release of HRDs
Monday 31.8.2020 Uganda - Latest Developments -
Continued rights violations reported throughout COVID-19 lockdown and run up to national elections
Reports have continued to emerge from Uganda concerning rights violations as a result of the measures imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19., and as the country gears up for the next general elections. Protesters have been forcefully dispersed while demonstrating over loss of livelihood during the lockdown. Opposition members arrested and attacked for mobilising food assistance in light of COVID-19, while journalists, comedians and musicians have been charged for content touching on politicians. Read more
Thursday 20.8.2020 Ethiopia - Latest Developments -
Hundreds dead after protests, fears over COVID-19 restrictions’ impact on free speech
Mass protests erupt over killing of popular musician Hachalu Hundessa; several leading opposition politicians were arrested in relation to the protests; reports made of COVID-19 restrictions being used to increasingly restrict free speech online. Read more
Thursday 20.8.2020 Belarus - Latest Developments -
Mass protests follow disputed election results
Protests erupt across the country over disputed results; denounce electoral irregularities; Opposition candidates intimidated after results announcement; Workers down tools to protest disputed results and brutality; Internet and websites blocked; Journalists assaulted, detained; Journalists quit jobs to protest brutality and censorship Read more
Friday 14.8.2020 Bahrain - Latest Developments -
Human rights lawyer imprisoned for tweet, Nabeel Rajab conditionally released from prison
Human rights defender and lawyer Abdullah Al-Shamlawi prosecuted and sentenced; prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, Founding Director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights and Co-Founder and former President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was conditionally released from prison to carry out the remaining three years of his sentence non-custodially; Read more
Tuesday 11.8.2020 Belarus - Latest Developments -
Opposition candidates and supporters persecuted, detained ahead of elections
Presidential candidates and opposition protesters arrested and detained, Journalists attacked an arrested while covering protests Read more
Saturday 8.8.2020 Niger - Latest Developments -
Journalist Samira Sabou acquitted, one HRD released while three others linger in prison
Judicial police in Niamey summoned editor and founder of the newspaper Le Courrier Ali Soumana for questioning on 12th July 2020, on accusations of 'writing and publishing false information'. The accusations relate to an article he published a day earlier, on 11th July 2020, and widely shared on social media, in which he alleges that sources indicated that companies implicated in the corruption scandal in the procurement of military equipment, in which companies overcharged the Ministry of Defence, were renegotiating repayment to avoid legal action against them. Read more | Read in French
Friday 7.8.2020 Somalia - Latest Developments -
Journalists bear the brunt of repression of expression in Somalia
Journalists detained for reporting on COVID-19 related issues, local radio station banned from broadcasting in local Brawanese dialect, Journalists harassed and assaulted by police officers while covering protest, journalist Said Yusuf Ali stabbed to death in Mogadishu Read more
Thursday 30.7.2020 Mexico - Latest Developments -
Enforced disappearance during Guadalajara protest and two journalists at severe risk
In the beginning of June 2020, hundreds of people joined protests against police brutality and demanded justice for Giovanni López, a man who was detained and died the next day from a head injury. Read more | Read in Spanish
Tuesday 7.7.2020 Azerbaijan - Latest Developments -
Critics detained for COVID-19 related remarks
Civic activists, opposition leaders and journalist under attack amid COVID-19 pandemic, Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli released from detention, Azeri activist detained for a Facebook post one day after release from psychiatric clinic , Azeri activist detained for demonstrating police brutality on social media, March for women rights ends with police violence, Student protest ends with arrests, Protesters, journalists beaten during protest in Baku, Civil society publishes report highlighting challenges faced by NGOs and issues recommendations, Read more
Friday 19.6.2020 Togo - Latest Developments -
Media regulator suspends three media outlets, two HRDs and one journalist briefly detained
On 21st April 2020, security agents detained two members of the human rights network Collectif des associations contre l’impunité au Togo (CACIT; Collective of Associations against Impunity in Togo) in the vicinity of the residence of opposition leader Agbéyomé Kodjo in Lomé. The two HRDs - Kossi Béni Okouto and Degboe Mawuena Doudji - were on a mission to observe the respect of human rights during the arrest of opposition leader Agbéyomé Kodjo. Read more | Read in French
