Aliaksandr Vaitseshyk, and Leanid Svetsik. According to government sources, the searches were conducted as part of a criminal investigation related to the funding of protests. In addition to BAJ and
Viasna, police targeted the homes of representatives of the independent trade union REP and the Belarusian
Barys Zvozskau Human Rights House, as well as other activists and independent freelance journalists.
In addition to intensifying attacks on activists, restrictions on lawyers who serve as defense counsel in politically sensitive human rights cases and other limits on the right to legal representation are becoming a common practice in Belarus, where lawyers are often denied access to their clients. Those who work on politically motivated cases are harassed by the government, their licenses are revoked, and criminal cases are increasingly initiated against them. According to
Two LGBT+ people who previously fled persecution and torture in Chechnya are in grave danger after being forcibly returned there, and are facing pressure to decline legal representation as authorities launch a spurious terrorism investigation.
Russia: Freedom House Condemns Imprisonment of Navalny; Crackdown on Peaceful Protesters and Journalists
Russian authorities’ strategy of silencing dissent through intimidation and violence must end.
In response to today’s court decision ordering opposition politician Alexsey Navalny to prison, and Sunday’s violent crackdown on peaceful protesters opposing his arrest and the journalists covering the demonstrations, Freedom House issued the following statement:
“Russian authorities’ repressive and desperate attempts to silence anyone who challenges Vladimir Putin’s grip on power are an affront to the Russian people, who are demanding accountability for the corruption pervading the entire political system,” said Marc Behrendt, director of Europe and Eurasia programs at Freedom House. “The politically motivated imprisonment of Navalny is the result of a sham prosecution. Navalny’s persecution, and the detention on Sunday of thousands of peaceful demonstrators su
Kazakhstan: Government Suspends Key Human Rights Organizations
The Kazakhstani government suspended several human rights organizations over their funding sources, escalating its ongoing campaign to curtail civil society.
In response to the suspension of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, International Legal Initiative, and Echo, Freedom House issued the following statement:
“The Kazakhstani authorities deployed onerous regulations to suspend civic groups on absurd charges, effectively silencing critical voices advocating for respect for human rights,” said Marc Behrendt, director of Europe and Eurasia programs. “By doing so, the government continued restricting civic activity through the regulations adopted in 2015-18. This crackdown directly contradicts President Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev’s promises of political reform announced in 2019. We call on Kazakhstani authorities to cease persecution of human rights organizations immediately a
Turkey: Kavala Trial Underscores Government’s Assault on the Rule of Law
A prominent philanthropist and civic leader has been held in custody on unsubstantiated charges for over three years, and faces an even longer detention
because of judicial delays.
In response to an Istanbul court’s decision to postpone the first hearing of the trial of Osman Kavala, a philanthropist and civil society activist, and American scholar Henri J. Barkey, Freedom House issued the following statement:
“This delay is a tactic on the part of politicized Turkish courts to evade the rule of law,” said Marc Behrendt, Director for Europe and Eurasia Programs at Freedom House. “Osman Kavala has been held in pretrial detention for over three years without any credible evidence of having committed a crime. His case demonstrates the extent to which the government has weaponized the judiciary and stripped away the rule of law in Turkey. Kavala should be immediately released.”