 • Human Rights Defenders in the OSCE Region her detention.17 A human rights education campaigner was killed on his doorstep, and his daughter wounded in the attack, after having complained about threats for a year and a half. He had gone to the police that day to complain about them.18 2. Torture and ill-treatment by police and security forces. Human rights defenders were on a number of occasions tortured or ill-treated by the police, either during detention,19 in their own homes,20 or in public places.21 Such attacks were not limited to human rights defenders themselves: one defender’s son was handcuffed and then violently beaten by prison-camp guards after being sentenced to a prison term for “hooliganism” in an attack allegedly related to his father’s human rights activities.22 3. Disappearances. A woman who had been working for an NGO that helped those living with HIV/AIDS and had written a number of reports on human rights abuses was abducted by a group of armed men.23 4. Physical attacks by unknown assailants. In a number of instances, human rights defenders faced physical attacks by unknown individuals. One human rights defender was wounded in the back of the head by an unknown individual several days after leading a demonstration against organized crime.24 Human 17 Case of Ogulsapar Muradova (Turkmenistan), UN SRSG, op. cit., note 15, para. 702; HRW, “Turkmenistan: Journalist dies in custody, Authorities Must Permit Independent Forensic Examination”, press release, 15 September 2006. The Government of Turkmenistan responds by referring to its previous statement in the OSCE Permanent Council that Ms. Muradova was provided with legal representation at all times and had been advised of her right to appeal, that her relatives had been notified of her death, that it had been announced that an autopsy would be carried out, and that she had been in poor health. The Government maintains she was neither a journalist nor a human rights defender, and rejects any suggestion that her death was other than as a result of natural causes. 18 Case of Duško Kondor (Bosnia and Herzegovina), IHF, “Human Rights Activist Duško Kondor Murdered in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, press release, 23 February 2007. 19 Case of Azam Formonov and Alicher Karamatov (Uzbekistan), FIDH/OMCT Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, “Steadfast in Protest”, Annual Report 2006, p. 552. 20 Case of Elena Urlaeva (Uzbekistan), ibid., p. 560; UN SRSG, op. cit., note 15, para. 713. 21 Coordinadora para la prevención de la tortura [Coordination for the prevention of torture], “Annual Report”, Spain, 12 May 2007. 22 Case of Ikhtior Khamraev (Uzbekistan), UN SRSG, op. cit., note 15, para. 721; FIDH/OMCT, op. cit., note 19, p. 554. 23 Case of Elina Ersenoyeva (Russian Federation), UN SRSG, op. cit., note 15, para. 569; for the Government’s response, see para. 577. 24 Case of Edil Baisalov (Kyrgyzstan), HRW, “Kyrgyzstan: Assault on Organized Crime Critic”, press release, 14 April 2006.