Watchdog

MINSK -- Lawyers representing jailed Belarusian youth activist Zmitser Dashkevich have urged the Interior Ministry to approve his "conditional release," RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.

Dashkevich, head of the political organization Youth Front, and Youth Front activist Eduard Lobau were sentenced on March 24 to two and four years in jail, respectively, after being found guilty of assaulting two people in Minsk on December 18, one day before the disputed presidential election.

Dashkevich's fiancee, Youth Front activist Nasta Palazhanka, told RFE/RL that his lawyers decided to submit on September 12 an official request for Dashkevich's release because he has served one third of his jail-term.

A conditional release means transfer to a special dormitory where persons convicted of minor crimes and/or those who behaved exemplarily in labor camps live and work at local businesses without strict control.

On September 13, the parole commission at the labor camp in the eastern town of Horki is scheduled to discuss Dashkevich's possible early release.

Palazhanka said the labor camp administration is against granting Dashkevich a conditional release. She said Dashkevich has been placed in solitary confinement several times for violating labor camp regulations.

Dashkevich insists he is not guilty of the crime and has staged numerous protests while in jail.

Amnesty International has officially recognized Dashkevich and Lobau as prisoners of conscience.

Read more in Belarusian here

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling on Iraqi authorities to investigate the killing of a journalist who criticized the government and helped organize pro-reform protests.

Journalist Hadi al-Mehdi was shot dead in his Baghdad home on September 8 by assailants using silenced guns. Dozens of people turned out today to mourn Mehdi.

HRW says Mehdi had informed his friends of death threats he had received recently from unknown people.

Mehdi was one of four Iraqi journalists who said they were abducted by Iraqi Army soldiers after an antigovernment demonstration as part of protests across Iraq in February.

He said he was blindfolded, doused with water, and subjected to electric shocks.

Mehdi was known for his sharp critiques of government ineptitude and corruption on his radio show. He also wrote commentaries for several websites and was a playwright.

compiled from agency reports