INTERNATIONAL LIAISON COMMITTEE
P.O. Box 40009
San Francisco, CA 94140
Tel: 415-641-4610
Email: ilcinfo@earthlink.net
Website: www.owcinfo.org
PLEASE EXCUSE DUPLICATE POSTINGS
--------------
IN THIS MESSAGE:
I- Brief Report on Nov. 12 Day of Action by ILC correspondent in Washington, DC
II-
Some of the Messages Sent by ILC Supporters From Around the World to
the November 12 Day of Action Demanding a Civil Rights Investigation
into the Case of Mumia
III- Press Release Issued by the Organizers of the November 12 Day of Action
********************
I- Brief Report on Nov. 12 Day of Action by ILC correspondent in Washington, DC
By WILLIAM T.
(for the ILC International Newsletter)
The
November 12 Day of Action in Washington, DC to demand a civil rights
investigation into the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal was a big success.
The press conference at the
New York Avenue Presbyterian Church kicked off the day's events. [See
press release and list of speakers below.] The press conference was
carried live over the DC Pacifica Radio affiliate. Al Jazeera, the Final Call, and various Black news and independent media also covered the press conference.
It was a powerful and dynamic press conference.
Steven
Hawkins, Vice President of National NAACP was not able to make it at
the last minute, but Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, Sr., President of the
Baltimore NAACP, the country's most active chapter, was there and spoke
at the press conference. Also, very significant, Laura Moye, Director
of Amnesty International's Death Penalty Abolition Campaign, spoke and gave full support to this campaign.
Suzanne
Ross, who moderated the press conference, read the letter from the
Socialist Party of Azania [see below] and also referred to many of the
key individual and organizational endorsements from Guadeloupe, Brazil,
France and Mexico. She also presented a video sent from the Berlin Free
Mumia Coalition, which had gathered more than 5,000 signatures in
support of the Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.
Fingolà ©
St.-Cyr, President of the Autonomous Workers Confederation of Haiti
(CATH), spoke and mentioned the close to 1,000 signatures gathered in
Haiti just since mid-July on the Letter to Eric Holder. (In early July,
Brother Fignolà © was on an 8-day U.S. tour of the United States along
with Eli Domota and Raymond Gamma of the LKP Coalition in Guadeloupe.)
Another
highlight of the press conference was the strong participation of
Muslim Americans, who pledged their support for Mumia and also raised
the need for the labor and democratic rights' activists to champion the
cause of imprisoned Muslim activists in this country.
Pam
Africa, coordinator of the International Concerned Family and Friends
of Mumia Abu_Jamal, closed the press conference with a review of the
case and a renewed call to action.
Following
the press conference, a contingent of more than 100 activists marched
10 blocks to the Department of Justice. There, they presented to a
representative of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of
Justice the 25,000 endorsements gathered in support of the petition for
a civil rights investigation into the case of Mumia. The Free Mumia
Coalition coordinators also explained the purpose of this undertaking.
Suzanne
Ross, one of the event's organizers, told this reporter that one of the
next steps in this campaign will be to organize a meeting in
Washington, DC between Attorney General Eric Holder and a broad-based
international delegation speaking on behalf of the Mumia campaign and
the demand for a civil rights investigation into Mumia's case. Ross
said that she has been in touch with the office of Thomas Perez, head
of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, who said
that such a meeting could be arranged.
Ross
continued: "We've been told that the Justice Department and the Obama
are not going to touch this case at this time. Well, we intend to make
it clear that Obama and Attorney General Holder have to heed the will
of millions of people worldwide who are demanding a civil rights
investigation into Mumia's case. At this critical moment, a civil
rights investigation could mean the difference between life and death
for Mumia. It could also open the door for his release."
Supporters
of Mumia the world over are urged to keep in close touch with the Free
Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition in New York City. They can be reached at:
FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL COALITION
P.O. BOX 16, COLLEGE STATION * NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10030
Hotline: 212 330-8029 * Web Site: www.freemumia.com
-------------------
2)
Some of the Messages Sent by ILC Supporters From Around the World to
the November 12 Day of Action Demanding a Civil Rights Investigation
into the Case of Mumia
Introductory Note:
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
Following
is the latest list of endorsers gathered by the International Liaison
Committee (ILC) and its supporters around the world in support of the
petition to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder demanding a civil rights
investigation into the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
The
petition and campaign were launched by the New York Free Mumia
Committee and the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia
Abu-Jamal. The ILC is proud to have been one of the many national and
international coalitions that supported this campaign.
The
petition -- with all its national and international endorsers -- was
delivered on Nov. 12 to the U.S. Justice Department in Washington,
D.C., following a press conference and spirited march and rally.
Endorsements
were obtained earlier by the ILC from Martinique, Brazil, Spain,
Germany, Pakistan, India, Ecuador, Philippines, and Haiti, among other
countries.
Brother
Fignolà © St.-Cyr, general secretary of the Autonomous Workers
Confederation of Haiti (CATH), who spent 15 days this past July on an
8-city U.S. tour to promote the campaign to end the US/UN occupation of
Haiti, pledged to gather support for the petition to free Mumia upon
his return to Haiti. He did just that.
Brother
Fignolà © traveled from Haiti to Washington to participate in the
November 12 D.C. Mobilization to Free Mumia. He brought with him close
to 1,000 signatures, from a broad array of unions and grassroots
organizations in Haiti in support of the petition to Attorney General
Holder.
One final word to ILC supporters internationally. This petition campaign is far from over.
This
is Mumia's last chance to get legal assistance from the U.S. government
prior to a legal lynching through a renewal of the order to kill him by
lethal injection. We are calling on everyone around the world to
redouble their efforts to free Mumia. We need everyone to be at Mumia's
side at this hour of grave urgency. We must not let them murder this
innocent man!
In unity and struggle,
Colia L. Clark and Alan Benjamin,
ILC Support Committee
United States
**********
STATEMENTS AND LATEST LIST OF ENDORSERS OF PETITION TO U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER
1) Letter from International Liaison Committee Coordinator Daniel Gluckstein
Paris, November 11, 2009
Dear Sister Colia Clark, Dear Sisters and Brothers,
We
strongly endorse your petition to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, an
Obama appointee, to open a civil rights investigation into the case of
Brother Mumia Abu-Jamal.
We
wish you a successful Day of Action on November 12 in Washington, D.C.
We have informed the unions, organisations and activists that support
the ILC campaigns of your important initiative. We very much hope some
of them have contacted you by now with their endorsements of your
petition to Attorney General Holder.
Please
inform us of the results of your actions in Washington so that we can,
in turn, inform our ILC supporters the world over through our
multi-language ILC International Newsletter.
In solidarity,
Daniel Gluckstein,
ILC Coordinator
Paris, France
********************
2)
Letter from South Africa/Azania (sent by Lybon Mabasa, a comrade of
Steve Biko in the Black Consciousness Movement and currently president
of the Socialist Party of Azania/SOPA)
10th November 2009
The people of Azania, commonly known as South Africa, together with their organisations and trade unions, which fought a gallant struggle against an obnoxious Apartheid System, join the progressive calls from all over the world to stay the execution of our beloved brother and comrade Mumia Abu Jamal. Over the years, we have unwaveringly called for his unconditional release because we believe that Mumia is innocent and is a victim of the racist American system, similar in many respects and ways to the one we have successfully struggled against in South Africa.
All
progressive people and organisations join in the demand that the U.S.
Justice Department conduct a civil investigation into the 27-year
conspiracy organised through particularly white police, prosecutorial
and judicial misconduct to railroad Mumia, an innocent man, to death.
In South Africa, this campaign was indorsed by leaders of the liberation struggle including, trade unions and religious groups.
We therefore once more restate our position that Mumia should not be executed and that he is innocent.
Among the most immediate endorsers are the following:
* Tiyani Lybon Mabasa - President of the Socialist Party of Azania
* Strike Thokoane - Secretary General of the Azanian Peoples Organisation
* Nkosi Molala - Deputy President of the Black Consciousness Party
* Phineas Malapela - Legal Secretariat of PAWUSA( a COSATU affiliate)
* Na'eem Jeenah, Executive Director, Afro-Middle East Centre
* Mphutlane we Bofelo - Leader of the Muslim Youth Movement and SOPA
* Na'eem Jeenah- Muslim Youth Movement
* Mfundo Nhlapo - Organiser of BIFAWU ( a trade union)
* Moatlhodi Molefe- Spokesperson of POPCRU ( a COSATU affiliate)
* Partick Bayo Mkhize- Secretary General STEMCWU ( a trade union) and a member of SOPA
* Makuntle Jackie Hlapolosa - Treasurer General of the Socialist Party of Azania.
* Hlomani Godfrey Mabasa - Political Commissar of SOPA
* Barney Mokgatle- Second most important of Leader of the June 16 1976 Revolution.
* Thulani Hlatskwayo - Leading trade union.
* Thandile Kona -Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa
* Rose Ngwenya - Leader of Socialist Party of Azania ( Women's Section)
* Asha Moodley - Kwa-Zulu Provincial Chairperson of SOPA.
* Nick Tucker - Publicity Director of SOPA.
* Chrissie Peter
* Mpho Tsedu - ANC Youth League leader
* Moroke Victor Moeleso- Gauteng Provincial Chairperson of SOPA.
********************
3) Letter from Sister Louisa Hanoune, National Deputy and Spokesperson of the Workers Party, Algeria
Algiers, November 12, 2009
Dear Comrades,
From Algeria to South Africa, Mumia Abu-Jamal has become the symbol of the oppression of Black people in the United States.
As
spokesperson for the Algerian Workers Party and of its Parliamentary
group, I want to express my full support to your delegation to Eric
Holder's office, today in Washington D.C.
The execution of our brother Mumia Abu-Jamal would be a crime against democracy.
It would go against the will of the American people, expressed in the vote of November 4, 2008.
In solidarity
Louisa Hanoune,
Spokesperson,
Workers Party of Algeria
********************
4) Letter and Endorsers from LKP Coalition Against Exploitation, Guadeloupe
LKP Strike Collective
GUADELOUPE
November 12, 2009
Free Mumia!
Dear comrades, Dear friends:
Despite
all your efforts, including your efforts on April 6, 2009, the U.S.
Supreme Court rejected your call for a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal --
the renowned Black journalist unjustly imprisoned for more than 27
years for allegedly killing a police officer.
We
are aware of the fact that you have called upon civil and democratic
rights' organizations and activists to join you in pressing U.S.
Attorney General Eric Holder -- who was appointed by Barack Obama -- to
open a civil rights investigation into this matter, on the basis of the
collusion orchestrated over these many years by all the authorities to
deny Mumia his constitutional rights.
This
is the sense of your petition to Mr. Eric Holder and of your
international delegation in Washington, D.C. to the Justice Department
on November 12, which we support fully.
Unfortunately, though, we will not be able to be with you on this delegation.
Dear comrades, Dear friends:
As
a Black people, we have followed your struggle to free Mumia with great
interest. We know that through this attack against one Black militant,
it's the entire Black community that is targeted; it's their entire
struggle for self-determination and their very right to live that is
targeted.
In
Guadeloupe, we are confronted with this same system, which denies our
right to sovereignty and continues to perpetuate the plantation
economy. It's against this system that our people have been mobilized
over the past 10 months behind the Liannaj Kont Pwofitasyon, or LKP
Coalition Against Exploitation.
We want to inform you, or perhaps remind you, that:
-
A Mumia support committee was formed in Guadeloupe in 1998. This
committee has worked hard, together with Mumia Committees the world
over, to free our Brother Mumia Abu-Jamal.
-
A delegation from Guadeloupe participated in the International Tribunal
on Katrina in New Orleans at the end of August 2007, where, among other
points, it was able to exchange experiences with sisters and brothers
in other countries involved in the fight to win freedom for Mumia.
-The
delegation from the LKP that traveled to the East Coast and Midwest of
the United States in July 2009 also was able to participate in
meetings and rallies in support of the struggle to free Mumia.
For
all these reasons, the LKP Coalition extends to you our solidarity and
support for your November 12 mobilization to demand a civil rights
investigation into the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
In solidarity,
signed,
(listed in this order: last name, first name and organization -- all of which are part of the LKP Coalition)
* ALVARADE, Pierre- SUD PTT Guadeloupe
* BANDOU, Alex - UPG
* BEAUCHAMP, Renà © - SPEG
* BERNIS, Jean-Pierre - CFTC
* BISSAINTHE, Gilbert - SUD PTT Guadeloupe
* CHATENAY-RIVAUDAY, Patricia - UNSA
* CLAUDE, Serge - Environnement
* CLAVIER, Gaby - UGTG
* COTELLON, Nice - Environnement
* COUVIN, Chantal - SPEG
* DAHOMEY, Lita - Combat Ouvrier
* DAVILLE, Myrlin - UGTG
* DOMOTA, Elie - UGTG
* DUVALLON, Emelyne - MAS KA KLE
* EVARISTE, Max - Force Ouvrià ¨re
* FABERT, Victor - Travayà ¨ à © Pà ©yizan
* FAUCONNIER, Arthur - LKP
* FRONTEAU, Karine - ANG
* GAMA, Raymond - Mouvman NONM
* GERMAIN, Pierre - Mouvman NONM
* LAPITRE, Jocelyn - Travayà ¨ à © Pà ©yizan
* LAURENT, Darel - ANKA
* LAURENT, Sylvio - ANKA
* LEDRECK, Jean-Philippe - SUD PTT Guadeloupe
* LUCE, Hilaire - Syndicat Unifià © (Crà ©dit Agricole)
* MAX, Celeste - Combat Ouvrier
* MINATCHY, Nathalie - CAP Guadeloupe
* MOUNIEN, Rozan - CAP Guadeloupe
* MOUSTACHE, Pascal - ANG
* NOYER, SÃ ©verine - CFTC
* NUMA, Michel - COPAGUA
* OGUENIN, Ismar - UPLG
* PALIN, Jean-Michel - CTU
* PERUTIN, Lucien - UPLG
* PITER, Georges - CFTC
* SIMION, Alain - Environnement
* TACITA, Patrice - AKYO
* TANTIN, Raymond - FERAS
* TORRENT, Jacques - VOUKOM
********************
5) Endorsements from Brazil
*
National Executive Committee of the Unified Workers Central of Brazil
(CUT), representing 12 million union members and affiliates
* Quintino Severa, General Secretary, CUT trade union federation
* Joao Felicio, Secretary of International Relations, CUT trade union federation
* Julio Turra, National Executive Director, CUT trade union federation
* National Council for the Promotion of Racial Equality
* Flavio Jorge Rodrigues, Director, Coordinating Committee of Black Organizations (CONEN)
* Markus Sokol, Member, National Directorate, Workers Party
* Edenice Santana de Jesus, PT-Salvador, Bahia
* Milton Barbosa, National Unified Black Movement (MNU)
* Claudio Silva Claudinho, SP-State Secretary of Combate Racismo
Barbara Corrales, Brazilian Committee "To Defend Haiti, Is to Defend Ourselves"
* Congressman Jose Candido
* Joelson Souza, Juventude Revoluà §Ãƒ £o - IRJ
********************
6) Latest list of endorsers from Mexico
* Ramà ³n Jimà ©nez Là ³pez, diputado federal (PRD)
* Romualdo Escudero Castillo, secretario general del comità © ejecutivo nacional del Sindicato Independiente de Trabajadores del Colegio de Bachilleres
* Romualdo Escudero Castillo, secretario general del comità © ejecutivo nacional del Sindicato Independiente de Trabajadores del Colegio de Bachilleres
* Jorge Cà ¡zares Torres, secretario general de la seccià ³n 18 del SNTE-CNTE
* Isaac Cruz Contreras y Julio Calvo Hernà ¡ndez, miembros del Centro de Estudios Sociales de la seccià ³n 22 del SNTE (CNTE)
* Isaac Cruz Contreras y Julio Calvo Hernà ¡ndez, miembros del Centro de Estudios Sociales de la seccià ³n 22 del SNTE (CNTE)
* Nicolà ¡s Daniel Rosas, Ibà ¡Ãƒ ±ez, miembro de la representacià ³n de la seccià ³n 22 del SNTE (CNTE) en la Asamblea Nacional Representativa de la CNTE
* Escolà ¡stico Gonzà ¡lez, representante de AGR-Seccià ³n 10 del SNTE a la ANR de la CNTE
* Pedro Ramà rez Và ¡zquez, coordinador de Magisterio Democrà ¡tico del Valle de Mà ©xico, seccià ³n 36 del SNTE (CNTE)
* Miguel Gà ³mez Gutià ©rrez, secretario general de la delegacià ³n sindical de profesores de la ESE (Instituto Polità ©cnico Nacional)
* Roberto Moreno Ayala, secretario general de la delegacià ³n de trabajadores de asistencia de la ENCB (Instituto Polità ©cnico Nacional)
* Escolà ¡stico Gonzà ¡lez, representante de AGR-Seccià ³n 10 del SNTE a la ANR de la CNTE
* Pedro Ramà rez Và ¡zquez, coordinador de Magisterio Democrà ¡tico del Valle de Mà ©xico, seccià ³n 36 del SNTE (CNTE)
* Miguel Gà ³mez Gutià ©rrez, secretario general de la delegacià ³n sindical de profesores de la ESE (Instituto Polità ©cnico Nacional)
* Roberto Moreno Ayala, secretario general de la delegacià ³n de trabajadores de asistencia de la ENCB (Instituto Polità ©cnico Nacional)
* Froylà ¡n Sà ¡nchez G., secretario general de la delegacià ³n sindical de profesores de la ENCB (Instituto Polità ©cnico Nacional)
* Hermenegildo Sierra Martà nez, secretario de Organizacià ³n de la delegacià ³n sindical de los profesores de ESIQUIE (Instituto Polità ©cnico Nacional)
* Luis Và ¡zquez Villalobos y Javier Brena Alfaro, delegados sindicales en el Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Universidad Nacional Autà ³noma de Mà ©xico
* Hermenegildo Sierra Martà nez, secretario de Organizacià ³n de la delegacià ³n sindical de los profesores de ESIQUIE (Instituto Polità ©cnico Nacional)
* Luis Và ¡zquez Villalobos y Javier Brena Alfaro, delegados sindicales en el Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Universidad Nacional Autà ³noma de Mà ©xico
*
Humberto Martà nez Brizuela y Armando Pasos Cabrera, en nombre de la
Organizacià ³n Socialista de Trabajadores (Cuarta Internacional)
********************
7) Latest list of endorsers from France
* Michel LEROCH, trade unionist
* Jacques PARIS, trade unionist
* Pascal SAMOUTH, trade unionist
* Michele SIMONIN, trade unionist
********************
III - Press Release Issued by the Organizers of the November 12 Day of Action
For Immediate Release: November 10, 2009
Contact: Suzanne Ross (917) 584-2135 Pam Africa (215) 476-882
International
Representatives Join US Activists in Delivering to Attorney General
Eric Holder Thousands of Letters Demanding a Civil Rights Investigation
of the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal
PRESS CONFERENCE:
New York Avenue Presbyterian Church
1313 New York Avenue
Washington, DC
11:30
AM
MARCH TO DEPARTMENT
OF JUSTICE AND
PRESENTATION OF LETTERS
FOLLOWS,
ARRIVING AT
1:30 PM
Supporters
of Pennsylvania death row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal will march
to the US Department of Justice in Washington, DC, on November 12 to
deliver thousands of petitions to Attorney General Eric Holder
demanding that the Department open an investigation into the multitude
of violations of Abu-Jamal's civil rights over the past 28 years.
A
press conference at 11:30 AM at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church
will be followed by a march to the Department of Justice, where the
letters demanding such an investigation will be brought.
Among the speakers at the press conference will be:
* Laura Moye, Director, Amnesty International's Death Penalty Abolition Campaign;
* Steven Hawkins, Vice President, National NAACP;
* Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, Sr., President, Baltimore NAACP;
* Pam Africa, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal;
* Fignolà © Saint-Cyr, President of the Autonomous Workers Confederation of Haiti (CATH);
* Berlin Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal (via video);
* El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan, Washington, DC, Director of Operations, Peace and Justice Foundation;
* Thomas Ruffin, attorney; Joseph "Jazz" Hayden, Riverside Church Prison Ministry;
* Panama Alba, National Congress of Puerto Rican Rights; Campaign to End the Death Penalty, and others.
* Lejla Duka, young daughter and niece of three Albanian Muslim political prisoners
* Mike Stark, Campaign to End the Death Penalty
Many Muslim organizations are supporting the call for a civil rights
investigation of Abu-Jamal's case. Representatives of these groups will
be present both at the press conference and the subsequent rally at the
Justice Department to express support for Mumia Abu-Jamal while
pointing out similarities between the due process and human rights
violations in his case and those that are perpetrated daily against the
Muslim political prisoners and prisoners of war.
This
past July, the NAACP passed an emergency resolution at its 100th
anniversary convention in New York, asking Mr. Holder to conduct a
civil rights investigation. "We're going to ask Attorney General Holder
to look into this," said NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, during a broadcast
of Pacifica Radio's "Democracy Now" on July 20. "As anyone who's
followed this case for a number of years knows, similar doubts have
been raised about him as were raised about Troy Davis."
Later, Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington office, told The Final Call,
"We had a meeting with the attorney general, and the subject of Mumia
Abu-Jamal did surface. The attorney general said he was aware of the
case and would look into it and get back to us."
Pam Africa, longtime Chair of International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, announced that "we are not coming to the Department of Justice looking for justice. We are bringing justice to the Department of Justice!" Dr. Suzanne Ross of the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition adds, "At this critical moment in Mumia's case, a civil rights investigation could mean the difference between life and death for Mumia. It could also open the door for his release."
The call for a civil rights investigation follows the April 2009 US Supreme Court acceptance of the Third Circuit's decision that closed all doors for a new trial or the consideration of Abu-Jamal's innocence. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is still considering an appeal by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office to immediately reinstate Abu-Jamal's death sentence.
International legal bodies such as Amnesty International, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, the European Parliament, and city councils and national governments around the world have argued for decades that Abu-Jamal was wrongfully convicted in a widely denounced trial and appeals process for the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. They point to suppressed evidence, witness intimidation and consequent witness perjury, a very specious confession, an admittedly biased judge and a long string of twisted appellate court rulings as evidence of a continuing conspiracy by the state of Pennsylvania to execute him. Additionally, as actually happened in the Justice Department's overturning of the conviction of Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, there is extensive evidence of prosecutorial withholding of evidence from the defense that could have led to Mumia's acquittal-photographs challenging the prosecution's version of what happened on December 9, 1981, and evidence that another person other than Mumia, his brother, and Faulkner were at the crime scene at the time Office Faulkner was shot.
The march to the Justice Department will follow the press conference and is being co-sponsored by International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, National Lawyers Guild (NYC Chapter), WESPAC, Riverside Church Prison Ministry, Iglesia San Romero (UCC), Campaign to End the Death Penalty, International Action Center, Peace and Justice Foundation, Families United for Justice in America, Nat Turner Rebellion, Black August Planning Committee, National Jericho Movement, , and ANSWER, among others. The delivery of the petitions is expected to take place at 1:30 PM. The campaign has been endorsed by a broad range of individuals including Angela Davis, Ruby Dee, Charles Rangel, Cynthia McKinney, Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, and Tariq Ali.
In 1982, Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering a Philadelphia police officer and sentenced to death. His case is one of the most contested in U.S. history. Prosecutors, the Fraternal Order of Police and their supporters, and even the judges involved have always claimed to possess a watertight case justifying Abu-Jamal's conviction and sentence. Yet Abu-Jamal's trial, conviction, and death sentence have prompted jurists and human rights organizations worldwide to denounce the trial and death sentence as a travesty of justice. They cite the open bias of the original judge, who was overheard to have said outside his courtroom, "I'm going to help them fry the
n
- - - - -". Not only is this a strong indication of racial bias, a
reality minimized by the judge who took over the case, but it clearly
identified the absence of the requisite "judicial neutrality" expected
of a judge. The racially skewed process of jury selection, furthermore,
yielded a disproportionately white jury, the disappearance of key
ballistics evidence, and police intimidation of witnesses leading to
perjured statements. Amnesty International, in its 2000 report called
"A Life in the Balance: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal," stated that,
"numerous aspects of this case clearly failed to meet minimum
international standards safeguarding the fairness of legal proceedings"
and strongly recommended a new trial. Abu-Jamal's defense team
identified 29 claims of violation of his constitutional rights, but
Abu-Jamal has been repeatedly denied the opportunity to have evidence
of his innocence and of police and prosecutorial efforts to frame and
convict him seriously considered. Abu-Jamal has always asserted his
innocence and his affidavit on this is included in the press packet.
Clearly, Mumia Abu-Jamal's race and his political views, as well as his
widely recognized enormous talent in communicating those views, have
played a key role in his being the object of a 28-year conspiracy to
forever silence his voice.
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