Deutsche Welle (English edition)
Amnesty strips Navalny of 'prisoner of conscience' status
The rights group said Navalny's past "advocacy of hatred" was the reason behind its decision. His supporters accused Amnesty of having caved to a pressure campaign.
Amnesty International said on Wednesday that it no longer recognizes jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as a "prisoner of conscience."
The global rights watchdog cited the politician's past "advocacy of hatred" as the reason behind its decision. It, however, did not mention any specific remarks made by him in the past.
At the start of his political career a decade ago, Navalny drew criticism for his anti-immigrant statements.
"Some of these comments, which Navalny has not publicly denounced, reach the threshold of advocacy of hatred, and this is at odds with Amnesty's definition of a prisoner of conscience," the London-based NGO said.
Amnesty continues to call for Navalny's release
Over the past few years, Navalny has emerged as Russia's leading critic of President Vladimir Putin by publishing investigations into corruption and leading street protests.
Navalny was arrested by Russian authorities last month following his return from Germany, where he underwent treatment to recover from a poisoning attack.
He was sentenced to nearly three-year in prison for violating parole terms. Navalny said they were trumped-up charges.
Amnesty said it would con
tinue to demand the 44-year-old opposition politician's release.
"Navalny has not, to the best of our knowledge, made similar pronouncements in recent years and this decision does not change our resolve to fight for his immediate release," Amnesty said.
It added that the group last week delivered 200,000 signatures to the Russian authorities demanding Navalny's immediate release.
Russia increases fines for protesters
Navalny's team responded to Amnesty's decision by accusing the group of having caved to a pressure campaign waged by a columnist associated with Russian state media.
Navalny's right-hand man Leonid Volkov wrote on Twitter that Amnesty, with the decision, had announced it "was fed crap" and "liked it," while key aide Ivan Zhdanov tweeted that the decision was "extremely shameful."
Meanwhile, President Putin approved legislation on Wednesday increasing fines for offenses committed during anti-government street protests.
Police detained more than 11,000 people at nationwide protests this year in support of Navalny, according to OVD-Info, a protest monitoring group.
Navalny's allies — most of whom are now abroad or under house arrest — have declared a moratorium on street protests until the spring.
Arrest strains EU-Russia relations
Navalny's detention has also strained ties further between Moscow and the West.
Russia has ignored a demand by the European Court of Human Rights to release Navalny.
EU foreign ministers this week agreed to impose sanctions on four senior Russian officials close to Putin over the jailing.
The bloc is expected to formally approve the sanctions in early March.
Speaking to Germany's Bundestag parliament on Wednesday, Health Minister Jens Spahn pointed to the approval of home coronavirus tests, known as antigen tests, as an important step on the return to normalcy.
Though Spahn spoke of freedoms regained, he warned citizens not to let their guard down and called for patience about the availability of tests.
Three such self-administered rapid antigen tests have been given special approval for use by Germany's Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. Although he expressed confidence that more and more tests would be available in the days and weeks following approval, Spahn warned they would be in short supply initially.
Spahn won't commit to government covering costs of antigen tests
"It's exhausting," said Spahn of the pandemic, noting that the
availability of tests would allow people to begin living their lives again. Speaking of the government's approach, he said, "We think we we're on the right path but this virus isn't going to just give up."
Self-administered tests are flexible, offering quick results when needed — for instance while traveling or attending public events. The only drawback is that they are not nearly as accurate as those administered by trained personnel.
The health minister refused to commit the government to bankrolling approved tests, saying that would depend on whether they cost €2 or €10.
Watch video02:27ShareEU mulls 'vaccination card'SendFacebookTwitterredditEMailFacebook Messenger WebWhatsapp WebTelegramlinkedinPermalink https:// p.dw.com/p/3oEHZOnce vacci
nated, should people get their rights back? Federal approach to COVID 'desirable'
Spahn made the case for a unified federal approach to loosening lockdown regimes. He said such an approach would be "very desirable" adding that, "at the very least, we should ideally all be operating within the same framework."
Asked if infection index numbers would determine government decisions on loosening lockdown restrictions, Spahn said, "You can't reduce this pandemic to a number."
Treating everyone the same, for now
Spahn announced that German residents will soon be able to use digital vaccination cards as a supplement to the yellow paper version most have at home. Spahn said rollout had initially been planned for 2022 but that it will be introduced prior to that.
Speaking with the Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed her health minister in emphasizing the importance of treating those who are and are not vaccinated the same: "The state should not treat the groups differently as long as vaccination rates are so low."
Merkel went on to say, however, "when the point arrives that far more people have been afforded the opportunity to get vaccinated yet some simply refuse, then we'll have to consider whether access to certain areas or services should be reserved solely for those who are vaccinated."
js/aw (dpa, epd, Reuters)
ter restrictions in some of its most affected regions, the country's health minister said, as the number of daily new infections exceeded 12,000 cases. The last time Poland recorded more than 10,000 cases in a day was in early January.
"We have a very dynamic growth from day to day and also compared to last week," said Health Minister Adam Niedzielski.
France is receiving enough doses of the vaccine to reach the government's target of vaccinating 15 million people by the end of June, Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told LCI television. France, one of the European countries hardesthit by the virus, has recorded more than 3.63 million cases and 85,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Malaysia began its vaccination drive, with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin receiving the first shot. The Southeast Asian nation has signed deals with several vaccine suppliers including Pfizer and AstraZeneca, and aims to vaccinate up to 80% of its 32 million people by next year. The country has recorded more than 288,000 cases and 1,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The Philippines' health ministry said it will investigate the illegal use of unauthorized vaccines, after a presidential advisor admitted to receiving shots of a Sinopharm vaccine smuggled into the country.
"I got hold of vaccines from a friend who smuggled it into the country," celebrity radio and television host Ramon Tulfo told broadcaster One News. Several government officials have also received Sinopharm shots, he said, adding to speculation that the jabs were available on the black market. The Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved the use of the Sinopharm vaccine, making its import and distribution illegal.
Hong Kong will introduce HK $120 billion (€12.7 billion) ($15.5 billion) in fiscal measures to revitalize the pandemic-hit economy. The measures include tax relief, loans for the unemployed and consumption vouchers.