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Student in Nigeria Murdered Over Blasphemy Allegation

Ensure Justice, Abolish Blasphemy Laws

A female student, Deborah Samuel, was gruesomely murdered in Nigeria’s northwestern Sokoto state last week after she was accused of blasphemy. Efforts by the authorities to identify and arrest those involved in her murder have been met with protests,…
A burned-out building
News

Nigeria: Officials Indicted in Abuses of Protesters

Report Corroborates Human Rights Watch Findings

(Abuja) – A judicial panel has found that army and police officers shot, injured, and killed unarmed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, Nigeria during nationwide protests against police brutality in 2020, Human Rights Watch said today. This…
Demonstrators protesting against police brutality in Lagos, Nigeria, on October 15, 2020.
News

Myanmar: Prisoner Releases Fall Short

Deposed Political Leaders and Journalists Remain Detained

(Bangkok) – The Myanmar junta’s recent prisoner releases are limited in scope and do not reflect a broader change in the military’s respect for human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. On October 18, 2021, the State Administrative Council…
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News

Myanmar: Junta Escalates Media Crackdown

Release Journalists Wrongfully Detained, Sentenced

(Bangkok) – Myanmar’s military junta should stop prosecuting journalists and end its assault on independent media, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a video about the media crackdown. Since the February 1, 2021 coup, Myanmar’s junta has…
Anti-coup protesters hold a banner that reads "What are these? We are Yangon residents!" as they march during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar on Tuesday April 27, 2021.
Video

Myanmar: Junta Escalates Media Crackdown

(Bangkok, July 23, 2021) – Myanmar’s military junta should stop prosecuting journalists and end its assault on independent media, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a video about the media crackdown. Since the February 1, 2021 coup, Myanmar’s…
News

Myanmar: Security Forces Arrest Defense Lawyers

Wrongful Prosecutions Violate Rights to Counsel, Fair Trial of Accused

(Bangkok) – Myanmar’s security forces have recently arbitrarily arrested at least six lawyers defending political prisoners, violating both the lawyers’ rights and those of their clients, Human Rights Watch said today. The arrests deprive defendants…
Police car is seen on a street during the military coup demonstration.
News

Myanmar: Stop Holding Family, Friends Hostage

Detaining People to Coerce Others is Collective Punishment

(Bangkok) – Myanmar security forces are arbitrarily arresting and detaining family and friends of activists, protesters, and opposition members, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should immediately and unconditionally release all those…
This image from an April 18, 2021 news report by Myawaddy TV shows people who security forces detained in the Yankin township of Yangon, Myanmar.
News

Myanmar: Junta Bans Satellite Television

Adds to Severe Restrictions on the Internet, Media

(Bangkok) – The Myanmar junta added a ban on satellite television to existing restrictions on the internet and media, tightening its grip over information in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. On May 4, 2021, the ruling State Administration…
Anti-coup protesters flash the three-finger sign of defiance during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar on April 23, 2021.
News

Myanmar: End Threats Against Rights Group

Respect Rights to Freedom of Association, Expression

(Bangkok) – Myanmar’s military junta should immediately stop threatening the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a leading human rights monitoring group, Human Rights Watch said today. The group has documented security force abuses…
Anti-coup protesters hold a banner that reads "What are these? We are Yangon residents!" as they march during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar on Tuesday April 27, 2021.
News

The Myanmar Junta’s Assault on the Truth

Crackdown on Media Aimed at Hiding Security Force Abuses

Myanmar security forces have launched a full-scale attack on the country’s media, targeting journalists for arrest, raiding the offices of newspapers and online media, and banning five outspoken media outlets. At least 71 journalists, including a Japanese…
P journalist Thein Zaw talks to reporters outside Insein prison after his release Wednesday, March 24, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar.
News

Myanmar: Hundreds Forcibly Disappeared

Account for Missing Politicians, Activists, Others at Risk of Torture, Death

(Bangkok) – Myanmar’s military junta has forcibly disappeared hundreds of people since the February 1, 2021 coup, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities have taken into custody politicians, election officials, journalists, activists, and…
A man is held by police during a crackdown on anti-coup protesters holding a rally in front of the Myanmar Economic Bank in Mandalay, Myanmar on February 15, 2021.
News

Myanmar: Facial Recognition System Threatens Rights

Camera Surveillance, Mass Data Collection Bolsters Abusive Junta

(Bangkok) – The Myanmar military junta’s access to a new public camera system equipped with facial recognition and license plate recognition technology poses a serious threat to basic rights in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. Increased…
A police officer takes visuals of protesters close to the Indonesian Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. 
News

Myanmar: Urgently Investigate NLD Official’s Death in Custody

Immediately Produce Another NLD Official’s Forcibly Disappeared Father

(Bangkok) – Myanmar’s junta should promptly and impartially investigate and hold accountable those responsible for the torture and death in custody of a National League for Democracy (NLD) official, Human Rights Watch said today. The junta should also…
Myanmar soldiers blocking the street in Yangon near the home of Khin Maung Latt on the night of his arrest, March 6, 2021. (c) 2021 Private
News

Sweden Should Impose Sanctions on the Burmese Military

Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrate daily against the military junta in Burma (also known as Myanmar). Many Burmese people have expressed their opposition to the military's takeover of the democratically elected government – but they need the…
Mandalay University graduates bow their heads as they hold posters of Mya Thwet Thwet Khine, a 19-year-old woman fatally shot by police on February 9 in Naypyidaw, during an anti-coup protest in Mandalay, Myanmar, February 14, 2021. 
News

Myanmar: Arrests Mount as Protests Expand

Hundreds Detained Include Officials, Civil Servants, Doctors

(Bangkok) – Myanmar’s military junta should immediately drop all charges and unconditionally release all those arbitrarily arrested since the military seized power on February 1, 2021, Human Rights Watch said today. Detainees include political leaders…
Protesters raise three-finger salutes from inside a police vehicle after a being detained during an anti-coup protest in Mandalay, Myanmar, February 9, 2021.
News

Myanmar: Lethal Force Used Against Protesters

Draconian Measures Violate Right to Free Assembly

(New York) – Myanmar police should immediately end the use of excessive and lethal force against people protesting the February 1, 2021, military coup, Human Rights Watch said today. On February 9, police shot a young woman in the back of her head and…
Police use a water cannon on a crowd of protesters in Naypyitaw, Myanmar on Monday, February 8, 2021.
News

Myanmar: Arrest for Alleging Voter Intimidation

Woman Sentenced to 9 Months at Hard Labor

(Bangkok) – A Myanmar court has sentenced a woman to nine months in prison at hard labor because she claimed that she and her family were pressured to vote for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party in the November 8, 2020 general…
Protesters hold placards that read "Oppose unfair action of election! Investigate voting fraud around the country!" in a rally to condemn the November 8 general election results in Yangon, Myanmar on Friday, November 20, 2020.
News

Myanmar: Release Students Jailed for Peaceful Protest

10 Rights Groups Call for Dropping of Charges, Lifting of Internet Restrictions

(Bangkok) – The Myanmar authorities should immediately end criminal proceedings and release students and other activists charged for participating in recent peaceful protests, a coalition of 10 human rights organizations said in a joint statement…
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News

Myanmar: Election Fundamentally Flawed

Rohingya Excluded, Unequal Media Access, Arrests of Critics

(Bangkok) – Myanmar’s electoral process is undermined by systemic problems and rights abuses that will deprive people of their right to fairly elect their government, Human Rights Watch said today. Parliamentary, state, and local elections are…
A resident checks voting lists at an administrative office in Yangon ahead of Myanmar’s upcoming general election, July 25, 2020. 

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