Daily Archives: January 5, 2022

The One Free Press Coalition Publishes Its January 2022 "10 Most Urgent" List

The January 2022 10 Most Urgent List Highlights Dire State of Press Freedom in China

NEW YORK January 4, 2022 Hong Kong media entrepreneur and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, who is currently serving a 20-month prison sentence while awaiting trial on national security and fraud charges,tops the January rankingof the One Free Press Coalitions 10 Most Urgent list ofpress freedom cases. The 10 Most Urgent list, issued this week by a united group of pre-eminent editors and publishers, spotlights journalists whose press freedoms are being suppressed or whose cases are seeking justice.

Ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, set to take place in Beijing, China, this months list places a spotlight on the dire state of press freedom in China. Throughout 2021, China continued its dangerous record of imprisoning and detaining journalists without consequence, as well as weaponizing surveillance andphysically threateningjournalists in an attempt to censor them. According toCPJs 2021 census, China remains the worlds worst jailer of journalists for the third year in a row, with 50 currently behind bars.

Last year also marked a new concerning trend for the country, with the list including journalists held in Hong Kong for the first time since CPJ started collecting data in 1992.

Published Monday atwww.onefreepresscoalition.comand by all Coalition members, the 35th10 Most Urgent list includes the following journalists, ranked in order of urgency:

1.Jimmy Lai Chee-ying

Hong Kong media entrepreneur and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai Chee-ying is serving a 20-month prison sentence, while also awaiting trial on national security and fraud charges, facing a potential life sentence. Lai founded Next Digital Limited, a media company that published the pro-democracy newspaperApple DailyandNext Magazine, both forced to close in 2021 due to pressure and ongoing threats from authorities.

2.Zhang Zhan

It has been over one year since the independent journalist was sentenced to four years in prison for picking quarrels and provoking trouble after publishing videos critical of the governments Covid-19 response. She has been on an ongoing hunger strike behind bars and is now in critically ill health.

3.Ilham Tohti

Uighur writer, blogger, and scholar Ilham Tohti is serving a life sentence on charges of separatism. He is the founder of the Uighur news website Uighurbiz, which was published in Chinese and Uighur, and focused onUighur rights andsocial issues and has been denied freedom since 2014.

4.Huang Qi

Huang Qi, publisher of the human rights news website 64 Tianwang, is serving a 12-year sentence on accusations of deliberately leaking state secrets and illegally providing state secrets to foreign countries. He is critically ill and has been denied medical treatment, as well as denied visits and communication with his mother, who is dying of cancer.

5.Wan Yiu-sing

Wan Yiu-sing, an internet radio host and commentator who covers political issues in mainland China and Hong Kong for the independent internet radio channel D100, was arrested by Hong Kong police in February. Wans arrest came amid authorities crackdown on Hong Kongs pro-democracy movement. He is being held in detention while on trial for alleged sedition and money laundering, andwas hospitalized last February due to undisclosed health issues.

6.Sophia Huang Xueqin

Chinese freelance journalist Sophia Huang Xueqin disappeared on September 19, along with labor activist Wang Jianbing, one day before she was scheduled to board a plane to the United Kingdom to study abroad. On September 27, it was reported that both had been detained for allegedly inciting subversion of state power and are being held under residential surveillance at a designated location, a form of extrajudicial detention.

7.Haze Fan

Fan is a reporter and producer covering breaking business news in China forBloomberg News, and despite no charges being brought against her, she continues to be held in pretrial detention for allegedly endangering national security.

8.Zhou Weilin

Areporter for Chinese-language human rights news website Weiquanwang, Zhou has published news and commentary on social media about labor issues and disability rights. Zhou is currently serving a sentence of three years and six months on charges of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, and he plans to appeal.

9.Gulmire Imin

Uighur journalist Gulmire Imin is serving a 19-year, 8-month prison sentence on charges of separatism, leaking state secrets and organizing an illegal demonstration. In 2009, police arrested Imin, who wrote articles critical of the government that year, and she was one of several administrators of Uighur-language web forums who were arrested after the 2009 riots in Urumqi, in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

10.Gulchehra Hoja

After joining Radio Free Asia in the U.S.in 2001,journalist Gulchehra Hoja was sent a red notice from China, banning her from returning home. Today, members of her family have been deliberately targeted with constant government surveillance and harassment and have endured numerous detentions in retaliation to her journalism and her work at Radio Free Europe, according to Gulchehra and IWMF. Following Gulchehras interviews with escapees, prison guards and other officials,in May 2019she testified in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the dangers of reporting on human rights.

The One Free Press Coalition is comprised of 32 prominent international members including:AgenciaEfe; Al Jazeera Media Network,AmricaEconoma; The Associated Press; Bloomberg News; The Boston Globe; Corriere Della Sera; De Standaard; Deutsche Welle; Estado; EURACTIV; The Financial Times; Forbes; Fortune; HuffPost; India Today; Insider Inc.; Le Temps; Middle East Broadcasting Networks; Office of Cuba Broadcasting; Quartz; Radio Free Asia; Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty; Republik; Reuters; The Straits Times; Sddeutsche Zeitung; TIME; TV Azteca; Voice of America; The Washington Post;andYahoo News.

One Free Press Coalition partners with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Womens Media Foundation (IWMF) to identify the most-urgent cases for the list, which is updated and published on the first business day of every month.

The mission of the Coalition is to use the collective voices of its members which reach more than 1 billion people worldwide to stand up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth. News organizations throughout the world can join the Coalition by emailinginfo@onefreepresscoalition.com.

Members of the public are also encouraged to join the conversation using the hashtag #OneFreePress and following developments on Twitter @OneFreePress.

One Free Press Coalition

The One Free Press Coalition every month spotlights the 10 Most Urgent journalists who press freedoms are under threat worldwide. The Coalition uses the collective voices of participating news organizations to spotlight brave journalists whose voices are being silenced or have been silenced by standing up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth. To see the 10 Most Urgent list every month and to view a complete list of participating news organizations and supporting partners, please visitonefreepresscoalition.comor @OneFreePress on Twitter.

Contacts:

One Free Press Coalition PR:pr@onefreepresscoalition.com

Committee to Protect Journalists: Bebe Santa-Wood,press@cpj.com

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Hong Kong Media Entrepreneur Jimmy Lai Chee-Ying Tops January Ranking Of The One Free Press Coalitions 10 Most Urgent Press Freedom Cases - Forbes

HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) High Point Mayor Jay Wagner did not mince words in his latest COVID-19 warning: Many in Guilford County are calling for renewed mandates to combat the current surge. I do not believe in limiting your freedom with mandates, but responsibility is the price of freedom.

The mayor is calling on the community to take additional safety precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19s omicron variant.

The City of High Point and Guilford County have seen a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations due to the new Omicron variant, Wagner said. Although evidence shows that infections from Omicron are generally less severe than the Delta variant, the greatly increased numbers of Omicron cases are putting unsustainable stress on our health care systems.Increased infection rates are also putting added stress on our first responders and public safety officers.

The mayor cites local health officials who he says predict that the latest wave of omicron cases could peak between Jan. 9 and 14

As we begin our third year fighting COVID, I recognize that many of you are weary of the fight, but now is the time to redouble our efforts in protecting ourselves, our loved ones and our community, Wagner said.

Wagner is specifically calling for the community to get vaccinated or boosted, limit large indoor gatherings, work from home if possible, wear a surgical KN-95 or N-95 mask when necessary, wash hands or use hand sanitizer often and physically distance from others whenever possible.

The rest is here:

Responsibility is the price of freedom; High Point mayor calls for community to take greater COVID-19 precautions as some call for renewed mandates -...

Photo: Public Domain

Jim Jordan

A crowd rose to its feet in applause at a forum last month when a man questioned GOP Congressman Jim Jordan about what he would do about the untrue assertion that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump.

Jordan was speaking at a December event hosted by the Lima Community for Medical Freedom and took questions from the crowd afterward. A man who did not share his name and identified himself as a tradesman and a Jordan voter said he wanted to ask about the elephant in the room that he hears about everyday that no politician wants to talk about.

Jordan, in his speech, had said restrictive voting laws passed in Georgia last yearand similar efforts in other states would alleviate the threat of election fraud in 2024. The man in the crowd said the issue couldnt wait.

Everybody I talk to is not satisfied with 2024, he said. Everyone I talk to thinks our election was stolen.

The crowd started to clap and rise in applause toward Jordan, who watched with a smile. He nodded along as the man said he and others saw a couple of weeks worth of evidence of fraud in swing states, according to footage of the event posted on social media.

My understanding: If someone gets caught robbing a bank, they dont get to keep the money, and if somebody stole the election, they should not be able to keep it, the man said to the congressman.

Theres no evidence of widespread election fraud. Rare, isolated incidents occur, but an Associated Press review of every potential case of voter fraud in six battleground statesdisputed by Trump amounted to fewer than 475, far short of enough mass to tip an election. Numerous audits havent detected any widespread fraud, and Trumps own attorney generaland election security directorhave said theres no reason to believe the election was stolen.

Regardless, recent polling shows Republicans share a lingering belief that the election was stolen. An ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday found 71% of Republicans believe Trump won the election. A CBS News/YouGov poll, also released Sunday, found 12% of Americans believe Trump should fight to be made president right now.

When Jordan responded to the question, he neither confirmed nor denied the mans claim of election fraud. Instead, he laid out a three-point outlook for 2024. For one, he said, people are watching. For two, he cited Georgias new law, specifically a provision requiring voters to show state-issued identification to cast an absentee ballot (current law allows them to do so with just a signature). Thirdly, Jordan said Republicans should file lawsuits as soon as you see them start to play games a reference to states expanding use of drop boxes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also called on Congress to investigate what happened in 2020.

I havent said anything other than, I want to check it out, he said. Because there are lots of Americans, including Democrats, who have big concerns about what happened in the election, and thats why I said, lets figure it out.

Jordan has repeatedly used his official powers and media profile to amplify Trumps election lies. Hours after the Jan. 6 insurrection, heand 146 other GOP congressmenvoted to overturn the results in Arizona and Pennsylvania key battleground states. He spoke at a stop the steal rallyin Pennsylvania after the election and issued official letterscalling for investigations and alleging the existence of irregularities and improprieties and election errors and misconduct.

Congressional investigators, meanwhile, recently released text messages Jordan sent to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadowsjust before the Jan. 6 insurrection. At the hearing, U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., read a part of a text message he said an unspecified lawmaker sent to Meadows on Jan. 5. Jordans officeconfirmed to CNN that he sent the text message to Meadows, forwarding on legal advice that had been sent to him.

On January 6, 2021, Vice President Mike Pence, as President of the Senate, should call out all electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all in accordance with guidance from founding father Alexander Hamilton and judicial precedence, the full text Jordan reportedly sent to Meadows, obtained by CNN, states.

No legislative act, wrote Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 78, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid. The court in Hubbard v. Lowe reinforced this truth: That an unconstitutional statute is not a law at all is a proposition no longer open to discussion. 226 F. 135, 137 (SDNY 1915), appeal dismissed, 242 U.S. 654 (1916). Following this rationale, an unconstitutionally appointed elector, like an unconstitutionally enacted statute, is no elector at all.

Jordans spokesman did not respond to emails regarding the CNN report or the standing ovation.

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Jim Jordan's Election Lies Get Standing Ovation at Ohio Medical Freedom Event - Cincinnati CityBeat

In a 12 June 2021 judgment,(1) the high court ruled on whether the defendant company had breached its duty to negotiate the holiday schedule and, consequently, had violated the unions' right to freedom of association.

The case arose after a company agreed with the trade unions before the Interconfederal Mediation and Arbitration Service (SIMA) on 8 June 2020 that the holiday schedule for 2021 would be established before 31 December 2020.

However, without any prior negotiation with the workers' legal representatives, the company informed its employees on 12 March 2021 of the dates in which paid leave would have to be taken in 2021.

As a result, the unions filed many collective dispute claims, wherein they requested the annulment of the 2021 holiday notice that had been sent by the company to the workforce.

The unions believed that paid leave must be negotiated with the workers' legal representatives and that, since these proceedings had not taken place contrary to what had been agreed before the SIMA, the right to freedom of association had been infringed, specifically regarding the possibility of collective negotiation.

The court stated that the commitment that had been made by the parties before the SIMA invited both parties to negotiate the holiday schedule before 31 December 2020. In this sense, the court considered that the commitment made concerned both parties and that, since there is no evidence of the unions proposing any further negotiations, both the company and the unions were to blame for not having established a holiday schedule for 2021.

In addition, the high court stated that:

negotiating does not necessarily require an agreement be reached, but rather that consultations are established between the parties in good faith with the objective of achieving a solution to any given dispute.

Therefore, the court concluded that the holiday schedule set by the company was valid, and that there had not been an infringement of the fundamental right to freedom of association as regards the possibility of collective negotiation. Therefore, the trade unions should not receive compensation.

On this basis, the high court dismissed the claims brought by the unions and acquitted the company of the claims brought against it.

For further information on this topic please contact Elena Esparza or Mara Jos Ramosat CMS Albiana & Suarez de Lezo by telephone (+34 91 451 9300) or email ([emailprotected] and [emailprotected]). The CMS Albiana & Suarez de Lezo website can be accessed at http://www.cms.law.

Endnotes

(1) ES:AN:2021:2762.

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Court rules on right to freedom of association - Lexology

Much ink has been spilled recently about the alleged failure of universities to defend academic freedom against identity politics gone mad. The Cloutier Commission has recommended legislation, and many are arguing that only with a law can universities withstand the scourge that is wreaking havoc on Qubec campuses.

At the risk of disappointing those who want to bring universities to heel (in violation of the academic independence that the Cloutier Commission embraced as a fundamental principle), we would argue that the reality is more complex. University campuses are not on fire and legislation would not be a panacea.

From February to May 2021, Universit de Montral conducted a broad consultation and collective reflection on freedom of expression in the context of the university. At the conclusion of this process, the University Assembly unanimously adopted a statement of principles and specific recommendations on how to reaffirm our communitys commitment to academic freedom as a fundamental value, communicate it and act on it. Among other things, the statement of principles holds that no word, concept, image or work can be categorically excluded from debate and critical examination in the course of university teaching and research. In short, we have been doing our job on this issue.

What emerged from our discussions is that there are real differences of opinion on academic freedom but the debate should not be overdramatized and academic freedom should not be conceived from only one side.

First of all, the numbers must be put in perspective. One figure that has been cited repeatedly since the Cloutier Commissions survey was released is that 60 per cent of faculty say they practice self-censorship in the classroom. It would be more accurate to report that 60 per cent of the 1,079 respondents to the survey (which was sent to 33,516 faculty members) said so. Given the low response rate of 3.2 per cent, the results must be interpreted with caution.

Most importantly, our consultation at Universit de Montral pointed to a wide range of situations in which the question of academic freedom arises in many shadings, which are missing from the Cloutier report. To begin with, freedom of expression at a university is not a one-way street. Teachers (lecturers, teaching assistants, tenured professors) came forward to relate difficult experiences and being challenged in the classroom. At the same time, students spoke of being attacked, of feeling distress in the classroom and relative relief when they could attend their courses online. On both sides, people lamented the fact that concrete issues of racism and sexism are not treated as conscientiously as often-abstractly posed questions of academic freedom, particularly the freedom of faculty members.

Should the classroom be a safe space? The expression seems to raise hackles. So lets call it a space of trust, under the responsibility and authority of the teacher, and of academic or administrative officials when appropriate. The process of developing a critical relationship to knowledge cannot leave unasked the question of who can speak in the classroom. Our consultations showed that ways to dial down or resolve crises were most often found locally, on the ground, taking into account the power relationships and opposed interests in play.

And academic freedom isnt just about what happens in the classroom the sole focus of the Cloutier report and the hot-button of media coverage. It is something that is played out in university departments, in peer relationships (between students, between teachers), in pressures from external groups on university research and its dissemination, in comments on social networks, in the intellectual give-and-take of campus life, in researchers media appearances and scientific publications. The issues are at once broader and less contentious than the way they are being depicted today.

The limits of academic freedom are indeed a matter of debate at Universit de Montral, as at other Qubec universities. Will a law change this? No. Will it enable university administrations to better support the people facing these challenges? No. At the end of the day, that is the important question: how can we help everyone, teachers and students, express themselves without censorship while maintaining a genuine dialogue between people who disagree? We believe the answer lies much more in the ethical and pedagogical realm than in the legal arena. On the other hand, would a law undermine the principle of university independence by imposing restrictions that strike at the very heart of academic life? It certainly would.

Daniel Jutras is Professor of Law and Rector of Universit de Montral; Valrie Amiraux is Professor of Sociology and Vice-Rector, Community and International Partnerships, Universit de Montral; and Jean-Franois Gaudreault-Desbiens is Professor of Law and Vice-Rector, Strategic Planning and Communication, Universit de Montral

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Opinion: When it comes to academic freedom, universities haven't been asleep at the switch - CTV News Montreal

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said that citizens should exercise freedom of expression with the decency of language and discipline of words, as he virtually addressed a gathering at the Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishvavidyalay in Maharashtras Wardha district.

The vice president unveiled the statue of B R Ambedkar and inaugurated Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhavan and Chandrashekhar Azad hostel located in the varsity premises.

He also said that it is expected from civilised society that its language is gentle, cultured and creative.

Let us exercise our freedom of expression with the decency of language and discipline of words. Our writings should be good for society. It is expected from civilised society that its language is gentle, cultured and creative, Naidu said.

Sanskars and literary writings of a university should inculcate civilised conversation, not conflict, he said.

According to Naidu one should use freedom of expression keeping the dignity of language.

After a long debate, the Constituent Assembly accepted Hindi as the official language and a constitutional status was accorded to other Indian languages in the Eighth Schedule, Naidu said.

We are fortunate to have linguistic diversity in our country. Our linguistic diversity is our strength, as our languages symbolise our cultural unity, he said, adding that every Indian language has a glorious history and rich literature.

The vice president said that for Mahatma Gandhi, the question of language was a question of national unity. He further explained that even after insisting on Hindi, the Mahatma understood the sensitivity of every citizen towards his mother tongue and believed that no language should be imposed on anyone.

For Mahatma, the question of language was very important for the unity of the nation. He was of the view that without rashtrabhasha (national language), the country is deaf. All Indian languages have a proud history and rich literature. The diversity in our languages is our strength, he said.

The New Education Policy 2020 follows the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. It also proposes the use of mother tongue in primary and middle school level, Naidu said.

He further said that literature of other Indian languages should also be made available online with the Hindi translation, and suggested that the language departments of universities can play an important role in this regard.

The Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishvavidyalay in Wardha teaches foreign languages such as French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese etc. in Hindi medium.

Expressing happiness over this, Naidu called for extending this facility for other Indian languages too, so that Hindi students can also learn other Indian languages.

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Exercise freedom of expression with decency of language, discipline of words: V-P Venkaiah Naidu - The Indian Express

AEW star Eddie Kingston recently spoke with Anthony Sulla-Heffinger of Yahoo Sports to promote Wednesdays AEW Dynamite on TBS premiere. Below are a few highlights from the interview:

AEW letting Kingston be himself:

If Im not into it or I cant be myself, its not going to work. AEW knew what they were getting when they signed me and they have gone with it. Ive been lucky and Ive been blessed to be at a place that lets me be myself. Everyone wants to say character, but the Eddie Kingston you see is just me at 17 turned up a thousand notches.

Having the freedom to work off-script when cutting promos in AEW, his recent program with CM Punk being the perfect example of how Kingstons brash charisma can flip an audience on its head:

I feel like if I have to discuss it with you, were not going to have a good time. I like to react to things, moments, people and I like whoever is working with me to do the same. If were not having a good time [in the ring], then the most important people, the fans, arent going to be entertained. Lets try and bring a little bit of reality back to pro wrestling.

Stay tuned for more.

Follow Marc on Twitter at @this_is_marc. Send any news, tips or corrections to us by clicking here.

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Eddie Kingston on AEW Letting Him Be Himself, Having the Freedom to Work Off-Script In Promos - Wrestling Headlines

A nationwide Cycling and Walking challenge called Freedom 2 Walk and Cycle is being organised by the union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affair. In Guwahati the challenge is being managed by Guwahati Smart City Limited with the support of Pedal for a Change.The challenge began January 1, and will run till January 26, 2022.

It is free virtual challenge where participants can take part from anywhere, anytime, for any number of days during the campaign and for any distance as per their convenience. The process is very simple and participants need to register online and use fitness apps to keeptrack of their cycling or walking activities.

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The Cyclist and Walker from Guwahati who covers the total highest distance will be givenspecial recognition by Guwahati Smart City Limited at a function. All participants will get a Certificate on completion.

The process is very simple and is explained in the steps below

Visit http://www.allforsport.in or download the app on your mobile to create your ID.

Choose Freedom2Walk Campaign Guwahati or Freedom2Cycle Campaign Guwahati or Both under the Challenge section in the website/app.

Connect your Strava / Fitbit / Googlefit (any one) to the (These are Fitness tracking Apps that you have to download on your phone to use if not used earlier)

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Use the above apps to keep track of your Walking and Cycling or both.

Interested people are requested to follow the Facebook pages of Guwahati smart City Limited or Pedal for a Change for regular updates about the Challenge.

The intention of this challenge is to bring long term behavioural change in the citizens by developing a habit of walking and cycling. This is a great opportunity for the people of Guwahati to show their love for cycling and walking and at the same time show their numbers and compete with people from more than 75 Indian cities which have registered for the challenge.

This can help to understand how many people are actively involved in such activities which in turn can help to initiate measures for their benefit.

Also read: 2,135 Omicron cases detected across India; 58,097 new COVID-19 cases

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Freedom 2 Walk and Cycle: Another challenge for active Guwahatians - EastMojo

In a residential pocket of Bostons Grove Hall neighborhood where Roxbury meets Dorchester, an old brick building sits on a fenced-in lot, its wooden steps buckled and rotted, peeling paint visible through rusted metal window frames.

The longtime home of Freedom House now a decaying, neglected structure on Crawford Street played a critical role in the local civil rights movement, serving as a meeting place for advocates for equality and the neighboring community starting in the 1950s.

Tori Bedford / GBH News

One mile away from the house where Malcolm X spent part of his youth, Freedom House founders Otto and Muriel Snowden held court with Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders, local elected officials, stakeholders in the fight against racism in Boston and President John F. Kennedy. Decades before a 1974 federal court order, social workers at the Freedom House in Roxbury started a movement of freedom schools and protests to counter segregation and racism in Boston public schools.

Now slated for demolition, the building was constructed in 1900 and is a civil rights-era time capsule the city seems to have forgotten though a recent application to delay its destruction raises the question: Is it too late to save the Freedom House?

Photograph contributed to Northeastern University by Freedom House

Katrina Shaw, Freedom House's executive director, says the nonprofit spent a decade trying to secure funding for renovations to save the old building.

But people weren't giving. People didn't want to give, she told GBH News. People love the idea of Freedom House and what it meant to the city, but no one would really put their financial wherewithal behind it.

In 2010, the state awarded Freedom House a $1 million challenge grant to restore its former home and renovate a newer location across the street, a former public library branch where the organization currently operates. Then-chief executive Gail Snowden, the founders daughter, put out a call for help with fundraising to preserve the structure.

Our love for the building made us hold on to it for so long at a financial cost, Shaw said. If we were able to preserve it, we would. But when it starts to cannibalize your own ask to actually do the mission of Freedom House, then I think you have to make hard decisions, just like you would never choose your house over your child.

Last year, Snowden gave her blessing to Shaw and the current Freedom House managers to sell the building. The historic site was sold to a development company started by the late Dorchester native John Corcoran for $1.5 million, a sum that will go towards programs at the new location, where the foundation primarily focuses on academic, financial and social opportunities for college-bound students. Hoping to break ground in 2023, the developer plans to construct mixed-income housing and a memorial on the site to honor the work of the founders.

This decision was hard to make, and it wasnt made in haste, Shaw said. And if someone wanted to give Freedom House, like $20 million, I would restore it. I will do that tomorrow. I will do it five minutes from now. That had been our plea all along in terms of being able to raise money, but we couldn't.

Tori Bedford / GBH News

The former Freedom House building sits a few blocks away from dozens of historic landmarks, structures from the Revolutionary War and homes of English settlers and church deacons. Its one of a handful of landmarks from the civil rights era remaining in Boston and a symbol of the fight for equal rights that may soon disappear.

You know, it's interesting, no one has called me about it, Byron Rushing, president of the Roxbury Historical Society, told GBH News. We pretty much respond to people raising the issue. Can we save this building? What do we have to do to save this building? No one has asked me that question.

The current segregation in Boston and racial wealth gap leads to the neglect of landmarks in predominantly Black neighborhoods like the Freedom House, Rushing said.

People don't know that history, outside of Roxbury, and new Roxbury people don't know about the history, he said. If this building was on the Black Heritage Trail, we would get a lot more publicity about it.

Photograph contributed to Northeastern University by Freedom House

Christopher Martell, a UMass Boston professor who lives in Dorchester, teaches his students about Bostons educational history through a tour that begins at the old Freedom House, an important nerve center during the violent reaction to school desegregation.

It's particularly important because it tells a much longer story than just Boston busing, Martell told GBH News. Most of the students from the suburbs of Boston have no idea about its history. They don't even really know much about the civil rights struggle in Roxbury and Dorchester during the 50s and 60s.

Donated to Northeastern University Archives Dept. by James W. Fraser.

Last month, Martell wrote a letter to the Boston Landmarks Commission, arguing for the Freedom House to be preserved as a protected landmark.

Shortly after Martell's letter, the commission received an application to delay the demolition, citing both the significance of the Freedom House during the civil rights movement and the buildings use as a Hebrew Teachers College beginning in 1920.

The commission preliminarily deemed the Freedom House historically significant, according to a commission spokesperson. Once the city agency receives two alternatives to demolition, the applicants holds a public community meeting and the commission schedules a formal hearing.

A delay from the landmarks commission doesn't guarantee that demolition will be blocked, but it could shine a light on the issue, a development Martell hopes will help the city find another solution.

Tori Bedford / GBH News

The Landmarks Commission only has so much power, he said, but this is a place where advocacy is really important, because it would be harder for a developer to just take down the building if there was a collective movement to push back against that.

Shaw seems resigned about saying goodbye, knowing that the core mission will continue, no matter what building its in.

The spirit of Freedom House, the work of Freedom House, it's here and it's going on, Shaw said, gesturing out to the bustling office, where students took classes on laptops and served lunch to the Goldenaires of Freedom House, a program for seniors. Goldenaires Coordinator Jumaada Abdal-Khallaq Henry Smith, a Roxbury native who attended Goldenaires meetings with her mother in the old building, says shes sad to let go of the space where she spent so much of her childhood.

I am a victim of eminent domain, so I can't show my kids where I used to live because our house is not there anymore, Abdal-Khallaq Henry Smith told GBH News. I hate to see the loss of something that is historical because my mom was breathing in that air, and all those Goldenaires, you know. There's something about being able to hold on to something, for your childrens children to see it.

Photograph contributed to Northeastern University by Freedom House

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A last-minute plea attempts to save the Freedom House from demolition - wgbh.org

The Criminal Chamber of the National Court has denied a new request for the release of the former head of Intelligence and Counterintelligence of Chavismo, Hugo The chicken Carvajal, understanding that there is a risk that he will escape. In addition, the magistrates consider that if the delivery to the United States has not materialized, it is due to a clearly delaying and abusive maneuver, of requesting asylum again.

In an order, the magistrates of the Third Section, with the prosecutors report against modifying Carvajals prison situation, reiterated the arguments presented in previous resolutions denying freedom and emphasized that now The risk of flight is even greater that when those resolutions were issued, because he had been denied asylum or international protection, putting an end to the administrative process and without the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court having adopted precautionary measures.

In addition, the Court adds, a firm order has been issued considering the guarantees provided by the United States authorities sufficient as requested by the Plenary of the National Court and, they emphasize, if the delivery has not materialized, it is by a clearly delaying and abusive maneuver, to apply again for asylum .

The continuous obstacles to extradition denote an attempt to avoid international legal cooperation already resolved jurisdictionally and governmentally, which together with the undeniable fact that the defendant hid for a long time from this Hearing, determine a risk of flight that legitimates, as a measure necessary and proportional precautionary, unconditional imprisonment . The chicken Carvajal is currently in the Estremera prison.

US prosecutor dismissed

The US Attorney Emil Bove, which demanded from Spain the extradition of The chicken Carvajal, has been removed from office. This was communicated by the US Department of Justice to the now former co-chief of the Terrorism and International Drug Trafficking Unit of the Southern District of New York that investigates the Chavista military Carvajal and also the drug dictator Nicolas Maduro. Sources consulted by OKDIARIO have explained that this fact will delay the delivery of The chicken Carvajal, the military man who has revealed the corruption and illegal financing of Podemos who is investigating the National Court.

The Justice Department of the United States underlines in a document: The Government respectfully requests that your honor order the clerk of the court to terminate the appearance of the undersigned State attorney in this file. The undersigned in reference to the prosecutor Bove already will not be an employee of the State Attorneys Office from December 30, 2021. Respectfully sent .

Therefore, the same sources add, the extradition of the Chavista general has not been suspended solely for the asylum request as alleged by the National Court. There are other circumstances that have paralyzed the delivery, they add.

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The Court again denies the freedom of El Pollo Carvajal because the risk of flight is ... - Market Research Telecast