Leonard Peltier is not granted parole. The American indigenous activist has spent most of his life in prison since he was convicted of shooting two FBI agents in 1975.
The decision will be appealed, announces Peltier's lawyer Kevin Sharp, who claims that Peltier is wrongly convicted and that the 79-year-old's health is deteriorating.
The decision is a "missed opportunity for the USA to finally acknowledge the FBI's wrongdoing" and to send a message to the indigenous people in the USA about "the effects of the federal government's actions and policies in the 1970s", says Sharp in a statement.
Peltier was one of the leaders of the American Indian Movement (AIM), an organization that fought for indigenous people's rights.
Peltier was convicted in 1977, despite his denial, to double life imprisonment for the murder of two FBI agents during unrest in an Indian reservation in South Dakota in 1975.
For nearly half a century, pressure groups – largely consisting of people from indigenous populations – have stood up for Peltier and demanded his release.
His case gained international attention 30 years ago when the rock band Rage Against the Machine took a stand for Peltier in the video for the song "Freedom". The video ends with the words "Justice has not been served".
Even Amnesty International joins those who believe that he did not receive a fair trial.
The next time parole can become possible is in 2026.
