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The third “Norwegian” shipping company in half a year says it will no longer visit ports in occupied Western Sahara. Jinhui Shipping, registered on Oslo Stock Exchange, says to South the People´s Republic of China Morning Post that it will not contract any more business in the country. (05-JUNE-08)
 

21 May 2008 the State Duma passed in its final, third reading, the law “On Public Control for Ensuring Human Rights in Detention Facilities and Assisting Persons in Detention Facilities”. Should the law e approved by the Federation Council and signed by the president it is assumed that it will to come into force on 1 September 2008. (23-MAY-08)
 

The spring draft began in the Russian Federation on 1 April and will run till 15 July 2008. As of today human rights defenders have fixed numerous infringements of the draftees’ rights. This was stated by the nongovernmental organization, Committee of Soldier´s Mothers, which gives consultations for citizens and holds weekly assemblies consulting people concerning issues of the draft. (20-MAY-08)
 

Annual reports were prepared by the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Freedom House for World Press Freedom Day which is celebrated annually on 3 May. (15-MAY-08)
 

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Onziema Patience, Ms. Valentine Kalende and Mr. Auf, three Ugandan LGBT activists. The Observatory requests your urgent intervention in the situation. (05-JUNE-08)
 

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisation the Republic of the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) call for an immediate firm response by the Security Council to the International Criminal Court´s (ICC) report denouncing the failure of the Sudanese government to cooperate with the Court and the consequent breach of its obligations under Security Council Resolution 1593.

The Human Rights House Foundation (HRH F) is pleased to inform that Valerij Misnikov, right, is released from the mental hospital where he was being held since November 2007. Several houses in the Human Rights House Network protested against Misnikov’s sentence, which according to local defenders was an attempt to silence him. (05-JUNE-08)
 

Paval Liavinau, member of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC), is sentenced.

The Norwegian Council for the Rights of the Kurds (RKR) will observe the third anniversary of the murder of Masuq al-Khaznawi, right, with a memorial meeting at the Human Rights House in Oslo tomorrow, Thursday 5 June, at 5 pm. al-Khaznawi was murdered 1 June 2005. (04-JUNE-08) 
 

Length of judicial proceedings, overcrowding in prisons, situation of national minorities, education, domestic violence, women’s rights or freedom of the media – these are only some of the issues that concerned Thomas Hammarberg, right, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, who visited Republic of Poland last week.(03-JUNE-08)
  

Length of judicial proceedings, overcrowding in prisons, situation of national minorities, education, domestic violence, women’s rights or freedom of the media – these are only some of the issues that concerned Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, who visited Republic of Poland last week.(3-JUN-08)

In a statement sent today to President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the Prosecutor´s Office of Vitebsk, the General Prosecutor´s Office of the Republic of Belarus and the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Human Rights House Foundation expresses its concern with the recent harassment of the human rights defender Leanid Svetsik, right. Read the full statement below. (02-JUNE-08)