Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor said Indonesia indispensable instantly halt threatening and intimidating human rights defender Veronica Koman and her family.
Living successful self-imposed exile successful Australia, Ms. Koman, a lawyer specializing in human and number rights, faces charges of incitement, displaying race-based hatred, spreading fake news and disseminating accusation aimed astatine inflicting ethnic-hatred.
The allegations were believed to person been brought against her successful retaliation for providing reports to UN quality rights mechanisms and attending UN meetings – for which she was questioned by information forces – on West Papua and Papua provinces.
Ms. Koman was one of six human rights defenders mentioned successful the UN Secretary-General’s 2021 annual report on practice with the UN.
“This lawsuit highlights however human rights defenders are often targeted for their practice with the United Nations, which is cardinal to their peaceful and morganatic enactment successful the extortion and promotion of quality rights”, said the Special Rapporteur on the concern of quality rights defenders.
‘Chilling effect’ on society
Acts of intimidation and threats against Ms. Koman’s household person besides been reported, astir precocious connected 7 November, erstwhile unidentified individuals threw 2 tiny explosive boxes wrong the store of her parents’ location successful West Jakarta.
The boxes reportedly contained threatening messages, including 1 stating “we volition scorch the world of wherever you fell and of your protectors”.
Another delivered to a family member’s home contained a dormant chickenhearted and a connection saying that anyone hiding her “will extremity up similar this”.
“I americium highly acrophobic astatine the usage of threats, intimidation and acts of reprisal against Veronica Koman and her family, which question to undermine the close to state of sentiment and look and the morganatic enactment of quality rights lawyers”, said Ms. Lawlor.
She urged the Indonesian Government to driblet the charges against her and analyse the threats and acts of intimidation and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“Impunity for violations against quality rights defenders has a chilling effect connected civilian society arsenic a whole”, she added.
Mary Lawlor’s telephone was endorsed by Special Rapporteurs Fernand de Varennes on number issues and Diego García-Sayán on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.
Pakistan rights defender unfairly condemned
Meanwhile, successful Pakistan, 12 UN independent experts on Wednesday condemned the reported condemnation of number civilian nine activistic Idris Khattak, who was sentenced to 14 years successful prison following what the UN rights bureau OHCHR, described arsenic “an apparent unfair trial”, successful a subject courtroom.
“Mr. Khattak’s reported sentencing is an onslaught against the quality rights assemblage successful Pakistan and sends a chilling connection to civilian nine activists monitoring and reporting connected alleged violations, committed by the subject and information forces oregon with their consent oregon acquiescence, specified arsenic systematic oregon wide enforced disappearances”, the UN quality rights experts said in a statement.
The Special Rapporteurs upheld that Mr. Khattak and different rights defenders and civilian nine leaders – including those belonging to the Pashtun minority – who person been arrested or disappeared for their quality rights work, must beryllium instantly released.
Reparations
“Their families should beryllium provided with reparations, information and justice”, they added, portion stressing that those liable for these abuses indispensable besides beryllium held accountable.
Mr. Khattak, who has worked to support the rights of the Pashtun number successful north-west Pakistan, including by documenting enforced disappearances, was tried by a subject tribunal nether the Pakistan Army Act and charged with espionage and different behaviour “prejudicial to the information oregon interests of the State” for allegedly revealing regional subject operations information successful 2009.
He was reportedly sentenced successful concealed by the Field General Court Martial, and neither his household nor his lawyer person been informed astir the judgement.
“As a civilian, he should person been tried by a civilian court. It is the State’s work to guarantee Mr. Khattak’s rights to a just and nationalist proceeding by a competent, autarkic and impartial tribunal established by law”, the experts underscored.
Calls for release
Abducted by information agents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa state successful November 2019, Mr. Khattak was subjected to 7 months of enforced disappearance, exposing him to a precocious hazard of torture.
In June 2020, authorities acknowledged helium was being detained, without revealing where, and ever since helium has been held incommunicado.
“Mr. Khattak’s rights person been systematically violated during his detention and trial. Khattak’s detention and sentencing is portion of an alarming signifier of silencing quality rights defenders and outspoken civilian nine leaders done systematic maltreatment of counterterrorism and information legislation, intimidation, concealed detention, torture and enforced disappearance”, said the independent experts.
They called connected authorities to disclose each details of Mr. Khattak’s lawsuit and instantly let his household and lawyer unobstructed and regular access.
“Further, successful summation to releasing him, we reiterate our telephone connected Pakistan to guarantee a punctual and impartial investigation…and to clasp those liable to relationship for immoderate violations of his quality rights”, they concluded.
Special Rapporteurs and autarkic experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to analyse and study backmost connected a circumstantial quality rights taxable oregon a state situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not paid for their work.
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