State Repression

Palestine Action Co-Founder Faces Charges Under Terrorism Act

August 29, 2024 Charlie Kimber, Socialist Worker. Educate! Israel, Palestine, Palestine Action, Palestine Solidarity, State Repression, Terrorism Act, United Kingdom (UK)

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.

The Slide Into Authoritarianism

August 28, 2024 John Kiriakou, Consortium News. Educate! Authoritarianism, Journalism, Press Freedom, Richard Medhurst, State Repression

All of us who care about civil liberties, civil rights, human rights and freedom of the press have had a front-row seat lately to a slide toward what can only be described as authoritarianism. The governments of the U.S., U.K. and even Canada have been working hard, sometimes in a coordinated fashion, to silence dissenting voices. The governments’ tactics have been heavy-handed, to say the least. Most recently, journalist Richard Medhurst was arrested last week by British authorities. Richard, who is one of the loudest and most important voices in support of human rights for Palestinians, was arrested at Heathrow Airport. Detaining a journalist is not terribly unusual in the U.K., unfortunately.

France Slaps Telegram CEO With 12 Criminal Charges

August 27, 2024 News Desk, The Cradle. Educate! Censorship, France, Gaza, Genocide, Israel, Palestine, State Repression, Telegram

Telegram founder Pavel Durov is being held in custody by French authorities as part of a cyber-criminality investigation, the Paris prosecutor said in a statement on 26 August. The Russian-born billionaire and founder of the popular messaging app was arrested upon landing in the French capital on Saturday evening. The prosecutor’s statement mentioned 12 different offenses under investigation for “complicity” in organized crime, including illicit transactions, child pornography, fraud, and the refusal to disclose information to authorities. The statement added that Durov’s time in custody had been extended and could now last until Wednesday.

Judge Denies Motion To Dismiss In Free Speech Case

August 18, 2024 Uhuru Solidarity Movement, Popular Resistance. Resist! Black Liberation, Legal System, State Repression, Uhuru 3

On August 15, 2024, U.S. Federal District Court Judge William Jung issued his ruling denying the Motion to Dismiss filed by attorneys for the “Uhuru 3” - Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel - who argued that the case violates the First Amendment. Jung’s decision came over one year after the Motion was filed, ten months after oral arguments on the Motion were presented and six months after Magistrate Judge Anthony Porcelli recommended to the district judge that he deny the Motion. On August 14, 2024, the same Judge denied the prosecutors’ “motion in limine”, filed August 1, 2024, to restrict the Uhuru 3 attorneys from arguing to the jury that their defendant’s speech is protected by the First Amendment, stating that “whether the conduct is shielded by the First Amendment is a legal issue to be decided by the Court, and arguments concerning such legal issues will only confuse the jury.”

Columbia President Resigns After Violent Crackdown On Students

August 15, 2024 Jake Johnson, Common Dreams. Educate! Campus Movement, Columbia University, Palestine, Resignation, State Repression

The president of Columbia University announced her resignation late Wednesday, months after she authorized a violent police crackdown on student demonstrators urging the school to divest from Israel over the country's devastating assault on the Gaza Strip. Minouche Shafik said in her announcement that recent months have been "a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community." Dozens of Columbia students were arrested and injured during a Shafik-approved police raid of a campus building in late April. "This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community," said Shafik, whose resignation was effective immediately.

Police Chief Who Led Raid On Newspaper Charged With Obstruction Of Justice

August 13, 2024 AP News. Educate! Kansas, Media, Police, State Repression

Topeka, Kansas — A former central Kansas police chief who led a raid last year on a weekly newspaper has been charged with felony obstruction of justice and is accused of persuading a potential witness for an investigation into his conduct of withholding information from authorities. The single charge against former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody alleges that he knowingly or intentionally influenced the witness to withhold information on the day of the raid of the Marion County Record and the home of its publisher or sometime within the following six days. The charge was filed Monday in state district court in Marion County and is not more specific about Cody’s alleged conduct.

Whole Truth Five Sentenced To 4-5 Years At Southwark Crown Court

July 19, 2024 Just Stop Oil. Resist! climate crisis, Direct Action, Legal System, Roger Hallam, State Repression, United Kingdom (UK)

In an obscene perversion of justice, five Just Stop Oil supporters were handed multi-year prison sentences today for nothing more than attending a Zoom call. [1] At Southwark Crown Court, Judge Christopher Hehir jailed Roger Hallam (57, from Wales) for five years, whilst Daniel Shaw (38, from Northampton), Lucia Whittaker De Abreu (34, from Derby), Louise Lancaster (58, from Cambridge) and Cressida Gethin (22, from Hereford) were each sentenced to four years. They were convicted last week of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance in relation to the M25 motorway disruption in November 2022. [2] They will join Amy Pritchard who was sentenced in June to 10 months in prison for breaking a window belonging to the world’s largest fossil fuel funder, JP Morgan.

Milwaukee Shipped In 4,500 Cops To Suppress Protest At RNC

July 18, 2024 Cody Bloomfield, Truthout. Educate! Milwaukee, Police, RNC, State Repression, Suppression, Wisconsin

Contestations over the Republican National Committee’s efforts to foreclose avenues for lawful protest outside this week’s Republican National Convention (RNC) were already heated months before GOP delegates started booking their flights to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the convention. So it was something of a victory for free speech that, after months of mobilizing and negotiations — and in the unexpectedly heightened state of policing following the July 13 assassination attempt on Donald Trump — some protesters managed to demonstrate close enough to the RNC to be seen and heard by its attendees. The path leading up to that point was filled with uncertainty over whether protest rights would be subordinated to GOP demands.

Truth Dies: Uhuru 3 Trial May Set Dangerous Precedent For Free Speech

July 16, 2024 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. Podcast - Clearing The FOG FBI, Free Speech, Legal System, State Repression, Uhuru 3

On July 29, 2022, the FBI raided seven properties connected to the African People's Socialist Party/Uhuru Movement and fabricated charges against three prominent members: Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Jesse Nevel, Chair of the Uhuru Solidarity Movement, and Penny Hess, Chair of the African People’s Solidarity Committee. They are facing up to 15 years in jail for speaking out against the proxy war in Ukraine. Their trial is currently scheduled for September 3. Clearing the FOG spoke with Penny Hess and Leonard Goodman, a criminal defense attorney with the Uhuru Legal Team. Mr. Goodman made the point that if this trial succeeds, political speech may be considered disinformation even if it is true. Learn more about the trial and how to support the Uhuru Three as they put the US government on trial.

Iran Imposes Sanctions On US Officials For Suppressing Student Protests

July 6, 2024 Press TV, Orinoco Tribune. Resist! Campus Movement, Iran, Palestine, Sanctions, State Repression

The ministry announced in a statement on Wednesday that the punitive measures were taken in accordance with the Law on “Countering the Violation of Human Rights and Adventurous and Terrorist Activities of the United States in the Region”, (2017) particularly Article 5, which blacklists the following American individuals for their involvement in violation of human rights by quashing the peaceful rallies. Accordingly, their accounts and transactions will be blocked in the Iranian financial and banking systems, and their assets will be frozen within the jurisdiction of the Islamic Republic of Iran. No visa grating their entry to the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be issued as well.

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.

Arresting Reporters Is A Crude Form Of Censorship

June 22, 2024 Jen St. Denis, The Tyee. Educate! Canada, Journalism, Press Freedom, State Repression

Press freedom advocates in Canada are calling on Quebec prosecutors to drop mischief charges against Savanna Craig, saying her arrest and charges are part of a larger trend across Canada. Craig was arrested in April while covering a pro-Palestinian protest at a Scotiabank branch in Montreal for CUTV, a university television station at Concordia University. Although she identified herself as a journalist to police and showed them her press card, she was detained along with 44 protesters. Police have now recommended mischief charges against her. “We’re very concerned about the behaviour of Montreal police towards Savanna Craig on April 15, and local law enforcement’s decision to recommend charges against her despite the evidence that she was not in violation of Canadian law at the time of her arrest,” said Katherine Jacobsen.

Why Is A Stanford Student Reporter Still Facing Felony Charges?

June 22, 2024 Kevin Gosztola, The Dissenter. Educate! California, Higher Education, Journalism, Press Freedom, State Repression

A coalition of press freedom and First Amendment organizations have demanded that the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office abandon felony charges against a Stanford University student reporter. Dilan Gohill, a freshman, covers student protests for the university’s newspaper known as The Daily. He was arrested on June 5, along with 12 demonstrators, after they engaged in an act of civil disobedience against the Stanford’s investments in companies “that provide material and logistical support to Israel’s current military campaign” in Gaza. The letter [PDF] from the coalition to the local prosecutor indicates that police jailed Gohill for 15 hours. He could be charged with “felony burglary, vandalism, and conspiracy, according to his lawyers and the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.”

Webinar: Hands Off Uhuru ! Drop The Charges On The Uhuru 3!

June 17, 2024 Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition. Resistance Report FBI, Legal System, State Repression, Uhuru 3

"The Uhuru 3 are 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). In April 2023, the Uhuru 3 were indicted by the US Govt on bogus charges of being “agents of a foreign government” because of the Uhuru Movement’s over 50 years of work to advocate for the liberation and unification of Africa and forcibly dispersed African people everywhere. "The charges levied on the Uhuru 3 came nine months after the FBI and local police violently raided seven homes and properties of the APSP and Uhuru Movement in St. Louis, MO and St. Petersburg, FL on July 29, 2022.

Lessons From The Wayne State University Encampment

June 4, 2024 Tristan Taylor and Brian H. Silverstein, Left Voice. Strategize! Campus Movement, Detroit, Israel, Michigan, Palestine, Police, State Repression, Student Activism

Amid the latest military offensive in Rafah, the movement in solidarity with Palestine has remained active. Students across the country have been at the vanguard, setting up encampments and demanding that their universities divest from the Israeli war machine. The response from university administrations has been repression so intense that it has sparked broad outrage and condemnation because of its chilling effect on the right to protest and dissent. The intense crackdowns have led sectors of the movement to take up the issue of repression as a central part of the fight for Palestine.

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