| coco fusco on Thu, 15 Jul 2004 06:01:49 +0200 (CEST) |
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| <nettime> toward a global view of civil rights and academic freedom |
BEHOLD RECENT NEWS OF OTHER INTELLECTUALS, ARTISTS AND ACTIVISTS WHOSE CIVIL RIGHTS ARE SYSTEMATICALLY VIOLATED IN THE US AND ELSEWHERE.IN THE HOPES THAT SOME HERE MIGHT CONSIDER ADOPTING A BROADER, GLOBAL APPROACH TO DEFENDING CIVIL RIGHTS AND EVEN INSTITUTE A PERMANENT MECHANISMS FOR MONITORING AND RESPONDING TO THE EXCESSES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGAINST ALL CULTURAL INTERVENTIONISTS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY ARE CALL THEMSELVES TACTICAL MEDIA PRACTIONERS OR ARE PART OF THE ALT.NET CADRE. CF local activist visited by FBI in relation to DNC protests ** Emergency Release From Boston ** Please Forward Everywhere. Harassment of DNC Protesters Escalates Written by Boston ABC Despite the Boston Police Department�s stated commitment to protect people�s First Amendment rights during the DNC, the BPD has, in conjunction with other law enforcement officers in New York City, started a campaign of preemptive action that could chill protest participants' lawful speech activities during the Democratic National Convention (DNC). The NYPD/FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force started an intimidation campaign against New York activists to prevent them from speaking out against the DNC. On Thursday, July 8, two officers visited the home of a New York City activist (referred to as �Tim� hereafter). They said that they acquired his name from the Boston Police Department, which has compiled a list of �troublemakers� who are coming to Boston. The officers said they plan to visit the homes of all so-called �troublemakers.� At 7 p.m. the officers arrived at Tim�s parents� house, where Tim resides during the summer. Tim was not home, but his parents talked to the officers. The officers had already done extensive surveillance on Tim, which included examining his medical and academic records, in addition to Tim�s previous history with the police. The officers said they are expecting a large band of organized anarchists to come to Boston and destroy it, and proceeded to tell Tim�s father that it was inadvisable for Tim to: - engage in political activity in Boston - work with a named, �known anarchist organizer� in Boston, - work with the Bl(A)ck Tea Society (The BTS is a non-violent group that has been organizing for the DNC for the past year. Planned events include those of protest and celebration, including a free outdoor festival with music, games and entertainment. For more information about the Bl(A)ck Tea Society, go to www.blackteasociety.org.), - come to Boston to observe the DNC or get arrested during the DNC. One of the officers left his business card: Richard W. Ockovic NYPD/FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force 26 Federal Plaza New York, NY 646-696-2113 646-773-8116 (cell) This type of intimidation and targeting of activists is illegal, unacceptable, and unfounded. Local organizers have seen a surge in efforts by police to create fear in the public and in organizers, demonizing political activists, creating an us-them dynamic and preemptively harassing activists so as to have a chilling effect on First Amendment rights. Both the Boston ABC and the National Lawyers Guild are appalled by the Boston Police Department�s lack of commitment to its claims of protecting free speech. People who are visited by law enforcement officers are advised to take down the officers� names and badge numbers and otherwise not talk to them or let them in your homes � tell them they can contact your attorney (you do not have to give them the name of your attorney). Contact the National Lawyers Guild in Boston if you are visited by officers or if you have questions regarding your rights (NLG Boston office: 617-227- 7335 or [email protected]). Please also contact the Boston Anarchist Black Cross, which is doing support work for protesters during the DNC. About the Boston Anarchist Black Cross (ABC): The Boston Anarchist Black Cross is a prison abolition/prisoner support group affiliated with the Anarchist Black Cross Network (www.anarchistblackcross.org). We support those on the inside as well as working on issues of community defense. Boston ABC is helping support protesters arrested during the DNC. For more information, go to http://www.baamboston.org/abc/ or contact [email protected]. ---------------------------------------------- email contact: [email protected] ---------------------------------------------- on the web: http://blackteasociety.org ---------------------------------------------- email announcement list: http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/dnc2004 ---------------------------------------------- donate to the convergence: http://blackteasociety.org/donate.php ---------------------------------------------- Iran Drops Death Penalty for Professor Guilty of Blasphemy June 29, 2004 By NAZILA FATHI TEHRAN, June 28 - Iran's hard-line judiciary backed off from the death sentence issued against a history professor, his lawyer said Monday. The sentencing of Hashem Aghajari had sparked days of protests in 2002. Mr. Aghajari was convicted of blasphemy after he said in a speech that Muslims were not "monkeys" to follow blindly the teachings of clerics. Although that charge, carrying the death penalty, was dropped earlier this month, he may still face up to five years in prison for "insulting religious values," said his lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht. Mr. Aghajari has been in jail since 2002. The head of the Supreme Court, Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammadi Gilani, said last week that Mr. Aghajari could be freed on bail. But the court ruled Monday that he must remain in jail for another month. Mr. Aghajari, a reformist politician who lost a leg while serving in the 1980-88 war with Iraq, had said he would not appeal his death sentence. But in keeping with Iranian law, the verdict was sent to the Supreme Court, which ordered a review. "He had said that he would not appear in court today because it was behind closed doors," said his wife, Zahra Behnoodi, the ILNA news agency reported. "The only reason he went to court today was to show his good intention." Mr. Nikbakht said Mr. Aghajari did not accept the charge of insulting religious values that was brought against him on Monday. "I am a Shiite Muslim and do not accept any of the charges leveled against me," Mr. Nikbakht quoted his client as saying. Two other dissidents appeared at the court on Monday. Emadedin Baghi, a reformist journalist, was tried for insulting senior officials. Fatimeh Haghighatjoo, an outspoken former member of Parliament, was charged with spreading lies. The European Union and Human Rights Watch denounced Iran this month for human rights violations, including infringements of the rights of political prisoners. But Mr. Nikbakht said Monday that dismissing the blasphemy charge against Mr. Aghajari was evidence that international pressure had forced Iran's judiciary to show greater lenience. "I do not think the judiciary will seek charges that carry death sentences anymore," he said. "Anyone who was visiting Iran brought up Mr. Aghajari's case with Iranian officials. This had huge effect." U.N. Visits Suspected Nuclear Site MOSCOW, June 28 (Reuters) - United Nations nuclear inspectors on Monday visited the Lavizan site in Tehran, where Washington suspects that Iran carried out secret atomic weapons activities, said Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. In a telephone interview, Dr. ElBaradei said: "We went there today and we took environmental samples. Tomorrow we will also visit places in the country to look at relevant equipment." Recent satellite photos showed Iran had removed all the buildings and much of the topsoil at Lavizan, which is near a military installation. The United States said this suggested that Iran was conducting activities there linked to what it said was a secret atom bomb program. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/29/international/middleeast/29iran.html?ex=1089702817&ei=1&en=37827520fa7b7b41 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: [email protected] and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: [email protected]