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Annual Human Rights Report of U.S. State Department
On 12 March 2008 the U.S. State Department unveiled its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The section devoted to Republic of Azerbaijan is quite sizeable, and includes extensive documentation of press freedom violations that occurred in 2007, as well progress on the investigations into events even prior to 2007, like the 2005 murder of “Monitor” Journal Chief Editor Elmar Huseynov. (20-MAR-08)
Azerbaijani Journalist Stabbed
On 13 March “Azadlig” Newspaper journalist Agil Khalil was attacked by 4 unknown people as he was leaving the office of “Azadlig newspaper”and stabbed in the chest, near his heart by knife. It was the second assault on Khalil in a month, which brought him to hospital. (15-MAR-08)
Ganimat Zahidov Sentenced to Four Years of Imprisonment
On the 7-th of March the editor-in-chief of the opposition newspaper “Azadliq” – Ganimat Zahidov was sentenced to four-year imprisonment. Zahidov was convicted for “deliberately causing light injuries” and “hooliganism” in a trial in which the court did not allow key defense witnesses to testify. The charges were brought against him after a street skirmish on 7 November 2007. (10-MAR-08)
Draft of new media law in Azerbaijan
The Azeri Media Rights Institute has prepared a draft law proposal “On Protection of Confidentiality of Journalist Sources.” According to the draft law, journalists cannot be forced to reveal their correspondence, notes and documents. (25-MAR-2008)
Polish solidarity with Tibet
On March 10 on the streets of Lhasa Tibetan monks of the Sera and Drepung monasteries started their peaceful protests. 11 March the Chinese authorities used tear gas and two days later military and police forces to pacify those marches. The Polish Helsinki Foundation has appealed to the Polish government and asked them to raise the issue on human rights violation (21-MAR-08)
Solidarity with Tibet
On March 10, 2008 on the streets of Lhasa Tibetan monks of the Sera and Drepung monasteries started their peaceful protests. 11 March 2008 – the Chinese authorities used tear gas and two days later military and police forces to pacify those marches. It is said that there were hundreds of killed and wounded. Protests are breaking out in consecutive monasteries and are being pacified by the authorities.(21-MAR-08)
More prisoners of conscience in Belarus?
14 persons might face up to 3 years of prison, charged for ‘organization and active participation in the actions that grossly violate the public order’. They all participated in the peaceful demonstrations organized by entrepreneurs in Minsk at the beginning of this year. Human rights activist warn about a new wave of political repressions. (16-MAR-08)
Photo petition for the release of Kazulin
Amnesty International welcomes the release of Zmitser Dashkevich on 23 January 2008 and urges the Belarusian authorities to release Alexander Kazulin immediately and unconditionally as well. Over 2.400 people have already joined an online photo petition calling for the release of prisoners of conscience in the Republic of Belarus. Read the Press Release below. (15-MAR-08)