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English PEN welcomes the release of editor and Catholic priest Father Nguyen Van Ly on 15 March 2010 on medical grounds. However, PEN remains concerned that his release is conditional, and that he is expected to return to prison in March 2011 to complete his full eight-year prison term. PEN encourages sending appeals to Vietnamese authorities calling for his unconditional release.

Civil Rights Defenders (Kingdom of Sweden), Belarusian Human Rights House (Republic of Lithuania), Human Rights House Foundation (Kingdom of Norway and Swiss Confederation) and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee condemn the detention of the activists of the Human Rights Center ‘Viasna’ Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich and Iryna Toustsik, as yet
another case in which the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of speech severely restricted by the Belarusian authorities.

Amnesty International presented the document, “No end in sight: The ongoing suffering of Somalia’s civilians”, in which organisation reviews violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed over the past six months in the Republic of Somalia.

Сябры Сеткі Дамоў правоў чалавека і іншых праваабарончых арганізацый занепакоеныя паведамленнямі аб арыштах вядомых беларускіх праваабаронцаў, сябраў арганізацыі “Вясна”. Арышты з’яўляюцца новым інструментам запалохвання праваабаронцаў, якія адкрыта выказваюць пазіцыю непрымання смяротнага пакарання ў Беларусі, і прыцягваюць да праблемы ўвагу міжнароднай супольнасці.

European companies are participating in the global trade in types of equipment widely used in torture or other ill-treatment, according to evidence presented in a new report by Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation released on March 16. In the full version of the report Georgia is also mentioned. More precisely, the report states that Georgia purchased torture tools from Germany and Czech Republic.

Civil Rights Defenders (Sweden), Belarusian Human Rights House (Lithuania), Human Rights House Foundation (Norway) and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee condemn the detention of three activists of the Human Rights Center ‘Viasna’. “They were supposed to have applied for permission to assembly, but since the organisation they represent has been denied oficial registration severa times, the application would not have been granted. In practice their right to assembly is severely restricted” says AneTusvik Bonde, Regional Manager at the Human Rights House Foundation.

Human rights defenders were detained during a street action against the death penalty in Minsk on 23 March. They were apprehended by the presidential security services and later transported to a police precinct. Now they are awaiting a court decision for ‘violating rules of conducting mass gatherings,’ Article 23.34 of the Civil Code. Ales Bialiatski, Iryna Toustsik and Valiantsin Stefanovich will spend a night before a trial incarcerated.

English PEN protests the detention without charge of leading journalist and human rights activist Emadeddin Baghi. Baghi is among over fifty writers and journalists currently detained in Islamic Republic of Iran, many of whom were arrested in the crackdown following the disputed presidential elections of 12 June 2009.

Macedonian Women’s Rights Center – MWRC attended the seminar in Kotor, Montenegro, along with few other organizations from the region, on fundraising and donorship. A four-day seminar was held in organization of the Swedish Foundation Kvinna Till Kvinna and CIRa (Center for Institutional Development) from Skopje, in the second half of March.

On 17 March Belarusian HRH hosted a documentary screening dedicated to Yana Paliakova, a human rights defender. One year ago she took her own life. Besides showing the tragic story of young woman’s suicide the film author asked a broader question as to who the Belarusian HR defenders were and what kind of problems they encountered working in the Republic of Belarus.

23 сакавіка ў Мінску былі затрыманыя праваабаронцы, што ладзілі акцыю супраць прымянення смяротнага пакарання ў краіне. Пасля затрымання супрацоўнікамі службы бяспекі прэзідэнта, яны былі дастаўленыя ў аддзяленне міліцыі, дзе будуць чакаць суда па артыкуле 23.34 КаАП – “парушэнне правілаў правядзення масавых мерапрыемстваў”. Ноч да суду праваабаронцы Алесь Бяляцкі, Валянцін Стэфановіч і Ірына Тоўсцік правядуць у Цэнтры ізаляцыі правапарушальнікаў.

Amnesty International Norway calls the Chinese government to remove restrictions on the internet following Google’s decision to stop censoring internet search results in the People´s Republic of China and direct users to the Hong Kong version of the website.