb to the premier and the president, seeing as their signatures are also needed,” Khalil said at a press conference. “This decree does not only concern the appointments related to the port blast’s probe, but also a host of various judicial appointments,” he noted. “Let me tell the families that I had worked, since day one, to remove the obstacles preventing the signing of the decree, and I relentlessly followed up on the issue and was promised that it would be resolved several times,” Khalil added. “My mistake is that I tried to play the role of the mediator in the arena of the sectarian spider so that we all achieve the results we want,” the minister went on to say. He also stressed that “what has blocked and is still blocking the decree is not Youssef al-Khalil but rather sectarianism.”

Syrian ambassador: 89% of refugees want to return to Syria
Naharnet/October 21/2022
Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali announced Friday after meeting caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib that “it is in the interest of Lebanon and Syria to integrate, even if major world powers are pressing in the opposite direction.”
Lauding the stance of President Michel Aoun, the government, Bou Habib and the other ministers regarding the repatriation of refugees to Syria, Ali noted that “the Syrians want to return and they will be safer in Syria than in Lebanon.” “The (Syrian) state has offered them all facilitations to encourage them to return,” the ambassador added, noting that “according to U.N. surveys, more than 89% of refugees want to return” to their country, the ambassador went on to say.

Hezbollah says ready to help in refugee file, slams Western stance
Naharnet/October 21/2022
The Hezbollah official in charge of the Syrian refugee file, ex-MP Nawwar al-Saheli, visited General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim on Thursday and told him that Hezbollah is willing to help in the file, adding that his party’s capabilities can be put at General Security’s disposal in this regard. Lauding Ibrahim’s stances and his work to activate the issue of returning the refugees to their country, Saheli also applauded the major general’s contacts with the Syrian government and security agencies in this regard. The Hezbollah official also condemned “the negative stance of some European and Western countries and their non-seriousness in assisting in this issue.”

Report: Jumblat tells LF he won't back Mouawad indefinitely
Naharnet/October 21/2022
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has held discussions over the presidential file with MP Melhem Riachi, who was dispatched to Clemenceau by Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. “Jumblat was clear that he would not continue to support (MP Michel) Mouawad’s nomination indefinitely, because he is convinced that a ‘challenge’ president cannot be elected despite the surge in votes supporting him,” informed sources told ad-Diyar newspaper in remarks published Friday. “The phase that will follow the presidential vacuum needs a new approach,” Jumblat told Riachi, according to the daily. He also told him that he would meet Speaker Nabih “Berri’s invitation to consultation and dialogue over a consensual president whenever he calls for that, something that is rejected by the LF,” ad-Diyar added.

LF petitions for parliamentary review of border deal
Naharnet/October 21/2022
The Strong Republic bloc submitted Friday a petition to Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati, requesting that the maritime border demarcation agreement be referred to Parliament for discussion and vote. LF MP Ghassan Hasbani said in a press conference that the text must be referred to Parliament as soon as possible before it goes into force. The Change MPs and Kataeb Party leader Sami Gemayel has also asked for the text to be referred to parliament for approval, but Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri considered that the deal "does not require a debate in parliament because it is not an agreement with Israel." He said he had asked parliament’s general secretariat to distribute the deal’s text to MPs so that they take note of it, following calls by some lawmakers for discussing it in parliament. The text of the agreement sent to both Lebanon and Israel by U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein said it "establishes a permanent and equitable resolution of their maritime dispute". It will go into force as soon as the U.S. sends a notice confirming it has received from Lebanon and Israel their separate approvals.

UN 'urgently' needs $13 million for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
Agence France Presse/October 21/2022
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) appealed Friday for $13 million in funding to support Palestinians in Lebanon, as the country reels from an unprecedented economic crisis. "Palestine refugees, living in overcrowded camps... are at the end of their rope," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement, adding that "almost every Palestine refugee in Lebanon lives in poverty." He said UNRWA was "urgently appealing for $13 million" in funding for cash assistance to families, primary health care services and to keep the agency's schools open until the end of this year. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are "often unable to even scrape by," he said, adding: "Our assistance is a drop in an ocean of despair."For the past three years, Lebanon has been in the throes of one of the worst economic crises in recent global history, according to the World Bank. "Unprecedented levels of poverty, skyrocketing unemployment rates and increasing despair are... severely hitting the Lebanese people and Syrian and Palestine refugees," Lazzarini said. Lebanon hosts about 210,000 Palestinian refugees, including 30,000 who fled Syria after war erupted in 2011, according to UNRWA. It also hosts more than one million Syrian refugees. Most Palestinians live in 12 official refugee camps in squalid conditions, worsened by Lebanon's financial meltdown, and face a variety of legal restrictions, including on their employment. According to the U.N. agency, 93 percent of all Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are poor. The situation has pushed hundreds to attempt perilous sea journeys in hope of reaching Europe. Palestinians were among the more than 100 dead after a migrant boat that left from Lebanon's north sank off neighboring Syria, in one of the deadliest such shipwrecks in the eastern Mediterranean. "Dying from poverty will not be much different from dying at sea," said a mother of three identified as Iman, who lives in Beirut's Mar Elias Palestinian refugee camp. "Life in Lebanon has become unbearable," she said, according to the UNRWA statement.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 21-22.2022
Syrian air defenses confront Israeli missile attack over Damascus, state media
Reuters/October 21, 2022
CAIRO: Syrian air defenses intercepted an Israeli missile attack over the capital Damascus and the southern region late on Friday and explosions were heard in the capital’s vicinity, state media reported.
No immediate information was immediately available on damages or casualties.

A dozen bodies found in Syria mass grave: state media
AFP/October 21, 2022
DAMADCUS: Syrian authorities discovered a mass grave in Palmyra, state media said, unearthing 12 bodies in the ancient city that had been overrun by Daesh group fighters for two years. “Authorities found the remains of a number of civilians and soldiers in a mass grave near Palmyra’s archaeological theater,” Syria’s official news agency SANA said. Twelve bodies were recovered and taken to hospital to be identified using DNA testing, SANA said. Daesh seized Palmyra twice between 2015 and 2017, when it launched campaigns to systematically destroy and loot the UNESCO world heritage site’s monuments and temples. The group used the ancient Roman theater as a venue for execution-style killings and beheaded Palmyra’s 82-year-old retired chief archaeologist Khaled Al-Assaad after he refused to leave the city. In 2016, the jihadists executed at least 280 people in Palmyra, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor. The jihadists also blew up the tetrapylon monument and part of the Roman theater before they were driven out by the Syrian army with Russian backing in 2017. Dozens of mass graves have been found in Iraq and Syria but the identification process is slow, costly and complicated. One of the biggest alleged Daesh mass graves contained 200 bodies and was discovered in 2019 near Raqqa, the group’s former de-facto capital in Syria. Daesh seized large swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory in 2014, declaring a “caliphate” and killing thousands before they were territorially defeated. Rights groups have repeatedly called on authorities to investigate the fate of thousands who went missing during Daesh rule. Syria’s war, which erupted in 2011 after the brutal repression of anti-government protests, has killed nearly half a million people and forced around half of the country’s pre-war population from their homes.

Iranian authorities forced athlete to apologize in hijab row, BBC reports
Arab News/October 21, 2022
LONDON: An Iranian women who broke Iran’s strict hijab laws while competing at a climbing event in South Korea was forced to publicly apologize over the incident, the BBC reported. In a statement this week after taking part in the competition without a headscarf, 33-year-old Elnaz Rekabi said her hijab had “fallen off inadvertently.” But a source told the BBC that Rekabi’s family had been threatened by Iranian authorities after footage of the climber at the event went viral online. Rekabi arrived in Tehran on Wednesday amid the controversy. Notably, she was not wearing a headscarf. The source said she was detained on arrival and taken to the National Olympic Committee building where she met the following day with Iran’s sports minister. The climber is now at home but the BBC source questioned the accuracy of a statement by authorities in which they denied Rekabi was under house arrest and said she was in need of rest. Iranian authorities have long faced issues with athletes competing overseas and failing to return home. Before traveling to South Korea, Rekabi was forced to pay $35,000 to Iran’s climbing federation as collateral in case she did not return. The sporting federation also demanded legal control of her family’s property, with the threat of it being sold used to apply pressure and ensure Rekabi came home. Despite the threats, several prominent Iranian female athletes have defected after traveling to other countries to compete, including Kimia Alizadeh, who won a gold medal in Taekwondo at the 2016 Olympics. In January 2020, she said she had opted not to return to Iran to avoid being part of “hypocrisy, lies, injustice and flattery.”

Almost 12,500 people arrested in crackdown on Iranian protests, says rights group
Arab News/October 21, 2022
DUBAI: Nearly 12,500 people have been arrested and more than 250 killed since the start of protests across the Iran sparked by the death in police custody of Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini just over a month ago, according to a prominent human rights group.
Families and friends of those who are missing have struggled to contact loved ones who remain unaccounted for and are presumed to be detained, The Guardian newspaper reported on Friday. According to the Center for Human Rights in Iran, about 3,000 people have been arrested in Tehran province, 835 of whom remain in jail, including 200 university students. Meanwhile, it has been reported that about 1,300 prisoners have been sent to Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary from Evin prison following a massive fire at the latter over the weekend.
HRANA, an Iranian human rights news website, said that 12,450 people have been arrested during the ongoing protests. Iranian human rights groups claims that journalists in particular are being targeted, especially those who report on people being detained.
According to media reports, Mohammed Mehdi Esmaili, the minister of guidance, said the number of journalists that remain under arrest was not high. But the International Federation of Journalists said that 24 have been arrested since the protests started, 11 of whom were being held in Evin prison.
Reporters Without Borders said more than 30 journalists are in jail, leaving many publications cowed and censored. The Writers Union of Iran said: “Repression of people who protested with empty hands has been a daily occurrence in the past 40 years. But what happened to children and prisoners last week is one of the blackest pages in the record of the current government.” Meanwhile, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, insisted security forces were close to snuffing out the remaining protests. “Sedition is going through its last moments,” he said.
However, the protesters have vowed to continue to defy authorities and maintain their protests. Nearly 200 oil-refinery workers reportedly have been arrested since they and truck drivers joined the demonstrations.

Risk of torture and death: Alarm over Iran protest prisoners
AFP/October 21, 2022
PARIS: Iranian campaigners arrested in a crackdown over protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini are at risk of being tortured or even dying behind bars, rights groups warn. Amini, 22, died in September three days after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating the Islamic republic’s strict dress code, triggering protests that have been running for more than a month. Shocking images emerged on Thursday of the arrest of freedom of expression activist Hossein Ronaghi who was put into a chokehold and hauled away when he presented himself at a prosecutors’ office.
Since his arrest on September 24, he has been held in Tehran’s Evin prison and his family says he risks dying due to a kidney condition. They also say his legs have been broken. Ronaghi is just one of several prominent rights activists, journalists and lawyers who have been arrested and who supporters fear may never emerge alive from the notorious facility, where most political detainees are held. A fire at Evin on October 15 killed eight inmates, according to authorities. It only amplified concerns about prisoners’ welfare, with activists accusing authorities of firing tear gas and metal pellets inside the jail, even if none of the political prisoners were reported to have been harmed. “Detainees who are often forcibly disappeared are at serious risk of torture and death. Urgent action by the international community is crucial at this point,” said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights.
IHR said thousands had been arrested nationwide in the crackdown, including at least 36 journalists, 170 students, 14 lawyers and more than 580 civil society activists, including workers and teaching union officials.
IHR said thousands had been arrested nationwide in the crackdown. (AFP)
Roya Boroumand, director of the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, said the situation was compounded by the sheer number of new prisoners being brought to jails including Evin and the Fashafouyeh Greater Tehran prison.
“We are very concerned about the treatment of detainees,” she told AFP. Overcrowding means there is “no choice but to sit or sleep in turn” in areas including prison gyms. Analysts say the mass arrests are a key strategy under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in seeking to combat the nationwide wave of protests, which represent one of the biggest challenges to Iran’s Islamic system since the 1979 revolution. Ronaghi, a contributor to the Wall Street Journal, has for years been one of the most fearless critics of the Islamic republic still living in the country.
Security forces made a first attempt to arrest him on September 22 while he was giving a live interview to Iran International TV but he managed to slip out of his apartment, he said at the time. He came out of hiding two days later but was immediately arrested along with his lawyers. After the fire that ripped through the jail, Ronaghi “had a short call with my mother but could only say a few words and could barely speak” due to his ill health, his brother Hassan Ronaghi wrote on Twitter. “Hossein’s life is in danger,” Hassan wrote in his latest tweet on Wednesday. After the Evin fire, Amnesty International urged access for independent monitors “to protect prisoners from further unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment.”Activist Majid Tavakoli, who has been repeatedly imprisoned in Iran in recent years, including after disputed 2009 elections, remains in jail after his arrest on September 23.
His family says they have had no news of him since the fire. “Why can’t a person be free whose only tool is his brain? Is thinking a crime?” his wife tweeted. Arash Sadeghi was only released from prison after serving several years last May. He was jailed in Evin on October 12, despite suffering from chondrosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. His father tweeted a picture of a dozen boxes of medicine he needs. “You can imprison his body but his soul is always with the people and the prisoners he does not know,” he wrote.
IHR expressed concern that several activists were still incommunicado behind bars, including the journalist and campaigner Golrokh Iraee and prominent tech blogger Amir Emad Mirmirani, known as Jadi. The rights group said some detainees had given “self-incriminating televised confessions under duress and torture” and had also been subjected to verbal insults while in custody. Prisoners have “testified to being severely beaten, tortured during interrogations, and deprived of food and clean drinking water,” Boroumand said. “Detainees are left with shotgun pellets and broken limbs (and) without medical care.”

UK, France, Germany seek UN probe of Russia’s alleged use of Iranian drones
Reuters/October 21, 2022
WASHINGTON: Britain, France and Germany on Friday called for a United Nations probe of accusations Russia has used Iranian-origin drones to attack Ukraine, allegedly violating a UN Security Council Resolution. In a letter signed by their UN envoys and seen by Reuters, the three backed Ukraine’s call on Monday for such a probe, arguing the drone use breached UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2231 endorsing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Separately, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington still believes diplomacy was the best way to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program but saw no chance “in this moment” to revive the 2015 deal because of Iran raising “extraneous” issues. “With or without a deal we will continue to take every step necessary to deal with Iran’s activities, Iran’s aggression, whether it’s in the Middle East or beyond,” he said at a news conference with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. “We are seeing that now with the provision of (drones) to Russia.”Ukraine says Russia has used Iranian-made Shahed-136 attack drones that cruise toward their target and explode on impact.
Tehran denies supplying the drones to Moscow — an assertion Washington says is untrue — and Russia has denied its forces used Iranian drones to attack Ukraine. “We would welcome an investigation by the UN Secretariat team responsible for monitoring the implementation of UNSCR 2231,” Britain, France and Germany, a group known as the E3, said in the letter. It was not clear what practical impact such a probe might have on Iran or Russia, which as a permanent Security Council member could veto any effort to impose consequences. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reports twice a year to the Council — traditionally in June and December — on the implementation of the 2015 resolution. Any assessment of the drones in Ukraine would likely be included in that report. Another possibility is that participants in the 2015 nuclear deal — which Iran struck with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — could use a UN mechanism to “snap back” sanctions on Tehran. To trigger “snapback,” a party to the deal, under which Iran curbed its nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions, would submit a complaint about Iran breaching it to the Council.
The Council would then have to vote within 30 days on continuing Iran’s sanctions relief. If such a resolution is not adopted by the deadline, all UN sanctions in place before the nuclear deal would be automatically reimposed. This would require Iran to suspend all nuclear enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, and ban imports of anything that could contribute to those activities or developing nuclear arms delivery systems. It would also reimpose a conventional arms embargo, ban Iran from developing ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons and revive targeted sanctions on dozens of individuals and entities. Countries also would be urged to inspect shipments to and from Iran and authorized to seize any banned cargo. “Snapback” would also likely kill off efforts to revive the 2015 deal, which then-US President Donald Trump abandoned and which his successor Joe Biden has sought to resurrect.

Beyond rhetoric, little West can do to change Iran trajectory
The Arab Weekly/Agencies/October 21/2022
Beyond voicing support and criticising, the West has few policy levers to influence events in Iran.
Western actors and officials have cut their hair on camera to dramatise their support for Iranian women whose protests have rocked the Islamic Republic since a 22-year-old woman died in the custody of Iran’s morality police over a month ago.
“For Freedom,” French actor Juliette Binoche said as she snipped off a hank of auburn hair in solidarity with Iranians decrying the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested on September 13 in Tehran for “inappropriate attire” and died three days later.
Belgium’s foreign minister and two other lawmakers cut their hair in parliament. The performances hint at a deeper reality: beyond voicing support, criticising abuses and giving protesters digital tools to communicate, Western governments have few policy levers to influence events in Iran, officials and analysts said.
Four years of economic sanctions, reimposed by former US President Donald Trump in 2018 and continued, if inconsistently enforced by his successor Joe Biden, have not stopped Iran’s expansion of its nuclear programme, let alone curtailed its support for proxies abroad or crushing dissent at home.
In a world where oil prices have risen with the Ukraine war and where Iran’s major oil buyers, China and India, seem unfazed by the threat of stronger enforcement of US sanctions, it seems that Tehran will continue to have a financial lifeline.
“In terms of economic tools that could really change the regime’s outlook … those tools are very limited,” said Henry Rome of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank.
No discussion of ‘regime change’
Given the unhappy results of US interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is no discussion of any US effort to help topple an Iranian leadership itself born of a revolutionary rejection of an earlier US-backed regime change in Tehran.
In 1953 the CIA helped orchestrate the overthrow of Iran’s popular Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, restoring to power the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who was then ousted in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, heralding decades of US-Iranian animus.
“We are not looking to get involved in regime change,” said a Western diplomat. A US official described Washington’s policy as three-fold: voicing support for protesters and their right to express their views, drawing attention to allegations against Iranian security forces of human rights abuses and encouraging companies to preserve internet access in Iran, allowing demonstrators to communicate. “The outcome is not going to be determined by what the US does, by what the West does, by what any foreigner does, it’s going to be determined by what the Iranian people do and by what their government does in response,” the official said. “We can shine a spotlight, we can make sure that the Iranian people know that they are not alone, that people are watching and that they are being heard. We can hold people who are repressing them accountable through our sanctions,” he added on condition of anonymity.
“Those are the areas we are looking at.”
Iran’s clerical rulers accuse the West of fomenting the protests. Iranians, inside and outside the country, have urged Western countries to pressure Iran by expelling its ambassadors and the family members of Iranian authorities who live abroad. “The West doesn’t have too much leverage over Iran, but I think they must play their hands well,” said Saeid Golkar of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, also calling for imposing sanctions on Iranian plain clothes security forces.
Efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, hanging by a thread, have been made more difficult by Iran’s clampdown on the protests in which as many as 23 children have been killed by live ammunition, metal pellets fired at close range and beatings, according to the UN human rights office.
The suspected transfer of drones and possibly even short-range surface-to-surface missiles to Russia from Iran to help Russia in its war against Ukraine will also make Western leaders reluctant to push an accord that would give the Iranian government billions of dollars’ worth of extra resources. Some officials and analysts argue Tehran may not seek a deal given the political sensitivities at home. “If ever there was a time where having a nuclear deal would offer some level of economic relief, this would be the time to want it. However, if you do that you’re paving the way for your country for more openness and less isolation and that may be very difficult for the regime,” said the Western diplomat. Even if Iran wanted to resurrect the pact, under which Tehran curbed its nuclear programme in return for economic sanctions relief that raised its oil revenues, the crackdown makes it harder for Washington to cut a deal. “The (US) opponents of the deal would have more ammunition to attack a Biden administration that’s prepared to deal with a regime which, they might say, is on the ropes,” said Bob Einhorn of the Brookings Institution.
“Why would we throw a lifeline to a regime that is on the ropes and that is killing young women?”

Iran's conflicting signals befuddle normalisation prospects with Saudi Arabia
The Arab Weekly/October 21/2022
The conflicting signals being sent by Iran's political-military leadership over Tehran's relations with Saudi Arabia are likely to hinder the process of normalisation between the two countries and reinforce Riyadh's doubts about Iranian intentions, analysts say. Iran on Thursday said the leaders of Saudi Arabia should end their reliance on Israel, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. "You are relying on an Israel which is collapsing and this will be the end of your era," Hossein Salami, the top commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was quoted as saying in what he called a "warning" to Saudi Arabia. Salami's statement contradicted recent comments by a top advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader who called for the reopening of embassies to facilitate rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh. "We are neighbours of Saudi Arabia and we must coexist. The embassies of the two countries should reopen in order to solve our problems in a better way," Ali Akbar Velayati said on Wednesday. Last year, Tehran and Riyadh began direct talks in an attempt to improve relations, which tanked when diplomatic ties between the two countries were severed in 2016. Baghdad has so far hosted five rounds of talks, the last in April.
US news website Axios had reported that Saudi Arabia agreed to the reopening of an Iranian embassy in Riyadh "but only for activities related to the Jeddah-based Organisation for Islamic Cooperation."
Saudi Arabia has signalled its backing for the so-called Abraham Accords under which the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain forged relations with Israel two years ago. But Riyadh has not itself engaged in a formal normalisation process with Israel. Iran experts say the contradictory statements coming out of Tehran are a reflection of divided views among Islamic Republic leaders over whether to ease tensions with Saudi Arabia or to prioritise the foreign blame game, which they need amid persistent protests at home over the death of 22 year old Mahsa Amini while in the hands of the "morality police". In previous days, Salami has also accused Riyadh of seeking to "deceive Iranian youths" through Saudi media. Speaking at IRGC military exercises in northwest of Iran, he was quoted as saying: “This is our last warning, because you are interfering in our internal affairs through these media. We told you, be careful”.
The thorniest area of discord between Tehran and Riyadh remains the Yemen war. The Houthis, Iran's proxies in Yemen, have in recent weeks blocked the extension of the truce despite UN and US efforts.
The Houthis have in the past launched missile and drone attacks against Saudi and Emirati installations. They could again be Iran's tool for regional adventurism and acts of aggression should Tehran opt once more for confrontation.
Farzin Nadimi, an Iran expert at The Washington Institute said "the uprising shows potential signs of posing an existential threat to the regime", which has engaged in military operations in Kurdistan. He added that "given the high stakes involved in ongoing unrest, an unattributable attack against its chief regional rival, Saudi Arabia, is a distinct possibility". Analysts say Iran's pressures and its thinly-veiled threats are unlikely to sway an increasingly self-confident Saudi Arabia away from an even balance in regional and international policies as it charts an independent course illustrated by its recent position within OPEC+ and bolsters its alliances to guarantee the country's national security interests.

U.S. Offer of Sanctions Relief Remains Active Despite Iran Protests
FDD/October 21/2022
Latest Developments
Human rights groups report that the Islamic Republic of Iran has killed at least 233 Iranians, including at least 32 minors, while detaining thousands more during mass protests over the past five weeks. Though the State Department said last week that nuclear talks with Iran are “not our focus right now,” the Biden administration has yet to withdraw offers of sanctions relief already made to the regime in Tehran — leaving the door open for lifting sanctions on entities and sectors of Iran’s economy that finance the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has played a role in suppressing protests.
Expert Analysis
“It’s one thing to pose for pictures with Iranian dissidents in Washington. It’s another thing to send a clear message throughout Iran that U.S. sanctions relief for the Islamic Republic is off the table, full stop. Nothing could be more demoralizing to the Iranians putting their lives on the line than hearing that the United States is keeping the door open to pumping cash into the regime they are protesting.” – Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor
Biden Offer to Lift Sanctions Still on the Table
In 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department revealed that entities connected to the Basij militia, a branch of the IRGC that has played a role in suppressing protests, were “deeply entrenched in major Iranian industries, such as automotive, mines and metals, tractor manufacturing, and banking.” Yet the Biden administration has already offered to rescind executive orders and lift sanctions on all of those sectors on day one of a phased nuclear deal.
Additionally, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) continues to finance the ministries and agencies — including the IRGC — currently involved in the crackdown on the Iranian people, making it a potential target for a human rights sanctions designation. Yet the administration has offered to lift sanctions on the CBI as part of a revived nuclear agreement.
Support for Protesters Requires Ending Nuclear Talks, Enforcing Sanctions
Even as it assesses that prospects for a renewed nuclear deal are low, the Biden administration continues to insist that the “door for diplomacy will always remain open,” as White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre put it on Monday. But so long as Washington keeps the nuclear deal on the table, Tehran will feel emboldened to continue its repression, confident that international pressure will ultimately fade. As such, nuclear talks exacerbate the human rights abuses that the Iranian people are currently protesting.

Iranian cleric calls for tough crackdown against protests
DUBAI (Reuters)/Fri, October 21, 2022
Iran's judiciary should take tough measures against protesters and anyone who thinks the country's rulers will fall is dreaming, a senior cleric said. The Islamic Republic has been gripped by demonstrations that erupted after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last month. "The judiciary should deal with the rioters - who betrayed the nation and poured water into the enemy's watermill - in such a way that others don't again fancy to riot," hardline cleric Ahmad Khatami said in a Friday prayers sermon in Tehran, Iranian media reported. "They have told deceived kids if they stay in the streets for a week the regime will fall. Dream on! The judiciary should deal with rioters in such a way they would never aspire to riot." Iran has blamed "thugs" linked to "foreign enemies" for the unrest. The nationwide protests have turned into one of the boldest challenges to Iran's clerical rulers since the 1979 revolution. Protesters have called for the downfall of the Islamic Republic, although the protests do not seem close to toppling the system. As protests continued in several cities, the activist website 1500tasvir posted a video it said showed a demonstration in the central city of Isfahan and footage purporting to show protesters lighting fires on streets of the northwestern city of Mahabad late on Thursday. Videos of protests have been delayed because of internet restrictions imposed in Iran by authorities, activists say. The activist news agency HRANA said in a posting that 244 protesters had been killed in the unrest, including 32 minors. It said 28 members of the security forces were killed and over 12,500 people had been arrested until Thursday in protests in 114 cities and towns and some 81 universities.
(Reporting by Michael Georgy; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

US: Iranian troops in Crimea backing Russian drone strikes
Associated Press/October 21, 2022
The White House has said that Iranian troops are "directly engaged on the ground" in Crimea supporting Russian drone attacks on Ukraine's power stations and other key infrastructure, claiming it has troubling evidence of Tehran's deepening role assisting Russia as it exacts suffering on Ukrainian civilians just as the cold weather sets in. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Iran has sent a "relatively small number" of personnel to Crimea, a part of Ukraine unilaterally annexed by Russia in contravention of international law in 2014, to assist Russian troops in launching Iranian-made drones against Ukraine. Members of a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps were dispatched to assist Russian forces in using the drones, according to the British government.
The revelation of the U.S. intelligence finding comes as the Biden administration seeks to mount international pressure on Tehran to pull back from helping Russia as it bombards soft Ukrainian civilian targets with the help of Iranian-made drones. The Russians in recent days have increasingly turned to the Iranian-supplied drones, as well as Kalibr and Iskander cruise missiles, to carry out a barrage of attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure and non-military targets. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week that Russian forces have destroyed 30% of Ukraine's power stations since Oct. 10. "The information we have is that the Iranians have put trainers and tech support in Crimea, but it's the Russians who are doing the piloting," Kirby said. He added that the Biden administration was looking at imposing new sanctions on Tehran and would look for ways to make it harder for Iran to sell such weapons to Russia. The U.S. first revealed this summer that Russia was purchasing Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles to launch against Ukraine. Iran has denied selling its munitions to Russia.
White House officials say that international sanctions, including export controls, have left the Russians in a bind as they try to restock ammunition and precision-guided munition stocks that have been depleted during the nearly eight-month-old war. As a result, Russia has been forced to turn to Iran as well as North Korea for weaponry. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters that military officials "wouldn't be surprised" if the Russians sought more drones from Iran "given their situation." Zelensky said last week that Russia had ordered 2,400 from Iran. U.S. officials believe that Iran may have deployed military personnel to assist the Russians in part because of the Russians' lack of familiarity with the Iranian-made drones. Declassified U.S. intelligence findings showed that Russians faced technical problems with the drones soon after taking delivery of them in August. "The systems themselves were suffering failures and not performing to the standards that apparently the customers expected," Kirby said. "So the Iranians decided to move in some trainers and some technical support to help the Russians use them with better lethality."The Biden administration released further details about Iran's involvement in assisting Russia's war at a sensitive moment. The administration has levied new sanctions against Iran over the brutal crackdown on antigovernment protests spurred by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in Iranian security custody.
Morality police had detained Amini last month for not properly covering her hair with the Islamic headscarf, known as the hijab, which is mandatory for Iranian women. Amini collapsed at a police station and died three days later. Her death and the subsequent unrest have come as the administration tries to bring Iran back into compliance with the nuclear deal that was brokered by the Obama administration and scrapped by the Trump administration. At the United Nations this week, Ukraine accused Iran of violating a Security Council ban on the transfer of drones capable of flying 300 kilometers (180 miles). Britain, France and the U.S. strongly back Ukraine's contention that the drones were transferred to Russia and violate a 2015 U.N. Security Council resolution that endorsed the nuclear deal between Iran and six nations — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear activities and preventing the country from developing a nuclear weapon. Kirby said the administration has little hope for reviving the Iran nuclear deal soon. "We're not focused on the on the diplomacy at this point," Kirby said. "What we are focused on is making sure that we're holding the regime accountable for the way they're treating peaceful protesters in their country and supporting those protesters." The White House spoke out about Iranian assistance to Russia as Britain on Thursday announced new sanctions on Iranian officials and businesses accused of supplying the drones."These cowardly drone strikes are an act of desperation," British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement. "By enabling these strikes, these individuals and a manufacturer have caused the people of Ukraine untold suffering. We will ensure that they are held to account for their actions." Among the individuals hit with asset freezes and travel bans by the British were Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, chairman of the armed forces general staff overseeing the army branches supplying Russia with drones; Brig. Gen. Seyed Hojjatollah Qureishi, a key Iranian negotiator in the deal; and Brig. Gen. Saeed Aghajani, the head the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Force UAV Command. Shahed Aviation Industries, the Iranian manufacturer of the drones being used by Russia, was also hit by an asset freeze.

Russia's defense minister discusses Ukraine in call with US counterpart
Agence France Presse/October 21, 2022
Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held a phone call with U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin, the defense ministry said Friday, in rare talks between Moscow and Washington since the start of the Ukraine conflict. "Topical issues of international security, including the situation in Ukraine, were discussed," Russia's defense ministry said in a statement on social media without providing further details.

'It Was Horror': Liberated Ukrainians Share Tales of Occupation
Carlotta Gall and Ivor Prickett/The New York Times/October 21, 2022
BALAKLIYA, Ukraine — Russian troops spent weeks searching for Mariya, the 65-year-old common-law wife of a serving Ukrainian army officer. Twice, she said, they ransacked her cottage in a village outside the town of Balakliya, Ukraine, and when they did eventually detain her months later, they tortured her repeatedly under interrogation, using electric shocks and threats of rape. The recapturing by Ukrainian fighters of much of the Kharkiv region a month ago is now revealing what life was like for thousands of people living under Russian military occupation from the early days of the war. For many, there were periods of calm but almost no food or public services. For those like Mariya, accused of sympathizing with or helping the Ukrainians, it was pure hell. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times. “In a word, it was horror,” Mariya said. “I thought I would not come out alive.”Police officers who have returned to towns and villages to reestablish a Ukrainian administration have been overwhelmed by complaints of theft and property damage but also accounts of detentions, torture and missing relatives.
The scale of abuse of the population in eastern Ukraine under Russian occupation is most likely greater than that seen in the spring in Bucha and other areas around the capital, Kyiv, given the breadth of the territory and the length of the occupation, police officials said.
So far, police officers have logged more than 1,000 cases of people being detained in police stations and temporary holding facilities across the region, said Serhii Bolvinov, the police chief of Kharkiv province. The real figure is probably two or three times that, he said.
Torture was routine, according to witnesses. The signs of abuse were already apparent in some of the 534 bodies recovered across the region, the police chief said. “There are bodies that were tortured to death,” he said. “There are people with tied hands, shot, strangled, people with cut wounds, cut genitals.”Last week, in a small cemetery set amid open fields on the edge of the town of Borova, a father stood silent watch as Ukrainian investigators carried out the grisly task of exhuming and examining the body of his son, Serhii Avdeev. Avdeev’s wife had found his bullet-riddled corpse in a pit at a camp vacated days earlier by Russian troops as they retreated.
The killing of Avdeev, 33, a welder who had earlier served in the Ukrainian army, is just the latest subject of interest to war crimes prosecutors. His was one of hundreds of corpses recovered in dozens of towns and villages recaptured by Ukrainian troops in northeastern Ukraine. On Saturday, a joint team of French and Ukrainian forensic specialists carried out an autopsy on Avdeev’s body in a morgue in Kharkiv, discovering at least 15 bullet wounds and four bullets lodged in his corpse. One of his nails and part of his finger had been torn off.
Accounts of those detained reveal the same pattern of abuse, including beatings and electric shocks during interrogations, in almost every police station and improvised jail across the region. Some inmates were held in open-air cages in the city of Kupiansk, one witness said.
Mariya was held for 40 days in a police detention facility, where she endured hours of interrogation, electric shocks and threats of rape and death. One time, she fell from her chair, unconscious, and came around as someone was kicking her in the head. Going by their accents, she concluded that most of her interrogators were Russians, she said, and demanded to know where her husband was. They also repeatedly accused her of being a spotter who was identifying bombing targets for the Ukrainian army. From her cell, she could hear men and women screaming in pain. “Men screaming so hard, I cannot describe it enough,” she said, weeping. She said she understood from the screams that women were being sexually assaulted (though she said she herself was not). “If they stripped me to my underwear, you can imagine what they did to the girls.”There was another element to her persecution that was petty and vengeful.
Mariya hid in an empty apartment near a school where she worked as a cleaner, but she thinks someone disclosed her location to the Russians. In July, Russians wearing masks banged on the door and called out her name. The second time they searched her house, the Russians spray-painted the letter Z — a symbol of the Russian occupying force — on every wall and door, including the interior of the refrigerator, and attacked her husband’s car with an ax and gunfire.
Another resident of Balakliya, Serhii, 30, a lumberjack, was detained by Russian soldiers in the woods near his house while he was out walking the dogs with his brother and a friend. The three men were stripped, beaten and interrogated. “They wanted to know where the Ukrainian positions were,” said Serhii, who gave only his first name for fear of retribution, should the Russians ever return. “They were asking questions that we did not have the answers to.”
Then at 3 a.m., they were taken into the forest, made to dig a trench and put through a mock execution. “I thought they were dead,” Serhii said of his companions, his face crumpling as he broke into a sob.
The men were held in a basement and then after two weeks were released without explanation. Investigators reopening police stations all over the recaptured territory have discovered hundreds of men and women with similar tales: beaten and tortured on accusations of serving in the Ukrainian army, of having relatives in the army or of simply being pro-Ukrainian.
But even more were detained for a minor infraction, such as violating curfew, or on the catchall accusation of being a spy or a spotter.
Serhii Pletinka, 33, a builder who lives near the town of Shevchenkove, was detained twice, accused variously of being a Nazi, of illegally selling humanitarian aid and of plotting to kill a Russian-appointed police chief. His accusers were all local men who had landed jobs with the new pro-Russian administration, and one of them had a long-standing dispute with him, Pletinka said.
Another man in his village, Oleh, 28, who was held for two weeks, said most of those making accusations were motivated by money or petty revenge. “Police officers were making false accusations to get rewards,” he said. “They did it for the money.”Residents looked on as some of their neighbors began enjoying their newfound power and driving new cars, though things did not work out for all of them, Pletinka said. Among his cellmates, he said, was the first Russian-appointed mayor, who was later accused of misappropriation of funds and arrested. Many of those who collaborated, including the imprisoned mayor, fled the country as Ukrainian troops recaptured the region and are thought to be in Russia, he said. But Mariya said her neighbors — some of whom, she recounted, stole her belongings and farm tools while she was in detention — have remained hostile, with one claiming he bought property from the Russians.
In the police station of Kozacha Lopan, the site of a major Russian base near the border, investigators found a military field telephone used to administer electric shocks, along with documents identifying the Russian-appointed police chief who had been in charge at the station. The Russians and their proxies often demonstrated an obsessive suspicion of spotters and others who might be helping the Ukrainian army. They confiscated cellphones to prevent people from communicating with the other side and even nailed cellphones to a tree on the main square of Kozacha Lopan to scare the public, Ukrainian police officers said. “They were trying to establish a new rule,” said an investigator in Balakliya, who gave only his first name, Kyrylo, for security reasons. “And they were ruling through violence.”The detentions continued right up until the end, even as Russian forces were retreating. Avdeev, who had served in the military, had at first been questioned and beaten by Russian troops but not held. Then on Sept. 9, when Russia’s hold on the region was unraveling, Russian-backed separatists from the region of Luhansk took him away.
His family found his body a week later in the abandoned Russian camp.
© 2022 The New York Times Company

Vladimir Putin fires sniper rifle at Russian boot camp after Ukraine setbacks
Sky News/October 21, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been shown firing a sniper rifle while visiting a training facility for reservists.
Footage of the inspection of the military boot camp in the Russian region of Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, is thought to have been aimed at showing progress in rectifying problems with training and supplies. Russian TV showed him lying under a net on a field, wearing goggles and ear protection, and shooting a rifle.Ukraine latest news: Russia 'clearing out' west bank of Dnipro river. A military officer showed Mr Putin and defence minister Sergei Shoigu soldiers wearing bulletproof vests and helmets, with weapons. The officer displayed winter boots, clothes, cooking utensils and other supplies - all to counter images Russians have posted on social media of shabby or non-existent gear for newly mobilised troops. However, the exodus from Russia in the wake of Mr Putin's declaration of a "partial mobilisation" of 300,000 military reservists continues, with people scrambling to escape to neighbouring countries. Ukrainian authorities said more than 3,000 Russians have called a hotline for soldiers who do not want to take part in the war and are asking to surrender. Thursday's training camp visit also comes a day after Mr Putin raised Russia's war footing and declared martial law in four occupied regions of Ukraine - Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia. It has been seen as an attempt to assert Russian authority in the annexed areas as he faces battlefield setbacks, a troubled troop mobilisation, increasing criticism at home and abroad, and international sanctions. Kherson city, with a pre-war population of about 284,000, was one of the first urban areas captured by Russia when it invaded Ukraine, and it remains a prime target for both sides because of its key industries and major river port. Russian officials said 15,000 of a planned 60,000 residents had left the city as of Thursday in anticipation of intensified assaults.
In its latest briefing, the Ukrainian military said up to 2,000 mobilised Russian troops have arrived in the occupied Kherson region to "replenish losses and strengthen units". Ukraine's swift recapture of vast swathes of territory in recent weeks has also seen an escalation in the war, with the Russian leader accusing the West of engaging in "nuclear blackmail" and warning he would use "all the means available to us" if Russian territory is threatened.

So many mobilized Russian reservists had buy their own military gear that thermal underwear now costs up to $340 and a hiking backpack costs as much as $600
Business Insider/Matthew Loh/Fri, October 21, 2022
Russian reservists forced to buy their own gear are finding sky-high prices in stores, reports say. Some items like body armor vests cost up to 10 times than normal, one Russian news site wrote. Putin last month announced a mobilization of 300,000 Russian reservists to fight in Ukraine. Prices are through the roof at Russia's military and outdoor gear stores, Russian news outlets report. This comes as thousands of Russian conscripts drafted for the Ukraine war scramble to purchase their own supplies because Moscow isn't giving them what they need. Men's thermal underwear now costs up to $340 in some stores, while hiking backpacks are priced at up to $600, per Russian business news outlet Kommersant. A pair of gloves now sets a Russian soldier back by $260, while night vision goggles have hit the staggering price of $810, per Kommersant. The demand for first aid kits, tactical gloves, and berets tapered off in recent weeks, but their prices remain at exorbitant levels, reported Kommersant. A typical body armor vest is now worth $729, business news site BFM.ru reported on Wednesday. The vests cost just $133 at the start of 2022, BFM.ru reported. In some cases, the price of body armor can even go up to $2,188, said Senator Lyudmila Narusova, who represents the region of Tuva, per Russian business newspaper RBC.ru. BFM.ru journalists reported that they contacted a chain store selling military gear, and asked to buy two Class IV bulletproof vests, which are designed to stop bullets from penetrating armor. The store told the journalists the vests were out of stock. It's unclear whether sellers are intentionally inflating the prices due to the demand, or because stocks are running low. The Russian Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on why the prices are skyrocketing and why equipment for conscripts is lacking. Meanwhile, Russia's Federal Anti-monopoly Service also warned stores not to overprice medical and military supplies, per RIA Novosti.
Russian reservists have to buy their own supplies
The buying frenzy started after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in September that 300,000 reservists would be drafted to fight in the Ukraine war. Some Russian draftees say they've had to purchase combat equipment and that the military failed to give them supplies, per The Guardian. One mobilized reservist told his sister he had to paint his gun to hide the rust on the weapon, The Guardian reported. "They gave us absolutely no equipment. The army has nothing, we had to buy all our gear ourselves," he said. In a viral Twitter video posted on October 17, a Russian soldier is seen complaining that he was given a "bulletproof vest" actually meant for Airsoft games. Insider could not independently verify where or when the clip was taken. The UK's Ministry of Defence tweeted on Saturday an update that it, too, received intelligence that Russian soldiers were buying their own body armor at exorbitant prices. The MOD added that the quality of the average Russian reservist's equipment now is far worse than what was provided to earlier Russian deployments. Western intelligence sources have reported since the war began on February 24 that Russia's invasion has consistently been badly supplied and understaffed. Russia also has not shown that it has the logistics to properly equip and train 300,000 reservists in a short time, Simon Miles, an assistant professor at Duke University told Insider's Erin Snodgrass and Kelsey Vlamis in September.

US sees no evidence Russia is interested in ending Ukraine aggression — Blinken
Reuters/October 21, 2022
WASHINGTON: The United States will consider every means to advance diplomacy with Russia if it sees an opening, but at the moment Moscow shows no sign of willingness to engage in meaningful talks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday. “Every indication is that far from being willing to engage in meaningful diplomacy, President Putin continues to push in the opposite direction,” Blinken said at a press conference with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna. “We consider and will consider every means to advance diplomacy if we see an opening to advance it by whatever means, of course we’ll always look at it,” he said, but added that Moscow was instead “doubling and tripling down” on its aggression. Russia has intensified its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s power and water infrastructure this week in what Ukraine and the West call a campaign to intimidate civilians ahead of the cold winter. Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview that Russia was willing to engage with the United States or with Turkey on ways to end the war, now in its eighth month, but had yet to receive any serious proposal to negotiate.
The biggest conflict in Europe in decades has drawn comparisons with the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war and raised questions about whether Washington and Moscow should engage in talks to avoid an expansion of the war, including a nuclear confrontation.
Blinken and other US officials have repeatedly said Moscow has not been interested in meaningful diplomacy. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke on Friday with his Russian counterpart, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, their first call since May, and emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid the war in Ukraine, according to a statement from the Pentagon. In televised remarks to his Security Council, Putin boosted the powers of Russia’s regional governors and ordered the creation of a coordinating council under Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to support his “special military operation.”

Algeria, Russia military exercise fuels debate on international alignments
Reuters/The Arab Weekly/October 21/2022
Algeria and Russia kicked off a four-day joint military exercise in the Mediterranean Sea, the Algerian defence ministry said on Wednesday. Warships belonging to the Russian fleet docked in the port of Algiers on Tuesday to conduct the 2022 joint naval exercise, the ministry added in a written statement. The exercise was carried out to strengthen cooperation between the Algerian and Russian navies, the ministry said. A minesweeper belonging to the Russian navy docked in the port of Jijel on the eastern Mediterranean coast in September to conduct joint drills with the Algerian navy. Last November, Russian and Algerian warships carried out joint naval manoeuvres in the Mediterranean, including various tactical and interception exercises. Algeria is one of Russia's most important military allies on the African continent and also one of the largest regional customers for its weapons. The military exercise comes in the light of regional and international geostrategic developments, which have led to alignments and positions that will cast a shadow over future developments, especially in terms of the Russian-Western conflict in Ukraine. Algeria is still considered Russia's strategic ally in the North African region. Over the last few years, Algeria has sealed huge deals with Russia for the supply of various types of aramaents and equipment, especially air and ground weaponry. The Ukrainian crisis has cast a shadow over Algeria and thrust the North African country into unprecedented polarisation between Russia on the one hand and the United States and Europe on the other, especially over energy and military cooperation. Algeria however has so far maintained an acceptable balance, but the increase in outside pressure may ultimately carry a heavy cost. Algeria and Russia have demonstrated close military cooperation, organising several joint exercises, either in Algeria or Russia. It is expected that similar exercises will be held during November in the country’s far western borders, with the declared aim of countering terrorism and organised crime.
The intense cooperation between the two states may lead to further pressure by Americans and Europeans. Earlier in September, Republican Lisa McClain was reported to be leading a group of members of Congress, calling on the US government to impose sanctions against Algeria for its purchase of Russian arms. The demand is based on the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), passed by Congress in August 2017. Republican Senator Marco Rubio has also recently invoked this law to approve a package of sanctions against Algeria for its military ties with Moscow.
Through such a federal order, Washington sanctions countries that enter into defence or intelligence agreements with certain nations, such as North Korea, Iran or Russia.
Since the rise of Algeria's new military leadership under Lieutenant-General Said Chanegriha,, a close rapprochement has emerged between Algeria and Russia, especially in military matters and there has been talk of pro-Moscow wings within the Algerian army.
Such a development has alarmed Western governments at a time when Moscow is indirectly promoting its alliance with Algeria, through the release of Russian reports on military developments in Algeria.
A few days ago, the Sputnik agency carried detailed coverage on Algeria’s possession of the S-400 defence missiles. Algeria has displayed the S-300 system during this July's independence day parade while there had been conflicting reports over Algeria's acquisition of the S-400 missiles, until the confirmation appeared to come from Sputnik.

Far-right Meloni named Italy’s first woman PM
News Agencies/October 21, 2022
ROME: Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni was named Italian prime minister on Friday, becoming the first woman to head a government in Italy. Her post-fascist Brothers of Italy party — Euroskeptic and anti-immigration — won the September 25 legislative polls but needed outside support to form a government. Meloni’s appointment is a historic event for the eurozone’s third largest economy and for Brothers of Italy, which has never been in government.
Shortly after she was named, the 45-year-old from Rome named her ministers, who will be sworn in on Saturday in front of President Sergio Mattarella. Her Brothers of Italy party won 26 percent of the vote last month, compared to eight and nine percent respectively for her allies Forza Italia and the far-right League. Her list of 24 ministers, including six women, revealed a desire to reassure Italy’s partners. She named Giancarlo Giorgetti as economy minister, who served under the previous government of Mario Draghi.
Giorgetti, a former minister of economic development, is considered one of the more moderate, pro-Europe members of Matteo Salvini’s League. Meloni also named ex-European Parliament president Antonio Tajani, of Forza Italia, as foreign minister and deputy prime minister.
Salvini will serve as deputy prime minister and minister of infrastructure and transport. That appointment is likely to disappoint Salvini, who wanted Meloni to give him the role of interior minister again after he previously held the post between 2018 and 2019.
The position went instead to a technocrat, Rome prefect Matteo Piantedosi. A formal ceremony for the handover of power from Draghi to Meloni will take place on Sunday before the premier leads the first cabinet meeting.
The consultations to cobble together a government had been overshadowed by disagreements with her two would-be coalition partners over Meloni’s ardent support for Ukraine since the Russian invasion. The leaders of Forza Italia and the League are both considered close to Moscow. A recording was leaked during the week in which Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi — who heads Forza Italia — talks about his warm ties with Moscow and appeared to blame the war in Ukraine on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Her other coalition partner, Salvini, is a long-time fan of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has criticized Western sanctions on Russia. Despite her Euroskeptic stance, Meloni has been firm about her support for Ukraine, in line with the rest of the European Union and the United States.
“I intend to lead a government with a clear and unequivocal foreign policy line,” she has said. “Italy is fully, and with its head held high, part of Europe and the Atlantic Alliance (NATO).”
“Anyone who does not agree with this cornerstone will not be able to be part of the government, even at the cost of not forming a government,” Meloni has warned.
Berlusconi, 86, has said his personal and political positions “do not deviate from that of the Italian government (and) the European Union” on Ukraine. But the tensions add to concerns that Meloni’s coalition, held together by the need for a parliamentary majority, will struggle to maintain unity. Berlusconi’s allies insist his comments in the recording, from a meeting with lawmakers earlier this week, were taken out of context. The billionaire media mogul described a rekindling of relations with long-time friend Putin, who he said sent him 20 bottles of vodka and a “very sweet letter” for his birthday.
Meloni’s coalition wants to renegotiate Italy’s portion of the EU’s post-Covid recovery fund. It argues the almost 200 billion euros ($193 billion) it expects to receive should take into account the current energy crisis, exacerbated by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which has hit supplies of Russian gas to Europe. But the funds are tied to a series of reforms only just begun by Draghi’s government, and analysts say Meloni has limited room for maneuver.
Gilles Moec, chief economist at the Axa group, said there would be a continuation of what Draghi had been doing on the economy. “I’m not really worried, at least not in the short term, when we are in a ‘Draghi II’ (phase) in economic matters,” he told AFP. Meloni had campaigned on a platform of “God, country and family,” sparking fears of a regression on rights in the Catholic-majority country. She has distanced herself from her party’s neo-fascist past — and her own, after praising dictator Benito Mussolini as a teenager — and likes to present herself as a straight-talking but unthreatening leader. Inflation in Italy rose to 8.9 percent in September over the previous year, threatening to put the country in recession next year. The margin for maneuver is limited given that Italy’s colossal debt represents 150 percent of gross domestic product, the highest in the eurozone after Greece. Draghi used his last day on the European stage on Friday to warn both his fellow leaders and Meloni that a united Europe should remain their “guiding star.”Draghi said everyone looked at “the EU as a source of security, stability and peace,” adding: “We have to keep this in mind as a guiding star for the future, especially in troubled times like these.”

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 21-22.2022
ISIS Terrorists Living in Turkey - with Yazidi Captives
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/October 21, 2022
In Ankara's Sincan district, a 24-year-old enslaved Yazidi woman was rescued after her relatives in Australia (who themselves are asylum-seekers) purchased her freedom on the dark web. The woman was held captive in a house in Sincan for 10 months and systematically raped. Signs of torture in the form of cigarette burns and razor cuts were found on her body.
[A] secrecy order was placed on the indictment against those ISIS members who had kidnapped a seven-year-old Yazidi child to Turkey and listed her for sale. These are allegedly high-ranking IS members. They are currently living in Ankara and remain free.
[I]t is difficult to obtain data on the detained ISIS members from state authorities. When we ask questions to authorities, it is not possible to get an answer from them. — Hale Gonultas, Turkish journalist, interview with Gatestone Institute, October 2022.
"After I reported on Yazidi women's sales on the dark web, Ankara Anti-Terrorism teams came to my house. They emphasized that the buying and selling of foreign nationals within the borders of the Republic of Turkey is a 'human trafficking crime' and they claimed that I supported human trafficking through the press by publishing such news." — Hale Gonultas, interview with Gatestone Institute, October 2022.
" [V]ery little is being done.... I do not believe ISIS members should be able to settle anywhere, and police authorities should actively search for them in every country. At the same time, the rescue of innocent Yezidi captives should be an associated priority. This is for security and safety but also for humanitarian and human rights reasons. These missing Yezidis have suffered enormously, and their rights must not be ignored." — Pari Ibrahim, executive director of Free Yezidi Foundation, to Gatestone Institute, October 2022.
ISIS terrorists are living and operating in Turkey, some with Yazidis abducted from Syria or Iraq. For years, these Yazidi children and women have been enslaved, raped and sold. Even though it has been more than three years since ISIS was ousted from the last of the territory it seized in Syria and Iraq, these crimes are still taking place now. Pictured: Rafidah Nayef Issa, a 22-year-old Iraqi Yazidi woman, carries her 2-year-old son in Hasakeh, northeastern Syria, on November 23, 2020. Issa was abducted and enslaved by ISIS in the Iraqi town of Sinjar, and was raped and bore a child in captivity. She was freed by Kurdish forces at the al-Hol detention camp they set up in Hasakeh for relatives of suspected ISIS members. (Photo by Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images)
ISIS terrorists are living and operating in Turkey, some with Yazidis abducted from Syria or Iraq. For years, these Yazidi children and women have been enslaved, raped and sold. Most are survivors of the 2014 genocide by ISIS in the Sinjar region of Iraq. Even though it has been more than three years since ISIS was ousted from the last of the territory it seized in Syria and Iraq, these crimes are still taking place now.
ISIS (Islamic State), a Sunni jihadist terror group, declared the establishment of its caliphate in 2014. Since then, they have committed many crimes against non-Muslims – particularly Yazidis and Christians – in Iraq and Syria. Dr. Leah Farrall writes:
"ISIS systematically and violently targeted non-Sunni Syrians and Iraqis, expelling them from their homes, plundering their properties and businesses and claiming them as a war spoil (ghanima). Non-Muslim minorities were forced to pay a form of protection tax (jizya), or convert on threat of death. Thousands were taken hostage, ransomed, or executed, while others were enslaved.
"ISIS attracted unprecedented numbers of foreigners who came to join the organization or live in territory under its rule. Estimates place the total number at 40,000 people from 80 countries."
The Ankara-based, veteran journalist Hale Gonultas has for years exposed the ISIS presence with Yazidi captives in Turkey. In a recent article, she wrote:
"Faced with the continued presence of IS cells within its borders, the Turkish state has been slow to respond to potential threats posed by the group, as well as inconsistencies in the judicial system's handling of IS suspects and the plight of Yazidis still held captive by some IS members in Turkey...
"Following the 2014 Sinjar massacre in Iraq, Yazidi women and children continue to be held captive and sexually abused by IS members living in Turkey – and elsewhere – though their number remains unknown. IS members use the dark web to sell and purchase Yazidi women and children they kidnapped from Sinjar."
Turkey is a long-established popular destination for ISIS members. Gonultas continues:
"A decade ago, people from around the world who sought to join a jihadist struggle and did so by joining IS, often used routes through Turkey and into Syria. Following the group's geographical defeat in 2017, the same routes were used in reverse.
"Returning jihadists and IS sympathizers from Turkey were among the main supporters of Syrian and Iraqi militants. This support, along with other aid, facilitated the sheltering and housing of many Iraqi and Syrian militants in Turkey.
"Currently, IS members that have returned are residing in the Turkish provinces of Antakya, Batman, Bursa, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Kayseri, Kırşehir, Konya, Yalova and Yozgat, with the largest groups in Ankara and İstanbul, according to data found in indictments and based on publicly available information regarding the location of where counterterrorism operations targeting IS are carried out.
"Ankara's Çubuk, Sincan and Pursaklar districts, along with the neighborhood of Saray have become popular areas to reside among foreign IS members. These districts and neighborhoods also host outlawed schools that provide education in line with jihadist values.
"Furthermore, Kırşehir is the city of choice for the close relatives and staff members of slain former IS leader al-Baghdadi. Although security forces often carry out counterterrorism operations in Kırşehir, a sizable IS presence remains in the city.
"In İstanbul, IS members have also found shelter in conservative districts. According to Interior Ministry statements, almost all IS members detained during counterterrorism operations in İstanbul have been Iraqi or Syrian citizens.
"It is common knowledge that the wives and children of [jihadist] Free Syria Army (FSA) members live in İstanbul's Başakşehir district and it is no secret that FSA fighters have settled in İstanbul, as well as other cities, and received Turkish citizenship. Many of the Syrian and Iraqi FSA fighters based in Turkey make their living by engaging in human smuggling...
"The most recent operation of note by Turkish authorities against IS was the capture and return of Kasım Güler from Syria on June 21, 2021. Güler had been appointed as the IS "governor" of Turkey. In his testimony, Güler said that after IS lost its territory in Syria, the group decided to reestablish itself in Turkey under the instructions of self-proclaimed Caliph and former IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before he was killed."
Gonultas has widely reported on Yazidi children and women kidnapped, raped, and sold by ISIS terrorists in Turkey.
In Ankara's Sincan district, for instance, a 24-year-old enslaved Yazidi woman was rescued after her relatives in Australia (who themselves are asylum-seekers) purchased her freedom on the dark web. The woman was held captive in a house in Sincan for 10 months and systematically raped. Signs of torture in the form of cigarette burns and razor cuts were found on her body.
"According to what I learned from the Yazidi community, this was actually the second time she had been sold. In 2018, her photo was posted online on a virtual slave market and she was sold within about an hour. The buyer was an Iraqi Turkmen IS member located in Mosul at the time."
Throughout her 27-year career as a journalist, Gonultas has extensively reported on jihadist organizations such as the Taliban, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS. In an interview with Gatestone, Gonultas said:
"In 2009 and 2010, there were mass movements for jihad from cities of Turkey, especially from Ankara, to Syria. There were demonstrations in Turkey by pro-jihad people with the flags of the ISIS caliphate. I have done research in neighborhoods in Turkey with a strong ISIS presence and investigated recruitment activities for ISIS and the profiles of those who joined ISIS.
"Out of all the Yazidi captives I have covered, the case that has devastated me the most is the Yazidi girl who was taken prisoner by ISIS in 2014 when she was 14."
"Her brother searched for her for years. Finally, he found her in Ankara. For more than a month, he wandered around the house where his sister was held. It turned out that the jihadist who held his sister captive is ISIS's emir [head] of the town of Tal Afar in Iraq. His sister was now 18 years old, and she had given birth to a daughter from the rape of ISIS. The Yazidi captive girl was eventually rescued, but she had to leave the child born from the rape of ISIS in Turkey... The Yazidi Spiritual Assembly does not accept children born from the rape of ISIS. Her brother was determined not to take his sister's baby to Iraq. I was really shattered by the moment when the mother left her baby behind."
According to Gonultas's article, a secrecy order was placed on the indictment against those ISIS members who had kidnapped a seven-year-old Yazidi child to Turkey and listed her for sale. These are allegedly high-ranking IS members. They are currently living in Ankara and remain free. Gonultas notes:
"I managed to obtain a copy of the indictment and found that all three suspects – believed to be IS members – had been released. The indictment stated that Iraqi citizens Anas V., Sabah A.H.O. and Nasser H.R. worked under Jabbar Salmman Ali Farhan Al Issawi, who was known as a figure close to slain former IS leader al-Baghdadi.
"The indictment referred to the three released men as "senior [terrorist] organizational leaders" and included information that Anas and Nazir were in charge of a 'Prisoners' Court' in Fallujah. All three alleged IS members are currently residing in Ankara and are on probation."
However, as Gonultas told Gatestone, it is still not possible to know the exact number of ISIS members and other jihadists, as well as their Yazidi captives, now living in Turkey:
"According to the publicly available data of the Turkish Ministry of Interior, police detention operations against ISIS are carried out in various cities of Turkey almost every day. Some ISIS members are tried at courts. Most of them also benefit from the 'Effective Remorse Law', according to which the penalty could be reduced or suspended.
"I am conducting one-on-one meetings with the lawyers dealing with ISIS cases in Turkey to prepare data and analysis on ISIS cases. However, it is difficult to obtain data on the detained ISIS members from state authorities. When we ask questions to authorities, it is not possible to get an answer from them.
"The route of those who have joined or returned from ISIS is the Syrian-Turkish border. Most of the detained ISIS members are Syrian or Iraqi citizens. Many ISIS members who are citizens of Turkey have also returned. However, it is difficult to estimate how many are still free with no trial date against them.
"ISIS members who enter Turkey from Syria can register at the Provincial Immigration Administration. They can also get ID cards for the women and children with them. Hence, it is not possible for me or any other private citizen to know the exact number of Yazidi women and children that are in the hands of ISIS in Turkey.
"However, based on my field studies, interviews, and news sources, I can say that there are at least 100 Yazidi women and children only in Ankara and its surrounding provinces held by ISIS members. But some Yazidi women are silent and accept captivity because they have given birth to two or three children from ISIS members, and they do not want to leave their children in Turkey."
Gonultas said she tries to take precautions for her safety and continues her investigative journalism despite a lack of transparency by the Turkish government. She told Gatestone:
"After I reported on Yazidi women's sales on the dark web, Ankara Anti-Terrorism teams came to my house. They emphasized that the buying and selling of foreign nationals within the borders of the Republic of Turkey is a 'human trafficking crime' and they claimed that I supported human trafficking through the press by publishing such news. An indictment was prepared against me. But then no lawsuit was filed.
"Meanwhile, I continue getting death threats both on social media and over the phone. A mass throat-cutting video was sent to my email. Then I got phone calls. One told me my own home address, and another spoke Arabic.
"After I received death threats, my lawyer filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor's office. In addition, some deputies asked both the ministry of the interior and the office of the presidency at the parliament how they 'ensured the safety of Hale Gönültaş'. But no legal protection has been given to me and no answer has been provided.
"I am careful not to go out when the threats I receive increase. When I am home, I do not open the door to those that I do not know. When I go out, I carry pepper spray in my pocket, and I watch my surroundings carefully as I walk."
Meanwhile, rescue operations to liberate Yazidi children and women from ISIS captivity and enslavement are ongoing. Pari Ibrahim, executive director of Free Yezidi Foundation (FYF), told Gatestone:
"There are still 2,717 Yezidis missing eight years after the Yezidi Genocide. It is incredible that so much time has passed and so little has been done. We know some of these have been killed in one way or another by ISIS. But we also know that some are alive. And very sad to say, we know that the ones who are alive are often held in areas controlled by Turkey or Turkish-backed militias in Syria. We have good information about ISIS perpetrators sheltering successfully in certain neighborhoods in Turkey. And in those instances where they are holding Yezidi women and children captive, this is where the survivors are located. Actually, this is a big embarrassment for a country like Turkey.
"Steps could be taken to identify and bring to justice all ISIS members, and in so doing, we may identify and rescue Yezidis who remain in captivity eight years later. FYF and other Yezidi organizations and activists have been pressing for serious, concerted international action to help rescue the missing. But very little is being done. Every individual or official actor giving safe haven to ISIS terrorists is committing a serious offense. I do not believe ISIS members should be able to settle anywhere, and police authorities should actively search for them in every country. At the same time, the rescue of innocent Yezidi captives should be an associated priority. This is for security and safety but also for humanitarian and human rights reasons. These missing Yezidis have suffered enormously, and their rights must not be ignored."
*Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute.
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 An entertaining window into Turkey’s gross misspending
Alexandra de CramerThe Arab Weekly/October 21/2022
There are countless examples of the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) dubious spending habits, from $50,000 handbags for Turkey’s first lady to purchasing political support ahead of elections. Yet there is no greater proof of the government’s reckless ways than the capital’s failed amusement park: Ankapark.
Today, giant decaying dinosaurs tower over the $801 million ghost town in northern Ankara. When it opened, in March 2019, Ankapark, also known as Worldland Eurasia, was the biggest theme park in Europe. Spread over 1.3 million hectares with more than 2,100 rides and a parking lot that could accommodate 6,800 vehicles, the venture was called a “symbol of pride for Turkey” by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
But just two days after its grand opening, one of the park’s rollercoasters failed, setting the tone for the weeks to come. As one visitor noted on Tripadvisor six months later, 20 percent of the rides were still not working and management did not seem to care. “Why have I paid a 75 lira entrance fee (about $13 at the time) for this?” the visitor wrote.
Then, in February 2020, due to an unpaid 2.5 million lira electricity bill, Ankapark’s power was turned off. It has been off ever since.
While the park’s demise was swift, the project was doomed from the start. Many experts expressed concern about its location and exorbitant price tag. The Chamber of Architects of Turkey filed more than 300 legal complaints to stop the park from happening, while feasibility reports suggested that the finances would never add up.
“For it not to go bankrupt it would have required 18 million visitors yearly to pay a minimum 50 lira entrance fee,” said Tezcan Karakus Candan, Ankara chair for the architects’ chamber, in a 2021 documentary. That’s two million more visitors than Paris’ Disneyland, Europe’s most visited theme park. In 2019, roughly half a million foreign tourists visited Ankara; the domestic market would have had to draw millions more for Ankapark to survive.
And yet, then-mayor of Ankara, Melih Gokcek, who had been lobbying for Ankapark since the early 2000s and had pushed legal changes to accommodate his dream, remained convinced that millions could be drawn to the park’s gates. Gokcek and AKP remained committed to the project until its very end.
Dismissing public opinion, especially on matters of money, has become an AKP hallmark. During the Erdogan era, countless initiatives have permanently damaged the environment and drained Turkish national funds. One of the crazier expenses at Ankapark was $1.8 million spent on plastic flowers and plastic trees. But that’s nothing compared to the president’s own profligate spending. Every day, the presidential palace doles out ten million lira for food, cleaning, clothes and other items. Even as Turkey’s economy has tanked, the palace’s bill has climbed steadily to nearly four billion lira annually.
Turkey is not alone with poorly planned parks. In 1998, construction stopped on China’s Wonderland, north of Beijing. Wonderland was designed to be Asia’s largest amusement park, but a dispute over property prices stalled the project. A brief attempt to restart construction in 2008 also failed and today, the fairytale castles have been replaced by a luxury shopping mall.
But what sets Ankapark apart is its use as a political ploy to dominate headlines before the 2019 local elections and to bolster the AKP’s image as the only party “working” for Turkey. When the park collapsed, the party acted as if it never existed.
Today, Ankapark is a literal and political, wasteland. As is custom with AKP politicians, Gokcek blamed Ankara’s new mayor, Mansur Yavas, for the failure. Murat Kurum, the Turkish minister of environment and urban planning, went further, claiming that the disintegration of Ankapark was a classic example of the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) malfeasance. In other words, Ankapark was not the problem, CHP was.
These falsehoods were consistent with AKP’s deflective defence mechanisms and how the party’s leaders blame others while failing to take responsibility themselves.
During his decades-long campaign to promote Ankapark, Mayor Gokcek repeatedly insisted the venture was “the second biggest project financed by the state in the nation’s history.” If that is true, what was in it for AKP? Why were millions spent on a theme park when those funds could have been used on more pressing issues, such as building homes for Turkey’s poor or helping thousands of students receive access to education for free?
Even basic plumbing would have been a wiser use of the money. Ankara’s infrastructure problems, particularly water distribution, could be solved with $600 million. Instead, city taps run dry while $801 million worth of robots, dinosaurs, plastic flowers and malfunctioning rides rot in the sun.
What does all of this say about the AKP in 2022? As with almost all pending and completed projects during the party’s rule, Ankapark has drawn criticism from those who believe it was a scheme fuelled by corruption and a means to funnel public money into the pockets of AKP-affiliated businessmen and party acolytes.
The rotting carcass of Ankapark is emblematic of AKP’s economic legacy, one filled with short term decisions benefitting their own. As Turkey’s economic crisis deepens, it is important to remember that the economic rut the country is in today is paved with poor decisions of the past.
*Alexandra de Cramer is a journalist based in Istanbul. She reported on the Arab Spring from Beirut as a Middle East correspondent for Milliyet newspaper. Her work ranges from current affairs to culture, and has been featured in Monocle, Courier Magazine, Maison Francaise, and Istanbul Art News.

Everyone benefits when countries talk to each other
Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/October 21/2022
A country’s foreign policy toolbox consists of several means of diplomacy which is nowadays more comprehensive and multilayered than ever. Today, diplomacy enlists other actors at the state level besides diplomats in shaping international relations, and they pursue different methods such as public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, paradiplomacy, sports diplomacy and more.
As a complementary tool to traditional diplomacy driven by diplomats and foreign ministries, the developing concept of parliamentary diplomacy is gaining more attention. It involves elected members of a national parliament playing an important role in developing international relations and cooperation. Although parliaments are legislative bodies, most have foreign affairs committees and joint friendship groups that build and maintain relations between countries at the parliamentary level.
Members of the Turkey-Saudi Arabia Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group held talks in Riyadh last week to support the normalization process between the two countries. Saudi Shoura Council Speaker Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Asheikh hosted the Turkish Parliamentary Friendship Group chairman Halil Ozcan and his accompanying delegation. The meeting focused on ways to improve cooperation between the council and the Turkish parliament.
The Turkish delegation was the first to visit the Shoura Council since it began a new session on Oct.16. After the meeting, members of the friendship committee had discussions at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then moved to Jeddah for other contacts.
Meetings among other actors at the state level are important. Joint parliamentary friendship groups can play a critical role in institutionalizing relations on the state-to-state level and act as a crucial mechanism todeepen inter-parliamentary relations between countries.
Inter-parliamentary friendship groups are established mainly to develop cooperation between countries and parliaments, carry out official visits and exchange views on international affairs. There are now 147 inter-parliamentary friendship groups in the Turkish parliament, which recently established a new friendship group with Egypt and Libya. Turkey still does not have friendship groups with the parliaments of countries such as Greece, Syria and Armenia. Parliamentary friendship groups continue their contacts even at times of tension in bilateral relations and when other forms of diplomacy, including personal diplomacy, fail to solve the crises.
Although parliamentary diplomacy is by no means a substitute for state-level relations, it is important in supplementing official bilateral cooperation as a complementary forum that can serve strategic national interests and find common ground in ways that governments cannot. It enriches and stimulates traditional diplomatic channels. Thus, it is important to seize such incentives to emphasize the Turkish-Saudi normalization phase with institutional tools.
Perhaps one of the most significant initiatives that institutionalize political dialogue between Turkey and Saudi Arabia is the presence of the joint parliamentary friendship group, which continues to serve as a mechanism of greater institutionalized collaboration.
Parliamentary diplomacy between Ankara and Riyadh can provide a forum to promote political dialogue. Turkish-Saudi relations based on solid institutional cooperation can enable the two countries to find other ways of dealing with misunderstandings in relations. Therefore, such meetings among parliamentary friendship groups, which should also include different voices within, need to be promoted and given more space at the state level.
Moreover, parliamentary diplomacy should also be supported with public diplomacy, which refers to government activities to enhance a country’s image. For instance, Turkish soap operas have become non-governmental public diplomacy tools representing Turkey globally. It is noteworthy that the Saudi-owned MBC Group, the Middle East’s largest broadcaster, has just signed a five-year partnership with two Turkish production houses. MBC expanding its Turkish content is a significant indicator that the Turkey-Saudi Arabia normalization process is being supported at different levels.
Thus, both public and parliamentary diplomacy are crucial for inter-state and societal relations. The resilience of Turkish-Saudi relations largely depends on utilizing several tools of diplomacy in relations. If Turkish-Saudi relations develop along stable institutional and organizational lines, the two countries and their societies will benefit in the long term.
**Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in Turkey’s relations with the Middle East. Twitter: @SinemCngz