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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.

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.

2 October 2025 marks six months since former political prisoner Andrei Chapiuk was released from prison in Belarus, and since he left the country for his safety. This month also marks five years since he was imprisoned. In this interview with HRHF, Chapiuk discussed adjusting to life outside of prison and in a new country, as well as the human rights situation in Belarus and his colleagues still behind bars.

Since 2023, Azerbaijan has been conducting its most comprehensive crackdown against civil society in its post-independence history. With the majority of human rights defenders, journalists, and lawyers in exile or behind bars, the few that remain are unable to operate in a civic space that defenders describe as transitioning from “shrinking” to “closing”. In 2025, Human Rights House Foundation discussed the situation with representatives of Azerbaijani civil society in exile, as well as those who remain despite severe and increasing risks.

With human rights crises unfolding in neighbouring Azerbaijan and Georgia, Armenia remains the story of hope for human rights and freedoms in the South Caucasus, but civil society in the country faces many challenges. In this interview, HRHF spoke to Arpy Manusyan, President and Research Director of Socioscope NGO (a member organisation of Human Rights House Yerevan), on issues ranging from the apathy in society following the second Nagorno-Karabakh war, to increasingly disappointing rhetoric surrounding next year’s elections, and what role Armenian civil society can play in reconnecting with the public.

After four years of legal struggle, Moldova’s first independent medical workers’ union wins a landmark Supreme Court case as a result of sustained capacity building and advocacy support.

On 21 May, HRHF, alongside PEN Belarus, published a poem by Tacniana Niadbaj, poet, writer & human rights defender. The publication of the poem marked the Day of Political Prisoners in Belarus.

In recent months, Serbia has witnessed some of the largest protests in its modern history. With slogans like “Corruption kills” and “Pumpaj!” (“Pump it!”) students have emerged as the driving force behind these leaderless demonstrations, supported by the wider civil society while intentionally distancing themselves from it. In this op-ed, Uroš Jovanović from Civic Initiatives – a member organisation of Human Rights House Belgrade – explores the roots of the protests, the strategies used to intimidate civil society, and the muted response of international actors.

In 2024, HRHF offered one-on-one support for advocates from the Network of Human Rights Houses as part of its strategic coaching and mentoring work. This included working closely with partners like Anastasiya Dziubanava from the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, who was involved in advocating on two key resolution processes on Belarus at the UN Human Rights Council on the establishment of the Group of Independent Experts and the renewal of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate. In this interview, Dziubanava shares insight into these processes.