Despite odds, support grows to free San Francisco 8

The government’s witch hunt and persecution of the San Francisco 8 continue unabated despite growing public support to drop the charges and release the former Black Panther Party members.

Harold Taylor, one of the SF 8, was convicted on Oct. 23 of what activists believe to be a bogus drug charge, and remains locked up in a Florida jail. According to Randy Montesano, Taylor’s attorney in the SF 8 case, “It is clear from the arrest and all surrounding circumstances that the charge against Harold in Florida is totally baseless.”

Taylor was swept up in a “sting operation” in a neighborhood where he had gone to thank people who had written letters of support on his behalf. Just days before his arrest, Taylor had attended a press conference held by the World Council of Churches at Riverside Church announcing international support for the SF 8 launched by a group of Nobel laureates headed by South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Meanwhile, back in the San Francisco Jail, SF 8 defendants and longtime Black freedom fighters Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim have been denied their right to attend their parole hearing in New York state. Both men were targets of COINTELPRO and former leaders of the Black Panther Party in New York City. They have served over 35 years in New York state prisons.

San Francisco Judge Philip Moscone signed an order in May allowing Bell and Muntaqim to return to New York to attend their parole hearings. However, the governors of both New York and California have blocked Moscone’s decision, effectively denying their long-awaited parole hearing.

Harold Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced in Panama City, Fla., on Dec. 9. Letters of support can be sent to Harold Taylor, 5600 Nehi State Road, Panama City, FL 32104.

Please contact the governors of New York and California to demand that Herman Bell and Jalil (Anthony Bottom) Muntaqim be returned to New York to attend their parole hearings:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, State Capitol Building, Sacramento, CA 95814; phone 916-445-2841; fax 916-558-3160; e-mail at URL gov.ca.gov/interact#email.

Gov. David Paterson, State Capital, Albany, NY 12224; phone 518-474-8390; e-mail by going to 161.11.121.121/govemail.

A short court hearing on this case of eight former Black Panther Party members—most of whom are now community activists and organizers—will be held on Nov. 6 at 850 Bryant Street in San Francisco. Unfortunately, the preliminary hearing in this case has been postponed until 2009.

For more information contact the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights at freethesf8.org.