News conference protests media silence on illegal charges against Uhuru 3

New York

Representatives from several organizations held a rousing news conference in front of the New York Times building in this city on Aug. 14 to demand that the U.S. government drop the bogus charges against Omali Yeshitela, chairperson of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP), and leaders of the Uhuru solidarity movement and that the corporate media publicize the violation of their First Amendment rights.

In April 2023, the U.S. government indicted 82-year-old Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel — known as the Uhuru 3 — on charges of “failing to register as foreign agents,” merely for expressing their views on Ukraine. The indictment followed the FBI’s July 29, 2022, raid on Yeshitela’s home and several other homes and offices of Uhuru leaders with flashbang grenades and assault weapons. One of the reasons the APSP was on the FBI’s radar was their presence at an anti-globalization conference in Russia. 

The Uhuru Movement is an international organization under the leadership of APSP with the goal of uniting African people for liberation, social justice, self-reliance and economic development. 

Lisa Davis, a local organizer with the Hands Off Uhuru! Hands Off Africa! Campaign, said, “We are here to demand that the colonial corporate media stand up with courage as journalists, the supposed embodiment of free speech and a free press, and speak out against the outrageous attempt by the Department of Justice to lock up the Uhuru 3 simply because they express opinions that the government doesn’t want you to hear. 

“This is a precedent-setting case that will put an end to constitutional protections of everyone’s free speech rights, because it is the first time that a ‘foreign agent’ law is being used to prosecute alleged ‘crimes’ consisting exclusively of giving speeches, attending conferences, printing articles and running for elected office,” Davis said.

A trial of the Uhuru 3 is to begin on Sept. 3 in federal court in Tampa, Florida. They face up to 15 years in federal prison. The Hands Off Uhuru! Hands Off Africa! Campaign is calling on activists to join a march and rally for the Uhuru 3 on Aug. 31 in St. Petersburg, Florida, and to pack the court on Sept. 3. 

Workers World Party spokesperson Sara Flounders said: “We don’t leave anyone behind when all the powers of the state come down. That’s the time you have to step forward and demand the charges be dropped. We’ve got to defend this whole political movement and say that these charges are an outrage. The charges are the crime!”

The news conference included representatives from the December 12th Movement, the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico/NY Committee, the Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations, the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement and the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation.

The participants closed the event standing together in front of the New York Times entrance chanting, “Never give up! We’ve got your back!”