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political prisoner

political prisoner

56 4.2
A person put in jail for their political beliefs or actions
  • noun
  • /pəˈlɪtɪkəl ˈprɪzənər/
translation icon : preso político
  • Activists are organizing a protest to demand the release of all political prisoners currently detained.
  • release political prisoners
  • free political prisoners
  • former political prisoners

I mean, we, we know of political prisoners, we know how torturous it can be.

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Examples

  • They announced three goals: A peaceful transition to democracy, amnesty for political prisoners, and participation by Cuban exiles in the transition to democracy.

  • The Minister of Justice will oversee the release of political prisoners, the unbanning of political exiles.

  • There are black political prisoners here in the United States!

  • And as the Secretary of State has said, even one political prisoner is one too many.

    Blog text (25)
  • The government also tried to resolve the problem of political prisoners.

    Academic text (1991)
  • A number of political prisoners, imprisoned as part of the KCK trial, were released during the process.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Leaders of opposition parties had talked about political prisoners, but their discussions had been largely rhetorical.

    Academic text (1994)
  • In addition, China's judicial system remains arbitrary and often corrupt, with political prisoners usually receiving the worst treatment.

    Academic text (1999)
  • In October 1989, eight political prisoners, cohorts of Nelson Mandela, were released from prison.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Fidel Castro is emptying his jails of political prisoners and allowing them to flee Cuba.

Synonyms

political detainee
vspolitical prisoner
1 7.7

A person who authorities hold because of political beliefs or actions

is more formal and long term, implying imprisonment

Antonyms

1.0

The right to act, speak, or think as you want without being stopped

How Severely Persecuted

political prisoner
56 4.2

Surface Forms

Morphology

political + prisoner

The meaning 'a person imprisoned because of their political beliefs or activities' is directly and transparently built from 'political' (related to politics) modifying 'prisoner' (someone who is imprisoned), so a learner who knows both words can infer the cause of imprisonment. This adjective + noun composition expressing reason is common across languages, making the expression immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Political prisoner names someone put in jail for their politics: political means about the government or public ideas and prisoner is someone kept in jail. Imagine a person locked in a cell for speaking out or protesting, and you can see why it means 'a person imprisoned because of their political views or actions'.