Urgent Action update: Urge congress to decriminalize abortion in the Dominican Republic
In May 2017, the Dominican Senate voted to reject the President’s recommendations to decriminalize abortion. The President’s recommendations are now being discussed by the Justice Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, which is expected to vote on the recommendations soon.
Urgent Action update: Detained Rohingya child dies in custody in Myanmar
The confirmed death in custody of a child detained in November 2016 in northern Rakhine State as part of “clearance operations” increases fears for the safety of hundreds of detained Rohingya men and boys.
Urgent Action: Activist detained for commemorating June 4 in China
Activist Li Xiaoling was criminally detained on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for commemorating the 28th anniversary of the Tiananmen Crackdown.
Urgent Action update: Prison sentence and fine upheld for journalist in UAE
The Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), upheld the conviction and sentence of Tayseer Salman al-Najjar on 19 June.
Urgent Action Update: Opposition leader held in inhumane conditions in Zambia
There is fear for safety of Hakainde Hichilema after he was transferred from Lusaka Central Correctional Facility in Lusaka Province to Mukobeko Maximum Correctional Facility in Central Province.
Urgent Action: Defender at risk of continued detention in Egypt
The South Banha prosecutor renewed on 18 June the detention for human rights defender Hanan Badr el-Din for 15 more days.
Urgent Action: Minority rights journalist attacked and injured in Pakistan
Pakistani minority rights journalist Rana Tanweer faced an assassination attempt on 9 June. He was attacked in a hit and run accident and fractured his leg. Days before, his home was vandalised and he was threatened for his writing. The authorities have not provided him and his family with adequate protection nor held the perpetrators to account.
Urgent Action update: Circus performer detained for 554 days in Israel
On 12 June, Ofer Military Court, in the occupied West Bank near Ramallah, renewed the administrative detention order of Mohammad Faisal Abu Sakha for three months.
Urgent Action update: Opposition politician released in Maldives
Opposition politician Adam Azim has been released after spending nearly a week in detention in Maldives. He was arrested and faced trumped up charges after criticizing the government in a TV interview.
Urgent Action update: Sentence confirmed on Saudi Arabian writer
Saudi Arabian writer Nazeer al-Majed was informed on 15 May that the Court of Appeal of the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) in Riyadh has upheld his seven-year prison sentence. Nazeer al-Majed has been detained since 18 January solely for having peacefully exercised his right to freedom of expression. He is a prisoner of conscience.