French farmer Jose Bove, a prominent protester against genetically modified food and agricultural free trade, has been denied entry into the United States, officials of an event he was due to address said on Thursday.
Bove arrived at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport with a valid U.S. entry visa on Wednesday afternoon but was detained for several hours and later returned to Paris, according to William Kramer, a spokesman for the conference.
The Frenchman rose to fame in the late 1990s for denouncing globalization and junk food, and spent six weeks in jail in early 2003 for smashing up a McDonald’s restaurant. He was sentenced to four months in prison in November for destroying a field of genetically modified corn in southern France.
He had been scheduled to speak on Thursday and again on Friday at a conference titled “Global Companies - Global Unions - Global Research - Global Campaigns.” Event organizers included Cornell University’s Global Labor Institute.
“This is ridiculous, this is illegal, you’re violating his free speech,” Kramer said. He said calls to the U.S. Immigration Department and to the Department of Homeland Security had failed to secure an explanation.
U.S. immigration officials were not immediately available for comment.
On Friday, Bove was to deliver an address titled “The Struggle Against Monsanto in Europe.” U.S.-based Monsanto Co. is a major manufacturer of genetically modified seeds.
Dr. Sean Sweeney, director of Cornell’s Global Labor Institute, told the conference’s opening session, “This speaks volumes about where the United States is in terms of free speech.” Conference organizers said they hoped to link Bove to a teleconference to talk to the group.
In December, Hong Kong denied Bove entry to attend a World Trade Organization meeting.