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
(UA 266/10) Sudanese Human Rights Defender Released
On 25 January, Sudanese human rights defender Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam was released from prison. He spent more than one month…
Victory
(UA 232/10) Trade Union Activist Not Forced to Undergo Psych Examination
Trade union activist Andrei Bondarenko was not made to undergo a compulsory psychiatric examination on 13 December 2010, as…
Victory
(UA 264/10) Two Detainees Released on Bail in Belarus
Among the 30 people detained for taking part in and organizing the demonstration in Minsk on 19 December, two, Natallya…
Victory
(UA 130/10) Two Trade Union Activists Released on Bail in Iran
Morteza Komsari and Ali Akbar Nazari, leading members of an independent but unrecognized trade union in Iran, were released…
Victory
(UA 20/11) Human Rights Activists Freed in Egypt
Some 35 human rights activists and journalists, including two Amnesty International staff members, were freed on 4 February…
Victory
(UA 21/11) Staff Members of Egyptian Center for Housing Rights Released
Staff members of the Egyptian Centre for Housing Rights (ECHR) detained by the Egyptian security forces on 3 February are…
Victory
Death Penalty Abolished in Illinois
On March 9, 2011, Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation abolishing the death penalty in Illinois. Illinois becomes the 16th…
Victory
(UA 133/10) Great News! Iranian Journalist Released on Bail
Abdolreza Tajik, a journalist and member of the Center for Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), an Iranian NGO, was released on…
Victory
(UA 239/10) Fourteen Year-Old Child Released in India
Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh, a child aged 14, was detained without charge or trial in India for nearly ten months. He was finally…
Victory
(UA 195/10) Great News! 23 Opposition Activists Released in Bahrain
A group of 23 opposition activists detained in Bahrain since August 2010 were released last night following calls from the…
Victory
(UA 40/11) Syrian Blogger Released Without Charge
Syrian blogger Ahmad Mohammad Hudaifa, also known by his pen name of Ahmad Abu al-Khair, was released without charge on 24…
Victory
(UA 28/11) President of Djiboutian League of human Rights Granted Provisional Liberty
Jean-Paul Noel Abdi, the president of the Djiboutian League of Human Rights (la Ligue djiboutienne des droits humains,…