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.
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! Mexican Congress Approved Security Reform (Mexico: UA 212.18)
On 28 February, Mexican Congress approved a controversial Constitutional amendment to introduce a “National Guard” in Mexico. The bill originally proposed was substantially changed after heavy criticism by human rights…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! Death Sentences Commuted to Life Imprisonment (Egypt: UA 91.16)
On 26 February 2019, Egypt’s Supreme Military Court of Appeals formally accepted an appeal on the two death sentences of Ahmad Amin Ghazali (pictured below) and Abdul Basir Abdul Rauf.…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! Poet Acquitted and Released (Somaliland: UA 17.19)
Abdirahman Ibrahim Adan, a poet in Somaliland, was released on 25 February. He had been arrested and detained on 12 January after reciting a poem the previous day in which…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! Palestinian Lawmaker Released (Israel/OPT: UA 187.17)
On 28 February 2019, Palestinian lawmaker and prominent political figure Khalida Jarrar was released from HaSharon prison in central Israel. She had spent 20 months in administrative detention without charge…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! Opposition Activist Relased (Tajikistan: UA 25.19)
Opposition leader Sharofiddin Gadoev returned safely to the Netherlands on 2 March. He had been held by the Tajik authorities following his arbitrary arrest in Moscow on 14 February and…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! New Charges Dropped (Azerbaijan: UA 168.12)
Azerbaijani prominent blogger Mehman Huseynov was released on 2 March following two years of unjust imprisonment on trumped-up charges.
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! Jordanian Journalist Released (United Arab Emirates: UA 112.16)
On 12 February 2019, Jordanian journalist and poet, Tayseer Salman al-Najjar was released from al-Wathba prison in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE authorities…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! Released Bahraini Refugee Returns to Australia (Thailand: UA 206.18)
On 11 February 2019, Hakeem Ali al-Araibi was released from Bangkok’s remand prison after the Bahraini authorities dropped their extradition request. He flew back to Australia the same day. Hakeem…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! Anti-Slavery Activists Released (Mauritania: UA 164.18)
Two anti-slavery activists Biram Dah Abeid and Abdellahi el Housein Mesoud were released from Nouakchott civil Prison on 31 December 2018. The Tribunal of Arafat in Nouakchott sentenced them to…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! Queer Artist Accepts Agreement to Avoid Prison (Paraguay: UA 110.18)
Bruno Almada Comas, a young queer artist, was accused of “acts of exhibitionism” and risked prison, based on a performance denouncing violence and discrimination against LGBTI people in Paraguay. He…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! 200 Families No Longer at Risk of Forced Eviction (Paraguay: UA 137.18)
Families from the Guahory Community, Eastern Paraguay, are no longer at imminent threat of forced eviction. The implementation of the Joint Action Plan for Punishable Actions for Trespassing on Property…
Victory
Urgent Action Victory! Syrian Refugee Granted Asylum in Canada (Malaysia: UA 180.18)
Hassan al-Kontar has been granted asylum and arrived in Canada on 26 November 2018 after having been stranded in Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia for about seven months. Arrested…