> Mumia supporters targets for legal harassment by US government
>
> Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 13-- Many activists are concerned
> that the US government may be mounting a serious attempt to cripple the
> work of some of the staunchest supporters of imprisoned journalist Mumia
> Abu-Jamal.
>
> Clark Kissinger, organizer of the national leadership conferences for
> Abu-Jamal; Frances Goldin, Mumia's literary agent; and several others
> have been sentenced by a federal magistrate to a fine and one year
> supervised probation.
>
> Ms. Goldin and Mr. Kissinger are forbidden to associate with felons (i.e.
> Abu-Jamal) and cannot leave their federal court district in New York City
> without the permission of a probation officer for one year. In addition, they
> are required to be employed at a regular job (i.e. no full-time volunteer
> work for Abu-Jamal), they have to surrender their passports, submit to
> visits to their homes and offices by probation officers, list all persons
> they
> are in contact with who have been convicted of a crime, and turn in detailed
> financial records every month on where their money comes from and how
> they spend it.
>
> These Orwellian restrictions were imposed as the result of a peaceful
> protest and civil disobedience action last year at the Liberty Bell in
> Philadelphia. Ninety-six people were issued summonses by Park Rangers
> for "failing to obey a lawful order." This infraction is not even a
> misdemeanor. It is classified as a "petty offense" and is equivalent to a
> traffic ticket. Yet everyone who refused to return the summons, pleading
> guilty and paying the fixed fine - and who had the temerity to ask for a
> trial - was given one-year supervised probation in addition to the fine.
>
> In addition, Mr. Kissinger's wife has been served with a subpoena to
> produce all of her financial records for the last ten years and to testify
> before a federal grand jury. Many supporters of Abu-Jamal are saying that
> these unusually heavy-handed penalties are evidence of a giant fishing
> expedition by federal agents, that further exposes the role of the federal
> government in attempting to execute Abu-Jamal and silence the movement
> in his defense.
>
> Alarmed activists claim that Mr. Kissinger, Ms. Goldin, and the others were
> given the one-year probation as punishment for asking for a trial.
>
> A press release written by Roland Shepard states, "These judicial actions
> are an outrage and are clearly aimed at 'shutting down' anyone who works
> effectively for Mumia. The progressive forces in this country cannot
> surrender the right to a trial, nor can we tolerate the attempt of the
> government to 'ground' those working for Mumia.
>
> "The imposition of these judicial restrictions and subpoenas on leading
> activists and their families serves no purpose other than to chill the First
> Amendment rights of those who have been most effective in bringing
> Mumia's case before the public. We demand that they be stayed at once,
> and overturned by the appeals court."
>
> Those who wish to contribute to the cost of the appeal may send a check
> made out to Frances Goldin, at 305 E. 11th St., #26, New York, NY 10003.
>
> Source: Roland Shepard Rgshep at aol.com
>
> via The Asheville Global Report, http://www.agrnews.org