- Target:
- Cuba Embassy
- Region:
- GLOBAL
Gustavo Machin, the deputy director for American affairs at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has stated that Assata Shakur, fka Joanne Chesimard, would not be returned to New Jersey now that Cuba and the United States are restoring diplomatic relations.
Said Machin, "I can say it is off the table." Expressing doubt about the fairness and validity of Assata Shakur's criminal trial that took place in New Jersey in 1977, he added “There are very serious doubts about that case....We consider that a politically motivated case against that lady."
Although, State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke maintains that extradition is still on the table Assata Shakur's attorney, Lennox Hinds, a professor at Rutgers University, said “I think it is a spin being put out by the U.S. government. I have no reason to give any credence to it,” Hinds said. He said that Cuban authorities recently told him that Assata Shakur’s political asylum would not be revoked.
We, the undersigned, encourage and thank Raul Castro, President of the Republica de Cuba and Gustavo Machin, Deputy Director for American Affairs at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for refusing to allow extradition of Assata Shakur fka Joanne Chesimard as part of restoring diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba.
We have been proud supporters of of the sovereign Republica de Cuba and other sovereign nations throughout the world for many decades.
The police and the justice system in the New York/New Jersey area are known internationally for consistently arresting Black men and women and convicting them of crimes that they have not committed. That is the case in this instance. Joanne Chesimard is innocent of the crime for which she was convicted.
We are very proud that the Republica de Cuba granted political asylum to Assata Shakur and we trust that the Republica de Cuba will continue to do so. The political asylum that the Republica de Cuba has granted Assata Shakur is deserved by her and appreciated by sovereign nations and freedom-loving people all over the world.
We trust that her asylum will be continued in your Republica de Cuba.
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The A Plea for Justice for Assata Shakur petition to Cuba Embassy was written by Sistah Q and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.