 RFE/RL Watchdog 12/22/2009 A blog of human rights, media freedom, and democracy developments from RFE/RL's broadcast region.For more, please visit and bookmark Watchdog . |
 Kyrgyz Journalist Dies In Hospital After Attack Kyrgyz journalist Gennady Pavlyuk has died in an Almaty hospital nearly a week after police say he was thrown out of a high-rise building in Kazakhstan with his hands and feet bound. More  Kyrgyz Journalist 'Thrown' From Building Police have said Kyrgyz journalist Gennady Pavlyuk's hands and feet were bound when he was found unconscious after apparently being thrown from the window of a sixth-floor apartment, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Call Made For Leaders Of Green Movement To Be Executed An Iranian cleric, Hojatoleslam Rahimian, called today for the leaders of Iran’s opposition Green Movement to be executed. More  EU Deputies Give Azerbaijan A 'Wake-Up Call' On Media Freedom EU parliamentarians say they want a resolution critical of Azerbaijan to be seen as a warning message for authorities in Baku, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More  Imprisoned Iranian Journalist Awarded Golden Pen Of Freedom An imprisoned Iranian journalist has been awarded the prestigious Golden Pen of Freedom award for 2010 by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). More  Uzbek Charged With Libel For Photos A prominent Uzbek photographer/videographer has been charged with defamation and damaging the country's image because of the content of her photos and videos, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports. More  Kyrgyz Newspaper Receives Bullet In Mail The staff at an independent newspaper in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh have received a death threat and a bullet in a letter, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  EU Shines Light On Azeri Media Former Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis says that deteriorating media freedom in Azerbaijan reminds him of the Soviet period and that it is time for Baku to choose whether it wants to follow the European path, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More  Caucasus Asylum-Seekers Returning To Polish Refugee Camps Most of the 200 Chechen, Ingush, and Georgian asylum-seekers who were detained at the Polish-German border today are being sent to a refugee center in Warsaw, RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service reports. More  Russian Journalist Beaten In Kyrgyzstan A reporter for the Russian BaltInfo news agency was beaten in Kyrgyzstan's capital today, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Europe's Muslims Face 'Alarming' Bias The Open Society Institute, a private foundation set up by financier George Soros, said many Muslims experienced discrimination as well as social and economic disadvantages. More  Belarusian Judge Rules Opposition Activist's Case Be Reviewed A Minsk city court ruled today that the case of a jailed opposition activist be sent back and reviewed in a lower court, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  'Flood' Of Polish Letters Over Jailed Azeri Bloggers Amnesty International claims that Azerbaijani leaders can expect to receive up to 10,000 handwritten letters from Poland calling on them to release two jailed bloggers, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More  Yelena Bonner Says Sakharov's Ideals Being Forgotten Yelena Bonner, the widow of Soviet-era rights defender Andrei Sakharov and an outspoken rights campaigner in her own right, has lamented what she says is a decline in the invocation of her late husband's name and ideals, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Jailed Kazakh Journalist's Appeal Rejected The Zhambyl regional appeals court in southern Kazakhstan has upheld the verdict against jailed independent journalist Ramazan Esergepov, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More Appeal to Release Azerbaijani Bloggers An appeal to release two jailed Azerbaijani bloggers was among letters written at an Amnesty International event in Prague for human rights day, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More  Website Owner's Slayer Gets 2-Year Sentence A court in the North Caucasian republic of Ingushetia has sentenced a policeman to two years in jail for the killing of opposition website owner Magomed Yevloyev, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Uzbek Crackdown Ahead Of Elections New York-based Human Rights Watch says Uzbek authorities have been increasing assaults on human rights activists ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections. More  Kazakh Court Dismisses Rights Activist's Appeal An Almaty regional court today rejected an appeal from jailed human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis for his case to be reviewed, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Slain Ingushetian Activist Given U.S. Human Rights Award The U.S. State Department's annual Human Rights Defenders Award has been given posthumously to Ingushetian human rights activist Maksharip Aushev. More  Kyrgyz Ex-Security Chief Attacked A former senior Kyrgyz Security Council official has been hospitalized after a reported attack in the capital, Bishkek, late on December 9, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More A prominent human rights activist was found dead today in the central Russian city of Kemerovo, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Russian Police Search Activists' Flats The Moscow apartments of opposition activists Aleksandr Averin and Sergei Fomchenkov were searched by police, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  New Probe In Saipov Murder Case The Kyrgyz Supreme Court has ruled that the case of slain journalist Alisher Saipov should be sent back to an Osh city court for further investigation, but his father had hoped it would be sent to a different jurisdiction, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Kazakh Teacher Not Allowed To Wear Hijab At School A high school geography teacher in the southeastern Kazakh city of Taldy-Qorghan has turned to the Prosecutor's Office for permission to wear an Islamic head scarf (hijab) while teaching, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Number Of Jailed Journalists Soars The number of freelance journalists jailed around the world has almost doubled in the past three years and reflects a changing global news business, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. More  Belarusian Activists Blindfolded, Dumped In Forest In what could mark a worrying new trend in Alyaksandr Lukashenka's Belarus, two prominent opposition activists say they were briefly abducted over the weekend by assailants they believe are tied to the secret services. More  Uzbek Students 'Regularly' Expelled For Not Picking Cotton Uzbek students who refuse to work in cotton fields during the harvest season in Uzbekistan are being expelled from high schools and universities, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports. More  HRW Tells Kyrgyzstan To Stop Harassing Rights Monitors Human Rights Watch is urging the Kyrgyz government to immediately stop harassing human rights monitors doing research in southern Kyrgyzstan. More  Belarusian Activist Fined For Taking Photos A Minsk district court today fined Young Belarus movement activist Anastasiya Mashchava more than 1 million rubles ($360) for taking pictures during a protest mocking the government, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More A Russian journalist won a lawsuit against a Russian official at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg today, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Relatives Worried About Jailed Azerbaijani Journalist's Health Relatives of a jailed Azerbaijani journalist say they are worried about his deteriorating health, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More Three Belarusian opposition activists have been jailed for holding a protest in which people egged a mock picture of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  Rights Group Criticizes Uzbekistan's Repressive Policies Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the Uzbek government continues its repressive policies and is still detaining many rights activists despite the recent release of political prisoner Sanjar Umarov, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports. More Tajik Human Rights Activist 'Not Allowed' Into Kyrgyzstan Rights campaigners in Bishkek say a Tajik human rights activist was not allowed to enter Kyrgyzstan today, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  The Suspicious Death Of Russian Journalist Olga Kotovskaya The International Press Institute (IPI) is drawing attention to the death of Kaliningrad-based broadcast journalist Olga Kotovskaya. More  Chechen Activist's Killing 'Not Connected To Her Work' Prosecutors in Chechnya say the killing of a prominent human rights activist in August was not connected to her work, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Tatar Activists Plan Protests In Support Of Jailed Blogger Activists in Tatarstan say they are preparing to launch protest actions in support of a jailed blogger, RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reports. More |
