P.O. Box 10881, Baltimore, MD 21234.
Phone: 410-435-5000 Fax: 410-638-5965 (Call first to get fax connected)
[Scroll down for info on
Coca Cola
boycott to oppose
Israel
plus case of a key political prisoner in
Pakistan.]
24-hour lock down for Imam Jamil al-Amin: Kept Shackled even in Wash
Room
Warden trying to get him to sign papers saying he is "being treated
well"
His Islamic
books destroyed: 100 plus letters Confiscated
"Shall I inform you (o people), on whom it is that the satans descend?
They
descend on every lying, wicked person..." (26:221-222)
Imam Jamil Abdullah al-Amin is an Islamic leader of
international
renown, with support from Black and Islamic communities in cities
across
America.
He has spent his life in activism against
racism
and oppression
perpetrated by the American power structure. Many a time, the U.S.
government
has tried to 'get him', under some pretext or the other. They could
never
prove anything against him. Finally they tried him for the murder of a
police
officer and convicted him on murky "evidence." The verdict was rushed
through
and the issues creating doubt about the prosecution's case were never
resolved. [A person should not be convicted under law if the case is
not
proven beyond a reasonable doubt.] He was sentenced to life in prison.
Now IN PRISON, the government is trying to crush him and to
destroy his
personality and his resistance as a human being. Here is the latest
situation
[with thanks to Imam Khalil Abdul-Rahman of Greensboro, North
Carolina]:
1. Since March 2002, Imam Jamil al-Amin has been under 23-hour lock
down. The
purpose seems to have been to cut him off from other inmates to stop
the
spread of Islam.
2. After conviction, for more than seven weeks, he was placed under
24-hour
lock down, which means that the one hour he used to get to walk around
in the
yard was taken away.
3. For all this time, this information could not get out because the
Imam was
denied the use of the phone.
4. Even in lock down he is BEING KEPT SHACKLED, so much so that he has
to go
to the wash room in shackles.
5. The Imam's Islamic book collection, a little "library" of books
gifted to
him by his admirers in many cities, has been CONFISCATED and DESTROYED.
6. Even the Imam's mail, more than a hundred letters, has been taken
away from him and confiscated.
7. THE WARDEN IS TRYING TO MAKE THE IMAM SIGN PAPERS SAYING THAT HE IS
BEING TREATED WELL IN PRISON.
8. On being asked about the 24-hour lock down, the Warden is reported
to have
said that Imam Jamil is a "threat to the institution" he is being kept
in.
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IMMEDIATE ACTIONS NEEDED: CALL THE WARDEN at: 912-557-7301
1. Readers within the United States are urged to call the warden and
demand
(politely) that the Imam be treated in accordance with the rights given
to
prisoners. These rights include:
i. Availability of religious material.
ii. Right to receive mail.
iii. Right to pray and to receive facilities for prayer individually
and with
others of the same faith within the prison.
iv. No shackling permitted in the case of a prisoner who is not
disorderly or physically dangerous.
v. End to both 23-hour and 24-hour lock down when a prisoner is neither
disorderly nor physically dangerous.
[When you call, someone other than the Warden will pick up. If there
are
difficulties in reaching the warden, leave a clear message for the
warden
with the person who picks up the phone.]
------------------------------------------
READERS OVERSEAS are urged to write to the Warden, with a copy to us,
calling
for the RELEASE of IMAM JAMIL AL-AMIN. He is a political prisoner. He
did not
kill anyone and has been sentenced because of his life-long activism as
a
Black dissident and then his lack of flag waving and bootlicking as a
an IMAM
of NATIONAL and INTERNATIONAL stature.
Write to: The Warden, Georgia State Prison, 100 Georgia Hwy 147,
Reidsville,
GA 30499-9701
The copy you will send us will be sent to human rights organizations,
media
and Islamic communities in America. [USE OUR ADDRESS AT THE TOP OF THIS
PRESS
RELEASE.]
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PICKETS ARE NEEDED:
1. A few volunteers are needed to picket in the town of Reidsville,
which is
between Atlanta and Savannah, calling for humane treatment of the Imam.
2. Volunteers are also needed (and this is much easier) to picket CNN
in
Atlanta, bringing attention to the mistreatment of the Imam.
[Use this email address for your response: ksidd37398@aol.com]
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WHY BOYCOTT COCA COLA (other than its negative health content)?:
(From Imam Badi Ali, Greensboro, North Carolina):
Recently Coca Cola teamed up with the "Friends of Israel" and National
Hillel
to cosponsor a lecture given by the infamous
zionist
correspondent Linda
Gradstein, of National Public Radio, NPR, at the University of
Minnesota.
From 1966 Coca-Cola has been a staunch supporter of Israel. The
Government of
Israel Economic Mission honored Coca-Cola at the Israel Trade Award
Dinner
for its continued support of Israel and for refusing to abide by the
Arab
League boycott of Israel when that boycott was in effect.
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PAKISTANI POLITICAL PRISONER HAFIZ SAEED, leader of Jamaat ad-Da'wa:
During a hearing in Lahore, Pakistan, the Pakistan attorney general
claimed
that the government does not know where Hafiz Saeed is being held or
ANYTHING
about his whereabouts!
Hafiz (lierally one who has memorized the Qur'an) Saeed was arrested in
December 2001. When the matter went to court after three months, he was
released owing to lack of evidence. He was again arrested in May 2002.
The
government again has no evidence and is trying to delay his release by
claiming it DOES NOT KNOW where he is!
Hafiz Saeed is the leader of the Jihad movement which helps the
liberation
struggle of the Kashmiri people. Its objectives are strictly military.
It
does not target any civilians.
Please write to: President Pervez Musharref, Islamabad, Pakistan urging
him
to release Hafiz Saeed. (Use an 80-cent postage stamp on your air mail
envelope.)
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2002-08-04 Sun 12:27ct