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On 11 February the inmates of the settlement colony 156/13 in Ust-Kamenogorsk, left the colony for a vacation until 6 March. The only inmate who was denied this vacation was the well-known human rights activist Evgeniy Zhovtis, after serving more than a year in the semi-open colony without being allowed to leave the territory.

The Draft Law on Personal Data Protection adopted by the first hearing of Georgian Parliament contradicts its aim of strengthening data protection mechanisms and restricts the inviolability of private life. Moreover, it fails to reach a balance between the right of private life and freedom of information, thus violates Georgia’s international obligations.

“At first the lawyer had agreed to defend Ira. We had signed the agreement. One day she suddenly called and declined to represent our daughter,” the father of a famed journalist Iryna Khalip shared. That was the second lawyer who refused to defend the mother of the “family of political prisoners”, right. Lawyers from neighbouring countries have no doubts that their Belarusian colleagues are being pressed by the regime.

Łukasz Kasprowicz, a young journalist and blogger, has been sentenced to a 10 – month freedom restriction and 300 hours of community service. On his blog, he often criticized his hometown mayor. The court found him guilty of defamation. The verdict has triggered a heated debate about freedom of expression in Poland.

Two banks in Warsaw did not allow a 84-year-old citizen Józef Głuchowski to use their toilets. The man believes that it was detrimental to his dignity and the right to intimacy. He decided to sue the banks for violating his personal rights. He demands a 15,000 PLN compensation and apology. The banks want the lawsuit to be dismissed.

On February 18, the first political trial begins in Belarus. The fate of the rest of the prisoners will depend on the European reaction to this first one. On 

January 31, the EU imposed sanctions on the Belarusian leadership. The opposition expected a new wave of repression as a backlash. Unable to harm the hated Europe, Lukashenka has often vented his anger on the domestic carriers of European values. Dictators are used to propagating the idea of the opposition as “foreign agents”.

On 31 January, a bill that would allow for a referendum on the extension of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s term of office until 2020 was rejected by the Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan as un-constitutional. Instead, Nazarbayev has announced snap elections on 3 April. The idea of referendum was criticized by international community, elections however will not bring anything new if they are not democratic, NHC says.

“Спачатку адвакатка ахвотна згадзілася бараніць Іру. Мы склалі дамову, і раптам яна тэлефануе і адмаўляецца,” – апавядае бацька вядомай журналісткі Ірыны Халіп. Гэта ўжо другі адвакат, які адмовіўся абараняць маці “сям’і палітвязняў”, жонку Андрэя Саннікава. Адвакаты суседніх краін не сумняюцца – на беларускіх юрыстаў цісне рэжым.

A delegation from the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court today concluded a two-day visit to the Russian Federation.