Human Rights Day was formed on the anniversary of the founding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a landmark document created at the UN General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948. The declaration enshrines in international law the human rights that all people are entitled to.
Despite the declaration, all around the world human rights are being challenged, degraded and attacked. That is why this year, on Human Rights Day, we pay tribute to five human rights defenders who have worked tirelessly to defend people’s rights and have been persecuted as a result.
Jemimah Steinfeld, CEO at Index on Censorship said:
“In this increasingly polarised and authoritarian world these people stand out as beacons of hope and light. It’s depressing to think that over 75 years since the Declaration, we still need a day like this but that should not detract from the bravery and fortitude of these people. May their example show us all how we can all better fight injustice.”
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Marfa Rabkova (Belarus)Marfa Rabkova is a human rights defender who has been behind bars since 17 September 2020. She has long been targeted by the Belarusian authorities as a result of her civic activism. Marfa became head of the volunteer service at the Human Rights Centre Viasna in 2019. During the 2020 presidential election, she joined the “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” campaign, which registered over 1,500 election observers. When peaceful protests began to take place after the election, she helped document evidence of torture and violence against demonstrators. Marfa was indicted on a long list of charges, including inciting social hostility to the government and leading a criminal organisation. She was sentenced to 14 years and 9 months in prison in September 2022, after nearly two years of pre-trial detention. Index on Censorship calls for her immediate and unconditional release.
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Mohammed Zubair (India)After co-founding the leading Indian fact-checking platform Alt News, Mohammed Zubair has faced significant threats for challenging misinformation and disinformation propagated by influential members of the ruling party. Zubair and others decided to found AltNews.in, a website dedicated to busting fake news and addressing flaws in the Indian media ecosystem, such as overt political pressure on media outlets and the opaque methods by which government funding is awarded to media outlets. After facing years of persecution, Zubair now faces further charges for a post he made on social media, including sedition. Today, Index on Censorship released a statement signed by 11 organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Committee to Protect Journalists, calling for all charges to be dropped. In 2023, Zubair won the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for Journalism.
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Diala Ayesh (Palestinian Territories)Diala Ayesh is a Palestinian human rights defender and lawyer, who has advocated for the freedom and fair treatment of political prisoners. She has faced arrest, threats and harassment from both the Israeli occupation forces and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. On 17 January 2024, Israeli military forces arrested Ayesh as she passed through a military checkpoint in the West Bank. On 25 January, she was issued with a four-month administrative detention order by the Israeli military’s Central Command for the occupied West Bank. The military court upheld this order, extending it for another four months until 17 May. It was subsequently renewed for an additional four months. According to her lawyers, she was subjected to assault, threats, and insults by Israeli soldiers during her arrest. During the first week of her arrest, Ayesh was denied access to her lawyer and any phone calls. Her lawyer could only see her once on 23 January 2024. Since her arrest, her family has not heard from her, and they are not allowed to call or visit her. Last month, Diala was awarded the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for Campaigning.
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Matiullah Wesa (Afghanistan)In 2009, Matiullah Wesa and Attaullah Wesa established Pen Path, an Afghan civil society organisation (CSO) working across Afghanistan to campaign for greater access to education for boys and girls in Afghanistan. In this role, they visited 34 provinces of the country and almost all districts. Pen Path’s first step was to re-open closed schools, after the Taliban had previously shut them down in remote villages of Afghanistan. Prior to the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, Pen Path acted as mediator between the government and the Taliban, while also encouraging local elders to collaborate with them to re-open those schools. Pen Path estimates that their team has re-opened more than 100 schools to date, and has established a number of new schools across the country. On 27 March 2023, Matiullah Wesa was arbitrarily arrested by the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) while returning from evening prayer. The day after his arrest, the GDI raided his house and confiscated his personal mobile phone and laptop. On 29 March that year, the Taliban spokesperson confirmed his arrest, accusing him of illegal activities. His family were not allowed to visit him and there has been no avenue to challenge the legality of his detention.He was later released on 26 October 2023. Wesa remains in Afghanistan today, continuing Pen Path’s work in secret. In 2023, Wesa won the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for Campaigning. |
