Oscar Lopez Rivera Supporters Ask Pope to Call for his Release

A group of Puerto Rican faithful held a candlelight vigil Tuesday in the capital to ask for Pope Francis to call on U.S. President Barack Obama to free political prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera.

The demand was made in a letter delivered to Joseph Grech, first secretary of the Vatican Mission to the United Nations. 

"Colonialism is a sin against humanity," read the document.

Lopez was a leading figure in Puerto Rico's independence movement in the 1970s. He campaigned for bilingual education in public schools as well as the recruitment of Latina and Latino students, staff and faculty in universities and other public institutions.

El encarcelamiento en EEUU del independentista Oscar Lopez Rivera es un crimen, denuncian creyentes en Puerto Rico. pic.twitter.com/4Tv0phla25

— Perla Franco (@PerlateleSUR) September 22, 2015

The imprisonment of independence Oscar Lopez Rivera in the U.S. is a crime, denounce faithful in Puerto Rico.

Lopez was convicted in 1981 by a U.S. court on charges of “seditious conspiracy” related to his activities in the Puerto Rican independence movement. 

Lopez was a member of the Armed Forces of National Liberation, known as the FARN, which fought to turn Puerto Rico into an independent communist state. Lopez was sentenced to 55 years in prison and has served 12 of those years in solitary confinement.

Marcia Rivera, a prominent academic and relative of Lopez who lives in Uruguay, announced in December of last year that the liberation of the activist was being considered by the U.S. government. 

The Puerto Rican singer Rene Perez, from the famous band Calle 13, has been a vocal supporter of Lopez. 

Demonstrations calling for Lopez to be freed were held throughout the region in May.

Pope Francis is currently in Washington D.C and will visit New York City and Philadelphia during his tour through the United States.