Human rights

According to the decision in the third hearing in the case Gezi Park, Osman Kavala has to remain behind bars. OBCT joins other international organisations to call for his release. The full text of the statement

The Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala is in jail for more than 700 days. He's accused of trying to overthrow the government and to have financed the Gezi Park protests in 2013. However, there is no convincing evidence against him

While Croatia may be a paradise for tourism, actually living and working there is a lot more difficult. Croatian workers move abroad in large numbers: a phenomenon rooted in a combination of both long-term and short-term factors. An analysis

Less than two months after acquittal in the first instance, two journalists and an activist find themselves accused of "terrorist propaganda": Erol Önderoğlu, Ahmet Nesin, and Şebnem Korur Fincancı will have to face the appeal trial

On July 25^th, 1992, 150 civilians were killed in the Bosniak village of Zecovi, a few kilometres from Prijedor. Among them 29 relatives of Fikret Bačić, who returned to Bosnia at the end of the war to search for their bodies and bring those responsible to trial. On the day of the commemoration of the massacre, we collected his testimony

OBCT and the undersigned organizations call on the Montenegrin authorities to acquit investigative journalist Jovo Martinović, convicted for marijuana smuggling and criminal association and sentenced to 18 months in prison despite overwhelming evidence that his only links with organized crime were those of a reporter

Huge participation, no accidents, visibly moved participants. And from the stage, the first Pride of Sarajevo is dedicated to all the oppressed of Bosnia and Herzegovina

In 2008, the first LGBT public initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered a harsh aggression which caused 15 injured and the cancellation of the event. On September 8^th, the opportunity is coming to overcome this trauma, with the country's first Pride

Domestic violence in Armenia is unfortunately still socially accepted. Fortunately, however, institutions are starting to address the problem. The story of Gayane

Every year, in Ptuj, Slovenia, a poet writes a "letter to Europe". This year it is signed by Ilija Trojanow, writer, translator and publisher

A daily occurrence in Balkan newsrooms and a risk factor for press freedom according to international bodies, online harassment against women in the media is on the rise everywhere

The Zagreb government is determined to soften the requirements for obtaining Croatian citizenship, with an eye on intercepting the diaspora. But there are those who feel discriminated against: the case of Milan Škorić and the 5,000 without nationality

Following the Russian occupation of Crimea, the Tatar community is under great pressure. An analysis of the situation through historical digressions and a meeting with the Tatar representatives recently elected in the Ukrainian parliament

Disappointment and anger among the victims' associations for the ruling of the Dutch Supreme Court on the Srebrenica events of July 1995. The court has ruled that the state had "a very limited responsibility" for the death of about 350 Bosnian Muslim men

Age discrimination in Armenia's labour market is a serious problem, as witnessed by Karine, Karen and Anna. However, a bill that would change the situation is being discussed in the National Assembly

OBC Transeuropa and 20 other human rights and freedom of expression organisations condemn a Turkish pro-government think-tank’s report that accuses leading international media of being biased against the government and singles out their correspondents for attack. The organisations regard the report as a dangerous escalation in the harassment of journalists.

Srebrenica genocide did not happen by accident and began well before its full horror became visible. It took shape with public discourse that dehumanised the Other

The deaths of Dženan and David are just some of the "silenced cases", the many episodes of bad justice that have shaken Bosnia and Herzegovina in recent years. Hence arose one of the few mobilisations capable of crossing the administrative and so-called "ethnic" borders of the country after the war

Tomorrow Skopje is holding its first Pride, with the support of important institutional representatives. A step forward for the rights of the Northern Macedonia's LGTBI community, in a historically difficult context

"It was the celebration that we wanted, and it had to be, because – the organisers reiterated – freedom is in our tradition". The 2019 edition of Kyiv Pride closes with about 8,000 estimated participants – almost twice than in 2018 – and without the violence that had characterised the previous editions. A photo story by Monica Ellena

What is the situation of the Serbian minority in Croatia? We talked about it with Dejan Jović, university professor and recent candidate in the European elections

Before leaving the presidential chair to the newly elected Volodymyr Zelensky, Petro Porošenko signed a new language law – one that puts minority rights under strong pressure

Gjimi left his mountains as a boy, along with his parents. But both in Tirana and away from Albania he has only found hard work and exploitation. And he decided, with courage, to return to his homeland

Since 1995, the relatives of numerous "desaparecidos", who disappeared during the Kurdish conflict in Turkey, ask for justice and truth in Galatasaray Square. Last summer sit-ins were banned, but their struggle continues

Will parties run enough women, and will they be placed in electable positions on electoral lists? Besides electoral systems, determination and concrete action are required to incentivise female representation. Let’s take a look at where we are now, with the numbers in hand

On Wednesday, the MICT (Residual Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals) condemned on appeal the former leader of Bosnian Serbs during the war of the 1990s to life imprisonment. While Karadžić will serve the sentence in a state for now unknown, his ideas unfortunately continue to circulate

Soon the Chechen women will be able to take taxis driven by women and only for women. An initiative sponsored by an Arab investment fund that caused very different reactions

Bosnia Herzegovina and its citizens' initiatives in defense of its natural resources and waterways

Afghans represent Turkey's largest community of irregular migrants, still growing despite forced repatriations, denied rights, and difficult living conditions

The fact that the Serbian prime minister recently had a child from her partner does not make her legally a parent. In fact, Serbia lacks a law on same-sex marriages. Could this be the chance?