Freedom of expression is a human right.
You have the right to express your thoughts, share information, and peacefully advocate for change, which is essential for a just society where all can enjoy human rights.
While governments should prohibit hateful speech that constitutes incitement to hostility, discrimination or violence, they frequently misuse this power and arrest individuals for speaking out, creating a culture of fear that silences dissent. The treatment of critical voices reflects a government’s human rights record.
Recently, threats to free expression have escalated as authorities target activists, journalists, civic society organizations, and those supporting refugees and migrants.
Freedom of expression is the foundation of other human rights, including the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and the right to assembly of peaceful protest.
Banned Books Week (BBW) was founded in 1982 by First Amendment activist Judith Krug, who was the director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association. The Association of American Publishers approached Krug to highlight book banning that year, and she shared the idea with the ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, leading to the first celebration six weeks later.
Amnesty International is a member of the Banned Books Week Coalition, and in solidarity with the American Library Association (ALA) and organizations around the world, we organize and mobilize actions to defend and protect freedom of expression at home and across the globe.
In 2013, Amnesty International was recognized by the American Library Association Intellectual Freedom Round Table with the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award for providing the following contributions to Banned Books Week:
“For an approach to Banned Books Week that focused on the logical consequences that follow when governments are allowed to censor…beyond the removal or burning of books comes the removal and physical harm to authors, journalists and others.”
Prisoner of Conscience Alaa Abdel Fattah Released!
Alaa Abdel Fattah received a presidential pardon after six years of unjust imprisonment for peaceful activism linked to a social media post. He was convicted by an Emergency State Security Court on spurious charges of “spreading false news.”
Amnesty International campaigned with and for Alaa Abdel Fattah and his mother, who went on a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment. From 2019 to 2025, Amnesty issued 17 Urgent Actions, calling for global advocacy and his immediate, unconditional release. In 2023 and 2024, Amnesty International USA’s Banned Books Week Action highlighted his case to oppose censorship and violations of free expression.
“His pardon ends a grave injustice and is a testament to the tireless efforts of his family and lawyers, including his courageous mother, Laila Soueif, and activists all over the world who have been relentlessly demanding his release over the past six years.”
– Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns
Freedom of Expression
Take the Course: Speaking Out for Freedom of Expression
Check out Amnesty International’s “The State of the World’s Human Rights: April 2026”