A political prisoner is someone detained for expressing ideas deemed dangerous to a country’s political structure or suspected of acts defined as sedition or treason. Organizations like Amnesty International refer to them as prisoners, but countries may use other terms. The term does not usually apply to prisoners of war, but may apply to journalists or those suspected of terrorism. Political prisoners may have few rights and be detained indefinitely without trial.
Political prisoner and political detention are difficult words to define. A detained person may be incarcerated, placed under house arrest or otherwise have their activities restricted. When the person is detained for political reasons, he is a political prisoner. This term is not always used and a country may choose another word rather than detainee or political prisoner, as in most cases a person detained for political reasons is considered a political prisoner. Organizations such as Amnesty International refer to detainees as prisoners, and countries do not like being called by the organization as they would appear to violate human rights in this way.
Strictly speaking, the political prisoner is a member of the country that holds him. Usual reasons for detention include holding ideas considered dangerous to that country’s political structure and/or expressing those ideas in a public forum, for example, making a speech, writing a book or even having a website criticize the government. In other cases, a person may be considered detained for political reasons if they are suspected of acts defined as sedition or treason by a government.
The term tends not to mean prisoner of war (POW), although it is related. POWs are usually combatants (soldiers) captured by an enemy country when two countries are at war with each other. Another type of prisoner taken during a war might be called a political prisoner or might be called a hostage, depending on who is speaking. A journalist from one country at war with another might be considered a political prisoner if he is captured, rather than a standard prisoner of war. The country the reporter is from is more likely to call the reporter a hostage or prisoner.
There are cases, especially where a person is suspected of terrorism but is not affiliated with a government where a country is at war, where the person may be politically detained. Again, it all depends on the rhetoric and choice of words of the country that created that detention. For example, people imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, even citizens born in the United States, are considered enemy combatants by the United States and are designated as such.
Organizations such as Amnesty International tend to call those in Guantanamo Bay political prisoners and have criticized the US government for incarcerating these people and not allowing them access to expedited trials and representation. Under US law, enemy combatants are subject to different treatment rules than prisoners of war, and in theory, the US has no political prisoners. Jailing someone for expressing their right to free speech or free thought is illegal in the United States. However, the Bush administration suspects that those combatants labeled enemies are not simply exercising free speech but are deliberately planning acts of terrorism and treason. This view is not shared by all Americans.
The person considered to be a political prisoner may have very few rights. He or she may not be able to access a lawyer or even a trial. Being detained by a government for political reasons means that the government perceives this person as a direct or indirect threat to its power structure or people, and the person can be detained for an indefinite period of time, as no trial means the guilty decision and conviction cannot occur.
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