Ref.: AMR/USA/CORR

Dear Mr Toolan

This is to acknowledge receipt of your recent correspondence. Thank you for writing to us.

As you may be aware part of Amnesty International's mandate focuses upon the release of "prisoners of conscience": individuals detained by reason of their political, religious or other conscientiously held beliefs, or on account of their ethnic origin, sex, colour, language or religion, provided that they have not used or advocate violence. We also work for fair trial for political prisoners and oppose the death penalty unconditionally, together with the torture and ill-treatment of all prisoners.

Many acts of "civil disobedience" committed for consciencious reasons, as with regard to various anti-abortionists actions, involve the breaching of laws which do not in themselves violate international human rights standards. In cases of this sort Amnesty International is not able to adopt the protester as a "prisoner of conscience" unless it can be found that he or she was imprisoned on account of his or her beliefs, rather than for the law violation itself. This is a standard we apply to all cases of this nature wherever they may occurr.

As far as the case you mention in your letter is concerned I am afraid that the law violation in question is not in itself one to which Amnesty would take exception: the law is generally applicable in that anyone taking similar action would be liable to prosecution.

I hope this clarifies the reason why Amnesty International is unable to become involved with your case. Thank you for drawing this to our attention.

Yours faithfully

Olivia Streater North American Team Coordinator Back