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A coalition of non-governmental organizations monitored the election process for a justice of the Polish Constitutional Court. The civic monitoring led to withdrawal of the candidate initially thought to have the support of the parliamentary majority. The involvement of the press and the NGOs proved necessary for the official, parliamentary vetting process to work.

”I Am Roma Woman”

Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender indentity

Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Mr Thomas Hammarberg visits CMS

Around 2 AM last Thursday, Serbian police apprehended 9 activists from Youth Initiative for Human Rights, who in the night between March 31st and April 1st in front of the Serbian Parliament, wrote the message in red spray paint: “That hard, foreign word – genocide”.

On 25 March, in London, a presentation ceremony was held for the 10th Freedom of Expression Award of “Censorship index”. Azerbaijani lawyer, Media Rights Institute Head Rashid Hajili received the Law and Campaigning award. This award is given to lawyers or campaigners who have fought repression, or have struggled to change political climates and perceptions.

According to Amnesty International’s annual death penalty overview, never have so few countries applied the death penalty than in 2009. For the first time since organization started keeping records, not a single execution was carried out in all of Europe including former Soviet Union.

Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), says it will not take part in the country’s first polls in two decades. Detained NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi has already earlier rejected her party’s participation in the polls.

Belarusian HRH hosted a screening of the independent picture “10 tactics for turning information into action” on 26 March. The short documentary showed stories of HR defenders and civic activist who shared their experience in defending individual rights using new media.

Coordination Council of the Coalition for RECOM kindly requested last week all print and electronic media, to publish their reaction on recent attacks made upon RECOM initiative and its activists, by several media houses in BiH.

Members of the Human Rights House of Zagreb, Documenta and GOLJP, organized a press conference in the late March, on occasion of the verdict on appeal in the case against the accused Rahim Ademi and Mirko Norac for crimes committed in the Medacki dzep (Medak Pocket).

Being a journalist in Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the most insecure jobs in a country run by one of the most insecure governments in the world. The Islamic Republic has made journalists its prime target, said journalist Maziar Bahari at the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards on 25 March 2010. Bahari was imprisoned by the Iranian regime for attempting to report on 2009’s disputed election.