My name is Narges Mohammadi, and I am a 51-year-old woman who has dedicated her life to defending human rights. For years, I served as the Deputy Director of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC), working tirelessly to protect the rights of individuals in my home country of Iran. Throughout my journey, I have faced numerous challenges and sacrifices, but my determination remains unwavering.

In recognition of my commitment to human rights, I was honored to receive the prestigious Per Anger Prize from the Swedish government in 2011. The Andrei Sakharov Prize from the American Physical Society followed in 2018, further validating my efforts. In 2022, I was humbled to be included in the BBC 100 Women list, standing alongside inspiring individuals from around the world.

However, my personal life has been marked by struggle and separation. My husband, Taghi Rahmani, a political activist, was forced into exile in France after enduring 14 years of imprisonment. Our beautiful twin children, Kiana and Ali, now 16 years old, reside with him in France. Regrettably, due to my relentless pursuit of justice, I have been imprisoned several times over the past three decades, including a heart-wrenching period where I was unable to hold my own children for five long years.

Like many other brave Iranian activists, I have been imprisoned repeatedly for my peaceful advocacy of human rights. The past 13 years of my life have seen me spend more time behind bars than in freedom. But these struggles have not dampened my spirit; they have only fueled my determination to create change.

Today, a progressive and egalitarian movement has emerged in our country—the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement. It is a movement built on the pursuit of truth and justice, utilizing the lessons and knowledge from our history. As survivors of decades of violence, death, and devastation, we must steadfastly demand human rights and dignity for all, even for those responsible for mass atrocities. We must have the courage to end torture and executions, ensuring justice is served for everyone.

From the confines of my cell in Evin Prison, I bear witness to the existence of torture and assault. It is a risk to my personal safety to speak so openly, but I refuse to be silenced. The conditions I face are harsh, with prolonged solitary confinement and intense psychological torture. I have been denied access to essential medications, exacerbating my already fragile health conditions.

Iran, sadly, ranks 13 out of 100 in terms of closed civic space, according to the CIVICUS Monitor.

It is one of the most inhospitable places in the world for free expression. Yet, despite the challenges, I remain steadfast in my commitment to defending human rights and seeking justice for all.

To those who hear my plea, I implore you to stand as my witness in the fight for justice, freedom, and human rights. Together, let us create a world where the voices of the oppressed are heard, and where no child, no family, must endure the pain and suffering we have experienced. Only by standing united can we bring about the change we so desperately seek.

We are Members of Parliament in Africa's last absolute monarchy, Eswatini. We were arrested on the evening of 25 July 2021 during the wave of protests demanding political reforms.

We were arrested amidst the fervent wave of protests that echoed across our nation, a call for long-awaited political reforms. The trigger for these pro-democracy and anti-police demonstrations was the tragic and unexplained passing of Thabani Nkomonye, a 25-year-old law student, allegedly at the hands of the very authorities meant to protect our people. In response, the public outcry reverberated, and over 1,000 individuals, including ourselves, were apprehended. The government responded with an iron fist, aiming to quell the calls for change.

The yearning for change continued to crescendo, leading to what has been dubbed the 'winter revolution'. Journalists were targeted, and streets became battlegrounds as citizens demanding government and monarchical reforms faced off against the forces of order. Amid this turmoil, we found ourselves imprisoned for nearly two years, held arbitrarily and unjustly.

On 1 June 2023, we were confronted with a deeply flawed trial and verdict. Accused of "terrorism, sedition, and murder," charges we vehemently deny, we now face the prospect of spending over two decades behind bars. Our crime? Representing our constituencies and daring to advocate for fundamental political and human rights reforms within our country. Our call for the overhaul of an intricate electoral system that stifles opposition has placed us in this precarious situation.

Throughout our time in detention, we have endured deplorable conditions, physical abuse, and deprivation of essential rights. Our access to legal representation and medical care was denied, stripping us of our basic humanity.

We find ourselves incarcerated under conditions that defy human dignity, facing a future laden with uncertainty. In our plea for justice, we beseech you to stand as witnesses to our ordeal. We urge you to rally for our release, to amplify our call for justice, and to bring attention to the plight of our fellow citizens.

The CIVICUS monitor rates Eswatini as repressed

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I am an independent human rights lawyer based in Tajikistan. My journey in the field of law began when I served as an investigator in the Department of Internal Affairs in Dushanbe during my early years. After earning my law degree in 1997, I dedicated nearly a decade to working as a legal counsel for the legal aid bureau of the Shohmansur District of Dushanbe, advocating for justice and fairness.

On the September 2015, my life took a drastic turn. I found myself arrested and subjected to a campaign of targeted persecution. The reason? My unwavering commitment to representing politically marginalized clients, including members of the banned opposition party, the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT). My advocacy also extended to raising my voice against the alleged torture that one of my clients endured during their pre-trial detention. Despite persistent government pressure to abandon these cases, I remained steadfast in my pursuit of justice. It was this determination that led to my arrest on charges of forgery, fraud, incitement of hostility, and extremism.

The subsequent trial, marred by serious flaws and conducted behind closed doors, failed to meet the standards of fairness upheld by the international community. In October 2016, I was handed a 23-year prison sentence. Shockingly, my sentence was increased to 28 years as part of further politically motivated charges brought against me. It wasn't until October 2019 that my sentence saw a reduction of six years, owing to a government-initiated mass amnesty.

Throughout my time behind bars, I've endured unspeakable horrors. Instances of torture and ill-treatment, including severe beatings that necessitated hospitalization, have tested my resilience. Additionally, I've been subjected to periods of solitary confinement, which I firmly believe were retribution for my efforts to draw attention to the ill-treatment of fellow prisoners.

The international community took notice, with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issuing a resounding opinion in May 2019, affirming that my detention is both arbitrary and a grave violation of international human rights law.

On 10 July 2023, the Vahdat city court handed down an extra 10 years that were added to my existing sentence, this time accusing me of large-scale fraud. The trial took place in secrecy, without the presence of legal representation. The court's decision mandated that the first two years of this new sentence be spent in a closed prison, followed by eight years in a penal colony located in the Yavan region.

To amplify the awareness around my unjust predicament, my family has courageously established a foundation in my name.

I am a lawyer and a women human rights defender (WHRDs) from Hong Kong. I advocated for the protection and promotion of labour rights and the rights of persecuted human rights defenders in mainland China.

I was one of the vice-chairs of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (the Hong Kong Alliance or HKA), a grassroots advocacy group established in 1989 in Hong Kong to campaign for the release of political prisoners and democratic reforms in China, and accountability for the extrajudicial killings and other violations by the Chinese authorities during the lethal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen, Beijing in June 1989.

As a lawyer in Hong Kong, I also provided legal assistance to peaceful activists and protesters targeted by police and judicial actions for their involvement in pro-democracy activities.

I was arrested and detained on 4 June 2021 for publishing two social media posts to call on the public to join the annual peaceful vigil to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen massacre of civilians and protesters in Beijing. The authorities banned the vigil for two consecutive years under the pretext of combatting COVID-19.

On 13 December 2021, the Wan Chai District Court sentenced me to 12 months’ imprisonment under the Public Order Ordinance for ‘taking part in and inciting participation in the Tiananmen vigil in 2020’. Later on 4 January 2022, the West Kowloon Magistrate’s Court convicted me for ‘inciting others to participate in an illegal assembly’ based on the social media posts in 2021 and sentenced me to 15 months’ imprisonment, five to be served concurrently. This means I will spend a total of 22 months behind bars.

At the same time, I am still facing charges from September 2021 of ‘inciting subversion of state power’, together with two other members of the HKA. The indictment states that we were suspected of inciting others to subvert the Chinese regime in Hong Kong between 1 July 2020 and 8 September 2021.

In addition, four other executive committee members of the HKA and I were charged with ‘not complying with the requirement to provide information under Article 43 of the National Security Law of Hong Kong, when the police accused our organisation of being backed by ‘foreign agents’ and demanded it provide information for the police investigation.

CIVICUS Monitor rates Hong Kong as repressed.

Call for my release by going to the TAKE ACTION section below.

I am Ahmed Mansoor, one of the last voices in the United Arab Emirate (UAE) who provided a credible independent assessment of human rights developments in the country. I am on the Gulf Centre for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch advisory boards. In 2015, I won the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in recognition for my human rights work, following repeated crackdowns on human rights defenders in UAE that led to my arrest in 2011 and again in 2017.

On 29 May 2018, I was sentenced to 10 years in prison on trumped-up charges of ‘insulting the status and prestige of the UAE and its symbols including its leaders and for seeking to damage the relationship of the United Arab Emirates with its neighbors by publishing false reports and information on social media’. I was also fined 1 million dirhams and given three years' probation to be served upon my release. This decision was upheld by the UAE’s State Security Court on 31 December 2018.

Throughout my years of activism, I have received death threats, subject to physical assaults, government surveillance, and inhumane treatment in custody. Since over 5 years now I am in solitary confinement in Al-Sadr prison, and I was denied a bed, mattress, or pillow. I have been subjected to frequent harassment by correctional officers, who refuse to allow me access to books, newspapers, radio, or TV.

Many NGOs, United Nations representatives and the European Union have called for my release. Be my witness!

The CIVICUS Monitor rates UAE as a closed state with a severe decline in civic space and freedoms.

Call for my release by going to the TAKE ACTION section below.

Imagine that you are a human rights hero celebrated by the world, while at this very same time, you are chained behind prison bars for over a decade now?

It does not stop there, but goes further for the case to be also documented by Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), a national committee that was formed by the king of your country himself to fact-find and investigate abuses and violations committed by the country’s security apparatus during the mass crackdown on the social movement.

Stating “Immediately after the arrest, the detainee received a hard blow to the side of his face, which broke his jaw”, “Security personnel in the hospital threatened him with sexual abuse and execution” and threatened his family, and “spent two months in solitary confinement in a small cell measuring approximately 2.5m x 2m” and that “masked guards” beat him “routinely” and sexually assaulted him, amongst other serious violations.

What else could indicate that you were falsely arrested, charged, and kept imprisoned for life?! When thousands of voices continue to call for your freedom throughout an entire decade or more, the ears of those of who imprisoned you are deaf.

I am Abdul-Hadi Al-Khawaja, a dedicated human rights defender, protest leader, writer, poet and founder and former president of Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), co-founder of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), former MENA Protection Coordinator at Frontline Defenders. I am a Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, loving husband, kind father and grandfather.

I spent over a decade behind prison bars, will I still celebrate my 62nd birthday here, away from my family, grandchildren, and friends?

I do not want to spend another decade behind bars so I urge you to #StandAsMyWitness.

Use your powerful voice to stand up for me!

Bahrain is rated Closed by the CIVICUS Monitor

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I am a human rights lawyer, an advocate against injustices and the Director of the Lawyers Association of Pamir (LAP). LAP is one of the few civil society organisations in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) that advocates for human rights. I am also a member of several platforms advocating for human rights including the Civil Society Coalition against Torture and Impunity, the Public Council on Police Reform, and the Coalition on Housing Rights, Kholiqnazarov.

On 9 December 2022, the Tajikistan Supreme Could found me guilty of participating in a criminal organization, participating in the activities of a banned organisation and sentenced me to 16 years in prison. I was initially arrested on 28 May 2022 and my trial started on 20 September of the same year. I was held behind closed doors at a detention facility of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) in Dushanbe.

I was arrested in connection with my participation in the activities of “Commission 44” a commission made up of representatives of civil society and law enforcement agencies tasked to investigate events surrounding protests in November 2021 over the extra-judicial killing of a young person - Gulbiddin Ziyobekov. I was part of the Joint Investigation Team which was led by the Office of the Prosecutor General. I also worked with victims of the indiscriminate use of firearms by law enforcement during protests.

In May 2022, there was a renewed crackdown on protests in Khorog and Rushan District of GBAO. I was arrested alongside a dozen members of “Commission 44” and accused of participating in criminal association and publicly calling for a violent change of the constitutional order.

On 21 October 2022, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders issued a communication to the government of Tajikistan expressing concern about the alleged arbitrary detention of Kholiqnazarov and his colleagues.

Despite all appeals, I was sentenced to 16 years in prison on 9 December 2022.

Call for my release by going to the TAKE ACTION section below.

We are members of the Human Rights Centre Viasna (Viasna), a human rights organisation based in Belarus. We are: Ales Bialiatski, chairperson of Viasna. I was arrested on 14 July 2021 and charged with ‘tax evasion’. The true reason was assisting victims of political repression. If convicted, I may be imprisoned for up to 7 years.

Valiantsin Stefanovich, a member of Viasna Board and International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) vice-president. I was arrested on 14 July 2021 and have been in pre-trial detention since then. I was charged with ‘tax evasion’ and ‘preparing actions that grossly violate public order or active participation in them’. The charges appear to be the government’s reprisal for my many years of human rights work.

Uladzimir Labkovich, a lawyer at Viasna and co-leader of the election observation initiative “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”. I was detained together with my wife on 14 July 2021 after a search in our apartment. I was then remanded in custody to await trial on politically motivated charges of ‘tax evasion’ and ‘preparing actions that grossly violate public order’ or active participation in them’. If found guilty, I may be sentenced to seven years in prison.

Marfa Rabkova, coordinator of Viasna’s network of volunteers. I was arrested on 17 September 2020 and have been in pre-trial detention since then. I am charged with eleven ‘crimes’, including ‘training and preparing people to participate in mass riots’, ‘incitement of racial, national, religious or other social hatred or discord committed by a group’ and ‘membership in a criminal organisation’. I could face up to 20 years in prison.

Andrei Chapiuk, a volunteer of Viasna in Minsk. I was detained on 2 October 2020 and charged with ‘participation in mass disorders’. I could face up to seven years in prison.

Leanid Sudalenka, director of Viasna’s branch in Homieĺ. I was arrested on my way to the office on 18 January 2021. My ‘offence’ is that I provided legal assistance to dozens of Homieĺ region residents detained and charged for their participation in post-election protests. On 3 November 2021, I was sentenced to 3 years in prison. On July 2023, I was released after completing my sentence.

Tatsiana Lasitsa, a volunteer with Viasna’s Homiel branch. I was arrested on 12 January 2021 and charged with ‘organising or participating in group actions that gravely violate public order’. On 3 November 2021, I was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. I was later released on pardon in September 2022.

The Belarusian government is systematically silencing civil society voices. On 16 February 2021, law enforcement officers raided Viasna offices in Minsk, Homieĺ, Mahilioŭ, Viciebsk, Brest and other cities and opened a criminal case into Viasna’s activities.

Belarus features on CIVICUS Watchlist as a state with serious concerns regarding the exercise of civic freedoms.The CIVICUS monitor equally rates Belarus as closed.

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I am Kenia Hernandez, the coordinator of Zapata Vive, a peasant movement that defends land rights collective identity and promotes different forms of peaceful resistance against unfavourable development models imposed by the Mexican State. I am also the leader of the National Movement for the Freedom of Political Prisoners.

I have been subjected to several harassments as part of my work as a human rights defender. I was arbitrarily arrested on 18 October 2020 at a toll booth on the Amozoc highway in the state of Puebla by unidentified police officers.

I was later transferred to prison, facing unfounded charges of ‘violent robbery.’

On 19 February 2021, the Trial Court of the Judicial District of Almoloya de Juarez, State of Mexico, sentenced me to ten years and six months in prison based on fabricated charges of ‘robbery with violence.

My health has significantly deteriorated due to the unsanitary conditions I am subjected to in the maximum-security prison Centro Federal de Readaptacion Social Femeni (CEFERESO) No.16, in the municipality of Coatlan, in Morelos state, where I have been detained since October 2020.

The arrest of human rights defenders and political leaders in Mexico is illustrative of a system that creates fear and abuse power with impunity.

The CIVICUS monitor rates Mexico as repressed.

Call for my release by going to the TAKE ACTION section below.

I am a human rights lawyer from Egypt and formerly served on Egypt's National Council for Human Rights. I was also a member of the Egyptian Parliament from 2012 to 2013.

I have held several other positions, including acting as spokesperson for the Women's Revolutionary Coalition of Egypt, an Islamist group that opposed the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi. I have also represented Egypt in international conventions and declarations on women's and children's rights. 

On November 1, 2018, unknown state security forces burst into my house in Nasr City in Cairo at 1:30 am, blindfolded me and put me in their vehicle. Afterwards, the officers self-identified themselves as members of the State Security.

However, they never presented to me an arrest warrant or gave me the reason for my arrest. The security forces ransacked my house after arresting me, destroying several of my family's possessions. 

The Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) charged me with joining and funding a terrorist organisation and incitement to harm the national economy under Egypt's anti-terrorism law and penal code. The SSSP have presented no witnesses or evidence to prove the alleged charges. Official legal documents about the case are not available to my lawyer or me.

The state uses this strategy to deprive imprisoned human rights defendants of their rights to be informed of the charges against them and their rights under the Egyptian constitution and other international legal provisions.  

On 5 March 2023, I was convicted of all the charges and sentenced to five years in prison and another five years of supervised parole in which I would spend every night at police station.

The arrest of human rights defenders in Egypt is illustrative of a system built to crackdown on critical voices in the country.

The CIVICUS monitor rates Egypt as closed. 

Call for my release by going to the TAKE ACTION section below.

I am Khurram Parvez, a Kashmiri human rights defender. Currently, I am the Programme Coordinator for the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and the Chairperson of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearance (AFAD). These organisations have documented serious human rights violations in Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir for two decades, including enforced disappearances and unlawful killings.

I have faced systematic harassment and intimidation due to my work as a human rights defender. In 2016, I was arrested by the Indian authorities a day after being barred from travelling to Switzerland for the 33rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. I was charged under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), which permits detention without charge for up to two years. I was released after 76 days in detention.

On 22 November 2021, I was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on charges related to conspiracy and terrorism under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967 (UAPA), a counter-terrorism law, including Section 17 (raising funds for a terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy), 18B (recruiting of any person or persons for a terrorist act), 38 (offences relating to membership of a terrorist organisation and 40 (raising funds for a terrorist organisation).

UN experts have expressed concerns about the UAPA which have been routinely used by the government to detain human rights defenders. Individuals detained under the law are held in pre-trial detention for long periods.

India features on the a href="/https://monitor.civicus.org/watch-list/">CIVICUS Watchlist as a state with a severe decline in civic space and freedoms.

The CIVICUS monitor rates India as repressed.

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*This first-person narrative has been developed by CIVICUS based on Khurram's case

I am Kamira Nait Sid, an Amazigh from Algeria and a strong advocate of the Amazigh language, culture and identity. My advocacy work was through the Association of Women in Kabylie, where I also raised critical questions concerning women's rights.

As an indigenous Amazigh woman and co-president of the Amazigh World Congress, I have been a victim of harassment by Algerian authorities, arrested, detained on several occasions for a short period. I am often subjected to searches and interrogations when travelling abroad from the airport in Algiers.

I was abducted on 24 August 2021 in Northern Algerian by unidentified men for several days before friends, family, colleagues and my lawyers received confirmation that I was in police custody.

I am accused of belonging to the Kabyle separatist movement (MAK). I was placed in pre-trial detention on 1 September 2021 by the investigating judge at the Sidi M'hamed court in Algiers. I am being prosecuted under Article 87 of the Penal Code, which classifies any act as a terrorist act if it threatens the state's security, territorial integrity, stability, or normal functioning of institutions.

The arrest of human rights defenders in Algeria is descriptive of a system that crackdowns on critical voices in the country.

The CIVICUS monitor rates Algeria as repressed.

Call for our release by going to the TAKE ACTION section below.

Me llamo José Rubén Zamora Marroquín. Me detuvieron en Guatemala por mi trabajo como periodista al denunciar la corrupción del gobierno. Todo empezó con una redada en mi casa el 29 de julio de 2022. Me detuvieron acusado de blanqueo de dinero, tráfico de influencias y chantaje, basándose en una única denuncia presentada por un antiguo banquero que a su vez estaba siendo investigado por delitos financieros. Hasta ahora, la Fiscalía General ha abierto otros dos procesos judiciales contra mí.

Desde entonces, llevo más de 18 meses de detención arbitraria. Dicen que podría influenciar a algunos testigos debido a mi posición en elPeriódico, el periódico que fundé. Pero eso no es más que una excusa para silenciarme. Me han recluido en régimen de aislamiento, en condiciones muy duras, y han obligado a cerrar el periódico que dirigía.

En todo momento se han puesto trabas a mi defensa. Mis abogados sufrieron acoso y tuve que cambiar de abogado varias veces. Algunos fueron procesados y encarcelados por el simple hecho de representarme. El tribunal rechazó testigos y pruebas cruciales que podían demostrar mi inocencia, en cambio aceptó todo que presentó la acusación.

A pesar de todo, fui declarado culpable de blanqueo de capitales y condenado a seis años de prisión. Sin embargo, en octubre de 2023, el Tribunal de Apelaciones anuló mi condena y reabrió el caso para que se celebrara un nuevo juicio. Aun así, sigo en prisión preventiva, a la espera de que se haga justicia.

Hago un llamamiento a la solidaridad y exijo mi puesta en libertad. Las autoridades intentan silenciarme por denunciar la corrupción. Pero no me silenciarán. Y no dejaré de luchar por la libertad de prensa y la justicia en Guatemala.