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Political Prisoner

Petro Asks Biden To Pardon Colombian Political Prisoner Simón Trinidad

December 16, 2024 People's Dispatch. , , , ,
A few weeks ago, media reports revealed that the government of Gustavo Petro asked President Biden to pardon Simón Trinidad, a former Colombian guerrilla fighter who was sentenced to 60 years in prison in the United States after being captured in Ecuador in 2004 when he was on his way to meet with a United Nations delegate. According to the Colombian Executive, Trinidad’s release would contribute to building a reconciled Colombia after decades of civil war. It was even known that the Colombian ambassador in Washington, Daniel García, sent a note to the US government requesting the pardon.

Whistleblower Daniel Hale’s First Interview

December 11, 2024 Lee Camp, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
Welcome to Dangerous Ideas. Today, I'm excited to talk to whistleblower Daniel Hale. This is his first live interview since being released from prison and you may recall that he was the one who revealed the information that ultimately became the Drone Papers and gave so much information to the American people that we needed to know about our government and about the behavior of our government and our military. For that he received one of the harshest punishments that we've seen for a whistleblower in this country. The stat that sticks with me is that 90% of those killed by drone attacks are unintended targets, meaning innocent people.

All Out For Mumia Abu-Jamal In December

December 6, 2024 Betsey Piette, Workers' World. , , , ,
Philadelphia, PA - December 9 will mark the 43rd year of unjust incarceration for U.S. political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. Demonstrations, teach-ins and other events will be held in several U.S. cities and in Mexico City, Berlin and Paris. In Philadelphia, a teach-in on political prisoners and dismantling the prison industrial complex will take place on Dec. 7 from 1-3 p.m. at Community College of Philadelphia, Center for Business and Industry, 17th and Callowhill streets, Room C2-28. A photo ID will be required for entry to the campus.

Thousands Of PTI Supporters Demand Imran Khan’s Immediate Release

November 27, 2024 People's Dispatch. , , ,
Thousands of members and supporters of Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) reached Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, on Tuesday, November 26, facing heavy repression by security forces including tear gas and live fire. Reportedly four people have been killed. Protesters are demanding the release of their leader, former Prime Minister Imran Khan and have also called for the restoration of the party’s allegedly stolen mandate in this year’s national elections. PTI and Khan supporters started marching to Islamabad from all corners of the country on Sunday, aiming to reach D-Chowk near the country’s Parliament.

Fighting For More Evidence Of Assange’s Political Prosecution

October 24, 2024 Joe Lauria and Mohamed Elmaazi, Consortium News. , , , , ,
A tribunal in Britain is set to decide whether to order the government’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to prove it deleted emails that may have covered up more evidence of a politically motivated prosecution of Julian Assange. The three judges heard arguments on Sept. 24 in the nearly decade-long freedom of information saga regarding the emails that top British prosecutors say were deleted. They involved an exchange with Sweden during a Swedish prosecutor’s attempt, beginning in 2010, to extradite the WikiLeaks publisher from Britain. Assange was wanted in Sweden for questioning during a preliminary investigation into allegations of sexual assault, which was dropped three times, definitively in 2017.

Journalist Reaction Panel To Assange Testimony

October 2, 2024 Defending Rights & Dissent. , , , ,
On October 1, 2024, Julian Assange broke his silence. The WikiLeaks founder testified before the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) about the chilling effect his detention and conviction has had on human rights. When Assange was detained,The Committee previously found he met PACE’s definition of a political prisoner. Assange’s testimony marked his first substantive, public comments in over half a decade. Other than his remarks at his sentencing hearing, the public has largely not heard from Assange since his 2019 arrest.

Canada’s First ‘Prisoner Of Conscience’ Is An Indigenous Land Defender

August 23, 2024 Taylar Dawn Stagner, Grist. , , , , ,
In 2019, construction began on a natural gas pipeline that would cut through the unceded homelands of the Wet’suwet’en Nation in western Canada. Wet’suwet’en land and water protectors were forbidden from coming near the construction area operated by Coastal Gaslink, owned by TC Energy. However, the project was met almost immediately with resistance and gained international attention due to the tribe’s use of traditional law. Under Wet’suwet’en law, the pipeline trespassed on Wet’suwet’en land. With no treaty signed with Canada or Britain, Wet’suwet’en argue that their laws are still applicable — a political status recognized by the Canadian supreme court — and they have the right to evict Coastal Gaslink, and its pipeline, from its homelands. 

The Fight To Free Leonard Peltier Continues

July 4, 2024 Demetrius Johnson, NDN Collective. , , ,
On June 10th Leonard Peltier appeared before the US Parole Commission to state his case for freedom for the 4th time– his three previous parole attempts in 1993, 1996, and 2009 were all denied. On July 2nd, the US Parole Commission denied Leonard Peltier parole for the 4th time. At 79 years old and battling multiple serious health conditions without proper medical treatment, Leonard Peltier most likely won’t make it another 15 years for his next parole hearing scheduled for June 2039. But that does not mean the fight for justice is over. In a phone call from Leonard Peltier to Nick Tilsen, President and CEO of NDN Collective, after the US Parole Commission’s decision, Leonard stated, “I am not intending to give up. And I’m hoping none of you give up.”

Hundreds March In Philadelphia To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal

April 30, 2024 Stephen Millies, Orinoco Tribune. , , ,
Hundreds of people marched through the streets of Philadelphia on April 24 to demand freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal. That day the world-renowned political prisoner turned 70 years old. Mumia Abu-Jamal has spent over 42 years in prison, including 29 years on death row, for a crime he didn’t commit. He was framed for the 1981 killing of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. People gathered on the south side of Philadelphia’s City Hall in front of the statue of Octavius Catto. The Black educator and freedom fighter was assassinated by a racist in 1871 when Catto was 32 years old.

Alex Saab Provides Details Of Illegal Imprisonment In Cape Verde And US

December 31, 2023 Victoria Torres, Orinoco Tribune. , , , , ,
Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, who was recently liberated from illegal imprisonment in the US, was interviewed by President Nicolás Maduro on the third episode of Maduro Podcast. In the interview, aired on Thursday, December 28, Saab shared details of his experiences during his illegal imprisonment of more than three years, first in Cape Verde and afterwards in the US. Saab, accompanied by his wife Camila Fabri de Saab, expressed his gratitude to the Bolivarian government “for not getting tired when it was easy to get tired” and achieving his release from an unjust kidnapping of more than 1,280 days in a U.S. prison.

How The Campaign To Free Venezuelan Political Prisoner Alex Saab Succeeded

December 21, 2023 Roger D. Harris, Dissident Voice. , , ,
Alex Saab was freed from US captivity in what Venezuelan Prof. Maria Victor Paez described as “a triumph of Venezuelan diplomacy.” The diplomat had been imprisoned for trying to bring humanitarian supplies to Venezuela in legal international trade but in circumvention of Washington’s illegal economic coercive measures, also known as sanctions. In a prisoner exchange, Venezuela released ten US citizens and some other nationals to free Alex Saab after his over three years of imprisonment. Saab’s plane landed in Venezuela on December 20. He was tearfully greeted by his family, friends, and Venezuela’s primera combatiente Cilia Flores, wife of the president.

Medea Benjamin Reveals Details Of Visit To Venezuela’s Diplomat Alex Saab

October 29, 2023 Chicago Alba Solidarity, Orinoco Tribune. , , ,
Activist and founder of the CODEPINK women’s group, Medea Benjamin, stated that the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, kidnapped by the United States, “has a commitment to himself, to his dignity, to his honor and his major commitment is with the Venezuelan people.” Benjamin, who had the opportunity to visit the special envoy in the Miami federal prison recently, commented on her impressions during the most recent webinar of Hands Off Venezuela, organized by the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign of the Fire This Time Movement of Canada. Medea Benjamin highlighted that Saab remains “firm, with his head held high.”

United States: End Detention Of Venezuelan Special Envoy

September 28, 2023 OHCHR. , , , ,
UN experts* today urged the government of the United States of America to end the prolonged pre-trial detention of Alex Nain Saab Morán, a Venezuelan Special Envoy, arrested and extradited to the US on money laundering charges. Saab was appointed as a Special Envoy by the Government of Venezuela in April 2018 to undertake official missions in Iran to secure humanitarian deliveries to Venezuela, including of food and medicine. In July 2019, he was placed under US sanctions for allegedly being responsible for inter alia engaging in transactions or programmes administered by the Government of Venezuela. On 12 June 2020, during his third trip to Iran, while in transit through Cabo Verde, he was arrested and detained by local authorities.

Leonard Peltier Turns 79; Here’s How You Can Help

September 12, 2023 Last Real Indians. , , , ,
Tuesday, September 12th is Leonard Peltier’s 79th birthday. Peltier is the longest serving Indigenous political prisoner in the history of the United States, having served nearly 50 years in federal prison. Please join us in demanding clemency for Leonard Peltier. “The Leonard Peltier Ad Hoc Committee is thrilled to announce the release of this new video about the life of Leonard Peltier, created by a group of his friends and supporters. This video is being released free of charge to all of Mr. Peltier's supporters.” In addition, a separate collaboration between Amnesty International and NDN Collective organized a 4-stop caravan pick-up for Leonard Peltier supporters in Rapid City, Minneapolis, Chicago and Pittsburgh.

What Leaders Need To Know About The Alex Saab Case

April 27, 2023 Eileen Denza, Alliance for Global Justice. , , ,
It follows that the continued detention of Alex Saab in the U.S. is a grave violation of his inviolability as Venezuela’s special envoy in transit on a special mission to Iran, which clearly recognized his status and has protested at his illegal arrest and detention. There is abundant evidence of the appointment of Alex Saab to carry out a special mission. The requirement that a special mission must be notified is directed at the receiving state, and it doesn’t make sense to suggest that all transit states must be notified if a special envoy is overflying or in an aircraft that stops to refuel in the transit state. The fact that the U.S. does not recognize the Maduro government in Caracas is irrelevant.
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