• Kazakhstan: Drop Religious Incitement Charges
    May 21, 2013
    Kazakh authorities should drop criminal charges against a journalist and immediately release him from a psychiatric clinic where he is under forced observation. On May 13, 2013, a court in the journalist’s hometown extended his detention until June 14.
    Press release
  • Russia: More than 50 Groups Targeted
    May 21, 2013
    Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland should urge Russian leaders to end the crackdown on civil society groups during his visit to Russia. Jagland is in Moscow on May 19 to 22, 2013 for meetings with President Vladimir Putin and the Russian parliament.
    Press release
  • Kyrgyzstan: Protect Uzbek Defendant
    May 16, 2013
    Courtroom violence during a hearing in the case of an ethnic Uzbek on trial for alleged crimes during the June 2010 ethnic violence seriously undermines his right to fair trial. Such violence and hostility has occurred repeatedly during the trial, which began in September 2011, and at other trials of ethnic Uzbeks linked to the 2010 violence.
    Press release
  • Azerbaijan: Reject Legislative Amendments
    May 16, 2013
    Recent amendments to Azerbaijani legislation violate the government’s international commitments and would limit free expression. President Ilham Aliyev should veto the amendments and ensure that no one is punished for exercising fundamental rights.
    Press release
  • Hungary: Rule of Law Under Threat
    May 16, 2013
    The systemic changes to Hungary’s legal framework introduced by the government since 2010 weaken legal checks on its authority, interfere with media freedom, and undermine human rights protections, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
    Press release
  • Russia: Investigate Homophobic Motivation for Killing
    May 15, 2013
    Russian authorities should ensure that the investigation into the murder of a young man in southern Russia includes whether he was murdered because his killers believed or claimed he was gay. Investigative authorities should examine all possible motives for the killing, including homophobia, due to the sadistic homophobic aspects of the crime.
    Press release
  • Ukraine: New Breakthrough for Incurably Ill
    May 15, 2013
    Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers’ approval of new regulations on access to pain medicines will dramatically expand healthcare services for patients with incurable illnesses and reduce unnecessary suffering, Human Rights Watch said today.
    Press release
  • Kyrgyzstan: Rights Defender, Family Beaten
    May 14, 2013
    Kyrgyz authorities should ensure a thorough and effective investigation into the vicious physical assault on Ulugbek Azimov, a prominent Bishkek human rights lawyer, and members of his family.
    Press release
  • Russia: “Foreign Agents” Law Hits Hundreds of NGOs
    May 14, 2013
    Starting in early March 2013 the Russian government launched a nationwide campaign of inspections of nongovernmental organizations, unprecedented in its scale and scope.
    Press release
  • Uzbekistan: 8 Years After Massacre, No Justice
    May 13, 2013
    The United States and the European Union (EU) should not allow strategic interests to distort reality about the Uzbek government’s deplorable rights record. The eighth anniversary of the government massacre at Andijan is the week of May 13, 2013.
    Press release