The plight of imprisoned journalist Peter Greste will come into focus across Maitland this week as part of a mass letter-writing campaign for those at risk of human rights violations.
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Residents are urged to join people from 143 countries on Friday as part of the annual Write 4 Rights letter-writing marathon.
Last year, more than 2.3 million letters – including 300 from Maitland – were written on behalf of prisoners of conscience and people at risk of human rights violations.
“The more people from Maitland who will join us the more impact we can have,” Maitland/Morpeth Amnesty International member Wendy White said.
“It’s always a thrill to connect Maitland to the global Write 4 Rights event and every year we see such power in writing a letter, sending an email or firing off a social media post.
“Of the dozen people for whom we wrote letters last year, Vladimir Akimenkov in Russia and Yorm Bopha in Cambodia were released from prison following the combined pressure of ordinary individuals from all over the world, while Dr Tun Aung in Burma had his sentence slashed.
“That is the power our words can have.
“When we send a letter for someone who has been denied justice, not only do we make governments sit up and notice, but we offer that person a glimmer of hope that they have not been forgotten.”
This year, Write 4 Rights campaigners can write to governments around the world on behalf of six individuals.
These include Australian journalist Peter Greste, who has been imprisoned in Egypt on charges of broadcasting false news and involvement with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
For more information on how to write a letter for the campaign visit www.amnesty.org.au/write
Who can you write letters of support for this year?
Egypt: Al Jazeera staff – three journalists, including Australian Peter Greste.
China: Liu Ping – a human rights campaigner, sentenced to more than six years in prison after calling on the Chinese government to step up its fight against corruption.
Philippines: Jerryme Corre – a bus driver, tortured by police in what could be a case of mistaken identity. Two years later, he remains in jail.
Saudi Arabia: Raif Badawi – sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and 1000 lashes after founding an online forum for political and social debate.
Uzbekistan: Erkin Musaev – a United Nations employee and former government worker falsely accused of spying. Erkin was tortured, then sentenced to 20 years imprisonment after a series of unfair trials.
Venezuela: Daniel Quintero – Daniel, 21, was arrested on the way home from an anti-government demonstration and viciously beaten by members of the military.