arbitrary detention

Between 22 and 24 September 2009, human rights defenders from la Asociación Jóvenes en Movimiento - AJEM (The Association of Youth in Movement) have been beaten, harassed, arbitrarily detained, and had possessions damaged and stolen during various instances of police abuse which have followed the recent weeks of unrest in Honduras. 

Human rights defenders, Mr Xu Zhiyong and Ms Zhuang Lu, were detained by police officers in separate incidents at their homes in Beijing on 29 July 2009. Their whereabouts remain unknown and their relatives and colleagues have not received any communication from them since their detention. 

Front Line is concerned following reports of the continued detention of human rights defender, Mr Nizar Ristnawi, despite the end of his four-year prison sentence and despite an opinion by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) in March 2009 that the detention of Nizar Ristnawi is arbitrary. Nizar Ristnawi, aged 49, is a member of the Committee to Defend Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights in Syria and a founding member of the Arab Organization for Human Rights in Syria. 

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports that human rights defender, Mr Vicente Zhunio Samaniego, has again been arbitrarily detained since 20 January 2009, after being released from hospital. Vicente Zhunio Samaniego is a community leader and President of the Asociación Campesina de Limón Indanza (Peasants' Association of Limón Indanza), which is a member organisation of the Coordinadora Nacional por la Defensa de la Vida y la Soberanía (National Co-ordinating Committee for the Defence of Life and Sovereignty – NCCDLS). 

Front Line is seriously concerned following reports of the arbitrary detention and intimidation of a group of human rights defenders opposed to the construction of the Mapithel Dam in Manipur State.These include T. Dewal from the village of Itham, L. Bipin from Tumukhong, L. Bobojit and H. Kendra Luwang from Moirangpurel. All are members of the Mapithel Dam Affected Ching-Tam Organization (MDACTO), an organisation which defends the rights of communities affected by the dam project.