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.
Publication Dec 3, 2024 Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi released from prison London — Toomaj Salehi, an Iranian dissident rapper and activist, has been released from prison, according to a statement issued Monday by his international legal team.
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.
Publication Dec 2, 2024 Iran frees rapper Toomaj Salehi jailed for supporting protests The Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, who was sentenced to death in April for his support of anti-regime protests, has been released from prison by the Iranian authorities.
Publication Dec 2, 2024 Iranian rapper freed after death sentence overturned An Iranian rapper who was sentenced to death for supporting anti-government protests has been released from prison after two years.
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 Nov 8, 2024 Election Watch Tunisia: Tunisia’s 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 he’s 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 world’s largest stateless population, with more than 30 million living in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey; they make up a fifth of Turkey’s population. Like other indigenous populations in the post-World War I era in the Middle East, European diplomats decided the Kurds’ fate.
Publication Sep 2, 2024 An Iranian writer is sentenced to 12 years after tweeting a dot at the supreme leader An Iranian writer and activist has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after replying with a single dot, or period, in response to a post on the social platform X by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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 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.
Op-Ed Jul 19, 2024 Authoritarian Qatar puts 2,000 cops and armoured cars on the streets of Paris Two weeks before the Olympic Games are set to kick off in Paris, Qatari security forces, equipped with armoured vehicles and urban camouflage livery, arrived in the French capital to help “secure” the global event.
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.
Announcement May 29, 2024 Infiltrating America: New HRF Report on UAE Political Interference The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) published a new report, “Infiltrating America: How the United Arab Emirates Launched an Unprecedented Political Interference Campaign in the United States,” as part of its Combating Kleptocracy program.
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.
Publication Apr 24, 2024 Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi sentenced to death for songs critical of regime LONDON — An Iranian court sentenced outspoken rapper Toomaj Salehi to death after his arrest over songs that criticized the government, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Op-Ed Mar 7, 2024 UAE once again tries to launder its image While the United Arab Emirates keeps up its farcical image-laundering — an attempt to look like a place that doesn’t crack down on dissent and individual freedoms — it has found another façade to hide behind: International Women’s Day.
