In a whirlwind news week the public has become aware that the majority, if not all, of U.S. telephone calls are monitored by the NSA (National Security Agency) and have been for seven years, that the U.S. government is monitoring emails through a secret NSA program called PRISM, and that Edward Snowden is the whistleblower that made these revelations possible. On June 9, Snowden told The Guardian to publish that he was the leak even though it puts him in the crosshairs of the U.S. government. “I'm willing to sacrifice all…because I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building.”
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.Justice Department Tramples on First Amendment Rights of Associated Press and Anti-war Activists
Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of people marched through the streets of downtown Minneapolis on May 31 to demand justice for Terrance “Mookie” Franklin, a 22-year-old African American man killed by the police in a South Minneapolis home on May 10.
Washington, DC – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said on May 17 that it plans to file a complaint against a Minnesota judge who inappropriately questioned defendants on their religious beliefs and equated mainstream Islamic principles with terrorism.
Minneapolis, MN – About 200 Somalis, mainly women, converged on the Federal Building here, May 16, for the sentencing hearing of two Somali humanitarian workers. Amina Ali and Hawo Hassan were convicted of ‘material support for terrorism’ in October, 2011. Judge Michael J. Davis handed down a 20-year sentence for Amina Ali and a 10-year sentence for Hawo Hassan.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from People's Organization For Progress (POP) chair Lawrence Hamm, from a May 10 Newark, New Jersey press conference.
Struggle continues to free Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio and Fernando
Miami, FL – On May 3, René González, one of the Cuban 5, finally won his freedom from the U.S. prison system when a judge ruled that he could move back to Cuba. González had already served an unjust sentence of more than 13 years in U.S. prisons. He was then was forced to stay in Miami another year and a half on parole. González was greeted as a hero on his return to Cuba, which has waged a determined campaign to win freedom for the Cuban 5.
Minneapolis, MN – On April 15, Noor Elashi, daughter of wrongfully imprisoned Holy Land 5 defendant Ghassan Elashi, spoke to a packed room of over 50 people, mostly students from the University of Minnesota, about her father’s case. John Cline, Ghassan Elashi’s lawyer, also spoke of the injustice brought upon the five men who founded and built the largest Muslim charity in the U.S. George W. Bush shut down The Holy Land Foundation, falsely claiming its charity work for Palestine had ties to terrorism.
Tallahassee, FL – Nearly 30 community members and Tallahassee Dream Defenders attended a public hearing on April 12 in support of Antonio and Rodrizgus Richardson, two African-American brothers in Tallahassee. The brothers were wrongly convicted of first-degree murder and are facing 25 years to life in prison.
Provo, UT – Students and community members protested in front of the Wells Fargo building on April 6 to voice their opposition to Wells Fargo’s hypocritical marketing. Wells Fargo deeply invests in privately owned prisons through firms like Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private prison company in the U.S.
Durban, South Africa – Protesters flocked to the U.S. consulate here, March 22, on the tenth anniversary of the abduction of Dr. Siddiqui and her three children in Karachi, Pakistan.
Fort Worth, TX – More than 40 protesters gathered at the Carswell federal prison, March 30, to demand freedom for Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and the other women political prisoners held here.
Milwaukee, WI – Dozens of people took to the downtown streets here, March 29, in response to Special Prosecutor John Franke's decision to not seek any charges against the Milwaukee police officers who killed Derek Williams.
Fort Worth, TX – About 60 people gathered here at the U.S. District Court building, March 29, to demand “Free Aafia Siddiqui!” Dr. Siddiqui is a Pakistani woman who was kidnapped in Pakistan and tortured. She is now a political prisoner held in a Texas prison.
Gainesville, FL – On March 26, 60 students and community members gathered in Little Hall to hear three nationally known figures speak out against political repression. A packed house greeted Noor Elashi, John Cline, and Mick Kelly for the final date of their tour. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized the event to learn about the wave of U.S. government repression against Muslims, Arab-Americans and anti-war activists.
Milwaukee, WI – Occupy the Hood-Milwaukee has called for a protest on March 29 following the news that the three white Milwaukee police who killed Derek Williams – a Black man – will not face state criminal charges. Two federal investigations are still ongoing.
