Category: Repressively

NEW YORK—Faced with an increasingly repressive political and legal environment in Hungary, the Open Society Foundations are moving their Budapest-based international operations and staff to the German capital, Berlin. Together with other international funders, Open Society will continue to support the important work of civil society groups in Hungary on issues such as arts and culture, media freedom, transparency, and...

After peaceful protesters were attacked and sexually assaulted last Friday in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square by un-uniformed armed men, the violence and intimidation continues. Yanar Mohammed, Director of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), just informed us that these attacks have continued through the weekend and into today. On Saturday, one OWFI activist who had been beaten during Friday’s...

Today, in response to the continued, brutal repression of peaceful, pro-democracy protesters in Belarus, the United States and the European Union have taken coordinated action against Belarusian individuals involved in efforts to undermine Belarusian democracy.  The U.S. Departments of Treasury and State have exercised separate authorities against 25 Belarusians involved in the 2020 election falsification and human rights violations, joining 16 Belarusian officials sanctioned in 2006 for...

Protected by the First Amendment and upheld over time as a bulwark of our free society, the rights to assemble, protest, and petition continue to come under fire today. Unfortunately, as people connect in new ways using the Internet and mobile technologies, the government has developed new tactics to disrupt and restrict lawful assembly and protest. Those who wish to...