The activists are protesting their arrests in October for challenging a controversial border deal with Uzbekistan.In its statement on December 19, The Austrian Interior Ministry did not say the suspect was related to a Russian diplomat but emphasized that he gathered information in Austria related to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-british-politics-drones-605ba12cae865c0bf4db477387439ab2 The lawyer of an anti-government Iranian protester sentenced to death says that his client was tortured until he confessed to playing a part in the murder of a security officer.The incident happened on November 3 in Karaj, the capital of Alborz Province, when mourners were paying tribute to a slain protester, Hadis Najafi, at a cemetery to mark 40 days after she was killed in the city.Tajik officials said later that Pirmuhammadzoda is also accused of having links with unspecified banned groups."