Write for Rights

Campaigns
Human Rights Defenders and Activists

Join the campaign and change a life today

When we all act together, we are more powerful. That is the driving force behind Write for Rights, Amnesty’s global campaign and the world’s biggest human rights event.

The people you are helping today want to make the word a better place. They are demanding justice, and human rights for all. Many have been imprisoned, disappeared and attacked.

Every year, millions of individuals write letters, sign petitions and organise events. And it works! People are freed, justice is served, and the world becomes a better place. Every action counts, and these people need your help. Act now.

Magai Matiop Ngong, freed from death row in 2020

“Thank you so much. I have no words. You have no idea how my heart is filled with happiness."

Take action and protect their rights today.

Pakistan

Where is Idris Khattak?

Act now

Saudi Arabia

Free Nassima al-Sada

Act now

Algeria

Free Khaled Drareni

Act now

Malta

Demand justice for the El Hiblu 3

Act now

Turkey

Demand Student Pride Defenders are acquitted

Act now

Myanmar

Release young poet from prison

Act now

Chile

Demand justice for Gustavo Gatica

Act now

Colombia

Protect environmental defender Jani Silva

Act now

South Africa

Demand justice for Popi and Bongeka

Act now

Burundi

Free Germain Rukuki

Act Now

Now, write a letter

Imagine being locked away, alone, not knowing if anyone cares where you are. Now imagine receiving a letter from someone you don’t know, telling you they believe in you. That’s what real letters can do: bring hope to people in the direst of situations. And when they arrive in huge numbers, they are also an unmistakable reminder to the prison authorities and others that the world is watching.

Those letters not only bring great solace, but they can also help make people safer. If you want to lend your pen to this kind of direct action, download our handy letter-writing kit below.

Get the Write for Rights kit

Get the Write for Rights kit - featuring template letters, case cards and more

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.” - © Private
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.” - © Denis Bochkarev
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.” - © HURSDEF
Albert Woodfox finally walked free in February after nearly 44 years in solitary confinement in a US prison. “I can’t emphasise enough how important getting letters from people around the world is. “It gave me a sense of worth…[and] strength.” - © Pierre-Yves Brunaud / Picturetank
US whistle-blower Chelsea Manning was freed in May 2017, after her 35-year prison sentence was cut short by outgoing President Barack Obama. More than a quarter of a million people wrote for her release. - © Courtesy of Chelsea Manning
Father of seven and online activist Mahadine was freed in April 2018 after more than 18 months in a Chad prison on fabricated charges. 690,000 people wrote for his freedom. © Amnesty International - Amnesty International
Gulzar Duishenova’s campaign for disability rights paid off in March 2019 when Kyrgyzstan finally signed up to the Disability Rights Convention. Supporters wrote nearly 250,000 messages backing her calls. - © Svetlana Zelenskaya/Amnesty International
Magai Matiop Ngong was only 15 when he was sentenced to death. But thanks to the amazing support of people like you, his death sentence was cancelled in July 2020. People around the world wrote an incredible 765,000 actions, including letters and tweets, calling for Magai’s life to be spared –and it worked. - © Amnesty International