International Protests Demand Freedom for Oscar Lopez

Rallies took place across the Americas Saturday to protest the U.S. imprisonment of Puerto Rican liberation fighter Oscar Lopez.

Over 5000 people were expected to march in New York City to demand Lopez's release.

 

#Marcha por #FreeOscarLopez in #NYC @BarackObama #HappeningNow @Calle13Oficial #RT pic.twitter.com/DOU8jjqOpu

— Cintia Rodriguez (@enlightenedme13) May 30, 2015

 

The #march4oscarnyc is underway for one of the longest held political prisoners in the world. #FreeOscarLopez pic.twitter.com/cL0wQSbIUD

— Matt Peppe (@PeppeMatt) May 30, 2015

“A broad coalition of over 100 faith, community, labor and civic organizations and elected officials has come together to plan and support this unprecedented mobilization,” rally organizers stated.

Lopez was convicted in 1981 by a U.S. court on charges related to his activities in the Puerto Rican independence movement. Organizers of the New York rally described Lopez as “a 72-year-old decorated Vietnam veteran who begins his 34th year in prison on May 29th despite having never been charged with any violent crime. He has served 12 of those years in complete, total isolation.”

 

SF activists demand #FreeOscarLopez pic.twitter.com/uFNhhSOurq

— Terry Forman (@formanterry) May 30, 2015

Another rally is also planned in Caracas, Venezuela, where solidarity groups began marching before midday.

In Puerto Rico's capital San Juan, hundreds of activists turned out on Friday to demand Lopez's release, and Puerto Rico's independence from the United states.

“Oscar is a patriot who fights for independence, and that makes him an enemy of Yankee imperialism,” Puerto Rican political activist Rafael Cancel Miranda told RT.

“Just like me, I am also an enemy of Yankee imperialism, right? Oscar shouldn’t have spent even a single day in prison,” he said.

Lopez has become an icon and hero in Latin America and diaspora for his contributions to the independence struggle of Puerto Rico in the 1970s.

 

Caminata x Oscar | #Aguadilla llegan los caminantes por la excarcelación de #OscarLopezRivera #FreeOscarLopezRivera pic.twitter.com/URL800BbEW

— AbayardeRojo.Org (@AbayardeRojo) May 17, 2015

As a community organizer and leading voice for emancipation, Lopez worked to erect a Puerto Rican high school, cultural center, health and drug rehabilitation center. He further campaigned for bilingual education in public schools as well as the recruitment of Latina and Latino students, staff and faculty in universities and other public institutions.

Lopez’s 1981 conviction largely stemmed from his involvement in the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FARN), which fought to turn Puerto Rico into an independent communist state. Lopez was sentenced to 55 years in prison and has completed 12 of those years in solitary confinement.

RELATED: Meet Oscar Lopez Rivera, Puerto Rican Independence Fighter