Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Samidoun -Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

Professor Al-Arian is a Palestinian American civil rights and Palestine solidarity activist who was indicted in 2003 and put on trial for aiding the Palestinian resistance organization Islamic Jihad. At the time of his arrest U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft held a press conference announcing the professor’s arrest to the nation. In the U.S. war on terror, Sami Al-Arian was the big test case. The U.S. government spent more than ten years spying on Al-Arian and intercepting more than 400,000 phone calls. However the U.S. prosecutors could not get a guilty verdict from jurors on any of the 17 charges. After spending two years in jail while on trial and faced with another trial and more years away from his family, Al-Arian made a plea deal, agreeing to leave the country and going into political exile. Then U.S. prosecutors tried to use their power to punish Al-Arian. Instead of letting professor Al-Arian serve time and leave the country as agreed in negotiations, U.S. prosecutors demanded Al-Arian testify at a federal grand jury in Virginia, which he refused to do based on his agreement with the government. He then was charged with contempt and jailed. Since 2008 he has lived under house arrest and in 2014 the charges against him were dropped. He was deported in early February and now lives in Turkey.

Mark Burton is the lawyer for Colombian revolutionary Ricardo Palmera. Palmera is a political prisoner of the U.S., currently held in the Florence, Colorado supermax prison. Mark Burton is one of the few people allowed to visit and communicate with him. There is a campaign to Free Ricardo Palmera so he can take part in ongoing Colombian peace talks happening in Cuba. Ricardo Palmera is popularly known as Simón Trinidad in Colombia. For more information see www.FreeRicardoPalmera.org.

Doral, FL- In spite of pouring rain, nearly 70 people took to the streets near Miami, Jan. 11 demanding the immediate closure of the U.S. prisons at Guantanamo Bay. The march took place on the 13th anniversary since the prison doors at Guantanamo Bay Detention center first opened. Protesters marched for over a mile on the busy streets of South Florida’s industrial district until they arrived at the gates of U.S. Southern Command, the headquarters and control center for Guantanamo Bay.

Salt Lake City, UT – Activists rallied in front of the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building on Nov. 16, as part of a national week of action in support of Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh. Participants were urged to write letters of support to Rasmea Odeh, now in Saint Clair County Jail, Port Huron, Michigan. Supporters are also making donations to her defense fund. Information can be found at stopfbi.net.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Nov. 18 statement from the Rasmea Defense Committee.

Detroit, MI – The jury in the case of Rasmea Odeh returned a guilty verdict after less than two hours of deliberation this morning, Nov. 10. They accepted the charge against her for “unlawful procurement of citizenship.” In her application for citizenship a decade ago, she failed to disclose that she was a political prisoner in Israel 45 years ago, convicted after soldiers raped and tortured her into a confession.

Durham, NC — Protesters gathered at a busy intersection outside the Durham Public Library, Nov 4, to show solidarity with Rasmea Odeh. The action coincided with the opening of Odeh’s trial in Detroit.

Nashville, TN – On July 12, five people – Malaya Lynch, Marshawn McCarrel, Aaron Hayes, James Hayes and Mike Sampson – were arrested here without warning. Over 100 people held a protest that coincided with the meeting of the National Governors Association. The cops acted unjustly when they arrested the Nashville 5. The five people were booked by the Davidson County Sheriff's Office and a project is currently underway to raise bail for them.

Tampa, FL — University of South Florida computer engineering professor Sami Al-Arian was set free today in Virginia. Federal prosecutors decided to finally drop his case today after his family waited in legal limbo for five years. The judge who delayed the ruling presides over a court nicknamed the “rocket docket” for its speed of settling cases.

Jacksonville, FL – On June 10, Circuit Judge James Daniel pushed back Marissa Alexander's retrial date from July 21 to Dec. 1. Alexander is a 33-year-old African-American mother facing 60 years in prison for firing a warning shot to fend off her abusive husband. Originally convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 20 years in prison, Alexander received a new trial in 2013 when a District Court of Appeals judge overturned the decision.

Tampa, FL – The trial of Sami Osmakac is underway at the Sam Gibbons Federal Court Building here, June 2. Osmakac is being accused by the government of attempted use of weapons of mass destruction. This is part of an ongoing persecution of Muslims and Arab Americans. The government has frequently targeted those who speak out against U.S. wars as well as building cases of ‘terrorism’ on fictitious evidence.

Many press reports incorrect

Detroit, MI – Contrary to erroneous press reports, Rasmea Odeh is not pleading guilty. Today in the U.S. District Court here she requested a change of counsel and reported to Judge Paul Borman that she is going to trial.

San José, CA – On Saturday, May 3rd, more than 60 people gathered at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in San José for a reception and program with Lynne Stewart organized by the South Bay Committee Against Political Repression with a generous donation of food for the reception from the National Lawyer’s Guild. The event raised more than $1100 to help with the health costs of Lynne Stewart who is battling cancer.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following March 23 statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). CPP condemns arrest of senior leaders investigating conditions, overseeing rehabilitation in the Visayas

Tampa, FL – About two dozen people gathered here, March 7, at the United Church of Christ to hear from speakers on civil freedoms. The topics ranged from solitary confinement to the persecution of peace activists. Friends of Human Rights in Tampa Bay organized the event and many other organizations participated.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Feb. 2 statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

Saint Paul, MN – Activists from the anti-war and the Palestine solidarity movement gathered here, Jan. 24 to demand the release of all Palestinian political prisoners and an end to Palestinian Authority (PA) security cooperation with Israeli occupation forces. The group rallied for an hour in the midst of a snowstorm. The vigil was held in response to a call from the Campaign to Free Ahmed Sa’adat for Freedom Weeks to commemorate the 12th anniversary of Sa’adat’s abduction by PA forces.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Jan. 18 statement from the Peace Delegation Revolutionary Armed Forces on the imprisonment by the U.S. of Colombian revolutionary, Professor Ricardo Palmera. Known in Colombia as Simón Trinidad, Palmera was kidnapped, brought to the United States and is now serving what amounts to a life sentence. For more information from the FARC Peace Delegation: http://farc-epeace.org/ For information from the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera: http://www.freericardopalmera.org/ After 10 years behind bars, Simón Trinidad has to be repatriated

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Jan 15 statement from the leadership of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). You can read Fight Back!’s interview with PFLP General Secretary Ahmad Sa’adat here http://www.fightbacknews.org/2003-3-summer/pflp.htm