Jalil Muntaqim Needs Our Support!
FREE JALIL MUNTAQIM!
BIOGRAPHY
Jalil Abdul Muntaqim (formerly Anthony Bottom) was 19 years old when
he was arrested. He is a former member of the Black Panther Party and
the Black Liberation Army, and is one of the longest held political
prisoners in the world.
Jalil was born October 18, 1951, in Oakland, CA. His early years were
spent in San Francisco, where he actively participated in NAACP youth
organizing during the civil rights movement.
After the assassination of Dr. King, Jalil began to believe a more
militant response to racism and injustice was necessary. He began to
look towards the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense for leadership
and was recruited into the BPP by school friends who had since become
Panthers.
Two months shy of his 20th birthday, Jalil was captured along with
Albert "Nuh" Washington in a midnight shoot-out with San Francisco
police. When Jalil was arrested, he was a high school graduate and
employed as a social worker.
Later, it was uncovered that Jalil was a victim of the FBI's illegal
COINTELPRO program designed specifically to neutralize and disrupt
social movements working for racial and economic justice. Jalil was
named specifically as a person to be targeted, and was subsequently
charged with the murder of two NYC police officers. His conviction
rested upon false evidence and perjured testimony.
Jalil is currently incarcerated at Attica Correctional Facility
outside Buffalo, NY. He is 60 years old, and has been behind bars for
40 years. Despite an exemplary prison record and a continued
commitment to the struggle for racial justice, Jalil is consistently
a victim of harassment and targeting at Attica. He is up for parole
for the 5th time this June.
WHY PAROLE JALIL?
While in San Quentin prison in California in 1976, Jalil launched the
National Prisoners Campaign to Petition the United Nations to
recognize the existence of political prisoners in the United States.
Progressives nationwide joined this effort, and the petition was
submitted in Geneva, Switzerland. As a result, the International
Commission of Jurists then reported that political prisoners do in
fact exist in the United States.
Jalil was one of the founders of the Jericho Movement in 1997. Over
6,000 supporters gathered at the Jericho 1998 march in Washington DC
and thousands more at a rally in the Bay Area to demand amnesty for
US political prisoners on the basis of international law. The Jericho
Amnesty Movement aims to gain recognition by the U.S. government and
the United Nations that political prisoners exist in this country,
and that on the basis of international law, they should be granted
amnesty because of the political nature of their cases.
Jalil has filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of prisoners. After many
years of being denied the opportunity to attend college, Jalil
graduated with a BS in Psychology and a BA in Sociology in 1994.
During his imprisonment, Jalil has become a father and a grandfather.
Jalil has worked as an educator of other inmates and practices
organizing and advocacy whenever possible to ensure the most
adequate, humane treatment for all people. He has been repeatedly
punished for these activities, through physical abuse, formal
discipline, and numerous prison transfers.
Jalil is up for parole for the 5th time this June. After 40 years of
incarceration, it is time for him to be free!
Jalil is one of us.
This is not a history lesson. The same struggles continue today.
Buffalo's progressive community continues the fight for food,
housing, protection from police violence, racia1 and economic
justice, and a self-determined community.
HELP RELEASE JALIL SO THAT HE CAN CONTINUE TO FIGHT ALONGSIDE US FOR
JUSTICE AND EQUALITY.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
1. Send a personal letter in support of Jalil's release to:
Andrea W. Evans
Chairwoman of Parole
New York State Division of Parole
97 Central Ave
Albany, NY 12206
Commissioner Brian Fischer
New York State Division of Parole
97 Central Ave
Albany, NY 12206
Please include Jalil's DIN number 77A-4283, and refer to him by his
given name, Anthony Bottom. If possible, a copy of this letter should
also be sent to
kept on file.
Letters of support can be as in-depth as you like, and should clearly
express support for his release on parole to Buffalo this June.
2. Sign the petition on
Release Jalil Muntaqim
3. Spread the word! Tell others about Jalil's case, and educate them
about the importance of releasing him this June.
4. Write Jalil to express your support, and ask him directly how you can help.
A. Jalil Bottom 77-A-4283
Attica Correctional Facility
P.O. Box 149
Attica, NY 14011-0149
For More Information About Jalil and How You Can Support Him, email
Or Visit His Website:
To download a brochure about Jalil, click
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