Arbitrary arrest and detention

{{short description|Deprivation of liberty without regard to applicable law}} [[File:20101009_Arrested_refugees_immigrants_in_Fylakio_detention_center_Thrace_Evros_Greece_restored.jpg|thumb|alt=A black-and-white photo of refugees standing behind a wire fence.|Arrested refugee-immigrants in Fylakio detention center, Evros, Greece.]] '''Arbitrary arrest and detention''' is the arrest or detention of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, or in which there has been no proper due process of law or order.<ref>{{cite web |author= |date= |title=About arbitrary detention |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/about-arbitrary-detention |website=United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention |publisher=United Nations |access-date=2025-03-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile |work=Human Rights Law |publisher=United Nations Cyber Schoolbus|url=http://www0.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/declaration/9.asp |date=2006-11-09 |access-date=2007-09-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717235004/http://www0.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/declaration/9.asp |archive-date=2007-07-17 }}</ref> Arbitrary arrest and detention is similar to but legally distinct from wrongful detention, which is broader in scope and does not involve arrest.<ref>{{cite web |author= |date= |title=HOSTAGE & WRONGFUL DETAINEE CRITERIA |url=https://jamesfoleyfoundation.org/hostage-advocacy/hostage-wrongful-detainee-criteria/#gsc.tab=0 |publisher=James W. Foley Legacy Foundation |access-date=}}</ref>

==Background== Virtually all individuals who are arbitrarily arrested are given no explanation as to why they are being arrested, and they are not shown any arrest warrant.<ref>{{cite web |title=Human Rights Violations by the Indonesian Armed Forces |work=Human Rights |publisher=Human Rights Watch | url =https://www.hrw.org/reports/1997/indtimor/Indtimor-04.htm |date=1998-06-27 | access-date =2007-09-30}}</ref> Depending on the social context, many or the vast majority of arbitrarily arrested individuals may be held incommunicado and their whereabouts can be concealed from their family, associates, the public population and open trial courts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Arbitrary arrest / Incommunicado detention / Risks of ill-treatment - SYR 003 / 0506 / OBS 060 |work=Human Rights |publisher=International Federation for Human Rights | url =http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article3324 |date=2006-05-15 | access-date =2007-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention |publisher=World Organisation Against Torture | url =http://www.omct.org/index.php?id=&lang=eng&articleId=7239 |date=2007-08-31 | access-date =2007-09-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603201421/http://www.omct.org/index.php?id=&lang=eng&articleId=7239 |archive-date= Jun 3, 2010 }}</ref>

==International law== Arbitrarily depriving an individual of their liberty is prohibited under international human rights law. Article 9 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights decrees that "no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile";<ref>{{cite web |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights |publisher=United Nations | url =https://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html |date=1998-12-01 | access-date =2007-09-30| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070929113731/http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html| archive-date= 29 September 2007 | url-status= dead }}</ref> that is, no individual, regardless of circumstances, is to be deprived of their liberty or exiled from their country without having first committed an actual criminal offense against a legal statute, and the government cannot deprive an individual of their liberty without proper due process of law. As well, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights specifies the protection from arbitrary arrest and detention by the Article 9.<ref name="article9">[https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights#:~:text=normal%20civil%20obligations.-,Article%209,-1.%20Everyone%20has Article 9]. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights</ref> The implementation of the Covenants is monitored by the United Nations Human Rights Committee.<ref name="partIV">[https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights#:~:text=their%20own%20language.-,PART%20IV,-Article%2028 PART IV (Art. 28{{en dash}}45)]. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,</ref><ref name="ccprhome">[https://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/ccpr Human Rights Committee]. United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies</ref>

==Examples by country==

===Angola=== {{excerpt|Human rights in Angola#Rights of persons under arrest}}

=== Azerbaijan === {{Excerpt|Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan|Arbitrary arrest and detention}}

=== Bolivia === {{excerpt|Human rights in Bolivia#Rights of persons under arrest}}

===Democratic Republic of the Congo=== {{excerpt|Human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo#Arbitrary arrest or detention}}

===Guinea=== {{excerpt|Human rights in Guinea#Arbitrary arrest and torture}}

=== Iran === Iran has been widely criticized for arbitrary arrests and detentions, particularly of journalists, activists, dual nationals, and political opponents. Human rights organizations like Amnesty International<ref>{{Cite web |title=Human rights in Iran |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/middle-east/iran/report-iran/ |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=Amnesty International |language=en}}</ref> and Human Rights Watch<ref>{{Citation |last=Human Rights Watch |title=Iran: Events of 2024 |date=2024-12-17 |work=Share this via Facebook |url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/iran |access-date=2025-03-29 |language=en}}</ref> have repeatedly reported cases of individuals being detained without due process, fair trials, or clear charges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/iran/ |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=United States Department of State |language=en-US}}</ref>

Iran has been accused of arresting foreign and dual nationals (especially from Western countries) to use them as bargaining chips in political negotiations. Political activists, human rights defenders, and journalists often face imprisonment on vague charges like "spreading propaganda against the system" or "acting against national security." Ethnic and religious minorities, such as Kurds, Baháʼís, and Sunnis, are disproportionately arrested.

===Iraq=== In mid-August 2020, protests erupted in the Kurdistan region of Iraq concerning corruption, the improvement of public services, and pay owed to government employees. In response, the regional government arbitrarily arrested activists and journalists covering the protests under the pretext of preserving “national security”. Some were detained anywhere from several days to six months.<ref name="amnestyintliraq">{{cite web |author= |date=2021-06-15 |title=Kurdistan region of Iraq: Authorities must end protests-related repression |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde14/4233/2021/en/ |website=Amnesty International |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=2025-02-02}}</ref>

===Mauritania=== {{excerpt|Human rights in Mauritania#Arbitrary detention}}

===Mozambique=== {{excerpt|Human rights in Mozambique#Arbitrary arrests}}

===Thailand=== {{excerpt|Human rights in Thailand#Arbitrary arrest and detention}}

===United Arab Emirates=== {{excerpt|Human rights in the United Arab Emirates#Arbitrary detention}} On 18 November 2024, Dubai police arrested a Kyrgyz dissident, Kudaibergen uluu, who was visiting the Emirate to meet other activists of Kyrgyzstan. He was informed that the Kyrgyzstan government had requested for his extradition. Kudaibergen uluu was released within 24 hours, but was kept under investigation. On 3 January 2025, he was arrested again by Dubai police, stayed for half a day, based on another extradition request from Kyrgyz government over bogus charges of fraud. The new extradition request was being considered by the UAE. Kudaibergen uluu, who lives in exile in the US, was trapped in Dubai and unable to travel back because of his missing passport.<ref>{{cite news |title= Exiled Kyrgyz Government Critic Threatened With Extradition From Dubai |date=6 February 2025 |url= https://thediplomat.com/2025/02/exiled-kyrgyz-government-critic-threatened-with-extradition-from-dubai/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250207151203/https://thediplomat.com/2025/02/exiled-kyrgyz-government-critic-threatened-with-extradition-from-dubai/ |archive-date= 7 February 2025 |access-date=20 February 2025}}</ref> A joint letter from human rights organizations, including International partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), Freedom for Eurasia, Freedom Now, and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, called on the UAE to not force Kudaibergen uluu to return to Kyrgyzstan, where he is likely to face, arbitrary detention, torture, unfair trial, ill treatment and other human right abuses. They warned the UAE to ensure his safety, liberty and to coordinate with the US to send him back to his family.<ref>{{cite news |title= Joint call to UAE: Protect Kyrgyz activist Tilekmat Kudaibergen from extradition|date=14 January 2025 |url=https://iphronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/joint-ngo-letter-re-tilekmat-kudaibergen-to-uae-mfa.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20250210154500/https://iphronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/joint-ngo-letter-re-tilekmat-kudaibergen-to-uae-mfa.pdf |archive-date=10 February 2025|access-date=20 February 2025}}</ref>

===United States=== {{further|Human rights in the United States}} Arbitrary arrest and detention are not uncommon in the United States. In 2006, Amnesty International condemned the Bush administration for "years of arbitrary and indefinite detention" at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.<ref name="UsaToday20060610">{{Cite news |date=10 June 2006 |title=Guantanamo commander says three detainees hang themselves with makeshift nooses |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-10-guantanamo-suicides_x.htm?csp=34 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025092112/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-10-guantanamo-suicides_x.htm?csp=34 |archive-date=25 October 2011 |access-date=17 August 2007 |work=USA Today}}</ref> Amnesty International also reported in 2018 that the average daily population of arbitrarily detained immigrants in the United States was projected to reach 47,000 people by 2019. It further reported that 15 LGBTQ people interviewed had been arbitrarily detained in the United States without parole for periods ranging from several months to 2.5 years.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-10-22 |title=USA: Facts and figures on illegal pushbacks, arbitrary detention and ill treatment of asylum-seekers in the United States |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/10/usa-facts-and-fugures-of-illegal-pushbacks-arbitrary-detention-and-ill-treatment/ |access-date=2025-07-21 |website=Amnesty International |language=en}}</ref> In 2025, the widespread arbitrary detention of European and Canadian tourists in the United States, including the Canadian actress Jasmine Mooney,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vigdor |first=Neil |date=2025-03-18 |title=Canadian Who Was in an 'American Pie' Video Says ICE Held Her for 12 Days |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/us/mooney-canadian-american-pie-actress-ice.html |access-date=2025-03-22 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> lead to increased fears abroad about traveling to the country.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-21 |title=U.S. detention of European and Canadian tourists creates fear over traveling to America |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-detention-of-european-and-canadian-tourists-creates-fear-over-traveling-to-america |access-date=2025-07-21 |website=PBS News |language=en-us}}</ref> In May 2025, Amnesty International reported that the United States had arbitrarily detained asylum seekers and violated their rights to due process and their rights to legal resources. It reported that immigrants from Venezuela were disproportionately targeted by arbitrary arrest and human rights violations such as physical abuse by authorities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amnesty International Exposes Human Rights Violations at El Paso Immigrant Detention Facility |url=https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/amnesty-international-exposes-human-rights-violations-at-el-paso-immigrant-detention-facility/ |access-date=2025-07-21 |website=Amnesty International USA |language=en-US}}</ref> In July 2025, a United States citizen and United States Army veteran named George Retes was arbitrarily detained by ICE for three days.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Faheid |first=Dalia |date=2025-07-19 |title=A US citizen and Army veteran was detained at an immigration raid and held for 3 days. His family scrambled to find him |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/19/us/california-immigration-raid-george-retes |access-date=2025-07-21 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20100621091027/http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/PDF/behind-the-wire-033005.pdf Behind the Wire: An Update to Ending Secret Detentions (2005)], Human Rights First *[https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/wg-arbitrary-detention Working Group on Arbitrary Detention]. United Nations Human Rights Counsil

{{World topic|title=Arbitrary arrest and detention by country|prefix=Arbitrary arrest and detention in|noredlinks=yes}} {{Particular human rights}}

Category:Imprisonment and detention Category:Human rights abuses Category:Enforced disappearance Category:Police misconduct Category:Arrests Category:Totalitarianism