The Azerbaijani government should release two bloggers who have been detained since July 2009 as the result of a staged fight designed to frame them. The bloggers, Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, lost their appeal against their conviction today.

A UN review of Uzbekistan’s human rights record on March 11 and 12, 2010, is a rare opportunity to highlight the government’s abysmal record and to urge specific steps to end abuses. The government’s persecution of human rights defenders, rampant torture and ill-treatment, and religious persecution top the list of concerns.

The Irish government should implement the will of the Irish population by liberalizing the country’s restrictive abortions laws. In a survey published today by YouGov, a polling organization, more than 60 percent of those who responded said they support access to abortion in Ireland in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal abnormalities, or danger to the pregnant woman’s life or health.

The Uzbek authorities should thoroughly investigate and prosecute the men who violently attacked Dmitrii Tikhonov, a human rights activist and member of the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan.

The French government’s proposals to overhaul the criminal justice system should be revised to strengthen protections for people in police custody, especially for people accused of the most serious crimes.

Late last year the European Court of Human Rights issued a landmark ruling that will make a huge difference in the lives of Jews and other minorities in Bosnia. On December 22, its Grand (highest) Chamber ruled that the Bosnian political system, which excludes Jews, Roma and other minority groups from competing for the presidency or the upper house of parliament, is discriminatory.

We are writing to express our profound concern regarding dubious new criminal charges brought against Eynulla Fatullayev, founder of the newspapers Realny Azerbaijan and Gundelik Azerbaijan for alleged possession of drugs. We ask you to ensure a fully independent investigation to determine whether these charges have been brought for political reasons, based on fabricated evidence.

By the end of 2011 UKBA aims to conclude 90% of new asylum cases within six months of application. But it is neither reasonable nor in accordance with the UK's obligations under international refugee law to seek to achieve this target by dint of using an inherently unfair procedure. The correct test of an asylum system is that those in need of protection receive it, not the speed with which they are rejected.