Watchdog

An Uzbek woman imprisoned for criticizing Uzbekistan's government over its armed response to a protest in the town of Andijon three years ago has won a prestigious international human rights award.

Reuters quotes organizers as saying Mutabar Tadjibaeva, laureate of the 2008 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, is in declining health. They are demanding her immediate release.

The annual award is named after British lawyer Martin Ennals, who was the first secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists are among groups comprising the jury.

A court in Azerbaijan has banned an election-monitoring organization, six months before a presidential vote.

The Center for Monitoring of Elections (CME) works under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has criticized Azerbaijan's previous elections.

Reuters quotes the head of the CME, Anar Mamedli, as saying the group's registration was revoked because of "some violations on the documents."

Mamedli says the move was politically motivated and that he plans to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.