What Became of the 2025 Supported Victims? 

What Became of the 2025 Supported Victims? 

Sandra Muhoza — Burundi 

Good news. After more than eighteen months of arbitrary detention, the Ngozi Court of Appeal in northern Burundi ordered the provisional release of Burundian journalist Sandra Muhoza on 4 March 2026. 

Sandra Muhoza has left prison. In a ruling dated 27 February 2026 and made effective on 4 March, the Ngozi Court of Appeal brought nearly two years of arbitrary detention to an end. She has been released under judicial supervision: she must remain in her province of residence and appear before a judge once a month. 

ACAT-France welcomes Sandra Muhoza’s provisional release. Nevertheless, this decision does not bring the proceedings to an end. ACAT-France now calls on the Ngozi Court of Appeal to drop all charges against the journalist. 

Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah — Guinea 

Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah are still missing, and the Guinean and French justice systems — both of which have been petitioned — are making no progress. More than a year after the opening of a judicial inquiry in Guinea, the competent authorities have still not communicated on the progress of their investigation. There is genuine concern that the inquiry exists in name only. In France, a complaint has been filed but the judiciary has not yet ruled. To this day, Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah remain missing. The Guinean authorities are responsible for their physical integrity and must reveal what has become of them. ACAT-France maintains that an independent investigation — with an international component — must be put in place. 

Manahel al-Otaibi — Saudi Arabia 

Since ACAT-France’s mobilisation in support of Manahel al-Otaibi during the last Night of Watchers in June 2025, her situation has not improved. Arrested and held in arbitrary detention, she has seen significant developments since then. 

On 22 July 2025, Manahel al-Otaibi was once again cut off from family contact, raising serious concerns about her psychological well-being. On 21 August 2025, the Supreme Court annulled her 11-year prison sentence, but imposed a new five-year sentence, followed by a five-year travel ban. This is the first time in several years that officials from foreign embassies were able to attend her hearing, reflecting a slight change in the transparency of her trial. 

In the absence of reliable information, concerns about Manahel’s health remain — notably in relation to a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, which emerged after the arrest of her sister, Mariam al-Otaibi, also a human rights activist. Despite international mobilisation and calls for her release, her arbitrary detention continues, illustrating the ongoing repression of dissident voices in Saudi Arabia. It is essential to recall that, in accordance with international rules — in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) — prisoners have the right to regular family visits and access to lawyers. These rights are essential to ensuring the dignity and well-being of detainees. ACAT-France demands the immediate and unconditional release of Manahel al-Otaibi, as well as all persons currently held in arbitrary detention and unjustly convicted in Saudi Arabia for the peaceful exercise of their fundamental rights. 

Sharifeh Mohammadi — Iran 

Following the “Night of the Vigil” mobilization in June 2025, Sharifeh Mohammadi’s situation has positively evolved. The death sentence imposed on this Iranian human rights defender was first commuted, several months later, on 29 October 2025, to a 30-year prison sentence. ACAT-France welcomes the fact that Sharifeh Mohammadi’s life is no longer under immediate threat and regards this development as a significant victory. 

Then, on 18 March 2026, Sharifeh was granted provisional release. Although she has been temporarily released, her 30-year prison sentence remains in force. ACAT-France continues to call for the complete overturning of her conviction, considering the charge of rebellion to be unjust and intended to silence dissenting voices in Iran.

While the commutation of her sentence represents an important victory, efforts to mobilize support must not weaken. We reaffirm our commitment to standing alongside Sharifeh Mohammadi until she is granted unconditional freedom and full justice is achieved.

Pakhshan Azizi — Iran 

Despite numerous international mobilisations — including that of the Night of Watchers in June 2025 — the situation of Pakhshan Azizi, journalist, social worker, and Kurdish human rights activist, has barely changed. She remains imprisoned, and her death sentence could be carried out at any time. 

Since her death sentence on 23 July 2024 — handed down alongside a four-year prison term by the 26th Chamber of the Tehran Revolutionary Court for ‘baghi’ (armed rebellion), due to her alleged membership of anti-government groups (which she firmly contests) — very little information has filtered through about her situation. According to the latest information from November 2025, she was still being held in extremely concerning conditions in the women’s ward of Evin Prison in Tehran, specifically in the notorious ‘Section 209’, reserved for political prisoners. Credible allegations of torture aimed at extracting forced confessions have been reported. Her situation is all the more alarming given the context of war in the Middle East. During the previous Iran-Israel Twelve-Day War in June 2025, the Israeli army bombed Evin Prison on 23 June 2025, causing 80 deaths, according to NGO Human Rights Watch. ACAT-France continues to mobilise to make her voice heard. We urgently call on the Iranian authorities to suspend the execution order against Pakhshan Azizi and to release her immediately and unconditionally. 

Varisheh Moradi — Iran 

The situation of Varisheh Moradi — a women’s rights activist, Kurdish activist, and member of the Free Women’s Community of Kurdistan — saw a positive development since June 2025, following the mobilisation on her behalf during the 2025 Night of Watchers.  On 10 December 2025, the Supreme Court of Iran overturned Varisheh Moradi’s death sentence and ordered a retrial, citing gaps in the investigation and failure to comply with legal procedures. Branch 9 of the Supreme Court thus invalidated the ruling handed down by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, referring the case back to the same court for re-examination. The Supreme Court found that the first-instance tribunal had not properly informed Varisheh Moradi of the charges justifying the death sentence, in addition to other procedural violations. 

Varisheh Moradi had been arrested in August 2023 in Sanandaj while returning from Kermanshah, when intelligence ministry forces opened fire on her vehicle. She was held in Sanandaj for 13 days before being transferred to Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, where she was subjected to pressure and torture to extract forced confessions, according to reports from several human rights organisations. After five months in solitary confinement, she was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison in December 2023. 

In October 2025, on the occasion of World Day Against the Death Penalty, she began a 20-day hunger strike to protest against death sentences in Iran. She was hospitalised for digestive problems after ending the strike, then returned to prison after one night. Her trial was held in two sessions, in June and October 2024, at Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by well-known judge Abolqasem Salavati. She was denied her right to defend herself, and her lawyers were not allowed to speak on her behalf, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network. Lawyers were prevented from consulting the case file and had access to it only for a few hours after the second hearing had concluded. Her death sentence was pronounced despite the initial indictment, which called for application of Article 288 of the Islamic Penal Code, which provides for a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. ACAT-France continues to mobilise to ensure she receives a fair trial and that all charges unjustly brought against her are dropped. 

Raymond Koh — Malaysia 

Pastor Raymond Koh, aged 64, was abducted on 13 February 2017 in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. For eight years, his family has had no news of him. His abduction was carried out in a highly professional manner: while he was driving, five men blocked his vehicle before kidnapping him and making him disappear. Before the incident, Raymond Koh led a social welfare association. Local Islamic authorities had accused him of seeking to convert Muslims to Christianity. In April 2019, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) concluded that Raymond Koh had been the victim of a forced disappearance and a kidnapping organised by the state — specifically by the Special Branch of the Malaysian police. 

Although the government subsequently set up a team of investigators tasked with finding the pastor, no decisive information has since come to light. Thanks to the commitment and perseverance of his wife, Susannah Koh, the Kuala Lumpur High Court delivered a landmark verdict on 5 November 2025, recognising that disappeared pastor Raymond Koh has been the victim of a serious injustice. The court ordered the Malaysian government to pay 10,000 Malaysian ringgit (approximately €2,100) for every day elapsed since his abduction, until he is found. To date, the sum has reached approximately 31 million ringgit (nearly €6.4 million) and continues to grow for as long as the pastor remains missing. The High Court also awarded Susannah approximately €670,000 in damages. 

On 31 October 2025 — five days before the trial — we were pleased to welcome his wife, Susannah Koh, and their daughter Esther Koh, to ACAT-France’s national secretariat in Paris. While this verdict is a victory, ACAT-France remains in contact with his wife and continues to stand alongside the Koh family until Pastor Raymond is found and justice is fully rendered. 

Duong Van Thai — Vietnam 

It has now been nearly three years since 13 April 2023, when Duong Van Thai — a 43-year-old Vietnamese journalist committed to the fight against corruption and the author of numerous investigations exposing abuses of power and acts of corruption (primarily via Facebook) among leaders of the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) — was abducted near his home in Thailand, where he had sought refuge to escape repression in Vietnam. On 30 October 2024, more than a year after his abduction, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison in a closed, manifestly unfair trial — followed by three years of probation — for ‘propaganda against the state’, a decision widely criticised by NGOs including ACAT-France and by international bodies. 

Since ACAT-France’s mobilisation during the 2025 Night of Watchers, Duong Van Thai’s situation has barely evolved. However, some additional information about his situation has been obtained through ‘The 88 Project’. He is reportedly alive and imprisoned at An Diem Prison, in Quang Nam Province, on the south-central coast of Vietnam. 

In February 2025, his mother, Madame Duong Thi Lu, now 77 years old, was finally able to visit him at An Diem Prison after several attempts to obtain confirmation from the authorities that he was indeed her son. She reportedly received help from the wife of political prisoner Trinh Ba Phuong to complete the formalities and encourage the local government to respond. 

Another piece of information — reported by Do Thi Thu, the wife of Trinh Ba Phuong — indicates that on 24 March 2025, Duong Van Thai sent a letter to his family in which he thanked his lawyers, the US State Department, the US Embassy in Vietnam, and the American NGO Freedom House for having reported his abduction in Thailand in April 2023. This is the first direct confirmation from Duong Van Thai himself that he was kidnapped — something that had previously been widely speculated but not confirmed. Although these reports come from reliable individuals, they are difficult to verify, as the families of political prisoners in Vietnam are subject to strict surveillance. In 2026, ACAT-France continues to closely monitor Duong Van Thai’s situation, and has succeeded in establishing direct contact with a reliable source, which we hope will provide us with more recent and accurate information. 

Julia Chuñil Catricura — Chile 

Julia Chuñil, a 72-year-old Mapuche activist and president of the Putreguel community, disappeared on 8 November 2024 while walking her dog. Since 2018, she had been defending nearly 900 hectares of indigenous forest against private land interests, and had been subjected to harassment and threats from landowners seeking to exploit her land. Despite her commitment, she never gave in to pressure. 

Her disappearance is considered a forced disappearance, inscribed within a historical context of the criminalisation of the Mapuche people. The slow pace and irregularities of the investigations — including the arrest of her children Pablo, Javier, Jeannette, and her close associate Bermar in January 2026 — illustrate the criminalisation of relatives rather than any genuine search for truth. These arrests occurred despite protective measures granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Escazú Committee. 

Human rights defenders are calling for an investigation and demanding the truth. This case illustrates the persistence of structural violence against indigenous communities and environmental defenders in Chile. ACAT-France continues to follow this case in 2026 and has established contact with her son. 

Román Sosa Miñón and Saúl Robles Aragón — Mexico 

In Mexico, Román Sosa Miñón and Saúl Robles Aragón, representatives of the indigenous Chontal El Coyul community in the state of Oaxaca, were victims of criminalisation due to their defence of the environment. In May 2024, they had been sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered collectively to pay more than €2.5 million to a private company in a land dispute — in a context of judicial harassment and recurring threats against territorial defenders in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 

On 16 December 2025, the Santo Domingo Tehuantepec court annulled this conviction, acquitting all 21 members of the community — including Saúl and Román — and recognising the legitimacy of their human rights defence work. Despite this acquittal, the community continues to face intimidation and obstruction from the private company and other local actors.