political prisoners

After Biden’s Grants Of Clemency, Calls To Commute Leonard Peltier Reignite

December 28, 2024 Darren Thompson, Unicorn Riot. Resist! Indigenous Rights, Joe Biden, Leonard Peltier, political prisoners, Presidential Pardon

Washington, D.C. — Last week, after President Biden made the historic act of commuting the sentences of 1,499 Americans in a single day, efforts to free Leonard Peltier have reignited. On Thursday, Dec. 12 — the day after Biden announced clemency — dozens of U.S. senators and representatives wrote a letter to the President asking for clemency for Leonard Peltier. Tribal leaders and organizers have praised the act by federal leaders: “We would like to thank Senator [Brian] Schatz and Representative [Raúl] Grijalva for their solidarity as well as the other senators and congresspeople who signed on to the letter,” said NDN Collective CEO Nick Tilsen to Unicorn Riot.

Give The Gift Of Peace This Holiday! Free Simon Trinidad!

December 11, 2024 Staff, Fight Back News!. Resist! Colombia, Peace Process, political prisoners, Simón Trinidad

Known popularly as Simon Trinidad, he is a Colombian revolutionary and political prisoner of the U.S. held in the Supermax Prison in Florence, Colorado. The U.S. government extradited, held four trials, and now imprisons Trinidad under his birth name of Juvenal Ovidio Ricardo Palmera Pineda (BPO No. 27896-016). Simon Trinidad was a leader and peace negotiator for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (FARC-EP). Prior to that, he spent his life organizing people for progressive causes and social change, including with the Patriotic Union (UP) political party.

An Open Letter To President Joe Biden: Free Leonard Peltier

December 4, 2024 Stephen Millies, Struggle La Lucha. Resist! History, Indigenous Rights, Joe Biden, Leonard Peltier, political prisoners, Presidential Pardon

Mr. President, If you can pardon your son, why can’t you free the Indigenous political prisoner Leonard Peltier? The 80-year-old man, a leader of the American Indian Movement, has been imprisoned for 48 years. He suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, and a heart condition. The FBI framed Leonard Peltier in retaliation for the historic 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee. Three years of violence followed this courageous stand for Indigenous rights, with over 60 AIM members and supporters murdered. Despite a large FBI presence, nothing was done to stop these murders and even more numerous assaults.

NDN Collective Rallies At The White House: Clemency For Leonard Peltier

September 23, 2024 Native News Online. Resist! Clemency, Joe Biden, Leonard Peltier, political prisoners

On Wednesday, NDN Collective rallied in front of the White House and called for executive clemency for Leonard Peltier. At 80 years old, Peltier has been incarcerated for nearly 50 years and is now in very poor health. Time is of the essence to release Leonard Peltier, the longest held Indigenous political prisoner in U.S. history. NDN Collective is spending the week in Washington to meet with elected officials, calling upon representatives and federal officials to take action on a number of issues including supporting the release of Leonard Peltier. On April 19, 2024, Peltier’s request for a compassionate release was denied by the Bureau of Prisons.

The US Prison System Is Slowly Killing Its Political Prisoners

August 15, 2024 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. Educate! Black August, health, Human Rights, Palestine, political prisoners

Each year on Black August, socialists, revolutionaries, and those familiar with the Black radical tradition mark the month to “study, fast, train, fight” in honor of the many freedom fighters who were killed or languish behind bars in service to the Black liberation movement. Black August marks a number of key dates within the Black liberation movement, including when the first enslaved Africans landed in what is now the United States in 1619, Nat Turner’s slave rebellion in 1831, as well as more modern events such as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom of 1963 and the Watts Rebellion on 1965.

Leonard Peltier Denied Parole

July 3, 2024 People's Dispatch. Educate! Indigenous Rights, Leonard Peltier, Parole, political prisoners

The federal Parole Commission has denied Leonard Peltier’s request for parole, Peltier’s legal team announced on Tuesday, July 2. This marks a major setback for the longest-held political prisoner in the United States, who had his first parole hearing in over a decade on June 10. Peltier, who was active in the American Indian Movement (AIM) and a beacon for both the Indigenous struggle in the United States and the struggle to free political prisoners, now will continue to languish in prison for an undetermined amount of time. According to Peltier’s lawyer, Kevin Sharp, an interim hearing has been scheduled for 2026, while a full hearing has been scheduled for June 2039, when Peltier will be 94.

The People’s Struggle Will Free Leonard Peltier

June 22, 2024 People's Dispatch. Resist! American Indian Movement, FBI, Indigenous movement, Leonard Peltier, political prisoners, State Repression

Earlier this month, Leonard Peltier, world-renowned Indigenous freedom fighter and the longest-held political prisoner in the United States, had his first parole hearing in over a decade. The movement to free Peltier now awaits the decision resulting from that hearing, on whether or not Peltier will receive parole and be able to go home after almost half a century behind bars. For more perspective on Peltier’s case, Peoples Dispatch spoke to Gloria La Riva, who for decades has been a part of Peltier’s struggle. In 2020, La Riva ran for President of the United States with Peltier as Vice President, under the ticket of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

Parole Commission: It’s Long Past The Time To Free Leonard Peltier

June 12, 2024 Levi Rickert, Native News Online. Resist! Indigenous Rights, Leonard Peltier, Parole, political prisoners

For the first time in 15 years, Leonard Peltier will be afforded a full parole hearing on Monday, June 10 at the United States Penitentiary at Coleman, Fla. Peltier (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) has been incarcerated for 48 years for the killing of two FBI agents at Oglala on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in June 1975. For five decades, Peltier has maintained his innocence and hoped for the chance to clear his name. Monday’s hearing may well be his last chance at vindication. The incident that led to Peltier’s imprisonment happened some 49 years ago, when two FBI agents — Jack Coler and Ronald Williams — arrived at a residence on the reservation to pursue a suspect who had taken a pair of shoes in a robbery.

Palestinian Lawyers Are Working Harder Than Ever To Support Prisoners

May 22, 2024 Eleftheria Kousta, Waging Nonviolence. Educate! Israel, Palestine, political prisoners, Prisoner rights

On May 11, CNN obtained footage of what appears to be Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel’s Sde Teiman military base in horrifying conditions, depicting prisoners being “warehoused” in an overcrowded camp and forced to sit blindfolded and handcuffed. While these revelations — which came from three Israeli whistleblowers — are causing an uproar worldwide on social media and prompting “concern” from the U.S. government, the mistreatment of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli-run facilities is hardly anything new. According to the Palestinian prisoner support and human rights association Addameer, there are 9,500 Palestinian political prisoners currently being held in detention — a quickly rising number since the events of Oct. 7.

Mumia Turns 70 On April 24

April 18, 2024 Betsey Piette, Workers' World. Resist! Legal System, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Philadelphia, political prisoners

Political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal will turn 70 on April 24. This important life milestone will be observed in Philadelphia with an afternoon demonstration outside City Hall and District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office. Also, 1,000 petitions, collected in France, will be delivered to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s satellite office, demanding that Mumia be released to rejoin his family and to seek necessary medical care. An evening indoor gathering will be held at the historic Waters Memorial AME Church at 11th and South streets.

Demand Medical Care For Political Prisoner, Leonard Peltier

March 13, 2024 Workers' World. Resist! Congress, Health Care, Leonard Peltier, political prisoners

Leonard Peltier is still in need of urgent medical care. Your efforts, along with the strong advocacy of Leonard’s legal team and the Ad Hoc Committee, got the attention of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). However, BOP personnel informed Leonard that he will need to wait at least 8-10 months to see an eye specialist. This is unacceptable. The BOP has deprived Leonard of necessary medical care for decades and in doing so has sentenced Leonard to Death By Incarceration. Locked down for 22 hours a day in high security prison USP Coleman I, Leonard, who is almost 80 years old, suffers from multiple severe health conditions.

How To Resist The Deliberate Medical Neglect Of Our Political Prisoners

February 29, 2024 Julia Wright, Black Agenda Report. Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Health Care, Human Rights, Mumia Abu-Jamal, political prisoners

Dr Joy James asked a crucial question on a Guerilla University podcast which she co-hosted with Kalonji Changa on February 13th, 2024: " How does one organize a resistance against the medical assassination of our elders behind bars?" As abolitionists, we believe that there is no resistance without testimony and in this case without first person singular testimony about the reality of the hidden and daily torture of death by incarceration that Mumia Abu-Jamal calls slow death row. The common denominator that links all our political prisoners is slow death row.

20 Years Too Many, Free Simon Trinidad Now!

January 4, 2024 Fight Back News!. Organize! CIA, Colombia, political prisoners, Simón Trinidad

On January 2, 2004, under the orders of the U.S. government and the CIA, Ecuadorian and Colombian forces kidnapped and arrested Colombian revolutionary Simon Trinidad. 20 years detained and imprisoned is 20 too many. That needs to change immediately, and conditions are better than ever for activists in the U.S. and Colombia to push for his freedom. A member of the revolutionary organization and army of the people, the FARC, since 1987, Trinidad was a leading thinker and peace negotiator. Acting in that role, Trinidad’s and the FARC’s peace-seeking efforts have been routinely sabotaged by the U.S. government and the far-right Colombian oligarchy.

Inside The High-Security ‘Black Site’ Where Leonard Peltier Is Incarcerated

September 30, 2023 Silja J.A. Talvi, Scheer Post. Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Human Rights, Leonard Peltier, political prisoners

Unbeknownst to most protesters who gathered at the White House on the occasion of Native American political prisoner Leonard Peltier’s 79th birthday, Peltier wasn’t able to celebrate, much less receive reports on how the well-attended event was progressing. That’s because Peltier, who is now spending his 48th year in captivity, was sitting on his bunk, across from his cellie, “locked down” in a cramped and concrete maximum-security cell designed for one man. The Bureau of Prison’s “lockdown” phenomenon has spread to other federal facilities, but nowhere is as pronounced and as repressive as at USP Coleman I, part of the nation’s biggest federal prison complex, FCC Coleman, which consists of four prisons of various security levels.

Taking Lessons From Black Political Prisoners During Black August

August 25, 2023 Justin A. Davis, Waging Nonviolence. Strategize! Black Activists, Black America, History, political prisoners

From local police outfitted with military-grade equipment, to nonviolent protesters jailed on terrorism charges, the spectacle of state repression has become an increasingly visible part of the Black liberation struggle in U.S. cities. Police and prisons have long served as a conduit for stamping out Black-led protest movements, especially when those movements openly challenge capitalism and state power. Between the 1960s and 1980s, for example, local, state and federal law enforcement coordinated massive campaigns to dismantle radical groups like the Black Panthers, Republic of New Afrika and Black Liberation Army, using long prison sentences to take their members off the map.

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