Op-Ed Oct 29, 2026 The Digital Ruble Gives the Kremlin a Kill Switch for Dissent Russians deserve to know what their own Central Bank is asking them to opt into. The Russian central bank digital currency (CBDC) began its nationwide rollout in September.
Newsletter Oct 29, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #144 In Russia, we examine the first two months of the nationwide digital ruble rollout and the state’s efforts to restrict alternatives.
Blog Post Oct 29, 2026 Dispatches from Detention: Vadim Kobzev & Alexei Liptser On Oct. 13, 2023, Vadim Kobzev and Alexei Liptser were arrested on so-called “extremism” charges because they had worked as lawyers for the late Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.
Newsletter Oct 22, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #143 In Russia, the regime will ban peer-to-peer (P2P) digital asset trading between individuals starting July 1, 2027. After that date, Russians will still be “legally” allowed to buy and sell digital assets, including bitcoin, but only through state-regulated intermediaries.
Newsletter Oct 16, 2026 HRF’s AI for Individual Rights Newsletter #22 This week, we examine an investigation into the growing influence of the UAE’s national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, over the country’s AI future.
Newsletter Oct 15, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #142 In Iraq, the regime devalued the dinar by about 14.5% overnight, pushing up the cost of imported food, medicine, and fuel while eroding the value of salaries and savings.
Human Rights Dispatch Oct 13, 2026 Kremlin Targets Navalny’s Defense Team Three Years On, Morocco Marks Year of Brutal GenZ Suppression Today marks three years since Vadim Kobzev and Alexei Liptser, two of the lawyers who defended the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, were arrested and imprisoned in Russia.
Press Release Oct 13, 2026 Navalny’s Lawyers mark 3 years since arrest NEW YORK (Oct. 13, 2026) — Three years ago today, Russian police arrested Vadim Kobzev and Alexei Liptser, two of the lawyers for the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) marks this anniversary by calling for the immediate release of Kobzev and Liptser, who remain imprisoned in harsh conditions in Russian penal colonies solely for doing their jobs as lawyers.
Human Rights Dispatch Oct 8, 2026 Vietnam Abducts Activists in Cambodia, India Mass-Detains Protesters, HRF Remembers Anna Politkovskaya HRF expresses deep concern over the mass detention of at least 700 protesters by Delhi police during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests at Jantar Mantar.
Newsletter Oct 8, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #141 In India, Apple removed Bitchat from the country’s App Store after the government ordered the company to block the offline messaging app.
Newsletter Oct 1, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #140 This week reminds us how fragile financial access can be in difficult political environments. In Iran, Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi announced that the regime had identified and frozen 2,191 bank accounts belonging to 394 people accused of collaborating with a “hostile enemy.”
Newsletter Oct 1, 2026 Tyranny Tracker Newsletter #2 In August, the Putin regime designated HRF and its work as “undesirable,” criminalizing HRF’s work inside Russia and threatening anyone who engages with it — including Russian citizens living abroad — with fines and imprisonment.
Newsletter Sep 24, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #139 In Russia, organizers of an international youth festival reportedly created multiple versions of the internet, including an unrestricted network for foreign visitors and a censored one for Russian citizens.
Newsletter Sep 18, 2026 HRF’s AI for Individual Rights Newsletter #18 This week, China’s top civilian intelligence official warned that artificial intelligence (AI) could pose a security threat to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule. He pointed to risks including AI-generated political content against the CCP, AI-powered cyberattacks, and sensitive data leaks, while calling for tighter state control over AI.
Report Sep 17, 2026 Manipulation of Sustainable Development: Framing of the UN SDGs by Authoritarian Regimes The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are global sustainability benchmarks adopted by the United Nations in 2015 to guide an inclusive and sustainable transformation by 2030.
Human Rights Dispatch Sep 14, 2026 Venezuela Digital Blackout, Cuba Rearrests Dissidents, and WP Engine Blocks HRF Tracker HRF condemns the Cuban regime’s systematic persecution of critics and dissidents and its ongoing revictimization of former political prisoners. Andy García and all other prisoners of conscience held on politically motivated charges must be released immediately.
Newsletter Sep 10, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #137 El Salvador’s $1.4 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan is moving forward after officials reduced the government’s role in Bitcoin infrastructure. Majority ownership and control of the state-backed Chivo wallet have shifted to a private operator, while the IMF says recent additions to the country’s Bitcoin holdings came from private donations rather than public funds.
Press Release Sep 9, 2026 HRF Condemns WP Engine for Blocking the Tyranny Tracker in Russia at the Kremlin’s Behest NEW YORK (Sept. 9, 2026) — The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) condemns the decision by Austin-based WP Engine to block access from Russia to tyrannytracker.org, the website of HRF’s Tyranny Tracker, at the demand of Roskomnadzor, the Russian Federation’s censorship agency.
Human Rights Dispatch Sep 9, 2026 WP Engine Geo-Blocks Tyranny Tracker in Russia On Sept. 3, Roskomnadzor notified WP Engine that HRF’s Tyranny Tracker “violates the national laws of Russia” and demanded that access to the site be restricted in Russia.
Newsletter Sep 3, 2026 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #136 In Russia, officials sentenced a senior programmer to a four-year suspended sentence for donating $21 to the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF). Leonid Stepanov was convicted using his own bank statements, showing how the Kremlin weaponizes financial surveillance and demonstrating precisely why alternative payment rails like Bitcoin matter in the struggle for democracy.
