Six human rights defenders in China are being detained by authorities after freeing activists who were being illegally detained in a guest house.
Three are now missing, their whereabouts unknown. One (Ding Hongfen, pictured) has already been subjected to torture.
Okunishi Masaru on death row in Japan © Private
Okunishi Masaru has spent more than half his life on death row in Japan, knowing he could be executed any day.
In 1961, he was accused of poisoning five women and ‘confessed’ after prolonged police interrogation. He retracted his confession as soon as trial began, and was acquitted for lack of evidence. But a higher court reversed the decision, and sentenced Okunishi to death.
Okunishi’s lawyers have repeatedly requested a retrial, without success. Okunishi is now 87 years-old and his health is failing him, he slips in and out of consciousness and is unable to breathe on his own. But he’s desperate for a chance to clear his name before he dies.
Click here to call on the Japanese authorities to grant Okunishi a retrial.
Hakamada Iwao is 77 years old. He has spent the majority of his life on death row, awaiting execution every day for a crime he claims he did not commit. Hakamada is said to be suffering from a severe mental illness as a result of many years spent in solitary confinement. New DNA evidence could reinforce his claims of innocence. Please help us to ask for a retrial for Hakamada.
Amnesty International Taunton Local Group 