Making the Invisible Visible is an Amnesty International street art project highlighting the plight of six individuals who have suffered human rights abuses.

The project is a unique collaboration between German street art collective Mentalgassi and creative team Lisa Jelliffe and Kirsten Rutherford from Wieden + Kennedy London.

The installations use special lenticular fence posters. Launched in London last year to highlight the case of Troy Davis, this year the campaign can be seen in 26 locations across 6 European cities.

Each installation depicts a close up of an individual’s face. The image is invisible from front on, only becoming visible to those approaching the fence. A plaque on each site alerts passers-by to an Amnesty International website where they can take action in support of each of the individuals featured.

The 6 individuals who appear on our fence street art are all part of Amnesty's Write for Rights campaign.

 Each year hundreds of thousands of activists mark International Human Rights Day on 10 December by taking part in Amnesty International’s letter writing marathon. We write letters and sign online petitions to demand that the rights of individuals are respected, protected and fulfilled. In doing so, we show solidarity with those suffering human rights abuses and try to bring about real changes to their lives.

You can take action and be a part of Write for Rights here.

Letters from Amnesty International on Vimeo.

Fatima Hussein Badi is facing the death penalty following an unfair trial in which her brother, Abdullah Badi, was also sentenced to death. Abdullah was executed in 2005. On 13 July 2000, Fatima and Abdullah were arrested for the murder of Fatima’s husband, Hamoud Ali al-Jalal. Fatima was reportedly questioned by the police for more than five hours during the night, without a lawyer. When she refused to confess, Abdullah was brought to her with his face covered in blood. She was allegedly threatened with rape in the presence of Abdullah, who apparently confessed to the murder in order to save her from being raped. Fatima was only allowed access to a lawyer after she was charged with murder. However, during a number of their trial hearings, Fatima and Abdullah had no legal representation and were prevented from speaking in court. They were sentenced to death in February 2001.

In September 2003, the Supreme Court found Fatima guilty of helping to hide her husband’s body, but not guilty of murder. It ruled in favour of reducing her sentence to four years’ imprisonment. However, following an intervention by President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the former head of parliament, Sheikh Abdullah al-Ahmar, the case was reviewed and the decision to reduce Fatima’s sentence was overturned. She remains at imminent risk of execution.

Take action for Fatima here.

British Olympic silver-medal cyclist Emma Pooley has helped Amnesty bring awareness to Fatima's case.

Emma Pooley on Fatima Hussein Badi from Amnesty International on Vimeo.

Former civil servant Filep Karma was arrested on 1 December 2004 after taking part in a peaceful ceremony where the Morning Star flag – a banned symbol of Papuan independence – was raised. In May 2005 he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for ‘rebellion’. While in detention he has staged several protests against illtreatment and challenged the legality of the charges against him.  He has rejected offers of a reduced sentence: he insists that he should never have been imprisoned in the first place and to accept a pardon would compromise this principle. Amnesty International considers Filep Karma to be a prisoner of conscience imprisoned solely for the peaceful and legitimate exercise of his right to freedom of expression.

Take action for Filep here.

 

 

 

Youth activist Jabbar Savalan is being persecuted by the Azerbaijani authorities because of messages he posted on Facebook. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience. Jabbar, 20, was sentenced on 4 May 2011 to two and a half years in prison on drugs charges. Amnesty International believes the charges are fabricated and that the real reason for the conviction was to punish him for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. On 4 February Jabbar had posted calls for protests against the government. The next evening he was arrested on his way home from a meeting of the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party. After the trial, Jabbar’s lawyer, Anar Gasimov, was threatened by a police officer.

Take action for Jabbar here.

Private Eye editor Ian Hislop has got behind our campaign for Jabbar. Here he explains why.

Ian Hislop on Jabbar Savalan from Amnesty International on Vimeo.

Human rights activist Natalia Estemirova was abducted from outside her home in Chechyna by armed men on 15 July 2009. Her body was found a few hours later in the neighbouring Republic of Ingushetia. She had been shot. Since 2000, Natalia had worked for the Memorial Human Rights Centre in the North Caucasus. She had been gathering eyewitness accounts of crimes against humanity committed in the second Chechen conflict which began in 1999. In the aftermath of the conflict, grave human rights abuses – including extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances – are still being committed. Natalia courageously documented these too.  Despite statements from senior officials that Natalia’s murder would be solved, there is still no reliable sign that those responsible will be brought to justice.

Take action for Natalia here.

Actor James Purefoy is backing Natalia's case in our Write for Rights campaign.

James Purefoy on Natalia Estemirova from Amnesty International on Vimeo.

Jean-Claude Roger Mbede, a 31-year-old student, is serving a three-year prison sentence in Cameroon solely because of his real or perceived sexual orientation. He is at risk of homophobic attacks and ill-treatment. He was arrested on 2 March 2011 by members of the Secretary of State for Defence while meeting a male acquaintance. Before the meeting, the acquaintance had shown the police text messages he had received from Jean-Claude, and informed them they were due to meet. After his arrest, Jean-Claude was held for seven days before being charged with homosexuality and attempted homosexuality under Section 347bis of the Cameroonian Penal Code; this states that “Whoever has sexual relations with a person of the same sex shall be punished with imprisonment for from six months to five years and a fine of from 20,000 to 200,000 francs” (approximately US$35 to US$350). He was found guilty on 28 April and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. He is now being held in Kondengui central prison where conditions are harsh; inmates suffer overcrowding, poor sanitation and inadequate food. On 3 May he appealed against his sentence. However, the court authorities have failed to make a copy of the court decision available to his lawyer, meaning that a full and formal appeal against the conviction and sentence cannot be made. Appeal hearings in Cameroon often take several years to be heard, so most prisoners complete their sentences before their appeals are heard.

Take action for Jean-Claude here.

Halil Savda is a human rights defender and conscientious objector who faces an ongoing risk of imprisonment for freely expressing his support for conscientious objectors. He has been arrested on multiple occasions since 2004 for refusing to perform military service, and has been detained for around 17 months in total during that time. He has written articles, given interviews in a number of newspapers and made speeches at protests and meetings against compulsory military service. He is also the registered owner of the Savaş Karşıtları (War Resisters) website in Turkey. These activities have seen him face charges under Article 318 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes “alienating the public from military service”. He currently faces three separate charges under Article 318. In 2008, Halil Savda was declared “unfit” for military service, so will not be personally called up again. However, he was recently sentenced to 100 days in prison for his peaceful activities, and may be forced to begin serving this sentence at any time. Halil Savda told Amnesty International that while detained in 2007, he was ill-treated, including being kicked and hit by four officers, having a dirty cloth shoved in his mouth, kept naked for three days in a room without chairs or a bed and forced to sleep on a concrete floor without a blanket. These incidents have never been properly investigated. Turkey is one of only two Council of Europe member states not to recognize the right to conscientious objection (the other being Azerbaijan). In Turkey, military service is compulsory for all male citizens between the ages of 20 and 41. No civilian alternative is available to compulsory military service and conscientious objectors continue to be prosecuted. They are often imprisoned each time they refuse to perform military service and then served with call-up papers on their release.

Take action for Halil here.

Mentalgassi are a collective of three German artists. Their distinctive photographic street art is seen throughout Europe, with their work being included in Miami’s Art Basel Fair, Bilbao’s Getxo festival and Serbia’s Exit Festival. Their work can be seen at www.mentalgassi.de or on their facebook page.

 

 

The hauntingly beautiful track you hear on our fence videos is 'Dead Man's Switch', kindly donated by British band Ghosting Season.

Find out more about them and their music here.

Our street art is on fences in a number of European cities. Check out the following sites to read more about Amnesty and take action in your own language, or to see the content other countries have created around the campaign.

Germany - www.amnesty.de

Denmark - www.amnesty.dk/maraton

Ireland - www.amnesty.ie/shinealight

Luxembourg - www.amnesty.lu

Mali - www.amnestymali.net

Paraguay - www.amnesty.org.py