Watchdog

HOMEL, Belarus -- An opposition activist in the eastern Belarusian city of Homel says he was beaten and detained by police today before being sentenced to 15 days in jail for insulting police and resisting arrest, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.

Kastus Zhukouski asked Judge Maryna Damnenka at the start of his trial in the Homel Central district court to conduct the trial in Belarusian and to invite a doctor to the courtroom.

Zhukouski appeared tired, had bruises on his forehead, and his shirt was torn when he appeared in court, RFE/RL reports.

Zhukouski told the judge he had a headache, nausea, and his neck, legs, and hands hurt. The judge allowed him to testify while sitting and ruled he should be taken to a clinic for an examination and treatment before the trial resumes.

Zhukouski said he saw a police car near his house in Homel on September 21 and that several officers wearing special security forces (Spetsnaz) uniforms were in the car.

Zhukouski decided to take his video camera and film the car. He said when he went to the street the car started driving at him. Three people then came from behind a dumpster and attacked him, he said, while two men came from the car and joined the others in assaulting him.

Zhukouski said he then started shouting for help.

The police later took him to a police station where he said they insulted him before he called them "goats." Zhukouski said that is the term that was used by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on television when he criticized police work.

"If you consider it cursing or an insulting word, then yes, I have cursed the police," Zhukouski said.

Read more in Belarusian here and here

BAKU -- Azerbaijani human rights activists plan to present an appeal to French President Nicolas Sarkozy about rights abuses in Azerbaijan when he visits Baku next month, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.

The appeal is part of the activists' recently launched campaign "Free Music in a Nonfree Country," which aims to focus the attention of participants in next year's Eurovision song contest on the poor human rights situation in Azerbaijan.

Rasul Jafarov, one of the campaign organizers, told RFE/RL that international organizations from Germany, Poland, Belarus, Norway, the Netherlands, and France support their initiative.

He said the nongovernmental organization Reporters Without Borders is helping them draft the appeal.

Rights activist Anar Mammadli said they have also sent a letter to first lady Mehriban Aliyeva, who chairs Azerbaijan's Eurovision Committee, listing the reforms they say should be implemented before the contest is held in May.

Mammadli says they have informed the Eurovision contest organizers about their campaign. He said the organizers responded with a reminder that the contest is intended to be nonpolitical, but that their demands are political.

Mammadli said because of that the organizers avoid any contact with his group. He said some Eurovision broadcasters, in contrast, have expressed support for their campaign.

Azerbaijan automatically acquired the right to host the 57th Eurovision Song Contest in Baku when the Azerbaijani duo Ell & Nikki won this year's contest in Germany.

The Azerbaijani government is routinely cited by international rights organizations as repressing basic civil and human rights and of holding undemocratic elections.

Read more in Azeri here