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April 21, 2021

Standing Rock Activist Who Was Jailed After Refusing to Testify Before Grand Jury Is Released
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Standing Rock water protector Steve Martinez has been released after
more than 60 days behind bars for refusing to give testimony to a
federal grand jury. Martinez was summoned as a witness in the case of
Sophia Wilansky, a water protector whose arm was severely wounded during
a police crackdown on anti-pipeline protests in 2016. Prosecutors were
attempting to shift blame for Wilansky's injuries from law enforcement
to water protectors. The campaign to free Steve Martinez blasted the use
of grand juries as a "divisive and cruel tool of repression."


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