Write for Rights Successes | Amnesty International's Global Write-a-thon

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Below are highlights of the successes achieved through Amnesty International's Write for Rights.

Mao Hengfeng - Released - China

In January 2011, authorities in China permitted Mao Hengfeng to meet with her family for the first time since she was detained at a Re-Education Through Labor facility in Beijing. On February 23, authorities then unexpectedly released her from detention, only to re-detain her just two days later. On July 28, 2011, Mao Hengfeng was again released.

Mao Hengfeng, an avid human rights defender, was serving 18 months in China's "re-education through labor" system for having protested in 2009 the arrest of human rights defender Liu Xiaobo. (Liu Xiaobo was awardedf the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.) She has also campaigned against forced abortions and forced evictions in China.

Mansour Ossanlu - Released - Iran

On June 2, 2011, Mansour Ossanlu, head of an independent trade union in Iran, was released from Reja'i Shahr prison on medical leave. A labor rights activist, he was imprisoned for his advocacy of workers and trade union's right to organize and collective action. Mansour Ossanlu had been serving a five-year prison sentence for "acts against national security" in poor prison conditions.

Walid Yunis Ahmad - Detention Without Charge Ended - Iraq

After over ten years of detention without charge, during which he was often subjected to solitary confinement, Walid Yunis Ahmad was finally informed of the formal charges against him in January 2011. In March 2011, after only a one-day trial, he was sentenced to five years in prison on charges that Amnesty International believes were fabricated to justify years of unlawful imprisonment.

Before his arrest in 2000, Walid Yunis Ahmad worked at a radio and television station where he organized programs and translated material into Kurdish, Arabic and Turkman.

Amnesty International continues to advocate on behalf of Walid Yunis Ahmad, urging the regional government to release him immediately and unconditionally, and to offer reparations to him and his family for the years he was illegally detained.

BIRTUKAN MIDEKSA – RELEASED - ETHIOPIA

Birtukan Mideksa was freed from Kaliti prison in October 2010 after serving 21 months of a life sentence. Formerly the leader of a political opposition party in Ethiopia, she was arrested on December 28, 2008, charged with violating the terms of a previous pardon, and her life sentence was reinstated.

Birtukan Mideksa has thanked Amnesty International members, saying:

"Thank you for your hard work and your campaigns to secure my release from prison. Your letters, phone calls, and petitions were my protection during the months I spent in solitary confinement. You were my voice when I had none."

AUNG SAN SUU KYI – RELEASED – MYANMAR (BURMA)

Activists rejoiced around the world on November 13, 2010, when Aung San Suu Kyi was finally released after years of house arrest.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's best-known prisoner of conscience, spent more than 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest. The Nobel Peace laureate had been detained since 30 May 2003 after government-backed thugs attacked her motorcade in Depayin, killing an unknown number of people, and injuring scores. This was the third time she was held under house arrest, having previously been detained from 1989 to 1995, and from 2000 to 2002.

Watch Video: Message from Aung San Suu Kyi recorded after her release

FEMI PETERS – RELEASED - GAMBIA

On December 10, 2010 (International Human Rights Day), Gambian opposition politician Femi Peters was released from prison almost four months before his expected release. He had been given a mandatory prison sentence of one year in April 2010, charged with "control of procession and control of use of loud speakers in public" during a peaceful demonstration by his political party. Observers in Gambia credit Femi's release to Amnesty International's campaigning.

Watch Video: Femi Peters Junior thanks everyone who campaigned for the release of his father

Musaad Abu Fagr - Released - Egypt

Novelist and human rights activist Musaad Suliman Hassan Hussein, usually known by his pen name Musaad Abu Fagr, was held in prison without trial for almost three years, despite obtaining several court orders for his release. Amnesty International considered Musaad Abu Fagr to be a prisoner of conscience, detained on account of his peaceful expression of his views.

He was released from Abu Zaabal Prison near Cairo on July 13, 2010.

Musaad Abu Fagr has thanked Amnesty International for its campaigning for his release, "Amnesty International's support is one of the reasons that I was released," he told the organization, "your messages gave me a sense of solidarity".

YUSAK PAKAGE - RELEASED - INDONESIA

Prisoner of conscience, Yusak Pakage was released from Doyo Baru prison on July 7, 2010. He was sentenced to 10 years in December 2004 for peacefully raising the Morning Star flag, the outlawed symbol of Papuan independence, to protest Indonesian government policies.

Pakage expressed his thanks to Amnesty International for all the work put towards demanding his release, "For me, Amnesty is everything... From someone who suffered and who now smiles again thanks to Amnesty".

Amnesty supporters took action on his behalf during the 2008 Global Write-a-thon.

MOHAMMED al-ODAINI - RELEASED - GUANTÁNAMO

Mohammed al-Odaini was held without charge by the U.S. government for over 8 years, since the age of 18. Al-Odaini was detained in March 2002 along with several other Yemeni nationals, and sent to the detention camp at the US Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. In June 2005 he was deemed suitable for release from Guantánamo. Yemeni authorities stated that they were prepared to take him back, yet he continued to be unjustly detained.

On July 13, 2010, Mohammed al-Odaini was released from Guantanamo and returned back to his home country of Yemen.

RITA MAHATO - SAFETY IMPROVED - NEPAL

Human rights defender Rita Mahato received threats of death, rape and kidnapping as a result of her work assisting women who have suffered from acts of violence. The police failed to provide Rita with protection, or investigate the threats, and she feared for her life. Following the Global Write-a-thon, her safety improved, and AI's support renewed her strength to continue.

HANA ABDI - RELEASED - IRAN

Hana Abdi, a women's rights advocate, was released from prison in Iran on February 26, 2009. An Iranian Kurd, she was arrested in October 2007 for her work with Campaign for Equality, an organization that seeks equality for women in Iran. Her three-year prison sentence was happily cut short when authorities freed her in February 2009.

MA KHIN KHIN LEH - RELEASED - BURMA

Ma Khin Khin Leh, a school teacher and young mother, was freed from prison Burma on February 21, 2009. She was arrested 10 years earlier for allegedly planning a demonstration to protest the deteriorating economic and human rights environment in Myanmar. For this "crime," she was sentenced to life in prison. Following her release in February, Ma Khin Khin Leh could finally return to her daughter, who was only three years old when her mother was first arrested.

BU DONGWEI - RELEASED - CHINA

Bu Dongwei was released on July 18, 2008, approximately four months before the end of his term of re-education through labor in China.

Bu Dongwei was serving a 30-month sentence in connection with his activities as a member of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is banned in China. He was working in Beijing for the US-based Asia Foundation when police detained him on May 19, 2006. Bu Dongwei was accused of "resisting the implementation of national laws" and "disturbing social order." Police claimed that they had discovered 80 copies of Falun Gong literature in his home, although his family says that there were no more than 8 Falun Gong books in the house when Bu Dongwei was detained.

The officials in the re-education through labor facility where he was held showed Bu Dongwei letters that were addressed to him and that had arrived from abroad. Although the officials did not let him keep the letters, he now knew that there were people out there who were aware of his plight and who wanted to help.

SAMI AL HAJJ - RELEASED - GUANTÁNAMO

» Read this letter from Sami al-Hajj
» Watch a video of Sami al Hajj post-release

Sami al Hajj, a Sudanese cameraman, was held by the U.S. government without charge for over six years.

Prior to his detention, Sami al Hajj was a journalist working for the television station al-Jazeera. Following the September 11 attacks on the United States, he was asked by his editors to cover the international conflict in Afghanistan. Sami al Hajj was detained while on assignment, traveling through Pakistan en route to Afghanistan.

Sami al Hajj was held in Pakistani custody for nearly 3 weeks before being transferred to U.S. custody and taken to Bagram air base in Afghanistan. He was stripped of his passport, his visa to travel to Afghanistan, and his press identification. Sami al Hajj described the 16 days he spent detained at Bagram air base as "the worst in my life" because of the torture he endured there. On June 13, 2002, he was transferred to Guantánamo Bay.

Sami al Hajj has said that while in U.S. custody he was subjected to a range of torture and ill-treatment, including beatings and denial of prescribed medication for cancer.

In May 2008 Sami al Hajj was released and reunited with his wife and young son.

ZMITSER DASHKEVICH - RELEASED - BELARUS

As leader of the youth opposition organization Young Front, Zmitser Dashkevich's efforts to bring about greater freedom for the people of Belarus cost him his own.

Authorities charged Zmitser Dashkevich in September 2006 under Article 193 of the Belarusian Criminal Code, with "organizing and running an unregistered organization that infringes the rights of citizens." Article 193 had been added to the Criminal Code in the lead up to the presidential elections in March 2006. It was part of a series of amendments that enabled authorities to penalize civil society organizations and outspoken critics of the government.

Although hundreds of people, including opposition politicians, writers, diplomats and civil society activists, rallied outside the court in Minsk in November 2006 to call for the immediate release of Zmitser Dashkevich, the court sentenced Mr. Dashkevich to one and a half years' imprisonment. The closed trial lasted just two days. On December 15, 2006, the Minsk City Court denied an appeal made by Mr. Dashkevich's lawyer, and the original sentence was upheld.

Zmitser Dashkevich was released less than two months after the 2007 Global Write-a-thon.

In December 2010, authorities again arrested Zmitser Dashkevich. He was eventually sentenced to two years in prison on charges of "hooliganism." Amnesty believes authorities detained Zmitser to prevent him from taking part in demonstrations against the government. Amnesty International is again campaigning on his behalf.

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2011