- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Mar 30, 2021
- Event Description
Vietnam’s communist regime has convicted four activists named Mr. Vu Tien Chi, Ms. Nguyen Thi Cam Thuy, Ms. Ngo Thi Ha Phuong, and Mr. Le Viet Hoa of “Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code for their online activities.
In two separated trials held in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong and the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on March 30, the four activists were sentenced to a combined total 31 years in prison and six years of probation. The People’s Court of Lam Dong gave Mr. Chi 10 years in prison followed by three years of probation while the People’s Court of Khanh Hoa sentenced Ms. Thuy to nine years in prison and three years of probation, Ms. Phuong- seven years and Mr. Hoa- five years in prison.
According to the indictment, from the beginning of 2018, Mr. Chi shared 338 articles and conducted 181 livestreams on his Facebook page with content distorting the regime’s policies and defaming senior communist leaders, including late President Ho Chi Minh, who founded the communist regime. These online posts are harmful for the regime and affected the people’s beliefs in the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam and its government, the trial panel of the People’s Court of Lam Dong concluded.
The People’s Court of Khanh Hoa province concluded that Ms. Thuy, a former school teacher fired for her political opinion, was responsible for 181 livestreams and many posts on her Facebook accounts “Nguyễn Cẩm Thúy” and “Cẩm Thúy Cô” to defame the regime. She was also accused of burning the red flags of the ruling party and the regime as well as cutting portraits of senior leaders, including the regime founder Ho Chi Minh.
On March 29, the Khanh Hoa newspaper, the mouthpiece of the province’s Party Committee reported that the province’s People’s Court will hold the first-instance hearing on March 30-31 to try Ms. Thuy and two others named Ngo Thi Phuong Ha and Le Viet Hoa, however, the state-controlled media has not reported their activities which can be used for their conviction.
The state-run newspapers also reported that Mr. Chi and Ms. Thuy know each other, having a joint plan to expand a network of people sharing the same thoughts to establish a political opposition.
Both Chi and Thuy were arrested on June 24 last year. There is no information about their pre-trial detention. It is unclear whether the four activists have their own lawyers during their trials or not.
They are among 51 activists being imprisoned on the charge of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code 2015 (or Article 88 of the Penal Code 1999) which is condemned by the international community as an effective tool to silence government critics. President of the unregistered professional group Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) PhD. Pham Chi Dung and his deputy Nguyen Tuong Thuy as well as world-recognized human rights defender and well-known political blogger Pham Doan Trang were also arrested on this charge. Mr. Dung and Mr. Thuy were sentenced to 15 years and 11 years in prison, respectively, in early January this year while Ms. Trang is still held incommunicado in pre-trial detention after her arrest on October 7 last year.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Mar 29, 2021
- Event Description
Ko La Raw from Kachin Waves and Ma Chan Bu, from the 74 Media, were arrested by the military while reporting in the city of Myitkyina on March 29. Witnesses said the journalists were both beaten and detained by authorities while reporting on a crackdown on anti-regime protestors.
The arrests coincide with escalating violence across the region, with reports of more than 114 people killed across Myanmar on Saturday, March 27, including several children. Police also opened fire on a funeral crowd in the city of Bago for Thae Maung Maung, a 20-year-old killed March 27. Myanmar’s annual Armed Forces Day on March 27 was the bloodiest single day since the coup began on February 1. As the anti-regime protests entered their seventh week, the UN released a statement condemning the violence and calling on the military “to immediately stop killing the very people it has the duty to serve and protect”.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Mar 28, 2021
- Event Description
In the morning and evening of 14 March, protesters at the ‘Through the Sky Village’ set up near Government House were rounded up with no warrants shown. The Prime Minister denied any connection with the group photo of the new cabinet.
In both incidents, protesters in the makeshift village observed by peaceful methods by sitting or lying down, raising the 3-finger salute and letting the police take them into custody.
Those arrested were divided into 2 groups: 61 people who were arrested at 06.00 on Sunday and 31 who re-established the village in the afternoon and were arrested in the evening. Before being taken to court for a temporary detention order hearing, the first group were detained and charged at the Border Patrol Police Region 1, Pathum Thani, and the second at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road.
On Monday night, all 92 were released on bail with 20,000 baht each as securities.
99 were arrested in total, but 6 were youths and earlier given bail by the court earlier while one other was allowed bail by the police.
92 were sent to Dusit Court for a temporary detention order hearing on Monday morning. They were charged with violating the Emergency Decree, causing traffic disorder and public dirtiness. Lawyers were waiting to submit bail requests.
On Monday, people gathered at the Pathumwan Skywalk to protest against the arrests. A protest was called for 14.00 on Tuesday 30 March at Government House to coincide with the cabinet photo shoot. The gathering perhaps is a symbolic action of resistance as the real photo shoot has been taken at Tuesday morning.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Family of HRD, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Mar 27, 2021
- Event Description
Kazakh authorities detained at least 20 people as demonstrators staged anti-China protests in towns and cities across the Central Asian nation on March 27.
The protesters rallied against China’s increasing influence and economic power in the former Soviet republic.
Activists also denounced the mass incarceration of members of indigenous Turkic-speaking communities in China’s Xinjiang region, including ethnic Kazakhs and Uyghurs.
Protests were held in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, and in the capital, Nur-Sultan, as well as Oral, Shymkent, and Aqtobe.
In Almaty, several hundred people gathered in a square to denounce what they said was “Chinese expansion” in Kazakhstan. At least seven protesters were detained on their way to the rally.
In Nur-Sultan, several people were detained on their way to a rally. Police cordoned off a square where protesters were expected to gather.
The protests were called by the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) and the unregistered Democratic Party of Kazakhstan (DPK).
In recent months, many activists across Kazakhstan have been handed parole-like sentences for their involvement in the activities of the DVK, as well as for taking part in rallies organized by the group.
The DVK is led by Mukhtar Ablyazov, the fugitive former head of Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank and an outspoken critic of the Kazakh government.
Human rights groups have said Kazakhstan’s law on public gatherings violates international standards as it requires preliminary permission from authorities to hold rallies and envisions prosecution for organizing and participating in unsanctioned rallies, even though the nation’s constitution guarantees its citizens the right of free assembly.
Kazakh authorities have insisted that there are no political prisoners in the country.
- Impact of Event
- 20
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Minority rights defender, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Mar 27, 2021
- Event Description
On 27 March, authorities in Ha Noi arrested Le Trong Hung under Article 117, who had applied to be an independent (or ‘self-nominated’) candidate for a National Assembly seat in Ha Noi city. Le Trong Hung is a citizen journalist and a member of Chan Hung TV, a media group which broadcasts Facebook livestreams about social and political issues. According to his family, Le Trong Hung was arrested while walking in his neighbourhood and taken to his home by police who then searched the house. It is unknown where he is currently being detained.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to political participation
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Mar 27, 2021
- Event Description
A jailed student protester from Magway who had his hand amputated after a brutal attack by soldiers in late March applied for bail on Thursday, his family has said.
Hlyan Phyo Aung, a 22-year-old civil engineering student who faces an incitement charge, was expecting to be freed along with more than 2,000 others on Wednesday.
Instead he had his first court hearing on Thursday after it was postponed eight times. His family said they hoped the request would be granted on medical grounds because of his serious injuries.
“I just want to ask them to be reasonable and stop this madness,” said a relative.
The student was hospitalised after a soldier shot and destroyed his right hand at a rally in Magway on March 27. After the hand was amputated he was sent to Magway Prison, even though doctors said he urgently needed eye surgery.
“It doesn’t matter if one is educated or wealthy or not, a person is a person and should be treated as such,” the relative said. “Would they treat him the same way if he was their blood?” Thirty-six detainees who were still under police investigation and facing court hearings for protesting were released from Magway Prison on Wednesday.
Two of them were Hlyan Phyo Aung’s cellmates, who were detained at the same protest as him and facing the same charge under the same lawsuit, the relative said.
The cellmates had been helping Hlyan Phyo Aung, who has limited mobility, with his daily routine.
“Now he’s alone in his cell,” the relative said. “He had already packed his stuff thinking he would be released along with his cellmates. We just met with his friends who were released in front of the prison today.”
In addition to losing his right hand, Hlyan Phyo Aung was hit in his right eye with a blast of gunpowder. Both of his thighs and his left arm were perforated by rubber bullets. After receiving two months of treatment at a military hospital, doctors said he would still need physical therapy as well as surgery for his eye.
The relative said they feared the attention Hlyan Phyo Aung’s case has received was the reason the regime has not yet released him.
The underground National Unity Government has publicised his treatment as part of plans to submit evidence against the regime to the International Criminal Court.
“Every single word of support for him turns into poison for the military since this information has seeped to the international community, making it a ‘famous’ case,” the relative said.
“That’s probably why they’re not releasing him yet.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Mar 25, 2021
- Event Description
Almost two months after the military seized power, people across Myanmar doggedly continued the fight to topple the regime on Thursday with protests in towns and cities across the country.
Once again, the military responded with murderous attacks, killing at least six. Fatalities were confirmed in Shan State’s Taunggyi, Kachin state’s Mohnyin and Sagaing region’s Khin-U.
The regime has now killed 320 people, including 20 children, in its bid to crush the democratic uprising, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Thursday’s renewed protests came a day after the country observed a “Silent Strike”. Businesses closed and people stayed in their homes as streets remained empty of pedestrians and cars.
The action was a show of strength and unity in response to the military’s hamfisted efforts to resume business as usual and force the economy to reopen after weeks of devastating strikes. It was also aimed at allowing people a chance to rest.
Here is a roundup of Thursday’s violence by region, as well as some additional details from Wednesday night that have now been confirmed:
Taunggyi, Shan state
Four people were killed and several, including a pregnant woman, were injured when soldiers opened fire on protesters in Taunggyi, locals said. The troops also used tear gas and rubber bullets during the attack.
Photos taken by locals and circulated on social media showed the regime’s forces beating residents and destroying their properties.
Residents said the army used drone cameras to watch over residential areas but Myanmar Now was unable to verify this.
Sources from the town said nearly 60 people were arrested during Thursday’s attacks and several people had their mobile phones seized.
Mohnyin, Kachin state
Forty-year-old Win Swe was shot in the abdomen and killed in Mohnyin when the junta’s forces opened fire on a crowd that had gathered in front of the police station to demand the release of nine protesters who were arrested on Thursday morning.
“At first, the police just said to disperse. Later a truck full of soldiers arrived and opened fire,” said a member of an aid group that is helping the injured.
Win Swe was a gasoline seller and a resident of the Aung Thabyay ward in Mohnyin.
Two other people in their 30s were severely injured during the attack, Mohnyin locals said.
hin-U, Sagaing region
In Khin-U, Sagaing region, troops from a battalion in nearby Shwebo attacked a pro-democracy demonstration and killed a 19-year-old demonstrator named Zaw Win Maung.
Two others were injured, according to a Khin-U resident.
“We had blocked main roads in town and troops from Shwebo came on foot to where we were at around midday. They started shooting as soon as they arrived,” the resident said.
Zaw Min Maung passed away at around 6pm while being treated at a local monastery. Soldiers then came and took his body as well as an injured teenager, whose whereabouts and condition is unknown.
On Wednesday night police arrested a group of 14 volunteer night guards in Aung Chan Thar ward. Residents then surrounded the police station to demand their release.
Police shot at the crowd outside the station but later released the night guards, a local said. Mandalay
A junta crackdown on a nighttime protest in Mandalay’s Kyaukpadaung township on Wednesday night left one person dead and three severely injured, a local rescue worker said. The protest was held to mark the end of the day’s Silent Strike.
Soldiers attacked the protest at around 8pm. Kyi Sett Hlaing, 23, was shot in the thigh and bled to death at around 11pm after he was unable to access medical treatment.
The rescue worker said his charity was delayed trying to reach injured protesters because there were soldiers patrolling the main road in the town in search of people who had left broken glass out to slow the advance of military vehicles.
“They were looking for those who shattered glass on the road, so we couldn’t go freely,” he said.
Also on Wednesday night, in Mandalay’s Chanmyathazi township, a 16-year-old boy was killed during an attack on residents who were banging pots at Sein Pan street near the intersection of 66th and 67th streets, a doctor who helped treat the injured told Myanmar Now.
The victim was identified as Phoe Hti. He was shot in the back by the junta’s troops, according to his relatives.The shootings started at 8:30pm and at least five other residents were injured, a rescue team said.
Before the shooting, soldiers shouted: “If you have courage, come out now!” a resident said.
“After we banged pots, they came in shouting ‘Who has the courage? Who was banging pots? Come out now!’ They then went around shooting. I’ve heard that some night watchmen were shot,” the resident added.
One person was shot in the abdomen and the other in the leg, she added.
“No rescue team has arrived, they have been left just like that,” she added, speaking at around 9pm on Wednesday. “We don’t dare to go out to look either.”
Ambulances were able to enter the area around 9:30pm that night and took the injured people to a clinic, a doctor said.
- Impact of Event
- 7
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Killing, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of expression Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to life, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Mar 25, 2021
- Event Description
A court in the central Chinese province of Henan has handed down a 14-month jail term to performance artist and online influencer Chen Shaotian after he posted a number of critical comments about life under the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Twitter.
Chen was sentenced to one year and two months' imprisonment by the Fugou County People's Court in Henan, which found him guilty of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge frequently used to target critics of the regime.
Chen's sentence, which was issued on March 25, was based on more than 50 posts he made to Twitter that were deemed to be "hype about major sensitive events in China" and "political attacks."
One video still visible on Twitter shows him astride a moped, speeding down a road wearing a face-mask blazoned with the words "evil" and "understand," and yelling: "Understand this! Our evil government is far worse than any virus, for f*ck's sake!"
Chen's tweets had "attacked China's political system, insulted employees of the state, caused serious damage to China's national image and endangered its national interests," as well as "creating serious disorder in a public place," the court judgment said.
Dissident activist Ji Feng said Chen isn't a dissident in the strict sense, as he doesn't advocate any political or philosophical alternative to CCP rule.
"He lacks a systematic politics, and he has no deeply held position," Ji said. "It's all about dissatisfaction with the current reality."
He said Chen's jailing would likely have a chilling effect on people who feel the same way.
"There are many, many people like him, and eventually, they will probably be too scared to speak out any more," he said.
Hebei-based lawyer Pan Shaomin said Chen had become an online celebrity precisely because his posts exuded a general and profound sense of dissatisfaction.
"The social topics he cares about were very popular with the general public," Ji said. "He cursed the way things are in a funny way, and made people laugh and feel happier."
"That was how he became a celebrity, but that phenomenon is going to cause fear in certain quarters," he said.
Chen, originally a long-haul truck-driver, first started cursing out the government after travel bans and rural roadblocks at the start of the pandemic left him unable to do his job.
He was banned from social media platforms including WeChat and Douyin after his videos on the death of whistleblowing Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang went viral.
"What [Chen] was doing was anathema to the authorities, who shut down his China-based social media accounts," Pan said.
In December 2020, authorities in the Beijing district of Haidian jailed Li Guibao, who was known online as Fat Pig Full Circle Lao Li, to one year's imprisonment for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble" after he criticized the authorities handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Li was detained two days after posting a 7,000-word article on April 9, 2020, in which he mostly talked about government's handling of the pandemic.
He was tried on Dec. 3, 2020 and sentenced on Dec. 24, 2020.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Mar 24, 2021
- Event Description
Six youth activists were detained for a night for collecting thumbprints — despite the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak — for a petition calling on the government to ease citizens’ costs of living, the Phnom Penh governor said.
“What they are looking for — thumbprints — that is against the Covid-19 rules,” Khuong Sreng said.
The activists had admitted their guilt and were released, he said, adding that such actions could lead to legal action if they were infected with Covid-19 and had transmitted the disease to others.
The governor added that they were focusing on the wrong issue at the wrong time.
“At this time, they should be holding banners and telling all people to wear masks to protect themselves from Covid-19,” Sreng said. “That would be the most appropriate.”
Keo Tith Lida, president of the Women’s Association for Society, said three of her members had been arrested on Wednesday while making copies of their petition to deliver to Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday.
She and two other members went to the Stung Meanchey 1 commune police station to try to secure the others’ release, but they were also detained, Tith Lida said.
The group has been collecting thumbprints for a petition calling on the government to ease people’s financial burdens. The petition suggests suspending payments to microfinance institutions and banks, halting water and electricity bills, reducing the price of gasoline, or halving businesses’ rent for three to six months.
Tith Lida said the six activists were detained overnight and released around 5 p.m. on Thursday.
“We were asked to make a contract … to not gather youths, to not collect thumbprints during Covid, and to not make any propaganda,” she said.
The campaign had now been suspended, she said.
Am Sam Ath, rights group Licadho’s monitoring manager, said everyone should be following the Health Ministry’s Covid-19 guidelines.
“There should be a discussion about solutions, and, in the future, they will follow the measures of the Ministry of Health and of the authorities about preventing the spread of Covid-19. That would be good,” Sam Ath said.
Tith Lida previously said the group had collected more than 200 thumbprints for its petition.
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to tens of thousands of job losses in Cambodia, with tourism having plummeted amid disruptions to global travel, and garment factories losing orders due to suppressed worldwide consumer demand.
More than 700,000 households, or about 2 million people, have received emergency cash handouts as part of the government’s IDPoor program, the Planning Ministry said last month.
- Impact of Event
- 6
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- NGO staff, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Mar 24, 2021
- Event Description
On the night of March 24, police raided the media outlet’s office and two of its employees’ homes in Taunggyi, the capital of Shan state, and detained editor-in-charge Nann Nann Tai, reporter Nann Win Yi, and publisher Tin Aung Kyaw, according to a Facebook post by the outlet and a report by The Irrawaddy.
Kanbawza Tai News editor-in-chief Zay Tai told The Irrawaddy that the outlet had not received any warning or legal action before the arrests, and he did not know where the staffers were being held.
CPJ emailed and called Kanbawza Tai News, an independent news outlet which posts stories on its website and social media, but did not receive any responses. The outlet’s news website was still posting updates as of today, and has recently covered strikes and demonstrations against the country’s military government, which took power in a February coup.
“The jailing of Kanbawza Tai News staffers Nann Nann Tai, Nann Win Yi, and Tin Aung Kyaw is the latest in a lengthening list of crimes against the press by the Myanmar junta,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “They must be immediately and unconditionally freed along with all other journalists wrongfully detained in Myanmar.”
Zay Tai told The Irrawaddy that authorities had previously tried to arrest him in mid-March in a separate house raid, but he escaped.
Also on March 24, Myanmar authorities released hundreds of political prisoners, most of whom had been detained in clampdowns on anti-military protests, including Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw and Polish freelance photographer Robert Bociaga, according to news reports.
At least 23 other journalists remain in detention, including the Kanbawza Tai News staffers, according to data shared with CPJ by the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, an independent rights group.
Twelve of those journalists have been charged under the penal code, with at least 10 facing charges under Article 505(a), a broad criminal provision that penalizes the dissemination of information that could agitate or cause security forces or state officials to mutiny, that data shows.
CPJ emailed the Ministry of Information for comment, but did not receive an immediate reply.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to privacy
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Mar 24, 2021
- Event Description
Yayasan Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Indonesia (YLBHI) said that 2 legal assistants for residents of Pancoran, South Jakarta, were detained by the South Jakarta Metro Police. "Two legal assistants for the residents of Pancoran, Safaraldy from LBH Jakarta and Dzuhrian from Paralegal Jalanan were arrested for no reason by the South Jakarta Police on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. Both were detained while delivering a letter regarding the refusal to investigate the Pancoran residents
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security, Right to work
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Mar 23, 2021
- Event Description
Saw Lin Htet, an ethnic Karen student from Myanmar currently studying at Mahidol University, has been arrested in Myanmar after joining an anti-coup protest while conducting research, and has not been heard from since.
Saw Lin Htet is a student in the Human Rights and Democratisation master’s degree programme at the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies (IHRP), Mahidol University. IHRP lecturer Bencharat Sae Chua said that he returned to his home country to conduct research for his thesis. While in Myanmar, he also joined anti-coup protests after the Myanmar military took power on 1 February 2021.
Bencharat said she was informed that Saw Lin Htet was arrested on 23 March 2021, while driving home in Hpa-An, the capital city of Karen State, with his 4-year-old daughter. He was stopped by military officers, who searched his car without presenting a warrant and arrested him after they found anti-government material.
He was accused of inciting violence against the state under Section 505 of Myanmar’s Criminal Code, which carries a prison sentence of up to 3 years.
He was taken to court on 6 April 2021, but his trial was not heard as there were too many cases. However, that evening, his wife noticed that he was not in the prisoner bus returning to prison, so she went to search for him both at the prison and at the police station, but no officer was able to tell her where he is. He has not been heard from since.
Saw Lin Htet’s family and friends are now concerned for his wellbeing. Bencharat said a petition has been filed with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, and that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights received the petition on 9 April. Meanwhile, his wife and daughter are in hiding out of fear that they are in danger from state officials.
His classmates at Mahidol University have also set up the Facebook page “Free Saw Lin” to call attention to his arrest and disappearance. On 9 April, they also issued a statement raising concerns about Saw Lin Htet’s wellbeing and calling on the Myanmar government to guarantee the rights Saw Lin Htet and other political detainees, as well as to allow them the right to be represented by a lawyer and to have a fair trial.
“We gravely fear for the condition of Saw Lin, who as of this moment remains under incommunicado detention,” says the statement. “Saw Lin’s current physical health is fragile since he is a survivor of childhood tuberculosis. His lack of consistent access to lawyers and his family clear violates his rights as an accused and person deprived of liberty.
“We appeal to the Government of the Union of Myanmar to allow Saw Lin, along with other political detainees, to have their rights guaranteed under the law. We request that they are granted access to justice, be represented by their counsels, and have a fair trial.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Abduction/Kidnapping, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Mar 22, 2021
- Event Description
Chukiat ‘Justin’ Saengwong, a pro-democracy protester, was arrested at night on 22 March on a charge of royal defamation and taken into police custody awaiting a court decision on bail. The court then allow the police request for temporary detention.
At 13.01 of 23 March, he was waiting for a court decision on his bail application via a teleconference hearing, according to Bencha Saengchantra, the Move Forward Party MP requesting bail for Chukiat. Bencha also said the police were going to transfer Chukiat to court in the morning, but suddenly changed to a teleconference hearing.
At 17.12, the court denied bail, giving as reasons the seriousness of the charge, the heavy penalty, and the fact that the accused committed similar offences after previously being allowed bail, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR). The offence that resulted in his arrest was from his part in the 20 March protest at Sanam Luang, although the offending action has not yet been identified exactly.
Chukiat posted on Facebook at 20.15 on 22 March “The police are taking me to Chanasongkram Police Station. Arrest warrant [Section] 112”. But supporters who went to Chanasongkram Police Station could not find him until he appeared at Huai Kwang Police Station at 23.00.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), whose lawyer was able to meet Chukiat at 00.54 on 23 March, tweeted that the police tried to interrogate Chukiat with a lawyer that they assigned to him and confiscated his phone. Because he objected to this, the police had him handcuffed and detained.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Mar 22, 2021
- Event Description
Police officer from the Jayapura City Police arrested five students demonstrating carrying the Bintang Kejora flag on Monday (22/3/2021). The police also disband a demonstration demanding that Government of Indonesia open access for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Papua. The rally was initiated by students of the students of Universitas Sains dan Teknologi Jayapura (USTJ) on campus. Initially, the protesters had time to postpone their action, because they saw that the police were already on campus.
- Impact of Event
- 6
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Mar 21, 2021
- Event Description
MANILA – Human rights group Karapatan is calling for the release of their Lumad colleague who was arrested by police in Cagayan de Oro City early morning Sunday, March 21.
Renalyn Tejero, 25, a Karapatan Caraga paralegal and a Manobo, has turned up under arrest at the Camp Col. Rafael Rodriguez, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Caraga regional office 13 in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte.
Tejero had been missing for half a day, having lost contact with her colleagues after she was last seen being taken by armed men at 5 A.M. in another province, in barangay Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental.
It turned out a joint police and military team arrested her on charges of murder and attempted multiple murder, as announced by the PNP Caraga late this afternoon. They flaunted having nabbed Tejero, who they claimed is the region’s “top 1 most wanted NPA (New People’s Army).”
The PNP Caraga also claimed that Tejero is “one of the primary suspects” in the killing of Zaldy Acidillo Ybañez and Datu Bernandino Astudillo Surigao del Sur last year.
This was the same charge against Rogelio de Asis, Pamalakaya Caraga chairperson, and auditor of Pamalakaya National. De Asis was arrested on Feb. 11 at his home in Buenavista, Agusan del Norte.
The arrest warrants issued by the Regional Trial Court branch 34 recommends no bail for the murder case, and a fixed bail of Php120,000 for the multiple attempted murder case, the PNP Caraga said.
Tejero is the second activist from Caraga who was arrested in four days. On March 17, a similar joint police and military operation arrested Rosanilla “Teacher Lai” Consad, ACT secretary in Region XIII, a special education teacher and an assistant principal of San Vicente National High School in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte.
Also in the region just last February, four prominent activists were arrested on murder charges, which their organizations denounced as trumped-up cases.
The PNP Caraga said Tejero was arrested by a composite team of the PNP regional intelligence units from Region 13 and Region 10, the Philippine Army’s 402nd Brigade under the 4th Infantry Division, the 23rd Infantry Battalion and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Progressive groups denounced Tejero’s arrest and called for her release. The Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) in a Facebook post said Tejero is an “IFI active youth member.” Katribu Youth called the arrest “an attack on indigenous peoples and people’s rights.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security, Right to protect reputation
- HRD
- NGO staff, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Mar 21, 2021
- Event Description
Police in north-central Vietnam’s Nghe An province arrested the owner of a private clinic on Monday, accusing the physician of undermining people’s trust in the Communist Party in a series of articles posted on social media, state media sources said.
Nguyen Duy Huong, a 34-year-old medical doctor and owner of the Duy Nhi clinic in the Yen Thanh district’s Vienh Tanh commune, was charged under Article 117 of the Criminal Code with “creating, storing, or disseminating information and documents against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”
Security services said that articles posted since 2018 on Huong’s Facebook page included a Feb. 20, 2021 story called “Why Should We Criticize Nguyen Phu Trong,” which criticized the ruling Communist Party general secretary, now serving his third term in office, for turning the party into “a swamp.”
Huong had written in the same article that he was willing to sacrifice even his family and job in order to change the Party and the country, according to a report in the Ministry of Public Security’s official newspaper.
“I have devoted my life to this [cause],” Huong wrote, quoted in the Ministry paper. “Reforms must be carried out so that our people can really be their own masters, the party can be cleaned up, and the country can move forward.”
Huong’s writings had undermined the Vietnamese people’s trust in their ruling party and the socialist regime and had harmed political and ideological unity in the country, and should therefore be “handled strictly,” the ministry paper said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Mar 20, 2021
- Event Description
On 20 March, protesters gathered at Sanam Luang demanding that the power of the monarchy be limited under the constitution. The police responded by setting up a long barrier of containers. The people faced retaliation after removing the blockade. Rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannon were deployed broadly and indiscriminately.
As of Sunday morning, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights reported that 32 people were arrested. 30 people were taken to Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters in Pathum Thani for detention and investigation.
The Erawan Medical Centre reported on Sunday that 33 people were injured and transferred to hospital.
The protest was scheduled after a popular vote in the REDEM communication group. Protesters gathered at Sanam Luang at around 17.50 to face a long barrier of containers stacked two-high barring them from accessing the Grand Palace walls. The blockade was reportedly put in place at around 07.00 on Saturday. As more people arrived, some protesters were seen pulling down part of the wall of containers. At around 19.00 a path opened up after a row of containers was removed. Crowd control police behind the blockade began to warn the protesters not to cross the line otherwise they would be arrested.
At 19.02 water cannon opened fire from behind the blockade as the police were preparing arrest teams. 8 explosions were heard. The protesters retreated to Phan Phipop Lila Bridge before re-entering Sanam Luang, waving large white banners, only to face more water cannon fire. The water was reportedly infused with a tear gas agent. At around 19.30, the protesters were flanked by crowd control police who marched from Ratchadamnoen Road toward the protesters. The police on both sides then started forcibly dispersing protestors. Tear gas and rubber bullets were widely used at this stage as the protesters made a retreat to Phra Pinklao Bridge, the only major exit that remained open.
Doi, a 15-year-old young woman, was injured in the left chest by a rubber bullet. She said she was at the Mother Earth Statue across Sanam Luang when the police announced that they would arrest people who were lingering on the street. However, the police shot her after a couple seconds without allowing her to run. Doi said she was terrified and hurt. She said her family is not against her coming to the protest. However, getting hurt is not what she wanted as she was afraid of missing a test because of her injury.
The standoff at Phra Pinklao Bridge went on for around 1 hour. Tear gas and explosions were observed several times. The media around Ratchadamnoen Road were restricted in a designated area by the police.
At 20.43, crowd control police opened a path to Atsadang Road, allowing protesters to leave. Police asked the media to lead the people out of the area. Afraid of an ambush by a pro-monarchy vigilante group, the protesters urged the police to lead them out to a safe place. 2 units of police were deployed to lead the protesters out.
At 21.45, a person was attacked by an unidentified group of men around Wat Mahannapharam with some sort of flag pole. He was injured in the head and taken to hospital.
At 21.53, the Coalition of Salaya for Democracy posted on Facebook that a person was shot with live ammunition by unknown men around the Giant Swing.
At 22.24, Prachatai journalist Sarayut Tangprasert was shot in the back by a rubber bullet while livestreaming the crackdown at Kok Wua intersection, leading to Khao San Road. He was wearing a media armband provided by the Thai Journalists Association (TJA). During the night, journalists from Channel 8 and Khaosod were injured by rubber bullets, one to the head and one to the leg.
The police set up a line at Kok Wua intersection, moving back and forth to disperse protestors. People who were sitting in Khao San Road booed them before the police moved away from the famous tourist destination which is now less crowded due to the pandemic. Deputy Police Spokesperson Pol Col Kritsana Pattanacharoen said the police responded to the protest in accordance with legal provisions, noting that the protest was not allowed according to the restrictions of the Emergency Decree to control the spread of Covid-19. The police had warned the protesters not to trespass beyond the blockade. Protesters still came forward and some attacked the police with marbles or bolts fired by slingshots.
“In carrying out their duty this evening, police officers have used restraint, acting according to the steps of the law, acting strictly according to regulations in political science and legal principles,” said Kritsana.
At 21.15, the Medics and Nurses for the People volunteer group estimated that at least 30 people had been injured from tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannon blasts and assaults.
At around 23.00 a clash broke out at Wan Chat Bridge, 400 meters from the Democracy Monument when protesters seized a police van and used it as a shield. The Tempo News reported men were caught throwing a home-made explosive at the police from the lines of media. Molotov cocktails were used but quickly put out. Police returned fire with tear gas and rubber bullets.
According to the Reporters Facebook live feed, crowd control police staged a crackdown at around 23.00, resulting in 9 arrests. 1 police officer and 1 other person were injured and taken away from the scene.
On 23.30, the Dao Din activist group gathered in front of Khon Kaen University Police Station to protest against the violence in Bangkok.
Calm before the storm The Free YOUTH Movement, one of the protest organizers formed in 2020, published a statement demanding limits to the power of the monarchy, the demilitarization of politics and universal social welfare. Activities began peacefully. The protest on Saturday was meant to send messages via paper planes to address the issue of limiting the power of the monarchy under the constitution. People were seen flying kites, raising banners and spraying the ground with graffiti.
The artists' network Free Arts were also organising activities during the protest. Earlier in the evening, they were spray-painting pictures of activists currently imprisoned for charges relating to political activities, as well as messages such as “Free our friends” and “Abolish Section 112” onto kites, which can then be seen flying above Sanam Luang. A representative of the group said that the idea behind the event is that several of the imprisoned activists are facing charges because of the protest at Sanam Luang on 19 – 20 September 2020, so the group decided to paint their pictures onto kites to show that they are thinking of those who are imprisoned.
The representative also said that one of the activities they think of when they return to Sanam Luang was flying kites, and that the event is also symbolic of how Sanam Luang used to be a public space where anyone can organize an event.
Free Arts also planned to use the space for dancing, and said that there is also a plan for participants to read out Anon Nampa’s speech on monarchy reform. However, these activities did not take place as the protest was cut short due to police violence.
Eak, joining the protest wearing a T-shirt with a parody of the Naruto manga, changing the name to Narutu, a reference to the nickname (Tu) of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha. He said he wanted to express his anger at Thai politics. “I am angry at the senators who rejected the draft constitution. I am angry that our friends were ordered to be detained by the court without a verdict. It is against international principles, against every theory, against everything.”
Eak wants the government to step down for the good of Thai children and the future.
BANGKOK — At least 20 people were taken into custody after riot police broke up a protest calling for a monarchy reform at Sanam Luang on Saturday night, police said Sunday.
The rally outside the Grand Palace was organized by the REDEM group, who had said they planned to have demonstrators throw paper planes with messages over the palace walls.
The protesters, who numbered close to 1,000, gathered at Sanam Luang, where they were met with a massive barricade made of shipping containers to defend palace grounds. They proceeded to dismantle the obstacle installed by the police, to which the police retaliated with water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets as they moved in to clear out the remaining protesters in the vicinity.
Protesters pull down a shipping container used as a barricade near the Grand Palace on Mar. 20, 2021. Protesters pull down a shipping container used as a barricade near the Grand Palace on Mar. 20, 2021. “Demonstrators began the violence,” deputy Bangkok police commander Piya Tawichai said. “The police were on the defense, since we were tasked to enforce laws and defend public property. Although the protesters claimed that they are leaderless, our investigation found that they actually have leaders, but they are not coming forward.”
Police said a total of 20 people were arrested during the crackdown on protesters last night, though the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group reported as many as 32 people, including seven minors, were taken into custody.
They faced six charges, which include breaking the Emergency Decree’s ban on mass gatherings, causing public disturbance, and resisting arrests, police said.
Khaosod English correspondents at the scene said police appeared to rely heavily on rubber bullets than any crowd control measures on Saturday night, especially during smaller clashes that flared up at multiple locations along the historic Ratchadamnoen Avenue as demonstrators hurled objects, including devices believed to be firecrackers, and set fires to deter riot police.
Bangkok’s emergency medical service center said a total of 33 people were injured. Twenty of them were civilians, while 13 of them were police officers.
At least three reporters, including Khaosod’s Thanyalak Wannakote and Prachatai’s Sarayut Tangprasert, were hit by rubber bullets. Police said they were hit by stray bullets as officers had already warned them to leave the area.
“We instructed police officers to use riot control measures in accordance with the regulations,” Maj. Gen. Piya said. “We insured warnings to journalists, volunteer medical workers, and civilians to disperse. However, not all of them left, so some were hit by stray bullets during the commotion. The metro police chief has already acknowledged and will visit the victims.”
Thai media guilds issued a joint statement Sunday asking every party to show tolerance, though it did not condemn police use of force on journalists on the frontline.
“Journalists working at protest sites must strictly observe the guidelines for reporting during a crisis to prevent loss of lives and properties,” the statement wrote. “Journalists working at protest sites should wear an identification armband every time, however it is not guaranteed to protect them from violence.”
The REDEM group, short for Restart Democracy, claims to have no leaders and relies on opinion polls on the Telegram messaging app to make key decisions. The group said they will call for another rally on Sunday after the majority voted for, though they have yet to announce the venue.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Media Worker, Pro-democracy defender, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Mar 19, 2021
- Event Description
A BBC journalist and a former Mizzima News reporter were arrested by men believed to be plainclothes officers in Naypyitaw on Friday afternoon, a family member confirmed.
BBC Burmese journalist Aung Thura was in front of the Dekkhina District court to report on a hearing for National League for Democracy patron Win Htein when he was arrested. Former Mizzima correspondent Than Htike Aung was with him at the time of the arrest.
No further details of the arrest or the reporters’ detention were known at the time of reporting, according to Aung Thura’s relative.
“I saw some plainclothes officers dragging away a person in trousers into a car,” lawyer Min Min Soe, who was near the court at the time, told Myanmar Now. The man she saw is believed to be Than Htike Aung.
“Two other officers in plainclothes were hassling another individual in a paso [traditional sarong for men] and glasses,” she said, referring to Aung Thura. “It was quite a scene so I don’t know what happened next.”
BBC News issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying that they are "doing everything [they] can" to find Aung Thura, who they described as being taken away by unidentified men.
“We call on the authorities to help locate him and confirm that he is safe,” the statement said.
As of March 16, a total of 38 journalists had been arrested or targeted for arrest since the February 1 coup. The latest arrests of the BBC and former Mizzima journalists push this number up to 40.
Only 22 of these reporters have been released. Ten journalists have been charged with violating Section 505(a) of the penal code, which has been used against people who are seen as causing fear, spreading fake news, or agitating government employees. Under recent amendments to the law, the charges come with a three-year prison sentence if convicted.
Online news website The Irrawaddy has also been charged by the junta as violating the same statute for showing “disregard” for the armed forces in their reporting of the ongoing anti-regime protests.
Five publications, including Myanmar Now and Mizzima had their offices raided and their publishing licenses revoked earlier this month by the regime.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Suspected state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Mar 17, 2021
- Event Description
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) condemned the arrest of a union leader in Butuan City and called for her immediate release.
Rosanilla “Teacher Lai” Consad, ACT secretary in Region XIII, a special education teacher and an assistant principal of San Vicente National High School, was arrested yesterday, March 17, at around 4:30 pm in Butuan City by Regional Intelligence Unit 13 of National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), the police and military.
Consad is also a member of ACT’s National Council.
Consad is being charged with attempted homicide in relation to a New People’s Army ambush in Sitio Manhupaw, Brgy. Poblacion 2, Santiago in Agusan del Norte last November 21.
ACT secretary-general Raymond Basilio said that Consad had been a victim of state vilification and repression since 2018.
In November 2019, she reported about intelligence agents visiting her school to inform her that she and her husband are part of a certain hit list supposedly for being activists.
“Teacher Lai’s case only proves that terrorist-tagging serves as a prelude to worse, more fascist attacks on rights, freedoms, and lives. All of which are part of the Duterte regime’s systematic attack on the Filipino people as it desperately seeks to silence all dissent and establish its tyrannical rule,” Basilio said.
ACT Teachers Party slams DILG memo
Meanwhile, ACT Teachers Party Rep. France Castro said that teacher Lai has been a victim of harassment, threats and red-tagging by state security forces for standing up for the rights and welfare of her fellow public school teachers in Caraga.
“The arrest came days after the DILG release a memorandum tagging ACT and other progressive groups in the public sector as a communist terrorist groups. These are the real threats of red-tagging to the safety, security and freedoms of activists, human rights defenders and union leaders who have been vocal about the failure of the Duterte administration in addressing the perennial crisis of the country’s health system, education system and economy,” Castro said.
ACT Teachers Party will file a house resolution in Congress to investigate Consad’s arrest, Castro added
Consad is expected to file a petition today to be allowed post bail.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security, Right to protect reputation
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Labour rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Mar 17, 2021
- Event Description
On 17 March, Phromson Wirathammachari, a protester well-known for his speeches, went to hear a charge of lèse majesté at Thanyaburi Police Station but the police suddenly handed him over to the court, with a request to detain him.
According to TLHR, the court denied Phromson bail, citing the gravity of the charge, the severe penalty, and the likelihood that he would either flee or repeat the offence. The decision led to him being detained at Thanyaburi prison even though was seriously injured from a traffic accident,.
Sasinan Thamnithinan, a TLHR lawyer who went to the police station with Phromson, posted on Facebook an account of the police haste. The post stated that although Phromson came to the station with his injuries to prove that he had no intention to flee, the deputy superintendent (investigation), after the regular investigation stage, suddenly decided to take him to court before the court closed.
Sasinan doubted the police decision because for a detention request, the appointment at the station would be for the morning instead of the afternoon. The police also expressed uneasiness at her attempt to consult with Phromson over this sudden turn of events. The station superintendent gave them 2 minutes to consult in private.
Without being prepared, Sasinan wrote the bail request as fast as she could. However, the court denied bail, giving similar reasons to those in Chukiat’s case.
TLHR reported on 22 March that at least 76 people have been prosecuted under the royal defamation law in 66 cases. 27 cases were filed by ordinary citizens, 5 by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society and the rest by the police. 4 of the accused are under the age of 18.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Initial Date
- Mar 17, 2021
- Event Description
Sri Lankan Police have arrested freelance journalist, Sujeewa Gamage, for allegedly making 'false claims that he was abducted, tortured and abandoned on a road in Colombo by armed men on 10 March 2021,
While receiving treatment for burns and injuries in the hospital, Gamage told the press that the attack was to obtain information, containing his news sources and of his affiliations with opposition politicians, that was in his possession at the time of the incident.
On 17 March, police officers of the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) detained and investigated the journalist soon after he released from the hospital. According to Attorney-at-law, Namal Rajapaksha, whose representation was retained by Gamage’s relatives, he was denied entry into the custody and was told by a police officer that his client will not be released for putting the government “in a difficult position.”
The CCD is also reportedly going to interrogate former Minister Rajitha Senaratne and former MP Chathura Senaratne in connection with the case. According to Police Media Spokesperson Ajith Rohana, Gamage had visited an office of Chathura Senaratne in Thimbirigasyaya, where he had met with Rajitha Senaratne at the office. The suspect has also admitted that he had made a false complaint through a confession, Rohana added.
On Friday Gamage was granted bail.
Media freedom continues to be under significant threat as an increasing number of attacks against journalists continue to be reported under the Rajapaksa regime. Last month, a Tamil Guardian correspondent, who went to report on a Tamil landowner dispute in Mullaitivu, was threatened and harassed by Forest Department officers.
As the two have not returned for hours, family members have retained the service of attorney at law Namal Rajapaksha. Police have intimidated him and threatened that Gamage will not be released “because a lawyer has come on behalf of the journalist”.
“Relatives of my client told me that he is been interrogated under duress for hours,” lawyer Rajapaksha told JDS.
“Not only I wasn't allowed to provide legal assistance, police threatened me saying that he wont be released as a lawyer coming to the police station on behalf of him is an offence. I was not even allowed to pass the gate although I explained that he is a torture victim who was just discharged from hospital. An Assistant Superintendent of Police named Anuranga told me that my client will not be released as he has put the government in a difficult position.”
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Access to justice, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Family of HRD, Lawyer, Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- Sri Lanka: media worker abducted, tortured
- Country
- Kyrgyzstan
- Initial Date
- Mar 15, 2021
- Event Description
An organizer of rallies protesting Kyrgyzstan's proposed constitutional amendments has been detained for allegedly calling on people to seize power before the changes become law.
Bishkek police said on March 16 that Tilekmat Kudaibergenov (aka Kurenov) had been detained a day earlier and remains in police custody.
The former leader of the Zamandash political party, Jenis Moldokmatov, said on March 16 that before detaining Kudaibergenov, police searched his home and the office of the Against KHANstitution movement that opposes the constitutional amendments initiated by President Sadyr Japarov.
Kudaibergenov was one of the organizers of a March 9 rally in Bishkek against the amendments that are expected to be approved in a nationwide referendum on April 11.
Critics say Japarov wants to consolidate power in his hands through the amendments, which envision a dramatic increase in presidential powers.
On the same day Kudaibergenov was detained, Japarov defended the controversial amendments in an interview with RFE/RL, vowing that "Kyrgyzstan will remain a democratic country, without any types of political persecution."
Kudaibergenov is a noted activist and also known as a founder and leader of a movement against granting concessions for the Jetim-Too iron-ore field near the Chinese border to foreign investors.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Mar 11, 2021
- Event Description
Violent suppression of Myanmar demonstrations killed 15 people Thursday, raising the death toll from five weeks of street protests to 73, as the military junta announced a corruption investigation of leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other top officials from the deposed civilian government.
Accusations by the military regime that Aung San Suu Kyi had accepted U.S. $600,000 and more than 25 pounds of gold, swiftly dismissed as “totally baseless” by an MP from her National League for Democracy (NLD), add to a list of charges imposed on the 75-year-old leader since she was ousted and detained on Feb. 1.
While the military pressed its case against Aung San Suu Kyi and other top NLD figures at a news conference in Naypyidaw, violent crackdowns by police and soldiers killed at least 15 protesters in the cities of Yangon, Myaing, Mandalay, Myingyan, and Bago. The confirmed death toll tis now 73, according to an RFA tally.
Police and soldiers in Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay killed one man and wounded 30 others when they cracked down on protesters near the Koe Lone Dagar Pagoda, witnesses said. At least 20 protesters were arrested in the incident.
In Myingyan, in central Myanmar’s Mandalay region, residents said a man shot during a protest Wednesday died of his injuries Thursday.
In Bago region, one man died by police gunfire and another was hit in the leg, though his wound was not life-threatening, a witness said.
Residents in Kalaymyo, Sagaing region, continued protest marches despite a police crackdown on Wednesday. Five people there already have been arrested, including one who was taken from his home during the night, locals said.
The Myanmar junta’s response to peaceful protests likely meets the legal threshold for crimes against humanity, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar told the Human Rights Council on Thursday.
“The people of Myanmar need not only words of support but supportive action,” said Tom Andrews in a statement. “They need the help of the international community, now.”
The appeal came a day after the U.N. Security Council issued its strongest statement since the Feb. 1 coup.
“The Security Council strongly condemns the violence against peaceful protestors, including against women, youth and children,” the statement said.
It also called for the “immediate release of all those detained arbitrarily” in a statement that was agreed after accepting the objections of China, Russia, and Vietnam to language calling the takeover “a coup.”
On Wednesday, U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the two adult children of coup leader and commander-in-chief of the military forces, Min Aung Hlaing, as well as six companies of his two adult children. Min Aung Hlaing was placed on the U.S. blacklist on Feb. 11.
“The indiscriminate violence by Burma’s security forces against peaceful protesters is unacceptable,” said Andrea Gacki, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, in a statement.
“The United States will continue to work with our international partners to press the Burmese military and police to cease all violence against peaceful protestors and to restore democracy and the rule of law in Burma,” she added.
- Impact of Event
- 31
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Killing, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to life, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Mar 11, 2021
- Event Description
The Director of LBH Makassar Muhammad Haedir revealed that two protesters at the commemoration of International Women's Day in Makassar, South Sulawesi were detained for 24 hours at the Makassar Police Headquarters. He said the chronology of the arrests began when the protesters demonstrated their voices on various women's issues last Monday (8/3). When the masses were preparing to disperse, continued Haedir, suddenly there were community organizations that accused them of supporting the Papua issue
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to Protest, Women's rights
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Mar 10, 2021
- Event Description
Defend the Defenders, March 10, 2021
Authorities in Vietnam’s northern province of Ninh Binh have arrested local Facebooker Tran Quoc Khanh and charged him with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code for his online posts criticizing the communist regime on various issues.
According to the state-controlled media, Mr. Khanh, 61, was detained by the Ninh Binh police on March 10 and taken him to a provincial detention center. He will be held incommunicado for at least four months and not allowed to meet his defense lawyer and relatives in the pre-trial detention. He will face imprisonment of between seven and 12 years even 20 years in prison if is convicted, according to the current law.
Mr. Khanh has posted his own writings, carrying out many livestreams and sharing numerous articles on his Facebook account Trần Quốc Khánh with the content related on serious human rights violations, systemic corruption among state officials, the Vietnamese communist regime’s weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and widespread environmental pollution. The state-controlled media reported that he was arrested due to his posts which defaming the communist regime and distorting its policies.
Recently, Khanh has announced that he would run for a seat in the country’s highest legislative body National Assembly in the general election scheduled in May as an indipendent candidate.
He has been the third Facebooker being arrested for online posts so far this year. One month ago, the authorities of the central province of Quang Trị arrested state newspaper’s journalist Phan Bui Bao Thy and his partner Le Anh Dung and charged them with “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the Criminal Code for their online posts to denounce corruption of state officials in the local projects.
In January this year, Vietnam convicted three independent journalists Pham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong Thuy and Pham Minh Tuan, members of the Independent Journalist Association of Vietnam, and environmentalist Dinh Thi Thu Thuy to between seven years and 15 years in prison on the allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda.”
Vietnam’s already low tolerance of dissent deteriorated sharply in recent years with a spate of arrests of hundreds of independent journalists, publishers, and Facebookers. With many conservative figures of the ruling Communist Partybeing re-elected to the country’s leadership in the next five years in the 13th National Congress which ended on February 1, more arrests are expected in future.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Mar 10, 2021
- Event Description
Police and soldiers arrested between 100 and 200 people and shot at least one during another vicious attack on peaceful protesters in North Okkalapa on Wednesday morning.
The attack came a week after the coup regime’s forces murdered at least 1o in the Yangon township and badly injured dozens of others, according to local aid group estimates.
The demonstrators were gathered near the Kantharyar park at around 10am when the security forces attempted to surround them while firing rubber bullets and tear gas.
A young female protester suffered severe injuries to the bladder after being shot with live ammunition during the attack; she is receiving treatment and is in a serious but stable condition, according to a fellow protester who witnessed the incident, which was also captured in videos shared on Facebook.
The protesters fled into the park and to the nearby Sein Gay Har shopping mall to hide. But they were chased and caught, said a woman who later joined a crowd facing off with security forces to demand the release of the protesters.
“They made the kids kneel down and slapped them,” she told Myanmar Now.
The detained protesters were lined up in rows inside the park, footage shows. They were later taken away in prison trucks to a barracks in Shwepyitha township, witnesses said.
Soldiers and police also raided homes on a street next to the park to arrest protesters who were hiding there, as well as homeowners who sheltered them. They beat the protesters after detaining them, a resident said.
In some cases, local informers seeking favour with the authorities betrayed the location of hiding protesters to security forces, according to residents who assisted the protesters.
“So many people got arrested, even inside homes, because of the snitches,” said the woman who joined the crowd calling for the release of the protesters.
About 150 soldiers and police were involved in the crackdown in the morning, then another 100 showed up as reinforcements later, local residents said.
As the protesters were put into trucks, a group of supporters showed up to demand their release, raising their hands and even kneeling to show they were unarmed and peaceful, a video posted to social media showed.
Soldiers aim guns at protesters in Yangon’s North Okkalapa township on March 10.
“They took so many,” said a man who filmed the scene, referring to the detained. “Our comrades, brothers and sisters, please think about how much danger they are in now.”
Soldiers and police attacked that group with tear gas, stun grenades, and smoke bombs, a livestream of the crackdown showed.
Tensions remained high until around 2pm, when the junta’s forces threw more tear gas into the crowd before taking away the protesters.
Later, a group of protesters showed up outside a military intelligence interrogation center near the Aung Mingalar bus station to demand the protesters’ release, according to local residents. Soldiers fired guns to disperse the crowd, but no injuries were reported.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Use of Excessive Force, Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Mar 9, 2021
- Event Description
“They took turns, beating us relentlessly. We couldn’t stay on our knees for long. Every time we fell, they would start beating on us again. So many of us were beaten up,” said a 30-year-old man from Myeik, in southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi region.
The man is one of more than 70 protesters arrested during anti-coup demonstrations in Myeik on Tuesday.
He recalled how soldiers and police closed in on them from both ends of D street in the city’s Kat Thit ward at around 9am. There were around 45 men and 25 women in the group, he said, ranging in age from their early teens to their thirties.
All of the men were whipped repeatedly with strips of iron or beaten with wooden rods. Some were even hit with heavy chains, he said.
Photos received by Myanmar Now showed the extent of the damage inflicted on them: their backs, buttocks and chests were covered with painful-looking injuries.
While they were being tortured in this way, the protesters were also forced to sing the famous anti-dictatorship anthem “Kabar Ma Kyay Buu” over and over again and repeat protest slogans.
“They said, ‘What is it you chant and sing in marches and protests? How many fingers do you hold up?’ and beat us up. Anyone with a tattoo of Amay Suu was treated even worse,” he said, referring to Aung San Suu Kyi, long regarded as the leader of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement.
“And they said, ‘You called us military dogs. Well, military dogs bite.’ And they just kept beating us,” the man said.
Around 10 soldiers made the men take off their shirts, put their hands behind their heads, and kneel down for one long, continuous session of beatings.
“If we raised our heads, they’d tell us to keep it down. They were afraid we’d see their faces. We kept falling down because we couldn’t stay on our knees while we were being beaten up. We were in a line and they would go back and forth, beating us constantly while we were in the room,” he said.
Of those arrested, only one woman who was injured by a rubber bullet was taken to a military hospital, while the rest were transported to the air force base near Myeik airport to be brutally tortured.
The majority of those arrested were students, who received the same treatment as the adults, even though the Myeik police told the soldiers not to be so hard on them, another detainee told Myanmar Now following his release.
“When we were arrested, there were police from Myeik who told the soldiers not to beat up the students. But the soldiers beat them anyway, saying that this was what they had come here all the way from Naypyitaw for,” he said.
A bystander is arrested by security forces in Yangon’s Tamwe township on March 8.
One arrested woman said the youth protesters were arrested after soldiers fired guns inside the houses they ran into to escape the crackdown.
Another woman who had been hiding inside a house said soldiers kicked down a door to get in and shot her repeatedly with rubber bullets from just three feet away.
“They kicked the door open, aimed and shot me twice in the neck,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “The bastards even arrested the homeowners,” she added.
“When they arrested the girls, they said, ‘We can do whatever we want with you. We can jail you for six months,’” one of detained girls told Myanmar Now.
“They hit one girl with the butt of a gun. She got four stitches. And another girl was kicked in the face. It’s all swollen up,” she said, adding that they were also taunted for their age.
“They said, ‘You’re pretty young. Do you even know what democracy is?’ And when we were released, the soldiers said, ‘Young people have nothing to do with politics. If you are involved again, we will put you in jail,’” the girl said.
“Once I recover, I’ll continue to protest wherever I can. We can’t lose this battle or give up,” said added defiantly.
“From the start of this dictatorship, they’ve done whatever they wanted to do. The law is whatever they say it is. I loathe this system. Even the internet is restricted. Not even Covid was this bad. The dictatorship is way worse,” she said.
According to the girl, around half of the detained protesters—29 men and six women—are still in custody and have been sentenced to one month in prison without charges.
However, Myanmar Now was unable to confirm the exact number of protesters who were arrested or how many remain in custody.
Among the arrested, some have been sent to Myeik prison. Others were released after they were bailed out by their parents, teachers, or ward administrators.
“We had to sign a release saying that we wouldn’t do this again. They said if we’re arrested again, all they will return to our families is our bodies,” said one man who vowed to continue fighting after he had recovered from his injuries.
“Once you get arrested, they will beat you up. Hard. They have no humanity,” he said.
“They can be so inhumane because they have weapons. We had to put our heads down because we don’t have weapons. I will never forgive and forget. My own parents have never hit me this much, this relentlessly. I’ve only seen this kind of torture in movies before. This is terrible. I’m not okay with it at all and we must win this revolution,” he added.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Torture, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Mar 9, 2021
- Event Description
On 9 March 2021, woman human rights defender Hidme Markam was arrested by Chhattisgarhpolice on several charges, including charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)anti-terrorism law in relation to her alleged involvement in Maoist activities. The woman humanrights defender was arrested during an event in Dantewada in the State of Chhattisharh to markInternational Working Women’s Day, and to protest the custodial torture and sexual violence bypolice against Adivasi women in the State. Later that day, following her arrest, Hidme Markamappeared before a Magistrate and was remanded for 14 days in Jagadalapur prison. Hidme Markam is an Adivasi woman human rights defender advocating for indigenous rights,against police and state violence, and the impact of mining in the State of Chhattisgarh. She is theconvenor of the Jail Bandi Rihai Committee, a platform which advocates for the release ofthousands of Adivasi persons, particularly youths, criminalized and branded as Naxals and held inpre-trial detention. Hidme Markam is an anti-mining campaigner, focusing on projects led by largecorporations such as Adani Pvt Ltd., which threaten to destroy a sacred Adivasi hill, considered alocal deity by the community. She also campaigns against the detrimental ecological impact ofmining for the local area, resulting in the degradation of land and large bodies of water, and thedestruction of forests in the region. The woman human rights defender has also criticised theexpanding presence of military, police and para-military in the State. In 2019, she participated in apublic campaign against the establishment of a police camp in Potali by the Special Task Force andDistrict Reserve Guards. Advocating for the promotion of women’s rights and against physical andsexual violence against women by police and military officers is central to Hidme Markam’s work.Women in the State, especially from Adivasi communities, have been disproportionately affected byviolence and discrimination by officials. On 9 March, Hidme Markam participated in an event at Sameli, Dantewada to mark InternationalWorking Women's Day and to commemorate the death of two young women, one of whom wasconfirmed to have died whilst in police custody, in Chhattisgarh. The two women were reportedlysubjected to torture and sexual violence by officials whilst detained. Police officers arrested thewoman human rights defender at the event where approximately 300 villagers, community leadersand other women human rights defenders from the Jail Bandi Rihai Committee and ChhattisgarhMahila Adhikar Manch were present. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate also witnessed the arrest,having arrived at the event to engage with those attending. Fellow human rights defenders andcommunity members who attempted to oppose the woman human rights defenders arrest wereviolently pushed aside by the police officers. Multiple cases have been filed against Hidme Markamon charges under the regressive Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and others, a law that isroutinely used against human rights defenders in India response to their legitimate human rightsactivities. The exact charges against Hidme Markam are not yet known, and she remains inJagadalapur prison, and has been allowed access to her lawyer since her arrest.The woman human rights defender has engaged directly with high ranking state officials includingthe Chief Minister, Governor and Superintendent of Police of Chhattisgarh to seek redress, realisebasic fundamental rights and protection from harm for local communitiesaffected by the miningactivities in the region. She has worked peacefully with local authorities to address violationsagainst these vulnerable and oppressed communities, and represent the voices of members of thecommunities. Her arrest is in direct reprisal for her work, challenging powerful forces within theState, such as police, military and corporate interests. As a result of this work, the woman humanrights defender has faced threats and harassment in the past, culminating in her arrest on 9 March. Front Line Defenders condemns the arrest of woman human rights defender Hidme Markam as itbelieves she is being targeted as a result of her human rights work, advocating for the protection ofthe rights of Adivasi communities, especially Adivasi women in Chhattisgarh. Not only her arrest,but also the decision to carry out the arrest during an event marking the custodial torture of andsexual violence against two young Adivasi women, is particularly concerning. Front Line Defendersreiterates its concern regarding the use of the UAPA against Hidme Markam and other humanrights defenders in India, aimed at silencing them and their efforts to promote and protect humanrights in the country.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Mar 9, 2021
- Event Description
On 8 March, the criminal court ordered the detention pending trial of Panusaya Sitthijirawattanakul, Jatupat Boonbattararaksa and Panupong Jadnok, leading figures in the pro-democracy protests, on sedition, royal defamation and several other charges. Piyarat Chongtep, leader of the We Volunteer protest guard group also detained for criminal organization
The first 3 reported along with another 14 people as scheduled on 8 March morning to be charged over the 19-20 September 2020 protests at Thammasat University and Sanam Luang. In total, they were charged with sedition, organizing more than 10 people to cause disorder, unlawful procession, emergency decree, vandalism and destroying antiquity site. Only the 3 had additional charge on royal defamation. 14 were allowed bail.
There were actually 15 people summoned to the court in this set of lawsuit. Only 14 were able to made to the court as the another one, Chaiamorn ‘Ammy’ Kaewwiboonpan has already been detained in prison.
Piyarat was arrested along with another 47 We Volunteer (WeVo) members by a SWAT police team who used force and did not produce an arrest warrant on 6 March prior to the protest at the judicial court complex. All but Piyarat were allowed bail. The WeVo case process is still in the police stage.
Movement supporters expressed disappointment and anger after bail was again refused by gathering at the Victory Monument on the evening of 8 March to protest. They asked people to dress in black as a symbolic show of resistance before dispersing at around 21.00.
Amnesty International released a statement claming that the mass prosecutions, amount to 382 protest leaders and demonstrators in 207 cases since 2020, tantamount to systematic suppression of freedom.
“It is profoundly worrying that the Thai authorities are systematically prosecuting a large number of protest leaders and demonstrators. In certain cases, the suspects may face up to 15 years of imprisonment. This is a severe and disproportionate punishment. Given the normally protracted period of trial, the prosecution of dissenters or critics of the government is being weaponized to silence and retaliate against those who dare to challenge the state power.” said Piyanut Kotsan, Director of Amnesty International.
“Mass prosecutions and denial of bail demonstrate how the justice process is being used as a tool to brazenly attack the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. People are entitled to legitimate rights to express themselves and participate in activities concerning social issues.
“The Thai authorities must stop treating critics as if they are criminals or a threat to national security. They must be released and the charges against them must be immediately dropped in the condition where there is an insufficient evidence under international criminal standard.” said Piyanut.
The detentions increase the number of pro-democracy protesters detained pending trial over demonstrations since the beginning of 2020 demanding the resignation of the prime minister and his cronies, constitutional amendments and monarchy reform.
As of 8 March, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that 18 people are now detained pending trial:
7 leading figures of Ratsadorn, one of the protest organizing groups: Anon Nampa, Parit Chiwarak, Patiwat Saraiyaem, Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, Panusaya Sitthijirawattanakul, Jatupat Boonbattararaksa and Panupong Jadnok. The first 4 have been detained since 9 February. 5 people who have been charged with damage to police vehicles in October 2020: Nathanon Chaimahabut, Thawat Sukprasoet, Sakchai Tangchitsadudi, Somkhit Tosoi and Chaluai Ekasak. They have been detained since 24 February. Chaiamorn ‘Ammy’ Kaewwiboonpan, lead singer of the The Bottom Blues band, detained for allegedly burning a portrait of King Rama X in front of Klong Prem Central Prison. Parinya ‘Port’ Cheewinkulpathom, a member of the self-exiled band ‘Faiyen’, charged under the lèse majesté law over his Facebook post in 2016 and detained since 6 March. 3 people detained since 29 January for allegedly throwing a homemade ‘pingpong’ bomb at the protest at Samyan Mitrtown on 10 January. . Piyarat Chongtep, arrested on 6 March and detained 2 days later. TLHR also reported that 5 people have been sentenced to prison after being found guilty of lèse majesté:
Anchan, sentenced on 19 January 2021 to 43 years. Wichai, sentenced on 24 December 2015 to 30 years and 60 months by a military court. Burin, sentenced on 30 April 2016 to 10 years and 16 months by a military court. Pratin, sentenced on 23 November 2015 to 8 years and 4 months. Prapan, sentenced on 11 May 2021 to 2 years.
Three anti-government leaders have been moved from Bangkok Remand Prison to Thon Buri Remand Prison, where they are being held in quarantine.
Corrections Department chief Ayut Sinthoppan said on Tuesday that Panupong “Mike’’ Jadnok, Jatupat “Pai Dao Din’’ Boonpattararaksa and Piyarat “Toto’’ Chongthep were transferred to Thon Buri on Monday to ease overcrowding at Bangkok Remand Prison.
Prison officials took the three suspects for records and health checks before taking them to the prison’s reception centre for 14-day quarantine as part of Covid-19 prevention measures.
The suspects were put in separate detention rooms. However, there were other prisoners in their rooms, the department chief said.
Mr Panupong and Mr Jatupat are charged with lese majeste and other offences and Mr Piyarat with violating the emergency decree. All charges stem from their roles in anti-government rallies. They have been denied bail
During their trial, prison officials from Bangkok Remand Prison would go to Thon Buri and then escort the defendants to the court, Mr Ayut said.
Asked if there were any worries about supporters of the protest leaders gathering at Thon Buri Remand Prison, he said there was tight security in the area around the prison 24 hours a day.
Prison authorities were not allowing the suspects to have visitors, because they were quarantined under Covid-19 measures, he said.
Another protest leader Panusaya “Rung’’ Sithijirawattanakul had been sent to the Central Women's Correctional Institution, the department chief said.
Soraya Rit-aram, director of the women's prison, said on Tuesday that Ms Panusaya was also in 14-day quarantine. Only lawyers were allowed to visit her, Ms Soraya said.
Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin on Tuesday confirmed he has plans to expand the Bangkok prison compound for political prisoners, to ease overcrowding when relatives and fellow demonstrators come visiting.
However, he had to look further into the details first.
- Impact of Event
- 5
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial
- HRD
- Lawyer, Pro-democracy defender, Student, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Mar 8, 2021
- Event Description
At many protest sites in Yangon, security forces broke up demonstrations using teargas and stun grenades.
Protesters once again avoided confrontations with a cat and mouse strategy, retreating when security forces approached but gathering again whenever they had the chance.
Elsewhere in Myanmar, things were more violent.
Myitkyina, Kachin
Security forces also used stun grenades and tear gas while attacking protesters in front of the Saint Francis Xavier Catholic church. At least ten people were arrested and five severely injured in the attack, he added.
Myitkyina residents sought to avoid being attacked by organizing different protest columns around the town as security forces cracked down on the demonstration at the church.
“When tensions rose between the security forces and the protesters in front of the church, we organized another protest column at another area. But they focused on cracking down on the group in front of the church,” another organizer said.
Mandalay
A security forces truck rammed into protesters who were fleeing from a crackdown on motorbikes near 57th Street in Mandalay on Monday morning, injuring at least 6 people.
Two of them – Mya Thway Chel, 22, and Han Lin Aung, 15 – are in a critical condition, according to a volunteer rescue team.
We are still gathering more details about the incident.
Pyapon, Ayeyarwaddy About 100 anti-coup protesters, including school teachers and young people, were arrested during the crackdown, he said.
Pyapon residents rallied in the town to demand their release, and security forces began releasing 10 people at a time starting from 3pm.
Htilin, Magway
Six other people were injured in the attack. Three of them were shot with live bullets and three with rubber bullets.
- Impact of Event
- 28
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Use of Excessive Force, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Mar 8, 2021
- Event Description
The military government placed a major curb on media coverage of the crisis. It announced that the licenses of five local media outlets — Mizzima, DVB, Khit Thit Media, Myanmar Now and 7Day News — have been canceled.
“These media companies are no longer allowed to broadcast or write or give information by using any kind of media platform or using any media technology,” it said on state broadcaster MRTV.
All five had been offering extensive coverage of the protests, often with livestreaming video online. The offices of Myanmar Now were raided by the authorities Monday before the measure was announced.
DVB said it was not surprised by the cancellation and would continue broadcasting on satellite TV and online.
“We worry for the safety of our reporters and our staff, but in the current uprising, the whole country has become the citizens’ journalists and there is no way for military authorities to shut the information flow,” Executive Director Aye Chan Naing told The Associated Press.
The government has detained dozens of journalists since the coup, including a Myanmar Now reporter and Thein Zaw of AP, both of whom have been charged under a public order law that carried a penalty of up to three years in prison.
The night’s street protests began after police cordoned off part of Yangon’s Sanchaung neighborhood and were believed to be conducting door-to-door searches for those who fled attacks by security forces to seek shelter in the homes of sympathetic strangers.
News of their plight spread quickly on social media, and people poured into the streets in neighborhoods all over the city to show solidarity and in hopes of drawing some of the pressure off the hunted protesters. On some streets, they constructed makeshift barricades with whatever was at hand.
Kamayut Media’s co-founder, Han Thar Nyein, and editor-in-chief, Nathan Maung, were arrested by the Myanmar military on March 8 during raids of their offices in Yangon. Witnesses reported seven military trucks were involved during the raid on the independent media organisation. The arrests follow the death of a second National League of Democracy (NLD) figure since the military coup began. Zaw Myat Linn, an official from deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party died on Monday 8 in custody in Yangon, following his arrest on Tuesday.
Footage posted to social media showed further raids on Mizzima News and the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) offices after nightfall, also on March 8. The raids followed a raid earlier in the day on Myanmar Now’s offices and extensive media shutdowns ordered by the military, with the five major media outlets’ licenses cancelled, all of which have provided extensive coverage of the ongoing coup. In its announcement, the military said that five news outlets – including both Mizzima News and the Democratic Voice of Burma - were “no longer allowed to broadcast or write or give information by using any kind of media platform or using any media technology”. Despite this, many continue their coverage online.
Media sources have told IFJ that journalists are continuing to perform their professional duties in covering the military coup despite the continued documented aggressive attempts to silence media workers and media operations.
- Impact of Event
- 8
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Administrative Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Media freedom, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Mar 7, 2021
- Event Description
The Observatory has been informed by Karapatan Alliance Philippines about the extrajudicial killing of nine human rights defenders and the arbitrary detention of four others in four provinces in Calabarzon region.
On March 7, 2021, the Philippines National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Army (PA) carried out raids into the houses and offices of several human rights defenders in Calabarzon region, southern Philippines as part of a joint operation against alleged members of “communist and terrorist groups”.
During the raids, the PNP and the PA killed Emmanuel “Manny” Asuncion, labour leader and Secretary-General of BAYAN-Cavite, in Dasmariñas, Cavite Province; fisherfolk leaders Ana Marie “Chai ”Lemita-Evangelista and Ariel Evangelista, in Nasugbu, Batangas Province; Melvin Dasigao, Mark Lee “Makmak” Coros Bacasno, Abner Esto, and Edward Esto, all members of the urban poor group Sikkad K3 in Montalban, Rizal Province; and indigenous rights defenders Dumagats Puroy and Randy de la Cruz in Tanay, Rizal Province.
Furthermore, the PNP and the PA arbitrarily arrested Esteban “Steve” Mendoza, Vice-President of the trade union Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU - May First Movement)-Olalia and Elizabeth “Mags”Camoral, spokesperson of BAYAN-Laguna, in Cabuyao, Laguna Province. Nimfa Lanzanas, paralegal of Karapatan and member of Kapatid-Families and Friends of Political Prisoners was arbitrarily arrested in Calamba, Laguna Province. Eugene Eugenio, member of the public sector union Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE)-Rizal was arbitrarily arrested in Antipolo City, Rizal Province.
At the time of publication of this urgent appeal, Mr. Mendoza and Ms. Lanzanas remain detained at Camp Vicente Lim in Calamba; Ms. Camoral at Canlubang City Jail, Laguna Province; and Mr. Eugenio at the Antipolo Police Station. All of them are being detained on charges of “illegal possession of firearms and ammunition”.
According to the information received, two other individuals were arrested during the raids. However, at the time of publication of this urgent appeal, their identities had not been disclosed by the PNP. Many more human rights defenders are in fear of being arrested or killed.
Two days before the above-referenced events, on March 5, 2021, President Duterte had ordered the PNP and the PA to “ignore human rights” and “kill” and “finish off” communist rebels in any armed encounter with them.
- Impact of Event
- 13
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community), Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Killing, Raid, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to life
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Indigenous peoples' rights defender, NGO staff, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Mar 6, 2021
- Event Description
On 6 March, protesters marched to the judicial court complex on Ratchadapisek Road to express their anger at the lengthy and questionable detention of pro-democracy protesters and political prisoners.
The protest, designated by the Free YOUTH movement under the theme Restart Democracy (REDEM), was one among at least 4 pro-democracy protests held in Bangkok and nearby province, and 1 pro-establishment protest at the Central World, Ratchaprasong.
The protesters started the march at Lat Phrao intersection at around 17.40. 46 were arrested at the scene, including Piyarat Chongthep. They were arrested by an armed police SWAT team while they were at a nearby shopping mall, eating and waiting to attend the protest.
According to their testimony to TLHR, they were rounded up by the police commandos, forced to lie on the ground, had guns pointed at their backs, had their hands tied with cables and had their belongings seized.
They were put into 3 different detention vehicles, 1 of which, containing 18 people, was able to make it to Border Patrol Police Region 1. The other 2 were intercepted by the protesters on Ratchadapisek Road. The cage padlocks on the second vehicle were broken and the WeVo members got out. Another 14 who were sitting in the third vehicle remained inside for 2 hours in total.
At 21.10, a lawyer from TLHR came to see the remaining WeVo members in the third vehicle and took them to Phaholyothin Police Station to present themselves out of fear of being charged with escaping. Those from the second vehicle later followed them to the station, 28 in total.
- Impact of Event
- 46
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Mar 5, 2021
- Event Description
87 members of the Bang Kloi indigenous Karen community, who travelled back to the location of their former village in the Kaeng Krachan forest, have been forcibly taken out of the forest and arrested by park officials, police, and military officers.
The community members were taken by helicopter flights down from Chai Phaen Din, the former location of their village from which they were forcibly evacuated in 2011, on Friday morning (5 March).
Waraporn Utairungsee, a lawyer from the Human Rights Lawyer Association (HRLA), said that of the 87 people arrested, 36 are minors, but the authorities did not press charges and have released them. 29 others were arrested and received a fine, while 22 were taken to Khao Kling Prison.
Waraporn also said that the team from HRLA asked to meet the community members at 14.00, but were prevented from seeing them for around 4 hours, until the police held a press conference at around 18.00 to say that the community members were informed of their charges and were taken into temporary detention. She said that the authorities claimed that a lawyer from the Lawyers’ Council was already present during the inquiry, but she was not sure if the community members consented to this, as community representatives have already filed a request for a lawyer with HRLA on 25 February 2021.
According to Waraporn, it was too late to request bail on Friday (5 March). Later, on Saturday morning (6 March), HRLA announced on their Facebook page that they will be requesting bail for the 22 detained community members, and that they are arranging for 8 other community members for whom the police have an arrest warrant to turn themselves in on Monday (8 March). HRLA said that they will have to request bail for a total of 30 people, requiring a security of 60,000 baht each.
As they will need at least 1,320,000 baht in security, HRLA is requesting that any academic or university lecturer willing to use their position as bail security for the detained community members contact them. They will be requesting bail for the community members on Monday (8 March) at the Phetchaburi Provincial Court.
Transborder News reported that remaining community members at the Pong Luek-Bang Kloi village went to the park administration office after they learned of the arrest earlier on Friday morning (5 March), but were not allowed to see their relatives.
Kriangkrai Cheechuang, co-ordinator for the Karen network for Culture and Environment in Tanao Sri (KNCE), told Transborder News that the authorities began the inquiry without waiting for the community members’ lawyer and without a representative of the community being present to act as an interpreter.
There were also reports that No-ae Meemi, son of Ko-i Meemi, the community’s late spiritual leader, has also been arrested and sent to prison, and that at least two of the women currently detained have young children.
Reports of No-ae’s arrest caused concerns among the community, as he has said on several occasions that he would commit suicide if he is forcibly evacuated from Chai Phaen Din again.
The Bang Kloi community has already been forcibly evacuated from their ancestral home twice: in 1997, and once again in 2011, when park and military officials burned down their houses and rice barns, and forced them to relocate to the Pong Luek-Bang Kloi Village.
For the past 25 years, the community has constantly faced unresolved community rights issues. They were not allocated land for agriculture as the authorities promised them, and the land they did receive was not suitable for growing crops, while they are not able to practice their traditional rotational farming method. Many members of the community are also still in the process of getting Thai citizenship, and missed out on land allocation and welfare.
Community leader and indigenous rights activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen also went missing in 2014 after he was last seen in the custody of park officials. In September 2019, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) announced that they had found charred bone fragments in an oil drum in the Kaeng Krachan Dam, DNA evidence from which matches Billy’s mother. However, even though the DSI laid charges against four suspects, including the then-national park chief and two other officials who took Billy into custody, the public prosecutor decided in January 2020 to drop all but one of the charges, that of official misconduct, against the park officials, citing lack of evidence that Billy had died.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also worsened their situation, as many community members employed outside the village began to lose income. Around 70 – 80 members of the community therefore decided to leave the Pong Luek-Bang Kloi village in mid-January 2021 and returned to Chai Phaen Din to live according to their traditional way of life.
The community would also like to perform the final funeral rites for Ko-i, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 107. The ceremony requires his descendants to grow rice on the land at Chai Phaen Din and use the rice to feed people who participated in the ceremony.
Since the start of February 2021, the community have faced intimidation from state officials. Park officials, police, and military officers were stationed in the Pong Luek-Bang Kloi Village and have been patrolling the area every day, while food donations are blocked at park checkpoints and prevented from being delivered to the community members who returned to Chai Phaen Din. Community leaders faced pressure from the authorities, while phone signals in the Pong Luek-Bang Kloi village were periodically cut.
Despite the signing of an MOU with community representatives promising to allow the community to return to Chai Phaen Din to live according to their traditional ways and to end intimidation against the community, there were reports on 22 February 2021 of helicopter flights taking military units up into the Kaeng Krachan forest, as well as reports that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment had ordered all community members to be forced out of Chai Phaen Din by 18.00 of that day. By the end of that day, it was reported that 13 community members had been detained and taken back down to Pong Luek-Bang Kloi.
Thailand, along with 143 other countries, is a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Article 10 of which states “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Restrictions on Movement
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to housing, Right to liberty and security, Right to property
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Indigenous peoples' rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Mar 5, 2021
- Event Description
A group of Papuans staged a rally to protest the Special Autonomy for Papua in Semarang, Central Java, on Friday (5/3/2021). The demonstration against Papua Special Autonomy was violently be disbanded by the Police from Polrestabes Semarang. Deputy city police chief of Semarang, AKBP I.G.A. Perbawa Nugraha, argued that the dispersal of the demonstration was carried out because it violated the rules for imposing restrictions on community activities which are currently being implemented in the city of Semarang to prevent the spread of the corona virus. 30 participants were arrested as result of the dispersal.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Mar 3, 2021
- Event Description
On Wednesday afternoon, soldiers and police carried out a violent crackdown on anti-coup protests in North Okkalapa. Using live gunfire, they killed at least seven people, including bystanders, according to confirmations from two area hospitals.
During the attack by security forces, emergency response teams from FFSS helped treat those who had been injured, according to photos posted by the organization on social media.
Security forces also assaulted three medics from the Mon Myat Seikhtar rescue team who had also been working in the township to treat those injured in the shootings.
CCTV footage that went viral on social media on Wednesday showed several police officers brutally beating the medics with batons and the butts of their shotguns. The police also shot at the windows of the rescue team’s ambulance.
Hla Kyaing, the chair of Mon Myat Seikhtar emergency rescue team, said that four members of his team, including the driver of their ambulance, went missing after the incident and, as of Thursday, were being detained at the notorious Insein Prison in Yangon.
He told Myanmar Now that he is trying to secure their release.
According to an Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) report released on Wednesday, at least 50 people had been killed and 1,498 arrested nationwide since demonstrations began against the February 1 coup.
Estimates for Wednesday’s death toll vary, and Myanmar Now has been unable to independently verify the total numbers across the country.
The AAPP reported that at least 20 people were killed and around 800 arrested throughout Myanmar on March 3.
Christine Schraner Burgener, the UN Special Envoy for Myanmar, said in a virtual press conference on Wednesday that 38 people had been killed on that day alone.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Raid, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to property, Right to work
- HRD
- NGO, NGO staff, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Mar 3, 2021
- Event Description
On 3 March 2021, West Papuan human rights defenders Roland Levy and Kelvin Molama, wereforcibly taken from their respective student dormitories in East Jakarta and Central Jakarta, by agroup of plain-clothes individuals. It was only later confirmed that the individuals who had detainedthem were part of the Criminal Research Unit of Polda Metro Jaya regional police. Both defendersare currently detained at the Polda Metro Jaya police station.Roland Levy is a West Papuan student human rights defender. As a coordinator of the AlliansiMahasaswa Papua - AMP (West Papua Student Alliance) for Jakarta, he leads discussions ondemocracy, human rights violations and the rights of freedom of the press, and is involved in mediaoutreach for the Alliance. He has also coordinated initiatives focused on the State’s responsibility toresolve tribal conflicts in Timika in 2017, and West Papua’s right to self-determination. KelvinMolama is a West Papuan student human rights defender and an active member of the AMP. Hehas been actively involved in the group’s human rights activities including the organisation ofdiscussion forums and protests against the human rights violation in West Papua.On the morning of 3 March 2021, fourteen plain-clothes individuals in four vehicles entered thepremises of Yahukimo student accommodation and forcibly removed human rights defender KelvinMolama. The individuals, believed at the time to be police or intelligence officials, did not presentany warrant for detaining the defender. Other residents of the dormitory witnessing the detentionwere prevented from taking photos of the incident. At about the same time, fellow student humanrights defender Roland Levy was also taken away by plain-clothes individuals from his studentdormitory in the Senen area of Central Jakarta. No warrant was presented for his arrest.Later that day, individuals close to the human rights defenders were able to confirm that bothdefenders had been detained by officials from the Criminal Research Unit of Polda Metro Jaya.Roland Levy and Kelvin Molama have both been threatened with formal arrest under Article 170and Article 365 of the Criminal Code, which relate to of violence and theft. The exact reason fortheir arrest has yet to be provided to the human rights defenders, yet they remain detained at thePolda Metro Jaya police station, where they have had access to their lawyers.Human rights defenders on the ground believe that the arrests were made as a pre-emptivemeasure, to slow the momentum of the growing protest movement in West Papua, and intimidateand discourage those involved in the movement. Since the peaceful demonstrations led by WestPapuan student human rights defenders in August 2019, many of these defenders have beensubjected to relentless threats, intimidation and harassment by Indonesian officials. VeronicaKoman, a lawyer and woman human rights defender who worked closely with the defenders hasbeen targeted with various forms of harassment, such as the inclusion of her name on the country’swanted list and threats that an Interpol red notice would be issued in her name.Front Line Defenders is extremely concerned for the safety of Roland Levy and Kelvin Molama, asit believes they are being targeted for their legitimate and peaceful work for the protection of humanrights. Front Line Defenders condemns the increasingly hostile environment for human rightsdefenders in Indonesia, specifically those from West Papua, working on the rights of West Papuansand human rights issues more broadly.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Minority rights defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Nepal
- Initial Date
- Mar 2, 2021
- Event Description
Executive editor at https://freepressnepal.com/ (an online news portal) Bikash Shrestha was arrested today from Balaju, Kathmandu. Kathmandu is the federal capital of Nepal.
Freedom Forum has learned that Shrestha was arrested for taking pictures of the arrested locals inside the police custody.
Nepal Police has arrested few activists of road expansion victim struggle committee for protesting at the metropolitan's construction site.
Talking to FF, an officer said that reporter Shrestha was arrested for taking pictures inside the station. He will be released few hours later after deleting the photos and videos, he informed.
Freedom Forum is concerned over the incident as it is gross violation of press freedom. Police station is a public place and a journalist has right to report the activities in the [public places. However, police officers statement that journalists are not allowed to report inside the station is unlawful. Hence, FF strongly urges the concerned authority to respect the constitutionally guaranteed rights to free press and demands immediate release of the journalist without damaging reporting coverage.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Censorship
- Rights Concerned
- Media freedom, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Feb 28, 2021
- Event Description
At least 18 were killed and dozens injured and arrested on Sunday as Min Aung Hlaing’s regime intensified a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests across the country, marking the deadliest day since the start of the uprising against the February 1 coup.
Even after days of steadily escalating attacks by police and soldiers, protesters in Yangon, Dawei, Mandalay, Bago and other cities took to the streets in their tens of thousands.
The demonstrators, many of whom were in their 20s and 30s, have braved gunfire, stun grenades, water cannon and vicious beatings in recent weeks.
Myanmar Now has independently confirmed at least 10 of Sunday’s deaths but Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, said in a statement that at least 18 had been killed so far.
“Deaths reportedly occurred as a result of live ammunition fired into crowds in Yangon, Dawei, Mandalay, Myeik, Bago and Pokokku,” the statement said. Thousands poured into the streets even as the junta intensified its deadly attacks against protesters. (Myanmar Now)
Thousands rallied at Yangon’s Hledan junction on Sunday morning around 9am, with frontline protesters wearing goggles and gas masks. Within minutes police began attacking the crowd with stun grenades, and then began shooting their guns.
At least two protesters were killed in the morning in the area, which has been a major rallying point during three weeks of daily demonstrations.
Three Myanmar Now reporters witnessed one of the killings while sheltering in a building across the street.
They saw a young man get shot in the chest and fall to the ground, where he lay in a pool of blood until he was carried away by other protesters. He passed away at a nearby hospital.
He has been identified as 23-year-old Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing. The man’s blood-stained shirt had the words "Spring Revolution" printed on it, a reference to the Arab Spring and a name that many protesters have given to this month’s uprising.
Protesters in Yangon erect barricades to protect themselves against attacks by police and soldiers (Myanmar Now)
Another young man named Zin Lin Htet died from a gunshot wound during the attack at Hledan.
In Yangon’s Kyimyindaing neighbourhood, security forces broke up a protest led by school teachers and shot a female middle-school teacher dead.
Myo Thu, one of the teachers who joined the protest, told Myanmar Now security forces threw tear gas and shot live ammunition as the teachers were preparing to march.
“We were in front of the education office from 8am and people were still gathering to start marching,” he said. “We hadn’t even done anything yet, but they just came at us and did the crackdown.”
Mya_5856.Jpg
A protester was beaten up and detained by police on Bargayar Road in Sanchaung township in Yangon on February 28. (Myanmar Now)
Defiant
The middle school teacher was shot in her elbow and lost consciousness, her friends said.
“She had heart disease,” Myo Thu said. “She fainted after getting shot. An emergency team in the area helped us bring her to a place where she could receive treatment. But she died on the way.”
Her body was taken to the morgue at the Yangon General Hospital, he added.
Another death and five other injuries were reported in Thingangyun, but Myanmar Now was unable to confirm further details.
Security forces opened fire on the protesters on Bargayar Road in Sanchaung township on February 28.
Even as attacks against protesters intensified, thousands remained in the streets and regrouped wherever they were able to. Some blocked off roads with makeshift barricades.
Footage broadcast by Mizzima TV showed one man who appeared to have been shot in the leg flashing a three-finger salute as he was carried away by medics on a stretcher.
The Yangon General Hospital emergency department, which had been closed for weeks amid a nationwide general strike aimed at crippling the junta, was back in operation “out of necessity” on Sunday, a doctor said.
A man seen at a hospital in Mandalay after being shot in the head. He was pronounced dead shortly afterwards
Medics, who have been at the forefront of mass work stoppages, made a collective decision to reopen the hospital to treat Sunday’s wounded while continuing to disobey any orders from the military regime.
In the southern city of Dawei, three male protesters were killed during numerous attacks by police. One was shot in his lower right ribs, Dawei Watch reported.
Video footage showed security forces repeatedly shooting at protesters who were off screen.
At least 12 were injured by gunfire and admitted to different clinics and hospitals in the city, said Pyae Zaw Hein, an emergency worker there.
“At certain points we were trapped amid the crackdowns,” he told Myanmar Now. “It was terrible.”
2.Jpg
A woman with blood pooling around her head is seen lying dead on a street in Mandalay
Residents detain police
In Mandalay, at least three were killed, including two who were shot in the head. At least 10 others were shot by security forces and injured.
About 1,000 healthcare workers were preparing for a march inside a hospital in the city in the morning when they were trapped inside by security forces.
Residents who came to support the healthcare workers were attacked with tear gas. Doctors managed to escape from the hospital later in the afternoon.
At one point in the afternoon, residents detained five police officers who were riding in an unmarked car that was loaded with ammunition. Soldiers later showed up and took the officers away.
A man was injured after security forces shot protesters in the town of Dawei in southern Myanmar. (Myanmar Now)
No deaths have been confirmed so far in the capital Naypyitaw despite a heavy presence of police and soldiers and at least four arrests.
Those arrested on Sunday included at least six journalists. Shin Moe Myint, a 23-year-old freelance photojournalist, was beaten by several police officers before being taken away.
A reporter from the Myay Latt Voice news outlet in Pyay was injured by rubber bullets before being arrested.
At least seven journalists, including Myanmar Now’s multimedia reporter Kay Zon Nway, were arrested across the country on Saturday.
Two of them were briefly detained and later released. Another reporter from 7Day went missing on Saturday afternoon and it was later reported they had been arrested.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Killing, Use of Excessive Force, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Media Worker, Pro-democracy defender, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Feb 28, 2021
- Event Description
During the protest at the 1st Infantry Regiment headquarters, 23 people were arrested, 4 of whom were minors. They were charged with violating the Emergency Decree and the Communicable Diseases Act, and resisting arrest, among other charges, and were reportedly assaulted during the arrest.
Sainam, 16, was arrested at the Shell gas station opposite the 1st Infantry Regiment, and was also assaulted.
Sainam said that he arrived at around 21.00 and was trying to get to the protest side from the Din Daeng side, but the road was blocked by riot control police, so he tried to get through to the other side by catching a ride with another protester. When he got to the Veterans General Hospital, the riot control police were already trying to take control of the area, so he crossed over to the gas station.
He said he doesn’t know why the riot police were using rubber bullets and assaulting protesters, and that there were many people gathered at the gas station, including volunteer medics and injured people. He also said that the protesters were not obstructing the roadway as they were all on the footpath.
Sainam said that he was shot by a rubber bullet as he was helping another protester up, and that the riot police then pushed him to the ground, kicked him, and beat him with batons.
“A while after that, they held onto me and tied my arms up behind my back, and then they kicked me a bit more, and then they asked me ‘Why did you hurt my friends? Why did you hurt my friends?’ I said I didn’t do anything, because I just got there, but they didn’t care, and they continued to stamp on me and repeatedly asked me ‘Where are your friends?’ Sainam said.
Sainam said that a plainclothes police officer who knew him came by after that, and told the riot police to back down. Sainam was then carried off to another location. He was held to the ground and searched.
He said that he was being held along with a few other protesters by the Veterans General Hospital, and that he saw the other protesters beaten and all were tied up. He also said that everyone who was being held with him was assaulted.
Sainam and three other minors were then taken to Sutthisan Police Station, while 18 others were taken to the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters. He was charged with assaulting an officer, joining an assembly, and violating the Emergency Decree. Everyone was later released on bail.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Use of Excessive Force, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Feb 28, 2021
- Event Description
People have taken to the streets in cities and town across Kazakhstan to press for democratic reforms.
Police were reported to have detained dozens of people at the rallies on February 28, nearly all of which were not officially sanctioned by authorities.
The ruling Nur Otan party has dominated the political scene in Kazakhstan for almost three decades while opposition movements, sidelined and with no seats in parliament, mostly make themselves heard through public protests.
Rallies were held in several cities including the capital, Nur-Sultan; Almaty, the country's biggest city; as well as Atyrau, Aqtobe, Semey, Oral, and Shymkent.
Several hundred people gathered in Oral, which was the only demonstration permitted by authorities.
Elsewhere, police detained many who turned out. A Reuters correspondent reported seeing police detain at least 50 people near a park in central Almaty.
Dozens of people who rallied in another location in Almaty could be seen completely surrounded by police in black balaclavas and riot gear.
"Nazarbaev, go away," chanted some protesters, referring to influential ex-President Nursultan Nazarbaev, who has retained sweeping powers after resigning almost two years ago and helped to ensure the election of a hand-picked successor.
The rallies were organized by two opposition groups, the Democratic Party and Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, who said among their demands would be land reforms.
President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev on February 25 proposed a ban on the purchase and renting of farmland by foreigners ahead of the expiration of a moratorium on land sales.
Toqaev said that "in order to stop rumors" he had ordered the drawing up of an outline of a law "banning the buying and renting of Kazakhstan's farmlands by foreign persons and companies."
"The land issue has always been very important for our nation. It is a fundamental and sacred symbol of our statehood.... I also ordered to form a commission on land reform by March 25," Toqaev said.
The government's moratorium on farmland sales to foreigners is set to expire later this year.
The five-year moratorium was introduced in 2016 after thousands demonstrated in unprecedented rallies across the tightly controlled Central Asian state, protesting the government's plan to attract foreign investment into agriculture by opening up the farmland market.
The protests stopped after the government withdrew the plan, but two men who organized the largest rally in the western city of Atyrau, Talghat Ayan and Maks Boqaev, were sentenced to five years in prison each after being found guilty of inciting social discord, knowingly spreading false information, and violating the law on public assembly.
Ayan was released on parole in April 2018, and Boqaev was released earlier this month.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Feb 27, 2021
- Event Description
Myanmar's military authorities have charged an Associated Press photographer and five other journalists over their coverage of anti-coup protests, their lawyer said on Wednesday.
AP photographer Thein Zaw, 32, was arrested on Saturday as he covered a demonstration in Myanmar's commercial hub Rangoon.
The country has been in uproar since February 1, when the army detained Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders, ending Myanmar's brief experiment with democracy and sparking protests far and wide.
Thein Zaw's lawyer said he and five other Myanmar journalists had been charged under a law against "causing fear, spreading false news or agitating directly or indirectly a government employee".
The junta amended the law last month, to increase the maximum sentence from two years to three years in jail.
"Ko Thein Zaw was simply reporting in line with press freedom law -- he wasn't protesting, he was just doing his work, the lawyer, Tin Zar Oo, said, adding that all six were being held at Insein prison in Rangoon.
The other five journalists are from Myanmar Now, Myanmar Photo Agency, 7Day News, Zee Kwet Online news and a freelancer, according to AP.
AP's vice-president of international news Ian Philips called for Thein Zaw's immediate release.
"Independent journalists must be allowed to freely and safely report the news without fear of retribution," he said.
"AP decries in the strongest terms the arbitrary detention of Thein Zaw."
Since the coup, authorities have steadily stepped up their tactics against anti-military protesters, deploying tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets, as well as isolated incidents of live rounds.
Sunday was the bloodiest day since the military takeover, with the UN saying at least 18 protesters were killed across the country. AFP independently confirmed 11, adding to five killed in earlier incidents.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group, more than 1,200 people have been arrested since the coup, with about 900 still behind bars or facing charges.
But the real number is likely far higher -- state-run media reported that on Sunday alone more than 1,300 people were arrested.
AAPP says that 34 journalists are among those detained, with 15 released so far.
"This repression is obstructing the flow of accurate information and news," AAPP said, adding that journalists were being subjected to "violent attacks" despite having clear credentials.
The most recent confirmed arrest came Monday, when a Myanmar journalist with broadcasting service Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) live-streamed a late-night raid on his home.
The footage -- posted on DVB's Facebook page -- appeared to show loud bangs outside his apartment building as he pleaded with authorities not to shoot.
- Impact of Event
- 6
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Bangladesh
- Initial Date
- Feb 26, 2021
- Event Description
Hundreds of people in Bangladesh took part Saturday in a second day of demonstrations sparked by the death of a writer at a high-security prison in a case that has drawn international concern.
Protesters marched at the University of Dhaka chanting slogans condemning the government's treatment of Mushtaq Ahmed as well as other dissident writers, journalists and activists.
Another protest was staged at the National Press Club.
Demonstrators demanded the scrapping of Bangladesh's hardline Digital Security Act (DSA) under which Ahmed was imprisoned. The law has been used to crack down on dissent since it was enacted in 2018.
Security forces clashed with students in Dhaka on Friday night. Police said six people were arrested while activists said at least 30 were injured.
Ahmed collapsed and died at Kashimpur High Security Prison late Thursday. He was first detained in May after criticizing on Facebook the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 53-year-old, a crocodile farmer and a writer known for his satirical style, was charged with spreading rumors and conducting "anti-state activities."
Protesters have called his death a "custodial murder" after he was denied bail six times in 10 months.
"Mushtaq Ahmed's death was not a normal death. We'll say it was a murder," said Manisha Chakraborty, a protester with a left-wing group.
Demonstrators said they would march to the office of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina carrying a coffin later Saturday.
Facing international questions on the case, authorities have ordered a probe into Ahmed's death, senior government official S.M. Tarikul Islam told AFP.
"We formed a committee to probe whether there was negligence by jail officials or procedures in his treatment," Islam said.
Thirteen ambassadors from countries including the United States, France, Britain, Canada and Germany have expressed "grave concern."
"We call on the government of Bangladesh to conduct a swift, transparent and independent inquiry into the full circumstances of Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed's death," the ambassadors said in a statement released late Friday.
They said their countries would be following up over "wider concerns about the provisions and implementation of the DSA, as well as questions about its compatibility with Bangladesh's obligations under international human rights laws and standards."
Rights groups have also raised concerns about the case.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for "a swift, transparent and independent investigation", while PEN America said authorities should drop charges against Kabir Kishore, a cartoonist who was detained along with Ahmed.
The CPJ said Kishore passed a note to his brother during a hearing this week stating that he had been subjected to severe physical abuse in police custody.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Feb 26, 2021
- Event Description
A Japanese freelance journalist in Myanmar said Friday he was detained by security forces while covering anti-coup protests in the country's largest city Yangon, but he was released hours later and he did not suffer any injuries.
Local media showed pictures of Yuki Kitazumi, with a camera around his neck, walking out of the gates of the Sanchaung township police station after 4 p.m. Kitazumi was detained around noon Friday.
The former reporter for the Tokyo-based Nikkei business daily who lives in Yangon, told a group of reporters and others outside the gate, "Thank you very much (and) for all of your friends who tried to help me....I'm OK, I'm safe."
He said that one of around six protesters still detained inside the station asked him to convey to friends and family waiting outside that they too were safe.
"I hope all the prisoners will be released, not only me," he said.
As for the reasons given for his detention, Kitazumi said in English, "They said they did not know I'm journalist. That is their explanation. But I had a helmet with sticker of the press, so I don't think their explanation is right."
Although the military has banned gatherings of five or more people, demonstrations are continuing in various places in the country.
State TV news said that 31 people were arrested in Yangon and 39 in the second-largest city Mandalay on Friday and that legal action would be taken against them. It said the protesters were violent and attacked riot police.
The security forces fired shots and tear gas to disperse protesters in Yangon.
Further raising tensions in the city, thousands of supporters of the military marched in the downtown on Thursday morning.
After locals banged pots and pans to register their displeasure with the apparently organized march, some of them were attacked by pro-military protesters with slingshots and stones.
During the series of demonstrations than began on Feb. 6, three protesters have been shot dead by security forces in the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 26, 2021
- Event Description
On March 8, following 10 days detention because of his tweet on Twitter, Luo Zhiming sent a text message to a close friend expressing concerns that he might become “missing” again. Returning home from his recent 10-day detention, Mr. Luo found that Chinese Communist Party agents had confiscated his computer, cell phone, and other possessions. As Mr. Luo, a construction worker, followed topics such as human rights, democracy, and freedom of religion and belief, he actively posted on Twitter and Facebook. Bazhong City State Security Branch officers had arrested Mr. Liu, an immigrant worker originally from Sichuan, for tweeting and commenting on posts that oppose the CCP's dogma. After CCP authorities released Mr. Luo from detention, State security officers in Tongjiang County had also tightened surveillance on him.One insider disclosed that CCP authorities may have held Mr. Luo under criminal detention while he abruptly became missing. Local state security officers regarded Mr. Luo’s speaking up during the "Two Sessions" as provoking the authorities. Consequently, they may have needed to make him a typical case or make an example out of him in Bazhong.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Bangladesh
- Initial Date
- Feb 26, 2021
- Event Description
Ruhul Amin, Coordinator of the Shramik-Krishak-Chhatra-Janata Oikya Parishad(Workers-Peasants-Students-People’s Unity Council), was picked up from his home in Khulna on26 February 2021 by some members of a law enforcement agency in plainclothes, for posting on Facebook, criticising the government over the death of Mushtaq Ahmed. Later, a case was filed against him under the Digital Security Act, 2018 with Khalishpur Police Station in Khulna. The case alleged that he was spreading propaganda on Facebook in order to cause confusion and tarnish the image of the state and the government’s reputation;to try to create animosity, instability and chaos among the people and to disrupt law and order.The court granted him two-day remand in police custody for interrogation.59It is to be noted that there are widespread allegations of torture by members of law enforcement agencies in the name of interrogation during remand.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Feb 25, 2021
- Event Description
Ms. Supriya Jaikaew, pro-democracy WHRD and administrator of Free Youth student group from Chiang Rai (the capital city of the eponym province in northern Thailand) was charged with lèse-majesté and Computer Crime Act and subsequently arrested, before being granted bail at around midnight. According to TLHR, this marked the 60th lèse-majesté case filed against pro-democracy defenders since late November 2020.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 25, 2021
- Event Description
The Chinese government must immediately release labor organizer, delivery worker, Chen Guojiang (陈国江), who was detained on February 25 in Beijing. Chen, a popular social media activist, had frequently posted about the precarious working conditions of frontline delivery workers in Chinese cities and had recently called for delivery workers to boycott companies that allegedly withheld some bonus money for workers who could not meet high demand targets during the Chinese New Year period.
A few other workers are said to be detained as well, but no detailed information is available at this point.
Chen Guojiang, also known as “Xiong Yan” and “Chen Tianhe”, is a former restaurant owner who became a motorbike delivery worker in 2019 after his restaurant business went under. Chen was appalled at the working conditions in the sector, and he became one of the founders of a WeChat group called “Alliance for Delivery Workers on Motorbikes in the Land of Lawlessness” (外送江湖骑士联盟) *, which was dedicated to connecting, organizing, and providing rights defense to delivery workers. Chen frequently spoke out on Weibo about the precarious labor conditions of delivery workers and made videos, in an effort to garner support from the general public.
Some supporters in China attribute Chen’s detention to the fact that his WeChat group has attracted over 10,000 followers, and he had become a de facto union-like leader for China’s roughly 7-10 million delivery workers, who played an essential role in providing essential services, especially during the COVID-19 lockdowns. According to Radio Free Asia, members from Chen’s WeChat group had planned to stage a strike in solidarity with Chen on March 8, but police took preemptive actions that the plan did not come to fruition.
Chen is believed to be detained at the Beijing City Chaoyang Detention Center. Chen’s father, Chen Wanhua, put out an open letter expressing concerns for his son, saying he still had no information about the police’s accusation against his son and he had not yet received a detention notice, which should be sent to family members within 24 hours of detention according to the Criminal Procedure Law. Chen’s sister, however, called the Chaoyang detention center, and the police claimed that they had mailed out the detention notice. Chen’s father, as a farmer making only 600 RMB per month, also hoped to raise 50,000 RMB for lawyers’ fees.
In recent years, China’s “platform economy”, including food delivery services, has taken on new importance to both the Chinese public and the Communist Party leadership. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many restaurants were closed and cities were on lockdown, food delivery orders surged, and delivery workers became indispensable to the basic functioning of Chinese society. Delivery workers have been widely lauded on social media for their heroism in performing tasks that epitomized the “essential worker.” This week, the Chinese President Xi Jinping underlined the importance of the platform economy, including the need for the government to “…fill shortcomings, strengthen weaknesses, create an innovative environment, solve outstanding contradictions and problems, and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the platform economy”. Media outlets have also run in depth articles exploring the extraordinary pressures on delivery workers.
Despite this newfound social and political attention, China’s gig workers have few labor rights protections, and workplace problems are common, with at least seven strikes or protests by delivery workers since January 2020, according to China Labour Bulletin’s Strike Map. Workers have frequently complained of problems including long hours, uncertain pay scale, employer surveillance, and arbitrary deduction of wages or dismissals.
CHRD urges the Chinese government to immediately and unconditionally release Chen Guojiang. Pending his release, Chen should be allowed to see a lawyer of his choice and should be allowed contact with family members. The Chinese government should also ensure protection of freedom of association, expression, communicate, and the right to organize to protect their labor rights. The Chinese government should also immediately sign and ratify the International Labour Organization fundamental conventions: Convention 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention) and Convention 98 (Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention).
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Labour rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Feb 22, 2021
- Event Description
Nearly two dozen anti-coup protesters were reportedly arrested by military personnel and police on Monday morning after tens of thousands of anti-military regime protesters joined the nationwide “22222” general strike in the nation’s capital, Naypyitaw, according to witnesses.
Anti-coup protesters were forced to disperse by security forces in Pyinmana while the protesters were en route to the capital Naypyitaw, home to the top Union government offices and the headquarters of the military.
Currently, major entry points to Naypyitaw and the major streets in Pyinmana are heavily guarded by military personnel and police forces.
In some quarters of Pyinmana Township, police violently dispersed anti-coup protesters and forcibly pushed them into prisoner transport vehicles and police trucks, according to live broadcasts by residents.
According to the residents, security officials arrested at least 10 people in Naypyitaw’s Ottara Thiri Township, five in Zabu Thiri Township and at least five in Pyinmana Township. Hundreds of protesters are currently hiding in nearby houses and monasteries.
A person who participated in the rally told The Irrawaddy he saw five police trucks packed with protesters.
A reporter who escaped the scene said security forces also tried to seize cameras from journalists and targeted them for arrest. She said, “An army officer even shouted to his subordinates to arrest the journalists, and to take our cameras from us, while chasing anti-coup protesters.”
Millions of people across the country have joined the “22222” general strike in opposition to the military regime since Monday morning.
- Impact of Event
- 20
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Use of Excessive Force, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Media Worker, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Nepal
- Initial Date
- Feb 22, 2021
- Event Description
Police have arrested 6 right activists on the charge of protesting for the justice of Nirmala Pant in Kanchanpur on February 22. Among the arrested were Sarada Chand, Anandi Rana, Laxmi Malla, Nirmala Joshi Bhatt, Khadak Bisht, and Mina Bhandari.
Right activities staged a symbolic protest demanding justice for Nirmala Pant, who was killed after being raped while Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was laying the foundation stone of Daiji Chhela Industrial Area in Kanchanpur. They protested wearing a t-shirt with the caption " where is the murder of Nirmala Pant?".
- Impact of Event
- 6
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Maldives
- Initial Date
- Feb 20, 2021
- Event Description
Maldives Police attacked a Channel 13 camera operator and harassed the channel’s chief operating officer and station deputy in two separate incidents during opposition-led protests in Male on February 19. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) call on the Maldives police to respect press freedom and ensure journalists are able to freely and safely report.
Channel–13 cameraperson Mohamed Shaheem was tackled to the ground and injured by police as he attempted to cover the protests in the Alimas Carnival area of Malé on Februrary 20. Channel–13 was only the network with live coverage of the protests. Following the incident, Shaheem was admitted to a local hospital for treatment.
Organized by both the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the People's National Congress (PNC), the protest called on the government to nullify the state’s phase two distribution of its flats under "Hiyaa" public housing scheme project of Hulhumale in North Male, saying the distribution was ‘unjust’. The public housing project included development of 7,000 flats. The protesters also demanded authorities to release disgraced former president Abdulla Yameen, who is currently serving a jail term for money laundering.
The same day, police used force to move Channel-13’s chief operating officer, Mohamed Samah, and the station’s deputy-in-charge, Hussain Ihsan, from a restaurant near the protest, despite both of them wearing media passes. Video footage of the incident shows police barging in to the restaurant and forcefully manhandling the journalists out of the restaurant.
Maldivian journalists and reporters rallied on February 21 in front of the Maldives Media Council (MMC) and the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC). Journalists carried posters and placards calling on the government to stop attacks on the press and journalists.
The media community noted the incident as one in a series of actions from the Maldivian authorities, by which intimidation is used as a means to silence independent or critical reporting.
Maldives Police Service said that they accidentally arrested a journalist while arresting protesters from Le Souq Cafe at yesterday’s opposition protest, and that they released that individual as soon as it came to their attention that he is a journalist.
According to the police, the protesters used offensive language and profanities at the police and obstructed them from doing their job at yesterday’s protest. When asked to evacuate the area, some protesters then entered the Le Souq Cafe. The police forcefully removed the protesters from the café and the Deputy Head of Channel 13 was mistaken for a protester and arrested.
A video of the scene now publicised shows four journalists of Channel 13 sitting at a table when the police entered the café. The journalist had an identification card attached to his front pocket showing that he is a journalist and many people were also heard shouting that he is from the media. However, the officers barged in and arrested the individual. The video shows the police forcefully taking the journalist down the stairs.
Regarding the situation, police further said that the protesters and the journalist tried to create chaos at the scene when asked to leave. The police maintains that the journalist purposefully fell onto the floor directly disobeying the police and that this behaviour was not expected from a journalist.
In addition to this, police said that the department tries their best to ensure that media covering protests and other such events have the best possible atmosphere to carry out their jobs. The police noted that they expect journalist to behave accordingly and make sure that their actions do not obstruct the way of the police.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Feb 17, 2021
- Event Description
The Thandwe protesters, who had been demonstrating against the February 1 military takeover for eight days, were engaged in a sitting protest after a major road they planned to use for an anti-coup march was blocked by police.
“We were sitting and protesting peacefully when two or three guys in plain clothes arrived with the township administrator and the police and started arresting people,” said one woman who took part in the Thandwe protest.
“At first, the plainclothes officers pretended they were just taking photos, but then they started pushing people into a police truck,” she added.
Three people—a 17-year-old girl, a student in his 20s, and a man in his thirties—were arrested, she said.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Feb 17, 2021
- Event Description
Soldiers and police fired into a housing compound for railway staff in Mandalay at around 9:45pm on Wednesday, according to a resident of the compound.
“They fired approximately 15 rounds of bullets,” the resident told Myanmar Now.
“We found live bullets and they also used tear gas. I don’t know who got injured. I am still hiding to protect my family,” he said.
Before the start of the nightly curfew at 8pm, a crowd of about 300 protesters gathered near Mandalay train station was dispersed by police without incident.
“We had already returned to our homes because of the curfew. They are doing this on purpose,” the source added.
Myanmar Now has been unable to confirm how many people, if any, were injured in the incident. A reporter was beaten and briefly detained, but released when he explained that he was a journalist
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Feb 16, 2021
- Event Description
Kazakh activist Kenzhebek Abishev, who was jailed for being linked to a political movement founded by a fugitive tycoon, was not released from prison on February 16 as expected.
On February 1, the Qapshaghai City Court in southern Kazakhstan's ruled that Abishev can be released on February 16, more than three years early, for good behavior while in prison, a procedure allowed by Kazakh laws.
However, the Almaty regional prosecutor’s office appealed the ruling at the very last moment, arguing that the 53-year-old activist's good behavior in custody is not enough to warrant his early release since he still has more than three years to serve.
Abishev's lawyer, Gulnara Zhuaspaeva, told RFE/RL that the prosecutor's appeal was "baseless," since all inmates are entitled to benefit from early release for good behavior.
"Abishev was officially praised five times for his good behavior while in the penal colony, he received several letters of thanks from the colony's administration. His medical condition is also a serious reason for an earlier release," Zhuaspaeva said, adding that she will continue to fight for her client to be set free ahead of schedule.
Abishev was sentenced to seven years in prison in December 2018 after he and two other activists were found guilty of planning a "holy war" because they were spreading the ideas of the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement. His prison term was later cut by eight months.
Abishev, whom Kazakh rights groups have recognized as a political prisoner, pleaded not guilty, calling the case against him politically motivated.
The DVK was founded by Mukhtar Ablyazov, an outspoken critic of the Kazakh government who has been residing in France for several years.
Ablyazov has been organizing unsanctioned anti-government rallies in Kazakhstan via the Internet in recent years.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Nepal
- Initial Date
- Feb 16, 2021
- Event Description
Two youths were arrested from the protest against the government in Pyuthan district on February 16 . Pyuthan lies in Lumbini Province of Nepal.
As per the information received at Freedom Forum, cadres of the student wing of Nepali Congress party Tuna Ram Khatri and Sagar GM were arrested for protesting against the government. They have been reported that they chanted slogans against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, decrying his move to dissolve parliament.
Lately, political parties, leaders and their student wings have been protesting against the dissolution of the House of Representatives in Nepal. The case is currently in sub judice in court.
Freedom Forum has recorded many other incidents of violation of freedom of speech in different parts of country. A week back, a female youth leader was briefly detained for her speech. She was released after severe criticism.
Freedom Forum shows concern over the arrest of citizens for exercising their right to speech. It urges the concerned security agency to release them and respect their fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Feb 15, 2021
- Event Description
Yesterday, on 14 February the coup government passed the “Law Amending the Penal Code’ and the ‘Law Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure’. The recently passed Acts amend multiple articles of the colonial-era Penal Code. The Penal Code was already the most common legislation used to target political prisoners prior to the coup. Civil society had wanted the archaic legislation reformed, it has now become more arbitrary.
The recent amendments will be aimed at the civil disobedience movement, changing the definition and charge of high treason as well as further persecuting public assembly and disseminating information.
Some of these amendments include Section 121 which essentially could criminalize requesting international aid and/or support. Also Section 124A was substituted to cover ‘spoken and written signs’ which bring ‘contempt’ and such to the Union. This could now include pamphlets calling the military an illegitimate ‘coup’, ‘junta’ ‘regime’. Amendments to Section 124C now cover the ‘sabotage or hinder the performance’ of military or police acts. This could be used against recordings of “Drumming out of Evil” peaceful protestors when night-time raids are conducted, or when community groups try to protest arbitrary detentions, or when groups support public servants striking and taking part in demonstrations.
Amendments to Section 505A add several offences, such as spreading ‘fake’ news, or ‘fear’ amongst the public, as well as ‘agitate’ directly or indirectly a criminal offence towards a government employee. Also detailed was imprisonment terms, with Section 124A and C covering a maximum 20 year sentence and fine and Section 505A with a maximum three-year imprisonment and fine.
Today, protests against the coup erupted across Burma where people from respective regions peacefully demonstrated. Civil servants across the country including in Yangon, Mandalay cooperated increasingly with the civil disobedience movement (CDM). Despite tanks and military vehicles roaming the streets, demonstrations went on.
On 15 February from 1:00am to 9am, internet connection was shut down under military directives. There is suspicion this blackout was to commit unjust activities including arbitrary arrests. Also today, in front of the NLD headquarters, the police attempted to raid the offices and blocked roads. However, they withdrew after a two hour-long demonstration by the people.
On February 15, the police force dispersed with violence, threats, and arrests, peaceful protestors in Mandalay City, the security forces beat, arrested and shot gunfire towards peaceful protestors demonstrating in front of Myanmar Economic Bank 1. Six people including two girls aged 17 were arrested. Subsequently, the reporters reported at the event were brutally beaten by security forces.
For detentions in relation to the coup. As of February 15, a total of (426) people have been arrested and detained in relation to the military coup on February 1. Of them, (3) have been sentenced, 2 to two years imprisonment, 1 to three months, (35) were released. A total of (391) are still under detention, including the (3) sentenced.
- Impact of Event
- 7
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community), Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Use of Excessive Force, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Feb 15, 2021
- Event Description
Yesterday, on 14 February the coup government passed the “Law Amending the Penal Code’ and the ‘Law Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure’. The recently passed Acts amend multiple articles of the colonial-era Penal Code. The Penal Code was already the most common legislation used to target political prisoners prior to the coup. Civil society had wanted the archaic legislation reformed, it has now become more arbitrary. The recent amendments will be aimed at the civil disobedience movement, changing the definition and charge of high treason as well as further persecuting public assembly and disseminating information. Some of these amendments include Section 121 which essentially could criminalize requesting international aid and/or support. Also Section 124A was substituted to cover ‘spoken and written signs’ which bring ‘contempt’ and such to the Union. This could now include pamphlets calling the military an illegitimate ‘coup’, ‘junta’ ‘regime’. Amendments to Section 124C now cover the ‘sabotage or hinder the performance’ of military or police acts. This could be used against recordings of “Drumming out of Evil” peaceful protestors when night-time raids are conducted, or when community groups try to protest arbitrary detentions, or when groups support public servants striking and taking part in demonstrations. Amendments to Section 505A add several offences, such as spreading ‘fake’ news, or ‘fear’ amongst the public, as well as ‘agitate’ directly or indirectly a criminal offence towards a government employee. Also detailed was imprisonment terms, with Section 124A and C covering a maximum 20 year sentence and fine and Section 505A with a maximum three-year imprisonment and fine. Today, protests against the coup erupted across Burma where people from respective regions peacefully demonstrated. Civil servants across the country including in Yangon, Mandalay cooperated increasingly with the civil disobedience movement (CDM). Despite tanks and military vehicles roaming the streets, demonstrations went on. On 15 February from 1:00am to 9am, internet connection was shut down under military directives. There is suspicion this blackout was to commit unjust activities including arbitrary arrests. Also today, in front of the NLD headquarters, the police attempted to raid the offices and blocked roads. However, they withdrew after a two hour-long demonstration by the people. On February 15, the police force arrested and detained 14 high school students of Nay Pyi Taw B.E.H.S (14) who were peacefully protested, who were thereafter released in the evening due to a collective demonstration by the general public. For detentions in relation to the coup. As of February 15, a total of (426) people have been arrested and detained in relation to the military coup on February 1. Of them, (3) have been sentenced, 2 to two years imprisonment, 1 to three months, (35) were released. A total of (391) are still under detention, including the (3) sentenced.
- Impact of Event
- 14
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Feb 14, 2021
- Event Description
A 22-year-old Indian climate activist has been arrested after sharing a document intended to help farmers protest against new agricultural laws.
Police said Disha Ravi was a "key conspirator" in the "formulation and dissemination" of the document.
The "toolkit", which suggests ways of helping the farmers, was tweeted by prominent activist Greta Thunberg.
Activists say Ms Ravi's arrest is a clear warning to those who want to show support to anti-government protests.
Tens of thousands of farmers have been protesting for more than two months over the laws, which they say benefit only big corporations.
The new legislation loosens rules around the sale, pricing and storage of farm produce which have protected India's farmers from the free market for decades.
The farmers' protests mark the biggest challenge India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has faced. His government has offered to suspend the laws but the farmers want them replaced altogether. What do we know about Disha Ravi's arrest?
Ms Ravi, one of the founders of the Indian branch of the Fridays for Future climate strike, was arrested by Delhi police.
In a statement posted on social media on Sunday, police said she had "collaborated" to "spread disaffection against the Indian State".
It said she was an editor of the document and had shared it with Swedish climate activist Ms Thunberg.
Officials said Ms Ravi would be held in custody for five days. No formal charges have been announced.
Police have said the toolkit suggested a conspiracy in the run up to a huge rally on 26 January, which saw protesting farmers clash with police.
"The call was to wage economic, social, cultural and regional war against India," Delhi Police Special Commissioner Praveer Ranjan said earlier this month.
"We have registered a case for spreading disaffection against the government of India - it's regarding sedition - and disharmony between groups on religious, social and cultural grounds, and criminal conspiracy to give shape to such a plan," he added.
Jairam Ramesh, a former minister and lawmaker for the opposition Congress party, called Ms Ravi's arrest and detention "completely atrocious".
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Feb 13, 2021
- Event Description
A protest took place at the Democracy Monument yesterday (13 February) to demand the release of four activists detained last week pending trial, as well as demanding the resignation of the prime minister, a new constitution, and monarchy reform.
A sign saying "Repeal 112" and "Free our friends" was put up in front of the Democracy Monument
The protest began at the Democracy Monument at around 15.00. Participants arrived with cooking utensils for making a noise, as well as signs calling for the repeal of Section 112 of the Criminal Code, Thailand’s lèse majesté law. The protest organizers also prepared a piece of red cloth, which was placed on the street in front of the Democracy Monument for people to write down messages.
Protesters clearing away the plant around the Democracy Monument
At 17.30, protesters began clearing away the decorative potted plants around the Democracy Monument. Around half an hour later, the piece of red cloth was wrapped around the monument.
“This is not an ordinary flag, but a flag on which the people have written down the problems they are facing in the country,” said a speaker on the nearby sound amplifier truck, “but these problems will never be solved if the government does not see them, so if you don't know what problems there are in this country, you can look here."
The speaker also said that the red cloth is symbolic of how they will not back down anymore, and that it represents struggle and the blood of those who fight for democracy.
The Democracy Monument being wrapped in red cloth
At 18.28, activist Atthapol Buapat spoke on the truck, which doubled as a stage, and said that there will be another protest if the four detained activists are not released within 7 days. He then announced that they would march to the Bangkok City Pillar Shrine.
At 19.00, units of riot control police were seen behind barriers and razor wire near Sanam Luang. Two water cannon trucks were also seen. As the procession arrived at the police barricade on the way to the City Pillar Shrine, a speaker on the truck asked the police to turn off the spotlight. Meanwhile, objects were seen thrown over the barricade. Firework like explosions were heard at the scene and smoke was also seen, at which point the police moved the water cannon trucks forward.
At 19.48, Atthapol asked the protesters to move back from the frontline, as the police had agreed to turn off the sound amplifiers and spotlights and to let them remove the razor wire as demanded. He also asked the police to be allowed to visit the City Pillar Shrine to ask for protection for the people.
Meanwhile, at the Democracy Monument, police officers and an explosive disposal team were seen in the area and were removing the red cloth from the monument.
The protest concluded at 20.25. Protesters began leaving the area, but groups of protesters remained by the police barriers. Activist Piyarat Chongtep announced through a speaker that the protest had ended, but some still remained. At 20.48, several protesters broke through the barrier, and the sound of fireworks was heard.
At 20.57, the police ordered the remaining protesters to leave by 21.30, or face arrest. They also asked reporters to leave the frontline. Meanwhile, at the Shrine of Mae Thorani on Ratchadamnoen Nai Avenue, flares were reportedly lit. The sound of fireworks was heard continuously from 21.00 on. At around 21.20, smoke was reportedly seen around the Rattanakosin Hotel while people were shouting for others to watch out for tear gas.
It was later reported that 7 – 8 people were arrested. A police spokesperson told reporters that they were taken to Chanasongkram Police Station, but lawyers from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) who went to the station found that they were not there. Meanwhile, Pol Col Attawit Saisueb, Deputy Chief of Metropolitan Police Division 1, said 11 people were arrested and taken to the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters.
At 00.28 on Sunday (14 February), TLHR said the lawyers who went to the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters were not allowed inside to meet with those who were arrested. They were finally allowed into the headquarters at 1.14. At 9.00, they reported that of the 11 people who were arrested, 3 were charged with causing a disturbance and received a fine of 100 baht each. They have now been released, while the remaining 8 people were charged with assembling in a group of 10 or more people and causing a breach of peace, not dispersing when ordered by an official, violating the Emergency Decree, and harming an official. They were denied bail and are being held at the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters to be brought to the Criminal Court for a temporary detention order request on Monday (15 February).
TLHR also said that the people who were arrested also included a medical volunteer, a homeless person in the area, and a person who was waiting for a car in the area. Meanwhile, the medical volunteer group Doctor and Nurse Association said one of their members was reportedly beaten by riot police and detained, despite all members of the team wearing a vest identifying them as rescue workers.
Another member of the group told Khaosod English that the police didn’t believe he was a medic, so they beat him, searched his belongings, and took him away in a police car.
According to the Erawan Medical Centre, 20 people were injured during the protest. Piyarat also tweeted that one volunteer protest guard was shot near the Democracy Monument, likely by an anti-protester group.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Feb 12, 2021
- Event Description
Today was the 74th Union Day as well as day 12 of the military coup. Protests against the coup continued to escalate across the country including in ethnic areas amid rising arrests along with violent crackdowns on demonstrations by the junta government.
Today across Burma videos have been circulating on social media and news agency’s which show arbitrary detentions and the use of force against peaceful protestors. The detentions defy domestic law and international standards. The rule of law is not being followed and the human rights of people in Burma is being suppressed.
In Mawlamyine, Mon State, While peacefully demonstrating at the Student Union in Mawlamyine Township on 12 February, riot police force cracked-down on the demonstration by firing rubber bullets. 5 students were injured and 9 students were abducted. There is a video of the police force charging at a protest, disproportionate to the actions of these demonstrators, they then violently detained one demonstrator in the clip. In another video in Mawlamyine, police are seen interrogating a demonstrator before abruptly taking them away.
Family members are left with no knowledge of the charges, location, or condition of their loved ones. These are not isolated incidents and night-time raids are targeting dissenting voices. It is happening across the country.
These actions are also against domestic law, if someone breaks Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, they must be arrested under Section 188 of the Penal Code. For allegedly breaking Section 188 they must be accused at the court, not arbitrarily taken away to undisclosed locations from the street and from in their homes. It is also not the authority of the police, the courts decided whether to detain, charge, and take away an individual’s liberty.
- Impact of Event
- 16
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Abduction/Kidnapping, Judicial Harassment, Use of Excessive Force, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Feb 10, 2021
- Event Description
A court in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, has sentenced a man to 10 days in jail for picketing the Chinese Consulate to demand information about his brother, who is in custody in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang.
The court on February 10 found Baibolat Kunbolatuly guilty of violating the law on mass gatherings and sent him to jail for 10 days.
A day earlier, Kunbolatuly and nine other people, mainly women, picketed the Chinese Consulate in Almaty, demanding their relatives be released from so-called reeducation camps in Xinjiang. Some of the protesters said their relatives have been prevented from leaving China for Kazakhstan to join their families, while some said their loved ones have been held incommunicado in Xinjiang for years.
Kunbolatuly says that, while in custody, he came under pressure from officials who demanded that he end his campaign.
He adds that officials threatened that he might “end up like Dulat Aghadil,” a prominent Kazakh activist who died in custody from an alleged heart attack last year in a death that raised suspicions of foul play.
“An official told me: 'Your heart might stop, too,'” Kunbolatuly told RFE/RL after his release.
He says officials told him that his actions could harm his children’s future.
“They told me: 'When your children grow up, they might want to work in government agencies, but they won’t be able to do so [because of your actions]. Then your children would hate you. You’re causing them to suffer,’” Kunbolatuly said.
Officials at the detention facility in Almaty refused to comment on Kunbolatuly's charges when contacted by RFE/RL.
Kunbolatuly admits that he is worried about the potential impact his actions could have on his family if he continues his campaign and is rearrested.
“I think about what would happen to my children if I were to die [in prison]," he says. "What happens to my elderly parents who are already suffering because of my [brother's disappearance]?”
Kunbolatuly's mother, Zauatkhan Tursyn, was in front of the Chinese Consulate with several other women again on February 10, the third day in a row of such protests.
"China incarcerated one of my sons, Kazakhstan jailed another. I demand from Chinese authorities to release my son Baimurat, and I demand Kazakh authorities release my son Baibolat," Tursyn chanted in front of the consulate, holding pictures of her son.
Other women were holding pictures of their relatives and had posters saying "China, Stop Genocide."
An Almaty city official and police were monitoring the protest, but did not interfere.
A consulate security officer appeared to remove a piece of electronic equipment with multiple antennas from the building as reporters covered the event live. After he emerged, the journalists said their Internet connection stopped working.
A security official denied the removal of the piece of equipment had anything to do with the Internet outage.
Many similar protests have taken place in Kazakhstan in recent years, with demonstrators demanding Kazakh authorities officially intervene in the situation faced by ethnic Kazakhs in Xinjiang.
The U.S. State Department has said as many as 2 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and members of Xinjiang's other indigenous, mostly Muslim, ethnic groups have been taken to detention centers.
China denies that the facilities are internment camps.
People who have fled the province say that thousands of ethnic Kazakhs, Uyghurs, and other Muslims in Xinjiang are undergoing "political indoctrination" at a network of facilities known officially as reeducation camps.
Kazakhs are the second-largest Turkic-speaking indigenous community in Xinjiang after Uyghurs. The region is also home to ethnic Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Hui, also known as Dungans. Han, China's largest ethnicity, is the second-largest community in Xinjiang.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Death threat, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Feb 10, 2021
- Event Description
About one thousand joined a protest at Pathum Wan Skywalk in a bid to address economic hardship and demand the release of detained activists. They also underlined their original 3 demands: resignation of the PM, constitutional amendment and monarchy reform.
Protesters descending to the BACC forecourt at dusk.
After a hiatus of a month because of the resurgence of Covid-19 infections in January, the Ratsadorn protest group and the Labour Network for People’s Rights joined hands to organize a ‘banging pots against dictatorship’ protest, an activity inspired by the pot-banging in Myanmar as an anti-dictatorship message.
People started to gather at 15.00, an hour prior to the designated time. The police could be seen setting up checkpoints to search people’s belongings before joining the protests. Over 100 crowd control police, fully equipped with defensive gear, batons and shields, were deployed along with 2 water cannon trucks.
Protesters gathered on the Skywalk for an hour before descending to the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre forecourt.
Sriprai Nonsee of the Rangsit and Area Labour Union Group gave a speech about the hardship of workers, demanding that the government have a comprehensive relief policy, instead of picking some groups of people and leaving others behind. In Thailand, migrant workers do not receive any kind of relief from the government.
She said inequality in Thailand must be solved. The budgets for the military and monarchy are too high. They should be cut in order to pay for social welfare. People’s taxes should be used to alleviate the people’s hardship.
Protesters with drums joining the pot-banging activity.
Panupong Jadnok, a leading protest figure from Rayong Province, said police tactics today were against universal principles in dealing with protests. A crackdown can only be authorized by the courts, not someone’s order.
His message to the government and the King was that people are now starving to death in poverty. They cannot wait for the King to smash his crown into pieces with the pieces distributed to the people.
Tossaporn Serirak, a doctor and former MP, attended the protest as usual. He was seen drawing portraits and bringing first aid kits to deal with emergencies. He said he was there out of concern for the protesters’ safety.
“I want to say ‘keep fighting’, but there must be awareness. The most important thing is experience. Our young brothers and sisters have power and knowledge but what they lack is experience.
Tossaporn Serirak showing the bandages he brings along.
“I say to the government, the Prime Minister or all the great people, stop creating the conditions for protests. It is better to quickly stop everything and start negotiating,” said Tossaporn.
Many people could be seen with the banners calling for the abolition of Section 112 of the Criminal Code and also with banners protesting the Myanmar coup.
March to police station
As the protest went on, at least 9 people were arrested at the protest and taken to Pathumwan Police Station, where all but two were released after paying a fine.
At 16.45 a woman was arrested while she was spraying “No Ju” on a bulletin board near the BTS train station. Cleaning staff were immediately summoned to remove the message.
Panussaya Sitthijirawattanakul from the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration (UFTD), another leading protest figure, announced that the protesters would march to Pathumwan Police Station, located about a kilometre away, where at least 4 people from today’s protest were detained .
Before the march, Panussaya said the government has underestimated the people's movement. The people have not forgotten the three main demands of the movement that started in 2020: the resignation of Gen Prayut, a new constitution from the people, and reform of the constitutional monarchy.
Chaos as tear gas thrown
At 19.50 the protesters arrived at the police station. Some protesters could be seen holding banners supporting a republic.
Panupong said the police had until 20.30 to release those arrested, or protesters would break into the station.
At 20.28 a commotion took place behind and beside the police station. Protesters clashed with crowd control police who had just arrived. The sound of explosions could be heard and the use of tear gas was reported.
Panupong encouraged people who were ready to deal with the clash to go to the front line. People could be seen passing water to the front in order to counteract the effects of tear gas.
At 20.48, the two remaining arrested protesters were released on 5,000 baht bail each. A tear gas canister was found behind the police station at the clash site, but police denied the use of tear gas.
However, many people who were residing and eating in a community there dispersed in chaos as they felt the tear gas sensation.
At 21.03 the protests dispersed. 16 and 19 February are designated as the next protest dates with a 'street no-confidence motion' to parallel the no-confidence motion in parliament on the same dates.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Use of Excessive Force, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Feb 10, 2021
- Event Description
On 10 February 2021, environmental rights defenders Samsir and Syamsul Bahri were arrested by the Tanjung Pura Police for their alleged involvement in the physical assault of an individual on18 December 2020. Both defenders are currently being held at the Langkat Police detention centre in Stabat.Samsir and Syamsul Bahri are environmental rights defenders and chairpersons of the Tani NipahGroup. The group works on the restoration and rehabilitation of the natural environment, by planting Rizophora and Nipah mangroves, and opening up water channels to better irrigate areas habited by the local communities. As environmental rights defenders, both have been actively involved in the preservation of the local environment and the fight against exploitation of the area.On 10 February 2021, the Tanjung Pura Police called in Samsir and Syamsul Bahri to record their statements in relation to their alleged involvement in an incident of assault that took place on 18December 2020. Later the same day, an arrest warrant was issued against the two defenders charging them under Article 170 of the penal code with ‘committing violence against persons or property’, in conjunction with Articles 55 and 56 of the Indonesian Penal Code which concerns‘giving order/influence to a crime’ and ‘assisting to commit a crime’. Following the issuing of the warrant, Samsir and Syamsul Bahri were arrested at the police station and sent to the Langkat Police detention centre for 20 days. The Tani Nipah Group believes that the case against the defenders has been fabricated as a form of intimidation for their environmental protection work.On 18 December 2020, the complainant in the assault case, along with another person, both of whom are believed to be affiliated to a palm oil company, approached and photographed the Tani Nipah Group while they were planting mangroves and cleaning up the areas managed by the community. Noticing the outsiders, Syamsul Bahri approached them and asked why they were documenting of the group’s work. The environmental rights defender was reportedly met with arrogant responses from the complainant. The commotion attracted other members of the Tani Nipah Group group to the scene, prompting the complainant to walk away. The complainant was then overheard informing an unknown individual on a call that he had been assaulted. After making the call, the complainant jumped into the nearby river. For fear that he might drown, members of the group immediately took a boat out to save him. They then questioned the complainants claimthat he had been attacked, after which the complainant immediately retracted his statement. The Tani Nipah Group has a video of the complainant retracting the assault accusation. The palm oil company that the complainant is believed to be affiliated with owns 65 hectares of land in the region. It is suspected that the company also has illegal palm oil plantations in the area.The Tani Nipah group and environmental defenders believe that the intimidation is being directed by the company because of the group’s work in protecting the mangrove forest environment.Samsir and Syamsul Bahri and the Tani Nipah group have been the target of threats and harassment in the past for their environmental protection work. In 2016, Syamsul Bahri was shot byan unknown individual just after he started working with the Tani Nipah Group. In 2017, Syamsul Bahri and his wife were hit and badly injured by an unknown motorcyclist. On several occasions,trees planted by the Tani Nipah Group group have been cut down. While formal complaints have been registered with the police, no action has been taken to find perpetrators of the aforementioned harassments.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Feb 10, 2021
- Event Description
Two journalists employed by official media are being held by police in central Vietnam’s Quang Tri province on charges of “abusing press freedoms” for posting articles online criticizing provincial leaders, state media and other sources say.
Phan Bui Bao Thy, 56 and bureau chief of the online magazine Age and Education, and an associate, Le Anh Dung, 50, were taken into custody on Feb. 10 after articles appeared on Facebook pages the two men operated accusing provincial officials of corruption, police said.
One article posted in August on Thy’s Facebook page accused Le Quang Than—deputy chairman of Quang Tri’s Huong Hoa district, and a member of the Huong Hoa Communist Party Committee—of falsifying his educational credentials.
State media did not report the contents of the pair’s other allegedly defamatory online postings. Online access to Age and Education is now blocked.
Press freedoms group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) noted on Feb. 16 that on one site, Quang Tri 357, Thy had posted reports of alleged corruption involving the province’s president, Vo Van Hung, and deputy minister of culture, tourism and sports, Nguyen Van Hung.
Thy will now be held for questioning for the next two months, RSF said, adding, “The police, who carried out searches of his home, claim to have found a great deal of information related to this activities as an online reporter.”
In a statement, Daniel Bastard—head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk—called for Thy’s immediate release, saying “he was just trying to serve the general interest in his work as a journalist.”
“His fate highlights the straitjacket enclosing public media journalists in Vietnam, who are persecuted as soon as they stray from the official line imposed by the ruling Communist Party’s propaganda department.”
“In so doing, the Vietnamese authorities violate article 25 of their own constitution,” Bastard said.
Thy’s arrest came five weeks after the sentencing by a Ho Chi Minh City court of three independent journalists—Pham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, and Le Huu Minh Tuan—on charges of carrying out propaganda against the state.
Other journalists jailed
Nguyen Tuong Thuy, who had blogged on civil rights and freedom of speech issues for RFA’s Vietnamese Service for six years, was sentenced on Jan. to an 11-year prison term for “making, storing, and disseminating documents and materials for anti-state purposes” under Article 117 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.
Sentenced with Thuy, Pam Chi Dung was given a 15-year prison term, while Le Huu Minh Tuan was jailed for 11 years.
Reporters Without Borders ranked Vietnam 175 out of 180 in its 2020 World Press Freedom Index. Around 25 journalists and bloggers are being held in Vietnam’s jails, “where mistreatment is common,” the Paris-based watchdog group said.
Vietnam’s already low tolerance of dissent deteriorated sharply last year with a spate of arrests of independent journalists, publishers, and Facebook personalities as authorities continued to stifle critics in the run-up to the ruling Communist Party Congress in January.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Feb 9, 2021
- Event Description
Police in Myanmar have fired rubber bullets and used teargas against protesters defying a ban on large gatherings, in an escalation of the military government’s response to demonstrations against last week’s coup.
Witnesses in Naypyidaw, the remote capital purpose-built by the previous military regime, said police fired rubber bullets at protesters after earlier blasting them with water cannon. A doctor at a clinic in the city told Reuters three people were being treated for suspected rubber bullet wounds.
Earlier, officers had used water cannons to beat back the crowd, and demonstrators had responded by throwing projectiles. Footage on social media showed people running, with the sound of several gunshots in the distance.
Opponents of the 1 February coup gathered in towns and cities across the country for a fourth day of protests on Tuesday, including in Yangon and Mandalay, where evening curfews have been instituted and gatherings of more than five people are banned.
Teargas was used against crowds in Mandalay, where police arrested at least 27 anti-coup demonstrators, including a journalist, media organisations said. A journalist from the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) said he was detained after filming the rally. He said people were beaten. Two media organisations also confirmed the arrests.
The military takeover followed an election in November decisively won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) that army leaders claim was fraudulent. The detention of Aung San Suu Kyi sparked outrage across the south-east Asian country of 53 million, and a growing civil disobedience movement affecting hospitals, schools and government offices.
Demonstrations were also held on Tuesday in other cities, including Bago - where city elders negotiated with police to avoid a violent confrontation - and Dawei, and in northern Shan state.
In Magwe in central Myanmar, where water cannons were also used, unconfirmed reports on social media claimed several police officers had crossed over to join the protesters’ ranks. A police officer in Naypyidaw was also said to have switched sides.
As large crowds again gathered near Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon, one witness estimated there were tens of thousands on the streets by mid morning. Martial law and rumours of incoming soldiers had created an atmosphere of unease, but protesters were determined. Myanmar coup protests grow – in pictures
Pyae Phyo, 33, was gathered with his friends from the Myanmar Seamen Union under the shade of a tree near Sule Pagoda.
“Because of last night’s martial law announcement I thought people may not come,” he said. “But they have come. I am so proud of my people. Every day we will come here. Every day we aren’t free we will protest peacefully for our real leaders, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and president U Win Myint.”
Earlier Win, 37, a street food vendor, said “Today I heard troops were on their way from Naypyidaw, but that won’t stop the protests.”
The protesters carried anti-coup placards including, “We want our leader”, in reference to Aung San Suu Kyi, and, “No dictatorship”.
Pockets of ambulances manned by a network of volunteer doctors and medical workers were stationed near Sule Pagoda.
Myat Moe Lwin, 25, a graduate doctor, and his colleague Kaung Pyae Sone Thin, 25, were waiting near the ambulances and were prepared to aid protesters injured by water cannon.
“We need to be ready,” he said. “So many people are protesting against the coup. We had to help if there are any problems. It is our professional duty.”
In San Chaung township in Yangon – where large gatherings were banned – scores of teachers marched on the main road, waving a defiant three-finger salute that has become the trademark of resistance to the coup.
“We are not worried about their warning. That’s why we came out today. We cannot accept their excuse of vote fraud. We do not want any military dictatorship,” teacher Thein Win Soe told AFP.
There was confusion over the reach of section 144 of the penal code, which bans gatherings of five or more people. State newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar announced that two townships in Yangon and others in Mandalay, Sagaing and Kayah state would be subject to the curfew but some believed it was nationwide.
The US embassy said it had received reports of an 8pm to 4am local time curfew in the two biggest cities, Yangon and Mandalay.
Promises on Monday from junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to eventually hold a new election have drawn scorn. In his first address since seizing power, he repeated unproven accusations of fraud in last November’s election. He promised “true and disciplined democracy,” different from previous eras of military rule which left Myanmar in isolation and poverty.
“We will have a multiparty election and we will hand the power to the one who wins in that election, according to the rules of democracy,” he said.
Min Aung Hlaing gave no time frame for the proposed vote, but the junta has said a state of emergency will last one year.
The military also released a statement on state TV on Monday warning that opposition to the junta was unlawful Western governments have widely condemned the coup, although there has been little concrete action. The UN security council has called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detainees. The UN human rights council will hold a special session on Friday to discuss the crisis, at the behest of Britain and the European Union.
- Impact of Event
- 27
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Media Worker, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 9, 2021
- Event Description
A Chinese businesswoman was sentenced to three years’ jail on Tuesday, according to her supporters, after she spoke out in defence of dissident law professor Xu Zhangrun , who has openly criticised the Communist Party and President Xi Jinping . Geng Xiaonan , 46, and her husband Qin Zhen, as well as employees of her private publishing company, stood trial at the Haidian District People’s Court in Beijing after the couple were detained in September and investigated for “illegal business operations”.
There was a heavy police presence outside the court and supporters said they were barred from entering. Friends including Xu and activists Ji Feng and Yan Zhengxue were stopped by the authorities from leaving their homes to attend the hearing.
The trial was broadcast live by the Haidian court but footage was taken down from its website after it was viewed more than 80,000 times and it did not release a statement on the case.
After asking the court to disregard her legal defence, Geng pleaded guilty to charges including conducting illegal business activities, according to a video of the trial that was captured and posted online.
In pleading guilty, Geng asked the court for leniency in the cases of her husband and staff, saying they had been “forced to carry out orders from their boss”. She also contradicted her legal defence and claimed to have been “the sole proprietor and decision maker” of the publishing company since 2001.
“I would really appreciate it if the court would be lenient on them and target all of the sentencing burden on me alone,” Geng said.
She also asked the court to consider giving her a lighter sentence on humanitarian grounds since she is the only child of, and supports, her disabled war veteran father who lives alone.
Qin, Geng’s husband, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison, suspended for three years.
A number of Geng’s supporters, including prominent liberal intellectual Guo Yuhua, went to the Haidian court but were blocked from entering. Witnesses said more than a dozen police vehicles were parked outside the court, and Geng’s lawyers had been warned not to speak to the media. Dissident Ji said he had been told by state security personnel on Monday evening to stay at home the next day. “Two officers came to my house in the morning and stopped me from leaving. The same thing happened to Xu Zhangrun ,” Ji said by phone.
He said Geng had been indicted over illegal business activities involving 200,000 copies of mostly cookery books for which the full publishing rights had not been obtained.
“‘Illegal business activities’ is just an alternative charge to ‘inciting state subversion’ when it comes to entrepreneurs who are critical of China’s political ecology,” Ji said. “The purpose is to intimidate, silence and cut off all social networks they have with political dissidents in a bid to isolate them.”
Geng, who is also an art curator and film producer, was detained, along with her husband, two months after she had spoken out in support of Xu. He had been detained by police for “patronising prostitutes” during a trip which Geng organised for a group of academics including Xu to the southwestern city of Chengdu last year.
Xu, who has since been released but cannot leave Beijing, denies the charges and has hired lawyers to clear his name. After he was detained, Xu was sacked by Tsinghua University in Beijing where he had taught law for 20 years. The university also accused Xu of publishing articles since mid-2018 that “seriously violated” its code of conduct. Xu, 57, has written a series of articles criticising the authorities in recent years, taking aim at Communist Party leaders over the decision to remove the two-term limit on the presidency – allowing Xi to remain as president after 2023 – and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist, Family of HRD, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: outspoken publisher, her husband detained
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Feb 9, 2021
- Event Description
A crowd of around 500 gathered at the Pathumwan Skywalk yesterday evening (9 February), after the Criminal Court denied bail for activists Parit Chiwarak, Anon Nampa, Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, and Patiwat Saraiyaem, who are being detained in prison pending trial and have been taken to the Bangkok Remand Prison.
A spokesperson for the state prosecutor has announced that cases has been filed against Anon Nampa, Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, Patiwat Saraiyaem and Parit Chiwarak under Section 112 of the Criminal Code for giving speeches about the monarchy in protests during 2020, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
The cases stem from 2 separate events. The first is the 19-20 September protest at Thammasat University and Sanam Luang for which all four have been charged under the lèse majesté law, the sedition law (Section 116 of the Criminal Code), and the Act on Ancient Monuments, Antiques, Objects of Art and National Museums.
The second is the ‘mobfest’ protest at the Democracy Monument on 14 November for which only Parit has been charged. Sulak Sivaraksa, a Thai historian and Somchai Homlaor, a human rights lawyer are reportedly listed as witnesses.
iLaw reports that bail has been denied by the court, which ruled that the cases carry heavy sentences and the four have a tendency to repeat the offences. They will be detained in prison pending trial.
The detention during trial means they will be imprisoned indefinitely until the trial is over unless the bail would be granted at some point along the way.
The sedition and lèse majesté charges relate to their speeches, and the Act on Ancient Monuments has been invoked with regard to their installation of the 2021 People’s Party Plaque, a small metal plaque inspired by the People’s Party Plaque, a material symbol of the 1932 revolution which marked the change of regime in Siam from absolute monarchy to democracy.
The 2021 People’s Party Plaque was installed on Sanam Luang, which is recognized as an archaeological site.
These are the first lèse majesté cases to have finally made their way to the courts since the mass arrests and prosecutions after Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed in November 2020 to use ‘every law’ to deal with the pro-democracy protesters who have been rallying for political and monarchy reform.
All other cases are still under police investigation.
According to THLR, at least 58 people have been charged under Section 112 in 44 cases. 23 cases were filed by ordinary citizens, 3 by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society and the rest by the police.
Human rights lawyer Anon, activist Somyot, student Parit and mor lam singer Patiwat are well-known political activists who have been rallying for monarchy reform and Thai democratization.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to fair trial
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Feb 9, 2021
- Event Description
A 22-year-old Chin student activist is among five young people who were arrested on Tuesday night for taking part in a protest in Rakhine against last week’s coup.
Police came to Mai Yadanar Aung’s home in Ann township at 9.30pm and took her away without a warrant, according to the woman’s mother, Tin Tin Aung.
“They came and asked her to come along with them to the police station. But since she didn’t do anything wrong, I asked them why she had to. Then they said she was involved in the protest,” Tin Tin Aung said.
“I couldn't sleep the whole night. At first I considered not letting them take my daughter, but I was concerned she would be arrested forcibly, so I let them take her thinking they might release her on bail,” she added.
Police were due to bring her to the township court on Wednesday to be remanded in custody. Family members went to the police station on Wednesday morning to try to see her but police wouldn’t let them inside, citing Covid-19 regulations.
Ann township is where the Myanmar military’s Western Command is located.
Four other young people were being detained at the station for protesting, Tin TIn Aung said. Myanmar Now was unable to verify their names.
Mai Yadanar Aung is a third year student studying Chemistry at Sittwe University and secretary of a group called Chin University Students in Rakhine State (CUSR).
Young people and students began protests against the new military dictatorship in Ann township yesterday for the first time, said Mai Khaing Zin May Than, CUSR’s chair. The arrests began within hours.
“They are finding and arresting the protesters. Some of my sisterhood friends are still hiding,” she said.
Because of the arrest, parents in town told their children not to join the protests on Wednesday, Mai Khaing Zin May Than said.
“This is a human rights violation,” she added. “In Ann, not all the people are involved in the protests. The participants are mostly Chin ethnic girls.”
About a thousand mostly young people joined Tuesday’s protest in Ann, Tin Tin Aung said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Student, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Feb 9, 2021
- Event Description
Government prosecutors are blocking the release of journalist Lady Ann Salem and labor organizer Rodrigo Esparago despite the local court’s dismissing the charges against them last Feb. 5.
The City Prosecutor Office of Mandaluyong, on behalf of the Philippine National Police, filed on Feb. 9 an opposition to the urgent motion for release filed by Salem’s lawyers from the Public Interest Law Center (PILC).
The prosecutors claimed that the decision of the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court Branch 209 is not yet final, thus, Salem and Esparago could not yet be released.
Salem’s lawyers disagreed, saying that “the rules on criminal proceedings require that a judgment of acquittal, whether ordered by the trial or the appellate court, is final, unappealable, and immediately executory upon its promulgation.”
“The dismissal of the cases, drawn upon the quashal of the search warrant and consequential declaration that the seized evidence is inadmissible as evidence, is one tantamount to an acquittal,” PILC said in its reply.
“The Order of the Honorable Court, being an adjudication on the merits, is final and executory,” Salem’s lawyers asserted.
Salem, editor of Manila Today and communications officer of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT), and Esparago were arrested on December 10 last year. They were charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
On Feb. 5, Judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio dismissed the charges, noting “numerous inconsistencies and contradictions” in the sworn statements and testimonies cited in the search warrant.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to fair trial
- HRD
- Labour rights defender, Media Worker, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 7, 2021
- Event Description
Yesterday, national security officers of the Hong Kong Police Force arrested Wan on four charges of “doing an act with a seditious intention,” a criminal offense under the territory’s colonial-era sedition law, according to news reports.
Wan, who broadcasts under the name “Giggs,” hosts a show on the internet radio channel D100 that reports and comments on political issues in mainland China and Hong Kong, including on the arrest of Apple Daily newspaper founder Jimmy Lai. D100 is an independent station that has about 510,000 followers on its YouTube channel and about 59,000 followers on its Facebook page.
If convicted of sedition, Wan could face a fine of up to $5,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$644) and up to two years in jail for a first offense, and up to three years in jail for subsequent offenses, according to Hong Kong’s Crimes Ordinance.
“Hong Kong authorities’ use of sedition charges against radio host Wan Yiu-sing amounts to a government assault on press freedom and freedom of speech,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “Wan should be freed with all charges dropped, and the government should halt its ridiculous efforts to block political criticism by journalists.”
The charges stem from comments Wan made on four shows between August and October 2020, which police allege had an intent to incite hatred or contempt towards the People’s Republic of China and the Hong Kong government, and to instigate Hong Kongers to illegally seek changes to the city’s lawful orders, according to news reports.
The Hong Kong Police Force did not immediately respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.
Wan felt unwell in police custody last night and has been hospitalized, according to reports. He was originally scheduled to attend a court hearing today, but it has been adjourned to February 11, according to those reports.
Journalists in Hong Kong have faced increasing repression and harassment since the passage of the new national security law on July 1, 2020, as CPJ has documented. On December 11, Hong Kong authorities charged Lai with foreign collusion under that law.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Feb 7, 2021
- Event Description
The winner of the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize Ouch Leng and four other forestry activists were sent to Kratie Provincial Court yesterday after being accused of putting signs up in a protected area.
On Friday, Leng, Heng Sros, Man Muth, Heng Run and Phong Cheang hung up signs in Prey Lang forest saying: “Please help preserve our ancestral heritage forest”.
Human rights Adhoc senior investigator Soeng Sen Karuna said yesterday if activists enter the forest just to monitor, gather information and hang signs to protect against deforestation, the authorities should not arrest them.
“Environment officials should take action on bad people who go into the forest, but not the activists who just want to prevent deforestation,” he claimed.
“According to the forest law, it will be implemented on people who commit crimes such as the destruction of natural resources, deforestation or killing wildlife,” he said.
Sen Karuna added that the leadership should intervene in this matter and not allow officials to take such action against activists who assist the government in preventing and protecting natural resources in Cambodia.
“Arresting an activist who uses their rights to protect the forests is not right and could be criticised by the international community, plus it is an opportunity for bad people to continue to destroy the forest,” he said.
Choub Sreynuth, wife of Sros, said she has asked the authorities to release her husband and the other activists.
“The activists only participated in protecting natural resources, but they have been arrested like they are perpetrators,” she said.
The provincial Environment Department director Duong Chhay Savuth said that according to Article 11 of the protected area law, all entry and exit to protected areas must be authorised.
He said the five activists went into Prey Lang wildlife sanctuary without asking permission. “The officials detained them for questioning for 48 hours on Friday, and sent them to the provincial court yesterday,” Savuth said.
Prosecutor Keo Socheat said yesterday the five activists are being detained and will be questioned further today.
Ministry of Environment spokesman Neth Pheaktra said yesterday, park rangers are judicial police officers who have the duty to protect and conserve natural resources in accordance with the law in preventing and suppressing illegal activities that take place in the protected area. No matter who the person is, if the rangers find that the act is not in accordance with the law, they must comply with the law.
“The suspects’ response stated that they were operating in the protected area to take pictures to seek financial support from various donors. This clearly shows the malicious intentions of some groups who take refuge under the label of environmentalists and forest activists who use bad methods to benefit their party and serve a corrupt agenda,” Pheaktra said.
He said that the Ministry of Environment calls on and encourages some donors to provide support to associations and NGOs that are properly registered and encourage law-abiding associations and NGOs.
Pheaktra added that the ministry welcomes the participation of associations and NGOs in the protection and conservation of natural resources, but that they must enter through the legal channels.
Ouch Leng, the working group leader of the Cambodian Human Rights Task Force was selected as the winner of The Goldman Environmental Prize 2016, presented by the Gold Fund for Global Environmental Heroes 2016 in San Francisco, United States.
- Impact of Event
- 5
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Feb 7, 2021
- Event Description
On February 7, demonstrations against the military coup intensified. This morning thousands of activists, students and civilians took part in protests in Rangoon and across the country, and Min Ko Naing, 88 Generation Student Leader, arrived and stood among the protesters. Demonstrations were held at Rangoon, Bago, Mandalay, Sagaing, Ayeyarwady, Tanintharyi and Magway Regions, Naypyidaw, Mon, Shan, Karen and Kachin States. Protests were peaceful and non-violent, and police blocked the roads for protestors and watched the situation, though there were no violent crackdowns.
When police fired in the air at protestors in Myawaddy Town in Karen State, rioting broke out and a total of 14 civilians (5 women and 9 men) including former female political prisoner Khin Htar were arrested. By 6:30pm, they all were released. A woman was also shot during the protest in Myawaddy. The 8pm symbolic peaceful “Drumming out of Evil” continued across the country in opposition to the military junta.
- Impact of Event
- 15
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Feb 6, 2021
- Event Description
Thousands of farmers blocked major highways and crucial roads across the State around 170 points on Saturday afternoon as part of a national ‘chakka jam’ call given by Samyukta Kisan Morcha, a coalition of farmers’ unions protesting against the three new farm laws.
Police detained protesters at most places where roads were blocked. In Bengaluru, farmers and Kannada organisations blocked roads at two critical junctions – Yelahanka and Mysore Bank Circle – but were detained minutes later. Vehicular movement in these areas was not affected, said the police.
Farmer leader Kuraburu Shantakumar, who led the road block protest at Yelahanka, said the police detained three groups of farmers who tried to block roads one after the other. “Our only demand is that the Union government withdraw the three farm laws. But today's protest is also against how the Union government is treating farmers, booking false cases and using brute force of the police against protesters,” he said.
Farmers blocked Bengaluru-Mysuru highway at Mysuru, Mandya and Ramanagaram, Ballari Road at Devanahalli and Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru-Chennai highway at Kolar, Bengaluru-Bidar highway at Kalaburagi and Shahpura, and several key junctions on Tumakuru Road and in Belagavi, Davanagere, Raichur and Koppal, among other places. At several roadblock points, farmers came with bullock carts and cattle, and in many places even cooked on roads.
A statement from Samyukta Horata - Karnataka, a coalition of farmer, Dalit and progressive organisations, termed the protests in the State a success. They demanded that the Centre immediately stop harassing protesting farmers at the Delhi borders, and heed their demands and withdraw the three farm laws.
Meanwhile, senior Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj condemned Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa for ‘blindly following the diktat of the Centre’.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 5, 2021
- Event Description
Police from the eastern Chinese province of Shandong have detained a prominent women's rights activist in Beijing, detaining her thousands of miles away from her home, after she accepted a prize on behalf of jailed dissident Xu Zhiyong.
Li Qiaochu was taken away by police from Shandong's Linyi county after they requested a meeting with her in Beijing's Haidian district, according to a post to her Twitter account on Feb. 5.
The call came after Li accepted the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write award on behalf of her partner, the jailed dissident Xu Zhiyong, and hours after she had tweeted her reaction to learning that Xu had been tortured in prison.
Li is currently being held in the police-run Linyi Detention Center, the writers' group PEN America said in a statement on its website, adding that she was detained on suspicion of "subversion of state power."
"This is an appalling escalation in the attempt to silence and punish Li Qiaochu for continuing to speak out about Xu’s case and about her own treatment at the hands of state security services," the group's CEO Suzanne Nossel said.
"It may also represent an attempt to increase the pressure on Xu himself by targeting his loved ones."
Nossel described Li as a "woman of tremendous courage and conviction."
"She is being treated like a criminal for refusing to relent as her partner is detained and abused ... we call for her immediate release, and we insist the police stop pursuing these spurious charges," she said.
In December, police forced Li into house arrest and threatened to detain her if she kept speaking out about Xu’s case, according to PEN America.
Li was detained in February 2020 and released on bail on June 19, 2020 after being detained incommunicado under "residential surveillance at a designated location.
Amnesty International said at the time that she was herself at risk of torture.
Help for women, workers
Li worked to find accommodation for thousands of migrant workers forcibly evicted from their homes by authorities in Beijing during a bitterly cold winter in 2017.
She also played an active role in China's #MeToo movement, collating and publishing reports online of sexual harassment and abuse.
After the pandemic struck, Li joined a volunteer team that handed out free masks to sanitation workers in Beijing, and helped pregnant women in quarantine areas to find doctors.
She also worked to support victims of domestic violence, which saw a nationwide spike after hundreds of millions of people were placed under draconian quarantine lockdowns in central China.
Li was summoned by police and held for questioning for 24 hours on Dec. 31 as part of a nationwide operation targeting a group of activists who met in the southeastern port city of Xiamen on Dec. 13.
Xu Zhiyong, who founded the New Citizens' Movement, is also being held by state security police on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power" after he called on President Xi Jinping to resign.
Xu, who had already served jail time for his spearheading of the New Citizens' Movement anti-corruption campaign, penned an open letter to Xi while in hiding following an earlier meeting in Xiamen, calling on him to step down.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Feb 5, 2021
- Event Description
Four leaders of progressive groups were arrested in separate incidents in Butuan City last weekend, according to human rights group Karapatan in Caraga region.
Arrested were community health worker Vilma Dalangin-Yecyec, Gabriela Women’s Partylist Coordinator Gina Tutor, PISTON Spokesperson Isaias “Sayas” Ginorga, and Pamalakaya-Agusan del Norte member Greco Regala.
Police in Caraga claimed in a statement that those arrested are high ranking members of the New People’s Army. Three of them are being implicated in the killing of members of the Manobo tribe and former New People’s Army fighters in the region but rights group assert that all of them are active in the people’s organizations based in the city.
Two of those arrested are both 72 years old. One of them, Yecyec, was arrested on Feb. 6, in Mainit, Surigao del Norte. According to the group, she was taken to Camp Rafael Rodriguez, Butuan City.
Yecyec is suffering from various ailments, according to Karapatan.
The Council for Health and Development condemned the arrest. “Yet again, for perpetually failing to quell people’s resistance against the quagmire of poverty and oppression that breeds disease, state forces went after the unarmed civilian merely doing what she does best from decades ago up to the twilight of her life — serving the people through community-based health work,” CHD said.
On the same day, Tutor also arrested in her home in Buenavista while Regala was arrested in Tubay.
Meanwhile, Ginorga, also 72 years old, was arrested by the Butuan police on Feb. 5.
Ginorga and Tutor are known in Butuan City as leaders of progressive organizations. They were also slapped with trumped-up charges in relation to NPA offensives last year. Two of the charges filed in Surigao del Sur were later dismissed.
Pamalakaya said in a statement that Regala is involved in local campaigns, including the protection of municipal waters against illegal fishing and other destructive projects.
Gabriela Women’s Party, meanwhile, said Tutor has been working with the group in “pushing for pro-women and pro-poor legislation that will benefit Caraga, one of the poorest regions in the country.”
“Gina, along with the other community organizers arrested, are clearly not terrorists. This cruel act of arresting progressive community organizers demonstrates the perils of the Anti-Terror Law against unarmed civilians who are merely voicing out their legitimate concerns amid the crises we are facing,” the group said in a statement.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community), Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security, Right to protect reputation
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, NGO staff, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Pakistan
- Initial Date
- Feb 2, 2021
- Event Description
On 2 February 2021, human rights defender Muhammad Ismail was arrested at the Anti-Terrorism Court-III in Peshawar, following the cancellation of his interim pre-arrest bail in a case lodged by the Counter-Terrorism Department. The First Information Report (FIR) brought against the defender charges him under Sections 11-N, 124-A, 120-B of the Pakistan Penal Code, which relate to sedition and criminal conspiracy, and 7(g)(i) of the Anti-terrorism Act of 1997. These charges carry heavy prison sentences. It is believed that Muhammad Ismail is currently in the custody of the Counter-Terrorism Department.
Muhammed Ismail is the Secretary-General of the Pakistan NGO Forum (PNF), an umbrella body of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Pakistan. He has been critical of human rights violations in the country, particularly the ill-treatment of his daughter, human rights defender Gulalai Ismail.
Muhammad Ismail has been the target of ongoing police and judicial harassment for over two years. The human rights defender’s prosecution is a reprisal for his work, and the human rights work of his daughter Gulalai Ismail – an outspoken critic of human rights abuses by Pakistani authorities. Gulalai Ismail was forced to flee Pakistan in September 2019 due to threats to her safety. Ever since, her family and colleagues in Pakistan have been targetted. Multiple FIRs have been filed against Muhammad Ismail and his wife Uzlifat Ismail, including on anti-terror charges. In October 2019 Muhammad Ismail was abducted by unidentified men from outside the Peshawar High Court. He was later found in the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cyber Crimes Unit. Muhammad Ismail and his wife have been placed on an exit control list preventing them from leaving Pakistan.
Despite being released on bail in at least one case, authorities have continued to to target him. The State has consistently objected to bail and sought to file new charges against the defender in an attempt to further harass him, despite his ill health. Muhammad Ismail contracted COVID-19 in late 2020 and has not fully recovered. He requires constant care and medical supervision, neither of which will be available in an overcrowded jail.
Front Line Defenders, along with other human rights organisations, has previously condemned the targetting of Muhammad Ismail. Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Pakistan to immediately drop all charges and unconditionally release Muhammad Ismail, as it believes that the human rights defender is being targeted solely as a result of his legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of human rights. It urges the authorities to remove all restrictions on the free movement of Muhammad Ismail and his wife Uzlifat Ismail, and cease all further forms of harassment against the defender, as it is believed that these measures constitute a direct transgression of his rights.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to health, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Family of HRD, NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Feb 1, 2021
- Event Description
Protests against Myanmar coup face police crackdown, a border town in panic
Submitted on Mon, 1 Feb 2021 - 10:49 PM Shortly after Thais and Myanmarese staged a protest against the coup by the Myanmar military this afternoon, they were dispersed by the Royal Thai Police with shields and batons. 3 people were arrested.
Thai and Mynamnar protesters in front of the Myanmar Embassy to Thailand Thai and Myanmarese protesters in front of the Myanmar Embassy to Thailand
The 3 were taken to Yannawa Police Station: one is a member of the volunteer protest guard group We Volunteer, one a student from Thammasat University and the other an ordinary citizen.
Kath Khangpiboon, a lecturer from Thammasat University, accompanied the arrested student in the police car to the police station and stayed there.
ลงโฆษณากับประชาไท ประชาไท Another gathering took place at the Pathumwan Skywalk where 3 students distributed leaflets in opposition to the coup in Myanmar.
A gathering at the Skywalk.
In response to the coup and detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, the de-facto leader of the NLD-led administration, along with NLD politicians and candidates countrywide, some Myanmar citizens gathered in front of the Myanmar Embassy to Thailand at around 15.00, many wearing red shirts and carrying NLD flags, banners or portraits of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Some also raised the 3-finger salute, an anti-dictatorship gesture used in Thai pro-democracy protests. We Volunteer also participated in the protest.
Political activists including Parit Chiwarak and Panussaya Sitthijirawattanakul and political figures including Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, Pannika Wanich and Amarat Chokepamitkul were also present.
At around 17.00, police with batons and shields arrived at the scene and swiftly dispersed the protesters. Loud, explosive-like sounds were reportedly heard and smoke flares were seen in the live footage from THE MATTER.
Border town in stockpile rush, peace process may be delayed A source from Tachileik, a town in Shan State bordering Chiang Rai Province, said people there found out about the coup at dawn. Myanmar soldiers had been deployed along the border since 01.00. The 2nd Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge that is regularly open for trade was closed.
Airports and banks were reportedly closed. The internet and telecommunications were cut, although those using Thai internet services in the border town are still able to access the internet. People were seen stockpiling supplies in panic.
BBC Myanmar reported that ATM machines were not functioning.
Khuensai Jaiyen, founder of the Shan Herald Agency for News, a Chiang Mai-based news agency reporting on Shan State news, and Director of the Pyidaungsu Institute, a research centre supporting the Myanmar peace process, said the military seizure of power was made under Section 417 of the Myanmar constitution which allows the military to take control of the administration after declaring a state of emergency.
Khuensai said that in the eyes of the military, their action was not considered a coup as the constitution still remains intact, but the international community will see it as a coup, which will inform their attitude toward the military’s decision.
Khuensai has participated in the peace process steering committee and believes that the process will be delayed. The military is likely to prioritize quelling the conflicts in the townships first, with the border and ethnic issues to be addressed later.
Activists, political parties in Thailand opposing the coup In Chiang Mai in the north where many Myanmar people live and work, activists staged a demonstration at the Rin Kham intersection. They demanded that ASEAN member countries boycott the military government and also called for the unconditional release of those detained in Myanmar after the coup.
The pro-democracy protest group Ratsadon (the people) also published a statement denouncing the overthrow of democracy and violation of people’s rights. They demanded that ASEAN member countries uphold the ASEAN Charter, that defines its regional pact by expressing protection for democracy and human rights.
Before the election victory of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in 2015, Chiang Mai was where many Myanmar civil organizations and media took refuge and established a base. Many returned to Myanmar after the NLD victory. It is not known whether their return is possible due to the current Thai-Myanmar border shutdown.
Thai opposition parties like Pheu Thai and Move Forward Party also released statements denouncing the coup for violating the people’s rights, liberties and political will expressed by their votes. They also demanded the immediate unconditional release of those detained.
No government party including Palang Pracharat has yet expressed any opinion regarding the coup in Myanmar.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Feb 1, 2021
- Event Description
Shortly after Thais and Myanmarese staged a protest against the coup by the Myanmar military this afternoon, they were dispersed by the Royal Thai Police with shields and batons. 3 people were arrested.
The 3 were taken to Yannawa Police Station: one is a member of the volunteer protest guard group We Volunteer, one a student from Thammasat University and the other an ordinary citizen.
Kath Khangpiboon, a lecturer from Thammasat University, accompanied the arrested student in the police car to the police station and stayed there.
Another gathering took place at the Pathumwan Skywalk where 3 students distributed leaflets in opposition to the coup in Myanmar.
In response to the coup and detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, the de-facto leader of the NLD-led administration, along with NLD politicians and candidates countrywide, some Myanmar citizens gathered in front of the Myanmar Embassy to Thailand at around 15.00, many wearing red shirts and carrying NLD flags, banners or portraits of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Some also raised the 3-finger salute, an anti-dictatorship gesture used in Thai pro-democracy protests. We Volunteer also participated in the protest.
Political activists including Parit Chiwarak and Panussaya Sitthijirawattanakul and political figures including Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, Pannika Wanich and Amarat Chokepamitkul were also present.
At around 17.00, police with batons and shields arrived at the scene and swiftly dispersed the protesters. Loud, explosive-like sounds were reportedly heard and smoke flares were seen in the live footage from THE MATTER. Border town in stockpile rush, peace process may be delayed
A source from Tachileik, a town in Shan State bordering Chiang Rai Province, said people there found out about the coup at dawn. Myanmar soldiers had been deployed along the border since 01.00. The 2nd Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge that is regularly open for trade was closed.
Airports and banks were reportedly closed. The internet and telecommunications were cut, although those using Thai internet services in the border town are still able to access the internet. People were seen stockpiling supplies in panic.
BBC Myanmar reported that ATM machines were not functioning.
Khuensai Jaiyen, founder of the Shan Herald Agency for News, a Chiang Mai-based news agency reporting on Shan State news, and Director of the Pyidaungsu Institute, a research centre supporting the Myanmar peace process, said the military seizure of power was made under Section 417 of the Myanmar constitution which allows the military to take control of the administration after declaring a state of emergency.
Khuensai said that in the eyes of the military, their action was not considered a coup as the constitution still remains intact, but the international community will see it as a coup, which will inform their attitude toward the military’s decision.
Khuensai has participated in the peace process steering committee and believes that the process will be delayed. The military is likely to prioritize quelling the conflicts in the townships first, with the border and ethnic issues to be addressed later. Activists, political parties in Thailand opposing the coup
In Chiang Mai in the north where many Myanmar people live and work, activists staged a demonstration at the Rin Kham intersection. They demanded that ASEAN member countries boycott the military government and also called for the unconditional release of those detained in Myanmar after the coup.
The pro-democracy protest group Ratsadon (the people) also published a statement denouncing the overthrow of democracy and violation of people’s rights. They demanded that ASEAN member countries uphold the ASEAN Charter, that defines its regional pact by expressing protection for democracy and human rights.
Before the election victory of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in 2015, Chiang Mai was where many Myanmar civil organizations and media took refuge and established a base. Many returned to Myanmar after the NLD victory. It is not known whether their return is possible due to the current Thai-Myanmar border shutdown.
Thai opposition parties like Pheu Thai and Move Forward Party also released statements denouncing the coup for violating the people’s rights, liberties and political will expressed by their votes. They also demanded the immediate unconditional release of those detained.
No government party including Palang Pracharat has yet expressed any opinion regarding the coup in Myanmar.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Jan 28, 2021
- Event Description
A court in northern Kazakhstan has sentenced an opposition activist to jail and fined two other people for allegedly taking part in an unsanctioned rally.
The administrative court in the city of Kokshetau on January 28 handed a 12-day jail sentence to Aslan Qurmanbaev.
Another activist, Marat Zhanuzaqov, and a local resident, Gaukhar Shakenova, were both fined 87,500 tenges ($205).
The case stems from an unsanctioned rally held in Kokshetau's central square on January 25 by hundreds of people angered by what they called the government’s poor results in the fights against corruption and the coronavirus pandemic.
All three defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Shakenova said she did not participate in the rally but was just a passerby.
Kokshetau is a remote city of 146,000 people located 300 kilometers northwest of Kazakhstan’s capital, Nur-Sultan.
Human rights groups have said Kazakhstan’s law on public gatherings contradicts international standards as it requires preliminary permission from authorities to hold rallies and envisions prosecution for organizing and participating in unsanctioned rallies even though the nation’s constitution guarantees its citizens the right of free assembly.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community), Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 28, 2021
- Event Description
Authorities in the northern Chinese province of Hebei have detained activist and writer Pang Jian on suspicion of "splitting the country."
Pang, 30, who writes under the pen-name Gao Yang, was detained by police in Hebei's Gaobeidian city in January at his home in Pangcheng village.
His detention came after he reported on forced demolitions and evictions in rural areas around Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, his father Pang Jingxian told RFA in a recent interview.
"They have been doing coronavirus testing around here lately, and he went to line up [to get tested]," Pang Jingxian said. "Somehow, I'm not sure exactly how, the police detained him while he was there."
"Then the police came and searched our home, looking through Pang Jian's stuff," he said. "They took it all away, and we didn't hear anything for a while."
Later, police sent a notice of detention and a notice of formal arrest to Pang Jingxian, and were dated Jan. 15 and Jan. 28 respectively, Pang's father said.
"After they notified me, I went to visit him a few times, but we haven't heard anything since then," he said.
According to the notice of detention, Pang Jian was criminally detained on suspicion of "inciting secession" at 11.00 a.m. on Jan. 15, 2021.
Both notices gave his place of detention as Gaobeidian Detention Center.
Documenting Catholic churches
But Pang's family have not been able to contact him there, Pang Jingxian told RFA.
"We can't get a hold of him now, and we haven't found a lawyer," he said.
Pang is also a Catholic church member, and had written about Hebei's extensive Catholic church community and unique culture, according to his U.S.-based friend Ryan Shi.
"He took photos of almost all of the Catholic churches in Hebei, as well as local customs and architectural features," Shi told RFA.
Pang had also featured in Hong Kong media talking about Hebei's underground Catholic community.
His U.S.-based friend Cai Quan said she had believed he was either detained or in an accident after his phone went offline some time in March.
"Maybe he is in some kind of illegal detention," Cai said.
An employee who answered the phone at the Gaobeidian Detention Center on July 3 said Pang is still being held there on suspicion of "inciting secession."
Asked about Pang's health and wellbeing, the employee said it was "very good," with no mental health issues.
The employee said Pang isn't allowed visits due to the coronavirus.
"They can't visit right now," the employee said. "One reason is that the case isn't yet closed, and the other is the coronavirus situation, so no visits are allowed."
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist, Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Jan 27, 2021
- Event Description
The police forcibly dispersed a number of people who held a demonstration in front of the DPR RI Building, Jakarta, Wednesday (27/1). The demonstration was disbanded because it was deemed to have violated the Covid-19 health protocol. It is known that there were two groups of masses who held demonstrations in front of the DPR building, a group known to supports Papua's Special Autonomy. The number is about 70, according to the police. 15 participants to the event were arrested by the police
- Impact of Event
- 16
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Singapore
- Initial Date
- Jan 26, 2021
- Event Description
Three people were arrested for taking part in a public assembly without a permit outside the Ministry of Education (MOE) headquarters in Buona Vista on Tuesday (Jan 26), police said in a statement.
The police added that the trio, whom they did not name but said were aged between 19 and 32, were released on bail at about 10pm.
Investigations are ongoing.
The three were among a group of five people who allegedly staged a protest outside the building at about 5pm on Tuesday, carrying placards stating "#FIX SCHOOLS NOT STUDENTS", "WHY ARE WE NOT IN YOUR SEX ED", "HOW CAN WE GET A's WHEN YOUR CARE FOR US IS AN F", "trans students will NOT be erased" and "trans students deserve access to HEALTHCARE & SUPPORT".
The police said that when officers arrived at the scene, only three individuals remained.
They have been identified by activists as Elijah Tay, Lune Loh and Kokila Annamalai.
They were warned to cease their activities, as they were liable for an offence, but they ignored the police's warning and continued with their activities, police said.
"The group was then issued with a 'Move-on' direction under Section 36 of the Public Order Act and were told that they would be arrested if they failed to adhere to the direction," said the police.
"The three refused to comply despite the police's repeated warnings, and were arrested under the Public Order Act at around 5.35pm," police added.
They said that five placards, two multi-coloured flags and a blue bag were seized in relation to the case.
The protesters had, at around the time of their gathering, issued a statement to the media saying they were a group of students and supporters calling on MOE to end discrimination against LGBTQ - lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer - students in schools, adding that it is a longstanding issue.
The protest comes after a transgender pre-university student diagnosed with gender dysphoria said in a Reddit post this month that the MOE had blocked her from getting hormonal treatment.
The MOE had said this was not true, as it was not in a position to interfere with any medical treatment, which is a matter for the student's family to decide on.
In their statement, the police said that organising or participating in a public assembly without a police permit is illegal and constitutes an offence under the Public Order Act.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to Protest
- HRD
- SOGI rights defender, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Nepal
- Initial Date
- Jan 25, 2021
- Event Description
Police had intervened and used force in a protest rally of the civil society activists against the dissolution of the House of Representatives in Baluwatar area on January 25, 2021. Police also used water cannons and charged baton on demonstrators gathered in Baluwatar. The protestors have accused the police for using the unnecessary force which turned the peaceful citizen's protest into violence. They also accused that the police has tried to ban from their rights to peaceful assembly and association. Journalist and writer Narayan Wagle, who was involved in the protest, said that the move by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to dissolve the House of Representatives was unconstitutional. According to Narayan Wagle, former commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission Mohana Ansari, Arundev Joshi, Nirgha Navin, Sangharsh Dahal, Swarnim Dinesh and other human rights defenders were injured after police used force. Among the injured, Nirgha was taken to Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj and Sangharsh and Swarnim were taken to Model Hospital for treatment. Police had intervened while the civic leaders were marching from Kamalpokhari to Hattisar, Nagpokhari, Naxal and from Bhatbhateni to Baluwatar. Police arrested 26 civil society leaders, including Krishna Pahadi, Founder President of Human Rights and Peace Society, Uttam Pudasaini, Chairperosn, Member Krishna Kandel, Secretary Bal Bahadur Gaha Magar, Treasurer Ram Krishna Baral, Central Member Namrata Kharel, Lalitpur Branch Chairperson Chandramani Banjara, Kathmandu Branch Chairperson, Jagannath Pudasaini, human rights activist Ram Chandra Khatiwada, Suraj Bohra, Ishwar Pudasaini, Ramesh Baral, Purushottam Ghimire, Uma Gautam, Maya Bhattarai, Laxmi Rana, Sanu Lama, RS Mahato, Dikambar Rana, Bhagwan Pudasaini, Kiran Dhakal, Rose Bista, Kingkong Rai, Sanjog Rai, Mohini Prasad Acharya. They were kept at Nepal Police and then released after four hours. In a press statement released by the Human Rights and Peace Society, which has been protesting against Prime Minister KP Oli's move of dissolving the House of Representatives, mentioned that the government was trying to influence the court and legal procedures, misuse the state mechanism, and the prime minister and ministers made abhorrent statements.
- Impact of Event
- 26
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Use of Excessive Force, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Jan 22, 2021
- Event Description
Two protestors were arrested at the Victory Monument on Friday for calling attention to government neglect of a group of Karen villagers that were evicted from Bang Kloi Bon village in the Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex over a decade ago.
One of the protestors arrested was Tatchapong “Boy” Kaedum, an anti-junta activist. The two protestors were taken to the Phaya Thai Police Station where they will most likely be charged with the violation of the Maintenance of the Cleanliness and Orderliness of the Country Act which carries a fine of between 500 and 10,000 baht.
The protestors had held up signs including #saveบางกลอย (#saveBangKloi) and “ชาติพันธุ์ก็คือคน” (All ethnicities are human).
They were calling attention to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP)’s latest decision not to let a group of evicted Karen villagers return to their ancestral home in Phetchaburi’s Kaeng Krachan National Park.
The DNP said the law does not allow for human settlements to be located there even though the Karen have been living there for generations until the government forced them to leave in 1981.
Many of the evicted Karen villagers say they want to return and have struggled to adapt to life outside their indigenous homeland.
“If we stay where they want us to be, we will starve to death,” one of the villagers told an online seminar on Thursday.
“We have decided to go back because we have been unable to make a living.
“We cannot go out to work in the towns, we cannot sell our products, we do not have any income at all,” he added.
The Supreme Administrative Court in 2018 ordered the DNP to pay 10,000-baht compensation to six Karen villagers in compensation for burning down their homes.
There are more than 350,000 Karen people living in Thailand right now while the majority of the world’s five million Karen people are living in Myanmar.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Land rights defender, Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Pakistan
- Initial Date
- Jan 18, 2021
- Event Description
Pakistani authorities have rearrested a prominent ethnic Pashtun rights activist who is facing sedition charges almost a week after he was released on bail.
Police and the civil rights group say Said Alam Mahsud, a leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), was taken into custody in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan on January 18.
He was first arrested early this month in the city of Peshawar before being released on bail on January 13.
A PTM leader, Alamzeb Mehsud, said Mahsud had been charged with "sedition, making anti-state comments, and addressing unsanctioned rallies" in two cases registered in 2019.
Mahsud’s arrest comes a day after another PTM leader, Sanna Ejaz, was detained and forcibly expelled from the southwestern province of Balochistan, amid a growing government crackdown on the movement.
The PTM has campaigned since 2018 for the civil rights of Pakistan’s estimated 35 million ethnic Pashtuns, many of whom live near the border with Afghanistan where the military has conducted campaigns that it says defeated the Pakistani Taliban.
The movement has attracted tens of thousands of people to public rallies in recent years to denounce the powerful Pakistani Army's heavy-handed tactics that have killed thousands of Pashtun civilians and forced millions more to abandon their homes since 2003.
International rights groups say authorities have banned peaceful rallies organized by the PTM and some of its leading members have been arbitrarily detained and prevented from traveling within the country.
Some members have also faced charges of sedition and cybercrimes.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Jan 18, 2021
- Event Description
Peasant groups condemned the arrest of six farmers in Norzagaray, Bulacan after harvesting their own crops, and the series of eviction of farmers in Bataan, Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan and Iloilo.
On Jan. 18, police arrested six farmers in Sitio Compra, San Mateo, Norzagaray, Bulacan following the filing of theft and grave threat by Royal Mollucan Realty Holdings Inc. (RMRHI) against 16 farmers who were evicted from their farm lots.
Arrested were Salvacion Abonilla, John Jason Abonilla, Jenny Capa, Marilyn Olpos, Catherine Magdato, and Eden Gualberto. All are active members of local peasant group SAMA-SAMA, an affiliate of Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan-KMP.
Since 2005, the RMRHI has been claiming ownership to the 75.5-hectare land in Sitio Compra in San Mateo village, which farmers have been tilling for decades.
Evicted and harassed
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and Amihan documented other cases of land grabbing and rights violations in the past few months.
Two houses were demolished by the private armed group of Ayala land in Hacienda Yulo, Calamba, Laguna on Jan. 6 and 9. Four farmers were reportedly injured.
On Jan. 13 in Hacienda Ambulong, Talisay, Negros Occidental, peasant couple Marilyn and Edwin Madin were held for questioning by the local police station after an early morning raid conducted by the 79th Infantry Battalion Philippine Army. A two-month old baby under their care was also taken by the soldiers.
On Jan. 14, in barangay General Lim, Orion, Bataan, the houses of about 70 peasant families were destroyed by at least 200 police upon orders from former GSIS President Federico Pascual. Policemen also reportedly threatened to destroy all the crops in the 33-hectare land.
In a press conference on Monday, Jan. 18, Shirley Valentin, a farmer and coordinator of Samahan ng Magsasaka sa Sitio Bangad, narrated how they are being harassed every day by the private goons and the police.
“We do not have anything because they destroyed our house. We just stay outside. Last night it was raining and our things are just out there getting wet,” she said in Filipino.
She added that even the blanket they used to shield themselves was confiscated by blue guards and the police.
“We have nowhere to go. We cannot harvest our crops,” Valentin said. She added that the relocation site offered to them has no power, water supply, and is located in the mountainous area.
Meanwhile, farmers in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan have long been fighting against land grabbing as there are several real estate development projects in the city. The KMP said the projects of Villar, Ayala Land Inc., SMDC and others in San Jose Del Monte City are intertwined.
There are also about 400 peasant families of Lupang Ramos in Dasmarinas, Cavite who were threatened to be evicted from their farms and houses due to National Grid Corporations of the Philippines (NGCP) project in December last year.
In a statement, Amihan National Chairperson Zenaida Soriano strongly condemned the continuous abuses against “food security frontliners.”
Soriano said it is immoral that in the middle of a pandemic and poverty brought about by lockdown, farmers are being evicted and their houses are being demolished.
Then and now, peasants’ calls are still the same
In time for the commemoration of Mendiola massacre, peasants groups will hold a nationally- coordinated mobilization on Jan. 22 to “denounce and protest the intensifying land grabbing and land-use conversion of productive agricultural land, coupled with state-sponsored human rights violations against farmers.”
KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos said that then and now, the farmers’ demands are still the same – land reform and free land distribution.
“The situation of Filipino peasants when they marched from Central Luzon to Mendiola in 1987 remains unchanged, and even worse this 2021, especially with the rising cases of peasant massacres and mass killings under the Duterte administration,” Ramos said.
He added that under President Duterte’s administration there are 21 incidents of peasant massacres and mass killings of farmers with 107 victims, based on the documentation of Tanggol Magsasaka.
Ramos blamed the absence of genuine agrarian reform and government projects such as the ‘Build, Build, Build’, which “authorizes the massive conversion of land for the building of arterial roads and linkages, mega-dams, airport, and railway expansions, among other big-ticket infrastructure projects that are the most common source of bureaucratic corruption.”
- Impact of Event
- 6
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Access to justice, Land rights, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Land rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Corporation Corporation (others)
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Pakistan
- Initial Date
- Jan 17, 2021
- Event Description
Pakistani security forces have detained and forcibly expelled a prominent ethnic Pashtun rights activist, Sanna Ejaz, from the restive province of Balochistan.
Ejaz is a leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), a civil rights movement that has come under a growing government crackdown.
Video footage uploaded on social media showed security forces ushering Ejaz into a vehicle on January 17.
Moments before she was detained in the district of Zhob, Ejaz told RFE/RL that paramilitary forces notified her that she was barred from entering Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.
“They are saying my presence could cause unrest,” she told RFE/RL.
Ejaz, a resident of the neighboring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said she had travelled to Balochistan to launch a library for women.
The library was established by Waak, a movement cofounded by Ejaz and dedicated to promoting women’s rights and education.
Police said the provincial government in November 2020 issued a notice banning PTM leaders, including Ejaz, from traveling to Balochistan for 90 days.
Balochistan is the scene of a separatist insurgency and a brutal state crackdown that has killed thousands of people since 2004.
Activists claim Pakistan’s powerful military has committed widespread abuses in Balochistan, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings of political activists and suspected separatists, arbitrary arrests, and torture. The province is home to a sizeable Pashtun community.
Ejaz was among several PTM leaders charged with making anti-state speeches during an unsanctioned rally in the port city of Karachi, in Sindh Province, on December 6, 2020.
Among them was Ali Wazir, a lawmaker and PTM leader, who was arrested on sedition charges over accusations he made anti-state comments during the rally.
Wazir remains in police custody. He is expected to be presented before an anti-terrorism court.
The PTM has campaigned since 2018 for the civil rights of Pakistan’s estimated 35 million ethnic Pashtuns, many of whom live near the border of Afghanistan where the military has conducted campaigns it says defeated the Pakistani Taliban.
The movement has attracted tens of thousands of people to public rallies in recent years to denounce the powerful Pakistani Army's heavy-handed tactics that have killed thousands of Pashtun civilians and forced millions more to abandon their homes since 2003.
International rights groups say authorities have banned peaceful rallies organized by the PTM and some of its leading members have been arbitrarily detained and prevented from traveling within the country. Some members have also faced charges of sedition and cybercrimes.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Restrictions on Movement, Travel Restriction
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Minority rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Jan 16, 2021
- Event Description
At least seven people were arrested in confrontations between police and small groups of pro-democracy activists at two locations in Bangkok on Saturday.
Four people also suffered minor injuries following a small explosion outside Chamchuri Square on Rama IV Road, not long after demonstrators started leaving nearby Samyan Mitrtown, where they had rallied after being dispersed from Victory Monument. It is not known if the blast was related to the protests.
The day began when a few dozen people calling themselves Free Guards gathered at the Phyathai island near Victory Monument at noon. They unfurled three blank 112-metre banners — a reference to the lese majeste section of the Criminal Code — and invited people to share their thoughts about the government and the royal defamation law.
Several passers-by took up the offer and wrote on the banners before police reached the scene, backed by a fully equipped mob-control team who encircled the outer area.
Among the messages to the government were: “Thai education needs to be improved”, “Stop harassing people”, “A failed government, a divisive society” and “Covid-19 is an excuse”.
More than 40 activists, most of them young, have been charged with lese majeste since mid-November, when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said “all laws” would be used to deal with the increasingly vocal protest movement. Prior to that there had been no charges laid under Article 112 for more than two years.
The police warned the demonstrators at Victory Monument that their activity was in violation of the Covid-19 emergency decree, with penalties up to two years in prison and/or a fine of up to 40,000 baht. It also broke the Disease Control Act with one year in jail and a fine of up to 100,000 baht, they said.
They later started arresting people and seized the banners. A scuffle ensued as some resisted by hurling abuse at the officers and lying on the ground. Some were heard asking them why they did not raid gambling dens nearby instead.
Police gave them five minutes to clear the area.
Deputy police spokesman Pol Col Kissana Phathanacharoen later arrived at the scene. He ordered the police to back down and ask people to go home.
At least two people were reportedly taken away. They were believed to have been taken to the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters in Pathum Thani, where many dissidents have been held for questioning in the past.
The Free Guards group later went to the Phayathai police station to demand the release of those being held, but police closed off the area and told them to leave. They complied but decided to assemble again at 3.30pm in front of Samyan Mitrtown in the Pathumwan area.
At the shopping centre, they repeated their demand for the release of the protesters who had been held. Police told them to leave at 4.30pm.
After they left at around 5pm. A blast was heard in front of the mall, slightly wounding two people.
One man sustained cuts from shrapnel in his palm while a reporter from The Standard online news outlet was hurt in the calf. Police later said two officers also sustained minor injuries.
At least five more people were arrested and officers reportedly took their mobile phones, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
Also on Saturday afternoon, Bad Students, a group of teenaged campaigners for educational reform, held a symbolic demonstration to mark Teachers' Day, gathering in front of the Education Ministry on Ratchadamnoen Avenue.
Before the activity began, police told their leaders that while they would not be prosecuted because they were minors, properly wore masks and kept distancing, they urged them to drop their plan for fear of the Covid-19 spread.
The students bargained with the police, who finally allowed them to hold the activity for 15 minutes, which they broadcast live on Facebook.
The activity involved presenting "gifts" to teachers — canes, scissors and rulers — in front of the ministry’s nameplate, with the sign “The Third Kindness … Beautiful and Fresh”.
The Third Kindness is the name of a song encouraging young people to feel grateful for their teachers. The first kindness is said to be the Triple Gem of Buddhism (Buddha, dhamma and sangha) and the second is parents. All three are what everyone should feel grateful for and pay respect to all their lives.
The students also poured red paint that looked like blood on themselves, signifying how they have been treated by the Thai educational system, before dispersing.
- Impact of Event
- 7
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 16, 2021
- Event Description
On January 16, 10 minutes prior to boarding a high-speed train (D2655) to visit the parents of Lawyer Chang Weiping (their client), two human rights lawyers Chen Keyun and Xie Yang disappeared. Recently, Lawyer Chang's parents had demonstrated against Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials' secretive imprisonment and torture of their son.
At 11:15 am, January 16 (Beijing time), human rights lawyer Xie Yang texted his location to Chen Guiqiu, his wife: Xi’an North Station. At approximately 10 pm, when Ms. Chen phoned both Lawyer Xie and Lawyer Chen, the calls did not go through. She also phoned Mr. Xiang Xianhong a security agent in charge of Lawyer Chang’s case but he did not answer her call. Around 11 pm, Ms. Chen phoned three other security agents in Changsha, Hunan Province (Mr. Li Kewei, Mr. Li Yang, and Mr. Peng Jinsong). Although the phone calls got through to these lawyers in charge of Lawyer Xie Yang’s case, none of them answered.
Ms. Chen did not receive any information about Lawyer Xie until 6 am January 17. At that time, she learned that Lawyer Xie and Lawyer Chen Keyun had been missing for more than 22 hours.
ChinaAid strongly urges Shaanxi police: “Conform to China’s rule of law and the United Nation’s articles concerning human rights. Stop blatantly infringing on the personal rights of Lawyer Xie Yang and Lawyer Chen Keyun.
Hunan rights lawyer Xie Yang, who recently tried to visit Baoji to support Chang's family, told RFA: "We found out from Chang Weiping's wife that his parents are now under close surveillance, and that the authorities have installed CCTV cameras at the door [of their home]."
Xie said he boarded a high-speed train to Baoji along with fellow lawyer Chen Keyun, but was intercepted by state security police at the provincial capital, Xi'an, where he needed to change trains.
"No sooner had I gotten off the train than I ran into a bunch of people," Xie told RFA in a recent interview. "They claimed it was to do with the pandemic, because my health code didn't scan properly, and that I should cooperate with their investigation."
"But those people didn't look like pandemic prevention types to me; they were state security police from [the provincial capital of] Xi'an," he said. "I told them that they knew perfectly well who I was, and that I knew perfectly well who they were."
The police forced Xie and Chen to leave the high-speed rail station, confiscated their phones and ID cards, and took them to a hotel, where they were held in separate rooms.
They were told they wouldn't be allowed to continue to Baoji, and stability maintenance personnel, or "interceptors," from their hometowns of Changsha and Guangzhou were summoned to escort them back home again.
On returning to Changsha, Xie was placed under house arrest.
"They don't want this information to reach the outside world," Xie said. "There have been rumors going around that [Chang Weiping's parents] have now been detained, but ... nobody can get anywhere near [their home]."
"They are so worried that we will expose the truth," he said. "Maybe they are also worried that we might encourage more supporters to gather."
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Restrictions on Movement, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to privacy
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: prominent lawyer arrested, held incommunicado
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Jan 12, 2021
- Event Description
A university student was taken from his dorm in the middle of the night, charged with royal defamation, and then slapped with a cybercrime charge less than 24 hours later for refusing to give up his computer password.
Police accused Thammasat University student Sirichai “New” Nathuang of defaming His Majesty the King by spray painting political slogans on the portraits of three Royal Family members on Sunday, according to his lawyer Poonsuk Poonsukcharoen.
The 21-year-old was arrested at his home on Wednesday night and held incommunicado for several hours, Poonsuk said. It was the first time police made an arrest over royal defamation charges, or lese majeste, since the crackdown started in November. At least 40 people have been charged with lese majeste so far.
Poonsuk said police also searched Sirichai’s apartment, and refused to inform his family and lawyers where he was being held until some hours later.
“He has the right to a lawyer the moment he was arrested,” Poonsuk, who works for the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group, said by phone. But for a considerable period, he was not allowed to call any lawyer.”
Poonsuk added that she only gained access to her client at about 1.15am on Thursday morning, and said police’s behavior could have been interpreted as an abduction.
Police Lt. Yotsawat Nitiratpattakul of Klong Luang Police station, which has jurisdiction over the case, refused to answer questions about the manner of Sirichai’s arrest.
When asked to comment on the allegation that Sirichai was not given an opportunity to consult his attorney, as given to him by the law, Lt. Yotsawat replied, “I cannot give details about that either.”
Sirichai was later charged with Computer Crime Act on Thursday evening for refusing to give up his computer password as demanded by the investigators, the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said.
He stands accused of insulting His Majesty the King by spray painting slogans calling for abolition of lese majeste offense over large portraits of the late King Bhumbol, the Queen Mother, and Princess Sirivannavari that were displayed in public areas close to his university on Sunday.
Poonsuk the attorney cast doubt on whether the lese majeste law is applicable in Sirichai’s case, since the letter of the law only covers the King, Queen, Heir Apparent, and Regent.
But the lese majeste offense, enshrined under Article 112 of the Criminal Codes, has been routinely used by the police to silence any discussions about the monarchy. The offense took a hiatus for several years – PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said it was due to His Majesty the King’s clemency – only to make a return in November.
Chaitawat Tulathon, sec-gen of the opposition Move Forward Party, said on the phone Thursday that the latest arrest under lese majeste was “disproportionate,” since the student was apprehended in the dark of the night, and had no access to lawyers for hours.
Chaitawat also said his party is preparing a proposal to amend all defamation laws, including lese majeste, which could be submitted to the Parliament as early as next Wednesday, if the House reconvenes for a meeting amid the pandemic.
On the other hand, pro-government Phalang Pracharath Party deputy leader Paiboon Nititawan said he supports the ongoing crackdown on those accused of defaming the monarchy.
“It’s a justice process,” Paiboon said by phone. “Since the law stated that it’s a violation. Even if it’s 40 people, they must be arrested. Everything is under the due process of law. I personally support the arrests. The latest case wasn’t a minor and he must fight through the justice system.”
Democrat Party spokesman Ramet Rattanachaweng said he would not comment on lese majeste cases, including the latest arrest.
“We don’t know what the facts are,” Ramet said. “This is the police duty, to find out whether someone committed a crime or not.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jan 12, 2021
- Event Description
The family of jailed activist Nodeep Kaur, a labour rights activist, who has been in custody for about a month for protesting against the contentious farm laws, has said they will move the High Court of Punjab and Haryana for her release. Kaur was denied bail on Wednesday, February 3, by a Sessions Court in Sonipat. A member of the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, Kaur was arrested on January 12 after she had participated in the farmer's protests at Delhi's borders. Kaur has been charged under Section 307 (attempt to murder) and extortion. Kaur's family has alleged that she was assaulted by the cops when she was in custody, Scroll.in reported. "The allegations against my sister are false," Rajvir, Kaur's sister said. "Nodeep joined the [farmers'] protest at Singhu in November. She was also fighting for labourers who didn't get wages regularly. On January 12, she was protesting near a factory in Kundli when police picked her up...I met her and she told me cops assaulted her in custody," she added. Advocate Amit Shrivastav, representing Kaur in the case alleged that the activist had been thrashed by the police at the station. The police, however, have denied the allegations "being circulated on social media platforms about illegal detention and harassment." The activist was kept in the ladies' waiting room "for the entire time and was accompanied by two female police personnel for the entire duration of her stay," the police said. A medical examination which was conducted after she was arrested revealed injuries on her body and private parts. "This points to the fact that Nodeep was sexually assaulted in police custody," Kaur's lawyer alleged. The police, however, claimed that Kaur had refused a "special medical examination by a lady doctor for sexual assault, saying she does not want to be examined as she was not assaulted." The police said Kaur and other members of the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan were attempting to break into a factory in Kundli for "illegal extortion under the garb of workers' unpaid salaries". When the police tried to mediate, members of the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan attacked them and injured seven cops, the police said. Denying her bail on Wednesday, Sessions Judge YS Rathor said that there were two FIRs lodged against her. "In view of the gravity of offence, the applicant does not deserve concession of bail and bail application is dismissed," the judgement read. Kaur's arrest received international attention after Meena Harris, the niece of United States Vice President Kamala Harris took to Twitter to write about how the activist was tortured in police custody.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Sexual Violence, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to protect reputation, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Labour rights defender, Minority rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jan 11, 2021
- Event Description
Anti-caste activist Harshali Potdar was briefly arrested by Mumbai’s MRA Marg police on Monday afternoon for sharing an allegedly inflammatory Facebook post in March 2020. By evening, she was released after being made to fill out several arrest forms.
Potadar’s application for anticipatory bail in this case had been rejected by a sessions court on January 6.
The police had filed its case against Potdar on April 4, 2020, accusing her of sharing a post by a Facebook user, Mohsin Sheikh, who blamed the Central government for targeting the Muslim community and the Tablighi Jamaat group with claims that it was responsible for spreading Covid-19 in India.
The first information report claims the post appealed to Muslims to act against Brahmins, and has booked Potdar under Section 153A (1) of the Indian Penal Code, dealing with promotion of communal disharmony.
In a Facebook live video she shared after her release, Potdar denied sharing any such post. “I have given them [the police] my statement before, whenever they have asked for it – I have not shared that post,” said Potdar in the video. “But even if the police claims I have shared it, they have listed me as accused number one, and the person who wrote the post has been listed as accused number two. And the FIR also claims the post was deleted within 30 minutes.”
Potdar was arrested despite the Supreme Court itself criticising the Central government for its handling of the media coverage of the Tablighi Jamaat event. In October and November 2020, the Supreme Court pulled up the government for its inaction towards media channels that had communalised the Jamaat event. Connection to Bhima Koregaon
Potdar’s lawyer Ishrat Ali Khan also refuted these charges against her client. “She is being targeted because of her connection with the Bhima Koregaon case and because of her involvement in several protests and dharnas,” she said.
Potdar is a member of the Republican Panthers Caste Annihilation Movement, and was one of the organisers of the Elgar Parishad event that took place in Pune city on December 31, 2017 – a day before caste-based violence broke out near Bhima Koregaon in Maharashtra’s Pune district.
At least 16 activists and intellectuals have been arrested since June 2018 for allegedly conspiring to provoke the Bhima Koregaon violence. Meanwhile, no major action has been taken against two right-wing Hindutva leaders – Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote – who have also been accused of making provocative speeches before the Bhima Koregaon vioence.
Although Potdar was one of the accused in the case, she has not been arrested or charge-sheeted for it so far.
In her Facebook video on Monday, Potdar claimed her arrest was an intimidation tactic, likely because organisers of the 2017 Elgar Parishad have announced another Elgar event in Pune on January 30 in support of the 16 arrested activists.
“Through such false cases, the police is trying to spread fear among activists working in the Ambedkarite and progressive movements so that they don’t come forward to do their work,” Potdar said. “But they will not be able to silence us like this.” Unauthorised arrest
Potdar has also questioned the MRA Marg police about the manner in which she was arrested while she was in a public place. “I was eating in a restaurant with a few activist friends when four or five police officials in civil dress surrounded us and demanded that I go to the police station with them,” Potdar said in the Facebook video. The officials did not have any summons or arrest warrant, she said, and refused to tell her why they wanted to arrest her. “They also asked me to surrender my phone, which I refused to do, since they did not have a seizure panchnama.”
At the police station, she was not allowed to speak to her lawyer or activist friends, and was told about the case in which she was arrested only after making her fill up arrest forms. “At around 6.30 pm, after informing my family and lawyer that I would be in the lock-up tonight, they suddenly told me they were releasing me,” she said. “So then what was the dramatic arrest all about? Only the police can answer.”
Officials at the MRA Marg Police Station were unavailable for comment.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Minority rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Jan 10, 2021
- Event Description
Dozens of people protesting Kazakhstan’s opposition-free election were detained in the country’s capital and in its principal city, but were released after several hours.
Five parties are competing Sunday for seats in the lower house of parliament, but all are loyal to the government. The country’s only registered opposition party declined to field candidates.
More than 30 demonstrators were detained in the principal city of Almaty, according to the news agency Akipress. The Interfax news agency said more protesters were also detained in the capital, Nur-Sultan.
Deputy Interior Minister Arystangani Zapparov said late Sunday that all those detained had been released without charges.
The ruling Nur Otan party is expected to maintain or increase its current domination of the parliament of the former Soviet republic, which is rich in oil, gas and mineral resources.
The party is headed by former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who was in power from independence in 1991 until his resignation last year.
Although he stepped down, he retains significant power as head of the national security council.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Jan 10, 2021
- Event Description
An aggressive crowd-control tactic known as “kettling” has been taken to such an extreme against a few dozen protesters in Kazakhstan that human rights groups are calling it torture.
Police in Almaty also used loudspeakers to intimidate the handful of anti-government demonstrators on January 10 -- repeatedly playing a song by a Kazakh pop star who later performed for a celebration of U.S. President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Kettling has caused controversy in the West, where it is used to contain crowds of more than 1,000 people that are deemed by authorities to include violent participants.
Rather than trying to arrest violent individuals or disperse a crowd en masse, police temporarily trap everyone together within a small area -- only gradually allowing people to leave. Usually, crowds are blockaded for a few hours or less.
In London and Washington, Seattle, Chicago, New York, and Toronto, kettling has been used during the past 20 years to contain massive anti-war rallies, anti-globalization demonstrations, and protests by the Black Lives Matter movement.
The tactic also was used against demonstrators near President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2017.
Critics argue that kettling increases the potential for violence -- rather than defusing tensions -- because it traps people together in close proximity.
Some courts in the United States and Britain have deemed kettling to be illegal because it targets entire groups indiscriminately and because individuals who aren’t part of a demonstration can also be trapped within police barricades.
Kazakh 'Kettling'
When a few dozen Kazakh activists tried to march in Almaty on January 10, the day of Kazakhstan’s recent parliamentary elections, the apparent goal of authorities was to snuff out democratic dissent and intimidate people from staging future demonstrations.
The incident was part of a wider, ongoing policy of crackdowns that has cast doubt on President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev’s pledge to make political reforms and improve human rights in the former Soviet republic, which is the largest country in Central Asia.
The security forces in Almaty surrounded two groups of about a dozen people who were calling for constitutional reforms and an end to the dominant rule of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev’s Nur Otan party.
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, police wearing masks and riot gear forced one group to stand bunched together in freezing temperatures for nine hours without food, water, or an opportunity to use a bathroom.
Another group that included a pregnant woman and two children was forced to stand together like canned sardines for seven hours.
Meanwhile, police took turns in rotating shifts so they could rest, eat, and stay warm.
At least one demonstrator collapsed with hypothermia and had to be taken away in an ambulance before authorities allowed the protesters to leave.
Psychologically Chilling
Inga Imanbai, a freelance journalist known for critical reports about the Kazakh government, was among those who were kettled and forced to stand in the cold for hours.
“First, there were police provocations for about 40 minutes,” Imanbai told RFE/RL. “Then they brought in loudspeakers and played the song Blizzard Again [super loud] about 20 times in a row. I accepted it as a kind of psychological pressure.”
Blizzard Again is a love song by the internationally renown Kazakh pop star Dimash Kudaibergen.
With lyrics in the Kazakh language, Kudaibergen repeatedly sings the chorus refrain: “My heart is freezing. I feel the chill in my soul.”
Imanbai explains that the innocuous love song, when used as a psychological weapon against hedged-in Kazakh protesters, has an even more chilling connotation.
In that context, she says, the title Blizzard Again hints at a deadly crackdown launched by Soviet authorities in December 1986 against thousands of young Kazakhs who dared to stage anti-Kremlin protests in the streets of Alma-Ata -- now known as Almaty.
The unexpected and unprecedented “December” protests were a response to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s removal of Dinmukhamed Kunaev as first secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan.
Gorbachev replaced the ethnic Kazakh leader with an outsider from Russia named Gennady Kolbin.
The December protests were tolerated for two days. But on the third day, Soviet security forces launched a brutal crackdown codenamed Operation Blizzard.
The actual death toll from Operation Blizzard may never be known.
Officially, Soviet authorities claimed three people were killed. But witnesses say the real number was much higher.
Many young Kazakhs who took part in the protests were later sent to Soviet prisons or expelled from their universities.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the December protest movement was used by Nazarbaev and his successive governments as a symbol of Kazakh independence.
That has ensured that all Kazakhs remember Operation Blizzard and, for them, brings an ominous double meaning to the song title Blizzard Again.
International View
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the U.S.-based nongovernmental group Human Rights Watch have condemned the kettling operations of police in Almaty as “repressive tactics against peaceful demonstrators.”
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) concludes that crowd-control tactics like kettling should only be used by authorities in exceptional cases.
The OSCE’s guidelines on freedom of peaceful assembly state: “Tactics of holding protesters in a confined space, known as ‘kettling,’ and other such tactics are characterized by the fact that they do not distinguish between those who participate and those who do not participate in the meeting, or between peaceful and nonpeaceful participants.”
The United Nations’ Human Rights Committee (OHCHR) says police operations to surround and block a group of demonstrators should “only be applied if necessary.”
A body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the OHCHR, says such measures should be applied in proportion to the need to “suppress actual committed violence or to eliminate the imminent threat of violence.”
In many cases, the OHCHR concludes, specific individuals should be targeted rather than entire groups.
It says “particular attention should be paid to blocking, as far as possible, only those directly involved in the violence” and limiting the duration of kettling operations to “the minimum time necessary.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community), Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Restrictions on Movement, Use of Excessive Force, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of expression Offline, Right to health, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker, Pro-democracy defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Nepal
- Initial Date
- Jan 8, 2021
- Event Description
Nepal Police arrested citizens for protesting peacefully at a program in Dhangadhi on January 8. Dhangadhi lies in the Sudurpaschim Province of Nepal.
Local youths Binod Khadka, Aarud Sah, Sagar Joshi, Rajendra Shahi, Pravin Khadka, Suresh Joshi, and Naresh Prasad Joshi were arrested for wearing t-shirt with slogans- Where is the rapist of Nirmala Panta?
Nirmala Panta, a 13-year old girl was raped and murdered in Kanchanpur in 2018. The locals claim the 'accused is still roaming scot-free'. The investigation authority had earlier stated that the perpetrator would be arrested soon but no action has been taken yet.
The youths had worn t-shirts to create pressure on government to arrest and punish the rapist and murderer of Nirmala Panta. The program was being addressed by the Prime Minister.
Other attendees in the program also shared that they were not even allowed to wear black mask.
Youths were detained for four hours and released later, informed chief of District Police Office, Kailali.
Freedom Forum condemns the incident as it is gross violation of citizen's right to peaceful protest. It has resulted in suppression of freedom of expression. Such incidents represent government's authoritarian move and intolerance towards public criticism. Citizen's right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest is guaranteed by Nepal's constitution.
- Impact of Event
- 7
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 7, 2021
- Event Description
On Jan. 7, the Pizhou Municipal People's Court in the eastern province of Jiangsu jailed journalist Li Xinde for five years after finding him guilty of "illegal business activity."
Li’s son Li Chao was handed a one-year jail term at the same time.
'A very dangerous business'
Li was first detained by police in October 2019 and placed in "residential surveillance at a designated location (RSDL)," not long after he published a claim that a court in Tianjin had wrongfully convicted a businessman.
Li, an investigative reporter, founded and ran the China Public Watchdog Network, which had a focus on exposing corrupt officials.
Beijing-based rights lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan commented via Twitter: "To speak out on behalf of those suffering injustice in today's society, and to monitor the agencies wielding state power, is a very dangerous business."
Zhang Yu, who heads the writers' group Independent Chinese PEN, said charges of "illegal business activity" are often brought against peaceful critics of the CCP.
"The main charge used to suppress freedom of speech in China is incitement to subvert state power, but they have to show in what part of their speech or writing they did that," Zhang told RFA.
"They may use illegal business activity if what they said was particularly sensitive, or if they can't really find evidence to support [subversion] charges in what they said or wrote," Zhang said. "It has nothing to do with [the defendant] actually having conducted illegal business activity."
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 6, 2021
- Event Description
The Hong Kong government should not file charges against the 53 pro-democracy politicians arbitrarily arrested on January 6, 2021, Human Rights Watch said today. All were arrested for “subversion” under Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law (NSL), which the Chinese government imposed on June 30, 2020.
The 53 men and women arrested span the spectrum of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. They include veteran politicians and activists, such as Leung “Long Hair” Kwok-hung and Claudio Mo, and newcomers who joined the movement during the 2019 protests. The latter include Jeffrey Andrews, a social worker serving the city’s ethnic minority community, and Lee Chi Yung, a disability rights advocate. Many represent a broad cross-section of grassroots society long excluded from the city’s governance.
“Hong Kong authorities’ claims that discussing candidates and advocating for government action is somehow subversive is ludicrous,” said Maya Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It’s increasingly clear that Beijing’s commitment to Hong Kong’s ‘high degree of autonomy’ isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”
Hong Kong police said that a public opinion poll conducted in July 2020 regarding pro-democracy candidates for an upcoming Legislative Council (LegCo) election constituted “subversion.” They said those arrested violated article 22 of the National Security Law, which states that anyone who “organizes, plans, commits or participates” in “seriously interfering, disrupting or undermining” the performance of the Hong Kong or central government bodies are subject to a penalty of up to life in prison for “principal offenders.” Among the 53 arrested, police said, six were organizers.
The legal definitions of “subversion” and other NSL crimes are overly broad and vague, and can include the peaceful exercise of human rights, enshrined in Hong Kong’s de facto constitution, the Basic Law. These rights are also protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is incorporated into Hong Kong’s legal framework via the Basic Law and expressed in the Bill of Rights Ordinance.
All but one of those arrested are being released on bail. Charges have yet to be brought against the 53, though they have to surrender their passports as a condition of bail. The prosecution said that Wu Chi-wai, former chairman of the Democratic Party, has kept one of his passports even though he was ordered to surrender his travel documents as part of bail conditions in an earlier case. Wu remains detained.
In addition, the police have frozen HK$1.6 million (US$206,000) in connection with the poll and delivered court warrants to four news organizations that require them to hand over information to the police for investigation. Hong Kong police should release Wu immediately, lift all bail conditions, and return everyone’s travel documents, Human Rights Watch said.
Since the Chinese government imposed the National Security Law in June, the authorities have intimidated and arbitrarily arrested pro-democracy activists, and encouraged people to report on one another to remove pro-democracy figures from key sectors of society, including education, the media, and civil service.
Beijing and the Hong Kong government have also accelerated their assault on the previously semi-democratic LegCo. Since 2016, they have disqualified pro-democracy activists from running for seats or unseated them after they were elected. Following the passage of the National Security Law, the Hong Kong government delayed the September 2020 LegCo elections for a year. Beijing then expelled four pro-democracy members of the legislature, leading other pro-democracy legislators to resign in protest. The arrests of the 53 politicians appears part of Beijing’s increasing actions to exert full control over the LegCo, Human Rights Watch said.
Concerned governments, including the United Kingdom, European Union countries, and the incoming Biden administration in the United States, should press for appointment of a United Nations special mandate holder to monitor and report on Hong Kong’s human rights developments, Human Rights Watch said. They should also impose coordinated targeted sanctions on officials responsible for violating the human rights of people in Hong Kong. Legislators around the world should express solidarity with their Hong Kong counterparts.
“Governments should urgently take concerted and concrete actions to ensure that Beijing pays a price for its escalating abusive behavior,” Wang said. “Standing with Hong Kong’s democrats needs to be more than a rhetorical commitment.”
- Impact of Event
- 53
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security, Right to political participation
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Public Servant, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Jan 5, 2021
- Event Description
On January 5, 2021, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City sentenced 3 members of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) to a total of 37 years in prison and nine years of probation on charges of “making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code.
Pham Chi Dung, the IJAVN’s President, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and three years of probation; both Vice President Nguyen Tuong Thuy and another young member, Le Huu Minh Tuan, received 11 years in prison and three years of probation each.
This unjust trial does not comply with international standards for fair trials. The defendants were kept incommunicado for many months from their arrest until December 2020 when they were allowed to see their lawyers for the first time. During their less than 6 hours court trial, the judges did not listen to the lawyers’ arguments and the defendants’ testimonies.
The IJAVN is a civil society organization of independent journalists fighting for press freedom in Vietnam. Since its founding in 2014, its members and collaborators have published thousands of articles about the situation of Vietnam, frankly criticizing the communist regime and officials for their blatant violations of their citizens’ rights and serious socio-economic mismanagement.
This is exactly the reason that the Vietnamese communist authorities want to annihilate the IJAVN and suppress its members for many years, and the arrest and conviction of the three leaders reached the highest point.
Pham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, and Le Huu Minh Tuan were sentenced to extremely heavy sentences for exercising their right to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of association. Those are the basic rights stated in the Vietnamese Constitution and international human rights conventions that the Vietnamese communist government has signed and committed to honor.
Vietnam Human Rights Network, Defend the Defenders, and Human Rights Relief Foundation believe that Pham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, and Le Huu Minh Tuan have not violated any Vietnamese law, and that their arrests, detentions and convictions are completely unjustified.
Therefore, we ask the communist government of Vietnam
To annul the verdicts, eliminate all accusations, and release immediately and unconditionally the three journalists; To immediately stop the suppression of the IJAVN and other independent journalists and Facebookers, guarantee fundamental freedoms, in particular the rights to freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of the press and access to information; To repeal Article 117 of the National Security provision of the Criminal Code which is used to suppress peaceful dissidents.
We call on independent civil society organizations and individuals as well as the international community to speak up for the freedom of the three recently convicted independent journalists.
End of the press release
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of association, Media freedom, Online, Right to fair trial
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Pakistan
- Initial Date
- Jan 3, 2021
- Event Description
Another prominent ethnic Pashtun rights activist, Said Alam Mahsud, has been arrested in Pakistan on charges of making “anti-state” and “anti-military” comments.
Sanna Ejaz, a leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), told RFE/RL that Mahsud appeared before a court in Peshawar on January 4 where a judge ordered him remanded in custody for four days.
Mahsud was arrested at his home in the northwestern city late on January 3 after he attended a protest earlier in the day demanding the release of other PTM leaders and activists from custody.
In a video widely circulated on Facebook and Twitter, Mahsud is seen greeting the policemen in Pashto and then asking, “Am I being arrested?” After a policeman says “yes,” he responds “no problem” in English and then accompanies them.
PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen called Mahsud’s arrest an “extremely oppressive” act while Mohsin Dawar, a lawmaker and PTM leader, denounced what he called an “undeclared crackdown" against the group.
PTM activists staged demonstrations on January 3 in several cities and towns in Pakistan, demanding the release of recently arrested leaders and members of the PTM, which has campaigned since 2018 for the civil rights of Pakistan’s estimated 35 million ethnic Pashtuns.
Ali Wazir, a lawmaker and PTM leader, has been arrested on sedition charges over accusations he made anti-state comments during an unsanctioned rally in Karachi on December 6.
His arrest triggered mass protests in dozens of cities and towns across Pakistan on December 18. After the protests, two other PTM members were arrested in Karachi.
The PTM has attracted tens of thousands of people to public rallies in recent years to denounce the powerful Pakistani Army's heavy-handed tactics in its fight against the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups in the country's northwest.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Minority rights defender, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Bangladesh
- Initial Date
- Dec 31, 2020
- Event Description
Fifty-one academics, human rights activists and lawyers have issued a statement demanding the release of Rohingya photographer Abul Kalam, who they claim landed in jail on Thursday for taking photos of buses departing Kutupalong for Bhasan Char.
Photographer Abul Kalam was brought to the Senior Judicial Magistrate Court in Ukhiya on Thursday with charges of impeding officers from discharging their duties during an incident that happened over seven months ago, according to court documents obtained by The Daily Star.
Organisers said Kalam was sent to Cox's Bazar Jail by a magistrate on Thursday.
However, Public Prosecutor Faridul Alam of Cox's Bazar said he was not aware of any such development.
The Daily Star has not been able to independently verify whether Kalam was sent to jail.
The case in which Kalam has been accused was filed by Kutupalong Camp-in-charge Khalilur Rahman on June 1 last year, according to the first information report.
It said the accused assaulted officials and obstructed public servants from discharging their duties.
Khalilur Rahman's phone was found switched off last night.
The statement issued yesterday read, "On the morning of December 28, 2020, Abul Kalam, an award-winning photographer and Rohingya refugee, set out to take photographs of buses departing the Kutupalong camps for Bhasan Char. He was apprehended and then taken to the camp-in-charge in Camp 2W, Block D5 of Kutupalong, and subsequently, to the camp-in-charge of Kutupalong Registered Camp."
The signatories to the statement include Dr C R Abrar, eminent rights activist; renowned photographer Shahidul Alam; Sara Hossain, honorary executive director, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust; Dr Ambia Perveen, chair, European Rohingya Council; Professor Dina M Siddiqi, Faculty of Liberal Studies, New York University; Shireen Huq, coordinator, Standing with Rohingya Women, and founding member of Naripokkho; Ai Weiwei, Chinese contemporary artist and activist; and Bianca Jagger, a Council of Europe goodwill ambassador.
"Photography is not a crime. Abul Kalam was taking photographs of buses on their way to Bhasan Char. He was doing so in a public place, albeit in a refugee camp. The relocation to Bhasan Char is a widely publicised programme of the Bangladesh government. It is by no means a secret and has been extensively covered in the media," said the statement.
The statement said Abul Kalam has been a refugee in Bangladesh for 28 years.
"Abul Kalam is 35 years old. He originally came from Borgozbil, Maungdaw, Myanmar. He is a prolific photographer and has documented refugee life in recent years. His images have appeared in many publications, and he recently won two prizes in the Rohingya Photography Competition," said the statement.
"We call upon the authorities to release Abul Kalam unconditionally and without further delay," the statement said.
The case in which he was accused was filed against 10 named and 30-40 unnamed Rohingya refugees.
The forwarding letter presented to the court shows Kalam is one of those unnamed accused.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Dec 31, 2020
- Event Description
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that Nat (pseudonym), one of the admins for the Facebook page “Khana Ratsadon,” was arrested on 31 December, after the police searched their house and confiscated their phones, yellow duck calendars, and commemorative medals.
Nat was taken to Nongkhaem Police Station and charged with royal defamation. The police claimed that the calendars contain images and messages which insult the monarchy.
TLHR also said that, during the arrest, the officers did not present an arrest warrant or inform Nat of their rights.
The police denied bail to Nat at the inquiry level, who was therefore held at Nongkhaem Police Station over the New Year holiday while the court was closed.
Nat was taken to Taling Chan Criminal Court on 2 January 2021 for a temporary detention request. Their lawyer objected to the request on the ground that the arrest was unlawful, as the officers did not present an arrest warrant and the arrest was not due to a flagrant offence.
The Court accepted the temporary request. However, Nat was later granted bail using Move Forward Party’s Amarat Chokepamitkul’s MP position as security and was released.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Dec 31, 2020
- Event Description
At least 16 people were taken into custody after riot police broke up an impromptu prawn market set up by pro-democracy activists on Thursday.
The stunt was marked as a “New Year’s Eve surprise” by the campaigners, who said they want to help seafood businesses that bore the brunt of the new coronavirus outbreak. But police declared the gathering illegal and moved in to make arrests.
Activist leader Piyarat “Toto” Chongthep is one of the 16 people detained by the police. Reports say they will be charged with violating the Emergency Decree’s ban on gatherings, breaching public health regulations, and using loudspeakers without permission.
Demonstrators initially gathered on Sanam Luang with their shrimp stall on Thursday morning, but police soon arrived and dispersed them from the field. Scuffles also broke out as police made arrests. One woman said she would file an assault complaint against the police for beating her during the operation.
The protesters later moved to Ratchadamnoen Avenue, where they were selling the shrimps at the price of 359 baht per kilogram to pedestrians. By afternoon, riot police armed with shields moved in and made more arrests.
Citing threats of the coronavirus, the government on Tuesday bans all gatherings unless they receive special exemptions from the authorities. Health officials report over 180 new coronavirus cases on Thursday as the second wave of the outbreak continued to spread across the country.
Thailand has confirmed a total of 6,884 coronavirus cases and 61 deaths.
The virus resurgence, which has been traced to a shrimp market in Samut Sakhon province, also plunged the seafood industry into a slump. A seafood vendor also killed himself last week after suffering dire financial losses.
- Impact of Event
- 16
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Dec 30, 2020
- Event Description
Members of progressive groups on Thursday condemned the Rizal Day killings of nine members of an indigenous community that is opposed to a dam project on Panay Island and demanded justice for the victims of what they called a “massacre.”
The Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives said it would seek a congressional investigation of the predawn raids on Dec. 30 by police and soldiers that led to the deaths of several leaders and members of the Tumandok, the largest ethnic group in the hinterlands of Panay.
“The year-end spate of killings in Panay is a chilling conclusion of a year marred by bloody attacks on rights defenders and ordinary citizens amid the pandemic,” said Rep. Arlene Brosas of Gabriela Women party list.
“These butchers in uniform have long been terrorizing communities since time immemorial. Now, under a bloodthirsty Commander in Chief, they have ramped up their efforts to silence the growing number of Filipinos calling for justice and opposing development aggression,” Brosas said.
She said the Gabriela Women’s Party and her colleagues in the Makabayan bloc would file a resolution to investigate the police and military operation.
The nine people were killed in separate raids in seven hinterland villages in Tapaz town, Capiz province, on Wednesday. One of them was Roy Giganto, chair of Tumanduk nga Mangunguma nga Nagapangapin sang Duta kag Kabuhi (Tumanduk), a former village chief and an incumbent village councilor of Barangay Lahug.
Tumanduk is an alliance of 17 indigenous communities in Tapaz and Jamindan towns in Capiz and Calinog in Iloilo. It is a member of Sandugo, an alliance of indigenous peoples organizations under Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan).
NPA rebels?
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police said those killed were New People’s Army (NPA) rebels who fought back when the officers served search warrants and found firearms, ammunition and explosives in their houses.
Police said 16 other villagers in Tapaz and neighboring Calinog were arrested.
Lahug village chief Jobelyn Giganto, Roy’s sister-in-law and neighbor, said policemen barged into his house around 4 a.m. and “dragged his wife out [of the house] and shot him.”
“We are not armed and how can they say he fought back when all of us were asleep when they came,” Jobelyn told the Inquirer by phone on Thursday.
Another villager who was killed, Eliseo Gayas Jr. of Barangay Aglinab, was reportedly “tortured to the point of vomiting blood prior to his death,” according to Angelo Suarez, coconvener and spokesperson for Sama-samang Artista para sa Kilusang Agraryo.
Also killed in Lahug were Mario Aguirre and Reynaldo Katipunan. The other fatalities were Garson Catamin and Rolando Diaz of Nayawan village, Maurito Diaz of Tacayan, Artilito Katipunan of Acuña and Jomar Vidal of Daan-Sur. Fear on New Year’s Eve
Jobelyn said villagers were afraid to sleep in their own homes and planned to spend New Year’s Eve at the barangay day care center after most of their community and tribe leaders were killed.
“We fear that something will happen again while we are sleeping,” Jobelyn said.
“I have been telling the people here that despite what happened, we should continue to unite and face our situation together,” she said.
According to Danilo Ramos, chair of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, the Tumanduk leaders were fighting against the construction of the multibillion-peso Jalaur megadam in Calinog, Iloilo province, which would submerge their homes and farmlands in their ancestral land.
Some of them were also previously harassed and put under surveillance by the military, and most were accused of being rebels, Ramos said.
A month before the raids, the Tumanduk leaders were told by the military to sign up as NPA surrenderers, said Defend Negros spokesperson Ariel Casilao. When they refused, he said, they were warned that they could be charged under the new antiterrorism law. ‘Killed Negros-style’
“True enough, they were killed Negros-style,” he added, referring to the brutal massacre of farmers in Negros Oriental in 2018 and 2019.
ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro condemned the killing of indigenous peoples who were just protecting their ancestral lands “from destructive projects that do more harm than good for the Filipino people.”
“The Tumandok indigenous community has been vocal in resisting the construction of the Jalaur Mega Dam in Calinog, Iloilo. Because of their resistance and voices of dissent, they have been victims of Red-tagging and now EJKs (extrajudicial killings) and arrests on trumped-up charges,” Castro said.
“The Tumandok massacre proves further how Red-tagging kills and how the Duterte administration is determined to silence all voices of dissent,” she said.
The National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) said the Rizal Day killings showed that the Duterte administration “does not choose any time to sow terror” in rural communities.
“Innocent civilians and indigenous peoples continue to suffer due to the culture of impunity that remains even as the year is about to end,” the group said. Dam opponents
The activist science group Agham, which helped conduct an environmental investigation of the dam project, demanded justice for the Tumandok and the punishment of state forces for their “heinous crimes.”
The Jalaur River Multipurpose Project Phase II (JRMPP), locally called the Jalaur Dam, was designed to produce hydropower and supply water for irrigation in the province of Iloilo.
Agham said that in partnership with the Jalaur River for the People Movement, it found that the project proponent “failed to establish a detailed geological mapping and subsurface investigations that are crucial in determining the potential natural hazards that will affect the dam, particularly with regards to the stability of the structure and its foundation.”
It said that geologic hazards, such as earthquakes posed dangers to the dam, which may lead to massive flooding.
Agham said there also was no “free and prior informed consent” from the tribe, which is required by law for such projects in ancestral lands.
“Also, risks and possible negative impacts were still not addressed and were not communicated to the stakeholders. These key findings have validated the fears and concerns of the Tumandok people who are valiantly fighting for the protection of the people and the environment,” Agham said.
- Impact of Event
- 26
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Death, Judicial Harassment, Killing, Raid, Torture, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to life
- HRD
- Indigenous peoples' rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 28, 2020
- Event Description
A court in Shanghai, China on Monday sentenced former lawyer and citizen journalist Zhang Zhan to four years in prison for her reporting on the coronavirus outbreak, a harsh sentence that legal scholars say is aimed at having a chilling effect on Chinese rights activists.
Zhang, 37, was one of several citizen journalists who covered the initial outbreak in China’s central city of Wuhan. Their coverage painted a far more serious picture of conditions than the government’s official narrative of the spreading infection. Her reports included examples of the harassment of families of victims who were seeking accountability, according to human rights advocates.
Zhang was detained by authorities in May and accused of spreading false information, giving interviews to foreign media, disrupting public order and "maliciously manipulating" the outbreak. She went missing in Wuhan on May 14, according to media reports, and a day later turned up under arrest in Shanghai, more than 640 kilometers away. In court, she was formally charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” an accusation frequently used against Chinese activists.
Zhang’s lawyer, Zhang Keke, told VOA that Zhang Zhan has been on a hunger strike for nearly five months. She appeared in court in a wheelchair, all but refusing to speak — apparently using silence as a form of protest.
“The only thing she said is that citizens have the right to freedom of speech, and they have no right to question her,” Zhang Keke said.
According to the defense lawyer, the prosecutor during the trial accused Zhang of publishing so-called "problematic remarks" on China’s social media platforms including Weibo and WeChat. Yet the prosecution failed to provide any posts or videos as evidence.
“She didn’t fabricate any reports, nor has she created any harm to the society,” Zhang Keke said, adding that Zhang will likely appeal the verdict.
A Chinese human rights lawyer who asked to remain anonymous told VOA that the four-year sentence is extremely harsh. “Picking quarrels and provoking trouble usually leads to a fixed-term imprisonment of no more than five years. For first time offense, the sentence is usually one year,” he said, adding that Zhang’s harsh sentence was aimed at instilling fear among citizen journalists and civil rights lawyers.
Rights groups also condemned the ruling. Cédric Alviani, East Asia bureau head of the Paris-based media freedom group Reporters Without Borders, (RSF), called on the international community to increase pressure on the Chinese government until Beijing releases Zhang and other detained press freedom activists in China. “Zhang Zhan was only serving the public interest by reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak, so, she should never have been detained, not to mention, received a four-year prison sentence. This trial is actually a parody of justice,” Alviani told VOA.
The United Nations’ human rights office said in a tweet on Monday that it was troubled by the four-year sentence. “We raised her case with the authorities throughout 2020 as an example of the excessive clampdown on freedom of expression linked to #COVID19 & continue to call for her release,” the office said.
China has been accused of covering up the initial outbreak of the coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease and silencing whistleblowers, including the late Dr. Li Wenliang, and citizen journalists Fang Bing, Chen Qiushi, Li Zehua and Zhang Zhan, for exposing information that authorities did not approve for release. Dr. Li died of COVID-19 after Beijing silenced his attempts to warn the world about the coronavirus.
China has fiercely denied these accusations and said the country has been highly successful in containing the virus, compared to Western countries including the United States.
According to a survey by the Committee to Protect Journalists, China was the world’s leading jailer of journalists in 2020, with at least 47 people behind bars.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Dec 22, 2020
- Event Description
On December 22, authorities in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho arrested female activist Le Thi Binh and charged her with “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the Criminal Code. They accuse her of posting anti-state statuses on her Facebook page.
According to her family, police and plainclothes agents kidnapped her when she went out. They took her back to her private residence where they conducted a house search without presence of her family.
The state-controlled media reported that the local police confiscated a large amount of evidence with the anti-state content without unvealing the details of what they robbed. Her family told Defend the Defenders that it received no documentation from the local authorities about her arrest, including the arrest order approved by the local Procuracy.
Ms. Binh, born in 1976, is a younger sister of former prisoner of conscience Le Minh The, who was arrested in October 2018 on the same allegation. Both are members of the unregistered group Hiến Pháp (Constitution) which aims to raise citizens’ rights by disseminating the country’s Constitution 2013. He was later sentenced to two years in prison, and completed his imprisonment in July this year.
Like her older brother and other members of Hiến Pháp group, Binh actively participated in the mass demonstration of tens of thousands of Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City and other locality on June 10, 2018 to protest the two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security.
After that, she has been under close surveillance of the Can Tho’s security forces, especially after the arrests of her brother and other members of Hiến Pháp in September-October, 2018. One of eight detained members of the group has warned about her arrest as police interrogators often asked them about Ms. Binh during their questioning.
However, Binh continues to post and share numerous articles about the country’s issues such as systemic corruption, widespread human rights abuse, and China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea).
She is likely to be held incommunicado during the pre-trial detention, the common practice applied by the communist regime in political cases. She faces imprisonment up to seven years in prison if she is convicted.
With Binh’s detention, the number of prisoners of conscience rose to 253, according to Defend the Defenders’ latest statistics.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Dec 22, 2020
- Event Description
A Cambodian court convicted two rappers and sentenced them to up to a year and a half in prison on Tuesday on charges of incitement over their rhymes about social injustice and loss of sovereign territory.
Yin Srang, a spokesman for the Siem Reap provincial court, told Reuters that rapper Kea Sokun, 23, was found guilty of incitement to commit a felony and sentenced to a year and a half in prison, of which six months were suspended.
Another rapper, Long Putheara, who was 17 when arrested last year, received five months in jail, about six weeks of which was suspended, Yin Srang said.
Their convictions come during a wave of arrests of activists and opponents of the government, which started in July with the detention of a unionist who accused it of ceding land to neighboring Vietnam.
Others held include members of environmental groups, a politician and a Buddhist monk, according to human rights group Licadho, which tracks arrests of dissidents and activists.
Several Western nations have condemned that crackdown as well as treason charges against scores of opposition party supporters, warning that Cambodia's democracy is under threat.
Kea Sokun's father Kea Phal said the conviction of his son was an injustice and the two rap songs - "Khmer Land" and "Sad Race" - had positive meaning.
"The songs were educational and just remind youths to be loving of own nation," Kea Phal told Reuters.
Kea Phal said his son had made no apology during court proceedings because he did nothing wrong.
Lyrics in Khmer Land and Sad Race - which have over 2 million and 700,000 views respectively - say Cambodians are starving and the country is losing territory to its neighbors.
They urge people to stand up against oppression and unite to bring the country greatness.
Cambodia's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the convictions.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Dec 21, 2020
- Event Description
On December 21, the People’s Court of District 8 in Ho Chi Minh City found three local Facebookers named Nguyen Dang Thuong, Huynh Anh Khoa, and Tran Trong Khai guilty of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the Criminal Code for administrating an open Facebook group discussing Vietnam’s socio-economic issues.
The jugde concluded that the trio have posted a number of statuses in the group with the content distorting the communist regime and defaming late President Ho Chi Minh and incumbent leaders General Secretary cum State President Nguyen Phu Trong and Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan of the country’s highest legislative body National Assembly. The court decided to sentence Mr. Thuong to 18 months in prison, Mr. Khoa- 15 months and Mr. Khai- one year.
The three Facebookers were without legal assistance during their pre-trial detention and the hearing. It is likely that they were forced by the police to give up legal consultation provided by the lawyers who were hired by their families, said Mrs. Pham Bao Ngoc, the wife of Mr. Khoa.
Mrs. Ngoc also told Defend the Defenders that she and other relatives of the three Facebookers were not permitted to enter the court areas. After fierce argument, police allowed them to enter but stay in the corridor of the courtroom which was filled with policemen and local officials. During the break and after the end of the trial, police prevented the relatives from having physical contacts with the trio, using Covid-19 as an excuse, Ngoc complained.
Along with imprisoning the trio, the judge also decided to confiscate their three computers and two cell phones with which they used to post “anti-state” articles.
Mr. Khoa and Mr. Thuong were arrested by security forces in HCM City on June 13 this year in relation to a group on Facebook in which its members held discussions about Vietnam’s socio-economic issues. It was unclear about the detention of Mr. Khai.
Khoa and Thuong are said to be admins of a Facebook group named Bàn luận Kinh tế-Chính trị (Economic-Political Discussion) with 46,000 followers. However, the group was closed immediately after the arrests of its two admins.
As the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam prepares its 13th National Congress scheduled for January 2021, the regime continues its crackdown on local dissent and tightens control on social media, especially Facebook, the largest social network in Vietnam with around 60 million accounts.
In 2020, Vietnam arrested 27 independent journalists and Facebookers for their online activities and charged them with “abusing democratic freedom,” “conducting anti-state propaganda” and subversion. The communist regime has sentenced ten activists to between nine months and 12 years in prison. In addition, the regime has imposed administrative fines up to VND15 million ($680) on hundreds of Facebookers nationwide for their online posts unfavorable for the regime after requesting them to delete their posts.
In Vietnam, the ruling communist party strictly controls the official media and social networks including Facebook become the main platform for local residents to express their opinions. However, the online crackdown has become more and more fierce.
On December 14, the Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a report saying Vietnam is among the first countries in the world holding the largest number of journalists and Facebooker, together with China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Particularly, Vietnam holds seven journalists and 21 Facebookers behind the bar, and is listed at the 175th place among 180 countries in the RSF’s 2020 World Press Freedom Index.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has also listed Vietnam among the global biggest prisons for journalists with 15 journalists being imprisoned.
Vietnam is also the biggest jail for prisoners of conscience in Southeast Asia. According to Defend the Defenders’ latest statistics, Vietnam is holding 252 prisoners of conscience as of December 21, 2020.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Dec 21, 2020
- Event Description
Three youths charged under Section 19(a) of the Peaceful Assembly Law over a human rights demonstration in the Arakan State capital earlier this month appeared before the Sittwe Township Court on December 30.
Ko Min Bar Chay aka Ko Than Hla, one of the accused, said a meeting to develop a case management plan was held at the court on Wednesday.
“The judge asked both sides if we wanted to settle the case. Both sides said to go to trial,” he said.
More than 30 young people joined a demonstration in Sittwe to mark Human Rights Day, celebrated globally on December 10, during which participants denounced ongoing human rights violations in Arakan State. Their march began at Sittwe’s BXT port and proceeded along Shukhintha Street, with demonstrators holding placards protesting rights abuses. The three defendants were arrested by police near Sittwe Hotel, and were released on bail later that evening.
Ko Min Bar Chay, Ko Naing Naing Tun and Ma Khine Myat Thu from the Rakhine Youth New Generation Network were charged on December 21 by the head of the Sittwe Township police.
“I do not understand why [the judiciary] accepted the charge. We did not stage a protest. We did not criticise someone. But the legal [authorities] accepted the charge of the police against us,” Ko Min Bar Chay said. “It proves how Myanmar’s rule of law, justice and judiciary sector is deteriorating.”
Under Section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, anyone who is convicted of assembling or demonstrating without applying for a permit in advance faces up to three months in prison, a fine not to exceed K30,000 ($22.50), or both.
Their next court hearing is scheduled for on January 14.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Dec 21, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in the northwestern Kazakh city of Aqtobe have forcibly placed a wheelchair-bound activist in a psychiatric clinic after he allegedly tore down a poster of the ruling Nur Otan party.
Dana Zhanai, the chairwoman of the Qaharman human rights center, said on December 22 that activist Asanali Suyubaev had been taken to a psychiatric clinic a day earlier, a move she says is likely part of a campaign by the ruling party to sideline activists ahead of January 10 parliamentary elections.
The clinic's deputy chief physician, Esenaman Nysanov, confirmed to RFE/RL that Suyubaev had been brought to the facility by medical personnel and police.
"The patient has mental changes. But he does not accept it. He behaved in a strange way, namely, while outside, he was tearing election posters, which can be defined in a medical term as addictive behavior," Nysanov said, adding that Suyubaev had been under "psychiatric control" since 2012.
Aqtobe police refused to comment on Suyubaev’s situation.
Zhanai told RFE/RL that Suyubaev was forcibly placed in a psychiatric clinic for 20 days in April after he distributed leaflets for the unregistered and banned Koshe (Street) party.
"The authorities isolated him intentionally right before the [January 10] parliamentary elections. Activists have started a campaign to prove that the ruling Nur Otan party's ratings are fictitious and that votes will be stolen during the poll. Because of that, many activists across Kazakhstan are being persecuted now. Many are under house arrest, in detention centers, and in this case, they put Suyubaev in a psychiatric clinic," Zhanai said.
Rights activists in Kazakhstan have criticized authorities for using a Soviet-era method of stifling dissent by placing opponents in psychiatric clinics..
Earlier in November, another government critic, journalist Aigul Otepova, was placed in a psychiatric clinic for 18 days. She was released on December 11 and remains under house arrest over posting an article on Facebook criticizing official efforts to curb the coronavirus outbreak.
Investigators have charged her with having links with banned opposition movement Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, which Otepova denies.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Restrictions on Movement
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Pakistan
- Initial Date
- Dec 20, 2020
- Event Description
Pakistani police have arrested another member of a civil rights movement campaigning for the country's ethnic Pashtun minority amid an apparent crackdown on the group.
A member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) told RFE/RL that Muhammad Sher Mehsud was taken away late on December 20 when officers raided his house in the port city of Karachi.
A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the arrest but could not provide details about the charges against Mehsud, who was one of the organizers of an unsanctioned rally in Karachi on December 6.
The day after the gathering, police filed a case against as many as 19 PTM members, including a lawmaker and leader of the movement, Ali Wazir, who faces sedition charges over accusations he made anti-state comments during the Karachi rally.
Wazir is to remain in police custody until December 30 when he will be presented before an anti-terrorism court.
His family have said his life is in danger in custody, a claim that the police officials reject.
Police on December 18 arrested another PTM leader, Noorullah Tareen, hours after thousands of supporters of the rights’ group protested in a dozen cities and towns of Pakistan against Wazir’s arrest.
The PTM, which has campaigned since 2018 for the civil rights of Pakistan’s estimated 35 million ethnic Pashtuns, has attracted tens of thousands of people to public rallies in recent years to denounce the powerful Pakistani Army's heavy-handed tactics in its fight against the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups in the country's northwest.
International rights groups say Pakistani authorities have banned peaceful rallies organized by the PTM and some of its leading members have been arbitrarily detained and prevented from traveling within the country. Some members have also faced charges of sedition and cybercrimes.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to political participation
- HRD
- Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Dec 17, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in Vietnam arrested a journalist Thursday for social media posts criticizing tollbooths set up under a controversial infrastructure funding program, local media reported.
Truong Chau Huu Danh, a contributor to a popular Facebook page Bao Sach (Clean Newspaper), that discusses Vietnamese social issues, had posted criticism of build-operate-transfer (BOT) highways that Vietnam had adopted in recent years, sparking rare motorist protests over toll collection.
Truong has been active as a journalist for several Vietnamese newspapers, reporting on protests against what activists say is “illegal toll collection” and the “illogical construction of tollbooths” across the country.
He was detained by police in Can Tho, a province-level city in the country’s deep south, on charges of “abusing democratic rights to infringe upon the benefits of other individuals and/or organizations,” under Article 331, the Vietnam 2015 Penal Code.
They transferred Truong to authorities in his hometown in nearby Long An province. If convicted, he could serve up to three years in prison.
The procuracy in Can Tho approved detention of up to three months for investigation.
In his last status update on his Facebook fan page, Truong posted photos of Ho Chi Minh City’s deputy party chief Tat Thanh Cang and former transport minister Dinh La Thang, who were both recently arrested and prosecuted.
The photos had been altered to show them in prison uniforms, and Truong had titled the post “reunion.”
Truong is one of the founders of the Bao Sach Facebook page, which currently has more than 100,000 likes. The page has gained notoriety for raising concerns over a death sentence handed to Ho Duy Hai, who was arrested in March 2008 and convicted nine months later of plundering property and murdering two female postal employees in Long An Province.
Ho’s case has been marred by accusations of procedural errors, including Ho’s contention that he was made to confess while in pretrial detention.
CPJ denial
Also on Thursday, Vietnam rejected a report by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) about detained journalists worldwide.
The report, released Tuesday, said that Hanoi has arrested at least 15 journalists in 2020, not including Truong.
At a press briefing, Le Thi Thu Hang, spokeswoman for Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the report was full of stereotypes about the Vietnamese situation.
“In Viet Nam, just like in other rules-based government across the world, every citizen is equal in front of the law and anyone who commits legal violations will have to be handled in accordance with judiciary procedures as codified in the existing laws,” she said.
Vietnam, with a population of 92 million people, has been consistently rated “not free” in the areas of internet and press freedom by Freedom House, a U.S.-based watchdog group.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Vietnam 175 out of 180 in its 2020 World Press Freedom Index. About 25 journalists and bloggers are being held in Vietnam’s jails, “where mistreatment is common,” the Paris-based watchdog group said.
Vietnam’s already low tolerance of dissent deteriorated sharply this year with a spate of arrests of independent journalists, publishers, and Facebook personalities as authorities continued to stifle critics in the run-up to the ruling Communist Party congress in January.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 16, 2020
- Event Description
Chinese journalist and filmmaker Du Bin has been detained by authorities for allegedly “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” on December 16. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) calls on the Chinese government to release Du immediately and respect Chinese citizens’ right to freedom of expression.
Du, 48, is a Chinese documentary filmmaker and journalist who has previously worked for The New York Times as a freelance photographer. According to Du’s sister Du Jirong, Du was arrested and detained by Beijing police on December 16 over vague allegations he was ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’.
The journalist’s detention may have been linked to his recent writing, including a book on the rule of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin scheduled for publication in 2021. According to South China Morning Post, Du has been under scrutiny from the Chinese Communist Party for writing and editing a number of politically sensitive books, such as a documentation of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989.
The police have recently summoned Du for questioning on multiple occasions, during which he was asked to delete sensitive contents on his Twitter account, according to Weiquanwang, a website tracking detentions and persecution of activists and dissidents in China, as well as Voice of America. Authorities have also inquired about his book projects, the reports said.
Violations of press freedom and journalists’ rights have increased in China in recent years as authorities continue to expand their control over the media. A number of citizen journalists were detained for their coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in China during 2020, while about a dozen foreign journalists have been expelled, partly due to the ongoing tension between the United States and China.
Last week, the IFJ documented the arrest of Haze Fan, a staff member who has been at the Bloomberg News Beijing bureau since 2017, on suspicion of taking part in activities endangering national security. In August, Cheng Lei, a Chinese-born Australian journalist who had worked in the English service of the state run television CGTN, was detained by the Chinese government for the same accusation leveled against Fan.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist, Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Pakistan
- Initial Date
- Dec 16, 2020
- Event Description
Ali Wazir, a lawmaker and leader of a civil rights movement campaigning for Pakistan’s ethnic Pashtun minority, has appeared before a judge following his arrest in the northwestern city of Peshawar on anti-state charges.
Another leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), Said Alam Mehsud, told RFE/RL on December 17 that the judge granted a request by Wazir’s lawyers to let their client fly to the port city of Karachi, where he is facing charges.
It was not immediately clear when Wazir would be taken to Karachi.
Earlier, police officials in Karachi told RFE/RL that Wazir, PTM chief Manzoor Pashteen, and two other leaders of the movement, lawmaker Mohsin Dawar and Sanna Ejaz, had been charged with making anti-state speeches during an unsanctioned rally in the city on December 6.
Wazir was arrested in Peshawar on December 16 after he attended a gathering marking the sixth anniversary of the massacre of more than 150 people at a Peshawar school in December 2014.
It was not immediately clear why police had not arrested the other PTM leaders accused in the case.
Under Pakistani law, lawmakers are immune from arrest until the National Assembly speaker or the Senate chairman approves it.
Police officials in Karachi told RFE/RL that Wazir’s arrest was sanctioned by the lower house’s speaker, Asad Qaisar, who has not commented on the matter.
The PTM has campaigned since 2018 for the civil rights of Pakistan’s estimated 35 million ethnic Pashtuns, many of whom live near the border of Afghanistan where the military has conducted campaigns it says defeated the Pakistani Taliban.
The movement has attracted tens of thousands of people to public rallies in recent years to denounce the powerful Pakistani Army's heavy-handed tactics that have killed thousands of Pashtun civilians and forced millions more to abandon their homes since 2003.
International rights groups say authorities have banned peaceful rallies organized by the PTM and some of its leading members have been arbitrarily detained and prevented from traveling within the country. Some members have also faced charges of sedition and cybercrimes.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to political participation
- HRD
- Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 15, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities put on trial Ge Zhihui, a human rights defender with disabilities, on December 15, 2020. Ms. Ge is an advocate for social and economic rights, who had been disabled by a demolition team while resisting the forced eviction of her family from their home. At her December 15 trial at the Beijing Fengtai District Court, she faced the charge of “picking quarrels & provoking trouble.” The prosecution’s case against her included the claims that Ms. Ge had showed support for persecuted human rights defender Cao Shunli, protested against officials who were interfering in a village election, and posted critical comments online. Except for her lawyer, nobody was allowed into the courtroom, not even her family members. The court did not announce a verdict. Police detained Ms. Ge in July 2019 and she has since languished at the Fengtai District Detention Facility. China ratified the international Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008, The UN’s disability rights and social, economic and cultural rights treaty bodies are both currently conducting reviews of China’s implementation of the treaties.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Dec 15, 2020
- Event Description
On 15 December 2020, police personnel arrested woman human rights defender Annapoornafrom her house in Vishakapatnam. While it was not informed at the time of the arrest, her familywas later told, upon repeated inquiring, that she was taken into custody in relation to a FirstInformation Report (FIR) filed against her and several others, on 23 and 24 November, allegingtheir links to Maoist factions. Annapoorna is currently being detained at the Vishakapatnam CentralJail.Annapoorna is a labour rights defender, an advocate and an executive member of thePragatisheela Karmika Samakhya, a workers union in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Over thepast several years, the woman human rights defender has been at the forefront of the humanrights movement in India, advocating for Dalit, women’s and worker’s rights.On 15 December 2020, a team of ten plain clothed individuals entered the residence of labourrights defender Annapoorna and forcibly removed her. The defender was feeding her three year oldchild when the incident occurred. The individuals did not did not disclose their identity, nor did theygive a valid reason for taking her away. During the raid, they also took three mobile phones thatwere in the house. It was only later, when Annapoorna’s brother went to file a complaint at the localpolice station, he was informed that she had been taken by Special Enforcement officials andtherefore no complaint would be registered. Later the same day, two individuals entered thewoman human rights defender’s house for a second time, took the signature of Annapoorna’smother and then proceeded to search the entire place. When prompted and asked to to identifythemselves, they failed to respond and left hastily. The defender’s lawyer and family have beendenied physical access to her since her arrest. Furthermore, the labour rights defender is adiabetic and suffers from thyroid related problems and is in need of regular medication. Her threeyear old had recently recovered from COVID-19 and is still healing from the severity of it’s effects.On 23 and 24 November 2020, two FIRs, naming over eighty persons, were filed atMunchangiputtu and Piduguralla in Andhra Pradesh. The FIRs allegedly report that those it nameshave links to Maoist factions in the country. Annapoorna is the fifth human rights defender to bearrested since the lodging of these FIRs. Several of those mentioned in the FIRs are members ofhuman rights organisations, including women's rights organisations, workers unions andorganisations working against caste discrimination. The charges in the FIRs include the stringentand draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Andhra Pradesh Public Security Act,Arms Act and sedition charges.Front Line Defenders condemns the arrest of woman human rights defender Annapoorna, as itbelieves she is being targeted as a result of herhuman rights work and exercising her right tofreedom of expression.It particularly condemns the use of the UAPA against human rightsdefenders, with the aim of terrorising them and silencing their work.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Raid, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Labour rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Dec 14, 2020
- Event Description
Questions are being raised over a recent case opened against a DMG reporter in Arakan State who is being charged with defamation under the Telecommunications Law in connection with a recently published article, instead of first resorting to the News Media Law for resolution.
“It is as if a case is being filed against us because of hate toward us. We published the story in accordance with media ethics, so we don’t understand why such a case was filed against us,” said U Aung Marm Oo, editor-in-chief of Development Media Group (DMG).
Engineer U Maung Win from Road/Bridge Special Group (4) filed a lawsuit against Aung Kyaw Min aka Kyaw Myo Aung at the Maungdaw Myoma police station earlier this month under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, alleging defamation on the erroneous premise that the story in question misquoted him.
Under the headline “Soonest repair needed at Maungdaw 3rd-Mile Bridge,” the article was published on the Facebook page and website of DMG on December 11.
U Aung Marm Oo said he had heard that the case was filed by U Maung Win at the behest of the Arakan State government.
“The plaintiff said he did not want to sue the reporter. We have heard that he was forced to sue the reporter by the local government,” DMG’s chief editor said.
Aung Kyaw Min was questioned at the Maungdaw Myoma police station on December 14 and was released on K500,000 ($370) bail.
Aung Kyaw Min, a Maungdaw-based DMG journalist who stands by his story, said the lawsuit against him is a threat to truth-seeking.
“The government seems to be cracking down on our journalists and the prosecution is a threat to the truth,” he said.
DMG phoned the head of the Maungdaw Myoma police station, Police Captain Ye Naing Tun, seeking comment on the case, but he could not be reached.
DMG has faced legal action previously, in a case that remains open. Sittwe Special Branch (SB) police filed charges against U Aung Marm Oo under Section 17(2) of the Unlawful Associations Act on May 1, 2019. He has been on the run since May 2019, and almost 20 months later, the charges against him have not been dropped.
If action is to be taken against a member of the media, in accordance with the 2014 News Media Law it is necessary to first file a complaint with the Myanmar Press Council (MPC).
The law states, “If any of the responsibilities or ethics required in Article 9 are considered to be breached by a News Media worker, the aggrieved department, organization or individual shall have the right to complain to the council first.”
Of the Arakan State capital Sittwe’s main three media outlets — Development Media Group, Narinjara News Agency and Western News — cases have reportedly been filed against U Aung Marm Oo of DMG and Narinjara’s chief editor, U Khaing Mrat Kyaw.
Ko Wunna Khwar Nyo, editor-in-chief of Western News, said the recent lawsuits against journalists in Arakan State are a source of concern for local reporters.
“We are concerned for our safety. There are only three media outlets in Arakan State. Reporters in Arakan State are increasingly concerned about the local government’s threat to prosecute under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law,” he added.
Maung Saungkha, director of the free speech advocacy group Athan, criticised the prosecution of journalists as deliberate, saying the local government should monitor them.
“I think the respective local governments should monitor these lawsuits. It is a shame that it is being pointed out by international and local civil society organisations. We think suing over trivial matters is a major obstacle to democracy,” he said.
Under the National League for Democracy (NLD) government, about 50% of all lawsuits against journalists have been filed under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, according to Athan.
“The government should stop litigating and amend the Telecommunications Law as soon as possible to prevent such lawsuits in the future,” Maung Saungkha said.
The December 11 news story about the bridge in Maungdaw was based in part on an interview willfully given by the complainant U Maung Win. DMG has demanded that the case be withdrawn, saying that at no point did the article misquote or misattribute any of the cited individuals.
DMG is also insisting that the complainant first take his grievance to the Myanmar Press Council, which is empowered under the News Media law to arbitrate in such circumstances.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Dec 10, 2020
- Event Description
On the celebration of Human Rights Day on Thursday, December 10, the Philippine National Police (PNP) launched a string of operations which led to the arrest of a journalist and 6 trade unionists over firearms and explosives possession charges that are believed by rights groups to be fabricated.
The operations were led by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) – the police unit tasked to handle high-profile and special cases – which acquired 5 search warrants for 4 different homes in Metro Manila. The search warrants were all signed by Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert, Executive Judge of the Regional Trial Court Branch 89 in Quezon City.
By Thursday afternoon, the following were arrested by the CIDG:
Journalist Lady Ann Salem Unionist Dennise Velasco Unionist Mark Ryan Cruz Unionist Romina Raiselle Astudillo Unionist Jaymie Gregorio Unionist Joel Demate Unionist Rodrigo Esparago
They were all arrested over illegal possession of firearms and explosives – the usual charges against activists.
Salem is a recognized progressive journalist working as an editor of the online news site Manila Today. Her publication was earlier red-tagged by the controversial National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
In a statement, rights group Karapatan condemned the arrests as a "mockery" of the celebration of Human Rights Day. "The fact they were staged today, on the very occasion of International Human Rights Day, sends a loud message: this fascist regime will stop at nothing to bare its fangs against activists, human rights defenders, trade unionists, journalists, and critics as it ramps up its crackdown on dissent in the most brazen of ways," rights group Karapatan said in a statement, condemning the arrests.
- Impact of Event
- 7
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Labour rights defender, Media Worker, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Dec 10, 2020
- Event Description
Police manhandled three Kashmiri journalists as they covered election polling in South Kashmir on December 10. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Indian affiliates the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) and the National Union of Journalists India (NUJ-I) condemn the journalists’ arbitrary attack and the ongoing persecution of media workers in the region.
Fayaz Lolu, a stringer with ETV Bharat; Mudasir Qadri, a stringer with News 18 Urdu; and Junaid Rafiq, of V9;were beaten by the senior superintendent of police (SSP), Anantnag Sandip Chowdary, in the Srigugwara area of South Kashmir. The journalists were all covering the District Development Council elections in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on December 10. During the attack, the journalists were thrashed and slapped after interviewing voters who complained that polling was not beginning at the scheduled time. Voting did not commence until 8.30am, an hour and a half later than the organised start time of 7.00am.
The journalists allege their equipment, including mobile phones and microphones, were confiscated. Police escorted them to Srigugwara’s police station where they were detained for almost two hours. During their detention, journalist Rafiq complained of breathlessness and was taken to a nearby hospital where he was placed on oxygen support.
Kashmiri journalists are routinely arbitrarily intimidated, harassed, attacked and faced legal action by authorities and security officials. On September 19, thecyber wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police summoned and abused Auqib Javeed, a Kashmir based journalist, over a news report about police intimidation of social media users. Similarly, on July 31, Qazi Shibli, the editor of news portal The Kashmiriyat, was detained, while Fahad Shah, editor of news portal Kashmir Walla, was summoned on May 20. Srinagar police also filed separate investigations or First Information Reports (FIR) against Kashmiri photojournalist Masrat Zahra and journalist Gowhar Geelani on April 18 and April 21 respectively. Cyber police in Srinagar questioned journalist Peerzada Ashiq on April 19 in relation to the journalist’s news articles.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 8, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong police on Tuesday arrested eight activists in connection with a July protest, the latest in a widening crackdown on dissent in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Local media reported that those arrested included former legislators Wu Chi-wei, Eddie Chu and “Longhair” Leung Kwok-hung, along with Civil Human Rights Front’s (CHRF's) Figo Chan, among others.
The police accused them of “inciting, organizing and taking part in an unauthorized assembly,” referring to the July 1 demonstrations in which thousands defied a protest ban and rallied on the streets against the national security law imposed on the city by Beijing the day before.
Speaking to reporters after he was released on bail, Figo of the pro-democracy CHRF said Hong Kong authorities are oppressing dissidents by filing unreasonable charges.
“I strongly condemn the Hong Kong government for continuously suppressing Hong Kong citizens,” he said.
Since pro-democracy protests erupted in Hong Kong in 2019, the city’s police force has been at the forefront of Beijing’s efforts to eliminate the demonstrations.
According to a survey published by Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute on Tuesday, the police now rank last in public approval among Hong Kong's "disciplinary forces," which include first responders, correctional officers, People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison troops, anti-corruption investigators, and customs and immigration officials.
“The Police Force attains a rating of 40.3 marks, with 34% of the sample giving zero mark and continues to be the lowest among the nine disciplinary forces,” the organization said.
Chan Ka Lok, an associate professor and director of the Comparative Governance and Public Policy Research Center at Hong Kong Baptist University, said the low ratings were due to police abuse of power, and the force’s unwillingness to establish an independent investigation committee to assess police performance in handling the pro-democracy movement since 2019.
Tuesday’s arrests were carried out hours after the United States sanctioned another 14 Chinese officials over China’s move last month to expel four pro-democracy lawmakers from Hong Kong’s legislature. When asked whether there is any correlation, Chan told VOA that “the police's approach is a replay of ‘hostage diplomacy’ in the Cold War era.”
Since Monday, more than a dozen Hong Kong citizens have been arrested for their roles in pro-democracy demonstrations. Chan said these arrests resemble the mass arrests often used by the Chinese police force in the mainland and will turn Hong Kong into a place ruled by fear.
New pro-Beijing party
Meanwhile, a group of mainland-born, pro-establishment executives working in Hong Kong have founded a new political party in a bid to influence local government policies.
The Bauhinia Party was founded in May by three powerful executives: Li Shan, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and director of Credit Suisse Group AG; Huang Qiuzhi, chairman of CMMB Vision Holdings Limited; and Chen Jianwen, chairman of Bonjour Holdings Limited. Li and Wong were born in mainland China and later became Hong Kong residents.
According the Hong Kong Companies Registry, a government department that registers local and foreign companies, the party seeks to “promote a democratic political system best suited to Hong Kong based on the rule of law and civil liberty with the realization of universal suffrage as guaranteed by the Basic Law, so as to safeguard Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability.”
But Hong Kong commentator Stephen Shiu said the creation of the party shows Beijing is no longer satisfied with old pro-establishment forces and hopes a new party representing new immigrants from the mainland can help restrain “extremist forces” in the legislature.
Other analysts say that Beijing wants to put its own people into Hong Kong’s political arena.
They argue that to Beijing, even its closest ally, the New People’s Party, is still seen as a local party rather than one formed by its own people.
- Impact of Event
- 8
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Dec 7, 2020
- Event Description
Members of the We Volunteer network arrived at Uruphong Intersection at about 9.30pm and started to remove the barricades, which were reportedly laid out by the authorities on Nov. 25 to deter demonstrations in the area.
Their cleanup operation was only announced just an hour before the gathering. Piyarat said several pedestrians were already injured by the razor wires.
A company of police officers soon arrived and surrounded the volunteers. A brief confrontation ensued, and police eventually arrested 19 people at the scene. They were taken to Phayathai Police Station where they were charged with illegal assembly and resisting arrests.
Police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen said the arrests were made after the protesters refused to comply with instructions from the law enforcement.
“They have no power to uninstall police’s equipment,” Col. Kissana said. “We had asked them to disperse, but they didn’t follow orders.”
Piyarat said police told him they did not try to remove the razor wires by themselves because the equipment actually belonged to the army.
He said his group will continue to remove other crowd control obstacles abandoned by the authorities across Bangkok; the activist did not disclose details about their next target.
“We will notify local police next time,” Piyarat said.
- Impact of Event
- 19
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 3, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai has been arrested and charged with fraud.
The 73-year-old Lai appeared in a Hong Kong courtroom Thursday along with two other executives of his Next Digital company and was accused of violating terms of the company’s lease of its office space. He was denied bail and his case has been adjourned until next April.
Lai was arrested at his home in August and charged with suspicion of colluding with a foreign country under the city’s new national security law imposed by China. Hours after his arrest, more than 100 police officers raided the headquarters of Lai’s Next Digital company, which publishes the newspaper Apple Daily. The newspaper livestreamed the raid on its website, showing officers roaming the newsroom as they rummaged through reporters’ files, while Lai was led through the newsroom in handcuffs.
He was one of at least 10 people arrested that day, including at least one of Lai’s sons.
Lai is already in legal jeopardy for his pro-democracy activism. He was one of 15 activists arrested earlier this year and hit with seven charges, including organizing and participating in unauthorized assemblies and inciting others to take part in an unauthorized assembly.
Lai’s arrest Thursday comes a day after three young Hong Kong pro-democracy activists -- 24-year-old Joshua Wong, 23-year-old Agnes Chow and 26-year-old Ivan Lam -- received jail sentences between seven and 13 1/2 months in connection with a protest outside the city’s police headquarters in June 2019.
Lai is one of the highest-profile Hong Kongers targeted by the new security law since it went into effect in July. Under the law, anyone in Hong Kong believed to be carrying out terrorism, separatism, subversion of state power or collusion with foreign forces could be tried and face life in prison if convicted.
The new law was imposed by Beijing in response to the massive and often violent pro-democracy demonstrations that engulfed the financial hub in the last half of last year, and is the cornerstone of its increasing grip on the city, which was granted an unusual amount of freedoms when Britain handed over control in 1997.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 3, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in the central province of Hunan have detained a prominent rights activist after he helped to publicize the story of Dong Yaoqiong, a woman sent to a psychiatric hospital for splashing ink on a poster of ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping in a Twitter livestream.
Ou Biaofeng was taken away from his home in Hunan's Zhuzhou city by officers of the Lusong district police department on Dec. 3, who held him under administrative detention for 15 days for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble."
"Four state security police came to our home without prior notice and took him away," his wife Wei Xinxin told RFA. "The fact that he was taken away so suddenly makes me quite worried, because it is a bit different from previous times."
Ou's friend Chen Siming said Ou's detention was linked to his public support for Dong.
"This is an open secret, and the police and state security police know that," Chen said.
"He was very concerned about [Dong's recent video] and has been in contact with Dong Yaoqiong on Twitter since then," he said.
Following her release from the psychiatric hospital, Dong posted a video on Twitter on Nov. 30 saying angrily that she had no mental illness and complaining of being held under long-term surveillance after her release.
Chen said the authorities likely blame Ou for international news coverage of the video, which broke Dong's public silence following her release.
"[Ou Biaofeng] was the only channel of communication between Dong and the rest of the world," he said. "Dong would never have gotten that much publicity without him."
"She also mentions Ou Biaofeng in the video."
Chen said Ou also has a track record of speaking out on human rights issues, and had been warned by the state security police that he risked a jail term over the cumulative effect of his activities.
A Changsha-based friend of Ou's who gave only the nickname Rosemary said that Ou remained in detention at the end of the 15-day sentence, and that police have been questioning his friends and fellow activists since his detention, suggesting that they may be building a case against him.
"I know of three or four people [who have been questioned]," Rosemary said. "He was held under 15 days' administrative detention, but the stability maintenance system kicked into place in other provinces, across the whole country ... and people were warned not to follow the case or speak out in support of him."
"We are worried this 15-day administrative detention is just a pretext [ahead of a criminal case]," she said. "[Other activists] have also had their administrative detentions converted into criminal detention."
On Tuesday, defense lawyer Zhang Lei was denied permission to meet with Ou, who is being held at the Zhuzhou Detention Center.
"When I was in detention, my friends could meet with me twice a week," Chen, who accompanied the lawyer, told RFA. "Now the detention center is saying that all meetings are suspended due to the pandemic."
"Not even lawyers are being allowed to meet with detainees," he said. "I am pretty worried, given what just happened."
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Dec 2, 2020
- Event Description
Peasant organizations and Anakpawis Partylist denounced the arrest of Amanda Echanis and her one-month old son.
Amanda is the daughter of extrajudicially killed Randall “Ka Randy’ Echanis. She was arrested early morning of December 2, Tuesday, in Baggao, Cagayan.
It was 3:30 a.m. of December 2 when combined forces of police and military raided the house of Isabelo Adviento of Danggayan Dagiti Mannalo ti Cagayan Valley, regional chapter of peasant organization Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, without search warrant. The raiding team showed a search warrant one hour later.
Amanda’s house is just three houses away from Adviento’s and was also raided. She was then arrested together with her one-month old newborn, Randall Emmanuel. She was charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Former Anakpawis Partylist Representative Ariel Casilao condemned what he called as planting of evidence against activist, adding that this not at all new and has been a practice by state forces in an attempt to silence dissent.
Adviento was not at home at the time of the raid. His family members were reportedly ordered to go out of the house during the duration of the search.
The police reportedly found an M16 assault rifle, 1 long plastic magazine for M16 rifle, 1 long steel magazine for M16 Rifle, 6 pieces live ammunition for M16 Rifle, 13 pieces live ammunition for M16 rifle, 1 live ammo for M16 rifle.
“She is with her one-month old newborn. Why would she keep high-powered arms and ammunition that everyone would know would be dangerous to herself and her baby,” Casilao said.
Casilao likened Amanda’s case to those of Reina Mae Nasino and Cora Agovida from Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) – Metro Manila and Gabriela respectively.
Casilao said that Echanis, who is a member of Amihan – Cagayan, “is active in campaign for the welfare of small farmers, especially peasant women.”
Adviento, meanwhile, has been active in promoting human rights in the region and handles farmers’ concerns regarding land rights in their community. Of late, he has been busy helping fellow farmers who have been affected by the massive flooding caused by typhoon Ulysses.
“Before the raid, we have been working extra hours to give victims of typhoon here in our province necessary aid,” Adviento said.
It was only late morning that day of the raid when he knew his house was raided, and his family members including his small children kicked out of the house.
His wife said that when she tried to go inside their house to get hot water, she saw unfamiliar plastic bags in their living room. Adviento believes it contains the evidence used against at him.
“It is the very place where my children would play,” he lamented.
Despite the trumped-up charges, Adviento said that he and his colleagues will continue to “serve the people.”
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Family of HRD, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Nov 26, 2020
- Event Description
Several unions have called for protest rally against farm laws on Nov. 26, 27
Around two dozen farmer leaders were taken into preventive custody by the Haryana Police on Tuesday early morning in raids across the State, ahead of the farmers groups’ two-day call for “Dilli Chalo” on November 26 and 27 to protest against the farm laws. The arrests sparked off protests in many parts of the State with various farmers’ and workers’ unions condemning the action as “undemocratic”. Midnight clampdown
In a post-midnight clampdown in several districts, including Jhajjar, Hisar, Sirsa, Karnal and Bhiwani, police teams mounted raids at the houses of farmer leaders and took them in preventive custody. Jhajjar Superintendent of Police Rajesh Duggal told The Hindu that nine farmer leaders were arrested and sent to judicial custody.
Swaraj India national president Yogendra Yadav, in a press conference during the day, claimed that at least 31 farmer leaders were detained in raids across the State in the early hours. He said the farmers were committed to peaceful and disciplined demonstration against the farm laws, but the Haryana government seemed bent on creating anarchy by arresting the movement’s leadership. He said the government was nervous and resorting to crackdown to suppress the “historic movement”.
Mr. Yadav said farmers groups were committed to their call for “Dilli Chalo” and made an appeal to all citizens, citizen groups and political and democratic outfits to raise their voice against the crackdown.
More than 500 farmers groups across the country have given the call to march to Delhi on November 26 and 27 to hold a protest against the farm laws at Jantar Mantar. Mr. Yadav said that farmers from five States – Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand – were scheduled to gather at five points on November 26 morning and march towards Delhi. “Four of these assembly points are in Haryana at Sampla, Panchgaon, Sector 12 Faridabad and Kundli border,” said Mr. Yadav. He added that delegations from 15 more States were expected to join the protest.
Later, angry protesters assembled at Rohtak’s Mansarovar park and took out a protest march to mini secretariat in protest against the arrests of the farmer leaders. Kisan Sabha vice president Inderjit Singh criticised the BJP-JJP alliance government.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 26, 2020
- Event Description
At 2 pm on November 26, political police officer Guo (last name) asked human rights activist Li Qiaochu to meet him in Beijing Haidian District. Instead of engaging in a typical, approximately hour-long session complying with a police officer’s request to meet to address a concern, officials detained Ms. Li overnight. The next day, November 27, however, authorities conditionally released Ms. Li to her parents.
For Ms. Li’s release and for her to avoid imprisonment at that time, police told her parents that they had to sign a guarantee Ms. Li would no longer communicate on the internet. Otherwise, authorities warned, they would imprison her. In addition, upon Ms. Li’s release, police confiscated her computer and cell phone.
Earlier this year, on February 2, police detained human rights defender Xu Zhiyong, On February 16, officials also detained 29-year-old Ms. Li, Mr. Xu’s girlfriend, one of the initiators of the New Citizens’ Movement. Authorities continued to detain Mr. Xu but released Ms. Li on bail soon after her arrest.
After her release, Ms. Li appealed for Mr. Xu‘s release. Her efforts, however, merited ongoing threats of detainment and obligatory meetings with Gua and other officers. In fall/winter 2017, Ms. Li, also a researcher of labor issues, had accompanied volunteers to gather information and share data with heavily affected communities following an incident where the “low-end population” of migrant workers in the Beijing district had been driven out. There, the group assisted workers who had lost their jobs and housing.
In 2018, Ms. Li actively participated in the “MeToo” movement against gender violence, supporting the movement on platforms such as Twitter. She often stood in solidarity with various prisoners of conscience and their families.
In June 2019, doctors diagnosed Ms. Li with depression and advised her that she needed long-term medication. Nevertheless, she continued to participate in activities as usual.
From the start of December 2019, authorities stationed public safety personnel at her house. They have also surveilled her routes to and from work.
In the past, due to Ms. Li’s human rights activism, police regularly harassed her, Now, also due to Ms. Li’s past human rights activism, police continue to monitor her, violating her privacy and civil rights.
Now, in addition to police harassing and monitoring Ms. Li and violating her rights, she lives with the threat officials will imprison her if she communicates online.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Censorship, Intimidation and Threats, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Labour rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 23, 2020
- Event Description
Democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam on Monday pleaded guilty to public order charges in a Hong Kong court hearing, before being held in police custody pending a sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 2.
Wong, 24, admitted organizing an illegal assembly, while Chow pleaded guilty to taking part in an illegal assembly, while all three pleaded guilty to inciting people to attend an illegal gathering, charges which carry maximum jail terms of three years.
"Hang in there, everyone, keep going!" Wong told the court, before being taken away by correctional service officers.
Lam raised his hand, palm and fingers splayed to signify the five demands of last year's protest movement, while Chow made no response to the decision to hold the three in custody pending sentencing.
Dozens of supporters chanted "Release Joshua Wong! Release Agnes Chow! Release Ivan Lam" outside the court building, as well as repeating the five demands of the protest movement, which include fully democratic elections and accountability for widespread police violence.
The three were formerly leaders of the political party Demosisto, which disbanded just before the ruling Chinese Communist Party imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong on July 1, banning peaceful criticism of the authorities.
Wong had earlier told reporters that he wouldn't be surprised if the three were placed behind bars following the hearing at West Kowloon Magistrate's Court.
He said 23 activists, journalist, and democratic politicians had been arrested as the crackdown on peaceful dissent gathered pace.
Many arrests and raids have come after their targets were denounced in the pro-China media or by Chinese officials.
Defense lawyers called on the court to take into account the youth of the defendants and the fact that Chow, who, unlike Wong and Lam has never served time in jail before, had no prior convictions.
Magistrate Lily Wong said she would rule out a community service sentence for Lam due to his previous convictions.
Expected to be jailed
Joshua Wong, who was out on bail before the hearing, had earlier told reporters the trio had decided to plead guilty to avoid interrogation and investigation.
"But it also means that the three of us could be remanded in custody immediately," he said, calling on Hongkongers to support each other.
"We will want to call on the people of Hong Kong at this difficult time of white terror and persecution under the national security law ... to support each other through this low point in the pro-democracy movement," he said.
Chow said she felt "uneasy" at the thought of going to jail for the first time.
"It's entirely likely that I may be in jail for the first time in my life, and I have a lot of anxiety about what the future will bring," she said.
"But never forget that there are brothers, sisters, and friends who have suffered far worse than us," she said, calling for greater public pressure on China over the 12 Hongkongers currently detained by Chinese police after trying to flee to democratic Taiwan by speedboat.
Lam said he had made mental preparation for being remanded in police custody pending sentencing.
"Our case ... shows that the legitimacy of the Hong Kong police force has been blown to smithereens," Lam said. "Was the siege of police headquarters a crime, or was it necessary to achieve justice and fight for democracy?"
"I believe that the people of Hong Kong know the answer to that already," he said. "We have no regrets, and we will keep up the struggle."
The case against Wong relied on public comments he made on June 21, 2019, ahead of a mass protest over police violence that resulted in the siege of police headquarters in Wanchai, as well as a message on his phone detailing the timing and arrangements for the protest.
On the day in question, crowds of mostly young people wearing black converged on immigration and tax headquarters in Wanchai, sparking temporary shutdowns of the offices, before gathering in their thousands outside police headquarters to call for the release of those already arrested, and to demand an apology for police violence against unarmed protesters the previous week.
Some activists barricaded a vehicle gate in the barbed-wire wall of the fortress-like compound, prevented police vans from getting in or out, and taped up CCTV cameras to avoid being identified. Others blocked nearby highways with makeshift walls, cones, and traffic barriers, taking over several major traffic routes.
Police in uniform lined up inside the glass atrium of their own headquarters, with officers watching warily as the crowd chanted "Release them! Release them!" and "Apologize! Apologize!" on the street outside, where someone had taped a large poster to the building that read "Struggle to the bitter end."
The crowd also chanted: "Retract the designation of rioting! Stop arresting citizens!"
London-based rights group Amnesty International had earlier condemned police violence during protests on June 12 as violating international law, after evaluating video footage of the clashes.
Wong joined the June 21 protest just three days after his release from an earlier jail sentence related to the 2014 Occupy Central pro-democracy movement.
'Poisoned judicial system'
The U.S.-based Hong Kong Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC) condemned the decision to remand Wong, Chow, and Lam in custody pending sentencing.
“We condemn Magistrate Lily Wong’s decision today to jail Wong, Chow, and Lam while awaiting sentencing for exercising their rights to protest," the group's managing director Samuel Chu said in a statement.
"Make no mistake, when they pled guilty in court today, it was not a judgment on them, but rather a judgment against a poisoned Hong Kong judiciary system no longer independent or capable of rendering justice," Chu said.
Since the beginning of November, Hong Kong authorities have arrested a public radio show producer, pro-democracy lawmakers, a primary school teacher, owners of small businesses who have expressed support for the protest, [among others], the HKDC said, calling for the trio to be released immediately.
"We cannot remain silent or surrender to the terror," it said.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 21, 2020
- Event Description
Wan Yiu-sing, an internet radio reporter and his wife were arrested this morning on suspicion of money laundering and financing of secessionist activities. The news was reported by the couple's lawyer and a note on Wan's Facebook page, familiarly called "Giggs". His secretary was also arrested for money laundering.
"Giggs" (in the photo) hosts a program on the D100 channel, in which he often addressed issues related to last year’s pro-democracy demonstrations. In February he also opened a fundraiser to help young people from Hong Kong who go to Taiwan to study.
Police believe this money is used to finance young people who fled Hong Kong because they are involved in secession activities, punishable under the new security law, wanted by Beijing for the territory. The law prohibits and punishes acts and activities of secession, subversion, terrorism and collaboration with foreign forces that endanger national security.
According to the special national security police, those arrested used part of these funds to send them to organizations engaged in secessionist activities.
Requested by various media to give more details, political commissioner Chris Tang said he could not reveal more details, given that the investigation is still ongoing.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Family of HRD, Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Nov 19, 2020
- Event Description
A Kazakh court has upheld a decision to place a journalist and blogger accused of being involved in the activities of a banned organization in a psychiatric clinic.
The Nur-Sultan court of appeals announced its decision on November 19, meaning that Aigul Otepova will now be transferred from house arrest to a psychiatric clinic as ruled by a court last week. The initial ruling said Otepova must be placed in a psychiatric clinic for one month to check her mental sanity.
The 50-year-old journalist was put under house arrest on September 17 after she posted criticism on Facebook of the authorities' efforts to curb the coronavirus outbreak.
Earlier this week, her pretrial house arrest was extended until December 27.
Authorities have accused her of supporting the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) opposition movement, which has been labeled as an extremist group and banned in the country.
Otepova denies any connection with DVK, saying that she is an independent journalist and blogger who expresses her own views.
Otepova's daughter told RFE/RL that by placing her mother in a psychiatric clinic, the authorities were trying to silence her ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for January 10.
Amnesty International said in a statement on November 18 that Otepova was "a prisoner of conscience who is being prosecuted solely for the peaceful expression of her views." The rights group also demanded her immediate release.
"This case is alarmingly reminiscent of the way psychiatry was used in the 1960s and 1970s in the U.S.S.R. to imprison dissidents. The legacy of Soviet psychiatry continues to be felt across the region, and Amnesty International has intervened in a number of instances in Eastern Europe and Central Asia where people who criticize the regime or denounce injustice continue to be arbitrarily subjected to psychiatric diagnosis, forced hospitalization and involuntary treatment in psychiatric hospitals," the statement said.
Human rights groups have criticized the Kazakh government for years for persecuting independent and opposition journalists.
In 2018, a court in the southern city of Shymkent placed journalist and blogger Ardaq Ashim in a psychiatric clinic after she criticized the government in her articles.
After her release, Ashim left for Ukraine, where she currently resides.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Nov 17, 2020
- Event Description
Pembahasan soal otonomi khusus (otsus) Papua, yang akan berakhir pada 2021 nanti, terus berlanjut. Baru-baru ini salah satu forum legal yang membahas itu justru direpresi aparat, dalam hal ini kepolisian. Orang-orang yang terlibat ditangkapi karena dituduh merencanakan makar.
Salah satu orang yang ditangkap adalah Wensislaus Fatubun pada 17 November lalu. Ia berstatus Tenaga Ahli Majelis Rakyat Papua (MRP), representasi kultural di Papua yang memiliki wewenang tertentu dalam rangka perlindungan hak-hak orang asli Papua yang dibentuk berdasarkan Undang-Undang Nomor 21 Tahun 2001 tentang Otonomi Khusus Bagi Provinsi Papua.
Ia ditangkap ketika MRP tengah menyelenggarakan rapat dengar pendapat (RDP) wilayah, salah satu program kerja yang tujuannya mendengarkan aspirasi orang asli Papua (OAP) tentang otsus, berlangsung pada 17-18 November kemarin di gedung Vertenten Sai atau Aula Katedral Merauke.
Setelah RDP wilayah, mekanisme selanjutnya adalah menggelar RDP umum yang diikuti oleh MRP Papua-Papua Barat dan Forum Komunikasi Pimpinan Daerah Papua-Papua Barat.
Pada 15 November, sekitar pukul 22.00, Kapolres Merauke AKBP Untung Surianata bertemu dan meminta Pastor Hengky Kariwob (Vikjen Keuskupan Agung Merauke), Pastor John Kandam (Sekretaris Uskup), dan Pastor Anselmus Amo (Direktur SKP KAMe) di Keuskupan untuk tidak memfasilitasi RDP. Pastor Anselmus lantas menelepon Canisius Mandagi, Uskup Agung Keuskupan Agung Merauke. Uskup menegaskan RDP dapat dilakukan karena itu bukan kegiatan politik.
Setengah jam kemudian, beberapa polisi datang ke Hotel Grand Mandala, Hotel Pangkat, dan Hotel Valentine, tempat para peserta dan penyelenggara RDP menginap. “MRP diminta untuk ke polres malam itu juga untuk bertemu dengan kapolres,” ucap Fatubun dalam keterangan tertulis Kamis (19/11/2020).
Fatubun bersama Koordinator Tim RDP MRP wilayah Anim Ha, seorang staf MRP dan dua orang anggota MRP lain ke Polres Merauke untuk bertemu kapolres, tapi batal karena yang bersangkutan ternyata sudah pulang. Melalui ajudannya, kapolres bilang bertemu esok pagi saja. Pukul 08.46 keesokan harinya, mereka kembali menyambangi polres. Karena Kapolres lagi-lagi tak di tempat, rombongan menyerahkan surat kepada sespri kapolres dan memberikan nomor telepon untuk koordinasi.Sekitar pukul 11.00 sekelompok orang dari Buti berdemonstrasi di kantor Bupati menolak RDP MRP. Massa meminta agar otsus dilanjutkan dan pemekaran Provinsi Papua Selatan. Enam jam berikutnya, Fatubun cs memutuskan membatalkan RDP karena situasi tak kondusif dan mereka dalam pantauan kepolisian.
Pukul 22.00, polisi datang lagi ke hotel. Kali ini dengan membawa senjata laras panjang.
Pada 17 November, pukul 08.00 pagi, seorang pria berbaju merah dan bukan tamu duduk di depan hotel. Tim RDP curiga orang itu ialah intelijen. Dia hanya diam sekitar 30 menit lalu pergi. Satu jam berikutnya, ada dua orang yang diduga sebagai intelijen polres menyambangi penginapan. Mereka menanyakan ke pihak hotel soal jumlah dan penghuni kamar. Lantas mereka angkat kaki.
Pukul 10.00, ketika Fatubun sedang duduk di depan hotel, Kapolres Merauke bersama anak buahnya datang. Beberapa dari mereka membawa senjata laras panjang. Mereka menggeledah hotel dan kamar tim RDP. Saat itulah Fatubun ditangkap. “Sebelum menangkap saya, kapolres bertanya asal, pekerjaan, [serta] kepentingan saya di Merauke. Mereka minta KTP saya,” katanya.
Fatubun dimasukkan ke mobil Dalmas, sementara barang bawaannya dijadikan barang bukti. “Di mobil Dalmas, saya melihat Koordinator Tim RDP MRP, dua staf MRP, dan seorang peserta diborgol seperti saya.” Ia dan rekan-rekannya diinterogasi dan baru dibebaskan pada 18 November sekira pukul 16.45.
Kapolres Merauke AKBP Untung Surianata menyatakan dalam penggeledahan pada pagi jelang siang tanggal 17 November, ia dan rombongan menemukan sebuah pisau. “Lalu kenapa kami tangkap mereka? Karena ada buku makar, buku untuk mengajak merdeka di berbagai tempat, yang buku kuning itu,” ujar Untung kepada reporter Tirto, Kamis. Untung bilang buku itu sempat dibuang ke luar dari jendela hotel.Buku kuning itu berjudul ‘Pedoman Dasar Negara Republik Federal Papua Barat’, edisi pertama yang terbit Januari 2012, dikeluarkan oleh Sekretariat Negara Republik Federal Papua Barat. Kata sambutan buku ditulis oleh oleh Presiden NRFPB Forkorus Yaboisembut.
Berdasar berkas yang didapatkan reporter Tirto, ditemukan juga dokumen Polisi Negara Republik Federal Papua Barat Nomor: 001/KKP-NRFPB/IV/2012 yang ditandatangani oleh Wakil Kepala Kepolisian Negara Republik Federal Papua Barat Letnan Jenderal Fery Fernando Yensenem tentang Penunjukan Kepala dan Wakil Kepala Kepolisian Negara Bagian Ha-Anim.
“Sementara kita (Indonesia) punya pangdam, kapolda, bupati, dan gubernur. Karena mereka makar, kami tegas begitu tak apa. Ini bukan kasus maling ayam atau sandal jepit,” katanya, lalu mengatakan kalau apa yang mereka lakukan lebih baik karena di negara lain para terduga makar dapat ditembak mati.
Ada 54 orang yang ditangkap dan dibawa ke kantor polisi. Dia bilang “harusnya semua [jadi] tersangka karena ada buku itu.”
Dua dari mereka dinyatakan positif COVID-19 setelah dites. Ini alasan mengapa mereka akhirnya dibebaskan. “Kami juga punya tahanan. Nanti rawan.”
Pembungkaman Ketua MRP Timotius Murib mengkritik penangkapan ini. Ia bilang apa yang dilakukan polisi sama saja melawan lembaga dan program negara. MRP itu lembaga legal, pun dengan acara yang mereka selenggarakan. “Berarti secara tidak langsung kepolisian menolak [pembahasan] otonomi khusus karena menolak RDP,” katanya kepada reporter Tirto, Kamis.Murib tak tahu ihwal ‘buku kuning’ yang jadi alasan polisi menangkapi para peserta dan penyelenggara. Namun ia menduga buku itu milik peserta rapat, bukan milik anggota atau tim MRP. Peserta rapat saat itu adalah Barisan Merah Putih, organisasi pemuda serupa, serta perwakilan adat. Total peserta 35 orang per kabupaten. Sementara dari MRP yang hadir sekira 20-an orang. Sebanyak 2 anggota dan 9 staf sekretariat diciduk.
Sebelum penangkapan, tepatnya pada 14 November 2020, Kapolda Papua Irjen Pol Paulus Waterpauw menerbitkan maklumat bernomor Mak/1/Xl/2020 tentang Rencana Rapat Dengar Pendapat pada Masa Pandemi COVID-19. Maklumat itu melarang RDP diikuti lebih dari 50 orang; peserta wajib mengikuti protokol kesehatan (swab/PCR, 3M) dan menyediakan tempat cuci tangan atau cairan pembersih tangan; lalu bagi pelanggar akan ditindak oleh kepolisian.
“Maklumat ini dikeluarkan untuk mencegah penyebaran COVID-19, karena khawatir rapat yang mengundang berkumpulnya orang dapat menimbulkan klaster baru,” ujar Kabid Humas Polda Papua Kombes Pol Ahmad Musthofa Kamal dalam keterangan tertulis, Sabtu (14/11/2020).
Bagi pengacara dari Perkumpulan Advokat HAM Papua Michael Himan, maklumat tersebut “sangatlah politis dan terlalu abstrak.” Ia mengatakan demikian untuk mengomentari bagian lain dari maklumat, angka 3 huruf c. Di sana disebutkan siapa pun yang terlibat RDP “dilarang merencanakan atau melakukan tindakan yang menjurus tindak keamanan negara, makar, atau separatisme atau pun tindakan lainnya yang dapat menimbulkan pidana umum atau atau perbuatan melawan hukum lainnya dan konflik sosial.”
Kepada reporter Tirto, Rabu (18/11/2020), ia mengatakan RDP bukan termasuk tindakan penyerangan, apalagi makar. Selama dilangsungkan secara damai, tindakan menyampaikan pendapat tidak dapat dianggap makar.
Lagipula maklumat itu bukan produk hukum yang tidak memiliki kekuatan hukum bagi orang luar. Maklumat sekadar informasi bagi internal Polri. “Pernyataan tersebut bertentangan dengan ketentuan Perkap 15/2007. Kepolisian tidak memiliki kewenangan untuk membuat peraturan yang berlaku eksternal.” Atas dasar itu Himan menyimpulkan maklumat, dan penangkapan, telah melanggar hak kebebasan berekspresi masyarakat Papua.
Kritik serupa disampaikan Direktur Eksekutif Yayasan Keadilan dan Keutuhan Manusia Papua Theo Hesegem, kepada reporter Tirto, Rabu. Ia pertama-tama mengatakan bahwa otsus pada dasarnya adalah bentuk tawaran politik yang diberikan pemerintah pusat terhadap aspirasi merdeka orang Papua. Pusat Data dan Analisa Tempo pada 2019 lalu menulis Otsus adalah “jalan tengah bagi kelompok pro kemerdekaan Papua dan pemerintah pusat.”
Ketika itu aspirasi untuk merdeka memang sedang tinggi-tingginya di tanah Papua. Keputusan Kongres Rakyat Papua (KRP) II yang diadakan Presidium Dewan Papua (PDP) di Gedung Olahraga Cenderawasih APO, Kota Jayapura, 29 Mei sampai 4 Juni 2000, bulat menyebut rakyat Papua ingin lepas dari Indonesia.
Maka, “bila ruang [ekspresi] masyarakat dilarang, tidak mengevaluasi atau RDP, [maka] isu Papua merdeka akan semakin menguat di akar rumput.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to self-determination
- HRD
- Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 12, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in Qinghai province in northwestern China last month detained a Tibetan woman known for her online advocacy of democracy and the rule of law, holding her for 10 days before releasing her under continuing surveillance, Tibetan sources say.
Tsering Tso, who had drawn police attention with her postings on the social media platform WeChat, was taken into custody at her home in the provincial capital Xining on Nov. 12 and brought by 10 officers to a detention center in Trika (in Chinese, Guide) county, an India-based Tibetan rights group said this week.
“In addition to surviving only on steamed buns and boiled water during her detention, she was subjected to ill-treatment and intimidation,” the Tibetan Centre For Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) said, adding that detaining officers had hoped to pressure her to give up her advocacy work.
“By detaining people like Tsering Tso, the Chinese government is violating the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China has signed and agreed to abide by. However, China is inflicting many other policies on Tibetans in Tibet that violate international laws,” TCHRD researcher Tenzin Dawa said.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is one of some 60 rights instruments under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948.
With the approach of the annual UN Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, estimates of political prisoners in Tibet range from more than 500 in U.S. Congressional reports to more than 2,000 in a database kept by the TCHRD.
“Tibetan political prisoners endure harsh prison conditions, including torture, deprivation of food and sleep, and long periods in isolation cells,” said the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet, which notes that “opaque” Chinese record keeping makes it hard to determine how many are being held.
“In the current political climate imposed by Chinese authorities, even the most mild expressions of Tibetan cultural or religious identity can be punished by torture and arrest,” says the ICT.
One of the most famous prisoners of conscience is Tibet’s Panchen Lama, who vanished into Chinese custody as a young boy 25 years ago and has not been heard from since.
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was recognized on May 14, 1995 at the age of six as the 11th Panchen Lama, the reincarnation of his predecessor, the 10th Panchen Lama.
The recognition by exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama angered Chinese authorities, who promptly took the boy and his family into custody and then installed another boy, Gyaincain Norbu, as their own candidate in his place.
The ranks of Tibet’s political prisoners include numerous monks, scholars, educators, and artists.
Beaten by police
Tsering Tso had also served a period of detention in 2017 after petitioning for the rights of Tibetans to apply for passports, during which she was physically assaulted by a security officer named Jamga who kicked her in the head, face, chest, and abdomen, leaving her hospitalized for her injuries, TCHRD said.
Police officers in November gave no reason for her detention following a trip she made to Thailand, Tso told RFA’s Mandarin Service in an interview.
“There were no concrete reasons for my arrest,” Tso said, adding, “But while I was returning from Thailand, I had a feeling they would arrest me, and I think they had already planned this from the beginning.”
“Finally, on Nov. 2, I was accused of violating the law by sending two message on WeChat related to issues of ‘stability,’ and I was detained for 10 days. I have no idea how my postings might have threatened stability,” Tso said.
A Nov. 13 announcement by the Trika county Public Security Bureau said that Tso had been charged with disseminating discussions of “provocative issues” on social media, adding that she would be fined and held in administrative detention for 10 days.
Tsering Tso had regularly written on topics like democracy and the rule of law on her social media platforms, Dawa told RFA in an interview. “But the Chinese government has always threatened people who speak up about these things.”
Reached for comment on Monday, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said, “We continue to press the [People’s Republic of China] to respect the freedom of speech and beliefs of its own people, and in particular those who seek to protect Tibet’s unique religion, language, and culture.”
Tibetan researcher held
A Tibetan researcher at Tibet University in Tibet’s regional capital Lhasa has meanwhile also been detained, with no word given as to his whereabouts since he was taken into custody in June, RFA has learned.
Kunsang Gyaltsen, a student in his late 20s from Qinghai’s Mangra (Chinese, Guinan) county, is thought to have been arrested for circulating booklets containing unauthorized views of Tibet’s political history, a Tibetan living in exile told RFA, citing sources in the region.
“Chinese authorities have concealed all information about him, and despite numerous attempts by family members to learn where he is being held, there has been no response from authorities at all,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Pema Gyal, an analyst at TCHRD, confirmed the account of Gyaltsen’s arrest and disappearance, adding that information about his current status is unavailable “because his parents have been denied access to him.”
A formerly independent nation, Tibet was taken over and incorporated into China by force nearly 70 years ago, following which Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled into exile in India, and Beijing maintains a tight grip on Tibet and on Tibetan-populated regions of western Chinese provinces.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to health, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to privacy
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Nov 11, 2020
- Event Description
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court convicted newspaper publisher Ros Sokhet and handed him an 18-month prison sentence on Wednesday, five months after he was arrested for Facebook posts criticizing Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Ros Sokhet, the publisher of the “Cheat Khmer” newspaper, was arrested on June 25 for critical Facebook posts about Prime Minister Hun Sen, accusing him of not helping people affected by indebtedness.
Sam Sokong, Ros Sokhet’s lawyer, said the newspaper publisher had been convicted for incitement and sentenced under Article 494 and 495 of the Cambodian Criminal Code. He was also asked to pay a $500 fine.
“He was sentenced for 18 months in prison and a fine of two million Riel,” Sam Sokong said.
Sam Sokong said Ros Sokhet had asked him to appeal the decision on the grounds that the Facebook posts were his personal opinions and that the conviction affected his freedom of expression.
According to rights groups, Ros Sokhet was arrested for two posts addressing Prime Minister Hun Sen’s succession plans and rising indebtedness among Cambodian households.
Ros Sokhet is the second journalist in the last month to be convicted for incitement, a vaguely-defined charge often used to target detractors and critics of Hun Sen and the Cambodian government. In October, Sovann Rithy, who founded social media news outlet TVFB, was convicted for incitement and given a suspended sentence under Article 494 and 495 of the Cambodian Criminal Code.
Sovann Rithy was arrested in early April and charged with incitement after he reported comments made by Hun Sen at a National Assembly press conference. The prime minister had said that informal workers, including motorcycle taxi drivers, should sell their vehicles to buy rice because the government could not help them during the COVID-19 economic downturn.
Shortly after, Sovann Rithy posted a photo of a motorcycle driver on Facebook, with the accompanying text: “If the moto-taxi driver is bankrupt, they can sell their moto because the government is unable to help.”
Radio station owner Sok Oudom, who runs Rithysen Radio News Station, was also tried last week for allegedly inciting villagers against the military, in a long-standing dispute in Kampong Chhnang province. Sok Oudom faces similar charges to Sovann Rithy and Ros Sokhet and his verdict is due on November 17.
Rights groups have criticized the Cambodian government for its frequent use of the incitement legal provision to curtail press freedom. Activists say these arrests and convictions send an ominous message to independent news outlets and reporters.
Ith Sothoeuth, media director at the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, said the recent conviction of two journalists sends a threatening message to journalists working on controversial stories.
“I think the sustained conviction of journalists can be a threatening signal to other journalists who are doing their work,” he said.
A statement released on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists earlier this month called for an end to attacks on free expression and protection of journalists critical of the Cambodian government.
The statement, released by more than 50 local and international groups, listed at least 13 journalists who have faced court complaints for their news coverage and the revocation of four media licenses during the coronavirus pandemic for the alleged sharing of fake news.
“In the past years, the Cambodian government adopted a series of repressive laws that have enabled a crackdown on independent media and social media and resorted to provisions in the penal code – in particular articles 494 and 495 – to silence critical reporting and its reporters,” read the statement, referring to the criminal code provisions on incitement.
In an ongoing media crackdown that started after the 2017 commune election, independent newspaper The Cambodia Daily was closed for alleged tax violations and The Phnom Penh Post was sold to a Malaysian investor with links to Prime Minister Hun Sen. Also, two former Radio Free Asia reporters were charged with espionage and two former Cambodia Daily reporters are awaiting trial for alleged incitement over a 2017 election story.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Nov 10, 2020
- Event Description
Camarines Norte journalists Virgilio “Bagwis” Avila Jr., Deo Trininad, and Mia Concordia were arrested and detained Tuesday, November 10, for several counts of cyber libel filed against them by Camarines Norte governor Edgar Tallado.
As of this writing, all three have been released after six hours in detention after posting bail.
First to be arrested was Avila, who was served a warrant by local police headed by SSgt. Jesus Tugorez. Concordia was arrested when she visited Avila in jail.
Hearing of his colleagues’ arrest, Trinidad turned himself in a few hours later.
The warrant of arrest, issued by Judge Ivan Dizon of the Regional Trial Court Branch 40, said each of the three face four counts of cyber libel, with bail set at 80,000 pesos for each count.
However, the charges against Trinidad and Concordia were reduced to one count. Avila remains accused of four counts.
The cyber libel cases stemmed from posts the journalists made separately on their personal Facebook accounts criticizing the local government’s alleged negligence in its COVID-19 response as well as corruption.
Avila also faces a separate libel case filed against him and four other journalists, including Rommel Ibasco Fenix, who was arrested last September 15 while hosting his local radio program. Their charges were filed by provincial board members Romeo Marmol and Rodolfo Gache. Avila claims that, like Fenix, libel cases filed against him earlier over his radio program have been resurfacing lately.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 10, 2020
- Event Description
On November 10, 2020, Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Court convicted activist Zhang Baocheng (张宝成) of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and “promoting terrorism, extremism, and inciting execution of terrorist activities” and handed down a 3.5-year prison sentence; three years for the “picking quarrels” charge and 8 months for the terrorism charge. The sentencing hearing followed an August 18 trial. Zhang appealed against his conviction on November 16. The court convicted Zhang of using the Internet, especially Twitter, to send out or share videos and information that “smear and insult the country’s leadership, oppose the Communist Party, split the state, harm ethnic unity and insult judicial organs.” One type of post cited included Zhang raising awareness of the plight of imprisoned activist Huang Qi’s elderly mother Pu Wenqing. Zhang was convicted of sending 1 video about East Turkestan (Xinjiang) which authorities said touched on “violent terrorism and extremism.” Beijing police initially seized Zhang on May 28, 2019, ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre. He was not granted access to his lawyers until October 2019. Zhang Baocheng is currently being detained at Beijing No. 3 Detention Center and is expected to be released in November 2022.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Nov 6, 2020
- Event Description
Vietnam’s communist regime has arrested another Facebooker and accused him of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code for his posts on the social network.
According to state-controlled media, police in the central province of Nghe An on November 6 arrested Mr. Nguyen Van Lam for his posts on his Facebook page named “Lâm Thời” with the content considered harmful for the regime.
Newspapers said that the province’s police have launched an investigation after receiving information from the province’s Department of Information and Communication which warned that the content of Facebooker Lâm Thời’s posts are defaming the regime and the local authorities as well as their officials and distort the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s policies.
The police said they found 35 statuses of Facebooker Lâm Thời violating Vietnam’s laws. Of those, 3 are his live streams, 18 were produced by himself while 13 were shared from anti-government pages.
Mr. Lam, 50, will be held incommunicado for at least four months during the investigation period, and face imprisonment of between seven and 12 years in prison, or even up to 20 years, if is convicted.
Looking in his Facebook, Defend the Defenders found his posts cover a wide range of topics, from systemic corruption and widespread environmental pollutions to human rights abuse and China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea). Lam was summoned to a police station in early December last year where he was requested to stop anti-regime posting, according to some newspapers.
He is among 29 activists and Facebookers who have been arrested so far this year for their peaceful activities as the ruling party is intensifying its crackdown on the local dissent prior to the party’s 13th National Congress slated for January next year. Among them, 14 were charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” and seven were alleged of “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the Criminal Code.
Vietnam’s communist regime often uses articles in the National Security provisions of the Criminal Code to silence the local political dissidents and social activists who bravely exercise their basic rights including the right to freedom of expression which are enshrined in the country’s 2013 Constitution and the international treaties in which Vietnam is a signatory party.
Vietnam is among the largest prisons of prisoners of conscience in Southeast Asia. According to Defend the Defenders’ latest statistics, Vietnam’s communist regime is holding 260 prisoners of conscience in hard living conditions.
Vietnam is placed at 175th out of 180 countries in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index of the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), imprisoning dozens of journalists and bloggers, including prominent activists Pham Doan Trang and Pham Chi Dung.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Nov 5, 2020
- Event Description
Targetting the anti-CAA and anti-NRC activists, the UP police on Thursday arrested the family members of activist Zainab Siddiqui.
Among those, who were picked up along with Zainab included his brother and father.
However, Station House Office (SHO) of Hasanganj Police Station, when contacted, told India Tomorrow that it was Special Task Force (STF) personnel who had detained Zainab and her family members.
He said that while the STF, later on, released Zainab and her brother but handed over her father to anti-terrorist squad (ATS) for interrogation.
The official, however, did not say for what crime Zainab’s father was arrested and was being questioned by ATS.
“Even I don’t know on what charges Zainab’s has been arrested”, said the police official and abruptly disconnected the phone.
However, NGO Rihai Manch general secretary Rajiv Yadav told India Tomorrow that police on Thursday all of a sudden barged into the house of Zainab and asked her father if Zainab was associated with anti0-CAA and NRC agitations.
The cops, according to Rajiv, went back after they were told that Zainab worked with a women’s organization.
“However, they returned within an hour and started assaulting the family members with baton. Cops used abusive language for Zainab’s younger sisters, chased them on the road and assaulted them with lathis. About 10 to 15 policemen caught Zainab’s father, sister and mother and took them to Hasanganj Police Station”, alleged Rajiv.
Condemning the police atrocity, Rajiv demanded immediate release of Zainab’s family members and proper security for her family.
“Taking anybody to police station without any reason is illegal. The purpose of the harassment is to silence the voice of dissent. Yogi police is trying to silence the voice of dissent by ignoring Constitution and democracy”, Rajiv alleged.
- Impact of Event
- 5
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Abduction/Kidnapping, Judicial Harassment, Raid, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Family of HRD, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Pakistan
- Initial Date
- Nov 4, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan have arrested a local social-media activist and newspaper columnist on charges of interfering in the work of police.
Bayazid Kharoti appeared before a court in the provincial capital, Quetta, on November 5 that ordered him remanded in custody for five days, his lawyer, Enayat Kasi, told RFE/RL.
Kasi said he had filed a bail application and that the request would be heard the next day.
The Pakistani media watchdog Freedom Network denounced what it called Kharoti's "unlawful arrest."
Kharoti's friends and family sources have said he went missing in Quetta at noon on November 4.
A spokesman for the Balochistan provincial government announced Kharoti's arrest on Twitter after news of his disappearance spread on social media.
The spokesman, Liaquat Shahwani, said that Kharoti is accused of illegally entering the headquarters of the paramilitary Levies forces in Quetta and of using inappropriate language after being ordered to leave.
"My brother is Kidnapped by unknown people I would like to request all the social activist and journalist to raise your voice," his younger brother, Basit Khan Kharoti, earlier wrote on Twitter.
Kharoti runs a Facebook page and WhatsApp group called "Choti Chiri" (Little Bird) and writes columns in Pakistani newspapers.
He often criticizes the government and security forces in Balochistan and reports on alleged corruption.
Balochistan's government issued a statement on August 5 ordering government employees to stay away from social media pages and WhatsApp groups that allegedly spread "misinformation and propaganda" against the provincial government.
Kharoti at the time told RFE/RL that he was raising issues Balochistan is facing because Pakistan's national media did not pay enough attention to the province's problems.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Abduction/Kidnapping, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 3, 2020
- Event Description
Police in Hong Kong arrested a producer Tuesday who made a documentary for government broadcaster RTHK about a July 21, 2019, mob attack on train passengers in Yuen Long.
Bao Choy, who worked on an investigative documentary showing how police were present as baton-wielding men in white T-shirts began to gather in Yuen Long ahead of the bloody attack on passengers and passers-by, was arrested at her home, RTHK reported.
Police carried out a search of Choy's home in Mei Foo, and she was taken away by officers at about 3.30 p.m., the report said.
She was arrested on suspicion of road traffic violations relating to vehicle registration searches used in the program. Her arrest has prompted fears that she is being targeted for political reasons. She was released on bail after about six hours of questioning, RTHK reported.
The Hong Kong Connection TV documentary titled “7.21 Who Owns the Truth?” showed clips from surveillance cameras at shops in Yuen Long and interviewed people who were identified in the footage.
Its airing forced police to admit they already had a presence in the town but did nothing to prevent the attack following initial denials.
Thirty-nine minutes elapsed between the first emergency calls to the final arrival of police at the Yuen Long MTR station, where dozens of people already were injured and many needed hospital treatment.
RTHK’s director of broadcasting Leung Ka-wing said the station was "afraid" and "worried" by Choy’s arrest, but would not alter its editorial policies.
“We are afraid. We are worried ... we better say we are worried, whether we can continue the way we produce accurate news as before,” Leung told reporters.
“We always stick to our principles. It’s very clear in the charter, as well as the producer guidelines,” he said.
'Extreme shock and outrage'
At least eight media organizations, including the Hong Kong Journalists Association, the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association and the RTHK staff union issued a joint statement Tuesday expressing “extreme shock and outrage” at Choy’s arrest.
The groups called on the police to make public the details of the case and justification for the arrest, and to release Choy immediately and unconditionally.
“We think this is unreasonable and a complete blow to freedom of the press,” HKJA chairperson Chris Yeung said. “There will be an immediate chilling effect, because the reporter has been working with many media, including media of different backgrounds.”
He said even the pro-China Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po newspapers had conducted such investigations.
“If you are facing a prosecution because of a (car registration search) you may not dare to continue, and you may need to wait for legal issues to be clarified before proceeding,” he said.
Council Front lawmaker and former journalist Claudia Mo said it is extremely common practice for Hong Kong journalists to use car registration searches as part of their investigations.
"This is obviously a blow to freedom of the press,” Mo told RFA. “I myself have made just such a license plate query for H.K. $45 … after someone followed me in a car.”
“This is directed at RTHK, one hundred percent,” she said.
Civic Party leader Alvin Yeung agreed.
“If this isn’t retaliation, then what is?” he told journalists.
Assault on press freedom
In a statement, Britain-based rights group Hong Kong Watch strongly condemned Choy’s arrest.
The group’s policy director, Johnny Patterson, said Choy’s arrest was “nothing less than an outright assault on press freedom.”
“The police have failed to hold the perpetrators of the Yuen Long attack to account. For the victims, there has still been no justice,” he said. “Instead, they have chosen to arrest a journalist whose only crime is reminding the world of that fact.”
Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting, who was injured in the Yuen Long attack, praised Choy’s professionalism, saying she had "asked all the right questions.”
"I do think that the police operation will inevitably create a chilling effect that those journalists who dare to report any wrongdoings of the government officials or the pro-establishment camp have been facing great pressure, and I urge them to stand firm and report the truth ... without fear or favor,” Lam said in comments quoted by RTHK.
Pro-government lawmaker Junius Ho, who was filmed shaking hands with white-clad men in Yuen Long on the night of the attack, July 21, last year, said journalists should not break the law while doing their jobs.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist, Media Worker, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: documentary filmmaker arrested
- Country
- Nepal
- Initial Date
- Nov 2, 2020
- Event Description
Nepal Police has arrested nine RTI activists while registering their RTI applications at District Ayurvedic Health Centre Parsa today (November 2). Parsa lies in the Province 2 of Nepal.
As per information received at Freedom Forum, nine activists Manoj Rouniyar (Member, National Network for RTI), Udaya Kushwaha, Pravin Manipal, Pramila Giri, Dip Narayan Prasad Yadav, Salamat Hussain Mansoor, Keshar Das, Rupesh Singh and Birendra Yadav had reached the health centre to register their RTI application separately. In the meantime, police arrested them and released however, Kushwaha and Manipal were detained for four hours.
The incident has been reported to take place with alleged involvement of the office's Chief Ramesh Mishra, Information Officer Nagendra Prasad Patel and District Police Chief.
FF's representative Rajan Singh quoted Rouniyar as saying Mishra and Patel threw their RTI applications and called the police to arrest them.
Arrested activists had filed RTI seeking information on office staff, yearly income, details about information officer and review meeting's expenditure at the office.
The nine were taken under control outside the prison after they went to Ayurveda Health Center to register a petition under the Right to Information Act on suspicion of irregularities of District (Parsa) Ayurveda Health Center such as the income and expenditure details for the fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19, fuel expenditure and certified copy of the qualifications of the staff.
They complained of being arrested without registering the application and said that it was against the human rights to be detained by the police for seeking the information as it is a fundamental right to receive information. The Club has been drawing the attention of the stakeholders by complaining that the Ayurveda office’s staff not usually present in the office, office items are used in people's homes and there is no transparency in the office.
Chief of the District Ayurveda Health Office, Dr Ramesh Mishra, said that the police arrested them due to an old scandal where the youths belonging to the Club tried to assault him by abusing the service recipients came to the centre on October 19. Meanwhile, police released them after understanding the matter from both sides.
- Impact of Event
- 9
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to information, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- RTI activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Nov 2, 2020
- Event Description
The communal harmony activist arrested in November for offering namaz at a temple in Mathura was granted bail by Allahabad high court in the case on Friday.
Faisal Khan, the national convenor of Khudai Khidmatgar – an organisation working towards interfaith understanding – was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police from his residence in Delhi on November 2 and photos and videos showing him offering namaz in a temple complex at Mathura had gone viral on social media.
He was arrested on charges under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion), and 505 (public mischief). He was then sent to 14-day judicial custody.
The bail order delivered by Justice Siddharth and dated December 18, read:
“Having considered the material on record, larger mandate of the Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the dictum of Apex Court in the case of Dataram Singh Vs. State of U.P. and another, reported in (2018) 3 SCC 22 and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, let the applicant involved in the aforesaid crime be released on bail…”
Khan’s counsel had held in court, “Only on the basis of photographs which went viral the applicant cannot be said to have intention to disturb the communal harmony of the society. He did not entered into the sanctum sanctorum of the temple rather he performed Namaz outside of the temple with the permission of the priest of the temple as clear from the viral photographs. The allegation of receiving foreign funds is without basis.” (sic)
Khan had visited the temple of Nand Baba in Mathura in time for his afternoon prayers on November 19. He was accompanied by his associates, Chand Mohammad, Nilesh Gupta and Sagar Ratna. In a statement, the Khudai Khidmatgar said local people at the temple had told Khan he could say his namaz at the premises rather than going elsewhere.
Later, a priest at the temple, Kanha Goswami filed a complaint saying that Khan’s gesture had “offended” Hindu sentiments. The complaint also called for an inquiry into the episode and into whether the move had involved “foreign funding” by a Muslim organisation.
A prominent Gandhian activist, Khan was on a five-day pilgrimage between October 24 and October 29 to advocate communal harmony, his organisation had said in a statement. The temple prayers were a part of an attempt to send a message of peaceful coexistence between religions.
Khan’s advocate filed two applications. One was an anticipatory bail application which was not listed. Friday saw the first hearing of his case.
In judicial custody, Khan had tested positive for COVID-19 and had been admitted to KD Medical College hospital in Mathura. This was a cause of concern for his family. His sister, Falak, says “It has been a struggle without him.”
The bail order has relieved the family which had been under considerable anxiety. “We are so thankful to the system. He is a modern Gandhi, and his past work speaks for his record. We will celebrate his return like Diwali,” Falak told The Wire.
Bail was granted to him on the condition that Khan will not use social media for any such purposes till the conclusion of trial. His case was argued by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves.
Khudai Khidmatgar was founded by freedom fighter Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan – popularly known as the Frontier Gandhi.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Offline, Right to health, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Freedom of religion/belief activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Oct 30, 2020
- Event Description
The Court of Appeal has denied bail for anti-government protest leader Arnon Nampha, who is charged with sedition over the rally at Thammasat University’s Tha Prachan campaus and at Sanam Luang on Sept 19-20.
The court upheld the lower court's refusal to allow the temporary release of the human rights lawyer. The decison was read out at the Criminal Court on Wednesday, according to Thai media reports, but not made public until Friday.
Mr Arnon, 37, is charged with sedition under Section 116 of the Criminal Code in connection with the anti-government demonstration at Thammasat University's Tha Phrachan campus and Sanam Luang on Sept 19-20.
On Oct 27, Chana Songkram police took him to the Criminal Court and obtained permission to detain him. His lawyers applied for bail, but it was denied. They appealed.
The Court of Appeal denied bail on the grounds the alleged offences could lead to damage or disruption with a wider impact. In taking to the rally stage, the accused had persuaded people to destroy state property without respect for the law.
The court also took into consideration police investigators’ opposition to the suspect's release on bail because he also faced similar charges filed by other police stations.If he was released on bail, he might cause more damage or try to flee.
The court found the lower court's decision to refuse bail was justified.
Mr Arnon is being detained at Bangkok Remand Prison.
On Sept 20, pro-democracy protesters staged a ceremony to install a plaque at Sanam Luang declaring the people’s power and ownership of the country. It was removed by unknown people next morning.
The original plaque marked the 1932 Revolution, which overthrew the absolute monarchy and ushered in a constitutional monarchy, and was planted on the ground at the Royal Plaza.
It was removed without explanation in 2017, three years after the military took power in a coup, and no one in authority has ever said why or what happened to it.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Oct 30, 2020
- Event Description
A court in Ayutthaya on Saturday rejected a police request to detain three protest leaders currently in a Bangkok hospital after an eventful night that followed their temporary release from custody.
The court said the investigation was already done, so police could proceed with the case without having to detain them, and since they were in hospital they were not flight risks.
Doctors at Praram 9 Hospital said that the three — Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul and Panupong “Mike” Jadnok — would need two or three more days to recover from their recent experiences with law enforcement.
Police still have ample opportunity to make fresh arrests once the three are discharged. All told, there are 80 active warrants related to various offences connected with recent pro-democracy protests, according to Pol Maj Gen Piya Tawichai, deputy metropolitan police chief.
Pathumwan police, it turns out, were already on the case. Their officers were en route to the hospital around 6pm to charge Ms Panusaya, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (THLR). It said on Twitter that its lawyer, who represents Ms Panusaya, had been informed.
Six police oficers were standing guard near the three suspects' hospital rooms on Saturday.
Mr Parit and Ms Panusaya were taken to Praram 9 Hospital at around 4.45am on Saturday after they had been questioned by Ayutthaya police at the Pracha Chuen police station in Bangkok following their release from remand prison.
Mr Parit was injured with several glass fragments on his body and Ms Panusaya was exhausted. They joined Mr Panupong, who had been released at the same time and brought to the hospital earlier after fainting while in police custody.
At a briefing on Saturday, a team of doctors at the hospital said Mr Panupong suffered several minor cuts from glass fragments. He was very weak and physicians are checking what caused his blackout.
Mr Parit, who has asthma, also had cuts on his limbs and some glass fragments were found on his body. Ms Panusaya was suffering from severe dehydration and chronic sleep deprivation and was on a saline drip.
All three need at least two to three days to recover, the doctors said.
Pheu Thai MP Tossaporn Serirak and Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, a former MP of the now-defunct Future Forward Party and cofounder of the Progressive Movement, accompanied them to the hospital in the same van.
Their supporters who had been waiting at the police station left after the leaders told them to return home.
Ayutthaya police on Saturday morning visited Mr Panupong, who was suffering from a lack of oxygen, at the hospital, seeking to detain him. Mr Panupong refused to be held, saying the arrest began at the Bangkok Remand Prison, not at the hospital, and he had the right to be treated there, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR).
Late Friday afternoon, the Criminal Court had granted bail to the three student activists and Patiwat Saraiyaem, another protester, after repeated appeals by their lawyers. They had been in jail for 16 days.
Mr Panupong, Mr Parit and Mr Patiwat were detained at Bangkok Remand Prison and Ms Panusaya was at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution nearby.
Mr Patiwat walked out of Bangkok Remand Prison around 8pm to cheers from supporters waiting to greet him outside.
He frantically told the waiting crowd that the other three had been taken from their cells by three men in civilian clothes while prison officials did nothing.
The men were later identified as plainclothes police officers who acted on arrest warrants for the activists’ roles during rallies in Nonthaburi, Ayutthaya and Ubon Ratchathani provinces.
However, their lawyers, citing Section 68 of the Criminal Procedures Code, argued the warrants were no longer valid since they had already acknowledged and denied the charges while at the Border Patrol Police Region 1 and the Bangkok Remand Prison.
Pol Col Ittichet Wonghomhuan, the Pracha Chuen police superintendent, said his team acted on the warrants of Nonthaburi, Ayutthaya and Ubon Ratchathani police, who had not revoked them yet.
While the lawyers were still talking to some policemen at the prison, the plainclothes officers took Mr Parit and Mr Panupong away through a secondary gate without anyone knowing, according to TLHR. Another van took Ms Panusaya from the women’s prison.
The van, with broken windows, took Mr Panupong and Mr Parit to the station at 9.30pm. Police did not allow them to get out at first since around 50 of their supporters were gathering there. Mr Parit shouted that Mr Panupong needed an ambulance immediately.
At 10pm, an ambulance took an unconscious Panupong to Kasemrad Pracha Chuen Hospital. He was later transferred to Praram 9 Hospital.
At the police station, Mr Parit said he and Mr Panupong resisted arrest because the people who took them did not wear uniforms and tried to illegally detain them. However, they were dragged by the neck to the van. Mr Panupong passed out later in the vehicle, Mr Parit claimed.
He said the supporters who were following them tried to ask the police to stop the van so Mr Panupong could get medical help but the officials refused to do so.
According to Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw), some interviews and video clips showed what happened during the trip to the police station.
The van carrying Mr Parit and Mr Panupong stopped at a red light at the Pongpet intersection, followed by a few people on motorcycles believed to be their supporters.
Mr Panupong and Mr Parit shouted to them that they had been forcibly and illegally taken. Their supporters tried in vain to talk to the officials before attempting to break a window, allegedly to help the pair.
As the van driver tried to get away, the vehicle hit at least two other motorcycles nearby. One of the motorcycles fell in front of the van but the van driver ploughed on, dragging the smaller vehicle for around 200 metres. The owner of the damaged motorcycle, who was not a protester, later filed a complaint with police.
After their temporary release on Friday, four other protesters remained in jail as of Saturday.
At Bangkok Remand Prison, Ekkachai Hongkangwan has been imprisoned since Oct 12 on charges related to the royal motorcade, Arnon Nampha has been held since Oct 15 on sedition charges, and Somyot Prueksakasemsuk has been detained since Oct 16.
At Bang Kwang Prison, Suranart Panprasert has been held at since Oct 21 on charges in connection with a royal motorcade.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Use of Excessive Force, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Right to health, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 28, 2020
- Event Description
A teenage Hong Kong activist was charged on Thursday with secession, the first public political figure to be prosecuted under a sweeping new national security law Beijing imposed on the city.
Tony Chung, 19, appeared in court charged with secession, money laundering and conspiring to publish seditious content, two days after he was arrested in a Hong Kong coffee shop opposite the US consulate.
Chung is a former member of Student Localism, a small group that advocated Hong Kong's independence from China.
The group disbanded its Hong Kong network shortly before Beijing blanketed the city in its new security law in late June but it has kept its international chapters going.
The legislation outlawed a host of new crimes, including expressing political views such as advocating independence or greater autonomy for Hong Kong.
Chung and three other members of Student Localism were first arrested by a newly created national security police unit in July on suspicion of inciting secession via social media posts.
However, Chung was arrested again on Tuesday morning by plainclothes police just metres away from the US consulate.
A little-known group calling itself Friends of Hong Kong put out a statement shortly afterwards saying it had been trying to arrange for Chung to enter the US consulate that day and apply for asylum.
Chung was held by police until his appearance in court on Thursday morning. He was denied bail.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 27, 2020
- Event Description
On October 27, Lin Qilei, attorney for Li Yuhan, a female human rights lawyer in her 60’s, announced that the supreme people’s court has rescheduled Li’s case for November 30. Li, who has been detained for more than three years at Shengyang No. 1 Detention Center, suffers multiple health concerns, including hypothyroidism, ischemic heart disease, and stomach problems, requiring daily medications. After a fall in 2018 which led to spinal damages, Li now has to walk with a crutch.
Authorities initially indicted Li for provoking troubles and picking quarrels, but later, added fraud to her charges. As evidence regarding her case has not proved to be sufficient, however, the court has repeatedly delayed hearing her case, blocking her release. After authorities transferred Li’s case to Shengyang Municipal Heping People’s Court on April 8, 2018, the court decided to host the trial on June 8, 2019, now scheduled for November 30. With no verdict after more than three years, supporters suspect officials have targeted and repressed her “simple" case.
During Li’s detention, police have hired the female cell head and other prisoners to torture daily her. Tactics include:
Forcing her to take cold showers. Rationing her food to half of portions other prisoners receive. Placing her vegetable/s and fruit on the restroom floor to prevent her from eating it. Giving her the previous day’s vegetable/s and fruit after other prisoners intentionally urinated on them; Prohibiting her family members from depositing money into her prison account.
After his last meeting with Li, Attorney Lin also announced that court officials have not addressed his nor Li’s application for bail and compulsory change. Li believes that authorities fabricated charges against her to persecute and suppress her previous work safeguarding other people’s rights.
The judicial department asked Li to write the “confession and acceptance of penalty” letter in exchange for her release, but she refused to compromise her stance. Attorney Lin relayed greetings and concerns from others to Li Yuhan, hoping that she can remain upbeat and able to confront conceivable challenges.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment, Torture
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Oct 26, 2020
- Event Description
Anon Nampa, a pro-democracy protest co-leader, has been detained in another case right after a court temporarily released him on bail in one.
The human rights lawyer was taken to Bangkok on Monday afternoon after the Chiang Mai Court approved a second round of his detention and released him on bail for a surety of 200,000 baht, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
The money reportedly came from the fund raised by a network of academics.
Mr Anon was detained after the release by Chana Songkhram police for his involvement in the Free Youth rally on Sept 19 at Thammasat University and Sanam Luang.
He was brought to the capital in a van, accompanied by a lawyer. It remained unclear whether he would be held at the Chana Songkhram police station or at the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters in Pathum Thani province.
Mr Anon was arrested during the crackdown of a rally near Government House in Bangkok in the early hours of Oct 15, shortly after the serious state of emergency was declared in the capital.
Police acted on a warrant by Chiang Mai police for his role during a rally at Tha Pae in the northern province on Aug 9. He was charged with sedition under the Criminal Code, the penalty of which is up to seven years in jail.
Mr Anon was the first who publicly spoke about the need for the reform of the monarchy in decades. He advocated the changes in line with democracy with the King as head of state.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Oct 26, 2020
- Event Description
The Criminal Court on Monday denied bail for Panupong "Mike" Jadnok, Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak and Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul in a renewed attempt by their lawyers.
The court said there was no reason to change the previous order which denied the temporary releases of the trio due to concern they would repeat the alleged offences.
Mr Panupong and Mr Parit are detained at Bangkok Remand Prison and Miss Panusaya is at the Central Women's Correctional Institution nearby.
Mr Panupong was charged with inciting unrest or sedition under Section 116 of the Criminal Code. He also faces charges of violating the Act on Ancient Monuments, Antiques, Objects of Art and National Museums, and violating Sections 116 and 215 for his role in installing a new plaque to symbolise people’s power at Sanam Luang on Sept 19.
Mr Parit and Miss Panusaya — Thammasat University students — were also charged with sedition, as well as other charges for their roles in the Sept 19 rally at Sanam Luang.
Their lawyers tried to offer higher cash bond for their bail in the hopes of getting them out after the Court of Appeal on Saturday denied them bail.
In any case, their lawyers do not give up and will apply for bail again, starting from the lower court.
"Even though physically, I remain in jail, my heart goes wherever you are," the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights quoted Ms Panusaya as saying after the court decision.
Her statement is clearly directed at student-led protesters.
During a previous visit a few days ago, TLHR described the yong activist as "drastically changed", with her hair cut short and dyed black. The prison administration said later her hair was trimmed for hygiene reasons.
They called for the releases of all detained activists and resignation of the prime minister as a pre-condition for a proposal by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha for all sides to take a step back.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Oct 25, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities arrested on Sunday, Oct. 25, an Igorot woman leader who has been consistent in defending their ancestral land in Lubuagan, Kalinga.
According to the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) and the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA), a composite team from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Philippine National Police and Philippine Army came to the Western Uma and Lower Uma villages at 4:00 a.m. to search several houses, including that of Beatrice Belen, a leader of Innabuyog-Kalinga, the local chapter of Gabriela.
Belen, her husband and her two children were led outside of their home before the search was conducted. The police later claimed they found firearms and explosives, and proceeded to arrest and detain Belen at the Tabuk City Jail. The CHRA said Belen has been placed in a cell with male detainees.
In a statement, Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan, condemned the arrest of Belen. “Like other activists who were arrested on questionable legal bases, Belen has asserted that those allegedly seized in her home were not hers nor of any member of her family,” she said.
Palabay noted that before the incident, Belen was tagged as a communist by soldiers belonging to the Philippine Army’s 503rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army.
The arrest of Belen, Palabay said, is a “very clear example of the dangers of red-tagging, resulting in violations to the right to life, liberty and security of human rights defenders, including indigenous women human rights defenders who are fighting for their communities’ land, resources and rights.”
Staunch defender of ancestral land
In a statement, the CPA said that for decades, Belen has shown strong leadership in her community against destructive projects.
In 2012, the CPA said that Belen led the campaign against Chevron Energy company’s geothermal power project in Kalinga, “citing detrimental effects of the said project to lives and health of the community members, especially women and children.”
In 2018, Belen was awarded Gawad Bayani ng Kalikasan (Environmental Hero) for her sustained defense of their ancestral land from destruction by private companies.
The CPA further said that as Belen has continued to oppose the geothermal project and human rights violations in their village, harassment and threats against her also persisted.
Palabay called for the immediate release of Belen. She added that placing Belen in a cell with other male detainees is in direct violation of the Nelson Mandela Rules or the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
Palabay said that the overcrowded and unsanitary prisons in the country are among the “most vulnerable places for women, where numerous forms of sexual violence are most likely to happen.”
Karapatan said Belen is the most most recent among Gabriela’s regional leaders who have been arrested on “fabricated charges.” Last July 7, Gabriela’s national vice chairperson, Jenelyn Nagrampa was also arrested in Camarines Sur.
Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas also expressed strong condemnation of Belen’s arrest.
“Facing a stinging rebuke of their red-tagging spree, the military has resorted to the use of state terror and naked force in silencing women’s rights defenders with the arrest of Manang Betty [Belen],” Brosas said.
Brosas appealed to the public to “strongly denounce Belen’s arrest in the same way that we stand for celebrities who are red-tagged by the military.”
Brosas lambasted the police and military “for once again planting evidence to detain another woman leader,” citing the cases of Reina Mae Nasino and Cora Agovida.
Based on Karapatan’s documentation, there are 102 women political prisoners, most if not all are women human rights defenders, who are languishing in various jails and detention centers in the country.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Raid, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Indigenous peoples' rights defender, NGO staff, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 22, 2020
- Event Description
The Observatory has been informed by the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) about the arbitrary and incommunicado detention of Mr. Chang Weiping, a prominent human rights lawyer known for taking on sensitive human rights cases and filling lawsuits against companies for discrimination in the workplace against women, LGBTQ+ persons, and individuals affected by HIV/AIDs.
According to the information received, on October 22, 2020, Mr. Chang Weiping was arrested at his home in Fengxiang County, Shaanxi Province, by police officers from Baoji City. Later the same day, Mr. Chang Weiping’s wife received a phone call from a police officer who informed her that her husband had been placed under “residential surveillance in a designated location” (RSDL), a form of enforced disappearance[1].
On October 26, 2020, the Baoji City Public Security Bureau denied two separate requests presented by Mr. Chang Weiping’s lawyers to meet with their client. Furthermore, one of the lawyers was informed that Mr. Chang Weiping was suspected of “subversion of State power” and that the case involved “State secrets”. At the time of publication of this Urgent Appeal, Mr. Chang Weiping had not been formally charged and his whereabouts remained unknown.
Six days before his arrest, on October 16, 2020, Mr. Chang Weiping published a video statement on social media denouncing the physical and psychological torture he had been subjected to while in detention in January 2020, including being tied to a “tiger chair”[2].
On January 12, 2020, Mr. Chang Weiping, was arbitrarily arrested by Shaanxi police and placed under RSDL in an unknown location on charges of “subversion of State power” (Article 105(1) of China’s Criminal Law), in connection to a private meeting organised by academics, human rights lawyers and activists in December 2019 in Xiamen, Fujian Province, to discuss the situation of the rule of law and human rights in China.
On January 13, Mr. Chang Weiping’s license to practice law was cancelled. Previously, in October 2018, the Baoji City Judicial Bureau had suspended his law license in retaliation for his human rights work.
On January 21, Mr. Chang Weiping was released on bail pending trial. Nonetheless, he was requested to leave his city of residence and was confined to his family home in Baoji, where he remained under strict police scrutiny, including daily phone calls and weekly meetings with the police. Furthermore, he was prevented from being reunited with his family.
The Observatory expresses its utmost concern over the arbitrary arrest and detention of Mr. Chang Weiping as it seems to be only aimed at punishing him for his legitimate human rights activities and urges the Chinese authorities to immediately disclose his whereabouts and unconditionally release him and all other human rights defenders, including labour rights defenders, arbitrarily detained in the country.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: prominent lawyer arrested, held incommunicado
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Oct 21, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in Vietnam’s southern province of Dong Nai have arrested local resident Nguyen Quang Khai on the allegation of “Deliberate disclosure of classified information; appropriation, trading, destruction of classified documents” under Article 337 of the Criminal Code with potential imprisonment of between two and ten years.
According to the notice sent to his family dated October 21, the Security Investigation Agency of the Dong Nai province’s Police Department detained Mr. Khai in an urgent case for the act of copying and disseminating state secrets on his Facebook account Khai Nguyen.
Mr. Khai’s family said that the Dong Nai police detained him to a police station in the morning of October 20 for interrogation and kept him overnight. The next day, police came to his private residence and handed over a notice of arrest to his family. Currently, the 51-year-old freelance worker is held in a temporary detention facility under the authority of the province’s Police Department.
Mr. Khai’s wife has a small food outlet and he helps her run the facility. He often shares and comments on the statuses of other Facebookers, mostly focusing on the corruption of state officials at different levels. He has also participated in charity events to support vulnerable people in their locality.
It is unclear what information he has shared can be classified as state secret information.
Dozens of Vietnamese Facebookers have been arrested or convicted with lengthy imprisonment for their online posts since the communist regime passed the Cyber Security in early 2018, according to Defend the Defenders’ observation.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Oct 21, 2020
- Event Description
A march to Government House on Wednesday night ended with an arrest of a pro-democracy activist, just hours after PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said on a live address that everyone should “take a step back” from the brinks.
Patsaravalee “Mind” Tanakitvibulpon, 25, was arrested at a cafe near Victory Monument while she was on the way from a protest close to PM’s office, fellow activists said. Police said there was an outstanding warrant for her arrest. Patsaravalee was released on Thursday morning.
“This arrest does not make me afraid. This is an unlawful arrest,” Patsaravalee said as she was being taken away by police. “I know this is the government’s game.”
The arrest was made by Police Lt. Col. Suriyasak Jirawat, who said Patsaravalee was wanted with 11 other suspects for leading a protest on Oct. 15 at the Ratchaprasong Intersection. She was charged with violating the emergency decree.
When reached for comment on Thursday, Lt. Col. Suriyasak said he does not know if the 11 others have been arrested yet.
Patsaravalee was released without having to post for bail, since the Pathumwan Circuit Court said she was a student studying for her finals and therefore is not considered a flight risk.
Prior to her arrest, Patsaravalee was one of the activists who marched to Government House from the Victory Monument in a bid to demand PM Prayut’s resignation. The crowd dispersed without incidents after submitting an ultimatum that called upon Gen. Prayut to resign within three days, or face another round of protests.
In a speech broadcast live on TV Thursday night, Prayut said the government is willing to make a compromise, but added that the protests should stop and let the Parliament debate their grievances.
“The only way to a lasting solution for all sides that is fair for those on the streets as well as for the many millions who choose not to go on the streets is to discuss and resolve these differences through the parliamentary process,” he said.
But Pannika Wanich, a co-leader of the opposition group called Progresive Movement, said an arrest of a student activist just after Prayut’s speech showed the government was being insincere.
“I thought you said we should take a step back and discuss in the Parliament instead. The PM’s words are just empty mouth air,” Panniwa tweeted. “You are stepping into and infringing on citizens’ rights.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Oct 21, 2020
- Event Description
Unjuk rasa damai tolak Omnibus Law Undang-undang Cipta Kerja di Kota Medan berujung ricuh, Selasa (20/10/2020) petang. Massa aksi dibubarkan paksa oleh aparat kepolisian dalam perjalanan untuk pulang.
Sejumlah orang dikabarkan ditangkap. Massa juga sempat ditembaki dengan peluru gas air mata hingga konsentrasinya terpecah. Massa yang berjumlah ratusan pun terpaksa bubar karena tindakan represif itu.
Massa yang berjumlah lebih dari 200 orang itu mengatasnamakan diri dari Akumulasi Kemarahan Buruh dan Rakyat (AKBAR) Sumut dan Suara Rakyat Medan (Suram). Massa terdiri dari mahasiswa, buruh dan para pegiat.
“Di lapangan kami berkoordinasi dengan kawan-kawan dari Suara Rakyat Medan yang sepakat bergabung dengan kami. Dari awal aksi berjalan tertib. Kami hanya ingin mengekspresikan penolakan Omnibus Law dengan teatrikal dan puisi,” ujar Martin Luis, Koordinator AKBAR Sumut di Kantor LBH Medan, Selasa malam.
Sejak aksi dimulai, aparat kepolisian memang terus berdatangan ke kawasan itu. Mulai dari pasukan sabhara ber-trail kemudian petugas Brimob lengkap dengan mobil water cannonnya.
- Polisi diduga bubarkan paksa dengan merangsek masuk dengan trail ke arah massa
Sekitar pukul 17.00 WIB, polisi terus mengingatkan massa untuk membubarkan diri sebelum pukul 18.00 WIB. Polisi meminta massa bubar karena dianggap akan melewati batas waktu yang ada di dalam aturan.
Menjelang pukul 18.00 WIB. Massa melakukan longmarch untuk membubarkan diri menuju Kampus Institute Teknologi Medan (ITM). Sepanjang mereka longmarch, aparat kepolisian mengawal di belakang massa. Saat itu juga tindakan intimidasi mulai bermunculan. Hingga akhirnya kericuhan pecah di persimpangan gedung London Sumatra.
“Jadi menjelang pukul 18.00 WIB, kami cukup kooperatif dengan kepolisian dengan membubarkan diri. Ketika kita longmarch menuju kampus ITM, justru pihak kepolisian itu melakukan, menabrakkan sepeda motor trail dan ketika itu juga disusul dengan tembakan gas air mata dari kepolisian,” ujar Martin.
Massa yang terpecah konsentrasinya berlarian. Sebagian berlari ke arah Kantor LBH Medan. Sebagian lagi berlarian ke arah Jalan Balai Kota.
“Kita juga sempat melihat ada massa yang ditangkap oleh pihak kepolisian. Kita mulai long march, kita sudah melihat polisi melakukan provokasi dan intimidasi terhadap massa aksi perempuan yang membuat border atau pembatas barisan massa aksi,” ujar Martin. 2. Martin: Kekerasan dan intimidasi terhadap massa aksi jadi bukti pemerintah anti kritik
Martin dan lembaga yang tergabung di AKBAR Sumut mengecam aksi kekerasan dan intimidasi itu. Kata Martin ini adalah upaya pemerintah membungkam gerakan rakyat. Kemudian, kekerasan dan intimidasi itu disebut sebagai wujud pemerintahan yang anti kritik.
“Peserta aksi hari ini sangat mengecam pihak kepolisian yang membubarkan rakyat Sumut untuk menolak Omnibus Law. Ini adalah bukti bahwa pemerintah melakukan penggembosan terhadap gerakan rakyat yang mengekspresikan sikap politik terhadap kebijakan yang tidak berpihak kepada rakyat,” ujar Martin. 3. Tetap unjuk rasa sampai Omnibus Law dibatalkan
Meski mendapat tindakan represif aparat, AKBAR Sumut akan tetap melakukan unjuk rasa. Mereka menilai, Omnibus Law bukanlah aturan yang berpihak kepada rakyat. Apalagi, Undang-undang Cipta Kerja itu juga diduga melanggar prosedur dalam pembuatannya.
“Apa yang kita dapatkan hari ini, tentu tidak menyurutkan gerakan kita untuk menolak Omnibus Law. Kami akan terus berunjuk rasa dengan turun ke jalan, sampai memang Omnibus ini dibatalkan pemerintah,” ujarnya.
Sampai saat ini, massa masih berkumpul di LBH Medan. Mereka masih melakukan pendataan terhadap massa yang diduga ditangkap oleh pihak kepolisian. Beberapa massa juga mendapat luka karena aksi represif. Bahkan ada massa yang tangannya harus dibalut perban karena terkena peluru gas air mata.
Sampai sekarang, belum ada komentar resmi dari pihak kepolisian terkait pembubaran paksa itu. Kapolsek Medan Barat Kompol Afdhal Junaidi yang dikonfirmasi enggan memberikan jawaban. Dia mengarahkan awak media kepada Bagian Humas Polrestabes Medan. Namun saat dihubungi, pihak Humas Polrestabes Medan juga tidak menanggapi.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of association, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Labour rights defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Oct 20, 2020
- Event Description
Two key student activists were freed on bail last night only to be immediately detained again.
Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul and Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak were taken to the Border Police Bureau Region 1 in Pathum Thani province and, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, face another three to four charges each. The movement had demanded the release of all those detained last night, teasing a “big surprise” that turned out to be nothing more than a provocation to keep security forces on their toes.
At 10am this morning, protest organizer Free Youth was teasing the public again, this time that noon would bring an “important announcement.” The group also vowed “no tricks” this time.
While unprecedented displays of anger toward the monarchy have been displayed in the street, movement leaders maintain that they simply want reforms of the institution.
“The people’s demands are not to overthrow, but to offer a solution that brings Thailand back to a democracy where the kings are truly under the constitution,” Free Youth wrote this morning via Telegram.
One of their primary targets – Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha – said yesterday that the government’s primary responsibility is to “protect the monarchy.”
As to the controversial order for Voice TV to shut down, Prayuth asked the police to reconsider. However, he said any media agency found to spread “fake news” or have bad intentions should be censored.
Yesterday’s “big surprise” at 6pm was a fake out, but pro-democracy supporters at 6pm flashed three-finger salutes, sang the national anthem and denounced feudalism at BTS stations throughout the capital.
The country’s oldest hospital, Siriraj, announced that it would treat every patient equally and without discrimination “regardless of their political stance.” Its statement came days after police in full riot gear shot water cannons – believed to be mixed with a chemical irritant – to disperse the crowd on Friday.
With nearly 400 doctors nationwide signing in a joint statement demanding the authorities refrain from violence, at least one doctor was fired from Mongkutwattana General Hospital with the hospital’s director reasoning they he doesn’t tolerate employees “allied with the king’s enemies.”
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Oct 20, 2020
- Event Description
On 20 October 2020, the Court of Appeal in Phnom Penh denied the bail motion against the detention of three human rights defenders from Mother Nature Cambodia; Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea and Phoung Keorasmey. They were charged with “incitement to commit a felony or social unrest” on 6 September 2020. The charge is based on information they shared on social media about their plans to organise a one-woman march to the Prime Minister’s house to raise environmental concerns over the filling in of the Boeung Tamoke lake in Phnom Penh. The defenders are currently under pre-trial detention at Phnom Penh's Correctional Centres 1 and 2.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- NGO staff, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Oct 20, 2020
- Event Description
Police have opened a case against four students who were arrested on October 19 after staging a protest against the government and military in the Arakan State capital Sittwe.
“Police have opened a case against them under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for committing sedition and causing public disturbances,” said lawyer U Kyaw Nyint Maung.
Section 505(b) criminalises statements “likely to cause fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public, whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquility.” It carries with it a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
Police Major Zaw Naing of the Sittwe Township Police filed a complaint against them on Tuesday and a court hearing is scheduled for November 3.
Dozens of people joined Monday’s protest, which was organised by the Arakan Students’ Union.
Prosecuting student protesters is no way to address their grievances, said the chairman of the Sittwe University Students Union, Ko Toe Toe Aung.
“Those who are doing the prosecuting should be aware that people have voiced criticisms because they [the targets of protest] are doing wrong. If they were not doing anything wrong, we wouldn’t need to stage protests and end up in police stations and prisons,” he said.
Two of the four detained students are also facing lawsuits under the Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law for staging a demonstration against alleged human rights violations in Arakan State in early September.
Recently, two students from the All Burma Federation of Student Unions who staged an anti-war protest in Mandalay were each sentenced to a total of five years in prison and have another court hearing scheduled for October 21.
Beginning in September, more than a dozen people have seen charges brought against them under the Peaceful Assembly Law, the Natural Disaster Management Law and the Penal Code for staging demonstrations against armed conflict, human rights abuses and internet restrictions in Arakan State.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Oct 17, 2020
- Event Description
The 17 October protests: 8 people were arrested. 6 were charged in Bangkok and taken for questioning at the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters in Pathum Thani. 1 was charged over his participation in a 22 August protest in Ubon Ratchathani, and another was charged and questioned at Pattaya Police Station for violating the Computer Crimes Act.
- Impact of Event
- 8
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Oct 16, 2020
- Event Description
Police in full riot gear have used water cannons to crackdown on thousands of protesters gathering at the Pathumwan Intersection, defying the ban on mass gatherings imposed during the severe state of emergency.
The protest, which was scheduled to begin at 17.00 on 16 October, was originally planned to take place at the Ratchaprasong Intersection, where a mass protest also took place yesterday (15 October) following the crackdown on the protest at the Government House in the early morning of 15 October.
However, by 15.00, police officers have already set up barriers at the Ratchaprasong Intersection and the Pratunam Intersection, blocking off the area. They also blocked smaller streets and stopped pedestrians and vehicles from going into the area.
Police officers also raided the offices of the Progressive Movement, a group formed by banned members of the now-dissolved Future Forward Party, during Piyabutr Saengkanokkul’s press conference.
At 16.30, police in full riot gear were seen lining up at the Ratchaprasong Intersection, blocking off traffic. Officers carrying batons were also seen near the police headquarters.
The student activist group Free Youth then announced that the protest will be moving to the Pathumwan Intersection.
By 17.00, protesters have already occupied half of the intersection, and Phayathai Road was closed from the MBK shopping centre towards the Ratchatewi BTS Station.
Prior to the protest, the BTS Sky Train announced that the Ratchatewi Station and Ratchadamri Station have been closed. After the location change, the Siam Station and the National Stadium Station were also closed. The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority also announced that all public bus and van will not be traveling close to the protest area and will not stop at any stop within the 5-kilometre radius of the Ratchaprasong Intersection. The Samyan MRT Station was also later closed.
At 18.50, as it began to rain heavily, police officers in full riot gears moved into the area near the Siam BTS Station and fired water cannons at the protesters, as well as pushing into them with their shields. There were reports that the water contained chemical irritants and was stained blue with long-lasting paint, as well as reports of the police using a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD).
On Phayathai Road, a large crowd of protesters, many of whom were high school students in uniforms, ran out from the Pathumwan Intersection and into the nearby Chulalongkorn University, where the student group Nisit Chula Party have designated a safe zone and have been on standby in case of a crackdown. Student representatives stood by the gates with megaphones telling protesters to come inside the campus.
People gathered at the Faculty of Political Science, where student volunteers and several lecturers were handing out bottles of water and organizing people into groups so they can leave through the nearest gate to the closest BTS and MRT stations. They also provided ammonia and water for people who got sprayed with the blue paint to clean themselves, as well as handing out shirts for them to change.
At 18.57, police officers were ordered to drop their shield and arrest the protesters. There were also reports of officers preparing use tear gas on the protesters.
At 19.20, the police reportedly used tear gas in the Siam BTS Station area, according to a nearby Prachatai reporter and an observer from iLaw, who said they were hit with some kind of chemical irritant. A reporter from PPTV who was doing a live broadcast nearby also said that they felt some irritation on their face and in their eyes, and that the water the police fired at the protesters may have some chemical mixed in.
At 21.05, the police ordered all protesters and reporters to leave the Pathumwan Intersection area or be arrested. Five minutes later, they were firing water cannon at protesters on the Rama 1 side of the intersection and moving towards the National Stadium BTS Station.
At 22.25, shield-carrying officers marched to the Hua Chang bridge, near the Ratchatewi BTS Station, where a group of people are still gathering and announced that everyone must leave in 20 minutes. However, at 22.30, police officers fired water cannon at the group. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) also reported there was an announcement for the protesters, who were pushed back to the Ratchatewi Intersection, to be arrested.
TLHR also said that officers were running after protesters who ran into Soi Phaya Nak and arresting them, and that they also arrested a number of protesters closest to the police line.
At 23.15, traffic resumed at the Pathumwan Intersection.
TLHR said that at least 12 protesters were arrested during the 16 October crackdown and were brought to the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters in Pathum Thani, including student activist Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree, a leading member of Free Youth, activist Anurak “Ford” Jentawanich, and Prachatai reporter Kitti Pantapak.
One of those arrested was an employee at a restaurant near Hua Chang Bridge. He was arrested at around 22.00 and also taken to the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters.
Under the severe state of emergency, the government imposed a ban on gatherings of more than five people, allows state officials to arrest people and detain them for 30 days without informing them of the charges against them, and banned the publication of information that “could create fear,” affect national security, or damage public morale.
The protest organisers issued a statement condemning the use of force against the protesters, and announced that there will be another demonstration on Saturday (17 October) at 16.00 at a location that is still unspecified.
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Media Worker, Pro-democracy defender, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Oct 16, 2020
- Event Description
By 18 October, 81 protestors, activists, guards, students and truck drivers have been arrested in connection with pro-democracy protests, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR).
TLHR records that as of 12.00 on 18 Oct, 80 people had been arrested and 1 more was added to the count after a voice amplifier truck driver was arrested later that night as he returned from the protest at Victory Monument. He was charged the next morning and his voice amplifier equipment and truck were seized.
76 have been charged, 27 are currently in temporary detention and 8 are still in police custody.
The 16 October protest at Pathum Wan intersection where the police dispersed protesters using riot control and high-pressure water cannon: 12 were officially arrested including a Prachatai reporter, Kitti Pantapak, whose Facebook live report was interrupted as police grabbed his device. Kitti was released with 300 baht fine for defying a police order.
Another 3 were arrested and/or charged on 16 October for an incident on 14 October. Boonkueanoon Paothong and Ekkachai Hongkangwan were charged with harming Her Majesty the Queen's liberty under Section 110 of the Criminal Code. They were accused of blocking the Queen’s royal procession. Another was Somyot Prueksakasemsuk for his participation in the 19 September protest.
Somyot and Ekkachai, former lèse majesté prisoners, were denied bail and remanded at the Bangkok Remand Prison. Boonkueanoon was allow bail.
- Impact of Event
- 16
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Media Worker, Pro-democracy defender, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Oct 16, 2020
- Event Description
A journalist working with The Caravan magazine was on Friday allegedly assaulted by a senior police officer in North Delhi and detained for nearly four hours while he was reporting on protests against the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in the area.
“Today [Friday] afternoon, the Delhi Police assaulted The Caravan India’s staffer Ahan Penkar while he was reporting,” the magazine tweeted. “ACP [Assistant Commissioner of Police] Ajay Kumar kicked and slapped Penkar inside the Model Town station premises. Penkar repeatedly told the police that he was a journalist and prominently displayed his press ID.”
However, the deputy commissioner of police, North West Delhi, on Saturday said that Penkar was seen protesting and was detained, after which he had said he was a journalist. The police have sent him a notice on the matter.
Penkar was reporting on a protest concerning the alleged rape and murder of a teenager in North Delhi, the magazine added. “Students and activists had gathered outside the Model Town police station to demand the registration of an FIR in the case,” it said. Caravan also shared a photo of the injuries on Penkar’s back.
Penkar later submitted a complaint to Delhi Commissioner of Police SN Srivastava. The journalist said that he saw a group of people gathered around the police station, demanding that the police file an FIR in the rape case.
Penkar said he was speaking to the 14-year-old girl’s aunt when the police began taking the protestors inside the station. He held up his press card and kept repeating that he was reporting the news, but the police took him inside too.
The journalist said that the police forcibly took his phone from him and deleted all the videos that he had recorded while reporting. “The police was abusing us the whole time and threatening us,” Penkar said in his complaint. “After a little time, the ACP Ajay Kumar came into the room holding a steel rod and threatened to beat us with the rod.”
Penkar added that Kumar kicked him in the face, back and shoulders. He also said that the police officer stamped on his ankle and threatened to register a case against him and others. The journalist added that he also saw the police beat up a Muslim man and a Sikh boy. He demanded an FIR against the police officers who assaulted him.
In August, three journalists from magazine were attacked by a mob in North East Delhi’s Subhash Mohalla neighbourhood while they were reporting on a story.
Journalists Prabhjit Singh, Shahid Tantray and their colleague were covering communal tensions that broke out in the area on the night of August 5, following the foundation-laying ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. In his complaint to the police, Singh said that had he not intervened, Tantray would have been beaten to death by the mob since he was a Muslim.
At a meeting organised by the Press Club of India on August 13, the journalists said that the Delhi Police had been helpless and scared of the mob.
Several journalists’ organisations had expressed outrage over the attack on Singh, Tantray and their colleague and demanded a first information report against the accused. The Editors Guild of India called the attack on the journalists “reprehensible” and demanded that the police take quick action against the guilty.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Oct 15, 2020
- Event Description
After police dispersed the protest at Government House earlier this morning (15 October), over 20 protesters, including several protest leaders, have been arrested.
According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), at least 27 known protesters have now been arrested after police invaded the protest site outside Government House and a severe state of emergency was declared this morning.
This includes protest leaders Anon Nampa, Prasit Karutarote, Parit Chiwarak, Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, and Nutchanon Pairoj, along with 22 others.
As of 14.50, 4 people have already been released, including photographer Karnt Thassanaphak, who was taken to the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters, and 3 civilians who were taken to Chanasongkhram Police Station.
Karnt was arrested alongside Parit at around 04.30 while he and Parit were in his car with two other students at the Nang Loeng Intersection. He said that a group of officers surrounded the car and, after presenting the arrest warrant, took Parit and the two students away in a van. The officers then searched Karnt and his car, and escorted him to the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters in his own car.
Anon and Prasit, who were arrested on charges relating to an earlier demonstration in Chiang Mai, were reportedly taken by police aircraft without their lawyer and were expected to be brought to Chiang Mai. TLHR said that onboard were 5 officers from Provincial Police Region 5, 2 pilots, 2 mechanics, and officers from the Crime Suppression Division.
At 15.00, they arrived at the Wing 41 air force base in Chiang Mai, but it is not clear where they will be taken next.
Parit, Panusaya, and Nutchanon were arrested on charges relating to a demonstration at Thammasat University and are still in custody.
Panusaya and Nutchanon were arrested at 08.45 at their accommodation in Khao San Road, after Panusaya read out the People’s Party statement on the crackdown at 07.00.
After being presented with an arrest warrant, Panusaya tore the warrant and she and Nutchanon sat down on the floor in an act of resistance. The officers then put them into wheelchairs and took them to the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters.
18 other civilians are also still being detained at the same headquarters.
There are reports that many protesters were arrested at the protest site at the Misakawan intersection they had left and were on their way to their accommodation near the area.
Contrary to reports from earlier in the day, student activist Panupong Jadnok has not been arrested.
Parit, Anon, Prasit, and Panusaya were charged with sedition, among other charges, while the other 18 people were charged with violating the Emergency Decree.
Under the severe state of emergency, gatherings of five or more people are banned and state officials may arrest people without first informing them of their charges. The order also bans the publication of information that “could create fear,” affect national security, or damage public morale.
The government claimed that the protesters “invited and incited illegal public assemblies in Bangkok” and that they intercepted a royal motorcade and committed actions that affect national security, and therefore “an urgent measure” is necessary to control the situation and “maintain peace and order.”
Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree, a leading member of the student activist group Free Youth and one of the few protest leaders still free, said that the situation is almost no different from a coup and called for people to join the protest at 16.00 at the Ratchaprasong intersection.
Ming Yu Hah, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, also issued a statement saying that the “vague, drastic order” will lead to more unfair arrests, detentions, and prosecutions, and that the scale of the morning’s arrests “seems completely unjustified” as yesterday’s protest was “overwhelmingly peaceful.”
The statement also noted that the order was “clearly designed to stamp out dissent and sow fear in anyone who sympathizes with the protesters’ views,” and called for the immediate and unconditional release of the arrested protesters and for those arrested to have access to legal counsel.
“These arrests and sudden emergency measures, announced in the middle of the night, are just the latest escalation in Thailand’s current onslaught on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” said the statement.
“Instead of ruling by decree and mass arrests, the Thai authorities must reverse course. They must comply with their international obligations to respect the rights of anyone who simply wishes to peacefully speak their mind, on social media or in the streets.”
Charles Santiago, Malaysian MP and Chair of the ASEAN Parliamentarian for Human Rights (APHR), also said “This emergency decree issued by Thai authorities is nothing but an excuse to shut down the peaceful protests that have swept across the country in recent months. The thousands that have taken to the streets in Bangkok, and nationwide, have done so peacefully, and are fully entitled to raise concerns about the current state of democracy in Thailand.
“Instead of introducing measures to end the protests, and arresting its leaders, Thai authorities should listen to the concerns those demonstrating are raising. They might find that their suggestions could benefit the entire country, and not merely a select few, as Thailand’s politics has done for so long.”
- Impact of Event
- 33
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community), Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Lawyer, Pro-democracy defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Oct 14, 2020
- Event Description
Political activist Jatupat "Pai Daodin" Boonpatararaksa who was detained along with 20 others during Tuesday's anti-government protest at Democracy Monument will remain in police custody after the Criminal Court yesterday approved a police request to detain him for 12 more days while investigating his alleged "wrongdoing".
He was yesterday brought from the Border Patrol Police Region 1's headquarters in Pathum Thani, where he was detained the previous night, to the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road.
He was arrested on Tuesday when he and other protesters set up tents in front of a McDonald's restaurant close to Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnoen Avenue and Satriwithaya School, where His Majesty the King was to pass by in a royal motorcade heading to the Grand Palace, where royal ceremonies were to be held to mark the fourth anniversary of the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great.
Mr Jatupat and his group's refusal to make way for the motorcade prompted police to arrest him and other protest co-leaders.
Mr Jatupat faces 12 charges in connection with Tuesday's protest, while 19 other co-leaders and protesters are facing 10 charges, said Kritsadang Nutcharat, a lawyer from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
The two additional charges Mr Jatupat faces are leading or ordering a gathering of more than 10 people causing public unrest, and jointly organising a public gathering without securing permission from authorities as required under the public gathering law, said the lawyer.
Mr Jatupat and the 19 other protesters are facing 10 other charges as well, including resisting orders by security authorities, using loudspeakers without permission, colluding to obstruct traffic, and violating public cleanliness.
Political activist Jatupat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpatararaksa was detained along with 20 others during Tuesday’s anti-government protest at the Democracy Monument. The veteran dissident will continue to be held in custody after the Criminal Court on Wednesday approved a police request to further detain him for 12 days while investigating his alleged misconduct.
Mr Jatupat is facing 12 charges in connection with Tuesday’s protest, while 19 others are facing 10 charges, said Kritsadang Nutcharat, a lawyer from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
The activist was brought from the headquarters of the Border Patrol Police Region 1 in Pathum Thani, where he was detained the previous night, to the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road on Wednesday.
One protester is yet to be charged because police first need to complete a process required under the Youth Act in dealing with an underaged criminal suspect, said the lawyer.
The two additional charges Mr Jatupat is facing are leading or ordering a gathering of more than 10 people that caused public unrest, and jointly organising a public gathering without securing permission from authorities as required under the public gathering law, said the lawyer.
The other ten charges levelled at Mr Jatupat and the other 19 protesters are: colluding to gather in a group of more than 10 people, colluding to cause public unrest, colluding to organise an activity that risks spreading a communicable disease, colluding to obstruct public thoroughfares, colluding to obstruct traffic, violating the law on public cleanliness, colluding to physically assault others, colluding to damage property, resisting orders by security authorities, and using loudspeakers without permission.
- Impact of Event
- 25
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Oct 13, 2020
- Event Description
The Thai authorities should immediately drop all charges and unconditionally release democracy activists arrested for peacefully protesting in Bangkok on October 13, 2020, Human Rights Watch said today.
At approximately 3:40 p.m., police forcibly dispersed a pro-democracy protest organized by the People’s Group at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument. Police kicked, punched, and threw some protesters to the ground. Some protesters threw paint at police who were arresting them. The police charged those arrested with intent to cause violence, using loudspeakers without permission, and several other offenses.
“The Thai government’s breakup of a peaceful democracy protest at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument just proved the protesters’ point,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The charges against the protesters should be dropped and they should be immediately and unconditionally released.”
Police arrested 21 of the approximately 200 protesters, including the protest leader, Jatuphat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpattararaksa. The protesters were being detained for interrogation at the 1st Region Border Patrol Police Camp in Pathumthani province, north of Bangkok. The police have prevented lawyers from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights from meeting with the arrested activists. Since July 18, youth-led coalitions have organized peaceful protests across Thailand calling for the dissolution of Parliament, a new constitution, and an end to authorities harassing people who exercise their right to freedom of expression. Some of the protests later included demands for reform of the institution of the monarchy to limit the king’s powers.
Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha recently dropped his previous pledge to listen to dissenting voices and adopted a more hostile stance toward pro-democracy protests. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights has reported that at least 65 protesters face illegal assembly charges for holding peaceful protests in Bangkok and other provinces. Some protest leaders have also been charged with sedition, which carries a maximum seven-year prison term, for making demands regarding reform of the monarchy.
International human rights law, reflected in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Thailand ratified in 1996, protects the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Thai authorities have routinely censored and halted public discussions about human rights, political reforms, and the role of the monarchy in society. Since the military coup in 2014, the authorities have prosecuted hundreds of activists and dissidents on serious criminal charges such as sedition, computer-related crimes, and lese majeste (insulting the monarchy) for the peaceful expression of their views.
The Thai government’s hostility to the exercise of civil and political rights has intensified over the past five months as authorities have imposed draconian state of emergency measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The authorities have increasingly used those measures as a pretext to ban anti-government rallies and harass pro-democracy activists, Human Rights Watch said.
“The Democracy Monument arrests raise serious concerns that the government will impose even harsher repression of people’s fundamental freedoms in Thailand,” Adams said. “Thailand’s international friends should call on the government to stop arresting peaceful protesters, listen to their views, and allow them to freely and safely express their visions for the future.”
- Impact of Event
- 22
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community), Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of association, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Oct 8, 2020
- Event Description
An 83-year-old Jesuit priest has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the probe into the 2018 violence in Maharashtra's Koregaon-Bhima village.
Father Stan Swamy, an activist working with tribals, was picked up from his home in Jharkhand capital Ranchi by a team of NIA officials from Delhi. The officials reportedly spent around 20 minutes at his home before taking him away.
The arrest has sparked outrage. Author and historian Ramachandra Guha said Stan Swamy has spent a "lifetime fighting for the rights of adivasis."
"That is why the Modi regime seeks to suppress and silence them; because for this regime, the profits of mining companies take precedence over the lives and livelihoods of adivasis," Mr Guha tweeted.
Lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan tweeted, "...Now arrested by the NIA under UAPA! The venality of this BJP govt & NIA knows no bounds (sic)."
The probe agency claimed that Stan Swamy is a member of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) and was "actively involved in its activities".
"He also received funds through an associate for furtherance of the CPI (Maoist) activities," officials of the probe agency said.
The agency said documents and propaganda material of the CPI (Maoist) and literature were seized from Stan Swamy, adding that he was in contact with the other accused in the Koregaon-Bhima case.
"The NIA is after me. I'm being pressurised to go to Bombay... The NIA questioned me for 15 hours... I'm being called to the Mumbai office of the NIA. I refuse to go there. I am 83 and have health issues. I don't want to expose myself to the coronavirus. I have never been to Bhima Koregaon," Stan Swamy had said in a video on October 6.
"If NIA wants to question me, they can do so via video-conferencing," he said.
Several prominent activists, scholars and lawyers have been jailed for over two years while they await trial.
Stan Swamy, who has several health issues, is the oldest person to be in custody in the Koregaon-Bhima case. He has been questioned several times in the past in connection with the case. Originally from Kerala, Stan Swamy has been working for tribals in Jharkhand for over five decades.
The case relates to an event on December 31, 2017 in Pune which was followed by violence and arson in Maharashtra that left one person dead.
Investigators claim that the activists at the Elgar Parishad meet had made inflammatory speeches and provocative statements, which it said had triggered violence the next day.
Last month, the Supreme Court declined to entertain a plea for an interim bail on medical grounds by lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj, who is among the accused in the case. Ms Bharadwaj, 58, has been in jail in Mumbai for over two years and is suffering from diabetes and comorbidities and wanted interim bail so that she could take a medical check-up, her lawyer had said.
The investigation also claimed to have uncovered a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
During the investigation, the NIA said, it was revealed that senior leaders of the CPI (Maoist), a banned organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, were in contact with the organisers of the Elgar Parishad event as well as the accused arrested in the case to spread Maoist and Naxal ideology and encourage unlawful activities.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Oct 8, 2020
- Event Description
Aksi Demonstrasi menolak Omnibus Law UU Cipta Kerja di Gedung Negara Grahadi Surabaya, pada Kamis lalu (8/10/2020) menyisakan pengalaman buruk bagi EA, seorang mahasiswa yang juga jurnalis kampus di Kota Pahlawan itu. Ia mengaku mendapat tindakan represif dari aparat.
Kepada CNNIndonesia.com EA menuturkan peristiwa itu berawal ketika dirinya meliput aksi unjuk rasa mahasiswa di Gedung Grahadi.
Semula berjalan kondusif. Namun jelang sore hari, bentrokan pecah antara massa dengan aparat. Gerbang sisi barat Grahadi jebol, disusul sisi timur beberapa jam setelahnya.
Aksi saling lempar pun tak terhindarkan. Massa melempari aparat dengan botol, batu dan kaca serta benda lainnya. Aparat kemudian dibalas dengan menembakkan gas air mata dan semprotan water canon.
Di tengah kericuhan tersebut, EA yang berada di halaman Grahadi terus berupaya mendokumentasikan semua yang terlihat sepanjang mata memandang sembari berlindung di balik pepohonan.
EA lalu mendapati sejumlah aparat kepolisian menangkap paksa para peserta aksi. EA lantas mendokumentasikannya.
“Saat kericuhan saya mendokumentasikan semua yang terjadi. Ada aparat kepolisian yang menangkap massa, saya juga mendokumentasikannya,” kata EA, Rabu kemarin (14/10/2020).
Tiba-tiba seorang polisi kemudian menghampiri EA. Aparat tersebut menanyai dari mana dia berasal.
EA menjelaskan bahwa dirinya adalah mahasiswa sekaligus jurnalis kampus. Ia juga memperlihatkan kartu pers serta seragam yang ia kenakan. Namun polisi itu makin mengintimidasinya.
“Saya lupa satuannya tapi dia berseragam. Dia memaksa saya menghapus foto dan video di kamera saya,” kata EA.
EA terpaksa menuruti permintaan petugas tersebut untuk menghapus hasil jepretannya.
“Setelah mau menghapus, tapi tiba-tiba kamera saya disita, ada [polisi lain] yang bilang, ‘bawa ke belakang saja’,” tambahnya.
EA kemudian ditangkap dan Dibawa ke selasar belakang Gedung Grahadi bersama ratusan peserta aksi lain yang juga ditangkap.
Saat diamankan, seorang polisi tiba-tiba menendang wajah EA. Akibatnya bibir dan matanya memar.
“Saya ditendang pas bibir kanan bawah, pas masih pakai masker,” ucapnya.
EA mengatakan dirinya dan ratusan massa lain juga dipaksa untuk membuka baju. Diiringi pukulan dan tendangan ke bagian kepala.
Polisi juga mengumpulkan peserta aksi yang tertangkap dalam satu area, tanpa menerapkan protokol kesehatan, seperti menjaga jarak. Beberapa pedemo pun tak lagi mengenakan masker.
“Setelah beberapa lama baru ada polisi yang memberi masker,” kata EA.
EA bersama ratusan peserta aksi lainnya lalu digelandang ke Markas Kepolisian Daerah Jawa Timur (Polda Jatim) dengan truk. Dalam proses saat hendak naik ke truk, polisi lagi-lagi memukuli tubuh mereka, kali ini dengan rotan.
“Kami disuruh Jalan jongkok, saat mau menaiki truk, kami dipukul dengan rotan, di badan,” ujar dia.
Sesampainya di Mapolda Jatim, mereka ditempatkan di sebuah lapangan dekat Direktorat Resesre Kriminal Umum. Polisi kemudian kembali memukuli massa aksi dengan rotan. Termasuk EA sendiri.
Hingga malam hari, para pedemo tetap ditempatkan di lapangan terbuka, mereka tak diperkenankan istirahat dengan laik. Bahkan tanpa mengenakan baju, mereka dibiarkan tidur di lapangan, tanpa alas.
Massa kemudian menjalani pemeriksaan tanpa boleh didampingi oleh kuasa hukum dari LBH atau lembaga semacamnya. Alat komunikasi mereka disita. Sidik jari diambil. Mereka juga harus menjalani rapid test.
“Kami tidak bisa menghubungi Lembaga Bantuan Hukum (LBH) atau keluarga, handphone kami disita. Kamera saya juga,” ucapnya.
Saat pemeriksaan, petugas kepolisian menjelaskan bahwa dirinya terancam dijerat Pasal 214 KUHP tentang melawan petugas dan Pasal 170 KUHP tentang perusakan. Padahal EA sama sekali tak melakukan dua hal itu.
EA kemudian dibebaskan pada Jumat (9/10/2020) malam. Kameranya tetap disita, alat komunikasinya lenyap entah kemana. Yang ia bawa pulang hanya perih dari luka penyiksaan aparat kepolisian.
“Bibir sebelah kanan saya luka, lebam juga. Pelipis mata sebelah kanan lebam. Pinggang bagian belakang juga masih berbekas rotan, luka,” ujarnya.
Petugas mengatakan kepada EA bahwa dirinya dibebaskan atas perintah dari Kapolda Jawa Timur. Petugas juga meminta agar massa menjadikan itu semua sebagai pelajaran.
Dikonfirmasi terkait dugaan penganiayaan dan tindakan kekerasan kepada para peserta aksi tersebut, Kepala Bidang Humas Polda Jatim Komisaris Besar Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko menolak memberikan komentar.
“Tidak ada, tidak ada, sudah cukup. Sekarang kami fokus ke penyidikan,” kata Truno, kepada CNNIndonesia.com.
Berdasarkan catatan Polda Jatim, dalam aksi Tolak Omnibus Law Cipta Kerja Kamis (8/10) setidaknya ada 634 pedemo yang diamankan di Surabaya dan Malang. sebanyak 620 diantaranya dipulangkan, sedangkan 14 orang lainnya ditetapkan sebagai tersangka. Dugaan Pelanggaran Polisi
Sementara itu, LBH Surabaya menerima sejumlah aduan dari para demonstran yang sempat ditangkap oleh polisi usai aksi Kamis (8/10) lalu. Para pedemo mengaku mendapatkan perlakuan kekerasan dari aparat kepolisian saat proses penangkapan hingga ketika ditahan selama semalaman.
“Banyaknya dipukul di kepala dan di punggung. Ada yang masih berbekas, bahkan berdarah,” kata Kepala Bidang Kasus Buruh dan Miskin Kota LBH Surabaya, Habibus Shalihin.
Habibus pun meminta para korban tersebut untuk melakukan visum mandiri ke rumah sakit sebagai bukti ada tindak kekerasan yang mereka alami. Setelah itu, aduan tersebut akan diproses oleh LBH sebelum menentukan langkah selanjutnya.
Senada, Komisi Untuk Orang Hilang dan Korban Tindak Kekerasan (KontraS) Surabaya mencatat setidaknya ada tujuh bentuk tindak kekerasan kepolisian selama menangani dan mengamankan aksi Tolak Omnibus Law di Surabaya.
“Pertama adalah aparat kepolisian [diduga] melakukan penangkapan secara sewenang-wenang kepada beberapa massa aksi yang baru akan melakukan aksi, kepada massa aksi yang tidak terlibat dalam perusakan dan penyerangan serta sedang dirawat di posko medis,” kata Koordinator KontraS Surabaya, Rahmat Faisal.
Kedua aparat kepolisian diduga juga melakukan tindak kekerasan kepada massa aksi yang menjadi relawan medis. Massa aksi tidak bersenjata dan massa aksi yang tidak melawan saat ditangkap.
Ketiga, kata Rahmat aparat kepolisian diduga melakukan penyerangan dan melakukan perusakan terhadap sekretariat PMKRI, yang digunakan untuk posko kesehatan selama aksi.
Polisi juga diduga melakukan intimidasi dan ancaman ke masyarakat serta jurnalis yang berupaya mendokumentasikan kerusuhan selama aksi. Hal itu dilakukan dengan cara merampas alat dokumentasi yang digunakan dan menghapus paksa hasil foto serta video.
Kelima, aparat kepolisian diduga menghambat akses informasi mengenai data pasti siapa saja dan berapa jumlah keseluruhan massa aksi yang ditangkap, termasuk status penahanannya. Tim advokasi jadi mengalami kesulitan dalam melakukan bantuan hukum.
“Pelanggaran keenam terkait aparat kepolisian yang hingga kemarin belum memberikan informasi secara detail jumlah jenis dan keberadaan barang-barang yang dirampas selama aksi,” ujarnya.
Ketujuh, aparat kepolisian diduga melakukan kekerasan dan tindakan tidak manusiawi kepada tersangka anak di bawah umur selama proses penangkapan.
KontraS menuntut pada Polri untuk mengakui bahwa aparat kepolisian telah melakukan tindak kekerasan, penangkapan, teror, perampasan, dan intimidasi kepada masyarakat umum, peserta aksi, dan jurnalis di Gedung Negara Grahadi.
“Kami juga meminta polisi untuk menyampaikan permohonan maaf pada pihak korban dan masyarakat atas tindakan tersebut. Kedua melakukan evaluasi secara menyeluruh terhadap kinerja seluruh anggota aparat Polda Jatim dan Polrestabes Surabaya,” ujarnya
Selain itu, menurut Rahmat, bagi aparat kepolisian yang terlibat dalam tindak kekerasan, mereka bisa diberhentikan secara tidak hormat sesuai dengan proses hukum yang berlaku.
“Terakhir, kami meminta untuk hak korban bisa dipenuhi dengan memberi kompensasi dan rehabilitasi yang layak demi kemanusiaan,” katanya.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Use of Excessive Force, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Oct 7, 2020
- Event Description
A former lawyer from the Arakan State capital Sittwe was charged at the township court under the Telecommunications Law’s Section 66(d), a notorious defamation provision, on October 7.
The accused, U Thar Pwint, said he had shared posts on social media about the deaths of civilians in Arakan State amid ongoing armed conflict in the region.
“I was sued without any reason. If I was sued for sharing posts, the person who put up the post should be the No. 1 accused,” said U Thar Pwint. “Secondly, I was not the only person who shared the post. If there are 20 who shared the post, all these people have to be sued. The reason for me is they don’t like me.”
Major Kyaw Zaw of a local Tatmadaw engineering unit filed the case as plaintiff under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, which threatens up to three years in prison for anyone “extorting, coercing, restraining wrongfully, defaming, disturbing, causing undue influence or threatening to any person by using any Telecommunications Network.”
U Thar Pwint has been released on bail but will face his first court hearing on October 21.
Another Sittwe resident, U Soe Naing, was sued in August under 66(d) for allegedly making comments about the government on social media.
“There are things relating to the government and there are also things not relating to the government. I was not blaming the government but just commenting as a citizen on what they have said and done,” U Soe Naing said.
“Dear war victims, please honour the government for giving us a bar of soap to protect against coronavirus,” reads one of U Soe Naing’s Facebook posts. “We’d like to know whether the [Chief Minister] U Nyi Pu government, which said it has responsibility and accountability, has any plan to resign or not.”
“The government, the Tatmadaw, the leaders must bear political criticisms,” said Ma Thet Su Pyae Eain, a researcher for the freedom of expression advocacy group Athan. “We criticise the filing of lawsuits under such sections. All the cases filed against them should be withdrawn as soon as possible. Only then can we carry on with good democracy.”
In the first four years of the National League for Democracy (NLD) government’s five-year term, cases involving violations of free expression were filed against 1,051 people, according to a July report from Athan.
Charges brought under the Telecommunications Law topped the list.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Oct 7, 2020
- Event Description
Ratusan Mahasiswa Unima menggelar aksi menolak Omnibus Law UU Cipta Kerja. Para mahasiswa berkumpul di titik depan gerbang kampus, Rabu (7/10).
Rencananya, para mahasiswa bakal melanjutkan menyuarakan Mosi Tidak Percaya ke kantor DPRD Minahasa. Namun masih di depan Poli klinik, para mahasiswa langsung dihadang pihak kepolisian.
Hal itu kemudian menimbulkan kericuhan antara mahasiswa dan kepolisian. Pasalnya, para mahasiswa yang hendak keluar kampus, dihadang pihak kepolisian. Kepolisian kemudian diduga melakukan tindakan represif dan mengangkut 17 mahasiswa yang sementara berdemo.
Sementara para mahasiswa lainnya sempat terjadi kejar-kejaran dengan kepolisian. Bahkan sejumlah mahasiswa sempat ada yang dipukul menggunakan kayu dari tiang-tiang panji mahasiswa. Karena sejumlah mahasiswa ada yang berusaha menghalangi polisi yang akan menangkap teman mereka.
“Kami hanya ingin menyuarakan Mosi Tidak Percaya Kami, tetap kenapa polisi datang menghalangi dan memukuli kami. Teman-teman kami bahkan ditangkap. Katanya mengayomi tapi kok malah mencelakai kami mahasiswa,” ungkap Hirmawan salah satu mahasiswa.
Sementara itu, Kapolres Minahasa AKBP Denny Situmorang SIK saat dikonfirmasi di nomor 0852438xxxx belum merespon hingga berita ini diturunkan.
- Impact of Event
- 17
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Singapore
- Initial Date
- Oct 6, 2020
- Event Description
The trial for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's defamation suit against writer and financial adviser Leong Sze Hian opened on Tuesday (Oct 6).
The trial is set to run for the rest of the week before Justice Aedit Abdullah, with Mr Lee represented by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh and a team of lawyers, and opposition politician Lim Tean representing Mr Leong.
Mr Lee, 68, sued Mr Leong in late 2018 over a public Facebook post the latter shared on his page on Nov 7, 2018, containing a link to an article by Malaysian website The Coverage.
The article alleged that Mr Lee had helped former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak launder money in relation to scandal-hit Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Mr Lee's lawyers said the post contained "false and baseless" allegations that were "highly defamatory", including a purportedly libellous allegation that Mr Lee was "complicit in criminal activity relating to 1MDB".
Mr Leong, 66, said in December 2018 that he had complied with a notice from the Info-communications Media Development Authority on Nov 10 to take down the offending post, adding that he had "merely shared" the article with no comments.
After the suit was filed, Mr Leong's lawyer filed a counterclaim alleging that Mr Lee's libel suit was an abuse of court, but this was thrown out by the High Court and later by the Court of Appeal.
The apex court ordered Mr Leong to pay the Prime Minister costs of S$20,000 in September last year, after reiterating that the argument of abuse of court was not part of the law of Singapore and that a plaintiff has the right to choose who to sue for defamation.
Mr Lee arrived by car shortly past 9.30am on Tuesday, in a grey suit and a pale green tie. He waved to the people in the public gallery when he entered the courtroom. There is a limit of 20 people because of COVID-19 safe distancing measures.
Mr Lim and Mr Leong gave remarks to the media outside the Supreme Court before entering at about 9.45am, with Mr Leong saying he was armed only with the "sword of truth".
Members of the public queued for tickets to the public gallery from as early as 5.30am, and tickets were issued by 7am.
The trial comes after Mr Leong's lawyer was arrested on Friday (2 Oct)for alleged offences of criminal breach of trust and stalking.
He was released later that day.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Oct 6, 2020
- Event Description
Vietnam’s security forces have detained prominent human rights defender and democracy campaigner Pham Doan Trang as the communist government has tightened control to clear all political opposition while the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) is preparing for its 13th National Congress scheduled for early 2021.
Ms. Trang was arrested in the late night of October 6, few hours after the 24th Annual Human Rights Dialogue between the US and Vietnam held in Hanoi, when she was in a rent apartment in Ho Chi Minh City, the southern economic hub she has lived in the past three years while being chased by the Vietnamese security forces. According to her landlord, during the arrest, police officers showed the arrest warrant on which she was charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code with a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison if she is convicted.
The state-controlled media has yet covered the arrest. It is expected that the Ministry of Public Security will announce the information about her detention soon as she is among high-risk human rights defenders in the Southeast Asian nation.
Ms. Trang, 42, is a former journalist for the official streamlined newswire VietnamNet. She left the outlet and went to study in the US and involved in activism, becoming one of the leading figures working for human rights and multi-party democracy in Vietnam.
She is a prominent and outspoken journalist, activist, and blogger whose writing covers a wide range of topics including LGBT rights, women’s rights, environmental issues, the territorial conflict between Vietnam and China, police brutality, suppression of activists, and law and human rights. Her book, Chính trị Bình dân (Politics for the Common People), a kind of primer for budding activists, was published in samizdat form in September 2017. She has produced a number of political books such as Phản kháng phi bạo lực (Non-violent Resistance), Politics of Police State, and Cẩm nang nuôi tù (Handbook for Prisoners’ Families). She is one of the authors of Việ Nam & Tranh chấp Biển Đông (Vietnam and the Conflict on the East Sea), published by Tri Thuc Publishing House in Vietnam.
On September 25, she and Vietnamese American Willian Nguyen publicized the 3rd edition of Dong Tam Report, the comprehensive report about the bloody attack of Vietnam’s security forces in Dong Tam commune, Hanoi on January 9 this year and the first-instance hearing to try 29 land petitioners who were charged with “murders” of three police officers and “resisting on-duty state officials” during the raid. It is worth noting that three out of the five co-authors of the first and the second editions of Dong Tam Report, former prisoner of conscience Can Thi Theu and her two sons Trinh Ba Phuong and Trinh Ba Tu were arrested on June 24, also charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda.”
Trang is also a street activist who is committed to peaceful protest. She has joined demonstrations outside police stations and at airports when fellow activists were detained, participated in nationalist protests about China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea), and pro-environmental marches. She has been beaten and detained many times in the past five years.
Trang is the editor for the website Vietnam Right Now, which aims to distribute “objective, accurate, and timely information on the current social and political conditions in Vietnam today.” She is also a co-founder and an editor of the Vietnam Legal Initiative, a US-based NGO working to promote human rights, civil rights, and democracy in Vietnam.
Her writing and activism have addressed a broad human rights agenda, from the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and other rights, including the right to remain silent. As a journalist and blogger, she also focuses on the role of media in social and political life and remains especially concerned with freedom of information on the internet and freedom of the press.
In 2018, Trang was awarded the Homo Homini Award by the Czech-based human rights organization People In Need which considers her “one of the leading figures of the contemporary Vietnamese dissent. She uses plain words to fight the lack of freedom, corruption, and the despotism of the communist regime.”
Last year, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) presented her with Award For Work to Improve Journalistic Freedom. In March this year, the Liberal Publishing House under her leadership was honored with Prix Voltaire by the International Publishers’ Association.
Responding to her arrest, Phil Robertson, deputy chief of Southeast Asia Office of Human Rights Watch stated “Vietnam’s scorched earth response to political dissent is on display for all to see with the arrest of prominent blogger and author Pham Doan Trang. Despite suffering years of systemic government harassment, including severe physical attacks, she has remained faithful to her principles of peaceful advocacy for human rights and democracy. Her thoughtful approach to reforms, and demands for people’s real participation in their governance, are messages the Vietnam government should listen to and respect, not repress. Human Rights Watch strongly condemns Vietnam’s arrest of Pham Doan Trang. Every day she spends behind bars is a grave injustice that violates Vietnam’s international human rights commitments and brings dishonor to the government. Governments around the world and the UN must prioritize her case, speak out loudly and consistently on her behalf, and demand her immediate and unconditional release.”
The ruling Communist Party of Vietnam’s Central Committee is conducting the 13th Plenum in Hanoi on October 5-10 to prepare for the party 13th National Congress slated in early January. Months ahead of the congress which takes for every five years, Vietnam’s security forces have tightened social security and intensified crackdown on political dissidents, social activists, and human rights defenders.
So far this year, Vietnam has arrested 25 activists and 29 Dong Tam land petitioners, raising the number of prisoners of conscience to 258, according to the latest statistics of Defend the Defenders.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Offline, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, Pro-democracy defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Oct 5, 2020
- Event Description
The Uttar Pradesh Police has booked Malayalam journalist Siddique Kappan and three others for sedition as well as under the stringent UAPA, a day after they were stopped on their way to Hathras, home to a Dalit woman who died after being allegedly gang-raped. Siddique from Malappuram, Atiq-ur Rehman from Muzaffarnagar, Masood Ahmed from Bahraich and Alam from Rampur have been booked by the Mathura police. Siddique Kappan is a senior Delhi-based journalist, doing freelance work for several Malayalam media houses, including azhimukham.com.
The FIR (first information report) copy, accessed by TNM, alleges that the four men had gone to disrupt the peace in Hathras and there is a big conspiracy behind their visit. The Uttar Pradesh police had earlier said that they had arrested them for having links with the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliate in Mathura. However, the PFI link has not been mentioned in the FIR at all.
The FIR shows that the four have been booked under 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) and 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as section 17 (punishment for raising funds for terrorist act) and 14 (punishment for unlawful activities) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
All the four have also been booked under section 65 (tampering with computer source documents), 72 (punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service) and 76 (punishment for violation of privacy) of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008.
The FIR also mentions the website, justiceforhathrasvictim.carrd.co, which had information on how to protest safely and avoid the police. The police have stated that the website incites violence and threatens the law and order situation. “The main intention of this website has been found to be to encourage communal hatred, cause unrest in the society and to spark riots on a large scale,” the FIR states, adding that the four have been arrested over “larger conspiracy”. The four accused have been accused of running the website and that it has been created under the garb of 'collecting funds' to incite violence. However, the PFI link has not been mentioned in the FIR.
The Uttar Pradesh police had on Monday said that it seized the mobile phones, laptops and some literature, which “could have an impact on peace and law and order”, from the arrested people. During interrogation, it came to light that the four arrested people had links with the PFI and its associate organisation Campus Front of India, the UP police had claimed.
The Delhi unit of Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeking his release, saying he was going to Hathras only to perform his duty as a reporter. Terming Kappan's arrest as illegal and unconstitutional, the KUWJ also filed a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking his immediate production before the court and release from the "illegal detention".
Kappan is also the KUWJ's secretary and was proceeding to Hathras only to do his duty as a reporter, KUWJ's Delhi unit president Miji Jose told the Chief Minister in her letter, urging him to order his release.
"We understand that he was taken into custody by Uttar Pradesh police from Hathras toll plaza. Our efforts and the efforts by some advocates based in Delhi to contact him were not successful," KUWJ said.
Hathras has been in the news following the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman who was allegedly gang-raped on September 14 in a village in the district. And her cremation at night, allegedly without the parents' consent, has triggered widespread outrage.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Restrictions on Movement, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 2, 2020
- Event Description
A court in Shanghai recently handed down a secret sentence of three years' imprisonment to detained rights activist Chen Jianfang, a Chinese rights website reported.
"We learned on Oct. 2, 2020 that Shanghai human rights defender Chen Jianfang has been sentenced to three years' imprisonment for incitement to subvert state power," the Weiquanwang rights website reported, citing lawyer Liu Shihui.
"Chen Jianfang is currently being held in the Shanghai Detention Center. The authorities have so far not allowed her to meet with a defense attorney," the report said.
The sentence will run until Feb. 18, 2022, it said.
Chen, 49, a Shanghai-based housing activist was recently named as a recipient of the 4th Cao Shunli Memorial Award for Human Rights Defenders by Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch, Human Rights Campaign in China, and the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network.
The news of her secret sentencing came after her indictment by the state prosecutor on Aug. 30, and the transfer of her case to the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court.
Chen's appointed defense lawyer Wu Li told RFA on Monday that she had been repeatedly denied permission to meet with her client.
"After she instructed us, she applied to the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate Court, but it didn't approve her request, so we were never able to read the case files," Wu said. "Later, we requested information from the court about where she was being held, but they didn't tell us."
"I later learned that she is in the Shanghai No. 1 Detention Center, so I made an appointment, but they canceled it," Wu said. "The reason they gave was ridiculous: that only one meeting was permitted for each stage in the case."
Wu said unconfirmed reports suggest that Chen's family may have been forced to revoke her lawyer's instruction under pressure from the authorities.
Cao Shunli as model
Gu Guoping, a friend of Chen's, said her detention came after she penned an essay paying tribute rights activist Cao Shunli on the fifth anniversary of her death in police custody on March 14, 2014.
Gu said the charges could also be linked to the way in which the news of the Cao Shunli award was made public.
"She inadvertently disclosed the contact details of the chairman of the U.N. Human Rights Council to petitioners, and they also inadvertently leaked the news [of her award]," Gu said. "Then the authorities stopped her from going to Switzerland [to receive the award]."
Chen has been held incommunicado for more than six months on subversion charges, putting her at high risk of torture and other ill-treatment, rights groups say.
Chen was detained on March 20 alongside her husband, and the couple 'disappeared' for several months. Chen was formally arrested on suspicion of "subversion of state power" on May 22, while her husband was released on bail on April 3.
Her incommunicado detention was the subject of an appeal from four United Nations human rights experts to the Chinese government in August.
Chen, 49, who hails from a rural community, began defending land and housing rights after her family lost land to government-backed developers.
Her work has highlighted the widespread mass evictions behind Shanghai's skyscrapers and high-speed railways, key elements in China's development showcase that mask widespread abuses of residents' rights.
She has referred to Cao Shunli as "my spiritual teacher, from whom I learned some of the highest ideals."
"My own rights defense work is indivisible from what she taught me," Chen wrote to RFA at the time of the award.
Chen's sentencing comes at a time of worsening rights abuses under President Xi Jinping, who now looks set to rule indefinitely.
Cao was detained on Sept. 14, 2013, as she was boarding a flight to Geneva, where she was to attend a session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, where she hoped to participate in drafting China’s human rights action plans and reports for its U.N. human rights reviews.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Sep 30, 2020
- Event Description
Four Koh Kong villagers were detained for about 12 hours after camping outside the provincial hall in a group of about 60 land protesters since Monday, they said.
The group say they are in a 12-year-long dispute with the Union Development Group, or UDG, which has been developing the $3.8-billion Dara Sakor tourism resort in the province. The villagers said they were calling on the provincial administration to act on the case.
Chhay Kimthuch, one of the protesters camping outside the hall, said four villagers had been detained in the dark at about 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday after dozens of officers arrived to disperse the encampment.
“The authorities arrived quietly and grabbed [people] in the tents,” she said.
The four villagers, including a village representative, Preab Roatha, were held at Khemara Phoumin city police headquarters until their release around 3 p.m., Kimthuch said.
Saing Puy, from Koh Sdach commune, added that the tents outside the provincial hall were removed and authorities said they would not be allowed to stay there.
“The Koh Kong provincial authority should not have done this to the people,” she said.
Deputy provincial governor Sok Sothy told VOD that there were no arrests; authorities simply took an administrative measure to maintain public order.
The four villagers were “questioned to note down what their real intentions were in coming,” Sothy said.
UDG’s 45,000-hectare overall economic land concession, granted in 2008 and 2011, pushed families to abandon and dismantle more than 1,500 homes on 10,000 hectares of land, according to a 2012 report from the Community Legal Education Center.
Last month, the U.S. sanctioned the Chinese-owned company, alleging it “used Cambodian military forces to intimidate local villagers and to clear out land necessary for UDG to build the Dara Sakor project.” It also suggested that the resort could be converted to host military assets.
Cambodian officials and UDG have denied the claims.
Hour In, provincial coordinator for rights group Licadho, said people who had lost land were being further victimized by the suppression of protests.
“People became victims of losing land, and when they protested, they became victims even more because of the authorities’ actions,” In said.
Provincial governor Mithona Phouthorng said provincial officials and the Land Management Ministry were studying the dispute to clearly identify the people involved and make other clarifications in order to move toward a solution.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Administrative Harassment, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Land rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 29, 2020
- Event Description
Zhongwei City police in Ningxia arrested several volunteers at a wildlife conservation group on numerous charges on September 29. Police announced Li Genshan (李根山), Zhang Baoqi (张保其), Niu Haobao (牛海波) and 8 unnamed individuals of the Zhongwei Mongolian Gazelle Patrol Team had been arrested for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, “extortion and bribery” & “illegal hunting.” The group used to chase poachers in the desert at night and shortly before being detained, had reportedly accused local forest police of sheltering poachers. Police seized Li, Zhang and Niu on September 9, 2020 and criminally detained them the next day for “picking quarrels,” “extortion and blackmail,” and “robbery.” On September 11, 2020, the police announced on its Weibo account that they arrested 6 more individuals but did not disclose any details. According to other volunteers of their group, three of the six detainees were from the group. By the end of September, 12 individuals remain in custody and two had been released on bail. Zhang’s son Zhang Hai applied for bail but the police rejected the application. In 2019, Li Genshan exposed that a paper manufacturer had been illegally discharging sewage in the Tengger Desert in Inner Mongolia for years, resulting in an investigation from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
- Impact of Event
- 12
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Sep 29, 2020
- Event Description
Sembilan massa aksi dari Front Rakyat Papua (FRP) yang hendak melakukan aksi penolakan Otsus jilid II di Timika pada, Rabu (23/9/2020) ditangkap aparat kepolisian dari Polres Mimika, Papua.
Kepada Suara Papua, Helena Kobogau, aktivis Papua membenarkan adanya penangkapan kesembilan massa aksi tersebut oleh aparat kepolisian.
“Massa aksi baru kumpul di lapangan Timika indah, lalu mereka diangkut saja begitu,” katanya saat dihubungi suarapapua.com, Rabu (23/9/202020).
Sejauh ini katanya, kesembilan orang yang ditahan orang tersebut masih ditahan di polres. “Kemungkinan besok baru mereka akan dibebaskan,” ujar Kobogau.
Adapun kesembilan massa aksi yang ditahan pihak kepolisian, yaitu Petrus Aim, Fredy Yeimo, Ardi Murib, Dorlince Iyowau, Melvin Yogi, Penehas Nawipa, Deborius Selegani dan Demianus Magai.
Sumber suarapapua.com di Timika menjelaskan, awalnya aparat kepolisian menangkap empat massa aksi saat mereka mendahului yang lain di titik kumpul pada pukul 08.10.
“Saat penangkapan terjadi, cuma mereka empat saja. Mereka ditangak ketika menunggu massa aksi lainnya. Begitu tiba-tiba truk aparat datang dan langsung kasih naik mereka ke dalam truk itu,” bebernya.
“Pas masuk jam setengah 7 malam baru kami dapat info kalau teman-teman yang ditahan itu sebanyak sembilan orang.”
Ada delapan belas (18) pernyataan sikap yang dicantumkan FRP yang sesuai rencana dibacakan dalam aksi tersebut, terutama mengenai penolakan Otsus jilid II.
Dalam keterangan tertulis yang diterima suarapapua.com, Front Rakyat Papua (FRP) menyatakan Otsus sendiri lahir karena adanya tuntutan rakyat Papua saat itu yang menuntut kemerdekaan untuk memisahkan diri dari Indonesia.
Sementara dalam perjalanannya, Otsus sendiri tidak memberikan banyak manfaat yang dirasakan oleh orang Papua. Terhitung sejak diberlakukannya Otsus, banyak peristiwa yang terjadi di tanah Papua, mulai dari pembunuhan di luar hukum, kekerasan seksual, penyiksaan dan termasuk perampasan lahan.
Sementara, dikutib dari seputarpapua.com, Kapolres Mimika, Papua, AKBP I Gusti Gde Era Adhinata mengatakan, pihaknya mengamankan sembilan orang warga yang diduga hendak melakukan aksi demo damai di lapangan Timika Indah, Rabu (23/9/2020).
Dari sembilan orang tersebut, tujuh orang diamankan saat pagi hari, kemudian pada siangnya kembali diamankan dua orang. Kini mereka berada di ruang Satuan Intelkam Polres Mimika untuk diinterogasi secara intensif.
Sejumlah warga tersebut diamankan lantaran sebelumnya hendak melakukan aksi demo damai menolak Otsus jilid II, tapi rencana aksi demo itu tidak diizinkan aparat setempat.
“Pagi tadi ada sekitar tujuh orang yang kita imbau tapi mereka menolak, kita amankan untuk kita interogasi,” kata Kapolres saat ditemui di Lapangan Timika Indah.
“Kita akan interogasi mengapa dia melakukan seperti itu.Tentunya nanti setelah kita interogasi, kita beri imbauan-imbauan dan nanti kita akan pulangkan,” sambungnya.
- Impact of Event
- 9
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Sep 29, 2020
- Event Description
Perkumpulan Advokat HAM Papua (PAHAM) mengecam tindakan aparat gabungan TNI dan Polri membubarkan paksa demonstrasi mahasiswa Universitas Cenderawasih, Papua, Senin (28/9) kemarin. Pembubaran demonstrasi oleh disebut sebagai kejahatan terhadap hak warga negara menyampaikan pendapat di muka umum.
"Pembatasan dan Pembubaran paksa aksi mahasiswa Uncen yang dilakukan oleh aparat gabungan Polri dan TNI pada aksi penolakan Otonomi Khusus mahasiswa Uncen pada 28 September 2020 di Kampus Uncen adalah tindakan kejahatan," kata advokat PAHAM, Gustaf Kawer dalam keterangan resmi yang diterima CNNIndonesia.com, Selasa (29/9).
PAHAM menyebut pembubaran paksa oleh TNI dan Polri itu diwarnai aksi kekerasan dan penembakan terhadap para demonstran.
Gustaf mengingatkan bahwa Undang Undang melarang siapapun membubarkan demonstrasi secara paksa, sebagaimana diatur Pasal 18 ayat (1) dan (2) UU N 09/1998 Tentang Kemerdekaan Menyampaikan Pendapat Di Muka Umum, bawah.
Beleid pasal tersebut mengancam pidana satu tahun penjara kepada siapapun yang dengan kekerasan atau ancaman kekerasan, menghalang-halangi hak warga negara menyampaikan pendapat di muka umum yang telah memenuhi ketentuan undang-undang.
PAHAM membeberkan kronologi pembubaran demonstrasi mahasiswa Uncen oleh TNI dan Polri kemarin. Kawer menuturkan unjuk rasa ini digelar di Kampus Uncen Abepura dan Kampus Uncen Waena, oleh mahasiswa yang tergabung dalam Front Mahasiswa dan Rakyat Papua.
Awalnya mahasiswa bertujuan melakukan longmarch aksi penolakan Otonomi Khusus jilid II ke Kantor Gubernur Papua.
Sekitar pukul 09.00 WITa mahasiswa telah berkumpul dan melakukan orasi penolakan Otsus, serta menyerukan referendum. Aksi di Kampus Uncen Waena, kata Gustaf, mendapat penjagaan ketat oleh aparat gabungan polisi dan TNI,
"Aparat melarang mahasiswa melanjutkan aksi dan memaksa mahasiswa untuk bubar dari tempat aksi. Sementara aksi di Kampus Uncen Abepura dibubarkan paksa oleh aparat gabungan Polisi dan TNI," kata Gustaf.
Menurut Gustaf pembubaran paksa di Kampus Uncen Abepura terjadi sekitar pukul 10.50 WITa. Aparat disebutnya membubarkan paksa dengan cara memukul para mahasiswa peserta demonstrasi.
Tindakan aparat itu dibalas mahasiswa dengan melemparkan batu. Dalam suasana ricuh itu, Gustaf menyebut polisi melepaskan tembakan dan mengejar mahasiswa.
"Massa demonstran mundur dan lari menyelamatkan diri, lalu kemudian masa aksi mahasiswa kembali berkumpul dan menduduki ruas jalan di samping kampus Fakultas Hukum Uncen Bawah," ujar Gustaf.
Ia menyebut dalam insiden ini polisi menangkap tiga mahasiswa yang merupakan penanggung jawab aksi yaitu Ayus Heluka, Salmon Tipogau dan Kristian Tegei.
"Polisi juga memukul 2 mahasiswa hingga terluka dan berdarah, yaitu Yabet Lukas Degei dan Selius Wanimbo. Yebet Lukas Degei dipukul di bagian kepala belakang hingga kepalanya terluka dan berdarah, sedangkan Selius Wanimbo dipukul dengan popor senjata di bagian badannya hingga terluka dan berdarah," imbuh Gustaf.
Polda Papua sendiri saat dikonfirmasi usai insiden terebut membantah telah melakukan pembubaran paksa aksi mahasiswa di sekitar Universitas Cendrawasih.
"Tidak ada bentrok, Polri bubarkan paksa setelah laksanakan negosiasi," kata Kabid Humas Polda Papua Kombes Ahmad Musthofa Kamal saat dihubungi CNNIndonesia.com.
Kamal enggan menjabarkan secara rinci aksi unjuk rasa yang terjadi itu, termasuk soal kondisi yang terjadi sehingga mengharuskan aparat keamanan membubarkan paksa para demonstran.
Dalam sejumlah video yang beredar di media sosial, puluhan aparat TNI/Polri terekam berjaga di sekitar Gapura Uncen atas di Jayapura.
Beberapa diantaranya terlihat mengenakan pakaian dinas lengkap dengan pelindung tubuh dan helm. Kendaraan taktis milik kepolisian dan beberapa aparat yang membawa senjata pelontar gas air mata juga terlihat terparkir di lokasi unjuk rasa.
Video lain juga menunjukkan massa aksi mulai kocar-kacir usai terdengar beberapa kali suara letupan yang terdengar seperti tembakan. Meski demikian, Kamal enggan menjawab soal dugaan suara tembakan itu dalam unjuk rasa.
Pembubaran paksa oleh aparat juga disebut PAHAM telah melanggar SOP pengendalian aksi masa damai (Hijau) sebagaimana diatur dalam Pasal 8 Peraturan Kapolri No 16 Tahun 2006 tentang Pedoman Pengendalian Masa.
"Aksi mahasiswa ini masih dalam situasi tertib atau damai (hijau) yang mestinya dalam penanganan polisi tidak melakukan pembubaran paksa, pemukulan dan penembakan," ucap Gustaf.
"Tindakan yang dilakukan oleh kepolisian adalah melakukan pengawalan dan pengawalan, melakukan negosiasi dan perundingan, sebagaimana diatur dalam huruf a sampai m pasal 8. Sebaliknya bukan polisi melakukan pembubaran paksa dan penembakan seperti yang terjadi dalam kasus ini," imbuhnya.
Atas tindakan paksa aparat gabungan, PAHAM mendesak pemerintah menghentikan segala bentuk pembatasan hak menyampaikan pendapat warga dan kekerasan terhadap warga.
PAHAM juga meminta Kapolri dan Panglima TNI mengubah pendekatan kekerasan dalam penegakan hukum dan Keamanan di Papua.
"Kapolri segera mengevaluasi kinerja Kapolda Papua, Kapolresta Jayapura dan Kapolsek Abepura dan mengganti dengan polisi Papua yang lebih profesional," kata Gustaf.
- Impact of Event
- 6
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Sep 28, 2020
- Event Description
La Ode Muhammad Safaat, a justice-seeking activist for Randi-Yusuf, member of the Same Blood Student Alliance (AMS) victim of a shooting, was arrested by officers from the Directorate of Research and General Crimes of the Regional Police Southeast Sulawesi on Monday, (28/9/2020 ).
Before the arrest, he was recording the ruin of protester’s camps in front of Southeast Sulawesi District Police office that was ruined by a group of unknown people two weeks before. While documenting, he was stopped by a police and got his cell phone confiscated and the police deleted his recording of the ruins of the camps. A few moments later, he got arrested and taken to the police office because he made a Facebook post titled “Is there any Police from Southeast Sulawesi Police District that still have functioning brain?”
During the investigation, Faat stated that the police threatened to skin him as well as gouge his eyeballs. A police officer also kicked a chair beside Faat during the investigation as a form of intimidation toward him. He was released at around 18.45 WITA although the police still process his case in order to charge him criminally.
According to the Director of Investigation and General Crimes of Southeast Sulawesi Regional Police, La Ode Aries Elfatar, Safaat was interogated at the Regional Police Headquarters Office and released at 19.30 WITa. He was accused for assaulting the institution through his Facebook post about the investigation of Randi-Yusuf's case.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 24, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong police arrested prominent democracy activist Joshua Wong on Thursday for participating in an unauthorised assembly in October 2019 and violating the city's anti-mask law, according to a post on his official Twitter account.
Wong's latest arrest adds to several unlawful assembly charges or suspected offences he and other activists are facing related to last year's pro-democracy protests, which prompted Beijing to impose a sweeping national security law on June 30.
Hong Kong police confirmed they arrested two men, aged 23 and 74, on Thursday for illegal assembly on Oct 5, 2019.
The arrest of Wong, aged 23, comes around 6 weeks after media tycoon Jimmy Lai was detained on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces.
Wong had been a frequent visitor to Washington where he appealed to the U.S. Congress to support Hong Kong's democracy movement and counter Beijing's tightening grip over the global financial hub. His visits drew the wrath of Beijing, which says he is a "black hand" of foreign forces.
Wong disbanded his pro-democracy group Demosisto in June, just hours after China's parliament passed national security law for Hong Kong, bypassing the city's local legislature, a move widely criticised by Western governments.
His long-time colleague, Agnes Chow, and two other activists were also among 10 people police arrested in August on suspicion of violating the new law.
The new law punishes anything China considers as subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with up to life in prison.
Wong was just 17 years old when he became the face of the 2014 student-led Umbrella Movement democracy protests, but he was not a leading figure of the often violent unrest that shook the semi-autonomous former British colony last year.
An anti-mask law was introduced last year in a bid to help police identify the protesters they suspected of committing crimes and it is facing a challenge in court. In the meantime, the Hong Kong government has made face masks mandatory in most circumstances due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The European Union on Thursday criticised the arrest of the prominent activist, saying it was "troubling" and undermined trust in China.
"The arrest of Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong on 24 September is the latest in a troubling series of arrests of pro-democracy activists since the summer," an EU spokesperson said, calling for "very careful scrutiny" by the judiciary.
"Developments in Hong Kong call into question China's will to uphold its international commitments, undermine trust and impact EU-China relations."
The EU has repeatedly voiced concern at the new Hong Kong security law, which critics say erodes important freedoms in the city.
Last week senior EU leaders pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping over the situation in Hong Kong at a video summit, saying democratic rights in the city must be preserved.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Sep 24, 2020
- Event Description
Ribuan orang dari Petisi Rakyat Papua (PRP) Wilayah Meepago berkumpul untuk aksi tolak Otonomi Khusus Jilid II, Kamis (24/9/2020), sekira pukul 06.30 di daerah Siriwini, Karang Tumaritis, Universitas Satya Wiyata Mandala, Kalibobo, SP, dan Wadio/Wonerejo. Tempat tujuan aksi damai yakni kantor Bupati Kabupaten Nabire dan mereka telah mengirimkan surat pemberitahuan demonstrasi empat hari sebelumnya ke pihak Polres Nabire. Juru Bicara PRP Jefry Wenda mengatakan polisi tidak menerbitkan tanda terima surat. “Kami sadar tugas polisi untuk mengamankan jalannya aksi, tidak ada alasan membatasi aksi,” ucap dia ketika dihubungi Tirto, Jumat (25/9/2020). Saat aksi berlangsung, anggota TNI dan Polri datang untuk berjaga. Aparat berseragam dan bersenjata lengkap, mobil water canon pun dikerahkan, mereka datang lebih dahulu ketimbang massa. Begitu demonstran datang, polisi mulai menangkap sebagian massa. “Sekitar 100 orang dibawa ke Polres Nabire. Kesalahan polisi, dong tak tahu kalau ada barisan massa yang cukup besar, ribuan [orang datang] dari arah SP hingga Wadio. Mereka longmarch,” jelas Jefry. Ada polisi, lanjut dia, yang merampas ponsel massa, mengancam, dan pemukulan ‘yang tidak parah’. Mengetahui rekannya ditangkap dan digiring ke kantor polisi, massa menyambanginya. Mereka membatalkan orasi di depan kantor bupati. Kehadiran massa ke Polres Nabire guna meminta kepolisian melepaskan kawan-kawannya. Perwakilan massa dan polisi bernegosiasi. Hasilnya, di depan markas polisi itu demonstran yang juga ditemani oleh kepala-kepala suku setempat, dipersilakan berorasi dan membacakan sembilan tuntutan yang isinya, jika disarikan, yakni: Menolak perpanjangan Otsus Jilid II di Papua dan Papua Barat; memberikan rakyat Papua untuk menentukan nasib sendiri via referendum; penarikan aparat; juga mengutuk penembakan terhadap pendeta. Usai pembacaan tuntutan, 100 orang peserta aksi itu dibebaskan. Massa mulai membubarkan diri sekitar pukul 17.30. Jefry menyatakan para demonstran paham agar tak terprovokasi karena penangkapan, namun watak kepolisian ia sebut reaksioner dan arogan. “Berhadapan dengan mereka itu sudah konsekuensi kami.” Rencana aksi lanjutan tolak Otsus Jilid II akan berlangsung, belum diketahui waktu pastinya. Menurut Jefry, rakyat perlu berekspresi karena otsus di sana dianggap tak bermanfaat, ‘hanya menciptakan raja-raja baru di Papua yang menindas orang Papua’. Kabid Humas Polda Papua Kombes Pol Ahmad Musthofa Kamal menyangkal ada penangkapan massa. “Tidak ada. Mereka pasca-orasi di Polres Nabire, bubar. Massa mau ke kantor bupati, karena bupati tidak ada, maka massa diarahkan ke polres dan temu beberapa tokoh,” ucap dia ketika dikonfirmasi Tirto, Jumat (25/9). Sementara, berdasarkan keterangan tertulis dari Koalisi Penegak Hukum dan HAM Papua pada 23 September, ada tujuh demonstran yang ditangkap dalam aksi serupa di Timika yaitu Petrus Aim, Fredy Yeimo, Ardi Murib, Dorlince Iyowau, Melvin Yogi, Penehas Nawipa, dan Deborius Selegani. Demonstrasi damai itu dibubarkan paksa oleh polisi. Kepala Sekretariat United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Markus Haluk menyatakan kurang dari satu pekan ini banyak rentetan pelanggaran yang menimpa orang Papua, seperti penembakan yang berakibat kematian Pendeta Yeremia Zanambani di Hitadipa; aparat gabungan TNI-Polri merazia KTP dan kartu mahasiswa terhadap mahasiswa Papua di asrama Kota Manado, Tomohon.dan Tondano; maupun pengepungan dan intimidasi dari ormas di Kota Makassar bagi pendukung Petisi Rakyat Papua. Markus berpendapat, selama 57 tahun (1963-2020) Indonesia menduduki Papua, ruang demokrasi dibungkam dengan hukum dan senjata militer. ”Pembunuhan terhadap rakyat dan bangsa Papua terjadi depan mata rakyat pun selalu disangkal dan dianggap hal biasa. Nyawa manusia Papua dianggap benda yang tidak ada nilainya,” kata dia dalam keterangan tertulis, Jumat (25/9).
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Sep 22, 2020
- Event Description
Three Arakanese student leaders detained over an anti-government protest earlier this month will be charged under the Peaceful Assembly Law in a legal change from earlier indications that they would be prosecuted using the Natural Disaster Management Law.
The three students were arrested during a demonstration on September 9 outside the Arakan State government offices, where they were demanding the restoration of internet access and an end to human rights abuses in Arakan State.
They were remanded until September 24 under Section 25 of the Natural Disaster Management Law, but the lawsuit was changed at the Sittwe Township Court on September 22 as it was determined that the legislation was not appropriate for the circumstances.
Section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law covers a requirement to inform authorities in advance of a planned demonstration.
“The section under which to prosecute them was changed according to the recommendation of the legal office,” said U Kyaw Nyunt Maung, a lawyer for the students — Ko Toe Toe Aung, chair of the Sittwe University Students’ Union, and information officers Ko Kyaw Naing Htay and Ko Oo Than Naing of the Arakan Students’ Union and Sittwe University for Computer Studies respectively.
Section 19 allows for bail, and the trio were released with their trial’s first hearing scheduled for October 6.
Members of student unions in Yangon, Mandalay and Meiktila have also faced charges for protesting against human rights abuses in Arakan State. Cases have been opened against some 20 students under various legal statutes including at least one charge of incitement.
“We thank our alliance students who support us. We want to urge them to keep trying together in the future,” said Ko Kyaw Naing Htay, information officer for the Arakan Students’ Union.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Minority rights defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 22, 2020
- Event Description
Chinese authorities should immediately quash the 18-year sentence against a property tycoon and outspoken critic of President Xi Jinping, Human Rights Watch said today.
On September 22, 2020, a Beijing court announced on its website that Ren Zhiqiang had been convicted of taking bribes and embezzling public funds. He was also fined 4.2 million yuan (US$620,000).
“The corruption charges against Ren Zhiqiang are a thin cover for President Xi Jinping’s intolerance of dissent,” said Yaqiu Wang, China researcher. “The 18-year sentence handed down to a Communist Party member and member of the economic elite shows the grim environment for speech in China.”
Ren, 69, is the former chairman of Huayuan, a state-owned real estate group. He was born into a political family – his father was a deputy commerce minister. He rose to public prominence after garnering 38 million followers on the Chinese social media site Weibo. Known as “The Cannon,” Ren often used the platform to express views critical of authorities, and to urge the Communist Party to improve its governance of the country.
In March, the Beijing police detained Ren after he criticized the Chinese government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. In an online essay, Ren wrote that “People’s lives are harmed by both the virus and the serious ills of the system.” While he did not mention Xi by name, he suggested Xi was a “clown stripped naked who insisted on continuing being emperor.”
In July, the Beijing Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Chinese Communist Party’s abusive internal investigation agency, announced that Ren had been expelled from the Party and would be prosecuted on corruption charges. The commission did not make public where Ren was being held, and it is unclear what, if any, access he had to family members or lawyers of his choice.
The case highlights serious due process concerns and the absence of credible, publicly available information to substantiate the charges against Ren. The trial, held on September 9 at the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Court, was secret. Neither the court nor Chinese state media released any information regarding the proceedings. Ren’s friends said that he was represented by a government-appointed lawyer, but it is unclear whether he had requested his own lawyer. The court said Ren had confessed to all charges and would not appeal.
The authorities’ treatment of Ren in detention is unknown, but as Human Rights Watch documented in a 2016 report, abuses against detainees in corruption cases are common. They include prolonged sleep deprivation, being forced into stress positions for extended periods, deprivation of water and food, and severe beatings. Detainees are also subject to solitary and incommunicado detention in unofficial detention facilities. After “confessing” to corruption, suspects are typically brought into the criminal justice system, convicted, and sentenced to often lengthy prison terms.
In February 2016, Ren was banished from social media in China after he criticized Xi for calling on the Chinese media to “serve the Party” in a speech. The authorities publicly censured Ren and put him on a one-year probation from the Party.
“Ren’s sham trial may put him in prison for the rest of his life,” Wang said. “A failure to immediately release Ren would show the world that China’s legal system is a tool for settling political scores, not delivering justice.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Sep 20, 2020
- Event Description
The members of Makkal Pathai, a not-for-profit organisation based out of Chennai, have been on a hunger protest against National Eligibility cum Entrance Examination (NEET) in their offices in Chennai over the past week. On Sunday, the seventh-day of protest in Chennai, the members were forcefully dragged away by the police. Members also allege that the police misbehaved with them. Koyambedu police have lodged about 30 members at a kalyana mandapam while six who were on the hunger-protest have been admitted to Kilpauk Medical College (KMC). No case has been registered.
Visuals shared on Makkal Pathai’s Facebook page shows police forcefully entering into the office premises following which members are dragged out. They can be heard condemning police brutality.
Sharing voice notes from KMC where about six of them are currently kep, member Chandra Mohan (41) says, “We have been continuing our hunger protest for six days. They have hit us and admitted here at KMC. Women’s clothes were lifted, they were shamed, we were shamed and we have been brought here. We condemn this brutality.”
In an audio note, Chandra Mohan says the members have rejected IV fluids and are still fasting in the hospital. "We gave our word to the people. We will continue our fasting until they tell us." He further alleges that the police have ransacked their office in Chennai taking away phones and computers.
Speaking to TNM, Koyambedu police station Inspector K Madeswaran says no complaint has been filed on the members but their protest had to be stopped since it was a health risk. “We have been asking them every day to stop their hunger protest. Moreover, groups of people gather there on a regular basis. Press is invited and this crowding of people is a risk especially due to the pandemic,” he tells TNM.
“We have not registered any case against them yet because they are giving us their details. They are requesting for the Chief Minister to come down in person to listen to their demands and scrap NEET,” he adds.
When asked about allegations of women being harassed the officer says, “We only tried to end their fasting. Even though they have not eaten in six-days, they put up a good resistance.”
Vignesh, the coordinator from Coimbatore says, “We are holding a one-day fasting protest here in Coimbatore office. Police have arrested our members who were holding hunger-protest for six continuous days in Chennai. We condemn this.”
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community), Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Raid, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, NGO, NGO staff, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Sep 18, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in Vietnam have arrested a Facebook user for sharing his grievances about how the local government has handled a dispute over his family’s land, RFA has learned.
Le Van Hai, from Binh Dinh province in the country’s South Central Coast region was charged with “abusing freedom and democratic rights to infringe upon the interests of the state” under Article 33 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code.
Local media outlet Youth Online reported the arrest Friday and it was confirmed by police in Binh Dinh.
According to the report, Le was detained over a period of two months, and police conducted a search of his residence in the coastal city of Qui Nhon.
The police investigation into Le’s case states that he often used his Facebook account to share or post many stories that slandered or offended the prestige of Vietnamese government leaders, including communist party members and provincial officials.
Le had also sent many complaints to Binh Dinh authorities asking for compensation payments because his family’s house and land had been confiscated to build a wastewater treatment plant in Qui Nhon.
When authorities denied the request, he shared his frustration on Facebook.
While all land in Vietnam is ultimately held by the state, land confiscations have become a flashpoint as residents accuse the government of pushing small landholders aside in favor of lucrative real estate projects, and of paying too little in compensation to farming families displaced by development.
Le’s case came to light after a court in Hanoi sentenced two vilagers to death, and gave several others long sentences, in the trial of 29 villagers over a deadly land-rights clash in January at the Dong Tam commune near Vietnam’s capital.
Three police officers were killed in the Jan. 9 clash when they were attacked by petrol bombs and fell into a concrete shaft while running between two houses. The village elder and father of the two condemned convicts also died in the raid.
Vietnam, with a population of 92 million people, of which 55 million are estimated to be users of Facebook, has been consistently rated “not free” in the areas of internet and press freedom by Freedom House, a U.S.-based watchdog group.
Dissent is not tolerated in the communist nation, and authorities routinely use a set of vague provisions in the penal code to detain dozens of writers and bloggers.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Sep 18, 2020
- Event Description
Mr. Dhirendra Pratap isa Dalit rights activistandthe national president of an organization called "Purvanchal Sena” formed in 2006 and working against the oppression of Dalits.
On September 08, 2020,in Kusmaul village in Gorakhpur, a candidate for Pradhan’s election Mr. Sonu Jatav was abusedwith‘casteist slurs’by the sitting Gram PradhanMr. Vivek Shahi.Mr. Dhirendraand his organisationopposedthis incident and the police filedan FIR under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (PoA) against the Pradhanon September 09, 2020.However,Mr. Vivek was not arrested and he is alleged to have gone to the Dalit colony and abused Dalits in front of the police.The police instead of upholding law and order and arresting Mr. Vivek, remainedsilent and abetted the atrocities. A video was also made of this incident.Mr. Dhirendra and his organisation were constantly demanding the arrest of Mr. Vivek.
On September 18, 2020, around 02:00 AM, 20-25 men in plain clothes, armed with guns,jumped the wall and entered Mr. Dhirendra’shome in village Betiahata,Gorakhpur.When Mr. Dhirendra’s fatherenquiredwho they were and how did theyenter hishome, they said that theywere from the crime branch andhad come for an investigationand started searching their home room by room. Mr. Dhirendra was sleeping in hisroomduring this time. When he woke up, the intruders told him too that theyare from the crime branch and said that “You are Dhirendra ‘Purvanchal Sena’ president, now you will know how to become a leader.”Mr. Dhirendra asked them for anarrest warrant or notice, hearing which theystarted abusing himand forcibly triedto take him. Mr.Dhirendra's younger brother was recording this entire incident onhis mobile. After seeing him record the incident, the policemen snatched the mobile from the younger brother and took him too forcibly. They also abused and harassed women.When the two brothers were brought out of the house, the family also came out and noticed that some policemen inuniformwere standing outside the house.There were 6-7 cars,including a police jeep. The policemen started slappingboth HRDs, while trying to force both brothers into theircar. When their father tried to rescue his son, they tried to beat him with a lathi. Then theyforcibly abducted both thebrothersandtook them.In themorningtheirfather went to nearest police station–Cantt Police Station in Gorakhpur –and asked about his sons. But the policemen replied that they did not knowabout them. He then went to successive police stations to ask about his sons but did not get any information. Then he went to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)GorakhpurMr.Bhupendra Kumar Singh’s office but Mr. Singh was not present,so he left a letter regarding the incident. Around 02:00 PM,hemet the District Magistrate(DM) of Gorakhpur Mr. VijendraPandiyan and told him the incident. The DM assured him that he will find his sons. Around 03:00 PM,Mr.Dhirendra and his brotherwere brought to the district hospitalof Gorakhpur for medicalexamination andafter medical theywere sent to the Gorakhpur District Jail. At 3:03 pm an FIR was registered by Mr. Amit Kumar Chaturvedi, Sub-Inspector atCantt Police Station, Gorakhpurunder sections307(Attempt to murder),332(Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353(Assault or criminal force to public servant from discharge of his duty)against Mr. Dhirendra, Mr. Yogendra Pratap and another personMr. Vicky David.TheFIRstated that on the night of September17-18, 2020, Mr. Chaturvedi, (Sub-Inspector) along with Constables Deepak Kumar and Ram Chander Yadav were on duty at Betiahata Chauraha, Betiahata, Gorakhpur.From the Crime Branch, Mr. Sadiq(SI), Mr. Chandrabhan (SI), Mr. Rashid (Head-Constable), Mr. Dharmendra (Constable), Mr. Yogesh (Head-Constable), Mr. Pradeep (Constable), Mr. Rakesh (Constable), Mr. Indresh (Constable), Mr. Qutbuddin (Constable) and Mr. Monish (Constable) had gone to the Betiahata Chauraha. They were told by aninformer that a wanted criminalMr. Vikky David is standing near Hanuman temple with two people.After getting the information, 15 policemenreached Hanuman Templewhere theysaw three people standing who said their names wasMr. Vicky David, Mr. Dhirendra Pratap and Mr. Yogendra Pratap. When all of them were body searched,it seemed as if Mr. David had a gun and in the scuffle severalpolicemen fell downand all three of themran away firing.Mr. Chaturvedi statedin FIR that,“the police searched for them but all three could not be found. That's why I'm filing a FIR”.Mr. Dhirendrawas constantly persuadingthe policeto uphold the constitution and act against Dalit atrocities. This is the main reason why the police targeted Mr. Dhirendra.The entire narrative showcasesextreme neglect and misuse of power by the Gorakhpur police. From not arresting Mr. Vivek and then abetting crime against Dalits to the post-midnight raid, abduction and illegal arrest in a fabricated case demonstrate a state of complete lawlessness in Gorakhpur. Acts by the police depict extremely serious and blatant violations of arrest procedures of the Cr.P.C, the DK Basuguidelinesand NHRC’s ownguidelineson arrestprocedures.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Raid, Use of Excessive Force, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Family of HRD, Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Sep 16, 2020
- Event Description
On September 17, Hanoi security forces detained prominent dissident Nguyen Quang A for several hours in a bid to prevent him from meeting with US Ambassador in Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink.
Dr. A, who is the head of the unregistered group Vietnam Civil Society, said the American Ambassador invited him to a coffee meeting in his private residence in Hanoi at 3.30 pm on Thursday. He planned to leave his house early to go to a bank before heading to the meeting. However, when he tried to go at 2 pm, he recognized a group of ten policemen staying near his house in Gia Lam district.
Realizing that the policemen were waiting for him, Dr. A intended to go back to his house to inform the diplomat about the police blockade, however, the policemen detained him and took him to a car, and the vehicle headed to the Ngoc Thuy ward police station, where he was held many times before.
Dr. A strongly protested the police’s move, saying his detention is illegal. He knows that their purpose is to block him from meeting with the US Ambassador but the police officers asked him about his posts on Facebook.
A told them that this detention is the 18th in recent years, and he will not answer any question from them. At 5.30 pm, the police released him.
Along with blocking Dr. A from going abroad, Vietnam’s security forces have detained him many times in a bid to prevent him from meeting with foreign diplomats from the EU and the US as well as other Western countries.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Restrictions on Movement
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Sep 15, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in Cambodia have arrested a second rapper on charges of “incitement” in days, a court official in the country’s Siem Reap province said Tuesday, after he released songs suggesting that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s lack of leadership had led to economic decline.
Long Puthera, who penned the track “Wipe Your Tears and Continue Your Journey, Khmer Eyes,” was arrested “late last week” and jailed on charges of “incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest” under Article 495 of Cambodia’s Penal Code, Siem Reap Provincial Court spokesperson Chhuon Sopanha told RFA’s Khmer Service.
“The judge ordered him detained on charges of incitement,” he said. “The accused has the right to an attorney.”
The rapper had regularly posted songs on his YouTube page under the name Thxera-Kampuchea and had thousands of followers.
Long Puthera’s acquaintances told RFA that they had been unable to contact his family members since his arrest, as they live in a different province.
The young musician is also friends with fellow rapper Kea Sokun, known for his song “Khmer Land,” which touched a political third rail by criticizing the Cambodian government’s handling of its border dispute with Vietnam.
Kea Sokun was arrested Sept. 4 in Siem Reap province and also charged with incitement after authorities booked his wedding photography business for a pre-wedding photo shoot and took him into custody when he arrived, his brother Chheang Chhat told RFA last week.
Chan Chamroeun, provincial coordinator for local rights group Adhoc, told RFA Tuesday that his organization is investigating the two cases and working to provide lawyers to defend the pair of rappers.
He said that the two young men had simply sang songs reflective of current Cambodian social issues and had not breached any laws.
“The authorities should have allowed for their freedom of expression—this freedom is important because it helps the government understand the concerns of the public,” he said.
“The authorities should allow for constructive criticism so that the government can identify loopholes in the system and fix them.”
Wave of arrests
Last week, amid an ongoing wave of arrests of voices critical of Hun Sen’s leadership, Rhona Smith, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Cambodia, wrote in a Facebook post that “the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly are protected by international human rights norms and standards as well as by the Cambodian Constitution.”
She urged authorities to ensure that those arrested are promptly tried and that their due process rights be fully respected.
On Friday the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said it had documented the arrest of 24 human rights campaigners since popular labor leader Rong Chhun, the president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, was taken into custody July 31, including eight in September alone.
While 13 were released after pledging to refrain from further rights activities, 12 remain in detention—most of whom face charges of “incitement to commit felony,” including three environmental activists.
The wave of arrests come three years after opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) President Kem Sokha’s September 2017 arrest over an alleged plot to overthrow the government with the help of Washington. Cambodia’s Supreme Court banned his party in November that year for its supposed role in the scheme.
The move to dissolve the CNRP marked the beginning of a wider crackdown by Hun Sen on the political opposition, NGOs, and the independent media that paved the way for his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to win all 125 seats in parliament in the country’s July 2018 general election.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Sep 13, 2020
- Event Description
Delhi Police arrested former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for instigating the North-East Delhi riots that broke out in February this year.
“Khalid was one of the main conspirators of riots in which 53 persons died and over 400 were injured,” special cell of Delhi Police said after the arrest.
The former JNU scholar has been questioned twice by the police over the last two months for speeches he delivered at the Shaheen Bagh protest site. According to the police, Khalid had planned the riots with former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain.
Khalid was charged with sedition and arrested in February 2016 too, for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans inside the JNU campus along with former student union president Kanhaiya Kumar and others.
“We arrested Umar Khalid late Sunday night,” said a senior police officer associated with the probe, requesting not to be named.
On August 3, the suspended AAP councillor had reportedly confessed to his crime and told the police that he was given the task to collect as much glass bottle, petrol, acid, stones as possible during the violence.
Communal violence broke out in Delhi between anti-CAA and pro-CAA protesters in February this year. Hundreds of people were detained in connection with the violence and police faced criticism for their slack management of protesters and ineffective handling of the riots.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Sep 13, 2020
- Event Description
On September 11, the day after protesters distributed anti-war material in Mandalay, Chan Aye Thar-Zan Township police in Mandalay briefly detained and charged ABFSU member Myo Chit Zaw, 21, and filed charges against 12 others for failing to notify the authorities in advance of the September 10 protest. On September 13, police briefly detained and charged ABFSU Central Executive Committee members Soe Hla Naing and Kyaw Thiha Ye Kyaw on the same charges.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Sep 12, 2020
- Event Description
The South Sulawesi water and police unit have arrested three student journalists in Makassar while they were covering a protest to reject sand mining on Saturday, September 12. The authorities released them on Sunday, September 13. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) stands in solidarity with its affiliate the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia to demand an investigation into the arrest. The student journalists arrested were Hendra, the chairman of press student at the Hasanuddin University, Mansyur, the chief editor of CakrawalaIde at the Muslim Indonesia University, and Muhammad Raihan Rahman, who also a member of the CakrawalaIde publication.
The young journalists joined fishermen on their boat to protest sandmining on Kodingareng island. On the way back to Makassar, the boat was blocked by water and police unit vessels. Although the three student journalists showed their identity cards and a letter of assignment, the officers still arrested them. They were also reportedly intimidated and harassed before being escorted to the police office.
Sand mining is a controversial activity in Indonesia. Sand mining is a controversial activity in Indonesia. The operations of sand mining has impacted the fishermen and the coastal communities in the country.
The Indonesian Safety Committee for Journalists, which also supported by AJI Indonesia as its member, has condemned the arrest and remind the police that journalists are protected by the Press Law. According to the Press Law, everyone found guilty in obstructing journalists’ works will be sentenced to jail for two years at the maximum or charged with a maximum fine of IDR500 million or US$33,000.
“The Committee calls the police to investigate the officers who obstructed and intimidated the journalists. The Committee urges all the authorities to respect journalists who are on duty,” Committee added.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender, Media Worker, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Sep 11, 2020
- Event Description
Civil society organisations have demanded a judicial enquiry into an incident of assault and police firing on Adivasi demonstrators in Bihar’s Kaimur district. Releasing a fact-finding report on Friday, members of the organisations said that the demonstrators “were not just fired upon and injured in the firing and lathi-charged but were also picked up by the police on trumped-up charges”.
According to the report, on September 11, when a delegation of Adivasi protesters tried to reach out to the forest department officials at Adhaura block of Kaimur to initiate a dialogue, they were abused and manhandled by officials.
“Later on, and quite suddenly, more police poured in, along with CRPF personnel, and unleashed a brutal assault on the Adivasi demonstrators. The police opened fire and lathi-charged the protesters,” the report notes.
“During this period, an Adivasi person Prabhu from Chaphana village was shot by a police bullet, the bullet went through his ear and took a chunk of his ear’s muscle tissue. Police lathi-charged Adivasi women, men, youths and children viciously and many were injured which went unreported. Police brutality continued in the aftermaths of this incident as well,” the report further adds.
They claimed that since September 10, thousands of Adivasis, including women, men, youths and children, from 108 villages of Adhaura Block were protesting under the banner of Kaimur Mukti Morcha in front of the forest department office at Adhaura demanding the implementation of the Forest Rights Act 2006 and rollback the proposal of Kaimur Forest Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve.
It was also alleged that on September 12, Kaimur Mukti Morcha’s office in Adhaura was ransacked by police. As per the team, seven activists affiliated with Kaimur Mukti Morcha were arrested on false charges by the police. The arrested activists were first kept in police custody and later presented in front of the judicial magistrate of Kaimur district. They were charged under different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including the Arms Act.
On October 16, all the seven activists were released on bail. Moreover, two days later, in response to the ‘boycott election call’ given by the Kaimur Mukti Morcha (KMM), political heavyweights, including the central minister of state for home, Nityanand Rai, met the protesters in Kaimoor, requesting to call off the boycott call.
Violation of forest rights
The report has been prepared by a four-member team, consisting of Amir Sherwani Khan and Matadayal of All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), and Raja Rabbi Hussain of Delhi Solidarity Group (DSG) and Aman Khan, an advocate practicing at the Supreme Court. They visited Adhaura between September 23 and 27. The report has been co-published by AIUFWP, DSG and Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP).
Speaking to The Wire, Amir Sherwani Khan, a member of the team said, “The forest department constantly violates FRA 2006 by controlling people’s rights over minor forest produce, which is very important for their livelihood.” Khan further said that Adivasi land is being taken without proper consent from Vansamiti and Gram sabhas.”
“We have demanded a judicial enquiry, because villagers want enquiry and action against the police and forest department, implementation of FRA 2006,” Khan told The Wire. According to him, villagers are panicked and terrified because 29 villagers have been charged in a fake and concocted case with serious charges of IPC, such as 307 (Attempt to murder) and the Arms act.
Other demands of the team included a proper and speedy implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, scrapping colonial Indian Forest Right Act 1927, quashing the FIR against all the accused people charged under false cases and compensation to the persons who are charged on false cases and were injured by police firing and lathi-charged. They have also demanded to declare Kaimur a Scheduled area under Panchayat (Extension Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996.
Earlier, on September 30, AIUFWP and CJP had registered a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) demanding an FIR against the officials for unleashing violence and hampering the implementation of the Forest Rights Act under Section 3 (i) (g) of the SC/ST Act.
“As organisations committed to reclaiming the rights over the land of the Adivasi and Forest Dwelling communities and a civil rights group committed to the rule of law and equality before the law as enshrined in the Indian Constitution, we urge this Hon’ble Commission to, in exercise of its powers and functions: “(a) inquire, suo motu or on a petition presented to it by a victim or any person on his behalf [or on a direction or order of any court], into complaint of (i) violation of human rights or abetment thereof; or (ii) negligence in the prevention of such violation, by a public servant,” reads the complaint signed by Roma Malik of AIUFWP and Teesta Setalvad of CJP.
Speaking at the launch of the fact-finding report, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat condemned the police action and the consistent harassment of Adivasi groups by forest officials. Karat praised the community for their consistent stands, and supported the demand for a judicial inquiry into the police firing. She also demanded the quashing of the “false cases” and FIRs lodged against 29 protestors.
- Impact of Event
- 8
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Sep 10, 2020
- Event Description
Another activist was arrested in Phnom Penh on Thursday as the U.N., international rights groups and dozens of local civil society organizations condemned the government�s �campaign of fear and repression� against human rights defenders.
Police arrested Muong Sopheak on Sothearos Blvd. in Chamkarmorn district�s Tonle Bassac commune around 3 p.m. by court order for incitement to disturb social security, municipal police spokesperson San Sokseyha said on Friday.
His brother, Muong Sony, said Sopheak had been taken by authorities from outside the minor Khmer Will Party�s headquarters. Sopheak and Sony both belong to the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association, two other members of which were arrested last weekend in relation to protests in support of jailed unionist Rong Chhun.
Sopheak�s arrest marks at least 10 activists arrested over the past month amid a series of small street protests, most in support of Chhun. At least four of those detained were members of youth activist group Khmer Thavrak.
Chhun was arrested in late July after alleging that Cambodia was losing territory to Vietnam along their shared border, a controversial and ethnically charged issue.
In a statement on Friday, the U.N.�s human rights office said it had documented the arrests of 24 human rights defenders since Chhun�s arrest, 12 of whom remained in detention.
Several activists also reported being followed and receiving threatening phone calls, including death threats, it said. �Numerous human rights defenders are currently in hiding for fear of being arrested.�
�The current situation marks a deepening of the Government�s intolerance to dissent and repression of the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,� it said, calling on the government to release the arrested activists and end the intimidation against civil society actors.
Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson also called for the activists� release in a statement on Friday, and urged Prime Minister Hun Sen to �end the de facto ban on critical protests in Phnom Penh.� On Thursday, Amnesty International condemned the arrests as �a shocking, all-out assault on Cambodia�s youth.�
Thirty-nine civil society groups signed a similar statement earlier this week. �We urge the government to end its campaign of fear and repression against peaceful youth and environmental human rights defenders,� they said on Wednesday.
The government�s permanent mission in Geneva this week responded to related criticism from U.N. envoy Rhona Smith.
�Cambodia cherishes freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly in line with the law, and is deeply conscious that plurality of voices, including the critical one, matters in the development of the country,� it said in a statement, according to state media outlet Agence Kampuchea Presse. �However, article 31 of the Constitution of Cambodia underscores that exercise of personal rights and freedom by any individual shall not adversely affect rights and freedom of others. The exercise of such rights and freedom shall be in accordance with the law.�
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- NGO staff, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Sep 10, 2020
- Event Description
The Mandalay student demonstration on September 10 protested alleged military misconduct in Arakan State. Protesters also demanded the full restoration of 4G mobile internet access in parts of Arakan and Chin states that have been deprived for more than a year.
Ko Myo Chit Zaw, from the Yadanarbon University Student Union, is being detained at the No. 6 police station in Mandalay. Charges have been brought against him under Myanmar’s Natural Disaster Management Law in addition to the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, Ko Htoo Khant Thaw said.
A total of 13 students who joined the protest have had cases opened against them under Section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly Law, according to the federation.
“It is intended so that we don’t have any rights to note matters related to the military in Myanmar. So, all 13 students who participated in the protest yesterday are facing lawsuits. We don’t think it is appropriate. In fact, we noted the actual situations on the ground,” said Ko Htoo Khant Thaw.
On September 9, three students from the Arakan Student Union who staged a protest in front of the Arakan State government offices were arrested. Cases were opened against them under Section 25 of the Natural Disaster Management Law at the Sittwe Township Court on September 10.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of expression Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Sep 9, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in Myanmar’s restive Rakhine state have arrested three students from the Rakhine Student Union for ignoring a law against large gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic by participating in a protest against the Myanmar government’s 15-month internet ban on eight townships in the state.
Toe Toe Aung, Kyang Naing Htay and Oo Than Naing staged their protest Wednesday in front of the Rakhine state government office building in the state capital Sittwe, holding signs critical of the government and military. They were arrested mid-protest and were officially charged with violating the Natural Disaster Management Act Thursday evening.
According to Myanmar’s military, the government ban on internet service to townships where Myanmar forces have been fighting the rebel Arakan Army (AA) since December 2018 keeps government troop movements secret while dampening speech that incites ethnic tensions.
The policy has however hampered aid workers helping war refugees and left people uninformed about the coronavirus pandemic.
The director of a local legal support group told RFA’s Myanmar Service that charging the students out of concern for public health was disingenuous.
“It is totally irrelevant to charge these students using the Natural Disaster Management Act. They were holding a protest. They didn’t do anything else, so it is obvious the authorities are trying to indict them for protesting,” Nyein Chan of the Thazin Legal Aids group said.
“Are they going to charge other crimes like robbery or murder that occur during this pandemic under that same law? We should question them. They are manipulating the law to prosecute these students,” said Nyein Chan.
The Legal Clinic Myanmar office told RFA it would provide legal services for the arrested trio.
“These students have asked us for legal help. We are cooperating with other CSOs to give the students the help they need. Well will try to prevent them from being charged by irrelevant laws,” said Mya Thuzar, an attorney at the clinic.
“As we are now in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, things are so unstable. So, we will make sure they will not fall into the wrong hands,” Mya Thuzar said.
Unlawful arrests
A Sittwe University Student Union official told RFA the three students were arrested in unlawful ways.
“We are pointing out the wrongdoings of the government and military. I would like to appeal to prosecute them lawfully. They say no one is above the law, whether that is the state government or anyone else,” said the student union’s vice-chair Bhone Pyae Phyo.
“The law is the law. They should apply the law equally to everyone, so I would like to appeal to the authorities to handle the case lawfully,” said Bhone Pyae Phyo.
Aung Than Wai, a Sittwe resident, told RFA that arresting the students goes against democratic ideals.
“The ruling government said they are working to maintain the rule of law, but they always detain everyone who speaks against them. This is very undemocratic,” said Aung Than Wai.
“They always try to silence us. We all know how many townships in Rakhine state are under an internet ban and for how long. These students are just trying to highlight that. The government is always trying to control all of us. This is a clear persecution of the people,” the Sittwe resident said.
At least 289 civilians have been killed and 641 injured in Rakhine state and in Paletwa township of neighboring Chin state since hostilities between the AA and the national army escalated in December 2018, according to an RFA tally.
Students charged in Mandalay
Meanwhile, in other parts of the country, police in Mandalay charged 15 college students from the All Burma Student Union when they also staged protests demanding an end to armed conflicts and the Rakhine internet ban.
Ba Chit, a student who got charged by the authorities told RFA, “They summoned me to come for interrogations. They didn’t arrest me. They asked for the details of the protests.”
“They also asked about our activities in the past. They asked me to sign a proclamation that we wouldn’t protest again but I refused. They said I was free to go,” Ba Chit said.
Kyaw Thiha Ye Kyaw, another member of the student union in Mandalay, told RFA, “I and the other members are still in our college. I told the police I would not come.”
“If they come to take me in person, I will go with them. But I will not back down. We are protesting against the 2008 Constitution. So, we will not acknowledge any charges under the constitution,” the student said.
RFA attempted to contact the police station in Mandalay for comment but were unsuccessful.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 9, 2020
- Event Description
Beijing police seized publisher Geng Xiaonan (耿潇男) and her husband Qin Zhen (秦真) on September 9. Both have been criminally detained on suspicion of “illegal business activity” and are being held at Haidian District Detention Center. Geng had alerted the world to the July detention of then-Tsinghua University professor and outspoken critic of Xi Jinping, Xu Zhangrun (许章润). Geng had organized the trip which Xu attended and which police later accused him of “soliciting prostitutes” while on. She has also tried to raise awareness of the ongoing enforced disappearance of citizen journalist Chen Qiushi (陈秋实), who reported from Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been missing in police custody since February 6. Authorities recently began an investigation into her and her husband’s publishing company, Ruiya Books (北京瑞雅文化传播有限公司), in what appears to be retaliation for her speaking out.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Family of HRD, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: outspoken publisher, her husband detained
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Sep 8, 2020
- Event Description
Vietnam�s security forces continue the persecution against the unregistered professional group Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) after arresting its key members, conducting summoning some other members for interrogation in recent days.
Mr. Hoang Van Hung from Hanoi said he was summoned by the Security Investigation Agency of the Hanoi Police Department to its office on September 1 for questioning about his membership to the organization and his activities as well as writing for its website vietnamthoibao.org.
During the interrogation, Mr. Hung admitted that he is a member of IJAVN and has some articles posted on its website, however, he did not remember details of his writing. He refused to give other details, including the passwords of his accounts on Gmail and other online applications.
Several days later, Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan, a member of the IJAVN�s Board Management was also summoned to the Security Investigation Agency of Ho Chi Minh City�s Police Department for questioning on September 8. During the interrogation which lasted from 8 am to 5 pm, police officers gave numerous questions about the IJAVN and his involvement in the organization. However, he did not give details as the investigators requested him to keep the content of the interrogation unpublicized.
Nhan said before going to the questioning meeting, he gave his phones and laptop to his trusted friend so the interrogators had no access to them. Police told him that he has to undergo other interrogations in the future.
The IJAVN was established in 2014 with the aim to work for freedom of the press in the one-party regime. Numerous articles of its members have criticized the regime on various issues, including human rights abuse, systemic corruption, widespread environmental pollution due to the regime�s unstable economic development, the government weak response to China�s violations to the country�s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea), bad economic policies, etc.
The communist government probably is affected by such articles so it is striving to silence the IJAVN. Along with using technology to attack IJAVN�s website, Vietnam�s security forces have been implementing series of measures to persecute its members, from preventing them to gather or meet with foreign diplomats to arresting a number of its key members.
In early November last year, HCM City Police Department arrested its President Dr. Pham Chi Dung, who was honored with the Information Hero award of the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and charged with �conducting anti-state propaganda� under Article 117 of the Criminal Code with imprisonment of between seven to 12 years or even up to 20 years. Next year, on May 23, the police arrested acting President Nguyen Tuong Thuy after detaining blogger Pham Chi Thanh (penname Pham Thanh) two days earlier. The two independent writers at their 70-year age were charged with the same allegation. The persecution against the organization continues with the arrest of another member named Le Huu Minh Tuan on June 12, and police threaten to detain more members of the organization in a bid to expand the case.
Vietnam, placed at 175th out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index of RSF in 2020, has arrested 18 bloggers so far this year, 12 of them were charged with �conducting anti-state propaganda� and four others were alleged of �abusing democratic freedom� for criticizing the communist government.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Sep 7, 2020
- Event Description
On 6 and 7 September 2020, three human rights defenders and members of Khmer Thavarak,Koet Saray, Tha Lavy and Eng Malai were arrested by police in Phnom Penh, for planning to takepart in a peaceful demonstration to ask for the release of several imprisoned human rightsdefenders. The three defenders have since been appeared in court,charged with �incitement tocommit a felony or cause social unrest� and moved to Phnom Penh Correctional Centres (CC) 1and 2.Khmer Thavarak is a youth group that was set up in early 2020. The movement advocates againstsocial injustices and raises concerns about pressing environmental issues in Cambodia. They havebeen at the forefront of raising human rights concerns in the country, and have also been reachingout to large audiences through their social media platforms to educate and raise awareness onvarious social issues.On 6 September 2020, Phnom Penh police arrested human rights defender and Buddhist monk,Koet Saray over his plans to participate in a peaceful assembly that was to take place on 7September 2020 at the Freedom Park in Phnom Penh. The demonstration was to call for therelease of imprisoned human rights defender Rong Chhun, and to call for the release of imprisonedmembers of Khmer Thavarak, Hun Vannak and Chhoeun Daravy. Koet Saray was presentedbefore the Phnom Penh court on the same day, where he was charged with �incitement to commita felony or cause social unrest� and later sent to pre-trial detention in Phnom Penh�s CC 1.The following day, on 7 September 2020, two other members of Khmer Thavarak were arrested byPhnom Penh police. Human rights defender Tha Lavy was arrested while exiting a tuk-tuk at theFreedom Park, while he was on his way to the demonstration. Woman human rights defender, EngMalai was arrested on the same evening, after leaving the local Office of the United Nations HighCommissioner for Human Rights in Phnom Penh. On 8 September 2020, both defenders werepresented before the Phnom Penh Court, where they were charged with �incitement to commit afelony or cause social unrest� and sent to pre-trial detention, Eng Malai in CC2, and Tha Lavy inCC1.These events closely follow the arrest of three environmental rights defenders, Long Kunthea,Phoung Keorasmey and Thun Ratha of Mother Nature Cambodia, who were also charged withincitement, for planning to organise a one-woman march to the Prime Minister�s residence to raiseawareness about the filling in the Boeung Tamok lake.Following the initial arrest on Monday, the Ministry of Interior released a statement accusing KhmerThavarak of inciting instability and disrupting security and public order, and appealed to the publicto not participate in any of the youth movement�s �illegal� activities. The Ministry called for legalFront Line Defenders is deeply concerned by the progressively hostile environment for humanrights defenders in Cambodia. Front Line Defenders condemns the arrest of human rightsdefenders, Koet Saray, Tha Lavy and woman human rights defender, Eng Malai, as it believes theyare being targeted for their legitimate and peaceful work for the protection of human rights.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Reprisal as Result of Communication
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- NGO staff, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Sep 7, 2020
- Event Description
A group of four Khmer Thavrak protesters on Monday believed their tuk-tuk was being tailed by police on motorbikes and asked the driver to make random turns before heading to the U.N.�s human rights office for help. After about five hours, including two at the U.N. office hoping they could get refuge, one of the group was finally arrested outside her Chbar Ampov home, according to a member of the group.
Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesperson San Sokseyha said on Tuesday that Eng Malai, also known as So Metta, was arrested based on a court order around 6 p.m. Monday in Chbar Ampov district. The court charged Metta with incitement to cause chaos in society, but he did not know if she had been sent to prison.
National Police spokesperson Chhay Kim Khoeun also confirmed that Metta was arrested yesterday evening and that the arrest was made based on a court order.
Metta was the fourth member of youth activism group Khmer Thavrak to be arrested since mid-August, with the group participating in a wave of protests to release unionist Rong Chhun. Chhun was arrested for making comments on the Cambodia-Vietnam border.
The Interior Ministry on Monday called the group�s activities illegal.
When San Sreyneat, a 39-year-old member of Khmer Thavrak, boarded a tuk-tuk with Metta and two other activists on Monday afternoon, she found herself followed by plainclothes officers for half a day leading to Metta�s arrest.
�We could not escape,� she told VOD on Tuesday. �If they want to arrest us, we cannot escape no matter where we go.�
Sreyneat said the group of four hired a tuk-tuk about 1:30 p.m., following Monday�s half-day rally, which was monitored by a crowd of authorities double the size of its protesters. Sreyneat�s group wanted to go home to Chbar Ampov from the Japanese and Chinese Friendship bridges, where protesters dispersed after being blocked by authorities, but she said they were afraid police would follow them home.
�I thought of going back home but when they kept following us, we decided not to go home, because we didn�t want them to know my house and come to disturb us at home,� she said.
Sreyneat said they noticed plainclothes officers were following the tuk-tuk, and activists asked the driver to make random turns in an attempt to throw officers off their tail. She said at least one motorbike followed the tuk-tuk for the entire afternoon, but there appeared to be up to six or seven motorbikes at some moments in their ride.
At one point, one of the four passengers urged the tuk-tuk to stop and asked the officers why they were following them.
The group eventually went to the U.N. human rights office in Chamkarmorn district�s Phsar Doeum Thkov commune, where they spent two hours talking with officials, Sreyneat said.
She said they knew they faced arrest upon leaving and the group asked an official for shelter, but the U.N. official denied the request, saying the development organization wouldn�t want to be accused of colluding with Khmer Thavrak or acting outside its role.
�I asked a U.N. officer to help monitor when we are being followed. I told them that I was being harassed and asked whether I could stay there or not, but they said they couldn�t allow that,� she said.
The U.N. did not respond to a request for comment about the events. Earlier on Monday, its human rights office expressed concern over the reported arrests, and said in an email that they were monitoring developments.
Sreyneat said the group left as the office closed, and when they arrived at the house in Prek Pra commune, Metta was immediately arrested by six plainclothes officers.
�I do not know why they arrested only Metta,� she said. �They think Metta is a leader who is inciting or whatever.�
Sreyneat said she was relatively new to the group, initially just supporting Khmer Thavrak from a distance before joining recent protests. She said she was nervous after being followed and then witnessing her colleague�s arrest, but Sreyneat said it was not enough to deter her.
�I am determined not to panic, and I have persuaded myself to be strong because we have not stolen or robbed anyone. We [campaign] for the nation and only demand justice, freedom and democracy,� she said. �So I have done nothing wrong and if [authorities] think of violating my rights � let them arrest [me] and let them be happy to arrest [me].�
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community), Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Sep 7, 2020
- Event Description
Three activists � including a monk � were arrested over two days at a series of small protests ongoing in Phnom Penh, with the Interior Ministry ordering action against two groups �causing chaos in society.�
In a statement released on Monday, the Interior Ministry accused Khmer Thavrak and Mother Nature of inciting instability and disrupting security and public order.
They were �causing chaos in society using social media and some news media to broadcast articles, leaflets, photos and videos as well as holding demonstrations without legal permission,� the statement said. The groups were not registered as an association or NGO with the ministry, it added.
�The Interior Ministry would like to appeal to people to please not participate in the illegal activities of these groups,� it said, ordering relevant authorities to �take action in accordance with the law to guarantee public order and national security.�
They must prevent �all causes of anarchy and chaos in society as all Cambodian people celebrate Pchum Ben,� it said.
Khmer Thavrak has been engaged in a series of protests since last month, sparked by the arrest of unionist Rong Chhun in late July over comments he made alleging that Cambodia was losing land to Vietnam. In August, Khmer Thavrak attempted to march under the banner of �I Love the Nation,� a celebration of �patriotic heroes� arrested for protecting the country�s borders.
Six of its members were arrested last month after protests held in support of Chhun, and two of them, Chhoeun Daravy and Hun Vannak, have been charged with incitement and are still in jail.
A third member, Tha Lavy, was arrested on Monday.
National Police spokesperson Chhay Kim Khoeun confirmed the arrests of Lavy, Mean Prummony, and Koet Saray on Sunday and Monday amid protests in Phnom Penh.
Kim Khoeun said they had staged protests without permission and in violation of Covid-19 public health measures, but the reason for the arrests was that they had endangered national security.
�If it did not affect social security, [authorities] would not have made the arrests,� Kim Khoeun said.
�Their arrests are not related to their demonstration � don�t confuse it. It�s different,� he said, but declined to say what the national security concerns were.
Prummony and Saray � members of another group, the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association � were arrested on Sunday, while Lavy was arrested Monday, he said.
About 50 protesters gathered near Freedom Park in Russei Keo district on Monday around 8:30 a.m. They faced barricades and a force of about 100 officers from police, military police and security guards hired by local authorities.
After verbal exchanges and being pushed away from entering the park, the protesters walked to the U.S. Embassy to submit a petition before returning. Failing again to enter Freedom Park, the small protest disbanded around 1:30 p.m.
So Metta, a Khmer Thavrak activist who participated in the demonstration, said the authorities� actions violated their rights.
�Where is our freedom? This is a public place for people,� Metta said.
Muong Sopheak, a young protester, said the goal was to lead nonviolent demonstrations demanding social justice, and the participants had no intention to incite opposition against the state�s authority.
�I came to express myself peacefully,� Sopheak said.
In a statement on Saturday, Khmer Thavrak said it would protest every day until September 15. �The demonstrations we lead are an exercise of the freedoms stated in the Constitution of Cambodia, which is the nation�s top law,� it said.
Cambodian Center for Human Rights director Chak Sopheap, said the space for freedom was dwindling. Politicians, journalists, human rights defenders, unionists and ordinary people were finding it hard to fulfill their work without fear, she said.
�When people are afraid, there will be less accountability, and Cambodian governance will have no checks and balances,� Sopheap said.
The government should listen to people�s concerns and give them the opportunity to express themselves, she said.
One of the two activists arrested on Sunday, Saray, was a monk and therefore defrocked at Wat Botum ahead of his arrest, said Khim Sorn, Phnom Penh�s chief monk.
Monks may not hold demonstrations, Sorn said.
�When asked, he said holding demonstrations was his principle, and he has to do it, so we need to let him leave the monkhood to become an ordinary person,� he said.
Meanwhile, three activists from Mother Nature, an environment group, were arrested on Thursday amid plans to raise awareness around the conservation of Boeng Tamok, one of the capital�s �last lakes.�
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Online, Right to liberty and security, Right to protect reputation
- HRD
- NGO
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Sep 6, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities on Sunday charged three youth environmental activists with incitement and ordered them to pre-trial detention over the trio�s peaceful activism calling attention to the government�s filling in of Phnom Penh�s Boeung Tamok lake.
The three environmental activists - Thun Ratha, a 28-year-old man, Long Kunthea, a 22-year-old woman, and Phuong Keorasmey, a 19-year-old woman � are members of the Mother Nature Cambodia movement and were charged on Sunday over their organising of a planned peaceful march from Wat Phnom to Prime Minister Hun Sen�s house by Kunthea to express her concerns regarding the filling and construction inside Boeung Tamok.
They were arrested on Friday, interviewed by the prosecutor and investigating judge at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court over the weekend and charged on Sunday with �incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest� under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code, which carries a prison sentence of between six months and two years as well as a fine of up to 4 million riel. Ratha was sent to pre-trial detention in Correctional Centre 1, and Kunthea and Keorasmey were sent to Correctional Centre 2.
In a separate case, authorities on Sunday also arrested two members of the Active Citizens for Justice youth movement, which had organised a gathering at Freedom Park next week to call for the release of imprisoned union leader Rong Chhun.
Venerable Koet Saray, an ordained Buddhist monk, and Mean Prommony, the vice-president of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association, were arrested in Phnom Penh over their plans to gather at Phnom Penh�s Freedom Park and call for the release of union leader Rong Chhun. Chhun was arrested in late July and charged with incitement over remarks he made to a radio station about the Cambodia-Vietnam border.
Phnom Penh Municipal Hall had previously issued a statement prohibiting the planned gathering, claiming organisers would not be able to control the number of attendees and accusing them of �inciting� members of the public to protest. The Active Citizens for Justice announced on Saturday that they would go forward with their planned gathering between September 7 and September 15.
With the arrest of Venerable Koet Saray and Mean Prommony, a total of eight people have been arrested for organising or participating in peaceful demonstrations calling for the release of Rong Chhun. More than 142 civil society groups have called on the government to release Chhun and drop all charges against him.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender, NGO staff, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Sep 6, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities on Sunday charged three youth environmental activists with incitement and ordered them to pre-trial detention over the trio�s peaceful activism calling attention to the government�s filling in of Phnom Penh�s Boeung Tamok lake.
The three environmental activists - Thun Ratha, a 28-year-old man, Long Kunthea, a 22-year-old woman, and Phuong Keorasmey, a 19-year-old woman � are members of the Mother Nature Cambodia movement and were charged on Sunday over their organising of a planned peaceful march from Wat Phnom to Prime Minister Hun Sen�s house by Kunthea to express her concerns regarding the filling and construction inside Boeung Tamok.
They were arrested on Friday, interviewed by the prosecutor and investigating judge at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court over the weekend and charged on Sunday with �incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest� under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code, which carries a prison sentence of between six months and two years as well as a fine of up to 4 million riel. Ratha was sent to pre-trial detention in Correctional Centre 1, and Kunthea and Keorasmey were sent to Correctional Centre 2.
In a separate case, authorities on Sunday also arrested two members of the Active Citizens for Justice youth movement, which had organised a gathering at Freedom Park next week to call for the release of imprisoned union leader Rong Chhun.
Venerable Koet Saray, an ordained Buddhist monk, and Mean Prommony, the vice-president of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association, were arrested in Phnom Penh over their plans to gather at Phnom Penh�s Freedom Park and call for the release of union leader Rong Chhun. Chhun was arrested in late July and charged with incitement over remarks he made to a radio station about the Cambodia-Vietnam border.
Phnom Penh Municipal Hall had previously issued a statement prohibiting the planned gathering, claiming organisers would not be able to control the number of attendees and accusing them of �inciting� members of the public to protest. The Active Citizens for Justice announced on Saturday that they would go forward with their planned gathering between September 7 and September 15.
With the arrest of Venerable Koet Saray and Mean Prommony, a total of eight people have been arrested for organising or participating in peaceful demonstrations calling for the release of Rong Chhun. More than 142 civil society groups have called on the government to release Chhun and drop all charges against him.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- NGO staff, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 6, 2020
- Event Description
An opposition activist was arrested in Hong Kong on Sunday (Sep 6) by a new police squad for "uttering seditious words", hours before a rally against a controversial security law.
The arrest of Tam Tak-chi, vice president of radical democratic party People Power, is the latest detention of a high profile democracy supporter in the financial hub and came on the morning Hongkongers had been due to vote in a general election, delayed because of the coronavirus.
An unauthorised protest in opposition to a new law that gives authorities sweeping powers - as well as the poll's postponement and a Beijing-backed COVID-19 testing programme - had more than 10,000 online subscribers.
Tam, a former radio presenter known "Fast Beat", was arrested at his home in north east Hong Kong by police officers from the national security squad, although he was not detained under the new law, police said.
"The gentleman we arrested this morning was arrested for uttering seditious words under the Crimes Ordinance's section ten," senior superintendent Li Kwai-wah said, referring to legislation enacted in the British colonial era to clamp down anti-government expressions.
According to Li, Tam was held for using words that "brought into hatred and contempt of the government and raised discontent and disaffection among Hong Kong people" in speeches made across Hong Kong this summer.
Li said the national security police was leading the arrest because at the initial stage of investigation the force suspected Tam of committing "incitement to secession" in article 21 of the national security law.
"But after collection of evidence and consulting the Department of Justice, we decided that it is more suitable to use the Crimes Ordinance," Li said.
Since the national security law was passed in Beijing and implemented in Hong Kong on Jun 30, 21 people, including pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai and prominent activist Agnes Chow, have been arrested for allegations of "incitement to secession", "collusion with foreign forces" and "terrorism acts".
Hong Kong's administration insists the law has not impinged on the rights to freedom of speech and assembly guaranteed to the territory when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Yet certain opinions and expressions in previously free-wheeling Hong Kong have become illegal, and activists have spoken of a deep chilling effect that has seen books yanked from libraries and publishers rush to amend their titles.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Sep 4, 2020
- Event Description
Young rapper Kea Sokun, 22, was charged with incitement after his arrest on Friday, Siem Reap Provincial Court spokesperson Yin Srang said.
Sokun�s father Phal Kea, told VOD that Sokun had been arrested in relation to his rap song �Dey Khmer,� or Khmer Land.
The song, posted to YouTube in April, has been watched more than 270,000 times.
�If we run out of land, there is nothing left,� Sokun raps. �Listen to me calmly: Wake up, we are heroes, handcuffed to catch thieves. Destroy the exploiters, put them in jail and lock them up. Take our freedom. Don�t be afraid, do not panic.�
Kea said his son, who dropped out of school in the ninth grade, had written the song himself without any influence from political parties.
He had spoken to his son about the police questioning, which focused on who was behind the song, Kea said.
�He said they only asked about the song, who was behind it � which party do you belong to, and which party does it belong to,� Kea said.
Licadho monitoring manager Am Sam Ath said Sokun�s detention came amid a wave of arrests against young activists that could be considered violations of free expression.
�I don�t think anyone should detain him for the song, because this is a work of art,� Sam Ath said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 4, 2020
- Event Description
Chinese authorities in the northern region of Inner Mongolia have arrested a human rights lawyer after he refused to send his child to school amid regionwide protests against plans to end Mongolian-medium education.
Police in Inner Mongolia's Tongliao city are have formally arrested Hu Baolong on charges of "leaking state secrets overseas," ethnic Mongolian scholar Khubis, who currently lives in Japan, told RFA on Wednesday.
He said he last had contact with Hu on Sept. 4.
"Hu Baolong protested because his kid was starting primary school this year," Khubis said. "As a father, he was protesting against [the ruling Chinese Communist Party's] 'bilingual education' policy."
"I was told that he was arrested for giving information to foreigners," he said. "But all his messages were on WeChat and were about regular stuff that most people know about."
Khubis said that, last time they spoke, he and Hu had avoided talking about the massive political resistance to plans to end Mongolian-medium education in the region's schools.
"We talked about everyday life; there was nothing secret or sensitive," Khubis said. "I think they are targeting him for taking part in the resistance movement among parents in Tongliao."
Class boycotts and street protests
Nomin, an ethnic Mongolian and former colleague of Hu's now living in the U.S., said she had tried to contact Hu's sister.
"I asked [his sister] if he had been detained and she said yes, he had," she said.
"The Tongliao authorities told some local parents that they detained [Hu] to encourage the local parents to settle down," Nomin said. "This was a couple of weeks ago."
"I learned via a group chat that Hu is being prosecuted and has been formally arrested."
Plans to end the use of the Mongolian language in the region's ethnic Mongolian schools have sparked weeks of class boycotts, street protests, and a region-wide crackdown by riot squads and state security police in the region, in a process described by ethnic Mongolians as "cultural genocide."
Since the start of the new semester, schools that previously offered Mongolian-medium teaching will start using Mandarin Chinese instead, phasing out any Mongolian-language teaching materials, according to local residents and overseas activists who spoke to RFA.
As well as Hu, the authorities have detained a further eight people on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," in connection with the schools protests.
Nine deaths so far
According to the New York-based Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC), at least nine people have died and thousands have been detained as the authorities launched a region-wide crackdown on the protest movement, which organized region-wide class boycotts and street protests in response to the policy change.
An estimated 300,000 students have boycotted class across Inner Mongolia since the end of August, with the authorities claiming the policy is a move towards "bilingual education."
Ethnic Mongolians in the region say it is a form of cultural genocide aimed at cutting off their remaining connection to their culture and heritage.
In several areas, the authorities dispatched SWAT teams, plainclothes state security police, and volunteers to strong-arm families into sending their children back to school, SMHRIC reported.
Parents who failed to enroll their children in school were threatened with having them expelled, while hundreds of ethnic Mongolians were forced to resign from public office after they resisted the changes to the curriculum, which were kept under wraps until the start of the new semester at the end of August.
Hu Baolong is the the founder of Tongliao's Menggali law firm, which mostly provides legal services for ethnic Mongolians, especially members of traditional herding communities.
The authorities had earlier imposed a travel ban on him after he represented a client in a politically sensitive legal case, and Hu was prevented from crossing the border into the neighboring country of Mongolia by border guards at Erenhot in 2010, on the grounds that his leaving would "endanger national security."
According to ethnic Mongolian Tara, Hu was also a veteran of the 1989 pro-democracy movement in China.
"He took part in the student movement in 1989, then went on to found his own law firm in Tongliao," Tara said. "He is a dissident, and advocate for freedom, and has been targeted all along; this time he explained the bilingual education policy to everyone in a WeChat group."
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Sep 3, 2020
- Event Description
Human rights lawyer Anon Nampa and activist Panupong Jadnok have been detained after a court revoked their bail and they refused to reapply for it.
The Criminal Court on Thursday morning deliberated Samran Rat police�s request to revoke their bail. Officials claimed they had violated the bail conditions by committing offences in a manner similar to what they had been accused of. Police submitted as evidence clips of Mr Anon�s speeches at pro-democracy rallies in Chiang Mai and Thammasat University on Aug 8 and 10, respectively.
The court revoked the bail for Mr Anon, 35, saying it agreed with police. The court stressed it had yet to rule on his guilt � it only viewed his actions are of the same nature as the previous accusation against him � and Mr Anon could still apply for bail again.
However, the lawyer did not take the offer. Instead, he wrote a note to his supporters that his duty outside was done.
Bail granted Protest-linked arrests Activist nabbed
�Let my detention today be a proof of the intimidation of people. Let�s get back at them come Sept 19, 2020,� he wrote, referring to the Free People rally planned for that day.
In another courtroom, another judge also viewed Mr Panupong, 24, a Free Youth activist, had violated the terms of his bail. �But given his age, profession and the act cited as the reason to revoke his bail, the damage had not been done to the case and the accused deserved another chance,� the judge said.
It decided to increase the surety to 200,000 baht and require that he report himself to the court in 15 days.
Like Mr Anon, Mr Panupong did not take the offer. They were taken to Bangkok Remand Prison.
On Aug 7, the pair was held for their roles at the Free Youth rally at the Democracy monument in Bangkok. The seven charges against the two men are: inciting unrest or sedition (Section 116 of the Criminal Code); illegal assembly of more than 10 people (Section 215 of the Criminal Code); holding activities at risk of spreading contagious diseases (emergency decree); obstructing public space (Section 385 of the Criminal Code); obstructing traffic (Section 114 of the Land Traffic Act); violating the cleanliness law (Section 19) and using loudspeakers without prior approval (Section 4).
The charge under Section 116 carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.
The court approved their temporary releases on bail the next day on condition that they not commit offences in the same manner that led to their arrest in the first place.
Both continued to join rallies, believing it was within their rights.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Sep 3, 2020
- Event Description
Members of the environmental group Mother Nature spent Thursday trying to trace the whereabouts of three of its prominent activists, who were arrested by Phnom Penh police in the middle of producing the group�s latest campaign video.
Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesperson San Sokseyha confirmed Thursday afternoon that Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea and Phuong Keorasmey had been arrested and detained for questioning. Ratha faced questions over broadcasting without permission from his house, while Kunthea and Keorasmey were arrested for posting news about Boeng Tamok lake, the spokesperson said.
�Our Chbar Ampov police questioned them related to the post that can be seen on the Mother Nature Cambodia page,� he said. �They posted news about the filling up of the lake and so on and they broadcasted and planned to meet leaders at home.�
On Tuesday, Mother Nature�s Facebook page posted that Kunthea planned to march by herself from Wat Phnom to Hun Sen�s house next to Independence Monument from 11 a.m. on Thursday. She wanted to express to the premier her concerns over filling and construction in Tamok lake, one of the last substantial wetlands in Phnom Penh.
Mother Nature founder Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, who was deported in 2015 and has been consistently denied re-entry to Cambodia, told VOD he was coordinating with the activists from his home in Barcelona.
He said the group was still trying to piece together details of Kunthea and Keorasmey�s arrest.
The three activists had planned to keep the demonstration to one person in order to avoid causing disruptions to traffic and drawing crowds, either of which might have been considered a disturbance of public order, Gonzalez-Davidson said.
Kunthea, dressed in white, was to walk the route to Hun Sen�s central Phnom Penh estate on her own, with Keorasmey streaming from her phone for the group�s live social media show. Ratha would be broadcasting from a simple studio set up in his home, Gonzalez-Davidson said.
But by the end of the day, all three were in police custody.
Gonzalez-Davidson said he did not know how Kunthea and Keorasmey were arrested, but he had found out that the two women were being held for questioning at the Chbar Ampov district police station.
�You�re sending 20-year-old girls to jail for wanting to meet the prime minister � they�re not even protesting,� he said.
Ratha was arrested at his home in Pur Senchey district�s Choam Chao I commune, he said. Though he was unsure whether officials confiscated any equipment from Ratha, officials left a handwritten, thumb-printed note on the door, saying that the house was closed by authorities for broadcasting news without permission.
�I�ve never seen anything like this,� Gonzalez-Davidson said. �No journalist or activist has been arrested for saying they plan to post things on Facebook.�
The note taped against the house was signed by deputy municipal police chief Bun Soksekha, deputy chief of the municipal information department Chheang Buntha, Phnom Penh municipal court deputy prosecutor Kuch Kimlong and other officials.
Information Ministry spokesperson Meas Sophorn said the ministry had received information about the three arrests, but he declined to give any details, saying authorities were processing the case.
�The ministry has no additional comment on this work since the case is in the procedure of the authorities, and the ministry will continue to follow this case,� he said.
Authorities have taken strict measures against youth protesters in recent months, most recently arresting four activists who were prominent in demonstrations calling for the release of unionist Rong Chhun. Authorities have also thwarted a bicycle tour and a photo exhibition to raise awareness about the conservation of Koh Kong Krao island, as well as memorials and marches for murdered political analyst Kem Ley.
There were not many people left who were willing to voice their criticisms of the government, Gonzalez-Davidson said, but he felt that the arrests were stirring anger among the general public.
�The status quo is changing,� Gonzalez-Davidson said. �Cambodia is becoming more and more of a Stalinist [government], very similar to Laos and approaching North Korea territory in terms of jailing people for posting on Facebook. But that doesn�t mean we will stop talking about it.�
Pat Rasmey, the wife of Ratha, said she believed her spouse�s arrest was due to his social work, and she would make her voice heard too.
�He dares to speak straightforwardly on the current social issues,� she said. �If they do not release my husband, I will protest the next day.�
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- NGO staff, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Sep 2, 2020
- Event Description
On 7 and 8 September 2020, human rights defenders, Sagar Tatyarao Gorkhe, RameshMurlidhar Gaichor and, woman human rights defender Jyoti Jagtap of the Kabir Kala Manchwere arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), in relation to the violence that broke-outat Bhima Koregoan on 1 January 2018. The three defenders are currently being held in NIAcustody in Mumbai.Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) is a Pune based cultural troupe formed by members of the youth in theBahujan community in the state of Maharashtra. Their performances speak out against the castesystem and the various atrocities committed against the community across the country. SagarTatyarao Gorkhe, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap form part of a group of musiciansand poets in the cultural organisation. As part of the group, the three defenders performed at the‘Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Din Prerana Abhiyan’ on 31 December 2017,a celebration of the 200thanniversary of the Dalit victory over the Peshwas (upper caste rulers) in the Battle of Koregaon. On 7 September 2020, human rights defenders Sagar Tatyarao Gorkhe and Ramesh MurlidharGaichor were arrested at the NIA office in Mumbai. Almost two months previous, between 13 and15 July 2020, the defenders had been called in for interrogation by the NIA, under the pretence ofbeing witnesses to Maoist activity. On 2 September 2020, both defenders were issued a notice bythe NIA, asking them to appear again on 4 September 2020 for further questioning. During theinterrogation, both Sagar Tatyarao Gorkhe and Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor were asked to implicatethose currently detained in the Bhima Koregaon case by making a false admission that thedetainees had been in touch with Maoists. Furthermore, the interrogation officials went on to statethat they would release the two defenders if they gave a such a statement under Section 164 of theCode of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which has a provision for witnesses to avoid arrest. Bothdefenders were then asked to go to the NIA office on a daily basis until 7 September 2020, at whichpoint they were arrested. The following day, the defenders were brought before a NIA SpecialJudge who ordered them to be held in NIA custody until 11 September 2020. The custody hasbeen extended until 19 September 2020.On 8 September 2020, woman human rights defender Jyoti Jagtap was arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad in Pune, and then later brought to the NIA in Mumbai. The previous day, on 7September 2020, the defender had gone to the NIA office in Mumbai after receiving a notice topresent herself earlier that day. She was briefly questioned but no statement was taken by theauthorities. When she was arrested the next day, she was brought before the NIA Special Judge on9 September 2020, who remanded her to police custody until 11 September 2020. The custody hasbeen extended until 19 September 2020.The three defenders have been targetted since their participation in the ‘Bhima Koregaon ShauryaDin Prerana Abhiyan’ in December 2017. Sagar Tatyarao Gorkhe, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor andJyoti Jagtap were all named in the initial First Information Report of the Bhima Koregaon case. On17 April 2018, the homes of all three defenders were raided by the Pune police, who seized all oftheir electronic devices, including mobile phones, CDs and hard disks. The defenders were notpresented any warrants authorising the search and neither was an inventory of items provided bythe police.The arrest of Sagar Tatyarao Gorkhe, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap, and thecontinued incarceration of twelve others accused in the Bhima Koregaon case are a direct reprisal for their peaceful human rights work. The arrests take place during COVID-19, despite the risk thatimprisoned human rights defenders face in this context. Front Line Defenders has previouslyexpressed concerns over the continued detention and health of the accused in the context of thepandemic, seeing most of them fall in the ‘at-risk’ category, and in particularhas askedthatimmediate medical attention be provided toVaravara Rao.Front Line Defenders condemns the arrest of Sagar Tatyarao Gorkhe, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichorand Jyoti Jagtap and the continued incarceration of Varavara Rao, Sudha Bhardwaj, VernonGonsalves, Gautam Navlakha, Arun Ferreira, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen, AnandTeltumbde, Mahesh Raut, Surendra Gadling and, Hanu Babu as it believes they are directly relatedto their peaceful human rights work on behalf of the most marginalised communities in India.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist, Community-based HRD, Minority rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Sep 1, 2020
- Event Description
Student Union of Thailand (SUT) president Jutatip Sirikhan has been arrested while on the way to university earlier today (1 September) for her participation in the 18 July mass protest.
Jutatip was arrested while on a taxi on her way to class at Thammasat University�s Tha Prachan campus. She went live on Facebook at 12.50 today when plainclothes police officers stopped the taxi she was in and delivered an arrest warrant.
Jutatip was taken to Samranrat Police Station. An officer accompanied her in another taxi to the station, since she did not feel safe enough to travel in the private car the officers brought to arrest her. She stayed live on Facebook and read out passages from the Thai translation of Thomas Paine�s Common Sense during the travel to the station.
She was then taken to the Bangkok Criminal Court and was granted bail and released at 17.20 using the academic position of a lecturer at Thammasat University as security. The Court did not require her to immediately pay the 100,000 baht security, but imposed the condition that she does not repeat the actions for which she was being charged � the same condition given to everyone else who has been arrested and released on the same charges.
Jutatip appeared in front of the Criminal Court after her release and gave a short press conference.
�When they were arresting me, they rode a motorcycle up to the car I was on and knocked on the window. I was shocked, thinking that they were thieves, but instead they showed me their ID cards and telling me their rank, said they were police,� Jutatip said. �I didn�t intend to run away to begin with. I know I have an arrest warrant. I have been waiting to be arrested for a very long time, but it didn�t happen until today. Each time someone gets arrested, there will be slurs against our side that we did not protest peacefully.
�I am a student and I have been harassed by the police for months, for years. Why is there no compensation for me? Why must there be compensation for the police who are servants of the dictatorship?
�There should actually be a summons first, but what happened was that the police brought the arrest warrant and arrested me. It�s extremely unfair to a student. They followed me with my phone signal, followed me from where I�m staying. They threatened my home, they threatened my family, they took a warrant to my house, so now we have to escalate our protest. Everything is supported by the Constitution.
�We pay our taxes. We must receive protection from the state, not harassment from the state. So today I have to express myself symbolically that we can do this. We must stand by our rights and freedoms. Throwing paint is also something that can be done.�
Jutatip then threw a bucket of white paint over herself while holding up her hand in the three-finger �Hunger Games� salute. She said that the white paint represents purity and justice, and that they are demanding justice back.
�We are showing that this is freedom, this is the kind of expression we can do,� Jutatip said. �Even if now it is throwing paint over ourselves, it is a way of showing that we can throw paint at any time. We can throw paint over those with power, because those with power throw legal charges over us, throw bullets at us without exception.�
�Paint can be washed out, but we can�t wash out injustice,� Jutatip said.
Afterwards, Jutatip thanked the lecturer who came to make bail for her and the people who came to support her, and helped the crowd clean the paint off the sidewalk in front of the footpath in front of the Court. �We won�t stop fighting until we win in everything, including monarchy reform and a new constitution,� Jutatip said.
Jutatip is the 14th activist to be arrested for participating in the 18 July mass protest. 15 other participants at the protest have also received a summons and reported to Samranrat Police Station to hear the charges against them on 28 August. Jutatip was charged with sedition and violation of the Emergency Decree and the Communicable Diseases Act, among other charges.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Sep 1, 2020
- Event Description
A Dalit writer and activist, Durai Guna, has been arrested in Tamil Nadu’s Pudukottai district for putting up sarcastic ‘recruitment’ posters — critical of the district administration in a circuitous way — across his native town. The posters are a way to protest against alleged administrative apathy and inaction against encroachment of a waterbody in his village.
The posters appeared as an advertisement and mockingly ‘invited’ candidates for posts ranging from tehsildar to district collector, leaving Revenue officials fuming, according to a senior police officer.
The waterbody concerned — Vettukulam water tank, spread on 3 acres of land — is in Karambakudi village of the district.
The police officer said Guna was arrested late on Tuesday based on an FIR registered under non-bailable charges under IPC Sections 170 (pretending to hold any post as a public servant) and 501 (printing any matter known to be defamatory), among others.
The officer said, “The posters defamed the administration. We received the complaint from a village official, and were told to file a case and arrest him.”
Maintaining that Guna had “motives” to defame the administration when he had proper methods to raise a complaint, District Collector P Uma Maheshwari said, “Now I have decided to book all encroachers (of the waterbody concerned) under Goondas Act.”
The poster — titled “Job Openings, People Needed” — invited honest and efficient candidates for the posts of collector, district revenue officer, tehsildar and village administrative officer in order to revive a waterbody by removing encroachment as per Madras High Court’s order. According to it, qualifications required were “common sense, self-respect and maturity.”
Asked about the arrest on serious charges for what was seemingly a harmless protest criticising the administration, District Collector Maheshwari said, “There were many complaints against him. He was arrested twice for different offences. I am told by the police that there are four FIRs against him and he was let out on bail after arrests on both occasions.”
Stating that Guna never approached her with a petition on the issue, Maheshwari said: “He petitioned the tehsildar. Our officials inspected the land and decided to give two months’ time since they (villagers) had already sown crops for this year.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist, Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Aug 30, 2020
- Event Description
The malicious attacks on Adivasis are on the rise even as illegal felling of trees and other intimidation tactics by the forest department continue in isolated incidents across the country. The latest incident took place in Madhya Pradsh where some forest officials illegally detained, assaulted and tortured two activists: Kailash Jamre and Pyarsingh Waskale working for Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan in Burhanpur district Madhya Pradesh.
On August 29, two Adivasis- Jabarsing Keriya and Somla Chamarsingh were picked up while going back to their village after buying groceries. No information was provided to villagers until late that night. The next morning, the forest staff called Kailash Jamre and asked some of them to come to court to apply for bail for the two tribals. Pyarsingh Waskale accompanied Kailash as they attended the hearing of Jabarsingh and Somla. The forest department offered no evidence, nor did they present a chargesheet of the crimes committed by the two, however their bail application was rejected. As Kailash and Pyarsingh were exiting the court, on August 30, they were forcibly picked up by Khaknar Range Officer Abhay Singh Tomar and a few others.
Kailash and Pyarsingh were then taken to Khaknar Range office, where they were illegally locked up all night, and were allegedly brutally beaten up by around 20-25 staff and officers. According to Kailash, 2 or 3 people would hold their limbs while the others beat them with lathis. Most were drunk, and kept abusing them for ‘talking too much about the law and being the leaders of the sangathan’.
When the news of the illegal detention reached the village, many Adivasis gathered at Khaknar police station late at night and demanded registration of FIR against the forest officials. But, like in so many other cases of recent times, the police refused to file FIR and instead threatened the Adivasis with arrest. They were also allegedly misled by the police that Kailash and Pyaarsing had been taken to Burhanpur and that they had not been mistreated and would be produced in Court the next day.
They were brought to the District Court, Burhanpur, the next day and as Kailash and Pyarsingh were so brutally beaten up in custody, Kailash could barely stand and collapsed in court, whereafter he was hospitalised for 6 days and he is still unable to walk.
Both Kailash Jamre and Pyarsing Vaskale, of Rehmanpur village in Khaknar block are active members of Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan and constantly educate Adivasis about the provisions of the Forest Rights Act and their other legal rights. They have also, along with others, been active in opposing illegal clearing of forests which is happening with the active connivance of forest officials. They were mercilessly beaten up by forest department officials who said, “Tum hi jyaada kanoon karte ho.. dekhte hai teri sangathan kitni mazboot hai” (You are the ones who talk too much about the law.. now let’s see how strong your organisation is).
The region has a history of violence against Barela and Bhilala Adivasis who are claimants under the FRA. The forest staff, for decades has been demanding money from Adivasis for sowing, harvesting along with threats of false charges and cases slapped on them. Kailash and Pyarsingh are activists who for the past two years have been generating awareness about the Forest Rights and other legal rights and entitlements for Adivasis – putting an end to the decades of extortion by forest staff and officials from Adivasis for simply growing food.
Kailash himself and Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, as an organization have written to the District Collector and Superintendent of police giving a detailed account of the incident and demanding action. They have demanded that strict action be taken against the forest officials and they be booked under sections of the IPC as well as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as also the false cases against the adivasis and the activists be withdrawn.
Organisations that work at grassroots level to awaken and strengthen tribal communities seems to have become the new target of forest officials possibly because these activists always come to the rescue and raise their voice along with fellow adivasis whenever any injustice is meted out by forest officials.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Abduction/Kidnapping, Intimidation and Threats, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Minority Rights, Right to fair trial, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender, Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Aug 27, 2020
- Event Description
Dozens of Kazakh activists were given short jail sentences or fines for attending a commemoration of prominent civil rights campaigner Dulat Aghadil, who died in custody in February.
At least seven people were found guilty for attending an unsanctioned rally and sentenced to up to 15 days in detention this week, relatives and rights defenders said.
Among those jailed were activists Alma Nurysheva and Alsan Hasanonov, who were sentenced by a court in Aqmala Province on August 27. Their trials took place via a video link.
The same court ordered several other activists to pay fines ranging between $200 and $400.
Kazakh human rights defenders say “dozens” of activists from Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Aqtau, Oskemen, and Semei cities have gone on trial in recent days.
At least 100 people attended the commemoration on August 8 in Aghadil’s home village of Talapker in the Aqmola Province.
They walked from Aghadil’s family home to the village cemetery where he was buried to commemorate the civil rights campaigner.
Aghadil, 43, died under mysterious circumstances while being held in pretrial detention in the capital, Nur-Sultan, in late February, just one day after being arrested for failing to comply with a court order to report to local police.
Authorities said Aghadil died from a heart attack, but his family and fellow rights defenders say he had no history of heart issues.
Rallies were held in Nur-Sultan and other cities in February and March to demand a thorough investigation into his death.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Aug 26, 2020
- Event Description
Thai authorities are increasingly arresting pro-democracy leaders in Bangkok for their role in organizing the widening protests, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should immediately drop all charges and unconditionally release pro-democracy activists arbitrarily detained for participating in peaceful rallies.
On August 26, Thai police arrested Tattep “Ford” Ruangprapaikitseree and Panumas “James” Singprom of the Free Youth Movement. The police charged the activists with sedition, which carries a maximum seven-year prison term, assembly with an intent to cause violence, violating the ban on public gatherings, and other criminal offenses related to their involvement in a peaceful pro-democracy protest in Bangkok on July 18. Both are prominent advocates for gender equality and LGBT rights.
“Thai authorities should stop arresting and charging activists for organizing and participating in peaceful pro-democracy rallies,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “The Thai government should stop believing that cracking down on protest organizers will make the pro-democracy rallies go away.”
The Bangkok Criminal Court released Tattep and Panumas on bail in the evening of August 26 after an opposition member of parliament used their position to guarantee the activists’ release, and on the condition that they would not engage in the alleged offenses for which they were arrested. Upon their release, the two activists announced that they will continue to speak at pro-democracy rallies.
The police previously arrested six pro-democracy activists on similar charges. Tattep, Panumas, and these activists are among 31 people whom the police seek to arrest for speaking onstage at the July 18 protest at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument organized by the Free Youth Movement. The protesters called for democracy, political reforms, and respect for human rights.
Since the July 18 protest, youth-led protests by various groups have spread across Thailand. The largest protest was in Bangkok on August 16, with participants calling for the dissolution of parliament, a new constitution, respect for freedom of expression, and reforms of the institution of the monarchy to curb the current monarch’s powers. One of the activists, Arnon Nampha, a lawyer, has been arrested three times in one month on the same charges involving different protests.
In recent days Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha appears to have dropped his previous pledges to listen to dissenting voices and adopted a more hostile stance toward pro-democracy activists. “There are conflicts in our society,” the prime minister said at the gathering of government supporters on August 25. “The core of Thailand is comprised of nation, religion, and monarchy. This will never change. I will never allow that to happen. Every Thai must defend Thailand from those who want to destroy our country ... The law will never forgive them.”
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Thailand ratified in 1996, protects the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. However, Thai authorities have routinely enforced censorship and gagged public discussions about human rights, political reforms, and the role of the monarchy in society. Over the past decade, the government has prosecuted hundreds of activists and dissidents on serious criminal charges such as sedition, computer-related crimes, and lese majeste (insulting the monarchy) for peacefully expressing their views.
“Thailand’s human rights crisis is increasingly reverberating around the world,” Adams said, “The United Nations and concerned governments should press the Thai government to end the crackdown on pro-democracy activists and peaceful rallies, and unconditionally release those arbitrarily detained.”
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Aug 26, 2020
- Event Description
A Kazakh activist has been sentenced to 10 days of administrative detention for taking part in an unsanctioned rally commemorating prominent civil right campaigner Dulat Aghadil, who died in custody in February.
Aitbai Aliev’s family said that the activist was detained by police in the southern province of Qyzylorda on August 26 and sentenced about 30 minutes later by a court in another province.
"They detained my father at around 5:35 p.m…Half-an-hour later, at 6:00 p.m., a district court in Aqmola Province held a trial via a video link," his son told RFE/RL.
Aliev was sentenced on August 26 after "pleading guilty," a document from an Aqmola court reads.
In July, Aliev was found guilty of "involvement in the activities of a banned extremist group" and was sentenced to restricted freedom -- a form of non-custodial sentence -- for six months.
That sentencing came after Aliev expressed support for the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan movement led by fugitive opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov.
On August 8, Aliev joined dozens of other Kazakh activists in Aghadil’s home village of Talapker in Aqmola Province.
They walked from Aghadil’s family home to the village cemetery where he was buried to commemorate the civil rights campaigner.
Aghadil, 43, died in mysterious circumstances while being held in pretrial detention in the capital, Nur-Sultan, in late February, just one day after being arrested for failing to comply with a court order to report to local police.
Authorities said Aghadil died from a heart attack, but his family and fellow rights defenders say he had no history of heart issues.
Rallies were held in Nur-Sultan and other cities in February and March to demand a thorough investigation into his death.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Aug 26, 2020
- Event Description
Dalam rentang waktu satu bulan terakhir, beberapa anggota masyarakat adat Kinipan, Kecamatan Batang Kawa, Kabupaten Lamandau Kalimantan Tengah ditangkap. Koalisi Keadilan untuk Kinipan menganggap penangkapan masyarakat adat Kinipan ini adalah upaya kriminalisasi membungkam perjuangan masyarakat adat Kinipan dalam perlawanan terhadap ekspansi perkebunan PT Sawit Mandiri Lestari (SML).
Rabu (26/8/2020) siang, pasukan kepolisian yang di antaranya berseragam hitam, lengkap dengan rompi, helm dan senjata laras panjang, dilaporkan menangkap paksa Effendi Buhing, Ketua Komunitas Adat Laman Kinipan di rumahnya di Desa Kinipan, Kecamatan Batang Kawa, Kabupaten Lamandau.
Dari video penangkapan yang beredar, Effendi Buhing sempat menolak dirinya ditangkap. Karena menurut Effendi, penangkapan tersebut tidak jelas alasan dan persoalannya. Namun demikian, pihak polisi tetap memaksa menangkap dirinya.
Effendi terlihat diseret paksa oleh sejumlah personel kepolisian dari rumahnya menuju mobil berwarna hitam yang sudah disiapkan. Di dekat mobil tersebut, juga terlihat polisi berseragam warna hitam dan bersenjata api laras panjang. Penangkapan Effendi ini diiringi suara histeris warga dan keluarganya. Sejauh ini belum diketahui persoalan apa yang menyebabkan Effendi Buhing ditangkap.
Penangkapan Effendi ini menuai tanggapan keras dari Koalisi Keadilan untuk Kinipan. Koalisi yang di antaranya termasuk Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN) Kalteng, Wahana Lingkungan Hidup (Walhi) Kalteng dan Save Our Borneo ini menyatakan sikap. Pertama, mengecam keras tindakkan represif aparat Kepolisian dari Polda Kalteng atas penangkapan Effendi Buhing di rumahnya pada Rabu, 26 Agustus 2020.
Koalisi juga mendesak Kapolda Kalteng segera membebaskan Effendi Buhing dan 5 warga Komunitas Adat Laman Kinipan lainnya yang telah ditangkap sebelumnya. Selanjutnya, Koalisi juga meminta agar upaya kriminalisasi terhadap tetua, tokoh, masyarakat adat dan pejuang lingkungan yang berjuang mempertahankan hak, hutan, wilayah adat dan ruang hidup mereka dari ancaman alih fungsi kawasan oleh PT SML dihentikan.
"Mendesak agar pemerintah melakukan evaluasi terhadap izin PT Sawit Mandiri Lestari yang beroperasi di wilayah adat Kinipan," kata Direktur Walhi Kalteng, Dimas N. Hartono, Rabu (26/8/2020).
Dimas mengatakan, pihaknya telah menyiapkan pendamping hukum untuk Effendi Buhing. Saat ini pendamping hukum yang ditunjuk tengah melakukan komunikasi dengan pihak kepolian terkait penangkapan Effendi.
Menurut Dimas, penangkapan Effendi, Riswan dan 4 warga Kinipan lainnya ini merupakan salah satu upaya kriminalisasi, agar masyarakat tidak melakukan penolakan terhadap kehadiran PT SML.
"Kita berharap polisi tidak sebatas melihat sisi ini saja. Tapi akar masalahnya ini yang harus dilihat. Masyarakat berupaya melindungi hak mereka, melindungi peninggalan nenek moyang mereka agar tidak dirusak atau dihilangkan oleh perusahaan. Apalagi kita ketahui bersama di lokasi tersebut potensi ulinnya masih sangat besar," kata Dimas.
Dimas mengatakan, berdasarkan catatan Walhi Kalteng, sejak 2005 hingga 2018 terdapat 345 konflik antara masyarakat dengan perkebunan kelapa sawit. Semua konflik tersebut rentan terjadinya kriminalisasi dan penangkapan terkait penolakan investasi yang ada di Kalteng.
"Kenapa ini bisa terjadi? Itu yang harus dilihat lebih mendalam. Kenapa masyarakat melakukan penolakan-penolakan. Karena hak mereka tidak diakui. Khususnya terkait di Kinipan itu sendiri adalah hak mereka dalam hal mengelola wilayah adatnya sendiri secara mandiri."
Sebelum Effendi Buhing ditangkap, ada 5 warga Kinipan lainnya yang juga ditangkap dan ditahan Polda Kalteng. Yakni Riswan, Desem, Yusa, Teki dan Embang. Mereka ditangkap dan ditahan di waktu yang berbeda.
Riswan ditangkap pihak Polda Kalteng satu hari menjelang peringatan kemerdekaan Republik Indonesia yang ke-75, 16 Agustus 2020. Riswan dituduh mencuri alat pemotong kayu atau chainsaw yang digunakan para penebang ulin di areal perkebunan sawit PT SML.
Sedangkan Desem, Yusa, Teki dan Embang, dibawa ke Polda Kalteng beberapa pekan sebelum Riswan ditangkap. Kala itu keempatnya dibawa untuk dimintai keterangan. Namun belakangan, beberapa dari mereka ditetapkan sebagai tersangka dan ditahan di Polda Kalteng dengan tuduhan yang sama dengan tuduhan yang dialamatkan kepada Riswan. Yakni dugaan tindak pidana pencurian dengan kekerasan, Pasal 365 KUHPidana.
Kasus Riswan
Terkait kasus Riswan, Ketua AMAN Kalteng, Ferdi Kurinianto dalam konferensi pers yang digelar pada Senin (24/8/2020) menjelaskan, Riswan ditangkap 3 pekan setelah mediasi antara komunitas adat Kinipan dengan PT SML gagal dilaksanakan di Kantor Camat Batang Kawa di Desa Kinipan, atau 2 bulan sejak kegiatan yang dituduhkan kepadanya.
Riswan yang sehari-hari bekerja sebagai Kasi Pemerintah Desa Kinipan ini ditetapkan sebagai tersangka oleh penyidik reserse kriminal umum Polda Kalteng dengan tuduhan tindak pidana pencurian dengan kekerasan sebagaimana dimaksud dalam pasal 365 KUHP.
Tindak pidana pencurian dengan kekerasan yang dituduhkan kepada Riswan tersebut merujuk pada kejadian 23 Juni 2020. Pada saat itu, warga Kinipan tengah berjaga di hulu Sungai Toin, untuk mempertahankan hutan adatnya, lalu mendengar suara mesin chain saw yang menjadi tanda masih adanya aktivitas penebangan dan pemotongan kayu ulin oleh para pekerja PT SML.
Riswan dan kawan-kawan, lanjut Ferdi, kemudian mendatangi dan menghentikan aktivitas tersebut. Sementera satu hari sebelumnya (22/6/2020) warga Komunitas Adat Kinipan berupaya menghentikan alat berat PT SML yang hendak masuk melakukan land clearing dan membabat sisa hutan Kinipan yang bahkan saat ini sudah masuk di areal bekas perladangan warga.
Padahal pada 22 Juni 2020 itu pula telah ada kesepakatan secara lisan antara perwakilan Humas Perusahaan dengan warga bahwa tidak ada lagi aktivitas lanjutan sementara menunggu perundingan pada 29 Juni 2020 di kantor Camat Batang Kawa.
"Jadi pada tanggal 22 Juni itu ada pertemuan antara warga dengan pihak perusahan di hutan. Ada lebih 50-an orang dari pihak perusahaan. Ada kesepakatan sebenarnya, bahwa tidak ada lagi pekerjaan selama menunggu kesepakatan musyarawah pada tanggal 29 Juni. Tapi nyatanya pada tanggal 23 Juni perusahaan bekerja. Begitulah yang akhirnya memunculkan respon dari warga untuk menahan mesin (chain saw) tersebut," ungkap Ferdi, Senin (24/8/2020).
Ferdi mengatakan, sejak 2012, Kinipan selalu menolak hadirnya investasi sawit di wilayah adat mereka. Pihak pemerintah desa dan tetua adat tidak pernah membubuhkan tanda tangan persetujuan untuk masuknya perusahaan perkebunan sawit skala besar di wilayah adatnya.
Penolakan masyarakat adat Kinipan tersebut kemudian menjadi konflik yang memanas dengan PT SML, terutama sejak perusahaan melakukan kegiatan land clearing dan pembabatan hutan pada awal 2018. Permintaan dan desakan warga Kinipan agar PT SML menghentikan aktivitas land clearing dan pemotongan kayu ulin, tak juga berhenti.
"Padahal warga Kinipan telah melakukan berbagai upaya untuk mencari keadilan. Mulai dari Pemerintah Kabupaten Lamandau dan Pemerintah Provinsi Kalimantan Tengah, Komnas HAM, Kementerian ATR/BPN, KemenLHK, hingga 2 kali melakukan mediasi di Kantor Staf Presiden (KSP) di Jakarta. Namun upaya mencari keadilan atas sumber daya alam dan hak-hak mereka tak kunjung didapat."
Penangkapan dan penahanan warga Kinipan akhir-akhir ini, kata Ferdi, memperlihatkan watak otoritarian dan arogansi.
"Koalisi mengupayakan proses penangguhan penahanan kepada Riswan dengan dasar bahwa Riswan memiliki riwayat kesehatan, wasir yang cukup serius, sehingga dengan adanya penangguhan penahanan ini Riswan dapat menjalani proses perawatan untuk kesembuhan penyakitnya. Penangguhan penahanan ini akan memberi ruang bagi Riswan dalam pelaksanaan tugas dan tanggung jawabnya sebagai perangkat Desa Kinipan," kata Ferdi.
Koalisi juga menyatakan, Komunitas Adat Kinipan merupakan pejuang, pahlawan lingkungan dan budaya yang berusaha untuk mempertahankan haknya dari upaya perampasan dan penghancuran oleh korporasi dan modal. Oleh sebab itu Negara semestinya melakukan upaya perlindungan bagi warga Kinipan dan memastikan terciptanya rasa aman bagi masyarakat adat Kinipan.
"Bukan sebaliknya malah melakukan tindakan-tindakan represif dan intimidatif atas perjuangan warga tersebut."
Koalisi juga meminta agar pemerintah harus segera menyelesaikan konflik Kinipan dengan PT SML melalui mekanisme yang sesuai dengan konteks masyarakat adat Laman Kinipan. Adil, jujur, terbuka serta mengedepankan asas sebagaimana yang tertuang dalam Pancasila.
Kemudian, pemerintah harus segera mengesahkan RUU Masyarakat Adat dan Raperda Masyarakat Adat Kalimantan Tengah sebagai jaminan untuk memastikan masyarakat adat dan hak-haknya sebagai subjek hukum terlindungi secara konstitusional.
"Penangkapan Riswan bukan hanya bersifat individual, tapi ini adalah kasus kolektif komunitas adat Laman Kinipan yang dilatarbelakangi oleh konflik tenurial yang tak kunjung selesai antara komunitas adat laman Kinipan dengan PT SML."
Terkait 4 warga Kinipan lain yang juga ditahan Polda. Ferdi menjelaskan, sejauh ini pendampingan hukum terhadap keempat warga tersebut ditangani oleh Fordayak. Karena keempat warga tersebut adalah anggota pasukan Motanoi yang merupakan bagian dari Fordayak. Namun berdasarkan informasi yang didapat, beberapa di antaranya sudah ditetapkan sebagai tersangka oleh Polda Kalteng.
Parlin Bayu Hutabarat, salah seorang kuasa hukum Riswan meminta penangguhan penahanan terhadap Riswan dapat segera dikabulkan. Karena apa yang dituduhkan bukanlah kejahatan luar biasa.
"Kami melihat ini bukan extra ordinary crime. Ini bagian dari perjuangan. Riswan meyakini apa yang dilakukan itu adalah mempertahankan hutan adat. Terlepas itu pendirian penyidik seperti apa jaksa seperti apa, tapi pendirian kami apa yang dilakukan klien kami adalah mempertahankan hutan adat," kata Parlin, Senin (24/8/2020).
Kabid Humas Polda Kalteng, Kombes Pol Hendra Rochmawan membenarkan kabar tentang penangkapan Effendi Buhing tersebut. Hendra mengatakan, penangkapan ini berawal dari 3 laporan PT SML.
"Pada prinsipnya Polda Kalteng profesional dalam menanggapi laporan polisi tersebut dengan bukti permulaan yang cukup sehingga perlu dilaksanakan penangkapan. Pada prinsipnya semua pihak mempunyai hak yang sama di muka hukum. Nanti dari penangkapan ini tentu ada pemeriksaan dan penyelidikan ini dapat memberi ruang jawab atas laporan tersebut," kata Kombes Pol Hendra Rochmawan, Rabu (26/8/2020).
Di kesempatan sebelumnya, saat ditanya tentang peluang penangguhan penahanan Riswan yang diajukan oleh pihak kuasa hukum Riswan, Hendra hanya mengatakan, pihaknya masih melakukan proses penyidikan terlebih dahulu.
Humas PT SML, Wendi, saat diminta konfrmasi, menyatakan tidak bersedia memberikan keterangan melalui sambungan telepon.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Land rights, Right to fair trial, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender, Indigenous peoples' rights defender, Labour rights defender, Land rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Aug 25, 2020
- Event Description
Mr. Zakir Ali Tyagi(22)is a social activistassociated with several socialorganisations and hasbeen a part of several human rights fact-finding teamsin Uttar Pradesh.He has also been involved in peaceful anti-CAA protests. In 2017, NSA was filed on Mr. Tyagi regarding his Facebook post, critical of the UPChief Minister.Subsequently, he spent42 days in jailand is currently out on bail.Mr. Mithun Dikshit, the SHO of Parikshit Garh police station,was informed through a phone call by control roominLucknowthat the remains of some dead cows were lying in the forest of Aminabad village (Bada Gaon) Parikshit Garh. The SHO directedSub-Inspector Mr. Mahesh Singh Ranato investigatethe case.SI Mr. Rana went to the Aminabad forest and foundremains of a cowfrom the sugarcane fields of a farmer, Mr. Vipin. These remains were sent for forensic examination and an FIR was lodged against unknown people under Uttar Pradesh Prevention of cow Slaughter Act-1955, Section5 (Prohibition on sale of beef)and Section 8 -Penalty (1) (Whoever contravenes or abets the contravention of the provisions of Section 3, Section 5 or Section 5-A shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees).Onthe midnight of August 25, 2020, 15-20 policemen reached Mr. Zakir Ali Tyagi�s village Aminabad(Bada Gaon),KilaParikshit GarhinMeerut and entered his home without permissionor any prior notice. The policemenfrom Kila Parikshit Garh police station in Meerut,came in2-3 police jeeps, and somewere without uniform or official badges. Three non-uniformed policemen had covered their faces with black masks. They started to misbehavewithMr. Tyagi�s mother and sister-in-law.WhenMr. Tyagi angrily asked the police why had they entered his housewithout permission, the policeman replied that they had come to take him. They tookhim without any detention orarrest proceduresand when somevillagers opposed this, thepolice threatenedthem.In the morning of August 26,2020,some respected people of the village went to Kila Parikshit Garh police station and asked about Mr. Tyagi, but the constable told themto come later because�Inspector Sahab is sleeping right now�.However,the villagerswere unofficially told by a policeman that Mr. Tyagi is alleged to be involved in the Shaheen Bagh anti-CAA protests and thus won�tbe released. Around 11:15 am,Mr. Tyagi�s familyreceived a phone call from the Kila Parikshit Garh police stationthat he was being sent to jailfor being involved in cow slaughter and that they can comeand meet him.Mr. Tyagihad beendetained at the police station all nightand his family allegesthat he was abused and beaten up.We believe that Mr. Tyagi is ahuman rights defender and this is a completely fabricated case by thepoliceto target him for questioninggovernment policiesand taking part in the peaceful protests. There is no reason to associate Mr. Tyagi with slaughtering the cow. The carcass of the cow was notfound in his fieldsor near his house, nor was Mr. Tyagi�s name mentioned in the original FIR.According to the information available, the farmer on whose land the remains were found also told the police that Mr. Tyagi isinnocent.There is also no evidence that Mr. Tyagi had any connection with the incident in any form. Mr. Tyagi�sdetention and arrest from his home at midnight, by non-uniformed policemen without badges and in black masks and non-production of any document, flouted all laws and procedures on arrest mentionedin the CrPC, DK Basu and NHRC guidelines and raises serious questions.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Abduction/Kidnapping, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, Community-based HRD, Family of HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Aug 25, 2020
- Event Description
The Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested Sharjeel Imam in connection with the riots in the city in February, Indian Express has reported. Imam has been booked under sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Booked under the sedition law for a speech in which he had called for a chakka jam, Imam was arrested from Bihar�s Jehanabad on January 28.
He was brought to Guwahati from Delhi in January and has been in Guwahati Jail since then. On July 22, Sharjeel tested positive for COVID-19 and was among 435 inmates of the jail who did so.
He was brought back to Delhi from Assam on Sunday on a production warrant, Express has reported.
Imam, a PhD scholar at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and an IIT alumnus, had been actively involved in the Shaheen Bagh protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
In late April, Delhi Police has booked Imam under the UAPA in connection with the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act near Jamia Millia Islamia in December last year.
Imam has been booked under section 13 (unlawful activities) of the Act in the case, his counsel advocate Mishika Singh had said. The lawyer said the charge has been invoked to delay his release.
The police had earlier charged Imam with sedition, alleging his speech promoted enmity between people that led to riots.
�He was arrested in two cases of violence at Jamia on December 13 and 15, 2019, for instigating and abetting the Jamia riots, due to his seditious speech on December 13 and based on evidences collected, IPC sections 124 A and 153 A were also invoked,� Anil Mittal, additional PRO, Delhi Police had said then.
In late June, 13 United Nations independent experts called on India to immediately release activists who were arrested for protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. In a statement issued from Geneva, it had named Imam among others.
The Delhi high court in early July said there were �good and justifiable grounds� for extending the time to complete investigation against Imam in a case related to his allegedly �inflammatory speeches� during the anti-CAA protests. Justice V. Kameswar Rao had dismissed Iman�s plea challenging the trial court�s June 25 order granting three more months to the Delhi Police, beyond the statutory 90 days, to complete the case�s investigation under the UAPA.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Aug 24, 2020
- Event Description
Civil rights lawyer and activist Arnon Nampha was arrested Tuesday afternoon on charges related to his role in an anti-government rally – the third time in the month.
He was nabbed in front of Nang Loeng Police Station by officers from another station at around 12.30pm, Yaowalak Anuphan, head of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group, said. Arnon and several activists were at the station this morning to hear charges related to a separate rally at the army headquarters on July 20.
Yaowalak said the warrant accused him of committing seditious acts under Article 116 of the Criminal Code for the speech he made at an anti-government rally at Thammasat University on Aug. 10, which he called for a reform of the country’s much-revered institution.
“The fact that police are always detaining me recently shows that the country is utilizing dictatorial strategies,” Arnon said to press at the police station Monday. “However, I’m determined to fight on.”
Other charges accuse him of defying the Emergency Decree, importing information deemed to be a threat to national security under the Computer Crime Act, and breaking the disease prevention law.
On Monday, Panupong “Mike” Jadnok was also arrested on the same charges. He was in Rayong to protest a land reclamation project in the province while Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha was visiting a market there.
Panupong was wearing a crop top with a Red Bull logo when he was detained.
Arnon was arrested last week for holding a Harry Potter-themed rally earlier on Aug. 3. He was also apprehended on Aug. 7 for holding a rally on July 18, which he was one of the 31 people allegedly marked for arrests.
The lawyer was taken to Khlong Luang Police Station in Pathum Thani province, where Panupong was also being held. The pair will be taken to a court for a bail hearing later, Yaowalak said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Lawyer, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Aug 24, 2020
- Event Description
Tiga orang nelayan di Makassar, Sulawesi Selatan (Sulsel) melakukan protes terhadap kapal penambang pasir. Namun protes mereka itu berujung petaka.
Pada Minggu (23/8/2020) polisi menangkap tiga orang nelayan saat mereka melancarkan protes kepada kapal penambang pasir. Penangkapan ini juga diwarnai dengan penenggelaman kapal milik nelayan.
Tak terima dengan kejadian itu, pihak keluarga kemudian meminta bantuan hukum kepada LBH Makassar. Kepala Divisi Tanah dan Lingkungan LBH Makassar Edy Kurniawan membenarkan peristiwa tersebut.
"Ketiga nelayan (yang ditangkap) tersebut bernama Safaruddin, Faisal dan Baharuddin," kata Edy melalui keterangan tertulis yang diterima detikcom, Senin (24/8/2020).
Edy menuturkan peristiwa ini terjadi pada pukul 10.00 Wita saat kapal tambang pasir milik PT B menambang pasir di wilayah tangkap nelayan. Di area itulah para nelayan menggantungkan hidupnya.
"Akibatnya, para nelayan kehilangan hasil tangkapan karena lautnya langsung jadi keruh," beber Edy.
Merasa terganggu dengan aktivitas tambah karena air keruh, nelayan kemudian melakukan protes. Namun rencana tersebut tak sampai lantaran kapal penambang pasir itu dikawal oleh satu kapal perang dan empat kapal sekoci milik Direktorat Polairud Polda Sulsel.
Edy menerangkan seorang nelayan langsung didatangi dan ingin diborgol, namun yang bersangkutan menolak. Nelayan itu juga diancam, lepa-lepa atau kapal kecil miliknya ditenggelamkan.
"Beruntung nelayan berhasil menyelamatkan diri dengan melompat ke laut," beber Edy.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Use of Excessive Force, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Environmental rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Aug 21, 2020
- Event Description
Vietnam’s communist regime continues its crackdown on the local dissent prior to the 13th National Congress of the ruling party, arresting freelance journalist Tran Thi Tuyet Dieu and on allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code.
According to the state-controlled media, the police in the central province of Phu Yen carried out the arrest on August 21. They also conducted a search of the house of Ms. Dieu’s parents in Tay Hoa district where she lives with them. She will be held incommunicado for at least four months during the investigation period, the common practice Vietnam’s security forces have been applying in most of political cases.
Ms. Dieu graduated journalism from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City). Later, she worked for Phu Yen newspaper, the official voice of the province’s Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s Committee. However, she left the newspaper and focused on criticizing the communist regime’s socio-economic issues such as systemic corruption, widespread environmental pollution, human rights violations, and weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea).
Phu Yen province’s police have accused her of using Facebook accounts “Tuyết Diệu Babel” and “Trần Thị Tuyết Diệu Journalist” as well as Youtube channel named Tuyết Diệu Trần to disseminate hundreds of articles and videoclips to defame communist leaders, including late President Ho Chi Minh, and distort the party’s policies.
In recent years, she has been harassed many times by the police forces. Once she was kidnapped by police in the central province of Nghe An who tortured her.
Ms. Dieu has been the 12th Facebooker being arrested and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” so far this year. She is facing imprisonment of between seven and 12 years or even up to 20 years if she is convicted.
Her arrest was made one week after the US, the EU and the UK urged Hanoi to ensure its actions are consistent with the human rights provisions of Vietnam’s Constitution and its international obligations and commitments and allow all individuals in Vietnam to express their views freely, without fear of retaliation. The call was made after Vietnam convicted eight members of the unregistered group Constitution of “disruption of security” for their participation in peaceful demonstrations and sentenced them to more than 40 years in prison.
Vietnam is holding at least 275 prisoners of conscience, according to Defend the Defenders’ statistics. As many as 50 of them were arrested this year, and 55 of them are held in pre-trial detention.
Since the beginning of this year, Vietnam has convicted 15 activists and sentenced them to 66 years and three months and 26 years of probation.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Singapore
- Initial Date
- Aug 21, 2020
- Event Description
Activist Jolovan Wham started serving a 10-day jail sentence on Friday (Aug 21) for organising an indoor event four years ago without a police permit.
The event was held in November 2016 at The Agora in Sin Ming Lane and was entitled Civil Disobedience And Social Movements. One of the speakers — albeit online — was Hong Kong dissident Joshua Wong. The others included activists Kirsten Han and Seelan Pelay.
Wham, who champions migrant worker rights, was convicted under the Public Order Act in 2019. He has not paid the S$2,000 fine and has chosen to go to jail.
This is the second time this year he will spend time in prison. On March 31, he served a one-week sentence for criticising the Judiciary rather than pay a S$5,000 fine.
On Thursday (Aug 20), he tweeted that his appeal on the indoor event had been dismissed.
On Friday, he posted photos with some friends who “came to see me off”, adding that he would “make the best of the situation to learn more about prison life while I’m inside”.
Wham also published on his Facebook and Twitter accounts a letter he had written to Mr Desmond Chin, the Commissioner of Prisons, to which he had received no reply.
He had recounted to Mr Chin the time he spent in Changi Prison earlier in the year and had made a request. “During my time there, I was confined to the cell for the entire duration of my sentence. Ordinarily, yard time would have been provided for inmates, but because of Covid, it was removed to prevent the spread of the virus. “Being confined for 24 hours in a small cell is quite inhumane. I am wondering it would be possible for the prison authorities to arrange staggered yard time for all inmates, while observing safe distancing. It should be possible to have yard time which is safe for everyone. I had raised this to the prison authorities during the time I was there but they said it was not possible. “Confining people for two weeks is cruel. Even if yard time was not permitted, even the opportunity to sit outside the cell and look at something else other than the 4 walls of the cell is a welcome relief. “I expect to be sentenced soon for another offence and will be serving time in prison once again. I would appreciate it if the prison authorities could look into this matter. Thank you for your time.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Aug 21, 2020
- Event Description
A Tibetan community leader and his nephew were arrested this weekend in Qinghai’s Tridu county after defying Chinese authorities by advising local Tibetans not to sign away their rights to grazing land, Tibetan sources said.
Bu Dokyab, 63, and his nephew Gyaltsen, 43, were taken into custody on Aug. 21 by Chinese police while eating at a restaurant in Yushu prefecture’s Tridu county and were taken to the county’s Detention Center 683, a local source told RFA’s Tibetan Service.
Authorities did not release a statement regarding the arrests of the two men, residents of Chakchok village in neighboring Chumarleb county’s Chigdril township, RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“But Tibetans living in the area suspect it had to do with their open defiance of a government order,” RFA’s source said.
“Recently, Chinese authorities held a meeting in Chumarleb to talk about confiscating the land, and Bu Dokyab during the meeting advised the people there not to give up their ownership of the land, saying that this would destroy their livelihood,” the source said.
“He said that surrendering their deeds to the land would prevent them from ever passing anything down to future generations.”
Also speaking to RFA, a second source said that Bu Dokyab had “spoken strongly” against nomads giving up their rights to their land, reminding his listeners that anyone surrendering their deed to government authorities would lose their way to make a living.
“Dokyab is a unit leader in his village and is a very generous man who often gives his help to poor nomads who are in need,” the second source said. “He even petitions the government when local government assistance to the poor does not reach them in time.”
“Because of his interventions to secure local families’ government subsidies, he has already been detained twice by the Chinese police,” the source said.
Land deeds revoked
Several counties in Qinghai have called public meetings this year regarding land rights, with officials issuing advisories and distributing documents canceling people’s ownership of their land, the source said.
“Before this, the Chinese promised that the land belonged to the local people, and that no one could interfere with their rights for 50 years.”
“But beginning this year, the land deeds have been revoked, and this has left the local Tibetans very concerned,” he said.
Development projects in Tibetan areas have led to frequent standoffs with Tibetans who accuse Chinese firms and local officials of pilfering money, improperly seizing land, and disrupting the lives of local people.
Many result in violent suppression and intense pressure on the local population to comply with the government’s wishes, with protest leaders frequently detained and charged under cover of a Chinese campaign against so-called “underworld criminal gangs” in Tibetan areas.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Land rights, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Family of HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Aug 20, 2020
- Event Description
The Criminal Court has approved bail requests for nine people, including lawyer Anon Nampa and two rappers, arrested over the past 20 hours for their roles in the July 18 and Aug 3 rallies.
The court allowed the use of officials' positions as a guarantee for their temporary releases. Three Move Forward Party MPs, two Pheu Thai Party MPs and four academics were the guarantors.
In the latest crackdown on political demonstrators, five more people, including two rappers, were arrested on Thursday, bringing the total held in connection with the July 18 Free Youth rally to eight over the past 20 hours.
All did not receive summonses and were held on court-approved arrest warrants.
At 8.20am on Thursday, Dechathorn �Hockhacker� Bamrungmuang, a founder and member of RAP Against Dictatorship, was arrested in front of his house. The band�s Prathet Ku Mee has become the anthem for anti-coup activities in recent years.
According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, Dechathorn was taken by police in the presence of his wife and young son. He was brought to Samran Rat police station.
An hour later, activist Tossaporn Sinsomboon was arrested at his home.
Activist Tanee Sasom was later caught at Soi Rang Nam and taken to Samran Rat police station.
Thirty minutes later, Nattawut Sasomsap was stopped while driving on the Expressway by more than 10 policemen. Some of them accompanied him in his car to Samran Rat police station.
Thanayut �Book� Na Ayudhya, 19, a rapper from Eleven Fingers band, was also taken to the police station.
They acknowledged charges and were sent to the Criminal Court in the afternoon as police seek to detain them.
Their charges are believed to be similar to those faced by three people held earlier � ranging from sedition to violation of the cleanliness law.
Pheu Thai MPs Karun Hosakul said he and his fellow MPs had prepared salary certification letters to be used as sureties for their temporary releases.
Night arrests
On Wednesday evening, human rights lawyer Anon Nampa, 35, was the first to be held in this round of arrests.
Mr Anon, who was released on bail on multiple charges including sedition in connection with the July 18 rally, faced more charges related to another rally on Aug 3 where he talked about the need for monarchy reforms.
The officers pressed charges of violating Section 116 of the Criminal Code; Sections 4,10 and 15 of the Public Assembly Act, using loudspeakers without prior approval and violating the computer crime law.
The officers opposed bail for the human rights lawyer, citing his tendency to join more allegedly inciting rallies.
According to the police request for his detention, Mr Anon�s speech given on Aug 3 allegedly criticised the monarchy and caused hatred for the institution among demonstrators.
Apart from Mr Arnon, three people held on Wednesday night were Suwanna Tanlek, 48, a labour activist who has campaigned for workers� rights; Baramee Chairat, 53, secretary-general of the Assembly of the Poor; and activist Korakot Saenyenphan, 27. They were arrested separately in Bangkok on Wednesday night on charges of inciting public unrest and other offences related to the July 18 Free Youth rally.
A number of Move Forward MPs showed up to show moral support and offered to use their positions as guarantees for their temporary releases.
In a police request, Mr Baramee posted a message urging people to join the rally at the Democracy Moment. He also gave a speech at around 8.26pm.
Ms Suwanna also addressed the crowd at 8pm and urged demonstrators to send messages to relatives to deliver food. She also shared a post online asking for food and drinking water for the demonstration and urged demonstrators to stay overnight at the rally site, according to the police request.
Mr Korakot had also posted a message urging people to join the rally, said the officers.
- Impact of Event
- 9
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Labour rights defender, Lawyer, Pro-democracy defender, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Aug 20, 2020
- Event Description
Chongqing City suffered the biggest flood in 40 years. On August 20, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang inspected the disaster-stricken area in Chongqing. It was reported that at least 11 Chongqing activists had been arrested, with their personal freedom restricted.
As of the morning of Aug 21st, many activists had been missing. At noon on August 20, Chongqing human rights activists Chen Mingyu, Tan Junrong, Liu Gaosheng, He Chaozheng, Zhao Liang, Cai Bangying, and He Yan were stopped by a group of people on Huangzhu Road in Liangjiang New District.
They were forced to be escorted into a car and taken to the Dazhulin Police Station of the Public Security Bureau in Liangjiang New District. They were shortly picked up and detained by the police from their resident districts. Chen Mingyu said that he was still under surveillance after returning home, and someone followed him when he went out.
- Impact of Event
- 7
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Aug 17, 2020
- Event Description
Fourteen HIV-positive children at a shelter home run by a non-profit in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur were allegedly dragged out by officials who had orders from the district administration to close the facility. CCTV footage shows a lawyer who has been representing the children against being shifted from the facility being pushed by officials.
A police case has been filed against the lawyer, Priyanka Shukla, after the incident at Apna Ghar where 14 children between four and 18 years old have been staying. The police said Ms Shukla started a fight with the officials who had gone to shut down the facility.
When NGO staff Deepika Singh asked for a copy of the order to shut down the facility, the officials started manhandling her, dragged out the children and refused to give a copy of the eviction order, Apna Ghar director Sanjeev Thakkar told NDTV on phone. He shared audio recordings of the children calling him and complaining of alleged misbehaviour by the officials.
Women and Child Development Department officials, accompanied by the police, had gone to the facility.
Bilaspur senior police officer Prashant Agrawal denied the officials manhandled the lawyer or the children. "The officials acted as per the orders of the collector. It was the lawyer Priyanka Shukla who got into a brawl with the officials, who suffered bruises. Shukla was arrested on a complaint by Women and Child Welfare Officer Parvati Verma," Mr Agrawal said.
The NGO's director Sanjeev Thakkar said Apna Ghar is Chhattisgarh's only shelter home for HIV patients run by a non-profit. He said he has been running the shelter home for several years with volunteers. A police case has also been filed against Mr Thakkar, who said he was not at the building when the incident happened.
With a high monthly expense of ₹ 75,000, Mr Thakkar said they decided to apply for a grant from the Women and Child development Department, adding their troubles started soon after that.
Mr Thakkar alleged some officials demanded a "30 per cent commission" from the grant, and when he refused, the officials checked the shelter home and claimed they have found certain discrepancies and recommended cancellation of the NGO's registration and shifting of the children.
Mr Thakkar said when they met with Women and Child Development Minister Anila Bhediya, the minister asked questions like how did the children get infected with HIV.
The matter then reached the Bilaspur High Court, which ordered the collector to hear Apna Ghar and take a decision. In March this year, collector Sanjay Alang ordered officials to shift the children. In his order, he said a second report has also cited irregularities at the shelter home.
The children said they don't want to leave Apna Ghar citing discrimination they had faced even in the company of their relatives and at government-run shelter homes.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Aug 14, 2020
- Event Description
Student leader Parit Chiwarak was arrested on Friday on multiple charges including sedition, as tensions escalate ahead of a major pro-democracy rally planned for Sunday afternoon in Bangkok.
The arrest took place at Muang Thong Thani as the Thammasat University student prepared to join an anti-government event in Nonthaburi. After a Metropolitan Police Bureau official read out the arrest warrant, four plainclothes officers picked Mr Parit up by the arms and legs to drag him into an unmarked car after he refused to go.
Dozens of onlookers used their phones to take videos that were posted to Twitter, where #SaveParit started trending instantly, attracting 1.6 million tweets as of 9.30pm.
He was taken to the Samran Rat police station where he faces charges including sedition, assault and holding an event that could spread a disease. Dozens of supporters were gathering outside the station in the rain on Friday night to demand Mr Parit�s release. They cheered when he appeared briefly in a second-storey window and waved to them.
The allegations stem from a rally staged by the Free Youth movement at Democracy Monument on July 18. It was the first major protest against the government since the easing of restrictions imposed to stem the coronavirus outbreak.
Mr Parit, known by his nickname Penguin, is also reported to be facing a lese majeste charge but it was not included in the charge sheet on Friday.
The Free Youth and Free People movements issued a statement demanding the immediate release of the student activist, saying the police action underlined the intention of authorities to intimidate critics of the government.
Soon after the arrest, a number of individuals and groups, including Thammasat University, stepped forward to offer to help Mr Parit seek bail.
The arrest came a week after the seizure of human rights lawyer Arnon Nampha and Rayong student activist Panupong Jadnok, who are charged with the same offences as Mr Parit. They are currently free on bail after the Criminal Court declined a police request last Saturday to detain them for 12 days.
One of the conditions of the men�s bail is that they refrain from any acts similar to those that led to their original charges. The police say they have since breached those conditions and have petitioned the court to withdraw bail. A hearing is scheduled for Sept 3.
Mr Panupong was at the Samran Rat police station on Friday night to show his support for Mr Paritt.
Rising tensions
The political temperature has been rising all week as students continue to press their demands, which include House dissolution, the end of intimidation against critics of the government, and the drafting of a new constitution.
The potential for confrontation has been increasing since Monday, when thousands who rallied at Thammasat University heard speakers issue an unprecedented 10-point manifesto calling for reform of the monarchy under the constitution.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said that while people had the right to free expression, dragging the monarchy into the debate was out of line. He has also ordered an investigation into the funding of the Thammasat event, which included elaborate audio-visual displays.
Progressive Movement leader Thanathorn Juangroongreangkit said earlier on Friday that the protesters� demands should be on the table for talks, as crackdowns will not solve the country�s political problems.
He also called for all sides to be open-minded about finding a solution and criticised Gen Prayut for a lack of sincerity. The prime minister earlier said he wanted to set up a forum to listen to what the students had to say, but now the authorities have been brought in to tame them, the former leader of the court-dissolved Future Forward Party said.
Mr Thanathorn made the remarks before the arrest of the student activist.
Chulalongkorn rally
Elsewhere on Friday, hundreds of protesters braved the rain to gather at the Faculty of Arts of Chulalongkorn University demanding the restoration of democracy, despite the university�s refusal for them to use the campus for a demonstration, citing safety concerns. The area around two royal statues was fenced off to prevent students from approaching it.
In any event, the rain eventually forced the demonstrators inside the faculty building, where the crowd grew to about 800 as the evening wore on.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Aug 14, 2020
- Event Description
Juru Bicara Aliansi Gerakan Buruh Bersama Rakyat (GEBRAK) Nining Elitos mengatakan lebih dari 100 orang diamankan polisi karena hendak bergabung dalam demonstrasi menolak Rancangan Undang Undang (RUU) Omnibus Law Cipta Kerja.
Demo GEBRAK digelar di Jakarta, tepatnya di depan Gedung DPR. Nining mengatakan, massa yang diamankan itu merupakan pemuda dan mahasiswa yang berangkat menggunakan bis dan kereta.
"Kami belum tahu persis, tapi informasi kami dapat lebih dari 100-an. Informasi kami dapatkan dari komunikasi Kapolda dan Komnas HAM ada lebih dari 30 orang diamankan di Polda Metro Jaya," kata dia di depan Gedung DPR/MPR, Jumat (14/8) malam.
Nining menyayangkan penangkapan itu. Sebab, kata dia, pihaknya sudah mengirim pemberitahuan bahwa aksi itu diikuti dari berbagai elemen masyarakat.
"Artinya, aksi ini adalah aksi yang legal yang sudah diberitahukan bahwa kelompok yang turun hari ini tidak hanya pemuda. Tapi mahasiswa, petani dan sektor-sektor lain, kami menegaskan sikap kami menolak RUU Omnibus," kata dia.
Kapolres Metro Jakarta Pusat Kombes Pol Heru Novianto membenarkan ada massa yang diamankan. Namun ia mengatakan peristiwa itu ditangani oleh Polda Metro Jaya.
Kabid Humas Polda Metro Jaya Kombes Yusri Yunus mengatakan ada sekitar 70-80 orang yang diamankan aparat. Orang-orang yang diamankan itu, kata dia, bukan merupakan kelompok buruh atau mahasiswa.
"Itu adalah orang-orang yang mau bikin kacau, dia bawa bendera anarko, batu, botol, dirazia pada saat mau demo, kita periksa bukan kelompok buruh dan mahasiswa. Kelompok sendiri," kata dia saat dihubungi, Jumat (14/8) malam.
Yusri bilang, setelah diperiksa dan diambil keterangannya, sebagian besar orang yang diamankan itu kemudian dipulangkan oleh aparat.
"Yang masih proses lanjut sekitar 8 orang karena ada unsur pidana misal bawa molotov, ketapel. Masih proses lanjut pemeriksaan," kata dia.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to property
- HRD
- Labour rights defender, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Aug 13, 2020
- Event Description
Six youth activists have been rounded up and arrested hours after rallying for detained unionist Rong Chhun, including a young woman dragged by her hair into a vehicle from outside a cafe.
So Metta, an activist who requested to use a pseudonym, told VOD that a group of about 10 officers � some of whom were plain-clothed and some in Prampi Makara district guard uniforms � grabbed one of the six, Chhoeun Daravy, around 4 p.m. on Thursday outside an Amazon coffee shop near the court.
Daravy had been sitting with about 10 people when the plain-clothed officers dragged her by the hair from behind and pushed her into a black Lexus SUV waiting outside, Metta said. The officers beat Daravy as they put her in the car, she said.
�They grabbed her hair and beat her up,� said Metta. �The authorities beat � people without mercy.�
Reached again Thursday evening, Metta said another of those arrested, Hun Vannak, had returned to the rented house where some of the activists were staying after Daravy had been arrested. Vannak recorded a live Facebook video while police surrounded the house, she said.
Metta said five of the six activists arrested were members of Khmer Thavrak, which translates to �Khmer Strong,� a youth group that has been central to many of the recent protests against the detention of Chhun, as well as environmental and social causes.
Municipal police chief Sar Thet said the six youth activists arrested on Thursday included three men and three women, five of whom were arrested at a rented house in Pur Senchey district.
�One was arrested based on the court�s order while others were based on red-handed crimes because they went and caused disorder and insecurity,� Thet said, adding that the activists remained in municipal police custody.
He earlier said that Daravy had been arrested for incitement to disturb social security based on a court-ordered arrest warrant, and officers were searching her house for evidence.
She was currently in the hands of municipal police and would be sent to the court for prosecution, he added. The incitement charge carries a potential jail sentence of up to two years.
Naly Pilorge, a spokesperson for human rights group Licadho, confirmed protesters Chhoeun Daravy, Hun Vannak and Heang Hai were among those arrested.
The arrests came after authorities and protesters again clashed outside the municipal court as Chhun, the union leader, was questioned inside over charges of incitement.
About 50 protesters, including members of Chhun�s family, had gathered in the morning outside City Mall, near the court, holding banners and wearing T-shirts with Chhun�s image.
At around 9:30 a.m., about 50 officers, including Prampi Makara district guards, advanced on the protesters to move them away from the corner. For about 10 minutes the guards were seen beating and kicking protesters who refused to leave.
Chea Kunthin, one of the protesters who said she was injured during a rally last week, was treated by a doctor after the demonstration at the office of Licadho, which was monitoring the protest, Pilorge said.
Pilorge declined to describe Kunthin�s injury, citing medical confidentiality rules, but said the woman left Licadho�s office on Thursday afternoon. Later, Pilorge said the organization could not reach Kunthin, but could not confirm if she was among those arrested.
Chhun, a prominent unionist and former head of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association, was arrested two weeks ago in relation to statements he made on U.S.-run Radio Free Asia that Cambodia was ceding hundreds of hectares to Vietnam as part of border demarcations � a topic that has long been a lightning rod for ethnically charged opposition fervor. Government officials said Chhun�s claim was false, and the courts charged him with incitement to commit a felony.
His arrest sparked ongoing protests and criticism from rights groups. In response, City Hall on August 3 announced a ban on gatherings outside the court for reasons related to public order, traffic and Covid-19.
Kunthin, who is a member of Khmer Thavrak, said earlier on Thursday that she had suffered bruises in the clash.
�We didn�t do anything against the law,� Kunthin said. �Why do they use violence against us again and again? It�s shameful that the authorities don�t love the people, and use violence against them.�
Another protester, Yin Moliny, said the demonstration had been peaceful.
�I had no intention to clash with the security guards � but they came and pushed us. So what can I do as an innocent person? We did not fight back. Where is the law?� Moliny said. �They came here to mistreat people, not to protect people. They get a salary from the people and they mistreat the people. It�s unacceptable.�
Prampi Makara district governor Lim Sophea could not be reached for comment.
Four opposition activists were also arrested last week after participating in protests calling for Chhun�s release.
Sam Sokong, Chhun�s lawyer, said the court had questioned the unionist on Thursday morning about why he had been investigating the border issue. Chhun had told the court that he had merely interviewed witnesses, and he did not intend to cause trouble in society, Sokong said.
�Patriotic� Protest
A day earlier on Wednesday, about 20 protesters, including members of Khmer Thavrak, briefly marched in Phnom Penh holding Cambodian flags and wearing T-shirts proclaiming �I Love the Nation.�
They started at Boeung Keng Kang district�s Olympic market under the watch of about 100 security officers. They were stopped around 11 a.m. between the market and Wat Moha Montrei, less than 500 meters away, as guards shouted at the protesters, blocked their path and took their flags.
A protester, Tha Lavy, said the march was about supporting �patriotic heroes� arrested trying to protect the national border.
�When they arrested those who demonstrated patriotism in protecting the national border, our people did not concern themselves with the national problem, and let powerful people use their power to arrest our patriotic heroes,� Lavy said. �We cannot accept it, and want to spread a message for people to love our nation.�
Vannak, another of those arrested on Thursday and also a member of Khmer Thavrak, said on Wednesday that the group was turning its protests about Chhun�s release into a campaign for Cambodians to care more about their country.
�Most people are not very patriotic yet compared to other countries,� Vannak said. �So we have changed our plan from [only] demanding the release of Mr. Rong Chhun into a campaign to encourage Cambodians to love their nation more, think of common interests, think of heroes who sacrificed their lives, who sacrificed their time for our common interests.�
City Hall spokesman Met Measpheakdey told VOD on Wednesday that authorities had blocked the march because the protesters had not sought permission beforehand.
�They gathered and marched and did things that were not in accordance with legal principles that require them to do better than this,� he said.
- Impact of Event
- 6
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community), Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of expression Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Aug 12, 2020
- Event Description
Two Karen men and one Burmese woman were charged Wednesday by police under the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law for holding an event to mark the 70th Karen Martyrs� Day in Yangon.
The death of Karen revolutionary leader Saw Ba U Gyi, who was murdered on Aug. 12, 1950, is commemorated annually as Karen Martyrs� Day. Saw Ba U Gyi founded the Karen National Union (KNU), one of Myanmar�s prominent ethnic armed groups.
On Wednesday morning, Kyauktada Township police detained two Karen activists�Sa Thein Zaw Min and Saw Hser Kwar Lar�during a commemoration of Karen Martyrs� Day in the center of Yangon near Maha Bandula Park.
On Monday, authorities in the township denied the Karen organizers� request for permission to hold the Karen Martyrs� Day event, citing COVID-19 restrictions. Mass gatherings are banned in Myanmar under the government�s COVID-19-related restrictions.
On Wednesday, police also arrested Burmese activist Daw Sein Htwe, who attended the 70th Karen Martyrs� Day event, for allegedly absconding from a lawsuit brought against her under the Unlawful Assembly Law last year.
On Wednesday evening, the two Karen activists�Sa Thein Zaw Min and Saw Hser Kwar Lar�were released after police opened lawsuits against them under Article 20 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, according to Naw Ohn Hla, chair of the Karen Women�s Union (KWU).
Under Article 20, organizers of a gathering can face a maximum sentence of one month in prison and a fine of 10,000 kyats (US$7.31) for failing to properly inform township authorities about a gathering, including details on the kind of activities involved, slogans, speeches, places and times.
Police Colonel Myo Thet of the Kyauktada Police Force told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that police sued the two Karen activists for reading messages that were not mentioned in the letter about the event that they filed with authorities.
Under one of the terms of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, people who join an assembly �must not recite or shout chants other than the ones approved.�
On the same day, the Kyauktada Township Court sent Daw Sein Htwe to Insein Prison as she declined to request bail after being charged under Article 19 of the same law. Article 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law carries a maximum sentence of three months in jail and a 30,000 kyat fine (US$21.93) for violating any of over a dozen rules on how and when people may assemble.
This week�s arrests mirror a series of arrests that followed last year�s Karen Martyrs� Day events in Yangon, after which Sa Thein Zaw Min was sentenced to 15 days in prison.
On Oct. 12, 2019, Kyauktada police opened unlawful assembly cases against Daw Sein Htwe and two other activists�Ma Zarchi Linn of the Democracy, Peace and Women (DPW) group and Naw Larshee Htoo of the KWU�for leading a rally in solidarity with three other Karen activists who had earlier been sentenced to 15 days in jail for holding a rally on the 69th Karen Martyrs� Day in Yangon.
Karen activists Sa Thein Zaw Min, Saw Albert Cho and Daw Naw Ohn Hla, were sentenced to 15 days in prison by the Kyauktada Township Court on Oct. 2, 2019 for the 2019 Karen Martyrs� Day gathering.
Police Colonel Myo Thet said that Daw Sein Htwe was sued on Wednesday under Article 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Precession Law for leading the solidarity rally last year without informing the township authorities.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Minority Rights, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Minority rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Aug 11, 2020
- Event Description
One of Hong Kong�s most strident pro-democracy figures has been arrested and the offices of the newspaper he owns searched by police in a stark escalation by authorities enforcing a new national security law brought in by Beijing.
The raid on Apple Daily, Hong Kong�s largest pro-democracy daily paper, and arrest of Jimmy Lai and other senior executives were condemned by activists and journalists, who said they marked �the day press freedom officially died�.
Apple Daily�s publisher, Next Digital Media, said it was �furious� about the raid and arrests. It warned that press freedom was �hanging by a thread� but said its staff remained committed to defending it.
Lai, a 71-year-old media tycoon and outspoken supporter of Hong Kong�s pro-democracy movement, was arrested alongside six others including his son on Monday morning on suspicion of �collusion with foreign forces� and conspiracy to commit fraud.
In a separate incident the pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow was also arrested under the new law, her fellow activist Nathan Law said.
Hong Kong police said nine men and one woman, aged between 23 and 72, had been arrested.
Hundreds of police descended on the Apple Daily building in an unprecedented hours-long raid, which was live-streamed by dozens of the paper�s staff.
�Tell your colleagues to keep their hands off until our lawyers check the warrant,� the editor-in-chief, Ryan Law Wai-kwong, told police. Staff were ordered to produce ID. Midway through the raid a handcuffed Lai was marched through the newsroom.
Thousands watched the streams, which appeared to contradict police claims that �news materials� would not be targeted, as officers casually rifled through papers on journalists� desks. Boxes of documents were confiscated.
Later, police barred news organisations including Reuters, Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press and the public broadcaster RTHK from attending a press conference about the search.
The Hong Kong journalist association head, Chris Yeung, said the raid was �horrendous�. �I think in some third-world countries there has been this kind of press freedom suppression, I just didn�t expect it to be in Hong Kong,� he told media.
Next Digital accused police of abusing their power and authorities of �breaching press freedom through intimidation and creating an atmosphere of white fear�.
The arrest of Lai, while not unexpected, has alarmed the city, which has been on edge after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law outlawing sedition and secessionist activities, and foreign collusion.
Lai, who also holds UK citizenship, is the most high-profile figure detained under the law. If charged and convicted, he could face potential sentences of three to 10 years in prison � or up to life for an offence �of a grave nature�.
In 2019 state media labelled him one of a new �Gang of Four� conspiring against Beijing. He is already facing several charges over involvement in last year�s pro-democracy protests, and he was one of 25 people charged on Friday over attending a Tiananmen Square massacre vigil in June. Hong Kong�s security laws: what are they and why are they so controversial? Read more
A report in hawkish Chinese state media mouthpiece the Global Times labelled Lai a �modern-day traitor� and suggested he was unlikely to receive bail and would face �heavy penalties�.
Hong Kong journalists have repeatedly warned that the law would have a chilling affect on local media.
The activist and legislator Eddie Chu Hoi-dick accused the Chinese Communist party of wanting to close Apple Daily, and said Lai�s arrest was �the first step of [a] HK media blackout�.
Claudia Mo, a pro-democracy legislator and a former journalist, said she was more surprised by the raid than the arrest. �This is just so drastic and blatant,� she told the Guardian.
Keith Richburg, a veteran correspondent and now head of Hong Kong University�s media school, said the raid and arrests were outrageous. �I think you can say that is the day press freedom officially died, and it didn�t die a natural death. It was killed by Beijing and it was killed by Carrie Lam and Hong Kong police,� he said.
The police operation marked the first time the law has been used against media in Hong Kong, which has historically had a high level of press freedom. Last month the New York Times announced it was moving part of its Hong Kong bureau to South Korea.
Several outlets have complained of foreign journalist visas not being renewed. On Monday the Standard news website reported that the immigration department had established a national security unit to vet �sensitive� visa applications, including from journalists.
Chinese and Hong Kong officials had promised the security law would not impinge on the city�s civil freedoms, including its independent press. �Today�s police action upends those assurances,� the Foreign Correspondents� Club of Hong Kong said in a statement.
Benedict Rogers, a co-founder and the chair of Hong Kong Watch, said: �To arrest one of the most moderate, peaceful and internationally respected voices for democracy in Hong Kong � sends the message that no one is safe in Hong Kong unless they stay completely silent and do exactly as Xi Jinping�s brutal regime says.�
There was some speculation that the arrests were retaliation for US sanctions against senior Hong Kong officials, including Lam. The accusations against Lai have been at least partly driven by his meetings with and support from senior US figures including the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo.
In response to the US sanctions, China�s foreign ministry on Monday said that it would be placing sanctions on 11 US officials and lawmakers. A foreign ministry spokesman condemned the US for its �blatant interference� in China�s internal affairs.
On Monday afternoon the stock price of Next Digital, which is owned by Lai, rose more than 300% after some analysts reportedly said they would buy in protest against his arrest.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker, Pro-democracy defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Aug 10, 2020
- Event Description
Diananta Putra Sumedi, a former chief editor of online local media banjarhits.id, was found guilty and sentenced to three months 15 days for his reporting of a land dispute. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia express dismay over the conviction and call on authorities to stop criminalising journalists.
The panel of judges lead by Meir Elisabeth at the hearing in Kotabaru District Court, South Kalimantan on August 10 said that Diananta was guilty of inciting hatred and breaching the code of journalism ethics. The judges ruled he violated the article of 28 of the Information and Electronic Transactions Law (ITE Law).
Diananta was arrested by the special crimes investigation directorate of South Kalimantan despite the Indonesian Press Council resolving the dispute in January, 2020. He published an article on a land conflict entitled Johnlin seizes land, Dayak complains to the South Kalimantan Police on November 9, 2019 in banjarhits.id, a partner of national news media Kumparan. Sukirman from a Dayak community council filed a report against Diananta after the publication of the article. Although the dispute has been resolved through mediation process in the Press Council, the trial of Diananta still continued.
Criminalisation of journalists is an ongoing violation against journalists in Indonesia. Despite the fact that the police have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian Press Council to settle legal disputes, journalists are still being dragged before the courts.
Speaking to the reporters after the trial, Diananta said that the conviction is a very bad precedent for press freedom in Indonesia.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Aug 7, 2020
- Event Description
Human rights lawyer Anon Nampa and student activist Panupong Jadnok are now under arrest on sedition charges under Section 116 of the Criminal Code and for violating the Emergency Decree after they took part in the mass protest on 18 July.
Anon was arrested in front of his condominiumat around 14.10 today. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that around 8 uniformed and plainclothes police officers came to execute the arrest warrant and took him to Samranrat Police Station.
Anon also posted a picture of the arrest warrant on his Facebook profile with the comment �I have been arrested.�
The warrant accuses Anon of sedition under Section 116 of the Criminal Code; of organizing an assembly of ten or more people and threatening to cause violence or a breach of peace under Section 215 of the Criminal Code; violating the Emergency Decree, which bans large gatherings; obstructing the public way without permission under Section 385 of the Criminal Code; violating Section 19 of the Maintenance of the Cleanliness and Orderliness of the Country Act; and of using loudspeaker without permission under the Controlling Public Advertisement by Sound Amplifier Act.
�Anon can only be detained no more than 48 hours before he has to be produced before the court. At that time he will likely seek bail,� Yaowalak Anuphan, head of TLHR, told Khaosod English.
Yaowalak also said that the warrant named Anon the seventh suspect, suggesting that his arrest is part of a �larger crackdown on pro-democracy activists.�
At around 15.00, TLHR reported that Panupong, a Rayong-based student activist who previously face harassment from the authorities after he attempted to hold up a protest sign during Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha�s visit to Rayong last month, was also arrested in front of Ramkhamhaeng University and was also taken to the Samranrat Police Station.
Panupong was arrested on the same charges as Anon and was named the fifth suspect on the warrant.
At around 15.30, police sneaked past the crowd gathering at Samranrat Police Station and took Anon to Bangkhen Police Station, while Panupong was held at the Samranrat Police Station.
The Free Youth Movement has called for a demonstration at 18.00 in front of Bangkhen Police Station, stating on their Facebook page that at least three people have now been arrested for taking part in the protest on 18 July.
At 17.40, both Panupong and Anon are being taken to the Bangkok Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road. TLHR said that, if both are detained and are unable to post bail in time, they will be send to prison.
TLHR also reported that the inquiry officer at the Samranrat Police Station has forced Panupong to sign a statement without waiting for his lawyer to arrive. He was then taken to court without his lawyer.
The arrests took place after Anon gave a speech at the Harry Potter-themed protest on Monday (3 August), calling for monarchy reform and open criticism of the crown, and after the Free People Group�s launch event earlier today at the Democracy Monument, where they announced that they will be holding another protest on 16 August. Anon was also due to speak on monarchy reform at a rally in Chiang Mai on Sunday (9 August).
Around 30 other people involved in organising the 18 July protest or spoke on stage could also be currently targetted for arrest.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Lawyer, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Aug 7, 2020
- Event Description
The Observatory has been informed by the Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability (MATA)[1] about the arbitrary detention of Mr. Gei Om, a member of MATA who works actively on environmental protection and conservation in Chin State. Mr. Gei Om is also a member of the Chin Aung Ta Man (a youth organisation of Chin people), the Chin Civil Society Network, and the Man Eain Working Committee (a community-based organisation).
According to the information received, on July 24, 2020, Mr. Gei Om was taken into custody after a local official in Ohn Village Tract sent a letter of complaint to authorities in Mindat Township, Chin State, on July 13, 2020. The complaint alleged that Mr. Gei Om had spread false news about possible illicit activities throughout Chin villages, was involved in an illegal land dispute settlement in 2016, and had been collecting taxes from villages.
Prior to his arrest, Mr. Gei Om helped local community leaders to monitor the impact of a project of model farms to harvest oil seed plants designed by the Management Committee of Mindat Township. They found out that the local government in charge of the model farms had engaged in illegal logging and that the farms had caused environmental damage to the Natma Taung National Park. On June 1, 2020, they had sent a previous complaint to the Environmental Conservation Department (ECD) of the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environmental Conservation (MONREC), which ordered the Forest Department in Mindat Township to carry out an investigation into the matter. During a meeting with Forest Department officials and two representatives of local communities, Mr. Gei Om, who acted as a negotiator and translator from Chin to Burmese and vice versa, advised the community leaders not to sign documents, which asserted that an investigation was carried out and no wrongdoing had been found. The above-mentioned July 13 complaint letter of the Ohn Village Tract official against Mr. Gei Om was sent to the Mindat Township authorities following this meeting, and led to his arrest.
On August 7, 2020, the Deputy Police Chief charged Mr. Gei Om under Section 5 (1) (F) (G) of the Restriction of Movement and Probation of Habitual Offenders Act of 1961 for his participation in the settlement of a land dispute in 2016. The fabricated charge stemmed from his participation as a community negotiator in the resolution of a land dispute under a customary dispute resolution mechanism after the destruction of a village by a landslide in 2015. At the time, the government authorities had authorized the land dispute to be settled according to local customs but they subsequently claimed that the dispute was not settled legally and that Mr. Gei Om should therefore be charged for his involvement in it, which the authorities claimed it amounted to inciting conflict.
After charges were pressed, Mr. Gei Om was offered a conditional release provided that he would not leave Mindat Township and he would report on a bi-monthly basis to the police for six months to one year, which he refused. If found guilty, Mr. Gei Om will be prohibited from leaving his township and, if he does not comply with this measure of restriction, he could be sentenced to one year in prison. He is currently detained in Mindat Township.
The Observatory expresses its utmost concern over the arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Mr. Gei Om, which seem to be only aimed at punishing him for his legitimate human rights work.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender, NGO staff, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Aug 7, 2020
- Event Description
Sneha Cheat journalist Keo Hour is arrested by a group of police officers in Kampong Chhnang’s provincial capital af ter Huo interviewed peaceful protestors who had gathered outside the Chieb commune office over a land conf lict earlier in May. He is not told the reason for his arrest. He was subsequently bailed, but the criminal charges remain over his head.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Jul 31, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in Cambodia arrested outspoken union chief Rong Chhun from his home in Phnom Penh on Friday in connection with a statement he made claiming that the country had ceded land to Vietnam along their shared border, according to officials.
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions and a member of the Cambodia Watchdog Council, was taken into custody on charges of �incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest� under Article 495 of Cambodia�s Penal Code, Ministry of Justice spokesman Chhin Malin told RFA�s Khmer Service, confirming an earlier report by government-aligned Fresh News.
Fresh News had quoted Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesperson Kuch Kimlong as saying Rong Chhun had been arrested �for allegedly distorting news on [the] border issue,� adding that he had committed a crime �in flagrante delicto,� or was caught in the act.
On July 20, Rong Chhun had visited Trapeang Phlong commune, in Tbong Khmum province�s Ponhea Kraek district, where Cambodians claimed recently placed border posts had caused them to lose land to neighboring Vietnam.
The following day, he issued a statement on behalf of the Cambodia Watchdog Council in which he cited irregularities with the placement of border posts 114 to 119 that resulted in the loss of �hundreds of hectares� (one hectare = 2.5 acres) of ancestral land belonging to area farmers.
However, on Friday, Cambodia�s official Cambodia Border Committee rejected Rong Chhun�s claims, saying his organization had disseminated �fake news� based on �groundless accusations.�
�Rong Chhun colluded with bad actors who claimed their ancestral land was taken by Vietnamese soldiers who ousted them from their farms,� the committee said in the statement.
Kuy Pisey, vice president of the Cambodia Border Committee, told RFA following the release of the statement that the current border demarcation is �based on documentation� and that no farmers have lost land.
She said the government controls around 60 hectares (150 acres) in Ponhea Kraek district that area farmers never controlled and accused the Cambodia Watchdog Council of trying to �confuse people with fake news.�
�What the government has done is not a joke�we are committed to protecting our territory,� she said.
Rong Chhun, who is also the former president of Cambodia�s Teachers� Association and a former member of the country�s National Election Committee, stood by his July 21 statement in an interview with RFA on Friday.
�I am only a union member�I don�t need to be popular,� he said, adding that the Cambodia Border Committee�s accusations �do not reflect my statement.�
�It is the truth, based on the villagers who said they lost around 500 meters (1,640 feet) of their land to the border � The border committee must be brave enough to accept the truth.�
Not long afterwards, police took Rong Chhun into custody for questioning. He is currently being held at an undisclosed location within Phnom Penh, according to family members.
Whereabouts unknown
Soeung Sengkaruna, a spokesman for local rights group Adhoc, told RFA that he visited the Phnom Penh Municipal Police headquarters, but learned little of Rong Chhun�s situation.
�We want to find out his condition�is he safe and healthy,� he said, adding that it was too early for him to comment on the charges facing Rong Chhun.
Um Sam An, a former lawmaker from the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) who once served a prison term for criticizing the country�s handling of the border issue, told RFA that �the government is shutting up nationalists.�
He claimed that farmers are losing land because Cambodia is demarcating the border based on a treaty from 1985, when Vietnam occupied the country following its ouster of the Khmer Rouge regime six years earlier.
�What Rong Chhun was trying to do was to protect villagers from losing their land,� he said.
�I praise Rong Chhun�s conscience and condemn the government for his arrest.�
Border dispute
Rong Chhun�s arrest follows the discovery by Cambodian authorities of 31 military shelters, housing armed Vietnamese soldiers, in Kandal province�s Koh Thom and Leuk Daek districts, which prompted Cambodia�s embassy in Hanoi to issue a May 13 diplomatic d�marche, demanding that the structures be taken down.
By the end of May, only three had been removed, according to Cambodia�s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Authorities in Vietnam�s An Giang province had claimed troops were deployed to guard the area against illegal entrants who could potentially cause an outbreak of the coronavirus, but border activists, including Rong Chhun, said the move amounted to an invasion of Cambodian territory.
Unresolved border issues between Cambodia and Vietnam, former French colonies from the 1860s to 1954, have sparked incidents in the past, with the construction by Vietnam of military posts in contested areas quickly challenged by Cambodian authorities in Phnom Penh.
In June 2015, activists from the CNRP were attacked by Vietnamese villagers when they went to inspect an area in Svay Rieng province where they said a road built by authorities in Vietnam�s Long An province had encroached into Cambodian territory.
A joint communique signed by Cambodia and Vietnam in 1995 stipulates that neither side can make any changes to border markers or allow cross-border cultivation or settlement pending the resolution of outstanding border issues.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Labour rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Nepal
- Initial Date
- Jul 29, 2020
- Event Description
Umesh Dube, a prominent investigative journalist who has earned his reputation for writing about corruption and malpractices has been arrested for allegedly "disturbing social peace and harmony" on 29th July, 2020. Bureau Chief of TV Today Television HD (https://bit.ly/3fn57Fm) and reporter at Sagarmatha National Television, Journalist Dube holds many caps on the journalism arena. He was arrested by District Police Office of Parsa district. Parsa lies in province 2.
As per Freedom Forum's representative for Province 2, Rajan Singh, "The dispute stated when the police made an issue warning Dube to not walk on the main road". Singh says, there is no law which prohibits anybody to walk on any road. Dube informed Singh that he was wearing a press jacket and had press card at that time. Later the same day, when Dubey posted a Facebook status saying that police's wrongdoings are not hidden from public's eye, he was arrested late in the evening.
According to DSP Manojit Kunwar, after holding him for two days, his custody is extended for 10 days as a court case against him has just been registered. They have claimed that they possess evidence where Dube has demanded money from people misusing police's name. Bijaya Kuswaha, a local journalist informed FF that the District Police Office, Parsa has the history of fabricating facts with the intention of revenge on those who speaks against the authorities. In the past, several other journalists were called out and were forced to sign papers accepting that they will not write or talk against the authorities. Journalist Dubey frequently published news regarding security officials' involvement on boarder smuggling and corruption.
Journalist Kushwaha Dube's investigative stories were the reason behind such troubles.
The action taken by the police against Dube is one of many examples where journalists are troubled by taking false legal courses in Nepal. Such action in the present has become day to day phenomenon to stop the journalists from involving in investigative reporting on the critical issues of the administration. FF demands immediate release of Dube as 10 days is the maximum amount of detention period given the nature of the case. As he has been investigated since 2 days, unfair extension infact seems like a way of teaching lesson to deter journalists from writing about the police. FF urges police to stop fabricating the facts immediately and respect the notion of free press.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jul 28, 2020
- Event Description
A special court here on Friday remanded Delhi University (DU) associate professor Hany Babu, arrested in connection with the Elgar Parishad case, in judicial custody till August 21.
Hany Babu Musaliyarveettil Tharayil, 54, associate professor at the Department of English of the university, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on July 28 for his alleged involvement in the case.
He was sent to judicial custody by special court judge D E Kothalikar at the end of his NIA remand on Friday.
Earlier, the NIA had submitted before the court that the accused had links with the CPI (Maoists).
The case relates to the alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.
The Pune police filed a charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet in the case on November 15, 2018 and February 21, 2019, respectively.
The NIA took up the investigation in the case on January 24 this year.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Academic freedom, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Academic
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- India: another academic arrested on spurious accusations
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Jul 27, 2020
- Event Description
Two protesters in Tuguegarao City were arrested by the police Monday afternoon, July 27, as they were preparing to hold a demonstration coinciding with President Rodrigo Duterte's 2020 State of the Nation Address (SONA).
In a phone interview with Rappler, Cagayan provincial police chief Colonel Ariel Quilang said two teenagers were arrested and were facing criminal complaints for violating the following laws:
Republic Act No. 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Concern Act; Revised Penal Code Article 151 or disobedience to a person in authority.
The two were identified as members of the League of Filipino Students and Kabataan Partylist - Cagayan Valley.
According to Quilang, the two demonstrators violated the general community quarantine rule that anyone aged 21 and below must stay at home unless they are out for essential travel.
With this rule applied, Quilang said it does not matter if the two were not part of a group of 10 �the general number of people that police consider as a mass gathering�as long as they are minors who went outside.
"We were just implementing the COVID violations. Here in Cagayan, we are strictly implementing COVID violations," Quilang said.
As of Sunday, July 5, the PNP has arrested a total of 76,340 alleged quarantine violators. Of them, 3,148 continued to be detained as they undergo preliminary investigation.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 27, 2020
- Event Description
Four young activists who belonged to a disbanded pro-independence group have been arrested on secessionist charges in Hong Kong�s first crackdown on political figures after the enactment July 1 of a sweeping national security law.
Senior Superintendent Li Kwai-wah, with Hong Kong police�s newly formed National Security Department, told reporters late Wednesday that four students between the ages of 16 and 21 had been arrested under the new national security law for �organizing and inciting secession� by their advocacy of independence.
He declined to name them and their group, but the group Studentlocalism announced on social media that its former convenor, Tony Chung, 19, had been arrested Wednesday night for �inciting secession.� Activists said at least two other former group members also had been arrested about the same time.
The arrests were the most high-profile crackdown on political figures since the introduction of the new security law. Ten protesters were arrested that day on national security charges.
'Hong Kong nation'
Li accused the group of announcing online the establishment of a new group to advocate for the establishment of a �Hong Kong nation,� as well as its declaration that it would use all means to achieve this end. He also alleged that the group was trying to �unite all pro-independence groups in Hong Kong� and �incite others to join them.�
Li said mobile phones, computers and documents had been seized from the arrested activists� homes. He said the police could take DNA samples from them if necessary.
Citing clauses 36 to 38 of the national security law, Li emphasized that people also could be charged with criminal enterprises for �national security crimes� committed elsewhere in the world.
�We have jurisdiction even if the propaganda takes place abroad,� he said.
Studentlocalism announced its closure on the eve of the enactment of the national security law on July 1, but it also announced 10 days ago the establishment of its U.S. division. On its Twitter account, the group called on its supporters to join in, and it posted an online recruitment form.
Manifesto
Its manifesto on Twitter says one of its missions is to �establish a Hong Kong republic with independent sovereignty� and �awaken the will of Hong Kong�s national independence.�
Li said the arrestees were suspected of violating both Article 20 and 21 of the national security law, which criminalizes secessionist acts and incitement of others to commit such offenses.
In a video footage posted online, a plainclothes police officer, purportedly from the national security department, can be seen escorting Chung, who has his hands tied behind his back, to a vehicle.
Local media said it was the first time that officers from the police force's new national security department had made an arrest under the security legislation.
As the group disbanded June 30, Chung vowed on Twitter, �We won�t give up, we refuse to forget, one day we will witness the Hong Kong national flag on our land.�
Chung was arrested in May 2019 for damaging the national flag at the protest zone outside the legislature, before the anti-government protest movement began.
Ahead of the police briefing Wednesday night, officers expelled several journalists, saying they had not been registered with the government � even though no such restrictions had been put in place previously.
Commenting on the arrests, pro-democracy lawmaker Eddie Chu said the activists were not arrested for their actions but rather for their rhetoric on social media. �The maximum penalty is life imprisonment. Typical CCP [Chinese Communist Party] speech crime,� he said on Twitter.
Human Rights Watch researcher Maya Wang said the arrests were �a significant escalation on the part of the Hong Kong government, criminalizing those who organize political parties, and it's likely [to be] just the beginning before it moves onto pan-democratic parties.�
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Jul 27, 2020
- Event Description
Bulacan police arrested four women activists July 27 in barangay Cacarong Matanda, Pandi, Bulacan after staging an online protest coinciding with President Duterte�s fifth State of the Nation Address.
According to urban rights group Kadamay, Janet Villamar, April Tricia Musa, Marilou Amaro, and Edmylyn Gruta staged an online protest 11 a.m. to call for mass testing, aid, and the release of fellow Kadamay Pandi member Rose Fortaleza, who was arrested July 26 after police raided a Kadamay office and confiscated copies of alternative publication Pinoy Weekly.
Hours later, police arrived at their homes and began arresting the four individuals. When asked why, they were unable to cite any violation. According to Mimi Doringo, Kadamay spokesperson, the four were already resting or tending to other duties when the police arrived.
This is contrary to the official police report which claimed that officers on patrol saw members of Kadamay conducting a rally. The officers �asked for a permit�, which they protesters were unable to provide, and were asked to go home. When they could not comply, the protesters �persisted and pushed the officers, resulting in their arrest.�
As of July 28, or 24 hours after the arrest, no charges were filed against them. Kadamay also stated that the four were forced to sign a form �voluntarily waiving their rights under Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code,� as well as having a �gag order� placed on them, preventing them from talking to anyone, including their families.
Article 125 sets restrictions on how long a person can be detained without charges filed, depending on the severity of the case. Article 125 also guarantees the right of the accused to legal counsel at any time.
On July 28, the four activists in Pandi were charged with violations of Republic Act 11332 and Batas Pambansa Blg. 880, or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifying Disease Law and the Public Assembly Act of 1985. The paralegal team only learned of this 24 hours after their arrest. Section 9 of RA 11332 requires any person or entity to report �notifiable disease� to authorities. The Department of Justice has used this provision to justify warrantless arrests of people �violating quarantine protocol.�
BP 880, meanwhile, argues that permits are needed to hold rallies or other mass gatherings. However, lawyers� group National Union of People�s Lawyers (NUPL), stressed that no provisions exist that prohibit rallies during the pandemic. The group stressed that the Constitution states that �no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.�
Inquest proceedings took place via online on July 28 in the afternoon. Under Article 125, only �crimes or offenses punishable by afflictive or capital penalties, or their equivalent� are given 36 hours for law enforcement to deliver a person to proper judicial authorities before it can be considered a violation of rights.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Malaysia
- Initial Date
- Jul 24, 2020
- Event Description
Malaysian police have arrested Mohammad Rayhan Kabir, a young Bangladeshi who spoke in a documentary aired by Al Jazeera.
Malaysian Media quoted Immigration director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud who confirmed that the 25-year-old was arrested this evening.
Rayhan Kabir sent a WhatsApp message to this reporter today, saying police are going to arrest him. In the message he said, "I did not commit any crime. I did not lie. I have only talked about discrimination against the migrants. I want the dignity of migrants and my country ensured. I believe all migrants and Bangladesh will stand with me."
Rayhan Kabir's family lives in the Bandar upazila of Narayanganj. His father Shah Alam works in a garment factory. He told The Daily Star, "I just got the news from Malaysia by a Bangladeshi. My son has been protesting against all odds since childhood. But he never did any wrong. After HSC from Tolaram College in 2014, he left for Malaysia and passed his BA there."
Shah Alam said in a choked voice, "Raihan's mother has been sick for the last one month. My son has been arrested for protesting against discrimination and exploitation. I believe my son did not do anything wrong. I want Bangladesh to stand with him."
The investigative documentary titled 'Locked Up in Malaysia's Lockdown' was aired on July 3. It shows that the Malaysian government is discriminating against migrants during the epidemic through the Movement Control Order (MCO).
After that six media workers of Al Jazeera were called to Malaysia Central Police Headquarters on July 10 for questioning.
They are also being investigated for alleged defamation and sedition by Malaysian police.
The Immigration Department of Malaysia also issued a search warrant against Rayhan Kabir who was interviewed in the documentary. The local administration has also issued a summon to seek his personal information. After that his work permit had been canceled.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Labour rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 21, 2020
- Event Description
Police arrested an anti-government protester on suspicion of violating Hong Kong�s new national security law on Tuesday and dispersed dozens more who had gathered at a shopping mall to mark one year since a mob attacked protesters and passengers at a train station in Yuen Long.
Three other people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing police in the execution of their duties, while a fourth was detained for violating a court-imposed curfew.
Officers also fined 79 people for social-distancing violations in Yuen Long, and some others in Central, where another small rally took place earlier. Activists were voicing anger over a lack of progress in investigating the attack.
The anti-government protester was handcuffed and taken away from the Yoho mall in the evening after being accused of displaying a placard reading: �Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times.�
In a statement, police said he allegedly incited or abetted others to commit secession, in breach of the new law.
The government maintains the slogan amounts to a separatist call, although lawyers have cast doubt over the assertion and say the courts should decide.
Police also led away Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung, who told reporters officers accused him of being uncooperative as they tried to search his belongings.
A small group of people inside the mall chanted protest slogans, including the controversial one, and officers briefly raised a purple flag warning they could be arrested for violating the new law.
Officers rounded up dozens of journalists outside and demanded they turn off their cameras as they were searched and their press credentials were checked. The force took to social media earlier in the day to warn demonstrators of legal action if they participated in the rally, amid a worsening third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic . The attack on July 21 last year was widely caught on video. Clips show the white-clad mob armed with metal poles and rattan sticks entering the train station and begin to beat anti-government protesters and passengers seemingly at random, leaving 45 people injured .
Some activists have accused police of colluding with the attackers as officers failed to show up promptly after being alerted to the incident, although the force maintains the delay was caused by a staffing crunch.
The attack is widely regarded as a turning point in the year-long social unrest triggered by a now-withdrawn extradition bill, which pitted police and protesters against each other.
Dozens of arrests have been made over the violence, but the force�s watchdog has noted it lacks the authority to investigate the allegation officers were involved.
Police were out in force in Yuen Long in the afternoon, with officers issuing tickets to three Democratic Party lawmakers, among others, outside the MTR station for failing to observe the ban on public gatherings of more than four people.
The three lawmakers were party chairman Wu Chi-wai, vice-chairman Andrew Wan Siu-kin and Lam Cheuk-ting, who afterwards accused officers of abusing their power.
�We came in groups of four,� said Lam, a victim himself. �But when we arrived, the police ushered us together and then claimed we had breached the social-gathering regulations. If police had deployed one-tenth of the manpower last year to handle the July 21 attack, the attack might not have taken place.�
Victim Calvin So said he was returning home after a shift working as a chef that night when the mob descended upon him, leaving him with injuries to his leg and back.
�I was invited by police to give a statement once last August and then police called me two or three times later in October for some follow-up questions,� So said. �Since then, I have not heard anything from police. I can�t help thinking they are not actually serious in investigating the case.�
Earlier in the day, a handful of protesters were handed fines during a gathering at a mall in Hong Kong�s Central district to mark the anniversary.
A police spokesman said officers fined four men and two women, aged between 14 and 55, for violating social-distancing rules. Last week the government tightened the ban on public gatherings from 50 people to four in a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19 infections.
One young protester, in tears after being fined, said: �I was crying not because I was fined � But where were all these officers on July 21 last year? Now, why are there so many of them here to slap fines on young people?�
The force said it understood public concern over the violence at Yuen Long MTR station last year and stressed their New Territories North regional crime unit spared no effort in bringing the criminals to justice.
So far, 37 people, aged between 18 and 61, have been arrested over the attack, seven of whom have been charged with rioting. Police refused to comment further on the investigation, saying it was ongoing.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Media Worker, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Bangladesh
- Initial Date
- Jul 18, 2020
- Event Description
A church official has joined a global rights watchdog to call on Bangladeshi authorities to stop harassing the parents of a prominent blogger who has been charged with breaching the controversial Digital Security Act.
Asad Noor was charged after supporting a Buddhist monk and a temple against alleged propaganda spread by a politician and Islamic radicals.
Noor, a Muslim turned atheist blogger, claimed that plainclothes policemen picked up six family members from his hometown of Amtoly in Barguna district on July 18.
�Police raided the house and picked up six family members including my parents. They were taken to Amtoly police station and were released on July 20,� BBC Bangla Service quoted Noor as saying on July 21.
"Police called me through my father and asked me to delete all video posts from my Facebook," said Noor, now based in India.Father Mintu Samuel Boiragi, coordinator of the Justice and Peace Commission in Barishal Diocese, which covers Amtoly, criticized the harassment of Noor�s family.
�This is unlawful, illogical and inhuman to harass people who committed no offense. If Noor is an offender, police should arrest him, not his family members. This culture of intimidation and harassment should be stopped," Father Boiragi told UCA News.
The South Asia wing of Amnesty International also condemned the treatment of Noor�s family.
�The Bangladeshi authorities must stop the harassment and intimidation of the patents of blogger Asad Noor, who have been targeted because of their son's human rights activism. Human rights defenders must be able to carry out their important work freely and without fear," the group said in a July 21 statement.
The news about the detention of Noor�s family members enraged Bangladeshi bloggers and online activists at home and abroad. They heavily criticized authorities for what they called �unfair and unlawful� police actions.
On July 14, a student leader linked to the ruling Awami League filed a complaint against Noor at Rangunia police station in Chittagong district for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of local Muslims by video posts on Facebook.
In a recent video, Noor said that a fake Facebook ID for a Buddhist monk was created and used for anti-Islam posts recently as a part of a conspiracy to target him and the temple, with an aim to grab the temple property.
Noor also alleged that Ershad Mahmud, the younger brother of Information Minister Hasan Mahmud, was involved in a plot to enrage local Islamists to stage daily protests.
Shah Alam, head of Amtoli police station, denied allegations of harassment of Noor�s family members.
�Police did not harass Noor's family. In order to cooperate with Rangunia police, we went to his house with an arrest warrant for Noor, but he was not there. Nobody was arrested or picked up,� Alam told UCA News.
- Impact of Event
- 6
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Family of HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jul 17, 2020
- Event Description
Assam Police on Friday announced a CID investigation into the arrest of a journalist Rajib Sarma, taken into custody on charges of misbehavior with the wife of a district official.
The DY365 channel journalist was arrested from his residence in Assam�s Gauripur at 2 am on Thursday, hours before his 64-year-old father passed away due to cardiac arrest. Following an uproar over his protest, the district superintendent of police and the divisional forest officer (DFO) were transferred, PTI reported.
Sarma was granted interim bail on the same day as his arrest, however he reached home to find that his father had passed away, NDTV reported. �I have not even seen his (Roy�s) wife. I have not even spoken to her. This is a conspiracy on the part of the existing nexus between influential people who are involved in these illegal activities,� Sarma had said after being released.
Sarma did a series of news reports claiming that cattle smuggling in Dhubri district was thriving on the alleged nexus between the DFO and district police. "The case of the arrest of a local journalist of electronic media has been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department for a proper probe," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) GP Singh told reporters on Friday.
Meanwhile, Dhubri DFO Biswajit Roy had lodged a police complaint against Sarma accusing him of extortion and misbehaving with his wife. He has been charged under sections 389 (putting person in fear of accusation of offence, in order to commit extortion), 384 (punishment for extortion), 385 (putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extor�tion), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code
On Friday, a local court granted Sarma an interim bail to complete the last rites of his father. The ADGP said the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Cell will be investigating the DFO's case separately and it will be unrelated to the criminal case against the journalist. Dhubri district forest officer Roy alleged Sharma attempted to extort Rs 8 lakh from him on the basis of fabricated news regarding his involvement in a cattle smuggling syndicate.
Singh also said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) will be formed to inquire about the role of Dhubri district police in cattle smuggling cases in the last two years. "I have done the preliminary inquiry today and will submit my findings to the DGP and the chief minister by tonight," the police officer said.
Apart from bringing the issue to the National Human Rights Commission and Press Council of India�s attention, DY365 channel has also decided to move the Gauhati High Court, according to The Wire. Atanu Bhuyan, consulting editor of DY365, said, �Our decision to move the high court is final. It is not fair that a journalist is whisked away by the police in the late hours, like a common thief. His father died out of shock. Only Rajib and his father lived together in the house. When Rajib was taken away, the neighbours found the doors open the next day. His father was already dead; it is believed he died of shock.�
A BJP delegation met Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and submitted a memorandum denouncing the arrest and seeking an impartial probe into the case. The Guwahati Press Club too sought the chief minister's intervention in the matter so that the scribe's family is not harassed unnecessarily. "We want the CM to intervene and ensure that Mr Sharma is not harassed in the name of investigation," president Manoj Kumar Nath and secretary Sanjay Ray of the press club said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Assam government transferred Dhubri Superintendent of Police Yuvraj to 1st Assam Police Battalion at Ligiripukhuri as its commandant. Charaideo's SP Anand Mishra replaced him. The Environment and Forest Department also transferred Roy to the Genetic Cell Division in Guwahati. The current DFO of the Genetic Cell Division, PV Trimbak, will be posted to Dhubri, according to an order.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jul 17, 2020
- Event Description
Poet and Elgar Parishad case accused P Varavara Rao, who had on Thursday tested positive for Covid-19 after he was shifted out of jail to a hospital, was moved to Nanavati Hospital from St George�s Hospital on early Sunday.
Dr Akash Khobragade, medical superintendent of St George Hospital, said that around 1am, Rao was shifted to Nanavati Hospital for further neurological and urological management. Khobragade confirmed that Rao doesn�t have complications related to Covid-19.
Earlier, Mumbai Police sources had confirmed that 81-year-old Rao, who was first moved out of Taloja Jail to Sir JJ Hospital last week, would be shifted to the private hospital. The decision from the state government came a day after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued notices to the Maharashtra government on Friday to ensure the health condition of Rao, arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), is taken care of and adequate medical facilities are arranged. Rao was shifted to Sir JJ Hospital on July 13 after his health started deteriorating.
NHRC, based on a complaint from the special monitor of the commission, Maja Daruwala, had issued a notice to the chief secretary and the director-general of prisons of Maharashtra state, asking for a report on the health of Rao within two weeks. It was mentioned in the complaint that Rao was suffering from many ailments, owing to which his health condition was deteriorating.
Taking cognisance of the matter, the commission observed that the right to life and medical care is one of the basic human rights and the state is duty-bound to provide a prisoner who is in its custody appropriate medical care so that there should be no danger to his life.
The commission has also directed the state to constitute a medical board to examine the health condition of Rao and to see whether the treatment being provided to him is appropriate. The commission has mentioned that the board is expected to decide as to which hospital, whether government or private, will give best medical treatment to Rao. NHRC had also asked the state to provide Rao the best possible treatment in a private hospital and also to ensure to bear all the expenditure for his treatment.
Rao was first taken to JJ Hospital on May 28 after he fell unconscious, but was discharged on June 1. The family had alleged that Rao was discharged in a hurried manner to obstruct his bail plea. �He was not normal at the time of discharge. While sodium normal range was 134-145, he attained only 133 and potassium normal range was 3.5 to 5.0, he attained only 3.55, according to the hospital�s own discharge summary. But, later on June 2 it was proved that all this � admission in hospital, getting a normal report, getting him discharged � was part of a conspiracy by the police. June 2 was the date of hearing on his bail application on health grounds in NIA special sessions court and police argued against his bail showing this hospital �normal� report. The judge accepted that and refused bail on June 26,� read a statement from the family.
Later, Rao continued to show signs of delirium and after objections from various quarters, Rao was admitted to JJ Hospital again on July 13. On Thursday, Rao tested positive for Covid-19 and was shifted to St George�s Hospital. Rao�s bail plea in the Bombay high court (HC) will be heard today.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Right to health
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Jul 16, 2020
- Event Description
Puluhan demonstran yang terdiri dari 36 laki-laki dan seorang perempuan ditangkap polisi dalam aksi tolak Omnibus Law RUU Cipta Kerja di Makassar. "Massa unjuk rasa tanpa izin, lakukan perusakan, ada yang bawa sajam," ucap Kabid Humas Polda Sulawesi Selatan Kombes Pol Ibrahim Tompo, ketika dikonfirmasi Tirto, Kamis (16/7/2020). Tompo mengklaim peserta aksi juga mengabaikan perintah untuk membubarkan diri dari petugas. Kini mereka dibawa ke Polrestabes Makassar guna pemeriksaan. Massa yang terdiri dari aliansi mahasiswa dan buruh di Makassar berdemonstrasi di sekitar gedung DPRD Sulawesi Selatan dan bawah flyover Jalan Urip Sumoharjo, Kamis (16/7/2020). Demonstran dan aparat sempat bentrok saat demo berlangsung. Kabag Ops Polrestabes Makassar AKBP Anwar Danu mengatakan bentrokan karena aksi yang semula berjalan damai disusupi kelompok tertentu, namun dia tidak menyebut detail nama kelompok tersebut. "Sebenarnya semua bisa berjalan dengan baik cuma karena ada kelompok tertentu yang memanfaatkan situasi, dia melihat situasi tidak kondusif akhirnya anggota mengambil tindakan untuk membubarkan," kata Anwar. Demo menolak Omnibus Law RUU Cipta Kerja juga digelar di Makassar Maret lalu. Massa yang tergabung dalam Gerakan Rakyat Menolak (Geram) bersama gabungan mahasiswa berdemonstrasi di depan kantor Gubernur Sulawesi Selatan. Baca juga artikel terkait DEMO TOLAK OMNIBUS LAW atau tulisan menarik lainnya Adi Briantika
Baca selengkapnya di artikel "Aksi Tolak Omnibus Law di Makassar, 37 Demonstran Ditangkap Polisi", https://tirto.id/fRCG
- Impact of Event
- 37
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jul 13, 2020
- Event Description
Mr. Surendran Natarajan, Mr.Senthil Vasan, Mr. Somasundaram (also known as Sundar) and Mr. Gagan are journalists based in Chennai who work for the YouTube channel Karuppar Koottam which is being webcasted from the past two years from Chennai. The channel creates social awareness videos against superstitious beliefs, women rights and Dalit rights. On July 13, 2020, Mr. Paul Kanagaraj RC, Ex-president of Madras High Court Advocate Association, who is also the founder of the political party Tamil Maanila Katchi, filed a police complaint against the Youtube channel Karuppar Koottam for their 7-month-old video on �Kanda Sashti Kavasam�. The video was about the religious chants for the Hindu deity Muruga, and in their review the channel said that the chants were irrational and objectifies women�s bodies. An FIR 249/2020 was registered under IPC Sections, 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153 A (1) (a), (Promoting enmity between classes), 295A (Maliciously insulting the religion or the religious beliefs of any class), 505(1) (b) (False statement, rumour etc,. circulated with intent to cause mutiny or offence against the public peace), 505 (2) (False statement, rumour etc.,with intent to create enmity, hatred or ill-will between different classes). On July 15, the police arrested Mr. Senthil Vasan from Velachery. On July 16, Mr. SurendranNatarajan who runs the channel surrendered to the Puducherry police. The next week Chennai crime branch arrested two more technicians Mr. Somasundaram and Mr. Gagan who were working for the channel. The video for which they are charged was deleted by the channel. The cybercrime police also deleted all the 500+ videos from the Karuppar Koottam YouTube channel which included videos on creating social awareness against superstitious beliefs, women empowerment, women rights and Dalit rights. No notice was given to the channel by the officials involved in the search at their office in T Nagar-Chennai, nor did the police have a search warrant. The YouTubechannel currently has no videos. On July 16, 2020, before Mr. Natarajan had surrendered, the ADSP Mr. Saravana Kumar along with 5 policemen and 1 police woman dressed in plainclothes searched Mr. Natarajan residence for any documents. Mr. Nataraajan�s wife, Ms. Abinaya was threatened and abused by Mr. Saravana Kumarduring the house search. At 4 pm Ms. Abinaya was taken to the commissioner officewithout any prior notice, where she was threatened by the ADSP Mr. Sarvana Kumar that she will be charged with an FIR. Fearing for his wife�s life, Mr. Natarajan surrendered to the police in Puducherry. We believe that this case is an example of the right to dissent and free speech being increasingly criminalised in India. This is a violation of Article 19(a) of the Indian Constitution which provides for free speech and power to express oneself to every citizen. Any individual has the right to review the historical events, stories, to express one�s view and understanding via social media. Freedom to expression is crucial to the work of HRDs. The right to freedom of opinion and expression encompasses three different aspects: 1) the right to hold opinions without interference; 2) the right of access to information; and 3) the right to impart information and ideas of all kind. The right to present arguments from a rationalist perspective, including the right to voicing atheistic views, has been upheld by High court judgements. Further, such a right is guaranteed by Article 51A (h) of the Constitution, which enjoins the development of the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform. This is also an example of the complete misuse of power by the cybercrime officials. There was no prior notice given to the channel for deleting all their videos, nor was a search warrant produced to search their officeor the home of Mr. Natarajan. The illegal detention and threats directed by the ADSP Mr. Saravana Kumar at the wife of one of the accused who was not involved in the case in any manner, is a clear example of how police violatelaws to achieve its malafide ends. We believe that the complaint filed by Mr. Paul Kanagaraj R C of the Tamil Maanila Katchi is politically motivated following the merger with the ruling BJP. The issue at stake has to do with the right to free expression. In a country where there exist diverse belief system, it is imperative that police follows the due process of law when filing an FIR. This is important in a context where the excuse of hurt sentiment, hate speech is let loose against those voicing their opinions.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Family of HRD, Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jul 11, 2020
- Event Description
Mr. Raja Bhaiyya is a HRD and founder of an NGO - Vidyadham Samiti - working for human rights of the poor and deprived workers in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh since 2001. In the past his NGO has taken up the cause of exploitation of minor girls etc, rights of workers working in stone crushers etc. On July 07, 2020 Aaj Tak channel telecast a show on sexual exploitation of women and girls working in mines in Karwi at Chitrakoot which got huge public response. (https://youtu.be/FqkqAPoG3HE) On July 11, 2020, Mr. Raja Bhaiyya was sitting in his NGO office Vidyadham Samiti in Atarra, when a government car stopped in front of his office and some policemen entered the office without permission. The policeman told him that they were from Bharatkoop police station and that the Chitrakoot SP has called him. They did not give him a reason nor any notice or warrant and Mr. Raja Bhaiyya was forcefully placed in the police car like a criminal and presented at Chitrakoot SP Mr. Ankit Mittal's office at around 5 pm. SP Mr. Mittal asked Mr. Raja Bhaiyya questions like,�Who went with Mausami Singh? (Aaj Tak reporter who did the story). Why did he go to Dafai? Why did he come to Chitrakoot? Was he the source who told the journalist and took her to the area?� All questions were aimed at establishing his source of the news story done by the journalist on the exploitation of local women. Mr. Raja Bhaiyya replied that he knows Ms Mausami Singh since the past 5 years and she came to the region for a story and accompanied her to the Bharatkoop area since he goes there frequently. However he was not aware of what story she was filing because she talked to the women in that area without his presence. SP Mr. Mittal intimidated and threatened HRD Mr. Raja Bhaiyya that he will file a case against him under the SC/ST Act and the POCSO Act and that he is a criminal. SP then told the policemen standing there to put Mr. Raja Bhaiyya in a lockup. He was put in the waiting room and was called again after 15 minutes inside the SP office. First, the SP shouted at him for sitting without permission; then he accused Mr. Raja Bhaiyya of lying as his photo was in a video and that proved that he accompanied the journalist. SP Mr. Mittal then abused and threatened him with physical torture (ulta latka doonga) and asked the policemen to take him away and torture him with �a hunter�. At this juncture Mr. Raja Bhaiyya again clarified that he didn�t accompany the journalist where she conducted the interviews. The policemen took Mr. Raja Bhaiyya to the Sadar police station like a criminal. His wallet and mobile were taken by the police without any seizure document and he was put in a lockup with other detained persons. Around midnight, the CO of Sadar, called Mr. Raja Bhaiyya to a room. He repeated the questions asked by SP. He also accused Mr. Raja Bhaiyya of having intimate physical relations with the AajTak reporter and said that he will inform his wife. The CO also used vulgar and abusive words against Mr. Raja Bhaiyya who was humiliated in every manner possible. After an hour of interrogation, the CO said that a case is being filed against Mr. Raja Bhaiyya. The victim was further abused by the other policemen who refused to listen to any of his clarifications. He was sent back to the lockup where he had to spend the night. Mr. Raja Bhaiyya was not given anything to eat or even allowed to go to the toilet all throughout the night and was not allowed to call anyone for help. On July 12, 2020, at around 3 AM, the station in-charge gave him a plain paper and asked him to write that �he knew journalist Ms. Mausami Singh and she came here to report on how government schemes are reaching people. He accompanied her to Dafai, Bharatkoop but he had no knowledge about the news story that she had filed. He too found out about her story only when he saw the TV.� Mr. Raja Bhaiyya wrote as directed as this was the only way he would be released and was threatened with cases under the SC/ST Act and POCSO. He was released from lockup only at around 2 PM on July 12, 2020 � more than 24 hours of illegal detention. Following his release, he was repeatedly approached telephonically by various local authorities for his statement in the matter of the AajTak news report. However, he maintained that he will only respond to an official summon. He wrote the same to the Chitrakoot SDM on July 18, 2020. Following this, he was sent an official letter from the Chitrakoot SDM to appear in front of the inquiry team. On July 19, 2020, Mr. Raja Bhaiyya went to the SDM Chitrakoot and the SDM asked him similar questions and told him that �his inhumane treatment and detention by the police was valid as he was a liar�. However, he was let go after being made to sign a document. The actions of the district administration and police in this case are heinous, arbitrary and illegal. They reflect that the police are more interested in knowing the source of the story and hence harassed a HRD through misusing their powers, rather than investigating the crime of sexual exploitation of women. This shows the attitude of the government which is more inclined towards creating obstructions in the work of HRDs and journalists rather than taking steps towards the ongoing crisis. The illegality of the interrogation also exposes the malignant intention of the police and puts a question mark on the freedom of speech for HRDs in the state. The action of the police personnel is also violative of Article 19 of the Constitution which talks about freedom of speech and expression. An illegal detention and interrogation, subjecting an HRD to inhumane treatment in detention, by the police hinders the right of the citizen and the journalists to freely talk on issues of public interest. In the present matter, socially responsible reporting essential for society is being targeted by the police.
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jul 10, 2020
- Event Description
Assam activist Akhil Gogoi, who was lodged at the central jail in Guwahati, has tested positive for the coronavirus. Assam Inspector General of Prisons Dasarath Das told Scroll.in that the activist had tested negative earlier in an antigen as well as the confirmatory RT-PCR test but tested positive on Saturday in an antigen test.
He will be treated at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital, News18 reported.
Former chief of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (R), Ranjan Daimary, who is also housed in the Guwahati central jail, had tested positive on Friday. Das said that among the 15 inmates tested on Saturday, three were positive. Nearly 20 prisoners have reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 at the prison.
Reports about Gogoi falling ill had initially emerged in local media in the first week of July. He showed symptoms of Covid-19, it was said. His wife, Geetashree Tamuly, wrote in a Facebook post that she had learnt about his illness from news reports but knew no details about his condition. Soon afterwards, it was reported that Bitu Sonowal and Dhajya Konwar, two other KMSS activists who are also in jail, were showing symptoms. They had a fever, cough and body ache.
Advocates for Gogoi and his aides had filed a petition in a National Investigation Agency court, pleading that they be tested for Covid-19. The court ordered the jail authorities to ensure that they were tested and on July 9, it was reported that Sonowal and Konwar had Covid-19.
Gogoi, the founder of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, was arrested in December for leading a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act outside the Jorhat deputy commissioner�s office. The NIA said that Gogoi has been booked for �waging a war against the nation�, conspiracy and rioting. Three days later, the NIA booked the anti-corruption and Right to Information activist under the amended Unlawful Activities Prevention Act � that empowers the government to designate an individual as a �terrorist� if he or she is found to be committing, preparing for, promoting, or being involved in an act of terrorism.
He was granted bail on March 17 by a special NIA court after the investigating agency failed to file a chargesheet against him within the specified period of 90 days. However, he was arrested again, just two days later.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Right to health
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jul 10, 2020
- Event Description
The chief judicial magistrate court in Araria district in Bihar has ordered the release of the 23-year-old gang rape survivor who had been sent to jail for breaking into a verbal argument with the magistrate of the Araria magistrate court while recording her statement.
On July 10, the woman and two social activists, who are also her primary caregivers, were arrested after Araria magistrate Mustafa Shahi found them in contempt. All three have been in jail since then.
Their arrest had led to a nationwide outcry and several senior human rights lawyers had written to the Chief Justice of the Patna high court seeking urgent relief. Magistrate Shahi was also accused of having been insensitive towards the gang rape survivor in his decision to send her to jail.
Taking note of the objection, the high court, on two occasions, had scheduled hearings. However, it eventually asked the lower court to expedite the bail hearings, which had been suspended due to the lockdown in Bihar.
At short notice, the lawyers representing the woman and two activists, Kalyani Badola and Tanmay Nivedita, both working with Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan (JJSS), a non-profit organisation, were asked to attend a court hearing through video conference on July 17. The court granted bail to the survivor. Kalyani and Tanmay�s bail pleas were rejected.
Kamayani Swami from JJSS who had attended the hearing said that the public prosecutor had merely read out the FIR to oppose their bail application in the court. According to the FIR, the woman had requested that Kalyani be allowed to be by her side when her witness statement (under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure) was being recorded.
The FIR claims that the woman did not cooperate with the magistrate and had refused to sign the statement unless Kalyani and Tanmay had read what was written on it. The FIR also claims that the survivor had tried to �snatch� the papers from the investigating officer. All three have been accused of having been contemptuous towards the magistrate and the investigation officer.
While the JJSS activists have rubbished the claims made in the FIR, they pointed to the fact that the police have so far not done much in the actual case of the gang rape. �The woman was sexually assaulted by four persons and one person had abetted the crime. The police have only arrested the abettor, while the others are still at large,� said Sohini, who works with JJSS.
The woman was allegedly gang raped on July 6 and had approached JJSS activists to help in the legal fight. On July 7, upon completing her medical examination, her complaint was lodged. Kalyani, Tanmay and others from the organisation were closely monitoring the investigation in the rape incident. But suddenly, after the survivor�s arrest, focus had to be shifted into getting her and the other two out of jail.
The survivor, along with other two, have been lodged at Dalsinghsarai jail in Samastipur district � 250 km away from Araria.
Although the court ordered her release today, the order copy was not made available immediately. �We will have to wait until tomorrow [July 18] for the order and since the jail is so far away, we will have to make necessary arrangements to get there. The police have refused to help in this,� Swami said, further adding that the woman will have to spend at least a day more in jail.
As for Kalyani and Tanmay, the lawyers have decided to move sessions court. But since Bihar is under complete lockdown and work at the lower courts is completely suspended, they will have to wait until July 20 to challenge the order.
JJSS members have called the July 17 order unfair as the survivor and Kalyani have been accused of identical �crimes�.
There is no clarity on Tanmay�s role besides the fact that he had accompanied the survivor to the court. Tanmay is a transman and is presently lodged at the Dalsinghsarai women�s jail which was converted into a quarantine centre to accommodate women prisoners from all across Bihar.
�While they are both susceptible to infection, this incident has also exposed the structural injustices meted out to trans people in the criminal justice system,� Sohini said.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Jul 9, 2020
- Event Description
The chairman of the Alyansa ng Mamamayan para sa Pagsusulong ng Karapatan-Bicol has been arrested at his house, human rights group Karapatan said on Thursday. Pastor Dan San Andres of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) was apprehended in his house in Sipocot, Camarines Sur on Thursday, according to Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan. The arrest of San Andres, 61, came on the heels of the arrest of Gabriela Bicolana chairman Jenelyn Nagrampa on July 7. Palabay said the two were accused of double murder in relation to an alleged New People�s Army ambush that resulted in the deaths of two soldiers in Ragay, Camarines Sur, on May 13, 2018. Nagrampa is currently a village councilor of San Isidro, Nabua, Camarines Sur, and the national vice chairman of Gabriela. �In a matter of days after the Anti-Terrorism Act was signed, the harassment of human rights defenders in the country has already visibly worsened, from policemen attempting to serve a moot arrest warrant to the arrests of activists on clearly falsified murder charges,� Palabay said in a statement. Nagrampa and San Andres have already filed their respective counter-affidavits last December 2019 where they vehemently denied participation in the alleged ambush. During the incident, San Andres was conducting a Mass in his parish in the UCCP Church South Centro in Sipocot, Camarines Sur, while Nagrampa was campaigning for the barangay (village) elections, Palabay said.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- NGO staff, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jul 8, 2020
- Event Description
Sharjeel Usmani, a student activist from Aligarh Muslim University, was arrested from his home at Azamgarh on Wednesday evening as the Uttar Pradesh police moved to turn the heat up on students and activists involved in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act last December.
Usmani was picked up from his home town of Sidhari, Azamgarh. His brother said that at around 5 pm, five plainclothes people appeared at the doorstep of Usmani�s home, claiming to be from the crime branch. Asked why they were there, one of the men said, �You don�t need to know. Sharjeel knows why we�re here�, he said, pointing to Usmani, who was along with them, hands tied and head down. He had already been arrested when he was out drinking tea.
Without showing any identification, they demanded to see Usmani�s room. �They confiscated his laptop, all his books, and a solitary set of clothes. Each of us was made to stand and be photographed, stating our relation to him�, Usmani�s brother Areeb said. He also said no female officer was present, even though there were women, such as Usmani�s maternal aunt, who were also compelled to get themselves photographed.
�I refuse to believe it is an arrest. They did not tell us what charges were being pressed, they did not allow us to have any conversation with him�, said Sharjeel�s father, Tariq Usmani.
�As a parent, and more importantly, as citizens, we have the right to know�, said Sharjeel�s mother, Seema Usmani, almost in tears.
Aligarh police officer confirms arrest
While the Azamgarh police has made no formal statement about the arrest, Amar Ujala, quoting the district�s additional SP (crime) Arvind Kumar, has reported that the arrest was made by the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) of the Lucknow police and relates to the case filed in Aligarh last December.
Usmani was one of those who led protests against the CAA-NRC-NPR at AMU inside the campus. The police allege that the students threw stones and refused to disperse, claiming that 19 policemen were injured in the fray, after which they entered the campus with the university administration�s permission.
On their part, the students contest the police claim and say they were attacked inside the campus by the police which forcibly entered. A fact-finding report produced by a team led by Harsh Mander and Professor Chaman Lal has corroborated this claim, and accused the police of severe brutality, especially inside the Morrison Boys� Hostel, and said around 100 students were injured, at least 20 severely.
The FIR registered by the police named Usmani and several other current and former AMU students. They were accused of offences under various sections of the IPC, including 307 (attempt to murder), as also 147 (rioting), 148, 149, 153, 188, 189, 332, 336, 504, 506, section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
Recently, the police have also filed a chargesheet, or final report, in the matter, which means the case will now go to trial.
Before he was picked up himself, Usmani had been a vocal critic of the targeting of other anti-CAA activists and students including Sharjeel Imam, Safoora Zargar, Umar Khalid, Aasif Iqbal Tanha, Chandrashekhar Ravan and Meeran Haider, who had been arrested under various acts such as NSA, UAPA, Goonda Act, and Sedition (IPC 124A).
He has been a contributor to news websites like Firstpost, DailyO and Newslaundry on issues relating to governance, democracy and minority rights.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Jul 8, 2020
- Event Description
Youth activists and monks were prevented from commemorating the 4th anniversary of the killing of political commentator Kem Ley on Wednesday at the Caltex gas station in Phnom Penh, where the popular figure was shot.
Chamkarmon District Administration on Tuesday banned any public memorial services in remembrance of Kem Ley, who was shot by Oeut Ang on July 10, 2016, drinking his morning coffee at a Caltex gas station in Phnom Penh.
Youth activists, monks and Kem Ley�s supporters said they would continue with their plans to remember the political commentator, which is expected to last four days, till July 10.
Around 50 mixed security forces tried to prevent Kem Ley�s supporters from conducting a small wreath laying ceremony, and instead slowly pushed them across the street to Monivong Boulevard. The activists and monks were then forced to pray on the street, with dozens of security personnel watching over them.
Security personnel also detained a 34-year-old man named Khan Chanthorn and who was wearing a t-shirt with Kem Ley�s image. He was questioned at Boeung Trabek commune police station before being released later, with Police Chief Hong Chanthen calling it an �invitation� to speak.
�So, he wore a [Kem Ley] t-shirt, we called him to be questioned, and then we ordered him to return. There was nothing,� Hong Chanthen said.
Last year, Kung Raiya, a local activist, was arrested a day before a similar commemoration for Kem Ley for selling t-shirts with the commentator�s picture and popular quotes. He was convicted in May for incitement but had already fled the country.
Khan Chanthorn said multiple police officials questioned him about his reason for attending the service and who paid for his expenses. He said he had known Kem Ley for five years, before the latter�s murder.
�They asked me �how much did you get paid to come?�� he said. �They said if I used my time to do business or take care of my wife and children, it will be better. It�s useless to have protest because there is progress in social development.�
Thun Ratha, a member of the environment network Mother Nature Movement, said the police should not have stopped the activists and monks, because their activity was lawful.
�If our act is illegal, you all will not see me speaking. I will be lifted up to put in the police truck. But what I did is legal. It�s 100 percent legal,� he said.
Some of the monks and activists then began a march to Takeo province to Kem Ley�s home, where is a memorial to the political commentator. Kem Ley�s family had to leave the country after his death and were later relocated to Australia.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Jul 7, 2020
- Event Description
An official of human rights group Karapatan said a policeman wearing the uniform of a local courier company tried to serve her a warrant of arrest on Tuesday.
�Is this the usual procedure now?� Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said in a Facebook post.
In an interview with CNN Philippines, Palabay recalled that she even found it �funny� at first that an LBC courier would serve her the warrant. The man was wearing a shirt and ID bearing the company's name, which later turned out to be a clear case of misrepresentation, she said.
She asked the man to wait for her to get the court order recalling her arrest warrant. When she returned, another man, wearing civilian clothes, introduced himself as a policeman from Camp Karingal, headquarters of the Quezon City Police District.
They later admitted that one of them masqueraded as an LBC courier to make sure she gets the warrant.
Palabay told them that the court had the warrant recalled on April 29 after she posted an ?18,000 bail. This is in connection with the perjury complaint filed against her and other activists by National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr.
Palabay said her legal counsel has already informed the court about the incident.
Palabay said the policemen were �apologetic,� saying they did not know about the recall. She also told them that they should read the Miranda rights before arresting someone, but the policemen said the suspects would escape if they do that.
Philippine National Police Spokesperson Bernard Banac told CNN Philippines he will refer Palabay�s report to Camp Karingal �for their action and appropriate response.�
Palabay called on the public to know and assert their rights, noting that these are "dangerous times" following signing of the Anti-Terrorism Act. The controversial measure allows the warrantless detention of suspected terrorists for up to 24 days.
Critics fear that the law can be used to go after red-tagged individuals and human rights defenders, while government officials say the measure has enough safeguards.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- NGO staff, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 6, 2020
- Event Description
A Chinese law professor who has written essays critical of President Xi Jinping�s governance has reportedly been detained in Beijing.
Friends of Xu Zhangrun say the writer and academic was taken from his home early Monday morning by more than a dozen police officers. The New York Times, quoting his friend Geng Xiaonan, says a computer and papers were also taken from the home.
Geng says she learned from Xu�s wife that police told her Xu was accused of soliciting prostitutes during a recent visit to the southwestern city of Chengdu.
Xu Zhangrun taught law at Beijing�s prestigious Tsinghua University for several years until 2019, when he was banned from teaching and researching after publishing an essay condemning President Xi�s tightening grip on power. He had recently been placed under house arrest.
An essay he published in February blamed the culture of secrecy and deception for the spread of the novel coronavirus in China, which was first detected late last year in the central city of Wuhan before evolving into a pandemic that has sickened over 11.4 million people around the globe, killing more than 534,000.
Xu is the latest prominent figure to have been arrested this year for criticizing Xi over his handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Millionaire property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang was detained in April.
The arrests are part of President Xi�s increasing crackdown on dissenting voices in China, highlighted by the new national security law for Hong Kong that has criminalized open protest.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Administrative Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Academic freedom, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Academic
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Jul 3, 2020
- Event Description
A day after President Duterte signed the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 into law, 11 activists holding a protest in barangay Pulo, Cabuyao, Laguna, were arrested, July 3 by combined elements of Cabuyao police and the Army�s 2nd Infantry Division.
The eleven activists were part of a larger delegation conducting a peaceful protest to condemn the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Bill, which they said �would lead to abuse and widespread arrest of activists.�
Three minors were among those arrrested. Others arrested are:
Kyle Salgado � Karapatan ST spokesperson Casey Cruz � Bayan ST spokesperson Shirley Songalia Gabriela ST spokersperson Jemme Mia Antonio � Liga ng Manggagawa Para sa Regular na Hanapbuhay (LIGA-ST) spokesperson Miguel Portea � STARTER-PISTON spokersperson Helen Catahay � Gabriela ST Sweden John Aberde � Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (PAMANTIK KMU) Renero Maarat � PAMANTIK KMU
Human rights alliance Defend Southern Tagalog condemned both the violent dispersal and the detention, calling it the �height of irony.�
�Exactly 24 hours since Rodrigo Duterte affixed his signature on the draconian Terror Law, the first arrests were made on activists who held a peaceful protest against the dangerous law,� said Charmaine Maranan, spokesperson for DEFEND ST. �We now see where the fascist footprints of Duterte�s police and military are headed to in case the law finally takes effect.�
Maranan pointed out the incident was the exact opposite of what National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperson promised when he stated that the Ani-Terror Bill would not be used to impinge on the rights to peaceful assembly and expression.
�Esperon is lying through his teeth when he said that peaceful protests will be protected under this law,� said Maranan. �In light of the arrests today in Cabuyao, that claim is now exposed as a brazen lie, and we all know that state forces are hell-bent in weaponizing the Terror Law to suppress the people�s growing dissent against State abuses.�
Other progressive groups also voiced their concerns. A statement released by Kabataan Partylist Laguna called the dispersal and detention �proof that [the Duterte] regime could not be trusted on issues of protecting people�s rights.�
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Laguna (BAYAN Laguna) meanwhile contended that the arrests had no legal basis. �There is nothing illegal with being an activist,� said Jevi Quitain, spokesperson for BAYAN Laguna.� and there is nothing wrong with expressing one�s right to dissent. What there is, however, is police brutality and impunity; the hallmarks of the fascist Duterte regime.�
According to firsthand accounts, the program began 5 p.m. After the program, state agents approached the protesters who were packing up and began to restrain them, leading to the 11 arrests.
The arrests were described as a �violent dispersal�; Miguel Portea, a former jeepney driver and a member of STARTER PISTON, suffered bruises and cuts on his arms and legs.
According to DEFEND ST, at around 4:30 p.m., a military truck belonging to the 2nd CMO Batallion of the 2nd Infantry Division, Philippine Army was parked near the barangay hall blaring out disinformation about progressive organizations, calling them �front organizations of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People�s Army-National Democratic Front.�
This would not be the first time the military was engaged in black propaganda, attested KPL Laguna. According to the youth organization, police and military agents have been �hard at work attacking KPL and other progressive organizations� through its �Kabataan Kontra Droga at Terorismo� initiative, a series of forums aimed at schools and communities.
According to the group, evidence showed that the content of KKDT forums had speakers �blatantly terror-tag progressive organizations.�
Labor group Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (PAMANTIK KMU) also attested to the fact. Last May 2020, the group received information that a letter coming from the 2ID�s Task Force Ugnay was sent to Cabuyao mayor Rommel Gecolea, calling barangay Pulo the �nerve center of militant, ergo, violent trade union movement in the region� as well as a �provincial youth recruitment center� in Calabarzon.
PAMANTIK KMU also reported that elements of the 202nd Infantry Brigade were terrorizing barangay officials in Pulo since at least June when they set up camp within the barangay hall. According to the labor group, the 202IB were looking for OLALIA national president Hermenegildo Marasigan as well as forcing barangay officials to renounce the usage of an office space adjacent to the barangay hall that was being used by Anakpawis Partylist.
As of press time, the 11 Cabuyao activists are still detained in the Cabuyao Municipal Police Station and are awaiting inquest. The police have not informed them of the charges against them.
- Impact of Event
- 11
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 1, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong police arrested hundreds of people amid defiant protests on the anniversary of the city's handover to Chinese rule, and on the first day of a draconian new security law that was already having an impact on freedom of speech.
"Police arrested over 300 persons, including 10 people for suspected violation of the National Security Law," the city's police force said in a statement.
"The remaining arrestees were arrested for suspected unlawful assembly, disorder in public places, furious driving and possession of offensive weapon," it said.
A senior Chinese official said anyone arrested by the mainland�s new national security office in Hong Kong on charges of violating the new national security law for the city would be tried in the mainland, although it was unclear whether Wednesday's arrests were made by that office.
Zhang Xiaoming, executive deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, said China�s national security office in the city abides by Chinese law and that Hong Kong�s legal system cannot be expected to implement those laws.
The arrests came after crowds gathered in the shopping and entertainment districts of Wanchai and Causeway Bay in defiance of a police ban on the traditional annual protest march, and of the new ban on any expression of pro-independence sentiment.
Chanting: "Five demands, not one less! Fight for our freedom!" and "Hong Kong independence, the only solution!" the crowds faced down hundreds of police in full riot gear who were drafted into the area during the afternoon.
Police fired at individuals, one of whom was a journalist sent flying onto the pavement in footage captured by several social media accounts, with a water cannon truck that patrolled the streets of Wanchai and Causeway Bay as police raised flags declaring the gathering "illegal."
'Rule of law is dead'
A protester surnamed Loh said she had attended the protest to display a placard which read: "Loving Hong Kong is not a crime."
"The rule of law is dead, starting from today," Loh told RFA. "Now we daren't say anything."
"I grew up here, and it is already not the same place today that it was yesterday," she said. "I don't want the Hong Kong I knew to die, and there is no crime in my loving it."
A protester surnamed Leung said the national security law, which contains sweeping and vaguely worded bans on speech as well as action, including speech critical of the authorities or promoting independence, showed that the ruling Chinese Communist Party had abandoned all pretense over Hong Kong's promised freedoms and was taking over.
"They're not even bothering with one country, two systems any more; they are showing their true colors," Leung said. "They are imposing mainland Chinese law enforcement on Hong Kong. It's instant mainlandification."
"What does mainlandification mean? It means the loss of reasonable government, because it's the mainland we're dealing with now," he said. "The Chinese Communist Party isn't a rational entity; it's an organization of utmost evil, and it wants to make Hong Kong in its own image."
Civic Party politician Kwok Ka-ki said the law would likely also have a huge impact on the city's economy.
"Taiwanese people are already saying they will avoid Hong Kong at all costs," Kwok said. "Because someone from Taiwan would totally be targeted if they were to utter a single word against the Chinese or Hong Kong authorities, or if they were to refer to Taiwan as an independent entity."
Pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo said journalists could also soon find themselves in "dire trouble" under the new law.
"Anyone giving or disseminating any [sensitive] material or information to a journalist, and this journalist publishes information obtained in such a manner, could be in dire trouble. Both of them," said Mo, who is a former journalist herself.
"This is not the rule of law. These is not even rule by law. This is rule by decree. Free press could just be announced dead in Hong Kong," she said.
U.K. offers route to immigration
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted that the feared arrests are "already happening" under the new law, which he called a "violation of commitments that it made to the Hong Kong people and to the United Kingdom, in a UN-registered treaty � and in contravention of Hong Kongers� human rights and fundamental freedoms."
"Security forces are already rounding up Hong Kongers for daring to speak and think freely. The rule of law has been eviscerated. And as always, the Chinese Communist Party fears its own people more than anything else," he said at a news briefing Wednesday.
"The United States is deeply concerned about the law�s sweeping provisions and the safety of everyone living in the territory, including Americans," added Pompeo, who has recently unveiled visa restrictions and military trade restrictions in response to the Chinese policies in Hong Kong.
The U.K. said it would offer all those in Hong Kong with British National Overseas (BNO) status a "bespoke" immigration route, foreign minister Dominic Raab said in a statement after the security law took effect.
"The prime minister and the government are crystal clear: the United Kingdom will keep its word, we will live up to our responsibilities to the people of Hong Kong," Raab told parliament.
"I can now confirm we will proceed to honor our commitment to change the arrangements for those holding BNO status," he said, adding that those with such status would be granted five years of limited leave in Britain to work or study.
After that, they could apply for settled status and after a further 12 months with settled status, they would be able to apply for citizenship. There will be no cap on the numbers who may apply.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jun 29, 2020
- Event Description
West Bengal authorities must immediately release journalists Suraj Ali Khan and Safikul Islam, as well as Islam�s wife, Alima Khatun, and drop all the charges against them and investigations into their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
At about 3 a.m. on June 29, police arrested Khan and Islam at Islam�s home in Arambagh, in the Hoogly district of West Bengal, for alleged extortion, and also arrested Khatun, their lawyers, Pintu Karar and Samim Ahammed, told CPJ over the phone.
Khan works as a reporter and Islam as an editor and owner at Arambagh TV, a news channel on YouTube that has about 130,000 followers, their lawyers said. Police also detained Islam and Khatun�s two children during the arrests, but later released them, Ahammed said. CPJ could not determine on what grounds police were holding Khatun.
The journalists� arrests were prompted by a complaint filed just after midnight on June 29 by a local resident, whose name was not disclosed, who alleged that Islam and Khan had photographed him cutting down a tree on government land, a criminal offense, on March 16, and then extorted money from him in exchange for not publishing the image, Ahammed said.
The journalists� lawyers told CPJ that they believe the arrests were actually retaliation for Islam and Khan�s reporting on alleged corruption in government funds distributed to private clubs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
�The arrests of Arambagh TV editor Safikul Islam and reporter Suraj Ali Khan, as well as of Islam�s wife, are clear attempts to intimidate the journalists and force them to stop their critical reporting,� said Aliya Iftikhar, CPJ�s senior Asia researcher, in New York. �The three should be released immediately and all investigations into them dropped. West Bengal police must cease harassing journalists for their work.�
Karar and Ahammed told CPJ that they have moved their case to the state High Court after a lower court refused to grant bail, and said the next hearing is set for tomorrow.
If charged and convicted with extortion, the journalists could face up to three years in jail and a fine set by a judge, according to the Indian penal code.
According to documents reviewed by CPJ, the West Bengal police have also opened five other investigations into Islam and Khan in recent months. In two cases opened on April 28 and others opened on May 6, 13, and 14, police have investigated the journalists for alleged cheating, forgery, defamation, public mischief, criminal conspiracy, wrongful restraint, provocation that will break public peace, criminal intimidation, disobeying a public servant, obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions, causing grievous harm to a deter public servant from his duty, and assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from the discharge of his duty, according to those documents.
Police are also investigating Khan and Islam for allegedly violating sections of the Disaster Management Law, which was invoked in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for making false statements and printing or publishing news without conforming to rules under the Press and Registration of Books Law, according to those documents.
On June 2, the Calcutta High Court instructed the police not to take any coercive action against Islam or Khan in relation to the investigations, as the journalists assured the court that they would cooperate with authorities and would be physically present at the police station whenever summoned for questioning, according to Karar.
Islam and Khan followed the court�s instructions and appeared before the Arambagh police for questioning on June 10, Karar said.
CPJ emailed Hooghly Rural Superintendent of Police Tathagata Basu, who oversees the police responsible for the journalists� arrests, for comment, but did not receive any reply. In a press conference held on July 4, Basu denied wrongdoing on the part of police and claimed that Islam was being investigated for fraud and that Arambagh TV was run illegally, without government permission.
Ahammed told CPJ that no regulatory permission is required under Indian law to run an internet-based news outlet.
Previously, in early May, Arambagh TV posted two videos in which Islam and Khatun separately claimed that mobs of 30 to 40 people had surrounded their homes and threatened them over their coverage.
In June, the West Bengal police opened an investigation into the editor of Bengali-daily Anandabazaar Patrika following a complaint from a senior bureaucrat over the newspaper�s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, as CPJ documented at the time.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Family of HRD, Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Jun 29, 2020
- Event Description
Vietnamese police detained and assaulted family members of a jailed democracy activist and Christian pastor before and during U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink�s recent visit to their district in Thanh Hoa province, the political prisoner�s wife said Wednesday.
The house arrest and beating appears to be part of an intensifying crackdown on human rights activists and dissidents six months before the Communist Party of Vietnam�s next five-yearly party congress.
Ahead of the ambassador�s visit, local police visited the Quang Xuong district home of Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton, who is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for his involvement with the Brotherhood for Democracy dissident group.
�On June 26, officers from the Quang Yen commune police department came to my house, ordering all the family members not to go out of the home for the next few days,� Nguyen�s wife Nguyen Thi Lanh told RFA�s Vietnamese Service.
They locked the gate surrounding the house Monday night, as Kritenbrink was arriving in Quang Xuong the next day.
According to a report by Thanh Hoa Radio and Television, the ambassador was leading U.S. delegation to the northern coastal province to attend an opening ceremony for a local project supported by the embassy�s Fund for Cultural Preservation.
Nguyen Thi Lanh said that on Tuesday morning, she used pliers to break the locks so she could sell goods in the market. Police arrested her there and took her to the Quang Yen police station.
At 4:00 p.m. that day her son Nguyen Trung Trong Nghia left the home to meet his mother at the station.
She said that when her son was on his way there he was attacked by two people, believed to be plainclothes police officers.
�My son was ambushed. They blindfolded and bludgeoned my son�s head with an electric baton, causing him injury,� said Nguyen Thi Lanh.
�A police officer took my son to a health clinic for treatment then brought him back to the Quang Yen police office for booking,� she said.
�This morning, my son returned to the health clinic for more treatment. His face was swollen, and he has broken teeth,� she added.
An official at the Quang Yen police station told the family that the reason for the house arrest was because Ambassador Kritenbrink was visiting their district. The ambassador left Quang Xuong at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, after which the police left their position at the family�s house.
RFA attempted to contact the Quang Xuong district police office for comment, but nobody answered the phone.
Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton was arrested in July 2017 on charges of �attempting to overthrow the people�s government� and was sentenced to 12 years in prison and three years of probation in April 2018.
Vietnamese authorities have in the past taken interest in the family of political prisoners with Christian affiliations meeting with U.S. diplomats.
In 2016, local police subjected Tran Thi Hong, wife of imprisoned Mennonite pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh to an intense interrogation two months after she met with U.S. diplomats to discuss religious freedom.
Estimates of the number of prisoners of conscience now held in Vietnam�s jails vary widely. New York-based Human Rights Watch said that authorities held 138 political prisoners as of October 2019, while Defend the Defenders has suggested that at least 240 are in detention, with 36 convicted last year alone.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Raid, Restrictions on Movement, Surveillance , Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Family of HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Jun 26, 2020
- Event Description
Police arrested at least 20 people at the Pride March in Mendiola, Manila, on Friday, June 26.
Ten members of LGBTQ+ rights group Bahaghari, 8 from other progressive groups, and two drivers have been detained at the Manila Police District.
They were being charged with disobedience of person in authority in relation to Republic Act 11332, otherwise known as the Law on Reporting of Communicable Diseases, and Batas Pambansa 880, otherwise known as Public Assembly Act.
The protesters were observing physical distancing and other health protocols when the police arrived to disperse them.
The police did not cite any violations while arresting the protesters and only told them, "Nasa batas iyan na bawal iyan (It's in the law that it's prohibited)," without citing any specific law.
Prior to the the "grand mananita� themed indignation rally on Philippine Independence Day, June 12, human right lawyers had stressed that the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act as well as the public health law, Republic Act No. 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases Act, do not prohibit rallies.
At 10 am on Friday, the group marched from Morayta and held a program near the Mendiola Peace Arch to �resist [President Rodrigo] Duterte�s tyranny.�
The Bahaghari-led protest was held to celebrate Pride month and to oppose the anti-terrorism bill.
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Bahaghari spokesperson Rey Valmores-Salinas argued, while being taken away, that they were just excercising their rights.
Salinas, who was among those arrested, said the program was peaceful.
�Hinuli man kami ngayon, walang pandemiya, walang lockdown, at mas lalong walang mga pasistang baboy ang makapipigil ng pagsinag ng Bahaghari (We may have been arrested now but no pandemic, lockdown, or facsist pigs could stop us from making Bahaghari shine)," Salinas, who was already onboard the police vehicle, added.
According to human rights group Karapatan, �queers have the right to protest, speak out, and to take action against a draconian terror law that will impact on citizens� rights.�
�We call on PNP to #FreePride20! To all members of the LGBTQ community and our allies, your support is very important. Let us show them that Pride is not just about the colors that we wear, it is about our love, our solidarity for those who fight for our humanity,� said Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay.
A video posted by Karapatan paralegel officer Jon Callueng showed that the police also attempted to arrest an intern at independent news group Manila Today, who was mistaken as a protester.
This is not the first time for police to arrest protesters during the pandemic, even if they did not violate quarantine rules.
- Impact of Event
- 18
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of association, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security, SOGI rights
- HRD
- NGO staff, SOGI rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Jun 26, 2020
- Event Description
Police have detained two men who staged separate pickets outside the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan's capital, Nur-Sultan, demanding the release of relatives being held in custody in China's northwestern Xinjiang region.
Aqiqat Qaliolla and Zhenis Zarqyn came to an area next to the embassy on June 26 with their hands and legs chained and posters on their bodies with portraits of family members. Zarqyn chained himself to a metal fence near the embassy.
Both said their relatives are being held in so-called "reeducation camps" in Xinjiang and demanded that Chinese authorities release them.
Special police forces came to the site and took the two men away shortly after they started their protest.
Many similar protests have taken place in Kazakhstan in recent months, with demonstrators demanding Kazakh authorities officially intervene in the situation faced by ethnic Kazakhs in Xinjiang.
'Reeducation Camps'
In August 2018, the United Nations said an estimated 1 million Uyghurs and members of other indigenous ethnic groups in the region were being held in "counterextremism centers."
The UN said millions more had been forced into so-called "reeducation camps." China denies that the facilities are internment camps.
People who have fled the province say that thousands of ethnic Kazakhs, Uyghurs, and other Muslims in Xinjiang are undergoing "political indoctrination" at a network of camps.
Kazakhs are the second-largest Turkic-speaking indigenous community in Xinjiang after Uyghurs. The region is also home to ethnic Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Hui, also known as Dungans. Han, China's largest ethnicity, is the second-largest community in Xinjiang.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 25, 2020
- Event Description
Police used pepper spray and arrested at least 14 people in a Hong Kong mall during a �shopping protest� on Thursday against Beijing�s impending national security law .
The suspects, nine males and five females, aged 14 to 55, were arrested for illegal assembly, police said, after protesters marched around the Yoho Mall shopping centre in Yuen Long chanting slogans, which caused customers to flee and stores to close on what was a public holiday.
Trouble flared again in the evening after two protesters who were waving a colonial flag and chanting slogans in the mall�s atrium were taken away by plain-clothes officers, sparking the anger of a small group of demonstrators nearby.
The officers then fired pepper spray to keep the group at bay. Riot police quickly arrived to provide back up and also used pepper spray.
Beijing is drafting legislation for Hong Kong, which will ban secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign and external influences to threaten national security. The controversial law, of which only a broad outline has been revealed, could be passed as early as June 30.
Among those hit with pepper spray was opposition district councillor Lam Chun. First aiders helped four people sprayed with the chemical.
The Yuen Long councillor said he was just trying to find out why the pair were taken away. �One was just chanting slogans. There were no more than 50 people [as permitted by coronavirus social-distancing rules]. We don�t even know why they were arrested,� Lam said.
�We couldn�t even ask police why they were arrested, they responded with pepper spray. That�s the situation Hongkongers are facing now.� Thursday is a public holiday in Hong Kong to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival . The demonstration started at about 1.30pm, when a man in the mall chanted slogans and displayed a banner that read �Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time�, a popular mantra at the height of last year�s anti-government protests , which were sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill .
Others watched from upper floors, and some joined in with shouts of their own. They then marched through the mall chanting slogans.
�Give me back my justice,� they yelled. �Hong Kong independence, the only way.�
Police in riot gear arrived at the mall at 2pm to break up the crowd and left soon after. But protesters later regrouped and continued with their routine.
Shortly after 3pm, plain-clothes police officers revealed their identities and stopped more than a dozen people. Some were taken away after police reinforcements arrived.
- Impact of Event
- 14
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Jun 24, 2020
- Event Description
On June 24, Vietnam�s security forces violently detained Hanoi-based four activists for their voicing to support land petitioners in Dong Tam commune, Hoai Duc district who were brutally suppressed by the communist regime in January this year.
According to a short video clip made by human rights defender Trinh Ba Phuong, a large number of uniformed and plainclothes policemen gathered near his private residence in the early hours of Wednesday. At around 5.30 am, police cut Internet connection in the area and used pliers to cut his house�s lock to break in and arrest him in the front of his wife who gave the birth of their second child four days ago.
Phuong�s mother, former prisoner of conscience Can Thi Theu and his younger brother Trinh Ba Tu were also detained by the police. Theu, who was imprisoned twice a total 35 months for objecting land grabbing, was arrested while staying in her daughter�s house in the northern province of Hoa Binh while Tu was detained in their agricultural field in the province.
Land petitioner and human rights defender Nguyen Thi Tam was the fourth victim of Vietnam�s persecution today. She was kidnaped by security forces while going to a local wet market. She was taken away while the police came to her private residence in Duong Noi village for house searching.
According to their families, the detainees as well as some of their relatives were beaten by police officers during their detention and house search, during which police confiscated a computer set and four cell phones from Mrs. Tam�s house and cell phones from Mrs. Theu and her sons. Police also informed that they also found some books printed by the unsanctioned publisher Liberal Publishing House led by prominent human rights defender and political blogger Pham Doan Trang in Mrs. Theu�s family houses.
All of them from Duong Noi village, Ha Dong district, Hanoi where the city�s authorities seized their agricultural land without paying adequate compensation. Theu and her husband Trinh Ba Khiem as well as Phuong, Tu, and Tam were active fighters for their land although they failed.
Later, the state-controlled media reported that all of them were charged with �conducting anti-state propaganda� under Article 117 of the Criminal Code with the imprisonment of between seven and 12 years in prison but maybe up to 20 years in jail. While Mr. Phuong and Mrs. Tam are held in the Temporary detention center No. 1 (Hoa Lo) under the authority of the Hanoi Police Department, Mrs. Theu and her son Mr. Tu are kept in the temporary detention center under the authority of Hoa Binh province�s Police Department. All of them will be held incommunicado during the investigation period which will last four months at least and may be extended to more than two years.
The detentions are likely related to the brutal massacre on January 9 when the Ministry of Public Security deployed thousands of riot policemen to Dong Tam commune to attack Hoanh villagers. Police killed 84-year-old communist member Le Dinh Kinh, the spiritual leader of the local land petitioners, and arrested nearly 30 people, including his two sons and two grandchildren.
Police said during the attack, three police officers were killed and blamed the local petitioners for their death although there are no solid shreds of evidence for their deaths and even no traces of their bodies.
In its investigation report released recently, the Hanoi Police Department proposed 25 detainees be prosecuted of murders and four others of �resisting on-duty state officials.�
Since the land dispute in Dong Tam commune started in 2017, the four activists have provided strong support for the local petitioners. Right after the massacre in early January this year, Phuong and Tam kept updating their posts about the case on their Facebook accounts. Phuong also met with US diplomat in Hanoi to report the case.
Two days after detaining the four activists, authorities in Hanoi publicized the indictments against 29 Dong Tam land petitioners, paving the way for the city�s People�s Court to hold the first-trial against them. Hard sentences are expected for them. Some sources that they have a plan to impose the death penalty for four of the defendants and lengthy sentences for the remaining.
Tam is a well-known strong woman in Duong Noi. She often criticized Hanoi police for persecuting her. In recent weeks, she made a number of online surveys about the communist regime�s policies and its senior officials.
It is worth noting that Facebooker Chung Hoang Chuong has convicted of �abusing democratic freedom� and sentenced to 18 months in prison for disseminating information about the police�s massacre in Dong Tam.
Along with recent detentions across the country, the arrests on Wednesday prove that the communist regime will apply all measures to crack down on the local dissent in a bid to ensure a �stable environment� for preparation of the 13th National Congress of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam. It is likely that the police generals want to show their power after dozens of police and army generals have been imprisoned for fired for economic wrongdoings.
- Impact of Event
- 5
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Abduction/Kidnapping, Judicial Harassment, Raid, Use of Excessive Force, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Land rights, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Family of HRD, Land rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 21, 2020
- Event Description
China's state security police have formally arrested dissident Xu Zhiyong for subversion after he called publicly on President Xi Jinping to resign.
Xu, who has already served jail time for his spearheading of the New Citizens' Movement anti-corruption campaign, penned an open letter to Xi while in hiding following a gathering of pro-democracy activists and lawyers in December 2019, calling on him to step down.
He is currently being held incommunicado in "residential surveillance at a designated location" (RSDL) pending the completion of the investigation.
RSDL allows police to hold anyone they say is suspected of crimes linked to national security without contact with family or a lawyer for up to six months.
Xu is currently being investigated for "incitement to subvert state power by a team of state security police based in the eastern province of Shandong that has been pursuing a number of participants in December's gathering in the southeastern port city of Xiamen.
Human rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi is a co-defendant in the same case, RFA has learned.
Xu Zhiyong's sister was notified by the Shandong police on June 20 that Xu had been formally arrested, but his location remains unknown.
Xu Zhiyong's friend and independent documentary director Hua Ze meanwhile said the "meeting" was merely a gathering of friends.
"The police are treating this as if it is a big case, and claiming that there is an organization at work, but actually it was just a group of friends getting together," Hua said.
"They were just talking about how to help some of the current [detained activists'] cases, and follow up on them," she said.
Liu Jiacai, a rights activist from the Yangtze river city of Yichang who is often targeted by state security police, said he is currently safe at home after being taken out of town for the sensitive June 4 anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre.
"Xu had written a lot of articles since the start of the coronavirus pandemic," Liu said. "Anyone who attended the Xiamen gathering is now being suppressed by the authorities, and many people no longer dare to speak out."
"But Xu kept insisting on speaking up ... I feel bad that he was detained, as his friend and fellow activist," he said.
Liu said the Xiamen gathering was a meeting of like-minded friends who discussed social phenomena and China's future.
"We did not violate the Constitution or the current laws of China, but the authorities have persecuted us anyway," he said.
Fears over possible torture
Ding Jiaxi�s wife Luo Shengchun says she fears her husband, who is also being held under RDSL detention, may be being tortured.
"My sense is that he is being subjected to torture," Luo told RFA. "The people who came out [after being interrogated as part of the investigation] wouldn't talk about it; they had been silenced."
"This is clearly about framing Ding Jiaxi; they haven't been able to find any evidence of criminal behavior, but they will keep on finding excuses to keep him in detention because he refuses to plead guilty," she said.
Luo said she is certain that Ding Jiaxi will never cave in to police pressure to "confess" to the charges against him.
"This is a red line for him, because he is innocent," Luo said. "They came before to try to persuade him, and he told them they should be trying to persuade the bad guys not to do bad things, not trying to persuade the good guys not to do good things."
Writers' group PEN America, which recently honored Xu with the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, on Monday condemned Xu's formal arrest.
"Xu Zhiyong is under arrest for criticizing the government, plain and simple," PEN CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement. "By proceeding with these meritless charges of �subversion,� the government is using the law as a tool to legitimize its suppression of dissidents. But criticisms are not crimes, no matter how much Beijing insists otherwise."
She added: "We have zero confidence that Xu will receive a fair trial. We insist that the government drop these absurd and abusive criminal charges against him, and acknowledge his right to express his ideas and opinions without fear of a jail cell."
Critical flaws in proposed resolution
The news of Xu's formal arrest emerged as the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) held a brief debate in Geneva on June 22 over a draft resolution presented by China, raising "serious concerns" about the future of the Human Rights Council and, more broadly, the multilateral UN human rights system, rights groups said.
The overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network said there were "critical flaws" in the resolution, which would limit the council's ability to hold member states to account for human rights violations.
"The draft resolution, once put into effect, would codify language directly taken from Chinese Communist Party propaganda � namely, China�s promotion for a �shared community of future� modeled on its authoritarian governance at home � and its attempt to silence criticisms of rights abuses in the Human Rights Council platforms," the group said in a statement.
Xu had also penned a New Year's message to China's citizens in 2020, calling on them to think about whether they want to carry on with an authoritarian government or movement towards democratic constitutionalism, an idea that President Xi has said has no place in his vision for China.
Dozens of people linked in some way to the New Citizens' Movement group have been detained and jailed in recent years.
Xu was handed a four-year jail term in January 2014 on public order charges after staging a street protest calling for greater transparency from the country's richest and most powerful people.
Ding Jiaxi, who has previously served jail time for calling on top officials of the ruling Chinese Communist Party to reveal details of their wealth, was stopped by police at Beijing International Airport in May 2018, as he tried to board a plane to visit his wife and daughter in the U.S.
He was also among more than 300 rights attorneys, law firm staff, and associated activists detained, questioned, and subjected to surveillance and travel bans amid a nationwide crackdown since 2015.
Ding was earlier detained in April 2013 and handed a three-and-a-half year jail term a year later by Beijing's Haidian District People's Court for �gathering a crowd to disrupt public order,� after he called publicly on Chinese officials to reveal details of their wealth, as part of the New Citizens� Movement.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- Jun 21, 2020
- Event Description
Myanmar police have charged six activists who participated in protests against a year-long government-ordered internet service shutdown in Myanmar�s conflict-ridden Rakhine state, accusing them of violating the country�s peaceful assembly law.
Five of the activists are from Yangon-based Athan, a freedom of expression advocacy group. They were taken into custody for denouncing the internet ban by hanging posters on an overpass in downtown Yangon on June 21, questioning whether the ban was intended to cover up possible atrocities committed by the Myanmar military in the conflict zone.
Myo Min Tun, an activist from the Ramree Township Youth Network in Rakhine state, also was charged for participating in a protest in Ramree town on the same day. A group of young people wearing T-shirts saying �Oppose Internet Oppression� demanded the restoration of internet access, according to photos the group posted on Facebook.
All six activists have been charged under Section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, which entails criminal liability for organizing or participating in an assembly for which notice has not been given to local officials.
Rights groups have criticized the statute as incompatible with democracy, saying its provisions are vaguely written and could be used arbitrarily to restrict freedom of expression. They also point to the law's inclusion of prison sentences for peaceful protests.
Ye Wai Phyo Aung, an Athan cofounder, said police informed the group that five of its members, including executive director Maung Saungkha, had been charged, but provided no details or the identities of the others arrested.
�They have filed the charges for the protests at the Sule overpass downtown,� he told RFA. �They displayed posters and banners to protest against the internet shutdown.�
Pe Than, a lawmaker from Rakhine�s Myebon township, said the internet service blackout has hurt residents. He has appealed to the government to lift the ban.
�There have been several losses for the local people in terms of education, health, and social and government administration,� he said.
�It has also intensified the spread of fake news, rights violations, and war crimes,� he added, referring to the growing state of lawlessness in the conflict zones. �The local people are paying the price.�
The internet shutdown originally was imposed in June 2019 in eight townships in Rakhine sate and in Chin state�s Paletwa township amid intensifying clashes between government forces and the rebel Arakan Army (AA). Authorities later lifted the restriction in Rakhine�s Maungdaw township.
The 18-month-long conflict that has killed 260 civilians and displaced more than 160,000 others.
The government has extended the ban until Aug. 1, saying it will lift it when the region is secure.
Myanmar military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun said Tuesday that the internet shutdown in the remaining townships must remain in place to prevent the leakage of army information and the spread of hate speech on social media.
Rights groups and foreign diplomats in Myanmar have called on officials to reinstate the service, arguing that the cutoff has prevented civilians from accessing information about COVID-19 and from contacting humanitarian aid groups.
- Impact of Event
- 6
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- NGO staff, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Jun 19, 2020
- Event Description
Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday convicted and sentenced in absentia the activist Kong Raiya to two years in prison. However, he will only serve four months and 18 days. This is over the sale of t-shirts bearing the images and quotes of slain political analyst Kem Ley in July last year. Raiya has already served more than four months in pre-trial detention.
Judge Ouk Reth Kunthea said Raiya, 28, was charged with �incitement to commit a felony and committing a misdemeanor� under Articles 494, 495 and 88 of the Criminal Code.
�The court convicts and sentences Kong Raiya to two years in prison. But he will only serve four months and 18 days prison time. The rest of his sentence will be suspended. He is now out on bail,� Judge Kunthea said.
Raiya was arrested on July 9 last year after he urged activists to participate in marking the death anniversary of Mr Ley which was banned by City Hall. He also put up t-shirts for sale on Facebook.
On the t-shirts Raiya wrote �If you do nothing, you will be victimised. It is just not your turn yet,� quoting Mr Ley.
He was released on bail from Prey Sar prison on November 29 last year.
Mr Raiya could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Mr Sam Sokong, Raiya�s lawyer, said yesterday the judgment was unjust because his client only wanted to sell t-shirts, not call for a change of government.
He said his client did not incite anyone to commit a crime. He only printed Mr Ley�s quotes and portrait on t-shirts based on freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Jun 12, 2020
- Event Description
Vietnam�s communist regime has arrested the third journalist named Le Huu Minh Tuan in an effort to demolish the unregistered group Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN), Defend the Defenders has learned.
Local activists reported that on June 12, the security forces of Ho Chi Minh City�s Police Department arrested Mr. Tuan, who is a member of IJAVN, and has a number of articles under penname Le Tuan. It is unclear what the charge he is facing, but his arrest is likely related to the previous detentions of IJAVN�s President Ph?m Chi Dung and Vice President Nguyen Tuong Thuy, who were accused of �conducting anti-state propaganda� under Article 117 of the Criminal Code with imprisonment of between seven and 12 years if are convicted.
Tuan was said to be taken to Chi Hoa temporary detention center under the authority of HCM City�s Police Department, where Mr. Dung and Mr. Thuy are held incommunicado since their arrest in November 2019 and May 23 this year, respectively.
Mr. Tuan, 31, joined IJAVN in 2014. He graduated from Da Nang University, majoring in history. He is currently working on a second degree at Hanoi Law University.
In the months after the arrest of Mr. Dung, Tuan was repeatedly summoned by security forces for interrogation about the association. Tuan�s friends advised him to go into hiding to avoid being harassed or detained, however, he refused, saying he didn�t want his studies interrupted. He also acquiesced to these questionings because he believed he hadn�t done anything wrong.
In order to keep the country under a one-party regime, the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam is striving not to allow the formation of opposition groups and civil society organizations. After arresting a dozen of key members of the unsanctioned group Brotherhood for Democracy, Vietnam�s security forces are targeting IJAVN which has more than 50 independent journalists and dissidents who have produced thousands of unbiased articles regarding hot issues of the country such as human rights violations, systemic corruption, widespread environmental pollution, China�s violations of the country�s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and the weak response of the communist regime in Hanoi, failures of socio-economic policies of the ruling Communist Party, etc.
Under the communist regime�s provision, IJAVN is a thorny group that should not exist. Since its establishment in 2014, it and its members have been under constant persecution of security forces who strive not to allow its members to gather or meet with foreign diplomats. In November last year, the security forces started their campaign to crack down on the association by arresting its President Dung and a half year later, they detained Acting President Thuy.
A number of its members are under threat and may be arrested at any moment as the security forces want to eradicate the association ahead of the upcoming 13th National Congress scheduled in January 2021.
Vietnam is among the world�s biggest enemies of the press. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Hanoi held 12 journalists under the bar for their journalism activities as of 2019�s end while the Reporters Without Border (RSF) has placed Vietnam at the bottom of its annual free press indexes in recent years.
So far this year, Vietnam has arrested at least 12 activists, nine of them for their writings. Vietnam is also among the biggest prisons of prisoners of conscience in Southeast Asia, with more than 250 activists being kept behind bars.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Jun 12, 2020
- Event Description
Laguna � Progressive groups in Iligan City refuteD claims by Iligan City Police regarding the June 12 arrest of 14 students who were protesting the Anti-Terrorism Bill.
On Friday, 16 students, among them members of Kabataan Partylist Northern Mindanao (KPL-NMR), staged a ma�anita-style protest in barangay Palao, Iligan City which lasted five minutes.
According to the Iligan City Police Office (ICPO), the students were invited to ICPO Station 5 for �violating the health protocols on social distancing.�
KPL-NMR and the Students� Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights of MSU-IIT (STAND-IIT) disputed this, stating that the police�s statement was �misleading and is clearly meant to save face and make their warrantless arrest appear legitimate.�
�As shown in a video recorded by one of the protesters, the students were not invited, the police officers dragged them by the arm, caught them in a chokehold and when the students asked them on what grounds they were being arrested, the arresting officers couldn�t cite any violations,� read a joint statement by KPL-NMR and STAND-IIT.
One the officers even shouted �Shoot them!� while the students were being dragged.
This, despite the fact that the students were able to produce legal documents for their protest while observing strict physical distancing. The students were also given ten minutes to conduct their program but chose to stage a five-minute protest, intending to clear out immediately after.
The 14 arrested students were then detained without probable cause for roughly seven hours before they were released before 6 p.m. KPL-NMR and STAND-IIT state that the students were subjected to abuse and intimidation, with one student choked by an officer in plainclothes while he was trying to explain. One student was also labelled as a �recruiter for the New Peoples� Army.�
The officers also confiscated the students� phones and interrogated seven of them before legal counsel arrived, taking personal information from them. Their legal counsel Kristine Campilan stressed that the police officers were violating Republic Act 7438 by conducting a �custodial investigation without the assistance of counsel.�
KPL-NMR and STAND-IIT contend that the state is �trivializ[ing] the protests as mere violations of the government�s social distancing measures,� instead of �addressing the root issues surrounding them.�
�These draconian measures are but a taste of what the government and its fascist machinery can do should the railroaded Anti-Terrorism Bill be passed. It shows how they can set their very own laws aside if these contradict their interests,� their joint statement read.
Not the only case
Police have also used intimidation tactics against protesters in other parts of the country. In Tuguegarao City, police threatened members of Kabataan Partylist Cagayan Valley with arrests should they continue with their own ma�anita.
In Manila, about 40 police officers were immediately deployed in response to a protest staged inside the De La Salle University � Manila campus. There were approximately 20 protesters conducting a short program, including former Deputy Speaker Atty. Erin Ta�ada.
In Manila�s San Pablo Apostol Church, UP Rises Against Tyranny and Dictatorship reported that police officers led by Station Commander Lt. Navidad and Vic Blanco confiscated placards from protesters despite observing proper social distancing measures.
Even the UP Diliman �grand ma�anita� wasn�t safe. Quezon City Police Department officers blocked the entrances along the Commission of Human Rights and the Asian Center, blocking protesters from entering the campus.
These protests were part of a nationwide series of actions calling for the junking of the Anti-Terrorism Bill, which critics have repeatedly slammed as actually targeting activists.
- Impact of Event
- 14
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Vilification, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Jun 10, 2020
- Event Description
Police in the Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan, have detained 12 activists who were picketing the European Union's office in the city.
The activists on June 10 were calling on EU officials to pressure Kazakh authorities to release three activists, Ruslan Nurqanov, Aibek Sabitov, and Darkhan Omirbaev, who were sentenced to jail terms of between 10 and 15 days last week on the eve of unsanctioned protests in Nur-Sultan. They were found guilty of calling for "illegal rallies."
During the demonstration, the protesters held portraits of the three jailed activists, as well as posters saying "European Union, Be With The Kazakh People!" and "#BlackLivesMatter #Kazakhstan."
One of the posters had a picture of a donkey with the face of the Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev.
"We want police reforms! We want a new law on public protests! We are against the police state!" the protesters chanted before dozens of police forced them into vehicles and took them away.
Police in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan�s second-largest city, Almaty, and at least three other cities detained more than 100 people on June 6 during anti-government protests. Some of them were later sentenced to several days in jail for taking part in the unsanctioned protests.
In Almaty, on June 10, a noted civil rights activist, Asya Tulesova, was sentenced to 10 days in jail for taking part in the June 6 protest.
- Impact of Event
- 12
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Nepal
- Initial Date
- Jun 10, 2020
- Event Description
News chief at www.tukhabar.com (an online web-based portal) Balaram Pudasaini was misbehaved by a local Ramesh Gelal for reporting news on June 9 in Makwanpur district. The district lies in Bagmati Province of Nepal.
According to Freedom Forum's representative Rammani Dahal, journalist was reporting on difficulties farmers had to face while buying fertilizers in a place at Hetauda. In the meantime, Gelal pushed him back and verbally abused him without any reason in the presence of police officers.
Later, Police arrested Gelal and has charged him under indecent behavior following the complaint filed by journalist Pudasaini and other fellow journalists.
Freedom Forum condemns the misbehavior meted out to on-duty journalist. It is gross violation of press freedom and right to information. Abusing on-duty journalists who are working on field to make public informed about the social issues, even ignoring the possible risks of transmission of COVID19 is deplorable. Hence, FF strongly urges the concerned authority to punish the perpetrator and ensure free and safe reporting atmosphere for journalists.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Non-state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Jun 9, 2020
- Event Description
Police have pressed charges against three students for violation of the Cleanliness Act and failing to carry their national identification cards after they attempted to tie white ribbons at various locations around Bangkok to protest against the abduction in Cambodia of Thai activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit.
Parit Chiwarak, one of the four student activists, said the police initially charged them with violation of the Emergency Decree but later dropped the charge after the students said they would protest by drawing their blood if charged under the Decree.
The police cited Section 12 of the 1992 Act on the Maintenance of the Cleanliness and Orderliness of the Country, which states, �no one shall scrape, chip, scratch, write, spray paint or make appear by any means� messages in public places. Violators are subject to a fine of no more than 5,000 baht.
They also cited the 1983 National Identity Card Act as the students failed to present their ID cards when asked by officers.
Four students activists of the Student Union of Thailand (SUT) � Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul,Jutatip Sirikhan, Chanin Wongsri and Parit Chiwarak � were taken to Samranrat Police station on Tuesday (9 June) afternoon while they were trying to tie white ribbons at the Democracy Monument.
Around 30 uniformed and undercover officers were reported to be on scene.
Before the arrest, they went to various locations in Bangkok including the Phaya Thai area, the Ratchaprasong area, the Pratunam area, the Equestrian Statue, the First Army Area Headquarters and the Ministry of Defence. This is a part of the SUT�s �White Ribbon Against Dictatorship� campaign, in which they invite the public to display a white ribbon to call for justice for Wanchalearm.
When they were in front of the Ministry of Defence, around 10 military officers stopped them and said their campaign was not allowed as �it was symbolic.�
While Jutatip, Chanin and Parit were charged with violation of cleanliness and identification acts, Panusaya was only charged with violation of the Traffic Act as her parked car obstructed the traffic.
Police were reportedly trying to search Panatsaya�s cars without a warrant, taking photos of its licence plate without her lawyer�s presence and denying the presence of the students� lawyers when explaining their allegations.
Students and professors from many universities gathered in front of Samranrat Police Station showing support for them while the hashtag #?????????????? (#LetOurFriendsGo) trended on Twitter as members of the public called for their release.
After almost six hours in police custody, they were released at 20:00. The police plan to deliver the case to prosecutors on 22 June at 9:00 at Samranrat Police Station. They together sang Jit Phumisak�s song �Starlight of Faith� and shouted �Dictatorship shall fall� as the students emerged.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Nepal
- Initial Date
- Jun 9, 2020
- Event Description
A peaceful programme in the Capital protesting the government's lacklustre response to the Covid-19 pandemic was met with water cannons and police batons.
Around 150 people had gathered in front of the prime minister's residence in Baluwatar at 10am on Tuesday, demanding that the government improve quarantine conditions and make wider use of the Polymerase Chain Reaction tests. They were also asking that the government come up with alternatives to the blanket lockdown imposed on the entire country since March 24.
The KP Sharma Oli government has long been criticised for its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite an over two-month-long lockdown, coronavirus infections--and deaths-- continue to increase across the country. Thousands of people are in makeshift quarantine facilities that are themselves becoming hotspots for Covid-19 due to cramped conditions and a lack of basic sanitation facilities.
Calls to lift or ease the lockdown have increased too, with business owners defying orders to shutter their stores last Thursday. Many have also raised serious questions about the government�s failure to address the plight of the poor and the marginalised, who are suffering disproportionately from the lockdown after having lost jobs. There have already been a number of deaths that can attributed to the lockdown and its consequences.
The protest attempted to maintain physical distance with most attendees wearing masks and holding placards.
Though the protest was peaceful, police employed water cannons and batons to disperse the protesters. Some were taken into custody for breaking the lockdown.
�We had requested the police to give us 15 more minutes to sit in protest when the police charged," said Rohit Malla Shakya, 43, a businessman. "This is an indication that the government is getting more intolerant."
As images and videos of the protest and the police response began to circulate on social media, many called the police out for its disproportionate use of force.
�What a disgrace! This happened today during a peaceful socially distanced rally (at Baluwatar) urging the government to ramp up PCR tests and improve quarantine facilities,� said one user on Twitter. �Looks like the government cannot tolerate any form of protest that displays their incompetence.�
Senior Superintendent Shyam Gyawali, chief of the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range, said that police used force to clear protesters who were disobeying lockdown orders.
�Besides, Baluwatar is a sensitive area and protests started to block the road that many VVIPs need to travel through,� Gyawali told the Post.
Protest attendees, however, said that they weren't blocking the road and were about to wrap up the protest when police resorted to a baton charge and water cannons.
�We were not blocking the road, and it was very peaceful,� said 21-year-old actor Anna Sharma.
Eight people were taken into custody by the police.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Initial Date
- Jun 9, 2020
- Event Description
Sri Lankan police have released a Tamil lawyer who was arrested as she attempted to enquire into the detention of Black Lives Matter protestors, as clashes broke out in Colombo yesterday.
Swasthika Arulingam was reportedly detained by Sri Lankan police, though it remains unclear as to the grounds on which she was held and if charges are to be pursued.
Clashes broke out in Colombo yesterday as Sri Lankan police tangled with protestors from the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) who attempted to stage a demonstration outside the US Embassy in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Sri Lankan police reportedly arrested up to 20 people at the protest, with Arulingam one of the detained. All have reportedly since been released.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Right to information, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Jun 6, 2020
- Event Description
More than 100 opposition activists have been detained by police in Kazakhstan where two opposition parties had planned to hold rallies on June 6 in several cities to demand democratic reforms in the Central Asian nation.
Reports spoke of dozens being detained in Almaty, the country's commercial capital, as detentions were reported in other cities as well, including the capital, Nur-Sultan.
The detentions come despite a more liberal law on demonstrations coming into force.
Human rights groups have criticized President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev with failing to improve respect for human rights after replacing Nursultan Nazarbaev, who stepped down in 2019 after 30 years in power. The oil-rich nation has also been hit hard by a drop in energy prices caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
In Almaty, police, including riot units, cordoned off several central squares as well as streets near the area where at least 100 activists had gathered.
An RFE/RL correspondent said about a dozen people were detained near Ghandi Park. They were reported to be supporters of the Koshe party, which is affiliated with the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) party.
In several instances, unknown people holding umbrellas tried to stop journalists from filming.
The DVK and the Democratic Party had organized the rallies, which authorities said breached COVID-19 social-distancing rules. They also said a new law not requiring groups to obtain permission for rallies would still need a five-day notice period before being applied in practice. Technically, that law entered into force on June 6.
In Nur-Sultan, the capital, an RFE/RL correspondent later reported at least 10 protesters being arrested, with photos showing police hauling people away.
There were reports of at least 20 activists being detained by police in the cities of Semei, Shymkent, and Qyzylorda. Some arrests were also reported in Aqtobe. Later reports said about 30 people were also held by police in Oral. In Taraz, activists did not gather amid reports of arrest prior to the planned action.
Later reports said some had been freed, including those activists detained in Qyzylorda.
In Almaty, one group of activists carried a banner that read "I Can't Breathe" -- a reference to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, which has sparked sometimes violent protests across the United States.
Others chanted "Old man, go away!" -- a reference to Nazarbaev, who retains power in Kazakhstan as head of the country's Security Council, a post the 79-year-old is entitled to hold for life.
Others demanded the resignation of Toqaev and a fairer distribution of wealth.
The nation of 19 million people has been hit hard by a drop in crude oil prices as well as the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. More than 4 million people lost their sources of income during a two-month lockdown that ended last month, according to official data.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jun 5, 2020
- Event Description
About 150 people, including CPI (M) party leaders, local villagers and environment activists, were arrested when they tried to form a human chain near LG Polymers India plant at R.R. Venkatapuram, here on June 5.
The protest was held as part of World Environment Day as also to demand the arrest of the LG management.
�It was a silent protest and we just wanted to highlight the damage caused to the environment and loss of human life by the LG Polymers India plant, but the police arrested us and disrupted the protest, which was part of a global protest,� said CPI (M) State secretariat member Ch. Narasinga Rao.
It may be recollected that on May 7, styrene monomer vapour leaked from the LG plant in R.R. Venkatapuram village in Visakhapatnam at around 3 a.m. killing 12 people and hospitalising over 500.
The incident gathered global attention and protests were organised worldwide, including on June 5 � on the occasion of World Environment Day.
�It was part of a global protest and a silent human chain was formed in Seoul in South Korea, Singapore, Germany, Malaysia and other countries, and they were not arrested. Why should we be arrested for the negligence of an MNC,� questioned Mr. Rao.
While some of the leaders were arrested as early as 5 a.m. when they tried to reach the chemical plant, others were arrested near the protest site at R.R. Venkatapuram.
About 150 persons were arrested and sent to different police stations.
The left and environment activists said that their prime demand was arresting the management of the LG Plant and closure or shifting of the plant.
All reports including that of the NGT clearly specifies negligence on part of the company, but still the police has not arrested any person or booked a strong case against the management, said Lokanathan, District Secretary, CPI (M).
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Jun 5, 2020
- Event Description
The 7, including minors, belong to local progressive organizations in Cebu. A local journalist is reportedly also among them.
Police arrested at least 8 activists during a protest rally against the anti-terrorism bill on Friday, June 5.
The activists were arrested at the protest site near the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu for violating a ban on mass gatherings under the general community quarantine (GCQ), according to Cebu City police.
The rally started peacefully until the protesters were met by Cebu City police in combat gear and members of the SWAT team.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Melbert Esguerra, deputy director for administration of the Cebu City Police Office, told reporters that the protesters would be taken to the CCPO headquarters at Camp Sotero Cabahug pending the filing of complaints.
None of those detained have been charged as of this posting.
Bayan Central Visayas confirmed that the 8 belonged to local progressive organizations in Cebu. They also said there were minors among those arrested.
According to initial reports, among those arrested was Dyan Gumanao, a community organizer and a reporter for ANINAW Productions, a local affiliate of AlterMidya � People's Alternative Media Network.
Media were not allowed to see the detained activists when they went to the police office.
Videos showed cops, some in plain clothes, entering the campus and chasing down students.
The video also showed campus security guards watching as activists were being chased in the open field area of the college.
Under the Soto-Enrile accord of 1982, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are barred from entering any of the UP campuses without prior permission from the administration or unless they are in hot pursuit of a crime suspect.
The anti-terror bill, approved by the House of Representatives on Thursday and by the Senare months earlier, sparked outrage among human rights groups and concerned citizens, who noted that this law would hand too much power to President Rodrigo Duterte, who had been widely criticized for his human rights record. (READ: 'Draconian' anti-terror bill, feared to be used vs gov't critics, hurdles Congress)
As of posting, at least 27 protesters were still stuck inside the campus while police were posted outside, on Gorordo Avenue.
The College Editors Guild of the Philippines condemned the arrest of the activists. "Duterte's police and military are using militaristic approach instead of heeding the people's demands," the CEGP said in a statement.
UP Office of the Student Regent (UPOSR) also released a statement, urging police to release the detained protestors.
"This clearly manifests how the systemic targeting of critical voices is prevalent everywhere," UPOSR said. "When those in power are not even held accountable, students like ours who are only echoing the public�s sentiments are those who are handcuffed and silenced."
- Impact of Event
- 8
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker, NGO staff, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 5, 2020
- Event Description
On June 5, 2020, the People’s Court of Heshigten Banner of Southern (Inner) Mongolia tried two Mongolian activists, Mr. Tsogjil and Mr. Haschuluu, who organized local Mongolian herders to protest the government’s illegal appropriation of their grazing land. Jail sentences of eight months and four months were handed down to Tsogjil and Haschuluu respectively for “rallying the public to petition the government, obstructing official business, videotaping and posting untrue stories, and transferring edited video footage to foreign organizations.”
“Defendant Tsogjil, male, born on March 4, 1979” and “defendant Haschuluu, male, born on October 23, 1978” were sentenced for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” according to the criminal verdict issued by the Heshigten Banner People’s Court.
“Criminal tools used: one long banner and one cellular phone that were already confiscated,” the verdict added.
“They are totally innocent,” Mr. O. Sechenbaatar, who himself was released from a year of house arrest recently after being detained for two weeks for supporting the protest in the neighboring Ongniuud Banner, said in an audio statement. “What they did was nothing but to legally file complaints about the local government’s illegal land grab and stage protests to urge the local Public Security Bureau to release detained herders and activists including myself.”
Under the Chinese authorities’ “bail pending trial” for over a year, the two activists were deprived of their basic rights to mobility and communication after being released from their initial detention last year.
“The trial was carried out pretty much behind a closed door,” O. Sechenbaatar told the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center. “The crimes they were accused of committing were rallying people to demand the release of detained herders; inviting Ms. Yanjindulam (also knowns as Naranhuaar), a herder's leader, to join the protest; posting protest video footage on WeChat and sending information to foreign hostile forces.”
Tsogjil, a native of Heshigten Banner, had actively been advocating Southern Mongolians’ rights to use their native language; access their land, water, and other resources; and maintain national identity. He founded and managed at least five discussion groups with a total membership of nearly 2,500 Mongolian herders and grassroots activists on China’s only available social media outlet WeChat.
Before his arrest in April 2019, Tsogjil rallied the Mongolian herders for the release of the detained writer O. Sechenbaatar in one of his WeChat discussion groups called “Language, Livestock, and National Boundary.” “I ask our fellow herders from each and every village to gather in front of the banner government tomorrow to demand the immediate release of O. Sechenbaatar,” he wrote.
“O. Sechenbaatar went to jail for defending our land and rights. We all must wake up and take up the fight to protect our homeland,” Tsogjil said in the discussion group. “The authorities can arrest one of us, a few of us, but cannot arrest all of us.”
“Haschuluu was accused of committing similar crimes, including his involvement in last year’s public protest in front of the banner government and demanding my release,” O. Sechenbaatar said.
“What is truly revealing is the family members of the two were told by the court that the decision was handed down from the above. This means the government is above the law, and the law is a tool for the government officials to punish those who protest the government’s abuse of power,” O. Sechenbaatar added.
According to online discussions posted by local herders from Heshigten Banner, Haschuluu lived with his 80-year-old mother who is left without anyone's care after his trial despite her poor health.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Malaysia
- Initial Date
- Jun 2, 2020
- Event Description
On 2 June 2020, woman human rights defender Sarasvathy Muthu, along with four othermembers from two organisations � National Union of Workers in Hospital Support and AlliedServices and Parti Sosialis Malaysia � were arrested whilst peacefully protesting in support ofcleaners working in state-run hospitals in Ipoh. On 4 June, all five protesters were charged andreleased on bail.Sarasvathy Muthu is a woman labour rights defender who has been at the forefront of human rightsmovements in Malaysia since she was a teenager, by organising unions for oppressed factoryworkers so that they could defend their rights. In the early 1990s she co-founded Alaigal, acommunity based organisation in Perak which focuses on labour rights issues. As part of her workshe has gathered and organised communities across various sectors, including plantation workers,squatters, farmers and workers, educating them on their rights and empowering them to voice theirstruggles.On 2 June 2020, Sarasvathy Muthu and four others, V. Santhiran, L. Danaletchumi, P. Jody and CSubramaniam, gathered on the grounds of the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital to peacefullyprotest the poor working conditions for cleaners in state hospitals. The defenders wanted to drawattention to the lack of sufficient protective equipment for cleaners and the risk of infection,particularly in the context of COVID-19. Muthu and the group of protesters had been peacefullydemonstrating outside the hospital with placards for an hour before they were arrested. On 3 Juneall five defenders were released as the police were unable to obtain a remand order. On 4 June 2020, Sarasvathy Muthu and the four protesters were charged by a Magistrate Court inIpoh with obstructing a public servant and negligence in the spread of an infectious disease(sections 186 and 269 of the Penal Code), and defying the conditional movement control order(Regulation 7 (1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Regulations 2020),implemented in the context of COVID-19. The COVID-19 related charge carries a maximum fine ofRM1,000 or imprisonment for up to six months, or in some cases both. The court granted bail to thefive defenders after the maximum fine was paid for each of them. The next court date is set for 9July 2020.Front Line Defenders condemns the charges against woman human rights defender Sarasvathyand her fellow protestors, which it believes are solely motivated by their peaceful human rightsactivities and exercising of their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression.
- Impact of Event
- 5
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Labour rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Jun 1, 2020
- Event Description
Banteay Meanchey police officials detained and later released human and environmental rights activist Hun Vannak on Monday, as security forces were deployed for a planned protest by market vendors in Poipet town.
Poipet residents, most of whom are market vendors in Rong Kleu Market in Thailand across the border, planned to demonstrate on Monday morning requesting that the border to be reopened to resume trade in the market. The Thai border has been closed since March to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Hun Vannak, who was at the protest as an independent observer, was documenting the planned demonstration, especially the heavy security presence that had been deployed by provincial authorities. While taking photographs and videos of the security presence, Hun Vannak said he was arrested and taken to a site near the train station for questioning.
�If there is violence against the people, then that would be a human rights violation,� said Hun Vannak, who is also part of a newly-formed youth movement called Khmer Thavareak. �And as a human rights activist, I need to monitor that.�
Hun Vannak told VOA Khmer that he was accused of collecting information for the opposition party, a reference to the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party. He was forced to delete all the photos and videos he filmed on Monday, but he refused to sign an agreement with the police nor did he speak during his questioning, which was filmed by the police.
The youth activist previously worked for environmental protection NGO Mother Nature, and was imprisoned for 18 months in early 2018 for his activism against sand dredging in Koh Kong province.
Seth Los, deputy chief for the Banteay Meanchey provincial police, said authorities only wanted to question Hun Vannak and had not arrested him. He added that they educated Hun Vannak and released him after asking him not to indulge in any �illegal activities.�
�We invited him to sit with us to ask him where he come from and what his work is,� said Seth Los. �After we got the answers, the deputy prosecutor educated him and allowed him to go back to his house.�
Asked about the heavy security presence in Poipet, Seth Los said it was in response to the planned demonstration, refusing to provide additional details.
Din Puthy, head of the Cambodia Informal Economy Reinforced Association which helps informal workers in the border town, said the protest on Monday was canceled because of the heavy security presence.
The civil society member said market vendors and transportation workers were hurting financially because of the border closure and authorities needed to open the checkpoint to allow vendors to trade.
�So, if we cannot earn, we don't have money to spend,� Din Puthy said. �They have to spend on their bank loan, children�s school fees, food, electricity, and everything. That is why they worry that they might have to go hungry.�
VOA Khmer could not reach Banteay Meanchey Governor Um Reatrey for comment on Monday.
Local publication VOD English reported last week that authorities had deployed security forces across the border town after a request for the protest was rejected by the province, especially a heavy presence of security personnel at Din Puthy�s residence.
Sum Chankea, rights civil society group ADHOC�s Banteay Meanchey monitor, said preventing residents from protesting and the detention of Hun Vannak was a serious violation of human rights.
"It is the violation of liberties and the freedom of expression, including dissemination of information,� he said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to property
- HRD
- NGO staff, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kyrgyzstan
- Initial Date
- May 29, 2020
- Event Description
Kyrgyz security services detained a well-known rights defender on dubious grounds on May 29, 2020, and on May 31, a court ordered him placed under house arrest, Human Rights Watch said today. Kyrgyz authorities should lift the two-month home arrest order imposed on Kamil Ruziev, the activist, drop all bogus charges against him, and investigate allegations that Kyrgyz security services have threatened him.
�Ruziev filed formal complaints against security officers, so Kyrgyzstan�s security service responded by harassing him with a bogus criminal investigation,� said Mihra Rittmann, senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. �Prosecution authorities should instead be carrying out a thorough and timely investigation into Ruziev�s complaint and any abuse of power by the security officials who arrested him.�
State National Security Committee (GKNB) officers arrested Ruziev on the evening of May 29 outside the Karakol City Courthouse, which was considering a lawsuit he had filed against the GKNB and the prosecutor�s office for not investigating his complaint that law enforcement officers had threatened him, including at gunpoint.
After his arrest, the GKNB issued a statement saying that Ruziev was under investigation on criminal charges of forgery and fraud. However, during the hearing on May 31 to determine whether he would be held in pretrial detention, the investigator acknowledged that at the time of his arrest, Ruziev was wanted only as a witness. He said they had now changed his status to suspect and were pursuing the case only on charges of forgery. Ruziev told Human Rights Watch that the authorities had only informed him that they changed his status to suspect immediately before the hearing. The court approved Ruziev�s house arrest for two months. Ruziev and his lawyer have appealed the ruling and filed a complaint against the GKNB for unlawful detention.
Ruziev, 56, is a human rights defender and the head of the Karakol-based human rights organization Ventus. He is well-known for his work to end torture in detention and has also provided legal assistance in domestic violence cases. Law enforcement agents have repeatedly harassed and threatened Ruziev in retribution for his human rights activities.
While he was in GKNB custody, officers questioned Ruziev without his lawyer of choice present and refused to hand over copies of procedural documents.
Ruziev believes he was arrested in retribution for his human rights activities.
�Over the last year I have been filing complaints against the GKNB and the prosecutor�s office,� he told Human Rights Watch. �I also help others whose rights have been violated. The GKNB knows of my human rights work and decided to put pressure on me to get me to stop.�
The GKNB�s harassment of Ruziev is taking place against a backdrop of attempts by the Kyrgyz Parliament to adopt amendments to a law concerning nongovernmental groups that are aimed at tightening controls over civil society. The draft law, which targets non-profit organizations in particular, would impose additional burdensome financial reporting requirements that would interfere in activists� ability to carry out their work.
Public hearings on the bill went ahead on May 22, despite quarantine measures still in place in Kyrgyzstan�s capital to limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Nongovernmental groups had asked parliament to reschedule the hearing. Because of limits placed on the number of people who could enter the building, many representatives of groups who had registered to participate were not allowed into parliament, undermining the integrity of the process.
At the hearing, Ozonnia Ojielo, the United Nations resident coordinator and representative of the UN secretary-general in the Kyrgyz Republic, testified that the bill would impose an �onerous burden on civil society organizations� and urged the parliament to �seriously reconsider.� Eduard Auer, the European Union ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, also testified, saying that �civil society is a crucial partner to the EU� and that �it is important that new legislation does not make their work more difficult.�
Previously, the Kyrgyz parliament tried to adopt a Russia-style �foreign agents law,� requiring groups that received foreign funding to register as foreign agents, but after significant domestic and international outcry, the bill was ultimately scrapped.
�Parliament should withdraw the bill restricting nongovernmental groups and allow human rights defenders and civil society to play their very important role in addressing the needs of regular citizens and furthering Kyrgyzstan�s democratic development,� Rittmann said. �The authorities should immediately end the bogus investigation into Kamil Ruziev and ensure the GKNB cease its intimidation tactics so that he and other activists can continue their important work.�
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Access to justice, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 27, 2020
- Event Description
Pro-democracy Xiao Yuhui was taken away by Guangdong police after forwarding a petition addressed to President Trump.
On May 27, police in China took Xiao into custody shortly after he had passed the petition on to his friends. At least one other person was arrested after spreading the petition, but she was released on bail on May 30.
Xiao was released on May 31.
This is not the first time Xiao has been in custody. In October 2016, police detained him for owing more than 18,000 yuan in credit card fees. In June 2017, he received a nine-month sentence for suspected credit card fraud.
He also has taken part in a variety of activist activities. He attended an anti-national education rally in Hong Kong in 2012. On March 8, he planned to distribute voting cards at a subway station and was interviewed by state security. He has followed China�s family planning policy for a long time and has been forbidden from leaving the country.
The petition, titled, �One Person, One Letter to Save Hong Kong,� was first started by Hong Kong�s Apple Daily. It urged Trump to intervene on behalf of Hong Kong after Beijing pushed forward a national security law for the region.
Agreements reached between China and Britain as Hong Kong transitioned into Chinese control in 1997 required Hong Kong maintain its own judicial, legislative, and economic systems. Hong Kong also follows a partially-democratic model, in which residents are allowed to elect some of their officials. These elements permitted Hong Kong residents more freedom than people in mainland China, making it relatively safe for activists and religious people.
However, the new national security law has furthered concerns that those freedoms are being eroded. A version of the law implemented in mainland China is often used to target religious people and dissidents.
As of May 30, the , �One Person, One Letter to Save Hong Kong� petition had more than 110,000 signatures.
American policymakers have taken action on behalf of Hong Kong�s rights in the past few weeks. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared Hong Kong no longer autonomous from China, a significant move that could have trade ramifications. On May 29, Trump gave a speech, saying:
�Several of the most significant actions we are taking pertained to deeply troubling situations unfolding in Hong Kong. This week China unilaterally imposed control over Hong Kong�s security. This was a plain violation of Beijing's treaty obligations, with the United Kingdom, in the declaration of 1984 and explicit provisions of Hong Kong's Basic Law. It has 27 years to go.
The Chinese government's move against Hong Kong is the latest in a series of measures that are diminishing the city's long-standing and very proud status.
This is a tragedy for the people of Hong Kong, the people of China, and indeed the people of the world.
China claims it is protecting national security. But the truth is that Hong Kong was secure and prosperous as a free society. Beijing's decision reverses all of that. It extends the reach of China's evasive state security apparatus into what was formerly a bastion of liberty.
China's latest incursion, along with other recent developments that degraded the territory�s freedoms, makes clear that Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous to warrant the special treatment that we have afforded the territory since the hand of it.
China has replaced its promise formula of �one country, two systems� with �one country, one system.� Therefore, I am directing my administration to begin the process of eliminating policy exemptions that give Hong Kong different and special treatment.
My announcement today will affect the full range of agreements we have with Hong Kong, from our extradition treaty to our export controls on dual-use technologies and more with few exceptions.
We will be revising the State Department's travel advisory for Hong Kong to reflect the increased danger of surveillance and punishment by the Chinese state security apparatus.
We will take action to revoke Hong Kong's preferential treatment as a separate customs and travel territory from the rest of China.
The United States will also take necessary steps to sanction PRC and Hong Kong officials directly or indirectly involved in eroding Hong Kong's autonomy and so just if you take a look, smothering absolutely smothering Hong Kong's freedom.
Our actions will be strong. Our actions will be meaningful.
More than two decades ago, on a rainy night in 1997, British soldiers lowered the Union Flag and Chinese soldiers raised the Chinese flag in Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong felt simultaneously proud of their Chinese heritage and their unique Hong Kong identity.
The people of Hong Kong hoped that in the years and decades to come, China would increasingly come to resemble its most radiant and dynamic city. The rest of the world was electrified by a sense of optimism that Hong Kong was a glimpse into China's future. Not that, Hong Kong would grow into a reflection of China's past.�
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Internet freedom, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- May 27, 2020
- Event Description
Sebanyak empat orang pemuda diancam kurungan empat bulan penjara karena nekat menggelar aksi demonstrasi saat pemberlakukan Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar (PSBB) di Kabupaten Bengkalis, Riau. Keempat pemuda itu menggelar aksi 'Kamisan' terkait perkara Bongku.
Empat pemuda tersebut berinisial, RHS, 23, warga Kecamatan Bengkalis dan tiga orang warga Kecamatan Rupat berinisial, MHR, 21, MAA, 21 serta MH, 23.
"Memang benar, keempat pemuda telah ditetapkan sebagai tersangka karena menggelar aksi sebagaimana dari informasi yang beredar di media sosial ada undangan ajakan untuk melaksanakan aksi "Kamisan" terkait perkara Bongku, Kamis (21/5/20) lalu," Kepala Satuan Reskrim Polres Bengkalis, AKP Andrie Setiawan, Rabu, 27 Mei 2020.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- May 26, 2020
- Event Description
Raju Baitha is a Dalit HRD residing in Motihari, East Champaran district of Bihar. He has been active in defending the human rights of Dalits in Bihar for long and is the district coordinator of the NCDHR, a national organisation to protect and promote the human rights of Dalits. Mr. Baitha, in one of his Facebook posts on May 20, 2020, questioned East Champaran�s Superintendent of Police(SP), Mr. Naveen Chandra Jha, about caste determining the punishment for policemen for similar charges against them. His Facebook post said, �just see the mockery of justice. Two cops from the higher caste were only sent to the police lines while another cop from the Dalit community was placed under suspension for the same charge.� Mr Baitha asked the SP for an answer and said that his action was biased and flouted the Constitutional norms. According to the sources, the SP called Mr. Baitha multiple times on WhatsApp and threatened him regarding his Facebook post. The SP also asked whether Mr. Baithawas the DGP to question the charges and that �he will put him in jail within 4 days�. Mr. Baitha recorded the WhatsApp conversation and it was picked up by the local media. On May 26, 2020, at about 6.00 am, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Chhitouni police station Mr. Mukesh Chand Kumar went to Mr. Baitha�s residence with four constables and arrested him without any arrest warrant. He was taken to the Chhitouni police stationand his two mobile phones and Rs 25000 were seized by the police without a seizurememo. An FIR (No. 49/2020) was registered against him by the Motihari police dated January 29, 2020, under IPC sections 143/188/353/149/342/506/427/341 and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, for alleged damage to public property and blocking public roads. The said protest was held on January 29, 2020,under the banner of Bahujan Kranti Morcha against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). After his arrest on May 26, Mr. Baitha was not taken to a police station, but driven around in a police car, till the police got an official warrant signed by the magistrate. He was then taken into judicial custody. On May 28, 2020,Mr. Baithawas grantedbailinCase No.49/2020. However,before he could be released, he was re-arrested in two more FIRs Case no.50/2020 of Chhitouni police station dated January 29, 2020, by a shopkeeper who alleged damage to his shop during the proteston January 29. Another FIR was registered at Mufassil police station�s Case no.153/2020 dated April 5, 2020, filedby a person from the SC community. Mr. Baitha was released on bail only on June 15, 2020. It is obvious that Mr. Baitha has been victimised and harassed by the police, and subjected to harassment which included restrictions on his movement and liberty,for questioning certain actions of the SP through his Facebook post. HRDA believes the police on the directions of the East Champaran SP has misused provisions of law to target a Dalit HRD. This is not only a clear violation of his rights as a citizen of Indian under Article 19(A)but also an act of atrocity under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act (PoAA).
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Minority Rights, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 24, 2020
- Event Description
Police in Hong Kong have fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters rallying against China's plans to impose a new security law on the territory.
Thousands of demonstrators have been marching through the city centre. Police say 120 have been arrested.
Earlier, 200 senior politicians from around the world issued a joint statement criticising China's plan.
But China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the legislation should be brought in "without the slightest delay".
China is seeking to pass a law that would ban "treason, secession, sedition and subversion" in the territory.
Activists fear it is an attempt to limit freedoms and silence Beijing's opponents.
Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam, who is seen as part of the pro-Beijing political establishment, has pledged full support for the proposed law and said the city's rights would remain unchanged.
China has dismissed concerns the legislation would harm foreign investors in Hong Kong, an important financial centre, and lashed out at "meddling" countries. How are the latest demonstrations unfolding?
Protesters gathered in the busy Causeway Bay and Wan Chai districts of the city on Sunday, chanting slogans against the government and waving banners.
Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at demonstrators, who were wearing face masks to protect against the spread of coronavirus.
The rally comes despite earlier warnings from authorities against unauthorised assembly and a ban on large public gatherings to enforce social distancing.
Some protesters threw objects such as umbrellas and water bottles at officers, and used bins and other debris to set up road blocks.
Reports say Sunday's protest followed a similar pattern to many of last year's demonstrations, many of which turned violent.
More than 8,400 people have been arrested in Hong Kong since pro-democracy protests erupted last year.
The "draft decision" - as it is known before approval by China's National People's Congress - includes an article that says Hong Kong "must improve" national security.
It adds: "When needed, relevant national security organs of the Central People's Government will set up agencies in Hong Kong to fulfil relevant duties to safeguard national security in accordance with the law."
That means China could potentially have its own law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong, alongside the city's own.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the plans, which he described as a "death knell" for the city's freedoms. The UK, Australia and Canada have also expressed their "deep concern".
Relations between Washington and Beijing are already strained over trade disputes and the coronavirus pandemic.
The US is currently considering whether to extend Hong Kong's preferential trading and investment privileges. President Trump has also weighed in, saying the US would react strongly if the law went through - without giving details.
Speaking on Sunday, Mr Wang accused countries said "some political forces in the US" were pushing the two countries "to the brink of a new Cold War".
The Chinese government argues the law is necessary to "prevent, stop and punish" protests such as those that rocked Hong Kong last year. They were sparked by a bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.
The statement was drafted by former Hong Kong Governor Christopher Patten and former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, and signed by 186 policy makers and politicians from 23 countries.
It describes Beijing's plans as a "flagrant breach" of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, under which Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
"If the international community cannot trust Beijing to keep its word when it comes to Hong Kong, people will be reluctant to take its word on other matters," the signatories wrote.
They include 17 members of the US Congress, and 44 UK MPs.
The NPC is expected to vote on the draft law at the end of its annual session, on 28 May. It will then be forwarded to the NPC's Standing Committee, China's top legislature, which is expected to finalise and enact the law by the end of June.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- May 23, 2020
- Event Description
Vietnamese police on Saturday (May 22) detained the acting president of the unsanctioned Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) six months after the arrest of its president, a rights group and his family said.
Nguyen Tuong Thuy (pic), 68, was arrested on Saturday morning at his house in Hanoi on the charge of "conducting anti-state propaganda," Defend the Defenders, a non-profit NGO working for the promotion of human rights and democracy as well as assisting local activists at risk in Vietnam, reported.
Thuy, a retired veteran and an active blogger, is renowned for commenting on the government's policies and criticizing them for social injustice and corruption.
His family said a group of security officers blocked his private residence in Hanoi, confiscating the mobile phones of all members of the family, and started to search their house. Police seized his computers and other personal items and took him away.
"The recent arrests, including those of Mr Pham Thanh and Mr Nguyen Tuong Thuy, are part of the ongoing crackdown on local dissent prior to the party's 13th National Congress slated in January 2021," Vu Quoc Ngu, director of Defend the Defenders, said.
On Thursday, police arrested Pham Thanh, a former journalist for the Voice of Vietnam, on the same charge as Thuy.
Thanh, 68, has written several books and essays criticizing Vietnam's communist government and leaders, including a book self-published in 2019 harshly criticizing Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
Vietnam, a single party state, broadly bans dissent in its penal code.
The 88 Project, a US-based rights monitoring group, lists more than 200 political prisoners in Vietnam.
The country denies holding political prisoners.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to property
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, Family of HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- May 23, 2020
- Event Description
JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, associated with Pinjra Tod, were sent to judicial custody by Metropolitan Magistrate Kapil Kumar after the police said their further custody was not required for the investigation.
A Delhi court on Thursday sent two women associated with Pinjra Tod' group, a collective of women students and alumni of colleges from across Delhi, to judicial custody for 14 days in a case related to communal violence in north east Delhi.
Pinjra Tod (Break the Cage) was founded in 2015 with an aim to make hostels and paying guest accommodations less restrictive for women students.
In 2015, Jamia Millia Islamia University had issued a notice restricting female students to stay out after 8 pm.
When the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) questioned the Jamia administration on it, a group of women students decided to protest against the restrictions not only in Jamia but other universities in Delhi. Later named as Pinjra Tod, the group mobilised people around several issues faced by female residents of hostels and PGs.
JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, associated with Pinjra Tod, were sent to judicial custody by Metropolitan Magistrate Kapil Kumar after the police said their further custody was not required for the investigation.
They are currently lodged in Mandoli jail here. Police had earlier told the court that their custodial interrogation was required to unearth the conspiracy behind the case and identify other accused in the case.
Advocate Adit S Pujari, appearing for the women, had told the court that the women were arrested in the case with a "malafide" intent.
They were arrested last Saturday in connection with a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Jaffrabad area in February. On Sunday, they were granted bail by the court in the case.
Moments after the judge passed the order, the Crime Branch of the Delhi police had moved an application seeking to interrogate them and formally arrested them in a separate case related to the violence.
They had sought 14 days custody of the accused. The court had sent them to police custody for two days saying the investigation was at its initial stage.
The case, in which they were arrested on Saturday, was registered under sections 147 (rioting), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 188 (disobedience of order by public servant), 283 (danger or obstruction in public way), 109 (abetment), 341 (wrongful restraint), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the Indian Penal Code.
The case in which they were arrested on Sunday was registered under section 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 283 (danger or obstruction in public way), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 332 (causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 307 (attempt to murder), 302 (murder), 427, 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 188 (disobedience of public servant's order) of IPC, relevant sections of the Arms Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- May 22, 2020
- Event Description
Police officers from the Ministry of Public Security detained young activist Nguyen Anh Tuan on Friday when he was in a cafeteria in Hanoi.
Police took him to a police station and questioned about his legal writing about the land dispute in Dong Tam commune, Hoai Duc district, Hanoi and the brutal assault by thousands of riot policemen in Hoanh village on January 9 in which police barbarically killed 84-year-old Le Dinh Kinh and arrested around 30 local residents.
Mr. Tuan was released in the late afternoon of the same day.
Mr. Tuan, born in 1990 from the central city of Danang, is a talented young man. He has just completed a master degree in Public Policy at the Vietnam-Japan University of Hanoi National University. He also attended many overseas-based training sessions about campaigning for democracy and human rights. He actively supported victims of the Formosa environmental disaster. He has been illegally detained many times, having a passport confiscated for many months before being returned thanks to pressure from the EU.
After the Dong Tam massacre, Tuan and many individuals as well as independent civil society groups have provided support and legal guidance to Dong Tam villagers, and helped them draft letters to foreign governments and international rights organizations.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- May 21, 2020
- Event Description
Police in Vietnam�s capital Hanoi arrested a dissident writer and blogger on Thursday on charges of producing and distributing information opposing the government amid a deepening crackdown on freedom of expression in the one-party communist state.
Pham Chi Thanh, also called Pham Thanh, was taken into custody at 8:00 a.m. by a large group of police who burst through the door of his home, his wife Nguyen Thi Nghiem told RFA�s Vietnamese Service by phone.
�While my son was opening the door, many police came into the house, and I heard the noise and came downstairs,� Nguyen said.
�They asked me where my husband was, and I said he was on the fifth floor watering [bonsai] trees. Then they brought my husband downstairs, and the police said they had warrants to arrest him and to search the house.�
After the police read out their warrants, they seized two computers, a printer, and some documents, arrested Pham, and left the house at 10:00 a.m., Nguyen said, adding that she was so weakened and overwhelmed by anxiety during the arrest that she couldn�t hear clearly what Pham had been charged with.
Writing later on his Facebook page, another dissident writer said however that Pham had been arrested under Article 117 of Vietnam�s penal code for �producing, storing, and disseminating information and documents against the Vietnamese state.�
RFA has not been able yet to independently confirm the charge.
Critical books, essays
Born in 1952, Pham Thanh has written a number of books and essays critical of Vietnam�s communist government and leaders, including a book self-published in 2019 harshly criticizing Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
Dissent is not tolerated in Vietnam, and authorities routinely use a set of vague provisions in the penal code to detain dozens of writers, bloggers, and activists calling for greater freedoms in the one-party communist state.
Estimates of the number of prisoners of conscience now held in Vietnam�s jails vary widely.
New York-based Human Rights Watch has said that authorities held 138 political prisoners as of October 2019, while Defend the Defenders has suggested that at least 240 are in detention, with 36 convicted last year alone.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to property
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Nepal
- Initial Date
- May 20, 2020
- Event Description
Freedom Forum condemns the arrest of Alam Khan, a human rights activist and a member of the Federation of Nepali Journalists. He was held for writing on Facebook about the ill administration owing to the death of a person due to Covid-19 on the 20th of May, 2020. He was arrested in Banke, Nepalgunj. Nepalgunj lies in province no. 5.
According to FF's representative of province n. 5 Sudip Gautam, Alam's arrest was done by District Police Office in Nepalgunj. He was kept at the district police office for the whole day before releasing him on the condition that he appears in the police office on a daily basis. On his Facebook status, Alam also wrote that the dead person should be declared a Martyr and be compensated indicating that the mismanagement of administration caused the death.
Upon inquiry, Alam said even though no one had lodged a complaint against him, the police had arrested him.
Since the day of the arrest, Alam has been present at the Police Office on Thursday and has been told to be present every day.
Freedom Forum strongly criticizes the misuse of power by the police who have been troubling the activist who writes and advocates about the mismanagement around the COVID-19 situation. While in fact the authorities should be coordinating and collaborating with the activists inorder to enforce positive changes in the community and utilize their community reach, on the contrary, police have been unnecessarily targeting these activists to silence them. Freedom Forum urges the police headquarter to monitor the misuse of power in the local level and enforce ethical practice within the police offices. FF also urges the police offices to be mindful and respect the Free Speech which every Nepali citizen is constitutionally entitled to.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- May 18, 2020
- Event Description
Ms. P Ranganayakamma is a 66-year-old woman human rights defender, writer and critic has written extensively on issues relating to women and social justice. She has written 15 novels, 70 short stories, and many essays, publishing about 60 volumes in all. The main theme of her work isthe issue of gender equality for women. Most of her works have been published either in magazines or daily newspapers and subsequently published in the form of books.On May 7, 2020, styrene, a poisonous gas, leaked from a storage tank at LG Polymers plant at Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It led to the death of 12 people and affected the health of at least 450 people in Vishakhapatnam and 4 other villages around it. Several of them will face long term health complications. However, no arrests were made by the policefor the killings and causing life threatening health hazards. The South Korean company running the plant has not been held responsible for negligencein any manner whatsoever. In such a scenario, WHRD Ms. Ranganayakamma, wrote 20 questions on her Facebook page questioning the government for their inaction. Immediately after posting the questions, an FIR was filed against Ms. Ranganayakamma by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Andhra Pradesh police under Section 505(2) (making statements that create or promote enmity), 153(A) (indulging in wanton vilification), 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 120-Br/w 34 (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code, and also under Section 67 (Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of IT Act, 2008. On May 18, 2020, Ms. Ranganayakamma was arrested by the CID. The CID told the media that �action would be taken against those who post false comments against the State Government and misguide the public�. The above incident is a clear case of misuse of power by the police officials. The arrest of Ms. Ranganayakamma is an attempt to stop the senior citizen and WHRD from questioning the government and threaten all others from exercising their free expression. This is a clear violation of Article 19 of the Constitution which provides for free speech and power to express oneself to every citizen. The incident which took place has affected the lives of lot of people in the nearby areas and thus as a concerned citizen in a democracy she has the right to ask relevant questions to the government about the steps taken by them for the well-being of the people. By arresting her the state government not only tried to silence the her and other people questioning them but also tried to hide its failure to do any concrete investigation with respect to the gas leak.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- May 15, 2020
- Event Description
Ratusan massa penggarap lahan PTPN II yang menamakan dirinya Serikat Petani Simalingkar Bersatu (SPSB), melakukan aksi demo ke kantor Bupati Deli Serdang, Kantor DPRD dan kantor BPN Kabupaten Deliser�dang, Senin (25/11).
Koordinator aksi, Arus Wiyono menilai, pemerintah daerah seolah tinggal diam dalam masalah konflik agraria pada lahan yang mereka klaim sudah diusahai sejak 1951.
Untuk itu, massa panggarap yang terga�bung dalam SPSB dalam orasinya me�ngusung poster dan spanduk yang isinya menuntut menghentikan darurat agraria khususnya di Simalingkar dan Pancurbatu, Kabupaten Deliserdang. Aksi mendapat pengawalan ketat pihak kepolisian dan Satpol PP Deliserdang.
Usai melakukan aksi di Kantor Bupati Deliserdang, massa bergerak ke kantor DPRD Deliserdang guna mendesak anggota DPRD Deliserdang segera membuat reko�mendasi kepada Bupati Deliserdang untuk mengesahkan tanah tersebut untuk petani, sebagai tindak lanjut dari kerja DPRD Deliserdang sebelumnya.
Kabag Sekretaris Perusahaan PTPN II, Irwan yang didampingi Kabag Hukum Pertanahan PTPN II, Kennedy Sibarani dan Humas PTPN II, Sutan Panjaitan, serta Sastra SH Mkn dan Dr Ali Yusran Gea SH Mkn MH selaku Kuasa Hukum PTPN II mengatakan, mereka menghormati aksi demo yang dilakukan para petani walaupun pihak PTPN II telah memenangkan gugatan petani di PTUN dengan putusan NO 119/G/2018 yang menyatakan gugatan petani sebagai penggugat tidak diterima dan dikuatkan lagi dengan putusan PTUN Medan no.146/B/2019.
Pihak PTPN II menghimbau masyarakat yang telah menguasai lahan yang masih bersertifikat HGU No 171 Simalingkar A dengan luas 854.26 ha berakhir tahun 2034 agar secara sukarela mengembalikannya ke pihak PTPN II yang diberikan amanah untuk mengelola aset Negara.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- May 15, 2020
- Event Description
A journalist and radio station owner in Kampong Chhnang province was jailed on Friday on incitement charges in relation to his �exaggerated and inciting� news coverage and comments on a land dispute, officials said.
Sok Udom, owner of the 99.75 FM radio station and Rithysen news website, was provisionally detained after he was questioned in court and charged with incitement to commit a felony, said Chhuon Sivin, a provincial court spokesman.
�Sok Udom incited and provoked people to protest, accusing authorities of taking a military base and state land as personal property, which caused confusion and loss of trust in authorities and affected social security,� Sivin said.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a 4 million riel fine (about $1,000). Freedom of the press, assembly and expression are protected rights under the Cambodian Constitution.
Udom was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly inciting people to occupy land in Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary within the province, and then sent to court on Thursday, provincial police chief Khov Ly said.
�He broadcasted to incite people to encroach land in Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary in Cheab commune,� Ly told VOD on Thursday. �That is a crime and a red-handed crime.�
The arrest came as the Information Ministry revoked Udom�s media license, describing the reporter�s posts on Facebook as �exaggerated and inciting� news that violated professional standards and could cause violence, racism, insecurity and chaos in society.
On Monday, Udom posted to his Facebook page, Rithysen, about an alleged illegal construction in Kampong Chhnang City, which he claimed was owned by a Vietnamese national.
He then posted a video of a protest on Tuesday in Teok Phos district�s Cheab commune, in which residents accused provincial authorities of grabbing land within the wildlife sanctuary.
�We want to question whether the provincial governor held a meeting to take the land from people who rely on it,� Udom said in the 50-minute video. �What you are doing is tearing apart [the people�s] votes in support of the government.�
Before he was arrested on Wednesday, Udom accused law enforcement of nepotism and corruption in another Facebook post.
Information Ministry spokesman Meas Sophorn said officials at the Kampong Chhnang provincial information department had warned Udom several times previously about his news broadcasts.
�After he was educated, we still have seen his broadcasts go against the code of journalism ethics, [and] violate the contract upheld by the Information Ministry and provincial information department,� Sophorn said. �So the ministry decided to cancel his license.�
Udom acquired a media license for the radio station in 2014 and for his website in 2018.
Mam Chhoeum, director of the provincial information department, referred questions to Phos Sovann, director of the ministry�s department of information and broadcasting, who could not be reached for comment.
Yon Sineat, a board member of CamboJA, an independent journalists� association that includes VOD staff on its board, said the Information Ministry�s decision to revoke Udom�s license before he was charged with a crime sent a threatening message to journalists reporting on the government and officials.
�Any media outlet that tries to critically report [on the government] in order to improve and develop society, provide accurate information for the benefit of the public and their ability to make decisions, or criticize in a constructive way, is not often welcomed [by the government],� she said. �Instead, they are frequently suppressed and threatened, leading to the imprisonment of some reporters. That is a direct threat to press freedom.�
Last month, the Information Ministry revoked licenses from two other online news outlets.
The online news outlet TVFB lost its license after its editor-in-chief, Sovann Rithy, quoted an excerpt from a speech by Prime Minister Hun Sen in which he said struggling motorbike taxi drivers should sell their vehicles because the government could not afford to help them through the ongoing economic slowdown. Rithy was also jailed on incitement charges.
At the end of the month, news website CKV TV Online, which is owned by Chan Rithy, also lost its media license after the Information Ministry said it violated its contract and professional standards.
Cambodia ranked 144th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders� 2020 World Press Freedom Index, slipping one place from its rating last year.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 14, 2020
- Event Description
Chinese authorities must immediately release journalist Zhang Zhan, drop any charges against her, and ensure that the media can cover the coronavirus pandemic without fear of arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Zhang, an independent video journalist who had been posting reports from Wuhan on Twitter and YouTube since early February, went missing in the city on May 14, one day after she published a video critical of the government�s countermeasures to contain the virus, according to news reports.
On May 15, the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau issued a notice stating that Zhang had been arrested and detained for �picking quarrels and provoking trouble,� and was being held at the Pudong Xinqu Detention Center, according to those reports.
If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison, according to the Chinese criminal code.
�China professes pride in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, but appears deathly afraid of allowing independent journalists like Zhang Zhan to freely tell the story of what is happening,� said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler, in Washington, D.C. �Chinese authorities should free Zhang immediately and allow her to continue the important work of documenting the impact of the disease.�
Since arriving in Wuhan in early February, Zhang posted videos including interviews with local business owners who were severely impacted by the pandemic, and with workers who struggled to find work in the city.
CPJ called the Wuhan Public Security Bureau for comment, but no one answered. An officer at the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau told CPJ to call the Pudong Xinqu Detention Center for information about Zhang�s arrest. CPJ called the center, but no one answered.
Video journalist Chen Quishi, who traveled to Wuhan to report on the pandemic in late January, went missing after telling his family that he planned to visit a temporary hospital on February 6, as CPJ documented at the time.
Freelance journalist Li Zehua, who also went missing in the city after posting two live-stream videos claiming that state security agents were pursuing him on February 26, reappeared two months later claiming that he was quarantined by police because he had been to �sensitive epidemic areas,� according to news reports.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Abduction/Kidnapping, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 14, 2020
- Event Description
Wei Zhongping, an activist, has been closely monitored in the past six months since he was released and was warned by authorities about his online speech. On Thursday, May 14, he was summoned by police on the charge of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and was still detained at dusk.
Wei had dropped off meals at the home of Liu Ping, another activist, on Thursday morning and was subsequently taken to the Ludong police station in Xinyu by auxiliary police. A police officer showed the summons paper, claiming it is due to his involvement in picking quarrels and provoking trouble. He was detained until that night. The neighborhood committee had also called Wei on the phone the day of his arrest, reminding him that he should report where he goes. Liu estimated that these two occurrences are related.
Liu said, �If he was released, he would contact us immediately. We hope that it can draw others� attention because we are vulnerable. We have been closely monitored since being released, and we can not send anything we want via our cell phones. The neighborhood committee checked in on us multiple times on the excuse of caring for us, asking where we will go.�
She also said that Xinyu�s state security officers with police and leaders of the neighborhood committee came to Wei�s home a couple of weeks ago, warning him, but she didn�t know details. Earlier on, state security officers and police came to Liu�s place as well, warning her not to post anything sensitive, and her WeChat account is often blocked. Liu posted something about the coronavirus on WeChat, and as a result, she received a warning.
Wei was beaten during his last detention, leading to a broken nose and ribs. He filed complaints but never received an explanation. As a result of the abuse, he has poor health and no money for doctor appointments.
On April 28, 2013, Wei, Liu, and fellow activist Li Sihua were arrested because they held banners at the entry of the complex where Liu lives, calling for the release of detained citizens. The three became known as the �Three Xinyu Gentlemen.� On May 7, they were criminally detained by the Xinyu police on the charge of inciting subversion of state power. Later, the charge was changed to �picking quarrels and provoking trouble,� �assembling a crowd to disturb public order,� and �utilizing a cult to obstruct law enforcement.� On June 18, 2014, Wei and Liu were both sentenced to six-and-a-half years and Li to three years. Wei and Liu were released on Oct. 27, 2019.
Wei, a 57-year-old originally from Xiaogan, Hubei, used to work for a steel company in Jiangxi province. He, as an independent candidate, participated in the election of deputies to the National People�s Congress in 2006. In 2009, he met Liu during a labor dispute lawsuit and sued the Xinyu Municipal Labor Supervisory Department for administrative violation on her behalf. He also worked to repeal his steel company�s retirement system.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 10, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong police arrested more than 250 people in Mong Kok on Sunday night following a day of anti-government protests across the city.
A source said about 200 of those were detained on suspicion of unlawful assembly. Earlier in the day, hundreds of protesters gathered in at least 10 shopping malls to chant slogans and sing Glory to Hong Kong, the anthem of the anti-government movement .
Police said they arrested one man who had materials capable of making petrol bombs.
In the evening, a small group of protesters in the busy Mong Kok shopping district attempted to block roads by setting trash and rubbish bins on fire but were quickly dispersed by police.
Officers in riot gear then took up guard on the street, firing pepper spray on a number of occasions, including twice at reporters, and taking away several people.
Democratic Party legislator Roy Kwong Chun-yu, who turned up in Mong Kok to negotiate with police, was subdued by several officers as he crossed a street, with one pressing his knee onto the politician�s head. The party wrote on its Facebook page that Kwong was to be charged with disorderly behaviour and brought to Hung Hom Police Station. Earlier, protesters circulated messages online, urging people to gather in malls by 3pm. The shopping centres included Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui, Cityplaza in Taikoo Shing and Moko Mall in Mong Kok. Since April 26, when hundreds gathered in Cityplaza to chant slogans, Hong Kong has seen a revival of protests, which had died down because of the Covid-19 pandemic .
The protesters had earlier planned a march from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mong Kok demanding the resignation of Hong Kong�s embattled leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. But the event was postponed indefinitely after police objected on the grounds of restrictions on public gatherings to curb the spread of the virus.
In Tsim Sha Tsui, dozens of officers had been on patrol from the early afternoon. At least a dozen people were searched and two were taken to police vehicles. At about 3pm, a crowd of people, including some with placards, gathered on the steps leading to Harbour City. The crowd retreated into the mall after officers marched towards the building, but police did not initially enter the mall and protesters continued to chant slogans.
Shortly after 4pm, police entered the shopping centre, saying there was a public gathering of more than eight people inside. A few people were stopped inside as police cordoned off parts of the mall.
Among those taken away was a 12-year-old boy who claimed to be a student reporter. He was later released after police warned his mother against allowing him to take part in �illegal child labour�.
The boy said: �Police asked me twice if I was working as an illegal child worker, but I explained I was only a volunteer.�
The boy said he was volunteering for Student Depth Media, a student-run news organisation set up this February. The group also issued a statement on its Facebook page and said the boy was working for it on a voluntary basis, and labour laws did not apply. It also said a 16-year-old girl who worked for the group had been taken away by police too.
In Mong Kok, police armed with non-lethal guns also entered Moko Mall in the afternoon, and fired what was believed to be a pepper ball to disperse protesters.
One man was arrested after officers seized items including petrol, towels and several lighters after intercepting a group of protesters, the force later said on its Facebook page.
Police said they did not rule out the possibility the materials, purportedly for making petrol bombs, would be used, seriously endangering public safety.
Officers also entered other malls and told people to leave.
Earlier in the day, police asked media personnel to disperse from Tsim Sha Tsui, warning that they might be violating the ban on public gatherings of more than eight people, a restriction put in place to help halt the spread of Covid-19. A Post reporter was searched despite showing his press card.
During the search, an officer told him: �Don�t play with your phone, smartphones are fragile these days.�
Another officer filmed the journalist after he was asked to remove his mask. He was later let go.
Among the crowd at Harbour City was a family of four celebrating Mother�s Day.
The mother said she was not aware a protest was planned but it did not affect her. �I explained to my daughters what [the protesters] were trying to say,� she said.
A 19-year-old student, who did not want to be named, said he expected protests to become more frequent as the coronavirus came under control locally.
�With or without the ban, people will come out, and those who are out are prepared to be arrested,� he said.
Some shops at Harbour City closed early, but others served customers with shutters closed.
In a statement, a police spokesman said protesters had gathered in various shopping malls across the city, holding banners, shouting slogans and undermining public order.
�Police received reports from the public and entered the malls to enforce the law,� he added, noting that gatherings of more than eight people in public places were prohibited. Protests first broke out in June last year, sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill. The demonstrations later evolved into a wider anti-government movement, with clashes between radical protesters and police turning increasingly violent. With the onset of the coronavirus crisis, the campaign began losing momentum.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- May 9, 2020
- Event Description
Several members of Cambodian youth group Khmer Thavrak including human rights activist Hun Vannak are arrested and held for hours of questioning at the Battambang provincial police station for their involvement in a peaceful protest calling on microfinance institutions (MFIs) and banks to suspend loan repayments among the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. Four monks from different pagodas were also threatened with expulsion from their pagodas for joining the non-violent demonstrations.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, NGO staff, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- May 7, 2020
- Event Description
Human rights watchdog Karapatan Rizal reported that their secretary general, Gloria Rodriguez and three other companions were temporarily detained on �violations� of the enhanced community quarantine in Antipolo, Rizal, May 7.
The group stated that Rodriguez, or Nanay Oya to her colleagues, 65, and her team were investigating reports related to a March 28 encounter between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the New People�s Army. The encounter left two dead, with one missing. Karapatan Rizal responded to requests from family members of the missing individual, whose remains they suspect were taken by the military and eventually found on April 3, in Tanay, almost 80 kilometers away from the site of the encounter in barangay Puray, Rodriguez, Rizal.
Rodriguez and her team worked to recover the bodies for autopsy. They managed to secure a police report and a death certificate from the Rodriguez PNP on April 3, but were denied access to the remains. They have since continued to clamor and arrange documents for the release of the remains.
The group was filing necessary documents and had just come from the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory in Taytay when they were stopped at a checkpoint in barangay San Jose, Antipolo by soldiers of the 80th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army.
Although her group had quarantine passes signed by barangay officials, they were arrested on May 7 on alleged ECQ violations and detained at the Antipolo Municipal Police Station around 7:30 p.m.
No charges were filed and the group was released that same evening, 9 p.m.
Karapatan Rizal was quick to point out that the incident was only the latest in a series of �harassment and delaying tactics� performed by the 80th IB designed to �deny the family of their latest victim justice and hide their crimes.�
As of this writing, Rodriguez and her team are still trying to secure the remains of the deceased.
The group noted that the military has been �characteristically uncooperative� to their requests, instead opting to �pass [them] around from agency to agency in hopes of frustrating the fact-finding mission.�
Karapatan Rizal also reported cases of harassment done against the family and relatives of the dead, as well as the imposition of �unnecessary qualifications� to dispute the family�s claim.
�These are the tell-tale signs that the military is trying to cover up their tracks,� Karapatan Rizal said. �It�s almost sickening how the AFP can just play with the tragedies of their victims like it was a game.�
The March 28 encounter occurred well within the period of simultaneous unilateral ceasefire between the AFP and NPA. Both sides claim that the other broke their own ceasefires by launching an attack in barangay Puray.
In a statement, the 80th IB claimed that they were conducting �community work� when they were ambushed by �about 30 NPA fighters�, resulting in a firefight.
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines, however, disputed this. The NDFP said �sources within the military� stated that a team led by a Staff Sargeant Angot was conducting a patrol when they ambushed NPA members conducting a medical mission in the area.
�This is another addition to the 80th IB�s laundry list of human rights violations and crimes against the people of Rizal,� said Karapatan Rizal in a statement. �They are exploiting the pandemic and ECQ to spread fake news and black propaganda against the people�s clamor for mass testing and social amelioration.�
They condemned the 80th IB and called on them to �provide medical services and relief,� instead of �sticking to the fascism and harassment that they know.�
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- NGO staff, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- May 7, 2020
- Event Description
Two activists of the Swaraj Abhiyan organisation, who have been distributing food to stranded workers in labour colonies in Bengaluru during the lockdown, were booked on May 7 after a complaint by a builder. R Kaleemullah and Zia Nomani have been charged under Sections 153 (provocation with intent to cause riots) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
�We had been going to the labour colonies to distribute food packets and ration supplies for many days. We knew they were getting restless. They were not being paid their wages, they were not getting proper food. When the government decided to start trains, we helped many of them register on the Seva Sindhu portal because they had no information otherwise,� said Nomani.
Kaleemullah said they had been pacifying the workers, and asking them not to hit the streets. �When the government decided to stop trains and we heard they were beginning to walk, we rushed to the labour colony in Veeranpalya to calm them down. We also said no one can force them to work. So, this FIR is simply harassment,� he said.
On the afternoon of May 7, when officials of the Sampigehalli Police Station arrived at the labour camp of the BL Kashyap construction firm to arrest Nomani and Kaleemullah, the workers protested and refused to allow the police to take them away.
�We had been distributing relief for many days there. So, the workers and nearby daily wagers, gathered there and protested. When they saw the resistance, the police backed off and asked us to come to the police station instead,� said Nomani.
The activist alleged they were being harassed under pressure from a builder lobby and, though they had been charged under bailable sections, they were not being granted station bail.
DCP Northeast Bheemashankar Guled said the complaint had been filed by the BL Kashyap firm. He also pointed to a tweet by the Migrants Workers Solidarity on May 7, which posted a video of migrant workers behind a gate, asking to be sent home. �Bangalore Manyata Park construction workers caged in after @BSYBJP cancels trains under #BuilderLobby pressure,� the tweet said.
�It was fake news. It was not a cage, but simply the gate. When we reached out to the builder and asked why the workers had been caged, they said it was a misrepresentation. So, we then asked them to file a complaint,� said Guled.
�Also, when Section 144 was in force, when there is a curfew in the city, there are videos of Somany and Kaleemullah addressing a big gathering of workers and canvassing. That is also a violation of the law,� he added.
Nomani said that neither he nor any member of his organisation had anything to do with the Twitter handle, or had retweeted or liked that post.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Bangladesh
- Initial Date
- May 5, 2020
- Event Description
Rapid Action Battalion arrested cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore, writer Mushtaq Ahmed, and two others -- Didarul Islam Bhuiyan, an activist of a platform called 'Rashtrachinta', and Minhaz Mannan Emon, a businessman -- under the Digital Security Act, allegedly for making anti-government posts on Facebook, from the capital yesterday.
A team of Rab-3 handed Kishore and Mushtaq over to Ramna Police Station, Monirul Islam, officer-in-charge of the police station told The Daily Star this morning. Rab-3 also confirmed the matter.
Jamshedul Islam, investigation officer of the case, said the four were arrested from the capital's Kakrail and Lalmatia areas on charge of posting anti-government content on Facebook.
Later today, Rapid Action Battalion handed over Didarul Islam Bhuiyan and Minhaz Mannan Emon to Ramna Police Station in the evening, Jamshedul Alam, also a sub-inspector of the station, confirmed to The Daily Star.
"RAB handed over Didarul and Minhaz to police before Iftar this evening," he said.
A total 11 persons were accused in the case filed under the Digital Security Act.
Besides the four arrested, the seven others made accused in the case are: journalists Tasnim Khalil and Shahed Alam, Saer Zulkarnain, Ashiq Imran, Phillipp Schuhmacher, Shapan Wahid, and Asif Mohiuddin.
According to the case statement, a Facebook page named "I am Bangladeshi" is "trying to circulate propaganda and create confusion".
They were disseminating various misinformation, including rumours, through social media, Rab said, mentioning that the page is "creating confusion, instability and chaos among people".
According to Rab, Saer Zulkarnain, Kishore, Ashiq Imran, Phillipp Schuhmacher, Shapan Wahid and Mushtaq are the five admins who have been running the page.
Kishore was picked up from Kakrail area, while Mushtaq was picked up from his Lalmatia home yesterday, the police officer said adding that they will be produced before court today.
Kishore, a political cartoonist, posted several cartoons and posters on his Facebook account "Ami Kishore", criticising the government over the coronavirus situation. Mushtaq shared some of Kishore's cartoons on his Facebook profile.
Lipa Akhter, Mushtaq's wife, told The Daily Star, "Around five large vehicles with Rab personnel showed up at our residence in Lalmatia in the early hours of Monday, around 1:44 am. They said that they are from Rab-3. They took away Mushtaq around 3:00am and since then we had no idea where he was, or where he was being taken.
"Around 3:30am last night, two days after he was picked up, I received a call from Ramna Police Station saying that my husband is with them and that I was to come over to the police station and give him food," she added.
Mushtaq, who writes under the pen name "Michel Kumir Thakur", was critical of the "poor management in tackling the Covid-19 situation and the government" on social media.
A crocodile farmer and businessman, Mushtaq wrote a book titled "Kumir Chasher Diary" which was published in November 2018 and was working on another book.
Earlier, Didarul Bhuiyan was supposedly picked up from his house in Dhaka's North Badda yesterday evening.
A family source said some people came in two black microbuses before iftar. They were in plainclothes, but introduced themselves as Rab-3 members and said Didarul was being taken for interrogation.
Didarul is an IT specialist and owner of "ABAC Technologies", an outsourcing IT firm, located on the fifth floor of the same building. He wrote some critical posts on the state's decision to deal with coronavirus, controversy over masks and the distribution of funds and relief.
Contacted last night, Lt Col Md Sarwar-Bin-Quasem, director (Legal and Media) of Rab, told The Daily Star that an operation was underway and they would inform media after its completion.
He, however, did not disclose details.
At a press conference held live from Rashtrochinta office premises this morning, the organisation's member and a lawyer at the Supreme Court, Hasnat Qaiyyum, said, "We are requesting that Didarul be handed over to the police if there is any allegation against him. If there are no allegations, he should be released."
Didarul's family was present at the press conference.
Kishore claimed he was beaten and severely slapped by more than a dozen strangers who kidnapped him on May 2 and held him for nearly three days.
Kishore said the men questioned him about cartoons he drew mocking a powerful businessman close to the government, and a series of cartoons criticizing the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic. According to him, the strangers then handed him over to an elite police unit.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Abduction/Kidnapping, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Myanmar
- Initial Date
- May 4, 2020
- Event Description
Six labor rights activists, including two union leaders from a factory in Yangon�s Dagon Seikkan Township, were jailed for three months on Monday for leading strikes which violated COVID-19 orders.
Since May, 2, more than 100 workers from the Blue Diamond bags factory have blocked the entrance to demand full wages during April, although operations stopped from April 19 to 30 due to government orders.
The strike was led by members of the unregistered All Burma Federation of Trade Unions (ABFTU).
Ma Thet Htar Swe of the ABFTU told The Irrawaddy that the authorities on Monday broke up the strike and arrested two leaders and four ABFTU members without holding any talks.
That evening factory union leaders Ma Zar Zar Htun and Ma Lay Lay Mar and ABFTU members Ko Kyaw Myo, Ko Myo Gyi, Ko Min Min Naing and Ko Thet Oo Maung were sentenced to three months in prison by the Dagon Seikkan Township Court under the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases Law, according to ABFTU.
On April 16 the government banned gatherings of five or more people under coronavirus preventative measures with the threat of up to six months in prison and fines.
Dagon Seikkan Township administrator U Zaw Naing Oo confirmed the prosecutions to The Irrawaddy.
Before the Thingyan holidays, Blue Diamond workers held strikes demanding their employer close the factory for a month with full pay to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
�There will be strikes for labor rights in the future. Our demands for rights cannot be halted by prosecutions,� said labor activists Ma Thet Htar Swe.
She said five other workers� leaders from the Rainwear House and Brightberg factories in Dagon Seikkan also were arrested last night over strikes held before Thingyan.
State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told representatives of employers and labor unions via a video conference on April 22 that the government would take action against anyone violating COVID-19 restrictions.
- Impact of Event
- 6
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Labour rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- May 4, 2020
- Event Description
Activists have condemned the arrest of a journalist in Indonesia for reporting on a land conflict between a palm oil company owned by a powerful tycoon and indigenous groups in Borneo.
Police arrested Diananta Putra Sumedi on May 4 and charged him under a controversial 2016 law on electronic communications. The law has frequently been used to bring charges against individuals, including journalists, on the nebulous grounds that their writings or statements �cause offense.� Diananta faces up to six years in prison if convicted.
In a statement, the International Federation of Journalists called on the Indonesian police to release Diananta, the chief editor of the news site banjarhits.id and correspondent for investigative outlet Tempo.
�IFJ has seen continued efforts to criminalize journalists in Indonesia,� it said. �The Press Council has a clear complaints mechanism for solving disputes, and this has been ignored. IFJ urges the police to release Diananta immediately, respect decisions made by the Press Council and ensure the safety of journalists in the country.�
The case stems from a news report published by banjarhits.id and syndicated by the bigger news site Kumparan on Nov. 19, 2019, under the heading �Jhonlin seizes land, Dayaks complain to the South Kalimantan Police.� It quoted indigenous Dayak people in the village of Cantung Kiri Hilir, South Kalimantan province, as being critical of the palm oil firm Jhonlin Agro Raya (JAR). The company is part of the Jhonlin Group owned by tycoon Andi Syamsudin Arsyad, popularly known as Haji Isam, part of the large ethnic Bugis community that migrated to Borneo from the island of Sulawesi.
The report quoted Sukirman, a Dayak member, as saying that the alleged land grabbing by JAR could trigger conflict between the Dayak and Bugis communities. Sukirman also said in the article that Haji Isam had treated the Dayak people unjustly.
Following the article�s publication, Sukirman filed a complaint with the police, saying he had never said the things attributed to him. He also said he didn�t want to inflame ethnic tensions and preferred to resolve the land dispute amicably or through the courts.
He also complained to the Press Council, which mediates disputes over news reporting. The council ruled on Jan. 9 that the article breached the journalistic code of ethics, and on Feb. 5 it recommended that Kumparan publish a right of reply and delete the original article, explaining why.
JAR also reported Kumparan to the Press Council, leading to the news site taking down three articles related to the land conflict between the company and the villagers, including the one quoting Sukirman. The other two were headed �For the sake of palm oil, Jhonlin displaces the land of people in three villages in Kotabaru,� and �Dayaks in all Kalimantan will occupy contested land in Kotabaru.�
A Google search for the land conflict now yields no media coverage of the case, except stories about Diananta�s arrest. JAR did not respond to an inquiry by Mongabay.
Yet despite the Press Council having already ruled on the case, the police pushed on with the criminal complaint. They refused to release Diananta after his lawyers argued that his family depended on him for their livelihood and cited the risk of keeping him in a crowded jail cell amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The police said Diananta might destroy evidence relating to the investigation if released. They also said he might publish more stories deemed �negative.� South Kalimantan police spokesman Mochammad Rifai said investigators had questioned all parties involved in the case, as well as experts, and concluded there were grounds for criminal charges.
The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), the Indonesian affiliate of the IFJ, condemned the continued detention in the wake of the Press Council�s resolution and the compliance of the respective media outlets.
�According to the memorandum of understanding signed by Press Council and the Chief of National Police, it is clear that every dispute related with journalism should be settled in the Press Council,� AJI said. �AJI condemns the arrest which shows the fact that police neglected the MoU and do not respect the press freedom.�
This isn�t the first time a journalist�s coverage of Haji Isam�s Jhonlin Group has landed them in hot water. In 2018, Jhonlin subsidiary PT Multi Sarana Agro Mandiri (MSAM) filed a police complaint against Muhammad Yusuf over at least 23 online news reports about a land conflict involving the company.
Parts of MSAM�s concession in Pulau Laut, a small island off the coast of South Kalimantan, are claimed by several other firms as well as by farmers who accuse the company of bulldozing their crops to make way for its plantation, which Yusuf reported on. Police arrested him on the same charges under the electronic communications act as Diananta. Yusuf died of a heart attack after more than a month in custody.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Bangladesh
- Initial Date
- May 3, 2020
- Event Description
A Bangladeshi journalist reported missing in March as cases were being filed against him under the Digital Security Act is now in jail after officials said they found him near the border with India.
Border guards on Sunday arrested Shafiqul Islam Kajol, 51, as he walked into Bangladesh from India with no passport. Police brought him to a court in southwestern Jessore district, on the West Bengal border, and he was sent to jail, according to multiple accounts.
Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who oversees both police and the border guards, said Monday that he was flummoxed by the case.
�Actually, I do not know where he had been for 54 days. But he was arrested from the Benapole border while coming to Bangladesh from India. We have to investigate,� Khan told BenarNews.
�I spoke with my father. I do not know where he had been for 54 days. Now, our main target is to get him out of jail,� Kajol�s son, Monorom Polok, told BenarNews.
According to his lawyer, Kajol was initially granted bail on a charge of illegal entry, but was then rearrested under Section 54 of the Bangladeshi criminal code, which allows detention of a person based on �reasonable suspicion.�
�The court granted him bail for the intrusion case. Later, police told the court they had again arrested Kajol ... as he faced three cases under the Digital Security Act in Dhaka,� lawyer Debashish Das told BenarNews.
�The judge asked police to submit an updated report on existing cases against Shafiqul by May 19, and then he will rule about it,� Das said.
Missing since early March
Kajol, a photojournalist and editor of the fortnightly magazine Pokkhokal, had been missing since March 10, a day after a lawmaker with the ruling Awami League lawmaker Saifuzzaman Shikhor filed a criminal defamation suit against him and 31 others.
Awami League activists filed two more cases against Kajol on March 10 and 11. One of them accused Kajol of committing extortion by �obtaining information illegally� and publishing �false, intimidating and defamatory� material on Facebook and Messenger, according to Amnesty International.
The Digital Security Act, which went into effect in September 2018, includes harsh prison sentences for online defamation, insulting a person�s religion and other offenses. Critics have complained that it impedes free speech.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a press freedom advocacy group, on Sunday urged police to release Kajol and drop all charges against him.
�Bangladesh police must immediately put an end to the long ordeal of journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol, missing for 53 days, and release him from custody,� said Steven Butler, CPJ�s Asia program coordinator.
�Kajol is a victim, not a criminal. It�s an abuse of authority to subject Kajol to detention and interrogation.�
Kajol resurfaced on World Press Freedom Day, Amnesty International noted in a separate statement. It said that while many governments were justified in combatting misinformation about COVID-19, some were using the moment �as a pretext to crack down on critical voices.�
In Bangladesh, �at least 20 journalists have been recently intimidated, assaulted or harassed by members of the ruling party, and in some cases detained and accused of criminal offenses by the police for reporting pilferage, corruption and lack of accountability in the relief distribution meant for the poor during the lockdown,� it said, citing the Forum for Freedom of Expression, Bangladesh.
Amnesty noted that BenarNews itself had been blocked since it reported on an internal U.N. memo leaked in late March estimating that Bangladesh could see as many as two million deaths as a result of the pandemic without interventions.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- May 1, 2020
- Event Description
The police arrest two labor leaders from Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino who staged a protest in a subdivision in Rodriguez, Rizal
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The coronavirus lockdown has pushed millions to stay at home, but Filipino workers staged Labor Day protests on Friday, May 1, while maintaining distance from each other.
Several small protests pushed through without any problems, but two members of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) were arrested by the police Friday for allegedly breaking enhanced quarantine rules.
BMP vice president Lito Rastica and labor leader Renaldo Dulay led a protest with 6 other people in a subdivision in Rodriguez, Rizal. Cops arrested them before noon.
Since it's a holiday, the workers cannot post bail. BMP said that the labor leaders' inquest proceedings will be on Monday, May 3, yet, which means the two will be detained until then.
In other parts of the country, BMP members and communities held noise barrage outside their homes.
Women in Cavite, meanwhile, took to the streets to protest their dire condition. "Kung kulang noon ang ating pagkain, mas kulang pa ang pakain kasulukuyang nangyayari dulot ng COVID19 na ito. (If our food lacked before, now it's even lacking because of this COVID-19)," a woman said in a video. Silent protests, noise barrage
Organized by various labor groups, the workers' main call this year revolves around job security and better social protection.
On early Friday morning, unionists from the Samahan ng Manggagawa sa Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation with the Kilusang Mayo Uno-Pier gathered at the Port of Manila.
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Those who joined the protest wore red shirts and face masks, while others donned face shields. All of them brought placards, calling for mass testing, a faster disbursement of cash aid, and hazard pay increase.
Fishermen under the fisheries group PAMALAKAYA Pilipinas, meanwhile, called for immediate government aid to agricultural workers.
KMU, BMP, and the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition and its member organizations organized separate virtual rallies as part of their call for "deep systemic change" post-lockdown.
More than two million Filipinos have lost their jobs or under a "No Work, No Pay" scheme in 87,301 establishments nationwide, according to the Department of Labor and Employment.
But those who have received aid so far is just a small fraction of the reported job displacement. Some 600,000 private and informal sector workers have received the P5,000 cash aid from the government, which is just 26% of the affected workers.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Labour rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- May 1, 2020
- Event Description
A priest, a lawyer, members of the community media and activists were arrested in Iloilo City this morning, May 1.
Progressive groups led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Panay were holding an indignation caravan to demand justice for slain Bayan Muna Party-list Iloilo City coordinator Jose Reynaldo �Jory� Porquia when they were barred by at least 50 policemen.
Elmer Foro, secretary general of Bayan-Panay, said they negotiated with the police to allow them to lay wreath and light candles where Porquia was killed. When the police denied their plea, they decided to voluntarily disperse.
As they were about to leave the premises of Jaro Plaza, the police blocked them and were told that they were under arrest.
�We condemn in strongest possible terms the high-handed manner by which the Philippine National Police tramples the sovereign people�s rights to assembly, our right to protest, and our right to seek redress of grievances,� said Foro in a statement.
He added that these are people�s inalienable rights enshrined in the 1987 Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Among the arrested are Fr. Marco Sulayao of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), Diocese of Iloilo and National Union of Peoples� Lawyers-Iloilo Atty. Angelo Karlo Guillen.
Seven of the 42 arrested are journalists covering the protest caravan. They are Panaysayon staff Mc Mae Sulayao, Kervin Bingansinco, Krisma Nina Porquia and Gaybel Rei Gullen; Julrod Prino of Panay Today; Crimson Labinghisa and Bryan Bosque of Dampig Katarungan.
Panaysayon, is a video production group established in 2017. Dampig Katarungan on the other hand is a radio program in Aksyon Radyo Iloilo while established in 2010 and Panay Today is a digital print established in 2015.
Krisma is the daughter of Porquia.
They are currently detained at the Jaro Police Station and were charged with violation of Batas Pambansa 880, disobedience to persons in authority, violation of the Republic Act 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act, and a local ordinance.
In a statement, the NUPL condemened the series of arrests today.
�The directive and orientation of the police-military leadership is clear: no mercy, no quarters given and no local civilian official can stand in the way (especially if it involves the Left) because we call the shots. That�s San Roque, Norzaragay, barangay Central, Marikina and other,� said NUPL President Edre Olalia.
- Impact of Event
- 42
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Lawyer, Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- May 1, 2020
- Event Description
At least 76 were arrested by authorities in separate incidents today, May 1.
Scores of those arrested were providing meals to the poor communities of Metro Manila. Ten volunteers of a feeding program in Marikina and 18 youth volunteers of a community kitchen in barangay Central in Quezon City were apprehended by the police.
In Jaro, Iloilo, 35 members of progressive organizations were arrested while holding a protest caravan on the killing of Bayan Muna officer Jory Porquia. Seven community journalists, including the daughter of Porquia, were also nabbed and charged with violation of BP 880, disobedience to persons in authority and Republic Act 11332.
Four other activists were arrested in Paso de Blas in Valenzuela City and two workers in Rodriguez, Rizal.
Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general, described Labor Day in the Philippines, �Arrests of a grieving daughter and colleagues of a slain relief worker in Iloilo, of relief workers providing aid to hungry residents of Marikina and workers in Quezon City, and of those expressing workers� just demands for rights and welfare, staged/fake surrenders of workers in Laguna � these should make everyone realize that it is but just and it is but right to speak out and act for our people�s rights and wellbeing.�
In Camp Vicente Lim, Laguna, 16 Coca-Cola workers who were picked up by members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday were presented to the media this afternoon as New People�s Army surrenderees.
�Why is the Duterte regime on mass arrest mode? Is that the only government response they are capable of? Why are Filipinos being prevented from speaking out on their legitimate issues and grievances?� said Renato Reyes Jr., secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan).
Tulong Kabataan decried the arrest of their volunteers, including the group�s spokesperson Joshua Marcial.
�Many of our workers, the backbone of our society, have lost their jobs during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). Millions are still uncertain regarding job security, as well as receiving social amelioration program and other aid from the government,� the group said in a statement.
Meanwhile, urban poor group Kadamay-Metro Manila reported that at about 4 p.m. members of the police went to the house of Fidel Columna, leader of Kilos na Homeless. The police reportedly said that they needed to be brought to the police station because of their social media posts. Also arrested are Marlina Abique and couples Danny and Ann Calunsad.
Harassment
Meanwhile, members of the ACT4PH team on the other hand were able to evade arrest by showing their permit to the police in front of the members of the media and barangay officials in Visayas Ave., Quezon City.
At least 50 state agents wearing civilian clothes on board private SUVs, two police mobile, and motorcycles flagged and cordoned the team�s vehicle at the corner of Visayas Avenue and Forestry Street this morning.
�Agents in plainclothes, without identifying themselves confiscated the driver�s license and, maliciously and falsely accused him of being seen at San Roque last night. For 30 minutes, the operatives held our team at the site, demanded that the teacher-leaders alight the vehicle and to present a permit for the activity,� the group said.
ACT4PH team showed the vehicle�s interior to prove that they only had food and facemasks with them.
�The operatives could not hold the team any longer as no violation can be found,� said Raymond Basilio, secretary general of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).
�Blocking humanitarian activities of organizations and private groups is a third blow to the suffering people who have been locked down first, then neglected by the government,� Basilio added.
Meanwhile, members of Kilusang Mayo Uno were also harassed on the eve of labor day as they spotted police vehicles outside its headquarters. The group said that local organizations have also reported police and military deployment across urban poor and workers� communities in Metro Manila.
�As the country observes international Labor Day, we urge all Filipinos to condemn the Duterte regime for treating workers like criminals, instead of upholding their rights and improving their welfare,� Elmer Labog, KMU chairperson said in a statement.
- Impact of Event
- 28
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 29, 2020
- Event Description
Meanwhile, police detained activist Xie Wenfei on April 29 on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."
Xie is a veteran rights activist in China's Hunan province. He recently has criticized the detention of three young volunteers who archived censored information about COVID-19 online, and questioned the disappearance in Wuhan of citizen journalists Chen Qiushi and Fang Bing. He also signed an online petition to honor the COVID-19 whistleblower Dr. Li Wenliang.
"This is not the first arrest," his brother Xie Qiufeng told VOA. "The police didn't tell me anything specific. I think it's about what he had posted on WeChat again."
Born in 1977, Xie Yunfei is a veteran activist who has been detained many times for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly over the years. He previously served a 4.5-year prison sentence for supporting the 2014 Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong.
Xie's friend Ou Biaofeng, who is also an activist, told VOA that he's not surprised about Xie's arrest.
Ou said that in recent years, the government has severely reduced the space for civil liberties by rounding up rights lawyers, labor activists and citizen journalists. He added that anyone who expresses a slightly different opinion online will have their account blocked immediately.
"The pro-democracy movement in China has entered a freezing winter because of the crackdown," he said. "The pressure is just enormous. Also, for the past year or two, there's been less and less support of civil movements. It's quite sad."
The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders ranked China near the bottom of its 2020 press freedom index. The group said President Xi is tightening control over news and information and trying to export the country's oppressive surveillance systems.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to information, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Apr 28, 2020
- Event Description
Vietnamese authorities on Tuesday sentenced a young Facebook user to a five-year prison term on charges of spreading propaganda against the state for his online postings amid a deepening crackdown on freedom of expression in the one-party communist state.
Phan Cong Hai, 25, was convicted in the People�s Court of the central province of Nghe An under Article 117 of Vietnam�s 2015 Penal Code following a two-hour trial unattended by lawyers. He was the second Facebook user to be jailed in Vietnam this week and the latest in a heavy-handed campaign to censor what the 65 million users of the social platform can write or read.
Speaking to RFA�s Vietnamese Service following the trial, Phan�s father Phan Cong Binh said that he had seen his son only once following Phan�s Nov. 19 arrest after evading capture by police for almost six months.
�I was able to meet my son briefly on Dec. 24, 2019, but we couldn�t speak freely because the police were standing right next to us,� he said, adding that travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have made it difficult to see Phan more frequently.
�Now, our family really doesn�t know what to do,� he said.
According to the indictment filed against him, Phan was identified by Nghe An police as the user of a Facebook account set up under the name Hung Manh which described efforts by Vietnamese youth to �offend the image� of the government and of Vietnamese Communist Party founder Ho Chi Minh.
The Facebook page came to the attention of the province�s Do Thanh High School in late 2018, and school authorities contacted police who issued a warrant for Phan�s arrest and began a nationwide search in May last year which ended when Phan returned to his native Ha Tinh province in November after taking refuge in Thailand.
Meanwhile, Vietnam�s Ninh Kieu District Court in Can Tho City on Monday handed another Facebook user an 18-month prison term for sharing a story on Facebook in January about a deadly government crackdown during a politically sensitive land dispute at the Dong Tam commune outside Hanoi.
Chung Hoang Chuong, better known by his nickname Lucky, was found guilty of �abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, lawful rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens� in violation of Article 331 of the Vietnamese Penal Code.
Facebook under fire
Facebook has come under fire from Vietnamese and international rights activists after the social media giant publicly admitted it has agreed to help communist authorities censor posts critical of the government.
On April 21, two Facebook employees told the Reuters news agency that the company�s servers in Vietnam were taken offline for about seven weeks earlier in the year until Facebook agreed to government demands to remove posts considered by authorities to have criticized the communist state.
In a statement condemning Facebook�s decision to comply with government demands, Amnesty International Human Rights Advisor William Nee warned that �governments around the world will see this as an open invitation to enlist Facebook in the service of state censorship.�
�The Vietnamese authorities� ruthless suppression of freedom of expression is nothing new, but Facebook�s shift in policy makes them complicit,� he added.
In an emailed statement to RFA on April 22, Facebook spokesperson Amy Sawitta Lefevre defended her company�s action, saying that though freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, Facebook risked being blocked by authorities in Vietnam if the company refused to comply.
�We have taken this action to ensure our services remain available and usable for millions of people in Vietnam, who rely on them every day,� Lefevre said.
Vietnamese activist Tran Bang said that Facebook�s decision to bow to government demands �will block the ears, mouths, and eyes of Vietnam�s people, just as if there was no Facebook here at all.�
�Tens of millions of Facebook users have posted news from many different sources, helping people access truthful information about politics, society, and the economy," he told RFA on April 27.
"By blocking and removing stories in accordance with the authorities� requirements, [Facebook] is complicit with the dictatorship in violating human rights and freedom of expression in Vietnam."
�This means that Facebook is no different from the communist police,� he said.
Refining repression
In a report this year, the media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that �as Vietnam�s citizens become increasingly engaged online, the authorities have been refining their digital repressive methods.�
The NGO said Vietnam�s army has created �a 10,000-strong military cyber-warfare department called �Force 47,� which is tasked with defending the Party and targeting dissident bloggers.�
�Under a new cyber-crime law that took effect in 2019, foreign online platforms are required to store their Vietnamese user data on servers in Vietnam and surrender it to the authorities when required,� RSF added.
Facebook user Dinh Van Hai told RFA that Facebook had been forced to cooperate with authorities to avoid being blocked behind a firewall. �But for me, Facebook must continue to prioritize freedom of the news as its top goal,� he said.
Though smaller social media networks have recently been set up in Vietnam, these typically block content widely shared on Facebook and are not widely used, Ha Hoang Hop�a researcher at Singapore�s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies�told RFA in a text message sent on April 27.
�Vietnamese social networks have not attracted as many users as Facebook, and they can�t compete,� he said.
No room for dissent
Vietnam, whose ruling Communist Party controls all media and tolerates no dissent, ranks 175th of 180 countries on the 2020 RSF�s World Press Freedom Index.
�As Vietnam�s media all follow the Communist Party�s orders, the only sources of independently-reported information are bloggers and independent journalists, who are being subjected to ever-harsher harsh forms of persecution,� said RSF.
�To justify jailing them, the Party resorts increasingly to articles 79, 88 and 258 of the criminal code, under which �activities aimed at overthrowing the government,� �anti-state propaganda� and �abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to threaten the interests of the state� are punishable by long prison terms,� it said.
Vietnam has also been consistently rated �not free� in the areas of internet and press freedom by Freedom House, a U.S.-based watchdog group.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Apr 28, 2020
- Event Description
We the undersigned groups decry the harassment of community representatives from across Cambodia on Tuesday, April 28. These community representatives were arbitrarily detained for seven hours and interrogated while trying to submit a petition asking for additional government assistance to vulnerable communities during the Covid-19 crisis. More than 30 community representatives from across Cambodia gathered in Phnom Penh to submit the petition, which has life-saving requests such as asking the government to distribute medical supplies to vulnerable communities; suspend debts from microfinance institutions (MFIs) and private money lenders; and provide direct economic assistance, including suspending rental fees for poor and informal workers and providing stay-at-home payments. During this process, community representatives were repeatedly asked by authorities, including police officers, what organisations were �behind� this petition, who authored the petition, and were questioned about whether they really faced the problems listed. Many questions focused on the community members� microfinance debt, and some representatives were asked about their personal financial situation and were required to provide proof of debts to MFIs to district authorities. At least two community representatives were additionally summonsed and harassed after they returned home to their communities by local authorities. These interrogations are insulting and appear predicated on the mistrust of vocal communities who actively exercise their right to freely express themselves. They ignore the reality that independent communities across Cambodia have advocated for their rights for decades, in particular around crucial issues such as land rights. This harassment is unjustified and should never have taken place, particularly when the Interior Ministry has repeatedly claimed that grassroots communities have the right to conduct activities free from disturbance and in accordance with the law. On the morning of April 28, community representatives gathered in Phnom Penh but were denied permission to submit the petition to the Council of Ministers. They were instead directed by authorities to Prime Minister Hun Sen�s Cabinet, but officials there declined to accept the petition because it was addressed to the Council of Ministers. Copies were successfully delivered to the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Economy and Finance. The petition was signed by 141 communities across the country and seeks to address the health and economic impacts of the Covid-19 virus, which disproportionately affect vulnerable communities in rural areas as well as Phnom Penh. It notes that government schemes such as ID Poor are not yet comprehensive or fully effective, and encourages the government to take a more holistic approach to fighting the economic impact of the virus. It also includes a call for an immediate halt on all evictions during the Covid-19 crisis in order to protect community members and authorities from the virus. After meeting with authorities and police officers at Hun Sen�s Cabinet, nine community members were asked by officials to discuss the petition further at the Daun Penh district office at around 3:00 p.m. They were detained in the district office for more than 7 hours, denied permission to leave and were never provided legal justification for their detention. During their detention, they faced interrogation from authorities until after 10:00 p.m. Some representatives were deliberately singled out and questioned individually, and then had answers compared to other representatives � interrogation techniques more
commonly used on criminals, not peaceful petitioners. Some representatives were also ordered to unlock and hand over their smartphones, and were questioned repeatedly about who authored the petition, as well as their personal financial relationships with MFIs. At the end of the interrogation, community representatives were coerced into thumbprinting documents that seek to restrict their right to continue advocating on behalf of their communities prior to being allowed to leave the district office. These community representatives should have been welcomed by their government and treated with dignity while they shared the legitimate concerns of tens of thousands of community members across Cambodia. The community representatives set out with the intention to inform their government about the problems in their communities and never demanded anything other than that their requests be considered in the government�s response to Covid-19. We strongly decry their treatment at the hands of authorities.
- Impact of Event
- 7
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to information
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Apr 28, 2020
- Event Description
An anti-mining villager was summoned by the police in Chaiyaphum Province on Tuesday (28 April 2020) after joining the Network of People Who Own Mineral Resource, a nationwide network which monitors impacts of mining projects on communities, and reading out a statement demanding the government and private sector to put on hold any mining activities during the period when restrictions are imposed to combat spread of Covid-19.
The group stated that even though the draconian Emergency Decree is being enforced to prevent citizens from public activities and gatherings, mining companies still continue their mining activities including mining surveys, operations and approval processes during this pandemic, which affect community members in terms of their rights and participation, as well as health concerns.
Sunthorn Duangnarong (who identifies herself as female), an LGBT+ and community human rights defender from the Rak Bamnet Narong Conservation Group based in Bamnet Narong District, Chaiyaphum Province, was visited by 7 police officers in 3 cars from Hua Thale Police Station in Bamnet Narong District at around 10 am on Tuesday, 28 April 2020, as she was doing agricultural work in the field.
Earlier that day she had joined about 20 other community members, whilst practicing physical and social distancing, in reading out a statement calling on the government and private mining companies to put on hold any mining-related activities for as long as the Covid-19 restrictions are in place. This activity was recorded on camera and subsequently uploaded on the Network�s campaign Facebook page on the morning of 28 April 2020.
She was arrested and taken to Hua Thale Police Station and was examined by the police without her lawyer being present, or there being any official summons.
We were informed that the Internal Security Command Operations (ISOC) and police in Bangkok found the video clip online and ordered the Hua Thale police to investigate the matter. The police officers informed Sunthorn that they were only examining her as a witness to gather evidence, and would not yet press any charges against her.
However, the police informed her that she may later be charged for violating: 1) the Public Assembly Act as the authorities were not notified beforehand, where the maximum penalty is a fine of 10,000 baht; 2) the Emergency Decree, where the maximum penalty is a fine of 40,000 baht and/or a jail sentence of 2 years; and/or 3) the Communicable Diseases Act, where the maximum penalty is a fine of 20,000 baht.
During the questioning, the police also allegedly made threats against her, asking her not to post such online messages again, otherwise the charges �may arrive faster to you,� according to a community member who witnessed the interview.
Protection International Thailand deplores such actions as they violate the people�s rights to exercise their freedoms, including the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.
The government must not exploit the pandemic situation to increase the sufferings of the people by intimidation and/or prosecutions of human rights defenders.
The government should not use the draconian Emergency Decree to quash dissent, control the population, or as a means to perpetuate their time in power, as was recommended by UNOHCHR to the government on 27 April 2020. UNOHCHR also emphasized that undermining freedom of expression �may do incalculable damage to the effort to contain COVID-19 and its pernicious socio-economic side-effects.�
Judicial harassment, violence and intimidation against women human rights defenders has increased. Protection International was alarmed by the spike in the number of Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) who face judicial harassment following the 2014 coup. In 2017, PI reported to CEDAW that 179 community-based WHRDs had been taken to court. Since then, the number of WHRDs in this situation has risen to 440 (2020) despite the recommendation of the CEDAW Committee that the Thai government end judicial harassment of WHRDs.
Many of these are SLAPP lawsuits against community WHRDs, the majority whom are poor urban women facing eviction because of their actions in defending land and natural resources. Thailand, as a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is duty bound to protect the freedom of expression of its people by ensuring that its laws are aligned with international human rights laws and standards.
Thailand must end judicial harassment of human rights defenders and we call on the State not to use emergency declarations during the COVID-19 crisis to impose wholesale restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The government and law enforcement agencies must act to prevent human rights abuses.
We reiterate the demands of the Network of People Who Own Mineral Resources that restrictions to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic be also enforced on all mining-related activities. People�s rights and freedoms must never be violated. The government must protect those who speak up about mining operations and their impacts on communities, and ensure non-suppression of HRDs who play a very important role in continuing to care for their livelihoods, communities, society, and the environment.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Administrative Harassment, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender, SOGI rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Apr 27, 2020
- Event Description
In what appears to be the latest instance of an attack on free speech in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands police have arrested a freelance journalist for a tweet he posted on Monday drawing attention to what he said were bizarre quarantine rules being followed by the local authorities.
Zubair Ahmed has been charged with multiple offences, one of which is non-bailable, with the police accusing him of spreading false information with an intention to obstruct the administration�s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the islands. He was granted bail and released on Tuesday.
On April 26, the Andaman Chronicle, an established local newspaper, carried a news item with the headline, �#AndamanFightsCOVID19: Entire Family Put on Home Quarantine After One Calls Up a Relative in Bambooflat�:
�The incident took place yesterday when Shri K.A. Rehman called up his relative who had tested corona positive, over phone. The intention was to enquire about the wellbeing of the victim, a resident of Bambooflat. It was hours after the call was made, the entire family was put on home quarantine by the authorities. The four members include Shri K.A. Rehman (70 years), Smti Rehana Rehman (60 years), Shri K. Abdul Rasheed (32 years) and Smti Saira Banu (29 years). The family is now confused whether calling up their relative was a crime committed or is it that the concerned authorities in Andaman are over concerned about their safety.�
Following up on this, Ahmed, a reporter based in the islands, posted a question on April 27 for the Andamans administration, whom he tagged, in which he asked why families who merely spoke to COVID-19 patients on the phone were being forced to quarantine:
The director general of police, Deependra Pathak told The Wire that the claim Zubair made in his tweet � about the home quarantining of those who had merely spoken to COVID-19 patients on the phone � was not true. However, he did not explain why action was taken against him for merely raising a question that had already been flagged in a story published by the Andaman Chronicle.
Instead, Ahmed was called in for questioning because of the tweet, detained and then shifted to the Aberdeen police station.
Ahmed is an established journalist who founded and ran a weekly newsmagazine, The Light of Andamans, for several years. Besides contributing to newspapers and websites elsewhere in India, he runs a weekly news and views site, being-islander. Some of the coverage there has been critical of the political and administrative establishment in the Union Territory.
Ahmed was eventually booked under various offences, but was granted bail by a local magistrate the same day.
Confirming Ahmed�s arrest, the Andaman and Nicobar Police said in a statement, �Legal action has been taken against one Zubair Ahmed, a self-proclaimed journalist for posting the inciting, false and instigating tweet to disrupt public harmony, violating government order and to create panic among public�The accused is a resident of Bambooflat area, most of which is declared a containment area after several cases emerged from there. Extensive contact tracing exercise is underway in the area currently. However, such messages instigate distrust among the public for the well-established and universal health and contact-tracing protocols, thus motivating people to conceal correct information, falsify their statements, do not cooperate and/or protest against medical protocols and even break the lockdown and gather in large numbers publicly.�
Ahmed has been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 188, 269, 270 and 505(1) that relate to disobedience of a public official and a malignant act aimed at spreading infections. He has also been charged under sections 51 and 54 of the Disaster Management, which entails punishment for obstructing government efforts to contain a disaster.
It is not clear how his tweet attracts any of these sections, especially since he had posed it as a question to the authorities and specifically tagged them, seeking answers.
Islands� police defend arrest
Speaking to The Wire, the UT�s director general of police (DGP) Deependra Pathak claimed that legal action was taken against Ahmed as he was found spreading fake news about the administration�s efforts to contain COVID-19 in the Islands. This, he said, could have fomented communal tensions in the Islands.
He said that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were the first to identify and report the Tablighi Jamaat cluster to the Centre. �We have currently 33 cases in the state, out of which 22 belong to the TJ cluster,� Pathak said, adding that it was natural of the administration to undertake contact-tracing related to this particular cluster.
�Our efforts are being disrupted by some individuals who are spreading rumours about targeting of a particular community. This can sow the seeds of discord among communities. That is why we were forced to take legal action against them,� Pathak said, adding that certain government officials have also been arrested for such offences.
He further said that any message in social media or conventional media which �spreads false information or instigates or incites people or spreads dissatisfaction among communities or spreads mistrust about the protocols followed by the administration� will lead to a chaotic situation, and people may stop cooperating with the administration.
�It certainly attracts condemnation and legal action against such mischief mongers,� he said, adding that the idea is to �nip the danger in the bud.�
Regarding the arrest of Ahmed, Pathak said, �The legal action taken so far has only been to prevent gullible people getting into disruptions creating law and order problems or a possible communal situation� It becomes more important in view of the fact that the spread of COVID-19 may escalate to community transmission in South Andaman District if not strictly contained.�
He said Ahmed was found to be spreading �fake news� that the administration was tracing and quarantining even those who are talking to COVID-19 patients on phone. �This is not true,� he said, adding that the health and police department are going about contact-tracing very scientifically. He added that apart from the tweet, Ahmed was also allegedly found to be dissuading people against the government�s efforts to trace COVID-19 suspects, and had spun the administration�s work as targeting a particular community.
�The arrest of Ahmed, he said, should not be seen as a case of �violation of the right to speech and expression�. �Law is community, profession and gender-neutral. It has to take its own course,� he said.
He added that apart from Ahmed, a police officer�s son, a government servant�s wife, a revenue department official have also been arrested. �There is no deliberate or targeted action against any group or community to curtail their civil liberties,� he said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to information
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Apr 25, 2020
- Event Description
The Indonesian government should immediately release at least 70 Papuan and Moluccan activists imprisoned for peacefully voicing their political views, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should adopt measures to ensure that police and prosecutors, especially in the eastern provinces, protect free expression rights in accordance with a 2018 constitutional court ruling.
From April 25 to 27, 2020, the police in Maluku arrested 23 activists, including at least two children, who allegedly participated in flag-raising ceremonies commemorating the 70th anniversary of the declaration of independence of the Republic of South Moluccas (Republik Maluku Selatan, RMS) in 1950. The police indicated that seven of the activists will be charged with treason under article 106 of the criminal code, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
�Detaining and prosecuting Papuan and Moluccan activists for peacefully voicing their political views backtracks on the government�s commitments to free expression,� said Andreas Harsono, senior Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch. �These activists should never have been imprisoned, and detaining them in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic could be deadly.�
On April 25, three activists walked openly into the Moluccan police headquarters in Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, carrying the RMS flag. They shouted �Mena muria,� a popular salute among Moluccan people, traditionally used among boat rowers that means, �You go, I follow.� Police arrested the three men � Johanes Pattiasina, Simon Viktor Taihutu, and Abner Litamahuputty � as well as four other activists who unfurled the flags in some other towns.
On April 24, a court in Jakarta, Indonesia�s capital, convicted six Papuan activists for treason and sentenced them to between eight and nine months in prison. The five men and one woman were involved in a rally on August 28, 2019, outside the State Palace in Jakarta, during which they unfurled the Morning Star flag, a symbol of Papuan independence. The rally, involving more than 500 people, was held to protest racist attacks by the police against Papuan students in Surabaya, Java Island, on August 17.
The six activists are among 63 political prisoners in prison for peacefully expressing their political beliefs. On April 15, 2020, their lawyers submitted information on their cases to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
Human Rights Watch, along with Amnesty International, Kontras, and other human rights groups, have for more than a decade pressed the Indonesian government to release political prisoners.
In May 2015, President Joko �Jokowi� Widodo pardoned and released five Papuan prisoners from Abepura prison, Jayapura. He publicly promised to release all Moluccan and Papuan prisoners, and said he wanted �to stop the stigma of conflict in Papua and to create a sense of peace.� His administration gradually released nearly 100 political prisoners, mostly by reducing sentences.
In January 2018, Indonesia�s Constitutional Court rejected a judicial review to annul the criminal code�s six treason articles, including article 106, but found that those articles were often disproportionally applied against political activists raising the Morning Star flag in Papua and the RMS flag in the Moluccas Islands.
President Jokowi should drop all charges for peaceful political expression, order the release of all political prisoners, and review the failure of law enforcement officers, especially in the Moluccas Islands and Papua and West Papua provinces, to follow the Constitutional Court ruling, Human Rights Watch said.
Concerned governments, including the United States, European Union member countries, and Australia, should raise the situation of Indonesia�s political prisoners in bilateral meetings. The Polish government should raise concerns about the treatment of Jakub Skrzypski, a Polish national who was arrested in West Papua and sentenced in May 2019 to five years in prison under article 106.
Human Rights Watch takes no position on claims to self-determination in Indonesia or in any other country. Consistent with international law, however, Human Rights Watch supports the right of all individuals, including independence supporters, to express their political views peacefully without fear of arrest or other forms of reprisal.
�President Jokowi succeeded in releasing many political prisoners in his first five years in office,� Harsono said. �Jokowi�s second term should not produce as many political prisoners as his predecessor. These cases are a bitter betrayal of his government�s prior policy and contrary to a top court ruling.�
- Impact of Event
- 7
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest, Right to self-determination
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Apr 23, 2020
- Event Description
The R.S. Puram police in Coimbatore on Thursday arrested Andrew Sam Raja Pandian, founder of a portal called SimpliCity, in connection with certain news it published on alleged shortcomings faced by government healthcare professionals and alleged corruption by some employees of a public distribution system (PDS) outlet. The action followed a complaint from an official of the Coimbatore Corporation who alleged that the reports were 'false' and 'provocative' against the State Government. He was arrested for offences under Sections 188, 505 (i) of the IPC and Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act.
Mr. Pandian was arrested late on Thursday, hours after the police questioned him, a journalist and a photographer of the portal. He was produced before the magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.
As per the First Information Report, the police registered a case against the publisher of SimpliCity on Wednesday based on a complaint filed by M. Sundararajan, Assistant Commissioner (Personal).
The complainant said that he found the reports by the news platform on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp which carried false information regarding the functioning of Government healthcare professionals and PDS employees while the Government machinery was struggling to combat COVID-19 spread.
While one report said that Government healthcare professionals were struggling for food, another one said that PDS employees were stealing COVID relief fund meant for the poor, said the FIR.
The complainant alleged that such reports were provocative enough to turn healthcare professionals and PDS employees against the Government. He also alleged that they could also lead healthcare professionals to stop working, thus affecting COVID-19 management in the State. Also, distributions of aids and essentials to the public would be affected if PDS employees stopped working, he alleged in the complaint.
Journalists� forum in Coimbatore and Tiruppur condemned the police action.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Apr 23, 2020
- Event Description
While the whole country is focusing on dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak, Vietnam�s communist regime does not forget to cement its political monopoly by intensifying its crackdown on local dissent, arresting the third activist within two weeks.
This time, its prey is former prisoner of conscience Tran Duc Thach, 68, from the central province of Nghe An, the home of late communist leader Ho Chi Minh. Thach is a founding member of the unregistered group Brotherhood for Democracy.
On April 23, security forces arrested Mr. Thach on allegation of conducting �Activities against the people�s government� under Article 109 of the country�s Criminal Code, with the highest punishment of 20 years in prison or even death penalty. Police conducted searching for his house, confiscating a laptop, cell phones, a camera as well as VND9 million ($380) and $400, according to his family.
According to the state-controlled media, Mr. Thach has been continuously posting and sharing numerous articles on Facebook with content to distort the regime�s policies with the aim to trigger social disorders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.�
He was arrested for the first time in 2009 and sentenced to three years in jail and three years of probation on a charge of �conducting anti-state propaganda� under Article 88 of the same Penal Code for claiming Vietnam�s Hoang Sa (Paracels) and Truong Sa (Spratlys), the two archipelagos also claimed by China, and demanding human rights improvement in the communist nation. Particularly, Thach, together with activists Vu Van Hung and Nguyen Xuan Nghia hang out a banner which states �Hoang Sa and Truong Sa belong to Vietnam� at Mai Dich Bridge in the capital city of Hanoi. His fellows were also jailed with lengthy sentences.
After leaving the army in 1975, Thach wrote a memoir named �Obsessive mass grave� to describe how communist soldiers assaulted innocent civil people while invading South Vietnam during the Vietnam War in which the communist soldiers with the support of China and the Soviet Unions as well as the communist bloc in Eastern Europe defeated South Vietnam backed by the US and its allies and unified the country in 1975. In 1976, he self-immolated to protest unfair policies of authorities in Nghe An province and Dien Chau district. Due to the act, his face was deformed.
The arrest of Thach was made three days after the communist regime rejected the appeal of human rights activist and environmental campaigner Nguyen Nang Tinh, upholding his sentence of 11 years in prison and five years of probation. Both Thach and Tinh are strongly protesting China�s invasions of Vietnam�s sovereignty in the East Sea.
Last week, China sent a diplomatic note to the UN Secretary-General to reaffirm its illegal claim of nearly entire East Sea, including the two archipelagos Paracels and Spratlys that Vietnam has controlled since the 18th century, and demand Vietnam to withdraw its crews and facilities in the resource-rich sea which is also very important for international trade.
Thach is the third activist being arrested within two weeks. On April 10, authorities in Can Tho arrested Ma Phung Ngoc Phu on allegation of �abusing democratic freedom� and eight days later, Dinh Thi Thu Thuy from Hau Giang province was detained and charged with �conducting anti-state propaganda,� both were arrested for their online posts which are considered harmful for the regime. The arrests were made after the call of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to release prisoners of conscience in a bid to protect their health amid increasing COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 20, the Higher People�s Court in Hanoi upheld the sentence of 11 years in prison and five years of probation against human rights activist Nguyen Nang Tinh, who is also strongly protesting China�s expansionism in the East Sea.
Vietnam�s communist regime has intensified its crackdown on local dissent from late 2015 when the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam prepared for its 12th National Congress. More than 100 activists have been arrested and charged with controversial allegations in the National Security provisions of the Penal Code or the Criminal Code, many of them were sentenced to lengthy imprisonments of between five and 20 years.
BFD is the group that suffered the most from the ongoing persecution campaign of the communist regime. Its nine key members were sentenced to between seven and 15 years in prison, and only two of them, human rights attorney Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Le Thu Ha were freed but forced to live in exile in Germany. It is unknown Thach�s latest arrest related to BFD. In 2017, when Vietnam�s police arrested six key members of the group, he was summoned to a police station and interrogated for days about his activities in it.
With the new arrests, Vietnam is holding at least 245 prisoners of conscience, according to Defend the Defenders�s statistics. More arrests are expected in the coming months as the ruling party is preparing for its 13th five-year congress slated in early 2021.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Indonesia
- Initial Date
- Apr 22, 2020
- Event Description
A public coalition identified as the �Koalisi Tolak Kriminalisasi dan Rekayasa Kasus� has pressed President Joko �Jokowi� Widodo to release Ravio Patra from prison after the member of the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee (OGP SC) was arrested on late Wednesday night, April 22.
�Stop the criminalization process and stop all acts that attempt to silence other citizens,� said the coalition�s representative and SAFEnet executive director Damar Juniarto in today�s press release.
According to Damar, the police�s legal standing behind Ravio�s arrest is flawed as he said that Ravio recalled his Whatsapp had been hacked.
�When Ravio turned on his Whatsapp, a notice appeared 'You've registered your number on another phone' when he checked his SMS inbox, there was a request for an OTP to be sent,� Damar Juniarto explained.
The message that became central in his arrest read; �Crisis has arrived, time to burn! We must gather and partake in the national simultaneous looting on April 30. All the stores nearby are free to be looted.�
Damar said that Ravio immediately reported the incident to Whatsapp, which was confirmed by the chat app�s head of security that Ravio�s account had been hacked.
He encouraged police to investigate the hacker who used Ravio�s Whatsapp account to send the provocative message instead of arresting Ravio. �The motive behind this is plotting Ravio Patra as the person initiating public unrest,� he said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Online Attack and Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to privacy
- HRD
- NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Suspected state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Apr 21, 2020
- Event Description
The Delhi Police on Tuesday booked Jamia Millia Islamia students Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, in a case related to communal violence in North East Delhi over the Citizenship Amendment Act in February, PTI reported. They also booked former Jawaharlal Nehru University student Umar Khalid under the Act.
Clashes had broken out between supporters of the Citizenship Amendment Act and those opposing it in North East Delhi in February, killing 53 people and injuring hundreds. The violence was the worst Delhi saw since the anti-Sikh violence of 1984.
Haider and Zargar, arrested for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to incite the communal riots in February, are in judicial custody. Zargar is the media coordinator of the Jamia Coordination Committee, while Haider is a member of the panel. Haider, a PhD, is also the president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal�s youth wing in Delhi.
On April 2, the Delhi Police had arrested Meeran Haider. Days later, Safoora Zargar, an MPhil student at the university was arrested for allegedly obstructing the road near the Jaffrabad metro station. Civil society groups had issued a statement on April 16 calling for the release of the two students.
The police claimed in the first information report that the communal violence was a �premeditated conspiracy� which was allegedly hatched by Khalid and the two others. The students were also booked for sedition, murder, attempt to murder, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and rioting.
The FIR claimed that Khalid had allegedly given provocative speeches at two different places and appealed to Delhi�s residents to hit the streets in protest during United States President Donald Trump�s visit to India in February, in order to spread �propaganda� at the global level about how minorities in India are being mistreated. The FIR also claimed that the police collected firearms, petrol bombs, acid bottles and stones from several houses, establishing a conspiracy.
Women and children were made to block the roads under the Jaffrabad metro station on February 23 to create tension in the vicinity, the FIR alleged.
After facing a backlash from some in civil society and film personalities, the Delhi Police had said on Monday that they had done their job impartially while investigating the North East Delhi violence. �All the arrests made have been based on analysis of scientific and forensic evidence, including video footage, technical and other footprints,� the police said.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Minority Rights, Offline, Online
- HRD
- Minority rights defender, Student, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Apr 19, 2020
- Event Description
While they condemned her warrantless arrest, civic organizations in Cebu and in other parts of the country are calling for the immediate release of Cebuana entrepreneur and film writer Ma. Victoria �Bambi� Beltran.
Movement Against Tyranny � Cebu (MAT � Cebu), Concerned Artists of the Philippines, and DAKILA issued separate statements expressing condemnation of Beltran�s arrest past midnight on Saturday, April 18, 2020.
They also rallied to have the artist released from the custody of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO � 7) citing statements from Beltran�s camp that her arrest was without any legal basis.
Read: Police arrest Cebuana entrepreneur accused of posting false information
Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella accused Beltran, whom he once appointed to the city�s cinema development council, of allegedly peddling false information.
Labella was referring to a Facebook post that Beltran made alleging that over 9,000 residents in Sitio Zapatera in Barangay Luz, Cebu City have already been infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
However, Beltran�s legal counsel Vincente Isles and DAKILA, a group of writers where she is a member of, said the post was of satirical nature and was not intended to sow public confusion and panic.
�This statement (which Beltran posted on social media) echoed reports from local news that health officials from DOH Central Visayas considered the whole sitio with a population of 9,000 as infected or presumed contaminated,� DAKILA said.
Both MAT � Cebu and DAKILA also called for local government officials to direct their focus on responding to the pandemic that has infected 165 individuals in Cebu City as of April 19, 2020.
�What we need is an efficient government willing and able to address the medical and socio-economic needs of its constituents, not a leviathan very eager to maintain its posture to the extent of persecuting ordinary citizens,� MAT- Cebu said.
The groups also share the observation that Beltran�s arrest was an attack and a threat to freedom of speech and expression.
�This targeting and arrest is a vicious attack on freedom of expression amidst the continuing failure of the national and local governments to ensure expanded and systematic mass testing and a comprehensive public information drive on the pandemic,� the Concerned Artists of the Philippines stated.
Beltran was arrested in Barangay Kamputhaw, Cebu City at around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 18, 2020.
High profile lawyer Benjamin Militar, who is part of Beltran�s legal counsel, said they found out that police arrested their client without any accompanying warrant and that no legal basis was cited.
Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, PRO � 7 director, said Beltran would be facing charges for the violation of the Anti-Cybercrime Law.
Read more: https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/303890/civic-groups-rally-call-for-bambi-beltrans-release#ixzz6UoFV2me0 Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to information, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist, NGO staff, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Apr 18, 2020
- Event Description
Vietnam�s communist regime has not stopped its crackdown on the local dissent amid increasing threat of COVID-19 outbreak nationwide, arresting the 7th activist so far this year.
On April 18, authorities in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang arrested female activist Dinh Thi Thu Thuy, charging her with �Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam� under Article 117 of the country�s Criminal Code.
Ms. Thuy will be held incommunicado for at least four months during the investigation period and faces imprisonment of between seven and 12 years in prison if she is convicted, according to the current Vietnamese law.
Citing information from police, the state-controlled media reported that Ms. Thuy has created a number of Facebook accounts to disseminate numerous articles to distort the communist regime�s policies and defame its leadership. She was also accused of criticizing the communist regime�s measures in dealing with COVID-19.
Thuy is an activist participating in the mass peaceful demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City on June 10, 2018 which aimed to protest two bills on Special Economic Zone and Cyber Security. The first seeks to favor Chinese investors while the two countries are disputing over the East Sea (South China Sea) while the second bill which became law from 2019 strives to silence online government critics. She was detained, beaten and interrogated, and fined with money before being released.
In recent years, she has been under constant persecution of the local police who often summoned her to their station for interrogation about her posts on Facebook.
Thuy is the seventh detained activist and the second Facebooker being arrested since the beginning of 2020 on the allegation of �conducting anti-state propaganda.� The first was Dinh Van Phu, who is from the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong and was arrested on January 9.
In January-April, police in Can Tho City arrested Mr. Chung Hoang Chuong and Ms. Ma Phung Ngoc Phu on allegation of �Abusing democratic freedom� under Article 331 of the Criminal Code for their online posts.
In addition, authorities in Gia Lai detained three religious activists named Ju, Lup, and Kunh in mid-March after chasing them in the past eight years. The trio, who was forced to live in a forest during the past eight years, was likely charged with �Sabotaging implementation of solidarity policies� per Article 116 of the Criminal Code with imprisonment of between seven and 15 years. Vietnam�s communist regime often uses this allegation to imprison religious activists.
With the arrest of Ms. Thuy, Vietnam is holding at least 244 prisoners of conscience, 26 of them are held in pre-trial detention which may last more than two years, according to Defend the Defenders� statistics.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to information, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Apr 18, 2020
- Event Description
The authorities of Kazakhstan begin to prosecute bloggers, public figures and journalists under the pretext that they disseminate knowingly false information.
So, at the end of last week, the civil activist Alnur Ilyashev was detained in Almaty, and well-known public figure and media manager Arman Shuraev was detained in Karaganda. At the same time, interestingly, information about the detention of Shuraev was released by the press service of the Police Department of Almaty.
Alnur Ilyashev is known primarily for his sharp criticism of the first President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbaev, as well as for his regular attempts to hold rallies. It should be noted that Ilyashev, unlike other opposition figures, tried not to violate the law on peaceful processions and rallies, but tried to do everything in the legal field. He regularly applied to the city hall for permission. As a result, Ilyashev became the organizer of the first rally authorized by the authorities of Almaty on June 30, 2019.
According to the Police Department of Almaty, Ilyashev repeatedly disseminated deliberately false information, and he ignored the demands to stop misleading citizens.
�He didn�t make the necessary conclusions even after the court�s decision on the protection of honor and business reputation, as a result of which the court ordered Alnur Ilyashev to take measures and post a rebuttal to the information previously spread by him,� the press service said, adding that a lawsuit was filed against the activist under article of the Criminal Code �Dissemination of knowingly false information in a state of emergency�, and he was placed in a temporary detention center. On April 18, the court authorized the arrest of Ilyashev for a period of two months.
As for Arman Shuraev, in 2004-2006, he headed the central bureau of the agency �Khabar� (National Television News Agency). In 2005, he headed the press service of the republican public headquarters of the candidate for president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbaev. Then he held the posts of deputy general director of the agency �Khabar�, chief inspector of the socio-political department of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan. From 2007 to 2014, he was the General Director of the Commercial Television Channel.
From July 2019 to March 2020, Shuraev was a member of the National Council of Public Confidence under the President of Kazakhstan.
�Mr. Shuraev repeatedly disseminated knowingly false information, that was not true, through social networks. By his actions, Shuraev created the danger of disturbing public order and causing substantial harm to the interests of society and the state protected by law in a state of emergency,� the police of Almaty said.
At the same time, the court of Almaty denied reporters to be present at the court hearing on the decision of a measure of restraint against Shuraev.
�Regarding the participation of the media in the process, I inform you that the communication channel is limited. For technical reasons, it will not be possible to connect everyone, only the participants in the process. I hope for your understanding. The courts of Almaty have always promptly reported and will report on the results of the consideration of cases that caused a public outcry. In case of receipt of the aforementioned material to the court of inquiry, we will promptly and without fail inform the media of the results of the review,� the press secretary of the City Court of Almaty, Abai Zharylkasyn, said on social networks.
Meanwhile, the detention of Ilyashev and Shuraev caused a great resonance in the media sphere of Kazakhstan.
According to the International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech �Adil Soz�, the campaign to accuse journalists and civic activists of disseminating knowingly false information, committed in a state of emergency, causes serious worry.
�This article of the Criminal Code has been criticized for a long time for the uncertainty of the object of the crime � �the danger of disturbing public order�, �the interests of citizens, society and the state�. According to the results of the fourth Universal Periodic Review, Kazakhstan was again given recommendations �to protect the space for dissent by amending or repealing the articles 174 and 274 of the Criminal Code�, �refrain from using criminal provisions as instruments to suppress the expression of uncoordinated opinions�. What is happening now, it is difficult to interpret otherwise than precisely the suppression of disliked opinions under pain of imprisonment,� the Foundation said in an open appeal to the Prosecutor General of Kazakhstan, Gizat Nurdauletov.
The �Adil soz� also emphasizes that the fight against fake information can be only by contrasting reliable and various information, public discussions and open debate.
�Detentions, arrests, imprisonment and other terrifying actions, instead of desired complacency, can spread even greater alarm and panic. It can also stop the civilized development of the country and bring it back to many years ago. The International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech �Adil Soz� considers it necessary for the Prosecutor General to carefully monitor compliance with the law in pre-trial investigations and not allow a �witch hunt� in difficult conditions of emergency,� the open appeal summarizes.
In turn, the fact-checking resource of Kazakhstan [factcheck.kz] also issued an official statement regarding the detention of Shuraev and Ilyashev.
�We, as the organization whose activities are directly related to countering false information, believe that the sanctions imposed on Arman Shuraev and Alnur Ilyashev are excessive, the reasons for the detention and arrest are not transparent. In the context of infodemia, when citizens of Kazakhstan are daily attacked by real misinformers and swindlers, detentions and arrests of activists and journalists can be interpreted solely as an attempt to put pressure on civil society and violate the right to freedom of expression. We demand the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the General Prosecutor�s office and the Ministry of Justice to take measures to prevent violations of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens of Kazakhstan. The cases of Arman Shuraev and Alnur Ilyashev should be carefully considered in terms of abuse of authority by the police and other involved bodies. For the duration of the investigation, a minimum measure of restraint should be chosen. We also demand a fully open trial if the investigation in these cases is not terminated,� the statement said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to political participation, Right to protect reputation
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 18, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong police have arrested 15 high-profile democracy activists on charges of illegal assembly.
The arrests took place just hours after China�s top representative office in the semi-autonomous city declared it is not bound by Hong Kong�s constitutional restrictions that bar Chinese government from interfering in local affairs.
Police arrested prominent figures, including the media tycoon Jimmy Lai and 81-year-old Martin Lee, the founder of the Democratic party and a senior barrister, in the biggest crackdown on the pro-democracy movement since the sometimes violent anti-government protests that have rocked the former British colony since June last year.
The 15 people arrested allegedly organised and took part in unlawful assemblies and police do not rule out that more will be arrested, Supt Lam Wing-Ho said.
Also among the detained were the barrister Margaret Ng, lawyer Albert Ho, labour rights activist Lee Cheuk-yan, former legislators Leung Kwok-hung and Au Nok-hin, and younger activists such as Figo Chan, the vice-convener of the Civil Human Rights Front, which organised several mass protests approved by police last year.
The 15 were accused of joining three unapproved protests on 18 August, 1 October and 20 October last year, local media reported.
Pro-democracy lawmakers say the arrests are an attempt to silence the movement after Chinese officials told Hong Kong to enact national security legislation. Claudia Mo said Beijing was also trying to �terrorise Hong Kong opposition� ahead of the legislative council election in September.
The veteran China watcher, Johnny Lau, said Beijing is trying to hit hard at Hong Kong while the world is busy dealing with Covid-19.
�In Xi Jinping�s eyes this is an opportunity to shuffle the cards and to assert its narrative,� he said. �If the foreign countries turn a blind eye and fail to rein in [China�s power], they would also suffer.�
The arrests came just hours after China�s liaison office asserted in a strongly-worded statement that it and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) � China�s top bodies overseeing the city�s affairs � are �authorised by the central authorities to handle Hong Kong affairs.�
Earlier this week, the liason office�s chief, Luo Huining, called for controversial national security laws to be urgently passed as accusations of overreach by Beijing into the city�s legislative council and judiciary escalate.
Hong Kong was promised a �high degree of autonomy� for at least 50 years after China resumed control in 1997, under the Sino-British joint declaration. The city�s post-handover mini-constitution, the Basic Law, bars the mainland Chinese government from interfering in Hong Kong affairs, and article 22 states that no department under the Chinese central and local governments �may interfere in the affairs which the Hong Kong special administrative region administers on its own in accordance with this law.�
But the liaison office statement, published late on Friday, asserts that �a high degree of autonomy is not complete autonomy.� It stresses that Hong Kong�s right to self-rule is �authorised by the central government.�
The statement argues that the liaison office and the HKMAO �are not what is referred to in article 22 of the Basic Law, or what is commonly understood to be �departments under the central people�s government�.� It adds that the offices derive their authority both from China�s constitution and the Basic Law.
This week, pro-democracy lawmakers accused the Chinese government of �blatant intervention� and violation of article 22 of the Basic Law after the HKMAO said some lawmakers were guilty of misconduct in public office for delaying bills, failing to appoint a House committee chairman and paralysing the legislature by filibustering.
The liaison office statement said people who made such allegations were distorting the Basic Law and misleading public opinion, adding that �loyalty to the country is a necessary requirement� for lawmakers.
China law expert Prof Jerome Cohen at the New York University descibed China�s statement is �astounding and incendiary�. Test and trace: lessons from Hong Kong on avoiding a coronavirus lockdown Read more
�If taken seriously, it collapses the whole one country, two systems edifice that was constructed over so many years since the joint declaration,� he said.
Prof Michael Davis, a global fellow at the Wilson Center and former law professor at the University of Hong Kong, said China�s aggressive language would �result in further pushback� from Hong Kong society, which has already experienced its most severe political crisis.
�The danger is that Hong Kong�s autonomy will be squandered and this has implications for all countries that have relied on the promises made to Hong Kong,� he said. �This fear that Hong Kong�s autonomy will be lost, along with it the rule of law, is what has driven the many protests in Hong Kong and international concern.�
Alvin Cheung, a legal scholar specialising in Hong Kong issues at New York University, said: �[The fact that] Beijing is not even pretending to keep up appearances heralds a dark new stage in Hong Kong�s post-1997 development � It suggests repression will intensify further.�
A Foreign & Commonwealth Office spokesperson said in a statement that the UK government was concerned about the arrests and stressed that the right to peaceful protest was �protected in both the joint declaration and the Basic Law�.
�It is essential that any protests are conducted peacefully, and that the authorities avoid actions that inflame tensions. The authorities should focus on rebuilding trust through a process of meaningful political dialogue,� the statement said.
Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, said while the world�s attention is focused on the covid-19 epidemic, Beijing has taken �yet another step towards burying one-country, two-system� and the arrests show that �Beijing is determined to throttle Hong Kong�.
He said the liaison office�s claim that it is not bound by the basic law is �a reckless argument which shows that Xi Jinping is determined to abandon the policies pursued by his predecessors, even at the cost of destroying Hong Kong�s way of life�.
�It should be rejected immediately by all those governments and parliaments around the world who know the importance of safe-guarding the high degree of autonomy which is guaranteed by the Basic Law.�
Lee, often dubbed the �Father of Democracy� in Hong Kong and a drafter of the Basic Law, said after he was released on bail that he had �no regrets� and felt �proud to walk the road of democracy with the outstanding youths in Hong Kong�.
- Impact of Event
- 15
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Online, Right to political participation, Right to Protest, Right to self-determination
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Apr 17, 2020
- Event Description
Kazakhstani human rights activist, Alnur Ilyashev, has been arrested for his publications on social media that criticised the ruling Nur Otan party and its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is being prosecuted for �spreading false information� that harms �interests� during the state in emergency, a crime which carries up to seven years in prison. Alnur Ilyashev is a prisoner of conscience and must be released immediately and unconditionally.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 17, 2020
- Event Description
Three Chinese volunteers who helped to publish censored Covid-19 articles on Github, the world�s largest open-source website, have been detained by police at an unknown location, according to a source close to them.
The trio � Cai Wei, his girlfriend, a woman surnamed Tang, and Chen Mei � were contributors to a crowd-sourced project known as Terminus2049 that began in 2018 and collected articles that had been removed from mainstream media outlets and social media.
Microsoft-owned Github lets programmers collaborate on code, but has increasingly become a haven for Chinese activists who want to circumvent the Great Firewall to publish censored content.
There are other archives on GitHub that collect coronavirus-related articles and personal accounts found on mainstream and social media, and some of these projects say they hope to keep a record to help people better �understand the epidemic and the people affected by it�.
Terminus2049 appeared to be blocked in mainland China on Saturday.
The three Beijing-based volunteers went missing on April 19, the source, who declined to give her name for fear of retaliation, told the South China Morning Post. Their families and friends then called the police, who initially denied knowledge of their whereabouts.
�About five days later, the families of Cai and Tang received official notices from the Chaoyang district bureau of the Beijing police,� the source said. �During the first few days they did not admit they took them.�
According to the notices, Cai and Tang were being kept under police surveillance at an unnamed location for �picking quarrels and provoking trouble�.
Chen�s family has not yet received any notification from the police.
�They had regular contact with their families and friends. Now that they have been taken, their families and friends are distraught beyond imagination,� the source said.
The Chaoyang police bureau could not be reached for comment.
Among the articles and personal accounts published by the project, one of the most well known is an interview with Ai Fen, a whistle-blower doctor at the Wuhan Central Hospital. The article was published by China�s People magazine in early March but was removed within hours.
Ai, who said she had been muzzled by the authorities for raising the alarm without permission at the start of the outbreak, posted an image of a diagnostic report on social network WeChat on December 30, showing that a patient had a pneumonia infection caused by a Sars-like coronavirus.
Some of the information she released was also shared by Li Wenliang, the doctor who was detained by the authorities and who later died from Covid-19.
After the removal of Ai�s article, angry members of the public published dozens of different versions on social media, using emojis, code words and different languages � even invented ones such as Elvish and Klingon � to bypass the censors.
Earlier this week, citizen journalist Li Zehua re-emerged after going missing for two weeks. He said he had been held in a quarantine centre in Wuhan before being sent to isolation in his hometown.
But the whereabouts of Chen Qiushi and Fang Bin, two other citizen journalists who disappeared in Wuhan in early February, remain unknown.
Chen, a lawyer and citizen journalist, arrived in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak in China, on the last train before the lockdown.
He also attended a protest in Hong Kong last year and posted videos of pro-democracy rallies, after which the authorities shut down his Chinese social media accounts and ordered him to return to the mainland.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to information
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Pakistan
- Initial Date
- Apr 17, 2020
- Event Description
Pakistani police have arrested an ethnic Pashtun rights activist and charged him with hate speech after he spoke during a visit to neighboring Afghanistan.
Police official Usman Wazir said Sardar Arif Wazir, a member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), was arrested on April 17 in South Waziristan, a tribal region located along the border with Afghanistan.
The police official said Wazir was accused of delivering an "anti-Pakistan" speech during his visit to Afghanistan. He did not provide any further details.
Jamal Malyar, a local leader of the PTM, said the charge against Wazir was "baseless."
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said the authorities have made allegations of anti-state activities "an expedient label for human rights defenders, particularly those associated with the PTM."
The PTM has campaigned for civil rights for Pashtuns, the country's largest ethnic minority, since 2018.
The group has attracted tens of thousands of people to public rallies to denounce the powerful Pakistani Army's heavy-handed operations in the militancy-hit tribal regions and the military's alleged connection with Islamist militants.
The PTM has been calling for the removal of military checkpoints in tribal areas and an end to "enforced disappearances," in which suspects are detained by security forces without due process.
Pakistan's government rejects allegations that its security forces and intelligence agents are responsible for forced disappearances.
Since the movement was formed in January 2018, international rights groups say authorities have banned peaceful rallies organized by the PTM and some of its leading members have been arbitrarily detained and prevented from traveling within the country. Some members have also faced charges of sedition and cybercrimes.
Authorities in January arrested PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen on charges including sedition, hate speech, incitement against the state, and criminal conspiracy.
Pashteen was later released on bail.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Minority Rights, Offline
- HRD
- Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Apr 16, 2020
- Event Description
Ms. Truong Thi Ha reported that police in Quang Binh confiscated her personnel items including passport, diary and cell phone before placing her under quarantine when she returned from Thailand on a bus in late March.
Ha said she was kept by Vietnam�s security when she entered the homeland from Laos. In the past several years, Ha reportedly participated in short courses on human rights in the EU and has recently worked for a human rights group in Bangkok.
Ha said she was allowed to return to her parents� house without having the items confiscated by police. She expects to be summoned by security forces in the coming days for interrogation for her activities in recent years.
Ha is a young activist, participating in peaceful demonstrations in Ho Chi Minh City on June 10, 2018 to protest two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cyber Security. She was reportedly beaten by police after being detained and held for several days.
Graduated law in HCM City Law University, Ha has pledged to be a lawyer to assist vulnerable groups. She has done an internship with prominent human rights attorneys Le Cong Dinh and Tran Vu Hai.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Restrictions on Movement
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Apr 14, 2020
- Event Description
NIA�s special public prosecutor Prakash Shetty told the court that the agency has found documentary evidence against Teltumbde and he was the convenor of Elgar Parishad that was organised on December 31, 2017. The agency has also alleged that Teltumbde has been a recipient of funds from the banned terror organisation CPI (Maoist).
�During investigation it is revealed that the role of present accused Anand Teltumbde has links with the banned outfit CPiI (Maoist),� the remand application stated.
The investigation agency has also accused Teltumbde of �hatching conspiracy� and �instigating enmity between two caste groups� which led to violence, loss of life and statewide agitation. �Since Teltumbde has been in an interim protection of various orders of honourable courts, the NIA has not had the opportunity to interrogate him,� the NIA lawyer argued.
Teltumbde, who was represented by his lawyer Maharukh Adenwala, told the court that while Teltumbe was abiding by the apex court�s order, he should not be taken into custody considering the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.
�Dr. Teltumbde is 70 and he suffers from chronic bronchitis, and is an asthma patient,� she argued before the court.
In the application, Adenwala mentioned that Teltumbde suffers from cervical spondylitis, sapraspinatus tendinosis (associated with a small focal insertional tear) and prostratomegaly.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Nepal
- Initial Date
- Apr 14, 2020
- Event Description
Simara Police Office arrested journalist Rabindra Gautam for alleged spread of misleading information via his Facebook handle. He was held under cybercrime charge in Hetauda on April 14. Hetauda lies in Province 3.
Journalist Gautam is associated with Sarobar F.M.
As per Freedom Forum representative for Province 3, Rammani Dahal, journalist Gautam was arrested for allegedly posting fake information on Facebook status which simply stated: "Three Indian nationalities are detected with the Coronavirus infections in Birgunj Metropolitan City of Parsa district. The districts such as Parsa, Bara, Rautahat among others should adopt high precautionary measures. There is no reason to worry. The districts of the Terai region are safe. Let's not be terrorized instead follow the government's decision.''
Although the journalist posted information urging for precaution on the coronavirus, the police wrongfully held him and harassed unnecessarily.
A day later, after the pressure from media persons and FoE organizations that journalist had not spread misinformation, the police released him with Rs. 2000 as bail amount a day later.
Freedom Forum condemns the arrest of journo Gautam as it is a severe violation of freedom of expression. Nepal�s constitution itself guarantees the right to freedom of expression. Journo must not be treated as a criminal for posting an opinion on social media platforms.
FF urges the concerned authority to respect civil rights and demands the immediate release of Gautam.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Apr 12, 2020
- Event Description
Two prisoners of conscience Ngo Van Dung and Le Quy Loc have reportedly been beaten by police in Phan Dang Luu temporary detention facility under the authority of Ho Chi Minh City Police Department while waiting for their first-instance hearing.
The incident occurred on April 12, according to relatives of other prisoners of conscience who are held in the same facility. The information was passed after the regular visits on Friday which were resumed after months of suspension due to applied measures during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Accordingly, many prisoners of conscience held in the facility said that they saw dozens of policemen brutally assaulted the two men who were arrested in early September 2018 on allegation of �disruption of security� under Article 118 of the country�s Criminal Code for their plan to hold peaceful demonstrations.
In response, the prisoners of conscience and their cellmates protested the attacks by using their personal items and hands to knock their cell doors.
After that, the police took the two men out of the facility. One week later, they returned Loc to his cell and he told them that he suffered serious injuries and was hospitalized for treatment.
Meanwhile, Mr. Dung was transferred to Chi Hoa, another temporary detention facility also under the authority of HCM City Police Department. His relatives have yet to be permitted to visit him since late January.
Mr. Dung, 51, and Mr. Loc, 44, are members of the unregistered group Hi?n Ph�p (Constitution) which strives to educate the public about the human rights they are entitled to under Vietnam�s 2013 Constitution by disseminating the country�s 2013 Constitution among citizens. Its members were active during the mass demonstration in HCM City on June 10, 2018 in which tens of thousands of Vietnamese rallied on streets to protest the communist regime�s plan to approve two bills on Special Economic Zones and Cybersecurity
They were arrested in early September 2018 together with 6 members of the group named Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hanh, Mrs. Hoang Thi Thu Vang, Mr. Do The Hoa, Mr. Ho Dinh Cuong, Mr. Tran Thanh Phuong, and Ms. Doan Thi Hong. While Hanh and Vang were charged with the allegation of �disruption of security� under Clause 1 of Article 118 of the Criminal Code with imprisonment of between five and 15 years in prison, the other six are subjected to the allegation under Clause 2 of the same article with imprisonment of between two and seven years if are convicted.
All of them were kidnapped by HCM City�s police on September 2-4, 2018, and held incommunicado for months. Their families had not been informed about their detentions and charges for months after they went to different state agencies and police stations to ask for their status and found out that they were kept by the city�s police.
In order to prevent similar protests in early September 2018, Vietnam�s security forces launched a big campaign to persecute local dissent and all members of the Hi?n Ph�p group became their targets. Two other members of the group named Huynh Truong Ca and Le Minh The were arrested and convicted of �conducting anti-state propaganda� and �abusing democratic freedom,� respectively while three others were forced to relocate in Thailand to avoid being arrested.
The People�s Court of HCM City set up the first-instance hearing on their cases in late 2019 and early 2020 but postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak and other unclear reasons.
It is expected that the activists would be convicted and sentenced to lengthy sentences after Vietnam�s communist regime got all it wants, including the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). On February 12, the European Parliament approved the pact, ignoring the call for postponing the agreement by numerous international and Vietnamese human rights groups. Although the EU says the pact may be postponed or terminated if Vietnam�s human rights record gets worsened, it is unlikely Hien Phap activists will be freed or receive light sentences.
Vietnam continues to be among the world�s biggest prisons for activists, holding at least 247 prisoners of conscience, including ten members of Hi?n Ph�p group, according to Defend the Defenders� latest statistics.
Meanwhile, torture and inhumane treatment is still systemic in Vietnam although the country ratified the UN Convention on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2014. Every year, dozens of suspects and inmates die in police custody and the authorities say their deaths were caused by illness, suicide or attacks of other inmates while their families and activists suspect that the real cause is police torture.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Denial effective remedy, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Apr 11, 2020
- Event Description
A veteran peasant leader was arrested by authorities this afternoon at his residence in Purok 3, branagay Bonbon, Butuan City in Agusan del Norte, according to Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas.
Proceso Torralba, 71, has been charged with kidnapping and serious illegal detention in connection to the December 19, 2018 incident where 16 soldiers and paramilitary members were captured by New People�s Army (NPA) guerrillas.
KMP decried the charges as fabricated, saying that Torralba or Tatay Sisoy to his colleagues has been a peasant leader since 1985. He has been the chaiperson of the local chapter of KMP since 1988.
From 2009 to 2012, Torralba led the campaigns against high loan interest rates, and for the increase of farm workers� wages.
Torralba is now in the custody of the Philippine National Police in Ampayon, Butuan City.
KMP said Torralba has been suffering from a heart ailment, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, making him vulnerable to coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Apr 9, 2020
- Event Description
A Delhi court Wednesday granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, an MBA student and anti-CAA activist associated with women''s collective Pinjra Tod, in a case related to communal violence during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in northeast Delhi in February.
Additional Sessions Judge Naveen Gupta granted the relief to Fatima on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 20,000 and a surety of like amount.
Fatima, an MBA student, was arrested for allegedly instigating a crowd of protestors that led to riots in the area. According to the FIR, she, along with others, allegedly instigated a crowd to block the road near Jaffrabad metro station on February 22 to protest against the CAA and National Register for Citizens (NRC).
The court granted the relief to the woman activist, arrested on April 9, on the ground of parity as three co-accused in the case, including Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) member Shafoora Zargar, have been granted bail in the case.
It directed Fatima to participate in the investigation and to regularly appear before the court as and when required to do so.
It said that as and when the court starts its regular functioning, the accused shall produce surety of the like amount within seven days.
Fatima was also arrested in a separate case related to northeast Delhi violence in which JCC member Meeran Haider, Zargar and suspended AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain have been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
During the hearing held through video conferencing, Additional Public Prosecutor, appearing for the police, opposed the bail application saying the allegations were serious in nature and the investigation was at a crucial stage.
Advocate Mehhmood Pracha, appearing for Fatima, told the court that she has been falsely implicated in the rioting case and other co-accused have been granted bail earlier.
The FIR has booked the activist for the offences under sections 147 (rioting), 186 (obstructing a public servant from doing his duty), 188 (disobedience to order), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant), 283 ( danger or obstruction in public way), 109 (Abetment) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Minority rights defender, Student, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Initial Date
- Apr 9, 2020
- Event Description
On 2nd April, Ramzy Razeek wrote a post on his Facebook wall about the need for ideological jihad or ideological struggle (?????? ???????? / ?????? ?????)[5]. Jihad is a controversial and often misunderstood word. According to multiple scholars, �jihad� means �struggle�, though it�s often misunderstood to mean armed warfare or terrorism. In his post, Ramzy is specific about the kind of struggle he is talking about � �ideological� � with �pen and keyboard�, through �social and mainstream media�, �on behalf of the county and all its citizens� and �to help people understand the truth� in context of �hate propagated against Muslims�.
When we read some of Ramzy�s past Facebook posts, it becomes clear he has been a consistent advocate against racism and promoting communal harmony, equality and justice. On 1st April, he had criticized the cremation of a Muslim COVID19 victim at a time Health Ministry guidelines allowed burials[6], but referring to reports of subsequently amended government regulations[7], he called on Muslims to accept cremations if it�s proved through health science that burials are bad for health or if the government has made a reasonable decision not to allow burials for public good[8].
On 3rd April, a day after the Facebook post about �ideological struggle�, April, Ramzy announced self-censorship � that he will not make future posts related to politics or national problems in Sinhalese, as he doesn�t want to endanger his children�s life[9]. He explained that some of the responses to his above-mentioned post included death threats and calls for his arrest and that his eldest daughter had been traumatized and fearful after seeing these. That statement of self-censorship is the last visible post on his Facebook wall.
It is reported that the above-mentioned post on 2nd April, had led to his arrest and that he has been remanded till 22nd April[10]. His lawyer said that the Magistrate had asked the police to report on 22nd April whether there is actual grounds to arrest and remand him. According to the lawyer, the police had cited the ICCPR Act[11] and the Cyber Crimes Act. The ICCPR Act gives discretion for the police to arrest and detain a person and Magistrates don�t have discretion in providing bail. Last year, a writer arrested under the ICCPR Act was imprisoned for more than four (4) months until a High Court judge gave him bail[12].
We have not seen any post or comment by Ramzy that would amount to the propagation of war or advocating hatred leading to incitement to hostility, discrimination or violence which is prohibited by Article 3 (1) of the ICCPR Act[13]. When arresting Ramzy, it appears the police has not considered the detailed recommendations by the Human Rights Commission[14] of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) on balancing the ICCPR Act provisions on hate speech with constitutional guarantees for free expression, six-point threshold test and the three-pronged test of legality, proportionality and necessity from Sri Lanka�s fundamental rights jurisprudence.
Ironically, there are comments that are death threats against Ramzy on Facebook, which is still available at the time of writing[15] but we have not seen news of any arrests or police actions in relation to these.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Death threat, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Online
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Suspected non-state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Apr 8, 2020
- Event Description
The editor-in-chief of popular online news outlet TVFB was jailed on Thursday on incitement charges in relation to a Facebook post in which he shared remarks made by Prime Minister Hun Sen this week about struggling informal workers.
Sovann Rithy, the founder and face of the Facebook-page-turned-licensed-news-outlet TVFB, now faces up to two years in prison and a maximum fine of 4 million riel ($1,000), if convicted on charges of incitement to commit a felony, according to a court statement.
The Information Ministry on Wednesday revoked TVFB�s broadcast license following Rithy�s arrest on Tuesday night.
The 31-year-old journalist is being detained in Phnom Penh�s PJ prison after he was accused by authorities of inciting social disorder with his Facebook post.
In the post, Rithy cited a quote from Hun Sen�s speech on Tuesday, in which the premier said informal-sector workers who were out of work during the coronavirus crisis would not receive economic assistance from the government.
�If the motodop driver goes bankrupt, he should sell his motorbike for spending [money]. The government has no ability to help,� the post says.
During his speech, Hun Sen said: �For those who have the ID poor card, the state will intervene. But as you asked me, motorbike-taxi drivers have asked if there is any solution. [They must] sell their motorbikes first for spending and buy rice to eat, because if they all come and ask for a solution, [we are going to] die. How could the state have this much money?�
�The state relies on taxes, and if we borrow money from foreign [countries] to pay unemployed people, we will die. No country is going to lend us money to pay for salaries,� the prime minister added.
Hun Sen said earlier in his speech that the government had little money for people working in the informal sector, Voice of America (VOA) reported.
�The government will die if we help motorcycle and taxi drivers. If you are bankrupt, sell the moto first. Why [you] keep the moto for your good looks,� he said, laughing, according to VOA.
On Wednesday, Information Ministry spokesman Meas Sophorn told VOD that TVFB aired news that incited the public, and impacted public order and security.
�We have subsequently enforced the law against reporters at media outlets that are doing something against the law,� Sophorn said. �Having seen that the holder of this license had broadcast news that incited actions that are against the law, [the ministry] needs to enforce the law.�
The ministry was investigating other broadcast news outlets, according to Sophorn, but he did not specify which ones. In order to avoid losing licenses, the spokesman said outlets should properly cite sources, respect the law and maintain professionalism.
Following the ministry�s decision to pull TVFB�s license, the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia said in a statement that it would block two of TVFB�s URLs, tvfb.com.kh and fbtv.news. As of late Thursday, the latter site was accessible in Cambodia.
�A measure is a measure,� spokesman Im Vutha said on Wednesday. �So if you cannot see [the page], it was blocked.�
A TVFB representative could not be reached for comment.
Srey Sotheavy, executive director of the Alliance for Conflict Transformation, said the government�s actions against the news outlet were unacceptable, suggesting that authorities could have sent a warning or educated Rithy instead of doling out a harsh punishment.
�This is an act of expression, a broadcast that allows the audience to consider by themselves about the situation in society,� she said. �That this led to the closure [of TVFB] and a criminal charge [for Rithy] seems severe. This impacts individuals� rights of expression and press freedom.�
In 2018, the government ordered the Information and Telecommunications ministries to monitor and investigate businesses and broadcast news outlets for legal violations. In recent months, authorities have arrested about 20 people over social media posts related to the spread of Covid-19.
Daniel Bastard, head of Reporters Without Borders� (RSF) Asia-Pacific desk, on Wednesday called on the government to release Rithy and reinstate TVFB�s license.
�Imprisoning a journalist for quoting a statement by the prime minister word for word is more than absurd,� Bastard said in a statement. �The Covid-19 crisis must not be used as pretext for getting rid of journalists who do not blindly toe the government line.�
Cambodia is ranked 143rd out of 180 countries in RSF�s 2019 World Press Freedom Index.
During a press conference on Thursday, the Information Ministry�s Sophorn told reporters that organizations that criticized the government�s actions were violating the nation�s legal jurisdiction �by making judgements about facts before the competent institutions in Cambodia.�
In his own Facebook post on Wednesday, Sovann Sokha, Rithy�s father, apologized on behalf of his son and asked the government to pardon Rithy.
�My son Sovann Rithy has made serious mistakes, and I, as his father, have not educated him properly so that he would not act this way,� Sokha says in a two-minute video.
�I am very regretful,� he adds. �Please forgive my son.�
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Apr 6, 2020
- Event Description
Concerned citizens and activists have reported the arbitrary detention of human rights defenders Soneshwar Narah and Pranab Doley of the Jeepal Krishak Shramik Sangha (JKSS), a farmers� rights organization, by the Bokhkhat Police Station in Golaghat, Assam. While they were summoned to the police station on the pretext of an inquiry into a complaint filed by them on April 6, they were instead arrested on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) filed 2 years prior in June 2018 and were taken to Golaghat jail.
Pranab Doley is the Secretary of the Jeepal Krishak Shramik Sangha and has been fighting for the rights of peasant and indigenous communities in Assam. Soneshwar Narah is the convener of the organization.
Doley and Narah were arrested on April 7, and citizens and other activists have written to Sarbananda Sonowal, the Chief Minister of Assam, demanding their unconditional release. The letter asking for endorsements and support for their release reads, �The circumstances under which they were arrested, imprisoned without an immediate bail makes the intention behind their arrest extremely suspicious and their arrest itself a violation of basic human rights and an attempt to suppress voices which are raising serious issues in these difficult times brought about by Covid-19.�
The letter states that a day before their arrest, Pranab and Soneshwar had sent a letter to the CM asking for a high-level probe in a scam related to siphoning off of 800 quintals of rice from the public distribution system (PDS) in Kaziranga Cooperative Society and Golaghat�s Community Cooperative Society. The letter reads, �On the day of the arrest Pranab and Soneshwar were called by the Police officials to the Bokakhat police station to submit written statements pertaining to their police complaint against Kaziranga Cooperative Society filed earlier at the same police station. However, without any prior information or warrant they were arrested as soon as they arrived at the police station.�
The police claim that these arrests were made under a case pending since 2018 when they were charged for �deterring a police personnel for discharging his duty.� The move is especially surprising given that state governments are tryong to decongest jails amid the Covid-19 outbreak. The letter states, �This is indeed surprising that two people raising a serious concern about corruption should be arrested in a 2 year old case in these times when even the Supreme Court of India has asked the states to decongest the prisons to avoid Covid -19 outbreak. Bokakhat Police had numerous opportunities to interact and investigate both Narah and Doley who have been in touch with District law enforcement in the last two years. In view of this prisoners have been released from prisons across the state. It is difficult to believe under these circumstances that Pranab and Soneshwar�s arrest has anything to do with any issue other than the PDS scam.�
The letter further reads that both, Narah and Doley, have been active during the lockdown, trying their best to help by providing essential commodities to those in need, especially when PDS rations are coming in irregular supply.
Through the letter, the citizens have urged the CM to intervene in the matter where the local police are misusing the law to silence the voice of human rights defenders who are bringing up the issue related to critical food for the most underprivileged in these extremely difficult times.
The entire letter may be read and signed below.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_nY4RiKR4aRNPPOk6BGnkv-Hb5Fl01ygvgPNIYCArug/edit
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to food, Right to information, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Indigenous peoples' rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Apr 6, 2020
- Event Description
Civil rights activists in Kazakhstan have been under mounting pressure in the past several days as the authorities impose even stricter controls to slow the spread of coronavirus.
On April 7, police in the western city of Oral detained well-known blogger and civil rights activist Aslan Sagutdinov.
Sagutdinov posted on Facebook the moment he was detained outside a grocery store.
Oral regional police spokesman Bolat Belgibekov told RFE/RL that Sagutdinov was detained over a libel probe launched against him in a lawsuit filed by a local resident. Belgibekov added that Sagutdinov will also be charged with disobeying police for resisting arrest.
"He broke the police car's window," Belgibekov claimed.
Sagutdinov made headlines in May 2019 amid the mass arrest of rights and opposition activists across the country after he staged a one-man protest in Oral's main square holding a blank piece of paper. He was detained, but later released after police could not determine what to charge him with.
Another blogger and civil rights activist, Baghdat Baqtybaev, was sentenced to 10 days in jail in the southern region of Zhambyl for a live video broadcast on Facebook of long lines of people at a post office in the village of Tolebi. The residents were desperately trying to obtain social benefits the government has promised to people left unemployed because of the pandemic.
Baqtybaev's wife, Diana, told RFE/RL late on April 7 that her husband was jailed the day before after a court found him guilty of "conducting actions violating law and order during the state of emergency." She said her husband will spend 28 days in jail, as another 18-day jail term he received days earlier on similar charges will come into force on April 16.
Bakhytzhan Toreghozhina, the head of the Almaty-based human rights foundation Ar.Rukh.Khaq, told RFE/RL by phone on April 8 that the Kazakh authorities were concerned about any domestic and international spotlight of their efforts to handle the spread of coronavirus in the Central Asian country.
"Kazakh authorities have always silenced dissent by imposing pressure on bloggers and rights activists, and now they are doing everything to muzzle activists to prevent their criticism of the government's anti-coronavirus measures," Toreghozhina said.
The government promised to distribute 42,500 tenges ($95) to citizens who have lost their jobs due to lockdown measures imposed to slow the coronavirus pandemic. However, cash distribution has been hindered by bureaucratic hurdles, causing long lines at banks and post offices across the country in violation of regulations ordering people stay 2 meters away from each other to prevent coronavirus infection.
As of April 8, the number of registered coronavirus cases in Kazakhstan stood at 709, including seven deaths.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to information
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Apr 4, 2020
- Event Description
A week after National Herald exposed how Musahars � one of the most backward and poor sub-castes among Dalits � were pushed to eat grass due following the nationwide lockdown in Modi�s constituency Varanasi, UP police booked the social activist who highlighted the incident under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on Saturday.
The activist, Mangla Rajbhar, belongs to the OBC community and is an active member of the People�s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), was first to bring up the plight of the Musahars on various social media platforms. He was instrumental in highlighting the issue in the local media also.
His colleagues in the PVCHR contend that UP police booked Rajbhar for his campaign which brought discredit to PM Modi in the press.
�Following his persistent campaigning, the incident of Musahars eating grass caught media attention. Due to his campaign, UP police and the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government had to face embarrassment in national and international media,� said Lenin Raghuvanshi, founder of the PVCHR.
Talking to NH over the phone, Raghuvanshi alleged, �Rajbhar came on police radar when he raised the issue of starvation among Musahars. Since PM Modi�s name also got highlighted in the coverage, police hatched a conspiracy and implicated him in a false case�.
Raghuvanshi has written a letter to the NHRC, demanding a probe and revocation of the case slapped on Rajbhar.
According to the FIR registered in Phulpur police station which is some 40 km away from Varanasi, police booked Rajbhar under Section 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 395 (punishment for dacoity) and 397 in a case related to a violent clash between two communities in a nearby village.
According to the local media, in Thana Goan, two groups fought over panchayat elections which are scheduled to be held in the coming months. When police reached to quell the fight, angry people pelted stone on policemen.
Saying that Rajbhar was not even present at the spot when the incident occurred, Raghuvanshi slammed the Yogi government for misusing the police. He said, �Social rights activists, human right activists and journalists are being targeted by the Yogi regime�.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to information
- HRD
- NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Apr 3, 2020
- Event Description
Shadishkanta had company at the Porompat police station on the night of April 1 � Konsam Victor Singh, an employee at a government-run college in Imphal who had also been picked up from his home that evening.
When he asked the police officials why he was being detained, they told him it was related to a Facebook post he had written the previous day, claimed Victor Singh.
The post, written in the Meeteilon language, read: �CM covid-19 relief fund da CM Biren masagi oiba lupa kaya hapkhi khangbiba yaobibaro?� Does anybody know how much has Chief Minister Biren contributed to the CM Covid-19 relief fund?
At the police station, officials told him that there was �pressure from the chief minister�s side� to take action against him, said Victor Singh. �They told me I had no choice but to spend the night in lock-up,� he said.
There were no formal charges against him. The next morning, according to Victor Singh, the police told him he would be released if he deleted his Facebook post and posted an apology on the site. �I had spent the night with six other people in a small cell in the time of Covid-19, so I did what they asked me to,� he said.
He was released after he posted a new update on his Facebook page. It read: �I am deleting this post. I don�t have any negative intention towards the CM of Manipur.�
Haobijam declined comment on Victor Singh�s detention.
Two days later, on April 3, Laifungbam Debabrata Roy, a rights activist and a public health physician, was picked up from his home. At the police station, Roy said, he was asked to explain a Facebook post he had written the previous day.
It read: �The present Manipur Chief Minister, especially at this time of crisis, should desist from wasting State resources, time and personnel in carrying out any personal political agenda or vendetta. It demeans and belittles the position occupied and the responsibility that entails.�
Roy said he told the police official interrogating him that the post did not make any personal attack on the chief minister or his colleagues: �I told them it was just encouraging them not to waste time in pursuing other agenda in a time like this.�
Roy said he also wrote down his explanation, as demanded by the police. Yet they insisted that he had to spend the night in prison.
When his lawyer asked for a formal FIR, the police reportedly furnished a draft FIR that charged Roy under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, a section that deals with actions that amount to �disobedience to follow order promulgated by public servant�. However, the FIR was not registered.
The next day, Roy was released after the police made a video of him reading out an apology note to the chief minister.
Imphal West police superintendent, K Meghachandra Singh, said Roy had accused the government of �wasting its resources�. �So, we had an interaction with him and released him on bail bond,� said the police official.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to information
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Apr 1, 2020
- Event Description
Twenty-one protesters demanding food and other assistance were arrested Wednesday in Quezon City for staging a rally without government permit, police said.
The Quezon City Police District in a statement said the protesters, who are residents of Sitio San Roque, were arrested at a portion of EDSA in Barangay Bagong Pag-asa around 11 a.m.
A video posted by DZRH on Twitter shows the violent dispersal of protesters conducted by the QCPD. One of them can be seen being dragged by authorities, while being berated for participating in the protest.
Among those arrested was a 47-year-old woman who led the group Samahan Ng Magkakapitbahay ng Barangay San Roque.
They were apparently part of dozens of protesters shown on videos that circulated on social media. Some of them held placards saying they have not gotten any help from the local government amid the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The local government of Quezon City denied these claims, saying there has been "continuous distribution of food packs throughout the city, both from the local government and the barangays to ensure that affected families are looked after during this crisis period."
"Nevertheless, the mayor has instructed city personnel to review the list to make sure nobody has been inadvertently left out," it added.
The city government said the residents crowded the area after being given false information that a TV crew was distributing relief goods there. The group Kadamay instigated individuals to hold the rally and claim they were not given aid, claimed Quezon City Task Force Action Officer Rannie Ludovica in a CNN Philippines News Night interview.
"Upon further questioning however, some residents acknowledged that they did receive food packs," the Quezon City government stressed.
As of March 31, the local government of Quezon City said it has distributed more than 952,000 food packs since the imposition of the quarantine, which has restricted people's movement. Quezon City has 151 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Of this number, 27 have died while 11 have recovered.
Meanwhile, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte called on authorities to release the arrested protesters "in the interim for humanitarian reasons," and issue them a warning instead. PNP reiterates: No mass gatherings
Police earlier said charges will be filed against the protesters for violations of the Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act, which was recently passed to address the COVID-19 crisis; and the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act. They will also be charged for resistance and disobedience to authorities.
�Bago po sila hinuli, unang-una pinakiusapan natin sila para magsibalikan sa kanilang tahanan, subalit nagmatigas sila kaya wala tayo magawa kundi i-implement natin ang batas," said QCPD Director Police Brigadier General Ronnie Montejo.
[Translation: Before they were arrested, authorities first requested them to return to their homes, but they refused to do so, and there's nothing we can do but implement the law.]
Ludovica also said protesters are "targeting other barangays" in Quezon City, including Payatas, Batasan, Holy Spirit and Commonwealth.
"After po nito, 'yun na po ang isusunod nila para lalabas talaga na 'yung mga tao ay di na makapaghintay at gutom na," Ludovica said.
[Translation: After this, they also intend to stage protests in those areas to make it appear like the people are already starving and can no longer wait.]
Philippine National Police Chief General Archie Gamboa warned of "firm and decisive police action" against those who will organize and join "illegal mass actions" amid the state of national health emergency due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Under Luzon-wide quarantine, people are ordered to stay home, except those offering basic services, mass transportation is suspended and all mass gatherings are prohibited. Groups call for protesters' release
Cause-oriented groups Bayan Muna and Gabriela condemned the "violent dispersal" of the protesters and demanded their immediate release.
"We further call for immediate action on the people's request for food and financial assistance," Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite said in a statement. "We demand the immediate release of the P8,000 cash assistance to the poor, the implementation of the P1,000 hike in SSS pension, and other social amelioration measures that were mandated by Republic Act 11469."
Gabriela Women's Party in a separate statement said, "using excessive force and detention will not quell the empty stomachs of Filipinos who up to this day remain denied of the promised P200-billion cash aid for the poor."
Nationwide, COVID-19 cases have risen to 2,311, with 96 deaths and 50 recoveries.
- Impact of Event
- 21
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to food, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Apr 1, 2020
- Event Description
On April 1, the police detained and then arrested Takhenchangbam Shadishkanta, a human rights activist. Hours earlier, Shadishkanta�s organisation, Youth�s Forum for Protection of Human Rights, had issued a press release expressing concern about the government�s plans to build a quarantine centre on the outskirts of Imphal, the state capital. This was to house people who had come in contact with suspected Covid-19 patients but were asymptomatic.
�The location they had chosen has many paddy fields,� said U Jenison, a colleague of Shadishkanta. �As we work for the rights of indigenous people who are dependent on paddy farming, we asked them to build it on a nearby unused airstrip instead.�
Jenison alleged that Shadishkanta was picked up by the police from his home late evening on April 1. The police did not inform him or his family of the charges against him, said Jenison. Shadishkanta spent the night in jail.
On the afternoon of April 2, the police visited the home of the organisation�s president, Khangjrakpam Phajaton Mangang, picked him up and jailed him along with Shadishkanta. Mangangwas not apprised of the charges against him, either, claimed Jenison.
The police made the two sign an arrest memo that did not bear the time or grounds of arrest, he alleged. When a team from the human rights organisation demanded that they be shown the first information report that was the basis for the arrests, they were reportedly told that the police were still in the process of framing charges. That was on the evening of April 2.
It was only later in the evening that the police produced an FIR, said Jenison. The two activists had been charged under the National Disaster Management Act, 2005, and Section 120 (b) of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with �criminal conspiracy�.
Soon afterwards, around 9.30 pm, Mangang and Shadishkanta were produced before the court of the chief judicial magistrate, East Imphal. They were released around 10 pm, after they produced a surety bond of Rs 30,000 each.
Jogeshchandra Haobijam, the chief of Imphal East police, said Mangang and Shadishkanta had been charged for suggesting the use of the air strip as a site for the quarantine centre. �It is defence land,� he said. �Any X or Y cannot say like that about defence land.�
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Offline, Right to information
- HRD
- NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
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