Watchdog

The United Nations human rights chief says Kazakhstan's reputation is being damaged by the failure of authorities so far to carry out a thorough investigation of the violence in the western town of Zhanaozen.

Police shot dead at least 16 people in Zhanaozen in December following a months-long protest by oil workers who were fired after going on strike.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navy Pillay, in a statement on July 12 after she visited Zhanaozen, said, "The facts revealed so far suggest that there was excessive use of force and abuse of power."

Pillay said the underlying causes of the Zhanozen events include corruption among local authorities, as well as restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly in Kazakhstan.

She said it remains unclear precisely what occured in Zhanaozen.

WASHINGTON -- The United States has called on Iran to release Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was imprisoned in 2009 and condemned to death for converting from Islam to Christianity.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement that Nadarkhani "still faces the threat of execution for simply following his faith, and we repeat our call for Iranian authorities to release him immediately."

Nadarkhani, 34, converted from Islam to Christianity at the age of 19 and became pastor of a small evangelical community called the Church of Iran.

Nadarkhani's conviction was upheld by an appeals court in September 2010 but overturned by Tehran's supreme court, which sent the case back to the lower court in his hometown of Rasht.

Human rights groups fear that he could be executed at any time.

Based on reporting by RFE/RL and AFP