Former teleSUR presenter and creator of The Empire Files Abby Martin is suing the US state of Georgia which blocked her participation last month at a media conference at Georgia Southern University because she refused to 'sign a contractual pledge to not boycott Israel' to comply with an anti-Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) law.

“We must stand firmly opposed to these efforts and not cower in fear to these blatant violations of free speech.” Together with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF), Martin filed Monday (February 10) a federal free-speech lawsuit against the University System of Georgia, for the “unconstitutionality” of its decision.

'By canceling a journalist's speaking engagement on a college campus because she refused to pledge support for a foreign government, the State of Georgia has blatantly violated the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech,” CAIR-Georgia Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said.

Former Governor of Georgia Nathan Deal signed in 2016 a law requiring any person or company that enters into a contract with the State of Georgia worth US$1,000 or more to pledge not to engage in political boycotts of the Israeli government based on its treatment of Palestinians.