The candle burns not for us, but for all those whom we failed to rescue from prison, who were shot on the way to prison, who were tortured, who were kidnapped, who "disappeared". That's what the candle is for.

The allegations were rejected and Benenson resigned from AI. He enrolled for study at Balliol College Oxford but World War II interrupted his education. Auden before going to Eton.

Peter Benenson (31 July 1921 – 25 February 2005) was a British lawyer and the founder of human rights group Amnesty International (AI).