EBCO

URGENT📢 Connection e.V., IFOR, EBCO & WRI condemn the unlawful detention of human rights defender Yurii Sheliazhenko, March 19, in Kyiv. Weeks after our call to end persecution of conscientious objectors, authorities escalate repression! Full statement👇 bit.ly/4rIYJ0g

📣Joint Call from Conscientious Objectors and Draft Reisters in Turkey, Cyprus, Greece and Israel: No to War in Iran You can read the full statement at the link below 👇 bit.ly/4s4Qc8M

✊🕊️ Conscientious Objector Yurii Sheliazhenko under immediate threat! EBCO joins many peace & human rights orgs calling on Ukraine to stop persecuting conscientious objectors and drop charges against him. Full statement on our website👇 bit.ly/46dGN5L

On Human Rights Day, our member @vrizleme (Turkey), organised a press conference. On the event, trans activist Hikmet Hazer declared conscientious objection. 🌈✊☮️ EBCO proudly stands with all conscientious objectors defending peace, freedom, and equality!

📢 Dec 5: Students across Germany strike against conscription & militarization. From classrooms to the streets, they demand: ➡️ “We want a say in our future!” ✊🕊️ More info 👉 @BetterWorldInfo #schulstreikgegenwehrpflicht #neinzurwehrpflicht besserewelt.info/militaer/bunde…

For more information, please visit our website👇 ebco-beoc.org/press-release/…

Peace activists from both sides of Cyprus gathered outside the court to show solidarity, joined by one international observer representing both EBCO and War Resisters’ International. ✊EBCO stands in solidarity with Hasan, @kibrsvicdaniret and all conscientious objectors!

📢 Trial of Hasan Rahvancıoğlu Postponed On 27 Nov, the Military Court in Nicosia postponed the trial of conscientious objector Hasan Rahvancıoğlu to 22 Jan 2026. He faces three cases simply for exercising his right to conscientious objection.

✊Hasan Rahvancıoğlu’s next trial is set for 27 November 2025, and we will be closely monitoring the proceedings in solidarity. Conscientious objection is a human right. Hasan Rahvancıoğlu is not alone!

📢 Stop Prosecuting Turkish Cypriot Conscientious Objector Hasan Rahvancıoğlu Connection e.V., IFOR, EBCO and @warresistersint call on authorities to immediately end the prosecution of conscientious objector Hasan Rahvancıoğlu. Full statement👇 bit.ly/48g89IP

📽️ Conscientious Objection: Global Perspectives: Voices from Belgium, Europe, Israel & Chile come together in this French-language roundtable on the right to refuse military service. 🌍 Shared challenges, global solidarity. 📌 Video in French. youtube.com/watch?v=mBr4aY…

EBCO Vice President Sam Biesemans and Treasurer Jean-Louis Vander Heiden (Agir pour la Paix) shared powerful reflections on peace. Eytan Bornstein, Israeli anti-militarist activist, and Pia Figueroa, co-director of Pressenza, also contributed inspiring testimonies.

🕊️ On November 6, EBCO took part in a roundtable in Brussels on conscientious objection, organized within Pressenza’s international meeting in collaboration with Agir pour la Paix. pressenza.com/fr/2025/11/la-…

Our member organisation @vrizleme Conscientious Objection Watch Vicdani Ret İzleme has shared an important announcement! After many years, a conscientious objector will be imprisoned in Turkey! Send a message of solidarity to conscientious objector Çınar Koçgiri Doğan.

Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all those who worked with him. We will continue the work he championed, with the same dedication and clarity he inspired in so many of us. EBCO Board

We honour his legacy, his unwavering commitment, and the humanity he brought to every struggle he engaged in.

On behalf of the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, we express our deepest condolences on the passing of Rudi Friedrich. Rudi was a tireless advocate for the rights of conscientious objectors and deserters across the world.