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Apr 30, 23

In Contempt #28: Anti-Repression Campaigns Spread, Barton Jail Hunger Strike

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

Anarchist and antifascist prisoner Dan Baker continues to be mistreated in prison, and the International Antifascist Defence Fund have launched a petition/letter-writing campaign in support of him. Dan also began a hunger strike in late March.

Eric King’s support website has been updated with new writings, including a short essay about his brother and two new poems, Scars and Abusive Smiles. Eric is also a co-editor of Rattling the Cages, an oral history of North American political prisoners due to be published this December.

It’s Going Down has published an extract from The Blue Agave Revolution, the new book from indigenous political prisoner Oso Blanco.

A call-in campaign has been launched for Ed Poindexter, a long-term Black Liberation political prisoner who’s just had his leg amputated as a result of medical neglect. The Jericho Movement also have a write-up of the decision to deny Mumia Abu-Jamal a new hearing.

Former Black Panther and political prisoner Marshall Eddie Conway passed away earlier this year.

The support group for Mexican indigenous political prisoner Miguel Peralta have put out a call for solidarity actions. There’s also a call for emails and phone calls in support of Chicano anarchist prisoner Xinachtli, contact the Xinachtli Defence Committee at [email protected] for more information.

Closing out this section, preparations are beginning for this year’s day of solidarity with anarchist prisoners on June 11th. You can listen to a recent interview from It Could Happen Here to learn more about the day, and long-term anarchist, trans and earth liberation prisoner Marius Mason has now released a statement for the day.

Uprising Defendants and Ongoing Cases

A new website, supportpriscilla.org, has been set up for one of the Atlanta Forest defendants, and you can check the Page One Collective site for a regularly updated zine listing others.

The Final Straw Radio have broadcast a new interview with the South Florida Anti-Repression Committee about the current federal case over alleged graffiti at fake clinics in Florida. The Civil Liberties Defense Center has taken up this case.

A defendant has been given four years’ prison time in Pittsburgh for burning a police car during the 2020 uprising, and USA Today has an in-depth article on an upcoming conspiracy trial against alleged “Antifa” activists in San Diego.

Barton Jail Hunger Strike

On Wednesday, April 19, inmates at the Barton Jail in Hamilton, Ontario began a hunger strike. You can read reflections on the strike here, and see Barton Prisoner Solidarity for more updates as the situation develops.

Texas Prisons

The Texas Observer has published a new profile of imprisoned writer Jason Renard Walker, who continues to face ongoing threats and retaliation for his writing.

Texas anarchist prisoner Noah Coffin has given an update on his plans for after his release, and a phone and email zap is being organized to try and speed that release up, six months after his parole was granted.

The San Francisco Bay View has published a new article by Texas trans prisoner Gulley Britney on staff brutality at the Lane Murray Unit, and Mongoose Distro has just published An Anarchist’s Dream, a novel by Texas anarchist prisoner Doug Gustafson.

General Prison News

The Prison Lives Matter organization has put out a call for more outside support, particularly from people with legal knowledge or experience.

Kevin “Rashid” Johnson continues his fight against cancer and medical negligence, as the course of treatment that was recommended as being the safest and most effective has now been scrapped in favor of a more dangerous and less effective method.

Blackbird Publishing has brought out some new zines by revolutionary North Carolina prisoners, a new freedom campaign has been launched for Sundiata Jawanza, a South Carolina prisoner and one of the founders of Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, and IDOC Watch has published a new article and statement of principles by Shaka Shakur, along with organizing a phone zap against staff harassment at Plainfield CF.

Recent episodes of Kite Line Radio have included more episodes on the struggle against cop city in Atlanta, a history of sexual policing, and the crisis of medical and psychological neglect in prison.

A new report has highlighted the struggles of women and trans people facing life without parole sentences in the Pennsylvania prison system.

International

In Italy, anarchist prisoner Alfredo Cospito has suspended his hunger strike. You can read more about the legal decision that led to him suspending the strike here, and more anarchist commentary on the news here. A new short film about Alfredo’s struggle, “Until My Last Breath,” is available to watch here.

In Chile, May 19th will see the beginning of a new trial against anarchist prisoners Monica Caballero and Francisco Solar. You can read a statement from Monica here, and a letter in solidarity from Greek anarchist prisoner Thanos Chatziaggelou here.

The French and Swiss governments have both launched new repressive actions against the Kurdish movement recently. A French court recently convicted 11 alleged members of the PKK on charges of financing terrorism, while the Swiss state is now prosecuting someone alleged to have fought in Rojava. Freedom News have also republished an article on how the British state uses anti-terror laws to silence Kurds, after the same police powers were used to arrest a French publisher visiting Britain.

April 17th is observed internationally as Palestinian Prisoners Day. You can read Georges Abdallah’s statement for the day here, while the Berlin police banned demonstrations marking the date from going ahead, and Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan marked his 72nd day on hunger strike on the 17th. His wife has warned that he is near death.

The International Anti-Fascist Defence Fund have made a donation to support two German antifascists who’ve been ordered to pay compensation to their fascist “victims”, and have also donated and helped boost a call to support the legal costs of Hungarian antifascists facing charges for disrupting an annual “day of honor” march commemorating nazi war criminals.

Joe Biden’s visit to Ireland was marked by coordinated police raids against members of the republican socialist group Anti-Imperialist Action Ireland.

Ivan, a French anarchist prisoner, has written an account of the police action in their case including important details of how the cops can access encrypted computers.

In the UK, Kevan Thakrar has brought a legal challenge against his indefinite solitary confinement, and you can read a report from the court here. The UK has recently seen prisoners protesting at HMP Manchester, also known as Strangeways, and HMP Whitemoor.

In Germany, Eda Deniz Haydaroglu has launched a hunger strike against the prosecution of four Turkish antifascists.

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

Richard Hunsinger 16066-509
FCI Forrest City Low
P.O. Box 9000
Forrest City, AR 72335

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

Upcoming Birthdays

Xinachtli (Alvaro Luna Hernandez)

Xinachtli (Nahuatl, meaning “seed”) is an anarchist communist community organizer and Chicano movement revolutionary from Texas. Police informants were used to monitor Xinachtli’s organizing activities in the barrio. They were told Xinachtli was “typing legal papers,” “had many books” and was working on police brutality cases in Alpine. The police knew of Xinachtli’s history of community-based organizing and his legal skills. Xinachtli was recognized nationally and internationally as the national coordinator of the Ricardo Aldape Guerra Defense Committee, which led the struggle to free Mexican national Aldape Guerra from Texas’ death row after being framed by Houston police for allegedly killing a cop. Xinachtli’s human rights work was recognized in Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Mexico and other countries. He was sentenced in Odessa, Texas on June 2-9, 1997 to 50 years in prison for defending himself by disarming a police officer drawing a weapon on him. The trial evidence clearly showed Xinachtli was the victim of witch hunts and a police-orchestrated conspiracy to frame or eliminate him.

To learn more, you can listen to this interview he did with the Final Straw.

Birthday: May 12

Address:

Note: Texas prisons have now banned all greeting cards and postcards. Texas prisons have now switched over to Securus, so you can contact him by registering at securustech.online and then searching for Alvaro Hernandez, state: Texas, facility: Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Or to send him a letter on standard white paper that complies with Texas restrictions, write to:

Alvaro Luna Hernandez #255735
W.G. McConnell Unit,
3001 Emily Drive,
Beeville, Texas 78102

Thomas Meyer-Falk

Thomas Meyer-Falk is a German anarchist political prisoner and a regular contributor to the Fire Ant zine. In 1996, Thomas was sentenced to eleven and a half years for a bank robbery carried out to fund political projects. Because of his strong beliefs, he’s been subject to very harsh repression – kept in solitary, daily cell raids, suppression and censorship of mail, no access to education. In 2007, he was finally been moved out of solitary and was able to participate in education and other activities. He has applied for parole on a number of occasions since then but has always been turned down. At the end of June 2013, the District Court of Karlsruhe decided that Thomas was still a “danger” to the community and he is now being held in preventive detention. You can read a recent update from Thomas here.

Birthday: May 15

Address:

Thomas Meyer-Falk
JVA (Sicherungsverwahrungs-Abteilung)
Hermann-Herder-Str. 8
D-79104 Freiburg
Germany

John-Paul Wootton

John-Paul Wootton is a vegan anarchist prisoner and IWW/IWOC member, wrongfully convicted of the murder of a police officer in the “Craigavon 2” case, after a trial before a “Diplock” court, a secret military court with no jury. The case has been supported as a miscarriage of justice by high profile campaigners, legal experts & human rights activists. The prosecution used discredited witnesses, inconclusive forensics, and tampered evidence to secure a conviction that does not stand up to scrutiny. Security services destroyed evidence, intimidated witnesses and defence lawyers. Following his wrongful conviction, he attempted to appeal, but his defence campaign was infiltrated and sabotaged by an undercover agent working for the British state.

For more information about John-Paul and the Craigavon 2 case, you can read this interview he did with IWOC Ireland, watch the short film “Was Justice Done in Craigavon?”, and see the new Justice for the Craigavon 2 website.

UK prisoners can be emailed using emailaprisoner.com

Birthday: May 15

Address:

John Paul Wootton
Maghaberry Prison,
17 Old Road
Lisburn
BT28 2PT
Northern Ireland

Brendan McConville

Brendan McConville is the other defendant in the Craigavon 2 case, wrongfully convicted of the murder of a police officer alongside John-Paul Wootton.

UK prisoners can be emailed using emailaprisoner.com

Birthday: May 19

Address:

Brendan McConville
Maghaberry Prison,
17 Old Road
Lisburn
BT28 2PT
Northern Ireland

Abednego Baynes

A former Vaughn 17 defendant. Baynes was found innocent of all charges in relation to the uprising, but he has still been punished with a move out of state, and deserves respect and support for staying in solidarity with his codefendants throughout the process and refusing to cooperate with the prosecution. You can read more about Baynes in his own words here.

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 “NT0594”.

Birthday: May 20

Address:

Smart Communications/PADOC
Abednego Baynes, NT0594
SCI Mahanoy
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733

Diego Vargas

Diego Vargas is a George Floyd uprising defendant who has been given a five-year Federal prison sentence for property destruction during a demonstration on June 1, 2020.

The Federal system uses Corrlinks, a system where a prisoner must send a request to connect to someone on the outside before they can exchange emails, so if you’re not already connected to Diego then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.

Birthday: May 26

Address:

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

Kojo Bomani Sababu (Grailing Brown)

Kojo Bomani Sababu is a New Afrikan Prisoner of War serving a 55 year sentence. Kojo was captured on December 19th 1975 along with anarchist Ojore Lutalo during a bank expropriation. He was subsequently charged with conspiracy for an alleged plan to use rockets, hand grenades and a helicopter in an attempt to free Puerto Rican Prisoner of War Oscar Lopez Rivera from the federal prison where he was serving.

The Federal system, where Kojo is held, uses Corrlinks, a system where a prisoner must send a request to connect to someone on the outside before they can exchange emails, so if you’re not already connected to Kojo then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.

Birthday: May 27

Address:

Kojo Bomani Sababu* #39384-066
USP Canaan
Smart Communications
PO Box 30
Pinellas Park, Florida 33781

*Address envelope to Grailing Brown

Bomani Shakur (Keith LaMar)

Bomani Shakur is on death row awaiting execution after being convicted of involvement in the 1993 Lucasville Uprising, with his execution scheduled for November this year. If you’d like to learn more about Bomani and his perspectives, We Want Bomani Shakur Free!: A Zine Commemorating RAM’s Month of Action for Bomani, which was put together by True Leap Press, is a great place to start, or you can check out The Real Killer, a true crime podcast that casts doubt on his conviction.

Ohio uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Ohio, Inmate ID: 317117”.

Birthday: May 31

Address:

Keith LaMar, #317117
OSP
878 Coitsville-Hubbard Road
Youngstown, OH 4450

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

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