Killer 2 Free FBI Agents After Imprisonment Nearly 50 Years

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - American activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted of killing two FBI agents and jailed for nearly five decades or nearly 50 years was released from Florida prison.

The release came after Joe Biden during his tenure as US president eased his sentence.

Supporters of Peltier, from tribal leaders to figures like the Dalai Lama and Robert Redford, have long pushed for Peltier's freedom, arguing he was unfairly punished in an unfair court.

As a global symbol of the struggle for the rights of indigenous peoples, Peltier was released from the federal detention center in Coleman, North Florida at around 09.00 according to a Reuters witness, Tuesday, February 18.

He got in a car which was part of the convoy of cars, and did not speak to supporters or the media.

"Today I'm finally free! They may have imprisoned me, but they never took my spirit!" Peltier said in a statement given by the NDN Collective activist group.

Peltier, a member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribe, is partially blind and has poor health, suffering from diabetes and heart problems. The 80-year-old will be allowed to live under house arrest.

The homecoming celebration is planned for Peltier on Wednesday at the Turtle Mountain Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota.

The change, given by Biden on his last day in office, has long been opposed by the FBI. Former agency director Christopher Wray called Peltier a "merciless killer".

His supporters said prosecutors hid important evidence that benefited Peltier and made a written statement stating he was guilty.

Just like his wrong detention representing the oppression of Indigenous Peoples everywhere, his release today is a symbol of the collective power and inherent freedom, "Nick Tilsen, Founder and CEO of NDN Collective in his release.

Peltier was among a group of native Americans involved in a shootout with FBI Special Agent Jack Coler and Ronald Williams at the Indian Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in June 1975.

The agents, who went to the reservation to look for fugitives, were killed, along with one of the Native American activists.

Peltier, who is part of a movement upholding the rights of an American original treaty with the US government, said he did not shoot Coler and Williams.

Peltier fled to Canada before his 1977 trial.

He was eventually extradited back to the United States, found guilty and sentenced to two life sentences.

Leonard Peltier's release is the right move given serious and ongoing concerns about human rights regarding his trial's justice, nearly 50 years in prison, health and age, said Paul O'Brien, executive director at Amnesty International US.