Mayfair & Soho members commemorating the Kindertransport rescue

• A GROUP of Indian journalists, lawyers and trade unionists imprisoned for defending the human rights of the weakest members of society…

A farming community in Colombia subject to threats and violence by paramilitary organisations…

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, unjustly imprisoned in Iran…

These are some of the people for whom the Mayfair and Soho group of Amnesty International are working.

It all started with a newspaper article. On May 28 1961 Peter Benenson’s article in The Observer – The Forgotten Prisoners – led to people asking what they could do for prisoners of conscience.

So Amnesty International was founded. Amnesty campaigns for the release of prisoners of conscience, those imprisoned for the peaceful expression of their rights to freedom of speech, belief and assembly; for fair trials for all; for an end to torture and the death penalty; for the protection of those who defend human rights.

Much of Amnesty’s work over these 60 years has been done by ordinary members in local groups, like the Mayfair and Soho Group.

Members have met in a number of places in central London, mainly churches, starting at Liddon House in Mayfair, and most recently at Central YMCA (though, of course, meetings are currently online).

We have worked for individual prisoners of conscience in Morocco, North Korea, Yemen, the Philippines and the former German Democratic Republic.

We have played our part in the establishment of a global arms trade treaty, with a guns destruction event in Trafalgar Square.

We have challenged jewellers’ shops about conflict diamonds.

We have organised a simultaneous event with Amnesty groups round Europe to commemorate the Kindertransport rescue of 1938.

We have run letter-writing sessions at libraries.

We have lobbied MPs and embassies.

We sent a piece of a member’s wedding cake to a prisoner in Morocco.

And, through our annual Act of Witness (on one occasion with Vanessa Redgrave), raised thousands of pounds for Amnesty’s work.

Amnesty’s symbol is a candle surrounded by barbed wire. Our group members believe that it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

New members are always welcome. For more information go to https://www.amnesty.org.uk/groups/mayfair-soho/

NICK HODGSON
Secretary
Amnesty International
Mayfair & Soho Group