- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Feb 27, 2024
- Event Description
Samrong Tbong Community members this morning reported injuries stemming from an altercation with authorities over the filling-in of the Boeung Tamok lake area in Phnom Penh. The lake has been parcelled off by the state and given away to politically connected institutions and individuals over the past several years.
Members of Samrong Tbong Community gathered at the area yesterday and this morning to protest the state’s excavation of the community’s land. Community members are facing legal complaints in at least four cases that have been opened since 2022 due to their land activism.
The most recent flare-up of the long-running conflict began yesterday, when three excavators accompanied by around 10 security guards were used to attempt to begin clearing land occupied by the community. Community members gathered and halted the work, after which police officers arrived to observe the community. The clearing resumed this morning with a far heavier police presence, as around 200 authorities – including around 50 police officers and the deputy governor of Khan Praek Pnov – arrived at the site to oversee the clearing. Around 100 community members gathered in the area to protest, who were photographed and filmed by police and plainclothes authorities.
Community members reported that at least one child and two women, one of whom is pregnant, were injured as a result of today’s altercation. Some people were sent to a nearby hospital for treatment, while other community members reported being forced to leave the area of the dispute.
This week’s clash followed a notice dated 18 February 2024 from the Praek Pnov district administration, which claimed that the disputed land is state land and instructed community members to cease residential activities and co-operate with the land clearing.
The Samrong Tbong Community and its 76 households have been settled in their current area since 1996. The community has long been at risk of losing their land as the government has parcelled off Boeung Tamok lake to private companies and individuals. So far, the government has given away around 80 parcels of land atop the lake, covering nearly 75% of the total area of what was once the capital’s largest lake.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Land rights, Freedom of expression Offline, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Land rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 22, 2024
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Feb 21, 2024
- Event Description
Sitanun Satsaksit, sister of missing activist in exile Wanchalearm Satsaksit, was met by a police blockade yesterday (21 February) when she attempted to protest in front of the Shinawatra family residence during a visit by former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen with Thaksin Shinawatra.
Sitanun travelled to Baan Chan Song La, the Shinawatra family residence, yesterday morning (21 February) intending to demand information about her brother’s disappearance after it was reported that Hun Sen would be visiting Thaksin, who has been released on parole.
However, police officers blocked her car, preventing her from reaching the residence. She decided instead to protest in front of the Siam Commercial Bank’s Sirindhorn Road branch, where she was surrounded by over 50 plainclothes officers.
Sitanun told Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) that she was held there for over 3 hours and that the police told her not to go anywhere without permission. She felt threatened because she was being surrounded by many men in plainclothes. She also noticed a unit of women crowd control officers moving towards her, but after she asked one of the men what they were doing there, the women officers moved away.
Sitanun also noticed during her conversation with the plainclothes officers that some of them has information about her place of work and could speak about specific incidents that only a person in the same building would know. The conversation made her feel unsafe, since she believed that she has been closely watched.
Sitanun said she came seeking the truth of her brother’s disappearance, since he went missing in Cambodia and used to work for the Pheu Thai Party before fleeingThailand.
Sitanun said that, while she was driving to Baan Chan Song La, she was surrounded by many police officers who asked her where she was going. When she told them her destination, she heard an officer shout an order to arrest her. She was frightened and decided to drive away and stop in front of the bank, a crowded, public area.
Deputy police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn later came to speak to Sitanun. He insisted the police were not ordered to arrest her on sight, and tried to ask her what she planned to do once she got to Baan Chan Song La. He also told her that it would affect Thailand’s reputation if she protests in front of Baan Chan Song La and that she should speak to him about what grievance she has.
Sitanun submitted a petition to Pol Gen Surachate calling for the Thai authorities to follow up on Wanchalearm’s disappearance, after the Cambodian delegation said during a review by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) that, although Wanchalearm went missing in Cambodia, no agents of the Cambodian government were involved in his disappearance. She also filed a complaint about the police harassment she experienced.
Sitanun was finally released after Cross-Cultural Foundation director Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, as Sitanun’s lawyer, told the police that Sitanun should be free to go since there is no reason to continue holding her. Sitanun headed to parliament to run an errand. However, she noticed while leaving the parliament building that she was being followed by plainclothes officers driving a car and at least 2 motorcycles.
TLHR said that a friend of Sitanun who announced on Facebook on Tuesday night (20 February) that Sitanun was staging a protest in front of Baan Chan Song La received a phone call from a person working for the Pheu Thai Party asking for information on Sitanun’s protest.
The friend received another phone call from anoter person in the Pheu Thai Party, who told her that they are worried about the protest and that speeches might be given insulting Thaksin and his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra in front of the family’s residence. The person told the friend to calm down, and that if they are not listened to, there will not be any more space to talk about Wanchalearm’s disappearance.
TLHR also noted that, while Sitanun was prevented from reaching the Shinawatra residence, Thaksin’s supporters, as well as others who said they used to support him but no longer do, were allowed to gather in front of the house and spoke to the media.
Pornpen said that many victims of enforced disappearance suffered the same fate as Wanchalearm. She called on the Cambodian government, as a signatory of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED), to investigate what happened. She also called on the Thai authorities to follow up on the case with Hun Sen, who oversaw the investigation in Cambodia. She believes Cambodia authorities have enough information to make a case and thinks that the government should do its job to deliver justice to victims of enforced disappearance and their families.
Wanchalearm disappeared on 4 June 2020 while living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where he fled after the 2014 military coup. Both the Thai and Cambodian authorities have repeatedly denied any knowledge of his whereabouts. The Cambodian authorities said after his abduction that his visa had expired on 31 December 2017 and that there was no evidence of him living in Phnom Penh. However, Wanchalearm’s sister Sitanun Satsaksit said he was travelling under a Cambodian passport with a Khmer alias and that he had a Cambodian bank account. So far, no progress has been made in the investigation into his disappearance.
A 2022 report by Prachatai and VOD found links between Wanchalearm and political elites both in Thailand and Cambodia. He was also deeply embedded in the Red Shirt Movement and had worked for the Pheu Thai Party. Sitanun said he worked for the current Bangkok governor, Chadchart Sittipunt from 2012 – 2014 when Chadchart was minister of transport in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s sister. Meanwhile, Thai dissident in exile Nuttigar Woratunyawit said he was part of an initiative to create an online network of Red Shirt activists and Pheu Thai supporters to counter the People’s Democratic Reform Committee, which was established by right-wing royalists in 2013 to depose the Yingluck government.
After arriving in Cambodia, Wanchalerm reportedly became acquainted with Khliang Huot, the former governor of Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changva district, who has been identified by several sources as a ‘handler’ for Thai exiles who fled to Cambodia following the 2014 coup. A photograph on Huot’s Facebook account in 2012 shows the man standing next to Thaksin and Hun Sen. Other photos show him with various Thai political figures, including Red Shirt leaders, former MPs and ministers from Yingluck’s cabinet.
He was also a supporter of fellow Thai exiles, many of whom sought advice from him about how to escape into Cambodia.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Offline, Right to Protest
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 22, 2024
- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Feb 20, 2024
- Event Description
A 53-year-old woman has been charged with royal defamation for a protest speech she made demanding the right to bail for detained political activists.
Kittiya (last name withheld), a food vendor from Si Sa Ket Province, came to the Yannawa Police Station in Bangkok on Tuesday to acknowledge a royal defamation charge, which stemmed from her activity during a protest in front of the Bangkok South Criminal Court in 2022 where she demanded the right to bail for the detained political activists.
Kittiya told a reporter that she received a summons under the royal defamation law and the Computer-related Crime Act on 17 February. Given that the summons required her to report to the Police Station on 15 February, she asked the police to issue a new summons but her request was denied. Rapeephong Chaiyarat, a member of the ultra-loyalist ‘People’s Centre for the Protection of the Monarchy’ filed the complaint.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights reports that Kittaya was initially charged under the Sound Amplifier Act after she gave a speech on 19 July 2022. However, the police later concluded that her actions violated the royal defamation law, leading to additional charges.
Kittiya stated that she was not concerned about being prosecuted under the royal defamation law and it would not prevent her from continuing to fight for justice in the country. “Section 112 will not cause me to stop fighting or be disheartened. The country is being ruined like this. We need to move forward.” said Kittiya. The food vendor acknowledged that the situation might force her to close her restaurant, causing her employees to lose their jobs and her family to lose income.
She called for the proposed amnesty bill to include those charged with royal defamation as 112 cases are prolonged, causing difficulties for those prosecuted. She added that as the law allowed anyone to file a complaint, even parties not directly affected, it can be used to harass others by hiring people to file complaints
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Offline
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 22, 2024
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jan 5, 2024
- Event Description
Indian authorities must drop the charges against journalist Santu Pan, who was arrested live on air while reporting on allegations of abuse by West Bengal officials, and investigate the earlier assault of three journalists reporting on clashes related to one of those officials, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday.
On Monday, police arrested Pan, who works for the privately owned news broadcaster Republic Bangla, while he was reporting from a woman’s home in the village of Sandeshkhali, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of West Bengal’s state capital, Kolkata, and remanded him in police custody for three days, according to news reports. Pan’s arrest was captured in a video by Republic World.
Pan, who was freed on bail on Thursday, was reporting on weeks of protests by local women over alleged rape and sexual assault by officials with West Bengal’s ruling All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). One of the alleged assailants has fled, while another was arrested.
On Thursday, Calcutta High Court ordered a stay on further proceedings in the police investigation into Pan for violating multiple sections of the penal code. If charged and found guilty of criminal trespass, Pan could face imprisonment for up to three months; for house trespass, imprisonment for up to one year; for outraging the modesty of a woman, imprisonment for up to three years; for voyeurism, imprisonment for up to three years; and for criminal intimidation, imprisonment for up to two years.
The unrest in Sandeshkhali started on January 5, when hundreds of supporters of an AITC official attacked federal officials with the Enforcement Directorate who had arrived to conduct a raid on the official’s house over an alleged scam regarding government-subsidized food distribution, according to news reports. Several officials were injured, their vehicles set on fire, and their laptops and phones were looted, those sources said.
Journalist Ayan Ghoshal of the privately owned news broadcaster Zee 24 Ghanta and reporter Sandeep Sarkar and camera operator Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya of the privately owned news broadcaster ABP Ananda were stoned, beaten with sticks, and kicked, during clashes between crowds and officials in Sandeshkhali, those sources said, as well as Ghoshal. Their cameras and other equipment were stolen and broken, and their vehicles were damaged, those sources said.
Sarkar said in an interview with his outlet ABP Ananda that he was beaten by the crowd and forced to unlock his phone. When the crowd saw the photos that he had taken, Sarkar and his driver were beaten again, their car was damaged, and their video live streaming equipment was stolen, he said. The crowd also beat his colleague Chattopadhyaya and snatched and broke his camera, Sarkar added.
In an article in The Telegraph an anonymous journalist said that they were chased and beaten by people who snatched their camera and destroyed it. They are undergoing medical tests after vomiting, they added. Ghoshal told CPJ that his vehicle was the first to be targeted and damaged by the crowd with stones, bricks, and sticks.
“It is disturbing to witness the growing intolerance of press freedom in West Bengal,” said Kunāl Majumder, CPJ’s India representative. “Authorities in West Bengal must drop all charges against journalist Santu Pan, investigate the violence meted out against reporters covering unrest in Sandeshkhali, and ensure that the media can do their jobs without fear or interference.”
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Non-state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Feb 19, 2024
- Event Description
Indian authorities must drop the charges against journalist Santu Pan, who was arrested live on air while reporting on allegations of abuse by West Bengal officials, and investigate the earlier assault of three journalists reporting on clashes related to one of those officials, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday.
On Monday, police arrested Pan, who works for the privately owned news broadcaster Republic Bangla, while he was reporting from a woman’s home in the village of Sandeshkhali, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of West Bengal’s state capital, Kolkata, and remanded him in police custody for three days, according to news reports. Pan’s arrest was captured in a video by Republic World.
Pan, who was freed on bail on Thursday, was reporting on weeks of protests by local women over alleged rape and sexual assault by officials with West Bengal’s ruling All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). One of the alleged assailants has fled, while another was arrested.
On Thursday, Calcutta High Court ordered a stay on further proceedings in the police investigation into Pan for violating multiple sections of the penal code. If charged and found guilty of criminal trespass, Pan could face imprisonment for up to three months; for house trespass, imprisonment for up to one year; for outraging the modesty of a woman, imprisonment for up to three years; for voyeurism, imprisonment for up to three years; and for criminal intimidation, imprisonment for up to two years.
The unrest in Sandeshkhali started on January 5, when hundreds of supporters of an AITC official attacked federal officials with the Enforcement Directorate who had arrived to conduct a raid on the official’s house over an alleged scam regarding government-subsidized food distribution, according to news reports. Several officials were injured, their vehicles set on fire, and their laptops and phones were looted, those sources said.
Journalist Ayan Ghoshal of the privately owned news broadcaster Zee 24 Ghanta and reporter Sandeep Sarkar and camera operator Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya of the privately owned news broadcaster ABP Ananda were stoned, beaten with sticks, and kicked, during clashes between crowds and officials in Sandeshkhali, those sources said, as well as Ghoshal. Their cameras and other equipment were stolen and broken, and their vehicles were damaged, those sources said.
Sarkar said in an interview with his outlet ABP Ananda that he was beaten by the crowd and forced to unlock his phone. When the crowd saw the photos that he had taken, Sarkar and his driver were beaten again, their car was damaged, and their video live streaming equipment was stolen, he said. The crowd also beat his colleague Chattopadhyaya and snatched and broke his camera, Sarkar added.
In an article in The Telegraph an anonymous journalist said that they were chased and beaten by people who snatched their camera and destroyed it. They are undergoing medical tests after vomiting, they added. Ghoshal told CPJ that his vehicle was the first to be targeted and damaged by the crowd with stones, bricks, and sticks.
“It is disturbing to witness the growing intolerance of press freedom in West Bengal,” said Kunāl Majumder, CPJ’s India representative. “Authorities in West Bengal must drop all charges against journalist Santu Pan, investigate the violence meted out against reporters covering unrest in Sandeshkhali, and ensure that the media can do their jobs without fear or interference.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Feb 14, 2024
- Event Description
Chea Chan, union leader at the Wing Star Shoes factory, who was just elected into that post, was caught and charged with “conspiracy to commit theft” for an incident that allegedly happened two years ago.
He is said not to be involved in the case. Activists assert that his detention is meant to “pressure” union members to disband the independent union in the factory.
Prior to Chan’s arrest, an election for union board members was held in the factory where he and nine others were voted in, according to a statement by the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Union (CATU).
After Chan informed Wing Star Shoes about forming a union, the company sent warnings to him and the other union leaders, persuading them to cancel the union, but they refused to comply.
On February 14, Chan was detained at work by a group of Kampong Speu provincial police who allegedly failed to produce a summons or any proof to support the arrest.
Yang Sophorn, president of CATU, said the arrest of the union leader was a serious violation of the union rights, along with the absence of evidence or a summons.
“The company conspired with the police and called Chan to the stockroom saying someone wanted to meet him before five policemen caught him. They arrested him without a summons,” said Sophorn.
She said the factory allegedly sued him for conspiring to steal but the charge was allegedly “concocted with the police” as Chan and the others do not know anything about the two-year-old theft at the factory.
The company was not keen on an independent union, hence the reason they discouraged workers from starting one, she added.
“Yesterday, the court charged Chan for conspiring to steal, [an incident] which happened two years ago, not involving Chan. This is the real reason why the company wants to discourage my union leader,” said Sophorn.
In fact, two representatives from Wing Star Shoes met CATU to discuss the union issue as they failed to convince Chan to abort its setting up. “They gave us money to change his mind. When we refused to accept their request, they detained my union leader instead.”
Chan’s wife, Chhay Chanra, 35, told CamboJA that arresting and charging her husband was unfair because her husband did not commit any crime.
“They arrested my husband without a summons, which is a violation of workers’ and union rights. He worked there for almost 10 years. Why did they do that,” she asked.
She is also concerned about her family as they have three children and Chan is the sole breadwinner.
“This is unacceptable. I want the company to withdraw the lawsuit and the court to release him as soon as possible,” said Chanra.
Pheng Siphoan, Chief of Administrative Secretariat and Spokesman of Kampong Speu Provincial Court, said Chan has been sent to Kampong Speu provincial prison after being charged under Articles 29, 353 and 356 of the Penal Code.
According to Article 356 of the Penal Code, theft is punishable by six months to three years in prison and a fine of one million to six million riels.
“The court questioned him on February 17 and sent him to prison yesterday [Sunday],” he told CamboJA.
When asked why the court only questioned Chan two years after the alleged theft, Siphoan replied, “this is the court procedure”.
The Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training 2023 annual report stressed that factories should respect the Labor Law and resolve labor conflicts where more than 8,000 cases have been recorded.
Chek Borin, director of the Kampong Speu provincial Department of Labor, said if Chan’s case is related to the violation of worker’s rights, his department will intervene. However, the company sued Chan under the criminal law, so he is not able to get involved.
“Had he [Chan] informed us regarding a labor case, we would have intervened but this is related to a criminal case,” said Borin.
The ministry report also noted that the government is open and encourages the right to organization and unions which is in accordance with the Labor Law and international labor standards.
In 2022, a report by Human Rights Watch mentioned that Cambodia does not have a designated labor court despite the Cambodian labor law stipulating the need for one. Owing to that, the Arbitration Council is the only body tasked to handle alternative dispute resolution for labor-related issues.
Meanwhile, CATU’s Sophorn raised concerns about union rights being trampled on a daily basis. “I can say the condition of union rights now is quite bad, even though we have special protection under the labor law but in reality it is the opposite. Our employees don’t even have the right to negotiate [with factory owners],” she lamented.
CamboJA reached out to Wing Star Shoes for comment via telephone, using a number provided on the company website but the person who picked up said he no longer works with the company.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Labour rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Corporation Corporation (others)
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Feb 25, 2024
- Event Description
Two days after it opened to the public, district authorities ordered Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT) to immediately desist their photo exhibition themed “House and Life” in a restaurant in Chbar Ampov on the afternoon of February 25. No reason was given for the shutdown order of the 10-day exhibition planned till March 4.
“The owner of the restaurant told us that the authorities instructed them to dismantle [the exhibits] and stop [the exhibition],” said STT executive director Soeung Saran. “We don’t know what is the reason for the shutdown.”
However, the authorities’ act is a violation of STT’s rights as a civil society organization and an abuse of power by pressuring the restaurant owner to take down the displays, Saran said. The requirement for NGOs to apply for a permit to hold an exhibition is not stipulated by the law.
“I think it affects the freedom of our work, and such impromptu decisions should be fully discussed with stakeholders,” Saran said, adding that he wants to see the authorities “open the door” for civil society organizations to freely organize events.
They should be more understanding towards the common purpose of the work before deciding to stop the exhibition, he remarked.
“Because of this, it affects, firstly, the performance of the institution and, secondly, the reputation of the leadership [Prime Minister Hun Manet] who is trying to reform inaction and persecutions,” he added.
Chbar Ampov district governor Cheng Monyra could not be reached for comment, while Niroth commune chief Tep Prommony claimed that she was busy and in a meeting before hanging up the phone. Prommony did not pick up follow-up calls despite numerous attempts to reach her on Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Niroth commune police chief Hor Sylihov declined to comment as to why the authorities instructed the restaurant owner to stop the exhibition or if they had received any complaints. Instead, he referred the reporter to the restaurant owner.
However, Sorn Bormey, manager of Champei Garden Restaurant, declined to comment.
On February 23, 2024, STT launched a photo exhibition showcasing the life of urban poor communities, which revolved around issues of land insecurity and resettlements, lack of pre-arranged services and infrastructure and forced evictions.
The exhibition also highlighted the present condition of city lakes, where several have been filled up, and the environmental impact as a result of their alleged development by companies and public figures.
The event aimed to create awareness to the public, and enable stakeholders, including urban poor communities and the government, to work together to find solutions and promote the right to affordable housing.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Offline
- HRD
- NGO
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Feb 22, 2024
- Event Description
The Phnom Penh Appeal Court this morning upheld the 2021 decision of the Kampong Chhnang Provincial Court convicting three Lor Peang Community members of “obstruction of public official” and “intentionally causing damage” as part of a long-running land conflict. The three community members are Nhem Nhuen (also known as Snguon Nhuen), Reach Seima and Pul Sorn.
Lor Peang Community has resisted community members’ land being encroached by KDC International, a company owned by Chea Kheng, the wife of former Minister of Mines and Energy Suy Sem. The charges stem from an incident in 2013, when KDC International began establishing borders over the disputed land in Kampong Chhnang province. Members of Lor Peang Community arrived at the site to protest, during which a temporary security guard hut was destroyed.
Almost eight years later, the provincial court convicted the three Lor Peang Community members under Articles 503 and 410 of the Criminal Code. All received suspended sentences of 2 years and 6 months and were ordered to pay compensation of 2.8 million riel (approximately US$700), a decision that was today upheld by the Appeal Court.
None of the three community members were ordered to pre-trial detention pending final appeal. One of the defendants, Pul Sorn, has since died.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of expression Offline, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Land rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Feb 2, 2024
- Event Description
In a separate case, Le Thanh Lam, wife of political prisoner Bui Tuan Lam, also known as “Spring Onion Bae,” wrote on her Facebook account that police in Da Nang had fined her and seized the foods that she sold to make a living, claiming that these goods did not have proper invoices declaring their origins. After her husband was arrested and imprisoned, Thanh Lam, a mother of three, started to sell local snacks and condiments on social media to earn extra income.
However, on Feb. 2, a market inspection team of the Da Nang Police Department approached Lam when she delivered goods to a customer, confiscating all her products worth about 2 million dong ($82). On Feb. 19, the inspection department summoned Lam, fining her another 1.5 million dong for “selling undocumented goods.”
Thanh Lam believed the police had selectively targeted her because her husband, Bui Tuan Lam, is a political prisoner. She said that after she was forcefully taken to a police station for trying to attend the public trial of her husband in May 2023, a Da Nang public security officer pointed his finger at her face, telling her that he would not leave her and her daughters alone, implying that the police would continue to intimidate and harass them due to their peaceful resistance.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to work
- HRD
- Family of HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Jan 19, 2024
- Event Description
Human rights lawyer Dang Dinh Manh on Feb. 20 wrote on social media that Ngo Oanh Phuong, an influential Facebook user, had been banned from traveling abroad and that she had been summoned by the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department for posting information critical of the conglomerate Vingroup.
According to Manh, Phuong, a businesswoman with thousands of followers on her Facebook account, often engages in charity work and raises concerns on different social issues. Phuong learned she was prohibited from traveling outside Vietnam in early October last year when she boarded a flight at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.
Later, the Security Investigation Agency of Ho Chi Minh City Police summoned Phuong twice for questioning, on Jan. 19 and Jan. 30, stating that they had received a defamation complaint filed against her by Vingroup. Manh added that he could not access Phuong’s Facebook account, which she used as a platform to publish opinions and commentaries criticizing the business model of Vingroup - a crony conglomerate owned by Vietnam’s richest man, Pham Nhat Vuong.
Previously, in Dec. 2023, Tran Mai Son, a social media commentator known by his pen name “Sonnie Tran,” was allegedly detained by the Ho Chi Minh Police Department for days for questioning about his criticisms of the company. The account “Sonnie Tran” has over 3,000 followers on Facebook.
Son, an ardent critic of VinFast, the automobile subsidiary of Vingroup, frequently inquires about the company’s finances and suggests that it uses shell companies to hide debt and inflate its sales figures. Anonymous sources told VOA News that following the detention, the police confiscated all of Son’s electronic devices, interrogated him for 35 hours over four separate days, and threatened to charge him with Article 331 for “abusing democratic freedoms.”
In 2021, VinFast reported Tran Van Hoang, a customer and a local YouTuber, to the police after he posted a video complaining about the quality of his VinFast vehicle on his YouTube account. The company said Hoang’s complaints were made up to hurt its reputation, and its lawyers had “sufficient grounds to prove it is not just a normal complaint.” The Vietnam-owned automaker added that if a similar incident occurred when operating in the United States, they “will also submit a request to the authorities in accordance with local law.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Online
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Corporation Corporation (others)
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Feb 16, 2024
- Event Description
Trinh Thi Nhung, the wife of Bui Van Thuan, told Project88 that during the Tet holidays she was suddenly summoned to the police station on Feb. 16 without a reason. Once there, they showed her a Facebook account using her name but which had been created only one day earlier; the account contained posts that could potentially be deemed “anti-state propaganda.” She denied it was hers and refused to sign an affidavit. Since that day, the police have allegedly been posting men around her house. She reported that unknown men wearing face masks have also been following her and her young child everywhere. At night, they even allegedly asked her neighbors to shine their lights on her house “all through the night.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to privacy
- HRD
- Family of HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- Vietnam: wife of detained HRD threatened with arrest
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Initial Date
- Nov 27, 2023
- Event Description
Police dispersed a fast unto-death campaign in front of the Ministry of Higher Education premises in Colombo, organized by non-academic staff trade unions of government schools. They demanded solutions to workplace discrimination they faced which included not giving them school term holidays, not allowing them to leave once school finishes along with other employees, not having a promotion scheme, and not having a national policy governing them. On the 20th of November, they agreed to halt their protest temporarily, agreeing to a promise made by the Minister of Education to solve their issues within a week. As the minister’s promise failed, they began the campaign again on 27th November. The Police forcefully removed their banner, and ordered the protesters to leave the place. As the trade unionists did not comply with the order, the Police forcefully removed them.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of expression Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Labour rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Initial Date
- Dec 27, 2023
- Event Description
On 27th December members of nearly 600 families whose houses were damaged due to the central expressway initiated a Satyagraha near Gattuwana entrance, Kurunegala. While Satyagraha was in progress and protesters started installing a tent, police came and took all the items that were brought to build the tent. Also, when the demonstration began a huge number of police officers were deployed. The group participating in the Satyagraha had brought the materials needed to prepare the attic in a small lorry in the morning and they planned to build this attic so as not to obstruct the road under the bridge near the Kurunegala Gattuwana Central Expressway entrance, said Sanjeya Kulathilaka, the convenor of the family association.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of expression Offline, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Initial Date
- Dec 8, 2023
- Event Description
IBC Tamil media journalist Letchumanan Thevapratheepan, the Batticaloa correspondent, was called to the Valaichchenei police station on 8th December. It was said that he had reported on a Tamil Martyrs memorial held at a burial ground in the Eastern Province. Thevapratheepan was asked to bring the registration certificate of the motorbike he had used to come to the police station and questioned on the Tamil Martyrs memorial held at the burial ground in Tharawi, Batticaloa on 27 November. In addition, the head and six other members of the commemoration committee were also arrested that day by the police and forcibly removed red and yellow flags at the beginning of the commemoration at the Tarawei Maveerar Burial Ground, which was destroyed by the Sri Lanka Army in 2009.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Jan 30, 2024
- Event Description
Activist Trinh Dinh Hoa reported to Project88 that he was abducted on Jan. 30 and interrogated for hours by Hanoi police. Three days earlier, while on his delivery route near the Ministry of Public Security, Hoa saw a large group of land rights protesters and stopped to take some photos, which he later posted on social media. On the day he was abducted, he got a delivery order to an address next to the police station of Buoi Ward. As soon as he got there, he was allegedly forced by a group of non-uniformed police into the station for questioning. Hoa was kept there from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. The police focused their questioning on three videos he had posted about police abuse in 2016, the BOT protests in 2018, and a public gathering near Ho Chi Minh’s tomb in 2021. Before releasing Hoa, they asked him to sign an affidavit admitting that the Facebook account “Hoa DT” belonged to him, which he refused to do.
Trinh Dinh Hoa became an activist in 2015 when he participated in a memorial for soldiers killed by the Chinese Navy at Johnson Reef in 1988. In 2016, he joined protests for protection of trees in Hanoi and later against the Formosa environmental disaster. Then in 2018, he became actively involved in the nationwide protests against the proposed Cybersecurity Law. During those years, Hoa also attended–or tried to attend–the trials of other activists. In 2017, he was beaten by police and had his ID card and phone confiscated outside the courthouse where Tran Thi Nga was sentenced to eight years in prison for disseminating “anti-state propaganda.” During the Dong Tam trials in 2019, his home was monitored by police for an entire week. Hoa also participated in the translating of two books – one about the Formosa incident and the other about anti-democratic elections in Vietnam. Since 2019, however, Hoa has remained low-key and works as a deliveryman for a restaurant in Hanoi.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Abduction/Kidnapping, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Online, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender, Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- Vietnam: Two activists beaten by government loyalists while broadcasting news on formosa
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Feb 26, 2024
- Event Description
The Security Investigation Agency of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department has issued a third summons for Ngo Thi Oanh Phuong, an influential Facebook user and a critic of conglomerate Vingroup, saying that they received a defamation complaint filed against her by Vingroup, according to a recent Facebook posting of human rights lawyer Dang Dinh Manh.
Previously, Manh wrote on social media that the police had twice summoned Phuong, also known by her Facebook name Phuong Ngo, on Jan. 19 and Jan. 30. In the third summons, dated Feb. 26, they told her to come to the security investigation headquarters on March 4 to question her relations with Tran Mai Son, another critic of Vingroup, and to resolve the defamation report submitted by the conglomerate.
Manh said that Phuong did not come to the previous questioning sessions because she said she was busy. He suggested that if she were absent this time, the investigation agency would issue a warrant to search for her, similar to the warrants the Long An Provincial Police Department filed against him and other human rights lawyers, Nguyen Van Mieng and Dao Kim Lan, last year.
According to Manh, no legal provisions allow Vietnamese investigators to search for people who do not respond to summons. Attorneys Manh, Mieng, and Lan fled to the United States late last year after Long An Provincial Police issued warrants to search for them after they were accused of violating Article 331 of the Penal Code, which concerns “abusing democratic freedoms.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Online
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Corporation Corporation (others)
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- Vietnam: WHRD summoned over defamation complaint
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Feb 29, 2024
- Event Description
The Hanoi Police Department on Feb. 29 detained and searched the house of activist and blogger Nguyen Chi Tuyen to investigate his alleged engagement in “distributing anti-state propaganda,” a violation of Article 117 of the Penal Code.
Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet, Tuyen’s wife, confirmed her husband's detention on the same day, adding that he would be held at Hanoi Detention Center No. 2 for four months during the investigation period. The police also confiscated his cell phone, a laptop, and some of his handwritten notes.
Tuyet said that the previous afternoon, her husband received a summons from the Hanoi Police Department to come in for questioning, but he declined to go because he felt unwell. Last January, the police sent Tuyen a notice informing him that he was prohibited from traveling outside Vietnam.
Tuyen, who is also known by his blog name “Anh Chi,” is a renowned environmental activist, blogger, and human rights defender who often participated in demonstrations against China’s excursions in Vietnam’s maritime territories. He also established two YouTube channels, Anh Chí Râu Đen and AC Media, that discuss social issues in Vietnam and report on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Because of his activism, Tuyen became a target of harassment and surveillance by Vietnamese security. In 2015, he was hospitalized after being beaten by strangers, possibly plainclothes police.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 21, 2024
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Feb 29, 2024
- Event Description
Independent journalist and former political prisoner Nguyen Vu Binh has been arrested again. On the morning of Feb. 29, the 56-year-old Binh was summoned to the police headquarters in Hanoi to discuss the YouTube channel TNT Media Live, which he and lawyer Nguyen Van Dai (currently in exile) worked on together from 2021 to 2022. After the meeting with the police, Binh was taken back to his apartment where the police formally arrested him and searched his residence. Nguyen Thi Phong, his sister, who witnessed the arrest, told Project88 that when she went to the police station on March 4 to retrieve Binh’s motorbike, she was told verbally that he had been charged with conducting “anti-state propaganda” under Article 117. She said she was not shown anything in writing. The police said Binh will be held at Detention Center No.1 in Hanoi for four months while they investigate his case.
Four months is the maximum amount of time by law that authorities can detain a suspect; however, they can file for multiple extensions which can stretch the detention period to years, as has happened to many political prisoners in the past. Phong said that her brother had been “invited” to visit the police many times in the past year. She added that it was thus reasonable to assume that the police have been following his activities for some time now, and that the need to “investigate” Binh was just a legal fig leaf in order to detain him for as long as the law allows. Binh is no stranger to the Ministry of Public Security. He worked for The Communist Magazine for 10 years before joining RFA in the early 2000s. He was convicted in September 2002 and sentenced to seven years in prison for “espionage” – that is, for exposing the party’s dirty secrets. Under international pressure, Binh was released early in 2007. He was awarded the Hellman-Hammett Prize by Human Rights Watch in 2002 and again in 2007 for his courageous activism.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 20, 2024
- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Mar 5, 2024
- Event Description
Indian authorities must drop the charges against journalist Ashutosh Negi, who was arrested in connection with his reporting on a murder investigation in the northern state of Uttarakhand, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.
Negi, editor of the weekly Hindi newspaper Jago Uttarakhand, was arrested on March 5 from his home in Pauri town, 94 miles (151 kilometers) from the state capital of Dehradun, according to multiple news outlets and his lawyer, Navnish Negi (no relation), who spoke to CPJ by phone.
Although Negi was released on bail on Wednesday, he faces accusations under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes law, based on a complaint from an unnamed individual and allegations of a scuffle with police officers during his arrest, those reports added.
Immediately after Negi’s arrest, Uttarakhand Director General of Police, Abhinav Kumar, issued a statement accusing the journalist of being “part of a conspiracy” to “sow anarchy and discord in society” through his reporting and activism around the police investigation into the killing of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari in September 2022, news reports said.
Bhandari, a receptionist at a resort owned by the son of a former ruling Bharatiya Janata Party official, went missing and was later found dead. Despite initial arrests in connection with the case, including that of the official’s son, concerns persist over the pace and transparency of the investigation. Negi has extensively reported and shared his views on the police investigation on his news website and social media platforms, according to CPJ’s review.
“The police chief’s statement makes it abundantly clear that journalist Ashutosh Negi is being targeted for his work as a journalist and activist,” said Kunāl Majumder, CPJ’s India representative. “Authorities in Uttarakhand must drop all charges against him and ensure that the media can perform their duties without fear or interference.”
Navnish Negi accused the police of misusing the law to target his client and told CPJ that the accusation against Negi for violating Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes law was found to be false during a governmental inquiry 1½ years ago. A fresh allegation was filed against Negi in January to harass him, Navnish Negi claimed.
Kumar did not respond to CPJ’s email requesting comments.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 18, 2024
- Country
- Nepal
- Initial Date
- Feb 28, 2024
- Event Description
Chief editor at https://pranmancha.com/ Padam Prasad Pokharel was brutally attacked while reporting in Kathmandu on February 28.
According to journalist Pokharel, he was reporting on clash among street vendors and metropolitan police persons in Sundhara, Kathmandu. He was taking video of the police baton charging the vendors to remove them from street.
Suddenly, a dozen of police persons started attacking Pokharel with their batons. Journalist Pokharel showed his identity card and asked not to attack him but they ignored him and threw his mobile, laptop and camera. They also kicked him.
"One of my friends took me to a nearby National Trauma Hospital for treatment. There were several bruises all over my body and my leg's ligament was torn. I was discharged from the hospital after treatment the other day", Pokharel informed.
Lately, Kathmandu Metropolitan City office has been barring street vendors while implementing city laws and regulations.
Freedom Forum condemns the attack upon journalist on duty. It is a sheer violation of press freedom. Hence, FF strongly urges the KMC office to instruct its police persons to respect the journalists' right to free reporting. The police persons must return journalist's reporting gadgets undamaged.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 18, 2024
- Country
- Nepal
- Initial Date
- Feb 28, 2024
- Event Description
Reporter at Radio Dhadkan FM 91.8 Shiv Kumar Mahato was issued a threat for his reporting on February 28 in Sarlahi.
Reporter Mahato shared with Freedom Forum that he had published a news story- Madhes Province's Health Minister Birendra SIngh's brother Surendra Singh was found guilty in a corruption case on February 27- on the web portal of radio https://dhadkanfm.com/.
"Following its publication, a person unanimously called me and threatened to break my legs if I write such news again. He also spoke belittling me on the call. Few minutes later, Nikesh Tripathi, personal secretary to the minister Singh asked me to delete the news from the portal through Facebook messenger", he added.
Mahato said that he was in contact with Tripathi before so he recognized Tripathi's voice on the phone call. Even the message on messenger further confirmed it.
He also informed FF that he had filed an application requesting security at the local administration office on February 29.
Freedom Forum condemns the threat issued to reporter for doing his job. Threatening a reporter instead of approaching the regulatory body Press Council Nepal for any dissatisfaction over published news is deplorable.
FF strongly urges the administration and security body to address the issue fairly so as to ensure safety to the journalist.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Online, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Non-state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 18, 2024
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Mar 7, 2024
- Event Description
Yesterday, March 7, 2024, KARAPATAN, through its legal counsel, was notified by the Office of the Solicitor General that it intends to appeal the decision of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 84 Judge Luisito Cortez upholding the acquittal of ten human rights defenders of Karapatan, the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines and Gabriela on charges of perjury. Notably, the OSG’s appeal will be handled by members of the NTF-ELCAC’s (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict) Legal Cooperation Cluster.
KARAPATAN views this as part of the sick, deluded and obsessive form of judicial harassment by the NTF-ELCAC and former National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. against its officers and fellow human rights defenders. This case, which dates back to 2019, went through preliminary investigation and trial hearings, resulting in our acquittal by Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 139 Judge Aimee Alcera in 2023, and Judge Cortez’s dismissal of the government’s petition for certiorari that same year. Yet, the saga continues to this day.
Such frivolous yet retaliatory charges pursued by government counsels also show how public funds are being wastefully utilized to go after those who defend and uphold human rights. Instead of pursuing cases against corrupt public officials or against police and military officers responsible for the killings of drug suspects or activists, our government lawyers are wasting the people’s money for its campaign against human rights watchdogs.
This, however, is no surprise, considering the NTF-ELCAC’s policy to undertake legal offensives against those whom they perceive as enemies of the State. From the Duterte to the Marcos-Duterte regime, this is the same task force that filed cases of perjury against young environmental activists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano. This is the same task force that lauded police and military officers responsible for the Bloody Sunday killings and arrests. This is the same task force that is notorious for red- and terrorist-tagging in the Philippines. This is the same task force that has justified the killings and other human rights violations against peasants, indigenous people, workers and development workers.
As we strongly denounce this continuing harassment against human rights defenders, we reiterate the persistent call for the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC and for an end to the attacks perpetrated under the Marcos-Duterte regime. We shall continue to challenge these attacks and demand justice for all victims of human rights violations.
- Impact of Event
- 10
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- NGO staff, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 17, 2024
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Mar 12, 2024
- Event Description
Armed men threatened to shoot Rappler Luzon reporter Joann Manabat and K5 News Olongapo reporter Rowena “Weng” Quejada while covering a violent demolition in Barangay Anunas in Angeles City, Pampanga on Tuesday, March 12.
Some 2,000 residents are fighting to stay in a 73-hectare of land being claimed by Clarkhills Properties Corporation. Demolitions have happened in the area several times, with some turning into violent encounters.
Manabat said men dressed in red and white shirts barred her from entering the area and immediately called her out when they saw her taking videos of the demolition.
“Those in red shirts, from a distance, told me to stop taking videos or else babarilin ako at kukunin yung photos ko (they would shoot me and take my photos),” the reporter said.
After acknowledging the threat, the Rappler reporter left the area with the help of residents who accompanied her away from the armed men.
“I stayed at a house near Balubad Street owned by the relative of the resident I was looking for. I left as soon as it was safe to leave the area,” Manabat added.
Before this, Quejada reportedly went missing during the demolition.
Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. confirmed in a statement on Tuesday evening that armed men harassed Quejada and held her at gunpoint.
“Quejada was covering the ongoing demolition at Sitio Balubad, Barangay Anunas, Angeles City, when accosted by armed men who allegedly questioned her and took her belongings,” the statement read.
According to reports gathered by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, one of the armed men at the demolition pointed a gun at Quejada, telling her to stop taking videos.
“The man also hurled invective, calling the media demonyo (devil) for reporting about the ongoing land dispute,” the NUJP said.
A Japanese national assisted Quejada by hiding her inside of his residence. She was able to leave after tensions in the area subsided.
Lazatin and members of the NUJP have condemned the threats that were made against the journalists.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Media Worker, WHRD
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Non-state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 17, 2024
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Mar 12, 2024
- Event Description
KARAPATAN condemns the violent demolition of a peasant community in Sitio Balubad, Barangay Anunas, Angeles City. At least seven persons have reportedly been injured after combined elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and goons hired by Clarkhills Properties Corporation opened fire on the protesting farmers. Even reporters covering the demolition were reportedly harassed and threatened by the raiding team.
Clarkhills Properties has been trying since October 2023 to gain control of a 72-hectare landholding that had already been awarded to the farmers under the government’s agrarian reform program after they had completed paying the required amortization. The Department of Agrarian Reform, however, later voided the Certificate of Land Ownership Award granted to the farmers, leading to a series of violent attempts by Clarkhills Properties to seize the land from the residents.
The area is populated by at least 535 households with some 2,000 families. Before this violent demolition, the residents had been resisting Clarkhills Properties’ demolition teams which have been conducting monthly demolitions since October.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Land rights, Freedom of expression Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to property, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Land rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Corporation Corporation (others)
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 17, 2024
- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Mar 7, 2024
- Event Description
Marikit Saturay, a Dutch-Filipino activist and musician, was detained, red-tagged, and deported after trying to visit her family and friends in the Philippines.
International Filipino rights groups Migrante-Netherlands, Linangan-Willem Geertman Art and Culture Network, and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Europe condemned the recent attacks against Saturay, stressing that it is not the first time that this happened.
Saturay arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on the evening of March 7. She was supposed to visit her relatives and friends, especially her grandmother who will be celebrating her 100th birthday on March 10.
However, a Filipino immigration officer accused her of engaging in “anti-government activities.” She said that she is part of Migrante-Netherlands, an organization of Filipino migrant workers, families, and refugees.
Despite this, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) continued to disregard her concern and included her in the blacklist order.
“At that point, she was not allowed to exit beyond the Immigration checkpoint. She has been detained at the airport’s immigration holding area since then,” Migrante Netherlands said in a statement, adding that she was detained for three nights without proper sleeping arrangement.
Saturay was also denied access to legal services before she was deported back to the Netherlands.
“She was not allowed to talk to her lawyers, nor was she allowed to receive any family members who wanted to see her to make sure that she was alright. A uniformed agent was also assigned to guard her during the entire detention period,” Migrante – Netherlands said.
A similar incident happened in December 2023 where Anakbayan – Switzerland Chairperson Edna Becher was detained and deported after she arrived in Manila. She was also accused of engaging in “anti-government activities.”
“This pattern of political repression is akin to the Marcos regime’s fascist campaign to criminalize dissent and deserves the condemnation of the international community. Further, this targeted campaign against Filipino migrant activists exposes the Marcos regime’s hypocrisy in milking profit from OFW remittances while at the same time barring migrants from returning to their homeland,” Bayan-Europe said.
Saturay came to the Netherlands in 2006 with her mother, sisters, and brother to join their father who had sought asylum in the country in 2003. This is because of the terror campaign led by Col. Jovito Palparan in the Mindoro region, where her father was based as an environmental activist and human rights worker.
Praised for her sharp and critical lyrics, Saturay used music and songwriting to advocate for the rights of Filipino migrant workers, immigrants, and refugees. She was known for songs “What Did I Do Wrong?” and “Geboren Om Te Strijden” (Born to Struggle).
“Filipino migrant workers will not be cowed into fear by these coercive attacks. We have endured wars, natural disasters, economic hardship, and discrimination of all forms. Wherever we are, we continue to fight for the genuine interests of the Filipino people, even in the face of political repression,” Migrante Netherlands said.
Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived in Europe. His schedule includes a visit to Germany on March 12 and 13. He is expected to go to Prague, Czech Republic for a state visit until March 15. The agenda includes maritime security agreements, bilateral trade, and economic ties.
“This would already be Marcos’ 6th international trip just in 2024, revealing his utter disregard for using taxpayer’s money to finance his junket trips abroad. Instead of deporting and prohibiting the entry of activists and government critics to Manila, Marcos himself should be declared persona non-grata in Europe!” Bayan-Europe said.
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Administrative Harassment, Denial Fair Trial, Deportation, Restrictions on Movement
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Right to fair trial, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to protect reputation
- HRD
- Artist, NGO staff, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 17, 2024
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Initial Date
- Mar 11, 2024
- Event Description
Vietnam police have been summoning the wives of political prisoners for questioning over the past week, leading one lawyer to suggest that the Ministry of Public Security has launched a new harassment campaign against relatives of prisoners of conscience.
According to information obtained by Radio Free Asia, police summoned the wives of four prisoners this week: Trinh Thi Nhung, wife of Bui Van Thuan; Le Thi Ha, wife of Dang Dang Phuoc; Do Thi Thu, wife of Trinh Ba Phuong; and Nguyen Thi Tinh, wife of Nguyen Nang Tinh.
The women were questioned about their social media activities.
They also summoned Nguyen Thi Mai, daughter of female prisoner Nguyen Thi Tam.
The five prisoners are serving sentences of between five and 10 years, all for the crime of “propaganda against the state.”
On Tuesday, police also summoned Le Thi Kieu Oanh, wife of former prisoner Pham Minh Hoang, following her trip to France to see her husband.
In 2017, Hoang was stripped of his Vietnamese citizenship and deported after serving a 17-month prison sentence for “activities aimed at overthrowing the government.”
Questioned about Facebook Trinh Thi Nhung was summoned for questioning by the Nghi Son Town Police in Thanh Hoa province on Wednesday morning.
They said they believed she had used the Facebook account “Nhung Trinh” to sign a petition calling for the release of human rights activist Nguyen Thuy Hanh, who has cancer and is being held in a secure mental facility.
Nhung told the police the account was not hers and refused to sign a statement.
Do Thi Thu was asked to visit Ha Dong District Police in Hanoi on Thursday, also in connection with Facebook but she refused.
“I’m not going to meet them there because they've invited me so many times about the same thing,” she said.
“The investigator asked me if the [Thu Do] Facebook account was mine.
“They told me not to share articles related to prisoners of conscience.”
Le Thi Ha was summoned by the Internal Security Department of Dak Lak Provincial Police.
They asked her to come in on Thursday to provide information about her use of social media. She told RFA she would attend even though she doesn’t have a Facebook account.
“I find it annoying,” she told RFA Vietnamese. “It affects my job because I work all day at school and have no time to rest.”
Human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Miem wrote on Facebook, "There seems to be a campaign to harass the wives of prisoners of conscience."
Josef Benedict, Asia Pacific civil space advocacy expert for rights group CIVICUS also criticized Vietnam for harassing families of political prisoners.
"The Vietnamese government must halt the shameful and vindictive campaign of harassment against the wives of political prisoners for their social media posts,” he said.
“Prisoners’ families should not be targeted simply because they seek justice for their loved ones .
Instead they should be able to exercise their basic right to freedom of expression peacefully without fear of reprisal.”
According to Amnesty International, Vietnam currently has more than 250 political prisoners.
Hanoi always claims it has no political prisoners, only those convicted of crimes.
- Impact of Event
- 6
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression Online, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Family of HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 17, 2024
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Mar 3, 2024
- Event Description
Authorities have transferred a Tibetan Buddhist monastery administrator and a village official – both arrested last month on suspicion of leading protests against the construction of a dam – to a large detention center in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, two sources with knowledge of the situation told Radio Free Asia.
Tenzin, the senior administrator of Wonto Monastery in Wangbuding township, and a village official named Tamdrin, were transferred from where they were previously detained to the larger Dege County Detention Center Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on March 3, said the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals by Chinese officials.
The men, who both go by just one name, were among the more than 1,000 Tibetan monks and residents of Dege County who were arrested on Feb. 23 for peacefully appealing to halt the construction of the dam on the Drichu River (Jinsha, in Chinese).
Some of these detainees, including Tenzin and Tamdrin, were severely beaten.
The dam construction is expected to cause the forced resettlement of at least two major villages, Wonto and Shipa, and the destruction of several monasteries with religious and historical significance, including the Wonto and Yena monasteries.
On Feb. 27, Chinese police released around 40 Tibetans, even as they forbade them from communicating with outsiders and imposed strict restrictions on the movement of people to and from the various monasteries and villages on both sides of the river.
Checking social media feeds
Sources, however, told RFA on Thursday that Chinese authorities are continuing to arrest more people and have cracked down on the people who posted videos of the arrests and protests that took place in February.
“The police are regularly checking people’s WeChat and TikTok accounts for any evidence of them having shared the videos and for communication with the outside world,” the first source said. “There’s severe restrictions on movement on either side of the river and no internet connection.”
The authorities are carrying out widespread, daily search and interrogations to find the people who posted the videos of black-clad Chinese police restraining the monks, who could be seen kneeling and crying out.
“People who send information out and videos like this face imprisonment and torture,” Maya Wang, interim China director of Human Rights Watch told RFA last month in the wake of the first round of arrests of more than 100 Tibetans that took place on Feb. 22. “Even calling families in the diaspora are reasons for imprisonment.”
“What we do see now are actually … typical scenes of repression in Tibet, but we don’t often get to see [what] repression looks like in Tibet anymore,” Wang said.
‘Open prison’ in Dege
The police are monitoring the monks and locals very closely, and the situation is like an “open prison as they are exercising extreme control,” said the second source.
“The monks and local people are very angry that they were arrested and subjected to beatings and torture for making peaceful appeals,” he added. “They say that if the government really forces them to move, there may be violent protests.”
Chinese officials have, however, made clear that the Gangtuo Dam project will continue, two Tibetans with knowledge of the situation told RFA earlier this month.
The Gangtuo Dam is part of a plan that China’s National Development and Reform Commission announced in 2012 to build a massive 13-tier hydropower complex on the Drichu. It would be located at Wontok (Gangtuo, in Chinese) in Dege county, northwest of Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The total planned capacity of the 13 hydropower stations is 13,920 megawatts.
Over the past two weeks, Tibetans in exile have been holding solidarity rallies in cities in the United States, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia and India.
Global leaders and Tibetan advocacy groups have condemned China’s actions, calling for the immediate release of those detained.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of expression Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender, Land rights defender, Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 17, 2024
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Initial Date
- Nov 24, 2023
- Event Description
The Mullaitivu Magistrates Court issued an order on Friday 24 November 2023, prohibiting all remembrance events and places in Mullaitivu dedicated to fallen Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres ahead of Maaveerar Day (27 November 2023). The order, prompted by complaints made by the Mullaitivu police department, specifically targets several individuals and organisations involved in organising the commemorative events in the district.
Following the issuance of the order, a remembrance event in Mullaitivu was disrupted after the police presented the court order to attendees.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of expression Offline
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 17, 2024
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Initial Date
- Dec 4, 2023
- Event Description
Police have used water cannons to disperse a protest near the Parliament Roundabout a short while ago, Ada Derana reporter said.
The relevant protest march was organised by the women’s wing of the National People’s Power (NPP) this morning (04) against the rising cost of living, unbearable tax burden on the people and other issues in the country.
Riot police had resorted to using water cannons as the protesters attempted to march towards the Parliament along the Parliament Road, the reporter said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community), Woman
- Violation
- Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of expression Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 17, 2024
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Initial Date
- Nov 9, 2023
- Event Description
A group of journalists visiting to Mayilathamadu Batticaloa to interview farmers who were protesting for more than 50 days has been stopped Mayilathamadu checkpoint by police today without any legal basis.
In a letter to the Inspector General of Police in a singed letter the group has urged to pay immediate attention to the incident, response to it and hold those responsible accountable.
The letter:
As a media team, we came to visit Mayilathamadu to interview farmers an report on land issues today 9th November 2023. Police personnel at Mayilathamadu checkpoint stopped us around 1010am and refused to let us pass through. But we saw others were allowed to go.
We called the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG), Eastern Province twice, but didn’t receive a proper response.
We were informed by police officers Herath (60073) and HMM Widyaratne (36739) at Mayilthmadhu checkpoint at about 1230pm that they would not allow us to proceed to Mayilathamadu to talk to farmers, as per SDIG East’s orders. The Director of Investigations of Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, Mr. Lal also informed us same. Neither informed us the legal basis an authority to stop us. We messaged SDIG East asking legal basis for stopping us but didn’t receive a response.
We believe this is a violation of our constitutional rights to freedom of speech, expression, and publication (article 14-1-a), freedom to engage in a lawful occupation (article 14-1-g), and freedom of movement (article 14-1-h), equal protection of the law (article 12-1) non-discrimination (article 12-2).
This is also an offence against Article 332 of the penal code (wrongful restraint)
We kindly request your immediate attention and response to this and hold those responsible accountable. And ensure such violations are prevented in the future.
Thank you.
-
Mr. Rukshan Fernando (Ruki Fernando). Columnist for newspapers such as The Morning, Daily Mirror, Sunday Observer, Anidda.
-
Ms. Kamanthi Wickramasinghe Deputy Features Editor, Daily Mirror
-
Ms. H.M. Rekha Nilukshi. Freelance Journalist
-
Mr. Ganeshan Jegan, News editor at Monara.com
-
Ms. Melani Manel Perera, Asia News Correspondent & Mojo News Lanka Reporter
-
- Impact of Event
- 5
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment, Restrictions on Movement
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Freedom of expression Offline
- HRD
- Media Worker, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 17, 2024