Human Rights Watch

Click to expand Image A man with albinism covers himself in sunscreen prepared by members of an NGO on August 18, 2016, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. © 2016 Sia Kambou/AFP via Getty Images

Luisinho, a 26-year-old man with albinism whom I interviewed in Mozambique, faced a heartbreaking choice: either continue working outdoors under life-threatening sun exposure or quit his job selling second-hand clothes, thereby pushing himself and his family deeper into poverty. He needed to make this choice because he could not afford adequate sun protection.

Luisinho’s experience is not isolated. Rather, it is emblematic of the systemic barriers that persons with albinism face when accessing life-saving products such as SPF50+ broad-spectrum sunscreen.

From May 5-9, the 25th World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines will meet in Geneva to review proposals for adding, removing, or amending the medicines on the WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines and Essential Medicines for Children.

SPF50+ sunscreen specifically for persons with albinism should be included, according to an application submitted by the UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of rights by persons with albinism. in partnership with the Global Albinism Alliance, the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Climate Change, the Africa Albinism Network, and others. Human Rights Watch supports this application, which presents an opportunity to address the disproportionate risk of certain types of skin cancer that persons with albinism face because of the lower levels of melanin in their skin.

Human Rights Watch has documented the challenges faced by persons with albinism in accessing health services and protective products, particularly in regions where sun exposure is unavoidable. In Mozambique, eight-year-old Josina’s most-desired gift was sunscreen: a basic necessity for her health that remains out of reach for many. Without consistent access to sunscreen, both Josina and Luisinho are exposed to harmful UV radiation that jeopardizes their daily lives. Children risk missing out on education, while adults may lose their livelihoods due to debilitating sunburns that elevate their skin cancer risk.

The inclusion of SPF50+ sunscreen in the medications list aligns with WHO criteria: that essential medicines meet the population’s priority health care needs and be available through functioning health systems at all times in sufficient quantities, appropriate forms, assured quality, and at affordable prices.

The WHO Expert Committee should act on the overwhelming evidence and experiences of persons with albinism by approving the inclusion of SPF50+ sunscreen. Doing so will not only prevent avoidable harm and protect public health, but will also ensure that people in Luisinho’s situation no longer have to choose between their livelihoods and their health.

Click to expand Image A protester holds up a sign that reads in French, "Security is a right, Haiti deserves it" during a demonstration in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 2, 2025. © AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph

(Washington, DC) – Increasing violence in Haiti by criminal groups and clashes with “self-defense” groups are contributing to the dangerous insecurity facing the country’s population, Human Rights Watch said today. Criminal groups have been tightening their grip on Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and expanding into other regions. Opposition leaders and “self-defense” groups have led violent protests against the transitional government. 

The United Nations Security Council should urgently ensure that the UN-backed Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) receives the personnel and resources needed to fulfill its mandate, and agree on steps to transform the mission into a full-fledged UN operation with a mandate to protect human rights and prevent a further escalation of violence. 

“Haiti’s security situation is in a free fall and Haitians are suffering horrific abuses,” said Nathalye Cotrino, senior Americas researcher at Human Rights Watch. “UN member states should immediately bolster the MSS’s capacity and take urgent steps to transform it into a full-fledged UN mission.”

Only 10 percent of Port-au-Prince remains under government control, with criminal groups escalating attacks since late 2024. Criminal groups have attacked key infrastructure, state institutions, schools, health centers, media outlets, and residential and commercial areas. They have also infiltrated neighborhoods near Pétion-Ville, one of the few areas not under their control, and where upper and middle classes live and the UN has its offices. Killings, kidnappings, sexual violence, and child recruitment have been reported almost daily, while police and the MSS struggle with insufficient funds and personnel.

Between late January and March 2025, at least 262 people were killed and 66 others injured in the southern Port-au-Prince communes of Kenscoff and Carrefour, according to the UN. Violence has also continued to affect the Artibonite Department, where more than 11 people were killed in Gros-Morne in late January, and the MSS suffered its first casualty in the commune of Petite-Rivière in late February. In late March and early April, violence spread to two cities in the Center Department, Mirebalais and Saut-d’Eau, where over 80 people were killed, the National Human Rights Defense Network informed. More recently, threats of imminent attacks against the nearby city of Hinche were reported.

Escalating criminal violence, compounded by clashes with “self-defense groups”—formed by community members often operating in collusion with police—and with law enforcement, has forced more than 90,000 people to flee their homes since the beginning of the year, the International Organization for Migration reported. Many international and domestic human rights and humanitarian organizations have also been forced to relocate or suspend operations, further affecting the 6 million Haitians in need of humanitarian assistance and worsening conditions for the 5.7 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity, the highest number in recent years.

“People no longer have a safe place to flee to,” an aid worker told Human Rights Watch. “Women who come here seeking help have not only lost loved ones, but have also been raped, displaced and left on the streets, starving and struggling to survive. We don’t know how much longer they can endure such suffering … All [victims] ask is for the violence to stop. With no support from the police or government, they feel abandoned. They ask, ‘Why is no one helping us? Why do Haitian lives not matter if we are human too?’”

The transitional government—with three of its members implicated in corruption—established a task force in early March to fight criminal groups, launching drone strikes with explosive munitions without accountability for abuses. Criminal leaders have also threatened to deploy this technology.

Members of the communities of Port-au-Prince, Pétion-Ville, and Kenscoff, as well as internally displaced people, have taken to the streets in the capital in recent weeks, calling for the ousting of the current government. “Self-defense” group members and police officers have joined some of the protests. In response, on April 7 the transitional government declared a new state of emergency, announcing, among other measures, increased security force resources.

The government’s handling of the situation has instead led to the reemergence of opposition figures such as Claude Joseph, a former prime minister; Guy Philippe, a former police commander who served six years in a US prison on money laundering and drug charges; and Dimitri Hérard, former head of the General Security Unit of the National Palace, who was charged in relation to the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. All three have called for new protests.

Amid this growing instability, foreign governments have largely remained silent, Human Rights Watch said. Since UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ February 24 options paper with recommendations to the UN Security Council, no concrete action has been taken. 

The paper called for the establishment of a UN support office, funded by assessed contributions, to provide logistical and operational support to the MSS to enhance its ability to conduct robust, targeted operations with the Haitian National Police against criminal groups. It also called for the MSS to be “scaled up in numbers and strengthened with additional military-grade capabilities and lethal equipment provided bilaterally by Member States to address current gaps,” and for strengthened intelligence gathering and analytical capabilities. The secretary-general further requested UN support to non-UN security forces and programs to support those who choose to leave criminal groups and to support the Haitian authorities in investigating, prosecuting, and detaining high-risk people the MSS arrests.

On April 13, as reports emerge of criminal groups attempting to seize power, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) urged the international community to take urgent action to support Haitian authorities. The US State Department soon after expressed support for CARICOM and the MSS’s efforts to help restore peace and stability. The same day, Haiti’s transitional government reiterated its call for the UN Security Council to urgently consider “proposals for a significant strengthening of international support for the restoration of security in Haiti.”

So far, no concrete steps have been taken to increase international support for the MSS, to implement the UN secretary-general’s recommendations, or to conduct other efforts to improve security in Haiti, Human Rights Watch said. The US government, which was the primary funder of the MSS when it was established in 2023, has not provided principled leadership or direction, which foreign diplomats have widely perceived as a key factor behind the continued delay in meaningful deliberation or decision-making.

“Inaction would represent a catastrophic setback for foreign policy, following years of engagement and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment,” Pierre Espérance, a Haitian human rights advocate, told Human Rights Watch by phone on April 16. “Immediate reinforcement of the Haitian Police and MSS with troops, helicopters, and resources is critical. Haitians are in agony without international support.”

On April 21, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti is expected to brief the UN Security Council on the situation in Haiti. It is crucial for Security Council members to discuss the need for UN member states to provide more personnel, funding, and equipment to the MSS, Human Rights Watch said.

The United States, the European Union, Canada, and other concerned governments across Latin America and beyond should urgently provide personnel and resources to bolster the MSS, Human Rights Watch said. They should also commit to a medium and long-term strategy that incorporates the UN secretary-general’s recommendations, with the goal of transforming the MSS into a robust UN mission mandated to protect civilians and help restore stability and the rule of law in Haiti. 

“The UN has the expertise to support Haitian efforts to restore basic security and start rebuilding the country, while upholding human rights and addressing the urgent needs of millions of people,” Cotrino said. “But the window for action is closing.”

Click to expand Image Students protest against the detention of fellow students who joined demonstrations against the jailing of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Kadiköy, Istanbul, April 8, 2025. © 2025 Human Rights Watch

(Istanbul, April 17, 2025) – Türkiye is set to prosecute hundreds of people, mainly students, who protested the detention of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoglu in hasty, mass trials, scheduled to begin on April 18, 2015, Human Rights Watch said today.

 

The rushed nature and mass scale of the trials, which lack evidence of criminal wrongdoing, exemplify how Türkiye’s restrictions on the right to assembly are arbitrary and incompatible with a democratic society based on the rule of law.

“Given the glaring absence of evidence, it is hard not to conclude that the intended purpose of these rushed trials is to send a warning against exercising the rights to peaceful protest or free expression,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The prosecutor should be calling for these cases to be dropped unless there is direct and substantive evidence that particular individuals committed specific crimes.”

The first two hearings, set for April 18, involves 189 defendants, including many students, two journalists and five photojournalists. They face charges including attending an unauthorized demonstration and not obeying police orders to disperse; carrying weapons or covering their faces to conceal their identity; and incitement to commit a crime. The last charge is based on social media posts.

The potential penalties range from six months to four years for the first two charges, with up to five years for incitement to commit a crime. In almost all cases the indictments lack individualized evidence that the accused engaged in anything resembling criminal activity.

The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office has announced that is total of 819 people are facing prosecution in the scope of 20 criminal investigations into protests.

Human Rights Watch reviewed nine indictments involving 650 defendants accused of protest- related offenses. One hundred and seven of them are charged only with participating in unauthorized demonstrations and failure to disperse (article 32/1 of the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations, no. 2711).

The prosecutor’s office labels the demonstrations “unauthorized” because on March 19, the Istanbul governor announced a four-day blanket ban on all protests and assemblies in Istanbul, later extended by another four days, and ending on March 26.

Despite the governor’s announced ban, mass assemblies with thousands of participants took place outside the Istanbul municipality building, and students organized peaceful marches from other areas of Istanbul to join in. Moreover, 120 out of 650 people are accused of attending peaceful protests held on March 27, after the ban was lifted.

Of the 189 defendants in the hearings on April 18, 62 are accused of carrying weapons or concealing their faces to avoid being identified during a demonstration (article 33/1 of law 2911), yet the only specifics provided as evidence in the indictment in terms of carrying a weapon is an allegation that one protestor had a rock in his hand.

In reality, many people of all ages at the mass protests covered their faces to protect themselves from the effects of pepper spray and pellets the police used on several occasions as well as while dispersing them. Some people may have chosen to cover their faces in view of the restrictions on the right to protest over the past few years in Türkiye, Human Rights Watch said.

Twenty people on trial on April 18 are charged with seeking to “incite a crime” via social media posts (Turkish Penal Code article 214). These posts overwhelmingly consist of generalized calls to join people in the streets and statements against the government and not calls for violence or criminality.

Seven journalists who were reporting on the protests are being treated by the prosecutor as protesters, and the indictment says that their claim to be journalists “has not been counted” by the prosecutor’s office because the police did not establish that they were present for journalistic purposes. Hundreds of thousands of people participated in the overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrations outside the Istanbul municipal building over seven days after police arrested mayor İmamoglu, together with approximately 90 municipal officials, politicians and advisers.

Video footage verified by Human Rights Watch shows that police sprayed pepper spray and deployed pepper balls at close range to disperse people and violently detained others, accusing them of ignoring announcements to disperse. Some demonstrators were later detained from their homes on the basis of police video footage showing their participation in rallies.

Istanbul courts initially ordered the pretrial detention of 278 alleged protesters, placing others under house arrest or imposing travel bans. Out of 40 pretrial detention hearing records concerning 352 people reviewed by Human Rights Watch, 30 individuals allege physical or verbal abuse by police officers. Detainees or their lawyers told judges that police had beaten, verbally insulted, or otherwise ill-treated them as they were apprehended. At least one woman detainee has complained of police ill treatment and verbal and physical sexual harassment and touching. There needs to be a prompt and effective investigation of all allegations of police ill-treatment, harassment, and excessive use of force, Human Rights Watch said.

The Interior Ministry has announced that it is conducting an inquiry into police intervention in the demonstrations.

About 230 of those in pretrial detention were released two to three weeks later, not least because there has been public pressure about the fact they are students about to take university exams.

The European Court of Human Rights has issued more than 70 judgments over 15 years against Türkiye. All of them have found disproportionate and unlawful intervention in the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, including through the prosecution of participants and the use of excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations.

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers charged with overseeing the implementation of European Court judgments has strongly urged Türkiye to revise its Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations to uphold the right to peaceful assembly and bring it in line with the case law of the European Court.

“Violent police dispersal of demonstrations that Turkish authorities deem unlawful is an entrenched problem requiring amending their law and practice to uphold the right to peaceful assembly,” Williamson said. “Abuse of the criminal justice system to detain and charge students for peaceful protest is only the latest instance in a catalogue of cases in which e the European Court of Human Rights has found multiple rights violations.”

Click to expand Image An LMBT+ flag at a rally in front of the Hungarian Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on April 14. The protests erupt after the parliament passes legislation restricting the right to assembly, banning Pride Marches.  © 2025 Balint Szentgallay/NurPhoto via AP

(Budapest, April 17, 2025) – The amendments to Hungary’s Fundamental Law represent yet another escalation in the Orbán government’s ongoing efforts to dismantle rights, undermine the rule of law, and diminish democracy in Hungary, Human Rights Watch said today.

The sweeping legal changes to Hungary’s constitution, rushed through parliament on April 14, 2025, without public debate and signed by the president on the same day, pose serious threats to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, to freedom of assembly, and to rights of some Hungarians with dual citizenship.

“The constitutional amendments are further proof of the Orbán government’s authoritarian drive to consolidate political power,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “From scapegoating LGBT people to suspending Hungarian citizenship of dual citizens, the Hungarian government is cementing a legal framework that is hostile to the rule of law, equality, and democracy in blatant violation of EU law.”

One of the amendments defines gender strictly as a person’s biological sex assigned at birth. This definition effectively denies transgender identities, further entrenching Hungary’s ban on legal gender recognition and limiting transgender people’s ability to live free from both legal and social discrimination.

Another amendment elevates “child protection” above all other constitutional rights except the right to life, effectively giving the government broad latitude to invoke “child protection” to arbitrarily curtail a host of rights, including freedom of assembly. This amendment is linked to a March amendment to the law of freedom of assembly that will outlaw Pride-related events.

The government also included a provision enabling the authorities to “suspend” Hungarian citizenship for non-EU and non-European Economic Area dual citizens who are deemed to constitute a threat to the public order, public safety, or national security. A separate law, which outlines the suspension procedure, states that a relevant minister will make the determination on the suspension of citizenship. Critics fear that this will be used to target journalists, activists, opposition politicians and anyone the government does not like.

This follows parliament’s adoption in 2023 of the Sovereignty Protection Act, which created a special body to investigate anyone the authorities deem to be pursuing vaguely defined “foreign interests”. At the time, ruling party officials said that the aim was to target opposition politicians, journalists, and civil society organizations. The EU Commission in October 2024 took Hungary to the EU Court of Justice over this law.

Since 2010, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has used his supermajority in parliament to undermine the independence of the judiciary, crack down on independent media and civil society organizations, demonize migrants and asylum seekers, discriminate against LGBT people, and undercut women’s and girls’ rights. For the past five years, by declaring various states of danger or emergency, Orbán’s government has effectively ruled by decree, sidestepping parliament altogether.

Efforts by EU institutions to bring Hungary’s government in line with fundamental EU values, through infringement proceedings, European Union Court rulings, and suspension of EU funds have had little impact. In 2018, the European Parliament triggered the Article 7 mechanism – designed to hold accountable governments that may be in breach of values enshrined in the Treaty on European Union – against Hungary, citing a systemic threat to the EU’s founding values. A breach of these values may result in the suspension of voting rights in the EU Council.

These new draconian amendments should raise alarm bells and prompt member states to immediately move Article 7 proceedings forward to a vote, Human Rights Watch said.

The European Commission should in the meantime immediately initiate new infringement proceedings against Hungary for the repressive constitutional amendments violating fundamental rights.

“Orbán has shown once more his willingness to trample rights and shred protections, and there is no reason to think he won’t continue on this authoritarian path,” Williamson said. “EU institutions and member states should stand in solidarity with those in Hungary upholding EU values and do everything they can to halt the downward spiral toward authoritarianism.”

Click to expand Image Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa delivers his State of the Nation address to parliament, in Harare, October 3, 2023. © 2023 AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi

(Johannesburg) – On April 11, 2025, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed a law on nongovernmental organizations that sharply curtails the rights to freedom of association and expression, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Act empowers the government to deregister and seize the assets of nongovernmental groups deemed to be acting in a “politically partisan manner.” The law will severely restrict civic space for groups that are fighting political repression in the country.

“Zimbabwean authorities have long used domestic law as an instrument of repression, and this new law will allow them to target civil groups,” said Idriss Ali Nassah, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Nongovernmental organizations cannot freely exercise their rights to free expression and other democratic liberties when their very existence is under threat.”

The new law allows the government to cancel the registration of organizations with little or no recourse to judicial review. Violations of the law could result in criminal prosecution, with penalties ranging from heavy fines to imprisonment. Officials also have extensive authority to monitor and control the operations of nongovernmental organizations, including scrutinizing their ownership structures, funding sources, and affiliations.

The government claimed that the law was needed to curb groups from financing terrorism and money laundering, and to comply with the recommendations of Zimbabwe’s Financial Action Taskforce. Before signing the bill, President Mnangagwa said the law was needed to protect and defend the country’s sovereignty from destabilizing foreign interests and to stop “the turning of a small section of mercenaries in our midst into the proverbial Trojan Horse for attacking our sovereignty, our values and our politics.”

Domestic and international human rights and civil society organizations, including Human Rights Watch, urged Mnangagwa not to sign the bill because of its expected adverse effects on organizations involved in promoting democracy and the defense of human rights in Zimbabwe.

United Nations experts similarly urged Mnangagwa to reject the bill, saying that the law’s restrictions “will have a chilling effect on civil society organizations, particularly dissenting voices.”

When the senate passed the bill in October 2024, the nonprofit organization Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said the law “completely and wantonly disregards the provisions on association enunciated in the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights’ Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa.”

Mnangagwa has on several occasions threatened to expel groups that do not follow his government’s policies or that intervene in the country’s politics.

The Zimbabwean government has already sought to curtail the work of nongovernmental organizations in the country. On January 22, 2023, the authorities announced that they had revoked the registration of 291 nongovernmental and civil society organizations. The labor and social welfare minister said that registration was withdrawn because the groups allegedly failed to submit audited accounts for money raised from donors, for ostensible national security reasons, or for allegedly acting outside of their mandate.

Zimbabwe is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which uphold the rights to freedom of association and expression.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly provide that “[t]he oversight powers of the authorities shall be carefully delimited, so as not to infringe on the right to freedom of association.” Furthermore, “[i]n no cases shall inspections be utilized in order to harass or intimidate associations of which political authorities disapprove.”

Following the adoption of the law, the European Union announced that it had suspended its 2025 funding for the government’s good governance initiatives under the “structured dialogue framework,” because Zimbabwe had “not upheld its own commitments under this process, particularly regarding the expansion of civic space.”

Zimbabwe has over US$21 billion in debt and arrears with bilateral and multilateral creditors, and the EU has been assisting the country in its debt resolution process. The process, which involves the United States and the African Development Bank, identified judicial independence, freedom of association and assembly, and civil society space as some of the areas that Zimbabwe needed to address to make progress in its debt resolution.

“The civil society law will further threaten the already compromised rights to freedom of association and expression in Zimbabwe,” Nassah said. “Civil society groups shouldn’t have to operate with the fear that they may be shut down and their staff criminally charged for simply doing their jobs.”

Click to expand Image US President Donald Trump displays a chart with proposed US tariffs at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2025. © 2025 Samuel Corum/Sipa USA via AP Photo

On April 2, US President Donald Trump announced import tariffs – many above 40 percent, on goods from virtually every country – upending the global economy. Although now paused above a baseline 10 percent, except for China, these new tariffs illustrate the danger of pursuing economic reforms without regard for the impact on people’s human rights.

The promise to reshape the economy, which was central to Trump’s reelection campaign, tapped into a pervasive sense among many US voters that they were being financially cheated by wages not keeping up with rising prices. Economies should be transformed to ensure everyone can enjoy their rights to food, housing, health care, education, social security, and other economic, social and cultural rights: But Trump’s approach gives no evident consideration to these or any rights.

These new tariffs are so broad and arbitrary that many economists expect them to be inflationary, hurting those struggling the most. Yet not only is there no apparent plan to alleviate the immediate negative impact on people, the tariffs are also combined with policies already making things harder for many. The administration has slashed billions in spending and fired thousands of public employees, many of whom are Black, gutting programs vital for health care, education, and other rights. Meanwhile, the administration weakened anti-corruption rules and is pushing through tax cuts for the wealthiest, while rescinding rules that increased workers’ pay.

These measures run counter to an economy aligned with human rights – or a “human rights economy” – which assesses economic decision-making based on its impact on people’s welfare and the planet. A human rights economy is centered on quality public services such as health care and education and income support at key life moments, while regulating companies and corporate power to prevent them from undermining rights.

A human rights approach to tariffs would carefully weigh the risk of increasing prices on necessities like food and housing against the potential benefits. Tariff policies should be part of a wider set of reforms that advances rights, such as by using any new revenue to strengthen public services and social security.

The tariffs also pose a significant risk to human rights in other countries, insofar as governments may end up sacrificing their own labor, health, and environmental protections in a bid for the US to remove the tariffs. This could exacerbate an already dire race to the bottom and compound harms caused by Trump gutting billions in US foreign assistance.

The problem is not that the United States is being ripped off by foreign countries and immigrants, as Trump contends. Instead, the US government should look to funding public services and regulating companies so that everyone has a living wage, access to health care, and adequate housing. That may entail sweeping economic changes, but not those that the Trump administration has put into motion. What is needed is a human rights economy.

Click to expand Image Protest of the National Salvation Front opposition coalition in downtown Tunis, Tunisia, on March 5, 2023, against the arrest of several public figures, including its leaders.  © 2023 Sipa via AP Images The Tunisian government has turned arbitrary detention into a cornerstone of its repressive policy, aimed at depriving people of their civil and political rights.Following President Kais Saied’s takeover of Tunisia’s state institutions on July 25, 2021, the authorities have dramatically intensified their repression of dissent.Tunisian authorities should immediately release all those arbitrarily detained and stop prosecuting people for exercising their human rights. Tunisia’s international partners should urge the government to end its crackdown.

(Beirut) – The Tunisian government has turned arbitrary detention into a cornerstone of its repressive policy, aimed at depriving people of their civil and political rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report published today. The authorities should end their crackdown against perceived critics and release all those arbitrary detained, in many cases merely for exercising their human rights. 

The 42-page report, “‘All Conspirators’: How Tunisia Uses Arbitrary Detention to Crush Dissent,” documents the government’s increased reliance on arbitrary detention and politically motivated prosecutions to intimidate, punish, and silence its critics. Human Rights Watch documented the cases of 22 people detained on abusive charges, including terrorism, in connection with their public statements or political activities. They include lawyers, political opponents, activists, journalists, social media users, and a human rights defender. At least 14 detainees could face capital punishment if convicted. Over 50 people were being held on political grounds or for exercising their rights as of January 2025.

April 16, 2025 “All Conspirators”

How Tunisia Uses Arbitrary Detention to Crush Dissent

Download the full report in English

Annex I: Human Rights Watch Letter to Tunisia’s Ministry of Justice

Annex II: Human Rights Watch Letter to Tunisia’s General Directorate of Prisons and Rehabilitation

“Not since the 2011 revolution have Tunisian authorities unleashed such repression,” said Bassam Khawaja, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “President Kais Saied's government has returned the country to an era of political prisoners, robbing Tunisians of hard-won civil liberties.”

Following President Saied’s takeover of Tunisia’s state institutions on July 25, 2021, the authorities have dramatically intensified their repression of dissent. Since early 2023, they have stepped up arbitrary arrests and detentions against people perceived as critical of the government, targeting opponents from across the political spectrum. 

President Saied fuels security forces’ and judicial authorities’ targeting of dissent, Human Rights Watch found. He has often publicly accused government critics and unnamed political adversaries of being “traitors” and even “terrorists.”

Authorities have imprisoned Saied’s main political adversaries and prominent opposition figures, including Abir Moussi, president of the Free Destourian Party (PDL) and Rached Ghannouchi, former president of the Ennahda opposition party and former speaker of parliament. Prominent people detained for publicly criticizing the authorities include Sonia Dahmani, a lawyer, and Mohamed Boughalleb, a journalist. 

The authorities have relied on an aggressive legal toolbox, including unfounded security and terrorism charges under the penal code and 2015 Counterterrorism Law, which grants security forces broad monitoring and surveillance powers, allows for a suspect to be held up to 15 days in custody, and permits informants and witnesses to remain anonymous. The authorities have also used laws that breach freedom of expression and the right to privacy, including provisions of the penal code and Telecommunications Code as well as Decree-Law 54 on Cybercrime. They have charged many of the detainees whose cases were documented in this report with “attempting to change the nature of the state,” which can carry the death penalty.

Tunisian authorities have detained many critics for more than 14 months pretrial, the maximum permitted under Tunisian law. Judicial authorities have regularly brought additional charges or issued new detention orders to keep prominent figures behind bars, sometimes without even bringing detainees before a judge, Human Rights Watch found. 

The authorities’ repeated attacks on the judiciary, including President Saied’s dismantling of the High Judicial Council, have severely undermined its independence and jeopardized Tunisians’ right to a fair trial. They have also targeted defense lawyers with judicial harassment, criminal prosecution, and travel bans for the legitimate exercise of their profession. Tunisian authorities have prosecuted, convicted, and detained civilians deemed critical of the authorities in military courts, which should not have jurisdiction over civilians.

Human Rights Watch found that detainees are often being held in harsh detention conditions and that authorities have failed to provide adequate medical care to several prisoners detained for their peaceful opinions or political activities. In some cases, they are subject to 24-hour video surveillance, round-the-clock artificial light, or strip searches. 

Chadha Hadj Mbarek, a journalist who has a hearing disability and is serving five years for “attempting to change the nature of the state,” faces poor detention conditions and a lack of reasonable accommodation and support. She has difficulty hearing her family during visits due to the physical setup and has no communication support. Prison authorities have denied her access to her medication, her brother Amen told Human Rights Watch. 

“She lost her livelihood, and being associated with a conspiracy and terrorism case made her feel like a pariah,” he said. 

Tunisia is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantee the right to freedom of expression and assembly, to a fair trial, and to not be subject to arbitrary arrest or detention.

Tunisian authorities should immediately release all those arbitrarily detained, drop abusive charges against them, and stop prosecuting individuals for exercising their human rights. Tunisia’s international partners should urge the government to end its crackdown and to protect space for freedom of expression, association, and assembly.

The European Union and its member states, which have largely failed to speak up regarding the dire human rights situation, should publicly express concerns about the deteriorating human rights situation in Tunisia and review any cooperation with Tunisia to ensure it is tied to compliance with international human rights obligations. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights should urge Tunisia to immediately comply with the binding rulings of the African Court on Human and People's Rights. 

“Tunisia’s international partners have consistently ignored the deteriorating human rights situation in Tunisia, even as political opponents and critics rack up one heavy-handed prison sentence after another,” Khawaja said. “The international community has an urgent responsibility to do its utmost to seek the release of all those unjustly detained.”

(Bishkek, April 16, 2025) – Kyrgyz authorities on April 14, 2025, detained a human rights defender, claiming she has ties to a criminal case, Human Rights Watch said today. The activist, Rita Karasartova, was detained for 48 hours in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, with a hearing about extending her detention set for April 16. 

Karasartova posted on her personal Facebook page that the police may have been looking for her because she published a letter from Tilekmat Kurenov, a civil society activist who is feared forcibly disappeared by Kyrgyz authorities. A media report said the police claim Karasartova has “close ties” with the main suspects in a case, who are being charged with “fomenting of mass riots.” 

“It seems that authorities detained Karasartova not based on evidence of criminal wrongdoing, but because she published a letter and is allegedly close to other suspects,” said Syinat Sultanalieva, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “She should be freed immediately and no charges should be pursued against her.”

According to her daughter, approximately 12 police officers, 3 of them masked and armed, searched their home on April 14 without a search warrant, while Karasartova was not there. She was detained outside a shopping mall, where she was on personal business, as the search was ongoing at her home. She is currently being held at Chuy regional police headquarters, outside of Bishkek.

Kurenov, whose letter Karasartova posted, is a main target in a criminal investigation into opposition activists ongoing since January 2024, in which authorities are pursuing charges of calling for and preparing mass riots and attempting to seize power. Kurenov disappeared from Dubai on April 10 after Kyrgyz authorities spent months unsuccessfully seeking to extradite him from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Human Rights Watch has seen an interrogation protocol documenting the authorities’ questioning of Karasartova in detention that focuses entirely on her relationship with Kurenov and whether she supports his political opposition to the Kyrgyz government. 

Karasartova published Kurenov’s letter that contained a message to his family on her personal Facebook page. Kurenov had asked that it be published in the event of his disappearance. 

On April 9, the Kyrgyz State Committee on National Security (SCNS) made a public statement alleging that they had uncovered a plot to seize power, and that one of the alleged leaders was in the UAE. The committee said that the plotters intended to incite mass unrest on “ethno-nationalist grounds” to discredit the authorities. 

Chuy district police also detained two other Kyrgyz citizens on April 14 whom they identified as “supporters of Kurenov” on suspicion of involvement in the alleged plot. 

Karasartova is one of over 20 civil activists, bloggers, journalists, and human rights defenders whom Kyrgyz authorities detained en masse in October 2022 due to their public disagreement over the transfer of the Kempir-Abad dam to Uzbekistan. Karasartova spent eight months in pretrial detention before being released under house arrest. A Bishkek district court acquitted all Kempir-Abad detainees in June 2024, but the prosecution has appealed and the case is ongoing. 

For the past year, Kyrgyz authorities have been systematically detaining and prosecuting journalists, bloggers, poets, and civil rights activists on charges of fomenting mass disorder or calling for mass riots.  

Kyrgyzstan’s international partners should urge the Kyrgyz authorities to release Karasartova and not to pursue any charges against her. They should also urge the authorities to provide information on Kurenov’s whereabouts and to ensure that he is immediately brought before an independent judge and accorded his full due process rights, including access to a lawyer of his choosing and an independent medical exam. 

During the first European Union-Central Asia Summit on April 4 and 5, as part of the agreements and pledges made there, Kyrgyzstan made commitments to respect freedom of expression and of association, to create an enabling environment for civil society and independent media, and to protect human rights defenders. It is critical that the EU now hold them to their commitments. 

“Kyrgyz authorities should uphold their international human rights obligations and release Karasartova immediately,” Sultanalieva said. “Criticizing the authorities is not a call for mass disorder, but the exercise of a fundamental human right that Kyrgyz authorities need to respect and protect.”

 

Click to expand Image Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu of the Chadema party faces a magistrate's court after his arrest in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, April 10, 2025. © 2025 Emmanuel Herman/Reuters

Last week, the authorities in Tanzania arrested opposition presidential candidate Tundu Lissu on fabricated charges, then used his party’s calls for electoral reform to disqualify it from participating in upcoming elections. The government of President Samia Suluhu Hassan has previously repressed the political opposition and critical voices. 

The authorities charged Lissu with treason and “publishing false information” online. They detained him for allegedly having “formed an intention” to instigate the public to obstruct the elections, based on his support for his party, Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema), urging a boycott of the elections slated for late this year. Chadema has been calling for the government to undertake “fundamental electoral reforms” as part of its campaign, “No Reforms, No Elections.”

Treason in Tanzania carries a potential sentence of death and people charged with this offense are not eligible for bail. 

On April 12, 2025, Tanzania’s electoral body, the Independent National Elections Commission, disqualified Chadema from participating in the elections after party officials refused to sign the 2025 Election Code of Ethics. Chadema had said it would not sign the code until the government undertook electoral reforms. Gaston Garubindi, Chadema’s legal and human rights director, told Human Rights Watch that he believes the government was deliberately targeting Lissu to derail the party’s reform campaign.

Successive Tanzanian governments have repressed the political opposition in previous elections. Prior to the 2020 elections, the government of the late President John Magufuli arbitrarily arrested scores of opposition party leaders, officials, and supporters, including Lissu. It also suspended media outlets, censored mobile phone communications, and blocked social media.

Ahead of the November 2024 local elections, the government of President Suluhu, who took office after Magufuli’s death in 2021, arbitrarily arrested hundreds of Chadema supporters, imposed restrictions on social media access, and banned independent media. The authorities were implicated in the abduction and extrajudicial killing of at least eight government critics. Chadema said thousands of its candidates were disqualified from participating.

The situation looks similarly troubling for this year’s elections.

Concerned governments should be pressing President Suluhu to reverse these repressive actions and ensure that basic rights and freedoms are respected in Tanzania so that the population is able to have the free and fair election to which they are entitled. 

 

Click to expand Image People choose groceries at a food bank in Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, July 21, 2022. © 2022 Bernd Weißbrod/AP Photo

The April 9 coalition agreement between Germany’s Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union and Social Democratic Party is unfortunately a return to a harsh social security system packaged as “reform” and “simplification.” Rather than addressing the growing number of people in the country at risk of poverty, the agreement strips back support for people receiving long-term unemployment assistance and punishes them by withholding benefits for “failure to cooperate.”

Human Rights Watch recently documented how social security support in Germany already falls short of what is needed to protect people’s rights to social security and an adequate standard of living, and likely also fails to meet the “minimum subsistence level” (Existenzminimum) required under German constitutional law. Women in particular, including single parents and older women living alone, are foregoing everyday essentials such as food or heating.

The agreement replaces the “Citizen’s Income,” introduced only in 2023, with the “New Basic Income for Jobseekers,” that relies on an older annual inflation-indexing method to calculate social security entitlements, which will result in real-terms cuts to benefits. The indexing method will also apply to other “basic” social security support for people over 65 or people considered permanently unable to work. This stark reality belies the coalition agreement’s stated aim “to maintain the level of social protection.”

Heike, from Cologne, who receives basic social security support because the state considers her permanently unable to work due to a health condition, told us: “One of the things that scares me the most is how social benefits will go back to the old calculation for inflation. When the adjustments are finally made, we will continue to vegetate below the Existenzminimum.”

The coalition plans some positive measures, including improving pension care credits for mothers of young children and improving tax relief for single parents and older people who continue working beyond state pension eligibility age. It also pledges increasing the basic pension supplement for older people on low incomes and adding €5 per month to existing educational support for qualifying families on low incomes.

But these proposed measures will be undermined by the increase in poverty that flows from tightening “basic” forms of social security support, which is the clear priority of the incoming government.

Rather than taking this punitive, restrictive path, Germany’s new government should commit to genuine reform, starting with examining the adequacy of social security support and reviewing its Existenzminimum calculation method, to ensure everyone in the country can enjoy their right to a decent living standard.

Click to expand Image Top row: Lok Bahadur Ghaley; Rinzin Wangdi; Chandra Raj Rai; Kumar Gautam. Bottom row: San Man Gurung; Birkha Bdr Chhetri; Omnath Adhikari; Chaturman Tamang.   © Private

(Brussels) – The European Union should press Bhutanese authorities to release dozens of political prisoners held for decades in dire conditions, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. An EU human rights dialogue with Bhutan is scheduled later this month, just weeks after United Nations human rights experts issued a communication raising concerns over reports that the prisoners were “denied due process and fair trials, including access to lawyers,” and allegedly subjected to torture.

The communication by six UN human rights experts, published on April 4, raises concerns that “the broad and vague definitions [of “treason”], combined with the severity of the punishments, have a severe chilling effect on the enjoyment of human rights … and consequently on democratic life and civic space in the country.”

“Bhutan portrays itself as a land of ‘mindfulness’ and ‘gross national happiness,’ but UN reports paint quite a different picture,” said Smriti Singh, Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International. “Dozens are still detained, mistreated, and tortured solely for peacefully dissenting against the government’s policy, an ordeal Bhutan’s King could end at the stroke of a pen.”

Bhutan is seeking to enhance its international partnerships and economic cooperation, including with Australia, India, Thailand, and the EU. The relationship with the EU includes tariff and quota-free access for Bhutanese exports to the EU market under the Everything but Arms scheme, which is linked to international human rights obligations.

The EU is also providing assistance intended to promote human rights and civil society space, as well as investment in infrastructure development. The EU should insist that Bhutan shows its commitment and respect for human rights by immediately releasing all 32 political prisoners and others detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said. On April 14, Members of the European Parliament holding key positions on EU political and trade relations with Bhutan formulated similar calls in a letter to Bhutan’s prime minister.

The UN experts’ communication examines the cases of 19 named individuals, “among others,” expressing serious concern that their fair trial rights appear to have been violated, that they were “severely tortured, both to extract confessions and to punish them,” then convicted under “vague” laws, and jailed in inhumane conditions.

In 2023, Human Rights Watch documented the cases of 37 political prisoners in Bhutan. Since then, 5 have completed their sentences, leaving at least 32 still serving terms of between 32 years and life without parole.

In November 2024, another group of UN experts, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, adopted an opinion on three of the prisoners’ cases, finding that they met the definition of arbitrary detention, which would make their detention illegal under international human rights law. Both groups of experts asked the Bhutan government to respond to the allegations but have received no response.

Most of the cases relate to events in or around 1990, when about 90,000 Nepali-speaking Bhutanese were expelled from Bhutan amid widespread rights violations and became refugees in Nepal. Those who remained in or returned to Bhutan, who publicly opposed the arbitrary citizenship determination, were arrested, tortured, and convicted in unfair trials based on coerced confessions. The longest serving political prisoners have been in jail since 1990, while others were arrested in 2008 after they re-entered Bhutan to campaign for the right to return.

Tens of thousands of Bhutanese refugees eventually received refugee resettlement in third countries, including in the United States. However, the Trump administration has deported close to a dozen of these resettled refugees, stating that they have been accused or convicted of crimes in the US. This is a clear violation of international human rights law, including customary international law and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which prohibits the transfer of any person to another state where the individual could be at risk of being subjected to torture.

The Bhutan government permitted the US government to deport them to Bhutan and then promptly expelled them to Nepal via India, suggesting that the Bhutanese authorities continue to discriminate against this community.

The new UN communication raises allegations that “[p]olitical prisoners are reportedly given inadequate food, water, heating, bedding and warm clothing” and that “detainees [also] suffer shortages of medicines and access to doctors. Those with physical illnesses – some as a result of alleged torture – do not receive necessary medical treatment, which may have contributed to the death of two detainees.” The detainees are prevented from communicating with their families, they said.

The UN experts noted that in 1999 the former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck granted amnesty to 40 political prisoners, including some serving life sentences. 
In 2022, the present king granted amnesty to a political prisoner serving a life term. “We implore the King to exercise His Majesty’s power to pardon and release from prison the remaining political prisoners, so as to demonstrate Bhutan’s commitment to upholding human rights and its international legal obligations,” the UN experts wrote.

“Bhutan has adopted significant reforms since 2008, but the continued detention of political prisoners represents a major stain on its human rights record,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Bhutan’s international partners and investors, including the EU, should make it clear that they expect Bhutan to comply with its human rights obligations and release them without further delay.”

Click to expand Image Top row: Lok Bahadur Ghaley; Rinzin Wangdi; Chandra Raj Rai; Kumar Gautam. Bottom row: San Man Gurung; Birkha Bdr Chhetri; Omnath Adhikari; Chaturman Tamang.   © Private

(Brussels) – The European Union should press Bhutanese authorities to release dozens of political prisoners held for decades in dire conditions, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. An EU human rights dialogue with Bhutan is scheduled later this month, just weeks after United Nations human rights experts issued a communication raising concerns over reports that the prisoners were “denied due process and fair trials, including access to lawyers,” and allegedly subjected to torture.

The communication by six UN human rights experts, published on April 4, raises concerns that “the broad and vague definitions [of “treason”], combined with the severity of the punishments, have a severe chilling effect on the enjoyment of human rights … and consequently on democratic life and civic space in the country.”

“Bhutan portrays itself as a land of ‘mindfulness’ and ‘gross national happiness,’ but UN reports paint quite a different picture,” said Smriti Singh, Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International. “Dozens are still detained, mistreated, and tortured solely for peacefully dissenting against the government’s policy, an ordeal Bhutan’s King could end at the stroke of a pen.”

Bhutan is seeking to enhance its international partnerships and economic cooperation, including with Australia, India, Thailand, and the EU. The relationship with the EU includes tariff and quota-free access for Bhutanese exports to the EU market under the Everything but Arms scheme, which is linked to international human rights obligations.

The EU is also providing assistance intended to promote human rights and civil society space, as well as investment in infrastructure development. The EU should insist that Bhutan shows its commitment and respect for human rights by immediately releasing all 32 political prisoners and others detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said. On April 14, Members of the European Parliament holding key positions on EU political and trade relations with Bhutan formulated similar calls in a letter to Bhutan’s prime minister.

The UN experts’ communication examines the cases of 19 named individuals, “among others,” expressing serious concern that their fair trial rights appear to have been violated, that they were “severely tortured, both to extract confessions and to punish them,” then convicted under “vague” laws, and jailed in inhumane conditions.

In 2023, Human Rights Watch documented the cases of 37 political prisoners in Bhutan. Since then, 5 have completed their sentences, leaving at least 32 still serving terms of between 32 years and life without parole.

In November 2024, another group of UN experts, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, adopted an opinion on three of the prisoners’ cases, finding that they met the definition of arbitrary detention, which would make their detention illegal under international human rights law. Both groups of experts asked the Bhutan government to respond to the allegations but have received no response.

Most of the cases relate to events in or around 1990, when about 90,000 Nepali-speaking Bhutanese were expelled from Bhutan amid widespread rights violations and became refugees in Nepal. Those who remained in or returned to Bhutan, who publicly opposed the arbitrary citizenship determination, were arrested, tortured, and convicted in unfair trials based on coerced confessions. The longest serving political prisoners have been in jail since 1990, while others were arrested in 2008 after they re-entered Bhutan to campaign for the right to return.

Tens of thousands of Bhutanese refugees eventually received refugee resettlement in third countries, including in the United States. However, the Trump administration has deported close to a dozen of these resettled refugees, stating that they have been accused or convicted of crimes in the US. This is a clear violation of international human rights law, including customary international law and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which prohibits the transfer of any person to another state where the individual could be at risk of being subjected to torture.

The Bhutan government permitted the US government to deport them to Bhutan and then promptly expelled them to Nepal via India, suggesting that the Bhutanese authorities continue to discriminate against this community.

The new UN communication raises allegations that “[p]olitical prisoners are reportedly given inadequate food, water, heating, bedding and warm clothing” and that “detainees [also] suffer shortages of medicines and access to doctors. Those with physical illnesses – some as a result of alleged torture – do not receive necessary medical treatment, which may have contributed to the death of two detainees.” The detainees are prevented from communicating with their families, they said.

The UN experts noted that in 1999 the former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck granted amnesty to 40 political prisoners, including some serving life sentences. 
In 2022, the present king granted amnesty to a political prisoner serving a life term. “We implore the King to exercise His Majesty’s power to pardon and release from prison the remaining political prisoners, so as to demonstrate Bhutan’s commitment to upholding human rights and its international legal obligations,” the UN experts wrote.

“Bhutan has adopted significant reforms since 2008, but the continued detention of political prisoners represents a major stain on its human rights record,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Bhutan’s international partners and investors, including the EU, should make it clear that they expect Bhutan to comply with its human rights obligations and release them without further delay.”

Click to expand Image The Inglewood Oil Field in Los Angeles, California, March 9, 2020. © 2020 Lionel Hahn/Abaca/Sipa USA via AP Photo

The California state government in the United States should better regulate plastics, says the south Los Angeles-based reproductive justice organization Black Women for Wellness. The organization, which interviewed local community members for its new report on plastics, calls on California to legislate a US$5 billion plastic mitigation fund, paid for in part by polluters, to support the communities most impacted by plastics.

Plastics are mostly made of fossil fuels, and the new report echoes Human Rights Watch concerns that Black and Brown communities are often hardest hit with health and other harmful impacts from the fossil fuel industry due to the extraction, manufacturing, use of, and disposal of fossil fuel products. Plastics pose significant threats to human health, including reproductive health, and contribute to the climate crisis.

People told Black Women for Wellness that they feel overwhelmed by the unavoidability of exposure to plastics. This is especially the case when families rely on plastic-wrapped, low-cost food and drinks. They also noted how hard it is to find clear information on the health risks of chemicals contained in plastics and how to protect themselves from exposure to these chemicals. 

Southern Los Angeles, the focus of the report, has long endured fossil fuel pollution, specifically from oil drilling and extraction. The community is both densely populated and the site of a massive oil field with thousands of active and idle wells that emit hazardous gases. Many years of advocacy was needed to obtain recent promises to reduce drilling and cap idle wells. 

Black Women for Wellness fights racism and environmental harms to women’s and reproductive health, issues that are deeply interconnected. As the report notes, “chemicals released during the lifecycle of plastic are endocrine disrupting chemicals, which are linked to reproductive harms and infertility.” More work like this is needed to highlight and warn of the links between myriad forms of fossil fuel industry pollution and adverse maternal and newborn health outcomes, such as preterm birth and low birth weight. 

US President Donald J. Trump’s administration has already begun to roll back environmental regulations, which could profoundly harm maternal and reproductive health. This makes the group’s recommendations to the state of California, including increasing public education about the plastic lifecycle, better regulating the fossil fuel industry, and helping communities access more sustainable options, all the more important.

Click to expand Image Beirut Lebanon, November 16, 2015.  © 2015 Bilal Hussein/AP Photo

(Beirut) – Lebanese journalists, media organizations, and civil society groups are facing the repeated use of criminal defamation charges and other vague legal provisions in response to their work alleging corruption and financial mismanagement in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. On April 10, Lebanon’s public prosecution summoned journalists from Daraj and Megaphone, two Lebanese media organizations, and the executive director of Kulluna Irada, an advocacy group, for investigative hearings on April 15. Security services previously summoned Daraj journalists in March for questioning.

“Lebanon’s recent political changes have not deterred authorities form clamping down on independent media and civil society organizations investigating and reporting on alleged financial misconduct and corruption,” said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Once again, we are witnessing the weaponization of criminal defamation laws and other dubious legal provisions in order to stifle attempts to shed light on years of financial malpractices.”

Lebanon’s new president and government, including the minister of information, as well as the current parliament should publicly commit to protecting the right to freedom of expression.

Since March 2025, Lebanon’s Anti-Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Rights Bureau, an Internal Security Forces unit tasked with combating cybercrime and enhancing online security, has twice summoned the editor-in-chief of Daraj following lawsuits over its investigations. Daraj’s lawyer told Human Rights Watch that documents he reviewed related to the lawsuits stated they were filed by Antoun Sehnaoui, the CEO of Lebanese bank Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL). The lawsuits, which accuse Daraj of “defamation” and other vague charges, were filed following the media organization’s reporting on alleged financial malpractices by SGBL and the Lebanese banking sector more generally.

Media reports and Daraj’s lawyer say that Sehnaoui first filed a libel and defamation lawsuit against Daraj’s editor-in-chief, Hazem al-Amin, and journalist Jana Barakat in March 2024 in response to a 2023 investigative report on alleged financial malpractices by SGBL and Sehnaoui in the years leading up to and following Lebanon’s economic and financial crisis in 2019. Sehnaoui filed a second lawsuit against al-Amin, the lawyer said, on March 10, 2025, in relation to a video report commenting on Sehanoui’s initial lawsuit and al-Amin’s summons by the cybercrime bureau. Human Rights Watch sent a letter outlining its findings and posing questions to Antoun Sehnaoui on April 4 but has not received a response.

A third complaint, filed by three lawyers in March, accuses Daraj and Megaphone of “undermining the state’s financial standing and destabilizing confidence in the Lebanese currency and bonds,” “inciting depositors to withdraw their funds,” “stirring up strife,” “undermining the prestige of the state and national sentiment,” “assault and conspiracy against state security,” and “receiving foreign funding for media campaigns seeking to harm Lebanon.” On March 26, Lebanon’s top public prosecutor referred this complaint to the public prosecutor at the court of appeals.

On March 11, a separate group of lawyers filed a complaint against the Lebanese advocacy group Kulluna Irada, accusing the group of publishing false or exaggerated information “that seeks to weaken the morale of the nation,” “undermine the prestige of the state or its financial standing,” and “to cause a decline in the value of national banknotes or undermine confidence in the strength of the state’s currency, its bonds, and all other securities related to public financial confidence.” On March 25, Lebanese TV reported that Lebanon’s public prosecutor also had referred the complaint to the public prosecutor at the court of appeals.

Human Rights Watch has previously documented the Lebanese authorities’ increasing use of defamation and insult laws to silence journalists, activists, and others critical of government policies and corruption. Even if the judiciary is quick to dismiss such complaints, they are an intimidation tactic that can have a chilling effect on the media and lead to self-censorship, Human Rights Watch said.

As parliament debates a new media law, it should affirm Lebanon’s human rights obligations by repealing insult and defamation provisions in the penal code and replacing them with civil penalties. Parliament should ensure that the new media law meets international human rights standards, including by eliminating all charges and penalties based on peaceful speech, Human Rights Watch said.

In a 2019 report, Human Rights Watch found that the Cybercrimes Bureau had initiated 3,599 defamation investigations between January 2015 and May 2019. The numbers the bureau provided to Human Rights Watch at the time indicated a 325 percent increase in defamation cases for online speech between 2015 and 2018, coinciding with worsening economic conditions and public disillusionment in Lebanon.

In a joint statement in March, Lebanese media organizations, civil society groups, and parliament members condemned the ongoing campaign to silence media outlets and called on Lebanon’s Public Prosecution Offices to reject politically motivated investigations of journalists and civil society organizations.

Lebanon’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression “within the limits established by law,” but the penal code criminalizes defamation against public officials and authorizes imprisonment for up to one year.

“Without serious reforms, criminal defamation laws in Lebanon are easily exploited to stifle legitimate speech,” Coogle said. “As Lebanon’s government promises key financial, judicial, and social reforms, it should also work to strengthen freedom of expression protections afforded under Lebanese law.”

Click to expand Image Delegates sit at the opening of the 41th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 24, 2019. © 2019 Magali Girardin/Keystone via AP

(Geneva, April 14, 2025) – The United Nations Human Rights Council’s first resolution on landmines strongly endorses the long-standing international treaty prohibiting antipersonnel mines at a critical time, Human Rights Watch said today. The council Resolution 58/22 on “the impact of anti-personnel mines on the full enjoyment of all human rights” was adopted without a vote on April 4, 2025, the International Day for Mine Action and Mine Awareness.

Since March, five European countries have announced their intention to withdraw from the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, while US government aid cuts have disrupted mine clearance operations around the world, putting civilian lives at risk. 

“The UN Human Rights Council resolution on antipersonnel landmines, supported by countries from around the world, sends a clear message that these weapons violate fundamental human rights,” said Mary Wareham, deputy crisis, conflict and arms director at Human Rights Watch. “Countries contemplating leaving the Mine Ban Treaty should reconsider given the devastating, long-term risk posed to civilians and the global support for the ban.”

The resolution directs the UN high commissioner for human rights to report on the impact of antipersonnel mines “on the enjoyment of all human rights, with particular emphasis on economic, social and cultural rights.” It sets up an interactive dialogue on landmines at the council’s 62nd session in the first half of 2026. 

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Antipersonnel mines are designed to explode in response to a person’s presence, proximity, or contact. They are typically placed by hand, but can also be scattered by aircraft, rockets, and artillery or dispersed from drones and specialized vehicles. They cannot distinguish between soldiers and civilians, making them unlawfully indiscriminate under international humanitarian law. 

Uncleared landmines pose a danger until cleared and destroyed. Mined land can drive displacement of the civilian population, hinder the delivery of humanitarian aid, and prevent agricultural activities. A Human Rights Watch report published on April 8, 2025, says that contamination from landmines, cluster munitions, and other weapons used during the 14-year conflict in Syria has killed at least 249 people, including 60 children, and injured another 379 since December 8, 2024. 

The Landmine Monitor in its 2024 report found that civilians made up 84 percent of all recorded landmine casualties in 2023, while children were 37 percent of casualties when the age was recorded. The highest number of casualties in 2023 was recorded in Myanmar, where antipersonnel mines have been used by junta forces and opposition, and ethnic armed groups in all 14 Myanmar states and regions, affecting about 60 percent of the country’s townships.

A group of countries from all regions, including Algeria, Croatia, Mozambique, Peru, South Africa, United Kingdom, and Vanuatu, submitted the resolution to the council. The resolution notes the positive efforts of countries, international organizations, and civil society to address the humanitarian impacts of antipersonnel mines through implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, also called the Ottawa Convention. It urges all countries to accede to the treaty and “strengthen their efforts to put an end to the suffering and casualties caused by antipersonnel mines.”

The Mine Ban Treaty, ratified by 165 countries, prohibits use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines and requires parties to destroy stockpiles, clear mined areas, and assist victims. Russia has not joined the treaty and its forces have used antipersonnel landmines extensively in Ukraine since its full-scale invasion in 2022, causing civilian casualties and contaminating agricultural land. Mine Ban Treaty member state Ukraine has also used antipersonnel mines since 2022 and has received them from the United States, in violation of the treaty.

Russia’s war in Ukraine and uncertainty over Europe’s future security are contributing to a difficult environment as five European Union member states are considering leaving the treaty. On March 18, defense ministers from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania announced their governments’ intent to withdraw from the treaty. On April 1, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo of Finland announced that his government is preparing to withdraw from the treaty to “give us the possibility to prepare for the changes in the security environment in a more versatile way.” 

Withdrawal from the Mine Ban Treaty typically requires formal parliamentary approval by the state party concerned. Article 20 of the treaty explicitly prevents a state party that is engaged in armed conflict from withdrawing before the end of the conflict. Any withdrawal will take effect six months after the denunciation documents are submitted to the UN and the convention’s states parties as long as the country is not engaged in armed conflict at that time.

For over three decades, the United States has been the world’s largest contributor to humanitarian demining, mine risk education, and rehabilitation programs for landmine survivors. But the Trump administration’s deep cuts to foreign aid are now disrupting mine clearance operations. Thousands of deminers have been fired or put on administrative leave pending the completion of ostensible reviews. 

Of the 47 current members of the council, 40 have ratified the Mine Ban Treaty. China, Cuba, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, South Korea, and Vietnam have not.

The council resolution says that all states and other relevant stakeholders should cooperate to accelerate demining efforts and ensure inclusive, non-discriminatory, and comprehensive victim assistance. It also urges “coordinated, multi-sectoral efforts” so that the needs of landmine survivors—in particular children, their families and communities—are effectively addressed and “their human rights promoted and protected.”

“Statements by European countries looking to withdraw from the Mine Ban Treaty ignore the reasons they joined the treaty in the first place,” Wareham said. “They should remind themselves why antipersonnel mines have been thoroughly stigmatized for decades and not seek a return of this ghastly weapon.”

Human Rights Watch is a co-founder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, and the Cluster Munition Coalition. It contributes to the campaign’s annual Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor reports. 

Click to expand Image European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas (L) and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa at a press conference following their meeting in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, March 24, 2025. © 2025 Nasser Nasser/AP Photo

(Brussels, April 14, 2025) – European Union High Representative Kaja Kallas and EU foreign ministers should focus on the protection of Palestinians’ rights during the high-level dialogue with the Palestinian Authority (PA) on April 14, 2025, Human Rights Watch said today.

In recent months, the PA has escalated its repression of dissent, arbitrarily arresting and torturing critics and opponents with impunity. Following the February 24 EU-Israel Association Council meeting, Israeli authorities have ratcheted up their repression of Palestinians in the West Bank, part of their crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution, and are continuing to carry out acts of genocide in Gaza.

“Israeli authorities’ atrocities do not give the Palestinian Authority a free pass to arrest and torture critics and opponents.” said Claudio Francavilla, associate EU director at Human Rights Watch. “The EU should denounce the Palestinian Authority’s abuses, but it won’t be taken seriously unless it ends its own double standards and addresses Israel’s apartheid and acts of genocide against the Palestinians.”

As the main donor to the PA, the EU should press to end arbitrary arrests, mistreatment, and torture. Palestinian security forces arbitrarily arrest critics and opponents and taunt, mistreat, beat, and torture detainees with impunity, as Human Rights Watch has extensively documented.

Hamza Zbeidat, 40, told Human Rights Watch that PA police forces arrested him from his home in the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem on February 20, hours after he called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to step down in a Facebook post. He said that PA forces “hit me nonstop across my body, cursed at me and yelled, ‘you dog, you animal, we will educate you.’” They placed him in an overcrowded cell and dumped cold water on him on a frigid day, he said. Interrogators questioned him about the post and prosecutors charged him with insulting “higher authorities,” under their restrictive cybercrime law, as well as with assault of an officer during his arrest, court documents show. The PA routinely uses the charge of insulting “higher authorities,” as they also did following a 2021 arrest of Zbeidat for participating in a protest over the killing of a prominent activist by PA forces, and related charges to criminalize peaceful dissent. They released him on February 28, but the charge remains outstanding.

In 2024, the Palestinian statutory watchdog, the Independent Commission for Human Rights, received 231 complaints for arbitrary arrests, including detention without trial or charge, and 124 complaints of torture and ill-treatment during detention by the PA. In an April 2024 report, the commission said it received 1,148 complaints about torture and ill-treatment against the PA, 766 against the police, between 2018 and 2022 and highlighted widespread impunity for these abuses.

Human Rights Watch wrote to PA Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa on February 27 to request updated information about arrests and treatment of detainees but has not received a substantive response.

Between December 5 and January 21, the PA conducted security operations in the Jenin refugee camp in which at least 11 people were killed in December alone. Those killed included security officers, but also at least two children, a journalism student, and an unarmed resident riding a motorcycle, the commission reported. Seven camp residents told Human Rights Watch that amid these operations they often could not safely enter and leave the camp, access to food, electricity, and water was limited, and many homes were damaged. The Palestinian legal organization Lawyers for Justice documented over 200 arrests and abuses, including arbitrary detention, restrictions on access to lawyers, and communication with family, and torture.

On January 21, the Israeli army raided the Jenin refugee camp, which they have controlled since, and displaced more than 16,000 residents, destroyed critical infrastructure, and killed 25 Palestinians.

Amid Al Jazeera’s reporting on the PA operations in Jenin, the Palestinian attorney general on January 1 suspended the international media outlet from broadcasting from the occupied territory, following a ministerial committee’s assessment that it had broadcast “inciting” material and “misinformation, sedition and interference in Palestinian internal affairs.”

On January 5, a Palestinian court restricted local access to several Al Jazeera websites, claiming that their reporting “threaten[s] national security and incite[s] the commission of crimes.” The Israeli government has also banned Al Jazeera and closed its Ramallah office. The bans on Al Jazeera are an alarming escalation by Israeli and Palestinian authorities to restrict media freedom and further limit the spread of information about serious abuses in Israel and Palestine, Human Rights Watch said.

In January, the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council wrote to President Abbas about the “numerous violations” they had documented by Palestinian security forces, including “torture, ill-treatment, violations of freedom of opinion and expression, arbitrary arrests and detentions as punitive measures, collective punishments, including holding citizens as hostages, the closure of newspapers, media outlets, and websites … issuance of administrative decisions aimed at intimidating citizens, and failure to respect and implement judicial decisions.”

In March, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documented a “pattern of arbitrary detention and torture and ill-treatment of detainees, including perceived opponents in the West Bank … journalists, human rights defenders and other individuals deemed to be critical” by the PA.” It highlighted accounts by men and boys of “severe beatings” and “prolonged placement in stress positions, threats, and solitary confinement.”

During the EU-Israel Association Council meeting with Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on February 24, EU foreign ministers raised concerns about Israeli abuses against Palestinians, but their calls went unanswered. Israeli authorities again blocked all aid from entering Gaza, in flagrant violation of international law and a genocidal act, and launched renewed airstrikes that have killed hundreds of civilians, including women and children, journalists, and paramedics. In the northern West Bank, Israel is increasingly using abusive tactics from Gaza in an escalating campaign.

In July 2024, a groundbreaking ruling by the International Court of Justice found that Israel’s occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and that Israel is responsible for racial segregation and apartheid – adding to the consensus within the human rights movement. The court stated that Israeli settlements should be dismantled and that no other country – including the EU and its member states – should recognize or support Israel’s occupation, including trading with or investing in the settlements.

In February, 163 organizations and trade unions, including Human Rights Watch, urged the EU to ban trade and business with the settlements. They have yet to receive a reply, and requests for meetings with EU leaders to discuss the matter have been dismissed.

Given Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, the governments of Spain and Ireland, numerous organizations, including Human Rights Watch, and Members of the European Parliament have urged the EU to review, with a view to suspend, the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Other calls supported by Human Rights Watch and other groups include suspending arms transfers to Israel, given the high risk of complicity in serious crimes, and support for the International Criminal Court and execution of all its arrest warrants. EU member states, though, are sharply divided and the EU Commission is reluctant to hold Israeli authorities to account.

“Palestinians find themselves between a rock and a hard place, and the EU is supporting both repressive authorities,” Francavilla said. “If the EU really cares about the human rights of Palestinians, it should take long overdue action to hold Israeli authorities to account and stop financing the PA’s machinery of repression.”

Click to expand Image Médécins Sans Frontières rescue crew help a man on board following a rescue in the central Mediterranean Sea, September 20, 2024.  © 2024 Mohamad Cheblak/MSF

(Brussels, April 14, 2025) – Frontex, the European Union’s Border and Coast Guard agency, should ensure that its aerial surveillance capacity is used to save lives at sea, Human Rights Watch said today. The organization met with Frontex Executive Director Hans Leijtens on April 2, 2025, to deliver an EU-wide petition calling on the agency to take concrete steps that would enable more timely rescues of vessels in distress.

“The shocking death toll in the Mediterranean requires concerted action,” said Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “As an actor at sea, Frontex has a responsibility under international law to use its resources to facilitate rescues that end in disembarkation of rescued people in a safe place.” 

Click to expand Image Iskra Kirova, Europe and Central Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, in front of the Frontex headquarters in Warsaw, Poland, April 2, 2025. © 2025 Judith Sunderland/Human Rights Watch

Over the last decade, at least 31,700 people have died or been reported missing in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than three-fourths of these deaths and disappearances occur in the Central Mediterranean, between North Africa and Italy/Malta, making it by far the deadliest stretch. 

The petition calls on Frontex to take clear steps to uphold its EU and international human rights obligations by prioritizing saving lives at sea. The agency should ensure that information about boats in distress sighted by Frontex aircraft is shared with nongovernmental rescue ships in the area. It should issue more frequent emergency alerts that go to all vessels and provide continuous monitoring as much as possible of vessels in distress. 

Frontex should address any current constraints on its ability to take these steps, Human Rights Watch said. This includes ensuring it can operate on a broad interpretation of distress that reflects the foreseeable danger facing unseaworthy boats at sea and the positive obligations attached to the right to life. 

In December 2024, a group of United Nations agencies, along with the Centre for Humanitarian Action at Sea, called jointly for a “broad understanding of distress,” resulting in a humanitarian and precautionary approach to identifying and responding to distress situations.” 

The European Commission has signaled its intention to significantly expand Frontex by tripling its standing corps to 30,000 border guards and to review its mandate in 2026 to increase its role in deportations. Frontex’s size, role, and responsibilities have grown significantly since it was created in 2004. The agency’s mandate was significantly expanded already in 2019 when a revised regulation expanded its tasks and empowered it to have a standing corps of 10,000 border guards. Frontex’s annual budget skyrocketed from €142 million in 2015 to €922 million in 2024.

Any changes to Frontex’s mandate should strengthen rather than dilute its human rights standards, transparency, and accountability, Human Rights Watch said. This would include making sure that providing Frontex assets and services to member states is conditional on a broad definition of distress, cooperation with humanitarian organizations, and monitoring of distress cases and rescue operations.  

The petition delivered to Frontex is part of the Human Rights Watch #WithHumanity campaign. Almost 18,000 people signed the petition, with almost half of all signatures coming from Italy, which is on the front lines of rescue-at-sea efforts, with the remaining signatures primarily from France, Germany, Spain, and Sweden. Twenty-two nongovernmental organizations supported the initiative. The overall engagement with the campaign reflects strong support for measures to address the appalling loss of life in the Mediterranean Sea, Human Rights Watch said. 

A 2022 analysis by Human Rights Watch and Border Forensics of Frontex aerial surveillance concluded that the agency’s practices make it complicit in well-documented abusive and indefinite arbitrary detention and other serious human rights violations in Libya.

While largely abdicating responsibility for search-and-rescue operations since 2017, the EU and its member states have focused on shoring up the ability of countries on the southern rim of the Mediterranean Sea to patrol their coastlines. Aerial surveillance by Frontex in the Central Mediterranean is part of this strategy: the agency shares the location of migrant boats it spots with relevant EU member states but also with authorities in Libya and Tunisia. This enables interdictions followed by returns to those countries, where migrants face serious human rights abuses. 

As an EU agency, Frontex has human rights obligations under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights as well as under the 2019 Frontex Regulation and the agency’s own Fundamental Rights Action Plan. International human rights law obliges Frontex to refrain from violating anyone’s human rights directly and not to expose them indirectly to serious violations of those rights, such as torture, elsewhere. The agency should therefore take steps to mitigate the human rights risks of its intelligence-gathering and border management activities. Frontex is also bound to protect the right to life, including by taking positive steps to prevent loss of life where there are foreseeable threats and life-threatening situations. 

“People across the EU are sending a message that no one should be left to die at sea,” Sunderland said. “As warmer weather may see more attempts to cross the Mediterranean, Frontex should act now to ensure it does everything it can to prevent avoidable tragedies.”

Click to expand Image A view of the damage surrounding Al-Shaab Teaching Hospital following intense clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum, Sudan, on March 29, 2025.  ©2025 Mohammed Nzar Awad/Anadolu via Getty Images

(Nairobi) – Leaders gathering in London on April 15, 2025, should urgently work to protect civilians and guarantee safe, unfettered aid provision as the conflict in Sudan enters its third year, Human Rights Watch said today. The conference, co-hosted by the United Kingdom, the European Union, France, and Germany, takes place as civilians across Sudan continue to face egregious abuses and deliberate harm. 

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have committed widespread abuses, including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, and rampant looting, and destruction of civilian infrastructure since conflict broke out on April 15, 2023. The RSF and allied militias have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in a campaign of ethnic cleansing in West Darfur. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more injured. An estimated 12.9 million people have fled their homes; half the country’s population faces acute hunger, and famine is spreading.

“For the last two years, Sudan’s warring parties have subjected the population to horrific abuses and suffering, and blocked aid, plunging the country into the world’s worst humanitarian disasters,” said Mohamed Osman, Sudan researcher at Human Rights Watch. “International leaders should ensure that discussions to improve the humanitarian situation go hand in hand with commitments at the highest level to protect civilians.”

Click here to read major Human Rights Watch reports documenting some of the serious civilian harm in the conflict

The UK, as co-host of the conference, should build on past efforts at the United Nations Security Council to advance the discussion on civilian protection. They should ensure that like-minded countries, including from Africa and Middle East, make concrete commitments to protect civilians such as by forming a coalition of countries dedicated to moving this agenda forward and considering options such as the deployment of a mission to protect civilians, Human Rights Watch said.

Participants should also publicly acknowledge the lifesaving role of local responders and health workers, commit to provide them with support and protection, and make it clear that war crimes like attacks on medical facilities and personnel will have consequences.

In recent weeks, the SAF has regained control over areas previously under RSF control. On March 27, 2025, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, SAF’s commander, announced his forces had pushed the RSF out of the capital, Khartoum, which had been largely under RSF control since the conflict’s onset. On March 20, the UN reported that dozens of civilians including local humanitarian workers had been killed in shelling and bombings, and that the RSF had summarily executed people in their homes, while forces from both sides had looted civilian property and aid supplies.

Three volunteers in Khartoum told Human Rights Watch that in the months before the SAF drove the RSF out of Khartoum, the RSF targeted community kitchens in areas under their control, detaining several volunteers, looting food supplies, and imposing so called “protection fees.” The SAF has also intimidated, and arrested volunteers in areas under their control. 

On April 3, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk condemned reports of “widespread extrajudicial killings of civilians in Khartoum following its recapture by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on 26 March.”

As displaced people start returning to Khartoum, images are emerging confirming massive destruction of civilian infrastructure and looting of property. International media outlets reported the discovery of an RSF detention center and up to 550 new graves, and former detainees spoke of torture and starvation at the site. 

“We came back to Khartoum to find it in ruins,” a 51-year-old woman who returned home to Bahri, Khartoum’s sister city, told Human Rights Watch. “In our neighborhood, everyone lost a relative or neighbor because of the fighting. Some of our neighbors have been missing for months. We found out that people are using a playground nearby as a graveyard because they couldn’t bury their loved ones properly in the cemetery.” 

Civilians are still under attack in areas where hostilities continue. For almost a year, incessant fighting in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has killed countless civilians and forced many to flee to Zamzam, a camp for displaced people 15 kilometers away, where famine was first declared last August and which the RSF has repeatedly attacked in 2025. In January, an alleged drone strike on a hospital in El Fasher reportedly killed dozens of people. These attacks forced the UN World Food Programme to pause food distribution there in February. According to the UN, at least 70 children have been reportedly killed or maimed in El Fasher in the last three months alone. Leaders meeting in London should press the warring parties in and around El Fasher to protect civilians, allow safe movement of people and aid in line with their international humanitarian law obligations and the Security Council resolution adopted in June 2024.

During the SAF offensive to recapture Gezira state, which was largely under RSF control between December 2023 and February 2025, SAF and allied militia attacked civilians in the capital city, Madani, and surrounding areas. Human Rights Watch found that the Sudan Shield, an armed group fighting alongside SAF, intentionally targeted civilians and their property in an attack on the village of Tayba on January 10, 2025, killing at least 26 people. The RSF, which has carried out widespread summary killings, rape, and looting in Gezira while the state was under its control, also reportedly continued to attack parts of the state, killing at least 18 people in March 2025.

Aerial bombardments by SAF continue, including an attack on a busy market in Tora, North Darfur, in March 2025 that reportedly killed and injured dozens of people. 

Both sides are obstructing aid and continue to target local responders, while funding cuts to humanitarian aid, including those imposed by the Trump administration, have further undermined aid operations including the operating capacity of local responders. UN experts said in June 2024, that both parties are using starvation as a weapon of war. On March 14, 2025, the secretary general of the international medical charity MSF (Doctors Without Borders) told the Security Council that “violence against civilians is driving humanitarian needs.” 

Impunity for the crimes in Sudan emboldens abusive forces, Human Rights Watch said. In February 2025, Türk said that “accountability, regardless of the rank and affiliation of the perpetrators, is critical to breaking the recurring cycle of violence and impunity in Sudan.”

Governments should also commit to closing the impunity gap, including by ensuring the necessary political and financial support for ongoing investigations, notably by the International Criminal Court, the UN Fact-Finding Mission, and the African Commission for Peoples’ and Human Rights, as well as pushing the warring parties to allow access to Sudan by independent monitors and investigators.

Another key factor fueling the violence and emboldening the warring parties is the undeterred flow of weapons from external actors. In September 2024, Human Rights Watch documented the use of apparently newly acquired foreign-made equipment in regions of Sudan including Darfur, where a UN arms embargo is still in effect.

Leaders meeting in London should condemn arms embargo violations, including by the UAE, and commit to expanding the UN arms embargo and sanctions regime and to preventing the sale of any arms that could end up in the hands of Sudan’s warring parties. 

“Global leaders have a chance to take firmer action to stop the warring sides from carrying out atrocities against civilians and allow aid to flow to those in dire need,” Osman said. “Leaders should provide life-saving aid, provide financial and political backing to local responders, support accountability efforts, and support creation of a global mission to protect civilians.”

Click to expand Image A Tibetan Buddhist monk and a woman share a mobile phone outside the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, on June 1, 2021. © 2021 Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

(New York) – China’s government has arrested dozens of people in Tibetan areas since 2021 for politically motived phone and internet-related offenses, Human Rights Watch said today. Tibetan journalists in exile report that these arrests typically target Tibetans accused of keeping “banned content” on their phone or contacting people outside China, including relatives.

The full scale of such arrests and prosecutions is unknown, as Chinese authorities do not disclose official data for political offenses. The more than 60 reported cases appear related to an increase in government surveillance during this period, including through mass phone searches and the use of mandatory phone apps with built-in government surveillance, as well as a tightened regulatory regime on data and religion. 

“For Tibetans, simply using a cellphone has become dangerous, and everyday activities like posting a humorous video or contacting loved ones abroad can bring arrest, detention, and torture,” said Maya Wang, associate China director at Human Rights Watch. “Tibetans, particularly those living in remote areas, once celebrated the arrival of cellphones so they could stay in touch with friends and family, but their phones have effectively become government tracking devices.”

Human Rights Watch reviewed relevant cases since 2021 reported by Tibetan exile media, including Radio Free Asia and the Tibet Times, general media outlets, and official Chinese government sources. Human Rights Watch also interviewed residents in Tibetan areas, and a retired official with direct knowledge of the situation.

In many cases, those arrested were accused of keeping “banned content” on their phones or sharing it online. Such “banned content” typically includes references to Tibetan religious figures, particularly the exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and expressions of pro-Tibetan sentiment. Chinese authorities have applied the ambiguous language of the law broadly: in one case, a man was arrested for setting up a WeChat group celebrating the birthdays of 80-year-old Buddhist monks. The police said it was “illegal” to form such a chat group “without permission.”

Tibetans have also been arrested for posting content online that the police deem to be promoting the use of Tibetan language and opposing the Chinese government’s language policy in primary schools, which replaces Tibetan with Mandarin Chinese as the medium of instruction. The authorities have closed down several Tibetan-language websites hosting cultural and educational content since 2020, including the popular Luktsang Palyon blog in April 2024, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reported. A leading Tibetan webmaster, Bumpa Gyal, was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2022 for engaging in unspecified “illegal activities,” after he offered technical support to Tibetan cultural and education websites.

Chinese authorities have also arrested Tibetans for using their electronic devices to contact people outside China and for sharing information about Tibet abroad. Those arrested have been prosecuted and received lengthy prison sentences for such activities. In 2021, Human Rights Watch documented the arrest of four monks in southwest Tibet who were sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for contacting Tibetan monks of the same monastic order living in Nepal. 

It is often unclear what happened to people who have been arrested, given the extreme information controls in the region. However, in the few cases where information was available, some of those arrested were imprisoned, mistreated, and tortured. In a particularly egregious case, a 38-year-old monk named Losel from Lhasa’s Sera Monastery was beaten and died from his injuries in May 2024. He had been arrested for allegedly “collecting and sending information abroad,” Tibetan exile media reported. 

Many Tibetans have relatives living in exile in South Asia, Europe, and North America. The Chinese government’s intensified security measures following the 2008 Tibetan protests, which put an end to unauthorized border crossings and its discriminatory restrictions on the issuance of passports to Tibetans since 2012, have made foreign travel impossible for most Tibetans. The restrictions and monitoring of internet use and the punishment of users suspected of having contacts outside China mean that Tibetans in China and those in exile now have extremely limited contact.

Many of the Chinese government’s tactics against Tibetans to cut off their communication with the outside world are similar to those being used against Uyghurs, Human Rights Watch said. 

The Chinese government should respect Tibetans’ rights to privacy and freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association, and religion, Human Rights Watch said. The government should allow United Nations monitors, independent human rights researchers, and journalists unfettered access to the region to examine these cases and the general human rights situation.

“Tibetans have not only lost their rights to freely express themselves and to access information, but they are losing even their basic right to communicate with their loved ones,” Wang said. “Even as global communications grow, the Chinese government increasingly seeks to close off and control entire populations.”

Policing the Internet
The Chinese government’s monitoring of people’s online activity is not new. The Ministry of Public Security employsinternet police personnel at provincial, prefecture, and county levels to censor and surveil internet users, while social media companies censor and monitor online content through teams of content moderators in addition to automated restrictions.

In addition, the authorities offer cash rewards to people for informing on one another. This became a formal policing method under the “Anti-Gang Crime” campaign that was adopted in 2018. The campaign has effectively criminalized and eliminated civil society activism in Tibetan areas. A retired senior official of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) told Human Rights Watch in December 2019 that:

In Lhasa residential courtyards and neighborhood committees there are letter boxes, WeChat numbers, and notice boards for reporting people who say things that are not allowed to say, meet people they are not allowed to meet, spread “reactionary” talk they are not allowed to spread.... There are rewards ranging from RMB100 (US$14) to RMB10,000 ($1,400) according to the importance and the quality of the leads provided. The large rewards given to suppliers of major leads are announced in public for all to see.

A six-point public notice from the Qinghai Party Committee’s Internet Information Office in November 2024 offers up to RMB100,000 ($14,000) for tipoffs on anyone writing online who commits offenses from a list that is largely political, starting with “opposing the leadership of the Party.”

In March 2022, the TAR Internet Illegal and Harmful Information Reporting Center received 1,395 reports, of which 35 percent were “politically harmful information,” 26 percent were “harmful information related to Tibet,” and 12 precent were “socially harmful information.” By comparison, “obscene and pornographic information” accounted for 6 percent of reports received.

Increased Manual Phone Searches
Intimidation and random searching of phones by police has been more frequent during security campaigns preceding sensitive anniversaries such as March 10 – the anniversary of the 1959 Lhasa uprising – or major political events in China such as the annual Chinese Communist Party meetings, based on reports. Police search people’s phones either by using phone scanning devices (known as Universal Forensic Extraction Devices, or UFEDs) that allow access to data on people’s phones or by forcing people to unlock their phones. Police have done this at checkpoints in Lhasa and other cities.

The first reports of Chinese police carrying out mass manual phone searches in rural areas of Tibet appeared in Tibetan exile media outlets in mid-2021. According to these reports, police in Sershul county, northwest Sichuan province, detained 117 Tibetans in 2021 for weeks of extrajudicial “political education” after the authorities claimed they had “banned content” on their phones. Since then, there have been several reports of manual phone searches to target Tibetans accused of sending news abroad:

In Drango county, Kandze prefecture, Sichuan province in February 2022, following the demolition of a giant Buddha statue by county authorities despite popular opposition, police conducted mass phone inspections searching for people who had reported this event online.In Derge county, Kandze prefecture, Sichuan province in February 2024, when local protests against dam construction attracted international attention, the authorities shut down internet services and made mass arrests, and police checked people’s WeChat and TikTok accounts to identify Tibetans who had posted reports of these events online.At Taktsang Lhamo monastery, Dzorge county, Ngawa prefecture, Sichuan province in October 2024, after Tibetan monks messaged contacts to say that their monastery school had been closed by Chinese authorities, authorities checked the phones of the monks and confiscated some of them.

Human Rights Watch has independently confirmed reports of local police systematically searching cell phones for banned text and images in rural areas in Nagchu municipality, TAR, that were not connected to specific incidents. In November 2021, a rural Nagchu resident told Human Rights Watch that leaders of his village committee ordered residents to gather at the village center to have their cellphones screened by the township police, particularly those of young people who might have “illegal” images of religious signs, content, or songs. 

The police said if anyone is caught with such things, “the crime is more serious than killing,” as their family would also be affected. The resident said that this was not new but had been in place for several years, and some young men were detained for having such items in their phones.

Compulsory Download of Government ‘Anti-Fraud’ App
Media reporting on several Tibetan areas found that police have forced Tibetans to download a government app to their phones en masse at security checkpoints and during compulsory meetings, ostensibly to educate the public about online fraud. Official reports describe police and party members being mobilized to visit homes and businesses in Tibetan areas to “promote,” “guide,” and “assist” on the installation of the anti-fraud app, which China’s National Anti-Fraud Center created in 2021. 

The research network Turquoise Roof conducted a technical analysis of the app that found that in addition to its stated purpose of countering online fraud and allowing them to report potential scams, the app “grants operators access to sensitive user data or control over key device functionalities, allowing for highly invasive surveillance.” When downloaded to a smart phone, according to the analysis, it can access a user’s data including sensitive personal information, activity logs, private messages, call records including time stamps and contact information, and browser history, all without the user’s consent and knowledge.

The app requires a user to scan their face and their ID card to begin using it, utilizing facial verification technology to compare images, and capturing biometric data that can be networked with other data sources in a large government database with data analytics capabilities to track and monitor people at population scale. 

The forced download of the “anti-fraud” app has been reported elsewhere in China. Party workers have publicly complained about having to meet monthly app installation quotas as part of their performance evaluation. Given the severe repression in Tibetan areas, Tibetans have found it more even difficult to refuse to comply with these police orders.

Increasing Online Restrictions on Religion
In March 2022, Chinese internet management regulations banned in the TAR all religious content not authorized by the government. Authorization is granted only to religious teachers considered politically reliable. Many ordinary Tibetans, both monastic and laity, rely on the internet and social media for access to religious teachings and materials, particularly as the government has closely managed physical access to religion.

While similar regulations have been applied nationwide to eliminate religious expression not sanctioned by the state, implementation is particularly strict in Tibetan areas, where Tibetan Buddhism is considered a direct threat to theChinese Communist Party’s legitimacy. 

Police routinely question, detain, and criminally prosecute lay believers for circulating religious teachings online, exile media reported. Two women from Sershul county, Sichuan province, known for participating in local prayer meetings and social service initiatives were reportedly forcibly disappeared by police in December 2023, and their whereabouts remain unknown. Also that month, a court sentenced Semkyi Drolma, a young woman from Damshung county, Nagchu municipality, to 18 months in prison for “leaking state secrets.” Sources said her only offense was participating in religiously oriented WeChat groups.

The retired senior TAR official told Human Rights Watch in December 2019 that the authorities have for years subjected monks and nuns to greater online surveillance:

The government monitors the WeChat and social media activity of monks even more strictly than that of ordinary citizens. From what I hear, the internet monitoring units read and listen to each monk or nun’s WeChat individually, and apart from religious services inside the monastery or greeting their relatives, they are not allowed to take or send any photos of monastery sub-police stations, work team personnel, political education meetings, etc.

International and Domestic Law
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) – which China signed in 1998 but has not ratified – protect the rights to privacy, freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and religion. 

Both the Universal Declaration and the ICCPR state that “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with their privacy, family, home, or correspondence,” and that “everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference.” Any interference with the right to privacy, including the collection, retention, and use of an individual’s personal data, must be necessary and proportionate, to pursue a legitimate aim, and subject to a clear and public legal framework. 

For three decades since the introduction of the internet in China, the Chinese government has promulgated various laws and regulations that broadly prohibit a wide range of content on China’s internet, such as information that “incites subversion” or that “incites splittism,” including activities deemed to promote Tibetan independence. Such overbroad provisions are inconsistent with international human rights protections.

Current Chinese national laws do not meet privacy requirements provided for in international human rights law. The Chinese government has developed an increasingly sophisticated data regulatory regime since 2017, with the enactment of China’s Cybersecurity Law. It then promulgated various laws and regulations, including the Data Security Law in June 2021, and the Personal Information Protection Law in August 2021. 

This evolving regime serves several purposes, which include regulating companies’ collection of consumer data, but also tightening government information control under the guise of “protecting national security” – whatever the Chinese Communist Party deems affects its hold on power – without providing meaningful protections against unlawful or abusive government surveillance.

Click to expand Image Mozambique police officers look on as protesters gather in Maputo while Daniel Chapo is sworn in as Mozambique’s president on January 15, 2025.  © 2025 AMILTON NEVES/AFP via Getty Images

(Johannesburg) – Mozambican authorities have failed to conduct credible investigations into the wave of political killings following the October 2024 general elections, Human Rights Watch said today. Unidentified gunmen, some wearing security force uniforms, shot dead at least 10 key opposition party officials from October through March 2025.

Most of the people targeted had been involved in organizing national street protests contesting the election results. They either belonged to the main opposition party, Optimistic People for the Development of Mozambique (Partido Optimista pelo Desenvolvimento de Moçambique, or Podemos) or were supporters of the independent presidential candidate, Venâncio Mondlane. The police have announced investigations into some of the cases but have not identified or arrested any suspects or provided public updates on the status of investigations.

“The failure of Mozambique’s police to credibly investigate the killings of key opposition members sends a chilling message that the authorities have no interest in bringing those responsible to justice,” said Ashwanee Budoo-Scholtz, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Prompt, thorough, and effective investigations and fair prosecutions are needed if these apparently politically motivated killings are to stop.”

Human Rights Watch documented the killings of 10 opposition figures across the country through remote interviews with 21 people, including witnesses, relatives of the victims, journalists, and the police.

In one case, gunmen in a car ambushed Elvino Dias, the lawyer for Mondlane and the Podemos party, and Paulo Guambe, a Podemos election official, in Maputo and shot them dead. The other cases, most of them Podemos party officials and supporters, were similar.

On October 24, Mozambique’s election commission declared Daniel Chapo and his ruling party Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frente de Libertação de Moçambique, or Frelimo) the winners of the country’s October 9 general elections. The elections were marred by political killings, widespread irregularities, and tight restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.

The opposition Podemos party contested the election results in nationwide demonstrations. Security forces cracked down on the protests, killing over 300 people and injuring hundreds more. Podemos submitted a report to the Office of the Attorney General alleging that more than 100 party members were killed and alleged that the police planned and carried out the killings.

Victims’ relatives and lawyers told Human Rights Watch that they regularly reached out to police for details of the investigations but did not receive any indication that there was any investigation under way or that authorities had identified a suspect in any of the cases. No updates were provided to family members or the public.

International human rights treaties to which Mozambique is party, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, obligate the government to investigate and prosecute alleged violations of human rights and provide appropriate remedies to victims.

The Southern African Development Community, the African Union, concerned governments, and major developmental partners of Mozambique should call on the government to ensure that there is a thorough investigation into the post-election violence, including apparent politically motivated killings, and fairly prosecute all those responsible, Human Rights Watch said.

“Impunity for attacks against political rivals encourages further political violence and undermines democratic governance,” Budoo-Scholtz said. “The Mozambican authorities should order a serious and impartial investigation into abuses before, during, and since the October elections and hold all those responsible to account.”

For further details on politically motivated killings documented by Human Rights Watch, please see below.

The protests following the October 2024 elections in Mozambique drew thousands of people contesting their results as well as the rising cost of living and other social problems. They forced the temporary closure of banks, schools, and shops in Maputo and other cities. The media reported extensive looting and vandalism and cases of protesters killing police officers and destroying state and private structures and offices of the ruling party, Frelimo, across the country.

Security forces were implicated in serious human rights abuses, including the unlawful killing of over 300 protesters and bystanders, among them children. Security forces have also injured hundreds of people and arbitrarily detained thousands of others.

Opposition parties have alleged that agents of the National Criminal Investigation Service (Serviço Nacional de Investigação Criminal, SERNIC) have gone from house to house assaulting people accused of organizing demonstrations. Podemos alleged that 106 of its members and supporters have been murdered since the protests began.

The local monitoring group Plataforma Decide documented at least 18 killings of prominent opposition members across the country as of March 25.

Apparent Politically Motivated Killings Since October 2024

Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe, in Maputo

On October 18, 2024, after 9 p.m., unidentified gunmen shot dead Elvino Dias, the lawyer for the Podemos party and independent presidential candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, and Paulo Guambe, a Podemos election official, in Maputo. A 27-year-old witness told Human Rights Watch that gunmen in civilian clothes, driving a white Mazda BT-50, ambushed the victims’ car as it made a turn onto Joaquim Chissano Avenue, firing several shots from what appeared to be Kalashnikov-style assault rifles. The Center for Democracy and Human Rights and the media reported that 25 bullet rounds were fired at the vehicle.

The police said the two men died at the scene. The attack drew worldwide condemnation, including from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. Following the attack, SERNIC reportedly confiscated the CCTV cameras from banks and an embassy near the scene, allegedly to assist with investigations. During a news conference on November 22, a SERNIC spokesperson said an investigation was underway, but no one has been arrested or charged with the killings, and there has been no public update on the status of the investigation.

Eugénio Raúl Madeira, in Zambezia Province

On December 22, in the early hours of the morning, unidentified gunmen fatally shot Eugénio Raúl Madeira, the Podemos mobilization secretary for Mocuba district, in Zambezia province, near his house. A friend of Madeira who witnessed the attack told Human Rights Watch that a white Toyota vehicle with tinted windows and without a license plate approached the square, as Madeira and others prepared to start their workday as moto-taxi drivers. The friend said that someone fired two bullets from inside the car, striking Madeira in the head:

We were positioning our motorbikes to start the day when this Toyota approached slowly. I initially thought it was a client, but I then realized the car didn’t have a license plate. While I was still trying to figure out what was happening, the window of the front passenger seat opened, a pistol emerged and fired two bullets straight at Eugénio’s head. He died there.

Madeira and another Podemos official, Xadreque Francisco, had been the party’s focal points in Mocuba district and leaders of the protests there. During a violent protest in November, Zambezia provincial police had accused the two men of acts of vandalism.

Four days after Madeira’s killing, three gunmen in civilian clothes broke into Francisco’s house early on December 22 and fired several shots, wounding him, the media reported.

Abudo Bacar Lawia, in Cabo Delgado Province

On the evening of January 3, 2025, Abudo Bacar Lawia, the chef mobilizer of the protests in the Montepuez district of Cabo Delgado province, was gunned down outside a friend’s house. The friend said that at about 8 p.m., as they stood by the gate of the compound, two men approached wearing the uniforms of the communal militia, a government-organized local counterterrorism force.

“We didn’t suspect them because we thought they were doing their normal night patrolling of the town,” the friend said. “Then suddenly I heard gunshots, and I lost consciousness. … I woke up at the hospital where I was treated for a gunshot injury [in the shoulder].”

Two witnesses, a friend of Lawia and a police officer, said that Lawia died after being hit in the chest by two bullets fired from a pistol.

Before his death, Lawia had received death threats in messages and phone calls, a relative told Human Rights Watch. “He was an open supporter of VM [Venâncio Mondlane] and didn’t shy away from leading and organizing protests,” he said. “Police officers warned him several times that he would be targeted one day, but he didn’t care.”

On January 6, a police spokesman for Cabo Delgado confirmed that the investigative police had collected evidence from the crime scene and that a criminal file had been opened. Human Rights Watch contacted the Cabo Delgado police spokesperson on February 7 via text message seeking an update on the status of the investigation. The spokesperson referred Human Rights Watch to her superiors, but the Cabo Delgado police did not respond to Human Rights Watch calls.

Rachide Eduardo, in Cabo Delgado Province

Rachide Eduardo was shot and killed on January 6, at about 6 p.m., at his home in Ntutupue town, in the Ancuabe district of Cabo Delgado province. Eduardo was a Podemos party leader in Ntutupue and had helped organize and lead various anti-government demonstrations across the district. He was a close friend of Arlindo Chissale, a journalist actively supporting the opposition candidate, who was allegedly forcibly disappeared on January 7 by a group of men, three of whom wore military uniforms.

A neighbor of Eduardo said that on the night of his death, he heard several gunshots coming from inside his house. He saw two men quickly leave the premises and enter a Mahindra pickup vehicle, like those used by Mozambican security forces. He said:

I saw the car parked for about an hour outside Rachide’s house. It wasn’t the first time. Every now and then, that car would park in different places along our road. Sometimes the occupants wore uniforms … that dark green uniform like UIR [Unit of Rapid Intervention]. On the day they killed Rachide, the two assassins were wearing plain clothes.

Sande Antonio, in Sofala Province

Sande Antonio, 30, a Podemos party delegate in Sofala province, was shot dead at his home in Buzi town, in the early hours of January 16. A Podemos official, Vale Magalhaes, told the media that at about 1 a.m. that day, Antonio sent a text message saying that police officers had surrounded his home. When Magalhaes tried to phone Antonio, no one answered. He said he later received the news that unidentified gunmen had shot Antonio three times, “one [bullet] in his head, one in the chest, and another in the back.”

A journalist who had interviewed Antonio on several occasions said that the politician had fled his home for a safer location after he started receiving death threats for denouncing ballot stuffing during the elections.

The journalist said Antonio returned to his home on January 15 because he believed that it was safe to do so since Chapo had been sworn into office as president.

As of March 26, police had not made any public comments about Antonio’s killing. One of his relatives said that the police had informed the family that a criminal investigation had been opened and that they were trying to trace the gunmen, but no further information was provided.

Daniel Guambe and Rafito Sitoe, in Inhambane Province

On March 8, at about 10 p.m., two gunmen stepped out of their car carrying Kalashnikov-style assault rifles and fired at least seven bullets at an Isuzu vehicle transporting two prominent Podemos members, Daniel Guambe, 28, and Rafito Sitoe, 21, in Massinga village, Inhambane province, various sources reported. Members of the community tried to rescue the men, but they died on their way to the hospital, Podemos confirmed in a statement. Days before the fatal attack, Sitoe and Guambe had led the preparations for a surprise visit by Mondlane to Massinga on February 26, a party official told Human Rights Watch. The police have yet to publicly comment on the killings.

Ivo Armando Nhantumbo and João de Deus Nhachengo, in Inhambane Province

On March 15, local residents found the bodies of Ivo Armando Nhantumbo and João de Deus Nhachengo, two well-known Podemos members and Mondlane supporters, in Inhambane province, media reported. Plataforma Decide reported that the body of Nhachengo had three bullet wounds to the chest, while Nhantumbo had one bullet wound to the head and his genitals had been cut off.

The Mozambican police have yet to publicly comment on the killings of Nhachengo and Nhantumbo. On March 21, the spokesman for the General Command of the Mozambican Police, Orlando Mudumane, told Human Rights Watch that “authorities are concerned about the killings, and investigative units are on the terrain searching for the perpetrators of the crimes.”