International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR)

03/06/2026

🔎From Tehran to Kyiv: The Maximisation of Civilian Harm

❗Shahed UAVs provided by and developed with the support of the Iranian regime enable attritional damage rather than isolated strikes.

Latest analysis by Atlantic Council's Strategic Litigation Project, C4ADS, and IPHR shows how Russia exploits both the availability and design characteristics of Shahed-type UAVs provided by the Iranian regime to enable persistent attacks on non-military targets.👩‍👧‍👦

🏥The report highlights that Russian strike patterns demonstrate systematic selection of civilian infrastructure as primary targets, with UAVs integrated into broader campaigns designed to generate widespread disruption, fear, and long-term degradation of essential services.

See our infographics showing a sustained pattern of deliberate strikes against civilian targets and vital food and energy infrastructure, aimed at inflicting maximum civilian harm.

02/06/2026

📢 A new update, prepared by IPHR and Хроника Туркменистана for CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation highlights worrying developments affecting freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly in Turkmenistan from November 2025 to May 2026.
⚠️ These developments include:
🔹 Turkmenistan again ranking near the bottom of global press freedom index
🔹 Targeting of Starlink satellite internet equipment as part of an ongoing crackdown on tools used to circumvent extensive online censorship
🔹 The disappearance and reported death in custody of blogger Didar Amansakhatov after he criticised rising food prices on TikTok
🔹 Imprisoned human rights activist Mansur Mingelov denied release despite his severe health condition and repeated calls from international human rights bodies
🔹 Former political prisoner and journalist Nurgeldy Khalykov banned from travelling abroad on alleged “national security” grounds
🔹 Journalist and human rights defender Soltan Achilova reporting new suspected poisoning attempts following earlier incidents that prompted concern from UN experts
🔹 The fate of bloggers Alisher Sakhatov and Abdulla Orusov — who disappeared in Turkey last summer — remaining unknown, reinforcing concerns they were abducted and forcibly returned to Turkmenistan
🔹 Reported misuse of INTERPOL mechanisms in cases involving other “inconvenient” individuals
🔹 New cases of forced mobilisation of residents, including children, for state-organised mass events
📖 Read more about these and additional developments in the full update:
https://iphronline.org/articles/turkmenistan-tightening-digital-controls-and-domestic-and-transnational-repression/

This update covers developments affecting the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly in Turkmenistan from November 2025 to May 2026. International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR) have prepared it as part of their cooperati...

29/05/2026

📌 A new briefing prepared by International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR) @Хроника Туркменистана highlights key human rights issues the EU should address during its upcoming Human Rights Dialogue with Turkmenistan, as well as in other engagements with the country.

These include:
🔹 severe media restrictions and escalating digital controls
🔹 the absence of space for independent civic action, combined with state-controlled civic engagement and forcible mobilisation for state events
🔹 politically motivated imprisonment, travel bans, and other forms of persecution targeting those who challenge official narratives and stand up for their rights
🔹 transnational repression targeting critics abroad, including forcible returns
🔹 continued impunity for torture and enforced disappearances
🔹 lack of tangible progress in combating violence and discrimination against women

⚠️ The briefing also highlights alarming individual cases requiring sustained EU attention.

IPHR and TIHR call on the EU to insist on concrete measures to address these issues and cases,
implement recommendations issued by UN human rights bodies, and ensure progress on human
rights benchmarks set out by the European Parliament.

At a time of evolving EU-Turkmenistan relations, it is essential that the EU maintains a principled and
consistent approach focused on securing tangible progress and ensuring meaningful follow-up.

📖 Read the full briefing: https://iphronline.org/articles/eu-turkmenistan-dialogue-key-human-rights-issues-cases-and-recommendations/

28/05/2026

📢 Tajikistan: Human Rights Defender Has Spent Four Years Unjustly Behind Bars

Today marks four years since lawyer and human rights defender Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov was arrested in Tajikistan.

He was later sentenced to 16 years in prison on spurious charges following an unfair closed trial — punished simply for his tireless work defending victims of human rights violations in Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). ⚖️

Despite repeated calls for his release from international human rights organisations and UN experts, Manuchehr remains behind bars. His health has deteriorated significantly in detention, deepening concerns about his well-being. 🚨

On this sad anniversary, we once again call on the Tajikistani authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Manuchehr and allow him to reunite with his family. Until then, he must be granted access to adequate medical care and his rights in detention protected.

We also urge international partners to continue raising his case and insisting on justice for Manuchehr — a recipient of the Martin Ennals Award in recognition of his courage and outstanding human rights work. ✊

🎥 Watch and share the video previously prepared in support of Manuchehr by IPHR together with Helsińska Fundacja Praw Człowieka, Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Front Line Defenders, Amnesty International, Freedom Now and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fXbR_OAclA

IPHR, Helsińska Fundacja Praw Człowieka, Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Front Line Defenders, Amnesty International, Freedom Now, and the Observatory for Prot...

27/05/2026

🔎From Tehran To Kyiv: The Patterns for Attacks

⚔️Latest analysis by Atlantic Council's Strategic Litigation Project, C4ADS, and IPHR shows how Russia exploits both the availability and design characteristics of Shahed-type UAVs provided by the Iranian regime to enable persistent attacks on non-military targets.

The report highlights that Russian strike patterns demonstrate systematic selection of civilian infrastructure as primary targets, with UAVs integrated into broader campaigns designed to generate widespread disruption, fear, and long-term degradation of essential services.

💥See our infographics identifying clear patterns of attacks demonstrating that Russian forces use Shahed attack tactics that ensure maximum civilian harm.

Read the full report here : https://iphronline.org/articles/irans-role-in-russias-drone-war

20/05/2026

🔎 From Tehran to Kyiv: The Adaptations Escalating Civilian Exposure

Russia’s instrumentalisation of Shahed UAV technical characteristics, and its modifications, increase civilian harm.

⚙️ Atlantic Council's Strategic Litigation Project, C4ADS, and IPHR’s report showcases how Russia has adapted the deployment of Shahed-type UAVs to exploit their long-range, low-cost, and expendable characteristics to conduct large-scale, repeated aerial attacks intended to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences and increase pe*******on rates against civilian objects and vital energy infrastructure.

All subsequent modifications to the original Shahed models were intended to increase their lethality against civilians.

See our infographics on technical modifications of Shaheds intended to maximise harm.

Read the full report here : https://iphronline.org/articles/irans-role-in-russias-drone-war/

13/05/2026

🔎From Tehran to Kyiv: The Logistics of Iranian Actors' "Support"

💥Russo-Iranian military cooperation enabled Russia’s massive nightly UAV strikes on Ukraine.

🏭 Latest analysis by SLP, C4ADS, and IPHR links Iranian Shahed UAV supply chains, production actors, and intermediary logistics networks to Russian operational deployment. The report highlights how Iranian production chains have supported a high volume of drone transfers, sustaining Russia’s capacity to conduct repeated large-scale strikes.

It further assesses that technical cooperation between Iranian and Russian authorities has included not only UAV delivery but also knowledge transfer and localised production support.🧑‍🏭

These combined supply and logistics structures form a broader ecosystem enabling Russia’s continued relentless UAV strikes against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and population.

See the report's infographics on supply chains.

Read the full report here : https://iphronline.org/articles/irans-role-in-russias-drone-war/

12/05/2026

📢 New report: Invisible Citizens – Statelessness and Identity

International Partnership for Human Rights partners with The Ark to publish a new paper on how the denial of identity documents is driving de facto statelessness among politically persecuted Russian nationals in the EU.

🚫 Since 2022, Russian consular authorities have systematically refused to renew passports or issue replacement documents abroad. In EU systems that rely on nationality-based documentation, this leads to widespread exclusion from residence renewals, work registration, banking, and basic services—pushing people into prolonged administrative limbo.

❗With over 311,000 Russian nationals granted first residence permits in EU Member States between 2022–2024, many now face expiry without a viable way to renew status, increasing the risk of irregularity.

The report highlights key gaps in current EU frameworks and calls for clearer, coordinated policy responses to address documentation denial as a driver of exclusion.

➡️ Read the full report here https://iphronline.org/articles/new-report-invisible-citizens/

IPHR partners with The Ark, to present a new paper examining how the systematic denial of identity documentation functions as the primary driver of de facto statelessness among politically persecuted Russian nationals in the EU. The authors show that the impact of document denial extends beyond affe...

12/05/2026

🇦🇲 On 5 May, IPHR participated in the Yerevan Dialogue

This event was an opportunity to discuss reflect on how to protect and strengthen democratic values as they are challenged by conventional warfare, threat or use of force to achieve political goals, protectionism, fragmentation of international law and growing mistrust within the international community

👉During the session Reinforcing Democracy in the Face of Contemporary Challenges, Simon Papuashvili Programme Director, International Partnership for Human Rights underlined that Armenia is at a critical juncture: it has emerged as the most democratic country in the South Caucasus, but its democratic trajectory remains fragile and time-sensitive.

Sustaining this progress requires three decisive steps—strengthening institutions against external interference, shifting from formal to truly functional democracy, and building economic sovereignty by reducing structural dependencies.

➡️For more information read our Policy Brief COUNTERING FOREIGN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS IN ARMENIA: Building Democratic Resilience ahead of the June 2026 Elections and Beyond https://iphronline.org/articles/policy-brief-countering-fimi-armenia/

11/05/2026

Central Asia: Escalating Digital Repression Threatens Civic Space and Free Expression – Joint NGO Statement Highlights Alarming Trends Across the Region

Together with КМБПЧ, Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, and Хроника Туркменистана, IPHR has issued a joint statement warning about growing misuse of legal, technical and informal measures to silence dissent and obstruct access to information in the digital sphere across the region.

Alarming trends include:
⚠️ Online harassment and smear campaigns
⚠️ Cyberattacks, website blocking and internet shutdowns
⚠️ AI-enabled surveillance and profiling
⚠️ Abuse of social media complaint mechanisms to remove independent content
⚠️ Detentions and prosecutions over online criticism on broadly worded charges such as
disseminating “false” information or inciting ‘’disobedience’’ or discord
⚠️ Transnational repression in retaliation for their online engagement

We call on the Central Asian governments to:
- Stop using criminal law to penalise online expression and decriminalise vague offenses such as“false information,” defamation and incitement provisions.
- End online harassment, smear campaigns and intimidation targeting journalists, activists and civil society actors.
- Ensure that any website blocking, platform closures and any other restrictions on online content comply with international human rights standards.
- Stop the misuse of social media complaints mechanisms to suppress lawful expression.
- End transnational repression against exile-based activists in retaliation for their online engagement.

We also urge international partners and social media platforms to step up efforts to help protect digital civic space in the region and prevent the suppression of lawful expression online.

The joint statement, prepared for the OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Safeguarding Civic Space in the Digital Age in Vienna on 11-12 May 2026, is available on our website.

A separate KIBHR-IPHR briefing provides additional information on current digital rights trends in
Kazakhstan.

https://iphronline.org/articles/central-asia-escalating-digital-repression-threatens-civic-space-and-free-expression/

In a new joint statement, International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR), Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA) and Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR) warn about the escalating use of digital repressi...