Motion Filed to Dismiss Charges Against Indicted Humanitarians

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) December 11, 2005 -- Tucson, AZ�With only a few weeks until the January 10th trial, attorneys for Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss � the two indicted humanitarians in the No More Deaths movement � have filed a motion in federal court to dismiss the charges against them. This action on behalf of the defendants comes in response to federal prosecutor Paul Charlton�s continued and unprecedented step of prosecuting these volunteers, who were arrested on July 9th when attempting to evacuate three sick migrants to a medical facility in Tucson.

The motion to dismiss filed by No More Deaths attorneys Bill Walker and Jeff Rogers is based on previous negotiation with federal officials, wherein a protocol was established that recognized as legal the life-saving work of No More Deaths. Because Sellz and Strauss had been following this protocol prior to their arrest, it is inconsistent and unreasonable for the government to then accuse them of criminal conduct. The United States Supreme Court, in Cox v. Louisiana (1965), explicitly ruled that when a criminal defendant relies on the advice of a government official, the government may be barred from prosecuting that defendant for prohibited acts if they are committed in reliance on the government�s advice � a decision that has since been upheld by the 9th Circuit Court in United States v. Tallmadge (1987) and United States v. Ramirez-Valencia (2000).

In response to these charges, No More Deaths launched the campaign Humanitarian Aid is Never a Crime on October 19th. More than 18,000 petitions have been sent to U.S. prosecutor Paul Charlton calling on him to drop the charges, thousands of yard-signs are distributed across southern Arizona, and eight press conferences have been held where various community leaders and groups voice support. More than 1,500 individuals and organizations have endorsed the campaign, including:

-Bates Butler, former U.S. Attorney

-Rick Ufford-Chase, moderator of the 16th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA
-Sister Kathleen Mary McCarthy Esq., Senior Vice President of Missions, Carondelet Health Network
-Episcopal Bishop Kirk Smith, Arizona Diocese
-Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ,
-Southern Poverty Law Center,
-Service Employees International Union, Arizona
-Arizona Coalition for Migrant Rights

A record-breaking number of migrants�282�died in Arizona and Sonora�s deserts in the 2005 fiscal year. Over the summer, more than 300 No More Deaths volunteers�no different from Sellz and Strauss�gave humanitarian assistance to over 3794 migrants and medically evacuated over 68 people to emergency facilities.

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*Copies of the affidavit as well as interviews with Sellz, Strauss, attorneys Walker and Rogers, and others are available upon request.