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! – Alabama Ends Pursuit of 2nd Execution Attempt (UA: UA 29.18)
An agreement signed on 27 March means that Alabama will not pursue another death warrant for Doyle Hamm, whose execution on 22 February was called off after the lethal injection…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Ohio Governor Commutes Death Sentence (USA: UA 47.18)
On 26 March the Governor of Ohio granted clemency to William Montgomery, who was scheduled to be executed on 11 April. The governor has commuted the death sentence to life…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Family Seeking Asylum From Detention (USA: UA 53.18)
Asylum seekers 15-year-old Astrid and her father Arturo were released from immigration detention at the Berks County Residential Center on 23 March after the successful petition by their lawyers to…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Activist Released and Given Deportation Reprieve (Russian Federation: UA 61.17)
On 15 February, Ali Feruz was released and arrived in Germany a few hours later. The release came after the Supreme Court’s decision on 25 January to uphold the activist’s…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Forcibly Returned Woman No Longer at Risk (North Korea: UA 253.17)
Detained since 3 December 2017 in North Korea for leaving the country without legal permits, Koo Jeong-hwa’s family reports that she is no longer at risk of being sent to…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Kashmiri Photojournalist Released on Bail (India: UA 43.18)
Kamran Yousuf was granted bail and released from prison on 14 March 2018, following six months of pre-trial detention. He has been charged with several criminal offences including ‘waging war…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – 35 Ill and Injured Evacuated from Eastern Ghouta (Syria: UA 275.17)
A further 35 patients awaiting medical evacuation in besieged Eastern Ghouta have been evacuated to Damascus city for medical treatment and care. 496 patients are still awaiting evacuation. They require…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Cartoonist Released After Charges Dropped (Equatorial Guinea: UA 219.17)
Equatorial Guinean cartoonist and activist, Ramón Esono Ebalé was released from Malabo prison of Black Beach on 7 March. Eight days earlier on 27 February, the charge of ‘counterfeiting money’…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Youth Activist Unconditionally Released (Chad: UA 44.18)
Alain Didah Kemba, spokesperson of the Chadian youth movement IYINA, was unconditionally released on 26 February after being presented before the prosecutor. Three days earlier, he had been released from…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Texas Governor Commutes Death Sentence (USA: UA 37.18)
On 22 February, the Governor of Texas commuted the death sentence of Thomas Whitaker hours before he was due to be executed. It was the first such act of clemency…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Prisoner Of Conscience Gets Medical Care (Venezuela: UA 274.17)
Prisoner of conscience Villca Fernández finally received medical care after having been denied urgently needed medical treatment since June 2017. Since 26 January 2018, prison authorities have transferred Villca Fernández…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! – Convicted Environmental Activists Released (Cambodia: UA 279.17)
Two environmental activists and prisoners of conscience, convicted of and sentenced on trumped-up charges based on their peaceful activism, were released after serving five months out of their 1-year prison…