Gift match expires tomorrow.[Amnesty International , USA]

Gift match expires tomorrow.

I'm appealing to you today as a founder and member of one of the most effective human rights organizations in existence, Amnesty International. I have been involved with Amnesty since the founding of its US chapter, and I have had the pleasure and gratification of seeing the thousands of people freed from unjust imprisonment, torture and execution, and the death penalty as a result of its efforts.

Amnesty's mission is urgent. The epic uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa have put Amnesty's global membership on high alert, and to the test.

In Egypt, Bahrain, Syria, Yemen and Libya, state security forces have answered peaceful calls for reform with horrific violence. Protesters have been killed on the streets and thousands have been arrested or beaten.

Even medical professionals who care for the victims of political violence have been targeted. In Bahrain, 48 healthcare workers were arrested after treating people injured during the bloody crackdown of pro-reform protests in February and March.

Interrogators allegedly forced some of the doctors, nurses and paramedics to stand for hours, deprived them of sleep, beat them with rubber hoses and wooden boards with nails, and made them sign confessions while blindfolded.

Amnesty brings these stories of suffering and injustice to light, and unites us in demanding basic rights for the victims. It has answered this call for the past 50 years, and received a Nobel Peace prize for its life-saving work.

Please join me as a member of Amnesty. Join before September 30 and a generous donor will automatically double your gift.

By joining Amnesty International, you help make all this work possible.

The world could use more respect for human rights and Amnesty right now. I promise to stand with you to make that happen.

We are the voices of freedom. We are Amnesty, and we need you now.

Join us.
Verytrulyyours,

Joan Baez