Wednesday is Phone 4 Parole Day 4 Herman and Jalil!!!

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WEDNESDAY is Phone for Parole Day for Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim!

Call NY Governor David A. Paterson between 10AM and 3PM Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday November 5th.

518-474-8390

Urge him to sign the amended Executive agreements which will allow NYinmates Herman Bell (#2318931) and Jalil Muntaqim (s/n Anthony Bottom/ #2311826) to return to New York State to attend their rightful parolehearings. We're calling him every Wednesday morning of '08 until he signsoff on the transfer.

The transfer of SF8 defendants Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim from the SanFrancisco County Jail back to New York State for their rightful parolehearings has been blocked by both state governors for weeks and NYS nowwants to deny this right for good. This comes despite previous agreementsin the courtroom between the California State prosecutors, the presidingjudge and, of course, the brothers and their attorneys.

Judge Philip Moscone signed an order in May allowing Herman Bell and JalilMuntaqim to return to New York State for their parole hearings. Allparties agreed at that time that the move would be temporary; Herman andJalil waived their rights to fight extradition back to California. Thisvindictive and mean-spirited procedural obstacle was immediatelychallenged by defense attorneys. Strong arguments were made to guarantee Herman and Jalil's right to "pursue their liberty interests" and haveparole hearings. Both have served over 35 years in prison as modelprisoners. Both were targeted originally by COINTELPRO as members of theBlack Panther Party.

New York Attorney Bob Boyle argued in a declaration to the San FranciscoCourt that if the men remain in California, "they would be denied theirparole hearing for years." In a subsequent interview, he also said: Thestate waited 35 years to bring these spurious criminal charges. Now thesecharges are being used to deny these men parole hearings to which they areentitled. Whatever concerns the government has can be overcome by a simplemodification of the extradition order. All Herman and Jalil are asking foris an opportunity to attend their hearings.

In Solidarity,

THE ANARCHIST BLACK CROSS FEDERATIONABCF.net

contact- nycabc[at]riseup[dot]net

Background. . . .

Free the San Francisco Eight!freethesf8.org

Eight former Black community activists – Black Panthers and others – werearrested January 23rd in California, New York and Florida on chargesrelated to the 1971 killing of a San Francisco police officer. Similarcharges were thrown out after it was revealed that police used torture toextract confessions when some of these same men were arrested in NewOrleans in 1973.

Richard Brown, Richard O'Neal, Ray Boudreaux, and Hank Jones were arrestedin California. Francisco Torres was arrested in Queens, New York. HaroldTaylor was arrested in Florida. Two men charged – Herman Bell and JalilMuntaqim – have been held as political prisoners for over 30 years in NewYork State prisons. A ninth man -- Ronald Stanley Bridgeforth – is stillbeing sought. The men were charged with the murder of Sgt. John Young andconspiracy that encompasses numerous acts between 1968 and 1973.

Harold Taylor and John Bowman (recently deceased) as well as Ruben Scott(thought to be a government witness) were first charged in 1975. But ajudge tossed out the charges, finding that Taylor and his twoco-defendants made statements after police in New Orleans tortured themfor several days employing electric shock, cattle prods, beatings, sensorydeprivation, plastic bags and hot, wet blankets for asphyxiation. Such"evidence" is neither credible nor legal.

Herman Bell, 59, of Mississippi, a political prisoner since 1973.Cointelpro's "pattern of manipulation and lies, continuing into thepresent, indicates something more than the ordinary corruption and racismof everyday law enforcement. It can be understood only in terms of thepower of the political movement that [we] were part of, and the intensityof the government's efforts to destroy that movement and to disillusionand intimidate future generations of young activists." Write to him -2318931, 850 Bryant Street, San Francisco CA 94103.

Jalil Muntaqim (Anthony Bottom), 55, of San Francisco, a politicalprisoner in New York since 1978. "The United States does not recognize theexistence of political prisoners. To do so would give credence to the factof the level of repression and oppression, and have to recognize the factthat people resist racist oppression in the United States, and therefore,legitimize the existence of not only the individuals who are incarceratedor have been captured, but also legitimize those movements of which theyare a part." Write to him - 2311826, 850 Bryant Street, San Francisco CA94103.

More on the New York 3 (Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim) at http://www.abcf.net/prisoners/ny3.htm