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Civil society organisations from around the world, including Article 19, Writers in Prison Committee and Index on Censorship, are calling on Egyptian and international bodies to respect freedom of expression and the right to information.

Fourteen years ago on 5 February 1997 hundreds of Uyghurs were killed or imprisoned after participating in a peaceful demonstration in the city of Ghulja in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), China. No-one has been held accountable for the brutal crackdown on the non-violent protest, persecution of Uyghurs continues rebranded as part of the international “war on terror”.

On 31 January 2011 the appellate court in Lublin awarded Mr. Władysław Szczeklik compensation in the amount of 400,000 PLN for wrongful detention awaiting trial (case no. II Aka 337/10). This judgment was the result of an appeal against a decision of the regional court in Lublin of September 22, 2010, in which the court awarded compensation amounting to 200,000 PLN.

On 25 January 2011 the European Court of Human Rights in Strasburg delivered a judgment in the case Kupczak v. Republic of Poland. According to ECHR Polish authorities by failing to provide necessary medical assistance (no steps were taken in order to fix the morphine pump) violated article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

On 31 January 40 people from different Norwegian human rights organizations and political parties showed for the second time their solidarity with Russian pro-democracy movement “Strategy 31” by gathering in front of the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo.

On October 1st of 2010 the new Criminal Code of Georgia came into effect. One of its main the main new innovations is the Jury Institution. The Jury Court will operate until July 1st of 2013 in Tbilisi only, and will cover cases of deliberate murder under aggravating circumstances. After two years, it will cover all crimes envisaged with the suppression of liberty in the throughout the country. As of yet, the Jury has not heard any cases. It will be able to hear all cases that lie within its jurisdiction only if the defense and prosecution do not oppose it. It should be noted that when Georgia adopted the corresponding amendment to the Georgian Constitution, the Strasbourg Court invalidated the November 16th 2010 jury decision in the Taxquet vs Belgium case and accused the state of Belgium of violating Article 6 of the European Court (the right to a fair trial) and imposed payment of EUR 8,173.22 in favor of the plaintiff.

More than 40 members and partners of the Human Rights House Network issued a letter of concern today calling for an immediate investigation into the murder of David Kato and for effective protection of all human rights defenders in the Republic of Uganda.

Tunisia’s peaceful move towards democracy is a good sign, regarding the events in other Middle East countries, notably Egypt, but also in Yemen and Syria. International organizations condemn Egypt’s attempts to control and disrupt the media and electronic communication. Country’s government is criticized for responding to protests with excessive force.

While human rights activists in the Republic of Belarus are sounding the alarm about “the second wave of repressions”, on the eve of the EU decision about possible sanctions, the authorities went ahead and changed a form of pre-trial detention for five political prisoners who had previously been kept in the KGB jail (including presidential rival Niakliayeu, right). However, the remaining hostages of the regime are still in prison.