April 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department released on Friday its annual report on human rights in 194 nations.
Below are highlights about countries where rights abuses were deemed "especially serious" by the 2010 "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" document, which is available at [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/index.htm].
AFRICA
Nigeria
Nigeria continued to be plagued by serious human rights abuses. Security services personnel, including police, military and State Security Service officers, committed extrajudicial killings and tortured, beat and abused demonstrators, criminal suspects, detainees and prisoners.
Corruption was pervasive at all levels of government.
Sudan
Violence continued in Sudan throughout 2010. Nationwide elections held in April were not deemed fair and free by the international community.
In Darfur, fighting among government, government-aligned militias, rebel groups and ethnic groups continued to kill, injure and displace civilians. The violence killed 2,321 persons, according to the United Nations, up from 875 in 2009.
EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Myanmar
Despite the release of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, over 2,100 political prisoners remained in custody in Myanmar at the end of 2010. Many activists were detained indefinitely and without charges, and government-sponsored groups harassed and abused human rights and pro-democracy activists.
Military forces continued to commit egregious abuses and violations against civilians in ethnic minority regions, including rape, torture, forced relocation and forced labor.
Cambodia
In Cambodia, members of security forces committed arbitrary killings with impunity. Rights monitors reported arbitrary arrests and prolonged pretrial detention, underscoring a weak judiciary and denial of the right to a fair trial.
Civil society expressed concern that a draft law on nongovernmental organizations, if adopted, could constrain their ability to operate.
China
In China, the negative human rights trend continued. The government stepped up restrictions on lawyers, activists, bloggers and journalists; tightened controls on civil society; and increased attempts to limit freedom of speech and control the press, the Internet and Internet access.
Authorities increased the use of forced disappearances, strict house arrest, arbitrary detention in "black jails" and other forms of "soft detention" to silence independent voices and punish activists and their families.
EUROPE
Russia
The Russian government infringed on freedom of expression, assembly and association, detaining certain demonstrators and pressuring select NGOs, independent media, some religious minorities, independent labor unions and political opposition.
Attacks on and murders of journalists and activists continued. There were reports of physical abuse by law enforcement, military hazing deaths and harsh prison conditions. Rule of law and due process violations remained a problem and government corruption was widespread.
The conflict between the government and insurgents, Islamist militants and criminals in the North Caucasus led to numerous human rights violations by all parties, who reportedly engaged in killing, torture, abuse, violence and abductions.
Ukraine
In Ukraine, despite beginning with free and fair presidential elections, the overall trend for 2010 was negative due to problematic local elections, intimidation of the media, and perceived selective prosecution of opposition figures.
NEAR EAST
Bahrain
Political tensions flared before the October elections in Bahrain. The government arrested more than 200 Shia men it accused of inciting or involvement in street violence.
The electoral process was marred by the government's banning of the two main legal opposition parties' websites and newsletters. The government also continued to restrict freedom of assembly and association. Security forces intervened in demonstrations and limited and controlled political meetings.
Iran
According to multiple sources, Iran executed about 312 people in 2010, many after trials that were conducted in secret and/or did not provide due process.
In many cases, persons executed supposedly for criminal offenses such as narcotics trafficking were actually political dissidents. Authorities held political prisoners and continued to crack down on women's rights reformers, ethnic minority rights activists, student activists and religious minorities.
Iraq
Extremist violence, coupled with weak government performance in upholding the rule of law, resulted in widespread and severe human rights abuses in Iraq.
There were reports that the government or its agents committed numerous arbitrary or unlawful killings, arbitrary detentions and acts of torture connected to its security operations, often with impunity.
Libya
In Libya, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and his close associates monopolized every aspect of decision-making in the government.
Human rights problems included torture, arbitrary arrest, official impunity and poor prison conditions. A large but unknown number of people remained in detention or prison for peaceful political activity.
Syria
In Syria, security forces committed unlawful killings, detained political and human rights activists, and tortured and physically abused prisoners and detainees with impunity.
Syria also jailed several high-profile members of the human rights and civil society communities, in addition to the estimated 2,500 to 3,000 political prisoners already detained.
SOUTH ASIA
Pakistan
In Pakistan, allegations of extrajudicial killings and detention of civilians by the security forces were reported by several media outlets and NGOs.
Militant and terrorist bombings in all four provinces and in Federally Administered Tribal Areas continued to result in deaths and injuries. Terrorist and extremist attacks and operations to combat terrorism and extremism resulted in 7,400 deaths, of which nearly 1,800 were civilians, over 450 were security forces and over 5,100 were terrorists or insurgents. (Editing by Peter Cooney)
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