Uwazi

On 9 August 2023, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), an intelligence agency operating under the Bangladesh Bank, requested all banks of Bangladesh to provide account details of human rights defender Zillur Rahman and the Centre for Governance Studies.

Zillur Rahman is a journalist, human rights defender, and the host of the popular late-night talk show “Tritiyo Matra”. He is also the executive director of a Bangladesh-based civil society organisation, the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS). CGS strives to promote collaborations across academia, government, private sector, civil society, and development partners to enhance governance quality, address security imperatives, optimise resource utilisation, and support political stability and socio-economic growth through democratisation and sustainable development. CGS is a leading civil society organisation in documenting cases of human rights, especially focusing on the Digital Security Act. Before CGS, Zillur Rahman was working at leading newspapers in Bangladesh such as the Weekly Bichinta, Weekly Khaborer Kagoj, Ajker Kagoj, Weekly Kagoj, Weekly Shomoy, Weekly Laboni, Weekly Bichitra and the Daily Ittefaq. Additionally, the human rights defender also worked at the World Bank (External Affairs Department) in 2000 and for UNICEF (Water & Sanitation Department) in 2001.

The BFIU indicated that the request on 9 August 2023 was made at the request of a state agency, without disclosing which agency. This lack of transparency has led to speculation regarding the motives behind these inquiries, creating a chilling effect on CGS and other civil society organisations in Bangladesh. This is the latest in a series of incidents of harassment faced by Zillur Rahman and CGS while carrying out their legitimate human rights work.

On 27 July 2023, CGS organised an event to launch a report on the challenges faced by human rights defenders in Bangladesh. The event was attended by human rights defenders, scholars, journalists, foreign mission representatives, academics, civil society members, and others. The study exclusively focused on human rights defenders in Bangladesh to better understand the challenges they encounter in their work. The report’s findings expressed concerns about the human rights situation in Bangladesh, documenting the unsafety and obstacles faced by human rights defenders in their field.

Following the event, the keynote presenter of the report faced questions attacking their merit and credibility to research and comment on the country’s human rights situation. Some of these reports also targeted other work done by CGS as part of an ongoing smear campaign against the organisation. This smear campaign against CGS was started in response to the organisation’s legitimate human rights work, including an earlier study they published on the media landscape in Bangladesh which revealed that most media houses in Bangladesh are owned by ruling party-affiliated politicians or business people.

On 23 December 2022, police visited Zillur Rahman’s ancestral home in Shariatpur district, which drew significant criticism from journalists in the country. The police talked to the human rights defender’s relatives and neighbours, asking about his work and alleged political affiliations. The human rights defender expressed the impact of such intimidation on his social media, stating that “the visit intended to scare me, my family and neighbours, and hinder my work as a journalist and works related to the think tank CGS.”

On 23 November 2022, the National Board of Revenue initiated an investigation into Zillur Rahman and CGS through its Central Intelligence Cell regarding the organisation’s transactions and financial matters. State intelligence agencies visited the locations where CGS events were held, such as the Bay of Bengal Conversation. Intelligence agents questioned hotel employees and event partners about their activities. Meanwhile, the government organised a media boycott of coverage during the international conference. Additionally, Zillur Rahman was placed under surveillance and followed by intelligence agents.

Several CGS employees have also been repeatedly questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Bangladesh Police. Meanwhile, unknown parties have repeatedly attempted to hack Zillur Rahman’s, Tritiyo Matra’s and CGS’s Facebook and Twitter pages. All these events have placed the employees of CGS under constant dread, disrupting their capacity to work.

Front Line Defenders believes that the harassment against Zillur Rahman is directly related to his legitimate human rights work. Front Line Defenders is seriously concerned for the psychological wellbeing of the human rights defender.

Save for a pair of slippers and a piece of sandal, there were no traces of the two young women abducted by armed men in Orion town in Bataan province on the night of Sept. 2, a human rights group said.

The fact-finding mission of friends and colleagues of Jhed Tamano, 22, and Jonila Castro, 21, yielded no other leads as of Monday, according to Amador Cadano, spokesperson for the human rights watchdog Karapatan in the Central Luzon region.

In a post on social media, Karapatan sought online help for any information that could lead to the whereabouts of the two following the reported abduction.

According to Karapatan, Tamano works as a coordinator in the “Turn the Tide Now” program of the church group Ecumenical Bishop Forum-Central Luzon while Castro serves as a community volunteer for Akap Ka Manila Bay, a network of various sectors opposing the reclamation projects on Manila Bay.

Both environmental workers studied at Bulacan State University (BulSU) in the City of Malolos in Bulacan and were former members of the Student Alliance for the Advancement of Nationalism and Democracy BulSU, an activist group at the university.

Castro was an undergraduate psychology student in 2019 while Tamano was a business economics graduate in 2022.

Citing accounts of eyewitnesses, Karapatan said armed men were seen forcing Tamano and Castro inside a gray Toyota Innova in front of the Orion Water District in Barangay Lati at 8 p.m. on Sept. 2.

Tailed “Before they went missing, the two reported being tailed by men wearing civilian clothes. The two stayed in Sitio Ormoc in Barangay Balut (also in Orion) for at least three days, consulting the community for a possible relief operation,” Cadano said.

They were sent to Orion by Akap Ka to consult with communities that were affected by the new coastal road and reclamation project planned for the expansion of the free port of Bataan, according to Cadano.

The ongoing dredging work in Barangay Capunitan had so far displaced some 200 families in need of help, he added.

The two women were set to leave Orion on the night of Sept. 2 for another consultation in another town but they stopped replying to text messages from friends around 7 p.m., Cadano said.

Karapatan-Central Luzon held state forces, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and the Marcos administration “accountable for the enforced disappearance of Jhed and Jonila and all others who disappeared in the region and in the nation.” Cadano did not say the basis of the group’s suspicion.

He said the incident involving Tamano and Castro was the second case of enforced disappearances in the region after those of peasant organizers Elena Pampoza and Elgene Mungcal, also known as the Moncada 2, who went missing in July 2022.

Authorities in the Indian capital of Delhi must swiftly and impartially investigate the arson attack on the home of journalists Khushboo and Nadeem Akhtar, as well as the threats of death and rape, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

In the early hours of August 30, the Akhtar family home in the Sultanpuri area of northwest Delhi was set ablaze, according to news reports and Khushboo Akhtar, who spoke with CPJ by phone.

The Akhtar sister and brother team run Pal Pal News, a YouTube-based political affairs channel with more than 2.1 million subscribers. Akhtar told CPJ that she believes the attack was retaliation for Pal Pal News’ critical coverage of the challenges faced by Indian Muslims and other underrepresented groups, including vulnerable caste groups, farmers, and tribal communities.

“Delhi police must conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the arson attack on the home of journalists Khushboo and Nadeem Akhtar and hold the perpetrators to account,” said Kunāl Majumder, CPJ’s India representative. “The rising level of retaliation against Indian journalists covering the plight of minority communities is alarming. Khushboo and Nadeem Akhtar must be allowed to report without fear of violence or reprisal.”

Akhtar told CPJ that many religious items, including copies of the Quran and Ramayana, were taken out of a locked cupboard and burned before the perpetrators set the house on fire. The incident came to light when neighbors noticed smoke emanating from the third floor of the house and alerted Akhtar, who had relocated with her family to a different home last year. By the time she and her brother arrived at the scene, the house had been reduced to ashes.

Akhtar has recently received threats, including some involving death and rape, through social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, primarily over her journalistic work covering violence and discrimination against Muslims, according to the journalist and a copy of her complaint to the police, which was reviewed by CPJ. Her brother has also received death threats, Akhtar said.

Darshan Lal, station house officer of the Sultanpuri police station, where Akhtar filed her complaint, told CPJ via text message that police are still investigating the arson.

A Dhaka tribunal today sentenced two officials of rights body Odhikar to two years imprisonment each in an ICT Act case.

The two are Odhikar Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan and Director ASM Nasiruddin Elan.

Judge AM Julfiker Hayet of Dhaka Cyber Tribunal announced the verdict in presence of the duo, said our court correspondent from the court.

The court also fined each of them Tk 10,000, in default of which, Adilur and Elan have to serve one month in jail.

After the verdict was pronounced, Public Prosecutor Md Nazrul Islam Shamim told The Daily Star that they were not satisfied with the judgement.

They would challenge the judgement with the High Court after receiving the certified copy of the verdict, he said.

The case was filed for running "a distorted report and doctored images" about the May 5-6, 2013 police action on a Hefajat-e-Islam rally in the capital's Motijheel.

On June 10, 2013, Detective Branch (DB) of police filed a general diary with the Gulshan Police Station in this connection, which was later converted into a case.

Detectives arrested Adilur at Gulshan on August 10, 2013 shortly after filing the GD complaining that the rights body on its website ran a false report titled "Assembly of Hefajat-e Islam Bangladesh and Human Rights Violation".

The report tarnished the image of the country, its government and the law enforcement agencies, read the GD.

Odhikar's report claimed that 61 people died in the wee hours of May 6 when the law enforcers flushed several thousand Hefajat activists out of the Shapla Chattar in the capital's Motijheel. The government, however, put the number of deaths at 13.

Briefing the press at the media centre of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on August 10, 2013, Monirul Islam, the then joint commissioner of DMP, said no lethal weapons were used to drive the Hefajat men out of the Shapla Chattar.

Law enforcers only used tear gas shells, sound grenades and water cannons to disperse the Hefajat men, he added.

Referring to the violent incidents at Paltan and Motijheel areas between May 5 morning and early hours of May 6, he said a total of 13 people, including police officials, transport workers and pedestrians, died in those incidents.

On the pictures used in the Odhikar report, Monirul said though the report was based on the incidents of that night, some pictures were of those who had died earlier in the day (May 5), and some were of people who are still alive.

After probing the case, the DB on September 4 the same year pressed charges against Adilur and Elan.

Detectives on August 11, 2013 raided the Odhikar's Gulshan office and seized three laptops and two desktop computers, which were used to prepare the fake list of 61 dead victims.

Detained Vietnamese blogger and YouTuber Duong Van Thai is still in prison almost three weeks after his temporary detention was supposed to have expired, his family told Radio Free Asia.

Thai, 41, was living in Thailand when he disappeared on April 13 in what many believe was an abduction.

Vietnam has neither confirmed nor denied that he was abducted and taken back to Vietnam, but shortly after his disappearance, authorities announced that they had apprehended him for trying to sneak into the country illegally.

They did not confirm to his family that he was under arrest on official charges until July, when they sent a letter saying he was being held in a detention center in Hanoi, that he was charged with “anti-state propaganda,” and that the temporary detention would end on Aug. 12.

According to Vietnamese law, the maximum temporary detention time, which applies to extremely serious offenses, is four months. In complex cases that require more time, this period can be extended, but only if the investigating agency sends a written request to the judicial authorities.

Thai’s 70-year-old mother, Duong Thi Lu, told RFA Vietnamese that she tried to visit her son in the detention center, but she was not allowed to meet him.

“I’ve been there twice,” she said. “On my first trip, because I went there on a Saturday, they did not receive me. The next time was on a Friday. They received me at the front gate and allowed me to send in some supplies but did not let me in.”

She said that the detention center staff told her she would not be allowed to see her son until the investigation ends. She also said she intends to return next week to give him more supplies.

Lu also said that because of her advanced age, she was not capable nor alert enough to hire a defense lawyer for her son, and she plans to rely on support from her son’s friends.

RFA made repeated phone calls to the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security via the two official telephone numbers posted on its website but no one answered.

Critical posts

Duong Van Thai had fled to Thailand in late 2018 or early 2019, fearing political persecution for his many posts and videos that criticized the Vietnamese government and leaders of the Communist Party on Facebook and YouTube.

He had been granted refugee status by the United Nations refugee agency’s office in Bangkok. He was interviewed to resettle in a third country right before his disappearance near his rental home in central Thailand’s Pathum Thani province.

Organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, and the Committee to Protect Journalists have accused Vietnam’s security agents of kidnapping Duong Van Thai and bringing him back to Vietnam in a manner similar to how they abducted RFA-affiliated blogger Truong Duy Nhat in Bangkok in 2019 or former oil company CEO Trinh Xuan Thanh in Berlin in 2017.

A group of workers and their supporters, who were arrested after demanding higher wages in the garment industry earlier this year, were freed this week after pledging not to participate in unlawful associations.

The 12 workers’ rights advocates included employees of the Hosheng Myanmar Garment Factory, employees of the Sun Apparel Myanmar factory, activists affiliated with the Action Labor Rights organisation, and the owner of a tea shop where they regularly met.

On June 14, several of the activists went to the general administration office in Shwepyithar Township, Yangon, to register a complaint about the dismissal of seven Hosheng Myanmar employees who had asked for a raise.

Junta authorities arrested the labor activists and their associates over the next several days, holding two at the Shwepyithar police station and transferring the remaining ten to Insein Prison.

Authorities initially brought charges against the detainees under Section 505(a) of the Myanmar Penal Code on incitement, under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, and under Section 40 of Registration of Associations Act.

However, the junta released the detainees on Monday after giving them a document to sign, according to Thurein Aung, a spokesperson for Action Labor Rights.

“According to the letter, if they engage in unlawful associations, they are subject to having their penalties doubled,” he said, referring to the document signed by the detainees.

“They had to sign it with their fingerprints,” he added.

Shortly after the labour activists’ arrest in June, a regime-controlled newspaper reporting the incident accused Thurein Aung and another associate of the Action Labor Rights organisation, Thuza, of incitement. Both have had to take precautions to avoid arrest in the intervening months.

It is uncertain whether the garment factory workers will return to their jobs at Hosheng Myanmar and Sun Apparel following their release.

“A complaint has been filed with the labour office regarding their dismissals and the case has been accepted. But investigations on the case haven’t started. I don’t know whether the factories will rehire them,” Thurein Aung said.

“We have appealed to Zara about re-employing them,” Thurein Aung said, referring to the flagship retail brand of the clothing company that sources clothes from the Hosheng factory.

Inditex, the parent company for several globally recognised clothing retailers including Zara, announced plans in June to make a “gradual” exit from Myanmar following international condemnation of the junta’s treatment of garment industry workers.

This year, after living through more than two years of inflation since the military coup, more workers began to demand an increase in the minimum daily wage from 4,800 to 5,600 kyat.

Authorities are required by law to readjust the minimum wage in Myanmar every two years, but the last adjustment occurred in 2018 during the administration of the National League for Democracy, when it increased from 3,600 to 4,800 kyat for an eight-hour workday.

The wage has remained the same under the military regime, as authorities have ignored the requirement to adjust the wage and suppressed protests organised in support of workers’ rights.

A Chinese court on Thursday handed down a four-and-a-half-year jail term to an outspoken economics professor who had estimated the high personnel costs of the Chinese government, finding him guilty of “incitement to subvert state power,” according to rights website.

The Guiyang Intermediate People's Court handed down the sentence to former Guizhou University professor Yang Shaozheng in a trial behind closed doors on July 29, a post on the Weiquanwang rights website said.

"Yang Shaozheng expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment in court and filed an appeal," the group said. "The reason for the appeal was that this was an illegal trial."

Yang's appeal argued that members of the Chinese Communist Party had presided over the case from start to finish, including the investigation, the prosecution and the trial itself.

"The actions he was charged with fell under freedom of speech and expression, and to criminalize a citizen for exercising those rights was a violation of the constitutional right to freedom of expression," the report paraphrased Yang's appeal as saying.

A key member of Yang's defense team, Zhang Lei, declined to comment when contacted by Radio Free Asia, indicating that he was under a lot of pressure from the authorities, while repeated calls to another member of his defense team rang unanswered on Thursday.

Cost to Chinese taxpayers

Yang, 53, lost his job at Guizhou University’s Institute of Economics in November 2017, on the orders of someone "higher up" the government hierarchy, and was subsequently investigated by police amid a purge of outspoken academics and the adoption of President Xi Jinping's personal brand of ideology across higher education.

Hunan-based dissident Chen Siming said an article in which Yang calculated that party and government personnel cost the Chinese taxpayer an estimated 20 trillion yuan (US$2.75 trillion) annually was likely the trigger for his arrest.

"These questions [he was asking] hit home," Chen said in an interview last month. "He was later expelled from Guizhou University, and then secretly arrested. During this period, lawyers and family members weren't allowed to meet with him."

Yang spent some time on the run in 2019 after being shackled to a chair and interrogated by state security police for eight hours, around the 30th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

Just before that stint in detention, Yang had criticized a new wave of ideological training being launched in China's colleges and universities.

He was arrested in secret in May 2021 and placed under incommunicado detention for six months on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power," before being formally arrested and prosecuted. He is currently being held in the Guiyang No. 1 Detention Center.

His lawyers filed an administrative complaint with the Guizhou provincial state prosecutor on March 3, alleging that state security police were trying to force a "confession" from Yang through torture, which caused him to lose consciousness several times and lose some 25 kilograms (55 pounds) in weight.

The complaint said the abuse took place during the six months he was held under "residential surveillance at a designated location," a type of incommunicado detention frequently used to target critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party in "national security" cases.

A Guizhou-based lecturer who gave only the surname Yu said Yang, whom she counts as a friend, is a "rare" person in today's China.

"I think Yang Shaozheng knows very well what he was bringing down on his own head when he spoke out like that, but he did it anyway," Yu told Radio Free Asia in a recent interview. "He is a politically brave person, which is a rare thing in our society."

In a video shot in a prison in northern Kazakhstan, a man sporting a shaved head and prison overalls tries to respond as a penitentiary officer accuses him of violating protocols.

“You have been warned twice! Why are you refusing? Why do you refuse to clean?" the officer demands in the footage before ordering a group of subordinates to “use the special equipment.”

The men then proceed to grab the prisoner and pin him to the floor, face down.

“I’m not refusing!” the prisoner can be heard saying, before a man begins striking his lower body with a baton.

The prisoner’s protestations are replaced by screams.

That widely shared footage was initially published by an opposition social media channel that indicated it was shot on August 24.

Around a dozen staff at the No. 1 jail in Atbasar, some 200 kilometers from Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, are believed to have been suspended amid the uproar.

Some of those men have recorded a video defending their actions, arguing that the measures taken against this prisoner and others captured in the footage were necessary to prevent a riot.

President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev’s position on such practices would appear to be clear cut.

Speaking two months after regime-shaking political unrest last year that left at least 228 people dead and evidence of systematic torture of detainees, Toqaev condemned “barbaric medieval happenings…that contradict the principles of any progressive society.”

But since then there have been proportionally few officers convicted or even dismissed over their roles in those manifold abuses.

The identity of the prisoner in the video, moreover, is awkward for Toqaev.

Timur Danebaev, 38, is best known as the activist who attempted to sue the president over comments he made during that crisis, which began with peaceful protests over a spike in fuel prices before spiraling out of control.

That fact, combined with the mystery about how and by whom the video was leaked, has fueled pernicious theories that the leak was no accident at all.

“It seems to me that the video…is not at all an oversight by prison staff,” wrote Lukpan Akhmedyarov, a well-known journalist, in a September 5 Facebook post.

“The video was made public by order of the authorities. None of the prison employees will be held accountable. Because this video is actually a DEMONSTRATION of power,” he claimed.

‘Breaking’ Prisoners

Whether Akhmedyarov’s prediction will hold, only time will tell.

It is not easy to track the career trajectories of low-ranking officers involved in torture scandals, especially when their identities are not made public.

A September 6 press release by the Committee of the Criminal Executive System of the Kazakh Internal Affairs Ministry stated that Akmola Province’s top penal officer, his deputy, and the head of the Atbasar jail had all been recommended for dismissal from their posts as part of an ongoing investigation.

Eleven penitentiary guards were likewise recommended for dismissal from the Interior Ministry after the investigation found “signs of employees exceeding their official mandate,” the statement said, without naming names.

That is presumably the same 11 who released the video this week denying wrongdoing. The video was filmed in the darkness of night, and all of the men were wearing face coverings.

“There was no torture of defendants, but enforcement of compliance with the regime of confinement by legal physical means,” said the group’s speaker.

The speaker went on to claim that more than 40 prisoners had arrived at the prison in late August “with aggressive intent…. They wanted to start a riot.”

“All of our actions were agreed with the supervisory organs,” the speaker noted.

Many will find that last part all too easy to believe.

Vadim Kuramashin, a journalist who some 15 years ago spent a stint in the same jail where Danebaev was shown being beaten, told RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service that the process of “breaking” new residents of the jail is more or less a routine.

Having been imprisoned in early 2007 over a newspaper article, Kuramashin was isolated in a room where he was forced to clean toilets with a toothbrush, he said.

“When I asked them to show me the norm or law [that mandates cleaning], they began to beat me severely,” Kuramushin recalled.

Elena Semyonova, a longtime antitorture activist, was permitted to visit Danebaev this week.

Semyonova said that his health was “more or less [OK]” despite his body showing evidence of beatings.

“But he is psychologically depressed,” Semyonova told RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service, known locally as Azattyq. “A person who has never been in this system, who has completely different ideas.... He didn't expect this to happen. It came as a shock to him.”

‘Men With Epaulets And Uniforms’

In addition to criticizing Kazakhstan’s government, Danebaev has regularly criticized its ally Russia over the Kremlin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

He was also critical of Moscow’s intervention during the January 2022 crisis in Kazakhstan, when Toqaev invited a detachment of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to bolster his government’s control.

In December of last year, the activist was charged with inciting hatred and “insulting the national honor and dignity of citizens” in online videos and posts published on October 10 and November 12, 2022.

But he had already attracted the attention of authorities in February of that year after he tried to initiate a false information lawsuit against Toqaev over the president’s claim that “20,000 terrorists” had descended on Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, during the unrest.

“I have the right to file a complaint against the president or any other citizen,” an impassioned Danebaev told Azattyq in an interview last year.

“Because my rights are absolutely the same as the president’s.”

Well, maybe in theory.

In reality, Danebaev’s filing was ignored, and the police soon showed up on his doorstep, marking the beginning of a campaign of pressure that would culminate in his arrest.

In June of this year, he was sentenced to three years in prison on the charges.

In his Facebook post on the case, the journalist Akhmedyarov argued that Danebaev’s case was one of several that indicated Kazakhstan’s police state is once more baring its fangs, having been somewhat chastened by public criticism during last year’s violence.

Back then, Toqaev was promising a New Kazakhstan after effectively sidelining former President Nursultan Nazarbaev -- the architect of Kazakh authoritarianism and a man who had continued to overshadow his successor Toqaev’s presidency prior to the crisis.

But the political reforms promoted by Toqaev since then have been widely criticized as cosmetic, while a reshuffle of the cabinet and other positions this month mainly saw old politicians recycled into new roles.

One of them, noted Akhmedyarov, was Marat Akhmetzhanov, who swapped the post of interior minister for that of governor of Akmola Province, which surrounds Astana and includes the town of Atbasar in its territory.

Such an appointment echoes trends in Kazakhstan’s northern neighbor, Russia, Akhmedyarov argued.

It also indicates “that positions that were previously occupied exclusively by civilian 'suits' will now gradually be given to men with epaulets and uniforms,” the journalist forecasted.

Notwithstanding Toqaev’s affirmations, the government is doing little to convince the public that it takes torture seriously.

In the aftermath of the January 2022 events, dozens of former detainees complained of mistreatment and many still had the broken ribs to back it up.

But most cases have either been thrown out or have otherwise not made it to court.

Cases that involved deaths in detention during the unrest have been harder to ignore.

One recent conviction concerned the case of Eldos Kaliev, who died in a jail in the city of Semey.

The officer accused in that case was sentenced to six years imprisonment by a city court at the beginning of August.

But two other officers found guilty on August 23 of torturing another young Semey resident to death fared better.

They were handed suspended sentences and ordered to pay compensation -- just under $10,000 each – to the family of the deceased.

Pakistan authorities must cease harassing journalists Fayaz Zafar and Amjad Ali Sahaab and immediately and impartially investigate Zafar’s detention and allegations that he was abused by police, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.

On August 30, police arrested Zafar, a reporter for the U.S.-Congress-funded Pashto-language broadcaster Voice of America Deewa and Daily Mashriq newspaper, in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s Swat District, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ.

Earlier that day, magistrate Irfan Ullah Khan ordered Zafar to be held in preventive detention for 30 days under the West Pakistan Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960. The order, which CPJ reviewed, accused him of using social media to spread “fake, offensive and hatred contents to defame and incite the public” against the government and law enforcement agencies.

Zafar said he was taken to Swat police chief Shafiullah Gandapur’s home, where six officers beat him for about 15 minutes with their guns and fists despite his telling them he had a heart condition. The journalist also said police brought his car to Gandapur’s home, damaged its doors and hood with their rifle butts, and held the vehicle until September 5. Zafar said Gandapur pressured him to sign an affidavit that he would stop his critical reporting about the police, but he refused and was taken to jail.

On August 31, Khan issued an order for Zafar to be released from jail, following requests from the District Bar Association and a local tribal assembly, and withdrew the previous day’s detention order. Interim Information Minister Murtaza Solangi told CPJ that he asked local authorities to release the journalist and ordered the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to investigate the incident.

In the case of Sahaab, editor of the local Urdu newspaper Daily Azadi Swat and the online blog Lafzuna, police in Swat District’s Mingora city opened an investigation on August 31, accusing the journalist of inciting violence against state institutions via social media and posting criticism of the district administration, according to a report by Radio Mashaal and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ.

Sahaab told CPJ that a dozen police officers came to raid his home on August 31 but did not enter because his brother said the journalist was not there and women were inside. Sahaab said he approached a local court on September 1 and secured pre-arrest bail to protect himself from detention in relation to the case until the next hearing on September 9.

The police report, reviewed by CPJ, accused Sahaab of defamation and intentional insult with intent to breach the peace in violation of the penal code, and causing annoyance or intimidation in violation of the The Telegraph Act, 1885.

“Pakistani authorities must swiftly and transparently investigate the arrest of Fayaz Zafar and the abuse he allegedly endured at the hands of the police, and hold the perpetrators to account,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “Police must also drop their investigation into Amjad Ali Sahaab and allow both journalists to report on matters of public interest in Swat District without interference.”

Zafar told CPJ that he feared for his life after the detention and beatings and received medical treatment for the injuries caused to his head, back, shoulders, legs, and right hand.

The journalist said he believed that he was targeted for his recent reporting and commentary on social media, including a video, which he said showed a student being abducted near a police station, and photographs, which he said were of militants patrolling in Swat after attacking a police post.

Sahaab also told CPJ that he believed he was being investigated because of his critical work that he posts to social media, including Lafzuna’s YouTube discussions about the alleged failure of local authorities to stop rising militancy and arrests of activists, as well as blogs on insecurity.

Police chief Gandapur told CPJ via messaging app on September 1 that Zafar’s allegations of abuse were “fake” and that the journalist was directly taken to jail following his arrest.

Gandapur did not respond to CPJ’s follow up queries about the investigation into Sahaab. CPJ’s calls and messages to magistrate Khan requesting comment did not receive any replies.

Pakistan authorities must cease harassing journalists Fayaz Zafar and Amjad Ali Sahaab and immediately and impartially investigate Zafar’s detention and allegations that he was abused by police, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.

On August 30, police arrested Zafar, a reporter for the U.S.-Congress-funded Pashto-language broadcaster Voice of America Deewa and Daily Mashriq newspaper, in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s Swat District, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ.

Earlier that day, magistrate Irfan Ullah Khan ordered Zafar to be held in preventive detention for 30 days under the West Pakistan Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960. The order, which CPJ reviewed, accused him of using social media to spread “fake, offensive and hatred contents to defame and incite the public” against the government and law enforcement agencies.

Zafar said he was taken to Swat police chief Shafiullah Gandapur’s home, where six officers beat him for about 15 minutes with their guns and fists despite his telling them he had a heart condition. The journalist also said police brought his car to Gandapur’s home, damaged its doors and hood with their rifle butts, and held the vehicle until September 5. Zafar said Gandapur pressured him to sign an affidavit that he would stop his critical reporting about the police, but he refused and was taken to jail.

On August 31, Khan issued an order for Zafar to be released from jail, following requests from the District Bar Association and a local tribal assembly, and withdrew the previous day’s detention order. Interim Information Minister Murtaza Solangi told CPJ that he asked local authorities to release the journalist and ordered the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to investigate the incident.

In the case of Sahaab, editor of the local Urdu newspaper Daily Azadi Swat and the online blog Lafzuna, police in Swat District’s Mingora city opened an investigation on August 31, accusing the journalist of inciting violence against state institutions via social media and posting criticism of the district administration, according to a report by Radio Mashaal and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ.

Sahaab told CPJ that a dozen police officers came to raid his home on August 31 but did not enter because his brother said the journalist was not there and women were inside. Sahaab said he approached a local court on September 1 and secured pre-arrest bail to protect himself from detention in relation to the case until the next hearing on September 9.

The police report, reviewed by CPJ, accused Sahaab of defamation and intentional insult with intent to breach the peace in violation of the penal code, and causing annoyance or intimidation in violation of the The Telegraph Act, 1885.

“Pakistani authorities must swiftly and transparently investigate the arrest of Fayaz Zafar and the abuse he allegedly endured at the hands of the police, and hold the perpetrators to account,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “Police must also drop their investigation into Amjad Ali Sahaab and allow both journalists to report on matters of public interest in Swat District without interference.”

Zafar told CPJ that he feared for his life after the detention and beatings and received medical treatment for the injuries caused to his head, back, shoulders, legs, and right hand.

The journalist said he believed that he was targeted for his recent reporting and commentary on social media, including a video, which he said showed a student being abducted near a police station, and photographs, which he said were of militants patrolling in Swat after attacking a police post.

Sahaab also told CPJ that he believed he was being investigated because of his critical work that he posts to social media, including Lafzuna’s YouTube discussions about the alleged failure of local authorities to stop rising militancy and arrests of activists, as well as blogs on insecurity.

Police chief Gandapur told CPJ via messaging app on September 1 that Zafar’s allegations of abuse were “fake” and that the journalist was directly taken to jail following his arrest.

Gandapur did not respond to CPJ’s follow up queries about the investigation into Sahaab. CPJ’s calls and messages to magistrate Khan requesting comment did not receive any replies.

On September 6, a military tribunal in Yangon sentenced photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike to 20 years in prison, the harshest sentence handed down to a media professional since the junta’s takeover of Myanmar in 2021. The journalist was arrested on May 23 in Sittwe, the capital of the western Rakhine state, after he had been dispatched to cover the impact of Cyclone Mocha earlier that month.

Following his arrest, the journalist was subjected to interrogation in both Sittwe and Yangon before being transferred to Yangon’s Insein Prison in June. His initial indictment included allegations of misinformation, incitement, and sedition, including charges under Section 505a of Myanmar’s penal code - used to silence independent and critical journalism. The full list of charges faced by the journalist is currently unknown.

Sai Zaw Thaike was convicted following a one-day trial inside Insein Prison. He was not given access to legal representation and his family has been denied visitation rights in the months since his arrest.

Since the military coup in February 2021, Myanmar’s military has conducted a relentless campaign against fundamental human rights, exploiting existing and newly introduced legislation to crack down on free expression and independent media. As of September 7, at least 72 media workers are believed to be behind bars, according to various human rights organisations.

In the IFJ’s 2022 Myanmar situation report, The Revolution Will Not Be Broadcast, the slate of attacks, killings detentions, and draconian charges against journalists and media workers since 2021 are identified as common practice for the de-facto authorities.

The IFJ said: “The barbaric sentence levelled against Sai Zaw Thaike represents the excesses of a regime responsible for grave human rights violations against its citizens. The IFJ strongly condemns the arbitrary sentencing of yet another journalist by the military junta and urges the international community to do more to support Myanmar’s embattled independent media.”

On September 4, police in Manipur state filed criminal First Information Reports (FIR)against four senior journalists under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, following the September 2 publication of a report by the Editors Guild of India (EGI) analysing trends in media coverage of ongoing violence in Manipur. The FIRs, lodged after a complaint from a local social worker, are based on the mislabelling of a photo caption included in the report for which the EGI issued a correction on September 3.

Announcing the charges at a press conference on September 4, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh alleged that the report would ‘provoke clashes’, and continued to label the report ‘highly condemnable’ due to a perceived lack of consultation during its production.

The four accused include senior journalists and EGI leadership, with investigative team Bharat Bhushan, Sanjay Kapoor, Seema Guha, and guild President Seema Mustafa named in the FIRs. Bhushan, Kapoor and Guha conducted a fact-finding mission to Manipur from August 7-10, with the report concluding that news coverage in the state had disproportionately elevated voices of the politically dominant Meitei people, with this bias ‘contributing to divisiveness and violence’.

In an official statement, the EGI expressed concern at the charges and comments made by Chief Minister Singh, urging the authorities to withdraw the files registered against their members. The Press Club of India also called for the dismissal of all charges, claiming the move constituted intimidation against the guild.

Since the outbreak of violence in May 2023, at least 160 people have been killed in Manipur, with thousands displaced. The increased presence of security forces has resulted in the harassment and assault of several journalists, with internet restrictions imposed by the state government for over four months limiting the scope and quality of news coverage in the area.

The IFJ said: “The publication of a report analysing a complex media context should not be met with legal retribution. If the Manipur government has legitimate issues with the contents of the report they should be discussed through non-criminal proceedings, instead of harassing journalists with arbitrary and intimidatory charges. The IFJ calls on Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and the Manipur state authorities to withdraw all cases against EGI leadership and journalists immediately.”

Phimchanok was charged with royal defamation for a post on her Facebook profile page saying “The government sucks. The institution also sucks.” Pol Col Nopparit Kantha, the superintendent of the provincial investigation department in Chiang Mai, filed charges against her on order of the Chiang Mai regional police working group on national security. Assuming the term “institution” was a reference to the monarchy, the police accused her of royal defamation.

Phimchanok was arrested on 18 March 2022 by a unit of around 15 officers and taken from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. The warrant was issued by the Chiang Mai Provincial Court. She never received a summons before being arrested.

Although Phimchanok’s lawyer requested bail during the inquiry process, the police said that a bail request could only be filed after she had been taken to court for temporary detention. Although the Chiang Mai Provincial Court granted her bail, she was not released until 11.40 on 19 March 2022. This caused her to miss her TCAS examinations, required for university entrance. Thereafter, she was also required to report to the court in Chiang Mai every 12 days, although she lives in Bangkok.

In court, Phimchanok testified that she posted the message but was referring to an educational institution, not the monarchy. She added that even if others think that it refers to the monarchy, it did not constitute royal defamation as the defamation law protects specific members of the royal family, not the royal institution.

On Wednesday (6 September), the Chiang Mai Provincial Court found her guilty of royal defamation. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that the court cited prosecution witness testimonies saying that Phimchanok has previously been advocating for monarchy reform, making it probable that her post referred to the monarchy. The court also ruled that the royal defamation law covers the royal institution as well as the King, Queen, and Heir Apparent, members of the royal family specifically listed in the text of the law.

The court sentenced Phimchanok to 3 years in prison, but reduced her sentence to 2 years because she gave useful testimony. She was later granted bail using a 150,000-baht security and will be appealing her sentence.

TLHR noted that interpretation of the royal defamation law tends to vary from court to court. On 21 August 2023, the Chiang Mai District Court dismissed one count of royal defamation charge filed against student activist Thanathorn Vitayabenjang on the grounds that the statement he read during the protest in front of the Provincial Police Region 5 headquarters mention the monarchy but not specific members of the royal family. However, he was found guilty of another count of defamation for a speech given at the Three Kings Monument, which mentioned the King.

community organizer and a jeepney driver were arrested and taken into custody last Aug. 24 in Buhay na Sapa, San Juan, Batangas province.

In a recent alert issued by Tanggol Batangan, a human rights group in Batangas, the detained individuals were identified as Ernesto Baez Jr., an engaged farmer advocate and organizer of Samahan ng Magbubukid sa Batangas (Sambat), jeepney driver Jose Escobio, and his friend Junald Jabonero.

Baez Jr. is the brother of Erlindo Baez, spokesperson of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan – Batangas, who is now detained due to trumped up cases.

Tanggol Batangan learned of the incident after Escobio’s family reported his disappearance.

In a statement released by Sambat, Baez Jr. said he hired Escobio to drive for him to San Juan, Batangas. The three, however, were intercepted and held at gunpoint at Buhay na Sapa village in San Juan.

They were then blindfolded and forced to return to their vehicles, which, according to Sambat, was filled with planted firearms and explosives.

“The PNP and AFP appear to be merely repeating their well-worn and evident modus operandi of arresting civilians and planting ‘evidence’ on them which clearly shows they are doing this to silence the people,” said Sambat.

All three are detained at Camp Miguel Malvar in Batangas City and have been charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

This incident adds to a growing concern of alleged harassment cases by state forces in Batangas province.

Just this month, local organizers in the sugarcane and sugar industry have been targeted with repeated harassment, false accusations, and surveillance by the 59th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.

“It is crucial to act and mobilize further, intensifying the call to respect the human rights of Batangueños. The abduction of the San Juan 3 only implies the state’s desperation to suppress the rights of the people,” Hailey Pecayo, spokesperson of Tanggol Batangan, said.

Sondhi Limthongkul is suing Prachatai and its editor-in-chief for defamation, alleging that Prachatai distorted his words, leading its readers to misunderstand that he supported a coup. He stated that coups are not legitimate and he has never endorsed one.

On 22 August 2023, Prachatai’s editorial team at the Foundation for Community Educational Media (FCEM) received a summons relating to a defamation case filed by Sondhi Limthongkul, former leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy and founder of ASTV media group. The lawsuit targeted both FCEM and Prachatai’s editor-in-chief, Tewarit Maneechai.

The defamation charge stems from an alleged misrepresentation of Sondhi’s views, implying that he supports a coup. The court has scheduled a preliminary hearing for 30 October 2023.

Two students from Chiang Mai University (CMU) have been found guilty of royal defamation and violation of the 1979 Flag Act for an art installation piece exhibited at an event in March 2021.

Siwanchali ‘Ramil’ Withayaseriwat, formerly known as Withaya Khlangnin, and Yotsunthon Ruttapradid were charged with royal defamation and violation of the 1979 Flag Act for an art installation piece they exhibited during a 14 March 2021 protest at the university. It featured a mannequin wrapped in plastic in the middle of two red and white strips. The complaint was filed by Srisuwan Janya, Secretary-General of the Association for the Protection of the Constitution, a man known as Thailand’s ‘complainer-in-chief’ for filing numerous complaints against activists and politicians.

The installation piece was also shown during an event on 25 March 2021, when students from the Faculty of Fine Arts gathered in front of the University’s Office of Strategy Management to demand an explanation from University and Faculty management for an incident on 22 March 2021, when the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts and several other faculty personnel, claiming that some student art projects might violate the law, attempted to remove the pieces from the Media Arts and Design Department building without first informing the students.

The police said that messages written on the art piece by participants in the 14 March 2021 protest insulted the monarchy. The piece, which looked like a Thai flag without the blue stripe representing the monarchy, was taken to mean that the artist did not wish for the monarchy to exist in the country.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that the Chiang Mai Provincial Court today (28 August) found them guilty of royal defamation and sentenced them to 4 years in prison. The Court also sentenced them to 8 months in prison and fined them 2000 baht each for violating the Flag Act.

According to the Court, the piece was similar enough to the national flag to cause misunderstandings.

It ruled that, by using a colour scheme similar to a Thai national flag without the blue stripe and by holding the piece up as the National Anthem was played, they defamed the King, showing that they did not want the monarchy to be represented on the flag. The Court added that the defendants should have anticipated that some of the protest messages written on the piece would insult the King.

Because they gave useful testimony and are students who have never been sentenced to prison, the Court reduced their sentences to a total of 3 years and 6 months in prison and a fine of 1500 baht each. Their sentence was suspended for 3 years. Instead, they are required to report to a probation officer 8 times over the next two years.

Sri Lankan authorities must investigate the recent harassment of freelance Tamil journalists Selvakumar Nilanthan, Valasingham Krishnakumar, and Antony Christopher Christiraj and hold the perpetrators responsible, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.

Around 12:30 p.m. on August 22, approximately 50 Sinhalese men led by a Buddhist monk surrounded vehicles holding the three journalists after they reported on alleged state-backed encroachments on Tamil cattle farmers’ land in the Mylathamadu area of the eastern district of Batticaloa, according to news reports, the rights group Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, and the three journalists, who spoke to CPJ.

The men—some armed with knives and swords—moved the three journalists and around 17 others, including farmers and members of an accompanying interfaith group, to an open area and held them in the presence of officers from a local government development authority.

Although the interfaith group leaders immediately called the police, officers only arrived five hours later, after Tamil lawmakers raised the issue on the parliament floor.

As of August 30, police have not opened an investigation into the incident, the three journalists told CPJ. CPJ’s messages to the officer-in-charge of the Karadiyanaru Police Station, which oversees Mylathamadu, and Sri Lankan police spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa did not receive any replies.

“Sri Lankan authorities must thoroughly and impartially investigate the recent harassment of Selvakumar Nilanthan, Valasingham Krishnakumar, and Antony Christopher Christiraj by a mob in Batticaloa, and work to end the pattern of impunity relating to attacks on Tamil reporters,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director. “Tamil journalists have a right to report on issues affecting their community without interference or fear of reprisal.”

Ethnic tensions persist between the Sinhalese people, the country’s majority ethnic group, and Tamils following the country’s 26-year civil war that ended in 2009.

Nilanthan, secretary of the Batticaloa District Tamil Journalists Association, was wearing a press jacket and reporting for the privately owned U.K.-based broadcaster IBC Tamil. While he was held, several of the men forced him to delete photos and videos of farmers’ testimonies and the mob setting fire to the land.

He said they also forced him to sign two letters in Sinhala and Tamil stating that he would not report on the incident.

Christiraj, a freelance reporter, and Krishnakumar, a freelancer and the head of the Batticaloa District Tamil Journalists Association, were not wearing press jackets, hid their cameras, and did not inform the mob that they were reporters, they told CPJ.

When Christiraj and Krishnakumar later told police at the scene that they were members of the press, the Buddhist monk asked a police official to order all three journalists to delete their photos and videos, the reporters told CPJ, adding that the official did not comply with the request.

Members of the mob also pressured Krishnakumar to delete photos and videos after learning he was a journalist, which he refused to do, he said.

Although the mob assaulted a Hindu priest, the three journalists were not physically harmed, they told CPJ, adding that they felt traumatized and feared for their safety if they continued to report on the farmers’ plight.

In November 2020, police questioned Nilanthan at his home after reporting on Tamil farmers’ concerns following the growth of military-backed Sinhalese settlements in the district, including Mylathamadu.

Publisher and editor of Nabasangram daily Dineshwor Gupta was attacked while reporting on August 28. The incident took place in Siraha, a district in Madhesh Province.

According to journalist Gupta, he and other journalists were reporting on a clash among local people and Nawarajpur rural municipality officers on the day of incident. During protest on the ownership of a public pond, journalists were taking photos and videos of agitated locals trying to set on fire a municipality's tractor. Meanwhile, a group of 12-15 youths attacked journalists warning to not take photos.

"Other journalists escaped the attack whereas, two of us (me and Jaynath Yadav of Today Khoj daily) were injured from the attack. I have injuries on neck, head and back", shared journalist Gupta.

Thereafter, journalist Gupta informed Superintendent of Police Tekunanda Limbu about the incident and asked him to get his mobile back. But according to Gupta, police was unable to arrest them.

On the next day (August 29), fellow journalists also met with SP Limbu and requested to immediately arrest the attackers. SP Limbu then suggested the journalists to file a First Information Report to initiate the investigation.

"Soon after filing FIR at the local police office, police arrested one of the attackers on August 30 who was however, released immediately. Again after continuous pressure from journalists, police have arrested another person involved in the attack on August 31", said Gupta.

Freedom Forum's media monitoring desk was able to talk to journalist Gupta through Federation of Nepali Journalists Siraha chapter's president Manoj Banaita's phone. FF's monitoring desk also called District Police Office but they showed their unawareness about the incident.

"We are prodding the security authority to arrest remaining attackers as well. This is the matter of journalists' safety. We will not step back", argued President Banaita.

Freedom Forum condemns the incident. Attacking and seizing communication device of a journalist is a gross violation of press freedom. The security authority is strongly urged to address the case seriously and facilitate journalist to get his mobile phone back. The authority should also ensure safety of journalists to avoid any untoward incident.

Chinese political commentator Zhou Yuanzhi, 62, was detained again on 22 August 2023 under undisclosed accusations, only 16 months after his release following a four-year long detention on trumped-up charges. His recent arrest is reportedly related to his comments on the authorities’ handling of recent flooding in Hebei province, in the east of the country, and the detention of another political commentator critical of the regime, Qin Yongmin.

“Zhou Yuanzhi was only serving the public interest by commenting on the country’s political issues. He should never have been detained. We urge the international community to build up pressure on the Chinese authorities to secure Zhou’s release alongside all other journalists and press freedom defenders detained in the country." Cédric Alviani RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau Director

For decades, Zhou has been commenting on corruption and pressing social issues under several pen names in overseas Chinese-language media outlets, including The Epoch Times, a american-registered media outlet close to persecuted religious movement Falun Gong.

Zhou was detained from November 2017 to May 2022 after being convicted of “unlawful assembly”, “defamation”, and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, blurry charges which are frequently used as a weapon against journalists. He was also briefly detained in May 2008 during the crackdown on civil society in the leadup to the Beijing Summer Olympics.

Since Chinese leader Xi Jinping took power in 2012, he has been conducting a large-scale crusade against journalism, as revealed in RSF’s report published in December 2021 The Great Leap Backwards of Journalism in China, which details Beijing’s efforts to control information and media within and outside its borders.

China ranks 179th out of 180 in the 2023 RSF World Press Freedom Index and is the world's largest captor of journalists and press freedom defenders with at least 115 detained.

On 23 August 2023, academic activist and human rights defender Maidul Islam received a show cause letter from the Chittagong University concerning his Facebook posts on the civil and political situation in Bangladesh in light of the upcoming elections. The show cause letter was based on a request sent to the Vice Chancellor by the Chittagong University Teachers' Association (CUTA) in Bangladesh urging the Vice Chancellor to take legal action against the human rights defender.

Maidul Islam is an Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Chittagong (CU), Bangladesh. Currently, the human rights defender is on study leave and pursuing his PhD degree at the Department of Sociology in the University of Pittsburgh, USA. He is also an advocate for academic freedom and civil and political rights on social media and the issues of discrimination, social justice and human rights violations.

Maidul Islam is facing harassment due to his recent social media posts using the hashtag #StepDownHasina as a criticism against the authorities in Bangladesh and concerns over transparency in the upcoming elections in the country. Chittagong University is one of the fully autonomous public universities in Bangladesh and its 1973 ordinance, alongside the country’s constitution, guarantees freedom of expression. Hence, the show cause letter is of severe concern as it infringes upon the freedom of expression of academics.

On 1 August 2023, a member of the student wing of the ruling party, the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), triggered an online smear campaign against the human rights defender where 41 members of the BCL and Awami politicians across the country, including Chittagong University teachers supportive of the ruling party, were tagged in the post. On 20 August 2023, the CUTA held an emergency meeting and urged the Vice Chancellor in a letter to take legal action against Maidul Islam for criticising the government on social media.

In July 2019, Maidul Islam received a fellowship offer from Leiden University, but the Chittagong University administration never granted him education leave to go to the Netherlands and study even though the human rights defender had no legal barrier or travel restriction. 275 university teachers across the country and abroad issued a statement to the authorities in support of Maidul Islam, urging the university to support him for joining the fellowship but there was no response.

The current incident is the latest of many in the chain of harassment Maidul Islam has faced due to his human rights work and academic activism. Maidul Islam was targeted by the student wing of the ruling party and the university administration because of his social media posts in support of the 2018 quota reform movement and against the physical attack by the police and BCL on quota reform movement participants. Additionally, he also raised concerns over the university students’ poor food facilities and living conditions in university dormitories. On 23 July 2018, a leader of the student wing of the ruling party lodged a complaint against him. According to the First Information Report, the case was filed at Hathhazari police station under section 57 of the ICT Act, 2006 (the act was amended in 2013 and section 57 was repealed in 2018) referring to two of his Facebook posts as “defamatory against the Prime Minister.”

On 24 September 2018, Maidul Islam was imprisoned for 37 days on orders of a Chittagong judicial magistrate. On 7 October 2018, Chattogram court granted three-day remand against Maidul. On 9 October 2018, the High Court granted him bail for six months. However, he was not released until 30 October 2018 after some procedural delays. The university administration did not provide any support to him, rather he was temporarily dismissed from his job on 24 September 2018 immediately after the court sent him to jail. Since returning to his university residence after his job was restored, the human rights defender has received continuous threats from members of the BCL.

Maidul Islam’s family, especially his wife Rozyna Begum, has also faced severe consequences and harassment. After the ICT Act case was filed against her husband, Rozyna Begum facilitated the process of dealing with the police and the court. She was a teacher at the Chittagong College, but had to leave her job. BCL cadres flooded social media with smear campaigns against Rozyna Begum, including sexist comments against her which severely impacted her mental health. While Maidul Islam is in the US, Rozyna Begum and family are still in Bangladesh at risk of facing harassment.

On 30 August 2023, human rights defender Nitin Varghese was placed in judicial custody following his arrest by the Madhya Pradesh police on 29 August 2023, after which he was remanded in police custody for a day. The human rights defender has been falsely accused of instigating local community members to attack forest officials in March 2023. At the time of writing this appeal, Nitin Varghese was still to be presented in court.

Nitin Varghese is a core member of the Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan (JADS), a collective which has been working for over 20 years to advocate for the rights of Dalit and Indigenous communities in rural areas of Madhya Pradesh. These communities face systemic violations of their right to land, livelihood, access to resources and the right to live with dignity. Nitin Varghese is a vocal advocate on issues such as illegal deforestation, forced eviction of local communities, and the denial of access to land and forests. The human rights defender Nitin Varghese and other defenders associated with the Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan have been repeatedly targeted in reprisal for their peaceful campaigns in support of the land and environmental rights of the Adivasi community in the Burhanpur District, Madhya Pradesh.

On 29 August 2023, human rights defender Nitin Varghese appeared before the Burhanpur District Court and was remanded to police custody at the Khandwa Jail based on a First Information Report (FIR) bearing number 0078/23. He was asked to surrender before the court through a proclamation under Section 82 of India’s Criminal Procedure Code. The case against Nitin Varghese relates to an alleged attack on a Forest Range office in Burhanpur, where the police falsely claim that the human rights defender instigated members of the Adivasi community to attack public officials. In fact, four Adivasi community members were arbitrarily detained at the Forest Range office and the human rights defender Nitin Varghese was requested by community members to secure their release and prevent any harm befalling those in custody. The charges against the human rights defender include serious offences under the Indian Penal Code including rioting, use of criminal force against public servants, trespassing and unlawful assembly.

On 30 June 2023, Nitin Varghese was served a proclamation to surrender before the court.His application for anticipatory bail before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh was rejected on 16 August 2023, leading to his arrest. Police submitted to the court that one of the persons detained following the alleged attack named Nitin Varghese as the instigator of the attack while in custody. The human rights defender has denied all allegations against him and JADS maintains that one of the accused was forced to sign on a blank paper.

The police claim that Nitin Varghese instigated the Adivasi community members to forcibly break their relatives out of the custody in an attack on the Forest Range office. Although the FIR filed in relation to this incident on 2 March 2023 does not mention the human rights defender, in March 2023 the police summoned Nitin Varghese to the Lalbagh police station under the pretext of recording his statement. Despite the human rights defender cooperating fully with the police, they delayed recording his statement on two occasions. Significantly, the persons named in the FIR were released on default bail after two months in detention, as no chargesheet was filed regarding the incident.

Nitin Varghese has been targeted previously due to his human rights work. On 20 April 2023,a FIR was filed against the human rights defenders Nitin Varghese and Madhuri Krishnaswami by a group of local politicians. The report was filed under sections 294 (Obscene acts and songs) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code along with offences under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The same group of politicians had attempted to disrupt a meeting on 19 April 2023 between JADS members and opposition party leaders who were visiting the area to inspect allegations of deforestation.

It is alarming that the human rights defender Nitin Varghese is being implicated in a case that makes no mention of him, and in which the police have failed to produce a chargesheet to date. During this time, Nitin Varghese has also been suffering from a viral fever and is being treated for a serious medical condition.

Kyrgyz authorities have filed a lawsuit to close down Kloop Media Public Foundation, a nonprofit body that runs an independent online news outlet in Kyrgyzstan, Human Rights Watch said today. The move continues a repressive trend against freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan.

The lawsuit, for which Kloop was officially served on August 28, 2023, was filed by the Bishkek city Prosecutor’s Office alleging Kloop’s failure to register as a mass media outlet and conducting media activity not listed in its charter, which can warrant the liquidation of legal entities under Kyrgyzstan’s civil law code.

The lawsuit also references a pretrial investigation into the foundation’s activities by the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security, initiated in November 2021 on suspicion that Kloop Media publications had violated article 327 of Kyrgyzstan’s criminal code, which penalizes “making public calls for the violent seizure of power online” with three to five years in prison.

“The lawsuit against Kloop Media is the most recent in a string of attacks on freedom of media and freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan, all incompatible with the country’s international human rights obligations, as well as its status as a member of the UN Human Rights Council,” said Syinat Sultanalieva, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Kyrgyz authorities should immediately withdraw the lawsuit and stop harassing independent media in the country.”

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

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

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

Kloop Media’s lawyer, Fatima Yakupbaeva, said the claims lack a legal basis. She said Kloop does not have to be registered as a mass media outlet because it is a nonprofit organization, which according to its charter provides “an information platform for free expression” and aims to “raise awareness of youth in Kyrgyzstan on current socio-political and economic affairs.”

Representatives of independent media community in Kyrgyzstan issued a joint statement saying that the authorities should withdraw their lawsuit, deeming it untenable and asserting that the Kyrgyz government’s effort to punish Kloop’s “sharp criticism of politics” is protected speech guaranteed by the Kyrgyz Constitution and Kyrgystan’s international human rights obligations. The Committee to Protect Journalists also called for the cessation of the legal action against Kloop Media.

Kyrgyz authorities have previously blocked access to Radio Free Europe’s Kyrgyz service websites, froze its bank account for nine months in October 2022 and pursued a lawsuit to shutter it, and ordered the expulsion of Bolot Temirov, an investigative journalist from Kyrgyzstan, in apparent retaliation for his professional activities.

Kyrgyzstan’s international partners including the European Union, EU member states, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe should urge the government to withdraw the lawsuit and to uphold its commitments to freedom of speech.

“Kyrgyz authorities should withdraw the lawsuit against Kloop Media and cease all attempts at punishing journalists for their professional activities,” Sultanalieva said. “The preservation of independent media is fundamental for a functioning democracy and any attempts to suppress critical voices undermine the democratic values Kyrgyzstan has aspired to uphold.”

Ahead of Bui Tuan Lam’s appeal trial scheduled for Aug. 30, his family told Project 88 that security police have posted guards around their home since Aug. 28 and have been taking pictures and videos of their movements and activities.

Responding to the completion of one year of university student Khadijatul Kubra’s pre-trial detention under the draconian Digital Security Act (DSA) in Bangladesh, Nadia Rahman, Amnesty International’s Interim Deputy Regional Director for South Asia said:

“The year-long incarceration and repeated denial of bail to Khadija is a travesty and flagrant violation of the right to freedom of expression in Bangladesh. She should be in university, studying for her degree and not in jail waiting for her fate to be decided under a draconian law. Her continued arbitrary detention comes against the backdrop of a rapidly shrinking space for critical voices and sets a chilling precedent for anyone whose views the authorities disagree with.

"The year-long incarceration and repeated denial of bail to Khadija is a travesty and flagrant violation of the right to freedom of expression in Bangladesh," stated Nadia Rahman, Amnesty International’s Interim Deputy Regional Director for South Asia.

“Despite the government’s decision to repeal the draconian DSA, authorities continue to use the legislation to undermine human rights and persecute critics and activists. Amnesty International calls on the Bangladeshi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Khadija and all those who are arbitrarily detained in Bangladesh solely for peacefully exercising their human rights including to freedom of expression.

“Moreover pending her release, Khadija should be provided with regular access to adequate healthcare and be held in conditions that meet international standards.”

Background: Khadijatul Kubra was a 17-year-old student of political science at Jagannath University in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She had hosted a webinar on campus politics for the social media page called “Humanity for Bangladesh” in November 2020. Almost two years later, on 27 August 2022, Khadijatul Kubra was arrested under DSA and the next day was sent to Kashimpur Jail in Dhaka. Police officers had seen a recording of the webinar on YouTube uploaded by one of the guest speakers – formerly a Bangladeshi army official now based in Canada who had made comments perceived to be critical of the Bangladeshi authorities. A case under DSA was filed for attempting to ‘deteriorate law and order’ and for ‘defaming’ the prime minister, among other charges.

Since then, Khadija’s bail applications have been rejected several times and despite having allegedly developed medical problems including kidney issues, as per the family and media reports Khadija was transferred to a ‘condemned cell’ earlier this year which is reserved for death-row convicts. On 10 July 2023, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court adjourned her bail hearing for four months, stating she should be able to take responsibility for the views expressed on her talk show.

Continued repression by alleged strongmen employed by powerful corporations are behind the recent arrests of 25 persons over the past 3 weeks in Orissa, states a press release of the Ganatantrik Adhikar Surakhya Sangathan, Odisha. Activists including the Adivasis community have been strongly protesting the mining of bauxite by Vedanta, Adani and HINDALCO.

There is a wide contestation on the mode and path of development being allowed by the state government in alliance with the union of India. Adivasis are protesting the destruction of their land, forests and hills, above all, their livelihoods by these corporations.

The Ganatantrik Adhikar Suraksha Sangathan (GASS), Odisha has strongly condemned the spate of ongoing attacks, reportedly in various proposed mining sites of south Odisha over the last three weeks. On August 23, 2023, two office-bearers of the Mali Parvat Suraksha Samiti, Koraput, Abhi Sodi and Das Khara were picked up by plain clothed motorbikers. They are suspected to be the police in view of two similar cases we saw in the Niyamgiri area of Kalahandi district on August 5 and Sijimali and Kutrumali areas of Rayagada district on August 16. Despite the fact that the family members of both Abhi Sodi and Das Khara have filed a separate FIR before the Patangi Police station, their where-about is still unknown.

Also, in the Niyamgiri area, Krushna Sikakkaa and Bari Sikakka of Lakhpadar village, the two Adivasi activists, while returning from Lanjigada weekly market were forcefully being abducted by plain-clothes Odisha Police personnel on August 5. Upon an enquiry by the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti activists about the whereabouts of their fellow activists, the police denied their involvement. Thus on August 6, local tribals staged a protest in front of the Kalyansinghpur police station and submitted a demand for their release.

The press release states that while they were returning, the local police forcibly tried to arrest another Adivasi activist named Drenju Krisikka of Lakhpadar village. The villagers unitedly resisted and their efforts prevented the arrest. But, the local police mentioning the protest of Adivasis as “unlawful activities” have filed an FIR under highly undemocratic laws such as the UAPA and several sections of IPC against eight Adivasi activists associated with the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti. Kalahandi district Ambadola village resident, Upendra Bag, against whom the FIR has been filed, was picked up by the Rayagada police. His arrest was not acknowledged until his son went to file habeas-corpus. He was then produced before the Court and sent to jail after three days of detention. His family members report that he has been tortured while in detention. How could the protest of tribals against illegal detention be the activity of “terrorists” for which the state government has used UAPA? The threat of the government to stop exercise of minimum democratic rights by the people and to whitewash their own wrongdoings, such use of the UAPA is the display of mere authoritarianism. The police, who were denying detention of Krushna, later forwarded under a false case filed in 2018, released Bari and sent to his village.

Though the state government has decided to hand over Bauxite mining from Sijimali located in Kashipur area of Rayagada district to Vedanta Company, the public hearing and Gram Sabha approval process has yet to be completed.

In this situation, some office-bearers of Maitri Infrastructure and Mining India Private Limited, claiming that they have been awarded by the Vedanta company to perform mining work at Sijimali went to that mining area on August 12, with the help of the local police for site-visit.

This action of Maitri Private Limited irked the local people and they protested such site-visit. This resulted into forceful abduction of Dhanafula Majhi, the former Sarpanch of Sindurghati Panchayat, also known as the office-bearers of the “Sijimali Kutrumali Suraksha Samiti”, and Sitaram Majhi and Anil Majhi, both the former Samiti Members by Rayagada police on August 16. They were arrested on August 19 of this month as people’s protests escalated. Meanwhile, 21 villagers have already been arrested from Sijimali area under different sections of the IPC, Criminal Amendment Act and Arms Act. While avoiding the unlawful arrest, one of the villagers fell off the roof and has even suffered a severe spine injury. Now he is being treated at M.K.C.G, medical college, Berhampur.

The act of protecting one’s own land, forest and nature is not a criminal act under the Cr.PC or IPC that the police can arrest someone for this, says the press note.

It has been observed time and again that in order to keep these protesting villagers behind the bar for a pretty longer period of time, provocative incidents are being instigated with the help of local police to begin with. And then after the villagers get agitated and show some reactions, random arrests are being made under various non-bailable sections of the IPC such as attempt to murder, dacoity, rioting, arson and applying the Criminal Amendment Act as well as the Unlawful Arms Act. For the police to arrest someone, offences must have first been committed under the crimes listed in the IPC.

Similar tactics by the state government were followed during the gherao of Kalyansinghpur police station, as well as in Niyamgiri area and in Sijimali area of Kashipur.

This is now being replicated in the Maliparvat area of Patangi block of Koraput district. On August 23, 2023, some civilians posing themselves as policemen picked up Shri Abhi Sodi and Shri Das Khara, the two office-bearers of the “Mali Parvat Suraksha Samiti”, from two different places, says the press release issued by GASS.

Background

Nearly 42 villages are now opposing the proposed HINDALCO bauxite-mining project. The Odisha High Court cancelled the Public Hearing (scheduled for October 2022) held by the State Pollution Control Board, Odisha and instructed this should be organised again. In the subsequent Hearing (January 2023) the public expressed their opposition to the development plans.

Despite the cancellation of the Vedanta Company’s contract following the gram sabha’s decision in Niyamgiri, till date, the state government has not assured the local Dongria adivasis that the Niyamgiri hills will not be handed over to any company.

In the case of Sijimali, the state government is not questioning the Maitri Company entering the area without any legal permission. Even in the Maliparvat case, despite the High Court’s verdict, the state government did not review the pro-corporate involvement of the District administration. It is hard to believe that the state government desires to have development through democratic process, says GASS.

It is not out of place to point out here that this recent clampdown of the Odisha govt. The anti-mining resistance activists have to be seen in the context of the recent amendment to Forest Conservation Bill 2023 which has deleted the existence of ‘deemed forests’ with no rhyme or reason and without debate with Adivasis and other stakeholders. In Niyamgiri, as per reports, over 90 percent of the forests fall under this category. The GASS states that this is meant to enable trade-offs between the mining corporate houses and the State and Union Governments.

GASS has not only condemned these policies of the government and the brutality but questioned the breakdown of due process of law, the use of corporate goons in lieu of the police and the questionable manner in which UAPA and the Arms Act are being drastically applied with an aim to stifle protests and the rights of Adivasis.

Finally, GASS has appealed to all political parties, progressive organisations, trade unions, writers and media persons to oppose these attacks perpetrated by the Orissa government and save this planet from further destruction, so that our earth can sustain longer.

Social activist and environmentalist Prafulla Samantara, who was picked up by police on Tuesday and later released after five hours, on Wednesday accused the Odisha government of unleashing terror in the mining areas to stifle the voice of the Opposition as well as the local tribals.

Winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize for 2017, Samantara, 72, told The Telegraph: “I was about to address a media conference at Rayagada on the plight of those tribals who were opposing the mining activities in Rayagada, Kalahandi and other adjoining areas, but three unidentified people forcibly entered into my hotel room and took me away with them. On the way, I came to know that they were plain-clothes police. Later, they left me at my house in Berhampur around 9.30pm after an almost five-hour journey.”

Berhampur is the southern commercial town of Odisha and about 225km away from Rayagada, which borders Andhra Pradesh.

Samantara, president of the Lok Shakti Abhiyan, sent an FIR to the Rayagada police on Wednesday, stating how three people in civil dress entered his hotel room at Rayagada on Tuesday, snatched away his two phones, tied his hands back and covered his head and face with a towel and forced him to come out of the hotel room and go with them in their four-wheeler. He also pointed out how he was subjected to mental torture.

Samantara said: “Around 24 tribals were put behind bars in Rayagada sub-jail for opposing the mining activities. All of them were in jail in three spates of arrests between August 13 and August 20. They were against the mining of bauxite at Sijumali and other areas in Rayagada district.”

He added: “On Tuesday morning, I reached Rayagada and went to jail to meet them. I was about to address the media to expose the nexus between the government and industrial houses. Before I could address the media at Rayagada, the police abducted me. Later realising that it would bring more trouble, they were forced to release me. It’s a kind of state-sponsored terrorism.”

Samantara said people opposed leasing bauxite mines to Vedanta and Adani groups. “In the name of industrialisation, the indiscriminate mining of bauxite would ruin the areas.”

“The Odisha police have unleashed severe repression by resorting to mid-night raids and abductions. Charges of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act have been foisted on activists opposing the mining of bauxite in their areas,” he said.

According to the environmentalist, the state and the Centre — the BJD and the BJP — are collaborating in accelerating the acquisition of bauxite reserves. Both the ruling establishments seek to stifle the voices of these movements by putting their leaders and active members behind bars.

Despite making a number of attempts, Rayagada superintendent of police (SP) could not be contacted.

Rayagada police station inspector said: “I am yet to receive the FIR copy. I have no idea about the alleged abduction by police.”

Political prisoner Dang Dinh Bach has been assaulted by policemen after telling his family he’d been threatened by other inmates, according to fellow inmate Tran Huynh Duy Thuc who was visited by his family this week.

Bach and Thuc both called their families last Thursday to say people dressed as prisoners had entered their cells, threatening them. Thuc said the inmates who entered his cell had a knife.

On Tuesday, Thuc’s family visited him at Prison No.6 in Nghe An province.

Thuc asked his family to record the names and numbers of 7-8 policemen standing around them, saying they were “those who oppressed and made it difficult for him in the camp,” Thuc’s younger brother Tran Huynh Duy Tan told Radio Free Asia.

“Thuc waited until the end of the visit to say the last word to his family, because he knew that when he said this, he would be stopped,” Tan said.

“In the last sentence, shouting loudly to the family, he said, ‘the day Bach called his family on August 31, he was severely assaulted by police officers.’”

The family had previously sent an urgent request for help to Tran Ba Toan -- head of Prison No. 6 – and the People’s Procuracy of Nghe An Province to request immediate implementation of measures to protect life and ensure the safety of the four political prisoners who had been threatened.

After finishing their visit Tuesday, Thuc’s relatives requested to meet Toan to discuss the case but were told he was on a business trip.

Bach suffered a head injury

Dang Dinh Bach is a lawyer and director of the environmental group, the Center for Legal Studies & Policy for Sustainable Development.

He was arrested in July 2021 and later sentenced to five years in prison for tax evasion.

His wife, Tran Phuong Thao, met with him on Tuesday. Thao said her husband was prevented from bringing a notebook to record their conversation.

“Bach showed me his hand. I saw three cuts on the wrist and hand, each about 2-3 centimeters,” she said.

“I asked him what's wrong? Bach said that I have to understand there are many things he cannot say, but he believes I can understand what is going on in here.”

She said Bachh told her he had a bruise on the back of his neck about 7 cm wide and still has a headache, but the staff refused to examine it.

“On August 31, right after the call home, he was hit in the head from behind,” she said.

RFA’s reporter tried to call Prison No. 6 to verify the information, but nobody answered.

Tran Huynh Duy Thuc told his family in a short phone call that men armed with knives entered his cell. Thuc said his belongings and physical health were under threat. He was supposed to be allowed a 10-minute phone call but the line was abruptly cut after only three minutes. However, in that short span, Thuc was able to give his sister the names of two prison officials who presumably are responsible for his well being: Phạm Văn Luyến (#559-846) and Nguyễn Văn Hiệu (#569-921).

About the Human Rights Defender: Mr. Washim Sajad was a 25-year-old social and human rights activist working as a ground level staff at the NGO Van Andolan Jagriti Sangh in Jharkhand which works for forest rights.

Details of the Incident On April 07, 2023, Mr. Washim Sajad went to Khala village for a meeting on Forest Rights Act. At around 11:00 PM, 4-5 policemen (not in uniform) in white Tata sumo came to the Khala village and apprehended the HRD nearby his grandfather house. They abducted him without following the D.K Basu Guidelines of arrest or detention. Then the HRD was subjected to torture by the police in the vehicle and then by policemen at the police station of Dhurki. The HRD was then shifted to the Dhurki Health Center in the same vehicle in which he was apprehended. HRD was given painkiller injections along with antibiotics at Dhurki Health center. Later the HRD succumbed to injuries sustained due to custodial torture. According to the HRD’s Father - At around 12 o'clock in the night HRD’s father was informed by Dhurki Police station stating that Inspector Krishan Kumar and HRD is in the hospital and requested the HRD’s father to come to the Dhurki primary hospital. The HRD’s father Mr. Mumtaz Ansari went to Dhurki Primary Hospital at 12 o'clock in the night where he met his son. The HRD informed him that he was stomped on his chest and subjected to brutal torture by the Sub Inspector Krishan Kumar and other police officials of Dhurki Police station.

The Father of HRD, Mr. Mumtaz Ansari filed a FIR against the custodial death of the HRD in FIR No 45 of 2023 at Dhurki Police station dated 08-04-2023, U/s 302 IPC, against accused Krishan Kumar Sub inspector, Dhurki Police station.

About the Human Rights Defenders:

Mr. Bhalachandra Shadangi is a lawyer and the National Secretary of the All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha (AIKMS).

Background of the incident:
The Mountain ranges of Siji Mali, Manging and Kutru Mali are spread across three blocks of Kalahandi and Rayada district, which comprises of around 145 villages; are proposed to be mined by Vedanta and Adani group. Due to the intervention of gram sabhas Vedanta failed to obtain the mining lease.

Local HRDs allege that in order to obtain the mining lease, Vedanta has entrusted its mining operations to Maitri Infra and Mining company and it tried to bribe the tribals with the promise of money. When the local leaders questioned them they were threatened with the support of the police.

Details of the Incident: On August 12, 2023 at about 07.30 AM, officials of Maitri Infra and Mining company came to visit the proposed mining site at Siji Mali. Aggrieved by this at 11.00 AM the tribals gathered together at the protest site and protested against the mining activities.

On August 12, 2023, FIRs no.-92, 93, 96, 97 and 101 were registered against 24 activists out of which 21 activists were arrested and produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court (JFCM) Kasipur and were remanded to Rayagada District Jail. On August 16, 2023, three HRDs were arrested by District police Rayagada.

On August 18, 2023, following the arrest of 24 tribals, advocate Bhalachandra Shadangi visited the Kasipur area and met with the families of arrested persons. The HRD was returning to Triki the same day.

At 11 pm the HRD was stopped by Inspector In charge of Triki police station, Mr. Bishweswari Bag and Sub Inspector Mr. Jana who were not in their uniform, along with 4-5 other police officials at Tikri. The HRD was taken to the Triki police station and detained till 12.30 in the night. According to the HRD, he was questioned about his visits in Kasipur Block and his meetings with the arrested persons’ families.

When the HRD asked to show the arrest memo or detention memo the police failed to produce the same, the HRD demanded this release and at 12.30 AM he was released.