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The Rafto Foundation has organized a fundraising campaign to get medical treatment for 20 year old Sidi Elfakraoui. Elfakraoui was thrown out of a window from the 4th floor by Moroccan police, and consequently broke his back, arm and both his legs. (16-AUG-2005)
 

Mr. Arne Lynngard, Chairman of the Rafto Foundation has organized a fundraising campaign to get medical treatment for 20 year old Sidi Elfakraoui. The young man was thrown out of a window in the 4th floor of a building by Moroccan police, and consequently broke his back, arm and both his legs. The police started to follow him for no obvious reason, and Mr. Elfakraoui ran from them, fearing what they might do to him. (16-AUG-2005)

Last Friday, more than 50 exiled Saharawis of Western Sahara, currently settled in Norway, demonstrated outside the Moroccan Embassy in Oslo, demanding the release of imprisoned Saharawian human rights activists and the end to the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. The Moroccan Embassy refused to talk to the demonstrators. (15-AUG-05)
    

For the second time the Rafto Foundation, in collaboration with Kurdish Human Rights Project (UK), medico international (Germany) and Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, will arrange a two-day conference, September 19 – 20, 2005, debating the Turkish accession process to the EU. The conference in Brussels will focus on the human rights situation in the Republic of Turkey, especially focusing on the conditions for the Kurdish people. (15-AUG-2005)

The British government is proposing powerful new controls on freedom of expression as part of its current strategy to ward off fresh terror attacks on the country — including charging the worst offenders with treason and rewriting British human rights laws to make it all possible. Index on Censorship’s Rohan Jayasekera reports. (09-AUG-05)
 

Last week, the head of the Campaign Against Homophobia – a Polish gay and lesbian organization – was fined by the court for his statement, which, according to the court, was aimed at offending Catholics. Lawyers have doubts as to the course chosen for making the verdict and the qualification of the offence itself. (12-AUG-05)

The adoption of this law completes the creation of the new Russian electoral legislation system that, according to human rights and politician activists, represents a rolling-back of democracy. (12-AUG-05)
 

On the 31st of July a meeting between Russian human rights activists and Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, the commissioner for human rights of the Council of Europe, took place. They discussed Gil-Robles’ report about human rights in the Russian Federation. (11-AUG-05)
 
 

The Commissioner for human rights of the Council of Europe, Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, has compared the Russian Federation to a train full of passengers that don’t know where they are going. On 31st July he met Russian human rights activists.  (11-AUG-05)
 

The British government is proposing powerful new controls on freedom of expression as part of its current strategy to ward off fresh terror attacks on the country — including charging the worst offenders with treason and rewriting British human rights laws to make it all possible. Index on Censorship’s Rohan Jayasekera reports. (09-AUG-05)
 

The situation of Poles in the Republic of Belarus is deteriorating. Following the seizure by the state authorities of the Grodno headquarters of the Association of Poles in the Republic of Belarus and the arrest of the activists and Polish and Belarusian journalists that were present there on 27 July, this week consecutive members of the Association’s authorities were placed under arrest. (05-AUG-05)

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights’ strategic plan for the period 2004/9 guides its work. The plan’s objectives are: Reduction of systemic human rights violations, leadership in framing and informing human rights discourse, increased opportunities for realization of economic and social rights , establishment of comprehensive human rights educations systems and establishment of institutional capacity to deliver effectively on human rights. (3-AUG-05)