HRF supports the candidacy of Cuban human rights defender Rosa María Payá Acevedo for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. A fearless advocate for democracy and human rights in Latin America, she has dedicated her life to exposing authoritarianism and human rights abuses throughout the region. She would make an excellent IACHR Commissioner. Watch her 2016 Oslo Freedom Forum talk: https://oslofreedomforum.com/talk/let-cuba-decide/ (fb)

HRF strongly condemns the severe torture of Kurdish-Iranian rapper Saman Yasin during two years in Iranian prisons, including mock executions, being hung upside down, and beatings. His case highlights Iran’s systematic use of physical and psychological abuse to crackdown on artists and activists. In October 2022, Yasin was arrested in Tehran during protests over Mahsa Amini’s death. He was sentenced to death for “enmity against God” due to his activism and anti-regime songs. The sentence was later overturned on appeal and reduced to five years. After two years in prison and enduring torture that shattered his nose, Yasin was released on medical furlough to receive nasal surgery. In November 2024, when officials ordered him back to prison five months early, he fled Iran, crossing into Iraq. He now lives in Germany in exile. (fb)