Human Rights Dispatch Feb 6, 2026 Kagame admits Rwandan presence in DRC, release of Ugandan activist Sarah Bireete, Venezuela releases more prisoners of conscience. HRF welcomes the release on bail of prominent Ugandan human rights advocate Sarah Bireete and calls for the bail restrictions and absurd charges imposed on her to be dropped.
Blog Post Jan 27, 2026 All Eyes on Iran: After a Bloody Crackdown, Democracies Should Hold the Regime Accountable It has been 31 days since the Iranian people took to the streets en masse to protest. Though initially sparked by economic hardship, the protests quickly grew beyond Tehran’s grand bazaar, as people expressed outrage over the regime’s widespread human rights violations and called for the removal of dictator Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Human Rights Dispatch Jan 16, 2026 Venezuelan prisoners of conscience released, Nicaragua electoral results backed by OAS and EU, Iran protests update. HRF welcomes the release of a group of Venezuelan prisoners of conscience, including the 2025 Thulani Maseko Justice Prize laureate, Rocío San Miguel.
Press Release Jan 13, 2026 HRF urges UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to rule Iran’s detention of online activist Hossein Shanbehzadeh arbitrary and unlawful Today, the Human Rights Foundation submitted an individual complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on behalf of Iranian online activist and freelance editor Hossein Shanbehzadeh, urging the group to declare his detention arbitrary and in violation of international law.
Blog Post Jan 9, 2026 All Eyes on Iran Since December 28, 2025, the Iranian people have taken to the streets to protest en masse.
Human Rights Dispatch Jan 9, 2026 Umar Khalid and the Erosion of Indian Justice, All Eyes on Iran. Indian activist and scholar Umar Khalid remains in Delhi’s notorious Tihar jail.
Human Rights Dispatch Nov 7, 2025 Assassin’s sentenced in Masih Alinejad murder-for-hire plot. Two Russian mafia members have each been sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempting to assassinate Iranian dissident @AlinejadMasih in New York in a plot orchestrated by the Iranian regime.
Press Release Mar 14, 2025 HRF succeeds in UN petition, Iran condemned for arbitrary detention The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) welcomes the decision of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) ruling that Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi’s two arrests and more than 753 days of detention were arbitrary and in violation of international law.
Press Release Dec 20, 2024 HRF celebrates the release of Iranian cartoonist Atena Farghadani On December 10, Iranian cartoonist Atena Farghadani was released from Evin Prison
Press Release Dec 2, 2024 HRF celebrates the release of Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi was released on Sunday after spending 753 days in arbitrary detention.
Press Release Nov 8, 2024 HRF Condemns Second Assassination Plot Against Iranian Activist Masih Alinejad The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) condemns the assassination plot, made public today by the U.S. Department of Justice, against Iranian journalist, women’s rights activist, and former Oslo Freedom Forum speaker Masih Alinejad. This is the third attempt on her life in the last three years orchestrated by the Iranian regime.
Blog Post Aug 5, 2024 The Silencing of Dissident Artists Art, in all its forms, is etched into the fabric of society. It is a testament to humanity’s unique ability to create; with a painter’s stroke, word, musical note, or dance move, an artist can evoke compassion in their viewers.
Press Release Jul 23, 2024 HRF submits joint petition to the United Nations on behalf of Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi Last week, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted an individual complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) in the case of Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi in conjunction with Doughty Street Chambers and Index on Censorship.
Press Release Jun 25, 2024 Iran Supreme Court Overturns Toomaj Salehi’s Death Sentence On June 22, Iran’s Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of Iranian hip-hop artist and Havel Prize Laureate Toomaj Salehi.
Op-Ed May 3, 2024 Iran’s death sentence for rapper shows how far it’ll go to squelch dissent There’s no length Iran won’t go to in order to quash dissent. Murder included.
Op-Ed Sep 12, 2023 Hold Iran to account for Mahsa Amini’s murder (and other horrors) when UN meets next week The first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s murder on Sept. 16, 2022, couldn’t come at a better time: It coincides with the commencement of the UN General Assembly’s 78th session— the perfect time to hold Iran’s feet to the fire.
Publication Jun 8, 2023 Rattle and Hum – HRF x The Signal After the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in custody, following her arrest by Iran’s Guidance Patrol—the morality police—for “improperly” wearing her hijab head covering, fierce protests spread across the country.
Op-Ed Feb 9, 2023 ‘Women, life, freedom’: Chants of protest in Iran Forty-four years after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Tehran is once again feeling the wrath of its citizenry. Then, it was the Shah and his “modern ideals” the people sought to, and successfully did, overthrow. Now, a different regime — the Islamic Republic — is in power and in the people’s crosshairs.
Blog Post Dec 21, 2022 Champion of Freedom: The Fearless Women of Iran & Afghanistan The condition of women and girls is a significant indicator of the democratic status of a country and 2022 proved that, in many places around the globe, the diagnosis isn’t good: The systematic assault on women’s rights under authoritarian regimes was illuminated time and again, especially in the Middle East and South Asia.
