January 18, 2017

Obama Commutes Sentence for Political Prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera

Source: The Guardian

Barack Obama has commuted the sentence of Oscar López Rivera, a victory for the Puerto Rican independence activist, who is considered to be one of the world’s longest-serving political prisoners.

López Rivera, whose commutation was announced on Tuesday along with those of 208 others, has been incarcerated for 35 years for his role in fighting for Puerto Rico’s independence.

The 74-year-old, who has spent more than half of his life behind bars, was convicted of “seditious conspiracy” for plotting against the US through his activism. In a recent interview with the Guardian, he said he still believes in what he described as the “noble cause” of full sovereignty for his Caribbean birthplace, which is classified as a US “territory”.

López Rivera was issued two sentences in the 1980s, one of 15 years and one of 55 years, but under Obama’s order, he will be released on 17 May.


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/17/barack-obama-commutes-sentence-oscar-lopez-rivera-puerto-rico-activist

---

This commutation should be getting full attention and not drowned out by the also pivotal commutation of Chelsea Manning's sentence

These are two of the most positive gestures of the Obama Administration ever. They highlight how much worse we can expect things to be in the next four years at least