Prisoner of conscience (POC) is a term coined by the international human rights advocacy organization Amnesty International. It refers to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, color, language, sexual orientation, or belief, so long as they have not used or advocated violence. According to this definition, Nelson Mandela was not a POC since he was convicted of sabotage--therefore Amnesty could not campaign for his release.

Amnesty International has, since its founding, pressured governments to release those persons it considers to be prisoners of conscience. Governments, conversely, tend to deny that the specific prisoners identified by AI are, in fact, being held on the grounds Amnesty claims.

See also

• Political prisoner

External links

• Amnesty International resource about prisoners of conscience

Amnesty International | Political prisoners

Gefangener | Prisonnier d'opinion | 良心の囚人 | Заключённый | Väzeň svedomia | Mielipidevanki | Samvetsfånge | นักโทษ | Tù nhân | 良心犯