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WORLD NEWS Friday 17 June 2022
Dutch agency prevented Russian spy from working at ICC

By MIKE CORDER authorities is key in the pro-
Associated Press tection of the ICC head-
THE HAGUE, Netherlands quarters. The ICC takes
(AP) — A Dutch intelligence these threats very seriously
agency said Thursday that and will continue to work
it foiled a sophisticated at- and cooperate with the
tempt by a Russian spy us- Netherlands.”
ing a false Brazilian iden- In a statement about the
tity to work as an intern at foiled bid to infiltrate the
the International Criminal ICC, the Dutch intelligence
Court, which is investigat- agency said Cherkasov
ing allegations of Russian used “a well-constructed
war crimes in Ukraine. cover identity by which he
The General Intelligence concealed all his ties with
and Security Service of Russia in general, and the
the Netherlands said the GRU in particular.”
36-year-old man, identified It said he was an “illegal”
as Sergey Vladimirovich agent “who received long
Cherkasov, worked for Rus- and extensive training.”
sia’s shadowy GRU agency The Dutch agency even
and tried to gain access to released a redacted docu-
the global court based in ment, dated around 2010,
The Hague under the cover The exterior view of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, in which he lays out his fab-
name of Viktor Muller Fer- March 31, 2021. ricated backstory.
reira. Associated Press “Because of their alias
“If the intelligence officer identity, illegals are difficult
had succeeded in gaining to influence criminal pro- first flight out,” the agen- for three men who served to discover,” the AIVD said.
access as an intern to the ceedings of the ICC.” cy, known by its acronym in the Russian-backed self- “For that reason they often
ICC, he would have been The agency said it uncov- AIVD, said. It did not reveal declared republic of South remain undetected, allow-
able to gather intelligence ered his identity and in- how it unmasked the spy. Ossetia. ing them to carry out intel-
there and to look for (or re- formed the Netherlands’ In March, ICC Prosecutor Court spokeswoman Sonia ligence activities. Because
cruit) sources, and arrange immigration service in April Karim Khan opened an Robla said the ICC “was they present themselves
to have access to the ICC’s that he was considered a investigation in Ukraine, briefed by the Dutch au- as foreigners, they have
digital systems,” the Dutch national security threat. where Russian forces have thorities and is very thankful access to information that
agency said. “That way he “On these grounds, the in- been accused of war to the Netherlands for this would be inaccessible to a
would have been able to telligence officer was re- crimes. The court also is in- important operation and Russian national.”
provide a significant con- fused entry into the Nether- vestigating alleged crimes more generally, for expos- It is not the first time Russian
tribution to the intelligence lands in April and declared committed during the 2008 ing security threats.” spies have attempted to
that the GRU is seeking. He unacceptable. He was Russo-Georgian War and She said as the court’s host infiltrate an international or-
might also have been able sent back to Brazil on the has issued arrest warrants state, “the role of the Dutch ganization in The Hague.q

U.N. envoy’s farewell: My heart breaks for Afghan girls, women

By RAHIM FAIEZ job, the Afghanistan that I past the sixth grade.
Associated Press am now leaving,” she said. At the same time, Afghani-
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The “My heart breaks in particu- stan has seen persistent
U.N. representative in Af- lar for the millions of Afghan bombings and other at-
ghanistan lamented in her girls who are denied their tacks on civilians, often
farewell statement Thurs- right to education, and targeting the mainly Shiite
day the harsh edicts that the many Afghan women Muslim ethnic Hazara mi-
the Taliban have imposed full of talent who are being nority.
on girls and women since told to stay at home.” Most of the attacks have
they seized power in the The Taliban overran the been claimed by the Islam-
country, denying them the Afghan capital of Kabul in ic State group’s affiliate in
right to education and mid-August as the United the country, a bitter rival of
work and forcing millions to States and NATO were in the Taliban.
stay at home. the final weeks of their with- “It is an irony that now that
Deborah Lyons, who is drawal from the country. there is space for everyone
leaving her post as the U.N. Afghanistan’s new rulers to help rebuild the coun-
chief’s special representa- quickly started enforcing a try half of the population Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, right, and Special
tive, said that the Afghani- sharply tougher line, hark- is confined and prevented Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations
stan today is a very differ- ing back to similar radical from doing so,” said Lyons, for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, left, wear protective masks prior
ent country from the one measures when the Taliban who was appointed head to the plenary session of the 2020 Afghanistan Conference at the
she encountered two years last ruled the country, from of U.N. mission to Afghani- United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020.
ago. Her comments came 1996 to 2001. stan in March 2020. Associated Press
in a statement that was re- They issued edicts requiring “It is that much more pain-
leased to the media; her women to cover their faces ful as a woman to leave my excludes women, minori- would not abandon the Af-
successor has not yet been except for their eyes in pub- Afghan sisters in the condi- ties, and talented people ghan people.
named. lic, including women pre- tion they are in,” she said will not endure.” Lyons assumed her post as
“I could not have imag- senters on TV, and banned and added that she is con- She pledged, however, the coronavirus pandemic
ined, when I accepted this girls from attending school vinced that a “system that that the United Nations gripped the world.q