OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF THE CENTRAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE (COC) COMMUNIST PARTY MARXIST (CPM) KENYA 8 NOVEMBER 2026
The Central Organising Committee of the Communist Party Marxist (CPM) Kenya expresses its unwavering solidarity with Comrade James Fergie Chambers, who has been imprisoned in Spain since 10 July 2026 and now faces the threat of extradition to the United States under the Trump administration.
We demand his immediate release, the rejection of the American extradition request, and the granting of political asylum in Spain, together with all necessary protection against political persecution. We address ourselves directly to the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and the Spanish Government: Do not extradite Comrade Fergie Chambers to the United States. Grant him political asylum. End his imprisonment and uphold the principles of justice, human rights and international solidarity.
This is not simply a legal question concerning one individual. It is a political question with international consequences. It concerns the right of people everywhere to oppose imperialist aggression, defend the Palestinian people and provide humanitarian assistance to populations subjected to war, occupation and collective punishment.
A CAMPAIGN AGAINST SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINE
Comrade Fergie Chambers has become a target of the Trump administration because of his political convictions, his outspoken solidarity with Palestine and his substantial humanitarian contributions to people affected by the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
His humanitarian record includes support for legitimate humanitarian projects in Gaza and beyond. His imprisonment must be understood within the wider offensive by the United States against those who refuse to remain silent in the face of the oppression of the Palestinian people. The Trump administration has intensified its attacks on international institutions, human rights defenders, organisations and individuals who challenge the policies of Washington and its imperialist allies.
The attempt to extradite Fergie is part of this political climate of intimidation. It sends a threatening message to every individual, organisation and movement that dares to extend material, political or humanitarian solidarity to Palestine.
The formal offences cited in the extradition proceedings include international money laundering, riot and conspiracy to commit riot. Comrade Fergie denies these allegations. His defence maintains that the funds in question supported legitimate humanitarian projects in Gaza and beyond, and disputes the legal basis and proportionality of the charges.
We must be precise: humanitarian assistance to a people suffering under occupation cannot simply be transformed into criminality through political insinuation. The United States must not be allowed to turn solidarity with Palestine into evidence of criminal conduct.
The case has become even more disturbing following serious allegations by Fergie's legal team concerning the extradition documentation supplied by the United States. His lawyers have identified twelve substantial discrepancies in the Spanish translations, including the alleged transformation of the expression "direct action" into "direct violence", the insertion of references to three fires absent from the English original, and the translation of the activation of smoke canisters as their detonation.
These are not trivial linguistic differences. They concern the characterisation of events, the attribution of violence and the gravity of the allegations. The defence has argued that such alterations risk misleading the Spanish authorities and distorting the proceedings. These allegations demand immediate and independent scrutiny. No person should face extradition on the basis of disputed translations that may materially alter the meaning of the evidence.
There are also serious questions raised by the defence over the transfer of Fergie's mobile phone to United States authorities without his lawyers being given a proper opportunity to challenge the transfer or protect confidential information. These matters must be investigated, and the rights of the accused must be respected.
We are equally concerned that the proceedings could expose Fergie to a sentence of up to thirty years in the United States. The defence disputes the allegations and the legal basis for extradition, including the proportionality of the charges arising from the 2023 protests against Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer.
Comrade Fergie has also sought asylum in Spain, maintaining that he faces political persecution if returned to the United States. His application and the risks he has raised must be treated with the utmost seriousness. We demand that the Spanish Government grant him political asylum and provide the protection necessary to ensure that he is not surrendered to a government seeking to punish him for his political convictions and humanitarian work.
OUR DIRECT APPEAL TO PRESIDENT PEDRO SÁNCHEZ AND THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT
President Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish Government must now make a clear political and moral choice.
Spain cannot proclaim its commitment to Palestinian rights while allowing its territory and institutions to become instruments through which the Trump administration pursues those who support the Palestinian people.
Spain cannot speak of human rights, international law and the dignity of oppressed peoples while surrendering a human rights defender to a government seeking to punish his political convictions and humanitarian activities.
We recognise the voices within Spain that have already opposed this extradition. Progressive political forces, including Sumar, members of the Spanish solidarity movement, human rights advocates and international campaigners have called upon the Government to reject the American request. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders has also urged the Spanish Government to deny extradition, recognising the human rights dimensions of this case.
President Sánchez, history will judge the decision taken by your Government.
We therefore call upon you and the Spanish Government to:
Reject the extradition request from the United States and refuse to surrender Comrade Fergie Chambers to the Trump administration.
Secure his immediate release from detention and ensure that his liberty and rights are protected throughout the proceedings.
Grant Comrade Fergie Chambers political asylum in Spain and provide all necessary protection against political persecution, imprisonment or punishment for his solidarity with Palestine.
Ensure an independent examination of the disputed translations and investigate the allegations concerning the transfer of his mobile phone to United States authorities.
Protect the independence of Spanish institutions against political pressure and intimidation from Washington.
Uphold Spain's obligations under international human rights law, including the principle that no person should be surrendered where there are substantial grounds to fear political persecution or violations of fundamental rights.
The Spanish Government retains the ultimate responsibility for the extradition decision. It must exercise that responsibility in defence of justice and human dignity. It must not hide behind procedural explanations while the fate of a human being and the wider principle of international solidarity are at stake.
CPM KENYA HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE CAMPAIGN
The Communist Party Marxist Kenya has been at the forefront of the campaign demanding the immediate release of Comrade Fergie Chambers. Our position has been consistent and unequivocal. We stand with Fergie because we stand with the Palestinian people, with the oppressed and with all those who refuse to accept imperialist domination as the natural order of the world.
Our solidarity is not a passing expression of sympathy. It is a political commitment rooted in proletarian internationalism.
We have a responsibility to defend those who are persecuted for standing with oppressed peoples. We have a responsibility to oppose every attempt to intimidate the international solidarity movement. We have a responsibility to ensure that the struggle of the Palestinian people is not isolated, criminalised or silenced.
The imprisonment of Fergie must therefore concern every communist, every worker, every student, every progressive organisation and every defender of human dignity.
An attack on one person for supporting the Palestinian people is an attack on the right of all peoples to organise, speak and act in solidarity with those resisting oppression.
13 NOVEMBER: A GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION FOR FERGIE CHAMBERS
The extradition hearing scheduled before Spain's National Court on 13 November 2026 must become a moment of international mobilisation.
The Central Organising Committee of CPM Kenya calls upon communist and workers' parties, trade unions, student and youth organisations, progressive movements, humanitarian organisations, anti-imperialist forces and all defenders of democratic rights and Palestinian liberation to declare 13 NOVEMBER 2026 A GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION FOR THE RELEASE OF COMRADE FERGIE CHAMBERS.
We call for coordinated demonstrations, pickets and solidarity protests across the world, particularly outside Spanish embassies and consulates.
We call upon progressive organisations to issue public statements addressed directly to President Pedro Sánchez and the Spanish Government. We call upon trade unions, student movements and political organisations to mobilise their members, raise public awareness and amplify the international campaign.
We call upon comrades and solidarity organisations to coordinate their activities, circulate campaign materials, organise public meetings and use every available platform to demand Fergie's freedom.
Let 13 November become a day when the people of the world speak with one voice. Let the Spanish Government hear this demand in Madrid, in Nairobi, in Johannesburg, in London, in Berlin, in Havana and in every place where people refuse to accept injustice.
We must make it unmistakably clear that the international solidarity movement will not stand by while a comrade is persecuted for supporting Palestine.
THE STRUGGLE FOR PALESTINE CANNOT BE CRIMINALISED
The Palestinian people have the right to live in freedom, dignity and self determination. They have the right to resist occupation and to receive humanitarian assistance from people and organisations across the world.
The international working class and all progressive humanity have a duty to oppose imperialism and stand with oppressed peoples. This duty cannot be extinguished by threats, sanctions, extradition requests or imprisonment.
The Trump administration must understand that it cannot intimidate the world into silence. It cannot dictate whom people should support, which oppressed peoples deserve solidarity or which humanitarian causes may receive assistance.
The Spanish Government must understand that its decision will carry consequences far beyond the fate of one individual. To extradite Fergie would send a dangerous message that political solidarity can be punished across international borders. To reject extradition and grant him political asylum would affirm that the defence of human rights and international solidarity cannot be subordinated to the demands of an imperialist power.
We stand firmly with Comrade Fergie Chambers. We stand with his family, who continue to endure the pain of separation. His pregnant partner and young child should not have to contemplate the possibility of years of separation because of his political convictions and humanitarian work.
We demand his immediate release.
We demand that Spain reject the extradition request.
We demand that Spain grant Comrade Fergie Chambers political asylum and provide him with the protection he needs.
We demand that the Spanish Government refuse to become an instrument of Trump's political persecution.
FREE COMRADE FERGIE CHAMBERS!
HANDS OFF COMRADE FERGIE CHAMBERS!
SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINE IS NOT A CRIME!
GRANT FERGIE CHAMBERS POLITICAL ASYLUM!
13 NOVEMBER 2026: GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION FOR FERGIE CHAMBERS!
An injury to one is an injury to all.
Issued by
Booker Omole
General Secretary
Central Organising Committee (COC) Communist Party Marxist (CPMK) Kenya
8 November 2026