What are you going to do?

Three opposition activists, Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, abducted from state custody, sexually violated, tortured and hospitalized in May 2020, simply for leading a demonstration over the government’s failure to provide social protection for the poor during the COVID-19 lockdown, continue to be persecuted in Zimbabwe.

On 31 July, the three activists appeared in court following a state summons, in connection with charges brought against them on 10 June of ‘communicating or publishing false statement prejudicial to the state’ and ‘defeating or obstructing the course of justice’. 

After their court appearance, they were accompanied by their lawyer to report to the Harare Central Police station as required by their bail conditions. They were stopped by police and soldiers near the ruling party, ZANU-PF’s, Headquarters. A soldier falsely accused Cecilia Chimbiri of insulting him and whipped her with a heavy leather whip. 

The three activists and their lawyer were arrested and taken to Harare Central Police Station, where police refused to record Cecilia Chimbiri’s complaint and charged her with insulting a police officer. She was later released and will appear in court.

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Josina Ziyaya Machel is a Women’s Human Rights Defender and founder of the Kuhluka Movement, a non-profit initiative working to end gender-based violence 

On 17 October 2015, Josina Machel was brutally assaulted by her then partner, Rofino Licuco, which resulted in the loss of sight in her right eye. In February 2017, the Ka-Pfumu Municipal District Court convicted her attacker for the crimes of serious physical and psychological violence, under articles 246(b), 171 (e) and 247(i) of the Mozambican Penal Code. Rofino Licuco was sentenced to three years and four months of detention, which was suspended under the condition of damages amounting to 2,800,000 USD. 

On 12 June 2020 the 2nd Criminal Appeal Section of the Judicial Court of Maputo’s City overturned the guilty verdict on the grounds that there were no eyewitnesses to corroborate the incidents of physical and psychological aggression and that the medical evidence presented could not exclude the possibility of Josina Machel’s injury to be a result of a ‘simple fall’ or ‘blunt object’. On 5 August 2020, Josina Machel filed an appeal to the Supreme Court against the decision. The Supreme Court is due to rule on the appeal.

In the aftermath of the October 2015 attack, Josina Machel was subject to a campaign of intimidation and harassment aimed at preventing her from bringing a court case against Rofino Licuco for the assault she suffered. She was followed by unidentified men through Maputo and received intimidating calls, including evening calls from Rofino Licuco himself to warn her that he was aware that she was alone at home. 

In July 2016, the windows of her friend’s car were broken while they were in a restaurant in downtown Maputo, and a threatening note was left inside the car. On 12 August 2020, Josina Machel received a letter from Rofino Licuco’s lawyers warning her to stop referring to him and using his name in any way.

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 Merdan Ghappar (麦尔丹 · 阿巴) is a Uyghur model who has currently been placed under “compulsory measures” (强制措施). He was taken away in January 2020 in Foshan, Guangdong Province, and has not been seen or heard from since March 2020.

Messages from Merdan Ghappar that have circulated publicly on social media include distressing details and photos describing his poor detention conditions. He described overcrowding, poor hygiene, insufficient COVID-19 protection measures and screaming from a presumed interrogation room. A self-taken video from March 2020 showed him shackled to a bed in a room. No one has seen or heard from him since then.

It is not reassuring that Xinjiang authorities disclosed limited details about Merdan Ghappar’s situation only after his case was raised by the international media. According to their written statement, Merdan Ghappar was transferred to his hometown Kuqa by the authorities. He is apparently being held under “compulsory measures” for assaulting health care workers and was handcuffed to his bed to stop him from self-harm and overreaction against police.

Amnesty International is concerned that Merdan Ghappar remains in detention solely because of the videos and messages he sent. 

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Held incommunicado for over 18 months, human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng was finally allowed to meet his lawyer on 14 August. According to his lawyer, Yu was tortured in detention and his health has drastically deteriorated. Charged with “inciting subversion of state power”, Yu was sentenced on 17 June 2020 to four years’ imprisonment and deprivation of political rights for three years. 

Yu Wensheng told his lawyer that, during his detention, he had been sprayed with pepper spray water and was required to sit on a metal chair for an extended period of time, until he partially lost consciousness. Yu also said that he was often not given enough food and that he suffered heatstroke in the summer and was cold in the winter.

Yu’s wife, Xu Yan, has expressed her distress about the sharp deterioration in Yu’s health since he has been held incommunicado. In addition to struggling with hypertension, some of Yu’s teeth fell out and he was too weak to chew his food. Yu also shared that, due to severe tremors, he was no longer able to write with his right hand. Instead, Yu was forced to write his entire appeal submission with his left hand. According to the doctor in the detention center, this condition is irreversible.

He is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, and must be immediately and unconditionally released.

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Papuan activists, and former prisoners of conscience Ferry Kombo, Alexander Gobai, Agus Kossay, Stevanus Itlay, Hengki Hilapok, Buchtar Tabuni and Irwanus Uropmabin have all been released from prison and have all been able to return to their homes in Papua.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions within Indonesia, air travel is currently very complicated. As a result, Amnesty International provided logistical support to aid their safe return home and ensure that their lawyers and families were able to accompany them on their flights.

Mr. Gustaf Kawer, one of the lawyers involved in the case, expressed his appreciation for the help from Amnesty International and thanked all members who took action and supported the seven former prisoners of conscience.

Ferry Kombo, Alexander Gobai, Agus Kossay, Stevanus Itlay, Hengki Hilapok, Buchtar Tabuni and Irwanus Uropmabin were convicted of treason (makar) and sentenced in June 2020 to between ten and 11 months in prison for their role in an anti-racism demonstration in August 2019. They were a part of a group of 56 political activists and human rights defenders from Papua who were imprisoned in relation to the 2019 anti-racism protest in Surabaya. Out of the total 56 prisoners of conscience, 34 remain imprisoned.

The Indonesian authorities have used these criminal code provisions to prosecute dozens of peaceful pro-independence political activists in Papua and Maluku over the last decade.

On 4 May 2020, machi Celestino Córdova Tránsito and 8 other Mapuche prisoners began a hunger strike in Temuco, a city in the southern region of Araucanía in Chile. In the following weeks, other 17 Mapuche prisoners joined the hunger strike.

The 26 prisoners on hunger strike, including the Machi, demanded the application of ILO Convention 169, allowing prisoners to serve their sentence or pre-trial detention in their lands and not a prison. Machi Celestino Córdova specifically demanded respect for his rights as a spiritual leader of the Mapuche people, which requires him to have a physical proximity to his land and a specific sacred place, which represents the connection between the earthly and spiritual world.

Last week, machi Celestino Córdova and his spokespeople restarted a dialogue with representatives of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. This dialogue was supported as observers by the Chilean Human Rights Institution, the Medical Association of Chile (Colegio Médico) and representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

On 18 August, machi Celestino Córdova reached an agreement with the government. As per the agreement, he will receive culturally pertinent treatment until his full recovery, permission to go to his land for up to 30 hours to perform ceremonies, and the possibility of serving his sentence at a “Center for Education and Work”, which means he could be close to the countryside instead of a city prison. It also includes items which benefit all hunger strikers, such an agreement that all those who are convicted can apply to serve their sentence in similar centers, the review of the pre-trial detentions of those who are not yet convicted, and the agreement that no prisoners on hunger strike will be subject to disciplinary measures because of the strike. After the agreement was signed, machi Celestino Córdova has began gradually feeding again.

Media reporting on the issue mentioned Amnesty’s call for dialogue as one of the relevant elements that served to pressure the government into a meaningful dialogue and reach an agreement.

These are the words of Ignace Sossou after his release when he visited Amnesty International’s Benin office: “Amnesty action and all the mobilization behind my case contributed to my release. When I was in detention, my little brother, who visited me regularly in prison, came with paper articles of the mobilization actions of Amnesty members. It gave me strength. Today, I would like to thank Amnesty International. You’ve always been there for me, from the beginning’’.

On 18 December 2019, Ignace Sossou posted tweets quoting the Public Prosecutor during a conference hosted by the French media development agency CFI. In his tweets, Ignace Sossou questioned the government’s decision to shut down the Internet during elections in April 2019 and stated that the Public Prosecutor had described Benin’s digital code as “a weapon” that can be used against journalists. The Public Prosecutor alleged that his remarks had been taken out of context by Ignace Sossou and issued a complaint against him at the Court of First Instance in the capital, Cotonou. On 24 December, Ignace Sossou appeared before a judge. He acknowledged having written the tweets but not to having harassed the Public Prosecutor.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin attending parliament session at parliament lower house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday, July 13, 2020.

© 2020 AP Photo/Vincent Thian

The Algerian authorities must immediately end an escalating campaign of media harassment which has recently seen two prominent journalists handed harsh prison sentences simply for expressing their views or for covering protests, said Amnesty International today.

Since the Hirak protest movement, which is calling for radical political change in Algeria, started in February 2019, at least eight journalists have been imprisoned over their reporting or social media posts, often after being convicted on bogus charges such as “harming Algeria’s territorial integrity”, “insulting the president of the republic” or “inciting a gathering”. Several news websites well known for their critical stance towards the government are facing disruption to their accessibility via Algerian networks.

“The Algerian authorities are willing to do whatever it takes to silence criticism. Journalists have recently been imprisoned for sharing videos, criticizing the president, and expressing support for protest movements,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Arturo Garza, a 19-year-old engineering student and baseball aficionado, left home to visit his girlfriend on the night of Saturday 27 June. It was the last time his family would see him alive.

The next day they looked for him all over Nuevo Laredo, a border town in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas. They reported his disappearance to the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Missing or Abducted Persons, but it was not until 3 July that they learned of a shootout between the Mexican Army and a group of alleged criminals, in which 12 men died.

A video published by El Universal this week revealed how soldiers relentlessly pursued a pickup truck, hitting it with at least 243 shots. At the end of the video, a soldier approaches the back of the truck and shouts: “He’s alive!” Another responds with the order: “Kill the fucker”.

Lying in the back of the truck was Arturo, next to Ángel Nuñez, a 27-year-old mechanic who had disappeared on 27 June, and Damián Genovez Tercero, an 18-year-old migrant from Chiapas, who had not been seen since 24 June when he went out to look for work with his cousin Alejandro Tercero, who remains missing.

All three had been shot dead, but unlike the others killed in the shootout they were not carrying weapons or wearing uniforms and had been bound by their hands and feet. The evidence suggests that they had been abducted by a criminal gang and that the soldiers illegally executed them.

“My son didn’t deserve this kind of death,” said Hector Garza, Arturo’s father. “I wouldn’t wish this on any other parent, it’s too much pain, it tears at my heart and the truth is I feel betrayed by Mexico.”

Unfortunately, these were not isolated events. Amnesty International and the Nuevo Laredo Human Rights Committee have been denouncing grave human rights violations in Mexico and in the state of Tamaulipas for decades, often at the hands of the armed forces.

The militarized public security strategy of successive governments, combined with rampant impunity, has created a lethal environment in which the Army and Navy continue to commit crimes under international law, such as extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances, in Tamaulipas and many parts of the country.