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State Repression

Understanding The #OccupyParliament Movement In Kenya

If you asked a think-tank team leader, a social sciences Professor at Nairobi University if they anticipated the scale and popularity of the protests that rocked East Africa’s economic powerhouse Kenya, only a few months ago many honest people would simply retort, NO! The protests that rather appeared spontaneous characterized mainly by a young generation of Kenyans known as Gen Z protesting the Finance Bill (an annually produced document that lays out the government’s fiscal strategy) that would introduce a cocktail of new taxes on essential and basic commodities.

Fujimori Is Dead, Fujimorismo Is Not

Former dictator and genocidaire Alberto Fujimori died on September 11, nine months after Peru’s Supreme Court illegally reinstated his pardon for crimes against humanity. His daughter and three-time presidential election loser, Keiko Fujimori, announced his death on the X platform a day after rumors started swirling. Sadly, Fujimori died peacefully in his home surrounded by family despite being responsible for massacres, torture, forced sterilizations, crimes against humanity, economic shock therapy and the selling off of the country to US economic and military interests. The families of his victims received neither reparations nor a formal apology.

Conservative US lawmakers Hound Pro-Palestine Organizations

On September 25, Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson took to social media to attack several pro-Palestine organizations, which have been leading in the solidarity movement across the United States. Johnson referenced the action taken by the United States House Committee on Ways and Means, led by conservative Representative Jason Smith, which has called on the IRS to revoke the tax-exempt status of eight organizations. According to Smith, these organizations have “organized and subsidized illegal activity on college campuses and beyond and have potentially provided support to terrorist organizations overseas.”

Georgia’s Repressive Tactics Unravel In ‘Stop Cop City’ Case

Atlanta, GA – In a surprising but significant turn of events, on September 24, Georgia prosecutors have dropped all 15 counts of money laundering against three prominent activists involved in the “Stop Cop City” movement. These activists – Marlon Kautz, Adele MacLean and Savannah Patterson – are leaders of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund (ASF), a bail fund that has supported protesters opposing the construction of a controversial police training facility in Atlanta. While the trio still faces racketeering charges, the dismissal of the money laundering allegations nevertheless marks a victory against state repression and exposes the cracks in the state's legal strategy.

Nigeria Unleashes Massive Repression After #Endhunger Protests

The Nigerian government was clearly very worried by the scale and support for the protests in early August against its anti-human policies of increased fuel prices, higher electric tariffs, unpaid low minimum wages, higher school fees, higher tax rates, higher food prices, higher transport costs and bad governance. They hope that heavy repression will stop future protests against hunger, higher petrol prices and bad governance. The state tortured dozens and hundreds remain in detention. Some are being held well beyond the constitutional limit of 48 hours before going to court. The High Court in Abuja gave the police a further 60 days for holding over 70 young men from Kano.

From The Phony Debate And Gaza To The Uhuru 3

Our first topic will be the trial of the Uhuru 3.” Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel, were found guilty of conspiring to be foreign agents in a federal case in Tampa, Florida involving the African People's Socialist Party and its Solidarity Network. The 3 were accused of being foreign agents. The jury acquitted them on that charge, yet convicted them of this conspiracy charge, which seems to be odd until we realize the history of how the Black left are targeted, going back to the McCarthy era of the 1950s. Ajamu, talk to us about your thoughts on the case of the Uhuru 3 and what it tells us. Ajamu Baraka: It's important for people to understand the importance of this case, because it's quite clear to me that the indictment and the aggressive prosecution of the Uhuru 3 was meant to be a shot across the bow, if you will, to intimidate left opposition, progressive opposition in the US that is emerging and solidifying, in opposition to not only Gaza, but in opposition to the broader agenda, warmongering that is at the center of US policy from Ukraine to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and on the African continent.

Protest Under Fire: Fall 2024 Special Conventions Issue

It’s a powerful tool to force confrontation and shake up the status quo. From writing letters to protesting in the streets, from occupations to boycotts, our democracy demands that people have the freedom to exercise their constitutional rights, to hit the streets and speak loud. But all too often, police meet protests with violence and prosecutors punish activists. Over the past decade, we’ve faced a new wave of state and national legislation that seeks to criminalize protest. In this quarterly publication, we examine the policies and practices that threaten First Amendment rights. We’ll also uplift the fights taking place in courtrooms, capitals, and on the street to defend the right to protest.

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

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.

Retaliation And Repression Of Palestine Solidarity Activism

In the United States and the United Kingdom, employer retaliation and state repression against people who show solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement and who oppose genocide is escalating. Professor Danny Shaw describes his nearly lifelong solidarity with Palestine and the personal price he has paid for it particularly since last October. Shaw has been doxed, arrested, fired and detained by the FBI and Homeland Security. His phone and electronic devices have been confiscated as well as his passport although he has not committed any crimes. He discusses how he and others are fighting back and why we must defend our rights to free speech and to know what is happening.

Uhuru 3 Trial Enters Second Day

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).

Repression Backfires In Pakistan

In July, hundreds of thousands of people set out for a national gathering in Gwadar, a picturesque port city on the Arabian sea in Balochistan — Pakistan’s largest, but least populated, province. Making their way through an expanse of mountainous desert were the members of a severely oppressed community, the Baloch, whose population extends into neighboring Iran and Afghanistan. At this first-of-its-kind national gathering, called Baloch Raji Munchi, people were planning to press their demand for an end to enforced disappearances, wrongful arrests and extrajudicial killings — all of which have been rampant across the province since its annexation in 1948.

Professor Danny Shaw Becomes Latest Victim Of Assault On Free Speech

Professor Danny Shaw, a former Madison Square Garden heavyweight championship boxer, was detained and interrogated by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport (ORD). Professor Shaw was returning from the Free Palestine Film Festival in London.  He was invited to the festival because of his being fired by New York City’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice for his vocal opposition to the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza. For three hours, Chicago-based federal agents grilled Professor Shaw. Agents from the FBI’s Chicago Field Office pressed Shaw about his activities at home and abroad in advocating for an end to the Israeli government’s invasion of Gaza.

AI Surveillance As A Tool Of State Repression

AI technology poses a significant threat to communities that are struggling for liberation. The technology is used to create large surveillance networks accessible to police, military, and private companies. Frequently this technology is installed without the consent or knowledge of the people it surveils. In the United States, AI technology is used to surveil Black and Brown communities and target people for arrest. Abroad it is used for bombing campaigns and genocide. In August 2023, a GPS tracker was found on a vehicle registered to one of the codefendants known as the Traverse City 3, a trio of queer activists.

‘Democracies’ Attack Journalism As They Attack Democracy Itself

The nations of the collective west love to brag and to praise themselves as being democracies. They say they abhor authoritarian, autocratic governments and constantly condemn anyone they don’t like as belonging to that club. In reality, the word democracy is used to fool the gullible into accepting actions and policies they ought to reject and also as a weapon meant to disguise evil intent. But the facade is cracking as the dictatorial tendency becomes harder to hide. Here in the United States, Kamala Harris became the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee after wealthy donors orchestrated a coup against the sitting president they put into office four years earlier.

Palestine Action Co-Founder Faces Charges Under Terrorism Act

Labour home secretary Yvette Cooper is going to court to force through Tory anti-protest laws. And the government is presiding over a blizzard of repressive arrests, jailings and charges. On Thursday Palestine Action announced that its co-founder Richard Barnard is facing three charges for two speeches. He is accused of supporting a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act and encouraging “criminal activity”. On the same day counter-terrorism police re-raided one of the “Filton 10” Palestine activists’ addresses, over three weeks after they were first arrested. Cops arrested six of the Filton 10 on 6 August after they broke into the Israeli-owned arms research, development and manufacturing hub in Filton, Bristol.
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