Leonard Peltier given award as longest-serving ‘political prisoner’ in US

The Mario Benedetti Foundation gave out its first international human rights prize earlier this week.

APTN National News
The Mario Benedetti Foundation gave out its first international human rights prize earlier this week.

The foundation advocates for human rights and cultural causes.

This year, the award was given to Native American activist Leonard Peltier.

Peltier was convicted for the murder of two FBI agents in 1977.

It came after a shootout at the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota.

The human rights group has called Peltier the longest-serving political prisoner in the Americas.

Peltier, who turns 67 later this month, has spent more than half his life behind bars.

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