Category Archives: Prisoners and People at Risk

News and updates about individuals around the world at risk of human rights abuses.

Iran Must Stop Arbitrary Arrests of Dual Nationals

June 9, 2016 at 11:00 AM
with husband Richard and their daughter Gabriella

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with husband Richard and their daughter Gabriella.

By Kaitlyn O’Shaughnessy

At any one time, there are around 10 million people in prison worldwide. Of these, an estimated 3.2 million haven’t yet had a trial. International human rights law prohibits arbitrary detention—detention that occurs for no legitimate reason or without legal process—and requires fair and independent public hearings to determine rights and obligations related to criminal charges.

Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines every individual’s right to be free from arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile, while Article 10 enshrines an individual’s right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal when faced with criminal charges.

A recent uptick in arrests of dual nationals by Iranian authorities serves as a reminder that constant vigilance is required to ensure freedom from arbitrary detention and fair trial rights are respected worldwide. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Salvadoran Authorities Want to Send Maria Teresa Back to Jail

June 1, 2016 at 12:02 PM
First portraits of Maria Teresa Rivera free. She spent 4 years in prison before a court dropped the charges against her on 20 May 2016. María Teresa was one of "Las 17" group of women in prison out of suspicion of having had an abortion.

First portraits of Maria Teresa Rivera free. She spent 4 years in prison before a court dropped the charges against her on 20 May 2016. María Teresa was one of “Las 17” group of women in prison out of suspicion of having had an abortion.

Maria Teresa Rivera’s recent release from prison was a major victory for women’s rights in El Salvador. Nonetheless, the nation’s Attorney General has said he intends to appeal the decision overturning her conviction. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

El Salvador – Maria Teresa thanks supporters after release from jail

May 27, 2016 at 2:54 PM
First portraits of Maria Teresa Rivera free. She spent 4 years in prison before a court dropped the charges against her on 20 May 2016. María Teresa was one of "Las 17" group of women in prison out of suspicion of having had an abortion.

First portraits of Maria Teresa Rivera free. She spent 4 years in prison before a court dropped the charges against her on 20 May 2016. María Teresa was one of “Las 17” group of women in prison out of suspicion of having had an abortion.

By Maria Teresa Rivera

On 20 May 2016, Maria Teresa Rivera was finally freed from prison in El Salvador after a judge dismissed the charges against her. In 2011, she had been given a 40-year sentence after suffering a miscarriage. Thousands of people across the world rallied to her cause. This is her thank you message to everyone.  

I want to thank everyone who supported me and who never left me alone, everyone who believed in me and always said that I was innocent even though you did not know me. This was very special to me.  SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Azerbaijan: Khadija, On Your Birthday, You Are Not Alone!

May 25, 2016 at 12:00 AM

Khadija Ismayilova.jpgBy Ella Shen and Viachaslau “Slava” Bortnik, Eurasia Coordination Group at Amnesty International USA

**UPDATE: Khadija was freed on May 25th, 2016, however, her conviction is still yet to be overturned.

Renowned investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova turns forty on Friday, May 27, celebrating her birthday for the second consecutive year in Baku’s Kurdukhani jail. Prior to the politically motivated charges and her imprisonment, Ismayilova worked as a senior investigator with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and as a political radio host at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Please join Amnesty International in wishing Khadija a happy birthday and declaring your support and solidarity with her. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Worldwide Activism Brings Justice for Maria Teresa Rivera!

May 23, 2016 at 10:30 AM
"Isabel and "Ruth" (not their real name) are the mother in law and neighbor of María Teresa Rivera, one of "Las 17" women who are imprisoned in El Salvador with charges of "aggravated homicides" under the suspicion of having had an abortion.

“Isabel and “Ruth” (not their real name) are the mother in law and neighbor of María Teresa Rivera, one of “Las 17” women who are imprisoned in El Salvador with charges of “aggravated homicides” under the suspicion of having had an abortion.

“Today, we celebrate Teresa’s freedom, her joy, and her tears upon reuniting with her ten-year-old son. This is the result of the actions in solidarity taken by thousands of people and various organizations in El Salvador and other countries.”
–The Citizens’ Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion in El Salvador

On Friday, May 20, a Salvadoran Court held a resentencing hearing for Maria Teresa Rivera, a woman who was serving a 40-year prison term for allegedly killing her newborn child. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

IDAHOT 2016: LGBT Human Rights Around The World

May 17, 2016 at 12:00 AM

IDAHOT

Today, May 17, Amnesty International celebrates International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. This IDAHOT, Amnesty International condemns the ongoing discrimination, violence, and denial of fundamental human rights faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people around the world. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Sri Lanka Poetry Competition: “And the winners are….!”

May 15, 2016 at 1:47 PM

Never Forgotten - Still Want the Truth image

Last fall, I told you about “Silenced Shadows” – a poetry competition that Amnesty was launching in Sri Lanka on the theme of enforced disappearances. Sri Lanka has experienced at least 80,000 cases of enforced disappearances over the past 30 years. The vast majority are still unaccounted for and the perpetrators remain unpunished. The agony of the families of the disappeared – not knowing whether their loved ones are alive or dead, or what condition they’re in if they are still alive – continues unabated to this day. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

It is Time for Leonard Peltier to be Freed

May 10, 2016 at 4:01 PM

Amnesty has serious concerns about the fairness of Leonard Peltier's (above) trial (Photo Credit: Taro Yamasaki).

“Only one thing’s sadder than remembering you were once free, and that’s forgetting you were once free.” –Leonard Peltier

This weekend I made the 850 mile trip from the Nation’s Capitol to the sprawling Coleman Federal Correction Complex in Wildwood Florida to visit a man who has been in Federal custody for more than half of his life – Leonard Peltier. As I wound my way past barbed wire and concrete, the words above weighed heavy on my mind. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Sole witness to Berta Cáceres murder: “It was clear she was going to get killed”

May 9, 2016 at 12:41 PM
Portrait of Gustavo Castro. Environmental and Human rights activist.

Portrait of Gustavo Castro. Environmental and Human rights activist.

By Josefina Salomón, News Writer at Amnesty International

The armed men who burst into the house of Honduran Indigenous leader Berta Cáceres on 3 March had a simple plan: find her, kill her, and leave.

What they didn’t expect, however, is for Gustavo Castro, a human rights activist working with Friends of the Earth Mexico and a close friend of Berta’s, to be in the next room. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

“I will never stop” – a mother’s campaign to free her son in Iran

May 6, 2016 at 3:17 PM

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By Ezat Taheri, mother of prisoner of conscience, Mohammad Ali Taheri

Iranian spiritual teacher and prisoner of conscience Mohammad Ali Taheri has been in pre-trial solitary confinement for five years, and has launched over a dozen hunger strikes in protest at his detention. His mother Ezat tells us of her long fight for his release:

The day my son was arrested, every single cell inside my body was trembling with fear. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST