Mumia's Birthday Tuesday: DEMONSTRATE OUTSIDE the US EMBASSY - solidarity with "OCCUPY the JUSTICE DEPARTMENT"

On Mumia Abu Jamal’s Birthday
Tuesday 24 APRIL 2012
5-7pm DEMONSTRATE OUTSIDE the US EMBASSY
Grosvenor Square, London W1A 2LQ
In solidarity with Washington D.C.

“OCCUPY the JUSTICE DEPARTMENT:
TRANSFORM THE WORLD!”

To mark Mumia Abu-Jamal’s birthday, a mass Occupy of the US Justice Dept has been organised. It demands an end to mass incarceration, to solitary confinement and other torture, to the racist death penalty, and to attacks on immigrant people. Thousands from around the US will converge on Washington DC.Among them , together with distinguished supporters including Hollywood actor Danny Glover, Frances Fox Piven, Norman Finkelstein, and M1 of Dead Prez.

Occupy the Justice Department say: “On April 24, we will breathe life into the old labor slogan: ‘an injury to one, is an injury to all.’ On that day we will say that we are all Mumia, we are all immigrants, we are all prisoners, we are all Bradley Manning, we are all poor, we are all Palestinian, we are all Troy Davis, we are all political prisoners, we are all occupiers!!!”

Women and men in the UK are calling our networks to support this US mass action with a solidarity demonstration outside the U.S embassy in London, 5-7pm.

In addition to supporting US demands, we in the UK are calling for an end to ‘Stop & Search’, police violence and racism, justice for those killed by police, an end to the criminalising of our communities and to injustice in the legal system, including Joint Enterprise laws which land young Black and working class people in prison. (The UK already has a higher percentage of Black people in prison than the US when comparing population size.)

Mumia Abu-Jamal, distinguished journalist and former Black Panther, turns 58 years old, having been unjustly incarcerated for 30 years on Pennsylvania’s death row. He was framed for killing a policeman in 1982 in a trial dripping with racism. Mumia, as he is known to millions, inspires determined and dedicated support around the world. He uses his talents and energy to strengthen the struggles of others for justice. The pressure of an international movement helped win his release from death row and into the general prison population in 2011, after three decades in solitary confinement where he never stopped organising.

Now, since the Georgia prisoner strikes, the Pelican Bay (California) hunger strikes and the outpouring of rage at Troy Davis’s execution, is a crucial moment to press for the release of Mumia and others unjustly incarcerated.

Occupy the Justice Department USA, download the flyer, and get more information:
For more info on the case of Mumia Abu Jamal: here and here.

For information on the event in the U.S

Mumia’s latest book: Jailhouse Lawyers: prisoners defending prisoners v the USA, tells the story of prisoners who learn the law and use it to win justice for themselves and others in prison.

Foreword by Angela Y. Davis, introduction to UK edition by Selma James

Price: £11.99, Free to Prisoners (Donations welcome to cover this cost).

And hear Selma speak at the wonderful meeting at the Left Forum, March 17: Prisoners and FIPs v the USA - Anti-capitalism Behind Bars workshop.

JUSTICE NOW FOR PRISONERS MUMIA, BRADLEY, HALIL, PALESTINIAN HUNGER STRIKERS, ISRAELI REFUSENIKS

Tue 24 April, 5pm: US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, London W1

On Mumia Abu-Jamal’s birthday, in solidarity with: 
“OCCUPY the JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: TRANSFORM THE WORLD!”
To mark Mumia’s 58th birthday, a mass Occupy of the US Justice Dept, Washington D.C. has been called. It also demands an end to mass incarceration, solitary confinement and other torture, to the racist death penalty, and to attacks on immigrant people.
In London we also demand an end to ‘Stop & Search’, police violence and racism, justice for those killed by police, and an end to the criminalising of our communities.

FREE BRADLEY MANNING! DROP ALL CHARGES NOW!
Bradley Manning is a gay US soldier accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of documents to WikiLeaks. From 23rd April, his supporters will attend his court martial at Fort Meade, Maryland, and on the 25th hold an all-day vigil outside.
In the UK on 24 April there will be a vigil organised by London Catholic Worker, Veterans for Peace UK and WISEUP for Bradley Manning outside the US Embassy.

SUPPORT PALESTINIAN PRISONERS’ HUNGER STRIKE
Following the successful hunger strikes of Khader Adnan and Hanaa Shalabi (pictured) on 17 April, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, at least 1,200 Palestinian prisoners began an open-ended hunger strike.
End administrative detention - imprisonment without charge or trial; solitary confinement; torture and ill treatment; the illegal transfer of prisoners from the occupied territories into Israel; military courts for civilians; arrest and imprisonment of children, older and disabled people.

FREE HALIL SAVDA! ABOLISH TURKEY’S ARTICLE 318!
Halil Savda, a leading Kurdish conscientious objector in Turkey, was sent to prison in February for five months for the “crime” of "discouraging people from performing military service".
Halil had fallen foul of Article 318 of the Turkish Criminal Code when he supported two Israelis who refused to serve in the invasion of Lebanon in 2006. Despite having been imprisoned and tortured – as have many COs in Turkey – Halil has stuck to his principle that “our responsibility is to refuse war and militarism.”

NEW REFUSENIK WAVE AGAINST ISRAELI DRAFT
On 17 April, Noam Gur, 18 years old, "feminist, socialist, vegan, activist for Palestine, and a queer" began a 10-day jail sentence for refusing to serve in the Israeli army – continuing the tradition of high-school leavers (Shministim) refusing military service. Fellow refusenik Yigal Levin said: "I saw officers raping their secretaries, soldiers tormenting Sudanese refugees at the border, and an army setting a city in flames."

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Organised by:
Global Women’s Strike gws@globalwomenstrike.net, www.globalwomenstrike.net
Women of Colour in the GWS womenofcolour@globalwomenstrike.net, Queer Strike queerstrike@queerstrike.net
Payday men's network payday@paydaynet.org, www.refusingtokill.net
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network uk@ijsn.net, www.ijsn.net
Endorsed by:
Free Mumia Abu Jamal Defense Campaign (UK) free2mumia@gmail.com
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