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Asylum Rights Thrown into a Frozen Ditch on Poland-Belarus Border

European Commission Proposes Measures “To Apply the Fiction of Non-Entry”

As families huddle to keep warm in the forests along the Poland-Belarus border, some of them nursing wounds from violent ping-pong pushbacks, the European Commission has proposed a plan to make a horrible situation even worse. On December 1, the…
Blankets and sleeping bags strewn across a forest floor
News

Belarus’s Political Crackdown Affects Everyday Life

Residents of Hrodna Speak of “Destroyed” Livelihood

This October, my colleague and I spent a few days in Hrodna, Belarus’s fifth largest city and a key cultural hub, documenting abuses against migrants, mainly from the Middle East, who came through there on their way to the Polish border. Central…
View of the Catholic Church in Hrodna, Belarus. 
Report

“Die Here or Go to Poland”

Summary Thousands of people are stuck in a desperate limbo at the border of Belarus and Poland in circumstances that violate their rights, in some cases egregiously, and put their lives at risk. Encouraged by local travel agents in the Middle East to…
News

Belarus/Poland: Abuse, Pushbacks At Border

Ensure Humanitarian Access, Protect People from Violence

(Brussels) – The crisis at the Belarus-Poland border is leading to serious human rights violations against migrants and asylum seekers by both governments, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 26-page report, “‘Die Here or Go to…
Two women and a child huddle in sleeping bags on the forest floor after crossing the Polish-Belarusian border near Michalowo on October 6, 2021.
News

Evicted from Their Office, Al Jazeera Works from a Front Yard in Tunisia

Authorities Arbitrarily Target Media and Critics

I first met Lotfi Hajji some 15 years ago, after Tunisian authorities under President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali had refused a request by Al Jazeera, the Qatar-funded pan-Arab television station, to accredit the Tunisian journalist as their local…
Al Jazeera correspondent Lotfi Hajji reporting from Tunis after Tunisian authorities evicted the pan-Arab television network from its offices, November 5, 2021. 
News

Stuck in Limbo Between Poland and Belarus

Ensure Humanitarian Access, End Ping-Pong Pushbacks

“Die here or go to Poland.” This was the “choice” that a Kurdish man from Syria told me a Belarusian border guard had given him, as he described his horrific experiences on the Poland-Belarus border, pleading with the guard to be allowed go back to…
A group of men seated on the ground
News

Joint Statement on the Sentencing of Two Members of Human Rights Group Viasna in Belarus

Rights Organizations Call on Belarusian Authorities to End Politically Motivated Prosecutions

On Wednesday, November 3, the Centraĺny District Court in Homieĺ delivered the verdict in the politically motivated criminal case against two human rights defenders with the Homieĺ branch of Viasna, a leading Belarusian human rights group. The…
The head of Viasna’s Homieĺ office Leanid Sudalenka and Viasna’s volunteer Tatsiana Lasitsa.
News

Tunisia: Attack on Director of LGBT Group

Police Officers Suspected; Investigation Needed

Two police officers apparently brutally attacked the director of a Tunis-based LGBT rights group on October 21, 2021, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack on Badr Baabou took place against a backdrop of mounting abuses targeting LGBT activists by…
Badr Baabou, director of Damj Association for Justice and Equality, following his assault by suspected police officers in Tunisia. © 2021 Badr Baabou
News

Belarusian Authorities Retaliate Against Lawyers Defending Human Rights

Four Attorneys of Jailed Former Presidential Contender Banned from Profession

On October 25, the Minsk Bar Association disbarred prominent Belarusian defense lawyer Natalia Matskevich, the latest in a wide-raging and politically motivated crackdown on lawyers. Matskevich is one of four lawyers who represented Viktar Babaryka…
Gennady Fedunych (left) and Natalia Matskevich (right) at the trial in Minsk, Belarus.
News

Belarus Authorities ‘Purge’ Human Rights Defenders

Criminal Charges, Raids, Closure of Organizations

On October 6, we learned that one of Belarus’s top human rights defenders, Ales Bialiatski, has been charged with tax evasion and faces up to seven years in prison. Bialiatski has been behind bars since his July 14 arrest, but the exact charges…
Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski speaks after he and the Belarusian human rights organization Vjasna were awarded the 2020 Right Livelihood Award during the 2020 awarding ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden on December 3, 2020.
News

Belarus: Authorities Target Top Human Rights Group

Justice Ministry Suing to Liquidate Belarusian Helsinki Committee

Update: On September 30, the Belarusian Supreme Court upheld the government’s move to liquidate the Belarusian Helsinki Committee. The ruling cannot be appealed. (Berlin) – The Belarusian Justice Ministry has filed a lawsuit to dissolve the…
A riot police officer guards the area in State Flag Square, Minsk, Belarus, with the Supreme Court building in the background.
News

Joint Letter to the Ministry of Justice in Belarus

September 22, 2021 Oleg Slizhevsky Minister of Justice Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus 10 Kolletornaya Street 2200004 Minsk Belarus Dear Mr. Slizhevsky, We are writing to urge you to withdraw the Justice Ministry’s lawsuit to…
News

Joint Statement on Belarus: End Attacks Against the Viasna Human Rights Group

International human rights groups demand release of Viasna members on first anniversary of crackdown

On the first anniversary of the unprecedented crackdown on the Human Rights Center Viasna ("Viasna") in Belarus, 23 international and Belarusian human rights organizations are launching a campaign to demand the release of seven detained Viasna members,…
In The Hague, Netherlands, on August 7, a demonstrator holds a placard showing the names of some of those arbitrarily detained in Belarus for protesting against President Alexander Lukashenko, and calling for their release.
News

Tunisia: President’s Repressive Policies Abrogate Rights

Dozens Placed Under Arbitrary House Arrests

(Tunis) – Arbitrary and politically motivated acts of repression have proliferated in Tunisia since July 25, 2021, when President Kais Saied suspended parliament, Human Rights Watch said today. He also lifted parliamentary immunity, dismissed the head…
Tunisian President Kais Saied raises his fist to bystanders as he walks along the avenue Bourguiba in Tunis, Tunisia, August 1, 2021.
News

Belarusian Authorities “Liquidate” Leading Media Freedom Organization

Belarusian Association of Journalists Continues its Work despite the Crackdown

On August 27, the Supreme Court of Belarus upheld the appeal by the Justice Ministry to strip the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) of its official registration. Formal “liquidation” of the prominent group, which has worked tirelessly for 25…
 The door of the Belarusian Association of Journalists main office in Minsk, Belarus on June 2021
News

A Year of Dismantling Civil Society in Belarus

Solidarity and Support Needed for Independent Belarusian Voices

One year ago, the center of Minsk was teaming with people protesting stolen presidential elections and asserting their voices matter. On that first evening, the mood was festive: women in bright summer dresses, some wearing heels, as if on their way…
A woman wearing white stands in front of riot police during a Belarusian opposition rally protesting the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, September 13, 2020. 
News

Belarus Athlete’s Plight Spotlights Olympic Failure

International Olympic Committee Should Adopt Human Rights Policy

On Sunday, Belarusian track and field athlete Krystsina Timanovskaya refused to let government authorities forcibly return her to Belarus from the Olympics, seeking instead protection at Tokyo’s international airport.  She has since reportedly…
A female athlete sprinting in a race
News

Tunisia: President’s Seizure of Powers Threatens Rights

A Dangerous Move Capitalizes on Popular Frustration

(Tunis) – Tunisian President Kais Saied should safeguard the human rights of all Tunisians and reverse any repressive measures taken since announcing July 25 measures that largely concentrate powers in his office, Human Rights Watch said today. On…
Kais Saied during the sworn ceremony in Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia on October 23, 2019.