Front Line Defenders

📍ZAMBIA Read our full statement here: zurl.co/SNK9h Read RightsCon26 team statement here: zurl.co/atyI6

✒️ On World Press Freedom Day, we stand with journalists and human rights defenders worldwide who risk everything to speak truth to power. 📸We honour their courage. We amplify their voices. We stand with those on the front lines of truth. In a world where truth is too often silenced, their work matters more than ever. 🔗 Discover some of these brave voices: zurl.co/wZiHG

BREAKING NEWS : Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi Transferred to Hospital The Narges Foundation has been informed that Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was urgently transferred to a hospital in Zanjan today following a catastrophic deterioration of her health, including two episodes of complete loss of consciousness and a severe cardiac crisis. This transfer was done as an unavoidable necessity after prison doctors determined her condition could not be managed on-site, despite standing medical recommendations that she be treated by her specialized team in Tehran. Her family, who has advocated for weeks for her transfer to adequate facilities, described this transfer as a desperate, "last-minute" action that may be too late to address her critical needs. #FreeNarges #NargesMohammadi

📍 HONDURAS 📑 NEW REPORT LAUNCH: Human rights defenders in Honduras are facing escalating violence, criminalisation, and threats for defending land, territory, and justice. Indigenous and campesino communities remain at the centre of a deepening agrarian conflict—where risks are not only real, but intensifying. A new report by an Independent Delegation of International Lawyers exposes these realities—centering frontline voices and revealing, among other things, how: ▪️ Powerful agro-industrial and extractive interests intersect with corruption, organised crime, and the complicity or acquiescence of state security forces ▪️ Impunity for serious human rights violations is not the exception, but the pattern ▪️ The Honduran justice system is being used to prosecute defenders. The report sets out constructive proposals outlining how the Honduran State can improve access to justice and meet its obligations under international human rights law. ✊ The moment to act is now. Stand with defenders. Demand accountability. 🔗 Read the full report: peacebrigades.org.uk/news/idil-hond…

Thank you @MaryLawlorhrds, for your tireless leadership and unwavering commitment to human rights defenders during your mandate. Your work has had a lasting impact on the visibility, protection and recognition of HRDs worldwide. x.com/MaryLawlorhrds…

📍 BANGLADESH 🚨 On 6 April 2026, the Rangamati District Magistrate, acting for the Ministry of Home Affairs, issued a formal cautionary letter to woman human rights defender Rani Yan Yan, accusing her of spreading false and misleading information against the government and the military. Rani Yan Yan’s legal counsel has denied these accusations, arguing that its broad dissemination has harmed her reputation and credibility, as well as undermined her work as a human rights defender. Front Line Defenders believes that the unsubstantiated accusations are an act of intimidation and defamation, aimed at silencing Rani Yan Yan’s legitimate and peaceful advocacy for the rights of indigenous peoples and women in the Chittagong Hill Tribes. The authorities in Bangladesh must withdraw the letter and cease all forms of intimidation against Rani Yan Yan. 🔗Read more: zurl.co/cKCtb

📍 ITALY 🚨 Italian environmental and human rights defenders Roberto Malini and Lisetta Sperindei’s SLAPP case's second hearing will be taking place tomorrow, 30 April 2026. In a #SLAPP lawsuit filed by Fox Petroli S.p.A., the company is seeking €2 million in damages, claiming the human rights defenders spread false and defamatory information about them and their facilities. The defenders, who are members of the PESARO: NO GNL civic initiative, have been speaking out about the environmental and health risks presented by the gas and fuel company as well as the potential harm of the planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant. Front Line Defenders stands in solidarity with Roberto Malini and Lisetta Sperindei, who we believe are being targeted for peacefully acting in the public’s interest. We reiterate our call on Fox Petroli S.p.A. to withdraw the SLAPP defamation lawsuit. 🔗Read more: frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/robert…

📍SENEGAL 🚨 Front Line Defenders expresses its deep concern over the deteriorating situation of LGBTQ+ rights defenders in Senegal due to the increased criminalisation and punishments for defending LGBTQ+ rights. An amendment to the Penal Code adopted and signed into law in March 2026 significantly increases punishment for sexual relations between people of the same gender, including harsh 5–10 year prison sentences and fines of €3,000 - €15,000 (CFA 2–10 million). The amended law also specifically targets HRDs and civil society organisations by criminalising solidarity with LGBTQ+ persons. Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Senegal to repeal the law as it violates international human rights law. 🔗 Read more: zurl.co/Oemc0

📍PAKISTAN 🚨Daad Shah, brother of WHRD Fozia Baloch, was abducted by Pakistan security forces on 21 April 2026. FLD calls for his immediate release and an end to reprisals of Baloch defenders. 🔗 zurl.co/QDo9s @profbensaul @FoziaBaloch10 @SammiBaluch

📍 Occupied Palestinian Territory Ramallah Magistrate’s Court ruled that Mohannad Karajah’s appeal—challenging a Penal Code article on “inciting sectarian strife”—raises key questions on freedom of expression. The trial is adjourned pending a Constitutional Court review. Read more: zurl.co/VFm7Y

📍EGYPT 🚨Ahmed Douma’s detention was extended by 15 days over charges linked to his writings on prison conditions. FLD calls for his immediate release, to drop all charges, and end judicial harassment. 🔗 zurl.co/pYEdK

RT @nargesfnd: اول اردیبهشت، زادروز نرگس محمدی است. او امروز ۵۴ ساله می‌شود، در حالی که ۱۳۰ روز است بار دیگر به‌دلیل فعالیت‌های مسالمت‌آمیز…

📍CAMEROON 🚨The case against WHRD Maximilienne Ngo Mbe was reopened on 6 April 2026, risking further delays in the proceedings. FLD calls to drop all charges and end judicial harassment. 🔗 zurl.co/KQgc5

📍 Palestine HRD & lawyer Mohannad Karajeh is due in court on 20 April 2026 amid concerns of judicial harassment linked to his human rights work, following a smear campaign based on fabricated content. FLD calls on the PA to protect him, drop any spurious charges, and guarantee a fair trial.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Narges Mohammadi is spending her 124th day of imprisonment in Zanjan Central Prison while her health faces a grave threat. During two in-person visits on April 28 and April 11, 2026 conducted in the presence of prison authorities with her family and legal team, clear signs of a deterioration in her general condition were observed, and her physical state was described as “critical.” Hamidreza Mohammadi, Narges Mohammadi’s brother, stated: "My family managed to have an in-person meeting with Narges on Saturday, April 11. They reported that she has become extremely weak and has suffered significant weight loss. Narges is being held in a cell with prisoners charged with murder and has been threatened with death by some of these inmates several times." Narges Mohammadi, who has long suffered from severe chest pain, suffered a heart attack on March 24, 2026 and lost consciousness in the women's ward of Zanjan Prison. This state lasted for more than an hour and 15 minutes, raising serious concerns about her health. Hamidreza Mohammadi continued: "Following the heart attack, she was referred to a cardiologist in Zanjan on March 30. This physician identified the medications prescribed by the prison's general practitioner as factors contributing to the heart attack and refused to prescribe new medication or perform any treatment without the opinion of Narges’s trusted attending physician at Pars Hospital in Tehran. He also emphasized that Narges must be under the supervision of her own doctor and warned of the risk of a recurrent heart attack." Read full report : narges.foundation/alarming-condi… #FreeNarges #NargesMohammadi #Iran #ZanjanPrison #FreePoliticalPrisoners

📍 SUDAN Three years ago, a war began in Sudan that continues today. Sudanese HRDs shared their insights directly with us on the current situation. Those who remain, and those fled, face huge challenges.