Uwazi

About the Human Rights Defenders: Mr. Lutfar Rahman, Mr. Wasim Akram, Mr. Abdul Momin, Mr. Hanif Momin, Mr. Noor Mohammad, and Mr. Kaif Sk are members of the Bagicha, Jibika o Bosti Rokkha Committee (Committee to Protect Orchards, Livelihoods and Settlements), an organisation set up to represent the farmers of the Dadantola area in Farakka block of Murshidabad district. Mr. Akram and others have participated in numerous peaceful protests to safeguard their farmlands, homesteads and orchards since 2021, when they learned that high voltage transmission lines carrying electricity from a power plant owned by the Adani group in Jharkhand to Bangladesh would pass through their villages.

Background of the Incident: A high-voltage transmission line taking electricity from Adani’s Godda power plant in Jharkhand to Bangladesh passes through the villages of Dadantola, Samaspur, Imamnagar, and Gholakandi under Farakka police station in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Farmers and agricultural workers in these villages are opposed to the setting up of transmission lines as they fear facing huge crop losses and loss of livelihood. They also allege that work on laying transmission lines through their properties was initiated without any intimation or consultation. On May 18, 2022, Mr. Lutfar Rahaman, one of the affected farmers and a member of Bagicha, Jibika o Bosti Rokkha Committee filed a writ petition in this regard in the Calcutta High Court (WPA 9159 of 2022). He submitted that since the transmission line had been installed through his orchard without any intimation, notice for land acquisition, and compensation, the transmission line could not be taken over his property. Details of the Incident: On June 3, 2022, at 20:05 hours, Mr. Sourabh Modi, Project In-charge for laying of transmission lines in Farakka, submitted a written complaint at the Farakka Police Station. He claimed that nine named accused including Mr. Lutfar Rahman and 11 unnamed accused attacked project workers with arms and damaged a drone earlier that morning. Police immediately registered an FIR (177/2022) against that Mr. Lutfar Rahman and other accused without even questioning them once, although they had peacefully protested against use of drones to survey their lands, and despite the fact that Mr. Rahman’s petition was being heard in the High Court. The accused were charged under Sections 341, 313, 325 307, 379, 427, 506, 34 of the Indian Penal Code. On June 26, 2022, at 8 AM, Mr. Lutfar Rahman, Mr. Wasim Akram, Mr. Hanif Momin, and other HRDs and villagers began a peaceful, sit-in protest in Dadantola village, fearing that transmission lines could be laid over their lands despite their opposition. At around 10 AM, a contingent of 250 police personnel led by Mr. Debabrata Chakraborty, Officer in Charge of the Farakka police station and the Joint Block Development Officer, Farakka reached the protest site at Dadantola. They asked the villagers to call off the protest, so work on setting up the power lines could be started, but villagers opposed this and began a Facebook Live session of their protest. The police remained stationed throughout the day and left the spot at 5 PM. On July 2, 2022, at around 9:30 AM while the protest in Dadantola was ongoing, a 500-strong police contingent led by Mr. Debabrata Chakraborty, Officer in Charge, Farakka police station, and Mr. Junaid Ahmed, Block Development Officer, Farakka reached the protest spot. They asked Mr. Lutfar Rahman and other villagers and HRDs to vacate the spot, but he told them that they had a right to protest peacefully and that his petition was being heard at the High Court. When Mr. Wasim Akram broadcast the argument between police officials and Mr. Lutfar Rahman and fellow villagers live on Facebook, Mr. Debabrata Chakraborty objected, and charged at the HRD with his baton, hitting him behind his head. Villagers took him to the Beniagram Primary Health Centre, where he received three stitches for his injury. Other police personnel also resorted to indiscriminate baton-charge, dispersing the peaceful protest, and injuring Mr. Hanif Momin and other HRDs who were treated at the primary health centre. The police contingent camped at Dadantola till the afternoon, ensuring work on laying transmission lines through the properties of Mr. Lutfar Rahman and other villagers was carried out despite the matter being sub judice. Police chased and baton-charged those who tried going near the transmission towers in a bid to prevent the work, leaving around 25 villagers with injuries. Police illegally detained Mr. Wasim Akram without providing any reason or showing any warrant when he was leaving the Beniagram health centre at around 12.30 PM after receiving treatment. Mr. Abdul Momin, Mr. Hanif Momin, Mr. Noor Mohammad, and Mr. Kaif SK were detained similarly from the protest spot. The HRDs were shown as arrested in connection with FIR no. 212/2022, Farakka Police Station, which was registered at 00:05 hours on July 3, 2022. The complainant, Lady Sub Inspector Ms. Salma Farida claimed that the five arrested HRDs, nine other named accused and 35-40 unnamed accused obstructed the laying of transmission lines and abused and attacked the police personnel. Mr. Wasim Akram, Mr. Abdul Momin, Mr. Hanif Momin, Mr. Noor Mohammad, and Mr. Kaif SK were produced in court on July 3 and remanded in Farakka jail. They were released on bail on July 18, 2022. It appears that the local police and administration was complicit in forcefully laying transmission lines through the properties of Mr. Lutfar Rahman and other villagers in Dadantola although the matter was sub judice. Police registered two fabricated cases against local HRDs including Mr. Rahman without any preliminary investigation, and arrested five HRDs in flagrant violation of the DK Basu guidelines, without showing any arrest warrant or providing them access to lawyers.

About the Human Rights Defenders: Ms. Bimla Devi, Ms. Sunita Devi, Ms. Anita Devi and Ms. Tergani Devi are permanent residents of Lukumbar village in Garhwa district. Ms. Bimla Devi and others are members of the Korwa tribe and they had filed claims for individual and community rights in 2020 over a patch of land adjacent to their neighbourhood in the village, which has been kept in abeyance by the forest department.

Background of the Incident: Lukumbar village is located amidst dense forests in Ranka block of Jharkhand’s Garhwa district. Families belonging to the Korwa tribe who reside in Lukumbar have been cultivating a large patch of forest land adjacent to their neighbourhood in the village for over four generations, and a part of this land is also used by other villagers for grazing cattle, sorting minor forest produce and other activities. The Gram Pradhan (traditional village head) of Lukumbar Mr. Vasant Korwa has confirmed these facts. Villagers had submitted claims for individual and community rights over the said land under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 to the Sub Divisional Level Committee on July 20, 2020. On November 16, 2021, vide letter no. 762, the authority informed villagers that community claims could not be processed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although villagers’ claims over the said land are still pending, and Chapter III, Section 4(5) of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, clearly states that ‘no member of a forest dwelling Scheduled Tribe or other traditional forest dweller shall be evicted or removed from forest land under his occupation till the recognition and verification procedure is complete’, the forest department has been trying to free the land of encroachment and plant trees on it since 2021. But their efforts were thwarted due to protests from villagers on many occasions.

Details of the Incident: On July 27, 2022, at around 10 AM, a contingent of about 25 forest officials and police personnel led by the Van Kshetra Padadhikari, Ranka arrived in Lukumbar in three vehicles including a Commander jeep bearing registration number 0922. No women personnel were present in the contingent. Forest officials and police heckled Ms. Bimla Devi, Ms. Sunita Devi, who was six months pregnant, and other Korwa women working on their farm in the forest clearing, for which claims had been filed under the Forest Rights Act in July 2020. They asked the women to leave as they planned to plant saplings on the land as part of an afforestation programme. When Ms. Bimla Devi, Ms. Sunita Devi and other women working in the field objected to this, forest officials and police personnel abused them in casteist terms such as jangli, adivasi and korain. Forest guards and police then brutally baton-charged Ms. Bimla Devi and the pregnant Ms. Sunita Devi till they collapsed on the ground. Two other Korwa women, Ms. Anita Devi and Ms. Tergani Devi also sustained injuries during the baton charge. When Mr. Ramchandra Korwa and other villagers heard the cries of the women, they rushed to the spot. Heated arguments ensued with forest officials and police, and when the entire village gathered at the spot, the officials and guards left the village. On July 28, Ms. Bimla Devi and Ms. Sunita Devi sent a written complaint regarding the incident by post to the Officer in Charge of Ranka Police Station and the Superintendent of Police, Garhwa. The complaint, which was endorsed by other villagers, urged that an FIR be registered against the 25 forest officials and police personnel for openly flouting Section 4(5) of Chapter III of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The complainants also urged that the perpetrators be booked under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. It appears that forest officials and police personnel in Garhwa are trying to forcefully evict tribal forest dwellers from their homes and farms in flagrant violation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The fact that community claims regarding the said land have been kept pending since 2020, and the non-registration of an FIR based on a complaint by Lukumbar villagers stating forest officers and police broke the law, raise further questions about the intent of the forest department and the police.

A fact-finding team which probed the murder of an anti-stone quarry activist has asked the state government to form an expert committee to inquire into the illegal activities of stone quarries in Karur district and submit a white paper on it. The nine-member team comprising Manapparai MLA P Abdul Samad of Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, Swaraj India party national president Christina Samy, R R Srinivasan of Poovulagin Nanbargal and advocates Mohan, Balamurugan, Kennedy and I Asir of HRD carried out day-long inspections at 26 quarries in K Paramathi area on Saturday. It was here that activist R Jeganathan, 49, of Kalipalayam was mowed down by a truck on September 10. Based on a complaint by his wife, police arrested S Selvakumar, 39, owner of Annai stone quarry in Kalipalayam village, truck driver Sakthivel, 24, and labourer Ranjithkumar, 44, for murder. The team met the victim's wife P Revathy and two sons. The team told reporters that none of the quarries they visited had any information displayed about their nature, extent, period of lease etc. This lack of basic information amounted to fundamental violation of mining rules. They said that over 200 quarries functioning in the district were dug to a depth of 350 feet or more. They mined the quarries beyond the permitted depth. They said the information provided by the officers about quarries was contradictory to what they found during the inspection. Hence, they demanded that the government form an expert committee under the direct monitoring of the chief minister which should come out with a white paper on the functioning of quarries. The team also insisted on providing security to social activists. Saying that Jeganathan faced threats to his life a few times earlier, the team demanded that the government announce Rs 50 lakh compensation to his family as well as a government job to a member. The body of Jeganathan was accepted by the family on September 14 after four days of protest.

Victor Das, a teacher at a private coaching centre, was arrested on September 9 by Assam Police and slapped with several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This has spurred widespread reactions from across the spectrum of society. Das invited imposition of serious charges upon him in his attempt to raise some alleged corruption in the recently held ADRE (Assam Direct Recruitment Examination) for various grade III and grade IV posts under the government of Assam.

In his tweets, Das raised the issue by tagging the chief minister, Assam Police, DGP Assam and GP Singh (Special DGP in Assam). The tweet caused a stir as people on social media started expressing their discontent over the matter and urged the government and the police to take a serious note of the issue. The police ultimately arrested Das, and the court sent him to police custody for seven days. Das has been in police custody for the past four days.

The Background

The Assam government conducted the ADRE for around 26,000 jobs in grade III and grade IV categories. Around 12 lakhs youngsters applied for posts through the much-advertised recruitment process. Ministers and officials came out with directives to ensure that this time the examination and the entire recruitment process go without an iota of corruption and malfunction at any step.

Notably, in an unusual happening, the government suspended the internet on August 21 and 28 of August. There was also resentment from different sections of society towards such a drastic step by the government, especially from those who depend overwhelmingly on the internet for their daily business.

It is worth mentioning that Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma came out with a lofty claim of giving jobs to one lakh youths during his election campaign in 2021.

Victor Das appeared as a spoiler in the whole episode of chest-thumping about conducting an anomaly-free examination. As a private coaching centre teacher, Das also taught students who appeared for the ADRE. He even seemed jubilant in his earlier tweets when the examination papers included questions he had taught the students. However, things did not appear as smooth and clean as it was thought and advertised.

On September 7, Victor posted a tweet alleging the involvement of a massive lobby in the corruption, including ex-MLAs. He alleged that in what appears to be a scam, there are demands of money from Rs 3 lakhs to 8 lakhs for securing one of the jobs for which the ADRE was conducted.

Among all those tagged, including the CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, only GP Singh, the special DGP of Assam Police, was seen to have replied to Victor’s tweet, which still appears in the thread. GP Singh, in his reply, urged Das to provide specifics and details to be sent to his inbox. In his other tweets that alleged the leak of the ADRE question paper, responses from others could also be seen expressing the same apprehensions. A few of his students also replied, saying that the demand for bribe money for the job is genuine.

The issue took an ugly turn from here on. Das was summoned to a Guwahati police station as a part of an enquiry into the matter. After a daylong marathon questioning at the Panbazar police station, Das was arrested on September 9. On that day, the Twitter handle of Guwahati Police informed that Das has been arrested for spreading rumours and being involved in a conspiracy to create discord among various sections of the society.

Sections Imposed on Victor Das

Victor Das has been booked under sections 120B, 153, 153A, 384 and 505 of the IPC. Das is in police custody now as a court in Assam ordered him to be remanded for seven days. This is how a whistleblower ended up inviting charges of extortion, criminal conspiracy and intention to cause enmity between groups.

It is worth mentioning here that Das’s father died two years back, which Das alleges to be cold-blooded murder. He was often seen tweeting about the issue of his father’s alleged murder and he also said that he knew about the culprits.

Notably, in these earlier tweets, Das used to tag the same officials and the CM as he did in the recent case of alleged corruption in the ADRE.

His father, late Kumud Ch. Das, was an employee in the NF Railway and was in the process of uncovering a huge scam in his office, Das says in his tweets. The case is still not settled.

Right after Das was arrested, there has been widespread discontent among people, especially those who appeared in the ADRE with hope amidst acute unemployment in the state.

The opposition parties slammed the government, alleging that a complainant has been victimised. This is an obnoxious act of suppressing people's voices, the opposition claimed in unison.

Akhil Gogoi, MLA from the Sibsagar constituency, in his press statement said, “There is no more democracy in Assam now. How would anyone come out with complaints now? This is an act of fear-mongering and blatant suppression of people’s voice.”

Interestingly, ministers and MLAs in Assam have also seen commenting on the issue where they vehemently reject the allegations made by Das. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “Is it a James Bond film? There are no anomalies.”

On the other hand, the police versions, including those from high profile officials, said that Das was given ample time and scope to prove his allegations. “But he could not bring any substantial evidence in support of his allegations. The persons he named in his statement were also questioned, but from them nothing came out as well,” said one senior police official in Guwahati.

DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta also hummed the same tone. In a media byte, he said, “Victor represented the matter very wrongly.” Mahanta was also in focus regarding his earlier comment where he said that if anyone is found to be involved in tempering the exam by any means, they will be beaten badly.

Senior advocates of the Gauhati High court have also raised serious apprehensions of the police act, especially on the sections that have been imposed on a whistleblower. Krishna Gogoi, an advocate at Gauhati High Court, said in a statement, “Victor only raised an issue and came out with some allegations. How can a complainant be arrested in such a manner with those sections imposed? The question is who filed the FIR against him? Was there anyone who filed the FIR?” Gogoi also apprehended whether the CRPC norms are being properly followed.

Santanu Borthakur, an eminent lawyer of Assam, said, “Assam police is acting like jokers. The 153A is imposed when a person’s statement can create division between two groups or communities. How can Victor’s sayings have fomented enmity and conflicts between two communities? If this remains as a precedence, then it will be dangerous for democracy. How would people come out to give complaints to police hereafter?”

Police raided Das’s house at Dadara yesterday and seized his laptop.

Das’s arrest and his being in custody for seven days raised more questions and apprehensions in Assam. However, with this also, the issue of corruption and money being involved in the recruitment process through ADRE could not have been suppressed.

Even after Das’s arrest, there are a few students who came out with the same allegations. Recently, Jaya Kalita of Rangia (Kamrup district) also shared her similar experiences earlier, where she pointed to the MLA of her constituency, Bhabesh Kalita. Kalita is the president of Assam BJP. Reports said that the state BJP president has even filed a case against Jaya Kalita, claiming her allegations to be false.

In what direction the allegations and counter allegations will move can only be seen in future. The fate of the aspirants participating in the ADRE is also a matter to be watched. However, the much-hyped clean recruitment process of the ADRE has been challenged by some youngsters, which has visibly irked the government.

Safoora Zargar was jailed under the UAPA in the alleged conspiracy case related to the Delhi riots and was released on bail in June 2020 on humanitarian and medical grounds.

Jamia Millia Islamia has banned research scholar and activist Safoora Zargar from entering the university campus days after the administration cancelled her MPhil admission. Zargar was jailed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the alleged conspiracy case related to the Delhi riots and was released on bail in June 2020 on humanitarian and medical grounds.

After she was removed as a student on August 19, Zargar and other Jamia students had been participating in protests demanding that she be re-admitted and that she be given an extension to submit her thesis.

“It has been observed that Ms. Safoora Zargar (ex student) has been involved in organizing agitations, protests and marches on the campus against the irrelevant and objectionable issues to disturb the peaceful academic environment with few students who are mostly outsiders. She is instigating innocent students of the University and trying to use the University platform for her malafide political agenda alongwith some other students. Further, she is hampering the normal functioning of the institution.In view of above, the Competent Authority, for maintaining peaceful academic environment across the Campus, has approved Campus Ban on ex student Ms. Safoora Zargar with immediate effect,” the order reads.

Her admission was cancelled by the department of sociology in the university, citing "unsatisfactory" progress in her thesis work. Zargar enrolled with the department of sociology in the integrated MPhil/PhD programme in 2019.

In a notification dated August 26, the office of the dean, faculty of social science, said Zargar did not submit her MPhil dissertation within the maximum stipulated time of five semesters.

The dean's office has maintained that the action against her was taken on a recommendation made by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) on July 5. The matter was approved by the department's Board of Studies on August 22.

Zargar had earlier said she was being denied extensions for submission of her thesis while they were being extended for other scholars. She said she received only one Covid extension while the University Grants Commission (UGC) offered five.

The UGC has granted four extensions for submission of MPhil and PhD thesis to help scholars make up for time lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The latest such extension was granted in May. Universities were allowed to give another extension of up to six months beyond June 30.

An art exhibition about enforced disappearance has been postponed indefinitely as the venue's owner said they were 'uncomfortable' after being contacted by the police.

The student activist group Mok Luang Rim Nam had planned an exhibition titled “Dawn of Justice” to raise awareness about enforced disappearance and human rights violations in Thailand. The exhibition, which the group said would be done as ‘immersive art’ and also feature panel discussions, workshops, and performances, was scheduled to take place between 20 – 25 September at the exhibition space and community mall Changchui.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported yesterday (19 September) that the organisers were informed by Changchui that the venue’s management was contacted by the police, and that officers from Bangplad Police Station wanted to speak to the activists.

One of the organisers then contacted the Deputy Superintendent of Bangplad Police Station, and was told that it was normal for officers to talk to event organisers and that they were not harassing the group. When the activist asked if the police summoned everyone who has recently organized a concert at Changchui for a conversation, the Deputy Superintendent said that their question was rude and hung up. The group has not been able to contact him since.

Changchui’s management later contacted the activists and told them that the police were pressuring them and told them to make sure that the monarchy or the royal defamation law would not be mentioned during the event and that the three-finger salute would not be used.

Student activist Sopon Surariddhidhamrong, one of the exhibition organisers, said that there should have been no reason for the authorities to prevent an art exhibition from taking place. He also noted that the organisers booked the exhibition space far in advance and that no concerns were raised when they submitted the exhibition concept notes to the venue management. Although the management did ask them to be careful when talking about the monarchy, Sopon told them that the monarchy wouldn’t be mentioned as the event was an art exhibition, while he himself is prohibited from leaving his residence and from talking about the monarchy by his bail conditions.

Sopon also told TLHR that the venue management told the organisers that they agreed with the police demands, and asked the group to postpone the exhibition for the time being. He also said he heard one of the venue’s employees saying that someone “more powerful than the venue owner and more powerful than the police” wants to stop the exhibition.

After it was announced that the exhibition will be postponed indefinitely, a group of activists went to Changchui to ask the management to explain why the exhibition needed to be postponed. The group held signs asking why the exhibition was cancelled and covered their heads with black plastic bags.

Mint, a traditional Thai dancer-turned-activist who was also among the exhibition organisers, said that she wanted to demand an explanation from Changchui’s management, because saying that they are “uncomfortable” is not enough, noting that the organisers have prepared for months, had explained everything to the venue management in detail, and did everything that was agreed by both sides. It was therefore unfair to cancel at the last minute.

“I’m beyond expecting anything, because we did not prepare for a bomb to be dropped,” Mint said. “We were happy for the police to come to the exhibition, but this is not what that is. It’s cancelling us before the beginning of the event, and a day before we open, and what about all the preparation work we’ve done? I feel really bad that this happened.”

Sophon announced on Monday night (19 September) that they are no longer able to hold the exhibition at the original venue, but that it is not cancelled, merely postponed until they can find another venue.

He wrote on his Facebook page that the Dawn of Justice exhibition Is intended to restore justice to those whose rights have been violated and restore truth to the society, and that the organisers did nothing illegal and did not harass anyone.

“What happened reflects how our society is dominated by fear,” Sopon wrote. “They are afraid of even art, even speaking the truth. If we don’t stand up and fix it or change it, we may have to keep living in fear.”

Myanmar beauty queen Han Lay, who called on the international community to help her country regain democracy during last year’s Miss Grand International pageant in Thailand, has been detained by Thai authorities in Bangkok, she told RFA Burmese on Thursday.

Han Lay was taken into custody on Wednesday night by immigration officials at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport as she returned from a three-day trip to Vietnam, she said in a phone interview.

She said she believes the military regime reported her to Interpol as being wanted for illegal activities in Myanmar, as retribution for her anti-junta activism at home and in Thailand.

“As I returned from Vietnam to Thailand, the system set off a ‘red notice’ when my passport was processed, saying that my name is on the Interpol list, so Thai authorities denied my entry into Thailand,” she said, adding that her passport was confiscated by Vietnamese airline officials and is now listed as “lost.”

“The normal procedure is to return the detainee to the country they left. But I refused to go back to Vietnam [for fear they would deport me to Myanmar]. So they have kept me in the airport.”

Thai immigration authorities released a statement saying that Han Lay was “denied entry to Thailand because she lacked the required travel documents under Thai immigration law.” The statement said immigration officials are “negotiating with the airline authorities to deport her,” but made no mention of her being under arrest.

Han Lay said the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) is working with the Thai government on her case.

“I hope they will help me to secure the best option, whether it is re-entry to Thailand or entry to a third country,” she said.

Visa renewal

Han Lay was a participant in the 2020 Miss Grand International pageant, held in Bangkok just a month after Myanmar’s military seized control of the country in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup. After using the stage to appeal to the international community for the release of Myanmar’s ousted leaders, Han Lay remained in Thailand on a tourist visa, knowing she would likely face persecution back home, where she has since been charged in absentia for “high treason.”

After more than 18 months in Thailand, she had overstayed her visa and was unable to extend it any longer, so she traveled to Vietnam with the hope that she could reapply upon her return.

“It was easier to depart Thailand and apply for a new visa to return,” she said.

“Before my departure, I tried to confirm whether I would have any trouble upon my return to Thailand. [The Thai authorities] told me it would be fine, so I left. But I guess the authorities in Myanmar spoke with their counterparts in Vietnam before I returned to Thailand.”

Han Lay told RFA that Thailand cannot deport her to Myanmar while her case is being reviewed by the UNHCR, but she is unsure of what will happen to her after that. Attempts by RFA to reach Thai immigration authorities for comment on Han Lay’s status went unanswered on Thursday.

She noted that she could be sentenced to death by the junta if she were to return to Myanmar.

“I think an entire military division would be waiting for me upon my arrival at the airport [if I was deported home],” she said, noting that the charges she faces are even more severe than those under the country’s anti-terrorism law that are more commonly used to prosecute opponents of military rule.

“They wanted me to show support for the coup, but I said otherwise, so they accused me of offending the state. It’s pretty obvious what they are doing.”

‘I acted of my own free will’

But despite the uncertainty of her situation and the likelihood she will be unable to return to Myanmar while the junta controls the country, the beauty queen said she stands by her decision to condemn the military rule on the world stage.

“I believe what I did was the right thing to do … nobody convinced me to do it — I acted of my own free will.

“I got into this trouble not because of something I did wrong, but because I stood up for justice. I am hopeful that concerned organizations around the world will offer to help me out of this situation.”

Han Lay said that life for her in Thailand had been “a struggle” and expressed her appreciation to the Miss Grand Pageant organization for supporting her over the last 18 months.

“I am ready to start a new life if I get a chance to resettle in another country,” she said.

The head of Hong Kong's journalists' union has been charged with obstructing a police officer in the course of their duty, amid an ongoing crackdown on critics of the government under the national security law.

"I just received a call from the police asking me to go to the Mong Kok Police Station today for them to formally file a case against me," Ronson Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA) announced via his Facebook page on Monday.

Chan arrived at the police station at 3.30 p.m. local time and left after half an hour, after being formally charged with "obstructing official duties."

He will appear at West Kowloon Magistrates' Court on Sept. 22.

Chan, former deputy assignment editor at now-defunct pro-democracy news outlet Stand News, was re-elected as HKJA chairman in June.

He has frequently spoken out against ever-diminishing press freedom in the city.

He had been planning to study journalism on a scholarship at the Reuters Institute at Oxford University, and had been scheduled to leave Hong Kong at the end of September.

It is unclear whether Chan will now be allowed to leave to take up the scholarship as planned.

Chan told reporters outside the police station he would be seeking legal advice on the matter.

"I need to seek legal advice on how to do that," he said. "[The police] also asked me if I would leave the country at the last minute."

"I told him I was planning to spend six months [overseas] and he said he would inform the court," Chan said. "It was odd that he asked my out of the blue like that, as I was waiting for them to process my bail."

Measure of declining press freedom

Chan said his arrest, which was criticized by the city's Foreign Correspondents' Club at the time, was indicative of the current state of press freedom in the city.

"I have heard a lot of things since my arrest, but I have not been able to verify them, so I won't mention them now," Chan said. "It would be ridiculous if I were unable to go to the U.K. because of this."

"I think it's plain to see the environment Hong Kong journalists are working in from this incident."

The FCC said at the time of Chan's arrest that it "supports journalists’ right to cover stories without fear of harassment or arrest."

The statement won a rebuke from China's foreign ministry, which said it constituted "interference with the rule of law" in Hong Kong, and that there was no such thing as absolute press freedom.

The HKJA said Chan was arrested after officers claimed he failed to comply with an ID check while at a venue as part of a journalistic assignment.

"Just as Ronson Chan was about to show his ID to one of the female police officers, another plainclothes officer stepped forward and yelled at him to 'cooperate'," the HKJA said in a statement at the time.

"Chan asked the policeman to show his warrant card and asked the officer to confirm his full name and department, as he could only see the surname Tan," the statement said.

"But the officer immediately issued a warning, and, within a few minutes, had Chan in handcuffs under arrest, en route back to Mong Kok police station."

Authorities in the Chinese capital have issued a ban on low-altitude flights and drones over the city ahead of a five-yearly congress of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) next month.

The CCP will hold its 20th National Congress from Oct. 16, amid a mounting wave of censorship and curbs on the freedom of dissidents, petitioners and rights activists around the country.

Light and ultra-light aircraft, gliders, delta wings, hot air balloons, airships, para-gliders, drones, model aircraft and free and tethered balloons are banned from Beijing's skies through Oct. 31, the municipal police department said in a notice dated Sept. 15.

"It is prohibited for units, organizations or individuals to fly low, slow or small aircraft such as drones ... for any purpose," the statement said.

"Violations will be ... punished by police according to [current laws]," it said, reminding the city's residents that flying lanterns are already banned.

Meanwhile, outspoken critics of the government have been informed they are to leave Beijing under police escort in the next few days, with similar measures reported in Tianjin, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.

"I'm traveling right now," Beijing-based commentator and former 1989 student protester Ji Feng told RFA on Wednesday. "[Officials] from my hometown are here with me."

"My friends are all being taken away from their homes [on enforced 'vacation'] at the moment," he said. "Some left earlier than me ... I'm coming back at the end of October."

"I'll be allowed home as soon as the congress is over." Daily forcible disappearances

Ji estimated that thousands of other activists around China are also being ordered to leave town ahead of the event.

Shenzhen-based dissident Lin Zhengliang said the security measures appear stricter than in previous years ahead of similar politically sensitive events.

"This is unprecedented," Lin said. "The current controls on dissidents at designated locations is kind of crazy."

"Dissidents are being forcibly disappeared every day, including those who are taken out of town on 'vacation'," Lin said. "They also hold people on criminal detention and release them on bail pending trial, extended the control period beyond the 20th National Congress."

"Even in Jiujiang city, Jiangxi province, which is far from the political center, Beijing, there are many dissidents who have gone missing and have finally been confirmed as in detention," Lin said.

Authorities in the capital have already begun expelling petitioners -- ordinary Chinese who pursue complaints about official wrongdoing through the "letters and visits" system -- from Beijing.

"My landlord suddenly told me I had to [go back to my hometown]," a petitioner currently living in Beijing's Daxing district who gave only the surname Li told RFA.

"They are driving us away to maintain stability because the 20th National Congress is about to start," she said.

Migrant workers are also being targeted, she said.

"My husband started working at the garbage dump here in Daxing yesterday, and just two days later, he was fired," Li said. "[The policy of] 'registering' the floating population means that you're not allowed to stay in Beijing."

"You are not allowed to work here, and you are not allowed to live here," she said.

'Stability maintenance'

A resident surnamed Wang, who lives on the outskirts of Beijing, said state security police have been conducting mass raids on migrant populations in the area.

"The state security police are detaining people every day, and holding them in various places," Wang said. "Yesterday, they forcibly held down and dragged away someone from Yancheng, Jiangsu province."

"Anyone with petitioning materials on them will be forced to leave Beijing, as if they were escorting prisoners," she said.

Authorities in one local community in the southwestern province of Sichuan are tightening "stability maintenance" measures by appointing local heads of household security supervisors for every 10 households, reports said.

Each supervisor under the Neijiang Chang'an community neighborhood committee will be responsible for anyone deemed a risk to social stability in their group of 10 households.

A dissident who gave only the surnamed Tan from the central province of Hunan said additional stability measures were put in place in his hometown of Zhuzhou city from Wednesday.

"Yes, full controls are in place starting today," Tan told RFA. "A local friend of mine said he has been taken out of town."

Petitioners in the northern port city of Tianjin said the authorities have set up three levels of checkpoints to catch petitioners trying to get into Beijing that way.

Groups decried the harassment of red-tagged peasant leader Lucia Capaducio, who is at the forefront of seeking government assistance for the food producers of Panay.

Capaducio is a known peasant leader and the current chairperson of the peasant group Paghugpong sang Mangunguma sa Panay kag Guimaras (PAMANGGAS).

According to Panay Alliance Karapatan, on Sept. 3, three men who introduced themselves as personnel of Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) went to Capaducio residence and asked her whereabouts. Capaducio’s husband Felix, 72, who was in the house that day was interrogated by these men and accused her wife as a leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) and that their family are supporters of the rebel group. Their daughter was also interrogated, the group said.

Capaducio was not in the house when the three men came. Panay Karapatan Alliance said Capaducio was in the community gathering signatures for a petition against golden rice and aid for farmers.

A day before the incident, another red-tagged development worker Linalyn Jaynos was also arrested.

Panay Alliance Karapatan believes that the recent incidents are an attack against farmers who are only demanding help from the government. They assert that allegations against Capaducio are all lies.

“The attack against Nay Lucia is an attack against our farmers who are suffering from the effect of the economic crisis this government has created and failed to resolve,” Panay Alliance Karapatan said in a statement.

“It is the latest assault on local peasant communities that, for years, have been harassed for calling out the government for its negligence and incompetence in tackling the issues confronting their sector. Under a sham democracy, those who are on the “laylayan” have become victims severalfold,” it added.

Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (MASIPAG), a farmer-led network, urged the government to stop the harassments against Capaducio’s family and demanded that the government use their resources to help farmers instead.

“MASIPAG urges the government to honor their mandated duty of supporting our local farmers and not to abuse their powers as duty bearers in forwarding their own exclusive agenda in agriculture,” the organization said in a statement.

“We in MASIPAG enjoins everyone in condemning this recent attack on Nay Lucia and to all the farmers experiencing structural harassment and persecution. MASIPAG rally behind in full solidarity and support to Nay Lucia and others who have exemplified that in times of hardship, it is our duty to help,” it added.

Capaducio has been working to champion the rights of peasants and human rights in cases of indigenous people against the military and humanitarian initiatives during calamities

She is also a long time MASIPAG member.

“For decades, Nay Lucia has been sharing her wide array of skills in sustainable organic farming by training farmers across the country both in the technical and advocacy and lobbying aspect of sustainable organic agriculture,” MASIPAG said.

Panay Alliance Karapatan said Capaducio has participated and assisted in fact-finding missions, particularly on the attacks against the Tumandok people.

“The attack against Nay Lucia is an attack against our farmers who are suffering from the effect of the economic crisis this government has created and failed to resolve. It is the latest assault on local peasant communities that, for years, have been harassed for calling out the government for its negligence and incompetence in tackling the issues confronting their sector. Under a sham democracy, those who are on the “laylayan” have become victims several fold,” Panay Alliance Karapatan said.

In 2021, Capaducio was awarded the Gawad Ben Ramos Award for her efforts in championing pro-farmer and pro-people agriculture and food system.

Editor-In Chief Narayan Prasad Adhikari and reporter Shalik Bhatta at https://www.onlinepana.com/ were attacked for reporting news in Sarlahi on September 22. Sarlahi district lies in Madhesh Province of Nepal.

Editor Adhikari shared with Freedom Forum that journalists duo had been doing followup reporting on illegal construction of a lake in the Bagmati Municipality. On the day of incident journalists reached the municipality office to interview the municipality chief on the same issues.

During the interivew, Mayor was unable to answer a few questions. Thereafter, while we were returning back, Mayor's brother and few other people attacked us, blocking our way on the highway. We have received injuries on head and face from the attack.

"I am preparing to file a First Information Report at the district police station against the attackers", informed Adhikari

Freedom Forum condemns the attack upon journalists for their news reporting. It is a sheer violation of press freedom. Hence, FF strongly urges the concerned authority to respect journalists' right to free reporting. The security authority is also urged to ensure safety and security of the journalists thus contributing to the free and fair reporting atmosphere for fellow journalists.

Some local journalists along with Dhaka-based senior journalist Rajib Noor came under attack by an alleged land grabber Waheed Mia while collecting news in Habiganj on Sunday.

The attack took place in front of the house of Ramnath Biswas in union 2 of Baniachong upazila on Sunday afternoon, the victims complained.

Reporters were attacked while collecting news about the occupation of the house of Ramnath Biswas, a world traveler and travelogue writer, in Baniachong upazila of Habiganj.

Among the victims of the attack are special assignment editor of bdnews24.com Rajib Noor, president of Baniachong Press Club and Baniachong correspondent of Kaler Kantha Moshahed Mia, Baniachong correspondent of Habiganj Samachar Patrika Touhid Mia and Baniachong correspondent of Deshseba newspaper Alamgir Reza.

The injured in the attack were treated at Baniachong Upazila Health Complex.

Describing the incident, Rajib Noor told journalists that, ‘The house of Ramanath Biswas had been occupied by Waheed Mia and his family for a long time. We went there to make a hands-on report on the matter.’

‘Waheed, his family members and associates snatched my cellphone and started attacking the group of journalists,’ he said.

General Secretary of Habiganj Press Club Rashed Khan said, ‘We have spoken to police super SM Murad Ali about this. The SP said that legal action would be taken against those who attacked the journalists.’

Local Union Parishad chairman Haidaruzzaman Khan told reporters Waheed Miah had been occupying the house for a long time.

Denying the allegation, Waheed Mia said, ‘There was an argument over coming to my house and taking pictures without permission. We did not attack anyone.’

A case will be filed with the Baniachong police over the attack, the victim journalists said.

Habiganj SP SM Murad Ali said, ‘We are taking legal action against the attack on journalists.’

Meanwhile, Dhaka Reports Unity (DRU) condemned the attack on journalist Rajiv Noor.

In a statement, DRU President Nazrul Islam Mithu and General Secretary Nurul Islam Hasib demanded immediate arrest of the culprits

Ajay Chandra Deb, officer-in-charge of Baniachong police station, said that he heard the incident.

‘However, no complaint has been received in this regard yet. Action will be taken if complaints are received,’ he added. Ramnath Biswas was born on January 13, 1894 in Bidyabhushanpara of Baniachang upazila of Habiganj. He spent his old age in Kolkata. He died there on November 1, 1955.

Shahanur Islam, a prominent human rights lawyer and gay rights campaigner in Bangladesh received repeated death threats SMS over his mobile phone.

Shahanur told to Soja Kotha that recently on 25th August and 6th September 2022, he received separate two death threats messages along with his wife and kid over his mobile phone.

He added, on 25th October 2022 around at 10:17 pm BST, Mr. Islam received threats message in English language over his phone from an unidentified number. The message states that if you don’t stop fighting aims to establishment of homo sexual rights in BD, immediately you will be killed along with your family members brutally.

Later on 8th September 2022, he added that around at 1:07 pm BST that, he received another death threats SMS in Bengali over his mobile phone from an unidentified number. The threatening message states that do you have no fear of death? This county is only for Islam. There is no space

for homosexual people in this country. If you don’t stop to support homosexual people and continue your activities to establish rights of them, we ‘ii not take time to send you in to the hell along with your wife and kid. Still there is time, be well!”

It was known from Mr Shahanur that this is not the first time intimidation he faces. He has previously received threats, death threats, physically assaults as well as been repeatedly implicated in false and fabricated cases due to his strong advocacy against social injustice and religious extremism as well as ensuring rights of ethnic, religious and sexual (LGBT) minority people in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) and JusticeMakers Bangladesh gravely concern over the recent death threats of Mr. Islam and his family members. BIHR and JusticeMakers Bangladesh urge ensuring the protection of Mr. Shahanur Islam including his all family members as well as ensure the exemplary punishment of against the culprit after a quick and impartial investigation.

Pakistan Union of Journalists (PFUJ) Secretary General Rana Muhammad Azeem was hit by an unlicensed vehicle in a targeted attack amid ongoing persecution of journalists in Pakistan. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the PFUJ condemn the attack and urge authorities to hold those responsible to account.

On the night of September 19, Azeem was travelling home from work when a vehicle ran into his car before quickly fleeing the scene. Though Azeem was unharmed, his car was significantly damaged as a result of the crash.

The PFUJ has concluded that the incident was a deliberate attack intended to silence Azeem who has been critical of the government on his live TV talk show. A first information report was filed at the local police station, however, the individuals responsible for the incident remain unknown.

Harassment and attack on Azeem have already been reported in the past. On February 28, 2021, a criminal accusation notice was published against him. Similarly, unknown assailants fired shots at his home on September 16, 2014. The PFUJ believes that these tactics against Azeem are in a bid to silence his critical voice.

PFUJ President, GM Jamali, said: “The PFUJ strongly condemns this targeted accident and warns the government to look into evergrowing incidents threatening journalists which are not only attempts to curtail the right of free speech and expression, but criminal acts”.

IFJ General secretary Anthony Bellanger said: “We strongly condemn the attack against our colleague and well respected journalist Rana Muhammad Azeem. We urge authorities to conduct a due investigation into this attack and hold those responsible accountable.”

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Thailand.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed about the judicial harassment against Ms. Nada Chaiyajit, a human rights defender and human rights campaign advisor at the Manushya Foundation, a member organisation of FIDH in Thailand. Ms. Nada has been active on LGBTQI+ issues and corporate accountability for the past 15 years, and is also the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) advisor for the Thai Business and Human Rights Network, on whose behalf she has submitted complaints to the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) and government agencies related to gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace.

On September 10, 2022, Nada Chaiyajit received a court summons issued on August 22, 2022, ordering her to appear on October 31, 2022, at the Bangkok Criminal Court for a preliminary hearing during which she will be informed of potential charges against her. This summons followed a complaint filed under Articles 326 (“defamation”), 328 (“libel”), and 91 ("multiple distinct offenses") of Thailand’s Criminal Code, by Mr. Santsith Naothaworn, a politician and elected Bangkok councillor from the Move Forward Party (MFP). The complaint by Mr. Santsith stems from several social media posts published by Nada Chaiyajit in May 2022, in which Ms. Nada alleged Mr. Santsith had sexually harassed a transgender woman who was employed at his company. In the posts, Nada Chaiyajit claimed that the transgender woman was repeatedly subjected to several acts of harassment by the politician, before she was eventually laid off.

In addition to speaking out for her on social media, Nada Chaiyajit supported the transgender woman with submitting a complaint to the NHRCT on June 15, 2022. As part of NHRCT’s investigation, which is still ongoing, the MFP was requested to respond. After the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee of the MFP conducted an investigation, the board found that Mr. Santsith was responsible for sexual harassment. As a result, the party suspended his participation in the party’s events, and banned him from carrying any additional political portfolios as a member of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council for one year. Mr. Santsith was also placed on probation to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. Subsequently, on July 18, 2022, a compensation agreement between the politician and the victim of the sexual harassment was signed before the Thai Department of Labour Protection and Welfare for violation of labour rights, because Mr. Santsith did not respect the one-month notice to dismiss an employee, as provided by Thai law.

The Observatory notes with concern that defamation cases and Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are frequently used in Thailand by both state and non-state actors to harass journalists, political activists, human rights defenders, and organisations to ultimately suppress their right to freedom of expression, which is enshrined in international human rights law, and particularly in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Thailand is a state party.

The Observatory condemns the judicial harassment against Nada Chaiyajit, which seems to be only aimed at preventing her from exercising her right to freedom of expression and her legitimate human rights activities.

The Observatory calls for the respect of Nada Chaiyajit’s rights to due process and fair trial, and for an end to all acts of harassment, including at the judicial level, against her, as well as all other human rights defenders in the country.

The Observatory also urge the Thai government to repeal criminal defamation provision of the Criminal Code.

On Wednesday, a court in Kyrgyzstan convicted Next TV director Taalaibek Duishenbiev of inciting interethnic hatred over posts on the broadcaster’s social media accounts covering Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to news reports.

Duishenbiev, who was detained for seven months pending trial, was originally handed a five-year prison sentence, his lawyer, Nurbek Sydykov, told CPJ in a phone call. But a judge allowed him to leave detention and commuted his sentence to a three-year probationary period during which the journalist must report to authorities twice a month and refrain from leaving the capital of Bishkek, Sydykov said.

“We strongly condemn this unjust sentence against Next TV director Taalaibek Duishenbiev. Republishing newsworthy statements by well-known public figures is part of the job of a news outlet, and the absurdity of charging Duishenbiev with incitement for this makes it clear that authorities aim to disrupt the broadcaster’s coverage,” said CPJ’s program director Carlos Martínez de la Serna. “Kyrgyz authorities should immediately overturn Duishenbiev’s conviction, withdraw the onerous probation demands placed upon him, and stop prosecuting journalists on contrived charges.”

On March 3, 2022, officers from Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security raided Next TV’s offices and arrested Duishenbiev, who was later charged by a court with inciting interethnic hatred. The charges stemmed from the outlet’s social media posts covering claims by a former head of Kazakhstan’s intelligence agency that Kyrgyzstan had secretly agreed to provide military support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In June, prosecutors added an additional count of inciting interethnic hatred against Duishenbiev over another Next TV social media post citing claims Uzbek human rights activist Valentina Chupik made to Kyrgyz broadcaster Aprel that Russian authorities were pressuring former Kyrgyz citizens to enlist in the Russian military, according to reports and Ravshan Jeyenbekov, the opposition politician who owns Next TV, who spoke to CPJ in a telephone interview.

The court convicted Duishenbiev of incitement “by a group of individuals,” but prosecutors charged only Duishenbiev over the posts while maintaining a separate investigation into “unidentified individuals,” Sydykov told CPJ. Jeyenbekov called the vagueness of the investigation, and the sentencing, an attempt to keep Next TV “on a short leash.”

Sydykov said that the journalist has not yet decided whether to appeal the court’s decision.

CPJ emailed the Office of the Prosecutor General of Kyrgyzstan for comment but did not immediately receive any reply.

The prosecutor at a high-profile trial in Bishkek has asked the court to convict and sentence noted Kyrgyz investigative journalist Bolot Temirov to five years in prison on several charges that he and his supporters say are politically motivated.

The prosecutor asked the Sverdlov district court in the Kyrgyz capital on September 21 to find Temirov guilty and sentence him.

Temirov, whose trial started in June, reiterated his innocence.

Temirov and traditional bardic singer Bolot Nazarov, who performed anti-corruption songs on the YouTube channel Temirov LIVE, were arrested in January for allegedly possessing illegal drugs, which the two men say were planted by police.

In April, Bishkek city police filed additional charges against Temirov, accusing him of forgery and illegally crossing the border with Russia.

It said Temirov, who was born and raised in Russia and holds a Russian passport, used forged documents to obtain a Kyrgyz passport in 2008, which he then used to illegally exit and enter Kyrgyzstan.

Temirov has rejected all of the charges, saying they were brought against him after he published the results of his investigation suggesting corruption among top officials of the Central Asian nation.

Kyrgyz authorities have denied that probes against Temirov are politically motivated.

Temirov was among 12 people recognized by the U.S. State Department last year as anti-corruption champions.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling on Vietnamese authorities to investigate allegations of the beating and shackling of prisoner of conscience Trinh Ba Tu.

HRW issued a media release on Thursday urging authorities to open an investigation into the alleged actions of prison guards at Prison No. 6, at Thanh Chuong township in Nghe An province.

The statement by the New York-based human rights organization was released two days after Tu’s father, Trinh Ba Khiem, said his son had been punished for filing a complaint against the prison.

“There needs to be an urgent, transparent, and impartial investigation of Trinh Ba Tu’s serious accusations that prison guards shackled and beat him,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director of HRW's Asia division.

“That kind of treatment is outrageous and unacceptable, and the perpetrators should be held accountable for maltreating prisoners.”

Robertson said dissidents imprisoned in Vietnam are regularly subjected to harassment and inhumane treatment. He said he saw little possibility of Vietnamese authorities investigating these allegations.

“Foreign diplomats and UN officials should request that Vietnamese authorities allow them to visit Trinh Ba Tu and conduct interviews with him to get to the bottom of this matter,” said HRW in its statement.

Tu’s sister-in-law, Do Thi Thu, sent a petition to Vietnam's President, the Chairman of the National Assembly, the Minister of Public Security, the Supreme People's Procuracy and the People's Procuracy of Nghe An province.

She asked them to explain to Tu’s family why her brother-in-law was beaten, tortured and shackled.

“When I heard that Tu was beaten and was on a hunger strike, my family was very worried about him,” said Thu, who is married to another prisoner of conscience, Trinh Ba Phuong.

“My family does not know why he was beaten and shackled. My family doesn't know if he is still being beaten or on a hunger strike."

This is the second time Tu has been beaten by Vietnamese police in prison. When arrested in mid-June 2020, his beating by police in Hoa Binh province caused kidney damage.

According to former prisoner of conscience Nguyen Van Hai (aka blogger Dieu Cay), who was imprisoned for many years in many prisons, Prison No. 6 is the most draconian in Vietnam.

In early August, citizen journalist Do Cong Duong died while serving an eight-year prison sentence there, despite being healthy when he was arrested.

Mr. Trinh Ba Tu, a famous land rights activist, who is on hunger strike at Detention Center No. 6 in Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province, was beaten by prison guards and shackled for many days in solitary confinement.

Mr. Tu provided this information to his father, Mr. Trinh Ba Khiem during a family visit on September 20, 2022. Mr. Khiem told RFA about the visit as follows:

“A visit often lasts an hour. At minute 40th, my son said 'I was beaten, Dad'… and then the prison guards (nearby) rushed in, made a fuss and pushed my son out of the visitors' room. My son screamed but it was so loudly there that I couldn't hear [what he said]"

Before being able to meet his son through a glass partition, Mr. Khiem was informed by a prison staff that "Tu is being disciplined for writing a slanderous petition/denunciation letter. Because of the discipline, [your] family can only visit him once every two months. As you are seeing Tu now for this month, you won't be able to see him again in October."

Mr. Khiem was also warned: "[You are allowed] to talk only about family issues, not anything else. If you violate [this rule], the meeting will be stopped immediately and a minute [about the violation] will be made."

RFA's reporter has tried to contact Detention Center No. 6 to verify the information by making phone calls to its public telephone number. However the calls rang unanswered.

Mr. Trinh Ba Tu, born in 1989, is currently serving an eight-year jail term at Detention Center No. 6 on the charge of "spreading anti-State materials."

Mr. Tu and his mother, Mrs. Can Thi Theu, were both arrested in mid-2020 after speaking up strongly on social media about the raid of 3,000 mobile police officers who had attacked Dong Tam commune at dawn of January 9, 2020, killing Mr. Le Dinh Kinh, 84, Dong Tam spiritual leader. Three police officers also died in the incident.

Putting all the information together, Mr. Trinh Ba Khiem told RFA the incident which had happened to his son from the beginning of September as follows:

“According to my summary, Tu had written a denunciation letter and on September 6 was called to a room for a meeting for four to six hours. And he was beaten there.

Tu could not tell me he had been beaten by how many people and for how long.

Then my son was thrown into a discipline room, shackled for 10 days where he had to do everything from sleeping to going to the toilet in the same place."

However, he did not know what his son's denunciation letter was about and the detention center did not provide him with related information either.

After the 10 days, Mr. Tu was released from the shackles. At first, he was detained in the area for people charged with security offences, then transferred to the areas for those charged with criminal offences.

Right after being beaten by the prison guards, Mr. Trinh Ba Tu started to go on a hunger strike. His father's visit marked his 14th day of hunger strike and to date, there is no information whether he has stopped the strike or not.

According to Mr. Khiem, his son looked very thin and pale. However, the father did not see any injuries or bruises on his son's body.

Mr. Khiem, who was imprisoned for fighting against the coercion of his family's land in Duong Noi commune, said Vietnamese security officers "know how to beat [suspects/prisoners] without leaving a trace."

According to Mr. Khiem, after telling his father that he had been beaten, Mr. Tu was subdued and taken away by prison guards. Then prison staff immediately created a minute, saying that "Mr Tu falsely accused the prison officers of beating him". Mr. Khiem also said that he had been asked to sign the minute but he refused to do so because of lacking information about the incident.

Mr. Khiem said his family would do everything they could to demand the Vietnamese authorities to investigate the torture against his son in prison and also request the Ministry of Public Security to respond to Mr. Trinh Ba Tu's denunciation.

At least 15 people, including two freelance journalists, were arrested during a crackdown on a protest in Yangon’s Kyeemyindaing Township on Tuesday, according to sources.

One protester who managed to evade arrest told Myanmar Now that plainclothes regime forces appeared almost immediately after the rally on Panbingyi Street began at around 4:45pm.

“Some people hadn’t even gotten out of their cars when [the junta troops] showed up pointing their guns at them,” said the protester, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The purpose of the rally, which was timed to coincide with the opening of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, was to call on the world body to retain diplomat Kyaw Moe Tun as Myanmar’s permanent representative.

Last December, the UN’s credentials committee voted to keep Kyaw Moe Tun—who weeks after last year’s coup delivered an impassioned speech denouncing the military takeover—in the post, in a blow to the junta’s bid for international recognition.

Protesters were just beginning to unfurl banners that read “UN: Prove Your Existence For Justice” when regime forces in civilian vehicles parked on Panbingyi Street started making arrests, another activist told Myanmar Now.

At least one person who attempted to flee the scene was shot in the leg and another was severely beaten after being captured, according to a local resident.

“The protesters ran past our car as they were trying to get away. The plainclothes officers started shouting that they were thieves and told bystanders to stop them. Some people at the end of the street caught them. After that, two shots were fired,” said a woman who did not want to be identified.

The planned flash mob protest was organised by several anti-regime groups, including the Octopus Youth Organisation, the Education Students Union, the Myanmar Labour Alliance, and the Bama Youth Network.

The Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar, another group that took part in the protest, said in a statement that four of its members—Nay Min Tun, Aye Chan Aung, Zue Zue Ra Khine, and Yamin Kay Thwe Khine—were among those arrested, along with a driver named Than Zaw.

The identities of the other detainees, including the two freelance journalists, could not be confirmed at the time of reporting.

Panbingyi Street was the scene last December of another protest that ended when regime forces used their vehicles to ram into a crowd of demonstrators.

Although there were reports of several deaths in that incident, the junta later claimed that only two men and a woman had been injured in what it called a “crowd dispersal operation”.

Despite tight security and violent crackdowns, pro-democracy groups continue to hold rallies in Yangon calling for an end to military rule.

Last month, the regime arrested a protester and a freelance photographer who marked the 34th anniversary of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising on August 8 by displaying umbrellas with the number eight printed on them in Burmese.

One of those who escaped arrest on Tuesday said the latest attempt to crush the anti-coup movement would not deter activists determined to restore civilian rule.

“Those of us who are still free will just redouble our efforts to bring down this dictatorship,” he said.

The junta recently filed an additional charge for treason against Wai Moe Naing—a Monywa-based protest leader already serving 10 years in prison—which is expected to be accompanied by a death sentence if he is convicted.

His mother, Moe Sandar Kyu, said that the allegations that he violated Section 122 of the Penal Code were handed down on September 8.

Wai Moe Naing was already found guilty in a military court of five counts of incitement.

Among the 26-year-old’s many outstanding charges—totalling 28 years in prison if convicted—are allegations that he had ties to an “unlawful association” in violation of Section 17(1) of the Penal Code and that he committed other treasonous acts that violate Section 124.

The charges are concerning Wai Moe Naing’s affiliation with the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, a group of elected MPs ousted in the February 2021 coup and challenging the junta’s claims of legitimacy.

His mother explained that these may now be dropped to make way for the recent, more serious charge.

“Because they added the Section 122 charge, which includes both of the former charges, he will no longer be facing the other charges,” she explained, adding that his hearing for the new treason case is scheduled for September 22.

“Lawyers from Monywa do not want to take on his case anymore, so we have had to hire lawyers from Mandalay. But one of them was arrested and one was forced into hiding,” Moe Sandar Kyu explained. “Because we can’t ensure the lawyers’ security, we will no longer be hiring any more of them.”

She will be testifying on her son’s behalf for another Section 505 charge on September 20, a case brought forward after Wai Moe Naing led an April 2021 motorcycle rally in his Sagaing Region hometown.

Wai Moe Naing was arrested during this protest after being hit by a car driven by junta personnel. The day after he was captured, the regime published a photo of Wai Moe Naing in custody with a bruised eye and swollen face, prompting fears that he had been tortured.

He was chair of the Monywa University Student Union from 2014 to 2015, and is also a member of Monywa’s General Strike Committee and the Sagaing Regional Youth Committee.

The junta has sentenced 126 prisoners to death since the coup, and executed four men in July of this year. Among them were 88-generation protest leader Ko Jimmy and former National League for Democracy parliamentarian and beloved musician Phyo Zayar Thaw.

A court in Yangon sentenced Myanmar journalist Htet Htet Khine, a freelance producer for BBC Media Action, to three years in prison with hard labour on Thursday.

The Bahan Township court convicted Htet Htet Khine of incitement under Section 505a of the Penal Code more than a year after her arrest in August of last year.

She was arrested along with columnist Sithu Aung Myint at an apartment where they had been hiding in Yangon’s Bahan Township. The junta accused her of harbouring Sithu Aung Myint in her home and of working as an editor for a radio station run by the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) called Federal FM.

The coup regime initially opened a case against her under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act for her alleged involvement with the NUG, which the junta has designated a terrorist group.

That case—for which she faces an additional three-year sentence if found guilty—is still pending.

In addition to her work as a producer, Htet Htet Khine also presented a program called “Khan Sar Kyi”—“Feel It”—for BBC Media Action.

Sithu Aung Myint, a contributor to media outlets such as VOA Burmese and Frontier Myanmar, had been evading arrest since the coup regime charged him with incitement in April of last year. Following his arrest, he was also charged with sedition, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

In a statement, BBC Media Action’s director of programmes, Richard Lace, said that the organisation was “alarmed” by the sentence and expressed concern for Htet Htet Khine’s safety and well-being.

“This, and other detentions of media workers in the country, runs counter to basic principles of human rights and freedom of expression,” he said.

The two journalists are being detained in Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison.

Since the coup in February last year, the regime has forced at least 12 media outlets to shut down and arrested 142 journalists. Of these, 57 remain behind bars, including 26 who have already been convicted on various charges.

Women’s group Gabriela denounced the recent raid of one of its shelter houses for abused women that led to the arrest of Lenilyn Jaynos, a community development worker, in Roxas City on Sept. 2.

Jaynos is a community organizer of the urban poor group Kaisog, a member organization of Kadamay in Panay. She was in the shelter house for post-operation medical check-ups.

The 45-year-old activist, along with Gabriela-Roxas City’s secretary general Marivie Bartolome Arguelles and another individual, was named in a search warrant used by the members of the police to raid their shelter house for women located at Happy Homes Subdivision, Barangay Sibaguan, Roxas City.

Only Jaynos was in the shelter at the time of the search.

The police purportedly found in her possession several arms and explosives, which Maura Abellon, chairperson of Kadamay-Panay also said it would be impossible for Jaynos to carry.

They also took with them as “evidence” a flag of Gabriela.

However, Clarice Palce, Gabriela’s secretary general, said these were all planted.

Gabriela-Panay chairperson Lucia Francisco said the raid of the shelter is reminiscent of previous searches and raids, where purported evidence are planted before authorities would come in to conduct the “search.”

In this case, she said that Jaynos saw a man carrying two back packs entered the shelter. The said man walked out of the shelter without the bags.

“More than 30 members of the operatives surrounded the shelter. They conducted the search, called the village officials and then after the search they claimed that they found two bags containing arms and explosives in the window at the back of the curtain,” Francisco said during the online briefing.

Not a terrorist

Women rights advocates said that contrary to the claims of the police, Jaynos is not a terrorist.

“She has been serving the poor for most of her entire life. She was a teacher for an urban poor daycare center in Iloilo City for years before later serving peasant communities in Capiz,” Panay Alliance Karapatan said in a statement.

When typhoon Yolanda hit the country, Jaynos is among the volunteers of Buylog Capiz that helped many farmers and fisherfolk recovered from the trauma and devastation of one of the strongest typhoons to ever make landfall in recent history.

She also worked with Gabriela, particularly in cases of victims of state negligence and abuse.

Gabriela, for its part, said the shelter where Jaynos was arrested is among the crisis centers they have established in many parts of the country to provide a safe space for women who are survivors of abuse.

“Centers like these are refuge for women incapable of protecting themselves against powerful perpetrators and who have nowhere to turn to, as government has meager and ineffective responses to the widespread problem of violence against women,” Gabriela said.

Rights violations

Progressives said the recent event is among the apparent heightened number of cases of harassment against women activists.

Last month, ailing women’s rights activist Atheliana Hijos was arrested in Butuan City. She has difficulties walking.

“It is abhorrent that in spite of billions of money being poured into government so-called intelligence funds, we find such failures of intelligence victimizing poor people such as Jaynos who has been deeply traumatized by the event,” the group said in a statement.

“Jaynos arrest and the accusations against them is an indication that under the Marcos-Duterte regime, human rights violations will remain rampant and that state forces have again mobilized their ranks to commit human rights violations,” Panay Alliance Karapatan said.

A group of hooligans attacked the office of Avenues Television located at Maharajgunj, Kathmandu for the news broadcast in the television on September 11. Kathmandu is the federal capital of Nepal.

Reporter at the television Raju Bhandari shared with Freedom Forum that the television channel was scheduled to broadcast a news about alleged sexual abuse of girls in Ananta Seva Nepal children's home by its owner Udaya Raj Bhatta at 9:00 pm. The television authority also called the owner Bhatta to speak in the program.

"But before starting the program, 5 to 6 hooligans forcefully tried to open the gate of the media house and pelted stones at the gate. The hooligans sent by Bhatta not only attacked the media house but also manhandled me and my fellow reporter Kamal GC and seized the mobile phone of program presenter Sushil Pande", said Bhandari to FF.

He also informed that Bhatta is in detention at Metropolitan Police Circle, Maharajgunj and the investigation is ongoing.

Freedom Forum condemns the incident becausse the obatruction on reporting on the serious issue- violence againt girls- and assault on journalists and media house is against the notion of free press and right to information.

Hence, FF strongly urges the concerned authority to respect the media's right to free press. Together, media persons are also urged to maintain additional sensitivity and safety while reporting the serious issues as violence.

On 10 August 2022, intelligence officers visited human rights defender Sasikaran Punniyamoorthy’s residence in Batticalao and asked information about his whereabouts to his wife. In May 2022, Sasikaran Punniyamoorthy was targeted and harassed online. Photos of his family members, including his children, were posted on Facebook with the aim to tarnish his image and credibility as a journalist. As a response, the human rights defender wrote to the Deputy Superintendent of Police in Batticaloa requesting them to take adequate action against the online harassment and attacks.

Sasikaran Punniyamoorthy is a human rights defender and a freelance regional journalist based in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. He is the treasurer of the Batti Press Club and worked as the Batticalao district coordinator for the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO), a national organisation working for the welfare of fisher folks. He has been actively reporting on social, political and environmental injustices in the Eastern province. He has been supporting issues concerning human rights, environmental rights and has written several news articles to Tamil news papers and websites. Due to his legitimate human rights activism and journalism, he has been targeted by the Batticaloa police, summoned for interrogation, and received several court orders restricting his right to protest.

On 26 October 2021, the Batticaloa police visited Sasikaran’s house to question him about his human rights activities. On 27 September 2021, a State Minister shouted at Sasikaran Punniyamoorthy when he raised a question related to an ex-minister who was allegedly involved in mistreating Tamil prisoners during a press conference in Batticaloa. On 14 September 2021, he was interrogated on his connection to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil, Eelam, as well as diaspora news agencies, by officers at the Special Crime Branch in Batticaloa for more than an hour. During the interrogation he was asked about his family background, occupation and financial sources.

In January 2020, several leaflets with death threats to seven Tamil journalists located in the Batticaloa district, including Sasikaran Punniyamoorthy, were placed at the office of the Batticaloa Press Club. The journalists suspect that these threatening leaflets have been put underneath the door. Translation of the text printed on the leaflets read as “Be aware! Be aware!! These are the Reporters who received money from the Tigers abroad and working against the government. Soon give them death sentence!”. The photo on the leaflets were from an event that journalists in Batticaloa organised on 9 January 2020 to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the killing of Colombo-based journalist and editor Lasantha Wickramathunga.

Sri Lanka has a history of targeting and attacks of peaceful human rights defenders and journalists for their human rights work and advocacy. Those working in war affected areas in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of the country and from religious and/or ethnic minorities are especially vulnerable to threats, intimidation and legal reprisals. Front Line Defenders has repeatedly called for an end to reprisals and for the protection of human rights defenders and journalists in Sri Lanka.

Authorities shoved and struck unionists with walkie-talkies as members of eight unions attempted to submit a petition against union-busting to the Labor Ministry and the Council of Ministers office.

Around 400 participants from eight unions and two civil society groups submitted a petition to the Labor Ministry and Council of Ministers on Sunday highlighting 31 cases of union-busting that occurred during the pandemic, particularly affecting garment unions and a casino workers’ union at NagaWorld casino.

The workers were blocked and faced violence from security personnel as they walked from the Labor Ministry to the Council of Ministers. Seak Panha, a member of the NagaWorld union, said at least two of their members lost consciousness and others were injured when authorities tried to stop the group.

Panha said they first attempted to submit the petition to the Labor Ministry but when no one from the ministry came to receive the letter they decided to walk to the Council of Ministers building.

Authorities met them at the intersection near the Institute of Technology of Cambodia and began shoving and hitting some members, she said.

“When we arrived under the [overpass] bridge, they came to stop us and hit us. They even hit us with walkie talkies. Two of our friends lost consciousness,” she said, saying they passed out while being shoved by the authorities.

A livestream from labor rights group Central showed unionists walking away from the melee with red marks on their faces.

NagaWorld workers have clashed with police and security guards as they have protested the firing of more than 1,300 workers by the casino corporation last year.

Phnom Penh Police spokesperson San Sokseyha denied any violent actions by the police and instead blamed the unionists for the violence.

“We never violate those illegal protestors who are always planning incitement, yelling and making inappropriate actions to the authorities, while the authorities try to stop them from clashing with each other,” he said.

The petition does not provide details of the 31 cases but lists federation members affected by union-busting, such as the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions, Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union and Independent Trade Union Federation. Unions have told VOD of union-busting tactics used during the pandemic.

Cambodia Tourism Workers’ Union Federation president Touch Kosal added one of his local unions has also seen its union leadership laid off.

“We have seen that the solutions [so far] aren’t enough. We want to see the Ministry of Labor take action for union leaders to get back to work,” he said. “The Ministry of Labor is our parent and has to compromise for the solution.”

Ou Tepphalin, president of the Cambodia Food and Service Workers Federation, said the unions had collected data on attempts to dissolve different unions and realized unions across industries were facing similar problems.

She wasn’t confident that the Labor Ministry would respond, but added that it’s important to raise the busting of unions with officials.

“At least we are trying to demand for our freedoms as a group of unions,” she said.

Labor Ministry spokesperson Heng Sour did not respond to a request for comment, and government spokesperson Phay Siphan said the Council of Ministers couldn’t address the issue of union-busting.

“If the Ministry of Labor couldn’t solve it, the union should file a complaint to the court. Because the court can make a judgment, and the Council of Ministers only does administrative procedures,” he said.

The Taliban’s Intelligence forces have arrested at least 8 local journalists in Paktia province after the news of female students’ protest leaked.

A reliable local source says that following the news of the protest of female students in Paktia, the intelligence of the Taliban detained and interrogated 8 journalists for several hours on Saturday (September 10th).

Taliban forces have searched the journalist’s equipment and mobile phones, warning them to be cautious in publishing news.

Meanwhile, local sources say that the students of Simin Akbari High School in Samkanai district of Paktia, who had gone to school on Sunday morning (September 11th), returned home after being fired upon by the Taliban.

Closing the education doors to girls after nearly a week in Paktia has spiked widespread reactions.

Local sources in Jawzjan report the arrest of two freelance journalists and a couple by Taliban intelligence.

Local sources told Hasht-e Subh that Shuja Zaki and Obaid, two freelancers, were arrested on Thursday (September 8th) at a Taliban checkpoint while returning from Jawzjan districts to the center of the province and were taken to an unknown location.

Before their trip to Jawzjan, these two freelance journalists had announced on their Facebook pages about their trip to the Faizabad district of Jawzjan and preparing a report on the recent fires in this district.

Meanwhile, other sources in Jawzjan say that these two journalists were working for a YouTube channel and were arrested at night by Taliban intelligence with a couple from a hotel in Shaberghan city, the center of Jawzjan.

The identity of the arrested couple is not yet known. The Taliban have not yet said anything about the news.

The intelligence of the Taliban in Paktia previously detained 8 journalists for several hours on Saturday and interrogated them for covering the protest of schoolgirls.

The Taliban Vice and Virtue Department in Kandahar province has detained four women who are United Nations employees on the charges of violating the “hijab decree” and spreading alleged “immorality”.

A reliable UN source told Hasht-e Subh Monday that the detainees are the staff of immigration, children, and women organizations related to the UN.

The source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Taliban rebels arrested these female employees early this morning in front of their office and brutally beat their driver.

According to this source, these women were imprisoned by the Taliban for several hours.

It is reported that the Taliban told these female staff that they were arrested for “not observing hijab at the office” and spreading “immorality” in the society.

According to reports, the Taliban fighters have already arrested a number of women in Kandahar for alleged allegations.

In the days leading up to Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s arrival in the Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan, activists have been arrested and intimidated for protesting their relatives’ imprisonment in China's Xinjiang Province and its vast internment camp system.

Bakhyt Zharykbasova’s husband, Baibolat Kunbolat, was one of those arrested and sentenced to 15 days in jail. For more than a year and half, Kunbolat has been organizing demonstrations outside the Chinese Consulate in Almaty, the country's biggest city, demanding the release of his brother along with other Kazakhs whose relatives are missing, jailed, or trapped in the neighboring region.

But in the lead-up to Xi’s high-profile September 14 visit -- his first trip abroad in more than two years -- protesters say they have been met with a wave of arrests, police summonses, and warnings not to travel to Nur-Sultan in an attempt to prevent dissent during the Chinese leader’s state visit.

“The authorities warned him and I warned him, [too], but he decided that this is what he is going to do and [that] he will keep doing it,” Zharykbasova, whose husband was arrested on September 10, told RFE/RL. “Baibolat says he is fine [in detention], but I know they will not let him out as long as the Chinese president is here.”

China’s crackdown in Xinjiang has seen more than 1 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Muslim minorities put into mass detention camps. Since Beijing’s dragnet accelerated in 2017, the plight of ethnic Kazakhs interned in China has been an unexpected source of dissent, with the testimonies of former detainees and family members fueling a guerrilla advocacy campaign that brought outsized international attention to the issue.

This left the Kazakh government walking a tightrope between appeasing Beijing -- which denies the long list of abuses that have been documented in its camp system -- and dealing with an exasperated segment of its population lobbying for family members in China.

“There is only one goal here [with these arrests and threats] -- to please the Chinese leader,” Yerbol Dauletbek, the leader of the officially registered chapter of Atajurt Eriktileri, a group lobbying for ethnic Kazakhs detained in Xinjiang and their relatives, told RFE/RL. “This is how [the government] helps to hide the crimes of China.”

Silencing Xinjiang Protests

Demonstrators were facing growing pressure from the authorities even before Xi’s meeting with Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev was announced.

In recent years, the government has led a swift crackdown against activists working on Xinjiang issues in the country: shutting down organizations, arresting activists, and intimidating leading figures into exile, leaving only a small but devoted segment -- such as Kunbolat and his peers -- for public protests.

On September 12, Gulfiya Kazybek, Gaukhar Kurmanaliyeva, and Qalida Akytkhan -- who were all part of ongoing protests outside the Chinese Consulate in Almaty and embassy in Nur-Sultan since February 2020 -- said police officers removed them from a bus that they were on while traveling to a wedding in the southwestern city of Shymkent.

“The police demanded that we get off the bus and then they took us to the police station,” Kazybek told RFE/RL.

Once at the police station, the three women were told that an administrative case had been opened over the violation of “the procedure for holding peaceful assemblies” and they were handed summonses.

Kurmanaliyeva and Kazybek went to their local police station in Almaty on September 13 but were told by officers that no materials on their case had been received yet and they were asked to wait for a phone call for more information which had not been provided by the time this article was published.

Kurmanaliyeva told RFE/RL that she believes security operatives had been tailing her and other protesters since September 10, saying that she and others had documented instances of being followed at the market and outside their homes.

“We'll keep protesting until our relatives are out,” she said. “I am against Xi Jinping's visit. He is making genocide against Kazakhs and Muslims in Xinjiang and he comes here like nothing has happened. He should answer for what he is doing.”

Following the release of a damning UN report earlier this month that said China has committed “serious human rights violations” in mass detention camps in Xinjiang that may be crimes against humanity, activists urged Toqaev to raise the issue of the treatment of ethnic Kazakhs during his talks with Xi.

Kurmanaliyeva says an official from Almaty's city administration had told her Toqaev would raise the plight of their relatives when he meets with Xi, although she doubts it will happen.

“They just didn't want us to go to [the capital],” Kurmanaliyeva said. “They told us: ‘You'll create a bother.’”

Other protesters who had been part of the regular pickets outside the Chinese Consulate and embassy also faced detention and harassment in the lead-up to Xi’s visit.

Akikat Kaliolla, a musician whose relatives are believed to be in Xinjiang’s camp system, was also sentenced to 15 days in jail for allegedly violating laws on public protests and was taken directly by police from his recording studio.

Nurzat Yermekbay, who has also regularly participated in demonstrations against the camps, said he was detained for four hours on September 10 in Almaty and warned by police “not to go to the capital.”

Bekzat Maksutkhan, the head of Naghyz Atajurt, an unregistered advocacy group that works with families who have relatives missing in Xinjiang, told RFE/RL that the Kazakh authorities have been effective in silencing dissent around the issue and that the treatment of ethnic Kazakhs in Xinjiang is not receiving mainstream attention in the country.

The Chinese Embassy in Nur-Sultan has not responded publicly to the appeals of protesters and neither the embassy nor the consulate in Almaty responded to RFE/RL’s request for comment about the fate of ethnic Kazakhs in Xinjiang and the protesters’ complaints.

Xi Arrives

The fact that Xi chose Kazakhstan and Central Asia as the location to first step outside of China since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic brings prestige and geopolitical significance to the government in Nur-Sultan.

Expanding its already deep economic and political ties with China has been a priority for the Kazakh government and local authorities have treaded cautiously with Beijing over the issue of interned Kazakhs.

The issue is further complicated by the complex family connections across the lengthy 1,782-kilometer border between China and Kazakhstan.

Cross-border ties have been a mainstay for centuries but accelerated when the Kazakh government sought to attract ethnic Kazakhs living in Xinjiang to move following the collapse of the Soviet Union. This led to many Chinese-born Kazakhs uprooting and resettling in neighboring Kazakhstan. They have become permanent residents and even Kazakh citizens while still maintaining close connections to family in China.

In instances where Kazakh citizens, many of whom were originally born in China, were detained in Xinjiang, the Kazakh government has negotiated behind-the-scenes with Beijing to secure their release. But it says it has no jurisdiction in other cases.

“Since the Kazakh diaspora living in Xinjiang are citizens of the People's Republic of China, all issues related to them relate to China's internal affairs,” a spokesperson for the Kazakh foreign ministry told RFE/RL. “Therefore, it’s necessary to consider ways to resolve this issue without prejudice to the comprehensive and eternal strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and China.”

Temur Umarov, an expert on China’s relations with Central Asia at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told RFE/RL that the internment camps are a sensitive political topic for Beijing and, given Nur-Sultan’s track record, Toqaev is unlikely to raise the issue publicly and even less likely to criticize China’s detention system during meetings with Xi.

“There is an unspoken rule in relations between Kazakhstan and China: only successes are publicly raised and problems are never spoken about,” he said. “The countries of Central Asia cannot afford to criticize Beijing simply because they depend on [China]. Criticism can come back to haunt them with economic consequences.”

A 24-year-old protester charged with royal defamation for wearing Thai traditional dress at a mock fashion show during a protest on Silom Road on 29 October 2020 has been sentenced to 3 years in prison for an offence against the Queen.

On 14 September, the Court of Appeal has allowed her bail with 300,000 baht securities.

Jatuporn Sae-Ung was charged with royal defamation, violations of 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, staged at the 29 October 2020 protest, a gesture seen as mockery of the royal family.

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, for wearing a black crop top to the same event with the message “My father’s name is Mana, not Vajiralongkorn” written on his back.

Because Noppasin is still a minor, his case is being handled by the Central Juvenile and Family Court. His sentencing date has not been set.

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 younger 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. Although there were no speeches, protesters participated in the fashion show, performed, and exhibited artwork to support monarchy reform.

The South Bangkok Criminal Court today (12 September) found Jatuporn guilty of royal defamation and violation of the Public Assembly Act and sentenced her to 3 years in prison and a fine of 1,500 baht. It then reduced her sentence to 2 years in prison and a fine of 1,000 baht because she gave useful testimony.

The court order sentencing Jatuporn was signed by judge Watanaphon Chaimani.

Weeranan Huadsri, Jatuporn’s lawyer, said that the Court saw Jatuporn’s action as premeditated, because Jatuporn and Noppasin made preparations before joining the protest, and so it ruled that they intended to mock the King and Queen and damage the royal family’s reputation.

Weeranan noted that the judge ordered all observers to leave the courtroom, claiming that this was the court’s Covid-19 prevention measure, but did not order the proceedings to be carried out in secret. Only Jatuporn’s partner and her guarantor were allowed to remain.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that Jatuporn’s lawyer requested bail for her in order to file an appeal using a 300,000-baht security. However, the court forwarded her bail request to the Appeal Court, so Jatuporn will be held at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution until the Appeal Court rules whether to grant her bail or not.

Before she was sentenced, Jatuporn told TLHR in an interview that she was prepared to be imprisoned, because she had seen news reports of other people being found guilty.

The charges against her have disrupted her life. She has had to travel back and forth between Buriram and Bangkok to meet the public prosecutor, and many times she has had to travel to sign a single document, or just to hear that the meeting has been postponed. She is also unemployed, as she often has to travel to meet the public prosecutor or go to court and can’t work full time.

“An employer wants someone who can work full time, which I can’t do because I’m caught up with the case,” she said. “On this, I understand them. This is why I am unemployed right now.”

Jatuporn said she was formerly a royalist, and that she was taught by both her family and school to love the late King Bhumibol. After his death in 2016, Jatuporn got a tattoo of the number “9” in Thai as a symbol of her loyalty, but since being charged with royal defamation, she added three red lines over the original tattoo.

“How do you judge whether someone does or doesn’t love the monarchy?” Jatuporn asked. She said that being charged has made her feel like it’s no longer possible to love or respect the monarchy.

“I want the monarchy to think carefully about who damages the monarchy more; people calling for reform or those who hold up pictures and go around beating up other people?”

Jatuporn said that she felt the court proceedings were not very fair, noting that it was unclear whether notes could be taken during hearings and that she wanted to be able to take notes on things that may have benefited her case. She also wanted to tell the plaintiff that she just wanted to wear a traditional dress because the event was a fashion show, and she does not often have the chance to wear national dress.

“I didn’t want to be anyone. I just wanted to be myself in a traditional dress, that’s all,” she said.

Following Jatuporn’s sentencing, Amnesty International Thailand issued a statement calling her sentence “a chilling prelude of what’s to come,” as at least 210 people have been charged with royal defamation since the start of the pro-democracy protests in 2020, and called on the authorities to drop charges against participants in peaceful protests and release those arbitrarily detained.

“The mock fashion show was a satirical take on the political situation of the country – a peaceful public event akin to a street festival with music, food, and dancing. Participants should not be punished for participating in a peaceful assembly,” said Amnesty International’s Deputy Secretary General Kyle Ward.

“With protests picking up again in Thailand, this latest conviction underlines the degree to which Thai authorities continue to repress peaceful dissent.

“Thai authorities are obliged to protect the peaceful exercise of the rights to expression and assembly, but they instead continue to pursue criminal proceedings against demonstrators, many of them young people or even children. These young protesters should be free to express their opinions and participate in discussions in society, and should not face the prospect of unwarranted prison sentences and criminal records.”