It is so difficult trying to keep thinking of new things we can do to secure the release of our friend and ex employee Abdulhadi now on his 36th day of hunger strike. Dealing with the Bahraini authorities and those designated to talk to us is so frustrating. We both politely go through the motions . But this is not a game - we care deeply about our friend Abdulhadi - and his health and life are at stake. We are waiting for a crack of light to appear.

I try and extract some hope that they will allow Abdulhadi go to Denmark for medical treatment. I try to emphasise how much damage allowing Abdulhadi to die in prison will do to Bahrain - for starters they can say goodbye to Formula 1 if Abdulhadi dies before then .

Today Noeline and I visited a prison, survived an earthquake, had a taxi ride with a mad driver over black ice, ate a typical Kyrgyz meal, saw a Kyrgyz wedding party, and are now looking at Kyrgyz snow. What a day!

We spent over two hours talking to Azimjan Askarov. He was agitated and anxious. He said he was sentenced but he couldn't find any peace, and was working day and night on his defence.

He has developed asthma, and is held in an underground cell with no natural light, with a “lamp that isn't sufficient for my weak vision.” He told us that apart from the difficulties associated with the underground cell where he “has no air”, the employees treat him well - “this gives me real moral support.” He gets medical assistance when he needs it in this prison hospital.

As we talked, there were a few loud bangs, which startled even the prison officer. It turned out that we had just had an earthquake!

Azimjan reminded us that he is an innocent man, on whom a life sentence was imposed, after an unfair trial. He doubts the political will of his government to look fairly at his case.

Surrounded by the most magnificent snow covered mountains and looking out over a fairy tale winter landscape, it is hard to believe that Azimjan Askarov is being held here in Bishkek, in prison serving a life sentence for a crime he didn't commit. Subjected to torture and an unfair trial, his case has become a political football and from talking to people here there seems no possibility of immediate release despite the huge international outcry and the embarrassment of the government.

One year and a half later, this 60 year old human rights defender "has sustained severe and lasting injuries since his arrest" according to Dr Sandra Crosby, a consultant to Physicians for Human Rights who visited him recently, to carry out an independent medical assessment at the request of Open Society Justice initiative.

Last night I sat with his lawyer Nurbek Toktakunov and 5 others who work for human rights in Kyrgyzstan, all of whom have known him for many years. They discussed the events in Bazar Korgan which led to Azimjan's arrest and what strategies remain open to them to secure his release.

Last night 100 + people listened riveted to James Kofi Annan, a human rights defender from Ghana who works against child slavery. James, himself was sold by his father, when he was just 6 years old, to work as a slave in the fishing industry.

His first memory on arrival is being thrown off the boat and being told he had to find a way to get back to boat - he was too young to know how to swim, but managed not to drown.

James worked from 5am to 8pm at night on the boats. He was beaten every day and shamefully abused - hunger and torture became his daily companions. The slave owners preferred young children because they were easier to control .

Of the 6 children who worked with James, 3 died. Some children drowned when they were forced to go and untangle nets There was never a choice between saving a fishing net or saving a child. The fishing net cost US$200, the child US$40 for 2 years slavery.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, James finally escaped when he was 13 years old. His mother was delighted to see him but his father was very angry, because the income derived from James had been cut off.

Even though I knew Abdulhadi, our friend and former colleague was tortured, it was truly awful to read about the barbaric treatment he got. The Bahrain Independent Committee (BICI) forensic team included details of his treatment in the report launched yesterday.

Yes we knew he had been beaten so badly that he had to have a 4 hour operation on his face.He had four broken bones.

But what we didn't know, was that in hospital, he had been blindfolded and shackled to the bed for about seven days . When he asked the hospital staff to loosen the cuffs, they refused.The doctor told him that he needed three weeks of care but he was taken to Al Qurain Prison a week later. We didn't know he spent two months in solitary confinement in a small cell measuring approximately 2.5m x 2m.

Eight days after his surgery,the beatings started again. Masked guards cursed him and hit him in his head and hands, causing swelling. . He was also beaten on the soles of his feet (falaka) and on his toes. He was sexually abused and threatened with execution.

Busy week. Started in Geneva for speech at PBI 30th anniversary conference. I really admire PBI. Their accompaniment and advocacy programme for human rights defenders is very effective. Met some old friends.

Next day went to Beijing. Plane was cancelled but managed to get rerouted. There are 66,600 taxis in Beijing, but you can never get one – ‘black’ taxis were my saviour! Was told you haven’t experienced ‘proper’ Beijing unless you go to Wangfujing Shopping Street and eat fried scorpion on a stick..hmmm….

Went to Peking University to give talk on the role of international NGOs in the protection of human rights defenders and our work to protect human rights defenders globally. The students asked loads of questions and showed great interest. Had a great lunch with our ex Peking University interns who are delightful. Went to a village outside Beijing on Saturday which was very vibrant and colourful. The population is mainly composed of rural migrant workers and their families, and a bustling market was in full swing when we were there. Off to Strasbourg early on Wednesday morning for a round table in the Council of Europe on human rights defenders.