Free Alex Saab! Help us tell Cabo Verde Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva

Submitted bytortilla onDom, 04/07/2021 - 17:32

Help us tell Cabo Verde Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva:

Don’t Bow to US Pressure!
Don't Break International Law: #FreeAlexSaab!

Alliance for Global Justice is a member of this campaign.

Celebrate July 5th, Independence Day for both Venezuela and Cabo Verde in a reception for the Prime Minister.

Our Cabo Verdean members, like their Haitian sisters, brothers and siblings continue to follow news from their home country.  All members of our union are deeply distressed by the news of the imprisonment and torture in Cabo Verde of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. This is a moment of great urgency because Alex Saab is facing immediate extradition to the U.S. The Boston School Bus Drivers, USW local 8751 unanimously declared. Stand Shoulder to Shoulder Together against US Bullying!

Join us in person!

On Monday, July 5th the Alex Saab Defense Committee will be on the ground in Boston, Massachusetts to greet the Prime Minister of Cabo Verde and urge him to #FreeAlexSaab. 

Boston City Hall at 11am-12pm 

& 

Santana Restaurant at 2pm (684 Crescent Street, Brockton, MA)

For more information and contact:

Bishop Filipe Teixeira OFSJC Brockton, MA 617-894-5175

United SteelWorkers Local 8751 – Steve Gillis -617-733-2950

Alberto Lovera Bolivarian Circle NY – William Camacaro  718-510-5523 

International Action Center – Sara Flounders  201-388-7428

Charlie Welch 617-230-9505, cwelch@tecschange[dot]org

Join us online! 

Add your name and join Noam Chomsky, Oliver Stone, Vijay Prashad, Medea Benjamin, religious leaders, union members and thousands of others in urgring Cabo Verde Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva: 

Don’t Bow to US Pressure!
Don't Break International Law: Free Alex Saab!

Arresting and holding a diplomat for any reason is a violation of international law. 

Background Alex Saab's illegal detention: 

  • Alex Saab was on a humanitarian mission to Iran at the time of his seizure to arrange emergency shipments of food, medicine, and essential supplies for Venezuela. Venezuela is facing hunger and extreme shortages based on U.S. sanctions.
  • The United Nations Human Rights Committee has called on Cabo Verde to immediately release Alex Saab.
  • The U.S. charged Saab with “money laundering” for his diplomatic role purchasing essential supplies for Venezuela. In March, however, after a two-year investigation, Swiss prosecutors found no evidence Saab committed any irregularities.
  • The request for extradition is entirely illegal as the U.S. has no extradition treaty with Cabo Verde.
  • Saab never worked in nor lived in the United States, nor was he involved in any transaction that included the U.S. Every aspect of Saab’s seizure and abusive treatment violates international law.
  • Cabo Verde is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). This body ordered Saab’s immediate release in March. and ruled again in June. Pressured by the U.S., Cabo Verde has yet to respond to ECOWAS.  If the U.S. government can extradite Alex Saab, Washington could be emboldened to seize, charge and extradite anybody anywhere.
  • Saab’s case impacts the 15 African countries already under U.S. sanctions. It resonates in U.S.-sanctioned Iran and in Venezuela, where social media campaigns and demonstrations have demanded Saab’s release.
  • Alex Saab was kidnapped, held and tortured under orders from the Trump administration.
  • We call on President Biden to drop the demand for Alex Saab’s extradition to the U.S. This kidnapping of a diplomat is clearly a violation of international law.
  • We call on the Republic of Cabo Verde Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva to release Saab immediately to Venezuela on humanitarian grounds to receive medical treatment.