Excessive interference with freedom of peaceful assembly • Eleven trade-union leaders were sentenced to 15 months in prison and were fined for violating legislation regulating assemblies. Nine of them received suspended sentences. The alleged violations involved the organization of a peaceful demonstration of teachers that was dispersed by the police, causing 17 injuries and resulting in 10 arrests of teachers.99 • A conference organized by a human rights NGO in memory of a journalist who had been killed had to be cancelled after the authorities blocked the funds that the NGO intended to use to organize the event. In addition, a press conference planned in relation to the event had to be cancelled, as the planned venue was reserved by someone else, and several of the hotel rooms booked by conference participants were also reserved by other people. Representatives of several international NGOs who came to attend the conference were detained for about four hours due to alleged visa problems.100 • Police tried to arrest participants at a meeting of 150 journalists and defenders that was calling on the authorities to end prison sentences for journalists convicted of defamation, to find those responsible for the killing of a journalist, to release an imprisoned journalist, and to cease government attacks on the media. The police stopped trying to arrest people when the participants protested.101 • Two human rights activists were arrested and their banners and flags confiscated after a protest in favour of continued democratic reforms in their country, in spite of the fact that notification requirements had been complied with.102 • The European Union’ s “ For Diversity. Against Discrimination.” Truck that was travelling around Europe to promote diversity, tolerance and raising awareness about EU legislation prohibiting discrimination was not allowed by authorities to stop on municipal territories due to security risks and a concern that the truck might cause riots by protesters.103 • Some 15 defenders picketing a prosecutor’ s office were attacked by a group of 20 people, some of whom were armed with sticks. A similar incident occurred a week later, after which the police arrested the demonstrators and took them to a police station.104 • A women’ s peace march to mark International Women’ s Day that was to take place in a city square was banned for reasons of public health and order.105 99 Case of 11 trade union leaders - Ismail Hakki Tombul, Alaaddin Dinçer, Bülent Kaya, Köksal Aydin, Bedri Tekin, Fehmi Kutan, Emirali Simsek, Özgür Bozdogan, Abdullah Çiftçi, Erkan Sümer and Murat Kahraman (Turkey), Observatory FIDH/OMCT, “ Urgent appeal: Sentencing / Judicial proceedings” , 23 April 2007. 100 Case of Nizhny Novgorod Foundation to Promote Tolerance and the Nizhny Novgorod office of Novaya Gazeta (Russian Federation), “ Civil society in Nizhny Novgorod once more under attack as it gathered in memory of Ms. Anna Politkovskaya” , Observatory FIDH/OMCT, 10 October 2007. 101 Case of a meeting on journalists’ rights (Azerbaijan), “ IFJ Raises Alarm over Azerbaijan’ s Plummeting Record on Press Freedom” , International Federation of Journalists, 25 May 2007. 102 Case of Tursun and Alisher Islam, NGO Democracy (Kyrgyzstan), “ Police Crackdown on Human Rights Picket in Kyrgyzstan” , International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, 6 August 2007. 103 The case of a pride march in Vilnius (Lithuania). Information provided by ILGA, August 2007. 104 Case of Elena Urlaeva and others (Uzbekistan). Information provided by Human Rights Watch, 15 May 2008. 105 Case of Women in Black (Serbia). Information provided by the OSCE Mission to Serbia, 8 March 2008. 24