Paris-Geneva, November 8, 2011. A six-minute documentary drawing a dark picture of the situation of human rights defenders in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia is being released today by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), in a context where human rights defenders are confronted to increasing repression.
The trial against Mr. Ales Bialiatski, FIDH Vice-President and President of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” (Belarus), currently arbitrarily detained in relation with his human rights activities, is presently taking place in Minsk. In many States of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, human rights defenders are facing similar harsh repression: obstacles to freedoms of assembly and association, hindrances to NGO registration, criminalisation of unregistered organisations, obstacles of access to funding, judicial harassment and arbitrary detentions.
The documentary available in Russian, English, French and Spanish.
Human rights defenders interviewed in the framework of demonstrations in support of Mr. Ales Bialiatski and other human rights defenders of the region outline the restrictive environment in which they operate, and the main trends of repression they are confronted to.
RUSSIAN
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xm...
ENGLISH
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xl...
SPANISH
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xm...
FRENCH
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xm...
Contacts:
· FIDH : Karine Appy / Arthur Manet: + 33 1 43 55 25 18
· OMCT : Delphine Reculeau: + 41 22 809 49 39
Other videos from the Observatory :
Film crew: Alexandr Perelygin (image) and Marcin Keja (sound)
Editing: Anna Gurskaya
Dubbing: Louise Denyer and Alan Fairbairn
Coordination: Hugo Gabbero and Vanessa Rizk, with the help of Tatyana Shukan
Eastern Europe & Central Asia - Human rights defenders under pressure
