Watchdog

Dozens of activists from the opposition Yabloko party staged a public show of solidarity today in St. Petersburg with four colleagues jailed in the Black Sea coastal city of Tuapse, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

The four Yabloko activists, Zufar Achilov, Dmitry Shevchenko, Suren Gazarian, and Yevgeny Vetishko, who are also members of a North Caucasus ecological group, were sentenced to 7-10 days in jail on February 28 after being arrested for staging a protest in front of the residence of Krasnodar Krai Governor Aleksandr Tkachev. They were protesting the deforestation of territory controlled by the governor.

Achilov's sentence was later reduced to five days in jail.

The activists in St. Petersburg unfolded placards and distributed leaflets explaining the plight of their four North Caucasus colleagues.

Supporters of the Tuapse activists have been staging public protests since March 2 in Tuapse, Krasnodar, and Moscow.

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Tehran's municipal bus service union is urging authorities to arrange medical treatment outside prison for its jailed leader, Mansour Osanlou, RFE/RL'S Radio Farda reports.

Osanlou, who has a heart condition, spent three days in hospital last month.

His mother, Fatemeh Golqezi, told Radio Farda today Osanlou was cuffed to the bed during his hospital stay.

Osanlou's doctors have said he is suffering from a blocked artery or arteries.

The bus service union said its members and Osanlou's family want authorities to arrange medical treatment outside the Rajai Shahr prison where he is being held.

Osanlou is serving a five-year prison term for acting against "national security" in a case widely condemned by rights groups and international labor organizations. He had been detained several times between 2005-2007.