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In mid-August a train derailed near Piotrków Trybunalski, central Poland. One person died and more than eighty others were injured in the crash. By order of the District Court in Piotrków Trybunalski, the train driver who had been in charge of the locomotive was remanded in custody pending trial.The counsel for the defendant appealed against the court’s decision. The HFHR filed an amicus curiae brief with the court which heard the appeal.

The infrastructure development projects have been launched in Gonio, Svaneti, Anaklia and the surrounding areas of Black Sea since the Georgian government announced the mentioned areas as tourism zones. Actually, tourism development creates the perspective for country’s economic development, but in Georgia, it was proceeded with violations of property rights. In 2010, in Gonio, 271 people were deprived from their property. In Mestia (Zemo Svaneti region), the process of land expropriation or refusal of the registration is still going on whilst the process has been completed in Anaklia.

On 29 August 2011 the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights sent a letter to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers raising the issue of the Polish authorities’ failure to properly implement the ECHR judgement in the case of Wasilewska and Kałucka v. Poland. The case of Wasilewska and Kałucka v. Poland concerns the violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

52 human rights organisations from 14 countries sent a joint letter of concern to the Azerbaijani authorities today, condemning the demolishing of the property of the human rights defender Leyla Yunus, which was a home for three human rights organizations in the centre of Baku.

52 human rights organisations from 14 countries sent a joint letter of concern to the Azerbaijani authorities today, condemning the demolishing of the property of the human rights defender Leyla Yunus, which was a home for three human rights organizations in the centre of Baku.

East Africa still struggles with old problems. Legal guaranties provided by constitutions of East African countries should protect freedom of expression in the region, however it is not always so. Even new laws sometimes threaten free speech as it happened in Sudan. Article 19 and Index on Censorship analyze freedom of expression and human rights situation in Uganda, Tanzania and Sudan.

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights asked the Prosecutor General to reveal whether the Polish prosecution service provided the Belarusian authorities with information on other Belarusian oppositionists. Early August this year it came to light that Polish Prosecution Service provided the Belarusian law enforcement with information regarding Ales Belyatsky.

The Central Prison Service Authority reports that the average population of penal institutions and remand centres in Poland stands at 97.8 per cent of the institutions’ capacity. Yet, the detailed statistical data from mid-July 2011 indicate that in many places the occupancy level exceeds 100 per cent, reaching the alarming 129 per cent in some establishments.

The authorities banned the pickets in defence of arrested human rights defender Ales Bialiatski, that were supposed to be held on 22 of August in 18 Belarusian cities. Nevertheless, on 23 August, the solidairty actions took place in several Belarusian towns but ended up with detentions.

Улады забаранілі пікеты ў абарону арыштаванага праваабаронцы Алеся Бяляцкага, якія планавалася правесці 22 жніўня ў 18 гарадах Беларусі. Аднак 23 жніўня акцыі ў падтрымку Бяляцкага ўсе ж адбыліся ў некаторых гарадах Беларусі і скончыліся затрыманнямі.

230 Pills of Subutex “Found” on Passengers Traveling from Strasbourg.

Prisoner Mamuka Zerekidze died in Rustavi Prison # 6 on August 16. The prison administration told the family he died of electroshock. The Ministry of Corrections and Legal Aid has not released any official versions about Zerekidze’s death yet.

Burmese nationals who fled the country following the 1988 popular uprising are allowed to return to their country, President Thein Sein, right, said in his recent speech. Human rights activists believe this statement is ‘nothing more than a PR exercise’. In today’s Burma, close to 2,100 political prisoners are behind bars, among them monks, journalists, politicians and relief workers.