Azerbaijan’s international partners should publicly condemn the sentences, press the authorities to release those imprisoned. They should also make it clear that continued repression of independent media will have consequences for political, economic, and security cooperation. New from @hrw.org ⤵️

Azerbaijan Jails Prominent TV Journalists, Media Workers

An Azerbaijani court on July 27 sentenced nine journalists, media workers, and civil society activists to between 12 and 15 years in prison.

hrw.org

🚨 #Georgia is using new assembly restrictions to arbitrarily detain peaceful protesters, including for simply standing on a sidewalk near parliament. This chills free expression and violates international human rights standards, says @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

#Georgia’s authorities now make it virtually impossible to protest. They fast-tracked legislation broadening protest notification requirements, giving police unchecked power to veto, relocate or shut down assemblies; harsher penalties for offenses related to assemblies www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

Georgia Hollows Out Right to Peaceful Assembly

Georgia’s ruling party has introduced new legislation that would dramatically weaken protections for peaceful assembly, further shrinking democratic space and flouting basic human rights standards gua...

hrw.org

From criminal-level fines to sweeping police discretion, Georgia’s government is aggressively dismantling protections for peaceful protest and free expression. People are punished simply for dissenting. New from @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

Georgia: Repressive Laws Effectively Criminalize Peaceful Protests

(Berlin, December 4, 2025) – Georgian authorities have adopted a series of laws that unjustifiably interfere with the right to peaceful assembly and are being used to suppress dissent, Human Rights Wa...

hrw.org

Azerbaijan isn’t just silencing critics at home — it’s reaching abroad. Exiled journalists, analysts & activists are being targeted with arrest warrants and trumped-up charges. www.hrw.org/news/2025/11... Baku should #StopTransnationalRepression, says @hrw

A must-read, moving piece by my colleague @KvitkaKseniya! When a child blown up in Mariupol, or a drone-strike victim in Kherson, becomes a statistic — justice is not optional. It’s indispensable! kyivindependent.com/the-light-uk...

The light Ukraine cannot lose: Justice

About the author: Kseniya Kvitka is an assistant researcher with Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division. She is based in Kyiv. As I sat down to write this, my apartment, like many othe...

kyivindependent.com

New @hrw.org report: Since mid-2024, Russian forces have increasingly used armed quadcopter drones to kill and injure hundreds of civilians in Kherson. Victims were walking, biking, driving, or even receiving medical care when attacked.

"The bill violates fundamental human rights norms and, if adopted, would severely harm Georgia’s civil society and further escalate the human rights crisis the authorities have triggered in recent months." This requires attention, too: third reading next week. #Georgia

crystal clear: "The Georgian parliament should reject a bill to introduce criminal penalties for civic activists and nongovernmental groups that refuse to register as “foreign agents,” @hrw.org said today. www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

The Georgian parliament should reject a bill to introduce criminal penalties for civic activists and nongovernmental groups that refuse to register as foreign agents—it violates fundamental human rights norms and would severely harm Georgia’s civil society www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

Georgia: Drop Repressive ‘Foreign Agents’ Bill

The Georgian parliament should reject a bill to introduce criminal penalties for civic activists and nongovernmental groups that refuse to register as “foreign agents,” Human Rights Watch said today.”...

hrw.org

Authorities in #Georgia are plunging the country into ever deeper human rights crisis, including by adopting 'foreign agents' law that could spell the end of independent civil society. There's still time to drop the bill and respect fundamental human rights! Read @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

Georgian gov't drove the country toward a human rights crisis in 2024. It adopted new repressive laws, unleashed brutal police violence against mostly peaceful protesters, and pivoted away from the EU accession process. Read the full annual @hrw.org report here: www.hrw.org/world-report...

World Report 2025: Rights Trends in Georgia

hrw.org

Georgian court remanded independent journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli to pretrial detention. She is facing up to 7 years allegedly for assaulting a police officer. This goes against the European Court standards. She should be freed pending credible investigation: civil.ge/archives/651.... 🧵👇

Batumi Court Sentences “Batumelebi” Founder Mzia Amaghlobeli to Pretrial Detention

Mzia Amaghlobeli, founder and director of the independent newspaper Batumelebi and the online outlet Netgazeti, was remanded in custody by Batumi City Court Judge Nino Sakhelashvili. Amaghlobeli, who ...

civil.ge

In widespread & apparently punitive acts, police & other security forces in #Georgia have used brutal violence against largely peaceful protesters. The scale of police violence is shocking & suggests that the authorities have sanctioned or condoned it, says @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2024/12...

Georgia: Brutal Police Violence Against Protesters

Police and other security forces have used brutal violence against largely peaceful protesters in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, Human Rights Watch said today.

hrw.org

Thousands of pro-EU demonstrators in Georgia are protesting the ruling party’s suspension of EU accession talks until 2028. Police have brutally beaten numerous peaceful demonstrators, violating their right to peaceful assembly.

New UK data show 5.2 million kids live in poverty. It's great that there's now a Child Poverty Taskforce, but you don't need a Taskforce to state the obvious: End the #twochildlimit www.hrw.org/news/2024/11... Time for a Taskforce to do its work is a luxury kids in poverty can't afford @hrw.org