Watchdog

Russian journalist Oleg Kashin, who was severely beaten by two men 10 days ago, remains in serious but stable condition, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

Georgy Kvitivadze, the chief doctor at Moscow hospital No. 36, told journalists that Kashin has regained consciousness and is no longer connected to life support.

Kashin had been put by doctors into an induced coma for several days after the November 6 attack outside his apartment.

An investigator came to the hospital on November 15 but doctors did not allow him to speak to Kashin, who they say is still too weak to talk.

Kvitivadze says Kashin might need further surgery on his legs.

Kashin, 30, a correspondent for the daily newspaper "Kommersant," suffered broken legs and fingers, skull damage, and multiple jaw fractures in the attack. His colleagues believe the assault was connected with his professional activities.

Within hours of the attack, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the prosecutor-general and the interior minister to "take the investigation under their special control."

Read more in Russian here

Amnesty International is calling on European governments to provide justice for the victims of the CIA's rendition and secret detention programs after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

The call comes as the London-based organization published a report titled "Open Secret: Mounting Evidence Of Europe's Complicity In Rendition And Secret Detention," ahead of an EU-U.S. summit in Portugal on November 20.

Amnesty researcher Julia Hall told reporters today that even though the report targets European governments, the organization hopes its impact will be felt in the United States, as well.

"As more information trickles out, it will be harder and harder for the United States government to continue to stonewall when it comes to accountability," Hall says. "So the processes that are happening in Europe, we do have hopes that they will have some kind of an impact across the Atlantic in the United States."

The 53-page document compiles the latest evidence of European countries' complicity in the CIA's programs of kidnapping, secret flights, illegal detention, and torture in the context of the fight against terrorism.

It also outlines degrees of progress in uncovering to what extent local officials were involved in the program in eight countries: Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and Britain.

The report concludes that the response has so far been poor among EU countries, while also noting that Europe is still "fertile ground" for accountability, especially compared to the United States -- which is described as an "accountability-free zone."