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An anti-logging activist was on Tuesday convicted of assault against an alleged timber trader, as rights groups linked the verdict to ongoing harassment and intimidation against environmentalists in the country.

The Kampong Thom Provincial Court sentenced Chan Thoeun, who is in hiding, to two years’ imprisonment, but suspended the sentence, according to his lawyer Sam Sokong.

Sokong said the judge had also downgraded the charge from attempted murder to intentional violence with aggravating circumstances.

Thoeun has previously said that he saw a timber trader hauling timber from a community forest in July last year, but was threatened at knifepoint when he pulled out his phone to capture footage, alleging that he was the victim, not the aggressor.

Sokong said that although the two-year sentence was suspended, he considered the court’s decision unfair because his client was the victim. “We see that [the court] has not yet been given justice to the client,” he said.

Thoeun, who is a member of the Prey Lang Community Network in Kampong Thom province, said he would appeal the conviction.

“It is an injustice against me. When it comes to many huge crimes of timber [trafficking], they do not prosecute them. But they sue me and accuse me, and it is unjust,” he said. “I do not accept it because I did not do anything wrong and they came to take my phone and prosecuted me. I will appeal to the Appeal Court. The decision is unacceptable since I am a victim.”

Cambodian Center for Human Rights executive director Chak Sopheap said members of the Prey Lang Community Network have been facing harassment as well as physical and legal threats. Environmentalists should not be facing such actions under a democracy, she said.

“I hope that the government should reconsider its commitment to the protection of natural resources, and that commitment can only be achieved with the participation of local communities,” Sopheap said. “As long as local communities that are active in protecting the environment remain under threat, it contradicts the government’s claimed commitment.”

The network, which works to protect the massive Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, has been banned from conducting patrols since last year. Environmentalists have been arrested in the protected area, and the U.S. this year pulled funding to the government for Prey Lang-related projects, citing continued logging, failure to prosecute timber traders and silencing of environmentalists. Other environmentalists have also been jailed and charged with plotting against the government.

Ming Yu Hah, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for campaigns, said Thoeun should never have been charged or tried, and his conviction fit a pattern of silencing and intimidating environmental activists in Prey Lang and across Cambodia.

“Chan Thoeun and the PLCN have been standing up against powerful illegal logging interests for years,” Hah said. “They have defended the Prey Lang forest while the Cambodian authorities have turned a blind eye to the rampant destruction of this vital ecosystem, which is an essential part of the culture of indigenous Kuy communities.”

A court in Kazakhstan's largest city has sentenced 13 political activists to up to five years in prison on extremism-related charges that they reject.

All 13 were activists with the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) of fugitive businessman and former Energy Minister Mukhtar Ablyazov, who was convicted in absentia of murder and embezzlement, and the Koshe party.

The court sentenced four of the activists -- Abai Begimbetov, Askhat Zheksebaev, Qairat Qylyshev, and Noyan Rakhymzhanov -- to five years in prison.

The other nine got various parole-like restrictions on their freedom for terms from one to two years, with seven also sentenced to 100 hours of compulsory labor per year. The nine sentenced to restricted liberty will not be allowed to change their place of residence or leave the Almaty city limits.

The hearing, which was conducted online with the defendants appearing virtually from a remand prison, was interrupted several times as the defendants chanted, "We are not extremists!"

During their trial, the defendants claimed they only participated in peaceful protests and exercised their constitutionally protected rights.

The Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law issued a statement condemning the sentences and saying they showed that "the ossified authoritarian system will not allow people intent on democratic change to join together."

Ablyazov is an exiled former head of BTA Bank and an outspoken critic of the Kazakh authorities who has fought multiple extradition battles over accusations that he embezzled billions. The government designated the DVK an "extremist' organization in March 2018.

Human Rights Watch earlier this year criticized the Kazakh government for using anti-extremism laws as a tool to persecute critics and civic activists. Several hundred people have been prosecuted for membership in the Koshe party.

The Kazakh authorities have insisted there are no political prisoners in the Central Asian country.

Shahid Zehri, a reporter for a local TV news channel Metro News 1 was killed on October 10 when a bomb exploded in his car in the Hub area of Balochistan province. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Pakistan affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), urge the Pakistan government to ensure those involved in the attack are promptly brought to justice.

Journalist Zehri, 35, and friend, were travelling to Karachi by car when a bomb detonated around midnight on October 10. Both suffered critical injuries. CCTV footage confirms the bomb was attached to the journalist’s car where it exploded. Some reports suggested it was a homemade device.

The injured journalist and friend were initially taken to Hub Civil Hospital then subsequently brought to Karachi for treatment. The journalist, Zehri, was declared dead at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital in Karachi.

Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility of the attack. The group also claimed that the journalist was spying on them. IFJ understands Zehri was a strong voice for the Hub Chowki, often reported on unrest in the region. Pakistan’s Baluchistan province has not enacted any legislation protecting journalists.

According to the IFJ’s South Asia Press Freedom Report 2020-2021, nine journalists were murdered in Pakistan in 2020-2021.

Reporter to Lumbini Television and Butwal FM Dinesh Gyawali was attacked while reporting in Butwal on October 10. Butwal lies in Lumbini Province of Nepal.

Reporter Gyawali was attacked while reporting on conflict among local protestors and policepersons in the industrial area of Motipur, Butwal.

The raged public attacked Gyawali even after he showed his press identity card and said that he was journalist.

"I tried to escape the attack but fell down and other two of the protestors rescued me. I also lost my mobile in the incident", he shared with Freedom Forum.

"Other reporters however, escaped the attack. Neither Police persons nor the protesting locals cooperated with us while reporting", said Gyawali.

Reporter Gyawali has sustained injury on his head and hands. He is undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

Freedom Forum condemns the attack upon journalist while reporting. In most of the cases recorded at FF, journalists have been victim of attack while covering the protest even in presence of the police persons.

The Observatory has been informed about the arbitrary detention and ongoing judicial harassment of Ms. Benja Apan, a student and pro-democracy activist with the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration (UFTD) [1], on lèse-majesté charges in relation with the August 10, 2021 pro-democracy protest.

On October 7, 2021, Benja Apan was arrested at the Lumpini Police Station, Bangkok, where she had gone to hear a charge of violating the Emergency Decree for participating in a pro-democracy protest on September 3, 2021, at Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong intersection. The police arrested Ms. Benja on the basis of another outstanding arrest warrant issued against her under Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code (“lèse-majesté”) [2], the Emergency Decree [3], and the Communicable Diseases Act. These charges stem from Ms. Benja’s participation in a pro-democracy protest on August 10, 2021, in front of the Sino-Thai Tower building on Asoke Road in Bangkok, during which she gave a speech that criticized the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and called for the reform of the Thai monarchy. Later on October 7, police took Ms. Benja to Bangkok’s Thong Lo Police station where she was detained overnight after being denied bail.

On October 8, 2021, Benja Apan appeared before the Bangkok South Criminal Court, which denied her bail arguing that the offenses of which she is accused carry a heavy penalty and that she previously committed the same offenses. Benja Apan was then taken to the Central Women’s Correctional Institution in Bangkok, where she was still being detained at the time of publication of this Urgent Appeal. Ms. Benja is currently facing a total of six charges under Article 112 of the Criminal Code and she could face up to 90 years in prison, if tried and found guilty on all counts.

The Observatory notes with concern that between November 24, 2020, and October 8, 2021, 150 people, including many human rights defenders, were charged under Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code. Some of them - Anon Nampa, Parit Chiwarak, Panupong Chadnok, and Jatuphat Boonpattararaksa - remain detained pending trial.

The Observatory condemns the arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Benja Apan, Anon Nampa, Parit Chiwarak, Panupong Chadnok and Jatuphat Boonpattararaksa,which seem to be only aimed at punishing them for their legitimate human rights activities and the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly.

The Observatory calls on the Thai authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the five human rights defenders and to put an end to the judicial harassment against them and all other human rights defenders in the country.

Two more were arrested by combined elements of the police and military in Quezon province, yesteray, October 6, at around 2:00 am.

According to Karapatan-Southern Tagalog, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Batangas Spokesperson Erlindo “Lino” Baez and Anakpawis Partylist Batangas Coordinator Willy Capareño were arrested in sitio Centro, barangay Manggalang 1, Sariaya, Quezon province by no less than 50 members of the Sariaya police and the Philippine Army’s 59th Infantry Battalion.

The arrest was made by virtue of a warrant of arrest on charges against Baez for illegal possession of firearms and explosives. A press release from the CALABARZON Police Regional Office meanwhile tagged Baez and Capareño as “high-ranking members” of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Both Baez and Capareño are no strangers to red-tagging and state harassment. The warrant issued against Baez came from the March 7 raid of his home in Santo Tomas, Batangas, where police and military supposedly “found” firearms and explosives. The raid was part of “Bloody Sunday”, which resulted in the deaths of nine activists and the arrests of seven others.

No warrant was issued for Capareño; however, he was allegedly found to be in possession of one hand-grenade. It is not yet clear what the charges against Capareño are.

Baez is the head of a family of activists. His son, Ronilo, is a political prisoner currently detained since June 3, 2010 on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives. He was one of three activists arrested in Taysan while they were integrating in a farming community.

Another son, Edrean, was a member of Anakbayan before he was killed by state forces on May 26, 2021 near Padre Garcia, Batangas, in a supposed “encounter” between members of the New People’s Army.

In 2019, Capareño received a text message from someone he does not know, telling him to go back to his home in San Juan, Batangas or else he would be arrested. This threat was part of a series of harassment against known leaders and progressives in the province.

Baez and Capareño’s arrest come one day shy of seven months since Bloody Sunday. Progressives in Southern Tagalog have long since contended that Bloody Sunday marked an “intensification of crackdown” against activists and community leaders in the region.

Multiple reports of human rights violations have come to light since March 7, including the murder of labor leader Dandy Miguel on March 28; the disappearance of former Kabataan Partylist coordinator Kemuel Ian Cometa on May 21; the arrest of peasant organizers Dana Marcellana and Christian Relao on June 25, as well as multiple icidents of threats, harassment, and intimidation by state forces.

Youth organization Gabriela Youth Quezon has called the arrests “a manifestation that despite the crisis caused by the pandemic, there is a proliferation of harassment of silencing against progressive individuals who are fighting for people’s rights.” Other groups have similarly called for the immediate release of Baez and Capareño.

Both Baez and Capareño’s families have yet to make contact with their loved ones. Initial reports indicate that they were brought to the Sariaya Municipal Police Station but no confirmation has been made yet as of press time. Karapatan-Southern Tagalog is currently spearheading efforts to locate the two activists and ensure their safety.

Very early yesterday morning, officers with the police Rapid Action Battalion raided Raka’s home in Uttara, a suburb of Dhaka, and took her and her three sons to the battalion’s headquarters in Dhaka, according to news reports and Kanak Sarwar, a journalist and Raka’s brother, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview.

Sarwar, who lives in exile in the United States, told CPJ that he believed that the arrest was in retaliation for his journalism and that Raka, who is a homemaker, had not committed any crime.

Police repeatedly questioned Raka about Sarwar, asking why he opposed the Bangladesh government and calling him “a freedom fighter,” Sarwar told CPJ, saying that he was able to briefly speak on the phone with his sister in detention. He said that authorities released Raka’s sons after about 30 hours, but she remains detained in a cell with no bed.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka ordered Raka to be detained for five days, Sarwar said, adding that she suffers from asthma and has experienced difficulty breathing in custody as she is recovering from COVID-19. He also said that police broke several items inside the house during the raid, including closets and jewelry boxes.

Sarwar told CPJ that he believes all authorities’ accusations against his sister are false.

“Punishing exiled journalist Kanak Sarwar by arresting his sister, Nusrat Shahrin Raka, is a crude and barbaric form of retaliation that should shame the government of Bangladesh,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities must immediately release Raka, cease targeting critical journalists or their family members, and allow the media to operate without interference.”

In a press release issued yesterday, which CPJ reviewed, the Rapid Action Battalion alleged that Raka was involved in “destroying peace and order in the country by spreading false, defamatory, and provocative information about the government and important personalities of the state on social media” and accused her of involvement with an unnamed group engaging in “conspiratorial propaganda activities” with Sarwar.

The press release also claimed that authorities seized a mobile phone, passport, methamphetamine, and anti-state content from Raka’s home, and that she revealed during interrogation that she was an active member of an anti-state propaganda and conspiracy ring.

The Rapid Action Battalion filed two complaints at the Uttara West police station under the Digital Security Act and Narcotics Control Act, which CPJ reviewed.

The Digital Security Act complaint alleges that Raka violated three sections of the act: the publication of offensive, false, or threatening information; defamation; and the transmission or publication of content that deteriorates law and order. Each of those offenses can carry a prison sentence of three to seven years and a fine of 300,000 to 500,000 taka (US $3,497 to $5,827), according to that law.

The other complaint alleges that Raka possessed narcotics; under the Narcotics Control Act, Raka could face up to three years in prison if charged and convicted, according to Sarwar, citing her lawyer.

Sarwar told CPJ that a fake Facebook page had been created in recent weeks using Raka’s name, email address, and phone number, and that account published posts criticizing the government. Sarwar said that Raka filed a complaint to the Uttara West police station about that account on October 1, which CPJ reviewed.

The police complaint under the Digital Security Act cited posts made on that Facebook page, and attributed them to Raka.

Sarwar is the former senior correspondent for the privately owned broadcaster Ekushey TV; authorities held him from March 3 to November 16, 2015, on accusations of sedition after Ekushey TV broadcasted a speech by Tarique Rahman, the son of an opposition leader, according to CPJ research and Sarwar. He now operates the YouTube channel Kanak Sarwar News, which covers Bangladesh politics and has been critical of the ruling Awami League.

On December 8, 2020, the Bangladesh High Court directed authorities to block Sarwar’s social media pages after he interviewed a politician in Bangladesh on YouTube, as CPJ documented at the time.

CPJ emailed the Uttara West police station for comment, but did not receive any reply. CPJ called and messaged Ashique Billah, spokesperson of the Rapid Action Battalion, but did not receive any response.

Chiang Mai University student and performance artist Withaya Khlangnin is facing another royal defamation charge for staging a performance in front of the university on 1 May 2021 to demand the release of detained activists.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that, according to the police, Withaya’s performance amounts to royal defamation because it involved climbing onto the university sign, above which was a portrait of the King and a sign saying “Long live the King.” Withaya also poured red paint all over himself, which the police said was unsightly, and spilled paint over the university sign and the image of the King. The police also said that the gestures Withaya used during the performance, such as standing with a paint bucket over his head, and lying down with one foot pointing up at the portrait of the king, was disrespectful.

Withaya went to Phuping Rajanivej Police Station on Tuesday (5 October) to hear the charges. He was dressed as Luffy from the Japanese manga One Piece, and staged a short performance before going to meet the inquiry officer.

TLHR reported that at least 60 police officers were stationed in the area, while the police station was surrounded with metal fences. The police also tried to stop a small crowd of supporters from going inside the police station area. Officers were taking photos and videos of people, and repeatedly made announcements that gatherings are prohibited under the Emergency Decree. Withaya was released after his meeting with the inquiry officer. He has to report to the police again in 12 days, and has to submit further testimony in 20 days.

Withaya is currently facing 2 counts of lèse majesté under Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code. Along with Yotsunthon Ruttapradid, another Chiang Mai University student, he was previously charged under Section 112 and the 1979 Flag Act for a piece of installation art during a protest on 14 March 2021, which featured a mannequin wrapped in plastic in the middle of two red and white strips, on which participants at the 14 March protest were invited to write down messages. The messages were seen as defaming the King, and since the piece looks like a Thai flag without the blue stripe, which represents the monarchy, it was taken to mean that the artist does not wish the monarchy to exist in the country.

Wai Yan Phyo Moe, the vice president of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), was charged with violating Section 505a of the Penal Code for incitement at the Mayangone Township court in Yangon this week, according to his lawyer.

Lawyer Thet Naung told Myanmar Now that they heard about new charges against Wai Yan Phyo Moe during his other hearings in the Kyauktada and Kamayut township courts on Tuesday.

“We haven’t seen him for a while as the offices and prisons have been closed. We only learnt briefly about this Section 505 charge during his court hearings at Kyauktada and Kamayut courts,” he said.

The lawyer said he has not submitted a power of attorney document for the new charge, which would allow him to represent Wai Yan Phyo Moe at hearings in Mayangone.

Wai Yan Phyo Moe was already facing charges for the violation of Section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law in Kyauktada for allegedly breaking rules surrounding demonstrations, as well as for incitement in both Kyauktada and Kamayut.

If convicted, each incitement charge carries a three-year prison sentence and the Section 19 charge is accompanied by a three-month sentence and/or a fine.

Many detained anti-junta protesters have been charged in different townships where they led or participated in demonstrations on the pretext that they allegedly broke the law by taking part in rallies after the February 1 military coup.

Thet Naung said that Wai Yan Phyo Moe had been held in Insein Prison since his arrest in March.

He noted that his client was in good health but that he was concerned because Wai Yan Phyo Moe had initially been placed in a cell with violent offenders instead of other political prisoners.

“We’ve requested that the prison authorities move him and they agreed to, but they haven’t actually moved him yet. It’s been too long already,” Thet Naung explained.

Wai Yan Phyo Moe was one of around 500 civilians arrested during a crackdown on the General Strike Committee’s protest column in Yangon’s Tamwe Township on March 3.

Seven detained student activists including Wai Yan Phyo Moe were placed in solitary confinement for one week after they refused to read the prison rules out loud on April 22, a punitive measure typically demanded of inmates by prison officials. They were later sent to the prison ward where those convicted of violent crimes are held, and have reportedly been asked for bribes, forced to do hard labour, and have received death threats.

Vietnamese authorities on Monday arrested a Facebook user, charging him with “abusing freedom and democracy” for writing a series of online posts they said had defamed the country’s leaders, state media reported on Monday.

Vo Hoang Tho, 36 years old and a resident of the Ninh Kieu district of southern Vietnam’s Can Tho City, had published 47 posts on his Minh Long Facebook page criticizing government efforts to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 in the one-party communist state, media sources said.

Containment efforts, including community lockdowns and other harsh restrictions, are widely unpopular in Vietnam, and Tho’s arrest was just the latest in a continuing crackdown on Facebook users who use the popular social media platform to voice dissenting views.

Can Tho City’s Investigation Agency said Tho had formerly worked as a journalist but did not identify the media organization for which he worked.

RFA has reported nearly 30 cases in which Vietnamese citizens have been arrested for political offenses over social media posts since the beginning of this year. Among those now serving sentences for Facebook posts are journalists, bloggers, and another citizen who had posted complaints about coronavirus policies.

On Sept. 10, Vietnamese authorities arrested and charged a woman with “carrying out activities to overthrow the government,” making her the third person apprehended this year for joining an exile Vietnamese organization called a terrorist group by Hanoi, according to state media reports.

Le Thi Kim Phi, 62, had used a Facebook profile under the name Phi Kim to connect with members of the Provisional Government of Vietnam, a U.S.-based opposition group, said the investigation division of southern An Gian province’s police department.

And on Sept. 8, authorities in Can Tho indicted five journalists from the Bao Sach (Clean Newspaper) Facebook-based news outlet for publishing reports and videos dealing with politically sensitive social issues.

Vietnam’s already low tolerance of dissent deteriorated sharply last year with a spate of arrests of independent journalists, publishers, and Facebook personalities as authorities continued to stifle critics in the run-up to the ruling Communist Party Congress in January. But arrests continue in 2021.

After disappearing while covering a farmer protest in Lakhimpur Kheri, a reporter for Sadhna Prime News was found dead on October 4. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Indian affiliates, the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) and National Union of Journalists- India (NUJ-I) condemn the tragic incident and urge for a judicial inquiry into the case.

Local journalist Raman Kashyap’s body was found in a mortuary a day after his reported disappearance while covering the violent demonstrations in Lakhimpur Kheri, where local farmers and political supporters collided. Kashyap was among eight others allegedly killed in the demonstration involving hundreds of farmers.

The farmers gathered to protest the visit of Uttar Pradesh’s deputy chief minister, Keshav M to the village of the union minister of state for home affairs, Ajay Kumar Mishra, in Tikunia. The incident marks a lethal intensification of the unrest in India since the introduction of controversial agricultural laws.

There are conflicting accounts of the circumstances in which Kashyap died. The editor of the Sadhna Prime news channel, Brij Mohan Singh, alleged that while covering the protest Kashyap was ‘wounded by miscreants’. A complaint filed by Kashyap’s father, Ram Dulare Kashyap, claims that Kashyap was “shot at” for filming a VIP convoy that killed farmers.

Another journalist said that in addition to being shot in the hand, Kashyap was hit by a car that was allegedly carrying Mishra’s son, Ashsih Misra. Samyukta Kisan Morcha, a coalition of Indian farmers' unions protesting against the agricultural laws, also claimed that a vehicle carrying Ashish Misra ran over the protesting farmers, killing at least eight people. An FIR has been lodged against Ashish Mishra and 15 others for murder and inciting violence with Lakhimpur Kheri police.

The Indian journalist fraternity has strongly condemned the killing of the journalist. The Editors Guild of India called for a “court-led special investigation team” to investigate the case. The Lucknow Journalists’ Association wrote a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary seeking justice. Local journalists are demanding compensation and the immediate arrest of the accused in the case.

Hong Kong's largest independent trade union disbanded on Sunday, further stoking concerns over the space for civil society groups as a national security law and the sweeping powers it gives the police stifle dissent in the global financial center.

Founded in 1990, the 145,000 member Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) voted to disband, bringing an end to the organization as authorities exert greater control on groups and unions in the business hub.

While anti-government protests in 2019 generated a new wave of labor activism in Hong Kong and triggered a 35% jump in registered trade unions, groups have been scrambling to disband since Beijing imposed the security law last year.

Fears of falling foul of the law and facing terms of up to life in jail have seen at least 29 trade unions disband since the start of this year, according to a tally by Reuters.

HKCTU vice-president Leo Tang said members of the group had received threats to their personal safety, without elaborating.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has denied that the government is carrying out a crackdown on civil society, and authorities say all law enforcement actions have been based on evidence and have nothing to do with the political beliefs of those arrested.

Junta authorities arrested the teenaged president of the Basic Education Students’ Union of Naypyitaw’s Zabuthiri Township at his home earlier this week, according to the group.

Tun Aung Kyaw, age 15, was taken into detention by two police officers and two local administrators, a spokesperson for the Naypyitaw Students’ Union said.

It is said that the military units arrested Tun Aung Kyaw, the president of the basic education students’ union of Zabuthiri township, Naypyidaw, at his home on October 3 evening.

“He is technically a minor, so they said that they just had some questions to ask and that they’d let him go soon,” he told Myanmar Now.

At the time of reporting, the boy was still being held at the No. 3 police station in Zabuthiri and had not been allowed contact with his family, the student union representative said.

At 10pm on Tuesday, military troops reportedly ransacked his house.

Myanmar Now called the police station for comment on Tun Aung Kyaw’s arrest but the calls went unanswered.

Another Naypyitaw student leader, Yan Paing, was arrested by the military on May 2 and died on October 1 during an interrogation, according to a statement released by the Naypyitaw Students’ Union.

According to the statistics reported by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), there have now been at least 7,104 civilians detained by the junta since the February 1 coup and at least 1,158 civilians killed during that same period.

As they have been active in participating in anti-coup demonstrations, student union members have been frequent targets of military arrests, but the exact number of students in detention is not known.

Most recently, four students preparing to protest against the junta were arrested near the Pathi dam in Taungoo Township, Bago Region on the evening of September 19.

Bangladesh authorities and United Nations officials should take urgent measures to protect Rohingya refugees facing threats and violence in the Cox’s Bazar camps, Human Rights Watch said today. Rohingya community leaders and volunteer workers told Human Rights Watch that alleged members of armed Islamist groups were increasingly targeting them for extortion and other crimes.

On September 29, 2021, unidentified gunmen shot and killed Mohib Ullah, 46, chair of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH), in Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar. His associates said that Mohib Ullah had repeatedly reported threats from armed groups operating in the camps to Bangladesh officials but received insufficient support from the authorities.

“Mohib Ullah’s flight from mass atrocities in Myanmar to then be killed in his place of refuge speaks volumes about the risks that Rohingya activists face every day,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Bangladesh authorities should take urgent measures, with international assistance, to protect Rohingya activists who are defending the rights of refugees.”

Human Rights Watch interviewed nine people, including Rohingya activists and Mohib Ullah’s family members, who said that the authorities did not adequately investigate Mohib Ullah’s concerns or provide protection for him and other vulnerable activists. “The Bangladesh government deployed many security forces in the camps, but they were busy subduing and controlling refugees instead of protecting them,” said one activist.

At least a dozen activists have come forward to seek protection from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and Bangladesh officials since Mohib Ullah’s killing because of renewed threats from armed groups and other risks of violence. Humanitarian workers said that the environment inside the camps has become increasingly dangerous for Rohingya activists.

Mohib Ullah had served as a leader among the nearly one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. He began receiving death threats in 2019 as his prominence grew, representing the Rohingya at the UN Human Rights Council and with the United States government. His organization said that the threats were from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and other armed groups that contested his leadership role.

In the months before his death, Mohib Ullah had expressed concern about the growing threats, activists and his family members said. In August, he sent a letter to the Bangladesh government Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, with copies to the camp-in-charge official and Special Branch in Cox’s Bazar, outlining the death threats that he and his colleagues had been receiving and requesting the office take action against the assailants, which the letter identifies as ARSA members.

One member of Mohib Ullah’s group was told in July that he would be killed if he returned to the group’s office, and that “very soon we will kill your leader.” Mohib Ullah’s colleagues said the letter received no reply.

A Bangladesh police official told Reuters they had received no reports from Mohib Ullah about any threats or requests for protection.

ARSA condemned the killing in written and audio statements and demanded authorities bring those responsible to account.

In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that Mohib Ullah’s death “is a clear example of the insecurity in the camp, and the apparent attempts to silence moderate civil society voices.”

UNHCR said that, in response to the killing, it “has enhanced its staff presence in the camps to ensure that the Rohingya refugees have direct access to support services and can report their concerns.” However, activists close to Mohib Ullah said that they have not been provided with adequate protection.

On October 3, police reported that they had arrested five men in connection with the killing. Mohib Ullah’s associates, however, have said that those allegedly responsible for the killing are still openly operating in the camp.

An activist with his group said, “Even this morning [October 3] some people visited my shelter and threatened my family saying, ‘Ask your son to be ready because the same fate is awaiting him, like Mohib Ullah. He is on the hit list of 10 people.’ I informed camp-in-charge, who assured me of safety, but I am worried because the police are not there all the time. If they really want to kill me, I’m an easy target for them.” Mohib Ullah’s wife said that she was worried for her daughters since her husband’s killing because of recent threats demanding that they marry members of the armed group.

Some refugees alleged that Bangladesh security forces and camp authorities seemed to underplay threats from armed Islamist groups. “When we complain to the authorities about ARSA’s crimes, they don’t pay any attention,” an activist said.

Another activist alleged collusion between some officers of the Armed Police Battalion deployed in the camps and members of the armed group. He said he went into hiding after receiving threats from ARSA but returned to his shelter when police promised protection, only for them to hand him over to the militants. “I was always being threatened by ARSA members since I started working as an activist, and I finally went into hiding. A few months later, two police officers lured me to come back to the camp and then handed me over to ARSA. I had to go through inhuman torture, until I paid ARSA a heavy ransom.”

ARSA members have attacked Christians and Hindus living in the camps alongside the predominantly Muslim Rohingya. Armed groups have also targeted women working as volunteers with humanitarian agencies. Hasina, a 26-year-old activist who works on women’s empowerment, said she was a victim of extortion by ARSA members.

Bangladesh authorities should fully investigate all those who might be responsible for Mohib Ullah’s killing and work with UNHCR to respond promptly when refugees are reporting imminent threats and provide immediate and effective protection, Human Rights Watch said. Concerned governments should ensure that activists and other refugees at heightened risk are priorities in planning around refugee assistance, protection, and resettlement.

“The Bangladesh government needs to address safety in the Rohingya camps both by developing better security and taking necessary action against groups engaged in illegal activity,” Ganguly said. “These refugees fled horrific abuses and are entitled to support from Bangladesh and other governments to live in the camps without fearing for their lives.”

3 members of the activist group Thalufah were denied bail after 15 members of the group surrendered to the police yesterday (1 October) over an arrest warrant issued with regard to an incident on 3 August 2021 when they splashed paint in front of Thung Song Hong Police Station.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that the police initially said the activists would be granted bail on a security of 10,000 baht per person. However, Metropolitan Police Division 2 Deputy Commander Pol Col Saksit Meesawat later told the activists they would be taken to court for a temporary detention request. The police claimed that the temporary detention request was necessary because they have not finished the case report for submision to the public prosecutor.

12 activists were later granted bail on a security of 35,000 baht each, but 3 were denied bail. The three had previously been arrested during the 13 October 2020 protest at the Democracy Monument, and according to TLHR, the court denied them bail on the grounds that they had violated their previous bail conditions. However, TLHR noted that the bail conditions were set on 21 September 2021, which was after the incident on 3 August 2021.

TLHR said that they filed another bail request for the 3 activists today (2 October), but the request was once again denied.

On 3 August 2021, the activists splashed paint in front of Thung Song Hong Police Station following their release after spending a night in detention on charges relating to a protest at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau on 2 August to demand that the police return a speaker truck seized after the 1 August ‘car mob’ rally.

Activists Jatupat Boonpattarasaksa and Thawee Thiangwiset, who are also Thalufah members, had surrendered themselves at Thung Song Hong Police Station on 9 August 2021. They were charged with violating the Emergency Decree, damaging public property, and taking part in an assembly of more than 10 people which caused a breach of public peace. On the same day, activist Songpol Sonthirak, another Thalufah member, was also arrested.

The Criminal Court later granted bail to Tawee and Songpol on a security of 35,000 baht, but denied bail to Jatupat on the grounds that he faces other charges for similar offenses, had broken his bail conditions which prohibited him from repeating these offenses, and was likely to flee or cause danger if he is released. Jatupat has been repeatedly denied bail and is still in detention at the Bangkok Remand Prison.

Kazakh police detained eight protesters, mostly women, demanding the release of relatives they say are being illegally held in China.

The October 1 protests were the latest in a series of demonstrations in Kazakhstan linked to the massive detention of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other ethnic groups in the neighboring Chinese province of Xinjiang.

Demonstrators have demanded Kazakh authorities do more to protect ethnic Kazakhs who have been caught up in the Chinese sweep. Kazakhstan’s government, however, has been wary of angering Beijing, which is a major investor in Kazakhstan and throughout Central Asia.

One of the protesters in the Kazakh capital on October 1 was wheelchair-user Khalida Aqytkhan, 65, who fell to the ground as police were forcing her into a vehicle.

The most recent wave of protests began September 20 when demonstrators traveled to Nur-Sultan from the country’s commercial capital, Almaty, where groups had rallied for months in front of the Chinese Consulate there.

As many as 2 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and members of Xinjiang's other indigenous, mostly Muslim, ethnic groups have been taken to detention centers in the western Chinese region, according to the U.S. State Department.

China denies that the facilities are internment camps but people who have fled the province say that thousands are undergoing "political indoctrination" at a network of facilities known officially as reeducation camps.

After Kazakhstan gained independence following the Soviet collapse in 1991, many ethnic Kazakhs from Xinjiang and elsewhere resettled in Kazakhstan, as part of a state program.

Many obtained permanent residence or citizenship but continue to visit Xinjiang either to see relatives or for bureaucratic reasons. Some have reported facing pressure from Chinese authorities or even arrests and imprisonment

Kazakhs are the second-largest Turkic-speaking indigenous community in Xinjiang after Uyghurs. The region is also home to ethnic Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Hui, also known as Dungans.

China's largest ethnicity, the Han, is the second-largest ethnic group in Xinjiang.

Student activist Patsaravalee Tanakitvibulpon has been indicted on a royal defamation charge related to a speech she gave at a protest on 24 March 2021, in which she said that the monarchy must reform itself in order to survive.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said on Thursday (30 September) that the public prosecutor at the Southern Bangkok Department of Criminal Litigation has decided to indict Patsaravalee for royal defamation under Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, or the lèse majesté law, and a violation of the Emergency Decree charge resulting from her participation in the 24 March 2021 protest at the Ratchaprasong Intersection.

During the protest, Patsaravalee gave a speech calling for the King to conduct himself in a manner that befits the head of the state. She also said that the King’s expansion of power will endanger the institution of the monarchy, and that even though an absolute monarchy can be created, it can also fall in the next reign.

She made 3 demands to develop the institution of the monarchy: having a single, inseparable armed force, ending intervention in any political groups by the monarchy, and quickly returning public assets which have been transferred to the King’s personal ownership.

National security police in Hong Kong have frozen the assets of a group that organized vigils for Tiananmen massacre victims, as the city's public broadcaster was warned on Wednesday that its reporting must 'safeguard national interests.'

"This morning, the liquidator of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, Mr. Cheng Yiu-cheong, received a notice from the national security police notifying him that all of the Alliance's assets, including those of the June 4th Memorial Hall, were frozen," the Alliance said in a post on its Facebook page on Wednesday.

National security police officers took Cheng Yiu-chang to the June 4th Memorial Hall and handed him the letter of notification, the group said.

"Cheng expressed surprise and disagreement with the [move]," it said, adding that Cheng planned to go to the national security police headquarters to request the assets be unfrozen pending the dissolution of the group.

The Alliance voted to disband at an extraordinary general meeting on Sept. 25, following an investigation by Hong Kong's national security police under a law imposed on the city by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from July 1, 2020.

The Alliance stands accused of acting as the agent of a foreign power, with leaders Chow Hang-tung, Albert Ho, and Lee Cheuk-yan arrested on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power," and the group's assets frozen under the national security law.

At a special general meeting held at the June 4th Memorial Hall under heavy police watch in Mong Kok district, members voted 41-4 to disband after 32 years of supporting victims of the Tiananmen killings, demanding accountability, and advocating for an end to one-party rule.

The national security law ushered in an ongoing and citywide crackdown on all forms of public dissent and political opposition, with election rules changed to ensure only pro-CCP candidates can run and with the government insisting that further legislation on espionage is needed to continue the crackdown on what Beijing insists was an attempt by hostile foreign powers to foment a "color revolution" in Hong Kong.

Journalists warned

Government broadcaster RTHK on Wednesday issued a new set of guidelines to its staff, warning them that their work must always serve China's national interests, on pain of disciplinary action.

Journalists have also been warned to be careful what they say on social media, "to protect the station's integrity and reputation," RTHK reported on its English-language news page.

The rules mean that opposition or critical voices are likely to be unwelcome on RTHK programs.

“Under no circumstances should our programs provide a platform to encourage, incite, promote, glorify, endorse, or sympathize with any act or activity endangering national security or otherwise contain any contents which are contrary to the interests of national security," the station quoted the guidelines as saying.

RTHK programs must not provoke or deepen hatred, discrimination, or hostility towards the central government or the Hong Kong government, the rules say.

Staff must also avoid any contact with foreign governments or political organizations, and should take at face value Beijing's territorial claim on the democratic island of Taiwan, which has never been ruled by the CCP, nor formed part of the People's Republic of China.

In an apparent reference to reporting linked to the 2019 protest movement, staff must make sure they don't sympathize with, justify or glamorize "criminal acts."

'Inciting secession'

The warnings came as a former protester stood trial under the national security law in Hong Kong's District Court, for "inciting secession."

Ma Chun-man, known by his nickname Captain America 2.0, is accused of inciting others to commit secession by shouting "Hong Kong independence is the only solution," and "Free Hong Kong, revolution now!" at protests and in shopping malls between August and November 2020.

Motorcyclist Tong Ying-kit was jailed for nine years in July for "inciting secession" and "terrorism" after he flew a flag with the "Free Hong Kong, revolution now!" slogan while riding his bike at a protest against the national security law on July 1, 2020, the day it took effect.

National security police have also charged seven other people including a 16-year-old with "conspiracy to incite the commission by other persons of the offence of subversion."

The group, aged 16-25, are members of the pro-independence group Returning Valiant, and were arrested in July on suspicion of terrorism and amid allegations of a bomb plot.

Gunmen shot and killed a prominent Rohingya Muslim leader in a refugee camp in southern Bangladesh on Wednesday, a United Nations spokesperson and a local police official said, following months of worsening violence in the world's largest refugee settlement. Mohib Ullah, who was in his late 40s, led one of the largest of several community groups to emerge since more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar after a military crackdown in August 2017. Invited to the White House and to speak to the UN Human Rights Council, he was one of the most high-profile advocates for the Rohingya, a Muslim minority that has faced persecution for generations.

Rafiqul Islam, a deputy police superintendent in the nearby town of Cox's Bazar, told Reuters by phone that Mohib Ullah had been shot dead but had no additional details.

A spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the agency was "deeply saddened" by the killing of Mohib Ullah. "We are in continuous contact with law enforcement authorities in charge of maintaining peace and security in the camps," the spokesperson said. Mohib Ullah's group, the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, made its name documenting atrocities the Rohingya suffered during the Myanmar crackdown, which the UN has said was carried out with genocidal intent. At the Bangladesh refugee camps, Mohib Ullah went from hut to hut to build a tally of killings, rape and arson that was shared with international investigators. His organization worked to give refugees more of a voice inside the camps and internationally. Speaking to the UN Human Rights Council, he said the Rohingya wanted more of a say over their own future. But his high profile made him a target of hardliners and he received death threats, he told Reuters in 2019. "If I die, I'm fine. I will give my life," he said at the time. The sprawling camps in Bangladesh have become increasingly violent, residents say, with armed men vying for power, kidnapping critics, and warning women against breaking conservative Islamic norms.

Aung Kyaw Moe, a Rohingya civil society activist and an adviser to Myanmar's National Unity Government, the parallel civilian government established after February's coup, said Mohib Ullah's death was a "big loss for the Rohingya community." "He was always aware there is a threat, but he thinks that despite the threat if he is not doing the work he is doing, no one else would," he said.

On September 29, citizen journalist Tran Thi Tuyet Dieu’s eight-year sentence under Vietnam’s Penal Code was upheld in the court of appeal in Danang. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the use of the Penal Code to silence critical voices and calls for the immediate release of Tuyet Dieu.

Tuyet Dieu’s appeal was refused in Danang’s court, more than a year after her arrest and detainment on August 21, 2020. She was sentenced on April 23, 2021 for breaching article 117 of the Vietnamese penal code, which criminalises “creating, storing and disseminating information and materials against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”. Reports indicate that Tuyet Dieu endured ongoing harassment by police in the years before her arrest.

Previously an employee of a state-run newspaper, Tuyet Dieu had managed a Facebook and YouTube account where she published 25 articles and nine videos considered ‘anti-state’ by authorities. During a search of Tuyet Dieu’s home, authorities found materials sympathetic to the imprisoned pro-democracy activist Nguyen Viet Dung on her laptop.

According to Tuyet Dieu’s lawyer, Nguyen Kha Thanh, she pleaded innocent at her trial earlier this year. Thanh said that his client’s sentence was harsh given she had an otherwise clean record.

“She did not accept the accusations as the trial failed to find a person harmed by her actions,” Thanh said.“But the court said her actions caused harm to the nation, a common tactic that allows them to not have to show any specific harmed individuals,” he added.

Tuyet Dieu’s communication with her lawyer and relatives was barred for the first three months of her imprisonment. Her original trial was postponed without justification, a change only announced upon her lawyer’s arrival in court.

Article 117 of Vietnam’s Penal Code is a vaguely defined piece of legislation commonly used to silence criticism of the Vietnamese government. Journalists Pham Chi Thanh and Le Van Dung, both vocal critics of Vietnam’s single-party system, were sentenced under the article earlier this year.

A journalist is being questioned by police after Defense Minister Tea Banh, head of the CPP working group for Koh Kong, apparently instructed local officials about taking legal action and countering the journalist’s criticism of a deputy governor.

Youn Chhiv, who runs the Koh Kong Hot News website, was purportedly part of the land dispute himself while reporting that authorities were evicting people from state land they had farmed for years.

In his reports, Chhiv said authorities were violating Prime Minister Hun Sen’s call last year to grant land titles to ordinary people who had long-standing claims on state land.

An audio recording, shared with VOD, appears to show Defense Minister Banh instructing Koh Kong officials to take action against Chhiv. Several government-aligned media outlets have reported on Banh’s instructions, including some that quoted from the recording. Koh Kong provincial information department director Mom Malika said the recording could have been shared in a group with provincial officials, but declined to elaborate. Banh could not be reached for comment.

Banh’s purported voice in the recording says he told provincial governor Mithona Phouthorng to pursue a lawsuit against Chhiv.

“Just a moment ago I told Mithona to check and to discuss with the provincial law expert to file a lawsuit against him. He twisted the truth and promoted bad ideas, and we need to clarify it,” it says. “We have to make urgent reports to send to all the places about the administration’s actions against encroachers of land.”

He would call on Fresh News staffers to help spread information that would correct Chhiv’s video reports, it adds.

“In there, there is a Fresh News representative, and [we will] send it to him to help disseminate that the video twisted the truth,” the recording says. “Take action quickly, and should not be silent, and they will disseminate it all over the place. It has caused a mess and issues, destroying reputations. [We’re] discussing it with a legal expert and handling it.”

Other media would also be enlisted to help, it says.

“[We] urgently need to discuss with the media in the province and attack him first, directly, with his name,” it says. “All media should publish it in advance, and [then] make a written letter and consult with the legal expert to send the case in time. [We] should not allow this. It is unacceptable.”

Chhiv had made a mistake when he “attacked the administration’s measures,” it says.

“He has violated and attacked the administration’s measures, and if we do not handle this carefully, we cannot control the state, and the state needs to take action against the violator through administrative measures,” it says, noting that villagers were told to leave but failed to follow instructions.

In one of Chhiv’s videos, he interviews three villagers who say they came to live on the land, in Botom Sakor district, in 2007. They say authorities have this year been destroying their cashew trees, sugarcane and cassava plants to try to evict them without compensation. About 130 officers from police, military police and local administrations had come to clear their land, they say.

“People survive through their farmland, but now they have cleared it all. So where can people plant their crops and rice?” one villager asks, pleading for help from Prime Minister Hun Sen and Defense Minister Banh.

“Our authorities have not followed samdech’s remarks. They might know that samdech would lose [power] one day, so they do this and they do not follow samdech,” the villager says in the video. “They do not look after the people and they only destroy people.”

Chhiv says in the video that villagers come to his office and ask for his help, telling him they’ve been threatened with arrest. “Do they not know where the provincial governor is?” he asks.

He also mentions sub-decrees that have privatized over 100,000 hectares of Koh Kong parks, ostensibly to give titles to villagers using the land. He asks why the villagers are not being given titles, but being evicted instead.

In one Facebook post, Chhiv directly criticizes deputy governor Sok Sothy, saying the official is breaking people’s hearts.

Botum Sakor district police chief Sok Phon said on Tuesday afternoon that Chhiv had come in that day for questioning at the police station.

“Our police, with the deputy provincial chief, are in the process of questioning. … We have questioned him for about four hours, and we do not know yet [whether to send him to court]. Wait until the work has finished,” Phon said.

The provincial administration, meanwhile, issued a statement on Sunday saying Chhiv had disseminated “baseless information that is not true.”

The statement highlights one video, “Koh Kong Provincial Deputy Governor Sok Sothy Is Cruel and Abuses Citizens.”

“The publication of this information is intended to tarnish the reputation of Mr. Sok Sothy, Koh Kong deputy governor, and hurts the reputation of the provincial administration, confuses the public and causes confusion and social unrest,” the statement says.

It says authorities went to Thma Sar commune on September 19 after issuing two prior warnings to people who had illegally encroached on state land and built huts. Authorities were “implementing administrative measures” against illegal encroachment, it says.

“Among those encroachers, there is Youn Chhiv, the journalist, the person who tried to disseminate the distorted truth,” the statement says, requesting all journalists to respect the law.

Sothy, the deputy governor criticized by Chhiv, said on Monday that he had submitted a complaint to provincial police and the case was now in their hands.

“The land is a national sanctuary … when he published such distortions of the truth like this — it damages reputations, and most importantly the public misunderstands, especially people who live outside and do not know that the land is a national sanctuary.”

Sok Sovan, a provincial reporter in Koh Kong, said that as far as he knew, Chhiv had a cashew farm on the land in question.

But the heavy-handed response from authorities was chilling, he said.

“It impacts other journalists. As you know, when a journalist posts on Facebook, they can charge [us] saying it is a red-handed crime,” Sovan said. “If the journalist published something wrong, they should pursue [the case] through the Press Law.”

“Journalists face high risks because in our world, publishing some wrong information often happens,” he added. “It’s a challenge when they file a case to court and we face imprisonment.”

Youn Chhiv, journalist and owner of website Koh Kong Hot News, was sentenced to a years imprisonment on September 30 for incitement under Cambodia’s Criminal Code, after reporting on a government land dispute. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Cambodian Journalists Alliance (CamboJA) condemn the imprisonment and intimidation of Youn Chhiv under the Criminal Code and call for the immediate cessation of all charges against him.

The journalist was charged with incitement to cause a felony over publishing alleged misinformation about a land dispute at Botum Sakor National Park. After two days of police questioning without a lawyer, the Chhiv was sentenced to one year in prison under Cambodia’s Criminal Code.

Chhiv claimed that authorities were unlawfully evicting citizens from land they had both farmed and inhabited for years, in direct contravention of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s call late last year to grant land titles to those who had long-standing claims on state land. According to Vey Pherom, deputy prosecutor at the provincial court in Koh Kong, Chhiv admitted that the above claims were false.

In a leaked audio recording, a voice, identified as Defence Minister Tea Banh, can be heard instructing Koh Kong officials and state media to act against Chhiv. “[We] urgently need to discuss with the media in the province and attack him first, directly, with his name,” it says. There have been multiple government-aligned media outlets that have reported on Bahn’s instructions, condemning Chhiv’s reports as baseless.

Provincial reporter in Koh Kong, Sok Savan said that the case had been kept extremely confidential, and only family members were admitted into the courtroom. Savan indicated that authorities ought to have used the Press Law, not the Criminal Code, or allowed Chhiv to apologise publicly and remove the videos. “This case is irregular and inappropriate. In a democratic country, when a journalist covers the news for the public interest and society, they should not be punished or imprisoned,” Savan said.

The North Sulawesi Regional Police conducted an in-depth investigation to uncover and arrest the perpetrators of the shooting of a resident of Toruakat Village, Bolaang Mongondow.

The shooting occurred during the installation of boundary markers at the Bolingongot plantation, the mining location of PT Bulawan Daya Lestari (BDL).

"The police will continue to work professionally in handling this incident", said Head of Public Relations, Kombes Jules Abraham Abast, in Manado, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, September 29.

Jules Abraham said that the police continued to make various efforts to deal with the conflict which caused five victims, namely one was shot dead and four people were injured.

The Police also appealed to the public to maintain a conducive security and order situation.

"The public and both parties are advised to remain calm, not easily provoked by the situation, and to fully entrust the handling of this incident to the police", he said.

He explained that the conflict occurred on the afternoon of Monday, September 27, shortly after the installation of the stakes at the location. Allegedly involving the guards at the location of PT BDL with the community of Toruakat Village, Bolmong Regency.

Information was obtained, the injured victims consisted of three guards at the location of PT BDL and one resident of Toruakat Village. While one victim who died was a resident of Toruakat Village.

"Until now, the police have added security personnel around the scene to prevent further conflicts. Police personnel also carry out patrols around Toruakat and Dumoga", said Kombes Jules.

House committee on good government and public accountability chairman Michael Aglipay unceremoniously removed Rappler journalist Rambo Talabong from a Viber group with reporters on Monday, September 27.

Aglipay kicked out Talabong after the journalist wrote a story on the DIWA representative’s latest defense of the Duterte administration.

Aglipay's comment was about the Senate hearing's revelation that the production stickers on the face masks procured by the government from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation were tampered. The tampering of the production stickers effectively also changed the expiry dates.

For Aglipay, the changing of expiry dates was not a problem, as he asked a Department of Health (DOH) official if the alleged expired face masks hurt or killed any of the health workers who used them. DOH undersecretary Carolina Taino said no.

This exchange was the subject of Talabong’s story, which included a video excerpt on Aglipay’s interpellation during the good government and public accountability panel hearing.

Aglipay then singled out Talabong during the hearing – even if CNN Philippines also published a similar article with the same angle.

The congressman argued Talabong’s article was “one-sided” as it did not include DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III’s remarks that the shelf life of face shields was 36 months.

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“So it is one-sided, and I’m calling him out to be balanced, because they are claiming to be a balanced organization, but this article of his never mentioned that Secretary Duque said that the shelf life is 36 months, and he only focused on my comment, making it appear that we are one-sided here, and covering up the government,” said the ally of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco. The House's line of questioning in its hearings veers at countering findings at the Senate, defending the Duterte government's deals with Pharmally.

Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have applied to arrest a human rights lawyer after holding him under residential surveillance for six months, his friend told RFA.

Rights lawyer Zhou Xiaoyun, who formerly worked as a senior editor at the cutting-edge Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper in Guangzhou, was initially detained by police in the northeastern province of Liaoning around six months ago on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge frequently used to target peaceful critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

He was held incommunicado under RSDL, residential surveillance at a designated location, but now that the six-month limit has been reached, police have applied to the state prosecutor's office for approval of his arrest, a friend of Zhou's who gave only the surname Lu said.

Police in Guangdong's Panshan county submitted the arrest application to the local procuratorate on Sept. 26, Lu said.

He said Zhou was being victimized by the Liaoning police.

"They sent the case to the Panshan county procuratorate on the 26th, to apply for his arrest," Lu said. "It's not clear which leader is in charge, but it is being handled, at least on the face of things, by the Panshan county police, and in actuality by the Panjin municipal police department."

Zhou had met with his lawyer twice during the past week, as well as receiving a visit from his sister, he said.

A veteran lawyer who gave only the surname Zhang said Zhou will remain in detention after his time in "residential surveillance at a designated location (RSDL)" expires if the application is approved.

"This is what used to be called criminal detention, and it requires the approval of the procuratorate for a formal arrest," Zhang said. "This is a critical juncture, because if the procuratorate approves the arrest, it means at the very least that they believe Zhou committed a crime which should be investigated and which deserves a prison sentence."

"[That means they think] he should remain in detention," he said.

Repeated calls to the Panjin municipal police department and to the Panshan country procuratorate rang unanswered during office hours on Tuesday.

Re-educating the media

The CCP is in the process of "re-educating" its already tightly controlled state media, requiring hundreds of thousands of journalists to sit an exam on the political thought of general secretary Xi Jinping to qualify for a new generation of official press cards.

The process started with a 2014 requirement for journalists to study Marxism, and followed up by Xi in 2016, when he warned during visits to state media organizations that state media are part of the CCP family.

All media operating in China must safeguard the authority of the Communist Party central committee, and adhere to "the correct direction" in forming public opinion, Xi said at the time.

Meanwhile, Xu Yan, wife of jailed human rights attorney Yu Wensheng said he has yet to receive adequate medical and dental treatment in Nanjing Prison, where he is serving a four-year sentence after being convicted of "incitement to subvert state power" by a court in the eastern province of Jiangsu.

Family members have long suspected that Yu has been tortured and ill-treated while in custody, as he only has limited use of his right hand, and is unable to write, brush his teeth, or harvest crops as part of prison labor.

He was named as a finalist for the Martin Ennals Award honoring human rights defenders earlier this year.

The Martin Ennals Foundation called him "one of the best-known and most intrepid human rights activists" in China, acknowledging that Yu has been subjected to arbitrary detention, a secret trial, and the removal of his license to practice law.

About the Human Rights Defenders: Mr. Ba Singh Hassa is a resident of Dadgama village in Khunti block of Khunti district. An activist with Adivasi Adhikar Manch – a civil society group that protects the land, water and forest rights of indigenous groups, Mr. Hassa has organised and participated in numerous peaceful movements, demonstrations and meetings in Khunti and other places in the past decade, including in the Pathalgadi movement in 2018-19, and ongoing protests against the new farm laws. He is well-educated and offers advice and support to innocent villagers falsely accused of being Maoists.

Details of the incident: On July 14, 2021, Khunti Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) Mr. Sayyed Riyaj Ahemed issued a notice under Section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (which allows an Executive Magistrate to show cause any person likely to disturb peace or disturb the public tranquillity). It mentioned the names of 25 people, including Mr. Ba Singh Hassa and his brothers/ cousins Mr. Bahadur Hassa, Mr. Kinu Hassa and Mr. Jugal Munda, who were likely to disturb peace and security in the area according to information with the SDO. All 25 persons were asked to report to the SDO court in Khunti on July 22, 2021 and show cause why they should not be asked to furnish a bond of Rs 50,000 and two supporting witnesses. Mr. Bahadur Hassa received a call from the Khunti Police Station on July 17, 2021, when he was informed about the notice. He collected the notice from the police station the next day, and reported to the SDO court with Mr. Ba Singh Hassa and other brothers/ cousins on July 22, 2021, and two more subsequent hearings. On September 24, 2021, the day of the fourth hearing, Mr. Ba Singh Hassa, Mr. Kinu Hassa, Mr. Jugal Munda and Mr. Bahadur Hassa reached the court at around 10 AM, whereas their turn came up at 2.30 PM. When they presented themselves before SDO Mr. Ahemed, he asked them not to leave the court premises without his permission. He then called someone from his phone and said that three absconding accused in the murder case (FIR no 88/2018) were sitting in front of him. At around 4.30 PM, Khunti PS Officer in Charge Mr. B Thakur reached the court in civil clothes with three other policemen in uniform. They arrested Mr. Ba Singh Hassa, Mr. Kinu Hassa and Mr. Jugal Munda from inside the court premises. The HRD and his relatives were not informed about why they were arrested, nor shown any arrest warrant or allowed access to a lawyer. All provisions of the DK Basu guidelines were violated. Mr. Hassa and others were taken to the Khunti Police Station in a police vehicle and detained there overnight. They were taken for medical examination at 2 PM, produced in court at around 4.30 PM on September 25, 2021, and remanded to Khunti jail. We firmly believe that the HRD and his relatives were ensnared by the SDO and arrested by police in a case that was over three years old in violation of due procedures. The SDO referred to them as absconding even though Mr. Ba Singh Hassa had communicated and met several police and government officials in his capacity as an activist and participated in many public programmes in Khunti and Ranchi in the intervening period. He was also detained and interrogated by police in Khunti in April 2019. Whereas, the notice against the HRD and his arrest coincided with his active involvement in peaceful meetings and protests against the new farm laws in Khunti. This indicates that the action against Mr. Hassa and others is an act of political vendetta, and aimed at muzzling the freedom of speech, expression and assembly, which are guaranteed under national and international legal frameworks.

Police officers shot and arrested a 24-year-old political activist and detained his mother from their home in Bago on Thursday, according to local sources.

At around 10pm, junta police came to Zayar Aungmyay St in Bago’s Hinthagone 19th ward in two unmarked vehicles to arrest activist Sithu Kaung Myat, a well-known and active protester in local anti-coup demonstrations.

The policemen opened fire when it appeared that Sithu Kaung Myat was trying to run away, a local man said.

“They shot the young man three times in front of his mother when he was trying to escape. He was shot in his chest,” the man told Myanmar Now.

He added that Sithu Kaung Myat was on the second floor of the house when he was shot, while his mother was on the ground floor.

The police handcuffed the 50-year-old woman, who the source said has been in poor health, and raided the home.

"After the shooting, his mother was handcuffed and taken into a car. The young man had not been carried away at that time,” the man explained. “They ransacked the house and took their belongings, including a motorcycle that they wanted. Then the boy was taken into the car.”

Sithu Kaung Myat was admitted to the Bago General Hospital for gunshot wounds to the chest that he suffered when troops came to arrest him from his home on Zayar Aungmyay St in Hinthagone 19th ward at around 10pm.

Sithu Kaung Myat’s 50-year-old mother was also arrested on Thursday and was still in jail at the time of reporting. Police cordoned off the family’s home at around 2pm on Friday, around one hour after her son’s death, a local told Myanmar Now.

“They don’t have other relatives—it is only a mother and a son. She has no other relatives so nobody helped to get her released,” the local said. “People in that ward don’t know who they should ask for help. They don’t know where she has been detained.”

After locals visited the hospital and inquired about his condition, they learned that he had died on Friday afternoon.

It was not known at the time of reporting if or how a funeral would be held for Sithu Kaung Myat, who ​​was an active protester in local anti-coup demonstrations.

Myanmar Now tried to contact the local police station to inquire about the shooting and the continued detention of Sithu Kaung Myat’s mother—who, it is believed, is in poor health—but the calls went unanswered.

Since the February 1 coup, the junta has frequently held the relatives of targeted politicians and activists hostage when troops have been unable to locate the individual they intended to arrest.

More than 1,000 civilians have been killed and nearly 7,000 continue to be imprisoned by the coup regime, according to data released by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) on Friday.

The junta has declared the AAPP an illegal organisation and rejected their data as exaggerated.

A professor and popular Vietnamese dissident said Thursday that he has received death threats by phone after publishing a series of social media posts criticizing the use of China’s coronavirus vaccines in Vietnam.

Mac Van Trang, known for his critical voice on sociopolitical issues in Vietnam, said he received threatening calls after he posted stories on the Chinese vaccines on his Facebook page, including a letter he wrote to the Ho Chi Minh City leaders, advising them not to accept millions of doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.

“One recent evening, an anonymous man called me on the phone, saying that I shouldn’t keep talking about it and should behave myself; otherwise I would put my life in danger,” Trang told RFA. “He also said that people are dying, and it’s good to have vaccines, and it would be a crime to prevent it. Therefore, I should mind my tongue!”

Vietnam is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases with the spread of the more contagious Delta variant, and large areas of the country of more than 98 million people have been under lockdown. Only about seven percent of Vietnamese adults have been fully vaccinated. On Thursday, Vietnam reported a total 728,435 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including nearly 9,500 news ones, and more than 18,000 deaths with 236 new fatalities.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Health decided to allocate an additional 8 million doses of China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Van Thinh Phat Group to 25 cities and provinces, the country’s Tuoi Tre News reported.

But citizens throughout the country have expressed concern, fearing the Sinopharm doses might produce hidden side effects, Ngo Tri Long, former rector of the Ministry of Finance’s Price and Market Research Institute, told RFA in an earlier report.

Trang, 83, was a long-term member of the Communist Party of Vietnam, but he resigned on Oct. 26, 2018, when the party decided to discipline Chu Hao, a well-known intellectual who criticized the government. Trang currently lives in Ho Chi Minh City and posts critiques of sociopolitical issues on his Facebook page.

It was not the first time that he had received such calls, Trang said, adding that threats were made after he spoke out about sensitive incidents in Vietnam, including a deadly land-rights dispute in January 2020. At that time, about 3,000 security officers raided a hamlet in Dong Tam commune to intervene in a long-running dispute over a military airport construction site about 25 miles south of Vietnam’s capital Hanoi.

“In our society, there are many people who have been indoctrinated for a long time that whatever contradicts the [Communist] Party’s policy and guidelines is considered hostile,” he said of the threats he has received.

“From the general secretary, prime minister, and president to others in the government, they always talk about enemies and hostile forces,” Trang said. “This has created a dangerous mindset among party fanatics who exist when the party exists, and who see anyone who criticizes it as a hostile force.”

In addition to the 8 million new shots, Vietnam has received roughly 50 million vaccine doses, including 20 million Sinopharm doses — more than six million of which were donated by China and five million of which were purchased by Ho Chi Minh City, Tuoi Tre News said.

Before the new allocation, 5.5 million Sinopharm vaccine doses had been administered to people in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh province, Hai Phong city, Binh Duong province, and Dong Nai province, the report said.

Vietnam’s President Nguyen Xuan Phuc traveled to Havana last weekend for an official visit, where he met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and finalized a deal for Vietnam to buy 10 million doses of Cuba’s Abdala vaccine.

Italy has also promised to donate 800,000 doses of the British-Swedish AstraZeneca vaccine to Vietnam, raising Rome’s commitment to Hanoi to over 1.6 million doses through the COVAX program co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the World Health Organization; and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

Student activist Panupong Jadnok has once again been detained after being denied bail on a royal defamation charge filed against him by a royalist activist for a Facebook post about monarchy reform.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported on Thursday (23 September) that Panupong met with the public prosecutor in the morning. He was informed that the public prosecutor had decided to indict him and he was taken to court.

His lawyer later filed a bail request for Panupong, but the request was denied. The order was signed by judge Chanathip Muanpawong, Deputy Chief Justice of the Criminal Court, who earlier this year denied bail to several pro-democracy activists detained pending trial.

Chanathip is also the judge who sentenced Ampon Tangnoppakul, or “Uncle SMS,” to 20 years in prison on a royal defamation charge under Section 112 in 2011, after Ampon was accused of sending messages to Somkiat Krongwattanasuk, who was at the time the secretary of then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, which were deemed offensive to the King and Queen. Ampon died in prison.

Panupong has been charged with royal defamation under Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, or the lèse majesté law, and with entering into a computer system data which is an offense to national security under Section 14 of the Computer Crimes Act. The charge is based on a complaint filed against him by Nangnoi Atsawakittikorn, member of the royalist group Thailand Help Center for Cyberbullying Victims, which has filed similar complaints against several other activists and netizens.

The complaint was based on a Facebook post on 8 November 2020 which said “Do you think that you will look dignified standing on the ruins of democracy or on the corpses of the people?” along with the hashtag #ปฏิรูปสถาบันกษัตริย์ (#MonarchyReform). The original post also reportedly refers to the King by name.

On 15 September, Panupong was released from the Thanyaburi Remand Prison, where he was detained on charges relating to a protest in front of the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters on 2 August 2021 to demand the release of 32 detained activists. He is now being detained at the Bangkok Remand Prison.

According to TLHR, Panupong is currently facing 9 charges under Section 112; he has already been indicted on 3. He was previously detained pending trial on charges relating to the 19 September 2020 protest, and was in detention for 86 days before being released on 1 June 2021.

On 8 February 2021, Dr. Tasneem Siddiqui, a Professor of Dhaka University and Chairperson of the Refugee and Migratory Movement Research Unit (RMMRU), an organisation working with migrant workers and expatriates, gave an interview in the daily Prothom Alo entitled “Remittance flow and expatriates do not match reality”. She was summoned before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance on 23 September to explain her comments in the interview. In addition, due to the pressure on the media, various incidents and occurrences are not published there, but they have been published on social media. Thus, the government and ruling party leaders and activists have now brought the social media under extensive surveillance.

Chief Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan lodged a defamation complaint against rights activists Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti on Wednesday over a video alleging business motive behind current security operations in Papua with Luhut’s involvement.

Luhut himself came to the Jakarta Police headquarters to report the case and “defend my name and that of my children and grandchildren”.

The retired army general said he made the decision after his two attempts to demand public clarification and apology from the two activists went unanswered.

"They didn’t respond during the two occasions, prompting us to take legal action under both criminal and civil laws," Luhut told reporters.

"There is no such thing as absolute freedom, everything has a consequence. I have the right to defend my rights. I have asked them to present evidence [on the allegation] and there was none,” he added.

In the video published on Haris’ YouTube account last month, he interviewed Fatia, who is the coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Kontras), an NGO focusing on human rights issues.

Both discussed allegations that the current military operation in Papua was actually meant to protect mining businesses in the easternmost province.

Fatia implied that mining company Toba Sejahtera Group, in which Luhut is a shareholder, had mining projects in the district of Intan Jaya, Papua.

“It’s fair to say that Luhut has a role in mining businesses in Papua,” Fatia said in the podcast video.

“The core of human rights problems in Papua is militarism. And it turns out that behind the militarism approach – supposedly to restore security and peace in Papua – there are economic motives.”

At one point of the talk show, both activists called the minister “Lord Luhut”.

In an interview with Kompas TV earlier this month, Haris said he had responded to the reprimand by inviting Juniver Girsang, an attorney for Luhut, to become a guest in his podcast and present Luhut’s views to ensure a fair exchange of opinions.

In the same interview, Juniver said his client had no slightest interest in attending and increasing views and revenues of a podcast program that already insulted him in public.

The Jakarta Globe has reached Haris for comments.

In a separate news conference, a lawyer representing both activists said Luhut as a state official is not immune from criticism.

“If he cannot be criticized, there will be no voice of the people. Once we lost people’s voice, democracy is gone,” lawyer Asfinawati said.

“Fatia criticized Luhut in his capacity as a state official, nothing is personal,” she added.

Luhut’s attorney meanwhile said that in addition to the criminal suit, he also planned to file a Rp 100 billion ($7 million) civil case against the activists.

“If judges accept the lawsuit, the Rp 100 billion money will be donated to the Papuan people,” Juniver said.

It’s not the first time a close aide of President Joko Widodo involved in a feud with activists that led to legal motions.

On August 20, Presidential Office Chief of Staff Moeldoko filed a defamation complaint against two Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) activists over allegations that the former military chief had cashed in on the distribution of Covid-19 medication Ivermectin and misused authority to join in rice export program.

Student activist Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul was arrested on Wednesday (22 September) and charged with sedition due to her involvement with the Facebook page of the student activist group United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration (UFTD).

Panusaya was arrested at around 12.30 at her home. She went live on her personal Facebook profile and said that she was returning home and about to attend an online class when plainclothes officers from the Technological Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) approached her and presented an arrest warrant. She said that the officers had likely followed her car and ran up to her as soon as she got out.

The arrest warrant was issued by the Criminal Court and signed by judge Sakda Phraisan. It stated that Panusaya is charged with sedition under Section 116 of the Thai Criminal Code and with entering into a computer system data which is an offense to national security under Section 14 of the Computer Crimes Act.

Panusaya continued live broadcasting via the Facebook profile of student activist Watcharakorn Chaikaew, another UFTD member. During the live broadcast, she asked the officers if she could go inside the house to use the bathroom, but the officers refused and told her to wait for an inspector to arrive.

After an investigation inspector from Huai Khwang Police Station and other officers arrived to serve the warrant on Panusaya , she and her friends were taken to the TCSD headquarters in a police van. The officers told Panusaya and her lawyer, who was on the phone with her, that they have already filed a temporary detention request and wanted to bring her to the TCSD headquarters as soon as possible so that her lawyer has enough time to file a bail request.

Panusaya initially wanted to wait for the arrival of Boonlert Wisetpreecha, lecturer at the Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology, Thammasat University, before going to the TCSD headquarters. However, the officers tried to persuade her to leave quickly as her lawyer is already on the way to the TCSD headquarters, so Panusaya and her friends left in the police van without waiting for the lecturer.

She also asked why the police did not issue a summons before arresting her, but the officers said they did not know and are only doing their job by arresting her.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that the charges against Panusaya were the result of a complaint filed by Nopadol Prompasit, a member of the Thailand Help Center for Cyberbullying Victims, an online royalist group whose members have filed numerous lèse majesté charges against many netizens and activists, including Parit Chiwarak and Anon Nampa.

Nopadol accused Panusaya of running the UFTD’s Facebook page and inciting people to join anti-government demonstrations, which he said risked the spread of Covid-19 and were not peaceful.

TLHR also said that, according to the inquiry officer’s temporary detention request, the UFTD Facebook page contains what they consider to be seditious messages calling for people to rebel against the authorities, and accusations that police have used excessive force against protesters.

The request also stated that the inquiry officer is opposed to granting Panusaya bail, as the charges are related to national security and she might flee or tamper with evidence. Nevertheless, she was granted bail on 35,000 baht security.

The charges filed against Panusaya are the same as those filed against Niraphorn Onkhao, another UFTD member, who was arrested last Friday (17 September) during a police raid on the house she was staying with Panusaya and student activist Benja Apan. Niraphorn also never received a summons before being arrested.

A Hong Kong group that once campaigned for China's embattled human rights lawyers announced on Tuesday it would disband after being investigated by national security police under a city-wide crackdown on public dissent and peaceful opposition.

The China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group (CHRLCG) said in a statement on its website that it had received a letter of enquiry from the Hong Kong Police dated Aug. 25, 2021.

"The CHRLCG has decided to dissolve in September 2021 and has already activated the voluntary liquidation procedure," the statement said.

"Directors of the CHRLCG are going to resign from their directorships soon."

The group is the latest in string of civil society groups to disband following investigation by national security police.

The pro-democracy Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU) will vote on Oct. 3 on whether to disband after being denounced in the Beijing-backed media, a typical precursor to investigation under the national security law.

The denunciations usually focus on accusations that a given activist group or non-government organization has done something that could be in breach of the law imposed on Hong Kong by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from July 1, 2020.

Several organizations, including protest march organizers the Civil Human Rights Front, the Professional Teachers' Union, and Wall-fare, a prison support group for those in custody because of the 2019 protest movement, have disbanded following similar articles, or after being criticized by Hong Kong's leaders.

And the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance said it had recently received a letter from the Registry of Trade Unions alleging that its funds were used for "political purposes."

Three are denied bail

The CHRLCG's decision to disband came as three activists linked to the Hong Kong activist group Student Politicism were denied bail on Tuesday following their arrest on subversion charges under a draconian national security law.

West Kowloon Court principal magistrate Don So rejected bail applications from lawyers acting for group convenor Wong Yat-chin, 20, and former members Chan Chi-sum, 20 and Jessica Chu, 18.

The trio embraced each other and cried in court when they heard bail had been denied, with the case adjourned until November following a request from the prosecution.

Judge So said he didn't believe the defendants would refrain from further actions "endangering national security" if they were released, meaning that the trio will now spend the Mid-Autumn Festival in jail instead of with their families.

Wong and Chan said they would reapply every eight days, while Chu waived her right to further bail hearings.

Their supporters also hugged each other, or wiped away tears when the decision was announced, while others chanted "release political prisoners!" and "Inhumane!"

Wong said in a message posted to social media by his lawyer that his fate was perhaps the result of the times Hongkongers are now living through.

"I hope we can all live bravely and openly, so we can face this together," Wong said. "[Let's] face fear, challenge fear, and conquer fear."

He also told people to "take care of themselves" and enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival.

According to the indictment, Wong, Chan, and Chu conspired with others in Hong Kong to "organize, plan, implement or participate in acts of force, or the threat to use force, or other illegal means to subvert state power, namely, to overthrow or undermine the current political system of the People's Republic of China ... and overthrow the central government or the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government."

Their alleged actions dated from Oct. 25, 2020 to June 16, 2021, it said.

'Subversive acts'

Police had early alleged the trio had carried out "subversive acts" including warning people not to use the government's LeaveHomeSafe COVID-19 tracking app, and "inciting hatred of the government" via street booths.

Meanwhile, the host of an English-language talk show for government broadcaster RTHK was reportedly pulled from the show following an episode focusing on the ongoing crackdown on civil society groups under the national security law.

"Backchat" co-host Hugh Chiverton confirmed to Stand News on Tuesday that he was still at the station, but hasn't been heard on air since the civil society episode, which hasn't yet been uploaded to the archive section of the RTHK website.

The episode had featured former City University politics lecturer and pro-democracy activist Joseph Cheng.

Chiverton referred all queries about the show to RTHK's communications team, who told the Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) that it wouldn't comment on "internal editorial matters of individual programmes."

"RTHK reviews the programme content from time to time to ensure compliance with RTHK Charter, the Producers' Guidelines and the Communications Authority's Codes of Practice," it said in a statement posted to Twitter by HKFP.

Chiverton and Koh had earlier interviewed Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam about the national security crackdown, during which Lam warned Koh that she was "treading on dangerous lines" after the host asked her about the government's failure to communicate with protesters during the 2019 anti-extradition movement.

Mao Hermitanio’s face was wet and red when she reached Liwasang Bonifacio this afternoon, Sept. 21, the 49th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law. She and her colleagues played cat and mouse with the Manila police. The chase, however, was not at all fun.

Hermitanio, deputy secretary general of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), and her companions assembled at around 1:30 p.m. on Carriedo street, where they were prohibited by the police from holding a program. The contingent, composed mainly of farmers, workers, youth and urban poor, decided to go to Sta. Cruz Church. After a short program, they started marching toward Liwasang Bonifacio. The police blocked them from setting foot on the bridge, and dispersed them with water canon.

Amid the chaos, former Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao and Kilusang Mayo Uno Secretary General Jerome Adonis tried to negotiate with the police, but the latter refused to even identify their ground commander. The protesters then dispersed, and found ways, literally, to get to the site of the protest.

A few meters away from Liwasang Bonifacio, former Gabriela Women’s Party Liza Maza was also blocked several times by policemen in fatigue. She tried to cross the underpass from the Metropolitan Theater but was prevented from proceeding. She walked along the Jones bridge, hoping she would be finally allowed to join the other activists. Policemen told her and her colleagues they could not pass through. Asked for a reason, a policeman just said, “That’s the order.”

Fuming, Maza told the media in Filipino, “I remember when I was still in college, when lighting rallies were still prohibited during Martial Law. The people were not allowed to express themselves freely just like what is happening now.”

“Everything came back to me. I was just waiting for someone to shout, ‘Marcos, Diktator! Tuta!Duterte at Marcos, parehong-pareho ang pakana,’” (Marcos, Dictator! Puppet! Duterte and Marcos have the same tactics.) she said.

Eventually, Maza and hundreds of other protesters managed to hurdle the obstacles.

“On the anniversary of Martial Law, they tried to suppress the rights of the people to peaceably assemble and to free expression,” Obet de Castro of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said in a Facebook post in Filipino hours after the protest. “Duterte is so much like Marcos. And just as how the Filipino people toppled the Marcos dictatorship, the corrupt and fascist in Malacañang failed to stop the militant action of the Filipino people earlier today.”

Marcos-level corruption, tyranny

Progressive groups denounced what they called as Duterte’s Marcosian tactics.

In his speech, Antonio La Viña, former dean of the Ateneo School of Government, said Duterte proves to be similar to Marcos when it comes to corruption and tyranny. He cited the purchase of overpriced pandemic items from Pharmaly, and the killings of activists and drug suspects.

Renato Reyes Jr., BAYAN secretary general, meanwhile, called on fellow protesters to make their choices clear in the coming elections.

“We reject everything that is destructive to the country. We reject those who act as dictators, the son of the dictator, and the lackeys of dictators. We reject corruption, killings, apathy and subservience to foreign interests,” Reyes said in Filipino.

Former ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, who represented 1Sambayan, said the Filipino people should “unite in restoring democracy back.”

Pakistani activists say police have raided a camp set up by landmine victims in the northwestern tribal district of South Waziristan.

Sherzada Mehsud of the civil rights Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) told RFE/RL that one of its leaders was injured during the raid on September 21.

The protesters later blocked the road between the Makin and Tank areas calling for the head of the local police station be suspended.

South Waziristan police chief Shaukat Ali said he was investigating the case and that he will later share details with the media.

Several landmine victims and civil rights activists have staged a sit-in in the Kotki area of South Waziristan for more than two weeks, calling on the authorities to clear landmines and provide financial assistance and jobs to those wounded by the weapons, as well as compensation to the families of those killed.

Thousands of South Waziristan residents have returned to their homes after a Pakistani military offensive against Islamist militants forced them to abandon them in 2009.

Pakistani security forces say they have begun operations to clear South Waziristan and other tribal areas of landmines that have claimed lives or seriously wounded hundreds of people.

Hong Kong police on Monday arrested three members of the Student Politicism group on subversion charges under a draconian national security law imposed on the city by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), accusing its members of trying to bring down the regime.

Among the arrestees were convenor Wong Yat-chin and secretary general Chan Chi-sum, the group said in a brief statement on its Facebook page.

The Hong Kong Baptist University student union editorial board named the third arrestee as Jessica Chu, a former spokesperson for Student Politicism who is no longer a member of the group, according to a screenshot posted to Twitter by Agence France-Presse correspondent Xinqi Su.

Police confirmed they had arrested three suspects aged between 18 and 20 for carrying out "subversive acts" including warning people not to use the government's LeaveHomeSafe COVID-19 tracking app, and "inciting hatred of the government" via street booths.

Wong was shown in media footage posted by the Oriental Daily news website, being led away in handcuffs from the group's headquarters in Kwai Chung district, and being taken away in an unmarked grey people carrier.

National security police raided the premises, seizing boxes of goods intended for prison inmates, including chocolates, sanitary products, and crackers, Hong Kong-based translator KTse852 said via their Twitter account.

Senior police superintendent Steve Li told reporters that the group had been imposing its political beliefs on others, and inciting them to overthrow the governments of Hong Kong and mainland China.

Li said the group's goal in sending goods to inmates was to enlist them to aid these efforts, and accused him of exhorting followers to "practice martial arts for when the revolution comes."

"That ... is clearly resistance aimed at the Hong Kong authorities and the CCP government," Li said, accusing the group of intensifying its political activism with street booths in Mong Kok.

The national security law, which has ushered in a city-wide crackdown on peaceful protest and political opposition since it took effect on July 1, 2020, criminalizes contact with and funding from overseas politicians and foundations, public criticism of the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities, as well as opposition activism, which is deemed a bid to overthrow the existing political order.

Forty-seven former democratic lawmakers and activists are currently awaiting trial on "subversion" charges under the national security law after taking part in a democratic primary in 2020 that was designed to maximize the number of LegCo seats won by the opposition.

The targeting of Student Politicism comes after prisoner support group Wall-fare announced it would disband after secretary for security and former police chief Chris Tang accused "certain groups" of endangering national security" in prisons by writing to inmates and "soliciting followers" with gifts of chocolates, hairpins, and other items, making them "hate the government."

It was the latest in a line of civil society groups to disband following public denunciation by officials or by CCP-backed media.

Environmentalist Chhorn Phalla has been arrested by Ratanakiri police after they called him in to update the address on his identification card, his lawyer said.

An arrest warrant against Phalla had been issued in February for allegedly clearing forest land for ownership, but both his lawyer and wife said he had been called in for an administrative update.

Phalla, 42, has previously told VOD that he has been involved in protecting forests since 2016, and since 2017 he has filed eight lawsuits against local officials and villagers he accuses of being involved in encroaching on community forests. He has said that authorities have taken no action on any of his complaints.

In July last year, he was beaten by a group of people at a public forum where he questioned how authorities were allowing forestry crimes to happen under their jurisdictions, he has said. Authorities accused him of disrupting the forum, then stood and watched as people beat him, he has alleged.

Kham Salong, Phalla’s wife, said her husband was arrested at Lumphat district’s Seda commune police station at 11:22 a.m. on Monday after the couple arrived to update the address on their ID cards.

“I feel really sad,” Salong said. “They previously beat him up, and now they come to arrest him. I want to ask the court to release my husband. He is not guilty of anything.”

Phalla’s lawyer, Sam Tith Seiha, said his client had been asked to go to the police station to update his ID, and that he would try to speak to him in prison.

Keo Pheadey, deputy prosecutor and spokesman for the Ratanakiri Provincial Court, could not be reached.

Ny Sokha, president of rights group Adhoc, said authorities must be clear before arresting anyone, and said he had doubts about the forestry charges against him.

“We ask the Ratanakiri Provincial Court to consider dropping or revoking the arrest warrant for Chhorn Phalla and release him, do not accuse him further and release him, do not detain him because he did not commit a crime like the one in the lawsuit or the charges.”

Feminist journalist Sophia Huang and fellow activist Wang Jianbing are incommunicado, believed detained, ahead of Huang's planned departure to study overseas, the Chinese rights group Weiquanwang reported on Tuesday.

Huang had planned to leave China via Hong Kong on Sept. 20 for the U.K., where she planned to take a master's degree in development with a prestigious Chevening Scholarship, the Weiquanwang report said.

Wang, who is a labor and healthcare rights activist, had planned to see her off on her journey, it said.

"According to people familiar with the matter, Wang Jianbing may have been detained under investigation for incitement to subvert state power, mainly due to the daily gatherings of friends at his home," Weiquanwang said, adding that both activists had been incommunicado since Sept. 19.

Repeated calls and messages to Huang's cell phone went unanswered on Tuesday.

Sources told RFA the pair had likely been detained by police in their home district of Haizhu.

An officer who answered the phone at the Haizhu district police department in Guangzhou declined to confirm the report.

"Who? I've never heard of those people," the officer said. "If you believe they are being dealt with, then the relatives need to wait for notification."

"The case officers will only contact [the family]."

Veteran political journalist Gao Yu said Huang's detention may be short-lived, and only intended to prevent her from leaving for the U.K.

"The kind of persecution that his happening now is worse than at any other time ... even when they were going after the 'rightists' they didn't just arrest people on a whim," she said.

"It's unbelievable right now ... they regard these young journalists and non-government organizations as the enemy," she said. "The methods they are using are persecutory and despicable, and without any basis in law."

U.S.-based legal scholar Teng Biao said "disappearances" are increasingly being used by the CCP to suppress any form of dissent or rights activism.

"They keep lowering the threshold for the kinds of people they will persecute," Teng said. "There is now no longer room for activities that may have been tolerated in the past."

Survey of harassment, assaults

Before being targeted by the authorities in 2019, Huang had been an outspoken member of the country's #MeToo movement, and had carried out a survey of sexual harassment and assault cases among Chinese women working in journalism.

Huang was present at a million-strong protest in Hong Kong on June 9, 2019 against plans to allow extradition to mainland China, and was detained for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble" in October 2019, before being released on bail in January 2020, a status that often involves ongoing surveillance and restrictions on a person's activities.

Her travel documents were also confiscated after her return, preventing her from beginning a law degree in Hong Kong the fall of 2019.

Huang had previously assisted in the investigation and reporting of a number of high-profile sexual harassment allegations against professors at Peking University, Wuhan University of Technology, Henan University and Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou.

Wang started to work in rural development after graduating in 2005, before joining the Guangzhou Gongmin NGO in 2014 and director and coordinator for youth work.

In 2018, he started advocacy and legal support work on behalf of workers with occupational diseases, and was a vocal supporter of China's #MeToo movement.

Activists say they fear for the life of a students’ union chairperson after she was detained by junta forces on Sunday afternoon while travelling on a long distance bus.

Aye Nandar Soe, 21, was stopped and arrested at the Yadanabon bridge connecting Mandalay and Sagaing regions. She leads the students’ union at the Sagaing University of Education, where she is in her fourth year of studies.

Her friends say her whereabouts are unknown and believe she was arrested because of her opposition to the military’s February coup. Her detention comes as the junta steps up its crackdown against student and youth activists across the country.

The junta has not made a public announcement about Aye Nandar Soe’s arrest or the grounds on which she is being detained. Many other student activists who were detained recently have been charged with incitement.

“Our comrade Aye Nandar Soe is being detained… but we still do not know where she is being held,” the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), of which Aye Nandar Soe’s union is a member, said in a statement.

“We fear for our comrade Aye Nandar Soe's life and safety,” the statement said.

An ABFSU spokesperson said he had no information about where she was travelling when she was detained.

The military has stepped up arrests of anti-junta student activists in recent weeks, but the exact number detained is unknown, the spokesperson added.

“Many students from the ABFSU and other students’ unions were arrested, but the ones who were not will continue to revolt against the military,” he told Myanmar Now.

On Sunday three young activists, including two members of the ABFSU, were detained in Yangon and accused of being involved in bank robberies to fund armed resistance against the junta.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 1,122 people have now been killed by the junta and 6,698 others are in detention.

Hari ini, Sabtu, 18 September 2021, sekitar pukul 05.00 pagi, kami mendapati salah satu bagian (sisi barat-pojok) teras kantor LBH Yogyakarta terdapat bekas seperti terbakar api. Bekas terbakar itu menyebar di beberapa sisi, yakni di lantai, tembok, kaca jendela, ventilasi hingga naik ke atas atap. Api sempat menyambar ke dalam kantor mengenai gorden. Di sekitarnya juga ditemukan serpihan kaca yang tampaknya adalah pecahan botol. Kami memperkirakan, kantor LBH Yogyakarta telah diserang dengan lemparan bom molotov oleh pihak yang tidak bertanggung jawab.

Terhadap peristiwa ini, kami ingin menyampaikan beberapa hal:

1. Berdasarkan informasi sementara yang kami himpun, kejadian ini kemungkinan berlangsung di atas pukul 01.00 (dini hari). Namun kami belum mengetahui siapa pelaku dan apa motifnya. Hanya saja kami menduga serangan ini terkait dengan pembelaan LBH Yogyakarta terhadap kasus-kasus struktural dan perkara masyarakat miskin lain. Saat ini upaya advokasi perkara tersebut sedang berjalan secara intensif, kami menduga ada oknum yang tidak senang dengan aktivitas bantuan hukum LBH Yogyakarta yang selama ini aktif mendampingi masyarakat kecil.

2. Kami menilai serangan ini adalah teror terhadap pembela hak asasi manusia sekaligus juga organisasi bantuan hukum, yang selama ini melakukan tugas-tugas konstitusional memberikan bantuan hukum kepada masyarakat miskin. Perbuatan pelaku bertentangan prinsip-prinsip negara hukum dan nilai-nilai hak asasi manusia.

3. Kami mengecam keras serangan ini. Tindakan ini adalah kejahatan pidana yang melanggar Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana (KUHP). Oleh karena itu kami akan melaporkan peristiwa ini ke pihak yang berwajib (polisi) maupun lembaga-lembaga terkait.

4. Penting digarisbawahi, kami sama sekali tidak takut dengan teror. Kejadian ini justru menambah berlipat-lipat semangat kami untuk terus maju dan tidak pernah berhenti melakukan pembelaan serta memperjuangkan hak-hak dan kepentingan rakyat miskin korban ketidakadilan dalam kasus-kasus struktural.

Kazakh police have detained at least six activists during a protest organized by the unregistered Democratic Party of Kazakhstan in the southeastern city of Almaty.

Dozens of protesters participated in the rally, chanting for Nursultan Nazarbaev, the former authoritarian president who is still considered to rule the country from behind the scenes, to “go away.”

The demonstrators demanded the release of political prisoners, condemned the government's plan to use a Russian company to digitalize some state systems, and expressed solidarity with oppressed Muslim minorities in China's northwestern Xinjiang region.

The Democratic Party was legally registered by the Justice Ministry in December 2020, but the group was unable to hold a Congress in February because party activists had been arrested and detained.

Kazakh law requires that a party's founding congress be attended by at least 1,000 people.

Kazakhstan has been run along authoritarian lines by Nazarbaev and his successor, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, since gaining its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

During their rule many opposition figures have been jailed or forced to flee the country.

At first, it seemed like a regular commute home for Mohammad Ali Ahmadi. The Kabul-based journalist was riding a city van home Saturday evening after leaving work at a radio station.

Sitting in the middle seat of the Toyota TownAce, Ahmadi sensed nothing out of the ordinary about the other passengers, just regular commuters shooting the breeze about the latest developments in the Afghan capital.

Then the passenger next him — a man who Ahmadi said was bearded and in his early 30s — asked what he did for a living.

"I'm a reporter," Ahmadi responded.

"What television station do you work for?" the man asked.

"I don't work for a television station," Ahmadi said. "I work for Radio Salam Watandar."

"Oh, the American radio station?" the man asked.

Ahmadi explained that the station was a local radio network and not American, he told VOA. The man, saying nothing, signaled for the driver to drop him at the next stop.

As the passenger stepped out of the van, he pulled out a gun. Without uttering a word, he fired several shots at Ahmadi. Two struck the journalist in the leg.

"It was so sudden and so loud, for a second I thought it was a suicide explosion or something," Ahmadi said. "It took me some time to realize I'd been hit."

The gunman fled, the other passengers scurried out of the van and the driver left.

Bleeding heavily, Ahmadi lay on the side of the street. A passerby finally came to his aid, using a scarf as a tourniquet to stanch the bleeding.

"I was still conscious, and I was able to call my family," Ahmadi told VOA on Tuesday, in an interview from the hospital.

The gunman has not been identified. Ahmadi and his network both said it was unclear which group, if any, the man was affiliated with.

Nasir Maimanagy, managing director of Salam Watandar Radio Network, told VOA that the station reported the attack to the Taliban, who denied responsibility and promised to investigate

"We demanded that they investigate this thoroughly as it's a crime and it happened under their watch," Maimanagy said in an email to VOA.

Still, the shooting "has sent a strong wave of fear down the spine of every single employee of (Salam Watandar)," Maimanagy said.

"They are shocked and afraid," he said. "They feel that soon they will be targeted and much worse might await them. Ahmadi was fired at five times and only two of them hit him. He is lucky to have survived."

The shooting is one of several violent incidents directed at the media since the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15.

The Taliban detained and later released at least 14 journalists covering protests on September 7 and 8, according to media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists. At least nine were subjected to violence during their arrests or detention.

Salam Watandar reporter Shakib Siavash was among those detained and beaten for covering a protest.

Two of those detained, Etilaatroz photographer Nematullah Naqdi and reporter Taqi Daryabi, recalled how they had been beaten and kicked for hours while in custody.

The Taliban have said they would investigate the beatings.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has said all media outlets "will be free" as long as they operate within the bounds of Islamic law, known as Shariah, and promote national unity.

During their previous rule over Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban banned all independent media outlets. Over the next two decades, under Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government, hundreds of independent radio and TV stations, including Salam Watandar, operated in the country.

Despite the Taliban's pledge to respect press freedom, dozens of news outlets have shut down, and thousands of journalists have tried to leave the country.

The International Federation of Journalists estimates that at least 153 Afghan media organizations have stopped operating since the Taliban takeover.

Those outlets that have continued are adapting their tone and content to avoid running afoul of the Taliban, according to Salam Watandar journalist Ahmadi.

In a September 16 appeal sent to Reporters Without Borders, a group of more than 100 Afghan journalists — nearly all still working in Afghanistan — called for "a campaign on behalf of press freedom in our country, for the preservation of the gains of the past 20 years, including media independence, pluralism and the protection of journalists."

"Despite public undertakings by the Taliban, we see concrete signs of an undeclared general crackdown that includes threats to journalists in the field, intimidation of news media and indirect censorship," the anonymous journalists wrote.

So far, Salam Watandar has not had to make dramatic changes, Ahmadi said.

Established in the early 2000s by Internews, a California-based media development organization, Salam Watandar distributes news and other programming to a network of independent stations around Afghanistan.

"I felt that if things were left as they were, it would not be a huge difference from the past (for us)," Ahmadi said. "Unless, of course, if they change the laws and impose new restrictions on us. In which case, we'd have to change professions or leave the country."

But the gun attack has changed how Ahmadi feels about his own safety.

Once optimistic, Ahmadi, who graduated from journalism school in 2014 and has since worked as a reporter and editor at several news outlets, says the shooting was a turning point.

"My priority at the moment is to get better, to recover my health," Ahmadi said from his hospital bed at the Italian-supported emergency hospital in Kabul. "I didn't want to leave the country before, but after this incident, I've come to the conclusion that my life is no longer safe here."

Hong Kong newspapers backed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) stepped up their denunciations of independent trade unions in the city on Friday, amid an ever-widening crackdown on civil society under the national security law.

The Beijing-backed Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Pao newspapers on Friday reported that Hong Kong's pro-democracy Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU) would be the next civil society group to disband following denunciations by CCP media.

"Our information indicates that the CTU will soon disband," the report said. "The executive committee met on Sept. 16 to pass the resolution, but it still needs to be formally approved at a general meeting on Oct. 3."

The report accused the CTU of prompting a "tsunami" of new union registrations during the 2019 protest movement, and of "promoting anti-Chinese sentiment and unrest."

"They have deviated utterly from the purpose of a trade union under the law, steal from industry, and divide society," the paper said, naming veteran labor activist Lee Cheuk-ying, who is currently serving a 14-month jail term for his role in the 2019 protest movement.

It also singled out Winnie Yu, the founder and chairwoman of the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance, a labor union representing Hospital Authority staff.

Political denunciations in CCP-backed media are increasingly being used to target civil society groups and NGOs in Hong Kong.

The denunciations usually focus on accusations that a given organization has done something that could be in breach of a draconian national security law imposed on Hong Kong by the CCP from July 1, 2020.

Several groups disband

Several organizations, including protest march organizers the Civil Human Rights Front, the Professional Teachers' Union, and Wall-fare, a prison support group for those in custody because of the 2019 protest movement, have disbanded following similar articles, or after being criticized by Hong Kong's leaders.

The Hospital Authority Employees Alliance said it had recently received a letter from the Registry of Trade Unions alleging that its funds were used for "political purposes."

The group's questioning of the effectiveness of Chinese-made COVID-19 jabs and the government's LeaveHomeSafe app, and its setting up of street booths were also listed as matters requiring explanation, government broadcaster RTHK reported.

"Our alliance's legal status and the past activities we organized, including the strike to fight for reasonable rights, should be protected by international covenants and the Basic Law," it quoted acting chairman David Chan as saying.

He declined to comment when asked if the alliance has any plans to disband, RTHK reported.

Meanwhile, another labor NGO, the Asia Monitor Resource Centre, said an article published in the CCP-backed Ta Kung Pao newspaper was inaccurate.

"For decades, we [have been] a civil society organization independent of any local or international organizations," it said. "We are not a subsidiary unit of any of the organizations as wrongly described in the Ta Kung Pao article."

The group said it plans to shut down its Hong Kong operations by the end of September and relocate elsewhere in the region.

"The pressure on our operation has intensified significantly," the group said in a statement on its website. "Therefore, we feel that we are left with no choice but to cease operating in Hong Kong by the end of September."

Pattern becoming clear

Chung Kim-wah, deputy chief executive of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI), said the pattern of denunciation leading to investigation by the authorities is becoming increasingly clear in Hong Kong.

"We have seen so many similar occurrences, in which the Ta Kung Pao or the Wen Wei Po post articles listing [alleged] crimes, sometimes photos, and even stalking some people," Chung told RFA.

"Maybe the first thing the secretary for security does when he gets to work in the morning is look at the Wen Wei Po or Ta Kung Pao to see which groups they are targeting, and make a list," he said.

"It looks as if the [pro-CCP] media are running Hong Kong now."

Set up in 1990, the CTU sprang from the work of the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee (HKCIC), a church-backed grassroots labor group active during the 1970s and 1980s.

A coalition of independent and politically unaffiliated union organizations, its membership consisted largely of white-collar unions organizing the civil service and professional or service employees in the public and subvented sectors, including the now-disbanded Professional Teachers' Union (PTU) and the Hong Kong Social Workers General Union.

Both former leaders Lau Chin-shek, a founding member of the Democratic Party, and Lee Cheuk-yan went on to be elected to the city's Legislative Council (LegCo).

The CTU was involved in a number of mass protest movements, including the July 1, 2003 march to oppose national security legislation, which was eventually imposed on the city by the CCP on July 1, 2020.

It was also instrumental in founding Hong Kong's Labour Party in 2005.

Police arrested a university student on charges of sedition and computer crimes during a raid on a house used by student activists in Pathum Thani on Friday.

The search of the house at the Nuantong housing estate in Khlong Luang district on Friday morning was carried out by officers from the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul and Benja Apan, two key figures in the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration (UFTD), normally stay at the house. Niraphorn Onkhao, a third-year liberal arts student at Thammasat University, was the only person in the house when the officers arrived.

Police said Ms Niraphorn was wanted on an arrest warrant issued on Wednesday by the Criminal Court on charges of violating Section 116 of the Criminal Code, or sedition, and the Computer Crime Act. The officers seized computers and mobile phones for further examination.

Ms Niraphorn was subsequently taken to the TCSD in Bangkok for interrogation. Officers were preparing to take her to the Criminal Court to seek her detention and would oppose bail, said Pol Col Pichet Khampeeranon, chief of TCSD sub-division 3.

Thai media reported that Ms Niraphorn protested during the arrest and insisted she had never received a summons. She reportedly told officers that the warrant they showed her did not mention any specific incident to justify her arrest.

The UFTD has been one of the main groups involved in political protests that began in mid-2020. The activists have been demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, a full rewrite of the constitution and reform of the monarchy.

More than 1,100 people have been prosecuted for political protests between July 2020 and August 2021, with more than 400 charged in August alone, the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights reported recently.

The organisation said it knew of at least 1,161 people who were being prosecuted for alleged crimes related to political gatherings and expression since the movement began on July 18, 2020.

Of the total, 143 are minors, aged under 18.

Just over 900 people faced charges of violating the emergency decree that was imposed to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. The group said 124 people were facing charges of lese majeste or defaming the monarchy under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, and 107 faced sedition charges under Section 116.

Seng Sary. who had clarified that he does not support forming a government in exile but merely laid out hypothetical conditions for one, told RFA’s Khmer Service Monday it was a good sign that Hun Sen is listening to the opinions of analysts and intellectuals, but he did not feel completely safe yet.

“I have not seen the court drop my case yet, so it is difficult for me to decide whether I should return to Cambodia, because it has to do with my safety,” Seng Sary said.

“I hope I can get my charges dropped soon,” he said.

Seng Sary said he was fortunate to be in Thailand when Hun Sen ordered his arrest. Otherwise, he would never have been able to escape or explain to Hun Sen the meaning of his analysis.

“I hope that in the future, the head of government will more carefully consider posts on social media… Let the government have a high understanding of contradictory views or political views that people want express.”

Political analyst Kim Sok, who lives in exile in Finland, said that Seng Sary is right to remain in Thailand and act with caution about anything Hun Sen says.

“He did request that the court revoke Seng Sary’s arrest warrant, but who knows? When Seng Sary returns to Cambodia and if he is arrested, Hun Sen could say he only made the request to cancel the arrest order, but it is up to the court because the court is independent. So be careful with this game,” Kim Sok said.

RFA was unable to reach Justice Ministry spokesman Chin Malin for comment on Hun Sen's stance. The spokesman for the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Plang Sophal was also not available.

Chak Sopheap, the Executive Director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, welcomed the suspension of the arrest warrant and urged the government to be more open to intellectuals and political analysts.

“There must be a guarantee of full freedom of expression, and there should be no indictment or arrest just because citizens are expressing their opinions,” she said.

Some Facebook users wrote in support of Hun Sen’s change of heart, while others pointed out that the Cambodian leader has broken promises to activists in exile, saying they could return to the country without fear of arrest, but arresting them anyway.

The exchange with Seng Sary came a little than a week after Hun Sen Hun Sen crashed a Zoom strategy session of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, which Hun Sen had banned in 2017.

“I wanted to send a clear message to the rebels that there are people of Hun Sen everywhere,” the prime minister said of his intervention in the Zoom call.

Bangladesh authorities must immediately drop their investigations into the bank accounts of 12 members of the press and commit to allowing the media to operate freely and independently, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On August 11, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, a government agency responsible for investigating money laundering and terrorist financing, ordered all scheduled banks to provide details of any accounts associated with Rozina Islam, a senior correspondent for the daily newspaper Prothom Alo, according to news reports and a person familiar with the case, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. Islam is under investigation for allegedly photographing documents at the country’s Health Ministry without permission.

“Scheduled banks” refer to the 61 banks that are controlled and supervised by the government-owned Central Bank of Bangladesh.

Separately, on September 16, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit ordered banks to provide such information for an additional 11 journalists, according to various news reports and Muhammad Abdullah, city editor of The Daily Amardesh and president of a group within the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, who spoke with CPJ via messaging app. The 11 journalists named in the September 16 order are also all executive members of several different journalist trade organizations, according to those news reports.

Authorities have not disclosed any reason for the order targeting those journalists, according to Abdullah, who said the reason behind the probe remains unclear.

“The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit’s investigation of the bank accounts belonging to a dozen prominent journalists looks suspiciously like selective law enforcement aimed at intimidating the independent press,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities should immediately drop these investigations, cease harassing journalists, and commit to allowing the media to operate openly and freely.”

According to the news reports and Abdullah, the 11 journalists are:

Farida Yasmin, senior subeditor of the privately owned Bengali-language newspaper The Daily Ittefaq and president of the National Press Club of Bangladesh
Elias Khan, special correspondent with the privately owned news outlet The Daily Amardesh—which has been prevented from publishing a print edition since 2013 and whose website was blocked domestically in 2020—and general secretary of the National Press Club of Bangladesh
Kader Gani Chowdhury, senior reporter with The Daily Amardesh and president of a group within the Dhaka Union of Journalists
Muhammad Abdullah, city editor of The Daily Amardesh and president of a group within the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists
Mohammad Shahidul Islam, subeditor of the privately owned Bengali-language daily newspaper The Daily Sangram and general secretary of a group within the Dhaka Union of Journalists
Sajjad Alam Khan Tapu, business editor of the privately owned news channel Jamuna TV and president of a group within the Dhaka Union of Journalists
Nurul Amin Rokon, news editor of the privately owned Bengali-language daily newspaper Daily Asia Bani and secretary general of a group within the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists
Molla Jalal, editor of the privately owned Bengali-language news website NNB and president of a group within the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists
Abdul Majid, special correspondent of the privately owned Bengali-language daily newspaper The Daily Samakal and secretary general of a group within the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists
Mursalin Nomani, senior reporter with the state-owned news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha and president of Dhaka Reporters Unity, a local journalist training and press freedom group
Mosiur Rahman Khan, senior reporter with The Daily Samakal and general secretary of Dhaka Reporters Unity

Hasan Mahmud, the minister of information and broadcasting, told reporters at his office that the government can ask anyone for their bank details, and “if someone is transparent, there’s no reason to be worried about it,” according to The Dhaka Tribune.

The person familiar with Islam’s case said the August 11 order stemmed from an ongoing investigation by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police into a complaint filed by the country’s Health Ministry. On May 17, authorities arrested Islam for allegedly taking pictures of official documents at its Dhaka office, as CPJ documented at the time. She was released on bail on May 23, according to reports.

Islam has frequently reported on alleged corruption and mismanagement of the health sector’s COVID-19 response.

The ministry accused Islam of violating Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act and Sections 379 and 411 of the penal code; if charged and convicted, she could face up to 14 years in prison or the death penalty, according to those laws.

On September 19, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka rejected Islam’s request for the return of her two mobile phones and press identification card, which were seized during her arrest, and her passport, which was seized as a condition of her release on bail, according to news reports and the person familiar with the case.

Health Minister Zahid Malek did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment regarding Islam’s case sent via email.

CPJ emailed Md. Masud Biswas, executive director of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit; Md. Shafiqul Islam, commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police; and Ferdousi Shahriar, the deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington, D.C., for comment on the 12 investigations, but did not receive any replies.

The Enforcement Directorate Thursday conducted searches at offices and residential premises associated with social activist Harsh Mander, in connection with a case of alleged money laundering.

The ED’s case is based on another case registered by Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing against the Centre for Equity Studies (CES), where Mander is a director.

An ED official confirmed the agency was conducting searches at premises associated with Mander, but did not give details of the probe against him. The searches, sources said, were conducted at Adchini, Mehrauli and Vasant Kunj in South Delhi.

“Searches are going on. Our case is based on the Delhi Police FIR in the matter,” an ED official said.

Mander had left for Germany around 3.30 am on Thursday on a fellowship at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin. The board of the CES, in a statement, said they were committed to cooperating with the ongoing searches, and would provide all necessary information to the ED.

Delhi Police had registered two cases against CES — one under the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act and another over alleged financial irregularities — following a raid conducted by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) last October at two children’s homes run by the centre. NCPCR had alleged various irregularities, including financial, in the running of the two homes at the time.

In July this year, in response to a petition in the Delhi High Court by CES, the NCPCR had said it had recommended action against the two children’s homes linked to Mander only after finding various violations and discrepancies on the part of the management. Among the alleged violations, NCPCR mentioned that it had been informed by the children that they were taken to protest sites, including Jantar Mantar.

“During the inspection, prima facie many violations of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and its Model Rules, 2016, and various other irregularities came to the notice of NCPCR, including financial irregularities as the institution was reluctant in disclosing their sources of funding and other relevant document to the inspection team,” NCPCR said in the reply.

With regard to the boys’ home, the NCPCR told the court that an employee had “informed” it about cases of child sexual abuse being reported there, and inaction by the management.

“The Commission observed this to be a gross violation of the provisions of the POCSO Act, 2012, and had immediately reported this to Delhi Police for further investigation as well,” it said.

In a statement, the CES board said the ED search was “a continuation of harassment and coercion of CES and Harsh Mander for being an outspoken and passionate defender of human rights”.

It said, “As you are aware, the Enforcement Directorate has been conducting raids at the office of the Centre for Equity Studies (CES), Umeed Ghar (Children’s Home), and Harsh Mander’s residence from 9.30 am… Over the last several months, the organisation has been subjected to raids, investigations, and inquiries by different government agencies including Delhi Police, and NCPCR. CES has cooperated with every government agency by providing all organisational details requested…including balance sheets and other financial and programmatic documents…

“It is deeply distressing for the entire team of CES and this continued harassment has created hurdles in the path of our organisational vision of working for the poorest of the poor and most marginalised sections of society.”

On Thursday morning, employees who reached the CES office in Adchini after the searches started, were not allowed inside. They said most of their work involved research pertaining to human rights.

A statement signed by 565 signatories, including several activists and public intellectuals, condemned the ED action and said the searches were part of a “continuing chain of abuse of state institutions” to silence its critics.

The signatories include Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, former Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed, economist Jean Dreze, senior advocate Indira Jaising, DU professor Apoorvanand, women’s activists Kavita Krishnan and Annie Raja, social and environmental activist Medha Patkar, and former IPS officer Julio Ribeiro.

Hong Kong’s national security chief recently accused the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), an affiliate of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), of having political preferences and receiving foreign funding. The IFJ expresses grave concern over the official’s remarks and urges the Hong Kong authorities to respect HKJA members’ freedom of association.

Speaking with reporters on September 15, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung accused the HKJA of having biased political views and thus favouring pro-democracy news organisations such as Apple Daily and Stand News. He also claimed that the HKJA may have received funds provided by foreign political groups, without providing evidence.

Tang urged the HKJA to disclose its membership list and financial status in order to “prove its innocence” and “assuage public concerns.”

In response, HKJA Chairman Ronson Chan saidthe HKJA does not receive funding from overseas groups and has submitted its financial statements annually to the Labour Department, which oversees trade unions, according to Hong Kong’s law.

The group also said it cannot disclose the personal data of its members without their consent. “Any suggestion to make our membership and their employers public in order to ‘assuage doubts’ would appear to incite a breach of the Ordinance,” the HKJA said in a statement, referring to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.

In addition, during an interview with local newspaper Ta Kung Pao on September 14, Tang stated that the HKJA is “relying on a large number of student members.” He said the group’s executive committee has been controlled by members of specific media outlets over the years. The situation “makes people question the representativeness of the HKJA” as a journalist trade union, Tang said.

The HKJA said there is no truth to Tang’s comments; as of September 15, the HKJA has 486 members, 56 of whom are students majoring in journalism. This number translates to approximately 11 per cent. A list of HKJA executive committee members is also available on the HKJA website, it added.

A citizen journalist and a protester who allegedly painted graffiti about monarchy reform at Din Daeng Intersection on 13 September were arrested by the police on Wednesday night (15 September).

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that Wiraphap Wongsaman was arrested and taken to Chaiyaphruek Police Station in Nonthaburi Province to file the report and then detained at Phaholyothin Police Station in Bangkok.

Student activist Wanwalee Thammasattaya posted on Facebook that she personally knew Wiraphap by the nickname ‘Reef’ and that he was arrested while eating noodles. He was accused of painting graffiti reading ‘The monarchy should be reformed to be under the constitution’.

She stated that Reef has been the target of Information Operations and a pro-monarchy group which tried to label him as a radical protester. A video of him shoving reporters’ cameras was criticized online. In fact he was trying to prevent reporters from recording the faces of protesters who were minors, and had later apologized to the reporters.

On the same night, a citizen was arrested for resisting the authorities. He was taken to Thakham Police Station before being detained at Phaya Thai Police Station. According to Voice TV, a citizen journalist was arrested while wearing a purple vest that identified him as a follower of Kathoei Mae Luk On (trans mom with an infant child), a YouTuber who has been live broadcasting the Din Daeng protests.

Similar to the case of Ratsadon News whose reporter was arrested on Monday night (13 September), Kathoei Mae Luk On is a citizen journalist with 300,300 followers on YouTube.

Another peoples’ lawyer was killed Wednesday, Sept. 15.

Lawyer Juan Macababbad, Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) vice chairperson and member of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyer (NUPL), was shot by two gunmen in front of his residence in Surrallah, South Cotabato.

Macababbad was the third member of the NUPL and 58th lawyer who was gunned down under President Duterte’s administration.

“While the case may go through the usual investigation, as with the other growing number of unresolved cases, it is clear that the murder of Atty. Macababbad is connected to his vocation of lawyering for the people,” said UPLM Chairperson Antonio C. Azarcon in a statement.

Azarcon said Macababbad had been receiving death threats prior to the incident.

Defender of indigenous peoples, environment

Macababbad handled several cases, particularly in defense of indigenous peoples and protection of the environment.

He served as the legal counsel of the Lumad victims in the Lake Sebu massacre in 2017.

Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan, said that Macababbad also joined several fact-finding mission and served as the legal counsel to indigenous peoples, teachers and community members in the SOCSKSARGEN.

“Such attacks against those in the legal profession, particularly against the committed and tireless human rights defenders among them, should stop. We demand justice for Atty. Macababbad and all lawyers killed under this administration,” Palabay said.

Macababbad was also one of those who opposed the coal mining applications of DM Consunji at the Daguma Mountain Range in the SOCCSKSARGEN region.

In 2015, Macababbad was slapped with Strategic Lawsuit Againt Public Participation (SLAPP) after “their local mass movements barricaded the aerial spraying facilities of Sumifru’s Banana plantation,” according to Leon Dulce, national coordinator for Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment.

“This is why it is urgent to enact policies such as House Bill 8170 or the Environmental Defense Bill that grants protection mechanisms and various remedies to human rights abuses against defenders. This is why we need to #DefendTheDefenders,” Leon added.

The groups demand justice for the slain lawyer.

“The climate of impunity pervades with the lack of serious investigation and prosecution over thousands of extrajudicial killings in the country. The legal profession is not spared, and our colleagues have become main targets especially those who resist tyranny and defend human rights,” Azarcon said.

Just last month, lawyer Rex JMA Fernandez was killed in Cebu City in broad daylight.

Different lawyers groups have been calling the Supreme Court to take action on the increasing attacks on the members of the judiciary.

Following the addition of two more names to the list of 54 journalists and media workers currently held in the military junta’s jails in Myanmar, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reminds the international community of the need for targeted sanctions against those responsible for the growing terror.

Mizzima News former editor-in-chief Myo Thant was arrested yesterday in Kangye Htaung, a township in southwestern Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River delta region. RSF has learned that the security forces went to the township after being told he was there, and threatened to take his aunt if he did not surrender. He was finally arrested at round 8 pm.

Officials from the Sintgaing central police station charged a detained ex-journalist with incitement on Wednesday for allegedly violating Section 505a of the penal code.

Thirty-five-year-old Win Naing Oo, who formerly worked as a chief correspondent for Channel Mandalay, was arrested along with his wife Thu Thu from a mango farm in Mandalay’s Sintgaing Township on August 31, according to a family friend. Thu Thu was reportedly released on Thursday evening.

Win Naing Oo stopped working in journalism after Myanmar’s February 1 military coup.

“He hasn’t done any journalism work during this time. I don’t know why he was arrested,” the friend told Myanmar Now.

Myanmar Now called the Sintgaing police station for further information on the case. The officer on duty said that Win Naing Oo was being held there and confirmed that he had been charged under Section 505a.

A Sintgaing local said that the couple had been living at the mango farm where they were arrested, but that they may not have been the junta’s initial target.

“The police were there to arrest their guest. They were arrested along with the guest,” said the local, who did not elaborate on the guest’s identity.

Win Naing Oo was previously charged with defamation in May 2019 after he was accused of violating Section 66d of Myanmar’s Telecommunications Law for broadcasting a news story on Channel Mandalay regarding military confiscation of farmland near Pyin Oo Lwin.

More than 100 journalists have been arrested since the coup, and many of them charged with violating 505a. Few have been released. Many have been sentenced in closed court hearings, with convictions for violating the statute carrying a prison term of up to three years.

At least 6,572 people have been arrested by the junta since the coup, according to a statement released by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners on Thursday.

Two more Kazakh activists have been sentenced to "restricted freedom," a parole-like sentence, for having links to the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement amid an ongoing crackdown on supporters of the opposition group and the associated Koshe (Street) party.

On September 15, a court in the southern city of Shymkent sentenced Lazzat Dosmambetova to 30 months of restricted freedom and barred her from involvement in public activities for five years after finding her guilty of the "creation of a branch of a banned group and taking part in its operations."

Dosmambetova rejected the charges as politically motivated and said she will appeal the court's decision.

The day before, a court in Nur-Sultan, the capital, sentenced activist Altyn Lesbaeva to two years of restricted freedom after convicting her of having links to the DVK and the Koshe party and propagating their ideas.

Lesbaeva was also barred from taking part in public activities for three years. She refused to admit guilt and vowed to appeal the ruling as well.

Many activists across the Central Asian country have been handed lengthy prison terms or parole-like "restricted freedom" sentences in recent years for their involvement in the activities of the DVK and Koshe, as well as for taking part in the rallies organized by the two groups.

DVK is led by Mukhtar Ablyazov, the fugitive former head of Kazakhstan's BTA Bank and an outspoken critic of the government. The authorities labeled the DVK extremist and banned the group in March 2018.

Human rights groups have said Kazakhstan's law on public gatherings contradicts international standards, as it requires preliminary permission from the authorities to hold rallies and envisions prosecution for organizing and participating in unsanctioned rallies, even though the constitution guarantees citizens the right of free assembly.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has suspended the class licence of The Online Citizen (TOC) to run its website and its social media channels.

In a statement on Tuesday (Sept 14), IMDA said the socio-political website has repeatedly failed to comply with its legal obligation to declare all sources of funding since around the middle of last year.

TOC will be required to stop posting content on its website and social media channels immediately and disable them by 3pm on Thursday, IMDA said.

It added that if TOC continues to operate while in breach of the requirements, it may then take steps to block access to TOC in Singapore.

If TOC “does not provide further information to bring it into full compliance”, its class licence could be cancelled by Sept 28, said IMDA, adding that TOC’s officers may also be held liable for criminal offences under the Broadcasting Act.

“There is no reason for TOC not to comply, as other registered Internet content providers provide this information in order to be transparent about their sources of funding,” said IMDA.

TOC is one of two websites that are currently classified as registered Internet content providers (ICPs) by IMDA. The other is The Independent Singapore.

Past websites that had registered as ICPs include Six-Six News and The Middle Ground, both of which are no longer in operation.

Such websites, which provide content focused on political issues in Singapore and engage in online promotion or discussion of these issues, are required to declare their sources of funding.

"This is to prevent such sites from being controlled by foreign actors, or coming under the influence of foreign entities or funding, and to ensure that there is no foreign influence in domestic politics," IMDA said.

This requirement has been in place since 2013.

Mainstream news websites are not considered ICPs as they are regulated separately under the Broadcasting Act and the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act.

Under the regulations for ICPs, details on the sources of all funding must be declared by default and no foreign funding is allowed.

While subscription and advertising revenue from foreign sources are allowed if there is a clear commercial purpose, the sources must be declared and identified. IMDA said such sources of funding must not be used as a "loophole for foreign influence and funding".

It noted that TOC had offered a subscription framework under which those who paid a $120 yearly fee could have TOC write articles on a specified topic without having to declare their identity.

This is tantamount to allowing subscribers to commission content, which would require the full disclosure of the identity of the source, IMDA noted.

“This is a cause for concern as foreign actors can potentially use this mechanism to pay TOC to write articles that influence domestic politics,” it added.

IMDA said the legal entity TOC Pte Ltd first registered as an ICP in 2018 and declared its funding sources in accordance with the requirements. The Straits Times understands that the TOC website was operated by a different legal entity before 2018.

However, since 2019, TOC has not fully complied with this obligation, IMDA said.

The authority noted that TOC had failed to verify a donor and to clarify discrepancies in its foreign advertising revenue in its 2019 declaration, for which it was issued a warning on May 4 this year.

"For its 2020 declaration, TOC repeatedly failed to declare all its funding sources despite multiple reminders and extensions," IMDA said.

"TOC had also informed IMDA that it does not intend to comply with its obligations under the law."

TOC was then given a final opportunity to explain its non-compliance by Monday.

In its response to IMDA on Monday, TOC offered to make a declaration that it was not receiving foreign funding on the condition that the IMDA agrees not to seek further clarifications on its subscription framework and funding sources, the authority said.

But the requirement for TOC and other ICPs to declare their sources of funding is a legal one, and is not a matter for negotiation, said IMDA. It, therefore, rejected TOC's offer.

In a letter to IMDA posted on his Facebook page on Monday, lawyer Lim Tean of Carson Law Chambers, who represents TOC, said the discrepancies were "simple accounting mistakes".

He also accused IMDA of hypocrisy and inconsistency for allowing the Critical Spectator website and Facebook page to comment on Singapore affairs and politics despite it being run by a foreign commentator, Polish national Michael Petraeus.

Mr Lim added that TOC intends to challenge the suspension of its class licence by way of a judicial review.

Police in Almaty have dismantled a tent set up by protesters in front of the Chinese Consulate as part of their protest demanding the release of their relatives from prisons and so-called reeducation camps in China's northwestern Xinjiang region.

Despite a police order not to erect tents at the site, dozens of protesters spent a 20th night in front of the consulate in Kazakhstan's largest city on September 14.

One of the protesters, Khalida Aqytkhan,told RFE/RL that she will continue to spend her nights in front of the consulate even without a tent as she fights for the release of her three sons from Chinese custody. After Kazakhstan gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, many ethnic Kazakhs from Xinjiang and elsewhere have benefited from Kazakhstan's state program on resettlement of ethnic Kazakhs into the country.

Many of them obtained permanent residence in Kazakhstan or Kazakh citizenship but continue to visit Xinjiang on a regular basis either to see relatives or for bureaucratic reasons, where some of them face pressure or even arrest and imprisonment.

Some of the protesters have been rallying in front of the Chinese Consulate in Almaty for many months.

The rallies of one of such protesters, Farida Qabylbek, paid off after her 58-year-old husband, Raqyzhan Zeinolla, was released from home arrest in Xinjiang and came to Kazakhstan from China in April after serving almost 15 years in prison and reeducation camps on espionage charges that his relatives rejected. In recent years, many similar protests have taken place across Kazakhstan, with demonstrators demanding the authorities officially intervene in the situation faced by ethnic Kazakhs in Xinjiang.

The U.S. State Department has said that as many as 2 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and members of Xinjiang's other indigenous, mostly Muslim ethnic groups have been confined in detention centers.

China denies that the facilities are internment camps, but individuals who have fled the province say people undergo "political indoctrination" at a network of facilities officially referred to as reeducation camps.

Beijing's policies in Xinjiang are a sensitive issue in Kazakhstan.

China is a major trading partner for the Central Asian country, and the Kazakh state-controlled media has generally avoided reporting about Beijing's policies in Xinjiang.

Kazakhs are the second-largest Turkic-speaking indigenous community in Xinjiang after Uyghurs. The region is also home to ethnic Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Hui, also known as Dungans. Han, China's largest ethnicity, is the second-largest community in Xinjiang.

Soldiers on Tuesday evening arrested six students from Dagon University who were staying together in an apartment in downtown Yangon, a student leader has said.

Min Htet Han, chair of the university’s students’ union, told Myanmar Now it is unclear why the six were arrested, but that soldiers arrived at the 39th street apartment in Kyauktada saying they were inspecting overnight guest lists.

“They were staying on the top floor and it was the only apartment that was checked,” he said. “I think it’s safe to assume that they were looking for them in particular.” Informants may have told the military they were staying there, he suggested.

The six detainees are zoology student Wutyi Aung, chemistry student Thinzat Zaw, law student Sithu Aung Tin, archeology student Ye Lin Oo, geology student Myint Thein Naing, and Nay Htet Lin, who studies history.

Earlier this month the former chair of the Dagon University Students’ Union, Min Thukha Kyaw, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a military court. He had taken part in anti-coup protests before his arrest more than three months ago. The military accused him of receiving combat training from the Kachin Independence Army.

Students have been among the most dedicated opponents of the military’s February 1 power grab, and have been repeatedly targeted in crackdowns in recent months.

Htet Aung, the 22-year-old former president of the Pyay University Students’ Union and vice president of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), was arrested by 10 plain clothed military personnel at a house in Paungde Township, Bago Region, where he was hiding on September 6.

“They took him saying they had some questions. We don’t know exactly why he was arrested,” said Nyi Nyi Zin, an ABFSU member.

Htet Aung had only been released from prison in February after serving several months of a one-year sentence for taking part in a protest against the war in Rakhine last year.

His family say they are worried for his wellbeing and do not know where he is being held.

In July, the junta detained nine students including Htet Wai Yan, the president of the Government Technical Institute Students’ Union in Letpadan, as well as Yan Naing Aung, an executive member of the Pyay Students’ Union.

Zin Ko Ko Khant, a 20-year-old student from Taungoo University, was detained a few days later.

2 online reporters were arrested on the night of 13 September while covering the protest at Din Daeng intersection and charged with violating the curfew and the emergency decree.

Arrested were Nattapong Malee from Ratsadon News and Panida (surname withheld) from the Free Our Friends page. Live footage from Ratsadon News showed police asking Nattapong to produce written permission for him to work during the 21.00-04.00 curfew. He responded that his application was pending, and was taken in.

Ratsadon News is one among many online citizen journalists providing close coverage of the protests at Din Daeng through live broadcasts. These have occasionally exposed police brutality.

The two were detained overnight and taken to court the next day to request further temporary detention. The court released them on bail with no security.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights reported that 11 people were arrested on the same night. 5 were minors, one of whom was 12 years old, 2 were reporters, and one was a volunteer nurse. ‘Unaffiliated’ media barred from covering protests

On 14 September, Khaosod reported that Pol Col Kritsana Phattanacharoen, deputy police spokesperson, said in a press briefing that Youtubers and freelancers from Thai and foreign news agencies are not allowed to cover the protests if they cannot confirm their affiliation.

Prior to the arrests, Pol Maj Gen Piya Tawichai, Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, gave an interview to the Question Time programme on the Thai PBS channel that the police have received media reports about protesters or Youtubers disguising themselves as journalists.

Pol Maj Gen Piya said the police would remove unaffiliated journalists or Youtubers from the scene.

Reports of unaffiliated reporters and freelance journalists and photographers being blocked from reporting and assaulted have increased in the latter half of 2021 as police increased pressure on pro-democracy protesters.

Although official media carry press cards, they are often affected by police use of rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon, sometimes deployed indiscriminately.

Sirote Klampaiboon, a Voice TV reporter, tweeted on Monday night (13 Sep) that a group of reporters at Din Daeng had rubber bullets fired at them after the police picked them out with green lasers.

Somchai Homla-or, a human rights lawyer, in an interview with Backpack Journalist on 17 August after a freelance photographer was hit by a police baton that destroyed her camera lens, said that the authorities have no right to use violence to stop people and the media from taking photos or videos as they serve as tools for monitoring the protest situation.

Somchai cited a Court of Appeal Region 5 ruling, which said that people can take photos and videos when the authorities make an arrest or perform their duty at checkpoints as it is meant to increase transparency regarding the authorities’ actions. Citizens and journalists are able to record the situation as long as they do not interfere with the authorities.

The Thai Media for Democracy Alliance (DemAll), a group of pro-democracy media and content creators, published a statement after the arrest of the 2 citizen journalists, saying that it found many reports that reporters were asked to produce press cards, to stop live broadcasts and to leave the scene, with the curfew used as an excuse.

DemAll demanded that the police not restrict the definition of the media to only those affiliated with major press outlets and put a stop to threats against journalists.

“The press cards are not the main issue. Even citizen journalists are regarded as journalists with the duty of relaying information to the people,” stated the statement.

A citizen journalist was detained on Monday and later released after filming a police station and preparing to interview family members of 30 Kandal villagers arrested in a land dispute over Phnom Penh’s new international airport.

Chray Nim, who is also a land activist, said she was working as a citizen journalist for the community, though she would not elaborate on where she publishes her reports.

The airport development, in Kandal province’s Kandal Stung district, has in recent months become more aggressive about clearing the land of villagers, who are refusing the compensation on offer to relocate.

Villagers have tried to block roads in protest, while police and military police have increased their presence to stop them.

On Sunday, a confrontation between villagers and authorities turned violent, with villagers allegedly hurling rocks at officers before 30 were arrested.

Amid a downpour outside the Kandal Provincial Court on Monday afternoon, a man said he was there with his wife because their 22-year-old daughter, a garment factory worker, was arrested on Sunday. He added that “I will be arrested” if he was named in publication.

“I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to burst out crying,” the man said of the night after his daughter’s arrest. “It’s our land and we’ve been jailed for our land.”

The villagers were angry, he said. But he said he was also annoyed at the children who had hurled rocks at officers. “They couldn’t control their emotions,” he said. “The young were aggressive, and the older people got arrested.”

Two women said they had come from Phnom Penh after their 55-year-old mother was arrested. “I was very upset when I learned that she was arrested, and they prevented us from seeing her,” one of the women said, declining to be named. The two had been outside the police station since 7 a.m., she said.

Another woman said her mother, who was over 60 years old, was also arrested. “I don’t want to talk much because I don’t want to get in trouble,” she said, standing with a full bag of cooked rice and other food she hoped she could give to her mother.

The first man added, speaking to reporters: “I’m worried about you too.”

Chray Nim, 41, was arrested around 11 a.m. outside the police station, according to her daughter Reaksa Reasey. Reasey said she had come with her mother, and saw six officers drag her into the compound.

Nim was filming the police station’s gate as a citizen journalist, Reasey said.

Reasey was also questioned for an hour before being released, she said.

“They questioned where my mother came from and what she does. I told them that I don’t know because I’m just a student,” Reasey said. “I was very, very scared seeing her in handcuffs.”

In the afternoon, a guard at the police station also told VOD: “No pictures. If you continue to take them, I’ll get someone to take you.”

Nim was released in the evening. Nim told VOD after her release that she had only started filming, had not interviewed anyone yet, and had not broadcast live. She was questioned about who she worked for and whether she had sought permission to film. She would only say that she was a “community citizen journalist” and not where her reports were published.

“They asked whether I had asked permission from them or not and I told them that I go to take videos everywhere and I have never asked permission,” she said. “Anywhere people protest we go to cover it.”

“This is a threat and silences the freedoms and rights of independent citizen journalists,” Nim added.

Information Ministry broadcasting director Phos Sovan said he did not have clear information yet about Monday’s detention, and whether it was only for taking video.

“When we write a narrative, it can be too far from the truth, and sometimes the authorities think that it will incite or cause more violence … so they use their mechanism toward journalists who broadcast live,” Sovan said.

There were some challenges regarding citizen journalists not following ethics, he added. “The new group that we call citizen journalists has a lot of challenges,” Sovan said. “We have seen some challenges for online media occurring recently.”

Many small news outlets have appeared on Facebook in recent years — and several have faced trouble with the law over their video broadcasts.

Nim began as a land and women’s rights activist in 2012 after facing problems with her own land near the current Phnom Penh International Airport, according to the Cambodian Center for Human Rights and Transparency International.

Kandal officials have been heavy-handed in dealing with journalists covering the dispute. A VOD reporter was followed by two undercover police officers back to Phnom Penh after covering the story and another social media broadcaster was threatened and asked to stop covering the protest.

Nop Vy, executive director of the Cambodian Journalists Alliance, said Nim was a member of the association, though she had never done work for it.

The association would be offering her support as a member, he said.

“Citizens who can produce stories like articles and videos and photos are called citizen journalists. We have been working to build their capacity and ethics,” Vy added. “Some citizen journalists have good knowledge and can write stories. We encourage them and we can sign contracts with them.”

Many journalists in Cambodia were not formally trained, but have gained experience through working in newsrooms and with other journalists. “It is the same for citizen journalists. They are normal people, but they start working as journalists, then they learn and improve to be professional journalists,” he said.

Vy added that based on information he had, Nim had only been taking video. “I think this is part of people’s freedoms, including journalists’ freedoms,” he said, adding that authorities should respect those freedoms. “They have no weapons. They only have smartphones to interview and take photos and videos.”

Sokunthea Chhan, media development director at the Cambodian Center for Independent Media — VOD’s parent organization — said Nim was not a citizen journalist for CCIM. But CCIM would be providing a lawyer to support her, Chhan said.

CCIM, however, did have citizen journalists in the disputed airport area, and they were facing threats from police and local authorities, she said.

“CCIM supports CJs and professional journalists when they face challenges by providing legal support and safe houses if they need,” she said. “CJs are just gathering [information about] issues happening at the conflict area. The authorities should open the space for CJs and all journalists to exercise their rights freely.”

Kandal provincial police chief Chhoeun Sochet could not be reached. Pung Khiev Se, chairman of OCIC, which is developing the airport in a joint venture with the civil aviation authority, has not responded to questions.

Sureerat Chiwarak, mother of student activist Parit Chiwarak, has received a summons from Thong Lo Police Station on a violation of the Emergency Decree charge.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that Sureerat has to report to the police station to hear the charges on 20 September 2021. TLHR also posted a picture of the summons, which stated that the charge was filed by Pol Maj Ithithon Praosetsak, investigation inspector at Thong Lo Police Station, and that former Red Shirt leader Nattawut Saikuar also faces the same charge.

The student activist group United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration (UFTD) said that the charge is related to a protest at the Asoke intersection, organized by Nattawut. The UFTD also said that Sureerat only attended the protest.

This is Sureerat’s second summons for violating the Emergency Decree. According to TLHR, she previously received a summons from Thong Lo Police after a complaint was filed against her by Srisuwan Janya, Secretary-General of the Association for the Protection of the Constitution, who is known as Thailand’s “complainer-in-chief” for repeatedly filing police complaints against activists and politicians.

The UFTD said that Srisuwan’s complaint is related to the 3 September 2021 protest organized by the UFTD and the activist group Thalufah. However, TLHR said that the complaint is likely related to the 2 September 2021 protest at the Asoke intersection.

Sureerat has been active since the beginning of 2021 in the campaign for the release of activists detained pending trial, after her son was denied bail and detained in February 2021 along with 9 other activists. She became known, along with the mothers of other detained activists who spoke out to demand their children’s release, as the “Ratsamom,” a combination of “Ratsadon,” which means “people,” and “mom.”

Parit was released on bail on 11 May 2021, after being detained for 92 days. He was detained again on 8 August 2021 on charges relating to a protest in front of the Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters on 2 August 2021 to demand the release of 32 detained activists. The Criminal Court also revoked his bail on charges relating to the 19 September 2020 protest. He is currently detained at the Thanyaburi Remand Prison and has been denied bail at least 4 times.

Cambodian authorities have arrested more than 30 villagers during a violent roundup of land protesters in Kandal province where they were protesting against an airport being built by a company owned by a tycoon with ties to the country’s autocratic leader, provincial police and villagers said.

The land at Kampong Talong village in Kandal’s Beung Khchang commune was taken three years ago by the Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation (OCIC), a private Cambodian firm, for construction of the U.S. $1.5 billion airport project.

Around 330 families living on the disputed land refused compensation for their fields, saying the amounts offered in payment by the firm were too low.

Police beat the protesters who rallied Sunday, and 31 were arrested for alleged involvement in violence against authorities during the demonstration.

The land dispute between 330 families and the Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation (OCIC) owned by Neak Oknha (honorific) Pung Khieu Se, an affluent business tycoon close to Prime Minister Hun Sen led to authorities to make the arrests.

Villager Nai Phon, who was monitoring the situation, said that authorities arrested three of his family members — his wife, Khim Chetra, and sisters Nay Phea and Nay Phol, and that police were still searching for and arresting other villagers.

“As a land grab victim, it has been three years since I begged the head of government to help solve this land dispute by giving us fair compensation so that we can accept it, Nai Phon said.

“And now we do not dare to claim the market price. We can accept a reasonable price to end the confrontation and have all the detainees released.”

RFA could not reach Kandal’s police commissioner, Chhoeun Socheth, for comment.

‘It is not a good way’

Am Sam Ath, deputy director of monitoring at Cambodian human rights group Licadho, said that this is the first time in the history of land disputes in Cambodia that authorities have arrested such a large number of people.

“We still insist on not choosing that way, and it is not a good way,” said Am Sam Ath, who condemned the resort to mass arrests.

“First, it affects both sides and draws more criticism over the issue of the land dispute as well as other allegations,” he said. “And if the people are imprisoned, their suffering will be doubled. This means that their families will face more problems.”

This arrest and violent crackdown erupted Sept. 12 after hundreds of authorities prevented farmers from accessing the land. They set fire to the rubbish in front of the security barricades used by local police and military police to block the road to their farmland now under the control of OCIC.

In response, Kandal Provincial Hall accused residents of causing acts of violence involving the use of sticks, stones, rubber bullets, and petrol bombs that injured 13 police officers.

Authorities called on residents to stop what they said were illegal activities and return to efforts to resolve the land dispute peacefully.

Acting on behalf of CIOC, Kandal provincial authorities have offered villagers U.S. $8 per square meter for their land, but villagers say that is much lower than the U.S. $70-80 per square meter estimated market price.

Van Sophat, land monitoring officer for the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, previously told RFA that OCIC had failed to conduct a proper assessment of their project’s environmental impact or to consult Kampong Talong villagers on the proposed development.

The villagers hold title to their land and deserve justice and fair compensation, he said.

Hundreds of police officers blocked villagers on Sept. 7 from visiting rice fields seized to build an airport, though no injuries were reported.

Villagers stopped cultivating their land three years ago, but had to start farming again because business shutdowns caused by the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia have left them without other ways to survive, a villager told RFA in an earlier report.

A female civil society activist in southern Kandahar province said the Taliban entered her house, assaulted her and abducted five people from her home.

The incident took place in limits of 15th police district on Saturday night.

Dr. Fahima Rahmati, who is also the head of the Hope Foundation, in a live video message on Facebook while loudly crying provided information about the incident.

She told Pajhwok Afghan News that dozens of armed Taliban entered their house without permission and started beating women, men and firing in the air.

She added the Taliban had abducted five men, including her two brothers, a brother in law and a neighbor. According to her, her elder brother was shot wounded by the Taliban.

She said only her elder brother worked in the former National Directorate of Security but he had left the job six months ago for personal reasons.

The Taliban have announced a general amnesty, so why they intimidate people, she grumbled.

Rahmati to Taliban: “Why are you spreading terror? Is government done this way, why are you forcing me to flee the country? Does Islam allow such acts? I received invitations from three countries, but I rejected them and said the country needs me.”

Kandahar’s intelligence chief, Rahmatullah Naraiwal, said the Taliban had received information last night that former NDS operatives were residing in a house in Kandahar’s 15th police district.

He added that as soon as they reached the house, they came under fire from the house after which Taliban fighters overpowered them and arrest the men and took them away.

But Fahima Rahmati denied the allegations, saying they did not even have a single bullet in the house.

Her brother had been given a Kalashnikov and a pistol for self-defense during his job but after leaving the job six months ago he handed over the weapons to the concerned authorities.

On 10 September 2021, General Moeldoko, the Presidential Chief of Staff officially reported human rights defenders Egi Primayogha and Miftachul Choir to the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police of Jakarta for alleged defamation, related to article 27 of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law and articles 310 and 311 of the criminal code. If charged, the human rights defenders could be sentenced to 6 years in prison. Egi Primayogha is a human rights defender and member of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), a prominent anti-corruption organisation in Indonesia. As a student, he was involved in various civil society movements in university, such as the student press and student co-operative movement. The human rights defender is currently working on various human rights issues such as freedom of information, access to health, and the right to natural resources. He is also vocal about the implication of politicians and business groups in human rights violations. Mifta chul Choir is a human rights defender and a short-term contract member of the Political Corruption Division of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW). His research focuses on political economy of the coal mining industry, the party financing regime and the electoral system. Prior to joining ICW, Miftachul Choir was involved with the student press and various student movement groups. Currently, he is a postgraduate student at the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies (IHRP), Mahidol University. On 10 September 2021, General Moeldoko, the Presidential Chief of Staff, officially accused Egi Primayogha and Miftachul Choir of defamation and reported them to the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police of Jakarta. The accusations against the human rights defenders relate to a study published by the Political Corruption Division of ICW which alleges the involvement of various public officials, in promoting the circulation of the drug Ivermectin during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both human rights defenders were involved in the research and presentation of this study. On 29 July 2021, it was reported that the Presidential Chief of Staff planned to issue a subpoena against Egi Primayogha and Miftachul Choir regarding the study published by ICW. On the same day, 109 civil society organisations and community groups expressed solidarity with Egi Primayogha, Miftachul Choir and ICW and urged General Moeldoko to withdraw the subpoena. On 2 August 2021, the lawyer of the Presidential Chief of Staff sent a subpoena to ICW, specifically addressing Egi Primayogha and Miftachul Choir. The subpoena asked them to withdraw the claims made by their study and to apologise to the Presidential Chief of Staff within 24 hours. It also threatened to report the human rights defenders to the police if the demands were not met. Subsequently, two other subpoenas issued by Moeldoko were sent to Egi Primayogha and Miftachul Choir on 5 August 2021 and 20 August 2021, with similar demands and threats. In Indonesia, article 27 paragraph (3) of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law concerns defamation, and articles 310 and 311 of the Criminal Code concern attacking someone’s honor and reputation with accusations and defamation respectively. However, the Criminal Code also contains relevant justifications for the publishing of the study by the human rights defenders under Article 310 paragraph (3), which states, “it does not constitute defamation if the act is carried out in the public interest”. It has been observed by human rights defenders in Indonesia that government officials often abuse their power by using the Electronic, Information, and Transactions Law and defamation charges to silence activists or human rights defenders in the country.