Asia – Page 3 – FoRB in Full

Where justice fails: How cultures of impunity lead to forced displacement in India and Mexico

Posted on 29/07/2025 by cswpress in Asia, India, Latin America, Mexico

On 11 June the families and loved ones of Neelkant and Pushpa Verma gathered for what should have been a day of celebration. The young Christian couple were due to marry in Raipur in India’s Chhattisgarh State, no doubt filled with excitement at what should have been one of the happiest days of their lives, and all the joy to follow in the years to come.

But this excitement was cut short when three villagers in in their early twenties stormed the wedding venue, cutting off the electricity supply and declaring that Christians were not allowed to hold celebrations in the village. When Neelkant’s family attempted to contact the electricity board, over 30 villagers gathered outside of the venue, vandalising guests’ vehicles and setting the building on fire.

The mob proceeded to hurl abuse at the women and tear some of their sarees. When the women’s children tried to defend their mothers, they were pelted with stones and forced to seek refuge in a nearby house. Once the victims were inside, they called the police who arrived quickly and escorted them to safety, managing to disperse the attackers.

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‘Do but don’t speak’: The impact of China’s 709 Crackdown ten years on

Posted on 09/07/202501/08/2025 by cswpress in Asia, China

On 9 July 2015 the Chinese authorities launched an extensive crackdown on activists, lawyers, human rights defenders and their friends and family members. Dubbed the ‘709 Crackdown’ after the date on which it began, the campaign saw over 300 people detained, interrogated or imprisoned.

It is regarded as one of the worst crackdowns on human rights defenders in China’s history, and marked the start of a relentless stifling of dissent and activism that continues to date.

On the tenth anniversary of the crackdown, CSW presents an account from Christian lawyer Xiangui Fang who was caught up in it, and who has since had to flee China after the authorities threatened him with further imprisonment for continuing to defend human rights cases after his release:

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‘Sorrow is a defeatist movement’: An interview with Sombath Somphone’s wife Ng Shui-Meng

Posted on 10/06/2025 by cswpress in Asia, Laos

On the evening of 15 December 2012, Sombath Somphone, a leading democracy activist from Laos, was stopped at a police checkpoint on a busy street in the country’s capital Vientiane. Footage from a traffic CCTV camera shows that within minutes of him being stopped, unknown individuals forced him into another vehicle and drove him away in the presence of police officers. The footage also showed an unknown individual arriving and driving Somphone’s vehicle away from the city centre.

Three years later, Somphone’s family obtained new CCTV footage from the same area and made it public. The video shows his car being driven back towards the city by another unknown individual.

Somphone specialised in advocating for education of all Laotians, particularly in poor rural areas. He was perhaps the most prominent member of Laos’ small civil society: his work aimed at setting up a community-based development by incorporating the knowledge and opinion of rural people in the planning and management of development projects and programmes throughout the country.

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For religious minorities in India, even tragedies turn into trials

Posted on 05/06/2025 by cswpress in Asia, India

Once again a terror attack has left Muslims across India not just shaken like all other Indians, but also defending their very existence. Someone, somewhere, with a gun and an agenda, committed a horrific act — but it was their name, their identity and their faith that suddenly became suspect.

Twenty-six people were killed when terrorists attacked tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April. The attackers reportedly singled out non-Muslims, even asking some to recite the Islamic Kalima (Islamic prayers derived from hadiths that are often used to aid South Asia Muslim children to memorise key beliefs) to prove their faith.

It was horrifying. And yet, in the midst of the horror, ordinary Kashmiris—Muslim men and women—risked their lives to save strangers. People like Nazakat Ahmad Shah, a tour guide, and Rayees Ahmad Bhatt, President of the Pony Owners’ Association, pulled survivors from danger. A local pony guide Syed Adil Hussain Shah gave his life while trying to protect a little girl. But instead of being praised for their efforts, the Muslim community, especially the Kashmiri Muslim community, was vilified. Their bravery was quickly forgotten, the national mood shifted from mourning to suspicion—and the blame – as it so often does in India – landed on an entire community.

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Pakistan must be made to end its decades-long tolerance and encouragement of the violent persecution of the Ahmadiyya community

Posted on 29/05/2025 by cswpress in Asia, Pakistan

At 2.30pm on 16 May, Dr Sheikh Mahmood arrived at Fatima Hospital in Sargodha, Punjab Province, Pakistan and proceeded to attend to his patients as per his routine. A highly respected gastroenterologist and hepatologist, Dr Mahmood was widely known for his dedication, professional excellence and compassionate nature.

But on this day – as he walked through the corridor of the hospital that he had worked in for the past seven years – an unidentified gunman opened fire on him from behind before fleeing the scene while openly brandishing a pistol. He sustained two gunshot wounds and was immediately transferred to Civil Hospital Sargodha, where he succumbed to his injuries. He leaves behind a mother, wife, two daughters and two sons.

Dr Mahmood, 58, had no known personal enmities and Sargodha police have yet to confirm the motive behind the killing, however recent developments in Pakistan give much and highly-concerning reason to believe that he was likely targeted because of his faith – that is, because he was an Ahmadi Muslim.

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