The Stanford community is invited to join the Fisher Family Summer Fellows Program at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law on Monday, August 4, for an important conversation about democracy, human rights, and political prisoners worldwide.

Authoritarian regimes across the globe are increasingly using political imprisonment as a strategic weapon. Far beyond isolated acts of repression, political prisoners serve autocrats in multiple ways: they silence vocal dissidents, fracture organized opposition, deter mass mobilization, and are often used as bargaining chips in international negotiations. These regimes understand that imprisoning individuals can sow fear and demoralize broader movements without drawing the same global backlash as overt violence.

The case of Jesús Armas — a Venezuelan activist, 2022 Fisher Family Summer Fellow, and recently admitted student to Stanford’s Master’s in International Policy program — illustrates this dynamic. His unjust detention for over seven months, under conditions of isolation and legal abuse, is not an aberration, but part of a systematic strategy to preserve power.

This event will explore not only the barriers advocates face in these environments and the human cost of political imprisonment, but also the strategies available to fight it. Families and advocates of detainees play a crucial frontline role, often navigating trauma, stigma, and bureaucratic barriers while working for their loved ones' release.

PANELISTS:

• Lilian Tintori: Director of the World Liberty Congress' Pathway to Freedom project; human rights advocate, and leader with first-hand experience as the spouse of a former political prisoner; 2025 Fisher Family Summer Fellow
• Waleed Shawky: Egyptian human rights researcher and civic activist, co-founder of the April 6th Youth Movement; former political prisoner; 2025 Fisher Family Summer Fellow.
• Gulika Reddy: Human rights advocate and Director of the International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic at Stanford Law School

Beatriz Magaloni, the Graham H. Stuart Professor of International Relations and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, will share opening remarks.