(Please Distribute Widely!)

What: Phone & Fax Blast to the White House & Italian Embassy in Washington, D.C. (contact information below)

When: Friday, August 10th

Time: All Day!

Why: Action NOW is needed to influence their legal hearing on Monday, August 13th

PublixTheatre Caravan Remains Jailed in Italy Following G8 Demonstrations!

Support Urgently Needed!

On July 22nd, 25 members of the PublixTheatre Caravan were arrested and brutalized approximately 25 km from Genoa, while attempting to leave Italy following the G8 protests. The Caravan included individuals from Austria, U.S., Slovakia, Germany, Australia and Sweden. Bryn Mawr Student and Philadelphia activist Susanna Thomas and a male activist living in the SF/Bay Area are among the three U.S. citizens detained with the group.

The Caravan now faces multiple charges, including Membership in a Criminal Organization (they are being scapegoated as alleged 'black bloc leaders') and Destruction/Looting. Police evidence is limited to black t-shirts and theater props. The activists will remain incarcerated until their hearing on August 13, and will potentially spend six months in pre-trial detention before the case is decided. The charges could carry prison sentences of up to 15 years.



PublixTheatre Caravan, which uses artistic performance as political expression, is part of the European Noborder Network. They stand for the abolition of internment and deportation worldwide, as well as a world without borders and nations. They had spent the summer traveling throughout Europe, staging performances and learning about the effects of borders upon local communities. They were headed to the Noborder camp in Frankfurt prior to the arrest.

Please help support the PublixTheatre Caravan (as well as the 26 other individuals who also remain jailed in Italy)! On Friday, August 10th, participate in a massive campaign of phone calls and faxes to the White House and the Italian Embassy in Washington, DC.

1) Demand that the U.S. government call for the Caravan's immediate release and condemn the Italian authorities for the illegal detention and brutal treatment of activists.

WHITE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD SWITCHBOARD:

(202) 456-1414

WHITE HOUSE FAXLINE:

(202) 456-2461

2) Urge the Italian Embassy to end the scapegoating of the Caravan and to drop all charges against the G8 political prisoners.

ITALIAN EMBASSY PHONE:

(202) 612-4400

ITALIAN EMBASSY FAX:

(202) 518-2154

For more information (including background information and other ways to assist) visit:

http://www.no-racism.net/nobordertour/index_uk.html

Also, for continuing updates on the situation, visit:

http://www.indymedia.org

http://www.italia.indymedia.org

http://www.austria.indymedia.org