A/HRC/16/44 69. It is worth noting that aside from non-State actors, a large proportion of reported threats and death threats in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East and North Africa were attributed to State agents, including police and other authorities. In addition, other reported perpetrators of killings, attempted killings and physical attacks were unknown individuals, but also political activists and extremists, members of the community and family members. (b) Arrest, detention and criminalization 70. Analysis of the communications sent in the 2004-2009 period reveals a worrying trend of criminalization of the activities carried out by women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues throughout the world, although in certain regions much more than in others. In the above period, some 417 communications were sent by the mandate concerning allegations of arrest and criminalization of their work. Of these, 256 communications reported arrests and 166 reported further acts of criminalization including criminal investigations, charges, trials, and sentences varying from fines to administrative detentions to lengthy prison terms. 71. Allegations of irregularities relating to due process and fair trial procedure were also commonplace during this period. Some 87 communications sent by the mandate included allegations of procedural irregularities following arrest, as well as the absence of some of the basic elements of due process including, alleged incommunicado and unacknowledged detention, lack of access to a lawyer, unfair trials and wrongful sentencing. 72. From the communications sent by the mandate, it is possible to identify those particularly at risk of arrest and other forms of criminalization as a result of their work. By contrast to Central and South America where threats and death threats are most commonly reported, arrests and criminalization were most commonly reported in Asia and the Pacific, with 127 communications concerning arrests and 64 concerning further acts of criminalization, with certain overlap of cases having references to both. 73. Thirty-six communications were sent to China regarding alleged arrests and 17 regarding other forms of criminalization. Those at risk include women defenders working on the rights of religious and national minorities, women’s rights, including family planning and reproductive rights, housing rights, democratic reform, and impunity for alleged use of torture, among various others. Of particular concern is the frequency with which it was alleged that such defenders were sentenced to prison terms, including periods of administrative detention, often referred to as “re-education through labour”. 74. Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues also appear particularly at risk of arrest or legal action in the Islamic Republic of Iran, to which some 30 communications were sent regarding alleged arrest and 18 regarding further criminalization. Those most at risk included women’s rights activists and many alleged arrests took place in the context of peaceful public action such as demonstrations or during the collection of petition signatures. 75. Allegations of arrests and further judicial harassment were also sent to Myanmar (12 and seven respectively); India (eight and three respectively); Pakistan (six and two respectively); Philippines (five and three respectively); Vietnam (three and three respectively), and Nepal (five reported arrests and detentions) among others. 76. Considerably smaller numbers of arrests and other acts of criminalization were reported in other regions. During the 2004-2009 period, 35 communications were sent to European and Central Asian States regarding alleged arrests and detentions of this group of defenders, and 43 regarding judicial harassment and other forms of criminalization, with an overlap of cases concerning both. 14