Write for Rights 2023 in Minehead

The 2023 Write for Rights global campaign began on 1 November and some of us met on the start date, in the Beach Hotel, and wrote letters on behalf of a range of the 12 cases selected for this year’s campaign. A month later, on 1 December, we were delighted to be invited by the Minehead Quakers to join their monthly ‘quiet half hour’ and soup lunch. After everything was cleared away, we sat around the table to sign letters and cards on behalf of four Write for Rights cases:

• Ahmed Mansoor, United Arab Emirates: locked up for 10 years in solitary confinement for speaking out against injustice;
• Rita Karasartova, Kyrgyzstan: a human rights campaigner and expert in civic law charged with attempting to overthrow the government;
• Thapelo Mohave, South Africa: in hiding because of death threats resulting from his work to improve the lives of the poor; and
• Chaima Issa, Tunisia: facing prison for her peaceful activism.

Information about the campaign was also placed underneath our Amnesty tree at Minehead's Christmas Tree Festival which ran from 1 - 3 December. The tree was decorated with pictures from the campaign booklet. We hope that all these activities will have helped raise awareness locally about the campaign and the work of our group.