Thursday, September 30, 2010

From Palestine to Oakland: The Fight to Free Political Prisoners

Monday, October 11
7:30pm - 9:00pm
405 Milbank Hall, Barnard College
3009 Broadway New York, NY

Sponsored by: Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine
As part of the Global Days of Action for Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian Political
Prisoners, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine presents a talk featuring:

FRANCISCO TORRES

Born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York City, Cisco is a Vietnam Veteran who
fought for the grievances of Black and Latino soldiers upon his return to the
states. A former Black Panther, he has been a community activist since his discharge
from th...e military in 1969. He worked with troubled youth up to the day of his
arrest. Freed on bail in September 2007, Cisco is the sole defendant to still face
charges as part of the San Francisco 8, a group of Black Panthers arrested for their
alleged involvement in the 1971 murder of Sgt. John V. Young.

LAMIS DEEK

Lamis Deek is a Palestinian organizer born in Nablus, Palestine and raised in New
York. She is member and co-chair of Al-Awda New York. She works in the field of
political asylum and general litigation and witnessed the trial of Ahmad Sa’adat as
well as those of numerous other Palestinian political prisoners.

MICHAEL KENNEDY

American University in Cairo post-graduate student and journalist Michael Kennedy
has worked in documenting the remains of what was once al-Fara'a detention center
for minors near the West Bank city of Nablus. Through this photo exhibit and study,
he tells the story of imprisonment and torture through the eyes of Raed, a man now
in his forties, who was once a child prisoner.

Co-sponsored by: Al-Awda NY, Lucha, BSO

--
Charlotte L. Kates charlotte.kates@gmail.com

Luis Rosa - Decided on living life to the fullest to make up for time lost in prison

Sept. 23, 2010 elnuevodia.com Por Daniel Rivera Vargas / drivera2@elnuevodia.com

English translation follows Spanish

Decidido a vivir el doble
Luis Rosa dice que es la única forma de recuperar
el tiempo perdido tras las rejas

El más joven de los ex presos políticos, Luis
Rosa, es un hombre simpático y expresivo.

El padre de tres hijos -Luis, Inara Tanairí y
Esaí Sebastián, los dos últimos del matrimonio
con la hermana del también ex preso político
Edwin Cortés- comienza a explorar la exportación
de productos a mercados agrícolas de Chicago,
donde pasó buena parte de su vida hasta su
arresto en 1980. Tiene 50 años de edad, pasó 19
años preso, es percusionista y obrero de la construcción sin empleo permanente.

¿A qué te dedicas?
Vivo en Aguadilla, estoy desempleado, soy
promotor de eventos culturales y trabajo en la construcción liviana.

¿Qué fue lo más que te impactó a tu salida de prisión?
Antes yo veía más campo, más gente orgullosa de
trabajar el campo, más ayuda en ese sector. Lo
que me impactó mucho es la siembra de cemento.
Entiendo que es necesario porque tiene que ver
con el desarrollo, pero perdimos ese sentido de
cultura, esa mancha de plátano se nos ha borrado
un poco cuando nos alejamos de la tierra. Creo
que ahora mismo hay un resurgir en la
agricultura. Yo estoy tratando de comenzar un
proyecto de exportación a Chicago.

¿En que etapa esta ese proyecto?
Ya he visitado un Farmer’s Market en Chicago.
Llevo la maleta llena de aguacates y pana, esta
semana llevo quenepas, piña y guineos. Maíz no
pude llevar. Muchacho, se pelearon por las panas
allí, en Chicago las panas cuestan $6 a $7 cada una.

¿A qué te refieres con promotor de eventos culturales?
Como parte del grupo "Por la libre" organizamos
un festival en Caguas celebrando el 30
aniversario del grupo Mapeyé, y luego el
concierto de Batacumbele en Carolina y antes de
eso, tan pronto salí celebramos un festival de 4
días que era el festival por la paz en Vieques.
Además, organizamos actividades de teatro y
bohemia en esta área (Aguadilla, Aguada), en
conjunto con la exposición "Sin espacio
suficiente". Además tenemos una obra para
presentarla pronto en Aguada con Sandra Rodríguez
que yo escribí, “Aquí está abuela con su ritmo
negro”. Es una respuesta a los resultados del
censo de 2002. Para Chicago hemos reclutado
talento para la fiesta boricua allá y un
concierto que vamos a hacer la segunda edición
que se llama Navijazz, con talento de aquí. Este
año es con Luis “Perico” Ortiz. También en la
lucha por Oscar (López, el único del grupo que no
ha sido excarcelado). Nuestra prioridad es traer
a Oscar. Sin él la familia no está completa, todo
lo que hacemos es para lograr su liberación. Sin
él, todavía no estamos completamente libres.

¿Cómo te ha ido en la percusión?
Ya grabé con ‘Tony Mapeyé” en un disco, con los
Reyes Magos de Isabela, había grabado un par de
vídeos pero en la escuela superior, una poesia
musicalizada que ganó premios. Además, he sido
invitado a tarima, especialmente recién salí, con
Andy Montañez, Roberto Roena, Plena Libre, con Cachete Maldonado varias veces.

¿No te sientes discriminado, por ejemplo para
conseguir empleo, cuando la gente en la calle se entera de tu pasado?
No, porque antes de que se enteren yo trato de ganármelos con mi trabajo.

Han pasado 11 años desde tu excarcelación tras 19
años como preso político ¿qué reflexión te provoca esto?
Hay un dicho de que tiempo pasado es tiempo
perdido, pero creo que la única forma de
recuperar el tiempo es viviendo el doble. He
aprendido a vivir la vida, participando de la
lucha por la patria, la lucha cultural. Creo que
es la única forma de recuperar, bueno no de recuperar, de apreciar.

¿Qué fue lo más duro del tiempo en prisión?
Lo más duro yo creo que fue la separación de las
familias. Ese sentido de ineptitud, de impotencia
de que ahora algo le pasa a alguien y no podemos
hacer nada. Es un proceso de ajuste. Adentro
había discrimen porque éramos presos políticos,
había un proceso diseñado para romper nuestro
espíritu. Yo pasé 200 días en solitaria, las
duchas venían cada 14 a 20 días, me trasladaron
22 veces en ocho diferentes prisiones federales y
estatales. Allí habían 28 pandillas que
controlaban eso, había un riesgo para mi vida.
Pero lo más duro fue la separación de la familia,
lo demás… pues desde que comenzó, internalizamos
quiénes éramos y que representábamos.

¿Qué representaban?
Nosotros éramos puertorriqueños que queríamos
aportar a la lucha por la independencia de Puerto
Rico. Eso conlleva una responsabilidad de ayudar
al prójimo, alejarse de vicios como las drogas y
otras cosas dañinas, y eso conlleva una
disciplina de estudio, de ejercicio. Ya no sólo
es uno, uno representa una lucha, a un pueblo.

¿Algo positivo?
En la cárcel en ocasiones podía tocar, soy
percusionista. Toco conga, timbales, bongó,
batería. Establecimos centros culturales y
orquestas, celebrábamos el 5 de mayo, el Grito de
Yara, el Grito de Lares (fechas revolucionarias
en México, Cuba y Puerto Rico, respectivamente).
Eso era muy importante para la salud mental y
para la paz. Tratábamos de crear un espacio
neutral donde los pandilleros se podían sentir
tranquilos. Además les dábamos clases de historia
(a otros presos), era importante para
contrarrestar la ola de negatividad y violencia
en las cárceles. Nosotros nos ganamos el respeto
de la población carcelaria y de los carceleros.
Estábamos fuera de las pandillas y estábamos
tratando de ayudar. Es más, hubo un alcaide que
dijo que si tuviera 100 como yo, las prisiones podrían correr mucho mejor.

¿Te arrepientes de los actos que te imputaron en los 70?
A mí me achacaron delitos que cuando ocurrieron
yo lo que tenía eran 14 años, pero nosotros no
presentamos defensa porque no reconocíamos la
jurisdicción de una corte criminal. La lucha por
la independencia no es un crimen, está reconocida
por las leyes internacionales.

Dicen que Lolita Lebrón tildó de error la lucha armada.
Yo no escuché esas palabras de Lolita. Mi
posición es que la lucha armada es una táctica
que sólo se utiliza en momentos específicos y los
pueblos colonizados no deben renunciar a ningún
método de lucha para alcanzar su libertad. Ahora
mismo (en Puerto Rico), yo no creo, el proceso de
concientización de la sociedad no está a ese
nivel. Yo creo que hay un gran sector de la
población que ha sido pacificado. No descarto que
la lucha armada sea una opción (pero)
personalmente no estoy en esa onda, pero no le
puedo negar ese derecho al pueblo. Nosotros
respetamos mucho la gesta de los nacionalistas, a
pesar que aquí en la Isla hubo un sector del
independentismo que nos rechazó, porque vivíamos
en Chicago. De hecho, “Boricua en la Luna” fue
escrito para nosotros por Corretjer, la letra
original decía Chicago pero se cambió a Nueva
York porque era mejor musicalmente, y “el peón de
Las Marías” era el papá de las hermanas (Alicia e
Ida Luz Rodríguez, también ex presas políticas).

¿Cómo ves el movimiento independentista hoy día
en Puerto Rico y que piensas del Partido Independentista?
El independentismo hoy día yo lo veo
fragmentado. El PIP ha funcionado como una
organización que le ha dado estructura al
independentismo, que ha ayudado a educar sobre el
independentismo, pero como toda organización debe
renovarse y creo que está en ese proceso. Soy
bien optimista de que pronto surgirá una
estrategia que nos una a todos, creo que nosotros
tenemos la respuesta a muchos de los problemas que hay en Puerto Rico.
******************************************************************************
Decided on living life to the fullest
Luis Rosa says it’s the only way to make up for
time lost while he was in prison

By Daniel Rivera Vargas / drivera2@elnuevodia.com
September 23, 2010 6:05 a.m.
http://www.elnuevodia.com/decididoavivireldoble-784333.html

Translated by Jan Susler with edits from Luis Rosa

The youngest of the ex-political prisoners, Luis
Rosa is a friendly and expressive man.

The father of three children­ Luis, Inara Tanairí
y Esaí Sebastián, the latter two from his
marriage to Magdalena Cortés Acevedo, the sister
of another ex-political prisoner Edwin Cortés­ is
starting to explore the possibility of exporting
products to farmers markets in Chicago, where he
spent a good part of his life before his arrest
in 1980. At 50 years old, he spent 19 years in
prison, and is a percussionist and construction
worker without any permanent job.

What do you do for a living?

I live in Aguadilla; I’m unemployed; I promote
cultural events and work in light construction.

What impacted you most when you came out of prison?

I used to see more countryside, more people proud
of working the land, more help in that sector.
What impacted me a lot was the amount of cement.
I know it’s necessary because it’s related to
development, but we lose this sense of culture,
that “plantain stain” is a little less of a stain
when we’re away from the land. I think that now
there’s a resurgence in agriculture. I’m trying
to start a project to export agricultural products to Chicago.

How far along is that project?

I’ve already visited a Farmer’s Market in
Chicago. I took a suitcase full of avocado and
pana (breadfruit). This week I’ll take quenepas,
pineapple and bananas. I couldn’t take the corn
I’d grown. Man, they fought over the panas. In Chicago they cost $6 or $7 each.

What do you mean about promoting cultural events?

As part of the group “Por la libre,” we organized
a festival in Caguas celebrating the 30th
anniversary of the group Mapeyé, and then a
concert of Batacumbelé in Carolina. And before
that, as soon as I came out of prison, we put on
a four day long festival, a peace festival in
Vieques. We’ve also organized theater and
bohemias in this area (Aguadilla, Aguada), along
with the exhibit Not Enough Space. We also have
something we’re working on presenting soon in
Aguada with Sandra Rodríguez that I wrote,
“Here’s grandma, with her black rhythm.” It’s in
response to the results of the 2002 census. For
Chicago, we’ve recruited talent for the Fiesta
Boricua there, and a concert were doing for the
second year, Navijazz, with talent from here.
This year it’s with Luis “Perico” Ortiz. I’m also
involved with the struggle for Oscar (López, the
only one of the group that’s still in prison).
Our priority is to bring Oscar home. Without him,
the family isn’t complete. Everything we do is to
win his release. Without him, we aren’t completely free.

How’s it gone for you as a percussionist?

I’ve already taped a cd with Tony Rivera and the
Orquesta Nacional Mapeyé, and with Los Reyes
Cantores de Isabela. Before going to prison, I
taped a couple videos for high school, of
musicalized poetry that won awards. I’ve also
been invited to the stage, especially right after
I got out of prison, with Andy Montañez, Roberto
Roena, Plena Libre, and several times with Cachete Maldonado.

Don’t you feel discrimination? For example, isn’t
it hard to find work after people in the street find out about your past?

No, because before they know who I am, I try to win them over with my work.

It’s been 11 years since your release, after
serving 19 years as a political prisoner. What
reflections can you share with us?

There’s a saying that time spent is time lost,
but I think that now, after all those years in
prison, I want to live life to the fullest,
appreciating every second of the day. I’ve
learned to live life, participating in the
struggle for our homeland, the cultural struggle.
I think that’s the only way to make up for lost
time; well, not to make up for lost time, but to appreciate life.

What was the hardest thing about prison?

I think the hardest thing was being separated
from our families. That feeling of ineptitude, of
impotence, that when something happens to
someone, and we can’t do anything about it. It’s
a process of adjustment. Inside prison, there was
discrimination because we were political
prisoners. There was a process designed to break
our spirit. I spent 200 days in solitary, with
showers every 14 to 20 days. They transferred me
22 times, to eight different federal and state
prisons. There were 28 gangs that controlled the
prisons. The jailers tried to put my life at
risk, but didn’t count on the prison population’s
support and respect for us. But the hardest was
being separated from the family. The rest...
well, from the beginning, we internalized who we were and what we represented.

What did you represent?

We were Puerto Ricans who wanted to contribute to
the struggle for the independence of Puerto Rico.
That carries a responsibility to help your fellow
man, to stay away from vices such as drugs and
other harmful things; and it carries with it a
discipline, to study, to exercise. You’re not
just an individual; you represent a struggle, a people.

Anything positive about prison?

In prison, there were times I could play music.
I’m a percussionist. I play conga, timbales,
bongó, drums. We set up cultural centers and
orchestras. We celebrated the 5th of May, the
Grito de Yara, Grito de Lares (revolutionary
dates in Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico,
respectively). That was very important for our
mental health and for peace. We tried to create a
neutral space, where the gangs could feel
peaceful. We also gave history classes (to other
prisoners). It was important to stop the wave of
negativity and violence in the prisons. We won
the respect of the prison population and our
jailers. We didn’t belong to gangs, and we were
trying to help. There was even a warden who said,
“If I had 100 prisoners like you, this prison would run much better.”

Do you regret the acts they attributed to you in the 70's?

They charged me with offenses that took place
when I was only 14 years old. But we didn’t
present a defense, because we didn’t recognize
the jurisdiction of the criminal court. It’s not
a crime to struggle for independence, and that is
recognized by international law.

They say that Lolita Lebrón said that armed struggle was a mistake.

I never heard her say those words. My position is
that armed struggle is a tactic that is only used
in specific moments, and that colonized peoples
shouldn’t discard any method of struggle to
achieve freedom. Right now (in Puerto Rico), I
don’t think that the process of conscientization
in society is at that level. I think that there’s
a large sector of the population that has been
pacified. I don’t dismiss armed struggle as an
option. (While) personally I’m not on that
wavelength, I wouldn’t deny that right for our
people. We were inspired by the Nationalists’
actions. When we arrested, here on the Island
initially there not unanimous support within the
independence movement, for a variety of factors,
including issues about armed struggle and that
many of us were children of the diaspora. The
poem, “Boricua en la Luna” was written for us by
don Juan Antonio Corretjer, after he visited us
in jail, addressing some of those issues. The
“peón de Las Marías” in the poem was the sisters’
father (Alicia and Ida Luz Rodríguez, also ex-political prisoners).

How do you see the independence movement today in
Puerto Rico, and what do you think of the Independence Party?

I see the independence movement today as
fragmented. The PIP has functioned as an
organization that’s given structure to the
independence movement, that has helped to educate
about independence, but, like every organization,
it should renovate itself, and I think that’s in
process. I am really optimistic that a new
strategy will soon emerge to unite us all. I
think we have the answer to many of the problems that exist in Puerto Rico.

Occupation at the Foreign Press Association of Greece

occupiedlondon.org Sept. 28, 2010

On 27th of September an occupation took place in the building of the foreign press association of greece. The purpose was the counter-information about the case of the political prisoners accused of being members of the revolutionary organization ‘Revolutionary Struggle’.

The banners above read:

‘No prosecution for Nikotopoulos, Kortesis, Stathopoulos’ (3 of the anarchist prisoners that have not accepted of being members of the group)

‘Solidarity to the members of Revolutionary Struggle’

‘The state is the only terrorist. Solidarity is our weapon’

The text of the action in english can be found here: http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1210440#1210443

More photos here: http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1210686

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Khimki: The Town Where You’re Guilty until Proven Innocent

This morning (monday 27th of September - editor) the court in Khimki extended
the police custody of Alexei Gaskarov for another two months. The web site of
the Russian edition of Newsweek has the details (our comments are in square
brackets):

A Kommersant correspondent has informed Newsweek that antifascist Alexei
Gaskarov’s term in a pretrial detention facility [in Mozhaisk] has been
extended by two months. The court hearing was held in open chamber. However,
a small room was chosen for the hearing, and therefore only one journalist
and Alexei Gaskarov’s mother were admitted inside.

Gaskarov’s lawyer told Judge Svetlana Galanova that his client had only
been summoned for questioning on three occasions over the course of his time
in police custody. [Gaskarov has been in police custody since July 29.] He
also noted that over the past [two] months no investigative actions had been
conducted [with his client], although over 100 people have already been
questioned. [Our sources in the campaign say that this figure is closer to
200]. There is therefore no need for Gaskarov’s continued confinement.

He also noted that three State Duma deputies and three public figures had
vouched for Alexei Gaskarov’s good character — the first time this had
happened in his practice as a lawyer.

Gaskarov said that he does not consider himself guilty as charged, and
that he was in Khimki during the time of the events as a correspondent for
the Institute for Collective Action. He requested that the judge order him
released from the pretrial detention facility because of the onset of cold
weather.

The prosecution justified its request for Gaskarov’s continued confinement
to police custody by arguing that Gaskarov had acted as part of a group of
persons whose identities had not been established. He could not be released
from the pretrial detention facility because this might impede further
investigation of the incident.

The hearing in Maxim Solopov’s case will take place tomorrow.

Judge Galanova Has Revoked the Presumption of Innocence

This morning, Judge Svetlana B. Galanova, the temporary acting chair of the
Khimki Municipal Court, ruled that social activist Alexei Gaskarov should be
kept in police custody for another two months. Alexei has been charged with
disorderly conduct (the maximum prison term for which is seven years) for his
alleged involvement in a demonstration on July 28, 2010, outside the Khimki
town hall. The other person charged in the case, Maxim Solopov, is also still
in police custody, and the court hearing that will decide whether to extend
his arrest is scheduled for 2 p.m. tomorrow in Khimki.

According to Anya, Alexei Gaskarov’s girlfriend, today’s hearing was
semi-closed to the public: only lawyer Georgy Semyonovsky, Alexei’s mother
Irina, and Kommersant journalist Alexander Chernykh were allowed into the
courtroom. The approximately fifteen people who came for the hearing –
including Alexei’s friends, Anya herself, and other journalists – were forced
to wait in the hallway. According to one of them, Alexander Malinovsky,
Alexei appeared grim but held up like a champ. His supporters only had a few
seconds to look at Alexei as he was led by guards down the hallway.

When I write that Judge Galanova has revoked the presumption of innocence, I
have in mind not only her decision today to extend the police custody of
Alexei Gaskarov, in relation to whom no investigative actions have been
conducted for a month already (that is, he has not been interrogated,
summoned to meet with the investigators, etc.)

I also have in mind the amazing document that Spanish trade unionists from the
CNT-AIT (Confederación Nacional del Trabajo) received from Judge Galanova in
reply to their inquiry about the fate of Alexei Gaskarov.

In a letter dated September 15, 2010, and marked No. k-9, temporary acting
chair Galanova writes as follows:

“As a result of the criminal case materials presented by the investigative
organs, the court ruled that he be remanded to police custody. Suspect
Gaskarov can be freed from criminal prosecution if evidence is presented of
his lack of complicity in the circumstances that served as the basis for the
opening of the criminal case.”

You can view the entire letter at the web site of the AIT’s Russian section


Judge Galanova’s Letter to Spanish Trade Unionists

For all intents and purposes, temporary acting chair Galanova declared that
Alexei Gaskarov would remain in prison until his innocence is proven.

According to the presumption of innocence – the fundamental legal principle on
which the criminal investigative and judicial system is based throughout the
world, including the Russian Federation – suspects are not required to prove
their innocence. On the contrary, police investigators and prosecutors must
present evidence of a suspect’s guilt.

So it would appear that Svetlana B. Galanova, temporary acting chair of the
Khimki Municipal Court, is simply ignorant of the law.

How then is she able to chair a municipal court, to work as a judge, to make
judicial rulings that affect the lives of other people?

Galanova, however, does serve as a judge. Today she extended the term of
Alexei Gaskarov’s confinement in police custody.

This means that the Campaign for the Release of the Khimki Hostages will
contiune its work. We’ve held approximately 40 protest actions in 33
countries and 12 countries. We’ve sent thousands of messages and appeals to
the court, the prosecutor, and the Russian president. Do they need more?
We’ll give them more.

The disgraceful behavior of the Russian judicial system will become a matter
of public record the world over.
Vlad Tupikin
September 27, 2010
The English translation is taken from here

(through http://avtonom.org/node/13552)

WORLD DAY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY : USA 10/9/10

Dear Prison Justice Friends,

Sorry I missed the last conference call. I've been working on this upcoming event,
the intense campaign in Philadelphia to execute Mumia, the two new films that came
out last Tuesday on Mumia's case (one done by the Fraternal Order of Police, the
other done by a Mumia supporter) and now the announcement that there will be oral
hearings on November 9th on whether or not Mumia's death sentence should be
reinstated. If you are in the Philadelphia area on October 9, please join us. For
those in the NYC area, there is also an event on Thursday night, Oct 7th at St.
Mary's Church on police terrorism and the death penalty.

WORLD DAY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY
Philadelphia
Saturday, October 9

9 AM RALLY AT BROAD & SPRING GARDEN, FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE HEADQUARTERS
We demonstrate at the FOP because of their long-term, vicious commitment to
executions, even in cases of innocence, and their terrorist attacks against those
who fight for justice.

10 AM MARCH BEGINS

11:30 AM INDOOR RALLY La Familia, 1310 North Broad Street

WE DEMAND 100% ABOLITION NOW! NO EXCEPTIONS (INCLUDING MUMIA!)!

Total Death Row Prisoners: 3,000+
122+ Exonerated Death Row Prisoners
How Many More Are Innocent?

Several key members of US anti-death penalty organizations have recently made a move
to exclude Mumia Abu-Jamal from the movement to abolish the death penalty, arguing
that Mumia's inclusion alienated potential law enforcement supporters of the
abolition movement! This position caused an international uproar.

October 9 will be a reaffirmation of a real and unifying abolition movement:
100% ABOLITION! NO EXCEPTIONS!

Scheduled Participants:
NEW FILM BY JOHANNA FERNANDEZ, PACKED WITH NEW EVIDENCE AND NEW LIVE INTERVIEWS,
WILL BE SHOWN.
JUSTICE ON TRIAL: THE CASE OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL
WELFARE POETS

CECIL GUTZMORE, Pan-African scholar and activist based in United Kingdom and
Jamaica, involved in political and community work and activism within the African
community, one of the editors of the celebrated black theoretical and discussion
journal, The
Black Liberator and has published in such journals as Marxism Today, Race and Class,
and Jamaica Journal ANournal as well as being a columnist on the Jamaica Daily
Gleaner and a contributor to the Jamaica Observer. lecturer at the University of the
West Indies, Jamaica, and the University of North London (now London Metropolitan
University); engaged in research and writing on Caribbean folk/popular culture,
Creolisation, Pan-Africanism, the history of race and racism, the debate generated
by Eric Williams¹ Capitalism and Slavery and the historical-legal basis of the case
for Euro-American reparations for the Atlantic 'trade' in and enslavement of
Africans, facilitator and founding member of the growing international campaign
Reparations! Haiti First! Haiti Now!

PROFESSOR CLAUDE GUILLAUMAUD-PUJOL, Coordinator, French Mumia Abu-Jamal Collective:
Member, Steering Committee of World Coalition Against the Death Penalty; Author of
the French biography of Mumia Abu-Jamal.

FORMER DEATH ROW PRISONERS

JOURNALIST LINN WASHINGTON, Linn Washington Jr. is an investigative reporter who has
researched and written about race/class based inequities embedded in the U.S.
criminal justice system for over twenty-five years. He is a columnist for The
Philadelphia Tribune and is a founding member of the online progressive newspaper
This Can't Be Happening.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE COMMITTEE, Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr. and JR Valrey
Sponsors: Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, Texas Coalition to Abolish the
Death Penalty, Texas Moratorium Network, Campaign to End the Death Penalty,
International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, International Action
Center, Witness to Innocence (Philadelphia), Exonorees from Death Row.
NYC bus info: to buy a ticket call, 212-330-8029 ($15)
Buses leave at 6:30 from 33rd Street and 8th Avenue

Solidarity campaign Sep 17-20; judges rule Alexei and Maxim remain in prison for 2 more months

International days of action in solidarity with Khimki hostages

On September 17-20 solidarity actions took place in various cities of
Russia and the world as part of the international days of action for the
release of Khimki hostages.

People from different countries and political strands have responded to
the call of Russian activists, who organized Campaign in support of Alexei
Gaskarov and Maxim Solopov. They were united by the understanding that
Alexei and Maxim are held under arrest without legal grounds and that the
prison term of 7 years, which they may get, is also disproportionate.

Solidarity always was a powerful weapon in the struggle for freedom and
justice, and now public pressure may prove to be a more powerful
instrument than the work of attorneys in the situation when Russia's
judicial system is controlled by the state. The recent decisions to held
Alexei Gaskarov and Maxim Solopov in prison, which was pronounced on
September 26 and 27 respectively call for further action on our part.

Even before the official start of the internationals days of action, the
campaign de facto started in Novosibirsk (Russia), where local artists
made an installation which called for the release of Khimki hostages.

Activists of Antifascist Action in Zaporozhye (Ukraine) carried out a
series of actions as part of the solidarity campaign with Russian social
activists, who were subjected to repression, arrests and torture for their
involvement in the struggle for preservation of the Khimki forest.
Throughout the week preceding September 17, activists in Zaporozhye
distributed leaflets, informing people about the 'Khimki case'. At the end
of the week they mounted a banner on one of the city bridges, which read
'Free Khimki hostages!'

On September 17 a full scale international campaign — International days
of action — has started.

On that day about a dozen and a half activists from Sweden, Denmark and
ex-Soviet countries held a picket in front of the Russian embassy in
Stockholm (Sweden). Activists with banners handed out leaflets informing
about the case. They have spoken to the staff of the embassy and delivered
to the latter a collective letter of protest demanding to stop repressions
against activists, free the arrested and stop destruction of the Khimki
forest. The letter was to be passed on to the Russian ambassador. Although
this was a rather small action, it couldn't be ignored by the staff of the
embassy.

The same day a group of antifascists held an action in front of the
Russian consulate in New York (USA) demanding to release the Khimki
hostages and stop repressions against activists. About 20 people took part
in the protest and a letter was delivered to the Russian consul.

In Omsk (Russia) anarchists organized an illegal action in support of
Alexei Gaskarov and Maxim Solopov. At 6pm they unfurled banners 'Free
Khimki hostages!' and 'Authorities' argument' (the latter featured a
police baton and a chain-saw). The leaflets they distributed informed
about the case and called on the people to put pressure on the authorities
in order for Alexei and Maxim, who were taken hostage by the state, to be
released. This was a rather fast protest, which lasted for about 15
minutes, after that the activists dispersed before the police could
interfere.

On the following day, September 18, actions continued.

On that day antifascists and social activists in Kiev (Ukraine) made a
demo and a street performance in front of the Russian consulate. Actors in
black clothes with black sacks on their heads were tied with the
three-color ropes, which symbolized the Russian flag. This performance
illustrated how the Russian state treats its hostages. The 'hostages' had
tags on their clothes - 'antifascist', 'social activist', 'political
activist' - which gave the real reasons for their arrest, interrogation
and charges against them. One of the actors, who had bruises on his face,
signed a blood-stained paper, which was his 'sincere acknowledgement' of
crimes. This illustrated the actual state of the arrested when they
signed their testimonies in police stations, as in fact many of the
detained people later informed that they were tortured by the police
(following police repression against activists in Russia after the Khimki
demonstration three people were also taken to hospital with bruises,
broken skull and bruises from asphyxia). The protesters shouted 'Free
Khimki hostages!', 'Free Solopov and Gaskarov!', 'Plant trees, not jail
activists!'. The protest was organized by Antifascist Action and
Revolutionary Confederation of anarcho-syndicalists (RKAS), activists from
various independent trade unions and leftist organizations also took part.

On the same day, September 18, about 70 people gathered in front of
Karstadt store in Dusseldorf (Germany) to support Alexei Gaskarov and
Maxim Solopov. Mainly activists of various left and antifascist groups
participated. The place of gathering was chosen for a reason — Karstadt
stores have Vinci company as its business partner. In Russia Vinci is
involved in financing the destruction of Khimki forest and the events that
surround this. Vinci's affiliate, Vinci-Park, for several years has been
servicing Karstadt's car parkings and they plan to broaden their
cooperation in future. Dusseldorf's Schadowstrasse is filled with people
on a Saturday afternoon, so the activists managed to distribute about
5,000 leaflets informing about the case. Many people showed their interest
in the case.

In Krakow (Poland) local sections of the Anarchist Federation organized a
solidarity action in support of Alexei and Maxim. Protesters unfurled a
banner which read 'Free the defenders of Khimki forest!', made speeches in
Polish and Russian demanding the release of the arrested. In spite of a
Saturday evening, there were some employees in the embassy — a bus was
standing nearby, the state flag was up and some of the windows of the
embassy opened. After a 10-minute picket in front of the embassy when
protesters chanted 'Wolność nie zginie, kremlowskie świnie!' ('Freedom
will not die, Kremlin pigs!'), they then marched to the central square of
the city to distribute leaflets. Of course, police intervened and checked
the IDs of the protesters for about 40 minutes. During that time activists
made public speeches about the Khimki case and state terror.

In London on September 18 Green Left and Socialist Resistance organized a
conference. One of the speakers at the conference was Hugo Blanco, a
well-known Peruvian revolutionary. He also signed a leaflet about the
International days of action, writing to Maxim Solopov, who studies Latin
America: 'SOLIDARIDAD CON TODA LUCHA EN DEFENDA DE LA NATURALEZA HB'.
Speaking at the conference was also one of the supporters of the Campaign
for the release of Khimki hostages.

September 19 was the most packed day in terms of actions.

In Moscow (Russia) a rally was organized by the Campaign for the release
of Khimki hostages. The Campaign is an independent initiative composed of
various social activists and groups, which share antifascist and
non-authoritarian left views. The aim of the Campaign is the release of
Maxim Solopov and Alexei Gaskarov, who were illegally arrested following
the protest action on July 28 in front of the Khimki town administration,
and an end to repressions against antifascists and defenders of the Khimki
forest. About 300-400 people took part in the rally. During the protest
activists signed and collected postcards in defense of Alexei and Maxim,
demanding from the Russian authorities to release them. The activists also
gathered signatures under a petition for an alternative variant of
auto-route between Moscow and St.Petersburg, which will preserve the
Khimki forest. Several special issues of newspapers were distributed at
the rally, informing about the problem of the destruction of Khimki
forest, the situation of the arrested and the cases of illegal detentions
of activists. About $500 was raised for the Campaign by private donations.

In St.Petersburg (Russia) on the same day there was a rally and a concert,
which gathered about 150 people. Activists of various environmental and
social groups took part, as well as the members of Autonomous Action and
Socialist Resistance. The speakers supported Alexei and Maxim and pointed
out to the public that the methods used in their case are becoming more
common in Russia. Musical support of the rally came from 2K band.

In Petrozavodsk (Russia) about 30 activists gathered on the city's main
square to support arrested comrades and demand their release. Throughout
the whole picket music was played with drums and horns. Activists were
drawing posters and pictures, which were to demonstrate solidarity with
Khimki hostages. Leaflets were distributed and money were gathered to
cover the legal expenses of the arrested.

In Yaroslavl (Russia) a picket was held by the activists of Socialist
Resistance and Socialist movement 'Vpered' ('Forward'). Posters and
banners informed passers-by about the case, leaflets were given out. Many
of the people on the street already knew something about the case, others
expressed interest. The picket was monitored by several uniformed
policemen and some people in plain clothes (probably the staff of the
Ministry of interior's notorious anti-extremist 'Centre E'), who illegally
prevented the demonstrators from chanting slogans.

In Irkutsk (Russia) anarchists and antifascists held a picket under the
banner 'Free Khimki hostages!' The action was also supported by local
environmental group Baikal Wave. Leaflets were handed out, about 50 people
signed the postcards in support of Maxim and Alexei.

On September 19 two street actions in support of Khimki hostages were held
in Tyumen (Russia). A single-person picket was made on one of the main
squares of the city, while a concert was organized in one of the city
parks. About 50 people attended the concert, including the anarchists and
local people. Information was provided about the case and banners were
displayed.

In Izhevsk (Russia) on September 19 the second of the two planned actions
was held in support of Alexei Gaskarov, Maxim Solopov and all the
defenders of the Khimki forest, which faced repression by the state. The
rally was organized by Autonomous Action and attracted about 40 people.
Banners read: 'Free Khimki hostages!', 'Stop unlimited power!', 'Criminals
cut trees, authorities cover up!' Reaction of the local people was
positive, some even joined the demonstrators and held banners.

In Ternopol (Ukraine) local anarchists and antifascists held a rally on
one of the central squares of the city. They handed out leaflets, chanted
slogans. This draw some attention from the local municipal bureaucrats,
among others.

In Paris (France) anarchists and antifascists held a protest action during
a Russian film festival at Forum des Images. Before the screening of one
of the films the activists intervened, unfurled a banner demanding freedom
for Alexei and Maxim and informed about 150 movie-goers about the case.
Speeches were made in French and Russian. Leaflets stylized as fliers for
a movie were handed out which read: 'The Battle of Khimki. Repressions in
Russia are not a movie'. Administration of the movie hall and security
tried to stop the intervention, but failed. The audience supported the
activists with applause. The audience was also invited for a rally outside
of Russian consulate in Paris, which was scheduled for the next day. On
September 20 several dozen people gathered in front of the embassy to
demand freedom for Alexei and Maxim.

On September 20 actions in solidarity with Khimki hostages were held in
several cities around the world.

In Thessaloniki (Greece) protesters unfurled their banner in front of the
Russian consulate and gave a letter addressed to the consul to the
security guards. The latter delivered the petition and the consul came out
to talk to the demonstrators. He was asked by them to deliver the petition
to the Russian authorities. Ten minutes later special anti-riot police
forces arrived to the consulate and forced the protesters away from the
building. The action then continued on a nearby Metropolius street, which
was blocked for several minutes. Leaflets were handed out to passers-by.
This action was organized by Antiauthoritarian Movement.

In Athens (Greece) activists of the Greek Social Forum and a deputy of the
Greek parliament, Dritsas of SYRIZA party, organized a picket in front of
the Russian embassy. They were met by about 50 anti-riot cops. After some
40 minutes Mikhail Savva, advisor-envoy of the embassy, invited the
protesters for a talk. Demands to stop repression against Russian
activists, to stop destruction of the Khimki forest and to release Alexei
and Maxim were presented to him. Activists of the Social Forum stressed
that forest destruction worries them because it's one of the reasons for
climate change.

In Hamburg (Germany) a rally near the Russian consulate was held, as well
as a spontaneous demonstration through city streets in spite of the rain.
About 70 people gathered before the consulate, speeches were made, slogans
chanted, music played. After that protesters took to the streets and made
a spontaneous march through the city, which ended at the central railway
station.

In London protesters picketed the Russian embassy. The picket was
organized by Socialist Resistance, but members of other groups took part
as well. About 200 leaflets were handed out, people asked the
demonstrators about the case, the destruction of the forest and the
situation of the arrested.

Two weeks before that a group of artists from 'Chto Delat'?' ('What is to
be done?') group organized an exhibition 'Urgent Need to Struggle' at
London Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), special issue of the group's
paper in English was distributed. The group also regularly publishes
updates of the situation on its website.

In Rome (Italy) antifascists of Partizan group held a small, but beautiful
action — an enormous banner was posted on one of the city walls.

In Kharkov (Ukraine) on September 20 a group of Marxists, anarchists and
antifascists picketed the general consulate of Russia. Protesters demanded
the release of prisoners and denounced the actions of the Russian
authorities. Kharkov activists know the style of repressions only too
well, because they had faced the same when struggling against the
destruction of local Gorky park. Banners read: 'Free Khimki hostages!',
'Free Gaskarov and Solopov!', 'People before profits!', 'Khimki, we are
with you!' Staff of the Russian embassy refused to take a petition
addressed to the Russian interior minister Rashid Nurgaliyev.

In Saratov (Russia) a picket was held on one of the central squares. About
30 people participated. They held banners in support of the Khimki
hostages, some of the slogans linked the struggle against destruction of
the Khimki forest to local struggles against deforestation. Several
hundred signatures were gathered under the petition to free Gaskarov and
Solopov and about a thousand leaflets were handed out.

In Cheboksary (Russia) student activists handed out several hundred copies
of a newspaper devoted to the Khimki struggles on September 20. Later
during the day two banners were placed at a local railway bridge - 'No to
repressions!' and 'Free Khimki hostages!'

Actions of solidarity on September 20 were also held in Istanbul (Turkey),
Luzern (Switzerland) and Berlin (Germany).

In Bochum (Germany) about a thousand leaflets informing about the case
were distributed near local G+H Unternehmensservice enterprise, which is
part of Vinci group.

In Kazan' (Russia) local anarchists and antifascists handed out leaflets
and carried out a sticker and graffiti campaign during the International
days of action in support of Gaskarov and Solopov. Banners were also
placed on city streets. About a thousand leaflets were distributed on
September 20 when two pickets were held in different parts of the city.

Actions in solidarity with Alexei Gaskarov and Maxim Solopov continue. The
Campaign will not cease its activities after September 17-20. This is
extremely important, especially after the decision of the judges to keep
Alexei Gaskarov and Maxim Solopov under arrest for two more months before
the court, which were pronounced on September 26 and 27.

We will continue the fight until Alexei and Maxim are free!

National Lawyers Guild Hotline and “Know Your Rights” Materials Available for Activists Targeted by the FBI

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 28, 2010

New York--The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) and its Mass Defense Committee provides
legal defense and educational resources to activists, including those subjected to
the September 24 raids and grand jury subpoenas in Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois.
The Guild denounces the attacks on free speech, freedom of association, and the
right to dissent that these actions represent. The raids and summonses reflect
escalating hostility toward individuals and groups working in solidarity with the
Palestinian and Colombian people and are blatantly political attacks on peaceful
activists.

National Lawyers Guild lawyers, in their continuing efforts to protect the right to
dissent, are coordinating defense of these activists. The NLG offers several
resources for activists who are subject to similarly aggressive and politically
motivated breaches of their rights.

NLG Hotline: 888-NLG-ECOL (888-654-3265)

-A hotline for U.S. activists who have been contacted by the FBI. Callers are
matched with NLG defense attorneys in their states who have experience dealing with
similar cases.

Know Your Rights Brochure: www.nlg.org/resources/know-your-rights

-A two-page brochure that summarizes the rights of citizens when they are contacted
or stopped by the police or federal authorities. Available in English, Spanish,
Chinese, Arabic, Farsi and Punjabi.

Operation Backfire: www.nlg.org/publications/operation-backfire

-A booklet that discusses government attacks on activists and subsequent
prosecutions. Available for free download.

The National Lawyers Guild recommends that activists consult and make use of these
resources. The Guild advises anyone visited by the FBI to assert your right not to
answer any questions, to get the card of the FBI agent and state that you will have
an attorney contact the agent on your behalf.

Solidarity-Demonstration for White-Russian Prisoners in Berlin

As repression starts against ou comrades starts it was clear that there has to
be a protest-rally to White-Russian Embassy. It happend last friday. 80
people showed their solidarity with the jailed and opressed Anarchists in
Belorussia.

There was a loud demonstration from Boxhagener Platz (central place in
Berlin-Friedrichshain) to the Embassy of White-Russia (nearby the soviet
cenotaph in Treptower Park).

There was heavily controls, even at noninvolved. Because of that some
activists didn come to demonstration. There was no arrests, no close fights,
or anything else.

Leaflets about were distributed to folks around.

The Ambassador told the police the embassy-workers can't work when there's a
demonstration. That is why we could not go in front of the embassy. That is
what police was doing.

There was also a "so called" White-Russian TV-Team (A Women as a Reporter, a
Cameraman). They tried to take a picture of every Member of the demonstration
an to interview folks. Something the Camera of these provocators was beaten
away. This fact was not interesting for them. Police was irritating, they
said "media is for you".

The belorussian "Journalists" asks frequently direct questions. "Wich
organisation was organising this", why are the folks here to do something
agains White-Russia. All Imprisoned are out, so we have no right to
demonstrate. It is forbidden to call Lukaschenko the "last dictator of
europe". We told her to make a complaint at the police because of that. She
did not. Only White-Russians have the right to do something. They wanted to
find white-russians. That much about "independent journalism" in
White-Russia. In 2003 there was also a demonstration in front of the
belorussian embassy because of the ban of navinki.

The so called TV told the whole time they want to go home fast, but they stay
until the end. They drove out of the Assembly in the end.

The Demonstrators shouted: "Long live international/ antinational
Solidarity!", "Swoboda sjem Anarchista!", "Freedom for all (whiterussian)
Prisoners!", "One Solution -
Revolution!", "A-Anti-Anticapitalista!", "White-Russia - Policestate – We are
full of you!", "Viva la Revoltion!" and lots more.

Lots of groups were interested in this theme. The demonstrators was mostly
anarchists. The only flags was a anarchist Black and an anarchosyndicalist
black-red one.

On the way folks came into demonstration spontaneously, russian-speakers, too.

On Russian Language there was Speeches of Lukaschenko. Lukaschenko says
positiv things about Hitler and that Hitler was an important man. He further
says: "Folks with criticisms are a problem! No Folks – No Problem!" then you
hear a shot. A big part of the non-russian speakers did not get the point
about this.

For every case Police had a translater there. There was no Censorship, but a
control.

All things consiered it was a strong Demonstration (in Comparision with the
political situation in Berlin and the political and geographical distace to
Belorussia).

bisherige Berichte zur Demonstration

http://a3yo.noblogs.org/post/2010/09/25/%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B0-b-solidarity-demonstration-for-anarchs-from-belarus/


Indymedia Belorus

http://belarus.indymedia.org/

Austrian Solidarity-actions

http://at.indymedia.org/node/18996

Such kind of Demonstration can only be a beginning! Freedom for all Prisoners!
Stop every inquiry and incrimnations!

With anarchist Greetings

Monday, September 27, 2010

Belarus. Repressions of the anarchists go on

New release from last saturday

++++++++

Repressions go on, one more anarchist Ihar Truhanovich was arrested.

Today noon it became known that one more activist was arrested: Ihar
Truhanovich. As his parents said Ihar was called for “talk” but he did
not returned home. In telephone conversation with his parents cop on
duty at temporary detention facility on Akrescina str. acknowledged that
Ihar really situated there and he is detended till September, 27th, the
article is 339 (hooliganism). To give more information cop refused.

Also today the fate of Mikalaj Dziadok who was arrested during the first
wave on Sep., 3rd gets a bit clearer. Yestarday, Sep., 24, the next,
seventh on row, 24 hours of detention without been accused. Mikalaj was
moved into detention facility on Valadarskaha str., his arrest is
prolonged for 10 days, on expiration of them his should be accused or freed.

Makalaj is suspected in hooliganism (art. 339 p. 2) in case of illegal
action against combined belarussian-russian military maneuvers “West
2009” on Sep., 19th of 2009 near the General Staff of Armed Forces of
Belarus during which a smoke pellet was thrown into the yard of the
General Staff.

According to our data, during last 2 weeks more than 30 people were
called in for questioning to the GUBAZ (Main division of fight against
organized crime) the KGB with regard to this case. They were demanded to
testify it was Mikalaj Dziadok who organized that action, invited people
to the action, gave masks to the participants, was in the head of the
column. Moral pressure was exerted on some people. The GUBAZ agents
alleged that if they won’t give any evidence then they will become a
copather of this crime, threatened with sexual violence from other
detainees, inclusion to the list of travel banned and problems at their
parents’ work. Last days people who were involved in informational
support of the detainees — Aliaksandar Yarashevich, Alena Dubovik and
Hanna Charnyshova — were arrested for interrogations as well.

Thus, we see the police has no evidence of Mikalaj’s guilty and they try
to get them by whatever means.

Mikalaj’s address for solidarity letters is Belarus, Minsk, Valadarskaha
str., 2, Mikalaj Dziadok.

We demand to stop pressure on the social activists and to release
Mikalaj Dziadok, Aliaksandar Frantskievich and Ihar Truhanovich!


Friends and relatives of those arrested:
minsksolidarity[at]riseup.net
http://www.twitter.com/minsksolidarity
http://belarus.indymedia.org/blog/minsksolidarity

- - -

You can read status of the current events with arrested here
http://belarus.indymedia.org/21042

Larry Minard was the policeman betrayed by J. Edgar Hoover to frame Omaha Two


September 24th, 2010 Examiner.com
by Michael Richardson

Omaha police officer Larry Minard was murdered by an ambush bomb on August 17, 1970. Minard and seven other patrol officers were responding to an anonymous phone call about a woman screaming at a vacant house.

The 29 year-old policeman was killed instantly when he examined a suitcase in the vacant dwelling. Minard was buried three days later on what would have been his 30th birthday with fellow officers serving as pallbearers. Three hundred Omaha policemen attended the funeral.

Minard had planned to go out and celebrate turning 30 with his wife Karen but instead was buried in Forest Lawn cemetery on his birthday. Minard’s children, ages 4 to 11, had already wrapped his birthday presents--gifts that Larry would never open.

Larry Minard, Jr. now proudly displays a tattoo of his father’s official police photo. Family members dutifully mark anniversaries, attend court sessions, and make media statements when Minard’s death is in the news.

Larry and Karen were married in 1958, the same year Minard joined the Navy. Serving on a destroyer tender, Minard made two long overseas trips before his discharge from the service in 1961.

Minard applied for the Nebraska State Patrol but missed the deadline by one day so he then applied for positions with both the Omaha Fire and the Omaha Police Departments. The police job opened up first and Larry put on the badge.

The day Larry Minard died, his boss Assistant Chief of Police Glen Gates and Special-Agent-in-Charge Paul Young of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, conspired to let the anonymous 911 caller that lured Minard to his death get away with murder.

J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI, had been hounding Special Agent Young for months to get Black Panther leaders Ed Poindexter and Mondo we Longer (formerly David Rice) off the streets as part of the clandestine Operation COINTELPRO.

Young saw an opportunity to make a case against the two Panthers for the bombing but the unknown killer who made the 911 call stood in the way so a plan was hatched to send the 911 recording to Washington, D.C. where Hoover could intervene.

When Ivan Willard Conrad, the head of the FBI crime laboratory, got the tape and secret COINTELPRO memorandum from Omaha two days later he called Hoover to verify that he was to withhold a report on the identity of the 911 caller thus ending the search for Minard’s killer.

Hoover verified that no report was to be made on the 911 tape and that only oral information was to be shared with Paul Young at the Omaha FBI field office. Conrad noted his call with Hoover on the memo and initialed and dated it one day before Larry Minard was buried.

Hoover’s order held, the jury that convicted Ed Poindexter and Mondo we Langa never got to hear the voice of Minard’s killer. Nor did the jury know that the Omaha Two were targets of Hoover’s COINTELPRO program.

Larry Minard’s widow and children believe the official version of the crime. The awful truth that J. Edgar Hoover ordered the withholding of evidence about the identity of Minard’s killer didn’t come out until years later with the release of COINTELPRO documents and is too painful for the family to accept.

The Omaha Two, Ed Poindexter and Mondo we Langa, remain incarcerated at the maximum-security Nebraska State Penitentiary in their 40th year of imprisonment. Both men deny any involvement in Larry Minard’s death.

Khimki Battle map

Map of actions supporting Russian antifascists Alexei Gaskarov and Maxim Solopov.

Просмотреть Khimki Battle map на карте большего размера

FBI files on investigation of Iowa City peace activists made public

By Jason Hancock 9/23/10 Iowa Independent

David Goodner, a former member of the University of Iowa’s Antiwar
Committee, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for files
associated with an FBI surveillance of groups in Iowa City prior to the
2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. What he discovered
was the investigation was far more extensive than previously known.

Now, Goodner has turned over the files he received from the FBI
exclusively to The Iowa Independent for publication.

As the documents show, the investigation into activities of peace groups
in Iowa City involved staking out homes, secretly photographing and video
taping members, digging through garbage and even planting a mole to spy on
the peace activists up close. Known as the Wild Rose Rebellion, the
protesters were described by the FBI as an “anarchist collective.” In an
interview with The Des Moines Register, the FBI defended its actions.

Weysan Dun, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Omaha field office,
which oversees Iowa and Nebraska, said in a statement that every
investigative technique that was employed was authorized under
guidelines established by the U.S. attorney general “and was deemed
necessary to resolve the allegations.” …

Dun said the Iowa City investigation was warranted because of
allegations that certain people were possibly going to engage in
criminal activities to disrupt the national conventions of one or both
major political parties.

The group’s plans were to help organize nonviolent acts of civil
disobedience, such as street blockades, at the 2008 RNC convention. In an
interview Monday with progressive radio host Ed Fallon, Goodner said the
FBI investigation didn’t make sense.

“Nonviolent civil disobedience is as American as apple pie,” he said.
“It’s what this country was founded on, it’s what every social movement in
U.S. history has used to create a more just and democratic society. For
the FBI to claim that peace organizers who were doing tried and true
methods of civil disobedience were somehow domestic terrorist threats or
threats to national security, it’s something that George Orwell didn’t
imagine in his wildest dreams.”

Below are the FBI files pertaining to the Iowa City organization that were
obtained by Goodner.

links to the documents


Iowa City
FBI files
-



icfbi2008.1 -



iowa city fbi
2
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icfbi2008.3 -

Sunday, September 26, 2010

From Mexico City--We're with Mumia all the way!

by Amig@s de Mumia de México
Thursday Sep 23rd, 2010 indybay.org
Speaking out for the life and freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal
img_3350--.jpg
img_3350--.jpg

On Tuesday, September 21, around 150 people gathered at the Hemiciclo a Juárez in Mexico City to demand life and freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal, recognized internationally as a political prisoner. People expressed their support for him in spoken messages, song, dance and graphic art. The event was energized by the arrival of a large group of bicyclists riding in defense of the air we breathe and of all political prisoners.

A number of Mexico’s ex political prisoners were present, including Jacobo Silva Nogales, Gloria Arenas, Mariana Selvas and Edith Rosales, along with the family of Victor Herrera Govea, who has been locked up for an entire year for marching against government repression.

Speaking for himself and Gloria, Jacobo Silva said: “We were asked if we could be here today to stand by Mumia. And how could we not be here when there is so much that moves us to stand by Mumia? We’re on his side…because we’re on the side of life itself, because we’re on the side of all social activists, because we’re against racism, because we’re for justice, because we’re with all political prisoners, because we’re with all those people who never give up. That’s why we stand by Mumia, that’s why we stand up for Mumia. When people shout Viva Mumia Abu-Jamal! it’s not just one more joyous chant. It’s a shout for the life of someone who must live, for someone whose life is in danger. Viva Mumia Abu-Jamal!”

Among those who participated in the event were human rights observers from the Collective against Torture and Impunity (CCTI), along with individuals and collectives from the Other Campaign, Anarchist Black Cross, student groups, and collectives from the Ché Guevara Auditorium –especially the kitchen, which contributed a delicious vegetarian ceviche. Among the supportive free and independent media collectives were Cronopios, Ke Huelga Radio, CML, Regeneración Radio, Radio Okupa, Noticias de la Rebelión and Radio Zapote.

The event was lively with music by Emexce, Zona Norte and Kukulkan Sonido Anti-sistema, who presented their new song in support of Mumia, and by the b-boys and b-girls of Twisted Flavors and guests. We listened to the blues sound of La Otra Cultura Inlakech, and the original song in support of Mumia by La Otra Cultura del DF, who sing out for him wherever they go.

A representative of Amig@s de Mumia de México stated that it’s clear that the government of the United States is not satisfied with the recent Supreme Court decisions leading to the death of Mumia Abu-Jamal; it’s necessary to build up public animosity against him in order to justify his execution. It’s clear from the trailers that the new documentary Barrel of a Gun (El cañón del fusil) by the supposedly independent filmmaker Tigre Hill, with backing from the Fraternal Order of Police, is nothing but an exercise in defamation. It both a personal attack against Mumia, and an attack against groups that have been important in his life history.

The comrade said: “We’re here today to say NO to the criminalization of Mumia Abu-Jamal and of his struggle. Just as Mumia writes in defense of the efforts of the Black Panthers and the MOVE organization to make necessary and positive changes in the world, we…recognize these efforts as valuable experiences. “The Mumia Abu-Jamal that we know through his weekly essays and the six books he’s written from death row…is a brave and righteous man committed to social change. He’s a writer who knows how to put any one of today’s events in a historical context and untangle all that we’re going through. We especially appreciate his solidarity with the struggles here in Mexico and in the world”.

During the event, different people read Mumia’s essays out loud, including one on the death penalty as a modern form of lynching and others on BP, Arizona, the MOVE organization, and the nature of the State.

People also read fragments of a report written by Michael Schiffman and Anton Reiner, published in Abu-Jamal News, of their recent visit with Mumia in which they were accompanied by Linn Washington. They talk about his contagious energy, clear thinking and love of life, even in the hell he lives in, surrounded by steel and razor wire with the lights always on, no physical contact with friends and loved ones, no fresh fruits and vegetables in a small cell with no color. He never leaves his cell without being chained hand and foot. Now he doesn’t even have a typewriter; once again, he must write everything seated on his bed with the inner cartridge of a ball-point pen. One of the things he likes most is getting brightly-colored cards. The comrades say that during their visit, “Mumia repeatedly insists that the really important thing is to organize. ‘Nobody should underestimate what even a small number of organized people can achieve. My own survival is concrete proof for what organized action is capable of.’”

The event at the Hemiciclo reflected many of the current struggles in Mexico. As people expressed their support for Mumia, some urged everyone to join in the mobilizations against COP16 in Cancún this coming November and December and others called for support for the displaced Zapatista communities under attack, and for support of the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copala, where people are living a day to day massacre. Some of those who spoke are resisting the destruction of the urban zones of Magdalena Contreras and Tlahuac on the edges of Mexico City, and others are resisting attacks on students by hired thugs at CCH Vallejo. People were urged to defend the indigenous land recoveries in Ostula, Michoacán, and to support the community police there and in Guerrero, where these groups practice the organized self defense of their communities.

A number of people expressed their support for the political prisoners of Mexico, and especially for young Victor Herrera Govea. His sister Mary said: “…Unjust trials… Yes, we know about them. Down here and up there, they’re an everyday thing. They’re one of the arms of the government against those bothersome people who never shut up in the face of all the absurd things going on in this unequal, devastating world. In addition to Mumia’s case and many others in the world, we have the case of Víctor Herrera Govea, locked up since October 2, 2009 for the crime of going out to march in repudiation of a massacre committed 41 years ago, one that is still going on at this very moment in every corner of the Mexican territory… His trial is also marked by many irregularities… And through all this, we’ve come to understand that these trials aren’t judicial. They’re the desperate response of a tyrant whose interests are threatened. They’re the smack of a Goliath defending itself against an upstart David … Mumia’s vitality and the consistent denunciations that he makes from death row, along with his refusal to fall down or fall back during the last 29 years, is maddening to the United States government. Mumia’s struggle is our struggle. His death is our death. His life is our life. His freedom is our freedom. Victor’s freedom is our freedom”.

Mexico’s political prisoners include the indigenous comrades Alberto Patishtán in Chiapas, Abraham Ramírez Vazquez en Oaxaca, the Loxicha prisoners in Oaxaca, and the anarchists and eco-anarchists arrested in recent months. Support was expressed for international political prisoners, including Leonard Peltier, the MOVE 9, the Angola 3, the 5 Cubans jailed in the United States, the Palestinian prisoners, the Mapuche prisoners on hunger strike in Chile, and the anarchists recently arrested in Chile.

The representative of Amig@s de Mumia said: “We’re here today to say NO to the death penalty for Mumia Abu-Jamal and to demand the abolition of the death penalty in the world. We also oppose long sentences, and especially life sentences. Now it is plain to see that the Mexican authorities intend to duplicate these aspects of the United States judicial system, which have only resulted in tremendous injustices and human suffering. We’re here today because we want to live in a world without prisons. We are wholeheartedly opposed to the imposition in Mexico of the United States prison system, which has resulted in the massive construction of prisons, the privatization of prisons, and a tremendous explosion in the prison population. We’re here today to demand freedom for all political prisoners in Mexico and the world. The recent triumph of the liberation of all the Atenco prisoners shows that it is possible to free all the rest”.

It’s reported that as the cyclists resumed their ride along Reforma, they didn’t have it in them to pass by the United States Embassy without blocking the street for a little while and shouting ¡Free Mumia! again and again.
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Saturday, September 25, 2010

Train directions Update: Picket the Torture of Avelino Gonzalez Claudio in Brooklyn!

PROTEST THE TORTURE OF PUERTO RICAN POLITICAL PRISONER AVELINO GONZALEZ CLAUDIO!

Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Avelino Gonzalez Claudio is being held in solitary
confinement in MDC Brooklyn and is being denied his Parkinson's Disease Medication.

The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign denounces this torture and is calling on our allies
and supporters to join us as protest this injustice!

WE ARE NOT GOING TO ALLOW THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO CONTINUE TO TORTURE AVELINO
GONZALEZ CLAUDIO!

Picket on Tuesday September 28th, 2010 at 5pm
MDC Brooklyn 80 29th St.
(btwn. 2nd and 3rd Avenues)

Take the R train to 25th St.

BRING YOUR FLAGS, BANNERS, NOISE MAKERS, PANDERETAS AND DRUMS!

For more info. contact The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign:718-601-4751

Emergency Campaign for Avelino Gonzalez Claudio

The National Boricua Human Rights Network joins
the friends and family of Avelino Gonzalez
Claudio in the campaign to protect Avelino's
health. presently, he is in isolation and with no
medication for his Parkinson's disease at the
Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (address
and phone no below). Please take a moment to call
the Brooklyn MDC and demand that he be taken out
of isolation and his medication be given to him.

Our Puerto Rican Political Prisioner Avelino
González Claudio is at Brooklyn MDC, in solitary
confinement, without Parkinson disease medicines.

We urgently need:
-everyone call the prison at 718-840-4200, to
demand that he be provided his medicines; &
-solidarity lawyers in NY to visit him & demand
he be provided his Parkinson disease medicines

Avelino's information:
Avelino González-Claudio, #09873-000
MDC BROOKLYN
METROPOLITAN DETENTION CENTER
P.O. BOX 329002
BROOKLYN, NY 11232

DOB: OCT 8, 1942


Alejandro Luis Molina
mailto:alejandrom@boricuahumanrights.org
Skype: alejandromann

Coordinating Committee
National Boricua Human Rights Network
2739 W. Division Street
Chicago IL 60622
http://www.boricuahumanrights.org
twitter: olrcat

Comité Pro-Derechos Humanos
www.presospoliticospuertorriquenos.org

Interviews With Minneapolis Activists Whose Homes Were Raided by FBI

FBI Agents Conduct Raids on Homes of Anti-War Activists in Minneapolis
and Chicago

Below are two interviews with activists in Minneapolis whose homes
were raided on September 24, 2010 by FBI agents under the guise of a
"material support for terrorism" investigation. These actions have
been condemned by organizations across the United States.

Jess Sundin on FBI Raids Against Anti-War Activists in Minneapolis




Mick Kelly on the FBI Raids in Minneapolis

FBI raids anti-war activists' homes


Agents looking for links to terrorists, federal spokesman says

September 24, 2010|By Andy Grimm and Cynthia Dizikes, Tribune reporters

Federal agents searched homes of anti-war activists in Chicago and Minneapolis on Friday in an investigation of possible links with terrorist organizations in the Middle East and South America.

About 20 FBI agents spent most of the day searching the Logan Square residence of activists Stephanie Weiner and Joseph Iosbaker, Weiner said.

In Jefferson Park, neighbors saw FBI agents carrying boxes from the apartment of community activist Hatem Abudayyeh, executive director of the Arab American Action Network. In addition, Chicago activist Thomas Burke said he was served a grand jury subpoena that requested records of any payments to Abudayyeh or his group.

"The warrants are seeking evidence in support of an ongoing Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation into activities concerning the material support of terrorism," said Steve Warfield, spokesman for the FBI in Minneapolis, where six additional homes were searched Friday.

Warfield said no arrests had been made and that there was no "imminent danger" to the public.

Ross Rice, an FBI spokesman in Chicago, gave the two Chicago blocks where agents had searched homes Friday, but he declined to name the targets.

Melinda Power, an attorney for Weiner and Iosbaker and a longtime friend, said agents took about 30 boxes of papers dating to the 1970s, including a postcard from an old girlfriend of Iosbaker's.

"They said they would determine what was evidence later," Power said.

Weiner, who said she and her husband for years have been active in labor causes and the anti-war movement, complained the search was an attempt to intimidate her and other activists.

"We aren't doing anything differently than we have in 20 years," said Weiner, a teacher at Wilbur Wright College. Iosbaker is a staff member at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a union steward for Service Employees International Union Local 73.

Burke said he received a grand jury subpoena requesting records of payments to Abudayyeh's organization as well as two groups among the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The subpoena also requested "items relating to trips to Colombia, Jordan, Syria, the Palestinian territories of Israel." Burke said he toured Colombia eight years ago with members of an oil workers union there.

Burke, a former school custodian-turned-stay-at-home father, belongs to the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, a group mentioned in subpoenas and search warrants issued Friday to activists in Minneapolis.

Burke said he knows Weiner, Iosbaker and Abudayyeh from years of involvement in demonstrations and activities in Chicago. Most of the people whose homes were searched or who were issued subpoenas attended anti-war rallies at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., he said.

In a statement issued on behalf of the activists, Minneapolis activist Steff Yorek said the homes of a number of anti-war, socialist or pro-Palestinian groups had been searched by the FBI.

Yorek, whose home was also searched Friday, called the searches "an outrageous fishing expedition."

"Activists have the right not to speak with the FBI and are encouraged to politely refuse," she said.

Several of those targeted with warrants or subpoenas are also occasional contributors to Fight Back!, a socialist newsletter that is generally supportive of leftist groups and critical of U.S. "wars of occupation" in Iraq and Afghanistan, Burke said.

"We pretty much all know each other," Burke said. "We barely have money to publish our magazine. We might write about (revolutionary groups) favorably, but as for giving them material aid, nothing."

Weiner and Iosbaker were also subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury in Chicago on Oct. 5, Power said.

Not long after the FBI agents left, a group of about 20 demonstrators gathered outside the couple's home, carrying signs and singing "Give Peace a Chance."

Sarah Simmons, 51, held a piece of paper printed with a peace sign. She said she had known the couple for 15 years. "I think this is outrageous," she said.

agrimm@tribune.com

cdizikes@tribune.com

PROTEST THE TORTURE OF PUERTO RICAN POLITICAL PRISONER AVELINO GONZALEZ CLAUDIO!

Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Avelino Gonzalez Claudio is being held in solitary
confinement in MDC Brooklyn and is being denied his Parkinson's Disease Medication.

The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign denounces this torture and is calling on our allies
and supporters to join us as protest this injustice!

WE ARE NOT GOING TO ALLOW THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO CONTINUE TO TORTURE AVELINO
GONZALEZ CLAUDIO!

Picket on Tuesday September 28th, 2010 at 5pm
MDC Brooklyn 80 29th St.
(btwn. 2nd and 3rd Avenues) Take the D train to 25th St.

BRING YOUR FLAGS, BANNERS, NOISE MAKERS, PANDERETAS AND DRUMS!

For more info. contact The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign:718-601-4751

Friday, September 24, 2010

Activists Denounce FBI Raids on Anti-war and Solidarity Activists Homes

Subpoenas, Searches, and FBI visits carried out in cities across the country

By Staff | fightbacknews.org
September 24, 2010

We denounce the Federal Bureau of Investigation harassment of anti-war and solidarity activists in several states across the country. The FBI began turning over six houses in Chicago and Minneapolis this morning, Friday, September 24, 2010, at 8:00 am central time. The FBI handed subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to about a dozen activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. They also attempted to intimidate activists in California and North Carolina.

"The government hopes to use a grand jury to frame up activists. The goal of these raids is to harass and try to intimidate the movement against U.S. wars and occupations, and those who oppose U.S. support for repressive regimes," said Colombia solidarity activist Tom Burke, one of those handed a subpoena by the FBI. "They are designed to suppress dissent and free speech, to divide the peace movement, and to pave the way for more U.S. military intervention in the Middle East and Latin America."

This suppression of democratic rights is aimed towards those who dedicate much of their time and energy to supporting the struggles of the Palestinian and Colombian peoples against U.S. funded occupation and war. The activists are involved with well-known anti-war groups including many of the leaders of the huge protest against the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN in September 2008. The FBI agents emphasized that the grand jury was going to investigate the activists for possible terrorism charges. This is a U.S. government attempt to silence those who support resistance to oppression in the Middle East and Latin America.

The activists involved have done nothing wrong and are refusing to be pulled into conversations with the FBI about their political views or organizing against war and occupation. The activists are involved with many groups, including: the Palestine Solidarity Group, Students for a Democratic Society, the Twin-Cities Anti-War Committee, the Colombia Action Network, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera (a Colombian Political Prisoner).

Steff Yorek, a long-time antiwar activist and one of the activists whose homes was searched, called the raids “An outrageous fishing expedition.”

We urge all progressive activists to show solidarity with those individuals targeted by the U.S. Government. Activists have the right not to speak with the FBI and are encouraged to politely refuse, just say “No”.

Please contact info@colombiasolidarity.org or info@fightbacknews.org if you would like to provide support to the targeted activists.

FBI Raids Peace Activist’s Homes, Issues Subpoenas For Grand Jury

September 24, 2010 theuptake.org

  • 1

Video:FBI agents remove boxes from peace activist Mick Kelly’s apartment and place them in their vehicles:


FBI agents raided six homes in Minneapolis and two in Chicago today, apparently looking for links to terrorist activity. The Minneapolis raids targeted peace activists who were active in protesting the 2008 Republican National Convention (RNC) in St. Paul — among them Jessica Sundin and Mick Kelly, organizers of the massive march on the first day of the RNC. Travel and phone records were reportedly taken from their homes.

At a home on Park Avenue in Minneapolis, FBI agents arrived early this morning with a warrant. The person who answered the door says that the FBI pushed past her and began searching every room of the home, from attic to basement, looking at CDs, DVDs, books, photos and papers. Before leaving, the FBI issued subpoenas for the peace activists to appear before a Grand Jury in Chicago on Oct. 12.

This is one of the subpoenas that was served today. It commands the activists to bring along documents and photos of any trip to Columbia, Jordan, Syria, the Palestinian Territories or Israel and any records of payments to “Hatem Abudayyeh, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC).”

Above the Hard Times Cafe in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, the FBI allegedly kicked in doors and entered Mick Kelly’s second-floor apartment this morning with guns drawn. Hours later, as many as half a dozen agents began carrying boxes down to their vehicles: a grey Chevy Impala on the street and two black SUVs parked behind the cafe. This is the search warrant the FBI had for Kelly’s apartment.

The search warrant indicates the FBI was seeking evidence that Kelly was “providing, attempting and conspiring to provide material support to …foreign terrorist organizations” (FTOs). Specifically the FBI is interested in Kelly’s work with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) and travel he may or may not have made to Palestine and Columbia.

Women against Military Madness held a 4pm news conference today to talk about the raids.

Members of the peace community are gathering at Walker Church today at 5:30pm to give advice and comfort to those who had their homes raided.

Where three of the six Minneapolis raids were:

View FBI Raids On Sept 24, 2010 in a larger map

Jacob Wheeler, Ciriem Saadeh and Marty Owings contributed information and video to this report.

Click to see FBI’s Chevy Impala parked outside Hard Times Cafe in Cedar-Riverside neighborhood: