Whom do we seek to represent?

Freedom Now seeks to represent and secure the release of individuals who are arbitrarily deprived of their liberty.  Such individuals are often referred to as "prisoners of conscience."

In short, prisoners of conscience are persons detained for their political, religious, or other beliefs or because of their ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, color, language, national or social origin, economic status, birth or other status – who have not used or advocated violence.

An individual may be deprived of liberty before, during, or after a trial, as well as in the absence of any kind of formal legal mechanism.  Arbitrary detention of an individual may occur under the following conditions:

" the detainee has been detained for actions that constitute the exercise of one of the fundamental rights guaranteed by international treaties, such as the rights to freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of association, and freedom of movement;"

and / or

" regardless of the reason for the detention, the detainee is not able to exercise the many rights encompassed by the right to a fair trial (which is recognized under international treaties), including the rights to be tried by an independent judicial authority, to know the charges involved, to consult with an attorney, and to confront witnesses."

How do we obtain representation for individuals?

Once a case has been identified and approved, Freedom Now enlists advocates who take responsibility for that case. These advocates are collectively referred to as the Freedom Now network.

So whom do we seek to represent?

The Freedom Now network seeks to represent individuals who qualify as "arbitrarily detained" under either of the two definitions above.  We deplore the injustices inflicted upon individuals in both categories.  In deciding whom to represent, we first seek to establish that an individual has been arbitrarily deprived of his or her liberty.  Secondarily, we evaluate how best to deploy the resources of our organization so as to bring about the release of that individual.

Statement on the Use or Advocacy of Violence

The Freedom Now network is committed to furthering compliance with international human rights law through nonviolent means. Accordingly, as a general rule, the Freedom Now network does not represent individuals who have used or advocated the use of violence in the service of any cause, regardless of whether the use or advocacy of violence is related to the current detention of the individual. At the same time, we recognize that not all individuals accused of using or advocating violence have in fact done so, and we investigate all such accusations prior to reaching a decision as to representation.

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