Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January-June 2007 PACE resolution on the situation of women in the South Caucasus On 16 March the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted on behalf of the Assembly Resolution 1544 (2007) and Recommendation 1790 (2007) on “the situation of women in the South Caucasus”. The Resolution contained a call by PACE on Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to take part in the Council of Europe campaign to combat violence against women, including domestic violence. It also urged the authorities of these countries to “raise awareness among all relevant authorities and the public at large about the existence of violence against women, in particular domestic violence”; to “take effective measures to combat such violence by adopting legislation, if they have not already done so, including on marital rape, and by establishing penalties in line with the seriousness of the offences committed and providing compensation for victims, including by setting up a compensation fund”; and to “set up shelters for victims when there is no other way of protecting them against the perpetrators”. BELARUS International concern about human rights in Belarus In a resolution on the “State of Human Rights and Democracy in Europe”, adopted on 18 April, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe identified Belarus as “a country of particular concern where democratic principles and the rule of law had not yet been implemented”. On 17 May, UN Member States did not vote in favour of the candidacy of Belarus for the UN Human Rights Council. General Assembly resolution 60/251, establishing the Human Rights Council, stipulates that when electing members of the Council, Member States "shall take into account the contribution of candidates to the promotion and protection of human rights and their voluntary pledges and commitments". Amnesty International 19 Freedom of Expression The authorities continued to harass opposition activists by detaining them and charging them under both the Administrative and Criminal Codes in violation of their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Opposition activists were targeted during the preparations for the Freedom Day march on 25 March. The date is the anniversary of the creation of the Belarusian People's Republic in 1918, and is not recognized by the government, but is celebrated as a symbol of national pride by opposition members. Prominent opposition activists, Vintsuk Vyachorka, and Vyachaslau Siuchyk, alleged that they were detained and charged under the Administrative Code to hamper their activities. Vintsuk Vyachorka was arrested on March 13 at the entrance to his home and charged with using obscene language. Police initially detained Vyacheslav Siuchyk for his likeness to a known criminal and then charged him with urinating on the street. Both politicians denied these charges. At separate trials on 4 April both were found guilty of petty hooliganism, but the judge did not impose a fine or detention because the offences were so “insignificant”. According to local human rights activists police used fists and batons against the demonstrators on 25 March in an effort to stop them gathering on October Square in the centre of the capital city of Minsk. Some 50 to 60 demonstrators were reportedly detained, and subsequently sentenced by a court to up to 15 days’ administrative detention. On 3 April, Andrei Klimov, an opposition leader, was arrested and accused of “calling for the overthrow or the change of the constitutional order with the aid of the mass media.” He had published a number of articles on the internet calling for peaceful change of government. In July, he remained in detention awaiting trial, and facing a potential prison sentence of two years. On 26 April, after the traditional “Chernobyl Way” march in commemoration of the AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007