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Can we take for granted that religious leaders are always good and relevant agents of reconciliation? The knowledge and research about this is strikingly limited. Of acts in good faith, on the other hand, there are plenty, writes Ingrid Vik, right, Executive Director of the Nansen Dialogue Project. (09-FEB-06)
 

-At best, what we will get is a political leadership with a weak support base and an equally limited space in which to act. At worst, we will get an armed rebellion. This is the prediciton of Charles Onyango-Obbo, right, former editor of the Monitor, who was recently HRH´s guest to Norway and spoke at the seminar ´Aid and the troubled democracies of east Africa´ last month. (09-FEB-06)
 

3 February the trial was held of Stanislav Dmitrievski, which human rights activists identify as the obvious politically motivated case. The Soviet Court of Nijny Novgorod sentenced Dmitrievsky to the two-year suspended sentence and four years of “testing period” (with prohibition of changing place of residence and obligation to register oneself periodically in a police office). Stanislav Dmitrievski doesn’t agree with the ruling of the court and he is going to appeal against it. (07-FEB-06)
 

Strasbourg: The entire democratic process has been undermined, the political dialogue is jeopardised and the newly elected parliament lacks the democratic credentials of the Azeri people, states the resolution of PACE about the cretentials of the new Azeri delegation after the Parliamentary Elections of November 2005.(04-FEB-2006)
 

On February 3 the Soviet Court of Nizhny Novgorod sentenced Stanislav Dmitrievsky, right, to a two-year suspended sentence and four years of ‘testing period’ with prohibition of changing place of residence. Dmitrievski doesn’t agree with the ruling of the court and he is going to appeal against it. Human rights activists identify the trial as a politically motivated case. (07-FEB-06)
 

Republic of Poland: On 27 January 2006 the Polish Sejm elected Doctor of Law Janusz Kochanowski to the post of Ombudsman. The Sejm’s decision has already been approved by the Senate and the new Ombudsman will take office after being sworn in. (04-FEB-06)
 

Human Rights activists and political prisoners in six Moroccan prisons went on a 48 hour long hunger strike on January 31. They do this to protest against the inhumane treatment they are submitted to by the Moroccan penitentiary administration and police. A press release from the activists states that the inmates are subjected to torture and threat of assassination. (06-FEB-06)
 

The election body of OSCE and ODIHR issued its final report on the 2005 parliamentary elections in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Following the November 6 elections the OSCE released a preliminary report in which they stated the elections did not meet international standards. Their final report expands on this idea, highlighting in the shortcomings of the complaints and appeal process both during and after the elections. It also notes the lack of accountability for local government officials who were accused of interfering in the election process. (05-FEB-2006) 

The credentials of the Azeri delegation in PACE, challenged  in connection with Parliamentary Elections of November 2005, were discussed and considered at the sitting of PACE in Strasbourg in January session. The resolution of PACE, consisting of 12 paragraphs, summarizes the lack of favorable conditions for free and fair elections. The Assembly concluded to decide whether to apply Rule 9 of the Rules of Procedure on the basis of the report on the progress made in all the areas mentioned paragraph 9 of this Resolution in June-session. (04-FEB-2006)

The Belarusian Association of Journalists presents the results of the monitoring “Elucidation of the presidential election of 2006 in the Belarusian mass media”. According to it, 90% of time at this TV channel in comparison to other subjects of the electoral process (Central Election Commission, observers from CIS countries and the Western Europe, other pretenders to presidency) was devoted to Aliaksandr Lukashenka. (04-FEB-06)

On 27 January 2006 the Polish Sejm elected Doctor of Law Janusz Kochanowski to the post of Ombudsman. The Sejm’s decision has already been approved by the Senate and the new Ombudsman will take office after being sworn in. (03-FEB-06)

English PEN´s Writers in Prison Committee supports more than 700 writers persecuted worldwide for exercising their right to freedom of expression. As part of their campaigning work, PEN has been highlighting an individual case each month since 2003, initiating appeals to heads of state and relevant government departments and providing vital background information about the country and writers concerned. (03-FEB-05)