Human Rights Watch

Folk singer S. Kovan was arrested at his home in Tamil Nadu, India, for two songs that criticise the state government for allegedly profiting from state-run liquor shops at the expense of the poor.

Syria’s authorities have yet to disclose the whereabouts of Bassel Khartabil, a software developer and defender of freedom of information, one month after his transfer to an undisclosed location, 22 organisations said on 4 November 2015. Syrian authorities should immediately reveal his whereabouts and release him.

Detained writer and blogger Mohammad Reza Pourshajari is being unlawfully held despite the expiry of his one year prison sentence. His conviction, in the first place, was solely on the basis of articles he had posted on his blog criticizing the Iranian authorities.

Russian authorities have detained the director of the Moscow Library of Ukrainian Literature, apparently alleging that some of the library’s materials are meant to “incite hatred” toward the Russian people.

“Prime Minister Najib Razak and the Malaysian government have repeatedly broken promises to revise laws that criminalize peaceful expression. Instead, Malaysia has gone on a binge of prosecutions of critics,” said Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch.

Venezuela’s human rights record, including as a member of the Human Rights Council, should preclude it from serving another term on the council, according to 34 international and Latin American human rights groups.

Iraqi security forces have repeatedly beaten and violently dispersed protesters during anti-corruption demonstrations since August 2015 without any apparent justification.

All political actors in Cote d’Ivoire should make a commitment to peaceful elections, 15 Ivorian and international organizations said several days before the first round of presidential elections. The groups expressed their concern over the treatment of a number of opposition activists detained over their involvement in unauthorized protests.