What first motivated Esin to escape the comfort of her teaching career in Turkey and become politically active was the growing sense that widespread injustice was corroding her country: “I witnessed severe human rights abuse in Turkey for many years” she told Prisoners of Conscience, but “the mistreatment of ethnic Read more…
Prisoners of Conscience was delighted to hear the news that Asia Bibi has left Pakistan after blasphemy acquittal. However, her story is just the tip of the iceberg. Our experiences supporting prisoners of conscience in Pakistan show that there are hundreds of cases similar to Asia’s. Many religious minorities suffer Read more…
Further to news that two Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar for their reporting on the Rohingya crisis have been freed, Gary Allison, director of Prisoners of Conscience, says: “Prisoners of Conscience welcomes the release of the two journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe, but there is an ongoing need to Read more…
Paying a high price for expressing his views Eric is a human rights defender, a journalist from Rwanda, and a father of four. He was routinely harassed by state agents for critically reporting on the government’s socioeconomic policies, for fighting for justice, press freedom and democracy in Rwanda. Paul Kagame’s Read more…
Kevin, a politically active journalist from Cameroon, sought refuge in the UK after being constantly targeted by government authorities for his work. He was arrested, detained and tortured numerous times for exposing and criticising the government. Being a member of a non-violent, self-determination organisation advocating for the independence of the Read more…
Adeeb and his family have lived their entire lives in Pakistan fearing for their safety. Being members of a minority sect within Shia Islam, they have been routinely harassed, threatened and, both physically and psychologically, abused. Adeeb was refused a government teaching position at a local school on religious grounds. Read more…
Shahidul Alam, an award-winning photographer, writer and activist from Bangladesh, was being held indefinitely and without bail after openly criticising the government’s violent handling of student led demonstrations. On 29 July 2018, two teenagers were killed by a speeding bus, sparking peaceful demonstrations by students calling for better road safety laws. In an interview Read more…
Farhad, an ambitious student from Iran, participated in student-led demonstrations against the Iranian dictatorship, calling for reform and freedom of press. For that, he was detained and tortured. In the lead up to the Iranian elections, Farhad also spoke out and distributed leaflets about the elections process. He was again arrested Read more…
Amina, a Christian Pakistani nurse, has been continuously harassed by one of her Muslim colleagues at the hospital where she works. Using either bribes or derogatory and abusive comments, he has been trying to convert her to Islam and force her to marry him. Refusing his advances and requests, the Read more…
![Petr Adam Dohnálek [CC BY-SA 3.0 cz (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/cz/deed.en)], from Wikimedia Commons](https://prisonersofconscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/People-1-Kamil-Khartoum-University-360x240.jpg)
In Sudan, objecting to government decisions can be dangerous, as Kamil, a teaching assistant at the University of Khartoum, was to discover. After protesting on behalf of suspended students, he was persecuted and tortured by the Sudanese Security Authority. In April 2016, after a decision by the Sudanese government to sell part of Read more…