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Wednesday, June 12, 2002 |
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$4.4 million dollars awarded against the FBI and Oakland Police. The jury found that the FBI falsely arrested, unlawful searched, and carried out a smear campaign in the press against activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney. I heard a moving speech on Democracy Now this morning from Judi's sister about the impact the lawsuit had on her last years of Judi's life. [more of the Democracy Now segment] And here we are discussing giving our government agencies more room to destroy our civil rights, all in the name of fighting terrorism. I ask, who are the terrorists? The non-violent activist speaking out against greedy corporations who want to get rich off the last of the majestic redwoods, or the FBI agents who purposely harassed and denied basic civil rights to make life a living hell for someone speaking out against the government? What is the basis of a 'free' society if we can't organize and speak out? And how can we stand for Muslims living in America arrested and detained for months with no civil rights after 9/11? Or our government giving money and weapons to countries like Indonesia that invaded and massacred the East Timorese for a quarter of a century?
Anyway, the FBI has a history of abusing their authority, and it's great to see them being held accountable. For more on the background on the case, see my earlier entry. |
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