About Me

Freedom on Trial is the extraordinary true story of Michel Shehadeh—one of the Los Angeles Eight—who spent twenty years fighting the longest political deportation case in U.S. history.

In 1975, Michel immigrated to America seeking opportunity, education, and a better life. Instead, he was thrust into a legal nightmare when the U.S. government arrested him and accused him of supporting terrorism—based solely on his political beliefs and peaceful activism for Palestinian human rights.

For two decades, he lived under surveillance, endured endless hearings, and faced the threat of permanent exile. Yet Michel refused to be silenced.

He fought back—not only for his own freedom, but for the constitutional rights of every immigrant, activist, and political dissenter in America.

Freedom on Trial traces Michel’s remarkable journey through:

• political persecution
• courtroom battles
• government overreach
• community solidarity
• and ultimately, victory

This memoir is more than a legal story—it is a fight for truth, for justice, and for the right to speak freely in a country that often contradicts its own ideals.