As its neighbors fight outbreaks of HIV among users of injection drugs, Hungary is adopting policies and attitudes that threaten to inflame the situation, not improve it.

Azerbaijan, now holding the presidency of the Council of Europe, continues to be dogged by its human rights record. Last month, the Court of Human Rights ruled that the government violated the basic human rights of a political prisoner.

The Polish Constitutional Court has expanded the rights of the accused, including granting defendants of misdemeanor charges full access to legal representation.

The Republic of Azerbaijan has assumed the presidency of the Council of Europe - an organization set up to promote democracy and human rights. But the authoritarian regime of Ilham Aliyev keeps more than 100 political prisoners locked up.

The Hungarian government is once again abusing its power, this time by trying to control the independence of civil society and accusing a Norwegian government agency of meddling in Hungarian politics.

Since 2012, guarded centers for foreigners have visibly changed for the better. Nevertheless, many things still need to be improved, says the report “Still Behind Bars."

The Romanian government wants all Romanians to register all pre-paid SIM cards and record all traffic going through free public Wi-Fi hotspots. Sign the petition against this abuse and remind the government that privacy is a fundamental right.

In its latest attack on democracy, the Hungarian government raided civil society organizations and accused a foreign NGO fund of political meddling. As democratic principles continue to be demolished, Hungary looks more and more like Putin's Russia.

The European Court of Human Rights, in the case McDonald v. United Kingdom, has ruled on the standards that should be followed by local authorities while balancing budget savings and social welfare services.

Employees of a Turkish TV channel broadcasting in Germany, of which Mr. Z. Karaman is a director, started two charity organizations and solicited donations on-air. In 2006 German prosecutors began an investigation for fraudulent use of said donations.