arrest

Front Line is deeply concerned following the arrest of human rights defender Sapam Kangleipal Meitei. Sapam Kangleipal Meitei is the President of the Manipur Forward Youth Front (MAFYF), a voluntary civil organisation which works for the protection and promotion of human rights, peace building and social issues at the grass-roots level.  

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports of the continued torture and ill-treatment of imprisoned human rights defender and writer Yusuf Juma and his sons Bobur and Mashrab Juma. Yusuf Juma is a prominent writer and pro-democracy activist in Uzbekistan. Yusuf, Bobur and Mashrab Juma were arrested in the Tashkent region in mid-December 2007 and are all detained in the Otbozor Prison in the Bukhara region of Uzbekistan. Yusuf and Bobur Juma's lawyer, Ruhiddin Kamilov, has been threatened by the prison governor.  

On 3 March 2008 at 8.15am, Omar Mestiri and Sihem Bensedrine were returning to Tunis from a trip to Europe when they were subjected to a full-body search on their arrival at the port of La Goulette. Members of the Tunisian Political Police requested that they follow them to the customs office, on the pretext of fulfilling an administrative formality. Once inside the office, the policemen reportedly locked the door and Omar Mestiri and Sihem Bensedrine were detained for six hours, during which time they were subject to beatings while their clothes were damaged and their bags torn open. The policemen reportedly confiscated their mobile phones and their bank cards. Several original documents were taken and the policemen also made copies of the hard discs of their lap-top computers. Sihem Bensedrine is currently suffering from a sprained wrist and an injury to her elbow as a result of the assault.  

Front Line is deeply concerned following the attack against, and arrest of, human rights defender Arumugam Katuraja Kanagaraj. Arumugam Katuraja Kanagaraj is the District Human Rights Monitor in the Salem district, Tamil Nadu, of the National Project on Preventing Torture in India which is coordinated by People's Watch and sponsored by the European Union. Arumugam Katuraja Kanagaraj has also campaigned for the protection of the human rights of the Dalit minority community in the Salem district.  

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports received of the arrests of human rights defenders Wafula Buke and Okoiti Omtata on 16 and 17 January 2008, respectively. Wafula Buke was a human rights officer with the Kenyan National Human Rights Commission from 1995 to 1999. He is still an active human rights defender. Okoiti Omtata is a publisher and columnist with Nation Newspaper.