Our bookshop has been part of York for well over 10 years, initially in Goodramgate and now in Micklegate. It is a popular part of the community not only for its great range of second-hand books but also for its relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, and with a salaried manager is otherwise run by volunteers. Its a valuable presence on a major street, helping to support and give visibility to AI's human rights work, as well as recruit members and offer a meeting place for York's very active Amnesty group.

It is astonishing that AIUK feels unable to support a human rights bookshop in a City of Human Rights, a City of Sanctuary and the home of York university's Centre for Applied Human Rights which has close links with the research wing of Amnesty, the International Secretariat, through the CAHR's Protected Fellowship programme offering respite to human rights defenders at risk.

The proposed closure, based largely on the grounds of estimated overhead costs, was not discussed beforehand with the salaried shop manager (or indeed the managers of the 3 other bookshops at risk: Kentish Town, Hammersmith and Great Malvern). It failed to take into account a 7 month closure due to the change of venue, with all the associated costs of closing and then re-opening the shop.

We are not just a shop - we are a place of community, compassion and conversation. Please sign if you want the bookshop to stay open. This is urgent.