A Bishkek court informed OCCRP's Kyrgyz partner Kloop that its lawyers missed the deadline when they submitted their appeal to a February decision ordering the independent media outlet to be closed down. Therefore, their complaint could not be considered during Friday’s hearing.

Police in Ukraine have accused the director of an energy supply company in Kyiv of embezzling more than 67 million hryvnias (US$1.7 million) from the state budget by selling electricity at inflated prices to a department within the State Water Resources Agency.

Italian authorities have put 11 suspects under house arrest as part of a crackdown on a VAT fraud ring that has deprived the budget of the European Union as well as national budgets of more than 25 million euros (US$27.17 million).

Human Rights Watch has once again called for the release of rapper Toomaj Salehi, who was sentenced to death last month by an Iranian court for his critical stance against the Tehran regime and his support for the women's rights movement.

Russian authorities detained a senior Defense Ministry official, alleging his involvement in a large-scale bribery scheme exceeding 100 million Russian rubles (just over US$1 million), the Russian Investigative Committee stated Tuesday on its Telegram channel.

In a session marked by yelling and physical confrontation, the Georgian Parliament adopted a law on Tuesday that opponents call the “Russian bill” and believe could dismantle civil society and divert the country from the European Union path.

Tens of thousands spent the weekend in front of the Georgian parliament protesting against the adoption of the so-called “foreign agent law,” but have not managed to stop it from getting closer to adoption on Monday.

Last month, he was still seen as a serious challenger to the incumbent president. However, when Lithuanians voted on Sunday, Ignas Vėgėlė failed to qualify for the second round, blamed journalists for it, and announced he might sue.

They said they knew where he lives, and if he doesn’t stop, they will wait for him in front of his home, and he won’t survive the encounter. He hung up, but then they called his mother and told her that if she does not stop her son, he will be brought to her in a coffin.

The United States sanctioned and charged a Russian national on Tuesday for operating the world’s most prolific and harmful ransomware group, LockBit, which is believed to have extorted half a billion dollars from victims around the globe.