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The 10th Edward J. Wende Award has been presented to Mikołaj Pietrzak, an advocate specialising in criminal law and the chairperson of the Polish Bar Council Human Rights Committee.

In December 2013, the Circuit Court in Gdańsk acquitted Przemysław S. charged with beating a man to death. The cost of the proceedings will be paid from the state’s purse. Mr S. was fighting for his innocence before different courts for more than 15 years.

The HFHR addressed a statement to the President of the Polish Bank Association, asking if the Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) and payment terminals used by bank customers in Poland meet the needs of visually impaired persons.

The Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw denied the complaint brought by Paweł Juszkiewicz against a decision which denies the recognition of him as a Polish citizen. The decision was based on a confidential report drafted by the Internal Security Agency, inaccessible for Mr Juszkiewicz.

“No Burquas Behind Bars”, a documentary shot in Afghanistan by the Iranian Nima Sarvestani, has won the first award of the 13th International Film Festival WATCH DOCS. Human Rights in Film.

Currently, people with disabilities may only use special assistance during the advocate, legal counsellor and notary professional qualification exams: they can receive a time extension equal to half of the time available for the standard exam.

The South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders was founded in 2009 and unites NGOs from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The Human Rights House Foundation has from the start been an international associated member invited to take part in the selection of member organizations and the development of the Network.

Having considered the Polish Government’s report on the implementation of the Convention against Torture, the UN Committee Against Torture issued recommendations for Poland. The CAT recommended, among other things, that Poland introduce a statutory definition of torture, improve detained persons’ access to legal aid, conclude the inquiry into secret CIA prisons and limit the scope of the detention of migrants (also migrant children).

The European Court of Human Rights has heard the joined cases of Al-Nashiri and Abu Zubaydah vs. Poland. The applicants are Guantanamo detainees who claim that they were detained and tortured in a secret CIA facility in Poland.