Strategy Advocacy We advocate for human rights defenders through multi-pronged campaigns, videos, op-eds, and Universal Periodic Review submissions to the UN Human Rights Council, among other means. By drawing global attention to our clients’ cases, we increase pressure on regimes that suppress dissent by taking political prisoners, for instance. Our work shines a light on the injustices of authoritarianism.
Strategy Litigation We litigate on behalf of prisoners of conscience before international courts and semi-judicial bodies. Our team of international attorneys takes cases to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and other international bodies to secure positive outcomes for our clients. Using international law, we argue for our clients’ release, to ensure that their rights are respected.
Blog Post Sep 26, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #42 In Zimbabwe, the regime’s new ZiG currency is rapidly losing value, depreciating by up to 80% on the parallel market as citizens lose confidence in the state’s latest monetary experiment. Despite government interventions — including creating artificial scarcity, freezing bank accounts, and arresting currency traders — Zimbabwe is on the brink of yet another currency failure.
Blog Post Sep 19, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #41 This week, authoritarian regimes continued to use financial repression tactics to target dissidents and opposition movements. In Nicaragua, the National Assembly unanimously approved a reform allowing the regime to prosecute and seize the assets of exiled citizens.
Announcement Sep 17, 2024 HRF Bitcoin Development Fund Grants 1 Billion Satoshis to 20 Projects Worldwide The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is pleased to announce 1 billion satoshis of gifts from its Bitcoin Development Fund.
Press Release Sep 13, 2024 HRF calls for the unconditional release of Indian human rights activist Umar Khalid On the fourth anniversary of his arrest and at the beginning of his highly anticipated trial, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) calls on the Indian government to immediately release activist Umar Khalid from his excessively long and arbitrary pretrial detention.
Blog Post Sep 12, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #40 This week, Bitcoin took center stage in Venezuela’s struggle for financial freedom. After the Maduro regime brazenly stole the country’s presidential election, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado spoke in an exclusive interview with the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), where she called Bitcoin a “lifeline” and a “vital means for resistance” for Venezuelans suffering under repression and hyperinflation.
Blog Post Sep 6, 2024 A History of Sports & Dictators, Part 3: Post-WWII Soft Power Long before the inception of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece, sports have been used to distract the masses, test foreign policies, thaw diplomatic tensions, and broadcast political and social messaging.
Op-Ed Sep 5, 2024 Despots and oligarchs have many means to meddle in American politics As well as the colourful details of corruption on a grand scale—the gold bars, the cash stashed in boots and jackets—a particular point stood out during the conviction in July of Bob Menendez, then the senior Democratic senator for New Jersey, on charges including bribery and fraud.
Blog Post Sep 5, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #39 In Syria, Bashar al-Assad’s economic policies continue to devastate the lives of millions while he enforces a tight grip on power. Manipulated currency exchange rates and strict monetary controls have deepened poverty and wreaked havoc on the Syrian lira’s value, offering a sobering view into the impact of authoritarian rule on the financial freedom of everyday citizens.
Press Release Sep 5, 2024 HRF interviews Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on financial repression and freedom On Thursday, Bitcoin Magazine published a video of the Human Rights Foundation’s (HRF) chief strategy officer, Alex Gladstein, interviewing María Corina Machado, leader of Venezuela’s democratic opposition, about the destruction the Chavismo have caused to Venezuela’s monetary system and how many Venezuelans use Bitcoin to escape or find their financial freedom.
Press Release Aug 29, 2024 HRF’s Casey Michel Sanctioned by Russian Regime On Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sanctioned the Human Rights Foundation’s (HRF) Casey Michel, as well as other American academics, journalists, and industry leaders.
