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On the 15th June 2010, the District Court in Cracow dismissed a lawsuit against Mr. Paweł Wodniak – journalist of the portal “Fakty Oświęcim” for violation of personal interest. The Court ruled that a news report that merely mentions an individual’s involvement in a criminal proceeding does not constitute a violation of press laws, the rule of innocence, or journalism ethics.

The letter by the 2008 Rafto Prize laureate, Pastor Bulambo Lembelembe Josué, reveals the shocking level of safety and the human rights situation in South-Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. The author fears a destabilisation of the democratic regional institutions and urges the government to fulfil its constitutional obligation to protect the citizens and their property.

Norwegian Helsinki Committee presents new report “Broken promises: freedom of religion or belief issues in the Republic of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan”. The report details freedom of religion or belief issues and presents recommendations in order to bring the countries in line with relevant international human rights standards.

On 1 July a group of journalists, artists and campaigners gathered outside the embassy of Republic of Belarus in London to express their dissatisfaction with recent measures taken by the Belarusian regime to increase censorship in the internet. Presidential decree that went into force on 1 July in the Republic of Belarus allows the monitoring of all national internet usage and empowers the authorities to block websites that provide information from independent sources.

International PEN and ARTICLE 19 condemn the recent executions of Iranian Kurdish political prisoners and warn more executions are imminent.

New satellite images and video footage show the dramatic impact of the recent violent events on the city of Osh in southern Kyrgyz Republic. Comparison of satellite images of the Cheremushki neighborhood in Osh in 2007 and 2010 indicate destruction by fire. Houses are without roofs, dozens of large SOS signs are visible.

A Chinese court in the western region of Xinjiang has sentenced on 25 June 2010 a leading Tibetan collector of antiquities, environmentalist, founder of the award-winning Three Rivers Environmental Protection group, Karma Samdup to 15 years in jail for robbing graves.

On 24 June, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted Resolution on the functioning of democratic institutions in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Article 19, the Human Rights House Foundation, the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety, and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee welcome the adoption of the resolution and call upon the Azerbaijani government to implement the recommendations contained in the resolution.

On 29 June, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, unveiled his report on Republic of Azerbaijan. Following his visit carried out on March 1 to 5, the report focuses on freedom of expression and association, conduct of law enforcement officials, administration of justice, and contains some observations on the visit to the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan.

“In the Republic of Belarus everything is the other way around – during the E-day procedures are more-less followed, but in the evening, during the count, there is total lawlessness at polling stations,” some observers from the team of more than 30 participant of the international observation mission at the presidential election in the Republic of Poland shared. The joint Belarusian, Lithuanian, and Swedish mission was organised by the Election Observation: Theory and Practice project with support of Belarusian HRH in Vilnius.

“I feel the existence of a certain lobby that is engaged in this issue,” said Andreas Herkel, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Special Co-rapporteur on Republic of Azerbaijan, according to Turan News Agency.

On 24 June, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted resolution “The functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan?” that was prepared by Monitoring Committee Co-rapporteurs on Republic of Azerbaijan Andreas Herkel and Joseph Debono Grech.