Front Line Defenders

Security, protection, visibility + advocacy for human rights defenders at risk.

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[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

📍HONG KONG

🚨WHRD Chow Hang-tung reaffirmed her commitment to human rights & democracy at her mitigation hearing. Sentencing is expected within two weeks.

FLD calls for all charges against her to be dropped & an end to targeting HRDs for peaceful human rights work.

🔗 https://t.co/Bo2eAKKoeY

[Gianluca Costantini @channeldraw]

Osman Kavala has spent nearly nine years in prison. Europe’s human rights court found that his prosecution was designed to punish and silence him. https://t.co/ev11DBkxcI #HumanRights

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

📍IRAN

🚨HRD Mehdi Mahmoudian was sentenced in absentia to 8 months in prison for “propaganda activities against the state.”

FLD believes his sentencing is linked to his peaceful human rights work and calls for his conviction to be quashed and all other charges dropped.

🔗 https://t.co/RNlfcdNfqC

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

🚨We welcome the landmark European Court of Human Rights judgment finding HRD Osman Kavala’s continued detention unlawful and ordering Türkiye to quash his conviction.

We call on Türkiye authorities to implement the judgment and release him immediately and unconditionally.

[amnestypress @amnestypress]

“Today, the European Court of Human Rights has comprehensively established that Osman Kavala’s detention in Türkiye
is based on a politically motivated trial. After almost 9 years in jail, he must finally be immediately released.”
@evegeddie from @amnesty
https://t.co/L3gYTdKGRQ

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

📍HONG KONG

🚨WHRD & lawyer Chow Hang-tung was found guilty of “inciting subversion of state power” over her peaceful advocacy. She faces up to 10 years in prison.

We continue to call for all charges to be dropped & an end to targeting HRDs for peaceful human rights work.

🔗https://t.co/8iiQXKlNmd

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

📍IRAN

🚨HRD Soheil Arabi was sentenced to 5 years in prison over his social media activities and support for protesters.

We believe his sentencing is directly linked to his legitimate and peaceful human rights activities and call for charges to be dropped.

🔗 https://t.co/CuMxLaJKH8

[EL PAÍS México @elpaismexico]

🔴 La justicia oaxaqueña da por cumplida la pena impuesta al activista indígena, Pablo López Alavez, pero no reconoce su inocencia. Él busca la absolución y la protección del Gobierno para volver a casa. “¿Van a seguir haciendo oídos sordos?“, dice a EL PAÍS

🖋️ @_elesj
🔗 https://t.co/oj4gwrlb5J

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

📍IRAN

🚨HRD Sajad Haeri is at imminent risk of imprisonment after his 2 year six month prison sentence was confirmed. His lawyer has submitted a retrial request.

FLD believes his conviction and sentencing are directly linked to his legitimate and peaceful human rights activities.

🔗 https://t.co/bfp9MPsEes

[FLD Américas @FLDAmericas]

📍MÉXICO

@FrontLineHRD, junto con otras organizaciones internacionales, mexicanas y oaxaqueñas, celebra la liberación del defensor indígena de derechos humanos Pablo López Alavez — tras 15 años, 7 meses y 12 días de detención arbitraria. 🧵👇

🔗https://t.co/Q8BtoQFi9H

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

📍MEXICO

Front Line Defenders together with other international, Mexican and Oaxacan organisations, celebrate the release of Indigenous human rights defender Pablo López Alavez — after 15 years, 7 months and 12 days of arbitrary detention.

🌳🌎A Zapotec forest defender from the community of San Isidro Aloapam, Oaxaca, Pablo was detained, tortured and accused of homicide on 15 August 2010. He was convicted on evidence riddled with inconsistencies, while the defence’s proof that he was elsewhere when the crime occurred was never properly considered. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention later concluded his imprisonment was arbitrary and motivated by his legitimate work in environmental defence.

His release on 27 March came only after a fight for justice and freedom of over 15 years led by his wife, defender Yolanda Pérez Cruz, alongside Oaxacan, Mexican and international civil society organisations. His release followed a revised legal classification of the offence and time already served — but the conviction still stand

We call on Mexican authorities to overturn the ruling and acquit Pablo, and to guarantee comprehensive protection for him and his family, who remain displaced and under threat.

🔗Read the joint statement: https://t.co/9BndsMm2bb

#JusticeForPabloLópezAlavez #HumanRights #DefendingHumanRightsIsARight

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

📍Nigeria

🚨 FLD and 4 organisations reject the Foreign Aids Bill 2026 (SB. 1034), warning it could restrict civic space and undermine HRDs’ work.

We call on the Nigerian Senate and Federal Government to withdraw the Bill and ensure a safe and enabling environment for HRDs.

🔗 https://t.co/ymlHicQsLc

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

📍IRAN

🚨WHRD & photojournalist Yalda Moaiery was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

FLD believes her conviction and sentencing are directly linked to her legitimate and peaceful human rights activities and calls for the convictions and sentences to be quashed.

🔗 https://t.co/5GkDeiOP5y

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

TEASER:

''I decided that I have to take, and carry my camera, and chase these bulldozers and machines, to see and film and document what is happening in my community. ''

Palestinian human rights defender @MohammadHeshamH and his family have consistently been targeted by Israeli settlers and military in Masafer Yatta, in the South Hebron Hills of the West Bank.

Mohammad and his family peacefully defend their rights. However, the area has seen increasing influxes of settlers, who instigate violence and harassment against human rights defenders and their families with little accountability.

@FrontLineHRD has partnered with @seen_stories to share Mohammad's story and his lived reality on the ground - full video coming soon. Stay tuned!

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

🎥 TEASER:

Palestinian human rights defender Mohammad Hesham Huraini and his family have consistently been targeted by Israeli settlers and military in Masafer Yatta, in the South Hebron Hills of the West Bank.

The area has seen increasing influxes of settlers, who instigate violence and harassment against human rights defenders and their families.

Front Line Defenders has partnered with @seen_stories to share Mohammad's story and his lived reality on the ground - full video coming next week. Stay tuned!

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

📍 LATIN AMERICA

💧Voices Weaving the Future | Defending Water is Defending Democracy
Water connects us — and calls us together. Front Line Defenders is joining this Latin American Dialogue hosted from Uspallata to share experiences and strengthen the defence of water, human rights, and environmental justice across the region.

💻 Format: Online [in Spanish]
📅 Wednesday, 12 August 2026
🕒 Times
Chile – 17:00
Argentina, Uruguay & Brazil – 18:00
Bolivia, Paraguay & Venezuela – 17:00
Peru, Ecuador & Colombia – 16:00

Defending water is defending democracy. 💙🌎

📝 Register: https://t.co/8lewBe6e3E

[FLD Américas @FLDAmericas]

📍 LATINOAMÉRICA

💧Voces que Tejen Futuro | Defender el agua es defender la democracia

💻 Modalidad: Virtual
📅 Miércoles 12 de agosto de 2026
🕒 Horarios en el afiche.

Defender el agua es defender la democracia. 💙🌎

🔗Inscríbete: https://t.co/sSKCmRQxki

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

📍PANAMA

Yesterday, we met with the Panama Human Rights Network (Red de Derechos Humanos de Panamá) in Panama City to discuss the shrinking space for civil society and the growing risks that human rights defenders face across the country.

✊Human rights defenders in the country continue to face judicial and administrative harassment, defamation, criminalisation, and other risks. Coordinated support from regional and international networks is essential to protect their work!

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

📍MEXICO

Where is José Luis?

We joined this protest act last Thursday in Mexico City to demand an immediate search for José Luis Silva Andrade and his safe return home. The environmental defender from the Agua Fría community has been missing since 15 July after being detained against his will by an armed group. A man allegedly associated with a local organised crime group informed his family that he was being held captive and threatened that he would be beaten and disappeared unless the family agreed to transfer ownership of the community’s land.

The local population and the Silva Andrade family continue to receive threats, motivated by the seizure of the Agua Fría community’s land for logging operations. José Luis Silva Andrade’s brother Rolando is known for his longstanding role in defending the forest, water, and territory from illegal logging and land grabbing. He has been forced to leave his community indefinitely amid frequent threats against him and his family in recent months.

There has been no progress in the investigation or the search 19 days after his disappearance. We demand that the authorities launch an urgent search to locate him, ensure his protection and timely release, and guarantee the safety of the family and the Agua Fría community. Agua Fría lives!

🔗Read more: https://t.co/bjxri95pgJ

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

📍ECUADOR

We are deeply concerned by the escalating violence, harassment, and criminalisation against the Kichwa Tzawata-Ila-Chukapi Indigenous community and its president, Kambak Wayra Alvarado Andy, located in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

The community has defended its ancestral Indigenous lands for generations against territorial dispossession and currently faces an ongoing alleged attempt by the company Terraturismo S.A. to evict them from their land. On 10 June, around 200 people linked to the company entered the territory in an eviction attempt, leaving at least three people seriously injured. Further attacks were reported throughout July.

Human rights defender Wayra Alvarado is currently facing four criminal complaints filed by individuals linked to the company and was arrested on 7 May. We consider this part of a wider pattern of using the justice system to obstruct Indigenous peoples’ defence of their territorial rights.

Front Line Defenders urges Ecuadorian authorities to independently investigate the attacks, guarantee protection for the community and its leaders, drop the charges against Wayra Alvarado and other community members, and ensure they can carry out their legitimate work in defense of the territory without violence, threats or criminalisation.

🔗Read the full statement: https://t.co/O7oWp9DW5N

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

🚨We urge authorities in Sudan to immediately and unconditionally release Mohamed Izzeldin, drop all charges brought against him for his human rights work, and ensure he has access to lawyers of his choosing, his family, and adequate specialised medical care.

Read more here: https://t.co/arQHP0jdAt

[Front Line Defenders @FrontLineHRD]

📍ECUADOR

🚨We strongly condemn the freezing of bank accounts of the Unión de Organizaciones Campesinas e Indígenas de Cotacachi (Union of Peasant and Indigenous Organisations of Cotacachi) - @UNORCAC -, as well as the personal bank accounts of its members.

We are concerned to observe financial harassment and criminal proceedings being used to silence Indigenous organisations and defenders since the national 2025 protests, as it seems part of a wider pattern in Ecuador of persecution of organisations and defenders of Indigenous rights. At least 30 UNORCAC members are currently facing criminal charges.

With @CIVICUSalliance , @fidh_en , @omctorg and @WorldRainforest , we call on Ecuadorian authorities to lift the freeze, guarantee due process, and stop criminalising the defence of human, collective and environmental rights.

🔗Read the full joint statement: https://t.co/OY22uprHAP