Uwazi

The Taliban violently suppressed a rare women’s demonstration in Herat province.

Several dozens of female protesters took to the streets in Herat on Saturday morning (December 24th) to protest against the Taliban’s regressive order, and their protest was immediately dispersed by the Taliban.

Despite being violently suppressed by the Taliban, protesters in Herat still continue to chant slogans, and the Taliban frequently used water cannons for dispersing crowds and limiting access to certain areas, sources indicated.

Protestors consider the Taliban’s order to ban university education for girls against Islamic principles, calling on the Taliban to “respect the holy book and do not deny women’s rights of access to education.”

The Taliban’s decision to ban university education for women has led to widespread objections at the national and international arenas.

6 women among 8 protesters arrested by Taliban members in Afghanistan’s northern Takhar province.

The Taliban have suppressed a march initiated by female students in Taloqan city, sources in Takhar confirmed.

Sources detailed the Taliban arrested two male protesters yesterday and six female protesters today.

Most of the protestors are students of local-based education centers and private universities who had gathered in Yunus Abad and Maarif Alley.

According to sources, the Taliban dispersed the protesters and did not allow local journalists to cover the march.

Meanwhile, female protesters in Herat were also violently dispersed by the Taliban. The Taliban used water cannons to disperse the protesters.

Defying the Taliban’s latest ban on university education for women, dozens of Afghan women's rights activists and girl students Thursday staged a protest in Kabul, Takhar and Nangarhar provinces, demanding that women be allowed access to education and employment.

“Rights for everyone or no one,” the women wearing Islamic hijabs chanted as they marched through the streets in the western part of the capital, Kabul, home to the country’s largest universities.

Eyewitnesses said the protests in Kabul were quickly shut down by Taliban security officials and that at least five women and a couple of male protesters were arrested. Sources connected to women activists confirmed two of those arrested were released.

One of the female protesters, who asked that her name not be used for fear of Taliban retaliation, told VOA, “The Taliban forces beat us up and arrested some of our female and male protesters and took them away. They scattered us apart. However, we will not let it go. We will fight for our rights.”

'They kicked us out'

The Taliban’s armed security guards on Wednesday allowed male students to attend exams but stopped female students from entering their classrooms in different universities.

"We went to the university to give our exam; our male classmates were able to get in the hall, but we were not allowed by the armed Taliban forces. They kicked us out of the university with violence and cruelty, as if we had committed a huge crime. We have four exams left. What is going to be our future?” said one female student from Nangarhar University who asked not to be identified for safety reasons.

“I had studied and prepared for my exam until very late that night. As soon as I woke up and saw the news about the ban, my dreams shattered. I started crying. Why are we treated as criminals? We have no respect and no values for these people,” said Bahar Ahmadzai, a student at Kabul Medical University.

The ban was announced Tuesday, a day before the universities’ final exams.

Following broad condemnation of the move, the Taliban’s higher education minister, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, defended the decision in a post on Twitter.

“The Nation is angry with me because of the closure of girls' education, while this is the order of the Messenger of Allah," the tweet said. "Islam does not allow women to do prostitution in the name of education. A woman is like a piece of land owned by a man, and she is obligated to be at his service, not perusing education.”

In the eastern city of Nangarhar, some male university students also walked out of their exams in protest against the Taliban’s decision to ban female students from higher education.

One male student, who also declined to provide his name, said, “We did not attend the exam and we will not until our female classmates are allowed to take exams, too.”

On Wednesday after female students were not allowed to take part in the exams, several male professors from various universities in multiple provinces resigned in protest.

'Dark day'

Obaidullah Wardak, assistant professor at Kabul University, said, “I and some of my colleagues resigned in protest against this dark day. We will not return to the university unless the decision is revoked by the Taliban.”

Afghan writer and human rights activist Shafiqa Khpalwak called the ban on girls’ education a crime against humanity. She asked the international community and Islamic countries to step forward and help the Afghan women in this fight against extremism.

“This catastrophe does not only concern the rise of women but threatens the whole existence of our country," she said. "The so called 'international community' is also responsible for the crisis and now they cannot look away from us, they cannot walk away from the mess they have created. We need them to come up with practical and pragmatic solutions that will eventually bring results for us.”

“Afghan women are alone in this fight against radicalism. They need help!” she added.

Lida Afghan, a Danish-Afghan artist whose art highlights social problems and women’s rights, said it is time for the world to stand with the Afghan women.

“I was supposed to focus on my exams today and then I got the news that Afghan women are banned from going to the university," Lida said. "I thought: It could have been any of us if our parents hadn’t fled the country. In these tough times the whole world should be standing up for the Afghan women, knowing it could have been one of us.”

The Taliban have so far shut girls’ secondary schools; banned women from public parks, gyms and baths; imposed mandatory hijab “covering faces”; and imposed executions and harsh public punishments such as flogging.

Several countries including the United States and the U.N.'s mission in Afghanistan asked the Taliban leadership to "immediately" revoke the decision.

Men in official uniform armed with HK rifles charging in and dismantling barricade at the entrance and exit of Klong Sai Pattana Community, SPFT, while coercing and intimidating women/land rights defenders and community members and seizing their phones, SPFT members calling out the barbaric operation by the officials and preparing to stage a protest at Government House to demand justice, while reporting the case to the police in Chai Buri According to the Southern Peasants' Federation of Thailand (SPFT), on 21 December 2022 around 12.30, the land rights defenders of Klong Sai Pattana Community under the Southern Peasants' Federation of Thailand (SPFT) were confronting with more than 15 men clad in forestry official uniform, Territorial Defense Volunteer uniform and administrative official uniform, in three vehicles, some of which with a sticker of the Department of Provincial Administration while others had no licenses plates. They were charging in to dismantle barricade at the entrance and exit of the community causing damage to the barricade. They also forcibly held two land rights defenders in custody including one woman and one man without producing any warrant. They even threatened that “If you shut down the gate, you will face prosecution.” They proceeded to seize the two defenders’ phones and delete the photos they had taken while the intimidation was taking place and adjusted the frequency on their walkie talkie making the rights defenders unable to communicate with other fellow community members. It was to prevent them from immediately reporting the situation while they were subjected to rights violation to their fellow rights defenders. After dismantling the barricade, the men in uniform have released both individuals who then drove their motorcycle to bring the situation to the attention of their community members. That day marked the 14th anniversary of the struggle and the demand for the right to land of the Southern Peasants' Federation of Thailand (SPFT). HRDs of the Southern Peasants' Federation of Thailand (SPFT) have then reported the case to the local police in Chai Buri District for record. While the police were preparing the record of the incidence, the men in official uniform were reportedly returning to the community, but this time, they stopped at about 1.5 kilometers from the entrance. They announced that they wanted to participate in the event held to mark the 14th anniversary of one of SPFT community‘s member, but were told that the event had been finished. The officials then went back. Around 15.20, while walking back inside their community, SPFT members have found more than 20 officials led by the President of the Sai Thong Tambon Administration Organization, officials from the Surat Thani Office of Social Development and Human Security, the Chai Buri District Chief Officer, officials from the Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO) and Territorial Defense Volunteers armed with HK rifles and pistols, had

gone inside the community whose members are peasants who have been struggling to demand their right to land. According to Pratheep Rakhangthong, a SPFT’s land rights defender and leader, the arrival of the official was not a peaceful action but rather a sign of repression. If they want to do this nonviolently, they must have sought to dialogue with us. We put on the barricade to preempt further loss since until now; we have lost at least four members of our community. We do not want to see further loss. As a result, we need to put up some protection. In addition, the road access into our community has been made possible by our persistent demand and struggle. During our struggle, the local authorities have hardly paid any attention to us. The road access is also not built on a public road, and it has been built exclusively for the use of the community. Therefore, the community wants to have power to manage our own security to prevent further loss and imminent intimidation. Chusri Olakit, a women land rights defender and leader of SPFT said that the incidence has stemmed from a couple of earlier requests made by the Sai Thong TAO to ask for permission to use this road access, although we refused to give them access citing the road’s bad condition. We fear that if we allow the use by vehicles with heavy load, it will further exacerbate the road condition. We would allow access by small vehicles, though. However, all of a sudden, without notifying us in advance, they sent people here to charge at our checkpoint. Given this incidence, it makes us concerned that this will happen again similar to how our community members have been subjected to repeated assassinations. We have no idea if we will be safe in our life and property tonight, or tomorrow night. The act of the authorities was barbaric. They just barged in and dismantled our property. Now, our community members feel unsafe since the people who claim to be government officials have constantly harassed and intimidated us during their invasion. The authorities have to offer an explanation for this act. If not, we will go and seek a negotiation in front of the Government House. The District Chief Officer has dared us to do anything and anytime. Klong Sai Pattana Community is situated in Tambon Sai Thong, Chai Buri District, Surat Thani, and is one of the four communities established by members of the Southern Peasants' Federation of Thailand (SPFT), the landless peasants who demand their right to land and agricultural rights. They help the state to investigate the land occupied illegally by private investors without paying their rent to the state. In 2002, the land rights defenders have demanded that the Provincial Governor of Surat Thani set up an inquiry committee. As a result of the committee’s investigation, it was found the land has been illegally occupied by private investors although local authorities have failed to execute their duties accordingly. In 2008, the land rights defenders have formed themselves and established the Klong Sai Pattana Community and continued to demand policy reform by the state. The state has been urged to allocate land to small-scale farmers and landless workers based on the “community title deed” model in collaboration with the People's Movement for Just Society (P-Move). In addition, Klong Sai Pattana Community has been subjected to constant intimidations. During 2010-2016, the Community’s four members including two women human rights defenders have been assassinated, while one another sustained serious injuries. No one has been held accountable and punished for the crime. As a result, the community has to come up with measures to protect their own security in life and property.

Land and environmental rights defenders in Thailand are struggling to make their voice heard, particularly since the 2014 coup d'état. Since then, the shrinking space to address their concerns has been drastically compromised. Land right defenders (HRDs) in Thailand have been systematically crimininalised, prosecuted and even killed for their human rights and environmental work. These recent attacks SPFT highlight the lack of effective mechanisms to protect women and HRDs in Thailand, particularly those operating in rural areas with limited resources. They are not isolated incidents, but they are part of a larger pattern of human rights violations, which illustrate the increasing tensions between state, corporations and the communities affected by their business activities. Protection International Thailand urge Thai government and all stakeholders to recognise the link between the climate crisis and the growing violence and repression against women/land and environmental defenders and take immediate meaningful steps to protect the role of women and defenders in promoting ambition and enhancing climate action.

Kazakh rights activist Sanavar Zakirova has been sentenced to 10 days in jail on a charge of "disobeying police." Zakirova was detained along with several other women on December 20 after they demonstrated in Astana demanding that President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev meet with them over social problems faced in the country. It is not known if the other detained women faced trials as well. Zakirova has been sentenced to several jail terms in recent years and has been prevented from registering her Nashe Pravo (Our Right) political party.

More than a dozen activists of the opposition movement Oyan, Qazaqstan! (Wake Up, Kazakhstan!) have been detained in the country’s largest city, Almaty, as the Central Asian nation marks the 31st anniversary of its independence.

RFE/RL's correspondents in Almaty say that Bota Sharipzhan, Mira Ongharova, Fariza Ospan, Naghashybek Bekdaiyr, Aidana Aidarkhan, Beibarys Tolymbekov, Bauyrzhan Adilkhanov, and Asem Zhapisheva are among those who were detained on December 16.

Many of the activists were detained while they were making their way to the Independence Monument in the city center to commemorate the anniversaries of two violent crackdowns on protests that coincide with Kazakhstan's Independence Day.

One is the 1986 anti-Kremlin youth demonstrations, known as Zheltoqsan, in Almaty that erupted after Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev replaced Kazakhstan's long-term ruler, Dinmukhammed Konaev, with Gennady Kolbin, an ethnic Russian sent by Moscow to head the then-Soviet republic.

Demonstrations against the appointment were put down by a violent crackdown by Soviet authorities. Hundreds of people are believed to have been killed by security forces, although officially only several people were said to have lost their lives during the demonstrations that lasted for three days.

Also, 11 years ago police opened fire at protesting oil workers in the southwestern town of Zhanaozen, killing at least 16 people and one person in the nearby town of Shetpe.

Several opposition activists across the Central Asian nation were detained before December 16 on charges related to their previous participation in unsanctioned rallies.

Another NagaWorld worker was questioned by a Phnom Penh court on Tuesday in a case filed by the casino corporation, where very little has been made public about the events leading to the charges.

NagaWorld workers have been protesting against the casino corporation for firing more than 1,300 workers last year, with little more than 100 workers refusing to accept termination compensation. After months of strikes and protests, the casino corporation filed a court complaint against at least nine workers alleging breaking and entering, intentional damage and illegal confinement.

But workers say they are unclear what incident the charges are based on. Several workers who have already been questioned in the case said they were only shown photos of them standing outside the casino complex protesting.

Seak Panha, 32, appeared in court on Tuesday and was questioned for around 90 minutes. She was asked about her participation in the protests and if anyone ordered her to join the labor action. She said the investigating judge repeated these questions even though she gave the same answers.

She was also shown the photos of the protesters outside the casino on August 19 and 20 but said that she was not in any of the photos.

“The questions are to pressure the workers. For me, it is mental pressure,” she said after her questioning. “Taking the court procedures forward is like a mental threat to us to stop protesting against the Naga company.”

Unionist Nop Tithboravy said seven workers had been questioned in the case and two others were scheduled to be questioned on December 15 and 27, respectively.

Apart from the criminal charges, NagaCorp has also filed a civil suit to get a court to enforce its compensation package for workers. While most workers have accepted compensation, the Ministry of Labor said 124 have yet to take severance packages.

The court is still investigating charges against around a dozen NagaWorld union leaders and members, with union leader Chhim Sithar, who was on bail, arrested at the Phnom Penh Airport for allegedly violating her bail conditions. She had traveled to Australia for a labor conference but the court said she was not allowed to leave the country, as per her bail conditions.

State security police across China have been questioning lawyers who volunteered to help people arrested during recent anti-lockdown protests, with some withdrawing from the scheme due to political pressure from the authorities, Radio Free Asia has learned.

Chinese human rights lawyers have been scrambling to assist the friends and families of people arrested during a wave of anti-lockdown protests at the end of November, many of whom have little experience being treated as dissidents by Chinese authorities.

Lawyer Wang Shengsheng, who compiled and published a list of dozens of attorneys offering to volunteer to help people detained for protesting China’s “zero-COVID” restrictions or mourning the victims of a Nov. 24 lockdown fire in Xinjiang's regional capital, Urumqi, said state security police had starting investigating her after she started helping detained protesters.

Wang, who hails from the central city of Zhengzhou but works for a law firm based in the southern city of Guangzhou, said the city's justice bureau had turned up at her law firm and taken away all of the files linked to previous cases she has represented.

"They sent people from the judicial bureau's [Communist Party] committee," she told RFA on Tuesday. "They were checking whether my records were in order, for example, we need to sign a contract when taking a new case, and issue a receipt when we receive our fees."

"They're trying to find some [error] they can pick up on, also whether or not I have taken any politically sensitive cases," Wang said. "They are deliberately trying to catch me making a mistake.”

"The reason behind it was the fact that I offered pro bono legal advice ... I don't know why they think that was such a bad thing to do that they need to put pressure on me via my law firm," she said, adding that the state security police had also contacted her.

"The Zhengzhou state security police came looking for me, because I'm in Zhengzhou right now," Wang said.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party, faced with the biggest challenge to its rule in decades, is saying that the "white paper" protests were the work of "foreign forces" infiltrating China, a notion that has been met with widespread derision among protesters and social media users.

Wang told RFA in November that some lawyers had declined to take part in the volunteer network, believing they would risk losing their license to practice law by participating, as happened to many attorneys who spoke up in favor of human rights, or helped political dissidents and other marginalized groups considered a stability risk by authorities.

She said that since then, several other attorneys who offered their services have been contacted by state security police or justice bureau officials where they live.

"The justice bureau officials and the state police have been contacting them," Wang said. "For example, Lin Baocheng was contacted by the state security police in Xiamen and Lu Siwei had the state security police come to find him in Chengdu."

"I don't understand what our actions have to do with the police," she said.

Wang said she has now been prevented from logging onto the volunteer lawyers' group on the social media and messaging platform WeChat.

"My WeChat account has been restricted, so I can't send messages in the group, or make any changes to the list [of volunteer lawyers]," she said. "No one can post messages in the WeChat circle."

The volunteer legal team has received more than 30 inquiries so far, she said.

"The authorities should understand how helpless the protesters felt ... and their frustration, and treat them with compassion," Wang said. "Why do those in power not trust their own people?"

Meanwhile, veteran rights lawyer Yu Wensheng said he didn't take part in the volunteer legal team for fear of political reprisals, although he was cheered to see the lawyers standing up for protesters.

Jiangsu's Xuzhou Intermediate People's Court handed a four-year jail term to Yu on subversion charges in June 2020 after nearly three years in pretrial detention, finding him guilty of "incitement to subvert state power" in a secret trial.

The sentence was widely seen by fellow lawyers as a form of political retaliation for Yu's outspokenness following a nationwide operation targeting rights lawyers and law firms that began on July 9, 2015, and his call for fully democratic presidential elections in China.

"After I got out of jail, I found that human rights lawyers had been decimated, almost wiped out by the government," Yu told RFA on Monday. "Now, some lawyers are finally standing up [to the authorities]. This is a good thing."

"But we should also be wary of another July 2015 [nationwide operation targeting rights lawyers], which would be very bad, and is entirely possible," he warned.

Yu, whose license to practice law was revoked in January 2018, still has traumatic memories of his time in incommunicado detention under "Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location," describing much of his incarceration as "unbearable to look back on."

He said he would like to leave the country, but fears it may not be possible.

"My desire to leave China is particularly great now, because I really can’t bear the current situation, and I am very pessimistic about its future direction,” Yu said.

"A lot of very capable and professional human rights lawyers have basically had their licenses revoked, and the ones who remain are too afraid to stand up to the government when it comes to representing cases," he said.

"It sometimes feels as if there's not a lot of difference between life in prison and life outside," Yu told RFA.

Chhim Sithar will remain in pretrial detention for incitement after the Phnom Penh Municipal Court turned down the casino union leader’s appeal for bail, a rights group said.

Sithar was arrested late last month after returning from an overseas labor conference.

Initially arrested in January over ongoing worker protests against NagaWorld, she was released on bail after promising she would stop participating.

Licadho, a local human rights NGO, said on Monday that its lawyer, who was part of Sithar’s legal team, had received a notice from the court today that she would remain in detention.

Sithar was rearrested at the Phnom Penh airport after returning from Australia. Authorities said she had been banned from traveling as part of her earlier bail conditions, but her defense has said they had not been told of the restriction.

Another of her lawyers, Sam Chamroeun, said he was busy Monday afternoon and could not immediately comment.

NagaCorp laid off 1,300 workers amid Covid-19 and is accused of union-busting for targeting labor leaders who the workers say should have been protected from termination.

More than 100 workers continue to resist their terminations as the protests against the Phnom Penh casino reach almost one year.

Dozens of protesters stood outside NagaWorld in orange prison jumpsuit-like outfits on Monday in support of Sithar, a live video by worker Mam Sovathin showed.

In addition to several union leaders like Sithar who still face incitement charges, some others have been questioned over an unclear NagaCorp court complaint about alleged breaking and entering. Unionists have also been summoned to testify over the company’s request for a court ruling on the protracted labor dispute.

Concern is growing over the fate of four Tibetan women detained by China for protesting strict COVID lockdowns in Sichuan, with no word given yet by authorities concerning their whereabouts, according to Tibetan sources.

Zamkar, Kelsang Dolma, Dechen and Delha — all in their 20s and residents of Dardo (Kangding, in Chinese) county in the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture —were arrested on December 5 and are now being held somewhere in Kardze, sources told RFA.

“Their exact location is still unknown, but we have heard that they are being given political re-education sessions by the Chinese government,” a source living in the region said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

The women were taken into custody in their hometown after returning from Sichuan’s provincial capital Chengdu, where they had participated in anti-lockdown protests, RFA’s source said.

“They had also written a letter to their employer, complaining they hadn’t been paid while the lockdown was in force.

“Only one of them reported to the police when they were summoned for questioning, but the rest were taken from their homes and brought to the police station by force,” he added.

Also speaking to RFA, a Tibetan living in exile said the four women had worked at a Chinese-owned restaurant in Chengdu before their arrest. “But the Chinese authorities have refused to provide any information to their relatives regarding their arrest or current whereabouts,” the source said, citing contacts in the region.

Political prisoner’s sister also held

Chinese authorities in Tibet’s capital Lhasa have meanwhile arrested the sister of a Tibetan businessman now serving a life sentence on what rights groups and supporters call politically motivated charges of loan fraud, a Tibetan advocacy group said on Wednesday,

Gonpo Kyi, also called Gontey, was taken into custody on Dec. 19 shortly after staging a peaceful protest in front of the Higher People’s Court in Tibet’s regional capital Lhasa, the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet, or ICT, said in a statement.

Elder sister of businessman Dorjee Tashi, jailed since 2010, Kyi had also staged a sit-in in June in front of the People’s Court calling for her brother’s release. Tashi had first been charged with secession, a charge frequently used by authorities to silence Tibetans promoting Tibetan national identity or criticizing Chinese rule in Tibet, ICT said.

ICT research analyst Tenzin Norgay told RFA it was no surprise that Kyi was detained only minutes after she began her latest protest.

"As we all know, Dorjee Tashi was unjustly sentenced to life imprisonment and framed by the Chinese government," he said.

“Dorjee Tashi has spent almost 14 years in Drapchi prison and his health condition is unknown. His family members initially discretely appealed for his release from prison, but there was no outcome, so in the past few years we have seen his family members openly calling for his release in front of the court.”

Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force more than 70 years ago. Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on the region, restricting Tibetans’ political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity.

Police in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou are denying the mother of a rights activist detained after an anti-lockdown protest permission to meet with her daughter.

Yang Zijing, who uses the social media handle "Dim Sum," was taken away on Dec. 4 by plainclothes police from her home in Guangzhou on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge frequently used to target critics of the government, the Hubei-based Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch website reported on Dec. 14.

Yang was detained after getting home from a Dec. 4 protest on Guangzhou's Haizhu Square, and her friends warned not to post details of the arrest to social media, the website said.

The Beijing Road police station confirmed on Dec. 7 she was being held under criminal detention, despite the fact that she had neither held up a sheet of paper, nor made any kind of public speech in Haizhu Square.

Yang's mother Gao Xiusheng flew to Guangzhou as soon as she heard the news, she told Radio Free Asia in a recent interview.

"When I arrived in Guangzhou at 10.00 p.m. that evening, I went straight to the police station, who told me the officer in charge of the case wasn't there," Gao said. "They told me she was in criminal detention but didn't tell me why."

"I asked them to explain why they had brought Dim Sum in, but they said I wasn't allowed to have that information, just to know that she had been detained," she said.

"I went back to the police station with my lawyer the next day, but they told me that they couldn't let me meet with her, and the lawyer couldn't either," Gao said.

Makes no sense

She said it made no sense that people who protested for an end to the zero-COVID policy should be locked up now that it had been lifted.

"Dim Sum was just going along with everyone else," Gao said. "Maybe the means weren't right, but her intentions were good."

"Now, everyone else is allowed to move around freely, but Dim Sum is still locked up," she said.

Uncertainties remain over Yang's exact location.

While a police detention notice claimed she was being held in the Yuexiu District Detention Center, the civil rights website said she was still in Beijing Road police station as of Dec. 12.

Gao said she is concerned for Yang's well-being in police detention.

"I'm most worried about her health, because of the [current COVID-19] outbreak," she said. "I tried to deliver some clothes, but the police officer told me they can't take them, because prisoners aren't allowed to wear their own clothes."

'White paper' protests

Gao's lawyer recently tested positive for COVID-19, and is currently in self-isolation, making it impossible to proceed any further with their attempts to get a meeting with Yang, she said.

"She is a good kid who has always been obedient and never did anything illegal," Gao said. "I had no idea it was so serious at first; I just thought it would be a question of bringing her back home."

"I've been here more than 10 days, and I'm not even allowed to see her ... I've never experienced anything like this before," she said. "All I want is for her to get out as soon as possible, even if we're told we can't talk to anyone about it, and go back home."

Three other Guangzhou-based protesters were detained around the same time for their role in "white paper" demonstrations, in which protesters held up blank sheets of paper in a mute protest at the lack of freedom of speech around ruling Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping's zero-COVID policy.

The authorities relaxed most restrictions under the policy within days of the protests, which were sparked by public anger over a fatal lockdown fire in Xinjiang's regional capital Urumqi, and included calls for Xi to step down and call elections.

Chinese human rights lawyers have been scrambling to assist the friends and families of people arrested during a wave of anti-lockdown protests at the end of November, many of whom have little experience being treated as dissidents by Chinese authorities.

While the legal volunteers have reported large numbers of enquiries in the aftermath of the protests, lawyer Wang Shengsheng said the authorities have been contacting the dozens of attorneys who signed up and putting pressure on them to withdraw their services.

The Communist Party, faced with the biggest challenge to its rule in decades, views the "white paper" protests as the work of "foreign forces" infiltrating China, a notion that has been met with widespread derision among protesters and social media users.

Meanwhile, faculty and students told Sabrangindia that, on Friday, December 2, a protest has been organised by students against the hoolaginism of the ABVP at the Delhi University (DU). Section 144 has been imposed by the Delhi police prohibiting gatherings.

Also, anti-Brahmin and Baniya casteist grafitti appeared on the walls of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). ABVP has alleged that AISA and the left are responsible for this, as they are “anti-national and anti-Hindu”. The Left has pointed out that it is the ABVP that is at the source of the violence (attacks on meetings, disappearance of Najeeb Ahmed after a ABVP attack, beating up students on the campus and in hostels) but to date –due to the impunity enjoyed by the outfit --no action has been taken even when they are identified on CCTV camera.

[[Najeeb Ahmed, a first year MSc Biotechnology student in the JNU went missing on October 15, 2016 after the alleged attacks on him by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the ruling party. This had sparked students’ movements across the country. His mother Fatima Nafees has been tirelessly following up his case. On multiple occasions she has faced extreme police brutality despite peacefully demanding for her son to be found.]]

All these developments have seriously vitiated the atmosphere on campus. JNUTA (JNU Teachers Association) has stated that there is no security on campus and that the JNU administration has failed completely. Both sides, meanwhile have demanded a speedy “free and fair enquiry” into these recent attacks.

Photo1

ABVP goons attacked students campaigning on campus for a meeting demanding the release of Prof. G.N. Saibaba. Armed with rods and hurling bricks that injured several students who have been taken to Hindu Rao Hospital for treatment. ABVP students even surrounded the hospital where students were taken for treatment. Police reached after desperate calls and finally “removed” ABVP aggressors from the hospital. The SHO of Maurice Nagar police station was also present at the hospital but it is yet unclear whether an FIR has been filed and against whom in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

December 1: The incident took place during a protest organized by Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM). According to reports, students from the Campaign against State Repression (CASR) were campaigning on the DU campus when they were allegedly attacked with stones first, then with lathis (batons).

Teachers and professors associated with the All India Forum for the Right to Education (AIFRTE) shared photos of the students attacked with Sabrangindia

Ravinder Singh, a final-year law student and the incumbent president of Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch, told the media (ABP News and Quint ) that around 10 to 12 students were holding a campaign to spread awareness about GN Saibaba’s unjust incarceration. Out of the blue, 40–50 ABVP students attacked them with lathis. Many students were injured, he added. Protestor Rajveer said his friend was hit with a brick, while another was pinned down and beaten up.

According to media reports the injured students were immediately rushed to the Hindu Rao Hospital. The students who were seeking treatment at the hospital allege that 40 to 50 people also surrounded the hospital and threatened them.

Ehtmam, a law graduate from Jamia Millia Islamia who was a part of the campaign, claimed that ABVP said that if they step out of the hospital, they will attack them again. This threat was given in front of police officials, he added.

Ravinder said that while some of the alleged attackers had the Aam Aadmi Party’s flag tied to their knees, he was certain that they all were from the ABVP.

Background:

On January 5, 2020, at the height of the anti CAA 2019 protests in the capital a masked mob armed with sticks and bricks went on a rampage at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), beating up students and vandalising university property. Many of them were identified as directly associated with the ABVP; to date they have not been arrested.

A Baguio court handed down a guilty verdict against Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) Secretary-General Sarah Dekdeken, over a cyber libel case filed against her by former Cordillera Police Regional Director Brigadier General R’Win Pagkalinawan.

“This libel case is an attack on truth and those who wield it to champion peoples’ political rights,” said CPA in a statement decrying the guilty verdict.

Baguio Regional Trial Court Branch presiding Judge Ivan Kim B. Morales issued the ruling yesterday, Dec. 1.

In 2021, Pagkalinawan filed charges against Dekdeken for her remarks in an online press conference detailing the desecration of the Heroes’ Monument in Bugnay, Kalinga and the perpetrators behind it.

In her testimonies, Dekdeken recalled how she only relayed information based on reports gathered from the community in Bugnay, blaming the police as the culprits in the demolition of the monument. The community reported that the police removed the monument under the orders of then Regional Director Pagkaliwan.

CPA noted that this was not taken into consideration, citing how Dekdeken supposedly “failed to show proof” that Pagkalinawan was the one who ordered the demolition and that her claims were “malicious and sufficient to impeach the reputation of the complainant” since she also failed to investigate and verify the information with Pagkalinawan first before conducting the online press conference.

Dekdeken was fined P250,000 and ordered to pay Pagkalinawan an additional P10,000 as moral damages and P5,000 as exemplary damages.

“It is a machination to cover up their involvement in the desecration of the Cordillera Heroes’ Monument, a symbolic structure of peoples’ triumphs over state-sponsored destructive development initiatives,” they added.

The group added that this is only an attempt to erase the fact that the same people who are supposed to serve their constituents are the ones who are violating the people’s civil and political rights.

Pagkalinawan was also the one who filed a similar case against Northern Dispatch’s editor-in-chief Kimberlie Quitasol and reporter Khim Abalos over his “shoot to kill” order in 2021.

“We maintain that speaking the truth is not libelous nor is it a crime; especially so if the true narrative is a revelation of state institutions’ abuse of power. This is a responsibility of every citizen in a democratic society,” CPA said.

A court in Vietnam has convicted seven people for “resisting on-duty state officials” during a demonstration against the demolition of a road that ran through their parish, which ended in clashes between protesters and riot police.

The trial took place at the headquarters of the People's Court of Nghe An province, according to state-controlled media. All seven residents of Binh Thuan parish were found guilty under Article 330 of the Criminal Code.

Bui Van Canh, 44, was sentenced to one year in prison. Ha Van Hanh, 42, Tran Thi Hoa, 52, and Tran Thi Thoa, 58, were sentenced to eight months. Tran Thi Nien, 38, and Ha Thi Hien, 35, were both sentenced to six months in prison. Bach Thi Hoa, 70, was sentenced to four months and 17 days -- exactly the same amount of time she spent in detention -- and was released.

On July 13, hundreds of riot police descended on the parish in Nghe An’s Nghi Thuan commune to stop protesters removing a fence blocking a road that connects the parish to a national highway. The road, which had been in use for more than 100 years, is located on land the government granted to a private company for a planned industrial zone.

According to the indictment, the defendants "and many other extremists strongly opposed and obstructed" construction workers who were trying to demolish the road and the police sent to protect them. The indictment said protesters were: “shouting, cursing, carrying beer bottles; picking up and gathering rocks and glass bottles to provide for other protesters to throw at the riot police who were guarding works; using their hands and sickles to push the barbed wire fence to widen the road for the opponents; and directly rushing in and using their hands to push and beat repeatedly on the shields of the riot police.” As a result, it said, five police officers were injured and had to be treated at the hospital.

The protesters’ version of events differs from that given by the police. Demonstrators said police threw smoke grenades and explosives at them. Of three people released over the next few days, one said he was beaten while in custody.

No lawyers, no families in court

The seven defendants had no legal counseling and their relatives said they were not permitted to attend last week’s trial.

“I went to the detention center on November 29 to send things to my wife, but they didn't say anything [about the following day’s trial],” Ha Thi Hien's husband Nguyen Minh Duc told RFA, adding that none of the defendants' families had been informed.

“On the morning of November 30, around 7:30 a.m., there were two commune policemen in plain clothes walking along the street saying: 'Today the trial is in the province, the families should go to see how it goes.' The families were about to go when Mrs. Hoa came back from the hearing. She said that the trial was held in the district and not in the province.”

Duc said his wife and other defendants did not have defense attorneys because the police had told their families that if they hired lawyers the sentences would be heavier.

The seven were held in a Nghe An provincial Police detention center for the past four months. During that time, Duc said he only saw his wife twice, for five minutes each time. He said the other six defendants were only allowed to see their families once for five minutes.

Duc called the sentences unfair and too long, saying the people of Binh Thuan parish just wanted to protect a road that has existed for more than 100 years and helped locals go about their business.

He said his wife did not take part in any of the actions listed in the indictment, fellow defendant Ha Van Hanh only recorded a video of police grabbing people, and Bach Thi Hoa was found guilty despite suffering two broken ribs during her non-violent protest.

Duc said the prison sentence will seriously affect his family's life because he has to take time off work to take care of his two children - a two-year-old and an eight-year-old.

NagaWorld union leader Chhim Sithar was questioned at the Phnom Penh International Airport today and has been sent to prison, with a police official saying she violated her bail conditions.

Phnom Penh Police spokesperson San Sokseyha said the immigration police had arrested Sithar at the airport because the Phnom Penh Municipal Court issued an arrest warrant for the union leader.

He said this was because she had traveled overseas, which was against her bail conditions. He added that she had been taken to court.

“This morning the Phnom Penh police cooperated with [immigration at] the airport because of an arrest warrant of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for failure to comply with the court decision on March 14, 2022,” he said, referring to the day Sithar was released on bail.

“Sithar doesn’t have a right to leave Cambodia unless the court decides for her.”

Sithar and 10 others are on bail, but it was unclear whether they were prevented from traveling overseas, and whether there were restrictions on reasons she could leave the country.

Licadho, which represents some of the charged NagaWorld workers, said Sithar had been moved to Prey Sar prison this afternoon.

The rights group added that Sithar’s lawyers were not aware or informed of “any judicial supervision or probation conditions, such as travel restrictions.”

According to information from labor rights group Central, the union leader was returning from a labor conference in Australia when immigration officers at the international airport scanned her passport and then escorted her away for questioning.

Central added that Sithar was arrested at around 10 a.m. Saturday morning and that rights groups and her lawyers have not been able to reach the prominent union leader since.

Sithar was violently arrested near the National Assembly in January and jailed with at least 10 other union colleagues earlier this year. They were released in March after signing letters requesting the Labor ministry for bail and agreeing to suspend the strike to enable negotiations.

The union went on strike last December after NagaCorp terminated more than 1,300 workers. The nearly yearlong protest started off strong but has since withered down to less than 200 protesters, who have attempted to continue their protest on a weekly basis in the face of violence from the police.

30 November 2022 Kyrgyzstan: woman human rights defender Aziza Abdirasulova fined On 25 November 2022, the Pervomaisky District Court of the City of Bishkek fined woman human rights defender Aziza Abdirasulova. The Court found woman human rights defender guilty for exhibiting disobedience to the lawful demand of an employee of the internal affairs bodies, a violation envisioned by the Article 128 of the Code of Offenses of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Aziza Abdirasulova was violently detained while monitoring a peaceful protest in Bishkek on 15 November 2022. The Court ordered that the woman human rights defender must pay the fine of 3,000 SOM. Aziza Abdirasulova appealed this decision and filed a complaint against the law enforcement officer, who violently detained her. Aziza Abdirasulova is a woman human rights defedners from Kyrgyzstan. She is a founder of the Public Foundation “Kylym Shamy.” Its purpose is to support the development of a democratic, legal state through the promotion and protection of human rights and freedoms. As part of its activities, “Kylym Shamy” provides free consultations on legal issues, analyzes, monitors, and conducts research on the decisions of state bodies, participates in the protection of human rights, and the preparation of drafts of normative legal acts in this direction. Its representatives are involved in monitoring detention facilities and providing legal assistance in cases of torture. On 25 November 2022, the Pervomaisky District Court of the City of Bishkek fined Aziza Abdirasulova after finding her guilty for exhibiting disobedience to the lawful demand of an employee of the internal affairs bodies. Aziza Abdirasulova was violently arrested on 15 November 2022, in the city center of Bishkek, while she was monitoring human rights violations during the peaceful protest against the transferring on the Kempir-Abad water reserve. The law enforcement officers, among whom was Tilek Tiukebaiev, Police Colonel and Deputy Head of the Bishkek Police Department, violently pushed her to the ground, and detained her on site. The law enforcement officers claimed that the woman human rights defender was under the influence of alcohol. Moreover, despite the fact that the footage of arrest was available and widely circulated among various media outlets, during the court hearing the law enforcement officers stated that they “behaved politely” towards the woman human rights defender. Aziza Abdirasulova was released from detention on the evening of 15 November 2022. On 14 November 2022, Aziza Abdirasulova was a subject of intimidation by law enforcement officers because of her vocal position and calls for transparency regarding the Kyrgyzstan government’s decision to transfer the Kempir-Abad water reserve to Uzbekistan. Woman human rights defender received a late evening invitation for an informal conversation from the Head of the Police Department #10 of Bishkek, Shumkar Sulaimanov, who threatened her because of her Facebook-based publications about Kempir-Abad water reserve and unjust persecution of human rights defenders and civic activists, who were opposed the transferring of the water reserve to Uzbekistan.

INSEC expresses its concern on the misbehavior experienced by our team members through a group of unidentified people on November 25, 2022 during their visit to Syangja’s Constituency no. 2, Chapakot Municipality wards no. 3, 4 and 5. During the elections held on November 20 the CPN-UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party, Rastriya Prajtantra Party and others including independent candidates had demanded re-polling and the vote count had not begun yet; the team of INSEC had visited to monitor the situation.

In order to monitor the situation, the team of INSEC had gone to Janaksakriya Basic School of Chithipokhari polling station located in Chapakot Municipality-5. During this, the team discussed the events of the voting day with the local residents. After the discussion, while returning to the headquarters, a group of unidentified people made the INSEC team get off the vehicle, took pictures of the people and their vehicle, made unnecessary inquiries, and later called, abused and threatened them. Although the monitoring team introduced the purpose of the visit and the organization to the group, they were threatened to return immediately and were warned on the uncertainties in the future if they did not leave.

It is required to remember here that Nepal’s human rights defenders have continuously monitored the situation of human rights even in the difficult situation of armed conflict. The Constitution and laws of Nepal and many treaty agreements to which Nepal is a party state ensures the right of human rights defenders to monitor the human rights situation without interruption.

It is certainly not pleasant that such an incident happened to the organization that has received permission of Election observation through the Election Commission. Disruption in monitoring helps to confirm the allegations of booth capture made by opposition political parties. We request Election Commission and the Government of Nepal to bring those involved in this incident to justice and prepare an environment for uninterrupted monitoring.

A protester was arrested on Friday (25 November) and subsequently denied bail on a contempt of court charge resulting from a speech demanding bail for a detained activist.

54-year-old Chiratchaya “Ginny” Sakunthong was arrested last Friday (25 November) while traveling from the South Bangkok Criminal Court, where a small crowd of pro-democracy protesters gathered as the ultra-royalist group the People’s Centre to Protect the Monarchy was giving a press conference after they filed petitions with the court to revoke bail for activists Tantawan Tuatulanon, Patsaravalee Tanakitvibulpon, Nutthanit Duangmusit, and Netiporn Sanesangkhom, supposedly for being involved in anti-government protests during the APEC meetings.

Chiratchaya was stopped by plainclothes police officers while riding a motorcycle past the Robinson Bangrak shopping mall. The officers presented an arrest warrant issued on 18 October by the South Bangkok Criminal Court on charges of contempt of court, defamation by publication, and using a sound amplifier without permission.

She was taken to Yannawa Police Station on the back of a police officer’s motorcycle. However, once she arrived at the police station, Chiratchaya was told that she would be taken to the police club on Vibhavadi Road. She was then put into a police truck, but instead of heading to the police club, the officers drove back to Yannawa Police Station. They also drove up and down Sathorn Road several times because ultra-royalist protesters were gathering in front of the police station.

Chiratchaya was charged for a speech she gave during a protest demanding bail for detained activists, in which she criticized the court’s decision not to grant bail to activist Shinawat Chankrajang, who was charged with royal defamation for speaking at a protest on 28 July to demand the release of detained activists.

According to the inquiry officer, Chiratchaya said that it was shameful for the police and the court to accept the cases against pro-democracy activists, and that the police should have dismissed these complaints. She also said that the court does not consider the ethics of their occupation before accepting these cases, and that this situation is not lawful. The police claimed that the content of her speech was defamatory and amounted to contempt of court.

Chiratchaya was detained overnight at Yannawa Police Station before being taken to court on Saturday (26 November). The South Bangkok Criminal Court then denied her bail on the ground that her speech contained unfounded accusations aimed to pressure the court on bail requests. The court also said that she was a flight risk and that she is likely to cause further damage. The order was signed by judge Phaibun Thongnuam.

Chiratchaya was then taken to the Women’s Central Correctional Institution, where she is now detained.

This is the second time Chiratchaya has been charged with contempt of court. In August, Chiratchaya and another protester named Ngoentra Khamsaen were charged with contempt of court, defamation, and using a sound amplifier without permission for protesting in front of the South Bangkok Criminal Court to demand bail for detained activists, during which they gave speeches criticizing judges in the South Bangkok Criminal Court for denying bail to monarchy reform activists Nutthanit Duangmusit and Netiporn Sanesangkhom, who were detained pending trial on royal defamation charges at the time. Chiratchaya and Ngoentra were detained for 9 days before being granted bail.

More than a dozen Afghan women protested briefly in Kabul on November 24, calling for their rights to be recognized on the eve of the UN's International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Afghan women have been squeezed out of public life since the Taliban's return to power in August last year, but small groups have staged flash protests that are usually quickly shut down, sometimes violently. Earlier this month the Taliban barred women from entering parks, funfairs, gyms, and public baths.The veiled women carried pickets with slogans decrying the deprivation of their rights under the Taliban. The march organizers said the Taliban had briefly detained three of the demonstrators.

A primary school teacher from Sagaing Region’s Tamu Township has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for financing “terrorist” activities, according to a source close to her family.

Honey Su Kyi Zaw, 30, was arrested at her home in Tamu’s Saw Bwar 6 Ward on November 23 last year and accused of financially supporting the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against military rule.

The Tamu District Court sentenced her on Monday, two days before the anniversary of her arrest, the family source told Myanmar Now.

She was prosecuted under Section 50j of Myanmar’s Counter-Terrorism Law for distributing funds provided by the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) for CDM teachers, the source said.

The military junta that seized power in February 2021 designated the NUG a terrorist organisation in May last year.

“She was collecting donations for teachers who had tested positive for Covid-19. It wasn’t as they alleged,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The source added that the evidence against Honey Su Kyi Zaw was provided by KBZ Bank, which submitted account information that allegedly showed transactions involving other accounts linked to the NUG.

“They didn’t find any evidence on her phone. She was unjustly accused and prosecuted,” the source said.

Honey Su Kyi Zaw was a teacher at Primary School No. 8 in Chauk Natgyi, a village in Tamu Township. Residents there say that she was likely targeted because she was a member of the ousted ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

“She didn’t like the military coup, so she joined protests and the CDM. She was an NLD member, but she also spoke out against party members if she thought they were acting dishonestly,” said one local resident.

“After joining the CDM, she made handicrafts and sold them online to support herself. She was an honest and peaceful teacher,” he added.

Honey Su Kyi Zaw has been held at the police station in Tamu since her arrest. She remains there for the time being due to the poor security situation on the road from Tamu to Kalay, where she will later be transferred to prison, sources said.

Since last year’s coup, the junta has prosecuted hundreds of people under Section 50j of the Counter-Terrorism Law without concrete evidence. Conviction carries a sentence of 10 years to life imprisonment.

Award-winning environmentalist Nguy Thi Khanh will have her prison sentence reduced by three months.

On November 21, Khanh’s sentence was reduced from 24 months to 21 months by an appellate court in Hanoi.

Khanh, one of Vietnam’s most prominent environmental experts, was sentenced to two years in prison in June on “tax evasion” charges. Khanh is the first Vietnamese person to receive the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, in 2018, which came with a $200,000 prize. The tax evasion charge stems from the fact that Khanh failed to pay about $18,000 in taxes (10% of the prize). Khanh has said she was unaware of the tax obligation on the prize money. The reduction in her sentence was reportedly attributed to her admission of failure to pay the tax and her many contributions to society.

There is evidence to suggest that Khanh’s arrest and prosecution are politically-motivated. An outspoken critic of the use of coal, Khanh joined three other anti-coal environmental activists– Mai Phan Loi, Dang Dinh Bach, and Bach Hung Duong— who were convicted earlier this year on similar charges and handed multi-year sentences.

Vietnam’s tax laws for registered NGOs are confusing and cumbersome. Further, Khanh, like her counterparts, faced criminal, not civil proceedings, which have been supervised by state security. Khanh also did not receive notice of need for repayment prior to her arrest. The cases raise flags of a widening crackdown on civil society groups that contradicts Vietnam’s public rhetoric on the importance of fighting climate change.

Vietnam’s jailing of climate leaders seems to have been at least partly the reason why international donors recently awarded Indonesia, instead of Vietnam, with billions of dollars to fight climate change. If Vietnam is serious about its commitments to an energy transition, it cannot continue to hold its most valuable environmental voices behind bars nor force NGOs to navigate perplexing tax laws. We call on Vietnam to clarify its tax laws and to release Khanh, Duong, Loi, and Bach immediately. We will continue to closely monitor these cases until their release.

In an interview, sources confirmed Thursday that Farhat Popalzai was arrested by the Taliban six days after the arrest of Zarifa Yaqoobi along with her four other colleagues.

According to sources, the Taliban fighters have taken Popalzai with her father to one of the security areas of Kabul and arrested her after checking her cell phone.

The Taliban have not yet provided details on the matter.

Zarifa Yaqoobi, a women’s rights activist, was arrested in Kabul last Thursday, and still, her hideout along with her four colleagues is not yet clear.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld convictions against four human rights officials and an election body staffer — who previously worked at the same rights group — in a case related to a love scandal involving opposition leader Kem Sokha.

The five were arrested in 2016 when four Adhoc staffers, Ny Sokha, Nay Vanda, Yi Soksan and Lim Mony, assisted a woman who was accused of having a relationship with Kem Sokha. Ny Chakrya, who previously worked at Adhoc, was also involved in the case.

The five — who are known by the moniker “Adhoc 5” — were jailed and released in 2017. They were convicted in September 2018 for bribery. The woman received financial assistance from Adhoc when she approached the group because she had been summoned by the anti-terrorism police for questioning.

They were sentenced to five years in prison but had to serve suspended terms of 14 months. The Appeal Court then upheld the municipal court’s verdict in 2022.

The Supreme Court on Friday brought the case to conclusion by upholding the lower court’s verdict, with judge Nil Nonn rejecting an Appeal Court prosecutor’s demand that the five serve their entire sentences and by dismissing a motion from the defense to drop the charges.

Soeng Senkaruna, an Adhoc rights monitor, said all three levels of the judiciary could not find justice for the five defendants and said they had made a credible defense against the charges.

“It is a shame of the judicial system,” he said.

The case also ensnared Sokha and two other opposition officials who were charged for procuring prostitution for allegedly taking the woman to Bangkok, Thailand. Sokha spent months holed up at the Cambodia National Rescue Party headquarters and was convicted and pardoned in the case.

Kazakh authorities have warned citizens of the Central Asian nation against holding rallies on November 20 when voting will take place in an early presidential election.

The Prosecutor-General's Office said in a statement on November 18 that "a banned group has been calling for illegal rallies and other illegal activities" on the day of the vote, adding that "those who follow such calls will face legal prosecution."

The statement did not mention the group, but a day earlier, the Committee of National Security said it detained seven people suspected of planning "riots" during the presidential election, following online calls for action by exiled former banker Mukhtar Ablyazov, his Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK), and the Koshe (Street) Party, which are banned in the country as extremist.

In recent days, Ablyazov has called on Kazakh citizens to hold mass protests on November 20 saying the vote is illegal as no real opposition candidates were allowed to take part in the contest against President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev in the tightly controlled country.

Meanwhile Kazakh authorities have detained dozens of opposition and human rights activists in efforts to ward off the possibility of such demonstrations.

On November 18, a court in Almaty sentenced opposition activist Aigerim Tileuzhan to two months of house arrest for her role in unprecedented anti-government protests in January that were violently dispersed by police, leaving at least 238 people, including 19 law enforcement officers, dead.

Toqaev faces five opponents whom he is expected to easily beat in the November 20 snap leadership vote where a newly introduced seven-year term is up for grabs.

While he appears to be taking the election challengers lightly -- as evidenced by the fact that he sent a representative to the only televised debate among candidates last week -- opposition activists have been piling on pressure for an explanation of his decision to invite troops from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to quell the January unrest, as well as his public "shoot to kill without warning" order.

The unrest occurred after a peaceful demonstration in the western region of Manghystau on January 2 over a fuel price hike tapped into deep-seated resentment of the country's leadership, leading to widespread anti-government protests.

Thousands of people were detained by officials during and after the protests, which Toqaev said were caused by "20,000 terrorists" from abroad, a claim for which authorities have provided no evidence.

Human rights groups have provided evidence that peaceful demonstrators and people who had nothing to do with the protests were among those killed by law enforcement and military personnel.

25 people were arrested on Friday (18 November) after crowd control police forcibly dispersed protesters marching to the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre (QSNCC), the venue of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, to protest the government under Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and its pro-corporation economic models.

Protesters and activists had been gathering at Lan Khon Muang square in front of the Bangkok City Hall since Wednesday (16 November) to protest what they see at the Thai government’s attempt to boost its legitimacy on the international stage and the lack of participation from civil society in determining policies being proposed at APEC meetings. They also spoke out against the Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model (BCG), raising concerns that the model would worsen community right issues facing marginalized and vulnerable groups, would take away their resources and land, and is an attempt at greenwashing the country’s major corporations with its carbon credit model.

During the two days of protests, activists spoke about various political and social issues, from freedom of expression and the royal defamation law to land rights, food security, community rights, and environmental justice. The events were organized by a network of activist groups and civil society organizations, including the Assembly of the Poor, the Northern Peasant Federation, the Chana Rak Thin Network, Neo Lanna and Thalufah.

On Friday morning (18 November), the protesters began marching from Lan Khon Muang to the QSNCC. However, they were blocked by a series of police barriers. As they were approaching the Democracy Monument via Dinso Road, they found that the road was blocked by rows of crowd control police in full riot gear and two police trucks. Protest leaders attempted to negotiate with the police, but were not successful.

At 10.10, after protesters tied a rope to the axle of one of the police trucks and pulled it out of the road, crowd control police rushed out from behind the blockade, pushing protestors with shields. Rubber bullets were also fired, and two rubber bullet casings were found on the ground at the site of the clash.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported at around 12.10 that at least 10 people were arrested and taken to Thung Song Hong Police Station, despite the protest taking place outside its jurisdiction.

After the clash, pro-democracy activist Patsaravalee Tanakitvibulpon said that the police need to explain why they fired rubber bullets at unarmed protesters at close range and after protest leaders tried negotiating with them.

"What happened under the Prayut Chan-o-cha government is that the police officers have no spine and chose to use violence against unarmed people," she said.

Patsaravalee condemned the police and Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha as Prime Minister, and called on the international community to send observers to the protest site.

"We would like to send a message to every country. Please send representatives to observe this location, so that you see the reality of what is happening, what the police are doing to people speaking out about their livelihood and about resources," she said.

Patsaravalee called on the public to pay attention to issues regarding resources, and demanded the release of all arrested protesters.

Protesters are now staying on Dinso Road while activists take turns giving speeches on a speaker truck, but said they will not return to the Lan Khon Muang square in front of the Bangkok City Hall since they have a petition to file with APEC leaders, while the police repeatedly order them to return to Lan Khon Muang and threaten them with prosecution.

At around 12.30, several protesters performed a traditional cursing ritual by burning chilli and salt and placed the stove on a police truck. The police then brought out a fire extinguisher to put out the flame. At around 12.35, crowd control police pushed into the protesters, many of whom were resting and having lunch. Shots were continuously heard.

More protesters were arrested during the second attempt to force protesters out of the area, including Assembly of the Poor’s Baramee Chaiyarat. The police also ordered reporters to separate from the protesters, claiming that some protesters were trying to harm officers. Several people were also reported to have been injured during the second clash, both from rubber bullets and from being assaulted by crowd control police.

At 13.30, activist Patsaravalee Tanakitvibulpon said that the injuries sustained by protesters and members of the press show that police commanders are not able to control their own subordinates. She called on the police to take responsibility and to explain why they fired rubber bullets at unarmed protesters.

Patsaravalee said that they would not end the protest and would not leave until everyone arrested is released, and until they are told where those arrested have been taken and where the injured are being treated. She also asked whether the world leaders attending the APEC meeting would still accept the policies proposed by a government that harms its own people.

At 14.45, TLHR said that 25 people were arrested and taken to Thung Song Hong Police Station. Meanwhile, Patsaravalee announced that the protest would move to the police station to demand the release of the arrested protesters and that they will not leave until everyone is released without charge. The protest database and observation site Mob Data Thailand also reported that at least 33 people were injured throughout the day.

Among the arrested was Worawan Sae-aung, or Auntie Pao, an elderly regular protest-goer popular with younger activists, who was arrested at around 9.30, before the first clash. Worawan was arrested after she was pulled behind the police lines and taken away in a police detention truck, prompting protesters to immediately demand her release.

During the second clash at 12.45, the Assembly of the Poor’s Baramee Chaiyarat and the NGO Coordinating Committee on Development’s Jekapan Phrommongkon were also arrested. Both were previously seen using a speaker truck to call for the police to open up the road to let them keep marching, and were heard giving instructions to protest guards.

From around 16.00 onwards, protesters gathered in front of Thung Song Hong Police Station to demand the unconditional release of the arrested protesters.

While protesters gathered at the police station, activist Lertsak Khamkongsak gave a speech alleging that the protest leaders were asked to have the protesters move 50 metres closer to the Bangkok City Hall because a royal motorcade was to go through Ratchadamneon Road, and speculating that this is why crowd control police became more violent towards the protesters.

He also noted that the police violated the Public Assembly Act, since they are required to request a court order to use crowd control weapons, such as tear gas, batons, rubber bullets, or water cannons, but did not do so.

Lertsak said that it would have been possible to plan for the motorcade. The protesters could have sat down when the motorcade went past, or the police could have lined up around them to block them from view without asking them to move, as that is what happened during an anti-NPO bill protest in May. He asked why they were now being asked to move, and said that there is no other reason why their protest would be so violently dispersed other than the royal motorcade.

In May 2022, activists and members of civil society organizations gathered in front of the UN headquarters on Ratchadamneon Nok Road to protest the new non-profit organization (NPO) bill due to concerns that the bill would be use to restrict freedom of association in Thailand. After protesters refused to move to another location as royal motorcades were passing through Ratchadamneon Nok Road on the way to and from Thammasat Univeristy’s Tha Prachan campus for for the university’s graduation ceremony, hundreds of police officers lined up along the street to block the protesters from view as the royal motorcade went by, and the protesters were not forcibly dispersed.

TLHR reported at around 21.15 on Friday night (17 November) that the 25 arrested protesters were charged with participating in a gathering of 10 or more people and causing a breach of public peace by an act of violence or by threatening violence, and not dispersing when ordered to do so by an official. They were also charged with not complying with an officer’s order given under the Public Assembly Act.

Payu Boonsopon, an activist from the Dao Din group, will also be charged, but since he was undergoing surgery after being shot in his right eye with a rubber bullet, he will meet the inquiry officer to hear the charges and give his testimony once his condition improves.

25-year-old Wittaya (last name withheld), who was also arrested, was given an additional charge of violating the Public Assembly Act and the Public Cleanliness Act, after he was accused of pouring water mixed with cement onto the street in front of the main office of the Siam Cement Group (SCG) and spray-painting “No APEC” on the street during a protest against the BCG model.

The protest was organized by the Chiang Mai-based activist group Neo Lanna, during which activists poured water mixed with cement onto a model of the Democracy Monument and spraying painting messages onto the street. They then shouted “Stop monopoly. Prayut get out,” while others held up a banner saying “No BCG, no free trade area, tax the rich.”

23 protesters were released at around midnight on Friday (18 November). Baramee and Jekapan, meanwhile, were released at noon on Saturday (19 November).

All were granted bail on a security of 20,000 baht each, covered by the Will of the People Fund, a bail fund for pro-democracy protesters and activists. They were also given the conditions that they must not join any political demonstration or invite people to join any gathering that may cause public disorder.

TLHR noted that 13 of the 25 arrested protesters were injured. Some show signs of being assaulted by crowd control officers, such as Wittaya, who has several cuts and bruises on his back, and Palathip, who was shot with a rubber bullet in his right arm and hit with batons, resulting in cuts and bruises on his body and his head, as well as a broken tooth.

Yupa, an elderly woman who was among one of the first protesters arrested, had a cut on her forehead above the left eyebrow, and needed stitches. Meanwhile, Waranyu Khongsathittum, a citizen journalist livestreaming for The Isaan Record, was assaulted by crowd control officers before being arrested. He had a cut on his head and several bruises and cuts on his body, and his glasses were broken. TLHR also said that Waranyu was made to wait 2 hours before hew as taken to a hospital for treatment.

Among the 33 people injured during the clashes between crowd control police and protesters marching to the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre on Friday (18 November), one was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet and is now very likely to go blind.

On Friday (18 November), several reporters were injured and a citizen journalist was assaulted and arrested during a violent dispersal of a protest march that was heading towards the APEC meeting at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre (QSNCC).

Footwear unionists in Takeo were summoned and questioned by military police after attending a Women’s Crisis Center training in Phnom Penh, saying officers asked who was behind them and warned them of illegal protests.

Union leaders from Tram Kak district’s Shoe Premier II, which has supplied boots to the U.S., attended a training course on November 16 on rights in the workplace, gender issues and sexual harassment, said Chhan Samoeun, president for the Workers’ Movement Union at the factory.

But once they returned, Takeo military police called them in for questioning, Samoeun said.

“We joined the training to gain experience and [to learn] to teach other workers to understand sexual harassment and gender,” he said.

Nget Rem, secretary for another union at Shoe Premier II, the Free Trade Union, said she had not even attended the Phnom Penh training hosted by the Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center but was summoned for questioning anyway.

Military police questioned her about what demands they had at the factory, whether there were previous labor disputes there, and if any NGOs were behind their union. Officers reminded her that the military police would stop them from holding any illegal protests at Shoe Premier II, Rem said.

“They said we just do whatever we want, but if there is any issue, who is going to take responsibility? They said this in a manner like they don’t want us to protest in this factory. They wanted it to mean that,” she said.

Takeo military police commander La Lai could not be reached for comment, but the unit issued a statement acknowledging that the force had called in representatives from three unions at Shoe Premier II: the Workers’ Movement Union, Free Trade Union and Cambodian Hope Workers’ Union.

Pav Sina, president of Collective Union of Movement of Workers, said the questioning was a threat and serious intimidation against the registered unionists.

A midwife who was arrested during a crackdown on healthcare workers in Mandalay late last month has died in regime custody, according to a doctor familiar with the situation.

Poe Thandar Aung, who was formerly employed at the Central Women’s Hospital in Mandalay, died on Monday night, said Dr. Soe Thura Zaw, who is taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against military rule.

“I heard the news from three sources. We learned this morning that Ma Poe was dead,” he told Myanmar Now on Tuesday.

Poe Thandar Aung was arrested in Mandalay on October 29 along with others accused of sending medical supplies to anti-junta forces.

Also arrested were Dr. Min Zaw Oo, of the Mandalay University of Medicine’s Surgery Department, nurses Zin Mar Win and Yoon Nandar Tun, a woman named Kyi Thadar Phyu, and three employees at a bus station in Aungmyay Thazan Township.

The arrests were part of a crackdown launched after regime forces seized nearly 5 million kyat ($2,365) worth of medicine and other supplies from a truck travelling between the towns of Pale and Gangaw, west of Mandalay, on October 27.

More than a dozen people were taken into custody in the first wave of arrests, and at least 16 more have since been detained, according to CDM sources.

“Our whole country is suffering because of a general who doesn’t want to retire. Myanmar is the only country where nurses are executed for doing their jobs,” said Dr. Soe Thura Zaw, referring to junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.

Myanmar Now has been unable to reach Poe Thandar Aung’s relatives to confirm reports of her death.

On Monday, another person taking part in the CDM named Hein Zaw Nyo wrote on social media that Dr. Min Zaw Oo had also been tortured while undergoing interrogation and was vomiting blood due to the beatings he had received.

“We don’t take up arms. We only provide medical service to the people. The military is targeting the healthcare community for defying the junta,” he wrote.

Hein Zaw Nyo’s allegations could not be independently confirmed at the time of reporting.

Since seizing power in February 2021, the military has killed 58 healthcare workers and arrested more than 700, according to Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG).

The regime has also destroyed more than 50 hospitals and clinics and at least 40 ambulances, the NUG reported last month.

Sources report that Parveen Sadat, one of the female activists, has been missing since last night.

Sources claim that on Tuesday, November 15, after Parveen Sadat’s voice was published on social media concerning the Taliban’s soldiers in her residence, there is no news on her whereabouts and fate.

Some women activists argue that the disappearance of this lady is linked to the chain of arrest of women by the Taliban.

Two NagaWorld unionists have been questioned in the Phnom Penh Municipal Court over breaking and entering, intentional damage and unlawful confinement — but they still don’t know what the casino company is accusing them of, they said.

Protesters Sok Sothavuth and Net Chakriya appeared at the court for questioning on Monday, Sothavuth in the morning and Chakriya in the afternoon, as around 40 casino protesters stood outside in support.

NagaWorld workers have protested since December over mass layoffs that they say targeted union members and leaders, facing arrest and violence over 10 months of labor action. What began as large rallies outside the Phnom Penh casino have mostly dwindled into small protests of fewer than 100 participants.

Sothavuth said she received her summons last week, and spent around 30 minutes during the morning being questioned by a prosecutor.

She was shown “evidence” of her crime from August 19 and 20: printed-out photographs showing her standing outside the NagaWorld casino building with other protesters.

“There are pictures, but nothing aside from us striking in front of Naga. It’s like a picture of us standing over there every day,” Sothavuth said.

She said the prosecutor had asked her whether she had committed each of the three charges of breaking and entering, intentional damage and illegal confinement on those days.

She had answered she did not, and was asked this repeatedly over half an hour, she said, adding that the court action would not dissuade her from continuing to protest.

“Even though I face this case, I will still keep coming until we can find a solution,” she said, referring to around 200 unionists who are seeking reinstatement from the mass layoffs. She was told she would need to wait to see if NagaCorp continues with its lawsuit, she said.

Ros Bunleng, a manager at NagaWorld, could not be reached on Monday. NagaCorp has not clarified what the court case is about.

Chakriya, who was questioned in the afternoon, said a court clerk and prosecutor questioned her in succession, but neither had presented any photos of her. They simply asked what happened on August 19, she said.

Chakriya said she had replied it was a normal protest: The strikers stood in front of NagaWorld with banners, then went home.

One more protester is set to be questioned tomorrow. At least seven in total have received summonses.

A third NagaWorld protester was questioned in court on Tuesday over alleged breaking and entering in a case that remains unclear.

Choub Sophorn said she was questioned during the afternoon at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, with a prosecutor showing her printouts of photographs of protesters outside the NagaWorld casino.

The prosecutor asked whether she had yelled at the company on August 19 and 20.

“I didn’t shout and yell. I only held a banner demanding a solution,” she said.

Workers have been protesting for 11 months following mass layoffs that they said targeted unionists.

At least seven workers have been summoned for questioning based on a complaint from NagaCorp alleging breaking and entering, intentional damage and illegal confinement. Two others were questioned on Monday, but said they were unable to get clarity on what they were accused of.

“They also asked when I want to stop striking,” Sophorn said.

Unionist Nop Tithboravy said another worker had received a summons for November 22. All of them asked for a delay on their initial summonses.

Activists this week sought the attention of world leaders attending the Asean summit in Phnom Penh, while authorities on Saturday surrounded the home of a protester who has long campaigned for the release of her husband and other jailed opposition members.

As U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern arrived in Phnom Penh to attend the Asean summit, some 20 uniformed officers and state security guards were surveilling the home of Prum Chantha, a leader of the Friday Women of Cambodia group, which has for months petitioned foreign embassies for support.

“They come to monitor me because they are afraid I will lead a protest during the arrival of President Joe Biden,” Chantha said.

Her husband Kak Komphear, a former commune councilor in Phnom Penh, was arrested in 2020 and sentenced to six years in prison on incitement and plotting charges in relation to his support for the outlawed opposition CNRP.

Uniformed district security guards were gathered 5 meters from her house in Meanchey district’s Boeng Tompun II commune beginning at 6 a.m., Chantha said. By about 5:30 p.m. several officers were still lingering outside her home, and one told her they would be there until Sunday morning.

“However, I have no plan to protest because I have been protesting for one year and [the U.S. government] already knows our issue,” she said. “Forces are only gathered at my house because I am a group leader.”

Chantha, who stayed home all day, said the surveillance restricted activists’ rights and freedom of movement.

“They are afraid our protesting will lead to a bad country image during the Asean summit,” she said.

Phin Phal, Boeng Tompun II commune police chief, acknowledged that some police and state security guards were deployed to prevent activists from disturbing public order during the summit.

“It does not matter that we have deployed to ensure security because we are afraid they will go anywhere [to protest],” he said. “I just follow the instructions of my superiors.”

Phnom Penh municipal police spokesperson San Sokseyha said during the Asean summit, authorities were focused on ensuring the safety of visiting world leaders — as well as Cambodia’s public image.

“We have focused on the security, safety and the reputation of our country,” he said, before declining to comment further.

Phnom Penh police chief Sar Thet could not be reached.

Am Sam Ath, operations director at human rights group Licadho, said his organization was monitoring police officials’ surveillance of activists, noting that it violated people’s rights and freedom of movement.

Authorities’ claims that their monitoring of activists was to ensure public order was “unreasonable,” Sam Ath said.

Mu Sochua, vice president of the dissolved opposition CNRP, posted photos of uniformed authorities outside Chantha’s house, noting that the surveillance was occurring as Biden arrived in Phnom Penh.

Sochua, a dual Cambodian-American citizen, also said on Twitter that Biden should meet with Friday Women activists as well as striking NagaWorld unionists.

On Friday, strikers outside the NagaWorld casino carried large posters calling for the Malaysian Embassy in Phnom Penh to accept their petition, after the embassy early this year declined to receive it, and urging Asean nations not to trample on rights to freedom of association like the NagaWorld CEO, a Malaysian national.

“I wear traditional clothes and carry these banners to show other countries that come to the Asean summit to help intervene and find a solution for us,” said unionist Chan Sreyroth, who worked at the casino for four years before she was fired last year.

Union members have been protesting for their jobs back for nearly a year, alleging the company behind the only licensed casino in Phnom Penh had targeted unionists in mass layoffs.

Members of advocacy group Khmer Thavrak also sought the attention of visiting world leaders, including Biden, this week.

The group began a weeklong hunger strike on Monday to call for the release of Cambodian-American lawyer Seng Theary, who has been imprisoned for nearly five months, after being sentenced to six years in prison over her opposition activism.

Hun Vannak, a Khmer Thavrak member, told CamboJA he hopes news of the group’s campaign will reach Biden and the U.S. will raise the issue of human rights during the summit.

“After a statement from the U.S. State Department [mentioning concern over Theary’s conviction], we are increasingly hopeful that President Joe Biden will discuss human rights issues related to Seng Theary and other political prisoners with [Prime Minister] Hun Sen,” Vannak said.

Their hunger strike this week was made more difficult by authorities monitoring them while they campaigned at Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park, he said. One Khmer Thavrak member was hospitalized, while another experienced stomach illness.

Vannak said he did not expect their campaign to have immediate results, but the action could raise awareness among the public and leaders from the U.S. and Asean nations.

“We do not expect the government to provide us with a solution any time soon, but what we are doing now is expected to have a positive impact in our society,” he said.

In a letter addressed to Biden and dated Wednesday, opposition Candlelight Party president Teav Vannol appealed to the U.S. president to urge the Cambodian government to “stop all kinds of political persecutions, harassments, [and] intimidations,” release “prisoners of conscience without conditions” and “revive democracy” ahead of next year’s national elections.

Thach Setha, Candlelight’s vice president, told CamboJA that party leaders had no plans to meet Biden during his visit to Cambodia, but said the U.S. should leverage its position as a world power and signatory of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement to “uphold democracy.”

“I hope that after the Asean summit, there will be a change in the situation in our Cambodia,” Setha said.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters prior to Biden’s arrival on Saturday that the U.S. president was “engaging” with Hun Sen because the prime minister is the host of the Asean summit, just as Biden was meeting with the presidents of Egypt and Indonesia at summits in those countries, before and after his visit to Cambodia.

“He’s going to engage across the board in service of America’s interests and to advance America’s strategic position and our values,” the adviser said.

Sullivan said Biden will discuss with Asean leaders the “need for freedom of navigation,” a reference to the U.S. position on the South China Sea, “lawful, unimpeded commerce,” and coordination in imposing costs and raising pressure on the Myanmar junta.

Biden met with Hun Sen on Saturday afternoon and raised concerns about Ream Naval Base, underscoring the “importance of full transparency” regarding activities by the Chinese military at the base, according to a White House statement.

Both China and Cambodia have repeatedly denied U.S. claims of a secret deal between China and Cambodia that granted China’s military exclusive access to parts of the base.

Asean summit spokesperson Kung Phoak told reporters late Saturday that Cambodia had already answered questions about Ream many times.

“We never hide,” he said. “We already allowed the U.S. to visit the location.”

In June 2021, the U.S. military attaché visited Ream, but said the Cambodian military did not grant U.S. officials “full access” — a charge Cambodian officials denied.

Biden also urged Hun Sen to “reopen civic and political space” before the 2023 elections, and “called for the release of activists detained on politically motivated charges,” including Theary, the White House said.

Phoak said if political activists abuse the law, they must face consequences for their actions.

“When we talk about extending democratic space, and at the same time we allow political activists to do whatever they want, even if it is illegal, I don’t think this democracy will last forever,” he said.

“Democracy in Cambodia is moving step by step, which reflects the real situation of the country and we never go backwards. We push the democratic space more open,” he added.

During a summit speech in Phnom Penh on Saturday, the U.S. president called Asean the “heart” of his administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy, and said the U.S. was committed to Asean centrality and working with nations in the region to tackle threats against the climate, health security, the rule of law and a rule-based order, and address challenges in Myanmar and the South China Sea.

Earlier in his brief remarks, Biden mistakenly referred to Hun Sen as the prime minister of Colombia.

“I want to thank the prime minister of, from Colombia’s leadership, and as Asean chair, and for hosting all of us,” he said.