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9 international NGOs sent a joint letter to Belarusian Prosecutor General of the City of Minsk to urge that Ales Bialiatski be released from custody on his own recognizance pending the investigation against him.

-In the middle of this unbelievable violence and sadness, we are moved by the many strong and warm messages of solidarity and empathy from all over the world. We also understand from the news coverage of this tragic event, that it has shaken and saddened a whole world, says Nora Sveaass, Chair of the board of the Human Rights House in Oslo.

Dalai Lama, Rafto laureates and many friends of Norway and its human rights organisations express their sympathy and condolences to the people of Norway. Secretary General of Norwegian Helsinki Committee Bjørn Engesland regrets that the attacks targeted the best Norwegians have: youth, openness, democracy.

The Belarusian general prosecutor, Grigory Vasilevich, has stood up for journalists and defended their right to report on ongoing political protests. According to a 15 July statement issued by his press office, Vasilevich sent a letter to Interior Minister Anatoly Kuleshov reminding his colleague of journalists’ rights under the law. Last week Belarusian Authorities also dropped lawsuits aimed at closing two independent newspapers in country.

Silent demonstrations on Wednesdays continue across Belarus. Since 15 June 2011, at least 1730 people, including dozens of journalists, have been arrested during the peaceful “clapping protests”. Thirty eight international human rights organisations, including 23 members of 10 Human Rights Houses, united in their call upon the Belarusian authorities to immediately release the demonstrators from prisons.

This year the Food First Information and Action Network, FIAN International, the only human rights organisation working exclusively to promote the right to food, celebrates 25 years since its foundation. 25 years ago the organisation took its first steps to defend the basic right of all people to permanent and unrestricted access to adequate, nutritious and culturally appropriate food that enables them to live with dignity.

NHC announces a contest for project proposals aiming at improving the situation regarding human rights, democratization or civil society in Central Asia.

In a new crackdown against the independent press, Belarusian police briefly detained and beat more than a dozen reporters, and broke their equipment at June 29 protest rally in Minsk and Brest, according to news reports and Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) sources in Belarus.

In the last two weeks skirmishes broke out between the Burmese army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in north of the country. A 17 years old ceasefire agreement between KIA and the Burmese regime has been broken. 10 000 have fled their homes. The Norwegian Burma Committee fears numbers will increase and a deterioration of the humanitarian situation.