International Support Grows

On March 10, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Miami will hold a hearing on the case of the five Cuban nationals imprisoned in the U.S. on charges of conspiracy to commit espionage. In truth, the five were working to thwart efforts of anti-Cuba terrorists. The attorneys for Ramon Labanino, Gerardo Hernandez, Rene Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando Gonzalez will have only three minutes for each of the defendants to present the 24 aspects of the appeal, which will be heard by a panel of three judges.

San Francisco, CA – The Miami Five are five Cuban nationals – Fernando González, Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino and René González. On June 8, 2001, they were convicted by the Federal District Court in Miami on charges ranging from espionage, to failure to register as agents of a foreign government, to conspiracy to commit murder.

Chicago, IL – On November 17, 300 students and community activists protested against police brutality at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The rally challenged the administration's cover up of police brutality.

Chicago, IL – Over 50 activists in the anti-police brutality movement rallied at the Chicago Police Board September meeting. They confronted the Board members, slamming the decision that the Office of Professional Standards (OPS) made in response to the police murder of Northwestern student, Bobby Russ.

Chicago, IL – More than 700 protesters, angered by a Chicago police killing spree, packed a June 17 hearing of the Police Board, and filled the streets around Police Headquarters. As chants of “No Justice, No Peace!” rang out, police shut down a nearby bridge, attempting to close-off the area around their headquarters.

Duluth, MN – Low income people demonstrated at the City Hall/Civic Center on March 1 to demand an end to police abuse. “We are protesting human and civil rights violations committed by Duluth law enforcement officers,” said rally leaders.

Chicago, IL – October 22nd, over 600 Chicagoans gathered in the Daley Plaza to rally to stop police brutality and the criminalization of a generation. The event marked the third year in a row that Chicago anti-police brutality activists came together to demand that the Chicago Police are held accountable for their actions.

Police Frame-Up Exposed

Chicago, IL – On April 6, a jury of twelve women and men told the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County State's Attorney's Office that they didn't buy their story about a police shooting last happened last June 10th. Community members from the Lathrop Homes housing projects and anti-police brutality activists are now celebrating the verdict in the Agenor Roman case, though the jury's decision is a partial victory.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera.

Buffalo, NY – Dr. Steven Kurtz, a Professor of Visual Studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo and cofounder of the award-winning art and theater group Critical Art Ensemble (CAE), has been cleared of all charges of mail and wire fraud. On April 21, Federal Judge Richard J. Arcara dismissed the government’s entire indictment against Dr. Kurtz as “insufficient on its face.” This means that even if the actions alleged in the indictment (which the judge must accept as ‘fact’) were true, they would not constitute a crime.

Chicago, IL – Aaron Patterson was sentenced to 30 years in prison on trumped-up gun and drug charges, Aug. 14. Patterson was targeted for prosecution because of his powerful activism against police misconduct in Chicago. The case hinged on a government informant, a known drug dealer and gang leader, who Patterson says was trying to entrap him.

The Case of Omar Pilgrim

The Union County, NJ, case of Omar Pilgrim is a flagrant example of the racist abuses of the United States criminal ‘justice’ system. In March 2005 Judge John Triarsi gave Omar, an African-American, a prison sentence of eight years on a first offense in a matter involving $6.75. He must serve six years before he is eligible for parole.

Chicago, IL – The need for an independent federal investigation into the death of May Molina – a Puerto Rican activist who died in police custody May 27 – is becoming more urgent. The son of Molina, Michael Ortiz, was arrested with his mother in the police raid. He was charged with drug possession and jailed.

Chicago, IL – Two nights of protest have erupted in Chicago after the police murder of May Molina.

Chicago, IL – May Molina, a long-time activist against wrongful imprisonment with the group Families of the Wrongfully Convicted and a founder of Comité Exigimos Justicia (We Demand Justice Committee), died in police custody May 26.

Los Angeles, CA – The case of Rosario Muñoz, a victim of domestic violence and of court injustice, has reached a critical point. At a press conference, April 9, the Free Rosario Muñoz Committee announced the denial of the writ of habeas corpus petition by a Superior Court judge – and her pending deportation. She will appeal to a higher court, a process that takes at least six months, but as things stand, she will be deported to Mexico.

Chicago, IL – Juan and Henry Johnson spent almost their entire adult lives in prison, fighting charges for a murder they didn’t commit.

Chicago, IL – Former death row inmate Aaron Patterson, who was pardoned by Illinois governor George Ryan in January, filed a federal lawsuit seeking $30 million. The lawsuit targets Commander Jon Burge and seven other police officers from Area 2 police station. They were involved in the torture of Patterson and many others. The lawsuit also targets current and former top police officials, the current prosecutor and a former prosecutor for covering up the systematic torture.

San Jose, CA – A standing ovation greeted Maha El Genaidi’s denouncement of “Bush’s secret government of oil barons and multinational corporations,” as she blasted the attacks on Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians at the annual Day of Remembrance program. The theme of the program was “Race Prejudice, War Hysteria, and a Failure of Political Leadership,” and it made the connection between the World War II internment of Japanese Americans into concentration camps and today’s attacks on civil liberties as the U.S. government wages war on Iraq.

San Jose, CA – More than 200 people gathered at the Buddhist Church in San Jose's Japantown, Feb. 17, for the annual Day of Remembrance program. For more than twenty years, the Japanese American community has commemorated President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, which led to the removal of 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes on the west coast, and forced their imprisonment in U.S. concentration camps during World War II.