Watchdog

Belarusian authorities have suspended an investigation against a former presidential candidate who fled Belarus in 2011 and returned last year.

Ales Mikhalevich wrote on Facebook on March 14 that the investigation had been suspended and he had the right to travel out of the country.

"I am on my way to Prague, will be back on Thursday," Mikhalevich wrote.

Mikhalevich was one of several opposition figures who were arrested and charged with organizing mass riots after challenging authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka in a 2010 presidential election.

He was then released by investigators but asked not to leave the country while an investigation was under way.

Mikhalevich fled to the Czech Republic in early 2011, where he was granted political asylum. He returned to Belarus in 2015 on the eve of October presidential elections, which were again won by Lukashenka.

Mikhalevich's wife and two daughters have lived in Belarus during his absence.

A United Nations rapporteur has raised concerns about the extremely high rate of executions, especially for juvenile offenders, in Iran.

Ahmed Shaheed, who presented his report to the UN Human Rights Council on March 14, said that "with at least 16 juvenile offenders reportedly hanged in 2014-15, Iran remains one of a few countries still resorting to this practice despite a strict prohibition against it under international law."

Shaheed also noted reports that individuals accused of national security and drug-related crimes in Iran are often deprived of the most basic due-process and fair-trial rights.

Shaheed acknowledged Iran's efforts to engage with his mandate and cooperate with UN human rights bodies, and called on the international community to continue supporting Tehran in realizing its human rights obligations.

Shaheed has not been allowed to visit Iran as part of his mandate, now in its fifth year.