May 28, 1961 - Amnesty International - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

Amnesty International begins with simple letter-writing campaign. British lawyer Peter Benenson was horrified when he read a story about two Portuguese students sentenced to seven years in jail for raising a toast to freedom. He contacted the British newspaper The Observer, asking it to bring attention to the “forgotten prisoners” of the world. On May 28, 1961, The Observer launched its year-long campaign, “Appeal for Amnesty 1961.” Response was overwhelming. In less than a month, more than 1,000 people had offered to help the prisoners of conscience, and within a year, the campaign had turned into a viable organization in seven countries. Delegates went around the world to raise the profile of 210 cases. Over the years, Amnesty International grew to focus not just on prisoners of conscience, but also on victims of human rights abuses such as torture, “disappearances” and the death penalty. While their international and many national headquarters deal with issues at a governmental and business level, the day-to-day operations of thousands of worldwide volunteers still entails the simple task of writing letters to authorities, telling them to release prisoners or change their human rights processes. Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1977 and the United Nations Human Rights Award in 1978.

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