Ethiopia: The World Movement is thrilled to learn that Dr. Merera Gudina was released on January 17, after serving more than year in pre-trial detention. Dr. Gudina, a scholar and chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), was arrested and accused of violating Ethiopia’s 10-month state of emergency. He was released along with 527 others as part of a larger government amnesty…
Bahrain: On January 30, a Bahraini criminal court sentenced 58 political activists charged with terrorism by the government. Nineteen received life sentences while 37 others received sentences ranging from 5-15 years. Two activists received death sentences, joining 19 others prisoners on death row – the largest number since courts were established in 1923. In addition to the harsh sentences, 47…
In a span of several weeks, human rights activists throughout the North Caucasus have been targets of violent attacks and intimidation. On January 17, 2018, the offices of Memorial Human Rights Center in Ingushetia were torched and destroyed by unidentified masked men. Memorial is one of the most prominent and effective human rights organizations in…
On January 8, 2018, the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) issued a statement of concern regarding the recent invasive security measures and harassment undertaken by the Chinese government against the Uyghur ethnic minority living in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). The CECC noted the exponential increase in security forces, arbitrary arrests, and the systemic, “involuntary collection…