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In September 2020, the prominent Belarusian opposition figure Maryia Kalesnikava was abducted from Minsk and taken to the border where security forces tried to expel her from the country; she ripped up her passport in defiance. In the days that followed she was charged with incitement to undermine national security and placed in pre-trial detention. The letter that follows was written by Maryia Kalesnikava to her father on 16 July 2021, the day the Supreme Court rejected her complaint regarding the extension of her detention until 1 August.

2020 was a year of unprecedented challenges in the wake of COVID-19. In our annual report, discover how Human Rights House Foundation and the network of Human Rights Houses adapted to meet these new challenges and continue our work together to advance human rights at home and abroad.

Human Rights House Foundation condemns the latest attacks against women human rights defenders in Azerbaijan, including the abhorrent practise of targeting their privacy. We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately stop the violations of the freedom of assembly and expression of their citizens, as well as to take steps to ensure the protection of all human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders and young human rights defenders.

“The very first women-only protest happened at midday on Wednesday, 12 August 2020. Women all dressed in white gathered in central Minsk, to show that we protesters are peaceful, and we are against violence.”

Three organisations working on women’s rights in different countries have connected to share experience and advocacy strategies for combatting gender-based violence.

Discover in our 2019/20 annual report how Human Rights House Foundation protected and advanced the rights of human rights defenders, strengthened independent civil society, and supported a strong, active network of Human Rights Houses.

The network of Human Rights Houses is concerned by recent actions on the part of state authorities across western and eastern Europe, the western Balkans, and the Caucasus in response to the escalating COVID-19 crisis. These actions, taken to combat the rising number of infections and deaths associated with COVID-19, raise questions about states’ commitments to civic freedoms and human rights.

Human Rights House Foundation welcomes the appointment of Mary Lawlor as the new United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders. The appointment was made during the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council.

On Friday 17 January 2020, the “Portraits of Strength” jury unanimously chose Georgian photographer Salome Sagaradze’s photograph of Baia Pataraia of Human Rights House Tbilisi as the competition’s winner.