Dear Reader,

Eighteen months ago Biram Dah Abeid was arrested during a peaceful anti-slavery protest, imprisoned and sentenced to two years in a Mauritanian prison for “inciting hatred.” This week his second appeal hearing has FINALLY brought about justice.

Biram has been freed, and the Walk Free Community has played a huge part in making this happen. 

Together, we:

  • Sent 213,223 messages to the Mauritanian Government, demanding they release Biram
  • Raised over US $4,800 to send an independent observer to help ensure a fair trial
  • Made 694 phone calls to Mauritanian Embassies, leading them to temporarily shut down their phone lines due to the volume of Walk Free calls
  • Unleashed a strategic and targeted social media campaign, using various platforms, and mobilising activists around the world to increase global pressure on the Mauritanian Government
  • Sent 13,212 personalised messages to Members of European Parliament and held an event outside the European Parliament, asking them to take action
  • Sent 4,768 messages of support to Biram in prison

Our message got through.

Together, alongside our partners and pressure from the international community, we helped free a leading anti-slavery activist in Mauritania, who will now go on to continue his incredible work tackling slavery. We should all be proud. 

But we can’t rest. Modern slavery will not be ended overnight – we need to build an even bigger, and more powerful anti-slavery movement. Will you help?

Share the good news about Biram’s release on Facebook, and encourage your friends and family to join you, as part of the world’s largest anti-slavery organisation.

Not on Facebook? No problem! Just forward the message at the end of this email.

This is a sign of real progress in Mauritania. This isn’t just about Biram. Much more needs to be done to end slavery in Mauritania but this week’s news, along with Mauritania’s ratification of the 2014 Protocol to C29, is an encouraging sign. Here’s hoping the positive momentum continues in Mauritania, and the Walk Free Community continues to go from strength to strength in the fight against slavery around the world. 

In solidarity,

Joanna and the Walk Free team

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Dear Friend,

As part of WalkFree.org, the world’s largest anti-slavery movement, I am proud to say I helped free a leading anti-slavery activist in Mauritania from prison.

Eighteen months ago Biram Dah Abeid was arrested during a peaceful anti-slavery protest, imprisoned and sentenced to two years in a Mauritanian jail for “inciting hatred.”

This week his second appeal hearing has FINALLY brought about justice.

Biram’s case has drawn global attention, and is a real victory in the fight to end slavery around the world, but a lot more needs to be done before modern slavery is ended for good.

Will you join me in taking a stand against this hideous crime?

Together, we can put an end to this forever.