Amnesty International's Letter Writing Marathon for the Release of Athena Daemi and Other Women Human Rights Activists
Amnesty International's letter-writing marathon in defense of women human rights activists, including Athena Daemi, will see participation from 180 countries. The campaign will run from November 29 to December 23 of this year (2018).
This year, Amnesty International is focusing on eight women human rights defenders representing one of the world's indigenous groups. Amnesty International's German branch is also asking citizens of the country to participate in this marathon of letters.
Last year (2017), 250,000 letters were written in Germany on this issue. Amnesty International has also invited schools to participate in this human rights campaign.
Every year, Amnesty International calls on people around the world to defend human rights activists around the world who have been subjected to violent government attacks for their work.
This year, the organization is focusing on eight women human rights defenders and representatives of an indigenous group. One of these eight women human rights activists is Atena Daemi, a political prisoner in Iran.
Atena Daemi was arrested on October 19, 2014 and spent 86 days in solitary confinement and under interrogation. She was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison on January 19 of the same year. Ms. Daemi was sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of “propaganda against the system, gathering and colluding against national security, insulting the leadership, insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic, and concealing evidence of a crime.” This sentence was reduced to seven years in prison on appeal.
Other human rights activists Amnesty International has called for their release include Pavitri Manjhi (India), Gulzar Doishnova (Kyrgyzstan), Nawal Ben Issa (Morocco), Nunhela Mbutuma (South Africa), Vitalina Koval (Ukraine), Geraldine Chacon (Venezuela), and a representative of the Zangwar ethnic group in Kenya.
"There is no more effective action than drawing the world's attention," says Marcus Biko, Managing Director of Amnesty International Germany. "The more citizens participate in the letter-writing marathon, the more pressure is put on regimes that commit human rights violations. They may be able to ignore one letter, but they cannot ignore thousands."
Marcus Biko goes on to say that the letter-writing marathon is the easiest thing for any German citizen to do to express their support for people who are under threat from human rights violators.
Last year, 250,000 letters were sent from Germany alone in this regard. The Amnesty International website www.briefmarathon.de provides any information regarding these human rights activists to those interested.
Schools' participation in this human rights action
This year, as in previous years, schools are set to play an active role in this campaign. Male and female students can not only learn about human rights theoretically through classroom discussions, but also actively participate in practical action by sending letters.
Last year, 450 schools in Germany took part in the campaign. Schools that would like to take part in the campaign can also officially register online. (www.amnesty.de/briefmarathon-schule)
Writing a letter helps; successful examples
Even in the age of social media, letter writing is still effective. Amnesty International's experience shows that letter writing has led to improvements in the conditions of human rights activists worldwide. The organization cites two examples:
Mahadine, a blogger from Chad, was imprisoned for 18 months and was facing life in prison for criticizing his country's government. Last year (2017), a marathon of 69,000 letters was signed calling for his release. Mahadine was released from prison in April this year (2018).
Another example is Chinese lawyer Ni Yulan. She was subjected to police pressure after she opposed the country's police crackdown on the public. However, after sending numerous letters, the attacks, insults, and harms against her decreased significantly.
Source: DW
