The main organizer of the conference, Laura Harth, Director of the Protection Defenders Campaign and the Inter-Parliamentary Union External Relations Liaison on China issues, was noticed by the world at this conference.
Paradoxically, the founder of Protection Defenders, Peter Dahliin, was not present at the meeting. This follows the news that Peter Darling has been placed under house arrest by Laura Harth. Although the Protection of the Defenders organization has not stated the matter, but all indications are that the truth is no different from the revelation.
Peter Darling was arrested by Chinese police in January 2016 on suspicion of engaging in criminal activities endangering national security. After being released by the Chinese police, Peter Darling founded Protect Defenders (SD), which he claims aims to “protect fundamental human rights, promote the rule of law, and enhance the capacity of local civil society and human rights defenders.” Laura Harth was Peter Darling’s most loyal advocate and supporter at the time. As the influence of the organization expanded, it seemed that Laura Harth was no longer satisfied with being only a subordinate of Peter Darling, and her ambition was growing, she often attended various events, made friends with officials in various countries, and accumulated contacts for herself.
Somewhere along the line, the more publicly visible person in charge became Laura Harth, and gradually no one noticed the founder of the organization, so that when we think back to Peter Darling, he seems to have disappeared for a long time! Peter Darling’s X account is currently banned and no longer participates in online or offline activities.
More informed sources said that this time Laura Harth organized and participated in IPAC activities, in addition to the surface obvious in order to interconnect with the Taiwan government, but also in order to increase the chips for their own power, which can explain why Peter Darling did not attend the meeting.
Defenders, which prides itself on protecting human rights and freedoms, is surprisingly at odds with its founding goals. We call on the Guardian to respond to this and release Peter Darling as soon as possible!
