On 15 September 2020, the 16th Panel Chamber of the Court of Cassation handed down its ruling in the case of 18 human rights lawyers from the People's Law Office.
On 22 August 2023, Egyptian security forces arrested and harassed the father of human rights defender and journalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada near his workplace in Giza, Egypt. He was questioned about his son's work and charged with three counts, including belonging to a banned group.
On 1 March 2022, human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng was released from Nanjing Prison after completing a four-year sentence. He traveled back to Beijing immediately and reunited with his wife Xu Yan.
On 9 May 2021, imprisoned human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng received a visit from his wife, Xu Yan, and their son at the Nanjing Prison. This is the first time the human rights defender has been allowed to meet with his son since he was detained in January 2018.
On 11 November 2021, the International Historical and Human Rights Society ‘Memorial’ (International Memorial) received a notice from the Supreme Court of Russian Federation, stating that the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation filed a motion to permanently shut down the association citing systemic violation of the “foreign agents” law. The court hearing is scheduled for 25 November 2021.
Journalist and human rights defender Siddique Kappan remains incarcerated as of 15 December 2022, under money laundering charges. In September 2022, the human rights defender was granted bail by the Supreme Court of India in the case against him under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
On 13 April 2021, woman human rights defender Solafa Magdy and her husband Hossam Saiad were released from prison under precautionary measures. Solafa Magdy had been held in preventive detention since 26 November 2019. The State Public Prosecution accused her of ‘joining an illegal organisation’, ‘misuse of social media’ and ‘spreading false news’.
On 8 June 2023, human rights lawyer Chang Weiping (常玮平) was found guilty of “subversion of State power” and sentenced to three years and six months in prison. On 2 December 2022, the Baoji Municipal Intermediate People’s Court informed the family of detained human rights lawyer Chang Weiping that the Supreme People’s Court has again approved the extension of the deadline for announcing a verdict to 7 January 2023. Chang Weiping was tried behind closed-doors on 26 July 2022.
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 17 August 2023, the First Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction upheld the April 2023 decision of the Moscow City Court to shut down the human rights organisation the Sova Center. On 7 June 2023, the Sova Centre appealed the judgement of the Moscow City Court dated 27 April 2023 to shut down the human rights organisation.
On 18 July, the Public Prosecution Office ordered the release of Mahienour El-Masry on bail.
On 30 August 2020, woman human rights defender Ms. Mahienour El-Masry was interrogated at the Public Prosecution Office, accused of a second count of "joining an illegal organisation" as part of the recently opened case No. 855 of 2020.
On 5 May 2020, the Criminal Court of Cairo renewed the detention of woman human rights defender Mahienour El-Masry and human rights defenders Mohamed El-Baqer, Ibrahim Ezz El-Din, and Mohamed Ibrahim for an additional 45 days.
Human rights defender Liu Dazhi was released on 22 July 2021 after completing a two-year sentence.
On 12 September 2023, human rights defender Nitin Varghese was granted bail by the sessions court in Burhanpur and was released on bail from Khandwa Jail in Madhya Pradesh after spending approximately two weeks in judicial custody. Nitin Varghese was remanded to judicial custody on 30 August 2023 after being falsely accused of instigating local community members to attack forest officials in March 2023.
On 9 December 2023, Chhattisgarh police arrested four human rights defenders: Lakhma Koram, Ranu Podyam, Shankar Kashyap, and Samlu Koram. The arrests were due to their peaceful campaigns against human rights violations, militarization, and the forcible acquisition of land for corporate interests in Bastar District, Chhattisgarh. Since then, the human rights defenders have been detained in Jagdalpur Jail in Chhattisgarh.
On 9 December 2023, Chhattisgarh police arrested four human rights defenders: Lakhma Koram, Ranu Podyam, Shankar Kashyap, and Samlu Koram. The arrests were due to their peaceful campaigns against human rights violations, militarization, and the forcible acquisition of land for corporate interests in Bastar District, Chhattisgarh. Since then, the human rights defenders have been detained in Jagdalpur Jail in Chhattisgarh.
On 9 December 2023, Chhattisgarh police arrested four human rights defenders: Lakhma Koram, Ranu Podyam, Shankar Kashyap, and Samlu Koram. The arrests were due to their peaceful campaigns against human rights violations, militarization, and the forcible acquisition of land for corporate interests in Bastar District, Chhattisgarh. Since then, the human rights defenders have been detained in Jagdalpur Jail in Chhattisgarh.
On 9 December 2023, Chhattisgarh police arrested four human rights defenders: Lakhma Koram, Ranu Podyam, Shankar Kashyap, and Samlu Koram. The arrests were due to their peaceful campaigns against human rights violations, militarization, and the forcible acquisition of land for corporate interests in Bastar District, Chhattisgarh. Since then, the human rights defenders have been detained in Jagdalpur Jail in Chhattisgarh.
On 3 December 2023, the human rights defender Sam Rajabi was released from Evin prison after serving a six year prison sentence. The environmental human rights defender had been arrested in January 2018 for his activities in the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF), a non-profit environmental organisation which carries out ecological fieldwork, promotes local community involvement in conservation, and raises awareness about environmental issues.
On 4 May 2023, Ostankino District Court of the city of Moscow fined human rights defender Yan Dvorkin for violation of the so-called “LGBT propaganda” law. The Court ordered Yan Dvorkin to pay RUR 100,000. The human rights defender will appeal this decision.
On 10 June 2021, unknown men together with police officers raided a women's shelter for gender-based violence survivors in Makhachkala in order to forcibly return Сhechen woman Khalimat Taramova, who had been staying at the shelter, to her family in the Chechen Republic. Women human rights defenders Svetlana Anokhina and Maysarat Kilyaskhanova, who were present at the time of the raid, were reportedly beaten and detained together with 3 other women. The women were subsequently released and Khalimat Taramova was forcibly returned to her family in the Chechen Republic.
On 8 April 2021, the detention of woman human rights defender Tanya Hatsura-Yavorska was extended for a further 10 days, while the charges pending against her remain unknown. On 5 April 2021, the woman human rights defender was detained following a search of her office and home, carried out by law enforcement officers on suspicion of “education or other preparation of persons for participation in group actions that grossly violate public order, as well as financing or other material support of such activities” under Part 3, Article 293 of the Criminal Code.
In January 2024, the family of human rights defender Server Mustafayev was able to visit him in the Penal Colony #1 in Tambov, in the Russian Federation. Upon returning from the visit, the human rights defender’s wife reported that, in the Tambov Penal Colony, he is being subjected to “strict detention conditions.” He is also being targeted with additional control and supervision within the “preventive registration” for terrorism and extremism. Moreover, Server Mustafayev’s health conditions continue to be worrying, and he still cannot access education in prison.
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 12 February 2021, human rights defender Mahamat Nour Ibedou and 11 other protesters received a three month suspended prison sentence for unarmed gathering by the High Court of N’Djamena. They were all released on the same day.
On 22 May 2018, fifteen pro-democracy human rights defenders, including Anon Nampa, Rangsiman Rome, Sirawith Seritiwat, Chonticha Jaengrew and Piyarat Chongthep, were arrested and charged with sedition, with violating the junta’s ban on political gatherings of five people or more, and under the Road Traffic Act for participating in peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in Bangkok.
On 7 March 2023, woman human rights defender Akram Nasirian was released from Evin prison. Since 4 February 2023, as part of a general amnesty announced by the Iranian judiciary on the occasion of 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, hundreds of prisoners including human rights defenders have been released from prison. The woman human rights defender was serving a two-and-a-half year sentence for calling for an end to the compulsory hijab.
