Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice

05/26/2026

Beautiful and moving piece by Grace Jin Drexel, who is hoping for miracle for her imprisoned father, Pastor Jin Mingri. He has been detained in China for more than 200 days. President Trump recently raised his case during his meeting with Xi in Beijing. Via RealClearPolitics

As a Christian, I believe in miracles. I have already seen one; now, I am praying for one more. My father, Pastor Mingri “Ezra” Jin, has been in prison in...

05/22/2026

We were thrilled to celebrate our Activist Artist Scholarship winners this week at a special reception hosted by our generous partner Bank of New Hampshire. Congratulations to our winners, we know you will do amazing things in the future!

1st Place Original Art: Candace Wyman, Timberlane Regional High School
1st Place Essay: Brogan Schroyer, Bishop Brady High School

Runners-up Original Art:
Audrey Cote, Lebanon High School
Alexandria Dowling, Timberlane Regional High School
Kyra Raczek, Newmarket Jr/Sr High School
Manafshay Shazad, Manchester Memorial High School

Runners-up Essay:
Julian Gutierrez Carbanzo, Nashua High School North
Marcus Hamilton, Profile High School

Read more: https://www.lantosfoundation.org/news/2026/5/7/86lt4eh76jysb9v97wh0xppz8w2bqi

05/21/2026

"Restore the freedom of a good and faithful man."

Lantos Foundation President Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett joins fellow former United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Chairs and Ambassadors at Large for IRF in urging President Xi to follow through on recent conversations with President Trump and release imprisoned Pastor Jin Mingri. They write, "It is a complex task to build stability in a shifting world, but your decision to release Pastor Jin may be one important step towards that goal."

Read the full letter:

Dear President Xi, As a group bound by our shared commitment to protecting and advancing the fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief, we urge you to follow through on your recent conversations with President Donald Trump and release Pastor Jin Mingri, who has been detained for more than

05/15/2026

May is Jewish American Heritage Month. The USC Shoah Foundation has shared an excerpt from the testimony of our namesake, Congressman Tom Lantos, where he speaks about his special relationship with America. Tom came to this country after surviving the Holocaust and often spoke of his love for his adopted homeland. Watch it here:

In May, Americans commemorate both Jewish American Heritage Month and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. For families, educators, and communities, the USC Shoah Foundation’s testimony collection offers a powerful resource for commemoration—demonstrating how personal narratives d...

05/14/2026

As Trump and Xi meet in Beijing, please watch this important short documentary from The Free Press about China's war on freedom of belief, featuring Grace Jin (daughter of imprisoned Pastor Jin Mingri). Lantos Foundation president Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett was also interviewed for this important report on China's shocking persecution of Christians.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

05/12/2026

The detained individuals listed in US Senate Resolution 677 and House Resolution 1259 aren't just names on paper — they are real people with families, lives, and loved ones.

Ahead of the Trump-Xi Summit in Beijing, join the Lantos Foundation and Human Rights Foundation in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, Jimmy Lai, and all the brave individuals who are wrongfully detained in China for exercising their fundamental freedoms.

05/11/2026

The Lantos Foundation is delighted to announce the winners of the annual Activist Artist Scholarship competition! Read more about the eight New Hampshire high school seniors who will receive a total of $15,000 in scholarships based on their submissions, which included essays and original artwork: https://www.lantosfoundation.org/news/2026/5/7/86lt4eh76jysb9v97wh0xppz8w2bqi

05/11/2026

Today we remember ADL national director emeritus Abe Foxman and honor his legacy. Foxman, like our namesake Tom Lantos, was a survivor of the Holocaust and a fearless, tireless fighter for a world free of antisemitism. His vigilance and valor in this fight were remarkable and essential. As the world faces a horrifying resurgence of open hatred toward the Jewish people, Foxman’s lifetime of fighting prejudice and persecution should inspire us all to redouble our own efforts to defend our shared civilizational values of equality, dignity and fundamental human rights for all. May his memory be a blessing.

New York, NY, May 10, 2026 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) deeply mourns the loss of our longtime national director, Abraham H. Foxman. Born in 1940, Abe survived the Holocaust after he was entrusted to his Polish Catholic nanny, who had him baptized as a Catholic to hide his Jewish identity. H...

04/29/2026

Following the tragic ex*****on of a Swedish national by Iran, Foundation president Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett and Professor Irwin Cotler write that Sweden must recognize the limits of "quiet diplomacy" and do more to confront the systematic use of arbitrary detention by hostile states like Iran. Sweden can choose to set itself on a path to an effective, coordinated response to hostage-taking – one that serves as an example for all of Europe.

The RIGHT (Resisting Illegal Government detentions & Hostage Taking) Coalition, made up of more than 70 civil society organizations and individuals dedicated to working against hostage-taking and arbitrary detention, recently released a set of recommendations that can help guide countries like Sweden to create robust, centralized hostage response systems with a dedicated senior official leading this work.

In the wake of the ex*****on of Swedish citizen Koroush Kivani last month, Sweden announced visa restrictions on Iranian embassy staff and pushed for new EU sanctions, but these actions offer no meaningful impact. These performative responses are no substitute for strategic deterrence work and demon...

04/20/2026

The future of Iran should belong to the Iranian people. The Lantos Foundation joins leading organizations and experts around the world in calling for renewed global solidarity in support of the Iranian people.

Iran’s path forward must reflect the will of the Iranian people, who have borne the costs of decades of tyranny. The next chapter in Iran must be shaped by Iranians themselves—especially the courageous human rights defenders, civil society leaders, labor organizers, women’s rights advocates, a...