VIENNA, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Human rights defenders and state authorities in eastern Europe are increasingly alienated and activists face serious threats against themselves and their work, according to a report released on Monday.

Europe's main human rights and security watchdog, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), identified patterns of rights violations against human rights defenders in the OSCE area of 56 European, central Asian and North American countries.

Those violations included physical attacks on activists and journalists covering human rights issues and curtailment of their freedom to associate, assemble and move, the OSCE said.

"Recent years have seen a visible trend of alienation between human rights defenders and state authorities in a number of OSCE participating states," said the report by the OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

"Human rights defenders face serious and persistent threats to themselves and their work as they exercise their right to advocate the effective realization of human rights in accordance with international obligations," the report said.

Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, Turkish writer Hrant Dink, Turkmen journalist and human rights activist Ogulsapar Muradova and Bosnian human rights campaigner Dusko Kondor are among those who paid with their lives for defending human rights in their countries, the report said.

The OSCE called on governments to prevent such attacks and effectively prosecute and punish those responsible.

"Participating states have an obligation by virtue of their OSCE commitments and under international law to address these threats and to ensure that all citizens can fully exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms," the report said.

Some human rights defenders were tortured or ill-treated by police in Uzbekistan, according to the report; some were attacked with stones by unknown assailants in Kyrgyzstan; thrown down stairs in Serbia; beaten on the street in Uzbekistan.

The report cites harassment and intimidation of activists or their laywers by government officials, retaliation against family members and unjustified detention and travel bans.

It also mentions administrative bullying of human rights organisation such as charges for unregistered activities, excessive fees for registering, random audits and investigations and a misuse of fiscal provisions to hamper their work.

Most examples cited in the report relate to countries of the former Soviet Union. Some cases from western European countries, Turkey, Poland and the former Yugoslavia are also included.

"This report indicates that much remains to be done before citizens of all participating states can fully enjoy their human rights and fundamental freedoms," ODIHR director Christian Strohal said in the foreword to the report. (Reporting by Boris Groendahl)

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