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Remzi Kartal, the Kurdish politician and human rights defender for whom the Norwegian Council for the Rights of Kurdish People (RKR) and the Human Rights House Foundation (HRH) appealed last week, has been released from custody in Germany with guarantees that he will not be extradited to Republic of Turkey. (02-MAR-05)
   

Four months after being awarded the Rafto Memorial Prize, Rebiya Kadeer (picture) finally received the news last month. She cried with joy, her son Mustafa Rouzi told Bergens Tidende. 58 year old Kadeer is currently in prison. For years she has been fighting for the Uyghur minority’s basic rights in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. (01-MAR-2005)
 

On 27 February unknown people in civil clothes detained the former deputy of the Chamber of Representatives, Siarhei Skrabets in Hrodna. The activist of the Businessmen’s Association Perspective, Leanid Nevar was arrested in the town of Rechytsa.(1-MAR-2005)

On 21 February Ms. Sakalouskaya, a judge of the Supreme Court, ruled to liquidate the public association Belarusian Women’s Movement Adradzhenne Aichyny (Homeland’s Revival).
On 25 February Mahiliou Regional Department of Justice warned the women’s public association Liubava in Horki. (1-MAR-2005)

At its sitting on 22 February the Council of the Union of Belarusian Writers rejected the ultimatum of the Presidential Office heads which had earlier requested that the organization leave most of the premises they now occupy in the House of Writers. The Presidential Office response runs as follows, “They are not being thrown out into the street, it´s just that they´ve been offered smaller premises than they currently occupy”. The Presidential Office requested that the Union of Writers occupy 10 times less area of the House of Writers than they do now: 58 square meters instead of 614. (1-MAR-2005)

Fines remain a useful means of persecution. Two persons have been recently fined by the court in connection with their political activity. (1-MAR-2005)

In February 2005 Belarusian prosecutor’s offices of different levels increased the pressurization of well-known oppositional activists. Most often people are summoned concerning criminal cases brought for defamation of president or the authorities or dissemination of undesirable information. (01-MAR-2005)

The Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights organized on February 27 at the Aquarius Club a humanitarian concert for victims of human rights violations.  A number of very popular bands and DJs from all over Republic of Croatia performed onstage and entire contribution of well-attended concert was dedicated to providing direct help to the human rights victims. (1-MAR-05)
 

Four months after being awarded the Rafto Memorial Prize, Rebiya Kadeer (picture) finally received the news last month. She cried with joy, her son Mustafa Rouzi told the newspaper Bergens Tidende. 58 year old Kadeer is currently in prison. For years she has been fighting for the Uyghur minority’s basic rights in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. (01-MAR-2005)