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The Azerbaijani government is using criminal laws and violent attacks to silence dissenting journalists, says Human Rights Watch in its report. Dozens of journalists have been prosecuted on criminal and civil defamation and other criminal charges. Police have carried out physical attacks on journalists, deliberately interfering with their efforts to investigate issues of public interest.

More than two-thirds of African countries have laws criminalizing homosexual acts, and despite accounting for a significant percentage of new infections in many countries, men who have sex with men tend to be left out of the HIV response.

The criminal prosecution against the director of Polish House in Ivianiec Taresa Sobal town has been started. Teresa Sobal is a member of unrecognized Polish minority union, headed by Anzhalika (Andżelika) Borys. Members of the Polish organization call the prosecution a mere provocation.

Несмотря на то, что власти санкционировали проведение пикета, посвященного первой годовщине смерти известного российского правозащитника Станислава Маркелова и журналистки Анастасии Бабуровой, около 60 человек было задержано и доставлено в отделение милиции по обвинению в нарушении законодательства.

Despite the fact that Moscow authorities allowed two demonstrations on January 19 to mark the anniversary of the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova, some 60 citizens were taken to the police, accused of violating the law.

Актывісту партыі БНФ Сяргею Каваленку з Віцебска пагражае зняволенне тэрмінам да 6 гадоў. У адносінах да яго заведзена крымінальная справа па артыкуле 339 Крымінальнага Кодэксу Беларусі (хуліганства). Прычынай жа крымінальнай справы стаў нацыянальны сцяг Беларусі, вывешаны Каваленкам на галоўнай плошчы горада.

On January 15 the South Caucasus Network of Human Right Defenders, NGO coalition – Civil Manifesto and Georgian Young Lawyers Association organized a round table with International organizations and diplomats in Georgia on topic – “Ensuring safer and enabling environment for Human Rights Defenders in Georgia.”

CMS, CZMOS and Documenta wrote a public statement on the occasion of 12 years of peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia and Podunavlje, calling the public and authorities to recognize the importance of this model of reintegration by officially announcing 15th January – a day of peace-building, trust and inter-national reconciliation.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, right, urged the Ugandan government today to shelve a “draconian” draft bill on homosexuality that is due to be put before the Ugandan parliament later in January, saying it would bring the country into a direct collision with established international human rights standards aimed at preventing discrimination.