Five indigenous (Orang Asli) human rights defenders and two journalists were arbitrarily detained by the Department of Forestry on 23 January following peaceful protests against logging licences granted by local authorities. They have all been released, but fears of a continuing crackdown remain.

Issa al-Nukheifi, a Saudi Arabian human rights activist, was detained again and remains in detention since 18 December. He is a prisoner of conscience and should be released immediately.

Women, men and children could freeze to death as arctic weather sweeps across the Greek islands this week. Trapped in squalid detention camps, refugees are surviving in flimsy, snow-covered tents as temperatures plummet below zero. No one should be left to live or die like this. Call on the President of the European Commission to move people to a safe place on the mainland now.

After more than 13 years since Huang Zhiqiang, Fang Chunping, Cheng Fagen and Cheng Lihe were originally sentenced to death, the Jiangxi Provincial Higher People’s Court has announced a not-guilty verdict.

Despite some continuing restrictions, humanitarian services such as food distribution, nutrition assistance and primary healthcare are slowly resuming in northern Rakhine State.

Hindu fisherman Rasraj Das was granted bail on 16 January 2017 after spending more than two months in jail for allegedly posting an “offensive” image on Facebook.

Cuban graffiti artist Danilo Maldonado Machado (‘El Sexto’) was released over the weekend. Amnesty International had cons

Sibel Çapraz is imprisoned and the authorities are denying her a vital and an urgent operation and adequate medical treatment. She was shot in November 2015 in Yüksekova, south-east Turkey, during clashes between security forces and the PKK. She was detained in March 2016 while in hospital.

Lee Jin-young has been arrested for the online distribution of materials that are deemed, by South Korean authorities, to ‘benefit’ North Korea. Detained since 5 January 2017, the prosecutor has until 4 February to either release or formally charge him.

Elderly dissident Iranian cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Nekounam has been on hunger strike for 31 days in protest at his detention and the denial of specialized medical care by the authorities.