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50 protesters wearing masks bearing the face of jailed Azerbaijani journalist Eynulla Fatullayev gathered opposite the Azerbaijan embassy in London on 20 April, for a demonstration organised by English PEN, Amnesty International UK, Article 19, Index on Censorship and the Media Diversity Institute to mark four years since the arrest of Fatullayev and to call for his immediate and unconditional release of imprisoned.

During times of conflict, the potential for human rights abuses abound, as the normal infrastructure for the protection of rights is disabled and emergencies are declared. Libya is in the throes of a revolution against the Libyan leader, Colonel Qaddafi, whose military maintains what control exists through the use of force. The rebels choose to wage war with the current administration. The UN Human Rights Council decided to take action in this case.

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights appealed to the General Prosecutor in the case of Adam Mamilov, Chechen citizen. The Foundation expressed it’s concern in reference to the cassation to the Supreme Court submitted by the General Prosecutor. The cassation concerns a final sentence in which the extradition of Adam Mamilov from Poland to Russian Federation was found inadmissible.

The deadly blast in the Minsk underground on 11 April has caused growing pressure on journalists and HR defenders in Belarus. Pavel Levinau, right, a partner of the Belarusian Human Rights House from Viciebsk, was among those arrested on 19 April and linked to terrorism by the authorities. The Belarusian Association of Journalists is also voicing concern about the new wave of repressions.

According to a new study by Freedom House, cyber attacks, politically motivated censorship, and government control over internet infrastructure are among the diverse and growing threats to internet freedom. The study ranks all post-Soviet countries except Estonia as partly free or not free. Ethiopia is not free, Kenya is partly free. None of the Balkan countries were analysed.

Крывавы тэракт у мінскім метро 11 красавіка становіцца падставай для ўсё мацнейшага ціску на праваабарончую і журналісцкую супольнасць Беларусі. 19 красавіка ў Мінску былі затрыманыя праваабаронцы з Віцебска, якіх улады паспрабавалі звязаць з “тэрарызмам”. Пра новую хвалю рэпрэсій заявіла і Беларуская асацыяцыя журналістаў.

A judgment handed down on 15 April 2011 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicting two Croatian generals of responsibility for crimes against humanity is a strong victory for Croatia’s war victims and shows that even the most high-level perpetrators of crimes under international law cannot evade justice.

On the International Day of Peasants’ Struggle, April 17th, international NGO Fighting Hunger with Human Rights (FIAN) joins millions of peasants in demanding the European Union respect their right to adequate food in the regulation of the seed trade.

On several occasions this week, the freedom of expression through assembly and demonstration has been attacked all over Uganda, as the police has clamped down on civilians taking part in demonstrations against rising fuel and commodities prices. -Human Rights Network Uganda is gravely concerned about the unjustified and excessive use of violence, says its Chief Executive Mohammed Ndifuna, right.

According to information provided by the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons From the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia, 35, 204 families’ houses have been damaged by natural disasters. Officials estimate that a further 11, 000 families live in houses that have been damaged by natural disasters and are in urgent need of resettlement. The government has not developed a long-term strategy for managing ecological-migration and domestic law doesn’t include a definition for those who must migrate due to ecological factors. This goes against international standards and means that people are left without protection.

Staff members of HRHF travel to Azerbaijan to re-open the Human Rights House in Baku. The house was closed by the authorities on 10 March 2011. Meetings have been scheduled with Azerbaijani authorities, various embassies, national human rights organisations and international organisations. HRHF will also participate in a seminar with the Media Rights Institute in Baku.

Staff members of HRHF go to Georgia for meetings on the process to establish a Human Rights House in Tblisi. There will also be discussions on how best to follow up on Georgia’s Universal Periodic Review nationally, ahead of the adoption of the report from the country’s UPR, to take place at the UN Human Rights Council’s session in Geneva in June.