Solidarity With Juan Pablo Lepore

Infoshop News Sept. 7, 2010

Anti-Capitalist Convergence

Juan Pablo Lepore, 28, was arrested on the morning of September 2 in
Montreal, for participating in the G20 Summit in Toronto this June. Juan
Pablo was transferred to Toronto the same night and appeared in court
Friday morning. The crown has refused his release.

It's stunning to refuse Juan a release on bail, because every day the
Canadian legal system allows defendants their release before trial even
though they are accused of more serious crimes than Juan. It's clear that
if you're poor, and you can't offer cash or assets as a guarantee, you
don't have the same rights," said Marie-Ève Blais, one of the members of
the "Friends of Juan Pablo Lepore" committee that has formed since his
arrest.

The police is trying to convert this arrest into another trophy to justify
the unprecedented inter-provincial police deployment before, during, and
after the G20 meetings. Recall that during the appearance of many
Quebecois arrestees in Toronto on August 23, the Crown produced a
remarkable lack of evidence.

Juan Pablo is an Argentinian documentary film-maker and independent
journalist, visiting Canada for several months. He grew curious about this
country while collaborating in Argentina on a documentary with Canadian
resident Nicolas Van Caloen, and came to visit Nicolas here, while
returning occasionally to Argentina for professional work.

He has spent most of his time visting Montreal, but travelled, like many
Canadian residents, to Toronto last June to document the movement opposing
the G20, publishing on online alternative media outlets including
'cmaq.net' and '2010.mediacoop.ca'.

Juan dedicated his work as a videographer and journalist to the
documentation of resistance movement converging, like in Toronto in June,
to demonstrate against the criminal policies implemented by institutions
like the G20, the IMF or the World Bank. He also documents the daily
resistance of Argentinian communities facing the consequences of the same
policies, notably in his documentary project Semillas (Seeds): "We try to
spread these seeds at the right moment to aid resistance groups that are
constructing a new society based on social and environmental justice,
horizontality, solidarity between peoples and the defence of the Earth."

"The criminalization of Juan Pablo Lepore is proof that the waves of
arrests following the G20 aim to discourage political engagement by people
angered by our system's injustices," concludes Nicolas Van Caloen, Juan's
friend and media partner.

-- Friends of Juan Pablo Lepore

Media Contacts: Nicolas Van Caloen, Mathieu Francoeur ou Marie-Ève Blais:
438-838-8498 Info: claclegal2010@gmail.com ou 514-398-3323,
www.clac2010.net