Uwazi

Hong Kong's national security police have written to the organizers of a now-banned candlelight vigil for the victims of the June 4, 1989 massacre in Beijing, asking them to reveal details of the group's previous contacts with overseas-based organizations.

Chow Hang-tung, vice chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, said the group's members have been given two weeks to comply with the request, made under Article 43 of a national security law imposed on the city by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from July 1, 2020.

A video clip shared to social media showed national security police delivering a letter to Chow at her home, which she signed for.

Chow said the police letter had described the Alliance as an "agent" of foreign organizations, which she denied.

"Just by pinning this label of foreign agent on us, they can then require us to hand over all of this information," Chow told RFA on Wednesday.

"This is an extremely unfair accusation, and a completely false one," Chow said. "How can the Alliance be a foreign agent? We are an organization formed spontaneously by the people of Hong Kong."

"[They are] using this tactic to intimidate civil society groups," she said. But she denied the Alliance had already made plans to disband, saying the issue was still unresolved.

Chow was mentioned in the letter alongside former Democratic Party lawmaker Emily Lau and Alliance co-founders Albert Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan, who are currently in prison on different charges.

"The national security department of the Hong Kong Police Force wrote to the Aliiance on Aug. 25, saying it was suspected of being a foreign agent," the letter, which was shared with RFA by Chow, said.

"The Alliance is hereby required under Article 43 of the National Security Law to provide detailed information about the activities of its personnel in Hong Kong since its establishment," the letter said.

Deadline for submission

It called for full records and contact details for overseas organizations to be submitted to police by Sept. 7, 2021.

"Failure to supply police with the requested information, unless you can prove that you have tried comply with the request to the best of your ability, or that you were prevented from doing so due to reasons beyond your control, will result in a fine of H.K.$100,000 and a prison sentence of six months if convicted," the letter warned.

Among the organizations listed in the request were the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy, the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, the Solidarity Center, and the Center for International Private Enterprise.

Also listed were the Canada-based Federation for a Democratic China, the U.S.-based New School for Democracy, founded by former 1989 student leader Wang Dan, and the Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group.

According to a person familiar with the internal operations of the Alliance, the group has been in touch with pro-democracy activists and dissidents in mainland China for many years.

Others may be targeted

Joseph Cheng, a former politics professor at Hong Kong's City University, said other groups could also be targeted, including the Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, which has spoken out for the mainland Chinese legal profession since the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began a crackdown in July 2015.

"They are now targeting some of the more prominent activists, both within the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement and overseas, as well as the pro-democracy movement in mainland China," Cheng said. "The relevant departments in mainland China likely already have a lot of material on them already."

"The current sweep for documents and records is likely aimed at arresting them and bringing charges, or using the material to go after pro-democracy activists overseas," he said.

Zhang Xianling, a co-founder of the Tiananmen Mothers group representing the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, said she had nothing to fear.

"Even if they eradicate an organization [like the Alliance] or stop it from meeting, they won't necessarily be able to cover everything up," Zhang said. "The traces will still be there in the historical record."

"A lie is still a lie, even after 100 years have gone by."

Hong Kong justice secretary Teresa Cheng declined to comment when contacted by RFA on Wednesday, saying she wouldn't comment on an ongoing investigation.

Security forces have detained more than 30 youths in Myanmar’s largest city Yangon as authorities conducted a series of raids in response to the country’s shadow government warning of a “D-Day” operation to oust the junta nearly seven months after it seized power through a coup.

Five people, including a couple that own a popular noodle shop, were arrested late on Monday in Yangon’s Sanchaung township, a resident of the area told RFA’s Myanmar Service, speaking on condition of anonymity citing fear of reprisal.

“They began the searches around 4:00 p.m., first near Thayettaw Road and Tayokekyaung Road, before moving to Zeyawaddy, Moe Ma Kha, and Gandamar Roads. They later searched the noodle shop on Ma Kyee Kyee Road,” the resident said.

“They conducted the searches from until around 3:30 a.m. I believe more than a dozen people were arrested. Every time they made an arrest, they would take the person to the police station and then come back again to make more arrests.”

Authorities also searched adjacent roads in the area and arrested several youths from New People’s Ward 4 during a check on household registration documents, residents said.

Other sources told RFA that more than a dozen people were also arrested Monday in Yangon’s Thaketa, Ahlone and Thingangyun townships.

“The military was searching for and arresting people last evening in Thingangyun township and other areas—about 20 people were arrested,” said a Thingangyun resident who declined to be named.

“What we heard was that they got information from one of those arrested about an online app that young people are using to communicate with each other. From that app, they found out the connections and made the arrests.”

RFA was unable to verify the exact number of arrests, but they come amid several in recent days that included the detention of four young men during a raid Monday morning in Yangon’s Tha-maing Myothit district. ‘D-Day’ operation

Authorities appear to be intensifying a crackdown on anti-junta activities that began soon after the military seized power from Myanmar’s democratically elected government in a Feb. 1 putsch. In the nearly seven months since the coup, security forces have killed 1,014 civilians and arrested at least 5,851, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

The junta says it had to unseat Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) government because the party engineered a landslide victory in Myanmar’s November 2020 election through widespread voter fraud. It has yet to present evidence of its claims and public unrest is at an all-time high.

The NUG recently announced plans to set a date for a “D-Day” operation to purge the country of the junta through a popular uprising supported by a network of People’s Defense Force (PDF) militia groups formed to protect the public from the military.

On Monday night, a bomb went off at a military-owned garment factory in Ward 7 of Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar township where troops had recently set up camp, wounding at least two soldiers, according to a statement issued about 15 minutes after the blast by the Hlaing Tharyar guerrilla group (CGF).

In the statement, the CGF claimed responsibility for what it said was a remote-controlled explosion in retaliation for an attack by the military earlier on Monday.

A resident of Hlaing Tharyar township confirmed the bombing on Monday and said it was followed by what sounded like a short firefight.

“There was a bomb blast at about 10:00 last night … followed by about 20 gunshots and then another rounds fired,” the resident said.

“There were no arrests of civilians, but armed soldiers were patrolling the streets on motorcycles as well as on foot in civilian clothes … There are checkpoints everywhere.”

Situation intensifying

Shootings and bombings are on the rise after the NUG’s D-Day announcement, and the junta has responded by stepping up security measures in nearly every city. The military regime recently appointed police chiefs to replace the Minister for Transport and Communications in all states and divisions, including Yangon.

Sources told RFA that the junta has been using loudspeakers in major cities in recent days to warn people not to support the NUG government, demand that militia groups surrender, and offer rewards to those who provide information about the PDF.

Political analyst Than Soe Naing told RFA that the military’s efforts are unlikely to head off a challenge to its hold on power.

“Civil war is just beginning. The situation is becoming intense, and I believe the momentum will only get stronger after D-Day,” he said.

“In the meantime, we hear about fighting daily while the military is checking visitor lists in cities throughout the country and carrying out arrests … I think that as soon as the D-Day program begins, various movements will spring up nationwide.”

Myanmar's military government has arrested two more local journalists, army-owned television reported on Saturday, the latest among dozens of detentions in a sweeping crackdown on the media since a February 1 coup.

Sithu Aung Myint, a columnist for news site Frontier Myanmar and commentator with Voice of America radio, and Htet Htet Khine, a freelance producer for BBC Media Action, were arrested on August 15, Myawaddy TV reported.

Sithu Aung Myint was charged with sedition and spreading false information that Myawaddy said was critical of the junta and had urged people to join strikes and back outlawed opposition groups.

Htet Htet Khine was accused of harboring Sithu Aung Myint, a criminal suspect, and working for and supporting a shadow National Unity Government.

BBC Media Action said in a statement it was concerned about Htet Htet Khine's safety and the charges against her and was closely monitoring the situation.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the pair were being held incommunicado.

"We strongly condemn the arbitrary conditions of their detention, which reflect the brutality with which the military junta treats journalists," said its Asia-Pacific desk head Daniel Bastard.

Myanmar remains fraught with instability and opposition to army rule, under which more than 1,000 people have been killed, according to an activist group that has tracked killings by security forces.

The military, which has revoked the licenses of many news outlets, says it respects the role of media but will not allow news reporting it deems false or likely to create public unrest.

A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists last month said Myanmar's rulers had effectively criminalized independent journalism.

Human Rights Watch late last month said the army government had arrested 98 journalists since the coup and should stop prosecuting media staff. Of those arrested, 46 remained in custody as of the end of July.

An organizer of March rallies against Kyrgyzstan's constitutional amendments has been sentenced to 18 months in prison on a charge of calling to seize power by force.

Bishkek's Sverdlov district court on August 20 sentenced Tilekmat Kudaibergenov (aka Kurenov), who reiterated his innocence after his sentence was pronounced.

Kudaibergenov was arrested in mid-March and later transferred to house arrest.

Before his detention, police searched his home and the office of the Against KHANstitution movement that opposed the amendments initiated by President Sadyr Japarov.

Kudaibergenov is one the organizers of March 9 rallies in Bishkek against the amendments that ended up being approved in a nationwide referendum on April 11.

Critics have said that the constitutional amendments that very much increased presidential powers helped Japarov to consolidate power.

Kudaibergenov is a noted activist also known as a founder and a leader of a movement against granting concessions for the Jetim-Too iron ore field near the Chinese border to foreign investors.

At 8 PM on 19 August 2021, Malaysian authorities arrested 31 protesters that attended a candlelight vigil organised by Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat under the #Lawan banner to mourn the lives taken by COVID-19. Less than one hour into the event at Dataran Merdeka, police obstructed the vigil, arrested 17 men and 14 women—who were mostly youths—and confiscated their identity cards and phones. This is not the first #Lawan gathering to be obstructed by authorities.

Police took all 31 individuals to Dang Wangi District Police Headquarters where the presence of lawyers was restricted. Police officers only permitted three lawyers to enter the station and represent the detainees. By midnight, all participants were ordered to pay a fine of RM 2,000 (approximately 500 USD) for violating regulations preventing demonstrations during the pandemic and were released. However, investigations are ongoing. Nalini Elumalai, ARTICLE 19’s Senior Malaysia Programme Officer said:

“The forceful and aggressive arrest of 31 protesters at a candlelight vigil demonstrates an alarming disregard for freedom of assembly. Authorities must stop treating peaceful protests as a threat to be neutralised and instead help ensure that the public can safely exercise their right to freedom of assembly, even during the pandemic.”

“By obstructing the protesters’ access to legal representation, the authorities are compounding human rights violations and undermining the criminal justice system. Authorities must stop using COVID-19 as a false pretence for petty arrests and the harassment of government critics.”

Rong Chhun, a long-time activist and unionist, was sentenced on Wednesday to two years in jail at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, and he and two other defendants were ordered to pay a total 400 million riel, or nearly $100,000, in damages to Cambodia’s border committee.

Chhun was arrested at the end of July last year after issuing a statement that Cambodia was ceding territory to Vietnam along the border in Tbong Khmum province, a racially charged and contentious issue. His arrest sparked weeks of small nationalist protests in his support, leading to several other arrests.

On Wednesday, Chhun was found guilty of incitement to disturb social security alongside Ton Nimol and Sar Kanika, who had protested in support of Chhun but told the court during a trial hearing in February that they were only a tuk-tuk driver and market vendor, not political activists.

Chhun was sentenced to 24 months in jail, while Nimol and Kanika were sentenced to 20 months. Together, the three were ordered to pay 400 million riel, almost $100,000, in damages to the national border committee. They were also handed court fines of 2 million riel each, or about $500.

The three defendants reacted to the court’s decision by shouting that the verdict was unjust.

“It is injustice,” Chhun spoke out in the courtroom. “It is implemented based on a plan and order from the ruler. The court is under the influence of a politician, so the court cannot find justice for me.”

Chhun repeatedly clashed with judges and prosecutors during his trial this year, frequently objecting to the legal basis of the case against him.

Government lawyer Koun Saroeun said by phone on Wednesday that the verdict had restored “honor” to the border committee, though it had asked for higher compensation.

“As the government lawyer representing the committee, we gained back our honor and with this. We can accept it is not a problem,” Saroeun said. “For me, the [award for] damages is not really suitable yet, but we will not oppose or be disappointed over the court’s decision.”

Choem Sophal, 58, the mother of Kanika, said outside the court that her daughter had simply been concerned about injustices in society.

“[We] are the same Khmer. There should be an understanding, and she has not committed any serious mistake. And the word ‘incitement, incitement.’ I hate that word the most, incitement,” Sophal said.

She asked the court to release her daughter so she can come back home and restart her business as before.

Ouk Chhayavy, president of CITA, told reporters outside the court that the verdict was politically motivated.

“The court’s decision to sentence Rong Chhun today is a threat to the younger generation to abandon their studies, stop being aware of the country’s social issues, because those who sacrificed for the nation and society were imprisoned,” Chhayavy said.

She condemned the court system and said these decisions make people lose their trust in the judiciary.

Defense lawyer Choung Chou Ngy said the court had ruled without sufficient evidence.

“There is no exact evidence showing that my clients had committed an incitement offense,” Chou Ngy said. “I will meet with my clients to discuss the right to appeal.”

In February, Khmer Win Party leader Suong Sophorn was also sentenced to 20 months in jail and ordered to pay 2 billion riel, or about $500,000, to the border committee for protesting in support of Chhun last year.

Chhun’s trial began in January, with two more hearings in February and a fourth and final session held after a Covid-19 delay on July 30.

On social media, U.S. ambassador Patrick Murphy said the conviction of “respected union leader Rong Chhun” raised serious questions about freedom of speech protected in the Constitution “and essential to the functioning of a democracy.”

“The judicial system should not be abused to silence peaceful activists,” he said.

British ambassador Tina Redshaw also said on social media that she was “seriously concerned and disappointed” about Chhun’s sentencing.

“Freedom of expression is protected in Cambodia’s constitution and the judiciary shouldn’t be used to curtail it. Strong governments are open to hearing and engaging with a range of views from all of society,” she said.

Updated at 2:15 p.m. with additional comments. Notable Arrests Jailed in 2020 VOD and rights groups have tracked at least 46 controversial arrests this year as of October 23 over a range of issues: alleged “fake news” related to the Covid-19 pandemic, protests and statements made about border demarcations with Vietnam, environmental activism, campaigning related to the outlawed opposition CNRP, and more.

The activist group Thalufah have held a protest against the government’s mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha for the third consecutive day, despite previous protests being forcibly dispersed by crowd control police.

The group gathered on 18 August at the Democracy Monument, where they brought effigies representing those who died from Covid-19 and the government’s failure to manage the pandemic. The effigies were piled up in front of the Monument, as well as hung from the model of the palm-leaf manuscript representing the Constitution.

At 18.00, after a series of speeches, protesters held up the three-finger ‘Hunger Games’ salute while the National Anthem played, followed by a minute of silence in memory of those who died from Covid-19.

This was then followed by an open mic session where protesters are invited to speak and express their discontent about the government.

At 19.20, the protesters burned effigies of the cabinet as a symbolic act of protest against the failures of the Prayut administration, and then danced around the bonfire. The protest concluded at around 19.30.

Following the conclusion of the protest, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that activist Thanadet Srisongkhram, a leader of the vocational school student network Gear of Democracy: Vocational Protection of the People for Democracy, was arrested and detained at the Nang Loeng intersection after he spoke at the protest calling for vocational school students joining protests not to use violence.

TLHR said it is likely that Thanadet was arrested on charges relating to violation of the Emergency Decree, but it is unclear about the incident for which he was charged.

The Taliban are continuing to consolidate power in Afghanistan amid reports of violence against protesters in the eastern part of the country, a day after the Islamist group announced the “war is over” and there would be no retribution.

Witnesses say Taliban insurgents fired into the air and beat people with batons in the city of Jalalabad, where a group of demonstrators tried to take down a Taliban flag and replace it with the Afghan national flag Wednesday.  At least three people were killed and many other injured. The Taliban did not comment on the matter.

The Taliban on Tuesday vowed to respect women's rights “within Islamic law” and form an “inclusive Islamic” government.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted late Wednesday that the United States and its partners in the world were calling on those in power in Afghanistan to guarantee the rights and protection of women and girls in the country.

“We will monitor closely how any future government ensures their rights and freedoms,” he wrote.

The Afghanistan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA), an IFJ affiliate, also reported that Ariana TV cameraperson Mahmoud Naimi and Pajhwok News cameraperson Babrak Amirzadeh were beaten up by Taliban militants in Jalalabad, in Nangarhar province, on August 18 as they reported on a protest against the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. The AIJA also informed that Ahmad Navid Kavosh, a Khorshid TV journalist, was beaten up at Hamid Karzai airport while trying to interview a Taliban member.

The intimidation and attacks on journalists have taken place despite reassuring messages towards the press by Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid during his first press conference on August 17, following the Taliban occupation of Kabul a day earlier.

Police in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) fired tear gas and warning shots on Tuesday to disperse members of the Shia Muslims community who attempted to participate in processions marking the month of Muharram. Dozens of people were detained.

Hundreds of Muslims chanting religious and pro-freedom slogans took to the streets in the main city of Srinagar despite security restrictions banning the traditional procession.

Government forces used batons to beat journalists covering the procession, according to a local reporter. Authorities erected steel barricades and barbed wire to block the crowds.

“We respect the religious sentiments and practices of all, but at the same time, it is also our joint responsibility to defeat the ill designs of vested interests who try to disturb the peaceful atmosphere,” Inspector General of Polce Vijay Kumar said on Twitter.

Muharram is among the holiest months for Shia Muslims across the world and includes large processions in which people recite elegies to mourn the death of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) grandson. The mourning reaches its peak on Ashura, the 10th day of the month in the Islamic lunar calendar. Tuesday’s procession marked the eighth day on the calendar.

The traditional religious procession turned violent last year as Indian forces fired shotgun pellets to disperse crowds, injuring dozens.

Some main Muharram processions have been banned in Indian occupied Kashmir since 1989 when the locals demanded the region’s independence from India or its merger with Pakistan.

Kashmiri Muslims have long complained that the government is curbing their religious freedom on the pretext of maintaining law and order while promoting an annual Hindu pilgrimage to the Himalayan Amarnath Shrine in Kashmir that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors. The pilgrimage has been cancelled for the last two years because of the coronavirus.

A group of journalists were chased and assaulted with batons by police in full public glare to prevent them from covering the Muharram procession in the nerve centre of Srinagar on Tuesday.

The police action resulted in injuries and damage to equipment of journalists when they were merely doing their professional duties. Videos and photos splashed on social media platforms Facebook and Twitter showed policemen including their officer holding sticks chasing away and beating journalists on the road with utter disregard.

Some of the journalists who were present at the spot and received the thrashing told Kashmir Reader that the attack came when a police officer named ‘Aftab Ahmad’ abused and pushed some photojournalists who were capturing police lathi charge on Shia mourners. The mourners carrying black flags had taken out a procession in Lal Chowk to commemorate Muharram. Early in the morning, government forces including police and CRPF were deployed in strength in several Srinagar areas to prevent the mourners from taking out procession.

Amid this, many people carrying flags were able to reach Jehangir Chowk. A photojournalist Sajad Hameed who was at the spot covering the Muharram procession that he received a few baton thrashing on his legs and his camera was broken too. “It resulted in damage worth over Rs 20,000,” he added.

“Police officer Aftab Ahmad abused another journalist. We asked him not to do so. In response he attacked us, charged on us, in which many were minorly injured,” Sajad added.

According to him, the police officer Aftab Ahmad also pushed photo journalist of Hindustan Times Wasim Andrabi for nothing. He said the journalists were spread in groups capturing the procession from various angles when they were beaten.

“It was when another police officer joined in and asked them not to beat us that the beating stopped,” he added.

Andrabi told KNO that the policemen “from Shergarhi Police Station led by SHO Aftab Ahmad, beat them to the pulp for no reasons”. “We were even told that (an) FIR will be registered against us,” he added.

A video in social media showed that Aftab went berserk on a group of journalists on Tuesday morning.

“We were Covering the protest. When I saw a policeman attacking a fellow journalist l, I rushed to the spot to check what was happening. In between there was a lathi charge. We moved to a secure place, ” said photojournalist Faisal Khan.

“The cop did not listen to us for a moment and we found wisdom in escape” he added.

In the past police have said that police will act professionally while handling journalists on the ground and will make efforts to prevent the attacks.

Senior Superintendent of Police Srinagar Sandeep Choudhary was not available for the comments when reached by Kashmir Reader.

Indonesian security forces have used discriminatory excessive force and racially abused protesters peacefully opposing the renewal of the Papuan Special Autonomy Law, new research by Amnesty International has revealed.

Papuan protesters told how they were targeted with water cannons, kicked and punched, and beaten with guns and rubber batons in peaceful protests during the last month. At least one person was injured after security forces opened fire on protesters on 16 August. Three protesters reported being called “monkey” while being arrested during protests in July.

Amnesty International has analysed videos and photos which show police using unlawful force on peaceful protesters, and verified injuries suffered by protesters.

“The reports of assault – both physical and verbal – that we have gathered reveals the true contempt the security forces have for the rights of Papuans.

“The Indonesian authorities must immediately investigate the reports of use of discriminatory excessive force and racial abuse against protesters, and also ensure the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly is respected.”

To date, protests against the controversial renewal of the Papua Special Autonomy Law have taken place in several cities, from July 14 to August 16. Amnesty International interviewed 17 people who participated in protests in the cities of Jakarta, Jayapura, Sorong and Yahukimo, and verified their accounts using open source video footage.

The protests have also called for the release of Victor Yeimo, a pro-independence activist from Papua facing life imprisonment for his political views.

On August 16, security forces opened fire on protesters in Yahukimo, injuring one person. One protestor told Amnesty International he heard multiple gunshots, and that several bullets were also found close to where the protest took place.

In a protest in Jayapura on the same day, protesters confirmed the use of water cannons, and beatings with rubber batons and guns by security forces. Amnesty International has verified video showing the use of water cannons against peaceful protesters and security forces beating them with rubber batons.

The activist group Thalufah returned in a third protest march to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, which ended again with police violence.

Protesters gathered at the Victory Monument on Monday (16 August) for a protest against the government’s mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and to demand that Gen Prayut resign unconditionally. The group previously planned to march to the 1st Infantry Regiment headquarters, where Gen Prayut lives in free army housing despite having retired, but later changed their destination to Government House after Soi Paholyothin 2, part of the route they planned to take to the 1st Infantry Regiment headquarters, was blocked with a row of containers.

Before the march, police officers carrying a search warrant from the Dusit Municipal Court searched the residence of a Thalufah group member. The warrant stated that the police are looking for equipment “related to a violation of the Emergency Decree” and that they are searching for a black Isuzu pickup truck and sound amplifiers.

The group told the officers that they can only search the house once their lawyer arrived, so the officers said that they would wait outside but those inside the house must stay together and not wander around. The group later took the vehicle to Din Daeng Police Station to be searched.

Thalufah also posted on their Facebook page that a GPS device was found attached to one of their vehicles, which was confiscated by the police and taken to Thung Song Hong Police Station following the protest on 2 August 2021.

The GPS device appeared to be of the same model as the one former Future Forward MP Pannika Wanich said was found under her car last week.

At around 16.20, protesters gathered at the Victory Monument to burn effigies representing those who died from Covid-19, before starting their march to Government House.

They arrived at the Nang Loeng intersection at around 17.00 and found Phitsanulok Road blocked by a barrier of razor wire and containers, as well as a unit of crowd control police and a water cannon truck.

The protesters’ speaker truck stopped in front of the barrier, while a speaker asked the participants not to break down the barriers or throw objects other than plastic bags containing paint at the officers.

At 17.45, several protesters attempted to remove the razor wire. The police issued a warning for them not to do so, before firing water cannon at the protesters. Several protesters then threw firecrackers across the razor wire barrier, as the organisers called for the protesters to back away from the barrier.

At 17.50, Thalufah announced the conclusion of the protest, while the police continued to fire water cannon and tear gas at the protesters, some of whom were throwing firecrackers and other objects at the police.

The 17 August 2021 march to the Government House was the third protest organized by the Thalufah group. The group previously organized 2 marches to the 1st Infantry Regiment headquarters, both of which were forcibly dispersed by crowd control police.

The 11 August 2021 protest was dispersed before the protesters left their starting point at the Victory Monument, while the 13 August 2021 protest was blocked at the Din Daeng intersection. 13 arrested, 2 shot during clash at Din Daeng intersection

After the protest at the Nang Loeng intersection was dispersed, some protesters left for the Din Daeng intersection, where they once again clashed with crowd control police. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that 13 people were arrested and charged with violating the Emergency Decree by being out after curfew and taking part in activities risking the spread of Covid-19. Some were also charged with carrying a weapon in public.

TLHR also said that two of those arrested were pizza delivery riders who were not participating in the protest. Another detainee was also a delivery worker living in a flat behind Din Daeng Police Station and was driving home after work. He was waiting until the situation died down before returning home at around 22.00, but was searched and arrested. He was charged with carrying a weapon in public after the police found a pocket knife in his car.

Five of those arrested were under 18 years old. They were released at around 3.15 after the inquiry officer made a record of their arrest. The remaining 8 people were taken to the Bangkok North Municipal Court for a temporary detention request earlier today (17 August).

The Court approved of the temporary detention request, but granted them bail without requiring security. The Court also set the condition that they do not repeat their offense.

Meanwhile, the 5 minors went to the Central Juvenile and Family Court, where the inquiry officer asked the court to detain them. However, the Court released them without requiring security. They also have to report to the Bangna Juvenile Detention Centre on 24 August 2021.

Two teenagers were also reported to have been shot with live rounds near Din Daeng Police Station. One person was shot in the neck and was taken to Rajavithi Hospital. The hospital issued a statement earlier today (17 August) that he suffered gunshot wounds with one bullet remaining in his brain, and that his cervical vertebrae were fractured. He is currently in the intensive care unit and is in a coma.

The protester was previously reported to be 20 years old. However, his mother told Voice TV that he is only 15 years old. She said that her son told her he was bringing clothes to his friends, and that it was his first time participating in a protest.

Another 14-year-old protester was shot in the shoulder and was taken to Chulalongkorn Hospital. He said that he was shot while riding a motorcycle past Din Daeng Police Station and did not see the person who shot him.

A video clip was circulated showing a person in Din Daeng Police Station shooting at protesters. The superintendent of Din Daeng Police Station claimed that no live rounds were used during the police operation. Protester returns after being shot with rubber bullet

Waranya, one of the protesters at the 16 August protest, said she was shot with a rubber bullet when crowd control police forcibly dispersed the 11 August 2021 protest at the Victory Monument.

She said that she was shot from around 100 metres away, and that the crowd control police were shooting indiscriminately at the protesters and bystanders. She also said she saw the police shooting at a nearby bus stop, where mainly elderly people were waiting and had to hide behind the bus stop sign.

Waranya was shot in the stomach, and still had a large bruise.

“Why do Thai officers shoot people like this? I have been saying that I’ve never thought of hurting crowd control police. I understand that they are low-ranking officers doing their duty. My job is to try to stop the kids, stop our children, but why is the result like this?” Waranya said.

Nevertheless, Waranya said she is not afraid. She continues to return to the protests because she is worried about the young protesters, and said she would like people to know that the protesters were not hired but were there of their own will.

“Even if they’re not my children, but my future is in their hands, not an old man who is the military’s slave. It’s not right if you’re a police officer but you’re under the heel of a dictator. I wanted to say that we have nothing against the crowd control police. Our aim is to oust Prayut,” Waranya said. Covid-19 has left musicians without income, says drummer performing at Victory Monument

A drummer named Pae came to perform while the protesters are waiting at the Victory Monument, placing a sign saying “unemployed musician” in front of his drums.

Pae is taking a stand by performing at the protest to show that artists are suffering under this government, and said he wanted to entertain his fellow protesters.

He said that he used to perform at various nightlife establishments and was hired to perform at events, but the Covid-19 pandemic took away all of his income as there is nowhere for him to perform. He used to earn around 40,000 – 50,000 baht a month, and said that some musicians could earn up to 100,000 baht, but since the start of the pandemic in 2020, he earned nothing at all.

Pae said it has been difficult to access government aid schemes, vaccines, or even Covid-19 tests. He himself is not vaccinated as he has not been able to get a booking.

“The government can’t do anything. I understand that this government can’t do anything. This is how it is. Everyone knows that this is how it’s going to be. I’m just praying that if they can’t do it, then they should leave so that people who can do better come in and do it instead,” Pae said.

A youth leader from the Mandalay Protest Alliance Force, was arrested by the junta’s forces while driving near Mandalay University at around 5pm on Monday.

Plainclothes soldiers, arriving in domestic vehicles, stopped a motorbike driven by activist Kyaw Thiha—who is in his 20s—beat him, and took him with them at gunpoint, according to an eyewitness.

Thura Aung, a friend who had been staying with him and another leader of the alliance, said that over 20 troops later inspected Kyaw Thiha’s former home in Patheingyi Township at 8pm that night.

“They also raided the place where we were staying. We’re all on the run now. I still don’t know about our other comrades, but I’m in a safe place now,” Thura Aung told Myanmar Now.

The Mandalay Protest Alliance Force has been a frequent target of the brutal crackdowns by the military on anti-coup resistance.

Junta vehicles drove into the protest column in both May and June, injuring demonstrators. Six protesters including a university lecturer were arrested near Mandalay University on the morning of June 14 after the column was hit by a car driven by military personnel.

The Mandalay Protest Alliance Force formed when multiple Mandalay protest columns joined forces to revolt against the dictatorship. They include Daung Sit Thi (Peacock Warriors); All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU); Academics; Labourers; Farmers; Mandalay University Students; BEHS (7) Students; and Sein Pan.

Thura Aung said that they would not be stopping their resistance to military rule.

“They can arrest us all they want but they can’t break our revolutionary spirit. We’re not backing down, not by an inch. We will fight for the truth until the end,” he said.

Hong Kong's Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), which once organized annual mass rallies on July 1 marking the 1997 handover of the city to Beijing, announced it would disband at the weekend following repeated denunciations by media backed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The front, which was never registered as an organization, served as a communication platform for civil society groups to promote human rights and democratic freedom in Hong Kong, according to its Facebook page.

Its job was mostly to organize large-scale, peaceful protest marches to ensure that citizens' voices were heard, it said.

"Regrettably, for more than a year now, the government has consistently rejected our applications to hold marches, using the pandemic as a pretext to suppress the rights of our members," the group said in an Aug. 15 post to its Facebook page.

"With no members participating, the secretariat has been unable to remain operational ... and we have no choice but to declare herewith that we are disbanding," it said.

CHRF convenor Figo Chan was handed an 18-month jail term in May for his role in an unauthorized gathering in 2019. The group said will donate its current assets of H.K.$1.6 million to appropriate organizations.

The announcement came after the CHRF held its AGM, and the decision among member groups was unanimous, the post said.

"We would like to thank the people of Hong Kong for walking side by side with the Front for many years," it said, citing mass rallies of one and two million people in protest over government plans to extradite alleged criminal suspects to mainland China in 2019.

It also cited marches held during the 2014 pro-democracy movement, or Umbrella movement, and marches against CCP-backed infrastructure projects in Hong Kong.

Threat of investigation

The move came after Hong Kong police chief Raymond Siu warned that the group could be investigated under a draconian national security law imposed on the city by the CCP from July 1, 2020.

According to the CCP-backed Ta Kung Pao, Siu said the CHR had never registered as an organization.

Police responded to the CHRF's disbanding by saying the investigation into the group's activities would go ahead regardless.

In April 2021, police ordered the group to submit information on its members, activities, and funding sources, but the group didn't do so by the date specified.

Hu Xijin, editor of the CCP-backed Global Times newspaper, said via his WeChat account that the decision to disband was in itself likely a bid to evade investigation and destroy evidence that could be used in the investigation.

And Ip Kwok-him, who represents Hong Kong China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), said the group's dissolution meant that "large-scale anti-China demonstrations to stir up troubles in Hong Kong haver become history."

But he said more specific protests might be tolerated.

“As long as the activities are not aimed at opposing China and disrupting Hong Kong, but are expressing a demand, they are protected by the Basic Law and we respect that,” Ip told government broadcaster RTHK.

The group's web page was unavailable on Monday.

What promised to be a peaceful march to Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s house by the Talu Fa (Pierce the Sky) group made no more headway than other protests earlier this week. The protesters withdrew after police used force to keep them from reaching their destination.

Early in the afternoon, around 100 people gathered at Victory Monument to demand Prime Minister Prayut’s immediate resignation. The organisers emphasised that the protest was a peaceful effort to bring their demands to the attention of the public.

Meanwhile, at least 6 activists from Mok Luang Rim Nam group were arrested while trying to place wreaths in the Royal Palace and submit a letter to the Privy Council. They were taken to the Phra Ratchawang Police Station.

The group sought to pay respect to those who have died from Covid-19. They also want to inform the King that individuals calling for reform of the monarchy were facing a police crackdown and severe legal consequences.

According to group member Sopon Suraritthamrong, the police charged them with violating both the Emergency Decree and the Maintenance of Public Sanitary and Order Act as soon as they put their wreaths on the ground.

The activists were later told that they would only be charged for the latter offence and fined 2,000 baht person, provided they deleted photos and a Facebook live video of the police and the event. They agreed and were released after paying 10,000 baht provided by the Ratsadon Prasong Fund, which makes use of public donations to support individuals accused of crimes while exercising their political rights. Attempting to move peacefully

At 15.00, cars from the Talu Fa group arrived at the Victory Monument. One contained protest supplies - piles of longan and mangosteen to be dumped in protest of falling fruits prices and cloth sacks to help protect protesters from police tear gas.

A poster urging people to throw bags of coloured water, not bottles and fireworks, was spotted. The hope was to avoid any escalation which might trigger a police crackdown.

In an opening speech, a protester blamed government incompetence for rising unemployment and a deepening economic crisis, adding that when people came out to protest, the government responded with force.

Shortly afterward, longan and mangosteen were poured on the street and then burned to protest sharp price declines.

At 17.00, protesters arrived at Din Daeng Intersection where a container barricade awaited. Some firecrackers were lit, but organisers again urged people to throw bags of coloured water instead. When some of the protesters tried to tear down the container blockade, police responded with tear gas, affected many of those marching.

At this stage, a number of marchers began throwing firecrackers. A small fire was also set under the tollway.

At 17.25, with the situation deteriorating, the Talu Fa group announced that the protest was over. However, many protesters chose to remain at the Din Daeng Intersection amidst the sound of small explosions. The clash and chase went into the evening.

Deputy Metropolitan Police Bureau Chief Police Major General Piya Tawichai told the media that the protesters were trying to bring down the container barricade. He also reported that protesters were not only firing stones and glass at police with sling-shots but also throwing Molotov cocktails and smoke bombs as well, obliging officers on the ground to use force to restore public order at 18.30.

According to Major General Piya, 14 motorcycles were seized and 1 protester was arrested.

Two journalists were stopped and harassed by Phnom Penh police and security agents on Friday while covering a land dispute between authorities and residents along Boeng Tompun lake.

That same day, dozens of Meanchey district authorities used bulldozers and other heavy machinery to clear the homes of about 11 families along the reservoir in the city’s Boeng Tompun 1 commune, one week after ordering the homes be dismantled to make way for a private development. Government officials say the southern Phnom Penh lake is state-owned, but the body of water has become a development hotspot due to large-scale infilling and leasing to outside firms.

An Vichet, a freelance journalist working with CamboJA who was covering the home demolitions, said police confiscated his smartphone and press card and ordered him to delete all images he’d taken of the site.

“I was asked to show a press card and delete all photos,” he said. “They took my press card away and asked me to leave the place immediately or there would be a problem, saying this is their area, so no photography was allowed.”

Vichet said the encounter was a serious violation of press freedom and a restriction on journalists’ work.

“This activity of authorities is not hidden, it is in public, so journalists just have the role to capture the images and disseminate information to the public,” he said.

VOA Khmer reporter Lors Liblib, who also covered the dispute, said about 50 authorities took part in demolishing people’s homes.

“I was taking pictures when people were angry with the authorities,” he said. “Then [police] pointed at me, ordered for me to be arrested and my cell phone confiscated, and deleted all the pictures.”

Liblib said then authorities ordered him to leave the place, otherwise they will take other legal action.

“For me, I think this is a threat to the freedom of the press and they may want to hide this from the public,” he said.

The Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association (CamboJA) denounces the Meanchey district police and security agents for confiscating the identification cards of the reporters and calls on authorities to immediately stop such violations.

CamboJA executive director Nop Vy said in a statement that “the use of any forms of restrictions is a violation of the press law and the Constitution — that is unacceptable”.

“We call on the authorities to immediately stop the acts of harassment, intimidation and threats against journalists, and instead cooperate and pay respect to the role of journalists in order to prove that the government truly pays attention to and respects the rights of citizens, especially the right to information,” he said.

However, Phnom Penh deputy Governor Keut Chhe said the authorities’ actions against the reporters had been legally permitted.

“If we look at the instructions of the Ministry of Information, in the operation locations of authorities, journalists do not have immunity to enter the location,” he said. “Professional journalists must follow the instructions and the law, because it does not mean journalists have the right to access during the operation. It is understandable that the authorities have just deleted the image.”

Families affected by the reservoir project

Friday’s conflict played out in a similar fashion to many land disputes in the capital, where space is at a premium and new construction a booming business.

On February 20, 2018, the Council of Ministers issued a decision to provide 35 hectares of Boeng Tompun to a private company, reportedly Phnom Penh Precast Plants, to prepare the area for commercial and residential development. The company also said it would provide green space and restore the reservoir, which is dwindling in size as developers fill it with sand and earth.

Some residents say they have lived there for more than 30 years with recognition from local authorities.

Sou Chetra, 42, told CamboJA he has lived there since 1991 and that the authorities destroyed people’s houses without providing them with compensation.

“We have sent papers to the commune, district and cadastral department but have received no response. I am so hopeless now,” he said. “Please give us our land and our home, don’t hurt us. Authorities don’t need to feed us, we can live our way, just give us back [our property].”

Sari Vannda, 34, who works as a food delivery driver in Phnom Penh, said he did not know why his home was being demolished but that authorities had given him one week to move.

“Authorities just come and destroy our house by showing one paper. It’s our land and houses that we have lived in since our grandmother,” he said. “They want us to move, I don’t know how to deal with it. My family will have no place to live during COVID-19.”

Keut Chhe said after the government gave the private firm the right to develop the land, the company was obligated to offer compensation to affected families. Since the affected land is along the reservoir, authorities say it is state property and do not provide any compensation for lost property. Chhe denied that the affected homes were there for as long as residents said they were.

“The houses near the lake were just built after 2018, while those families will not receive compensation as they live on the state property,” he said. “We need to restore the reservoir to avoid flooding in the city.”

Still, it is believed that past decisions from the government did require the private firm involved in the Friday demolitions to pay compensation to displaced people at a rate set to the square meter of land lost. It’s not clear how or when those payments will be made.

Information Ministry spokesman Meas Sophorn did not comment.

Am Sam Ath, deputy director of the rights group Licadho, said no one rejects infrastructure development under peaceful conditions, but that the impact of projects on citizens must be considered, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis.

“The best choice is peaceful negotiation rather than damage or violence that can affect people,” he said. “To evacuate people is not advantageous based on previous instances, especially during COVID-19. It is a high tragedy for people while they are affected by COVID-19 and then their home is destroyed.”

Sam Ath also said journalists should be allowed to cover without intimidation all public activities by authorities.

“Journalists have the right to report, take photos and video without any barrier,” he said. “[Raising barriers] violates freedom of press and it seriously abuses the rights of journalists.”

A protest march organized by the activist group Thalufah was dispersed by crowd control police armed with tear gas and rubber bullets even before they left their starting point at the Victory Monument.

The group planned to march to the Infantry Regiment headquarters, where Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha lives in free army housing despite being retired, to protest against the government’s mishandling of the pandemic, the use of violence against dissenters, arbitrary arrest, and the unfair judicial process.

Several speakers took turn giving speeches as the crowd began gathering at the Victory Monument ahead of the march at 16.00. During the speeches, they repeated that the protest will be nonviolent and that they will use only symbolic actions.

At 15.45, the protesters gathered on the street to burn spirit houses, the Thai word for which is the same as the word for ‘court,’ as well as an effigy of judge Chanathip Muanpawong, who previously denied bail to several pro-democracy activists detained pending trial earlier this year.

Chanathip also sentenced Ampon Tangnoppakul, or “Uncle SMS,” to 20 years in prison on a royal defamation charge under Section 112 in 2011, after Ampon was accused of sending messages to Somkiat Krongwattanasuk, who was at the time the secretary of then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, which were deemed offensive to the King and Queen.

Around five minutes later, crowd control police lined up and moved towards the protesters, who linked arms and flashed the three-finger ‘Hunger Games’ salute as they faced the police. Several people also threw paint at the officers.

Another unit of crowd control police then surrounded the protesters and chased them onto the footpath next to the roundabout. Tear gas and rubber bullets were also used.

At 15.55, Thalufah announced on their Facebook page that they had called off the march due to police violence. In another post, they asked protesters to leave the area through the street next to the Center One Shopping Mall.

A protester told Voice TV on their live broadcast that she had been shot in the stomach with a rubber bullet. She was seen showing her injuries and the bullet casing to nearby reporters. More rubber bullet casings were also found around the Victory Monument.

Meanwhile, independent photographer Laila Tahe said that a crowd control officer hit her with a baton while she is photographing them as they walk past to arrest protesters who ran into a nearby alley. The baton hit her camera, breaking her lens filter. The end of the baton also hit her shoulder, but Laila said she was not injured. She also said that the officer gave no warning before hitting her.

Laila continued photographing the clash despite damages to her camera. She said that she felt she needed to continue photographing the clash as crowd control police are still arresting the protesters, and that the broken lens filter was not that much of an obstacle.

She also said that there was a moment when she got too close to the officers, and was told to stop taking pictures. As an independent photographer, Laila is not wearing a press armband, but she noted that another reporter who was wearing a press armband was also told not to photograph the officers.

Nevertheless, Laila said she is not afraid and will continue to photograph protests.

After the protesters at the Victory Monument were dispersed, groups of protesters still headed to Vibhavadi Rangsit Road. However, they found that the Din Daeng intersection was blocked with rows of containers while crowd control police were stationed on the Din Daeng Highway.

iLaw reported that protesters were burning car tires under the highway and smoke was floating up to the highway where the crowd control police were deployed. A police truck was also seen burning under the highway.

Tear gas and rubber bullets were continuously fired at the protesters gathered on the street amidst heavy rain until around 19.00 when the protesters retreated towards the Victory Monument, where crowd control police deployed tear gas and water cannon trucks against them.

The clashes ended at around 20.00. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that at least 17 people have been arrested, including Worawan “Aunty Pao” Sae-aung, an elderly fruit vendor known at protests for her outspokenness and sharp tongue. TLHR also said that 1 of the arrested protesters is a minor.

The protesters are currently being detained at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau. TLHR said that it is likely that they will have to spend 2 nights in police custody before being taken to court on Friday (13 August), as Thursday (12 August) is a public holiday.

Activist and human rights lawyer Anon Nampa have been denied bail after he was arrested on a royal defamation charge due to his speech at the second Harry Potter protest on 3 August 2021 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC).

Anon went to Pathumwan Police Station on Monday (9 August) after hearing that an arrest warrant had been issued for him on charges relating to the 3 August protest. Once he arrived, the police presented an arrest warrant issued by the South Bangkok Criminal Court, signed by judge Somchai Prukchaikul.

Anon is charged with royal defamation under Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, violating the Emergency Decree, and using a sound amplifier without permission. The charges are a result of a complaint filed by Nopadol Prompasit, a member of the Thailand Help Centre for Cyberbullying Victims, an online royalist group whose members have filed numerous lèse majesté charges against many netizens, over the speech Anon gave at the 3 August protest calling for monarchy reform.

Lawyers are not being allowed to meet with activist Jatupat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpattararaksa, who has been detained since Monday (9 August), claiming Covid-19 quarantine measures prevent it.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) filed a request yesterday (11 August) to the Director of the Central Special Treatment Centre to meet with Jatupat, after prison officers refused to let their lawyer meet with Jatupat, claiming that the Centre does not allow lawyers to meet their clients who are in quarantine to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The letter stated that lawyer Supanat Boonsod has been appointed Jatupat’s lawyer by court order and therefore has the legal right to meet and consult with his client, and so he is requesting to be allowed to meet with Jatupat as allowed by the Thai Criminal Procedure Code.

Jatupat was arrested after he surrendered himself at Thung Song Hong Police Station on Monday (9 August), along with Thawee Thiangwiset, another member of the activist group Thalufah. They were charged with violating the Emergency Decree, damaging public property, and taking part in an assembly of more than 10 people which caused a breach of public peace.

The charges are related to an incident on 3 August, in which activists splashed paint in front of Thung Song Hong Police Station following their release after spending a night in detention on charges relating to a protest at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau on 2 August to demand that the police return a speaker truck seized after the 1 August ‘car mob’ rally.

Thalufah member Songpol Sonthirak, who was at Khlong Ha Police Station to show support for another group of activists turning themselves in, was also arrested and taken to Thung Song Hong Police Station, while Nawapol Ton-ngam and Chitrin Plakangtong, two other members of the Thalufah group, were notified of the same charges while at Thung Song Hong Police Station to show support for their friends.

The inquiry officers did not detain Nawapol and Chitrin, but filed a request to temporarily detain Jatupat, Tawee, and Songpol, all of whom have arrest warrants.

The Criminal Court later granted bail to Tawee and Songpol with 35,000 baht as security, but denied bail to Jatupat on the grounds that he faces other charges for similar offenses, has broken his bail conditions which prohibit him from repeating these offenses, and is likely to flee or cause danger if he is released.

The order to deny bail for Jatupat is signed by judge Chanathip Muanpawong, who previously denied bail to several pro-democracy activists detained pending trial earlier this year. Chanathip also sentenced Ampon Tangnoppakul, or “Uncle SMS,” to 20 years in prison on a royal defamation charge under Section 112 in 2011, after Ampon was accused of sending messages to Somkiat Krongwattanasuk, who was at the time the secretary of then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, which were deemed offensive to the King and Queen.

Two pro-democracy activists died and three others were seriously injured in Myanmar when they jumped from a building in Yangon to avoid capture by junta authorities, witnesses said Wednesday, while the father of one of those killed said he was told his son survived the impact and was beaten to death by police.

Ye Min Oo and a woman, Wai Wai Myint, also called Pan Thee, lost their lives Tuesday night when they and three friends jumped from the roof of a building as junta forces stormed their apartment in Botahtaung township in Myanmar’s largest city.

The three who survived the jump—Wai Phyo Aung, Thiha Kaung Set, and Poe Kyaw Kyaw—were arrested by police and taken with the bodies of those killed to a military hospital in Mingaladon township in northern Yangon.

Tin Zaw—the father of Ye Min Oo, who died Tuesday—said he was told by witnesses that his son was still alive after the fall.

"Immediately after the fall, my son was dying, not dead. Then police officers beat them up, and my son died after the beating,” he told RFA in an exclusive interview. “I got that information from witnesses and residents.”

A neighborhood resident told RFA on Wednesday that two of those who jumped called out three or four times for water and then died, while the other three remained motionless after they hit the ground.

“Because they fell from a height, they must have broken their limbs,” he said.

The neighbor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons, told RFA the fleeling activists apparently got trapped on the rooftops of the old buildings.

“You could climb up to the roof, and the kids must have thought they could run across the rooftops. But there were only four buildings you could run across like that,” he said.

“There was a five-storey building blocking their path on one side and an eight-storey building on the other, and they must have run this way and that, and finally when they couldn’t escape they must have jumped,” he said.

Dead and injured taken to hospital

Military forces ordered community service workers to take both the two who died and the three survivors to a 1,000-bed military hospital in Mingaladon, a member of the Lin Let Social Welfare Association told RFA.

“The two who died were dead when we got there,” the charity worker said.

“We were sure they were dead because we made all the necessary checks required to see if they were still alive,” she said. “One of the injured had a broken leg, and another had a head injury and had to be taken to the hospital’s neurology center.”

Soe Myat Thu, the husband of 29-year-old Wai Wai Myint, said he hopes the military will give him back his wife’s body so that he can bury her according to her own request.

“I’m trying to get my wife’s body back, but we are under the rule of a military coup, so what can I do?” he asked. “If they refuse to release her body, there is nothing we can do about it.”

“She always said, ‘Don’t cremate my body when I die. Please bury me in a grave,’ and I want to fulfill that last wish. I don’t care about anything else,” he said.

A police report now circulating on social media says the raid on the activists’ apartment was carried out by a team led by Tactical Commander Col. Soe Tun of the ruling Military Council, while a military press release on Wednesday confirmed that two had been killed and three injured in the operation, with hand grenades and bomb-making materials recovered during the raid.

An independent scout

Ye Min Oo, who was born in 1994, was not connected with Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG), People’s Defense Force (PDF), or any other formally organized group, his father said.

Instead, he had worked independently with friends in a scouting unit gathering intelligence on pro-junta informers and other military targets, Tin Zaw said.

“He never expressed any political opinions, but after the February coup, he became actively involved in anti-coup protests, and although I did not forbid this as a parent, I warned him to be mindful and careful,” he said.

“My son stood and fought for his beliefs, and now he has fallen in the fight,” he said.

Tin Zaw said Ye Min Oo’s fate was the outcome of the military overthrow of the country’s democratically elected government on unfounded claims of voter fraud in the country’s November 2020 election.

The junta has yet to provide evidence of its claims and has violently suppressed nationwide demonstrations calling for a return to civilian rule. According to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 948 civilians were killed by police and soldiers between Feb. 1 and Aug. 10.

“These kids were pushed into the struggle by the Feb. 1 coup. They were pure and innocent youths. I am very proud of my son,” Tin Zaw said.

A Kazakh court has sentenced an activist to two years of "freedom limitation," a parole-like sentence, for having ties to the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement amid an ongoing crackdown on supporters of the opposition group and the associated Koshe (Street) party.

The Saryarqa district court in the capital, Nur-Sultan, sentenced 50-year-old Alia Zhaqypova on August 11 after finding her guilty of distributing online videos and other materials produced by the DVK.

Zhaqypova was also banned from taking part in public events and expressing her views on the Internet for three years.

She had pleaded not guilty and her lawyer said the court's decision will be appealed.

The day before, a court in the southern region of Turkistan sent activist Sabit Syzdyqbek to prison for violating the "freedom limitation" sentence he was handed in March for spreading the DVK's ideas on Facebook.

Many activists across the Central Asian country have been handed lengthy prison terms or parole-like "freedom limitation" sentences in recent years for their involvement in the activities of DVK and Koshe, as well as for taking part in rallies organized by the two groups.

DVK is led by Mukhtar Ablyazov, the fugitive former head of Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank and outspoken critic of the government. Kazakh authorities labeled the DVK as "extremist" and banned it in March 2018.

Human rights groups have said Kazakhstan's law on public gatherings contradicts international standards, as it requires preliminary permission from the authorities to hold rallies and envisions prosecution for organizing and participating in unsanctioned rallies even though the constitution guarantees citizens the right of free assembly.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is appalled to learn that the Bangladeshi government agency that combats money-laundering and the financing of terrorism has ordered an investigation into a well-known newspaper reporter. In the absence of relevant legislation, RSF calls for an immediate end to this probe and all other attempts to intimidate this journalist.

The investigation ordered by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) is the latest form of governmental harassment of Rozina Islam, an investigative reporter for the country’s leading daily Prothom Alo.

RSF has learned that, on 11 August, the BFIU asked Bangladeshi banks to provide detailed statements of all transactions in any accounts held by Islam. The order is astonishing, to say the least, given that the BRIU’s own website says that the agency’s main objective is to “establish an effective system for prevention of money laundering, combating financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”

“In the light of all the circumstances, the requests from the BFIU concerning Rozina Islam go far beyond the scope of the agency's competence and it is therefore, clear that they are part of a new attempt to harass this journalist,” said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk. “We call for the immediate withdrawal of the requests made by the BFIU and, more broadly, for an end to the growing harassment of this journalist by various government agencies.”

Islam was arbitrarily arrested and tortured by the police on 17 May as a result of an espionage accusation by the health ministry. As RSF reported at the time, everything indicates that the accusation was a reprisal for a series of investigative reports she had written about corruption within the Bangladeshi health system.

Since then, Islam has been subjected to repeated harassment – including the confiscation of her press card and passport – that prevents her from working freely as a journalist.

Bangladesh is ranked 152nd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2021 World Press Freedom Index.

Authorities in Vietnam have arrested a Facebook user for posting mild criticism of government COVID-19 policies, while a university fired a lecturer after a student shared on her comments faulting Hanoi’s pandemic response on the social media platform.

The Tien Giang People’s Procuracy announced Tuesday that it would prosecute Tran Hoang Huan, 33, on charges of making, storing and spreading or propagandizing information or documents against the state under in accordance with the Article 117 of the Penal Code, according state media.

Huan, a resident of My Tho city in the far southern province of Tien Giang, had used a Facebook account under the name Huan Tran to post content against the Vietnamese Communist Party and the state on 186 occasions.

His Facebook account remains active and many of his recent posts opposed the use of Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines, which many Vietnamese oppose because of their perceived low quality and because of longstanding animosity toward China over history and territorial issues.

Huan had earlier called on the government to provide relief to citizens by waiving electricity and water bills during the pandemic.

“The arrest and detention of Tran Hoang Huan marks yet another chapter in the grim tale of Vietnam’s crackdown on freedom of expression online,” Ming Yu Hah, the deputy regional director for campaigns at Amnesty International, told RFA.

“Huan had used his Facebook page to share information about COVID-19 vaccines, lockdowns and to call on the Vietnam government to subsidize electricity and water fees while many Vietnamese are facing economic hardships due to the pandemic. The Vietnamese authorities should listen to these calls, not repress them,” she said.

Ming Yu Hah said authorities had used Article 117 to detain Huan on “vague accusations” of causing public confusion or defaming the government so they could prevent dissent.

“Huan’s name now joins an ever-expanding list of Vietnamese activists detained merely for sharing peaceful criticism,” she said, and called for the release of Huan and other detainees.

“It is imperative that Vietnam’s leadership starts taking a radically different approach to human rights, and freedom of expression in particular,” she said.

Hong Kong's largest teachers' union announced it would disband on Tuesday following a growing number of attacks from pro-Beijing newspapers, among dozens of civil society groups to do so since the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) imposed a draconian national security law on the city from July 1, 2020.

The Professional Teachers' Union (HKPTU) said it would begin the process of dissolving with immediate effect, in a statement on its official website.

"After much deliberation and thorough investigation ... the Executive Committee unanimously resolved to dissolve HKPTU," union president Fung Wai-wah said in a letter to members.

"The HKPTU's 48-year history has reached the last chapter, and the last full-stop," the letter said. "This is a tragic and deplorable situation, certainly, but looking back over our long years of struggle and development, we should have no regrets."

"We sincerely plead for your understanding and acceptance of what was a no-choice, unwanted and difficult decision," Fung wrote.

"It is deplorable that radical changes to to our sociopolitical environment have left us wondering about our futures," the letter said.

The union said it would lay off 200 staff and sell off its assets, beginning immediately.

State media attack

Founded in 1973 by former teacher and lawmaker Szeto Wah, the union began protecting teachers' rights and providing services for them out of a tiny office in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon.

The move came after the PTU was described by CCP mouthpiece the People's Daily and state news agency Xinhua as "a malignant tumor" in need of eradicating from Hong Kong.

The union's attempts to deflect criticism of its international ties -- deemed "collusion with foreign powers" under the national security law -- met with further scathing responses from both outlets, accusing the PTU of engaging in anti-China and anti-Hong Kong activities.

Organizations accused of such collusion -- including the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper -- can have their assets frozen under the national security law, rendering them unable to make further payments to staff.

Ivan Choy, senior politics lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), said the demise of the PTU would have a wide impact.

"I believe this is going to have a huge impact on other civil society organizations," Choy told RFA. "If the PTU has no way to hang in there, others are going to find it harder still."

"I am concerned that this will be the start of a domino effect, and that we will see many more organizations disband after this," he said.

'Hong Kong is no more'

A teacher and veteran PTU member who gave only his surname Cheung said he had never thought he would see the end of the union.

"I never thought the PTU would just die," Cheung said. "Everyone expected the Apple Daily's demise, but not such an important group as the PTU, but if they call us a malignant tumor, what can we do?"

"Hong Kong is no more," he said.

The PTU's dissolution comes after around 250 elected, district-level politicians in Hong Kong resigned and dozens of civil society groups disbanded amid an ongoing crackdown on public criticism of the authorities.

Election hopefuls are now required to pass a multi-layered vetting process that includes winning the approval of the national security police before they can even be allowed to run for public office.

More than 120 arrests have been made so far under the law, while incumbent public office-holders will be required to swear an oath of loyalty to Hong Kong and to the CCP.

Among them were 47 former opposition lawmakers and democracy activists, who are now awaiting trial for "subversion" after they took part in a democratic primary in the summer of 2020, in a bid to boost their representation in the city's Legislative Council (LegCo).

Most other former opposition politicians and activists have fled overseas.

The Criminal Court has revoked bail for activist Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak on charges relating to the 19 September 2020 protest, while the Thanyaburi Provincial Court denied him and 8 other activists bail on charges relating to the 2 August 2021 protest.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported last night (9 August) that the Criminal Court issued an order to revoke bail for Parit following a request from the public prosecutor.

Meanwhile, the Thanyaburi Provincial Court denied bail for Parit and 8 other activists arrested on charges relating to the 2 August 2021 protest at the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters to demand the release of 32 detained activists. They were then taken to Rangsit Temporary Prison to complete a 14-day Covid-19 quarantine period, after which they will be detained at Thanyaburi Prison.

Parit was previously granted bail after he was detained pending trial on charges relating to his participation in the protest on 19 September 2020. He was in detention for 92 days.

Parit's bail revocation came a day before the "Car Mob" protest planned by the student activist group United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration (UFTD), which took place today at the Ratchaprasong Intersection.

Voice TV reported that Parit was likely assaulted while being forced into a detention truck last night (9 August), after the 9 activists refused to be taken to prison, and that he was heard shouting "I can't breathe" and "help me." A voice shouting "People's revolution" was also heard from the truck.

When his lawyer visited him today (10 August), Parit was found to have bruises and scratches on his body.

Vietnam has arrested and prosecuted eight people using Article 117 since the beginning of this year. Human rights groups say the provision allows the government to gag any dissent.

A university in the central coastal city of Danang has fired a lecturer for her “wrong statements” about Vietnam’s COVID-19 fighting measures.

Duy Tan University made the announcement Monday after a student posted on Facebook a video of the lecturer, Tran Thi Tho, part of the university’s English faculty, arguing with the student about government relief for those affected by the pandemic.

Tho said in the video that the government of Vietnam is letting people struggle with very limited help while the pandemic is raging all over the country.

She highlighted how thousands of people are fleeing the country’s southern provinces and Ho Chi Minh City on motorbikes to return to their hometowns thousands of kilometers away, just to escape the virus.

The student in the video accused Tho of disliking Vietnam and promoting negative stereotypes against Asian people.

The university has also reported the lecturer to the Ministry of Police, who said they are investigating the case.

Pham Minh Hoang, a former professor at Ho Chi Minh City Polytechnic, told RFA that dissent should be allowed in academia.

“People who dare to speak their criticisms at a university are a must. Schools, especially universities are obliged to train students into people who have their own opinions, not to become machines just acting on demand,” Hoang said.

“If we continue this way, when everything must be molded and any person who speaks their opinions differently from those of the government and state must face severe consequences, then it means Vietnamese will never strive for anything,” said Hoang.

‘Despicable’ firing

Nguyen Vi Yen, a Vietnamese student studying in Europe, wrote on Facebook that she felt Duy Tan University’s firing of Tho was “despicable.”

“Duy Tan does not deserve to be called a university, let alone its own name ‘Duy Tan,’ which means reform,” she said.

Tho declined to comment to RFA about her case.

Education Minister Nguyen Kim Son told the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper before the firing that “the education system management needs to encourage criticism about social issues in general and educational policies in particular.”

Though the country struggles to effectively contain a fourth wave of the virus, Vietnam had been relatively successful compared to other countries during the first three waves. Of more than 224,000 confirmed cases during the pandemic, more than 220,000 were diagnosed since April 27, the start of the fourth wave.

With Vietnam’s media all following Communist Party orders, “the only sources of independently-reported information are bloggers and independent journalists, who are being subjected to ever-harsher forms of persecution,” the press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says in its 2021 Press Freedoms Index.

Measures taken against them now include assaults by plainclothes police, RSF said in its report, which placed Vietnam at 175 out of 180 countries surveyed worldwide, a ranking unchanged from last year.

Vietnam’s already low tolerance of dissent deteriorated sharply last year with a spate of arrests of independent journalists, publishers, and Facebook personalities as authorities continued to stifle critics in the run-up to the ruling Communist Party Congress in January. Arrests continue in 2021.

Anon went to Pathumwan Police Station on Monday (9 August) after hearing that an arrest warrant had been issued for him on charges relating to the 3 August protest. Once he arrived, the police presented an arrest warrant issued by the South Bangkok Criminal Court, signed by judge Somchai Prukchaikul.

Anon is charged with royal defamation under Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, violating the Emergency Decree, and using a sound amplifier without permission. The charges are a result of a complaint filed by Nopadol Prompasit, a member of the Thailand Help Centre for Cyberbullying Victims, an online royalist group whose members have filed numerous lèse majesté charges against many netizens, over the speech Anon gave at the 3 August protest calling for monarchy reform.

Nopadol previously filed a complaint against activist Parit Chiwarak for Facebook posts he made about King Vajiralongkorn’s divorce from his ex-wife Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, and the use of Sanam Luang for funerals. He has also filed complaints against activists Piyarat Chongthep and Chonticha Jaengrew.

Anon spent 2 nights in police custody before being taken to court for a temporary detention hearing this morning (11 August). The court approved the temporary detention request and denied him bail on the ground that he was accused of committing a serious offense and had breached his previous bail conditions, and that the inquiry officers objected to bail as they believe he is likely to commit further offences.

Anon is now facing 13 counts of charges under Section 112. According to TLHR, at least 116 people are now facing charges under Section 112 in 115 cases, 58 of which are a result of complaints filed by members of the public, many of whom are members of royalist groups.

Jatupat was arrested after he surrendered himself at Thung Song Hong Police Station on Monday (9 August), along with Thawee Thiangwiset, another member of the activist group Thalufah. They were charged with violating the Emergency Decree, damaging public property, and taking part in an assembly of more than 10 people which caused a breach of public peace.

The charges are related to an incident on 3 August, in which activists splashed paint in front of Thung Song Hong Police Station following their release after spending a night in detention on charges relating to a protest at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau on 2 August to demand that the police return a speaker truck seized after the 1 August ‘car mob’ rally.

Thalufah member Songpol Sonthirak, who was at Khlong Ha Police Station to show support for another group of activists turning themselves in, was also arrested and taken to Thung Song Hong Police Station, while Nawapol Ton-ngam and Chitrin Plakangtong, two other members of the Thalufah group, were notified of the same charges while at Thung Song Hong Police Station to show support for their friends.

The inquiry officers did not detain Nawapol and Chitrin, but filed a request to temporarily detain Jatupat, Tawee, and Songpol, all of whom have arrest warrants.

The Criminal Court later granted bail to Tawee and Songpol with 35,000 baht as security, but denied bail to Jatupat on the grounds that he faces other charges for similar offenses, has broken his bail conditions which prohibit him from repeating these offenses, and is likely to flee or cause danger if he is released.

The order to deny bail for Jatupat is signed by judge Chanathip Muanpawong, who previously denied bail to several pro-democracy activists detained pending trial earlier this year. Chanathip also sentenced Ampon Tangnoppakul, or “Uncle SMS,” to 20 years in prison on a royal defamation charge under Section 112 in 2011, after Ampon was accused of sending messages to Somkiat Krongwattanasuk, who was at the time the secretary of then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, which were deemed offensive to the King and Queen.

A doctor who was detained for taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against the junta died early on Sunday morning after contracting Covid-19 in detention, a colleague told Myanmar Now.

Dr Maung Maung Nyein Tun, a 45-year-old lecturer of surgery at Mandalay Medical University, was arrested on June 13 along with his wife, Dr Swe Zin Oo, while the pair were staying at a safe house in an attempt to evade capture by the junta.

He tested positive for the virus while being detained at the Mandalay Palace interrogation center on July 19, but instead of sending him to hospital, authorities held him for two weeks at a police station as his condition worsened, the colleague said.

Police only allowed him to get treatment, at the hospital in the city’s Obo prison, on July 28, when his blood oxygen levels plummeted to 84%.

“They kept him quarantined at the No. 9 police station for two weeks. He was sharing a cell with a person who had lost his sense of smell but the junta said he was negative,” the colleague said.

“They didn’t send him to the hospital even when his SpO2 level fell. No dexamethasone injection was given either,” the colleague said, referring to a lifesaving drug used to treat Covid patients. “They only gave him some oxygen in captivity. They only sent him to Mandalay General Hospital when it was too late.”

The colleague and others repeatedly petitioned the authorities to send him to a facility better equipped to treat him, rather than the prison hospital, but to no avail.

Dr Maung Maung Nyein Tun’s mother confirmed his death on her Facebook page. He died at the Mandalay General Hospital intensive care unit at 6:38am on August 8, she said in her post.

The junta accused the doctor of having connections to both Dr Htar Htar Lin, the detained former head of Myanmar’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout, and Dr Zaw Wai Soe, the health minister of the underground Nation Unity Government.

Photos of Dr Maung Maung Nyein published in state media after his capture showed him with several bruises on his face.

Dr Swe Zin Oo, his wife and the superintendent of Mandalay General Hospital, has also reportedly contracted Covid-19 in detention. She is still being held at Mandalay Palace.

Both doctors were charged under section 505 of the Penal Code for incitement, section 124 for sedition and section 17 for unlawful association on June 14.

More than 100 people have protested in Kazakhstan's northwestern city of Aqtobe against an event planned by LGBT activists.

The protesters said at the August 8 rally that they would hand a petition to the local authorities requesting them "not to allow representatives of a movement that propagates values contradicting our traditions and religion" to enter Aqtobe.

Police did not interfere with the unsanctioned rally.

A feminist initiative, Feminita, plans to hold a seminar on August 13 on the rights of the LGBT community in the Central Asian nation.

Feminita co-founder Gulzada Serzhan told RFE/RL that the group will hold the event despite threats it has received in recent days.

Last month, seminars organized by Feminita were disrupted by angry mobs in the central Kazakh city of Qaraghandy.

A similar event was disrupted by protesters in the southern city of Shymkent in May.

Although the Central Asian nation decriminalized self-sex relations in the 1990s, scrapping a Soviet-era law, sexual minorities still face firmly entrenched social taboos.

Rights groups say LGBT people face discrimination and persecution across the former Soviet Union.

Nine activists have been arrested on charges relating to a protest in front of the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters on 2 August 2021 to demand the release of 32 detained activists.

Parit Chiwarak, Nutchanon Pairoj, Sirichai Natueng, and Phromsorn Weerathamjaree were arrested at the police headquarters on Sunday (8 August) on charges relating to the 2 August protest.

Parit announced on Saturday night (7 August) that, since he heard that the police were preparing to press charges against him for his participation in the 2 August protest, and as he noticed police officers following him, he would be going to the police headquarters on Sunday (8 August), and if the police would like to arrest him, they could do so there.

He then went to the police headquarters along with Nutchanon and Sirichai to show that they do not intend to flee or tamper with evidence, and were arrested. They were charged with violating the Emergency Decree, the Communicable Diseases Act, and the Sound Amplifier Act.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported they were taken to Khlong Ha Police Station, and then to the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters.

The activist group United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration (UFTD) said that the entrance to the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters was blocked with razor wire and a unit of crowd control police, as a crowd gathered to demand their release.

TLHR said that Parit, Sirichai, and Phromsorn requested to have a trusted person with them while they are questioned, but the police denied their request, so the three activists refused to take part in the inquiry process.

Thatchapong Kaedam and Panupong Jadnok also went to Khlong Ha Police Station and were taken into custody. Panupong said that he was not surrendering himself, but came to meet the police after he heard that the police would be issuing arrest warrants against the leaders of the 2 August protest, so he went to meet the police to show that he has no intention to flee.

Three other people were also arrested on charges relating to the same protest. According to TLHR, Thanapat (last name withheld) and Panadda (last name withheld), members of the activist group Thalufah went to Khlong Ha Police Station with Thatchapong and Panupong. Meanwhile, Sam Samat, a stateless man who was previously arrested for joining the 28 February 2021 protest and allegedly pretending to urinate onto crowd control police gathering below the containers used to block protesters, was also arrested on 7 August.

At 21.00 last night (9 August), the Thanyaburi Provincial Court approved the temporary detention request for the 9 activists, and later denied them bail on the ground that the activists act without fearing the law and without considering the society's safety, peace, and order during the Covid-19 outbreaks.

The Court also said that the activists are facing other charges and that they are likely to commit other offenses if they are released. The inquiry officer also object to granting them bail.

TLHR reported that the 9 activists were taken to the Rangsit Temporary Prison for a 14-day quarantine period, after which they will be detained at the Thanyaburi Prison.

There are also reports that the 9 activists refused last night (9 August) to be taken into a detention truck and were then forced onto the truck by police officers. TLHR also said that officers were taking pictures of the activists' family members.

Voice TV also reported that Parit was likely assaulted while being forced into the detention truck, and that he was heard shouting "I can't breathe" and "help me." A voice shouting "People's revolution" was also heard from the truck.

Chennakeshavalu, who was working with a local news channel, was reportedly stabbed by a police constable.

A journalist of a local news channel EV5 was done to death allegedly by a Two Town Police Constable and his brother in Nandyal town, Kurnool district late on Sunday night for allegedly exposing the illegal activities of the cop identified as Venkatasubbaiah.

Superintendent of Police, Sudheer Kumar Reddy, said that Venkatasubbaiah and Nani called the reporter Chennakeshavalu, 35, to a place in NGO Colony to discuss the news telecast by him regarding the alleged sale of gutkha and matka activities being carried on by the police constable. When Chennakeshavalu. arrived at the spot, the constable and his brother allegedly stabbed him to death with a screwdriver and fled the scene.

“The eyewitnesses immediately took him to the hospital at about 11 p.m., but he did not survive. We have formed teams to nab the accused brothers,” the SP added. The Two Town Circle Inspector said that the search was still on and cases under section 302 of IPC were registered against both of them. The Superintendent of Police reached Nandyal after midnight and is supervising the investigation into the case.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists and the APWJ Federation have expressed dismay at the turn of events and have demanded immediate arrest of the constable and his brother.

Pakistan authorities should immediately drop their investigations into journalists Amir Mir and Imran Shafqat, and cease harassing members of the press in retaliation for their coverage of public institutions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On August 7, officers with the Federal Investigation Agency arrested Mir, CEO of the privately owned news agency Googly News TV, and Shafqat, who hosts the YouTube news commentary channel Tellings with Imran Shafqat, according to news reports and both journalists, who spoke with CPJ in phone interviews.

Googly News TV publishes on a website and YouTube channel, which has about 360,000 subscribers; Tellings with Imran Shafqat is a YouTube channel with about 120,000 subscribers. Both outlets feature investigative reporting and political commentary on Pakistan’s domestic and foreign policy.

Officers arrested Mir at about 10:30 a.m. while he was on his way to Googly News TV’s office in the city of Lahore, held him for about 10 hours, and then released him on bail pending investigation, he told CPJ. Officers arrested Shafqat at about 12:30 p.m. at his home, also in Lahore, held him for about five hours, and then also released him on bail, he said.

Officers confiscated two phones and a laptop from Mir during his arrest and demanded his passwords, which he refused to divulge; officers also confiscated Shafqat’s phone, the journalists told CPJ. Shafqat said officers returned his SIM card upon his release, and Mir said his phones and laptop were still in official custody.

“Pakistan authorities’ arrests of journalists Amir Mir and Imran Shafqat are emblematic of the government’s ongoing campaign to chill critical reporting,” said Carlos Martinez de La Serna, CPJ’s program director. “The Federal Investigation Agency must immediately drop its investigations into the journalists, return their confiscated devices, and cease harassing members of the press in retaliation for their coverage.”

Authorities are investigating the journalists for alleged electronic forgery; making, obtaining, or supplying a device for an offense; and the transmission of malicious code, all crimes under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, according to a press release issued by the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency.

Authorities are also investigating Mir and Shafqat under articles of the Pakistan penal code pertaining to forgery for the purpose of harming a reputation; defamation; issuing a statement with an intent to cause public mischief; and insulting modesty or causing sexual harassment, that press release said.

Each of those offenses can carry a prison sentence between six months and seven years, and a fine up to five million rupees (US$30,425), according to that law and the penal code.

Mir and Shafqat each issued statements denying the allegations against them, which CPJ reviewed.

Babar Bakht Qureshi, director of the Federal Investigation Agency’s cybercrime wing, said that Mir and Shafqat were arrested after posting “scandalous content” on social media following a complaint by Murad Saeed, the federal minister for communications and minister for postal services, according to reports.

CPJ called Saeed’s office at the Ministry of Communications for comment, but received a message that the line was unavailable; CPJ emailed the ministry but did not receive any reply.

Mir and Shafqat told CPJ that officials questioned them separately about the reasons behind their alleged criticism of Pakistan’s army and judiciary online, but did not cite specific reports during the interrogations. Officials also demanded that Mir and Shafqat issue affidavits stating that they will refrain from criticizing Pakistan’s army and judiciary, but they refused to comply, they said.

Mir told CPJ that he received a partial copy of the police report relating to him and Shafqat, but had not received a full copy. Shafqat told CPJ that he had not received a copy of the police report.

The partial copy of the police report, which CPJ reviewed, cites several videos posted to the YouTube channels of Googly News TV and Tellings with Imran Shafqat, including commentary on the Pakistan army’s role in governance, the judiciary, and the regional impact of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Since July 2020, Mir has received two notices and a questionnaire from the Federal Investigation Agency in relation to Googly News TV’s commentary on YouTube about the army, judiciary, and Prime Minister Imran Khan, according to Mir and copies of the notices, which CPJ reviewed.

CPJ emailed Federal Investigation Agency Director-General Sanaullah Abbasi for comment, but did not receive any reply.

Confronted with a series of setbacks in addition to the failure in containing the devastating pandemic outbreak and economic crisis, the Sri Lankan government has launched a chilling crackdown on students and teachers in the Sinhala dominated south protesting militarisation of higher education. The crackdown has met with stiff opposition from academics as well as non-academics who have warned the government of consequences.

On Friday (6), police convinced a court in the capital to detain two university student leaders who were effectively abducted by police the day before. The two are in the forefront of an ongoing protest against the militarising higher education. Scores of union leaders are in hiding as police carry on with unannounced visits to their homes and places they frequent. University dons have resolved to launch a strike action against the crackdown while many workers and professionals’ organisations have expressed solidarity with the teachers and undergraduates who are protesting the General Sir John Kotelawala National Defence University (KDU) Bill aimed at the military having a greater role in education policy and administration.

Arrests & abductions

Two leaders of the Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF), the largest student body in Sri Lanka, Wasantha Mudalige and Amila Sandeepa produced before court were remanded until August 11 by Kaduwela Magistrate Manjula Ratnayake while two other activists Koshila Hansamali Perera and Chameera Koswatta arrested from their homes were also remanded until August 11. Both orders were later extended until 17.

Mudalige going home after attending a live TV broadcast was manhandled and handcuffed by men in civvies accompanied by uniformed police officers. Sandeepa abducted in broad daylight by men in civies was later declared by the police spokesman to be in their custody. University students and academics were able to foil an attempt to abduct Sri Jayawardenapura university lecturer Aminda Lakmal.

Police are targeting nearly 50 other student and trade union activists for arrest, according to activists.

“We are aware of 48 names on the hit list and police have visited many of their homes. Now they are in hiding,” a student leader told JDS on strict conditions of anonymity.

A group in civilian clothes who tried to abduct Sri Jayawardanapura University Senior Lecturer Aminda Lakmal while travelling, were stopped by colleagues and students. A mobile video streamed live by him went viral on social media platforms.

On Sunday, an Open University undergraduate tending to the father of another IUSF leader Udara Sandaruwan’s father who is undergoing treatment in the Colombo eye hospital has been given a police notice requesting Sndaruwan to present himself at the Peliyagoda police station.

The undergraduate had been warned that ‘someone from the family will be taken’ if the former convener doesn’t come the next day.

On Saturday, a vehicle claimed to be from the Peliyagoda police station in the western province had roamed Rajanganaya in the north central province seeking information about an IUSF activist while police teams had visited the office and residence of Chatura Samarasinghe, president of Ceylon Estate Staff union.

A protest on Saturday (7 August) against the government’s mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic was met with water cannon trucks and crowd control police armed with rubber bullets and tear gas, despite the target location being switched.

The protest was organized by the activist group Free Youth and partner organizations, who have made three demands: the resignation of Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the reallocation of the budget for the monarchy and military to Covid-19 assistance, and replacement of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine with mRNA vaccines.

Free Youth previously organized a protest on 18 July 2021 with the same three demands, which was also blocked by armed crowd control police.

Saturday’s protest began at the Democracy Monument with a plan to march to the Grand Palace. By 12.00, 2 hours ahead of the scheduled start time at 14.00, around a hundred protesters had begun gathering at the Democracy Monument but were faced by lines of crowd control police blocking Ratchadamneon Avenue.

At 12.25, the police ordered the protesters to end their gathering and crowd control police began to advance on the protesters. There were reports that rubber bullets were used and that 2 protesters were arrested.

A firecracker-like sound was heard at the scene. Protesters were also reportedly shooting slingshots and throwing glass bottles and rocks at the crowd control police marching towards the Democracy Monument.

Activist Thatchapong Kaedam then announced that the target of the march had changed to Government House. By 12.40, crowd control police had taken over Ratchadamneon Avenue, as protesters began marching towards Government House. Officers were seen wearing bulletproof vests and carrying cable ties, batons, and shields. Some are also carrying rubber bullet firearms.

The protesters arrived at the Nang Leong intersection at around 13.00 and found the road blocked with a row of containers. The organisers switched the target to the Victory Monument. Free Youth also announced on their Telegram channel for the protesters to meet at the Victory Monument before marching to the 1st Infantry Regiment headquarters.

At 13.45, protesters at the Nang Leong Intersection began marching to the Victory Monument and from there to the 1st Infantry Regiment headquarters, where PM Prayut lives in free army housing.

However, they once again found the Asok-Din Daeng Road closed by crowd control police between the Din Daeng intersection and the 1st Infantry Regiment headquarters, which the police declared a no-entry zone. The police ordered the protesters back to the Victory Monument.

During the clash, an order was heard that the officers were allowed to use rubber bullets if protesters approached the police lines.

The clash continued for another two hours, during which rubber bullets and tear gas were continuously fired at the protesters. At around 17.20, water cannon were also used.

The protesters were forced to retreat to the Victory Monument, while tear gas continued to be fired near Rajavithi Hospital. The organisers announced the end of the protest at 17.35.

However, clashes continued at the Victory Monument, as crowd control police continued to fire tear gas at remaining protesters. There were also reports that tear gas was fired from the skywalk above the monument, while water cannon blasts were reported as crowd control police moved into the roundabout. Clashes continued until around 21.00.

Meanwhile, at the Din Daeng intersection, crowd control police were still firing rubber bullets at remaining protesters at around 21.00.

Several National Human Rights Commissioners were observing the protest both from the protesters’ side and the police side. Commissioner Wasan Paileeklee said that the National Human Rights Commission wanted to see whether the event was orderly and whether police operations followed the proper guidelines. Regarding violations of the right to freedom of expression, Wasan said that even though there might be a legal framework supporting the police’s operation, their actions must be proportional. Activists harassed by officers ahead of protest

Police officers searched several activists’ homes ahead of the protest. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported on Saturday morning (7 August) that 3 plainclothes officers and 1 uniformed officer searched activist Chukiat “Justin” Sangwong’s apartment at 7.30 on Saturday. Chukiat said that the officers also asked to see his computer, but he refused, and he was told that he would be charged if he shared images of the search warrant.

TLHR said that 3 plainclothes officers and 1 uniformed officer also searched the home of a Thammasat University student in Pathum Thani.

Activist Piyarat Chongthep said that at least 2 members of the We Volunteer protest guard group were followed by police officers who tried to search their houses ahead of this afternoon's protest. Officers also came to We Volunteer’s headquarters, and Piyarat later told TLHR that around 10 officers were stationed in front of the building and that he could be arrested if he leave to join the protest.

Piyarat also said that 2 members of the We Volunteer protest guard group had been arrested at a friend's house in Nonthaburi on Friday night (6 August). The house was also searched and the 2 detainees were later released after nothing illegal was found.

TLHR reported that over 15 police officers also raided the residence of a We Volunteer member on Saturday morning (7 August), claiming that they had received a report of illegal activities. They took them at least 3 people to the police station and confiscated their car and mobile phones. Police also tried to confiscate a styrofoam box containing palm fruit with syrup brought by one of the detainees for sale. No search warrant was presented.

Activist Parit Chiwarak also said on Friday night (6 August) that police officers were stationed in front of his house and did not seem to be leaving, therefore he might not be able to leave for the protest. Protest march route blocked with oil tankers

Shopping containers and oil tankers were placed across Sanam Luang on Saturday morning to block the original route of the march to the Grand Palace. A banner saying “The king’s soldiers and the police of the (good) people have joined forces, ready to protect Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace” was hung from the containers. Rachini Road and Ratchadamnoen Klang Road were also closed.

TLHR later published a letter from Assistant Police Commissioner Pol Lt Gen Kraiboon Suadsong to the State Railway of Thailand requesting the use of decommissioned train cars and oil tankers to prevent activities risking the spread of Covid-19.

The State Railway Workers’ Union of Thailand (SRUT) then issued a statement calling for decommissioned rolling stock not to be used as barriers, and for an investigation to be launched into how the train cars were taken. They also expressed their disagreement with the use of the train cars, as the right to peaceful assembly is enshrined in the Constitution and international human rights law.

The SRUT said that there is a risk that dangerous objects could be placed in the cars and oil tankers, potentially causing harm. The SRUT also expressed concern that the use of the rolling stock would lead the public to believe that the SRUT and the State Railway was complying with orders from politicians or acting voluntarily, causing conflict with those in opposition to the government.

The statement said that considering the history of popular movements, barriers would not be able to hold the tide of the uprising, and therefore the government should not try to cause more conflict, and that the government should try to resolve the situation by solving the issues which are the root cause of the protests. At least 18 people arrested

TLHR reported that at least 18 people were arrested before and during Saturday’s protest. 14 people were taken to the Metropolitan Police Headquarters, 4 to the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters and 1 to the Khlong Ha Police Station.

TLHR also said that 2 protesters arrested at the Democracy Monument were taken to the Metropolitan Police headquarters. Their hands were tied with cable ties, and one of them has signs of being assaulted while in detention.

TLHR later reported that police officers also arrested the driver of a van carrying 4 speakers after the protest, pushing him to the ground before taking him to Provincial Police Region 1 headquarters. TLHR was later informed that the driver was not at the Provincial Police Region 1 and it is not known where he or the van is.

The van was also reported to belong to the We Volunteer protest guard group, who said that they lost contact with the driver since 18.45.

TLHR lawyers later found the driver detained at the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters along with 2 other people.

At 23.20, TLHR reported that they have been notified that officers from Wang Thong Lang Police Station arrested the driver of a truck, along with 4 other people, who were returning from the protest.

Another person was also arrested around the Din Daeng Highway while driving past the protest site and was taken to Din Daeng Police Station. They were later taken to the Metropolitan Police headquarters along with 2 other people. As of 00.35, 14 people are being detained at the Metropolitan Police headquarters.

8 We Volunteer members arrested before the protest were charged with being members of a secret society under Sections 209 and 210 of the Thai Criminal Code, while the remaining 10 people were charged with violating the Emergency Decree.

The inquiry officer will be filing a temporary detention request via video conference today (9 August).

On 5 August 2021, Ding Jiaxi's lawyer was informed that the prosecutors in Linyi city, Shandong province, have decided to indict the human rights defender. The case has been transferred to the Linyi Municipal Intermediate People's Court.

Earlier on 14 July 2021, the lawyer traveled to Linyi city and was allowed to review the case files, but was not allowed to copy or take photos of them as the case "involved state secrets". On 15 July 2021, the lawyer was allowed talk to Ding Jiaxi via a video link for more than two hours. The human rights defender said that since his last meeting with the lawyer and upon his complaints, the detention center has slightly improved its hygiene supplies and extended the yard time. The lawyer also met with the Linyi prosecutors in charge of the case and submitted a written request for dropping the prosecution on the basis that the human rights defender's actions not only were not criminal, but were actually in line with the Chinese Constitution and contributed to efforts to ensure social equality, government transparency and accountability, and the protection of vulnerable groups.

Five people, including an Amnesty International staff member, have been summoned by the authorities to appear at a Bangkok police station today at 1pm and pay a fine.

The penalty was issued under the Road Traffic Act and the Act on the Maintenance of Cleanliness and Order as an administrative fine in response to their involvement at an in-person panel discussion on 4 July focusing on the enforced disappearances of Thai activists, including reportedly abducted Thai activist Wanchelearm Satsaksit.

The other four individuals are a panel moderator and three other panelist speakers: a protestor, an 18-year-old student, and a lawyer who was friends with an individual who was forcibly disappeared.

Wanchalearm Satsaksit is a Thai activist who was forcibly disappeared from Phnom Penh on 4 June 2020. His enforced disappearance corresponds to a deeply alarming pattern of abductions and killings since June 2016 of at least nine Thai activists in exile by unknown persons in neighbouring countries, namely Laos and Viet Nam.

The decision to fine an Amnesty International staff member along with four other human rights activists arrives amid ongoing efforts by the Thai authorities to silence criticism and repress freedom of expression.

On 29 July 2021, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha introduced a ban on the distribution of "fake news", which includes anyone sharing reports online that spur public unrest or fear, harm national security, or shed doubt on the state’s response to the coronavirus crisis, even if the information shared is factually accurate and in the interest of public health.

In April 2020, the Thai authorities proposed a draft law to regulate non-profit groups as part of efforts to pass repressive legislation that further muzzle civil society groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In the latest iteration, the bill would give the government the power to arbitrarily ban groups, invade organizations’ privacy and infringe on the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.

In response to the tens of thousands of Thais taking to the streets to demand democratic reforms throughout 2020 and into 2021 in Bangkok, the capital, and in provinces across Thailand, police have used excessive and unnecessary force to disperse peaceful protesters and arrested hundreds of demonstrators.

According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, from July 2020 to June 2021, at least 695 individuals (44 of them children) have faced criminal charges – including sedition, royal defamation, computer-related crime, violation of the Public Assembly – in 374 lawsuits for joining peaceful protests.

Furthermore, according to regulation no. 27, which came into force on 12 July under an Emergency Decree, violators of Thailand’s Covid-19 prevention protocols could face a maximum jail term of two years or a fine of up to 40,000 baht.

The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly with the consensus of Thailand and all other States, guarantees the rights of individuals to form, join and participate in civil society organizations, associations or groups to promote or defend human rights.

The Thai authorities must respect this accord. Issuing fines in response to rights workers and activists peacefully taking part in a panel discussion clearly violates the right to freedom of expression.

In a blatant anti-democratic attack, Sri Lankan police arrested 40 teachers, including 16 female educators, and four drivers of the vehicles they were travelling in, following a protest for higher wages outside the presidential secretariat in Colombo on Wednesday.

Around 2,000 teachers participated in the demonstration which assembled outside the secretariat after travelling by motorcade from the suburbs of Welisara, Kadawatha, Moratuwa and Pannipitiya. The protest was held in defiance of a court order obtained by the police to ban the event.

The teachers were arrested by Colombo Harbour police who jailed them until the following day when they were brought before a magistrate. Hundreds of teachers mobilised near the court premises in support of their arrested colleagues. They were blocked by baton-wielding riot police.

In court police opposed any release, spuriously arguing that those arrested broke quarantine regulations, participated in an unlawful assembly and violated thoroughfare laws.

The magistrate ruled, however, that the police had failed to justify why they should not be released. The decision was in response to widespread establishment fears that the ongoing incarceration of the educators would provoke mass outrage. Those arrested were released on 100,000 rupees ($US500) personal bail. It is not yet clear whether the police plan to initiate charges.

The Rajapakse government is intensifying repression against anyone protesting its socially-regressive policies.

This week police unleashed a witch-hunt against the organisers of a demonstration near parliament on Tuesday of students and teachers opposing the Kotelawala National Defence University Act (KNDUA). The law is a part of accelerating moves by the government to privatise education and expand the militarisation of government rule.

The “Student and People’s Movement for Schools” protest, which also involved university teachers, was initiated by the Inter University Student Federation (IUSF), controlled by the pseudo-left Frontline Socialist Party (FSP). Police used force and iron barricades to block the demonstration.

On Wednesday night, police arrested FSP leader Chameera Koswatta and party member Kaushalya Hansamli who participated in the protest and the following day detained five student leaders, including IUSF convenor Wasantha Mudalige.

Nearly 250,000 public school teachers and principals are continuing their “online learning” strike which began on July 12.

The Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU), the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna-controlled Ceylon Teachers Service Union (CTSU), the FSP-affiliated United Teachers Service Union and several other unions called Wednesday’s protest in response to the rising anger of teachers over repeated government rejections of their wage demands. Educators are also calling for the withdrawal of the KNDUA.

The teachers’ strike is in defiance of education ministry orders that all principals and teachers should report for work on Monday. This directive is in line with last week’s government circular declaring that all state sector employees working from home must return to their workplaces.

Teachers’ union leaders met with an official from the president’s office on Wednesday during the protest. He told the union leaders that a committee of officials from the state treasury and the national salaries commission has been appointed to look into teachers’ wage demand. The new committee is yet another government manoeuvre.

Addressing Wednesday’s protest, leaders of the teachers’ unions made demagogic speeches in an attempt to keep their members under control. CTU leader Joseph Stalin thundered: “We came to inform you [the government] that if our problem is not solved by next Monday our actions will be stronger.” He called on the cabinet of ministers’ meeting on Monday to provide “a solution.”

CTSU secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe was more vociferous: “If you do not solve the problem we will not only close the gates of the presidential office but will file around the whole secretariat building with hundreds of thousands of heads… the struggle will end victoriously.”

In reality, the union leaders are rapidly moving to end the teachers strike action and impose another betrayal.

On July 28, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse met with teacher union leaders, bluntly declaring that “under the present global situation and the country’s financial predicament, the government is not in a position to rectify the salary issue at this moment.” The union leaders assured the prime minister that they understood the economic crisis facing the country and were not expecting an increase in teachers’ pay. They urged him to simply make a “policy” decision to reduce salary anomalies.

On August 2, President Rajapakse for a second time told his cabinet of ministers that the teachers’ wage demand could not be granted.

According to media reports, he said nothing about a “policy decision” to reduce salary anomalies, as hoped for by the unions as an excuse to end all industrial action. Instead, the president cynically “admitted” that teachers’ wages had to be increased but said that the salary problems of all state employees would be considered in the government’s November budget.

Kapila Fernando, a teacher and a leading member of the Teachers-Students-Parents Safety Committee (TSPSC), attempted to address Wednesday’s protest, following speeches by union leaders. Fernando is also a Socialist Equality Party (SEP) Political Committee member with a long record of struggle among teachers and other sections of the working class. CTU leader Joseph Stalin intervened and prevented him from speaking.

Fernando insisted on his democratic rights as a teacher involved in the struggle, but Stalin stopped him, declaring, “This is a meeting of our unions. You can speak in a meeting organised by you. We have taken this protest to a certain stage, don’t spoil it.”

Speaking with World Socialist Web Site reporters after the event, Fernando said Stalin and the other union leaders stopped him speaking because they feared he would explain the critical political situation facing teachers and the necessity to fight for an alternative program to win their demands.

“Teachers can’t rely on these unions and their leaders,” Fernando stated. “They have consistently betrayed us over the past 24 years. Now they are looking for an excuse to call off our current action. That is why they are urging the government to declare that it will merely accept as a principle that salary anomalies be resolved.

“Like all previous regimes, the Rajapakse government has repeatedly rejected our demands. The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened the economic crisis. The unions are tied to capitalism and the establishment, and cannot see beyond this, that’s why they support imposing the economic burden on the masses.”

Fernando said teachers had to take control of their struggle by building action committees in every school, turning to other sections of the working class and fighting for the program elaborated in the July 28 TSPSC statement. “Militancy and protest are important,” he said, “but they alone are inadequate. Teachers must base their struggle on socialist and internationalist policies.”

Such a turn is urgent. Educators are continuing to take action in several parts of the country. On Wednesday, teachers began a 100-kilometre march from Kandy in central Sri Lanka, expecting to reach Colombo this coming Monday. Regional protests have been held, including one on Thursday in Anuradhapura.

The teachers’ struggle is part of a series of strikes and protests in Sri Lanka that have erupted this year involving health, postal and electricity workers in the state sector, and plantation workers in the private sector. This growing movement is in response to the skyrocketing cost of living and job losses which the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened.

Two land dispute representatives have been fined about $1,000 each for Facebook posts showing a crowd of protesters in a Svay Rieng rice field, a gathering deemed by authorities to be a violation of Covid-19 measures.

“They came to gather more than 200 people in two places,” said Svay Chrum district governor Hem Sarith.

Action would be taken against any gathering that did not have the permission of authorities, Sarith said. “We wear face masks, practice social distancing and avoid gatherings,” he said.

Since late last week, the government has ordered a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people across the country for two weeks in a bid to prevent the spread of the Delta variant.

But a series of Facebook posts by Yous Sophorn on Monday showed villagers and children gathered in fields holding up banners, many without masks. A caption said: “On August 2, authorities came to ask people to give thumbprints to take 900 riel per square meter, but they didn’t accept. Where’s the place that has such a land price?”

The land dispute dates back to 2008, when the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, together with local authorities, decided to use the area to create a reservoir. Since then, residents — who say they have farmed the land since the end of the Khmer Rouge era in 1979 — have sought appropriate compensation so that they can buy new land for farming.

Sophorn was among the two representatives who received a 4 million riel fine on Wednesday.

She said local officials were refusing to solve the problem for residents, instead persecuting them for raising the issue. She did not thumbprint the document ordering her to pay the fine, and she would not stop resisting, Sophorn said.

“I would like to request the government, especially Samdech Hun Sen, to intervene with the subordinate officials to solve the problems for the people. Otherwise, it will be prolonged even more. And the authorities have always accused the people of anything. They have always thought of accusing us without finding any way to solve it for the people to survive,” she said.

En Soth, who was also fined, said authorities were only making people more angry. About 30 people gathered outside the commune hall as Sophorn, Soth and a third representative were summoned for questioning on Wednesday.

“Where is the suitable compensation?” she said. “They said they would not take the people’s land. … If it is development on the tears of people, please do not do so, I do not want it. I want development with a decent exchange. Do not use power to oppress the people. I totally disagree.”

A court in northwestern Kazakhstan has sentenced an activist to two years of parole-like terms over ties to the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement amid an ongoing crackdown on support for that group and the associated Koshe (Street) party.

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

Judge Zhanas Quanyshev, in a court in the city of Aqtobe on August 4, also barred the convicted man, Asqar Qalasov, from using social networks for the duration of his sentence.

Qalasov was detained in late March and placed under house arrest.

He rejects the charges against him, calling them politically motivated.

Kazakh activist Erbol Eskhozhin has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison over alleged links to the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement, as authorities continue to round up the group's supporters.

The DVK is led from abroad by fugitive former banker Mukhtar Ablyazov.

The Saryarqa district court in the Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan, pronounced the sentence against Eskhozhin on August 3.

Eskhozhin proclaimed his innocence in his final statement at the trial, which was held online due to coronavirus restrictions.

"I do not regret any of my deeds. If I showed my compatriots that they can use their constitutional rights and express their thoughts freely, then I consider myself the winner of this case," Eskhozhin said.

The 44-year-old Eskhozhin went on trial in April.

He was arrested in December and charged with taking part in activities of the DVK, which was labeled extremist and banned by Kazakh officials in 2018.

In December, the charge was changed to organizing activities for the DVK, which is an offense punishable by up to six years in prison.

Eskhozhin has rejected the charge as politically motivated.

In recent years, a number of Kazakh activists have been convicted for their involvement in the activities of the DVK and its associated Koshe (Street) Party.

Ablyazov, the former head of BTA Bank, has been living in Europe since 2009 and is sought for alleged financial crimes by Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Russia.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

In December, a Russian court sentenced him to 15 years in prison in absentia on embezzlement charges.

Confronted with a series of setbacks in addition to the failure in containing the devastating pandemic outbreak and economic crisis, the Sri Lankan government has launched a chilling crackdown on students and teachers in the Sinhala dominated south protesting militarisation of higher education. The crackdown has met with stiff opposition from academics as well as non-academics who have warned the government of consequences.

A leading activist Dr. Mahim Mendis of the Open University had been threatened over the phone for speaking at FUTA protest on August 3rd: “When I came home, someone called me to say that they don’t like what I said. Since then, I’ve been receiving threats,” he told JDS.

Police have also threatened former leaders of IUSF with death and hostage taking.

“I am receiving calls from the telephone number 072 5167782 saying - we won’t let you live in peace, at some point we will abduct you- and I am afraid to lodge a complaint as the police are also in the lookout for me,” said ex IUSF Convener and Buddhist Monk Rathkarawwe Jinarthana Thero.

The Centre for the Protection of Public Assets and Human Rights, an alliance of more than a dozen trade unions and grassroots activists condemned the government’s repressive action as a death blow to the freedom of expression. In a statement to the press the organisation said that the governments repressive action drives people to street protests notwithstanding the threat posed by the Covid19 pandemic.

Bangladesh authorities should immediately cease harassing brothers and colleagues Sayful Arkane, a reporter, and Mohammad Aziz Arkane, a camera operator, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On August 2, the brothers, who cover Rohingya refugees for the YouTube channel of Rohingya news website The Arakan Times, participated in a meeting between Rohingya refugees, U.N. officials, and officials with the office of Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner in Nayapara refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar in southeast Bangladesh, to discuss changes to food ration cards following protests over the issue, according to Mohammad Aziz Arkane and video of the meeting, which CPJ reviewed.

Immediately following the meeting, an officer with the office of Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner ordered police to arrest Mohammad Aziz Arkane, the journalist told CPJ via phone. He said that a police officer grabbed him, put a hand over his mouth to prevent him from screaming, and pulled him backward but that he was able to struggle free.

Since then, he said that he and his brother have fled to separate hiding places to avoid police detection. He told CPJ that police have repeatedly called him since August 2 and demanded his location.

At approximately 2:00 p.m. on August 2, officers with the Armed Police Battalion raided the brothers’ family home in Nayapara refugee camp, interrogated their parents as to their whereabouts, and said that they were searching for them due to their journalistic activities, according to Mohammad Aziz Arkane. He told CPJ that officers referenced videos the brothers produce for The Arakan Times, though did not name specific reports.

Since August 2, officers with the same unit have visited the brothers’ home multiple times a day searching for the two journalists, Mohammad Aziz Arkane said. When they visited today, they demanded from the brothers’ parents a bribe of 100,000 taka (US$1,179) in order not to file a criminal case against the brothers in retaliation for their journalistic activities, according to a person familiar with the case, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal by authorities.

“Sayful Arkane and Mohammad Aziz Arkane’s reporting on the living conditions of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh is critical work that must be allowed to continue unhindered,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Bangladesh authorities should immediately cease harassing the brothers and their family, and make clear that they will not be subject to arbitrary arrest.”

Shaifur Rahman, a U.K.-based freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker, who is familiar with the journalists’ case, confirmed the entirety of Mohammad Aziz Arkane’s account with CPJ via phone.

The Arakan Times covers human rights and the Rohingya community in Myanmar and across Asia, including news and videos about the impact of coronavirus, floods, and fire incidents in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, according to CPJ’s review.

Shah Rezwan Hayat, Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, did not respond to CPJ’s calls or text requesting comment via messaging app.

Tariqul Islam Tariq, commander of the Armed Police Battalion in Cox’s Bazaar, told CPJ via messaging app that his team in Nayapara refugee camp did not know Sayful Arkane and Mohammad Aziz Arkane, but that he was investigating the claim of the bribe offer.

A Cambodian court on Monday sentenced nine activists, including a lawmaker from the outlawed main opposition party, to prison terms ranging from 12 to 20 months on incitement charges for issuing pro-democracy petitions last year, the daughter of one of the defendants said.

Police arrested the seven opposition activists in October and December 2020 on incitement charges for staging a protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in the capital Phnom Penh last Oct. 23, the 29th anniversary of the singing of the Paris Peace Agreement, marking the official end of the Cambodian-Vietnamese War.

During the demonstration, they tried to submit petitions to the embassies of China, France, and the United States, saying that Cambodia had violated the democratic principles set forth in the Paris Peace Agreement.

Shortly after the arrests, Prime Minister Hun Sen publicly accused lawmaker Ho Van, an opposition official now living in California, of instigating the protests.

Shortly before the verdict was announced at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, one of the detained activists, Lim San, complained about the violation of detainees’ rights, lack of treatment for ill prisoners, and verbal abuse by guards in Prey Sar Prison where she is serving pre-trial detention, said her daughter Phan Sat.

The judge ignored her comments and read the verdicts for former Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) lawmaker Ho Vann and activist San Seihak, who is now living exile in Thailand, to 20 months in prison for instigating incitement to cause serious social unrest, Phan Sat said.

Four activists — Hong An, Lim San, Yoy Sreymom, and Ton Nimol — were each sentenced to 18 months in jail for incitement to commit serious social unrest, she said. The three other activists — Pai Ren, Sann Srey Neat, and Sat Pha, were sentenced to 12 months in prison on the same charges.

The judge told the seven activists, who were fined two million riel (U.S. $483) each, that they could file appeals if they were dissatisfied with the verdict.

Phan Sat, who attended the trial, said that the judge’s ruling was unfair. She maintains that her mother was acting legally during the protest and demanded that the court drop the charges and release all the activists.

“I want [her] to appeal because I do not agree with the verdict,” she said. “My mother is innocent. She had done nothing wrong.”

RFA could not reach defense lawyer Sam Sokong for comment.

He previously said that his clients’ protests are a guaranteed form of freedom of expression under Cambodia’s constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The multinational treaty states that everyone has the rights to hold opinions without interference and to freedom of expression.

Civil society groups say that those who participated in the peaceful protest in front of the Chinese embassy were expressing their opinion.

Heng Kimhong, head of the research and advocacy program of the Cambodian Youth Network (CYN), urged the court to reconsider the convictions and sentences and said that unjust detentions would seriously affect human rights.

“Perhaps because they [the defendants] understood that since China was an important signatory to the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement that upheld human rights, democracy, and freedom of expression, they had gathered in front of the Chinese Embassy to demand that [China recognize Hun Sen's violations of the pact],” he said. “Their protests and demands are not a crime.”

Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in November 2017, two months after the arrest of its leader Kem Sokha for his role in an alleged scheme to topple Hun Sen’s government. The ban, along with a wider crackdown on NGOs and the independent media, paved the way for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party to win the country’s 2018 general elections.

Former CNRP lawmakers, political opposition activists, their relatives, and their supporters still face backlashes. Since early 2020, more than 80 political, environmental, and social activists, including a popular rapper, have been imprisoned on incitement charges as Hun Sen’s government seeks to silence its critics.

A well-known Hong Kong pop singer and pro-democracy proponent was arrested Monday for performing songs at a political rally three years ago.

Hong Kong’s anti-corruption commission said Anthony Wong urged attendees at the rally to vote for pro-democracy candidate Au Nok-hin.

Au, who won, was also charged for promoting the show and saying Wong would perform. He has been in jail since March on other charges.

The anti-corruption commission said that providing refreshments and entertainment at a political rally was "corrupt conduct and a serious offense."

Wong, 59, was later released on bail. There has been no comment from him.

Wong has been a popular singer since the 1980s when he was one half of the Tat Ming Pair. He later went solo.

He backed the 2019 pro-democracy protesters, as well as the 2014 so-called Umbrella Revolution against what many saw as restrictive changes by the Chinese Communist Party in the way Hong Kong held elections.

After his support, Wong was banned from performing in China, and his music was deleted from streaming services.

Wong and Au were expected to appear in court on Thursday.

Four protesters seeking compensation from Phnom Penh’s new international airport development have been put in Covid-19 quarantine without cause, allege their wives, who accuse authorities of trying to silence the protests.

A local official, however, says the men were quarantined because they were in contact with a Covid-positive person when they submitted a petition at Prime Minister Hun Sen’s cabinet office in the capital.

The dispute in Kandal province has been tense for months since bulldozers attempted to clear farmers’ land. Protesters have camped out on the disputed area to stand guard, and have held a cursing ceremony against the developers, Cambodia Airport Investment, a joint venture between the Civil Aviation Secretariat and the Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation, the prominent firm behind Phnom Penh’s Koh Pich island and several other projects. Last month, news publisher Los Seng said he was being pressured by authorities to stop reporting on the airport dispute.

Bat Sok Khoeun, 49, a resident of Kandal Stung district’s Boeng Khyang commune, said district police, commune police and commune officials arrived on Monday and gave the four protesters — including her husband — no choice but to enter Covid-19 quarantine for 14 days.

They had just returned from submitting a petition to Hun Sen’s cabinet, Sok Khoeun said.

She said the explanation for quarantine was unclear, and there was no documentation. “First, the doctor came and said that those who submitted the petition were positive. After talking longer and longer, the doctor said he came to take them to quarantine out of fear that they are positive.”

Hum Sokhem, 45, whose husband was also taken into quarantine, said she couldn’t help but feel suspicious. She demanded that authorities release the protesters and stop using Covid-19 as a way to prevent protests.

“They didn’t test anything. They came to accuse us of having Covid,” Sokhem said. “I’m just worried that they were being mistreated in connection with the land dispute with the company.”

Kandal Stung district governor Ouch Savoeun said the quarantine was purely for health precautions.

The four people were in contact with someone positive with Covid-19 when they went to file a petition at the Prime Minister’s cabinet office, Savoeun said.

“We did not arrest people. We followed administrative rules related to health work. We did not tie them up. We went to invite them to conduct quarantine because they had contacted a Covid-19 positive person,” Savoeun said. “We tested and took their sample. I’ve told them that in relation to gatherings, do not gather at all. Protests and settlements, it has been resolved.”

The protesters have been demanding compensation in line with market values — as much as $120 per square meter — rather than the offered $8, determined before the airport project was announced.

Van Sophat, a coordinator for the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said some authorities appeared to be using Covid-19 as an excuse to ban land protests.

“The company and the authorities have used the pretext or taken the opportunity of Covid-19 to disperse, to deprive the people of the right to assemble and the right of expression in protecting their land. It only makes them more vulnerable. It is a very serious human rights violation,” Sophat said.

The new international airport, spanning 2,600 hectares in Kandal and Takeo provinces including an associated satellite city development, is slated to open in 2023.

Protesters were arrested at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau on 2 August after they took back a truck seized by the police. The court set 100,000 baht bail for each protester and disallowed the use of the MPs’ positions as security, saying that it was irrelevant to the arrested.

According to Thai Lawyers of Human Rights (TLHR), the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases granted bail on Tuesday to 31 protestors charged with using force against officials on duty and violation of the Emergency Decree by gathering in public.

In rejecting the use of MPs’ positions as security, court officials stated that only persons related to a detainee can qualify, such as family members, employees, employers or MP for the detainee’s constituency.

The 3,100,000 baht bail was provided by the Ratsadorn Prasong (People's Will) Fund, established by public donations to assist people charged in political cases.

The mass arrest took place as protesters led by the Talu Fa group (Pierce the Sky) confronted crowd control police standing guard at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau on Monday. After the protesters splashed and sprayed police shields with paint, the police suddenly moved in and broke up the protest.

In total, 31 members of Talu Fah and 1 from the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration were transferred to the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters for detention.

2 women fainted due to the police use of force and were sent to hospital. A 17-year-old youth was also arrested but later released with no bail.

Talu Fa Facebook page shows the detention room defaced by detainees. Walls and windows are covered with graffiti in paint and coffee water.

The incident came after the Car Mob rally in Bangkok on Sunday. The police seized the vehicle used to carry sound equipment after the event was over and arrested 3 crew. The police also seized their phones, so that lawyers took about 5 hours to confirm their whereabouts.

8 other people arrested on Sunday before the event started and released after it was over.

Kanchanaburi police, a district chief and officers from the Internal Security Operations Command visited the house of an organizer of the Car Mob in Kanchanaburi. They tried to pressure the organizer not to hold the event. When asked what law would be violated by traveling in a group of vehicles, the officer replied that he did not know and would go back to find more information.

The third ‘Car Mob’ has been held in at least 30 places around Thailand demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha. A variety of campaigns joined the protest.

The car protest was originally organized by veteran activist Sombat Boonngarmanong but this time more groups joined the movement, like the United People for Thailand, a group that campaigns for monarchy reform like Ratsadorn, the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship or the red shirts, and Seri Toey Plus campaigning on gender diversity issues.

Similar activities were held this weekend in Ubon Ratchathani, Sakon Nakhon, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Chiang Rai, Phrae, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Trang, Surat Thani, Kanchanaburi, Saraburi, Rayong, Chonburi, and elsewhere.

In Bangkok, different activist groups started from 5 main points: Don Muang Airport, Silom Soi 2, Ratchaprasong intersection, Democracy Monument and Ram Intra Road. All vehicles headed to Vibhavadi Rangsit Road to express their message.

The main communication channel for this movement was the Clubhouse application, where the organizers and coordinators usually urge vehicles to form up, not to honk while passing hospitals or field hospitals and to leave lanes open for emergency vehicles.

Student activist Parit Chiwarak a gave a speech criticizing the Prayut-led government’s incompetence which has resulted in the country’s misfortune. While the government was taking care of the elite, it ignored the people.

“Prayut is only interested in capitalists such as Tycoon Charoen (owner of ThaiBev) and Tycoon Thanin (CP). He’s only interested in being a dog and how to flatter his owner.

“Prayut is not here because the people, but because of the dog owner who looks after him. The people are left to their fate. The sick are lying down, waiting for death at home. Those who are not sick are lying down, thinking whether to be vaccinated.

“The tyrannical regime government with Prayut as PM and the King as Head of State must all take responsibility. Whether Prayut, Prawit, Anupong, Anutin, Jurin, they must take responsibility by giving up power, by not taking any position and by leaving the country,” said Parit.

Leading red shirt Nattawut Saikeur gave a speech before his group left the rally point at Ratchaprasong intersection, underlining the government’s failure in handling the Covid-19 pandemic which has caused many to die and brought many dissidents onto the street.

He also urged Gen Prayut, who was part of the Centre for Resolution of Emergency Situation (CRES) that took part in killing red shirt protesters in 2010, to resign from the Prime Ministership.

“Red buffaloes, the uneducated, the hired mob, those who were shot to death on the street more than 10 years ago, today have come back to tell Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and his cronies who were in CRES and who were in power during the crackdown on the people, to get out now, for the survival of the Thai people countrywide in the Covid-19 crisis,” said Nattawut.

Human rights lawyer Anon Nampa gave a speech opposing the idea of having a ‘royally endorsed PM’ to replace Gen Prayut. He said the change must be made to the root cause. The next leader must be democratically elected from the people. He urged the movement to progress with civil disobedience.

“Peaceful means is not sitting down and letting the police use their batons to hit you on the head. Peaceful means are all kinds of action that make the government and those in power so worried and agitated and uneasy that they cannot stay.

“Things that you have never seen, citizens will do them. It will happen in the heart of Bangkok. And what have you been worshipping, have been enchanted with, after this will not be there for you to see,” said Anon before promoting the next protest on 7 August. Arrests, clashes and commotion

Fully equipped riot control police were spotted at many places that the protesters intended to pass, like Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue, Sutthisan intersection and behind the Veterans General Hospital on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road.

A container blockade was set up on Vibhavadi Rangsit outbound, blocking the entrance to Gen Prayut's house in the 1st Royal Infantry Regiment.

At 18.00, the police dispersed the remaining protesters on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, using tear gas, rubber bullets and force. The protesters could be seen retreating and retaliating by throwing fireworks and unidentified objects that caused fires.

At 12.30, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that 8 protesters had been arrested at Rattanathibet, Nonthaburi. They had been taken to Rattanathibet Police Station and charged with violating the Emergency Decree, causing a noise in public without proper reason and the use of unauthorized voice amplifiers before being taken to the Border Patrol Police (BPP) Region 1 Headquarters for detention. They were released at 18.30.

The BPP Region 1 Headquarters in Pathum Thani has been used to detain protesters during the State of Emergency declared in 2020. Although there is no legal provision allowing the police to investigate and detain people there, people have been sent to this distant office from time to time.

Clashes reportedly took place at Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue and Nang Loeng at 15.30. About 8 people were seen throwing objects. 2 rubber bullets were reportedly fired. Fireworks were reportedly thrown at the front of 1st Regiment Infantry barracks by unidentified protesters according to communications on Clubhouse.

Taliban militants shot at a car carrying journalists Shakib Shams and Storio Karimi on August 1 in the Pol-e Malan area of Herat Province. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliates the Afghan Independent Journalist Association (AIJA) and Afghanistan's National Journalists Union (ANJU) remain gravely concerned by the increased security threat on journalists in the country and call for both government forces and the Taliban to cease targeting civilians.

According to AIJA, on August 1, Taliban militants fired on the car of Shams and Karimi as they reported on fighting between Afghan National Security Forces and Taliban militants. Shams is a reporter with Salam Watandar while his wife Karimi, also works for of Pajhwok Afghan News. After militants shot at the car, the journalists were briefly abducted and taken to the militant’s self-proclaimed district governor.

It is alleged that Taliban leaders questioned the journalists, checked their contacts and mobile calls and released them after 20 minutes. “They released us once they were sure that we were journalists and we had visited the area just for news reporting,” Shakib Shams told AIJA. The journalists were released through the mediation of Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson. According to the ANJU, the couple is now very likely to flee their home out of fear of potential future attacks.

Large numbers of civilians, including journalists, are living in fear as fighting escalates in Afghanistan’s western province of Herat. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) reports that since the Taliban’s offensive commenced in early May, many government employees, journalists, activists, tribal elders, and religious figures have been targeted or killed.

On July 26,four Afghan journalists - Bismillah Watandoost, Qudrat Soltani, Mujib Obaidi, and Sanaullah Siam - were arrested by Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS). Danish Siddiqui, an Indian photojournalist with Reuters, was killed in crossfire while covering a battle between Afghan security forces and Taliban militants in Kandahar province on July 16. On July 14, AIJA reported that Fazlullah Erfan, the editor-in-chief of Gag-e-Islah radio programs, was seriously injured in an explosion targeting a police vehicle in Jalalabad.

At approximately 1:00 a.m. on August 5, police raided the home of Shibli, editor of the news website The Kashmiriyat, in Anantnag city in central Jammu and Kashmir, for approximately two hours while he was not there, according to Shibli, who spoke with CPJ via phone.

Shibli’s mother, two sisters, sister-in-law, two brothers, nephew, and niece were present during the raid at his home, according to Shibli, who said that police confiscated the adults’ phones and computers. Shibli said his own laptop and phone were with him at the time of the raid.

At approximately 1:30 a.m. the same day, Kashmir police also searched the homes of Shibli’s cousin and grandmother for roughly 20 and 30 minutes respectively, he said.

“The raids on the homes of Qazi Shibli and his family members add to the ongoing pattern of targeted harassment against journalists in Jammu and Kashmir, which must come to an end immediately,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Police should cease harassing Shibli and allow him and other members of the press in Jammu and Kashmir to report freely.”

Police broke the lock of Shibli’s home and forcibly entered the premises without demonstrating a warrant or providing a justification for the raid, according to Shibli. Police also broke several glasses, window panes, and a security camera outside Shibli’s home, and confiscated a CCTV intercom monitor, according to Shibli and photos of his home following the raid, which CPJ reviewed.

Police asked Shibli’s family members for his location, which they refused to provide, he said. Police also called Shibli’s mother and sister, who were at his home at the time of the raid, “prostitutes,” Shibli said.

Shibli said he did not know what, if any, of The Kashmiriyat’s reporting may have triggered the raids. Hours before the raids, The Kashmiriyat reposted a 2017 article on its Facebook page about Kashmiri militant Yawar Nisar, who was allegedly killed by Indian forces.

The Kashmiriyat covers general news about Kashmir, including politics and current affairs, according to CPJ’s review.

Kashmir Police Inspector-General Vijay Kumar did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment via email.

Authorities detained Shibli from July 2019 to April 2020 under the Public Safety Act without trial, according to CPJ research and news reports. In July 2020, Shibli was detained again for 18 days after he was summoned for questioning by the cybercrime division of the Jammu and Kashmir police, as CPJ documented and news reports said.

A 22-year-old anti-coup protester who was shot and injured before being detained during a raid in Mandalay on Saturday morning has died in military custody, two protest organisers have told Myanmar Now.

Ye Yint was among nine protesters who were detained when about 30 soldiers and police raided a house they were staying in in Patheingyi Township’s Nan Oo Lwin neighbourhood.

He was shot in the pelvis while another young protester, 22-year-old Khaing Tun, was shot in the leg during the raid.

“Two kids tried to run in panic and one was shot in his leg,” said one of the protest organisers. “The other one got shot in the back and the bullet went cleanly through his pelvis.”

The detainees were brought to Mandalay Palace, which houses the military’s Central Command headquarters, and Ye Yint’s family was told at around 4pm that he had died, the second organiser said: “His wife told us.”

As of 8pm, the family still had not been able to retrieve his body, the organiser added. Myanmar Now was unable to reach his relatives for comment.

Three other protesters were detained in Mandalay on the morning that Ye Yint and Khaing Tun were shot.

They were captured in Mahar Aung Myay Township after a military-owned vehicle rammed into their motorcycles as they rode back from a march led by Mandalar University students. One of those detained, Zin Myo Khant, is 17 years old.

Late last month Thu Thu Zin, 25, was shot in the head and killed at a protest near the Mahamuni pagoda in Mandalay. Her family had to hold her funeral without her body because the military would not let them retrieve it.

The website of human rights group Karapatan is being attacked, Sweden-based forensics experts revealed.

In its August 18 report, Qurium noted that the cyberattacks against the group’s website, in the form of distributed denial of service (DDoS), started on July 29, coinciding with the #StopTheKillingsPH online campaign led by Karapatan.

The campaign, participated by different groups and advocates here and abroad, reiterates the call to stop the killings in the Philippines and to prosecute President Rodrigo Duterte for his crimes against the Filipino people. It also marked the first year of the killing of human rights defenders Zara Alvarez and Randall Echanis.

In a statement, Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan, called the series of attacks on their website cowardly.

“It was obviously made to prevent the public from accessing our reports on the worsening state of human rights in the Philippines — and we know whose interests these attacks serve,” Palabay said.

Karapatan said that according to Qurium, “the attacks were composed of application layer web floods, a type of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), specifically against karapatan.org/resources, which contains the directory of Karapatan’s periodical monitors, year-end reports, policy position papers, and other public resources.”

“Specifically targeting Karapatan’s online resources only means that these attacks were clearly trying to suppress our documentation and human rights work, and of course, the people’s right to freedom of information,” Palabay said.

Qurium said that on July 29, after a one-minute attack on Karapatan’s website, “the attacker set up a monitoring using the online service ‘check-host’ for the specific URL, https://www.karapatan.org/resources, and then launches a second and long lasting attack.”

Qurium said that the geographical distribution of the bots (an application that automatically runs pre-programmed tasks over the internet) that flooded Karapatan’s website is global. However, they noted that almost half of the bots were traced from Russia, Ukraine, Indonesia and China.

Karapatan, as well as alternative media outfits Altermidya and Bulatlat, were also subjected to cyberattacks last May and June this year. Qurium traced these attacks to the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence of the Philippine Army, as well as the Department of Science and Technology.

Qurium first documented the first series of DDoS cyber attacks against Karapatan’s website on Dec. 28, 2018, lasting until Jan. 20, 2019.

“These attacks only benefit those who want to silence us and our human rights work amid a pervasive state of impunity in the country. We thank our friends from Qurium for documenting these attacks as we seek further investigations on the perpetrators of such attacks,” Palabay said.

An activist who is part of the #Lawan campaign has been arrested today for investigation under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 while giving her statement at the Dang Wangi police.

According to Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR) who is organising the protest scheduled for this Saturday, Sarah Irdina Mohamad Ariff, 20, from the youth collective MISI: Solidariti has had her phone confiscated, and a search warrant has been issued to raid her home.

The SSR has previously claimed that the police had also harassed Sarah’s family when calling her into questioning today.

Sarah’s lawyer Goh Cia Yee said that police are planning to detain her overnight at the police station, Malaysiakini reported.

“They have arrested her now with the intention to detain her overnight Her house has not been raided yet and there is no confirmation on when they would like to do so.

“They intend to do so but the timeline of this is uncertain at the moment because they have some paperwork to sort out,” Goh reportedly said.

Section 4(1) handles act with seditious tendency which include uttering seditious words and distributing.

If found guilty, one is liable to a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or prison not more than three years, or both.

In a brief statement on social media, MISI: Solidariti has also demanded the authorities to release Sarah immediately.

“Seeing one of ours be silenced and harassed by the authorities is infuriating. We stand in complete solidarity with Sarah and we demand her immediate release,” it said

It also urged netizens to show solidarity and support to Sarah by using the hashtags #FreeSarah, #ActivistAreNotCriminals and #LawanIntimidasi in their social media posts.

This comes as three other SSR activists — Tharma Pillai, Afiq Adib and Muhammad Alshatri — were also questioned by the police today.

The trio are being investigated under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code which handles “making statements conducive to public mischief” and Section 233(1) of the Communications and Multimedia Act over sharing offensive content.

Today marks the fifth day straight that the police have questioned activists and participants related to the #Lawan protest this Saturday, and a convoy in support of it last weekend.

The protest planned in Dataran Merdeka this Saturday is calling for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to step down, for Parliament to continue sitting, and automatic loan moratorium for Malaysians.

Civil society organisations working on freedom of expression stand in solidarity with and applaud the organisers of the #Lawan rally for a peaceful and organised protest on 31 July 2021. We condemn the investigation and arrest of protest organisers prior to the event, the authorities’ obstruction of the protest by setting roadblocks and barricades, and the police threats to take action against participants.

Freedom of assembly and expression are fundamental rights, and essential in ensuring government efficacy and accountability. These rights must be protected and upheld, and the pandemic cannot be used as a pretext to prevent people from exercising these important rights.

In recent weeks, Malaysia has experienced a soaring COVID-19 case load, overwhelmed hospitals and many deaths, while livelihoods have been threatened and lost. The government declared an emergency, imposed draconian laws and suspended Parliament. In a functioning democracy, and even during a pandemic, the people must be allowed to demand accountability from the government, including through peaceful protests adopting appropriate public health measures.

Representatives from our organisations, which work to promote freedom of expression in Malaysia, were on the ground during the 31 July 2021 #Lawan protest, scheduled to be held at Dataran Merdeka, to monitor the protest and document any rights violations. The protesters demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, a full Parliament sitting, and a moratorium on the repayment of all loans. Protesters highlighted the high death toll from COVID-19 during the protest. The protest ended peacefully around 12.35pm after organisers and the police instructed the crowd to disperse.

Our observers noted that all routes to Dataran Merdeka were cordoned off with barricades and protesters were not allowed to access the square. Protesters therefore improvised, conducting a march on the road near Dataran Merdeka and holding a sit-in protest.

Barring access to a public square constitutes a breach of the right to peaceful assembly. Protest organisers took proactive steps and issued detailed guidelines on COVID-19 SOPs, including requiring protesters to double mask, social distance, not share placards and sanitise their hands. To uphold the fundamental right of peaceful assembly while appreciating the gravity of the current pandemic, the police should have worked with the organisers to facilitate the protest. By barricading access to Dataran Merdeka, the police in fact made it more difficult to comply with COVID-19 SOPs by forcing protesters onto the road.

Our observers also noted excessive police presence in vehicles and on foot, including several armed police officers, the presence of a Black Maria vehicle and a low-flying helicopter. Police officers in uniform and in plain clothes were also taking photographs and videos of protesters. These constitute intimidatory tactics that inhibit protesters’ right to peacefully assemble and, again, serve to obstruct rather than facilitate their peaceful protest. Surveillance of protesters impacts their freedom of expression and may also deter others from exercising this right.

Open dialogue, transparency, and accountability from public authorities are especially important during public health crises. Scrutiny and critique of government approaches to managing the COVID-19 pandemic—whether by journalists, human rights defenders, or others—promote accountability and foster better responses.

On July 29, a court in Feidong county in Anhui province in eastern China sentenced Zhou, a reporter for the Chinese-language human rights news website Weiquanwang, to three years and six months in prison on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” citing his reporting on human rights in articles and Twitter posts, according to his employer, the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Asia, and a person familiar with the case who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity. According to those reports, the court cited as evidence the fact that he was paid for his reporting, describing it as “foreign funding.”

Zhou was arrested on those same charges on March 12, 2020, by police in Hefei city in Anhui province, and has been detained since then, according to those reports and CPJ research.

“If China is truly proud of its much-criticized human rights record, as it has repeatedly claimed, it should allow journalists like Zhou Weilin to freely report the news,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator in Washington, D.C. “Chinese authorities should immediately release Zhou Weilin and stop trying to prevent journalists, domestic and foreign, from doing their jobs.”

In response to an emailed request for comment from CPJ, Weiquanwang shared an op-ed by the outlet’s commentator Deng Zixing calling for Zhou to be released “immediately and unconditionally.” “Detaining anyone in retaliation for exercising their rights is a violation of the standards of universal human rights,” Zixing wrote.

The Anhui department of justice did not reply to an email from CPJ requesting comment.

Zhou frequently tweeted about labor issues and disability rights, according to CPJ’s review of his Twitter page. According to Radio Free Asia and Weiquanwang, Zhou had previously been arrested and detained five different times between 2011 and 2013 on charges of “fabricating facts to disrupt public order” and “gathering crowds to disrupt public order.”

He was sentenced to one year and six months in prison in February 2014 for “gathering crowds to disrupt public order” for protesting and reporting on the detention of human rights activist Zhang Lin’s daughter Zhang Anni, those reports said. Zhou was released in February 2015 after serving the full sentence, according to the reports.

According to CPJ’s most recent prison census, at least 47 journalists were imprisoned in China as of December 1, 2020, including Zhou, making it the worst jailer of journalists worldwide for the second year in a row.

In Kanchanabhri on 29 and 30 July 2021, leaders of the “Free Kanchanaburi for Democracy” group who had announced the “Mueang Kan Tour” activity on 1 August 2021 received visits by more than 30 officers in total from the police, army, ISOC, and administrative sector at their houses and were asked to refrain from organizing the said event due to the spread of Covid-19.

On 28 July 2021, the admin of the Facebook page “Thonburi Citizens” was visited by 7 plain-clothed police officers at his house in Samut Sakhon to force him to cancel the Car Mob event scheduled to take place in the evening of the same day. The officers remained to monitor him at his house until late to prevent the Facebook page admin from joining the activity.

An anti-government protester in Hong Kong was found guilty Tuesday of terrorism and secession in a landmark ruling involving the first verdict delivered under the territory’s new national security law.

Leon Tong Ying-kit, 24, had pleaded not guilty to all charges in relation to an anti-government street protest last year. Tong had been accused of driving his motorcycle into police officers while carrying a flag with the phrase, “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times.”

Due to the security law charges, a three-judge panel was specially selected to preside over the case without a jury. After a mammoth 15-day trial, the panel returned with a guilty verdict.

Much of the case focused on how the slogan would be interpreted by the High Court panel. The now-banned phrase was a popular rallying call during Hong Kong’s 2019 anti-government demonstrations.

One of the judges, Esther Toh, said the defendant was aware of the meaning of the phrase the flag carried and ruled the slogan had a “natural and reasonable effect” of inciting others to commit secession, according to a report by the South China Morning Post newspaper.

Tong, a former waiter, has been refused bail since his arrest last year. He will be sentenced at a later date, but could face up to life imprisonment. His lawyers said no decision has been made as to whether they will appeal, according to local reports.

Eric Yan-ho Lai, a political and law analyst, told VOA in a phone interview that the ruling was “disappointing” because the judges had disregarded potential meanings of the slogan that were not secessionist.

“It’s a cherry-picking tactic by the judges, tried to pick one of many of the meanings to justify [the notion] Tong’s act is intimidating others for his own political agenda. It seems a very technical and formal approach to see this case,” he said.

The analyst, who is a Hong Kong Law Fellow at Georgetown University, added that international standards were not met in the case.

“Free expressions are not inciting imminent violence, should not be considered as a crime and should not be punished in Tong’s case,” he said.

Yan added that the verdict, which is seen as a departure from Hong Kong’s common law, sets a dangerous tone for future security law cases.

“If Tong received a much heavier sentence than other non-NSL [national security law] cases, say rioting or possession explosion articles … it would cause a strong impact of the common law in Hong Kong, when such acts could cause disproportionate sentencing, even to life in jail without the scrutiny of a jury trial,” he said.

July 1, 2020, marked the first full day of Hong Kong’s newly implemented national security law enacted by Beijing the night before. Thousands protested in the streets, though, opposing the law and the government. Hundreds were arrested, with at least 10 under the new security law, including Tong.

The legislation outlines four key prohibitions – secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign collusion – and carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Critics say the law has reduced Hong Kong’s unique autonomy promised when it was handed back to China from Britain in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” agreement.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the legislation would only target a minority of people. But nearly 13 months since the law became active, 100 people have been arrested and at least 60 charged, including media mogul Jimmy Lai and high-profile activist Joshua Wong.

On July 21, another former editor for a pro-democracy newspaper was arrested.

Apple Daily, founded in 1995 by Lai, was shut down after several of its executives were arrested for alleged violations of the security law. Hong Kong authorities then froze the company’s financial access, leaving the media outlet unable to pay its staff and vendors, forcing it to close. Western critics have depicted the media outlet’s closure as a blow to press freedom.

Last week, five members of Hong Kong’s Speech Therapists General Union were arrested for allegedly “conspiring to publish seditious materials” in connection with authoring children’s books. Authorities claim the books, which revolve around sheep, incite hatred toward the government. Two of the members have since been denied bail.

A Hong Kong-based lawyer who has represented defendants under national security law charges spoke to VOA about the arrests but requested anonymity for her protection.

“The question still is, these children’s books about sheep, [do they] bring into hatred or contempt or incite disaffection against the government of Hong Kong? Can it be treated just as criticism? How is it any different from a newspaper column?”“From a point of view as governance, the Hong Kong government wants to break up civil society groups and unions, and that is one way of targeting them,” the lawyer said.

Pro-democracy activist, Hang Tung Chow, the vice chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance political group, was recently arrested for allegedly inciting illegal assembly. Just hours before, Chow told VOA she believes the government is targeting civil society groups such as hers.

On 23 July 2021, Dr Chen Zijuan, human rights defender Chang Weiping's wife, and their young son, accompanied by a family-appointed lawyer and several friends, travelled to the Feng County Detention Centre, where the human rights defender is detained, to seek a meeting with him and to deposit money so he could purchase food and other daily items. Feng County is in a remote mountainous area in Baoji city, Shaanxi province, more than 1900km from the southern coastal city of Shenzhen where Dr Chen Zijuan and her son live. When they arrived at the detention centre and requested to deposit money for Chang Weiping, a police officer told them Chang Weiping's account has already exceeded the maximum limit of 1000 Yuan and that a detainee is not allowed to spend more than 150 Yuan per month. When the human rights defender's lawyer contested this and asked the officer to provide the legal basis for these monetary and spending limits, the police officer was not able to answer and walked away. When the lawyer and the family asked the security guards to allow them to wait inside the detention centre's reception area, the guards said their leaders instructed them not to open the doors to visitors.

The human rights defender's lawyer and wife also went to the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Public Security's Letters and Visits Office to submit complaints against the Baoji Municipal Public Security Bureau's handling of the Chang Weiping's case, including its refusal to facilitate access to legal counsel, as well as to follow-up on Dr Chen Zijuan's previously lodged complaints against the Bureau submitted in April 2021. An official at the Letters and Visits Office told them that their previous complaints were already transferred to the Baoji Public Security Bureau who replied in late April. When Dr Chen Zijuan said she had never received any replies, the official told her to talk directly to the Baoji Public Security Bureau.

The lawyer and family then went to the Shaanxi Provincial Procuratorate to submit complaints against the Baoji police. After making multiple phone calls to superiors, the receptionist told them that Chang Weiping's case is "very special and sensitive" and that her superiors told her that the Procuratorate will not intervene.

Regime forces shot three people, killing at least one, during a crackdown on an anti-coup demonstration in Mandalay on Tuesday, according to protesters who managed to escape.

Around 20 people were taking part in a flash mob protest near the east gate of Mandalay’s famous Mahamuni pagoda when they suddenly came under attack at around noon, witnesses told Myanmar Now.

Without warning, junta forces in plain clothes opened fire with live ammunition, shooting two men and a woman as they attempted to flee.

One of the victims, 25-year-old Thu Thu Zin, was shot in the head and died instantly. It was unclear if the two men, one of whom was shot in the neck, were still alive.

“The girl [Thu Thu Zin] fell down right before my eyes. I couldn’t save her, as I was running for my life, too,” said a protester who later returned to the scene to speak to other witnesses.

“According to some vendors in front of the pagoda who saw everything, it’s very likely that all three were fatally shot. They were dragged into the pagoda compound right after they fell,” the protester told Myanmar Now.

He added that police later confirmed Thu Thu Zin’s death.

The protesters were members of the Mya Taung protest column, which continues to stage peaceful demonstrations against the regime despite its routine use of lethal force.

The group’s protests are regularly joined by a wide cross-section of local people, including student activists, monks, and ordinary citizens.

Members of the group condemned the junta’s brutal violence against unarmed protesters.

“If they just wanted to break up the crowd, they could have done that by shooting into the air,” said one protester. “I hope that karma will catch up with them one day.”

He added that the military’s latest atrocity against civilians would have no impact on the group’s activities.

“We’re going to keep going until the end,” he said.

Tuesday’s crackdown was the third in Mandalay so far this month. On July 13, seven protesters were arrested when the regime broke up a joint march by the Mya Taung protest column and students from Mandalar University.

On July 20, two men were shot and a woman was arrested during a crackdown on a protest by a group called “Phoenixes from the Ashes”.

According to Mandalay residents, the army has stationed troops at public places, such as schools, hospitals, and pagodas, around the city to deter shows of resistance to military rule.

However, protests continue on a regular basis, even as the regime deploys plainclothes forces to launch surprise attacks, in some cases by plowing into crowds with civilian vehicles.

Meanwhile, surveillance has also increased, with pedestrians and cyclists being ordered at military checkpoints to show their phones, which are carefully scrutinized for evidence of involvement in anti-military activities.

An online journalist says he received an anonymous call that he took to be a threat after reporting on land clearing in Siem Reap province.

Sous Chamroeun, head of CHR TV Online, claimed in a July 27 report that a local businessman had cleared hundreds of hectares of state-owned protected forest in Chi Kreng district’s Lveng Russei commune.

He said he received an anonymous call soon after telling him to remove the story and saying they would file a complaint against him. The caller said the land had been bought from citizens.

“They threatened me. First, he said that if you do not delete it, you will have a problem. Second, he said that he will file a complaint about this to the minister of information. He said that my name has not been properly registered as a journalist,” Chamroeun said.

Chamroeun said he had recorded the conversation, but declined to share it as he was waiting to see if there are further developments before filing a complaint to authorities.

A phone number for the businessman named in Chamroeun’s article, Kong Vun, who has a local electricity distribution business among his interests, was answered by a woman who would only say that she was an employee of the electricity firm.

Lveng Russei commune chief Loung Phorn said people had previously cleared land in the area before selling it to a company he could not remember, which then sold it to Vun.

Information Ministry spokesperson Meas Sophorn said he had not received information about the case.

The Hong Kong police force’s national security unit searched a journalist’s home on July 26 and confiscated her travel documents, mobile phone and computer following the reporter recording a person attacking a police officer with a knife in Causeway Bay on July 1. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) demand the police to explain why the reporter’s home was searched and travel documents confiscated.

The 56-year-old reporter for Secret China, a Chinese-language American media outlet, was asked to give a statement at Wan Chai police station as a witness on July 1 when the attack occurred. HKJA arranged for a lawyer to accompany the reporter to the police station and police said they would inform HKJA if they required further information from her. July 1 also marked the 24th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from Britain.

According to HKJA, on July 26, police did not notify the association and visited the reporter’s temporary residence to seek an additional statement. The reporter was accompanied by a friend when she gave the statement. Following the statement, police used a warrant to search the reporter’s home, confiscating her travel documents to prevent her from leaving Hong Kong and seizing equipment without a lawyer present. When HKJA became aware of this, the association arranged for a lawyer to be present on July 27, and she gave a statement “under caution” to the police.

The Hong Kong Free Press noted, “Implementation Rules for Article 43 of the national security law provides that police may only with a warrant confiscate travel documents belonging to a person under investigation over suspected violations of the security law.” A report written by the Centre for Law and Democracy supported by the IFJ highlights further broad and intrusive powers given to the national security unit under the National Security Law, limiting the right to privacy and freedom of expression.

Protesters from Bicol progressive groups faced what they call an “intimidation” from police officers on Monday during a pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) protest in this city.

The protest, involving members from Bicolana Gabriela, Youth Act Now Against Tyranny (Yanat) Bicol, Condor-Piston Bicol, Organisasyon ng mga Magsasaka sa Albay (OMA), and other progressive groups in Bicol were told by police officers that their protest were against Inter-Agency Task Force’s (IATF) omnibus guidelines.

“There were eight police officers who questioned the legitimacy of our protest,” Nica Ombao, Bicolana Gabriela coordinator told Inquirer. “The National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) has refuted that guidelines.”

Ombao is talking about NUPL’s statement in June saying that “no law, not even the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, prevents anyone from staging protests during the community quarantine.”

The progressive groups arrived in front of Philippine Coconut Authority in Legazpi City at 7:30 a.m. and were planning to march to Peñaranda Park, also in the city, carrying with them protest placards.

The march to the park was cancelled, but some of the protesters went to the park on their own to continue the protests calling yet again to junk the Anti-Terror Act and to allow all jeepney drivers back in Bicol streets.

The group also called for safer reopening of schools in all levels or, better yet, an academic freeze.

The public prosecutor decided yesterday (22 July) to indict 13 protesters facing lèse majesté and sedition charges for their involvement in the 26 October 2020 protest in front of the German Embassy in Bangkok.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that 12 of the protesters reported to the Office of the Attorney General (Southern Bangkok office) yesterday morning (22 July) and were informed that the public prosecutor had decided to file a case against the protesters.

The remaining protester, activist Nawat Liangwattana, will be reporting to the public prosecutor today (23 July).

The lawyers requested bail using the positions of 7 academics and 3 MPs from the Move Forward Party (MFP) as security. The Bangkok South Criminal Court granted them bail with the condition that they must not commit another offense relating to the monarchy. They must also come to every court appointment and may not leave the country without permission.

The decision to indict the protesters came after the public prosecutor postponed their hearing 3 times. According to TLHR, this is the 33rd lèse majesté case in which the public prosecutor has ordered an indictment.

TLHR also reported that at least 111 people are now facing lèse majesté charges after the law began once again to be used against protesters involved in the pro-democracy demonstrations in November 2020.

The 13 protesters indicted are Ann (pseudonym), Nawat Liangwattana, Benja Apan, Athapol Buapat, Patsaravalee Tanakitvibulpon, Cholathit Chotsawat, Chanin Wongsri, Watcharakorn Chaikaew, Ravisara Eksgool, Suthini Jangpipatnawakit, Akkarapon Teeptaisong, Joseph (pseudonym), and Korakot Saengyenpan.

They face lèse majesté and sedition charges under Sections 112 and 116 of the Thai Criminal Code, as well as using a sound amplifier without permission under the Controlling Public Advertisement by Sound Amplifier Act for either reading a statement or giving speeches during the protest in front of the German Embassy in Bangkok on 26 October 2020, in which they submitted a petition calling for the German authorities to investigate King Vajiralongkorn’s use of power during his time in Germany.

Courts in Vietnam on Tuesday handed down prison terms to two Facebook users charged with posting articles opposing the country’s one-party communist state and calling for violence against judicial officials and police officers, according to state media reports.

In north-central Vietnam’s Nghe An province, Nguyen Van Lam, 51, was sentenced to nine years in prison for posting anti-state writings and sharing videos and other content, including broadcasts by RFA, considered politically subversive.

He was charged under Article 117 of Vietnam’s 2015 Criminal Code for “creating, storing, disseminating information and materials against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” a provision of Vietnamese law frequently used by authorities to stifle government critics and other peaceful voices of dissent.

Persons convicted of crimes under the law can be sentenced to from five to 20 years in prison.

According to the Nghe An Police Investigative Agency, Lam had posted numerous stories, images, and videos violating Vietnamese law from 2017 to November 2020, including livestream videos and stories from RFA and other online sources, and 18 stories written by himself on his mobile phone.

Among Lam’s posts available online, several mock authorities with sharp comments on news reports by RFA or other outlets.

On Oct. 26, 2020, Lam wrote: “The Vietnamese people do ask the international organizations, (and) Interpol to monitor the political and economic mechanism (of Vietnam).”

These comments had “smeared the regime, insulted Party and State leaders, called for a multi-party and pluralistic government, and distorted the actual situation in Vietnam,” state media reports said.

News reports did not mention the date of Lam’s arrest or whether he was assisted by a defense lawyer at his trial.

At least 14 Vietnamese people have been imprisoned following conviction on charges filed under Article 117 since January 2021. Pham Chi Dung, president of the Vietnam Independent Journalists Association has drawn the heaviest term so far this year at 15 years, followed by Nguyen Tuong Thuy, vice president of the Association, who was jailed for 11 years.

On 20 July 2021, the families of human rights defenders Cheng Yuan, Liu Dazhi and Wu Gejianxiong received a phone call from a person claiming to have been released from the detention centre, who shared a cell with the human rights defenders. This person said Liu Dazhi and Wu Gejianxiong have been convicted and sentenced to two and three years imprisonment respectively, but the sentence against Cheng Yuan remains unknown. In order to verify this information, family members called one of the human rights defenders' government-assigned lawyers, who told them that the human rights defenders were sentenced in the morning of 20 July 2021 and confirmed the same sentences for Liu Dazhi and Wu Gejianxiong, but refused to disclose the sentence Cheng Yuan received or provide the text of the verdict.

On 27 July 2021, Wu Gejianxiong's father Wu Youshui, himself a practicing lawyer, travelled to Changsha in an attempt to submit his credentials to be his son's legal counsel during the appeal process. When he arrived at the Hunan Provincial Department of State Security's detention centre, officials there told him that court approval is required for him to see his son. He then went to the Changsha Intermediate People's Court to submit his credentials, but court security officers told him they have been instructed not to allow him to enter the courthouse. After Wu Youshui left his credentials at the court's documents delivery desk, he stepped outside for a cigarette, but the court security officers immediately locked the front door and he was not able to go back in.

On 28 July 2021, Wu Youshui went to the law firm which employs the two lawyers assigned by the government to represent Wu Gejianxiong, to request a copy of the verdict. However, the lawyers refused to see him.

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Three environmental activists convicted earlier this year on incitement charges related to a planned protest have been handed a new charge of ‘plotting’ by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in connection with an ongoing case against four other activists.

The trio, members of the environmental group Mother Nature, have been in prison since September 2020, when they were arrested for planning a one-woman march to raise awareness of the impact of filling in lakes for development in the capital. In May, they were sentenced to 18 to 20 months.

Rights group Licadho said Thon Ratha, Long Kunthea, and Phuon Keoreaksmey were handed an additional charge of plotting and questioned by the Municipal Court this week. If found guilty, they could face up to 10 years in prison. Licadho said their lawyers were not informed ahead of time and so the activists appeared at court without representation.

Sam Chamroeun, who represented the three in their last case, said Ratha was questioned on Monday, Kunthea was questioned on Tuesday and Ms Keoreaksmey was questioned on Wednesday, but said they refused to talk without their lawyers present.

“I just knew that they were summoned to be questioned but they did not answer yet because they are waiting for their lawyer [to defend them],” Chamroeun.

Attorney Sam Sokong said that all three activists were summoned for questioning over the new charges, which are connected with a second case involving activists who were arrested in June and charged with plotting and insulting the king, after reportedly taking photos of sewage being released into the Tonle Sap River near the Royal Palace.

Environmental activists Sun Ratha and Yim Leanghy were arrested on June 16 and later charged with both plotting and insulting the king. Another activist, Ly Chandaravuth, was charged only with plotting. All three youths are now in pretrial detention at Prey Sar prison’s CC1 and CC2. Mother Nature co-founder and Spanish national Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, who remains abroad, was also charged with plotting and insulting the King. The case has been widely condemned as politically motivated, and represents just the latest in a series of cases against Mother Nature — which has long drawn the government’s ire.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court investigating judge Im Vannak, declined to comment, referring questions to the court spokesman, who could not be reached.

Am Sam Ath, deputy director of Licadho, said the charges were clearly aimed at silencing criticism among others.

“That additional charge for them is a threat and [aimed to] pressure environmental activists and other youths who want to join to protect the environment,” he said, adding that the government should support those trying to better Cambodia.

“We saw that the US and the US ambassador in Cambodia also requested the government to release them because they understand that it is not a crime and it is freedom of expression and activity to join the [fight to protect the] environment,” said Sam Ath.

Chak Sopheap, executive directive of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights said they strongly condemn the arrests and charges.

“The charges of plotting and lèse-majesté are a blatant illustration of the dangerous and restrictive environment in which activists in Cambodia operate and of the RGC’s [Royal Government of Cambodia] relentless efforts to stifle critical voices in the country,” she wrote in a message.

“CCHR deplores that imprisonment is an increasingly common price to pay for speaking out for human rights in Cambodia. We, therefore, urge the RGC to immediately release all the activists jailed for conducting their legitimate work, including members of the Mother Nature environmental group, and to unconditionally drop all the charges against them.”

A journalist was arrested in Bogura early yesterday in a case filed under the Digital Security Act over a Facebook post on corruption allegations against a health official and his office assistant.

The arrestee, Md Akhtaruzzaman, is Bogura district correspondent for daily Banijjo Pratidin. He has also been working as a multipurpose health volunteer at a community clinic in Bogura Sadar Upazila since last year.

On Saturday, a Facebook post was uploaded from an ID named Aftab Ahmed, bringing allegations of financial corruption against Bogura Sadar Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Md Samir Hossain Mishu, and his office's Head Assistant and Accountant Shamima Akter.

It alleged that Mishu and Shamima embezzled money without paying due honorarium to multipurpose health volunteers.

Shamima filed a complaint with Bogura Sadar Police Station on Saturday night over the post. Police carried out an investigation and found that the Facebook ID was operated by Akhtaruzzaman, said Emran Mahmud Tuhin, inspector of Detective Branch (DB) of Police in Bogura.

Asked, Md Selim Raza, officer-in-charge of Bogura Sadar Police Station, said, "A team of DB police arrested Akhtaruzzaman from his house around 3:00am today. Hours later, a case was filed against him under the Digital Security Act.

"In primary interrogation, he [Akhtaruzzaman] admitted that he uploaded the post from a fake ID on provocation from some multipurpose health volunteers."

Contacted, both Mishu and Shamima refuted the corruption allegations and claimed that the volunteers were given proper honorarium as per rules.

Talking to this correspondent, Akhtaruzzaman's father Md Rafiqul Islam said, "A team of police along with Samir Hossain Mishu came to our Sabgram house around 3:00am and took away my son and his electronic devices."

Indonesian security forces have used discriminatory excessive force and racially abused protesters peacefully opposing the renewal of the Papuan Special Autonomy Law, new research by Amnesty International has revealed.

Papuan protesters told how they were targeted with water cannons, kicked and punched, and beaten with guns and rubber batons in peaceful protests during the last month. At least one person was injured after security forces opened fire on protesters on 16 August. Three protesters reported being called “monkey” while being arrested during protests in July.

Amnesty International has analysed videos and photos which show police using unlawful force on peaceful protesters, and verified injuries suffered by protesters.

“The reports of assault – both physical and verbal – that we have gathered reveals the true contempt the security forces have for the rights of Papuans.

“The Indonesian authorities must immediately investigate the reports of use of discriminatory excessive force and racial abuse against protesters, and also ensure the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly is respected.”

To date, protests against the controversial renewal of the Papua Special Autonomy Law have taken place in several cities, from July 14 to August 16. Amnesty International interviewed 17 people who participated in protests in the cities of Jakarta, Jayapura, Sorong and Yahukimo, and verified their accounts using open source video footage.

The protests have also called for the release of Victor Yeimo, a pro-independence activist from Papua facing life imprisonment for his political views.

A protestor who participated in the demonstration in Sorong on July 19 told Amnesty International that police officers beat him as he was arrested. He said: “I was kicked in the stomach and on my head. I was arrested because I only asked the National Police Chief for help to free the protesters who were arrested by the police.” The arrest and beating were corroborated by another protestor and video footage.

A protestor in Sorong criticized the excessive use of force by security forces. He said: “They just want us Papuans not to speak out about our rights. That’s why every time we take action, it’s always forced to disband like that.”

Two doctors were arrested in Mandalay last week, offering further evidence of the regime’s targeting of healthcare workers despite a spiralling public health crisis.

Dr. Thet Htay, 41, and Dr. Kyaw Kyaw Thet, 21, were both viciously beaten as they were arrested for taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against military rule, witnesses told Myanmar Now.

Dr. Thet Htay was on his way home from a charity hospital where he volunteered his services when he was detained by police and soldiers in Mandalay’s Chanmyathazi Township at around 2pm on July 16.

Later that night, he was taken back to the hospital, where soldiers confiscated some of his belongings, including his laptop.

“His face was beaten to a pulp,” said Dr. Soe Thura Zaw, a fellow CDM participant who spoke to witnesses at the hospital.

Dr. Thet Htay previously worked at Mandalay General Hospital but practised exclusively as a volunteer surgeon after joining the CDM following the February 1 coup.

Among his patients were victims of the junta’s brutal crackdowns on protesters, according to other members of Mandalay’s medical community.

Dr. Kyaw Kyaw Thet was arrested three days earlier, on July 13, when around 20 soldiers and police stormed his home in Mandalay’s Maha Aungmyay Township.

His brother was also detained at the time but was later released.

Dr. Kyaw Kyaw Thet was teaching medical students online as part of a program organized by the shadow National Unity Government (NUG). He was also providing online medical consultations for Covid-19 patients until his arrest.

Dr. Soe Thura Zaw speculated that Dr. Kyaw Kyaw Thet was targeted for his role in the NUG’s medical training program, which mainly features lectures by instructors based in the UK. The regime likely saw his involvement as a provocation, he said.

Both men are currently being held in an interrogation centre, according to family members who spoke to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity.

They added that attempts to contact them have so far been unsuccessful.

The arrests come as Myanmar is facing a major public health crisis resulting from the junta’s mismanagement of the response to the third wave of Covid-19 in the country.

On Monday, military officials pretending to be Covid-19 patients arrested three doctors who responded to a request for emergency treatment in Yangon’s North Dagon Township.

Meanwhile, doctors in Mandalay say that the junta is spreading misinformation, accusing doctors taking part in the CDM of causing more Covid-19 patients to die.

“They’re raiding oxygen plants. They’re arresting doctors. And then they say that doctors taking part in the CDM are killing patients? It doesn’t even make any sense. Doctors have been saving lives by volunteering everywhere that they can. The real killers are the military council,” said Dr. Soe Thura Zaw.

On Monday, the Mandalay Health Society released a statement condemning the arrests of doctors amid the Covid-19 crisis, demanding that they be released as soon as possible.

Around 900 CDM doctors have been treating Covid-19 patients by telephone under the NUG’s supervision, according to Dr. Zaw Wai Soe, the NUG’s health minister. Around 2,000 final-year medical students have also volunteered to assist, he said.

Three reporters were injured during the protest on Sunday (18 July), after being hit with rubber bullets, despite wearing visible press armbands and ID cards.

Thanapong Kengpaiboon from the online magazine Plus Seven was hit in the hip with a rubber bullet while covering the clash between protesters and crowd control police at the Phan Fa Lilat intersection at around 15.50.

Thanapong said that he was taking pictures of protesters trying to remove the razor wire used as blockade. He said that the police issued no warning before firing 3 – 4 rounds of rubber bullets into the area where he was standing, and that they announced only that they would be firing water containing dye.

He also said that was standing next to a wall with a group of other reporters, and that he was wearing the press armband issued by the Thai Journalists Association (TJA), which has been used to identify field reporters covering protests since 2020, as well as a press ID card.

Thanapong said he was lucky that he was wearing thick jeans, but there was still bruising where he was shot. He has been covering the protests since 2020 and has previously been hit with tear gas and water cannon blasts.

“I don’t know if it’s bad that I feel like I’m used to it, but I’m tired of it. Without notice, they fire into a group that they should know are reporters, because it wasn’t just me who was a reporter and was standing there, and they fired without any warning,” Thanapong said, adding that he wants to press charges against the officers and is looking for a way to do so.

Matichon TV photographer Peerapong Pongnak was also shot with a rubber bullet in his left arm. Matichon reported that Peerapong was shot at the Phan Fa Lilat Bridge, while he was covering the march to the Government House via Ratchadamneon Avenue, which was blocked by crowd control police and water cannon trucks.

Peerapong said that the police began firing water cannon blasts at the protesters and announced that they would be escalating their operation, but he did not hear the police announce that they were going to use rubber bullets.

A photographer from The Matter was also shot with a rubber bullet in the left arm and was taken to a hospital for treatment. The Matter later posted a picture showing the bruise on the photographer’s arm and stated that they were visibly wearing a press armband when they were covering the protest.

At the protest at Sanam Luang on 20 March 2021, during which crowd control police deployed rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannon indiscriminately against the crowd, Prachatai reporter Sarayut Tangprasert was shot in the back by a rubber bullet while livestreaming from the Kok Wua Intersection. He was also wearing the TJA’s press armband. Journalists from Channel 8 and Khaosod were also injured by rubber bullets during the same protest.

Sarayut later filed a lawsuit with the Civil Court against the Royal Thai Police and Police Chief Pol Gen Suwat Jangyodsuk for unlawful dispersal of the protest by firing rubber bullets, blocking the route to the nearest hospital and using excessive force on working journalists. He also asked the court for an emergency inquiry for an injunction. However, the court dismissed the case on the ground that they cannot issue an order controlling the police’s action at future protests, while the investigation into the officers involved is under the authority of the police headquarters.

The protest on Sunday started at the Democracy Monument, before marching to Government House to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the reduction of the budget for the monarchy and military to increase Covid-19 assistance, and replacement of the Sinovac vaccine with mRNA vaccines. However, protesters were met with crowd control police armed with rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannon trucks. They were blocked from reaching Government House and gathered at the Nang Loeng intersection to burn mock body bags and a figure of Gen Prayut before announcing the conclusion of the protest.

Police officers searched a van belonging to We Volunteer, which was delivering equipment for the protest, including effigies, and bottles of fermented fish . They also checked We Volunteer member Rattaphum Lertpaijit’s ID card.

The officers wanted to take picture of Rattaphum’s ID card, claiming that they have to check whether he has an outstanding arrest warrant. They asked to search the car, but were refused. No one at the scene was found to have an arrest warrant, and the police did not present a search warrant.

The officers claimed that they had to check whether there was anything illegal in the van, and asked for the identity of the owner of the content. During the search, an officer asked whether the fermented fish was for throwing at the officers.

Piyarat said that because the officers opened the packages of bottled fermented fish, they had to buy the entire lot. He also claimed that the officers told them that they wouldn’t let them go if they didn’t sell them the fish.

Sunday’s protest took place at the Democracy Monument at 14.00 and was organized by Free Youth and its partner groups. The protesters planned to march to Government House to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, a reduction in the budget for the monarchy and military to increase Covid-19 assistance, and replacement of the Sinovac vaccine with mRNA vaccines. However, they were blocked from reaching the Government House by crowd control police armed with rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannon trucks.

On 18 July 2021 prior to the #18July rally at the Democracy Monument, authorities confiscated “straw dolls”, protest items by the #WeVolunteer group at a dormitory in Nontaburi province. The dormitory owner was also seized for allowing the dolls to be stored for interrogation at the Plaibang Police Station. Police claimed that they had been notified of hidden drugs there. When the police asked the dormitory owner how she got the items, she said she had been asked to keep them. The interrogation took around 2 hours without the presence of any lawyers and trusted persons.

On 17 July Aakash Hassan, an independent journalist and human rights defender based in Indian administered Kashmir, was assaulted by Jammu and Kashmir Police in the Anantnag District. The defender was stopped by police while travelling home on Saturday evening, slapped and beaten with poles. The police deliberately targetted the defender while clearing routine traffic congestion, when they identified him through the press pass on his vehicle. Aakash Hassan is an independent journalist based in Srinagar in Indian administered Kashmir. He has contributed to reports in the Guardian, Al Jazeera, Intercept and other international publications. His reporting is focused on the impact of the conflict and militarisation on the lives of ordinary citizens in Kashmir, especially women. Recently he has written on increasing surveillance by State police and military on ordinary civilians, and human rights violations including torture by the Jammu and Kashmir police and military. Hassan has been targetted in the past, by local police, through summons and interrogation, based on his reporting on human rights issues. On 17 July at around 9 pm, Aakash Hassan was travelling home, when he was caught up in traffic congestion near Sangam Bridge in Anantnag town. He was driving slowly, when the police officer directing traffic, saw the press sticker on his vehicle, and shouted ‘press press’. Immediately at least two police officers surrounded his vehicle and reportedly beat him including with batons. Aakash Hassan told Front Line Defenders that one officer grabbed him by the collar and beat him on his face and tried to drag him out of the vehicle. The journalist was able to drive away from the scene and seek immediate medical treatment for his injuries. Images shared with Front Line Defenders and also on the journalist’s twitter handle show the defender with visible injuries to his face and hands. Hassan believes that he was targetted due to his identity as a journalist. In response to widespread condemnation of the attack, the district police in Anantnag stated that “Cognisance taken. Circumstances that led to this being looked into...”. A local superintendent had also contacted the journalist and informed him that action would be taken. Despite these assurances, at the time of this appeal, the journalist is not aware of any action taken against those responsible. The attack on Hassan, is emblematic of the violence and impunity for threats, harassment against human rights defenders in the region. Journalists and human rights defenders in Kasmir have been under severe pressure from State authorities especially the police and military, due to their human rights work. Documenting and reporting on violations from inside the region, has always carried significant risk. The dangers include false arrest, prosecution, and violence, increased since the unilateral abrogation of Statehood and lockdown imposed post 5 August 2019. Front Line Defenders has documented cases of journalists and human rights defenders targeted through legal and police action including preventive detention under the draconian National Security Act, which is applied in Kashmir. Surveillance of communications and movement, and intimidation is routine.

Activist Shinawat Chankrajang and another protester were arrested in front of the Ministry of Public Health on Friday (16 July) during a protest over the Covid-19 vaccination programme, while two other protesters and one police officer were injured.

On Friday afternoon (16 July), people gathered near the Ministry of Public Health to demand an explanation of the Covid-19 vaccination programme and to demand that the government provide the public with mRNA vaccines. They called on Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to respond by 17.00.

During the protest, police officers lined up in front of the entrance to the Ministry and told the protesters that their gathering as an offence under the Emergency Decree and the Communicable Diseases Act. In response, Shinawat asked whether it is also illegal that Anutin is negligent and allowing Thai people to die every day, and demanded that Anutin answer whether the government will be able to supply the public with mRNA vaccines.

At around 15.10, Shinawat announced that they would be staying until 17.00, and the officers must bring them Anutin’s explanation about the vaccines in a voice clip or any other form of recording. The protesters also put up body-like figures on a table in front of the police line, while activist Thanadet Srisongkhram announced that the people need the Pfizer vaccine, not the Sinovac vaccine, which is ineffective. He also said that people are not lab rats and that they want vaccines they can choose.

At 17.00, the protesters marched up to the Ministry gates which were blocked by policewho announced that anyone breaking into the Ministry would be taken to the police station , and that if they do not comply, the police may use force. Officers began to surround the protesters, who were pushing and kicking the officers’ shields.

Police officers then tried to arrest Thanadet, so protesters tried to pull him away. During the clash, one of the plainclothes officers arresting Thanadet fell to the ground. After the clash, Thanadet was found to have an injury to his head. The officer was also reportedly injured

It was later reported that Shinawat was also arrested. He was taken inside the Ministry, so the protesters were not able to follow him. Another protester was also reported to be injured and was taken to an emergency room.

Shinawat and one other protester who was arrested were taken to the Khlong Ha Police Station in Pathum Thani. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that they were charged with sedition, holding a gathering of more than 10 people and causing a breach of peace, violating the Emergency Decree, assaulting an officer, and obstructing by force an official in the execution of their duty.

Both denied all charges. On Saturday morning (17 July), they were taken to the Nonthaburi Provincial Court for a temporary detention request. The Court approved the request, but granted them bail without requiring a security.

Police officers also confiscated the keys to the protesters’ speaker truck and refused to give them back despite demands from the remaining protesters, who pushed the truck to the gates. An officer then came to negotiate with the truck’s owner, who asked for his truck key back as his house key was attached to the truck key and he had to use the truck that night.

By 19.20, crowd control police joined the officers in front of the Ministry, while protesters were still gathering in the area to wait for the truck keys to be returned. The police said they wanted to search the truck, but the owner consulted a lawyer and was told not to let the police search the truck.

At 19.45, with the 21.00 curfew approaching, the police still had not returned the truck key and had brought a tow truck from inside the Ministry, so the protesters lay down in front of the truck and demanded that the police wait for a lawyer to arrive.

At around 20.20, following negotiations with the lawyer, the truck was towed away. TLHR later reported that the truck’s owner received a fine of 100 baht under the Sound Amplifier Act before he was released. His hand was also injured when an officer reached into the truck to pull the keys out.

The two Caraga-based activists arrested in Quezon City on Friday, July 16, are not members of the New People’s Army.

This is the assertion of the human rights group Karapatan-Caraga adding that the firearms and flag of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) confiscated from the two are all planted by the authorities.

Arrested were Julieta Gomez, a Lumad-Manobo from San Luis, Agusan del Sur and currently a council member of Kahugpungan sa mga Lumadnong Organisasyon sa Caraga (KASALO Caraga), and Niezel Velasco, formerly the project coordinator of Bread for Emergency and Development, Inc. (BREAD, Inc.) until 2017. Bread, Inc. is a relief and rehabilitation institution in Caraga.

The two were presented before the media last Friday as high-ranking members of the NPA.

“Such claims are preposterous and at the height of implausibility as who in their right mind would attempt to purchase and transport such, at a time when checkpoints and lockdowns are in effect, let alone store such munitions in the house where you were staying? And why would they bring a CPP flag and education materials?” the group said in a statement adding that Philippine National Police Chief Guillermo Eleazar should look into the arresting officers for planting evidence.

Karapatan-Caraga said that Gomez and Velasco are both engaged humanitarian work over the years. In fact, the group said that “officers and personnel of some of government agencies in the region know them personally as they have coordinated activities particularly with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and local government units in the Surigao and Agusan provinces and several municipalities.”

The group believes that this is but another attack against those who are critical of the government as the two are constantly red-tagged in Caraga region. Their photos and names were posted in tarpaulins together with church people, teachers, peasant and labor leaders and humanitarian advocates, tagging them as members of the NPA.

They also added that both Gomez and Velasco, along with several activists, have been charged with trumped-up cases of murder and attempted murder related to NPA actions in different courts in Caraga despite evidence disproving their involvement.

“The arrest of Gomez and Velasco are but attempts to silence activists in Caraga and the country. Unable to destroy the revolutionary movement in Caraga they attack those in the progressive movement and pass them off as members of the CPP-NPA-NDFP. They vilify, red-tag, file trumped-up charges, kill or arrest and plant evidence,” the group said.

Leading relief work and organizing fellow Lumad

According to Karapatan, Gomez has devoted her time in organizing the local Lumad communities and led campaigns in exposing the plight of the Lumad in Caraga. She is also at the forefront in defending their ancestral lands against large-scale plunder through mining and plantations.

“In 2010, she actively campaigned for the 1 percent royalty from mining profits for the Lumad affected by large-scale mining in Caraga, particularly in Surigao del Norte. In the same year she was elected by the general assembly of KASALO as secretary general and in the succeeding years remained as one of its council members,” the group said.

Gomez also led the Manilakbayan of the Lumad people from Mindanao in 2015 and 2016 where they exposed the dire situation and grave human rights violations committed against the Lumad in Mindanao.

In July 2017 to June 30, 2018, Gomez became the provincial focal person of the National Anti-Poverty Commission, Local Affairs Coordinating and Monitoring Services (NAPC-LACMS) for Agusan del Sur.

Velasco on the other hand has led the implementation of marine sanctuary protection and livelihood projects for fisherfolk in Siargao Islands in coordination with the local government unit of General Luna from 2007 until 2014.

She also led and joined relief projects in communities in the region affected by floods and devastation brought about by Typhoon Sendong in 2011, Typhoon Pablo in 2012, Typhoon Seniang in 2014, Tropical Depression Auring in 2017 and Basyang in 2018, and in Leyte at the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda.

She was also designated as the provincial focal person of the NAPC-LACMS for Surigao del Norte also in July 2017 to June 30, 2018.

Officials in Afghanistan said Friday an international award-winning journalist from India had been killed during pre-dawn fighting in embattled southern Kandahar province.

Danish Seddiqi, a Reuters photojournalist and Pulitzer Prize winner, was covering clashes between Afghan government forces and the Taliban in Spin Boldak district, which fell to the insurgents earlier in the week.

“Deeply disturbed by the sad news of the killing of a friend, Danish Seddiqi in Kandahar last night,” tweeted Farid Mamundzay, Kabul’s ambassador to New Delhi.

“The Indian Journalist & winner of Pulitzer Prize was embedded with Afghan security forces. I met him 2 weeks ago before his departure to Kabul. Condolences to his family & Reuters,” added Mamundzay.

Seddiqi last tweeted from Kandahar on July 13, when Afghan forces launched a counteroffensive to try to retake Spin Boldak.

The slain photojournalist was based in the Indian city of Mumbai and won the Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for feature photography on the Rohingya refugee crisis.

"We are urgently seeking more information, working with authorities in the region," Reuters President Michael Friedenberg and Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni said in a statement.

"Danish was an outstanding journalist, a devoted husband and father, and a much-loved colleague. Our thoughts are with his family at this terrible time.”

Seddiqi told Reuters he had been wounded in the arm by shrapnel earlier on Friday while reporting on the clash. He was treated and had been recovering when Taliban fighters retreated from the fighting in Spin Boldak.

Among other major events he covered were the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2019 and 2020, and the Nepal earthquake in 2015. At home, Seddiqi extensively reported on India’s COVID-19 pandemic.

Global and local media watchdogs list Afghanistan as one of the dangerous countries for journalists.

Spin Boldak is a major border crossing between landlocked Afghanistan and Pakistan, facilitating travel and trade activities.

The insurgents have recently captured Afghanistan’s seven trade routes with neighboring countries, including Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China, Iran and Pakistan.

The Taliban have stepped up battlefield attacks since the United States and NATO-allied militaries formally began withdrawing from Afghanistan on May 1, overrunning scores of districts and dramatically expanding insurgent influence to wide swaths of the country.

Indonesian security forces have used discriminatory excessive force and racially abused protesters peacefully opposing the renewal of the Papuan Special Autonomy Law, new research by Amnesty International has revealed.

Papuan protesters told how they were targeted with water cannons, kicked and punched, and beaten with guns and rubber batons in peaceful protests during the last month. At least one person was injured after security forces opened fire on protesters on 16 August. Three protesters reported being called “monkey” while being arrested during protests in July.

Amnesty International has analysed videos and photos which show police using unlawful force on peaceful protesters, and verified injuries suffered by protesters.

“The reports of assault – both physical and verbal – that we have gathered reveals the true contempt the security forces have for the rights of Papuans.

“The Indonesian authorities must immediately investigate the reports of use of discriminatory excessive force and racial abuse against protesters, and also ensure the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly is respected.”

To date, protests against the controversial renewal of the Papua Special Autonomy Law have taken place in several cities, from July 14 to August 16. Amnesty International interviewed 17 people who participated in protests in the cities of Jakarta, Jayapura, Sorong and Yahukimo, and verified their accounts using open source video footage.

The protests have also called for the release of Victor Yeimo, a pro-independence activist from Papua facing life imprisonment for his political views.

One student who took part in a protest in Jakarta on July 15 told Amnesty International that security forces beat and racially abused him before he was arrested.

He said: “I was dragged down and taken far from the action, then I got punched, about seven times. When I tried to escape, the police pulled me in and stepped on me, on my shoulders and thighs, and called me ‘monkey’. I had to cover my face with my hands to protect from kicks. Then, I was arrested and pulled in the truck.” This was corroborated by another protestor who reported having witnessed police officers kicking a man and stepping on him.

Two other protesters in Jakarta told Amnesty International that security forces also called protesters “monkey” while pushing them into the police truck.

Day 2 of the demolition drive in Faridabad’s Khori village was marked by confrontation between residents and police, with nine people being taken into preventive custody for allegedly making “provocative speeches” during a protest Thursday.

According to police, the incident took place around 8.30 am. An FIR has been registered based on a complaint submitted by a police officer who was at the spot. “Around 100-125 men and women gathered there and started staging a demonstration and shouting slogans against the administration. Three-four men and four-five women also started provoking the crowd by making provocative speeches,” alleges the complainant.

The complaint said additional police force was called and those making “provocative” speeches were taken into custody. Speaking to The Indian Express, DCP (NIT) Anshu Singla said, “We took nine people into preventive custody from Khori village this morning.”

Residents in the village, however, alleged police lathi-charged them before the demolition began. In a statement, National Alliance of People’s Movements reiterated these allegations: “Today morning, on July 15, police resorted to violence against Khori residents who protested peacefully on the streets of Khori Gaon.”

In a video purportedly from Khori village that has been circulating online, a person in plainclothes can be seen slapping and pushing a man, believed to be a resident of the village, until the latter hits a brick wall and falls. The person can then be seen helping the man get up, joined by two other persons — one wearing riot gear — and leading him away from the spot.

DCP Singla said: “There is a video that is circulating but it is impossible to comment on the nature of the video, when it is, who are the people, whether it is doctored, not doctored. However, if we receive any formal complaint, we will certainly enquire into it and deal with the matter according to law.”

On allegations of lathicharge, Singla said: “The demolition took place peacefully to my knowledge, I don’t know what is being alleged but there was no lathi charge done by Faridabad Police.”

Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad, Garima Mittal, also said: “The demolition proceeded smoothly and peacefully today. There was no violence.”

The demolition comes after the Supreme Court on June 7 had directed the MCF to clear all encroachments on “subject forest land” in Khori village in six weeks. The civic body had finally started the work on Wednesday morning.

Although a rehabilitation policy was released by the MCF earlier this week for relocation of residents, wherein they will be allotted flats in Dabua Colony and Bapu Nagar, only those people are eligible for it who have an annual income up to Rs 3 lakh and meet one of three conditions – the name of the head of the family is on the voter list of the Badkhal assembly constituency as of January 1, 2021; the head of the family has an identity card issued by the Government of Haryana as of January 1, 2021; or any family member has an electricity connection issued by the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam (DHBVN).

“We have set up a camp near Khori village where residents can sign up for the rehabilitation scheme. However, it has only been a day, we are still waiting for applications,” said the MCF Commissioner.

Residents said the rehabilitation policy is unfair since it will not cover several people who have documentation from Delhi and not Haryana. Those eligible like Shipali Das (35), who works as a domestic help and is a single mother to a teenage daughter, are not aware of the policy at all.

“I have a Parivar Pehchan Patra from Haryana, but I have not heard of any rehabilitation scheme, nobody has told me anything about it,” said Das.

The demolition of her home, she said, will undo all the progress she has made since her husband abandoned the family several years ago: “I paid Rs 1 lakh just to purchase this land; I did the labour myself and built a house on it at a cost of Rs 2.5 lakh. Now all of that is going to be taken from me in a single day… I have nobody else to depend on… I do not know where we will go if our home is demolished. I am still hoping for a miracle.”

On July 15, police again repeatedly told Pal to stop filming at a protest site in the village, she told CPJ. A police officer attempted to block her camera as she filmed, as seen in a video she posted to Twitter that day.

Also that day, police forced Mohit Kumar, a Newsclick camera operator, to leave a crowd of protesters and move to another location, placed a baton between his feet to stop him from moving, and threatened him, saying, “we can do anything to you,” according to Kumar, who also spoke to CPJ. Police then told him to leave the area, and he complied, Kumar said.

Multiple police officers also threatened to break and confiscate Kumar’s camera and delete its footage on July 15, according to Pal and Kumar, who both said that they carried their press identification cards and repeatedly identified themselves as members of the press to police.

Also that day, two police officers armed with batons approached Hrishikesh Sharma, a reporter at the YouTube-based news channel Mojo Story, while he was filming a home that was about to be demolished, and threatened to break his phone if he did not stop filming and leave the area, he told CPJ. Sharma continued to discretely film in another area, he said.

Multiple police officers threatened to break the camera of Prabhat Kumar, a freelance journalist who filmed demolitions in the area, Kumar told CPJ, adding that an officer threatened to arrest him if he did not stop filming. Police also locked Kumar in a building after he had ascended to a terrace to film a protest, he said, adding that local residents opened the door and allowed him to leave about 15 minutes later.

On July 16, police officers armed with guns and batons threatened to arrest Naomi Barton, an audience editor with the news website The Wire who was reporting on the demolitions, if she did not stop filming at a demolition site, she told CPJ. Barton showed officers her press identification card but they insisted she leave the area, and she complied, she said.

Also that day, an unidentified individual in plain clothes approached Nikita Jain, a freelance journalist, and told her not to take pictures at a demolition site, and threatened to inform the police if she did not stop, she said.

A group of about 10 police officers surrounded Jain as she attempted to leave the village, and a senior officer told her that press coverage was prohibited in the area, she said. When Jain asked that officer to show her an official order prohibiting coverage, he refused and instructed Jain to show him her phone and delete its footage, she said, adding that she refused to comply.

That officer then instructed a group of female officers to escort Jain to another area, and told them to beat her if she resisted; the officers pushed Jain to another area, where a police officer threatened to break her phone and others ordered her to enter their car, she said. Jain told CPJ that she refused to comply and left the village on her own.

Authorities in the southwestern province of Sichuan have formally arrested a prominent rights activist on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge often used to target peaceful critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), RFA has learned.

Xie Junfeng was detained last month after allegedly leaving his place of residence in violation of bail restrictions, his ex-wife Zou Haixia told RFA.

Police had recently told her the case against him was also based on comments he had made online, however.

"The police hinted when they called [before] that the 'picking quarrels, stirring up trouble' charge wasn't just based on his daily activities, but also on some of the comments he made online," Zou told RFA on Thursday.

"According to my understanding, the authorities have been questioning a lot of petitioners since Xie Junbiao was detained, trying to find out stuff about him," she said.

Xie, who has campaigned for the rights of the most vulnerable in society, as well as being a vocal public supporter of jailed Sichuan dissident Huang Qi, is currently being held in the police-run Shuangliu District Detention Center in Sichuan's provincial capital, Chengdu.

His frequent interviews with foreign media organizations, including RFA, have also made him a thorn in the authorities' side, observers have said.

The authorities approved his formal arrest on July 14, and sent a formal notification to his father's home, Zou said.

"They warned me before that they were keeping track [of everything Zou did] and that the bill would be presented when the time came," she said. "They also warned me that I could be charged with the same crime for my comments online."

Second dissident prosecuted

Meanwhile, authorities in Chengdu's Pidu district have moved ahead with the prosecution of veteran dissident Chen Yunfei, who was detained by police four months ago on the same charge as Xie.

Chen is currently being held at the Pidu District Detention Center, awaiting trial for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble" after he wrote an online article based on visits to Sichuan schools during the past two years.

He was detained on March 25, 2021, and formally arrested on April 30, 2021.

Chen has already served a four-year jail term on the same charge beginning in March 2015, after he organized and took part in a memorial service calling for justice for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre during the grave-sweeping festival of Qing Ming.

He was held incommunicado with no access to family or lawyers for six months, according to the overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network.

He complained to his lawyer in January 2017 of having been held in restraints on two separate occasions for "refusing to properly greet officers at the detention center," the group said on its website.

Chen's close friend Zeng Rongkang said the allegations relating to Chen's research about schools in the province were simply a pretext to justify a political prosecution.

"This is all just for show, because [his actions] in no way constitute provocation in law, and no harm has come to the country," Zeng said. "This charge is being used up and down the country for pinning on people."

"I expect he will be sentenced again, but maybe not very harshly," he said.

A journalist working for Siem Reap Breaking News and arrested on Wednesday was charged with incitement and violations of the Covid-19 Law, the latter punishable by up to three years in prison.

Kouv Piseth, 32, was arrested by provincial military police in Battambang city on Wednesday for alleged incitement. The military police said the arrest was linked to Facebook posts from Piseth, but did not specify exactly what the journalist had said or done on the social media platform to warrant the arrest.

Duong Saron, a spokesperson for the Battambang court prosecutor’s office, confirmed on Friday that Piseth has been charged with incitement, under Article 495 of Criminal Code, as well as Article 11 of the controversial Covid-19 law for “obstruction of measure enforcement.”

While incitement carries up to two years in prison, the Covid-19 law violation carries a six-month to three-year prison sentence for intentionally obstructing or deterring the implementation of measures taken to curb the spread of the virus. It also carries a potential fine of about $500 to $2,500.

Chea Chanreaksmey, a spokesperson for the Battambang Provincial Court, did not say exactly how Piseth obstructed Covid-19 measures.

“Regarding the case, the investigating judge decided to place him in pretrial detention yesterday. Regarding the crime, I did not get more detail about the charges because it is in the process of investigation,” Chanreaksmey said.

In a June 27 Facebook post, Piseth questioned whether Chinese vaccines had been evaluated by the World Health Organization and if the vaccines should be used in Cambodia.

“Have the Chinese vaccines been evaluated by the WHO yet? If it has not, it should not be brought to inject because it has not been recognized,” the post said.

In May and June, the WHO approved the emergency use of the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines. The Cambodian government started using both vaccines before their formal approval.

Piseth had other Facebook posts accusing Prime Minister Hun Sen of acquiring assets in the country by betraying the nation — an accompanying image has mansions and arrows pointing to forests, a gold mine, an island and other resources.

Rights groups have criticized the Covid-19 Law for being broad and for having severe prison sentences for violations. The incitement charge has been used by the judiciary as a catchall to prosecute any expression of dissent.

Phnom Penh police said last month that 11 people had been charged and jailed in the city under the law at the time, mostly for obstructing the implementation of lockdown rules.

A local protest leader from Mogok in Mandalay Region said on Tuesday that his wife and daughter have both been sentenced to three years in prison for incitement.

The two women, who were arrested exactly one month ago, were accused of violating Section 505a of the Penal Code for allegedly inciting riots. Their sentences were handed down by a prison court in Mogok, protest leader Soe Htay said.

Writing on Facebook soon after learning about their sentences, Soe Htay said that his wife and daughter had taken part in protests against the junta’s numerous abuses, including arbitrary arrests, human rights violations, inhumane treatment of women and children, and killing of its own citizens.

Junta authorities in Mogok were attempting to arrest Soe Htay, who is a striking schoolteacher and local anti-regime activist, when they took his 44-year-old wife and two daughters into custody on June 13.

The younger daughter, Su Htet Wine, was still in detention when she turned five two weeks later. She was released on June 30, two days after her birthday.

Earlier this month, Soe Htay expressed concern about the health of his older daughter, 17-year-old Theint Sandi Soe, who was reportedly suffering from a potentially life-threatening condition.

According to Soe Htay, she was receiving weekly treatment for rheumatoid arthritis before her arrest. He said a person with connections to the place where she was being held had told him that she was mistreated while under interrogation.

Myanmar’s military routinely targets the families of individuals opposed to its rule, in some cases detaining the children or elderly relatives of those who manage to evade arrest.

According to figures compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), 76 people have been held hostage by the junta, with the youngest being just two years old.

The military council, which has designated AAPP as an illegal organization, has not commented on those cases.

Two doctors were arrested in Mandalay last week, offering further evidence of the regime’s targeting of healthcare workers despite a spiralling public health crisis.

Dr. Thet Htay, 41, and Dr. Kyaw Kyaw Thet, 21, were both viciously beaten as they were arrested for taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against military rule, witnesses told Myanmar Now.

Dr. Thet Htay was on his way home from a charity hospital where he volunteered his services when he was detained by police and soldiers in Mandalay’s Chanmyathazi Township at around 2pm on July 16.

Later that night, he was taken back to the hospital, where soldiers confiscated some of his belongings, including his laptop.

“His face was beaten to a pulp,” said Dr. Soe Thura Zaw, a fellow CDM participant who spoke to witnesses at the hospital.

Dr. Thet Htay previously worked at Mandalay General Hospital but practised exclusively as a volunteer surgeon after joining the CDM following the February 1 coup.

Among his patients were victims of the junta’s brutal crackdowns on protesters, according to other members of Mandalay’s medical community.

Dr. Kyaw Kyaw Thet was arrested three days earlier, on July 13, when around 20 soldiers and police stormed his home in Mandalay’s Maha Aungmyay Township.

His brother was also detained at the time but was later released.

Dr. Kyaw Kyaw Thet was teaching medical students online as part of a program organized by the shadow National Unity Government (NUG). He was also providing online medical consultations for Covid-19 patients until his arrest.

Dr. Soe Thura Zaw speculated that Dr. Kyaw Kyaw Thet was targeted for his role in the NUG’s medical training program, which mainly features lectures by instructors based in the UK. The regime likely saw his involvement as a provocation, he said.

Both men are currently being held in an interrogation centre, according to family members who spoke to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity.

They added that attempts to contact them have so far been unsuccessful.

The arrests come as Myanmar is facing a major public health crisis resulting from the junta’s mismanagement of the response to the third wave of Covid-19 in the country.

On Monday, military officials pretending to be Covid-19 patients arrested three doctors who responded to a request for emergency treatment in Yangon’s North Dagon Township.

Meanwhile, doctors in Mandalay say that the junta is spreading misinformation, accusing doctors taking part in the CDM of causing more Covid-19 patients to die.

“They’re raiding oxygen plants. They’re arresting doctors. And then they say that doctors taking part in the CDM are killing patients? It doesn’t even make any sense. Doctors have been saving lives by volunteering everywhere that they can. The real killers are the military council,” said Dr. Soe Thura Zaw.

On Monday, the Mandalay Health Society released a statement condemning the arrests of doctors amid the Covid-19 crisis, demanding that they be released as soon as possible.

Around 900 CDM doctors have been treating Covid-19 patients by telephone under the NUG’s supervision, according to Dr. Zaw Wai Soe, the NUG’s health minister. Around 2,000 final-year medical students have also volunteered to assist, he said.

Batticaloa-based Tamil journalist Selvakumar Nilanthan was interrogated by Sri Lankan’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) today.

Nilanthan, who is also the secretary of the Batticaloa Tamil Journalists Association, was summoned to the Batticaloa TID this morning where his statement were taken following intense interrogation lasting around three hours. He was asked whether he had any links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and was questioned extensively about his work.

“Do you have any connection with the LTTE? Were you a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)? Were any of your relatives in the LTTE? Have you helped the LTTE? Have you got any affiliations or are you in contact with former Batticaloa political head, Thayamohan?”

“Do you run the Battinaatham or Meenagam website? How many years have you been a journalist? Which media outlets do you work for? Which international media outlets are you working for?”

The journalist was also demanded by the TID to disclose his personal and financial details. He was asked a significant amount of questions about his accounts and the passwords and told to give full access to his Facebook account, Whatsapp account, email account, bank account and other personal details.

Nilanthan was also examined extensively about his sourcing of funds:

“Do you get money from abroad? Which money comes from which country? Who is who and who sent you the money? Do you own a charitable trust?”

Following the investigation, the TID told Nilanthan that he may be expected to attend another investigation. Nilanthan, who was shaken and distressed from the investigation stated, “They robbed me of the last bit of freedom I had”.

Selvakumar Nilanthan has previously been interrogated for his coverage across the North-East. Last year, he was probed for reporting on the military-assisted Sinhala settlements on Tamil cattle farmers’ land and was also threatened and arrested for reporting on local government corruption.

Saharat Sukkhamla, a novice monk who has often attended protests, has received a summons from Pathumwan Police Station on a royal defamation charge relating to a speech he gave at a protest on 21 November 2020.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported on Monday (5 July) that Saharat received a summons on a royal defamation charge under Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code. The summons states that the complaint against him was filed by Ratthanaphak Suwannarat, and that Saharat must report to Pathumwan Police Station on 12 July at 10.00.

TLHR said that the charge was related to a speech Saharat gave at a protest organized by the students’ rights group Bad Student on 21 November 2020.

Voice TV reported that on 25 February 2021, special branch police officers tried to disrobe Saharat, claiming a consensus of the Sangha Supreme Council of Thailand, the main governing body of the Buddhist order in Thailand, and an announcement from the National Office of Buddhism. The officers claimed that Saharat’s actions insulted the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, who is the head of the order of Buddhist monks, and that he caused conflict within the order.

According to Voice TV, special branch police officers and a representative from the National Office of Buddhism were waiting for Saharat in front of his residence, and left after they were unable to find him.

At least 103 people have been charged under Section 112 in 100 cases since November 2020, 8 of whom are under 18 years old. According to TLHR, 46 of the cases resulted from complaints filed by members of the public. Saharat is apparently the first monk charged under Section 112.

Police have arrested 18 members of the Civil Society’who were protesting in Baluwatar.

During the protest, police arrested writer and campaigner Khagendra Sangraula, Narayan Wagle, Yug Pathak, Sanjeev Upreti, Archana Thapa, Sarita Pariyar, Rita Pariyar, Praneta, Bhaskar Gautam, Anubhav Ajit, Yubraj Ghimire, Sangeet, Bhawana Rawat, Nirgha Nabin, Sashi Bikram Karki, Saurabh Karki, Saurabh Neupane, Anjan Babu.

Civil leader Narayan Wagle informed that the police had arrested 18 people including him while they were preparing to protest against the government’s plan to give affiliation to a medical college belonging to a person close to the government.

They were arrested by the police while preparing to protest against the government’s preparation to affiliate the medical colleges of a person close to the government.

They are currently kept at the Metropolitan Police Circle, Kamalpokhari. DSP Khumlal Bhusal of Kamalpokhari Police Circle said that they took control of the protestors who were about to initiate a protest during the prohibition period.

The doctors and leaders of civil society have been protesting against the professorship of VC Gyanendra Giri. Initially the protest started from Dharan. According to the students and the doctors of the institute, there are financial irregularities, corruption, and political intervention in the BPKIHS's services to deteriorate. Doctors, students, and staffs protested demanding reform at the institute for the past 27 days. The chairperson of Medical and Dentistry Teachers’ Welfare Society’s Chairperson Dr. Bishnu Pokhrel had posted that there are ‘irregularities’ in the institute. The students and doctors have asked Dr, Pokhrel to submit clarification over his social media post on the ‘irregularities’ at the institute. The doctors and students have sought clarification from the VC regarding media reports related to his professorial title. They have sought details about the university providing him the title of professorship and research work (along with the digital object identifier) he carried out.

Mr. Nitin Verghese is a human right defender associated with the Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan (JADS), a tribal and Dalit Rights Collective which has been working for fourteen years in Madhya Pradesh.

On July 10, 2021, Mr. Nitin Verghese, along with eight other activists, visited the site where houses and fields of adivasis were being demolished. Upon reaching the spot, they saw four members of the affected families. Some of them were Budia wife of Lalu (40), her twelve-year-old daughter Pooja and son Ramlal along with Sheka son of Harsing. They were forcibly picked up and taken away by forest officials. When Mr. Verghese and others complained about this to the Deputy Forest Officer (DFO) Mr. Charan Singh, who was at the spot, they were also picked up and their phones snatched. The actions of the DFO are consistent with abduction, absolute disregard to the laws and rules to be followed in case of arrests. There is no official information confirming the place of detention, condition of detention, calls to relatives or colleagues of the HRDs and any communication with the legal services authorities. Even if Mr. Verghese and the other HRDs are to be placed under arrest, none of the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court with regards to the arrest have been followed. These guidelines are also a part of ‘The Wildlife Crime Investigation Handbook’ of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, which are applicable to forest officials. The Wildlife Crime Investigation Handbook states that the proceedings of the arrest should be recorded on an Arrest cum Personal Search Memo and the reasons for the

arrest should be mentioned in the Memo. All pages of the Arrest cum Personal Search Memo should be signed by the accused, the independent witnesses and the investigating officer or the officer making the arrest. Left hand thumb impression of the accused is also to be obtained on the last page of the Arrest cum Personal Search Memo. Copy of the same should be supplied to the accused under acknowledgment. It states that preferably the arrests should be made “in the presence of a relative or well-wisher of the accused or in the presence of two independent witnesses.” Furthermore, it states that intimation of arrest should be given immediately to a family member/relative/well-wisher of the accused, which has been suggested by the accused and also to the jurisdictional police station. If the intimation is given telephonically, the same should be confirmed in writing at the earliest.

On July 10, police in the northeast district of Thakurgaon opened Digital Security Act investigations into the three journalists, according to news reports and a police report, which CPJ reviewed.

Authorities are investigating Tanu, the Thakurgaon district correspondent for the news websites Jago News and Daily Ittefaq and the privately owned broadcaster Independent Television; Shuvo, a correspondent for the news website NewsBangla24.com; and Litu, a correspondent for the news websites Jugantor and Bangladesh Pratidin and the privately owned broadcaster News 24, according to those sources.

On the night of July 10, police arrested Tanu when he went to the local Sadar police station to inquire about the investigation; they then transferred him to the Sadar Hospital yesterday morning for treatment for respiratory issues, and released him on bail later that day, those reports said. Police handcuffed Tanu to a hospital bed while he received treatment, according to those reports.

Shuvo told CPJ via messaging app that he and Litu have not been arrested as of today.

“Bangladesh authorities should drop their Digital Security Act investigations into journalists Tanvir Hasan Tanu, Rahim Shuvo, and Abdul Latif Litu immediately,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “The Bangladesh government must repeal the act, cease harassing journalists, and allow them to do their jobs, which are a public service, not a crime.”

The investigations stem from a complaint filed by Nadirul Aziz Chapal, the superintendent of the Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital, who alleged that the journalists published reports about the hospital intended to defame and spread enmity and hatred, according to a copy of his complaint, which CPJ reviewed. CPJ called and texted Chapal for comment, but he did not reply.

The complaint referenced a July 5 article by Tanu in Jago News; a July 8 article by Shuvo in NewsBangla24.com; and a July 7 article in Jugantor, published anonymously, which Chapal alleges Litu authored. All three articles detailed allegations that Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital provided sub-standard food to COVID-19 patients.

Police are investigating the three journalists under sections of the Digital Security Act pertaining to the publication of offensive, false, or threatening information; propaganda; defamatory information; information that creates enmity, hatred, or hostility among different classes or communities; and abetment of an offense, according to the police report.

Each of those counts can carry maximum prison sentences ranging from three years to five years and maximum fines ranging from 300,000 taka ($3,540) to 500,000 taka ($5,900).

Aung Mya Than, a reporter for the Ayeyarwady Times, was arrested at 11:00pm on July 10 at his home in Maubin following his reporting of a bombing by unidentified perpetrators in his home town. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the military junta’s continuous abuse of the media and calls on the military to release Than immediately.

Than was one of 14 journalists released on June 30 from detention across Myanmar. He was arrested on May 25 on charges under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code and held for 36 days. He is currently being held at the Maubin City Police State, according to the Ayeyarwady Times’ editor-in-chief, Salai Thant Sin.

On the morning of his arrest on June 10, Than was reporting on a bombing by unidentified perpetrators in Maubin.

It is unclear when Than was released from detention and whether the Section 505(a) charges against him were officially dropped. Radio Free Asia reports that 26 reporters are currently in hiding due to warrants being put out for their arrest. Many others have been forced to leave their homes and seek asylum with friends or family because the military have allegedly raided their homes.

Section 505(a) of the Penal Code is a broad and vague law that effectively allows the military to arrest journalists for doing their jobs. The law criminalises all attempts to “hinder, disturb, damage the motivation, discipline, health and conduct of the military personnel and government employees” and these subjective phrases can and have been used to quell dissent during Myanmar’s civil war.

Since the start of the military coup in February 2021, 89 domestic and international reporters have been arrested and 37 are still detained, according to Reporting ASEAN. Out of the all the arrests, 28 of them have been charged under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code. The media have been explicitly targeted by the military junta for reporting on the frontlines throughout the coup.

On July 9, the People’s Court of Hanoi found political blogger Pham Chi Thanh (aka Pham Thanh) guilty of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of Vietnam’s Criminal Code for his online posts criticizing the country’s authoritarian regime.

After two and half hours, the first-instance hearing ended with the final judgment of five and half years imprisonment followed by five years of probation, his lawyer Ha Huy Son said on his Facebook page.

According to the indictment, Mr. Thanh’s writing including a book titled Thế thiên hành đạo hay Đại nghịch bất đạo (Holder of Mandate of Heaven or Great Immoral Traitor) and other posts on his blog Bà Đầm Xoè contains the information defaming the authoritarian regime’s leaders and distorting the regime’s policies.

In his defense statement, lawyer Son pointed out a number of shortcomings of the state agencies involved in the case, including the Hanoi City’s Department of Information and Communication which verificated the content of Mr. Thanh’s writing. However, the judge did not pay attention to the lawyer’s defense statement.

Mr. Thanh is a retired reporter and editor of the state-controlled Voice of Vietnam Radio (VOV). He has written several books critical of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam and its leaders, including late President Ho Chi Minh and incumbent General Secretary cum President Nguyen Phu Trong. His posts on his blog Bà Đầm Xoè are mainly critical of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam and its leader Trong. His latest book Holder of Mandate of Heaven or Great Immoral Traitor talked about activities of incumbent General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam, which according to the author are harmful for the nation and beneficial for the red China.

On his blog Bà Đầm Xoè, Thanh also posted his writings on politics and social issues, including China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and the weak response of the Vietnamese Communist regime, systemic corruption, widespread environmental pollution, human rights violations, etc.

His arrest on May 21 last year is part of Vietnam’s intensified crackdown on local dissent before and after the 13th National Congress of the ruling party.

One day before the trial, the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement calling on Vietnam’s authoritarian state to release Mr. Thanh immediately and unconditionally since Mr. Thanh peacefully exercised his right to freedom of expression.

Mr. Thanh is the 17th activist being sentenced in 2021, according to Defend the Defenders’ statistics. Among others are President Pham Chi Dung and Vice President Nguyen Tuong Thuy of the unregistered professional group Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam who were also convicted of “conducting anti-state propaganda” and sentenced to 15 years and 11 years in prison, respectively.

According to Amnesty International, Vietnam is the largest jailer of prisoners of conscience with 170 activists being jailed while the latest statistics of Defend the Defenders shows that Hanoi is holding at least 258 prisoners of conscience. Reporters Without Borders regularly ranks Vietnam among the worst five countries on press freedom withhigh number of jailed bloggers. Vietnam’s communist government always denies it has any prisoners of conscience, saying it imprisons only law violators.

A five-year-old girl whose father helped organize protests against Myanmar’s junta was forced to endure stress positions during more than two weeks in detention, according to her father, making her what observers say was the country’s youngest known political prisoner under the military regime that seized power in February.

On June 13, security forces in Mandalay region raided the home of Soe Htay, a local activist who had led demonstrations in Mogok city against the junta following its Feb. 1 takeover of Myanmar’s democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government.

Soe Htay had already gone into hiding with his two sons, and when authorities failed to locate him, they arrested his wife Nan Kyi Kyi Khine and their daughters Theint Sandi Soe, a 17-year-old third-year law student, and Su Htet Waing, a five-year-old girl. Arresting relatives of wanted protesters has been a common practice.

The protests Soe Htay had organized in Mogok were part of a nationwide backlash against the military following its coup, which it said was necessary because the NLD’s landslide victory in the country’s November 2020 elections was the result of widespread voter fraud. Regime leaders have yet to produce any evidence of their claims, while soldiers have violently cracked down on the demonstrations.

According to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), the military has killed 898 people and arrested 5,127 in connection with the anti-junta protests. Of those, 2,269—including Su Htet Waing—were freed from prisons across the country as part of a general amnesty on June 30, although observers say the release was little more than a stunt by the military to gain international recognition.

Soe Htay, who was reunited with Su Htet Waing and remains in hiding, recently told RFA’s Myanmar Service that his daughter was left “traumatized” because of the poor treatment she was subjected to during her 18 days in detention.

He said Su Htet Waing told him that she and others were regularly forced to assume the “ponzan” posture—a half-sitting, half-standing stress position—during roll call, and that she “hated the people” who ordered her to do it.

Su Htet Waing “knows nothing about politics” and had only called for the release of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with several other party officials shortly after the military takeover, Soe Htay said.

“She doesn’t understand the politics we were discussing,” the NLD member and leader of the Mogok Township Peace and Open Society told RFA.

Soe Htay said he recently learned from staff at the Mogok Prison that his older daughter is enduring “serious health problems” while she remains in detention. He said that he has had no direct contact with his family members since the day of their arrest.

“My eldest daughter was on medication, suffering from rheumatism when she was arrested. On the day of her arrest, she was taken away with the only clothing she had on, and she didn’t have any of her medicine,” he said.

“She had to kneel down, handcuffed, on the concrete floor for two or three hours during questioning … and now she is in critical condition, according to what a friend in the prison told me.”

Attempts by RFA to contact junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun for comment on the arrest of Soe Htay’s family members went unanswered Friday.

Su Htet Waing reunites with her father, Soe Htay, following her release from detention, June 30, 2021. Family photo Su Htet Waing reunites with her father, Soe Htay, following her release from detention, June 30, 2021. Family photo

‘Illegal’ detention Speaking to RFA this week, lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said arresting a five-year-old is “illegal.”

“Even if children under the age of 18 commit crimes, they are not allowed to go to jail. They are not allowed to be held behind bars,” he said.

“Arresting a five-year-old is totally unlawful. It’s a violation of human rights, too. There is nothing this military regime wouldn’t hesitate to do if their hold on power was threatened. Not even children will be spared.”

Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe, Minister for Women, Youth and Children for Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG), said Su Htet Waing will be recorded as the youngest political prisoner under the military regime.

“Such arrests constitute war crimes and those responsible must be held accountable,” she said.

“This arrest and detention are a violation of childrens’ rights and the law. The child is too young and can be left deeply traumatized. We are working with professional counselors.”

Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe also condemned what she called “hostage-taking” by the junta, adding that by NUG’s count there are around 80 minors currently in detention.

Soe Htay told RFA he is determined to fight to the end against the military, even though his family has been arrested.

“I am determined to root out this dictatorship,” he said.

“I see the suffering of my daughters and wife as a sacrifice to this revolution. It is from these feelings that I get the strength to fight for a speedy end to the revolution.”

Reporter with an online television, Hello Nepal, Milan KC was thrashed by police persons in Chitwan on July 8. Chitwan lies in the Bagmati Province of Nepal.

According to reporter KC, he was attacked while reporting a protest staged by the family members of a local Sujita Bhandari whose dead body was found in a forest some days back. They have been demanding fair investigation of the murder of Bhandari.

"While I was taking video of the police taming the protestors, one of the police persons baton-charged me. He did not stop even after I showed my identity card", said reporter KC.

KC sustained deep injury on his legs and his camera was damaged in the incident.

"One of the senior officials has, however, assured me of providing compensation to repair my camera", he shared.

Freedom Forum condemns the incident because it is sheer violation of press freedom and freedom of expression. The police must stop such atrocity on media persons who are bringing news to the public despite adversity caused by COVID-19. FF strongly urges the high level of Nepal Police to investigate the incident and take action against the police persons beating journalists.

The Chinese social media platform WeChat has deleted dozens of accounts belonging to LGBTQ+ groups at universities in recent days, social media posts have revealed.

Screenshots of notices sent to the holders of the deleted accounts said they had broken laws and regulations governing online content, amid concerns that the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is now targeting gay content and activism.

Many of the accounts were deleted at around the same time on Tuesday evening, Reuters quoted one of the account-holders as saying.

Some of the accounts had disappeared by Wednesday, while others carried notices that they had been suspended due to regulatory violations.

Others were renamed "Unnamed Official Account."

An online post titled "Tonight, we are all unnamed official accounts" listed some of the affected groups, which included ColorsWorld at Peking University, Purple at Tsinghua University and RUC Sex and Gender Research Group at Renmin University.

Similar groups at Shanghai's Fudan University, Wuhan University, and Nanjing University also had their accounts shut down.

The move by censors comes after the cancelation of Shanghai's decade-old Pride event in 2020. The organizers, ShanghaiPRIDE, gave no reason for the decision, but local activists said the group had likely come under political pressure from the authorities.

The organization had previously been legally permitted to run the event by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

But ShanghaiPRIDE had also been involved in ongoing civil society activities in support of the LGBTQ community in China, including running seminars for the parents of LGBTQ people.

Activists said at the time that the cancellation of Shanghai Pride likely meant all LGBTQ+ groups would be affected.

The organizers of a planned LGBTQ+ conference in the northern city of Xian were forced to cancel in 2017 after official pressure.

Crackdowns by government censors

Government censors have since carried out a number of crackdowns on LGBTQ representation on social media, in books, comics, TV, and film.

In 2020, education authorities in Jinan, provincial capital of Shandong province, called for the "strengthening of political and ideological education" for students of foreign-invested schools, at both primary and secondary level.

The guidance was to include the view of homosexuality as "corrupt behavior imported from the West [that is] inconsistent with core socialist values."

Activists said the crackdown stemmed in part from a conservative attitude to sexuality under the indefinite rule of CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, and partly from a fear that civil organizations are a threat to party rule.

Homosexuality was decriminalized in China in 1997, and removed from official psychiatric diagnostic manuals in 2001.

More and more highly educated urban Chinese have begun coming out in recent years, and while some find acceptance among their peers, social attitudes still strongly favor heterosexual marriage and children.

How many Chinese identify as LGBTQ+ is unknown. The country’s health and family planning ministry has estimated that there are between five and 10 million gay men in China, but activists say the actual number is far higher.

LGBTQ activists say there have been a growing number of anti-discrimination lawsuits filed by the community in China since around 2010, as well as some rare though unsuccessful bids to register same-sex marriages.

A small-scale demonstration in Kazakhstan's largest city to protest rising prices and growing Chinese influence has ended in skirmishes with police.

The unsanctioned demonstration in central Almaty on July 6 was organized by Zhanbolat Mamai, the leader of a group seeking to create the opposition Democratic Party.

Several dozen supporters came out in support of Mamai as they chanted for Nursultan Nazarbaev, the former authoritarian president who is still considered to rule the country from behind the scenes, to "leave."

The protest coincided with Capital Day, a holiday that lands on the birthday of Nazarbaev, who turned 81.

Mamai claimed that prices for necessary household goods are rising faster than the official inflation data and accused the government of deepening the country's dependence on China.

Police called on the protesters to end the unsanctioned rally and blocked their movement, resulting in skirmishes. A few people received minor injuries and at least three were detained, according to Mamai's wife, Inga Imanbai.

Mamai, who was convicted on money-laundering charges that he and his supporters say were politically motivated, has organized demonstrations in the past and been detained.

The activist has been trying to create the Democratic Party, but claims he is being foiled by the government, which he says only permits loyal parties to form.

His Democratic Party was legally registered by the Justice Ministry in December 2020, but the group was unable to hold a congress in February because party activists had been arrested and detained.

Kazakh law requires that a party's founding congress be attended by at least 1,000 people.

Kazakhstan has been run along an authoritarian line by Nazarbaev and his successor, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, since gaining its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

During their rule many opposition figures have been jailed or forced to flee the country.

Vietnam’s authoritarian regime continues its crackdown on the local dissent even after the country’s new leadership for the next five years has been formed and the latest victim is former prisoner of conscience and democracy campaigner Do Nam Trung.

According to his girlfriend, Mr. Trung was caught by security officers of Nam Dinh province when he was on his way to a workplace in the morning of July 6. Later, police used his keys to break into his rent apartment in Hanoi which he shares with his girlfriend when she was sleeping. She reported on Facebook that around 20 police officers broke into their private residence, conducting house searches and confiscating some personal items.

Like in other political cases, Mr. Trung will be held incommunicado for at least four months. During the investigation period which may last two years or longer, he will not be permitted to meet with lawyers or his relatives.

According to the police notice, the 40-year-old human rights advocate and democracy campaigner is charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code with potential imprisonment between seven years and 12 years, even to 20 years in prison.

Trung is among active participants in peaceful demonstrations in Hanoi in the last decade to protest China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and demand human rights and multi-party democracy in the Southeast Asian country.

In 2014, while visiting southern provinces during the anti-China demonstration wave, Trung and two other activists was arrested and charged with “causing public disorder.” Later, he was convicted and sentenced to 14 months in prison.

Trung is a member of Brotherhood for Democracy, an organization co-founded by prominent human rights activist Nguyen Van Dai, who was forced to live in exile in Germany in 2018 after being sentenced to 15 years in prison. The organization was the main target of the persecution of the authoritarian regime in 2015-2020, with a dozen of key members being arrested and convicted of subversion and later were sentenced to between seven and 15 years in prison.

In the past few years, Trung was under constant harassment of security forces both in Hanoi and his home province of Nam Dinh.

Trung has been the 18th activist being arrested since the beginning of this year. Seven of them, including prominent human rights advocate Nguyen Thuy Hanh, were charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda.” The remaining 11 were alleged of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the Criminal Code, with potential imprisonment up to seven years.

According to Defend the Defenders’ latest statistics, Vietnam is holding at least 259 prisoners of conscience. Hanoi always denies holding prisoners of conscience but only law violators.

The Sadar Bazar police in Shahjahanpur have registered an FIR against Newslaundry journalist Nidhi Suresh pursuant to a defamation complaint filed by journalist Deep Srivastava. The FIR was filed at 3.43 pm on July 4.

Srivastava filed his complaint on grounds of defamation. The Uttar Pradesh police accepted it and filed an FIR under Sections 500 and 501 of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR was filed on the basis of a tweet by Suresh; it does not clarify which tweet.

It should be noted that the Supreme Court of India has held that for criminal defamation, the complainant must file a complaint before a magistrate under Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure as the said offences under Section 500 and 501 of the Indian Penal Code are non-cognizable.

At 11.07 am on July 5, Suresh received a phone call from the investigating officer (without any formal notice) asking her to record a statement in Shahjahanpur on the basis of the FIR.

She received a second phone call at 6.05 pm the same day, asking that she “go to the station personally and give a written and oral statement”. When she said she was in Delhi, not Uttar Pradesh, the officer said, “You need to be here in person.”

On July 1, Suresh had reported on a woman named Ayesha Alvi who had petitioned the Delhi High Court on being “harassed” by the media after she converted to Islam. In her petition, Alvi had mentioned receiving a call from a mobile number and the caller “threatened that he will publish the news about my conversion and that I would get arrested and he demanded money from me and when we denied he threatened again. Thereafter he forcefully took 20 thousand rupees from us”.

This information reported by Suresh was in the public domain.

In her report, Suresh said that she called the number and the person “identified himself as Deep Srivastava, reporter at News18”.

The report said that Srivastava “told Newslaundry there was ‘no truth’ in the claim that he had extorted money from Ayesha. When asked if Ayesha had initially refused to give him a video statement, Srivastava said, ‘I can’t talk about this over the phone.’ He then cut the call.”

On July 3, the police headquarters of the Kashmir zone issued a legal notice to Varadarajan, editor-in-chief of the independent news website The Wire, indicating that police were considering legal action against the outlet for allegedly “propagating concocted stories” and “rumor mongering,” and requesting Varadarajan’s response to those allegations within one week, according to a copy of the order, which CPJ reviewed, and Varadarajan, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

The police document cites a June 7 article regarding the killing of a Kashmiri resident in police custody, and a June 28 article on the killing of a police officer in the region’s Pulwama district. Varadarajan told CPJ that The Wire stood by both stories.

“Jammu and Kashmir authorities’ notice threatening legal action against journalist Siddarth Varadarajan only adds to the ongoing targeted harassment of The Wire in obvious retaliation for its critical reporting,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “Authorities should immediately withdraw the notice and allow The Wire and all media outlets to report freely on issues of public interest.”

Rohit Kansal, a Jammu and Kashmir government spokesperson, did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment sent via messaging app. CPJ also emailed Kashmir Police Inspector-General Vijay Kumar for comment, but did not receive any reply.

Last month, police in the state of Uttar Pradesh opened a criminal investigation into The Wire and three other journalists for allegedly sharing an unverified video that could cause social unrest, as CPJ documented at the time.

Previously, in April 2020, Uttar Pradesh police filed a criminal complaint against Varadarajan for allegedly spreading discord, enmity, and rumors during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Politicians and journalists on Sunday criticised the summons notice issued to anchorperson Nadeem Malik by the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Counter-Terrorism Wing to appear before it and cooperate in the case regarding the video scandal of former accountability court judge Arshad Malik.

According to the notice dated July 2, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the FIA has summoned the anchorperson under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code. "Please refer to your 'Nadeem Malik Live Programme' on Samaa News dated April 28, 2021, [that] revealed that you have important information which can be relevant for the agency to further investigate the above mentioned case and to link some relevant persons with this case," said the notice.

Malik was requested to appear at the FIA's headquarters on July 6 with "all relevant information, documents and evidence."

In the aforementioned programme, Malik said he was informed by two individuals, part of the FIA team investigating Judge Malik, that "the other party" — declining to identify it — had found an old objectionable video of the judge. The unidentified persons had summoned the judge and told him that the video would "come out in public view" if he didn't give a favourable decision in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference.

"Judge Arshad Malik then went and announced the decision and Nawaz Sharif was disqualified," the anchorperson had said, adding that he was quoting verbatim what he had been told by the sources. He had also said that he could not divulge on-air the full details that had been shared with him since they involved certain individuals from "very powerful institutions".

Reacting to news of the notice, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal "strongly" condemned it and hailed Malik as "one of the most professional journalists of Pakistan."

PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb said the notice was "highly condemnable and is yet more proof that this fascist regime won’t rest till the little remaining space for freedom of speech is eliminated", calling for the FIA to "immediately withdraw" it.

"FIA’s notice to Nadeem Malik, a reputable journalist, for personal appearance before the agency over his remarks on the notorious Arshad Malik case, is the latest example of unfolding fascism," said journalist Syed Talat Hussain. He claimed that the media was facing a "total assault".

Columnist and journalist Ansar Abbasi also praised Malik as an "honourable journalist" and said he became the "latest victim of [the] FIA’s misadventures against [the] media."

Meanwhile, Murtaza Solangi, executive editor of Nayadaur Media, called on Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah to take suo moto notice of the incident and summon the FIA officials for their "continued and consistent harassment of journalists".

Earlier this week, Justice Minallah, while hearing petitions filed against ongoing inquiries by the FIA’s cybercrime wing against journalists Bilal Ghauri, Asad Toor and others, had warned the investigation agency to exercise its powers judiciously or else the court would impose heavy cost on the officers for misuse of authority.

When the chief justice inquired from the FIA cybercrime wing’s director Babar Bakhat Qureshi about the number of pending complaints, Qureshi informed the court that they were in the thousands. The chief justice then asked him why the FIA was giving the impression that it was proceeding against only journalists.

“You need to dispel this impression, since crushing the dissenting voices is against the Islamic injunctions and norms of civilised society,” he had remarked. What is the Arshad Malik case?

In December 2018, Judge Malik had convicted Nawaz in the Al-Azizia reference, sentencing him to seven years in jail. However, he had acquitted the former prime minister in the Flagship reference.

In July 2020, after a year-long inquiry, the Lahore High Court’s administration committee had removed Malik from service on charges of misconduct relating to a video scandal that broke in 2019, and which sent ripples through political and legal circles.

The scandal was brought to the limelight by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, who had at the time come forward with video clips purportedly showing Malik confessing that he had been “pressured and blackmailed” to convict Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia corruption reference.

The former judge passed away in December 2020 after contracting the coronavirus.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the immediate release of Mai Phan Loi, a Vietnamese journalist who once ran an official law magazine but who, for the past five years, has provided his fellow citizens with reliable, independent information about economic, social and environmental issues. All charges against him must be dropped, RSF said. Hanoi police officially announced the investigation against Mai Phan Loi on 2 July, one week after he was initially arrested on 24 June, on a warrant with the extremely vague charge of “tax evasion,” which carries a possible seven-year prison sentence under article 200 of the penal code. It did not specify the nature of the alleged crimes or the amount supposedly evaded.

Loi made a name for himself in the Vietnamese blogosphere thanks above all to a series of interviews he conducted with experts on economic, social and environmental issues in Vietnam. Before that, he was the deputy editor of Phap Luat (The Law), a state-controlled magazine covering legal issues.

The authorities refused to renew Loi’s press card five years ago after he investigated the mysterious circumstances in which CASA 8983, a Vietnamese air force reconnaissance plane, disappeared in June 2016.

“We are not fooled by the tax fraud accusation brought against Mai Phan Loi,” said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk. “Everything indicates that it is just a pretext to silence a journalist who tried to do his job to inform his fellow citizens properly. We demand his immediate release and the withdrawal of this clearly trumped-up charge.”

Editorial freedom

The same charge of tax evasion was also used to arrest another expert on legal issues, Dang Dinh Bach, on the same day as Loi’s arrest.

As well as a journalist, Loi also made a name for himself as a defender of editorial freedom in the Vietnamese media. It was as such that he was included in a group of six civil society representatives who met then US President Barack Obama during Obama’s visit to Hanoi in May 2016.

Loi joins the growing list of Vietnamese journalists who began working for the state media and were arrested after later choosing to work freely and independently. The victims of the wave of arrests of such journalists, which began more than a year ago, include Pham Doan Trang, a recipient of the RSF Press Freedom Prize in 2019.

Vietnam is ranked 175th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2021 World Press Freedom Index.

The Government of Malaysia must end its intimidation of artists and human rights defenders and protect the freedom of expression, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) said in a statement today.

On 2 July 2021, filmmaker Anna Har and cartoonist Amin Landak were questioned over an animated short film titled ‘Chili Powder and Thinner’, produced by the Freedom film Network (FFN), of which Anna Har is co-founder. The film depicts police brutality and torture in police custody in Malaysia.

Shortly after questioning, the police raided the FFN office and the home of Amin Landak,[1] confiscating desktop computers, a router and a laptop from Amin Landak’s house. They had earlier taken possession of Anna Har and Amin Landak’s mobile phones. The police also raided the office of human rights organisation and FORUM-ASIA member Pusat Komas, which shares an office with FFN, and seized a modem and router.

The two are being investigated under Section 500 for defamation; Section 505 (b) of the same code which makes it a criminal offence for ‘whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquility’; and Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act (CMA) for improper use of network facilities or network service.

‘These laws are a part of a slew of repressive legislation frequently used to restrict the freedom of expression and information. These laws have also been increasingly used to intimidate critics and human rights defenders in Malaysia. The investigation of Anna and Amin, along with the police raids on FFN, Pusat Komas and on Amin’s home are clear forms of intimidation and harassment. Amidst a deteriorating civic space in Malaysia occurring at an alarming rate, these actions send a chilling message that anyone seeking to question the police will face reprisals,’ said Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.

Allegations of the use of torture in detention by police are rife in Malaysia. A report by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia noted that at least 10 percent of detainees interviewed alleged that they had witnessed, heard or been victims of torture or other types of violence.[2]

Human rights organisation and FORUM-ASIA member Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), the co-creator of ‘Chili Powder and Thinner’, has documented allegations from detainees who had suffered beatings, sexual assault, solitary confinement and other forms of cruel and inhumane treatment.[3]

Malaysian civil society organisations have also long called on the government to establish an independent commission to investigate cases of police misconduct including abuse and torture in police custody, to no avail.

‘Instead of addressing these grave allegations and taking steps towards holding perpetrators accountable, the government has instead chosen to crack down on defenders and artists who have spoken out. Laws such as the CMA and Sections 500 and 505 of the Penal Code criminalise expression, silence victims and reinforce a culture of impunity where acts such as police brutality remain unpunished,’ said Shamini.

FORUM-ASIA calls for the repeal of repressive legislation, and for the government to end the intimidation of artists and human rights defenders.

‘We condemn the government’s harassment and intimidation against the Freedom Film Network and its artists. We stand in solidarity with them and all human rights defenders who have continued to find ways to raise human rights violations despite an increasingly repressive environment in Malaysia. They amplify the voices of the most vulnerable, and ensure victims of State violations are not forgotten,’ Shamini said.

An independent Vietnamese journalist hunted by police for online writings called “anti-State” by authorities has been arrested after evading capture for more than a month, RFA has learned.

Le Van Dung, also known as Le Dung Vova, was taken into custody on Thursday by Hanoi police, state media reports said on July 1, adding that Dung had not resisted arrest and had shown a “cooperative attitude” when taken by police.

Speaking to RFA, Dung’s wife Bui Thi Hue confirmed news of Dung’s arrest, saying she had been informed of his capture by an acquaintance.

“I received the news from someone I know that my husband was arrested this morning,” Hue said. “They only told me about the arrest, though, and did not say they had seen it happen with their own eyes. I am just saying what I was told.”

Dung, also known as Le Dung Vova—owner of the Facebook-based online CHTV news channel—was away from home when police tried on May 25 to place him under arrest on charges under Article 117 of Vietnam’s Penal Code for reporting on corruption, land disputes, and other issues deemed politically sensitive by authorities.

Unable to arrest Dung, police left instead with a laptop computer and two mobile phones belonging to his wife Bui Thi Hue, Hue told RFA’s Vietnamese Service on May 25. Vietnamese authorities later issued a special warrant calling for Dung’s arrest, placing notices in major media outlets around the country.

Article 117 of Vietnam’s Penal Code imposes penalties for “creating, storing, and disseminating information, documents, items, and publications opposing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” and is frequently used by authorities to stifle peaceful critics of the country’s one-party communist state.

Harsh forms of persecution

With Vietnam’s media all following Communist Party orders, “the only sources of independently-reported information are bloggers and independent journalists, who are being subjected to ever-harsher forms of persecution,” the press freedoms watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says in its 2021 Press Freedoms Index.

Measures taken against them now include assaults by plainclothes police, RSF said in its report, which placed Vietnam at 175 out of 180 countries surveyed worldwide, a ranking unchanged from last year.

“To justify jailing them, the Party resorts to the criminal codes, especially three articles under which ‘activities aimed at overthrowing the government,’ ‘anti-state propaganda’ and ‘abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to threaten the interests of the state’ are punishable by long prison terms,” the rights group said.

Vietnam’s already low tolerance of dissent deteriorated sharply last year with a spate of arrests of independent journalists, publishers, and Facebook personalities as authorities continued to stifle critics in the run-up to the ruling Communist Party Congress in January. But arrests continue in 2021.

Photojournalist Nimesh Jung Rai associated with www.nepallive.com- a news portal- was attacked by the police persons in the federal capital, Kathmandu, on July 3.

Rai was taking photographs of the torch rally organized by the agitated student wings of five major opposition political parties. The torch rally was begun from Minbhawan, Kathmandu.

As the rally moved toward the main road, the police began thrashing the protestors and also baton-charged the photojournalist Rai. Rai was beaten while he was shooting the protest.

Rai informed, “Although I produced my Press ID Card and showed camera, the police persons continued beating me.” He got injury on his knee with baton-charge.

Freedom Forum condemns the attack on photojournalist Rai. It is sheer violation of press freedom. The security persons must respect journalists’ right to free reporting. Suppressing journalists is the suppression of information and press freedom, which is not acceptable in democracy. The high authority of Nepal Police should instruct the lower level staffs on how they could respect journalists and separate journalists while taking control the protest.

One year after China imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong, police locked down Victoria Park, a former site of mass protest rallies and marches, and cordoned off downtown streets, while supporters of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hung flags along the streets and sang revolutionary songs.

Dozens of police in Causeway Bay surrounded and arrested veteran protester Alexandra Wong, a frequent participant in the 2019 protest movement, for waving a British flag, photos posted to social media showed.

A young boy was also chased by officers through the Fashion Walk mall before being dragged aboard a police vehicle, photos posted to Twitter on the 24th anniversary of the 1997 handover to Chinese rule showed.

Bystanders said he had apparently been targeted for carrying a bag that was yellow, the color used by the pro-democracy movement and two mass protest movements since 2014.

Police also arrested three activists from the group Student Politicism in Mong Kok at around 5.00 p.m. local time, on suspicion of "distributing seditious publications," according to a police statement and social media reports.

And barrister Chow Hang-tung, who heads a group that once organized an annual candlelight vigil marking the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen massacre, was rearrested on suspicion of "inciting others to participate in an unauthorized assembly" under public order laws.

Hundreds of police took to the streets of Causeway Bay, arresting 19 people on suspicion of offenses that included "disorderly conduct," failing to heed police warnings, and "desecrating the national flag."

They also handed out 19 fixed penalties for breaches of a ban on gatherings linked to coronavirus restrictions.

Two women who were fined said they had only been in a group of two, when the maximum number allowed is four.

"We don't know how this happened. They pulled us to one side and said we had violated the gathering restriction order," a woman surnamed Ng told RFA. "There were just the two of us, nobody else."

"I don't know what the Hong Kong government is turning into."

Her friend, surnamed Lee, said she had been hit with a H.K.$5,000 fine "for no reason."

"We just came out to go shopping," she said. "I work hard as a cleaner and they just fine me H.K.$5,000 for no reason."

Protesters turn out in small groups

Despite a police ban on what had been an annual mass protest march on July 1, people turned out in small groups to chant slogans and wave flags and protest banners, police said in a statement on their Facebook page.

Later in the evening, a man allegedly stabbed a police officer in the district at around 10.00 p.m., the police said.

"The officer sustained injuries to the left side of his back and was sent to hospital for treatment, while the assailant was subdued on the spot," the statement said.

Rights groups hit out at the rapid deterioration of human rights protections since the national security law was imposed on Hong Kong by China's National People's Congress (NPC) standing committee.

Chinese and Hong Kong officials have said the law was needed to deal with an attempt by foreign powers to foment a "color revolution" in Hong Kong, a reference to the 2019 protest movement that began as mass, peaceful opposition to plans to allow extradition to mainland China.

But its sweeping provisions allowed China's feared state security police to set up a headquarters in Hong Kong, granted sweeping powers to police to search private property and require the deletion of public content, and criminalized criticism of the city government and the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Dozens awaiting trial

Dozens of opposition lawmakers are awaiting trial for subversion for taking part in a democratic primary, while at least seven journalists have been arrested for "colluding with a foreign power" in connection with opinion pieces in the Apple Daily newspaper, which was forced to close after its assets were frozen in a raid by national security police on June 17.

"Since the law has gone into effect, [the] authorities have used it to drastically curtail freedom of expression and other human rights far beyond what international human rights law permits," the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network said in a joint statement with other rights groups.

"The Hong Kong government has accused the [Apple Daily] of publishing approximately 100 videos or articles that are suspected of violating the National Security Law while refusing to specify which videos and articles," it said.

Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai is currently serving a 14-month sentence for participating in pro-democracy protests in August 2019 while awaiting trial for "colluding with a foreign power" under the national security law.

"Shutting down the city’s most popular Chinese language newspaper and detaining its staff is the most obvious and emblematic violation of the right to freedom of expression in Hong Kong today," CHRD said in the statement, that was signed by Safeguard Defenders and Humanitarian China, among other groups.

It also cited the government's assertion of editorial control over public broadcaster RTHK, where a number of prominent journalists have been fired or sanctioned for producing content critical of the authorities.

The groups also cited constraints on academic freedom at Hong Kong's universities, with events canceled, debates modified, and lecturers reported by student informants over potential violations of the law.

Targeting the opposition

Eric Lai, research fellow at the University of Georgetown law school, said it was clear that the government is using the law to target the political opposition, with the majority of arrests under the law being of opposition politicians.

He said the refusal to release national security suspects on bail had interfered with the presumption of innocence that was previously a feature of Hong Kong's common law jurisdiction.

"We can't see any sign that they are presuming innocence, because a large proportion of defendants aren't being released on bail," he said.

"They have also changed the trial system by abolishing jury trials [in national security cases]," Lai told RFA. "The point of a jury trial ... is to make the trial more fair and open, but they are taking the opposite approach."

Police in the southern Kazakh city of Shymkent have detained more than a dozen activists, including three who have been on a hunger strike for weeks to push for the release of political prisoners.

Some 50 men in civilian clothes surrounded three hunger strikers and more than a dozen of their supporters on July 1 in front of the Shymkent city administration's headquarters and forcibly took them to a police station.

The chief of the city police department's anti-extremism desk, Ernar Altaev, who was at the site, refused to explain to RFE/RL why the group, which was also protesting court decisions to ban two political movements, was detained.

Two masked men at the site opened umbrellas with which they tried to block the cameras of RFE/RL reporters from recording the detentions, a method previously used by unknown individuals apparently associated with local authorities in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.

Dozens of activists have been on hunger strike since June 19 in several cities in the Central Asian nation, including Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Oral, Oskemen, and Shymkent. They have been demanding the cancellation of court decisions to label as extremist and ban the unregistered opposition Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement and the associated Koshe (Street) party.

Several activists in Kazakhstan have been handed prison sentences or parole-like sentences in recent years for their support or involvement in the activities of the DVK and Koshe, as well as for taking part in unsanctioned rallies organized by the two groups.

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

Human rights groups have said Kazakhstan’s law on public gatherings contradicts international standards as it requires preliminary permission from the authorities to hold rallies and envisions prosecution for organizing and participating in unsanctioned rallies, even though the nation’s constitution guarantees its citizens the right of free assembly.

Police in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, have detained several activists who have been involved in ongoing pickets in front of the Chinese Consulate to demand the release of their relatives held in China's Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Baqyt Sembai, a wife of one of the protesters, told RFE/RL that police arrested her husband and his mother while they were at home on July 1.

Baibolat Kunbolat, Sembai's husband, had been released from jail two days earlier after being detained for filming a rally in front of the Chinese Embassy. He was sentenced to 15 days in jail after a court in Almaty found him guilty of "organizing an unsanctioned rally."

A court reduced his sentence by half after dozens of people protested his imprisonment.

Nurgul Ibraeva, the wife of the leader of the Real Volunteers of the Fatherland group, Bekzat Maqsutkhan, told RFE/RL that police also detained her husband on July 1. Maqsutkhan's group has been actively raising the issue of the plight faced by ethnic Kazakhs in Xinjiang for years.

Last week, several women were fined for their participation in the picketing of the Chinese Consulate in Almaty.

In recent years, many similar protests have taken place in Kazakhstan, with demonstrators demanding Kazakh authorities officially intervene in the situation faced by ethnic Kazakhs in Xinjiang.

The U.S. State Department has said that as many as 2 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and members of Xinjiang's other indigenous, mostly Muslim ethnic groups have been taken to detention centers.

China denies that the facilities are internment camps, but people who have fled the province say people from the groups are undergoing "political indoctrination" at a network of facilities known officially as reeducation camps.

Kazakhs are the second-largest Turkic-speaking indigenous community in Xinjiang after Uyghurs. The region is also home to ethnic Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Hui, also known as Dungans. Han, China's largest ethnicity, is the second-largest community in Xinjiang.

ver 500 residents of Khori village who lined up on the border of Delhi and Haryana in Faridabad on Wednesday were stopped from protesting against the eviction orders of the Supreme Court. The court had ordered the eviction and the demolition of the residential colony in a bid to protect the green cover of Aravalli mountain range. In its judgement on June 7, the court had sought compliance reports from Haryana government officials within six weeks.

Section 144 was imposed in the village prohibiting the gathering of four or more persons following the apex court judgement. On Wednesday, at the congregation, the residents were expecting to show symbolic resistance and send out a message to the Haryana government that they cannot be evicted in the midst of the ongoing pandemic without any arrangements for rehabilitation.

As residents lined up to enter Ambedkar Park in their locality for the protest gathering, they were faced with enormous backlash from the police forces who later resorted to lathi-charge. The police said that they could not let a protest gathering take place in the view of the orders of the Supreme Court and the state government.

Sushil Kumar, a resident of Khori village who had come to participate in the gathering, said, “This is what they do to innocent people like us–we have no space to even raise our voice and share our anxieties. Today was so symbolic to us and we have been treated with lathis. If there is COVID scare associated with our gathering, does the same not apply to the 400 police persons stationed across our village?”

The police were seen dragging out protestors and using force on them. Two student activists from the group BCEM, Ravinder Kaur and Rajveer Singh, were also detained at the Surajkund police station amid the crackdown on protesters. The police while confirming their detention stated that the activists have been called in for questioning as they violated Section 144.

Breaking down during the protests, Sameena Khan, who has lived in the village for over two decades, said, “No one wants to stand in the scorching Delhi heat. All we want is for the roof over our heads to stay. For me, it is death first and then the house–I would rather die. The police are asking us to go back to our homes and not protest but they are taking away our homes too, where do we go?”

The anxieties of the residents continue to rise with their voices being suppressed and no clear means of rehabilitation in sight. While the date for the demolition has not been finalised yet, many fear that demolitions are scheduled to take place as soon as next week.

The residents, who are being labelled as encroachers, reiterated that they had bought the land from builders who worked in connivance with the forest department and the state police. “The BJP has betrayed us, they had promised to protect us, instead we have been used as scapegoats and vote banks. When we do come out to raise our voice this is what happens to us. We are being cornered from every side and asked to leave, but where do we go?” one of the protesters asked.

Post the SC order, electricity and water supply in the village remain snapped causing deep distress amid the rising heat in Delhi. The residents have been going as far as three kilometres away to the Lal Kuan area to get water supply.

The residents of Khori had previously staged a protest on June 11. However, about 100 persons now face charges for participating in the protest while others were detained. The charges against the residents include Sections 109, 114, 147, 149, 186, 188, 269, 283, 341 and 506 of the IPC, and Section 61 of the Disaster Management Act. The residents had gathered on the main road raising slogans against the state government and municipal corporation authorities. The arrests had led to the creation of an atmosphere of fear and anxiety.

Currently, the residents have pledged to keep their movement alive to demand answers from the state administration and refuse to leave their homes.

Authorities in Vietnam’s central province of Quang Ngai have arrested three local Facebookers on the allegation of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the Criminal Code for their posts on the social network most popular in the Southeast Asian nation.

Citing the information from the province’s Police Department, the state-controlled media reported that 34-year-old man Bach Van Hien, 38-year-old Phung Thanh Tuyen, and 41-year-old Le Trung Thu were detained on June 30. Their private residency was also searched by the local police.

The three men will be held in the next two months at least for investigation on the allegation of posting statuses with content criticizing the regime’s agencies including the People’s Court, the police, the army, the inspectorate, the Vietnam Central Television (VTV), and the Propaganda agency as well as the regime’s leaders.

Recently, Vietnam’s authoritarian regime has arrested many Facebookers with charges of “conducting anti-state propaganda” or “abusing democratic freedom” in a bid to silence the regine’s critics. The first charge may take the convicted ones to between seven and 12 years in prison while the second allegation would take the convicted ones to stay imprisoned up to seven years.

Last month, within a week, Vietnam’s authoritarian regime convicted two Facebookers named Dang Ngoc Minh and Cao Van Dung of “conducting anti-state propaganda” for their posts and sentenced them to seven and nine years in prison, respectively.

On June 30, officials from the national Income Tax Department visited the offices of Newsclick in New Delhi and questioned its editor-in-chief, Prabir Purkayastha, and another editor, Pranjal, who uses one name, for five hours each, according to a report by the local newspaper The Telegraph and an editor with the outlet, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of official reprisal.

The tax officials questioned both editors in relation to a money laundering investigation, according to those sources. Delhi police previously opened a separate money laundering investigation into the outlet in August 2020, according to a police document reviewed by CPJ, and the Finance Ministry’s Enforcement Directorate is pursuing a third investigation into the outlet, also for alleged money laundering, according to that editor and The Indian Express.

During questioning, both editors were given summons from the Economic Offenses Wing of the Delhi police, ordering Purkayastha to attend questioning tomorrow and Pranjal on July 9, the editor said, adding that both journalists plan to comply.

A second Newsclick editor, who also spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal by authorities, said they believed that authorities had opened the investigations in retaliation for the outlet’s coverage of the nationwide farmers’ protests last year.

“The ongoing investigations into Newsclick and its editors by three government agencies are a blatant intimidation tactic aimed at chilling critical reporting,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities should drop the investigations, cease their harassment of Newsclick and its employees, and allow them to report freely.”

On June 23, the Finance Ministry’s Enforcement Directorate announced that it would provide the defendants with the specific allegations against Purkayastha and PPK Newsclick Studio Private Limited, the website’s parent company, according to The Indian Express. The ministry had not provided that information as of today, the first editor told CPJ.

During the June 30 questioning, officials ordered Newsclick to submit a number of tax documents from the last four years by July 5, that editor told CPJ, adding that the outlet complied and sent some documents yesterday, and received permission from the Income Tax Department to send more by July 8.

Umakant Lakhera, president of the Press Club of India, told CPJ via messaging app that the organization supported Newsclick, which he said had “paid for its critical reporting” with the investigations.

PPK Newsclick Studio Private Limited, Purkayastha, and Pranjal have each filed requests to the Delhi High Court to drop the police investigation, the first editor told CPJ. Purkayastha and Pranjal have also filed for anticipatory bail and interim protection from police action, that editor said.

The Delhi High Court previously granted such protections to Newsclick’s parent company and Purkayastha in relation to the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate, according to The Indian Express, which said that the court yesterday extended those protections until July 29.

Previously, in February, the Enforcement Directorate raided Newsclick’s office in New Delhi, as well as the homes of Purkayastha, one other editor, and two members of its management, as CPJ documented at the time. Authorities seized the outlet’s equipment during those raids, including the communication devices of its directors and senior management, according to news reports.

In a statement issued in February, Newsclick’s editorial team wrote that the outlet had “nothing to hide” and was cooperating with authorities. The statement also accused authorities of attempting to “cow down an independent and progressive voice through a vindictive course of action.”

CPJ emailed the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate for comment but did not receive a response. Chinmoy Biswal, a Delhi police spokesperson, did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment via messaging app.

More activists have been jailed in Kazakhstan’s capital, Nur-Sultan, as police keep on rounding up activists amid preparations to mark the 81st birthday of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev in the tightly controlled Central Asian country.

Police in the western city of Oral detained activist Marua Eskendirova on June 30. Hours later, a local court found her guilty of taking part in unsanctioned rallies earlier this year and sentenced her to 10 days in jail.

A day earlier, a court in the Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan, sentenced activists Nurlan Altynbaev and Aidar Syzdyqov to 10 days in jail each, and Aizhan Abenova to 15 days in jail after finding them guilty of violating laws on holding public gatherings earlier in the year.

The activists rejected the charges.

On June 28, two other activists, Marat Musabaev and Qaiyrgeldy Nurghaliev, were sentenced to 20 and 15 days in jail respectively on the same charges.

Local activists say that the incarcerations are connected to the call by Mukhtar Ablyazov, the leader of the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement, for a demonstration on July 6, the day the country's capital, Nur-Sultan, is celebrated in tandem with Nazarbaev's birthday.

Kazakhstan changed the name of its capital to Nur-Sultan in 2019 to honor Nazarbaev, who ruled with an iron fist from the nation’s independence in 1991 until 2019. The renaming of the capital from Astana to Nur-Sultan sparked protests across the country at the time.

Nazarbaev continues to wield considerable influence as chairman of the Security Council and enjoys almost limitless powers as elbasy -- leader of the nation.

Kazakh authorities have banned DVK and its associate, the Koshe (Street) party, labeling them as extremist organizations.

Dozens of activists have been on hunger strike in Nur-Sultan and several other cities in Kazakhstan, including Almaty, Oral, Oskemen, and Shymkent, since June 19, demanding the cancelation of court decisions to ban DVK and Koshe.

Under President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, who was handpicked by Nazarbaev, Kazakhstan continues to clamp down on the freedom of speech and harass opposition members.

Police last year detained dozens of journalists and bloggers and launched criminal cases for alleged crimes such as spreading false information and inciting the public, according to Adil Soz, a local media watchdog.

Kazakh authorities have detained another activist as they continue a crackdown amid preparations to mark the 81st birthday of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.

Aizhan Abenova informed her friends by phone on June 29 that police were taking her to a police station in Nur-Sultan. It was not immediately clear why she was detained.

A day earlier, police in Nur-Sultan detained two other civil right activists -- Marat Musabaev and Qaiyrgeldy Nurghaliev -- and charged them with violating laws on public gatherings.

Hours later, a city court sentenced Nurghaliev to 15 days in jail and Musabaev to 20 days in jail.

Local activists say that the incarcerations are connected to a call by Mukhtar Ablyazov, the leader of the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement, for a demonstration on July 6, the day the country's capital, Nur-Sultan, is celebrated in tandem with Nazarbaev's birthday.

Kazakhstan changed the name of its capital to Nur-Sultan in 2019 to honor Nazarbaev, who ruled with an iron fist from the nation’s independence in 1991 until 2019. The renaming of the capital from Astana to Nur-Sultan sparked protests across the country at the time.

Nazarbaev continues to wield considerable influence as chairman of the Security Council and enjoys almost limitless powers as "elbasy" -- leader of the nation.

Kazakh authorities have banned DVK and its associate, the Koshe (Street) party, labeling them as extremist organizations.

Dozens of activists have been on hunger strike in Nur-Sultan and several other cities in Kazakhstan, including Almaty, Oral, Oskemen, and Shymkent, since June 19, demanding the cancellation of court decisions to ban DVK and Koshe.

One hunger striker in the southern city of Shymkent had to stop his protest on June 29 after his health deteriorated and an ambulance was called to treat him.

Under President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, who was handpicked by Nazarbaev, Kazakhstan continues to clamp down on freedom of speech and harass opposition members.

Police last year detained dozens of journalists and bloggers and launched criminal cases for alleged crimes such as spreading false information and inciting the public, according to Adilsoz, a local media watchdog.