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Local sources in the province of Kurdistan have revealed that Ms. Zeinab Jalalian, a member of a Kurdish party, has received the death sentence based on allegations of acting against national interests.

Norwegian PEN, member of the Human Rights House in Oslo and the Norwegian chapter of International PEN that represents over 15,000 writers around the world, has released a statement in which it articulates its sorrow concerning the violent and tragic developments in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

The Chechen refugee Umar Israilov was killed by gunshots to his head on January 13 as he walked out of a store. One of the four perpetrators was held at the scene. According to Austrian newspapers, he is also of Chechen origin. Israilov was a Chechen fighter who in 2003 was held for three months in Ramzan Kadyrov’s secret prisons and enlisted as Kadyrov’s security guard.

When it comes to the Internet, have some publications given up on all their ethical and editorial responsibility?

A torchlight procession for peace in Gaza is organised in solidarity with the victims of the war in the Middle East. Everyone who wishes a peacefull solution for this conflict is invited to take part in this non-political peace demonstration, in which many civil society organisations take part.
Demonstrations will also be held in Bergen, Trondheim, Tromsø, Stavanger and many other places in Norway.
For more information: check http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=72561090184.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of ACAT, FIDH, OMCT, Global Witness and Frontline, strongly condemn the closing by Iranian authorities of the offices of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, led by Iran’s Nobel peace prize winner Shirin Ebadi yesterday.

Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand, right, founder of the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan, allegedly suffered a heart attack on 17 December. Amnesty International believes Kabudvand is not receiving adequate medical care for his serious health condition in the Iranian Evin Prison.

Farzad Kamangar, right, was arrested by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence officials along with two other members of the Kurdish minority, Ali Heydariyan and Farhad Vakili, in Tehran around July 2006. The three men were sentenced to death on 25 February 2008 after being convicted of “moharebeh” (enmity towards God), a charge leveled against those accused of taking up arms against the state, in connection with their alleged membership of the armed group, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Zarganar and Nay Phone Latt, two Burmese bloggers, have been chosen as joint winners in the “Cyber-dissident” category of the Reporters Without Borders awards. Dubbed the “Burmese Charlie Chaplin,” comedian Zarganar defended human rights and denounced the military government’s abuses in sketches and entries in the blog he had been keeping since August 2007.