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Azerbaijan: Unlawfully detained women journalists face sexual violence amidst on-going crackdown on civil society
HRHF joins international human rights and media freedom organisations in expressing serious concern regarding the recent letter of Azerbaijani journalist Aysel Umudova sent to media outlets from Baku Pre-trial Investigation Facility, in which she has reported being subjected to sexual harassment and ill-treatment by police officers during her arrest on 6 December 2024. Umudova’s letter published in December 2025 echoes the earlier case of a journalist and human rights defender, Ulviyya (Ali) Guliyeva, who faced arbitrary detention, torture, and explicit rape threats by a police officer while in police custody on 6 May 2025.
Georgia: HRHF welcomes invocation of OSCE human rights mechanism to investigate violations and democratic backsliding
Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) welcomes today’s action by 24 OSCE participating States to invoke an independent human rights mechanism to report on the Georgian Dream government’s systematic attacks on human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Ongoing Russian violations in Ukraine challenge UN values and obstruct any chance of sustainable peace
At the UN, HRHF underscored Russia’s occupation of Crimea as marked by widespread abuses, eroding prospects for peace, reconciliation and global security. This statement was delivered during an interactive dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on his quarterly report on Ukraine.
Laila Bokhari (1974-2025)
We are saddened by the passing of our board member Laila Bokhari on Friday 12 December 2025. We are grateful to Laila for the years of expertise and principled guidance that she brought to HRHF’s board since joining in 2019. A distinguished political scientist, diplomat, and politician, Laila devoted decades to human rights. We extend our deepest condolences to her family.
“Many people in Crimea are searching for loved ones abducted by Russia’s FSB”
An interview with a human rights defender from Crimea on enforced disappearances in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, the situation for those unjustly detained and the power of letters.
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Serbia: “The government’s ‘expecting violence’ rhetoric is a clear warning sign… that they’re preparing to create it.”
In November, Serbia marks one year since the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse, and the subsequent student protests sparked by it. Today, despite growing international attention, concerns over the country’s human rights situation are deepening, and civil society warns about escalating repression as the government responds to dissent. Human Rights House Foundation spoke with Jovana Spremo, Advocacy Director at the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM), about this situation and more.
Vi stenger døren for dem som forsvarer menneskerettighetene
Det har blitt langt vanskeligere for menneskerettighetsforsvarere å få visum til Norge og andre Schengen-land. Dermed hindres de i å delta der beslutningene tas, og vi bidrar til å svekke kampen for rettigheter og demokrati.
“Defending human rights in Russia is a lonely, exhausting, and often dangerous path. But some of us are still here—because someone has to be.”
Defending human rights inside the Russian Federation in 2025 means waking up every morning and choosing to continue despite the fear of a life-changing knock on the door. This year, Human Rights House Foundation interviewed a Russian human rights defender who continues to live and work inside Russia despite increasing repression and risks. We are not identifying the HRD and using the “their” pronoun to protect the person’s identity. This is their testimony, edited for clarity and coherence.