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A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
- Political prisoners in the United States - Wikipedia
Throughout its history and into the present, the United...
- 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners - Wikipedia
The book is about the 1988 massacres of political prisoners...
- Political prisoners in the United States - Wikipedia
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Throughout its history and into the present, the United States has held political prisoners, people whose detention is based substantially on political motives. Prominent U.S. political prisoners have included anti-war socialists, civil rights movement activists, conscientious objectors, and War on Terrorism detainees.
- Overview
- Definitional issues
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Helsinki Accords
political prisoner, a person who is imprisoned because that person’s actions or beliefs are contrary to those of his or her government. This is the most general sense of a term that can be difficult to define. In practice, political prisoners often cannot be distinguished from other types of prisoners.
Defining the term political prisoner in a strictly legal sense is, at present, a task that is simply not possible. The problem of defining the term is related to several factors, and lacking a standard legal definition, the term has been employed in a variety of differing contexts. In a 1961 letter that served as a catalyst for the establishment of the international human rights organization Amnesty International, Peter Benenson coined the term prisoner of conscience to describe two Portuguese students who had been sentenced to seven-year prison terms for their alleged “crime”—making a simple toast to freedom in spite of the dictatorial government of António de Oliveira Salazar that was in power at the time. Since then, the terms political prisoner and prisoner of conscience have been used interchangeably, although most agree that the latter expressly refers to dissident prisoners who neither condone nor advocate personal violence.
What all conceptualizations and working definitions of the term political prisoner have in common is their acknowledgment of the importance of power relations, specifically between dissidents and agents of governmental authority or ruling elites. Political prisoners stand as symbolic representations of attempted challenges to the status quo. Whatever ideological context that challenge is embedded within—be it racial, economic, political, or religious—a standard definition of political crimes (and hence political prisoners) must differentiate them from the activities and behaviours of common criminals. Some scholars have proposed criteria by which political prisoners can be differentiated from common criminals: the former are involved in some type of group struggle against ruling elites, whereas the latter’s activities typically involve an element of satisfying self-interests. Despite a lack of legal clarity, historical and contemporary examples of political prisoners underscore the fact that individuals have been penalized by legal systems and imprisoned by political regimes not for their violation of codified laws but for their thoughts and ideas that have fundamentally challenged existing power relations.
The mere existence of contemporary political prisoners highlights the fact that states holding them are acting in disaccord with several major international humanitarian agreements. Most relevant is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948. Although not legally binding, the declaration was intended to serve as “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.” Several articles are of particular relevance to the issue of political prisoners. Article 5 states that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Because political prisoners are often held under conditions of secrecy, without independent oversight or restraint, their reported treatment has been deplorable.
To follow suit, Article 6 of the Universal Declaration states that “everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.” Political prisoners are often held on trumped-up charges or no charges at all, effectively denied this right. In addition, related to the issue of political prisoners are cases of forced “disappearances,” where those opposed to ruling elites have been made to physically and legally vanish without governmental acknowledgment of their detention. A practice that historians believe began with the Nazi regime, “disappeared” persons are denied even the right to legally exist and be labeled a political prisoner.
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In similar fashion, Article 9 of the Universal Declaration states that “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.” Although most countries recognize the offenses of treason and sedition, these categories of offenses do not capture the essence of political crimes that fall under the rubric of voicing opinions contrary to those of ruling elites. Given the lack of a standard legal definition of political crimes in most countries, political prisoners are often faced with either answering to charges that are manufactured to fit the situation or being held without cause, depending on the sociolegal structure of the government or regime in power.
Of particular relevance to political prisoners is Article 18, which guarantees the right to “freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” As has been noted, one of the hallmarks of historical and contemporary examples of political prisoners is the challenge they represent to the status quo. The free expression of contrary and dissenting opinion is not a legitimate rationale for internment, despite vague and clichéd state concerns for national security.
The book is about the 1988 massacres of political prisoners in Iran, listing the location of 36 Iranian mass graves and explaining that about 30,000 people were executed, with the majority being MeK members.
Typically, a political prisoner is someone who has been held unjustly because they are trying to speak out against the government for some reason. According to the government of the United States, it is estimated that there are more than one million political prisoners in the world.
Sep 6, 1971 · To many American radicals, white and black alike, the truth about what happened at San Quentin does not matter; they are convinced beyond doubt that George Jackson was a political martyr. It is...
Dec 28, 2022 · Political prisoners in the USA. December 28, 2022. Artist: Josh MacPhee. Read “While claiming to defend freedom around the world, the U.S. has hundreds of political prisoners – and the majority are people of color,” a comprehensive analysis of political imprisonment in the United States today. Introduction & methodology.
