Amnesty questions degrees of lethality

Created by for Amnesty International for Don't Panic/London, the powerful campaign focusses on the tragic case of Leidy Cadena, who was blinded in one eye when police fired a rubber bullet at her during a 2021 protest in Colombia. 

From 2019 - 2021, Columbia's National Strikes and mass demonstrations brought attention to deep-rooted societal issues, including inequality, racism, and violence. Rather than address the people's grievances however, the government responded with brute force, perpetuating a cycle of repression and violence. The footage used in this moving film, which was directed by Heydon Prowse through Flying Shoe, is representative of what was happening in the country, as well as what happened on the day Leidy was injured.

Her experience epitomises the brutal reality faced by countless protesters worldwide. "My eye is gone," she comments, "I cannot change that. But the way these weapons are used? That can be changed."

Amnesty International's Protect the Protest campaign advocates for governments globally to support the creation of Torture-Free Trade Treaty, which aims to curb the unchecked proliferation of law enforcement equipment and ensuring the protection of protesters' fundamental rights.