On this day two years ago Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja was staying in his daugher's house when police broke violently into the house in the middle of the night and arrested him.

As one of the most respected and outspoken human rights defenders in the country Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja was automatically on the list of those to be rounded up in the clampdown after the Pearl Roundabout demonstrations in 2011.

The fact that Abdulhadi was a peaceful family man who had never used or advocated violence seems to have had no relevance for the Bahraini authorities. Their only objective seems to have been to silence the voices of critics of the regime and crush the demonstrations for democracy and human rights.

But they didn't just arrest him. Abdulhadi was beaten and abused, denied access to family or lawyers and subsequently needed a 4 hour operation in a military hospital as a the ill-treatment he received in custody. Since then he has been sentenced to life imprisonment after a trial which can only be described as a farce - a conviction which was subsequently upheld on appeal.

“States are not moral agents. They are power systems and can be forced to do good by their people”. - Professor Noam Chomsky.

It was an honour to hear Professor Noam Chomsky speak at the inaugural Front Line Defenders Annual Lecture on “Solidarity and the Responsibility to Protect”. last Wednesday. He certainly lived up to his reputation as one of the “most critically engaged public intellectuals alive today”, and was at ease exploring a huge range of topics ranging from the colonisation of Massachusetts to the conflict in East Timor.

As MC Bryan Dobson pointed out in his conclusion it would be impossible to summarise the talk in its totality due to the sheer scope of issues covered. Instead I would like to focus on some of the points that have huge relevance for human rights defenders and those of us who wish to show solidarity with them. What makes Professor Chomsky both interesting and relevant is that he forces us to rethink our ideas and opinions by looking clearly at the facts.

15/03/2013 - This week the world’s most populous country is finalising a once-in-a-decade leadership transition which began in November 2012 .The conclusion of the National People's Congress will see Xi Jinping assume the position of President of China, and will usher in a new era in which China is expected to surpass the United States in terms of size of its economy.

This year, the United Nations chose the theme for International Women's Day 2013 as “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women”. Front Line Defenders is honoured to work with many women human rights defenders who strive to prevent these crimes from taking place in their communities, and offering support for victims. Yet as a result of their efforts, many women defenders find themselves targeted for attack and their personal security threatened. The risks are high, the work is difficult, and the obstacles to success appear insurmountable. Despite all this, despite all the hatred and malice - these women go on.

One such woman is Mary Akrami, a women human rights defender from Afghanistan, and the co-founder and director of the Afghan Women Skills Development Centre (AWSDC) in Kabul. A non-profit, non-governmental and non-political organisation, the Development Centre was established in 1999 by a group of brave and committed Afghan women and is the first women-only shelter in Kabul.

On 3 March 2013, Yukpa Chief and land and indigenous rights defender Mr Sabino Romero Izarra was shot and killed while travelling on a road in the Sierra de Perijá, Zulia State. His wife sustained injuries as a result of the attack.

Why was he killed? Because he defended the rights of the indigenous Yukpa people who were opposed to large scale mining projects on tribal lands.

His is the latest in a series of killings and attacks in many countries on human rights defenders who have had the temerity to challenge corporate interests on behalf of their community, their people or their environment. . Almost inevitably wherever you find large scale mining, logging fishing or oil exploration projects you find conflict between the interests of those large corporate bodies who see as their only responsibility the need to protect their company's share price and the interests of the local communities who have lived on the land for generations. I have to ask - why is this conversation always so entirely polarised?

As Irish artist Brian Maguire hands Mexican women human rights defender Elia Escobedo Garcia a portrait he painted of her daughter Erika, who was brutally murdered in Juarez, Mexico in 2002, the background music in the film quiets. The audience watches Elia's face, which holds an expression of unimaginable sadness and sorrow. Slowly, however, as she shifts her gaze to Brian, she nods and even manages a small smile - “gracias,” she says to him, as she holds the portrait closer to her chest, “muchas gracias.”

Like Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) I am “astounded” by the latest development in the crackdown on human rights defenders and opposition activists ahead of a constitutional referendum next month. Police authorities have announced the ban of what they describe as "specially designed radios", namely radio receivers used to listen to opposition channels. This is an attack on the right to freedom of expression that, as ZLHR point out, has no basis in law as it violates the constitution of Zimbabwe.

The selection of the finalists for the 2013 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk has now taken place and the overall winner will be chosen by an independent jury of cross-party Ministers, Parliamentarians and Members of the European Parliament. Having read the 90 nominations- and seen the quality and dedicated commitment of the human rights defenders - it is clear that so many would be a worthy finalist or winner and how impossible the task for the decision makers is. To all who were nominated, let me say on behalf or Front Line Defenders how much you inspire us and how much we value your unrelenting work for the rights of others. If you need support at any time, please contact us.

The finalists are:-

Bahtiyor Hamraev, the head of the Djizak regional branch of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan has been a dedicated human rights defender for the last 15 years. Despite being attacked and threatened many times and despite the arrest of his son to punish his father for his human rights work, Bahtiyor has refused to leave the country and tried to make a difference in one of the worst human rights situations in the region.