Stephen Fry champions a return to the pen for Amnesty's 50th year

“I love texting, tweeting, blogging and emailing as much, if not more, than the next person, but there are some occasions when nothing, but nothing, can replace the power of the hand-written letter” – Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry has championed Amnesty International’s new Write for Rights campaign launched today and running up to 10 December, International Human Rights Day, when thousands of people across the UK and throughout the world will write a hand-written letter on behalf of one of ten Amnesty cases.

In modern times, Amnesty relies on all forms of activism, from online petitions and other methods of digital communication, to public rallies and demonstrations. But in the organisation’s 50th year, the humble hand-written letter is being championed once again, in a “penaissance”.

Stephen Fry, a famously prolific user of Twitter and renowned champion of other social media, said that sometimes a hand-written letter cannot be beaten.

Praising the letter, Stephen Fry, said:

“I love texting, tweeting, blogging and emailing as much, if not more, than the next person, but there are some occasions when nothing, but nothing, can replace the power of the hand-written letter. Over the years I’ve followed and tried to support the unique and astoundingly important work of Amnesty International.

“Hand-written letters, politely but passionately putting the case for prisoners of conscience, addressed to ambassadors, prime ministers, presidents and monarchs of countries where restrictions on freedom of speech have resulted in prisoners of conscience, these can work surprisingly well.

“I can’t recommend highly enough the experience. So look up the Amnesty website, join the organisation and get out a fresh sheet of paper and a pen and compose a letter that might help unlock doors and remove gags."

Saturday 10 December is International Human Rights day, and Amnesty is hoping that an unprecedented number of people across the UK will write to people with the power to stop human rights abuses. Pupils in schools across the UK and the globe will be writing letters on behalf of the cases on Friday 9 December.

The ten cases show the breadth of Amnesty’s work and include 75-year-old Hakamada Iwao, believed to be the world's longest-serving death row inmate who has spent the last 43 years awaiting execution in Japan; Manolis Kypreos, a journalist who had a grenade thrown at him whilst documenting the riots in Greece; and Inés Ferndández Ortega and Valentina Rosendo Cantú, two rape survivors in Mexico who have tirelessly campaigned to have the perpetrators of the attack brought to justice.

Stephen Fry added:

“One of the simplest and most effective things any of us can do is write letters of support to prisoners of conscience languishing in the gaols of the world, or under house arrest or in other situations of stress that result purely from their attempts to use their voice freely in their own country.”