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International organization protecting press Reporters Sans Frontiers (Reporters Without Borders) has published a traditional index of mass media freedom in 167 world countries on the eve of New Year. The index is based on the analysis of situation of freedom of media and journalists, violation of their rights and freedoms, legislation in field of press, attitude of authorities towards media and general atmosphere in the country. (18-DEC-2005)
 

The commitments, the Azerbaijani authority taken in front of the international community are not fulfilled, thinks the human rights activists and a number of politicians. The joint letter of pro-democratic part of Republic of Azerbaijan reminds the PACE about numerous violations during the elections, as well as post-election violence and disrespect to human rights. Now the main question is if the PACE will confirm the mandates of the new deputies or it will follow the pro-democratic supportive position (18-DEC-2005).

On 2 – 4 December 2005, already for the sixteenth time, an assembly was held in Warsaw for the Graduates of the Human Rights School, organised by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. (17-DEC-05)

The Ossietzky Prize; Norwegian PEN´s award for outstanding contributions to freedom of expression, will be awared Monday 19 December to Fakhra Salimi. This years laureate has been living in Norway since she was 20 – more than half her life – and has always represented a different voice in Norway´s otherwise rather homogenous and unisone public debate. (17-DEC-05)
 

Ethiopian leaders claim their country is going through a process of democratisation. But who is it for, that process, when opposition media get closed and their editors imprisoned? Elisabeth Eide, right, board member of HRH, author, freelance journalist and a lecturer and researcher in journalism at the Academy of Oslo reports from a recent visit to Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. (17-DEC-05)
 

The trial of Orhan Pamuk, right, the Turkish novelist due to go before a court on 16 December, has been delayed. The Instanbul judge presiding over the case said the prosecution could not go forth until it received approval from the ministry of justice. Photo of Pamuk: Matthias Zeininger. (16-DEC-05)
 

In an article published on December 11, 2005, Korea Times reports that more than 1.200 North Koreans defected to South Korea in the first 11 months of the year to flee the poverty-stricken communist country. The source of information was the Unification Ministry. (16-DEC-2005)
 

Former President Kim Dae-jung has stressed human rights conditions in North Korea could be improved through economic cooperation and cultural exchanges on a gradual basis, warning that any forcible and arbitrary outside move to change the human rights situation in the North would not be successful. Kim Dae-jung was awarded the Rafto Prize for human rights in 2000. (16-DEC-2005)
 

On December 9 three members of the Burmese organisation «Assistance Association for Political Prisoners» (AAPP) released the report “The Darkness We See: Torture in Burma’s Interrogation Centers and Prisons” at a press conference in the Rafto House, Bergen. Cho Cho, Kyaw Maung and Kaythi Aye Bergen told their own stories of political imprisonment. 82 year old Mr. Bjørn Simonnæs was also invited to draw a historic line between his own experiences as a prisoner of war during Nazi Germany’s occupation of Norway 60 years ago to the systematic torture of political prisoners in Burma today.  (16-DEC-2005)