In one of his last public acts, dissident, playwright and president Václav Havel signed this statement calling for free speech in Belarus, along with Ai Weiwei, Sir Tom Stoppard and many more
An artists’ manifesto for Belarus
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CATEGORY: Europe and Central Asia
Kommersant publishing house editor-in-chief fired for anti-Putin photos
Alisher Usmanov, a metal tycoon and owner of Russia’s leading Kommersant publishing house, fired Kommersant Vlast magazine editor-in-chief Maxim Kovalsky and Kommersant-Holdingexecutive director Andrey Galiev. The reason for the dismissals,...
Moscow prison whistleblower under pressure
Senior lieutenant Alexey Kozlov, responsible for educational work at Butyrka pre-trial prison in Moscow, has virtually lost his job after having publically criticised the penitentiary system. He has appealed to rights activists and journalists...
Russia urges Putin to step down
Elena Vlasenko reports from Saturday’s momentous Moscow protest
Russia urges Putin to step down
Tens of thousands of people participated in opposition rallies against alleged unfair parliamentary elections in Russia. The biggest was in Moscow: up to 120,000 people demanded the resignation of Russia's prime-minister Vladimir Putin. "Putin...
Azerbaijani human rights lawyer detained at Istanbul airport
An Azerbaijani human rights activist was detained for more than 24 hours at Istanbul airport on Tuesday evening. Intigam Aliyev was returning to Baku from the Civil Society Parallel Event, organized by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation...
Belarus: European ministers meet activists
UK’s Europe Minister David Liddington visits Human Rights House Viasna alongside Index on Censorship; Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore emphasizes NGO involvement
Plus: Conference urges ministers to “suspend Belarus from the OSCE”
Russia cracks down on anti-Putin protests
Thousands of people have taken part in opposition rallies against Vladimir Putin's United Russia after allegations of widespread electoral fraud. Police and anti-Putin protesters have clashed every day since the parliamentary elections on 4...
Azerbaijan: Supreme Court upholds Bakhtiyar Hajiyev judgment
The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan upheld the sentence of a young activist and blogger on 6 December. Bakhtiyar Hajiyev was sentenced to two years' imprisonment after using Facebook to generate support for the 11 March “Great People’s Day”...
Hacked websites and fraud mark Russia’s parliamentary elections
Parliamentary elections were held in Russia yesterday (4 December). Several independent media websites were hacked on election day; journalists and rights activists claim this was to prevent coverage of electoral violations. With 96 per cent of...