The Russian authorities opened 70 cases in 2023 for "state treason" or "secret cooperation with a foreign state or organization," according to a report from the human rights organization Perviy Otdel, issued Dec. 21. Out of the 70 new cases initiated in 2023, in addition to 28 pending from previous years, courts found defendants guilty in 37 cases, marking an historical high. Some cases progressed swiftly from initiation to final judgment, spanning a mere month. Often, the Federal Security Service (FSB) conducted online sting operations, particularly targetting individuals opposing the war in Ukraine. Those charged under the treason statute, Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, may face from 12 years to life imprisonment.

Former Russian military intelligence officer Igor Salikov arrived in the Netherlands this week to testify as a witness at the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding Russian war crimes. Salikov took part in operations in Eastern Ukraine as an officer of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (commonly kown as the Main Intelligence Directorate, GRU) between 2014 and 2015. In 2017, he served as a senior instructor for the private military company Wagner in Syria. In 2022, he was a commander in the private military company Redut during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A district court in Kazan, capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, on Dec. 1 extended the detention of Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist holding joint Russian and United States citizenship. Kurmasheva faces allegations of failing to comply with Russia's stringent "foreign agent" registration law. The decision, extending her pre-trial detention through early February, was made without actually setting a trial date.  

Italy and Albania on Nov. 6 announced an agreement that would see asylum-seekers intercepted at sea by Italian forces taken to Albania while their claims are processed. Italy is to pay for construction of two centers in Albania with the capacity to hold up to 3,000 migrants at a time. If Italy rejects the asylum bids, Albania would deport the migrants. Albania is also to provide external security for the two centers, which would be under Italian jurisdiction. Children and pregnant women would be excluded from the plan. Some experts question whether the plan is legal, and say it follows a worrying trend of European countries seeking to "externalize" migrant processing to other countries. (TNH, AP)

Russia's military conducted exercises with nuclear-capable missiles Oct. 25, shortly after the State Duma unanimously voted to revoke ratification of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The Russian Strategic Missile Forces command claimed the exercises were part of a regularly scheduled annual training drill held every October. But Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the exercises were to simulate a retaliatory nuclear strike to be carried out if Russia were attacked with nuclear firepower first. The Russian military widely publicized videos of the exercises across state media. According to the Kremlin, the exercises were overseen by President Vladimir Putin from a Moscow command center.

A new UN report has found continued evidence of war crimes and human rights violations committed by Russian authorities in Ukraine, including torture, rape and the deportation of children. The latest report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, published on Oct. 20, documents additional indiscriminate attacks with explosive weapons, resulting in deaths, injuries and the destruction and damage of "civilian objects." For example, 24 people, mostly women and children, were killed in an attack on a block of residential apartments in Uman, a city in the Cherkasy region, in April. 

The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, announced Oct. 19 adoption of Decision Number 8371, which bans religious organizations found to have "colluded with armed aggressors" from operating within the country. The measure is clearly aimed at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been accused of collaborating with Russia. More than 250 Rada members approved the measure, which required only 226 votes. 

On Oct. 18, unknown assailants targeted a Berlin synagogue with Molotov cocktails, while rioters in Tunisia burned down the historic El Hamma synagogue. Berlin police reported that two unidentified persons threw the Molotov cocktails at the Kahal Adass Jisroel synagogue in the center of the city. No casualties or significant property damage were reported. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the attack and promised to protect the country's Jewish communities, saying, "Anti-Semitism has no place in Germany." He also noted in later comments that the legacy of the Holocaust means Germany must be extra vigilant. The Kahal Adass Jisroel community was resolute, with the synagogue's chairperson saying, "We will live on, we will be strong, we will stay."