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STARTING NOW! Join HRF for a crucial live webinar on the effects of Russia’s war on Ukraine’s youngest victims.
Featuring:
Daria Rabinovitsch, Co-CEO of @helpingtoleave
@Kpavlevych, advisor at @razomforukraine & founder of Forget Us Not
These leaders are working tirelessly to rescue children abducted and displaced by the Russian regime.
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1/ HRF condemns the abduction and forcible disappearance since Oct. 6 of Tanzanian regime critic Humphrey Polepole, amid ongoing repression against critics of President Samia Suluhu Hassan ahead of Oct. 29 elections.
2/ Unknown assaillants suspected to be Tanzanian security agents forcefully seized Polepole, a former diplomat, from his home in Dar es Salaam in the early hours of Oct. 6. Family members found the home ransacked, signs of forced entry and a trail of bloodstains from the sitting room to the gate. Police say they have opened an investigation. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgryqv4020o
3/ Polepole, a member of the ruling CCM, resigned as Tanzanian ambassador to Cuba in July and has since railed against President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s legitimacy as the party’s presidential candidate, and accused her of authoritarianism and corruption. https://www.theafricareport.com/389592/tanzania-samia-strips-polepole-of-diplomatic-status-amid-widening-ccm-rift/
1/ HRF urges Uganda’s regime to immediately #FreeBobNjagi and #FreeNicholasOyoo, two Kenyan human rights activists, who have been forcibly disappeared since their Oct. 1 abduction by armed security personnel in the Ugandan capital Kampala.
2/ On Oct. 1, heavily armed individuals—some in police uniform, others in plainclothes—forced Kenyan activists @bobnjagi and Oyoo into a van at a petrol station in Kampala. The duo had just attended a rally of Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kn205174po
3/ On Oct. 6, Ugandan police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke denied that Njagi and Oyoo were in police custody. Both activists are leaders of the Free Kenya Movement and had expressed in supporting Wine’s campaign to challenge dictator Yoweri Museveni’s 40-year grip on power ahead of Uganda’s January 2025 elections. https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/special-reports/elections/two-kenyan-rights-activists-missing-after-bobi-rally-5215596
4/ In August 2024, Kenya’s regime abducted and forcibly disappeared Njagi for 32 days in retaliation for his participation in nationwide mass protests against an unpopular tax bill. https://khrc.or.ke/press-release/we-were-forcefully-disappeared-and-tortured-but-we-refuse-to-be-broken/
1/ On 22-24 Sept., HRF co-sponsored and participated for the first time in the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica), the largest continental digital rights conference dubbed “The RightsCon of Africa.” The 2025 edition (#FIFAfrica25) took place in Windhoek, Namibia.
3/ HRF hosted another panel moderated by Senior Africa Policy Officer Mohamed Keita on digital dissent in the AI era with Togolese pro-democracy activist Farida Nabourema (@Farida_N), Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire (@AAgather) and Kenyan civic technologist Kelvin Ndemo (@NdemoKelvin).
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1/ HRF expresses concern surrounding the Hong Kong government’s use of the amended Film Censorship Ordinance to suppress freedom of expression. HRF calls for transparency in censorship decisions and urges for an independent audit of how “national security” assessments are made.
2/ The ordinance was last amended in Oct. 2021 to include national security clauses, mandating all films to be reviewed and approved by the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) before public screenings. The government can demand content removals, revoke approvals retroactively, and conduct warrantless searches.
3/ According to a local newspaper, more than 39,000 films were submitted for review since 2021. Only 104 were reportedly allowed to be screened after content edits. Of the 104, 50 were modified due to “national security” concerns. 13 titles were banned from screening. https://hongkongfp.com/2025/10/08/hong-kong-bars-13-films-from-screening-on-national-security-grounds-since-2021-censorship-law/
4/ Hong Kong’s film censorship is an example of how authoritarians extend their “rule-by-law” control into pop culture to normalize self-censorship and accelerate the erosion of fundamental freedoms.
1/ HRF welcomes Burmese civil society’s efforts to pursue legal action to hold the Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor accountable for reportedly sharing data with the military. HRF remains gravely concerned about corporate complicity in the junta’s rights violations.
2/ After the 2021 coup, Telenor sold its Burma operations to Lebanese firm M1 Group and military-linked conglomerate Shwe Byain Phyu (SBP) — reportedly granting “unfettered access” of customer data to the junta. Activists claim that Telenor failed to delete sensitive data before the sale. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/7/myanmar-activists-to-sue-norways-telenor-for-handing-data-to-military
3/ In August 2025, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) also reported that Telenor repeatedly handed over data — including names, addresses, locations, and other personal information — to the Burmese military, which has been used to identify and arrest dissidents. https://www.somo.nl/telenors-irresponsible-disengagement-from-myanmar/
4/ To understand the Burmese military’s escalating violence since the February 2021 coup and how the international community can support Burma’s struggle for democracy, watch @OsloFF former speaker @MissWHPT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIKYibRAeRM
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