Uwazi

A Source within the Unity and Solidarity Women’s Movement in Kunduz Province has revealed the distressing news of a recent suicide within their ranks.

Speaking on the evening of Friday, January 5th, the source informed Hasht-e Subh Daily that the deceased member, identified as Bibi Gul Mohammadi, was laid to rest last Sunday.

Bibi Gul, a participant in a street protest, was detained by the Taliban in Kunduz in late September 2021. During her harrowing two-day captivity, she endured torture, as disclosed by the source.

Upon her release, Bibi Gul faced escalating pressure and restrictions from her family, which included being prohibited from communicating with her friends, according to the source.

The 21-year-old aspiring university student found herself on the brink of taking her entrance exams when the Taliban assumed control of Afghanistan, thwarting her educational aspirations.

Simultaneously, there are reports highlighting the dire economic situation of Bibi Gul, which, coupled with family issues and Taliban restrictions, contributed to her tragic decision to end her life.

A member of the Unity and Solidarity Women’s Movement in Kunduz lamented that Bibi Gul’s case is not isolated, emphasizing that the Taliban has systematically imprisoned and tortured numerous girls, leaving them to grapple with severe psychological issues.

Despite efforts, Hasht-e Subh Daily was unsuccessful in establishing contact with the family of the deceased protester.

It is crucial to note that the confluence of poverty, domestic violence, and the myriad restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women and girls has left them vulnerable to psychological harm, leading to instances of suicide. As of now, the Taliban has refrained from commenting on this tragic incident.

Thai authorities arrested 10 Cambodian refugees while attending the Paris Peace Agreement course in Bangkok on December 29, with seven of them being held at Suan Plu Immigration Detention Center while awaiting intervention by the UNHCR. Three others were released the next day.

On December 29, Srun Srorn and Pheng Sophea, known for their Paris Peace Agreement activism, conducted a training in Bangkok where some 40 participants attended. They include Cambodian workers in Thailand, activists of the now-defunct CNRP, Candlelight Party supporters, youths, and Khmer Krom refugees.

Around 11 a.m that day, local Thai police appeared at the training to check legal documents, like passports, as well as the information that was being shared. However, they arrested 10 people who held the ID cards provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Khem Mony Kosal, a Candlelight Party official who fled to Thailand and is a member of the Thai Refugee Coordinating Committee, told CamboJA that those arrested were taken to the immigration detention center but are safe as they wait for a resolution by the UNHCR in Thailand. The detainees possess temporary residency permits as refugees.

Morgane Roussel-Hemery, a representative of UNHCR, did not respond to questions via email in time for the publication as he is away until January 8.

The seven refugees detained by Thai authorities consist of So Meta, a Khmer Students Intelligent League Association member, and two of her relatives, and Sam Sokha, who once threw a shoe at billboard featuring a picture of former Prime Minister Hun Sen, as well as social activists Thon Chantha, Ly Chhuon and Kim Thylery.

Speaking to CamboJA, So Meta confirmed that 10 people were arrested on December 29, but three were released on December 30, after police checked their documents.

“I was arrested by the Thai authorities and they kept us for three nights and three days,” Meta said. “The authorities allowed us to talk on the phone for an hour a day from 7pm to 8pm.”

Meanwhile, Kosal believed that the reason behind their arrest was allegedly to find key Cambodian opposition political activists, as the Thai authorities sought for persons with the names Ly Meng, Khem Mony Kosal, Lim Sokha, Venerable Heng Kim Lay and Phorn Patna.

He alleged that these people are “considered by the Cambodian government” to be the “masterminds of the opposition”, allegedly collaborating with Thailand’s Move Forward Party and using Thai territory to rally against the Cambodian government. Kosal opined that the arrest was allegedly an opportunity for the Cambodian government to “persecute and arrest anti-government activists in Thailand”.

“The Move Forward Party has collaborated with the [Cambodian] opposition party in Thailand, with us as its organizers for the training course on December 2. At the time, we organized [the event] for our members only, comprising Candlelight Party [members] and children of [political] activists,” Kosal said. There were also speakers from the US, South Korea and Japan, but the Move Forward Party was not involved.

He also alleged that the arrest of the seven people was related to a “request by the Cambodian government”, although the Thai authorities have yet to send them back to Cambodia.

“When we arrived at the detention center to visit the detainees, the Thai police made it clear that the Cambodian government was the one who filed the complaint and asked for them to be sent back,” he said.

Recently, nine political parties, which are part of a coalition with the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), asked the Thai Prime Minister to monitor the activities of the Move Forward Party, claiming that the latter has supported and trained Cambodian opposition activists who are refugees in Thailand.

Cambodian government spokesman Pen Bona declined to comment.

Srun Srorn, a Paris Peace Agreement activist, charged that the training organized by his team was not illegal as it was meant to share information with workers in Thailand.

“The Thai authorities arrested the people not because we came to study the Paris Peace Agreement but because they accused them of creating an overseas movement to overthrow the Cambodian government and for possessing illegal passports,” he said.

His team was not detained and continued to train Cambodian workers in Thailand regarding the Paris Peace Agreement after the arrest, he mentioned, adding that the Thai police released the three people as they did not break any laws.

However, during his stay in Thailand for the training session in Samut Prakan province on December 31, he and his colleague Pheng Sophea were beaten by a group of men, suffering head injuries.

He related that the unknown people also pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot him, but shouts by the participants, the Cambodian workers, resulted in the men leaving the scene immediately.

“I don’t have any enemies, therefore I believe they [the attackers] intended to [only] intimidate me rather than physically attack me,” he said. “Based on the injuries, if they wanted to kill me, they could have but they didn’t as it happened in public.”

Leung Sophon, a central official based in Thailand, told CamboJA that he has not received any clear information about why the Thai police went to check the documents of the participants and detain them. According to him, they have to be careful when conducting or participating in these training sessions.

“Whatever we do, we are careful, because whether we are Thais or Cambodians, gatherings or meetings about politics are very sensitive [issues],” he said. “In some places, we meet without the permission of the owner or the venue is not right, so it is not appropriate for us to do that.”

Ex-premier Hun Sen has previously said he is “not afraid to arrest anyone, even in Thai territory”.

He also reminded that the Cambodian and Thai governments have signed a memorandum of understanding to repatriate prisoners, noting that Thai authorities had sent several political refugees back to Cambodia in the past.

Since the dissolution of the CNRP party in 2017, many of their activists have fled to Thailand due to political restrictions and persecutions by the Cambodian authorities.

The Cambodian embassy in Bangkok and Thailand embassy in Phnom Penh did not respond to questions via email while Ministry of Interior spokesperson Khieu Sopheak and Keo Vannthan, spokesperson of the General Department of Immigration, could not be reached for comment.

Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry on December 27 added to its wanted list Dinara Smailova, the self-exiled leader of the NeMolchiKZ group, which monitors domestic violence cases in the Central Asian country. Kazakh authorities said earlier that they launched an investigation of Smailova (aka Dina Tangsari) on fraud charges. Smailova registered her group in Georgia, where she ived for some time, but after Georgia refused to allow her back in the country after an international trip earlier this year, she moved to an EU member state.

A Kazakh court on December 28 issued an arrest warrant for Dinara Smailova, the self-exiled leader of NeMolchiKZ group, which monitors domestic violence in Kazakhstan. Kazakh authorities said on December 28 that Smailova (aka Dina Tangsari) was accused of fraud, violating laws on privacy, and spreading false information. Smailova registered her group in Georgia, where she lived for some time, but after Georgia refused to allow her back in the country after an international trip earlier this year, she moved to an EU member state.

A court of appeals in the western Kazakh city of Oral on December 26 rejected an appeal filed by activist Marua Eskendirova against a 25-day jail term she was handed almost two weeks before on a charge of calling on the Internet for an anti-government rally. Eskendirova has rejected the charge, arguing that she had not used the social network account where the calls in question had allegedly appeared, saying her mobile phone was stolen two years ago. Eskendirova was handed a parole-like sentence in February for having links to Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, a banned opposition group.

Tsering Tso, 39, was arbitrarily detained on 25 December last year under the charges of ''picking quarrels and provoking troubles” following three video clips she posted on social media, calling the police interrogation at Gongri Public Security Checkpoint of Drachen (Ch: Baqing) County in Nagchu City a violation of her privacy, and her attempt to make a phone call to the government hotline service.

In one of the videos posted on 19 December 2023, she said: “Take a look at this [Drachen County] police checkpoint. I came from Yushu to go to Lhasa. They [police] asked what I was going to do there. I told what I was going to do was my right to privacy. What right do you [police] have to know? They consistently infringe on our privacy as if we have no right to privacy. He [the police] also said that the other people have no problem [with the questions]. It is their business that they don’t understand the law. I understand the law. I want to make clear that going to Lhasa is my work.”

Her detention comes only a month after she completed a 15-day administrative detention, from 26 October to 10 November 2023, in Yushu City. According to an official letter from the Yushu Public Security Bureau, shared on her WeChat account, the police claimed she posted over 17 comments from 8 to 25 October 2023 on Douyin - Chinese TikTok- criticizing the government and its staff, although content analysis by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) confirms them to be legitimate grievances and issues that the Yushu PSB has failed to address.

A former participant in the US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program, Tsering is known to have been detained five times: in 2017 and November 2020 reported by the International Campaign for Tibet and TCHRD, on 1 November 2022, detained for ten days by the Chengguan Branch of the Lhasa Public Security Bureau, and the aforementioned detentions. She hails from Trika (Ch: Guide) County, Tsolho Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, in Amdo, eastern Tibet.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism and Women Press Freedom strongly condemns the harassment and intimidation of a Pakistani female journalist Fatima Razzaq by unknown men for reporting the ongoing Baloch women's protest in the country’s capital city, Islamabad, for her platform Lok Sujag. No journalist should be harassed or threatened for doing their work, particularly in a democratic country where the law and Constitution are to be adhered to, as it not only stifles press freedom but also hinders a reporter’s professional duties. We urge the Pakistani government to ensure the safety and security of journalists in the country who report on marginalized people and communities.

Fatima Razzaq, a reporter for the digital platform Lok Sujag, was subjected to harassment and intimidation while she was returning home after covering the ongoing Baloch women's protest in Islamabad. Razzaq was waiting to board a bus at a local bus stand on the evening of December 24, 2023, in Rawalpindi, when she was approached and detained by five unknown individuals, two of whom were reportedly armed. She was encircled and detained for approximately 40 minutes, during which she was asked to surrender her camera and cell phone, which she bravely refused. Razzaq was also subjected to a series of absurd questions and threats warning her against continuing to report on the Baloch women's protest.

Speaking with CFWIJ, Razzaq said when covering the Baloch protests in Islamabad she felt safe and having the camera on her, which she used to film the protest, gave her a sense of confidence, as she knew she won’t be pushed aside while reporting on the ground. But that same camera later on exposed her.

Razzaq emphasized that when the people who intimidate one are unknown, there is no guarantee of what would happen. Subliminal threats, she added, where one is intimidated, harassed, not being told what they’re being targeted for, not quoting any law that one has violated or registering a first information report mentioning any charges are “hard to handle”. Razzaq said something should be devised to tackle the aforementioned tactics and ensure journalists’ protection.

“Speaking truth to power is our job. It is our livelihood and passion, and we will never give it up regardless of whatever you do” — Fatima Razzaq “Speaking truth to power is our job. It is our livelihood and passion, and we will never give it up regardless of whatever you do,” Razzaq tells CFWIJ. “There are many layers of vulnerability that are added here. Being a journalist in Pakistan, but one who covers marginalized groups and issues that the state does not like, and then being a woman covering it and being a young woman journalist.”

Razzaq further maintained that being associated with a digital platform is another layer of vulnerability, as they are not even recognized by press clubs. There is no safeguard for women journalists when they are being subjected to character assassination or harassment of a threatening nature, she said.

“There are a lot of lawyers that could hinder my work as a journalist. That’s something that I would absolutely hate,” she added.

This episode reflects a distressing trend of impeding and threatening journalists as they set out to pursue the truth. The women reporters had been extensively covering the plight of the Baloch women, particularly in the recent days since the community initiated a long march against the enforced disappearances of their people in November.

Last week on December 20, Somiayah Hafeez, a Baloch journalist, was detained by the police late at night while covering the same protest. She was, however, released the next evening after the country’s Supreme Court intervened in the matter of detained women protestors by the federal capital’s police.

The Baloch protests, spearheaded by women against the missing persons of Balochistan, represent a fundamental attempt for the protection of human rights. Like Razzaq, the reporting by Hafeez also highlighted the issues that one of Pakistan’s most marginalized communities are facing. The march against enforced disappearances began from Balochistan’s Turbat city and reached the capital, seeking freedom of the many missing and disappeared Baloch people, who are allegedly “abducted by the state,” which mainly indicates the country’s military.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism and Women Press Freedom stands in solidarity with Fatima Razzaq and all journalists who face threats and intimidation in the line of duty. Fatima Razzaq's ordeal — being encircled and detained by unknown individuals while covering the Baloch women's protest in Islamabad — is not an isolated event but part of a disturbing trend targeting journalists who dare to report on sensitive issues, especially those involving marginalized communities. Her refusal to surrender her reporting equipment in the face of such intimidation is a testament to her bravery and commitment to journalistic integrity. We urge the Pakistani government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure the safety and protection of journalists. It is imperative that a thorough investigation into this incident be conducted and those responsible be held accountable. The failure to do so not only undermines the principles of a free and independent press but also emboldens those who seek to suppress the truth through fear and coercion.

Police have arrested 22 human rights activists from a sit-in protest organised by the Human Rights and Peace Society (HURPES) at Maitighar in Kathmandu on Friday. The protest was organised demanding formation of a reliable judicial inquiry commission in connection with the Ncell share sale case.

Founding Chairperson Krishna Pahadi, Chairperson Ramkrishna Baral, Adviser Uttam Pudasaini, Secretaries Ram Prasad Joshi and Chandramani Banjara, Treasurer Kiran Dhakal, Central Members Namrata Kharel and Diwakar Pudasaini, Kathmandu Branch President Bhagwan Pudasaini have been arrested.

Additionally, HURPES Lalitpur branch President Man Bahadur Thapa, along with rights activists Sanu Lama, Uma Gautam, Bal Bahadur Gaha Magar, Jagannath Pudasaini, Ishwar Pudasaini, Bikas Thapa, Tulsiram Bhandari, Maniram Dahal, Laxman Pudasaini, Wudd Anmol, Mohini Prasad Acharya, and Adarsh Chhetri are also among those arrested.

The arrested have been kept in the Singha Durbar Police Circle. The HURPES has called the incident of Ncell tax evasion a big financial scam and a crime against the state.

A Hong Kong court on Thursday sentenced the younger sister of a pro-democracy labour union leader to six months imprisonment for removing evidence from the latter’s home amid an ongoing security crackdown in the China-ruled city.

Marilyn Tang, 63, had earlier pleaded guilty to perverting the court of justice after she removed devices including a laptop and mobile phone belonging to her sister, Elizabeth Tang, soon after she was arrested in March.

Magistrate Patrick Tsang said while the offence wasn’t very serious and that the defendant hadn’t “turned on or obstructed the devices” he still handed down a custodial sentence.

Elizabeth, 65, had been arrested on March 9 for collusion with foreign forces under a China-imposed national security law, soon after she returned to the city to visit her jailed pro-democracy activist husband Lee Cheuk-yan, 66.

The husband, a former lawmaker and leading democrat, faces an incitement to subversion charge under the national security law and is awaiting trial.

The two sisters had been linked to the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) – the city’s largest opposition trade union coalition that disbanded in 2021 after several members received messages threatening their safety. Elizabeth had served as its chief executive.

Tang’s lawyer Robert Pang had earlier told the court during a mitigation hearing that Marilyn’s behaviour was “not premeditated” while highlighting her lifelong service to the community.

Pang added that Elizabeth’s laptop and phone only contained personal information, family pictures and letters to her husband which had no direct impact on the police investigation.

More than 280 people have been arrested so far in Hong Kong under the national security law that punishes acts including subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism with up to life in prison.

Leading China critic and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, 76, is currently battling a foreign collusion charge in a closely watched trial that has become a diplomatic flashpoint.

The national security law has been criticised by some Western governments as a tool to curb free speech and dissent while the Hong Kong and Chinese governments say it has restored stability after mass, pro-democracy protests in 2019.

A Hong Kong court on Thursday rejected a fresh bail application for pro-democracy activist and lawyer Chow Hang-tung, whose subversion trial under a China-imposed national security law is expected to open in late 2024.

In making the latest in a series of so far unsuccessful bail applications, Chow’s lawyer, Cheung Yiu-leung, noted Chow had already served more than 2 years in detention after being arrested on suspicion of “incitement for subversion” over her ties to a group that organised an annual June 4 vigil.

High Court judge Andrew Chan, however, said he couldn’t grant bail because Chow might carry out acts that endanger national security.

A tentative trial date was provided for Chow’s case in the second half of 2024 at the West Kowloon court, Chan said. A case-management hearing was also tentatively expected to be held on Feb. 15, 2024, he added.

Chow, 38, a human-rights lawyer, was the vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, a now disbanded pro-democracy group. Despite being jailed, she has continued to defy Beijing’s campaign to subjugate the city.

Chow is charged with “incitement to subversion”, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment, alongside two former Alliance leaders Albert Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan under the national security law (NSL).

Chow has been detained since September 2021 at a maximum security women’s prison.

Hong Kong laws usually restrict reporting of full bail application proceedings to only key details, but Justice Chan lifted these restrictions over objections from the prosecution.

“I don’t see that anything you said, or I said, cannot be published. The press are free to publish whatever,” Chan said.

Chow was recently put in solitary confinement for 18 days for possessing “too many letters” from her supporters, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Hong Kong prison authorities said they wouldn’t comment on individual cases.

Chow has already finished two sentences for unauthorised assembly in relation to the banned Tiananmen vigils in 2020 and 2021.

Police in Islamabad used force to disperse a protest by Baluchis in the early hours of December 21 after the protesters marched hundreds of kilometers to draw attention to excessive arrests of Baluch men and their mistreatment by police.

The woman who led the march, Mahrang Baloch, said on X, formerly Twitter, that she was taken into custody along with other protesters, while several protesters were reportedly injured by police as the protest was dispersed and people were rounded up and placed into transport vehicles.

The march "is under attack by the Islamabad police," Baloch said on X. "I have been arrested along with several women and men by Islamabad police, but remember fascist state, we will defeat you."

Participants in the march posted videos on X showing people, mainly women, marching and decrying alleged brutal police beatings of their sons.

Before her own arrest, Baloch said many youths had been arrested and many had been injured by tear gas and violence.

"Right now, we are being treated worse than animals. Will the world raise its voice for us against this barbarism?" she said on X.

The protesters reached Islamabad nearly a month after setting off from the Turbat district in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan Province to demand a judicial inquiry into the killing of Balach Maula Bakhsh, who relatives say died in police custody in November.

The killing is just one of the crimes that protesters want authorities to investigate. They also accuse Pakistani security agencies of a string of abductions and extrajudicial killings of Baluch men. The authorities reject the allegations.

The march passed through the provincial capital, Quetta, before heading toward Islamabad.

The Preah Sihanouk Appeal Court this morning upheld the defamation convictions of two Koh Kong land activists, Phav Nheung and Seng Lin, under Article 305 of the Criminal Code. The court also dropped incitement charges under Articles 494 and 495 against them, partially upholding the decision of the Koh Kong Provincial Court from August.

Nheung and Lin were the target of a complaint launched by Chhay Vy, a former community representative whom the women had accused in 2019 of seizing land. The activists were each fined 4 million riel (approximately US$1,000) and ordered to pay 40 million riel (approximately $10,000) in compensation to Vy.

Both Nheung and Lin were jailed in pre-trial detention between 30 June and 6 October this year over the incitement charges, with Nheung detained alongside her infant son.

The prosecutor argued in favour of dropping the incitement charges during the appeal trial, making a further appeal to the Supreme Court from the prosecution unlikely.

Police conducted a crackdown and detained “at least 20 participants, including women”, who joined the long march against the alleged “extra-judicial killings” by the Counter Terro­rism Depart­ment (CTD) in Turbat, Balochistan, as it entered the city on Sunday.

According to details, the long march of the Baloch Yakjehti Council (BYC), led by Mohammad Asif Laghari and originating from Balochistan, was intercepted by police on Shah Sikander Road in Dera Ghazi Khan city.

The police said that the participants of the march resisted, upon which they detained several men and women and transferred them to the police lines. The women were later released.

ASP City Rehmatullah Durrani told the protesters that Section 144 is in force in the district, prohibiting any procession or rally, a directive the participants refused to obey.

Among the protesters, Shaukat Ali, Asif Leghari, Miraj Leghari, Abdullah Saleh, and ten others have been detained, and legal proceedings have been initiated under Section 144, the police said.

Action will be taken against the violators under Section 144 of the Criminal Code, and this ban will remain in force till Dec 19, said the police.

Earlier, the participants of the long march held a rally in Barkhan, which was attended by a large number of locals to express solidarity with the family of Balaach Mola Bakhsh.

The spokesman for BYC stated that marchers, who had stayed overnight in Kohlu town, departed for Dera Ghazi Khan via Barkhan, the border district of Balochistan with the Punjab province.

The spokesman said that the long march was stopped by a heavy contingent of police in Dera Ghazi Khan. When protestors insisted on entering Dera Ghazi town, where a partial strike was observed, and shops were closed, the police resorted to Baton charge.

He noted that at least 20 participants of the long march, including two women, were taken into custody and shifted to an unknown location.

The BYC leaders condemned the baton charge on the participants of the long march, affirming that they will not abandon their struggle and are determined to reach Islamabad to register their protest against the “extrajudicial killing” of Mr Bakhsh.

A court in Kazakhstan's western city of Oral on December 14 sentenced local activist Marua Eskendirova to 25 days in jail after finding her guilty of calling for an anti-government rally. The charge stemmed from posts on Eskendirova's social network account calling for protests against the policies of the Central Asian country's government. Eskendirova has rejected the charge, arguing that she had not used the social network account since her mobile phone was stolen two years ago. Eskendirova was handed a parole-like sentence in February for having links with the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan -- a banned opposition group.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has recommended the filing of separate criminal charges of grave oral defamation against abducted environmental activists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano.

The two could face a maximum of six months imprisonment if found guilty.

In a 15-page resolution penned by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Arnold Magpantay dated Dec. 12, 2023, it is said that the two activists’ sworn statements are different from their pronouncements during a press conference they held with government authorities after they emerged from their alleged abduction.

The DOJ also said that Castro and Tamano resorted to a press conference to allegedly embarrass the 70 Infantry Battalion (IB) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“Conspicuously, respondents ventilated the alleged abduction in the press conference, betraying their purpose to expose complainant and the AFP as well to greater latitude of public mockery, demonstrating their ill motive to prejudice them,” the resolution read.

“The slanderous words were obviously uttered with evident intent to strike deep into the character, honor and reputation of complainant and the AFP,” it added.

Meanwhile, the perjury complaint, filed by Lt. Col. Ronnel dela Cruz, commander of the 70th IB, was dismissed.

Castro and Tamano were reportedly abducted on Sept. 2, 2023 in Bataan.

They surfaced on Sept. 19, 2023, after the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict presented them in a press conference supposedly to present them as “returnees” from the communist insurgency.

However, Castro and Tamano retracted their statements and affidavits during the said press conference and claimed that they were abducted by the military and forced to sign an affidavit of surrender.

The actions by the environmental activists during the said press conference resulted in the military’s filing of perjury charges.

The environmental activists filed a writ of amparo on Sept. 29, 2023 before the Supreme Court, asking the court for a protection order against the respondent Dela Cruz.

Defend Manila Bay Network, meanwhile, slammed this decision of the DOJ saying that the indictment of the Justice department is a “major stumbling block” on the activists' advocacies for Manila Bay.

“It is unfortunate that after Tamano and Castro survived the abduction and intense pressure of the military, they are now subjected to trumped up charges,” they said in a statement on Monday.

Rights group Karapatan decries the arbitrary blacklisting and deportation of Edna Becher, a Filipino-Swiss who went to the Philippines to spend the holidays with her family and friends, only to suffer from political persecution from Philippine immigration authorities.

Reports reached Karapatan that Becher arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 early evening yesterday, December 7. She was detained by immigration authorities for two hours, as they alleged that she is on a blacklist due to involvement in anti-government activities.

As of this writing, immigration authorities have deported Becher, and is on a flight back to Switzerland.

The blacklisting and deportation of Becher is arbitrary, baseless, and a vile act of political persecution. Becher, an activist from Anakbayan-Europe and also of Swiss nationality, has done nothing wrong and illegal against anyone, whether in her country of residence and much more in the country of her family roots. These acts also violate Becher’s freedom of association and freedom of movement.

Becher participated in mass actions in Switzerland in relation to the Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines and during the visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the World Economic Forum.

Many other foreign nationals, especially those who have been extending international solidarity for human and people’s rights issues in the Philippines, have suffered similar persecution. Under the Duterte administration, Australian missionary Sr. Patricia Fox and Australian lawyer Gil Boehringer were subjects of deportation proceedings. Currently, under the Marcos Jr. administration, many others are at risk of being in the Bureau of Immigration’s blacklist.

It is appalling that this happened days before International Human Rights Day, when the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights will be commemorated. In the Philippines, we will marching to call for an end to extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, illegal arrests and detention, fake surrenders, bombings, threats including red-tagging, and other human rights and international humanitarian law violations. We will demand accountability for the crimes committed against the Filipino people, including violations on freedom of association.

Karapatan calls on Philippine authorities to stop the policy and practice of drawing up blacklists and deportation of foreign nationals who support human rights advocacies in the Philippines. Becher and many others should be removed from these blacklists and allowed to freely exercise their basic rights to visit their families or friends, to freely associate with organizations who conduct human rights advocacies, and to support calls for justice and accountability for human rights violations in the Philippines as forms of international solidarity.

Former political prisoner Pham Thanh Nghien, who emigrated to the United States with her husband earlier this year, reported that HCMC Police have surrounded their former neighborhood, Loc Hung Vegetable Garden in Binh Thanh District, which for years has been a contentious flashpoint against land-grabbing by the authorities. Since Dec. 6, work trucks have been bringing dirt, sand and other construction material to the site. Ambulances, fire trucks and frequency-jamming vehicles have been stationed in two schools near the area. All roads going in and out are monitored and controlled by police. Several people who live right outside Loc Hung have also been ordered not to leave their homes.

Police have used water cannons to disperse a protest near the Parliament Roundabout a short while ago, Ada Derana reporter said.

The relevant protest march was organised by the women’s wing of the National People’s Power (NPP) this morning (04) against the rising cost of living, unbearable tax burden on the people and other issues in the country.

Riot police had resorted to using water cannons as the protesters attempted to march towards the Parliament along the Parliament Road, the reporter said.

A demonstration by Papuan students in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), turned violent. Dozens of students were beaten by a mob from one of the mass organizations, then they were arrested by the police.

The demonstration of Papuan students took place on Jalan Piet A Tallo, Friday (1/12/2023). They rallied there in commemoration of the West Papua independence declaration day.

While protesting, the students were approached by a group of mass organizations Garda Flobamora and Garuda. They were told to stop protesting. Chaos ensued until they were taken to the police station.

"We are temporarily at the police station. We were dispersed and beaten by the Garuda mass organization," said the coordinator of the mass action, Yeri Wali.

Yeri explained that the incident began when two people suspected of being intelligence officers arrived using a white car to conduct monitoring at around 09.07 Wita.

Then at 09.15 Wita, around 50 people from the Garuda mass organization came to the protesters angry, argued and ended up beating them blindly, causing the clothes of a number of protesters to be torn off.

In addition, a protestor named Ririn was beaten until she fainted. Another protestor, Jek, also received a blow on his lip that broke. They were then transported to the Kupang City Police Station.

"Currently, we all have injuries and many bumps on the head, face and lips," said Yerri.

Kupang City Police Public Relations Section Head Aipda Florensi Ibrahim Lapuisaly confirmed the arrest. However, he suggested that they go directly to the Kupang City Police Headquarters.

"There is indeed information (of arrests) but I don't know how many were secured. Because I and Mr. Kapolresta still have Friday Curhat activities in Oepura Village," he said.

detikBali monitored at the Kupang City Police Station that the protesters had not been released. Meanwhile, the masses from the Garuda Kupang mass organization had already dispersed at 10:40 Wita. There has been no official statement from the Garuda organization about the riot.

Journalist Naran Unurtsetseg, the editor-in-chief of the Mongolian news website Zarig.mn, was arrested on December 4 on charges of contempt of court and spreading false information. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Mongolian affiliate, the Confederation of Mongolian Journalists (CMJ), call for the immediate release of the journalist and criticise efforts to silence and block the online publication.

Unurtsetseg’s arrest on December 4 was witnessed by Mongolian media workers in the editorial office of Zarig.mn in Ulaanbaatar, the capitol city of Mongolia. The editor was allegedly charged with contempt of court and “spreading false information” under Article 13.14 of the Criminal Code of Mongolia after posting an on her personal Facebook account about the inhumanity of a prolonging court hearing involving an elderly individual in Mongolia.

A court hearing in the Songinokhairkhan District court from December 1 to 4, approved the prosecutor’s proposal to detain Unurtsetseg for one month. Earlier, on November 29, the Criminal Court of First Instance of Chingeltei District also approveda proposal to take preventive measures to restrict Unurtsetseg from leaving Mongolia. Additionally, a legal and administrative body in Mongolia imposed a block on the access to the zarig.mn website within Mongolian territories, and added the website of zarig.mn to the list of illegal domain names, according to a joint statement released by The Media Council and Globe International Centre.

In response to the curtailing of the editor and its online portal, Unurtsetseg and journalists from Zarig.mn held a sit-in protest at Sukhbaatar Square on December 1. The CMJ said after it submitted demands to the Regulatory Commission of Communications, the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications, the National Police Agency, and the Prosecutor General’s Office of Mongolia, the zarig.mn website was subsequently unblocked on December 4.

Unurtsetseg has been variously pursued for her journalism work in recent years and faced 12 defamation charges in 2019, followed by four in 2020 – all initiated by politicians mentioned in her reporting. Despite successfully beating most of the cases, Unurtsetseg still faces a fine of around US$800, roughly the equivalent to two months' salary for the average journalist in Mongolia.

On December 8, Unurtsetseg's lawyers attended a hearing and appealed to the court for the journalist’s release due to unjustified detention. They also raised concerns that some legal provisions may have been violated during the investigation, and that the case's investigation was deliberately accelerated.

Media activists advise that law enforcement agencies and authorities in Mongolia were using Article 13.14 of the Criminal Code to restrict journalists’ capacity to perform their professional duties by investigating and charging them with crimes under the code. Article 13.14, which addresses the spreading of false information and stipulates penalties such as fines or public service, came into effect on January 10, 2020. Since then, numerous journalists have faced accusations of crimes.

CMJ reports that approximately 10 journalists are currently under investigation, including Unurtsetseg; Uranchimeg, of asu.mn), and A. Bayarmaa, of tas.mn; as well as the journalist and founder of Zarig.mn, J. Battul. The latter is part of the “Uncensored Team” program which is currently investigating and reporting onthe Foreign Investment Law in Mongolia and its possible revision. Battul has faced complaints from the Member of Parliament, Minister Ch. Khurelbaatar.

On 27 November 2023, Pakistan police, accompanied by plainclothes police officers, raided the home of woman human rights defender Hooran Baloch in Quetta, Balochistan. Police forcibly entered the premises where they threatened and filmed Hooran Baloch and her family without consent. At the end of the two hour raid, police arrested Hooran Baloch’s brother-in-law, Ali Nawaz, who was released after being detained for two hours at the Sattellite Town police station in Quetta.

Hooran Baloch is a woman human rights defender and the Research Coordinator of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) based in Balochistan. VBMP, which was established in 2009, is a key organization that supports victims and relatives of enforced disappearances in Balochistan. It documents violations and is a strong advocate for release, redress and accountability. VBMP staff, including Hooran Baloch, have faced reprisals for their work, and are themselves at serious risk of legal and extra-legal violence.

Despite these risks, Hooran Baloch has continued to work in an extremely hostile and militarized context to support victims and their families. The woman human rights defender has supported and encouraged families to file complaints and legal cases for victims of enforced disappearance. Her work is vital in a context where many victims and families are afraid to file complaints and are likely to be unaware of their rights or know or do not know how to seek redress. Hooran Baloch’s support is critical in advocating for the release of prisoners and she has personally intervened to assist families in this process. The state reprisals against Hooran Baloch seek to prevent her from continuing her work, branding her as a terrorist. This amounts to a clear attempt to shut down any advocacy and information flow from Balochistan regarding ongoing violations.

On 27 November 2023, at around 2 pm, a contingent of police officers from the Satellite town Police station, Quetta, together with intelligence officers in plain clothes, forcibly entered the residence of Hooran Baloch in Quetta, Balochistan, where she lives with her family. Police searched the woman human rights defender’s house for around 2 hours at the end of which they arrested Ali Nawaz, the brother-in-law of Hooran Baloch. No reason was provided for the raid or for Ali Nawaz’s detention at the Sattelite police station. During the raid, security forces threatened, harrassed and filmed the woman human rights defender and her family without their consent. Ali Nawaz was released after being detained for two hours the same day.

Hooran Baloch has been threatened in the past in relation to her work. This has included online attacks – hate speech and defamation – as well as intimidation and harassment by police and other security forces. As a result of the raid, Hooran Baloch is deeply concerned for her safety and fears the possibility of further reprisals.

The family of Nabila Rahimi, a human rights activist, athlete, and health educator affiliated with a program of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), reports that she has been detained by the Taliban in Takhar and is currently held in their custody.

Nabila Rahimi’s family members informed Hasht-e Subh Daily on Saturday, November 25, that she was arrested by the Taliban in Taliqan City, Takhar, for not ceasing her activities in providing psychological counseling to the public following the Taliban’s prohibition on women working. She is detained near Taliqan city’s Sarak-e Char area.

She was apprehended earlier this year by the Taliban and has been held in the Taliban’s women’s prison in Takhar since then.

According to Nabila’s family members, she was mistreated during her arrest by the Taliban.

They emphasize that repeated efforts and assurances made by them, local elders, and authorities to secure her release from the Taliban’s grasp have been fruitless.

The family claims that the Taliban have indicated releasing Nabila Rahimi to her family soon but have warned that, upon her release, she will be under house arrest for two months and will be monitored.

However, the Taliban have not provided a specific timeline for her release to her family as of yet.

One of the family members states, “All I wanted was the release of Nabila.”

Our source adds that she was only assisting the people and providing psychological counseling to former government employees, including female counselors.

The source did not grant permission to disclose the name of the institution where Nabila Rahimi worked, based on certain considerations.

The Taliban have not commented on the matter so far.

This incident occurred at a time when the Taliban had previously instructed their security entities to curb the activities of some health institutions in various northeastern provinces.

This local contractor has been detained and imprisoned by the Taliban at a time when the group has imposed significant restrictions on Afghan women, with the prohibition of women working being one of them.

Although the Taliban had previously claimed that female employees in the health sector would not be subject to these restrictions, it is evident that the group is not adhering to its commitments and promises.

Cabinet officials rejected a new petition brought by former NagaWorld employees Thursday, stating that the petition did not meet administrative requirements. Protesters were hopeful that Prime Minister Hun Manet and his new government might solve the dispute that has dragged on for nearly two years.

Kim Sokha, 35, worked at NagaWorld as a card dealer for over 10 years before being laid off by the company in 2021. As many previous petitions filed before the July elections were unsuccessful, he said this new petition was an attempt to see if Prime Minister Hun Manet would help them find a solution.

“I want him [Hun Manet] to know about the suffering of the workers. He is like a parent who knows the suffering of his children,” he said. “I want him to know that Nagaworld’s workers were unfairly dismissed which violates the law of Cambodia.”

Around 30 members of the Labour Rights Supported Union (LRSU) of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld gathered at Wat Botum Park Thursday morning, as district workers prepared decorations for the upcoming Water Festival. After entering the nearby Cabinet building, an official refused to accept the petition, claiming that it did not meet certain specifications, such as listing the names of the certain officials and the union members involved in the dispute.

“If what I said is not followed, I cannot do anything,” the Cabinet official told the group.

Around 1300 workers began their strike in December 2021 following mass layoffs without full severance pay at the Phnom Penh casino. The company claimed the Covid-19 economic downturn necessitated the layoffs. But rights groups like the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (Central) and Human Rights Watch have said the layoffs were an attempt to quash NagaWorld’s independent union.

The strikers have faced detention, threats and violence. One striker said she had a miscarriage last year because of rough handling by authorities who rounded strikers onto a bus. A NagaCorp chief CEO’s son was accused of throwing a traffic cone at protestors and chucking a union member’s phone to the ground.

The president of NagaWorld’s union Chhim Sithar was found guilty in May and sentenced to two years in prison for inciting social unrest, while other convicted members have been handed suspended sentences. In October, the Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s verdict for Sithor.

Strikers say that the Labor Ministry has unfairly sided with the company and supported its interests, while the government has suppressed union members’ right to strike.

LRSU Vice President Chhim Sokhorn said he was disappointed when the petition was rejected based on an administrative issue instead of getting a substantive response to their request.

“I request that he [Hun Manet] help us regarding our criminal lawsuit and our leader who is also now in prison,” he said. “Even though we follow all the procedures, we all suffer and the government has not taken action on this issue.”

Labor Ministry spokesperson Katta Orn said the company was forced to lay off the 1300 workers due to the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that a majority of the workers have already accepted compensation offered by the company.

“We observe that only 22 to 30 people are on strike. If the workers really want to end the dispute, they should contact the ministry to continue finding a solution,” he said.

Government spokesperson Pen Bona declined to comment.

The workers have suffered “all forms of intimidation, all forms of violence,” said Central’s program manager Khun Tharo. He added that the government has used Covid-19 restrictions to prevent protests and the judicial system to combat the workers’ cause.

If the new government creates judicial reform, this could help the workers seek justice, he said, but only if these reforms help ”real victims” and not “perpetrators of violence.”

“We see the new government has visited garment factories, while the NagaWorld workers continue their strike and are seeking the solution after being laid off,” he said.

Sokha, the union member at the protest, said the former NagaWorld employees’ strike is within their legal rights.

“We strike in accordance with the Constitution and follow all legal procedures. If what we have been doing is illegal, we would not be here now” said Sokha.

Activist Katanyu Muenkhamruang has been sentenced to 2 years in prison on a sedition charge for Facebook posts calling for people to go to protests in August 2021. She was later released on bail to file for appeal.

Katanyu, a member of the activist group Thalufah, was charged with sedition and violation of the Computer Crimes Act over two posts on the group’s Facebook page calling for people to join the 11 and 13 August 2021 protests.

Nangnoi Assawakittikorn, a former member of the royalist group Thailand Help Center for Cyberbullying Victims, filed a complaint against Kantanyu, alleging that she was running the Facebook page.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that Katanyu and her lawyer reported to the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) on 12 January 2022, after learning that an arrest warrant had been issued for her in November 2021.

TLHR noted that a police officer called Katanyu twice, claiming that the TCSD had an arrest warrant for her. On 27 September 2022, she went to the TCSD to check whether there was a warrant but officers were unable to tell her whether it was a warrant or a summons. She asked for them to record that she reported to the police and did not intend to run, but the officers refused.

Katanyu’s defence was that she was not running the Facebook page and therefore was not responsible for the posts. According to TLHR, photos of Katanyu at the protest which were submitted by the prosecution as evidence were unclear. They also note that the two posts did not incite people to commit violence or violate the law, a point noted by prosecution witnesses in their testimony as well. Although violent clashed took place during the day, these occurred after the protest and at a different location.

A Metropolitan police officer testified that a person matching Katanyu’s description was live-streaming during the 13 August 2021 protest. During cross-examination, the officer acknowledged that a Facebook page can be run by several people and said that he was unaware of who runs the Thalufah Facebook page.

Another officer testified that he sent a link to a news article to the Thalufah Facebook page to check who was administering it and found two users. Using the IP addresses, the police then checked with an internet service provider for the identity of the users. Katanyu was reportedly not among the users identified. The officer admitted that he did not know who actually ran the Facebook page, denying that his action counts as phishing.

Testifying for the defence, iLaw’s Waranyuta Yan-in said that, to check a user’s identity with an IP address, a request must be made with an internet service provider to obtain the user’s address. The police must then obtain a search warrant for the electronic device to obtain more information. She argued that in this instance, police actions did indeed amounted to phishing since they did not ask for cooperation from the users.

TLHR reported on Wednesday (22 November) that the Criminal Court found Katanyu guilty of sedition and violation of the Computer Crimes Act and sentenced her to 2 years in prison. It ruled that, since there is evidence showing that she was at the protest and was live-streaming, she must have known of the posts, and so was guilty even though the prosecution could not prove that she made the posts.

Katanyu was later granted bail using an additional security of 75,000-baht.

Front Line Defenders strongly condemns the brutal crackdown and arrest of human rights defenders associated with the Damkondawahi Bachao Sangharsh Samiti by police authorities in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. On 20 November 2023, the police initiated a crackdown on a nine-month long peaceful protest against corporate mining in the Etapalli Subdivision of the Gadchiroli District. They beat protestors, seized their mobile phones and belongings, destroyed huts and shelters, and detained a number of protestors including human rights defenders and community leaders. As part of this crackdown, 21 peaceful protesters have been arrested on fabricated charges and remanded to judicial custody. Front Line Defenders express its solidarity with the protest movement and the human rights defenders and community leaders facing persecution as a result of their legitimate and peaceful human rights work.

The Damkondawahi Bachao Sangharsh Samiti is a protest movement led by Madia-Gond Adivasis — a people recognised by the Indian government as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). The protest movement advocates against corporate mining in the Etapalli Subdivision of the Gadchiroli District. In 2007, Lloyds Metals and Energy Private Limited (LMEL) was given clearance to begin iron ore mining in an area of over 348.09 hectares of land in the village of Surjagarh in Gadchiroli. This decision was taken without any public consultation with the local community, namely the gram sabhas (village councils), as is mandated by the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 and the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act 1996. On 10 March 2023, LMEL was granted environmental clearance to expand its excavation from 3 to 10 million metric tonnes per annum. The area being excavated by LMEL for iron ore mining encroaches on lands granted to Adivasis as part of their community forest rights under the Forest Rights Act 2006.

On 11 March 2023, Adivasi communities from over seventy villages, most of whom belong to the Madia-Gond community, came together under the collective Damkondawahi Bachao Sangharsh Samiti to oppose the iron ore mining by LEML, which has posed an existential threat to their lands, livelihood, culture and environment. Despite their ongoing protest, in June 2023, six new mines, spanning 4,684 hectares, were leased to five companies —Omsairam Steels and Alloys Private Limited, JSW Steels Limited, Sunflag Iron and Steel Company Limited, Universal Industrial Equipment and Technical Services Private Limited, and Natural Resources Energy Private Limited. If allowed to operate, these mines could potentially displace at least 40,900 people.

On 20 November 2023, a large police contingent arrived at the protest site in Todgatta and unleashed a violent crackdown on the peaceful protestors. The police singled out the leaders of the protest movement and forcefully searched their belongings. Eight human rights defenders and leaders of the protest, namely Mangesh Naroti, Pradeep Hedo, Sai Kawdo, Gillu Kawdo, Laxman Jetti, Mahadu Kawdo, Nikesh Naroti, and Ganesh Korea, were forcibly taken away by the police in a helicopter and their phones seized. The police also vandalized small huts and shelters at the protest site. Videos emerging from the incident reveal the police lathi-charging protestors and reprimanding those who attempted to document police action. Several protestors sustained serious injuries due to police violence.

21 protesters, including human rights defenders and community leaders, are currently imprisoned, accused of various offences including rioting, criminal conspiracy, assaulting a public servant during discharge of their duty, wrongful restraint, and unlawful assembly. It is crucial to note that the First Information Report (FIR) 0074/23 against the human rights defenders was registered on 21 November 2023 which means that the human rights defenders were illegally detained without formal charges for almost an entire day, and their whereabouts were unknown to their family members. Those arrested are currently being held in Chandrapur Jail and have been remanded to judicial custody where they are to be held until 5 December 2023.

The crackdown took place a few weeks after the human rights defender and lawyer Lalsu Nogoti provided a video statement at the 54th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission and spoke about the struggles and demands of Madia-Gond Adivasis and other traditional forest dwelling communities. As a member of the Madia-Gond Adivasi community himself, Lalsu Nogoti has been vocal about the attacks faced by indigenous populations through the colluding forces of corporatization, militarization and state repression. On the day of the attacks, Nogoti and other human rights defenders participated in a public discussion on the issues faced by communities organised by the Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM) in New Delhi.

The police claimed that protesters had disrupted the inauguration of a new police station in Wangeturi village and had violently attacked police officials. They also alleged that the protests are a means to advance Maoist agendas and requested that the arrested human rights defenders be placed in police custody for interrogation. Targeting peaceful indigenous movements on the basis of fabricated Maoist conspiracies is part of a wider trend by Indian authorities which seeks to criminalize these communities and undermine their calls for human rights—a pattern that has also been observed by the Indian Ministry of Tribal Affairs in their high-level committee report.

Front Line Defenders has previously raised concerns over the criminalization and legal persecution of indigenous movements in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand. Protest movements such as the Damkondawahi Bachao Sangharsh Samiti embody the struggles of India’s Adivasi communities who have been consistently marginalized, persecuted and denied access to their constitutionally guaranteed rights. The Madia-Gond Adivasis are inextricably tied to their lands and forests, which not only serve as their source of livelihood but also encompass their traditional, cultural and spiritual beliefs and practices. Corporate mining in the region has severely impacted the community’s access to their lands and forests. Moreover, the pollution this has given rise to has led to several debilitating health issues within of the community. We urge the authorities in India to cease the targeting of human rights defenders associated with the Damkondawahi Bachao Sangharsh Samiti and to uphold India’s commitments to recognise the rights of indigenous populations as per international law.

The Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH) has urged the Papua Police Chief to immediately order the Merauke Police Chief to release 20 participants of the Ampera South Papua (PS) peace rally. LBH Papua Director Emanuel Gobay said the arrests made by the Merauke Police occurred on Saturday (18/11) morning, when they were preparing for the Ampera PS peace rally.

Emanuel confirmed that his party had also sent a letter of notification of the peaceful action plan with the topic 'The Law is Dead for Awyu Indigenous Peoples in Boven Digoel' to the Merauke Police.

"The Merauke Police, who had received a peaceful action notification letter, instead came to the gathering point and dispersed the Ampera PS protesters and arrested 20 AMPERA PS protesters," he said in a written statement.

Emanuel said that of the total 20 peaceful protesters who were arrested and taken to the Merauke Police Station, one of them was a woman.

He also criticized the arrest steps which were considered arbitrary.

The reason is, the protesters have given a notification letter to the Merauke Police. Therefore, he called the arrest a form of violation of the right to freedom of speech stipulated in the Law.

On the other hand, Emanuel said that the Merauke Police Chief and his staff had also violated the existing authority as stipulated in Article 6 letter q of Government Regulation Number 2 of 2003 concerning Discipline of the Indonesian National Police.

"Evidence that the Police Chief and his staff have silenced democratic space and clearly violated National Police Chief Regulation Number 8 of 2009 concerning the Implementation of Human Rights Standards and Principles in the Duties of the Indonesian National Police," he explained.

Therefore, he urged the Papua Police Chief Inspector General Mathius D Fakhiri and the Governor of South Papua to immediately order the Merauke Police Chief to release all the protesters who had been arrested.

"Immediately release the 20 people of the AMPERA PS Action Period because the dissolution and arrest are contrary to the Principles of Perkap Number 8 of 2009 concerning the Implementation of Human Rights Standards and Principles in Police Duties," he said.

CNNIndonesia.com has attempted to contact Papua Police Chief Inspector General Mathius D Fakhiri and Head of Papua Police Public Relations Commissioner Ignatius Benny Prabowo. However, until this news was published, both of them had not yet responded.

Reliable sources have reported the detention of Pari Azada, a member of the “Afghan Women’s Movement for Justice and Freedom,” by the Taliban in Kabul.

Sources, in a conversation with Hasht-e Subh Daily, have confirmed that the Taliban apprehended this female protester around 9:00 AM on Wednesday, November 15th, near the “Sar-e Kariz” area of Kabul and subsequently transferred her to an undisclosed location.

According to these sources, Pari Azada was taken into custody by the Taliban while she was having their protesting slogans printed at a local print shop.

As of now, the Taliban have not issued any comments on this incident.

This marks the fourth instance of a female protester being detained by the Taliban in Kabul in recent times.

Munizha Sediqi, Julia Parsi with her son, and Neda Parwani with her four-year-old child have been in Taliban custody for approximately two months, and their fate remains unknown.

Since their resurgence in Afghanistan, the Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on freedoms and women’s rights. In various instances, they have detained, tortured, and imprisoned women activists.

Activists Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, Panupong Jadnok, and Attapol Buapat have been sentenced to 9 months in prison on charges relating to a protest on 10 February 2021. They were later released on bail.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that the South Bangkok Criminal Court yesterday (15 November) found Panusaya, Panupong, and Attapol guilty of participating in an assembly of more than ten people to commit violence or cause a breach of peace, blocking a public way, and using a sound amplifier without permission.

They were sentenced to 1 year in prison and fines of 700 baht each. The court later reduced their sentence to 9 months in prison and fines of 525 baht each because they gave useful testimony.

The three activists faced a total of 7 charges relating to the protest. However, the court dismissed charges of destruction of property, assaulting an officer, and violations of the Public Cleanliness Act and regulations under the Emergency Decree.

They were later granted bail on a security of 25,000 baht each in order to appeal the verdict.

On 10 February 2021, protesters gathered at Pathumwan Skywalk and the courtyard in front of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre to call attention to economic hardships resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and to demand the release of political prisoners. They also demanded the resignation of then Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, constitutional amendments, and monarchy reform – the original three demands of the student movement which started in 2020.

After 9 people were arrested during the protest, protesters marched to the nearby Pathumwan Police Station to demand their release. A clash occurred between the protesters and crowd control police deployed around the police station, during which tear gas was reportedly used.

On November 13, 2023, during a hearing at the East Jakarta District Court, the Public Prosecutor requested Fatia Maulidiyanti, former Coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), FIDH Vice-President, and OMCT General Assembly member, be sentenced to three years and six months in prison and a fine of 500,000 Rupiah (30 Euros), and Haris Azhar, Executive Director of Lokataru, be sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of one million Rupiah (60 Euros).

The Observatory recalls that a defamation case against Fatia Maulidiyanti and Haris Azhar was initiated in August 2021, after Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs, and retired army general, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, sent them a subpoena in relation to a talk show video posted on Haris Azhar’s YouTube channel, in which the two human rights defenders alleged the Minister was involved in controversial gold mining activities in Papua Province.

As Ms Maulidiyanti and Mr Azhar refused to apologise, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan filed a police report on September 22, 2021, against the two human rights defenders alleging that both violated criminal defamation provisions, namely “attacking someone’s honour or reputation with accusations” and “defamation” (Articles 310 and 311 of the Criminal Code, respectively) and Article 45(3) of the amended Electronic Information and Transaction (EIT) Law. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan asked for 300 billion rupiah (approximately 18 million Euros) in compensation. The trial of Ms Maulidiyanti and Mr Azhar began on April 3, 2023, before the East Jakarta District Court and 28 hearings have taken place since then. On November 27, 2023, the two human rights defenders are scheduled to submit their defence at the East Jakarta District Court.

The Observatory denounces the ongoing judicial harassment against Fatia Maulidiyanti and Harris Azhar, which seems to be only aimed at punishing them for their legitimate human rights activities and for exercising their right to freedom of opinion and expression, enshrined in international human right law, and particularly in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Indonesia is a state party.

The Observatory urges the Indonesian authorities to dismiss the case against Fatia Maulidiyanti and Haris Azhar, and to put an end to any acts of harassment – including at the judicial level – against them and all other human rights defenders in the country, and to ensure that they are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without any hindrance or fear of reprisal.

The Almaty City Court on November 10 rejected the appeals of five activists against prison terms they were handed in July after a lower court found them guilty of "organizing mass unrest at Almaty airport" during unprecedented anti-government protests in January 2022 that turned deadly. Noted civil rights activist Aigerim Tileuzhanova was sentenced to four years in prison, while the other activists, all men, received eight years in prison each. Some were also charged with storming a building, vehicle hijacking, and robbery. All have denied wrongdoing, saying they did not commit any crimes while taking part in the demonstration.

A Kazakh court has delivered a suspended sentence to Nazym Tabyldieva for her online posts slamming President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev and three regional prosecutors. Tabyldieva's supporters waiting outside the court in Almaty on November 10 were relieved because the prosecutor had demanded imprisonment on charges of "disseminating false information" and "defaming officials." The judge has ruled that the 36-year-old anti-government activist will be on probation for a year and a half and will be banned from political and social activities, including publications on social media, for five years. The verdict can be appealed. One of the charges concerned a video Tabyldieva made, accusing President Toqaev of "pursuing Russian policies."