Human Rights House Foundation

22/09/2026

Repression by the Russian authorities increasingly does not stop at Russia’s borders. The same laws used to silence civil society at home are being extended to punish those forced into exile. The report rightly documents how Russian authorities enable transnational repression by other States, including through detention, forced return and abduction.

Recent legislation allows authorities to target human rights defenders abroad through in absentia proceedings, restrictions on property and banking, and denial of essential consular services, including passports and notarial services. Such measures risk leaving Russian citizens abroad without valid documentation and effectively trapped in legal limbo.

This comes alongside the escalating criminalisation of those documenting repression. Центр Мемориал-affiliated civil society organisations and ОВД-Инфо have been recently designated “extremist”, making cooperation with or support for their legitimate human rights work potentially criminal. The designation has already forced OVD-Info to end cooperation with lawyers inside Russia and end providing humanitarian aid to political prisoners.

22/09/2026

Vi gleder oss til å jobbe med Heidi Nordby Lunde som er vårt nye styremedlem! 💛

– Heidi bringer med seg verdifull erfaring fra både næringslivet og politikken, i tillegg til et sterkt samfunnsengasjement. Dette vil komme godt med i HRHF. Vi trenger alle gode krefter for å sikre arbeidet med demokratibygging, trygghet og frihet. Heidi blir et utmerket tilskudd til vårt styre, og vi gleder oss til å jobbe med henne, sier vår direktør Maria Dahle.

Nordby Lunde har tidligere vært mangeårig leder i Europabevegelsen og sittet i styrene til blant annet LIFO, S*x og Politikk, Oslo Pride og Fontenehuset Øst. Siden 1. januar har hun jobbet som leder for politikk og samfunnskontakt i Human-Etisk Forbund. Hun har vært en aktiv samfunnsdebattant i mange år og har 12 års erfaring som stortingsrepresentant for Høyre.

Tidligere stortingsrepresentant for Høyre, Heidi Nordby Lunde, er valgt inn som nytt styremedlem i norske Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF).

21/09/2026

Belarusians themselves continue to be targeted at home and abroad, including through denial of consular services and the recent placement of Ales Bialiatski on the CIS interstate wanted list. Furthermore, the arbitrary invalidation of passports may be viewed “as a contextual element of crimes against humanity under the qualification framework of the ICC”.

Белорусский Хельсинкский Комитет. Права человека в Беларуси has been designated an “extremist formation”, effectively criminalising interaction with one of the country’s oldest human rights organisations.

And despite releases, our partners continue to document new cases of arbitrary detention. We welcome the release of journalist Andrei Aliaksandrau this week from prison, among others, but highlight their immediate forced deportation from Belarus.

Human rights defender Marfa Rabkova described being forced to leave Belarus after her release from prison this year as being “a harder blow than accepting a 15-year prison sentence.” Further releases are very welcome, but cannot constitute justice alone. Political convictions must be annulled, victims rehabilitated, allowed to remain in Belarus, and provided effective remedy.

18/09/2026

“It is intended to compel society to accept the occupation of the public sphere, and make an example of the persecution to which we have been subjected."

Full statement 🇦🇿 https://bit.ly/am_finalspeech7926

17/09/2026

“Digital repression has become the weapon of choice, and captured institutions the shield that guarantees its impunity.” - Dušan Pokuševski at .

17/09/2026

“Without the respect of freedom of expression, assembly and of association before, during and after elections, elections cannot be considered free and fair.” - Romero, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, at .

17/09/2026

"These warnings now require sustained attention from the Geneva human rights system, together with meaningful follow-up to protect fundamental freedoms and ensure accountability” – HRHF’s Matthew Jones at

17/09/2026

“From the beginning of 2024 to mid-2026, prosecutors in Serbia recorded 279 cases of attacks and threats against journalists. Only 10 resulted in convictions. In 114 of those cases, the police failed to act on requests from the prosecution” – Tamara Filipović Nezavisno udruženje novinara Srbije

17/09/2026

“Serbian authorities should halt restrictions on civic space and ensure a safe environment for free debate and public participation” – Michael O'Flaherty, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, speaks at our side event.

17/09/2026

Kosana Beker FemPlatz speaks at our side event on Human Rights and Accountability in Serbia.