On 15 April 2021, ODF co-hosted an online conference on the new EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime and the effectiveness of personal (targeted) sanctions in safeguarding human rights. The event was co-organised in partnership with the Italian Federation for Human Rights, the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Freedom Kazakhstan Foundation and the Global Committee for […]
In a letter addressed to the government of Belgium, Senator Mark Demesmaeker, member of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) and formerly Member of the European Parliament, has expressed his support for Bartosz Kramek and his opposition to the senseless and politically motivated persecution carried out by the Polish government against him and the Open Dialogue […]
19 people came to the District Court in Lublin to post PLN 300 thousand bail for Bartosz Kramek. – As I was leaving the jail, a prison guard wished me “good luck fighting the regime”. — I am grateful to all those who vouched for me, verbally and financially. Thank you and let’s keep fighting. […]
We are writing to express our deep concern about the detention of Mr Bartosz Kramek, a Polish activist and the Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF), a Poland-based international NGO on the frontlines of the fight for the rule of law in the country.
On 12-13 July our representative Maksym Sytnikov participated at the OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting (SHDM). SHDM is a platform for the OSCE Participating States and civil society to discuss progress made by the former in implementing OSCE commitments. The latest meeting was devoted to Digital Technologies and Human Rights. During the first session Maksym […]
On 29 June, MEPs Petras Auštrevičius (Renew), Nieklas Nienass (Greens), Isabel Santos (S&D), Helmuth Scholz (The Left), and Róża Thun und Hohenstein (EPP) have signed an appeal to Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to demand the liberation of political prisoner Bekizhan Mendygaziyev and the end of all acts of political persecution against his brother, human rights […]
Or maybe they are turning their heads away, because they turn their heads as a result of the Kremlin-PiS propaganda. Since June 23, a political prisoner of the PiS party, Bartosz Kramek from the Open Dialogue Foundation, has been held in detention. On July 8, time runs out for him to pay PLN 300,000 bail, which would allow […]
Why did the Internal Security Agency detain the Head of the Open Dialogue Foundation Board? The Polish authorities are fighting human rights defenders: On 23 June 2021 at 11 a.m. Bartosz Kramek, Head of the Open Dialogue Foundation Board, was detained by officers of the Internal Security Agency Delegation in Lublin on order of the […]
On Wednesday, officers of the Internal Security Agency detained Bartosz Kramek, a social activist and husband of Lyudmyla Kozlovska – the President of the Open Dialogue Foundation, who was expelled from Poland in 2018. He is to face charges of false statements regarding the provision of consulting services in the amount of PLN 5.3 million. […]
This morning, officers of the Internal Security Agency detained Bartosz Kramek, a social activist and husband of Lyudmyla Kozlovska – the President of the Open Dialogue Foundation, who was expelled from Poland in 2018. He is to face charges of false statements regarding the provision of consulting services in the amount of PLN 5.3 million. […]
The Internal Security Agency detained Bartosz Kramek on the order of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin. “We regard this as another act of political persecution of the Foundation by institutions subordinated to the PiS party,” commented the Open Dialogue Foundation. The Foundation has announced that Bartosz Kramek was detained on June 23 by order […]
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.
Since 2010, the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) has been monitoring the human rights situation in Kazakhstan, partnering up with foreign missions on the ground – including the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan – to ensure a continuous dialogue with civil society on serious human rights concerns in the country. However, in sharp contrast with our experience in reaching out to the EU Delegations to Moldova, Ukraine and Russia, we regret to notice that, starting from 2018, the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan – and particularly Mr Zoltan Szalai, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation – has shown reticence in engaging in high profile cases and as well as cooperation with the Foundation, its partner NGOs and volunteers on the ground. Below we summarise the debunking of the most common arguments which have been used against the Foundation to discredit its human rights work.
This morning, 4 July 2020, Iskander Yerimbetov, Kazakhstani political prisoner released on 30 December of last year, arrived at the Geneva Airport, Switzerland, after he was granted a humanitarian visa. ODF, the Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU) and his family warmly welcomed him at the airport, congratulating Iskander for this long-awaited day. This is […]
The coronavirus outbreak was labelled a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020. As of 22 June 2020, the WHO had reported cases of COVID-19 in more than 216 countries and more than 8,844,171 people infected worldwide.
