Press Release Oct 5, 2016 HRF to UN: Do Not Elect Dictatorships to the Human Rights Council “This year, five notorious dictatorships are running for reelection at the world’s top human rights body. By gaining these highly coveted seats, which they have consistently used to exercise a heckler’s veto, they seek to shield themselves from any significant exposure of their horrendous human rights records,” said HRF Chief Legal Officer Javier El-Hage.“
Blog Post Oct 4, 2016 HRF to Eritrea: Disclose the Whereabouts of Journalists Detained in Secret Prisons Since 2001 Last month marked 15 years since the Eritrean government arbitrarily detained a group of 11 independent journalists in secret prisons, effectively bringing about the end of independent press in the country.
Press Release Sep 19, 2016 ‘Independent’ Think Tank Honors African Dictator as ‘Global Citizen’ HRF president Thor Halvorssen and HRF Chief Strategy officer Alex Gladstein on the Atlantic Council, which has chosen to give an award to the corrupt dictator of Gabon.
Press Release Sep 12, 2016 Why Is Atlantic Council Honoring the Dictator of Gabon? Next week the Atlantic Council, a Washington D.C.-based policy organization, will celebrate the dictator of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, by presenting him with a prestigious award previously bestowed on Robert DeNiro and Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos.
Press Release Sep 9, 2016 Venezuela: HRF Condemns Imprisonment of Opposition Leader Over Picture-Taking Drone Pugila was arrested after he brought a small commercial drone for aerial photography to a mass pro-democracy demonstration that took place in Caracas on September 1.
Press Release Aug 31, 2016 Venezuela: HRF Condemns Arbitrary Arrest of Opposition Leader HRF calls on Venezuela’s government to stop fabricating absurd evidence on prodemocracy activists, to provide information on Goicoechea’s whereabouts and to release him immediately.
Press Release Aug 30, 2016 HRF to Bahrain: Stop Shutting Down the Internet Last week, Human Rights Foundation (HRF), as part of a coalition of 30 organizations from around the world, called on Bahrain’s authoritarian regime to restore the country’s internet service, which has been disrupted since June 2016.
Press Release Aug 29, 2016 HRF Welcomes UN Special Rapporteur’s Opinion Curbing Broad “Hate Speech” Prohibition On August 15, the Special Rapporteur condemned the government of Singapore for prosecuting 17-year-old blogger Amos Yee on charges of “wounding religious or racial feelings.” Mr. Yee published several videos that contained language disparaging devotees of Islam and Christianity, as well as their religious beliefs.
Press Release Aug 24, 2016 HRF to Angola: Withdraw Secret Social Media Bill Human Rights Foundation (HRF) strongly condemns Angola’s obscure Statute of Journalists Bill and calls on the National Assembly to both make it public and reject it immediately.
Press Release Aug 18, 2016 Venezuela: HRF Condemns Court Proceedings; Requests Release of Political Prisoner Human Rights Foundation (HRF) reiterates its February 2014 designation of López as a prisoner of conscience and calls on Venezuela’s authoritarian regime to release him immediately.
Press Release Aug 15, 2016 Turkey: HRF Calls on the UN to Inquire into Gross Human Rights Violations Human Rights Foundation (HRF) calls on the United Nations (UN) to immediately take action and inquire into credible allegations of gross human rights violations in Turkey following last month’s failed coup.
Press Release Aug 4, 2016 Nicaragua: HRF Condemns Arbitrary Dismissal of Opposition Congressmen Last Friday, the National Assembly enforced a decision issued by the Supreme Electoral Council on July 25, which ordered the dismissal of 16 principal and 12 alternate opposition congressmen belonging to the main opposition party.
Blog Post Jul 29, 2016 HRF to Gabon: Stop Violence Against Peaceful Protesters; Release Youth Activists and Union Leaders Human Rights Foundation (HRF) condemns the Gabonese government’s crackdown on activists and union leaders, and calls for their immediate release. In recent weeks, more than 30 civil society leaders were arrested and imprisoned for organizing demonstrations in opposition to president Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is seeking a second term in the upcoming August election.
Press Release Jul 28, 2016 Turkey: HRF Condemns Erdogan’s Firing of Almost Three Thousand Judges Human Rights Foundation (HRF) condemns the removal of 2,745 judges in Turkey without due process following the failed coup attempt to unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. HRF urges the Turkish government to reinstate the judges immediately until proper investigations are carried out.
News Jul 22, 2016 HRF Commemorates the Fourth Anniversary of the Death of Cuban Dissident Four years after Payá’s death in a mysterious car accident, his family is still searching for the truth. Today marks the fourth anniversary of the death of Cuban pro-democracy dissident Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas.
Press Release Jul 18, 2016 Zimbabwe: HRF Welcomes Dropped Charges Against Mawarire; Urges Authorities to Stop Arbitrary Arrests Human Rights Foundation (HRF) welcomes the release of civil society leader Evan Mawarire and the court’s ruling that his rights were violated. Mawarire is a popular evangelical pastor who started the “#ThisFlag” movement to protest against police brutality and the destruction of the economy under President Mugabe’s rule.
Press Release Jul 13, 2016 HRF to Rafael Correa: Stop Muzzling the Media According to a recent investigation by Fundamedios, Ecuador’s most prominent free press watchdog, the country’s 2013 Organic Law of Communications (LOC) has so far led to hundreds of legal proceedings against independent journalists and media outlets.
News Jul 12, 2016 HRF in the Washington Post Javier El-Hage and Celine Assaf Boustani, members of HRF’s legal team, originally published this piece in The Washington Post. This week marked two years since a Saudi Arabian kangaroo court sentenced human rights lawyer Waleed Abulkhair to 15 years in prison for “inciting public opinion.”
Press Release Jul 11, 2016 Infographic: Repression in Venezuela Violence is rampant, the media is censored, members of the authentic opposition are in prison, corruption is out of control, there is a historic food and supply shortage, blackouts occur daily, the currency has been destroyed by hyperinflation, and a militaristic regime has slowly taken over all key functions of government and civil society.
Press Release Jul 6, 2016 Saudi Arabia: HRF Publishes Legal Report on Waleed Abu al-Khair Today marks two years since a criminal court arbitrarily sentenced Saudi Arabian award-winning human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair to 15 years in prison.
