Tag: persecution of activists

A debate during the European Parliament’s plenary session on February 11, 2021, led to the adoption of an urgent resolution concerning the human rights situation in Kazakhstan. The MEPs voted in favour of one of the strongest appeals ever issued by the EP, firmly condemning the current situation in the country. The resolution is a […]

Kazakh regime flexes its muscles in the run-up to the January elections Tightening the authoritarian grip (source: Int. media coverage) Despite the encouraging news of Kazakhstan abolishing the death penalty on Jan 2nd, the wider picture is not all so rosy. With the elections approaching, the authorities put further pressure on the civil society – […]

Please, listen to the citizens of Kazakhstan January 10, 2021, is upon us, and with it comes a critical time for Kazakhstani civil society. With the parliamentary election looming large, the authorities are trying to ruthlessly silence any voice of dissent. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan plays a deceptive game with the international community by inviting – to […]

On 25 November 2020, 6 members of the Italian Parliament addressed President Tokayev with a letter, expressing their deep concern about the worrying state of fundamental freedoms in Kazakhstan; the mass repression puts Kazakhstan’s international credibility and its intention of becoming a ‘listening state’ (i.e. open to dialogue with civil society) at stake right before its parliamentary election.

Over the last 2.5 years, the authorities of Kazakhstan have arbitrarily detained over 7,000 peaceful protesters, which is an unprecedented amount in the history of the country.

On 12 November 2020, the FightBack legal self-help chat-bot was presented in Kyiv, which was designed to provide free assistance to victims of law enforcement agencies’ inaction and to collect information about the cases of inaction. The chat-bot was created as a result of a series of interviews with activists who were victims of violent attacks in different regions of Ukraine after 2014.

On 9 November 2020, during the Second Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting (SHDM), our advocacy officer, Katarzyna Szczypska, urged the OSCE bodies to pressure the Polish authorities to stop using blasphemy laws to police speech.

On October 16, 2020, two letters signed by twenty-four MEPs representing 14 EU Member States addressed Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in the context of the extremely worrying human rights trend in the country.

In authoritarian Kazakhstan, civil society representatives are subjected to arbitrary detention, criminal prosecution, imprisonment and torture for public and human rights activities, participation in peaceful protests and criticism of the authorities through social networks.

Osservatorio Diritti, an Italian media outlet dedicated to human rights and human rights defenders worldwide, has published an analysis of Kazakhstan’s mismanagement of the pandemic from the perspective of civil society.  The article features interviews with Paola Gaffurini, Advocacy Officer at the Open Dialogue Foundation, Dana Zhanay, Kazakhstani human rights defender and co-founder of Qaharman […]

The case of Daria El Zhed, a Russian opposition activist, has become one more example of political persecution against members and leaders of the Open Russia opposition movement. This movement was founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a long-time opponent of the Russian authoritarian regime. Daria El Zhed asked for political asylum in Austria. Now she may have to face extradition from Austria to Russia, where she will be tortured and subject to unfair investigation and trial.

This report includes, among else, direct observations made during a human rights monitoring mission to Ukraine in the period between 16–19 March 2019. The mission was held at the invitation of representatives of Ukrainian civil society. The mission visited Odessa and Kyiv, where a number of meetings were held with civil society activists, human rights activists, experts, relatives of Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia, political refugees, Ukrainian officials, and diplomats accredited in the country. In addition to the meetings, the mission participants monitored a peaceful protest in Odessa on 16 March, 2019 and attended a round table in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 18 March 2019.

We, human rights organisations, call upon law enforcement authorities to investigate fairly the circumstances of attacks on Serhiy Sternenko. We would also ask politicians, officials and other parties not involved in the proceedings to refrain from interfering in the investigation.

This report examines the cases of 39 individuals who are currently subject to politically motivated criminal prosecution in Kazakhstan. Among them, 21 are political prisoners who remain in prisons or pre-trial detention facilities.

The Open Dialogue Foundation has managed to gather the names of 136 police officers, investigators, security officers, prosecutors and judges who participated in politically motivated prosecutions of peaceful protesters.