text:
The Anarchist Black Cross was originated in Tsarist Russia to organise aid for political prisoners. In the late 1960s the organisation resurfaced in Britain, where it first worked to aid prisoners of the Spanish resistance fighting the dictator Franco's police. Now it has expanded and groups are found in many countries around the world. We support anarchist and other class struggle prisoners, fund-raise on behalf of prisoners in need of funds for legal cases or otherwise, and organise demonstrations of solidarity with imprisoned anarchists and other prisoners.
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Anti-Fascist & Anarchist Oleg Serebrennikov Needs Your Help & Solidarity!
Anarchist Black Cross Moscow (ABC - Moscow) is calling for solidarity to help the anti-fascist and anarchist Oleg Serebrennikov. For more than ten years, Oleg has actively participated in the anarchist and anti-fascist movements in Russia and in Izhevsk. He has worked with the ABC – Moscow collective, and has aided detainees and arrested anti-fascists and anarchists within Izhevsk, helping them look for lawyers; he has been very vocal concerning police and state repression against anti-fascists in the city; he has also actively participated in solidarity actions in support of imprisoned anti-fascists and social activists. Due to serious problems with his health which arose after an attack by Neo-Nazis on Oleg in 2004, he is in dire need of help.
Please share the story Oleg's case within your communities, organise solidarity concerts and events, and/or even write a letter to him for support. Additionally, it is simple to transfer funds to his fund (see the bank accounts provided below)
Please read Oleg's letter below, in which he, in detail, describes his situation
«Hello, my name is Oleg Serebrennikov. I'm 33 years old and I've been an anti-fascist and a socialist for more than 15 years. I am one of the few people who was at the origin of the anti-fascist movement in Izhevsk.
During all that time, the Nazis and the police have been preventing me from living a normal life; there were many attacks, threats and acts of intimidation from the neo-Nazis. In addition to those actions, the local police have been trying to initiate criminal proceedings etc.
Since 2001, I have actively participated in the anarchist and anti-fascist movement in Izhevsk and Russia. It consisted of the movement "Autonomous Action" (2005-12), and. for many years, I was a regional coordinator of Autonomous action-Izhevsk. I participated in many libertarian and anti-fascist meetings and conferences.
I was a member of the Russian Social Forum in 2005, I helped in organising seminars on counter forum against the Group of Eight Summit in St. Petersburg, 2006. Between 2005-09, I organised and participated in the student union and the campaign against the privatisation of education in Izhevsk. I was also actively involved in the meetings and social protests held in Izhevsk concerning the issues of housing and communal services, travel documents on public transport, point construction and other problems.
I was also actively involved in the anti-fascist struggle, carried out various anti-fascist street actions, cultural events, organised and conducted screenings of anti-fascist and socialist cinema in the student autonomous Cinema Club, blogged about Izhevsk and wrote articles about neo-Nazis in the local newspaper.
I also worked with Anarchist Black Cross Moscow, a group that has been the active online editor of the largest anarchist and anti-fascist site of the former USSR and avtonom.org
On 23 February 2004, after a protest against the war in Chechnya, some Nazis attacked me and almost killed me. There were about 20-25 people, and it ended badly for me – I was taken to hospital and diagnosed a brain contusion with hemorrhage, craniocerebral injury and a number of other problems. Unfortunately, I have not received any adequate treatment at an early stage of the illness, so, a few years later my health condition started deteriorating dramatically.
In 10 years I started having a strong health deterioration. I almost can't work because of my need for constant treatment. Twice a year I have to get treatment in various hospitals and clinics and, generally speaking, I feel that my condition is becoming much worse.
The treatment I need to get is very expensive (2000 euro per year) and, due to my lack of funds, I can only pay a small part of the treatment. Sometimes I've received financial support from Anarchist Black Cross, which was very important and helpful for me. But I am now in need of assistance, without which I cannot continue my treatment. I would be very grateful if you could help me somehow.
My name is Oleg Serebrennikov; I live in Izhevsk, Russia. I am an anti-fascist and human rights activist, and a writer on social affairs. I need help because I have serious health problems due to my having been engaged in human rights and anti-fascist work in my town.
I have advised social activists and ordinary citizens on their rights and freedoms violated by the police, organised workshops focusing on how they can interact with the police offices. I also organised various street antifascist activities (demonstrations, public protests, rallies), as well as cultural events: an anti-fascist film club, and a a socialist cinema club at the University of Izhevsk, as well as different activities related to feminism, social and environmental issues.
As a journalist, I overviewed local right-wing organisations and groups, denouncing their crimes against the citizens. I also informed people about the illegal activities of such groups.
After having started my human rights activities, I faced a problematic situation with the representatives of Ministry of Internal Affairs and neo-Nazis groups.
On 23 February 2004 after a protest against the war in Chechnya, I was attacked by some 20 neo-Nazis armed with iron rods, canes and knives. I was severely beaten, received a serious head injury and spent several hours unconscious.
Then, after having spent more than 3 months in different hospitals, the problems related to my brain injury didn't disappear. Some neo-Nazis who participated in the attack came to "visit" me in a hospital several times, threatening that they would kill me if I didn't drop my investigations.
In the hospital I was diagnosed a severe brain contusion - a brain hemorrhage. One of the attackers was Jan Krasnovski – a grandson of the famous Soviet small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov (AK-47). His powerful relatives pressured the doctors and did everything they could to prevent me from receiving an appropriate treatment.
So, because of the poor quality of the initial treatment, my health problems became chronic. Over the past 10 years, I've been suffering terrible headaches, dizziness, disability of some brain functions (poor attention and memory, amnesia), weakness and fatigue. Such ordinary things like going shopping or walking are now tiresome and tedious for me. Due to the constant psychological pressure from the police and neo-Nazis (surveillance, telephone tapping, opening falsified criminal cases against me), I have severe depression.
For 10 years following the injury I've been treated 2-3 times a year in different hospitals and clinics of Izhevsk but my health is still seriously deteriorating. Due to the fact that I constantly have to be under treatment in hospitals and need medical care, I'm not able to have a permanent job and pay for the treatment.
http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/79352/
http://pl.maoism.ru/national/Izhevsk2004.htm
http://right.karelia.ru/rus/index.php…
https://sites.google.com/site/dpninfo/a-r-h-i-v
https://avtonom.org/…/olegu-nuzhna-pomoshch-obrashchenie-ac…
In 2007 I investigated the assassination of anti-fascist activist Stanislav Korepanov committed by neo-Nazis in Izhevsk in the spring of 2007.
http://tupikin.livejournal.com/218647.html?thread=2783767
http://www.newsru.com/crime/09nov2007/skins.html
I collected data and photos of Nazi attackers and then, with the help of lawyers, I passed this information to the investigating authorities. This data was used to arrest 2 people and aided in the prosecution of about 20 neo-Nazis. That was why the local neo-Nazis decided to call a group of their comrades from other cities to kill me. I was threatened over the phone and waited at my workplace. I reported the circumstances to the police, but they refused to deal with that. Therefore, I had to leave the city for a few months.
After that, there were some more intents to attack me, but I managed to defend myself.
In the last few years, there has been an increase in their activities: in 2010, a group of neo-Nazis tried to set fire to the apartment where my family and I live. They painted swastikas and the phrase "Oleg, you're dead" in the entrance hall of my apartment. They also shot the window of my apartment and threw some burning object to the balcony. It was by chance that no one was hurt during that attack: I could smell the fire and called the fire department.
http://www.antifa.fm/4466.html
http://www.dayudm.ru/article/47594/
http://www.antifa.fm/…/izhevsk-nazi-burning-antifascist-fla…
http://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/2019.html
http://tupikin.livejournal.com/497383.html
After that, I submitted a complaint to the police and asked for them to institute proceedings against the Nazis that were trying to set fire to my apartment. The case was initiated. I recognised that the arsonists were neo-Nazis, but the police didn't handle it properly and no one was imprisoned. The police officers gave me a hint that they were not especially interested in the investigation of that case.
In the summer of 2011 a group of neo-Nazis threw stones at the windows of my apartment. I definitely recognised a group of local neo-Nazis, but the police didn't initiate any proceeding.
On 15 October 2012 - a group of neo-Nazis once again threw stones to my window. The window was broken, but the police only came in 2 hours, although I called them immediately. I told the police officers that I saw the man who had thrown the stones, and that he was known as a neo-Nazi activist. However, the police again did nothing.
After that, the threats from neo-Nazis continued. Since the neo-Nazis attack in 2004, I have had to be hospitalised 2 o 3 times a year. Unfortunately, my health is constantly deteriorating, so I'm almost not able to work.
Treatment is very expensive (2000 euros a year) and my means are only enough for a small part of the treatment. I am being helped byABC-Moscow, whose aid has been very important and useful to me. But this help is not enough. I would be very grateful to you if you helped me with treatment. If you want to ask any questions or anything to clarify, please write to e-mail avtonom46@gmail.com,
Oleg Serebrennikov. »
Bank account details:
Bank account holder: Oleg Serebrennikov
Address of the account holder: 21 - Apt.124, 10 Let Oktyabrya Str., Izhevsk, 426011, Russia.
Account number: 40817978608040002069 (Euro)
Bank name and address: Alfa-Bank, 27 Kalanchevskaya Str, Moscow, 107078, Russian Federation
SWIFT: ALFARUMM
Correspondent Bank of Benificiary's Bank:
COMMERZBANK AG, Franfurt am Main
SWIFT: COBADEFF
Acc. With corresp / Bank № 400886894501EUR
You can also transfer money for treatment via Paypal address Oleg avtonom46@gmail.com
Also you can make a money transfer for Serebrennikov of Oleg through bank and other accounts of the Anarchist Black Cross Moscow
Bank accounts (write please "donation for Serebrennikov Oleg" or "donation for Oleg")
FOR EURO
Beneficiary bank: Alfa-Bank Moscow, Russia SWIFT code: ALFARUMM Beneficiary account number: № 40817978004230006660 Beneficiary full name: MIRYASOVA OLGA ALEKSANDROVNA
FOR DOLLARS
You may donate to us to the following internet purse:
Yandex.Money Яндекс.Деньги 41001188576819 (system only works in Russian language, instructions in in http://money.yandex.ru/prepaid.xml)
Our Paypal is abc-msk@riseup.net
Please note that currently for our Paypal account, withdrawing in euro is free of cost, but in order to withdraw dollars, they must be converted to euros with internal exchange rate of paypal which means almost 10% losses – that is a lot of money and even Western Union may be more cheap.
Act Now To Save Mumia's Eyesight And To Demand His Release!
Mumia's vision has rapidly deteriorated. It has been confirmed that Mumia currently suffers conditions that seriously threaten his eyesight. These include glaucoma, a vitreous detachment and cataracts in both eyes. This threat seriously jeopardises his life and well-being, as well as his journalistic profession.
An outside eye doctor is recommending surgical procedures to remove the cataracts on both eyes, but SCI-Mahanoy Doctor Courtney Rodgers is delaying scheduling the needed examinations and surgeries with Mumia's outside ophthalmologist. Rodgers works for Correct Care Solutions, a notorious for-profit prison and immigration detention medical company that, according to the Project on Government Oversight, has been sued at least 1,395 times with complaints alleging a range of charges, including wrongful death, malpractice and inadequate healthcare.
Meanwhile Mumia faces increasing nerve damage to his eyes. He is unable to read or do other things requiring normal vision. This delay echoes the years of delays Mumia experienced getting treatment for hepatitis C. By the time the DOC was finally forced by Federal Court to treat Mumia with the Hep C cure, it was too late to prevent cirrhosis of the liver.
African Americans are 1.5 times more likely to develop cataracts than the general population and five times more likely to develop related blindness.
Not only is his overall health deteriorating as he is threatened by permanent blindness, his failure now to receive the immediate attention he requires is cruel and unusual punishment, especially as an innocent man who has been unjustly incarcerated for almost four decades.
Furthermore, considering his multiple ailments and the threat of blindness, we demand that Pennsylvania officials allow a real and humane "compassionate release" now, not the "fake compassionate release" of transfers from prison to care facilities that Pennsylvania will only grant when a prisoner is within a year of dying. Mumia's family, friends and supporters are ready now to provide the healthcare Mumia requires if he were home.
Mumia is not alone in enduring these cruel and unusual assaults on the health of those ageing and ill behind prison walls. According to Bureau of Justice statistics, over 130,000 of U.S. prisoners are elderly, a 400% increase between 1993 and 2013. Mumia himself has noted the significant number of those confined at his own prison who suffer similar life-threatening illnesses that require immediate attention. Across the nation elderly prisoners experience a torturous journey toward the end of their lives without any "compassionate release." Once again, as we fight for Mumia's right to treatment and for his release, we fight for the freedom of all the imprisoned from mass incarceration's cruel and unusual conditions.
Mumia Abu-Jamal should receive cataract surgery immediately!
Mumia should be released now not only because he can receive better healthcare outside of prison but also because he is an innocent man!
1. Sign the petition
2. Call: Dr Courtney P Rodgers - 570-773-2150 and SCI Mahanoy Superintendent Theresa A. Delbalso - (570) 773-2158
Tell them to approve Mumia's cataract surgery immediately.
3. Call: PA Gov. Tom Wolf - 717-787-2500; PA DOC Secretary John Wetzel - 717.728.2573; Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner - 215-686-8000
Tell them to release Mumia Abu-Jamal NOW because he can receive better healthcare outside of prison and also because he is an innocent man!
To: Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, PA Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, SCI Mahanoy Superintendent Theresa A. Delbalso, Dr. Courtney P Rodgers
From: [your name]
An outside eye doctor is recommending surgical procedures to remove the cataracts on both eyes, but SCI-Mahanoy Doctor Courtney Rodgers is delaying scheduling the needed examinations and surgeries with Mumia's outside ophthalmologist.
Not only is his overall health deteriorating as he is threatened by permanent blindness, the failure now to receive the immediate attention he requires is cruel and unusual punishment, especially as an innocent man who has been unjustly incarcerated for almost four decades.
We urge Mumia's prison doctors to schedule the cataract surgery immediately.
Mumia should be released now not only because he can receive better healthcare outside of prison, but also because he is an innocent man!
John Bowden Call To Action
John Bowden needs the support of people outside prison in order to increase the likelihood of his release after four decades inside. He was denied parole again in March not for reasons of public safety or rehabilitation but because of his anti-authoritarian political activity. His lawyer's attempts to appeal to the Ministry of Justice have been ignored, hindering and delaying the possibility of a judicial review of the Parole Board's decision, which can commence only after the exhaustion of all other avenues appeal.
John was denied parole despite meeting the three primary criteria used to determine the "suitability of release" of life sentence prisoners: 1) he has served more than a sufficient length of time to satisfy the interest of retribution, 2) the relevant professionals believe that he represents no risk to the community and 3) that he could be 'safely managed' outside. For more detail, read John's response to the Board's decision here.
England and Wales have by far the highest number of people serving indeterminate sentences in western Europe. John is one of many kept in prison well beyond their tariff.
Please write to the Ministry of Justice to demand that the department respond fully and promptly to all communications from John's lawyer and stop unnecessarily prolonging his imprisonment.
You can write to:
David Gauke
Secretary of State for Justice
102 Petty France
SW1H 9AJ
Or contact him via email: david@davidgauke.com
Or contact him at the Ministry of Justice: https://contact-moj.dsd.io/correspondence/topic
You can also write to John at:
John Bowden A5026DM
HMP Warren Hill
Hollesley
IP12 3BF
John has written on the subject of the release of life prisoners in his latest article, Who Should Determine When Life Sentenced Prisoners Should Be Released?
Call For Solidarity With Those Imprisoned During Operazione Scintilla
On Thursday February 7, 2019, at 4:40 a.m., the eviction of the squat "Asilo occupato" (the occupied kindergarden") in Via Alessandria 12 in Turin, occupied since 1995, began. The eviction was carried out as part of the "Operazione Scintilla" ("Operation Spark"). Several hundred Carabinieri in riot gear, police officers and Guardia di finanza with machine guns and plain clothes police not only evicted the house, but also arrested six anarchists. A seventh person is still being searched for.
The charges are serious: formation of a subversive association, incitement to crime and the possession, manufacture and transportation of explosives in a public place. The charges are related to the resistance against the Italian migration regime, namely against the deportation camps/prisons CPR and CIE (Centro per l'Immigrazione e il Rimpatrio = Immigration and Repatriation Centre; Centro di identificazione ed espulsione = Identification and Deportation Centre), more information below.
The Asilo was evicted as part of this operation because the state regards it as the "logistical and operational base" of this "subversive, insurrectional association".
The eviction of the Asilo was delayed by the squatters for 36 hours because some of them had retreated to the roofs. In the meantime, sympathisers organised wild demos in the city, where there were clashes with the police. The Asilo was made uninhabitable in the last few days (destruction inside, bricked up windows, etc.).
During the big solidarity demonstrations there were several arrests and over 300 identity checks. Many arrested people report bruises inflicted by the police when they were arrested. At least four people had to go to the hospital because of their injuries. The accusations for the twelve people arrested at Saturday's demonstration are devastation, looting, resisting orders, bodily harm and possession of weapons. However, in the meantime, these twelve people who got arrested at the demo are again free but have to report daily to a police station (as of February 13).
*Details of the accusations*
The allegations: formation of a subversive association; incitement to crime; possession, manufacture and transportation of explosives in a public place.
The six persons were arrested at the request of the anti-terror group of the Turin public prosecutor's office. The indictment is that the accused
"have promoted, constituted, organised and participated in the creation of a subversive association (ex Art. 270 c.p.) which is intended to and can influence national immigration policy through the repeated destruction of the CIE/CPR and through systematic acts of violence and intimidation against the companies involved in the management of the abovementioned structures."
("aver promosso, costituito, organizzato e partecipato a un'associazione sovversiva (ex art. 270 c.p.) diretta e idonea a influire sulle politiche nazionali in materia di immigrazione mediante la ripetuta distruzione dei CIE/CPR e con sistematici atti di violenza e intimidazione nei confronti delle imprese impegnate nella gestione delle sopra indicate strutture di accoglienza")
The arrested are accused of "21 subversive attacks" in various Italian cities: On the one hand, 15 parcels of explosives were allegedly sent to companies in Turin, Bologna, Milan, Rome (French Embassy), Bari and Ravenna; six other explosives affected the offices of the Italian Post Office (Poste Italiane) in Turin, Bologna and Genoa. Poste Italiane was allegedly hit because, as the owner of the airline "MistralAir", it has held the ministerial mandate for deportation flights since 2011.Two of the arrested (together with two yet unidentified persons) are accused of having placed explosive devices in front of Poste Italiane ATMs in Turin on April 30 and June 9, 2016.
"In order to establish contacts within CPR, they threw tennis balls with a multilingual brochure and a mobile phone number with which they agreed simultaneous actions within and outside the CPR structure. Then they put matches and everything needed to start a revolt and setting Fire in packages of biscuits and other goods."
Allegedly, the aim of these actions was to weaken or destroy the CPR's "capacity" (see
www.nuovasocieta.it/operazione-scintilla-sgombero-dellasilo-e-anarchici-arrestati-per-associazione-sovversiva/).
*Practical solidarity*
A lot of money is needed, long prison sentences are imminent – people are very grateful for solidarity contributions to the following account:
Giulia Merlini e Pisano Marco
IBAN IT61Y0347501605CC0011856712
ABI 03475 CAB 01605
BIC INGBITD1
You can continue to write letters to and support the remaining Turin prisoners:
Silvia Ruggeri, Casa Circondariale Rebibbia, Via Bartolo Longo 72, 00156 Roma, Italia.
Niccolò Blasi, Casa Circondariale Ferrara, via Arginone 327, 44122 Ferrara FE, Italia.
Giuseppe De Salvatore, Casa Circondariale Ferrara, via Arginone 327, 44122 Ferrara FE, Italia.
Antonio Rizzo, Casa Circondariale Ferrara, via Arginone 327, 44122 Ferrara FE, Italia.
International Anarchist Defence Fund: Appeal For Action And Solidarity
A-Fund turned one year this September. This was the time when we issued our first call for joining the project last year. It took us another half a year to figure out collective processes and the concept of the fund. We have tried our best to reach out to groups with a call to donate, but so far we haven't received as much feedback as we were expecting. The lack of publicity results in low number of donations, and this situation can eventually lead to the loss of interest from the side of support-seekers. We would like to provide bigger support, but this involves attracting more donations. We are determined to break this vicious circle. But we need your help.
So, as our next steps, we have identified reaching out to all possible anarchist groups, asking them to spread information about the fund, spread our flyers, put a banner on their websites, putting advertisements in anarchist magazines, etc. But the problem is that we don't know so many languages and contexts, that's why we need the help of volunteers from all imaginable countries and regions who would help us compile a comprehensive list of anarchist collectives in their regions, get links to their websites and contacts, identifying sites with open publication, etc.
If you are one of these people, please feel free to contact us at a-fund@riseup.net
You can have a look at our last quarterly report at: https://afund.antirep.net/second-quarterly-report/
Global Day Of Solidarity With Kevan Thakrar & Against Solitary Confinement
When: Wednesday March 13, 2019 @ 12 noon.
Please join us for a peaceful demonstration outside the Ministry of Justice, 102 Petty France, London SW1H 9AJ.
If you cannot make it to London, organise a solidarity demo where ever you are in the world.
The 13th March 2019 marks nine years that Kevan has been held in a Close Supervision Centre (CSC) under conditions of solitary confinement. He was first incarcerated in the CSC after suffering an assault by four prison guards in his cell at HMP Frankland in 2010. He defended himself, for which he was charged with attempted murder and GBH and placed in the CSC system. He won the case brought by his assailants but today, over seven years after he was cleared, remains in the CSC with no indication of when he may leave. His indefinite isolation clearly contravenes the position of the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and on these grounds we demand his immediate release from the CSC system."
What: We are calling for people to organise actions and events in their region. IWOC London will also be organising a demo, with details to be announced. We encourage groups to not only raise awareness about Kevan but to highlight solitary confinement in their own countries and amplify the voices of those behind bars. It is Kevan's birthday on the 9th of March, and we encourage people also to write letters and birthday cards!
Why: Kevan Thakrar has been fighting for his life for the last 11 years after a wrongful conviction [1]. In 2008 at the aged of 20 Kevan began serving a life sentence, with a minimum term of 35 years, under the highly controversial "joint enterprise" doctrine [2]. Kevan's refusal to submit to racist abuse from prison guards has made him a target for reprisals. Notably, in 2010 he suffered a premeditated attack in his cell by HMP Frankland guards. When he fought back, he was charged with attempted murder and GBH, and put in solitary confinement, wherein one form or another he remains to this day. The charges were sufficiently brazen that a jury cleared him unanimously in a rare victory against the testimony of prison offices.
Despite his success in court, Kevan has been isolated in Closed Supervision Centres (a 'prison within a prison') across the country and currently at HMP Whitemoor. Closed Supervisions Centres are the most extreme form of imprisonment in the UK, modelled on the "supermax" prisons in the United States, and Kevan's testimony is one of the few sources of information available to those on the outside. They are the ultimate punishment in the British prison system and subject people within them to brutal dehumanisation, degradation and demonisation.
Kevan Thakrar is a crucial voice from inside the UK prison today, writing extensively on the conditions endured by people held in the worst prisons in the country. Read his recently published letter that he sent to the Justice Secretary that details the perpetual injustice of his case[3]. You can also read two historical zines published about the CSC written by Kevan distributed by Bristol Anarchist Black Cross [4]. Kevan continues to suffer both PTSD and further reprisals for shining a light on the abuse suffered by himself and by other incarcerated people but still refuses to stay silent about the abuses of the prisons system in general and the Closed Supervision System in particular.
"All I can ever do is drag some of these events into the light. Ignorance can no longer be an excuse for indifference." – Kevan Thakrar
Support - Please send IWOC reports from your actions. Email iwoc@iww.org.uk
If you would like more information about Kevan or would value support from IWOC to help organise an event/talk/info night, please contact: iwoc@iww.org.uk. We have friends, family and comrades of Kevan who are keen to help share his story, as well as an ex-prisoner who was in the CSC who passionately wants to expose the system.
Letter From Kevan:
Wednesday 13th March 2019 marks the 9th anniversary since I was first isolated from the mainstream prison population and detained within the notorious Close Supervision Centre (CSC) system under Prison Rule 46. The majority of this time has been spent in conditions which can accurately be described as Solitary Confinement, but thanks to the support and pressure of those outside, for the last few months I have been in small group isolation instead, mixing with five other guys. It is well known that serious harm is caused by detaining a human being even within the slightly improved environment I currently find myself in, for the shortest period of time. Reports have been published condemning this kind of treatment as long ago as 1997 by Amnesty International, and the prison service even have their own report saying the same things authored by their Chief Medical Officer, Sir Donald Acheson. It is for these reasons that the prison service lie about the conditions. They force me to suffer, officially they do not subject anyone to Solitary Confinement in this country.
They claim that I was sent here to HMP Whitemoor's CSC to enable me to access an "improved regime" and "psychological risk reduction" so that I can progress out of CSC. The problem is that to date they have never identified any so-called risks to reduce because of the fact that I have been wrongfully selected to the CSC based upon false allegations made by corrupt and racist prison officers at HMP Franklin, which I was subsequently proven innocent of at Newcastle Crown Court December 2011. The focus of psychologists then has been to coerce, manipulate and pressure me into going to the High Secure Hospital Broadmoor so that the prison system no longer has to deal with the problem that they have created.
Why should I go to a Mental Health Hospital to alleviate the pressure on prison service management to get me out of the CSC, rather than fight to be returned to mainstream prison population like I have been doing for the last nine years? So, what is needed instead is an increase in the pressure to progress me which to start with could begin with a protest demonstration to mark the anniversary.
I, therefore, call for the support of everyone willing and able to help me to overcome this challenge by publicising, then turning up for the demo, which will be announced by IWOC, as well as organising actions at embassies and other places where you are.
Thank you all in advance for your support, and I look forward to soon being able to tell you the positive results of your action.
Kevan Thakrar A4907AE
HMP Whitemoor
Long Hill Road
PE15 0PR
1. Read more about Kevan's case and appeal here: https://justiceforkevan.org/
2. www.theguardian.com/law/2018/jan/25/senior-tories-urge-government-to-review-joint-enterprise-laws To learn more about Joint Enterprise, check out grassroots campaign JENGBA visit www.jointenterprise.co/
3. Kevan Thakar Letter 10th October 18
4. CSC Zines – https://bristolabc.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/close-supervision-centres-in-the-uk-2-a-brief-follow-up/
Action Alert: Stop The Harassment Of Kevan Thakrar
Kevan Thakrar is a miscarriage of justice prisoner who has served over a decade in prison. He was moved to the Close Supervision Centre at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire in July and is now being subjected to an even more repressive regime, as well as targeted harassment from prison officers.
Kevan repeatedly challenges his conditions and captivity with complaints and legal challenges, many often against prisoner officers and members of the Prison Officers Association. In retaliation, the Prison Officers Association have been actively encouraging officers to try to get Kevan moved to a different prison. Staff have been trying provoke an incident after Kevan's requests for them to wear body-worn cameras (for his own protection, following incidents of physical violence inflicted against Kevan in the past).
On Thursday August 16, Kevan was put on an even more brutal regime. He is now locked up 23 hours a day. He has 30mins outside and 30mins to shower, make phone calls or do anything else he needs to do. When he is unlocked, everyone else in the CSC is locked in. This is creating animosity between the prisoners (a desired effect for the officers).
Kevan has requested to see the Governor and has so far been refused. His planned meeting with the prison's Diversity Officer was also refused by the Governor.
Close Supervision Centres are designed to break human beings. Most people leave and enter psychiatric custody following what they are subjected to. Kirsty White, head of the CSC unit has told Kevan the reason for his restricted regime is that Kevan's PTSD is being triggered and that he is clearly "distressed" because he is asking for body-worn cameras. Kevan developed PTSD after experiencing extreme racial, physical and sexual abuse at HMP Frankland in 2010.
Kevan has been fighting for his life as a miscarriage of justice for the past 11 years. Learn about his case. He has been kept in solitary confinement for over 8 years. You can read more about his experience in prison here.
Follow the IWOC on facebook for updates on upcoming demonstrations
1. Please contact the Head Governor Will Styles at HMP Whitemoor:
Address: HMP Whitemoor, Longhill Road, March, Cambridgeshire, PE15 0PR
Email: Will.Styles@hmps.gsi.gov.uk
2. Write to the Justice Secretary, David Gauke MP:
Email: david@davidgauke.com
Or contact him via the Ministry of Justice: https://contact-moj.dsd.io/correspondence/topic
3. Write to the MP of the area, Steve Barclay: http://stevebarclay.net/contact/
4. Complain to the Prison Officers Association: general@poauk.org.uk
5. Write to Kevan:
Write to Kevan! He needs your support and solidarity. Send letters to:
Longhill Road
You can also use emailaprisoner.com
Antifascist Prisoner Jock Palfreeman Is On Hunger Strike
Since this Sunday, April 21st, Bulgarian Prisoners' Association Chairman of the Board Jock Palfreeman is on hunger strike as a protest against the corruption and abuse of power by the management of Sofia Prison, and in particular, the chief of staff, Desilav Angelov Traykov.
You can send messages of solidarity with Jock's hunger strike to the Bulgarian Justice Ministry (Министерство На Правосъдието) here:
https://newweb.mjs.bg/en/contacts/
You could even leave a message on their Facebook page HERE
When Injustice Becomes Law, Resistance Is A Duty!
(via Bulgarian Prisoners' Association)
Stop The Repression Of The Bulgarian Prisoners' Association & Its Founder Jock Palfreeman!
Jock Palfreeman is a 29-year-old Australian anti-fascist who had the courage to stand up against 16 neo-Nazis on a night out in Sofia, Bulgaria. He witnessed the fascists chasing and attacking two young Roma boys. Jock ran to the boys' aid, he did his best to keep the Nazis at bay by waving a knife at them but they attacked him. Jock was left with nowhere to run and had no choice but to defend himself. Andrey Monov, one of the Nazis, and a son of a prominent politician, was stabbed and killed and another, Antoan Zahariev, was injured. The Roma boys ran away.
Jock has since been tried for murder and attempted murder and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, in addition to a fine of 375,000 Australian dollars, in a trial that didn't even try to give any resemblance of "fairness".
More about his case: www.brightonabc.org.uk/jock.html
During his time inside Jock founded the Bulgarian Association of Prisoners, the first ever official prisoners union in Bulgaria. The BPRA has had many successes in struggle to establish better conditions for prisoners and against the arbitrary rule of the prison authorities. For this reason Jock and his comrades became a target of repression. Recently he had been charged by the prison administration with the distribution of BPRA stickers. According to the authorities, stickers with a slogan "When injustice becomes the law, resistance becomes a duty" are promoting racism and are hate speech! No-one explained against which race or national group those stickers are supposed to be directed, but as a result Jock had been stripped of all privileges for a period of 2 years. That means he had been stopped from continuing his university studies, his visits have been severely limited, he is not allowed any of the supervised leave that he had previously been granted and he has been refused any paid work.
This is a clearly fabricated charge and Jock, an anti-fascist prisoner, must be the only person in Bulgarian prison ever prosecuted for racism! This is an act of vindictive repression against him and all those connected with BPRA as the authorities are clearly unhappy about their activity. They need our solidarity.
– Sign the online petition:
www.change.org/p/bulgarian-minister-of-justice-stop-repressions-of-bulgarian-prisoners-association-and-its-founder-jock-palfreeman
– Send a protest email or letter to the Minister of Justice, Tsetska Tsacheva, and demand that the repression against Jock and others associated with BPRA cease, and that his privileges are reinstated:
email to: priemna@justice.government.bg
Tsetska Tsacheva
ul. "Slavyanska" 1
1000 Sofia Centre, Sofia, Bulgaria
– organise a solidarity protest outside the Bulgarian embassy or consulate nearest you
[www.embassy-worldwide.com/country/bulgaria/ for list of places worldwide]
– spread the information about this case
– donate to the BPRA: http://bpra.info/en/home/
– write to Jock with messages of support:
Jock Palfreeman,
Kazichene Prison,
Kazichene 1532,
Region Pancherevo,
Bulgaria.
Brighton Anarchist Black Cross
Urgent! Take Action To Support Herman Bell's Freedom Today
Certain Days founder and one of its inside editors, political prisoner Herman Bell urgently needs your help. As you may know, Herman was recently granted parole. Unfortunately since then, there has been a major campaign of intimidation and threats and being heaped upon both Herman and the Parole Board for their decision. We want to make sure that Governor Andrew Cuomo, other elected people and the public hear how much support Herman has, and allow his parole to continue as planned - immediately.
Herman has dedicated his life to helping others. For those of us who have been lucky enough to work alongside him on the calendar for almost 20 years, we know him to be a kind and extremely thoughtful person. He has supported and mentored those around him, on both sides of the walls, and he is a continuous inspiration to all of us in organising for a better world.
Please join us, and take a few minutes right now to support Herman by taking these 3 simple and concrete actions. We need to keep up the pressure until Herman comes home. You can do these actions every day, and help counter the nonsense coming from police unions and right-wing publications.
The Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners calendar collective
Three weeks ago, the New York State Board of Parole granted Herman Bell release. Since the Board's decision, there has been significant backlash from the Police Benevolent Association, Mayor DeBlasio and Governor Cuomo. They are demanding that Herman be held indefinitely, the Parole Commissioners who voted for his release be fired, and that people convicted of killing police be left to die in prison.
We want the Governor, policymakers, and public to know that we strongly support the Parole Board's lawful, just and merciful decision. We also want to show support for the recent changes to the Board, including the appointment of new Commissioners and the direction of the new parole regulations, which base release decisions more on who a person is today and their accomplishments while in prison than on the nature of their crime.
Herman has a community of friends, family and loved ones eagerly awaiting his return. At 70 years old and after 45 years inside, it is time for Herman to come home.
Here are three things you can do RIGHT NOW to support Herman Bell:
1-CALL New York State Governor Cuomo's Office (010) 518-474-8390
2-EMAIL New York State Governor Cuomo's Office
www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form
3-TWEET at Governor Cuomo: use the following sample tweet:
"@NYGovCuomo: stand by the Parole Board's lawful & just decision to release Herman Bell. At 70 years old and after more than 40 years of incarceration, his release is overdue. #BringHermanHome."
Script for phone calls and emails:
"Governor Cuomo, my name is _________ and I am a resident of [New York State/other state/other country]. I support the Parole Board's decision to release Herman Bell and urge you and the Board to stand by the decision. I also support the recent appointment of new Parole Board Commissioners, and the direction of the new parole regulations, which base release decisions more on who a person is today than on the nature of their crime committed years ago. Returning Herman to his friends and family will help the heal the many harms caused by crime and decades of incarceration. The Board's decision was just, merciful and lawful, and it will benefit our communities and New York State as a whole."
Certain Days - Freedom for Political Prisoners & Prisoners of War Calendar
www.certaindays.org
www.facebook.com/certaindays/
@CertainDays
Support Anarchist Political Prisoner Evgeny Karakashev
We call for solidarity and support for the Crimean anarchist Evgeny Karakashev. The collection of funds for the work of a lawyer and paying for support parcels has already begun.
Evgeny was born on August 21, 1978. He lives in Yevpatoria, Crimea. He is a leftist activist with anarchist beliefs. On February 1, 2018, Karakashev was detained, and on February 2, 2018, arrested on suspicion of committing crimes under Part 1 of Art. 282 (the incitement of hatred and enmity) and Part 2 of Art. 205.2 (public calls for terrorism) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. He is in custody from February 2nd 2018.
On February 1, 2018, Evgeny Karakashev was detained by police officers in Yevpatoriya. Journalist Alyona Savchuk wrote in Facebook that on the day of his arrest, Karakashev was searched. "They took him violently: some men in civilian clothes broke into flat, did not introduce themselves, immediately laid him on the floor, grabbed [his arms and] handcuffed him behind his back. Evgeny says that he stayed in handcuffs until [they reached] the temporary detention facility. On his right forehead is a huge abrasion. Only in the evening [was he allowed to] call a friend and ask for a lawyer to be found," Savchuk said. "The investigator Abushayev said that he does not remember how long Karakashev had been handcuffed - 5 minutes or 3 hours - and that Karakashev voluntarily agreed to an «offer» to go to police department".
On February 2, 2018, the Evpatoria City Court ordered Evgeny to be detained for 2 months on suspicion of committing «incitement of hatred and enmity» and «public calls for terrorism».
It appears from the order on the institution of criminal proceedings, according to the investigation, Karakashev published a video on one of his pages in social network VKontakte at the end of 2014, which allegedly calls for terrorism. In addition, according to the order, in January 2017, he posted from another account in a chat room for 35 people a text that contains signs of «propaganda of the ideology of violence» and «calls for terrorist activities». It is not specified exactly what Karakashev published, however, the document says that the experts investigated «teletext, starting with the words "use grenade against" and ending with the words "in the windows of authorities, good luck"».
It is obvious that the reason for initiating the criminal case was the video 'Video Appeal of the Primorsky Partisans' published in the social network VKontakte, in which partisans explain the motives of their actions. This video is recognised in Russia as an extremist one, as it "incites hatred towards a particular social group" [i.e. the police].
According to lawyer Alexei Ladin, Evgeny Karakashev himself believes that the initiation of a criminal case against him and the subsequent arrest are related to his activism: he opposed the construction in a resort zone near Yevpatoriya close to a salt lake. Evgeny is an anarchist and anti-fascist. Karakashev always took an active civil position, such as taking part in a protest near the FSB building in the city of Simferopol, and in November 2016, he planned to hold an action "against police brutality in the Crimea" near the building of the Ministry of the Interior of Evpatoria. The latter action was banned by the local authorities. After this incident, Evgeny was called by the staff of the so-called law enforcement agencies and invited to an interview to give explanations. Evgeny refused to give any testimonies.
Signs of political motivation for persecution
It is highly probable that the criminal case against Evgeny Karakashev was initiated in the context of his oppositional public and political activities as a participant of protest actions in the Crimea. In the context of the persecution of left-wing activists and anti-fascists since January 2018, the motivation for Karakashev's case seems highly politically.
Thus, the circumstances of the persecution allow us to believe that the detention of Evgeny Karakashev was used to stop his public activities. At the same time, detention was applied in violation of the right to a fair trial, other rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and was based on the tampering with evidence of the alleged crime in the absence of elements of a misdemeanour offence.
How you can help: You can transfer money with the Paypal system: our address is abc-msk@riseup.net [please mention "for Evgeny Karakashev"]
Prison address of Evgeni:
Karakashev Evgeni Vitalevich, bul. Lenina 4, 295006 Simferopol, Respublika Krym, Russia.
Note that in remand prisons, only letters in Russian are accepted.
Moscow ABC
Day Of Solidarity With Imprisoned Comrade In Köln
On December 21st we call to let the imagination flow and to express solidarity in its multiple forms. Once again we will show that our imprisoned comrades are not alone but present and on the streets with us.
They want to raise even higher walls, not only of concrete and iron, but also of loneliness and isolation. And these walls we want to break down, with love, affection, rage and solidarity for our comrade Lisa.
You can send pictures and audiovisuals to solidaritatrebel@riseup.net
Having received a sentence does not imply that the imprisoned person is "only" at the mercy of the prison system. The political and judicial machine of the State continues to investigate, observe, analyse, and decide over the fate of the imprisoned. Especially when the prisoner has not fallen to her knees asking for mercy in front of the court, has not humiliated herself by some kind of gesture seen by the enemy as "reconciliation", the ways in which the justice system can demonstrate that they are not through with her yet are numerous. The refusal to cooperate with the police is considered proof of guilt and can be used to maintain the investigation open for an indefinite period of time. The silence and dignity in the face of the executioners and their accusations is considered concealment of the crime, and can generate new investigations.
Furthermore, being socialised as a woman and not reproducing the assigned roles, in this case for example having a rebellious attitude or a non-submissive position towards the institution, generates multiple sentences which go beyond a conviction at a juridical level, since there is also the intervention of moral and social condemnations, inherent to the patriarchal framework, which is framing prisoner to the circumstances of the imprisonment.
To continue expressing your political convictions and ideas from within the walls and not denying who you are is considered a lack of repentance and an argument for why a prison sentence does not suffice.
And when the legal arsenal is exhausted in a "reasonable" sentence, that is, sufficiently heavy to accommodate the accusation, but the ethic of the imprisoned person stays intact, the justice system does not hesitate to attack the relations with the outside world, the family ties, sentimental bonds and friendships. Besides the concrete, the iron bars, the artificial lights and security cameras which not only cut off life but also suffocate it, they add mountains of paper which need to be traversed in order to obtain simple human contact with the people close to you. Requests, permissions, authorisations, postponements, which put the will to not feel defeated to the test.
On the 7th of June Lisa, our anarchist comrade, was sentenced by the court of Aachen (Germany) to seven and a half years in prison for robbing a bank. At this moment we are awaiting the outcome of an appeal written by the lawyers who, if accepted, will involve a revision of the sentence and imply that the case will be brought to court again. Therefore our comrade is still held in preventive arrest in the prison of Cologne. Due to an illness which lasted various months, her mother died in the beginning of November. During this time, both the prosecutor and the judge, alleging "flight risk", have denied her the possibility to visit her mother in hospital and also the permission to be present at her funeral.
The enemy does not only use juridical argumentation, but employs many more insidious mechanisms. Like in so many other cases, when the thirst for revenge of the justice system is not satisfied with a simple – however large it may be – prison sentence, the enemy continues to be hawk-eyed, searching for every supposed weakness of the prisoner in order to submit her. It is clear that this is a purely vengeful means, an answer to the comrade's firm and non-collaborationist attitude. An additional punishment, invented to aggravate the already tough sentence of confinement; yet another attempt to make her bow down, this time aiming at her private life and personal circumstances. A logic, nothing new, of judicial blackmail with the aim of undermining her coherence and political convictions.
With hate for the enemy.
We do not forget. We do not forgive.
Some anarchist comrades
Update On Imprisoned Antifascist Patryk Cichon
After first month in Polish jails that was heavy and depressing, Patryk feels much better. He had been moved to a 3-man cell and his cell mates are ok, plus he is soon going to start work which will help him kill time and can positively impact his parole hearing. He is allowed 2 visits a month and one 5 minute phone call a week. There is however no limit on the amount of letters Patryk can receive and they are obviously very important for him. He is in the process of sorting out small DVD player with a screen, so he is asking people to send him films and music on DVDs.
Comrades in Poland are going to pay some money into his prison fund so he can buy stuff from the prison shop and they are sorting out books and magazines for him.
Patryk welcomes all letters of support. You can write to him at: Patryk Cichoń, "Syn Józefa", Zakład Karny, ul. Załęska 76, 35-322 RZESZÓW, Poland.
We are still collecting money for Patryk's son who is in UK in care of his brother.
You can pay by PayPal to: thebottledwasp@riseup.net [please choose "payment to a friend" option and add a note saying "for Patryk"] or into the Bottled Wasp bank account:
Co-operative Bank
Acc. No.: 65601648
BIC: CPBKGB22
IBAN: GB 35 CPBK 08929965601648
Support The Family Of Anti-Fascist Comrade
At the beginning of May 2016 our comrade Patryk Cichoń from Poland was arrested by British police under an European Arrest Warrant. Patryk is a well known anti-fascist militant notorious among neo-Nazi-boneheads in his city for his uncompromising stance against them in the past. The boneheads managed to convince a few of their friends to testify against Patryk and his friend for an alleged assault and robbery. As later transpired, his friend had a very good alibi and had the charges against him dropped (despite being allegedly recognised by the "victim" and his friends), so Patryk ended up being sentenced on his own. The whole trial was an absolute travesty and Patryk, as a poor, young working class person, was not able to afford a proper defence. He spent two months on remand in 2004 and was sentenced to three years in prison.
It is clear that this whole case was politically motivated and had only one purpose, which was to get rid of the core of the anti-fascist resistance in Patryk's home town.
Rather than doing prison time, he decided to escape abroad and came to UK in 2005. He started his new life here, continuing to be involved in anti-fascist activity: organising gigs in London, including United and Strong Fest, which has seen lots of great Antifa bands from all over Europe performing, and raising money for anti-fascist initiatives. He was also the editor of the 'Skinhead Revolt' fanzine, which was the first left wing skinhead publication in Polish.
Patryk lost his extradition case and is being deported to Poland to serve his sentence. He is leaving behind his 10 year old son in the care of his younger brother D, who became his legal carer. As D has two small children of his own and is the only money earner in the household, we are planning to support him financially. We want Patryk to know that his son has enough money for school meals, clothes etc. and that his younger brother is not being pushed into poverty as a result of looking after him. Our aim it to raise £4,000, which means we can send monthly payments to his son during Patryk's incarceration.
Patryk has always been there when others needed help and assistance, please make sure he is not left on his own now.
Fundraising is being organised by Brighton Anarchist Black Cross.
You can pay money into our paypal address:
thebottledwasp@riseup.net [please choose "payment to a friend" option and add a note saying "for Patryk"]
or into the Bottled Wasp bank account:
Call Out For An International Week For Anarchist Prisoners 2017
This year, the International solidarity week for anarchist prisoners will take place for the fifth time on August 23-30 and we come stronger than ever!
Some political prisoners are already supported, but far from all of them. Also, the supported are usually involved in authoritarian politics and not grassroots activities. Anarchist prisoners are not often well-known people, even though they might be long term activists. Their ways to fight back oppressors and wrongdoings are not necessary following the current laws of their location, which is judged by some authoritarian organisations. The vast amount and diversity of cases of anarchist prisoners is surprising to many.
We wanted to choose a week, so that it would be easy as possible to organise different kinds of expressions of solidarity, which would be supported by one another. The beginning of the week was chosen to be the execution date of Sacco and Vanzetti, two Italian-American anarchists, in 1927. They were convicted with very little amount of evidence, and many still consider that they were punished from their anarchist views.
Welcome to join!
Solidarity can express itself in many forms.
Please report us your done actions to the address tillallarefree[at]riseup.net. You can also announce your event in advance in the same address, we list them on our page http://solidarity.international/. From the pages you can also find examples and tips of actions and support mail to anarchists, links to prisoner lists and more.
Protest The Abuse And Illegal Treatment Of Kevan Thakrar
Kevan Thakrar has been moved to Long Lartin prison. Although Long Lartin does not have an official Close Supervision Centre, he remains in solitary confinement. Kevan gets very little time (less than an hour) out of his cell each day and then has to exercise in what amounts to a cage.
KEVAN IS SUFFERING ABUSIVE CONDITIONS AND TREATMENT:
For example;
Sunlight and ventilation in his cell is restricted by rubbish just outside his window
He often is forced to shower in cold water because of a broken boiler which is not being replaced
He is allowed only one phone call daily
The toilet is filthy and he has no privacy when using it
The cell has virtually no furniture and no storage space
His personal property from the previous prison is still being withheld
He is being denied the medical care he needs
He is denied any physical contact with visitors who sit behind a screen
He is not allowed access to the money in his account to which he is entitled so he is unable pay for other phone calls he would be entitled to make
There is no gym, no employment opportunities, no education provision, and no means for him to progress out of solitary.
OTHER PRISONERS SENT TO LONG LARTIN DO NOT RECEIVE THIS LEVEL OF DEPRIVATION.
Please phone the Home Secretary Sajid Javid on 020 7035 4848
Or email: privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Demand that these abusive conditions be lifted and Kevan be released from solitary and returned to general population immediately.
Kevan suffered a miscarriage of justice when he was convicted of murder under the discredited Joint Enterprise Law. Kevan has been held in Close Supervision Units (CSC), solitary, for more than eight years. He was placed in CSC for defending himself against a racist attack by guards. He was then accused of attacking the guards but successfully defended himself in court. Guards pledged revenge for the justice he won and Kevan has been locked up in solitary ever since. It is urgent that he be returned to general population but this will not happen without public protest -- the prison authorities are doing all they can to frustrate his efforts to get out of solitary.
Both the European Union and the United Nations consider anything longer than two weeks in solitary to be torture.
Please see more about his case on the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/JusticeForKev/
Get Kevan Out Of Solitary Confinement
JENGbA is a grassroots campaign supporting prisoners wrongfully convicted using the doctrine of 'joint enterprise'. Joint enterprise is used to convict more than one person of a single offence. It is often used in cases of murder. In the case of Kevan Thakrar he was not even at the scene of the crime when 3 men lost their lives, this was accepted at his trial.
Since his conviction he has been held in various Close Supervision Centres (CSCs) throughout the country for 7 years. CSCs are, in Kev's own words, "the English version of American supermax prisons, indefinite solitary confinement within the most oppressive and brutal environment found in this country. Psychological warfare is used upon its victims on a constant basis, with frequent physical attacks supplementing the arbitrary punishment." As only around 50 prisoners fall victim to the CSC at any one time its existence is largely unknown even amongst the general prison population.
JENGbA now wants to raise funds for Kevan to have an urgent psychological assessment, which will prove vital in proving that it is more damaging for him to be held in the CSC than the main prison estate. This is not only for Kevan, we are hoping that once we raise enough funds to enable Kevan and his family to move forward and get him an urgent assessment, we will also be helping to bring this barbaric punishment regime into the public arena and help others in the same unfortunate circumstances.
Kevan's lawyer, Dean Kingham, says "Long term solitary confinement can have long term adverse effects. It is well documented that progression within the CSC system is limited and there is very little of it. Progression out of the CSC system is rare and difficult to achieve.
The system is often viewed as lacking legitimacy, transparency and has a long term adverse psychological impact on it's residents given its lack of independent scrutiny or external involvement in decision-making.
The longer term potential for psychological deterioration due to the lack of meaningful activities and very nature of the detention is very real.
We are seeking to obtain an independent psychological assessment to ensure that there is transparency, legitimacy and Mr. Thakrar can progress".
Legal Aid is available for psychological assessments of prisoners and Kevan's lawyer has applied. But the delay has been so long that we feel now it is vital that the assessment takes place before his health deteriorates further. Seven years in solitary confinement is an unusual and inhumane punishment for any prisoner, let alone a man who continues to maintain his innocence.
If you can reach out to help Kevan, with any contribution no matter how small, it will be used directly for his assessment.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, if you are unable to help financially at this time, please spread the word and let people know that these places, with their concrete beds and chairs, actually exist in English prisons.
www.crowdjustice.com/case/justice-for-kevan/
Call For Third Annual Int.al Day Of Solidarity With Antifascist Prisoners, July 25, 2017
As the third annual July 25th International Day of Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners approaches, we find ourselves fighting the hydra of fascism and far-right ideology. While its many heads have distinct looks in different parts of the world, this beast spews the same venomous poison of nationalism and bigotry everywhere. It demonises refugees and immigrants, stokes hatred for Muslims, and attacks LGBTQ and other oppressed groups who are fighting for liberation and their very lives.
The July 25 International Day of Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners originated in 2014 as the Day of Solidarity with Jock Palfreeman, an Australian man serving a 20-year sentence in Bulgaria for defending two Romani men being attacked by fascist football hooligans. Whether acting as individuals or as part of larger organised demonstrations, this is the kind of bravery and solidarity which defines antifascist actions against the forces of hate. Since the day of solidarity last year, we have seen this spirit all over the world—in Indonesia, Czech Republic, Brazil, Poland, England, Greece, United States, France, Syria, Australia, Japan and all points in between.
While antifascism is global, unfortunately so is state repression. In the U.S., hundreds of antifa have been arrested resisting both the Trump regime as well as Far Right street forces. In Belarus, the state continues to harshly repress the antifascist resistance. While many of these comrades are awaiting sentences, there are still many who languish in prison. We will not forget these comrades behind the prison walls!
We call on anti-fascists worldwide to act in solidarity with antifascist prisoners. Consider having an event or dedicating an action to them. They are in there for us, and we are out here for them!
No Pasaran!
Until All Are Free!
USE THE HASHTAG: #J25antifa
The call is now available in German and Greek.
Translations are forthcoming in Spanish, French, Finnish, Swedish, and other languages.
Contact NYC Antifa if you can translate it into another language!
For a list of global antifascist prisoners check our prisoners pages [1, 2] and NYC Antifa's Global Antifa Prisoner List.
June 11 International Day Of Solidarity With All Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners
By now it is a platitude to speak of the isolation and silence that prisons strive to impose. Every week another one of our imprisoned friends tells us that their mail is getting fucked with, the phones on their unit are 'broken', or that our publications are being rejected with no recourse.
For us, one of the most exciting elements of June 11, 2016 was the proliferation of words and ideas shared between and from anarchist prisoners. Along with spreading material solidarity internationally and keeping the names of our comrades on our lips, our contribution to facilitating that communication is one of our most important tasks.
While the starting point of our project was support for Marius Mason and Eric McDavid (the first of whom remains imprisoned in an extremely restrictive unit, while the latter has been freed!), it has been through a spreading web of communications that we have expanded the scope of our project to solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners around the world. This year, we are seeking to emphasise this communication.
Maintaining communication is a lifeline for those caught in the snares of state repression or locked in its dungeons. Prisons function to isolate those held within these dungeons, to remove them from human community, and to break their will. Receiving letters and publications, being able to connect with individuals outside of the walls, and being able to call upon the solidarity of comrades on the outside are all vitally important to retaining dignity in dehumanising conditions. When Chelsea Manning attempted suicide, communication enabled her and those close to her to mobilise and act. For prisoners who seem to live under a microscope due to their rebellious activities, a constant stream of letters shows their tormentors that they have friends on the outside and that there will be consequences for any action taken against them. Throughout the September 9TH US prison strike, the relationships built over years made it possible to know of work strikes and rebellions happening in prisons all over the country, allowing supporters to organise counter-repressive action.
We must not, however, confuse actual communication with the absent-minded chatter of liberal democracy. In totalitarian societies, speaking out can be subversive to systems of power; in liberal democracies it strengthens them. History textbooks teach us to speak truth to power, allowing power to better understand our frustrations so it can then manoeuvre to undermine us – either by regurgitating and disfiguring our criticisms as popular appeals or otherwise attempting to sell them back to us through edgy marketing campaigns. The more we tell power what we're mad about, the better the chance they can manipulate us. Ranting on the internet is a microcosm of the pressure valve function of free speech in neutralising social unrest. We are encouraged to say whatever we want, as long as we don't actually do anything about it. Free speech becomes a fetish. For people who have never experienced a moment of freedom in their entire lives, freedom of speech is taken for freedom itself.
When direct action actually does take place, it either is castigated as coming from 'outsiders', or framed to fit into democratic rhetoric around speech. After the uprising against police in Ferguson, Missouri, Martin Luther King Jr.'s quote that "riots are the language of the unheard" went viral because it was a way to frame the uprising as revolving around freedom of speech, as if the silencing of Ferguson residents' voices is what caused the riots, or that their rioting was intended only to amplify their voices.
When we speak of communication, we are not talking about "freedom of information" – media attention and generalised knowledge of the horrific practices and conditions inside prisons will never result in public outrage, nor will they cause a wave of shame that will wash over the authorities and affect them to the point where they'll change what they're doing. While trying to bring attention to issues sometimes has it place, we don't expect anything from the authorities (or the "public") and we know all too well that, especially in democracies, public opinion usually does very little to affect the policies or practices of the state. We're talking about something different: that finding and speaking with our comrades is vital to attacking power and living full lives.
Within liberal democracies, prison functions to isolate those who do not take the bait of the democratic illusion. We amplify the stories of those anarchists serving time in prison who have chosen active revolt against any regime of power rather than played into democracy's games. In February 2017, Eric King received sanctions – including loss of phone, visits, and commissary; increase in security level; and loss of "good time" – for writing poems and drawing cartoons depicting violence towards the Bureau of Prisons and the government in general. In early 2017, Sean Swain went on a successful 50-day hunger strike demanding the restoration of his email and phone communications, which had been cut off years ago due to his alleged threats of outside direct action against prison officials. In 2014, Bill Dunne received a 15-year "hit" to his parole, with the parole commission citing his "continued association and affiliation with anarchist organisations" as evidence he "still harbour[ed] anti-authoritarian views that are not compatible with the welfare of society." Marius Mason is currently being held in the intensely-restrictive federal prison in Carswell, Texas, which surveils and controls his communication with the outside world and imposes harsh limits to his ability to connect with struggles on the outside. The comrades arrested in Italy under Operation Scripta Manent have seen their mail restricted, including a permanent seisure of all material from Croce Nera Anarchica [Anarchist Black Cross].
Despite the state's best attempts to fetter our comrades' tongues, imprisoned anarchists continue to contribute to struggles inside and outside of prison. Sean Swain's Final Straw segments, Marius' art and poetry, Jeremy Hammond's incendiary tweets, and prison writings crossing borders and oceans show the innumerable and diverse forms communication can take in the belly of the beast.
That said, we want to share specific news of Marius' struggles on the inside. This year was filled with new heartbreak as the Bureau of Prisons developed means of isolating him further. Beginning last summer, Marius began to see huge gaps in the mail he received, sometime going weeks without personal mail, with movement newsletters even more scarce. It was finally revealed via a phone call with a friend that FMC Carswell had been cutting off all communication about the National Prison Strike and thus any personal mail mentioning the strike was destroyed.
Even with these more obvious events Marius is going into his 10th year of incarceration, friendships and supports on the outside have been pushed to their limit, consistently thwarted in their attempts to get mail past Carswell's complex and unexplained regulations. Aside from the few close friends and immediate family he has left, Marius receives very little mail. Mail is his lifeline to the outside world. He needs supporters to recommit to correspondence, and to visits, for those of us who knew him before his arrest (a requirement of the BOP). Know that letters which mention political actions will not make it through the tight censorship.
On the outside, new projects which seek to break down the barriers imposed by prison have flourished. Comrades all over the US and elsewhere have started publishing prison newsletters, giving wings to the ideas of our imprisoned comrades, enabling them to spread seeds in the "free world" and in the prison cells. Individual support websites, counter-information websites, zines collecting prisoners' writings, the Certain Days calendar, the new Black Bridge website, and other efforts keep our comrades behind bars connected with us, and us connected with them – through creative expression, mutual contribution to theory, and strategising for continuation of struggle.
This extends also to the realm of action, with solidarity rooting itself in the spirit of combative, internationalist struggle against prison and its world. Following the arrest of Pola Roupa and Konstantina Athanasopoulou and the detainment of Pola's six-year-old child Lambros-Viktoras, diverse and combative actions took place, resulting in Lambros-Viktoras' grand-mother gaining custody of her grandchild. The actions taken all over the world in solidarity with the US prison strike in September 2016 offer a clear vision of how words and deeds can mix in the cauldron of revolt. We also want to mention the upcoming Fight Toxic Prisons convergence in Texas, drawing the important connections between ecological devastation and prison society and rooting both in active solidarity with imprisoned comrades.
This year we challenge ourselves to weaponise our words and gestures to one another, to give them teeth. Let's find ways to fight the censorship of those sending messages from the inside, and those sending strength and support from the outside. Let us not be satisfied with merely expressing our desires and ideas to whoever is listening, but really live them, and develop them together. The state wishes to crush our comrades by separating them from communities of struggle. We will not let it succeed!
Kinetik Justice On Hunger Strike
On October 21, 2016 Robert Earl Council (aka Kinetik Justice Amun) went on a Hunger Strike based on threats against his life from the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) administration and staff. He was transferred to a supermax facility, and water was shut off in his cell in an effort to force him out of his hunger strike. His transfers happened after the media exposed the ADOC during a nationwide prison strike to demand changes to prison conditions and unpaid labour.
As of November 8, 2016, Kinetik Justice is in danger for his life, and organisers are calling for action.
Kinetik has been inside for over 22 years and is a co-founder of the Free Alabama Movement which has organised successful work stoppages to demand basic human rights and has provided education and legal support to hundreds of incarcerated people.
CALL WITH DEMANDS TODAY: Call the Alabama Department of Corrections and Alabama Governor Robert Bentley's office demanding 1) that Kinetik Justice be transferred from Limestone Correctional Facility; and 2) that Pastor Kenneth Glasgow of The Ordinary People's Society be allowed to visit him and assess his condition immediately.
Alabama Department of Corrections
(010) 334 353-3883
webmaster@doc.alabama.gov
Governor Robert Bentley
600 Dexter Avenue
https://freealabamamovement.wordpress.com/
Call For The 2nd Annual International Day Of Solidarity With Antifascist Prisoners, July 25, 2016
In the year since the first July 25th International Day of Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners in 2015, there has been a disturbing increase of Far Right activity worldwide. Every day brings news of some new wave of reaction—in the name of nationalism and security—which demonises refugees and immigrants, stokes hatred for Muslims, and attacks LGBTQ and other oppressed groups fighting for their liberation and their very lives.
We see Nigel Farage and UKIP in the UK, the Burmese magazine The Irrawaddy, the Front National in France, and Donald Trump in the U.S. all making the same racist claims about refugees using almost identical Far Right language. In response, anti-fascists from Poland, Thailand, Malaysia, England, Australia, Brazil, Burma, Greece, France, Sweden, the United States, and all points in between, have the same response to this bigoted garbage:
Antifascists are on the front lines in the fight against these fascist and other Far Right nationalist nightmares. In the U.S. we have already seen a large increase in antifa arrests at increasingly confrontational demonstrations against KKK and similar rallies. Internationally, there has also been an increase in street confrontations, and unfortunately this means more repression by the State. We will not allow our comrades—surrounded by steel cages and concrete walls—to be forgotten.
The July 25 International Day of Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners originated in 2014 as the Day of Solidarity with Jock Palfreeman, an Australian man serving a 20-year sentence in Bulgaria for defending two Romani men from an attack by fascist football hooligans. In 2015, we expanded our solidarity efforts to include all antifascist prisoners across the globe. There were a variety of actions around the world: groups held benefit concerts, movie nights, talks, raffles, banner drops, letter-writings, and literature distribution on the street and at a punk festival. Others did photo-ops and videos, and issued statements of solidarity.
We call on anti-fascists worldwide to act in solidarity with antifascist prisoners! Consider having an event or dedicating an action to them. They are in there for us, and we are out here for them!
[source + a comprehensive international list of current anti-fascist prisoners]
International Days Of Solidarity With Russian Anarchist & Antifascist Prisoners, July 1-10
When mass civil protests in Russia were defeated in 2011-12, the Putinist police regime started open political repressions against militants of social and political movements, including anarchists and antifascists. Many activists have been sentenced to prison terms in the course of the last 5 years in Russia.
We call on comrades from the whole world to show solidarity with Russian anarchists and antifascists – prisoners of the Putinist police state, and distribute information about the international solidarity decade as widely as possible, maybe organise an event in your own town.
It could be an info-party where letters could be written, a film show, a fund-raising event, a benefit gig, a protest action at the Russian embassy in your own country, a solidarity action – only your fantasy is the limit.
Facebook event: www.facebook.com/events/1774132002816021/
Vkontakte event: http://vk.com/abc_solidarity_days
Please see brief description of repressions to which Russian anarchists and antifascists were subjected.
Dmitry Buchenkov
A well-known antifascist and anarchist Dmitry Buchenkov, PhD in political science, was arrested in Moscow in December 2015. He is suspected of participating in the riots of May 6, 2012. More than 400 persons were arrested as a result of a mass protest action against Putin's politics that took place on May 6, 2012 in Moscow. Dmitry was not in Moscow on that day, he was in Nizhny Novgorod, more than 300 km away from Moscow.
Dmitry is a long-time participant of the antifascist and anarchist movements and he has done a lot for their development. Dmitry's comrades and friends believe that the arrest is related to his political militancy and his active position regarding the developments taking place in the country.
Dmitry Buchenkov, 36, lecturer of history and political science, PhD in political science, associate professor, worked as Deputy Chairman of the Medicine History and Socio-Humanitarian Science Department in the Russian National Research Medical University named after N.I.Pirogov in Moscow. Prior to 2008 he worked as an associate professor of the Philosophy Department in the Volga State Pedagogy University (Nizhny Novgorod) for five years. He was fired for his political activism. Dmitry moved to Moscow after he had had to quit the Volga University.
In Moscow Dmitry joined the local cell of the Autonomous Action, whose member he had already been since 2002. This is how he describes the ideology he shares in a book entitled 'Anarchists in the late XX century in Russia' published in 2009: "Basic worldview values of anarchism (self-management, self-organisation, anticapitalism) are still relevant today". In 2013 Dmitry quit the Autonomous Action organisation, but he did not give up his political activism.
He authored several books on history and modern condition of anarchism in Russia. He is an activist of the antifascist and anarchist movements.
Dmitry actively participated in organising efforts and life of the antifascist and anarchist movements in Moscow. He organised many street antifascist protest actions, different cultural events. He took part in the establishment of an antifascist centre called 'V project', where antifascists and anarchists held their gigs, meetings, and prepared their actions. Police and FSB more than once threatened to attack Dmitry physically for his political activities and struggles. In 2015 unknown persons, probably police or FSB agents, severely beat Dmitry up, so that he got brain concussion, was all covered in blood and couldn't even remember how the assault occurred.
Dmitry Buchenkov planned to organise an all-Russian antifascist and anarchist forum "Self-management and Libertarian Communism" in early 2016. But the authoritarian Putinist regime police arrested him.
Dmitry Buchenkov solidarity groups:
www.facebook.com/freebuchenkov/
https://vk.com/freebuchenkov
Address: 125130, Moscow, 20 Vyborgskaya Str., SIZO "Vodnik", Dmitry E. Buchenkov, (date of birth: August 22, 1978)
Alexei Gaskarov
A well-known antifascist and anarchist. An organiser and participant of many anarchist and left-wing conferences. He was arrested on August 3, 2010 on the Khmiki case after an administrative building in Khimki had been assaulted on July 28 2010. An environmental protest action took place in Khimki against deforestation of big chunks of a reserve forest in order to build a toll road. On October 15, 2010, the court decision on the arrest was recalled. On June 24, 2011, he was legally acquitted by the Khimki municipal court.
He was strongly beaten by police on May 6, 2012, at Bolotnaya square during a political opposition protest, so he filed a petition on riot police power abuses involving violence and riot control weapons.
On April 28, 2013, he was apprehended and the following day arrested on accusation of leading a group of persons who actively participated in mass riots that supposedly took place at Bolotnaya square and of violence against a policeman. Later the accusation included two policemen supposedly attacked by Gaskarov: according to investigation data, Gaskarov grabbed a shoulder of an interior troops soldier and then he grabbed a leg of Igor Ibatulin, a riot police officer. The final version of the charge is also saying that he participated in mass riots at Bolotnaya square. On August 18, 2014, the court sentenced Gaskarov to three and a half years in a general regime penal colony.
Many political activists relate Gaskarov's imprisonment to a direct revenge from political police called the Centre for Combating Extremism for his long-time political activism. Gaskarov support website: gaskarov.info
Addresses for letters: Gaskarov — 301654, Russia, Tula Oblast, Novomoskovsk, 27 Centralnaya Str., IK-6 UFSIN, detachment 5, Alexei V. Gaskarov, (Date of birth: June 18, 1985)
Alexei Sutuga
A well-known antifascist and anarchist from Autonomous Action. Charged with hooliganism for supposedly beating up nationalists in a brawl. Sentenced to three years and one month of colony.
Sutuga was apprehended in April 2014 in Moscow by political police from the Centre for Combating Extremism after an antifa gig. During interrogation he was asked about his trip to Maidan (Ukrainian protests in Kyiv in 2014). Alexei was accused of participation in a brawl on January 2, 2014, in 'Sbarro' bar, where he kicked and beat several persons with a chair and a selfmade hammer.
Sutuga himself said he tried to stop other people fighting — the brawl was between Neo-Nazis and some other youths. On October 1 Sutuga was sentenced to three years and one month of colony. On December 17 the appeal court left the sentence unchanged.
On March 17, 2015, while in Irkutsk remand prison, from where he had to be transferred to a colony, Sutuga went on a dry hunger strike because he had been pressurised in the remand prison: he was offered to stay there instead of the colony, and when Sutuga had refused, they got hold of his letters and books. When the news on his hunger strike leaked outside the remand prison, he was transferred to the colony. The he stopped his hunger strike. In the colony Sutuga was subjected to a solitary confinement cell. He is constantly pressurised by the prison administration.
Address for letters: 665809 Irkutsk Oblast, Angarsk, First Industrial Cluster, quarter 47, building 6, IK No.2, Alexei V. Sutuga, born in 1986 (you can send him only 1st class registered mail) or you can write via Rosuznik website
Ilya Romanov
On August 6, 2015, a visiting board of the Moscow district military court passed a sentence upon Ilya Romanov, anarchist from Nizhny Novgorod – 10 years of high-security prison. The court ignored all arguments brought forward by defence. Afterwards the term was changed to 9 years of high-security prison.
Romanov was injured by a self-made firecracker's explosion in October 2013, but they re-qualified him from an unfortunate experimenter to a "terrorist". Apart from that firecracker an "interview" that he had given in December 2012 in a suburb of Donetsk was used in his case. Both "crimes" were incomplete: Ilya Romanov is accused of trying to menace local population and authorities of Nizhny Novgorod in order to save Kulibinsky park from tree-felling, but he didn't manage because the device exploded during a test. He also supposedly tried to propagate terrorism through Ukrainian media, namely Radio RKAS - Libertaire, but he didn't manage to accomplish it either. It appears that it is not a radio station, rather an internet blog. The interview itself is just a Dictaphone record made at a party following his release from prison.
Romanov, whose family consists of retired parents and a teenage daughter is the poorest of all inmates. His family hardly manages to bring him parcels now and then, while Romanov also has to pay for a lawyer working on two supervisory complaints.
431130, Republic of Mordovia, Zubovo-Polyansky region, Lepley, FKU IK-22, Ilya E. Romanov. (Birthday: July 3, 1967)
Alexander Kolchenko
On August 25, 2015, the military court in Rostov-upon-Don passed a cruel sentence against Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov and Crimean antifascist Alexander Kolchenko. The investigation authorities called them "terrorists" — allegedly Sentzov guided by the Right Sector from Kyiv (banned in Russia) founded a "terrorist group" in Simpheropol that sought to bring Crimea back to Ukraine.
Kolchenko supposedly made part of the group. The "terrorists" set fire on the office doors of Crimean Russian Community and a window in the local office of the United Russia (the ruling party in Russia). During the court, Gennady Afanasiyev — one of key witnesses upon whose words the accusation was built — said that his testimony was either given under torture or simply invented. Afanasyev got 7 years in prison on the "Crimean terrorists" case. Oleg Sentzov was sentenced to 20 years and Alexander Kolchenko to 10 years in prison for burning a door and a window.
Address for letters: 456612, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Kopeisk, 20 Kemerovskaya Str., IK-6, detachment 4, Alexander A. Kolchenko, born in 1989.
Anarchist Black Cross – Moscow Fund
Money is needed to support our comrades in their labour camps and remand prisons. Anarchist Black Cross – Moscow calls on everyone to show solidarity, help, and if possible transfer this so much needed money to the Anarchist Black Cross – Moscow accounts.
If you have any questions on how to make a money transfer or any other wishes, please write to avtonom46@gmail.com and abc-msk@riseup.net
Paypal-account: avtonom46@gmail.com and abc-msk@riseup.net
Anarchist Black Cross – Moscow
Update On Anti-fascist Comrade Patryk's Situation
A few days ago Patryk had a court hearing and his case had been moved to the end of September, whilst social services will look at his family circumstances with a possible appeal under Human Rights legislation. He still needs our support as much as before. So far we managed to collect good few hundred pounds and euros and Patryk has been very encouraged by the solidarity he has received. He said to pass on the message that he is very grateful to everybody who has supported him and his family in this difficult time.
For details of how you can support Patryk, see below.
Solidarity With Antifascist Comrade Facing Extradition!
At the beginning of May 2016 our comrade Patryk Cichoń from Poland was arrested by British police under an European Arrest Warrant. Patryk is a well known anti-fascist militant notorious among nazi-bonehead scum in his city for his uncompromising stance against them in the past. Boneheads managed to convince a few of their friends to testify against Patryk and his friend for alleged assault and robbery. As it appeared later, his friend had very good alibi and had the charges dropped (despite being allegedly recognised by the "victim" and his friends), so Patryk ended up being sentenced on his own. The whole trial was an absolute travesty and Patryk as a poor, young working class person was not able to afford a proper defence. He spent two months on remand in 2004 and was sentenced to three years in prison.
It is clear that this whole case was politically motivated and had only one purpose, which was to get rid of the core of the anti-fascist resistance in Patryk's home town.
Rather than doing prison time, he decided to escape abroad and came to UK in 2005. He started his new life there, continuing to be involved in anti-fascist activity: organising gigs in London, including United and Strong Fest which has seen lots of great Antifa bands from all over Europe performing, and raising money for antifascist initiatives. He was also the editor of the 'Skinhead Revolt' fanzine, which was the first left wing skinhead publication in Polish.
After his arrest, he spent 9 days behind bars and was then was released under strict bail conditions, including a curfew and an electronic tag. On June 24 he has to attend another hearing that will most likely decide upon his extradition. Patryk is fighting against being sent back to Poland as he has a family in the UK, including his partner and an 8-year-old son.
He currently needs all the solidarity we can offer. He has already spent his savings on legal defence and will need more money to continue, but in the meantime his family also needs supporting.
Patryk was always there if others needed help and assistance, please make sure he is not left on his own now.
Fundraising is organised by Brighton Anarchist Black Cross. You can pay money to our paypal address:
thebottledwasp@riseup.net (please choose "payment to a friend" option and add a note saying "for Patryk")
or to our bank account: Nationwide Acc. no./Reference: 0321 / 704131186 [NB: The sender will need to quote this account number in the additional reference section on their payment instruction]
IBAN: GB97NAIA07009333333334 BIC: NAIAGB21
40 Years Behind Bars: Free Leonard Peltier
It is not very often that we decide to reprint an Amnesty International appeal but, in the case of Leonard Peltier, who were have long supported, we are doing so now.
With 40 years already behind bars, Leonard Peltier's health has been declining rapidly. We've studied his case extensively and remain seriously concerned about the fairness of his trial. Leonard's most recent petition for parole was denied, which means that he is not eligible again for nearly a decade. His lawyers have just filed a new petition for clemency, which means his remaining years may be in President Obama's hands.
Urge President Obama to grant clemency before he leaves office on January 20th.
In 1975, two FBI agents were shot dead during a confrontation involving American Indian Movement (AIM) members. Leonard, who was a leading member of the AIM, was convicted of their murders but has always maintained his innocence. The U.S. Parole Commission has acknowledged that "the prosecution has conceded the lack of any direct evidence" that Leonard personally participated in the executions of the two FBI agents. The judge who presided over a previous appeal hearing also expressed concerns about FBI misconduct in investigating and trying the Peltier case.
Despite all of this, he's still behind bars. Support our call for Leonard's release in the interests of justice.
Today at 71 years old, Leonard suffers from health concerns including diabetes, a heart condition and an abdominal aortic aneurysm. He is imprisoned far from his family.
Help them bring Leonard home.
Act Now.
Support Leonard Peltier - Make Health Crisis Calls!
Some months ago, Leonard Peltier was diagnosed with an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA), a life threatening condition. To date, Leonard's condition is merely being "monitored." This is unacceptable. Leonard needs treatment now! Leonard is dealing with a bureaucracy like no other. He desperately needs our job to keep the pressure on the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to ensure that he gets timely and quality treatment of the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.
Please continue your efforts on Leonard's behalf and keep pressure on the BOP! Demand that Leonard be transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota without delay.
You can visit: www.bop.gov/inmates/concerns.jsp. Make reference to Leonard Peltier #89637-132 and USP Coleman I. Voice your concern about Leonard's medical treatment, and let the federal Bureau of Prisons know that the world is watching. We demand that Leonard receive the best possible care, that is, at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
Please also call the below telephone numbers. You can send emails to selected elements of the BOP too, but your message may result in a canned response from the BOP.
As you have perhaps discovered for yourself, for some time now the BOP has put a series of road blocks in the way of supporters when it comes to easily advocating for Leonard. This means that you should consider sending a letter by snail mail. But to get a letter to the BOP quickly, visit:
https://faxzero.com (US)
https://faxzero.com/international (International).
Send a letter via fax to each of the below elements of the BOP.
Warden Tamyra Jarvis
USP Coleman I
Sumterville, FL 33521
Fax: (010) 352-689-6012
Telephone: (010) 352-689-6000
Email: COA/PublicInformation@bop.gov
Helen J. Marberry
RO Southeast Regional Office
3800 Camp Crk. Pk. SW
Bldg 2000
Email: SERO/ExecAssistant@bop.gov
Thomas R. Kane, Ph.D.
Federal Bureau of Prisons
320 First Street, NW
Be respectful, but firm. The situation is life threatening and Leonard is counting on us.
Again, thank you for all you do on behalf of Leonard Peltier.
Leonard Peltier - New Medical Emergency
The International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee received a message from Leonard this evening. An excerpt follows: "For months, if not at least a year now, I have been complaining about medical problems and that something is wrong with me… For the last few days, I have been on call out to go see the doctor. Today, I was called again and had my blood pressure taken and gave more blood for more tests. Apparently, they found what's called Abdominal Aortic Aneurism (AAA) and it is at a very dangerous [stage]. If it bursts I can die. I will bleed to death. So they are going to rush me through some more tests, a MRI on Sunday, then find the right surgeon to do the operation. The good news is [this surgery] has a high success rate… if nothing goes wrong."
At this time, we have no further details. Suffice it to say that, at Leonard's age, any surgery is risky. Also a concern is that during his treatment at a federal prison medical center, Leonard will be held in isolation.
Please visit http://www.bop.gov/inmates/concerns.jsp. Make reference to Leonard Peltier #89637-132 and USP Coleman I. Voice your concern about Leonard's medical treatment, and let the federal Bureau of Prisons know that the world is watching. We demand that Leonard receive the best possible care.
Please also contact:
320 First St., NW
info@bop.gov
In addition, when you make your call to the White House (as we know you often do) to voice your support for a grant of clemency, please mention Leonard's current health crisis. Mr. Obama must act now.
Leonard and the International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee thank you for your support - in particular during this critical time.
We'll keep you informed of any developments.
Protests Against HM Inspectorate of Prisons
The Close Supervision Centre (CSC) system is the English version of American supermax prison conditions, indefinite solitary confinement within the most oppressive and brutal environment found in this country, which can appropriately be called torture camps. Psychological warfare is used upon its victims on a constant basis, with frequent physical attacks supplementing the arbitrary punishment. As only around 50 prisoners fall victim to the CSC at any one time its existence is largely unknown even amongst the general prison population, so it is not surprising that the wider public are so poorly informed that almost no-one protests that taxes are being spent to torment vulnerable captives who are also British citizens.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of prisons (HMIP) is tasked with the role of reporting on all places of detention within the country, with a decreasing level of funding for the prison system whilst prisoner numbers continue to rise it is inevitable that more and more failings and inadequacies will be identified by them. Considering the CSC is the violation of international and European law, as well as being morally reprehensible for both its design and implementation, you would expect HMIP to dedicate its times exposing the secretive system with the goal of achieving its abolition but at least securing desperately needed reforms. When the entire prison system can be seen to be declining in the level of treatment it provides, it is obvious that those already at the harsh end will suffer the most. HMIP chooses to pretend that the CSC does not exist rather than tackle the deplorable, less attention is paid to the worst part of the prison system than any other which is simply inexcusable.
Since I was first allocated to the CSC in March 2010, HMIP have only once 'inspected' the CSC. Although they were provided with extensive detail of the abuses which were taking place, they chose to omit all of the most serious and gloss over those that actually made it into the report. HMIP effectively endorsed the torture regime which had the obvious consequence of life on the CSC becoming more anguished, and have not even bothered to perform their mandatory follow-up 'inspection' to see the effects of their actions. The suicide of Joanne Latham (AKA Eddie Brown, AKA Edward Latham) on the CSC has been one of the direct results of the continuing deterioration, but also of the structure of the CSC itself which causes severe mental illness and exacerbates preexisting medical issues amongst its residents so much so that around 50% end up damaged to the extent it becomes necessary for them to be removed from prison to one of the high secure mental health hospitals (Broadmoor, Brampton, Ashworth). I sent a detailed complaint to HMIP after reading their cover-up report but received nothing more than a fob off in reply evidencing that their substandard work was intentional. Although this was done as a parting gesture from the departing Chief Inspector presumably to secure another governmental employment, the incumbent Chief Inspector along with the rest of his office have done absolutely nothing about it.
It is about time that HMIP learned they can no longer ignore the CSC system or be allowed to prop-up its existence with corrupt reports, the CSC has been in operation since 1998 and must be condemned as the abomination it is. To achieve this end, I am calling on every person with some level of compassion and humanity for their fellow man and all those disgusted at what their taxes are funding to attend a demonstration protest outside the offices of HMIP. This has been organised to take place on:
Friday 18th November 2016 from 12.30pm – 2.30pm at HM Inspectorate of Prisons, 6th Floor, Victory House, Kingsway, London, WC2B 6EX
All those unable to attend are encouraged to write demanding they address the CSC system immediately either directly or through their MP for greater impact. Support can also be shown as well as more being found out about the horror of the CSC by visiting the website http://justiceforkevan.com/, joining the group at www.facebook.com/justiceforkev, signing the petition on www.change-org/p/justice-for- kevan, or by writing to:
Kevan Thakrar A4907AE,
HMP Wakefield,
5 Love Lane,
West Yorkshire,
WF2 9AG.
Support Kevan Thakrar By Joining The Protest
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) have been made in many ways to be the only option for prisoners seeking redress to problems they face, due in large part to the savage legal aid cuts as well as the statutory changes as to when prisoners can receive legal assistance or bring challenges. This makes the PPO a much more significant body with them playing a vital role in driving forward improvements and identifying failings which in turn lead to a more peaceful and smooth running prison system.
With all negative indicators evidencing that a serious crisis is in place within prisons including the massive numbers of suicides and assaults, clearly the PPO is not performing as required. When Nigel Newcomen, the current head of the PPO recently released another so-called 'Learning Lessons Bulletin' on the use of force stating 'it should be a measure of last resort', although I agree entirely, unfortunately it acts as a smoke-screen for the PPO's own corruption and opportunity to disseminate propaganda which can not go without reply necessitating the writing of this.
Newcomen said, 'in some ways it is reassuring that there are relatively few complaints to my office about alleged physical abuse of detainees by custodial staff. In 2014-15, of 2303 complaints eligible for investigation, only 50 involved such allegations'. That is quite simply not true as the PPO have been operating a system of rejecting all of the most serious complaints for investigation for several years, and since 2014-15 have been ignoring all correspondence attempting to make them change their policy so the 50 that have made it through are accidents or taken gestures. Indeed I have personally been the victim of assault during the time-frame referenced then been turned away by Helena Hanson of the PPO when I took my complaints to them evidenced by PPO case numbers: 667738 and 65617, which are about unprovoked pre-planned attacks by gangs of prison officers upon me including once whilst I was praying. Similar incidents which I referred to the PPO have received the Hanson treatment previously causing me to write to Newcomen begging for help, only to be ignored, showing this to not be a rouge element within the organisation but deliberate policy.
Speaking further on complaints of assault by staff Newcomen said: 'They are, however, among the most serious and important complaints that I receive as they go to the heart of the humanity and legitimacy of the prison system'. This statement may go some way to explain the refusal to process such complaints professionally; the result would display the total lack of humanity and legitimacy which is not politically convenient at this time to expose, and so the governmental body which is the PPO takes steps to avoid doing so.
Newcomen's hypocrisy in the press release accompanying the bulleting did not end there: 'Ensuring independent investigations into allegations of physical abuse is, therefore, essential to maintaining safety and giving assurance of the proper treatment of those in custody'. Why was I forced to appeal to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman about the outright cover-up by the PPO into the assault I sustained at Woodhill in 2008 (Case Number: 36928)? Why am I still waiting for an investigation into another assault on the PPO's books since 2010 (Case Number: 42278)? Why has another investigation been buried in 'final stages of quality review' once I highlighted the lies in the draft report back in 2012 (Case Number: 43627)? Why have all my attempts to have another assault investigated been sabotaged by PPO personnel (Case Numbers: 58594 and 62895)? Why when investigations have been completed have they been so poor and lacking draft reports requiring my requests for the findings to be reviewed, has all my correspondence been ignored (Case Numbers, 61779, 63279 and another whose reference eludes me)? Why have I still not been furnished with the draft report I was told to complete a year ago and all my correspondence on a connected matter failed to result in any action (Case Numbers: 63383 and 67863)? Why did the PPO refuse to investigate a complaint of torture when exposed in a public article, then only look at the failure of the prisons to deal with a complaint and send it back to them to do so, then ignore all attempts to refer it back to the PPO (Case Number: 50759). And this list of questions are solely about the most serious complaints of physical abuse, it is beyond this article to mention the rest of the PPO's failings....
Newcomen claims: 'My investigations also ensure that staff are held to account for misbehavior and I have had to recommend disciplinary action on a number of occasions'. Without the power to enforce these recommendations, this governmental body is toothless yet portrays itself as a fearless tiger, more reason why only the most basic and mild recommendations are ever made in the circumstances of each case if any at all. Were the PPO to want increased powers, its' leader would not release such statements misleading people to believe they are currently all-mighty. But even if the PPO were endowed with the required powers to enable them to fulfill their role competently, bringing the desperately needed improvements to the prison system, this would not be sufficient to ensure they complete their job professionally.
Following the first round of governmental budget cuts to befall the PPO, the shared building of Ashley House, which was home to several prison observer organisations including the PPO, Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) was abandoned. Initially the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) was considered as the potential new HQ location for the PPO, relinquishing all pretence of their independence image, but negative publicity undermined their ability to function whilst sharing a building with those are the protagonist of all the PPO's investigations. Office buddies writing reports criticising each other is so obviously a sham that the PPO took to withholding their address and setting up a PO Box which all correspondence must pass through. Although they then found alternative residence, the PPO has continued to maintain secrecy over their whereabouts insisting upon the PO Box. I telephoned the PPO to question this, only to be told that 'due to the nature of the work we do, the ombudsman do not reveal our location', and further probing to clarify the difference between the days of Ashley House and now were awkward, slippery replies which placed the reason at the feet of Newcomen. Unwilling to give up, I recalled once receiving a letter from the PPO in an envelope with the frank 'Rose Court', so pursued enquiries with several evasive PPO employees until one slipped up leaving me able to secure confirmation that this is in-fact their residence. With some basic investigative work I was able to discover the truth behind the concealment, the PPO's hideout again exposes their lack of independence, as it is shared with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the very people responsible for removing the liberty of prisoners. This is obviously entirely inappropriate which the PPO are aware of hence the PO Box, but the fact it has been supported by them I suggested is a more serious reflection upon their integrity.
To be clear, there are several excellent investigators of the PPO, however working within a corrupted structure with management who are so blatantly suffering with venality towards the government and MOJ results in the serious issues like use of force being covered-up as seen by the most recent press release from Nigel Newcomen. In order to force change a protest demonstration has therefore been organised outside their HQ on Thursday 21st July 2016, between 12.30pm and 2.30pm, all those who support prisoners or are disgraced by this appalling situation please make your way at the time to: Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HS. Serious assaults are criminal, not 'misbehaviour', and a recommendation for disciplinary action is wholly inadequate redress. It is time that the PPO were unable to avoid performing it's much needed job and held to account for it's outrageous failings, only through a big enough display of disapproval will this be possible.
Thanks to everyone in advance who makes it and promotes this event, we need your support and appreciate the efforts you go to.
Close Supervision Centre
WF2 9AG
www.justiceforkevan.com
www.Facebook.com/JusticeForKev
Support Kev by joining the protest:
Thursday 21 July 12.30pm – 2.30pm
Outside the offices of the Prison Ombudsman and Independent Monitoring Board, Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HS
OR sign the petition on: www.Facebook.com/JusticeForKev
Protest Against Close Supervision Centres, July 21
A secret world exists within the high security prison estate in England, known as the Close Supervision Centre (CSC) system. It is notorious amongst the few who know of it, a place only the most unfortunate men ever see. Reports of serious mistreatment and torture are routine from the victims detained within the CSC, but almost nothing is ever done about the biggest demonstration of inhumanity to take place in this country.
In order to excuse this torture chamber, the dehumanisation of CSC prisoners begins at a very early stage of official justifications for the creation of the CSC system, which focus on the need to contain a new breed of unmanageable and unpredictable risks. It continues with the creation of classificatory categories of 'dangerousness' which objectify prisoners and make more of the category and less of the human in them, and it is reinforced by the tightly controlled and highly regulated routines in CSC's, treating prisoners as highly dangerous creatures, capable of superhuman acts of violence – not quite human and in need of the extreme oppression the CSC provides.
When it comes to the 'worst of the worst', isolation is wrongly seen as a necessity but insufficient measure by prison management. In addition to isolation and extremely restricted movements, prisoner in-cell provisions and their belongings are carefully regulated and subjected to relentless scrutiny and inspection. Detailed attention to security concerns are always maintained even though the majority of these concerns are baseless, and daily operations and procedures are pre-planned according to worse-case scenarios. Prisoners remain in CSC units for years, decades even, made frustrated, angry and bored by their experiences with few avenues to vent their anger and with almost no opportunities to advance through the system. All perceived acts of disobedience or non-compliance by CSC prisoners, even of the most minor or petty, are responded to forcefully and brutally by gangs of prison officers clad in full riot gear who show no mercy when regaining complete control and demonstrating their authority and power, sanctioned by Prison Service management at the highest levels. The official reason for all forms of hypercontrol over CSC prisoners are security considerations, but rather than controlling violence, as they officially aim to do, such highly controlled environments breed it as well as causing severe suffering for prisoners.
Since CSC guards are directly authorised to perform acts involving the use of force and over-diligence in carrying out their tasks is always tolerated if not encouraged by their superiors, they do not need to engage in soul-searching moral assessment of the treatment of prisoners labeled as the 'worst-of-the-worst'. The social distancing between 'us' and 'them' instilled by the CSC training provided to prison officers urged to see themselves as a 'team', and environment of the CSC allows for the treatment of prisoners in a way that would have been inconceivable had the guards viewed them as people like themselves. As Garland (1990) found "……professional penal agents [who] tend to represent themselves in a positive, utilitarian way, as offering a particular service, or carrying out a useful social task, as a way of avoiding bad conscience and cultural infancy", are unlikely to come forward with the truth of how badly they treat CSC prisoners or take the necessary steps to improve the conditions within these hell-holes.
On top of the brutality is the psychological assault on CSC prisoners which works in two parallel dimensions, isolation increases levels of frustration and anxiety, and it also decreases the available avenues for relaxing such tensions. A study by McCleery (1961) noted that over time, symptoms experienced by isolated prisoners are likely to mature into either homicidal or suicidal behaviour. Rather than controlling violence then, CSC confinement leads to irritability, anger, and violent outbursts which can seem unprovoked.
Having now spent 6 years subjected to the unofficial punishment of allocation to the CSC myself, it is clear that without real pressure to force the required change nothing but more negative and oppressive measures will be added. With it known that "oppression and ugliness can only lead to alienation and aggression" Fairweather (2000), it makes you wonder if Prison Service management want this or are too stupid to consider the impact of their actions. With the way the media were manipulated following the suicide of Joanne Latham on the CSC last year, maybe the arrogance of the management leads them to believes that whatever the consequences of the CSC system, they can deal with them as they have done since it was created in 1998.
Please lend your support for the abolition of the CSC system by attending the protest demonstration on Thursday 21, July between 12.30pm and 2.30pm, and sign the petition on www.change.org/p/justice-for-kevan
Together we can make a difference.
An Appeal For Support For Kevan Thakrar – Written By John Bowden
Investigating division and conflict amongst the poorest and most oppressed as a means of control has always been a favoured strategy of the ruling class and within it's prisons (the laboratories of oppression) where the most disempowered experience naked repression the weapon of divide and conquer is sometimes used with murderous effect.
Within the British prison system there exist prisons within prisons, places of concentrated repression where "troublemakers" and those who fight back are sent to be broken, and where those who inflict the repression encourage prisoners to take the rage created by that repression out on each other, thereby generating an unending cycle of violence, which is used to justify the use of even greater repression.
In 1998 the first "Close Supervision Centre" (CSC), based on the American prison "Special Management Unit" concept, was opened in Woodhill prison in Milton Keynes to hold what the prison authorities claimed were the system's most "disruptive and dangerous" prisoners, or those prisoners who fought back and encouraged others to do the same. Concentrating such prisoners in a single physical space or unit confronted those staffing it with an obvious dilemma: how to subdue and control such a group? Predictably, an unimaginatively brutal approach was adopted – a total lock-down regime blended with overt physical brutality. The response of the prisoners "selected" for such brutality was collective resistance in the form of dirty protests and total non-cooperation, to which the permanently riot-gear clad staff responded with greater brutality, resulting eventually in an atmosphere and environment of total warfare. In 2000 the chief inspectorate of prisons following an inspection of the Woodhill CSC described conditions there as a clear breach of the European Convention of Human Rights, forcing the prison authorities to implement at least superficial changes to it's regime. Prison psychologists were now used to legitimate the CSC regime by pathologising the resistance of the prisoners and introducing a pavlovian behaviour-modification regime; compliant behaviour by prisoners would now be rewarded with "progression" to less austere and brutalising conditions within the CSC, including limited free-association periods outside their cells. Staff "supervising" the prisoners were now instructed to "engage" with them as opposed to overtly brutalising them, although the relationship of power remained dependent on physical force and the use of brutality when necessary.
To guards long conditioned and accustomed to exerting control by straight-forward brutality the very slight relaxation of the CSC regime represented a threat to the ability to maintain absolute control, while having to now "engage" with as a group prisoners who they had formally brutalised as isolated individuals clearly unnerved them. Fearful of now becoming a target for angry and embittered prisoners they instigated and fermented animosity between and amongst those prisoners and then used the slightly relaxed regime to facilitate physical violence between some prisoners; placing sufficiently "wound-up" prisoners in the small outside exercise pen together ensured the channelling of rage and violence and it's expend amongst prisoners themselves. On one occasion this resulted in the near death of a prisoner.
Whilst the regime operating in the Woodhill CSC might have been slightly modified to allow prisoners to "progress" back to the prison mainstream providing they showed a sufficiently cooperative attitude, the CSC at Wakefield prison is reserved for those prisoners who will probably never leave it's confines. The emphasis at the Wakefield CSC is one of straightforward containment and control, so prisoners there are simply entombed in their cells and allowed no human interaction whatsoever; it is a regime and form of treatment that defies and concept or convention of basic human rights.
Kevan Thakrar, currently held in the Wakefield CSC, is a prisoner who has experienced and endured many years of brutal and inhumane treatment at the hands of prison staff who are determined to destroy him. Cleared by a jury in 2012 of allegedly assaulting prison staff and more recently by the CPS for a similar allegation, Kevan has become a target of victimisation by the Prison Officers Association and it's members who staff the CSC system. Whilst held in the Woodhill CSC Kevan, who was supposedly on a permanent lock down regime, was unlocked and allowed out of his cell one afternoon with surprisingly few guards present. Understandably suspicious, Kevan soon discovered the reason for the guards apparent lassitude; unlocked too was a dangerous mentally ill prisoner. Kevan immediately engaged the prisoner in conversation and eventually encouraged him to abandon his intention to do the guards bidding by attacking Kevan. Their plan frustrated the guards re-materialised and returned Kevan to his cell and permanent lock down again.
Following an unrelenting barrage of legal actions against the prison authorities challenging his placement in the Woodhill CSC, which included an independent psychology report strongly recommending his return to the mainstream prison population on medical grounds, Kevan was transferred to the even more psychologically brutalising environment of the Wakefield CSC. The intention was clear: to bury Kevan permanently in an end of the line hell hole and allow those "supervising" it to do whatever was necessary to break his sanity and spirit of resistance.
Held within the Wakefield CSC are not just prisoners who have fought and resisted the system; some are there for acts of prisoner on prisoner violence, some of whom are hard-core racists. It was from this small group that the guards staffing the Wakefield CSC recruited for their campaign of psychological harassment against Kevan. The message communicated to these willing helpers was their assistance would be rewarded with eventual "progression" to a less austere place of confinement. Kevan's mixed race heritage now became the focus of this quisling group's racism, expressed in constant verbal abuse and threats shouted from cell windows, as well as the throwing of urine from windows at Kevan when he exercised in the small yard just below the cell windows. The response of the guards supposedly "supervising" the place was to laugh and encourage even more the racist behaviour and abuse. Those supposedly managing the Wakefield CSC, senior managers, psychologists, etc., are apparently content to allow uniformed staff "supervising" the day to day lives of the prisoners held there absolute discretion in how their power is used or abused, providing absolute control is maintained.
As a result, Kevan now faces a daily struggle against not only a de-humanising regime of solitary confinement and sensory deprivation enforced by openly hate filled guards, but also the constant racist verbal abuse of those keen to win the favour of their masters.
We must do whatever we can to support that struggle and let Kevan's captors and oppressors know that he is not alone.
Please write or e-mail to the following protesting at Kevan's treatment:
HM Prison Service Headquarters
Clive House
70 Petty France
SW1H 9EX
public.enquiries@noms.gsi.gov.uk
The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Ministry of Justice,
102 Petty France,
general.queries@justice.gsi.gov.uk
Governor: David Harding
HMP Wakefield
5 Love Lane
Independent Monitoring Board for HMP Wakefield
Post Point 9.52,
The Tower,
Please write letters of support to:
Kevan Thakrar
A4907AE
Protest For Kevan Thakrar On February 18
JOIN THE PROTEST
Thursday Feb 18, 12:30-2:30 pm [changed times]
Clive House, 70 Petty France London SW1H 9EX
- Nearest Station: St James's Park underground station, a 5 minute walk to Clive house.
- Buses: Any buses stopping at New Scotland Yard then continue along Victoria Street then turn left on to Caxton Street then turn right on to Palmer Street, continue until you will reach Petty France.
Kevan Thakrar Urgently Needs Your Support!
Kevan Thakrar was found not guilty of attacking three prison officers and vindicated by evidence that showed he acted in self-defence after months of racial, physical and psychological abuse. Any court ruling that goes against prison officers is VERY unusual. Kevan continues to be held in isolation in the prison services 'Close Supervision Centres' more than six years later, no doubt as retribution for his court victory. [See more info about Kevan's wrongful conviction and fight for a new trial below].
Organised by Justice for Kevan Thakrar. For more info:
www.justiceforkevan.com www.facebook.com/JusticeForKev
If you can't make it to London for the protest please try to find the time to write to your own MP or Kevan's (Ian Stewart MP). When writing to any MP the address to use is: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA, or you can contact them on-line at www.writetothem.com
Sign the petition for Kev:
www.change.org/p/justice-for-kevan...
· Kevan Thakrar was wrongly convicted of murder and attempted murder in 2008 under "joint enterprise", the legal rule which means that any member of a group can be convicted of a crime, regardless of whether they committed it. Kevan wasn't present when the murder took place, but he was sentenced to life with a minimum of 35 years in jail. He was aged 20.
· The description of the assailant given by witnesses was nothing like Kevan. One of the victims, who the prosecution accused Kevan of having stabbed, initially falsely identified other people in two line-ups. Even when testifying during the trial, she said she could not be sure the identification of Kevan was correct.
· False statements from people who never appeared in court, who live in Cyprus, and who had never met Kevan, were used to convict him. After the trial those people retracted their statements.
· There was no DNA, cell-citing or forensics to put Kevan at the scene of the crime. Evidence that Kevan was elsewhere at the time was never presented in court. Kevan's alibi witness was threatened by police to stop him testifying. He was then charged with assisting an offender, a charge that was dropped once Kevan was found guilty.
· A family member of one of the victims who gave evidence against Kevan was himself believed to be involved in the murders. After he received a low sentence for dealing in large quantities of drugs, questions were raised about whether he was offered a deal to incriminate Kevan.
· Two trials were abandoned because of jury bias. In the third, a juror knew one of the investigating police officers who gave key controversial testimony in court.
· Kevan was assaulted by prison staff just before trial so had to attend court with serious injuries. In March 2010, Kevan himself was charged with assaulting prison officers, and put in solitary confinement but was subsequently found not guilty of the assault.
· Kevan has been held ever since in solitary confinement – under "close supervision" in the British version of "supermax", locked in his cell for 23 hours a day.
For a more detailed description of this gross miscarriage of justice, please go to justiceforkevan.com
1. Write to the Secretary of State for Justice and Criminal Cases Review Commission (www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/ccrc) demanding a review of the case.
2. Publicise Kevan's case by printing this leaflet for distribution and raise his case and the issue of solitary confinement of prisoners in the press/call-ins/blogs and list serves.
3. WRITE TO KEVAN AND TELL HIM WHAT YOU ARE DOING TO SUPPORT HIS CASE AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS:
HMP Wakefield, 5 Love Lane, Wakefield, WF2 9AG
or via www.emailaprisoner.com
Victory For Osman Evcan On Day 45 Of His Hunger Strike
Osman Evcan gained the victory from the determined struggle in which he put his life against the state inside the thick walls of prison which he is enclosed. Osman, got everything he demanded through this hard period without surrendering to the state. Osman Evcan ended his indefinite hunger strike which took 45 days against intimidation, torture and extermination politics against prisoners and again he proved us that how he is right about his call to raise the struggle. He continued his resistance resolutely by choosing to die with honor and this is the only reason why his demands are accepted. The State's "punishment" system and their officials that made comrade Osman Evcan suffer hunger for 45 days and tortured him are our enemies. The recognised demands of Osman Evcan are not a matter of grace, instead that is the end of torturous practices. Torture is a state policy. He is grateful to everyone who have held demonstrations, spoken up, and gave support for Osman Evcan's cause. Osman Evcan is now trying to get over the adverse effects of the hunger strike process, and his present health condition is fine. We will share the message from Osman Evcan soon.
ABC Istanbul
Osman Evcan Is On Hunger Strike Again
Despite the oppressions like exile, naked body search, cameras in cells, banning of letters and visitors, blocking vegan food; Osman Evcan didn't took a step back and he has started his indefinite hunger strike starting from the 22 February, 2016. Because fear, submission and consenting, crushes the bodies under the heaviness of power of the state. State's efforts to depersonalise political individuals with systematic pressures, should be smashed under Osman's resistance. There is no middle way with the state who is establishing the policy of eliminating the prisoners on price-punishment order. Osman Evcan's struggle is towards the authority. Only way to prove that he does not obey the authority, he does not accept the authority, is to setting forth his body. They can only destroy and divide political identities with murder, not with prison practices.
We summon everyone to share Osman Evcan's struggle, who is fighting against state, surveillance and control, whether outside or inside.
İnsurrection is essential for freedom to come into leaf.
Fire to the cells!
Anarchist Prisoner Osman Evcan Has Won His Fight
Osman Evcan and Hasan Çınar gained the victory from the determined struggle which they put their lives against the state inside the thick walls of prison which they are enclosed. Osman and Hasan, got what they demanded through this hard period. [Osman's demands included the right for all vegan-vegetarian prisoners get vegan food, for sick prisoners to be released, and an end to discrimination against LGBT prisoners.] Osman Evcan ended his indefinite hunger strike which took 39 days against intimidation and extermination politics against prisoners in prison and again he proved us that how he is right about his call to raise struggle.
We celebrate Osman Evcan who has proved that the thick walls that are built in order to revitalise the new "terrorist" wave that the Turkish state needed and the legitimise further operations cannot obstacle anarchists at all. The "punishment" system and their officials that made comrade Osman Evcan suffer hunger for 39 days and tortured him are our enemies. The recognised demands of Osman Evcan and Hasan Çınar are not matter of grace, instead that is the end of torturous practices. Torture is the state policy. We are grateful to everyone who have held demonstrations, spoken up, and support for Osman Evcan's cause. Osman Evcan is now trying to get over the adverse effects of the hunger strike process, and his present health condition is fine. We will share the message from Osman Evcan and Hasan Çınar soon.
Call For International Solidarity With Osman Evcan On December 5
Osman Evcan is resisting authority as an anarchist against speciecism for uninterrupted 23 years in state prisons. Osman Evcan supports the struggle for animal liberation as an anarchist since 2003. He has been a name for us, who voices the demand for total freedom against ecological destruction, hunger, poverty, carnage and war policies created by the state and capitalism.
Osman Evcan is recently located in Kandıra Kocaeli F-Type Prison No. 1 after being exiled to almost all the prisons in Turkey for resisting and never bending his head against systematically and continuously imposed intimidation. Osman Evcan's and all political prisoners most basic and vital right to a healthy diet according to their preference and will is blocked by the prison management with the knowledge and instructions of the Ministry of Justice. As a result of Osman Evcan's 43 day long hunger strike in 2011, he won the right to a vegan-vegetarian food in prisons for all the vegan-vegetarian prisoners and this right was secured through a issued legislation. Osman Evcan moved a step forward in this fight in the last period. He held an other hunger strike for 33 days ending on June 26 which resulted in victorie demanding, in addition to making the vegan-vegetarian dishes prepared by fresh and seasonal vegetables, to be able to get vegan food from external suppliers.
Despite his advanced age and his worn-out body as a result of these actions, Osman Evcan continues his struggle and resistance today to open a space of freedom for all vegan, vegetarian and political prisoners coming after himself, without the fear of the costs he had to paid. After the last November elections in the geography of Turkey with the approval of the hegemony of Islamic fascism of AKP, in this oppressive climate Osman Evcan also got his share and all the rights and benefits of a vegan diet gained as a result of a continuous fight and struggle was taken from him. The reason behind the lasting mistreatment and abuse of rights of Osman Evcan, who is holding a ongoing indefinite hunger strike since November 10th is obvious. The reason is his anarchists ideas and behavior, which does not silence against authoritarian violence and injustice.
We are going to Kocaeli No.1 Prison for solidarity and to support Osman Evcan and the resistance which intensified in his personality. We are launching to announce that behind the prison walls Osman is not alone in his indefinite hunger strike for acquiring back the full vested rights and the delivery of vegan meal to Osman Evcan. We call all anarchists, animal libertion advocates and individuals fighting for total freedom to rise solidarity and resistance, which is being tried to be made passive and ineffective in the shadow of entrenched and conservative political memorisation and to protest against state's institutional, organised torture units, the prisons. We urge you to raise our voice!!
We call all our comrades in different parts of Turkey and worldwide in animal liberation movements around the globe as well as human rights activists to hold any kind of actions in front of the representational establishments of Turkey in their countries, It can be call-ins, street demos, embassies or trade chamber or anything else you would like to do as an act of solidarity and support!
Now is the time to act!!
We are Protesting in front of Kocaeli Kandira F-Type Prison No.1 Demanding Vegan Food for Osman Evcan on December 5, 2015 !!
ABC İstanbul
Urgent Medical Campaign For Robert Seth Hayes
As people know, ensuring that Robert Seth Hayes receives adequate medical care has been an ongoing struggle over the past 20 years. Seth reports that, when he went to change the sensor on his insulin pump (sensors must be changed every 6 days) on February 23, 2018, he was informed that Sullivan did not have any sensors at the facility.
So for almost two weeks now, Seth does not have a continuous glucose monitoring device (the sensor continuously reads interstitial glucose levels and relays them to the monitor) and has had to rely on his daily finger sticks to determine his sugar levels. Once again, NYS DOCCS is violating Seth's constitutional and human right to adequate health care, in additon to being in stark violation to the United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules on the treatment of prisoners.
The whole point of Seth's having the insulin pump/monitor is because he can no longer tell when his sugars are high or low. It is hard to believe that "medical" personnel at Sullivan have once again failed to order the necessary sensors in a timely fashion.
Please call, write and fax the following people to demand that all supplies for Robert Seth Hayes #74A2280's insulin pump be adequately stocked at the Sullivan clilnic. Be polite but firm. Feel free to email nycjericho@gmail.com to let us know what response you receive. Staff at Sullivan usually state that Superintendent Keyser will not take phone calls and that all complaints must be in writing. If that is the case, ask to speak with guidance and ask for Seth's counsellor.
Carl J. Koenigsmann M.D.
Deputy Commissioner/Chief Medical Officer
NYS DOCCS Division of Health Services
Harriman State Campus, Building #2
Albany, New York 12226-2050
Phone: (010) 518-457-7073
Carl.Koenigsmann@doccs.ny.gov
Anthony J. Annucci
Acting Commissioner
commissioner@doccs.ny.gov
Superintendent Keyser
Sullivan Correctional Facility
Fallsburg, New York 12733
Emergency Campaign For Robert Seth Hayes!
Just heard from Seth this evening. He had an incident last night, apparently low sugars again. He woke up at around 1 a.m. and his bathrobe was on the floor. He reached over to get it and fell out of bed onto the floor. He was then unable to get up, with his arms and legs flailing about. (Seth also suffers from diabetic neuropathy in his legs.)
He managed to drag himself over to the toilet and used that to somehow pull himself up. It did not occur to him to call out and let folk know he was in trouble. (This happens when his sugars drop, since it affects his thinking.) This morning, he found his glasses in the toilet.
Anyway, he went back to bed and slept for a while. Then he woke up because he was freezing (because his sugars were so low), so he ate a couple of peanut butter cookies and went back to sleep.
In the morning, his sugars were 150. But after breakfast his sugars were over 300 at 11 a.m. In response to this, they apparently put too much insulin into his bolus.
He ate all of his lunch plus a couple more cookies, and his sugars were only 87 when the took them at 4 p.m. So Dr. Wolf said, "You didn't eat enough!" and Seth told her he had eaten all of his food. Then the nurse said, "This pump doesn't work for you."
Whether it is medical incompetence or something else, this is the same thing that happened in the past, giving Seth too much insulin when his sugars are high and then having his sugars become too low. Obviously, medical staff at Sullivan are doing the same thing as when Seth was getting insulin injections. When his sugars are high, they give him too much insulin, and then his sugars become too low. This happened again today. Seth's sugars were almost 400 at 11:30 a.m. So the bollus insulin was too much, and Seth's sugars were at 56 at 4:30 p.m., despite having eaten his entire lunch plus some high sugar items.
Clearly, staff at Sullivan need additional training in the use of the insulin pump. Also, Seth needs to have the monitor as soon as possible as a life-saving measure, as well as the manual for the insulin pump/monitor.
CALL SULLIVAN AT (010) 845-434-2080
Ask to speak with the Superintendent. This will probably not happen. but you can state your concerns to whomever answers the phone. Be sure to get their name.
You can state the following: I am calling on behalf of Robert Seth Hayes, number 74A2280. I am a friend of Mr. Hayes, and am very concerned for his health and well-being. Although Mr. Hayes finally received his insulin pump a while ago, he has not yet been given the accompanying monitor. Additionally, his sugars have been ranging from almost 400 down to as low as 56 within 12 hours.
Since Mr. Hayes can no longer tell when his sugars are high or low, he must be given the monitor as soon as possible as a life-saving measure.
Also, if you work in the healthcare field, let Sullivan know if you are a Doctor, Nurse, Paramedic, EMT, etc. This has an impact. If you, a family member or loved one has diabetes, you know how important this is.
Please let us know what day you called and what response you received. Encourage all of your friends, family and co-workers to call as well. Send us an email at nycjericho@gmail.com.
Write to Seth:
Robert Seth Hayes #74A2280
Sullivan C.F.
Fallsburg, NY 12733-0116, USA.
Send him a get well card or write him a letter. Seth loves corresponding with people, and it also shows the prison that people are paying attention.
Anne Lamb
NYC Jericho Movement
Seth wants to start a campaign about the issue of the COs, not the doctor and nurses, making medical decisions in the infirmary. Sullivan is supposed to be a regional medical hub, but the doctor and nurses are mostly upstairs in the clinic, and the COs are running the show in the infirmary. I will write this up in a follow-up shortly.
To contribute to ongoing efforts supporting Robert Seth Hayes, please donate online at:
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/810a58
Update On Political Prisoner Robert Seth Hayes
As people know, Seth has been having serious problems with his blood sugar levels in the past month, especially since finally receiving the insulin pump. While the process of properly calibrating the pump is rather complex, there has also apparently been some medical incompetence in the use of the pump (without the monitor).
Seth's sugars have, if anything, always tended to run too low, leading to incidents of him passing out, having "Code Blues" called, and being rushed to an outside hospital on an emergency basis. However, since the installation of the pump, his sugars have been running high (in the 200+ to 400+ range). In one recent incident, the infusion set was improperly inserted, and Seth was receiving no insulin whatsoever. His sugars were in the 500-600 range, which is life-threatening.
After one of the nurses arbitrarily removed the pump more than a week ago, stating that Seth was "too delicate" to have it, Dr. Wolf (the prison doctor) has been very concerned, since this is totally undermining her authority as a physician. This occurred during a weekend, when Dr. Wolf is not at Sullivan. (Also, the pump was removed, but the infusion set was still inserted into Seth's body for 2 days after that. Luckily, he did not develop an infection.)
Dr. Wolf had Seth in the "infirmary" all last week, and that is where I visited him on Father's Day. The last time I visited Seth when he was in the "infirmary," he was allowed to come up to the regular visiting room. However, this time I had to visit in the "infirmary," which was an educational experience for me. When I arrived to the visiting room, the Sergeant called down to the "infirmary" to ask if Seth could come up to the visiting room. I also asked if I could at least bring down some water and light snackage, and was told that I could not.
When I was on the elevator to the infirmary, I asked the CO, who was not wearing his name badge, when visiting was over, and he told me "We will kick you out of here at 2 p.m." This was fine with me, as the bus driver had requested we all come out with the 2:30 escort.
So Seth and I are in a locked glass-walled small visiting room right in front of the COs' desk. At around 11:30 a.m., the technician came to do the finger stick. He was very professional, placing the vial of insulin on the table so Seth (and I) could see exactly what he was being injected with. Seth stated that his sugars had been at 70 in the morning, but the fingerstick monitor showed his sugars were 280+. The technician then injected him with 6cc of insulin.
So, the standard practice is that the patient is to eat shortly after receiving the insulin, even if the sugars are high. This is to prevent a precipitous drop and allow for a gradual decline in the sugars. Since the food cart had gone by shortly before that, we had to make sure that Seth got his lunch. Luckily, one of the nurses happened to arrive at that time, and I knocked on the glass to gain her attention. I asked for the lunch tray, but she could not hear me, so I made an eating motion, and she went down to the hall to speak with the COs, and then shook her head. So I made the motion of Seth getting an injection, and she nodded her head and the CO arrived with the food tray within 5 minutes. So kudos to the nurse who did the right thing and did not let herself be intimidated!
So I finally got to see the infamous "Class B" diet that Dr. Koenigsmann insists is an adequate diabetic diet. I don't know where he went to medical school, but he obviously doesn't know much about diabetes and nutrition. The lunch consisted of white pasta, a large hamburger on a white roll (with ketchup), and beets, all of which were cold by the time Seth got to eat. (Of course, since Seth's sugars are high, let's make sure we give him even more sugar!)
Since they keep giving Seth milk with every meal even though he is lactose intolerant (Seth has had diarrhoea off and on for almost a week), I took the little milk container. This caused the CO (same one who brought me down to the infirmary on the elevator: a tall, slim white guy with glasses) to leap out from behind the desk, rush into the visiting room and come within an inch of physically assaulting me. He was screaming at me "That's what I thought! You did this on purpose so you can eat his food!" with his fists up as if he was going to hit me. I haven't seen anyone so enraged in a long time. I remained calm and replied, "I was told when I came in that I could not bring anything to eat in here. I'm only drinking the milk because Seth is lactose intolerant, and this gives him diarrhoea." The thought of anyone actually wanting to eat this food (which I would not serve even to a rat) was so hilarious that Seth and I burst out laughing. We couldn't help ourselves. We were laughing so hard we were practically in tears. Meanwhile, CO FNU LNU (First Name Unknown Last Name Unknown) quickly locked the bathroom door before once again locking us into the visiting room and Seth literally forced himself to eat the hamburger and some of the beets.
Since the inside bathroom was locked, I asked to use the bathroom and thus got an informal tour of the infirmary. One thing I can certainly say is that it is freezing in there. Seth said that luckily, since all the beds are not occupied, he can grab an extra blanket from one of them.
Since I had been told by this same CO when I came in that visiting in the infirmary ended at 2 p.m., I was not concerned about the time, but it certainly seemed longer than it should have been. (There is no clock.) When the escort came to get me, it was already 3 p.m., so of course that meant I was late for the bus. I guess this was FNU LNU's petty revenge for me having made sure, with the assistance of the nurse, that Seth was given his food (if you can call it that) in a timely manner. So I commented to the escort that I was late for my bus, and she replied, "That's your responsibility.' I replied, "Well, since I was told that infirmary visitation ends at 2 p.m., and since I have not yet developed the ability to pass through locked doors and walls, there wasn't too much I could do about it."
So I went back up to the regular visiting room with this young woman CO and waited for the rest of the visitors who were there. As we were walking out, we visitors were conversing. People asked where I had been, and I explained that we were visiting in the infirmary, where visitation is supposed to end at 2 p.m. I also commented the FNU LNU seemed to be hyperactive and extremely aggressive and possibly should be given some antipsychotic medication to calm him down.
When I finally arrived outside, it was 3:15 p.m. and the bus was not there. Since the prison now insists we cannot even put our cell phones in the lockers, my phone was also on the bus. I nice woman offered me a ride if I was going toward Albany, and I replied: "Oh, the bus probably went to Woodbourne to pick up people there and will come back for me." Then I saw the bus coming up the hill. Jeff, the bus driver, said the COs said to leave me behind, and I said, "Yes, they did that once at Mohawk when a visitor was caught in the count and they wouldn't let him leave. I went inside to see what the delay was, and the COs said to leave without him. I replied; "You are COs. You do that. We are community; we don't leave our people behind." Jeff smiled and said, "Exactly. I've been doing this for 30 years and have never left anyone stranded in the middle of nowhere!"
Seth called as I was getting off the bus in the Bronx to see how I was doing. He was concerned because I had not had anything to eat. So I told him not to worry about that and asked what his sugars were at 4 p.m. At that time, his sugars were at 202, but if he hadn't eaten, they probably would have been at around 60 or 70. Seth is to see Dr. Wolf today, June 19, 2017, to discuss the current situation and see what next steps are. Of course, Seth wants to have the insulin pump and monitor and so does the endocrinologist at Coxsackie.
We have an update from Seth this evening, Monday, June 19, 2017 on the outcome of that conversation with Dr. Wolf. When I asked him what his sugars were today, he told me that not everyone is as professional as the technician who was there on Sunday, and he was not told what his glucose level was. He is still in the infirmary, but hopes to be out of there soon. In the meantime, people can write to Seth:
Fallsburg, NY 12733-0116
USA.
Also, you can call the facility at (010) 845-434-2080. Ask to speak with the Superintendent and state you are concerned about Robert Seth Hayes #74A2280. Be polite but firm and say you are calling to make sure Seth gets the insulin pump and monitor returned to him as a life-saving measure for his diabetes.
NYC Jericho received word on May 9, 2017 from Seth's lawyer, Eve Rosahn, that his Article 78 appeal of his parole denial was also denied. You can read the decision here.
Continuing Urgent Medical Campaign For Robert Seth Hayes
PLEASE CALL, WRITE AND FAX!
MONDAY, FEB. 13 THRU FRIDAY FEB. 17, 2017
Seth suffered another Diabetic Coma or Code Blue on Feb. 5, 2017. This time he fell so hard he broke a tooth and opened a cut above his eye. He reports that he awoke in the shower in a pool of blood and does not really remember passing out. He was taken to the nearest outside hospital with a possible fractured skull, which was ruled out. Seth did suffer a severe concussion and is still having headaches as a result of this. He was kept in the so-called infirmary at Sullivan for two days for observation. Seth reports that being in the infirmary is like being in SHU, all by himself with two COs constantly present and no witnesses except the nurses, who do everything the COs tell them to.
Seth is also concerned because the medical personnel at Sullivan have told him that, even if he gets the insulin pump, he will still need to be monitored three times a day. This is leading Seth to believe that he will be getting an insulin pump without a monitor, which is not what the endocrinologist at Coxsackie told him back in October. Seth absolutely wants the pump with the monitor, as he can no longer tell when his sugars are high or low. He feels that having an insulin pump without the monitor may actually worsen his current situation.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO DEMAND THE INSULIN PUMP/MONITOR AS A LIFE-SAVING MEASURE FOR SETH.
Seth has been suffering from uncontrolled diabetes for over 16 years now. His sugars go up to the 400's, then down so low he falls into a diabetic coma. Each diabetic coma he goes into could end in death if not noticed and treated right away or from a fall such as the one that occurred today.
We are asking that Seth be given an insulin pump/sugar monitor immediately to avert these near fatal incidents. He had consultation with an endocrinologist at Coxsackie in early October 2016 and was told the paperwork to receive a insulin pump would be pushed immediately. On November 20, 2016 Seth wrote a grievance stating he has not heard anything. He has still not received any response to this grievance almost 3 months later. Despite the endocrinologist's recommendation, call in campaigns, and the grievance, it is months later and still no pump.
The NYS DOCCS is completely aware of the situation and is stalling; we cannot afford to have another incident of low sugar. THIS IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH!
Seth's constant extreme fluctuations in sugar levels have led to him no longer being able to tell when his sugars are high or low. The sugar monitor sends a loud warning if his sugars are beginning to get either too high or too low and the pump allows him to use small dosages of insulin when needed along with his eating schedule and daily activity.
In addition, Seth had another incident of low sugar on Monday, November 28, 2016, and was in the infirmary for overnight observation. It really is a matter of life and death that Seth be provided with an insulin pump/sugar monitor as soon as possible.
Seth called on December 4 to state the following:
If Seth's sugars are high in the morning, he is given a dose of Levamir. If his sugars are still high at 11 a.m., he gets a dose of actual insulin. By the time his sugars are checked at 4 p.m. they are usually in the 30's, prompting an emergency response.
We therefore urge you to call, write and fax to demand immediate provision of an Insulin Pump/Sugar Monitor to Robert Seth Hayes 74A2280. Seth needs this device immediately!
The Demands
1. Immediate provision of an Insulin Pump/Sugar Monitor to Robert Seth Hayes 74A2280. Seth needs this device immediately!
2. A Diabetic Diet that consists of fresh fruits and vegetables and all the current recommendations for diabetics. Not the false diabetic diet that is currently being issued. A bologna sandwich on white bread at night is NOT A DIABETIC DIET!
We ask people to please remain calm and respectful but to be clear in these demands.
PHONE, WRITE, FAX THIS DEMAND TO:
Acting Commissioner Anthony J. Annucci
NYS Department of Corrections
and Community Supervision
Harriman State Campus, Building 2
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Or Email: https://www.governor.ny.gov/ content/governor-contact-form
Thank You for Your Time & Effort. It has and continues to make a difference!
Write to Seth and let him know he is in our hearts and on our minds:
Sullivan Correctional Facility, P.O. Box 116, Fallsburg, NY 12733-0116
Please Call, Write and Fax
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Nov. 21, 22 & 23!
Seth has been suffering from uncontrolled diabetes for over 15 years now. His sugars go up to the 400's, then down so low he falls into a diabetic coma. He has had 3 such code blue diabetic comas in the past 2 months. Each diabetic coma he goes into could end in death if not noticed and treated right away.
We are asking that Seth be given an insulin pump/sugar monitor immediately to avert these near fatal incidents. He was seen by an outside Endocrinologist in early October. The endocrinologist recommended he be issued the device. The NYS DOCCS is aware of the situation and is moving in the right direction but it is not fast enough; we cannot afford to have another incident of low sugar.
The sugar monitor sends a loud warning if his sugars are beginning to get either too high or too low and the pump allows him to use small dosages of insulin when needed along with his eating schedule and daily activity.
We therefore urge you to call, write and fax to demand immediate provision of an Insulin Pump/Sugar Monitor to Robert Seth Hayes 74A2280. We are thankful that DOCCS has been more responsive to Seth's medical needs lately, but Seth needs this device immediately!
Albany, New York 12226-2050, USA.
We are asking that Seth be given an insulin pump/sugar monitor immediately to avert these near fatal incidents. He has just recently been seen by an outside Endocrinologist who recommended he be issued the device. The NYS DOCCS is aware of the situation and is moving in the right direction but it is not fast enough; we cannot afford to have another incident of low sugar. The last coma just happened earlier this week on Monday and Seth had to spend the night in the hospital.
Please Phone, Write and Fax This Demand Today To:
Sullivan Correctional Facility, P.O. Box 116, Fallsburg, NY 12733-0116, USA.
Robert Seth Hayes Denied Again At His 10th Parole Board Hearing
Everyone was enraged to report that Political Prisoner Robert Seth Hayes received notice on June 16, 2016, that he was once again rejected by the Parole Board. This is the tenth time Seth has been to the Board, and the tenth time he has been denied, despite having an excellent record and meeting all the requirements to be released on parole.
His supporters in the US say that there will definitely be an appeal of this denial. In the meantime, please take the time to write to Seth and let him know he is in our hearts and on our minds.
Robert Seth Hayes #74-A-2280
Sullivan Correctional Facility,
Seth Hayes Health & Parole Update
Seth has been breathing much better, but his sugars are not stable, and he still has congestive heart failure. The medical staff has decided that the heart situation was more serious than previously thought and so they have scheduled him to get a pace maker. He had pre-operation tests last week and most likely is undergoing the surgery today. Seth has been encouraged by getting the operation in conversation but we know it is a very serious one and we ask just please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
Seth is coming up for parole next month June. If you are interested in writing a support letter there isn't much more time. Details are below. Thank you all for your support and please keep Seth on your minds today and send a him a card at the address below.
[see posts below for the background to Seth's situation and for further details of what you can do]
UPDATE: Seth is back in Sullivan and doing well. The pacemaker surgery went well and he was in good spirits. He had a slight fever but he said that was normal after the procedure. [15/05/16]
Robert Seth Hayes 2016 Parole Campaign
Once again, we are preparing for Seth's upcoming parole hearing on June 7, 2016. Since the PBA, the FOP, and the Correctional Officers union are able to collect thousands of signatures against parole, we must work to gain as many signatures and letters of support for Seth as possible. In addition to the online petition, there is a hard copy that can be downloaded here. Since many members of our community do not have regular access to the internet, it is important to use the hard copy and return it to us.
You can also download and print out the parole campaign brochure explaining Seth's case as a way of educating people about the political nature of the case and the parole board's constant denials despite national and international support for Seth's release on parole.
Sign the online petition to Tina M. Stanford, Chairwoman of the NYS Board of Parole, for Seth's Release on Parole in 2016!
Seth has also prepared a fact sheet for those who would like to write letters to the Parole Board on his behalf.
Support Robert Seth Hayes' 9th Parole Bid
Robert Seth Hayes has been to the New York state parole board nine times and has been denied each time. His next parole board appearance will be June 7, 2016. Each time, the board—always made of up former law enforcement personnel and former prosecutors—reviews his very impressive record, all the institutional programs participated in and completed, college attended while inside, his job offers, his numerous letters of support from family, friends, and community members from many walks of life. Seth had a petition that received over 1000 signatures at his last trip to the board.
They have before them evidence of all the ways Seth has helped so many people throughout the course of his confinement and is still leading a positive and progressive life despite being locked up now for over four decades. And then they deny him parole based on their opinion that to release him would "deprecate" the serious nature of his charge of conviction. Is this rationale not, in effect, an illegal re-sentencing to life-without-the-possibility-of parole? When one goes to trial, there is a prosecutor, one's defense attorney, a judge, and a jury. When one goes to the parole board, there is only the prosecution.
Seth has taken responsibility for his part in the Black Liberation Movement's resistance to racist authority. He has paid a great price—43+ years of imprisonment thus far. He is going to the New York state parole board for the tenth time in June 2016 and deserves to be paroled, to come home to his family and community.
If you feel you cannot write a letter to the parole board, please take the time to sign the online petition: Release Robert Seth Hayes #74A2280 on Parole in June 2016
Please write your letter to the parole board on professional letterhead.
Please indicate how you know Seth, or if you don't know him personally, how you know of him.
What it would mean to you and the community if Seth was released rather than kept inside?
State what you do for a living and any other pertinent personal details, such as where you live, as well as what ways, if any, you could help Seth, financially or emotionally.
Say why you believe Seth will not commit another crime (i.e. what you know of his personality or interests, his institutional record, etc.)
Your letter should be addressed to:
Attn: Supervising Offender Rehabilitation Coordinator
Fallsburg, New York 12733-0116
The subject line should be "Robert Seth Hayes 74A-2280"
Mail to Seth's Lawyer:
Eve Rosahn, 125 Frenchtown Road, Shohola, PA 18458.
Seth very much appreciates your efforts and your support.
Dowload the background to Seth & his appeal here.
Robert Seth Hayes Medical Update
Seth was recently at Albany Medical Center for a week and returned to Sullivan on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015. Seth has since said that he is doing much better and is in good spirits. They took a CAT scan of his heart, lungs, blood tests, which showed that there was no heart problem or lung infection; just the build up of fluids. In response there has been an adjustment made tohis diabetes treatment, changing his medication type and amount. He has also been placed on anti-clotting meds due to having to be laying down in the hospital for the entire week. As a consequence, his breath is much better but he has to build up to walking longer distances and exerting himself again, because small amounts of exertion still put him out, but he is excited to start building up strength with the way he feels now.
He of course is unhappy with how long it took to get him hospital attention and the complications that could have been avoided had they taken care of it earlier. However, he is happy to have that problem looked at given how he feels now.
Seth wished to thank all who contacted the prison and will given an update when he is able to get access his records.
Robert Seth Hayes #74-A-2280, Sullivan Correctional Facility, P.O. Box 116, Fallsburg, NY 12733-0116, USA.
To contribute to ongoing efforts supporting Robert Seth Hayes, please donate online at: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/810a58
Update On Seth Hayes - Now In Outside Hospital
Greetings Everyone, thank you all for those who called, wrote and faxed for Seth! Seth was taken to an outside hospital on Sunday morning unbeknownst to us and we have received confirmation that he is alive and undergoing tests. Though we have not heard directly from him, we are for now are going to call off the call in campaign until we find the results of these actions. We are hopeful but not naïve, we are so thankful for people's vigilance and we will keep you abreast to the situation as it unfolds. We know ultimately Seth needs to come home to get healthy. Prison life is not meant for health. He goes to parole this year for 9th time, not including other parole denials in between the two year hits. Being outside prison he could receive true medical, family, nutrition and other related aspects of life that can contribute to the immense healing process that is needed.
Urgent Need To Support Political Prisoner Robert Seth Hayes
As many of you know, Seth has had a chronic cough since May of this year for which he did not receive any diagnosis or treatment for many months.
When Seth finally saw the pulmonologist at Coxsackie on Monday, November 2, the doctor wanted to know why the medical personnel at Sullivan had waited so long to bring Seth for a pulmonary exam. The pulmonologist intends to schedule for Seth a CT scan, a CT scan of his heart, and bloodwork. The pulmonologist thought there might be some infection, but needs more info.
In addition, the facility doctor (Dr. Sidorowicz) told Seth to come to the clinic to use the nebulizer whenever he feels short of breath. Seth has been using an inhaler twice a day (Seth does not get to carry his inhaler, and so needs to go to medical when he gets short of breath) and also the nebulizer twice a day for a while now, although he does not yet have a diagnosis of the cause of this chronic cough.
On a prior occasion about 10 days ago, C.O. Slater, who was accompanying Seth to the clinic, stated that Seth did not really need the nebulizer. Then the nurses did not attend to Seth, and he had to overcome his difficulty breathing on his own.
Today, the same thing happened again, with C.O. Slater once again claiming that Seth did not really need the nebulizer. Seth passed out shortly thereafter and a Code Blue was called on him.
We need people to call Superintendent Keyser at Sullivan specifically about C.O. Slater interfering with and preventing Seth from receiving needed medical attention. This C.O. should never accompany Seth to the medical clinic again. Also ask why the nurses are not following the facility doctor's medical advice instead of paying attention to C.O. Slater.
We also need people to call and fax Dr. Koenigsmann and Nancy Lyng in Albany to demand that Seth receive all needed pulmonary tests as soon as possible and that C.O. Slater be prohibited from accompanying Seth to the clinic in the future.
This is attempted medical murder of one of our beloved freedom fighters and we must do everything possible to help Seth at this time.
Superintendent Keyser at Sullivan: (010) 845-434-2080
Dr. Koenigsmann: (010) 518-457-7073 (phone) and (010) 518-445-7553 (fax)
Nancy Lyng: (010) 518-445-6176
Seth needs visitors and letters:
Call Out For An International Week For Anarchist Prisoners
In summer 2013 members of several ABC groups discussed the necessity of introducing an International Day for Anarchist Prisoners. Given there are already established dates for Political Prisoners Rights Day or Prison Justice Day, we found it important to emphasise the stories of our comrades as well. Many imprisoned anarchists will never be acknowledged as 'political prisoners' by formal human-rights organisations, because their sense of social justice is strictly limited to the capitalist laws which are designed to defend the State and prevent any real social change. At the same time, even within our individual communities, we know so little about the repression that exists in other countries, to say nothing of the names and cases involving many of our incarcerated comrades.
This is why we have decided to introduce an annual Week for Anarchist Prisoners on August 23-30. We chose August 23 as a starting point, because on that very day in 1927 the Italian-American anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in prison. They were convicted of murdering two men during an armed robbery at a shoe factory in South Braintree, Massachusetts, United States. Their arrest was a part of a bigger anti-radical campaign led by the American government. The State's evidence against the two was almost totally non-existent and many people still today believe that they were punished for their strong anarchist beliefs.
Given the nature and diversity of anarchist groups around the globe, we have proposed a week of common action rather than a single campaign on a specific day making easier for groups to be able to organise an event within a longer target period.
Therefore, we call on everyone to spread the information about the Week for Anarchist Prisoners among other groups and communities and think about organising event(s) in your city or town. The events can vary from info-evenings, screenings and benefit concerts to solidarity and direct actions. Let your imagination run free.
Check out the flyers in different languages. Please send reports of your activities to tillallarefree (at) riseup.net
Till all are free.
"325" anarchist counter-information group
ABC Belarus
CNA/ABC Bogotá
Bristol ABC
ABC Cardiff
ABC Czech Republic
ABC Finland
ABC Kiev
ABC Latvia
Leeds ABC
London ABC
ABC Mexico
ABC Moscow
Nizhny Novgorod antirepression group
NYC ABC
Publicacion Refractario
ABC Rio de Janeiro
ABC St.Petersburg
ABC Vienna
ABC Warsaw