“Religious freedom is essential to a free society.” Authoritarian regimes fear independent faith for the same reason they fear independent media, civil society, and democratic movements: these are communities of conviction the state does not control. Christians, Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners—across China, people are defending the fundamental freedom to believe and worship according to their conscience. @SamuelBrownback makes a powerful case for standing with them. “When a government claims the power to rewrite scripture, imprison believers, appoint spiritual leaders or separate children from the traditions of their families, people of faith must declare: a faith belongs to the faithful souls, not the government.” Proud that @NEDemocracy has supported courageous communities defending religious freedom for decades.

Brooklyn Rivera spent 32 months in detention with almost no contact with his family. When the Indigenous Miskito leader died in custody, there was no independent investigation or autopsy. UN experts now identify at least eight deaths in custody and 161 enforced disappearances under Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo regime. This is what lies behind the regime’s abolition of elections: a coordinated machinery of detention, disappearance and fear designed to eliminate every peaceful challenge to power. Nicaragua’s democratic movement, and the families still demanding answers, deserve accountability, freedom and the right to determine their country’s future. apnews.com/article/nicaragua…

Four years later, the courage of Iran’s women endures—and so does the movement they inspired. Grateful to my friend @AlinejadMasih for ensuring the world remembers. Every day, you name someone killed by the Iranian regime showing everyone that behind this struggle are individual lives that must never be forgotten. Woman. Life. Freedom.