Latest news with #foreignagent
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New suspect in Qatargate case, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Poli Mordechai, brought in for questioning
Mordechai is suspected of transferring hundreds of thousands of shekels from his business to Yonatan Urich, the main suspect in the Qatargate case. IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yoav "Poli" Mordechai was questioned in connection with the "Qatargate" case, Channel 13 News reported on Wednesday. Mordechai was questioned on suspicion of contact with a foreign agent and accepting bribes. He is also suspected of transferring hundreds of thousands of shekels from his business to Yonatan Urich, the main suspect in the case, throughout 2024 for a campaign in support of Qatar. Maj.-Gen. (res.) Mordechai retired from the IDF in 2018 after serving as the coordinator of government activities in the territories and the IDF spokesperson. He has also played a key role in hostage affairs during the Israel-Hamas War. He was first summoned to provide open testimony about two months ago, Channel 13 reported. Mordechai's Company, NOVARD, stated that he had not had any activity with the business since October 7. 'Novard has been working for years with various countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East in an official, public, and entirely legal manner. Since October 7, Poli Mordechai has been enlisted for reserve duty to promote the return of hostages. He is not involved in any business activity, and there is a complete separation between Novard's operations in the Middle East and him.' His business partner in NOVARD was also questioned at Lahav 433 out of caution. Jay Footlik, a US-based Qatari lobbyist, will be openly questioned on Saturday. The "Qatargate" investigation began in February 2025, when Attorney-General Gali Baharav Miara ordered the Israel Police and the Shin Bet to launch a formal investigation into individuals in the Prime Minister's Office for their ties to Doha. Footlik notably requested that Israeli businessman Gil Birger assist him in transferring funds to Eli Feldstein, a member of Netanyahu's media team. Feldstein has been accused of accepting bribes from Qatar, leaking classified documents that harmed the war effort, and reducing the chances of a successful hostage deal. He has also been indicted for endangering national security. Urich has been accused of feeding Israeli journalists information, through Feldstein, cited as being from intelligence sources, when it really originated in Qatar. Supposedly, the goal was to boost Qatar's image in the Gaza hostage and ceasefire negotiations, while belittling that of Egypt's as the other mediator. Qatar has denied any such initiative. Sarah Ben-Nun contributed to this report.
Russia Today
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russian prosecutors open case against famous youtuber
Russian authorities have launched a criminal case against a popular youtuber for failing to identify as a foreign agent in his content, RIA Novosti has reported, citing sources in law enforcement. Yury Dud has over 10 million subscribers on YouTube. Dud left Russia in early 2022 shortly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict and was designated a foreign agent in the same year. The designation requires him to identify accordingly in his content. The Moscow Prosecutor's Office has reportedly begun a criminal investigation, stating the 38-year-old was fined twice in the past year for distributing content without the required disclaimer. Despite this, he continued to publish materials on social media without proper labeling, they say. Dud, a former sports journalist turned interviewer and documentary filmmaker, rose to prominence through his YouTube channel 'vDud'. His content includes interviews with public figures and documentaries on social, political, and historical topics. Russia's foreign agent law, modeled after similar US legislation, applies the label to a person or entity engaged in financial or political activities in the interests of a foreign state. Originally adopted in 2012, the law has been amended multiple times since, due to what Moscow views as increasing Western influence. Those designated as foreign agents are not banned from operating in Russia but are subject to a range of restrictions. They must label all their content accordingly, regularly submit detailed financial reports to the Justice Ministry, and disclose their funding sources. Failure to do so is punishable by up to two years in prison.
South China Morning Post
26-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Russia jails photographer for 16 years for handing material to American journalist
A Russian court said on Thursday it had found a photographer, Grigory Skvortsov, guilty of treason and jailed him for 16 years after Skvortsov said he had passed detailed information about once-secret Soviet-era bunkers to an American journalist. Advertisement Skvortsov, who was arrested in 2023, denied wrongdoing. In a December 2024 interview with Pervy Otdel, a group of exiled Russian lawyers, he said he had passed on information that was either publicly available online or available to buy from the Russian author of a book about Soviet underground facilities for use in the event of a nuclear war. He did not name the US journalist in the interview with Pervy Otdel, which the Russian authorities have in turn designated a 'foreign agent' - a label which carries negative Soviet-era connotations and is designed to limit their activities and influence. A court in Perm said in a statement that Skvortsov would serve his sentence in a maximum-security corrective prison camp and that his treason had been fully proven in a trial it said had been held behind closed doors. It published a photograph of him in a glass courtroom cage dressed in black looking calm as he listened to the verdict being read out. Advertisement
Reuters
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Russia jails photographer for 16 years for handing material to US journalist
June 26 (Reuters) - A Russian court said on Thursday it had found a photographer, Grigory Skvortsov, guilty of treason and jailed him for 16 years after Skvortsov said he had passed detailed information about once secret Soviet-era bunkers to a U.S. journalist. Skvortsov, who was arrested in 2023, denied wrongdoing. In a December 2024 interview with Pervy Otdel, a group of exiled Russian lawyers, he said he had passed on information that was either publicly available online or available to purchase from the Russian author of a book about Soviet underground facilities for use in the event of a nuclear war. He did not name the U.S. journalist in the interview with Pervy Otdel, which the Russian authorities have in turn designated a "foreign agent" - a label which carries negative Soviet-era connotations and is designed to limit their activities and influence. A court in Perm said in a statement that Skvortsov would serve his sentence in a maximum-security corrective prison camp and that his treason had been fully proven in a trial it said had been held behind closed doors. It published a photograph of him in a glass courtroom cage dressed in black looking calm as he listened to the verdict being read out. Russia radically expanded its definition of what constitutes a state secret after it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022 and has since jailed academics, scientists and journalists it deems to have illegally shared secrets. An online support group for Skvortsov said on Telegram after the verdict that "a miracle had not happened" and the photographer's only hope of getting out of jail was to be exchanged as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and the West.
Russia Today
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ex-Navalny aide gets 18-year prison sentence
A Russian court has sentenced a close associate of the late opposition figure Alexey Navalny to 18 years behind bars in absentia. Leonid Volkov was charged with creating an extremist group, rehabilitating Nazism, and funding extremist activities. Volkov joined Navalny in 2013 and fled to the EU in 2019. Two years later, Russia put him on the international wanted list on charges of illegally enticing minors to participate in unauthorized protests. In a statement announcing the sentence, the court also fined Volkov 2 million rubles ($25,000) and banned him from administering any websites for six years. The list of charges includes two counts of 'politically-motivated vandalism' and spreading disinformation about the Russian Armed Forces. Volkov mocked the court's decision in a post on X. He wrote that although the sentence itself was 'harsh,' the fine was miniscule, adding that he was 'not even barred from using the internet' and vowed to make good use of it. He became the head of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) in July 2021, a month after it was designated an extremist group in Russia. In 2022, Volkov was designated a 'foreign agent' and added to Russia's terrorism and extremism watchlist together with Ivan Zhdanov, another Navalny associate, who also resides outside the country. The foreign agent status is reserved for those found to be assisting foreign organizations deemed hostile to Russia's interests, as well as for financing such activity. Navalny died at a penal colony in February 2024 while serving his sentence. He was initially imprisoned in 2021 for violating the terms of an earlier suspended sentence. In 2023, he was given an additional 19 years on multiple extremism-related charges. The Russian authorities have since issued arrest warrants against his close associates, including his widow, on various extremism-related charges. All of them reside outside Russia.
