In another case, on 16 November 2022 Russia’s National Guard (Rosgvardiya) arrested and disappeared two parish priests in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the Black Sea coastal town of Berdyansk (Zaporizhzhia Region), Hieromonk Ivan Levytsky and Fr Bohdan Heleta. Russia’s National Guard reports directly to the Russian President. This ende

It is common for the occupation forces to disappear the people they seize, sometimes for months at a time, leaving fellow-believers, relatives, and friends uncertain if they are still alive. Torture is also a common experience of many who have been seized. In a case where a priest refused to join a Russian-controlled body, Fr Kostiantyn Maksimov se

of religious communities was imposed, and of the 1,156 religious communities which had Ukrainian legal status only about 400 had gained Russian legal status by early 2016, when the re-registration deadline expired. Serious systemic violations of many human rights also took place in the eastern parts of Ukraine’s Donbas Region before Russia’s Fe

Here, Armenia and Iran have found common ground in their opposition to Azerbaijan’s proposed corridor. At the same time, recent diplomatic meetings between Iran and Armenia, signalling each other’s willingness to work across a multitude of issues, coupled with Iran’s increased economic activity with the Eurasian region, indicate a potential p

Pakistan’s 2024 witnessed economic uncertainties, political instability, social unrest and the resurgence of terrorism, marking a grim period. These challenges were not isolated incidents, but manifestations of a broader systemic failure that has persisted for decades. The inability to address these issues comprehensively has left the country in