News and Views from the People's Struggle
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following April 8 statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The Committee to Stop FBI Repression strongly supports Rasmea Odeh’s right to speak in Berlin about the Palestinian liberation struggle. We stand with the many other organizations who condemn the German, Israeli, and U.S. governments’ attacks on Rasmea and their attempts to silence her by revoking her visa and prohibiting her from political activity ( see article about the March 15 incident).
Thomas “Blood” McCreary is a veteran of the Black liberation movement of the 1960s and 70s, having been a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), then the Black Panther Party (BPP), and then the Black Liberation Army. Today he continues to press for release of the former Panthers who are still in prison, many for 45 years. He also advocates for the dropping of the cases against the Panthers abroad, including Assata Shakur.
_ “Defending Palestinian struggle and the right to resist occupation by any means necessary must, by necessity, also prioritize the struggle to free all political prisoners.”_
Fight Back! interviewed Charlotte Kates, International Coordinator of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, on the fight to free Palestinian political prisoners. We encourage all of our readers to support this effort.
Washington DC – The Colombian political prisoner Anyaibe Rojas Valderrama, also known as Sonia, was finally released from her 17-year prison sentence on August 18.
Washington DC – The Colombian political prisoner Anyaibe Rojas Valderrama, also known as Sonia, was finally released from her 17-year prison sentence on August 18.
Vaun L. Mayes, a leading activist in Milwaukee's African American community, has been attacked with trumped-up charges resulting from a coordinated campaign of political repression reminiscent of the 1950’s and ‘60’s Counter-Intelligence Program, or COINTELPRO.
San José, CA – On June 26, supporters of American Indian Movement (AIM) leader Leonard Peltier gathered in a park to commemorate the 43rd anniversary of the shoot-out that led to his incarceration of more than 40 years, making him one of the longest-held political prisoners in the U.S.
Struggle continues against police terror in Chicago
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Chicago, IL – In the past two years in Chicago, over 50 cases of wrongful convictions have been thrown out of court, and most of the Black and Latino men involved have walked out of prison, or had their charges dismissed. These cases have been overturned because of the exposure of crimes by officers of the Chicago Police Department, including many cases of people’s confessions that were exacted through torture. According to attorneys involved in these cases, there are hundreds more that will be making their way through the courts in the coming years.
New York, NY – Over 30 people gathered for an emergency rally held for Jerome Succor Aba, a Filipino peace activist who was denied entry to the U.S. and sent back to Manila after being tortured at the San Francisco airport. Aba was scheduled to speak on the “Stop the Killings” speaking tour to expose the Duterte government and its U.S. backers. The rally took place in front of the Department of Homeland Security.
