Amnesty International

The human rights organization, Amnesty International, is dedicated to the release of "prisoners of conscience," to securing fair and prompt trials for political prisoners, and to the abolition of the death penalty, torture, and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment of those in custody.

Amnesty International, was founded in London in 1961 largely through the efforts of Peter Benenson, a lawyer who had converted to Catholicism four years previously and a Quaker Eric Baker.

Benenson was inspired by the news that two students had been arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison, in Portugal for "raising a toast to freedom".

It was founded following a publication of Benenson's article The Forgotten Prisoners in the May 28, 1961 edition of The Observer.

The organization was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1977 for "its efforts on behalf of defending human dignity against violence and subjugation." 

Amnesty International became a household name in the 1980s through its staging of concert tours with the participation, and implied endorsement, of celebrity performers.

The actor Nicolas Cage once donated $2 million to Amnesty International for them to use to offer rehabilitation shelters, medical services and psychological and reintegration services to some of the 300,000 children forced to fight in conflicts across the world.

It's motto is "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."

Benenson lighting a candle in 1991

Amnesty International has more than seven million members and supporters in over 150 countries and territories. It operates internationally under the leadership of a secretary-general and an international board.