Changing lives and policies
We free people from prison who are being held unjustly because of who they are or what they believe. We change laws to protect millions of people’s human rights. We transform societies to be more fair, free, and just.

Featured Victory
Marilin* (31) and Yunior* (11), have been released! Before the family’s release this week, Marilin faced an anniversary no parent would want: one year of lockup with her child simply for seeking safety here in the United States.
Marilin and Yunior were featured in our family detention campaign surge – several weeks of sustained actions, from grassroots activism to billboards, to drive attention to the dozens of families who are invisible behind detention walls in Pennsylvania and Texas. We want them and the government to know they’re not forgotten, and that we are working to free them all.Â
Thank you all for your continuing support and activism on these case campaigns. Our collective action shines a bright light on these families and the unlawful detention of them and so many more people detained in immigration facilities, and helps push the needle for their release.
Browse Victories
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Russian Court Whisteblower Released (Russian Federation: UA 228.17)
On 18 July, St Petersburg’s Kalininsky District Court sentenced former court secretary and whistleblower Aleksandr Eivazov to one year and ten months in an open penal colony for “interfering with…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Ohio Governor Commutes Death Sentence (USA: UA 123.18)
On 20 July, the Governor of Ohio commuted the death sentence of Raymond Tibbetts, who was scheduled for execution on 17 October. In so doing, the governor rejected the parole…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Environmentalist Conditionally Released (Cuba 109.18)
Prisoner of conscience and environmental activist, Dr Ariel Ruiz Urquiola, was sentenced in Cuba to one-year imprisonment for contempt. On 3 July he was released with conditions.
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! Liu Xia Free, On Her Way to Berlin (China: UA 270.17)
Liu Xia was finally allowed to leave China for Germany on 10 July 2018, after almost eight years of illegal house arrest. Her release came three days before the first…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Displaced Women, Children Receive Food Supply (Nigeria: UA 102.18)
Approximately 230 internally displaced women (known as the Knifar movement) and their children who had previously been denied access to food are now able to access food supplies.
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Turkish Court Acquits Rapper (Turkey: UA 107.18)
On 19 June, an Istanbul court ordered the immediate release of rapper, Ezhel, after acquitting him of ‘publicly promoting the use of drugs’ on the basis of insufficient evidence of…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Palestinian Prisoner Of Conscience Released (Israel/OPT: UA 26.18)
On 6 June, Palestinian activist and human rights defender, Munther Amira was released from Hadarim Prison in Israel after serving his prison sentence. He was sentenced to six months in prison, five…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Texas Court Issues Stay of Execution (USA: UA100.18)
On 5 June, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay of execution for Clifton Williams, who was due to be executed in Texas on 21 June. The stay…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Cartoonist and Activist Able to Leave the Country (Equatorial Guinea: UA 89.18)
Equatorial Guinean cartoonist and activist Ramón Esono Ebalé was finally able to leave Equatorial Guinea on 28 May after he was issued a passport by the authorities.
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Prisoner of Conscience Released (Uzbekistan: UA 232.17)
On 7 May, a court issued Uzbekistani journalist Bobomurod Abdullayev with a non-custodial sentence. He was able to walk out of the court room to be reunited with his family,…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Pride March No Longer at Risk (Turkey: UA 83.18)
The student-organized Pride march gathering hundreds of university students went ahead peacefully on 11 May on the Ankara-based Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ), despite attempts from the university and Ankara…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Activist’s Not-Guilty Verdict Upheld on Appeal (South Korea: UA 20.17)
Lee Jin-young, operator of the online library ‘Labour Books’, was found not guilty of charges under the National Security Law at the Seoul High Court on 11 April 2018. This…