On 8 December 2022, the Burundian Supreme Court quashed the five year conviction of the human rights defender and lawyer Tony Germain Nkina, which was previously confirmed on 29 September 2021 by the Ngozi Appeal Court. The human rights defender has been detained at the Ngozi central prison since 13 October 2020. The new appeal trial must take place without delay, as per the Supreme Court’s recommendation.
On 31 May 2024, human rights defender and lawyer M. Ravi was struck off from the roll of advocates and solicitors, ordered by the High Court of Singapore.
On 11 November 2021, the Central District Court of Simferopol found human rights defender Edem Semedliaev guilty of two counts of “disobeying the lawful orders of a police officer” (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code). The Court sentenced human rights defender to 12 days of administrative detention and issued him a fine of 4,000 Russian rubles for refusing to undress and undergo an unlawful personal search.
On 21 August 2020, the Harare Magistrate Court dropped all charges against human rights defenders Robson Chere, Jess Drury, Precious Ndlovu, Munyaradzi Ndawana and Doug Coltart.
In 13 February 2020, Robson Chere, Jess Drury, Precious Ndlovu, Munyaradzi Ndawana and Doug Coltart were summoned to appear before the Harare Magistrate Court on 4 March 2020.
On 20 June 2024, woman human rights defender Rocio Bastidas will face a hearing under a defamation case filed by China Road and Bridge Corporation CRBC. The case is in relation to her defense of a public cultural heritage site in Ecuador’s capital Quito, which is currently being considered for a business complex. Defamation offenses in Ecuador fall under the criminal code, meaning that the woman human rights defender could face a prison sentence if found guilty.
On 4 November 2021, Sepideh Gholian was transferred to the public ward of Evin prison in Tehran following interrogations based on new charges brought against the woman human rights defender in Bushehr prison in early October. The woman human rights defender was held in 209 Ward of Evin prison run by the IRCG intelligence service under interrogation from 14 October 2021 to 4 November 2021.
On 6 May 2022, woman human rights defender Volha Harbunova was sentenced to 3 years of detention without commitment to a penitentiary institution. The Savetski District Court of Minsk found the woman human rights defender guilty for “preparation of actions which gravely violate public order” under Article 342 of the Criminal Code of Republic of Belarus and sentenced her to 3 years of detention without committing WHRD to a penitentiary institution of any type.
On 21 May 2019, The Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court convicted Eren Keskin of “propagandising for a terrorist organisation” under Article 7(2) of the Anti-Terror Law and sentenced her to 3 years and 9 months in prison. The trial against her was related to the articles published in Özgür Gündem when she was the co-editor-in-chief.
On 11 July 2019, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted a raid on the office of Lawyers Collective and residence of senior advocates Indira Jaising and Anand Grover. The raid started at around 8 am and lasted for several hours.
On 28 September 2023, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation of Turkey upheld the sentences against four human rights defenders Osman Kavala, Çiğdem Mater, Mine Özerden and Tayfun Kahraman, and political activist Can Atalay while overturning the sentences of the remaining three defenders Mücella Yapıcı, Hakan Altınay and Yiğit Ekmekci on the Gezi Park case.
On 11 August 2024, the Misdemeanor Court in Belgrade sentenced three environmental human rights defenders — Ivan Bijelić, Nikola Ristić, and Jevđenij Julijan Dimitrijević — to 40 and 30 days in prison, respectively, for allegedly disrupting public order and peace through “rude and reckless behavior”. They were arrested when the police dispersed a group of peaceful protesters at Prokop station, in Belgrade, who had blocked the area to protest lithium mining in Serbia.
On 22 November 2021, around 3 am human rights defender Kizito Bin Hangi had the windows of his home in Beni b
On 17 January 2022, journalist and human rights defender Lukpan Akhmedyarov, upon his release from Uralsk Special detention center of the department of internal affairs, reported that he was subjected to psychological pressure and inhumane treatment while in detention.
On 6 February, woman human rights defender Ameira Osman was released from her detention on bail.
On 21 July 2022, health rights defender Wu Gejianxiong completed a three-year sentence and left the Chishan Prison in Hunan Province. The authorities drove him back to Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province, where he was allowed to return home and reunite with his father.
On 24 June 2021, human rights defender Raci Bilici appeared before the Diyarbakir 5th Heavy Penal Court for his first retrial hearing, following the Court of Appeal overturning his conviction. The hearing which was scheduled to be held on 27 May 2021 was postponed by the Court.
On 9 October 2024, human rights journalist Sanja Vasković was summoned to the Istočna Ilidža Police Station in East Sarajevo to be questioned in relation to the criminal offence of “defamation” under Article 208(a), paragraph 2, of the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republika Srpska. The questioning was carried out on the basis of a complaint made by Mladen Kovačević the owner of the company MRAZ D.O.O, which is based in Pale. Republika Srpska’s Defamation Law came into force in July 2023.
On 12 November 2024, human rights defender Ahmadreza Haeri announced that Branch 36 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court had increased the human rights defender’s prison sentence to four years on the charge of “gathering and collusion with the intention of acting against national security,” one year for “propaganda against the state,” and 15 months for “spreading disinformation.”
On 19 April 2025, Serveh Pourmohammadi began serving a five-year prison sentence in Sanandaj Central Prison. The woman human rights defender, who is a former board member of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, was sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of “forming a group with the intention of acting against national security” by Branch 1 of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court of Appeals in November 2024.
On 14 February 2022, human rights defender Pongiliya Gamage Shehan Malaka was arrested by Criminal Investigation Department officers for “exciting or attempting to excite feelings of disaffection to the State” under Section 120 of the Penal Code of Sri Lanka. The human rights defender was released on bail the following day, 15 February 2022, by the Maligakanda Magistrate Court, but the case against him continues. The human rights defender has faced repeated threats due to his campaign for seeking justice and accountability for the Easter Sunday bomb attacks in Sri Lanka in April 2019.
On 23 April 2022, the Economic Court in Cairo acquitted and dropped the charges of ‘slander’, ‘defamation’ and ‘financial damage’ brought against woman human rights defender Rasha Azab. The Court also rejected the civil suit brought by the plaintiff against the human rights defender, and ruled that he bear the financial expenses for the civil suit.
On 21 October 2023, woman human rights defender Chen Jianfang left prison and returned home after completing a 4.5 year sentence.
