Howard Gutman

USA Ambassador

Regentlaan 25-27

1000 Brussel

                                                                                                21 January 2012

 Cc to :Herman Van Rompuy, President  of the European Council

          Martin Schulz , President of the European Parliament

          Barbara Lochbihler , Chair of the subcommittee on Human Rights

Open letter:

Dear Mr. Ambassador ,

We are a group of concerned citizens interested in the history and contemporary circumstances of Native Americans.

Thus we turn to you to ask you to urge President Obama to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier.

Need we go through all the arguments pleading for Mr. Peltier’s liberation: the fabricated evidence and ballistic impossibility that Peltier shot the FBI agents.

PEN America has defended him  and Amnesty International has been monitoring the case.

The European Parliament and the Belgian Parliament ( resp. 15 Dec.1994 / 11Febr. 1999 -13 March 1997 / 29 June 2000) , have voted resolutions in favor of his liberation.

There are also humanitarian grounds to liberate Mr. Peltier: his health is failing, he is incarcerated in Florida far from his family who can’t afford to visit him. He hasn’t seen all of his grandchildren.

We think you know the file so that we don’t  have to go through all reasons why on February 4^th, people world wide show their support in one way or another for the liberation of Leonard Peltier.

The United States and Europe indeed have a shared history, also in the treatment of Native Americans.

We appreciate that you take the time to transmit our heartfelt plea to free Leonard Peltier to President Obama,

Respectfully yours,

NAIS

Native American Information Site

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