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On 17 August 2023, an investigating judge in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate referred two criminal complaints against woman human rights defender Delsoz Khalaf to the Sulaymaniyah Misdemeanour Court. She had been previously questioned at the Azmar police station on 31 July 2023, after an arrest warrant was issued against her. The two court cases were initiated by the Workers’ Union in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate and she could face up to 5 years in prison, in addition to fines for each of the charges.

On 25 January 2024, the Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong’s top court, overturned the December 2022 ruling by the High Court acquitting woman human rights defender Chow Hang-tung of “inciting others to participate in an unauthorised assembly” in the 2021 vigil to commemorate the victims of the military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing in 1989.

According to the Telegram channel of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (ITTA), at least fifteen teachers’ rights defenders and members of the ITTA, including human rights defenders Mohmmad Habibi, Jafar Ebrahimi, and Rasoul Bodaghi have remained arbitrarily detained since 30 April 2022. In the early hours of the morning of 30 April 2022, the human rights defenders were arrested, subjected to physical violence, house raids and had their electronic devices confiscated.

According to independent human rights monitors, human rights defender Dong Guangping left a prison in the Henan province and returned home on 20 October 2023 after he completed an 11-month prison sentence for “illegal border crossing”. He was tried some time in April 2023 by the Zhengzhou Intermediate Court and was sentenced to 11 months in prison. This report confirms that he was returned from Viet Nam back to China, in breach of the principle of non-refoulement enshrined in international law.

On 10 May 2023, human rights defenders Oumar Sylla, Ibrahima Diallo and Mamadou Billo Bah were released and freed on all charges. They were arbitrarily arrested without a trial, never receiving a hearing. Originally, the authorities wanted to make their release conditional upon the human rights defenders’ commitment to cease their activism. However, the three leaders and human rights defenders refused the terms of this offer.

On 10 May 2023, human rights defenders Oumar Sylla, Ibrahima Diallo and Mamadou Billo Bah were released and freed on all charges. They were arbitrarily arrested without a trial, never receiving a hearing. Originally, the authorities wanted to make their release conditional upon the human rights defenders’ commitment to cease their activism. However, the three leaders and human rights defenders refused the terms of this offer.

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 29 February 2024, human rights defender and Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), India’s counter-terrorism legislation. This arrest occurred merely two days after his release from jail on 27 February 2024. Initially arrested in August 2018 under UAPA and other offences, Aasif Sultan has now been implicated in another case related to an incident of rioting at Srinagar’s Central Jail.

On 8 April 2021 the Court of Cassation rejected the appeal submission by the Public Prosecution against the Criminal Court’s decision to refrain from pronouncing punishment in relation to the charges of ‘misuse of the phone’ and ‘demonstration’ against human rights defenders Abdullah Al-Fadhli and Abdulhakim Al-Fadhli. The Court rejected the appeal as it had been submitted after the time period for appeal had lapsed.

On 6 September, Cairo Criminal Court ordered the extension of human rights defender Ramy Kamel’s detention for an additional 45 days pending investigation in case no.1475/2019. The human rights defender is facing charges of “funding a terrorist organisation”, “defamation” and “misuse of social media”. The human rights defender remains in detention in Tora prison.

On 30 September 2021, the appeal case of Maâti Monjib was rescheduled for 2 December 2021 due to the absence of the case’s remaining defendants. The human rights defender’s case will be heard before the Administrative Court of Appeal in Rabat alongside several other human rights defenders facing the charge of “threatening the internal security of the State”.

On 8 April 2021 the Appeals Court in Casablanca rescheduled the hearing session for human rights defender Maâti Monjib, due to take place that day, to 10 June 2021.