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US Citizens Among 37 Sentenced To Death Over Congo DR Coup Attempt

September 16, 2024 Al Mayadeen, Orinoco Tribune. , , , , , ,
Three US citizens were among 37 defendants sentenced to death by a military court on Friday for their involvement in a failed coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in May. On May 19, armed men briefly seized control of a presidential office in Kinshasa before security forces killed their leader, US-based Congolese politician Christian Malanga. Among the Americans on trial were Malanga’s son, Marcel Malanga, and his friend, Tyler Thompson. Thompson had accompanied Marcel to the DRC. The third American, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, was a business associate of Christian Malanga.

Official Statement By Chairman Omali Yeshitela On Behalf Of The Uhuru 3

September 15, 2024 Hands Off Uhuru, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
On September 12, 2024 a jury in the federal courthouse in Tampa, Florida repudiated the more serious charge of the U.S. government’s frame-up of the Uhuru 3 by finding myself, along with Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel, NOT GUILTY of being agents of the Russian government. The prosecutors unleashed a barrage of lies and distortions of the law, along with deliberately confusing jury instructions, to mislead the jury into returning an inconsistent verdict, convicting us on the lesser charge of “conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States,” which we intend to appeal and are confident we will win. But more importantly, the jury’s “not guilty” verdict on the “Russian agents” charge means that the jurors agreed with the legitimacy of our efforts to advocate for the liberation of Africa and African people.

Four Palestine Action Activists Walk Free After Jury Refuses To Convict Them

September 15, 2024 The Canary. , , , , , ,
In Bradford Crown Court, a two-week trial ended against four Palestine Action activists, with the jury on Friday 13 September refusing to convict them of charges of ‘criminal damage’ after they shut down an Israel-supplying military electronics firm in April 2024. Palestine Action: A Jury Concurs, Kind Of The jury had been out for deliberations since 2:30pm on 11 September, after the trial commenced on 3 September. The Palestine Action activists will now face a retrial. The ‘Shipley Four’ occupied the premises of ‘Teledyne Defence and Space’, at Airedale House, Shipley, for over 14 hours on 2 April, six months into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, to prevent its manufacture of weapons parts used for war crimes.

Climate Lawsuits Against Fossil Fuel Companies Have Nearly Tripled

September 13, 2024 Oil Change International. , , , ,
Washington, DC – 86 climate lawsuits have been filed against the world’s largest oil, gas, and coal producing corporations – including BP, Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies – with two in five cases involving claims for compensation for climate change damages linked to fossil fuels. The number of cases filed against fossil fuel companies each year has nearly tripled since the Paris Agreement was reached in 2015, according to a new report, titled Big Oil in Court – The latest trends in climate litigation against fossil fuel companies by Oil Change International and Zero Carbon Analytics. The analysis reveals the intensifying legal pressure on fossil fuel corporations responsible for 69% of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions, the main driver of the climate crisis.

Uhuru 3 Found Not Guilty Of Being Russian Agents

September 12, 2024 Hands Off Uhuru, Popular Resistance. , , ,
On the morning of September 12th, the jury returned a verdict in the free speech trial of the century, where Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel faced bogus charges of working as Russian agents.  The 12 person jury concluded a not guilty verdict on count number two, “failure to register as a foreign agent,” in other words, working as agents of Russia. This was the big charge that carried an up to ten year prison sentence. The jury contained no black jurors, but to their credit, they saw clearly that African people have agency and sovereignty over their actions. 

Uhuru 3 Trial: FBI Lead Investigator Exposed, Both Sides Close

September 11, 2024 Hands Off Uhuru! Hands Off Africa!. , , , ,
On Monday, September 9, 2024, the free speech trial of Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel began its second week. Proceedings were delayed because two jurors had not arrived. One of the missing jurors arrived late and then at 9:45am, Judge William Jung declared that he would give the other absent juror 30 more minutes and then would remove her from the jury. Attorney Mutaqee Akbar raised the fact that the missing juror was the only African on the jury. He asked the judge to replace her with the sole African juror in the pool of alternates who have been seated in the jury box throughout the trial. The judge refused and seated a white juror. The 12-person jury now has no African members.

Update On The Uhuru 3 Free Speech Trial Of The Century

September 8, 2024 Hands Off Uhuru, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
Tampa, FL—The first week of the free speech trial of Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel left observers shaking their heads and asking how the government has dedicated 30 FBI agents over the course of 3 years, conducted military raids on peaceful U.S. residents, offered a $10 million reward for information and still has no case. With only one witness left, the prosecution has failed to present any actual knowledge or evidence of the government’s baseless charges that the Uhuru 3 are “secret pawns in a Russian government conspiracy to sow political discord and interfere in elections”.

Uhuru 3 Trial Enters Second Day

September 7, 2024 Fight Back! News. , , , ,
Tampa, FL – As the trial of the Uhuru 3 enters its second day, the prosecution calls its first witnesses. The Uhuru 3 are members of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) and the Uhuru Movement who are charged with conspiracy and “acting as agents of the Russian government within the United States without prior notification.” The courtroom was packed with supporters of the defendants. Many had traveled from all across the country to be there. The prosecution first called Professor Brian Taylor, a professor of political science, to the stand as a witness. Taylor’s role in the trial was to provide background information on the Russian intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Free Speech Trial Of Uhuru Three Begins In Tampa

September 5, 2024 Phil Wilayto, Popular Resistance. , , ,
The trial of the Uhuru 3 opened this morning at U.S. District Court in downtown Tampa, Judge William Jung presiding. The defendants in the highly politically charged case are facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted of charges that they have been operating as unregistered agents of a foreign government, Russia. The three defendants are Omali Yeshitela, the longtime chairman of the African People’s Socialist Party; and white supporters Penny Hess, chair of the African People's Solidarity Committee, and Jesse Nevel, chair of the Uhuru Solidarity Movement.  As noted in a post by the Hands Off Uhuru! Coalition, the 82-year-old Yestitela “has protested every U.S. war that has taken place during his lifetime.”

Venezuela Issues Arrest Warrant for US-Backed Former Candidate

September 5, 2024 Ricardo Vaz, Venezuelanalysis. , , , ,
The Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office has issued an arrest warrant for former opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González. On Monday, state prosecutor Luis Ernesto Dueñez requested that the Court of First Instance with competence over terrorism-related matters approve the order to arrest the US-backed politician for the charges of usurpation of functions, public document forgery, instigation of law-breaking, conspiracy, sabotage and association to commit crimes. Later in the day, Judge Edward Briceño approved the warrant and tasked the CICPC investigative police unit with executing it.

Uhuru 3 Free Speech Trial Begins; Jury Selection, Opening Arguments

September 4, 2024 Hands Off Uhuru, Popular Resistance. , , ,
Day one of the free speech “trial of the century” began with a press conference across the street from the Federal Courthouse in Tampa. Free speech defenders and social justice activists from across the U.S. expressed their support for the Uhuru 3—Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel, falsely accused of being secret pawns in a Russian government conspiracy to “sow discord” and “interfere in elections.” The press conference was hosted by Mwezi Odom, Chair of the Hands Off Uhuru! Campaign. She declared that the government’s false accusation that the Uhuru 3’s call for reparations, a petition against the U.S. charging genocide against Black people and the group’s opposition to U.S. wars were carried out under the control of the Russian government to be a “racist denial of Black people’s agency. We can think for ourselves and define our own agenda!”

Black Alliance For Peace Condemns The Federal Indictments Of Uhuru 3

September 4, 2024 Black Alliance For Peace, Black Agenda Report. , , , ,
The process of jury selection on September 3rd, 2024, will mark the beginning of the federal trial of Omali Yeshitela, Chairman of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP); Penny Hess, Chair of the African People’s Solidarity Committee (APSC); and Jesse Nevel, Chair of the Uhuru Solidarity Movement (USM), together known as the Uhuru 3. The Uhuru 3 were indicted by the U.S. government in April 2023 on the absurd charges of being “agents of a foreign government.” Charges very similar to the indictment of W.E.B. Dubois, the internationally known Black scholar and human rights defender. Dubois was eighty-one at the time of his indictment as a supposed agent of the Soviet Union for his anti-nuclear and pro-peace advocacy.

Venezuela’s Courts Order Arrest of Former Candidate Edmundo González

September 4, 2024 Orinoco Tribune. , , ,
The Venezuelan courts took action in response to the blatant disregard of the law displayed by former far-right presidential candidate Edmundo González. This Monday, September 2, Venezuela’s Anti-Terrorist Court of First Instance issued an arrest warrant for González and commissioned the Scientific, Penal, and Criminal Investigation Service Corps (CICPC) to execute the ruling. After the July 28 presidential elections, González decided to not-recognize the electoral results. González’s Unitary Platform created websites announcing alleged electoral results that contradicted the official results released by Venezuelan authorities.

Perdue Seeks To Dismantle Tribunals For Whistleblower Complaints

September 2, 2024 Kevin Gosztola, The Dissenter. , , ,
Poultry manufacturer Perdue Farms Inc. sued the United States Labor Department and whistleblower Craig Watts, who has pursued litigation through the department’s administrative process for nearly a decade. The corporation now maintains that this administrative process is unconstitutional. “Their suit could demolish whistleblower protections across issues [including] food safety, railroad and aviation safety, shareholder fraud, and environmental protection,” warned the Government Accountability Project (GAP), which represents Watts, a former Perdue chicken grower. Administrative proceedings in Watts’ case were previously scheduled to begin on April 14, 2025.

Palestinians Seek Review Of Case Charging Biden With Enabling Genocide

August 31, 2024 Center for Constitutional Rights. , , , , ,
August 30, San Francisco – Palestinians, Palestinian Americans, and Palestinians human rights groups are urging the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review their lawsuit charging President Biden and his aides with enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Last month, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed the decision of a lower court, which dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds even as it said Israel’s assault “plausibly” constituted genocide. In an en banc petition filed late yesterday, the plaintiffs argue that courts have a constitutional duty to assess the legality of the Biden administration's actions.
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