Phone Zap to Support Hunger Striker and Ohio Prison Rebels: March 29th – 30th

Action and solidarity is needed now. Prison rebel siddique Abdullah Hasan’s health is in jeopardy. Call prison officials today to demand justice for those on hunger strike inside Ohio’s prisons.

Siddique Abdullah Hasan and Jason Robb were a key figures in the Lucasville uprising in 1993, the prison strike of 2016, and numerous acts of solidarity and resistance in the decades between. Each are on death row and have been held in solitary confinement as results of the uprising, in which Lucasville’s Southern Ohio Correctional Facility was occupied for 11 days, and during which groups as diverse as Sunni Muslims, Aryan Brotherhood members, and Gangster Disciples collaborated and met daily.

According to Lucasville Amnesty:

“Their (Hasan’s and Robb’s) actual participation in the uprising was to negotiate a peaceful surrender and prevent greater loss of life. The ODRC and State of Ohio promised not to go after specific individuals in the negotiation of that surrender, and then immediately targeted the negotiators, painting them as leaders and orchestrators of a spontaneous riot that, without their intervention and cooperation across race and gang lines, could easily have escalated.”

More recently in 2016 Hasan gave a fiery interview to NPR in the fall regarding the September 9th prison strike. Since then OSP officials have been looking for any reason to lock down his communications. The most recent pretext has been has been interview footage of Hasan and Robb that was unofficially obtained and used by producers of the Netflix show “Captives.” OSP responded to this with a 90 day communication hold, which entails revoking access to phone, email, and video visiting. Hasan formally appealed this decision through the ‘Rules and Infractions Board’ (RIB).

When Hasan’s appeal proved fruitless, Hasan and Robb began a hunger strike on February 27th.

According to the Free Ohio Movement:

“The current hunger strike is part of an ongoing struggle for equal protection, basic human rights and survival after decades of living under the most restrictive and torturous conditions of confinement at OSP, Ohio’s supermax prison.”

We are calling for a coordinated phone blast concentrated over the next two days

On Friday, March 24th, 27 days into the hunger strike Siddique Hasan was moved to the infirmary presumably due to malnutrition. His health is clearly deteriorating and his life may depend on his strike demands being met soon.

We are calling for a coordinated phone blast concentrated over the next two days (but feel free to not stop there). We are calling on all supportive groups and friends to help us by calling the ODRC director Gary Mohr and regional director Todd Ishee whose information is listed below, as many times as possible over the next few days and spreading this information as far as you can.

Organize a phone tree – for every person you tell, tell them to share this with someone else. Forward to anyone in your network who’s been curious about prison support work. Include your town or city in the phone call, tell the Ohio officials that the world is watching them. Even if you don’t get through leave your message, or speak to whoever answers the phone, including other administrators, assistants, etc