With a view to the police brutality against NGO Mossawa's director and the looming expulsion of HRW representative Omar Shakir, DROI Chair Pier Antonio Panzeri made the following statement:
"On 7 May the Israeli government decided to cancel the work permit of Omar Shakir, Director for Human Rights Watch (HRW) for Israel and Palestine, who is based in Jerusalem, and told him to leave the country by 24 May. In the past Israel has denied entry to human rights defenders including Amnesty International staff members, but this was the first time that Israel has ordered a member of HRW staff out of the country.
Concerned about harsh sentencing of Tibetan language rights activist Tashi Wangchuk, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, Pier Antonio Panzeri (S&D, IT), stated:
"I am gravely concerned about the verdict of a Court in the Chinese city of Yushu, sentencing Mr Tashi Wangchuk to 5 years imprisonment on charges of inciting separatism..."