Iranian Kurdish woman Zeynab Jalalian, serving a life sentence, is severely ill and requires specialized medical care outside prison. However, the authorities have persistently refused to transfer her to a hospital, apparently to punish her and extract forced “confessions”.

Political activist, Oktovianus Warnares was convicted of “rebellion” (makar) in 2013 after peacefully commemorating the 50th anniversary of the handover of Papua to the Indonesian government.

Saudi Arabian human rights defender Abdulaziz al-Shubaily was informed on 31 July that his eight-year prison sentence has been upheld by the Court of Appeal in Riyadh. He is now at risk of being imprisoned at any time to start serving his sentence.

Leader of the United Party for National Development (UPND), Hakainde Hichilema and five others accused with him have been released.

On 25 August, the Governor of Arkansas announced his intent to commute the death sentence of Jason McGehee, who had been scheduled for execution on 27 April, when he received a stay from a federal judge, and the parole board recommended clemency. The governor has now accepted that recommendation.

Six activists who were criminally detained in July 2017, after taking part in a seaside memorial for Liu Xiaobo in Jiangmen, Guangdong province, have all been released on bail. While still subjected to some restrictions, they have all been returned to their respective hometowns.

After being arbitrarily detained on 17 August, Yulier Perez, a graffiti artist known for painting dilapidated walls in Havana, is at risk of being imprisoned again, after months of intimidation and harassment from authorities.

Dr. Mohamed Yasin Abdalla, the chairperson of the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD), has been released without charge. He was arrested on 22 April in Khartoum by National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) agents and detained at the office of the NISS Prosecutor of Crimes against the State in Khartoum.

Elwaleed Imam Hassan Taha and Alaa Aldin al-Difana have been released from the custody of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) without charge. A third activist, Elgassim Mohamed Seed Ahmed, remains in detention pending further investigations into his online activities.

Formally arrested for “inciting subversion of state power” in December 2016, Liu Feiyue, founder and director of Hubei-based human rights website “Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch” (www.msguancha.com), is to face an additional charge of “leaking state secrets”. He could face a sentence of life imprisonment if convicted of this additional charge.