Prisoner Support

from 325, 14 November 2008: The vast majority of prisoners (almost 100%) in all 21 prisons around Greece are either on a hunger strike or boycotting prison food. Also, thousands of prisoners have already signed petitions with their demands, despite the terrorism of the prison authorities that have already reacted with violent mass transfers and night invasions inside cells.  more

from infoshop, 14 November 2008: Amadeu Casellas is an anarchist prisoner who has spent 22 years in prison for bank robberies. Though he should be eligible for release, he remains locked up. To protest this, he launched a hunger strike over the summer, fasting for 76 days, until the prison authorities promised to grant him a series of furloughs and then place him in the third degree (open prison, in which a prisoner can leave during the day and a certain number of nights).  more

from imc-nz, updated 11 November 2008: About twenty protesters braved gale force winds and rain to gather outside the Australian High Commission in Wellington today to demand the immediate release of Palm Island Aboriginal councilor, Lex Wotton. The accused man is facing a life sentence for 'rioting with destruction' following the announcement of the brutal killing of an Aboriginal man, in police custody in 2004. more

from email, 30 October 2008: "As beautiful autumn weather brings us closer to 2009, Jeff's release date in December 2009 seems all the more palpable. And all the friends and family that have visited Jeff these past few months have noticed a huge change in Jeff's demeanor as he too realizes he will once again enjoy the pleasures that we on the outside all take for granted. Please help us build a release fund for Jeff to help pay for his education and costs associated with rebuilding his life..." more

from sumoud, 30 October 2008: SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Three years ago, the man known as Internment Serial Number 669 stopped eating. Ahmed Zaid Zuhair, a compact 43-year-old with 10 children in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, had been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002 without charges and decided to join a mass hunger strike in protest. The U.S. military was determined not to let him succeed. Since then, according to court documents reviewed by The Associated Press, guards have struggled with him repeatedly, at least once using pepper spray, shackles and brute force to drag him to a restraint chair for his twice-daily dose of a liquid nutrition mix force-fed through his nose. more

from abc-italy, 25 October 2008: In the night of 19 to 20 of October, two bombs exploded in front of the headquarters of the communal police of Parma (Italy). The damage is limited, not one of the cops who were inside got hurt. This section of the communal police was denounced lately by a student from Ghana, Emmanuel Bonsu, who made public how he was beaten and tortured. Lately, more and more denounces of migrants who are being tortured in the police stations are made public. more

from various sources, 21 October 2008: Victims, attorneys and activists who have been calling for justice in the now infamous Chicago Police Torture cases for decades claimed victory today when former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge was finally indicted by the U.S. Attorney General’s Office and arrested on charges relating to the torture of over 100 African American men over a 20 year period. more

from john bowden, via imc-uk, 14 October 2008: What has become of prison revolts in the British prison system? Where now are the open expressions of collective anger and solidarity that fueled the uprisings and jail riots of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and created the iconic images of Hull 1976 and Strangeways 1990? What happened to the spirit of revolt that used to periodically shake the British long-term prison system and engender a philosophy of prisoner empowerment and solidarity, a philosophy that situated the struggle of prisoners at the very forefront of the universal struggle for human rights and even social revolution? more

from sumoud, 14 October 2008: Incarceration in Israel, Administrative Detention, Palestinian Women Political Prisoners ++++ There are at present about 75 women political prisoners in the Israeli jails: about 35 in Hasharon Prison (Tel Mond), about 35 in Damoon Prison (Carmel Mountain), 1 in Petah Tiqva Detention Center, 3 in Kishon Detention Center (Jalameh) and the rest in several detention centers. more

from rnc8, 29 September 2008: The RNC 8 are 8 alleged organizers with the RNC Welcoming Committee arrested during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, in early September,2008. Although arrested along with some 800 others during the RNC, these 8 face anti-terrorist charges for their part in organizing public protests aimed at disrupting the convention. more

from imc-uk, 16 September 2008: Unfortunately for the apologists of legality, the facts are stubborn: a handful of capitalists has organized a criminal gang and kidnapped proletarians demanding for ransoms, their working power, the commercialization of human activity, their time (that transforms into money), even their whole existence. Wage slavery is a permanent crime against human dignity. more

from vgt.at, 16 September 2008: Its now been a week since I was released from prison. 104 days in a prison cell are over. It is seriously shocking to see how far police repression will go in order to stop legitimate and successful protest for animals in the name of a majority of the population, just because it runs contrary to the profit interests of a powerful minority. Many many thanks to each and everyone of you for all you have done for me. I am deeply humbled by the immense amount of solidarity and support we prisoners have received from the international animals rights community. more

from email, 15 September 2008: On September 8, Marie Mason accepted a non-cooperating plea agreement which requires her to plead guilty to three out of four charges leveled against her by the US Attorney's Office relating to E.L.F. activity. We are aware that Marie was facing several consecutive life sentences had she taken her case to trial and been convicted. She was also facing the threat of additional indictments in other districts. Within the wording of Marie’s plea agreement, she stipulates to the involvement of confirmed snitch and government informant, Frank Ambrose, in the actions she plead guilty to. Frank Ambrose has already plead guilty and admitted his involvement in these actions in his own plea agreement.  more

from if, corporate media, 13 September 2008: Radical environmentalist Kevin Tucker took the stage at Mercyhurst College two years ago to sound his call for a world freed from civilization. Today, he is scheduled to take a seat before a different kind of Erie audience -- a federal grand jury. The 28-year-old former Pennsylvania resident said he has been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury that is investigating a series of arsons and other politically motivated acts of sabotage and vandalism in the Erie area in 2002 and 2003. more