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Apr 2, 23

In Contempt #27: Judge Rejects Mumia’s Attempt at New Trial; Repression of Pro-Choice Activists in Florida

In this column, we present our monthly roundup of political prisoner, prison rebel, and repression news, happenings, announcements, action and analysis. Packed in as always are updates, fundraisers, and birthdays.

There’s a lot happening, so let’s dive right in!

Political Prisoner News

In political prisoner news, anarchist prisoner Eric King’s support crew have launched a fundraiser as he prepares for life after prison. You can listen to an interview on It’s Going Down about his current situation here, and his support crew have posted updates on his legal fight for release, as well as the continued harassment and retaliation he faces at the hands of the BOP.

Anarchist and antifascist prisoner Dan Baker has been moved to solitary confinement, with the BOP apparently intending to keep him there until his release with no reason given. He is also facing medical neglect, and a call-in campaign has been launched to address both these issues.

It’s Going Down has published a call for the release of Zapatista prisoner Manuel Gómez Vázquez, as well as a new message from Yaqui political prisoner Fidencio Aldama Pérez.

The San Francisco Bay View has published two recent works by Black Liberation prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, Women of the Party and Straight out of Memphis. Also, as this column was being put together, a judge ruled against a new trial for Mumia, despite new evidence.

A new issue of the anarchist prisoner zine Fire Ant has been published, with contributions from Thomas Meyer-Falk, Sean Swain, Eric King, Michael Kimble and Marius Mason.

In other political prisoner news, the Orange County Anarchist Black Cross Federation have set a date for the next annual “Pushing Down the Walls” fundraiser event as October 21st, the Certain Days Collective are selling back issues of their calendar, and a rally in support of long-term Black Liberation prisoner Ruchell Magee was held in Los Angeles on March 12th.

Uprising Defendants and Ongoing Cases

The Richard Hunsinger Defense Committee have published an important case study and reflection on their experience supporting a Georgia defendant from the 2020 uprising throughout the legal process, and defeating an attempted terrorism enhancement in the process. You can find out more at the Free Richard Hunsinger site.

In more news connected to the uprising, New York City has agreed to pay $21,500 each to around 320 people who were kettled and beaten during a Black Lives Matter protest on June 4, 2020, and the Intercept has published a new report on the activities of a FBI infiltrator in Colorado Springs during the summer of 2020. For a deeper dive on this subject, check out the recent It’s Going Down podcast interview with a member of Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists.

The Uprising Support project have boosted the case of Raven, a 20-year-old trans indigenous activist who is requesting help with legal fees while fighting charges from the uprising, and Oregon uprising prisoner Jacob Gaines is currently asking for people to connect with him using the free messaging system Corrlinks.

The movement to defend the Atlanta forest and stop Cop City is still facing major repression, and Natasha Lennard has written in the Intercept about the use of domestic terror charges against forest defenders. The Page One collective have put together a short zine listing the details of currently incarcerated forest defenders who’ve consented for their names to be shared publicly.

The Antifada podcast recently broadcast an episode bringing together Natasha Lennard discussing the Stop Cop City cases and two people from the Richard Hunsinger Defense Committee. Kite Line Radio have also broadcast a series of episodes on the movement, including the stakes of Cop City, a report after the latest round of raids and arrests, and a two–part discussion on the origins of Cop City.

In other news from ongoing cases, the Final Straw Radio have broadcast a new interview about the felony littering case against mutual aid organizers in Asheville, a new anti-repression committee has been formed to defend the pro-choice activists facing heavy charges for graffiti in Florida, and a fundraiser has been set up for the legal costs of Mexican anarcho-punk defendant Jorge “Yorch” Esquivel.

The police have also just arrested someone alleged to be connected to a direct action against an anti-abortion group in Wisconsin claimed by Jane’s Revenge last May.

General Prison News and Abolitionist Media Projects

Imprisoned Texas writer and organizer Jason Renard Walker is facing continued threats at the Telford Unit. He’s been falsely accused of snitching and so is in danger anywhere in the Texas prison system, and recent documents appear to show that senior Texas prison system officials have been over-ruling attempts to protect his life:

View post on imgur.com

In other Texas news, the Houston Landing has begun a series on mentally ill people dying in Houston jails, the San Francisco Bay View has published an article by transmasc Texas prisoner Britney Gulley on the treatment of trans prisoners, and anarchist prisoner Julio “Comrade Z” Zuniga has been moved to the Ramsey Unit.

In North Carolina, an important phone zap has been called for Joseph “Shine White” Stewart, who has been facing medical neglect after being diagnosed with Hepatitis C, and another phone zap has been organized in support of prisoners who are being denied socks at Scotland CI.

In the Indiana prison system, IDOC Watch have organized phone zaps for Kevin Williams, who’s been denied food by prison staff, and Faheem Shabazz, who’s fighting trumped-up conduct reports.

Dwayne “BIM” Staats of the Vaughn 17 has published a new statement, “New Year, Same Fight.”

In other news from abolitionist media projects, Prism has published an article on the co-option of abolitionist language to argue for “feminist” or “trauma-informed” carceral systems. Members of Oakland Abolition and Solidarity also went on Millennials Killing Capitalism “to debunk the narrative that Gov. Newsom is about to “transform” San Quentin into a Norway-style prison.”

Mongoose Distro continues to regularly publish new material by prisoners such as David Annarelli and Seth Yates, and Scalawag Magazine have put out a call for work by incarcerated writers (although, frustratingly, they don’t provide a postal contact address for incarcerated people to use!)

International

After over 150 days on hunger strike, and with the Italian state refusing to make any concessions, anarchist prisoner Alfredo Cospito seems likely to die in the near future. You can read what is likely to be one of his last written statements here, along with a more recent statement given at one of his court hearings. Freedom News have published a translation of a German article about his situation, and Abolition Media have an update on his worsening health condition.

The Palestinian prisoners’ movement is celebrating an important victory, after a planned mass hunger strike was avoided by having their demands met. You can read Munther Khalaf Mufleh, one of the leaders of the planned hunger strike, describing what was won here, and a victory celebration was held in Vancouver recently. Greek anarchist prisoner Dimitris Chatzivasileiadis had declared his intention to hold a hunger strike in solidarity with the struggle of Palestinian prisoners, although this may have been averted by the recent victory.

German anarchist prisoner Thomas Meyer-Falk has given an update on his situation and his ongoing struggle for freedom, having been held for close to a decade after his original sentence finished under a Nazi-era law.

In news from Greek prisons and courts, a fundraising campaign has begun for four comrades held in pre-trial detention for an alleged attack on the police, and the International Antifascist Defense Fund have recently contributed to the legal costs of an antifascist being sued for an alleged attack on a fascist in Elefsina.

ABC Belarus have published their latest monthly round-up of news about anarchist political prisoners in Belarus, as well as a short profile of Daniil Chul, another anarchist who was sentenced recently. The husband of antifascist prisoner Kristina Cherenkova also appears to have been arrested recently, although reliable information about the situation is hard to find.

Over the border in Russia, Solidarity Zone have been busy supporting anti-war, antifascist and anarchist political prisoners. They’ve published a detailed report of their activity from February, and there’s also news about Kirill Brik facing threats of torture, and a call from ABC Irkutsk to support revolutionary prisoners in Siberia. Avtonom have also published a report on Ruslan Zinin, facing terrorism charges for shooting at a military commissar, and who has now been moved to solitary confinement. A new fundraiser has been set up for Viktor Filinkov, a political prisoner from the older “Network” case, and the Solidarity Zone have now also begun supporting Ilya Baburin, accused of an arson attack against a military enlistment office.

Uprising Defendants

Everyone should support the defendants facing charges related to their alleged participation in the George Floyd uprising – this list of our imprisoned comrades needs to be getting shorter, not longer. See Uprising Support for more info, and check out the Antirepression PDX site for updates from Portland cases. The status of pre-trial defendants changes frequently, but to the best of our knowledge they currently include:

Tyre Means 49981-086
USP Beaumont
PO BOX 26030
Beaumont, TX 77720

Kelly Jackson 50288-086
FCI Phoenix
Federal Correctional Institution
37910 N. 45th Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85086

Margaret Channon 49955-086
FCI Aliceville
PO Box 4000
Aliceville, AL 35442

Malik Muhammad #23935744
Oregon State Penitentiary
2605 State Street
Salem, OR 97310

Jacob Michael Gaines #81973-065
FCI Sheridan
P.O. BOX 5000
Sheridan, OR 97378

Jacob asks that people include an email address associated with their corrlinks account so he can return an email instead of a letter.

Cyan Waters Bass #23905849
Oregon State Correctional Institution
3405 Deer Park Drive SE
Salem, Oregon 97310

Gavaughn Streeter-Hillerich #19203494
Oregon State Penitentiary
2605 State Street
Salem, Oregon 97310

Montez Lee 22429-041
FCI Ray Brook
Federal Correctional Institution
PO Box 900
Ray Brook, NY 12977

Matthew White #21434-041
FCI Terre Haute
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. BOX 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808

Matthew Rupert #55013-424
USP McCreary
P.O. Box 3000
Pine Knot, KY 42635

José Felan #54146-380
FCI Terre Haute
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 33
Terre Haute, IN  47808

Dylan Robinson 45802-013
USP Leavenworth
P.O. Box 1000
Leavenworth, KS  66048

David Elmakayes 77782-066
FCI McKean
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 8000
Bradford, PA 16701

Christopher West 04670-509
USP Canaan
U.S. Penitentiary
P.O. Box 300
Waymart, PA 18472

You can also buy fundraiser clothing for Christopher “Brother Hush” West here.

Andrew Augustyniak-Duncan
Smart Communications/PA DOC
Andrew Duncan-Augustyniak / QN9211
SCI Rockview
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida 33733

Nicholas Lucia 06868-509
FCI Petersburg Low
Federal Correctional Institution
PO Box 1000
Petersburg, VA 23804

Ellie Brett 14822509
FCI Petersburg Medium
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 1000
Petersburg, VA 23804

John Wade 14762509
FCI Beckley
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 350
General & Legal Mail
Beaver, WV 25813

Alvin Joseph 1002016959
Hays State Prison
PO Box 668
Trion, GA 30753

Shamar Betts 22080-043
FCI Hazelton Federal Correction Inst.
P.O. Box 5000
Bruceton Mills, WV 26525

Diego Vargas 55070-424
FCI Allenwood Medium
PO Box 2000
White Deer, PA 17887

Adam Walton 55322-424
FCI Forrest City Medium
PO Box 3000
Forest City, AR 72336

Olivia Marie Hull
Kent County Correctional Facility
703 Ball Avenue NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Howard Eugene Nall #586907
Newberry Correctional Facility
13747 E. County Road 428
Newberry, MI 49868

T’Andre Buchanan 67637-060
Milan FCI
PO Box 1000
Milan, MI 48160

Birthdays

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah

Lebanese revolutionary political prisoner held in French prisons since 1984 for actions targeting U.S. and Israeli officials. You can find a statement calling for an international day of solidarity with Georges on April 2 here, and April 17 is traditionally observed as Palestinian Prisoners’ Day.

Birthday: April 2

Address:

Mr. Georges Ibrahim ABDALLAH
2388/A221
CP de Lannemezan
204 rue des Saligues
BP 70166
65307 LANNEMEZAN
France

Hanna/Anna Pyshnik

Hanna Pyshnik (Chympajesh) was detained on 22 March 2022 in Mozyr and shares anti-fascist views. According to the prosecution, she “shot a video of helicopters and sent it to a destructive media resource” – Art. 361-4 of the Criminal Code (assistance to an extremist formation).

Belarusian prisons will usually only accept letters in Belarusian or Russian, so if you don’t speak one of those languages your best bet is to email your message to belarus_abc(AT)riseup.net or use this online form and they should be able to translate your greetings and pass them on.

Birthday: April 2

Address:

(Belarusian or Russian letters only – use this form for English messages)

Pyshnik (Chimpoyesh) Anna Gennadyevna
IK № 4, ul. Antoshkina 3, Gomel, 246035

Roy Brown

Ferguson rebel convicted of looting during the Ferguson uprising, along with other unrelated robbery charges. Missouri uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Missouri, Inmate ID: 1310047”.

Birthday: April 20

Address:

Roy Brown #1310047
Potosi Correctional Center
11593 State Highway O
Mineral Point, MO 63660

Pavel Shpteny

Pavel Shpetny was detained on 2 March 2021 under a criminal case against the anarchist movement from Brest region. ABC Belarus add “We are unaware of his political views, but since he is detained under the anarchists’ case, we consider it important to support him in every possible way.”

Belarusian prisons will usually only accept letters in Belarusian or Russian, so if you don’t speak one of those languages your best bet is to email your message to belarus_abc(AT)riseup.net or use this online form and they should be able to translate your greetings and pass them on.

Birthday: April 22

Address:

(Belarusian or Russian letters only – use this form for English messages)

IK № 2, ul. Sikorskogo, 1 g. Bobruysk, 213800, Belarus
Pavel Aleksandrovich Shpetny

Kristina Cherenkova

Kristina Cherenkova is an antifascist from Belarus, serving a sentence of 2 years and six months for “Inciting enmity or discord” with anti-military and anti-police posts on Instagram.

Belarusian prisons will usually only accept letters in Belarusian or Russian, so if you don’t speak one of those languages your best bet is to email your message to belarus_abc(AT)riseup.net or use this online form and they should be able to translate your greetings and pass them on.

Birthday: April 23

Address:

(Belarusian or Russian letters only – use this form for English messages)

Cherenkova Kristina Aleksandrovna
IK-4, ul. Antoshkina 3, Gomel, 246035

Mumia Abu-Jamal

Mumia is an award winning journalist and was one of the founders of the Black Panther Party chapter in Philadelphia, PA. He has struggled for justice and human rights for people of color since he was at least 14 years old; the age when he joined the Party. In December of 1982, Mumia, who moonlighted by driving a taxi, happened upon police who were beating his brother. During the melee, a police officer was shot and killed. Despite the fact that many people saw someone else shoot and then runaway from the scene, Mumia, in what could only be called a kangaroo court, was convicted and sentenced to death. During the summer of 1995, a death warrant was signed by Governor Tom Ridge, which sparked one of the most effective organizing efforts in defense of a political prisoner ever. Since that time, Mumia has had his death sentence overturned, but still has a life sentence with no opportunity for parole.

Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding Mumia as a contact by searching his name or “AM8335”.

Birthday: April 24

Address:

Smart Communications/PA DOC
Mumia Abu-Jamal #AM8335
SCI Mahanoy
Post Office Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida 33733

Janiis Mathis

A former Vaughn 17 defendant.

Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “NU0423”.

Birthday: April 24

Address:

Janiis Mathis
SBI# 00492275
Sussex Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 500
Georgetown DE 19947

photo: Off the 99

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A monthly report on prison rebels, State repression, and news from an abolitionist perspective.

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