NEWSLETTER FROM THE HUMAN RIGHTS HOUSE NETWORK

1) Azerbaijan: Standoff shadows pre-election situation
More than 300 opposition activists were arrested and many wounded in a demonstration in Baku on Saturday. The Human Rights House Foundation (HRH) is deeply concerned about the heated tension between the authorities and the opposition before the parliamentary elections due 6 November in Azerbaijan. Together with the Norwegian and Swedish Helsinki Committees, HRH sent an open letter to the Azeri President Ilham Aliyev on Friday.

2) Colombian defender in grave danger
A death threat has been delivered to Soraya Gutiérrez Arguello, President of the non- governmental human rights organization Corporación Colectivo de Abogados 'José Alvear Restrepo' in Colombia. Please send appeals immediately.

3) Appeals for an international investigation in Uzbekistan
In an appeal to the Uzbek president, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee calls for an impartial investigation of the events in Andijan and other cities of Eastern Uzbekistan. International PEN and Amnesty International also strongly condemn the reported use of excessive force against civilians on 13 of May. Many Azeri human rights organizations have signed a letter to the international community to put the situation on the agenda, and in Poland , the Helsinki Committee and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights have written a letter to their government.

4) Uzbekistan: the Internet "information explosion"
Access to websites with an oppositional or even just a critical slant is blocked by service providers on instructions from the authorities of Uzbekistan. Official statistics indicate that around 700,000 Uzbeks use the Internet, less than three per cent of a population of 26 million. Independent sources estimate that it has even fewer regular users.

5) Tunisia: Concern grows following clashes between lawyers and police
Many international free expression groups now believe the Tunisian government’s strategy is to isolate and intimidate its barristers and clear the way for advocates willing to toe the authorities’ repressive line. Index on Censorship was on hand to witness a tense stand-off between riot police and independent lawyers in Tunisia during the first week of May. Rohan Jayasekera reports from Tunis.
See also: Smear campaign against Tunisian journalist

6) Kenya: Truth, Justice and reconciliation as elusive as ever
A recent statement by Kenyan Justice Minister Kiraitu Murungi that it was "no longer necessary" for the country to establish a commission to investigate atrocities committed under previous governments has been greeted with both outrage and delight.

7) Croatia: Free legal aid for Roma people
Last week, the Ministry of Justice introduced a new programme of free legal aid for the members of the Roma national minority in Croatia. This is part of anti-discrimination measures towards Roma communitites, underlined in the National Programme for Roma people.

8) Uganda: Growing pressure on prisons already bursting at the seams
Nearly a decade ago, the Kampala Declaration on Prison Conditions in Africa was drawn up to improve the situation of inmates across the continent. In an ironic twist, however, the capital that gave its name to the initiative has yet to meet the goals of the declaration. The same goes for the rest of Uganda.

9) Racist violence on the rise in Russia
Sixteen murders committed by racists and nationalists were registered in Russia in eight months of 2004, according to a new report from the Moscow bureau for human rights. The terrorist act in Beslan started a new wave of hatred towards people from the Caucasus region.

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Sent by:
Borghild Tønnessen-Krokan
Editor/Project Manager
Human Rights House Foundation (HRH)
Address: Menneskerettighetshuset,
Tordenskioldsgate 6b, 0160 Oslo, Norway
Tel: (+47) 22 47 92 47, Direct: (+47) 22 47 92 44,
Fax: (+47) 22 47 92 01
Website: http://www.humanrightshouse.org,
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