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The funeral of Aleh Biabenin, the founder and editor of the charter97.org website, was attended by hundreds of people. The Belarusian Government has promised to invite the OSCE experts to ensure a proper investigation of the media activist’s suspicious „suicide“ on 3 September. However, anonymous threats to some of his colleagues keep appearing daily.

Chinese authorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang have imposed travel restrictions on the region’s ethnic minorities since the regional capital Urumqi was rocked by deadly ethnic rioting last year, local residents and travel industry sources said.

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights presented an amicus curiae legal brief in a case concerning the conformity of article 135 § 2 of penal code (ref. no. P 12/09) to the Polish Constitutional Tribunal. This regulation provides that insulting the President of the Republic of Poland in public is punishable by up to 3 years in prison.

On 1 July 2010 the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights launched a two-year Program “Monitoring of Legislative Proceedings in the Field of Judicature”. The aim of the Program is to improve standards of law-making in the field of judicature (especially concerning human rights), but also create mechanisms allowing civil society organisations or other subjects to involve more effectively in the law-making process.

For the second time in two weeks, a justice of the peace for Tverskoi District Court of Moscow sentenced Lev Ponomarev, a leading Russian human rights defender, to four days of administrative detention for his involvement in a peaceful assembly. On 7 September 2010 the court found Ponomarev guilty of “disobeying police orders.”

A new report launched by the human rights organisation Article19 concludes that the freedom of expression situation in the Republic of Azerbaijan has deteriorated over the past five years and should be considered among the most pressing human rights concerns in the country.

With just two months to go to the general elections that the military government plans to hold on 7 November, there are still no grounds for thinking that the Burmese and foreign media will be able to cover the campaign and polling freely. Prior censorship remains in effect and that rules out any possibility of a democratic election. Without press freedom, the election will just be a sham.

Ali Salem Tamek, Brahim Dahane (right), and Ahmed Naciri (below) are well-known Sahrawi activists held since October 8, 2009, on charges of “harming state security,” without trial. They were among seven activists arrested upon their return from visiting Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria. Their case was referred from civil to military court because of “undermining external state security.” They are held in the prison without trial.

Смерць апазіцыйнага журналіста, заснавальнік сайта Хартыя’97 Алега Бябеніна да гэтай пары застаецца незразумелай тайнай. У той час як афіцыйныя крыніцы, што “пакуль што пра крымінальную версію смерці Бябеніна гаварыць не выпадае”, сваякі і сябры журналіста не вераць у тое, што Бябенін быў здольны на самагубства. Каб развеяць усе сумневыі паставіць кропкі над “і” да расследвання далучаюцца міжнародныя структуры.