SRT Newsletter – September 2026

Grantee news:

Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) has been named one of four recipients of the 2026 Right Livelihood Award, often referred to as the “Alternative Nobel Prize”, for “building and safeguarding Georgian democracy and sustaining civic power in the face of an autocratic crackdown”. The award recognises GYLA’s three decades of legal aid, strategic litigation and human rights work, as well as its continued work amid increasing restrictions on Georgian civil society. It is the first Georgian organisation or individual ever to receive this award.

EHRAC has called for the immediate release of Anar Mammadli, a prominent Azerbaijani human rights defender and election monitor who was sentenced to 13 years in prison by a court in Baku. EHRAC is working with an Azerbaijani lawyer to challenge his imprisonment and says the conviction is politically motivated and is in retaliation for his human rights work.

Ahead of Serbia’s October elections, CRTA has raised concerns about independent election oversight and media scrutiny. The organisation also declined an invitation to join political candidates in an RTS election debate, after which outgoing President Aleksandar Vučić accused it of participating in an alleged “colour revolution”. CRTA highlighted weaknesses in campaign finance and media oversight, including the exclusion of pro-government TV Informer from pre-election monitoring. Separately, the Committee to Protect Journalists has warned of escalating threats and violence against journalists ahead of Serbia’s elections, including physical attacks, police obstruction and threats that have forced some independent reporters to leave the country.

HOPE not Hate has warned about the growth of organised anti-migrant groups in the UK following coordinated actions by the far-right-linked Patriot Platform, whose masked members blocked roads in Dover and protested in Portsmouth in September. At least 28 anti-migrant vigilante groups have reportedly emerged across the UK in the past 18 months, with HOPE not Hate warning that a lack of decisive action could allow such activity to escalate.

Spotlight on Corruption’s Dr Susan Hawley has commented on a Democracy for Sale and Lighthouse Reports investigation which found that the Tony Blair Institute offers corporate members, including BP, Uber and Amazon, networking opportunities at party conferences through a membership scheme starting at $25,000 a year. Spotlight’s Dr Hawley said the arrangement raised concerns about opaque corporate lobbying and whether existing lobbying rules are adequate.

Watershed Investigations has helped reveal concerning levels of the “forever chemical” PFOA in the blood of residents living near a chemical factory in Lancashire. PFOA is a known carcinogen in the PFAS family and one of the four restricted under the Stockholm Convention. Tests of 49 people found widespread elevated levels, following previous investigations that detected PFOA in local soil, eggs and vegetables and led to the closure of two allotment sites.

ClientEarth lawyer Hélène Duguy has been profiled by The Guardian for her work tackling PFAS (“forever chemicals”) pollution across Europe. She is supporting cases against chemical companies Arkema and Daikin in France, has challenged Belgium’s response to widespread contamination, and advised lawyers in Italy’s landmark Miteni case, which resulted in prison sentences for 11 former chemical executives.

KuzeyDoğa Derneği has been profiled by the BBC for its work protecting eastern Türkiye’s rapidly disappearing wetlands and migratory birds. With four-fifths of the country’s lakes already dried up, KuzeyDoğa is working to protect important remaining sites including Lake Kuyucuk, where it has removed two major dams and reconnected 12km of streams, helping restore a wetland supporting more than 40,000 migratory birds annually. It is also campaigning to protect its Aras bird research station from a proposed dam.

And finally, in sad news Ukrainian human rights defender Oleksandra (Sasha) Delemenchuk died in September, aged 43. Delemenchuk founded grantee Tbilisi Shelter City, which has provided temporary safety and support to hundreds of human rights defenders, activists and journalists at risk, and was a former board member of grantee Truth Hounds. She had also worked at the Center for Civil Liberties and co-founded the Euromaidan SOS initiative.