When: 5 p.m. Date: August 9 Where: Times Square in NYC (42nd St. and 7th Avenue)
An emergency demonstration will take place Wednesday, Aug. 9, at Times Square in New York City to demand the release of hundreds of jailed protesters who have been brutalized and held on exorbitant bails in Philadelphia following the Aug. 1 demonstration against the Prison-Industrial Complex and in support of a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal.
The protest, organized by the International Action Center, starts at 5 p.m. An estimated 155 activists out of the more than 425 arrested protesters are still in jail because they are unable to post their bail ranging from $10,000 to $500,000.
"These prisoners have acted courageously in the face of brutal treatment, heavy charges and outrageously high bails," stated Larry Holmes, co-director of the International Action Center. "Their continued incarceration not only flagrantly violates the rights of these individuals it also serves as a test case for a new illegal police strategy that aims at smashing the new anti-capitalist and anti-racist youth movement that is sweeping the country." Holmes was also arrested at the demonstrtions coinciding with the Republican National Convention .
"The prisoners are engaging in a hunger strike against their mistreatment. All those who believe in the right to protest free from government sponsored repression and preventive detention must now demonstrate our solidarity with these sisters and brothers. Maximum pressure must be placed on the authorities and bright a spotlight must be put on this miscarriage of justice," Holmes said.
The government started the strategy of preventive detention with sweep arrests at April 15-17 demonstrations in Washington, D.C. More than 1,200 were arrested including a large number of people who were not engaged in any civil disobedience. A Class Action lawsuit has been filed by a coalition of progressive lawyers in Washington DC charging that the government and police engaged in a far-reaching conspiracy to violate the First and Fourth Amendment rights of protesters.
In addition to the Aug. 9 demonstration in New York City there will be similar solidarity actions in cities throughout the United States on the same day. ---------------------------------------- International Action Center 39 W. 14th St., Suite 206, New York, New York 10011 * Tel: (212) 633-6646. www.iacenter.org