Abcmelb's Blog

Prisoners that we support

AKIN SARI
Charged followed the G20 protests in Melbourne in November 2006
Mail to
Corrections Victoria
22/121 Exhibition St
GPO Box 123
Melbourne VIC 3001

Tel: 03 8684 6600

LEX WOTTON

Lex Wotton Solidarity Fiesta

Drop all charges against Lex Wotton! Justice for Mulrunji! Stop Aboriginal deaths in custody now!
Hear Lex Wotton speak (8 pm) • MC – The Deadly Ms Shiralee Hood • Short rousing solidarity speeches. Music by Joe Geia, The Conch and The Grenadines

• Finger food served • Bar service / Saturday 9 August, 7 pm / Maritime Union of Australia Hall,
54 Ireland Street, West Melbourne

• $25 solidarity price • $20 full price • $10 unwaged

All proceeds to fund the Lex Wotton Victorian speaking tour and to assist Lex with the campaign. Can’t attend but would like to contribute? Send donations to Indigenous Social Justice Association (Melbourne), PO Box 266, West Brunswick Vic 3055.

Organised by Indigenous Social Justice Association (Melbourne).

The campaign to throw out all charges against Palm Island Aboriginal leader, Lex Wotton, is gaining momentum. The Indigenous Social Justice Association (Melbourne) is organising a Victorian speaking tour for Lex from 6 – 10 August 2008.

Wotton participated in the November 2004 protest against the killing of his friend Mulrunji, a respected community member and father, while in police custody. Singled out in the crackdown that followed, Wotton faces charges of “riot with destruction” — a charge that could lead to a jail sentence of more than ten years. No justice, no peace. A blatant cover up of what happened to Mulrunji in the Palm Island watch house enraged the community.

Responding to years of racist state violence, and now Mulrunji’s death, they demanded justice. What triggered the angry protest was the release of the first state inquiry into Mulrunji’s killing, which, while noting that he had suffered a ruptured liver and four broken ribs, concluded that his death resulted from a “scuffle.” A second coronial inquiry in September 2006 confirmed what everyone already knew: that on November 19, 2004 at the Palm Island police station, Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley had struck Mulrunji with such force that it caused the Aboriginal man to die.
Four hundred people took part in the 2004 Palm Island rebellion — over 10% of the entire island’s population! The large demonstration marched on the police station and courthouse — the symbols of racist injustice. Queensland authorities retaliated with vicious repression and targeted individuals for persecution. On March 22, 2007 a jury acquitted four Palm islanders charged with “riot” in connection with the November 2004 demonstration. But the state continues to scapegoat Lex Wotton, whom they allege was the leader of the protest. Far from being a “riot,” the Palm Island protest was an act of anti- racist resistance. This struggle, like that of Redfern after the death of T.J. Hickey nine months earlier, brought the racist hounding of Indigenous communities across Australia to international prominence. The resistance on Palm Island revitalised a national movement to expose the causes of Aboriginal deaths in custody and stop the ongoing death toll that amounts to genocide. This resistance is a big factor in why Senior Sargent Chris Hurley was brought to court. His acquittal once again confirmed how stacked the legal system is against Aboriginal Australians and how justified it was for the people of Palm Island to stand up to the institutions of this racist system in November 2004.

We will not be intimidated! By jailing Lex Wotton, the state hopes to head off future opposition to racist persecution. The Queensland government is trying to scare people away from responding to the whitewash of Mulrunji’s killing and resisting Canberra’s draconian invasion of Northern Territory Aboriginal communities. This subjugation of Indigenous Australians is another form of the repression being unleashed against trade unionists who stand up for workers’ rights. The Australian Building Construction Commission has spied on, intimidated and threatened to imprison several building workers for organising strikes and other resistance against exploitation. Supporters are organising solidarity action all around the county in the lead-up to Wotton’s trial. We demand: Stop the Racist Political Persecution of a Palm Island Aboriginal Resident! Defend the Right to Oppose Racist State Brutality! Drop the Charges Against Lex Wotton!

We have only a few months before Lex faces court and charges that, if upheld, could see him jailed. A preliminary court hearing moved the date of the trial from April 21 to October 6. A huge national solidarity convergence will take place in Brisbane in the lead up to the new trial date. In August, ISJA-Melb is organising this Victorian speaking tour for Lex Wotton to tell his story and further strengthen the campaign. Wotton will address unions, workplace meetings, campus events, media and community gatherings. A huge benefit evening featuring a speech by Lex and an array of performers donating their talents will take place on Saturday 9 August at the MUA Hall in West Melbourne. To propose a speaking opportunity for Lex or to contribute to the success of this solidarity speaking tour, contact ISJA-Melb on 9388-0062 or 0401-806-331

The Queensland government continues to urge Aboriginal people and their supporters to have faith in a system which acquits Senior Sargent Hurley but threatens to jail Lex Wotton for at least 10 years. The “justice” system exists to protect the rich and the powerful. It is a system where, to quote legendary singer songwriter, Kev Carmody, Aboriginal people can be “executed without trial” while held in custody. It is a system that hunts down opponents of racism, like Wotton, who protest against this injustice. We demand Lex Wotton’s freedom, now! Lex Wotton is coming to Melbourne Support the campaign to drop the charges.

MARILYN BUCK

political prisoner
activist
poet
artist
Marilyn Buck 00482-285, Unit A, 5701 8th Street, Camp Parks, Dublin, CA

Wild Poppies, a poetry jam across prison walls, on audio CD. Poems by Marilyn Buck and other poets, reading Marilyn’s poems and their own. Contributors include Amiri Baraka, carolyn baxter/Nottiehead Bosco, Dennis Brutus, Aya De Leon, Fanny Howe, Uchechi Kalu, Elana Levy, Genny Lim, devorah major, Sara Menefee, Kiilu Nyasha, Maria Poblet, Presente!, Carlos Quiles, Samsara, Sonia Sanchez, Staajabu, Jean Stewart, Piri Thomas, Kwame Ture/Stokely Carmichael, Nellie Wong, Merle Woo, and Mitsuye Yamada.

Recent writings:
Confessions before the Orchestra – poem for the AAttica to Abu Ghraib conference
“The U.S. Prison State” in Monthly Review, February 2004
“The Freedom to Breathe” in Tricycle, Spring 2004
“Incommunicado” – poem on the lockup of political prisoners immediately followwing 9-11

Marilyn’s sculpture, Jericho ’98 (pictured below), reflects her own spirit. Like the blast of Joshua’s horn, her life has long been directed at blowing down the walls of oppression. She began her anti-racist activism as a teen in Texas, organized against the war in Vietnam, and joined SDS and S. F. Newsreel. She fought for self-determination for all people, and she aligned herself with the Black Liberation Movement. In 1973 she was convicted of purchasing two boxes of handgun ammunition and was given a ten year sentence. After serving four years in Federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia, she was granted a furlough and did not return. The following eight years she was underground.
In 1985 Marilyn was recaptured and tried for breaching another wall – she was convicted of conspiracy for the successful escape of Assata Shakur from her New Jersey prison. (Assata remains active from her exile in Cuba). Marilyn and her codefendents Dr. Mutulu Shakur and Sekou Odinga were also convicted of conspiracy to commit “armed bank robbery” in support of the New Afrikan Independence struggle. In 1988 she was given another ten years in the Resistance Conspiracy case, for “conspiracy to protest and alter government policies (the invasion of Grenada, intervention in Central America) through use of violence” against government and military property. She has been in prison for 18 years, with a total sentence of 80 years.

Marilyn continues her activism inside the Federal women’s prison in Dublin, California, where she made the sculpture depicting people coming together, wailing on a saxophone to crack the walls and free all political prisoners and prisoners of war. Joining with other political prisoners internationally, she issued one of the early calls to organize for Mumia Abu-Jamal’s life. She is deeply involved in cultural and educational activities for all prisoners, and translates for Spanish-speaking women inside. She has lifted her own voice through poetry for the whole time she has been incarcerated, and has participated in Poetry for the People workshops inside. In 2001 she won the PEN Prison Writing Program poetry prize and published a collection of poems, Rescue the Word.

Marilyn has recently completed her work for a bachelor’s degree in psychology. “I am deeply interested in the psychology of repression and resistance, and the psychological results of both state and self censorship. I see psychology as a useful field to support other women prisoners as well as to maintain my own personal integrity and well-being. I intend to use my skills to help explain and transform prison conditions and existence. I see my poetry and writing as vehicles in accomplishing this.”

JEFF “FREE” LUERS
Jeff’s Story

In June 2001, 23 year-old forest defense activist Jeffrey “Free” Luers was sentenced to 22 years and 8 months in prison for the burning of three Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV’s) in Eugene, Oregon. To make a statement about global warming, Jeff and his codefendent, Craig ‘Critter’ Marshall, set fire to 3 Sport Utility Vehicles at a Eugene car dealership. Their stated purpose was to raise awareness about global warming and the role that SUVs play in that process. No one was hurt in this action nor was that the intent. An arson specialist at trial confirmed that the action did not pose any threat to people based on its size and distance from any fuel source. Despite the fact that this action hurt no one, caused only $40,000 in damages and the cars were later resold, Jeff was sent to prison for a sentence considerably longer than those convicted of murder, kidnapping and rape in Oregon state. Jeff is a political prisoner and continues to write and agitate for his release while imprisoned at Oregon State Penitentiary. His appeal was filed in January 2002 and oral arguments before the Oregon Court of Appeals were heard on November 30, 2005. Over a year later, on February 14, 2007 the Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that Jeff’s case will be reversed and remanded back to the Circuit Court for resentencing. A year after their decision, a resentencing hearing finally took place on February 28, 2008 in Lane County Circuit Court which reduced Jeff’s sentence to 10 years. He could be released by December 2009!

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June 2008 marks the 8th year in prison for Jeff. The day was commemorated with our annual Day of Solidarity with Jeff and all eco-prisoners. Events took place around the world and we want to thank everyone for their solidarity and support.

Donations are needed to help Jeff now as well as to start an education fund for him. Check out the Merchandise for alternative ways to support Jeff.
Write to Jeff

His current address is:
Jeffrey Luers # 13797671
CRCI
9111 NE Sunderland Ave
Portland, OR 97211-1708

Join Jeff’s low-traffic listserve to receive updates on his case and more.

Jeffrey’s Support Network:
Free’s Defense Fund
Eugene, Oregon
info@freejeffluers.org
Sara Olson # W94197
506-10-04L
C.C.W.F. PO Box 1508
Chowchilla, CA 93610-1508 1

JAAN LAAMAN

During the summer of 2000, Jaan Laaman, was abruptly moved from general population at USP Leavenworth to the supermax at Walpole, Massachusetts. (Jaan received both federal and state sentences.) This is what happens when the state gets over-exhuberant in building supermaxes and then needs to find folks to fill the new cells, to justify the expense of building them in the first place. Jaan is now locked down for 22.5 hours/day and must take what recreation they allow either on the block or outside in a small cage.

While in Walpole (April 2001), the prison assigned Jaan a new classification of STG (security threat group). This classification is used for gang members. Jaan’s membership in a revolutionary clandestine organization is now considered gang membership! This is being challenged; however, your help is needed. Contact the December 16th Committee for more information.
Jaan Laaman
As of February 20th, we got word that Jaan has been transferred into the Federal system, and is in general population in USP-Tucson, in Arizona.
Please drop him a line, letting him know we’re keeping an eye on him, and that support will continue in his new location. It is always possible that he will be transferred again soon, as prisoners coming into the Fed’s are generally not placed immediately in their long-term assignment. If you live in the Tucson area, or know organizations or comrades there, please get in touch. You can write to Jaan at the following address:

Jaan K. Laaman (10372-016)
USP Tucson
U.S. Penitentiary
P.O. Box 24550
Tucson, AZ 85734

ERIC McDAVID

Eric McDavid
X-2972521 4E231A
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 “I” Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
http://www.supporteric.org

THOMAS MEYER-FALK

Prison Struggle
Thomas Meyer-Falk – Political prisoner in Germany

Thomas Meyer-Falk

“Here was a strange world which resembled no other, here there were special rules, special garb, particular customs and usages. It was a death-house of the buried alive, within which a life was as nowhere else, and the people, as well, were different.” – Dostoyevsky

“Born in 1971, I have been imprisoned since 1996. At first I was kept in isolation in Stammheim prison, then I was kept in Straubing for a short time under slightly better conditions. Since September 1998 i have been in isolation in Bruchsal. I am a so-called “red skin”/rash = red & anarchist skinheads.

I was sentenced for a bank robbery by means of which it was planned to organize money for political projects. In two additional court cases I was sentenced for insult, intimidation, and the threatening of judges and public prosecutors. The expression “perfect example of a fascist-like judge” by itself was worth 7 months of imprisonment.

I am supposed to have described federal chancellor Schroeder as “bush’s bootlicker”. The former provincial justice minister professor Doctor Goll claimed he felt threatened by me and therefore always has a pistol handy. As I am sitting in isolation in (maximum security) prison this claim is scarcely believable.

Because of all this I have to spend 15 years, 9 months and three weeks in prison. due to my alleged dangerousness (during the trial I had offensively pleaded my cause instead of giving in and “regretting”) I shall be kept under arrest (“sicherungsverwahrung”) afterwards.

The current situation presents itself such that I sit in solitary confinement without pocket money or television. I am allowed to read the paper and have a small radio. Though I reject this (political) system in Germany as such, I take seriously the modest legal possibilities that there are and appeal to various German courts. For instance proceedings are pending whether I have the right to provision with writing paper and envelopes through the social welfare agency, whether the department of corrections may forbid me a correspondence course, or if corrections department staff may search my legal and defense mail in my absence, such as when I’m walking in the prison yard.

Apart from that, criminal proceedings are pending against me. Proscutors from Karlsruhe, Herr Staatsanwalt Leber and Herr Staatsanwalt Zimmerman, accuse me of slandering and threatening politicians and justice ministers.

Since 1996, with a short break in 1998, I have been in continuous isolation. I spend 23 hours a day in my cell, with only a small radio, some books and binders. My postal communication is just as supervised as the visits I receive.

I have already discussed at other times if isolation is an attack to human dignity; spending over 7 years in isolation is definitely not easy, but my mind is stable and the solidarity from outside jail is helpful and does me well.”

Thomas welcomes new people to write to him, to learn about new experiences and what is happening in the world. Please remember that all of his mail is read by the authorities, so do not write anything that could get him or you in trouble, but don’t be scared out of saying what you feel, or about your life. Writing to prisoners can be hard, it is difficult to know what to write, but a simple card or short letter about your day or funny moment can do a lot to break the isolation that affects prisoners. Thomas is a great guy with a big heart, he’s very funny and will try to answer any letters he receives. Remember though that he doesn’t have much money to write back, so you might not get an answer, but don’t lose heart, he will be pleased for the contact.

Thomas MEYER-FALK
C/O JVA – Z. 3117,
Schoenbornstr.32
D – 76646
Bruchsel
GERMANY

Freedom for Thomas Meyer-Falk

LEONARD PELTIER

*A Personal Note from Leonard Peltier*

I want to thank all of you who have shown your concern and answered my call for help. This medical problem has been going on now for some time, at least a year or so. As you know, a diabetic coma is usually fatal. I am feeling a whole lot better now, so thank you for helping me. You can stop contacting the BOP or Lewisburg officials. Let’s get back to concentrating on other important things. Again, thank you very much.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse.
Doksha,
Leonard Peltier
*Birthday Activities*
Leonard will celebrate his 64th birthday on September 12. Please continue to lift Leonard’s spirits by letting him know he is not forgotten. Send birthday cards and letters to Leonard Peltier #89637-132, USP-Lewisburg, US Penitentiary, PO Box 1000, Lewisburg, PA 17837-1000.
Get event planning tips at http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/events.htm
If you’re planning an event to mark Leonard’s birthday, please let us know as soon as possible. We’ll post your event announcement on our online calendar and help promote your event by other means. Please send all the pertinent information about your event to contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info.

Leonard Peltier is a citizen of the Anishinabe and Dakota/Lakota Nations and a advocate for Indigenous Rights. A participant in the American Indian Movement, he went to assist the Oglala Lakota people on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the mid-1970s where, on June 26, 1975, a tragic shoot out occurred. He was wrongfully convicted in the deaths of two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has been illegally incarcerated since 1976.

Amnesty International considers Leonard Peltier a “political prisoner” who should be “immediately and unconditionally released.” Federal prosecutors have twice admitted before the Courts of Appeal that they don’t know who fired the fatal shots. The government also has admitted that it isn’t known what role Leonard Peltier “may have played” in the incident. Since his politically motivated prosecution and conviction, proof of fabricated and suppressed evidence, as well as coerced testimony, has been uncovered. The Courts of Appeal have repeatedly acknowledged investigative and prosecutorial misconduct in this case, but have failed to take corrective action. A model prisoner, Leonard continues to maintain his innocence and has consequently been denied fair consideration for parole. Join with numerous internationally recognized human rights organizations, civil rights leaders, celebrities and other luminaries who have called for the immediate release of Leonard Peltier. Visit http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info

On behalf of Anarchist black cross of Melbourne. I would like to thank everyone that respond to the article asking to express his concerns for his medical needs.

Below is a response from his support group, The Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee (LP-DOC) that his sent this e-mail out to us.

Dear Supporters,

Great news! No more phone calls, letters or e-mails are needed. We heard from Leonard this morning. He now has his own diabetes testing kit in the infirmary. He also is receiving his medications as prescribed. He asked me to thank all of you for your care and concern and for taking such strong action on his behalf.
Again thank you for your support. I urge you to visit
http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/ for more in formation.

MUMIA ABU JAMAL

The POCC: Block Report Radio show recently recorded a conversation where internationally known musician Boots Riley of the Coup interviewed political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal. Although people can hear Mumia on prisonradio.org with his weekly commentaries, the Block Report believes that it is important to hear from Mumia in a looser setting where he can talk casually and interact, rather than just try to make a few concise points with credible evidence.
The interview that we produced before this was with M1 and Mumia; it can be found at blockreportradio.com, along with the audio from this interview in its entirety.

Free Mumia, or feed the movement against capital itself. To fight for Mumia’s freedom is to fight for black liberation and for an end to all racial oppression. —- Journalist and black liberation militant Mumia Abu-Jamal is still threatened with capital punishment by the US Government for a crime he didn’t commit. In March 2008 the Federal Court of Appeal ruled against a new trial and he now faces a sentence of either execution or life imprisonment. Mumia has been on death row since 1982, after the state failed to assassinate him on the streets. As an outspoken, articulate Philadelphia journalist, prior to his imprisonment Mumia spoke out about the racist practices of the Mayor’s office.

He spoke about police brutality in black communities and the capitalist-racial oppression of poor African and Hispanic Americans. At the age of 15 Mumia joined the Black Panthers and later became a prominent supporter of the back-to-nature group MOVE. Because of Mumia’s personal history and profile as a militant political agitator in black communities, the US capitalist rulers want him dead and silent. In Philadelphia in the early hours of December 9th 1981, Mumia was driving his taxi when he saw his brother Billy being bashed by a police officer, Daniel Faulkner. Mumia was shot in the stomach when he approached the scene. He was found bleeding on the kerb, from where he was arrested and brought to Jefferson University Hospital. Faulkner was dead. Failing to kill Mumia on the streets, the police, the prosecution and the court orchestrated a frame up of Mumia, accusing him of killing a cop. In July 1982, Mumia was tried, convicted and sentenced to death for the killing of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. During the trial the Judge Albert Sabo (a.k.a. “Judge Death”, who has sent more defendants to death row than any other judge in the U.S.) said he would help “fry the n—-r”. The whole trial was a corrupt sham.

• Witnesses including Cynthia White and Robert Chobert were pressured into giving falsely incriminating evidence. • Mumia’s confession was fabricated. Police officer Gary Wakshul, who stayed with Mumia from the time of his arrest though to his treatment at hospital reported that Mumia made no statements. Judge Sabo did not allow the defence to call on Wakshul. • Jury rigging, biased rulings from Judge Sabo and prosecutorial misconduct violated established legal procedure on many counts, any one of which is normally enough to get a conviction overturned. Mumia was prohibited from representing himself in court, instead being appointed an incompetent and inexperienced lawyer.

Mumia’s conviction was not an aberration, the product of a single “rotten apple”. Instead, in the years since the trial, the courts have rejected every attempt to reverse the original injustice. They have dismissed arguments around due process. They have refused to hear the evidence about coerced witnesses, concocted ballistics, and police perjury. They have even refused to hear the confession of another man. Every leg of the prosecution’s case has been discredited. If the courts were inclined to give justice to Mumia they would have done so years ago. The state exists to maintain orderly relations within a class society (i.e. the maintenance of the power of the ruling class takes precedence over the established norms in the event of conflict between labour and capital). It is thus a mechanism for the suppression of one class by another. The police, the courts, the prisons and the military exist for this purpose and anything else they do takes second place to it. Since their prime purpose is to maintain a fundamental injustice, it’s a mistake to expect justice when their power is threatened in any degree at all. The police judged Mumia a sufficient threat to silence through irregular means and the courts have backed them rather than have the credibility of the enforcement arm of capital undermined. Freeing him now would involve discrediting so many police, prosecutors and judges that the credibility of the entire legal and law enforcement system would be brought into question. And so the courts refuse him justice. The persecution of Mumia is thus an attempt by the state to silence and dispose of our working class militants and is intended by the capitalist rulers to be a lesson for any who dare to speak out against the injustices and inequities of capitalist society. To free Mumia will take more than using the avenues of the capitalist courts. It will take class struggle, for only the working class has the power to change the cynical calculus that allows the state to sacrifice a black man to save its own face. By mobilising in the workplace, we can present the ruling class with an ultimatum. Free Mumia, or watch your flow of profits dry up. Free Mumia, or feed the movement against capital itself. To fight for Mumia’s freedom is to fight for black liberation and for an end to all racial oppression. It is equally a class issue as the racial divisions in the North American working class must be replaced by unity before capital can be challenged in the belly of the beast.

Fight for working class liberation!

Free Mumia now

cassidy wheeler
trci 14282456
82911 beach access rd
umatilla or 97882
usa
anarchist prisoner who stole a loaf of bread getting 8 years his release will be in 8 to 10 months

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**THE JAILS ARE THE REAL CRIME!!** **FOR A WORLD WITHOUT PRISONS!!** **THE JAILS ARE THE REAL CRIME!!**

**FOR A WORLD WITHOUT PRISONS!!**