Amnesty International is trying to free people who have been unjustly imprisoned through the Write for Rights campaign

These people are doing their part in an international write-a-thon to support nine people who have been unjustly imprisoned across the world for standing up for their beliefs.

Skeptics may think writing a letter won’t do much, but Maitland-Morpeth Amnesty Group says last year’s efforts – where hundreds of thousands of letters led to a prisoner being released – showed that people power was still a strong force in fighting for justice. 

“It’s definitely getting results,” member Margaret Wallin said. 

“Can you imagine being in prison and receiving all of these letters – and the government being inundated with letters calling for the person’s release?”

Ms Wallin has supported the cause for 20 years and said the prisoners’ stories had touched her heart.

She was among 10 people who gathered in East Maitland to support the cause on Thursday. 

“I’m very humbled by the people who stand up, they are very special people, they are standing up to try to save lives and for the greater good,” Ms Wallin said. 

“If you can’t achieve that then what is there?“If we could do it for everybody it would be wonderful.”

Each year Amnesty International features nine people in the Wright for Rights cause from a range of backgrounds.

This year it includes whistleblower Edward Snowden, Fomusoh Ivo Feh who was jailed for a decade over a joke SMS, lawyer and former newspaper editor Eren Keskin who was prosecuted for speaking out about the army killing a 12-year-old boy, and Professor Ilham Tohti who is in prison for life in China.

“These people are in a whole lot of different situations,” Ms Wallin said.“They are individuals who are standing up for what they believe in and are being targeted as a result.

“There are people in prison, people facing the death penalty, others are being hunted for their body parts.”

The annual event correlates with Human Rights Day, which is held on December 10. 

To participate in this campaign visit www.amnesty.org by December 16.