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Sports

US women’s national soccer team players appeal equal pay lawsuit decision

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In May 2020, Judge Gary Klausner ruled there was no basis to prove the players’ claims that the US Soccer Federation (USSF) financially discriminated against the women based on their gender.

Klausner said the women played more games and made more money than their male counterparts and had rejected a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) where they would have the same pay structure as the men’s team in favor of a different CBA.

The female players denied they had been offered the same CBA as the men’s team.

In a statement, the 28 current and former players announced Friday that their legal team had filed an appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, calling the district court’s 2020 decision “legally wrong.”

The players said in the statement that Klausner’s decision was “based on a flawed analysis of the team’s compensation, despite the abundant evidence of unequal pay.”

“If a woman has to work more than a man and be much more successful than him to earn about the same pay, that is decidedly not equal pay and it violates the law,” said player spokesperson Molly Levinson on Friday.

“And yet, that is exactly what the women players on the US National team do — they play more games and achieve better results in order to be paid about the same amount as the men’s national team players per game. By any measure, that is not equal pay, and it violates federal law.”

The USSF responded to the appeal via a tweet, saying the 2020 ruling “correctly held that the Women’s National Team was paid more both cumulatively and on an average per-game basis than the Men’s National Team.”

The federation said it was committed to equal pay and would “continue to seek a resolution to this matter outside of court.”

In December 2020, the players reached a settlement with USSF on their Title VII claims ensuring they received equal working conditions, such as equal flights benefits, trainers and hotel accommodations.
Following a 3-0 loss to Sweden in their Tokyo 2020 Olympics opener, the US women face New Zealand on Saturday, July 24, in Saitama, Japan.

CNN’s Susannah Cullinane contributed to this report.



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Sports

US Olympic fencer accused of sexual misconduct loses appeal to move into athletes’ village

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An American fencer set to compete in the Tokyo Games lost an appeal to move into the Olympic Village hours before the opening ceremony Friday, according to reports. 

Three women have accused Alen Hadzic of sexual misconduct between 2013 and 2015 and USA Fencing imposed a “safety plan” ahead of the games that required the fencer to stay at a hotel 30 minutes away from the athletes’ village, according to Yahoo Sports. 

The independent arbiter who heard the appeal did rule that Hadzic could move to a hotel closer to the games. 

Hadzic has called the claims “frankly not true” and said USA Fencing’s requirement he stay in the hotel was “arbitrary and unnecessary,” Yahoo reported. 

TOKYO 2021: US WATER POLO CAPTAIN MISSING OPENING CEREMONY DUE TO RESTRICTIONS 

“Fundamentally, (USA Fencing) wants to hide Mr. Hadzic and keep him from participating in the Olympic experience that he has rightfully earned,” his attorneys argued in a complaint, according to USA Today. “(USA Fencing) states that they are required to segregate Mr. Hadzic from the Olympic experience in order to ‘increase parties’ physical and emotional safety throughout an investigation, support a fair and neutral process, and aid in prevention of retaliatory behaviors from all parties.”    

Last month, Hadzic was suspended by U.S. Center for SafeSport after the allegations surfaced but an arbiter overturned the suspension, allowing him to compete as an alternate in the men’s epee, which starts Sunday, the New York Post reported. 

The allegations were filed after Hadzic qualified for the Olympics in May, according to Yahoo. 

Alen Hadzic of the United States looks on during the preliminary rounds at the Peter Bakonyi Men’s Epee World Cup at the Richmond Olympic Oval on February 7, 2020 in Richmond, Canada. (Photo by Devin Manky/Getty Images)

American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was banned from the Games earlier this month after she tested positive for marijuana. Her suspension has not been lifted. 

The fencer was also required to fly to Japan two days after his teammates and train away from them after USA Fencing said some athletes on the team had “expressed concerns for their safety and well-being” while he’s around, according to the Post and USA Today. 

Hadzic said the reception at the Games has been warmer than he expected, USA Today reported. 

“I didn’t know what the atmosphere would be like until I came here, and then when I actually got to the training facility all of the coaches shook my hand and congratulated me on making the team,” he said. “All of the fencers that I thought would be afraid to speak with me, all came up to me and said hi. Even the women.”

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Even so, teammate Katharine Holmes said she had gathered signatures from every teammate supporting his suspension from the Games. Hadzic denied the claim but admitted some of the women did not want him there. 

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Sports

Nneka Ogwumike, Elizabeth Williams won’t play for Nigeria women’s basketball at Tokyo Games after appeal rejected

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LAS VEGAS — Nneka Ogwumike and Elizabeth Williams won’t be playing for the Nigeria women’s basketball team in the Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected their appeal.

The WNBA players had asked the CAS to grant them a provisional allowance and add them to the roster for the Tokyo Games until a hearing could occur. The pair had been notified last week by FIBA that their petition to play for the African nation had been denied because they played for the U.S. national program for too long.

“FIBA acknowledges today’s decision of the Court Arbitration of Sport (CAS) to reject the request for provisional measures,” the basketball organization posted on its website.

FIBA said that the pair were not on Nigeria’s roster submitted for the Tokyo Games.

Ogwumike and her sisters have dual citizenship with the United States and Nigeria, and they believed they should be eligible to represent Nigeria in Japan. The Ogwumikes’ parents, Peter and Ify, were both born in Nigeria and came to the United States before their daughters were born.

Nigeria’s coach, Otis Hughley Jr., felt that Williams and Nneka Ogwumike should have been allowed to play. He put out a passionate plea after the team lost to the U.S. on Sunday to let them compete. Williams played in that exhibition game. But Ogwumike and her sister Chiney didn’t; they were on the bench cheering on their teammates.

“Allow them the opportunity to help grow the game,” Hughley said. “That continent would just be turned on its head for basketball, in a good way. You have no idea how many lives would be impacted and changed for the ages.”

Hughley said he was concerned that the reason for the denials by FIBA came from other countries that think they have a chance to medal.

“They didn’t anticipate us being in that position,” the coach said. “So, there’s some things going on that nobody sees and nobody talks about. It gets in the way of integrity. It’s gonna catch up with whoever’s doing that. It’s just dead wrong. I know FIBA is better than that. I’ve been part of them a long time; it’s a great organization.”

Chiney Ogwumike had been granted the ability to play with Nigeria as a naturalized player. She had asked the CAS to have that changed to giving her status as a Nigerian — the same as her sister Erica, who is also on the nation’s roster — since each country is only allowed one naturalized player.

CAS denied that appeal, as well.

No African nation has won a game in the Olympics since Nigeria went 1-5 in the 2004 Athens Games.

Nneka Ogwumike and Williams have been given consent by USA Basketball to play for Nigeria. Usually players who compete for the U.S. in major FIBA events after they turn 17 are not allowed to start playing for another country.

Ogwumike competed for the U.S. in the 2018 World Cup, during which the Americans beat Nigeria in the quarterfinals. She had hoped to make the U.S. roster for Tokyo, but she was left off the team when the roster was announced. She had been dealing with a knee injury sustained early last month.

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Preliminary injunction issued in unemployment benefits lawsuits

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Judge issues preliminary injunction in unemployment benefits lawsuits

Governor’s office: State will not appeal

Maryland’s unemployed workers are enjoying a court victory after a judge ruled Tuesday the state must continue to pay enhanced federal unemployment benefits.Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill issued a preliminary injunction in the lawsuits filed to block the governor’s early termination of federal enhanced unemployment benefits.Read the preliminary injunction hereThe governor’s office said the state does not plan to appeal the ruling.The ruling follows state law that requires the Maryland Department of Labor to maximize relief for unemployed residents.So, should a similar economic calamity happen again, this won’t be an issue.”If the federal government deems this aid necessary, I don’t know why our governor would cut us off at the knees,” said Alex Dane, a furloughed hotel worker. “It’s my lifeline to keeping a roof over my head. It’s a lifeline to putting food on the table, paying my bills. I mean, bills do not take a vacation.”The legal battle was over the federal enhanced unemployment benefits that add an extra $300 a week to the pockets of the unemployed. It also covered gig workers, the self-employed and those who exhausted other benefits.Business owners complain they are having trouble hiring and retaining employees. Gov. Larry Hogan said ending the federal benefits would have helped motivate people to go back to work.Kevin Baxter said he doesn’t need motivation, he just needs a call back from the hotel which furloughed him more than a year ago.”I just keep looking in my field and just waiting until my job calls me back, which I have been there 13 years and I would be glad to go back,” Baxter said.In the preliminary injunction, the court ordered the governor and labor secretary to continue benefits, writing that they “shall immediately take all actions necessary to ensure that Maryland residents continue to receive any and all expanded and/or supplemental unemployment benefits available to Maryland residents under the CARES Act, the ARPA, or any other existing federal source of unemployment benefits to the fullest extent allowed under Title 8 of the Labor and Employment Article of the Maryland Code.”The governor announced last month that Maryland will discontinue the benefits and reinstate work-search requirements starting July 3. That led to the lawsuits, a temporary restraining order, and ultimately, Tuesday’s ruling. The governor’s press office released a statement, saying there will be no appeal: “We fundamentally disagree with today’s decision. This lawsuit is hurting our small businesses, jeopardizing our economic recovery, and will cause significant job loss. Most states have already ended enhanced benefits, and the White House and the U.S. Department of Labor have affirmed that states have every right to do so.”While we firmly believe the law is on our side, actual adjudication of the case would extend beyond the end of the federal programs, foregoing the possibility of pursuing the matter further.””With more jobs available than ever before, work search requirements for federal programs will go into effect next week. Claimants must search for work using the Maryland Workforce Exchange, which has over 250,000 jobs available across the state.” On July 3, Fletcher-Hill granted a 10-day temporary restraining order stopping the state from ending the benefits.Memorandum OpinionTemporary Restraining OrderOn Monday, the Court of Appeals dismissed the governor’s appeal of the temporary restraining order, sending the case back to the lower court, leading to M0nday’s hearing.Maryland Court of Appeals decision on unemployment lawsuit

BALTIMORE —

Maryland’s unemployed workers are enjoying a court victory after a judge ruled Tuesday the state must continue to pay enhanced federal unemployment benefits.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill issued a preliminary injunction in the lawsuits filed to block the governor’s early termination of federal enhanced unemployment benefits.

The governor’s office said the state does not plan to appeal the ruling.

The ruling follows state law that requires the Maryland Department of Labor to maximize relief for unemployed residents.

So, should a similar economic calamity happen again, this won’t be an issue.

“If the federal government deems this aid necessary, I don’t know why our governor would cut us off at the knees,” said Alex Dane, a furloughed hotel worker. “It’s my lifeline to keeping a roof over my head. It’s a lifeline to putting food on the table, paying my bills. I mean, bills do not take a vacation.”

The legal battle was over the federal enhanced unemployment benefits that add an extra $300 a week to the pockets of the unemployed. It also covered gig workers, the self-employed and those who exhausted other benefits.

Business owners complain they are having trouble hiring and retaining employees. Gov. Larry Hogan said ending the federal benefits would have helped motivate people to go back to work.

Kevin Baxter said he doesn’t need motivation, he just needs a call back from the hotel which furloughed him more than a year ago.

“I just keep looking in my field and just waiting until my job calls me back, which I have been there 13 years and I would be glad to go back,” Baxter said.

In the preliminary injunction, the court ordered the governor and labor secretary to continue benefits, writing that they “shall immediately take all actions necessary to ensure that Maryland residents continue to receive any and all expanded and/or supplemental unemployment benefits available to Maryland residents under the CARES Act, the ARPA, or any other existing federal source of unemployment benefits to the fullest extent allowed under Title 8 of the Labor and Employment Article of the Maryland Code.”

The governor announced last month that Maryland will discontinue the benefits and reinstate work-search requirements starting July 3. That led to the lawsuits, a temporary restraining order, and ultimately, Tuesday’s ruling.

The governor’s press office released a statement, saying there will be no appeal: “We fundamentally disagree with today’s decision. This lawsuit is hurting our small businesses, jeopardizing our economic recovery, and will cause significant job loss. Most states have already ended enhanced benefits, and the White House and the U.S. Department of Labor have affirmed that states have every right to do so.

“While we firmly believe the law is on our side, actual adjudication of the case would extend beyond the end of the federal programs, foregoing the possibility of pursuing the matter further.”

“With more jobs available than ever before, work search requirements for federal programs will go into effect next week. Claimants must search for work using the Maryland Workforce Exchange, which has over 250,000 jobs available across the state.”

On July 3, Fletcher-Hill granted a 10-day temporary restraining order stopping the state from ending the benefits.

On Monday, the Court of Appeals dismissed the governor’s appeal of the temporary restraining order, sending the case back to the lower court, leading to M0nday’s hearing.

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World

Japan’s ‘Black Widow’ serial killer, Chisako Kakehi, loses death sentence appeal

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Chisako Kakehi, reportedly received large insurance payouts after poisoning her victims with cyanide, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Kakehi was sentenced to death in 2017 for the killings, which occurred between 2007 and 2013 in Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo.

Kakehi’s legal team had appealed the death sentence, arguing she was suffering from dementia and incapable of taking part in a criminal trial. The Supreme Court rejected her appeal, however, and finalized the decision on Tuesday, according to Kakehi’s lawyer.

“She used the matchmaking agency to get acquainted with elderly victims one after another and poisoned them after making them trust her,” said Judge Yuriko Miyazaki in the ruling, according to NHK. “It is a ruthless crime based on a planned and strong murderous intention.”

Miyazaki added that “even with due consideration given to the defendant’s favorable circumstances, such as being old, the death penalty is unavoidable.”

The date of her death sentence has not been released.

Police began investigating after Kakehi’s husband died in 2013, less than two months after their wedding. An autopsy report found cyanide in his stomach and blood; Kakehi was arrested 11 months later.

A previous fiance, who died when he crashed his motorcycle, was also found to have traces of cyanide in his body.

Police would only say “many” of Kakehi’s previous partners — who were between ages 54 and 75 — had died in the past two decades.

Kakehi had been with the victims when they were poisoned, and began the process for inheriting their assets immediately after their deaths, said the judge in 2017, NHK reported at the time.

She isn’t Japan’s only so-called black widow killer, or even the only one on death row — Kanae Kijima, the most famous other example, is also awaiting a death sentence after being found guilty of killing three men she met on dating websites and making it look like suicide in each case.

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Japan’s ‘Black Widow’ Serial Killer Chisako Kakehi Loses Death Sentence Appeal

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A 74-year-old Japanese woman—dubbed “Black Widow” after the venomous spider that ruthlessly kills its partners after mating—will die by hanging after a court dismissed her death sentence appeal on Tuesday.

Chisako Kakehi was 60 when she started her deadly killing spree, offing three elderly partners—including one man she had been married to for less than a month. She also admitted to trying to kill a fourth lover by accidentally using too low a dose of cyanide, her weapon of choice. He later died of cancer.

She was convicted of all three murders and the attempted murder in 2017. Her previous three husbands also died, but prosecutors did not charge her with those deaths which were not considered suspect at the time. There are no plans to exhume their remains for testing.

Kakehi left a trail of damning evidence, including her dating service applications in which she stipulated that any potential matches had to be elderly, ill, or childless. Prosecutors also found medical books in her home, with pages on poisoning earmarked, traces of cyanide, and paraphernalia used to conceal the lethal drug in her lovers’ food and drink.

The murders for which she was eventually convicted took place between 2007 and 2013, during which she racked up a handsome bounty of more than $9 million in inheritance and insurance payouts from the dead men. Prosecutors argued that she seduced them and convinced them to believe her love was earnest, all the while working clandestinely to make sure she was the key benefactor of their fortunes. She lost most of her money in bad stock trading, according to Japanese press reports.

“I will laugh it off and die if I am sentenced to death tomorrow.”

— Chisako Kakehi.

Her trial in 2017, which lasted four months, gripped Japan and called into question why dating services didn’t have an algorithm that would catch someone preying on wealthy or sick, elderly, and childless partners. Her crimes were discovered when traces of cyanide were found in her last victim’s blood after police ordered an autopsy on suspicion that the death of so many lovers was surely not coincidental.

She readily admitted killing her husband during her trial, then later retracted the confession. “I wasn’t given any money after I married him,” she said in court, according to the Japan Times. “I have no intention of hiding the guilt. I will laugh it off and die if I am sentenced to death tomorrow.”

Yuko Miyazaki, the presiding judge who ruled that Kakehi’s death sentence would be upheld, called her decision unavoidable. “She used cyanide on the men after making them trust her as a life partner,” she said, according to the NHK broadcaster. “It’s a calculated, cruel crime based on a strong intent of murder.”

Kakehi’s lawyers had argued that the elderly assassin suffered from dementia and should not be put to death. No hanging date has been set.

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World

Australian mom convicted of killing 4 children loses appeal

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CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A woman convicted of smothering her four children over a decade lost an appeal in a Sydney court on Wednesday against an inquiry’s conclusion that her victims had not died of natural causes.

A growing number of scientists say Kathleen Folbigg is the victim of a miscarriage of justice, though many others consider the series of deaths too tragic to be bad luck alone.

The New South Wales state Court of Appeal dismissed her application for a review of a judge’s ruling that “makes her guilt of these offenses even more certain.”

Her last hope of early release now lies with a petition for a pardon lodged this month with New South Wales Gov. Margaret Beazley. Folbigg’s convictions would still stand, but she would be released.

The petition carried the signatures of 91 scientists, medical practitioners and related professionals including two Nobel laureates.

Folbigg, now 53, was convicted in 2003 of murdering three of her children and the manslaughter of a fourth. She has consistently denied guilt. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison with a minimum of 25 years to be served before she could be considered for parole.

Her first child Caleb was born in 1989 and died 19 days later in what a court determined to be the lesser crime of manslaughter. Her second child Patrick was 8 months old when he died in 1991. Two years later, Sarah died aged 10 months. In 1999, Folbigg’s fourth child Laura died at 19 months old. Folbigg was the first on the scene of each tragedy.

An autopsy found Laura had myocarditis, an inflammation of heart muscle that can be fatal. But given the deaths of her three siblings, a pathologist listed the cause of her death as “undetermined.”

Patrick suffered epilepsy and his death had been attributed to an airway obstruction due to a seizure. The other two were recorded as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS.

At her trial, Folbigg’s lawyers told the jury there were medical explanations for each death. Caleb had a floppy larynx and Sarah had a congested uvula that could have obstructed their airways.

Folbigg did not testify at her trial, but she testified for almost three days at the 2019 judicial review of her convictions based on a pathologist’s findings that the children likely died of natural causes with no sign of smothering.

The judge hearing the review also heard expert testimony that both girls had an inherited genetic mutation linked to abnormal heartbeats and sudden death in children and suggesting their deaths may have been triggered by infections they had at the time.

Last year, the findings of 27 scientists describing the genetic mutation in the Folbigg girls and its functional validation were published by Oxford University Press in the peer-reviewed cardiology journal Europace.

The case against Folbigg was circumstantial and relied on interpretations of vague entries she had made in personal diaries, one of which her estranged husband Craig Folbigg reported to police.

The entries included: “Obviously, I am my father’s daughter,” a reference to her father stabbing her mother to death in 1968 when Folbigg was 18 months old.

Folbigg’s lawyers note in their petition for a pardon that the diaries contain no admissions of guilt.

“You’ve got to understand that those diaries are written from a point of me always blaming myself,” Folbigg said in a phone call from prison in 2018 which was recorded by Australian Broadcasting Corp.

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US

DOJ files appeal of Trump-appointed judge’s ruling on CDC eviction moratorium

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Judge John Barker, a Trump appointee in the Eastern District of Texas, stopped short of issuing a preliminary injunction but said he expected the CDC to respect his ruling and withdraw the moratorium.

But Saturday night, the Justice Department filed an appeal in the case.

“The Department of Justice respectfully disagrees with the February 25 decision of the district court in Terkel v. CDC that the CDC’s eviction moratorium exceeds Congress’ powers under the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the Department has appealed that decision,” Brian M. Boynton, acting assistant attorney general for the department’s civil division, said in a statement.

“The decision, however, does not extend beyond the particular plaintiffs in that case, and it does not prohibit the application of the CDC’s eviction moratorium to other parties. For other landlords who rent to covered persons, the CDC’s eviction moratorium remains in effect.”

The ruling punctuated a legal effort that began when a group of Texas landlords and property owners sued the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services in October over the Eviction Moratorium Order that was issued by the Trump administration in September, putting a temporary halt on evictions during the pandemic.

The CDC order was set to expire at the end of December, but it was extended through January by a provision in the second stimulus package. One of President Joe Biden’s first acts in office was to seek to extend the moratorium again until the end of March.

The order is invoked when a tenant gives their landlord a signed declaration asserting that they meet specific requirements — including that they earn less than $100,000 a year, have experienced a significant loss of income and have made their best effort to find rental assistant to pay their rent.

Under the order, rent is not canceled or forgiven and landlords can evict tenants after the moratorium ends if they are not able to pay the back rent.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

Konstantin Toropin and Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.

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World

Moscow court rejects opposition leader Navalny’s appeal

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A Moscow court on Saturday rejected Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s appeal against his prison sentence, even as the country faced a top European rights court’s order to free the Kremlin’s most prominent foe.

Speaking before the verdict, Navalny urged Russians to stand up to the Kremlin in a fiery speech mixing references to the Bible and “Harry Potter.”

WHITE HOUSE SAYS NO G-7 INVITE FOR RUSSIA

A lower court sentenced Navalny earlier this month to two years and eight months in prison for violating terms of his probation while recuperating in Germany from a nerve agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusation.

Navalny, 44, an anti-corruption crusader and President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic, appealed the prison sentence and asked to be released. The Moscow City Court’s judge on Saturday only slightly reduced his sentence to just over 2 1/2 years in prison, ruling that a month-and-half Navalny spent under house arrest in early 2015 will be deducted from his sentence.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny gestures as he stands in a cage in the Babuskinsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

The activist’s arrest and imprisonment have fueled a huge wave of protests across Russia. Authorities responded with a sweeping crackdown, detaining about 11,000 people, many of whom were fined or given jail terms ranging from seven to 15 days.

Speaking before the verdict, Navalny referenced the Bible as well as “Harry Potter” and the animated sitcom “Rick and Morty” as he urged Russians to resist pressure from the authorities and challenge the Kremlin to build a fairer and more prosperous country.

RUSSIA MOVES TO EXTINGUISH PRO-BAVALNY ‘NLASHLIGHT’ PROTESTS

“The government’s task is to scare you and then persuade you that you are alone,” he said. “Our Voldemort in his palace also wants me to feel cut off,” he added, in a reference to Putin.

“To live is to risk it all,” he continued. “Otherwise, you’re just an inert chunk of randomly assembled molecules drifting wherever the universe blows you.”

Navalny also addressed the judge and the prosecutor, arguing that they could have a much better life in a new Russia.

“Just imagine how wonderful life would be without constant lying,” he said. “Imagine how great it would be to work as a judge when no one would be able to call you and give you directions what verdicts to issue.”

He insisted that he was unable to report to the authorities in line with his probation requirements while he was convalescing in Germany after his poisoning, emphasizing that he returned to Russia immediately after his health allowed.

“I wasn’t hiding,” he said. “The entire world knew where I was.”

GUN-WAVING ROBBER HOLDS UP TV REPORTER, CREW WHILE FILMING IN ECUADOR

Navalny said he was an atheist before but has come to believe in God, adding that his faith helped him face his challenges. He said he believed the Bible saying that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed, and that he felt no regret in returning home.

A police van carrying the Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, left, escorted by road police vehicles arrives at the Babushkinsky district court prior to the start of his trial in Moscow, Russia, early Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

“Even though our country is built on injustice and we all face it, we also see that millions of people want righteousness,” Navalny told the court. “They want the righteousness and sooner or later they will have it.”

Russia has rejected Western criticism of Navalny’s arrest and the crackdown on demonstrations as meddling in its internal affairs.

In a ruling Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights ordered the Russian government to release Navalny, citing “the nature and extent of risk to the applicant’s life.” The Strasbourg-based court noted that Navalny has contested Russian authorities’ argument that they had taken sufficient measures to safeguard his life and well-being in custody following the nerve agent attack.

The Russian government has rebuffed the Strasbourg-based court’s demand, describing the ruling as unlawful and “inadmissible” meddling in Russia’s affairs.

In the past, Moscow has abided by the ECHR’s rulings awarding compensations to Russian citizens who have contested verdicts in Russian courts, but it never faced a demand by the European court to set a convict free.

In a sign of its long-held annoyance with the Strasbourg court’s verdicts, Russia last year adopted a constitutional amendment declaring the priority of national legislation over international law. Russian authorities might now use that provision to reject the ECHR’s ruling.

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Later on Saturday, Navalny will also face proceedings in a separate case on charges of defaming a World War II veteran. Navalny, who called the 94-year-old veteran and other people featured in a pro-Kremlin video “corrupt stooges,” “people without conscience” and “traitors,” has rejected the slander charges and described them as part of official efforts to disparage him.

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World

Navalny defiant as Russian court rejects arrest appeal

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MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court on Thursday rejected opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s appeal of his arrest while authorities detained several of his allies and issued warnings to social media companies after tens of thousands swarmed the streets in over 100 Russian cities last weekend demanding his release.

Appearing in court by video link from jail, Navalny denounced criminal proceedings against him as part of the government’s efforts to intimidate the opposition.

“You won’t succeed in scaring tens of millions of people who have been robbed by that government,” he said. “Yes, you have the power now to put me in handcuffs, but it’s not going to last forever.”

The 44-year-old Navalny, the most well-known critic of President Vladimir Putin’s government, was arrested Jan. 17 upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusations.

Navalny was arrested and jailed for 30 days at the request of Russia’s penitentiary service, which charged that he had violated the probation terms of his suspended sentence from a 2014 money-laundering conviction that rejected as politically driven. He is also currently facing accusations in two separate criminal probes.

Before the Moscow Region Court rejected the appeal of his recent arrest, defense lawyers argued that while undergoing rehabilitation in Germany, Navalny could not register with authorities as required by the probation terms. His lawyers also charged that Navalny’s due process rights were repeatedly violated during his arrest.

Navalny described his jailing following an earlier court hearing quickly held at a police station as a mockery of justice.

“It was demonstrative lawlessness intended to scare me and all others,” he told the Moscow court.

Navalny’s supporters are organizing another round of rallies for Sunday. Police on Wednesday searched Navalny’s apartment, a rented accommodation where his wife, Yulia, has been living and the residences of several of his associates and supporters.

Navalny’s brother, Oleg Navalny, his top ally, Lyubov Sobol, Dr. Anastasia Vasilyeva from the Navalny-backed Alliance of Doctors and Maria Alyokhina from the Pussy Riot punk collective were detained for 48 hours as part of a criminal probe into alleged violations of coronavirus regulations during last Saturday’s protests.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the searches and detentions were a legitimate part of police efforts to investigate the alleged violations during the events.

“Law enforcement agencies are doing their job,” Peskov said during a conference call with reporters. “There were numerous violations of Russian laws, and law enforcement agencies are at work.”

Moscow police on Thursday issued a notice to the public not to join protests Sunday, warning that officers would act resolutely to disperse unsanctioned rallies and bring participants to justice.

Also Thursday, Russian prosecutors issued warnings to Facebook, Google, Twitter, TikTok and Russian social networks, demanding that they block calls for more protests.

“The state doesn’t want the social networks to become a platform for promoting such illegal actions,” Peskov said.

Asked if a refusal to remove such content could prompt Russian authorities to block the platforms, Peskov said it would be up to relevant government agencies to consider a response.

“All pros and cons will be weighed and, if necessary, measures envisaged by the law will be taken,” he said.

Earlier this week, Russian state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said it would fine Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and two Russian social networks for their failure to block calls on minors to join Saturday’s protests.

Facebook, Google and TikTok haven’t responded to requests for comment about the Russian authorities’ action. Twitter refused to comment to The Associated Press on Thursday.

Also Thursday, Russia’s Investigative Committee said it opened a criminal probe against Navalny’s top strategist, Leonid Volkov, accusing him of encouraging minors to participate in unauthorized rallies. Volkov, who currently stays abroad, rejected the charges.

“The streets must speak now. There is nothing else left,” Volkov tweeted after Navalny’s appeal was rejected, repeating the call on Russians to turn out in force on Sunday.

In a challenge to Putin two days after Navalny’s arrest, his organization released an extensive video report on a palatial seaside compound allegedly built for the president. It has been viewed over 98 million times, further stoking discontent.

Demonstrations calling for Navalny’s release took place in more than 100 cities across the nation last Saturday, a strong show of rising anger toward the Kremlin. Nearly 4,000 people were reported detained at those protests and some were handed fines and jail terms.

Speaking during Thursday’s court hearing, Navalny thanked his supporters and said, “They are the last barrier preventing our country from sliding into the degradation.”

Navalny fell into a coma while aboard a domestic flight from Siberia to Moscow on Aug. 20. He was transferred from a hospital in Siberia to a Berlin hospital two days later. Labs in Germany, France and Sweden, and tests by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, established that he was exposed to the Soviet-era Novichok nerve agent.

Russian authorities have refused to open a full-fledged criminal inquiry, citing a lack of evidence that Navalny was poisoned.

Navalny’s arrest and the harsh police actions at the protests have brought wide criticism from the West and calls for his release.

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Associated Press business writer Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report.

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