Watchdog

An Azerbaijani freelance reporter for RFE/RL will become one of 70 journalists killed in action last year to be commemorated at a U.S. news and journalism museum.

Rafiq Tagi, 61, died in hospital days after being stabbed by an unknown assailant.

He said the attack was related to a critical article he had written about human rights in Iran.

Tagi's name, together with the names of other journalists slain last year, will be inscribed on a special wall at the Washington-based Newseum during a ceremony on May 14.

The list includes a combined total of 14 journalists killed in Pakistan and Iraq, the two most dangerous countries for reporters in 2011.

Journalists from Afghanistan and the Russian republic of Daghestan will also be honored at the Newseum ceremony.

With reporting by dpa

Britain has added its condemnation to the unprecedented lashing sentence against Iranian cartoonist Mahmud Shokraye.

He was sentenced to 25 lashes earlier this week over his depiction of conservative lawmaker Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani as a soccer player.

A British Foreign Office statement said, "Charges should never have been brought at all for this innocuous act, but it is sadly not surprising given the government has consistently shown such flagrant disregard for its citizens' rights and freedoms."

Ashtiani is among politicians being criticized for interfering in sports.

In an earlier joint statement, a dozen Iran-based websites condemned Shokraye's sentence and warned that it sets a dangerous precedent.

The statement noted that drawing cartoons of politicians, including of Iranian presidents and other top officials, is common in Iran.

With reporting by Baztab