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FRITT ORD FOUNDATION and BORGEN PRODUCTION AS
Invite the public to a seminar at Saga Kino (Saga Cinema), Oslo
Thursday, 6 October 2011, 10.00–12.30

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee invites you to the seminar: Five years after Anna Politkovskaya’s death- The legacy of Anna

As world leaders gathering in New York for United Nations General Assembly, one of the most controversial political figures, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, once again attracted attention by his populist statements in the General Assembly. However the president said nothing about continuing violations of human rights by his own regime. Iran remains to be one of the worst places in the Middle East with regard to women’s, rights, freedom of expression and other fundamental human rights set in the Universal Human Rights Declaration

Kazakhstan authorities continue to hold a harsh grip over human rights defenders, lawyers and opposition. Upcoming court appeal hearing of lawyer Natalya Sokolova, right, is yet another example of Kazakhtan’s horrific human rights record.

Several key areas where Russian government has yet to make a progress if the country wants to be more democratic remain to be a core issue with regard to human rights within Russian Federation. It was outlined during the visit of human rights defenders from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee to St. Petersburg and Moscow on 8-12 September.

Woeser, famous Tibetan blogger and human rights defender was awarded prestigious award by The Prince Claus Fund for her outstanding achievements in the field of human rights. During Chinese crackdown in Tibet in 2008, Woeser’s blog became a primary source for world media. Woeser kept posting daily updates on situation in Tibet relaying on her contacts with other Tibetan human rights defenders. Her articles were translated in numerous languages and the blog itself attracted around three million readers every day

The Human Rights House in Oslo together with dozens of other HR organizations has publicly condemned recent demolition of the Institute for Peace and Democracy in Baku. Earlier, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee sent a letter to Azerbaijani authorites including the President Ilham Aliyev, and demanded to investigate and bring persons responsible for demolition to justice.

Burmese nationals who fled the country following the 1988 popular uprising are allowed to return to their country, President Thein Sein, right, said in his recent speech. Human rights activists believe this statement is ‘nothing more than a PR exercise’. In today’s Burma, close to 2,100 political prisoners are behind bars, among them monks, journalists, politicians and relief workers.

15 November is marked every year by PEN centers around the world as “day of imprisoned writers.”