On 16 May 2013 it emerged that human rights defenders Messrs Li Sihua and Wei Zhongping, in custody since 27 April 2013, are to face charges of 'inciting subversion of state power'.
Syrian human rights defenders Mazen Darwish, Hussein Gharir and Hani Zaitani should be released and have all charges against them dropped, declares a joint letter sent today by a coalition of 19 regional and international human rights organisations including Front Line Defenders.
On 11 May 2013, the Gambian government released renowned Muslim cleric and human rights defender, Imam Baba Leigh. The human rights defender was arrested on 3 December 2012, and was detained incommunicado for five months and seven days for declaring the execution of nine death row inmates to be inimical to Islamic teaching.
On 14 May 2013, during an International Legal Forum which took place in St Petersburg, the Russian Minister for Justice, Alexander Konovalov, stated that his Ministry will demand the closure of election watchdog GOLOS if the NGO refuses to register as a 'foreign agent'. The statement from Minister Konovalov comes while court proceedings against GOLOS are pending.
On 9 May 2013, pamphlets were distributed throughout the 'La Europa' estate in Sucre Colombia claiming that human rights defender Mr Argemiro Lara is the third in command of the guerilla group Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores de Colombia (PRT - Worker's Revolutionary Party of Colombia), and that human rights defender Ms Ingrid Vergara is his right hand commander
On 7 May 2013, Front Line Defenders learned that the High Court Division of the Supreme Court rejected a petition by human rights defender Mr Mahmudur Rahman challenging the decision to place him under police remand without adequate measures in place to ensure his physical health. The human rights defender's wife had argued that the decision violated the High Court's directives concerning pre-trial detention, but the Attorney General claimed that the human rights defender's wife could not file a written petition.
On 30 April 2013, human rights defender Ms Alba Cruz received a threatening message to her mobile phone. The tone of the message was similar to threats she had received before, in which she was told there was still unfinished business which needed to be acted on.
On 5 May 2013 human rights defender and blogger Mr Naji Fateel was transferred to the Dry Dock prison in Bahrain where he is suffering from several injuries due to torture whilst he was in detention. The human rights defender was arrested at dawn on 2 May 2013, and was only allowed to contact his family to inform them he was in the Criminal Investigation Building two days later, on the evening of 4 May 2013.
On 5 May 2013, the Venezuelan Minister for Justice and the Interior, General Miguel Rodríguez Torres, appeared on the Jose Vicente Hoy show on the private channel Televen, and accused human rights defender Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes of being part of a right-wing movement aiming to destabilise the state. Dr Humberto Prado Sifontes is the Director of the Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones – OVP (Venezuelan Prisons Observatory). The OVP documents cases of violations against, and promotes the rights of, persons in detention in Venezuela.
Front Line Defenders is saddened to hear of the death of Bahtiyor Hamraev on 4 May 2013. Bahtiyor was a dedicated human rights defender over the past 15 years, despite the great risks involved in this work. He will be deeply missed by the human rights community both in his native Uzbekistan and worldwide.
On Friday 3 May, President Michael D Higgins of Ireland presented the 2013 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk to anti-slavery campaigner Biram Dah Abeid of Mauritania, founder and director of Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement, Initiative pour la Résurgence du Mouvement Abolitionniste (IRA).
British Prime Minister David Cameron should challenge the deteriorating human rights record of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during a state visit by the country’s president to Britain next week, declares a joint letter sent by a coalition of seven international human rights organisations including Front Line Defenders.
On 23 April 2013, Geoffrey Ssebaggala was presented with an award by the delegation of the European Union in Uganda in recognition of his work in defence of human rights in 2012.
On 25 April 2013, the Russian election watchdog GOLOS Association for the defence of the rights of voters became the first NGO to be fined under the controversial 'Foreign Agents' Law. The decision was taken by the Presnensky Court of Moscow.
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