According to the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Activists of Uzbekistan the husband of human rights defender Gulbahor Turayeva who was pardoned and released from prison, was violently beaten up in Andijan on 25 July. "This attack is a result of a campaign launched against Turayeva’s family" according to the group.
Front Line is deeply saddened by the killing of human rights defender Ms Natalya Estemirova, member of the Grozny office of the Human Rights Centre Memorial, who was abducted and murdered by armed men on 15 July 2009. Natalya Estemirova was an award winning human rights defender who had continued to document human rights violations in Chechnya and speak out on behalf of victims and their families in the face of repeated death threats and harassment.
The Sharjah Sharia criminal Court decided on the 4th of March 2009, to replace the execution sentence which imposed on Hassan al-Diqqi on the 30th of June 2006, to a 10 years imprisonment. The state authorities had previously offered to release him if he gave up his human rights work. He refused this offer.
Front line is concerned following information received that the National Organisation for Human Rights in eastern Egypt (NOHROS) has been subjected to harassment and suspension of state financial support. NOHROS monitored the parliamentary and municipal elections in November 2005 and April 2008, reporting wide misconduct by the authorities.
A recent report by the National Union of Somali Journalists documents the ongoing oppression of and attacks on journalists and other media workers. The NUSOJ has recorded numerous cases of attacks against media professionals and news media organisations particularly in Kismayu, Mogadishu, Galkayo, Bossasso, Baidoa, Beledweyne.
Front Line is deeply concerned following the arrests of six journalists and media workers: V. Jesikaran, Vadivel Valarmathi, J.S. Tissanayagam, Kithsiri Wijesinghe, Udayanan, and A.G. Gayan Lasantha Ranga between 6 and 8 March 2008.
Front Line is deeply concerned following the arrest of eleven human rights defenders and the alleged torture and ill-treatment of a number of those arrested. The arrests took place in the days following demonstrations on 17 December 2007 in Manama and other regions of Bahrain, in which a protester, Ali Jessam Mekki, was killed. The demonstrations were organised by members of the National Committee of Martyrs and Victims of Torture to mark the 13th anniversary of the death of two young Shiite men killed by security forces while participating in a demonstration calling for the restoration of democracy. From the 21st to the 28th December 2007, members of the Special Security Forces (SSF) arrested approximately 50 people including at least 11 human rights defenders.
On 13 December 2007, Front Line together with the Anti-discrimination Centre “Memorial” held the seminar “Challenges to legitimacy – Strategies for Strengthening the Space for Human Rights Defenders in Russia”. This event brought together 35 participants: human rights defenders from different parts of Russia, representatives from international human rights NGOs and IGOs, including UN, EU and OSCE - ODIHR. The seminar came out with concrete recommendations for both Russian civil society and the international community.
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