Tag: persecution of activists

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.

During a press conference on 11 October 2019, representatives and proxies of ODF presented 20 lawsuits filed against pro-government politicians, journalists, activists and media organisations in connection with a “mass propaganda campaign” they were supposed to launch against the Foundation.

Let me tell you how I feel as a foreigner married to a Pole perceived by the Polish authorities as their public enemy, after my family and I have gone through real hell caused by the ruling Law and Justice Party. On 5 September the Regional Administrative Court in Warsaw reversed the decisions issued by […]

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.

We fully sympathise with civic activist Tomasz Sikora, member of Citizens of Poland [Polish: Obywatele RP] movement, who, on 3 July 2019, was illegally sentenced to two months of community service by the District Court in Warsaw (5th Criminal Division).

The Open Dialogue Foundation monitors cases of persecution during peaceful protests in Kazakhstan. This article contains the lists of persons detained and convicted from 1 May to 12 June 2019. The lists were compiled based on information from the Facebook group #IHaveAChoice #ActivistsNotExtremists.

On June 12 and 13, in Brussels, the 2019 edition of the Civil Society Days event took place at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). This event represents the cooperation between the EESC and the members of the Liaison Group representing European civil society organisations and networks

On June 12 and 13, in Brussels, the 2019 edition of the Civil Society Days event took place at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). This event represents the cooperation between the EESC and the members of the Liaison Group representing European civil society organisations and networks