Human Rights Defenders

Human rights defenders expose violations and campaign for redress for victims. They are the people who on their own or with others take action to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights for all. The important thing is not who they are, but what they do. Human rights defenders take peaceful action and believe everybody has equal rights.

More on human rights defenders

 

News and Updates

Iran: Release human rights lawyer for good

23 January 2013

Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was returned to prison on Monday, unexpectedly curtailing a three-day temporary leave to visit her family.

Tunisia must drop unjust charges against graffiti activists

22 January 2013

Oussama Bouajila and Chahine Berrich from an anti-poverty street art group were charged after they were caught writing slogans in support of the poor.

Sudan releases prisoner of conscience

20 January 2013

Sudanese teacher and activist Jalila Khamis Koko has been released after nine months in detention, during which time she faced the death penalty on fabricated charges.

Turkey: Anti-terror arrests target prominent human rights lawyers

18 January 2013

Overnight police raids in several Turkish cities have resulted in the arrest of 15 human rights lawyers known for defending individuals’ right to freedom of speech and victims of police violence.

Repression still stalks Sudanese activists who sought safety in Egypt

18 January 2013

Amnesty International has documented a series of cases of Sudanese activists living in Egypt who have faced harassment and attacks, reportedly at the hands of the Sudanese authorities.

Appeals for action

Reopen investigation into enforced disappearance in Ingushetia!

On 8 August 2007, Ibragim Gazdiev was reportedly seized by armed men and has never been seen since. No effective steps have been taken to trace him.

Video and Audio

Teargas in Egypt's Tahrir Square

29 June 2011

Amnesty International's Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui reports from demonstrations in Tahrir Square, Cairo.

Video: The role of Western countries in the Egypt crisis

Senior Director of Amnesty International Widney Brown gives an international political analysis and human rights update on the Egypt demonstrations.

Salil Shetty on Egypt protests

Amnesty International's Secretary General disappointed by military failure to protect protesters

Amnesty International staff member reports from a raid on a Cairo law centre

3 February 2011

The Hisham Mubarak Law Centre has been raided by security forces and surrounded by army and police.

Tunisian government must respect rights amid protests

18 January 2011

Tunisian government must respect rights amid protests

Networking for change

Amnesty International analyses the role of social media in unrest across the Middle East and North Africa.

Gambia Global Day of Action

22 July 2010

Government urged to end its widespread use of arbitrary detentions and torture as activists worldwide stage protests against the authorities' appalling human rights record.

Mexican activist jailed for defending human rights

Interview with Raúl Hernández, a Mexican human rights defender who has been wrongfully imprisoned for his work with an Indigenous community.

Video: Thousands get Fired Up for human rights

22 December 2008

Thousands of people around the world took part in actions to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December.