via Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity

[Note: This article was originally published on September 5th though it only came to our attention recently. We are re-posting it now for clarification and to keep everybody up-to-date with the developments in the California Prisoner Hunger Strike. Apologies for the delay.]

Greetings of Solidarity and Respect!

The PBSP-SHU, Short Corridor Collective Representatives hereby serve notice upon all concerned parties of interest that after nine weeks we have collectively decided to suspend our third hunger strike action on September 5, 2013.

To be clear, our Peaceful Protest of Resistance to our continuous subjection to decades of systemic state sanctioned torture via the system’s solitary confinement units is far from over. Our decision to suspend our third hunger strike in two years does not come lightly. This decision is especially difficult considering that most of our demands have not been met (despite nearly universal agreement that they are reasonable). The core group of prisoners has been, and remains 100% committed to seeing this protracted struggle for real reform through to a complete victory, even if it requires us to make the ultimate sacrifice.  With that said, we clarify this point by stating prisoner deaths are not the objective, we recognize such sacrifice is at times the only means to an end of fascist oppression.

Our goal remains: force the powers that be to end their torture policies and practices in which serious physical and psychological harm is inflicted on tens of thousands of prisoners as well as our loved ones outside.  We also call for ending the related practices of using prisoners to promote the agenda of the police state by seeking to greatly expand the numbers of the working class poor warehoused in prisons, and particularly those of us held in solitary, based on psychological/social manipulation, and divisive tactics keeping prisoners fighting amongst each other. Those in power promote mass warehousing to justify more guards, more tax dollars for “security”, and spend mere pennies for rehabilitation — all of which demonstrates a failed penal system, high recidivism, and ultimately compromising public safety.  The State of California’s $9.1 billion annual CDCR budget is the epitome of a failed and fraudulent state agency that diabolically and systemically deprives thousands of their human rights and dignity. Allowing this agency to act with impunity has to stop! And it will.

With that said, and in response to much sincere urging of loved ones, supporters, our attorneys and current and former state legislators, Tom Ammiano, Loni Hancock, and Tom Hayden, for whom we have the upmost respect, we decided to suspend our hunger strike.  We are especially grateful to Senator Hancock and Assembly Member Ammiano for their courageous decision to challenge Governor Brown and the CDCR for their policies of prolonged solitary confinement and inhumane conditions. We are certain that they will continue their fight for our cause, including holding legislative hearings and the drafting legislation responsive to our demands on prison conditions and sentencing laws. We are also proceeding with our class action civil suit against the CDCR.

The fact is that Governor Brown and CDCR Secretary Beard have responded to our third peaceful action with typical denials and falsehoods, claiming solitary confinement does not exist and justifying the continuation of their indefinite torture regime by vilifying the peaceful protest representatives. They also obtained the support of the medical receiver (Kelso) and Prison Law Office attorney (Spector—who is supposed to represent prisoners interests, and instead has become an agent for the state) to perpetuate their lie to the public and to the federal court — that prisoners participating in the hunger strike have been coerced — in order to obtain the August 19, 2013 force feeding order.

We have deemed it to be in the best interest of our cause to suspend our hunger strike action until further notice.

We urge people to remember that we began our present resistance with our unprecedented collective and peaceful actions (in tandem with the legislative process) back in early 2010, when we created and distributed a “Formal Complaint” for the purpose of educating the public and bringing widespread attention to our torturous conditions.

After much dialogue and consideration, this led us to our first and second hunger strike actions in 2011, during which a combined number of 6,500 and 12,000 prisoners participated. We succeeded in gaining worldwide attention and support resulting in some minor changes by the CDCR concerning SHU programming and privileges. They also claimed to make major changes to policies regarding gang validation and indefinite SHU confinement by creating the STG/SDP Pilot Program. They released a few hundred prisoners from SHU/AD SEG to general population in the prison.  But in truth, this is all part of a sham to claim the pilot program works and was a weak attempt to have our class action dismissed. It didn’t work.

In response we respectfully made clear that CDCR’s STG-SDP was not responsive to our demand for the end to long term isolation and solitary confinement and thus unacceptable.  (See: AGREEMENT TO END HOSTILITIES)

Our supporting points fell on deaf ears, leading to our January 2013 notice of intent to resume our hunger strike on July 8, 2013 if our demands were not met.  We also included Forty Supplemental Demands.

In early July, CDCR produced several memos notifying prisoners of an increase in privileges and property items, which are notably responsive to a few of our demands, while the majority of our demands were unresolved, leading to our third hunger strike, in which 30,000 prisoners participated and resulted in greater worldwide exposure, support and condemnation of the CDCR!

From our perspective, we’ve gained a lot of positive ground towards achieving our goals.  However, there’s still much to be done.  Our resistance will continue to build and grow until we have won our human rights.

Respectfully,

For the Prisoner Class Human Rights Movement
Todd Ashker, C58191, D1-119
Arturo Castellanos, C17275, D1-121
Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa (Dewberry), C35671, D1-117
Antonio Guillen, P81948, D2-106
And the Representatives Body:
Danny Troxell, B76578, D1-120
George Franco, D46556, D4-217
Ronnie Yandell, V27927, D4-215
Paul Redd, B72683, D2-117
James Baridi Williamson, D-34288. D4-107
Alfred Sandoval, D61000, D4-214
Louis Powell, B59864, D1-104
Alex Yrigollen, H32421, D2-204
Gabriel Huerta, C80766, D3-222
Frank Clement, D07919, D3-116
Raymond Chavo Perez, K12922, D1-219
James Mario Perez, B48186, D3-124

via Bristol Anarchist Federation

On Wednesday the 17th of October, Bristol will be hosting JoNina Abron-Ervin and Lorenzo Ervin as they give talks on their involvement in the US Black Power Movement and struggles that continue to this day.

JoNina is the author of Driven by the Movement: Activists of the Black Power Era and will speak about her interviews with some 20 Black Power Activists aswell as her own activity in the Black Panthers, where she became editor of the Black Panther Newspaper.  She will detail the experiences of those organising from the grassroots, and participants in radical organisations including the League of Revolutionary Black Workers.

Lorezo was sentanced to life imprisonment after he allegedly attempted to murder a Ku Klux Klan leader before hijacking a plane to Cuba. Whilst in Prison he was supported by the Anarchist Black Cross and wrote Anarchism and the Black Revolution. He has continued to struggle against the Prison Industrial Complex and other forms of state sanctioned racism after an international campaign led to his release after 15 years inside.

Both are currently involved in the Black Autonomy Federation, and anti fascist organising.  Learn how they and other protesters in Memphis faced down the Ku Klux Klan and 500 riot police earlier this year, and the strategies and tactics people across America are using to confront fascism and state repression and build autonomous, anti-authoritarian networks.

When:  7pm Wednesday October 16th,
Where: Malcolm X Centre, City Road/Ashley Road
Cost: Free/Donation
Publicity:  We are currently printing and distributing flyers/posters, if you would like any to put up get in touch.
Facebook: Event for the talk.
The Bristol leg of the tour, which also includes a talk by JoNina hosted by the UWE Feminist Society on Thursday the 17th, and hopefully a further talk by Lorenzo, is Supported by the Malcolm X Centre, Bristol Anarchist Federation and the Solidarity Federation.

If you can’t make it to Bristol there are also talks taking place in Cardiff, Birmingham, Nottingham and at the London Anarchist Bookfair.

via Move Marie

via LibCom.org

Pavlos Fyssas, a 34 year old antifascist and hip hop artist (Killah P), was murdered by Golden Dawn neonazis in Keratsini, a working class neighborhood in Piraeus.

From eye-witness report: “Around 24:00 a group of 15-20 fascists, wearing black t-shirts and military pants and boots, was deployed on P. Tsaldari street. During that time, Killah P was walking with his girlfriend and another couple when he was spotted by the fascists shouting “what are you looking for here, you know there is no place for you in this hood”. The fascists hunted the two couples down P. Tsaldari street towards Gr. Lampraki avenue, where from another street, a new group of around 10 fascists came out and surrounded the guys. At that time, a car drove opposite in an one-way street, stopped, the driver came out and stabbed Killah P once in the heart and once in the abdomen (the stabbing on his abdomen had an upside-down “L” shape).

The whole scene took place in the presence of DIAS motorbike police, that only afterwards and only as soon as most of the fascists had already dispersed, arrested the murderer (according to some witnesses Killah P while still in shock kept pointing at the murderer and this is how the cops arrested him – a 55year old holding a knife, described by other eye-witnesses as a known Golden Down associate). The ambulance took 35 minutes to approach and Pavlos was pronounced dead at Nikaia general hospital.”

A call for a gathering on the spot of his assassination was made for today, Wednesday 18:00, on 60, P. Tsaldari street (from Athens, via public bus B18 from Ralli-Salaminas, or Γ18 from Gr. Lampraki, from Piraeus via public bus 824 or 826). There are also calls for demonstrations in Thessaloniki: 10:00 in the teachers demo, 16:00 in Physics dept. in AUTH university campus, 18:00 demonstration from “Kamara” on Egnatia street. In Mytilene, Lesbos island, 18:00 on Sappho square, in Patras, 10:00 on Olga square, in Larissa 10:00 in the 1rst Lyceum and 10:30 in the teachers’ demo, in Komotini and many other towns there also demos on 18:00.

It is hardly surprising that the Greek police once again did nothing to prevent Golden Dawn nazi violence (Golden Dawn is largely supported by the Greek capitalists, the government and the church, as a willful thug against militants, workers and the poor, and more than half of the police vote for this openly neonazi party) if not actively participating in or covering the organisation of what looks as a death trap for a well-known radical, member of the metalworkers union and antifa hip-hop artist in a working class district, near the spot where a few days ago 8 members of the communist party (KKE) were also brutally assaulted by Golden Dawn nazis.

It is hardly surprising the silence of all the mass media, that are kept alive due to the government’s vast loans and benefits, that either decided to mention the assassination as a “fight after an argument about football” or to not mention it at all. They are the same mass media that promote every misanthropic Golden Dawn activity as an “opposition to the system’s flaws”, and lately as a realistic government partner for the future. They are of course the voice of their owners, the same few families of capitalists, owners of a shitload of shiptanks, banks and hotels that support the right-wing government and its thuggish little counterpart on the streets, the Golden Dawn, in what they see as a Golden opportunity to get rid of workers rights and turn Greece into a proper labour camp under the nationalist and religious kitsch.

It is worth noticing that this is a hard time for the government and their nazi counterparts, as even after their full scale assault on anarchists, squatters, and workers’ struggles, the movements seems to find again its momentum, with the current struggles of the teachers, the hospital workers etc.

Some additional info can be found in twitter: @antireport, #antireport, #KillahP

via The Guardian

via Autonomous Action/Moscow ABC

He will be under police supervision for 6 months after the release.

Aliaksandr Frantskevich, who served his term in correctional colony No. 22 in Ivatsevichy, was released early in the morningof 3rd of September. His mother and activists of opposition organisation met him outside the prison. He will go to Navapolatsk to register with the police.

Frantskevich was arrested in connection with the “anarchist case” on September 3, 2010.Ihar Alinevich, Mikalai Dziadok and him were tried in the Zavadski distirict court on May 27, 2011.

The activist was charged with violating part 2 of article 351 of the Criminal Code (deliberate destruction of computer information) and part 2 of article 339 (hooliganism). He was charged with carrying out attacks on government buildings and hacking the website of the Navapolatsk city executive committee. He pleaded not guilty at the trial.

Frantskevich was sentenced to 3 years in a medium security correctional colony. Belarusian human rights defenders declared him a political prisoner in September 2011. The activists served his term in correctional colony No. 22 in Ivatsevichy.

Source

Read More

via LibCom.org

Police revealed 286 people, the vast majority anti-fascists, were arrested for allegedly breaching conditions placed on the protests. Among those arrested were passers-by, legal observers and journalists.

In the week before the march police imposed conditions under Sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act restricting the areas in which protests could take place, promising breaches would be “dealt with robustly.”

On Saturday morning several thousand local residents and anti-fascists gathered in Altab Ali Park to listen to speeches from politicians and self-appointed community leaders before a bloc of around 700 organised by the Anti-Fascist Network (AFN) started to move towards the EDL.

Between 500-600 members of the EDL had gathered on the south side of Tower Bridge before crossing the bridge, entering the borough of Tower Hamlets and heading towards Aldgate for a rally.

Only around 100 of the AFN bloc came within sight of the EDL before being kettled, providing the only visible opposition to the far-right group on the day. Police reacted quickly to the bloc by attempting to throw up several cordons, eventually dispersing the crowd and forming a kettle on Commercial Street.

After the EDL had been marched back over Tower Bridge police began making mass arrests, arresting everybody in the two kettles and moving them onto buses leased from Hertfordshire-based bus company Sullivan’s Buses and travel firm Stagecoach.

Arrestees were ferried to several outer-London police stations were they were processed and bailed with conditions preventing them from demonstrating against the EDL, British National Party and English Volunteer Force within the M25.

Support for arrestees who were predominantly met at police stations with food and beer was provided by Green & Black Cross, Legal Defence and Monitoring Group among others.

Unite Against Fascism claimed the day was a victory.

via Prison Books

Hello Friends and Comrades,

1) Here is the political prisoner birthday poster for September. As always, please post this poster publicly and/or use it to start a card writing night of your own.

Some News And Updates:

2) The campaign to have Earth Liberation Front prisoner Marie  Mason moved from her special isolation unit is underway! Please write a letter today. You can download the “Move Marie” here: trifold color brochure  The text version and a sample letter are available here.

3) Brother Abdullah is in debilitating pain and unable to walk without assistance, due to an acute case of sciatica. Abdullah has suffered in this state for over two weeks and has, to no avail, submitted to all prison procedures, which are required in order to get medical attention, namely the “sick-call process.”

We are asking that you call the superintendent at Elmira Correctional Facility and demand that Abdullah Majid get immediate and proper medical attention. More Info here.

Please call:
Superintendent Paul Chappius
607-734-3901
Regarding the prison’s negligence as concerns the health and well-being of
Abdullah Majid
DIN # 83-A-0483

4) Mark “Migs” Neiweem of the NATO 5 has been in solitary for over a month.
Please send him letters and photos (printed on plain computer paper) to give him something to look at in his cramped cell. More info here.

5) Sean Swain, whose birthday is this month, recently released a beautiful piece of writing about resistance on the inside. You can find it here.

6) The CA prison hunger strike is entering its eighth week. It’s important that people keep putting the pressure on with phone calls and emails,  protests, and attacks. Updates and background on the strike here.

7) Lastly, here is a link to the latest Political Prisoner/Prisoner Of War every-other week update by the  NYC-Anarchist Black Cross. There are lots of important updates on many political prisoners.

Until Every Cage Is Empty,

The Chapel Hill Prison Books Collective

via Animal Liberation Frontline

Animal rights activists held in jail for allegedly possessing wire cutters.

Los Angeles animal rights activists Kevin Olliff and Tyler Lang have been arrested in rural Illinois, charged with felony “possession of burglary tools.”

These are the facts of the case that are known right now:

The two were pulled over late at night in Roanoke, Illinois in what appears to be a routine traffic stop. When they refused consent to a search of the vehicle, the police searched the vehicle anyway. Inside, police allege they found bolt cutters, wire cutters, muriatic acid, ski masks, and cammo clothing.

Kevin Olliff and Tyler Lang were subsequently arrested for “possession of burglary tools.”  The police have not made any statement as to what they believe the intended “burglary” target was, and Kevin & Tyler were not arrested on anyone’s property. Their history as activists appears to be the sole basis for the charges.

Their new support site cautions that details on the arrest are still emerging :

“Many details are not known, and there are some we cannot post publicly yet.”

They face a maximum of 3 years in prison.

Read More

via BBC News

Greek riot police have been deployed to end a riot at a migrant detention facility north of the capital, Athens.

Detainees threw stones at the police guards, injuring at least 10 of them, and set fire to their bedding in what police called an “unprovoked” attack.

The rioting began when the detainees were informed that the maximum time they could be held at the facility had been extended from a year to 18 months.

Some 1,500 are kept under guard at the Amygdaleza “closed hospitality centre”.

It is one of several facilities set up since last year by the Greek authorities to repatriate the thousands of undocumented migrants in the country.

Human rights groups say migrants have been subjected to abuse by guards at the camps, and that they have been denied proper healthcare.

Last week, Muslim detainees were beaten during prayers, while an Afghan detainee died in July of an infection that had been ignored by months, according to the leftist KEERFA movement.

It is thought that up to 95% of undocumented migrants entering the European Union arrive via Greece, and because border controls make it hard to continue into the rest of Europe, many end up stuck there.