On 12 October 2022, human rights defenders and lawyers Hayet Jazzar and Ayoub Ghedamsi are due to appear before an examining magistrate. On 30 April 2020, following a complaint filed against them by a judge, the human rights defenders have been accused of “insulting a public official from the justice system” according to articles 125 and 126 of the Tunisian Penal Code.
On 8 February 2023, Saba Kord Afshari was released from Evin prison. Since 4 February 2023, as part of a general amnesty announced by the Iranian judiciaryon the occasion of 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, hundreds of prisoners including human rights defenders have been released from prison.
On 18 August 2025, Hasti Amiri announced that she had been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court to a total of three years in prison and additional punishments on the charges of “spreading disinformation,” and “propaganda activities against the state” for her social media activities including advocating for prisoners’ rights and against the death penality in Iran.
On 4 December 2024, the first hearing of the defamation lawsuit initiated by BUK d.o.o. against the woman human rights defender Sunčica Kovačević was held at the Basic Court of Sokolac in East Sarajevo. The Belgian owned company BUK d.o.o has filed a claim of 5.000 BAM (approx 2,500$) worth of damages, based on concerns she had raised about the environmental impact of the company’s hydro-power plants.
On 18 August 2022, the convener of the Inter University Student Federation (IUSF), Wasantha Mudalige, the convener of the Inter University Bhikku Federation (IUBF), Galwewa Siridhamma Thero and Hashan Jeewantha were arrested along with 17 other peaceful protesters during a protest in Colombo.
On 17 March 2021, the Criminal Court of Cairo sentenced woman human rights defender Sanaa Seif to 18 month's imprisonment on charges of 'spreading false rumours about the spread of COVID-19 in the Egyptian prisons' and 'the misuse of social media'.
On 11 October 2020, the Public Prosecution announced at the Criminal Court of South Cairo that it would not review camera footage from outside of the Prosecutor General's office, due to privacy concerns.
On 2 November 2022, woman human rights defender Ljiljana Nešić was interrogated by the police. Ljiljana Nešić, Marija Trajkovic and the human rights organisation the Citizens’ Association of Women for Peace are currently under investigation for organised crime.
On 17 November 2017, Marat Dauletbayev received formal notice of the transfer of his case back to the Prosecutor's Office for further investigation. On 7 November 2017, the Kyzylorda Criminal Court reclassified the charges against him from "libel" under Article 130 of the Criminal Code to the more severe charge of “deliberately false denunciation” under Article 419. The charges against him relate to statements he made concerning employees of “Roscosmos Center for the Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure Facilities” (Roscosmos).
On 12 July 2024, the General prosecutor's office in Kyrgyzstan filed a second appeal against the Pervomaiskyi District Court's decision from 14 June 2024 on the Kempir-Abad case.
On 7 December 2017, human rights defender Mohamed Noby Mahmoud was released on bail with a 1000 Egyptian pound guarantee, following an appeal by his lawyer submitted on 7 December against a 15 day investigation renewal submitted by the Prosecution in Luxor on 6 December. It remains to be determined whether or not the human rights defender will face trial.
On 26 October 2020, Mehraveh Khandan, the 20-year old daughter of Nasrin Sotoudeh, was summoned to Branch 1175 of Tehran Provincial Criminal Court (Quds Judicial Complex) for a hearing on a lawsuit filed against her by a security officer from the women's ward of Evin Prison in August 2020.
On 19 December 2017, Scovia Arinaitwe was granted bail while in hospital and was able to leave following treatment. The human rights defender had been charged with "unlawful assembly". After discharging herself from the hospital, Scovia Arinaitwe went to the local police station as part of the terms of her bail and was informed that the charges against her had been dropped. On 16 December 2017, human rights defender Scovia was arrested and detained in Nagalama in Mukono District, Uganda, during which time she was beaten by police officers.
On 19 September 2024, the Second Court of Appeals of the municipality of La Ceiba, in the department of Atlántida, decided for the reopening of the criminal process against environmental defenders Carlos Leonel George, Reynaldo Domínguez, José Adaly Cedillo, Marco Tulio Ramos and Juan López, members of the Comité Municipal de Defensa de los Bienes Comunes y Públicos (CMDBPC). The decision came only five days after the murder of human rights defender Juan López on 14 September 2024.
On 27 and 28 December, Israeli soldiers arrested and detained human rights defenders Manal Tamimi, Jamil Al-Barghouti and Munther Amira in the West Bank for participating in peaceful protests in the Occupying Palestinian Territories (OPT) against the Israeli occupation, ongoing repression of Palestinian activists and the decision announced by US President, Donald Trump, to move the US Embassy Israel to Jerusalem.
On 14 December 2022, human rights defenders Barigye Bob, Ivan Kabale, Musoke Hamis Walusimbi and Ssemwanga Jackson, who had been released on police bond two days earlier, reported to Kampala Central police station as instructed, but were again detained and brought to Court. The four human rights defenders were officially charged with “common nuisance” and then released on bail.
The verdict on the case of the Sahrawi woman human rights defender Jamila Mojahid is expected to be delivered on Monday, 16 January 2023, following a hearing at the court of first instance in Laayoune. This comes after a long series of postponements of sessions conducted by the court.
On 11 September 2020, a court in Delhi granted bail to human rights defender Khalif Saifi, in case 44/2020, which includes charges under Sections 147 (rioting), 186 (obstructing public servant from discharging duty), 149 (unlawful assembly), 148 (rioting, with deadly weapon), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from doing duty) and 307 (attempt to murder), and other sections of the Indian Penal Code.
On 6 June 2023, the Istanbul 35th Heavy Criminal Court acquitted four human rights defenders of all charges at the second hearing in the retrial of the Büyükada Case, also known as the #Istanbul10. The retrial took place after the Court of Cassation’s ruling to overturn the human rights defenders’ sentences on 22 November 2022.
On 1 September 2024, the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (SWTSBC) announced that human rights defenders Reza Shahabi and Hassan Saidi were released from Evin Prison. According to SWTSBC, the human rights defenders, who had already served 28 months of their sentences, were released following the approval of their request for retrial by the Supreme Court of Iran.
On 23 January 2023, human rights defender Abdoulaye Seydou was transferred to the high security central prison of Kollo, located about 30 km from Niamey, the capital city of Niger. The human rights defender was initially charged with publication of information likely to undermine public order, for which he brought before a judge. He was then arrested following a new complaint for which he was accused of complicity in the burning of a miners' sheds on the Tamou gold site.
On 22 March 2023, a court in New Delhi remanded human rights defender Khurram Parvez to the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for ten days in relation to a new case filed against him. Khurram Parvez has been incarcerated for over a year at the Rohini High Security Prison in New Delhi since his arrest under a separate First Information Report (FIR) on 22 November 2021.
On 26 December 2017, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court declared human rights lawyer Xie Yang guilty of inciting subversion of state power. The court further announced that Xie Yang would be exempt from any punishment.
