On the morning of 4 April 2016 human rights defender Mr Obert Chinhamo was driving to his hometown of Kwekwe when he realised that he was being followed by unidentified vehicles. The vehicles overtook and intercepted him, forcing him to stop. This incident follows a series of threats and intimidation against the human rights defender.
On 20 November 2018, human rights defender and photographer Shahidul Alam was released from Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj, following 108 days of detention. The High Court had granted him bail on 15 November 2018. Shahidul Alam was detained at his home by members of the Detective Branch of Police on 5 August 2018. He appeared in court the following day, where he was charged with “spreading propaganda and false information against the government”.
On 14 August 2018, Elias Bizimungu Rwaramba was acquitted and released by the High court of Rutshuru on the grounds that the evidence brought by the Public Prosecutor was not sufficient to sentence the human rights defender.
On 7 August 2018, the second hearing of Elias Bizimungu Rwaramba began before the High Court of Rutshuru. The human rights defender has been detained for two months in the central prison of Rutshuru.
On 22 July 2018, Le Dinh Luong’s (Vietnamese: Lê Đình Lượng) daughter announced that the human rights defender is due to face trial on 30 July 2018. The People’s Court of Nghe An province will try the defender over a year after his arrest, on charges of “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration.” If convicted, Le Dinh Luong could face between twelve and twenty years in prison, life imprisonment, or capital punishment.
On 22 March 2017, Lena Hendry was sentenced to pay a fine of RM 10,000 (about €2,100) or spend a year in jail by the Magistrates’ Court in Kuala Lumpur for screening a documentary on the Sri Lankan civil war titled 'No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka' four years ago. The prosecution appealed the decision for a higher sentence, and on 14 December 2017, the High Court struck down the appeal.
On 15 February 2021, the State Court sentenced human rights defender Jolovan Wham to a fine of SGD 8000 (approximately 4,991 euro). The defender paid a portion of his fine and will serve the remainder of his 22 day sentence in jail by default.
On 5 July 2019, the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya rejected Fahmi Reza’s appeal against his conviction under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for posting an illustration of the former Prime Minister Najib Razak as a clown on his Facebook account on 8 February 2016. The Court of Appeals rejected his appeal after a panel of three judges led by Justice Datuk Kamardin Hashim unanimously ruled that there was no merit in his appeal.
On 31 December 2016, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet to the Mumbai special court against human rights defenders Ms Teesta Setalvad, Mr Javed Anand and their publishing company Sabrang Communications and Publishing Private Limited (SCPPL) for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
Human rights defender Ms Irom Chanu Sharmila, campaigner against Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was arrested in Imphal on 22 August, 2014, on charges of attempted suicide.
Indigenous human rights defender Ms Gloria Ushigua has been a target of increasing levels of harassment over the past month as a result of her peaceful and legitimate work in defence of environmental rights and her ancestral land. On 31 May 2016, five men sat outside Gloria Ushigua's home throughout the night, in what appeared to be an act of intimidation against the human rights defender. This follows another act of intimidation against her niece on 26 May 2016 and the killing of the human rights defender's sister-in-law, Anacleta Dahua Cují, on 2 May 2016.
Lydia Mukami and her colleagues at the Mwea Foundation have faced threats and direct violence as a result of their human rights work. Lydia herself was abducted, beaten and stripped of her clothes in public. She has also received threatening messages and her home has been torched.
