US gay student Matthew Shepard laid to rest 20 years after murder

Yahoo – AFP, Inès BEL AIBA, October 27, 2018

The parents of slain gay student Matthew Shepard, Dennis and Judy, follow
Reverend Gene Robinson as he carries the remains of their son at the Washington
National Cathedral, where he was laid to rest 20 years after his murder
(AFP Photo/ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS)

Washington (AFP) - More than two decades after his savage murder shocked America and launched a reckoning about homophobic violence, Matthew Shepard was finally laid to rest Friday at Washington National Cathedral.

There were plenty of tears but also a few laughs -- and a few political jabs -- as hundreds of people including Shepard's parents Judy and Dennis gathered to say a final farewell to the Wyoming man, who became a symbol for the gay rights movement.

"It's so important that we now have a home for Matt, a home that's safe, a home that others can visit, a home that is safe from haters, a home that he loved dearly," Dennis Shepard said at the towering Episcopal church.

"Matt loved the church, he loved the ceremony, he loved the fact that it was a safe place for anyone who wanted to enter," he added, thanking the cathedral for "showing acceptance and inclusiveness."

Shepard, a 21-year-old political science and foreign languages student at the University of Wyoming who wanted to become a diplomat, was lured away from a bar in Laramie in October 1998 by two young men pretending to be gay.

They stripped him, violently beat him and left him to die, bound to a fence in a field in the bitter cold.

Shepard was found 18 hours later by passers-by, who initially mistook him for a scarecrow. He died in hospital a few days later of head injuries.

In 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old political science and foreign languages 

student at the University of Wyoming who wanted to become a diplomat, was lured

 away from a bar by two men pretending to be gay, who fatally beat him and left 

him to die (AFP Photo/ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS)

The two men, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, were convicted of murder. Each received two consecutive life sentences.

At his funeral, extremist Baptist protesters picketed, brandishing signs that read: "God hates fags."

Fearing that any final resting place would be vandalized, Shepard's parents held on to his ashes -- until Friday.

They were laid to rest in the cathedral's crypt -- a rare honor -- in a private ceremony after the public service.

Shepard is now one of around 200 people interred at the Cathedral, including deaf-blind activist Helen Keller and former US president Woodrow Wilson.

'And Matt? Welcome home'

The remembrance ceremony was presided over by Gene Robinson, the first openly gay US bishop in the Episcopal Church, who is close with Shepard's parents.

Washington National Cathedral was full for the remembrance ceremony for 

Matthew Shepard (AFP Photo/ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS)

Robinson, struggling to contain his own emotion, paid tribute to Shepard in an emotional homily that had congregants laughing and crying.

"Matt was luckier than most young gay men in 1998. He had parents and a brother who loved him," Robinson said, hailing Judy and Dennis Shepard for turning "this horrendous event into something good."

The reverend then turned political, making a plea to those gathered to vote in the country's midterm elections on November 6.

In 2009, 10 years after Shepard's death, then president Barack Obama signed a law bearing his name, expanding existing federal hate crimes law to include crimes sparked by sexual orientation and gender identity.

But Robinson warned that the rights of LBGTQ Americans were once again at risk of being curbed.

"Right now, the transgender community is the target," Robinson said, referring to reports that the administration of President Donald Trump is mulling whether to narrowly define gender as purely biological.

"There are forces about who would erase them from America, deny the right they have to define themselves -- and they need us to stand with them," he added, earning applause.

Robinson finished with a heartfelt message for the slain student.

"There are three things I want to say to Matt: Gently rest in this place. You are safe now. Oh yeah, and Matt? Welcome home," he said.

Greg Fuller, a resident of the US capital, said he came to Friday's ceremony to celebrate Shepard's life, and appreciated Robinson's call to action.

"There's too much divisiveness -- we need to learn from history," Fuller told AFP.

Trump accuses Saudis of 'lies' over Khashoggi killing

Yahoo – AFP, Brian KNOWLTON, Issam AHMED, October 21, 2018

Trump stepped back from his stance that Saudi Arabia's latest explanation for
 the death of the journalist inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul was credible, but
said he remained confident in the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin
 Salman (AFP Photo/MANDEL NGAN)

Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump accused Saudi Arabia of lying about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, his strongest comments to date on the affair, as pressure built Sunday on the administration to identify and punish those responsible.

In an interview with The Washington Post published late Saturday, Trump stepped back from his stance that the Saudis had earlier provided a credible explanation for the death of the journalist inside their Istanbul consulate, but he said he remained confident in the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"Obviously there's been deception and there's been lies," he said of the shifting accounts offered by Riyadh.

Saudi officials originally said Khashoggi, who entered the diplomatic mission on October 2, had left unharmed, before announcing Friday that he was killed inside the building in what they described as an altercation.

"Their stories are all over the place," added Trump.

Saudi Arabia faced a growing chorus of incredulity Sunday, with world powers including Britain and France demanding answers and some American politicians calling for tough, concerted action to punish the Saudi royal family if it were proven to be responsible.

The Saudi version lacked "consistency and credibility," said Chrystia Freeland, Canada's foreign minister.

Saudi officials originally said Khashoggi, who entered the diplomatic mission on 

October 2, had left unharmed, before announcing Friday he was killed inside the 

building in what they described as an altercation (AFP Photo/MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH)

Growing pressure

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir insisted Sunday that the killing was "a tremendous mistake" -- part of a "rogue operation," he said -- and the crown prince had not ordered it.

He also expressed confidence that the US-Saudi relationship would survive the crisis.

"The strategic relationship is important for both countries," Jubeir told Fox News. "The relationship will weather this."

But a series of US lawmakers of both parties expressed doubt, demanding a stronger stance against the longtime US regional partner.

Several senior members of Trump's Republican Party said they believed Prince Mohammed, the kingdom's de facto ruler, was linked to the killing, and one called for a "collective" Western response if a link is proved.

Trump emphasized the importance of the US-Saudi relationship to Washington's regional strategic goals.

He described the 33-year-old prince, widely known as MBS, as a "strong person; he has very good control."

Trump added that he has yet to be shown any evidence by intelligence officials that would make him believe MBS had any direct role.

Demonstrators dressed as Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman 

and US President Donald Trump (C) pretend to kiss outside the White House 

(AFP Photo/Jim WATSON)

"Nobody has told me he's responsible. Nobody has told me he's not responsible. We haven't reached that point," the president said.

"It could be something in the building went badly awry."

Republicans hit MBS

Amid Trump's apparent equivocations, several leading Republicans demanded a tougher stance.

Asked if he thought Prince Mohammed was behind the killing, Republican Senator Bob Corker told CNN: "Yes, I think he did it. Let's finish this investigation."

Corker, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, added that if the prince is implicated, "There should be a collective response."

Missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi's Turkish fiancee Hatice Cengiz is seen 

waiting in front of the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul (AFP Photo/OZAN KOSE)

"I think you're going to see the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany working collectively with others if he did this to respond in an appropriate way."

Perhaps the strongest words came from Lindsey Graham, a strong Trump ally in the Senate who called for Prince Mohammed to "be removed."

"I would like to punish those involved. It's impossible to believe the crown prince wasn't involved. I don't mind military sales but I object to business with the current leadership," he said.

Trump has cited a planned $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia as a reason for a cautious approach, although many components of that package had been set in motion months or years before he took office.

"This behavior is outside the norm to the point that the people involved need to be removed in my view. Saudi Arabia is a country and MBS is a person. I'm willing to separate the two," Graham continued, accusing the prince of acting in a "barbaric fashion."

Democrats have repeatedly lashed out at Trump's response as weak and indecisive, and they said his latest reaction fell short as well.

Barring an unlikely "confession" from Prince Mohammed, Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff said Sunday, "the president is going to accept the crown prince's denials like he's accepted Putin's denials and Kim Jong Un's denials."

"We have to see if financial motives are influencing the president," he said on ABC.

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin called in a statement for the expulsion of the Saudi ambassador from the United States -- Prince Khalid bin Salman, the crown prince's younger brother -- pending completion of a "third-party investigation into the kidnap and murder of Jamal Khashoggi."

Khashoggi criticizes Saudi prince in newly released interview

Yahoo – AFP, 20 October 2018

Saudi Arabia said journalist Jamal Khashoggi died when talks at its Istanbul
consulate deteriorated into a "brawl and a fistfight"

Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi criticized Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's "authoritarian rule" shortly before his death, in an interview published following confirmation he died at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate.

Speaking off the record to a Newsweek journalist working on a story about the Saudi leadership, he insisted he did not view himself as "an opposition" -- he just wanted "a better Saudi Arabia".

"I'm not calling for the overthrow of the regime, because I know it's not possible and is too risky, and there is no one to overthrow the regime," Khashoggi said.

"I'm just calling for reform of the regime."

He described Prince Mohammed as "an old-fashioned tribal leader" out of touch with Saudi's poor.

"Sometimes I feel that ... he wants to enjoy the fruits of First World modernity and Silicon Valley and cinemas and everything, but at the same time he wants also to rule like how his grandfather ruled Saudi Arabia," Khashoggi told Newsweek.

"He still doesn't see the people. When he sees the people, that's when the actual reform will start."

Khashoggi also criticized Prince Mohammed's lack of "proper advisers".

"He is moving toward a Saudi Arabia according to him, a Saudi Arabia according to Mohammed bin Salman only," said Khashoggi, who was himself a contributor to the Washington Post newspaper.

Khashoggi described two of the prince's aides -- sports chief Turki al-Sheikh and the since-dismissed media adviser Saud al-Qahtani -- as "very thuggish".

"People fear them. You challenge them, you might end up in prison, and that has happened," he said.

Khashoggi was last seen on October 2 entering his country's consulate in Istanbul.

His disappearance had been shrouded in mystery, with Turkish officials accusing Saudi Arabia of carrying out a state-sponsored killing and dismembering the body.

Saudi Arabia finally admitted early Saturday that Khashoggi had died inside the consulate in what it described as a "brawl".

The admission -- after persistent claims by the Saudi authorities that Khashoggi had left the consulate alive -- came following the threat of US sanctions.

The Saudi authorities have not yet said where his body is.

In the Newsweek interview, Khashoggi, whose disappearance tipped Saudi Arabia into one of its worst international crises, said pushback from the international community was vital to keeping the Saudi regime in check.

"That is our only hope," he said.

Related Article:

Saudi prince's image seen at risk over missing critic

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is facing a backlash over the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi from business and media previously supportive of his reform drive, with partnerships at risk and big names boycotting a major conferencehttps://t.co/wR8a5nIeEK

— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 12, 2018

Saudi Arabia admits #JamalKhashoggi was killed inside its Istanbul consulate, saying he died during a "brawl"https://t.co/vOo8csYVEX pic.twitter.com/Qx6bCOiQN0

— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 20, 2018

Saudi prince's image seen at risk over missing critic

Yahoo – AFP, Rene Slama, October 7, 2018

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has garnered international attention
with his reforms and rapid rise to power (AFP Photo/BANDAR AL-JALOUD)

Dubai (AFP) - The disappearance of a prominent critic of Saudi Arabia's rulers after entering the kingdom's Istanbul consulate risks severely tarnishing the reformist image of its de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, experts say.

Riyadh has denied allegations made by Turkish officials that Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the kingdom's mission by a team sent specially to Istanbul.

Analysts said that while the claim of a state-sponsored killing of the Washington Post contributor was unconfirmed, it would seriously damage the prince's credentials as a reformer if true.

"It would be a major blow to the image that Saudi Arabia's advocates have so carefully tried to cultivate in the west, particularly in Washington," Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute in the United States, told AFP.

Britain said on Sunday it was "working urgently" to verify the "extremely serious" allegations surrounding Khashoggi, who has been critical of some of Prince Mohammed's policies and of Riyadh's intervention in the Yemen war.

Washington and Paris, meanwhile, said they were closely following the situation.

The 33-year-old crown prince, who was named heir to the throne in June 2017, has garnered international attention with his rapid rise to power as well as social and economic reforms.

While he has been lauded by some for pursuing changes such as lifting a decades-long ban on women driving, others have criticised his recent crackdown on political dissent.

The kingdom has detained a number of human rights and women campaigners this year, some of them accused of undermining national security, with scant public information about their whereabouts or the legal status of their cases.

Prince Mohammed -- commonly known as MBS -- was also the subject of criticism in November 2017 when he was accused of placing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri under house arrest in Riyadh.

The same month dozens of Saudi officials were arrested in what the authorities said was an anti-corruption crackdown.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has garnered international attention 

with his reforms and rapid rise to power (AFP Photo/BANDAR AL-JALOUD)

'Reckless gambits'

Khashoggi's alleged murder -- if confirmed -- threatens to undermine Riyadh's already strained relations with Ankara, and the fallout could also reach the United States, a key ally, experts said.

"It would likely trigger a diplomatic crisis with Turkey as well as play into a narrative in (Washington) DC that views Saudi Arabia under MBS as prone to seemingly reckless gambits with little apparent thought for the consequences, be it the blockade of Qatar, the detention of Saad Hariri, the rupture with Canada, to say nothing of the war in Yemen."

Bessma Momani, a professor at Canada's University of Waterloo, agreed that Prince Mohammed's reputation was at stake.

"If Khashoggi's death is confirmed and accusations against the Saudis hold, the image of the 'reformer' crown prince becomes more difficult to swallow particularly in Washington and other Western capitals," she told AFP.

Ottawa -- which had a diplomatic feud with Riyadh earlier this year over the kingdom's human rights record -- said the allegation that Khashoggi had been killed were "worrying".

A spokesman for the European Commission said it was looking into the journalist's disappearance: "We have asked for and we are awaiting clarifications from the Saudi authorities on the fate of Mr. Khashoggi."

James Dorsey, an expert in international affairs, said that the critic's disappearance could lead to a "significant deterioration" in relations between Ankara and Riyadh.

"Turkey and Saudi Arabia differ on a host of issues, whether it's Iran, Qatar, the Muslim Brotherhood. There are more disagreements than agreements," Dorsey, a fellow at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told AFP.

"If (the Turkish authorities) are able to prove that Khashoggi was killed in the consulate or by Saudi agents, that's going to have far-reaching consequences."

'Affront to sovereignty'

Riyadh and Ankara stand on opposite sides of the dispute between Qatar and its neighbours.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha in June 2017 over allegations it supports extremists and is cosying up to arch-rival Iran and Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood.

Ulrichsen said that it would "likely trigger a diplomatic crisis" between Ankara and Riyadh if the Saudis are linked to Khashoggi's death.

Momani also believes the relationship will likely "worsen".

"Turkey will claim this was an affront to their sovereignty and Saudi Arabia will point to the Turkish-Qatari alliance as an explanation for Turkey's accusations," she said.

But Ali Shihabi, director of the Washington-based Arabia Foundation, a pro-Saudi think-tank, urged the public not to jump to conclusions.

"Before everybody jumps to conclusions, why would a government conduct a 'premeditated assassination' of a dissident in its own consulate as opposed to anywhere else where they would have plausible deniability," he tweeted on Saturday.

"Again the Turks are not a neutral party. For sure the whole story has big holes in it but lets think before we jump to conclusions."

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is facing a backlash over the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi from business and media previously supportive of his reform drive, with partnerships at risk and big names boycotting a major conferencehttps://t.co/wR8a5nIeEK

— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 12, 2018

UPDATE: Saudi stocks dived 7.0 percent in early trading Sunday as the oil-rich kingdom came under increasing international pressure over the disappearance of journalist Jamal #Khashoggi https://t.co/Jvoaz2j5di #TASI

— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 14, 2018

Nikki Haley resigns as Trump's UN ambassador

Yahoo – AFP, October 9, 2018

Nikki Haley took the job of UN ambassador with little experience in foreign policy
but quickly became the full-throated voice at the United Nations for the often
unpopular agenda of Donald Trump (AFP Photo/Nicholas Kamm)

Washington (AFP) - Nikki Haley resigned Tuesday as the US ambassador to the United Nations, in the latest departure from President Donald Trump's national security team.

Meeting Haley in the Oval Office, Trump said that Haley had done a "fantastic job" and would leave at the end of the year.

"She told me probably six months ago," Trump told reporters, '"I want to take a little time off.'"

Haley stayed coy on her reasons for quitting, saying only that it was "important to understand when it's time to stand aside."

But she insisted that she was not planning to run for president herself against Trump in 2020, when she would likely be seen as a moderate Republican alternative.

The former governor of South Carolina, Haley took the job with little experience in foreign policy but quickly became the full-throated voice at the United Nations for the often unpopular agenda of Trump.

Haley has pressed for a hawkish line on Iran, justified US cuts to foreign assistance and earlier this year led the United States in bolting from the UN Human Rights Council, accusing it of bias against Washington and Israel.

At the recent UN General Assembly session, Haley took the highly unusual step for a senior diplomat of joining street protesters against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, shouting from a megaphone that the leftist leader should leave office.

The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley had long been seen as a rising star in the Republican Party which has eagerly sought female and ethnic minorities to broaden the appeal beyond its traditional white demographic.

Haley, whose given name was Nimrata Randhawa, was elected governor in 2010 of deeply Republican South Carolina and, during the 2016 campaign, had criticized Trump over his remarks on immigrants before their political reconciliation.

Haley's is the latest resignation in a turbulent White House, where Trump is already on his third national security adviser and second secretary of state before even the midterm elections.

Related Article:

Trump's accusers' should be heard': Haley

Pope says Church can no longer tolerate silence on abuse

Yahoo – AFP, October 6, 2018

'We will follow the path of truth wherever it may lead', Francis said in 2015 (AFP
Photo/Andreas SOLARO)

Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis said Saturday that silence on sexual abuse can "no longer be tolerated" as he ordered an investigation into Vatican archives concerning former archbishop of Washington Theodore McCarrick, who resigned in July.

"Both abuse and its cover-up can no longer be tolerated," said Francis in a Vatican statement in which he declared the Church had to tackle "the grave scourge of abuse within and beyond" the institution.

The case of McCarrick triggered a storm in August after Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a former Vatican envoy to Washington, dropped a bombshell letter accusing the pope of ignoring allegations about the prominent US cardinal, one of the most senior Catholic leaders to face abuse allegations.

Following Vigano's letter, US groups representing survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests urged the Vatican to publish a list of clerics accused of sexual assault.

Saturday's Vatican statement said Francis was "aware of and concerned by the confusion that these accusations are causing in the conscience of the faithful."

The statement added: "Both abuse and its cover-up can no longer be tolerated" and said the Church had a duty "to prevent such crimes from being committed in the future to the harm of the most innocent and most vulnerable in society".

The statement also underlined that Francis had in an August letter to Catholics stated that "the only way that we have to respond to this evil that has darkened so many lives is to experience it as a task regarding all of us as the People of God.

"This awareness of being part of a people and a shared history will enable us to acknowledge our past sins and mistakes with a penitential openness that can allow us to be renewed from within," said the statement.

Regarding McCarrick, the Vatican said Francis "has decided that information gathered during the preliminary investigation be combined with a further thorough study of the entire documentation present in the Archives of the Dicasteries and Offices of the Holy See ... to ascertain all the relevant facts, to place them in their historical context and to evaluate them objectively."

The Vatican concluded the Holy See recognised "it may emerge that choices were taken that would not be consonant with a contemporary approach to such issues" but that, as Francis said in 2015, "we will follow the path of truth wherever it may lead."

Pope Francis meets with leaders from the US church at the Vatican on Thursday

to discuss claims of sexual abuse by clergy (AFP Photo/Handout)

Related Articles:

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Pennsylvania report lists more than 300 'predator' priests

US cardinal caught up in abuse scandal resigns

Sex abuse claims rock Dutch Catholic Church

Pope accepts resignation of 3 Chilean bishops in sex abuse scandal

Australian archbishop gets 12 months for concealing child abuse
Germany's Catholic Church 'ashamed' by child sex abuse 

Part of the painting, said to one of the highlights of the Vatican collection

Jesus and Joseph, UK, May 27, 2018 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.

There it a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.

It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness. …”

Women should play a greater role in the training of priests to fight the child abuse 'crisis' that has engulfed the #CatholicChurch, Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet has said https://t.co/UmGvrcnIZI #MarcOuellet

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 16, 2018

A Belgian bishop has called for married men to be allowed into the priesthood, a hot-button topic within the Roman Catholic church as it grapples with falling priest numbers and sexual abuse scandals https://t.co/nKSHNOGfBj

— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 10, 2018

Russian attempt to hack chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague thwarted

DutchNews, October 4, 2018, Gordon Darroch and Senay Boztas

The OPCW headquarters in The Hague. Photo: Wikimedia Commons 

Dutch intelligence agencies have thwarted an attempt by Russian agents to hack into the wi-fi network of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, based in The Hague. 

Four agents from the GRU military intelligence service were ejected from the Netherlands immediately after the attempted breach was intercepted on April 13 this year, major-general Onno Eichelsheim, director of the military intelligence service MIVD, told apress conference in The Hague. He added that the OPCW’s security was not breached. 

The OPCW is carrying out forensic tests in the investigation into the poisoning of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury on March 4. The Skripals were targeted with a nerve agent known as Novichok, developed in the former Soviet Union, but Moscow has denied any involvement. 

Eichelsheim said the four agents were operating out of a Citroen car parked outside the Marriott Hotel, which is next to the organisations headquarters on Johann de Wittlaan. They arrived in the country on April 10 on diplomatic passports with almost identical serial numbers. 

Close access

They were disrupted while an attempt was made at a ‘close access hack operation’ at around 4.30pm on Friday. Equipment found in the boot of the car included an antenna pointed at the OPCW building and digital devices used to intercept login details.

The car the Russians hired. Photo: Ministerie van defensie

Eichelsheim said the four Russians were ‘clearly not here on holiday’. They were carrying €20,000 and US $20,000 in cash, took their rubbish from their hotel room when they left and tried to destroy their mobile phones when they were intercepted. One of the phones had been activated close to the special services centre in Moscow. 

A further clue was the discovery of a taxi receipt from GRU headquarters to Moscow airport. 

The equipment the men surrendered also included a laptop computer which had apparently been used to infiltrate the Malaysian police and judicial authorities. Malaysia is involved in the investigation into the shooting down of flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, which the Netherlands holds Russia accountable for. 

Data found on the laptop also suggested it had been used in the Swiss city of Lausanne to hack into computers belonging to the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is investigating institutional drug use in Russian sport. 

International co-operation 

Defence minister Ank Bijleveld said the Dutch government was sending out a clear message to Moscow to stop undermining cybersecurity in other countries. The Russian ambassador to The Hague has been summoned to appear before foreign minister Stef Blok. 

‘The Dutch cabinet is very concerned that the OPCW was the target of an interception by the Russian military intelligence service,’ Bijleveld said. 

‘I am proud of the MIVD, they have done excellent work. I want to emphasise that co-operation has played a big part in this success. Co-operation in the Netherlands, but also with our international intelligence partners. Good international co-operation is crucial in tackling threats such as the GRU.’ 

The men with a Russian embassy official at Schiphol. 

In response, Moscow issued its customary blunt denial of all accusations of wrongdoing. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the allegations as ‘big fantasies’. 

Prime minister Mark Rutte issued a joint statement with his British counterpart Theresa May earlier in the day condemning Russia’s ‘disregard for global values.’ 

They said: ‘The GRU’s reckless operations stretch from destructive cyber activity to the use of illegal nerve agents, as we saw in Salisbury. That attack left four people fighting for their lives and one woman dead. 

‘Our action today reinforces the clear message from the international community. We will uphold the rules-based international system, and defend international institutions from those that seek to do them harm.’ 

US charges 

Major-general Eichelsheim said the government had taken the unusual step of releasing details of the operation after US officials published charges against a number of Russian intelligence agents on Thursday. The Dutch government hopes that making the information public will make it harder for Russia to carry out such covert operations in future. 

British foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said the incident was ‘part of a pattern of cyber-attacks’ in other countries in which the Russian government was implicated. 

He said: ‘If anyone had any questions in their mind about Russian military involvement in the Salisbury attacks, this will put to rest those doubts because we have evidence of the Russian military launching a cyber-attack on the very international organisation in the Netherlands set up to investigate those novichok attacks. And why would you do that if you weren’t the guilty party?’

#UPDATE The US Justice Department indicts seven agents of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency as part of a joint crackdown with Western allies on a series of major hacking plots attributed to Moscow https://t.co/aYWVlES6Zk

— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 4, 2018