Native American activist released in FBI killings case after nearly 50 years

ISTANBUL

Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist convicted of killing two FBI agents in 1975, was released from a Florida prison Tuesday after former President Joe Biden commuted his life sentence to home confinement.

Peltier, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, has maintained his innocence throughout his nearly 50-year imprisonment, becoming a symbol of systemic injustice for Native Americans. He will serve the remainder of his sentence in the state of North Dakota.

The decision, made in the final hours of Biden’s presidency, has drawn sharp criticism from law enforcement officials, including former FBI Director Christopher Wray, who called Peltier “a remorseless killer.”

“Today I am finally free! They may have imprisoned me but they never took my spirit!” Peltier said in a statement released by the NDN Collective, an indigenous-led activist and advocacy organization. “Thank you to all my supporters throughout the world who fought for my freedom. I am finally going home.”

Peltier, a prominent figure in the American Indian Movement (AIM), was convicted in the 1975 shooting deaths on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. His case has long been a focal point of debates about Native American rights and judicial fairness.