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On 13 May, Nguyen The Vu, Nguyen Quoc Quan and Somsak Kunmi will stand trial in Vietnam, charged with terrorism. Together with three others, they were arrested 17 November last year. ´Free them now ´ is an international campaign to prevent these three and others from being sentenced, potentially with heavy prison terms. (05-MAY-08)
 

On 13 May, Nguyen The Vu, Nguyen Quoc Quan and Somsak Kunmi will stand trial in Vietnam, charged with terrorism. Together with three others, they were arrested 17 November last year. ´Free them now ´ is an international campaign to prevent these three and others from being sentenced, potentially with heavy prison terms. (05-MAY-08)
 

The World Press Freedom Day was celebrated in the Republic of Azerbaijan by a number of events. The importance of press freedom for the country democracy was underlined at all the organized events and the current situation with press in the Republic of Azerbaijan was assessed negatively. As part of the arrangements, the graves of late journalists Najaf Najafov and Elmar Huseynov were visited by media representatives, human rights defenders and political activists. (04-MAY-08)
 

As World Press Freedom Day approaches, Burma’s military regime continues to crack down on dissent. On 10 May, it plans to push through a new constitution that will give the armed forces more power and secure the junta’s control over the media. The country’s brutal ruling military junta will stage the national referendum on 10 May to rubber stamp a Potemkin constitution that will give the armed forces a guaranteed 25 per cent of seats in the national assembly. (01-MAY-08)
 

As World Press Freedom Day approaches, Burma’s military regime continues to crack down on dissent. On 10 May, it plans to push through a new constitution that will give the armed forces more power and secure the junta’s control over the media. The country’s brutal ruling military junta will stage the national referendum on 10 May to rubber stamp a Potemkin constitution that will give the armed forces a guaranteed 25 per cent of seats in the national assembly. (01-MAY-08)
 

-Burma’s May 10 referendum on a new constitution is a sham process aimed at entrenching the military, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a new report released today. -So far all independent reports tell the same story. HRW’s report is just one more reason why the people of Burma should tell the regime ‘NO’ in the upcoming referendum, says Marte Graff Jenssen, information officer in The Norwegian Burma Committee (NBC). (01-MAY-08)
 

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) says global battles for safety, decent work and quality journalism can only be won if journalists stand together in defence of their rights. In a statement marking World Press Freedom Day 2008, the IFJ has called for a renewal of global solidarity among journalists to combat the threats facing media. (30-APR-08)
 

The International Contact Group (ICG), a loose network of countries trying to affect the situation in the Republic of Somalia meets in Oslo tomorrow to discuss the political process, the security situation and the humanitarian conditions in the country. To address ICG´s disputable role, representatives of many of the different Somali organisations in Norway will demonstrate outside the meeting. (29-APR-08)
 

Remzi Kartal , right, Vice President of Kongra-Gel, the Kurdish National Congress, visited the Human Rights House in Oslo on Friday, and painted a bleak picture of the situation in Kurdistan. Kartal, who lives in exile in Belgium, has spent time in prison and cannot go back to Republic of Turkey. Like his fellow political representative Leyla Zana, he once presented his oath to the Turkish parliament in Kurdish. (28-APR-08)
 

More than 400 Mount Elgon residents were tortured  by the military during the offensive to flush out the rag-tag Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF) militia. According to a report produced by the Independent Medico-legal Unit (IMLU), those arrested were locked up at Bungoma prison after  suffering physical injuries from the beatings meted out by the Republic of Kenya Army. (28-APR-08)
 

The first session of the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review has just ended. No less than sixteen countries came under the scrutiny of their peers. How did the process go? What went well? What must be improved? What are the opportunities and challenges for civil society at national level? (28-APR-08)
 

Remzi Kartal, right, Vice President of Kongra-Gel, the Kurdish National Congress, visited the Human Rights House in Oslo on Friday, and painted a bleak picture of the situation in Kurdistan. Kartal, who lives in exile in Belgium, has spent time in prison and cannot go back to Republic of Turkey. Like his fellow political representative Leyla Zana, he once presented his oath to the Turkish parliament in Kurdish. (28-APR-08)