Duterte critic arrested; why are these tech companies supporting Saudi male guardianship?; Sudanese detainees held in deplorable conditions; proposed Swiss law could protect rights in the global supply chain. 

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An app in Saudi Arabia allows men to track and even restrict the movements of their wives and daughters. Absher, created by the Saudi Ministry of Interior’s National Information Center, sends text messages to men when their wife or daughter tries to use their passport. It can allow men to alert Saudi airports, making it easier to catch women trying to flee Saudi Arabia. In most cases, women in Saudi Arabia are required to get permission from "male guardians" in order to travel.

A Thai television station, Voice TV, provided airtime to candidates critical of Thailand’s military government and was then banned for 15 days during which it will be off air completely. Thailand goes to the polls in a few weeks, and free press is key for polls to be perceived as free and fair.

Under a new law, renowned Filipino journalist and press freedom defender Maria Ressa has been served with an arrest warrant for libel.  

In Saudi Arabia, under the male guardianship system, a woman’s life is fully controlled by a man. Women in Saudi Arabia cannot freely make choices on travel, employment, marriage or even access to certain medical procedures. For these reasons, many women brave several dangers to flee the country, and to make it worse, some tech giants now carry apps that allow men to monitor women under the guardianship system. 

Protestors in the ongoing demonstrations in Sudan have been beaten, detained and shot by government forces. Although some detainees have been released, there has been no meaningful effort from the government to release all political prisoners some of whom are held under deplorable conditions.

The Cameroonian opposition leader Professor Maurice Kamto has been arrested and charged with incitement, after protests following a heavily contested election. 

Soon, Swiss businesses might be required to introduce environmental and human rights safeguards for their global supply chains. This would directly impact the gold business which currently source for raw material in areas where rights are not protected.