Human Rights Speaker Series - Prisoners of Conscience

Human rights defenders all over the world are persecuted for their peaceful work defending the rights of others. Yet in spite of how many new ways have evolved to suppress HRDs, I have witnessed how arrest and detention have through the decades been among the most, if not the most, frequent violations committed against them. It is effective because once behind bars, those who hold oppressive governments to account for human rights violations have no opportunity to carry out their work effectively. Because of the continued use of detention as a tool to attack critics, and the ever-changing legislative and judicial landscape that facilitates it, the work of Prisoners of Conscience is as urgent and necessary as it was when they were founded 60 years ago.