Criminalization
Philippines: Flyers naming Ifugao activists ‘terrorists’ litter capital town’s streets
April 23, 2018On April 21 2018, various activists were vilified and made targets by flyers that labelled activist groups in Ifugao province as creations of the “terrorist communist rebels”, which were scattered around the streets of the capital town, Lagawe.
Cambodia: Two journalists charged with incitement
October 31, 2017On 5 October 2017, two journalists was charged by Cambodian state prosecutor for their election-related news coverage in the eastern Rattanakiri Province, and accused them of “inciting violence” while reporting.
Vietnam: Kidnapped Activist Nguyen Viet Dung Charged with Anti-state Propaganda
October 25, 2017On 27 September 2017, Nguyen Viet Dung, the founder and president of the unsanctioned Republican Party of Vietnam was charged with “conducting ant-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s 1999 Penal Code.
Indonesia: Activist reported to police for defamation after comparing former president Megawati with Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi
September 22, 2017On 6 September 2017, Dandhy Dwi Laksono has been reported to the police for online defamation after he compared former president and current PDI-P Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri with Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi amid rising concerns in Indonesia about the plight of the Rohingya people in Myanmar.
Vietnam: Nguyen Van Oai and Tran Thi Nga Arrested
September 22, 2017On 21 January 2017 human rights defender Ms Tran Thi Nga was arrested in Ha Nam province on charges of anti-state propaganda. Two days earlier, fellow Mr Nguyen Van Oai was arrested in Nghe An province on charges of ‘resisting officials on duty’ and violating his probation.
On September 18, the People’s Court in Hoang Mai town, Vietnam’s sentenced Nguyen Van Oai to five years in prison
Vietnam: Jailed Viet Dissident is Latest in Rising Crackdown
September 22, 2017On 18, September 2017, Nguyen Van Oai, a citizen journalist and human rights defender, was sentenced to five years in prison and four additional years of house arrest for “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties” and failing to execute judgments” while on parole for “attempting to overthrow the government” in 2013.
China: Chinese Police Detain Associate of Poet Who Tried to Commemorate Liu Xiaobo
September 5, 2017On 4 September 2017, Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have detained a second person linked to a poetry anthology in honor of late political prisoner and Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo.
Cambodia: harassment of free media and civil society organisations
August 25, 2017The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) condemns recent attacks by the Cambodian Government against civil society organisations and free media in the country. These repressive measures come at a critical juncture for Cambodia, and severely compromise the legitimacy and fairness of next year’s election.
China: Poet held in Southern China over planned poetry anthology remembering Liu Xiaobo
August 23, 2017On 18 August 2017, authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have criminally detained a poet after he compiled an anthology to commemorate late Nobel peace laureate and dissident Liu Xiaobo, who died last month of liver cancer in police custody.
China: Joshua Wong and 2 others jailed in Hong Kong over pro-democracy protest
August 17, 2017On 17 August 2017, three prominent young leaders of Hong Kong’s democracy movement were sentenced to six to eight months in prison, a severe setback for the semiautonomous Chinese city in its struggle for greater political freedom under Communist Party rule.
Update: On 24 October 2017, two prominent young pro-democracy activists, Joshua Wong and Nathan Law were granted bail by the Hong Kong’s Highest Court.