Human Rights Dispatch Jul 1, 2026 Tanzania Bans Rallies, Mali Targets Exiles, China’s Unity Law Takes Effect, and more. On July 1, 1997, the British government transferred Hong Kong’s sovereignty to Chinese rule, under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework, which included guarantees for the protection of rights and freedoms for 50 years.
Human Rights Dispatch Jun 26, 2026 Sudan Disappears Women Journalists, South Sudan Schedules Elections, Cuba Frees Teen Political Prisoner, and more. Election officials in South Sudan have set Dec. 22 as the date for the country’s long awaited first general election since independence in 2011.
Announcement Jun 25, 2026 Nomination of Rwandan pro-democracy leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza for the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize 2026, one year after her arbitrary detention Freedom Now, the Human Rights Foundation, and the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice are proud to announce their nomination of Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) 2026 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.
Human Rights Dispatch Jun 25, 2026 Hong Kong Arrests Leticia Wong, Iran Lashes Parastoo Ahmadi On June 18, Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi was sentenced to 74 lashes for performing without a hijab.
Human Rights Dispatch Jun 24, 2026 Ethiopia Sham Election, Uganda Deports Martha Karua HRF condemns the Ugandan regime’s expulsion of veteran Kenyan lawyer and politician Martha Karua on Monday.
Report Jun 24, 2026 Football in Equatorial Guinea’s dynastic family dictatorship Equatorial Guinea, a tiny central African nation which gained its independence from Spain in 1968, has been under the rule of a dynastic family dictatorship for nearly six decades.
Report Jun 23, 2026 How the Regime in Equatorial Guinea Exploits Football Equatorial Guinea’s regime has strategically exploited the global appeal of football as a political tool.
Human Rights Dispatch Jun 23, 2026 Zimbabwe Alters Constitution, Museveni Targets Opponents HRF condemns draconian new foreign financing restrictions imposed by Uganda’s dictatorship on political opposition and NGOs under a new law that codifies centralized political control of dissent under the guise of curbing foreign influence.
Human Rights Dispatch Jun 22, 2026 Thai Court Upholds Military Conscription Law HRF expresses concerns over the Thai Constitutional Court’s May 2026 decision to uphold the military conscription law despite concerns that it infringes upon constitutional rights, including freedom of conscience and belief.
Human Rights Dispatch Jun 19, 2026 Rwanda Detains Victoire Ingabire, Russia Mistreats Journalist Iryna Danylovych On June 18, HRF and Reporters Without Borders ( @RSF_inter ) submitted urgent updates to UN Special Procedures on the ongoing ill-treatment of Crimean citizen-journalist, nurse, and human rights defender Iryna Danylovych, who remains imprisoned in Russia as her health continues to deteriorate in custody.
Human Rights Dispatch Jun 18, 2026 Military Court Seeks 20 Years for Nathanaël Onokomba, Erias Lukwago Imprisoned, U Min Zin Arrested in China, and more. HRF expresses deep concern over China’s arrest of US citizen U Min Zin, a researcher and long-time critic of Burma’s military junta, and Burma’s detention of American businessman and author Adam Castillo.
Op-Ed Jun 17, 2026 Roman Abramovich Can Talk to Moscow and Kyiv. But He Can’t Change Putin’s Mind. Earlier this month, a familiar name re-entered the ongoing push for a negotiated settlement to Russia’s war in Ukraine: sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
Human Rights Dispatch Jun 16, 2026 Uganda Military Abducts Lawyer Erias Lukwago, Russia’s Regional Influence Collapses In a @WSJ op-ed, @cjcmichel, Director of the Combating Kleptocracy Program at the Human Rights Foundation, argues that Russia’s influence across the former Soviet space has collapsed – as have its pretensions about being the leading regional power.
Human Rights Dispatch Jun 15, 2026 China Delays Sentencing of Artist Gao Zhen On June 10, Chinese dissident artist, Gao Zhen’s sentencing was postponed. He can now be sentenced any time between now and September 10. Gao Zhen has already spent almost two years in prison, for simply making art.
Op-Ed Jun 15, 2026 Russia Has Lost Its ‘Near Abroad’ As Ukraine fights back, every other ex-Soviet republic but Belarus distances itself from Moscow.
Human Rights Dispatch Jun 13, 2026 Dictators Form Strategic Alliance, UN Orders Anacleto’s Release, Kagame Tightens Local Control, and more. HRF calls on the international community to remember the human cost of global authoritarian alignment and collaboration. Kim Jong-un’s deepening ties with China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are not just diplomatic maneuvers.
Human Rights Dispatch Jun 12, 2026 Zimbabwe Activist Released, Congo Crackdown Kills Protesters, El Salvador Jails Lawyer, Indigenous Leader Dies, Activists Targeted Globally, and more. HRF condemns the Ortega-Murillo regime for the death under state custody of Indigenous leader and political prisoner Brooklyn Rivera. Rivera was arbitrarily detained and disappeared in September 2023, held without charges or access to his family, and died after 971 days under regime control.
Op-Ed Jun 8, 2026 The Guardian: I was jailed for speaking out about the treatment of workers at the Qatar World Cup. I am still being punished I was jailed for speaking out about the treatment of workers at the Qatar World Cup. I am still being punished.
Op-Ed Jun 8, 2026 A right called democracy The Inter-American Court of Human Rights must recognize democracy as an autonomous right before democratic erosion becomes irreparable.
Human Rights Dispatch Jun 5, 2026 Dutch Immigration Mistreats Activist Agather Atuhaire HRF condemns Dutch immigration officers’ careless treatment on Thursday of prominent, award-winning Ugandan human rights activist Agather Atuhaire on Thursday at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, as she returned from the 2026 #OsloFreedomForum in Oslo.
