Black American human rights activists have been convicted of colluding with Russia

Four black civil rights activists have been convicted of conspiracy to act as unregistered Russian agents, the Department of Justice said.

Omali Yeshitela, 82, Penny Hess, 78, Jesse Nevel, 34, and Augustus Romain, 38, face multiple sentences of five years in prison, the department said in a statement.

A jury in Tampa, Florida found them not guilty of the most serious charge of acting as agents of a foreign government.

Yeshitela is the founder of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) and the Uhuru Movement. Hess and Nevel are the white partners of the parties. Romain is the leader of the Georgia-based spinoff known as Black Hammer.

A sentencing date has not been set.

According to prosecutors, the four carried out numerous actions in the US between 2015 and 2022 on behalf of the Russian government and received money and support from Aleksandr Ionov, president of the Moscow-based group Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia.

Mr Ionov used APSP, the Uhuru Movement and Black Hammer to promote Russian views on politics, the war in Ukraine and other issues, they said.

“Ionov’s influence efforts were directed and directed” by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the country’s intelligence agency, the Justice Department said.

Mr Ionov and two FSB suspects – Aleksey Borisovich Sukhodolov and Yegor Sergeyevich Popov – have also been charged in the US in connection with the case but have not been arrested.

The Justice Department said the American public knew that Mr. Ionov was working for the Russian government.

Among the actions highlighted by prosecutors was the APSP’s 2015 drafting of a UN request accusing the US of committing genocide against Africans.

Mr Ionov allegedly sought to influence the 2017 mayoral election in St Petersburg, Florida, where Nevel ran unsuccessfully.

Leonard Goodman, Hess’ attorney, told the Tampa Bay Times that the four were prosecuted for their pro-Russian views. “This case has always been about freedom of expression,” he told AFP.

Yeshitela said after the conviction that “the most important thing is that they could not convict us of serving anyone but black people,” reported the Tampa Bay Times. “I am determined to be charged and found guilty of working for black people.”

Mutaqee Akbar, representing Nevel, said the defendants planned to appeal their convictions.