Front Line Defenders

📍IRAN

🚨On 16 August 2026, Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced human rights defender Soheil Arabi to five years in prison on the charge of “gathering and collusion with the intention of committing crimes against the country’s security.” The only court session was held the week before, on 10 August, when Soheil Arabi presented his defense against these trumped up charges related to national security.

Soheil Arabi is a human rights defender, blogger and photojournalist, who won the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Award in 2017.

Front Line Defenders believes his conviction and sentencing are directly linked to his legitimate and peaceful human rights activities, including his work to provide humanitarian assistance and social media advocacy for protesters and families impacted by the violent crackdown on protesters.

Front Line Defenders calls on the authorities in Iran to drop the charges and sentences against Soheil Arabi and end all forms of judicial harassment against him.

🔗https://zurl.co/rAYKS

📍IRAN

🚨On 10 August 2026, the lawyer of human rights defender Sajad Haeri submitted a retrial request at the Supreme Court in Iran, following the confirmation of sentence of two years and six months of prison by the Tehran Court of Appeals in late July 2026, raising concerns the human rights defender might be imminently imprisoned.

Sajad Haeri has peacefully advocated for socio economic and cultural rights, including by teaching Kurdish language. He has also spoken out on issues of public concern. Front Line Defenders believes that his judicial harassment is directly linked to his human rights work. He is also the brother of HRD Ahmadreza Haeri, who has been detained since May 2023 due to his human rights work, including his campaigning against death penalty.

Front Line Defenders calls on the Iranian authorities to drop the charges and sentences against Sajad Haeri and end all forms of judicial harassment against him and his family members.

🔗 https://zurl.co/pqBxj

📍MEXICO

Front Line Defenders together with other international, Mexican and Oaxacan organisations, celebrate the release of Indigenous human rights defender Pablo López Alavez — after 15 years, 7 months and 12 days of arbitrary detention.

🌳🌎A Zapotec forest defender from the community of San Isidro Aloapam, Oaxaca, Pablo was detained, tortured and accused of homicide on 15 August 2010. He was convicted on evidence riddled with inconsistencies, while the defence’s proof that he was elsewhere when the crime occurred was never properly considered. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention later concluded his imprisonment was arbitrary and motivated by his legitimate work in environmental defence.

His release on 27 March came only after a fight for justice and freedom of over 15 years led by his wife, defender Yolanda Pérez Cruz, alongside Oaxacan, Mexican and international civil society organisations. His release followed a revised legal classification of the offence and time already served — but the conviction still stands.

We call on Mexican authorities to overturn the ruling and acquit Pablo, and to guarantee comprehensive protection for him and his family, who remain displaced and under threat.

🔗Read the joint statement: www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/statement-report/release-forest-defender-pablo-lopez-alavez-after-15-years-7-months-and-12-days


Consorcio Oaxaca Serapaz México FIDH - International Federation for Human Rights OMCT Centro Vitoria Deutsche Menschenrechtskoordination Mexiko Öku-Büro Educa Oaxaca

📍Nigeria

🚨Front Line Defenders and four human rights organisations jointly reject the Foreign Aids (Regulation, Transparency and Disclosure) Bill 2026 (SB. 1034), which could restrict civic space and undermine human rights defenders’ work.

The Bill seeks to establish a Foreign Aid Regulatory Commission with powers to register, inspect, audit, sanction, and suspend or shut down organisations receiving foreign grants, donations, or technical assistance, including human rights defenders and civil society organisations.

Mandatory public disclosure could create serious security risks for human rights defenders, survivors and witnesses, including surveillance, harassment and retaliation.

We call on the Nigerian Senate, its leadership and the Federal Government to immediately withdraw SB. 1034 and reaffirm Nigeria’s guarantees of freedom of association, expression and assembly and a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders.

🔗 https://zurl.co/cbQrd

📍IRAN

🚨 On 8 August 2026, Yalda Moaiery was informed that she had been sentenced in absentia by Branch 29 of Tehran Revolutionary Court to 15 years in prison on the charge of “activities in furtherance of the interests of the Zionist regime against national security.”

The Court imposed further punishments including a permanent ban from civil service, and any political and media activities, a prohibition on engaging in economic activity and possessing a checkbook, driving a motor vehicle, and the confiscation of her camera and other seized electronic devices.

Yalda Moaiery is an Iranian WHRD and photojournalist who has covered armed conflicts and humanitarian crises over the past two decades in Iran, its neighbouring countries, and beyond. She has documented the enforcement of the mandatory hijab in Iran, women working as security police, and the establishment of the morality police.

Front Line Defenders believes that the conviction and sentencing of Yalda Moaiery are directly linked to her legitimate and peaceful human rights activities, and calls on the authorities in Iran to quash the convictions and sentences imposed on Yalda Moaiery, end all forms of judicial harassment against her, and restore her right to work as a photojournalist.

🔗 https://zurl.co/QNyTv

📍 LATIN AMERICA [ESPAÑOL👇]

💧Voices Weaving the Future | Defending Water is Defending Democracy
Water connects us — and calls us together. Front Line Defenders is joining this Latin American Dialogue hosted from Uspallata to share experiences and strengthen the defence of water, human rights, and environmental justice across the region.

💻 Format: Online [in Spanish]
📅 Wednesday, 12 August 2026
🕒 Times
Chile – 17:00
Argentina, Uruguay & Brazil – 18:00
Bolivia, Paraguay & Venezuela – 17:00
Peru, Ecuador & Colombia – 16:00

Defending water is defending democracy. 💙🌎

📝 Register: https://forms.gle/dLGn4pbCwrmSC1tY9

[ESPAÑOL]
📍 LATINOAMÉRICA

💧Voces que Tejen Futuro | Defender el agua es defender la democracia
El agua nos une y también nos convoca. Front Line Defenders se suma a este Diálogo Latinoamericano organizado desde Uspallata para compartir experiencias y fortalecer la defensa del agua, los derechos humanos y la justicia ambiental en la región.

💻 Modalidad: Virtual
📅 Miércoles 12 de agosto de 2026
🕒 Horarios
Chile – 17:00 hrs.
Argentina, Uruguay y Brasil – 18:00 hrs.
Bolivia, Paraguay y Venezuela – 17:00 hrs.
Perú, Ecuador y Colombia – 16:00 hrs.

Defender el agua es defender la democracia. 💙🌎

🔗Inscríbete: https://forms.gle/dLGn4pbCwrmSC1tY9

📍PANAMA

Yesterday, we met with the Panama Human Rights Network (Red de Derechos Humanos de Panamá) in Panama City to discuss the shrinking space for civil society and the growing risks that human rights defenders face across the country.

✊Human rights defenders in the country continue to face judicial and administrative harassment, defamation, criminalisation, and other risks. Coordinated support from regional and international networks is essential to protect their work!