In the latest iteration of Russia's ongoing crackdown on dissent, a Moscow court on Aug. 18 ordered the detention of Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of independent election monitoring organization Golos. The organization announced in a statement that the initial detention period was set at two months pending an investigation into charges that Melkonyants worked with an "undesirable" NGO—a crime in Russia, punishable with six years in prison.

In Episode 188 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg deconstructs the accusation of "red-baiting" employed by the tankie pseudo-left to deflect criticism of funding sources directly linked to Chinese and Russian state propaganda networks. Before such revelations made the New York Times, they were reported by bloggers and researchers themselves on the radical left. And some progressive voices and international socialists have repudiated the smear that any such examination of money networks linked to authoritarian regimes is "red-baiting." Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.

The Moscow City Court ruled Aug. 18 to liquidate the Public Commission for the Preservation of the Heritage of Academician Sakharov, or the Sakharov Center, one of Russia's most respected human rights organizations, for "systematic, gross and irremediable violations of the law." The order was granted after an application from the Ministry of Justice.

After a snap election in Ecuador Aug. 21, left-populist Luisa González and millennial businessman Daniel Noboa are headed to a runoff in October. Both are seen as political successors: Frontrunner González is a protegé of exiled former president Rafael Correa. Second-placing Noboa is the son of banana magnate and five-time conservative presidential candidate Alvaro Noboa. Placing third was Christian Zurita—whose name was not on the ballot, but who replaced the assassinated anti-corruption candidate Fernando Villavicencio. (PRI, NPR, Al Jazeera)

Saudi Arabian border guards have killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum-seekers attempting to cross the border from Yemen, according to an Aug. 21 report from Human Rights Watch (HRW). The report documented incidents between March 2022 and June 2023, based on interviews with migrants, satellite imagery, and social media posts. According to the report, Saudi border guards used explosive weapons such as mortars against migrants, and shot them at close range with live ammunition. Saudi border guards reportedly fired on people even when they complied with orders. HRW called the recent pattern of killings a change from "an apparent practice of occasional shootings" to "widespread and systematic killings."

An attorney representing imprisoned Egyptian political activist Ahmed Douma took to social media Aug. 20 to announce the activist's release, thanks to a presidential pardon. Douma had endured a decade of incarceration within Egyptian penitentiaries, and had five more years of his sentence to serve. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi apparently responded to repeated calls for his release by human rights organizations.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk raised concerns Aug. 18 about the Nigerien military junta's decision to prosecute deposed president Mohamed Bazoum and others working with him for high treason. Türk called on the generals who seized power in July to immediately restore constitutional rule. "Now the very people who they elected to build a pathway to end their destitution have been removed by force against the constitutional order and detained by the coup leaders. They must be released at once, and democracy restored. This decision is not only politically motivated against a democratically elected President but has no legal basis as the normal functioning of democratic institutions [has] been cast aside," Türk said.

Seven high-profile democracy activists in Hong Kong had part of their sentences thrown out on appeal Aug. 14. They were convicted two years ago over a mass demonstration on Aug. 18, 2019 that drew an estimated 1.7 million people, in defiance of a ban on street protests. The Court of Appeal's judgement found that just because they were at the front of the procession didn't mean they had actually organized it. However, their convictions for taking part in the rally were upheld. Martin Lee, Margaret Ng and Albert Ho were given suspended sentences or credit for time served, and were released. But Jimmy Lai, Leung Kwok-hung, Cyd Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan remained in custody, as they also face charges under the National Security Law. (HKFP, PRI, The Independent)