Watchdog

OSH, Kyrgyzstan, -- A younger brother of slain journalist Alisher Saipov has been badly beaten in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

Osh Interior Ministry spokesman Zamir Sydykov told RFE/RL on August 11 that Shakhrukh Saipov is currently in the hospital following an assault on August 10 and refuses to talk to local police. Sydykov said the incident is being investigated.

Saipov's father, Avaz Saipov, confirmed to RFE/RL that his son was badly beaten and has been hospitalized.

Shakhrukh's brother, Alisher Saipov, a Kyrgyz citizen of Uzbek origin who was chief editor of the "Siyosat" (Politics) newspaper, was shot dead near his office in Osh on October 24, 2007.

Alisher Saipov, who had also worked for Voice of America's Uzbek Service and RFE/RL, often wrote about the political and social affairs in neighboring Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

His colleagues and human rights activists say he was killed for his critical articles about Uzbek officials.

Shakhrukh Saipov, 26, reportedly owns his own online news portal.

Read more in Kyrgyz here

Freedom House, a U.S.-based human rights body, has called for the immediate release of a Kazakh lawyer jailed after advising striking oil workers about their rights.

A court in western Kazakhstan sentenced Natalya Sokolova on August 8 to six years in jail for "inciting social unrest" and "organizing illegal gatherings" at Karazhanbasmunai (KBM), a Sino-Kazakh oil venture hit by a strike that began in May.

Freedom House said in a statement released on August 10 that the charges against Sokolova were "spurious" and voiced concerns that Kazakhstan "is using the judiciary as a means to silence oppositional voices."

compiled from agency reports