Join common days of action for Alexey Sutuga, Alexey Olesinov and all repressed anti-fascists

May 25, 2012 Avtonom

In spring of 2012, anti-fascist movement of Russia has been targeted with new repressions. An excuse for the repressions was an incident in Moscow club "Vozdukh", where 17th of December, during a punk-hardcore concert, a conflict between public and the security took place. Security of the club consisted of supporters of the far right, and were provoking guests. Due to conflict, concert was got halted prematurely, but the security attempted to take some guests as hostages, promising them punishment from their friends - nationalistic football hooligans. Visitors of the concert resisted, the security opened fire with rubber coated metal bullets, but soon guests of the concert gained upper hand and the security was neutralised.

Alexey Olesinov was arrested 12th of February in Sankt-Petersburg. Alexey Sutuga was arrested in evening of 17th of April in Moscow. Currently, both of them are in a remand prison in Moscow.

But incident in club "Vozdukh" is just an excuse for yet another attempt to destroy anti-fascist movement in Moscow, and in Russia in general. Authorities of the Russian federation are not in a condition to stop nationalists - they are either ignoring the threat alltogether, or attempt to set up "a controllable nationalist movement", but in the end these attempts just becoming subsidies of the far right from the state - let us keep in mind the close cooperation between pro-Kremlin youth organisations and "Russkiy Obraz", which in turn was connected to armed Nazi underground organisation of Yevgeniya Khasis and Nikita Tihonov. But state is harshly intervening against any civic initiatives, which attempt to fight against nationalists using direct action.

Goal of the most recent operation of the authorities is to neutralise most known and most active anti-fascists of Moscow. Both activists have been in anti-fascist movement for a decade already. Olesinov was already once jailed with bogus charges - in November of year 2008 he was arrested, allegedly for a fight with security in club "Kult" in August of that year. Immediately after that incident, Olesinov was arrested, but released without any charges, as he was not committing even a misdemeanor and club security had no any demands. However, prosecutor demanded 5 years prison sentence on basis of Second part of Statute 213 of Russian criminal codex ("Hooliganism"), but thanks to a wide protest campaign and a number of protests both in Russia and abroad, eventually he was only jailed for a year. But this prison sentence damaged his health for good, and after new arrest in February, he has had continuous health problems. He was diagnosed an early form of tuberculosis, apparently contracted during his previous prison term, but he is not provided a proper medical care.

Remand court of Olesinov involved outrageous violations - prosecutor claims that he was hiding from the officials, and provided judge a warrant not to leave Moscow with a falsified signature, dated to beginning of the February. But there is no way Olesinov could have signed such a paper in Moscow, since he was continuously staying in St. Petersburg since December.

Alexey Sutuga is a member of Autonomous Action since early years of 2000s, he was first active in Irkutsk and then in Moscow. He participated to every single major campaign of anarchist movement during the last ten years, and supported journal Avtonom. In 2007, he joined ecological protest camp against uranium enrichment in city of Angarsk in Siberia, which was assaulted by nationalists in the early morning hours. Ilya Borodaenko from Nahodka of Pacific Ocean was murdered, and a number of other visitors of the camp were seriously wounded.

We should not let state to attack anti-fascist movement yet another time! We call everyoen to join
common days of actions for Alexey Sutuga, Alexey Olesinov and all repressed antifascists from 10th to 17th of July - during these days, new court decision on continuation of remand imprisonment will be made in Moscow.

Any kind of actions are welcome - marches, pickets, wheatpasting, graffiti, writing of protest letters and so on - choose whichever methods are the most actual where you live. But do not forget to contact s in prior, so that we could list you among the participating cities!

If you want to participate, write to info@avtonom.org, or call or send sms to Moscow group of Autonomous Action: +7-985-247-20-65

More on the case in section  "Moscow case against anti-fascists", http://avtonom.org/en/mda
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Oakland Police Chief Confronted & Shut Down at Justice 4 Alan Blueford Townhall

  

Alan Blueford murdered by Oakland Police

May 24, 2012 Davey D's Hip Hop Corner

Since the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, there have been closed to 30 Black or Brown people shot and killed by law enforcement or in the case of Trayvon, wannabe law enforcement. Many of these shootings have been highly questionable, meaning the person killed was unarmed or there are strong conflicting statements from either the police or witnesses.

Here in Oakland, California, the shooting death Alan Dwayne Blueford is one such killing.  Oakland police have been very shady with the stories they put forth to the public. It seems like a deliberate attempt to muddy the waters, cast seeds of doubt and cover up their own mistakes.. Initially police said they were in a shoot out and Blueford shot the officer in the stomach.. Later the police said Blueford shot the officer in the leg..Next the police said that it was possible the officer was shot in the leg by another officer in a case of friendly fire..Finally it came out that the officer shot himself. He shot himself in the foot..

Many believe the officer shot himself after he killed Blueford and saw the young man was unarmed.. The police then double back and said a gun was recovered, the community has yet to see any evidence of finger prints , gun residue etc.. Many have concluded it was the officer planting a gun near the scene.. This would not be unsual in a city that in the past 10 years has had to shell out over 58 million dollars in wrongful death shootings and police brutality incidents. This would not be far-fetched in a city that was home to a rogue group of cops known as the Riders who were found to routinely plant drugs and guns on suspects. One of the Oakland Riders is a still a fugitive at large..

 

Adding to all this was the fact that Blueford was left to on the ground for 4 hours to die while the officer who lied and then finally admitted to shooting himself was treated. The public still does not know the name of the officer thanks to California’s Policeman’s Bill of Rights which prevents the public from knowing the name of officers involved in these and other brutality incidents.. Community investigators have revealed the officer who murdered Blueford is Miguel Masso a former military man who lives in Los Banos which is more than 100 miles outside of Oakland..

Blueford’s parents were not aware of their son’s death for more than 6 hours. They went down to the police station were treated like crap and not told for more than 2 hours. Their mistreatment led to the unusual move by Chief Howard Jordan to meet and apologize to the family.

In an attempt to do more damage control, OPD held a town hall meeting at Acts Full Gospel Church. Folks showed up only to discover the police chief would only answer questions that were pre-written. This annoyed folks to no end.. Then he seemed ill prepared or unable to answer basic questions.. He also hawked what many saw as blatant lies.. This led to more than half the room turning their backs on the chief and throwing up fist..

The chief cut the meeting short and left the building with angry residents in tow.. They got at him and let him know that there needs to be accountability and the community would not stand for his lies..The chief was definitely embarrassed.. Later that night we learned Oakland police came after one of the community members shown in the video holding a bullhorn..Chris M They claimed he assaulted an officer at the church… If that was the case when and where did that happen and why not arrest him on the spot?

Here’s a video of last night’s Townhall Meeting and dispersal..Please note I’m trying to re-render this so the quality is better… * quick note.. here’s the better quality video.. of last nights confrontation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCQ9F5hypow

Show Solidarity with VA Hunger Striking Prisoners

Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Solidarity with the Virginia Prison Hunger Strikers

Take Action Today

Make four phone calls today. Send four emails today.

Governor Bob McDonnell
Robert.F.McDonnell@Governor.Virginia.Gov
(804) 786-4273

VA DOC Director Harold W Clarke
Email: Harold.Clarke@VADOC.Virginia.Gov
Business Phone: 804 674 3118

ROSP Chief Warden Randall Mathena
Email: Randall.Mathena@VADOC.Virginia.Gov
Business Phone: 276 796 7510

Regional Operations Chief, Western Region Corrections Operations G.K. Washington
Email: GK.Washington@VADOC.Virginia.Gov
Business Phone: 804 674 3612

Sample phone call:

Hello,

I'm calling to express my support for the hunger strikers in Red Onion State Prison. These several dozen men are on hunger strike to call attention to inhumane conditions at Red Onion, from fully cooked meals and medical attention to sanitary living conditions and an end to solitary confinement. We demand that (the Governor/Director/Warden/Operations Chief) take action immediately to respond to their demands. Red Onion has a long history of public scrutiny for conditions, and we, the broad movement to support the Red Onion hunger strikers, won't let up until their demands are met, and that Red Onion guarantees that there will be zero retaliation on the hunger strikers.


Sample email.

I'm writing to express my support for the hunger strikers in Red Onion State Prison. These several dozen men are on hunger strike to call attention to inhumane conditions at Red Onion, from fully cooked meals and medical attention to sanitary living conditions and an end to solitary confinement. I have included the prisoners' demands below. We demand an immediate response the strikers' demands. Red Onion has a long history of public scrutiny for conditions, and we, the broad movement to support the Red Onion hunger strikers, won't let up until their demands are met,  and that Red Onion guarantees that there will be zero retaliation on the hunger strikers.


Ten Demands of ROSP Hunger Strikers

We (Prisoners at Red Onion State Prison) demand the right to an adequate standard of living while in the custody of the state!

1. We demand fully cooked food, and access to a better quality of fresh fruit and vegetables.  In addition, we demand increased portions on our trays, which allows us to meet our basic nutritional needs as defined by VDOC regulations.

2. We demand that every prisoner at ROSP have unrestricted access to complaint and grievance forms and other paperwork we may request.

3. We demand better communication between prisoners and higher- ranking guards. Presently higher-ranking guards invariably take the lower-ranking guards’ side in disputes between guards and prisoners, forcing the prisoner to act out in order to be heard. We demand that higher- ranking guards take prisoner complaints and grievances into consideration without prejudice.

4. We demand an end to torture in the form of indefinite segregation through the implementation of a fair and transparent process whereby prisoners can earn the right to be released from segregation. We demand that prison officials completely adhere to the security point system, insuring that prisoners are transferred to institutions that correspond with their particular security level.

5. We demand the right to an adequate standard of living, including access to quality materials that we may use to clean our own cells.  Presently, we are forced to clean our entire cell, including the inside of our toilets, with a single sponge and our bare hands.  This is unsanitary and promotes the spread of disease-carrying bacteria.

6. We demand the right to have 3rd party neutral observers visit and document the condition of the prisons to ensure an end to the corruption amongst prison officials and widespread human rights abuses of prisoners. Internal Affairs and Prison Administrator's monitoring of prison conditions have not alleviated the dangerous circumstances we are living under while in custody of the state which include, but are not limited to: the threat of undue physical aggression by guards, sexual abuse and retaliatory measures, which violate prison policies and our human rights.

7. We demand to be informed of any and all changes to VDOC/IOP policies as soon as these changes are made.

8.  We demand the right to adequate medical care. Our right to medical care is guaranteed under the eight amendment of the constitution, and thus the deliberate indifference of prison officials to our medical needs constitutes a violation of our constitutional rights.  In particular, the toothpaste we are forced to purchase in the prison is a danger to our dental health and causes widespread gum disease and associated illnesses.

9.  We demand our right as enumerated through VDOC policy, to a monthly haircut. Presently, we have been denied haircuts for nearly three months.  We also demand to have our razors changed out on a weekly basis. The current practice of changing out the razors every three weeks leaves prisoners exposed to the risk of dangerous infections and injury.

10. We demand that there be no reprisals for any of the participants in the Hunger Strike. We are simply organizing in the interest of more humane living conditions.

Online Petition:

http://www.change.org/petitions/grant-the-ten-demands-of-the-hunger-strikers-at-red-onion-state-prison

New Grand Jury Subpoenas Related to UC-Santa Cruz Investigation

by Will Potter May 15, 2012 Green is the New Red

Resist grand jury witch hunts.

At least two individuals have been subpoenad to a federal grand jury that appears to be investigating a 2008 fire at the home of an animal experimenter at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
One of the people subpoenaed, José Palafox, said:

“I was approached by two FBI agents at the BART Station at 19th and Broadway in Oakland. They asked my name, identified themselves as Carrie and Matt from the FBI, and served me a subpoena to testify before a federal Grand Jury. They informed me that I had been served and left without asking me any other questions….

“I know nothing about the Santa Cruz action but believe this is a political prosecution and part of a government attempt to gather information on activists, specifically involved in the animal rights movement.”

Grand juries are often used to compel political activists to testify about their political beliefs and political associations. When activists enter a grand jury, they check their rights at the door. Those who refuse to take part in these political witch hunts face prison time. [Utah animal rights activist Jordan Halliday is currently in prison for his principled stand .]

In addition to Palafox, at least one other person has been subpoenaed, and another received a visit from the FBI.

Grand juries are secret, but there is some information about the scope of this one. The 2008 fire was also at issue in the prosecution of the “AETA 4″ on animal enterprise terrorism charges (which were all dismissed). And the prosecutor in that case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elise Becker, is also involved in this grand jury.

I’ll post more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, if you are contacted by the FBI or receive a grand jury subpoena, immediately contact the National Lawyers Guild hotline,  (888) 654-3265. Also, watch this video.

'Frequent and severe' sexual violence alleged at women's prison in Alabama

Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Alabama is facing complaints of sexual
misconduct by guards.

May 23, 2012 By Elizabeth Chuck, msnbc.com

Sexual misconduct by male correctional staff toward inmates at Alabama's
Tutwiler Prison for Women is "commonplace" and has resulted in numerous
women becoming pregnant while incarcerated, a complaint filed with the
U.S. Department of Justice alleges.

Equal Justice Initiative, a private nonprofit organization, filed the
complaint about the all-female prison in Wetumpka, Ala., Tuesday after
receiving dozens of claims of sexual misconduct involving male staff
between 2004 and 2011.

In interviews with more than 50 women incarcerated at the prison, EJI said
it discovered "frequent and severe officer-on-inmate sexual violence,"
ranging from women being coerced into performing sexual favors in exchange
for contraband goods to rape by a male correctional staff member while
another male officer served as a lookout.
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Even in instances in which abuse was confirmed, perpetrators received
little more than a slap on the wrist, EJI Executive Director Bryan
Stevenson told msnbc.com.

"In the last two years, the person who received the harshest sentence was
a man who got six months in jail," Stevenson said. "This was for a woman
who was raped and became pregnant. The baby was born, and DNA confirmed it
was his."

Had the rape occurred outside prison confines, the sentence could have
been 50 years to life in prison, he said.

"It actually makes you think you can do this with impunity," he said.

Instead of punishing the staff committing the offenses, Tutwiler punished
the women when they tried to report the incidents, Stevenson said. Anyone
who reported sexual abuse at Tutwiler was called a liar by the warden and
routinely placed in segregated cells with privileges revoked.

Tutwiler Prison Warden Frank Albright did not return a phone call from
msnbc.com on Wednesday, but the Alabama Department of Corrections said it
has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual offenses.

“This is a matter of grave concern to me,” Alabama Corrections
Commissioner Kim Thomas said in a press release. “From the beginning of my
watch, I have made it very clear to my staff that custodial sexual
misconduct will not be tolerated and is an especially egregious offense to
me. We take every action possible to prevent it from happening and if it
does, we undertake prompt corrective employee discipline and pursue
criminal prosecution where applicable.”

But according to EJI's investigation, the Alabama Department of
Corrections has been under-reporting data on sexual misconduct. None has
been provided since September 2010, despite at least four Tutwiler
employees being indicted on charges of abuse during 2011, according to
court records.

Report: Nearly 10 percent of inmates suffer sexual abuse

The Department of Justice did not respond to msnbc.com's questions about
how they are handling the complaint.

It's not clear from the EJI's investigation how many claims of sexual
harrassment the group has received from the prison, which has a capacity
of 956 inmates.

Just last week, the Justice Department published a report on sexual abuse
in state prisons, local jails, and post-release treatment facilities
across the country. Nearly one in 10 prisoners suffers sexual abuse while
incarcerated, the report said.

In 2007, a Justice Department report ranked Tutwiler as the women's prison
with the most sexual assaults, and 11th among all the prisons studied.

Even after the 2007 federal report, Tutwiler policies on sexual
miscconduct continued to be lax, Stevenson alleged.

"Male guards shouldn't be going into the showers and exploiting the
vulnerability of women when they're naked and exposed," Stevenson said.
"Many states have regulations that restrict these kind of breaches. They
haven't done that at Tutwiler."

In fact, Stephenson thinks sexual assault is even more widespread at the
prison than his group has found.

"We think there are a lot more people who have information that they want
to share that didn't feel comfortable doing that," he said. "I'm hoping
the public exposure and scrutiny will make people feel comfortable to step
forward."

Since filing the complaint, EJI has heard from many women who alleged abuse.

"We've gotten some calls this morning from women who seemed so grateful
and relieved that finally, some light has been shed on this."

PP/POW Updates and Announcements - 22 May 2012

From: "NYC ABC" <nycabc@riseup.net>
Date: Wed, May 23, 2012

Hey:

Here's the latest compilation of every other week updates. We've mailed
hard copies to Sundiata Acoli, Joe-Joe Bowen, David Gilbert, Marie Mason,
Eric McDavid, Daniel McGowan, Jalil Muntaqim and Sekou Odinga. Please feel
free to share this link:

http://nycabc.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/updates-22-may-2012.pdf

NYC ABC

--
NYC ABC
Post Office Box 110034
Brooklyn, New York 11211

nycabc[at]riseup[dot]net
http://nycabc.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/nycabc
http://twitter.com/nycabc
http://www.abcf.net/nyc

Free all Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War!
For the Abolition of State Repression and Domination!

Stand With Pax

May 4, 2012 - http://freepax.org/

On the morning of May 3rd over a dozen members of the Portland Police
Department stormed a North Portland house and tore it apart on a warrant
to indict our friend Bryan Michael Wiedeman (widely known as Pax) on 72
felony charges for “conspiracy to commit criminal mischief” and “criminal
mischief” as apparently part of a two year grand jury investigation. The
preposterousness of these charges (64 were dropped within a couple days),
is clearly intended to terrorize and silence radical communities
throughout the pacific northwest. But we’re going to show them how strong
our solidarity is.

As of his arraignment May 14th, Pax is currently facing ten felony charges
and out on $4k bail. Next court date: July 2, at 1:30PM. Further updates,
public announcement listserv, resources, calender and a direct donations
jar to follow shortly. We have tshirts for preorder. Updates can also be
found on his facebook support page.