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Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi celebrated her 61st birthday at her Yangon home in Burma on 19 June. Unlike most birthdays, hers was celebrated under house arrest, and on 27 May she was informed that the junta had extended her detention term for another year. The English PEN Writers in Prison Committee declared her its Prisoner of the Month for July 2006. Suu Kyi has spent the last 17 years in and out of house arrest. As leader of the National League for Democracy and a prominent writer, she was and still is a main target for the military. She was most recently arrested in 2003 when her convoy was attacked and approximately 100 of her supporters were killed. (20-JULY-06)
 

Republic of Kazakhstan has passed amendments to its media law that will impose new restrictions on the media and make aspects such as registration more difficult and problematic. In the weeks before the passage there were pleas from groups including Article 19 asking the president to veto them and a demonstration involving hundreds of activists and journalists in Almaty on 24 June demanding the bills repeal. The Senate ignored these cries of international concern and local outrage and passed the amendments to the Mass Media Law, the Tax Code and the Code of Administrative Offences on 29 June. The president followed, signing them into law on 5 July. (14-JULY-06)
 

On July 11th, ahead of the G8 summit the main leaders of Russian opposition and human rights activists gathered in Moscow for a two-day conference, called Other the Russian Federation. The conference focused on what the real the Russian Federation looks like and on ways to combat the Kremlin´s tightening grip on civil society. Trying to disturb the conference, the police detained many delegates. However, the gathering has also underscored the rifts dividing the opposition. (14-JUL-06)
 

Belarusian democratic society is indignant with the courts’ decision to punish Aliaksandr Kazulin, the former candidate for presidency, with 5,5 years of prison. He was convicted of hooliganism and incitement to mass disorder during March 2006 events. HRC “Viasna” considers the conviction of one of alternative candidates a politically-motivated decision and expresses vigorous protest against this judgement.(14-JUL-06)

On July 5th, the conference of non-governmental organizations “Human rights in the Russian Federation in the year of its presidency in G8 and in the Council of Europe” took place in Moscow. The conference established a systemic human rights crisis and problems with democratic institutions.  The delegates to the conference adopted a petition to the leaders of G8 nations. (10-JUL-06)
 

On 3 July, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights approached Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz with an inquiry regarding the status and course of work on the establishment of the office for counteracting discrimination due to race and ethnic origin. Although Republic of Poland, as a member of the European Union, is obligated to form an independent office dealing with such issues, up till now this has not been done. (07-JULY-06)
 

On July 5th, the conference of non-governmental organizations “Human rights in the Russian Federation in the year of its presidency in G8 and in the Council of Europe” took place in Moscow. The conference established a systemic human rights crisis and problems with democratic institutions.  The delegates to the conference adopted a petition to the leaders of G8 nations.  (10-JUL-06)
 

On 3 July, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights approached Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz with an inquiry regarding the status and course of work on the establishment of the office for counteracting discrimination due to race and ethnic origin. Although Republic of Poland, as a member of the European Union, is obligated to form an independent office dealing with such issues, up till now this has not been done. (07-JULY-06)

The new report is available on the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights website (www.hfhrpol.waw.pl) concerning the state of human rights observance in the Republic of Poland in 2005. The report was prepared for the European Commission by the President of Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights Marek Antoni Nowicki – the European Union’s expert on Fundamental Rights Issues. (07-JULY-06)

What happens when a repressive regime figures out how to use a “fundamental machine for crushing human beings physically, psychologically, and spiritually” to turn a profit not just from the labour of prisoners, but from their deaths as well? The answer has come to light over the past few years as reports have trickled out about the consequences Falun Gong practitioners have faced for leading spiritually, morally and physically healthy lifestyles: the removal of their organs for sale to facilitate a black market transplant trade. (7-JULY-06)

Today it is 6 years ago that cameraman Dzmitry Zavadski, working for the Russian TV channel ORT, vanished without leaving a trace. It has never become clear what has happened to him. The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ)  demands that Belarusian authorities restart investigations. (05-JUL-06)
 

The Human Rights House Foundation has appealed to the authorities of Georgia to restart proceedings in a case against 5 members of the Georgian NGO the Equality Institute and reverse a previous verdict that was executed on 29 June. The five were sentenced to 30 days’ imprisonment for protesting in front of a court building in the capital Tbilisi during a lawsuit. The Human Rights House Foundation considers the ruling to be unlawful and not complying with the conditions of a fair trial. (06-JUL-06)