Prisoners of Conscience
In this article, we will discuss the term “prisoners of conscience.” Prisoners of conscience is an important term to understand in the human rights literature. We will examine the definition of prisoners of conscience, the rights of prisoners of conscience, as well as how human rights organizations around the world are working to protect prisoners of conscience.
What are Prisoners of Conscience?
Prisoners of Conscious are individuals who are arrested, held, or jailed because of their political statements or actions. There are so many cases of governments holding or jailing people who have risked their lives to challenge the status quo, or to criticize oppressive regime policies. These individuals, who then were made into prisoners of conscience, symbolize, through their struggle, the struggle of society against oppression and injustices.
There have been many prisoners of conscience throughout history. Just a few prisoners of conscious included but were not limited to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Human Rights of Prisoners of Conscience
Prisoners are conscious are often denied their basic fundamental rights. For example, individuals who challenge government policies are usually arrested or detained directly because of their outspokenness. Thus, government actions in these cases frequently violate their basic human rights, rights such as the freedom of speech, the freedom to protest, among other freedoms.
Governments, usually intimidated by these political actions, and worry about how these individuals may inspire and mobilize others into a human rights movement, have tried to silence these activities by turning them into prisoners. Once in jail, these prisoners of conscious may often face great hardships while in jail. Individuals may be denied their right to a quick trial, their right to food, water, or access to a lawyer. They may also be tortured when held. Others have disappeared or have been found dead.
Prisoners of Conscience Advocacy
There are a number of international human rights organizations who are committed to speaking out on behalf of the rights of prisoners of conscience. Arguably no international human rights organization is as well known as Amnesty International.Amnesty International was created first as a human rights organization on behalf of prisoners of conscience. This work has won Amnesty International a Nobel Peace price in 1977. Today, they continue to work to publicize cases where prisoners of conscience exist, and have set up letter writing campaigns where they, and their supporters, demand that authorities release prisoners of conscience.
Their letter writing campaign has been instrumental in releasing many prisoners of conscience. For example, in 2014, they worked to release Moses Akatugba. Speaking on this case, they write on their website: “When he was only 16 years old, in 2005, Moses Akatugba was arrested, tortured, and eventually sentenced to death for a robbery he says he did not commit. Last year, he was one of the Write for Rights cases. Now, he is free. The pardon of Moses, who should not have been sentenced to death in the first place because he was a minor at the time of the offence, is a victory for justice and a reminder that your actions really can make a difference.” Here are some other examples of prisoners of conscience that Amnesty International has worked to release.
