Uwazi

An opposition activist in Kazakhstan's southern city of Shymkent has been sentenced to seven years in prison on terrorism charges that he rejects.

The Al-Farabi district court sentenced Erulan Amirov on May 16 after finding him guilty of inciting social hatred, propagating terrorism, and involvement in the activities of a banned organization.

After his sentence was pronounced, Amirov said, "I do not know why I am in custody."

An RFE/RL correspondent said a bruise could be seen on Amirov's head, but when asked about it, the activist answered that he was "scared" to talk about it.

Amirov's mother, Sharipa Niyazova, said the court ruling will be appealed.

Amirov, who went on trial in January, was arrested in April last year. But his family only learned that he was being held in a detention center in Shymkent in December after what a Kazakh human rights group said was attempt to commit suicide.

Niyazova says her son suffers psychiatric disorders.

Kazakh human rights organizations have designated Amirov as a political prisoner and have demanded his release.

The charges against Amirov stemmed from his posts on social networks criticizing Kazakh authorities and for his participation in unsanctioned protest rallies organized by the banned Koshe (Street) political party.

Many activists across the Central Asian nation have been handed prison terms or parole-like restricted freedom sentences in recent years for their involvement in the activities of the Koshe party and its affiliate Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement.

DVK is led by Mukhtar Ablyazov, the fugitive former head of Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank and outspoken critic of the Kazakh government.

Human Rights Watch earlier this year criticized the Kazakh government for using anti-extremism laws as a tool to persecute critics and civic activists. Several hundred people have been prosecuted for membership in the Koshe party.

The Kazakh authorities have insisted there are no political prisoners in the country.

Pakistan’s first transgender lawyer Nisha Rao sustained injuries after being attacked in Saddar, Karachi by four men.

Trans Pride Society, an NGO founded by Nisha Rao, narrated the incident calling it a ‘heinous crime.’ It said Nisha was attacked during a visit to members of the transgender community in Saddar by four men on two motorbikes as she got off a rickshaw to walk towards her friend’s apartment.

It said the aggressors beat and stole her belongings. One man used a ring to pierce Nisha’s scalp while his accomplices stole her handbag and mobile phone.

Nisha is a strong advocate for the transgender community and spends her time working as a lawyer in the City Court of Karachi where she fights for the rights of transgenders, in addition to attending Karachi University where she is receiving her Masters of Law degree.

“Serving and empowering the transgender community is Nisha’s biggest determination in life and it is crimes like these that make her fear the fragmented society we live in,” the statement said. It cannot be known whether it was a targeted attack and the identity of the perpetrators remains unknown.

The trans community and lawyers have demanded police take immediate action and arrest the culprits. In April 2021, five transgender persons were killed and eight sustained injuries in separate attacks.

Nisha Rao is Pakistan’s first trangender lawyer to be accepted into an MPhil programme to study law at Karachi University.

On 11 and 12 May 2022, Hoa Binh province police repeatedly called Mr Trinh Ba Khiem - Mrs Theu's husband - to come to their office 'to work'. This was the third time 64-year-old Mr Khiem was summoned to the police office regarding the statuses, video clips... he posted on his Facebook since the arrest of his wife Mrs Can Thi Theu and his two sons Trinh Ba Phuong and Trinh Ba Tu. Mr Khiem told RFA Viet: 'In the second working session I had with Hoa Binh province police, they questioned me, why did I say on social media that the communist regime killed people; I told them, that was correct, [the communist regime] killed [land petitioner] Mr Le Dinh Kinh [in an ambush on Dong Tam village in Jan 2020]...

'The police also told me, I am not allowed to publish on social media unverified articles, they asked me to stop live streaming on social media.'

Mr Khiem said he refused to comply with the police's demand, and asserted that he would continue to speak out on social media and to fight for justice for his family members.

'They demanded me to stop [all those activities], otherwise I will be jailed with a heavy sentence.'

On 11 May, before going to the police office, Mr Khiem told RFA Viet: 'I am never afraid of the communist louts. In my struggle [for my rights] , it is the communist regime that commits criminal offences, the communists must defend themselves before me, I never have to defend myself before them.'

Coming home after his working session with the police, he said:

'[The police] persuaded me not to live stream bad mouthing the regime, otherwise they will put me in jail. The communist regime's police really want to arrest me, that is my assessment.'

In the working session on 12 May, Mr Khiem informed that the police changed tack. Instead of banning him from speaking out on social media. they persuaded him not to use the word 'communist' in his speech.

'That was their demand, they didn't like that word; in the view of this communist regime, the Communist Party is always correct, only individuals make mistakes, if you call them all 'communists', they don't like it at all, they said, you bad mouth the regime and the state by saying that.'

Responding to the arrests under Hong Kong’s national security law of four trustees of the defunct 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Regional Director Erwin van der Borght said:

“Even by Hong Kong’s recent standards of worsening repression, these arrests represent a shocking escalation. Some of the city’s most respected pro-democracy figures, whose activism has always been entirely peaceful, are now potentially facing years in jail. There could be few more poignant examples of the utter disintegration of human rights in Hong Kong.

“The targeting of these four activists, among them a 90-year-old cardinal, for enabling legal and humanitarian support for protesters lays bare the Hong Kong government’s callous disregard for the basic rights of its citizens.

“By attempting to criminalize the provision of legal, economic and medical aid to those in need, the authorities are undermining the rights to fair trial and other human rights of all people in Hong Kong.

“The trustees’ so-called crime of ‘collusion with foreign forces’ once again highlights how the vagueness of Hong Kong’s national security law can be weaponised to make politically motivated, or simply malicious, arrests.

“The Hong Kong government must stop pursuing criminal charges against members of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund and others who are being targeted simply for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association or assembly.”

Background

Cardinal Joseph Zen (90), barrister Margaret Ng (74) and singer Denise Ho (45) were arrested on Wednesday, accused of “collusion with foreign forces” under Hong Kong’s national security law. Scholar Hui Po-keung was arrested at Hong Kong airport on Tuesday while attempting to leave Hong Kong, while a fifth trustee, Cyd Ho (67), is already detained for other offences. All except Ho were released on bail on Wednesday.

The five were trustees for the defunct 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which provided financial support for legal assistance to people prosecuted for their participation in the 2019 mass protests.

The fund ceased activities in September 2021 after it became known that it was subject of an investigation by the Hong Kong police’s National Security Department

The fund’s name “612” stems from the date 12 June 2019, when the police used unnecessary and excessive force against largely peaceful protesters who demonstrated against the later-retracted extradition bill.

NagaWorld labor negotiations remained at a stalemate as fired union workers continued to attempt to protest outside the casino complex.

Workers have continued their protests in Phnom Penh and have been met with severe police action, including protesters getting kicked while being shoved onto buses outside the NagaWorld 2 casino on Wednesday. Around 130 workers were again confronted by police, terminated worker Mam Sovathin said.

Kong Sokhom, another protesting worker who still works at the casino, said she was initially shocked when a police official pinched her hard and had to be pulled away by his colleagues.

“I laughed after that. He pinched me and then pushed me on the bus. And some authorities had to pull him out,” she said.

Sokhom said protestors were returning to the casino almost every day, only taking short breaks to rest. The authorities continued to take them on buses near Phnom Penh Safari park and then dropping them off at the new Freedom Park in Russei Keo district.

At the same time, five union representatives met with NagaWorld and the Labor Ministry on Wednesday, the eighth negotiation meeting to end without a resolution.

Union president Chhim Sithar, who was recently re-elected to head the union, was not optimistic heading into the meeting, saying there was no compromise in sight. Her outlook had not changed after the meeting ended Wednesday evening.

“It is like before. The company still rejects all of our requests. There was no result,” she said.

The union has asked NagaWorld to find jobs for 200-odd terminated workers, a demand workers say the casino has refused during the negotiations.

The union also delivered the results of its 10-day leadership election to the Labor Ministry on Monday. The ministry will now have to re-register the union, and Heng Sour, a ministry spokesperson, did not respond to requests for comment.

Joseph (pseudonym) was arrested around 10.00 today (10 May) while leaving his house to join the activists submitting a petition to the US Embassy calling for the release of detained activists and the repeal of the royal defamation law. The police officers who arrested him presented an arrest warrant on a royal defamation charge resulting from a speech he gave at the protest at the King Taksin the Great Monument at Wongwian Yai on Chakri Memorial Day (6 April).

During his speech, Joseph talked about the history of how the ruling class in Southeast Asia come to power, especially in the ancient kingdoms located in the area currently known as Thailand, and how the Chakri dynasty came to rule Siam.

Activist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk from the activist network Citizens for the Abolition of 112 said that Joseph was a member of the network and that he came up with the idea that the network should petition embassies to demand the release of political prisoners.

Somyot said that Joseph’s speech was about the history of Chakri Memorial Day, noting that previous court rulings stated that speaking about history does not constitute an offense under the royal defamation law, leading him to speculate that Joseph was arrested to prevent yesterday’s protest at the US Embassy.

“We’ll keep going, and we will let the world know about this, especially the US, which is a country from which we will campaign the use of social sanctions against the judges, the police, or anyone related to the justice system,” Somyot said.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that after his arrest, Joseph was taken to the Police Club on Vibhavadi Road, even though the charge against him is under the jurisdiction of Buppharam Police Station in Thonburi. He was then taken to the Thonburi Criminal Court for a temporary detention request and was later granted bail on a 200,000-baht security.

The Court also set the conditions that he must not participate in activities which damage the monarchy or cause public disorder, and must not leave the country.

Joseph was previously charged with royal defamation and sedition for reading out a statement during the 26 October 2020 protest in front of the German Embassy.

Another activist has been arrested and charged with royal defamation for a speech given at the Chakri Memorial Day protest on 6 April 2022.

Mint (pseudonym) was arrested on Tuesday evening (10 May). She said that she and other activists were eating at a restaurant on Chaeng Wattana after the protest at the US Embassy when around 10 police officers came to present an arrest warrant, leading her to speculate that the officers had been following her since the event at the Embassy.

She was taken to the Police Club on Vibhavadi Road, where she was detained overnight before being taken to court for a temporary detention request. According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), Mint was charged with royal defamation, violation of the Computer Crimes Act, and using a sound amplifier without permission.

TLHR also reported that, according to the inquiry officer from Buppharam Police Station, three people are being charged for speeches given during the Chakri Memorial Day protest: Mint, student activist Sopon Surariddhidhamrong, and Joseph (pseudonym).

Joseph was arrested on Tuesday morning (10 May) and charged with royal defamation. He was later granted bail on a 200,000-baht security and was given the same conditions later given to Mint. TLHR said that his speech did not mention the current king, and that, in his testimony, Joseph said that several writers and academics have discussed the execution of King Taksin, such as Sulak Sivaraksa, Nidhi Eoseewong, and Sujit Wongthes. He also mentioned a previous court ruling that the royal defamation law does not cover former kings.

Sopon is currently held in pre-trial detention on another royal defamation charge resulting from a speech he gave at a protest on 22 April 2022. He was arrested on 1 May and subsequently denied bail. TLHR said that the police will visit Sopon in prison next week to notify him of the charges.

The inquiry officer said that Mint was charged for her speech, in which she said that King Taksin was not beaten to death with a sandalwood club or allowed to enter monkhood as history books have it, but was beheaded on order from King Phutthayotfa Chulalok, who ascended the throne as the first monarch in the Chakri dynasty after he seized power in 1782. She also spoke about the creation of the Equestrian Statue of King Chulalongkorn.

On Wednesday (11 May), Mint was granted bail by the Thonburi Provincial Court on a 200,00-baht security. The Court gave her the conditions that she must not participate in activities which are damaging to the monarchy or cause public disorder, and prohibited her from leaving the country.

Mint, Joseph, and Sopon are among 194 people currently facing royal defamation charges for participating in pro-democracy protests in 209 cases. Of this number, 43 cases are related to speeches given at protests.

Several dozen women's rights activists have protested a Taliban order making it mandatory for women to wear the all-covering burqa, including face veils, when they are in public.

The women marched through the streets of the capital, Kabul, on May 10 holding signs calling for justice despite intimidation attempts by Taliban operatives, who threatened them with violence.

"We were faced with harsh behavior by the Taliban. It was terrifying...They even told us if we move one step forward, they will fire 30 rounds at us," one women said in a video made by the group, called Afghanistan's Powerful Women's Movement.

The decree, announced on May 7, calls for women to only show their eyes and recommends they wear the head-to-toe burqa. Head scarves are common for most Afghan women, but in urban areas such as Kabul, many do not cover their faces.

Failure to comply will result in a woman's father or closest male relative being reprimanded, imprisoned, or fired from employment.

It immediately sparked criticism from many Afghans and the international community amid an outcry over the erosion of human rights in the country, especially for women and girls.

"Under the latest draconian decree, Afghan women are ordered to follow full veil and avoid unnecessary movement. This violates fundamental human rights of women to chose what to wear & move freely," Amnesty International's South Asia department said in a tweet a day after the measures were announced.

"Despite continued assurance of Taliban de-facto authorities that they respect women & girls rights, millions of women & girls are exposed to systematic gender based discrimination," it added.

The UN Security Council will meet on May 12 to discuss the order.

Deborah Lyons, UN special envoy for Afghanistan, is to brief the 15-member council, according to Norway's UN mission, which requested the closed-door meeting "to address the increased restrictions on human rights and freedoms of girls and women."

Girls have been banned from school beyond the sixth grade in most of the country since the Taliban’s return last August. In March, the Taliban ordered girls' high schools closed on the morning they were scheduled to open.

he Hanoi police have resumed investigation against blogger Le Anh Hung, taking him back to their temporary detention center from the city-based mental hospital.

According to the decision of the capital city’s Police Department on May 9, the compulsory mental treatment was stopped by the city’s People’s Procuracy on the same day and he was transferred back to jail on May 10 for further investigation on the allegation of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the Criminal Code.

The investigation is expected to end soon and the first-instance hearing will be carried out in coming months, according to his lawyer Nguyen Van Mieng.

Mr. Le Anh Hung, a political blogger of Voice of America, was arrested on July 5, 2018 for his postings on Facebook on which he accused many senior communist leaders of criminal activities and working for China against the country’s interests. Ten months later, on May 4, 2019, he was sent to a mental hospital for compulsory treatment.

He was reported not to agree with the treatment, denying to take medicines provided by the mental facility. However, he was beaten and forced to take medicines after being tied to his bed, according to his family.

Le Anh Hung was moved from the National Psychiatric Ward in Hanoi, where he was admitted in April 2019, and returned to prison last week so that the criminal prosecution against him could resume. A member of the Independent Journalist Association of Vietnam, Hung was arrested in July 2018 and charged with “abusing democratic freedoms.” However, he has yet to be tried. During his unusually long pre-trial detention period, now entering its fourth year, Hung has often complained of physical and psychological abuse and has had to go on several hunger strikes to protest the abuse.

Authorities in Sri Lanka must immediately rescind the emergency regulations and shooting orders that provide excessive powers to the police and military, and take immediate steps to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of peaceful protestors, Amnesty International said today.

The authorities must also refrain from using the state of emergency as a pretext to curb the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, including at the protest sites such as “Gotagogama” in the country.

Following the President’s proclamation of a State of Emergency on 6 May along with a country-wide curfew from 9-12 May, backdated emergency regulations were published overnight on 9 May. They give sweeping powers to the police and the armed forces to search and make arrests of “suspects” without due process safeguards. On 9 May, protesters peacefully demonstrating in front of the Presidential Secretariat since over a month were violently attacked by pro-government supporters after being allegedly incited to violence by top party leaders at Temple Trees, the Prime Minister’s official residence in Colombo. The police stood largely as bystanders to the violence, doing little to effectively protect the peaceful protesters and their protest site, despite having used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the protestors just days before on 6 May.

“Authorities in Sri Lanka should carry out a prompt, thorough, impartial, independent, effective and transparent investigation into the reports of violent attacks on peaceful protesters. Authorities should bring to justice those suspected to be responsible and ensure access to justice and effective remedies for victims,” said Yamini Mishra, South Asia Regional Director at Amnesty International.

“The attacks look like a deliberate decision by the Police to allow pro-government groups to physically assault peaceful protesters, destroy structures and wreak havoc at the ‘Gotagogama’ protest site. The authorities have an obligation to provide an enabling environment for the protesters to peacefully exercise their human rights, and to end the violent attacks on protesters,” added Yamini Mishra.

Elements of anti-government groups retaliated to the attack on 9 May by beating up pro-government supporters and destroying buses believed to have transported them. This escalated into targeting of parliamentarians with damage to their vehicles and arson against their homes, businesses, and party offices. According to authorities, nine people have died and over 220 people have been injured in the violence that erupted. Additionally, 41 vehicles had been set on fire, 61 vehicles were damaged, and 136 incidents of property damage were recorded.

“Justice and accountability from the Sri Lankan authorities is the need of the hour. An effective and transparent inquiry is necessary to bring those responsible for the violence to justice. The country is headed towards a deepening crisis while accountability and solutions for the economic crisis – key calls by the protesters – go completely unaddressed. Right now, Sri Lanka is a tinderbox, and any move to impermissibly restrict human rights through sweeping emergency powers granted to law enforcement agencies, including the armed forces, – will lead to further repression,” said Yamini Mishra.

The Emergency Regulations lack due process safeguards, such as the right to be informed of the reason for arrest, and the issuance of an arrest receipt at the time of arrest informing family where they would be detained. Access to legal counsel is subject to conditions. The offences are broad and can be used to bar trade union strike actions, give powers to the President to shut down public processions, restrict access to public spaces, restrict the right to freedom of expression including the right to information, freedom of movement and peaceful assembly.

Further, the Regulations provide powers to use armed force against anyone who does not comply with orders. The Regulations come with hefty penalties including life imprisonment for ordinary penal offences. There is also no access to bail for offences under the Regulations, except under “exceptional circumstances.” Persons authorised by the commanders of the armed forces are empowered by the Regulations to remove suspects from detention for a period of seven days at a time. Sri Lankan authorities are accused of multiple instances of custodial torture in the past, making these provisions dangerous and raising the possibility of misuse of these powers.

On 10 May, the Defence Ministry issued a notice saying the Armed forces have been ordered to open fire at anyone looting public property or causing harm to others- a move that has been called “illegal” by some parliamentarians. The cabinet remains dissolved following the PM’s resignation on 9 May.

“The shooting orders provide a license to kill. Violent mobs should be contained, however lethal force must not be the first resort. Any restrictions on human rights during times of emergency must be necessary and proportionate to the exigencies of the situation and must not be used as a tool against freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, right to personal security, liberty and freedom from arbitrary detention. Further, any derogations from human rights guarantees under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sri Lanka is a state party, should be formally communicated with a clear explanation of the reasons for them to other State parties,” said Yamini Mishra.

Sri Lanka has a history of human rights violations implicating the Military, including custodial torture under consecutive emergency situations in the past. This pattern of violations of human rights must end.

Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Friday declared a state of emergency giving security forces sweeping powers for the second time in five weeks to deal with escalating anti-government protests.

A spokesman for the president said he invoked the tough laws to "ensure public order" after trade unions staged a nationwide strike Friday demanding his resignation over a worsening economic crisis.

Months of blackouts and acute shortages of food, fuel and pharmaceuticals have caused widespread suffering across the South Asian island nation of 22 million people.

Public anger has sparked sustained protests demanding the government's resignation over its mismanagement of the crisis, Sri Lanka's worst since independence in 1948.

Thousands of student protesters had been camped on the road leading to the legislature, which is on a man-made island on a lake in the capital Colombo, since Thursday.

Officers fired a barrage of tear gas followed by water cannon from two trucks, but the crowd quickly reassembled behind police barricades set up to block access to the parliament.

It was the second time police tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas, after an earlier unsuccessful attempt on Thursday afternoon.

Millions of workers stayed off the job on Friday in a strike organised by the country's trade union movement, with all but one scheduled train service cancelled.

Privately owned buses were off the roads while industrial workers demonstrated outside their factories and black flags were hung across the country in an expression of anger against the government.

"We can pinpoint the policy blunders of the president that led to this very sorry state of our economy," said trade union leader Ravi Kumudesh. "He must go."

Private buses, which account for two-thirds of the country's fleet, were also off the road, Private Bus Operators Association chairman Gemunu Wijeratne said.

"We are not providing services today, but if groups of people want to join the anti-government protests within a radius of 20 kilometres, we will give our buses free of charge," Wijeratne told reporters in Colombo. No resignation

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has insisted he will not step down despite escalating demonstrations across the island, including a protest that has been camped outside his seafront office for nearly a month.

Sri Lanka's economic crisis took hold after the coronavirus pandemic hammered income from tourism and remittances.

Unable to pay for fuel imports, utilities have imposed daily blackouts to ration electricity, while long lines of people snake around service stations for petrol and kerosene.

Hospitals are short of vital medicines and the government has appealed to citizens abroad for donations.

Last month Sri Lanka announced it was defaulting on its $51 billion foreign debt, and finance minister Ali Sabry warned this week that the country will have to endure its unprecedented economic hardships for at least two more years.

Tran Hoang Huan was sentenced to eight years in prison plus three years of home surveillance for postings on Facebook that allegedly violated Article 117 of the Criminal Code. Huan, 34, was accused of making 186 posts and 60 statuses that “distort and defame the people’s government,” and 21 articles that “are lies which created confusion among the citizens.” The trial, which was televised, did not appear to show any lawyer representing Huan.

On May 5, the People’s Court of the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang convicted a local citizen named Tran Hoang Huan of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code for his online posting. During a short trial which lasted a few hours, the court sentenced him to eight years in prison and three years of probation. Huan, who was arrested on April 8 last year, was accused of disseminating 186 articles on Facebook from early September 2020 to early April 2021 with the content criticizing the regime and defaming its leadership.

Before being arrested, in 2020, he was fined VND12.5 million ($560) for posting articles on Facebook unwanted by the regime. He was also summoned to a police station many times where he was forced to pledge not to post critical statuses, according to the state-controlled media.

esponding to the news that atleast 12 peaceful protesters were unlawfully arrested today by police officers for demonstrating outside the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Yamini Mishra, Amnesty International’s South Asia Regional Director, said:

“These protesters have the right to demonstrate peacefully outside the Parliament of Sri Lanka and to express themselves and speak with their MPs as the country’s economy crumbles. The charges against all the protesters must be dropped as they were detained solely for peacefully exercising their human rights.

“Any restrictions placed on these rights must be necessary, proportionate and provided by law. Today’s arrests were undoubtedly arbitrary and unlawful. After they arrested protesters recently in Mirihana, the Sri Lankan authorities subjected them to ill-treatment in police custody and refused to allow access to legal counsel. It is crucial that the authorities do not commit the same rights violations with the protesters arrested today.”

“Excessive use of force, intimidation and unlawful arrests seem to be a pattern in which the Sri Lankan authorities’ respond to dissent and peaceful assembly. These repressive actions clearly do not meet Sri Lanka’s obligations under international human rights law.”

Background

On 4 May, the police arrested 12 people near the Parliament of Sri Lanka for allegedly obstructing the vehicles of MPs.

In footage seen by Amnesty International, a small group of protesters can be seen holding up placards that called for MPs to support a motion of no confidence that was tabled in parliament today. The protesters were then forced into a police bus.

The protestors were later released on bail.

The South Bangkok Criminal Court on Tuesday (3 May) ordered bail for monarchy reform activists Baipor and Netiporn to be revoked, saying that they violated their bail conditions by causing public disorder.

Baipor and Netiporn are members of the monarchy reform group Thaluwang and were charged with royal defamation for conducting a public poll on whether people think royal motorcades cause problems on 8 February 2022 at Siam Paragon shopping mall.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that the Court revoked their bail because they participated in another poll on land expropriation on 13 March 2022 at the Victory Monument, which the Court said caused public disorder. The Court claimed that because the group posted on the Thaluwang Facebook page an invitation to people to join the “protest,” a large number of people would join the event and cause public disorder, and that a clash took place between Thaluwang supporters and members of a royalist group gathering nearby.

In the 13 March 2022 event, the activists walked on the skywalk around the Victory Monument and conducted a poll asking “Would you give up your house to the royal family?” Meanwhile, the ultra-royalist group People’s Centre to Protect the Monarchy gathered next to the monument to sing the national anthem and King’s anthem.

A small group of Thaluwang supporters argued with the royalist protesters gathered there, but no major altercation took place as activist Sam Samat and other Thaluwang supporters defused the situation.

Baipor said before going to the hearing that Thaluwang’s polls are open for everyone to participate, and that conducting polls is about raising questions about social issues, not just those relating to the monarchy. She said that it is a good thing that other groups are also conducting public polls, and that, if she is detained, she would like more people to raise questions about various issues in the country.

The order revoking their bail was signed by Judges Santi Chukitsappaisan and Puttawat Rintarasri.

Baipor and Netiporn are currently detained at the Women’s Central Correctional Institution. They are among 11 people currently detained on charges relating to political expression. Of this number, 5 are detained on royal defamation charges while their cases are still at the inquiry level: Baipor, Netiporn, Tantawan Tuatulanon, Sopon Surariddhidhamrong, and Weha Saenchonchanasuek. Activist shaves head to demand right to bail

After Baipor and Netiporn were taken to the Women’s Central Correctional Institution, 17-year-old activist Benjamaporn or “Ploy”, also a Thaluwang member, shaved her head to protest the activists’ bail revocation and demand the right to bail for detained activist.

Benjamaporn wore a school uniform and taped a piece of paper to her chest saying “This young person behaved in violation of the law by raising questions about the monarchy, causing dishonour to, defaming, and threatening one of the country’s main institutions. Please condemn this young person.”

The sign is a reference to Benjamaporn’s first demonstration, in which she protested outdated haircut and uniform regulations in Thai schools by sitting under a staircase at the Siam BTS station in a school uniform with a sign saying “This student violated school rules by leaving her hair longer than her ears and having fringes, destroying Thai students’ characteristics. Please punish this student,” and inviting people to cut her hair.

After shaving her head, Benjamaporn flashed the three-finger ‘Hunger Games’ salute. She picked up a piece of her hair and said that the braids she was wearing before the demonstration were done for her by Netiporn before they went to court that morning.

Benjamaporn said that the loss of her hair cannot be compared to the loss of lives from the economic recession, the lives of young people lost to the education system, the juvenile detention centres, or the life of 15-year-old Warit Somnoi, who was shot during a protest at the Din Daeng Intersection and died after several months in a coma.

She asked people to remember those who are unjustly imprisoned and those who died and not let them be forgotten by political history. She also asked that adults listen to young people and stand with them to call for justice, freedom, and equality.

“Young people have tried their best to speak out, but there are many adults who are still choosing not to listen to their voice. Actually, it is an adult’s responsibility to listen to the voice of young people and come out to stand alongside them, not just discard youth, not just discard children so that they have to run away from home and be without a place to live, without even a dream and having to struggle by themselves. In the end, the destination of people who come out to fight and ask questions is prison and death. Such things happen, and such things should not happen,” she said.

Benjamaporn said she is tired and feels discouraged, but she is not giving up. She asked people to continue following Thaluwang’s activities and support young people.

Pakistan authorities must conduct a swift and impartial investigation into the police assault of journalist Jahangir Hayat, as well as the detention of Hayat and his family, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.

On May 1, police officers in the Icchra area of Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, assaulted and detained Hayat, a chief reporter for the privately owned daily newspaper Daily Business, according to a report by his outlet, video of the incident shared on social media, and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ by phone.

Police also detained Hayat’s wife and seven-year-old daughter, and released the family after about 45 minutes, according to those sources.

Hayat told CPJ that he believes the assault and detention were acts of retaliation for his work as a journalist, including his reporting on crime and alleged police malfeasance, which CPJ reviewed.

“Punjab police officers’ assault and detention of Jahangir Hayat, as well as their detention and harassment of his family, underscores the significant dangers that Pakistani journalists face for simply doing their jobs,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna. “Authorities must conduct an immediate and impartial investigation into this incident, hold the perpetrators accountable, and demonstrate that such attacks will not continue with impunity.”

Hayat and his family were walking to their motorcycle when the journalist noticed that speedometer of his motorcycle had broken; he approached a police van nearby for help because he thought it had been vandalized, he said.

Hayat told CPJ that he showed the officers his press card as a form of identification, and the officers then recognized him, cursed at him, and one officer, whom Hayat identified as the station house officer of the Icchra Police Station, said he would “get rid of his journalism.”

Icchra Police Deputy Superintendent Zakaria Yusuf then arrived at the scene and ordered the officers to detain the journalist, Hayat told CPJ, saying the officers hit him in the ribs with their pistols, grabbed his neck, and threw him into a police vehicle, and escorted his wife and daughter into the vehicle as well.

The officers held the family in that vehicle for about 45 minutes and then brought them to the Icchra Police Station, where authorities released them without charge after a group of journalists gathered at the station’s gate, Hayat said.

The journalist sustained injuries to his ribs and neck from the attack, for which he took painkillers, he said, adding that his daughter was traumatized from the incident.

On May 9, Hayat registered complaints with the offices of Lahore Capital City Police Officer Bilal Kamyana, Senior Superintendent of the Lahore Police Operations Mustansar Feroze, and Inspector-General of the Punjab Police Sardar Ali Khan, the journalist said, adding that no action had been taken against the officers involved in his detention and assault.

Following publication of this article, Feroze told CPJ via messaging app that police had opened an inquiry into the incident, and would make its findings public upon its conclusion.

CPJ was unable to identify contact details for Yusuf. Kamyana and Khan did not respond to CPJ’s requests for comment sent via messaging app.

Student activist Sopon Surariddhidhamrong was arrested on Sunday night (1 May) on a royal defamation charge resulting from a speech he gave at a protest on 22 April 2022 and subsequently denied bail.

Sopon, a 23-year-old radiological technology student, was arrested while he was leaving the Labour Day event in front of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC). Witnesses said that, at around 21.20, Sopon got into a taxi to leave the event. A police truck then blocked off the taxi, after which officers came to read him an arrest warrant on a royal defamation charge. The officers also asked him to get out of the taxi and into the truck, or an officer would ride in the taxi with him to Samran Rat Police Station.

Nearby participants in the Labour Day event then came to negotiate with the officers. They also formed a cordon around the taxi to prevent the officers from taking Sopon until a lawyer arrived. At around 22.05, Sopon and a group of protesters got into the police truck for Samran Rat Police Station.

The police blocked the entrance to the police station with metal fences, while a crowd of supporters gathered outside. At around 23.30, the police said they were taking Sopon to the Police Club on Vibhavadi Road. Sopon insisted that the police interrogate him at Samran Rat Police Station and not at the Police Club because the protest which led to the complaint against him did not take place in the Police Club’s jurisdiction and the announcement making the Police Club a restricted area has already been repealed.

However, at 2.00 on Monday (2 May), the police took Sopon to the Police Club. They also did not allow his lawyer to travel with him, forcing the lawyer to travel separately and wait in front of the Police Club before being allowed to meet him.

The officers initially did not say what the charges resulted from and would not let anyone take pictures of the warrant. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported later that Sopon was charged with royal defamation and using a sound amplifier without permission for a speech he gave during a protest march in the Ratchadamnoen area on 22 April 2022. Anon Klinkaew, a member of the ultra-royalist group People’s Centre to Protect the Monarchy who filed the complaint against Sopon, said the speech defamed Queen Suthida.

Sopon was detained at the Police Club overnight. On Monday morning (2 May), the police took him to court via teleconference for a 12-day temporary detention request. The inquiry officer opposed bail on the grounds that the charges carry a high penalty and because, since Sopon is a monarchy reform activist on police watchlist, many royal ceremonies will be taking place in May.

TLHR said that the Court denied him bail because he was previously granted bail on a contempt of court charge resulting from a protest on 2 May 2021 at the Ratchadaphisek Criminal Court following bail rejections for several activists detained pending trial at the time on royal defamation charges. The Court therefore believes that if Sopon is released, he is likely to run or repeat his offense, and so denied him bail. The name of the judge who denied bail was redacted by court officials. Sopon is now detained at the Bangkok Remand Prison.

TLHR noted that the police only took 6 days after the complaint against Sopon was filed to issue an arrest warrant without first issuing a summons, and that this is Sopon’s first royal defamation charge.

Three activists from the monarchy reform group Thaluwang were arrested yesterday (28 April) on a royal defamation charge after police officers raided their apartment.

Activist Supitcha Chailom went live on her personal Facebook profile saying that she was with Netiporn Sanesangkhom and “Baipor” or Nutthanit (last name withheld), and that police officers were outside their apartment door with an arrest warrant for them. She said they would not open the door until they felt safe and barricaded the door.

The activists stayed inside the locked room until a lawyer from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) arrived at around 16.40. They also stayed live on Facebook and only opened the door once they got confirmation that the police would not search their apartment.

During the live stream, Supitcha said that an employee of the apartment building was arranging for a locksmith to come take the digital lock out of the door. Netiporn said that their apartment building is likely to be collaborating with government agencies, since the police previously parked their cars on the apartment premises. She also speculated that there are police officers on the apartment committee and that this is why they facilitated the police operation.

She later said that plainclothes police have been stationed under her apartment building since the morning, and that the officers who came up to her room did not state their names or what warrant they have, only saying that they wanted to search the room because there is an arrest warrant.

The activists were taken to Bang Sue Police Station. However, once they arrived, the vehicle containing Supitcha and Nutthanit turned out of the police station towards Soi Inthamara 4. The activists then insisted on going back to the police station, where their lawyer was waiting. The car stopped in front of a condominium building for a few minutes before taking them back to the police station.

TLHR said that there is an arrest warrant out for the three activists on a royal defamation charge issued by officers from Bang Sue Police Station. At the police station, they were later told that the charge resulted from an event on 18 April around the Chatuchak MRT station, during which Thaluwang conducted a poll on whether people agree with the government allowing the King to use his powers as he pleases.

TLHR also said that Technology Crime Suppression Division officers came to the police station asking to check the activists' phones. However, since they could not present a warrant, the activists refused to comply. Meanwhile a crowd was gathering outside to show support for the activists.

Supitcha, Netiporn, and Nutthanit were detained overnight at Bang Sue Police Station. They were taken to court for a temporary detention request via teleconference this morning (29 April) and were later granted bail using a 90,000-baht security each.

The Court prohibited them from participating in activities which damage the monarchy or cause public disorder and gave them a curfew of 16.00 – 6.00. They must also wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and report to the court every 30 days.

Supitcha and Nutthanit, along with activist Benjamaporn Nivas, were arrested last Friday (22 April) while on their way to Cha-am on charges of royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act.

As Thaluwang members, Supitcha, Benjamaporn, and Nutthanit have conducted public polls on questions relating to the monarchy, such as whether people are affected by royal motorcades, whether they would like their tax money to be used to maintain the monarchy, and whether they agree with the government allowing the King to use his powers as he pleases.

Nutthanit and Netiporn were previously charged with royal defamation, sedition, and refusing to comply with an officer’s order for conducting a poll on royal motorcades at Siam Paragon shopping mall on 8 February 2022. Yesterday was the third time they have been charged with royal defamation.

On 28 December 2021, Nutthanit was also among three activists arrested for holding up banners with the message “Abolish Section 112” at Wongwian Yai, where a crowd of people were waiting to see King Vajiralongkorn and his entourage. At that time officers pushed them around and tried to silence them by placing their hands over their mouth, causing minor injuries. They were charged with causing a public commotion and failing to comply with police orders and received a 1000-baht fine.

Supitcha has been previously charged with royal defamation for a speech given at a protest in Songkhla on 30 November 2020. Yesterday was also her third royal defamation charge.

A court in Afghanistan has sentenced a journalist to one year in prison on charges that free press advocates say included criticism of the Taliban government in his social media posts and "espionage." A Taliban spokesman said he was sentenced for “criminal misconduct.”

Khalid Qaderi, a poet and reporter with Radio Nowruz in the western Afghan city of Herat, has been in custody since his arrest in mid-March. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) alleged in a statement issued Thursday that he was tried and sentenced last week by a Taliban military court, something the Taliban denied.

The IFJ said the young Afghan journalist was accused of posting content critical of the Taliban, including his radio broadcasts, on Facebook. It quoted Qaderi telling the court, "I realized my errors, and I deleted the posts from my Facebook page."

The IFJ denounced what it said was "the arbitrary sentencing" and urged the Islamist Taliban to cease their persecution of journalists for their independent reportage. This would be the first reported case of a journalist being tried by a military court since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan last August.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Thursday confirmed the sentencing of the journalist but insisted Qaderi's arrest had nothing to do with his "journalistic work," nor was he tried by a military court.

Mujahid claimed while speaking to VOA’s Afghan Service that a "civil" court in Herat had imposed the sentence on Qaderi for "criminal misconduct." The spokesman did not elaborate.

"Under Taliban rule," the IFJ said, “Afghan journalists have continued to face draconian restrictions, threats to freedom and arbitrary arrests.” The group called for the Taliban to immediately release the journalist from prison.

The Taliban insist they support media activities in Afghanistan within the law, but an estimated 1,000 journalists have fled the country since the Islamist group returned to power almost nine months ago, citing threats, harsh restrictions on media and economic upheavals.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said in a report issued Thursday that the Taliban continue to persecute religious minorities and punish Afghans in accordance with the group's extreme interpretation of Islamic law or Sharia.

"The Taliban takeover and U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 led to a mass exodus, heightened by a violent crackdown on civil society, targeted killings, beatings and detentions, severe restrictions on women's rights, diminished local media presence, and an increase in violent, targeted attacks claimed by Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K)," the U.S. government entity said.

The USCIRF monitors the conditions of refugees who have fled severe violations of religious freedom and the U.S. government's policy responses.

Women's rights

Last week, the Taliban government decreed that women must fully cover their faces and bodies when in public, ideally with the traditional all-covering burqa, in one of the harshest restrictions the Islamist group has imposed on Afghan women since seizing power.

The edict advised women to leave their homes only in cases of necessity and warned that violations could lead to the punishment of their male relatives. The move drew widespread international condemnation and demands for its reversal.

The Taliban defended the female dress code, saying it is in line with Islamic and Afghan traditions. The group also has not yet allowed secondary schoolgirls to resume classes, ignoring domestic and international demands to lift the ban.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said Thursday that its chief, Deborah Lyons, in a series of meetings with Taliban leaders this week, called on them to respect and ensure women's fundamental rights.

"The international community's ability to engage with the Taliban as credible actors requires them to make good on commitments for all girls to return to school, as well as to ensure women can work, access basic services and have free movement without impediments," UNAMA wrote on Twitter.

Indigenous community representatives who say they filed a complaint against a company for encroaching on community forests have been summoned to court over defamation and incitement.

The court summons names the complainant as Kak Ratana from the company Villa Development, and orders Kroeung Tola, Phlek Phirum, Phlek Navy and Khveng Tum to appear at the Mondulkiri Provincial Court on April 26 for questioning over defamation and incitement.

Phirum said on Friday that she had not heard from the courts or received the summons, but knew the company since she had filed her own complaint against it in recent weeks.

“We are protecting our land. They are planning to clear 100 hectares,” Phirum said. “We make a living on that land.”

The community had already lost around 1,000 resin trees in the area, she said. “If we lose all of them, what can we do?”

She said Villa Development was a rubber plantation that arrived to the area in 2008, and it had encroached on community forests since 2012.

A phone number for Ratana listed with the Commerce Ministry did not connect.

Tola, a prominent activist and coordinator for the Mondulkiri Indigenous People Network who has faced previous legal actions against him, including fines for defamation, told VOD that he planned to appear at the court because the representatives did not “incite or defame.”

Phirum has also faced previous legal troubles, including a reported conviction for aggravating a land issue under the Land Law, for which she, Navy and Tum purportedly received two-year jail sentences but were not taken into custody.

Five people from three activist groups were prevented from riding bicycles in Phnom Penh on Tuesday to commemorate the 10th death anniversary of prominent environmentalist Chut Wutty.

Wutty was shot dead 10 years ago while showing journalists forest destruction in the western province of Koh Kong. The activists planned to ride bicycles from Independence Monument to the ministries of justice and environment.

They were first followed by district security guards and police officers to Wat Botum park in central Phnom Penh, and then prevented from starting the bicycle ride.

The activists are Khmer Thavrak’s Chhoeun Daravy, Chhem Sreykea and Yong Sokhlai, Mother Nature’s Phuon Keoreaksmey and Eng Malai from the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association. Two other activists, Hun Vannak and Svay Samnang, were also present to broadcast the bicycle ride on social media.

“We were only talking with them about why they took our bicycles, why they prohibited us from walking, or going anywhere else, asking us to stay in one place,” said Malai.

There was some shoving by security personnel when the activists attempted to leave the area. Authorities also unsuccessfully tried to take the camera of a VOD reporter.

Security personnel told the activists they could leave only after senior officials gave them the go-ahead, Malai said, adding that they planned to go to a small shrine on the riverside to offer blessings for Wutty.

“[Their] message is that this is anarchy, and they are restricting our freedoms,” she added.

Keoreaksmey was previously part of another group of activists who were attempting to cycle from Koh Kong to Phnom Penh to raise awareness about Koh Kong Krao and urge the government to preserve the undeveloped island as a national park. The group was also stopped by police and they had to continue their journey on foot.

At Tuesday’s event, the five activists were dressed in shirts adorned with Wutty’s image and wore helmets adorned with leaves. Keoreaksmey said the authorities wanted to take their shirts too.

“There is not any law that says wearing hats with tree leaves or wearing a shirt with Chut Wutty’s photos is illegal,” she said. “They demanded something from us that we could not do for them.”

Phnom Penh City Hall spokesperson Met Measpheakdey said that people needed permission before conducting activities in public.

“Every public activity for any purpose must be approved by the authorities,” he said.

Background

Dinh Van Hai, a disabled person, is living in Duc Trong district, Lam Dong province. History of Activism

Dinh Van Hai, with his deep knowledge on international, criminal, civil and land rights, often shares his views on national and international issues. He participated in many demonstrations on national sovereignty and the environment and also protests against human rights violations by the authorities, especially violent attacks against activists.

Mr Hai was arrested in Oct 2021, charged with conducting “anti-state propaganda” pursuant sec 117 of the penal code for his Facebook postings that were critical of the regime's environmental and social policies.

On 26 April 2022, he was sentenced to 5 years jail plus 3 years probation by Lam Dong province court.

His relative (name withheld due to security concern) informed RFA Viet that his family didn't receive any official notification about the hearing. They were only aware of it via a person who provided legal assistance for the disabled, as Mr Hai was disabled.

According to the relative, Mr Hai stated before court that what he did was towards a more progressive, developed, better society, it wasn't his intention to oppose the Party and the state. He also expressed his wish for a multi-party system so the people can participate in a free election.

A court in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, has jailed eight activists over their participation in a rally demanding the immediate release of political prisoners in the Central Asian nation.

On April 25, the Almaty City Administrative Court sentenced Aigerim Tileuzhan, Alina Bermenqul, Bauyrzhan Atinbaev, Beken Beisalieva, Qonai Abdiev, and Doszhan Quanysh to 20 days in jail for the demonstration.

Ravqat Mukhtarov and Maira Ghabdullina were each handed 15 days in jail. Three more activists, Bulbul Berdiqozhanova, Esenbai Khodzhiev, and Bayan Shyrynbekova were each fined 91,890 tenges ($205).

All of the activists pleaded not guilty, but the court convicted them of taking part in an unsanctioned public event.

The activists were among dozens of protesters who gathered a day earlier in the city center and demanded the release of hundreds of men and women who were arrested during and after deadly anti-government protests in early January.

Protests in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic’s western region of Manghystau over abrupt gas-price hikes turned into unprecedented demonstrations that turned violent across the nation.

Authorities have said that at least 230 people, including 19 law enforcement officers, died during the unrest.

Human rights activists insist the number of the people killed during the violence is likely much higher.

Attacks against Pakistani media workers continue to escalate, with senior journalist, Zia-Ur-Rehman Farooqi fatally attacked by ‘land-grabbers’ in the Punjab province, and veteran journalist Khawar Mughal tortured by members of the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) political party at a public meeting in Lahore. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Pakistan affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), condemn the attacks and urge the newly formed Pakistani government to apprehend the perpetrators and implement security mechanisms to better protect journalists in Pakistan.

According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed on March 24 at Kuhna Police Station Khanewal, several assailants stopped and threatened a car carrying media reporters, including Zia-Ur-Rehman Farooqi, a correspondent for 7 News in the Khanewal district of Punjab.

Armed individuals opened fire on the journalists, hitting Zia-Ur-Rehman in the head. The other journalists in the car managed to escape unharmed, while the assailants fled the scene. Zia-Ur-Rehman was brought to the District Head Quarter Hospital in Khanewal, before being shifted to Nishtar Hospital Multan for further treatment. The journalist died of his injuries on April 28.

Zia-Ur-Rehman was allegedly attacked for his critical reporting of land grabbing schemes in the area, with the FIR lodged under Section 7 of Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act and the country’s penal code.

In another incident, renowned journalist Khawar Mughal, of 92 News, was tortured during a public gathering in Lahore by members of the PTI political party. An FIR was lodged at Lari Addah Lahore police station against Mughal’s assailants, who tortured him before stealing his media firm logo and breaking his microphone and camera.

At PTI public events in Islamabad and Karachi, journalists were tortured and female journalists, including Zamzam Saeed of Samaa TV, were the subject of targeted harassment.

Gharida Farooqi, a distinguished journalist and anchorperson, was harassed by PTI members on social media and through online assaults, cyberbullying, character assassination, and threats of death and rape.

"I've reported to the FIA regarding rude, harassing, disparaging banners against me held at Lahore Public meeting and put up on social media," Farooqi told the IFJ. “From now on, there will be no tolerance. Anyone who spreads false information about me will now be reported to the FIA. I expect the FIA to take speedy action against all of the perpetrators."

The PFUJ strongly condemned the armed attack on journalist Zia-Ur-Rehman Farooqi and asked that Punjab Police arrest and detain the offenders. Rana Muhammad Azeem, PFUJ Secretary General, demanded the perpetrators be arrested, or else a nationwide demonstration would be called.

Independent photojournalist Natthaphon Phanphongsanon was attacked by 4 men near the Democracy Monument after a protest. Another journalist and a bystander were injured by pro-monarchists in another incident that took place shortly afterward.

The 4 men, who were wearing vests and casual clothes, approached Natthapon, who was about to leave the area on his motorcycle, asking to see the pictures on his mobile phone, but Natthaphon refused. He was subsequently attacked and hit with batons.

The attack took place after a protest by the activist group Draconis Revolution around the Ratchadamnoen area between 16.00 - 20.30. During the event, a group of pro-monarchy supporters could be seen gathering at the opposite side of the Monument.

At one point, there was a confrontation between the two groups as one member of the pro-monarchy group aggressively approached the protestors. The police came in to settle the situation after several minutes of verbal exchanges and taunts.

According to an interview with Thai Media for Democracy Alliance (DemAll), Natthapon said he met one attacker as he was leaving the McDonald restaurant after finishing his work after the protest ended. As he was attacked, he ran back into the restaurant.

DemAll managed to access the CCTV footage from the restaurant. It can be seen that the man approached Natthapon and another two men later surrounded him shortly before the attack took place. Luckily, Natthaphon’s safety helmet saved his head from injury, but his shoulder and arm were directly hit.

Natthaphon filed a complaint to the police over the assault. However, as he was trying to access the CCTV footage at McDonald, two men in private clothes with pistols approached him, claiming to be police officers, asking him not to collect the footage and instead go to see a doctor.

The two left the scene as Natthaphon’s friend made a phone call to the police station responsible for the area to ask whether they had dispatched officers or not, and the answer was no.

As Natthapon was giving an interview to the media in McDonalds, Akkhrawut Kraisisombat, a leading figure from Vocational Students Protecting the Institution, a pro-monarchy group with vocational training backgrounds, together with a two to three followers explained that the attackers were not affiliated with his group and that they wanted the media to remove any accusation of him being involved in the incident.

As the explanation dragged on, quarrels arose and the restaurant staff told the people to talk outside. Shortly after another fight broke out when one of Akkrawut’s group punched a man in the eye, causing bleeding from the eyebrow. One journalist from Political24 who was livestreaming the event was also punched in the hand.

Since the surge of mass protests calling for political and monarchy reform in 2020, the media have rarely been a target of civilian groups who hold different political opinions, and have been most at risk of being from the victims of police operations to disperse protests. This incident has raised concerns about the safety of the media whose job is to present information from the field to their audiences.

Like many others, Natthapon has covered the protests as a citizen photojournalist. He has been a target for public naming and shaming on the pro-monarchy Facebook page Dr.X for covering the protest where the public were asked their opinions about royal motorcades. Despite being wrongly identified as a news agency employee, Natthapon’s name was mentioned along with other citizen journalists and reporters.

On 23 April, Teeranai Charuvastra, Thai Journalists Association (TJA) Vice President for media rights and liberties and reform stated that he and his colleagues are closely monitoring the situation and demanded that the police quickly investigate the incident and inform the public directly about the result.

He expressed concern that the assault had taken place as Natthapon was about to leave the scene as this may cast doubt as to whether the attack had anything to do with him being a journalist and that media practitioners would be afraid for their safety if the investigation result is not clear and the perpetrator could not be brought to justice.

The TJA Vice President also stated that the media, either with official affiliation or independent, have the legal right under the constitution to report information without being harassed and it is the authorities’ duty to protect the exercise of this right.

Three members of the monarchy reform activist group Thaluwang were arrested earlier today (22 April) on charges of royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act.

Activists Supitcha “Maynu” Chailom, Benjamaporn “Ploy” Nivas, and “Baipor” or Nutthanit (last name withheld) were stopped by highway police on Phet Kasem Road, Phetchaburi, while on their way to Cha Am, a beach town in Phetchaburi and a popular tourist destination. The police checked their identification before presenting arrest warrants on charges of royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act.

The warrant was issued by the Criminal Court and the Central Juvenile and Family Court on a request from the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

The three activists were detained at a nearby highway police service centre before being taken to Bangkok. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that while they were detained, the police presented a search warrant for their electronic devices. Officers also tried to search their car despite not having a warrant for it.

TLHR also said that the police also searched the three activists’ residences and confiscated a laptop, a mobile phone, several t-shirts used during the group’s activities, and signs and stickers the group used to conduct their polls.

The search took place at 9.00, when the activists were already in police custody. The officers were let into the activists’ apartments by the buildings’ juristic persons.

As Thaluwang members, Supitcha, Benjamaporn, and Nutthanit conducted public polls on questions relating to the monarchy, such as whether people are affected by royal motorcades, whether they would like their tax money to be used to maintain the monarchy, and whether they agree with the government allowing the King to use his powers as he pleases.

Nutthanit, 20, has previously been charged with royal defamation, sedition, and refusing to comply with an officer’s order for conducting a poll on royal motorcade at Siam Paragon shopping mall on 8 February 2022. On 28 December 2021, she was also among the three activists arrested for holding up banners with the message “Abolish Section 112” at Wongwian Yai, where a crowd of people were waiting to see King Vajiralongkorn and his entourage, during which officers pushed them around and tried to silence them by placing their hands over their mouth, causing minor injuries. They were charged with causing a public commotion and failing to comply with police orders and received a 1000-baht fine.

Supitcha, 18, is from Chiang Mai and has been previously charged with royal defamation for a speech given at a protest in Songkhla on 30 November 2020, while 17-year-old Benjamaporn previously campaigned against human rights abuses in schools with the student rights group Bad Student. She was charged with violation of the Emergency Decree for participating in a protest at the Ratchaprasong Intersection on 15 October 2020.

All three activists were released on bail at around 18.00. The Criminal Court granted bail for Supitcha and Nutthanit using a 100,000-baht security each, and gave them the conditions that they must not participate in activities that can cause public disorder or damage the monarchy or repeat their offense. They must also report to court every 30 days.

Meanwhile, the Central Juvenile and Family Court granted Benjamaporn bail using a 20,000-baht security.

Three cadres of the Islamic Student Association (HMI) were arrested by police in front of the State Palace, Central Jakarta. These three HMI cadres were arrested during a demonstration to protest the arrest of a robbery case in Bekasi with the defendant Muhammad Fikry, who is also an HMI cadre.

"Yes, three people (Akmal Fahmi, Andi Kurniawan, and Imam Zarkasi) are still being held. I am still at the Central Jakarta Police, Kemayoran," said Head of Defense and Security Division of PB HMI, Arven Marta, when contacted by reporters, Friday (22/4). /2022).

Arven explained that the arrest occurred when HMI held a demonstration in front of the State Palace on Friday (22/4), at 15.30 WIB this afternoon. The HMI demonstration throughout Jabodetabek was protesting the arrest of one of its cadres, M Fikry, who was considered a victim of the wrongful arrest of a robbery case in Babelan, Bekasi Regency.

"We took action at around half past four in the afternoon. This is because of the problem that our cadres in Bekasi were criminalized, accused of being robbers. Therefore, our alliance from the Jabodetabek HMI went down together at the palace. Indeed, the goal is to pay attention to the issue of human rights cases and victims of wrongful arrests. ," he continued.

Arven said the location for their demonstration coincided with a state official's event. They were asked to move the location of the demo.

"However, the location of the action coincided with an event by a high-ranking state official, so we were asked to shift, because it did not comply with the protocol, which was referred to as a vital object," said Arven.

According to Arven, when the HMI mass was moving to move locations, there was pushing between HMI cadres and the police. Clashes are unavoidable.

Arven explained, three people were arrested in the incident. He said dozens of other cadres were injured.

"So that three people from HMI were arrested and dozens of other friends were injured," he said. Police Explanation

Head of Criminal Investigation Unit for Central Jakarta Metro Police AKBP Wisnu Wardana confirmed that his party had secured 3 HMI cadres.

"We are still investigating," said Vishnu.

Wisnu explained, the initial chronology of the arrests of these three HMI cadres. Initially, the HMI mass numbered about 20 people demonstrating in front of the palace without any notification.

"The mass of the unras action from the HMI group was about 20 people without giving notification of the action to the police," said Wisnu.

On the other hand, HMI held a demonstration at the location of a vital object, namely in front of the State Palace. Which is in accordance with Law Number 9 of 1998 concerning Freedom of Expression of Opinions in Public, demonstrations may not be held at the location of a vital object or a radius of 500 meters from a vital object.

"The police have appealed humanely for the mass action to disperse but it was ignored, so that strict and measurable police action was taken against the mass action so that we arrested three people," said Wisnu.

Seven students from Yangon’s Dagon University who went missing over two days last week are believed to have been abducted by the military, a leader of the university’s student union said.

On April 21, five of the students disappeared after one revealed in a phone call with Dagon University Student Union chairperson Min Htet Han that a military truck was entering their street in Bahan Township.

The students were identified as Khant Zin Win, Thura Maung Maung, Zaw Lin Naing, Thiha Htet Zaw and Hein Htet.

The next day, two of their colleagues—Thet Paing Oo and Khant Lin Maung Maung—also reportedly went missing.

“We highly suspect that they were taken by the junta. Their families are also asking at the township police stations because they suspect the same thing, but we are still unable to find anything out,” Min Htet Han told Myanmar Now.

None of the students were members of the student union, but they had taken part in anti-coup protests, he said, adding that their disappearance has been reported to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The military council has not responded to Myanmar Now’s calls for comment concerning the missing students.

“We’re worried for their lives,” student union chair Min Htet Han said. “Many incidents like this have happened before, and so many people have died during interrogations without anyone knowing. We are extremely worried because we don’t even know where they are being held or what charges they are facing.”

“Their families at least have the right to know where they are,” he added.

The student union from the Yangon University of Economics also released a statement identifying one of their students, Htet Paing Soe, as also having been detained by the junta on April 21.

At the time of reporting, the AAPP had confirmed that nearly 1,800 civilians had been killed by the military council since the coup, and verified that more than 10,000 people were still in detention.

The actual figures may be much higher.

Even following brutal crackdowns on protests by the junta’s armed forces following the coup in February last year, youth across Yangon have continued demonstrations in opposition to the military.

Several attacks targeting members of the junta’s administrative mechanism have also been carried out by guerrilla forces in the commercial capital.

A resident in Labuan Bajo was arrested by officers from the Resort Police [Polres] of West Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Thursday (21/4) while trying to block an attempt to clear a road for the National Strategic Project [PSN].

Paulinus Jek, the name of the resident, is a member of the Racang Buka Community. He was arrested for trying to block an excavator when the eviction arrived at his teak plantation.

The Racang Buka Community is one of three groups of residents in Labuan Bajo whose land was allegedly taken by the Implementing Agency for the Labuan Bajo Flores Authority [BPOLBF] for the tourism business.

The road that passes through his garden will open access to an area of ​​400 hectares in the Bowosie Forest which will later become a project site by the Tourism Authority of Labuan Bajo Flores [BPOLBF] to be developed into a tourism business area.

Together with other residents of the Racang Buka Community, Paulinus has tried to resist the eviction. This is because they have controlled and resided in the area since 1999. They have made various efforts to gain recognition from the state.

However, their efforts went unanswered, and the eviction for the opening of the road was carried out on Thursday, April 21 under the guard of about 50 police and several members of the TNI. There are officers wearing official uniforms, some wearing civilian clothes while carrying long-barreled weapons.

Paulinus's arrest began with his shouting so that the teak trees would not be evicted.

"Don't evict my teak. Don't," he said, pointing and walking towards the excavator.

His scream was then followed by other residents. "This is our plant," shouted a resident.

"We are humans, sir. Please communicate. We are not animals," added another resident.

The actions of Paulinus and several other residents had made the excavator stop. However, the Head of the Mabar Police OPS Division, Robert M. Bolle, asked the heavy equipment operator to continue the work.

"Don't be silent. Forward, forward," he said.

Paulinus continued to protest and questioned the presence of the officers at the place.

"How much did you get paid. How much did the police get paid?" Paulinus shouted, pointing at the police in front of him.

Robert responded to his words with an arrest warrant.

"Secure him. Secure him. Take him. Arrest the others," he ordered to which several police personnel responded immediately.

Paulinus who was standing right in front of the excavator was immediately dragged away. He was struggling to get free from the police ambush. After Paulinus was arrested, the eviction was continued, under tight security by the army and police.

At 13.00 WITA, Paulinus was released and rejoined the residents.

The refusal of residents in the vicinity of the Bowosie Forest, as well as other civilian elements to the project, which is part of the national strategic project, was carried out because they considered the eviction site to be a buffer forest area for the city of Labuan Bajo. In addition, some areas are community gardens.

Racang Buka residents who enter the area of ​​Gorontalo Village, Komodo District have inhabited the area since the 1990s.

They have made various legal efforts to legally inhabit at least 150 hectares of the Bowosie Forest in the southern part through a scheme to free forest areas into settlements and agricultural land.

Their step was answered by the government through the Decree of the West Manggarai Forest Boundary No. 357 of 2016, but only about 38 hectares were granted, which was designated as an area for Other Use Areas [APL].

While the residents were only given 38 hectares, the other part of the forest that they requested to become their rights is now part of the area handed over by the government to BPO-LBF through Presidential Decree 32 of 2018.

The Head of Operations Section [Head of OPS] West Manggarai Police, AKP Robertus M. Bolle stated that his presence at the eviction site was only to provide security at the order of the Chief of Police and the request of the Implementing Agency for the Labuan Bajo Flores Authority [BPOLBF].

"We carry out security duties with a letter of assignment from the police chief. The basis for that is an application from the Flores Labuan Bajo Authority Implementing Agency [BPOLBF] for security related to the opening of roads on government land. So that's the basis," he said.

"So, we are here to carry out security. Only security. Both from the workers and from the community itself," he added.

Regarding the arrest of the residents of Paulinus, he emphasized that this step was taken to prevent a bigger problem from being avoided.

"Persuasion has been done, communication has been good, we have to be a little strict with this activity. There is no pushing. But there is one of our brothers who gave his life in the excavator. We secure him so he doesn't get hurt. We move him from the location that threatens his life. , said Robert.

Junta soldiers drove a vehicle into a crowd of protesters in Yangon on Wednesday afternoon, missing the marchers but smashing into a car carrying three women taking part in the demonstration, a witness told Myanmar Now.

After the collision, the troops took the women away, said Zaw Htet, a protester from Youth Union, one of the groups involved in the flash mob demonstration. “They held the women at gunpoint and made them sit in formation,” he said.

The women, aged 23, 25 and 30, were trying to escape in the car when they were hit, said Zaw Htet, adding that he did not know where the soldiers took them.

Two of those detained–Khine Thinzar Aye and Ei Phyu Phyu Myint–are members of the Confederation of Trade Unions, Myanmar, the union said on Wednesday. The identity of the third woman has not yet been revealed.

At around 4:25pm, just minutes after the protest started on Thanthumar road in South Okkalapa, some ten troops riding in a double cab pickup truck came hurtling towards the crowd of roughly 30 people.

“We saw them speeding towards us from Myittar street just minutes after the protest started and we dispersed to the sides of the road,” he said. “That was the only reason this didn’t end up the same way as it did on Panbingyi street.”

In December, junta forces drove into a crowd of anti-coup protesters on Yangon’s Panbingyi street, injuring and then arresting several. Witnesses initially told Myanmar Now that five were killed, but it is now unclear if there were fatalities.

Wednesday's protest was organised by the Anti-Junta Alliance Yangon, a group of students’ unions and youth organisations from the city.

The crowd chanted: “The oppressors are becoming more cruel,” and “Those who value justice, wake up!”

“We just wanted to notify people that the military cares for no one’s rights or needs as long as they get to rule the country,” said Zaw Htet.

Regular flash mob protests against the military have continued in Yangon even after soldiers massacred hundreds of peaceful protesters across the country last year.

Monarchy reform activist Tantawan Tuatulanon’s bail was revoked today (20 April), after the Criminal Court claimed she has broken her bail conditions by going near a royal motorcade and posting about the monarchy on Facebook.

The Ratchadapisek Criminal Court ruled to revoke bail for Tantawan, claiming that she intended to cause disorder by going near a royal motorcade and that her Facebook posts are a repetition of her offence. The order was signed by judge Parit Piyanaratorn, Deputy Chief Justice of the Criminal Court.

Tantawan, 20, was charged with royal defamation, resisting officers, and violation of the Computer Crimes Act for live broadcasting before a royal motorcade on 5 March, during which she questioned the priorities of the police and the King as farmers protesting in the area at the time were forced to move to clear the route.

She was arrested again on the evening of 5 March on Ratchadamnoen Nok Road, the route of King Vajiralongkorn’s motorcade, by about 60 officers. She was initially taken to Phaya Thai Police Station before being moved to the Police Club on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road since the police feared her supporters would stage a demonstration in front of the police station.

Tantawan was detained in the Narcotics Suppression Bureau located inside the Police Club from 5 March to 7 March when she was granted bail on a 100,000-baht security and the conditions that she must not repeat her offense or participate in activities which damage the monarchy, and must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.

Police from Nang Loeng Police Station asked the court to revoke her bail in late March, claiming that she violated her bail conditions by driving into an area where a royal motorcade was scheduled to pass on 17 March, and for posting on her Facebook page comments about royal motorcades and about being harassed by the police.

At around 11.40, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that the police notified them that they will be taking Tantawan to the Central Women's Correctional Institution immediately, even though her lawyer has yet to file another bail request for her.

Meanwhile, Tantawan posted on her Facebook following the court ruling: "Please continue the fight. When you go out to fight, please think of me."

More than 100 unionists returned to strike against NagaWorld on Tuesday following failed negotiations and the holiday weekend, and they were yet again put on buses and toured around Phnom Penh’s outskirts.

Shortly after workers arrived near the Australian Embassy a little after 2 p.m. Tuesday, a total of 106 strikers were immediately loaded onto public buses and driven as far as the zoo in Chroy Changva district before being dropped off at 4 p.m. near the relocated Freedom Park, according to unionists.

Chan Bora, 37, who is still employed by NagaWorld, said Tuesday afternoon’s protest proceeded as it had before their nine-day break.

She said they unsuccessfully tried to “get in front of the company” by rallying at the park in front of NagaWorld 1, as they had in the early days of the strike.

“I know that when I come, I will be pushed onto the bus. But if we don’t come, they will think that we stopped, so we keep coming,” she said.

When asked how she was feeling to be back on the bus, Bora started crying: “I’m scared of the force from the authorities. If they want us to get on the bus, I will follow. I don’t want to be pushed and forced.”

Negotiations between NagaWorld and the unionists are set to resume on Thursday at the Labor Ministry, after talks stalled once again two weeks before.

Bora said she felt the solution should be simple.

“Two-hundred workers want to go back to work, which is easy to solve if the company wants, because they are full of experience, and this problem will continue if the company won’t solve this.”