{"id":2535,"date":"2018-12-03T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-02T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/15-highlights-from-the-last-15-years\/"},"modified":"2024-11-11T18:20:17","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T11:20:17","slug":"15-highlights-from-the-last-15-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/blog\/2018\/12\/15-highlights-from-the-last-15-years\/","title":{"rendered":"15 highlights from the last 15 years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It started in Poland with a young man trying to impress a young woman<\/a>. He met her at a festival and she told him about 24-hour events she\u2019d been to in Africa, where people wrote letters of protest to governments. Inspired by her story \u2013 and wanting to see her again \u2013 he invited her to his local Amnesty group where they decided to do the same thing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea caught on and within a year, Write for Rights grew into a global letter-writing phenomenon. That was 2002. Today, Write for Rights is the world\u2019s biggest human rights event, and with good cause. Over the years, the campaign has helped free at least 48 people from wrongful imprisonment. That\u2019s 48 lives renewed and transformed \u2013 thanks to millions of actions by people like you in almost every part of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are just 15 highlights from the last 15 years \u2013 reason, if any, to get writing for rights this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Albert Woodfox, USA<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The last imprisoned member of the Angola 3, Albert Woodfox was f<\/a>inally released in February<\/a> 2016. He had spent 43 years and 10 months in solitary confinement in a Louisiana state prison \u2013 believed to be the longest anyone has survived in solitary in the USA. \u201cI can\u2019t emphasise enough how important getting letters from people around the world is,\u201d said Albert. \u201cIt gave me a sense of worth. It gave me strength \u2013 convinced me that what I was doing was right.\u201d Supporters took more than 650,000 actions for his release as part of Write for Rights. \u00a9 Pierre-Yves Brunaud \/ Picturetank<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Ales Bialiatski, Belarus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Prominent human rights defender, Ales Bialiatski was freed from a labour camp in Belarus in 2014. Featured in Write for Rights 2012, he received 40,000 letters from Amnesty supporters. \u201cI want to thank you especially for the moral support,\u201d he said on his release<\/a>. \u201cThe thing that made a real difference were the letters I got from ordinary people, and I want you to say a special thank you to your activists for that.\u201d  \u00a9 Amnesty International Czech Republic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Birtukan Mideksa, Ethiopia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ethiopian opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa<\/a> was released from jail in October 2010 after featuring in Write for Rights the year before. Speaking to us in 2013, she said: \u201cThe pressure you guys were exerting on the Ethiopian government was very instrumental in securing my release.\u201d \u00a9 Amnesty International<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=ksFfQXkWt68%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26enablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%3A%252F%252Fwww.amnesty.org.au<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Chelsea Manning, USA<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

US whistle-blower Chelsea Manning walked free in May 2017, after her 35-year prison sentence was cut short by outgoing President Barack Obama. In 2015 more than a quarter of a million people wrote for her release. She said<\/a>: \u201cI wish I had the time and ability to thank each one of you for giving me a little bit of joy with each letter and card.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. Yorm Bopha, Cambodia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Housing rights activist Yorm Bopha was released in November 2013<\/a>. She led vocal protests against efforts to throw her community off their land, and was eventually imprisoned on bogus charges. Although the charges against her were never dropped, she was able to return home. \u201cThank you to Amnesty International\u2019s supporters!\u201d she said. \u201cYour campaign has been successful, as my release shows!\u201d \u00a9 LICADHO<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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6. Fred Bauma & Yves Makwamba, DRC<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Youth activists Fred and Yves were released at the end of August<\/a> 2016 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. An amazing 170,000 people took action for the pair as part of Write for Rights<\/a>. \u201cEvery letter, every visit, every word has strengthened us and reinforced our determination in this long but just struggle for freedom and democracy,\u201d said Yves. Ten of their fellow activists, all members of the LUCHA youth movement, were also released in 2016. \u00a9 Private<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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7. Jabbar Savalan, Azerbaijan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A youth activist jailed in Azerbaijan, Jabbar Savalan was pardoned and released<\/a> in 2011 within days of supporters\u2019 letters arriving in the country. He had been jailed on false drug charges after he dared to call for peaceful protests against the government. \u201cThe support I received was so great that I did not feel like I was imprisoned,\u201d he said. \u00a9 IRFS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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8. Jabeur Mejri, Tunisia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jabeur Mejri was pardoned in 2014<\/a> and provisionally released, following global pressure from Amnesty supporters who joined Write for Rights 2013. Jabeur had spent two years in prison for Facebook posts deemed offensive to Islam. \u201cThings got better when there was more attention on my case and some activists and lawyers came to visit me in prison,\u201d said Jabeur. \u201cAmnesty International\u2019s support had a great impact, I\u2019m very happy you raised awareness about my case, not just with your activists but amongst the Tunisian public as well.\u201d \u00a9 Private<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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9. Jeanette Solstad Rem\u00f8, Norway<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

June 2016 marked the end of Jeanette Solstad Rem\u00f8\u2019s fight to have her right to be recognised as a woman, without compromising her dignity and human rights. Norway passed a new law<\/a> giving transgender people access to legal gender recognition through a quick, accessible and transparent procedure. Through Write for Rights 2014, thousands of people supported Jeanette\u2019s campaign, leading to a historic legal change that has done away with Norway\u2019s shameful legacy of invasive procedures that violate human rights. \u00a9 KRB\/AI<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

10. Jerryme Corre, Philippines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jerryme Corre spent four years in prison after being seized by police in 2012 and tortured into confessing to a crime he didn\u2019t commit. Featured in Write for Rights 2014, his case prompted the support of 70,000 people worldwide, leading the Philippines authorities to open an investigation into Jerryme\u2019s allegations of torture against one of the police officers. In March 2016, police officer Jerick Dee Jimenez was convicted of torture and sentenced to a prison term. He was also made to pay Jerryme damages. It was a historic ruling on police torture in the Philippines, <\/strong>which saw the first conviction<\/a> under the country\u2019s 2009 Anti-Torture Act following years of steadfast campaigning by Amnesty activists. \u00a9 Amnesty International<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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11. Moses Akatugba, Nigeria<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After 10 years in jail and more than 800,000 messages from activists around the world, Moses Akatugba\u2019s life was spared in June 2015<\/a>. Falsely accused of stealing three mobile phones, he had been tortured and wrongfully sentenced to death when he was 16. He was granted a full pardon after pressure from Amnesty supporters during Write for Rights 2014 and our Stop Torture campaign. \u201cAmnesty International members and activists are my heroes,\u201d Moses said. \u201cI promise to be a human rights activist \u2013 to fight for others.\u201d \u00a9 Miikka Pirinen \/ Amnesty Finland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=atSCZ_5Qxmw%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26enablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%3A%252F%252Fwww.amnesty.org.au<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Muhammad Bekzhanov, Uzbekistan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journalist Muhammad Bekzhanov was released<\/a> in February 2017 after spending 17 years in prison. One of the world\u2019s longest held journalists, he was supported by thousands around the world as part of Write for Rights 2015 and our Stop Torture campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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13. Dr Tun Aung, Myanmar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Prisoner of conscience Dr Tun Aung was released in January 2015<\/a>. The Muslim community leader had been sentenced to 17 years in jail in 2012 for trying to calm a riot between Buddhist and Rohingya communities in Rakhine State. Thousands worldwide wrote for his freedom as part of Write for Rights 2013. Today, Dr Tun Aung is now an Amnesty member. He says: \u201cI will never forget I myself was one of those for whom so many kind people participated in Write for Rights. It contributed significantly to my eventual release. Now I write for those still in prison for speaking out against human right violations.\u201d \u00a9 Private<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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14. Valentina Rosendo Cant\u00fa & In\u00e9s Fern\u00e1ndez Ortega<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mexico\u2019s government finally accepted responsibility for the rape by soldiers of Valentina Rosendo Cant\u00fa and In\u00e9s Fern\u00e1ndez Ortega. The two women had been raped by soldiers in the Mexican Army <\/strong>in 2002. Since then, they embarked on a tireless campaign for justice. Amnesty amplified their calls through Write for Rights 2011. \u201cWithout your letters, your action and your solidarity, we would have not achieved this moment,\u201d Valentina said. \u00a9 Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Monta\u00f1a de Tlachinollan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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15. Yecenia Armenta, Mexico<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yecenia Armenta was freed from prison<\/a> in June 2016. Detained on 10 July 2012, she was beaten, near-asphyxiated and raped during 15 hours of torture until she was forced to \u201cconfess\u201d to being involved in her husband\u2019s murder. Amnesty supporters took some 300,000 actions for her as part of our Stop Torture <\/a>and Write for Rights<\/a> campaigns. \u201cWhen I receive all these letters saying that I\u2019m not alone,\u201d she said, \u201cit makes me feel great. And I think: \u2018Yes, it\u2019s true, I\u2019m not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It started in Poland with a young man trying to impress a young woman. He met her at a festival and she told him about 24-hour events she\u2019d been to in Africa, where people wrote letters of protest to governments. Inspired by her story \u2013 and wanting to see her again \u2013 he invited her to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":0,"_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":0,"_hero_title":"","_hero_content":"","_hero_cta_text":"","_hero_cta_link":"","_hero_alignment":"","_hero_background":"","_hero_size":"","_hero_show":"","_hero_type":"","_hero_embed":"","_hero_video_id":0,"_hero_hide_image_caption":true,"_hero_hide_image_copyright":false,"_nav_style":"","_disable_share_icons":false,"_disable_sidebar":false,"_display_author_info":false,"_hide_featured_image":false,"_hide_featured_image_caption":true,"_maximize_post_content":false,"_reduce_content_width":false,"_sidebar_id":0,"_stretch_thumbnail":false,"byline_context":"","byline_entity":"","byline_is_author":false,"disable_related_content":false,"download_id":0,"download_text":"","show_published_date":true,"show_updated_date":true,"term_slider":"","amnesty_index_number":"","recipients":"","recipients_refresh":"","recipients_refreshed":"","amnesty_umbraco_data":"","document_ref":"","amnesty_updated":"","footnotes":""},"category":[1584],"location":[1589],"resourceType":[],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-2535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","location-world"],"datePosted":"December 3, 2018","mlpRelationships":{"1":3049,"2":2535},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category?post=2535"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=2535"},{"taxonomy":"resource-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resourceType?post=2535"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=2535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}