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Amnesty International
December 12, 2003
Justice is long overdue in the December 1975 killing of Mi'qmak activist
Anna Mae Pictou Aquash in South Dakota. Not only must those responsible be
identified and brought to trial, there must also be scrupulous respect for
due process and fair trial proceedings. This is essential to ensure full
public accounting of what happened and to address ongoing concerns about
possible political interference in the course of justice.
An Indigenous man from Canada, John Graham, was arrested in Vancouver on
Monday December 1. The US is expected to seek his extradition to stand trial
for the murder of Anna Mae Aquash.
Amnesty International has not been able to review the allegations against
John Graham and takes no position on his guilt or innocence.
However if the US does seek his extradition, Amnesty is urging Canadian
authorities to ensure that there is rigorous scrutiny of any evidence
brought against him. If Graham should be brought to trial in the US, Amnesty
International will seek assurances that his right to a fair trial is fully
respected.
The killing of Anna Mae Aquash was one of a series of tragic incidents that
took place in the mid-1970s in the context of a violent dispute at the Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation and U.S. policing operations against the American
Indian Movement (AIM). Amnesty International has a number of serious, still
unresolved concerns about the role of U.S. law enforcement officials in
these events, including:
- the longstanding failure to identify and bring to justice whoever is
responsible for the murder of Anna Mae Aquash; and
- apparent efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to prejudice the fair trial rights of AIM leaders charged with serious crimes during this period.
Amnesty International has also condemned the fact that the FBI knowingly
used false evidence to obtain the extradition of AIM activist Leonard
Peltier from Canada in December 1976. Peltier was subsequently convicted for
the murder of two FBI agents killed at Pine Ridge in June 1975. Convinced
that Peltier has repeatedly been denied a fair trial, Amnesty International
has called for his immediate release on the grounds that he no longer has
adequate recourse to justice.
Story found at:
www.amnesty.ca/library/canada/Graham_Dec12_03.htm