We have great news to report — Mao Hengfeng was released unexpectedly yesterday, six months before the end of her sentence! She had been detained since March 2010 for protesting the arrest of Liu Xiaobo, a prominent human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
This most recent detention was only one of many for Mao.
Mao has courageously worked for human rights in China for years, and has suffered torture and ill-treatment at the hands of the Chinese authorities.
Mao was featured as a case in Amnesty's 2010 Write for Rights campaign, which generated an incredible number – 636,139 – of appeals, from 51 different countries worldwide, for the release of Mao and other human rights activists. Mao's husband, Wu Xuewei, believes that international pressure was integral to Mao's release, and he sends his thanks to Amnesty for all the campaigning we've all done on Mao's behalf.
This year's Write for Rights campaign has already seen some amazing successes, including the release of Femi Peters in Gambia, and now the release of Mao Hengfeng.
We sincerely thank you for your letters, which have already delivered hope for so many.
But we still need your help to free thousands of other human rights activists who suffer unjustly in detention.
Donate today to fund Amnesty's work to release prisoners of conscience and defenders of human rights all over the world!
Sincerely,
Michael O’Reilly
Senior Campaign Director, Individuals at Risk
Amnesty International USA
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