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

Call NY Governor David A. Paterson between 9AM and 1pm Eastern 
Standard Time on Wednesday November 5th.

518-474-8390

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

On November 4th, people across the US will be in the poll booths 
choosing between state leaders. On Wednesday the 5th, take the 
opportunity to call on some officials to give a couple of freedom 
fighters, men who struggle for visions bigger than Obama's or 
McCain's, a chance to attend a parole hearing.

The transfer of SF8 defendants Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim from 
the San Francisco County Jail back to New York State for their 
rightful parole hearings has been blocked by both state governors for
 weeks and NYS now wants to deny this right for good. This comes 
despite previous agreements in the courtroom between the California 
State prosecutors, the presiding judge and, of course, the brothers 
and their attorneys.

Judge Philip Moscone signed an order in May allowing Herman Bell and 
Jalil Muntaqim to return to New York State for their parole hearings.
 All parties agreed at that time that the move would be temporary; 
Herman and Jalil waived their rights to fight extradition back to 
California. This vindictive and mean-spirited procedural obstacle was
 immediately challenged by defense attorneys. Strong arguments were 
made to guarantee Herman and Jalil's right to "pursue their liberty 
interests" and have parole hearings. Both have served over 35 years 
in prison as model prisoners. Both were targeted originally by 
COINTELPRO as members of the Black Panther Party.
New York Attorney Bob Boyle argued in a declaration to the San 
Francisco Court that if the men remain in California, "they would be 
denied their parole hearing for years." In a subsequent interview, he
 also said: The state waited 35 years to bring these spurious
criminal  charges. Now these charges are being used to deny these men
parole  hearings to which they are entitled. Whatever concerns the
government  has can be overcome by a simple modification of the
extradition  order. All Herman and Jalil are asking for is an
opportunity to  attend their hearings.

In Solidarity,
THE ANARCHIST BLACK CROSS FEDERATION
ABCF.net
contact- nycabc[at]riseup[dot]net


Background. . . .

Free the San Francisco Eight!
freethesf8.org

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

Richard Brown, Richard O'Neal, Ray Boudreaux, and Hank Jones were 
arrested in California. Francisco Torres was arrested in Queens, New 
York. Harold Taylor was arrested in Florida. Two men charged – Herman
 Bell and Jalil Muntaqim – have been held as political prisoners for
 over 30 years in New York State prisons. A ninth man -- Ronald 
Stanley Bridgeforth – is still being sought. The men were charged 
with the murder of Sgt. John Young and conspiracy 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 a judge tossed out the charges, finding that Taylor and his
 two co-defendants made statements after police in New Orleans 
tortured them for several days employing electric shock, cattle 
prods, beatings, sensory deprivation, 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 the 
present, indicates something more than the ordinary corruption and 
racism of everyday law enforcement. It can be understood only in 
terms of the power of the political movement that [we] were part of, 
and the intensity of the government's efforts to destroy that 
movement and to disillusion and 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 political 
prisoner in New York since 1978. "The United States does not 
recognize the existence of political prisoners. To do so would give 
credence to the fact of the level of repression and oppression, and 
have to recognize the fact that people resist racist oppression in 
the United States, and therefore, legitimize the existence of not 
only the individuals who are incarcerated or have been captured, but 
also legitimize those movements of which they are a part." Write to 
him - 2311826, 850 Bryant Street, San Francisco CA 94103.

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