Scores Of Boston Activists Stage Protest Against Extradition, Continued Detention Of Alex Saab

Perturbed by the continued detention of the Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab scores of human rights activists in Boston on July 5 staged a peaceful protest to demand his release.

CityMirrorNews reports that Alex Saab has been in detention for over a year.

He was arrested and detained in Cape Verde based on the request of the Donald Trump led United States government during a stop over on his way to Iran over allegations of money laundering.

Venezuelan government had however faulted the move with claims that the businessman is its special envoy on a humanitarian mission.

On July 5, activists in Boston
took to the streets to demand the release of Saab.

The protest took place during the visit of Cape Verde’s Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, to two US communities with large residents of Cape Verde origin – Boston and Brockton. 

The Prime Minister was greeted upon his arrival to Boston City Hall and Santana Restaurant in Brockton with residents chanting and raising placards, demanding that Cape Verde respect the fundamental human rights of Saab and put an end to his planned extradition to the US.

Dozens of community members and activists from the ANSWER coalition, the Círculo Bolivariano, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Boston School Bus Drivers USW local 875, and the International Action Center attended the events and protested his arrival.

The protesters were seen carrying placards with slogans like “End the U.S. economic war on Venezuela Free Alex Saab,” “PM Correia Don’t Extradite Alex Saab,” and “Venezuela has a right to feed the people.

The Venezuelan government claimed that before his arrest, Saab had been on a mission to get food and medical supplies in Iran, stopping over in Cape Verde where he was arrested by security operatives.

The failure of Cape Verdean authorities to obey the ruling of the ECOWAS court by extraditing Saab to the US is not the first contempt for court order by the authorities since his detention last year. 

Saab was denied access to any member of his defense team despite three court rulings granting him the right to do so.