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.
Op-Ed Dec 13, 2025 As Sudan burns, the NBA’s embrace of the UAE shows how sport enables atrocity As paramilitary fighters from the brutal Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the largest city in western Sudan – carrying out mass executions, rapes and ethnic cleansing with weapons supplied by the United Arab Emirates – the NBA’s annual in-season tournament, the Emirates NBA Cup, tipped off on Halloween night, proudly sponsored by the very same Gulf state.
Human Rights Dispatch Dec 12, 2025 Hong Kong Election Arrests, Hong Kong Weaponizes AI, Burma Sham Elections, and more. HRF condemns the arrest of 11 Hong Kongers — three now prosecuted — for allegedly encouraging election boycotts.
Press Release Dec 12, 2025 Following HRF Petition, UN Experts Condemn Egypt for Arbitrary Detention The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) received a favorable opinion from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), finding Egypt’s detention of human rights defender Ahmed Amasha arbitrary under international human rights law.
Publication Nov 9, 2025 A huge, flying conflict of interest What does Qatar want from America? Nick Cleveland-Stout on Doha’s massive influence operation in Washington.
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.
Human Rights Dispatch Oct 27, 2025 AI at Oslo Innovation Week, Anniversary of Sudan’s 1964 revolution At Oslo Innovation Week 2025, HRF hosted a powerful conversation that explored AI, corporate power, and human rights.
Blog Post Oct 6, 2025 The Riyadh job Fifty comedians playing in Saudi Arabia, millions of dollars, and one head-scratcher: Why are they doing this?
Press Release Sep 30, 2025 HRF statement on Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) calls on the comedians scheduled to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival either to cancel their participation or to use the festival as a platform to denounce the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.
Op-Ed Jun 17, 2025 Sarkozy-Gaddafi Trial Exposes Corruption’s Impact on Libyans The corruption trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy in France is testing the country’s democratic resilience and the judiciary’s capacity to act as a counter-power to leaders bending democratic rules.
Op-Ed May 9, 2025 Why is Saudi Arabia at the Gold Cup? It’s the latest in the Kingdom’s soft power campaign Last month, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) held an official draw in Miami, Florida for the 2025 Gold Cup, the premier biennial tournament for men’s football on the continent.
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.
Blog Post Mar 11, 2025 The Playbook: How Syria’s brutal Assad regime used football to maintain power Welcome to The Playbook, an explainer series from HRF’s 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 women’s 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 Women’s Reforms When Saudi Arabia hosted one of the most important events in professional women’s tennis, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals, in November, it wasn’t, 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 People’s Bank of China’s 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.
