Photos and a video of Viktar Babaryka were published by blogger Raman Pratasevich on Jan. 8 after the jailed Belarusian opposition leader was held incommunicado since February 2023.
President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed human rights activist Olha Reshetylova to the newly-created position of military ombudsman on Dec. 30.
In his latest book, “On Freedom,” American scholar Timothy Snyder establishes a thought-provoking distinction between the word "liberation" and the Ukrainian wartime variant "de-occupation" to probe the fraught but necessary question: When is a person truly free? Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine has left countless settlements in ruins and displaced
Editor's Note: This story was sponsored by Gender Zed, a Ukrainian human rights organization that works with a broad range of issues, including sexual orientation and gender identity, gender equality issues, women’s rights, and prevention of HIV infection and sexually transmitted diseases. Andrii Kovalenko, 35, and his partner are
Two Belarusians and one Ukrainian were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 11 to 25 years by Belarusian authorities for their alleged involvement in preparing terrorist acts, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported on Dec. 19.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for 30 years, is looking to reelect himself for the seventh time. In the run-up to the January 2025 presidential elections, Lukashenko has pardoned prisoners convicted of extremism, claiming that it was a "humane gesture" toward those who had "gone astray.
The sanctions target judges who sentenced opposition figures, law enforcement officials involved in persecuting dissidents, and heads of penitentiaries where political prisoners are held.
In Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus, helping to defend Ukraine against Russia gets you labeled as a terrorist. Vasil Verameichyk, a Belarusian who enlisted in Ukraine's Armed Forces just four days after Russia launched its all-out war, was detained on Nov. 13 in Vietnam in a suspected covert operation by Belarusian secret
Starting in 2025, Ukrainians with diabetes, bronchial asthma, and other illnesses in Russian-occupied territories will lose access to free medications unless they acquire Russian passports, according to the Eastern Human Rights Group.
The Prosecutor General's Office claimed that the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) "carries out work aimed at discrediting Russia on a Hollywood scale."
Liza Dmitrieva, a four-year-old girl with Down’s syndrome, was walking with her mother to a speech therapy appointment in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on July 14, 2022. As her mother filmed her playfully pushing her stroller, she didn’t know that those were to be the last
Russia's foreign minister said on July 17 that there is "irrefutable evidence" that imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is guilty of espionage, one day before the journalist is scheduled to appear in court.
Editor’s note: This story was sponsored by Common Sense Communications, a Ukrainian non-profit organization specializing in pro-democracy strategic communications. One of their ongoing projects is “Voices of Civilian Hostages,” which aims to attract the world’s attention to the issue of Russia’s illegal abduction of Ukrainian civilians. Yaroslav
The Netherlands's Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp and Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans met with President Volodymyr Zelensky during their first diplomatic visit to Ukraine, announcing additional aid for Ukraine human rights investigations and missing persons forensics on July 7.
U.N. human rights advocates believe that Russia violated international law by imprisoning Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and should release him "immediately."
Russian authorities are being accused of systemically depriving Russian political prisoners and government critics of contact with families in order to ensure cooperation and "impose additional suffering on them and their families," an Amnesty International report released on June 26 charged.
Key developments on June 25: * International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Russia's Shoigu, Gerasimov * Czech PM confirms Ukraine received first batch of shells under Prague-led initiative * European Court of Human Rights finds Russia guilty of violating human rights in occupied Crimea * Ukraine brings back 90 POWs from Russian captivity
The new sanctions target high-level officials in Russia's investigative agency, penitentiary service, and police force who played a role in the abuse and death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
A seven-judge panel ruled unanimously that the law violates the convention's articles regarding freedom of assembly and association and freedom of expression.
The KyivPride march will occur on June 16 in the streets of Kyiv. Around 500 participants, including activists, diplomats, and international community representatives, will participate.
The European Union has established a new sanctions regime against Russia in connection with the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the "accelerating and systematic repression in Russia," the Council of the EU announced on May 27.
Russia's "undesirable organization" law was adopted in 2015, effectively banning cooperation with about 160 organizations included on the list since then.
Ukraine's human rights activist Mariia Sulialina has won the 2024 Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award, the organization announced on April 25. Sulialina, who heads the Ukrainian human rights organization Almenda, has been documenting Russia's war crimes against children.
Ukraine registers almost 37,000 people who are considered missing, including children, other civilians, and military personnel, Ukraine's Chief Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on April 16.
According to the Viasna human rights group, Aliaksandr Kulinich is the sixth political prisoner to die behind bars in Belarus in the last two years.
France suffered one of the darkest days in its modern history on Nov. 13, 2015, when over 130 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in a devastating terrorist attack in Paris. The epicenter of the attack was the Bataclan Theater, where a concert was taking place. Terrorists entered
The regional court in Belarus' Homyel sentenced Ukrainian citizen Nataliia Zakharenko to nine years in prison on espionage charges, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported on March 15, citing its sources and Zakharenko's relatives.
The Moscow Mechanism allows for an expert mission to be dispatched and assist a country "in the resolution of a particular question or problem relating to the human dimension."
The new proposed legislation would expand the list to include foreign state-funded organizations, such as media outlets like the BBC or Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
The main building of the Kyiv City State Administration was illuminated with LGBTQ pride colors on the evening of Dec. 10, Human Rights Day. Initiated by two non-profit organizations, Amnesty International and KyivPride, the effort aimed to draw public attention to the pressing issue of homophobic and transphobic crimes in
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