HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #29

Russia | Woman On Trial for Pro-Ukraine Donation  

During a family visit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American ballerina who lives in Los Angeles, Calif., was arrested by Russian authorities. Her crime? Making a $51.80 donation to a pro-Ukraine charity is deemed an act of treason under Russian law. Her trial will be held in August. If found guilty, she faces a potential 20-year prison sentence. Karelina’s case illustrates the severe measures dictator Vladimir Putin enforces against any form of financial aid, even modest amounts, to opposition movements. It highlights why Russian human rights groups like the Anti-Corruption Foundation have found it useful to receive payments in Bitcoin to help protect the identities of their donors.

China | Cultural & Financial Repression Against Minority Group

Chinese officials renamed at least 630 villages in the Uyghur Region. The original names, rich with religious, historical, and cultural significance to Uyghurs (a Muslim, non-Han minority group), were replaced with names like “happiness,” “unity,” and “harmony.” These changes occurred under China’s authoritarian regime, where Uyghurs face arbitrary detention, torture, mass surveillance, forced labor, and violations of reproductive rights. The Chinese regime also regularly confiscates Uyghur assets, including property and savings. It imposes stringent regulations and frequent inspections on Uyghur businesses under the pretext of security and puts pressure on banks serving Uyghur clients, acting as a reminder that state-controlled money isn’t meeting the needs of billions of people worldwide.

Sudan | Ongoing Conflict Drives Displacement, Hunger, and Financial Crisis

The conflict between Sudan’s military, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Over 10 million Sudanese have been displaced, with millions fleeing to South Sudan and Uganda. Aid corridors are blocked, causing “catastrophic levels of hunger.” Many banks have closed, making cash access difficult. Recurring Internet blackouts have halted digital money transfers and remittances. “This also means the population is unable to receive money from their families or from abroad via mobile money transfers,” Hamid Khalafallah, a Sudanese policy analyst, said. In Uganda, Sudanese refugees lacking proper identification are unable to open bank accounts. As a result, they face high levels of unemployment and homelessness. To tackle this issue, the Bitcoin Innovation Hub, a local organization in Uganda supported by HRF, is educating Sudanese refugees about Bitcoin. Their hope is to give Sudanese refugees an opportunity to rebuild their lives with global, digital, and permissionless money that cannot be taken away from them.

United Kingdom | WikiLeaks Founder Now Free  

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was freed from the UK’s high-security Belmarsh prison following 1,901 days of detention after agreeing to plead guilty to a charge of breaching the espionage law in the United States. Assange rose to prominence with the launch of WikiLeaks, an online whistleblower platform for people to anonymously submit classified material on government corruption and human rights abuses. In response, various governments pressured financial institutions — like PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard — to cut off services and halt all transactions and donations involving WikiLeaks. To circumvent the financial blockade, in 2011, WikiLeaks began accepting Bitcoin donations. The Assange family credits the open source currency for critical support during times when they needed it most.

Syria | Repatriated Refugees Face Financial Repression

A new report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) revealed that Bashar al-Assad’s regime detained 4,714 refugees upon their return to Syria. These detentions are occurring amid a rise in forcible returns from Lebanon and Turkey. The SNHR says that the “refoulement of refugees and the forced repatriation of Syrian refugees constitute blatant violations of customary international law.” It argues that governments that force Syrian refugees to return are legally responsible if they are tortured, killed, or forcibly disappeared by Assad’s regime. Assad’s regime has imposed severe financial repression on its people, including controlling the flow of money, limiting withdrawals from banks, manipulating the currency, restricting currency exchange, and enforcing stringent controls on foreign currency. These measures devastated the economy, prevented businesses from surviving, and left citizens without access to their funds during wartime. With international money transmitters like Western Union and PayPal ceasing operations, Syrians find themselves financially asphyxiated with no way out.

Belarus | Politician & Journalist Sentenced in Absentia

On June 20, Franak Viačorka, a Belarusian politician and journalist, announced that Alexander Lukashenko’s “court” sentenced him to 20 years in prison, in absentia. The reasons for his imprisonment include “insulting Lukashenko” as well as other fabricated accusations. “It was not a trial, but a farce,” Viačorka said. On the same day, a Serbian court ruled that Andrei Gnyot, a Belarusian activist, could be extradited to Belarus, demonstrating Lukashenko’s international reach. Under Lukashenko, human rights defenders, lawyers, and civil society organizations often become targets of financial repression. Financial institutions often restrict services to opposition members and dissidents, denying loans and freezing their bank accounts. This systemic financial repression is part of a broader strategy to stifle dissent and maintain control.