Posts Tagged ‘transnational represion’

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UN experts concerned by Interpol red notices against human rights defenders from El Salvador

November 20, 2025

The issuance of Interpol red notices against two Salvadoran human rights defenders currently in exile in Spain constitutes a grave misuse of the law enforcement mechanism, UN experts warned on 19 November 2025

“This move amounts to an act of transnational repression, as it extends the harassment of human rights defenders beyond borders, targeting them in a country where they are seeking safety,” the experts said.

See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2024/06/14/qa-transnational-repression/

Ivania Cruz and Rudy Joya have applied for asylum in Spain, fleeing legal harassment in El Salvador stemming from their legitimate human rights work. Both human rights defenders work for the non-governmental organisation UNIDEHC, which has been targeted by the Salvadoran authorities since February 2025 for its support to the La Floresta community, who have been facing attempts of forced eviction since 2024.

“The charges brought against Ivania Cruz and Rudy Joya in El Salvador and related arrest warrants issued by the authorities appear to be without basis and in direct connection with their legitimate human rights work for UNIDEHC to support communities under threat and denounce the actions of the Government under the state of emergency declared in 2022,” the experts said.

In May 2025, the court presiding over their case in El Salvador ordered the Interpol National Central Bureau to submit a request for the issuance of a red notice to the Interpol General Secretariat. Interpol confirmed the issuance in July 2025.

The experts pointed to Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Interpol, which state that the organisation is “strictly forbidden” from undertaking “any intervention or activities of a political nature”, and that the organisation’s activities will be conducted “in the spirit of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.”

In September 2025, Rudy Joya was summoned by police under the pretext of his asylum application in Spain. Upon presenting himself to the authorities, he was detained and presented before a Spanish specialised court. Ivania Cruz was also summoned and appeared before the same court, which ordered that both defenders sign-in at a local court every 15 days, not leave the country, surrender their passports and report any change of address.

“We call on Interpol to immediately revoke the red notices and judicial sanctions against Ivania Cruz and Rudy Joya, and on Spain to refuse to accede to the red notice and to ensure their safety by rejecting their forcible return to El Salvador,” the experts said.

The experts are in contact with Interpol and the governments of Spain and El Salvador on these concerns.

The experts are:

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/11/un-experts-concerned-weaponisation-interpol-red-notices-against-human-rights

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European Parliament pledges to tackle transnational repression against human rights defenders

November 15, 2025

On 14 November 2025, Scilla Alecci of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ) wrote about a parliamentary report which identified China and other authoritarian regimes as harassing and attacking dissidents abroad, echoing findings from ICIJ’s China Targets.

European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium.

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution urging member states to confront efforts by authoritarian regimes to coerce, control or silence political opponents and dissidents living in Europe. “Human rights defenders are a key pillar of democracy and the rule of law, and they are insufficiently protected,” a statement from the parliament said.

The resolution, adopted with a majority of 512 votes (to 76 against and 52 abstentions), called for targeted sanctions against perpetrators, market surveillance of spyware and better coordination among European authorities to counter what lawmakers labeled “transnational repression.”

“For the first time, the European Union will call this phenomenon by its name,” rapporteur Chloe told reporters ahead of the Nov. 13 vote. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2024/03/19/transnational-repression-human-rights-watch-and-other-reports/]

The resolution is not legally binding but signals that European lawmakers want to take a clear position on the issue and draw attention to it, Elodie Laborie, a spokesperson for the Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, told the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in an email.

The parliamentary report identifies China, Egypt and Russia among 10 countries whose governments are responsible for nearly 80% of known cases, which include targeted killings, abductions, harassment and the misuse of international policing tools such as Interpol’s red notice system.

It confirms findings by ICIJ’s China Targets investigation, which revealed how Beijing continues to use surveillance, hacking and threats against Chinese and Hong Kong dissidents, Uyghur and Tibetan advocates and their families to quash any criticism of the regime abroad.

See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2025/04/28/chinas-tactics-to-block-voices-of-human-rights-defenders-at-the-un-major-report/

https://www.icij.org/investigations/china-targets/european-parliament-pledges-to-tackle-transnational-repression-against-human-rights-defenders

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Transnational repression by China reaches New York

November 8, 2025

On 6 November 2025 Human Rights Watch issued a press release on how Chinese Police Harass Filmmakers, Families to Undermine Free Expression Abroad

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A still from Jiangnan Xu’s film “Friends from Jiangnan.” © Zhu Rikun

Chinese authorities harassed several dozen Chinese film directors and producers, as well as their families in China, causing them to pull films from the inaugural IndieChina Film Festival in New York City. On November 6, 2025, the festival’s organizer, Zhu Riku, announced that the film festival, scheduled for November 8-15, had been “suspended.”

“The Chinese government reached around the globe to shut down a film festival in New York City,” said Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch. “This latest act of transnational repression demonstrates the Chinese government’s aim to control what the world sees and learns about China.”

Chiang Seeta, a Chinese artist and activist, reported that nearly all participating directors in China faced intimidation. Even directors abroad, including those who are not Chinese nationals, reported that their relatives and friends in China were receiving threatening calls from police, said Chiang.

On November 1, the organizers issued an announcement on social media saying they had received messages from some film directors and producers and their families about Chinese government harassment: “We are deeply concerned about the situation. … [I]f you are under pressure not to attend the festival … we fully understand and respect it.” By November 4, more than two-thirds of participating films had cancelled their screenings.

After the festival was suspended, Zhu issued a statement that the decision was not out of fear, but rather to “stop harassment of … directors, guests, former staff, and volunteers associated with the festival, including my friends and family.”

Independent film festivals in China have faced intensifying crackdowns over the past decade, Human Rights Watch said. The Chinese authorities have shut down all three major independent film festivals in China: Yunfest, founded in 2003; the China Independent Film Festival, founded in 2003; and Beijing Independent Film Festival, founded in 2006.

When the authorities shut down the last screening of the Beijing Independent Film Festival in 2014, they cut off electricity from the venue, confiscated documents from the organizer’s office, and forced the organizers to sign a paper promising not to hold the festival. Many festival organizers have tried without success to adapt, for instance by changing their format to screenings at multiple venues.

The 14th China Independent Film Festival was shuttered in 2018, the last time such a festival took place in China.

A court in January 2025 sentenced Chen Pinlin, known as Plato, to three-and-a-half years in prison for allegedly “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” after he made a documentary about the “white paper protests” during Covid-19 lockdowns. Transnational repression can be defined as government efforts to silence or deter dissent by committing human rights abuses against their own nationals living abroad, their families at home, or members of the country’s diaspora. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2025/10/17/un-report-highlights-chinas-targeting-of-human-rights-defenders-abroad/]

The Chinese government’s transnational repression of the arts has not been limited to film. Chinese officials interfered with an exhibition in Bangkok and censored artwork by Uyghur, Tibetan, and Hongkonger artists in August.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/11/07/china-authorities-shut-down-film-festival-in-new-york

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/agenda/briefing/2025-11-12/10/combating-transnational-repression-of-human-rights-defenders

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/un-experts-warn-of-surge-in-transnational-repression-targeting-defenders-from-china-and-southeast-asia

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Stronger protection needed for human rights defenders in exile (ODIHR)

October 22, 2025

Panelists discussing the need for stronger protection for human rights defenders in exile. Warsaw, 16 October 2025 (OSCE/Piotr Dziubak) Photo details

As civil society space shrinks and attacks against activists increase in many places, a growing number of human rights defenders are being forced into exile as they seek a safe environment to continue their work freely and securely. This was the focus of an event organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Araminta, and the World Organisation Against Torture at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference on 16 October 2025.

“Human rights defenders face inherent risks in their work, and relocating does not address all their needs. Adopting robust safeguarding mechanisms is essential to ensure minimum standards for mobility and a safe environment for defenders in exile,“ said Jennifer Gaspar, Araminta Managing Director.

While defenders in exile play a crucial role in promoting human rights, they face serious challenges, from urgent personal and legal issues to long-term barriers such as legal insecurity, restricted mobility and limited opportunities to continue their work. Participants discussed the need to establish minimum standards to protect human rights defenders in exile in the OSCE region, as well as EU legislation to ensure stronger legal and practical safeguards for them, participants discussed.

The discussion drew on both institutional perspectives and the lived experiences of exiled defenders, highlighting the need for coordinated action and policy tools to address these gaps. Participants emphasized that ensuring human rights defenders can continue their work in safety is vital to protect human rights and promote democratic values across the OSCE region and beyond.

See also from 2023: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2023/10/08/odihr-human-rights-defenders-in-exile-should-be-allowed-to-continue-their-work/

https://www.osce.org/odihr/599757

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UN report highlights China’s targeting of human rights defenders abroad

October 17, 2025

On 15 October 2025 Sam Ellefson of ICII summarises the new report, which recounts recent reprisals from two dozen countries, underscores ICIJ’s reporting on how Beijing abuses international institutions in its campaign to silence critics abroad

The targeted repression of human rights activists across borders is becoming more frequent and sophisticated, according to the latest annual U.N. report detailing acts of intimidation and reprisals inside the international organization.

The report lists new allegations of reprisals from two dozen countries including China, echoing the findings of ICIJ’s China Targets investigation, which revealed how suspected proxies for the Chinese government surveilled or harassed activists at the U.N. headquarters in Geneva, the center of the human rights system.

Two Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and a Uyghur linguist are among the cases compiled by the secretary-general between May 2024 and 2025, alongside updates on reprisals included in previous reports.

“Allegations of transnational repression across borders have increased, with examples from around the world,” the report said. “Targeted repression across borders appears to be growing in scale and sophistication, and the impact on the protection of human rights defenders and affected individuals in exile, as well as the chilling effect on those who continue to defend human rights in challenging contexts, is of increasing concern.”

Raphäel Viana David, the China and Latin America program manager at the International Service for Human Rights, a nonprofit that trains activists in U.N. advocacy, said the report reflected a shift within the U.N. in recognizing transnational repression as a tool states use to carry out reprisals.

“The assistant secretary-general — who is the senior focal point on reprisals — when she presented the report at the Human Rights Council a couple of weeks back, emphasized this angle of transnational repression,” Viana David said. “This is an interlinkage that I think is increasingly evident, but that needs a little bit more disentangling.” [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2025/10/01/un-secretary-generals-2025-report-highlights-reprisals-against-human-rights-defenders/]

In China Targets, ICIJ and 42 media partners exposed how Beijing has misused international institutions such as the U.N. and Interpol to target overseas dissidents. The investigation included interviews with 105 individuals across 23 countries who detailed how the Chinese government had reached beyond its borders to silence them.

https://www.icij.org/investigations/china-targets/new-un-report-highlights-chinas-alleged-targeting-of-human-rights-activists/?utm_campaign=news&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit

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Repressive Laws Are Increasingly Being Used to Silence Activists Across Asia

July 29, 2025

Josef Benedict and Rajavelu Karunanithi published a piece in the Diplomat of 18 July 2025 describing how from Hong Kong to India, governments are passing and weaponizing new laws to pursue and jail whoever speaks up for human rights.

Four years ago, on the 32nd anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, plain clothes police arrested human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist Chow Hang-tung outside her office in Hong Kong. Her alleged crime? Publishing two social media posts advertising a public vigil to remember the notorious crackdown in Tiananmen Square. At the time, Chow was the vice-chair of the now defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement of China, the main organizer of annual Tiananmen vigils…

Sadly, such repression is not unique to Hong Kong. Across Asia, authoritarian and democratic governments alike are passing and weaponizing new laws – in clear violation of international law and standards – to pursue and jail whoever speaks up for human rights. Today, on Nelson Mandela International Day, we call for the release of Chow Hang-tang, who is part of CIVICUS’ Stand As My Witness campaign, as well as other human rights defenders unjustly locked up in Asia around the world.

The CIVICUS Monitor, which tracks civic space conditions across the world, now rates Hong Kong’s civic space as “closed,” the worst possible ranking. Hundreds remain behind bars as police systematically use the new laws to arrest and prosecute people on trumped-up charges. Often, the process itself becomes the punishment as activists spend years in detention before they are even tried…

Meanwhile, Hong Kong authorities are trying to take their repression international, by offering bounties for activists-in-exile charged under the National Security Law and by arresting the father of a prominent U.S.-based activist, Anna Kwok.

..Hong Kong’s National Security Laws have become something of a model for other Asian governments looking to stifle dissent.

Look no further than India, often called the world’s largest democracy, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government resorts to similar laws to consolidate power and silence his critics. Dozens of activists have been jailed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a draconian anti-terror law. Under the UAPA’s provisions, activists remain in pre-trial detention for long periods and are denied bail, including human rights defender Khurram Parvez, who was arrested in November 2021. His trial has yet to start, four years on. [see also: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/81468931-79AA-24FF-58F7-10351638AFE3]

In neighboring Pakistan, the government also weaponizes anti-terror legislation against activists like Mahrang Baloch, who languishes in prison on terror charges for speaking out against ongoing violations of ethnic minority rights by the Pakistan security forces in Balochistan. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2025/05/28/un-experts-alarmed-by-arbitrary-detention-of-azerbaijani-human-rights-defender-mammadli/]

In Thailand, more than 270 individuals have been arrested or prosecuted under lese-majeste or royal defamation laws since early 2020, many of whom have received long consecutive sentences from the courts. Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, for instance, received multiple convictions and 26 years in jail for calling for democratic reforms and reforms of the Thai monarchy. [see also: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/1e7ce01b-7927-41f1-b7d4-2c563ee235cc]

Meanwhile, Cambodia’s Han Manet regime has used “incitement” laws as their weapon of choice to silence activists, journalists, and members of the opposition.

With legal repression spreading across Asia, the international community must do more to push back and stand with these brave activists. Foreign governments must not only speak out when activists are convicted, but step in much earlier when these human rights defenders are arrested. Diplomats should visit wrongly arrested activists in detention, monitor their trials, and engage with their families. Foreign governments must also use international platforms like the United Nations Human Rights Council and bilateral meetings to highlight their cases and call for their release. 

Activists-in-exile also need support and assistance, especially when they face transnational repression. The recent G-7 Leaders’ Statement on Transnational Repression was a good start, but strong rhetoric must now turn into serious action. Failure to undertake such actions will see a further regression of democracy and repression of civic freedoms in Asia and elsewhere.

https://thediplomat.com/2025/07/repressive-laws-are-increasingly-being-used-to-silence-activists-across-asia/

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The 46/2 Collective demands protection of Nicaraguan opponents exiled in Costa Rica

June 30, 2025

ISHR and the Colectivo 46/2 condemn the assassination of opposition leader Samcam Ruìz by the Nicaraguan Government.

In the joint letter published on 23 June 2025 The 46/2 Collective denounces to the international community the assassination of retired Nicaraguan Army Major Roberto Samcam Ruíz, which took place on 19 June in his home in San José, Costa Rica.

Samcam Ruíz was a strong voice of denunciation against the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship, denouncing the Nicaraguan army and pointing it out as a participant in the repression and extrajudicial executions committed since 2018. He had also denounced an espionage network against opposition refugees in Costa Rica.

The retired major was one of the 94 Nicaraguans denationalised in February 2023 by the dictatorship and since 11 July 2018 had been a refugee in Costa Rica due to persecution and criminalisation by the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. He obtained Spanish nationality on 26 July 2023.

The assassination of the former retired military officer is not the first attack against opponents on Costa Rican soil.  In 2023, opposition member Joao Maldonado and his wife were shot at with the clear intention of killing them. Maldonado had already suffered another attack in 2021, also in San José, Costa Rica. In 2022, the Nicaraguan opposition leader Rodolfo Rojas was found dead in Honduras. According to relatives, he had been lured to Honduras from Costa Rica, where he had gone into exile. To the list must be added the murder of another refugee, Jaime Luis Ortega, in 2024, in Upala, a canton on the border with Nicaragua. Following these events, Roberto Samcam had spoken to the press, pointing out the direct involvement of the Ortega Murillo regime and indicating that he knew that his life was at risk.

Although the investigations into Samcam’s murder are ongoing, the circumstances of the murder and the profile of the victim raise strong suspicions that it may be a political crime with possible transnational links. This murder takes place in a context in which various human rights organisations have been documenting a sustained pattern of surveillance, threats, harassment and acts of intimidation directed against Nicaraguans in exile in the region, especially in Costa Rica.

We consider that this crime should be analysed and investigated as part of a broader strategy of transnational repression promoted by the Nicaraguan regime to persecute and silence dissent outside its borders, in open violation of the human rights of refugees and exiles. This transnational repression has been documented by the Group of Experts on Human Rights in Nicaragua (GHREN), who have pointed out that ‘The Government’s repressive actions transcend the country’s borders and affect people who are opponents or perceived as such abroad. The government has also continued to target family members of opponents inside Nicaragua, including children, by mere association, as a way of punishing opponents and/or deterring them from speaking out wherever they are’.

Given the gravity of this crime and the sustained pattern of transnational repression against exiled Nicaraguans, we urgently call on the international community to demand that the Nicaraguan State immediately cease all forms of persecution, surveillance and violence against dissidents in exile. We also request that the international community strengthen political, technical and financial support for the protection mechanisms for human rights defenders in exile. We also urge the establishment of bilateral or multilateral channels of communication with the host countries of Nicaraguans in order to assess the security situation and articulate preventive responses to possible acts of transnational persecution. Finally, we call on international human rights bodies to urgently follow up on these cases as part of a systematic pattern of cross-border repression, and to ensure justice and truth for the victims.

Signatories:

  • Collective Nicaragua Never Again
  • Centre for International Law and Justice – CEJIL
  • International Federation for Human Rights – FIDH
  • International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights
  • Autonomous Women’s Movement – MAM
  • World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
  • Peace Brigades International – PBI
  • International Network on Human Rights Europe – RIDHE
  • Legal Defence, Registry and Memory Unit – UDJUDR
  • Open ballot boxes
  • International Service for Human Rights – ISHR

Additional information:

The 46/2 Collective is a coalition of 19 international, regional and Nicaraguan human rights organisations that regularly informs the international community about the lack of action by the Nicaraguan regime to meet its international human rights obligations.  

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/the-international-community-must-act-to-protect-nicaraguan-opponents-in-exile-in-costa-rica

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Transnational repression against exiled Egyptian journalist Basma Mostafa must end

June 27, 2025

Egypt: End transnational repression against exiled journalist Basma Mostafa - Protection

Photo credit: Ben Schumin, CC BY-SA 2.0

ARTICLE 19, and the undersigned human rights organistions, call on the Egyptian government to immediately end its campaign of transnational repression targeting exiled Egyptian journalists. We specifically urge the government to respond to the UN report detailing the harassment and surveillance of Egyptian investigative journalist Basma Mostafa, currently residing in Germany. We further urge German authorities to ensure her safety and uphold their international obligations to protect freedom of expression.

Despite seeking safety in exile, Mostafa continues to face threats, surveillance, harassment, and online gender-based violence across multiple countries—including Germany, Switzerland, Kenya, and Lebanon—simply for doing her work. These acts are detailed in a joint communication from UN Special Rapporteurs (AL EGY 6/2024), which documents a disturbing pattern of cross-border intimidation carried out by or with the acquiescence of Egyptian authorities.

Germany’s former Human Rights Commissioner, Luise Amtsberg, has publicly condemned Egypt’s transnational repression and urged the Egyptian government to address findings outlined in the UN report. The Egyptian authorities have yet to issue an official response. The silence is telling.

Mostafa is a prominent investigative journalist known for reporting on human rights abuses in Egypt, including tortureand extrajudicial killings. She was arrested in 2016 while covering protests, and again twice in 2020 while reporting on a police raid in southern Egypt. After facing charges of spreading false news and joining a terrorist organization, she was released on bail and forced into exile. [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2024/11/30/human-rights-defenders-story-basma-mostafa-from-egypt/]

Her case is not isolated; Egypt is among the world’s top perpetrators of transnational repression, using tactics such as arresting journalists’ family members, blocking access to exile-based media, targeting journalists with spyware, and denying consular services and identity documents for those living abroad and their family members, including children. In another notable case, a Berlin court convicted a man for charges related to spying for the Egyptian regime, including on Egyptian exiles while working in the press office of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, where he had access to data on exiled Egyptian journalists accredited with the Federal Press Office.

We call on the Egyptian authorities to immediately respond to UN communication AL EGY 6/2024 and end all forms of transnational repression against Egyptian journalists and critics in exile. Egypt must stop targeting journalists abroad and ensure independent, transparent investigations to hold perpetrators accountable.

We also urge the German authorities to protect exiled journalists and critics from intimidation tactics by foreign governments and those working on their behalf, in line with their International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) obligations and the 2023 Declaration of Principles to Combat Transnational Repression. Germany must provide full protection to Basma Mostafa, ensure accountability for her assault, investigate all attacks, harassment, and surveillance on its soil, and use its influence to demand that Egypt end its campaign of transnational repression.

Signed by:

  1. Access Now
  2. ARTICLE 19
  3. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
  4. Cartoonists Rights
  5. Committee for Justice (CFJ)
  6. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
  7. Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF)
  8. Egyptian Front for Human Rights (EFHR)
  9. Egyptian Human Rights Forum (EHRF)
  10. EuroMed Rights
  11. EuroMed Rights Network
  12. Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
  13. HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
  14. Human Rights Watch
  15. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
  16. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
  17. Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms
  18. Law and Democracy Support Foundation (LDSF)
  19. MENA Rights Group
  20. Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC)
  21. PEN America
  22. PEN Berlin
  23. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
  24. Samir Kassir Foundation (SKF)
  25. The Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in South West Asia and North Africa (WHRDMENA)
  26. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Rights organizations call on Egypt to end transnational repression against exiled journalist Basma Mostafa

https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar65312e54

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UAE: Dissidents, Relatives Designated ‘Terrorists’

April 30, 2025

Emirati authorities have designated as “terrorist” 11 political dissidents and their relatives as well as 8 companies they own, reflecting the country’s indiscriminate use of overbroad counterterrorism laws and contempt for due process, Human Rights Watch said on 22 April 2025.

On January 8, 2025, Emirati authorities announced a cabinet decision unilaterally adding the 11 individuals and 8 companies to its terrorism list for their alleged links to the Muslim Brotherhood, without due process. The authorities did not inform these individuals or entities prior to the designation, nor was there any opportunity to respond to or contest the allegations. The move represents an escalation of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) transnational repression, targeting not only dissidents but also their family members.

“Throwing nineteen people and companies onto a list of alleged terrorists without any semblance of due process, and with serious ramifications for their livelihoods, makes a mockery of the rule of law,” said Joey Shea, United Arab Emirates researcher at Human Rights Watch…

Human Rights Watch found that all eight companies are solely registered in the United Kingdom and are owned or previously owned by exiled Emirati dissidents or their relatives. At least nine of the eleven designated individuals are political dissidents or their relatives. Only two of the eleven have been convicted or accused of a terrorist offense, though both under questionable circumstances, according to informed sources and the Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center (EDAC), a human rights organization supporting imprisoned human rights defenders in the UAE. One was convicted in absentia as part of the grossly unfair “UAE94” mass trial of political dissidents in 2013. The other was accused in a separate case related to supporting the “UAE94” detainees.

Individuals on the list found out about the designation only after the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the UAE’s official state news agency, published it on its website. It came as “a real shock, it was very difficult,” one of the people named told Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch searched for the individuals and companies on global terror and financial sanctions lists, including the United Nations Global Sanctions list, the European Union Sanctions list, and the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK. None of them are included in these internationally recognized lists.

The UAE’s 2014 counterterrorism law uses an overly broad definition of terrorism and allows the executive branch to designate individuals and entities as terrorists without any corresponding legal requirement to demonstrate the objective basis of the claim. It does not set out a clear procedure for how this authority should be exercised, nor does it provide for any oversight.

Designated individuals face immediate asset freezes and property confiscation under the counterterrorism law and Cabinet Decision No. 74/2020. Those in the UAE, including relatives or friends, face a possible sentence of life in prison for communicating with anyone on the list. Human Rights Watch found that the designation has negatively affected individuals’ careers and personal finances, including through lost career opportunities and clients.

Exiled Emirati dissidents said the designations are part of the UAE’s ongoing crackdown on dissent and political opposition. “They want to hurt us as much as possible,” one individual whose name appeared on the list said.

Over the last decade, Emirati authorities have repeatedly targeted the Muslim Brotherhood and its Emirati branch, the Reform and Social Guidance Association (Al-Islah), in a widespread crackdown. Al-Islah is a nonviolent group that engaged in peaceful political debate in the UAE for many years prior to the crackdown and advocated greater adherence to Islamic precepts. Many of the detainees from the grossly unfair “UAE94” mass trial in 2013 are members of Al-Islah. The UAE designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization in 2014.

The 2014 counterterrorism law enables the courts to convict peaceful government critics as terrorists and sentence them to death. The law has been repeatedly used against political dissidents. In July 2024, 53 human rights defenders and political dissidents were sentenced to abusively long terms in the country’s second-largest unfair mass trial.

The UN’s first special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights has said that terrorism should be defined as narrowly as possible, warning that “the adoption of overly broad definitions … carries the potential for deliberate misuse of the term … as well as unintended human rights abuses.”

…The UAE appears to be escalating its persecution beyond openly outspoken dissidents to include family members who have not participated in politics nor spoken publicly about the country’s human rights record. “Many people whose names are on the list, they didn’t speak loudly against the government,” one person said.

In 2021, the UAE added 38 individuals and 15 entities to its terrorism list, including 4 prominent exiled Emirati dissidents. Human Rights Watch found that 14 of the 38 individuals and two of the entities are on other international global terror and financial sanctions lists. None of the individuals nor entities added on January 2025 were found on other internationally recognized lists…

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/04/22/uae-dissidents-relatives-designated-terrorists

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Important Resolution on Human rights Defenders adopted by UN Human Rights Council

April 7, 2025

Led by Norway, the resolution crucially covers new grounds and further develops States’ obligations to protect human rights defenders in the digital age. It also considers the needs expressed by human rights defenders during the consultative process leading to its negotiation and approval. 

For the first time and in a major win for the human rights defenders movement, the resolution includes a reference to the Declaration +25 and is very much in line with its content. 

‘The Declaration +25 is a ground-breaking initiative,’ said Phil Lynch, Executive Director at ISHR. ‘Civil society organisations worldwide have united to produce this authoritative articulation of the international legal framework for the protection of human rights defenders. We are very pleased that the Human Rights Council recognised it,’ Lynch added.

For example, the resolution calls on States to forgo the use of biometric mass surveillance and to refrain from or cease the use or transfer of new and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence applications and spyware to actors that are not liable to operating these in full compliance with international human rights law. 

Initially, the resolution included a reference to transnational repression but this was removed in the final version.  

‘While we welcome the reference to types of transnational repression referred to in the resolution, we stress that transnational repression is not only about actions taken by a State, but also its proxies, to deter, silence or punish people and groups who engage in dissent, critique or human rights advocacy from abroad, in relation to that State,’ said ISHR’s Lynch and civil society partners in their end of session statement. 

Indeed, transnational repression includes acts targeted directly against human rights defenders, journalists or activists, as well as acts targeting them indirectly by threatening their families, representatives or associates. Particularly vulnerable are nationals or former nationals, members of diaspora communities and those living in exile. ISHR will continue to push for States to publicly recognise and acknowledge this form of harassment. 

Another lost opportunity is the lack of explicit recognition of the positive role of child human rights defenders in promoting human rights and fostering change in societies, including their active role in the digital space. The resolution also doesn’t tackle the specific challenges and risks they face because of their age and their civic engagement, as highlighted by the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders in her 2024 report.

The resolution fell short of reaffirming States commitments from UNGA A/RES/78/216, to enhance protection measures for child defenders and to provide a safe, enabling and empowering environment for children and young people online and offline. 

The negotiation of the resolution was a hard and long process: 12 informal sessions were needed to agree on a text. In a regrettable move, some States presented amendments to the tabled text trying to undermine and weaken it. The text was finally adopted without a vote.

OHCHR is now mandated to convene three regional workshops and a report to assess risks created by digital technologies to human rights defenders and best practices to respond to these concerns.

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/hrc58-states-adopt-substantive-resolution-on-human-rights-defenders-emerging-technologies

Report on the 58th session of the Human Rights Council
UN Human Rights Council Renews Mandates for Special Rapporteur and Fact-Finding Mission on Iran

https://mailchi.mp/ishr/ishr-hrc58-april-8900949?e=d1945ebb90

https://www.apc.org/en/news/digital-milestone-new-resolution-human-rights-defenders-and-new-technologies-adopted-un-human

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