Puerto Rico’s governor is suspending almost all restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus.The executive order will allow businesses, including movie theaters, spas, gyms, churches and beaches in the U.S territory to reopen Tuesday after three months of closures.Gov. Wanda Vázquez said Thursday that health officials believed Puerto Rico’s COVID-19 cases and deaths peaked two months ago.Some medical experts questioned the government’s summation, noting testing has been limited.Vázquez also said public transportation will not resume operation, the new 10 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew will last for two more weeks and masks will still be required in public and inside businesses.Social distancing is also still required as Puerto Rico moves toward reopening all business over the coming weeks.Vázquez warned the restrictions will return if there is a surge in coronavirus cases, deaths or people admitted to the hospital.So far, Puerto Rico’s government has confirmed more than 1,400 coronavirus cases and at least 144 deaths.
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Month: June 2020
US, Iraq Affirm Their Commitment to US Troop Withdrawal
The United States and Iraq have affirmed their commitment to the reduction of the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, without giving a timeline.In a joint statement on the U.S.-Iraq strategic dialogue issued Thursday, the two countries recognized the progress made in eliminating the Islamic State threat, which allows the U.S. to continue to reduce its forces in Iraq over the coming months.The U.S. will further discuss with the Iraqi government the status of its remaining forces in the country, as they “turn their focus towards developing a bilateral security relationship based on strong mutual interests,” the statement said.As the U.S. reiterated its commitment to not keep permanent bases or a permanent military presence in Iraq, the Iraqi government said it remains committed “to protecting the military personnel of the International Coalition and the Iraqi facilities hosting them.”The statement said the U.S. and Iraq will continue their cooperation on economic and energy fields, as well as on political issues.
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In France, Minorities see George Floyd’s Death Mirrored at Home
Like many countries, France is witnessing a public awakening on the issue of police violence and racial profiling, sparked by the death of George Floyd in the United States. In northern Paris, one group of judicial experts and activists is working with minority youngsters, teaching them their rights and how to interact with the police and the communities they live in. Lisa Bryant in Paris has the story.
Camera: Lisa Bryant, Agencies
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US Sanctions ICC Staff Probing Alleged War Crimes in Afghanistan
President Donald Trump has issued an executive order authorizing U.S. sanctions against International Criminal Court personnel involved in an investigation into whether some American forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the Hague-based court is politically motivated and a threat to U.S. sovereignty. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has more.
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China Condemns ‘Provocative’ US Military Flight Over Taiwan
China on Thursday condemned the U.S. military for the “provocative” flight of one of its aircraft over Chinese-claimed Taiwan, saying the move infringed upon China’s sovereignty and contravened international law.China considers democratically ruled Taiwan its own territory, and it regularly denounces the United States for its support of the island.A U.S. C-40A, a military version of the Boeing 737, entered Taiwan air space with permission, though it did not land at any Taiwan airports, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday.China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said the U.S. aircraft had “harmed our sovereignty, security and development rights, and contravened international law and the basic norms of international relations.””It was an illegal act and a seriously provocative incident,” the office said in a statement carried by state media. “We express strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition.”The U.S. Seventh Fleet said the U.S. Navy aircraft was on a routine logistics flight from the Kadena air base in Japan to Thailand but was rerouted by Taiwan to avoid “an exercise on its east coast.””The C-40 flew a cleared route provided by Taiwan air traffic controllers that went through their airspace and over the island and was never in the Taiwan Strait,” it said in a statement. “There were no interactions or intercepts from any aircraft during the flight.”Taiwan is separately governed from China and controls its own air space.On the same day as the U.S. aircraft flew over the island, Taiwan’s air force had to warn off several Chinese fighter jets that briefly entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. Taiwan has repeatedly complained about Chinese drills near the island.The United States has stepped up its military activities near the island, too, with semiregular U.S. Navy voyages through the narrow Taiwan Strait that separates the island from China.While Washington and Taipei have no formal diplomatic ties, the United States is Taiwan’s strongest international supporter and main arms supplier.
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On Anniversary of Trump-Kim Summit, N. Korea Vows More Weapons Development
North Korea vowed to continue strengthening its military and said relations with the United States have fallen into “despair,” in a statement issued to mark the two-year anniversary of the Singapore summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.The statement comes as the isolated communist country ramps up tensions with the United States and South Korea. This week, the North announced it would cut all communications channels with the South and issued a veiled threat to interfere in the November U.S. presidential election.In a commentary published Friday in the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son Gwon said hope for peace on the Korean peninsula “has faded away into a dark nightmare” and that the situation is “daily taking a turn for the worse.”“The question is whether there will be a need to keep holding hands shaken in Singapore, as we see that there is nothing of factual improvement to be made in the DPRK-U.S. relations simply by maintaining personal relations between our Supreme Leadership and the U.S. President,” Ri said. The official name of North Korea is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).At their Singapore summit in June 2018, Trump and Kim signed a brief statement agreeing to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” The two sides never agreed on what that phrase meant or how to begin implementing it, even after two follow-up meetings between Trump and Kim.Stalled talksDespite the stalled talks, Trump has at times portrayed his North Korea diplomacy as a foreign policy win, noting his relationship with Kim remains strong and that Pyongyang has not recently conducted any nuclear or long-range missile tests.North Korea has often bristled at those comments. In his statement Friday, North Korea’s foreign minister accused Trump of focusing only on scoring domestic political points.“In retrospect, all the practices of the present U.S. administration so far are nothing but accumulating its political achievements,” Ri said. “Never again will we provide the U.S. chief executive with another package to be used for achievements without receiving any returns.”The nuclear talks stalled since Trump and Kim failed to reach a deal at their February summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, last year. North Korea wanted the U.S. to relax sanctions in exchange for the partial dismantlement of its nuclear facilities; Trump wanted Kim to agree to give up his entire nuclear program. Working-level talks resumed in October and ended unsuccessfully without making any progress toward denuclearization.A State Department official told VOA’s Korean Service on Thursday that the United States remains committed to engaging North Korea “in meaningful negotiations so that North Koreans can realize a brighter future.”“That offer remains on the table. We are willing to take a flexible approach to reach a balanced agreement on all of the Singapore summit commitments,” the official said.Nuclear program continuesThough North Korea has refrained from nuclear tests, it continues developing nuclear weapons. According to some estimates, North Korea now has enough material for about 40 nuclear bombs.Since the middle of last year, North Korea has also tested multiple new weapons systems, including short-range ballistic missiles that pose a major threat to U.S. allies in the region.In comments at the beginning of the year, Kim said the world would soon witness a “new strategic weapon.”Foreign Minister Ri did not make any specific threat in his comments Friday but noted that the “secure strategic goal of the DPRK is to build up more reliable force to cope with the long-term military threats from the U.S.”Inter-Korean tensionsNorth Korea has also been generating a diplomatic crisis with South Korea.This week, North Korea announced it would halt all communications channels with the South, which it referred to as its “enemy.”As an apparent pretext for its decision, North Korea cited recent activities by South Korean activists who occasionally float anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the North.After the State Department said it was “disappointed” in that decision, North Korea said the U.S. should “keep its mouth shut” if it wanted to hold a “successful” presidential election in November.
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Turkey Sentences US Consulate Employee to More Than 8 Years
A Turkish court on Thursday convicted a local U.S. Consulate employee in Istanbul of aiding an armed terror organization and sentenced him to eight years and nine months in prison, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.Metin Topuz, a translator and assistant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, has been jailed since 2017, accused of links to U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. The Turkish government blames Gulen for the 2016 coup attempt and considers his network to be a terrorist organization.Topuz’s arrest and subsequent prosecution caused tensions between Ankara and Washington, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement criticizing the conviction.The accusations were based on his contacts with police officers believed to be members of Gulen’s network of followers. Topuz has maintained his innocence throughout his trial and is expected to appeal the verdict.In his statement, Pompeo said: “U.S. officials observed every hearing in the trial of Mr. Topuz in Istanbul, and we have seen no credible evidence to support this decision. As a result, this conviction undermines confidence in Turkey’s institutions and the critical trust at the foundation of Turkish-American relations.”Pompeo added that the U.S. officials “reiterate our call on the Turkish government to resolve his case in a just manner.”In his concluding words in his own defense before the verdict, Topuz told the court that he had been in contact with Turkish police, paramilitary police and customs officials as part of his job with the DEA and had no way of knowing that these officials were involved in criminal acts.”As part of my duty with the DEA, under the instructions and observation of my superiors, I had thousands of contacts with 309 law enforcement officials to prevent crime,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Topuz as saying.”I committed no crime and had no relations with (Gulen’s network),” he said.The U.S. Embassy said: “For nearly three decades, Mr. Topuz performed outstanding work appreciated and lauded by officials and citizens of both countries. Under our direction, he promoted law enforcement cooperation between Turkey and the U.S., contributing to the safety of people in both nations.”Gulen, who has been in self-imposed exile in the U.S. since 1999, denies involvement in the coup attempt, which killed about 250 people and injured around 2,000 others.
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Zoom Temporarily Suspends Account After Hosting Tiananmen Square Anniversary Event
Videoconferencing company Zoom temporarily shut down the account of a U.S.-based activist group days after it held an event commemorating the 31st anniversary of China’s Tiananmen Square protests. Humanitarian China, an organization focused on providing relief for political prisoners and activists, held the Zoom conference on May 31. A week later June 7, the account used for the conference displayed a message that it had been shut down. The meeting was streamed by 4,000 people and joined by more than 250 participants worldwide, including organizers of the Hong Kong Candlelight Vigil, writers and scholars, former student leaders of the Tiananmen Square protests and the Tiananmen Mothers. The Tiananmen Square student-led protest has long been a sensitive topic in China’s political history. 30 Years After Tiananmen, Remembering a Pivotal Night
On June 4, 1989, the Chinese Communist Party ordered tanks and soldiers to fire at its own people gathered at Tiananmen Square, which is located in the heart of Beijing. Three decades later, the shots fired still reverberate today.The bravery of a lone man confronting a row of Chinese tanks became a symbol of the night of resistance between the people of China and the hard-liners of the Communist Party that ordered the army action. His identity remains unknown.
On June 4, 1989, in what critics and activists call a “massacre,” the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ordered tanks and soldiers to fire at pro-democracy protesters. Humanitarian China is currently led by human rights activist Zhou Fengsuo, who was a student during the protests in 1989. The organization said it is “outraged” Zoom shut its account and that “it seems possible Zoom acted on pressure from the CCP.” Humanitarian China also mentioned that former Tiananmen Square protester Dong Shengkun, previously imprisoned by the Chinese government for 17 years, was detained for five days to prevent him from attending the conference live. Zoom has since reactivated the account and released a statement explaining the shutdown. “When a meeting is held across different countries, the participants within those countries are required to comply with their respective local laws,” the company said in an emailed statement. “We aim to limit the actions we take to those necessary to comply with local laws and continuously review and improve our process on these matters.”
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Ethiopia Races to Stave Off Coronavirus in Refugee Camps
Tens of thousands of refugees from Eritrea are at risk of contracting the coronavirus after the first case was found in one of Ethiopia’s largest refugee camps. Experts and humanitarian workers say conditions in four northern camps holding approximately 100,000 Eritrean refugees are ideal for the virus to spread with people living close to each other in confined spaces. Authorities in Ethiopia are racing to improve health facilities and water levels at the country’s 26 refugee camps after the government confirmed that a 16-year-old girl from Eritrea had tested positive for the coronavirus last week. The patient has since been transferred to a government hospital where she is in stable condition, said Ann Encontre, country representative for the U.N. refugee agency in Ethiopia. The girl lives in the Adi-Harush camp, which houses about 33,000 people. Samples from two more suspected cases from the camp, located in the Tigray region, are currently under examination at a government laboratory. Ethiopia’s Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) has worked with the U.N. to increase the amount of water at camp sites in the Tigray region to an average of 15 liters per person per day, closer to the necessary 21 liters the U.N. recommends. Encontre told VOA via a messaging app that containing the spread of the virus will be a challenge considering the living conditions at refugee camps. “It’s really tight accommodation, tight normal social and cultural practices. So, in all honesty we are fairly confident we have done our best but we have to continue our efforts. We cannot let our hands down now,” she said. “We really have to keep the standards…and brainwash basically that this has to be more than ever important to daily living. But the sheer numbers will be a challenge. Some of our camps are 80,000 and above.” Encontre also said there was a big risk of new cases from Eritrea. “Ethiopia continues to be a welcoming country to asylum seekers and people running to save their lives for safety and security. And we do have people who are coming across the borders there. The borders are porous,” she said. Ethiopia has recorded more than 2,500 COVID-19 cases and 35 deaths since the first case was confirmed on March 13, although most of those have emerged in the last two weeks. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus. In January, the government stopped granting automatic asylum to Eritreans in an effort to reduce what it deemed to be a “high influx of unaccompanied minors, illegal migrants and others who do not fulfill the criteria laid [out] for refugee status.” Aid groups have said the policy will force Eritreans wishing to flee their homeland to take the dangerous northern route, toward Libya and Europe. Dan Connell, a visiting researcher at Boston University and an expert on Eritrean refugees, says Ethiopia also changed its policy toward Eritrean refugees in January by issuing more residency permits for refugees to leave the camps. “They went into the camps and they offered out of camp permits to anyone who wanted it. I was told while I was there in February by ARRA that some 5,000 people had accepted it within the first three weeks that it was offered,” he said.FILE – Eritrean refugee children play within Hitsats refugee camp, during the visit of the Crown Prince of Norway, Haakon Magnus and Crown Princess Mette Marit near Eritrean boarder, Tigrai region, Ethiopia, Nov. 9, 2017.The policy is designed to reduce the size of the camps so authorities can eventually close a camp known as Hitsats, which holds around 13,000 people, has less amenities than the other three camps in Tigray and is located in an area with high levels of malaria. “Once you get the virus moving within those camps, the problem gets compounded by the fact that there are many people on the camps distrusting the authorities, and not checking in when they do get sick,” said Connell.Connell also said there was no way to social distance inside many camps and that there are still “significant numbers” of people coming from Eritrea who are not being counted by the government or U.N.
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British Decision to Oust Huawei Is Settled, Analyst Says
A British political insider says there is no longer any doubt that the London government will abandon plans to incorporate technology from Chinese tech giant Huawei in the rollout of its 5G telecommunications network.The government will make an official announcement in the coming weeks of its plans to “sunset” Huawei’s involvement in the network, said Nile Gardiner, a onetime aide to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and now the chair of a center named for Thatcher at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation.Word of the decision has already been leaked to British media outlets quoting Downing Street sources, “which is usually how it works,” Gardiner said in an interview.For months, the British government has been under pressure from the United States to pull out of its deal with Huawei, but Gardiner said domestic considerations are at least equally responsible for the decision.He attributes the reversal in part to strong opposition among senior members of the governing Conservative Party, as well as widespread public disillusionment with Beijing resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.“There has been a very significant rebellion against Prime Minister [Boris] Johnson’s earlier decision” to allow Huawei a 35% stake in Britain’s telecommunications market, Gardiner told VOA.Vote to amend soughtDuring a parliamentary debate on the issue in March, former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith questioned Johnson’s decision and called for a vote to amend the government’s Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill.Duncan Smith accused the Chinese government of spending 20 years underbidding other tech firms until Huawei could emerge as the dominant player in the telecom market. He said going ahead with the deal would make Britain “nationally dependent on Huawei,” which has been classified by British authorities as a “high-risk vendor.”Gardiner said the revolt within party ranks has gained sufficient support that the Johnson government must amend its proposed 5G legislation or risk a parliamentary defeat when the issue next comes to a vote this summer.FILE – Mobile network phone masts are visible in front of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, Jan. 28, 2020. A political insider says Britain will abandon plans to incorporate Huawei in the rollout of the nation’s 5G telecommunications network.While Duncan Smith and other lawmakers have warned against Beijing’s increasing involvement in British society for years, the turnaround in British public opinion has been shaped by China’s handling of the coronavirus, including early efforts to suppress reporting on the contagion.This “has significantly hardened the view of the British government and the British people,” Gardiner said, adding that recent moves to extend China’s security control over Hong Kong have been “extremely unhelpful” to Beijing’s cause.Analysts also speculate that Johnson’s personal battle with COVID-19, which brought him close to death in April, contributed to his new, tougher view of China. “A healthy growth is his backbone,” said Fraser Howie, a Scottish-born expert on Britain’s relations with the Asia Pacific region and co-author of Red Capitalism.Huawei campaignHuawei, meanwhile, has not given up on the British market. The company launched a high-profile ad campaign this week in the form of a “Dear Britain” letter published in major media outlets, touting its two-decade-long investment history in the country and reiterating its “commitment to helping bring fast reliable mobile and full fiber broadband networks to every part [of] the country.”The ad campaign follows announcements in April and May that a prominent member of British industry had joined the company’s board, and that it had entered a “new five-year collaboration” agreement with Imperial College London, “aimed at growing the U.K.’s data science and innovation ecosystem.”Washington, too, is keeping up the pressure. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement Wednesday denouncing “the Chinese Communist Party’s coercive bullying tactics,” citing reports that Beijing has issued threats toward Britain’s landmark banking institution, the HSBC.“The United States stands with our allies and partners” and “stands ready to assist our friends in the U.K. with any needs they have, from building secure and reliable nuclear power plants to developing trusted 5G solutions that protect their citizens’ privacy,” Pompeo said.“Free nations deal in true friendship and desire mutual prosperity, not political and corporate kowtows.”
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Former DEA Officer Pleads Guilty of Posing as CIA Agent
A former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officer pleaded guilty of falsely posing as a covert CIA officer and defrauding companies of more than $4.4 million, the Department of Justice said Thursday.Garrison Kenneth Courtney, 44, lied to several private companies about being a CIA officer, claiming he was involved in a highly classified task force that sought to enhance intelligence-gathering capabilities of the government. The ex-DEA officer claimed that the companies needed to hire and pay him to create a “commercial cover” for his supposed affiliation with the CIA. Courtney said the companies would be reimbursed for the salary payments in the future, with some of the payback coming in the form of lucrative contracts with the U.S. government. “Courtney went to extraordinary lengths to perpetuate the illusion that he was a deep-cover operative,” the Justice Department said. As part of his deception, Courtney demanded to meet victims in sensitive compartmented facilities and searched them for electronic devices, all for “counterintelligence” and security purposes. Courtney also made victims and witnesses sign fake nondisclosure agreements and threatened the termination of their supposed security clearances and possible criminal prosecution if victims leaked or pursued information about the fake program. To further legitimize his story and background, Courtney concocted fake letters supposedly issued by the attorney general of the United States that granted blanket immunity to those who participated and aided Courtney. Courtney also convinced real government officials of his fake CIA officer identity and story, using them as “unwitting props falsely to burnish his legitimacy” the Justice Department said. To further his scheme, Courtney gained a position working as a private contractor for the National Institute of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center. It was there that he used his access to sensitive information to corrupt the procurement process by steering the award of contracts from the government organization to companies that were paying him. After pleading guilty, Courtney faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He heads back to court for sentencing October 23.
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Amid Tears and Laughter, Visits Resume in Nursing Homes
She wore a mask and sat across the nursing home patio from her elderly mother, but Marcie Abramson’s emotions were on full display as the two connected in person for the first time in nearly three months.Like many states, Massachusetts in mid-March limited visits to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to protect those most vulnerable to the coronavirus, which has exacted a heavy toll among older Americans. More than 60% of the state’s nearly 7,500 COVID-19 deaths have involved nursing home residents.Nationally, over 35,500 people have died from coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes and long-term care facilities, about a third of the national toll, according to a running tally by The Associated Press.But in Massachusetts, in-person visits resumed Wednesday with masks, social distancing — and plenty of tears and laughter.”You wanna give me a kiss?” Abramson called out to her 89-year-old mother, Cynthia Abramson, at the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Boston in the pair’s first encounter since the pandemic began.Kisses were strictly off-limits, so the pair exchanged an “air hug.””Oh, Ma! I love you so much! I really, really missed you,” the daughter gushed, choking back tears. “The day finally came. The day is here. I get to visit you.”Under strict Massachusetts guidelines aimed at avoiding a spike in coronavirus cases, visits must be scheduled and take place in designated outdoor areas, with the exception of end-of-life situations.Nursing home residents are allowed only two visitors at a time, and everyone must wear a mask and stay at least 6 feet (2 meters) apart. Residents with confirmed or possible cases of the disease cannot have visitors, although those who have recovered can.Abramson and her husband, Jeffrey Hunt, had their temperature taken and were screened for symptoms — additional steps that all visitors must take. Facilities also are taking care to disinfect chairs and other objects that visitors have used or touched.”I have to say that I was nervous to see my mom today,” she said. “I was really, really nervous. I didn’t sleep because she had been thinking that today may never come, that no one would ever be able to visit again and that’s where she would end up. … The emotional and mental toll on people has been extremely difficult.”Hunt said his mother-in-law developed some major health challenges just as the pandemic began.”So her ability to just process information and understand what’s happening to her, what’s going on around her, was significantly compromised. And that just made the whole quarantine situation exponentially more difficult for her,” he said.
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Britain Faces Grim Coronavirus Forecast
The British government is facing strong criticism for its response to the coronavirus pandemic, as latest forecasts suggest the economy could be the worst-hit globally. Britain has the world’s second-highest death toll from the virus and is emerging from its lockdown later than most of Europe. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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After Missteps, Turkey Tames Coronavirus
Turkey has turned into a surprising coronavirus success story, despite fears that its outbreak — at one time one of the fastest growing in the world — would spin out of control and leave the country overwhelmed.Even though its official death toll of 4,729 is disputed by some doctors, who say the real tally is likely higher because authorities include only those who test positive for the virus, the country appears to have averted the bigger disaster some epidemiologists predicted. This has happened despite early missteps and equivocations that allowed a surge in cases, particularly along the Black Sea, which could have been prevented, say analysts.“It’s a fairly small club of countries that have been quite effective in reducing the viral spread,” said Jeremy Rossman, a virologist at Britain’s University of Kent.
He told the BBC that Turkey is among the countries that responded quickly enough with testing and tracing to slow the transmission of the coronavirus without following the example of some European neighbors that opted for total lockdowns. The confirmed case tally is just over 170,000.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Tuesday the lifting of stay-at-home orders for people over 65, as well as for children, part of a further easing of restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.FILE – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, wearing a face mask to protect against the new coronavirus, and Basri Bagci, the new member of Turkey’s Constitutional Court, greet each other during a ceremony, in Ankara, June 9, 2020.Turkey lifted restrictions on intercity travel and allowed restaurants, cafes, parks and sports facilities to reopen on June 1 after a big reduction in new cases. However, case numbers are still rising in southeast Turkey.The government has been lauding its anti-coronavirus strategy — amplified by a pro-Erdogan press. Last month, Fahrettin Altun, the president’s spokesman, tweeted: “Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdogan invested billions in health care infrastructure, let top scientists devise a strategy and treated all COVID-19 patients for free. The result? Our recovery rate is almost 75 percent. The pandemic has been contained. #MissionAccomplished.”
The coronavirus came later to Turkey than it did to many of its neighbors. “As the virus raged on in China, many in Turkey wrongly believed that the country would not be affected by the spread of the virus,” said Kemal Kirişci, an analyst for the Brookings Institution, a Washington research group.Time was lost
“As late as mid-March,” Kirişci said,” the Turkish president even predicted economic gains for Turkey emerging from the crisis. Precious time was lost until the WHO [World Health Organization] officially declared a pandemic, coincidentally on the same day that Turkey’s first case was reported, and the country’s vulnerability was finally recognized. Two weeks later, the severity of the situation had still not completely dawned on the president.”Analysts say that at the start, the president had two overriding priorities: to placate his conservative religious base, which led him not to impose an effective quarantine on returning pilgrims from Mecca nor to ban communal gatherings at mosques; and to keep an already badly ailing economy running.FILE – Relatives of Munevver Kaya, who died of COVID-19, wearing face masks for protection against the coronavirus, offer their prayers during a funeral at a special section of Baklaci cemetery in Istanbul dedicated to COVID victims, May 11, 2020.The failure to shutter borders quickly and to quarantine returning pilgrims earned the government a public rebuke from the Turkish Medical Association, which said the early response to the coronavirus was “inadequate.”Contradictions, say analysts, marked early steps in trying to curb the pandemic. In mid-March, the government ordered people to stay at home but also announced tax cuts on flights and hotels to encourage business. Eventually as infection numbers surged, stricter isolation measures were introduced, with cities placed under weekend curfew orders. New cases then started to plateau at around a thousand a day. Senior experts at the WHO have praised Turkey’s subsequent performance.
Its official death toll is 10 times lower than Britain’s — partly thanks, say Erdogan supporters, to the massive investment in the health care system the past few years and the building of new hospitals. The infrastructure has not come close in the pandemic to being overstretched.Science-based response
Much of the credit, though, for averting a disaster is being laid at the door of Erdogan’s health minister, Fahrettin Koca, who, far from the start, urged a science-based response. Highly proactive mayors in Istanbul and Ankara, both opponents of Erdogan, also have been praised.
But the pandemic response, however effective it has been after early missteps, has prompted political alarm. Doctors in Turkey’s southeast and eastern regions, who have disputed the official toll, have found themselves reprimanded and placed under investigation, and reporters and ordinary social media users have been charged with disseminating “fake news” for questioning the rate of infections.“The Turkish authorities’ criminally investigating medical chamber officials is not only an outrageous attack on free speech but impedes the fight against the deadly COVID-19 pandemic and obstructs their legitimate work,” said Hugh Williamson of the NGO Human Rights Watch. “The investigations should immediately be dropped, and all conditions imposed on the doctors, including travel bans, lifted.”FILE – Turkish police officers, wearing face masks to protect against the coronavirus, arrest a demonstrator during May Day protests against the government lockdown, in Istanbul, May 1, 2020.Rights campaigners say the government has used the pandemic to muzzle and lock up even more Erdogan opponents. On Tuesday, as the Turkish president announced further easing of coronavirus restrictions, hundreds of people were detained on the ground they are adherents of the faith-based Gülen movement, led by cleric Fethullah Gülen, who Erdogan claims was behind a 2016 coup attempt against him. Gulen, a former ally of the Turkish president, who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States, denies any involvement.Since 2016, more than 80,000 people have been detained, many of them civil servants or members of security forces. Western governments and rights campaigners accuse the government of using the coup attempt as a pretext to silence Erdogan’s opposition in the country.
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Coronavirus Poses Leadership Test for Africa’s Heads of State
As Burundi enters a period of mourning for President Pierre Nkurunziza, who died Tuesday, his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic is being scrutinized. Nkurunziza’s official cause of death was listed as “cardiac arrest.” However, FILE – Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza queues at a polling station during elections, under the simmering political violence and the growing threat of the coronavirus, in Ngozi, Burundi, May 20, 2020.”Burundi is an exception, because it is a country that has put God first,” said the president’s spokesperson, Jean-Claude Karerwa Ndenzako. Across the continent, the coronavirus crisis is exposing different leadership styles, with some heads of state embracing the role of crisis leader, while others stay silent or even spread misleading information. Tolbert Nyenswah, senior research associate at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and former deputy minister of health in Liberia, said early, aggressive action by leaders is key. He says the countries where leaders were proactive in instituting testing and contact tracing will be better off. “You’ll find the countries with a high number of cases, like Senegal, Ghana, South Africa, are some of those countries that are very good at doing testing,” Nyenswah said on VOA’s Straight Talk Africa. “Testing, contact tracing, isolation, social distancing, hand-washing, are the tools that we have right now and are the tools to control COVID-19. And so, countries that are doing high levels of testing are on a path to continue back.” FILE – People look at newspapers without adhering to the rules of social distancing despite the confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, April 16, 2020.Magufuli, who used to teach chemistry, has been skeptical of the virus and has echoed conspiracy theories, saying its severity is being exaggerated by “imperialists.” On live television, he announced the country’s national laboratory had inflated coronavirus numbers. He even said the virus cannot survive in the bodies of those who pray. Tanzania has also been criticized for its secrecy in reporting cases. The cause of death for the country’s justice minister, who passed away at age 74, has been cloaked in mystery. The U.S. Embassy in Tanzania has warned that the risk of contracting COVID-19 in the country remains high and said the government has not released aggregate numbers in over a month. Nyenswah said ignoring the problem is not a strategy. “Denial and resistance that the disease does not exist will not help the country,” he said. “You cannot hide an outbreak, and that infectious disease will expose you when people begin to die. It will expose the health system and expose the country.”AIDS, Ebola provide lessons Many African leaders are learning from the past. In Uganda, President Yuweri Museveni said scientists had learned from public health crises like AIDS and Ebola. The key, he said, is to determine the most common means of transmission and block it. On May 7, Uganda mandated that people wear masks in public. FILE – Travelers queue to buy bus tickets while adhering to social distancing measures and wearing masks to curb the spread of the coronavirus at the Namirembe Bus Park in Kampala, Uganda, June 4, 2020.”You have a mask because it is riding on the droplets or … the breath of the infected person. If you block it, then you block it. That’s why I would like you to put on the masks all the time,” he said in an interview with NBS-TV, a VOA affiliate in Kampala. Museveni has also advocated a cautious approach to reopening public transportation and schools. He said his administration’s priority is to save lives and will worry about the economy later. “There’s no way you can compare so that many people should die so we make money? No. The money can wait. … So really, there’s no comparison. … You don’t compare the incomparable. With life, we go for life first and then the economy will come later,” he said. Close to homeNigerian President Muhamadu Buhari has probably been touched more personally by the coronavirus than any head of state. On April 17, his chief of staff died from the disease. Like other leaders, he enforced a lockdown but began easing it on May 4 in key areas, including the capital, Abuja, and the largest city, Lagos. Africa’s most populous country has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases, with just over 11,000. FILE – A Muslim man observes Ramadan prayers along the road in open space of Tinubu Square, wearing a face mask and adhering to social distancing measures to curtail the spread of coronavirus in Lagos, May 13, 2020.On June 1, Nigeria’s COVID-19 Presidential Task Force announced it was beginning Phase 2 of the reopening, which includes churches, mosques and hotels. This, despite some health experts warning that the country has not yet hit its peak and risks a jump in cases. Boss Mustapha, chairman of the task force, said the reopening does not signal that the country is letting down its guard. “COVID-19 is still a fight for life,” he said when announcing the reopening. “Our advancement to Phase 2 does not mean that COVID-19 has ended, as Nigeria has not reached the peak of confirmed cases.” This story originated in the Africa Division, with contributions from a one-on-one interview in collaboration with NBS-TV, a VOA affiliate in Kampala, and English-to-Africa’s ‘Straight Talk Africa’ TV show host, Shaka Ssali.
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Anna Wintour Apologizes for Race-Related ‘Mistakes’ at Vogue
Vogue’s Anna Wintour has apologized in an internal email for “mistakes” made in her 32-year tenure in not doing enough to elevate black voices on her staff and publishing images and stories that have been racially and culturally “hurtful or intolerant.”
The fashion doyenne wrote in the June 4 email: “I take full responsibility for those mistakes.”
The magazine’s editor in chief, who is also Conde Nast’s artistic director and global content adviser, had no further comment Wednesday on the email obtained by The Associated Press. It was first revealed Tuesday in the New York Post.
Wintour’s mea culpa surfaced soon after Adam Rapoport, the editor in chief of another Conde Nast title, Bon Appetit, resigned after a photo surfaced of him in brownface, amplifying outrage over how the food magazine treats employees of color.
On Monday, the top editor and a co-founder of the lifestyle site Refinery29, Christene Barberich, resigned after former employees complained on social media of a toxic culture and unfair treatment of staff members of color over the years.
Meanwhile, Samira Nasr on Wednesday was named the first editor in chief of color in the 153-year history of U.S. Harper’s Bazaar.
In her email, Wintour referenced the country’s “historic and heartbreaking moment” after the death of George Floyd and other black people at the hands of police, events that sparked rage and grief in protests playing out for more than two weeks around the world.
“I want to start by acknowledging your feelings and expressing my empathy towards what so many of you are going through: sadness, hurt, and anger too. I want to say this especially to the Black members of our team — I can only imagine what these days have been like. But I also know that the hurt, and violence, and injustice we’re seeing and talking about have been around for a long time.
Recognizing it and doing something about it is overdue,” Wintour told her staff.
She called for the tumult to be a “time of listening, reflection, and humility for those of us in positions of privilege and authority. It should also be a time of action and commitments.”
Wintour didn’t specify what content she was referring to as offensive, or what steps will be taken to rectify hiring and bring on a new creative approach. She pledged, “On a corporate level, work is being done to support organizations in a real way. These actions will be announced as soon as possible.”
She wrote: “Meanwhile, I want to say plainly that I know Vogue has not found enough ways to elevate and give space to Black editors, writers, photographers, designers and other creators. We have made mistakes too, publishing images or stories that have been hurtful or intolerant. I take full responsibility for those mistakes.”
Wintour said her staff includes “too few” black employees. She didn’t say how many there are.
“I know that it is not enough to say we will do better, but we will — and please know that I value your voices and responses as we move forward.”
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US ‘Deeply Concerned’ About Turkish Drilling in Mediterranean
The United States is urging Turkey to stop drilling in contested waters of the Mediterranean Sea out of concern the move will hurt diplomatic relations with Greece. Tension is rising among the NATO neighbors and others in the region trying to control energy-rich zones. The warning from U.S. Under Secretary of State Matthew Palmer marks Washington’s strongest diplomatic intervention yet in a long-running energy feud between Greece and Turkey.“The United States remains deeply concerned by drilling activities in waters off Cyprus,” said Palmer. “The actions raise tensions in the region and we again urge Turkish authorities to halt all drilling operations off Cyprus.”Palmer’s warning, at an international conference in Greece, follows threats by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to proceed with the drilling, including plans to send a new exploratory vessel well within Greece’s territorial waters, off the coast of the Greek islands.No specific location has been revealed but Turkey has been threatening to drill since Erdogan signed a maritime agreement with Libya, allowing Ankara to explore for natural gas and oil and exploit hundreds of kilometers of Mediterranean seabed from its southeast coast to northern Libya.With Greek islands in between, Turkey maintains that the deal also gives it the right to survey Greek waters. Geoffrey Pyatt, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, says that reading is wrong.“It is unhelpful and provocative in any term but most importantly it can take no rights away from Greece,” said Pyatt.Tensions, though, continue to escalate between Greece and Turkey.In recent days, the leaders of the two countries have challenged each other’s sovereign rights, saying they are prepared to go to war to defend themselves.Palmer is advising both sides to pull back from any semblance of confrontation.“As an ally, the U.S. is concerned that the increasing tensions between Greece and Turkey could result in an incident or accident that leads to unintended consequences,” said Palmer. “In the past we have seen incidents in the regions escalate quickly. We urge Greece and Turkey to ensure that the channels of communication remain open between these two NATO allies.”Greece and Turkey have had no diplomatic contact on the issue so far.
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EU to File Antitrust Complaint Against Amazon Over Treatment of Third Party Sellers: WSJ
The European Union is planning on filing formal antitrust charges against Amazon.com Inc over its treatment of third-party sellers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.The EU has been building its case and circulating a draft of the charge sheet for a couple of months and could officially file the charges as early as next week or the week after, the report added.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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WHO Says COVID-19 Pandemic is Accelerating in Africa
The World Health Organization reports the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating in Africa and moving from the continent’s large capital cities into the remote rural areas where it will be more difficult to contain the spread of the disease. Globally, there were more than seven million coronavirus infections Wednesday, including more than 400,000 deaths. Latest reports Wednesday put the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Africa at more than 200,000, including 5,000 deaths. World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, notes it took 98 days to reach the first 100,000 cases and only 19 days to move to 200,000 cases. “So, even though these cases in Africa account for less than three percent of the global total, it is clear that the pandemic is accelerating,” Moeti said. “Ten of the 54 countries in Africa are currently driving the numbers, and they account for 75 percent of the total cases. Five countries account for 71 percent of the total deaths.” South Africa has the largest number of cases and deaths. Data show the majority of coronavirus deaths in the region follow a similar trend to that seen in Europe and the United States. That is, most who die are over age 60 and have underlying conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity.FILE – Heath officials check the listings of people who are to be tested for COVID-19 as well as HIV and Tuberculosis, in downtown Johannesburg, April 30, 2020.The pandemic arrived in Africa in February, later than in other parts of the world. Moeti says this gave countries precious time to prepare for the onset of the crisis. She says the experience gained from combatting deadly diseases such as Ebola and HIV/AIDS has enabled countries to quickly scale up their health operations.She says lockdowns and other social measures such as social distancing, were quickly put in place. She says these public health measures have been effective in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in Africa.“However, stay-at-home orders and closing of markets and businesses, have taken a heavy economic toll, particularly on the most vulnerable and marginalized communities, and we know that many African people work in the informal sector of the economy…So, the need to balance between saving lives and protecting livelihoods is a key consideration in this response, and particularly so in Africa,” Moeti said.Africa faces many challenges. Moeti says one of the biggest is the lack of test kits and other supplies. She notes many essential health services are being neglected because of the focus on the pandemic. For example, she says vaccine preventable disease campaigns and regular immunizations against killer diseases have been reduced.She expects Africans will have to live with a steady increase of COVID-19 until there is access to an effective vaccine. However, she says the disease probably could be managed so health systems are not overrun by people who are ill, if Africa gets the supplies and other international support it needs.
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South Korea Officials Warn of 2nd COVID-19 Wave as Seoul Sees New Cases
South Korean Health officials are warning action must be taken to prevent a second wave of COVID-19 in that country after a resurgence of infections in the Seoul region. South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday reported 45 new cases. Most new cases have been in the Seoul metropolitan area, where health authorities have struggled to trace transmissions. At a news briefing Wednesday, CDC Director Jung Eun-kyeong said the recent consistent chain of transmissions is spreading in Seoul, and if they cannot cut them off, they cannot rule out a massive outbreak. She noted the transmission chains started popping up after the country began easing restrictions. Government officials are resisting calls to reimpose stronger social distancing measures out of concern they’ll hurt a fragile economy. But the CDC is warning that transmissions are getting harder to track because the virus is spreading quickly and unpredictably as people increase their activities and practice less social distancing. Health Ministry senior official Yoon Tae-ho says the only way to stop the chain of coronavirus breakouts in the capital area is adherence to prevention and distancing rules. The health officials pleaded with the public to return to wearing masks, strictly follow social distancing rules and avoid large gatherings and other public activity.
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Floyd Killing Finds Echoes of Abuse in South Africa, Kenya
Collins Khosa was killed by law enforcement officers in a poor township in Johannesburg over a cup of beer left in his yard. The 40-year-old black man was choked, slammed against a wall, beaten, kicked and hit with the butt of a rifle by the soldiers as police watched, his family says.
Two months later, South Africans staged a march against police brutality. But it was mostly about the killing of George Floyd in the United States, with the case of Khosa, who died on April 10, raised only briefly.
“We also lost our loved one. South Africa, where are you?” Khosa’s partner, Nomsa Montsha, asked in a wrenching TV interview Friday, eight weeks after she held his hand as he died while waiting for an ambulance.
Her words, in a soft, steady voice, were a searing rebuke of the perceived apathy in South Africa over Khosa’s death. The army exonerated the soldiers in a report that concluded he died from a blunt force head injury that was no one’s fault. His family is still seeking a criminal case.
Floyd’s death also emboldened a small number of people in Kenya to march and tell their own stories of injustice and brutality by police.
Despite racial reconciliation that emerged after the end of the apartheid system, poor and black South Africans still fall victim to security forces that now are mostly black. The country is plagued by violent crime, and police often are accused of resorting to heavy-handed tactics.
Journalist Daneel Knoetze, who looked into police brutality in South Africa between 2012 and 2019, found that there were more than 42,000 criminal complaints against police, which included more than 2,800 killings — more than one a day. There were more than 27,000 cases of alleged assault by police, many classified as torture, and victims were “overwhelmingly” poor and black, he said.
“It is clear that in South Africa, 26 years of democracy have not as yet ensured that black lives matter as much as white lives,” said a statement last week from the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which promotes the vision of the anti-apartheid leader and the country’s first black president.
Angelo Fick, who researches issues of human rights and equality, said white people are policed differently from blacks in South Africa in what he calls “the echoes of apartheid.”
Khosa’s family said his beating death followed accusations by the soldiers that he was drinking a beer in his yard, which was not illegal even though buying alcohol was prohibited at the time because of South Africa’s strict coronavirus lockdown.
The sale of tobacco also is illegal during the lockdown, and middle-class whites discovered buying cigarettes have gotten off with a warning from police.
Montsha described how the soldiers, while beating Khosa, struck her with sjamboks, the heavy whips wielded by security forces during the apartheid era. Police and soldiers still carry the notorious weapons.
“The old house. You put new furniture in but it’s still the old house,” Fick said of the security forces.
In Kenya, the police force has for two decades been ranked the country’s most corrupt institution. It’s also Kenya’s most deadly, killing far more people than criminals do, according to human rights groups.
In the last three months in Kenya, 15 people, including a 13-year-old boy, have been killed by police while they enforce a curfew, according to a watchdog group. Human rights activists put the figure at 18.
The boy, Yasin Hussein Moyo, was shot in the stomach by police in March as he stood on the balcony of his home. Police have blamed a “stray bullet,” but witnesses say the officers deliberately started shooting at the boy’s apartment building as they patrolled the neighborhood during the curfew.
Kenya’s culture of an oppressive colonial police force is still intact, said Peter Kiama, the executive director of the Independent Medico Legal Unit, which tracks police abuse. There also is a security system that has sought to subdue opposition to the government and, in turn, has become corrupt.
“There is a symbiotic relationship,” Kiama said.
When Kenya created two organizations nearly a decade ago to monitor and hold police accountable, the members of one of them found a severed human head in their new offices on the first day of work. Just in case the message wasn’t clear, there also was a piece of paper with the words: “Tread carefully.”
Kiama’s organization says 980 people have been killed by police in Kenya since 2013, and 90 percent of those were execution-style slayings.
Despite the decades of injustice and brutality, activists say there is no groundswell of public support for change in South Africa and Kenya, two of the biggest economies in Africa.
“I gave up on police violence being an issue around which one could get any kind of attention from politicians, or anyone,” said David Bruce, an expert on South African law enforcement for 20 years.
In her interview on national TV, Montsha looked at the camera and asked South Africans why no one was standing up for Khosa.
“We are crying out loud,” she said.
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Wait to Reopen? Some NYC Shops Run out of Patience
In a city famous for its lack of patience, some businesses have jumped ahead on what’s supposed to be a slow and methodical emergence from coronavirus lockdown. Stores in parts of the New York City have already started to allow customers inside to shop, even though the phased reopening that began Monday only allows retailers to sell merchandise via curbside pickup for now. A woman shops for women’s shirts in a Mini-Max store, June 8, 2020, in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, in New York, as retail stores were allowed to open, but with some restrictions.At least a dozen customers perused racks of women’s clothing Wednesday inside Mini-Max in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood. Shoppers mostly self-policed for social distancing, which wasn’t difficult given the store’s size, but the only restriction applied by owner, Albert Abeal, was that customers must wear masks. “We just opened. Everybody’s hungry for merchandise,” said Abeal, who has owned the store for about 20 years. He said business this week had essentially returned to normal, although he didn’t expect that to last. “They didn’t buy clothes for so long. It’s going to slow down in a week.” Abeal said he believed he was allowed to have customers inside because it sold face masks and alcohol, although the latter did not appear to be on display. Food and beverage stores have always been exempt from the state’s closure rules. Other shops in the neighborhood were also letting in customers. Mutali Singh, owner of J&M Sneaker, stood at his shop’s door and encouraged customers to call ahead for curbside pickup, but said he’s had trouble enforcing the policy. Multani Singh, owner of J&M sneakers, talks about keeping his business alive during nearly three months of shutdown, June 8, 2020, in the Sunset Park neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York.”Once they see you are open, they think you are open like normal, like you can walk in and do the browsing,” he said. He’s hardly in a position to turn them away — not with his landlord demanding he continue paying his $8,000 monthly rent. Customers are not supposed to be permitted indoors at most retailers until phase two of reopening, which could come as early as June 22, although Mayor Bill de Blasio has said it could be delayed until July. The cautious return to business is intended to prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus, which has killed at least 22,000 people in the city. While the number of new infections has dropped dramatically, it has not stopped entirely. Through the end of last week, hundreds of people were continuing to test positive each day. As the pressure on hospitals has eased, the financial pressure on merchants has mounted. Opening for many is an act of desperation. Two women peer into a clothing store to see if it is open, June 8, 2020, in the Sunset Park neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York.Eddie Zahoor, owner of Cap & Clothing Sports Inc., is letting a maximum of two customers into his small sports apparel shop, also in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park section. He’s giving away masks to customers if they don’t have them and has a bottle of hand sanitizer next to the front door. Zahoor had hoped for a rush of shoppers when he opened Monday for the first time since March 20 but said business has been slow. He applied for three government grants but was denied for all of them — something that stays top of mind for him as he considers how to follow government guidelines for reopening. He hasn’t paid rent in three months and is trying to pay back those bills in installments. “My landlord keeps pushing me,” he said. “I told him, ‘Just wait.'” Jay Han at Honey Fashion is feeling similar pressure. He’s managing the shop owned by his wife, Grace Kim, while she takes care of their children. Han opened Honey Fashion’s doors fully on Tuesday, hoping to do enough business to offset significant financial pressures. “Our landlord said, ‘See you in court,'” he said. “Oh my God, that’s not fair. They don’t care about the retailer. What’s the government’s plan? What about the small business owners? How can I live? I don’t understand. I’m still waiting to see if they’re going to help us or not.”
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Kenya Celebrates Removal of British Queen Victoria Statue
The removal of a prominent reminder of Kenya’s British colonization is being celebrated — five years later.The statue Britain’s Queen Victoria outlasted several of statues from before Kenya’s independence from Britain in 1963.It was beheaded and thrown into nearby brush in 2015, after standing in Jeevanjee Gardens in Nairobi for more than century.Nairobi resident Samuel Obiero was among those this week who welcomed the removal of the statue, saying citizens do not want to be reminded of slavery, colonialism and the suffering it brought.Worldwide, statues that pay homage to people with a history linked to racism and slavery are coming down.The push accelerated after the death of George Floyd, a black American who died last month after a white police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.The officer is jailed on a murder charge, and the FBI is investigating whether civil rights violations occurred.Three other officers on the scene are charged with aiding and abetting.
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Ex-Judge says Push to Dismiss Flynn Case is ‘Abuse of Power’
A former federal judge appointed to review the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss criminal charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn has found that the government’s request should be denied because there is clear evidence of a gross abuse of prosecutorial power.''U.S. District Judge John Gleeson said in a filing Wednesday that the governmenthas engaged in highly irregular conduct to benefit a political ally of the President.”Gleeson was appointed by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in a special role to weigh in on the case, but it will ultimately be up to Sullivan and potentially an appeals court whether to accept the Justice Department’s motion to drop the case.Flynn pleaded guilty, as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, to lying to the FBI about conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the presidential transition period.In January, Flynn filed court papers to withdraw his guilty plea, saying federal prosecutors had acted in “bad faith” and broken their end of the bargain when they sought prison time for him.Initially, prosecutors said Flynn was entitled to avoid prison time because he had cooperated extensively with the government, but the relationship with the retired Army lieutenant general grew increasingly contentious in the months before he withdrew his plea, particularly after he hired a new set of lawyers who raised misconduct allegations against the government.But the Justice Department filed a motion last month to dismiss the case, saying the FBI had insufficient basis to question Flynn in the first place and that statements he made during the interview were not material to the broader counterintelligence investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.Officials have said they sought to dismiss the case in the interest of justice, upon the recommendation of a U.S. attorney who had been appointed by Attorney General William Barr to review the handling of the Flynn investigation.”The Government’s ostensible grounds for seeking dismissal are conclusively disproven by its own briefs filed earlier in this very proceeding,” Gleeson wrote. “They contradict and ignore this Court’s prior orders, which constitute law of the case. They are riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact. And they depart from positions that the Government has taken in other cases.”
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