On 9 December, Steven Donziger, a human rights lawyer and environmental rights defender, was released from jail to spend the rest of his sentence under house arrest. On 1 October, he was sentenced to six months in prison on a politically motivated ‘contempt of court’ charge. He reported to prison on 27 October, where he remained for 45 days before authorities released him. Before that, he had spent more than two years under house arrest in a process that United Nations experts found lacked any legal basis, was in violation of numerous fair trial standards, and was in retaliation for his work as a lawyer. Authorities must ensure his immediate and unconditional release from house arrest.
