Lee Jin-young has been arrested for the online distribution of materials that are deemed, by South Korean authorities, to ‘benefit’ North Korea. Detained since 5 January 2017, the prosecutor has until 4 February to either release or formally charge him.

Elderly dissident Iranian cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Nekounam has been on hunger strike for 31 days in protest at his detention and the denial of specialized medical care by the authorities.

Ricky Gray was executed in Virginia on the evening of 18 January after the governor denied clemency. He was sentenced to death for the murder of two young children during a burglary in 2006 and to life imprisonment for the murder of their parents.

Iranian prisoner of conscience and human rights defender Saeed Shirzad ended his 39-day hunger strike on 14 January after the authorities at Karaj’s Raja’i Shahr Prison made an oral promise to address his grievances about the inhumane treatment of political prisoners in the prison.

Elias Waya Nyipuoch has been in arbitrary detention since 26 June 2016. He has not been charged with any offense. He was initially detained at the Giyada military barracks before being transferred to Bilpam Military Headquarters on 21 October 2016.

The fate and whereabouts of two members of Yemen’s Baha’i community remain unknown following their arrest on 11 January.

The fate and whereabouts of Abdulhadi Kamel remain unknown.

Six men submitted their final appeal to the Supreme Military Court in December 2016. The men were sentenced to death by a military court in May 2016, in a case marred by enforced disappearances and torture. If the court rejects their appeal, the men could be executed at any time.

Six men submitted their final appeal to the Supreme Military Court in December 2016. The men were sentenced to death by a military court in May 2016, in a case marred by enforced disappearances and torture. If the court rejects their appeal, the men could be executed at any time.

Prisoner of conscience, Tashi Wangchuk, has now been indicted by the prosecutor after police had arrested him on suspicion of “inciting separatism” in March 2016.