Newsletter Feb 24, 2026 HRF’s AI for Individual Rights Newsletter #7 This month: Russia is pouring $29 million into AI-powered censorship.
Announcement Feb 19, 2026 The international community must call for the immediate release of Umar Khalid On Jan. 5, 2026, the Indian Supreme Court denied bail to human rights defender and student activist Umar Khalid, who has been detained for over five years without trial, in violation of India’s obligations under international human rights law.
Newsletter Feb 19, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #109 In India, the government is piloting a new system that uses its central bank digital currency (CBDC) to distribute free food rations.
Newsletter Feb 12, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #108 In Kenya, the central bank warned that making Valentine’s Day bouquets out of banknotes could carry prison sentences of up to seven years.
Video Series Feb 10, 2026 Owen Chow’s Birthday Behind Bars Today marks the fifth year Hong Kong pro-democracy leader Owen Chow is spending his birthday behind bars.
Newsletter Feb 5, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #107 In Russia, physical bank branches are closing down at a record pace. The closures are placing renewed pressure on Russians living in rural areas and those contending with frequent Internet disruptions as a result of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Op-Ed Jan 30, 2026 Don’t Forget the Many Ways Russia Tried To Justify Invading Ukraine As negotiations continue to drag on between Washington, Kyiv and Moscow, the Kremlin’s narrative about the war has centered on one potential solution: evicting Ukrainian forces from the Donbas.
Newsletter Jan 29, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #106 This week, we investigate new developments surrounding China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), as recent design changes show that the Chinese Communist Party is experimenting with new incentives to onboard people to this more tightly controlled kind of money.
Newsletter Jan 26, 2026 HRF’s AI for Individual Rights Newsletter #6 This month captures the spirit of the moment, where AI is being used to repress, but people are pushing back in remarkable ways towards personal empowerment.
Announcement Jan 24, 2026 Joint Statement on the Day of the Endangered Lawyer Today, January 24th, marks the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer. In recognition of endangered lawyers around the world, we, the undersigned, express our deep alarm at the growing repression of lawyers worldwide for the legitimate exercise of their professional duties.
Newsletter Jan 22, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #105 In Nigeria, a tax law requires providers of digital assets to monitor transactions, collect personal information, and link payments to biometric national ID systems.
Press Release Jan 21, 2026 Announcing the AI Hack for Freedom Hackathon Winners This past weekend, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) sponsored the first AI Hack for Freedom, a hackathon where globally-renowned dissidents and top open-source developers worked together to build tools addressing the most urgent needs of activists under authoritarian regimes.
Press Release Jan 17, 2026 HRF Petitions UN in Case of Navalny’s Lawyers Spotlighted by Yulia Navalnaya’s Washington Post Op-Ed The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted the case of lawyers Vadim Kobzev and Alexei Liptser to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) today, on the first anniversary of their sentencing.
Press Release Jan 16, 2026 HRF sponsors AI Hack for Freedom in Austin, TX, Jan. 17-18 The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) announces the launch of AI Hack for Freedom, an AI-powered hackathon dedicated to building tools for human rights defenders.
Newsletter Jan 15, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #104 We begin this week in Iran, where currency collapse has turned into a call for political change.
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.
Press Release Jan 13, 2026 HRF’s Bitcoin Development Fund Announces Support for 22 Projects Worldwide The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is pleased to announce 1.3 billion satoshis in grants from its Bitcoin Development Fund (BDF).
Op-Ed Jan 9, 2026 Umar Khalid and the Erosion of Indian Justice Khalid’s case is a stark example of how the Modi government weaponizes anti-terror laws to indefinitely silence Muslim voices and crush dissent.
Press Release Jan 5, 2026 HRF urges UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to rule India’s detention of activist Umar Khalid arbitrary and unlawful The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) condemns the Indian Supreme Court’s decision on January 5th, 2026 to deny bail in the case of Indian activist Umar Khalid, who has been detained for over five years without trial or conviction.
Announcement Jan 1, 2026 Top 15 Freedom Tech Projects of 2025 Looking back on 2025, financial and digital repression under authoritarian regimes continued to grow.
