Ai Wei Wei
While With Wind used natural and mythical imagery to reference the global reality of political detainment, this installation at the rear of the New Industries Buildinggave that reality a human face — or many individual faces. The viewer was confronted with a field of colorful images laid out flat across the expanse of the floor: portraits of 176 people from around the world who have been imprisoned or exiled because of their beliefs or affiliations, most of whom were still incarcerated at the time the artwork was made. Ai Weiwei has called them “heroes of our time.”
If the sheer number of individuals represented is overwhelming, the impression is compounded by the intricacy of the work’s construction: each image was built by hand from LEGO bricks. (Some portions of the artwork were assembled in the artist’s studio, while others were fabricated to the artist’s specifications by more than 80 volunteers in San Francisco.) Assembling a multitude of small parts into a vast and complex whole, the work may have brought to mind the relationship between the individual and the collective, a central dynamic in any society and a particularly charged one in contemporary China.
See designs for the portraits and learn about the people represented below. Ai Weiwei selected these individuals based on information provided by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations, as well as independent research by the artist’s studio and the FOR-SITE Foundation. Initial research was completed in June 2014 and was updated in April 2017 for the Hirshhorn’s exhibition Ai Weiwei: Trace at Hirshhorn (June 28, 2017 – January 1, 2018). For more information about prisoners of conscience, visit the Amnesty International website.
- View by Country
- View by Name
- Azerbaijan (9)
- Bahrain (15)
- Belarus (2)
- Burma (2)
- Cameroon (1)
- China (38)
- Cuba (1)
- Egypt (3)
- Eritrea (2)
- Ethiopia (5)
- Gambia (3)
- India (1)
- Indonesia (3)
- Iran (26)
- Iraq (1)
- Kazakhstan (2)
- Kuwait (1)
- Kyrgyzstan (1)
- Laos (3)
- North Korea (3)
- Qatar (1)
- Russia (9)
- Rwanda (1)
- Saudi Arabia (5)
- South Africa (1)
- Sudan (1)
- Syria (1)
- Thailand (1)
- Turkmenistan (1)
- United Arab Emirates (5)
- United States (6)
- Uzbekistan (6)
- Vietnam (16)
Azerbaijan
AzerbaijanSardar Alibeyli
Convicted of hooliganism. Alibeyli is the editor of the newspaper Nota Bene and its accompanying website PS Nota, which has published commentaries by exiled politicians and army officers accusing the Azerbaijani president of corruption, human rights violations, and authoritarianism. In 2013, Alibeyli was sentenced to four years in prison, and was released in December 2014.
AzerbaijanMammad Azizov
Convicted of illegal narcotics possession and planning to organize acts of public disorder. Azizov is a member of NIDA, a youth opposition movement active on social media that is highly critical of the government. In 2014, he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. President Aliyev issued a pardon to release Azizov along with several other activists in March 2016.
AzerbaijanBakhtiyar Guliyev
Convicted of illegal possession of firearms and explosives and planning to organize acts of public disorder. Guliyev is a member of NIDA, a youth opposition movement active on social media that is highly critical of the government. In 2014, he was sentenced to seven years in prison. He was released in October 2014.
AzerbaijanUzeyir Mammadli
Convicted of the illegal possession of firearms and explosives and planning to organize acts of public disorder. Mammadli is a member of NIDA, a youth opposition movement active on social media that is highly critical of the government. In 2014, he was sentenced to seven years in prison. He was released in December of the same year.
AzerbaijanBakhtiyar Mammadov
Convicted of extortion and fraud. Mammadov is a lawyer who was representing several residents who were forcibly evicted from their homes in Baku as the government was building a performance hall for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. Mammadov alleged corruption by a high-level official. In 2013, he was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. He was released in May 2014.
AzerbaijanHilal Mammadov
Convicted of illegal drug possession, treason, and incitement to national, racial, or religious hatred. Known as a human rights activist on behalf of the Talysh people, Mammadov is a journalist and the chief editor of the only Azerbaijani newspaper printed in the minority Talysh language. In 2013, he was sentenced to five years in prison. He was pardoned and released by President Aliyev in March 2016.
AzerbaijanDashgin Melikov
Convicted of illegal purchase or storage without a purpose of selling narcotics. Melikov is an activist for the Sumgayit branch of the Popular Front Party opposition group. He wrote satirical and critical blogs about the president and the government and organized rallies online. In 2013, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. He was released in May 2014.
AzerbaijanRashad Ramazanov
Convicted of illegal possession and sale of drugs. Ramazanov is a prominent writer and blogger who spoke out against the authorities. Human rights agencies maintain that the Azerbaijani government has a pattern of using bogus drug possession charges to silence critical voices. In 2013, Ramazanov was sentenced to nine years in prison.
AzerbaijanIlkin Rustamzade
Convicted of hooliganism and planning to organize acts of public disorder. Rustamzade is a “Free Youth” activist and has been active in a grassroots campaign calling for an investigation into frequent Azerbaijani soldier deaths. In 2014, he was sentenced to eight years in prison, and has since faced additional charges.
Bahrain
BahrainMahdi Abu Deeb
Convicted of charges including halting the educational process, inciting hatred of the regime, and attempting to overthrow the ruling system by force. Abu Deeb is the founder and former leader of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association and had called on teachers to strike. In 2011, he was sentenced to five years in prison. He has testified to being tortured. He was released in April 2016.
BahrainAli ’Esa Mansoor al-’Ekri
Convicted of charges including illegal gathering and participating in unlicensed marches and calling for the overthrow of the regime by force. Al-‘Ekri, a physician, was among dozens of health professionals arrested following widespread antigovernment protests in February and March of 2011. In 2012, his sentence was adjusted to five years in prison, and he was released in March 2017.
BahrainAbdulhadi al-Khawaja
Convicted of charges including organizing and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country’s constitution and the royal rule, and the collection and provision of money for a terrorist group. Al-Khawaja is one of Bahrain’s most prominent human rights activists, and one of thirteen activists imprisoned in connection with their role in the national uprising of 2011. In 2011, he was sentenced to life in prison.
BahrainSalah al-Khawaja
Convicted of charges including organizing and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country’s constitution and the royal rule, and the collection and provision of money for a terrorist group. Al-Khawaja is one of thirteen activists serving sentences in connection with the national uprising of 2011. In 2011, he was sentenced to five years in prison. He was released in March 2016.
BahrainAbdulla al-Mahroos
Convicted of charges including organizing and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country’s constitution and the royal rule, and the collection and provision of money for a terrorist group. Al-Mahroos, also known as Sheikh Mirza al-Mahrous, is one of thirteen activists serving sentences in connection with the national uprising of 2011. In 2011, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
BahrainAbdel-Jalil al-Miqdad
Convicted of charges including organizing and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country’s constitution and the royal rule, and the collection and provision of money for a terrorist group. Al-Miqdad is one of thirteen opposition activists serving sentences in connection with the national uprising of 2011. In 2011, he was sentenced to life in prison.
BahrainMohamed Habib al-Miqdad
Convicted of charges including organizing and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country’s constitution and the royal rule, and the collection and provision of money for a terrorist group. Al-Miqdad is one of thirteen activists serving sentences in connection with their role in the national uprising of 2011. In 2011, he was sentenced to life in prison.
BahrainAbdulhadi ’Abdullah Hassan al-Mukhodher
Convicted of charges including organizing and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country’s constitution and the royal rule, and the collection and provision of money for a terrorist group. Al-Mukhodher is one of thirteen activists serving sentences in connection with their role in the national uprising of 2011. In 2011, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
BahrainSa’eed Mirza al-Nuri
Convicted of charges including organizing and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country’s constitution and the royal rule, and the collection and provision of money for a terrorist group. Al-Nuri is one of thirteen opposition activists serving sentences in connection with their role in the national uprising of 2011. In 2011, he was sentenced to life in prison.
BahrainAbduljalil al-Singace
Convicted of charges including organizing and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country’s constitution and the royal rule, and the collection and provision of money for a terrorist group. Al-Singace is one of thirteen activists serving sentences in connection with the national uprising of 2011. In 2011, he was sentenced to life in prison.
BahrainNaji Fateel
Charged with setting up a terrorist group that aims to suspend the constitution and harm national unity. Fateel is a human rights activist and member of the board of directors of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights. In 2013, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. He has reportedly been tortured in detention.
BahrainAbdulwahab Hussain
Convicted of charges including organizing and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country’s constitution and the royal rule, and the collection and provision of money for a terrorist group. Hussain is one of thirteen activists serving sentences in connection with the national uprising of 2011. In 2011, he was sentenced to life in prison.
BahrainMohamed Hasan Jawad
Convicted of charges including organizing and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country’s constitution and the royal rule, and the collection and provision of money for a terrorist group. Jawad is one of thirteen activists serving sentences in connection with their role in the national uprising of 2011. In 2011, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
BahrainHasan Mshaima’
Convicted of charges including organizing and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country’s constitution and the royal rule, and the collection and provision of money for a terrorist group. Mshaima’ is one of thirteen activists serving sentences in connection with the national uprising of 2011. In 2011, he was sentenced to life in prison.
BahrainEbrahim Sharif
Convicted of charges including organizing and managing a terrorist group for the overthrow and the change of the country’s constitution and the royal rule, and the collection and provision of money for a terrorist group. Sharif is one of thirteen activists serving sentences in connection with the national uprising of 2011. In 2011, he was sentenced to five years in prison. He was released in June 2015, re-arrested a month later, and released in 2016. New charges were brought against him in March 2017.
Belarus
BelarusAles Bialiatski
Convicted of concealment of income on a large scale. Bialiatski is a political activist known for his work with Viasna Human Rights Centre—which provides financial and legal assistance to political prisoners and their families—and is the vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights. In 2011, he was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. He was released in June 2014.
BelarusMikola Statkevich
Convicted of organizing mass disorder. Statkevich is the leader of the opposition Belarusian Social Democratic Party and was a candidate for president in 2010. While speaking at a post-election demonstration, he called on a group of men to stop attacking the parliament building doors. He was subsequently arrested. In 2011, he was sentenced to six years in prison. He was released in August 2015.
Burma
BurmaAung San Suu Kyi
Imprisoned for actions likely to undermine the community peace and stability. Aung San Suu Kyi is the chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the leading opposition party. She was placed under house arrest shortly before the 1990 general election in which the NLD received fifty-nine percent of the vote, and she remained under house arrest for fifteen years. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
BurmaTun Aung
Dr. Tun Aung is a medical doctor, Muslim community leader, and former parliamentary candidate. He was arrested following riots that broke out between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in western Myanmar in June 2012. In 2013, he was sentenced to seventeen years in prison. In 2014, his sentence was reduced, and in January 2015, he was released.
Cameroon
CameroonDieudonné Enoh Meyomesse
Convicted of armed robbery and illegal sale of gold. Meyomesse is an author and political activist who aspired to be a candidate in the 2011 presidential election with the United National Front (Front National Uni). His writings are highly critical of Cameroonian President Paul Biya. In 2012, he was sentenced to seven years in prison. He was released in April 2015.
China
ChinaMemetjan Abdulla
Convicted of separatist movement, divulging state secrets, and organizing illegal demonstrations. Abdullah was an editor for the Uyghur-language service of China National Radio and an administrator for an Uyghur-language website. He translated and posted a call for Uyghurs in exile to protest the deaths of Uyghur workers in Shaogua, China. In 2010, he was sentenced to life in prison.
ChinaNijat Azat
Convicted of endangering state security. Azat is an ethnic Uyghur web designer, musician, and webmaster. He was arrested after posting material regarding conditions in East Turkestan and permitting the posting of announcements for a demonstration in Urumqi. In 2010, he was sentenced to eight years in prison.
ChinaChen Guangcheng
Sentenced for damaging property and organizing a mob to disturb traffic. A self-taught lawyer, Chen advocates for women’s rights, land rights, and the welfare of the poor. He organized a class-action lawsuit against Chinese authorities for excessive enforcement of the one-child policy. He served four years and three months in prison and seventeen months under house arrest before escaping to the US Embassy in Beijing.
ChinaChen Wei
Convicted of inciting subversion of state power. Chen was a leader of the 1989 student democracy movement, for which he was arrested. He was arrested again in 1992. His current charge stems from essays critical of the Chinese government that he allegedly posted online. In 2011, he was sentenced to nine years in prison.
ChinaChen Xi
Convicted of inciting subversion of state power. Chen is a signatory of Charter 08 and a leading member of the Guizhou Human Rights Forum. He was previously jailed in 1989 and again in 1995. His current charges are linked to political essays he published online. In 2011, he was sentenced to ten years in prison, with an additional three-year deprivation of political rights.
ChinaDolma Kyab
Convicted of stealing and/or passing on state secrets. Dolma Kyab is a Tibetan writer and history teacher who has written extensively about democracy, Tibetan sovereignty, Tibet under communism and colonialism, and environmental issues in Tibet. In 2005, he was sentenced to ten years in prison. He was released in October 2015.
ChinaGangkye Drubpa Kyab
Convicted of alleged political activities. Gangkye Drubpa Kyab is a Tibetan teacher and writer whose works focus on the environment, Tibetan culture, and current events. He was arrested without a warrant at a time of high tension in Tibetan-populated areas of China, wherein many self-immolations and protests against Chinese rule occurred. In 2013, he was sentenced to five and a half years in prison. He was released in September 2016.
ChinaGao Zhisheng
Charged with subversion and violation of parole rules. Gao is a human rights attorney and dissident known for defending activists and religious minorities and documenting human rights abuses in China. He last disappeared in February 2009 and was unofficially detained until December 2011, when it was announced that he had been imprisoned for three years. He was released in August 2014 but remains under unofficial house arrest.
ChinaGartse Jigme
Charged with separatism. Gartse Jigme is a well-known and influential Tibetan writer. His work includes essays on self-immolations in Tibet, the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan government in exile, and China’s policies in the region. Since 2008, he has been under surveillance by Chinese authorities and has been detained several times. In 2013, he was sentenced to five years in prison.
ChinaGedhun Choekyi Nyima
On May 14, 1995, six-year-old Tibetan Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was named the eleventh Panchen Lama by the fourteenth Dalai Lama. After his selection, he was detained by Chinese authorities. He has not been seen in public since May 17, 1995. China later named another child, Gyancain Norbu, as Panchen Lama, a choice that exiles claim is rejected by most Tibetan Buddhists.
ChinaGong Shengliang
Convicted of rape and intentional assault. Gong is the founder and leader of the South China Church, an evangelical group that has been labeled a cult by the Chinese government. In 2001, he was sentenced to death for using a cult to undermine law enforcement. The sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment for rape. In 2006, his sentence was reduced to nineteen years. He has reportedly been subjected to torture.
ChinaGuo Quan
Convicted of subversion of state power. Guo is a Chinese human rights activist and university professor who has called for government reform and multiparty democratic elections. He founded the China People’s Livelihood Party, which was later renamed the New People’s Party of China, angering government authorities. In 2009, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.
ChinaJigme Gyatso
Convicted of splittist activities. Jigme Gyatso (also known as Jigme Guri) is a Tibetan Buddhist monk. He was detained and beaten by Chinese police in 2008 and posted a YouTube video about his detention and the wider Chinese crackdown in Tibet. He was later detained again and held for six months without charge. He was re-arrested in 2011. His current whereabouts are unknown.
ChinaKarma Samdup
Convicted of excavating and robbing ancient tombs. Karma Samdup is a leading collector of Tibetan antiques and founder of the award-winning Three Rivers Environmental Protection organization. He pushed for conservation of the source region for the Yangtze, Yellow, and Lancang (Mekong) rivers. In 2010, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. He has reportedly been tortured.
ChinaKhenpo Kartse
Charged with endangering state security. Khenpo Kartse is a popular Tibetan religious leader known for promoting Tibetan unity, language rights, and culture. He was also involved in leading teams of monks to rescue victims and provide relief to survivors during recent disasters in Tibetan areas. In 2013, he was arrested and detained. He has reportedly been tortured. He was released in June 2016.
ChinaKunchok Tsephel Gopey Tsang
Convicted of disclosing state secrets. Kunchok Tsephel Gopey Tsang is a writer and editor of the Tibetan-language website Chomei, which promotes Tibetan culture and literature. He has published articles that revealed the suppression of Tibetan protesters and the arrest of Buddhist monks. In 2009, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
ChinaLi Bifeng
Convicted of contract fraud. Li is an author, poet, and democracy activist. He served a five-year sentence for taking part in the 1989 pro-democracy movement, followed by another jail term from 1998 to 2005 for reporting on a workers’ protest in Sichuan in 1998. In 2012, he was sentenced to twelve years in prison. In 2013, his sentence was adjusted to ten years.
ChinaLi Tie
Convicted of subversion of state power. Li is a writer and human rights campaigner. He is perhaps best known for promoting the memory of Lin Zhao, a student who was executed as a counterrevolutionary under Mao. Her case became emblematic of the struggle for free speech in China. In 2012, Li was sentenced to ten years in prison.
ChinaLi Wangyang
Convicted of counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement and subversion. Li was a factory worker who advocated for independent trade unions. He was arrested after organizing worker support for the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He was sentenced to eleven years in prison and later to an additional ten years for subversion. He was released in May 2011 and died in 2012. Although his death was reported as suicide, this has been widely questioned.
ChinaLiu Xianbin
Convicted of inciting subversion of state power. Liu is a writer, a prominent pro-democracy activist, and a signatory to Charter 08. He participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and previously served nine years in prison for his activism. His current charges relate to articles he published in overseas publications advocating for human rights and democracy. In 2011, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.
ChinaLiu Xiaobo
Arrested for inciting subversion of state power. Liu is a writer, professor, and human rights activist who has called for political reforms and the end of communist single-party rule. He was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for “his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.” In December 2009, he was sentenced to eleven years in prison and a two-year deprivation of political rights.
ChinaLolo
Convicted of unspecified charges. Lolo is a well-known Tibetan singer. He was arrested shortly after the release of his 2012 album of songs calling for Tibetan independence. It is likely that he was charged with splittism, a catch-all offense that allows the Chinese authorities to punish ethnic minorities defending their rights. In 2013, he was sentenced to six years in prison.
ChinaGheyret Niyaz
Convicted of endangering state security. Niyaz is an ethnic Uyghur journalist, intellectual, and editor. He was an editor and manager for the website uyghurbiz.net, which Chinese authorities accused of contributing to incitement of rioting in Urumqi in July 2009. In 2010, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
ChinaRunggye Adak
Indicted on four counts including disruption of law and order and state subversion. Runggye Adak is a Tibetan nomadic herdsman. He publicly appealed for the release of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and the eleventh Panchan Lama and called for the return of the Dalai Lama. In 2007, he was sentenced to eight years in prison and the deprivation of political rights for four years. He was released in July 2015.
ChinaShawo Tashi
Charged with anti-state activities including distributing photographs of self-immolation protesters, writing last notes left by self-immolation protesters on these photographs, participating in protests against the Chinese government, and singing patriotic Tibetan songs. Shawo Tashi is a well-known Tibetan singer and musician. In 2013, he was sentenced to five years in prison.
ChinaTan Zuoren
Convicted of subversion of state power. Tan is a writer and activist who had published articles online about the repression of the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, and investigated the deaths of thousands of children when their schools collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In 2009, he was sentenced to five years in prison. He was released in March 2014.
ChinaTashi Rabten
Charged with inciting activities to split the nation. Tashi Rabten, also known as Therang, is a writer and editor known for his progressive and secularist views. He published works that condemned the Chinese government’s brutal suppression of the 2008 Tibetan protests and destruction of Tibetan culture and environment. In 2011, he was sentenced to four years in prison. He was released in April 2014.
ChinaTenzin Delek Rinpoche
Convicted of causing explosions and inciting separatism. Tenzin Delek is a Tibetan Buddhist leader known for working to develop social, medical, educational, and religious institutions for nomads in eastern Tibet. He was arrested following a bombing incident—leaflets calling for Tibetan independence were found at the scene. In 2002, he was sentenced to death. In 2005, his sentence was commuted to life in prison. He died in prison in July 2015.
ChinaIlham Tohti
Charged with separatism. Tohti is a Uyghur writer and economics professor who hosted the now-banned website Uyghur Online. He was an outspoken but careful critic of Chinese policies in Xinjiang. He was held for two months in 2009. In January 2014, he was re-arrested. He was awarded the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award in April 2014.
ChinaWang Bingzhang
Convicted of espionage and terrorism. Wang is a doctor and political activist. He launched the Union of Chinese Democracy Movement, publicly denouncing one-party rule in China, and later cofounded the Chinese Freedom Democracy Party and Chinese Democracy Justice Party in 1989 and 1998, respectively. In 2003, he was sentenced to life in prison.
ChinaWei Jingsheng
Wei is a human rights activist, dissident, and longtime member of the Chinese democracy movement. Upon his release from a fifteen-year prison term in 1994, Wei resumed speaking out against China’s human rights violations. He was re-arrested and forced into exile in the United States in 1997. He has received important awards for his human rights work and has reportedly been considered several times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
ChinaXu Zhiyong
Charged with assembling a crowd to disrupt order in a public place. Xu is a university lecturer, an active rights lawyer, and a founder of the NGOs Open Constitution Initiative and the New Citizens’ Movement, which demands that government officials disclose their wealth. In 2009, he was detained on charges of tax evasion. In 2014, he was sentenced to four years in prison.
ChinaNurmuhemmet Yasin
Imprisoned for inciting separatism. Yasin was an ethnic Uyghur author. He was arrested after the publication of his short story about a young pigeon, the son of a pigeon king, who becomes trapped by humans and, rather than live in captivity, commits suicide. He was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2005. Sources outside of China have been unable to locate him since his release in 2014.
ChinaAlimjan Yimit
Convicted of illegally providing state secrets to foreign nationals. Yimit is a Christian church leader of Uyghur ethnicity and a former Muslim. In September 2007, Chinese officials accused him of using his business as a cover for preaching Christianity among people of Uyghur ethnicity. In 2009, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
ChinaZhang Lin
Convicted of gathering a crowd to disrupt public order. Zhang is a writer, civil rights activist, and member of the banned China Democracy Party. He has served many prison and reeducation-through-labor sentences since the 1980s. In 2005, he was sentenced to four years in prison for subversion. He was arrested in 2013 for participating in a demonstration and was sentenced in 2014 to three and a half years of prison.
ChinaZhao Changqing
Convicted of gathering a crowd to disrupt order in a public place. Zhao is a teacher and human rights activist. He was heavily involved in the 1989 student democracy movement. More recently, he was a member of the New Citizens’ Movement, a transparency movement and loose network of activists campaigning for officials to declare their assets. In April 2014, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. He was released in June 2016.
ChinaZhao Lianhai
Convicted of inciting social disorder. Zhao is a dissident and former food safety worker who became an activist for parents of children harmed during the 2008 milk contamination, when hundreds of thousands of people were sickened and several babies were killed. In 2010, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. In December of that year, he was released on medical parole.
ChinaZhu Yufu
Arrested for inciting subversion of state power. Zhu is a political dissident and was one of the founders of the unrecognized Democracy Party of China. He also founded the magazine Opposition Party. He published a poem, “It’s Time,” that urged people to participate in the 2011 Chinese pro-democracy protests. In 2012, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Cuba
CubaIván Fernández Depestre
Charged with dangerousness—the special proclivity of a person to commit crimes. Depestre is a member of the Movimiento Opositor Juventud Despierta (Opposition Movement Awake Youth) and was arrested as he peacefully participated in an event commemorating the anniversary of the death of Cuban national hero Frank País. In August 2013, he was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released along with other political prisoners during US/Cuba diplomatic negotiations in December 2014.
Egypt
EgyptAlaa Abd el-Fattah
Arrested for organizing a political protest and for disrespect and hatred for the courts and the judiciary. Abd el-Fattah is a blogger, software developer, and political activist. He is one of the leaders and organizers of the January 2011 demonstrations that brought down the military-backed regime of Hosni Mubarak. In 2014, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. After a February 2015 retrial, his sentence was reduced to five years.
EgyptAhmed Douma
Convicted of participating in illegal protests. Douma, a prominent activist and blogger, has been arrested under each consecutive Egyptian government in recent years. He was arrested following a protest organized by the No Military Trials for Civilians campaign in defiance of a new restrictive protest law. Originally sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor in 2013, Douma was sentenced to life in prison by the Cairo Criminal Court in 2015.
EgyptAhmed Maher
Sentenced for protesting a new Egyptian law banning all protests. Maher is a civil engineer, a cofounder of the April 6 Youth Movement, and a prominent participant in the anti-Mubarak demonstrations in Egypt in 2011. He was reportedly considered for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work toward democratic reform. In 2013, he was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released in January 2017.
Eritrea
EritreaPetros Solomon
Held without charge. Solomon was an Eritrean People’s Liberation Front commander during the Eritrean War of Independence and served in several cabinet positions. He was also a member of a group that published an open letter to the government and President Isaias Afewerki calling for “democratic dialogue.” Since 2001, he has been held incommunicado in an undisclosed location.
EritreaHaile Woldetensae
Detained indefinitely. Woldetensae was the minister of finance and development and later minister of foreign affairs in Eritrea. He was a member of a group that published an open letter to the government and President Isaias Afewerki calling for “democratic dialogue.” Since 2001, he has been held incommunicado in an undisclosed location.
Ethiopia
EthiopiaReeyot Alemu
Sentenced in 2011 under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. Alemu is a journalist, founder of a publishing house, and editor of the magazine Feteh. Her articles cover social and political affairs as well as poverty and gender issues. In 2012, she received the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation. She was released in 2015 after serving four years in prison.
EthiopiaAndualem Arage
Convicted of terrorism under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. Arage is vice chairman of the opposition party Unity for Democracy and Justice. He was arrested while promoting the amendment or abrogation of the proclamation and advocating for the release of political and religious leaders and journalists. He was accused of having ties to a pro-Eritrean group designated as a terrorist organization. In 2012, he was sentenced to seventy-five years in prison.
EthiopiaNatnael Mekonnen
Convicted of terrorism under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. Mekonnen is a member of the opposition party Unity for Democracy and Justice. He publicly discussed whether Middle East–style uprisings could spread to Ethiopia and was accused of having ties to a pro-Eritrean group designated as a terrorist organization. In 2012, he was sentenced to eighteen years in prison. He has testified to being tortured.
EthiopiaEskinder Nega
Convicted of treason, outrages against the constitution, and incitement to armed conspiracy. Nega published an online column critical of the use of the terrorism law to silence dissent and calling for the Ethiopian government to respect freedom of expression and end torture in the country’s prisons. In 2012, he was sentenced to eighteen years in prison.
EthiopiaWoubshet Taye
Convicted of terrorism. Taye was the deputy editor of the independent weekly The Awramba Times, a leading opposition media voice. In 2011, he reported on the Beka! (Enough!) movement that called for peaceful protests. He was consequently detained and held incommunicado before being sentenced to fourteen years in prison.
Gambia
GambiaAlhagie Sambou Fatty
Convicted of sedition. Fatty is a member of the opposition United Democratic Party and the brother of Malang Fatty. He asked UDP Treasurer Amadou Sanneh to write a document supporting Malang’s application for asylum. In 2013, he was sentenced to five years in prison. He has testified to being tortured.
GambiaMalang Fatty
Convicted of sedition. Fatty is a member of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP). In 2013, he was arrested by Gambia’s National Intelligence Agency as he tried to leave the country in an effort to gain asylum in Finland. Fatty was in possession of a document provided by members of the UDP in support of his asylum claim. That same year, he was sentenced to five years in prison. He has testified to being tortured.
GambiaAmadou Sanneh
Charged with intent to bring hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the person of the President of the Republic of The Gambia. Sanneh is the treasurer of the opposition United Democratic Party and wrote a letter supporting the asylum application of UDP member Malang Fatty, claiming government persecution. In 2013, he was sentenced to five years in prison. He has testified to being tortured.
India
IndiaIrom Sharmila Chanu
Charged with an attempt to commit suicide. Chanu is a political and civil rights activist. She began a hunger strike in 2000 to protest the killing of ten civilians who were allegedly shot by Indian paramilitary forces. Since then, she has been arrested, released, and re-arrested every year. After years of being force-fed, she ended her hunger strike in August 2016.
Indonesia
IndonesiaFilep Karma
Charged with treason. Karma is a prominent advocate for the rights of Indonesia’s Papuan population. He was arrested for taking part in a peaceful ceremony in which a flag was raised bearing a Papuan symbol. Thereafter, activists clashed with police. In 2005, Karma was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. He was reportedly considered for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. He was released in November 2015.
IndonesiaJoni Sinay
Sentenced for treason. Sinay was among twenty members of the South Moluccan Republic group who were jailed for a 2007 protest in which they danced and unfurled a flag of their self-proclaimed republic in front of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the provincial capital of Ambon. In 2008, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
IndonesiaJohan Teterisa
Convicted of treason. Teterisa is an elementary school teacher. He was among twenty members of the South Moluccan Republic group who were jailed for a 2007 protest in which they danced and unfurled a flag of their self-proclaimed republic in front of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the provincial capital of Ambon. In 2008, he was sentenced to life in prison.
Iran
IranAbolfazl Abedini
Charged with offenses including having contact with enemy states. Abedini is a journalist and human rights activist who wrote about labor issues for the provincial weekly Bahar Ahvaz. In 2010, he was sentenced to eleven years in prison, with an additional year added in 2011.
IranShiva Nazar Ahari
Arrested on charges of waging war against God, propagating against the regime, actions against national security, and disrupting the public order. Ahari is a journalist and human rights activist and a founding member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, which campaigns against a wide range of human rights violations in Iran. In 2012, she began serving a four-year prison term, but was released in September 2013.
IranBahman Ahmadi Amouee
Convicted of gathering and colluding with intent to harm national security, spreading propaganda against the system, disrupting public security, and insulting the president. Amouee is a journalist and editor and a frequent government critic. He was arrested as part of a crackdown on journalists after the disputed 2009 election. He was sentenced to thirty-two lashes as well as seven years and four months in prison. He was released in October 2014.
IranSayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi
Charged with waging war against God, acts against national security, publicly calling political leadership by clergy unlawful, having links with anti-revolutionaries and spies, and using the term “religious dictatorship” instead of “Islamic Republic” in public discourse. Boroujerdi is a Muslim cleric who advocates the removal of religion from the Iranian political system. In 2007, he was sentenced to eleven years in prison.
IranArzhang Davoodi
Convicted of spreading propaganda against the system and establishing and directing an organization opposed to the government. Davoodi is a teacher, activist, and author who criticized human rights conditions in Iran. In 2005, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, seventy-five lashes, and five years of house arrest. In 2012, a new charge of enmity against God was brought against him. In 2014, he was sentenced to death.
IranBahareh Hedayat
Convicted of insulting the Supreme Leader, insulting the president, actions against national security, propagation of falsehoods, and colluding for assembly. Hedayat is a student and women’s rights activist. She has been arrested multiple times and has been subject to police harassment. In 2009, she was sentenced to ten years in prison.
IranFaran Hesami
Charged with membership of the Bahá’í community and meeting and colluding to disturb national security. Hesami was a psychology instructor at the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education. She was arrested and told that the master’s degree she earned in Canada was illegal, and therefore her work as a counselor was also illegal. In 2011, she was sentenced to four years in prison. She was released in April 2016.
IranMohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand
Convicted of acting against national security, widespread propaganda against the state by disseminating news, opposing Islamic penal laws by publicizing punishments such as stoning and executions, and advocating on behalf of political prisoners. Kaboudvand is an Iranian Kurdish human rights activist and journalist. In 2007, he was sentenced to eleven years in prison.
IranFariba Kamalabadi
Charged with espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and spreading propaganda against the system. Kamalabadi is a member of the Yaran, a now-disbanded ad hoc leadership group for Iran’s Bahá’í community. Previously, she was a developmental psychologist. She was arrested twice before her most recent imprisonment. In 2010, she was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
IranJamaloddin Khanjani
Charged with espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and spreading propaganda against the system. Khanjani is a member of the Yaran, a now-disbanded ad hoc leadership group for Iran’s Bahá’í community. He was arrested and imprisoned at least three times before 2008. In 2010, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
IranNavid Khanjani
Convicted on charges including founding the Bahá’í Education Rights Committee, membership of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters and Human Rights Activists, acting against national security, and propaganda against the regime. Khanjani is a human rights activist and a founder of the Society against Educational Discrimination. In January 2011, he was sentenced to twelve years in prison.
IranOmid Kokabee
Sentenced for illegitimate/illegal earnings and communicating with a hostile government (USA). Kokabee was a physicist at the University of Texas who was arrested in Iran after returning from the United States to visit his family in 2011. He claimed that the authorities were trying to obtain his collaboration for an Iranian nuclear program. In 2012, he was sentenced to ten years in prison. He was released on parole in August 2016.
IranSa’id Metinpour
Charged with connections to foreigners and propaganda against the regime, based on a confession obtained through torture. A Turkish citizen, Metinpour is a human rights activist and journalist who has called for greater cultural and linguistic rights for his community. He was arrested in May 2007 and later sentenced to eight years in prison. He has testified to being tortured.
IranSayed Ziaoddin Nabavi
Convicted of enmity against God. Nabavi was a student of engineering. In 2007, he was permanently banned from university study for his political activities. Prior to his arrest, he attended one of the “Green Revolution” protests disputing the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In 2010, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.
IranAfif Naeimi
Charged with espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and spreading propaganda against the system. Naeimi is a member of the Yaran, a now-disbanded ad hoc leadership group for Iran’s Bahá’í community. Previously, he was an industrialist who was unable to pursue becoming a doctor because, as a Bahá’í, he was denied access to university. In 2010, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
IranKamran Rahimian
Charged with membership of the Bahá’í community and meeting and colluding to disturb national security. Rahimian was a psychology instructor with the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education. He received his master’s degree in educational counseling from the University of Ottawa, Canada. In September 2011, he was sentenced to four years in prison. He was released in August 2015.
IranSaeid Rezaie
Charged with espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and spreading propaganda against the system. Rezaie is a member of the Yaran, a now-disbanded ad hoc leadership group for Iran’s Bahá’í community. An agricultural engineer, he is also the author of several books and is known for his extensive scholarship on Bahá’í topics. In 2010, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
IranHossein Ronaghi Maleki
Sentenced on charges including membership of the internet group Iran Proxy, spreading propaganda against the system, and insulting the Supreme Leader. Ronaghi Maleki is a blogger and political dissident. He was arrested for renewing proxies that allowed journalists and political activists to circumvent the government’s website bans. In 2010, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. He was released on medical leave in May 2016.
IranMahvash Sabet
Charged with espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and spreading propaganda against the system. Sabet is a member of the Yaran, a now-disbanded ad hoc leadership group for Iran’s Bahá’í community. Before her arrest, she served as director of an organization providing alternative higher education for Bahá’í youth. In 2010, she was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
IranKeyvan Samimi
Convicted of disturbing the public and acting against national security by gathering and conspiring. Samimi is a journalist, magazine editor, and human rights activist. He was arrested in the crackdown on protesters who disputed the 2009 presidential elections. In 2009, he was sentenced to six years in prison and a fifteen-year ban from social and political activities. He was released in May 2015.
IranMohammad Seifzadeh
Charged with collusion and assembly with intent to disrupt internal security, propagating against the regime, and establishing the Center for Human Rights Defenders. Seifzadeh is a lawyer, former judge, and human rights activist. In October 2010, he was sentenced to nine years in prison and a ten-year ban from practicing law. He was released in March 2016.
IranReza Shahabi
Convicted of gathering and colluding against state security and spreading propaganda against the system. Shahabi was the treasurer of a Tehran bus workers’ labor union. Independent trade unions, however, are not permitted in Iran. In 2010, he was sentenced to six years in prison, fined $5,700, and banned from all trade unionist activities for five years.
IranAbdolfattah Soltani
Convicted for cofounding the Center for Human Rights Defenders, spreading antigovernment propaganda, endangering national security, and accepting an illegal prize, the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award. Soltani is a human rights lawyer. He was incarcerated for political offenses in 2005 and 2009. In 2012, he was sentenced to thirteen years in prison and a twenty-year ban from practicing law.
IranBehrouz Tavakkoli
Charged with espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and spreading propaganda against the system. Tavakkoli is a member of the Yaran, a now-disbanded ad hoc leadership group for Iran’s Bahá’í community. He has previously experienced intermittent detainment and harassment and was jailed for four months without charge, spending most of that time in solitary confinement. In 2010, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
IranVahid Tizfahm
Charged with espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and spreading propaganda against the system. Tizfahm was a member of the Yaran, a now-disbanded ad hoc leadership group for Iran’s Bahá’í community. Previously, he was an optometrist and owner of an optical shop. In 2010, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
IranEbrahim Yazdi
Charged with assembly and collusion against national security, propagating against the Islamic Republic regime, and establishing and leading the Iran Freedom Movement. Yazdi is a politician and diplomat and headed the pro-democracy Freedom Movement from 1995 to 2011. He has been arrested three times since the 2009 election. In 2011, he was sentenced to eight years in prison and a five-year ban on social activities. He was released in March 2011.
Iraq
IraqWalid Yunis Ahmad
Sentenced for terrorism. Ahmad is an ethnically Turkmen television journalist, program organizer, and translator. He was arrested in 2000 and detained without charge or trial for almost eleven years. The alleged crime with which he was later charged occurred in 2009, when he had already been in custody for nine years. He was allegedly tortured and held in solitary confinement for long periods. In 2011, he was sentenced to an additional five years in prison.
Kazakhstan
KazakhstanVladimir Kozlov
Convicted of inciting oil workers to violence. Kozlov is a journalist and politician who has been a leader of the democratic opposition in Kazakhstan and a candidate for his country’s presidency. In 2012, he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. The court also ordered that Kozlov’s property be confiscated and ordered him to pay US$10,000 in court costs. He was released in August 2016.
KazakhstanRoza Tuletaeva
Convicted of organization of mass unrest accompanied by violence. Tuletaeva is a human rights activist and one of the leaders of a 2011 workers’ strike against the oil company OzenMunaiGaz that resulted in a clash between police, oil workers, and the public. In 2012, she was sentenced to seven years in prison. She has testified to being tortured. She was released in November 2014.
Kuwait
KuwaitHamad al-Naqi
Charged with insulting the Prophet, the Prophet’s wife and companions, mocking Islam, provoking sectarian tensions, insulting the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and misusing his mobile phone to spread the comments. Al-Naqi is a Kuwaiti blogger of Iranian descent and a member of the Shi’a Muslim minority. In 2012, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Kyrgyzstan
KyrgyzstanAzimjan Askarov
Convicted of storage of ammunition, being an accomplice to premeditated murder, and being an accomplice in the killing of a law enforcement officer. Askarov is an ethnic Uzbek and director of an independent human rights NGO. He recorded clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan in 2010. In 2010, he was sentenced to life in prison.
Laos
LaosSeng-Aloun Phengphanh
Convicted of treason. Seng-Aloun was a member of a student pro-democracy group that publicly called for human rights, the release of political prisoners, a multi-party political system, and elections for a new National Assembly. He was arrested for trying to peacefully display posters calling for economic, political, and social change in Laos. In 1999, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
LaosSombath Somphone
Sombath is the executive director of the Participatory Development Training Centre, which he founded to foster sustainable, equitable, and self-reliant development in Laos. He was taken away in 2012 in the presence of security personnel at a police post in Vientiane. Despite widespread calls for an investigation, he has not been heard from since.
LaosThongpaseuth Keuakoun
Convicted of treason. Thongpaseuth was a member of a student pro-democracy group that publicly called for human rights, the release of political prisoners, a multiparty political system, and elections for a new National Assembly. He was arrested for trying to peacefully display posters calling for economic, political, and social change in Laos. In 1999, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
North Korea
North KoreaOh Hae-won Suk-ja
Indefinitely detained. Oh is a South Korean citizen. Her father, Oh Kil-nam, moved his family to North Korea to work as an economist and to obtain treatment for his wife’s hepatitis. He requested political asylum in Denmark in 1986. The following year, Hae-won, her sister (Kyu-won), and their mother (Shin Suk-ja), were imprisoned, apparently because Oh Kil-nam did not return to North Korea.
North KoreaOh Kyu-won Suk-ja
Indefinitely detained. Oh is a South Korean citizen. Her father, Oh Kil-nam, moved his family to North Korea to work as an economist and to obtain treatment for his wife’s hepatitis. In 1986, he requested political asylum in Denmark. The following year, Kyu-won, her sister (Hae-won), and their mother (Shin Suk-ja), were imprisoned, apparently because Oh Kil-nam did not return to North Korea.
North KoreaShin Suk-ja
Indefinitely detained. Shin is a South Korean citizen. Her husband, Oh Kil-nam, moved his family to North Korea to work as an economist and to obtain treatment for Shin’s hepatitis. He requested political asylum in Denmark in 1986. The following year, Shin and her daughters were imprisoned, apparently because Oh did not return to North Korea. Authorities have stated that Shin has died of hepatitis.
Qatar
QatarMohammed al-Ajami
Convicted of insulting Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and inciting to overthrow the ruling system. Al-Ajami (also known as Mohammed Ibn al-Dheeb) is a poet and literature student. The charges appear to be related to a poem that criticized the emir; a private reading of the poem was surreptitiously recorded and posted online. In 2012, he was sentenced to life in prison, later reduced to fifteen years. He was released in March 2016 after a royal pardon.
Russia
RussiaAndrei Barabanov
Convicted of attacking police and inciting mass riots. Barabanov is a graduate of a mathematics college and an artist. He was involved in a “March of Millions” demonstration in Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square in 2012, protesting alleged violations in the 2011 parliamentary elections and the reelection of Vladimir Putin. In 2014, he was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison. He was released in December 2015.
RussiaYaroslav Belousov
Convicted of attacking police and inciting mass riots. Belousov is a student in the Department of Politics at the Moscow State University. He was involved in a “March of Millions” demonstration in Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square in 2012, protesting alleged violations in the 2011 parliamentary elections and the reelection of Vladimir Putin. In 2014, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. He was released in September 2014.
RussiaSergei Krivov
Convicted of attacking police and inciting mass riots. Krirov is a civil rights activist and member of the RPR-Parnas party. He was involved in a “March of Millions” demonstration in Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square in 2012, protesting alleged violations in the 2011 parliamentary elections and the reelection of Vladimir Putin. In 2014, he was sentenced to four years in prison. He was released in July 2016.
RussiaDenis Lutskevich
Convicted of attacking police and inciting mass riots. Lutskevitch is a former naval cadet and student. He was involved in a “March of Millions” demonstration in Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square in 2012, protesting alleged violations in the 2011 parliamentary elections and the reelection of Vladimir Putin. In 2014, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. He was released in December 2015.
RussiaAleksey Polikhovitch
Convicted of attacking police and inciting mass riots. Polikhovitch is a student, insurance company employee, and former marine. He was involved in a “March of Millions” demonstration in Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square in 2012, protesting alleged violations in the 2011 parliamentary elections and the reelection of Vladimir Putin. In 2014, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. He was released in October 2015.
RussiaArtiom Saviolov
Charged with participation in mass riots and using violence against a police officer. Saviolov had no history of political activism before taking part in a “March of Millions” demonstration in Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square in 2012, protesting alleged violations in the 2011 parliamentary elections and the reelection of Vladimir Putin. In 2014, he was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison. He was released in December 2014.
RussiaSergei Udaltsov
Convicted of organizing mass riots. As the leader of the Left Front movement, Udaltsov is one of the most prominent opposition figures in Russia. In 2011 and 2012, he helped lead a series of protests against Vladimir Putin, calling for “a direct democracy” in Russia. In 2014, he was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
RussiaYevgeny Vitishko
Convicted of spray painting a fence. Vitishko is a geologist, a member of the Environmental Watch on North Caucasus, and a prominent figure in a campaign to shed light on the environmental impact of Olympic construction in Sochi. He was accused of spray painting a construction fence surrounding the regional governor’s mansion. In 2014, he was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released in December 2015.
RussiaStepan Zimin
Convicted of attacking police and inciting mass riots. Zimin is a student and activist. He was involved in a “March of Millions” demonstration in Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square in 2012, protesting alleged violations in the 2011 parliamentary elections and the reelection of Vladimir Putin. In 2014, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. He was released on parole in June 2015.
Rwanda
RwandaAgnes Uwimana Nkusi
Convicted of defamation and threatening national security. Uwimana Nkusi was the editor of the independent Kinyarwanda-language newspaper Umurabyo. Government authorities arrested her after she published opinion pieces criticizing government policies and alleging corruption in the run-up to the 2010 presidential elections. After serving several years of her sentence, she was released in June 2014.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi ArabiaAbdullah al-Hamid
Convicted of charges including breaking allegiance to and disobeying the ruler, questioning the integrity of officials, seeking to disrupt security and inciting disorder by calling for demonstrations, and disseminating false information to foreign groups. Al-Hamid is a Saudi human rights activist and cofounder of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association. In 2013, he was sentenced to eleven years in prison.
Saudi ArabiaSaud al-Hashimi
Convicted of disobeying Saudi Arabia’s king, forming an organization opposing the state, questioning the independence of the judiciary, money laundering, and supporting terrorism. Al-Hashimi is a human rights activist. He and several other activists circulated a petition calling for political reform. He was sentenced to thirty years in prison and a fine of two million riyals. He has reportedly been tortured.
Saudi ArabiaMohammad Fahad al-Qahtani
Convicted of charges including breaking allegiance to and disobeying the ruler, questioning the integrity of officials, seeking to disrupt security and inciting disorder by calling for demonstrations, and disseminating false information to foreign groups. Al-Qahtani is an economics professor and cofounder of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association. In 2011, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Saudi ArabiaSuleiman al-Rashudi
Convicted of breaking allegiance with the King and possessing banned articles by Professor Madawi al-Rasheed. Al-Rashudi is a human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist. He was a founding member of the Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights. In 2011, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, to be followed by a fifteen-year travel ban.
Saudi ArabiaOmar al-Saeed
Convicted of charges including disobeying the ruler, membership of an unlicensed organization, inciting disorder by calling for demonstrations, and harming the image of the state by disseminating false information. Al-Saeed is a political activist and a member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association. In 2013, he was sentenced to four years in prison and 300 lashes, to be followed by a four-year travel ban.
South Africa
South AfricaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Sentenced on four counts of sabotage and conspiracy to violently overthrow the government. Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician. In 1964, he was sentenced to life in prison. He was released in 1990 and served as president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Among more than 250 honors he received before his death in 2013, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
Sudan
SudanMeriam Ibrahim
Convicted of apostasy and adultery. Ibrahim was born to a Muslim father but raised as an Orthodox Christian, and married a Christian man. Under Shari’a law in Sudan, the marriage of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim is considered adultery. The charge of apostasy was added when the court learned that Ibrahim was raised as a Christian. In 2014, she was sentenced to death and 100 lashes. Her conviction was later overturned. She was released in July 2014. Arrested while trying to leave Sudan, she took refuge at the US Embassy and was granted asylum in the US in 2014.
Syria
SyriaTal al-Mallohi
Convicted of disclosing secret information to a foreign country. Al-Mallohi has written a blog where she publishes her poems about Palestine and social commentaries. When she was arrested at age eighteen, she was believed to be the youngest prisoner of conscience in the Arab world. In 2011, she was sentenced to five years in prison. In July 2014, Amnesty International reported that she had been transferred to the custody of Syrian State Security. She is believed to be held incommunicado.
Thailand
ThailandSomyot Prueksakasemsuk
Convicted of lèse majesté, the crime of criticizing the king. Somyot is a labor rights activist and magazine editor. He published two pseudonymous articles that were critical of a fictional character interpreted by the court as representing King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He was arrested after launching a petition calling for parliamentary review of the lèse-majesté law. In 2013, he was sentenced to eleven years in prison.
Turkmenistan
TurkmenistanGulgeldy Annaniyazov
Convicted of crossing the border without valid travel documents. Annaniyazov is a human rights activist and dissident. He was imprisoned for organizing a nonviolent antigovernment demonstration in 1995. The government released him after five years, and he fled with his family to Norway. He returned to Turkmenistan in 2008 and was arrested and sentenced to eleven years in prison. He is detained incommunicado.
United Arab Emirates
United Arab EmiratesSaleh Mohammed al-Dhufairi
Convicted of founding, organizing, and administering an organization aimed at overthrowing the government. Al-Dhufairi is a former teacher, manager of the Ras Al Khaimah Holy Quran Foundation, and one of the defendants in the “UAE 94” case. Many of the defendants are members of al-Islah, which has called on the ruling families of the UAE to take steps toward democracy. In 2014, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.
United Arab EmiratesMahmoud Abdulrahman al-Jaidah
Convicted of supporting a secret illegal organization. A Qatari citizen, Al-Jaidah is a medical doctor and director of medical services at Qatar Petroleum. He was accused of giving money to the families of detained members of al-Islah, an organization accused of affiliations with the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood. In 2014, he was sentenced to seven years in prison. He has reportedly been tortured.
United Arab EmiratesMohammad al-Mansoori
Accused of plotting to overthrow the government. Al-Mansoori is a human rights lawyer and president of the Independent Jurists Association, a legal organization involved in human rights issues. He was accused of being a leader of al-Islah, an organization that prosecutors asserted was a branch of the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood. In 2013, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.
United Arab EmiratesMohammad al-Roken
Accused of plotting to overthrow the government. Al-Roken is a professor of constitutional law, founding member of the Bridging the Gulf Foundation for human security in the Gulf region, and a former head of the Emirati Lawyers’ Association. He defended supposed al-Islah members who had been accused of having ties to the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood. In 2013, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.
United Arab EmiratesHussain Ali Alnajjar Alhammadi
Convicted of founding, organizing, and administering an organization aimed at overthrowing the government. Alhammadi is a physicist and democracy activist and one of the defendants in the “UAE 94” case. Many of the defendants are members of al-Islah, which has called on the ruling families of the UAE to take evolutionary steps toward democracy. In March 2014, he was sentenced to ten years in prison, followed by three years of probation.
United States
United StatesShaker Aamer
Held without trial or charge. A Saudi citizen and British legal resident, Aamer was originally suspected of leading anti-US forces in Afghanistan while being paid by Osama bin Laden. He has been detained since 2001. He was cleared for release by the Bush administration in 2007 and by the Obama administration in 2009, but remained in detention in Guantánamo until 2015. He says that he has been subject to torture.
United StatesShakir Hamoodi
Pled guilty to engaging in a conspiracy to violate the International Economic Emergency Powers Act. Hamoodi is an Iraqi American nuclear engineer. He sent money to family and friends in Iraq for humanitarian purposes during US sanctions. In 2002, he criticized the Bush administration’s plan to attack Iraq. In 2012, he was sentenced to three years in prison and three years of probation. After being released to a halfway house in 2014, he was fully released in 2015.
United StatesMartin Luther King, Jr.
Arrested thirty times, charged with calling for and participating in illegal gatherings. King was a clergyman, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African American civil rights movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was assassinated in 1968.
United States John Kiriakou
Pled guilty to violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. Kiriakou is a former CIA officer and counterterrorism official who disclosed to a reporter the name of an agency officer who had been involved in the CIA’s program to hold and interrogate detainees. In 2007, he publicly discussed the use of the suffocation technique known as waterboarding. In 2013, he was sentenced to thirty months in prison. In February 2015, he was released and put under house arrest for three months, followed by three years of probation.
United StatesChelsea Manning
Convicted of violating the Espionage Act and making other offenses. Manning (formerly Bradley Manning) is a US Army soldier who released the largest set of classified documents ever leaked to the public. In 2013, Manning was dishonorably discharged from the Army and sentenced to thirty-five years of confinement with the possibility of parole in eight years. President Obama commuted Manning’s sentence in January 2017. She was released May 17, 2017.
United StatesEdward Snowden
Charged with espionage and theft of government property. Snowden is a computer specialist, former employee of the Central Intelligence Agency, and former contractor for the National Security Agency. He disclosed thousands of classified documents revealing details of global surveillance programs. He currently lives in an undisclosed location in Russia. He is considered a fugitive by American authorities.
Uzbekistan
UzbekistanSalijon Abdurahmanov
Convicted of marijuana and opium possession. Abdurahmanov is a journalist who covered economic, human rights, and social issues for the independent news website Uznews, and in the past contributed reporting for the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the London-based Institute for War and Peace Reporting. In 2008, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.
UzbekistanAzam Farmonov
Convicted of extortion. Farmonov is a rural development activist and a regional head of the independent Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan. He was defending the rights of local farmers who had accused district farming officials of malpractice, extortion, and corruption. In 2006, he was sentenced to nine years in prison. He has testified to being tortured. His sentence was extended by five years in 2015.
UzbekistanGaybullo Jalilov
Charged with a variety of security-related charges including terrorism, incitement of hatred, dissemination of materials containing threats to public safety, and participation in a banned organization. Jalilov is a prominent human rights activist whose work focused on violations of religious freedom. In 2010, he was sentenced to nine years in prison. Later that year, his sentence was extended to eleven years.
UzbekistanIsroil Kholdorov
Charged with attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, distributing materials constituting a security threat, organizing and leading a banned organization, and illegally crossing the border. Kholdorov is a human rights activist and a regional chairperson of the Erk political party. In 2007, he was sentenced to six years in prison. In 2012, three years were added to his sentence.
UzbekistanDilmurod Saidov
Sentenced on extortion charges. Saidov is a journalist and a member of the human rights organization Ezgulik. He is known for defending farmers’ rights against government corruption in Samarkand. He has written many articles accusing authorities of corruption and of impoverishing the nation’s farmers. In 2009, he was sentenced to twelve and a half years in prison.
UzbekistanAkzam Turgunov
Convicted of extortion. Turgunov is a leading figure in the human rights and opposition movements in Uzbekistan. He founded Mazlum, an organization that advocates for prisoners of conscience and protests against the use of torture. He was also director of the Tashkent section of Erk, an opposition political party. In 2008, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Vietnam
VietnamLu Van Bay
Convicted of conducting propaganda against the regime. Bay is a former army officer, a prominent pro-democracy activist, and a prolific internet writer focusing on social and political issues, including freedom of expression. He was charged for articles he posted on overseas websites calling for the end of one-party rule in Vietnam. In 2011, he was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of house arrest.
VietnamTran Vu Anh Binh
Convicted of conducting anti-state propaganda. Binh, also known as Hoang Nhat Thong, is a songwriter, singer, and cofounder of the Patriotic Youth League, which promotes public consciousness of social justice and civic engagement. He posted songs on YouTube that expressed concerns about the Vietnamese government and the lack of social justice. In 2012, he was sentenced to six years in prison and two years of house arrest.
VietnamDoan Huy Chuong
Charged with abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state and disseminating articles on reactionary websites. Chuong was part of a group that wrote and circulated a list of demands when workers at a shoe factory went on strike. He was previously imprisoned on charges of abusing democratic freedoms. In 2010, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.
VietnamThich Quang Do
Do is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and outspoken critic of the Vietnamese government. He is the head of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, which came under persecution by the government after 1975 for its involvement in the human rights movement. Do has been repeatedly arrested, imprisoned, and sent into domestic exile. Since 2003, he has been under police surveillance. He has reportedly been considered several times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
VietnamNguyen Van Hai
Arrested for tax evasion and disseminating anti-state information and materials. Hai, also known as Dieu Cay, is a prominent blogger and an advocate for democratic reforms. He is well known for his denunciation of China’s foreign policy toward Vietnam. He was also imprisoned without charge after cofounding the Free Journalists Club of Vietnam. In 2012, he was sentenced to twelve years in prison. He was released in October 2014.
VietnamDo Thi Minh Hanh
Charged with disrupting national security. Hanh is a member of Victims of Injustice, a group that advocates on behalf of victims of land confiscation. She was part of a group that wrote and circulated a list of demands when workers at a shoe factory went on strike. In 2010, she was sentenced to seven years in prison. She was released in June 2014, but remains under government surveillance.
VietnamNgo Hao
Convicted of carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration. Hao is a dissident, blogger, and a former army officer. He was accused of writing and circulating false information about the government and defaming its leaders from 2008 to 2012. He was also accused of using peaceful means to promote revolution. In 2011, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison and five years of house arrest.
VietnamNguyen Doan Quoc Hung
Charged with disrupting national security. Hung is a member of Victims of Injustice, a group that advocates on behalf of victims of land confiscation. He was part of a group that wrote and circulated a list of demands when workers at a shoe factory went on strike. In 2010, he was sentenced to nine years in prison.
VietnamDinh Nguyen Kha
Convicted of antigovernment propaganda. Kha is a student and computer repairer. He was arrested when he handed out leaflets critical of policies on land ownership, religion, and sovereignty disputes with China over the South China Sea. In 2013, his original eight-year prison sentence was reduced to four years.
VietnamHo Thi Bich Khuong
Convicted of conducting propaganda against the state. Khuong is a longtime social justice activist. She has published accounts of human rights violations against the rural poor and taken part in protests about land rights. She was previously imprisoned for two years. In 2011, she was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of house arrest.
VietnamNguyen Xuan Nghia
Convicted of conducting propaganda against the state. Nghia is a poet, journalist, essayist, novelist, a member of the Hai Phong Association of Writers, and a founding member of the banned democracy movement known as Bloc 8406. His indictment cited fifty-seven pieces written by him in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, he was sentenced to six years in prison and three years of house arrest. He was released in September 2014.
VietnamLe Quoc Quan
Convicted of tax evasion. Quan is a human rights lawyer, democracy activist, and prominent Catholic blogger advocating for religious freedom. In 2007, he was detained after he returned from a fellowship with the US-based National Endowment for Democracy. In 2013, he was sentenced to thirty months in prison. He was released in June 2015.
VietnamTa Phong Tan
Charged with writing anti-state propaganda and seriously affecting national security and the image of the country in the global arena. Tan is a dissident blogger. A former policewoman, she was arrested for her blog posts alleging government corruption. In 2012, Tan was sentenced to ten years in prison. That same year, her mother, Dang Thi Kim Lieng, self-immolated in protest of her daughter’s detention. Ta Phong Tan was released in September 2015 on condition of her departure from Vietnam; she is now living in exile.
VietnamTran Huynh Duy Thuc
Convicted of endangering national security and organizing campaigns in collusion with reactionary organizations based abroad that were designed to overthrow the people’s government with the help of the internet. Thuc, also known as Tran Dong Chan, is an IT professional and blogger who had written in support of economic and social reforms and freedom of expression. In 2010, he was sentenced to sixteen years in prison and five years of house arrest.
VietnamVo Minh Tri
Convicted of spreading antigovernment propaganda. Tri, also known as Viet Khang, is a songwriter, singer, and founding member of the Patriotic Youth League. Authorities arrested him without charge after he released two songs calling on people to stand up against government crackdowns on protesters. In 2012, he was sentenced to four years in prison and two years of house arrest. He was released in 2015 with two years of probation.
VietnamLe Thanh Tung
Convicted of conducting propaganda against the state. Tung is a former soldier, supporter of Bloc 8406, and blogger advocating pluralism and constitutional changes. He posted articles for the banned Vietnam Freedom and Democracy Movement. He had been detained by police thirteen times previously. In 2012, he was sentenced to five years in prison—reduced to four years on appeal—and four years of house arrest. He was arrested again in December 2015 and sentenced in 2016 to twelve years imprisonment and four years of house arrest for activities aimed at overthrowing the state.
