Every month, Amnesty International asks for you to take action on specific human rights cases to improve the condition of those imprisoned for no other reason than expressing their personal beliefs in a peaceful manner.
Directly from their website, these month’s cases are:
RWANDA
François-Xavier Byuma
Long-standing human rights defender Francois-Xavier Byuma was sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment on 27 May 2007, after an unfair trial in which the judge had a clear conflict of interest. Join Amnesty International in calling for a review of this case in line with international standards.
» Sample letter
» Additional information
SYRIA
Husam ‘Ali Mulhim and six others
Seven young men who were engaged in developing a youth discussion group and publishing some articles on the Internet, have been detained for more than a year, mostly in incommunicado detention, and reportedly subjected to torture. Amnesty International considers them to be prisoners of conscience and is calling for their immediate and unconditional release.
» Sample letter
» Additional information
VIETNAM
Tran Quoc Hien and four others
Five Vietnamese trade union leaders working with the United Workers-Farmers Organization were imprisoned in 2007. Viet Nam does not allow independent trade unions. Peaceful dissenting activists and government critics face arrest, imprisonment, house arrest, surveillance and harassment. The five are prisoners of conscience.
» Sample letter
» Additional information
Please write letters in support of the basic rights of these prisoners. These letters truly do work. To use a quote that you may see often:
“When the first 200 cards letters came the guards gave me back my clothes. Then the next 200 letters came and the prison director came to see me. When the next pile arrived the director got in touch with his superior. The letters kept coming and coming…3,000 of them. The President was informed. The letters still kept arriving and the President called the prison and told them to let me go.” - A released prisoner from the Dominican Republic