The reason given is that Kadyrov’s mother has urged her son to not continue his court battle with the human rights defenders Oleg Orlov and Ludmila Alexeeva due to their advanced age. Oleg Orlov suggests another reason

Over the last few days, dramatic headlines such as “Ivan the Terrible” recognized by former death camp inmate”, an 87-year-old resident of Ryazan have appeared in the Russian media. The reports in no way remove my profound doubts regarding this case which has been heralded as the “last trial of a Nazi”

What matters much more than the result is the fact that Ukraine has pulled off what is widely seen as the cleanest election the post-Soviet space has ever seen, one in which the sitting president and prime minister went down in defeat

The draft law (reg. №5040 ) proposes adding provisions which define the legal status of people who in childhood suffered from repression (as children of victims of repression) and guarantees of their social defence.

“Maidan” as a phenomenon of 2004 cannot be organized by politicians; it can only be organized by the people themselves. If we speak of rallies, pickets in support of various candidates, these clearly will be held. However their impact on the outcome will be virtually non-existent"

While it is a relief that Dilshod Kurbanov is relatively safe, the situation continues to cause concern with the authorities stopping him and others leaving the country even though safe third countries have come forward

These are just some of the issues the KHPG Advice Centre deals with in its work. Ludmila Klochko recently gave an interview in which she spoke of the work of the Public Advice Centre in 2009

The Committee of Voters of Ukraine did not record a critical mass of violations which could have distorted the outcome of the presidential elections

If it transpires that Dilshod Kurbanov has become the latest victim of abduction and has been returned to Uzbekistan, this will be a flagrant violation by Russia of the ban placed by the European Court of Human Rights on his forced return.

“It is difficult at present to talk of any influence that these violations may have on the outcome. We’ll see how the vote count goes. It is that which will decide a lot, and infringements cannot be ruled out, however thus far the situation is worse, but not critical.”

In criticising the activities of the National Expert Commission on the Protection of Public Morality, we pay too little heed to the fact that in many democratic countries the media and public play an active role in imposing necessary limits, with no interference from State bodies at all

The Committee of Voters believes that the greatest threats to the democratic nature of the second round of voting in the Presidential elections lie in the amendments passed to the Law on the Presidential Elections

Oleksandr Chernenko, Head of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine elieves that the amendments to the Law on the Presidential Elections passed three days before the elections, will make it impossible to disrupt the voting but will wreak havoc in the work of precinct election commissions

In the Crimea after two and a half years in the Simferopol SIZO [pre-trial detention centre] Belarusian youth activist and rock musician, Igor Koktysh has finally been released, following calls from human rights groups, and finally a judgment from the European Court of Human Rights

Renate Wohlwend is convinced that it would be impossible to carry out the proper work on explaining the changes for the average employee of an electoral committee

The Constitutional Court has found the provisions of the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution from 30 September (No. 1033) regarding the compulsory use by teachers during working time of Ukrainian unconstitutional

No matter what Lukashenko says about his decree on the Internet, control over the web is to become more tough, “Reporters without Borders” believe

On 3 February, just four days before Election Day, a law has been passed with a number of amendments to the Law on the Presidential Elections. The main change is that the requirement for a quorum of two thirds of the members of an electoral commission has been dropped

The Vinnytsa Human Rights Group has reported a visit from an officer of the Department for Fighting Organized Crime apparently to check the lawfulness of the group’s activities, including their circulation of statements which could harm Ukraine’s international image

The court ruling issued by the Kyiv Court of Appeal on 13 January which found Stalin, Molotov and others guilty of the crime of genocide in relation to Holodomor, but terminated the proceedings since the accused are all dead