End 40 years of solitary confinement - Urgent Appeal

Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace

Two men, likely to be innocent, have been locked up in solitary confinement in the infamous Angola prison in Louisiana for 40 years.

On Tuesday 17 April, it will be exactly 40 years since the men were first placed in solitary confinement. Amnesty International is marking the date by handing in a petition to the Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, calling on him to end their ordeal. 

In 1972, Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace entered the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola in their twenties, convicted of the murder of a prison guard. Now in their sixties and in poor health, they are still in solitary confinement.

Each man spends 23 hours of every day in a cell measuring 2m by 3m. That’s about five steps long and three steps wide. The only view is of a small space beyond the prison bars. In good weather, they are allowed a solitary hour in an outdoor cage three times a week.

They have limited access to books and no opportunities for work or education. Social interaction is restricted to the occasional visit and limited phone calls. After living in these conditions for most of their lives, both Woodfox and Wallace suffer from serious health problems including osteoarthritis aggravated by lack of exercise, and functional impairment.

The men were convicted in 1972 of the murder of a prison guard, Brent Miller. No physical evidence links either to the crime and DNA evidence which may have cleared them has been lost. Over the years, documents have emerged suggesting the main eyewitness was bribed by prison guards.

The Louisiana prison review board has rubberstamped their ongoing isolation on 150 separate occasions, always citing the ‘nature of the original reason for lockdown’. By denying them any meaningful review of their isolation, the prison authorities have actually breached their own policies.

"If they did not do this – and I believe that they didn’t – they have been living a nightmare!" said Teenie Verret, widow of Brent Miller, in 2008.

Woodfox and Wallace believe their isolation (along with a third man, Robert King, incarcerated for separate crimes) was because of their political activism, and membership of the Black Panther Party. Collectively, Woodford, Wallace and King are known as the Angola 3.

King was released after 29 years of solitary confinement in 2011. The three men continue to campaign for justice, and recognition of the cruelty and illegality of their treatment in solitary confinement. You can read more about the Angola 3 here.

Please, sign Amnesty’s petition to end their cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment

Two urgent appeals for Iran

Amnesty International has issued today an urgent appeal to show the Iranian authorities that the world is still watching:

After the disputed election results of 12 June, hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran and other cities to protest. But in Iran, expressing your opinions can be dangerous - dozens were arrested and by the end of last week Amnesty had recorded at least 10 deaths. On Friday, the situation was further inflamed when, rather than appealing for the security forces to exercise restraint, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared that further protest would not be tolerated - effectively condoning the violent actions of the security forces.

This did not deter more demonstrations on Saturday - defiant and courageous people are continuing to exercise their right to peacefully assemble and express their dissent. As we have seen, they are doing so despite great personal risk.

Amnesty has issued an Urgent Action appeal in support for the people of Iran and the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression - please show theym that the world is still watching and e-mail the Iranian Ambassador in the UK

The second appeal is from exiled Iranian writers to the writers of the world:

People's outcry for freedom is a reaction to 30 years of suppression of their freedom of speech and the repression of their human rights. Their cry calls on all freedom-loving people, democratic institutions and governments to unite in condemning the latest anti-democratic actions of the Iranian regime.

We, the Iranian writers, who have witnessed numerous acts of injustice by the Islamic Republic aimed at suppressing the most basic human rights of our people, and who subsequently live in exile or migration while standing together with the honorable Iranian people (especially the intelligent youth who are voicing, in the most peaceful manner, their demands for freedom, social justice and democracy in Iran) appeal to you, the writers and scholars of the world, to help them by demanding an immediate end to the Islamic Republic's widespread suppression of the Iranian people

Kader Abdola, Reza Aghnami, Reza Alamezadeh, Reza Baraheni, Roshanak Bigonah, VazrikSahakian, Mehdi Estedadi Shad, Ali Asghar Hajsedjavadi, Hassan Hesam, Ahmmad KarimiHakkak, Mansour Khaksar, Nasim Khaksar, Mansour Koushan, Abbas Maroufi, FereshteMolavi, Bagher Momeni, Ali Negahban, Partou Noriala, Majid Naficy, Shahrnoush Parsipour, Koshiar Parsi, Mehrangiz Rasapour, Monir Ravanipour, Akbar Sardozami, Faraj Sarkohi, AsadSeif, Behrouz Sheida, Mohssen Yalfani, Ali Zarin, Naser Zeraati.