Today we pay tribute to Martin Luther King, the man who has never abandoned his faith in the unarmed struggle he is waging, who has suffered for his faith, who has been imprisoned on many occasions, whose home has been subject to bomb attacks, whose life and the lives of his family have been threatened, and who nevertheless has never faltered".
Political allegiances seem to be contiguous with this division: at the presidential election of 2010, the south and east mostly voted for President Viktor Yanukovych, while the west (and Kiev, the capital), plumped for Yulia Tymoshenko, who was subsequently imprisoned on what many people see as bogus charges.
When their DNA was tested later, "three out of four people imprisoned for many years based primarily on witness recall turned out be innocent," Tonegawa said.
Some were imprisoned on the flimsiest of accusations; many have already waited for what would amount to their whole sentences if convicted.
According to Amnesty International, not only have punitive new laws cracking down on dissent, freedom of expression and assembly seen many individuals imprisoned on politically-motivated charges, but there are now severe restrictions on the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) community and those who support them".
Among the perennial issues such as global warming and activism, this year saw discussions on the legacy of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela with Ahmed Kathrada, the a friend of the former South African President with whom he spent many years imprisoned on Robben Island.
Hundreds of people gathered outside - many of them former prisoners who were held here on spurious charges and tortured before being imprisoned for many years.
She used the privileges of her position to expose the evils of the apartheid system and personally visited and supported many black leaders imprisoned on Robben Island, including Nelson Mandela.
Many of those imprisoned on low-level drug charges are repeat offenders, which only proves that jail isn't the solution to drug addiction.
Many had been imprisoned on charges such as truancy, vagrancy or Asi Al-Walidain (disobedience to parents).
Seeing the ANC as ineffectual, the BCM called for militant action, but following the Soweto uprising of 1976, many BCM activists were imprisoned on Robben Island.
