A Toronto activist group called for the US to release the Iranian regime proxy group commander who allegedly helped orchestrate attacks on Jewish, Israeli, and dissident sites and individuals across Europe and North America in the name of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI), in a Thursday statement.
Al-Ahrar Palestinian Prisoner Support called for the immediate release of Kataib Hezbollah commander Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, who had been extradited and charged by the US Department of Justice on May 15 for various terrorism offenses related to 18 attacks.
The Canada-based organization called on activists and organizations to act against the "violent move" by the US, rejecting its criminalization and describing its attacks as legitimate wartime actions.
"Mohammad Al-Saadi deserves widespread and unconditional support for his role in struggling against imperialism, whatever that may have looked like - from having a relationship with martyr leader [IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem] Soleimani to being yet another criminalized Iranian-Arab Muslim man to potentially even being a member of the Resistance to simply stating that the US is committing war crimes against his people while in court - these are all experiences worthy of uplifting and sharing."
The group condemned Turkey for allegedly arresting Al-Saadi before extraditing him, asserting that the country's support for campaigns against Israel was limited to "empty statements."
War brought to the US, expansion of 'global intifada'
Al-Ahrar, which also has a New York and New Jersey branch, asserted that Al-Saadi had brought the war within the borders of the US, comparing him to Washington DC Capital Jewish Museum shooter Elias Rodriguez. Al-Ahrar signed the May Tariq El-Tahrir Youth & Student Network petition praising and calling for the release of the murderer of two Israeli embassy staff.
Al-Saadi was also compared to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and Palestine Action vandals in the UK.
"All of these prisoners, many of whom are Palestinian and Arab, facing racist criminalization for participating in the struggle to liberate their homeland, are at the forefront of the movement against state repression," said Al Ahrar. "Al-Saadi is part and parcel of this movement and international campaign - join us in calling for his liberation!"
The group also affirmed in the statement that it was part of Masar Badil Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path, which organizationally overlaps with Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. Samidoun is proscribed as a terrorist entity for its links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Al-Saadi pleaded not guilty, 'we are in a war situation'
The Al Ahrar support of the alleged HAYI mastermind came as Canada and 21 other states condemned Islamic Regime and HAYI attacks in their territories, including a March shooting against the US Toronto consulate. Al-Ahrar defended the shooting on Thursday, saying the consulate represented not only "hundreds of years of genocidal occupation and colonial conquest, but also the infrastructure that continues to facilitate this globally."
Al-Saadi pleaded not guilty last Monday to the criminal charges against him, according to Reuters, arguing "we are in a war situation."
Charges against him included conspiring to provide material support to Kataib Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), conspiring to and providing material support for acts of terrorism, attempted acts of transnational terrorism, conspiring to bomb a public site, property destruction by means of fire or explosives, and terrorism.