please. we are yours actually on fire. this is news and these are our top stories f.b.i. director chris ray has told us lawmakers there's no evidence to support a right wing conspiracy theory that the siege on the capitol building was carried out by leftist extremist posing a strong supporter he described the events of january 6th as domestic terrorism and vowed to hold the rioters accountable. the european union and the united states have imposed sanctions on russian officials and companies connected with the

poisoning and jailing of kremlin critic alexei navalny washington says its intelligence found moscow was behind the malaise poisoning last august russia's foreign minister says his country will respond in kind to any new sanctions. in afghanistan have killed 3 women who work for a broadcaster in the city of jalalabad officials said the women were shot separately on their way home from work these are the latest in a series of attacks targeting journalists and other professionals in recent weeks. this is d.w. news from berlin you can follow us on instagram and twitter d w news and visit our website dot com. she is one of the most revered catholic icons in poland known as the black madonna

when 2 years ago 3 activists replaced her 14th century halo with a modern day rainbow and suddenly the virgin mary was caught in a legal tug of war freedom of speech and respect for others versus respect for the church in a conservative society today a polish court ruled in favor of the activists with the message the rainbow was not offensive trying to ban the rainbow is i'm burnt off in berlin this is the day. of cutting your gulf not the prosecution failed to prove that the defendants were intentionally insulting towards their religious beliefs as catholics not pulled it out that it would probably. be the church is for medical and current still

not yet you know all that they carried out the alleged acts of desecration of god to both teachers to the dentist to russia to visit with church be a force that encourages study fastest least on a diety and empathy. on the defendants found innocent of the acts they're charged with. also coming up he was responsible for the video that brought down the government in austria 2 years ago now he's fighting to stop his own extradition from germany to austria is the man behind a set up now the target of a set up. they need. if all you need to lock someone up is 2 people with questionable reputations and strange statements and you can lock up anyone you want to absolutely anyone and that's in austria which already has autocratic tendencies and danes said in a b.z. he pictured having a system like or buns hungry for being honest austria isn't so far away from that

anymore. or to our viewers on p.b.s. in the united states and to all of you around the world welcome we begin the day with a 21st century battle between homophobia and religious conservatism that can really only be understood by starting in 14th century poland it was more than half a millennium ago when the icon known as the black madonna took its place among roman catholicism is most revered symbols 2 years ago this religious icon became a symbol of a modern day social struggle in 20193 women were arrested after they distributed images of the madonna not with a halo but with a rainbow a symbol for the community a symbol for tolerance and acceptance of others the conservative life and family foundation accuse the women of desecration and offending religious beliefs a charge that carried with it a 2 year prison sentence if convicted where today

a polish court acquitted the 3 women the ruling is being seen as a victory for freedom of speech in a european country that has made headlines recently more for restricting not extending freedoms. the relief to be acquitted after nearly 2 years of unfitting t.v. . poland's criminal code prohibits offending religious sentiment violators face up to 2 years in prison but the judge ruled the activists had aimed only to fight for equal rights for poland's l g b t community and you've now the prosecution failed to prove that the actions of the defendants were intentionally insulting towards the religious beliefs of catholics or that they desecrated the icon of the virgin mary of sense to hold for the case centered on one of poland's most revered catholic icons sporting

a rainbow halo in april 29th teen 3 activist put up a poster in the central town of ports in response to a church exhibition that equated the acronym l g b t with lies and hatred. the catholic church is extremely influential in poland all the more so since the conservative lauren justice party took office church leaders opposed gay rights. moneta her post so i was stunned that the prosecutor called for us to be sentenced to 6 months in jail where affiliate kusa representing the catholic church called for a year and a half and such shows a certain violence that's not god so you just put up or that's your homophobia really is what matters here is that homophobia is not characteristic of all polish catholics we need to differentiate between the bishops and the people especially young people who don't find our activities offensive but. it's

a victory figured he writes in poland but the activists legal battles on tape are yet prosecutors say they will appeal the decision. or one of the 3 women acquitted today was. no you just saw in that report and she joins me tonight from warsaw good to have you on the program today's ruling we know we could have gone either way what went through your mind when the court announced that it was ruling in your favor. yes it is repeated frequently i felt. really 1st of all the basically i'm i speak to you from quotes from the city i decided to stay here for tonight because there is so much interest of international media that addressing that car it wouldn't be possible to answer your questions and i and i appreciate it really very much because i think that international coverage and support and interest

and that helped us a lot. and we really have had this had this feeling that we are not alone in this battle sometimes when you yet just when i ask you i may ask you about what happened here with this case if you want polish society to tolerate except to respect. gays and lesbians why did you alter an image that you know is revered in a very catholic society i mean some people could say to you that 2 wrongs don't make a right. oh. yes i can say dad but i would like to look. at a line that like madonna does not belong to anybody it does not belong to catholics this is all to russian icon of a jewish woman. which was found in poland one day

and the luck still has a current sheryl of just a bit angst. equally to me to my friends and still to be shops. and for me it is and then must read people and the most sensitive at the same time of unconditional love that so it was not of the aim of using the symbol which is same for somebody because i think the care of mother over kit is something which can be understood in every religion and should be respected what we wanted still show it was a sort of accept that it's no instead of rejection so me of course no wonder. if i could apologize for the delay in the sound here but let me

ask you from the outside the image of poland has been very positive i'm thinking about all the way to when the end of communism joining the european union there's always been this sense of positive energy surrounding poll and yet the recent headlines paint a picture of an ultra conservative homophobic government can you explain to our viewers what happened in pope. just this beginning nothing happens now because sir poland has different faces and this phase which the west of europe wanted to see was the face of the toll around peaceful country successful in economic transformation was the same times for the nation left a lot of people and attend. poor and helpless and it's

very easy to manipulate with. well sounding strong sanogo it's. such people and. as far as the church is concerned in poland it's important. because the solidarity was against communism and what i mean the company is and it's in poland. was innocent paid back by huge privilege it's in poland and the church but it was never progress if it was always fall big and. and really deep. so. some people come next. to the church we'll see it. yesterday there was another trial of 3 brains man who decided to pull down as

a monument of the. priest who was proved to be pedophile and a collaborator of communist and this year and to send me to stay and she said you never repay and you know babbling space and you really strange man decided to do it with own hands and they are in danger to present to 80 years and people who accuse them and who feel. incurred by the act also them of their verity movement this when used respected so much of your corrected as well as unfortunately we're out of time but i'm one of the thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with us tonight bode less not joining us tonight from poland thank you thank you.

the united states is facing criticism over a decision not to target saudi crown prince mohammed bin selman with sanctions last week the u.s. released an intelligence report showing that the prince had approved the murder of saudi dissident and journalist jamal because show even though the prince is not on the same list the white house is insisting that the relationship with saudi arabia is being recalibrate. these are the last images of washington post journalist jamal khashoggi walking into the saudi consulate in istanbul turkey in october of 2018. according to a u.s. intelligence report declassified on friday he was shortly afterwards brutally murdered there by a team linked directly to saudi crown prince mohammed bin solomon washington says the prince gave the green light to the capture or the killing of kids shows she calls prince mohammed vehemently denies having any role in the murder and rejects

the report. fiance on the other hand says the report demands the prince be held to account. in a statement published on twitter she says it's essential that the crown prince who ordered the brutal murder of a blameless an innocent person should be punished without delay. and she's not alone in criticizing what's perceived as a lack of firm white house action experts in the united nations have followed suit saying sanctions on those individuals involved and she's murder but not prince mohammed himself are not enough. the state department's response is to say the biden administration's goal is not to end but recalibrate the u.s. his relationship with the saudis we have meat crystal clear and will continue to do so that the brutal killing of jamal khashoggi quinn 28 months ago remains an acceptable conduct. at the same time our relationship with saudi arabia is important it's important to us interests and it requires continued progress and

reforms still the white house press secretary added the u.s. was not limiting its options. coarsely reserve the right to take any action at a time in a manner of our choosing the biden administration says it now wants to focus on the future conduct of saudi arabia to see if it improves its human rights record. well where the u.s. has held back others have nots the press watchdog reporters without borders has filed a criminal complaint with the german public prosecutor against the saudi crown prince over can show he's killing the complaint is seeking an inquiry under germany's international jurisdiction walls it accuses saudi arabia of persecuting shogi as well as dozens of other journalists as you heard because he was a u.s. based contributor to the washington post he was murdered at the saudi consulate in istanbul it's believed on the orders of the solti crown prince. are for more now we want to bring in rebecca vincent she's director of international campaigns with

reporters without borders she joins me from london rebecca it's good to have you on the program even if the courts were to convict the crown prince what effect do you think it would have to mean what do you hope to achieve with this lawsuit. we hope to achieve accountability i think it would certainly be a significant factor for any of the officials named especially that this study crown prince to find a court decision against them in any jurisdiction they have gambled with the fact that they can get away with these horrific crimes and so far they have and that gamble has been pretty safe so far because what we've seen is an international situation of impunity for the vast majority of crimes against journalists in the past decade there have been nearly a 1000 journalists killed around the world nearly all with full or partial impunity and at any given point there's nearly 400 journalists imprisoned around the world

so our reporters without borders we're trying to now impose costs for this we're looking at saudi arabia which is have long held one of the world's worst press freedom records the murder of jamal khashoggi is one of the most horrific examples of a crime against journalists in modern history and the cold feet humanity with which it was committed make it especially necessary to achieve some form of justice here but not just for jim all but the 34 journalists that we've named as well that have suffered arbitrary detention and a range of other systematic and widespread crimes in saudi arabia but if you could tell us more about the significance of this german law which allows prosecution of individuals who committed certain crimes outside of germany. well you know at universal jurisdiction exists in other states as well we chose to bring this suit in germany for a number of reasons why we think that the judiciary is likely to be favorable to it and political conditions are right as well but there are other countries where this sort of lawsuit would in theory be possible however it's

a fairly creative step i don't know of another n.g.o.s who has taken an action quite like this arguing crimes against humanity has committed had it have been committed in these acts against journalists is part of our justice for journalist task force within r.s.s. where we are trying to to find creative solutions to impose concrete costs for crimes against journalists where justice within their own countries is not possible i mean you know you say that you chose germany because the political conditions are right you're in london was the u.k. considered a country where this may not be looked upon so favorably. the u.k. also has universal jurisdiction but we didn't look particularly here for a number of reasons not just politically but i have to say the u.k. government's position on saudi arabia has been really disappointing that clearly there are other interests in the bilateral relationship it is very rare for our foreign office here to take a strong position hardly ever publicly on any case. related to human rights in

saudi arabia with few exceptions and when other areas of the relationship continue such as arms sales it sends a clear signal to saudi arabia that other countries are willing to engage in business as usual but for these 33 of the 34 journalists named for arbitrate attention 33 are currently in prison for these 33 people and their families i mean and that is enough we can't continue to enable this repression as you know in our democratic states so we're hoping to help find other ways to address this to impose concrete costs where our own states are failing so far rebecca vincit director of international campaigns at reporters without borders rebecca we appreciate your time and all the work that you're doing thank you thank you. for. he was responsible for a secretly filmed a video that brought down austria's government in 2019 the video appeared to show the leader of austria's far right freedom party offering government contracts to russia in exchange for political funding when now that man behind the video is

trying to avoid extradition from germany to austria on drug charges he's afraid of what will happen to him if he returns home he. spoke to him in the berlin prison where he is being held. it was this covert recording that brought down austria's governing coalition the man on the couch soon to be vice chancellor heinz christiane's to discuss his plans with a wealthy russian to buy out a major austrian newspaper for political advantage or. when the video was published by german media in 2019 who was forced to resign and the chancellor called new elections it was a political earthquake. and the video had been a set up the russian had been an actress and the man who arranged the sting remained unnamed. in december however the alleged

producer of the video was arrested in berlin and is being held in this jail a whistleblower to some a conspirator to others yulian age faces extradition charges that appear to be unrelated to the so-called abuse if air cocaine trafficking an allegation based on the testimony of 2 witnesses. speaking to d.w. in prison mr h. said the case against him is politically motivated. need. if all you need to lock someone up is 2 people with questionable reputations and strange statements and you can lock up anyone you want to absolute. the anyone and that's in austria which already has autocratic tendencies and danes. said in a b.z. he pictured having a system like or bonds hungry for being honest austria isn't so far away from that anymore and he says. mr h.

was also charged with making an illegal recording but a berlin court ruled that the video did not break the law mr h. believes the separate cocaine charge is being used to punish him for making the video while only appearing to be unrelated. the berlin justice department says it has no authority to get involved in an extradition case. left wing member of the german parliament believes germany should take a stronger position though you look at what they're there. i think we ought to look very very closely at the motives for this extradition request and whether we want to comply with it. or whether that would set a totally wrong tone in terms of intimidating those who expose wrongdoing. i believe exposing wrongdoing like this is extremely important and that should be kept in mind in this case. without an exceptional

intervention from german authorities really an age might soon face a judge in vienna a city where his name is political dynamite. you know this has all the makings of a political thriller let's bring in my colleague i mean yes if he just filed that report anything to you i mean since you spoke with julian age there have been new developments in this case right. that's right the berlin court of appeals announced today that they've approved his extradition but before he goes he will be a witness in a separate case a separate corruption case that involves some of the seem far right austrian politicians that he and grey shaded himself to when he was setting allegedly setting up the sting in 2017 so this case keeps getting more complicated but what you need to know is that his extradition has been approved but he won't be extradited immediately although the proceedings are supposedly under way now and

you went to the prison here in berlin where he is being held he says that the cocaine trafficking charge is part of a set up is there any evidence to support that claim well he says this is speculation he admits that but what he and his lawyers have been saying is that it seems that prosecutors in austria have been throwing charges at the wall to see which ones stick so the original charge which is that he made an illegal recording was dismissed both in an austrian court enter berlin court they said that that was not illegal then comes the cocaine charge which is based on testimony not on the presence of any cocaine or any video so there's no hard evidence in that so that supports you in ages argument that they're throwing these charges that him just to get him back to austria what remains though is the charge of blackmail that during this 2 year period between when he filmed the video and when he sent the video to

german media he was allegedly trying to get someone to pay him for the recording do we know what was this me and julian ages what was his motivation for making the beats a video that brought down the government in austria. well yulian age was a private detective and this is also where the story gets complicated he was hired by a lawyer he was hired by a lawyer to essentially dig up dirt. based on the accounts of of a former employee so that's somewhat unrelated but really an age says that once he got involved in looking at what he was up to he decided he took it upon himself to take the risk to expose corruption and apparently when he could not expose the corruption based on just things that she said you decided to push it a little you could say and set up. this meeting and visa you know when we talk

about this person julian h. we're not trying to paint a portrait of a saint here mean there are some very unsavory things about him but we know there's been a debate about whether or not he's a whistleblower or a conspirator explain that for we got about a minute left well look his lawyers say this is the case with all whistleblowers with all people who expose government corruption it's not the currents not the exposure of that corruption that democracy like austria will go after it's something else so they have compared him or have drawn parallels at least to julian a songe who was pursued by the u.s. government for leaking top secret documents but then was arrested on charges of sexual assault but there is a difference between a whistleblower and a journalist like yulian julian a songe and b.'s affair which was not stumbling upon a conversation but setting one up so that's where politicians in germany has

a tate to step in and say he's a whistleblower he needs to be defended yes right it looks like entrapment for sure there i mean yes if excellent reporting a fascinating story i thank you. and finally we. see the famous british street artist has been back at work a new painting has reappeared on one of the walls of a former prison in redding england campaign has been trying to turn the former jail into an art center for several years now its most famous in me was 1903 poet and playwright oscar wilde he was sentenced to prison after being convicted for. having loved another make. well the day's almost done the conversation continues online to find us on twitter you can follow me on t.v. and remember whatever happens between now and. another day.

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