14 Heroes that are in Prison for Simply Telling the Truth

Justin King | The Anti-Media

A prison is not where you would expect to find people to look up to, but sometimes being on the wrong side of authority is the right thing to do. Some are rotting away because they dared to advocate equal rights, and some committed no crime at all. Regardless of why, all of these people might be barred from employment at McDonald’s because of their criminal past. Thumbnail credit: AP/Patrick Semansky

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14 Shawo Tashi

The broad category of “Anti-State activities” in China can mean a lot of things. In this case, Shawo Tashi’s main offense was singing. He sang about the Dalai Lama in a song called “Faraway Father.” The Dalai Lama is a symbol of Tibetan independence for many, and the Chinese government believes that songs celebrating him qualify as a “banned political theme.” He also publicly supported a man who lit himself on fire in protest of China’s 60-year occupation of Tibet.

Tashi was sentenced by a secret court to five years in prison. He is just one of ten singers imprisoned on similar charges. One of the singers received a nine-year prison sentence. All of the singers knew the possible penalties, and chose to celebrate their heritage anyway.

13 Eskinder Nega

Eskinder Nega is an Ethopian journalist currently rotting away in an Ethopian jail. He first ran into trouble with the regime in 2007 when he was acquitted of charges related to his opposition of the ruling party. His newspaper was seized and the government would not grant him a license to open another. Nega was educated in the west, and began writing for American-based online news sites about Ethopia.

In 2012, Nega and other writers formed a blogging collective named Zone Nine with the sole intention of criticizing the government’s oppressive rule. Later that year, Nega was arrested on trumped up charges of terrorism and sentenced to 18 years in prison. The Zone Nine bloggers continued their work and last month six more were arrested and accused of being foreign agents.

12 and 11 Matos Montes de Oca and Planas Robert

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The two men have been imprisoned on the island of Cuba. They were convicted of the crime of “dangerousness.” The Caribbean island states it has no political prisoners, but admits to having “counterrevolutionaries” in custody. Both men are members of the banned Patriotic Union of Cuba.

Knowing full well the drastic measures the government was willing to undertake to stifle free speech, the men allegedly canvassed the town of Guantanamo with anti-government posters. The men have been held since September and still have not been sentenced. Amnesty International has called for their immediate release.

10 Waleed Abu al-Khair

As a well-known attorney and human rights activist Waleed Abu al-Khair is well known to government authorities inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He has been arrested repeatedly since 2012 for crimes such as breaking allegiance to and disobeying the ruler, disrespecting the authorities, offending the judiciary, “inciting international organizations against the Kingdom, and offending religious authorities by running a website. Despite the constant persecution, Waleed has kept up the fight through the organization he founded, Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia.

He is currently being tortured by Saudi officials as punishment for his most recent act of terrorism: signing a petition.

9 Jeremy Hammond

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