Announcement Oct 1, 2025 Why Bitcoin is Freedom Money: HRF in the Journal of Democracy The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is pleased to share “Why Bitcoin is Freedom Money,” a new essay by HRF Chief Strategy Officer Alex Gladstein, published in the Journal of Democracy.
Publication Oct 1, 2025 Bitcoin is Freedom Money Authoritarian governments worldwide are increasingly using financial repression to disable their challengers.
Publication Sep 30, 2025 Calling for action on systemic abuse and political control in Hong Kong prison As a coalition of 52 civil society organizations committed to human rights and the rule of law, we write collectively to urgently raise serious concerns regarding the systemic abuses occurring inside Hong Kong’s prisons, as detailed in the recent report by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation, “We Were Made to Suffer: Systemic Abuse and Political Control Inside Hong Kong’s Prisons” (September 2025).
Newsletter Sep 25, 2025 Financial Freedom Report #91 In Vietnam, the central bank deactivated more than 86 million bank accounts on Sept. 1, erasing nearly half the country’s financial accounts. The move is part of a national push for mandatory biometric ID, framed by…
Newsletter Sep 18, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #90 In Thailand, the central bank froze more than 3 million Thai bank accounts and imposed daily transfer limits in a bid to reduce online scams. The heavy-handed approach offers a glimpse into how broad state financial measures can unintentionally lead…
Newsletter Sep 11, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #89 In Russia, the Kremlin is increasing efforts to push citizens onto its new state-run messenger app, Max. Voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram have been disabled, and new legislation requires all new phones to come with Max pre-installed. But the…
Newsletter Sep 4, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #88 In Georgia, a Tbilisi court froze the bank accounts of seven major Georgian NGOs, accusing them of “sabotage” and “financing” protests under charges made possible by the country’s recently enacted…
Press Release Aug 28, 2025 HRF Financial Freedom program named finalist for Templeton Freedom Award The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is honored to announce that its Financial Freedom program has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious Templeton Freedom Award, presented annually by Atlas Network.
Newsletter Aug 28, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #87 In Russia, Vladimir Putin signed a new law allowing police to freeze citizens’ bank accounts for up to 10 days without a court order. While framed as an anti-fraud measure, the law gives police a fast and…
Blog Post Aug 26, 2025 The Sculptor Xi Jinping Wants You to Forget For 68-year-old Gao Zhen, last Aug. 26 wasn’t just any other day — it was the day of his arrest.
Press Release Aug 26, 2025 Joint statement on the first anniversary of Gao Zhen’s detention, demanding his urgent release We, the undersigned organizations, express our grave concern at the ongoing detention of artist Gao Zhen (高兟), a 69-year-old US permanent resident and prominent figure in China’s contemporary art scene, who has now been imprisoned for a year without trial.
Publication Aug 25, 2025 Urging the Taiwan government to ensure the at-risk Burmese people are not forcibly returned to Myanmar We, the undersigned civil society organizations, write to express our grave concern over the potential return of Burmese people to Myanmar, where they face a well-documented risk of arbitrary deprivation of life, torture, and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
Publication Aug 21, 2025 Hong Kong: RSF and a coalition of 72 NGOs urge UK Prime Minister to secure Jimmy Lai’s release on medical parole RSF_en Partager facebook twitter linkedin Email Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and a coalition of 72 human rights and press freedom organisations are urging British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to secure the release of publisher Jimmy Lai, whose health is dangerously deteriorating after over 1,680 days in detention in Hong Kong.
Newsletter Aug 21, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #86 In Cuba, the peso’s parallel market rate increased to 400 pesos per US dollar, a record low reflecting a 94% devaluation in just a few years. High inflation, stagnant wages
Press Release Aug 19, 2025 HRF secures UN opinion condemning Vietnam’s detention of Khmer Krom activists The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) found that Vietnam’s detention of To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong — activists and members of the Khmer Krom indigenous community — is arbitrary and violates international law.
Publication Aug 15, 2025 An artist on the run, an exhibition censored: How China tried to silence a Thai art show Three weeks ago, Burmese artist Sai was in Bangkok, celebrating the opening of an art exhibition he had curated with his wife at one of Thailand’s top galleries.
Newsletter Aug 14, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #85 In Bolivia, 25% inflation has sent trust in the boliviano falling and pushed more individuals toward Bitcoin for daily transactions and savings. Since unbanning digital assets…
Report Aug 14, 2025 Youthquake: Youth-led Movements Shaking Up East and Southeast Asia In recent years, youth across East and Southeast Asia, and around the world, have spearheaded the demand for democracy, justice, and freedom.
Newsletter Aug 13, 2025 HRF’s AI for Individual Rights Newsletter #3 Welcome back to the Human Rights Foundation’s (HRF) monthly newsletter giving you the low-down on how AI and individual rights converge. This month, we’re continuing to explore…
Blog Post Aug 11, 2025 A ‘known unknown’ Where’s all the money coming into American think tanks from? Ben Freeman on the enormous foreign-government “donations” flowing through Washington, D.C.
