AHM-ATİK News Center
November 2, 2009
GERMANY | 02 – 11 – 2009 | It is now for almost 27 years that the African American
journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal has been on death row in Pennsylvania, U.S.A., as a
political prisoner. His trial and his conviction for murder were a typical example
for racist bias and class justice.
The presiding judge denied Mumia the funds necessary for a defense and called him a
"n….r", the prosecutor first picked a jury which consisted almost exclusively of
conservative White males, and then proceeded to paint a picture of the defendant as
an ice-cold, ultra-leftist killer. In this trial, tainted as it was by racism and
political repression, the former Black Panther Party spokesman Mumia never had a
chance and was sentenced to death.
All the same, the unbearable conditions of incarceration on death row Mumia has had
to suffer for so long have neither broken him nor snuffed his voice. Even there, he
doesn’t give up and continues to write and broadcast against the injustices of
capitalist society. Why we support Mumia Abu-Jamal:
The death penalty is racist: Close to a half of all inmates of death row in the
Unites States are African Americans. The death penalty is directed against the poor:
More than 90 % of those on death row are poor.
With regard to this, Mumia Abu-Jamal is just one case of many: He was Black, he was
poor, and he couldn’t afford to pay for a real defense. His case thus stands for
thousands of others. In addition, he is a political activist who is a thorn in the
side of the authorities and the powerful.
In all these past years in prison, Mumia hasn’t just fought for his own freedom, but
has also tirelessly struggled for all those sentenced to death everywhere in the
world. As a "voice of the voiceless," as he had come to be called even before his
imprisonment on account of his work as a radio journalist, he gives a voice and a
face to millions of prisoners and all those in society who get no representation in
the "respectable" media.
In April 2009, the Supreme Court of the United States once more demonstrated what
many people in the U.S. already know as the "Mumia exception": Any existing law or
procedure is reinterpreted or simply ignored whenever they represent an obstacle to
the design of the judiciary and their political masters to punish Mumia for refusing
to give in.
After the April 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision made definitely clear that Mumia
will not be given a new trial, there is now only one additional Supreme Court
decision pending, which is scheduled for autumn 2009: namely, whether the death 1982
sentence is simply reconfirmed, or whether it is not confirmed, in which case the
prosecution will be entitled to get a new jury which will then decide on whether
Mumia is re-sentenced to death or "only" gets life in prison without the possibility
of parole.
In this fateful decision, the Supreme Court of the U.S. found no more than two words
to comment on this judicial scandal concerning the political prisoner Mumia
Abu-Jamal, which has now been publicly known for almost three decades: "Petition
denied." They want to execute Mumia, or to bury him in prison for the rest of his
life.
The prosecution in Philadelphia (aka the District Attorney’s Office) is striving for
Mumia’s execution at any price and exerts great pressure to achieve that goal.
According to his lawyer, Robert R. Bryan, since his arrest in December 1981 Mumia’s
life has never been in greater danger than right now.
So far, worldwide protests were able twice – in 1995 and 1999 – to prevent an
execution that had already been ordered. It’s no different today: Only a broad
international protestand solidarity can bring about a situation that makes it
impossible for the authorities to carry out the planned murder of Mumia at the hands
of the state.
Of course, Mumia’s defense team will continue to exhaust all possible legal steps to
save him from execution. But regardless of what happens on the legal front, Mumia
himself, his defense, and his supporters all around the world have always stressed
the fact that political trials can’t be won merely in the courtroom, but are
actually primarily won in the streets.
One of the present strategies of the solidarity movement in the U.S. is to exert
political pressure on the Obama administration. Of course, everybody knows that to
expect a fair treatment of political prisoners from the U.S. government is just as
unrealistic as to expect such from the racist U.S. criminal justice system. All the
same, the solidarity movement in the United States strives to hold the
administration responsible in the broad
daylight of the public sphere and to force it to take a stance, motivated not least
by its (so far hollow) electoral promises of a "change" of the government’s position
with regard to racism in the courts.
One of several expressions of this drive is the demand by the nation’s largest civil
rights organization, the NAACP, for a "Civil Rights Investigation" by the government
concerning the documented racism in the course of the various courts’ handling of
the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Solidarity is a Weapon!
Organize the Emergency Protests! Build Up the Movement!
What can the worldwide solidarity movement for Mumia contribute to vigorously
support the demands of the U.S. activists? How can we, from our geographical
location, increase the political pressure on the Obama administration?
Write Mumia to His Prison Address!
It is important that Mumia gets as much mail from different countries as possible.
Since the authorities check every single piece of mail addressed to him, every mail
bag filled with letters to Mumia represents a kind of silent protest demonstration
that the judiciary and the government will undoubtedly notice. By doing this, we can
clearly show them that Mumia Abu-Jamal isn’t forgotten even after 27 years of
solitary confinement on death row – and that we are very well informed about the
plans of the courts and will continue to watch them with diligence.
There are numerous additional good suggestions how to help Mumia on an individual
basis. But we must also be clearly aware that we will need powerful collective
protests should the racist U.S. criminal justice dare to reinstate the death penalty
against Mumia.
Together with the numerous Mumia support groups and coalitions, the Rote Hilfe (Red
Aid) is calling for a nationwide demonstration in Berlin for the life and freedom of
Mumia Abu-Jamal, as well as for the abolition of the death penalty. This
demonstration will take place on the last Saturday before a possible future
execution date for Mumia; the exact day will be announced immediately after the
latter becomes known.
Compared to the situation in 1995 and 1999 when the first two execution dates
against Mumia had to be canceled due to a successful interplay of legal appeals on
the part of the defense and massive protests by the worldwide solidarity movement,
right now mass protests in front of U.S. embassies and other U.S. institutions all
around the world will be even more decisive, since differently from the 1990s this
time around we won’t be able to stop the execution by legal means, as Mumia has
already exhausted his ordinary legal
appeals.
"Mumia 3 + 12"
In case that the U.S. judiciary and the political forces behind it should really try
to put their death threats against Mumia into practice, the FREE MUMIA movement
additionally calls for a decentralized day of action: At 12 AM (or, if necessary, at
a later hour) on the 3rd day after the reinstatement of Mumia’s death sentence,
institutions of the U.S. government as well as dependencies of U.S. corporations
should then be targets of protests and acts of civil disobedience.
Nobody knows the exact date of the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that will
either give the green light for Mumia’s execution, or force the prosecution to apply
for another sentencing trial if they want to see Mumia dead. But that decision could
come any time after October 5. Should it confirm Mumia’s death sentence, there will
possibly be only very little time left until the governor of Pennsylvania signs an
execution order and
schedules a new execution date. If we start to think about forms of resistance
against this state-sponsored judicial murder only then, it will already be too late.
But if the preparations for this worst case scenario begin right away, the necessary
political pressure will also develop from right now on! – So what are we waiting
for?
Without You, It Can’t Be Done:
Organize the emergency protests – Get loud, become active!
As soon as an execution date is set, everything must be done very quickly; mass
protests must be organized and realized, and everything has to be already in place
for them. And most of all, everyone should be aware that the necessary mobilization
can be effected only with the support and participation of thousands upon thousand
of people.
Solidarity Is a Weapon!
For the Life and Freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal!
No State has the Right to Murder Prisoners – Abolition of the Death Penalty
Everywhere!
Free Leonard Peltier! Free All Other Political Prisoners!
"Mumia 3 + 12" Decentralized Day of Action on the 3rd Day after the
Confirmation of Mumia’s Death Sentence – 12 AM (or, if necessary,
later that day)
National Demonstration to the U.S. Embassy on the last Saturday
before the Planned Execution! 2 PM / Oranienplatz, Berlin
YES WE CAN – Free Mumia!
ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY!
For the Life and Freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal!
AHM-ATİK News Center
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