Free prisoners of conscience

A Prisoner of Conscience (PoC) is someone held solely for the peaceful exercise of his or her rights to freedom of expression and association. PoCs are generally arrested in connection to their work or involvement in organisations promoting human rights.

Amnesty International Iran Group

The group has chosen specific Prisoners of Conscience which will be considered a priority. This allows us to focus on these prisoners and maximise our impact in securing their release. Our prisoners are:

• Ahmad Zeidabadi- journalist and human rights activist sentenced to 6 years in prison in November 2009 after a mass “show trial”
• Bahman Ahmadi Amou'i- journalist sentenced to 5 years in prison for articles written that were critical of the Iranian government
• Zia Nabavi- student activist sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and 74 lashes in January 2010 after his arrest in June 2009
• Nasrin Sotoudeh- sentenced to 11 years imprisonment in January 2011 for her work as a human rights lawyer
• Bahareh Hedayat-  student and women’s rights activist sentenced to 10 years imprisonment after her arrest on 31st December 2009