Asia Pacific

DECEMBER 9, 2025

Protesters and human rights defenders detained across the Asia-Pacific in 2025

The CIVICUS Monitor announced in a new report Tuesday that the main civic space violations across the Asia-Pacific include the detention of protesters and activists.

The report, People Power Under Attack 2025, assesses civic space conditions in 198 countries and territories, looking at citizens’ ability to exercise their freedoms of assembly, association and expression. In the Asia-Pacific region, CIVICUS Monitor researchers found the majority of countries seriously restricted civic space. More than 85% of the population of the region lives in ‘Repressed’ or ‘Closed’ countries.

In Asia, seven countries and territories – Afghanistan, China, Hong Kong, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and North Korea are rated as ‘Closed’. Nine countries are rated ‘Repressed’ while six countries are in the ‘Obstructed category’. Civic space in South Korea and Timor-Leste are rated ‘Narrowed’ while Japan and Taiwan are the only two countries rated ‘Open’ in the Asia region.

In the Pacific, the civic space situation is more positive with seven countries rated ‘Open’. Five rated ‘Narrowed’ while Papua New Guinea and Nauru remain in the ‘Obstructed’ category.

Detention of protesters and activists

The most alarming trend across Asia-Pacific in 2025 was the mass detention of protesters and activists. People took to the streets to demand democratic reforms, fight corruption, call for climate justice, and show solidarity with Palestine. In response, states deployed their security forces to arrest and detain protesters in at least 18 countries.

In Indonesia, thousands were rounded up during nationwide protests against military law revisions in March and again during mass demonstrations in August. In the Philippines, police arrested hundreds, including children, during anti-corruption rallies. Arrests of protesters also occured in Australia, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Timor-Leste and beyond, where peaceful assembly was treated as a threat rather than a right.

“Governments are criminalising dissent on a massive scale. Peaceful protest is being painted as a crime, and those who dare to speak out and mobilise are paying with their freedom,” said Josef Benedict, CIVICUS Monitor’s Asia-Pacific researcher.

Authorities also targeted human rights defenders in at least 15 countries, using sweeping defamation, anti-terrorism and national security laws to jail activists on baseless or fabricated charges, especially in countries like China, Vietnam and Thailand. Reports of torture, ill-treatment and even deaths in custody emerged from Myanmar and Afghanistan, while transnational repression, where states pursue activists beyond their borders, intensified across the region by the authorities in Hong Kong and Cambodia.

Censorship and digital repression

Governments in at least 14 countries used censorship to silence dissent, blocking news portals, banning publications, and imposing internet shutdowns. China continues to operate one of the world’s most sophisticated censorship regimes, while Pakistan and India escalated digital restrictions by blocking thousands of social media accounts and YouTube channels. In Southeast Asia, Singapore and Malaysia deployed sweeping laws to suppress online content, while Vietnam and Indonesia restricted critical media.

“Censorship is being weaponised to keep citizens in the dark. From blocking news sites and social media channels to banning books, governments are rewriting reality to suit their narrative, and anyone who challenges that risks arrest,” said Benedict.

Countries of Concern: Indonesia and Pakistan

In Indonesia, civic space has sharply deteriorated under President Prabowo Subianto. The country, rated “Obstructed”, saw mass protests in March and August met with violent crackdowns, leaving thousands detained, including children, and reports of intimidation in custody. Human rights defenders face harassment, surveillance and criminalisation, while media outlets covering protests have been threatened. In Papua, longstanding grievances over rights abuses and resource exploitation continue to fuel unrest, with the government responding with force rather than dialogue, a clear slide toward authoritarianism.

In Pakistan, rated “Repressed”, authorities have intensified crackdowns on activists, journalists and opposition movements. Baloch defenders face arbitrary arrests and terrorism charges, while the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement has been banned. Digital repression is escalating: social media platforms blocked, internet shutdowns around rallies, and thousands of accounts removed. Journalists risk prosecution under harsh cybercrime laws, and protests by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party are criminalised, all pointing to a government determined to silence dissent and tighten its grip on power.

Notes to the Editor

The CIVICUS Monitor is a global research platform that assesses the state of civic freedoms—including freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly—across 198 countries and territories. Drawing on verified reports of civic space violations from a network of 20+ research partners worldwide, the Monitor tracks incidents including protests, censorship, the detention of activists and more. Each country is assigned a score from 0 to 100, reflecting the openness of its civic space, with higher scores indicating greater respect for civic freedoms. Based on these scores, countries are classified into five categories: Open, Narrowed, Obstructed, Repressed, or Closed.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: media@civicus.org