Changing lives and policies
We free people from prison who are being held unjustly because of who they are or what they believe. We change laws to protect millions of people’s human rights. We transform societies to be more fair, free, and just.
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Featured Victory
Marilin* (31) and Yunior* (11), have been released! Before the family’s release this week, Marilin faced an anniversary no parent would want: one year of lockup with her child simply for seeking safety here in the United States.
Marilin and Yunior were featured in our family detention campaign surge – several weeks of sustained actions, from grassroots activism to billboards, to drive attention to the dozens of families who are invisible behind detention walls in Pennsylvania and Texas. We want them and the government to know they’re not forgotten, and that we are working to free them all.Â
Thank you all for your continuing support and activism on these case campaigns. Our collective action shines a bright light on these families and the unlawful detention of them and so many more people detained in immigration facilities, and helps push the needle for their release.
Browse Victories
Victory
Good News! – China: Ren Quanniu Released (UA 165/16)
Lawyer Ren Quanniu, who was criminally detained on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, has been released on bail. Please stop sending appeals at this time.
Victory
Good News! – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Vano Kiboko Released (UA 29/16)
Vano Kiboko, a former Member of Parliament who had been in detention since December 2014, was released from prison on 5 May after completing his sentence.
Victory
Good News! – Iran: Ehsan Shah Ghasemi Released from Death Row (UA 120/15)
Ehsan Shah Ghasemi, a 25-year-old Iranian man who had been on death row since October 2014, was released from prison on 13 March after he was pardoned by the victim’s…
Victory
Good News! – Angola: Charges Against Arão Bula Tempo Dropped (UA 78/15)
The Cabinda Provincial Tribunal dismissed the criminal charges against human rights lawyer Arão Bula Tempo on 12 July.
Victory
Good News! – Ukraine: Ivan Bezyazykov Released From Detention (UA 231/15)
Ukrainian officer Ivan Bezyazykov was released from detention by the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine on 5 July after spending more than 22 months in captivity and being subjected to…
Victory
Good News! Russian Federation: Performance Artist Released from Prison (UA 34/16)
Russian performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky was released from prison on 8 June after almost seven months in custody. Pyotr Pavlensky was arrested on 9 November when he set fire to…
Victory
Good News! – Myanmar: U Gambira Released (UA 14/16)
Prisoner of conscience U Gambira was released on 1 July after all charges against him were dropped by courts in Myanmar.
Victory
Good News! – Sudan: Eight Students Released (UA 105/16)
Eight students who were arrested while at the office of the human rights lawyer, Nabil Adib, in Khartoum on 5 May have been released on 19 June and 21 June.…
Victory
Good News! – Bahrain: Zainab Al-Khawaja Released (UA 306/14)
Zainab al-Khawaja and her son were released from prison in Bahrain on humanitarian grounds on 31 May. She left Bahrain for Denmark on 7 June after receiving information that she…
Victory
Good News! – Turkey: Fadi Mansour Released (UA 282/15)
Syrian refugee Fadi Mansour finally reunited with his family in Melbourne, Australia, on 11 June. He had been held in the Adana Removal Centre in south-eastern Turkey since 19 March,…
Victory
Good News! – Saudi Arabia Mohammed Saleh al-Bajadi Released (UA 91/11)
Human rights defender Mohammed Saleh al-Bajadi was released on 7 April from a rehabilitation centre where he had spent four months after being discharged from prison in November 2015. He…
Victory
Good News! – Turkey: Syrian Refugees Released (UA 118/16)
Seven of the 12 Syrian refugees detained in Düziçi camp, Osmaniye province, in southern Turkey, were released on 20 May. The other five, a woman and her four children, requested…