Elena Urlaeva (born 1957)^[1] is an Uzbek human rights activist. She is the president of the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan. She focuses on "document[ing] the practice of forced labour in the cotton industry."^[2] According to the BBC, "Urlaeva's persistent work contributed to an international campaign which ultimately led major global brands to join a boycott of Uzbek cotton."^[2]

Urlaeva was arrested on May 31, 2015, in Chinaz.^[3] Human Rights Watch reported that "Police and doctors forcibly sedated Elena Urlaeva and then subjected her to a body cavity search, x-rays, and other abuse."^[3]

The Solidarity Center reported that Urlaeva was "detained against her will in a psychiatric hospital in Tashkent" in May 2016,^[4] "for more than a month".^[5]

On March 1, 2017, according to Anti-Slavery International, Urlaeva was "arrested [...], beaten by Uzbekistan police and detained in a psychiatric prison on forced medical treatment."^[6] Reuters further reported she had explained her situation in a video,^[1] days before she was scheduled to speak in front of the World Bank, the International Labour Organization and the International Trade Union Confederation.^[7] She was released from the hospital after 23 days.^[8]