The story of a Turkmenian dissident, Annadurdy Hadjiev, has taken an unexpected turn. The Kazakhstani authorities have been trying to prevent him from attending a review conference of OSCE in Astana by delaying issue of the visa (see the details at: http://www.memo.ru/eng/news/2010/11/24/2411101.html)

Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Bjørn Engesland, presented on 27 August 2010 the award to Evgeniy Zhovtis, right, in the prison in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, where Mr. Zhovtis is currently being held. Together with his organization, the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, Evgeny Zhovtis has been one of the most significant human rights defenders in Kazakhstan for two decades.

 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), undertook a visit of Mr. Evgeny Zhovtis in prison. Mr. Zhovtis is a founding member and the Director of the Kazakhstan International Human Rights and the Rule of Law Bureau, as well as a member of the Council of Experts of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODHIR) under the Organisation on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in charge of freedom of assembly[1].