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In a letter to the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Sayed `Ali Khamenei, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, together with the seven other organisations of the Human Rights House in Oslo and the Oslo Center for Peace and Huamn Rights, call upon the Iranian authorities to immediately release Kaveh Ghasemi Kermanshahi, as he is solely detained for his peaceful human rights activities.

The upcoming election in Burma was discussed on 26 April 2010 at a seminar in Oslo. According to the participants, new election laws, as well as the new constitution that was pushed through in a farce of a referendum in 2008, have created ground rules that clearly favour the military junta. Seminar was organized by the Oslo Center, in cooperation with Norwegian Church Aid, the Norwegian Baptist Society and the Norwegian Burma Committee.

The Oslo Freedom Forum 2010 ran from April 26-28, 2010 in Christiania Theatre, Oslo, Norway. In the Forum participated 41 speakers who shared diverse perspectives and expertise, from those individuals with first-hand experience in the fight for human rights to those offering insight based on academic research and political and non-profit leadership. Norwegian Helsinki Committee was among the supporters of this event.

Burma Campaign UK welcomes the renewal of European Union (EU) sanctions against Burma for a further year, and a call by the EU for Burma to “end violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.” The problem with EU sanctions is that most are not effectively targeted, have not been used as part of coordinated diplomatic efforts.

Amnesty International, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights House Foundation staged a silent protest this morning outside the hotel where President Dimitri Medvedev has been staying during his visit to Norway. The demonstration helped draw public attention even further in the direction of the many grave human rights concerns in the Russian Federation. As Medvedev came out of the hotel and saw the demonstrators, he was heading straight for his talks with Jens Stoltenberg, the Norwegian Prime Minister.

UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on Human Rights Tomás Quintana highlighted in a report the problematic link between foreign oil companies operation in Burma and the Myanmar military, resulting in abuses like forced labour, killings, rape, torture of Burmese population. He recommends an official “commission of inquiry” into possible crimes against humanity and war crimes in military-ruled Burma (Republic of the Union of Myanmar).

In a letter sent on 14 April 2010 to the President of the Republic of Belarus, Mr Alexander Lukashenko and Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, together with 50 other organisations, condemns the execution of Mr. Andrei Zhuk and Mr. Vasily Yuzepchuk.

The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities in the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) to immediately release journalist Ernest Vardanian, who has been jailed in the regional capital of Tiraspol for treason since April 7.

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee announced on 13 April 2010 about the launch of the small grants program for Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. Under the program, applications for grant support can be submitted by all legally registered organizations with project proposals to promote human rights and democracy in three Central Asian countries.