Widespread protests have rocked Caracas following the contested inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro on January 10, 2019. Many consider the election, which the opposition boycotted, to be illegitimate, and claim that his government has systemically dismantled the country’s system of checks and balances. Days after the inauguration, the leader of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó,…
Azerbaijan On January 22, 2019, the government of Azerbaijan dropped charges brought against anticorruption blogger and political prisoner Mehman Huseynov due to tremendous international pressure. For over three weeks, Mehman undertook a hunger strike in protest of the unfounded charges. In solidarity, a number of #SetThemFree political prisoners joined the hunger strike including: Khadija Ismayilova,…
Venezuelan lawyer, professor, and activist. Elected Parliamentarian to the National Assembly of Venezuela. Member of Voluntad Popular.
Ethiopia: Oromo activist Dr. Merera Gudina has now spent a year in detention. Dr. Gudina’s trial concluded on November 30, 2017, and his verdict will be delivered on January 3, 2018. The trial took place a full year after the scholar and chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) was arrested and accused of violating Ethiopia’s…