A/HRC/16/44 77. With regard to arrests, detentions and criminalization, the majority of these communications were sent to the Russian Federation (10 communications), Belarus (eight communications), and Uzbekistan (eight communications). In this regard, eleven communications were sent to the Russian Federation, 11 to Uzbekistan, and 10 to Belarus. In this context, those most at risk of arrest appear to include women defenders working on human rights issues related to the conflict in the North Caucasus; pro-democracy advocates, particularly in Belarus; women’s rights defenders in Belarus and Uzbekistan, those denouncing violations to the European Court of Human Rights, particularly in the Russian Federation, and women journalists in all three countries. In other European countries, smaller numbers of communications concerning allegations of arrests, and detentions were sent to, inter alia, Turkey, the Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan and Spain. Communications regarding other forms of criminalization and judicial harassment were sent to Azerbaijan, France, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, and Turkey. 78. Some 38 communications were sent by the mandate concerning arrests in subSaharan Africa, along with 18 concerning other kinds of judicial harassment and criminalization, with some overlap. Of these, the largest number concerned defenders working in Zimbabwe, to which 18 communications were sent regarding arrests and nine regarding further legal action against them, with considerable overlap. The majority of these concerned women’s rights activists, the arrests generally taking place in the context of peaceful public demonstrations and charges usually concerning supposed public order or traffic-related offences. Other arrests and acts of criminalization were the subject of communications sent to, inter alia, the Sudan (seven and two respectively), Ethiopia (four and one respectively), and the Gambia (three and two respectively). 79. During the 2004-2009 period, 28 communications were sent regarding arrests and detentions of women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues in the Americas, along with 22 concerning further criminalization of human rights defenders. Regarding arrests and detentions, those most at risk appear to be women activists for indigenous rights, particularly in Chile along with other women community leaders, campesino and rural activists, environmentalists, and lawyers. Similarly, indigenous activists appear to be at risk, particularly in the Chilean context. During 20042009, the mandate sent six communications regarding the criminalization of women working on indigenous issues in Chile. Such criminalization usually involved charges and trials based on supposed public order offences related to the right of assembly, and, on occasion, terrorism-related charges. 80. In the Middle East and North Africa, 23 communications were sent to States regarding arrests and detentions of this group of defenders. Those most at risk appear to include Saharawi activists in Morocco, having been the subject of five communications; women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia, having been the subject of three communications; and human rights defenders generally in Tunisia, to which four communications were sent regarding arrests and detentions. Concerning the subsequent criminalization of the activities of these defenders, five communications were sent to Tunisia, of which four detailed trials and convictions of WHRDs. Judicial harassment, trials, and convictions were also noted in communications sent to Bahrain (three), Saudi Arabia (two), Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates. 81. The prevalence of the alleged use of torture, as well as other forms of ill-treatment and mistreatment of women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues while in detention is alarming. During the stated period, 149 such allegations were noted in communications from the mandate in this regard. Several such cases (22) pertained to detained or imprisoned defenders in China; of these, there were a notable number of alleged incidences of physical attacks and beatings by inmates, who had reportedly been ordered to do so by prison guards. Other violations reported in China have 15