Still Here Harlem Productions, on behalf of the Prison Ministry of Riverside Church, covered the delivery of petitions for "Justice" for Mumia Abu Jamal to the Department of Justice in Washington D.C. You can view the videos at www.allthingsharlemproductions.blogspot.com. You will find RAW video of beginning of Mumia Abu Jamal March...Mumia supporters deliver thousands of letters to Attorney General Eric Holder at the Justice Department asking him to conduct a civil rights investigation into the 28-year case against Mumia Abu-Jamal whom they feel is wrongly accused. Shot by "Still Here" Harlem Productions for www.freemumia.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUUbojv4L2U&feature=related
Posted By Dante Higgins for allthingsharlemproductions.blogspot.com to allthingsharlem.com and BEYOND
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Brief Report on Nov. 12 Day of Action by ILC correspondent in Washington, DC
By WILLIAM T.
(for the ILC International Newsletter)
The November 12 Day of Action in Washington, DC to demand a civil rights investigation into the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal was a big success.
The press conference at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church kicked off the day's events. [See press release and list of speakers below.] The press conference was carried live over the DC Pacifica Radio affiliate. Al Jazeera, the Final Call, and various Black news and independent media also covered the press conference.
It was a powerful and dynamic press conference.
Steven Hawkins, Vice President of National NAACP was not able to make it at the last minute, but Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, Sr., President of the Baltimore NAACP, the country's most active chapter, was there and spoke at the press conference. Also, very significant, Laura Moye, Director of Amnesty International's Death Penalty Abolition Campaign, spoke and gave full support to this campaign.
Suzanne Ross, who moderated the press conference, read the letter from the Socialist Party of Azania [see below] and also referred to many of the key individual and organizational endorsements from Guadeloupe, Brazil, France and Mexico. She also presented a video sent from the Berlin Free Mumia Coalition, which had gathered more than 5,000 signatures in support of the Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.
Fingolé St.-Cyr, President of the Autonomous Workers Confederation of Haiti (CATH), spoke and mentioned the close to 1,000 signatures gathered in Haiti just since mid-July on the Letter to Eric Holder. (In early July, Brother Fignolé was on an 8-day U.S. tour of the United States along with Eli Domota and Raymond Gamma of the LKP Coalition in Guadeloupe.)
Another highlight of the press conference was the strong participation of Muslim Americans, who pledged their support for Mumia and also raised the need for the labor and democratic rights' activists to champion the cause of imprisoned Muslim activists in this country.
Pam Africa, coordinator of the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu_Jamal, closed the press conference with a review of the case and a renewed call to action.
Following the press conference, a contingent of more than 100 activists marched 10 blocks to the Department of Justice. There, they presented to a representative of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice the 25,000 endorsements gathered in support of the petition for a civil rights investigation into the case of Mumia. The Free Mumia Coalition coordinators also explained the purpose of this undertaking.
Suzanne Ross, one of the event's organizers, told this reporter that one of the next steps in this campaign will be to organize a meeting in Washington, DC between Attorney General Eric Holder and a broad-based international delegation speaking on behalf of the Mumia campaign and the demand for a civil rights investigation into Mumia's case. Ross said that she has been in touch with the office of Thomas Perez, head of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, who said that such a meeting could be arranged.
Ross continued: "We've been told that the Justice Department and the Obama are not going to touch this case at this time. Well, we intend to make it clear that Obama and Attorney General Holder have to heed the will of millions of people worldwide who are demanding a civil rights investigation into Mumia's case. At this critical moment, a civil rights investigation could mean the difference between life and death for Mumia. It could also open the door for his release."
Supporters of Mumia the world over are urged to keep in close touch with the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition in New York City. They can be reached at:
FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL COALITION
P.O. BOX 16, COLLEGE STATION * NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10030
Hotline: 212 330-8029 * Web Site: www.freemumia.com
INTERNATIONAL LIAISON COMMITTEE
P.O. Box 40009
San Francisco, CA 94140
Tel: 415-641-4610
Email: ilcinfo@earthlink.net
Website: www.owcinfo.org
(for the ILC International Newsletter)
The November 12 Day of Action in Washington, DC to demand a civil rights investigation into the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal was a big success.
The press conference at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church kicked off the day's events. [See press release and list of speakers below.] The press conference was carried live over the DC Pacifica Radio affiliate. Al Jazeera, the Final Call, and various Black news and independent media also covered the press conference.
It was a powerful and dynamic press conference.
Steven Hawkins, Vice President of National NAACP was not able to make it at the last minute, but Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, Sr., President of the Baltimore NAACP, the country's most active chapter, was there and spoke at the press conference. Also, very significant, Laura Moye, Director of Amnesty International's Death Penalty Abolition Campaign, spoke and gave full support to this campaign.
Suzanne Ross, who moderated the press conference, read the letter from the Socialist Party of Azania [see below] and also referred to many of the key individual and organizational endorsements from Guadeloupe, Brazil, France and Mexico. She also presented a video sent from the Berlin Free Mumia Coalition, which had gathered more than 5,000 signatures in support of the Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.
Fingolé St.-Cyr, President of the Autonomous Workers Confederation of Haiti (CATH), spoke and mentioned the close to 1,000 signatures gathered in Haiti just since mid-July on the Letter to Eric Holder. (In early July, Brother Fignolé was on an 8-day U.S. tour of the United States along with Eli Domota and Raymond Gamma of the LKP Coalition in Guadeloupe.)
Another highlight of the press conference was the strong participation of Muslim Americans, who pledged their support for Mumia and also raised the need for the labor and democratic rights' activists to champion the cause of imprisoned Muslim activists in this country.
Pam Africa, coordinator of the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu_Jamal, closed the press conference with a review of the case and a renewed call to action.
Following the press conference, a contingent of more than 100 activists marched 10 blocks to the Department of Justice. There, they presented to a representative of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice the 25,000 endorsements gathered in support of the petition for a civil rights investigation into the case of Mumia. The Free Mumia Coalition coordinators also explained the purpose of this undertaking.
Suzanne Ross, one of the event's organizers, told this reporter that one of the next steps in this campaign will be to organize a meeting in Washington, DC between Attorney General Eric Holder and a broad-based international delegation speaking on behalf of the Mumia campaign and the demand for a civil rights investigation into Mumia's case. Ross said that she has been in touch with the office of Thomas Perez, head of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, who said that such a meeting could be arranged.
Ross continued: "We've been told that the Justice Department and the Obama are not going to touch this case at this time. Well, we intend to make it clear that Obama and Attorney General Holder have to heed the will of millions of people worldwide who are demanding a civil rights investigation into Mumia's case. At this critical moment, a civil rights investigation could mean the difference between life and death for Mumia. It could also open the door for his release."
Supporters of Mumia the world over are urged to keep in close touch with the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition in New York City. They can be reached at:
FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL COALITION
P.O. BOX 16, COLLEGE STATION * NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10030
Hotline: 212 330-8029 * Web Site: www.freemumia.com
INTERNATIONAL LIAISON COMMITTEE
P.O. Box 40009
San Francisco, CA 94140
Tel: 415-641-4610
Email: ilcinfo@earthlink.net
Website: www.owcinfo.org
Some of the Messages Sent by ILC Supporters From Around the World to the November 12 Day of Action Demanding a Civil Rights Investigation into the Case of Mumia
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
Following is the latest list of endorsers gathered by the International Liaison Committee (ILC) and its supporters around the world in support of the petition to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder demanding a civil rights investigation into the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
The petition and campaign were launched by the New York Free Mumia Committee and the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal. The ILC is proud to have been one of the many national and international coalitions that supported this campaign.
The petition -- with all its national and international endorsers -- was delivered on Nov. 12 to the U.S. Justice Department in Washington, D.C., following a press conference and spirited march and rally.
Endorsements were obtained earlier by the ILC from Martinique, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Pakistan, India, Ecuador, Philippines, and Haiti, among other countries.
Brother Fignolé St.-Cyr, general secretary of the Autonomous Workers Confederation of Haiti (CATH), who spent 15 days this past July on an 8-city U.S. tour to promote the campaign to end the US/UN occupation of Haiti, pledged to gather support for the petition to free Mumia upon his return to Haiti. He did just that.
Brother Fignolé traveled from Haiti to Washington to participate in the November 12 D.C. Mobilization to Free Mumia. He brought with him close to 1,000 signatures, from a broad array of unions and grassroots organizations in Haiti in support of the petition to Attorney General Holder.
One final word to ILC supporters internationally. This petition campaign is far from over.
This is Mumia's last chance to get legal assistance from the U.S. government prior to a legal lynching through a renewal of the order to kill him by lethal injection. We are calling on everyone around the world to redouble their efforts to free Mumia. We need everyone to be at Mumia's side at this hour of grave urgency. We must not let them murder this innocent man!
In unity and struggle,
Colia L. Clark and Alan Benjamin,
ILC Support Committee
United States
Following is the latest list of endorsers gathered by the International Liaison Committee (ILC) and its supporters around the world in support of the petition to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder demanding a civil rights investigation into the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
The petition and campaign were launched by the New York Free Mumia Committee and the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal. The ILC is proud to have been one of the many national and international coalitions that supported this campaign.
The petition -- with all its national and international endorsers -- was delivered on Nov. 12 to the U.S. Justice Department in Washington, D.C., following a press conference and spirited march and rally.
Endorsements were obtained earlier by the ILC from Martinique, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Pakistan, India, Ecuador, Philippines, and Haiti, among other countries.
Brother Fignolé St.-Cyr, general secretary of the Autonomous Workers Confederation of Haiti (CATH), who spent 15 days this past July on an 8-city U.S. tour to promote the campaign to end the US/UN occupation of Haiti, pledged to gather support for the petition to free Mumia upon his return to Haiti. He did just that.
Brother Fignolé traveled from Haiti to Washington to participate in the November 12 D.C. Mobilization to Free Mumia. He brought with him close to 1,000 signatures, from a broad array of unions and grassroots organizations in Haiti in support of the petition to Attorney General Holder.
One final word to ILC supporters internationally. This petition campaign is far from over.
This is Mumia's last chance to get legal assistance from the U.S. government prior to a legal lynching through a renewal of the order to kill him by lethal injection. We are calling on everyone around the world to redouble their efforts to free Mumia. We need everyone to be at Mumia's side at this hour of grave urgency. We must not let them murder this innocent man!
In unity and struggle,
Colia L. Clark and Alan Benjamin,
ILC Support Committee
United States
Supporters in France, South Africa and Algeria Endorse Call for Civil Rights Investigation
Paris, November 11, 2009
Dear Sister Colia Clark, Dear Sisters and Brothers,
We strongly endorse your petition to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, an Obama appointee, to open a civil rights investigation into the case of Brother Mumia Abu-Jamal.
We wish you a successful Day of Action on November 12 in Washington, D.C. We have informed the unions, organisations and activists that support the ILC campaigns of your important initiative. We very much hope some of them have contacted you by now with their endorsements of your petition to Attorney General Holder.
Please inform us of the results of your actions in Washington so that we can, in turn, inform our ILC supporters the world over through our multi-language ILC International Newsletter.
In solidarity,
Daniel Gluckstein,
ILC Coordinator
Paris, France
********************
2) Letter from South Africa/Azania (sent by Lybon Mabasa, a comrade of Steve Biko in the Black Consciousness Movement and currently president of the Socialist Party of Azania/SOPA)
10th November 2009
The people of Azania, commonly known as South Africa, together with their organisations and trade unions, which fought a gallant struggle against an obnoxious Apartheid System, join the progressive calls from all over the world to stay the execution of our beloved brother and comrade Mumia Abu Jamal. Over the years, we have unwaveringly called for his unconditional release because we believe that Mumia is innocent and is a victim of the racist American system, similar in many respects and ways to the one we have successfully struggled against in South Africa.
All progressive people and organisations join in the demand that the U.S. Justice Department conduct a civil investigation into the 27-year conspiracy organised through particularly white police, prosecutorial and judicial misconduct to railroad Mumia, an innocent man, to death.
In South Africa, this campaign was indorsed by leaders of the liberation struggle including, trade unions and religious groups.
We therefore once more restate our position that Mumia should not be executed and that he is innocent.
Among the most immediate endorsers are the following:
* Tiyani Lybon Mabasa - President of the Socialist Party of Azania
* Strike Thokoane - Secretary General of the Azanian Peoples Organisation
* Nkosi Molala - Deputy President of the Black Consciousness Party
* Phineas Malapela - Legal Secretariat of PAWUSA( a COSATU affiliate)
* Na'eem Jeenah, Executive Director, Afro-Middle East Centre
* Mphutlane we Bofelo - Leader of the Muslim Youth Movement and SOPA
* Na'eem Jeenah- Muslim Youth Movement
* Mfundo Nhlapo - Organiser of BIFAWU ( a trade union)
* Moatlhodi Molefe- Spokesperson of POPCRU ( a COSATU affiliate)
* Partick Bayo Mkhize- Secretary General STEMCWU ( a trade union) and a member of SOPA
* Makuntle Jackie Hlapolosa - Treasurer General of the Socialist Party of Azania.
* Hlomani Godfrey Mabasa - Political Commissar of SOPA
* Barney Mokgatle- Second most important of Leader of the June 16 1976 Revolution.
* Thulani Hlatskwayo - Leading trade union.
* Thandile Kona - Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa
* Rose Ngwenya - Leader of Socialist Party of Azania ( Women's Section)
* Asha Moodley - Kwa-Zulu Provincial Chairperson of SOPA.
* Nick Tucker - Publicity Director of SOPA.
* Chrissie Peter
* Mpho Tsedu - ANC Youth League leader
* Moroke Victor Moeleso- Gauteng Provincial Chairperson of SOPA.
********************
3) Letter from Sister Louisa Hanoune, National Deputy and Spokesperson of the Workers Party, Algeria
Algiers, November 12, 2009
Dear Comrades,
From Algeria to South Africa, Mumia Abu-Jamal has become the symbol of the oppression of Black people in the United States.
As spokesperson for the Algerian Workers Party and of its Parliamentary group, I want to express my full support to your delegation to Eric Holder's office, today in Washington D.C.
The execution of our brother Mumia Abu-Jamal would be a crime against democracy.
It would go against the will of the American people, expressed in the vote of November 4, 2008.
In solidarity
Louisa Hanoune,
Spokesperson,
Workers Party of Algeria
Dear Sister Colia Clark, Dear Sisters and Brothers,
We strongly endorse your petition to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, an Obama appointee, to open a civil rights investigation into the case of Brother Mumia Abu-Jamal.
We wish you a successful Day of Action on November 12 in Washington, D.C. We have informed the unions, organisations and activists that support the ILC campaigns of your important initiative. We very much hope some of them have contacted you by now with their endorsements of your petition to Attorney General Holder.
Please inform us of the results of your actions in Washington so that we can, in turn, inform our ILC supporters the world over through our multi-language ILC International Newsletter.
In solidarity,
Daniel Gluckstein,
ILC Coordinator
Paris, France
********************
2) Letter from South Africa/Azania (sent by Lybon Mabasa, a comrade of Steve Biko in the Black Consciousness Movement and currently president of the Socialist Party of Azania/SOPA)
10th November 2009
The people of Azania, commonly known as South Africa, together with their organisations and trade unions, which fought a gallant struggle against an obnoxious Apartheid System, join the progressive calls from all over the world to stay the execution of our beloved brother and comrade Mumia Abu Jamal. Over the years, we have unwaveringly called for his unconditional release because we believe that Mumia is innocent and is a victim of the racist American system, similar in many respects and ways to the one we have successfully struggled against in South Africa.
All progressive people and organisations join in the demand that the U.S. Justice Department conduct a civil investigation into the 27-year conspiracy organised through particularly white police, prosecutorial and judicial misconduct to railroad Mumia, an innocent man, to death.
In South Africa, this campaign was indorsed by leaders of the liberation struggle including, trade unions and religious groups.
We therefore once more restate our position that Mumia should not be executed and that he is innocent.
Among the most immediate endorsers are the following:
* Tiyani Lybon Mabasa - President of the Socialist Party of Azania
* Strike Thokoane - Secretary General of the Azanian Peoples Organisation
* Nkosi Molala - Deputy President of the Black Consciousness Party
* Phineas Malapela - Legal Secretariat of PAWUSA( a COSATU affiliate)
* Na'eem Jeenah, Executive Director, Afro-Middle East Centre
* Mphutlane we Bofelo - Leader of the Muslim Youth Movement and SOPA
* Na'eem Jeenah- Muslim Youth Movement
* Mfundo Nhlapo - Organiser of BIFAWU ( a trade union)
* Moatlhodi Molefe- Spokesperson of POPCRU ( a COSATU affiliate)
* Partick Bayo Mkhize- Secretary General STEMCWU ( a trade union) and a member of SOPA
* Makuntle Jackie Hlapolosa - Treasurer General of the Socialist Party of Azania.
* Hlomani Godfrey Mabasa - Political Commissar of SOPA
* Barney Mokgatle- Second most important of Leader of the June 16 1976 Revolution.
* Thulani Hlatskwayo - Leading trade union.
* Thandile Kona - Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa
* Rose Ngwenya - Leader of Socialist Party of Azania ( Women's Section)
* Asha Moodley - Kwa-Zulu Provincial Chairperson of SOPA.
* Nick Tucker - Publicity Director of SOPA.
* Chrissie Peter
* Mpho Tsedu - ANC Youth League leader
* Moroke Victor Moeleso- Gauteng Provincial Chairperson of SOPA.
********************
3) Letter from Sister Louisa Hanoune, National Deputy and Spokesperson of the Workers Party, Algeria
Algiers, November 12, 2009
Dear Comrades,
From Algeria to South Africa, Mumia Abu-Jamal has become the symbol of the oppression of Black people in the United States.
As spokesperson for the Algerian Workers Party and of its Parliamentary group, I want to express my full support to your delegation to Eric Holder's office, today in Washington D.C.
The execution of our brother Mumia Abu-Jamal would be a crime against democracy.
It would go against the will of the American people, expressed in the vote of November 4, 2008.
In solidarity
Louisa Hanoune,
Spokesperson,
Workers Party of Algeria
Global Support for Civil Rights Investigation
LKP Strike Collective
GUADELOUPE
November 12, 2009
Free Mumia!
Dear comrades, Dear friends:
Despite all your efforts, including your efforts on April 6, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected your call for a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal -- the renowned Black journalist unjustly imprisoned for more than 27 years for allegedly killing a police officer.
We are aware of the fact that you have called upon civil and democratic rights' organizations and activists to join you in pressing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder -- who was appointed by Barack Obama -- to open a civil rights investigation into this matter, on the basis of the collusion orchestrated over these many years by all the authorities to deny Mumia his constitutional rights.
This is the sense of your petition to Mr. Eric Holder and of your international delegation in Washington, D.C. to the Justice Department on November 12, which we support fully.
Unfortunately, though, we will not be able to be with you on this delegation.
Dear comrades, Dear friends:
As a Black people, we have followed your struggle to free Mumia with great interest. We know that through this attack against one Black militant, it's the entire Black community that is targeted; it's their entire struggle for self-determination and their very right to live that is targeted.
In Guadeloupe, we are confronted with this same system, which denies our right to sovereignty and continues to perpetuate the plantation economy. It's against this system that our people have been mobilized over the past 10 months behind the Liannaj Kont Pwofitasyon, or LKP Coalition Against Exploitation.
We want to inform you, or perhaps remind you, that:
- A Mumia support committee was formed in Guadeloupe in 1998. This committee has worked hard, together with Mumia Committees the world over, to free our Brother Mumia Abu-Jamal.
- A delegation from Guadeloupe participated in the International Tribunal on Katrina in New Orleans at the end of August 2007, where, among other points, it was able to exchange experiences with sisters and brothers in other countries involved in the fight to win freedom for Mumia.
-The delegation from the LKP that traveled to the East Coast and Midwest of the United States in July 2009 also was able to participate in meetings and rallies in support of the struggle to free Mumia.
For all these reasons, the LKP Coalition extends to you our solidarity and support for your November 12 mobilization to demand a civil rights investigation into the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
In solidarity,
signed,
(listed in this order: last name, first name and organization -- all of which are part of the LKP Coalition)
* ALVARADE, Pierre- SUD PTT Guadeloupe
* BANDOU, Alex - UPG
* BEAUCHAMP, René - SPEG
* BERNIS, Jean-Pierre - CFTC
* BISSAINTHE, Gilbert - SUD PTT Guadeloupe
* CHATENAY-RIVAUDAY, Patricia - UNSA
* CLAUDE, Serge - Environnement
* CLAVIER, Gaby - UGTG
* COTELLON, Nice - Environnement
* COUVIN, Chantal - SPEG
* DAHOMEY, Lita - Combat Ouvrier
* DAVILLE, Myrlin - UGTG
* DOMOTA, Elie - UGTG
* DUVALLON, Emelyne - MAS KA KLE
* EVARISTE, Max - Force Ouvrière
* FABERT, Victor - Travayè é Péyizan
* FAUCONNIER, Arthur - LKP
* FRONTEAU, Karine - ANG
* GAMA, Raymond - Mouvman NONM
* GERMAIN, Pierre - Mouvman NONM
* LAPITRE, Jocelyn - Travayè é Péyizan
* LAURENT, Darel - ANKA
* LAURENT, Sylvio - ANKA
* LEDRECK, Jean-Philippe - SUD PTT Guadeloupe
* LUCE, Hilaire - Syndicat Unifié (Crédit Agricole)
* MAX, Celeste - Combat Ouvrier
* MINATCHY, Nathalie - CAP Guadeloupe
* MOUNIEN, Rozan - CAP Guadeloupe
* MOUSTACHE, Pascal - ANG
* NOYER, Séverine - CFTC
* NUMA, Michel - COPAGUA
* OGUENIN, Ismar - UPLG
* PALIN, Jean-Michel - CTU
* PERUTIN, Lucien - UPLG
* PITER, Georges - CFTC
* SIMION, Alain - Environnement
* TACITA, Patrice - AKYO
* TANTIN, Raymond - FERAS
* TORRENT, Jacques - VOUKOM
********************
5) Endorsements from Brazil
* National Executive Committee of the Unified Workers Central of Brazil (CUT), representing 12 million union members and affiliates
* Quintino Severa, General Secretary, CUT trade union federation
* Joao Felicio, Secretary of International Relations, CUT trade union federation
* Julio Turra, National Executive Director, CUT trade union federation
* National Council for the Promotion of Racial Equality
* Flavio Jorge Rodrigues, Director, Coordinating Committee of Black Organizations (CONEN)
* Markus Sokol, Member, National Directorate, Workers Party
* Edenice Santana de Jesus, PT-Salvador, Bahia
* Milton Barbosa, National Unified Black Movement (MNU)
* Claudio Silva Claudinho, SP-State Secretary of Combate Racismo
Barbara Corrales, Brazilian Committee "To Defend Haiti, Is to Defend Ourselves"
* Congressman Jose Candido
* Joelson Souza, Juventude Revolução - IRJ
********************
6) Latest list of endorsers from Mexico
* Ramón Jiménez López, diputado federal (PRD)
* Romualdo Escudero Castillo, secretario general del comité ejecutivo nacional del Sindicato Independiente de Trabajadores del Colegio de Bachilleres
* Jorge Cázares Torres, secretario general de la sección 18 del SNTE-CNTE
* Isaac Cruz Contreras y Julio Calvo Hernández, miembros del Centro de Estudios Sociales de la sección 22 del SNTE (CNTE)
* Nicolás Daniel Rosas, Ibáñez, miembro de la representación de la sección 22 del SNTE (CNTE) en la Asamblea Nacional Representativa de la CNTE
* Escolástico González, representante de AGR-Sección 10 del SNTE a la ANR de la CNTE
* Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, coordinador de Magisterio Democrático del Valle de México, sección 36 del SNTE (CNTE)
* Miguel Gómez Gutiérrez, secretario general de la delegación sindical de profesores de la ESE (Instituto Politécnico Nacional)
* Roberto Moreno Ayala, secretario general de la delegación de trabajadores de asistencia de la ENCB (Instituto Politécnico Nacional)
* Froylán Sánchez G., secretario general de la delegación sindical de profesores de la ENCB (Instituto Politécnico Nacional)
* Hermenegildo Sierra Martínez, secretario de Organización de la delegación sindical de los profesores de ESIQUIE (Instituto Politécnico Nacional)
* Luis Vázquez Villalobos y Javier Brena Alfaro, delegados sindicales en el Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
* Humberto Martínez Brizuela y Armando Pasos Cabrera, en nombre de la Organización Socialista de Trabajadores (Cuarta Internacional)
********************
7) Latest list of endorsers from France
* Michel LEROCH, trade unionist
* Jacques PARIS, trade unionist
* Pascal SAMOUTH, trade unionist
* Michele SIMONIN, trade unionist
GUADELOUPE
November 12, 2009
Free Mumia!
Dear comrades, Dear friends:
Despite all your efforts, including your efforts on April 6, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected your call for a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal -- the renowned Black journalist unjustly imprisoned for more than 27 years for allegedly killing a police officer.
We are aware of the fact that you have called upon civil and democratic rights' organizations and activists to join you in pressing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder -- who was appointed by Barack Obama -- to open a civil rights investigation into this matter, on the basis of the collusion orchestrated over these many years by all the authorities to deny Mumia his constitutional rights.
This is the sense of your petition to Mr. Eric Holder and of your international delegation in Washington, D.C. to the Justice Department on November 12, which we support fully.
Unfortunately, though, we will not be able to be with you on this delegation.
Dear comrades, Dear friends:
As a Black people, we have followed your struggle to free Mumia with great interest. We know that through this attack against one Black militant, it's the entire Black community that is targeted; it's their entire struggle for self-determination and their very right to live that is targeted.
In Guadeloupe, we are confronted with this same system, which denies our right to sovereignty and continues to perpetuate the plantation economy. It's against this system that our people have been mobilized over the past 10 months behind the Liannaj Kont Pwofitasyon, or LKP Coalition Against Exploitation.
We want to inform you, or perhaps remind you, that:
- A Mumia support committee was formed in Guadeloupe in 1998. This committee has worked hard, together with Mumia Committees the world over, to free our Brother Mumia Abu-Jamal.
- A delegation from Guadeloupe participated in the International Tribunal on Katrina in New Orleans at the end of August 2007, where, among other points, it was able to exchange experiences with sisters and brothers in other countries involved in the fight to win freedom for Mumia.
-The delegation from the LKP that traveled to the East Coast and Midwest of the United States in July 2009 also was able to participate in meetings and rallies in support of the struggle to free Mumia.
For all these reasons, the LKP Coalition extends to you our solidarity and support for your November 12 mobilization to demand a civil rights investigation into the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
In solidarity,
signed,
(listed in this order: last name, first name and organization -- all of which are part of the LKP Coalition)
* ALVARADE, Pierre- SUD PTT Guadeloupe
* BANDOU, Alex - UPG
* BEAUCHAMP, René - SPEG
* BERNIS, Jean-Pierre - CFTC
* BISSAINTHE, Gilbert - SUD PTT Guadeloupe
* CHATENAY-RIVAUDAY, Patricia - UNSA
* CLAUDE, Serge - Environnement
* CLAVIER, Gaby - UGTG
* COTELLON, Nice - Environnement
* COUVIN, Chantal - SPEG
* DAHOMEY, Lita - Combat Ouvrier
* DAVILLE, Myrlin - UGTG
* DOMOTA, Elie - UGTG
* DUVALLON, Emelyne - MAS KA KLE
* EVARISTE, Max - Force Ouvrière
* FABERT, Victor - Travayè é Péyizan
* FAUCONNIER, Arthur - LKP
* FRONTEAU, Karine - ANG
* GAMA, Raymond - Mouvman NONM
* GERMAIN, Pierre - Mouvman NONM
* LAPITRE, Jocelyn - Travayè é Péyizan
* LAURENT, Darel - ANKA
* LAURENT, Sylvio - ANKA
* LEDRECK, Jean-Philippe - SUD PTT Guadeloupe
* LUCE, Hilaire - Syndicat Unifié (Crédit Agricole)
* MAX, Celeste - Combat Ouvrier
* MINATCHY, Nathalie - CAP Guadeloupe
* MOUNIEN, Rozan - CAP Guadeloupe
* MOUSTACHE, Pascal - ANG
* NOYER, Séverine - CFTC
* NUMA, Michel - COPAGUA
* OGUENIN, Ismar - UPLG
* PALIN, Jean-Michel - CTU
* PERUTIN, Lucien - UPLG
* PITER, Georges - CFTC
* SIMION, Alain - Environnement
* TACITA, Patrice - AKYO
* TANTIN, Raymond - FERAS
* TORRENT, Jacques - VOUKOM
********************
5) Endorsements from Brazil
* National Executive Committee of the Unified Workers Central of Brazil (CUT), representing 12 million union members and affiliates
* Quintino Severa, General Secretary, CUT trade union federation
* Joao Felicio, Secretary of International Relations, CUT trade union federation
* Julio Turra, National Executive Director, CUT trade union federation
* National Council for the Promotion of Racial Equality
* Flavio Jorge Rodrigues, Director, Coordinating Committee of Black Organizations (CONEN)
* Markus Sokol, Member, National Directorate, Workers Party
* Edenice Santana de Jesus, PT-Salvador, Bahia
* Milton Barbosa, National Unified Black Movement (MNU)
* Claudio Silva Claudinho, SP-State Secretary of Combate Racismo
Barbara Corrales, Brazilian Committee "To Defend Haiti, Is to Defend Ourselves"
* Congressman Jose Candido
* Joelson Souza, Juventude Revolução - IRJ
********************
6) Latest list of endorsers from Mexico
* Ramón Jiménez López, diputado federal (PRD)
* Romualdo Escudero Castillo, secretario general del comité ejecutivo nacional del Sindicato Independiente de Trabajadores del Colegio de Bachilleres
* Jorge Cázares Torres, secretario general de la sección 18 del SNTE-CNTE
* Isaac Cruz Contreras y Julio Calvo Hernández, miembros del Centro de Estudios Sociales de la sección 22 del SNTE (CNTE)
* Nicolás Daniel Rosas, Ibáñez, miembro de la representación de la sección 22 del SNTE (CNTE) en la Asamblea Nacional Representativa de la CNTE
* Escolástico González, representante de AGR-Sección 10 del SNTE a la ANR de la CNTE
* Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, coordinador de Magisterio Democrático del Valle de México, sección 36 del SNTE (CNTE)
* Miguel Gómez Gutiérrez, secretario general de la delegación sindical de profesores de la ESE (Instituto Politécnico Nacional)
* Roberto Moreno Ayala, secretario general de la delegación de trabajadores de asistencia de la ENCB (Instituto Politécnico Nacional)
* Froylán Sánchez G., secretario general de la delegación sindical de profesores de la ENCB (Instituto Politécnico Nacional)
* Hermenegildo Sierra Martínez, secretario de Organización de la delegación sindical de los profesores de ESIQUIE (Instituto Politécnico Nacional)
* Luis Vázquez Villalobos y Javier Brena Alfaro, delegados sindicales en el Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
* Humberto Martínez Brizuela y Armando Pasos Cabrera, en nombre de la Organización Socialista de Trabajadores (Cuarta Internacional)
********************
7) Latest list of endorsers from France
* Michel LEROCH, trade unionist
* Jacques PARIS, trade unionist
* Pascal SAMOUTH, trade unionist
* Michele SIMONIN, trade unionist
Muslim Organizations Supporting Call for Civil Rights Investigation
Sent by Suzanne Ross, Free Mumia Coalition NYC, prior to the November 12 Press Conference:
Many Muslim organizations are supporting the call for a civil rights investigation of Abu-Jamal's case. Representatives of these groups will be present both at the press conference and the subsequent rally at the Justice Department to express support for Mumia Abu-Jamal while pointing out similarities between the due process and human rights violations in his case and those that are perpetrated daily against the Muslim political prisoners and prisoners of war.
This past July, the NAACP passed an emergency resolution at its 100th anniversary convention in New York, asking Mr. Holder to conduct a civil rights investigation. "We're going to ask Attorney General Holder to look into this," said NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, during a broadcast of Pacifica Radio's "Democracy Now" on July 20. "As anyone who's followed this case for a number of years knows, similar doubts have been raised about him as were raised about Troy Davis."
Later, Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington office, told The Final Call, "We had a meeting with the attorney general, and the subject of Mumia Abu-Jamal did surface. The attorney general said he was aware of the case and would look into it and get back to us."
Pam Africa, longtime Chair of International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, announced that "we are not coming to the Department of Justice looking for justice. We are bringing justice to the Department of Justice!" Dr. Suzanne Ross of the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition adds, "At this critical moment in Mumia's case, a civil rights investigation could mean the difference between life and death for Mumia. It could also open the door for his release."
The call for a civil rights investigation follows the April 2009 US Supreme Court acceptance of the Third Circuit's decision that closed all doors for a new trial or the consideration of Abu-Jamal's innocence. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is still considering an appeal by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office to immediately reinstate Abu-Jamal's death sentence.
International legal bodies such as Amnesty International, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, the European Parliament, and city councils and national governments around the world have argued for decades that Abu-Jamal was wrongfully convicted in a widely denounced trial and appeals process for the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. They point to suppressed evidence, witness intimidation and consequent witness perjury, a very specious confession, an admittedly biased judge and a long string of twisted appellate court rulings as evidence of a continuing conspiracy by the state of Pennsylvania to execute him. Additionally, as actually happened in the Justice Department's overturning of the conviction of Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, there is extensive evidence of prosecutorial withholding of evidence from the defense that could have led to Mumia's acquittal-photographs challenging the prosecution's version of what happened on December 9, 1981, and evidence that another person other than Mumia, his brother, and Faulkner were at the crime scene at the time Office Faulkner was shot.
The march to the Justice Department will follow the press conference and is being co-sponsored by International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, National Lawyers Guild (NYC Chapter), WESPAC, Riverside Church Prison Ministry, Iglesia San Romero (UCC), Campaign to End the Death Penalty, International Action Center, Peace and Justice Foundation, Families United for Justice in America, Nat Turner Rebellion, Black August Planning Committee, National Jericho Movement, , and ANSWER, among others. The delivery of the petitions is expected to take place at 1:30 PM. The campaign has been endorsed by a broad range of individuals including Angela Davis, Ruby Dee, Charles Rangel, Cynthia McKinney, Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, and Tariq Ali.
In 1982, Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering a Philadelphia police officer and sentenced to death. His case is one of the most contested in U.S. history. Prosecutors, the Fraternal Order of Police and their supporters, and even the judges involved have always claimed to possess a watertight case justifying Abu-Jamal's conviction and sentence. Yet Abu-Jamal's trial, conviction, and death sentence have prompted jurists and human rights organizations worldwide to denounce the trial and death sentence as a travesty of justice. They cite the open bias of the original judge, who was overheard to have said outside his courtroom, "I'm going to help them fry the n - - - - -".
Not only is this a strong indication of racial bias, a reality minimized by the judge who took over the case, but it clearly identified the absence of the requisite "judicial neutrality" expected of a judge. The racially skewed process of jury selection, furthermore, yielded a disproportionately white jury, the disappearance of key ballistics evidence, and police intimidation of witnesses leading to perjured statements. Amnesty International, in its 2000 report called "A Life in the Balance: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal," stated that, "numerous aspects of this case clearly failed to meet minimum international standards safeguarding the fairness of legal proceedings" and strongly recommended a new trial. Abu-Jamal's defense team identified 29 claims of violation of his constitutional rights, but Abu-Jamal has been repeatedly denied the opportunity to have evidence of his innocence and of police and prosecutorial efforts to frame and convict him seriously considered. Abu-Jamal has always asserted his innocence and his affidavit on this is included in the press packet. Clearly, Mumia Abu-Jamal's race and his political views, as well as his widely recognized enormous talent in communicating those views, have played a key role in his being the object of a 28-year conspiracy to forever silence his voice.
Many Muslim organizations are supporting the call for a civil rights investigation of Abu-Jamal's case. Representatives of these groups will be present both at the press conference and the subsequent rally at the Justice Department to express support for Mumia Abu-Jamal while pointing out similarities between the due process and human rights violations in his case and those that are perpetrated daily against the Muslim political prisoners and prisoners of war.
This past July, the NAACP passed an emergency resolution at its 100th anniversary convention in New York, asking Mr. Holder to conduct a civil rights investigation. "We're going to ask Attorney General Holder to look into this," said NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, during a broadcast of Pacifica Radio's "Democracy Now" on July 20. "As anyone who's followed this case for a number of years knows, similar doubts have been raised about him as were raised about Troy Davis."
Later, Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington office, told The Final Call, "We had a meeting with the attorney general, and the subject of Mumia Abu-Jamal did surface. The attorney general said he was aware of the case and would look into it and get back to us."
Pam Africa, longtime Chair of International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, announced that "we are not coming to the Department of Justice looking for justice. We are bringing justice to the Department of Justice!" Dr. Suzanne Ross of the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition adds, "At this critical moment in Mumia's case, a civil rights investigation could mean the difference between life and death for Mumia. It could also open the door for his release."
The call for a civil rights investigation follows the April 2009 US Supreme Court acceptance of the Third Circuit's decision that closed all doors for a new trial or the consideration of Abu-Jamal's innocence. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is still considering an appeal by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office to immediately reinstate Abu-Jamal's death sentence.
International legal bodies such as Amnesty International, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, the European Parliament, and city councils and national governments around the world have argued for decades that Abu-Jamal was wrongfully convicted in a widely denounced trial and appeals process for the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. They point to suppressed evidence, witness intimidation and consequent witness perjury, a very specious confession, an admittedly biased judge and a long string of twisted appellate court rulings as evidence of a continuing conspiracy by the state of Pennsylvania to execute him. Additionally, as actually happened in the Justice Department's overturning of the conviction of Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, there is extensive evidence of prosecutorial withholding of evidence from the defense that could have led to Mumia's acquittal-photographs challenging the prosecution's version of what happened on December 9, 1981, and evidence that another person other than Mumia, his brother, and Faulkner were at the crime scene at the time Office Faulkner was shot.
The march to the Justice Department will follow the press conference and is being co-sponsored by International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, National Lawyers Guild (NYC Chapter), WESPAC, Riverside Church Prison Ministry, Iglesia San Romero (UCC), Campaign to End the Death Penalty, International Action Center, Peace and Justice Foundation, Families United for Justice in America, Nat Turner Rebellion, Black August Planning Committee, National Jericho Movement, , and ANSWER, among others. The delivery of the petitions is expected to take place at 1:30 PM. The campaign has been endorsed by a broad range of individuals including Angela Davis, Ruby Dee, Charles Rangel, Cynthia McKinney, Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, and Tariq Ali.
In 1982, Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering a Philadelphia police officer and sentenced to death. His case is one of the most contested in U.S. history. Prosecutors, the Fraternal Order of Police and their supporters, and even the judges involved have always claimed to possess a watertight case justifying Abu-Jamal's conviction and sentence. Yet Abu-Jamal's trial, conviction, and death sentence have prompted jurists and human rights organizations worldwide to denounce the trial and death sentence as a travesty of justice. They cite the open bias of the original judge, who was overheard to have said outside his courtroom, "I'm going to help them fry the n - - - - -".
Not only is this a strong indication of racial bias, a reality minimized by the judge who took over the case, but it clearly identified the absence of the requisite "judicial neutrality" expected of a judge. The racially skewed process of jury selection, furthermore, yielded a disproportionately white jury, the disappearance of key ballistics evidence, and police intimidation of witnesses leading to perjured statements. Amnesty International, in its 2000 report called "A Life in the Balance: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal," stated that, "numerous aspects of this case clearly failed to meet minimum international standards safeguarding the fairness of legal proceedings" and strongly recommended a new trial. Abu-Jamal's defense team identified 29 claims of violation of his constitutional rights, but Abu-Jamal has been repeatedly denied the opportunity to have evidence of his innocence and of police and prosecutorial efforts to frame and convict him seriously considered. Abu-Jamal has always asserted his innocence and his affidavit on this is included in the press packet. Clearly, Mumia Abu-Jamal's race and his political views, as well as his widely recognized enormous talent in communicating those views, have played a key role in his being the object of a 28-year conspiracy to forever silence his voice.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
REMINDER: Less than 2 weeks left to get letters signed for Mumia!
We have less than 2 weeks left to get letters signed for Mumia!
We will be delivering letters to Eric Holder at the Department of Justice on Thursday, November 12. In order for us to have them properly prepared for our early, early morning departure from NYC on that day, we must have them at our PO box by Tuesday, November the 10th.
Use the sample letter below and send them to arrive at the Free Mumia Abu Jamal Coalition post office box by Tuesday, November 10.
Mail letters to the Free Mumia Abu Jamal Coalition at:
FMAJC
PO BOX 16
College Station
New York, NY 10030
You can also deliver them to us at St. Mary's Church this coming Friday night, November 6, from 6 PM to 9 pm. St. Mary's Church is at 521 West 126th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue (opposite a police station).
SAMPLE LETTER
US Department of Justice
Washington, DC
November 2009
To Eric Holder, US Attorney General:
We write to you with a sense of grave concern and outrage about the US Supreme Court's denial of a hearing to Mumia Abu-Jamal on the issue of racial bias in jury selection, that is, the "Batson issue". Inasmuch as there is no other court to which Abu-Jamal can appeal for justice, we turn to you for remedy of a 27- year history of gross violations of US constitutional law and international standards of justice as documented by Amnesty International and many other legal groups around the world.
We call on you and the Justice Department to immediately commence a civil rights investigation to examine the many examples of egregious and racist prosecutorial and judicial misconduct dating back to the original trial in 1982 and continuing through to the current inaction of the US Supreme Court. The statute of limitations should not be a factor in this case as there is very strong evidence of an ongoing conspiracy to deny Abu-Jamal his constitutional rights.
We are aware of the many differences that exist between the case of former Senator Ted Stevens and Mumia Abu-Jamal. Still, we note with great interest the actions you have taken with regard to Senator Stevens' conviction to assure that he not be denied his constitutional rights. You were specifically outraged by the fact that the prosecution withheld information critical to the defense's argument for acquittal, a violation clearly committed by the prosecution in Abu-Jamal's case. Mumia Abu-Jamal, though not a US senator of great wealth and power, is a Black man revered around the world for his courage, clarity, and commitment and deserves no less than Senator Stevens.
Cordially,
NAME
ADDRESS
E-MAIL
We will be delivering letters to Eric Holder at the Department of Justice on Thursday, November 12. In order for us to have them properly prepared for our early, early morning departure from NYC on that day, we must have them at our PO box by Tuesday, November the 10th.
Use the sample letter below and send them to arrive at the Free Mumia Abu Jamal Coalition post office box by Tuesday, November 10.
Mail letters to the Free Mumia Abu Jamal Coalition at:
FMAJC
PO BOX 16
College Station
New York, NY 10030
You can also deliver them to us at St. Mary's Church this coming Friday night, November 6, from 6 PM to 9 pm. St. Mary's Church is at 521 West 126th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue (opposite a police station).
SAMPLE LETTER
US Department of Justice
Washington, DC
November 2009
To Eric Holder, US Attorney General:
We write to you with a sense of grave concern and outrage about the US Supreme Court's denial of a hearing to Mumia Abu-Jamal on the issue of racial bias in jury selection, that is, the "Batson issue". Inasmuch as there is no other court to which Abu-Jamal can appeal for justice, we turn to you for remedy of a 27- year history of gross violations of US constitutional law and international standards of justice as documented by Amnesty International and many other legal groups around the world.
We call on you and the Justice Department to immediately commence a civil rights investigation to examine the many examples of egregious and racist prosecutorial and judicial misconduct dating back to the original trial in 1982 and continuing through to the current inaction of the US Supreme Court. The statute of limitations should not be a factor in this case as there is very strong evidence of an ongoing conspiracy to deny Abu-Jamal his constitutional rights.
We are aware of the many differences that exist between the case of former Senator Ted Stevens and Mumia Abu-Jamal. Still, we note with great interest the actions you have taken with regard to Senator Stevens' conviction to assure that he not be denied his constitutional rights. You were specifically outraged by the fact that the prosecution withheld information critical to the defense's argument for acquittal, a violation clearly committed by the prosecution in Abu-Jamal's case. Mumia Abu-Jamal, though not a US senator of great wealth and power, is a Black man revered around the world for his courage, clarity, and commitment and deserves no less than Senator Stevens.
Cordially,
NAME
ADDRESS
Double Feature Film Fundraiser for Mumia - Friday, November 6
DOUBLE FEATURE FUNDRAISER FOR CIVIL RIGHTS CAMPAIGN EVENTS
IN WASHINGTON FOR MUMIA ON NOV 12
Friday, November 6, 2009 -- 7:00PMSt Mary's Episcopal Church
521 West 126th Street (btw. Amsterdam & Old Broadway) 1, A, B, C
or D train to 125th Street. Admission & Refreshments included $10.
"MOVE"
2004 Documentary
This film exposes the history of violence perpetrated by the city of Philadelphia against the revolutionary organization MOVE, as well as the struggle that continues today to free eight MOVE
members who have spent 30 years in prison for a crime that they did not commit. The film is narrated by world-famous historian Howard Zinn and made its debut at numerous film festivals throughout the United States in 2004.
"IN PRISON MY WHOLE LIFE"
2008 Documentary
A look at the life of imprisoned political activist and former Black Panther member, Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose death sentence for killing a police officer was overturned in 2001 due to errors made during his original 1982 sentencing hearing. Mumia still faces capital punishment because Lynn Abraham, the presiding DA is appealing the case to the highest court in the land. It is likely the death sentence will be overturned.
For further information call 212-330-8029 or visit www.freemumia.com
IN WASHINGTON FOR MUMIA ON NOV 12
Friday, November 6, 2009 -- 7:00PMSt Mary's Episcopal Church
521 West 126th Street (btw. Amsterdam & Old Broadway) 1, A, B, C
or D train to 125th Street. Admission & Refreshments included $10.
"MOVE"
2004 Documentary
This film exposes the history of violence perpetrated by the city of Philadelphia against the revolutionary organization MOVE, as well as the struggle that continues today to free eight MOVE
members who have spent 30 years in prison for a crime that they did not commit. The film is narrated by world-famous historian Howard Zinn and made its debut at numerous film festivals throughout the United States in 2004.
"IN PRISON MY WHOLE LIFE"
2008 Documentary
A look at the life of imprisoned political activist and former Black Panther member, Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose death sentence for killing a police officer was overturned in 2001 due to errors made during his original 1982 sentencing hearing. Mumia still faces capital punishment because Lynn Abraham, the presiding DA is appealing the case to the highest court in the land. It is likely the death sentence will be overturned.
For further information call 212-330-8029 or visit www.freemumia.com
Activists: Mumia Abu-Jamal could face death any day now
By Saeed Shabazz -Staff Writer- Last updated: Oct 30, 2009 - 1:40:20 PM
NEW YORK (FinalCall.com) - Activists in New York City engaged in the free Mumia Abu Jamal movement gathered for a meeting in Harlem on Oct. 23, to discuss the mobilization for the Philadelphia journalist on death row, convicted in 1982 of killing a police officer. Mr. Abu Jamal has always stated that he was innocent.
“Resistance is growing—preparations are in progress,” Dr. Suzanne Ross, a clinical psychologist and co-chairperson of the Free Mumia/NY Coalition explained to The Final Call. Ms. Ross said she attended the emergency meeting at the Abiding Truth Ministries church in Philadelphia on Oct. 17, where plans were laid out for the upcoming campaign to get Mr. Abu Jamal freed.
“The Philadelphia meeting was full of a high-level of consciousness and energy—all focused on saving Mumia Abu Jamal,” Dr. Ross said.
Rallies were held Oct. 24 in Philadelphia in front of the Fraternal Order of Police headquarters, a group that has been quite vocal concerning putting Abu Jamal to death; another rally is set for Washington, D.C., on Nov. 12 in front of the Dept. of Justice. Letters and petitions calling on U.S. Attorney Eric Holder to open up a civil rights investigation concerning Mr. Abu Jamal's case will be delivered to the federal agency.
Attorney Roger Wareham of the Brooklyn-based December 12th Movement explained to The Final Call why he wrote the attorney general. “At this point it is a question of trying to find any avenue to save Mumia's life and to win vindication for him, so that he may go free,” Mr. Wareham said.
“We have turned to the attorney general because we do not have faith that the decision from the U.S. Supreme Court will be favorable; even though there is enough undeniable proof that Mumia's rights were violated during his trial,” Mr. Wareham said. The high court is reviewing a case that may decide Mr. Abu Jamal's case because some of the elements to be considered are similar.
Supporters have also started an online petition at FreeMumia.com that asks the attorney general to open a civil rights probe.
In July, the NAACP passed an emergency resolution during its 100th anniversary convention in NYC, asking Mr. Holder to conduct a civil rights investigation. “We had a meeting with the attorney general, and the subject of Mumia Abu Jamal did surface. The attorney general said he was aware of the case and would look into it and get back to us,” Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington office and senior vice president for advocacy and policy told The Final Call.
Supporters for slain officer Daniel Faulkner hope the attorney general “won't intercede.” State and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have said they haven't found any wrongdoing in the handling of the Abu Jamal case in 1982, they argue.
Mr. Abu Jamal's attorney Robert Bryan, appearing in The Netherlands for the Oct. 10 World Day Against the Death Penalty commemoration sponsored by Amnesty International, told the gathering “Mumia is now a global symbol in the campaign against the death penalty. This is the most dangerous time for Mumia since his 1981 arrest.”
Mr. Bryan, a San Francisco-based death penalty attorney also explained that the U.S. Supreme Court would hear a case, with similarities to his client's case on Oct.13. He said that Smith v. Spisak may well determine if the court would re-instate Abu-Jamal's death sentence. The attorney's statements were e-mailed to journalists and supporters.
According to www.oyez.org/cases, a Web site that tracks U.S. Supreme Court cases, neo Nazi Frank Spisak was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in Ohio. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld his contention that he received ineffective counsel and that at sentencing the jury instructions were unconstitutional, ignoring Ohio Supreme Court standards for prejudice.
In 2008, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Mr. Abu Jamal's death sentence should be overturned and he should serve life in prison without parole. The Supreme Court in April did not act on a petition filed by the Philadelphia district attorney Lynne Abraham demanding reinstatement of Mr. Abu Jamal's death sentence. Attorney Bryan had gone to Washington to argue that Mr. Abu Jamal's case was rampant with racism, starting with the fact that Blacks were excluded from the jury.
According to the Sheridan Texas Project in Austin, which advocates for a moratorium on executions, the Supreme Court may decide to side step Mr. Abu Jamal's prosecutor's petition while hearing Smith v. Spisak; and if those prosecutors are successful in having Spisak's death sentence restored—the justices won't bother to hear the Philadelphia activist's case.
The justices may only issue a one-page order for the Third Circuit Court to reconsider whether Mr. Abu Jamal should have his death sentence re-instated, the group said.
“We have had 28 years of struggling to free Mumia, and now our numbers are growing—not diminishing,” stated Pam Africa, co-chair of the International Committee of Friends and Family of Mumia Abu Jamal, in Philadelphia. “Our goal now is to get people organized and educated about the case, and how the people can save Mumia's life.
“Our faith is in the people, and their ability to put pressure on the people in power,” Ms. Africa said.
Mr. Bryan, during his Netherlands address, noted the importance of the movement in Germany to save Mr. Abu Jamal and the impact it would have on other nations. Organizers of the International Campaign to Save Mumia Abu Jamal reported that if the Supreme Court or the Third Circuit Court rules to re-instate his death sentence, three days after such ruling there will be demonstrations in Germany, Mexico and Greece in front of the U.S. embassies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)