wr2014_web_0

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAAt time of writing, the Senate was examining a bill, already passed by the lowerhouse in February, to eliminate the sex reassignment surgery requirement fortransgender people wanting new identification documents.PolandThe five-year investigation into secret CIA detention in Poland continued amidlack of transparency. In November, the UN Committee Against Torture urgedPoland to complete the investigation within reasonable time. News emergedearly in the year that charges, never officially confirmed, against Poland’s formerintelligence chief would be dropped. In October, the prosecutor generalgranted victim status in the case to a Yemeni national detained at GuantánamoBay.In January, an appeals court acquitted the editor of the Antykomor.pl website ofcharges of defaming the president. His conviction by a lower court inSeptember 2012 prompted the Organization for Security and Co-operation inEurope to call for repeal of criminal defamation in Poland.In February, the ECtHR found Poland in violation of the prohibition of inhumanand degrading treatment for detaining a paraplegic in a prison unsuitable forpersons with disabilities.At time of writing, Parliament was examining a bill to protect against discriminationon grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, and broaden thelegal definition of harassment.The Senate was examining a bill to create a high-security facility for convictswho are deemed to pose a threat to the life, health or sexual freedom of othersor to children. While safeguards are written into the bill, concerns remain thatthe measure could lead to indefinite detention of individuals who have alreadyserved out their sentences.RomaniaThe European Commission concluded in January that the 2012 constitutionalcrisis had been averted following implementation of its recommendations, butpointed to continuing problems with the rule of law and judicial independenceand stability, due in part to intimidation and harassment of judges.449