The Candle
Spring 2025 | Vol 2 | No. 1
Amnesty International Canada’s Candle has long symbolized our collective resolve to confront human rights abuses with the glow of compassion and activism. As we bring “The Candle” to life in this digital form, we hope to amplify its power to inspire change and drive progress for human rights everywhere. Individual donations power the impactful work described in here – THANK YOU to all our supporters!
Good News
Meet the 92-year-old campaigner who saved her brother from execution
Hideko Hakamada’s brother Iwao was sentenced to death for murder in Japan in 1968. Following his trial, he spent nearly five decades on death row while Hideko campaigned tirelessly for his release. Year after year, decade after decade, Hideko never gave up in the struggle to prove her brother’s innocence.
Photo: Hideko Hakamada spent 58 years fighting to prove her brother’s innocence. © KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images
Angola
“I told myself Amnesty International will release me from prison and here we are, we are free!”
On January 6, 2025, four activists in Angola were released from detention following a presidential pardon. Adolfo Campos, Abraão Pedro Santos, Gilson Morreira, and Hermenegildo Victor José were all arrested in September 2023. They were tried, convicted and given prison sentences for “disobedience and resisting orders”—just because they had attempted to join a solidarity demonstration.
In a message to Amnesty International following his release, In a message to Amnesty International following his release, Abraão Pedro Santos said: “Every time my wife went to prison to visit me, she would always come with a message from Amnesty International. Every time Amnesty would send a message to me through my wife, I felt very motivated, and I understood I wasn’t alone. I told myself sooner or later Amnesty International will release me from prison and here we are, we are free!”
Philippines
Duterte’s ICC appearance is a symbolic moment for victims of “war on drugs”
On March 11, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Duterte was taken straight to The Hague, Netherlands, where the ICC will put him on trial for murder as a crime against humanity related to the “war on drugs” committed between 2011 and 2019.
Cameroon
Dorgelesse Nguessan freed after four years
Dorgelesse Nguessan is finally free! She was released in January after more than four years in detention in Cameroon solely for peacefully exercising her human rights.
Saudi Arabia
Salma al-Shehab’s ordeal in prison is finally over
Salma al-Shehab was freed in Saudi Arabia in February after spending more than four years in prison on bogus terrorism charges.
Background photo: A protest in Washington DC in support of Salma al-Shehab and others unjustly detained in Saudi Arabia. © Arab Rights and Research Council
El Salvador
Historic verdict is a victory for reproductive justice
On December 20, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights condemned the Salvadoran state in the case of Beatriz versus El Salvador. In 2013, the Salvadoran authorities prevented Beatriz from terminating her pregnancy despite the pregnancy endangering her health and there being no possibility that her fetus could survive.
Türkiye
Acquittal of Saturday Mothers brings seven-year ordeal to an end
Almost seven years after the Saturday Mothers’ 700th peaceful vigil was violently broken up by riot police in Istanbul, 45 people standing trial for participating in the vigil were finally acquitted in March. Although their ordeal is finally over, they should never have been charged in the first place.
USA
Rocky Myers death sentence commuted
Rocky Myers, a Black man with an intellectual disability, was on death row since 1994 despite flawed legal proceedings and no evidence directly linking him to the crime for which he was convicted. Amnesty International has long advocated for Rocky Myers, and he was part of the organisation’s Write for Rights campaign in 202, in which hundreds of thousands of people from around the world signed a petition asking Alabama Governor Kay Ivey to commute his death sentence.
IOPT
Ahmad Manasra finally released
Ahmad Manasra was arrested in October 2015 at the age of 13, in connection with a stabbing incident in occupied East Jerusalem. Despite evidence suggesting he did not participate in the stabbings, and despite his young age, he was subjected to harsh interrogation without legal representation or the presence of his parents. Footage of his interrogation, showing him distressed and injured, sparked international concern. In 2016, Ahmad Manasra was convicted of attempted murder in proceedings that raised serious concerns about due process and his rights as a child. He was initially sentenced to 12 years in prison, later reduced to nine and a half years in prison. His request for early release on medical grounds were rejected by the Israeli parole committee in 2022, decisions which the Israeli courts upheld.
News Updates
Thailand
You spoke out against deportations of refugees to China
On February 27, the Thai government deported 40 Uyghur refugees to China in violation of Thailand’s international human rights obligations.
Following this alarming development, Amnesty International quickly issued an Urgent Action appeal on behalf of five other Uyghur refugees imprisoned in Bangkok, who were also at risk of forcible return to China.
Background photo: An immigration detention centre in Bangkok, Thailand, where it is believed Uyghur refugees were being detained. © JACK TAYLOR/AFP/ Getty Images
Haiti
You’re demanding protection for Haiti’s children
Following in-depth investigations in Haiti, Amnesty International recently released a report exposing the devastating impact of gang violence on Haitian children.
DRC
You’re calling for an immediate end to human rights atrocities
Human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have long been a priority for Amnesty International. Conflict in the country has been ongoing since the 1990s, with much of the worst fighting taking place in the eastern regions bordering South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. In recent years, Amnesty researchers have been in DRC conducting indepth investigations and Amnesty’s Crisis Evidence Lab has been analysing a massive amount of data.
Background photo: Conflict-displaced people leaving camps on the outskirts of Goma, DRC. © ALEXIS HUGUET/AFP/Getty Images
USA
You’re demanding an end to mass deportations
Within hours of his inauguration in January, US President Donald Trump launched a mass deportation campaign targeting millions of migrants and people seeking safety in the United States. His administration plans mass arrests, mass detention, and mass removals of longstanding community members as well as recently arrived people.
Ethiopia
You’re helping expose a crackdown on human rights
Amnesty International has been drawing attention to an alarming deterioration in human rights in Ethiopia. In September 2024, Ethiopia’s army and security forces arbitrarily rounded up thousands of people across Amhara region and brought them to mass detention centres.
Iran
You’re supporting women’s rights activists under attack
In March, the Iranian authorities arrested four Kurdish women’s rights activists—Leila Pashaei, Baran Saedi, Sohaila Motaei, and Soma Mohammadrezaei. The women were detained for participating in events to mark International Women’s Day on March 8. They are being held in solitary confinement and have been interrogated without their lawyers.
Canada
Canada
BC court finds RCMP violated Indigenous land defenders’ Charter rights
On February 18, a judge in British Columbia ruled that RCMP officers violated the Charter rights of land defenders Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham), Shaylynn Sampson, and Corey “Jayohcee” Jocko.
Canada
Revealed: Systemic abuse in Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program
In January 2025, Amnesty International published a report exposing the alarming truth behind Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, a scheme that allows employers to hire migrant workers, primarily for low-paid jobs, across sectors such as agriculture, caregiving, and hospitality.
Background photo: (Photo by Tara Walton / via Getty Images)
Canada
Celebrating 50 years of International Women’s Day: Amnesty Canada at Women’s March in Toronto
On 08 March 2025, activists, members and staff of Amnesty International Canada walked alongside hundreds of Toronto residents for the Women’s march in Toronto.
Canada
Book Club event with Omar El-Akkad
Amnesty Book Club held its first online event of the year with award-winning novelist and journalist, Omar El Akkad, discussing his latest release ‘One day everyone would have always been against this’. Click below to watch the engaging discussion.
Legacy
Margaret John: An extraordinary
human rights activist
For half a century, Margaret worked tirelessly to make the world a better place.
The world lost a wonderful human being and one of its most tireless and inspiring human rights activists on January 29, 2025, when Margaret John passed away peacefully in Hamilton, Ontario.
Margaret was a passionate supporter of Amnesty International who dedicated much of her life to human rights and justice. She was born Margaret Gregson in 1936 in Manchester, England. While at university in Bangor, Wales, Margaret met her husband, Brian, and in 1968 they moved to Hamilton, where they made their home and raised a family.
“Words cannot do justice to Margaret’s dedication and perseverance”—Chee Soon Juan, Singaporean politician and former political prisoner
Write for rights
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR!
In December 2024, thousands of Amnesty supporters across Canada joined more than 1 million people worldwide in speaking out for human rights. They were all participating in Write for Rights, Amnesty’s global letter-writing marathon. Participants wrote letters, sent emails, and signed petitions. People wrote with friends while others wrote on their own. Events were held at schools, workplaces, faith groups, and homes. The Write for Rights 2024 cases featured people from around the world—from a TikToker in Angola to a women’s rights defender in Saudi Arabia to Wet’suwet’en land defenders in Canada. Here, we’re sharing just a few photos from the thousands of Write for Rights events held internationally.
The Urgent Action Network
By becoming a member, you can help protect people at imminent risk
Amnesty campaigns for human rights in many ways, but when safety is a concern of the individual at risk, the best way to ensure their protection is the Urgent Action Network. Volunteers use letters, emails, and social media posts to urge authorities around the world to protect individuals and communities at risk of imminent human rights violations.
Over the past five decades, the Urgent Action Network has become one of Amnesty’s most effective campaign tools. Worldwide, more than 500,000 volunteers worldwide are standing by to take action. Want to join them? It takes just a moment to sign up. As a member of the Urgent Action Network, you’ll become a lifeline for those in immediate danger of human rights abuses.
Thank you for supporting human rights
Sharing these success stories is only possible thanks to the continued generosity of donors like you.