by By Hunger for Justice
Friday, Aug. 11, 2000 at 11:14 AM
Activists Engage in Nationwide Hunger Strike
dozens of activists across the nation will be mobilizing a hunger strike in solidarity with those who remain imprisoned after the Republican National Convention protests.
Prisoners have been hunger striking since their arrest, and now their supporters, relatives, and people of the community plan to perform solidarity hunger strikes at city halls across the United States.
-- The US government has declared war on activists. Since Aug 2, 2000 over 400 activists have been detained in Philadelphia on incredibly exaggerated and completely false charges. Bails have been set at unprecedented levels ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 dollars. Many activists were tortured with excessive brutality. Inside the jails, the Philadelphia police continued their attempts to dehumanize activists by hog tying, dragging, and beating them. In one case a male activist was dragged naked by his genitalia to an isolation unit. The legal team is still documenting a myriad of cases of physical abuse.
-- Over 50 reports of people being profiled and picked up off the street since Aug. 2cd have surfaced. Furthermore, there is evidence of federal government involvement in such operations. Activists singled out as "organizers" have been put into isolation units and interrogated for hours.
It is crucial that we show our solidarity for those brave men and women who are still being subjected to inhumane treatment because they didn't compromise their integrity in the face of unthinkable brutality.
OUR DEMANDS
-- We demand that Lynn Abrahams open negotiations with the R2K legal team and agree to their terms.
-- We demand that congressional hearings be opened to investigate federal involvement in the mistreatment of activists nationwide
CALL TO ACTION
This is a plea to those who support the struggle for justice in America. Show your solidarity with these political prisoners and your anger over the unreasonable treatment by the Philadelphia and federal governments.
What you can do:
JOIN THE HUNGER STRIKE: Organize citizens in your locale to hunger strike at your city hall. Please contact the numbers above for information and to express your commitment.
MARCH: Plan marches, rallies, vigils, and civil disobedience in your home town and/or state capital.
TEACH: Organize teach-ins, workshops, sit-ins and press committees in your area to disseminate information regarding our friends in jail.
PRESS: Because of the corporate media's irresponsibility our friends are suffering in jail. We must apply pressure to force media coverage. Set up teams to call and inform corporate and independent media outlets.
RAISE MONEY: To help bail out prisoners with unreasonable bail. Please make out your tax-deductible check to ISMCH (The Institute of Social Medicine and Community Health, our fiscal sponsor). Write "legal fund" in the memo line. Send checks to PDAG/PO Box 40683/ Philly, PA, 19107.
PHONE ZAP AND WRITE LETTERS: To the Philadelphia officials listed below illustrating your disapproval of their actions.
Phone Numbers:
Chief of Police, John Timoney: 215-686-3364
Stephanie Stuber (Mayor's Chief of Staff): 215-686-7508
Captain Fisher, Civil Affairs: 215-685-3684
Ken Trujillo, City Solicitor: 215-683-5003
Chief Maxwell, Head of Detectives and Criminal Investigation: 215-686-3362
Dept. Comm. Mitchell: 215-686-3364
Councilman Nutter: 215-686-3416