[captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> workers are demanding a voice. we are speaking out for a better life. demanding a fair share of the wealth we helped create. we are marching and organizing and bargaining. amy: afl-cio president richard trumka has died of a heart attack at the age of 72. we will look at how a third-generation coal miner

became the most prominent labor leader in the country. plus, we will speak to steven donziger, the environmental lawyer who sued chevron for ecological devastation in the ecuadorian amazon. after chevron was ordered to pay billions, theompany went after donziger personally. he hasow been under house arrest for two years >> united states cannot lock up its human rights lawyers, its environment advocate it's protectors. amy: plus, we will go to afghanistan where the u.s. is ramping up air strikes as the taliban tries to seize three -- a number of provincial capital. all that and more, coming up. ♪ welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in california, powerful winds and dry conditions have caused several wildfires to explode in

size, including the massive dixie fire, now the sixth largest in california history. the fire north of sacramento almost completely burned downtown greenville and has consumed an area larger than los angeles. six of the largest 10 wildfires in california's history have happened since 2020. elsewhere in northern california, officials shut down a hydroelectripower plant at lake oroville after the reservoir reached a record low level amid a searing drought. in greec thousands of people have fled their homes on the outskirts of athens as firefighters from across europe joined crews battling blazes that are threatening the greek capital. one fire nearly reached the ancient olympia archaeological site where the olympic games were held for over a millennium. greek prime minister kyriakos mitsotakis blamed the fires on climate change.

>> unfortunately the worst is yet to ce. the night ahead seems menang. we are talking about unprecedted conditions following many days of heat waves, which had transformed the country into a powder keg. amy: scores of other fires are raging in turkey, italy, the balkans, albania, romania, ukraine and russia. on monday, the united nations intergovernmental panel on climate change is set to release its first assessment in eight years. the report from the nobel peace prize winning agency is expected to contain dire warnings over soaring temperatures, rising seas and extreme weather. meanwhile a new study in the journal nature finds human activity could soon cause a crial atlantic ocean current system to collapse, with devastating impacts on the global climate system.

researchers found the ocean currents that carry warm water from the tropics to the north atlantic have already been destabilized by the climate crisis. a complete collapse would dramatically change rainfall patterns around the globe, lower temperatures in parts of europe while raising them elsewhere, and would dramatically raise sea levels in the eastern united states. president biden on thursday restored tailpipe emissions standards set under the obama administration and later canceled by president trump, setting a goal of making half of all cars and light trucks sold in the u.s. by 2030 electric. biden made the announcement surrounded by executives and labor leaders of the ottoman history. -- auto industry. >> when i hear climate, i think jobs. good paying union jobs. i want the world to see through a consensus we are at an

inflection point in world history. we have to save the planet. we can also come out of it better. amy: congressional democrats have drafted legislation that would tax major polluters to compensate for the impacts of catastrophic climate change. the polluters pay climate fund act would raise $500 billion over a decade by taxing companies like chevron, shell and exxonmobil based on the percentage of their global emissions. the fund would help pay for green energy research, and to help communities adapt to a warming planet. u.s. coronavirus infections have surged to a six-month high, with an average of more than 100,000 daily cases. in florida, the memorial healthcare system has suspended elective surgeries and has set up beds for covid-19 patients in conference rooms, an auditorium ana cafeteria. florida now faces its worst

surge of the pdemic. even so, republican governor ron desantis has refused to reverse his ban on mask mandates, calling vaccinations, social distancing and masking an individual choice. and threatening to fine any school district that imposes mask mandates. new jersey governor phil murphy will require all k-12 students to wear masks when school returns this fall, reversing his decision last june to drop a mask requirement in schools. on thursday, governor murphy shouted down anti-vaccination protesters who heckled him during a public appearance in union city. >> those folks back there have lost their minds -- you have lost your minds. you are the ultimate knuckleheads. because of what you are saying and standing for people are losing their lives. you have to know that.

amy: the world health organization says the fast-spreading delta coronavirus variant has led to an 80% increase in covid-19 deaths across the african continent er the last month. >> the third we of the paemic in africa is still raging at full force. after a slight dip last week, covid-19ases are surging again, rising by 19% to nearly 200 last week. -- 208,000 since last week. amy: globally, covid-19 cases are continuing to rise, with an average of over 600,000 confirmed cases per day. the united nations security council is holding an emergency session today to discuss the crisis in afghanistan. this comes as taliban fighters are attempting to seize three provincial capitals. on wednesday, a u.n. spokesperson said the fighting has left thousands of afghans

trapped or fleeing for their lives. >> we are deeply concerned about the safety and protection of people in the south where tens of thousands of people could be trapped by the fighting. our colleagues tell us they are reporting increased civilian casualties, destruction or damage to civilian houses, as well as to critical infrastructure, including hospitals. amy: later in the broadcast we'll go to kabul, afghanistan for the latest. in nicaragua, authorities have arrested another candidate in november's presidential election as president daniel ortega continues to crack down on his opposition. berenice quezada, who was miss nicaragua in 2017, has been placed under house arrest. she is the running mate rightwing presidential hopeful -- she is the running mate of right-wing presidential hopeful oscar sobalvarro, a former commander for the u.s.-backed contras which have been accused of brutal human rights

violations fighting the left-wing sandinistas during the nicaraguan revolution in the 1980's. in guatemalaa new anti-corruption prosecutor has beenppointed following the abrupt firing last month of juan francisco sandal, who was forced to flee the country. the new appointee has been accused of prosecuting guatemala's political opposition and of ptectinthe corrupt elite. this comes as protests continued across guatemala this week demanding the resignation of right-wing president alejandro giamma-tay and guatemala's attorney general. to see our recent coverage of of the protests go to democracynow.org. back in the united states, texas republican governor greg abbott has ordered a new special session of the state legislature in a renewed effort to pass draconian voter suppression legislation. in response to a previous effort last month, almost every democratic representative in the texas house fled the state to washington, d.c., denying the republican majority a quorum.

texas democrats are reportedly debating whether to leave the state once again ahead of saturday's special session. today is the 56th anniversary of the signing of the federal voting rights act. afl-cio president richard trumka died of a heart attack on thursday at the age of 72. trumka had led the nation's largest labor federation since 2009. richard trumka was a third generation coal miner from pennsylvania. at the age of 33, he became the youngest president of the united mine workers of america where he helped organize strikes against peabody coal and the pittston coal company. he also led union efforts to oppose apartheid in south africa and backed a boycott of royal dutch shell, which had been called by the national union of mineworkers in south africa. we'll have more on rich trumka's life and legacy after headlines. the justice department announced

it hasn't opened an investigation into allegations of abuse, excessive force and discrimination by the phoenix police department. the attorney general merrick garland said the probe will focus on accusations that phoenix officers retaliated against protesters and brutalized unhoused people and people with disabilities. the american civil liberties unn has filed a federal lawsuit challenging texas republican governor greg abbott's executive order restricting some asylum seekers to traveling only with law enforcement officials and directing state troopers to stop vehicles suspected of transporting migrants. the aclu denounced the policy as illegal and inhumane, and warned it will create the perfect storm for racial profiling. a federal judge earlier this week temporarily blocked the executive order until next week when another hearing is scheduled. the biden administration will

soon require thousands of border agents to begin wearing body cameras. immigrant justice advocates have demanded the practice to improve accountability after dozens of fatal shootings involving border agents and mounting allegations of abuse against migrant asylum-seekers and others. and todamarks 76ears since the united states dropped the world's first atomic bomb on the japanese city of hiroshima, killing some 140,000 people. during a ceremony today at the site of the blast, japanese prime minister yoshihide suga vowed japan would work with other nations to promote nuclear disarmament. he did not mention the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons which japan has not signed. democracy now! visited the hiroshima peace memorial in 2014 and spoke to a survivor of the bombing. to see our coverage, go to democracynow.org. those are some of the headlines

. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show looking at the life and legacy of afl-cio president richard trumka who died of a heart attack on thursday at the age of 72. he had led the nation's largest labor federation since 2009. senate majority leader chuck schumer announced trumka's death thursday. >> i rise with some horrible news. about the passing of a great friend, rich trumka, who left us this morning. the working people of america have lost a fierce warrior at a time when we needed him most. just yesterday, rich was lending support to the striking miners in alabama. following in his father's footsteps, he worked in the mines.

he earned his law degree. did not go to some fancy place. went right to work for the united mine workers, which he let for so many years in the became head, for secretary treasurer. he had in his veins, and every atom of his body the heart, the thoughts, the needs of the working people of america. amy: the reverend william barber of the poor people's campaign paid tribute to richard trumka by saying, "we have lost a dear friend and brother in the struggle for justice. he never separated the fight for economic and labor rights from the fight for voting rights and civil rights. he knew they are simultaneous fights." richard trumka was a third generation coal miner from pennsylvania. at the age of 33 he became the youngest president of the united mine workers of america where he helped organize strikes

against peabody coal and the pittston coal company. he also led union efforts to oppose apartheid in south africa and backed a boycott of royal dutch shell which had been called by the national union of mineworkers in south africa. richard trumka would go on to serve as secretary-treasurer of the afl-cio. in july 2008, he made headlines when he denounced racism within organized labor and called on all workers to vote for barack obama. >> that is not a single good reason for any worker, especially in a union member, to vote against barack obama. and there is only one really, really bad reason to vote against barack obama. and that is because he is not white. amy: in 2009, richard trumka was

elected president of the afl-cio after the retirement of john sweeney. this is trumka speaking in 2018 after the supreme court issued a major anti-union ruling eviscerating the power of public sector unions in the case janus v. afscme. >> all over our country right now workers are organized. they are striking as we have not seen in years. 15,000 workers in april and one week joint of the union. that is on top of the 262,000 new members who joined our ranks last year. and to be more optimistic, 75% were under the age of 35. despite the fact that too many of our labor laws have been written to undermined the freedom to organized. new research from m.i.t. shows a 50% increase in the number of

nonunion workers who would vote to join a union tomorrow if given the opportunity. tens of millions of workers are ready to experience the transformational power of collective bargaining. in many cases all that stands in the way is a rigged system. let me be clear. the supreme court is on the wrong side of history. what they did flies in the face of where america is headed, where workers want to go, and where workers need to go. it shows exactly how out of touch they are with the real america that is out there. workers are demanding a voice. we are standing up and speaking out for a better life.

we are demanding a fair share of the wealth we helped create. we are marching and organizing and we are bargaining. we simply will not allow a corporate controlled supreme court to stop us from doing our job. amy: afl-cio president richard trumka speaking in 2018. he died thursday at the age of 72. to talk more about his life and legacy we are joined by two guests. arlene holt baker served as the executive vice president for afl-cio from 2009 to 2013. she was the first african americ to ever serve as an executive officer in the afl-cio's history. we are also joined by the jose -- by jose la z, a veteran labor organizer, campaigner and educator. he's been a workers' rights activist for decades. arlene, you worked side-by-side

with richard trumka for years. can you talk about the reaction to his death and what you feel it's important for people to understand about richard's legacy? arlene: good morning, amy i am happy to be here to talk about my brother, richard trumka . so happy to be here with my brother jose. the reaction has been devastating for us. i think you heard it in the emotion of senator schumer's voe. were broken by the news. but if you knew anything about rich trumka, it could only bring a smile to your face. he is a brother in our movement who fought in so many ways r what is right. my own reflection is that she started to think about the last time -- you start to think about

the last time you saw and spoke to him. the last time i saw rich was on facebook, because he was doing a speech at the afl-cio where he had welcomed the texas delegation to come. he stood with them as he talked about e right to vote. he talked about the john lewis voting rights act, the before the people act. he connected all of that to the pro act, thright for workers to organize. rich truly believed, as all of us in the movement believe, that you can't have the denial of voting rights and suppress the votes of anyone and not have a strong labor union without destroying your democracy. rich understood that democracy was on the line. i thought, rich, the last time i heard him, he was giving the same message i heard for many

years. empowering workers and empowering our community. amy: let's go to a bit of that speech you are describing, the speech richard trumka gave an washington, d.c. in july. >> we cannot afford to let any of our agenda from democracy in the workplace to democracy at the ballot box, tinvestment in our people fall victim to a procedural tool conceived in segregation. it has become clear that one of two things must be pushed aside. the filibuster, or the hopes and aspirations of the american people. amy: that speech richard trumka gave in july. arlene, talk about your rise with him. in 2009, we played in the introduction here that speech he

gave addressing thlabor movement and addressing the issue of racism within the labor movement as he was campaigning for barack obama to become the first african-american president of the united states. you became the first african-american executive within the afl-cio, becoming the executive vice president for the federation. talk about thatime. arlene: i have to reflect back to 1995, when the new voice team of john sweeney, linda chavez thompson, the first latina woman elected, and rich trumka ran on a ticket in 1990 five talking about inclusion and diversity and a new voice for workers around the country. understanding the importance of

diversity in the labor movement. i was very, you know, honored. in 2007, i was appointed by john sweeney to serve up linda chavez thompson's term when she decided to step down from her position. i served in that position. it was in 2009 32013 that i served alongside rich trumka as his executive vice president. during that period of time history was made because so many things are happening in the country, particularly the election of back obama. we were pushing fo that. burich trua understood you couldot be silent. you could not be silent when it came to race. and his boldness and he stepped out and he spoke to a convention

in 2008 and put it all on the line a said if you are not willing to vote for this man who certainly has supported workers rights and everything we believe in, it can only be chalked up to racism. the boldness, the willingness to speak tru to power the matter where was, and speak truth to our union. the other piece of this that's important is that rich understoodhe diversity of the labor movement had to be reflected and muste reflective of our membership. women and ung people and people of color. also when the team was liz schumer, the first secretary-treasurer of the afl-cio, young woman. rich trumka's team was representative of the future of the labor movementf weere going to ctinue to grow and be empowered, but most important

late to empower our working people. it was a wonderful, exciting time. itas wonderful to be on the side and standing with rich trumka as we continued to forge a path that included diverty, inclusion, and organizing. amy: i want to bring jose into this organizati -- conversation. he has been a workers rights advocate for half a century in the united states and puerto rico and through the western hemisphere. can you describe your response when you heard the news of rich trumka's sudden death yesterday? can you talk about his legacy? jose: indeed. thank you for having me, amy. first of all, my condolences to his wife barbara and his son

richard and his grandchildren. this has been a significant loss for american workers, no doubt. i think it's important to take a ment to understand who was in fact richard trumka. as a trade unionist. he came out of the mine workers. he was a performer in the mine workers. this is a unit tt had been led by john lewis, founder of the cio that organized mass industries in america. it was also the union tt became infected with corption. tony boyle, who ordered the execution ofack jablonski, and

the mins for democracy. trumka came out of the reformed tradition ofhe mine workers which is why he led that strike against the coal mine company. when he was elected as part of the new voice that my friend and sister was talking about in 1995, those of us that see ourselves as reformers in the trade union movement had a t of hope for this coalition that came together around john sweeney, richard trumka and linda chavez thompson in terms of dealing with the fundamental challenge that the american labor movement had.

that is had to build power for workers. how to bui political power and wield economic power. how to become a very song force for a profound transformation in society. trumka was in fact a reformer d a visionary. in that sense this is a great loss. but much has been left undone. now his legacy must be lifted up by whoever emerges as the leader or the new team of leaders of the only labor federation in this country. to deal with the challenge of how to build powerful workers when in fact what we have witnessed in the past few decades is a massive distribution of wealth from the bottom to the top. workers losing power, political

power. and power in society. this remains a fundamental challenge for whoever is going to, you know, take up the mantle and try to live up to the legacy of brother trumka. amy: where do you think the labor movement and the afl-cio needs to go now? what do you think, jose, that the afl-cio needs to gain more strength for workers? jose: the challenge of organizing. when you represe the only 10% of the labor force it is hard to envision being able to exercise a lot of power the labor movement must grow. this means the resources have to be allocated, have to be

invested in organizing. there has to be a massive campaign that are coordinated among different unions and by industries. one of the weaknesses of the american labor movement has to doith the ct that it is not organized industrialy like it is in many other advanced capitalist countries across the atlantic, in europe and other countries. the question of organizing by industries will require a new architecture for the american labor movement that the federation has the lead in terms of that. in terms of political action there is a need to develop a new strategy that is far more independent from the democratic party.

it is important to realize that there are elements of the democratic party that are supported by corporate donors and don't have a very serious commitment to empower workers and the working class. on the other han there are people within the democratic party who see themselves as working-class advocates, who fight for the rights of workers and to bld power fornd by workers. this will be one of e challenges the new team that takes over the reigns will have to wrestle with. not to mention the challenge of trade and development. we a dealing with a globalized work. there is need to delop allians across borders and immediately the question of building strong alliances with

canadian workers up north, with mexican workers down south, to deal with the fact that we continue to witss a runaway capital that impacts jobsn this country. how doe develop a strategy that raises the standard of living for workers in mcallen, for workers and matamoros and in toronto? that requires an alternative economic development trade strategy. those of the challenges i see ahead for the new team emerging at the helm of the labor federation. amy: before we go i wanted to ask about the pro act, the protecting the right to organize act, which did pass the house. the democrats do control the senate.

it still sits in the senate since march. richard trumka was a major advocate of this act. can you talk about its importance? arlene: it is critically important. it is so important, because workers want to organize. there is no question about that. they want to have a voice at work. the proactive and make it possible for workers to do so without being intimated, harassed, fired, and the company would be penalized for that. the pro act is critically important now. we have to have workers be able to freely have a voice on the job. if they are not able to do that, they will not be able to risk e economic conditions they so need in order to survive. power, yes, it comes from the ground up. unless they have that voice on the job free of intimidation, harassment and free of having to

sit in captive audience meetings held by employers, they will not be able to fully see the potential of their worth. the pro act is critically important. as i indicated, it was one of the last things i heard rich talking about connecting voting rights and voter suppression. the proactive together -- and the pro act together. we must continue to empower the voter in this country so we can be sure our democracy hold strong. the pro act is ctical to us. i would say to the senators, all the senators listening, it is not enough for you to just talk about and give accolades to richard trumka. if you really want to show how much you truly care about richard trumka and the workers he cared so much about, i would say pass the pro act.

tacit now. -- pass it now. pass the john lewis voting rights act and the for the people act now. enough talking. that is what rich would say. rich would say enough talking, because the word rich would want to give you that we are never, ever, ever going to back down. amy: arlene holt baker, executive vice president for the afl-cio from 2009 did 2013. -- 2013. i also want to thank history. -- jose la luz, veteran labor organizer, campaigner and educator. the taliban is trying to seize a number of provincial capitals. stay with us. ♪

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amy: this is democracy now! i am amy goodman. we turn now to afghanistan. the united nations security council is holding an emergency session today to discuss the ongoing crisis in the country. this comes as taliban fighters are attempting to seize three provincial capitals, kandahar, herat and lashkar gah. the taliban has also taken responbility for a major attack tuesday as of the home of afghanistan's defense minister in kabul that killed eight people. on thursday, the european union condemned the recent taliban offensive and demanded, "an urgent, comprehensive and permanent ceasefire." in recent days the united states has stepped up air strikes targeting the taliban in an effort to support the afghan military. this all comes as the united states is on pace to whdraw its ground troops by the end of august. we go now to kabul where we are joined by journalist matthieu aikins.

in 2013, he won a polk award for exposing u.s. war crimes in afghanistan. he has a book coming out on refugees in february. it is great to have you back. if you could start off by describing the situation on the ground as what i believe the u.s. now says they have pulled out 95% of their troops. matthieu: thank you, amy. in the 13 years i have been working here i have never seen the situation as grim. kabul has been quiet the last few months. that was shattered with this massive suicide attack. the provinces are falling to the taliban. there are a number of provincial capitals encircled. this afternoon we had news that the taliban have taken over the capital of nimros province, a

strategic province because of the borders with iran and pakistan. we are seeing images of that w. it is the first time they have seen the provincial cital since the fall of two induce -- kunduz in 2015 when they took it back with the help of the u.s. the bad news seems to continue. amy: can you talabout who the taliban are? matthieu: the taliban are a rurally-based insurgency. at this point they are setting up an ternative government in their territories. they want to establish an islamic system, an islamic emirate. they claim to be fighting to remove foreign occupation. they call themselves the majahad

een, the same fighters against the soviet occupation in the 1980's. amy: so, talk about the areas of the country they have control of and talk about kabul and the significance of this latest attack that the taliban has taken responsibility for outside the defense ministry's home. matthieu: up until now the taliban largely controlled rural areas. that had to do with a split between afghanistan cities and the countryside. the cities benefited a lot more from the last 20 years of foreign military and 11 presence. the countryside has borne the brunt of the violence. they have not benefited as much of develop it. the taliban has captured a lot of districts. now they are trying to encircled cities and it will be a harder battle because they have le support there and the government

is falling back upon its centers where they have less problems with logistics. they are getting support from american airstrikes, which have been stepped up in recent days. i think one reason is american troops are largely out of the country now. less targets for the taliban to retaliate against. they will be hitting government targets in cities like the defense minister's house. there were 100 people meeting in that parliamentarian's house. it was very lucky they were able to escape onto the roof where there was a bridge to a neighboring house. they could have been an incident with much higher casualties. we will see more that as the taliban brings pressure on the government and the response to the airstrikes. amy: the u.n. warned civilian casualties in the first half of

2021 reached record levels, including an increasing killings and injuries since may when the international military forces starting pulling out without a significant de-escalation and violence, afghanistan is on course for 2021 to witness the highest ever number of documented civilian casualties in a single year since the u.n. records began. can you talk also about the effect of the u.s. air attacks. they say they are supporting the afghan military. they have intensified recently. are they going to and by the -- end by the end of august? matthieu: so far the biden administration has not said if they will end by the end of august. they are reserving that right. the airstrikes are happening now inside cities because the taliban are inside cities. they are in the outskirts of many provincial capitals.

they are striking buildings and heavily populated areas with civilians that are undoubtedly going to be casualties as a resu of this urban coat. the taliban are responsible fo these in cities. the blood of a lot civilians will be onheir hands as well. the fact of the matter is these provincial capitals fall, you might be quite bloody. a kind of no-win situation. maybe like what the u.s. fad in iraq where airstrikes were necessary to hold back the advance of insurgents from capturing major cities. at the end of the day there is very little leverage the international community has on the taliban. we have been bombing them, sassy name them, sanctioning them for 20 years. as long as they are capturing territory they have no incentive to come to the bargaining table. we will probably see brutal, bloody fighting until there is a stalemate that persuades both sideto talk. we are quite far away from that.

we will see increased civilian casualties and a massive wave of displacement in afghan refugees leaving, who are leaving already in high numbers from neighboring countries -- for neighboring countries and some will try to reach europe. amy: what will happen with them? matthieu: it is sad to say. i covered the major wave of displacement of people crossing in rubber rafts across the mediterranean in 2015, 2016. they were walking across the mountains and deserts to get their. since that refugee crisis we have seen these countries hardening their borders. they have built fences and walls, concentration camps with the support of the european unio just like the u.s. has fortified its southern border. it will be a lot harder, a lot more brutal for these people fleeing this disintegration of the country. amy: you have reported extensively on u.s. war crimes

committed in afghanistan. the longest u.s. war in history. can you talk about the legacy of the u.s. invasion and what the united states military leaves and afghanistan? --in afghanistan? matthieu: theilitary was focused on short-term solutions. there was thisdage we did not fight a -year war. we fight 20 one-your wars. -- one-your wars. it is no wonder things are falling apart quickly. nothing was made the last. that is one legacy. there have been quite brutal human rights abuses and killings committed by afghan security forces in kandahar. they have captured areaand caring about x traditional killings -- extrajudicial

killings. many are former members of the government security force, police belonging to a commander i reported on whose men were engaged and documented killings. the cycle of violence, the cycle of war crimes is continuing, accelerating, and i fear in the coming months and yearshat we will see as a return to the kind of open, widespread massacres and violations of rights we have seen in previous years during the civil war. amy: although we say u.s. troops are out of afghanistan within weeks, in fact thousands of mercenaries will remain there with what the u.s. calls support staff. is this were just going to become much more secret and much more even less accountable than it is? tthieu: i think the u.s. role in this war will definity become more secret and less accountable. it will be largely carried out

by the cia and special operations forces operating under secret covert authorities. we are going to know less about itertainly. at the same time i ink it is going to come much more of an afghan war. there will not be the same presence we had before. it is very difficult to say what the u.s. will be doing, because we will not have a lot of visibility. it will be a much smaller role, but significant. they are bankrolling the afghan government. without that they would be an even faster collapse of the afghan security forces. amy: what do you think the u.s. dia -- of the u.s. media portrayal of what is happening in afghanistan right now? what is missing? matthieu: i think there is a lack of recognition of what we are seeing is a consequence of

20 years obad decisions, ignoring corruptn, human ghts abuses. for all the violations of the human rights, the murders, the massacres that thealiban are undoubtedly carrying out, the violen they are inflicting on civilians, the threat they are going to post a civil society activists, freedom of speech media, all of which is actually real. it is the result of 20 years of violencenflicted on the taliban in the rural areas, 20 years of interlacing the media and the civil rights, civil society here with this military presen. they have becominteresting wishfuln the eyes of the taliban. -- indistinguishable in the eyes of the taliban. it wilbe difficult to turn the ship around. we should try to keep the

context in mind while condemning them. amy: thank you for being with us, speaking to us from afghanistan. contributing writer to the new york times magazine. coming up, we speak with human rights and of our mental your stephen johnson your -- donzinger. today marks two years since he has been under house arrest. you will find out why. stay with us. ♪ ♪

amy: "ghost 28" by nine inch nails. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report, i'm amy goodman. sign up for our daily news digest email by texting "democracynow", one word, no space, to 66866 today. that is "democracynow" to 66866 . protesters are rallying in several cities today to call for the immediate release of environmental and human rights

lawyer steven donziger who has been held under house arrest in new york for two years after being targeted by the oil giant chevron. the case stems from donziger's role in suing chevron on behalf of 30,000 amazonian indigenous people for dumping 16 billion gallons of oil into the their ancestral land in the ecuadorian amazon. 10 years ago, ecuador's supreme court ordered chevron to pay $18 billion. the landmark ruling was seen as a major victory for the environment and corporate accountability. but chevron refused to pay or clean up the land. instead chevron launched a legal attack targeting donziger. last month, a federal judge found donziger to be guilty of six counts of criminal contempt of court after he refused to turn over his computer and cellphone. in an unusual legal twist, the

judge appointed a private law firm with ties to chevron to prosecute donziger after federal prosecutors declined to bring charges. today marks two years, 730 days, since donziger has been on house arrest. steve donziger joins us now from his new york home. welcome back to democracy now! if you can start off by speaking about the tal that ju took place. we talked to you before the trial. you have gone to trial and have been found guilty. talk about who prosecuted you and with the court room and the trial were all about. steve: thank y for having me. it was not a trial as ey are commonly understood. there was no jury. the judge you locked me up pretrial -- i'm the only lawyer in american htory locked up

pretrial on a misdemeanor. this is a misdemeanor case, a petty crime case. i can assert my iocence but ev if i we guilty, it's a minor case. no one has ever been locked up pretrial but me. the same judge y locked me up now for two years -- i have not been sent anything -- he denied me a jury d alone decided my suppose it guilt or innocence. it was intended to be a show trial where the decision that had previously been made by the chevron prosecutor, the judge, jue prescott, allowed a private law firm which has chevron as a client to prosecute me after the government refused to prosecute me. it was all just precooked. you felt watching it in the courtroom during the trial, the judge was reading the newspaper during witness testimony. all the main witnesses were chevron lawyers.

they testified chevron had paid them -- several lawyers from up private law firm, chevron pay them $1300 an hour to help other prosecutors tried to convict me. it was all run by chevron. the dangerous part about this beyond the fact my liberties have been deprived and have been unable to work and help my clients in ecuador and do my human rights work is that this is a broader threat to our society. we cannot allow any rule of law country or any countryrivate prosecutions run by corporations. it is just extraordinary. if this were run by a moral prosecutor, the case never would have happened, or at a minimum i would not have been locked up prior to trial. amy: the federal prosecutors refused to prosecute you, right? steven: that is exactly right.

underneath all of this is the fact i worked on a team of lawyers for years to hold chevron accountable for the amazon chernobyl, this massive, deberate dumping of oil waste in eador where indigenous groups were decimated. chevron wanted that held an equity or's courts -- in ecuador's courts. we fought for years to get adjustment in 2011 that rather than pay the judgment they decided to demonize me and criminalize human righ lawyerin they had this planned for 10 years. we know for a fact and they admitted back in 2010 they went to the stfi, the federal prosecutor in manhattan seeking to prosecute me for this suppose it fraud in equity or, which is -- ecuador, which is hogwash. they refused to prosecute me then. i kept going, alg with others to try to enforce the judgment against chevron we had won in

ecuador, which is been affirmed by six appellate courts in ecuador and canada. they went back to this u.s. federal judge, judge lewis kaplan, a former tobacco industry defense lawyer, and got him to demand i turn over my computer and cell phone and electronic dices to chevron. no one has heard of such a thing in the middle of litigation. when i appead the order, he charged me with criminal contempt of court for appealing the lawfulness of this orde no lawyer in american history who appealed a several discovery orr in this fashion has ever been charged with criminal contempt but me. no lawyer charged with any crimal contempt in new york has been held pretrial. the longest sentence ever given a lawyer convicted this suppose a crime is 90 days of ho detention. i have been over eight times that amount in my home. what is driving this is i believe chevron andts judicial

allies want to protect chevron from having to pay the liability to the pple of ecuador that the company poisoned, and they want to send a larger message to lawyers and environmental defenders that you are not allowed to do this work, at least not at this level. you will be attacked. we wilthrow everything we can you. chevron has used 60 law firms and 2000 lawyers to target me. amy: you were sentenced to six months in jail? six month more/ -- more? steven: the judge driving this set the sentencing date for october 1. i'm fortunate because there is a massive amount of support that you acknowledged in the opening of the segment around the world. we have rallies in 15 cities to minimize release, including seattle, san francisco, l.a.,

new york, boston, toronto, tel aviv and quito, and melbourne. we are building a movement to not only demand my release and protect the freedom of me and my family, but also to protect this idea you could do corporate accountability lawyering and not be attacked by right-wing judges and corporations that can take over the public machinery of the prosecution. this is a serious issue. like having a corporation prosecute someone and having the power to deprive someone of their liberty in the united states can't happen. this is the first time. if they get away with it with me, i believe part of the playbook of the fossil fuel industry to do this to other activist lawyers. amy: we want to thank you for being with us. six members of the congressional progressive caucus, including

jamie raskin has called for the doj to review everything that has happened to you. steven donziger, human rights lawyer who successfully sued chevron in ecuador for dumping toxic waste in the amazon. oil and toxic waste in the amazon. he has been under arrest for two years today.