Nabeel Rajab is a prominent leader of Bahrain’s human rights movement. Mr. Rajab has been repeatedly targeted and arrested by the Bahraini authorities for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

The Myanmar Police Force in Letpadan Township attacked the crowd and brutally crushed the peaceful march. As a result, Phyoe Phyoe Aung and scores of other students and their supporters now face lengthy jail terms.

Norma Cruz has received numerous death threats for her work documenting cases of violence against women in Guatemala and helping women fight for justice.

Albert Woodfox’s conviction for the murder of a prison guard had already been overturned numerous times – by a U.S. District Judge, and three U.S. Federal Appeal Judges from the 5th Circuit – yet the state of Louisiana has continued to appeal the decision[s].

We believe that Eskinder Nega is a “Prisoner of Conscience”, someone who is being detained solely for his peaceful and legitimate activities as a journalist. We therefore call for his, as well as the many other unjustly arrested journalists’, immediate and unconditional release.

Through his lawyers, Shaker Aamer has alleged that he was subjected to torture, including severe beatings, and other ill-treatment while being held in secret detention and interrogated at Bagram, Afghanistan, in early 2002.

Rafael Marques de Morais is an internationally well respected journalist who dared write a book exposing human rights abuses and corruption in the diamond fields in Angola.

Samer al-Issawi was released December 22, 2013. Our groups letters of concern helped release Samer al-Issawi of Palestine. Samer al-Issawi had been held by the Israeli authorities since July 7, 2012.

Yorm Bopha was arrested in September 2012, when she was accused of planning an assault on two men. On December 27, 2012, she was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, after an unfair trial. According to an Amnesty International Report, there is no evidence links Yorm Bopha to the crime.

Greyson and Loubani were unjustly imprisoned in Egypt following riots between pro and anti government groups in Egypt. The Prosecutors continued to hold them indefinitely despite the law that prohibits it.

Omar Khadr is a Canadian citizen who was captured, badly wounded, in Afghanistan in July, 2002 at age 15 by American forces. He was held and tortured at Guantanamo Bay detention camp for 10 years.

Uzbek poet was arrested and tortured following the confiscation of his poems. Yusuf Dzhumaev, a father of six children, was arrested at his home on October 23, 2001, by officers of the National Security Service (SNB).

Jabbar Savalan was a 20 year old student and member of the opposition Popular Front Party (PFP) in Azerbaijan. On February 4, 2011, the day before his arrest, Jabbar Savalan posted on Facebook calling for protests against the government in Baku.

Gilad Shalit was an Israeli soldier held more than five years in captivity in an unknown location somewhere in the Gaza Strip.

Urinboy Usmonov is a journalist and novelist who was arrested after being falsely implicated in criminal activities related to banned religious groups.

The Global Importune letter signing group began sending letters of concern on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi to officials in the government Burma sometime around June 2003.

Tagyal is a Tibetan scholar and writer. He was held under suspicion of “inciting separatism.”

In 1995, Irene Fernandez published a report on the living conditions of the migrant workers entitled “Abuse, Torture and Dehumanised Conditions of Migrant Workers in Detention Centres.” She was arrested in 1996 and charged with ‘maliciously publishing false news’.

Magdalena García Durán was a street vendor and mother of five children, she had been in prison since May 4, 2006 when she was arbitrarily arrested in San Salvador Atenco, México State.

Jampel Chunjor, Ngawang Gyaltsen and Ven Ngawang Phulchung are Tibetian Monks jailed by the Chinese government for promoting democracy in Tibet.

Suyahman, Safrudin, Akhen Pane and Towo were imprisoned solely for their legitimate trade union activities. The four men were arrested following a strike and demonstration in September 2005.

Our groups letters of concern helped release Latsami Khamphoui and Feng Sakchittaph of Laos.

Latsami Khamphoui, a Laotian economist and former government vice minister—and his cellmate, Feng Sakchittaphong, also a former high-ranking government official—finished serving, in October 2004, harsh 14-year prison sentences for peacefully expressing their concern about the Lao government’s economic policies. According to reliable reports, they were released from prison when their sentences expired in October, but were held under house arrest in a village near the remote prison until mid-December.

Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today received MM Latsami Khamphoui and Feng Sakchittaphong

Following their release from prison, Mr. Latsami and Mr. Feng—both of whom suffered from serious ill-health—requested permission to travel to France to seek specialized medical treatment and to join members of their families who live there.

Both men were reunited with their families in France, released December 12, 2004

The Global Importune letter signing group began sending letters of concern on behalf of Latsami Khamphoui & Feng Sakchittaph to officials in the government of Laos sometime around April 1998.

They were released on December 12, 2004.

Hafnaoui Ghoul, a correspondent for the daily newspaper “El Youm” and a member of the Algerian Human Rights League. Hafnaoui Ghoul publicized concerns about human rights violations and alleged corruption and public mismanagement in the region of Djelf.

Malik Jarno is a Guinean asylum-seeker who was held in York County Prison in York County, Pennsylvania. He arrived in the United States in January 2001 as a 16-year-old after Guinean government forces killed his family and destroyed his home.

In 2002 the 35-year-old was sentenced to two years in prison for his involvement with TUNeZINE, an independent website critical of the Tunisian government.

Riad al-Turk was arrested on September 1, 2001, charged with “defying the state and trying to change the constitution by illegal means” and subjected to a trial widely seen as unfair before a state security court.

Maher Arar is a Canadian Syrian citizen held in Syria In 2001, he was held in solidarity confinement in the U.S. for nearly two weeks, questioned, and denied meaningful access to a lawyer.

During a third trial before Egypt’s highest civil court in 2003, he was cleared of all charges and released, but not before a storm of international protest had put the Mubarak regime on the defensive.

Our groups letters of concern helped release Hassan Bility of Liberia Hassan Bility was a journalist with The Analyst newspaper, who was held incommunicado and without charge or trial following his arrest on June 24, 2002.

The Global Importune letter signing group began sending letters of concern on behalf of Pavel Mozheiko and Nikolai Markevich to officials in the Belarus government.

Dr. Alamgir has testified that police severely beat him with lathi (bamboo sticks) and glass bottles filled with water. Furthermore, he was denied medicine for his diabetes. Authorities have failed to investigate his allegations.

In 1996, she was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment after legal proceedings which were marked by serious abuse of investigative and detention procedures, including the use of torture.

Vera Stremkovskaya is a Belarusian human rights lawyer and Director of the Center for Human Rights in Belarus. She has represented many politically unpopular clients and has recently become an object of increasingly negative state attention.

They were illegally held in military custody for five days, during which time they were tortured and forced to sign blank pieces of paper later submitted at their trials as confessions to drug and weapons crimes.

In 1998, Mahuba Kasymova was sentenced to five years in prison, but because of the efforts of human activists around the world who adopted her as an Amnesty International Political Prisoner, she was released after serving 18 months of her sentence.

Wa’el Ali Farraj was a 24-year-old history student, detained without charge or trial for nearly three years, despite a High Court judgment ordering his release.

Karim Amer, 23-year-old writer, blogger and student sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for criticizing religious and government authorities.

Our groups letters of concern helped release Father Hillary Boma and 26 of Sudan.

Father Hillary Boma and 26 others were held, charged and sentence during an unfair military trial in the capitol city of Khartoum.

The 27 men, including two Roman Catholic priests, held on charges relating to alleged involvement with explosions in Khartoum in June 1998.

It is believed that the unjust charges against the accused were all politically motivated in nature and thus, Amnesty International believes that the accused are “prisoners of conscience” and called for the immediate and unconditional release.

They were released on December 18, 1999.

On November 30, 1999 M. Chigir was released from prison to give a written undertaking not to leave the place of residence. The sitting of the court that was to be held on December 27 was postponed.

Ngawang Phulchng and four other unnamed Drepung Monks were released. They were the last monks of the original ‘Group of Ten.’

The Chinese authorities tried everything to stop dissident Wei Jingsheng from speaking out for human rights and democracy – including locking him up in prison for 18 years and subjecting him to torture.