Call at NYC forum: Unite prisoners’ struggles

On Nov. 6, the International Action Center and New York Committee to Free the Cuban Five hosted a public forum entitled “Free All Political Prisoners, from Occupied Palestine to the U.S.” The event brought together a diverse audience of advocates for political prisoners held within and outside U.S. borders.

Standing: Teresa Gutierrez, Kate G of Leonard Peltier Support Group, Bill Bachman of NY Free Mumia Coalition, Lynne Stewart, Julie Fry. Seated: Charlotte Kates, Heidi Boghosian. WW photo: Greg Butterfield

Julie Fry of the IAC and FIST (Fight Imperialism-Stand Together) set the tone in her opening remarks: “Mumia Abu-Jamal, Leonard Peltier, the Puerto Rican political prisoners and prisoners of war: these are just some of more well-known freedom fighters held in U.S. prisons.

“But increasingly, the U.S. is also taking international political prisoners. We only need to look at the illegally occupied Guantanamo base in Cuba, where Washington has held and tortured hundreds of people swept up in its so-called ‘war on terror.’

“We believe it is crucial to build understanding and active support among all of us who work on political prisoner issues and international solidarity. By working together, we can break down isolation and strengthen all of the struggles.”

Heidi Boghosian, executive director of the National Lawyers Guild, talked about her organization’s work on behalf of the Cuban Five—Cuban citizens arrested almost a decade ago after infiltrating U.S.-backed right-wing terror groups in Miami. Today the five are held in federal prisons while known anti-Cuba terrorists like Luis Posada Carriles walk free.

“We’ve called upon the United Nations Committee on Torture to take measures to stop Washington’s human rights abuses against the Five,” said Boghosian. She urged the movement to “keep the pressure on” as the Five prepare for an appeal decision from a three-judge panel.

Teresa Gutierrez, a founder of the New York Committee to Free the Cuban Five, also noted gains in the Cuban Five case, thanks in part to the fact that they have all stayed strong behind prison walls.

Speaking of the Bush administration’s new spate of anti-Cuba measures, Gutierrez said: “The Revolution is strong. But it’s a constant struggle to maintain that, and the U.S. is working hard to undermine the spirit of the Cuban people. This is one struggle where Cuba definitely requires our help.”

Surprise guest Lynne Stewart, a longtime radical attorney, electrified the audience. She urged the crowd not to forget prisoners like Mutulu Shakur and Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown), who were recently moved into isolation at the Florence, Col., Supermax prison because of their skills at organizing their fellow prisoners.

Stewart was prosecuted by the Bush administration for allegedly “supporting terrorism” in the course of representing a client. Washington hoped to use her treatment as a warning to other progressive attorneys after 9/11. Stewart beat back the most serious charges but still faces 28 months jail time. She is out on bail pending an appeal.

Charlotte Kates, organizer for New Jersey Solidarity-Activists for the Liberation of Palestine and Al-Awda New York, reported on a recent delegation to occupied Palestine focused on the plight of 11,000 women, men and children, including Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Secretary Ahmad Sa’adat, held as political prisoners by the Israeli apartheid regime.

“Since 1967, one quarter of the population of the West Bank and Gaza has spent time in Israeli jails,” Kates explained, comparing the “criminalization of Palestinian life” to the mass incarceration of Black youth in the U.S.

“Our tax money pays for every bullet, every checkpoint, every prison used against the Palestinian people,” Kates pointed out, “just as it pays for the imprisonment of Mumia and Leonard.”

The audience also heard updates from the New York Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition, the New York Leonard Peltier Support Group and Friends of Daniel McGowan.