VOA NEWS

July 22, 2020

This is VOA news. Via remote, I'm Marissa Melton.



Former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir went on trial in Khartoum Wednesday for staging the coup that brought him to power in 1989.

The former president, who was ousted from power by the military in April, 2019 after mass protests across the country against his rule, faces the death penalty if convicted.

Tuesday's hearing was adjourned before witnesses were called in order to accommodate suspects, their lawyers and family members of defendants in a larger courtroom during COVID-19 social distancing procedures. That's according to [one of d, al-B...] one of Bashir's defense lawyers.

The 76-year-old Bashir was indicted years ago by the International Criminal Court in the Hague for alleged war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity committed in the Darfur region. Sudanese officials had said they would hand over Bashir to the ICC but they have yet to do so.

The former president has been jailed in Khartoum since his removal. He also faces charges of undermining the constitution and violating the Armed Forces Act, in addition to fomenting the 1989 [coop] coup that brought him to power.



About 2,000 Israelis rallied outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday, protesting his handling of the coronavirus crisis and alleged corruption.

The demonstrators marched from Netanyahu's official residence to Israel's parliament, calling on the five-term premier to step down.

Israel has reimposed some restrictions after a rise in coronavirus cases. That's prompted protests by Israelis, calling for better, faster and simpler state aid.

A partial lockdown designed to control the spread of the virus was lifted in May.

With population of 9 million, Israel has reported more than 50,000 coronavirus cases and 422 deaths.



From Washington, this is VOA news.



The U.S. Department of State has announced it's imposing additional sanctions against Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's southern republic of Chechnya. That's a move American officials linked to a pattern of continued human rights abuses by the Chechen strongman. Under the measures, Kadyrov and his family will be banned from traveling to the United States.

The Chechen leader was already on a U.S. blacklist under the "Magnitsky Act," a 2012 law that imposed visa bans and asset freezes on Russian officials linked to human rights abuses. The law is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year-old auditor-turned-whistleblower. He died in a Moscow prison in 2009.

Kadyrov has responded to the latest penalties with a photograph posted on his Telegram account, in which he brandishes two machine guns and posed amid a large weapons cache.

He says, "Pompeo," referring to [U.S. Department of State] U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, "Pompeo, we accept the fight. Things will get even more interesting." Those are the words of Ramzan Kadyrov.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also said Moscow would find a way to respond appropriately to the sanctions.

Kadyrov has been at the center of accusations of human rights abuses and killings since formally [taken o...] taking over as head of the Chechen Republic in 2007.



A prominent Pakistani journalist known for his harsh criticism of the military and the ruling party, Matiullah Jan, was seized from the heart of the capital, Islamabad, and held for 12 hours Tuesday. That's according to his family.

A brother of the journalist confirmed to VOA shortly after midnight that Jan had been released. Details of his detention were not immediately available.

Cases of enforced disappearance are widely documented in Pakistan. Journalists and human rights bodies have repeatedly investigated such incidents and often found the country's intelligence agencies to be involved,



U.S. President Donald Trump has [signed into law an executive] has signed an executive order barring undocumented immigrants from being included in the 2020 census count.

The statement from the White House press secretary says, this is a quote, "Giving congressional representation and political influence to illegal aliens - people who have blatantly disregarded our laws - would be a perversion of our democratic principles."

It goes on to state that, I'm gonna quote here, "allowing [il...] illegal aliens to be counted for the purpose of apportionment could also create perverse incentives - such as potentially rewarding states that encourage violations of Federal immigration law."

The Trump administration has previously sought to use the census as a way to identify undocumented migrants.



Via remote, I'm Marissa Melton. You're listening to VOA news.