Welcome back to Talking Human Rights. In this episode, we are joined by Adam Shapiro of Front Line Defenders, an organization devoted to the protection of human rights defenders all over the world.

We invited Adam to the show for a few reasons. We wanted to learn more about the organization in general, having heard of the incredible work it performs on behalf of hundreds of human rights defenders who find themselves targeted by state, corporate, and other interests as a result of the work they do. Among the services Front Line Defenders provides to human rights defenders are: emergency protection grants to help pay for legal services, and for medical bills when a human rights defender is physically attacked; help with security including technology security; temporary relocation services; and advocating for human rights defenders publicly and in numerous forums including the United Nations where Front Line Defenders holds a consultative status.

We also wanted to invite Adam here to get his take on what is happening to Palestinian activist Issa Amro, (pictured above, blindfolded and under arrest by the Israeli military), whose case Front Line Defenders is tracking and whose life and work as a non-violent activist — along with the ongoing campaign of harassment, threats, arrests, and detentions he faces, because of his work — has been the focus of Talking Human Rights’ recent four-part series Palestinian Gandhi on Trial. We wanted to ask, “How common are the tactics that we have seen used against Issa?” “Has the international campaign to free Issa been effective?” and “What is the end-game of the authorities who seem to be holding him perpetually on trial?”

And finally, we wanted to put all of this into the wider context, to talk about human rights defenders more broadly. We ask, “What kinds of issues do human rights defenders face when doing their work?” “What regional patterns do we see in the treatment of human rights defenders?” and “What can we do to effectively stand by them?”