November 2021

Migrants face cold, hunger at border crossings between Belarus and Poland

By: Jackson Sharman Around 2,000 migrants are in danger of succumbing to harsh winter conditions on the border between Belarus and Poland as a political conflict between the two countries intensifies. Poland and the European Union have accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of creating a human rights crisis and using the migrants as pawns. Lukashenko’s…

RFE/RL freelance journalist detained in Belarus

By: Lane Johansen On November 26, 2021, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported that the day prior, Andrey Kuznechyk – a journalist who has worked as a freelancer for RFE/RL – was detained in Minsk. Kuznechyk’s wife, Alesya Rak, told RFE/RL that her husband had returned from a bike ride on November 25 accompanied by…

Turkish police fire tear gas at women protesting gender-based violence

By: Lane Johansen On November 25, several thousand demonstrators, mostly women, marched in the center of Istanbul to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Turkish riot police fired pepper gas to disperse the protestors when a group tried to breach barriers set up at the end of Istanbul’s main pedestrian…

Russian LGBT Network declared “foreign agent” by Russian government

By: Sam Carley After months of continued suppression of human rights activists by Moscow, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) of the Russian Federation declared the Russian LGBT Network a “foreign agent” on November 8th, 2021. The Russian LGBT Network is a non-governmental LGBT rights group that was founded in 2006. The organization seeks to increase…

EU fines Poland $1.2 million per day until judicial reforms are enacted

By: Nick Mosher On October 27, 2021, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered Poland to pay a $1.2 million fine every day until the country enacts stipulated judicial reforms—namely, suspending the Disciplinary Chamber of its Supreme Court. The chamber – established in 2018 by Poland’s ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) – has been…