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Comedian Dick Gregory Launches Hunger Fast for Lynne Stewart

HeadlineApr 08, 2013

The family of the jailed civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart is calling for her release to receive urgent medical attention. Stewart was found guilty in 2005 of distributing press releases on behalf of her jailed client, Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, also known as the “Blind Sheikh.” In 2010, she was re-sentenced to 10 years in prison — nearly five times her original sentence of 28 months. Stewart has breast cancer which has reportedly spread to other parts of her body, including her lungs. In a statement, the comedian and activist Dick Gregory announced a liquid-only hunger fast to demand Stewart’s immediate release. Gregory said: “The prosecution and imprisonment of Lynne Stewart is an ominous threat to the freedom, rights and dignity of each and every American. It is the agenda of a police state.”

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