A/HRC/33/19 their security (ibid.). At the time of finalization of the present report, no response had been received from the Government. 5. Japan 25. On 30 May 2016, three mandate holders raised allegations of intimidation and reprisals against Kazuko Ito, the Secretary General of Human Rights Now, for facilitating contact between the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and civil society during his visit to Japan, from 12 to 19 April 2016 (see A/HRC/33/32, JPN 4/2016). On 20 May 2016, FACTA magazine published information received through a leaked memorandum, according to which the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary “ordered intelligence community members, such as the Cabinet’s information research section”, to surveil Ms. Ito’s movements ahead of the Special Rapporteur’s visit. The memorandum reportedly also mentioned that Ms. Ito had asked the Special Rapporteur to visit the country in December 2015 and that she met the Special Rapporteur on 11 April 2016, the day he arrived in Tokyo. After learning about the existence of the memorandum, Ms. Ito contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting information on her alleged surveillance, however, no formal response was provided at that time (ibid.). By letter of 16 June 2016, the Government of Japan denied the validity of the allegations stating that they were based on groundless rumours as FACTA magazine had not requested interviews nor confirmation of the allegations from the offices or individuals mentioned in their publication. Moreover, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had requested the relevant ministries and agencies to conduct an investigation into the allegations, which had confirmed that no instructions for surveillance of Ms. Ito had been issued. The Government also informed mandate holders that a response was sent to Ms. Ito on 1 June 2016 (ibid.). 6. Morocco 26. On 22 March 2016, a group of mandate holders raised concerns with the Moroccan authorities over allegations of reprisals against El Ghalia Djimi, an employee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Fishing of Morocco and Vice-President of the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations, for seeking to engage with the Human Rights Council (see A/HRC/33/32, MAR 1/2016). In February 2016, Ms. Djimi had requested annual leave to be able to travel to Geneva to participate in the thirty-first session of the Council, which was denied by the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture of Laayoune, which is linked to the Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Fishing. The refusal was justified by a drought in the region that required the mobilization of all local government staff. However, Ms. Djimi was not required to participate in any mission in that regard and it is alleged that her leave request was in fact denied in order to prevent her from engaging with the Council. At the time of finalization of the present report, no further response had been received from the Government. 7. Somalia 27. On 3 May 2016, a group of mandate holders raised allegations of reprisals against Omar Faruk Osman, Secretary General of the Federation of Somali Trade Unions and of the National Union of Somali Journalists, for his cooperation with ILO (see A/HRC/33/32, SOM 2/2016). On 23 April 2016, Mr. Osman had been summoned to the Office of the Attorney General where he was informed that, on 29 February 2016, the Attorney General had submitted a complaint against him to the National Prosecutor General. The Attorney General had asked the Prosecutor to bring a criminal case against Mr. Osman for, inter alia, harming relations between the Government and the international organizations and spreading issues that would harm the reputation of the Government, and to prevent Mr. Osman from travelling and confiscating his passport for the duration of the investigation. It is alleged that the request was directly linked to a letter sent by ILO to the 9