Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, described the sentencing on the 11th November 2009 of two Azerbaijani bloggers to prison terms on charges of alleged hooliganism and infliction of light bodily injuries as political.
“These new imprisonments cement Azerbaijan’s image as the pre-eminent jailer of journalists in the OSCE region. Five journalists [...]

Tags: Azerbaijan, OSCE

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Freedom of Religion, Assembly and Expression in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan’s human rights record is inconsistent with standards embraced by the regional group, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and so its chairmanship, which will start in 2010, risks undermining the integrity of the institution’s human rights principles.
The 55-page report, “An Atmosphere of Quiet Repression: [...]

Tags: Kazakhstan, OSCE

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Members of visibly identifiable groups who stand out from majority populations because of their religion, ethnicity or other perceived characteristics remain the target of often brutal physical attacks, says a report on hate crimes in the OSCE region launched today.
The report, compiled by the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and launched [...]

Tags: OSCE

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