Blog Post May 6, 2025 My Reflections on Bitcoin as Freedom Money in Thailand & Burma My name is Win Ko Ko Aung, and I am a global bitcoin adoption fellow at HRF. I help nonprofits operating under authoritarian regimes explore Bitcoin as a tool for financial freedom.
Press Release May 6, 2025 Bolivia: HRF advierte que jueces que ignoran decisión de la ONU se enfrentarán a sanciones Magnitsky La Human Rights Foundation (HRF) condena enérgicamente al Tribunal de Sentencia Penal, Anticorrupción y Violencia Contra la Mujer Sexto de la ciudad de La Paz, presidido por el juez Marco Antonio Vargas, por su negativa a acatar una decisión emitida en marzo de 2025 por el Grupo de Trabajo sobre la Detención Arbitraria de las Naciones Unidas (GTDA), que determinó que la detención preventiva del gobernador de Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, es arbitraria y viola el derecho internacional.
Press Release May 6, 2025 Bolivia: HRF warns judges ignoring UN decision will face Magnitsky sanctions The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) strongly condemns Bolivia’s Sixth Court for Criminal, Anti-Corruption, and Violence Against Women Matters in La Paz, presided over by Judge Marco Antonio Vargas, for its refusal to comply with a March 2025 decision issued by the United Nations
Press Release Apr 25, 2025 Venezuela’s Maduro Continues to Use Tren de Aragua for Transnational Repression, Kidnapping, Assassination The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) condemns Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro for using the Tren de Aragua criminal network to target and eliminate dissidents beyond Venezuela’s borders. New evidence from a Chilean prosecutor’s investigation has confirmed that the February 2024 abduction and assassination of former Venezuelan army lieutenant Ronald Ojeda in Chile was a politically motivated murder, ordered by Maduro’s regime and executed by members of Tren de Aragua.
Press Release Apr 24, 2025 HRF submits case of Cambodian activist Koet Saray to UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Earlier this month, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted the case of Cambodian environmental and human rights activist Koet Saray to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD).
Blog Post Apr 14, 2025 How China Uses Financial Repression to Erase the Uyghur People Rushan Abbas has spent years fighting for the freedom of her people, the Uyghurs, a Muslim ethnic group in the Uyghur Region, located in northwest China.
Press Release Apr 8, 2025 HRF succeeds in Uzbekistan case: UN calls for immediate release of Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) received a favorable opinion from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), which found that Uzbekistan’s detention of Karakalpak activist and lawyer, Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov, is arbitrary and violates fundamental international human rights law.
Press Release Apr 1, 2025 HRF Brings UN Attention to Rights Abuses in Four Countries Last week, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted contributions to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review regarding Belarus, Honduras, Libya, and Malawi.
Press Release Mar 28, 2025 HRF succeeds in UN petition: Bolivia condemned for arbitrary detention of democratically elected governor The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) welcomes the decision of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) ruling that the arrest of Santa Cruz Governor Luiz Fernando Camacho in Bolivia was arbitrary and in violation of international law. HRF submitted the petition on behalf of Camacho in February 2023.
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.
Press Release Mar 12, 2025 HRF celebrates the release of ‘Rule Breakers,’ a movie on Afghanistan’s Roya Mahboob “Rule Breakers,” in theaters now, tells the true, inspiring story of Afghan tech entrepreneur, HRF friend, and Oslo Freedom Forum speaker Roya Mahboob, who took the great risk of teaching young girls in Afghanistan about technology and robotics.
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 25, 2025 HRF celebrates the release of Belarusian dissident Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) celebrates the release of Belarusian dissident Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk, who was released on Feb. 2, after spending 1,491 days in arbitrary detention.
Announcement Feb 24, 2025 Chevron and Harry Sargeant Are Financing Dictator Nicolas Maduro — When Will the U.S. Stop It? Venezuelan dictator and drug cartel kingpin Nicolas Maduro has a $25 million bounty on his head.
Reports Feb 13, 2025 HRF pens open letter to John Legend The Human Rights Foundation has learned of your plans to perform in Kigali, Rwanda, on Feb. 21, 2025, as part of Move Afrika — a collaboration between the Rwandan government, Global Citizen, and pgLang.
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 31, 2025 The prize that matters for Swaziland In December, the Secretary of State honored prominent Swazi human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko with the Human Rights Defender Award.
Press Release Jan 10, 2025 HRF condemns Nicolás Maduro’s coup in Venezuela; asks Trump admin to rescind OFAC licenses held by Chevron and others The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) strongly condemns the sham inauguration of dictator Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela’s reelected president following his regime’s blatant electoral fraud on July 28, 2024, and calls on the U.S. government to rescind Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) licenses granted to companies doing business with the Venezuelan regime.
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.
