Miami, FL - Judge Rosa Figarola handed down a "nolle prosse" ruling, dismissing charges today in the case of Ernesto Longa, a legal observer arrested last November during the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) protests. The judges ruling came after a denied request by the prosecution to postpone the trial due to the absence of police officers that were the state's key witnesses. Public Defender Kathryn Strobach represented Longa.

"I am obviously pleased that the courts threw out my baseless charges," said defendant Ernesto Longa. "But I hope that they also realize how frivolous the charges are against others arrested during the FTAA protests so that we can end this legal charade and move on with our lives."

Longa, 33, a Miami resident and law student at St. Thomas University, served as a legal observer for attorneys with the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) during the FTAA protests. Longa was arrested on November 21, 2003, while acting as a legal observer and charged with the misdemeanors "failure to obey a police order" and "resisting arrest without violence." Longa was arrested while observing and documenting police activity at a peaceful vigil outside the Miami-Dade County Jail. Over 200 people had gathered to show solidarity for those arrested and attacked by police the previous day.  Longa was among over sixty people unjustly arrested that day.

The "law enforcement" overreaction that occurred during the FTAA protests resulted in over 280 arrests and hundreds of injuries stemming from violence initiated by police. Although it is early in the court process, many charges have been thrown out or reduced as a result of rulings in pre-trial hearings. Out of 28 felony cases, twelve have been thrown out and eleven more have been reduced to misdemeanors, leaving five cases yet to be tried.

The NLG trained and dispatched dozens of legal observers to document the police conduct and action that violated the constitutional rights of demonstrators at the FTAA protests.  Nationally, the NLG trains and coordinates legal observers at mass demonstrations around the country to protect people's right to protest-free from unlawful government interference and police brutality.

"The deliberate violation of democratic rights by police resulted in the political profiling and targeting of protesters, medics and legal observers alike," said Kris Hermes of Miami Activist Defense. "Longa's case is merely an example of how police denied the rights of anyone associated with the FTAA that wasn't inside the closed-door meetings."

Many calls have been made to investigate the police violence and misconduct, which characterized the protests. However, investigative bodies have been slow to react and the State Attorney's office has remained steadfast in their intent to prosecute frivolous cases. Miami Activist Defense is calling for the dropping of all FTAA-related charges.

As a result of the police overreaction to the protests, a coalition of organizations has formed a national campaign calling itself "Save Our Civil Liberties" (SOCL). The campaign includes global justice, labor, environmental, anit-war, community, and other organizations working at the local, state and national level to save and recapture civil liberties and human rights. SOCL demands also include calling for the dropping of charges and the firing of Miami Police Chief John Timoney.