Imprisoned for drawing a cartoon and prosecuted for shaking hands with her lawyer in prison – this is one young woman’s real-life nightmare. Artist and activist Atena Farghadani tells her story from Iran, where she has faced horrific punishment for daring to speak out. Her words are voiced in English by actress Nazanin Boniadi. In Their Own Words is a podcast from Amnesty International, where people around the world tell their extraordinary stories of fighting for their rights. Subscribe now and don’t miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A heartbreaking story of a long campaign for justice in the UK. Steve's brother, Mike, was killed in the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster, when 96 people died in a crush at a football stadium. Fans like Mike were blamed for the deaths, but Steve and others knew that something was amiss. In Their Own Words is a podcast from Amnesty International, where people around the world tell their extraordinary stories of fighting for their rights. Subscribe now and don’t miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A journalist suspected she was being watched, but she didn't expect to be secretly filmed in her bedroom and blackmailed with the tapes - by her government.Khadija Ismayilova tells her story from Azerbaijan, where she has been publicly shamed and imprisoned by the state for daring to investigate and report on corruption at the highest levels of government.In Their Own Words is a podcast from Amnesty International, where people around the world tell their extraordinary stories of fighting for their rights. Subscribe now and don’t miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Albert Woodfox endured 44 years in solitary confinement - more than anyone else in the US. When he was imprisoned in Louisiana in the 1970s, racism was rife. Albert took a stand - and it cost him. Hear why Albert was punished over the odds and how he survived 44 years in isolation.In Their Own Words is a podcast from Amnesty International, where people around the world tell their extraordinary stories of fighting for their rights. Subscribe now and don’t miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Free speech doesn't exist in Bahrain today. Yet Nabeel Rajab has spent his whole life speaking out - and facing the consequences - in the hope that one day people in Bahrain may one day be able to speak and move freely.He's been imprisoned many times for his human rights work - from peacefully protesting to tweeting about the government. Yet still Nabeel is determined to keep speaking out. This is a man on the frontline of human rights, fighting desperately for rights that many of us take for granted.In Their Own Words is a podcast from Amnesty International, where people around the world tell their extraordinary stories of fighting for their rights. Subscribe now and don’t miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Overnight and out of the blue, Peter Greste and his colleagues were arrested - simply for doing their jobs as journalists in Egypt, in 2013. Their arrest and imprisonment sparked a worldwide campaign for their release. Hear from Peter on his experience of solitary confinement, how he managed to stay strong in the face of injustice, and why he's now speaking out for press freedom, as journalism becomes an increasingly dangerous job. In Their Own Words is a podcast from Amnesty International, where people around the world tell their extraordinary stories of fighting for their rights. Subscribe now and don’t miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hear from the world’s most famous whistleblower. Chelsea Manning is known around the world for leaking details of human rights abuses to Wikileaks during the Iraq war. As a result, she was dealt a harsh 35-year sentence in US military prison, where she remains now. Who is Chelsea? How did she come to blow the whistle? And how is she transitioning in military prison? Chelsea is barred from speaking to us directly, so actress Michelle Hendley has lent her voice to Chelsea’s words. In Their Own Words is a podcast from Amnesty International, where people around the world tell their extraordinary stories of fighting for their rights. Subscribe now and don’t miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Actor Christian Bale tells the remarkable story of his friend Chen Guangcheng, a blind self-taught lawyer who took on the Chinese government’s one-child policy and stood up for women being forced into having late-term abortions and forced sterilisations. Guangcheng risked everything to stand up for what he believed in and paid the price. Christian Bale recalls being attacked during his own dramatic attempt to visit Guangcheng under house arrest in China.In Their Own Words is a podcast from Amnesty International, where people around the world tell their extraordinary stories of fighting for their rights. Subscribe now and don’t miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.