Working Group on Arbitrary Detention | Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and Opinion

Algeria: Trial against Hirak poet Mohamed Tadjadit must be quashed, say UN experts

28 April 2026, GENEVA – UN experts* today urged the Court in Algiers to quash the trial of the poet Mohamed Tadjadit, warning that the reclassified charges against him carry the penalty of death. “We are deeply concerned by the decision of the Algiers Court last...

Belarus: UN experts warn of torture, suicide attempts, deaths and reprisals in custody

| News, Statements, Top-line

20 April 2026, GENEVA – UN experts* today expressed grave concern over allegations of prolonged incommunicado detention and detention conditions at a Navapolatsk Correctional Colony in Belarus. “Information we have received indicates deeply alarming detention...

Bhutan: UN experts call for release of long-term political prisoners

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16 April 2025, GENEVA – UN human rights experts* today called on the Government of Bhutan to release 32 individuals imprisoned for decades after reportedly protesting against the mistreatment of the Nepali-speaking minority in Bhutan. Following incidents in the 1990s...

Iran: Experts deplore the death in custody of victim of arbitrary detention

| News, Statements

12 February 2025 – GENEVA – UN human rights experts* today expressed their dismay over the confirmation of the death in custody of Jamshid Sharmahd in Iran. The body of Sharmahd, who was reported to have died in custody in October 2024, has been released by Iran...