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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.

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.

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.

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.

With reference to upcoming Human Rights Council elections in October, Human Rights House Foundation delivered a statement at HRC54 on 29 September 2023, repeating condemnation of Russia’s application for Council membership, and underlining that no State which retaliates against civil society for engaging with the UN should be a Council member.

Human Rights House Foundation and several INGOs call on States to support the renewal of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation during the upcoming 54th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

On 28 June 2023, Human Rights House Foundation delivered a statement at the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council highlighting increasing impunity or lack of accountability for violations of the freedom of assembly and association, citing the situations in Russia, Belarus and Azerbaijan as examples of the growing challenge in the wider Eastern Europe region.

On 26 June 2023 Human Rights House Foundation delivered a statement at HRC53 on the challenges faced by human rights lawyers, particularly in Azerbaijan, as well as raising concerns about the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) in Europe. HRHF also asked the Special Rapporteur for recommendations for judges and lawyers that have had to flee their countries including Belarus and Russia.

The environment for human rights defenders and organisations in Russia is increasingly dire. In this report, Human Rights House Foundation outlines the impact of the sweeping crackdown and use of increasingly restrictive and repressive legislation in Russia on the work of Russian civil society domestically and internationally, providing recommendations to the international community and the Russian authorities.