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The Security Council today welcomed the recent signing of a peace and reconciliation agreement by Somalia’s warring political groups and urged the two sides in the troubled Horn of Africa nation to fully implement their commitments under the accord. Right, soldier patrolling a river. (05-SEP-08)
 

The charges against the Norwegian Helsinki Committee´s (NHC) regional representative to Central Asia, Ivar Dale, right, was dismissed by the court. Although it is still possible that the prosecutor will appeal to the decision, this is a big victory for the NHC. Dale was accused of working for a non-registered organisation, which according to Kyrgyzstani law is illegal.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) today welcomed with great relief the ruling by the Tehran Supreme Court overturning a death sentence against Kurdish journalist Adnan Hassanpour, right, because of a procedural error. The court decided that the journalist, who had been convicted of “subversive activities against national security”, could not be considered as a “mohareb” (an enemy of God) and sent his case back to the lower court in Sanandaj, in Iranian Kurdistan. RSF calls for his release and dismissal of the case. (04-SEP-08)
 

Top United Nations officials have highlighted the important role played by civil society in advancing human rights around the world, as a major United Nations conference bringing together some 2,000 representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from 90 countries got under way in Paris today. (04-SEP-08)
 

The recently concluded 10th annual East Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO) summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa resolved to pursue Rwanda Genocide fugitives. According to the summit’s resolutions, the Council of Police Chiefs recognized that genocide is a grave crime against humanity and decided to include it in their joint police cooperation agenda. (04-SEP-09)
 

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) is filing a complaint in the case of Wilhelmus S., who is imprisoned in the Republic of Poland and a citizen of the Netherlands. He is suffering from cancer at a serious stage but has not been provided yet with adequate medical care. HFHR argues that this is a violation of Polish and international law and that Wilhelmus S. has the right to receive sufficient medical treatment. (03-SEP-08)

Magomed Yevloyev, right, owner of opposition Ingushetiya.ru webpage, was killed in Ingushetia on 31 August, soon after the police detained him in Margas airport. ARTICLE 19 and other free expression organisations have expressed their shock and outrage over the death. (02-SEPT-08)
 

Ivar Dale, right, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) regional representative to Central Asia will be tried in a local court in Bishkek on Thursday 4 September. Dale has been accused of illegal work in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The trial is the next step in a series of attacks by Kyrgyz authorities against the NHC office in Kyrgyz Republic, which started in June 2008 when the office was raided. (02-SEP-08)
 

Magomed Yevloyev, right, owner of opposition Ingushetiya.ru webpage, was killed in Ingushetia on 31 August, soon after the police detained him in Margas airport. ARTICLE 19 and other free expression organisations have expressed their shock and outrage over the death. (02-SEPT-08)