Urgent Action Network blog

How does it feel when someone you actually know is put in prison? Perhaps as a campaigner for justice for individuals, groups and communities it shouldn’t feel different – after all, their position is just as bad – but somehow knowing...

LGBTI Pride season in the UK is underway, and we’re getting ready for London Pride. We are putting the finishing touches on our float, and getting ready to put on the feather boas. Yet while we celebrate our achievements in the UK...

I am Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and Director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR). I have just been released from prison after serving a two-year sentence for my peaceful and legitimate...

Amnesty has a long history of campaigning for the eradication of torture worldwide – so much so that we won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977. Since Amnesty’s creation, we’ve worked on behalf of individuals who are victims of torture, or...

The humble placard: the activist’s best friend. One sad by-product of the recent crackdown on free speech in Russia is the demise of the slogan-on-a-stick. Last week, for example, a small group of protesters holding invisible placards...

Sometimes a case comes along that stops you in your tracks. This happened when I read about the forced sterilisation of indigenous women in Peru. Last month the Public Prosecutor’s office closed the case of thousands of Indigenous...

Back in December I was lucky enough to meet Russian human rights lawyer Rustam Matsev. Rustam had spent the last few months studying in London and approached Amnesty before he was due to leave, asking us if there was anything he could...