ABBY MARTIN FILES LAWSUIT CHALLENGING ANTI-BOYCOTT LAW

After being blocked from speaking at the University of Georgia because she refused to sign an agreement that would have prevented her from supporting boycott action against Israel, Abby Martin has filed a lawsuit challenging that ban.

LAST MONTH we reported that Abby Martin of The Empire Files had been prevented from delivering a speech at the University of Georgia because she refused to sign a contractual pledge 'to not boycott Israel'. 

The event was subsequently cancelled after other speakers declined to participate, in solidarity with Abby.

Since 2014 28 US states have adopted anti-boycott laws, five of them the result of a direct executive order signed by the state governor.

Abby has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging Georgia's anti-boycott law. She is being assisted in her legal challenge by two renowned civil rights organizations, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF).

In a statement, CAIR-Georgia Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:

'By canceling a journalist's speaking engagement on a college campus because she refused to pledge support for a foreign government, the State of Georgia has blatantly violated the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech.'