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Radicals Target Roma People in Ukraine

End Impunity for Hate Crimes

On October 17 around 50 far-right radicals, some carrying flaming torches, went door to door in the Ukrainian city of Irpin, near Kyiv, chanting hateful slogans and calling for violence against local Roma residents. The mob spray-painted hate speech…
Members of the C14 far right group, some of them wearing balaclavas, march toward an Russian orthodox church in Kiev, Ukraine
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

Ukraine War Crimes Arrest a Step Toward Justice

Legislative Changes Necessary to Account for Grave Crimes

On November 9 Ukrainian authorities arrested Denis Kulikovsky, a senior-level member of the Russia-backed armed group “DNR”. Between 2015 and 2018, Kulikovsky oversaw the “Izoliatsiia” detention center in Donetsk, where rights groups like Human Rights…
Denis Kulikovsky in Mariupol district court, November 10, 2021.
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

Russian Authorities Arrest Crimean Tatar Lawyer While Representing His Clients

Drop All Charges Against Edem Semedlyaev

Yesterday, Russian authorities arbitrarily arrested lawyer Edem Semedlyaev, while he was advising clients at a police station, who themselves had been arbitrarily arrested. Today court released Semedlyaev pending review of the charges. Semedlyaev…
Edem Semdlyaev, Simferopol, Crimea 2021
News

Ukraine: Security Agency Reform Bill Risks Undermining Human Rights

Revise Draft before Final Vote

(Berlin) – Ukraine’s draft legislation to reform the security services would grant them broad powers in intelligence and law enforcement, without essential safeguards against abuse of these powers. Parliament should postpone the final vote on the…
Lawmakers attend a parliament session in Kiev, Ukraine December 21, 2017.
News

Ukrainian Families Stranded in Afghanistan

When Flights Resume, Step Up Evacuation Efforts for Citizens, Afghans at Risk

As governments scrambled to evacuate their nationals and Afghans at risk from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover in August, Ukraine made headlines last month with its rescue in Kabul of nearly 100 Ukrainians and Afghans at risk. The…
Ukrainian citizens gathered outside Hamid Karzai International airport in early September 2021 asking Ukraine to evacuate them, Kabul Afghanistan.
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

The Revolving Door of Persecution in Crimea

Crimean Tatar Leader Arrested on Bogus Criminal Charges

In today’s Crimea, to be a member of the Crimean Tatar community is to be a target for the authorities. In the early hours of September 4, Russia’s security services raided the house of Nariman Dzhelyal, a deputy chairman of the Crimean Tatar…
Nariman Dzhelyal in Crimea in 2019. 
News

Biden Shouldn't Soft-Pedal Ukraine on Human Rights

The U.S. has sent considerable military assistance to Ukraine. That aid needs to be linked to human rights concerns.

When Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has his first meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on August 30, he will be looking for reassurances and commitment from Washington. The U.S. has been a close supporter of Ukraine and has in recent years…
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on during a press conference in the garden of the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv, May 22, 2020.
News

Persecution of Critics Needs to End In Russia-Occupied Crimea

Jailed Journalist’s Health Deteriorates After Alleged Torture in Custody

The health of a Ukrainian journalist in custody in Simferopol on the Crimean peninsula is reported to be deteriorating, following alleged torture by Russian security services. Vladyslav Yesypenko, a freelance journalist who covered environmental…
A man holds a placard that says "Journalism is Not a Crime" and "#FreeYesypenko"
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.
News

Ukraine: Torture, Ill-Treatment by Armed Groups in East

Grave Medical Concerns for Detained Women

(Kyiv) – Russia-backed armed groups in eastern Ukraine are torturing and ill-treating people in custody, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch has obtained new information about several women being held by the “Donetsk people’s republic” (…
© 2016 Human Rights Watch cover illustration with two men tied up
News

Ukraine: Reform of Abusive Security Agency at Risk

Limit Powers, Address Human Rights Concerns

(Berlin) – Ukraine’s parliament should not squander the opportunity presented by the current commitment to reform of Ukraine’s security service (SSU), and instead should address shortcomings in the reform proposals, 23 civil society groups including…
Lawmakers attend a parliament session in Kiev, Ukraine December 21, 2017.
News

June 3 Letter to the Members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

To: President Volodymyr Zelensky, Cc: MPs (Mariana Volodymirivna Bezuhla, Oleksandr Serhiyovych Kornienko, Davyd Heorhiyovych Arakhamia) Dear Mr. President,  Dear Members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, We, the co-signatories of this…
News

Ukraine: International Crimes Bill Adopted

Law Could Strengthen Effective Prosecution of War Crimes

(Kyiv) A bill adopted by Ukraine’s parliament on May 20, 2021, could help authorities prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity domestically, Human Rights Watch said today. The law, On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts on the…
Lawmakers attend a parliament session in Kiev, Ukraine December 21, 2017.
News

Europe: Redouble Efforts to End Violence Against Women

Mark Istanbul Convention’s 10th Anniversary with Action

(Berlin) – Council of Europe member states should reinforce efforts to combat violence against women by swiftly ratifying and carrying out a landmark regional convention on women’s rights, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch released…
People gathered in Istanbul in March 2021 to protest Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, a treaty designed to safeguard women from gender-based violence.