Uwazi

The Chinese government should immediately quash the conviction of and release a Taiwanese political activist who was sentenced to nine years in prison for “separatism,” Human Rights Watch said today. On August 26, 2024, a court in China’s Zhejiang province convicted Yang Chih-yuan (楊智淵), 34, for political activities carried out in Taiwan, a neighboring democracy over which the People’s Republic of China claims sovereignty.

The case is the first known in which the Chinese authorities have charged a Taiwanese national with “separatism” for allegedly seeking to split the country in violation of article 103 of China’s Criminal Law. The law is typically used in politically motivated prosecutions of Uyghurs, Tibetans, and other ethnic groups who are Chinese nationals.

“The Chinese government’s prosecution of Yang Chih-yuan for exercising his basic rights in Taiwan has effectively criminalized being Taiwanese,” said Maya Wang, associate China director at Human Rights Watch. “The use of a national security law coupled with an outrageous prison sentence appears to be Beijing’s latest attempt to intimidate the Taiwanese people and reinforce its claims of sovereignty over Taiwan.”

On August 3, 2022, more than seven months after Yang arrived in China to live, Chinese authorities detained him in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. In April 2023 he was formally arrested for alleged “separatist” activity. At the time, Yang was not involved in any political activities in China, and was teaching and competitively playing the strategy game Go, according to Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, the government agency responsible for China-Taiwan affairs.

Yang’s “crimes” include establishing a minor political party called the Taiwan National Party in Taiwan, and promoting Taiwan’s inclusion in the United Nations between 2008 and 2020.

The Chinese authorities repeatedly and seriously violated Yang’s rights to due process during the legal proceedings against him. The Chinese state-owned media, CCTV, confirmed after Yang’s detention in August 2022 that he had been placed under “residential surveillance in a designated location;” a form of detention that Human Rights Watch has repeatedly criticized, and that United Nations human rights experts have said is “tantamount to enforced disappearance.”

Yang was incommunicado for two years, during which time he had no access to legal counsel or his family in violation of international human rights law. Chinese laws allow the authorities to deny national security detainees access to family and lawyers under “residential surveillance,” leaving them at serious risk of torture and other mistreatment.

Yang’s trial took place behind closed doors. Details of his sentencing were not announced until September 6, and judicial authorities still have not released any documents or evidence from the trial.

In June, two months prior to Yang’s trial, the Chinese government issued new judiciary guidelines that make it a criminal offense to do anything broadly related to Taiwanese independence. Peaceful activities and advocacy, such as teaching and writing about Taiwan’s democracy and history independent of China or promoting Taiwan’s inclusion in the United Nations, would be construed as criminal. Taiwanese who have engaged in such activity would be subject to arrest in China.

The judicial guidelines violate Taiwanese people’s rights to freedom of expression and association, and the right to public participation in Taiwan, Human Rights Watch said. The guidelines also permit the use of in absentia trials and the death penalty for “especially serious or … vile” activity in violation of international law.

In a second case, Chinese authorities have detained the Taiwan-based Chinese-born publisher Li Yan-he (李延賀), commonly known by his pen name Fu Cha (富察), for alleged “separatism.” In March 2023, national security police in Shanghai detained Fu. According to Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, Fu has been detained for publishing works that are “not in line with the Chinese Communist Party’s view of history.”

Fu is editor-in-chief of the Taiwanese Gūsa Publishing (八旗文化), which has published books critical of the Chinese government. In early 2023 he become a Taiwanese citizen, and was visiting China to renounce his People’s Republic of China nationality and see his family. The authorities have been holding Fu under “residential surveillance in a designated location.”

The guidelines and the two cases appear intended to reinforce the People’s Republic of China’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan.

“The Chinese government is tightening its grip over the lawful activities of Taiwanese in Taiwan,” Wang said. “Beijing’s intimidation and arbitrary arrests of Taiwanese under national security charges is an alarming escalation of its efforts to control the rights to free speech and association beyond its borders.”

Authorities in Vietnam are pressing on with a crackdown on social media users who are seen as critical of the government, using two articles of the Criminal Code that rights groups say are too vague, to punish those “opposing” the state and the ruling Communist Party.

After seven months in pre-trial detention, authorities in Hanoi have announced plans to prosecute Facebooker Phan Van Bach under Article 117 of the Criminal Code for "making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”

Bach, 49, has been an active campaigner for more a decade. He took part in protests against China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea in 2011, the Green Trees environmental demonstrations in 2015, and the protests against pollution caused by Formosa Plastics in 2016.

According to an indictment issued on July 19 and recently shared by his family, Bach is accused of using his personal Facebook account to post 12 articles and six video clips between 2018 and 2022 with content said to "distort the Party's policies and guidelines, defame the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, deny the leadership role of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and disseminate edited images that defame state leaders and incite the masses."

Bach was detained on Dec. 29, 2023, but his wife Nguyen Thi Yeu wasn't allowed to see him until June 4.

“I didn't recognize him at all. He was no longer the same person as when he left,” she told Radio Free Asia. “He was thin and had scabies all over his body.”

Her husband told her he had diarrhea as soon as he was taken to the detention camp. When he asked to go to the hospital for treatment, he was given medicine, which made him constipated.

He was put in a 40 square meter (431 square foot) cell with more than 30 other inmates, where he developed scabies.

RFA called the investigator who handled Bach’s case several times but he did not answer the telephone.

‘Propaganda against the state’

In 2017, Bach joined independent YouTube channel CHTV, reporting on Vietnam's socio-economic issues.

Three members of the channel, Vu Quang Thuan, Le Van Dung and Le Trong Hung, are serving prison sentences ranging from five to eight years for the crime of “propaganda against the state.”

Bach often hosted live talks criticizing Vietnam’s one-party regime but in 2018 he announced he was leaving CHTV.

His Facebook page shows that in recent years he has only focused on his labor export business.

Authorities in Laos detained two young men who posted a video on social media poking fun at the sorry state of the roads in their town, according to residents.

The pair of graphic artists – going by their adopted Western-sounding screen names of Dai James and James Famor – uploaded an artificial intelligence-generated video to Facebook last week showing them fishing in water-filled potholes on a street, surrounded by crocodiles – a video that went viral in Laos.

In response, police on Aug. 28 handcuffed the two and took them into custody in Tonpheung, a port town on the Mekong River that is home to the Golden Triangle Economic Zone, or SEZ, in northwestern Laos’ Bokeo province on Aug. 28.

Authorities released James the same day, but required Famor to attend a “re-education” class, and forced him to confess and apologize before freeing him on Monday.

A friend of Famor who works at the studio where they produce and post videos to social media confirmed the arrest and release to RFA Lao on Tuesday.

“They were released on different days – the first one, Dai James, was released on August 28 and the other was freed on Sept. 2,” said the friend who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

“From now on, we [the studio] can’t post or produce anything at all.”

‘Confession’ and ‘apology’

In a video posted to Facebook on Monday, following his release, Famor apologized to the police for his actions.

“I would like to confess that on Aug. 8, I took photos of a damaged road filled with potholes and water, and then I cut and pasted some photos of crocodiles into the middle of the road,” he said.

“At the time, I didn’t intend to campaign against anybody … Now, I admit that what I did was wrong.”

Famor also “thanked” authorities who “warned and re-educated me,” saying he had learned an important lesson.

“In the past, I’ve posted a lot of videos, but this time, posting that video was a big mistake and for that I apologize to all relevant authorities,” he said. “I would like to ask all my followers to understand that the party and government’s warning is a good lesson for me.”

RFA spoke with an officer at the Bokeo Province police department who referred questions about the case to authorities in Topheung, but attempts to contact the district station went unanswered.

The men appeared to have violated Article 117 of the Lao Criminal Code, which says that persons who “campaign against the Lao PDR by twisting the policy of the [ruling Communist] Party and government, releasing destructive news causing disorder, speaking, writing, printing, posting photos, videos and texts via electronics means or otherwise, will be jailed from one year to five years, and fined from 5 million to 20 million kip (US$225 to $900).”

Lighten up

Residents and experts said the police reaction was excessive and wrong, and that the young men were actually helping improve everyone’s lives by highlighting a problem the government appears unwilling to address.

“Everybody knows that the roads here in Tonpheung district are bad,” a resident of the town said. “They were accused of defaming the party and government when, actually, it's the party and government that are in denial."

“The SEZ is an economic hub, but look at the roads – they’re terrible.”

The Golden Triangle refers to the largely lawless area where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet that has recently become notorious for methamphetamine production. The neighbors have tried to promote trade and tourism with economic zones, while casinos and online scam centers have also proliferated on the Lao and Myanmar sides of the Mekong.

Another resident of Tonpheung agreed that the police response was “inappropriate.”

“These guys just posted a video showing damaged roads on social media using AI,” he said. “The post reflects the real conditions of the roads in our community ... Many people complain about these roads, even though they know that nothing will happen and nothing will be fixed.”

Social media as a reporting tool

Others suggested that the authorities should welcome such posts, as they may not be aware of such issues.

“In this day and age, it’s normal for people to post something like that on social media, and the Lao people should have some freedom to do that – they shouldn’t be threatened or arrested,” said a professor at Souphanouvong University in Luang Prabang province.

“The authorities should be looking for a solution to the problem, not for a way to punish them,” he said. “It’s not right to arrest, detain or even fine them.”

People in Laos frequently turn to social media to draw attention to problems that the authorities ignore or that state-run media are unwilling to report on.

Last month, residents and business operators near the Lao capital Vientiane posted images of their outrageously high electricity bills on social media after an apparent miscalculation by the state-owned power company.

Some business owners in Vientiane province’s Thoulakhom district received monthly bills as high as US$4,000 from the state-run Electricite du Laos – 10 times the usual US$400.

Electricite du Laos’ district office quickly issued a follow-up notice, saying that bills for July had been miscalculated, and a corrected invoice would be sent soon.

Police officers arrested the father of an activist facing charges of violating the Anti-Terrorism Law, September 1 in Barangay Silongin, San Francisco, Quezon province.

Roberto Mendoza is the father of Lieshel, a farmer who was charged by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ 85 th Infantry Battalion last January 2024 with violating Section 12 of the Anti- Terrorism Law and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act.

According to human rights watchdog Tanggol Quezon, Roberto was arrested at approximately 5 a.m. with no search or arrest warrant given to him.

“[Mendoza’s arrest is] clearly another tactic by the 85 th IBPA and the police to intimidate Lieshel into ‘surrendering’ as an alleged member of the revolutionary New People’s Army,” Tanggol Quezon said in its statement. “Lieshel and Roberto are ordinary farmers working honorably and standing up for their rights.”

Tanggol Quezon maintains that both Roberto and Lieshel Mendoza are innocent. “The Mendozas have nothing to ‘surrender’ for,” the group said in their statement. “If anything, the 85 th IBPA and the police should surrender given their long list of human rights violations in South Quezon and the Bondoc Peninsula.”

Mendoza is detained at the San Francisco Municipal Police Station pending charges filed against him. Tanggol Quezon is calling for his immediate release.

Mendoza’s arrest is the latest in a series of attacks against farmers and human rights defenders in the province. Tanggol Quezon notes that the 85 th IBPA is using a pattern of “using the law to equate human rights advocacy with crime.”

Last October 2023, another coconut farmer, Liezel Merchales, was charged with financing terrorism by the 85 th IBPA.

Yulesita Ibañez was similarly charged with financing terrorism and violating Section 12 of the Anti-Terror Law after the military alleged that they provided food and coffee to members of the NPA last January.

Ibañez and Mendoza are members of Karapatan Quezon and the group Coco Levy Fund Ibalik sa Amin (CLAIM). Soldiers have once forced Mendoza into presenting herself as a surrendered NPA combatant under the government’s Enhanced Community Livelihood Integration Program (ECLIP).

Their paralegals, Tanggol Quezon members Paul Tagle and Fritz Labiano, were also charged with financing terrorism last February. The charges against Tagle and Labiano were dropped last June by the Batangas Regional Trial Court for lack of evidence.

The 85 th IBPA is currently headed by Lt. Col. Reynir S. Nirza, who took the reins of command from Lt. Col. Joel R. Jonson last April. Under Nirza, the 85 th IBPA has been involved in the arrest of peasant and women’s right advocate Fatima Banjawan last August 2 while conducting a community investigation in Santa Elena, Camarines Norte.

Cyclists and environmental advocates sounded alarm over the 15th victim of enforced disappearance under the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Felix Salaveria Jr. is a known cyclist and a dedicated activist. He is the founding member of the Kabataan para sa Tribung Pilipino (Katribu Youth) and Tunay na Alyansa ng Bayan Alay sa mga Katutubo (TABAK), both groups known for advocating the rights of indigenous peoples (IP). He is also a founding and active member of Cycling Advocates (Cycad), a group advocating for low-cost, healthy, and non-polluting alternative mode of transportation.

“As an active member of the cycling community and environmental defender, his disappearance cannot be ignored,” said cyclists and mobility advocacy group Make It Safer Movement (MISMO), in a statement.

Salaveria was abducted in Tabaco, Albay on the morning of August 28, five days after his 67th birthday. It was celebrated with James Jazmines, who also disappeared on August 23. Jazmines was his cycling buddy and brother of National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultant Alan Jazminez.

Salaveria was also the person who reached out to human rights group Karapatan on August 26, reporting Jazmines’s disappearance.

MISMO said that Cycad had a great impact on the transportation sector, which mobility advocates continue to benefit today “in promoting active mobility and advocating for safer, greener transportation options.”

Aside from bicycling, Salaveria was also a known advocate of eco-waste management, according to his family and Katribu Youth. Since he moved to Tabaco, he has been encouraging proper waste management and coordinating the transport of biodegradable waste for conversion to compost. He also donated a bicycle especially modified to collect waste for composting to their community.

In the initial report of Karapatan, they gathered footage from a barangay-owned CCTV that showed men in civilian clothes forcing Salaveria into a silver van.

Gab Ferrer, daughter of Salaveria, appealed for the immediate surfacing of his father.

“We have not heard from him since. We appeal to the public to help us pressure authorities to surface our father. We do not want our father to be just a statistic. It is important that you know him as a human being and a cherished person in his community,” said Ferrer.

She also added that Salaveria is loved and respected in the community, known for his generosity and kindness especially to those in need. “He has been working on a community garden to benefit his neighborhood.”

Salaveria’s family also cited humanitarian considerations, especially that he is still recovering from a medical condition. Aside from his old age, Salaveria has suffered a stroke in 2023, paralyzing the left side of his body.

Advocacy groups and the family resounded the call to immediately surface Salaveria and other victims of enforced disappearance.

“We, together with his family, friends, and the cycling community, ask for your support and collective action to stop the red-tagging and extrajudicial persecutions that continue to endanger the lives of those who stand for justice. It is time to stand together, to end this violence, and to demand the immediate surfacing of all desaparecidos,” MISMO said in a statement.

KARAPATAN raised grave concern over the reported disappearance of a brother of National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultant Alan Jazmines.

James Jazmines, 63, Alan’s youngest brother, has been reported missing since August 23, 2024 and was last seen in Barangay San Lazaro, Tabaco City, Albay. As of today, efforts by his wife, friends and human rights groups to ascertain his whereabouts have been in vain.

James is a 1978 graduate of the Philippine Science High School and took up BS Psychology at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. He was the editor of Commitment, the official paper of the League of Filipino Students (LFS) and later became the executive director of the Amado V. Hernandez Resource Center, a cultural institution. From 1988 to 1992, James served as the information officer of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) labor center. He was the information technology (IT) consultant of a development NGO up to the mid-2000s, and has been working freelance in the IT sector since then.

“Members of the Jazmines family, including James, have suffered surveillance, threats and harassment over the decades because of the military’s relentless operations to locate Alan and arrest him,” said KARAPATAN secretary general Cristina Palabay. “In fact, James’ wife, a development worker, was red-tagged several times last year and was even erroneously referred to as Alan’s wife in an episode of ‘Laban ng Masa,’ a rabid red-tagging program aired over the Quiboloy-owned SMNI,” added Palabay.

“We believe that James’ disappearance is either the latest in the military’s arsenal of dirty tricks to force his brother Alan to surface, or is a vicious example of palit-ulo, given the military’s continuing failure to arrest Alan,” said Palabay. “We denounce this foul maneuver by the military and demand that James be surfaced safe and sound and reunited with his family.”

A 33-year-old protester has been sentenced to approximately 12 years without parole for 8 Facebook posts in 2022.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that Kanruethai Klaion, 33, was charged with royal defamation and violation of the Computer-Related Crime Act for Facebook posts during 8 February – 1 April 2022.

On 8 April 2022, 8 officers went to her apartment, claiming that the posts constituted an offense under the royal defamation law and the Computer-Related Crime Act, and told her they were taking her to Lat Phrao Police Station to negotiate with her not to post such material again and to close her Facebook account.

On 1 July 2022, 6 plainclothes officers claiming to be from Lat Phrao Police Station searched Kanruethai’s apartment on a warrant issued by the Criminal Court. They confiscated her laptop and mobile phone.

The inquiry officer’s report stated that her 8 Facebook posts, including pictures, messages, and video clips, were deemed defamatory towards the King who is revered by the people.

The court on 27 August ruled that she was guilty as charged, sentencing her to 3 years in prison for each post. However, due to her useful testimony, the sentence was reduced to 1 year and 6 months for each post without parole, resulting in 8 years and 48 months imprisonment or around 12 years.

Her lawyer later submitted a bail request pending appeal, but the outcome has not yet been released. During this time, Kanruethai is being held at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution. According to TLHR, Kanruethai expressed concern that she might not receive antidepressants, which must be taken daily.

This is her second royal defamation charge. Previously, she was also charged with royal defamation over 2 posts from 2022. In this case, the complaint against Kanruethai was filed by Anon Klinkaew, leader of the ultra-royalist People’s Centre to Protect the Monarchy, over two Facebook posts from July and September 2022.

Anon has repeatedly filed royal defamation complaints against monarchy reform advocates, including Thanalop Phalanchai, who was 14 years old when the complaint against her was filed. He also posted a video clip threatening to kill her.

The Appeal Court has found Mongkhon Thirakot, a Chiang Rai-based activist and online clothes vendor, guilty of royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act and sentenced him to 4 years and 6 months in prison for two Facebook posts made in July 2022.

The ruling upholds a 30 October 2023 verdict by the Chiang Rai Provincial Court which found that Mongkhon was guilty of royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act. He was initially sentenced to 4 years in prison and given an additional 6 months in prison on a trespassing charge.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reports that the Appeal Court ruled to uphold the verdict on the grounds that Mongkhon admitted that he made the posts and that they referred to King Vajiralongkorn. The Court found that the two posts, which appeared to refer to ordinary people, were rude and inappropriate. Written with the intent of insulting the King, they were deemed to constitute an offence under the royal defamation law. The court noted that the defendant’s discontent with the current political situation was not a valid excuse for the offence.

Mongkhon was charged with royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act for two Facebook posts made on 28 and 30 July 2022. One contains a picture of King Vajiralongkorn and a message about wearing black while in mourning. The other contains an edited picture of Mongkhon holding a picture frame.

He was arrested at his family home in Chiang Rai on 11 August 2022 by a unit of 21 police officers. He was later released on bail. The public prosecutor indicted him on the grounds that the posts insulted the King and damaged his reputation.

Mongkhon was previously sentenced to 50 years in prison on 25 counts of royal defamation for Facebook posts made between 2 – 11 March 2021. He is now facing a cumulative prison sentence of 54 years and 6 months, currently the longest prison sentence ever given for a royal defamation. Since January 2024, he has been detained pending appeal at the Chiang Rai Central Prison after the Supreme Court denied him bail on the grounds that his lengthy sentence makes him a flight risk.

Authorities on Sunday announced the closure of at least 15 factories in Savar and Dhamarai areas in the face of workers' protests.

Local people said a group of workers and job aspirants started a demonstration in Palashbari area that later spread across the entire Savar and Dhamrai. Workers said their protest was aimed at demanding fair wages, overtime allowance, attendance bonuses and job security.

The workers of GAB Limited and some nearby garment factories blocked the road in Palashbari area of Ashulia around 9am. Similarly, workers of Ha-meem, Sharmeen, NASA Group, Snowtex Outerwear Limited factory also came down on the streets and blocked the roads.

Meanwhile, the workers of Acme Consumers Limited put forward a 16-point demand.

Mohammad Sarwar Alam, superintendent of police of Industrial Zone Police-1 in Ashulia, said that the workers are protesting with various demands. He said that additional men from the law enforcement agencies are currently deployed in the area to bring the situation under control.

Members of a Facebook group that opposes expensive recycling fees imposed by the Kazakh government, especially those on cars and other vehicles, have had their accounts on the platform either removed or restricted, the group said, attributing the moves to government pressure.

Activists with the No To Recycling Fees (Nyetutilsboru) group authored a petition earlier this year calling for recycling fees on imported goods to be lowered to nominal rates, forcing a public hearing and a government review of the policy after the petition gained more than 50,000 signatures.

While the group has questioned all recycling fees, it is especially concerned about those imposed on cars and agricultural vehicles. The activists say that the charges have artificially inflated the cost of vehicles sold in Kazakhstan, benefiting only a small group of automakers whose factories they argue are not internationally competitive.

Kazakhstan's government cut recycling fees in half and effectively liquidated the private company set up to collect them in 2022, but they are still high by global standards, often amounting to thousands of dollars per vehicle.

After the July 15 hearing, Kazakhstan's Industry Ministry ruled to keep recycling fees on goods such as cars at their current levels, dismissing the group's arguments as baseless.

No To Recycling Fees activists have said that they would continue their campaign.

But they now complain that multiple administrators of their Facebook group have been forced to restore accounts or create new ones in recent weeks, while Facebook has sent the group repeated warnings over the content of their posts.

Administrator Vladimir Kim said on August 28 that he and four other administrators had lost access to their Facebook accounts over alleged copyright infringements.

"The Facebook office in [Kazakhstan] is simply following the authorities' orders," Kim wrote from a new account that he created this month.

Both Facebook and Instagram are owned by Meta, which did not respond to a request for comment.

A representative of the Culture and Information Ministry contacted by RFE/RL on August 29 denied any role in the removal and restriction of accounts related to the group.

Kazakhstan has a special agreement with Facebook that allows the government to remove content it deems "harmful."

Under the agreement, authorities in Kazakhstan can access Facebook's internal content-reporting system.

The joint agreement between Kazakhstan and Meta Platforms, reached in 2021, came after Astana threatened to block the social media giant's millions of local users. It is the first of its kind in Central Asia.

Several people were injured and around a dozen were detained during a protest by local government workers in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. Police fired tear gas at the protesters after they broke through barricades to enter the high-security zone. The demonstrators were protesting the withholding of funds from local governments and denying them the authority to carry out development activities.

As many as 11 journalists and media workers employed by Cable News Network (CNN) Indonesia were illegally terminated on August 31, less than a week after workers at the broadcaster formally registered their labour union. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its Indonesian affiliates, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and the Media and Creative Industry Workers Union for Democracy (SINDIKASI), in strongly condemning CNN’s illegal union-busting tactics, urging Indonesian authorities to conduct an immediate investigation into the incident, and calling on the broadcaster to immediately overturn its salary cuts and reinstate all affected workers.

CNN Indonesia’s Head of Human Capital Development sent termination notices by email to 11 leading union activists on August 31, with the journalists barred from attending work and access to the company WhatsApp group and email system restricted the same day.

The layoffs came just days after employees of the broadcaster officially registered Solidaritas Pekerja CNN Indonesia (SCPI), translating to CNN Indonesia Workers Solidarity, with the country’s Ministry of Manpower on August 27. Organised workers announced the union’s registration on August 31, with an accompanying online discussion attended by Indonesian Press Council Chair Ninik Rahayu.

According to SCPI’s Chair, workers had held a series of discussions over the past several months, in part responding to unsanctioned wage cuts imposed in June, issued without full agreement from staff or any compensation. Workers at the news service had previously faced layoffs without union representation. Throughout months of organising efforts, journalists reported receiving threats and intimidation from management, who warned against unionisation.

The union was officially declared on July 27 and brings together workers from broadcast services at CNN Indonesia TV and digital news via CNNIndonesia.com. The SCPI is the first labour union organised under Trans Media, a media and entertainment subsidiary of the Indonesian conglomerate CT Group headed by former minister and prominent businessman Chairul Tanjung.

Speaking with the IFJ, SINDIKASI Advocacy Coordinator Guruh Riyanto said: “As a union officially registered, the SPCI union is protected by Indonesian law. The act of terminating the unionised workers can be categorised as a form of union busting. It is strongly suspected to violate Article 28 of the Indonesian Labour Union Law that clearly protects the rights of the workers to unionise.”

The right to form or join a trade union is protected in Indonesia under the 1945 Constitution, the Human Rights Law, and industrial relations legislation. Indonesia is also a signatory to the International Labour Organisation Conventions No. 87 and No. 98, which protect Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise, and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining respectively.

AJI said: “AJI assesses that the unilateral termination of employment by CNN management is contrary to the freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution. The decision to terminate SPCI members just hours after the union’s establishment can be suspected as an attempt by the company to carry out union-busting (eradicating labour unions).”

SINDIKASI said: “SINDIKASI strongly condemns the alleged union busting by CNN Indonesia to the workers unionised under Solidaritas Pekerja CNN Indonesia (SPCI). The workers organised the union to respond to the salary cut by the management that had lasted for three months (June-August). […] SINDIKASI supports the SPCI union to organise and conduct collective bargaining. We also call for the press and media workers unions as well as other social movements to support the struggle of the SPCI union. The fulfillment of the media workers’ rights will ensure the quality of journalism works as well as the rights of the people to access reliable information.”

The IFJ said: “Union busting is illegal under Indonesia’s Constitution and industrial legislation and is a blatant violation of workers' rights. At a time of global economic challenges, the act of terminating journalists for organising and imposing unsanctioned wage cuts is disgraceful and punishable by law. The IFJ strongly condemns the actions of CNN Indonesia and calls on the authorities to take immediate action to ensure the broadcaster reverses these unlawful dismissals and salary cuts, reinstating all affected workers."

On August 25, Prothom Alo’s Dhaka University correspondent Asif Himadri was assaulted by members of a paramilitary group, known as Ansars, while covering a clash between university students and political workers outside the Secretariat Complex of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

During the Ansar protest, who laid siege to the secretariat demanding the nationalisation of their jobs, a clash broke out between Ansar members and students associated with the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. Whilst covering this incident, Himadri was allegedly attacked and injured by Ansar personnel at around 9.30 pm, despite identifying himself as a journalist. Around 40 students were injured in the clashes. On August 26, 388 general Ansar members were sent to jail by magistrate Md Mossaraf Hossain of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court.

At least four journalists have been killed and hundreds injured while reporting on the violence of national protests. On August 14, 20 journalists were injured during an assault on the Chittagong Press Club in south-eastern Bangladesh and five days later on August 19, offices of the East West Media Group Limited (EWMGL) Complex were attacked, with assailants vandalising the premises and injuring one journalist.

Some journalists injured during the protests remain in critical condition. Journalist Aminul Islam Emon, affiliated with the daily Bangladesh Samachar, was shot by police on July 20 at around 7:30 pm in the Malibagh Railgate area of Dhaka, where he was filming a police attack on a student protest. More than a month after this incident, he remains in critical condition despite two major surgeries, having suffered a heart attack on August 25 requiring further medical care.

The BMSF said: “BMSF unequivocally condemns these heinous acts of violence and demands that the authorities take immediate and decisive action to bring the perpetrators to justice. We call for a comprehensive and transparent investigation into both incidents, ensuring that those responsible are held accountable for their actions.

The IFJ said: “The IFJ condemns the ongoing insecurity and violence faced by journalists and media workers in Bangladesh. The interim government must take steps to ensure the safety of journalists and media workers and ensure those responsible for these attacks are investigated and held to account.”

Chinese authorities are holding Gao Zhen, one of the Gao Brothers artistic duo, on suspicion of 'insulting revolutionary heroes and martyrs,' after seizing satirical artworks depicting Chairman Mao from his home studio, Radio Free Asia has learned.

Gao Zhen, 68, who with his brother Gao Qiang has a global reputation for works of political satire, was detained by police in Sanhe city in the northern province of Hebei on Aug. 26, according to a detention notice sent to his family the following day, Gao's lawyer and friends told RFA Mandarin.

The Gao Brothers’ dissident artwork has been shown at many venues overseas, but not publicly displayed in China since they signed an open letter from dissident physicist Fang Lizhi to then supreme leader Deng Xiaoping during the pro-democracy movement of 1989.

Police detained Gao Zhen at around 9.00 a.m. on Aug. 26, rushing into his apartment and taking him away in handcuffs, while searching his studio and questioning his wife for several hours, according to an Aug. 31 post on the Gao Brothers' Facebook page.

State security police confiscated books, computer hard drives, and sculptures and artwork relating to late supreme leader Mao Zedong, the post said.

All of the works taken by police were created more than a decade ago, before laws on protecting the reputation of "revolutionary heroes and martyrs" took effect, it said.

China passed a law criminalizing "insults" to the ruling Communist Party's canon of revolutionary heroes and martyrs in 2018.

Gao is currently being held in the Sanhe Detention Center on suspicion of "infringing the reputation of revolutionary heroes and martyrs," the Facebook post said.

His lawyer Qu Zhenhong confirmed Gao's detention to RFA Mandarin on Sunday, but declined to give further details.

"His family has received a notice [of detention], but it's inconvenient for me to say anything more because the case is still under investigation," Qu said.

‘Miss Mao’

U.K.-based writer Ma Jian said he had heard of Gao's detention in a text message from his brother Gao Qiang, who lives in New York.

"According to the detention notice, he has been detained for crimes against the reputation of heroes and martyrs," Ma said in an open letter about Gao's detention, a copy of which was shared with RFA Mandarin.

The letter cited several sculptures from several years back including the "Miss Mao" series, depicting the late chairman with breasts, and "Mao Kneels in Repentance," which are believed to have sparked the charges.

Signed by Ma and several other creative artists, the letter called on the Chinese government to release Gao and to repeal the legislation banning "insults" to revolutionary heroes, because it infringes on the freedom of speech guaranteed -- on paper, at least -- in China's constitution.

It likened Gao's detention to the political witch-hunts of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, in which the Gao brothers lost their father.

"Today, the Sanhe police department seems to see Gao Zhen's artistic works as evidence of crime, repeating the persecution of the Cultural Revolution," the letter said, saying that controls on Chinese artists continue to tighten under Communist Party leader Xi Jinping.

About to depart for New York

Thailand-based fellow artist Du Yinghong said Gao's detention came as he and his family prepared to board a flight to New York, where his son was due to start school.

"We've booked a flight to Tokyo, and then back to New York, because our son is about to start school," Gao says in an Aug. 26 voice note to Du, a recording of which was shared with RFA Mandarin. "I hope I'll get a chance to organize a trip [to visit you] next year, when we can discuss art-related matters."

Repeated calls to the Sanhe Detention Center rang unanswered on Sunday.

The other Gao Brother -- Gao Qiang -- responded to written questions from RFA only with the message: "Thank you for your attention."

A person close to the case told RFA Mandarin that the detention notice included the phrase "infringing the reputation of heroes and martyrs.” It is likely that the charge relates to sculptures of late supreme leader Mao Zedong, including one of Mao "kneeling and repenting," they said.

If the authorities can't make that stick retroactively, they may seek evidence to support other charges typically used to target critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, including "subversion" and "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," the person said.

Raid on warehouse

Gao Zhen's detention came alongside a police raid on his warehouse, apartment and studio in Sanhe's Best Jingu Industrial Park, according to Ma Jian. Previous attempts by police to enter the premises in 2023 were unsuccessful as Gao Zhen was in New York for the whole of last year.

In 2011, as the authorities released artist and social critic Ai Weiwei from 80 days' detention over alleged tax evasion, officials raided the 798 Art Village in Beijing in reaction to a satirical sculpture the brothers made of Mao as a woman.

The polished stainless steel sculpture titled "Miss Mao trying to poise herself at the top of Lenin's head," portrays the aging leader with signature receding hairline and facial mole, sporting a large pair of naked breasts. The Miss Mao element sits atop a large and grotesque head of Lenin, balancing with a tightrope walking pole.

A super-sized version of the sculpture was shown at the Vancouver Biennale festival in 2010, and was widely seen as a dissident work, satirizing orthodox communism and the official Chinese view of history.

Beijing authorities shut down independent journalist Gao Yu’s internet, landline, and cellular connection on Monday, August 26, after she published a Sunday article analyzing an Al Jazeera interview with Victor Gao, vice president of the Chinese think tank Center for China and Globalization.

“Chinese authorities must restore journalist Gao Yu’s internet connection and phone services and stop harassing her with physical and digital surveillance,” said Iris Hsu, CPJ’s China representative. “Beijing’s excessive need to control dissent is a reflection of its cowardice and fear of critical reporting.”

Authorities have asked Gao to shut down her account on the social platform X for years, she told CPJ, adding that she believes that her posts, including ones sharing her articles, are the reason for turning off her internet and phone access. Gao told CPJ that she must go to a friend’s house or a restaurant to access the internet.

Beijing police also asked Gao to leave the capital from August 29 to September 9 while the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, a state-level economic conference between African countries and China, took place. Gao said that after she refused, the police told her that they would take turns guarding her house to ensure she wouldn’t leave. This is a common practice against dissidents in China.

CPJ’s email requesting comment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a message sent via the webpage after office hours to the Government of Beijing Municipality did not immediately receive any responses.

Authorities sentenced Gao to six years in 1994 for “leaking state secrets;” she was released in 1999 on medical parole after serving part of the sentence. Gao was sentenced to seven years in 2015 on the same charge. The sentence was later reduced to five years, which Gao served outside of prison due to her deteriorating health.

Kyrgyzstan authorities should retract their decision to liquidate the award-winning investigative outlet Kloop Media, eight international human rights groups said today.

On August 29, 2024, Kloop Media Public Foundation reported that Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court upheld a February liquidation order from a Bishkek district court against the publication. The decision was made in a closed hearing on July 16, but Kloop Media was only informed on August 22. The Supreme Court’s rulings are considered final and not subject to appeal.

“The forced closure of Kloop Media not only silences a crucial voice in Kyrgyzstani society but also signals a continued decline in Kyrgyzstan’s respect for civil and political rights and freedoms of its citizens,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “This action undermines the public’s right to information and further weakens the foundations of democratic governance in the country.”

The case against Kloop Media was initiated in August 2023 following a lawsuit by the Bishkek City Prosecutor’s Office. The lawsuit alleged that Kloop had failed to register as a mass media outlet and had engaged in media activity not listed in its charter, which can warrant the liquidation of legal entities under Kyrgyzstan’s civil law code. The lawsuit also cited a pre-trial investigation into Kloop’s activities initiated by the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security in November 2021, alleging violations of criminal code provisions against "making public calls for the violent seizure of power online."

The lawsuit accused Kloop Media of “sharp criticism of [the] government” and listed a number of articles that it categorized as critical of the Kyrgyz government’s policies and of state and municipal bodies. The opinions of several court-affiliated legal experts cited in the lawsuit said that Kloop’s publications use “hidden manipulation,” as experts put it, leading to “dissatisfaction” and “distrust” of the authorities among its readership, which could lead to their “zombification” and to encouraging readers to join anti-government protests.

The lawsuit also spotlighted Kloop’s coverage of the situation in the country’s southern Batken region, which had been the site of two border conflicts with Tajikistan over the past three years. A Human Rights Watch report on the most recent conflict, in September 2022, found that forces from both sides committed apparent war crimes in attacks on civilians. The lawsuit alleges that Kloop’s articles about the region were responsible for the continued flow of internal and external migration away from the region, which the lawsuit claims serves tTajikistan’s strategic goals.

In September 2023, the authorities blocked Kloop’s website and on February 9, 2024, a district court in Bishkek ruled in favor of the prosecution’s request to liquidate Kloop Media on grounds of its failure to list journalistic activities as part of the foundation’s charter. Kloop tried to appeal to the Bishkek city court, which said the filing deadline had expired. The Supreme Court supported that decision, effectively exhausting Kloop Media’s legal options.

Kloop Media is known for its independent reporting on national and regional affairs. It has also collaborated on anti-corruption investigations with the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Kyrgyz Service and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a global investigative journalism network.

The assault on Kloop is part of a broader pattern of media repression in Kyrgyzstan, the organizations said. In January 2024, police arrested 11 current and former journalists associated with Temirov Live, another investigative outlet, following raids on their homes. They faced criminal charges in retaliation for their reporting and are currently on trial. Four remain in pretrial detention.

In 2023, the authorities brought cases against Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Kyrgyz service, resulting in the freezing of its bank account and the blocking of its website. In addition, in January 2024, the office of the news agency 24.kg was closed for more than two months pending a spurious criminal investigation opened following a raid and the detention of media editors by the Kyrgyz national security agency.

Numerous other independent media outlets, journalists, and bloggers have also faced increasing pressure, including politically motivated criminal cases, arrests, and prosecution. The websites of various independent news sites have been arbitrarily blocked, creating a chilling effect on free expression throughout the country.

In addition, the undersigned organizations share grave concerns that the currently considered legal amendments, which include re-criminalizing defamation, could lead to a new wave of violations of the right to freedom of expression. Due to the widening media crackdown and increasing violations of civic freedoms, Kyrgyzstan is currently on the CIVICUS Monitor’s global watchlist, which highlights countries facing a serious decline in civic space.

Kyrgyzstan’s actions against independent media have significant international implications. As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Kyrgyzstan has a particular obligation to uphold fundamental human rights and freedoms. However, the forced closure of Kloop and the harassment of other media outlets not only violate Kyrgyzstan’s own constitutional guarantees but also breach its international human rights obligations.

“The regression in media freedoms tarnishes Kyrgyzstan’s international reputation and raises questions about its commitment to the values UN Human Rights Council members are expected to uphold,” said Brigitte Dufour, director of International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR).

Kyrgyzstan’s international partners, including the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and bilateral allies, should exert diplomatic pressure on the Kyrgyz government to reverse its repressive course against independent media. In all their interactions they should insist that the authorities need to clearly demonstrate that Kyrgyzstan complies in practice with its international human rights commitments.

"The Kyrgyz authorities’ move to liquidate the acclaimed independent news organization Kloop Media is yet another sign that the government prefers to silence critics rather than address the issues they raise. This is an unacceptable attack on press freedom. Independent media like Kloop Media are the canary in the mine for civil and political rights; silencing them leaves no doubt about the deterioration of freedom. The Kyrgyz government must reverse its assault on Kloop Media and other critical voices," says John Stauffer, Acting Executive Director at Civil Rights Defenders.

“We urge the Kyrgyz government to halt its campaign of intimidation and legal persecution against journalists and media outlets, allowing Kloop and all other independent news sources to operate without interference or fear of reprisal,” said Marie Struthers, director of Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office. “The recent actions against Kloop Media, a beacon of investigative journalism in Kyrgyzstan, represent a grave threat to press freedom and human rights in the region.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kyrgyz authorities to drop their threats against two independent online news outlets over reports about President Sadyr Japarov on the grounds they contain “false information.”

In a September 4 letter, Kyrgyzstan’s culture and information ministry threatened to block access to Novye Litsa in 24 hours unless it deleted an August 30 article connecting a Russian political strategist linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the deceased leader of the Russian mercenary company Wagner, to Japarov’s 2021 election campaign. The outlet complied with the order but defended the accuracy of the article.

The ministry also demanded that the Kyrgyz Service of the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, known locally as Radio Azattyk, remove a radio report covering the Novye Litsa story or face a similar block.

“By issuing threats against Radio Azattyk and Novye Litsa over reports looking into President Sadyr Japarov’s alleged political strategists, Kyrgyz authorities have once again demonstrated that the ‘false information’ law is used for shielding the reputations of top state officials, not for countering disinformation,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Defamation allegations should be weighed against evidence— not the opaque whims of officials sitting in the halls of power. The false information law must be repealed.”

The ministry cited a 2021 law, which allows it to block websites it deems to contain “false information.”

In 2022, authorities blocked Radio Azattyk’s websites and in 2023 ordered the outlet to close, only reversing their decisions after the outlet had deleted a video about border clashes. This year, prosecutors shuttered and liquidated Kloop, a local partner of the global Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, after blocking its website which featured a series of corruption investigations.

Presidential press secretary Askat Alagozov said on Facebook that if Radio Azattyk’s reporting was found to “deliberately slander” Kyrgyzstan’s leadership, “the question of whether we need such an outlet may be put on the agenda.”

Since Japarov became president in 2021, Kyrgyz authorities have launched an unprecedented crackdown on independent reporting in a country previously seen as a regional beacon for the free press.

At least 11 journalists were injured and their equipment was damaged when police used physical force during last week's protests in Indonesia. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for a transparent and independent investigation to bring those responsible to justice.

At least 11 journalists were assaulted by members of the Indonesian Republic Police (Polri) as they covered widespread protests against amendments to a law governing elections in Jakarta, the capital, and the city of Bandung on 22 August. The police forced these journalists to delete their coverage of the demonstrations, while their equipment was damaged.

“Nothing justifies this police brutality against journalists, as well as the damage to their equipment. We call on Indonesian authorities to conduct transparent and independent investigations into these acts of violence and guarantee the protection of journalists in the course of their work.

Cédric Alviani RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau Director In Jakarta, two photojournalists from online media Makna Talks, known as Edo and Dory, were targeted with tear gas and beaten when reporting on the spot. Juan Robin and Achmad Wahib, reporters from Narasi TV, were pushed to the ground and their cameras were damaged by police officers. Anggita Raissa and Riyan Setiawan, from online media Deduktif, told RSF they also experienced similar encounters with the police. Angga Permana from online media konteks.co.id suffered a beating by security forces that resulted in a head injury.

In the city of Bandung, Alza Ahdira, a journalist from Pikiran-Rakyat.com, was reportedly beaten on her head and arms by five police officers after filming the police dispersing the protesters. Three other journalists from two media, IDN Times and Tempo, remain anonymous for safety reasons. One of them was beaten by police and later brought to a police station for interrogation. He was later released with numerous wounds.

Indonesia is ranked 111th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index.

The Sri Lankan government continues to persecute the families of victims of enforced disappearance who seek to enforce their rights, Human Rights Watch said today. Security forces persistently harass families through surveillance, intimidation, false allegations, violence, and arbitrary arrests.

On August 29, 2024, a court in Trincomalee granted a request by police to ban relatives of the disappeared from holding a procession to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance on August 30.

“The relatives of the disappeared experience the daily torment of not knowing what happened to their family members, which state agencies have cruelly compounded by trying to silence them,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Hundreds of mothers, wives, and others have passed away without learning what happened to their loved ones, and many more express fear they might not live to see justice done.”

Sri Lanka has one of the world’s highest rates of enforced disappearance, including those who disappeared during the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna insurgency (1987-89) and the civil war between the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (1983-2009). Sri Lankan authorities have for decades refused to reveal the fate of the disappeared or to prosecute those responsible, leading the United Nations human rights office to call for international prosecutions.

In his August 22 annual report on Sri Lanka to the UN Human Rights Council, the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, described “a persistent trend of surveillance, intimidation and harassment of journalists and civil society actors, especially those working on enforced disappearances … and reprisals against family members of the disappeared engaging with the UN or international actors, including members of the diplomatic community.”

The high commissioner also examined allegations of abduction, arbitrary detention, torture, and sexual violence by Sri Lankan security forces carried out as recently as January. The victims in these cases, whom they said were primarily men, had been involved in protests over issues such as enforced disappearances.

In May, Human Rights Watch met with relatives of disappeared people throughout north and east Sri Lanka, mostly the wives or mothers of victims. They described a pattern of ongoing abuses. Several are facing court proceedings after being arrested at protests, including three who had been hospitalized as a result of police violence against protesters.

One woman in the Eastern Province, campaigning to know the fate of her husband, who surrendered to the military in 2009, said she believes she is under regular surveillance by security agencies, including the police Criminal Investigation Department, Terrorism Investigation Division, Special Task Force, and the army. She said they offer to pay her neighbors for information about her, in tactics apparently designed to isolate her from her community.

“We can’t raise our voices, we have no freedom to move,” said a woman in the Northern Province, whose husband has not been seen since his arrest in 2008. “They [security agencies] threaten us, and even take action against our family members. We have no freedom to do anything.”

The women said that police officers habitually deliver stay orders – prohibiting them from attending memorialization events or protests – in the middle of the night when they are dressed in their nightclothes and take photographs. “If my gate is locked, police climb over the wall or cut the fence to deliver a stay order,” one said. Another showed a pile of eight stay orders, although she said she had received more. “If anything is happening in the Northern or Eastern Provinces I get a stay order,” she said.

Several mothers of the disappeared said the most frightening threats were directed at their other children. One said that when she attends protests the police tell her, “You have to look after your child who is still alive.” Another said that days after she was arrested at a protest in 2023, her son was arrested in an allegedly fabricated drugs case and sent for custodial “rehabilitation.” Criminal cases against both her and her son are ongoing.

In December, the authorities launched an abusive anti-narcotics campaign called “Yukthiya,” which the UN says had resulted in over 121,000 arrests five months later. Families of the disappeared said the authorities are increasingly using false drug cases to harass them. The mother of a disappeared man said that police – including anti-narcotics officers – began making inquiries about her surviving son in December, leading her to fear that they would plant drugs in her home. “I have already lost a son,” she said. “He is now the only one I have left. I sent him to India [for his safety].”

Relatives of the disappeared said they have little or no recourse to domestic avenues for redress. In 2017 the Sri Lankan government established the Office of Missing Persons (OMP), which is supposed to establish the whereabouts or fate of the disappeared but has resolved almost no cases. Relatives accused the OMP of pressuring them to agree to receive compensation payments that they fear will lead to their cases being closed without further investigation.

One relative said, “The OMP says ‘take this certificate, get Rupees 200,000 [US$665], don’t support this movement [for truth and justice].” Another, whose daughter disappeared in 2009, said, “When I went to the OMP I noticed that they were pressing many families like us. They said to the families, ‘we don’t want any documents, we just want the details of the [disappeared] person.’ Some people took compensation, and some refused.”

“Earlier we trusted the OMP but after they recruited certain commissioners, we lost our faith,” said the mother of a disappeared person from Mannar, in northwest Sri Lanka, referring to the appointment of former senior security forces officials to the body. She said she has refused offers of compensation because “I need to know what happened to my son.”

Many relatives of the disappeared are also skeptical of the current government’s proposal for a new domestic truth and reconciliation commission, following numerous similar bodies that have previously failed to deliver truth or accountability. “We don’t accept it. We don’t have faith in it,” one said. They emphasized the importance of international involvement, including in criminal investigations.

The UN Human Rights Council, concerned governments, and other UN bodies should implement the recommendations in the UN high commissioner’s report, including:

Investigating and prosecuting alleged perpetrators of international crimes committed in Sri Lanka under the principle of universal jurisdiction. Imposing targeted sanctions on alleged perpetrators. Carrying out enhanced vetting of Sri Lankan officials, including those involved in UN peacekeeping missions. Renewing the Human Rights Council’s mandate for UN monitoring, reporting, and work on accountability for human rights violations and related crimes in Sri Lanka. “Successive Sri Lankan governments have resisted any progress to address the terrible legacy of enforced disappearances, and instead compounded the anguish of victims’ families,” Ganguly said. “While the Sri Lankan government commits these abuses, the Human Rights Council and governments around the world need to stand with the families of the disappeared.”

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Nguyen Tuong Thuy‘s wife, Pham Thi Lan, visited him on August 21. She reported that her own health has been deteriorating, but she tried not to show it to him. Thuy himself is reportedly in stable condition. An official named Bien visited Thuy on August 13 and tried to convince him to plead guilty. Thuy said he just wanted to be retried properly according to the law so that he could argue his case against his accusers. Thuy maintained that his investigators violated Vietnamese laws and that the charges against him were not about him but someone else. He said that his case was based on totally fabricated evidence. Lan also revealed that at one point, she herself was prohibited from traveling outside the country, a clear violation of her freedom of movement, and for which she has filed a complaint. Thuong, a journalist and democracy activist, was sentenced in 2021 to 11 years in prison.

Nguyen Ngoc Anh, a fisheries engineer and activist, was released from Xuan Loc Prison on August 30, 2024, after serving a six-year sentence for charges related to his criticism of the Vietnamese government. Anh, 44, was convicted in 2019 for "making, storing, and disseminating information against the state" through social media posts and videos addressing issues such as marine pollution caused by Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation and territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

Upon his release, Anh was turned over to local authorities in Binh Dai District, Ben Tre Province, where he will begin a five-year probation period. Despite his imprisonment, Anh expressed pride in standing up for what he believed was right, though he noted his health had deteriorated during his incarceration.

Nguyen Ngoc Anh has been an outspoken critic of government policies since 2013, using Facebook to voice his concerns. His wife, Nguyen Thi Chau, also faced harassment from authorities for advocating for her husband's release and highlighting his mistreatment in prison. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) previously condemned Anh's imprisonment as "arbitrary" and in violation of international human rights conventions.

Cambodian authorities have arbitrarily arrested at least 94 people since late July 2024 for publicly criticizing the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV), Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. At least 59 of those arrested, which include environmental, human rights and other activists, remain unlawfully detained and charged for peacefully expressing their views, including several children. The authorities should immediately drop all charges for which no internationally recognized charge is brought.

The CLV is a development plan among the governments of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam established in 2004 to facilitate cooperation on trade and migration. Concerns about the agreement resurfaced on social media in July particularly regarding land concessions and whether the CLV benefitted foreign interests above Cambodians. Many of those arrested have been charged with plotting and incitement merely for expressing their views on the CLV or organizing peaceful protests.

“The arbitrary restrictions on freedom of movement, peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are not justified under international law. The harassment of activists and their families is never acceptable. Alarmingly, the heavy-handed response by the Cambodian government has seen young people, including some children, unlawfully detained and charged with serious crimes against the State,” said Kate Schuetze, Deputy Regional Director for East South East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office at Amnesty International. “Cambodia’s partners should publicly and jointly call for this assault on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly to end.”

Background Following the first arrests of three activists in July, Telegram groups with thousands of members formed and began organizing public gatherings and peaceful marches to protest the agreement. Cambodians also held demonstrations in early August in South Korea, Japan, and Australia about the CLV.

As public criticism grew, Cambodian authorities tightened security measures and travel restrictions. Local human rights groups alleged that government officials across the country were putting land rights and civil society activists under surveillance, including ordering several not to travel outside of their communities and threatening their family members. The authorities also have imposed roadblocks on highways entering Phnom Penh and have been arbitrarily searching vans and taxis entering the capital.

Former prime minister and current Senate president Hun Sen’s official Telegram channel has aired videos of school children across Cambodia chanting in unison their support for the development agreement.

Senior officials have endorsed the crackdown through various public statements.

Hun Sen publicly called for the aforementioned arrest and sentencing of three activists in July who criticized the agreement on a broadcast on Facebook. He also threatened critics of the CLV in Cambodia as well as the families of opposition activists who live abroad with surveillance tactics that violate the right to privacy and the right to family life, stating that, “I urge the [Cambodian] government to search and find out all the groups that created this problem and live in the country. And compile all the cases of individuals outside the country, and study their family history, where their family are, if they are outside the country.”

The National Police stated on August 11 that “We are committed to making sacrifices in order to safeguard the legitimate Royal Government and implement stringent measures to prevent and suppress treacherous acts without exception, at all costs.” On August 16, the Cambodian gendarmerie leader, Sao Sokha, also released a video of a speech to his subordinates ordering them to be ready to face protesters armed with guns and to shoot if necessary.

The National Defense Ministry spokesperson, Chhum Socheat, told CamboJA News on August 12 that the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) supports the CLV and in a post on Facebook, the RCAF High Command stated that it “… will suppress and destroy all incited tactics that destroy the nation and peace, and other attempts to sabotage and overthrow the legitimate Royal Government in any form.”. Government officials from the national and provincial level, including from the armed forces, have issued a petition supporting the CLV.

Hun Sen continued to make public threats against CLV critics in an August 12 speech, including against Hay Vanna, an opposition activist living in Japan: “[Y]ou all tried to incite others. … [W]e have heard what Hay Vanna said outside of the country. … You need to think about it carefully. If you make mistakes, you might be in danger. … You need to think about this carefully before you travel to join the protest.”

On August 16, Cambodian authorities arrested Hay Vannith, Vanna’s brother, a Health Ministry civil servant and did not provide information about his whereabouts until August 20, raising concerns that he had been forcibly disappeared. His family only learned he was in custody after an audio recording of a “confession” by Vannith to overthrow the government was posted on August 21 on the Cambodia government spokesperson Facebook page.

The government-aligned media outlet Fresh News broadcast on August 19 a “confession” from Lach Tina, a youth activist, accusing fellow activists protesting the CLV of organizing a plot against the government.

These supposed “confessions” by detainees and claims of plots against the government heighten concerns for their safety and others in custody, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said.

Of the 94 people arrested, at least 59 have been charged and remain under arrest or in pretrial detention. Cambodian authorities have charged at least 21 people with incitement to commit a felony, a charge often spuriously brought against human rights activists. In 2021, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia expressed concern about the improper use of incitement charges. Incitement carries a penalty of up to two years in prison, while “plotting” carries a punishment of up to 10 years.

At least 33 people face charges of plotting against the state, including four young adult members from the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association. This charge was recently brought against members of the environmental group Mother Nature, after which the UN Human Rights Office spokesperson, Thameen Al-Kheetan, “call[ed] on Cambodia to hold broad-based public consultations to amend relevant articles of the Cambodian Criminal Code to bring them into conformity with international human rights law.” At least four children have also been charged with plotting, punishable by up to five years in prison, rather than 10, because they are children.

All four children charged remain in pretrial detention. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Cambodia ratified in 1992, states that the arrest and detention of a child should be used only as a last resort and for the shortest period of time. The convention also upholds the rights of children to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

“The mass arrests of CLV Development Triangle Area activists are a deliberate, coordinated effort by Cambodian authorities to intimidate critics and prevent them from demonstrating in Phnom Penh or sharing their views on social media,” said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “These wrongful detentions and charges show Prime Minister Hun Manet’s disrespect for the rights of Cambodians and the country’s international human rights obligations.”

Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan, previously imprisoned for four years for her independent reporting on the Covid 19 outbreak, is missing again and was reportedly recently taken to a detention facility in Shanghai for unclear reasons. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is alarmed by this development, and urges immediate mobilisation of the international diplomatic community to ensure her safety. She must be released and granted full freedom without delay.

On 1 September, independent Chinese news website Weiquanwang revealed that journalist and former lawyer Zhang Zhan is being held in Pudong Detention Center in Shanghai. The journalist was apprehended by police while she was travelling to her hometown in the Shaanxi province in northwest China on 28 August. Since that time she has not answered her phone or updated her social media accounts where she had recently resumed posting.

No official reason has been given for her detention, but in the weeks prior to this incident, Zhang Zhan had been sharing news about the harassment of other activists in China on social media. She had also travelled to the northwestern province of Gansu to persuade the mother of a recently arrested activist to sign a power of attorney.

Zhang Zhan was initially arrested in May 2020, while covering the early stages of the Covid 19 outbreak in Wuhan, in central-eastern China. She had posted more than 100 videos on social media before her arrest on 14 May 2020, and seven months later was sentenced to four years in prison by a Shanghai court on the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”

Throughout her imprisonment, RSF campaigned for her release and warned about the ill treatment she was subjected to in prison. During her early months of detention, Zhang Zhan nearly died after going on a total hunger strike to protest her situation. Prison officials forcibly fed her through a nasal tube and sometimes left her handcuffed for days.

China, the world’s biggest prison for journalists and press freedom defenders with at least 120 currently behind bars, is ranked 172nd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index.

About the Human Rights Defenders: Mr. Rameshchandra Singh @ RC Mangangcha, is a reporter of IMPACT-TV Channel Background: Since May 2023, ethnic violence between two communities Meitei and Kuki-Zo has been taking place in the state of Manipur leading to loss of many innocent citizens’ lives and injuries, arson, assault and other heinous crimes. The said communal clash is continuing 16 months after its beginning. The journalists, who cover the news of the conflict have been doing so at great personal risk to their lives. Details of the Incident: On August 01, 2024, about 100 inmates/internal displaced persons (IDPs) staying at the Relief Camp opened inside the campus of Ideal Girls’ College, Akampat, Imphal East District held a protest rally in Imphal against the Government demanding to return to their respective homes and seeking the resettlement and rehabilitation in their native places. The said inmates were mainly from Myanmar border town Moreh and the rally was organised by the Protection of Meitei Victims, Moreh. The Manipur Police fired tear gas at the protestors marching towards Manipur Legislative Assembly. Admit the tension, some persons among the IDPs turned aggressive and pelted stones at the police forcing the latter to unleash tear gas shells to control the situation and herd back the protestors. With the confrontation taking place close to a girls school namely Ideal Girls’ School, Akampat, many students lost consciousness and were stricken with fear due to harsh action of the police as well as inhalation of tear gas and mock bomb fumes and had to be taken to hospital for further treatment. Mr. Rameshchandra Singh @ RC Mangangcha, a reporter of IMPACT-TV Channel was assigned for coverage of the said incident. The Police personnel fired mock bomb and tear gas shells to the rally of IDPs to disperse them when he reached at the spot near Singjamei Bridge at about 11.30 am. Then, one police personnel asked him whether he was from the press when they saw him covering the incident by using his mobile phone camera. Then Mr. Rameshchandra Singh replied that he is a journalist and thereby showed his identity card. However, one Police Officer/Sub-Inspector Sub Inspector Sh. Nikhil Singh rushed him and broken his mobile by throwing it on the road and started mercilessly assaulted the reporter with tear gas gun without hearing his repeated request/clarification. Mr. Rameshchandra Singh was brought to the Raj Medicity, a private hospital for treatment.

About the Human Rights Defenders: Progressive Student Forum (PSF) is a student organisation based in Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), it was established in 2016, build democratic and secular spaces that would enable critical engagement with the emerging socio-economic and political environment. The student body organised sessions, discussion and dialogues on various issue and different events such as talks, seminars, films, screenings, informal discussions between students. PSF intervene in various issues and concerns of students of TISS. Background: PSF organised a protest in solidarity against the suspension of PhD Scholar KS Ramdas over alleged ‘misconduct and anti-national activities’ at the Institute and they condemned dismissal of TISS faculty in July 2024. Details of the Incident: On August 19, 2024, the registrar of TISS administration issued a notice to ban PSF, calling the forum unauthorized and illegal forum. The notice claimed that the “PSF has been engaging in activities that obstruct the institute functions, defame the institute, demean members of our community, and create divisions among students and faculty.” The notice further states that “group is misleading, distracting and misguiding students from their academic pursuit and harmonious life in the campus”. The Notice imposed immediate ban on PSF for all institute premises and activities and ordered that “any student or faculty member found supporting, associating with or propagating the group’s divisive ideologies will be subject to disciplinary action”.

About the Human Rights Defender: Imran Ali alias Raju Warsi is an established human rights worker and the district Coordinator of INSAF Manch Vaishali Bihar. Background of the incident: Muharram is one of the main festivals of Muslims. Even Hindus in large number participate in the festivity. But anti-social religious hate mongers try to gain political benefits by spreading communal disharmony in the society. Details of the Incident: On July 17, 2024 at around 8:00 in the night a Muharram procession was passing through Mahua Bazar, Gandhi Chowk, District Vaishali, Bihar. Some miscreants started abusive slogan against Prophet Mohammad and Allah. To avoid any clash people in the procession caught them and handed them over to police on duty at the spot. However, the Police let them go after some time. The hooligans again gathered at Government Block office gate and started shouting. Mr. Imran Ali tried to reach there in order to understand the reason for the commotion. All of a sudden, the hooligans attacked HRD Imran Ali and started beating him. He was beaten up so badly that he got unconscious. The attackers left him there thinking him dead. Mr. Imran Ali was taken to the Sub division Government hospital. Seeing his serious condition of the HRD doctors referred him to District Hospital and he was taken to Hazipur District Hospital Bihar. Next day seeing that he is not getting proper care HRD’s family members admitted him in a private nursing home where he remained admitted till July 22,2024 A complaint regarding the incident was made to police on July 19, 2024 at the Mahua police station. The police filed an FIR on July, 20, 2024. After filing FIR perpetrators started calling HRD and threatening him to withdraw the police complaint. However HRD Imran Ali didn’t withdraw his complaint. On July 23 2024, the police filed a FIR against HRD Imran Ali under sections 126(2), 191(2),127(2),115(2),118(1),303(2),352,351,74,76 of BNS 2023 and 3(1)(s), 3(1)(w), 3(1)(r) of Prevention of Atrocities Against SC/ST Act.

Myanmar authorities should immediately release journalists Aung San Oo and Myo Myint Oo, who were sentenced to 20 years and life in prison respectively, and stop using terrorism charges to harass the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.

A military court inside Myeik Prison sentenced the Dawei Watch journalists Aung San Oo on February 16 and Myo Myint Oo on May 15, the chief editor of the local independent outlet told CPJ, requesting anonymity due to fear of reprisals. The reporters were arrested in the coastal town of Myeik in December, three days after returning home from hiding.

“Dawei Watch journalists Aung San Oo and Myo Myint Oo’s lengthy sentences on terrorism-related charges are senselessly harsh and must be reversed,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “These types of extreme court rulings aim to instill fear among all reporters and will have a chilling effect across Myanmar’s independent media.”

The sentences, to be served at Myeik Prison, were not made public until recently, the editor said.

Authorities beat Aung San Oo and Myo Myint Oo during interrogations at a detention center and denied them legal counsel, according to a Dawei Watch statement.

Four other Dawei Watch staff have been arrested since the military seized power in 2021, including reporter Aung Lwin who was sentenced in 2022 to five years in prison on terrorism charges.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Information did not respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment. Myanmar was the world’s second-worst jailer of journalists, with 43 behind bars in CPJ’s 2023 prison census.

The Appeal Court has sentenced a protester to two years in prison for royal defamation over wearing Thai traditional dress at a mock fashion show during a protest in 2020. She was later granted bail after being detained for 2 days.

On Monday (19 August), the Appeal Court upheld the initial ruling to sentence protester Jatuporn Sae-ung without parole for royal defamation.

Jatuporn was charged with royal defamation, violating the Public Assembly Act, the Emergency Decree, and the Communicable Diseases Act, and using a sound amplifier without permission. She was accused of insulting the Queen by wearing a Thai traditional dress to participate in the “Ratsadorn Catwalk” fashion show, a gesture seen as mockery of the royal family, staged at a 29 October 2020 protest.

The complaint against her was filed by Waritsanun Sribawornthanakit, the owner of a pro-establishment Facebook page who also filed a complaint against Noppasin Treelayapewat, a 17-year-old protester, who wore a black crop top to the same event with the message “My father’s name is Mana, not Vajiralongkorn” written on his back.

The ”Ratsadorn Catwalk” took place after it was reported that the Ministry of Commerce received a 13-million baht budget for the overseas exhibition of new products by the Sirivannavari brand, a fashion label owned by the King’s daughter, Princess Sirivannavari.

The 29 October 2020 protest took place on the same day that Sirivannavari’s new collection was being launched at the nearby Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

The indictment accused Jatuporn of imitating the Queen’s demeanour by walking on a red carpet while a woman bowed at her feet. Jatuporn stopped walking and extended her hands for the protesters to grab. At the same time, an unidentified person shouted out “the Queen” as the royal anthem was played. The protesters also shouted “Long Live the Queen,” making it appear as if Jatuporn was posing as the Queen.

The South Bangkok Criminal Court on 12 September 2022 found Jatuporn guilty of royal defamation and violation of the Public Assembly Act, sentencing her to three years in prison and a fine of 1,500 baht. As a result of her ‘helpful’ testimony, it reduced her sentence to two years in prison and a fine of 1,000 baht. On 14 September 2022, she was allowed bail with 200,000 baht as security.

The Appeal Court today ruled to uphold the verdict, sentencing Jatuporn to two years in prison without parole over royal defamation and a 1,000 baht fine for violating the Public Assembly Act. Her lawyer requested bail. The request has been forwarded to the Supreme Court. As this takes approximately 2-3 days, Jatuporn is being held at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution.

Update: Jatuporn was granted bail on 21 August.

Peasant communities in San Jose Del Monte (SJDM), Bulacan are marred with continued military operations, intensifying for more than two months and affecting around 400 rural families.

Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) reported that the military enforced psywar and crackdown on civilians when the 80th Infantry Battalion (IB) raided the home of its Secretary-General Ronnie Manalo on June 18, 7am and planted incriminating evidence.

Manalo was part of a team of farmers and peasant advocates in 2022 who were fired upon and harassed by private goons hired by Araneta Properties Inc. in Sitio Ricafort, Tungkong Mangga, SJDM, Bulacan.

Araneta Properties is headed by Gregorio Maria Araneta III, husband of Irene Marcos-Araneta, sister of Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

On the same day, soldiers also went to the house of 63-year-old Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan (AMB) Chairperson Cecilia Rapiz in Barangay Paradise 3, SJDM, Bulacan. The soldiers were asking for her whereabouts. Both Manalo and Rapiz are reportedly victims of red-tagging, threat, harassment, and intimidation by state forces.

Aside from these military operations, KMP reported that soldiers set up camp in Paradise 3 on June 21 and held a terror-tagging seminar with barangay officials on June 24. Military presence continued in the whole month of July, “establishing an atmosphere of fear and restlessness among residents, especially the elderly and children.”

By August 13, it is reported that four barangays are under military encirclement by the 80th IB. “The soldiers have undertaken a psywar campaign for fake surrenders. They utilise intimidation, threats, and coercion in house-to-house interrogations and summons, explicitly red-tagging KMP and the mere act of participating in protests,” KMP said in a statement.

Ongoing psywar campaign

In an interview with Bulatlat, Ida, not her real name, detailed the fear she experienced from the military visits in her residence. “The military visited me three times, aggressively asking me questions on my participation in rallies, and even meetings in our organization.”

Ida is a member of Samahan at Sandigan ng mga Magsasaka ng San Isidro (SASAMAG), a local chapter of KMP in Bulacan. Many of her fellow members were also subjected to the same house-to-house visits by the 80th IB starting August 12.

“I am afraid to go to the farm alone. Even my daily household activities were being disrupted due to the military visits,” Ida added.

In the house-to-house visits, the residents were asked about their personal information, and even their extended family’s. They were then asked whether they still participated in rallies or coordinated with members of KMP and other progressive groups. Afterwards, they would be asked to write a document, stating that they will no longer participate in rallies, leaving residents with no choice but to sign it.

Some residents were even asked for their IDs. The military also reportedly took photos of the residents. When asked about the purpose, the military reportedly said that it is a supplementing attachment for the documents they gathered.

“We have no choice but to comply. Of course, we do not want to get on the bad side of the military, since they were encamped in our area. We fear what would happen next, especially with our signatures, pictures, and even copies of our ID,” Ida said.This military action is a precursor to the fake surrender campaigns of the government. Bulatlat has reported similar incidents in rural communities in Southern Tagalog Region, Bicol Region, and some parts of Central Luzon (e.g. Aurora, Bulacan).

This incident involving Ida is not isolated. Residents in her community confirmed that similar patterns of questioning have occurred repeatedly, particularly those members of SASAMAG. They also reported that during these house-to-house visits, the soldiers were dressed in civilian clothing. Residents have daily interactions with the soldiers, as they are heavily deployed in civilian areas.

The affected farmer organizations in SJDM are the primary source of products and direct sellers in the Bagsakan, a mobile direct farmers’ market for Bungkalan products.

Violations of human rights

Butch Lozande, spokesperson of Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) and a delegate in the fact-finding mission, said that forbidding the residents to assert their rights through rallies and organizational affiliation is a violation of their human rights.

“Under our constitution, our laws, there is nothing wrong with what we are doing. It is our right to join organizations who put forward our interest and welfare. We should not fear them,” Lozande said in a solidarity message with the residents.

He also added that this is not only happening in Bulacan, but also in other peasant communities around the country.

Freedom of speech, expression, and association are among the constitutionally-guaranteed rights in the Philippines, particularly Section 4 and 8 of the 1987 Constitution.

KMP also stressed these in a statement. “They should immediately leave the farmers alone and let them resume their farming activities. KMP and its local chapters are legal and legitimate organizations promoting peasants’ rights. These include not only the right to speak, organize, assemble, and due process, but also the right to land, livelihood, and social services.”

They also added that the military operations have maligned and disrupted the activities of the local farmers’ organizations since they were coercing the residents to “clear” their names and surrender themselves as “terrorists” or “sympathizers.”

Solidarity and fact-finding mission

Bulatlat joined the fact-finding mission organized by KMP on August 20. In the site of the communities, this writer observed and verified the presence of military encampments within the vicinity. Notably, a makeshift camp was also established adjacent to the barangay hall.

Labor leader Jerome Adonis said that the military encampment is a human rights violation. “The military can conduct activities in civilian communities, but military encampment is a separate issue. It’s a human rights violation,” Adonis said in a courtesy call with the barangay official.

The presence of a military encampment in a civilian area can expose residents to potential violence, conflicts, or retaliatory attacks, putting their lives at risk. In the Philippines, Bulatlat reported the environment of fear brought by militarization, leading to significant disruption of daily life and undermining the safety and security that civilians are entitled to under International Humanitarian Law (IHL).

The fact-finding team was accompanied by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Region 3. CHR said that their investigation is separate from the KMP’s. The team also conducted a courtesy call on the SJDM Mayor’s chief of staff, Juan Miguel Perez-San Pedro and Barangay Captain Alexander D.S. Medina.

While the local government officials said that they cannot do anything since the lands are privately owned by the Aranetas, they keep their lines open for assistance and deployed a barangay staff to join the fact-finding mission to “neutralize the possible hostile situation” in the community.

The delegates were not able to go to the area of Ricafort since the Aranetas’ private security did not let the team pass. The mission continued in the nearby community within Sitio San Isidro where the interviews were conducted. The area was still part of the disputed lands of the farmers against the Aranetas but unlike Ricafort, it is not heavily guarded by private security.

The principle of distinction is a fundamental tenet of IHL which requires parties to distinguish between combatants and civilians— under Articles 48, 51, 52, and 53 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions.

Military encampments and terrorist-tagging in the civilian areas blur the line between civilian and military objectives, increasing the risk of harm and unwarranted attacks among the residents, leading to violation of the IHL.

Cavite-based human rights group reported the continued harassment of state agents against student activist Paolo Tarra.

On August 4, agents from the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) visited Tarra’s family in Trece Martires City, Cavite threatening him with charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

The visit marks the latest in a series of harassment against Tarra, who has been under surveillance since February this year.Defend Cavite, a local rights group, reported the agents accused Tarra of involvement with “leftist groups”. The accusation stems from his participation in humanitarian missions and his attendance in the recent State of the Nation Address as a guest of Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel.

Tarra decried the baseless accusations made by the NTF-ELCAC, but emphasized that his primary frustration comes from the persistent harassment directed at his elderly parents, saying that the “state’s terrorism knows no bounds.”

According to Tarra, the agents explicitly warned his family that failure to cooperate could lead to filing of Anti-Terrorism Act case against him.

“They did not just threaten me with legal action,” Tarra told Bulatlat, “they also implied they might resort to illegal measures, including abduction, to get what they want.”

Defend Cavite condemned these actions, describing them as an attempt to intimidate and criminalize activism, pointing out that this is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of harassment against activists and rights defenders in the region.

Since last year, youth activists from Southern Tagalog were similarly targeted with trumped-up terror charges.

The group called for an urgent investigation into the harassment against Tarra, noting that his case bears similarities to other incidents in the province, such as the killing of labor leader Emmanuel “Ka Manny” Asuncion in 2021 after he faced similar harassment from state forces.

“These threats are not just about Paolo Tarra,” Defend Cavite stated. “They reflect a broader strategy to silence dissent and stifle any voices that challenge the status quo. This is a tactic of fear and repression that targets anyone who dares to stand up for human rights and social justice.”

The group is also appealing to lawmakers to review the Anti-Terrorism Act, which they argue is being weaponized to suppress political opposition and activism.

“We must remain vigilant because an attack on one of us is an attack on all,” said Tarra.