May 27, 2021
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in
Bangladesh.
Description of the situation:
Rozina Islam, a senior investigative reporter for the newspaper
Prothom Alo, who has reported on cases of government corruption, including alleged mismanagement and acts of bribery by officials of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in their handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On May 17, 2021, Rozina Islam went to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Dhaka to attend a meeting with the Secretary of the Ministry’s Health Services Division. Officials of the Ministry held her for more than five hours and accused her of taking pictures of official documents containing sensitive information at the office of the Secretary’s personal secretary. While she was being held, Rozina Islam was denied access to a doctor, even
Marfa Rabkova has not seen her husband Vadzim since the night of September 17, 2020, when around 10 masked men from the Main Department for Combating Organised Crime and Corruption violently detained the couple on their way back home, in Minsk. They were put in two different cars. While Vadzim was released the day after, Marfa was brought to the Okrestina pre-detention centre in Minsk, infamous for the torture and ill-treatment of protesters in August. She remains imprisoned on charges of “training persons for the participation in mass riots or financing such activities”.
The real reason for the detention of the 26-year-old is the crucial role she has played coordinating the volunteer service at Viasna (“Spring”), a leading human rights group in Belarus. Her charisma and team spirit caught the attention of many people, who ultimately decided to join the organisation as volunteers to ensure the respect of human rights in the country. Together with other members of the human
IRAQ and IRAQI KURDISTAN: Systematic targeting of human rights defenders
26/05/2021
Paris-Geneva-Baghdad-Beirut-Erbil, May 26, 2021 – In the framework of the ongoing demonstrations against corruption, unemployment, and for political reform in Iraq, human rights defenders, peaceful protesters, bloggers and independent journalists have been targeted by a wave of threats, kidnappings, arbitrary detentions, and killings. The Observatory (OMCT-FIDH) the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR), the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights (IOHR), Metro Center. Iraqi Al Amal Association (IAA), and Iraqi Network for Social media (INSM) express their utmost concern over these events and call on the Iraqi authorities to put an end to all acts of harassment against human rights defenders, journalists and peaceful protesters and hold perpetrators accountable.