HRF welcomes the release of Jonathan David Muir Burgos, a 17-year-old Cuban who was arbitrarily arrested after participating in a protest in March. Detained at just 16 years old, he became the youngest known political prisoner in Cuba. While his release is a positive development, it does not signal an end to the regime’s systematic repression.

Jonathan’s case reflects the Cuban regime’s growing criminalization of peaceful dissent, including among minors. Since the July 11, 2021 protests, authorities have increasingly relied on politically motivated charges such as "sabotage" to prosecute citizens while subjecting adolescents to criminal proceedings for participating in peaceful demonstrations. cibercuba.com/noticias/2026-…

HRF condemns Kenyan authorities’ crackdown on Thursday’s protests commemorating deadly #June25 2024 Gen Z demonstrations and calls for the release of all arbitrarily detained. Again and again, the Kenyan regime’s systematic response to dissent is a heavy-handed and violent clampdown on its citizens.

Kenyan human rights groups have criticized the conduct of authorities in response to the 2026 memorial protests. The Police Reforms Working Group accused police of defying court orders by blocking all roads in and around Nairobi in the early hours of Thursday without notice, and deploying masked and unidentified armed police officers. The working group also denounced blanket movement restrictions, excessive use of force, obstruction, and arrests targeting peaceful protesters, journalists, and families of victims. amnestykenya.org/joint-state…

HRF strongly condemns the Cambodian Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the treason convictions and prison sentences of journalists Phorn Sopheap and Pheap Pheara. The harsh sentences mark yet another concerning development for press freedom in the country. HRF calls on Cambodia to drop all charges and immediately release them.

In July 2025, Cambodian journalists Phorn Sopheap and Pheap Pheara were arrested after they were accused of posting photographs on Facebook relating to the border clash between Thailand and Cambodia. Cambodia claimed the photos were taken in a military-restricted zone. The two denied the charges and affirmed that they obtained permission to access the area. The journalists were convicted of treason and sentenced to 14 years in prison for “supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defense.” apnews.com/article/cambodia-…

HRF is gravely concerned about the fates of at least eight Sudanese women journalists and activists who have been forcibly disappeared by the genocidal paramilitary rebel group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for nearly five months after organizing a workshop on women’s rights in South Darfur. HRF holds the RSF responsible for their well-being and demands their immediate release. #KeepEyesOnSudan

On June 10, the women's rights advocacy group Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) Network indicated that no information about the whereabouts and health of the journalists and activists was available. According to @Sihanet, they are among 150 women and girls forcibly disappeared since February who are suspected to be held in several formal and secret RSF detention sites in Nyala. The journalists and activists were targeted in connection with their involvement in a January workshop in Nyala on women’s rights under national and international law. The event, which drew about 25 attendees, had been authorized by permit from the regulatory authority in RSF-controlled areas. sihanet.org/press-statement-…

Four years after their unjust convictions, HRF calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Cuban artists and prisoners of conscience Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara (@LMOAlcantara) and Maykel Castillo Pérez "Osorbo." Their imprisonment reflects the regime’s systematic persecution of artists and critics who peacefully challenge the dictatorship.

Otero Alcántara continues to face serious human rights violations in prison, including prolonged incommunicado detention, threats, and the denial of parole. His health has deteriorated under inhumane conditions while prison authorities have repeatedly denied him adequate medical care. Meanwhile, Osorbo, co-author of the anthem "Patria y Vida," has refused pressure to accept exile in exchange for his freedom, choosing instead to remain committed to the struggle for a democratic Cuba. cibercuba.com/noticias/2026-…

Election officials in South Sudan have set Dec. 22 as the date for the country’s long awaited first general election since independence in 2011. After five postponements in 15 years amid a protracted violent power struggle between the country’s two rival warlords — dictator Salva Kiir and his former deputy-turned-rival Riek Machar — HRF echoes the grave concerns expressed by the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan earlier this year that conditions for a credible electoral process and vote do not exist.

Recurring political disputes between Kiir — who has been in power since South Sudan’s independence — and Machar have plunged the country into recurring armed conflict, including a brutal five-year civil war, which has led to repeated election postponements. In February, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan concluded that Kiir and Machar are “systematically dismantling” a 2018 peace agreement that ended the civil war.