New York Activists Commemorate Lynne Stewart’s Release from Political Imprisonment

By Nadrat Siddique

 

On February 19, New Trend representatives sat in on an unusual event in New York City. Peoples’ lawyer Lynne Stewart, who has advanced breast cancer and was finally released in December 2013 from prison under a compassionate release program, following a hard fought battle for her release by supporters, celebrated her freedom and demanded the freedom of other political prisoners who continue to be held.

 

Lynne Stewart appeared with her husband and partner in struggle Ralph Poynter at St. Peters Church in Manhattan just a few blocks from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and New York’s famed Times Square. The event, jointly called by the couple, was billed as “A Valentine from Lynne Stewart to all Political Prisoners.” It was an evening filled with love and magic—but not of the Hallmark sort.  

 

Former political prisoners of unflinching dedication to the upliftment of their communities, and to the Mother Earth, graced the meeting. Among the most noteworthy: Sekou Odinga, BPP and BLA member, released in November 2014 after being held 33 years; Cisco Torres, Puerto Rican independentista; and Kathy Boudin, Weather Underground member.

 

Turning to Lynne Stewart and Ralph Poynter who sat together on a sofa at the head of the room, Laura Whitehorn, former political prisoner, spoke powerfully. She started her presentation by recognizing Palestinian political prisoners, then read a poem she had written for Native American inmate Standing Deer while he was still alive. (Standing Deer is the Native American inmate pressured by the U.S. government to murder Leonard Peltier, a request the former refused). A highly poignant message from Jalil Muntaquin, Black Panther/ BLA member held political prisoner by the U.S. government for 43 years, was read. Then another from David Gilbert, Caucasian anti-imperialist activist held for 32 years by the U.S., was shared. “We’re talking about a Revolution” was sung by Lynne Stewart’s lovely granddaughter, engaging the entire audience. Numerous members of Lynne and Ralph’s family sat silently supporting the couple.

 

Significantly, in this post-Ferguson era, numerous speakers linked police brutality and political imprisonment. The Black Agenda Report’s Glenn Ford, who delivered the keynote address, opined that political imprisonment occurs wherever there is resistance to oppression. Hence a movement to support political prisoners is vital. Police exist as an occupying force in Black communities across the U.S., Ford continued. It is the right and responsibility of an occupied people to fight and expel their occupiers. Ford extolled both the sacrifices of Lynne Stewart, and the courage of youth in the U.S. town of Ferguson, MO, countering the brutal police tactics against peaceful protestors there.

 

Pam Africa, of the MOVE organization and IFFMAJ (International Concerned Friends and Family of Mumia Abu Jamal), spoke on the murder of her brother Phil Africa. Phil was a MOVE political prisoner in U.S. government custody. He was very healthy, doing jumping jacks and other exercise, when taken to the offsite hospital by prison officials she said. Soon afterwards, authorities  pronounced him dead.  The pattern of killing political prisoners, either directly or indirectly, during incarceration was evident.

 

Among the guiding principles of the MOVE organization are: Community control over food supply, eschewing of drugs and alcohol, attention to diet and exercise, and respect for the Earth—in a word all the things the U.S. government and associated corporate interests don’t want in the Black community. Many believe this is part of the reason MOVE was targeted for destruction by the U.S. government (The MOVE house, located in Philadelphia, was bombed by a U.S. government helicopter in 1985; the home, along with 65 neighboring ones, was destroyed.) At the event for Lynne Stewart, Pam Africa spoke passionately against the despoiling of the earth. She excoriated the hijacking of the Peoples’ food by multinational corporations, who replaced real food with GMOs, effectively synthetics passing as food. As she spoke, Pam radiated health and youth, a shining example of the healthy eating she promulgates.

 

Larry Hamm, of the Peoples Organization for Progress, shared news of a victory in Newark, NJ. Oversight of the police had been enacted full throttle by Ras Baraka, the new mayor, who is also the son of Amiri Baraka, Hamm said to cheers. He pointed out the irony of the situation: the son of the famed Black poet, who at one point was almost killed in a police brutality incident, upon getting into office determined to put a leash on the very power which had almost murdered his father. This was an example of what could be done when the people organized to contain or oppose the power of the police.

 

One very important point alluded to by several speakers, which ought to forge links between the movements to free Muslim and Arab political prisoners and parallel movements to free New Afrikan prisoners (usually BPP and BLA prisoners imprisoned under COINTELPRO held for decades): The most horrific torture techniques used on Muslim and Arab prisoners today—such as those mentioned in the recent CIA torture report, were first developed in the United States and were practiced on Black detainees here.

 

The overarching theme of the evening was summed up by jazz vocalist and activista extraordinaire Luci Murphy, who travelled all the way from Washington, DC, to perform her rendition of Solomon Berk’s famed “None of Us Are Free (If One of Us Is Chained)” in her powerful, melodic voice.

 

Thirty-seven copies of the January 18 New Trend edition, containing Dr. Siddique’s capstone article in defense of the Prophet (SAW) honor, as well as Karin Friedmann’s excellent piece paralleling the deaths of  Arab political political Abu Anas al-Libi and MOVE political prisoner Phil Africa, were disseminated to hardcore activists attending the meeting, including to Pam Africa and Lynne Stewart.

 

Personal notes

 

As I was leaving for the long drive back to Baltimore, I thought: This woman, Lynne Stewart, whom I admire greatly, and who, in my opinion, ought to be a great inspiration for any matriculating law student who holds the maxim “equal justice for all” dear, has demonstrated the true meaning of love. She loves so deeply from the heart, whether it was her blind, ailing client Dr. Omar Abdel Sattar, whom the government tortured in cruel and unusual fashion, her beloved partner, Ralph Poynter, or her community. She is a true friend of Muslims, and a shining example of humanity and sisterhood. May Allah restore her to full shifa.

 

Ahmed Abdel Sattar

 

The only thing missing the incredibly uplifting evening calling for the release of all political prisoners, was an overt call to release Ahmed Abdus Sattar. Sattar, Lynne’s co-defendent, remains imprisoned on bogus charges. An outspoken activist against the Mubarak regime in his Native Egypt, Sattar had no prior criminal record before the bogus prosecution which shattered his and his family’s life. He was a postal carrier in New York, married to a Caucasian American with whom he had four children, very active in his local mosque, and a law-abiding U.S. citizen. Then one day he was accused of talking via telephone to members of the Egyptian opposition to the Mubarak regime. Some say he was targeted due to his affiliation with Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman (“the Blind Sheikh”), for whom he was paralegal. Dr. Abdel Rahman was also a leading critic of the Mubarak government.

 

Leading up to the Arab Spring, U.S. government officials themselves were in discussions with members of the Egyptian opposition. America—or at least some American officials—censured Mubarak. He was removed and tried for crimes against his people. Yet Sattar, whose primary offense seems to be his criticism of (and support for others like the Sheikh who likewise opposed) that U.S. client regime, continues to be held under the atrocious conditions reserved for Muslim and New Afrikan political prisoners, thousands of miles away from his family at the infamous Florence Supermax in Colorado.

 

More on Ahmed’s case is here:

http://ahmedabdelsattar.org/

 

Background on Lynne Stewart

 

Lynne Stewart, along with former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and Abdeen Jabara of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, courageously represented Egyptian political dissident and renowned Islamic scholar Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman (the Blind Sheikh) as he was being railroaded on conspiracy charges by the U.S. government in 1994-1995. After Dr. Abdel Rahman was convicted (based largely on the word of an informant who was paid one million dollars, and the government’s creation of a climate of fear of “Islamic terrorists”), Lynne continued to advocate for the human rights of the blind, diabetic Islamic scholar, whom the U.S. government held in solitary confinement and sought to isolate, as his health deteriorated and diabetes-related symptom set in.

In a fashion customarily associated with Third World countries, where lawyers are routinely thrown in prison along with the dissidents they have the gaul to defend, Lynne Stewart was later brought up on terror charges (the government claimed she passed information from Dr. Abdel Rahman to his supporters in Egypt), convicted, and sentenced to a prison term of 10 years.

Only after a long-standing and concerted campaign by family, friends, and supporters to release the 75-year old grandmother did the government relent. Lynne Stewart was finally released on December 21, 2013.

 

Firmly grounded in the New York community in which she was based, Lynne previously represented the Chicago 7, David Gilbert (a member of the Weather Underground), and many indigents including those on the verge of eviction, or facing lengthy jail terms for minor non-violent crimes. She earned a high place in the hearts of New York’s Black, working class, and poor communities as their champion against an unjust system.

 

Today she continues to battle cancer, which was already present when she was yanked away from her family and imprisoned at FMC Carswell. This is the same prison where Pakistani physician and political prisoner Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is being held.  (As New Trend reported much earlier, Lynne’s indomitable spirit led her to advocate for Dr. Aafia’s human rights, even while her own were being violated through political imprisonment.) There, the cancer metastasized on a grand scale due to inordinate delays in medical treatment.

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New Trend readers are urged to pray for the health of Lynne Stewart as she battles breast cancer. For more information and updates on Lynne, go to:
http://lynnestewart.org/

Un-dependance Day

No Independence for Innocent Political Detainees
Rally Decries 30+ Years of Unjust Detention for Mumia Abu Jamal

Philadelphia, PA

July 3, 2013

MOVE and other supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal rallied at 5th & Market Streets in Philadelphia on the eve of American Independence Day, to draw attention to the gross injustice against the political prisoner. While tourists from around the nation lined up to view the Liberty Bell a few hundred feet away, MOVE and Mumia supporters rallied in the 90 degree heat to draw attention to the irreparably broken Just-Us System, highlighting the case of Mumia. MOVE children, including some on skateboards, handed out literature to passersby on the case.

Using educational postcards handed to me by Pam Africa, I approached some of the tourists waiting to enter the Liberty Bell exhibit on the Mumia case. Many of the Asians did not speak English (or claimed not to), and eschewed the literature. A few--particularly young Caucasians--seemed genuinely interested when I reminded them that they were about to enter an exhibit symbolizing liberty, but that there was no liberty when journalists like Mumia could be held for exposing police brutality and governmental misdeeds.


The rally was supercharged by Pam Africa, spokesperson for International Concerned Friends and Family of Mumia Abu Jamal. In locks and khakis, she is a firebrand, affectionately called Queen Mother Pam, who worked tirelessly for over a decade for Mumia's freedom before it became cause célèbre. Seeing her reminded me how much I wished more Muslims had her consistency in working on political prisoner issues.


Pam Africa's sister, Ramona Africa, was a keynote speaker of the rally, calling powerfully for Mumia's freedom. Ramona is the sole survivor of the May 13, 1985 MOVE house bombing. On that day, a government helicopter bombed the MOVE house from the air—something one would expect in Bagdad, not in the Philadelphia neighborhood where it occurred. The attack killed five beautiful black children who were being raised in intact families and in accordance with MOVE’s holistic, self-reliant lifestyle, designed to instill self-pride and historical awareness in the children. The leader of the group, John Africa, was also murdered in the attack, as were a number of other adults. It is difficult to argue that the government’s aim was other than to terrorize and destroy the organization and its principles.

Short of stature but tall on courage, Ramona bears prominent scars on her forearms, testament to the fact that the government attempted to murder her and her entire extended family--for their espousal of a drug-free/alcohol free, self-sufficient, naturalist life style, which shunned subservience to the White Supremacist Power structure and honored all living beings. Incredibly, Ramona, after seeing so many of her family members perish in the resultant fire, remained undaunted and continued to speak forcefully for the release of the MOVE 9 (members of the MOVE organization captured in the government's long-running vendetta against the organization, and held political prisoner for decades), as well as for the freedom of Mumia Abu Jamal and others held unjustly by the U.S., usually for their political beliefs.


The July 3 rally was further addressed by Theresa Shoatz, daughter of Russell Maroon Shoatz. Russell Maroon Shoatz is a Black nationalist and political activist held by the U.S. government on concocted charges for over 30 years. Sr. Shoatz delivered what was perhaps the most poignant address of the gathering, saying that as long as her father was in solitary confinement, so remained her spirit in solitary; and that as long as her father was subjected to tasteless and nutritionally-devoid food presented by his captors, so tasted she only that horrid prison food.

Br. Shabazz, a representative of UNIA-ACL, spoke powerfully against the oppressive U.S. power structure. A Muslim woman who grew up in Mumia's neighborhood spoke on his integrity and strong stance for the rights of the oppressed even as a youth.


I was invited to the dais by Pam Africa, and had the privilege to speak on behalf of Jamaat al-Muslimeen. I offered solidarity to Mumia, reminded the Muslims and others in the audience that Islam was a faith which commanded its adherents to fight for justice and against oppression, and in particular to ally oneself with the struggle to free political prisoners ("Free the captive"). As an Asian and a Muslim, I apologized to the audience for the absence of "my people" from such vital actions, and the fact that their brainwashed status and alliance with the oppressive power structure would lead them to stand in long lines to view the Liberty Bell (at the very site--the original White House--where George Washington, owner of 316 slaves, had kept 9 of them!), rather than to stand up for a man--Mumia Abu Jamal--imprisoned solely for speaking the truth.


I lamented the failure of the Muslim community at large to come forth in the case of elderly Muslim cleric, hafiz-e-Quran, and political prisoner Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman at the time of his railroading on bogus terror/conspiracy charges, despite the fact that he was extremely well known and respected on the mosque speaking circuit, was entirely peaceful, and his criticisms were directed strictly at the dictatorship in Egypt (and against the looting of Egypt by American multinational corporations). The silence of the Muslim community in this very clear cut case of injustice--the effective live burial into the American Gulag of a blind, diabetic, Muslim elder and Qur'anic reciter, PhD from the most prestigious of Islamic universities, Al-Azhar--was, I said, a green light to the government to launch further broad spread attacks against the Muslim community, targeting anyone who was vulnerable or exhibited a measure of independent thinking. I ended with a prayer for the many political prisoners being held unjustly by the U.S.


A former Black Panther and Philadelphia journalist who reported on police brutality, Mumia has been held on very shoddy charges by the U.S. government for over 30 years, much of this on death row. Vast numbers of people have called for his release, including Hollywood celebrities and Nobel laureates, to no avail.


As I left the gathering, I was overwhelmed by the fact that I had just shared a dais with Pam and Ramona Africa. How many U.S. Muslims, faced with death, destruction of their families and their homes, and the long-term imprisonment of their family members--not for any wrongdoing, but for their beliefs and failure to succumb to the system--would respond with such patience, perseverance, and courage. It is the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims—a good time to reaffirm our commitment to the cause of the mustazafeen.

© 2013 By Nadrat Siddique