Amnesty International is calling Likhts’amisyu Clan Wing Chief Dsta’hyl (Adam Gangon) a prisoner of conscience.
On July 3rd, Gangon was sentenced to 60 days of house arrest after being found guilty of criminal contempt.
“The Canadian state has unjustly criminalized and confined Chief Dsta’hyl for defending the land and rights of the Wet’suwet’en people,” said Amnesty International Americas Director Ana Piquer.
According to a post on the international organization’s website, a prisoner of conscience is, “…any person imprisoned or otherwise physically restricted, solely because of their political, religious or other conscientiously held beliefs, their ethnic origin, sex, colour, language, national or social origin, socio-economic status, birth, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or other status, and who has not used violence or advocated violence or hatred in the circumstances leading to their detention.”
In 2021, Gangon was arrested for breaching a court order not to impede construction of the Coastal Gas Link pipeline.
“With the utmost respect for Chief Dsta’hyl’s critical work to protect Wet’suwet’en land, rights and the environment we all depend on, Amnesty International demands his immediate and unconditional release and urges Canada to stop the criminalization of Wet’suwet’en and other Indigenous defenders during a global climate emergency,” said Piquer.
Gangon is the first person the organization has called a prisoner of conscience in Canada.
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