Watchdog

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has condemned the recent detention and physical attack on Uzbek photojournalist Timur Karpov.

In a statement on October 10, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic urged the Uzbek authorities "to ensure journalists' safety and safeguard the freedom of the media."

Karpov, a freelance photojournalist for the Fergana News online portal, was detained on October 6 while on an assignment in the Boka district in eastern Uzbekistan.

Karpov was reportedly beaten and held in custody for approximately 10 hours.

According to Karpov, his detainment had not been documented. He has also alleged that police deleted all video and photo materials from his mobile phone.

The fourth Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize, which honors outstanding work in defense of human rights, has been awarded to Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said in a statement that the 60,000 euro ($67,200) prize was presented at a special ceremony on October 10 in Strasbourg.

"If there had been justice in the world, I would have been today with my family in our small village, [the name of which is] Kocho," Murad said on receiving the award.

"I would have been a regular rural girl, just like any other girl -- living my life in happiness and peace and continuing my studies," she said. "However, there was no justice for me and for Yazidi society to which I belong."

Murad, who was kept in slavery at the age of 21 by Islamic State (IS) militants in northern Iraq for three months in 2014, managed to flee to Germany and has since become a noted human rights activist and UN goodwill ambassador.

She was one of the first to bring the plight of the Yazidi community -- including sexual enslavement and the human trafficking of women and children by IS militants -- to the attention of the international community.

The other finalists for the award were Serbian journalist and media-rights activist Gordana Igric and the International Institute of Human Rights/Rene Cassin Foundation, which promotes human rights.