Support the Eco-Prisoners (September 2008)

Spirit of Freedom
(September 2008)
Produced by
EARTH LIBERATION PRISONERS SUPPORT NETWORK

"The whole experience has been tough, but all the kind and strengthening
words and wise thoughts from strangers made it much easier!"  (Former
Swedish Animal Rights Prisoner)

Welcome to the September 2008 edition of Spirit of Freedom.  As we go to
print a Dutch animal rights activist, Gerben Jan, sits in a Swedish prison
accused of violence towards a police officer.  Gerban, along with many other
European activists, attended an anti-vivisection demo in Sweden.  Its not
clear why the police went to arrest Gerban, but as the police moved in so
one of the officers slipped and injured himself (we believe the officer
broke his leg).  Gerban, who is entirely innocent, has been accused of
causing the officers injuries.  Gerban's case has received very little
publicity and many, even in the European animal liberation movement, may be
totally unaware of who Gerban is.  However, like all of the prisoners listed
in our newsletter, we encourage everyone to send Gerban letters of support.
Remember, it doesn't matter how famous or well known a person is.  It doesn'
t matter what country that person comes from, or where they are jailed.
What matters is a good person has been imprisoned for acting on their
conscience and for trying to help in whatever way they could.  So please, no
matter where you are in the world, support the eco-prisoners.  And no
compromise in defence of Mother Earth.

ECO-DEFENCE PRISONERS

Tre Arrow, #70936-065, Sheridan Federal Detention Center, P.O. Box 6000,
Sheridan, OR 07378, USA.  Serving 78 months for his involvement in two ELF
arsons.  1) an arson on logging trucks 2) an arson on vehicles owned by a
sand & gravel company.  (Tre is a raw energy vegan - He has asked that his
letters of support are written on scrap paper or tree-free paper).

Grant Barnes #137563, San Carlos Correctional Facility, PO Box 3, Pueblo, CO
81002, USA.  Serving 12 years for setting fire to a number of SUV vehicles.
The letters ELF were spray painted onto all of the vehicles.  (Grant is a
vegan).

Nathan Block, #36359-086, FCI Lompoc, Federal Correctional Institution, 3600
Guard Road, Lompoc, CA 93436, USA.   Serving 7 years & 8 months for an ELF
arson against a Poplar Tree Farm and an ELF arson against an SUV dealership.
Also admitted his role in an ELF/ALF conspiracy.  (Diet unknown).

Marco Camenisch, Postfach 3143, CH-8105 Regensdorf, Switzerland.  Serving 18
years.  1) Ten years for using explosives to destroy electricity pylons
leading from nuclear power stations.  2) Eight 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.  (Marco is a
meat eater who encourages organic living).

Daniele Casalini, Casa Circondariale, Via Burla 59, 43100 Parma, Italy.  Il
Silvestre activist awaiting trial accused of using explosives to damage an
electricity pylon in protest at nuclear energy.  (Daniele is a vegan).

Rodney Coronado #03895-000, FCI El Reno, PO Box 1500, El Reno, OK 73036,
USA.  Serving one-year imprisonment after he informed people how to make an
incendiary device during a speech at an animal rights gathering.  (Meat
eater).

Francesco Gioia, C.C. Sollicciano, Via Girolamo Minervini 2/R, 50142 Firenze
Sollicciano (FI), Italy.  Il Silvestre activist awaiting trial accused of
using explosives to damage an electricity pylon in protest at nuclear
energy.  (Francesco is a vegetarian and Straight Edge).

Paola Gori, Via delle Macchie 9, 57124 Livorno, Italy.  Il Silvestre
activist awaiting trial accused of allowing her house to be used to plan
illegal activity.  (Paola is a vegan).

Bryan Lefey #38664-086, FDC SeaTac, Federal Detention Center, P.O. Box
13900, Seattle, WA  98198, USA.  On remand accused of an ELF action that saw
the damaging of GM trees and the damaging of US Forestry Service vehicles.
(Diet unknown).

Jeffrey Luers, # 13797671, CRCI, 9111 NE Sunderland Ave, Portland, OR
97211-1708, USA.  Serving 10 years for arson on a SUV dealership & the
attempted arson of an oil truck.  The original sentence was 22 years & 8
months, but was reduced on appeal.  (Diet unknown).

Eric McDavid, 16209-097. FCI Victorville Medium II, PO BOX 5700,
Adelanto, CA 92301, USA.  Serving 19 years & 7 months for planning to
destroy the property of the U.S. Forestry Service, mobile phone masts and
power plants.  At the point of his arrest no criminal damage has actually
occurred.  (Eric is a vegan).

Daniel McGowan, #63794-053, USP Marion, US Penitentiary, PO Box 1000,
Marion, IL 62959, USA.   Serving 7 years for an ELF arson against a Poplar
Tree Farm and an ELF arson against an old growth logging corporation.   Also
admitted his role in an ELF/ALF conspiracy.  (Daniel is a vegetarian).

Jonathan Paul - See details in Animal Liberation Prisoners List.

Briana Waters 36432-086, FCI Danbury, Federal Correctional Institution,
Route 37, Danbury, CT 06811, USA.  Serving six years for involvement in an
ELF arson on a University.  (Diet unknown).

Joyanna Zacher, #36360-086, FCI Dublin, 5700 8th St.- Camp Parks- Unit F,
Dublin, CA 94568, USA.  Serving 7 years & 8 months for an ELF arson against
a Poplar Tree Farm and an ELF arson against an SUV dealership.  Also
admitted her role in an ELF/ALF conspiracy.  (Diet unknown).

ANIMAL LIBERATION PRISONERS
(All Animal Liberation Prisoners follow a minimum vegetarian diet and most
are vegan).

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.  (Jon is a vegan).

Dan Amos VN7818, HMP Exeter, 30 New North Road, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4EX,
England.  On remand having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to blackmail
Huntingdon Life Sciences.  (Dan is a vegan)

Gregg Avery TA7450, HMP Winchester, Romsey Road, Winchester, SO22 5DF,
England.  On remand having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to blackmail
Huntingdon Life Sciences.  (Gregg is a vegan).

Natasha Avery NR8987, HMP Bronzefield, Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, Middx. TW15
3JZ, England.  On remand having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to blackmail
Huntingdon Life Sciences.   (Nat is a vegan).

Mel Broughton TN9138, HMP Woodhill, Tattenhoe Street, Milton Keynes, Bucks
MK4 4DA, England.  On remand accused of involvement with an arson and
blackmail campaign against an Oxford University vivisection establishment.
(Mel is a vegan).

Martin Balluch, (JA Josefstadt), Justizanstalt Wr. Neustadt, Maximiliang. 3,
2700 Wr. Neustadt, Austria.  One of ten Austrian's held on remand accused of
various animal rights actions.  (Martin is a vegan)

Christoph, Antirep 2008, Postfach 101, 1070, Vienna, Austria.  One of ten
Austrian's held on remand accused of various animal rights actions.  At the
moment Christopher does not wish to have his full name published. (Christoph
is a vegan).

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.  (Jake is a vegan).

Donald Currie A3660AA, HMP Parkhurst, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 5NX,
England.  Serving an Indeterminate Sentence, of not less than six actual
years, for carrying out arsons against targets associated the vivisection
industry including HLS.  (Don is a vegan).

Jürgen Faulmann, Justizanstalt Wr. Neustadt, Maximiliang. 3, 2700 Wr.
Neustadt, Austria.  One of ten Austrian's held on remand accused of various
animal rights actions.  (Jurgen is a vegan).

Lauren Gazzola #93497-011, FCI Danbury, Federal Correctional Institution,
Route #37Danbury, CT 06811, USA. Serving 54 months imprisonment for helping
organise the SHAC-USA campaign.  (Lauren is a vegan).

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.  (Josh is a vegan).

Felix Hnat (JA Eisenstadt), Justizanstalt Wr. Neustadt, Maximiliang. 3, 2700
Wr. Neustadt, Austria.  One of ten Austrian's held on remand accused of
various animal rights actions.   (Felix is a vegan).

Gerben Jan, Häktet Malmö, Box 3078, SE-200 22 Malmö, Sweden.  Dutch
activist, held on remand, accused of injuring a police officer during an
anti-vivisection demonstration.  (Gerban is a vegan).

Jan, Antirep 2008, Postfach 101, 1070, Vienna, Austria.  One of ten Austrian
's held on remand accused of various animal rights actions.  At the moment
Jan does not wish to have his full name published.  (Jan is a vegan).

Kevin Kroemmer, Antirep 2008, Postfach 101, 1070, Vienna, Austria.  One of
ten Austrian's held on remand accused of various animal rights actions.
(Kevin is a vegan)

Sean Kirtley WC 6977, HMP Stafford, 54 Gaol Road, Stafford, ST16 3AW,
England.  Serving four and a half years for running an anti-vivisection
campaign website.  (Sean is a vegan).

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

Leo, Antirep 2008, Postfach 101, 1070, Vienna, Austria.  One of ten Austrian
's held on remand accused of various animal rights actions.  At the moment
Leo does not wish to have his full name published.  (Leo is a vegan).

Daniel McGowan - See details in Eco Defence Prisoners List.

Christian Moser, Antirep 2008, Postfach 101, 1070, Vienna, Austria.   One of
ten Austrian's accused of various animal rights actions.  Chris is currently
out on bail but still needs our support (Christian is a vegan).

Heather Nicholson VM4859, HMP Bronzefield, Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, Middx.
TW15 3JZ, England.  On remand accused of conspiracy to blackmail, in
relation to her involvement with the SHAC campaign.  (Heather is a vegan).

Jonathan Paul, #07167-085, FCI Phoenix, Federal Correctional Institution,
37910 N 45th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85086, USA.  Sentenced to 51 months for an
ALF arson on a horse meat plant.  Also admitted his role in an ELF/ALF
conspiracy.  (Jonathan is a vegan).

Nathan Pope (also known as Nathan Knoerl).  Address unknown.  Held on remand
accused of involvement in anti-vivisection activity.  (Nathan is a vegan)

Sabine, Antirep 2008, Postfach 101, 1070, Vienna, Austria.  One of ten
Austrian's held on remand accused of various animal rights actions.  At the
moment Sabine does not wish to have their full name published.  (Sabine is a
vegan).

Andrew Stepanian #26399-050, USP Marion, P.O. Box 1000 Marion, IL 62959,
USA. Serving 36 months for helping organise the SHAC-USA campaign.  (Andrew
is a vegan).

Elmar Völkl (JA Eisenstadt), Justizanstalt Wr. Neustadt, Maximiliang. 3,
2700 Wr. Neustadt, Austria.  One of ten Austrian's held on remand accused of
various animal rights actions.   (Elmar is a vegan).

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.  (Kerry is a vegan).

Sarah Whitehead, VM7684, HMP Bronzefield, Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, Middx,
TW15 3JZ, England.  Serving two years for: 1) rescuing a puppy from horrific
conditions. 2) rescuing over 100 animals from a pet breeder who was later
prosecuted for animal abuse.  Also awaiting trial for SHAC activity.  (Sarah
is a vegan)

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. (Diet unknown).

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

Vahtang Devitlidze, ul. Libbedova 42, UO 68/2, otryad 14, brigada 142, g.
Hagyshensk, Krasnodarskiy Kray, 352680 Russia.  Serving 2½ years for
stabbing a neo-nazi in the leg whilst defending himself from attack. (Diet
unknown).

Augustin Kraus, Vazebni veznice, PP-1, Litomerice, 41 201, Czech Republic.
Serving 14 months for his participation in attacks against local neo-nazis.
His charge was "bodily harm". He speaks Czech, Slovak and Polish.  You can
also write him short postcards in English.  (Diet unknown).

Fabio Milan, C.C. via Pianezza 300, 10151 Torino, Italy.  On remand accused
of fighting with the police after an anti-fascist protest. (Diet unknown).

Andrea Neff, Bnr: 746/07/2, Justizvollzugsanstalt fur Frauen in Berlin,
Arkonastrasse 56, 13189 Berlin, Germany.  Serving 14 months for anti-fascist
activity. (Diet unknown).

Christian Sümmermann, Bnr: 441/08/5, JVA Plötzensee, Lehrterstr. 61, 10557
Berlin, Germany.  Serving 40 months for breaching the peace whilst serving a
suspended sentence issued for anti-fascist activities. (Diet unknown).

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

Yuri Yurevich Milevskiy, SIZO #7 kamera 38, g. Brest, ul. Karla Marksa 86,
224000 Belarus.  On remand for fighting with neo-nazis.  (Diet unknown).

OTHER PRISONERS

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. (Diet unknown).

Vaggelis Botzatzis, Komotini Juridical Prison ("Dikastikes Fylakes
Komotinis"), T.K. 69100, Greece.  On remand accused of setting fire to two
company cars owned by a energy/power company.  It is believed that the
person or persons unknown who carried out the arson did so in protest at the
destruction of the natural environment and in support of two workers who
died at the power plant.  Vaggelis is also accused of setting fire to a bank
and starting a fire inside a car yard.  (Meat Eater).

Richard Sills (Address Unknown, USA).  Serving 15 months for bomb hoaxing a
University saying they would be targeted by the ALF if they didn't stop
their animal experiments.  (Diet unknown).

Michael W. Sykes, 696693, 3855 Cooper St, Jackson, MI 49201, USA.  Youth
held on remand accused of anti-sprawl arsons, criminal damage,
spray-painting an anarchist sign and burning the American flag.  (Diet
unknown)

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. (Fran is a vegan).

MOVE
MOVE is an eco-revolutionary group who carried out protests in defence of
all life. All move prisoners describe themselves as vegetarians.  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
Graterford, PO Box 244, Graterford, PA 19426-0244, USA.

Edward Goodman Africa  (AM4974),  SCI Mahanoy, 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.

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 monthly prisoner listing which is
circulated by e-mail.

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

Greek language ELP Website
http://greekelp.blogspot.com

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

Australian ELP.SN is our Australian contact.  For more info 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.

Greek ELP.SN is our Greek contact.  For more info e-mail greekelp@yahoo.gr

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

More on Santa Cruz raid/arrest

http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_10345169

Article text:

Tenant of FBI-raided home arrested on fake ID warrant

SANTA CRUZ - A 24-year-old man whose home police and the FBI raided twice after UC Santa Cruz researchers' homes were targeted by animal rights activists was arrested in Southern California Friday on a warrant for felony perjury.

Cabrillo College student Nathan Pope, also known as Nathan Christopher Knoerl, was booked into Vista Jail in San Diego County on a felony charge of obtaining falsified identification, according Santa Cruz police Capt. Steve Clark. He is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.


Santa Cruz police said the arrest was for a separate issue that developed during the animal rights investigation. Santa Cruz police were working with a joint terrorism task force on the animal rights investigation that included an investigator from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Clark said. That investigator developed the case that led to Pope's arrest Friday.


"Our position is this is a separate violation," Clark said.


Clark said police still have no suspects in the animal rights incidents and no idea when it might be wrapped up.


"We are optimistic we will solve the case," Clark said, however.


FBI spokesman Joseph Schadler said that though the FBI helped serve the search warrant Friday, it was for a state charge and "unconnected with what we were searching for" in the animal rights case.


"Apparently we helped because we help with these things sometimes," he said.
The Riverside Avenue house in Santa Cruz was raided earlier this month after animal rights activists firebombed the home of a UCSC researcher and a car parked in the driveway of another researcher. The house also was raided after a Feb. 24 incident at a Westside researcher's house. In that attack, six animal rights activists - five wearing masks and one with a bullhorn - protested in front of the home. The demonstration turned violent when the masked protesters banged on the front door and were confronted by the researcher's husband.


He was struck on the hand by an unknown object, then chased the activists off his property while his wife hid their two children and two of their friends in the kitchen. The family had been hosting a birthday party.


The group ran to a waiting car and drove off. Later that day, police traced the car back to the house on the 700 block of Riverside Avenue and raided the home.


Several people connected to the house were considered "persons of interest" by police but none was ever arrested. Police seized computers, cameras and cell phones from the home. Police said last month that the hard drive on one of the computers had been erased several times, which was suspicious but not illegal.


No one has been arrested and no charges have been filed in connection with that attack. The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the firebombs targeting UCSC biomedical researchers, the largest reward for a crime in city history.


UC Berkeley police seized 14 computers from a home on Shattuck Avenue that served as an activist co-op on Wednesday morning. UC Berkeley spokesman Bob Sanders wouldn't say if the home was raided in connection with any of the animal rights activities in Berkeley or Santa Cruz, but Schadler said there was no connection to the Santa Cruz cases.
Sanders said the raid was in response to e-mails sent to faculty and staff from those computers. Sanders said the e-mails were threatening in nature but wouldn't reveal any details.

FBI raids in America - One person jailed

Urgent ELP! Bulletin (30th August 2008)

Dear friends

News is coming in of a raid/arrest in America. Below is information compiled by American activists....

This is pieced together from scattered sources: At approx. 2pm PST, an FBI agent posing as neighbor knocked at the door of a home in Oceanside CA, lured a Santa Cruz resident from his mother's house, and arrested him. The only known charge at this point is felony perjury. He is being held on $100,000 bond. The person arrested is a resident of the house on Riverside Ave. in Santa Cruz that has been raided twice in the past 6 months, most recently immediately following the attempted arson of a vivisector's home several weeks ago. After arresting the person, the FBI attempted to question his mother and friend, unsuccessfully. The FBI told the arrestees mother he is being transferred to the Vista jail, and will be extradited to Santa Cruz Tuesday. While a charge of "perjury" would indicate there were statements / testimony given to the FBI by the defendant at some point, it is speculated perjury here *may* refer to some minor name discrepancy (such as a person having received a recent legal name change, or legitimately going by a middle name in place of one's legal last name, etc), and that this is a flimsy pretext to take this person into custody. The following was received by someone close to the situation. It is not known if the arrestees vegan diet is being accommodated, but as a pre-emptive move they are asking people to call the jail: ******* CALL VISTA JAIL!!! demand vegan food SUPPORT NATHAN POPE NATHAN POPE, arrested under the name NATHAN CHRISTOPHER KNOERL (he has two legal last names b/c of step dad) was arrested in Oceanside, California today. The F.B.I. arrived with an arrest warrant and the warrant says something about FELONY/PERJURY and is an arrest warrant from Santa Cruz. $100,000 dollars bail. CASE NO. F17048 DEPT #3 He will be extradited to Santa Cruz on/or by Tuesday. PLEASE CALL Vista Detention Facility (760) 940-4473 -DEMAND VEGAN FOOD FOR NATHAN KNOERL/POPE !!! *****

+++++++

Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network
BM Box 2407
London
WC1N 3XX
England
www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk

Police break down doors in night-time raid on anarchist meeting

By Mary Turck, TC Daily Planet August 30, 2008

“I heard somebody saying, ‘They’re coming, they’re coming!’ And feet pounding on the back stairs, pounding on the door saying they had a search warrant. They busted through the door. They’ve got their guns cocked at people.” Sammy Schutz held tightly to five-year-old Gabe, who had been watching a video with his mother and father and about 20 other people when the police stormed into 827 Smith Avenue in St. Paul, ordering everyone down on the floor.

“All I could feel was Mama Bear—do whatever you want to do to me, but I need to get my son out safe. He was watching his dad get handcuffed. And he’s saying, ‘Mommy, mommy, why did they crash through the door?’”

Gabe’s question remained unanswered. Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies said they were executing a search warrant, but would not show a copy of the warrant to lawyers or reporters. More than a dozen police vehicles , almost all unmarked, and more than 20 sheriff’s deputies and St. Paul police arrived at the building about 9:45 Friday night and were still there at 1 a.m., when I left.

After handcuffing the people in the building (occupants said there were about two dozen on the second floor and “about 40 or 50” on the first floor), police processed them one by one. Each person was asked for identification, name and address, and then photographed.

People who had been inside the building told similar stories of police entering with guns drawn. They said police rushed past the security desk on the first floor, and used a battering ram to crash through the second floor back door.

“They said if you don’t show us ID and get your picture taken, we will arrest you and take you away,” said Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, who had arrived five or ten minutes before the raid began, planning to attend a meeting. “They never said what the basis for arrests would be. We were waiting for a meeting, for God’s sake! I cannot tell you how much like a police state that felt to me.”

After each person was released after being photographed, exiting the building and crossing between police cars to a crowd of cheering friends on the sidewalk across from the building. No one was arrested, but sheriff’s deputies remained inside the building.

Eventually, a city contractor arrived to board up the building, allegedly for unspecified code violations.

St. Paul City Council member Dave Thune said he was trying to find out who ordered the building locked up and on what grounds. “This isn’t the way we do things in St. Paul,” Thune said. “I don’t want the city to get sucked into something that the sheriff’s office is concocting.”

Thune said that someone had called in the city contractor and ordered him to secure the building, but this was not done according ot St. Paul city procedures.

“Normally,” said Thune, “we only board up buildings that are vacant and ramshackle. The fire inspector has no idea what’s going on. He hadn’t been called. The person who is on 24/7 call was not called. I talked to him trying to fid out who did issue that order and why.”

The building at 827 Smith Avenue had been rented by the RNC Welcoming Committee as a “convergence space,” open to activists for meetings, eating, and just hanging out. Earlier in the week, a large downstairs room in the former theater held tables of literature and about a dozen computers, set up for free wi-fi access for visitors. Large maps showed downtown St. Paul streets. The kitchen was spotless, with stainless steel refrigerators and a gas range, looking like a commercial kitchen in a church basement. The second floor room, where Sammy and her family were watching a video on consumerism Friday night, had comfortable theater seats and space for meetings.

Prisoners of New Orleans need your help now

From: "Political Prisoner News"
Date: Fri, August 29, 2008

To All CR members, Allies, and Comrades of New Orleans,

Prisoners and Families of New Orleans needs your help immediately!
If you haven't heard already Hurricane Gustav is headed for New Orleans
and is predicted to be a category 3 hurricane, the same as Hurricane
Katrina. There will possibly be a mandate for all people (outside of
prisons and jails) of New Orleans to evacuate starting tomorrow
August 29th, the three year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It is
predicted that hurricane Gustav will pose great flooding potential
regardless of its category rating, the levee that broke by elected
official's decisions during Hurricane Katrina has not been fixed to
it's potential, or replaced.

The over crowding Orleans Parish Prison, located in New Orleans,
holds 2, 500 prisoners (this count is not certain, due to lack of
information given to the public.) Although not official, we have
information that the Prisoners of Orleans Parish Prison will be
evacuating to Angola Prison and Hunt Prison in the next coming days
and are also prisons that can be affected by Hurricane Gustav due to
overcrowding.

During Hurricane Katrina there were prisoners able to evacuate and
others who remained locked in their cells with a minimal chance of
survival. Prisoners were left in flooded cells, with no food, and had
minimal ventilation, to say the least. Family members, of prisoners
who were held at Orleans Parish Prison, are still in the fight to
locate their loved ones who had been evacuated to other prisons
during Katrina. Due to the flooding, lack of organization and care
from New Orleans Department of Corrections and elected officials,
prisoner's records were also missing. As a result, prisoner's
constitutional rights have been violated.
This abuse can not happen again!

What will happen to the prisoners of Orleans Parish Prison located in
New Orleans this time?

Critical Resistance (CR) is demanding that the elected officials of
New Orleans will not create the same devastating wrongs as they did
to the prisoners of Orleans Parish Prison during hurricane Katrina.

1. we demand a full and safe evacuation of all prisoners
2. we demand to know what the evacuation plan for prisoners is
3. we demand to see a public document about that plan immediately
4. we demand information about how we can find people after an evacuation

We are urging every member, ally and comrade of New Orleans across
the country, to make at least one call to:

Sheriff Malrin Gusman: 504.827.8505
(James Carter's secretary said "Orleans Parish Prison is Gusman's prison")
James Carter: 504.658.1030
(Criminal Justice Council Member who is able to put pressure on the
sheriff even if they say they can't)
You can also send an email: JCarter@cityofno.com

please put in your email subject: How will you protect prisoners this time?

Please call as many times as you can to put pressure on them and let
them know our demands and it is their job to be accountable to us!!!!!!!!

For further information from us please contact Critical Resistance New
Orleans:
Mayaba: 917.385.5472 or mayaba@criticalresistance.org
Koolblack: 504.813.4714 or koolblack@criticalresistance.org

(If you can't get through due to evacuation please contact:
pilar@criticalresistance.org

for further information)

In solidarity,
Critical Resistance



Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org Questions and comments may be sent to
claude@freedomarchives.org

Write to Daniel McGowan

From: "Family + Friends of Daniel McG"
Date: Thu, August 28, 2008

Hi again,

As we recently reported, Daniel was moved last Friday to his designated
facility in Marion, Illinois. He has been placed in the Communications
Management Unit and will be serving the rest of his time here. We have not
been given any official information on why Daniel has been moved here but
we do know that this unit was created to heavily monitor communications of
the prisoners it holds. We truly hope that his time passes as quickly as
possible here.

If you would like to write some funny, uplifting, silly things to Daniel,
please write him at his new address:

DANIEL McGOWAN #63794-053
USP MARION
U.S. PENITENTIARY
P.O. BOX 1000
MARION, IL 62959

Please be mindful of what you write. All mail is assumed to be read and
copied. Do not use any initials or anything that can be construed as code.

Also, if you'd like to send pictures, he is allowed to receive up to 25
photos per envelope - no polaroids.

If you are interested in sending Daniel a book, please contact us and
we'll be able to give you a book title from his wish list. He can receive
books from publisher and large online stores like Barnes & Noble and
Amazon.

As mentioned by a prison official, any materials sent to Daniel, whether
books, photos or letters, should not promote violence of any kind in any
way.

Thanks so much for your continued support,
Family & Friends of Daniel McGowan


-------------------------------------------------------------------
Support Daniel McGowan: http://www.supportdaniel.org
Daniel on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/danielmcgowan

Family and Friends of Daniel McGowan
PO Box 106, NY, NY 10156
friendsofdanielmcg@yahoo.com

Donations:checks or money orders can be made out to "Lisa McGowan" and
sent to the above PO Box or online at http://tinyurl.com/8blde
-------------------------------------------------------------------

40ft mosaic for incarcerated Black Panthers

From:    "Political Prisoner News" <ppnews@freedomarchives.org>
Date:    Mon, August 25, 2008
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/08/25/18529675.php

40ft mosaic for incarcerated Black Panthers.
by carrie reichardt ( info@freezulu.co.uk>info [at] freezulu.co.uk )
Monday Aug 25th, 2008 9:48 AM
A spectacular mosaic has been unveiled on the
outside wall of a house in the west London suburb
of Chiswick to raise awareness of
African-American men confined in the notorious Angola prison, Louisiana.

<http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/08/25/the_revolution_is_now__mural.jpg>
640_the_revolution_is_now__mural.jpg original image ( 2667x2000

640_the_revolution_is_now...
<http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/08/25/the_revolution_is_now__mural.jpg>original
image ( 2667x2000)

A spectacular mosaic has been unveiled on the
outside wall of a house in the west London suburb
of Chiswick to raise awareness of
African-American men confined in the notorious Angola prison, Louisiana.

The artwork, which took four months to create by
a dedicated group of activist artists, decorates
The Treatment Rooms, home of street artist Carrie
Richards, aka The Baroness, and her partner Mr. Spunky.

The mosaic depicts the so-called Angola 3 –
Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox and Robert King –
men wrongfully convicted of murder at Angola
prison in the 1970s and who subsequently spent
decades in solitary confinement. Though Woodfox’s
conviction has been overturned, and Wallace’s
recommended for such, both men remain behind bars.

The extensive work is also dedicated to Kenny
‘Zulu’ Whitmore, who has similarly spent 33 years
in solitary confinement at Angola, where the
majority of inmates are black and will die inside its walls.

“Zulu is a true warrior, Panther, a servant of
the people. Like Herman, and I he has fought a
good battle, for so long, unrecognized,
unsupported! This must stop, just as all of the
many freedom fighters, fight everyday, just to
breathe, without any support, this must stop
now!!! So many political prisoners, prisoners of
war, and prisoners of conscious, have sacrificed
their lives, and freedoms, because they believed
in the people but somehow, the people have stopped believing in them!”

Albert Woodfox
July 9th 2008


The only freed member of the Angola 3, Robert
King – released in 2001 after his murder
conviction was overturned – attended the
unveiling on June 21. One of the purposes of his
stay in London was to launch the Free Zulu
campaign. He spoke to a crowd of 150 artists and
activists from the UK, Europe and North America
who have rallied around the causes of the Angola 3 and Zulu.

Robert King spoke to Zulu after the unveiling and
Zulu said he now had hope in his heart. He has
since seen pictures of the unveiling and is
overjoyed by the support reaching him from the UK.”

Zulu is at a critical point in his legal case,
but is currently without a lawyer. Those wanting
to reach out to help him can go to his new
website for information and you could always
simply write to him and show the world you know he is there;

Kenny Zulu Whitmore
86468 CCR, Upper C#11
LA State Prison
Angola
LA 70712
USA

<http://www.freezulu.co.uk>http://www.freezulu.co.uk
http://www.angola3london.org
<http://www.thetreatmentrooms.org>http://www.thetreatmentrooms.org


http://www.freezulu.co.uk
Zulu detail
by carrie reichardt Monday Aug 25th, 2008 9:48 AM
<http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/08/25/zulu_detail.jpg>
640_zulu_detail.jpg original image ( 5334x4000)

640_zulu_detail.jpg
<http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/08/25/zulu_detail.jpg>original
image ( 5334x4000)

http://www.freezulu.co.uk
Angola 3 detail
by carrie reichardt Monday Aug 25th, 2008 9:48 AM
<http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/08/25/angola_3_detail.jpg>
640_angola_3_detail.jpg original image ( 1280x960)

640_angola_3_detail.jpg
<http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/08/25/angola_3_detail.jpg>original
image ( 1280x960)

http://www.freezulu.co.uk
Robert King
by carrie reichardt Monday Aug 25th, 2008 9:48 AM
<http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/08/25/king_speaking_at_the_treatment_rooms.jpg>
640_king_speaking_at_the_treatment_rooms.jpg original image ( 4

640_king_speaking_at_the_...
<http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/08/25/king_speaking_at_the_treatment_rooms.jpg>original
image ( 467x701)

Robert King Speaking at unveiling of the mosaic
<http://www.freezulu.co.uk>http://www.freezulu.co.uk
The whole back of The Treatment Rooms
by carrie reichardt Monday Aug 25th, 2008 9:48 AM
<http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/08/25/back_of_house.jpg>
640_back_of_house.jpg original image ( 960x1280)

640_back_of_house.jpg
<http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/08/25/back_of_house.jpg>original
image ( 960x1280)

http://www.freezulu.co.uk
© 2000–2008 San Francisco Bay Area Independent
Media Center. Unless otherwise stated by the
author, all content is free for non-commercial
reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and
elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors
and are not necessarily endorsed by the SF Bay
Area IMC.
<http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/12/1665905.php>Disclaimer
|
<http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/12/1665906.php>Privacy
| <http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/12/1665899.php>Contact
Piwik




Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  Questions and comments may be sent to
claude@freedomarchives.org

Austrian Animal Rights Activists 3 months incarcerated – and no end in sight!

ELP Information Bulletin (29th August 2008)

Dear friends

Below is the latest "Message to the International Animal Rights Movement" from Austrian prisoner, Martin Bullach.

Vienna, 26th August 2008
Message to the International Animal Rights Movement
3 months incarcerated – and no end in sight!

Mid-May, the largest police operation ever in Austria against a social justice movement saw dawn raids in 23 houses and offices of animal rights folk across the country. Masked officers pulled more than 30 people at gun point out of their beds and ransacked their places. Seven animal rights groups had all their stuff removed – till today.

And equally till today, 10 activists are still being held on remand in prison cells without charge and without evidence.

Slowly during these last 3 months, ever more information has been revealed about this police operation. We now know that 17 people had their phones tapped and their emails read over one and a half years, 3 houses had their entrances filmed, 2 cars had tracking devices put on them and at least 7 homes and offices were bugged. In addition, 20 people had their bank accounts monitored and 17 people were watched and followed for months. Further, police agents infiltrated animal rights groups, among them VGT.

All this massive operation at taxpayers’ expense of way beyond 1 million Euros, i.e. much more than the damage by the crimes they were supposedly out to solve, lead NOWHERE. No evidence of any criminal offence.

But we are still in prison. Instead of being suspected of some sort of concrete criminal offence, we supposedly form a big criminal organisation. For that, the prosecution says, there does not need to be any evidence for a criminal offence. The suspects do not even need to know each other. It is supposedly sufficient to keep running your animal rights campaign while at the same time accepting that other people unknown might act criminally for the same or a similar goal. Would you believe that you could be locked up for that?

I have just been interrogated for 20 hours by police. They have put all their “evidence“ before me to comment on. This is what they claim:

* I encrypt emails
* VGT is meeting in private places without public access
* VGT is not openly planning actions on the phone
* Taken out of context, some 5 emails of those 5000 I wrote in the last 11 (!) years sound radical
* I have international contacts
* I organise many conferences and meetings for recruiting new activists to the cause
* I write books and run radio and TV shows on animal rights, which use occosionally radical brochures and which occosionally mention the ALF

That is it. That is the “evidence“ against me. There is nothing more to it. According to state prosecution and remand judges, this justifies locking me up for god knows how many months on remand, and possibly putting me on trial. For the prosecution and police, most activists in Austria abroad are part of a giant criminal organisation, which is responsible of all ALF actions ever made anywhere. Their interpretation of the term “organisation“ allows for that. It means “being of the same mind-set“. Anybody, who is animal rights minded, and who remains so, after someone somewhere with the same ideology committed an offence, belongs to this organisation.

It is so ludicrous that I would laugh my head off, had somebody told me before. Now, in prison, I do not laugh anymore. It has become serious.

What is going on here? Well, I have a good guess. It is clear, I believe, that those in power, who formed the special police unit and started it all, had only one thing on their agenda: smash the animal rights movement, smash the VGT, and especially shut this bloke Balluch up.

There is a lot of evidence that this is exactly what they were out for. For example, we have a report of a meeting of the police special unit, solely debating how they could damage and destroy VGT. They debated a number of ways how to attack and arranged a next meeting with the same topic 5 days later. And that meeting took place 1 month into my incarceration. That proves that it is not criminal offences they want so solve. They are after blood. They want to destroy VGT and its successful networks and infrastructure. They just use the fact that there were criminal offences committed, albeit on a very low level, as an excuse to construct this “criminal organisation“ to justify large scale police operations and many months if not years in remand.

As time goes on, this unbelievable nightmare is becoming more and more a gigantic scandal of massive proportions! What an outrageous abuse of power! What a totalitarian attack on democracy and human rights! I hope you agree that we cannot let them get away with this. If such police state behaviour becomes the norm, who will dare to stand up and criticize the system? Who will continue animal rights campaigns? After all, NOTHING I have done that landed me in prison was out of the ordinary or in any way strange for animal rights activities. If I can be locked up for it, anybody can. To campaign for animal rights in any form means being with one foot in prison already.
I can only reiterate: Folks, we are at a historic moment in time. Animal rights has become an issue that seriously challenges the system. The powerful have decided to smash it with brute force. We have to stand together firm now and fight this decisive battle. We cannot let them get away with that. We must win this one. No further repression. No silencing of legitimate activism anymore. If we do not manage to Stop this operation and hold these responsible accountable, we won’t be able to be active for animal rights any longer. No further retreat. This is about all or nothing.

I count on you lot!


Martin Balluch, political prisoner, JA-Josefstadt Vienna

++++++

Earth Liberation Prisoner Support Network
BM Box 2407
London
WC1N 3XX
England
www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk

3 months Incarcerated Austrian Animal Rights Prisoners– and no end in sight!

British man jailed for accidentally killing neo-fascist

BBC Friday, 29 August 2008

Prison for BNP activist's killer

An Asian man who killed his British National Party activist neighbour in
a fight has been jailed for eight years.

Habib Khan, 50, of Stoke-on-Trent, was convicted in May of the
manslaughter of 52-year-old Keith Brown who he stabbed with a kitchen
knife in July 2007.

The two men had been involved in a long-running dispute over land.

Khan said living for five years next door to Mr Brown had been "hell"
and his family had been subjected to "racial hostility" by his neighbours.

Stafford Crown Court was told Khan had killed Mr Brown in a fight
outside their homes in Uttoxeter Road, Normacot.

The dispute started when Khan put in a planning application to build a
house on his land several years before.

Mr Brown objected to it and when it was granted and work began, he "took
steps to obstruct it".

I think what we've witnessed here is an outrageous betrayal of justice
Martin Coleman, BNP councillor

The court heard that in the incident last July, Khan held a knife
against his neighbour "to scare him" when he saw him trying to strangle
his son Azir.

A post-mortem examination found Mr Brown died from a single stab wound.

Judge Tonking said: "What became obvious as the evidence unfolded,
however, is that from time to time, despite denials to the contrary,
both Mr Brown and his son Ashley Barker were involved in acts of racial
aggression towards members of Mr Khan's family."

He added that Khan had acted "in the honest belief that he needed to
protect his son" but in doing so had killed Mr Brown.

Khan, described by a Muslim colleague as a respected, religious and
helpful person, was also found guilty of wounding Mr Brown's son, Ashley
Barker, during the fight.

Khan's other son, Kazir Saddique, was sentenced to a year in prison and
a year on licence after admitting unlawful wounding but Azir, 24, was
found not guilty of wounding.

At a news conference outside the court, Mr Brown's widow Julia said she
felt justice had not been done.

She said: "At the end of the day, it should have been murder not
manslaughter.

"If he did not have the intention to go out and murder he should not
have taken the knife out.

"Everybody feels sorry for that family but what have we been through?"

Julia Barker states that justice has not been done

Local BNP councillor, Martin Coleman, told reporters the party would
start a campaign to "expose what has gone on today in court" and said he
viewed the case as "insanity and madness".

He added: "It bears no relationship with any form of justice that I
understand, can understand recognise or accept.

"We've got a man who has been murdered in the street.

"Someone has ran out into the public street with a knife and murdered a
man and the judge says there's literally no case to answer.

"I think what we've witnessed here is an outrageous betrayal of justice."

Khan denied murdering Mr Brown but was convicted of manslaughter on 23 May.

A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said the investigation into Mr
Brown's death had been handled in a "thorough and impartial" way.

In a statement, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said
the force had had repeated contact with both families during the dispute
and investigated complaints made on both sides.

A spokesman said they were unable to substantiate any of the claims made
about the way the families were treated by the force but one officer
received advice from officials.

Khan's barrister, Simon Drew, said police investigations into the
various incidents often "came to nothing" because of "generous failures
by the system".

Seattle presentation on use of prisoners in medical experiments

Prison Guinea Pigs

Allen M. Hornblum, author of Acres of Skin and Sentenced To Science will be addressing the Western IRB’s 24^th Annual Training Seminar on Friday, September 12, 2008 at Seattle’s Bell Harbor Conference Center.

Hornblum’s books illuminate the sad history of the use of prison inmates as test subjects for the American medical community and Holmesburg Prison’s (Philadelphia) long history of incorporating inmates in a quarter-century of experimentation including; radioactive isotopes, chemical warfare agents, and dioxin studies.

Edward “Yusef” Anthony will be joining Hornblum in the presentation. Anthony is the subject of Sentenced To Science and will provide a first hand account of what it was like to be repeatedly used as an incarcerated test subject during the Cold War.

Paul Wright, Editor
Prison Legal News
P.O. Box 2420
West Brattleboro, VT 05303
802-257-1342
pwright@prisonlegalnews.org
www.prisonlegalnews.org

Seattle Office:
Prison Legal News
2400 NW 80th St. # 148
Seattle, WA 98117
206-246-1022

Campus Police Raid Long Haul; Seize Computers, Disks, Drives

By Richard Brenneman Berkeley Daily Planet August 27, 2008

Campus Police, guns drawn, raided the Long Haul Infoshop Wednesday morning, seizing 13 computers and other gear, but the reason remains a mystery.

The building, which houses a collection of individual organizations ranging from the Needle Exchange to the East Bay Prisoner Support, was targeted by a team of at least seven officers.

According to the search warrant obtained by UC Berkeley Police Detective Bill Kasiske, officers believed the computers inside the officers at 3124 Shattuck Ave. contained evidence of felonies.

The document did not describe the alleged crimes nor did it name any perpetrators, and no arrests were made at the time of the raid.

In addition to computers and data storage media, the warrant targeted all written, typed or electronically stored documents containing information of people who used the computers inside the building.

Pattie Wall, an attorney for the Homeless Action Center (HAC), was working in her office next door at 3126 Shattuck when police knocked at the door. “They asked me if I had a key, and I said no.”

Wall told the officers to check with the landlord, the Northern California Land Trust, but the trust’s director wasn’t in, so the officers returned, telling Wall they didn’t need a key.

After they asked if there was a rear entrance, the officers went down the center hallway at HAC, drawing their pistols as they neared the rear door, said Wall.

Then the officers walked out the door and to the back door of Long Haul and made their entry.

Meanwhile Wall called staff at the Long Haul, who rushed to scene, also bringing civil rights attorney James B. Chanin, who has an office in the block to the north.

Chanin said he was surprised by the warrant, since it didn’t identify any specific organization.

“I can’t imagine the judge knew that the building housed many different organizations,” he said. “It would shock me if the judge knew that.”

Chanin said that a warrant that targeted a specific group wouldn’t allow police “to go into a building and take everybody’s stuff. But that’s what I believe happened, and that’s not right.”

Ian Winters, executive director of the land trust and Long Haul’s landlord, said the raid was the first in his memory, “and we never had any problems even while Long Hail had the marijuana club here.”

In addition to offering a home to individual groups, Long Haul board member Greg Horton said the building’s Internet room provided computers to give on-line access for those otherwise unable to afford it.

By the time the raid was over, only monitors, keyboards and disconnected cables were left.

Kathryn Miller, another board member, said the seizure would prevent publication of the next issue of the radical newspaper Slingshot, given that all the material for the edition was stored on the computers.

The Slingshot is produced by one of four collectives that are listed on the Long Haul’s web page. The others are the Long Haul Infoshop, the bicycling advocacy group Cycles of Change and the Anarchist Study Group.

The raid drew a small crowd, with many of the observers taking pictures of the officers through the building’s front windows and later as they carried out the computer hardware.

Soul, a long-time broadcaster on Berkeley Liberation Radio, said the underground radio station had been impacted by the raid. “We had some of our stuff there,” she said. “They got our hard drive, and that really concerns us.”

“This is really amazing,” she said. “During all the resistance to the Gulf War and other times they never raided the Long Haul. It’s the church we go to. It’s the heart of anarchy in Berkeley.”

Soul said she believed the raid stemmed from the UC Berkeley campus police pressure on the treesit at the Memorial Stadium oak grove. “They know we’ve been associated with the treesitters.”

She also pointed to a Feb. 17, 2004, City Council resolution urging federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to refrain from taking any action to interfere with Berkeley Liberation Radio.

Chanin said he had contacted the National Lawyers Guild on behalf of the Long Haul tenants.

“I’m a neighbor, so they came to me,” he said.

The raiders were comparatively neat, taping severed locks and screws removed from lock hardware neatly on the walls next to the place where they’d been removed.

Several items, including a petty cash envelope, had been left neatly arranged in a doorway, apparently after officers had photographed them.

At the end of the raid, Detective Kasiske decline to say what police were seeking, and referred question to Assistant Chief Mitch Celaya, who had not returned calls by deadline time.

Dan Mogulof, the university’s executive director of public affairs, said he was unaware of the raid.

Zachary Running Wolf, the first of the treesitters at the Memorial Stadium Grove, was at the scene later in the morning, declaring that he believed he may have been a target.

The building had once housed a medical marijuana clinic, but that facility had closed months earlier, leaving many at the scene to speculate that the raid may have stemmed from animal rights activism.

The UC chancellors recently signed a joint letter deploring attacks on researchers who conduct animal experimentation in the wake of two Aug. 2 firebomb attacks aimed at UC Santa Cruz researchers.

Berkeley researchers have also been targeted by protesters, including confrontations at their homes and vandalism.

For more information on Long Haul see their web page.

UCPD And Feds Ransack Berkeley Activist Community Center

From:    "Political Prisoner News" <ppnews@freedomarchives.org>
Date:    Wed, August 27, 2008

<http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/08/27/18530389.php>UCPD and
Feds Raid Long Haul Infoshop
Wed Aug 27 2008

UCPD And Feds Ransack Berkeley Activist Community Center
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/08/27/18530407.php
<http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/08/27/18530389.php>
p1010043.jpg
  At around 10:30am, 5-6 Officers made there way into the Long Haul
Infoshop and broke down every door and stole every single computer on
the property. Computers taken including those used by the
<http://slingshot.tao.ca/>Slingshot collective and
<http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=317722886>East
Bay Prisoner Support. The police also raided cabinets, cut locks and
scattered sorted mail.

People arrived after being informed of the situation, and demanded
that the police show a warrant. The police said they would show one
once they were done, and they did. Both
<http://www.berkeleycopwatch.org/>CopWatch and
<http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/>The Berkeley Daily Planet were
there to cover the incident. The departments involved were 4 UC
Berkeley cops, 1 Alameda County Sheriff, and 1 Federal agent. The
police never explained the reason for the raid other than that the
computer equipment "may have been used to commit a felony". This is
the first time the infoshop has been raided.

Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  Questions and comments may be sent to
claude@freedomarchives.org

update on 3 arrested comrades in greece

Update 25th august

Today on the 25th of august Vasilis Palaiokostas was brought to pre-trial
court, where where was decided he will go to prison indeed until the real
trial.
About 25 solidarious people had gathered around the court house between
9:30 and 10:00 to show their warm feelings to Palaiokostas and their anger
against the system he has been sabotaging so fierce and rebellious for the
last decades, but has now captured him for to burry in their rotten
dungeons.
He defended himself, even though a lawyer was there for him, but not
present in the courtroom.
after about 3 hours he was taken out through the back entrance, with lost
of 'Ekami' (special elite forces) around him and bourgeois press jumping
on him. The people in solidarity couldn't come any closer then about 200
m. due to an aggressive line up from different kinds of police, but
shouted many slogans, which he certainly must have heard.
Someof these slogans (translated):

-"Cops, Pigs, Murderers!"
-"The passion for freedom is stronger then all prisons!"
-"Politicians, Industrialists, Kapitalistst; Hangings and kidnaps are
coming!"
-"Hate, Hate, Hate, Class-hate,
Kicks and punches to every employer!"

Until now, nothing is known what was said in the court by either
Palaiokostas, or the judges.
We will be back tomorrow morning for the trial of Vagelis and Polikarpos.

...

Update 26th august

Further details of the case:
Today, Polikarpos and Vagelis were sent to the court, but declared
ofcourse nothing. They said they will make a statement at the trial.
Also the fourth man, Asimakis Lazarides, who was arrested on Crete was
send there today, seperately from the two comrades. When he got arrested
earlier, he already made a declaration to the police and it is clear that
he was the one that gave the crucial info to the cops concerning the
whereabouts and identity of the reast of the group. There was some
expectations he would change his testimony in court today, but this did
not happen. For the reason of this man being not only a bastard for
spending the money on luxury cars, casino's and prostitutes, but mainly
for being a snitch, the rest of the people have taken clear distance from
him.
The other four people are the family of Giorgos Haralabidis, another
famous Greek bankrobber, serving a prisontime at the moment of 16 years
for doing what he does; robbing banks. This friday he will go to pre-trial
as well, for his accused role in the kidnapping. In the meantime his time
in prison does not count for the sixteen years (of wich he has served 3,
years now). His family is accused for playing a minor role in the
kidnapping, and unfortunately, they have made statements to the police
while being under 24 hours secret arrest. The psychological pressure was
to much for them, and also they were obviously not very aware of the risks
of this case. It is not clear if they will stay in prison for a long time.
Yesterday Palaiokostas was send to prison of Korfu,
Kerkyra, which is known to be one of the worst and brutal prisons and more
difficult to escae from.
Vagelis today was send to the prison of Domokos and Polikarpo was send to
the prison of Loannina (Stavraki) wich is a prison with mostly long
senteced people.
For all of them counts that the pre-trial detention can take upto a
maximum of 18 months, if there has not been a trial by then thy should be
let out. It is of course in their case very unlikely that they will come
out any time soon, at least Palaiokostas is going in for a very long time.
Today the police announced to have also found a house in Peraia, where
Palaiokostas had kept 3 million euro's and a big stash of guns.


--
for anarchy!

Tre Arrow & Daniel McGowan moved

ELP Information Bulletin (26th August 2008)

Dear friends

ELP has received two bits of American news, both Tre and Daniel have been moved again. Below are the e-mails from their respective support campaigns.....

FROM TRE'S SUPPORT GROUP

Tre has been moved to Sheridan Prison. He is currently in their Federal
Detention Center (FDC). Eventually he will move to Sheridan's Federal
Correctional Institute (FCI), where he will serve his time. If you would
like to write to Tre, you may do so at the address below. We will let you
know when he is moved and what his new address will be. Remember that all
correspondences are read and copied. Tre would love to hear from you!

Tre Arrow #70936-065
Sheridan Federal Detention Center
P.O. Box 6000
Sheridan, OR 07378
USA

+++

FROM DANIEL'S SUPPORT GROUP

Daniel was moved this past weekend so we wanted to quickly get out his new (and long-term) address:

DANIEL McGOWAN #63794-053
USP MARION
U.S. PENITENTIARY
P.O. BOX 1000
MARION, IL 62959
USA

Please be mindful of what you write. All mail is assumed to be read and copied. Do not use any initials or anything that can be misconstrued as code.

More to come.

Thanks!

+++

Both Tre (a raw energy vegan) and Daniel (vegetarian) are both well known dedicated, compassionate, caring individuals and ELP encourages everyone to send them letters of support. However please remember, Daniel is doing a 'Tour of Grand Juries' at the moment, so think about it and don't write anything that could be misunderstood by the authorities.

+++++++++++++++++

Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network
BM Box 2407
London
WC1N 3XX
England
www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk

Sixth Issue of UNTIL RETURN Now Available Online!

For Immediate Release
August 26, 2008

Sixth Issue of UNTIL RETURN Now Available Online!

The International Committee of Al-Awda's Media Center is pleased to announce that the Sixth Issue of Until Return is now available online.

Among the items in this issue are:

Contents	Sustain Al-Awda! Monthly or Annually
Danger Ahead
Mahmoud Darwish 1941 - 2008
Um Amer by Khairyeh Zubaidi
Report Palestine Library by Alan Santistevan
Report: Lajee Center in the UK by Rich Wiles
Photos from Lajee Center Visit to UK
Sixth Annual Al-Awda Convention DVD'S Available For Immediate Shipment
"Twenty Five Thousand Tents Maybe More" Now Available on DVD
Important Dates in Palestinian History: June, July, August and September by Nader Abuljebain
Quiz Yourself: What do you know about the Nakba (part 2) by Akram Awad
Photos From Southern California Second Annual Palestine Picnic Day by Alia Hasan
Editorial and Submissions Guidelines

To view the entire Sixth Issue of our newsletter, please go to:
http://www.al-awda.org/until-return/6.html

As always, we invite our readers to write to us at media@al-awda.org with their comments, suggestions and submissions for future issues. We depend on your input!

Until Return,

Al-Awda Media Center
The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
2734 Loker Avenue West Suite K
Carlsbad, CA 92010, USA
Tel: 760-918-9441
Fax: 760-918-9442
E-mail: media@al-awda.org
WWW: http://al-awda.org

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC) is the largest network of grassroots activists and students dedicated to advocacy for the restoration of full Palestinian human, national, legal, and historical rights with particular emphasis on the right of Palestinians to return to their homes and lands of origin. PRRC is a not for profit tax-exempt educational and charitable 501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States of America. Under IRS guidelines, your donations to PRRC are tax-deductible. To donate, please go to http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html and follow the instructions.

ENDORSE THE FREE THE CUBAN 5 MONTH

Endorsers:

• The Popular Education Project to free the Cuban 5
• EL Frente Socialista-Comite de NYC
• International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5
• Al-Awda Right to Return
• The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
• Brigada Vilma Guillois Espin
• The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign
• New York Anarchist Black Cross Federation
• The Philadelphia Cuba Solidarity Coalition
• Nicaragua Solidarity Committee Chicago
• The Cuba Solidarity Committee in Houston
• Puerto Rican Alliance Of Los Angeles
• Radical Women
• Freedom Socialist Party
• The Venceremos Brigade
• December 12^th Movement
• The Orange County KPFK Support Group
• International Action Center
• Troops Out Now Coalition
• Worker’s World Party
• MarVellAlliance
• Fuerza de la Revolucion
• NYC Jericho Movement
• Cuba Solidarity New York
• Peace and Freedom Party
• All African People’s Revolutionary Party
• African Awareness Association
• DC metro Committee to Free the Cuban Five
• Cuban en focus WBAI radio 99.5fm
• Alliance for Global Justice
• Nicaragua Network
• Venezuela Solidarity Network
• Rev. Luis Barrios, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
• Amigos de CLARIDAD
• October 27^th Committee
• The Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico-New York
• The Puerto Rican Independence Party/NYC
• Critical Resistance Baltimore Chapter
• Baltimore Nonviolence Center

To Endorse the Free the Cuban 5 Month and organzie an event please contact: freethecuban5@gmail.com

FREE THE CUBAN 5 MONTH CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

Sat. Sept. 13th-All out to Malcolm X Park in Washington DC at 10am! 10^th anniversary of the arrest of the Cuban 5! For ticket information in NYC contact: 917-887-8710

Sat. Sept. 13th-CINCO ESTRELLAS Y UN CANTO/ FIVE STARS AND ONE SONG Featuring DANNY RIVERA VICTOR VICTOR, The Dynamic CHUCHITO VALDÉS PUERTO RICAN GOLDEN JAZZ ALL STARS 7:30 PM, Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, 450 Grand Concourses at 149^th Street, Bronx, New York , Admission: $35.00 – VIP $100 (Group, senior and student rates available) Box Office and Information: 718-518-4455

Tues. Sept. 16^th-LETTER WRITING NIGHT IN BROOKLYN at 7pm with the New York Anarchist Black Cross Federation, In Brooklyn 123 Tompkins Avenue, between Myrtle & Vernon Avenues www.123communityspace.org/directions

Sun. Sept. 21^st-People’s Mass with La Iglesia San Romero de Las Americas at 12:30pm at La Iglesia San Romero de Las Americas/UCC at 2410 Amsterdam Avenue 4th Floor New York , NY 10040 Telephone #: 212 - 237-8747

Fri. Sept. 26-Boricuas for the Cuban 5 event at Cemi Underground at 6:30pm 1799 Lexington Avenue @ 112th St. Special Film on the Cuban 5 will be shown: Against The Silence in our own Voices: The Family of the Cuban 5 Speak out! For more information call 212-860-2820

Sun. Sept. 28^th-Poetry/cultural Event at Sista’s Place 456 Nostrand Avenue Brooklyn, NY A or C train to Nostrand (corner of Nostrand & Jefferson Aves., entrance on Jefferson) Sponsored by the December 12^th Movement. For more information contact: 718-398-1766

Fri. Oct 3rd-Venceremos Brigade Galeria Cubana: Report back from the 39^th Contingent to Cuba Summer 2008 at 6pm! Featuring art, video footage, photos, and memories and more! 235 w23rd St (7^th-8th Avenues) Food, drinks for sale! For more information contact: Vbrigade@gmail.com or call 212-560-4360

Wed. Oct. 8th-Concert for the Cuban 5 at 9pm in Durham, NC 119 West St. Durham, NC

Fri. October 10th- 10^th Anniversary Jericho March in NYC for all Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War in New York City at 12pm! Check the Jericho Website: www.jerichony.org and Contact GET INVOLVED! For more information: 718-853-0893, 206-888-4001, and nycjericho@gmail.com

Sun. Oct. 12^th-Free the Cuban 5 event in Baltimore, sponsored by the Critical Resistance Baltimore Chapter; Baltimore Nonviolence Center at 4pm Cork Factory Building Cork Gallery 4th Floor Doorbell #9 302 E Federal. For more information call 443-850-2840

Sat. Nov. 1^st-Cuban 5 event with the Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party at Freedom Hall in Harlem at 6:30pm! Freedom Hall 113 w128th St. (Between Malcolm X Blvd./Lenox Ave. and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. Take subways #2 or 3 to 125th St.; #4,5 or 6 to 125th St. and walk west four blocks; A,B, C or D to 125th St. and walk east three blocks. For more information call 212-222-0633

*IN SEPTEMBER CUBAN EN FOCUS WILL FEATURE AN INTERVIEW WITH THE POPULAR EDUCATION PROJECT TO FREE THE CUBAN 5 ABOUT HE FREE THE CUBAN 5 MONTH