Watchdog

An Uzbek court has fined independent journalist Said Abdurakhimov for "spreading panic" and working without accreditation.

Abdurakhimov told AFP that he was fined the equivalent of $4,000 by the Tashkent court on June 28 for "working without a license" and spreading materials that threaten "public security and order."

He said the fine is equal to many times the monthly salary in Uzbekistan.

Abdurakhimov, who said he will appeal the verdict, said he was also ordered by the court to surrender his video camera.

Abdurahimov writes under the pseudonym of Sid Yanyshev for the Russia-based Fergana.ru website.

The website is often critical of the Uzbek government and is blocked in Uzbekistan.

Abdurahimov was summoned by police after reporting on people whose Tashkent homes were demolished to build a highway.

Based on reporting by AFP and RFE/RL's Uzbek Service

The UN's high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, has spoken out against the large number of executions in Iran, specifically mentioning the planned execution of a minor in the Islamic republic.

In a June 26 statement, Pillay brought up the case of Razieh Ebrahimi, who was convicted of killing her husband when she was 17 years old.

Pillay noted Ebrahimi was married off when she was 14, gave birth to a child when she was 15, and -- after being subjected to domestic violence -- reportedly killed her husband.

“Regardless of the circumstances of the crime, the execution of juvenile offenders is clearly prohibited by international human rights law,” she said.

The UN says it has reliable sources that say some 160 people are on death row for crimes they committed when they were under the age of 18.

More than 250 people are believed to have been executed in Iran so far this year.