Headshot of Dang Dinh Bach, Jailed for protecting the environment and human rights

Dang Dinh Bach

Jailed for protecting the environment and human rights

VIETNAM

Dang Dinh Bach

Jailed for protecting

the environment 

and human rights

VIETNAM

Environmental justice lawyer

Dang Dinh Bach

 has dedicated his life to protecting people in Viet Nam from pollution and the impact of climate change.

On June 24, 2021, Bach was arrested and jailed for alleged tax evasion, a tactic used by the Vietnamese authorities to silence environmental activists. His newborn son was just two weeks old. He was sentenced to five years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He has not seen his son since. 

Bach is forced to endure poor prison conditions and harassment by prison officers, and his health has deteriorated.

Demand protection and freedom for Dang Dinh Bach.

take action

Call on Viet Nam to immediately release Dang Dinh Bach

1) Write a letter for Dang Dinh Bach (sample letter)

2) Write a solidarity note to Dang Dinh Bach (case sheet)

3) Sign the online petition for Dang Dinh Bach

4) Report your letters

Wet’suwet’en Nation Land Defenders

Fighting to protect their ancestral lands, and our planet

Canada

Wet’suwet’en Nation Land Defenders

Fighting to protect 

their ancestral 

lands, and our planet

Canada

The WetĘźsuwetĘźen Nation are deeply connected to their ancestral lands, but this is threatened by the construction of a fossil fuel pipeline through their territory.

Their Hereditary Chiefs did not consent to this construction. Indigenous land defenders and their allies are being criminalized for protecting Wet’suwet’en territory against pipeline construction. They could face prison and a criminal record.

Land defenders have been charged for blocking pipeline construction sites, even though these sites are on their ancestral lands.

Protecting your ancestral lands is not a crime.

take action

Call on Canada to stop criminalizing Wet’suwet’en and other Indigenous land defenders

1) Write a letter for Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders (sample letter)

2) Write a solidarity note to the Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders (case sheet)

3) Sign the online petition Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders

4) Report your letters

Oqba Hashad

Detained and tortured for his brother’s activism

EGYPT

Oqba Hashad

Detained and

tortured for his

brother’s activism

EGYPT

Twenty-seven-year-old student Oqba Hashad has been held in pretrial detention in Egypt since May 2019, solely in retaliation for his brother Amr’s human rights activism.

Oqba was forcibly disappeared, tortured and denied the prosthetic leg he has used since a childhood accident – leaving him physically reliant on others. While he is held in terrible conditions without access to adequate healthcare, the Egyptian authorities have opened a new bogus case against him to justify his continued detention.  

Demand Oqba Hashad’s immediate release.

take action

Call on Egypt to release Oqba Hashad

1) Write a letter for Oqba Hashad (sample letter)

2) Send a solidarity note to Oqba Hashad (case sheet)

3) Sign the online petition for Oqba Hashad

4) Report your letters

Şebnem Korur Fincancı

Harassed for protecting people’s freedoms

TĂźrkiye

Şebnem Korur Fincancı

Harassed for

protecting people’s

freedoms

TĂźrkiye

Forensic medicine expert and human rights defender Professor

Şebnem Korur Fincancı

 has dedicated her life to eradicating torture and defending human rights.

Trying to silence her, the Turkish authorities have subjected Şebnem to baseless criminal investigations. In 2023, she was convicted for allegedly “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” after she had called for an investigation into allegations that the Turkish military was using chemical weapons in Iraq.

Şebnem is appealing against her conviction but could be imprisoned for almost two years if unsuccessful.

Demand the Turkish authorities stop their harassment of Professor Şebnem Korur Fincancı.

take action

Tell the Turkish authorities to stop their harassment of Şebnem

1) Write a letter for Şebnem (sample letter)

2) Send a solidarity message to Şebnem (case sheet)

3) Sign the online petition for Şebnem

4) Report your letters

Joel Paredes

Blinded by rubber bullets at a peaceful protest

Argentina

Joel Paredes

Blinded by rubber

bullets at a

peaceful protest

Argentina

Joel Paredes

 is a 29-year-old father from Jujuy province, Argentina.

On June 30, 2023 Joel attended a protest against changes to the province’s constitution, including restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly, measures that may cause damage to the environment, and risk violating Indigenous Peoples’ land rights. Police fired rubber bullets at protesters.

Joel was hit, permanently blinding him in the right eye, and leaving him with debilitating nerve pain. No one has been held accountable. 

Demand justice and accountability for Joel Paredes. 

take action

Demand justice for Joel Paredes

1) Write a letter for Joel (sample letter)

2) Send a solidarity note to Joel (case sheet)

3) Sign the online petition for Joel

4) Report your letters

Manahel al-Otaibi

Eleven years in prison for supporting women’s rights

Saudi Arabia

Manahel al-Otaibi

Eleven years in 

prison for 

supporting 

women’s rights

Saudi Arabia

Manahel al-Otaibi

 is a fitness instructor and a brave outspoken advocate for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.

In November 2022, she was arrested after posting to Snapchat photos of herself at a shopping mall. In the photos, she was not wearing the traditional long-sleeved loose robe known as an abaya.

Manahel has been sentenced to 11 years in prison in a secret hearing.

She was arrested and charged with violating Saudi Arabia’s “Anti-Cyber Crime” Law.

Demand freedom for Manahel.

take action

Demand Saudi Arabia frees Manahel al-Otaibi

1) Write a letter for Manahel (sample letter)

2) Send a solidarity note to Manahel (case sheet)

3) Sign the online petition for Manahel

4) Report your letters

Kyung Seok Park

‘I dream of a world where no one is left behind’

South Korea

Kyung Seok Park

‘I dream of a

world where no

one is left behind’

South Korea

Kyung Seok Park

 is a dedicated disability rights activist.

Holding peaceful protests on Seoul’s public transport systems, Kyung Seok Park has drawn attention to how hard it is for people with disabilities to easily access trains and subways safely – denying them the ability to travel to work, school, or to live independently.

Kyung Seok Park’s activism has been met with police abuse, public smear campaigns and punitive litigation.

Protest is not a crime, and disability rights are human rights.

Call on the mayor of Seoul to protect Kyung Seok Park’s right to peaceful assembly. 

take action

Call on the mayor of Seoul to protect Kyung Seok Park’s rights

1) Write a letter for Kyung Seok Park (sample letter)

2) Send a solidarity note to Kyung Seok Park (case sheet)

3) Sign the online petition for Kyung Seok Park

4) Report your letters

Maryia Kalesnikava

Political activist abducted and locked up for 11 years

Belarus

Maryia Kalesnikava

Political activist 

abducted and locked

up for 11 years

Belarus

Political activist Maryia Kalesnikava dared to challenge the repressive Belarus government. On September 7, 2020, Maryia was abducted by the Belarus authorities.

She was taken to the border where she resisted deportation by tearing up her passport. She was detained and later sentenced to 11 years in prison on false charges. Maryia’s family haven’t heard from her for more than a year.

Speaking out is not a crime. Freedom of expression is a human right.

Demand Maryia Kalesnikava’s immediate release.

take action

Call on Belarus to immediately release Maryia

1) Write a letter for Maryia (sample letter)

2) Send a solidarity note to Maryia (case sheet)

3) Sign the online petition for Maryia

4) Report your letters

LEONARD PELTIER

Leonard Peltier’s sentence has been commuted to home confinement! No further action is required.

USA

LEONARD PELTIER

Leonard PELTIER’s

sentence HAS BEEN

commuted TO 

HOME CONFINEMENT!

NO FURTHER ACTION

IS REQUIRED.

 USA

On January 20, 2025, President Biden commuted the life sentence of Indigenous elder and activist Leonard Peltier to home confinement. 
 
Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA, made the following statement: “President Biden was right to commute the life sentence of Indigenous elder and activist Leonard Peltier given the serious human rights concerns about the fairness of his trial. Amnesty International has advocated for the U.S. government to grant Leonard Peltier clemency for years, following the leadership of Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples.”
 
Thank you for your activism! No further action is required for Leonard Peltier’s case.Â