Oyazimhon Hidirova, chairman of the Arnasai Branch of the International Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan was arrested on preliminary charges of hooliganism, fraud and tax evasion. Human Rights Watch and others are concerned that Hidirova’s arrest and prosecution may be in retaliation for her efforts to expose corruption by agricultural officials in Arnasai. Read more here
Akhmed Gisayev, a Memorial employee who had been working with Natalia Estemirova to investigate a sensitive human rights case in the days before her murder in July has experienced a series of menacing events in the past days and weeks. Gisayev, who lives in the Chechen capital, Gronzy, has reported being stopped by armed men in the street, having his flat searched and being under constant surveillance by security services. Read more here
Ai Weiwei, a high-profile Chinese government critic has said he and 11 others were detained by police in a hotel today to prevent them from attending the trial of an activist Tan Zuoren who investigated the deaths of thousands of schoolchildren in last year’s earthquake, where they were due to give defence evidence. He said he had been confined to his room by the police and that he did not know when he would be released. Weiwei, who was a consultant for the Beijing Olympics Bird’s Nest stadium, said police in the southwestern city of Chengdu also assaulted him and another supporter who tried to attend. Read more here
Police in China have detained a leading human rights lawyer in a dawn raid, less than a fortnight after the Open Constitution Initative, the pioneering legal centre he helped found was shut down. Xu Zhiyong’s disappearance comes amid growing concern about increasing pressure on activist lawyers in China. Read more here