Bill Frelick

Greece Continues Its Relentless Assault on Civil Society The recent acquittal of 24 humanitarian workers by a court in Lesbos, in what the European Parliament called the “largest case of criminalization of solidarity in Europe”, should have been a turning p...

"By treating solidarity as potential criminal conduct and the search for accountability as a threat, the Greek government is undermining democratic checks and balances." @evacosse.bsky.social @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

UN Financial Crisis Threatens to Halt Human Rights Work In Geneva on 9 February, the United Nations deputy human rights chief gave an alarming update on the dramatic impact of the financial crisis on the UN’s ability to promote and protect human rights aro...

"While the latest financial crisis is threatening to decimate the UN’s human rights work, it has been chronically & significantly underfunded for many years – receiving less than 1% of the UN budget despite human rights being one of the organization’s three 'pillars.'” www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Rohingya Genocide Case Moves to Judgment On January 29, the three-week hearings on the merits of Gambia’s genocide case against Myanmar before the International Court of Justice came to a close.

Judges heard testimony from Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State about children being shot, stabbed, and thrown in fires, as well as gang rape and families forced into burning buildings, atrocities that the UN, @hrw.org Human Rights Watch & others had previously reported. www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

Greek Immigration Bill Demonizes Civil Society The Greek government has introduced an immigration bill with measures that explicitly link nongovernmental groups and humanitarian workers with criminal conduct, when in reality they are helping peopl...

The Greek govt introduced an immigration bill that explicitly links humanitarian workers w/ criminal conduct, when in reality they R helping people in distress trying to reach Greece. Parliament should reject these provisions & protect civic space. @evacosse.bsky.social

www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

The US Board of Immigration Appeals ruled on Jan 9 that the persecution standard for asylum was not met for a newscaster who had received two written death threats, one with 3 bullets. Going forward, it appears only death threats that are actually carried out will be sufficient evidence for asylum.

What Maduro’s ouster means for Trump’s mass deportation campaign Trump said many Venezuelan immigrants “want to go back.” Will Maduro’s removal spark a return — or another exodus?

My initial thoughts on the possible refugee fallout of US intervention in Venezuela, although this could go any number of ways. In short, no one should be forcibly returned, even if some voluntarily go home.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

US/El Salvador: Torture of Venezuelan Deportees The Venezuelan nationals the US government sent to El Salvador in March and April were tortured and subjected to other abuses, including sexual violence.

On Sunday, @60minutes.bsky.social pulled a segment on torture against US deportees in CECOT, El Salvador's mega prison.

Curious what the story said? Read HRW and @cristosal.bsky.social's report: www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

US: Masked Federal Agents Undermine Rule of Law United States federal immigration enforcement agents now commonly operate masked and without visible identification, compounding the abusive and unaccountable nature of the Trump administration’s mass...

“Allowing masked, unidentified agents to roam communities & apprehend people w/out identifying themselves erodes trust in the rule of law & creates a dangerous vacuum where abuses can flourish, exacerbating the brutality of the arrests.” @belkiswille.bsky.social @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

Humanitarians’ Baseless Trial in Greece Two dozen humanitarian workers facing 20 years in prison finally got their day in court on December 4 and 5 on the Greek island of Lesbos after a seven-year wait.

The groundless case against humanitarian workers facing 20 years in prison in Greece.

Commentary from my @hrw.org colleagues @evacosse.bsky.social and @billvanesveld.bsky.social

www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

US: Processing Freeze Scapegoats Immigrants, Asylum Seekers The Trump administration’s latest actions on immigration policy appear to be based on punitive hostility toward people of particular nationalities and to carry an unmistakable current of racism as wel...

Nothing meaningfully links the 19 nationalities for whom entry & immigration processing have been stopped except the administration’s opportunistic stigmatization and exclusion of people based on where they were born. -- Tanya Greene, US Program director @hrw.org. www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

Thailand: Montagnard Activist Extradited to Vietnam Thai authorities forcibly returned to Vietnam the prominent Montagnard human rights activist Y Quynh Bdap, putting him at risk of torture and other serious abuses.

“The Thai government has blatantly violated the country’s anti-torture law & its international legal obligations by returning Y Quynh Bdap to Vietnam, where he faces...the risk of torture.” @elainepearson.bsky.social, Asia director at Human Rights Watch @hrw.org. www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

US: Immigration Policy Undermines Public Safety The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics undercutting protection for undocumented crime survivors weakens law enforcement’s ability to investigate and prosecute crimes.

"If the Trump administration is serious about combatting crime, it will expand and improve visa programs that allow victims to come forward without fear of deportation.” Sara Darehshori, consultant to Human Rights Watch @HRW.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

Myanmar is Safe? Is it safe to return to a country wracked by an abusive armed conflict, widespread atrocities, and targeted ethnic violence, including war crimes and crimes against humanity?

"Homeland Security’s misstatements in revoking TPS for people from Myanmar are so egregious that it is hard to imagine who would believe them. Perhaps no one was expected to." My @hrw.org colleague John Sifton on the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Myanmar.

www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

Cambodia: Returned Migrant Workers Face Hunger, Joblessness The Cambodian government is failing to provide support to hundreds of thousands of migrant workers with microfinance debts who returned from Thailand because of hostilities in mid-2025.

The Cambodian government is failing to provide support to hundreds of thousands of migrant workers with microfinance debts who returned from Thailand because of hostilities in mid-2025.
www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

Tunisia: Abusive Prosecutions of Refugee Group Five employees of the Tunisian Council for Refugees will go on trial on November 24, 2025, amid a broader crackdown on civil society groups in Tunisia.

Five employees of the Tunisian Council for Refugees will go on trial today amid a broader crackdown on civil society groups in Tunisia. They face up to 23 years in prison if convicted of the unfounded charges. www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

NEW: The Israeli government’s forced displacement of the populations of three West Bank refugee camps in January and February 2025 amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Read more: www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

🚨New @hrw.org report finds #Israel committed war crimes, crimes against humanity + ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Israel forcibly displaced 32,000 #Palestinian refugees from 3 refugee camps, prevented return + systematically destroyed parts of the camps.👇
hrw.org/node/392462

Haiti: Cholera Resurgence Threatens Vulnerable Communities A resurgence of cholera in Haiti’s West department underscores the urgent need for coordinated, long-term action to restore basic water and sanitation systems.

A resurgence of cholera in Haiti’s West department underscores the urgent need for coordinated, long-term action to restore basic water and sanitation systems.

www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

1/ 🚨 New @hrw.org report: Federal agents used excessive force against protesters in Illinois. Here’s what we found. 🧵https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/10/23/united-states-federal-agents-use-excessive-force-in-illinois

🚨 NEW: @homelandgov.bsky.social federal agents used excessive force against protesters, medics, legal observers & journalists at numerous protests outside ICE facility in Illinois. This isn’t crowd control—it’s intimidation. Congress must act.
📢 Read the @hrw.org report: www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

For the US, a 180-Degree Turn on Refugees The Trump administration is poised to mount a two-pronged attack on refugee resettlement.

"The Trump administration will prioritize the immigration of people who oppose the immigration of other people"!!
@billfrelick.bsky.social @hrw.org
www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

Malaysia: Abducted Refugee Detained in Myanmar The Malaysian government should press Myanmar’s junta for the immediate release of a refugee family abducted from Kuala Lumpur in July 2023.

Malaysian authorities should press Myanmar’s junta to free Thuzar Maung and her family. They should investigate the abduction of Thuzar Maung and her family from their home in Kuala Lumpur, which may amount to transnational repression. @hrw.org @elainepearson.bsky.social
www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

Trump refugee plan seeks 7,000 Afrikaners — and virtually no one else The Trump administration’s rush to process thousands of White South Africans as refugees coincides with plans for overall admissions set as low as 7,500.

"Trump refugee plan seeks 7,000 Afrikaners — and virtually no one else" -- See my commentary on this: hrw.org/news/2025/10...

wapo.st/47BTzMA

For the US, a 180-Degree Turn on Refugees The Trump administration is poised to mount a two-pronged attack on refugee resettlement.

The #Trump administration signals deep cuts in refugee admissions and prioritizing remaining places for white South Africans & Europeans who oppose immigration. @hrw.org's @billfrelick.bsky.social says this 180° resettlement turn "adds deep insult to even deeper injury."

China: No Letup in Forced Returns to North Korea Chinese authorities since 2024 have forcibly returned at least 406 people to North Korea, where they are at grave risk of persecution and ill-treatment.

China is legally bound not to send anyone to places where they face a threat of persecution or torture. North Korea makes defection a crime punishable by death. Beijing should stop forced returns of North Koreans, provide them asylum, or permit them to seek resettlement. www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

Displacement in Haiti Reaches Record High as 1.4 Million People Flee Violence Geneva/Port-au-Prince, 15 October 2025 – The number of people displaced by violence and instability in Haiti has reached an unprecedented level, with more than 1.4 million people forced from their hom...

Alarming: "Along Haiti’s border with the Dominican Republic, communities are facing additional strain as more than 207,000 deported Haitians have returned since January 2025, to a country where gang violence has escalated."
www.iom.int/news/displac...

Italy: End Border Control Pact with Libya Italy should revoke its damaging migrant cooperation agreement with Libya, Human Rights Watch said today. The Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding on migration cooperation will renew automatically ...

Italy should revoke its damaging migrant cooperation agreement with Libya, @hrw.org said today. The Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding on migration cooperation will renew automatically for three years on November 2, 2025, if neither party revokes it or makes any revisions by that date.

How Syrian children are being shut out of Lebanon’s classrooms Government restrictions have effectively barred tens of thousands of Syrian children from school in Lebanon, as NGOs step in to teach those left behind

"Education should never be used as a political pawn & parents should not have to worry from one year to the next if their children will be able to go to school." @michellerandhawa.bsky.social @hrw.org in "How Syrian children are being shut out of Lebanon's classrooms" www.newarab.com/analysis/how...

Lebanon Restricts Education Access for Many Refugees The new government in Lebanon, formed this February under Prime Minster Nawaf Salam, has emphasized the importance of quality education for students in Lebanon and committed to providing all children ...

Lebanon's new government has emphasized the importance of quality education. But in a disappointing move, the government recently restricted access to education for many refugees.

All children, regardless of immigration status, have a right to education.

Afghans awaited U.S. resettlement. Pakistan sent them back to the Taliban. More than 1 million Afghans have been pressured to leave or deported by Pakistan. Many were former U.S. contractors approved for U.S. resettlement, now on hold under Trump.

The domino effect of the US door slam on refugee resettlement: Pakistan sends Afghans awaiting U.S. resettlement back to Taliban persecution. wapo.st/4mOAxH2