"Assata Shakur, a Black liberation activist who was given political asylum in Cuba after her 1979 escape from a U.S. prison where she had been serving a life sentence for killing a police officer, has died, her daughter and the Cuban government said. Shakur, who was born Joanne Deborah Chesimard, died Thursday in the capital city of Havana due to health conditions and advanced age, Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement."
"The FBI put Shakur on its list of most wanted terrorists. A member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, Shakur and two others were involved in a gunfight with New Jersey State Police Troopers following a highway traffic stop on May 2, 1973. Trooper Werner Foerster was killed and another officer was wounded, while one of Shakur's companions was also killed."
Assata Shakur, born Joanne Deborah Chesimard, was a Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army member who escaped a U.S. prison in 1979 and received political asylum in Cuba. She died in Havana from health conditions and advanced age, according to Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs; her daughter Kakuya Shakur confirmed the death on Facebook. Shakur was involved in a 1973 gunfight with New Jersey State Police after a traffic stop in which Trooper Werner Foerster was killed; one companion was killed and another officer wounded. The FBI placed her on its most-wanted terrorists list. She was convicted of murder, armed robbery and other crimes in 1977 and sentenced to life.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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