Write like someone’s life depends on it!...

Amnesty International



Sometimes a letter can change someone’s life. That’s the premise of Write for Rights, Amnesty’s global letter-writing campaign. Today, it’s one of the world’s biggest human rights events.
Every December, Amnesty supporters across the globe will write millions of letters for those whose basic human rights are being attacked. They are people like you, continuing a long tradition of writing letters to right some of the world’s biggest wrongs.
And it’s not just letters – it could be petitions, emails, Tweets, Facebook posts, photos, postcards. Your words really can change lives. Join us.

ACTIONS WORLDWIDE

1,086,823

LETTERS, EMAILS, PETITIONS AND MORE

Write for their rights today 

Support Shawkan

Tell the Public Prosecutor of Egypt:

Drop all charges against Shawkan and free him immediately

Act now

Support Edward Snowden

Tell President Obama:

Pardon Edward Snowden, a whistleblower who acted in the public interest

Act now

Support people with albinism

Tell the President of Malawi:

Protect people with albinism from murder

Act now

Halt the Site C dam

Tell Canada’s Prime Minister:

Don't sacrifice Indigenous rights for a hydro-electric dam

Act now

Support Eren Keskin

Tell Turkey’s Minister of Justice:

Don't jail Eren. Her only crime was to speak out against injustice.

Act now

Support Bayram and Giyas

Tell the President of Azerbaijan:

Free Bayram and Giyas: a graffiti protest doesn't justify a prison sentence

Act now

Support Zeynab Jalalian

Tell the Head of the Judiciary in Iran:

Give Zeynab the urgent medical care she needs

Act now

Support Fomusoh Ivo Feh

Tell the President of Cameroon:

Free Fomusoh Ivo Feh - jailed for 10 years for a joke SMS

Act now

Support Ilham Tohti

Tell the Prison Director of XUAR, China:

Release Ilham Tohti immediately and unconditionally

Act now

Protect Máxima and her family from violence and intimidation

Tell Peru’s Minister of Interior:

Protect Máxima and her family from violence and intimidation

Act now

Support Johan Teterissa

Tell the President of Indonesia:

Free Johan now. He was jailed for 15 years just for waving a flag

Act now

 

Your words make a difference 

Why do we need to take action?

In country after country, people’s freedom – to speak out against injustice, to live on their ancestral lands, to not be discriminated against – is under threat. Our letters, words and actions will put pressure on authorities to take immediate action, so thatthose who abuse and torture will be brought to justice. And those unjustly imprisoned will taste freedom onceagain.

Who do we write to?

Every year, we ask supporters to write two letters. One is to the person in authority – it could be a king, president or head of police – who can help make change happen. And the other letter is to the person (or group of people) we are fighting for, so they know we will never forget them.

Does it work?

Yes! Every year, real change happens because of your letters and actions. People wrongfully imprisoned are released. Torturers are brought to justice. And people in prison are treated more humanely.

Write a letter, change a life

• Ma Khin Khin Leh from Myanmar was released in 2009 after featuring in Write for Rights. She had been arrested in July 1999 after the authorities could not find her politically active husband. - Private
• Ethiopian opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa was released from jail in 2010 after featuring in Write for Rights the year before. “Your letters kept hope alive at the darkest hours of need.”
• Jabbar Savalan, a youth activist jailed in Azerbaijan, was pardoned and released in 2011 within days of your letters arriving in the country. “The support I received was so great that I did not feel like I was imprisoned.” - IRFS
• The Mexican government accepted responsibility for the rape by soldiers of Valentina Rosendo Cantú and Inés Fernández Ortega. "Without your letters, your action and your solidarity, we would have not achieved this moment," Valentina said. - Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Montaña de Tlachinollan
• Vladimir Akimenkov was released in December 2013 after being detained following a protest in Bolotnaya Square, Moscow, Russia. “I want to express my deep gratitude. Your letters influenced my release.”
• Ales Bialiatski, a political prisoner in Belarus, was released in 2014 after receiving 40,000 letters. "The huge quantity of letters gave me a powerful sense of optimism. When I received them I was very, very happy." - RFE/RL
• Moses Akatugba was granted a full pardon in Nigeria after pressure from Amnesty supporters. He had been wrongfully sentenced to death for a crime committed when he was 16. “The story changed when Amnesty International came in.”
• USA prisoner Albert Woodfox walked free in February 2016 – 44 years after he was first put into solitary confinement. More than 200,000 people took action for Albert during Write for Rights 2015. - © Travis Spradling/The Advocate via AP
• In April 2016, student leader Phyoe Phyoe Aung (right) was finally released from prison in Myanmar after more than 394,000 Amnesty supporters took action for her during Write for Rights. - Credit: YE AUNG THU/AFP/Getty Images
• Yecenia Armenta, who had been tortured into confessing to involvement in her husband’s murder, was finally freed in June 2016. Here she reads messages from supporters while still in prison. - © Amnesty International
• Yves Makwamba (top) and Fred Bauma, youth activists from the DRC, were released from prison at the end of August 2016. An amazing 170,000 people took action for them. - © Amnesty International

HOW IT WORKS

Activists in more than 200 countries and territories write millions of letters, emails, tweets and petitions…
…for people who’ve been tortured, denied refuge, locked up for speaking out…

 

More here!
 
See also:

Orthodox Church and Torture