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Editor's Notes
In April 2004, journalist Shi Tao used his Yahoo! Email account to send a message to a United States democratic websiteHe was arrested in November 2004 and charged with “illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities”He has been held and forced into hard laborCall for the immediate release of this prisoner of conscience
May 2006 45 peasant women were arrested without explanationThey were subjected to physical, psychological and sexual violence by the arresting officersBarbara Italia Mendez was repeatedly sexually assaulted during her journey to the prison by officersThe prison doctors failed to document the abuse and refused to take evidence of the sexual assaultsCall for justice for these women and the end to violence against women
Head of the union workers, Mansour was arrested in July 2007 and is serving a 5 year prison term for acts against national security in IranMasour’s health is failing and has been denied medical treatmentCall for the immediate release this prisoner of conscience
Remains detained at Guantanamo Cleared for release more than 4 years agoHas not been charged with any crimeCall for action to release all Yemeni nations who are detained without charge or trial at Guantanamo
Ages 41 and 30 respectively Imprisoned for defending the rights of local farmers who were being extorted by government officialsBoth me were beaten and tortured during the detention During severe torture, both men were forced to sign confessionsCall for immediate action to release Karamatov and Formonov from their torturous prisons
Human rights lawyers were jailed for “conducting propaganda against the State”Two lawyers chose to defend imprisoned Protestant Christians who claimed persecution by the stateNguyen Van Da was one of the original signatories online petition: Freedom and Democracy for VietnamLe Thi Cong Nhan was the spokeswoman for the Vietnam Progression Party (a pro-democracy political parties)Call for the release of these prisoners of conscience
Human rights defender Rita Mahato has been threatened with death, rape and kidnapping as a result of her work helping women in Nepal who have suffered acts of violenceJune 2007, between 60 and 70 men arrived at the WOREC offices, threatening Rita Mahato and other staff with rape and death and insisting that they leave the village within five days.Despite reporting these incidents to the police and requesting protection, no action was taken
BirtukanMideksa, an opposition party leader, is serving a life sentence in Kaliti Prison Mother of a 4 year old girlDuring a protest, BirtukanMideksa was charged with treason among other charges, convicted and sentenced to life in prisonCall for action to release Mideksa and reunite her with her family
novelist and human rights defender in EgyptAs a result of unsanitary conditions, Musaad Abu Fagr developed an abscess on his foot in Borg al-Arab prison, where he was held for a year. The prison authorities provided no medical treatment but a fellow inmate, a doctor, performed the surgery without anesthetic. He recovered from this ordeal thanks to his family and lawyer, who brought him medication to prevent infectionFagr continues to be held, more than 18 months after the courts first ordered he be released. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience, detained for the peaceful expression of his views.
In 1990, the NLD won more than 80% of the popular vote in Myanmar (Burma)This Nobel Peace winner was jailed by the military after the election she (and her party) won by a landslideShe has spend over 14 of the last 20 years in prison and is currently under house arrestCall for the immediate release of prisoners of conscience in Myanmar
