Gov't vs. Mumia
advocate
Clark Kissinger jailed
Special
to Workers World
Clark
Kissinger, a longtime activist and leader in the movement to free Mumia
Abu-Jamal, was jailed Dec. 6 for a probation violation. He is being held at the
Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia.
Earlier
this year Kissinger, an organizer for Refuse & Resist!, received one year's
probation and a fine for participating in a July 1999 civil-disobedience action
at the Liberty Bell. The probationary sentence came with strict limitations on
his ability to speak and travel
freely.
On
Dec. 6 a judge sentenced Kissinger to 90 days in jail for the "crime" of
traveling to Philadelphia and speaking out against the death penalty and the
criminal injustice system at a protest outside the Republican National
Convention.
"We
believe that Clark Kissinger's imprisonment constitutes an act of selective
prosecution by the judicial system in Philadelphia," says a Dec. 12 statement
from the International Action Center. "It is the same system which has an
interest in depriving Mumia Abu-Jamal of a new trial since it would undoubtedly
reveal widespread judicial, police and prosecutorial
misconduct.
"Clark's
jailers are attempting to make his imprisonment more difficult by denying him
routine visits from family members. We hold the authorities in Philadelphia and
in the state of Pennsylvania responsible for his safety while incarcerated and
in their custody. We demand that Clark's family and others be allowed to visit
him.
"His
jailing is a miscarriage of justice. We join all those who demand his immediate
release."
The
IAC asks people to call the following officials to demand Kissinger's release:
Warden Vanyur, (215) 521-7210; Mayor John Street, (215) 686-2181; U.S. Rep.
Chaka Fatah, (202) 225-4001; the U.S. Marshal's office, (215) 597-7273; Judge
Arnold C. Rapoport, (610) 776-0369; and fax Judge Bruce Kaufman, (215)
580-2281.
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