Human Rights Dispatch May 26, 2026 Public Order Crisis Shakes Bolivia, Narendra Modi Ignores Journalist, Abdullah Ibhais Silenced Illegally On May 10, 2026, Jordanian authorities at Queen Alia International Airport detained Abdullah Ibhais for nearly three hours upon his return from speaking at Nordic Media Days in Bergen, Norway.
Human Rights Dispatch May 21, 2026 Kenya Suppresses Nationwide Protests, Prison Death Shatters Family, Hague Welcomes Venezuelan Dictator, North Korea Builds Border Artillery, and more. HRF condemns the continued detention of Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen and the exit ban imposed on his wife, Zhao Yaliang, which has prevented their family, including their 7-year-old son, from returning home to the United States.
Press Release May 19, 2026 HRF submits a petition to the United Nations on behalf of Pastor Jin, Pastor Gao, and Pastor Wang in China NEW YORK (May 20, 2026) — Today, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted an individual complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on behalf of Pastors Jin “Ezra” Mingri (金明日), Gao Yingjia (高颖佳), and Wang Lin (王林), who are all currently detained in China for exercising their freedom of religion.
Publication May 15, 2026 Trump says Xi is considering a detained pastor’s case, but freeing activist Jimmy Lai is ‘tough’ HONG KONG (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping of releasing a prominent detained pastor and imprisoned Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai, and quoted Xi as saying he’d consider the pastor but that Lai’s case is a “tough one.”
Human Rights Dispatch May 14, 2026 Mozambican Opposition Leader Assassinated, Central African Challenger Banned, Activists Demand China Action, and more. HRF welcomes the bipartisan @CECCgov letter respectfully urging @POTUS to raise the cases of political prisoners directly with China’s Xi Jinping and confront the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s transnational repression.
Publication May 14, 2026 Trump pledges to raise detained pastor’s case with Xi Jinping during Beijing visit as family pleads for help Five weeks before the birth of her third child, Grace Drexel sat in Washington speaking about her father, the grandfather her children barely know, and the hope that President Donald Trump might help bring him home.
Publication May 13, 2026 A 7-Year-Old American Boy Is Trapped in China Because His Father Made Art On May 10, 2026, Chinese artist Gao Zhen turned 70 years old. He spent his birthday in a Chinese prison.
Human Rights Dispatch May 11, 2026 Authoritarians Target Lawyers Worldwide, Suspicious Death of Rwandan Dissident Aimable Karasira, El Salvador Freezes El Faro Assets, and more. The detained individuals listed in US Senate Resolution 677 and House Resolution 1259 aren’t just names on paper — they are real people with families, lives, and loved ones.
Press Release May 10, 2026 Wife of Chinese Dissident Artist Gao Zhen Wishes Husband Happy 70th Birthday Today, May 10, 2026, is Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen’s 70th birthday, and he is spending it in a Chinese prison.
Press Release May 10, 2026 HRF Continues to Condemn the Detention of Gao Zhen on his 70th Birthday Today, May 10, 2026, is Gao Zhen’s 70th birthday, and he is spending it in a Chinese prison.
Publication May 7, 2026 Political Prisoner Spotlight: The Struggle for Pastor Ezra Jin’s Freedom in China Days before President Donald Trump met with General Secretary Xi Jinping in Beijing, Freedom House hosted leading experts and human rights defenders to discuss the Chinese government’s escalating crackdown on religious freedom.
Blog Post May 6, 2026 Reflections On HRF’s “Beyond Borders: Youth Resilience Against the CCP” Conference The following reflection was authored by Norpell Wilberforce, a London-based Tibetan activist, who attended HRF’s Beyond Borders activist workshop. The piece has been edited for clarity and condensed.
Publication May 6, 2026 Chinese artist Gao Zhen and his family stuck in repressive legal limbo over his Mao sculptures The verdict is imminent, and Zhao Yaliang can no longer bear the wait. As calm as she is determined, the 48-year-old is finally about to learn the fate of her husband, artist Gao Zhen, who has already been detained for a year and a half.
Blog Post May 3, 2026 Keeping Uyghur Stories Alive: Q&A with Exiled Uyghur Journalist Tahir Imin Press freedom is under threat globally, as media outlets face mounting challenges that force their closure and a growing number of journalists are thrown behind bars.
Announcement Apr 20, 2026 HRF Brings UN Attention to Rights Abuses in Swaziland, Thailand and Hungary NEW YORK (April 20, 2026) — This month, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted formal contributions to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Swaziland and Thailand, as well as a joint submission for Hungary with the Artistic Freedom Initiative (AFI).
Human Rights Dispatch Apr 17, 2026 Healing Activist Trauma Beyond Borders From the streets of Shanghai to exile in Europe, Rei Xia’s story is a reminder that courage comes at a cost — and resilience is what sustains it.
Human Rights Dispatch Apr 16, 2026 The New Weapons of Transnational Fear Chinese repression is increasingly global. Activists everywhere are facing new forms of intimidation enabled by technology, from surveillance to deepfakes and coordinated digital harassment.
Human Rights Dispatch Mar 23, 2026 Thailand silences dissent, Koet Saray detention ruled arbitrary, Moscow shows limited support to Iran. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has found that Cambodia’s detention of human rights defender Koet Saray is arbitrary and violates international human rights law.
Publication Apr 3, 2026 Families React After Supreme Court Denies Bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam in Delhi Riots Case Families of activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam expressed disappointment after the Supreme Court of India denied them bail in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case.
Human Rights Dispatch Apr 1, 2026 Rwandan dissident Déogratias Mushayidi imprisoned 16 years, South Korea formally condemning North Korea’s human rights abuses, demanding Gao Zhen’s release, and more. HRF condemns the one day, closed-door trial of Chinese dissident artist, Gao Zhen, for creating works of art that use satire to criticize the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s human rights abuses.
