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Rebiya Kadeer, president of the World Uyghur Congress and the Rafto Prize laureate, says she “felt terrible” after hearing that an Uyghur had been arrested on terrorism charges in Norway. Therefore, she asks the international community to refrain from using the possible terrorist activity of this single man to ascertain the aspirations of the broader Uyghur population and their peaceful struggle for freedom.

Demolitions and tighter security spark fears of a new backlash in Xinjiang. A year after deadly ethnic violence rocked the city of Urumqi, authorities in China’s troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang have begun demolishing a part of the city that traditionally housed hundreds of thousands of ethnic Uyghurs, Radio Free Asia reported.

The Western Sahara conflict is now in the 35th year, with no sign of resolution. While the United Nations is ostensibly responsible for its resolution and defending the human rights, some states provide implicit support for Moroccan occupation of the territory, failing to support a referendum which might include the option of independence. The issue also continues to poison relations between Algeria and Morocco, blocking hopes of regional economic integration in the Maghrib.

Amnesty International has urged the Iranian authorities not to execute by any method a 43-year-old woman convicted of adultery, following an official statement that she will not be executed by stoning. The Iranian Embassy in London announced on 8 July that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani would not be stoned to death. However, fears remain that the mother-of-two could be hanged, as she has been convicted of “adultery while married”.

The Azerbaijani authorities ignore pressure from the international community. Most recently, few days after the visit to Republic of Azerbaijan of United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the editor Eynulla Fatullaeyv has been sentenced to 2,5 years imprisonment despite appeals from the United Nations and the Council of Europe.

Doctor Unni Krishnan Karunakara has been chosen to lead the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) over the next three years. He was elected on June 29 in Geneva. He takes over from Dr. Christophe Fournier. According to new president, MSF will remain relevant for the survival of large numbers of people, if the it manages to constantly adapt to new realities.

The letter by the 2008 Rafto Prize laureate, Pastor Bulambo Lembelembe Josué, reveals the shocking level of safety and the human rights situation in South-Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. The author fears a destabilisation of the democratic regional institutions and urges the government to fulfil its constitutional obligation to protect the citizens and their property.

International PEN and ARTICLE 19 condemn the recent executions of Iranian Kurdish political prisoners and warn more executions are imminent.

New satellite images and video footage show the dramatic impact of the recent violent events on the city of Osh in southern Kyrgyz Republic. Comparison of satellite images of the Cheremushki neighborhood in Osh in 2007 and 2010 indicate destruction by fire. Houses are without roofs, dozens of large SOS signs are visible.