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”It became evident that the victims in Rasul Jafarov’s case were either unaware of why they were victims or directly stated that the accused person never did them any harm”. The past months international observers have been attending the trial of Azerbaijani human rights activist, Rasul Jafarov, in Baku Court on Grave Crimes.

Women human rights defenders challenge gender inequality and stereotypes, advance sexual and reproductive rights, and promote women’s empowerment and participation in society. They often challenge religious and cultural norms and patriarchal attitudes that subordinate, stigmatize or restrict women.

The Human Rights Council (HRC) of the United Nations must defend civil society space and, through the various tools at its disposal, it must exert all the pressure it can to curb abuses of power and call for accountability.This was stated by the Belarusian human rights defender Ales Bialiatski, during his speech at the 28th session of the HRC in Geneva on 5 March.

Рада па правах чалавека (РПЧ) ААН павінен абараняць жыццёвую прастору для грамадзянскай супольнасці, выкарыстоўваючы для гэтага ўсе наяўныя ў яго распараджэнні сродкі, аказваць націск на тых, хто злоўжывае ўладай, і заклікаць іх да адказнасці.Пра гэта заявіў беларускі праваабаронца Алесь Бяляцкі, выступаючы 5 сакавіка на 28-й сесіі РПЧ у Жэневе.

On February 24, discussion of the criminal case against Rasul Jafarov, founder of the Human Rights Club, was renewed in the Baku Court on Grave Crimes. The Azerbaijan human rights defender, which was declared prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, was brought to the court with handcuffs, just like detainees accused of grave crimes. Before the trial started the handcuffs were removed from him, but during the 15-minute break he was taken from the courtroom with handcuffs on his hands.

Leanid Sudalenka, chairman of the Homel city branch of the public association “Legal Initiative”, has lodged a complaint with the police department of the Homel Regional Executive Committee. He asks the police to identify the individual or legal person (IP-address), which administers the website gomelbest.com, and who threatens the children of human rights defender.

Гомельскі праваабаронца, старшыня Гомельскага гарадскога аддзялення рэспубліканскага грамадскага аб’яднання «Прававая ініцыятыва» Леанід Судаленка звярнуўся з заявай ва УУС Гомельскага аблвыканкаму. Ён просіць міліцыю ўстанавіць дадзеныя фізічнай або юрыдычнай асобы (IP-адрас), з якога ажыццяўляецца адміністраванне сайта «gomelbest.com» ў сетцы Інтэрнэт і з якога невядомы пагражае дзецям праваабаронцы.

Crimes committed during Euromaidan in November 2013 – February 2014 led to at least 114 deaths, including 94 Euromaidan activists, imprisonment for different terms of at least several hundreds of people, physical injuries to over a thousand of activists. The fate of 27 missing persons is still unknown, according to report.

On 13-15 February a conference on “Additional guarantees and immunities for advocates of human rights” was held in Chisinau (Moldova). It has become an important stage in the work of graduates and experts of the Human Rights House Network Program “International Law in Advocacy” to support human rights defenders, including human rights lawyers. During the event, lawyers from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine discussed the existing and additional tools that would protect those, who work in the field of human rights, and guarantee their security and independence.