Freedom House

A prodemocracy organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom around the world. Follow @FreedomHouseLAC for more.

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

As Freedom House marks 85 years defending freedom worldwide, CEO @jamiemfly announced the launch of the Investing in Freedom’s Future Campaign — a bold effort to raise $85 million to support those on the front lines of freedom and confront growing authoritarianism worldwide. Learn more about the campaign: https://t.co/oK3fbdUBw3
#FreedomHouse85

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

It was a pleasure to meet Anselmo Lee, co-founder of @PaxChristi Korea, yesterday in DC.

Lee and FH CEO @jamiemfly discussed the state of freedom in the Asia-Pacific region and areas for potential partnership.

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

FH CEO @jamiemfly tops @TheEconomist Letters section this week with a response to the outlet's feature on Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko.

"While these brave Russians protested, Mr. Melnichenko expanded his wealth in Mr. Putin’s war economy," he writes.

“The principle that Russia’s future can be determined only inside Russia would be sound if it meant deference to the preferences of Russians. Instead it is deference to a single person. Mr. Melnichenko says the question of Russia’s direction belongs to Russians alone. We agree. We disagree that Mr. Putin represents them.”

Read his full letter: https://t.co/RkfGsB2eOG

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

FH CEO @jamiemfly tops @TheEconomist Letters section this week with a response to the outlet's feature on Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko.

"While these brave Russians protested, Mr. Melnichenko expanded his wealth in Mr. Putin’s war economy," he writes.

“The principle that Russia’s future can be determined only inside Russia would be sound if it meant deference to the preferences of Russians. Instead it is deference to a single person. Mr. Melnichenko says the question of Russia’s direction belongs to Russians alone. We agree. We disagree that Mr. Putin represents them.”

Read his full letter: https://t.co/RkfGsB2eOG

[The Economist @TheEconomist]

When enough Russians feel the endless fighting in Ukraine is futile and that they are paying the price, Vladimir Putin will be forced to do something spectacular to break the deadlock.

One leading oligarch has spoken out, warning of looming disaster https://t.co/gsV45rHSTF

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

“I think that they should make it a priority that in the next weeks they release all the prisoners.”

@leopoldolopez urged the release of all political prisoners in Venezuela in a discussion with @DashaBurns at Freedom House on Monday.

Watch their full conversation: https://t.co/WtODJls8IH

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

ICYMI!

On Monday, Freedom House hosted @leopoldolopez and @DashaBurns for a conversation on Venezuela's transition to democracy, the reality on the ground for the Venezuelan people, and the role of the international community.

Watch the full event: https://t.co/UcR9TYgdXa

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

We are thrilled that Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri—whose case we adopted as part of our Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners—is free and can share his story.

We remain committed to defending religious freedom and to securing the release of all those unjustly imprisoned in China and around the world. #FreeThemAll

[Sky News @SkyNews]

Pastor Ezra Jin is free in the United States after Donald Trump helped win his release from a Chinese prison.

Sky's @HelenAnnSmith0 holds the first on-camera interview with him since his release, and visits the apartment in China where he was arrested in October amid a crackdown on Christianity.

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

We condemn the Russian government's designation of the Crimean Solidarity movement as a "foreign agent" in Russian-occupied Crimea.

By effectively forcing the organization's closure, Russia has deprived local Crimean Tatar communities of needed legal support and a source of independent information.

We also reiterate our call for Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Server Mustafayev, co-founder of Crimean Solidarity and our 2025 Alfred Moses Liberty Award recipient, who was arrested in 2018. #FreeServer #FreeThemAll

[Human Rights Centre ZMINA @zminaUkraine]

After 10 years documenting political repression and supporting #politicalprisoners in #occupiedCrimea, the #CrimeanSolidarity grass-roots initiative has announced it is shutting down after RU labeled it a "foreign agent."
https://t.co/D1S3T9XaL0
#Ukraine #Crimea #CrimeanTatars

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

“Large language models can exacerbate existing online censorship, in that [they] can be a force multiplier for digital authoritarianism.”

FH’s @kianvest spoke to @CNET’s @omarg on the risks that generative AI pose to internet freedom.

Read more: https://t.co/3AlZ2Yzs6l

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

The plight of Roshaan Khattak demonstrates the dire need for universities to establish more robust protections and support for those targeted by autocratic regimes.

#TransnationalRepression cannot be allowed on campus.
https://t.co/FKFUw2p3rk

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

Five imprisonments. At 54 years old, Virgilio Mantilla Arango refuses to be silenced.

A poet, activist, and political prisoner, Virgilio continues to write of hope and freedom for Cuba despite enduring his fifth consecutive political imprisonment.

Gina Romero (@Ginitastar), United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, lends her voice to Virgilio's words, amplifying a voice that prison walls could not silence.

Five Years Later: The Voices They Could Not Silence.

#LibertadYa
#FreeThemAll
@AnamelyRamos

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

Last week, Freedom House was on Capitol Hill with @carolinabferrer, engaging policymakers on the human rights and democratic principles that should guide US policy toward Cuba.

We emphasized that the challenges facing the Cuban people cannot be addressed without safeguarding their fundamental freedoms and reaffirmed their right to determine their own future free from repression. 

Human rights and the aspirations of the Cuban people should remain at the center of US engagement with the island.

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

Our 2026 Freedom Award winner, Jimmy Lai, continues to languish in Hong Kong prison with worsening health and in solitary confinement.

President Trump has another opportunity to raise and secure Lai’s release ahead of Xi's visit to Washington in September.

Given the administration’s recent decision to lift sanctions on key Hong Kong officials, freeing Lai and other political prisoners in Hong Kong would be a significant win for American diplomacy and an enduring symbol of the US’s commitment to the defense of its founding principles.

[Bill McGurn @wjmcgurn]

It’s all on Trump now as he negotiates a deal with China. https://t.co/NaoLVZfJQg

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

We are alarmed by today’s sentencing of journalist Vakho Sanaia to two weeks’ administrative detention.

Sanaia’s confinement over a Facebook post criticizing Georgia’s ruling party is a blatant violation of his right to free expression, and the latest in a series of concerning attempts by the government to silence its critics.

We urge Sanaia’s immediate and unconditional release.

[Civil.ge @CivilGe]

Vakho Sanaia, a journalist and anchor at opposition-leaning Formula TV, was sent to 14 days of administrative detention over a Facebook post concerning Georgian Dream Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and MP Vladimer Bozhadze.
https://t.co/bPAoPck3Rk

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

Last week, Freedom House, along with @TheBushCenter and @McCainInstitute, was proud to convene the latest session of the Democracy & Human Rights Working Group.

We were honored to welcome Cuban democracy activist @carolinabferrer to discuss recent developments on the island and how the U.S. and its democratic partners can best support the Cuban people and advance a freer future.

The conversation, moderated by @GerardoBerthin, included the situation of political prisoners such as Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, whose subsequent release has been welcomed by supporters of freedom in Cuba.

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

The transfer of Cuban artist and political prisoner Maykel Castillo Pérez to the same unit in Guanajay prison recently occupied by Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is not just a reminder of Cuba’s repression—it underscores the authorities’ deliberate use of imprisonment to silence independent artists and dissenting voices.

Maykel should be free along with the hundreds of political prisoners in Cuba. #FreeMaykelOsorbo #SOSCuba #HumanRights

[ODC-Cuba @ODC_Cuba]

📢⛓️ #artistaspresos | Actualizamos sobre 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐤𝐞𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐏𝐞́𝐫𝐞𝐳 en la prisión de Guanajay.

Abrimos🪡

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

They imprisoned a poet. They could not imprison her voice.

María Cristina Garrido Rodríguez remains unjustly behind bars for exercising her fundamental freedoms. But her words continue to travel far beyond the walls meant to contain her.

Raudel Escuadrón (@RaudelCollazo) lends his voice to María Cristina's poetry, joined by her sister, former political prisoner Angélica Garrido Rodríguez.

Five Years Later: The Voices They Could Not Silence.

#LibertadYa
#FreeThemAll
@AnamelyRamos

[El Diario @eldiario]

Leopoldo López dijo que la transición debe conducir a elecciones libres: “Necesitamos un nuevo CNE”

https://t.co/uHFA9XApJs

[Rick Scott @SenRickScott]

Today, I joined @SenatorShaheen in condemning in the strongest possible terms the July 19 statement made by Nicaraguan authoritarian leader Daniel Ortega about suspending elections.

Ortega’s decision follows a series of egregious and undemocratic moves to consolidate power and silence dissenting views. Free and fair elections are the bedrock of any democracy, and legitimate governments only operate with the consent of their people.

In keeping with the United States’ commitment to democracy, we strongly support the Nicaraguan people’s right to choose their leaders and will work together, on a bipartisan basis, to use the legislative tools at our disposal to push back on the Ortega-Murillo regime’s dark, despotic vision for Nicaragua.

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

They imprisoned a son. They could not silence his words

Duannis Dabel León Taboada remains behind bars, serving a 14-year sentence. But his poetry—filled with hope, longing, and love for those waiting for him—continues to be heard.

Cuban signer, Haydée Milanés (@haydeemilanes) lends her voice to Duannis's words, while his mother, Yenisey Taboada Ortiz, shares the poem he wrote from prison.

Five Years Later: The Voices They Could Not Silence.

#LibertadYa
#FreeThemAll
@AnamelyRamos