Thursday, December 31, 2009

Year-End Updates from the Prisoners

BELOW FIND UPDATES (INCLUDING ACTION ALERTS) ON. . .


BPP/BLA PP/POW Robert Seth Hayes

PP/POW Maliki Shakur Latine

Puerto Rican Struggle: PP Avelino Gonzales Claudio, POW Carlos
Alberto Torres

Angola 3 Coalition

Indigenous PP Oso Blanco

Grand Jury Resister Carrie Feldman

Released POW Ojore Lutalo

Indicted Activist Steve Murphy


Make 2010 a year to remember!

In Solidarity,
ABCF-NYC

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Robert Seth Hayes Update

Dec. 26, 2009

We are happy to report that all disciplinary charges against Seth due
to his recent diabetic episode have been dropped. He is back on the honor
block and no longer in keep-lock. It is truly amazing to think that a diabetic
incident in which a person's blood sugar plunges to 32 and then soars
to 620 within a short amount of time can be classified as a disciplinary
incident, but all DOCS rules are made to be broken when it comes to our freedom
fighters.

However, this fluctuation in blood sugar levels is a continuing
problem for Seth, as the prison does not provide a diabetic diet, although it is
classified as a medical facility. Fresh fruits and vegetables, so
important for diabetics, are practically impossible to find in either the visiting
room machines or the commissary, not to mention the mess hall.

Apparently NYSDOCS has never heard of whole grains or a heart healthy
diet. One has to wonder how dangerous a green pepper, a cherry tomato or some
spinach leaves must be in the hands of an inmate and what a threat
this is to the guards. An entire green salad would probably cause a total
lockdown!

Seth's wife Sheila is working hard on being given permission to bring
Seth fresh fruits and vegetables when she visits, but prisoners at Wende
are only allowed two 20 pound food packages a year. Obviously, Sheila cannot
do this alone and needs our help.

We still need to call both Wende and Commissioner Brian Fischer in
Albany and demand that a diabetic diet be provided to all inmates with
diabetes at all NYS Correctional Facilities.

The number to call at Wende is: 716-937-4000. Ask to speak with the
warden about this issue. Make sure you use Seth's DIN number: 74A2280

The NYSDOCS number is 518-457-8126. Ask to speak with Commissioner Brian
Fischer about this issue.

Obviously, due to the force of inertia, this will be difficult to
accomplish. At the same time, we should stress that Seth's wife
Sheila is more than willing to provide him with some fresh produce until the
dietary issue is resolved.

Write to Seth. It is very important that he receive letters at this
time:
Robert Seth Hayes #74A2280, Wende C.F., P.O. Box 1187, Wende Rd.,
Alden, NY 14004-1187

--
Free All Political Prisoners!
nycjericho@gmail.com • www.jerichony.org

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Update from Maliki Shakur Latine

December 20, 2009 [excerpt from a letter]

I want you to know that last week my counselor informed me that my
security classification has been changed from maximum to "medium" and
that I shall be getting transferred to a medium facility shortly (Insha
Allah). However, it is most likely (from what the counselor explained) that I
will be moved to a medium facility nearby Clinton for about 3-6 months
prior to being moved closer to NYC. I take it that DOCS' intention is to see if I
can adjust ( : to a medium security environment after 31 years in a
cage! Little do they realize that, for one, it's a piece of cake; even
though in a medium it's a "dorm" setting rather than an isolated individual
cell. In addition, my being in a medium facility enhances my chances of being
paroled in 2010 (Insha Allah). So we shall see (Insha Allah).

MALIKI SHAKUR LATINE
#81-A-4469
P.O. Box 2000
Dannemora, New York 12929
Clinton Corr. Facility

[address as of 12/30/09, check http://nysdocslookup.docs.state.ny.us/]

http://www.abcf.net/prisoners/latine.htm
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UPDATE ON THE CASE OF PUERTO RICAN POLITICAL PRISONER AVELINO GONZALEZ
CLAUDIO

Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Avelino Gonzalez Claudo is being denied
medical treatment! Since his incarceration, he has developed a
neurological condition. In November 2008, Avelino requested, several
times, medical attention receiving only a “I do not know”, “I will read
some books” answer from the Doctor assigned to his facility.

Avelino has been mvoed to a new prison, so the campaign has a new
target: Peter J. Murphy, the Warden of Avelino's new prison, MacDougall-Walker
Correctional Institution

We cannot let our brother suffer! DOWNLOAD THE PDF LETTER AT THE TOP OF
THIS PARAGRAGH AND FAX/MAIL IT ASAP!

Download the letter at:
http://www.prolibertadweb.com/id9.html

Bureau of Prisons: relentless with Carlos Alberto Torres

As part of the Bureau of Prison’s delayed entry into the 21st
century, it is implementing TRULINCS (Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System)
throughout the federal prison system, to provide prisoners with
access to email through a special system allowing prison officials to monitor all
incoming and outgoing emails.

Puerto Rican prisoner of war Carlos Alberto Torres was looking
forward to the convenient, regular communication it facilitates, given that, since
his transfer to FCI Pekin, his postal correspondence is regularly
delayed from one to three months.

But it was not to be. On December 9, the SIS [prison intelligence
office] lieutenant called him in to notify him that— unlike the rest of the FCI
Pekin population— he will no t be allowed access to email. Why?
Because of “his case and his background,” offered the lieutenant, who had no
response to Carlos Alberto’s inquiry as to why, after 29 years of impeccable
conduct, they would treat him this way, pointing out that his release
might be just around the corner, citing the USPC hearing examiner’s
recommendation for April 2010 release. Nor did the lieutenant provide
the required written explanation for his exclusion from the program.

Show your support for Carlos Alberto by writing to the U.S. Parole
Commission to encourage them to adopt the recommendation and order his
release!

Sample letters available at http://boricuahumanrights.org or
www.prolibertadweb.com


FREE THE PUERTO RICAN POLITICAL PRISONERS!
WWW.PROLIBERTADWEB.COM
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Angola 3 Alert: Join us in helping to send Sister Althea on her
journey home

http://angola3news.blogspot.com/2009/12/althea-francois-memorial-
fundraiser.html

The Angola 3 Coalition suffered a tragic loss this Christmas. Althea
Francois, one of Angola 3’s earliest supporters and a life-long
activist for peace and social justice, crossed over to the ancestors on December
25th at the far too early age of 60.

Althea spent her life actively engaged in the struggle for justice,
starting with her involvement in the Black Panther Party, where she began her
efforts to help political, economic and racial prisoners. She embodied the
finest and most basic ideals of empathy and generosity and inspired all of
us that had the privilege of coming in contact with her.

As Angola 3 member Robert King struggled to find words to express the
depth of his sorrow, he invoked the biblical reference…"I was hungry and
you fed me, was thirsty and you gave me drink, was in prison and you visited me.
Althea fed us with hope. She had an enormously giving spirit that we
will all deeply miss."

In the late ‘90’s, Althea and Marion Brown, together with Malik and
Mwalimu, Shana and Brice, Anita Yesheaux, Vicky Wallace, and Ed (Alton Edwards),
solidly grounded the efforts to free the Angola 3 and create a base for
political prisoner work in New Orleans. When King was released in
February of 2001, he moved to the home that Althea and Marion were staying in on
Bartholomew St. in the 9th Ward. For the first few years of visiting the
prison and organizing the effort, Althea’s home was the base that all
of us worked from. There was always food and room for another mat on the
floor.

Althea was finally able to purchase a home-base for her daughters and
grandchildren in the Gentilly area of New Orleans. Katrina ripped
apart the security she had at long last established and the years since 2005
were a tense balancing act between work in Atlanta, work in New Orleans, her
children and her grandchildren. Though Al rarely complained, she was
beset with a number of crippling maladies- asthma, high-blood pressure and the
incessant pressure of keeping a family together in these difficult times
with never enough support.

She loved her daughters with the ferocity of a lioness and was so
proud of their accomplishments. They were the center of her being and I know that
what would worry her most now is the pain they will feel at her loss.

Sadly, Althea had no insurance and no savings, thus leaving her
daughters not only with the grief of losing her, but with the challenge of raising
funds for her funeral. If you can help with a donation to the family,
please send what you can to defray the funeral costs to:

Rhodes Funeral Home
3933 Washington Avenue
New Orleans, LA

Or:

Olga Francois
c/o Todd Taylor
7704 Benjamin St.
New Orleans, LA 70118


The Service will be Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 10AM at Rhodes Funeral
Home.

Additional information will be posted as received.

--View the photo presentation from Althea's January, 2009 birthday party
here <http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2009/12/28/althea.pdf>. Al loved
her some Nina Simone. We've included two selections below for you to
listen to (at www.angola3news.com).
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Carrie Feldman to Remain Jailed Pending Appeal
Wednesday, December 30 2009 @ 01:57 PM CST

http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20091230135752716

December 26, 2009: As mentioned previously, an appeal of Judge
Jarvey's ruling denying Carrie's release has been filed. The initial
schedule would have taken more than 30 days, and so Carrie Feldman's
attorneys filed a petition for her release pending the appeal. In
response, it was merely rescheduled to be wrapped up within 30 days,
and so Carrie will remain in custody at least until this is resolved.
We have been informed that everything in her case now is sealed, and
so do not have written motions to share. However, we will continue to
update as things happen.

Carrie and Scott DeMuth, both of Minneapolis, were summoned to appear
before a grand jury in Davenport, Iowa on November 17th. They both
refused to testify and were taken into custody for contempt of court.
Scott was charged with conspiracy under the Animal Enterprise
Terrorism Act (AETA) a couple days later and was subsequently
released after about two weeks. He is currently working on his
defense and trial is tentatively set for March. Carrie has been in
custody since Nov. 17th and is courageously continuing to resist the
state's repressive use of the grand jury.

Please continue to write her, send her books, and to fundraise for
her and Scott's defense fund. Info on all of those and more is
available at davenportgrandjury [dot] wordpress [dot] com.

Carolyn Feldman
Washington County Jail.
2185 Lexington Blvd. PO Box 6
Washington, IA 52353
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DONATE TO STOP THE TORTURE OF INDIGENOUS PP OSO BLANCO

Lawyer for Political Prisoner Oso Blanco

Jericho is asking for help in raising funds for a lawyer for Oso
Blanco (aka Byron Shane Chubbuck), a Native American political
prisoner being held and abused at Lewisburg federal prison.

He has been attacked by guards three times within the last few months
and, after consulting with a lawyer, we decided we need to send a
lawyer to visit him sooner rather than later. It will cost about a
thousand for the trip there and a day visit/retainer, as well as
getting the necessary documents for the lawyer.

By sending the donation through I.F.C.O., you will be able to have a
deduction for your income tax. So please help us get this done, as we
are concerned about not only Oso's safety, but his mental health under
this abusive treatment.

1. make out check to IFCO/NYC Jericho
2. on memo line: Oso Blanco's lawyer
3. send check to the Jericho Movement, P.O.Box 1272, New York, NY 10013
4. We will take the checks to IFCO
5. Drop Oso a note or card to let the prison know folks outside are
concerned about our brother.

Byron Shane Chubbuck (Oso Blanco) #07909-051
USP Lewisburg, PO Box 1000, Lewisburg, PA 17837
www.osoblanco.org

Thank you for your help
NYC Jericho
--
Free All Political Prisoners!
nycjericho@gmail.com • www.jerichony.org

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12/20/09 PLEASE READ: UPDATE ON OJORE LUTALO REGISTRY

FORWARD!

Our warmest holiday wishes and solidarity to everyone who has
participated in helping Ojore settle into his new home and for your patience and
perseverance with all of the problems.

Orders are still not reaching Ojore's apartment, they are still being
returned to Target and being refunded. As far as we can tell this is not
anyone's fault but some problem between UPS and Ojore's building.

SO PLEASE, don't give up. You've come this far. If you're participating,
IF/WHEN YOU RECEIVE YOUR REFUND (AN EMAIL FROM no-reply@target.com)
PLEASE GIVE IT BACK AS A DONATION OF EQUAL OR GREATER VALUE.

Point your browser to
https://www.paypal.com/

and send your donation online to the email address
"timABCF@aol.com" (Tim Fasnacht). Make sure to add in the notes section that your donation
is for "OJORE LUTALO". If you'd prefer to stay anonymous or are donating in
the name of an organization, let us know.

If you still haven't participated in the gift drive, here's one last
chance to be on the right side of history in regard to one particular
warrior.

Direct questions and concerns to TimABCF [at] ABCF [dot] com. Unless of
course something IS going on with the online registry that you want
us to know about in which case you want to email nycabc [at] riseup [dot] net.

Thanks again!

Solidarity and Struggle!

Philadelphia ABCF
NYC ABCF


Registry Contact- nycabc [at] riseup [dot] net
(ABCF-NYC)

Donation Contact- TimABCF [at] aol [dot] com
(ABCF- Philadelphia)

ABCF.net
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http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20091219105755779

Dear Friends,

As of today, Steve has been in custody for 2 months and 20 days. He is
still at the Central Detention Center of the San Bernardino County Jail.
Two motions have been submitted by Steve's attorney on his behalf and
the government recently requested additional time to respond. The
government's responses to the motions are due by December 21 and the defendants reply
is due by January 4, 2010. The final hearing on the motions is set for
January, 11. Steve's trial date was originally set for January 12, 2010,
but a recent motion to extend has been filed and approved for February
9th. Again, none of these dates are set in stone and, as they tend to
do, they can and will change frequently.

Steve continues to maintain his innocence. His attorney has hired a
private investigator and a DNA expert. If you have any information that
might be helpful for Steve's case, please let us know so we can put
you in touch with his attorney (email us at info[at]supportsteve[dot]org.

Phone calls are extremely expensive and these expenses are adding up
quickly. In addition, Steve's girlfriend lives in Texas and traveling to
visit Steve is a huge expense. All indications lead to the unfortunate
probability that she will have to travel several more times before an
outcome is reached - which even then is only the beginning. These phone
calls and visits are incredibly important to Steve and help him keep his
spirits up in a horribly dark time.

Please consider giving a donation at http://supportsteve.org to help
Steve and his partner defray these costs - perhaps in honor of a loved one, a
perfect gift. While people are celebrating the holiday season, Steve
will be alone. Even if you can't give monetary support, please keep writing
Steve and all political prisoners during this difficult time. Letters
are a lifeline to folks who are so physically cut off from their communities
and loved ones. You can write Steve at:

MURPHY, STEVE JAMES
0910300841
CENTRAL DETENTION CENTER
630 EAST RIALTO AVE
SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92408

All incoming and outgoing mail is read by the authorities. Please
remember
that, even if unsolicited, mail can still result in sanctions against a
prisoner. When writing Steve, please do not talk about his case or
anything related to it. For a list of mail restrictions, visit:
http://supportsteve.org/info.htm

We'll keep you updated as things progress. Thank you all for your
continued support.

Peace, love, and solidarity,
supportsteve team

http://www.supportsteve.org

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