Yesterday, our employer, @bklyndefender , issued celebratory statements marking the 62nd anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, the landmark Supreme Court case guaranteeing all people the right to a lawyer to defend them from assaults on their life and liberty by the government. Absent from Brooklyn Defender’s statements was any reference to the unambiguously political, unjust, and unconstitutional attacks on Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Kordia, two New Yorkers who were abducted, jailed, and revoked of their legal status by the United States for exercising their First Amendment right to advocate against the genocide of Palestinians. Despite our employer’s deafening silence, we, @bds.union.members.4palestine , will not abdicate our duty as public defenders. We condemn the actions of the U.S. Government and demand the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Kordia. We demand that Brooklyn Defender Services break its silence and complicity, so that it can fulfill its obligation to defend the rights and dignity of all people. #freemahmoudkhalil #freeleqaakordia #freepalestine
