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 SalehiтАЩs two arrests and more than 753 days of detention were arbitrary and in violation of international law.
Blog Post Mar 11, 2025 The Playbook: How SyriaтАЩs brutal Assad regime used football to maintain power Welcome to The Playbook, an explainer series from HRFтАЩs Sports & Dictators program that explores the intersection of sports and politics in authoritarian regimes and decodes the disturbing narratives behind the games we love.
Press Release Feb 11, 2025 HRF Celebrates the Release of Saudi Academic Salma al-Shehab The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) celebrates the release of Saudi Ph.D. student and womenтАЩs rights activist Salma al-Shehab from a Saudi prison.
Blog Post Feb 10, 2025 The Playbook: How Saudi Arabia uses tennis to present a facade of womenтАЩs reforms When Saudi Arabia hosted one of the most important events in professional womenтАЩs tennis, the WomenтАЩs Tennis Association (WTA) Finals, in November, it wasnтАЩt, of course, without controversy. The New York Times put it this way:
Blog Post Jan 8, 2025 Corruption Trails CBDC Projects in China, Nigeria, and Lebanon Central bankers have a corruption problem. Recently, Yao Qian, the former head of the PeopleтАЩs Bank of ChinaтАЩs research into central bank digital currency (CBDC), was removed from office and expelled from the Chinese Communist Party for engaging in corruption.
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
Blog Post Dec 17, 2024 Elections in MENA: Youth as the Key to Change Sixty-five elections were held around the globe in 2024.
Press Release Dec 9, 2024 Assad regime overthrown after 53 years of repression and brutality; pivotal opportunity to establish rule of law and individual rights On Sunday, the Assad regime in Syria shattered after militants captured Damascus, causing Bashar Al-Assad and his family to reportedly flee to Moscow, Russia.
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, womenтАЩs 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 Nov 8, 2024 Election Watch Tunisia: TunisiaтАЩs Democratic Dismantling Tunisian President Kais Saied won yet another election on Oct. 6, securing an overwhelming 90.7% of the vote, up from 73% since his previous win in 2019. His win, however, is anything but surprising, considering that heтАЩs dismantled nearly all forms of democratic checks to his power.
Blog Post Sep 4, 2024 The Survival of Kurdish Identity in Turkey The Kurds make up the worldтАЩs largest stateless population, with more than 30 million living in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey; they make up a fifth of TurkeyтАЩs population. Like other indigenous populations in the post-World War I era in the Middle East, European diplomats decided the KurdsтАЩ fate.
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 humanityтАЩs unique ability to create; with a painterтАЩs stroke, word, musical note, or dance move, an artist can evoke compassion in their viewers.
Press Release Jul 30, 2024 HRF Submits Petition to United Nations on Egyptian Human Rights Activist Ahmed Amasha This month, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted a petition to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) on behalf of Ahmed Amasha, an Egyptian veterinarian, environmentalist, and human rights activist.
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 SalehiтАЩs Death Sentence On June 22, IranтАЩs Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of Iranian hip-hop artist and Havel Prize Laureate Toomaj Salehi.
Announcement May 29, 2024 Infiltrating America: New HRF Report on UAE Political Interference The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) published a new report, тАЬInfiltrating America: How the United Arab Emirates Launched an Unprecedented Political Interference Campaign in the United States,тАЭ as part of its Combating Kleptocracy program.
Op-Ed May 3, 2024 IranтАЩs death sentence for rapper shows how far itтАЩll go to squelch dissent ThereтАЩs no length Iran wonтАЩt go to in order to quash dissent. Murder included.
Op-Ed Mar 7, 2024 UAE once again tries to launder its image While the United Arab Emirates keeps up its farcical image-laundering тАФ an attempt to look like a place that doesnтАЩt crack down on dissent and individual freedoms тАФ it has found another fa├зade to hide behind: International WomenтАЩs Day.
