UPDATE ON ANTTI
Finnish anti-war activist, Antti, who is serving just over two weeks
imprisonment for non-payment of fines imposed on him when he refused
to be conscripted into the army, has been moved to a new prison
address.
Such movements can delay a prisoner from receiving their letters of
support. Therefore to help Antti stay strong and remind him he is
not forgotten please write to Antti today and send your letter via
his support e-mail address
supportantti@hotmail.com
Antti is a well known prisoner support activist who has always sort
to help others. Now it is our turn to help him.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Antti R. has been moved
Aracruz works to criminalize Activists in Brazil
- Posted by Ahni July 27, 2007 intercontinentalcry.org
Aracruz Cellulose, the world’s leading supplier of bleached eucalyptus pulp, has recently begun taking advantage of the Brazilian Judiciary for its own economic benefit.
Aracruz has specifically targeted Priest Emil Schubert, union leader Luis Alberto, professor Elza and radio broadcaster Ligia Sancio, demanding reparations to the company for moral and physical damage if they don’t cease their protest against Aracruz’s contemptible social and environmental practices.
This is not the first time Aracruz has taken such steps. In 2006, they successfully prevented the demarcation of 11 thousand hectares of indigenous land in Brazil, by rallying the support of the Brazilian People through a propaganda campaign, which included the strategic use of Billboards and tv commercials. Aracruz also gained the support of it’s workers through indirect threats that they’ll lose their jobs if they didn’t.
Further, Aracruz accused the Tupinikim and Guarani communities of not being true indigenous groups and told the local population of Aracruz County that the Tupinikim and Guarani intends to commit violence against them. People in Aracruz County now react in fear. (From Indymedia. See more billboards here)
From Indymedia - In Brazil, the judiciary power is often used in an attempt to criminalize activists within social movements and their supporters, trying to coerce and restrain them both politically and socially. This is a way for the multinational corporation Aracruz Cellulose to take advantage of it’s economic power, by abusing this restrain instrument in an attempt to dismantle those who dare to oppose it’s wicked development logic.
The priest Emil Schubert, union leader Luis Alberto, professor Elza and radio broadcaster Ligia Sancio have been targeted by the corporation, which has decided to open a lawsuit against them to demand reparations to the company for moral and physical damage if they do not cease their political protest. This means that Aracruz is trying to stop them, using a judicial measure, from expressing themselves against the irresponsible social and environmental practices of the company.
In October 2005, indigenous Tupinikim and Guarani occupied Aracruz factories in the state of Espírito Santo, after trying every bureaucratic way to claim back their ancient land currently occupied by Aracruz. The activists were present during the action to witness the reaction of the Brazilian State, which has shown itself to be excessively violent against many social movements. In one example of such violent actions, the Federal Police, a couple of months after an indigenous protest in January 2006, destroyed two villages and injured thirteen indigenous people. The police action was condemned by the Organization of American States (OEA) as well as several international groups. (source)
Further Reading
Sept 06 - Brazil: The Tupinikim Indians Vs. Aracruz Celulose War Gets Ugly
Jan 06 - Twenty Tupinikim and Guarani Indians injured in police evictions
About the Guarani and the Tupinikim
Monday, July 30, 2007
Eric McDavid - 7/29
Free The San Francisco 8: Former Black Panthers in Prison Need Your Support
Eight former Black Panthers are currently in prison in
Claude: Yes, they remain in jail and the bail is currently set at $3 million each. August 6th is when hearings on bail reduction continue - starting with Ray Boudreaux and Richard O'Neal. Arguments based on their responsible roles in their communities and to their families and countering the notion that they are flight risks, will be made. In the case of Ray Boudreaux, it is evident from the video "Legacy..." that he was fully aware of being targeted and yet, voluntarily made all of his appearances before the 2005 grand jury. Their intent is to fight the unjust charges and win!
The hope is that bail will be reduced and will be set at amounts obtainable through securing property (by
Claude:I think the bail is set high as part of the state's criminalization of them - the same reason they are brought into the public courtroom in chains and shackles.
Ron: Most observers agree that this case is (as the SF 8 said in their May 19, 2007 statement) "a continuation of COINTELPRO." Can you explain how and why this is so?
COINTELPRO's goals and practice are not only much the same under Homeland Security and The Patriot Act - but are unencumbered by a political climate that took outrage at violations of civil and human rights in the 1970s when a Congressional investigation declared illegal the FBI led program. Today, the government, state and federal, act with impunity as long as they use the 'T' word. The evidence in this case - still based on the torture and brutality of police interrogators against some of these men - is now being put forth as acceptable - torture having been re-defined and also justified in the Guantanamos and Abu Ghraibs and Atticas...and the jails of New Orleans.
Ron: Also, what do you all make of the recent release of the CIA documents (the so-called Family jewels)? I read a writer somewhere making the point that the release was timed to turn our attention away from the current doings of the government and its secret police. What's your take on that?
Ron: In recent months, several environmental activists have been jailed for their supposed involvement in arson and other such actions against various corporate and research facilities. Without getting into the logic behind these actions and their effect, do you believe the government's pursuit and prosecution of these activists is related at all to the government's insistence on prosecuting the SF 8?
Claude: The so-called justice department wants to smash any and all dissent and has for years targeted the environmental and animal rights movements to make their resistance costly. The sentencing of Jeff 'Free' Luers to almost 28 years for property crimes by an Oregon Judge who stated that Free was being made an example to discourage the building of a movement was the opening parry of the 'Green Scare.' Yes, this is part of creating a chilling effect on dissent and a repressive atmosphere that selectively labels people terrorists to suit the goals of an extreme right-wing agenda.
Ron: These folks have received some pretty stiff penalties because the prosecution has been able to portray them as "terrorists." What do you think this means in the long term for the SF 8 and for political activism of any sort?
Ron: Back to the SF 8. When is the next bail reduction hearing? After that, what's next?
Claude: Bail hearings resume August 6th. Other motions will address matters like the 30+ year delay when there is no new evidence, lost evidence, as well as the unnecessary chaining and shackling of these men in court.
Ron: How can the readers support the defense? Are there buttons and bumperstickers? What about speaking engagements? And personal support for the brothers in jail?
Claude: For a list of what you can do to stay informed and contribute to building a support movement in your community check out this site
Sunday, July 29, 2007
7/26 Letter from Daniel McGowan
I'm pretty convinced at this point, nearly 20 months after my arrest, that I am incredibly lucky to have the best support network I have ever seen, the aptly named Family and Friends of Daniel McGowan. No offense is meant to any other defendant (or prisoner) support group, but I've only experienced the love and support of my crew. That intense support - moral, legal, financial and otherwise - has made all the difference to me and it's why I write today with acceptance of my current situation and with clear conscience. Ok, maybe not full acceptance - I mean, I still have eyes and ears and can see what is going on in America's prisons.
I can remember a conversation I had in early January 2006 with my wife jenny. I was in Lane County Jail in Oregon and my bail hearing was a few weeks off but she told me, "We put a website up for you - supportdaniel.org." That news helped sustain me through my 23 hour lockdowns knowing my friends had my back and the country would soon hear about the Green Scare being promoted by the good ol' US of A. To name or attempt to list the many things my support network has done would be a failure. The list is too long and surely I would forget many things. More than things I could list are the intangibles - the subtle and not-so-subtle hints - "Either way, we got your back", "I don't care if you did it or not", "We'll be here to the end". Most recently, I've had people remind me they will be there with a hug the day I walk out of these prisons.
This will sound cliché, and it is, but maybe that's a sign you are doing something right. Mail call is my favorite time of the day! You've heard this before, maybe from Josh Harper, Peter Young or Jeff Free Luers and others. Since I've been here at MDC, I have been embarrassed (in a good way) over and over, each and every day by the insane amount of mail, books and magazines I get. It keeps me reading for hours and although I cannot write people back right now, I at least have a mountain of mail to chip away at. I get this mail because my support network sends out countless bulletins on my list, myspace, IMCs, etc and has printed over 250,000 flyers with my mug on it and because my wife works her ass off on my website. I could go on forever praising people but it can never fully express how thankful I am for all of the support. Solidarity is what makes this term on the "disabled list" doable. (sorry for the sports reference - I stole that one from a friend.)
As always, please keep my codefendants Sadie (statename Joyanna Zacher), Exile (statename Nathan Block) and Jonathan Paul (set to be sentenced in early August) on your mind and in your hearts. All of us are or will be in federal transport soon - a very stressful and chaotic affair.
Finally, I've read a few good books lately and highly recommend them:
Dam Nation: Dispatches from the Water Underground by Cleo Woelfle-Erskine (Editor), Laura Allen (Editor), and July Oskar Cole (Editor) (2007). This anthology of writings on water range from dam removal, international water struggles and Manifest Destiny to grey water system construction. This book made me long for the outside where I could set up a grey water system in my own backyard. Published by Soft Skull Press and available there or through AK Press.
The Fight in the Fields: César Chávez and the Farmworkers Movement by Susan Ferriss (Author), Ricardo Sandoval (Author), Diana Hembree (Author). I was so hopelessly ignorant of the plight of farmworkers in California before reading this excellent book. I still am but realize there is a tremendous amount to learn from this hard-working and fairly successful movement. It also made me think a lot about the recent campaigns against Taco Bell and Burger King by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida.
Love and rage,
Daniel McGowan
Daniel McGowan is an environmental and social justice activist. He was charged in federal court on many counts of arson, property destruction and conspiracy, all relating to two incidents in Oregon in 2001. Until recently, Daniel was offered two choices by the government: cooperate by informing on other people, or go to trial and face life in prison. His only real option was to plead not guilty until he could reach a resolution of the case that permitted him to honor his principles. As a result of months of litigation and negotiation, Daniel was able to admit to his role in these two incidents, while not implicating or identifying any other people who might have been involved. He was sentenced to 7 years in prison on June 4, 2007 and began serving his time on July 2, 2007.
Current address for Romaine Chip Fitzgerald
Romaine 'Chip' Fitzgerald B-27527
FC-2-110
PO Box 921
Imperial, CA 92251
We have no current news as to when his parole hearing will be scheduled again. We ask everyone to stay updated on his situation and support his parole campaign when he has a new date.
Please keep updated by reviewing our Chip Freedom Campaign at:
http://www.abcf.net/la/laabcf.asp?page=lachip1
Corrected Birthday List for August
August
BILL DUNNE10916-086 / P.O. Box 2068
Inez, KY 41224
USP Big Sandy
August 3
DEBBIE SIMS AFRICA
OO6307 / 451 Fullerton Ave
Cambridge Springs, PA 16403-1238
August 04, 1956
OJORE NURU LUTALO
59860 / PO 861
SBI# 0000901548
Trenton, NJ 08625
August 6th
DR. MUTULU SHAKUR
83205-012
P.O. Box 8500
Florence, CO 81226
Florence ADMAX
August 8, 1950
ANDREW STEPANIAN
26399-050 / Box 1500
Butner, NC 27509
FCI Butner Medium II
August 8
RENE GONZALEZ
58738-004
FCI Marianna P.O. Box 7007
Marianna, FL 32447-7007
August 13, 1956
HANIF SHABAZZ BEY
#295933
P.O. Box 860
Oakwood, Virginia 24631
Keen Mountain Correctional Center
August 16, 1950
RUBEN CAMPA
#58733-004/ Box 1000
Oxford WI 53952-0505
F.C.I. Oxford
August 18, 1963
RUSSELL MAROON SHOATS
AF-3855
175 Proggress Dr.
Waynesburg, PA 15370
August 23, 1943
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Of 'White Trees', Black Boys and Jena, Louisiana
Support the “Bookin’ for Daniel” Marathon Run This Sunday
As this event draws near, please consider a making a pledge. Every little bit counts! (Pledge details below.)
About Daniel McGowan:
Daniel McGowan is an environmental and social justice activist from New York City. He was arrested in a multi-state raid against the environmental community that revealed itself to be part of a much larger wave of repression known as the "Green Scare." On June 4, 2007 McGowan was sentenced to seven years in prison for charges of conspiracy and arson. These charges relate to two eco-defense actions that occurred in Oregon in 2001. While Daniel took a guilty plea and accepted responsibility for his own actions, he and three other defendants refused to name names as part of their "global resolution" plea deal. During his sentencing, Daniel was given a "terrorism" enhancement to his sentence, based on his involvement in acts of property destruction which hurt no living being. The National Lawyers Guild has decried this sentencing enhancement as an "unnecessary and excessive government tactic to discourage the exercise of free speech."
Daniel in his own words:
“Those in power have not dealt with global warming. That, in my opinion, is a crime. Old-growth forests in Oregon are still being logged, genetically engineered trees and crops are still being introduced into the environment and the only success I see is when people organize and pressure governments and corporations to change their behavior.”
About “Bookin’ for Daniel”
Some of you may know the runner, Esther of Portland, Oregon's Eberhardt Press, not only from her publishing efforts, but also from her consistent work around the "Operation Backfire" eco-sabotage cases. In a blog entry, Esther states her reasons for training for and participating in the marathon, writing: "I want to communicate to Daniel and his family that we who support him are down for the long haul. Today, tomorrow, after 26 miles or seven years we will continue to struggle for the health of our planet and the freedom of all humans, including our comrades behind bars."
For more details about the "Bookin' for Daniel!" run, or to make a pledge to Daniel McGowan's educational fund as sponsorship for this event, please visit: http://bookinfordaniel.eberhardtpress.org/
Background on Daniel McGowan's case and general support information is available at: http://www.supportdaniel.org/
Movie Trailer for Factor 8:The Arkansas Prison Blood Scandal
A new movie is out which documents the role of the
To check out the film go to: http://www.factor8movie.com/factor8.htm
Friday, July 27, 2007
Gathering of the Tribe by Mumia Abu-Jamal
COMMUNITY ACTION FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO 8
***Please distribute widely***
COMMUNITY ACTION FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO 8
The San Francisco 8 will be in court on August 6. Join Jericho Boston to
help put out the word about their case and gather signatures for a
petition demanding their release.
WHEN: Monday, August 6, 5-7pm
WHERE: Dudley Station, Roxbury
We will be gathering at Dudley Station at 5:00p.m.
Look for the banner:
"COAST TO COAST SOLIDARITY ... FREE THE SAN FRANCISCO
8!"
***
Who are the SF8?
The San Francisco 8 are community activists who have
dedicated their lives to serving their people; most were members of the
Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. They are now being unjustly charged with
murder for a killing that took place 30 years ago based on confessions
obtained through torture.
In 1973, New Orleans police employed torture over the
course of several days to obtain confessions from members of the Black
Panther Party for the killing of a police officer that had taken place in
San Francisco in 1971.
The men were stripped naked, beaten, covered in blankets soaked with
boiling water, and shocked with cattle prods. A court ruled in 1974 that
both San Francisco and New Orleans police had engaged
in torture to extract a confession, and a San Francisco judge dismissed
charges against three men in 1975 based on that ruling.
In 2003 the case was re-opened and the men were
subpoenaed to a series of grand juries. In 2005 they asserted their
Constitutional rights to refuse to testify and were jailed for civil contempt. In
2007, the prosecution re-filed the charges against the SF8 based on the same
tortured confessions illegally obtained in 1973. The men were arrested on
January 23; 6 of the 8 had bail set at $3 million.
On August 6, 2007 the SF8 will be appearing in court
for their next bail hearing. Help us build a movement to win their
release!
For more information about the SF8:
http://www.freethesf8.org/
For updates on local actions: www.jerichoboston.org
(We will be showing the film Legacy of Torture: the
War Against the Black Liberation Movement on August 18 as part of an event
for Black August. Stay tuned for more information.)
Jericho Boston
(617)830-0732
jericho_boston@yahoo.com
www.jerichoboston.org
FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS AND PRISONERS OF WAR!
Jericho-Boston
PO Box 301057
Boston, MA 02130
jerichoboston.org
(617)830-0732
____________________________________________________________________________________
Building a website is a piece of cake. Yahoo! Small Business gives
you all the tools to get online.
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting
From: Jericho Boston
To: jericho_boston_announce@lists.riseup.net
Subject: [jericho_boston_announce] Community Action for the San Francisco 8, August 6th
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:09:53 -0700 (PDT)
***Please distribute widely***
COMMUNITY ACTION FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO 8
The San Francisco 8 will be in court on August 6. Join
Jericho Boston to help put out the word about their case and gather
signatures for a petition demanding their release.
WHEN: Monday, August 6, 5-7pm
WHERE: Dudley Station, Roxbury
We will be gathering at Dudley Station at 5:00p.m.
Look for the banner:
"COAST TO COAST SOLIDARITY ... FREE THE SAN FRANCISCO
8!"
***
Who are the SF8?
The San Francisco 8 are community activists who have
dedicated their lives to serving their people; most were members of the
Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. They are now being unjustly charged with
murder for a killing that took place 30 years ago based on confessions
obtained through torture.
In 1973, New Orleans police employed torture over the
course of several days to obtain confessions from members of the Black
Panther Party for the killing of a police officer that had taken place in
San Francisco in 1971. The men were stripped naked, beaten, covered in
blankets soaked with boiling water, and shocked with cattle prods. A court
ruled in 1974 that both San Francisco and New Orleans police had engaged
in torture to extract a confession, and a San Francisco judge dismissed
charges against three men in 1975 based on that ruling.
In 2003 the case was re-opened and the men were
subpoenaed to a series of grand juries. In 2005 they asserted their
Constitutional rights to refuse to testify and were jailed for civil contempt. In
2007, the prosecution re-filed the charges against the SF8 based on the same
tortured confessions illegally obtained in 1973. The men were arrested on
January 23; 6 of the 8 had bail set at $3 million.
On August 6, 2007 the SF8 will be appearing in court
for their next bail hearing. Help us build a movement to win their
release!
For more information about the SF8:
http://www.freethesf8.org/
For updates on local actions: www.jerichoboston.org
(We will be showing the film Legacy of Torture: the War Against the Black Liberation Movement on August 18 as part of an event
for Black August. Stay tuned for more information.)
Jericho Boston
(617)830-0732
jericho_boston@yahoo.com
www.jerichoboston.org
FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS AND PRISONERS OF WAR!
Jericho-Boston
PO Box 301057
Boston, MA 02130
jerichoboston.org
(617)830-0732
Bookin for Daniel: Pledge Now!!
Friends and Comrades,
Hi, this is Esther of Eberhardt Press. I am running the Bookin' for
Daniel marathon this weekend! That is 26.2 miles and I would love it
if more of you pledged. Thanks so much to everyone who has already.
Your support means a lot to me and a whole lot to
Daniel. Remember
every bit helps!
=====================
From Friends and Family of Daniel McGowan:
Our friend is running a marathon this weekend in San Francisco to
raise funds and show support for eco-defense prisoner Daniel McGowan.
All proceeds from this run will go directly to Daniel McGowan’s
education fund. Daniel will complete his master’s degree while
serving a seven-year sentence in federal prison. We believe that
Danniel’s voice must not silenced by his imprisonment and that
communication and education are vital in the battle against global
warming.
“ those in power have not dealt with global warming. That, in my
opinion, is a crime. Old-growth forests in Oregon are
still being
logged, genetically engineered trees and crops are still being
introduced into the environment and the only success I see is when
people organize and pressure governments and corporations to change
their behavior.” - Daniel McGowan
Global warming is caused by burning fossil fuels and deforestation.
Daniel McGowan is a social justice and environmental activist from
NY. Around ten years ago, at a time when the media was protecting
corporate interests by pandering to global warming deniers, Daniel
took action.
He used economic sabotage (including two arsons in which no one was
harmed) to raise awareness and stop the deforestation of the planet.
He will now spend the next seven years in prison.
While the earth heats up, forests are still being unsustainably
logged, as a result
humans are displaced by environmental
catastrophe, and more species die each day. The state will continue
to crack down on those who resist. Someday, your children may ask
you, “what did you do?” Will you tell them, “I recycled ?”
By supporting Daniel, you can contribute
in a meaningful way to creating a more
honest, healthy, and sustainable life
for all creatures of planet earth.
Pledge at www.BookinforDaniel.eberhardtpress.org
Check out Daniel's support site at www.SupportDaniel.org
Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you so much to
everyone who has decided to pledge. Feel free to forward this to
anyone who you might think would be interested in supporting Daniel.
In wrongful convictions, justice system turns up guilty
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Mumia Abu-Jamal: Jammiing Janet Africa?: The Latest On A MOVE Woman
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Transgender inmate sues state over prison rape claims
July 24, 2007 Southern Voice
A transgender woman who claims she was repeatedly raped and beaten by
a male cell mate went to court this week to challenge a state policy
that assigns inmates like her to men's or women's prisons depending
on whether they have undergone sex-change surgery. Alexis Giraldo,
30, claims that Folsom State Prison guards ignored her complaints of
abuse and returned her to the same cell until a subsequent assault
got her placed in protective custody and eventually moved to another
facility.
A transgender woman who claims she was repeatedly raped and beaten by
a male cell mate went to court this week to challenge a state policy
that assigns inmates like her to men's or women's prisons depending
on whether they have undergone sex-change surgery.
Alexis Giraldo, 30, claims that Folsom State Prison guards ignored
her complaints of abuse and returned her to the same cell until a
subsequent assault got her placed in protective custody and
eventually moved to another facility.
Giraldo, who was born a man but lives as a woman and takes hormones
to feminize her appearance, is suing the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation for emotional distress and violating
her constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.
"Prisons are violent places, and male prisons are especially violent
places," said Greg Walston, a San Francisco lawyer who took on
Giraldo's case pro bono. "You take that boiling cauldron and you put
one woman in there – which is exactly what happened here – and it's
like throwing a fresh piece of meat into a lion's cage."
The San Francisco jury hearing the case has been asked to award
Giraldo unspecified damages. Superior Court Judge Ellen Chaitin has
been asked to order prison officials to come up with a new system for
housing transgender inmates.
The California Attorney General's office, which is representing the
corrections department and Folsom staff members also named as
defendants in the lawsuit, said Friday that it would not comment on
the case.
Briefs filed by the state argue that Giraldo initially was in a
consensual sexual relationship with her cell mate in violation of
prison policy, did not report specific rape claims, and refused
offers to be moved to a different cell. Once she made it clear she
was being forced to service her cell mate against her will and
strangulation marks were found on her neck, she was removed to
protective custody, the state maintains.
"Plaintiff alleges that he informed prison staff on a number of
occasions about these events. However, the documentation maintained
by prison personnel – including some of the defendants in this case –
does not bear out these assertions," the state's brief states.
Several counties in California, including San Francisco, have created
separate units specifically for transgender prisoners. But like other
states and the federal Bureau of Prisons, California assigns inmates
to prisons based on their genitalia rather than physical appearance.
Biological men who dress and act like women but have not had sex
reassignment surgery can be assigned to a psychiatric prison like the
one to which Giraldo eventually transferred or the general population
of a regular men's prison.
Teda Boyll, a retired guard and supervisor in California, testified
for Giraldo as an expert witness on Friday, saying that in her
opinion Folsom officials failed to adequately investigate Giraldo's
concerns and assure her safety.
"There are some warning signs," Boyll said. "When an inmate says, 'I
am getting pressured for sex,' it means it is already happened or it
is imminent he will have to provide nonconsensual sex to another
inmate."
Giraldo was sent to Folsom for shoplifitng and a parole violation in
January 2006 and spent three months there before she was transferred
to the medical prison. She was paroled earlier this month and is
scheduled to testify on Friday afternoon.
Her former cell mate, who is serving a sentence for armed robbery, is
also scheduled to testify in the case.
http://www.southernvoice.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=13499
Finish anti-war prisoner
Urgent ELP! Bulletin (24th of July 2007)
Dear friends
ELP has just learnt that a very well known Finnish prisoner support
activist, Antti, who has links to the Anarchist Black Cross and who
once served a prison sentence for refusing to be conscripted into the
Finnish army, is back in prison.
Antti has been jailed for 16 days for refusing to the fines issued as
part of his previous sentence.
An e-mail account has been sent up and we urge everyone to send
urgent messages of support to supportantti@hotmail.com
Please do send a message of support to Antti. As we said, Antti is a
well known prisoner support activist who has always been the first to
help others in the past, therefore it is now our turn to help him.
============
British Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network
BM Box 2407
London
WC1N 3XX
England
www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk
Reporter stitches up mouth to protest jailing
July 23, 2007 AP
BAKU, Azerbaijan - An Azerbaijani journalist has gone on a hunger strike to protest his prison sentence and stitched up his mouth to strengthen his demand, a media freedom activist said Monday.
Faramaz Allahverdiyev, a reporter from the opposition Nota Bene newspaper, sewed up his mouth when he went on a hunger strike last week, said Emin Huseynov, who heads the Institute for Freedom and Security of Reporters.
Huseynov told The Associated Press that he learned about Allahverdiyev’s move from other prisoners.
Justice Ministry’s spokesman Rafiq Ramazanov said that Allahverdiyev went on a hunger strike Sunday, but added that he was unaware of him stitching up his mouth.
Allahverdiyev was sentenced to two years in prison in January on charges of slandering the interior minister. The Organization or Security and Cooperation in Europe, a top trans-Atlantic democracy and security body, criticized the verdict as another blow to media freedom in the oil-rich Caspian Sea nation.
Independent media and opposition parties in Azerbaijan have come under increasing pressure from its authoritarian leadership.
Azerbaijan is ruled by President Ilham Aliev, who succeeded his father, Geidar — a former KGB general who had been in power for a decade — in a 2003 election that was criticized by foreign observers and dismissed as fraudulent by the opposition.