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.
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 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.
Press Release Apr 1, 2026 HRF submits UN petition on behalf of Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen NEW YORK (April 1, 2026) — Today, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted an individual complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on behalf of Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen, urging the WGAD to declare his detention arbitrary and in violation of international law.
Publication Mar 31, 2026 US-based dissident artist put on trial in China over satirical Mao sculptures, says rights group The Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen, known for making satirical sculptures of China’s former leader Mao Zedong, has been tried over accusations of “defaming national heroes and martyrs”, his wife and a rights group have said.
Publication Mar 29, 2026 The Secret Trial of a Chinese Artist Accused of Mocking Mao Zedong A prominent New York-based Chinese artist known for his provocative and irreverent sculptures of Mao Zedong stood trial on Monday, accused of slandering the country’s heroes in a case underlining how little criticism is allowed under China’s leader, Xi Jinping.
Human Rights Dispatch Mar 9, 2026 Ghana Anti-LGBTQ Bill, China Secrecy Crackdown, Kobzev Imprisonment Case and more. Today, Russian lawyer Vadim Kobzev turns 42 in prison. Separated from his wife and three children for doing his job, he spends his birthday alone. HRF condemns his arbitrary detention and calls on the Russian regime to release him immediately and unconditionally.
Human Rights Dispatch Mar 2, 2026 Kenya detains prominent activist, Hong Kong jails activists father, Volker Türk pressured to address Beijing’s repression, and more. HRF joined @CHRDnet and 24 other civil society organizations calling on UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to directly address Beijing’s deepening repression during his February 27 address to the UN Human Rights Council. Silence enables impunity.
