Prison

13 August 2011Feature

 

Action On 1 December, put aside at least one hour and write at least four cards to prisoners; Get your peace group or class or place of worship to organise a card-writing session; Set up a stall in your town centre, perform a bit of street theatre, or do whatever else it takes to attract attention and interest.
Sending cards and letters Always send your card in an envelope; Include a return name and address on the envelope; Be chatty and creative: send photos from your life,…

13 August 2011Feature

The extraordinary artwork that you see here was created in the most difficult of circumstances: inside Belmarsh high security prison in south-east London between 2001 and 2005 by one of several individuals who were at the time interned without trial on secret evidence.

All the men are innocent of any involvement in “terrorism” yet have been subjected repeatedly to proceedings based on secret, closed “evidence” that denies them any real opportunity to defend themselves. This brings…

13 August 2011Feature

When, in summer 2001, War Resisters' International decided to highlight the situation in Israel and Palestine for this year's Prisoners for Peace, there was no 11 September, no “war on terrorism”. There was “just” a completely stuck peace process, and increasing violence: from both the occupying Israeli forces, and in the Palestinian response to this occupation. And there was a slowly growing movement of conscientious objectors in Israel. More than enough reasons for a Prisoners for Peace…

13 August 2011Feature

A Plowshares/Ploughshares support person describes the networks which keep prisoners in good shape - and how they use the prison experience to activate and animate the people around them.

In August 1998, Sachio Ko-Yin and Dan Sicken entered a nuclear missile silo in Weld County, Colorado, USA, and proceeded symbolically to transform death into life.

How shall I talk about doing support for a Plowshares prisoner? First, the excitement of the action and the post-action high (“They didn't shoot us! I talked to the FBI about Thoreau!”); the rush of speaking engagements and attendant press prior to the trial; trial preparation; then the night before the trial, that time-…

13 August 2011Feature

When on 14 October 1996, Osman (Ossi) Murat Ulke began to serve his sentence in the military prison of Mamak in Ankara, a flood of protest and solidarity letters soon poured in. His case shows how effective letters to Prisoners for Peace can be. Ossi's imprisonment had been expected and partner organizations in Western Europe (including many sections of the WRI) and in Turkey were prepared.

During his first days of imprisonment, Ossi received up to 100 letters a day. He felt that the prison walls were tumbling down. He was in a cell and still he was in contact with so many people nationally and internationally. “This motivated me very much. I tried to answer all letters and I was spending my whole day in the cell writing letters. Fortunately I knew from my lawyers and from replies that my letters had actually been dispatched”.

Many people write short postcards or…

13 August 2011Feature

CO activist Sergeiy Sandler reports on the rising tide of objection to military service in Israel during the second intifada.

Thirty-two people is a small number. A demonstration with thirty-two participants would hardly be worthy of the word. But since October 2000, thirty-two people were imprisoned or otherwise penalised in Israel for refusing to perform military duty on conscientious and political grounds.

Thirty-two may not be such a small figure after all. It is even rather large if we compare it to the figure for the preceding year - only three. It is also not that small because it actually represents…

13 August 2011Feature

The British campaign against climate chaos moved into a new phase on 4 August when Paul Morozzo became the first climate activist to be imprisoned. PN interviewed him after his release.

On 4 August, the first day of Climate Camp, Paul Morozzo, 41, was one of five environmental activists to publicly defy bail conditions banning him from attending the camp, knowing this could lead to days, perhaps weeks of imprisonment. Paul was arrested at an entrance to the Camp (the others were able to enter, apparently because of police incompetence) and served a week in prison. He was released by Selby magistrates on 11 August. He is believed to be the first person in Britain to be…

13 August 2011Feature

In 1979 Coskun Üsterci began a prison sentence, of which he served nearly 12 years. During his imprisonment he moved from belonging to a leftist political group which advocated armed struggle to becoming a strong advocate of nonviolence. Here he talks with Andreas Speck about his prison experiences and the current struggle against isolation cells.

Coskun, you were imprisoned for almost 12 years, from 1979 to 1991, when the rest of your sentence was changed to a suspended sentence. What was important for you in prison and where did you get your strength from ?

The most important source of strength was my belief in being right. But this wasn’t a blind belief. I was objecting to exploitation and human rights violations. I desired democratic and economic development in our country. These were quite simple demands, compared to…

13 August 2011Comment

In November, two events re-ignited the debate on the numbers and conditions of those imprisoned in British jails and detention centres. Both - in their different ways - revealed the level of desperation and despair at impractical and immoral criminal justice and immigration policies.

Unrest at Harmondsworth detention centre on 28 November - reportedly sparked after detainees were denied access to a TV news item on a damning new report on the centre - saw desperate detainees…

1 July 2011News in Brief

Climate activists are collecting funds to cover the E30,000 court costs of Tannie Nyboe and Stine Gry Jonassen, who on 1 June were sentenced by the Danish high court to two months in prison (plus two months suspended) for their involvement in nonviolent civil disobedience on 16 December 2009 during the failed climate negotiations in Copenhagen. The main evidence against Tannie and Stine, Danish spokespeople for the global network Climate Justice Action, was that they allegedly shouted “push…

1 July 2011News in Brief

Prisoners who have served in the British armed forces are twice as likely to have commited sexual offences, and are more likely to have committed violent offences, than the general public, according to an 18-month inquiry by the Howard League for Penal Reform.

25% of ex-servicepeople in prison are there for sexual offences, compared to 11% of the civilian prison population. 32.9% of veterans in prison are there for “violence against the person”, compared to 28.6% of the civilian…

1 May 2011News in Brief

The UN special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, said on 8 April that the Pentagon was refusing to allow him a private interview with Bradley Manning, held for allegedly leaking secret US military documents to Wikileaks. On 21 March, Pentagon Papers whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg was among 35 arrested during a solidarity protest at Quantico marine base, Virginia, where Bradley was being held. Banners read: “Caution, Whistleblower Torture Zone”. On 20 April, it was announced that Bradley is…

1 May 2011Feature

The report that led to its author, a young Egyptian peace activist, being imprisoned on 12 April for three years. Its title refers to the demonstrators’chant in Tahrir Square: “the army and the people are one hand!”

On 11 February, after president Hosni Mubarak’s stepping-down speech, many Egyptians rushed to declaring victory and the completion of the revolution. I regret having to say the following, mostly because many of those who spoke out are my friends, but people have the right to know the truth. In fact, the revolution has so far managed to get rid of the dictator but not of the dictatorship.

As I participated in the revolution since day one, I’ve witnessed the majority of the events. I…

1 May 2011Feature

“We got rid of the dictator, but not of the dictatorship”. Maikel Nabil Sanad wrote this in a post on his blog, in which he analysed the role of the Egyptian military during and after the revolution that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak. Three weeks later, on 28 March, he was arrested by military police. A judge then ordered his imprisonment for 15 days, pending the investigation on charges of “insulting the military” and “obstructing public security”.

The trial itself was adjourned…

1 March 2011News

Peace activist Chris Cole was released from prison on 2 February after serving 15 days for an act of civil disobedience.

Cole was sentenced to 30 days in HMP Wandsworth after refusing to pay a £2,000 fine resulting from nonviolent direct action at the Defence and Security Equipment International 2009 arms fair in which he spray-painted “Stop this bloody business” and “Make peace, not war machines” on the door and pavement at the convention centre.

Cole said that his…