Uwazi

On August 5, 2019, at about 1:30 p.m., more than 10 unidentified men abducted Eakachai at the Al Soleehin Mosque in Phatthalung province’s Ta-Mhod district as he was about to attend a public hearing on a rock quarry project planned for the province. Eakachai told Human Rights Watch that the assailants – all dressed in civilian clothes – seized him outside the mosque and pushed him back to his car, then ordered him to delete an audio recording of the incident on his mobile phone. They then seized his mobile phone, watch, and car keys, and forced him into their car.

The men took Eakachai to the Palm View Resort Hotel in Phatthalung province’s Pa Bon district about 13 kilometers away and held him there until the public hearing ended, around 4 p.m. Before Eakachai was released, one of the assailants threatened him, saying that he and his family would be in danger if he reported the abduction to the police. That man also told him not to return to the mountain villages in Ta-Mhod district again, saying that his activities had adversely affected the quarry project and the process of obtaining permission from the government. Eakachai reported the incident to the 9th Region Police in Songkhla province on August 13.

Journalists also reported that on the day of the hearing, conducted by Phatthalung province’s Provincial Industry Office, an unidentified man who claimed to represent the company behind the planned project intimidated local journalists and told them not to cover the public hearing at Al Soleehin Mosque. A complaint local journalists filed with the provincial governor said that the man told them the event was arranged only for supporters of the rock quarry project and that outsiders were not allowed to attend.

Eakachai is a prominent community rights activist and the secretary-general of Thailand’s Non-Governmental Organizations Coordinating Committee on Development for the southern region (NGO COD-South), as well as the former deputy leader of the grassroots-based Commoner Party. He has long been known for opposing mining and quarry projects, which he contends destroy local livelihoods and the environment, and for demanding accountability for such impacts.

The incident is yet another example of the Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha’s government’s failure to fulfill Thailand’s obligation to ensure that all human rights defenders and organizations can carry out their work in a safe and enabling environment, Human Rights Watch said. Regardless of the government’s much-advertised “national human rights agenda” and the policy to promote business practices compatible with human rights standards, it has done very little to address physical violence, the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation, and various forms of intimidation used by both government agencies and private companies to silence those reporting human rights violations.

Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong are repeatedly interrogating detained editor and labor activist Wei Zhili, his wife said following a recent visit by his lawyer to the detention center. Wei was initially detained in the provincial capital Guangzhou in January, while Wei and others were detained on March 20. He is currently being held under criminal detention at the No. 2 Detention Center in Guangdong's Shenzhen city. His wife, the feminist activist Zheng Churan, told RFA on Tuesday that Wei's meeting with his lawyer was monitored by police during the visit. "They met under police surveillance, with the police looking on and listening to everything they said," Zheng said. Editor-in-chief Yang Zhengjun and his colleagues Wei Zhili and Ke Chengbing, all worked for the Xinshengdai (New Generation) website at www.ilabour.net at the time of their detentions. All three had criticized life-threatening working conditions in some Chinese factories, via their website which focused on news affecting China's tens of millions of internal migrant workers. Zheng said Wei's mental state appears to be stable for the time being, though his head has been shaved like a prisoner, and he is forced to sleep on the floor. "He has to work longer hours in the warehouse because he is a new arrival, so he gets less sleep," she said. "He has also had a lot of interrogations." Forced confession fears During the interrogations, the questioning was mostly focused around Wei's efforts to help migrant workers with pneumoconiosis to pursue compensation claims. Interrogating officers had told me he was "stupid" to try to help the workers, Zheng said. "The police taunted him as dumb during his interrogations, saying that he clearly had a low IQ, and that that he wouldn't find it easy to get out again," she said. "Of course his parents are worried sick that he doesn't have enough clothes to wear, or that he is being bullied or beaten up so as to force a confession out of him," Zheng said. Wei's lawyer Fan Biaowen said Wei had undergone five interrogations at the time of their meeting. "They mostly asked him about the pneumoconiosis and his campaign for the workers' rights," Fan said. "I think his actions were very courageous, but they are charging him with hooliganism, which is a separate charge from picking quarrels and stirring up trouble." "Ke Chengbing is being charged with [picking quarrels and stirring up trouble], the same as the other guy [Yang Zhengjun]," he said. The London-based rights group Amnesty International has said Wei could be at risk of torture. Numerous disappeared activists Wei had helped several hundred pneumoconiosis sufferers from Hunan province to launch a compensation claim last November in Shenzhen after running out of money to spend on medical bills, his friend told RFA. The Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) last week called for the immediate release of Wei, Yang and Ke. Labor groups in neighboring Hong Kong also staged a protest outside the ruling Chinese Communist Party's representative office in the city, to call for the release of dozens of labor activists held by the Chinese government in recent months. Activists have also called for the release of more than 40 former workers at the Jasic Technology factory in Guangdong province and members of the Jasic Workers' Solidarity Group (JWSG), who were supporting them. At least 44 labor activists, students, and recent graduates of China's top universities have been "disappeared" or criminally detained since the nationwide crackdown on the Jasic labor movement, which started in July and continued with further waves of arrests and detentions in August, September, November, and January, the JWSG reported on its Github page. Among the "disappeared" are Sun Yat-sen University graduate and Jasic movement spokeswoman Shen Mengyu and Peking University #MeToo campaigner Yue Xin. Shang Kai - a former editor for the Maoist website Red Reference who was supporting the Jasic campaign - was released on "bail" under conditions preventing him from appearing in public. China holds the highest number of journalists in prison, with at least 60 currently behind bars, according to RSF. The country ranked 176 out of 180 in the 2018 RSF World Press Freedom Index.

Authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu have redetained an activist released at the end of his prison sentence in a move likely linked to the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre on June 4. Wang Mo was among four mainland Chinese activists jailed for their public support of the 2014 Occupy Central movement for fully democratic elections in Hong Kong in April 2016. Wang and co-defendant Xie Wenfei were handed four-and-a-half-year prison sentences by the Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong's provincial capital, Guangzhou, after being found guilty of "incitement to subvert state power." Zhang Shengyu was jailed for four years, while Liang Qinhui, also known by his online nickname "Sharp Knife," was handed an 18-month prison sentence on the same charges. All four men had expressed public support for the Occupy Central movement, and were detained amid a nationwide roundup of at least 100 mainland Chinese supporters of the Hong Kong protests. Xie, who has also been released, said Wang's family had yet to receive any notification of his redetention. Politically sensitive dates He said Wang was likely detained after he tried to travel to Beijing during a time of heightened security ahead of a string of politically sensitive dates. "Right now, there is the broader context of the 30th anniversary [of the 1989 democracy movement and subsequent massacre], as well as the so-called 70th anniversary of the found of the People's Republic of China," Xie told RFA. "The people watching him were from the state security police, as well as the local police station and police department, liaising with each other," he said. "When the state security police had a talk with him on May 9, they said ... it was to do with his fund-raising, but I think this has a lot to do with the climate of fear in the run-up to the 30th anniversary of June 4, [1989]," he said. Xie said Wang was last heard from in his home city of Huai'an. Calls to the municipal police department rang unanswered during office hours on Thursday. "His family is reluctant to disclose too much information [and] they haven't told us which detention center he is being held in," he said. "I think the charge in his case is pretty random." He said Wang's son would likely be the person to hire a lawyer, as the rest of the family had close ties to the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Support for Hong Kong democracy Xie also said Wang is highly unlikely to go along with official requests for cooperation. "Wang is the last person who is going to play ball," he said. "Based on his personality, I'm not very optimistic." Guangxi-based rights lawyer Tan Yongpei said he had met with Wang since his release, to discuss democracy and constitutional government. "We're looking for a lawyer to go visit him near Jiangsu," Tan told RFA. "We may manage to get this in place by tomorrow." He said Wang's redetention could be linked to the recent detention of prominent human rights lawyer Chen Jiahong. Authorities in Guangxi recently detained Chen after spoke out about curbs to China's legal profession and the abolition of presidential term limits by President Xi Jinping. Chen is currently under criminal detention at Guangxi's Yulin Detention Center, on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power," RFA has learned. His detention came after he posted a video to social media in which he calls for "an assassination commando," and to be "rid of this evil bureaucracy," in an apparent reference to the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Chen also called for a democratic process to work towards constitutional government in China, Tan said. Xie, who is also known as Xie Fengxia, was detained in October 2014 after wearing a black T-shirt and holding a banner on a Guangzhou street in support of the 79-day Hong Kong pro-democracy movement. He entered the courtroom for the sentencing hearing on shouting "Build a democratic China!" and "Down with the Communist Party!" The Occupy Central, or Umbrella Movement campaigned for Beijing to withdraw an Aug, 31, 2014 electoral reform plan, which it rejected as "fake universal suffrage," and to allow publicly nominated candidates to run for chief executive in 2017. The plan, which offered a one-person, one-vote in 2017 elections for chief executive, but required candidates to be vetted by Beijing, was voted down on June 18, 2015 by 28 votes to eight in Hong Kong's Legislative Council, leaving the city with its existing voting arrangements still in place.

Reports from northwestern Pakistan indicate that the authorities have arrested a journalist and 22 activists of a civil movement campaigning for rights and security for Pakistan's Pashtun minority. The arrests took place amid calls by domestic and international human rights watchdogs for probes into the recent violence involving the group. On May 28, Pakistan's Independent Urdu news website reported that journalist Gohar Wazir had been arrested along with 22 activists from the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) in the northwestern city of Bannu. The city is the administrative hub of a district by the same name that borders the North Waziristan tribal district, where the PTM says the Pakistani military killed 13 of its supporters on May 26. The Pakistani military, however, blames two PTM lawmakers for leading an attack on their checkpoint in Khar Qamar. The military said at least three people were killed when soldiers opened fire on attackers in the remote region near the border with Afghanistan. Requesting anonymity because of a possible clampdown, several PTM activists confirmed to Radio Mashaal that 20 of their comrades, including several leaders, were arrested in Bannu. A police official also confirmed the arrests. Another PTM leader told the BBC that the movement's supporters are facing a wider government crackdown across Pakistan. Roofan Khan, a local journalist, told Independent Urdu that Wazir and the PTM activists were moved to a prison in Haripur, a town nearly 400 kilometers north of Bannu in the same province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. "I don't know why my brother was arrested, but I feel it was connected to the PTM" Wazir's brother Anwar Kamal told Independent Urdu. On May 27, Wazir had interviewed PTM lawmaker Mohsin Dawar. In YouTube videos posted by Wazir, Dawar offered his account of the May 26 incident. Dawar claimed the military had fired on the group soon after it reached the protest site after crossing two military checkpoints in Khar Qamar. He said 13 PTM protesters were killed while scores more were injured in the shooting. But in a press statement on May 26 the military said troops had responded to "direct firing" at the post, killing three attackers and wounding 10 others after a group led by lawmakers Dawar and Ali Wazir attacked the Khar Qamar checkpoint. The military acknowledged arresting Ali and said Dawar was at large. In another statement on May 27, the military said it was trying to identify five more bodies found with gunshot wounds near the site. But the PTM's supporters rejected the military's version of events. Activists staged protests in several towns and cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the neighboring southwestern province of Balochistan to demand an independent probe into the killings. In Peshawar, senior PTM leader Rahim Shah told the BBC that since May 26 many PTM activists have been arrested across Pakistan. The authorities, however, have said nothing about the arrests or a current crackdown against the movement. Speaking to the BBC from Miran Shah, the administrative headquarters of North Waziristan, Dawar said they have already launched a sit-in protest. "We will decide on our demands after our comrades reach here, but we will definitely demand that the Pakistani Army must leave Waziristan" he said. But Pakistani and international media reports suggest the authorities are not allowing PTM supporters to join the protest in Miran Shah by blocking access to the region through the only road connecting it to Bannu. The region is also under a curfew that prohibits any movement. According to VOA's Deewa Radio, the authorities also imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in neighboring South Waziristan tribal district. This law is often invoked in Pakistan to prevent protests and political gatherings. Global rights watchdog Amnesty International (AI) and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), a domestic nongovernmental rights group, have called for an independent probe. "HRCP demands the release of MNA Ali Wazir and any other activists taken into custody" the HRCP said on May 27. "It also calls for a parliamentary commission to be set up immediately to inquire into the matter and establish the truth." AI backed the call. "The Pakistan government must immediately order an independent and effective investigation into the killing of activists on Sunday in North Waziristan" said Rabia Mehmood, an AI South Asia researcher. "If the reports are correct that the army killed protesters by unlawfully using live ammunition, this would be a very serious violation of international law." The violence is one of the most serious incidents in a long-running confrontation between Pakistan's powerful military and the PTM. The movement emerged last year to demand Islamabad probe illegal killings, enforced disappearances, and other excesses while taking steps to clear landmines from the country's western Pashtun regions along the border with Afghanistan. With some 35 million people, Pashtuns are the largest minority among Pakistan's 207 million population. PTM leaders maintain that Pashtuns, particularly those living in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), paid a heavy price for Islamabad's domestic war on terrorism after 9/11. Officials and independent observers agree that Pashtuns were a majority of the more than 70,000 civilians killed in militant attacks and military counterinsurgency campaigns since 2003. The conflict has also displaced more than 6 million Pashtuns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA. The PTM maintains that it is speaking out on behalf of such victims. But in a veiled reference to neighboring India and Afghanistan, the military accuses the PTM of being funded by foreign spy services. Military leaders have accused the movement of stroking unrest in the Pashtun homeland after the security forces defeated the Pakistani Taliban. The PTM rejects the military's accusations and says it is struggling to gain basic human rights for the Pashtun people after they have suffered years of conflict between the security forces and Islamist militants.

The suspect used a dagger to kill him, Superintendent of Police (SP) Saddar Malik Naeem said, adding that some people heard gunshot firing as well. A 22-year-old Pakistani blogger and journalist known for criticising the country's military and the spy agency ISI was killed by a man in Islamabad, the police said today. Muhammad Bilal Khan, having over 16,000 followers on Twitter, 48,000 on his YouTube channel and 22,000 on Facebook, was with a friend on Sunday night when he received a phone called to go from the Bara Kahu area in Islamabad to G-9, where a man took him into the forest, Dawn news quoted the police as saying. The suspect used a dagger to kill him, Superintendent of Police (SP) Saddar Malik Naeem said, adding that some people heard gunshot firing as well. Mr Khan's friend was also injured in the incident. Apart from being a social media activist, Mr Khan was also a freelance journalist. Soon after his killing, #Justice4MuhammadBilalKhan started trending on social media websites. Several Twitter users said that his criticism of the Pakistan Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) led to his killing. "Pakistani activist and journalist Mohammad Bilal Khan was shot dead last night in Islamabad. Khan was known for his criticism of the all-powerful military and its notorious spy agency," a man said in a tweet. The man's father Abdullah said his body had marks of a sharp tool. "My son's only fault was that he spoke about the Prophet," he said. "The incident has created fear among people," he added. A case was registered under various sections including the Anti Terrorism Act.

Neptali Morada, 40, a former Bayan Muna regional head in the Bicol region was shot dead in Naga City on 17 June 2019. He was on his way to the Camarines Sur Capitol Hall in Pili, where he worked as a staff of former Vice Governor Ato Pe"a, when unidentified gunmen attacked him in San Isidro village at 7:30 a.m. Neptali had also served as Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) campaign committee head. In a statement, Senator Leila De Lima said, "The obvious questions must be asked: Who killed him and what was the motive? This transpired just days after two human rights workers were slain in Sorsogon, both in the same manner: organized and merciless." "It is not taxing to the imagination to realize that these killings already follow a pattern, and what is troubling is the seeming cold response of the authorities" she further said. De Lima recalled that when Malaca"ang issued Memorandum Order No. 32 in Nov. 2018 deploying more soldiers in Bicol region, Samar and Negros Island, the purported aim was to "suppress lawless violence and acts of terror." "And yet, how do we explain the fact that these regions now tend to host this surge in the killing of activists and HRDs (human rights defenders)?" she pointed out. "This is so serious a matter that the government should be reminded that civil society and the international community are aware and vigilant" she stressed. De Lima said there are now more than 150 HRDs who were killed under the Duterte administration. The government, she said, is accountable for the lives of each of these HRDs. She also said the killing of Morada is further proof that not only poor drug addicts and pushers are the target of the Duterte administration's war on drugs. De Lima said this shows that the government is also after Filipinos who stand firm and fight for human rights.

Cambodian authorities Tuesday arrested Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) activist Mai Hongsreang, marking the 14th such arrest of activists associated with the banned political party. According to the Cambodian national police, Hongsreang was charged with insult and incitement for his activities on social media. Police spokesperson Lieutenant General Chhay Kimkhoeun confirmed the arrest, adding that the suspect was being questioned at the Ministry of Interior prior to his scheduled court date. The spokesperson also said the suspect had fled to Thailand but was arrested upon his return. Authorities told local news media that Hongsreang returned to organize "chaotic activities" within Cambodia. The CNRP issued a statement Wednesday demanding Hongsreang's immediate release. "The CNRP condemns the arrest of Mai Hongsreang and urge the authorities to release him and other activists immediately without any conditions" the statement said. "[We] also urge NGOs to monitor human rights abuses and continue to pressure [the] regime to halt persecutions and threats against CNRP activists" the statement continued. In an interview with RFA's Khmer Service, Hongsreang's wife Kea Sisokunthy said her husband was arrested for criticizing the government, but she maintained that he was innocent. "He dared speak the truth. He didn't commit a single crime. They are infringing on his free speech rights" she said. She confirmed that Hongsreang had fled to Thailand after he was tipped off that he would be arrested in May. The tipoff came shortly after he posted a comment on Facebook about infighting between Prime Minister Hun Sen and Interior Minister Sar Kheng. She said he had been in Thailand for several months before returning to Cambodia to visit a relative in Sihanoukville, where he was promptly arrested. Am Sam Ath, deputy director for the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), said authorities have been recently stepping up arrests against activists tied to the CNRP. "This arrest is a threat against the freedom of expression" he said, adding that NGOs are concerned over Cambodia's restrictions on internet freedom. Another CNRP activist, from Battambang province said he was concerned for his security after a local police office called him many times regarding a gathering of activists he organized. The others attending were also activists who had commented on Facebook about the possibility of Cambodia losing its Everything But Arms (EBA) status with the EU. The EU announced in February it would launch a six-month monitoring period to determine whether Cambodian exports should continue to enjoy tax-free entry into the European market under the EBA scheme, prompted by the Cambodia's Supreme Court banning the CNRP. Another CNRP activist from Battambang's Sampov Loun district said that police were spying on him and other activists daily. He said the surveillance was hindering his ability to travel. Officer Tith Samros of the district police force confirmed he had contacted the activists. "I wanted to know how many people were participating [in the gathering] and their intentions" he said. He refused to provide further details. Ying Mengly, Battambang provincial coordinator for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) said that people have the right to express their concerns over the prospect of losing EBA status. He said that police actions are a threat against the activists. "Police action has violated [their] basic human rights which are guaranteed by our constitution" he said. Police harass ADHOC in Koh Kong Province Meanwhile, police in Koh Kong province harassed ADHOC officials who were meeting with local villagers engaged in a land dispute in Sre Ambel district. ADHOC spokesman Soeung Sen Karuna said that police disturbed his team while they were in the process of interviewing the villagers. The police asked for the team's identification and monitored the interviews, compromising the freedom of what the interviewees could say. "This action was inappropriate" he said, adding that since ADHOC's establishment in 1992 they had never had any problems with authorities. In response to the claims by the ADHOC team, Sre Ambel Police Chief Ma Ty denied that his officers disturbed them. "If [the ADHOC team and the villagers] are innocent, they should have no reason to be afraid" he said. He added that authorities have a right to know what happens in the community. Chhoeung Reth, a villager who participated in the interviews said it was not the first time that police had disturbed the villagers. He said that in the past the police told them not to disclose information about land issues to rights groups. "We are afraid when uniformed police officers are looking straight at us" he said. Also on Wednesday, ADHOC released a report detailing a decline in human rights in Cambodia, particularly freedom of assembly. The report highlighted how in the past six months there were at least 71 cases where freedom of assembly was violated by authorities. The report also noted that police and local authorities required that organizers obtain permission for the gatherings. "These restrictions are a serious violation against human rights and democracy" the report said.

Prominent rights lawyer Li Jinxing was stripped of his license to practice law on the grounds that he made “improper comments” on social media, a provincial justice department has ruled.

The Shandong Provincial Department of Justice held a panel hearing in Jinan, the provincial capital, on Tuesday after Li and his representatives filed an appeal against the decision late last month. Li has been a criminal lawyer for 16 years and is known for defending a number of activists and for working to overturn wrongful convictions.

Li entrusted two legal professionals to represent him at the panel, fellow criminal lawyer Zhou Ze and He Haibo of the Tsinghua University School of Law.

He called Li a “conscientious lawyer,” whose suspension has broader implications for the profession in China. “To suspend his license certainly causes some worry about the trend of the legal system. In this case, we should discuss how to regulate lawyers’ practice and how to protect lawyers.”

The hearing, which lasted from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., was attended by Li, Zhou, He, two officials from the Shandong justice department, and was presided over by the director of the department’s rule of law investigation department.

Li told Caixin that the hearing was strictly organized — four people who had been invited to testify were not allowed to join the hearing, and Li and his representatives were required to turn in their cell phones for the duration. After the hearing, law enforcement officers attempted to search their computers, but stopped after a negotiation.

According to the Shandong justice department, Li had made a number of “inappropriate remarks” on his Weibo account since 2017 regarding cases he was working on, which violated China’s Lawyer’s Law and guidelines for practicing law.

The law said that provincial judicial departments can revoke a lawyer’s license to practice if the lawyer violates the law within two years of the end of a previous suspension. In 2016, Li had his license suspended for one year for “disturbing court order and interfering with the normal conduct of litigation activities.”

Zhou and He argued that Li’s posts did not violate any of the provisions of the guideline to practice law. The five posts involved in the case were all normal expressions of speech and constructive criticism of state bodies and functions. There was no defamation of or attack on judicial bodies or the judicial system, nor was there intent to provoke dissatisfaction with the Communist Party of China (CPC) or the government, they said.

In one of the posts, Li joked that lawyers were treated with less dignity than Zhu Jianqiang, a pig that survived the deadly 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Southwest China’s Sichuan province. Li made the joke after he was barred from visiting a client in detention. Zhou said that such comments were merely a critique of a detention center that violated a lawyer’s right to meet with a client and a criticism of an official’s illegal dereliction of duty.

Along with the other articles in question, Zhou and He believe that the evidence on which the suspension is based is not grounds for Li’s punishment. In addition, they and Li pointed out that the decision may not be in accordance with administrative procedures. Specifically, the basis for the administrative punishment must meet two conditions under Article 51 of the Lawyers’ Law: first, that the lawyer had already received a punishment requiring him to stop practicing; and second, another offense worthy of suspension occurs within two years after the end of the first punishment period.

However, Li and his representatives suggested that the Jinan justice department’s decision to suspend his license — on Dec. 28, 2016 — is still undergoing administrative review, rendering its effectiveness uncertain. Thus, it cannot be used as the premise for the direct suspension of his legal license.

“If the Jinan justice department were to revoke its decision to suspend Li’s license, then wouldn’t the Shandong provincial justice department’s punishment be built on nothing?” Zhou said.

According to He’s understanding, whether the social media posts were appropriate is up for discussion, but the posts are clearly not worth such an extreme administrative punishment.

“Under the ideal legal order, lawyers should try to speak in court and ought to be of help to the judge. But actually it turns out that in many cases, if there is no effort outside of the courtroom, fairness and justice are not available,” He wrote in his defense. “If sharp criticism is completely gone, moderate criticism becomes harsh; if moderate criticism is not allowed, silence will be considered to have an ulterior motive; if silence is no longer allowed, anything less than sycophancy will be considered a crime.”

Poet-journalist Henry Swapan, who was sued for hurting religious sentiment under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act, was arrested from his residence in Barishal city yesterday. He was sent to jail after arrest at 2:30pm. Commissioner of Barishal Metropolitan Police Md Shahabuddin Khan said the priest of a local Catholic church filed a case against Swapan for "hurting religious sentiments of both Christians and Muslims" on social media. The allegations were primarily found true, he added. Before his arrest, Swapan told local journalists that he posted a status on Facebook, criticising a cultural programme on Easter Sunday (April 21) at a local Catholic church because dozens of people were killed in a terrorist attack on the same day in Sri Lanka. Some Christians got angry due to the post, he said. "Some miscreants even gave me death threats... I went to Kotwali Police Station to file a general diary but they refused to register my GD." Meanwhile, local journalists brought out a procession in Barishal city yesterday, demanding Swapan's release. Barishal Reporters Unity, Barishal Sangabadik Union, and Barishal Sanskritik Sangathan Samannaya Parishad organised the programme. The journalist organisations, including Barishal Press Club, also declared to boycott their scheduled meeting with police today.

The three journalists, Mohani Risal, Somnath Lamichhane and Javan Bhandari, who work for the news agency's English-language service, are under "investigation" in connection with the news item, the authorities confirmed on 14 May. The three RSS journalists were questioned about the dispatch they translated and circulated reporting that the Tibetan spiritual leader had left the New Delhi hospital where he was being treated and had returned to Dharamshala, the city in northern India that is the Tibetan exile community's capital. The investigation was ordered by information and communication minister Gokul Baskota, who said: "Dissemination of this report by the state-run agency, particularly during the president's state visit to China, is against Nepal's commitment to One-China policy." "These RSS journalists just did their job by reporting information of public interest" said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF's Asia-Pacific desk. "It is not up to the Nepalese government to decide what can or cannot be published, and even less so to China's representatives in Kathmandu. We demand an immediate end to this investigation and we condemn this unacceptable interference, which violates the independence of Nepal's journalists." Speaking on condition of anonymity, an RSS journalist told the Kathmandu Post that a representative of the Chinese state news agency Xinhua visited the head of RSS, who then set up a committee to decide what action should be taken against the three journalists. The three journalists meanwhile insist that they circulated the report with the sole aim of informing, not with any political intent. The new criminal code that Nepal adopted last year contains major threats to press freedom. At the same time, officials have been employing an "anti-media rhetoric" which has been widely reproduced in the government's newspapers, radio stations and TV channels and which is also intimidating journalists. Nepal is ranked 106th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2019 World Press Freedom Index.

Yesterday, at around 2:45 a.m., four men wearing masks forced their way into the offices of Citizens' Radio and smashed its door, windows, and broadcasting equipment, according to news reports and Tsang Kin Shing, the station's founder, who spoke to CPJ via phone. The men broke broadcasting equipment that Tsang planned to use to cover yesterday's protests, he told CPJ. Citizens' Radio was still able to cover the protests, as seen in video it posted to Facebook. Hong Kong has been roiled by protests since May, chiefly against a proposed amendment to its extradition law that would allow Hong Kong to send fugitive suspects to places where it lacked extradition agreements, including mainland China, according to news reports. In May, CPJ called on Hong Kong authorities to revise or drop the bill. "Hong Kong authorities must take swift action to apprehend those responsible for vandalizing Citizens' Radio," said Steven Butler, CPJ's Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. "Authorities need to demonstrate that the use of violence to halt news coverage has no place in Hong Kong." Tsang told CPJ that he witnessed the men enter the station brandishing hammers and a baseball bat, vandalize the office, and leave, and said that the entire incident lasted about two minutes. He estimated the damage at between $20,000 to $30,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$2,560 to US$3,845), and told CPJ that he filed a report with the local police. Citizens' Radio is a nonprofit broadcaster affiliated with the League of Social Democrats, a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong, which broadcasts without a permit since its license application has been pending since 2005, according to news reports. Tsang and other employees of the broadcaster have been prosecuted and fined for broadcasting illegally, and the station has been shut down by authorities multiple times since 2005, according to media reports. The Hong Kong Police Force did not answer CPJ's phone call requesting comment.

HONG KONG - A mob of men wearing white and armed with wooden sticks and umbrellas attacked people dressed in black at a train station in a Hong Kong suburb near the border with China on Sunday (July 21). The attacks injured more than 40 people, including a lawmaker and some journalists. The attackers, who were wearing masks, appeared at Yuen Long Station at about 10.30pm, targeting unarmed passers-by wearing black, whom they believed to be anti-extradition protesters who were on their way home. Black is the preferred colour of demonstrators. Yuen Long borders the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and is far from the main protest site in central Hong Kong. In videos circulating online, the men in white went wild and chased people in black, some of whom tried to protect themselves with umbrellas and even a fire extinguisher. During the bloody rampage, the group in white who some reports said was made up of triad gangsters, also went into a train carriage that had stopped at the platform of the station to beat up passengers. The government said in a statement issued after midnight that some people had "congregated at the platforms of the MTR station and train compartments, attacking commuters", which led to confrontations and injuries. "This is absolutely unacceptable to Hong Kong as a society that observes the rule of law. The Hong Kong government strongly condemns any violence and will seriously take enforcement actions." Lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting, who was among those injured, expressed outrage that the police did not show up an hour after he called them for help. He said that when he reached the station, a group made up of locals and South Asian-looking men attacked him and that the attackers were aged between 20 and 60. Train operator MTR Corporation said in a statement that it had called the police at 10.45pm. Trains stopped calling into the station at about 11pm. The police arrived at 11.15pm and were met with dozens of angry residents and protesters, local media reported. When questioned why police took more than an hour to respond, police Pat Heung division commander Li Hon-man was reported by RTHK to have mockingly replied that he did not have a chance to look at his watch. He also told reporters to stop questioning him, saying their questioning "wouldn't scare him", according to RTHK. At around midnight, after the police left, the men in white forced open closed entrances at the MTR station and resumed their rampage. At about 1am, riot police arrived at Nam Pin Wai village in Yuen Long, where a large group of men dressed in white and holding metal rods, had gathered. After three hours, the riot police questioned several of the white-clad men and confiscated several metal bars. No one was arrested.

Police on Sunday detained 11 activists of various ethnic communities during a protest outside Singhadarbar, the country’s central administrative complex.

The activists had staged a demonstration protesting the ongoing local government staff recruitment process, arguing the Public Service Commission did not follow provisions on reservations for various social groups in the process. They have been demanding that the commission cancel the recruitment process and call for applications again ensuring proportionate reservation quotas for Dalits, indigenous communities, Madhesis and Muslims.

As the demonstrators headed towards the main entrance of Singhadarbar from Bhadrakali, police detained Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities vice-president Govinda Chhantyal, leaders Kumar Lingden and Dalmardhan Kami among others.

The road outside Singhadarbar remains a restricted zone for any kind of protest.

The detainees have been kept at Nepal Police Club.

Authorities in northwestern Cambodia's Battambang province summoned 12 members of the Cambodia National Rescue Party to court this week to answer charges they were still active in the opposition group dissolved by court order almost two years ago. Seven of the activists received their summons on May 1, with the others summoned the day before, Thong Saroeun - a member of the banned party in Battambang's Koas Krala district - told RFA's Khmer Service on Wednesday. "I will not be intimidated, and I will be happy to appear before the court to answer their questions" Thong Saroeun said, adding, "I haven't committed any crimes. I am a [Cambodian] citizen, and I have a right to be involved in politics." Also speaking to RFA, CNRP activist Sim Lao said he was surprised to receive the summons to appear in court, as he had committed no crime, and vowed to continue his support for the banned opposition group. In Sept. 2017, Cambodian authorities arrested CNRP President Kem Sokha on charges of "treason" and the Supreme Court dissolved the opposition group two months later, paving the way for Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodia People's Party (CPP) to win all 125 seats in parliament in the country's July 2018 general election. The CNRP has since reorganized outside the country, with opposition leader Sam Rainsy serving as acting president, and many members remain active at the grassroots level, voicing their political views on social media and in social gatherings. Sam Rainsy, who left Cambodia in November 2015, was appointed acting head of the CNRP in January while Kem Sokha remains in pre-trial detention under house arrest, and has vowed to return to Cambodia this year to lead the party's supporters in ousting Hun Sen. "I regard Sam Rainsy as my father, and I support him" Sim Lao said, speaking to RFA. "If my father returns, I will welcome him and accompany him home." Also speaking to RFA on May 1, Ying Mengly - Battambang provincial coordinator for the Cambodian rights group Adhoc - called the summons of the local CNRP members "politically motivated" adding that Hun Sen and Cambodia's ruling party are concerned that the opposition group may now regroup at home. "Their intention is to destroy the [local] CNRP structures so that the party's members can't reorganize" he said. Death in custody Meanwhile, Am Sam Ath - a senior investigator in the Cambodian rights group Licadho - called on authorities in Kampong Cham province to investigate the death in custody of the son of a CNRP commune chief in the province's Stung Treng district. Tith Ron, 26 and the son of CNRP member Eam Tith, died on April 17 in what police described as a fall in a jail restroom, though his body bore multiple bruises, raising fears he had been killed by jail guards. "Even though the prosecutor claims this was not a case of torture, the public has no faith in him, and there must be an investigation to examine the facts of this case" he said. Kampong Cham provincial governor Kuoch Chamroeun meanwhile denied that Tith Ron had been killed in detention, claiming the young man had died in an accident while drunk. "Our authorities are looking into this, but the other prisoners said that he simply fell down and died" he said. Reported by RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Richard Finney.

ILOILO CITY"Men riding in tandem on a motorcyle shot dead a 42-year-old worker of the Philippine Independent Church near one of its churches in the town of Majuyod, Negros Oriental province on Sunday (July 7). Salvador Romano died from multiple gunshot wounds after he was shot past noon after he left the church to go home on a motorcycle, according to the human rights group Karapatan (Right). Romano was adviser of the group Youth of IFI (Iglesia Independiente Filipinas, the local name of the church) in the dioceses of Negros Oriental and Siquijor. He was also former volunteer of Karapatan, which had been subject of repeated rants by President Rodrigo Duterte over the group's criticism of summary killings in Duterte's war on drugs. Karapatan said Romano was the 69th victim of extrajudicial killing on Negros Island under the Duterte administration. (Editor: Tony Bergonia)

Gay rights activist Numan Afifi has been called up by the police over a speech made at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) in Geneva in March. In a statement on Facebook on Tuesday (April 16), Numan said the police asked him to give a statement at Bukit Aman on April 26 to assist in investigation over a speech that was made at the UNHRC Universial Periodical Review (UPR). The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) activist said he had read out a statement on gender identity and sexual orientation under the International Lesbian and Gay Association. "The statement that I read was made by a coalition of 12 Malaysian organisations that work on gender identity and sexual orientation" he told The Star, adding that the statement was in response to Malaysia's UPR. "We commended the government for accepting one recommendation, which is the anti-bullying campaign in schools, but raised concerns that Malaysia has rejected the rest of the 10 recommendations on sexual orientation and gender identity" he said. "We also spoke about how LGBT people's participation at the March 9th Women's March was particularly sensationalised... which led to the Home Ministry saying that LGBT people's right to assembly should be curtailed" he said. Numan added that they also agreed with the Foreign Ministry's statement in the UN that LGBT issues was not taboo. They called for dialogue between the government and civil society, he said. However, Numan said he was unsure whether the police investigation was directed specifically at his speech, or if it involved the other nine NGOs who also spoke at the UPR. "I will not bow down to these acts to harass or intimidate me as a human rights defender in Malaysia," Numan said. "I fight for all human rights and will continue doing so. Stand in solidarity with us as we enlarge civil space in Malaysia and condemn those who attempt to shrink it," added Numan, who was formerly the press officer to Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said on Twitter that he was aware of the issue. "Am very concern (sic)" he tweeted. Read more at"https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/04/16/activist-numan-afifi-investigated-over-lgbt-speech-at-united-nations/#WYTUbGl3yjdIyG4E.99

According to sources, onApril 13, 2019, the Democratic Teachers Federation was planning to have an indoor meeting in solidarity with jailed veteran poet and activist Mr. Vara Vara Rao. When the said meeting was taking place, personnel of Telangana police barged into the NGO Bhavan, Hyderabad. As the police barged in, the Telangana NGO Bhavan buildingwas locked and upto two hundred teachers attending the meeting along with the speakers were detained. In a bid to stop teachers and common public from coming to the venue, the police even blocked the road connecting to the meeting hall.Themeeting was disrupted due to this action by the police .While some of those detained have been taken to Narayanguda Police station, another set of people have been taken to the Ramgopalpet Police Stationand yet another to Nampally police station. It is indeed noticeable that this arbitrary detention comes just days after Ms. Hemalatha, partner of Vara Vara Rao, penned an open letter to Mr. K. Chandra Shekhar Rao, Chief Minister of Telangana, calling upon him to express his opinion on the allegedly false cases foisted on Mr. Vara Vara Rao by the Union Govt. and Maharashtra Govt in the "Bhima Koregaon' matter.

The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand should immediately end its groundless inquiry of an outspoken commissioner, Human Rights Watch said today. Commissioner Angkhana Neelapaijit has repeatedly spoken out about Thailand's pressing human rights problems under the military junta. On April 30, 2019, the rights commission began a disciplinary inquiry of Angkhana, accusing her of political partiality. The inquiry was triggered by comments from Tuang Attachai, a junta-appointed National Legislative Assembly member, and a complaint filed with the commission by Surawat Sangkharuek, a pro-junta activist. The inquiry focuses on Angkhana's role in observing legal proceedings and documenting rights violations against opposition politicians and critics of the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). She faces possible impeachment. The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, once considered a model for national human rights bodies in Southeast Asia, has faced interference from successive Thai governments since the first commissioners finished their term in 2009. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions and the United Nations Human Rights Council downgraded the commission's global ranking from "A" to "B" in 2015, revoking Thai commissioner's privilege to speak from the council floor and present their views during council sessions. The downgrade stemmed from the government's manipulation of the selection process for commissioners and serious questions about the commission's pro-government political bias.

COTABATO CITY - An investigator in the Bangsamoro Commission on Human Rights who was a former TV reporter of a local ABS-CBN outfit and his companion were killed in an ambush here Wednesday. The 28-year-old Archad Ayao, who had brief stints as a television reporter and as a civilian writer for the civil-military relations office of the Army's 6th Infantry Division, died on the spot from bullet wounds. Ayao and companion Pio Orteza, 42, were riding a motorcycle together on Ramon Rabago Avenue here when they were attacked by gunmen. Orteza was a former driver in the Bureau of Public Information under the executive department of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The ARMM became the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, or BARMM, following the ratification of its regional charter, the Bangsamoro Organic Law (Republic Act 11054), via a plebiscite last January 21 based on agreements reached by Malaca"ang and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front during 22 years of peace talks. Ayao, an investigator in BARMM's regional CHR for more than three years, was instrumental in the extensive documentation of human rights cases in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. The pistol-wielding suspects who were also on motorcycles hurriedly escaped leaving the duo sprawled on the concrete pavement. Col. Michael Lebanan of the Cotabato City police office said investigators are still trying to identify their killers and their real motive for the attack. Relatives and friends said it could be Ayao alone who was the target of the gunmen. "We believe it was like that. Pio, his slain companion, has no known enemies. It could possibly be work-related," said Ayao's friend in the Bangsamoro regional government who asked not to be identified. Ayao was said to have survived a knife attack by a still unidentified suspect after he resigned from the ABS-CBN television station in Cotabato City. Orteza was driving a motorcycle for hire and was occasionally contracted exclusively by Ayao when he goes around owing to their longtime friendship. Former officials of ARMM have condemned the incident. Members of central Mindanao's largest bloc of reporters, the Kampilan Press Corps covering the 6th ID and all of its component units, have urged the police to immediately file criminal cases against the culprits once identified.

Chinese Human Rights Defenders - May 30, 2019) On the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre, Chinese authorities took into custody a number of activists and netizens in an apparent attempt to silence any expression or thwart any action aimed at commemorating the victims and mark the anniversary. Several artists on a "national conscience exhibit tour" have gone missing, feared to have been detained. Authorities stepped up online policing and summoned users for questioning on their comments about politically "sensitive" topics, like activist Zhou Weilin, who though released has had his phone and computer confiscated. Activist and former participant in the 1989 protests, Wang Debang, was also summoned for questioning and interrogated about his plans for the anniversary The government's pre-emptive strikes against anyone trying to mark the 30thAnniversary had started in early May. So far, we have documented a number of cases involving individuals either detained or forced into disappearance, including forced travel, in connection to the anniversary. CHRD urges the Chinese government to immediately and unconditionally release them. This year's pre-June 4thcrackdown continues a 30-year long campaign by the Chinese government to try to erase the memory and rewrite the history of the bloody military suppression of peaceful unarmed protesters and residents of Beijing and other cities on June 3-4, 1989. The Chinese government has systematically curtailed citizen's exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, information, press, peaceful assembly, and association in discussing or commemorating or obtaining information about the 1989 movement and Tiananmen Massacre. Against tremendous pressure and personal risk, many Chinese have spoken up and kept the Tiananmen memories alive. In April, Chengdu authorities convicted four activists of "picking quarrels" after holding them for three-years in pre-trial detention on "endangering state security" charges for their role in producing and sharing photos online of a wine label referring to June 4th 1989 to mark the 27th anniversary in 2016. In November 2018, a Zhuhai court sentenced activist Li Xiaoling to three years in prison, suspended for five years, after she shared a photo of her holding a sign in Tiananmen Square to mark the anniversary in 2017. Each year, around this time, the government has taken strict measures to silence its critics and prevent any public expression of mourning. These measures include taking activists on "forced travel" putting them under house arrest, or surveillance, and censoring words on the Internet like "Tiananmen" "June 4th" or "massacre." The government has also targeted leaders and participants in the 1989 movement and subjected them to harsh persecution. One example is Liu Xiaobo, the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who died in 2017 in police custody while serving an 11-year sentence. Several are currently incarcerated for their post-1989 advocacy for human rights, rule of law, and democratic reforms. We have documented 19 cases involving 1989 leaders and participants currently in detention or imprisoned in China for their post-Tiananmen activism. Since early May, authorities have detained, disappeared or forced to travel several Chinese apparently in connection to the approaching 30thanniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre. Additionally, several others have been taken in for questioning or put under de facto illegal house arrest. Below is a list of the cases we have tracked: 18 individuals who have been detained/disappeared/forced to travel; and 9 individuals known to have been questioned or put under house arrest, for a total of 27 individuals known to be affected, though the true number is likely higher.

Authorities in the central coastal province of Ninh Thuan have imposed an administrative fine of VND7.5 million ($320) on local high school teacher Dang Nguyen Triet for allegation of "disseminating, store, use information on a Facebook account with the aim to tell lies, make false accusation, hurt the credibility of the Party and the state." The police acted under the request of the province's Information and Propaganda Department. The move was made against the teacher of Ton Duc Thang high school in Ninh Hai district after he published three statuses on his Facebook account. In the first one, he shared an article by Mr. Duong Quoc Chinh, which referred to a scandal involving a Party-appointed monk of a Party-approved temple that induced followers to pay big sums of money with the promise to get rid of wandering souls wanting to harm them. In the second status, Triet shared an article by Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Chu, which was about the well-reported [by both state media and citizen media] shortcomings relating to the China-built Cat Linh " Ha Dong rail line. In the latest status, the teacher expressed doubt about the government's funds which have a mission to help the poor. "I really want to [donate to these funds], but I cannot trust them- Because I don't know for sure where the money goes" Mr. Triet wrote. Previously, on April 10, 2019, Mr. Triet posted on Facebook that the Ninh Thuan police had threatened students for daring pick up rubbish on the seashore without permission. Mr. Triet called on the police to stop terrorizing the students, and as he was the person who encouraged the students to clean the environment if the police took issue with that, they should work with him.

Authorities detained seven people on July 9 and July 10 for expressing their condolences and support for murdered political commentator Kem Ley, while people marking the third anniversary of his killing at the site of his murder in Phnom Penh were surrounded by police. These detentions mark the continuation of a heavy-handed crackdown by authorities on Cambodian's right to free expression and assembly. This morning, three activists were detained outside Caltex Bokor petrol station in Phnom Penh " the location of Kem Ley's murder on July 10, 2016 " after they joined other youth activists, union leaders and civil society members to mark the anniversary. The detainees included environmental activists Chum Hout and Chum Hour. Other activists were not allowed to lay floral wreaths at the petrol station, with dozens of armed police crowding and harassing them while they peacefully drank coffees inside the station. Boeung Kak activist Nget Khun was surrounded as soon as she arrived at the Caltex Bokor station and was physically escorted away by security forces, while students, unionists, youth activists and journalists were pushed and surrounded by at least 50 mixed security forces. Yesterday, former student activist Kong Raiya and three family members were arrested by police for allegedly inciting social chaos. While the three family members are still in police custody, Raiya was taken to Phnom Penh Municipal Court for questioning. He was previously arrested in August 2015 and convicted for "incitement to commit a felony" in relation to a Facebook post of his that called for a "colour revolution" - a term the government commonly uses to characterise peaceful movements as acts of violent revolt. On 10 July 2016, Kem Ley, a respected political commentator and activist, was shot in broad daylight as he sipped his morning coffee at Caltex Bokor. Authorities arrested a former soldier, Oeuth Ang, who was convicted on March 2017 and sentenced to life in prison following an investigation and trial that were widely criticised by international and local observers as inadequate and insufficient. Fearing for her family's safety, Ley's wife, Bou Rachana, was granted asylum in Australia along with her five sons. UPDATE: On 10 July 2019, some of the seven detained, Kung Raiya, 28, and Suong Neak Poan,were charged for "incitement to commit a felony" based on Cambodia's criminal code.

The wife of an Australian man detained in China since January has been slapped with a travel ban, stopping her from leaving the country. Yang Hengjun, a 53-year-old Chinese-born writer, was detained in the southern city of Guangzhou earlier in the year after flying in from New York. His wife Yuan Xiaoliang, who is a permanent resident of Australia, was questioned by Chinese authorities at the weekend after unsuccessfully trying to leave the country. It is understood she is subject to an exit ban but was not detained. The foreign minister, Marise Payne, said Australia had been regularly raising Dr Yang's case with China at senior levels. "We have requested his case be treated fairly, transparently, and expeditiously" Senator Payne said on Monday. The minister said the Australian continued to have consular access, and asked that Dr Yang be granted immediate access to his lawyers. "Australia has asked for clarification regarding the reasons for his detention" Senator Payne said. "And we have said that if he is being detained purely for his political views then he should be released." Ms Yuan is not an Australian citizen, so has no right to consular access, but it is understood Australia has asked Chinese authorities she be allowed to travel to Australia. Dr Yang has been an Australian citizen since 2002. He had been living in New York as a visiting scholar at Columbia University, before leaving for Guangzhou on January 18.

On July 18, 2019, the Philippine National Police filed a complaint alleging incitement to sedition, libel, cyber libel, and obstruction of justice against Vice President Leni Robredo and 35 other people. Robredo was elected independently of President Rodrigo Duterte and leads the Liberal Party, the party of former president Benigno Aquino III. Concerned governments and donors should press the Duterte administration to end its persecution of critics of its murderous "war on drugs" Human Rights Watch said. "The preposterous complaint against the vice president and the others is a transparent attempt to harass and silence critics of President Duterte's bloody "drug war,'" said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Threatening criminal charges against the vice president, outspoken bishops, and rights lawyers suggests that Duterte's egregious human rights record is catching up with him." Under Article 142 of the Philippines penal code, a conviction for incitement to sedition carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison. The complaint was brought against four Catholic bishops and three priests who have become increasingly critical of the Duterte administration, and a former education secretary and Lasallian brother, Armin Luistro. Others named were Chel Diokno, the president of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), and a human rights lawyer and FLAG official, Theodore Te. FLAG has assisted families of victims of "drug war" killings. Other members and officials of the Liberal Party were named, including Senators Risa Hontiveros and Leila de Lima, and the party's full senatorial slate in the May elections. Police filed the complaint after Peter Joemel Advincula, an admitted drug dealer, alleged that Robredo and others were plotting Duterte's ouster. In a video that Advincula claims to have filmed as part of the plot, a hooded man is shown accusing Duterte, his family, and close associates of links to the illicit drug trade. The Duterte administration had earlier denounced the allegation, calling Advincula's statement unreliable. The complaint accused the 36 people of "spread[ing] lies against the President, his family, and close associates, making them to appear as illegal drug trade protectors and how they earned staggering amounts of money." The Duterte administration has previously targeted political opposition figures and critics of the "drug war" Human Rights Watch said. In February 2017, it accused Senator de Lima of involvement in the drug trade. The accusation was based entirely on the testimony of convicted drug dealers that Human Rights Watch believes are baseless but later served as the grounds for her arrest and continued police detention. The government has likewise filed sedition charges against a former senator and Duterte critic, Antonio Trillanes IV, one of those named in the recent complaint. The government has brought criminal charges against activists critical of the "drug war." It has also carried out a campaign in mainstream media and social media to harass, vilify, and intimidate human rights defenders, clergy, and journalists, most notably the popular news website Rappler and its editor, Maria Ressa. It has accused many of these people of involvement with the communist insurgency. Criticism of the administration centers on the "drug war" killings that began soon after Duterte became president in June 2016. Since then, police and police-backed gunmen have summarily executed thousands of alleged drug dealers and users in mainly poor urban communities across the Philippines. The police have said they have killed more than 6,600 people who "fought back" in the anti-drug campaign, while estimates by domestic rights groups put the number executed at more than 27,000. In response to the situation, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution on July 11, calling on the UN human rights office to present a comprehensive report on human rights in the Philippines in June 2020. "The sedition complaint looks like little more than a kneejerk reaction to the UN Human Rights Council's resolution on the Philippines" Adams said. "Friends of the Philippines should not stay silent when the administration retaliates against those promoting respect for human rights in the country."

“You are from the press, you are not allowed,” a local Kashmiri news editor says Indian security forces told him yesterday at one of the dozens of checkpoints set up across the region.

Journalists aren’t able to report, it’s hard to move around, and many have been restricted from shooting videos or taking photographs, the journalist told CPJ via a messaging app. He is the only journalist that CPJ has been able to reach on the ground in Kashmir since the near total communications blackout in the region began on August 4. We are withholding his name for security reasons. “I fear that they will arrest journalists, especially those who will report what is happening,” he said.

What is happening is that the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken measures to toss constitutional provisions that underpinned Kashmir’s agreement to join India 72 years ago, removing the legal framework supporting its limited autonomous rule. The decision in the world’s largest democracy was made without asking the people of Kashmir—or even telling them. Authorities have set up military-manned checkpoints and concertina wire throughout the city of Srinagar. They’ve arrested key local political figures, according to news reports, but since they have also cut off any and all forms of communication, including landline phones, people in the region have no easy way, or any way at all, to find out.

India has had plenty of practice blocking communications, having frequently unplugged the internet in Kashmir and elsewhere, according to the Software Freedom Law Centre. But the move is only likely to exacerbate fear and frustration among Kashmiri people, who have long fought for self-determination. As reports of protests, injuries, and casualties trickle out, increasing the environment of uncertainty, accurate and verified information from Kashmir is crucial.

Over the past few days, we have attempted to reach any and all contacts we have in the region to get a better understanding via phone calls, emails, and messaging services, with little luck. One wire service reporter based in New Delhi told CPJ that photojournalists in Kashmir were having difficulty sending photos, so they have loaded them on flash drives and given them to people flying out of the region. He spoke on condition of anonymity given company policy. The Telegraph’s Srinagar reporter, Muzaffar Raina, reported that he typed out his reports on his computer, took screenshots, and sent them on a flash drive to New Delhi, from where they were transmitted to the newspaper’s office in Kolkata.

At CPJ we have had to largely rely on accounts of journalists who have left the region, aside from the one editor we were able to reach on the ground. Here is what the journalists told us:

The local news editor cited above, messaging with CPJ today:

I along with a few other journalists were thrashed by police on August 6th in downtown Srinagar near Khanyar after one of the photographers had clicked a photo of the barricade. They also took a photo of one of our ID cards, snatched cameras and phones, deleted photos and then also clicked photo of the vehicle plate.

And the same editor messaging with CPJ on August 6:

Hundreds of arrests are being made here and the communication is jammed. I guess the state would be keen on looking at what information goes out. I am writing several stories using prohibited network and I guess that could become an issue in a day or two. So please do take care of things if anything happens.

Freelance reporter Adnan Bhat, on a call over messaging app today from New Delhi, after leaving Kashmir:

Very few newspapers have published, but mostly being circulated late at night. Last night I saw copies of Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Uzma. Greater Kashmir, which usually comes out with 30-odd pages, is only printing five to six pages. Journalists had gone to the District Magistrate's office for curfew pass but they were asked to come back later. Even government officials are confused as it is not officially a curfew. In fact, it is easier to move around without a press card. If you tell the security personnel that you are a journalist, they try to stop you.

Ahmer Khan, a freelance reporter, told CPJ today on a call over messaging app, after leaving Kashmir:

When I tried to move around in Srinagar, I was stopped at barricades and abused by the security forces. I decided not to argue and took another route. Local journalists are not reporting because they are being constantly harassed.

The following are excerpts from published reports by journalists:

Deputy editor Muzamil Jaleel and reporters Bashaarat Masood and Adil Akhzer, Indian Express, yesterday:

For the past two days, the Indian Express reporters have been holed up in their office from where they walk around to meet residents and then return. In the office building itself, dozens of policemen have moved in, the corridors their temporary shelter … The press isn’t welcome. Most of the TV crew that have flown in are parked in a 1-sq-km area of Zero Bridge [a historical bridge connecting the Rajbagh and Sonwar neighborhoods] in the city. There is some easing of security here, on the road to the airport and the Rajbagh-Jawaharnagar stretch [neighborhoods in southern part of city] — this is the one that visiting TV cameras film. Elsewhere, roads are barricaded with spools of concertina wire and regular checkpoints with police and armed paramilitary personnel on patrol.”

Muzaffar Raina, The Telegraph, today:

The “curfew” in large areas means reporters have little freedom to move. The crushing information blockade, with mobile and landline phones shut down and Internet suspended, means they have no way to send their stories. The authorities have not issued curfew passes to journalists because officially there is no curfew.

In the Jammu region, where section 144, which restricts public meetings, is also imposed, journalists told CPJ there are restrictions on the media, though not as severe as in Kashmir valley.

Anuradha Basin, editor of Kashmir Times, told CPJ via messaging app and email yesterday from Jammu:

Within the Jammu region mobile data, and mobile communication was suspended and movement of journalists was restricted except for in the cities of Jammu, Samba, and Kathua ... Newspaper distributors have been stopped in some areas, particularly north of Jammu city.

Raqib Hameed Naik, reporter for the U.S.-based The Globe Post said in a call today over messaging app:

While journalists in some cities of Jammu are not facing major restriction, the same can't be said of Kishtwar and Doda districts in Chenab Valley. Some journalists here are being stopped and not allowed to perform professional duties by the security forces … Journalists in north and south Kashmir are facing the maximum brunt. They usually email their stories as they live in faraway places. In absence of internet, you can’t expect them to travel to Srinagar every day to file their stories. This is directly impacting the newspapers which are completely now dependent on Delhi-based agencies like IANS and PTI for news stories.

CPJ’s WhatsApp, text messages, and email seeking comment from police in Srinagar, the Home Ministry and the Information and Broadcast Ministry were not immediately returned.

Ethnic Mongolian activist Xinna has long campaigned for the rights of Mongolian farmers and herders who complain of discrimination and land appropriation by Chinese officials and companies in the northern region of Inner Mongolia. Like many rights activists and persistent petitioners, she has herself been targeted for retaliation by the authorities. She spoke to RFA's Mandarin Service about her treatment at the hands of plainclothes police while helping herders from Zaruud Banner to pursue an official complaint. "On April 1, I and three rights defenders from Tongliao city in Zaruud Banner were writing our petitioning materials and got tired," Xinna said. I went to take a walk around the park, and they went with me," she said. "The police normally assigned to me were very close this time, and I told them to keep their distance, and not to frighten [the people with me], but they wouldn't listen. "So I took out my phone and started filming them, and one of them picked up a stone and was going to hit me with it," Xinna said. "I dodged out of the way, and then I really laid into him, asking him his name. When I got to the western gate of the park I looked behind me and saw that they were following me again, so I took out my phone to take photos of them," she said. "Then he snatched my phone out of my hand and smashed it on the ground." 'They wouldn't come out' Xinna said she immediately reported the case to the local police. "I called three times, but they wouldn't come out," she said. "By the time I got home, my son already knew, and he called the police again, and officers from the police station came over and said that it was muddle-headed of me to have called the police." "That guy didn't show up today. They had swapped him for a different plainclothes officer." Xinna's son Uiles said the officer had also shoved and beaten his mother. "It was a policeman who snatched away my mother's cell phone and broke it," he said. "They shoved her, hit her, snatched her cell phone, and then threw it on the ground. They did this even with the herders standing next to her filming it." Calls to Xinna's local police station rang unanswered during office hours on Thursday. Clashes common Ethnic Mongolians, who make up almost 20 percent of Inner Mongolia's population of 23 million, increasingly complain of widespread environmental destruction and unfair development policies in the region. Clashes between Chinese state-backed mining or forestry companies and herding communities are common in the region, which borders the independent country of Mongolia. But those who complain about the loss of their grazing lands are frequently targeted for harassment, beatings, and detention by the authorities.

A Myanmar court on Friday denied bail for a renowned filmmaker and human rights activist sued by a government military officer for allegedly insulting and defaming the armed forces in a Facebook post, sending him to Yangon's notorious Insein Prison until his next court appearance in late April, his attorney said. Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, who is the founder of Myanmar's Human Rights, Human Dignity International Film Festival, has been charged under Article 505(a) of Myanmar's Penal Code and Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Act for writing Facebook posts critical of the armed forces, specifically the political clout they are guaranteed by the country's 2008 constitution written by a military junta. Defense lawyer Robert San Aung told RFA's Myanmar Service that his client was refused bail during his first hearing at Insein Township Court. "The charge [under Article 505(a)] is not entitled to bail according to the Penal Code" said the prominent legal activist and human rights attorney. "That's why he was denied bail. He was taken to Insein Prison right away." Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi should be granted bail because of poor health, he said, adding that he would discuss with his client whether an appeal should be submitted on medical grounds. The filmmaker suffers from liver cancer, and had part of his liver removed three months ago, the online journal The Irrawaddy said. Robert San Aung said that even though Article 505(a) is a non-bailable offense, the judge could exercise his freedom to decide whether to grant bail in this specific case. Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi's next hearing is scheduled for April 25, Robert San Aung said. 'Influence by the plaintiff' Myint Kyaw, joint secretary of the Myanmar Press Council, said that the plaintiff could influence a decision for Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi to be denied bail despite his health issues, because he is a well-known critic of the government military. "Most cases under Article 505(a) usually are denied bail, but he has health issues, and denying bail could mean there might be some influence by the plaintiff" he told RFA. "They might want to handle the case firmly. That could be the reason for denying bail." Lieutenant Colonel Lin Tun from the Yangon Region Military Command filed a lawsuit against the filmmaker for defamation via social media under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law in late March, followed by another case he filed days later under non-bailable Article 505(a) of Myanmar's Penal Code. Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law prohibits use of the telecom network to defame people and carries a jail sentence of up to three years and a fine. Section 505(a) criminalizes the circulation of statements and reports with the intent to cause officers or soldiers in the country's armed forces to mutiny or otherwise disregard or fail in their duties. Both charges carry a maximum two-year jail sentence. "We can say that he is one of the critics of the Tatmataw [Myanmar military] and is on the watch list" Myint Kyaw said. "What I mean is this is not an accidental case, and it looks like he was being watched on account of a mistake." "I view this as a threat' Myanmar journalist and political activist Thiha Thway said the court's refusal to grant bail does not bode well for those who work in Myanmar's creative industries. "I view this as a threat, a restriction, and some kind of pressure on freedom of expression, not only for Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, who is well known on social media for making political comments, but also for media personnel" he said. Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi told RFA earlier that he had learned a new legal action had been brought by the military against him for defaming the army in his Facebook comments between Feb. 15 and March 22 just after he had given a statement at the police station on April 2 on a previous charge under Section 66(d). There have been 53 cases filed under Article 66(d) and 31 cases filed under Section 505 in the past year, Myint Kyaw told RFA in early February. Myanmar journalists and domestic and international rights groups have called on the civilian government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi to repeal vaguely worded laws such as Article 66(d), which have increasingly been used by those in power, including the military, during the current administration to silence their critics.

Authorities in Vietnam's northern province of Bac Ninh have arrested local anti-corruption campaigner Nguyen Viet Bang for his denunciations against senior bank officials, Defend the Defenders has learned. On May 13, the Security Investigation Agency of the Bac Ninh province's Police Department arrested him and conducted a house search of his private residence in Bac Ninh city. According to Hanoi-based lawyer Ha Huy Son, who participates in many political cases, said Mr. Bang, 60, is likely charged with "abusing democratic freedom" under Article 331 of the country's 2015 Penal Code. Mr. Bang will be held for investigation in the next four months at least, and he is facing imprisonment of up to seven years, if is convicted, according to the current Vietnamese law. Mr. Bang is a deputy director of Tien Du district's branch of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies. He has submitted a number of denunciations accusing the Bac Ninh province branch's director named Doan Van Khai and his colleague named Nguyen Ba Binh of financial frauds and mistreatment of staff. The Communist Party of Vietnam which monopolistically rules the country for decades and its government have verbally encouraged people to fight against corruption. However, numerous citizens have been imprisoned or received reprisals after speaking out about state official's corruption. Last year, Bac Ninh convicted anti-corruption activist Do Cong Duong, sentencing him to a total 8 years in prison on charges of "disturbing public orders" and "abusing democratic freedom" in a trumped-up case in a bid to silence him. Banking is one of the most corrupted sectors in Vietnam where corruption is systemic and the country scored 33 points out of 100 on the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International. Corruption Index in Vietnam averaged 28.04 Points from 1997 until 2018, reaching an all-time high of 35 Points in 2017 and a record low of 24 Points in 2002.

Kolkata: Chaos descended on the railway tracks near Kolkata in West Bengal as the family of a 27-year-old man with disabilities, who died in police custody, blocked rail lines demanding the arrest of those responsible. Gautam Mondal's family was joined by locals and train passengers in the protest. Tyres were set on fire and trains grinded to a halt. The protest, near Lebutala railway station 40 km north of Kolkata, escalated into a clash with the police. Stones were thrown at the police. Lathi charge followed. After about five hours, the blockade was lifted. It all began on May 3. Cyclone Fani had made landfall in neighbouring Odisha and was moving towards Bengal at a wind speed of 90 km/hour. Train services were out. Some passengers, angry at not being given prior notice, blocked trains at Barasat, 23 km north of Kolkata, and ransacked the station. Gautam Mondal was among the several people arrested. The following day, Gautam was moved to Dum Dum Central Jail. According to sources, he was severely injured when he arrived at the prison. The weekend passed and on Monday, Gautam's mother Arati visited him in jail. He told her he had been tortured by the police. He was not allowed close to her and he shouted that he had been beaten and starved, Arati said. The next day police went to his home and told his family he was dead. Gautam is survived by wife Saptami, who is four months pregnant. "When we heard rail police had detained him, we told police that Gautam had physical disabilities and there was no question of him being involved in any vandalism. Set him free. But police did not listen," said Saptami. "My disabled son was starved, beaten and killed by police. I want the strongest punishment for those responsible for his death," Arati said. Locals want a probe into how Gautam died in police custody and warned of further protests with his body. Central jail superintendent Debashish Chakraborty has reportedly said a judicial and administrative probe into Gautam's death has been sought. Gautam's family claims that he was alive and well at the time of arrest. This has been disputed by jail authorities, who reportedly said that Gautam already had injuries on his body. "He had a disability in one leg and had been injured there too. He was given medical treatment in jail but on Tuesday morning his conditioned worsened and he was sent to the hospital", they said. The family has not received his body as post mortem was pending.

About the Human Rights Defender B Mohan was 45 year old and a resident of Palangulam, Melakottai of Ilamanur village in Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu. He was an environmental activist and a former Panchayat President. Mohan with the help of his fellow villagers had formed a group to monitor and check illegal quarrying from water bodies in their area such as Purandi water tank and Puluthikulam water tank. These tanks serve as a source of water for the entire village and used for irrigation and drinking waterpurposes for the village people. The objective of the group was to protect and enhance the quality of water bodies in the area. The sand mafia often target water tanks to illegally mine the sand. Details of the Incident: According to sources, on June 2, 2019, in the evening around 3.30 pm, Mohan along with his friends Murugesan, Selvam , Lakshmanan, Kumar and Sathaih, went to the Purandi tank in the village for bathing. Suddenly they heard some noise from a nearby place called Puzhithikulam and at this moment they moved towards Puzhithikualm. Upon their arrival in Puzhithikulam, they found that Jeyabharath and Karthik of MSK Nagar, Anand of Marappalam, Muniasamy of Peravur, Harish of Vandikkara Nagar and some others were illegally extracting sand from Puzhithikulam tank using a JCB. Mohan told Jeyabharath that according to the government regulations sand can be extracted up to 3 square feet from Puzhithikulam and questioned him for extracting sand up to 15 square feet depth. On being questioned, Jeyabharath got angry and he along with his group attacked Mohan and his friends with iron rod and sticks. In order to save life, they all ran. Mohan was chased down by the perpetrators and was again taken to the Puzhithikulam tank. They pushed him in the tank, forcefully drowned him in the water and killed him. The perpetrators took Mohan's body in a Maruti Alto car to Ramanathapuram Government Hospital and threw the body outside. Mr Padmanabhan s/o Raju, brother in law of Mohan. went for a bath around 4:15 pm on June 2, 2019 to the Purandi tank. On his way he met Lakshmanan, who was running back to the village to save his life and inform villagers regarding attacks on him, Mohan and others. Lakshmanan told Padmanabhan about the events and Padmanabhan then rushed to the crime spot. On finding no one there, he rushed towards the hospital where he found Mohan's body. He called the police from mobile number 8300031100 around 4:40 pm and they arrived around 5:15 pm. Lakshmanan, Selvam, Murugesan, Sathiah, and Kumar were also seriously injured and were taken to the government hospital by 108 Ambulance almost an hour after the incident. On June 2, 2019, nearly 200 people gathered and protested on the MaduraiRamanathapuram road. Again on June 3, 2019, village people organised peaceful protests at the district collector's office. Some villagers also tried to self-immolate themselves in protest against Mohan's brutal murder. Despite registration of the FIR 166/2019 at 8 pm on June 2, 2019, the accused are still not arrested.