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Press releases and media advisories
OSCE rights chief welcomes decision to release Zhovtis, but expresses concern about clampdown on Kazakh opposition
WARSAW, 1 February 2012 – Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today welcomed the decision by a court in Ust-Kamenogorsk to release prominent human rights defender Yevgeniy Zhovtis, but expressed concern about the continuing clampdown on opposition activities in Kazakhstan in the wake of December’s violence in Zhanaozen and parliamentary elections held earlier this month...
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights to address OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday
VIENNA, 1 February 2012 – The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, will address the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday, 2 February 2012. This will be his last appearance at the Permanent Council before he leaves his office on 31 March 2012...
Bialiatski should be set free, says OSCE Chairperson
DUBLIN, 24 January 2012 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore, expressed regret today that prominent Belarusian human rights defender Aliaksandr (Ales) Bialiatski was not freed on appeal...
OSCE human rights chief dismayed at continued practice of detention without trial at Guantánamo
WARSAW, 10 January 2012 – On the eve of tomorrow’s tenth anniversary of the transfer of the first detainees to the United States naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), expressed dismay today at the continued practice of indefinite detention without charge or trial of terrorism suspects...
OSCE human rights chief dismayed at Kyrgyzstan Supreme Court decision to uphold Askarov sentence
WARSAW, 20 December 2011 – Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), expressed dismay today over the decision of Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court to uphold the life sentence for prominent human rights defender Azimjan Askarov...
Kyrgyz Supreme Court must act on reported fair trial violations in Askarov case, ODIHR delegation says
BISHKEK, 16 December 2011 – After visiting prominent human rights defender Azimjan Askarov in prison, a delegation from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today urged Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court to take fair trial violations and indications of torture into account when reviewing the case of Askarov and other defendants convicted in relation to the June 2010 violence in the south of the country... ()
OSCE supports torture prevention in Kyrgyzstan
BISHKEK, 13 December 2011 – More effective prevention of torture in temporary detention facilities was the focus of a roundtable meeting organized today by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek in co-operation with the Regional Office for Central Asia of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office of the Ombudsman of Kyrgyz Republic and a human rights non-governmental organization “Kylym Shamy”... ()
OSCE Office presents handbook in Azerbaijani on human rights for military personnel
BAKU, 13 December 2011 – Today the OSCE Office in Baku presented an Azerbaijani-language version of the Handbook on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Armed Forces Personnel... ()
Human rights developments in light of 20 years of independence discussed at OSCE-supported conference in Kazakhstan
ASTANA, 12 December 2011 - Representatives from non-governmental organizations, the National Human Rights Commission, academia, international organizations and embassies reviewed the progress achieved during 20 years of Kazakhstan’s independence, and challenges in promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms at an expert conference held today in Astana...
Promise of Astana Summit remains unfulfilled in OSCE area, ODIHR director says ahead of Human Rights Day
WARSAW, 9 December 2011 – One year after the OSCE participating States promised to step up their efforts to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, tangible progress remains elusive, said Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of ODIHR, ahead of international Human Rights Day...