Green Party Member Linked to Al-Qaeda Supporter in Court Documents
· World · BBC News, The Independent
Lubna Speitan, a British-Palestinian artist and Green Party member who proposed the motion declaring Zionism as racism, was named in 2015 US court documents as a 'close friend' of Minh Quang Pham, a jailed al-Qaeda supporter. Speitan had offered to testify as a defence witness in Pham's trial, where he pleaded guilty to supporting al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. The court documents stated her testimony would be 'critical' regarding Pham's mental state and crucial for establishing a mental health defence. Speitan later wrote a 2016 letter to the judge describing Pham as 'one of the kindest, honest, most sincere' people she had known. The Green Party confirmed Speitan holds no official positions and said it takes all allegations seriously. The motion she proposed, which passed to become party policy, calls for a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine.
Why it matters
This revelation raises concerns about the vetting of individuals influencing party policy within the Green Party, particularly regarding links to individuals convicted of terrorism-related offences. It may affect public trust in the party's judgment and its policy positions on Israel and Palestine.
Read the original report — BBC News
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