release of HRDs
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
Thursday 11.6.2020 Oman - Latest Developments
Oman: Artistic censorship and harassment of online activists continues
Rights groups call on the government of Oman to permanently lift the ban on all Voice Over IP (VoIP) platforms; CSOs criticise widespread censorship at the Muscat Bookfair; Government continues to restrict freedom of expression online by targeting broadcasters and human rights defenders for their posts on Twitter and other social media platforms. Read more
Thursday 11.6.2020 South Sudan - Latest Developments
Transitional Government Formed Amidst Ongoing Tensions and Restrictions on Freedom of Speech.
Transitional government of national unity was formed by former warring factions; Several members of the SPLM-IO defect to the ruling party; fighting continues in several areas of the country; Several prisoners released to ease overcrowing amid COVID-19; Social gatherings, political activities and religious events banned in a bid to curb COVID-19; sports journalist in Maridi state, Isaac Van arrested while renowned academic and writer at the University of Juba, Taban Lo Liyong suspended for exercising their freedom of expression and opinion. Read more
Friday 29.5.2020 Nicaragua - Latest Developments
Declining health of convicted HRD concerns family members and human rights organisations
On 30th April 2020, Karla Vanessa Escobar and Wilfredo Brenes Domínguez, two former political prisoners, were detained and charged with alleged drug and arms possession. Read more
Tuesday 26.5.2020 Ethiopia - Latest Developments
Concern over crackdown on opposition and dissenters ahead of 2020 elections
Dozens of opposition supporters arrested, detained, New anti terrorrism law passes, government announces restoration of phone and internet services in parts of Oromia region after shut down in January 2020, protesters injured, one killed during protest by university students at Bule Hora University in Oromia Read more
Friday 22.5.2020 Honduras - Latest Developments
Honduras’ undue restrictions on expression and police abuse of emergency powers during COVID-19
On 10th March 2020, Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández declared a state of sanitary emergency due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. On 16th March 2020, another decree (PCM-021-2020) restricted several constitutional guarantees, including freedoms of expression, association, assembly, and movement. Read more | Read in Spanish
Wednesday 20.5.2020 Kazakhstan - Latest Developments
Systematic persecution of CSO activists; attacks on freedom of expression and assembly continue
The first three months of 2020 saw ongoing and systematic persecution of civil society activists, journalists, bloggers and other citizens exercising their right to freely express themselves. The situation is currently deteriorating, particularly in connection with the state of emergency, which was declared in the country on 16th March 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Citizens who spoke up about the status of the pandemic in Kazakhstan and the authorities’ handling of it have on numerous occasions been criminally prosecuted. Political activists associated with two unregistered political parties – the new Democratic Party and the new movement “Street Party” - have faced persecution, administrative prosecution and significant harassment, both from the authorities and from unidentified persons. Read more
Wednesday 20.5.2020 China - Latest Developments
China silences reporting on COVID-19, expands surveillance and arrests Hong Kong protest leaders
The Chinese Communist Party has continued to censor reporting about the coronavirus (COVID-19) and targeted journalists, doctors, activists, academics and critics in order to control the narrative. The coronavirus is also being used as a pretext for accelerating mass surveillance across the country. In Hong Kong, the authorities arrested 15 pro-democracy politicians and activists in April 2020, were accused of torture or ill-treatment of protesters and expelled US journalists. Human rights groups also reported on the use of an app to conduct mass surveillance by the Chinese government on Uighur and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang province. Read more
Tuesday 12.5.2020 Uganda - Latest Developments
Dissidents prosecuted and journalists harassed while covering COVID-19 restrictions
General Henry Tumukunde, a former general planning to run for the presidency in Uganda, arrested, detained and charged for treason; Journalists beaten by security forces while covering COVID 19 curfew responses; Rights group calls on Ugandan government to ensure the right to an effective remedy for Dr. Stella Nyanzi for wrongful conviction; Uganda’s Constitutional Court rules that Sections of the Public Order Management Act (POMA) (2013) illegal and unconstitutional; LGBTIQ community stigmatised amid Coronavirus outbreak Read more
