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Russian authorities should immediately release Oleg Orlov – Russian and international human rights groups
Russian and international human rights organisations, including Human Rights House Foundation, condemn Moscow’s Golovinsky District Court’s sentencing today of Oleg Orlov, co-chair of Human Rights Defense Center Memorial, to 2 years and 6 months in prison on politically motivated charges of “repeatedly discrediting” Russia’s armed forces.
“Russian military aggression followed by the full-scale invasion is all due to impunity, which began with Crimea… we still don’t know where it might lead in the end.”
On 26 February Ukraine marks the Day of Resistance to Occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol. Ten years ago on that day thousands of Crimean activists gathered outside the Crimean Parliament to show resistance against Russian occupation and in support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. This resistance still continues today in different forms. In this interview, HRHF asked four prominent Crimean human rights defenders and representatives of Human Rights House Crimea member organisations, to reflect on the situation in Crimea over the past decade and share their perspectives about the future.
Statement on the 10th Anniversary of Crimea’s Resistance to Russian Occupation
On the 10th anniversary of the Russian occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Human Rights House Crimea, alongside its member organisations, and Human Rights House Foundation, reaffirms our unwavering commitment to the rights and freedoms of the people of the temporarily occupied Crimea. We demand justice and accountability for the egregious violations of human rights that have transpired since 2014 and have intensified since February 2022.
“The perpetrators of human rights violations and war crimes must be held accountable… we won’t stop [until then].”
Ahead of the second anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, HRHF spoke with Ukrainian human rights defender Liudmyla Yankina about the main challenges facing civil society, and the situation for human rights in Ukraine. We also discussed what has changed over the last two years through the prism of her work protecting representatives of civil society.
300+ NGOs urge UN to ensure defenders can continue to participate online
Over 300 organisations including Human Rights House Foundation sent a joint letter to UN representatives calling on them to ensure live online modalities of participation for UN human rights bodies and mechanisms in light of concerns regarding access and participation of civil society in these spaces. Read the letter below.
Human rights in Republika Srpska are at a “crucial point”
Authorities in Republika Srpska, one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, aim to introduce Russian-style “foreign-agent” legislation, amidst an alarming deterioration in the situation for human rights in the region. In this interview with HRHF, human rights defender Tanja Boromisa, discusses what these developments mean for Republika Srpska, the wider region, and more.
Leanid Sudalenka: “Who will be responsible for the death of Ales Pushkin? What will we do if one morning we find out that Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski has passed away [in prison]?”
On 21 July 2023, prominent human rights defender Leanid Sudalenka was released following two and a half years behind bars in Belarus. In this interview with Human Rights House Foundation, marking six months since his release, Sudalenka shares his experiences from unjust imprisonment to forced exile and discusses the dependence of Lukashenka’s regime on continuous repressions against Belarusian civil society.
Oleksandr Larin: A house by the sea, 17 checkpoints and volunteering to rebuild Ukrainian homes
Oleksandr Larin is a pensioner from Mariupol, Ukraine. In this interview, originally published in Ukrainian by Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv, Larin discusses fleeing his home following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as volunteering to help provide humanitarian aid to people whose homes were damaged/destroyed.
HRC: The situation for Ukrainians detained by the Russian Federation
On 19 December 2023, HRHF delivered a statement at the UN Human Rights Council highlighting the situation for those unjustly detained or imprisoned in Crimea.