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Dual Iranian-British citizen Alireza Akbari (file photo)
Dual Iranian-British citizen Alireza Akbari (file photo)

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly says Iran must not follow through with its threat of executing British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari. "The Iranian regime should be in no doubt. We are watching the case of Alireza Akbari closely," he said on Twitter on January 13. Cleverly earlier this week called for the immediate release of Akbari, who has been sentenced to death on charges of spying for Britain. Iran's official IRNA news agency published a video on January 12 which it said showed that Akbari played a role in the assassination in 2020 of the country's top nuclear scientist. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva (file photo)
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva (file photo)

A Russian tribunal found figure skater Kamila Valieva bore “no fault or negligence” in a doping case that rocked last year's Winter Olympics, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on January 13. WADA said it was "concerned" by the conclusion and said it would review the case before deciding on further steps. The Russian skater won gold in the team competition before it was announced that two months earlier she had tested positive for a banned substance. The Russian tribunal ruled that Valieva should only be disqualified from one day of the Russian national championships, the competition at which the positive sample was taken. To read the original story by AP, click here.

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"Watchdog" is a blog with a singular mission -- to monitor the latest developments concerning human rights, civil society, and press freedom. We'll pay particular attention to reports concerning countries in RFE/RL's broadcast region.

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