One year of pre-trial incarceration for Eric McDavid

Today, January 13, 2007, marks one year of pre-trial incarceration for
Eric McDavid.  Eric was arrested in Auburn, CA and charged with
conspiracy.  Since that time, Eric has remained in total separation in the
Sacramento County Main Jail, maintaining his innocence in the face of
government repression. 

Both of Eric's co-defendent's, Lauren Weiner and Zachary Jensen, have
become government informants. Now Eric is the sole defendant fighting
the government on this outrageous charge. On December 19, Eric's lawyer
filed 28 pre-trial motions,attacking the valididty of the governments
case and urging the court to drop the charge against Eric. 

The hearing dates, as of right now, for these motions are February 2
and February 6(many are available online at www.supporteric.org). No
trial date has been set. Eric is in total separation, meaning that he has
little to no human contact in his day to day life.  He remains in his cell
almost 24 hours a day, and only gets to visit his family and friends twice
a week for an hour at a time, through a wall of glass. 

Please keep writing  Eric! Letters from folks on the outside really help
him through his days. Please don't be discouraged if Eric doesn't write
you back right away. He has been getting letters and is incredibly grateful
for them.  He has been going through some "down" time and has not been
writing letters much lately, but would still LOVE to hear from you.  So
keep them coming!

Please check www.supporteric.org for updates about the hearings, after
February 6th.

Thank you all for your continued support!

Sacramento Prisoner Support

A Voice From Guantanamo's Darkness

A current detainee speaks of the torture and humiliation he has experienced at Guantanamo since 2002.

By Jumah al-Dossari, JUMAH AL-DOSSARI is a 33-year-old citizen of Bahrain. This article was excerpted from letters he wrote to his attorneys. Its contents have been deemed unclassified by the Department of Defense.

January 11, 2007
Los Angeles Times

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba — I am writing from the darkness of the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo in the hope that I can make our voices heard by the world. My hand quivers as I hold the pen.

In January 2002, I was picked up in Pakistan, blindfolded, shackled, drugged and loaded onto a plane flown to Cuba. When we got off the plane in Guantanamo, we did not know where we were. They took us to Camp X-Ray and locked us in cages with two buckets — one empty and one filled with water. We were to urinate in one and wash in the other.

At Guantanamo, soldiers have assaulted me, placed me in solitary confinement, threatened to kill me, threatened to kill my daughter and told me I will stay in Cuba for the rest of my life. They have deprived me of sleep, forced me to listen to extremely loud music and shined intense lights in my face. They have placed me in cold rooms for hours without food, drink or the ability to go to the bathroom or wash for prayers. They have wrapped me in the Israeli flag and told me there is a holy war between the Cross and the Star of David on one hand and the Crescent on the other. They have beaten me unconscious.

What I write here is not what my imagination fancies or my insanity dictates. These are verifiable facts witnessed by other detainees, representatives of the Red Cross, interrogators and translators.

During the first few years at Guantanamo, I was interrogated many times. My interrogators told me that they wanted me to admit that I am from Al Qaeda and that I was involved in the terrorist attacks on the United States. I told them that I have no connection to what they described. I am not a member of Al Qaeda. I did not encourage anyone to go fight for Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden have done nothing but kill and denigrate a religion. I never fought, and I never carried a weapon. I like the United States, and I am not an enemy. I have lived in the United States, and I wanted to become a citizen.

I know that the soldiers who did bad things to me represent themselves, not the United States. And I have to say that not all American soldiers stationed in Cuba tortured us or mistreated us. There were soldiers who treated us very humanely. Some even cried when they witnessed our dire conditions. Once, in Camp Delta, a soldier apologized to me and offered me hot chocolate and cookies. When I thanked him, he said, "I do not need you to thank me." I include this because I do not want readers to think that I fault all Americans.

But, why, after five years, is there no conclusion to the situation at Guantanamo? For how long will fathers, mothers, wives, siblings and children cry for their imprisoned loved ones? For how long will my daughter have to ask about my return? The answers can only be found with the fair-minded people of America.

I would rather die than stay here forever, and I have tried to commit suicide many times. The purpose of Guantanamo is to destroy people, and I have been destroyed. I am hopeless because our voices are not heard from the depths of the detention center.

If I die, please remember that there was a human being named Jumah at Guantanamo whose beliefs, dignity and humanity were abused. Please remember that there are hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo suffering the same misfortune. They have not been charged with any crimes. They have not been accused of taking any action against the United States.

Show the world the letters I gave you. Let the world read them. Let the world know the agony of the detainees in Cuba.

Texas Prison Camp Future American Gulag?

Detention facility currently holds as many as 200 children incarcerated
after midnight arrests

Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones
Prison Planet
Monday, January 8, 2007

A detention camp in Taylor Texas that currently holds hundreds of rebuffed asylum seekers who legally entered the country, half of which are children swept up in midnight raids, is a potential prime location for the enforced transfer of American citizens during a time of national emergency.

The privatized Hutto jail, which is also administered by Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), currently interns political asylum seekers who came to the U.S. on legal visas. Most of them are families including pregnant women and children who have never been accused of any wrongdoing but are forced to endure squalid conditions inside literal concentration camps.

In 2004 the facility was on the verge of being shutdown due to lack of occupancy but new immigration policies, allied to the burgeoning growth of the prison industry and future plans to detain American citizens on masse, have revived the potential scope of the camp, and a new contract to intern 600 individuals was finalized with immigration authorities in December 2005.

The facility is euphemistically called a "Residential Center," yet charges of overcrowding and poor conditions are rife, with an estimated 645 people filling a facility that has only 512 beds.

"Innocent children should not be jailed and forced to live under traumatizing and dehumanizing conditions," said a statement from Texans United for Families, an organization that recently held a vigil protest at the facility. "It is bad policy and an impractical and inhumane response to a growing refugee crisis. The U.S. should seek alternatives to detention while making sure that it legislates policies that support families and keep them together and out of jail."

The Infowars team recently visited the facility and were promptly told to leave the premises before having their names taken, but not before they were able to get footage of the camp "playground" where some of the children were playing behind giant mesh barbed wire. The children were kept indoors throughout the taping and were only allowed out when the film crew left to eat lunch. View the video here.

One local said that other residents of the town were completely oblivious to the fact that the camp even existed, never mind its function and purpose.

Suspicions will undoubtedly be cast as to whether the facility in Tyler is part of a wider agenda to set up a network of internment camps that will be used to forcibly detain American citizens under emergency provisions. The pretext for this was set in the summer of 2004, when thousands of protesters in New York for the Republican National Convention were forcibly detained, some for over 24 hours, without charge in an asbestos infested disused bus facilityknown as Pier 57, or "Guantanamo on the Hudson" as other labeled it.

During the Iran Contra hearings in the 80's, previously classified information came to light about Continuity of Government (CoG) procedures in times of national crisis. The masterminds behind these programs were Oliver North, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney and the Rex-84 'readiness exercise' discussed the plan to round up immigrants and detain them in internment camps in the context of uncontrolled population movements across the Mexican border.

The real agenda was to use the cover of rounding up immigrants and illegal aliens as a smokescreen for targeting political dissidents and American citizens . From 1967 to 1971 the FBI kept a list of persons to be rounded up as subversive, dubbed the "ADEX" list.

Since 9/11 shadow government and CoG programs that were outlined in Rex-84 have been activated, including mass warrantless wiretapping of American citizens. The internment camp program is being readied for execution following the announcement on January 24th that Halliburton subsidiary KBR (formerly Brown and Root) had been awarded a $385 million contingency contract by the Department of Homeland Security to build detention camps.

A much discussed and circulated report, the Pentagon's Civilian Inmate Labor Program, has recently been updated and the revision details a "template for developing agreements" between the Army and corrections facilities for the use of civilian inmate labor on Army installations."

The pretext given for which the camps would be used as reported by the New York Times was stated as, "an unexpected influx of immigrants, to house people in the event of a natural disaster or for new programs that require additional detention space."

Following the news first given wide attention by this website, that Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root had been awarded a $385 million dollar contract by Homeland Security to construct detention and processing facilities in the event of a national emergency, the Alternet website put together an alarming report that collated all the latest information on plans to initiate internment of political subversives and Muslims after the next major terror attack in the U.S.

The article highlighted the disturbing comments of Sen. Lindsey Graham, who encouraged torture supporting Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to target, "Fifth Columnists" Americans who show disloyalty and sympathize with "the enemy," whoever that enemy may be.

Respected author Peter Dale Scott speculated that the "detention centers could be used to detain American citizens if the Bush administration were to declare martial law."

Daniel Ellsberg, former Special Assistant to Assistant Secretary of Defense, called the plan, "preparation for a roundup after the next 9/11 for Mid-Easterners, Muslims and possibly dissenters. They've already done this on a smaller scale, with the 'special registration' detentions of immigrant men from Muslim countries, and with Guantanamo."

One of the last acts of Congress before Christmas was to send President Bush a bill that establishes a $38 million program of National Park Service grants to preserve Japanese POW internment camps in Hawaii, California, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. Is this really in the name of historical interest or does it dovetail with programs on the books to intern hundreds of thousands of dissidents in a time of crisis?

Justice for the Omaha Two

by Joe Allen
www.dissidentvoice.org
January 7, 2007

Ed Poindexter and Mondo we Langa are not names familiar to most Americans. The longest-serving political prisoners in the United States, these two former Black Panthers have spent more than 35 years behind bars for a crime they did not commit -- the 1970 murder of Omaha, Nebraska, police officer Larry Minard.

The American media and the political establishment scoff at the very idea that there are political prisoners in the United States. Yet many '60s militants -- especially Black and Native American revolutionaries -- were deliberately framed by the police and FBI in their efforts to suppress the radical movements of that period. The Omaha Two were also caught in that dragnet. It has been known for decades that they were targets of the FBI’s infamous Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO), but it is only lately that long, thought-to-be-destroyed evidence has emerged that could lead to a new trial for Ed Poindexter.

A breakthrough in Poindexter’s case could have important ramifications for Mondo we Langa (formerly known as David Rice), who exhausted his appeals thirty years ago. Amnesty International has classified Mondo we Langa and Ed Poindexter -- known as the Omaha Two at the time of their trial in 1971 -- as “prisoners of conscience.” The Omaha police and the political leadership of Nebraska have labeled them “cop killers” and have blocked efforts at commuting their sentences or getting them new trials for decades.

Racism in the Heartland

It is a testament to the vibrancy and breadth of the civil rights and Black Power movements that even small cities like Omaha, Nebraska, felt its impact. North Omaha has long been the center of the Black community in the city, where racism was a daily fact of life. Many of Omaha’s Black residents faced job and housing discrimination, in addition to police brutality. During the course of the 1960s a small but vocal movement arose to combat these issues.

The racial situation in Omaha became more polarized during the course of 1968, when arch-segregationist George Wallace made a stop in the city during his independent campaign for president. White racists attacked Blacks and whites protesting the notorious bigot at one of his campaign rallies. Later that night, Omaha cops killed a local Black high school student. The following month, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, leading to uprisings in 100 American cities. The Black Panther Party (BPP) became the prime target of the FBI’s COINTELPRO operations with the stated goal of “neutralizing” their leadership. Mondo we Langa and Ed Poindexter were community activists in North Omaha at the time. They joined the BPP in 1969 and were soon recognized as the leaders of the party in Nebraska. Poindexter, like a growing number of Panthers, was also a Vietnam veteran. The situation in Omaha got even bloodier in 1969. Vivian Strong, a fourteen-year-old Black teenager, was shot in the back of the head and killed by the police in June of that year. The police officer who killed her, patrolman John Loder, was found not guilty of manslaughter by an all-white jury and was reinstated to the Omaha Police Department (OPD) with back pay and benefits. “Among the most vocal critics of such police abuse of power,” according to Rutger’s law professor Lennox Hinds, “were members of the local chapter of the Black Panther party and its successor, the National Committee to Combat Fascism (NCCF).” Ed Poindexter and Mondo we Langa left the Panthers and founded the NCCF in 1970, with Mondo as chairman and Poindexter as minister of information. They were repeatedly harassed and arrested by the Omaha police for their political activities.

The Bomb

On August 17, 1970, Omaha patrolman Larry Minard was killed by a bomb planted in a suitcase while he was searching an abandoned house. The police were responding to a 9-1-1 call that claimed a woman was being taken into a house against her will, possibly to be raped. Soon after the death of Minard, Duane Peak, a fifteen-year-old Black youth, who had been a member of the NCCF, was terrorized into confessing to planting the bomb and making the 9-1-1 call. Peak made a series of sworn statements to the police that he acted alone. He did not implicate or mention Mondo or Poindexter. However, after the police interrogated him and threatened him with the electric chair, he changed his story and Mondo and Poindexter were soon after charged with murder. Peak himself was allowed to plead to a lesser charge of “juvenile delinquency” in exchange for his testimony.

But Peak would prove to be an unreliable witness for the prosecution. Under police pressure he told at least six different stories about the bombing, and at a key moment in the trial he blurted out the truth, only to be bludgeoned back into lying. At Mondo and Poindexter’s 1971 trial, the prosecuting attorney asked Peak if they had anything to do with the killing. Peak responded by saying no, at which time the prosecutor asked for a recess. When the trial reconvened, the prosecutor once again asked Peak if Mondo and Poindexter were involved and he responded yes, they were involved.

Peak was wearing dark sunglasses when he returned to court after the recess. When he was asked to remove the glasses by the defense counsel, many of those present in the courtroom couldn’t help but notice that he appeared to have been beaten and was crying. Ernie Chambers, who was present in court that day and later became one of the few Black state senators in Nebraska’s unicameral legislature, told the BBC that, “a noticeable gasp” was heard from the courtroom audience who were shocked at Peak’s condition.

Dynamite and other bomb-making material was found during an illegal search of Mondo we Langa’s home while he was out of town, but Mondo has always maintained that the material was planted. The police could not find Mondo or Poindexter’s fingerprints on the dynamite and were not clear as to the exact location of the dynamite in Mondo we Langa’s house. The Omaha Police claimed that after Mondo and Poindexter were arrested, the clothes they wore were tested and were found to have dynamite particles in the shirt and pants’ pockets. Yet, Mondo’s and Poindexter’s hands were tested for dynamite particles and none were found there or on the rest of their clothing. The forensic tests were so faulty, according to the defense, that they could have easily tested positive for such items as kitchen matches or phosphorous detergents among other household products used for cleaning. Mondo’s home mysteriously burned down after their trial was over.

The only other evidence was a tape recording of the 9-1-1 call that police claim Peak made, but then claimed was destroyed by accident. Peak testified that he made the 9-1-1 call, but since the police claimed that no recording existed, jurors had to take Peak at his word that he made the call. The whole case ultimately rested on that tape recording. In an interview with the Washington Post on January 8, 1978, County Prosecutor Art O’Leary admitted that without Peak’s testimony, Mondo and Poindexter would not have been convicted. Also, Peak was never tested for dynamite particles. The trial judge, Donald A. Hamilton, overruled the defense motions to suppress the alleged “evidence” found in the home of Mondo and on the clothing of both of them. They were found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The lone Black juror later said that he voted to convict Mondo and Poindexter on the condition that the death penalty was not imposed. Peak was sentenced to four years at a juvenile facility and released in 1974. After his release, he promptly disappeared for more than two decades.

Mondo and Poindexter appealed their convictions to the Nebraska Supreme Court, which denied their requests for a new trial and upheld their convictions. A Federal court later overturned Mondo’s conviction, ruling that the search of his home and clothing violated his rights against unreasonable search and seizure. But their hopes for a new trial were dashed in 1976 when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the lower court’s decisions in favor of the prosecution. Mondo and Poindexter have remained in prison ever since, despite the efforts of Amnesty International, which has called for their immediate release or a new trial, and the support of such prominent individuals as the recently deceased former governor of Nebraska, Frank Morrison.

Two decades after their arrest, Jack Swanson, an Omaha Police Department detective and one of the key figures in the persecution of Mondo and Poindexter, starkly revealed to the BBC the political agenda behind the case. “We feel we got the two main players in Mondo and Poindexter, and I think we did the right thing at the time, because the Black Panther Party... completely disappeared from the city of Omaha... and it’s... been the end of that sort of thing in the city of Omaha -- and that’s 21 years ago.”

Since 1993, the Nebraska Parole Board has voted unanimously and repeatedly to commute both men’s sentences to time served. However, the Nebraska Board of Pardons (made up of elected officials -- the governor, the attorney general, and secretary of state) has refused to grant a pardon or commutation for Mondo or Poindexter. One member of the Board of Pardons has even declared that there are “no circumstances” under which he would consider commutation.

Suppressed Evidence

It has been known since the late 1970s that the Black Panther Party and its supporters were victims of political repression spearheaded by the FBI working with local police departments across the country during the 1960s and 70s. Mondo and Poindexter were repeatedly harassed and under surveillance from the FBI and the Omaha police, but it was only after their trial that the role of the FBI in suppressing key evidence was revealed. For supporters of Mondo and Poindexter, the role of Duane Peak in the bombing death of Minard has always been a point of contention. Did Peak really make a bomb and plant it? Did he, in fact, make the 9-1-1 call that brought Minard and police officers to the house, where the bomb exploded? How would a troubled fifteen-year-old get the knowledge to build a bomb and detonate it? Why would he do it? The prosecution tried to argue that Poindexter provided the bomb-making skills because he was a veteran, but he was a medical aide and mechanic in the military, not an explosives expert. The prosecution’s case rested on the recording of the 9-1-1 call that they claimed had been destroyed.

While we may never know exactly who destroyed the original tape recording, we do know that the FBI and the local police knew what was on it and made every effort to prevent the defense from getting it. According to an FBI memo dated October 13, 1970, “Assistant COP [Chief of Police] GLENN GATES, Omaha PD, advised that he feels that any use of tapes of this call might be prejudicial to the police murder trial against two accomplices of PEAK and, therefore, has advised that he wishes no use of this tape until after the murder trials of PEAK and the two accomplices has been completed.” When we translate the bureaucratic language of the FBI into plain English, the memo clearly reveals that the Omaha Police felt that the real contents of the call didn’t help their case. The FBI memo continued, “no further efforts are being made at this time to secure additional tape recordings of the original telephone call.”

In 2005, a copy of the tape of the 9-1-1 call was uncovered. On January 23, 2006, Bob Bartle, Ed Poindexter’s attorney, obtained a ruling from Douglas County, Nebraska, District Court Judge Richard Spethman to compel Duane Peak to give a voice sample for examination and comparison to the 9-1-1 caller. Duane Peak, who had been living under the name of Gabriel Peak in Washington state, complied with the court’s request in February and gave a sample of his voice. Tom Owens, one of the leading audio analysts in the country, has testified for the prosecution and the defense in twenty states. In a written opinion in April, Owens stated that “the voice of Duane Peak from 2006 is NOT the same voice” on the 9-1-1 tape. Is this enough to get Ed Poindexter a new trial? “We have a shot,” says Bob Bartle. Hearings will be held in December and January to determine whether this will happen. But after three decades, this is an important development in a case that too few people are aware of and exemplifies the legacy of political repression in 1960s and 1970s.

Legacy of Repression

“There are hundreds, perhaps even thousands of people I would call political prisoners” in the United States, declared Andrew Young in 1978, when he was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Young’s indiscreet remarks ignited a hailstorm of attacks from newspapers and politicians across the country. That same year, Amnesty International published a report that found that criminal activities of the FBI’s COINTELPRO operations had undermined the trials of a number of political activists during the 1970s, the most prominent of whom was American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier. It has been decades since a major political figure in the United States has so publicly spoken about political prisoners in this country. In 1980, former FBI Director L. Patrick Grey and Edward S. Miller, one-time head of the FBI’s domestic counterintelligence unit in New York, were convicted of having “conspired to injure and oppress the citizens of the United States,” for their involvement in COINTELPRO. They served no time in prison and were pardoned in 1981 by President Reagan. Yet their victims remain in prison. Currently, Black journalist and Pennsylvania death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal and Ed Poindexter have the possibility of new trials. A victory in one or both cases could have an enormous impact in unlocking the doors of the American gulag.

Joe Allen is a frequent contributor to the ISR. This article appears in the current issue. Thanks to Mary Dickinson of Nebraskans for Justice for her help in writing this article.

Letters of support can be written to:

Wopashitwe Mondo Eyen we Langa (s/n David Rice) #27768
PO Box 2500, Lincoln, NE 68542-2500

Ed Poindexter #27767
P.O. Box 2500, Lincoln, NE 68542

Benefit for Joyanna Zacher and Nathan Block in Eugene, OR

FRIDAY JANUARY 19TH- 7:00 pm TILL 11PM $5
ALL AGES @ Le Sous Sol
375 River Rd MAP

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Spirit of Freedom (January 2007)

Produced by
EARTH LIBERATION PRISONERS SUPPORT NETWORK

"I thank you all dearly for writing"
(Jon Ablewhite, Animal Rights Prisoner)

Welcome to the January 2007 edition of Spirit of Freedom.  As some people
will be aware, last month, British Animal Rights prisoner, Don Currie, was
given a virtual life sentence called an "indefinite sentence" with a minimum
tariff of six-years.  Below ELP attempts to explain how the sentence works.
We hope our report is accurate and it does represent ELP's understanding of
how this new sentence works.  But we would like to point out that this type
of sentence is relatively new within the British legal system and therefore
no one is quite sure of its full implications yet.  If anyone has any
questions or concerns about our report please contact ELP and we will try to
assist you however we can.  Don's sentence is a shock and we ask that
everyone supports Don as best they can.  Remember, no matter where you are
in the world, support the eco-prisoners and no compromise in defence of
Mother Earth!

COURT REPORTS & LEGAL UPDATES

DON CURRIE SENTENCED

On the 7th of December 2006 British Animal Rights prisoner, Donald Currie,
was given an Indefinite Prison Sentence with a minimum tariff of six years.
This is a new type of sentence, so here is ELP's explanation about how it
works.

Traditionally in Britain people are given either Fixed Term sentences or
Life sentences.  With a fixed term sentence anyone who is given a sentence
of more than four years is given an automatic Parole Hearing date at the
half way stage of their sentence.

For example, a prisoner who is serving 12-years, will automatically be
considered for parole after 6 years.  At the parole hearing the Parole Board
will decide whether to release the prisoner or say they must to serve more
of their sentence before their release.

The Parole Board can keep rejecting a prisoners parole application up until
the point the prisoner has served two-thirds of their sentence; at this
point the prisoner must be released "on license" under the supervision of a
probation officer.  So in the case of a prisoner sentenced to 12-years, it
means they will serve between 6-8 years inside.

With an Indefinite Prison Sentence the Judge decides what is an appropriate
sentence for the crime and then gives the prisoner a minimum tariff to
represent when they would receive their first parole hearing.  At that first
parole hearing the Parole Board can either choose to release the prisoner or
return them to prison.

So in Don Currie's case the Judge obviously felt he should receive a 12-year
sentence and so gave Don a minimum tariff of six years.

However, the crucial point is that because Don has NOT been given a Fixed
Term sentence there is no two-thirds stage of his sentence.  This means he
has no automatic release date.

If the Parole Board wishes to they can keep rejecting an Indefinite Sentence
prisoners Parole Applications for the rest of the prisoners life.  This
means Don will serve a minimum 6 years inside, but if the Parole Board
wishes, he could end up serving 8, 12, 16, 26, 36, 46, etc., years in
prison.  He may even die in prison without ever being released!

The jailing of Don to an Indefinite Prison Sentence is an outrage.  Don has
not killed or physically injured anyone.  He has destroyed the property of
animal abusers and if you believe the British mainstream media he was a very
dedicated ALF activist.

The use of an Indefinite Prison Sentence against an animal rights activist
is a highly political sentence and ELP hopes that Don's lawyers are
appealing against this political sentence.

IL SILVESTRE GM-CROP TRIAL

In October 2000, the eco-group, Il Silvestre, organised two days of protest
in Florence, Italy, against GM crops.

On the first day of the protests almost 100 people demonstrated outside the
Agriculture University and at the premises of Menarini pharmaceutical.  The
protesters handed out leaflets, blocked roads, sloganised walls and Menarini
pharmaceutical was paintbombed.

On the second day the protest grew to about 300 people in total.  The
protesters planned to march through the city centre ending up outside the
DuPont building.  However the riot police decided to prevent this march and
blocked the streets.

The protesters tried to negotiate with the police to be allowed to continue
in their lawful protest.  The negotiations ended when the police baton
charging the demonstrators.  The demonstrators defended themselves from the
police with their placards, as the police chased the protesters through the
city centre.

At the end of the day scores of protesters were injured and 26 people were
under arrest, six of whom were remanded into custody for a few days.

In March 2004 ELP reported that out of the original 26 arrested, 13 were on
trial with the prosecution asking for jail sentences of between 18 months
and 2 years.

The trial was meant to end in June 2004 but, as ELP reported at the time,
the trial had to be delayed as the Judge failed to appear in court!!!

Eventually, after a very prolonged case, 11 people were convicted of their
role in the case and given prison sentences.  However none of those
sentences could start until after the defendants had had a chance to appeal
their sentences.

On the 4th of December 2006, the 11 defendants appeared before the Court of
Appeal, in Florence.  Out of the 11, one was aquitted, 8 had their prison
sentences reduced to 8 months suspended sentences, whilst the remaining two
had their prison sentences reduced to one year each.

One of the defendants whose been sentenced to one-year imprisonment is
Costantino Ragusa, who is accused of being the organiser of the anti-GM
protest.

Constantino is already in prison, serving five years for his alleged role in
the COR actions.  He was also, before his imprisonment, serving an 18-month
suspended sentence for burgling and firebombing a multi-national company.
Now he is imprisoned he must serve all his sentences consecutively,
therefore Constantino is now serving seven and a half years imprisonment.
In addition to the above, Constantino is also a defendant in the forthcoming
Il Silvestre Trial where ten Il Silvestre members are accused of using
explosives to destroy electricity pylons carrying nuclear power.  ELP will
bring you further information on that trial as we receive it.

Concerning the second person sentenced to one-year imprisonment.  ELP
understands they are currently under house arrest as they again appeal
against the jail term.

OREGON UPDATE

In mid-December 2006, the police informants Stanislas Meyerhoff and Chelsea
Gerlach pleaded guilty to their role in the 1998 ELF arson against the ski
resort at Vail, Colorado.  The two both said they acted alongside William
'Bill' Rodgers, who they accredited as being the leading light behind the
arson.  Two other people, Josephine Overtaker and Rebecca Rubin, whose
locations are currently unknown, have also been indicted on the Vail arson
charge.

Also in mid-December 06, Judge Ann Aiken, set the sentencing dates of all of
the defendants who have pleaded guilty in the Oregon Trial.  The dates are
as follows:

Stanislas Meyerhoff (police informant) due to be sentenced on the 10th of
April 10 2007.  Kevin Tubbs (police informant) due to be sentenced on the
17th of April 2007. Chelsea Gerlach (police informant) due to be sentenced
on the 18th of April.  Darren Thurston (level of cooperation unknown) due to
be sentenced on the 19th of April.  Suzanne Savoie (police informant) due to
be sentenced on the 20th of April.  Kendall Tankersley (police informant)
due to be sentenced on the 20th April.  Nathan Block (non-cooperating
defendant) due to be sentenced on the 25th of April.  Joyanna Zacher
(non-cooperating defendant) due to be sentenced on the 25th of April.
Daniel McGowan (non-cooperating defendant) due to be sentenced on the 26th
of April.   Jonathan Paul (non-cooperating defendant) due to be sentenced on
the 30th of April.

Despite the various guilty pleas in the Oregon case, ELP would like to
remind everyone that this case is not over.  There are still at least three
defendants in this case who locations are unknown to the FBI.

Also, Briana Waters has formally pleaded not guilty to the University of
Washington fire and is scheduled for trial in May 2007.  ELP will keep you
informed as to all the developments in Briana's trial.

ECO-DEFENCE PRISONERS

Fadalla Idris Alajaimy (address unknown).  Sudan anti-dam protester on
remand accused of Waging War against the State for protesting against the
construction of a dam.

Mohamed Ahmed Alajaimy (address unknown).  Sudan anti-dam protester on
remand accused of Waging War against the State for protesting against the
construction of a dam.

Tre Arrow, CS# 05850722, Vancouver Island Regional Correction Center, 4216
Wilkinson Rd., Victoria, BC, V8Z 5B2, Canada.  On remand accused of
involvement with an arson on logging trucks and an arson on vehicles owned
by a sand & gravel company.  Both arsons occurred in the USA.  Tre is
fighting his extradition to the USA.

Nathan Block, #1663667, Lane County Jail, 101 W 5th Ave., Eugene, OR 97401,
USA.  On remand accused of involvement in an arson against a Poplar Tree
Farm and an arson against an SUV dealership.  Also charged with involvement
in a conspiracy to carry out direct action in Oregon.

Federico Bonamici, Casa di Reclusione, ia Nuova Poggioreale 177, 80143
Napolo Poggioreale (NA), Italy.  Il Silvestre member on remand accused of
using explosives to damage an electricity pylon.  Also accused of planning
to overthrow the State.

Marco Camenisch, Postfach 3143, CH-8105 Regensdorf, Switzerland.  Serving 27
years.  1) Ten years for using explosives to destroy electricity pylons
leading from nuclear power stations.  2) Seventeen years for the murder of a
Swiss Boarder Guard whilst on the run.  In '02 Marco completed a 12-year
sentence in Italy for destroying electricity pylons in Italy.

Ibai Ederra, Carcel de Pamplona, C/San Roque. Apdo. 250, 31080 - Iruñez -
Pamplona, Navarra (España), Spain.  Serving just under 5 years for
sabotaging machinery at the controversial Itoiz dam construction site.

Rodney Coronado #03895-000, FCI  Tucson, 8901 South Wilmot Rd, Tucson, AZ
85705, USA.  Serving 8 months for his role in an Earth First! hunt sabotage
against a mountain lion hunt.  Rod is also facing additional charges
relating to a speech he made at an animal rights gathering in 2003.

William Frediani (currently under house arrest).  Il Silvestre activist
sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for promoting & participating in COR
direct action.

Benedetta Galante, Casa Circondariale, Contrada Capo di Monte, 82100 -
Benevento (BN), Italy.  Il Silvestre activist sentenced to 3 years 6 months
for promoting & participating in COR direct action.  Also awaiting trial
accused of using explosives to damage an electricity pylon in protest at
nuclear energy.

Francesco Gioia, Via Maiano, 10, 06049 Spoleto, Italy.  Il Silvestre
activist sentenced to 5 years 2 months for promoting & participating in COR
direct action.  Also awaiting trial for escaping from house arrest.

Silvia Guerini, Carcere "La Dozza", Via Del Gomito 2, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
Il Silvestre member on remand accused of using explosives to damage an
electricity pylon.

Leonardo Landi (currently under house arrest).  Il Silvestre activist
sentenced to 3 years 6 months imprisonment for promoting & participating in
COR direct action.

Jeffrey Luers, #13797671, OSP, 2605 State St. Salem, OR 97310, USA. Serving
22 years & 8 months for arson on a SUV dealership & the attempted arson of
an oil truck.

Ali Mohamed Alhassen Massad (address unknown).  Sudan anti-dam protester on
remand accused of Waging War against the State for protesting against the
construction of a dam.

Eric McDavid X-2972521 4E 231A, Sacramento County Main Jail, 651 "I" Street,
Sacramento, CA 95814, USA.  On Remand accused of planning to destroy the
property of the U.S. Forestry Service, mobile phone masts and power plants.

Christopher McIntosh 30512-013, USP Hazelton, US Penitentiary, PO Box 2000,
Bruceton Mills, WV 26525, USA.  Serving 8 years for a joint ELF/ALF arson
attack on a McDonalds restaurant.

Alessio Perondi (currently under house arrest).  Il Silvestre activist
sentenced to 3 years 8 months imprisonment for promoting & participating in
COR direct action.

Costantino Ragusa, Casa Circondariale, Via Prati Nuovi 7, 27058 Voghera
(PV), Italy.  Il Silvestre activist serving 7½ years.  1)  Five years for
promoting & participating in COR direct action.  2) 18-months for burgling
and firebombing a multinational company. 3) 12-months for organising an
anti-GM protest.  Costanino is also awaiting trial accused of using
explosives to damage an electricity pylon in protest at nuclear energy.

John Wade #38548-083, FCI Petersburg Low, Satellite Camp, PO Box 90027,
Petersburg, VA 23804, USA.  Serving 37 months for a series of ELF actions
against a number of targets including McDonalds & Burger King; urban sprawl;
the construction industry; and an SUV dealership.

Joyanna Zacher #1662550, Lane County Jail, 101 W 5th Ave, Eugene, OR 97401,
USA.  On remand accused of involvement in an arson against a Poplar Tree
Farm and an SUV dealership.  Also charged with involvement in a conspiracy
to carry out direct action in Oregon.

ANIMAL LIBERATION PRISONERS

Jon Ablewhite TB4885, HMP Lowdham Grange, Lowdham, Nottingham, NG14 7DA,
England.  Serving 12 years for attempting to blackmail a farmer who supplied
guinea pigs for vivisection.

Dave Blenkinsop EM7899, HMP Rye Hill, Onley, Warwickshire, CV23 8AN,
England.  Serving 10 years.  1) Three years for a stave attack on the
Managing Director of HLS.  2) 18 months for rescuing 600 guinea pigs from a
lab supplier.  3) 5½ years for planting incendiary devices under an
abattoirs vehicles.

Madeline Buckler PR7492, HMP Morton Hall, Swinderby, Lincoln, LN6 9PT,
England.  Serving 2 years for sending hate mail to a family who supplied
guinea pigs for vivisection.

Jacob Conroy #93501-011, FCI Victorville Medium I Federal Correctional
Institution, P.O. Box 5300, Adelanto, CA 92301, USA. Serving 48 months
imprisonment for helping organise the SHAC-USA campaign.

Rodney Coronado.  Serving 8 months for his role in an Earth First! hunt
sabotage against a mountain lion hunt.  See his details in the Eco-Defence
Prisoners list.

Donald Currie TN4593, HMP Whitemoor, Longhill Road, March, Cambs, PE15 OPR,
England.  Serving an Indeterminate Sentence, of not less than six actual
years, for carrying out arsons against targets associated the vivisection
industry including HLS.

Josh Demmitt 12314-081, FCI Safford, Federal Correctional Institution, P.O.
Box 9000, Safford, AZ 85548, USA.  Serving 30 months for an ALF arson on a
University animal testing facility.

Darius Fullmer #26397-050, FCI Fort Dix Satellite Camp, P.O. Box 1000, Fort
Dix, NJ 08640 USA.  Serving 12 months for helping organise the SHAC-USA
campaign.

Garfield Marcus Gabbard TB 4271, HMP Moorland (Closed), Bawtry Road,
Hatfield Woodhouse, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN7 6BW, England.  Serving
36 months for Affray during an animal rights demo where he jumped onto a car
and kicked a security guard who pulled him off the car.

Lauren Gazzola #93497-011, FCI Danbury Route #37, 33 1/2 Pembroke Road,
Danbury, CT 06811 USA. Serving 54 months imprisonment for helping organise
the SHAC-USA campaign.

Sarah Gisborne, LT5393, HMP Cookham Wood, Rochester, Kent, ME1 3LU, England.
Serving 5½ years for conspiracy to cause criminal damage following the
damaging of 8 vehicles owned by people linked to Huntingdon Life Science.

Joshua Harper #29429-086, FCI Sheridan Federal Correctional Institution,
P.O. Box 5000, Sheridan, OR 97378 USA.  Serving 36 months imprisonment for
helping organise the SHAC-USA campaign.

Joseph Harris, TN5728, HMP Lewes, Brighton Road, East Sussex, BN7 1EA,
England.  Serving 2 years for damaging the property of people associated
with Huntingdon Life Sciences.  (His sentenced was reduced on appeal).

Kevin Kjonaas #93502-011, FCI Sandstone, PO Box 1000, Sandstone, MN 55072
USA.  Serving 72 months imprisonment for helping organise the SHAC-USA
campaign.

Chris McIntosh.  Serving 8 years for a joint ALF/ELF arson on a McDonalds.
See his details in the Eco-Defence Prisoners list.

Josephine Mayo PR6508, HMP Drake Hall, Eccleshall, Staffordshire, ST21 6LQ,
England.  Serving 4 years for attempting to blackmail a farmer who supplied
guinea pigs for vivisection.

John Smith TB4887, HMP Lowdham Grange, Lowdham, Nottingham, NG14 7DA,
England.  Serving 12 years for attempting to blackmail a farmer who supplied
guinea pigs for vivisection.

Andrew Stepanian #26399-050, FCI Butner Medium II Federal Correctional
Institution, PO Box 1500, Butner, NC 27509 USA. Serving 36 months for
helping organise the SHAC-USA campaign.

Kerry Whitburn TB4886, HMP Lowdham Grange, Lowdham, Nottingham, NG14 7DA,
England.  Serving 12 years for attempting to blackmail a farmer who supplied
guinea pigs for vivisection.

Peter Daniel Young, #10269-111, FCI Vitorvill Medium II, Federal
Correctional Institution, PO Box 5700, Adelanto, CA  92301, USA.  Serving
two years for releasing mink and foxes from six different fur farms.  Also
awaiting trial for his alleged involvement in a raid on a fur farm in South
Dakota.

PLOUGHSHARES PRISONERS

Helen Woodson, 03231-045, FMC Carswell - Admin. Max. Unit, POB 27137, Ft.
Worth, TX  76127, USA.  Serving 8 years 10 months for actions that focused
on the interrelationship of war & the destruction of the natural world.  The
actions included pouring red paint over the security desk of a federal court
and making threatening communications.  Previously Helen had served 20½
years for: 1) Using a hammer to disarm a nuclear missile silo.  2) Burning
$25,000 on the floor of a bank whilst denouncing war, environmental
destruction & economic injustice.  3) Mailing warning letters with bullets
attached to Government & corporate officials.

OTHER ANTI-WAR PRISONERS

Brendan Walsh, 12473-052, FCI Allenwood Low, PO Box 1000, White Deer, PA
17887, USA.  Serving 5 years for an arson on an army recruitment office in
protest at the War on Iraq.

THE LECCE FIVE
The Lecce Five have been charged with "subversive association" accused of
damaging Esso petrol pumps to oppose the War on Iraq; sabotaging the cash
machines of a bank which funds an immigration centre; and targeting the
multinational company Benetton in support of Mapuche land rights activists
in Chile.  All of the defendants are currently either under house arrest or
released on bail.

ANTIFA PRISONERS

Lasandra Burwell W063658, Ohio Reformatory for Women, 1479 Collins Ave.
Marysville, OH 43040, USA.  Serving 5 years for taking part in an
anti-fascist demonstration which turned into a riot.

Tomasz Wiloszewski, Zaklad Karny, Orzechowa 5, 98-200 Sieradz, Poland.
Serving 15 years for accidentally killing a neo-nazi whilst defending
himself.

PARTY & PROTEST
Around the world there have been several massive protests against global
capitalism and its environmental impact.  The following have all been jailed
in connection with the protests.

Jonathan Philip Robert, Crisp County Detention Center, 197 Ga. Hwy. 300
South, Cordele, GA 31015, USA  (12 months)

OTHER PRISONERS

Ted Kaczynski (04475-046), US Pen - admin Max Facility, PO Box 8500,
Florence Colorado 81226, USA.  Serving multiple life sentences for the
infamous 'Unabomber' anti-technology bombing & murder campaign.

Olga Aleksandrovna Nevskaya, UU163/5, 7 Otryad, pos. Dzerzhinskiy, Mozhaysk
140090 Moskovskaya oblast, Russia. Eco-activist serving 6 years for arson,
criminal damage and causing explosions in protest at the war in Chechnya.
Due for release in 2009.

Fran Thompson, #1090915 HU 1C, WERDCC, PO Box 300, Vandalia, MO 63382, USA.
Serving Life for killing, in self-defence, a stalker who had broken into her
home. Before her imprisonment Fran was an eco, animal & anti-nuke
campaigner.


MOVE
MOVE is an eco-revolutionary group who carried out protests in defence of
all life. There are currently eight MOVE activists in prison each serving
100 years after been framed for the murder of a cop in 1979.  9th defendant,
Merle Africa, died in prison in 1998.

Debbie Simms Africa  (006307), Janet Holloway Africa  (006308) and Janine
Philips Africa (006309)  all at: SCI Cambridge Springs, 451 Fullerton Ave,
Cambridge Springs, PA 16403-1238, USA.

Michael Davis Africa (AM4973) and Charles Simms Africa (AM4975) both at SCI
Grateford, PO Box 244, Grateford, PA 19426-0244, USA.

Edward Goodman Africa  (AM4974), 301 Morea Rd, Frackville, PA 17932, USA.

William Philips Africa (AM4984) and Delbert Orr Africa (AM4985) both at SCI
Dallas Drawer K, Dallas, PA 18612, USA.

Mumia Abu Jamal, (AM8335), SCI Greene, 175 Progress Drive, Waynesburg PA
15370, USA.  In 1981 Mumia, former Black Panther and vocal supporter of
MOVE, was framed for the murder of a cop.  He was originally sentenced to
death but is currently awaiting re-sentencing following a court hearing in
2001.

MAPUCHE PRISONERS & OTHER LAND RIGHTS PRISONERS
Due to space limitation we cannot publish the names & addresses of the
Mapuche & Land Rights prisoners in this edition of Spirit of Freedom,
however if you would like a list please contact Spirit of Freedom.

STATEMENT ON VIOLENCE
Some people listed in this newsletter have carried out violent actions.
'Spirit of Freedom' does not condone violence.  But we are also against
censorship & believe people can decide for themselves who they wish to
support.

ABOUT E.L.P. SUPPORT NETWORK
ELP is an international eco-prisoner support network founded, in Britain, in
1993 to support jailed eco-activists.  We support the prisoners by producing
various regular prisoner lists:

Spirit of Freedom is ELP's international bimonthly publication (available
via e-mail or in a paper version).  If you would like to receive a copy
contact Spirit of Freedom, BM Box 2407, London, WC1N 3XX, England.  Or
e-mail ELP4321@hotmail.com

Urgent ELP! Bulletin is an e-mail service that distributes the names of any
new eco-prisoner as soon as ELP gets their details.  For more info e-mail
ELP4321@hotmail.com

On-Line Newsletters - ELP has a number of websites that provide news,
prisoner lists and additional info about ELP & the prisoners.

English language ELP Website
www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk

North American ELP Website
www.ecoprisoners.org

Turkish language ELP Website
www.geocities.com/yesilanarsi/elp.htm

ELP Extra is an e-mail group that circulates the details of political
prisoners, ELP learns about, who do not fall within the remit for support by
ELP.  To subscribe to the list e-mail ELP4321@Hotmail.com

Belgium ELP.SN is our Belgium contact.  For more info e-mail
elp_bel@hotmail.com

German ELP.SN is a prisoner led initiative run by eco-prisoner Marco
Camenisch.  For more info contact Marco Camenisch, Postfach 3143, CH-8105
Regensdorf, Switzerland.

North American ELP is our North American contact.  For more information
e-mail naelpsn@mutualaid.org

Turkey ELP.SN is our Turkish contact.  For more info e-mail
yesilanarsi@yahoo.com

North American ELP Prisoner Fund.  The North American ELP group has set up a
fund where people can pay money, for North American Eco-Defence and Animal
Rights prisoners, which will then be distributed to the North American
prisoners.  For information about the Fund and how to make a donation please
contact naelpsn@mutualaid.org

DEDICATION
This Edition of Spirit of Freedom is dedicated to American Earth First!
activist and independent journalist, Brad Will, who was murdered on the 27th
of October 2006 by Mexican paramilitaries.  Brad was in Mexico filming
protests against the Oaxaca State Governor when he was shot dead.  Our
thoughts are with his family & friends.

14th Annual NW Regional Peltier March and Rally

14^th ANNUAL NW REGIONAL

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY FOR

LEONARD PELTIER

MARCH & RALLY FOR JUSTICE

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10th, 2007, TACOMA, WA.

12:00 NOON: MARCH FOR JUSTICE Portland Ave. Park (on Portland Ave. between E. 35^th & E. Fairbanks. Take Portland Ave. exit off I-5 and head east)

1:00 PM: RALLY FOR JUSTICE U.S. Federal Court House, 1717-Pacific Ave.

Performances by:

The Aztec Dancers

United Nations: Native Rap Activists

Albert Combs

Speakers:

Matilaja: Yu’Pik/Yakama, Tacoma LPSG: M.C.

Robert Robideau: Co-Director of the LPDC and Co Defendant

Shelly Vendiola: Indigenous Women’s Network

Steve Hapy: Tacoma Leonard Peltier Support Group

Arthur J. Miller, Tacoma Leonard Peltier Support Group

David Duenas: Puyallup

Juan Jose Bocanegra: Every Worker’s Movement

Frank Reynolds: Native American Coalition

Bill Bichsel: Catholic Worker, JWJ

Zoltan Grossman: Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, Faculty Evergreen's Native American Studies

CARAVANS/CAR POOLS

SEATTLE: Meet at the Red Apple parking lot at 23^rd and Jackson. Will be leaving at 10:00 am

OLYMPIA: There will be a carpool leaving from the parking lot at Harrison and Division at 10:30.

EUGENE: Drivers and people needing rides meet at the Grower's Market parking lot (454 Willamette, by the Amtrak station) at 7:30 am. (The Eugene Caravan will be meeting up with the Portland Caravan).

PORTLAND: Drivers and people needing rides, meet in the main parking lot (entrance just north of Killingworth from Albina, parking lot entrance on the right, behind the student services building) at PCC Cascade Campus at 9:30 am.

(If anyone can set up other caravans/car pools in other areas like the Bellingham area please contact us at: bayou@blarg.net)

WE NEED DONATIONS. We are a grassroots organization with no outside funding. All our donations for our marches for the last 14 years have come from supporters like you. Any amount helps. All money donated goes to printing and mailing.

(Donations Needed! Please send to:)

Tacoma Leonard Peltier Support Group

P.O. BOX 5464

TACOMA, WA 98415-0464

bayou@blarg.net

For up-dates and notices on helping Leonard Peltier please sign up on the NW Peltier Support e-mail list by sending an e-mail to:

nwpeltiersupport-subscribe@lists.riseup.net .

New Orleans officers indicted

7 charged for role in shooting spree after Katrina

By Miguel Bustillo
Los Angeles Times
Posted December 29 2006

HOUSTON - A grand jury on Thursday indicted seven New Orleans police officers on murder and attempted murder charges for their role in a chaotic post-Katrina shooting spree that left two dead, including a mentally disabled man.

The criminal charges against the officers, who had been cleared of any wrongdoing by the New Orleans Police Department, come after widespread public criticism of what has become known as the Danziger Bridge incident.

"We cannot allow our police officers to shoot and kill our citizens without justification like rabid dogs," Orleans Parish District Attorney Eddie J. Jordan Jr. said in a statement Thursday. "The rules governing the use of lethal force are not suspended during a state of emergency. Everyone, including police officers, must abide by the law of the land."

Six days after Katrina hit New Orleans, police on Sept. 4, 2005, commandeered a truck and responded to what they initially reported as two officers downed during an armed attack on the Danziger Bridge that links the Gentilly and New Orleans East neighborhoods.

In the fusillade that followed, Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old mentally disabled man who had refused to leave his dogs during the storm, and James Brissette, 19, were killed. Four others were seriously wounded.

From the outset, the shooting's survivors have said that they were simply crossing the bridge and ran in panic only after a pack of men they thought were criminals opened fire for no apparent reason.

Follow-up media reports found that no officers had been wounded before the gunfire that killed Madison and Brissette, casting doubt on the officers' version of events, which was backed by the department. An autopsy found that Madison was shot in the back several times, contradicting a sergeant's claims that the man, who had no prior criminal record, had come toward the officers and reached into his waistband before being shot.

The grand jury indicted two sergeants, Kenneth Bowen and Robert Gisevius, and two officers, Anthony Villavaso and Robert Faulcon, on first-degree murder charges in Brissette's death. Faulcon also was charged with first-degree murder for the death of Madison. The charges carry a potential death sentence.

The four officers also were charged with varying counts of attempted murder for shooting additional victims, as were officers Robert Barrios, Michael Hunter and Ignatius Hills.

The grand jury did not indict Madison's older brother Lance, who had been wounded while on the bridge. Lance Madison, a 25-year Federal Express employee with no prior criminal record, had been arrested and charged with numerous offenses, including attempted murder of police officers. He will no longer be prosecuted.

Happy New Year from Daniel and Friends

Dear friends,

We would like to thank you so much for your support for Daniel
McGowan in the last year. It has certainly been a difficult year and
despite all the hardship, we also have some things to be thankful
for. Daniel has been out on bail since February and off house arrest
since September. These were two events that none of us were certain
would happen. Also, thanks to donations and money raised throughout
the year, we have been able to afford an amazing legal team that was
able to able to negotiate a plea that Daniel and his 3 co-defendants,
Jonathan Paul, Joyanna Zacher and Nathan Block can live with.
Although Daniel will be reporting to prison sometime in 2007, we are
relieved it won't be for the rest of his life. In order to get Daniel
the lowest possible sentence, we still need your help and support.

Daniel will tentatively be sentenced in late April 2007. We would be
grateful if you could write a letter to the Judge (via Daniel's
lawyers) regarding the sentencing. Letters from people who know
Daniel, who have worked with him and who have participated with him
on activist projects are best, but we are also looking for people who
have read about the case and have opinions about it to submit
letters  as well. The letters are due on January 31st. Many people
have asked  what they could do to help the situation and this is, by
far, one of  the most important things we could ask of anyone. Please
take the  time over the next 2 weeks to write a letter. It need not
be over one  page long but it should encompass any of the relevant
points listed  below.

It is important to note that Daniel and all the defendants in the
case will be arguing against the applicability of the terrorism
enhancement in this case on April 10, 2006. This will be a very
important court case and it will determine whether the Judge will
allow the prosecution to argue that the terrorism enhancement applies
in this case. The Judge may take the arguments under advisement and
then issue a ruling sometime after that. Either way, all defendants
will be able to argue against the terrorism enhancement at their
own  sentencing hearings if the Judge allows the terrorism
enhancement to  be argued.

Finally, we want to thank you again for all of your support, love,
and well wishes you have sent our way this past year. There are too
many people to thank but special thanks to people who have hosted
benefits and parties, written letters to the Judge at Daniel's
detention hearing, donated art for (and organized!) the huge July
2006 art auction, wrote Daniel and sent him books while in jail,
checked in on email from time to time, made donations, braved the
weather week after week selling books, moved across the country to do
support and designed and printed hundreds of thousands of flyers.
The  support has been so important to Daniel and has made this
situation  all the more bearable knowing there are compassionate and
dedicated  people out there caring about him.

Happy New Year! Here's to a better year in 2007!
Family and Friends of Daniel McGowan
www.supportdaniel.org

ADOPT-A-PRISONER 2007

The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign
http://www.ProLibertadWeb.com
ProLibertad@Hotmail.com
ProLibertad Hotline: 718-601-4751
_______________________________________________________________________________

Download the December Edition of our newsletter El Coqui Libre by going to:
http://www.prolibertadweb.com/page10.html  and download thePDF version.
_______________________________________________________________________________

¡¡FELIZ AñO NUEVO!! HAPPYY NEW YEAR!!

The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign wishes everyone a wonderful, just
and powerful New Year!!  In these times of war, repression and
RESISITANCE, we in the ProLibertad Freedom Campaign are calling on
all our allies, supporters and friends to remember our brothers and
sisters behind the walls!! Those amazing and inspiration compañer@s
that were incarcerated by the US government for their brave actions
and commitment to the liberation of Puerto Rico; a colony of the
United States for 108 years!!

As the year 2007 begins, we are urging all of you to join
ProLibertad's newest campaign: ADOPT-A-PRISONER 2007.

This is an easy project.  There are only 5 easy steps to support this
endeavor:

Step 1:  Go our website: http://www.prolibertadweb.com/page4.html and
read about one of our prisoners.

Step 2:  Choose one of them or all of them and make the commitment to
write to him/her/them once or twice a month.

Step 3: If you can, send them a commissary donation (small financial
donation $5-whatever; every little bit counts)!!  These small
donations allow them to pay for phone calls to family/LEGAL
COUNSEL/friends and also for over priced materials behind the walls. 
To learn more about how to donate to them go to:
http://www.prolibertadweb.com/page5.html

Step 4:  Email us Prolibertad@hotmail.com and let us know who you've
adopted.  We want to  keep track of this campaign and see how many of
you are able to commit to supporting our prisoners.

Step 5: Motivate all of your friends to ADOPT-TO-A-PRISONER!! Be
creative!!  Invite ProLibertad to speak to your friends or organize a
card/letter writing party.  Let us know how we can support!!

It is very simple!!

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE FREEDOM HAPPEN!!  TOGETHER WE CAN SUPPORT OUR
HEROES BEHINDTHE WALLS!!

ADOPT-A-PRISONER
Oscar Lopez Rivera
#87651-024
U.S. Penitentiary
P.O. Box 12015
Terre Haute, IN 47801

Carlos Alberto Torres
#88976-024
P.O. Box 1000
Oxford, WI
53952

Haydee Beltran
Torres
#88462-024
SCI Tallahassee
501 Capitol
Circle NE
Tallahassee, FL 32301

José Pérez
González
#21519-069
FCI Yazoo
City MDC
PO Box 5888
Yazoo City, MS 39194