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arrest and detention

China: Detention of Shanghai-based human rights defender Ms Mao Hengfengposted on: 2012/10/05

On 30 September 2012 Shanghai-based human rights defender Ms Mao Hengfeng was detained while petitioning in Beijing. She was apprehended by non-uniformed men and forcibly sent back to Shanghai, where she is being held on suspicion of “gathering a crowd to disturb public order”.

Belarus: Arrest and detention of human rights defender Ales Bialiatski, subject of a criminal investigation posted on: 2011/11/01

Human rights defender Mr Ales Bialiatski was arrested on 4 August 2011, and is currently being detained at the Volodarskogo Pre-trial Detention Centre He is the subject of a criminal investigation following accusations that he was involved in tax evasion.

Belarus: Arrest and detention of human rights defender Ales Bialiatski, subject of a criminal investigation posted on: 2011/08/08

Human rights defender Mr Ales Bialiatski was arrested on 4 August 2011, and is currently being detained at the Volodarskogo Pre-trial Detention Centre He is the subject of a criminal investigation following accusations that he was involved in tax evasion.

Further Information

Ales Bialiatski is the chairman of Human Rights Centre 'Viasna' (HRC 'Viasna'), one of biggest human rights groups in Belarus that works to defend and promote political, cultural and social rights. He is also the Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).

On 4 August 2011, at 4.30pm approximately, a group of men dressed in civilian clothing who identified themselves as finance police officers arrested Ales Bialiatski on a street in the centre of Minsk. He was taken to the Volodarskogo Pre-trial Detention Centre in Minsk, where he was initially due to be held for up to three days. Ales Bialiatski's apartment in Minsk, as well as his home in Rakov, and the HRC 'Viasna' offices in Minsk were searched and his computer was seized.

On 5 August 2011, the detention was extended to ten days.

Iran: Arrest and detention of human rights defender Ms Mansoureh Behkishposted on: 2011/06/22

Iranian human rights defender Ms Mansoureh Behkish was arrested on 12 June 2011 and is being detained in Evin Prison in Tehran. Mansoureh Behkish is a member of Mothers for Peace, a group of Iranian women that campaigns for peace and stability in the region and the Mourning Mothers a group of women whose children have been killed, disappeared or detained by the Iranian authorities, and their supporters. She is also a signatory of a letter sent to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki -Moon dated 30 October 2009 which highlighted the violations of the rights of political prisoners in Iran and called on the United Nations to reestablish the office of the Special Representative for Iran and to save the lives of prisoners sentenced to death in Iran.

Iran: Arrest and detention of women's rights activists Ms Maryam Bahreman and Ms Mahboubeh Karamiposted on: 2011/05/20

Two women's rights defenders, Ms Maryam Bahreman and Ms Mahboubeh Karami, were arrested respectively on 11 May and 15 May 2011, and both continue to be detained. Maryam Bahreman is a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign, also known as the Campaign for Equality, and founding member and General Secretary of Anjome Zana Pars (Pars Women's Association), a women's rights organisation which was established in 2003. Mahboubeh Karami is also a prominent women's rights activist and signatory of the One Million Signatures Campaign. Maryam Bahreman is being held incommunicado and her whereabouts remain unknown.

Bahrain: Arrest and detention of human rights lawyer Mr Mohammed Al-Tajirposted on: 2011/04/18

On 15 April 2011, human rights lawyer Mr Mohammed Al-Tajir was arrested at his home by Bahraini police officers. Mohammed Al-Tajir is a prominent defence lawyer who has worked with more than 25 lawyers to defend human rights defenders and political activists held in incommunicado detention during the ongoing crackdown. He was one of the lead lawyers involved in the trial of 23 opposition and rights activists arrested during security sweeps last August and September and accused under Bahrain's counter-terrorism laws.

Syria: Update - Human rights defenders Ms Sereen Khoury and Mr Mazen Darwich releasedposted on: 2011/03/28

On 24 March 2011, human rights defender Mr Mazen Darwich, head of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, was released from detention. He had been summoned for questioning at the Political Police Headquarters in Almaysat, Damascus at approximately 11.00 on 23 March 2011. Mazen Darwich had also been subjected to questioning on the evening of 22 March 2011 and was among the peaceful protesters arrested and detained for several hours on 16 March 2011.

Further Information

Furthermore, human rights defender Ms Sereen Khouri, who had also been arrested during the breakup of protests on 16 March 2011, was released on bail on 23 March 2011 following issuance of a release order by the First Investigating Judge in Damascus. However, human rights defenders Ms Suhair al Atassi and Mr Kamal Sheiko remain in detention. The three human rights defenders face charges of, inter alia, "fomenting racial and sectarian strife", and "harming the integrity of the state".

Front Line reiterates its call for the immediate and unconditional release of Suhair al Atassi and Kamal Sheikho, and for all charges against them, as well as Sereen Khouri, to be dropped.

Rwanda: Arrest and detention of US human rights lawyer Mr Peter Erlinderposted on: 2010/06/08

Human rights lawyer and Professor, Mr Peter Erlinder, has been arrested in Kigali on accusations of denying the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Peter Erlinder is a law professor at William Mitchell College of Law in St Paul, Minnesota, United States, and the former President of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG). He is a lead defense counsel for genocide suspects at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania.

India - Arrest of human rights defenders Mr Chotan Das, Mr Bhanu Sarkar and Mr Ramesh Dasposted on: 2009/10/27

On 20 October 2009, human rights defender Mr Chotan Das was arrested in his home in Kolkata and interrogated at a local police headquarters before being released later that night. On 12 October 2009, Mr Bhanu Sarkar and Mr Ramesh Das were arrested and detained overnight in Kolkata. They were interrogated during the course of the night before being released the following morning. No explanation was provided for either of the arrests, nor was any arrest warrant provided. Chotan Das is the Secretary of Bandi Mukti Committee (Committee for the Release of Prisoners) and a civil rights activist.

Israel / OPT: Detention of human rights defender Mr Mohammad Othman extendedposted on: 2009/10/13

In a scheduled hearing on 8 October 2009, detained Palestinian human rights defender Mr Mohammad Othman has had his detention period extended for an additional 12 days by a military court. This followed a hearing on 29 September, when a military court in Kishon extended Mohammad Othman's detention period for 10 days to allow for further interrogation. Mohammad Othman, who works with the “Stop the Wall” grassroots campaign, had been arrested on 22 September while returning to Ramallah in the West Bank from Jordan. He had traveled to Norway where he took part in an advocacy tour and fulfilled a number of speaking events.