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Chelsea Manning Will Be Released Next Week And Finally Get First Chance At Life

May 13, 2017 Kevin Gosztola,www.shadowproof.com ,
By Kevin Gosztola for Shadow Proof - Chelsea Manning will be released from military prison at Fort Leavenworth next week. She will finally get a chance to be herself without having to conform to the rigid guidelines or expectations of the United States Army. News media are undoubtedly clamoring for an “exclusive” interview with Manning after she leaves prison. One can imagine the atrocious template, which has persisted, that they probably will call upon once more for her introduction. “There are some who call her a hero. There are others who see her as a traitor. Whatever you think, she served time in prison for one of the biggest leaks in history, and now she joins us for a first-ever TV interview.” If her first interview is on NBC’s “Today” show, one can be certain Savannah Guthrie will probably ask if Manning thinks President Barack Obama was right to commute her sentence, like she has some obligation to validate those who vilify her and would be unfazed if she had died in prison. It is very possible she takes some time out of the public eye and does not give any media outlet an “exclusive” for pundits to pick apart and berate her. That may include sympathetic media outlets.

What We Did At The Ukrainian Embassy

April 16, 2017 Phil Wilayto, www.popularresistance.org , , ,
By Phil Wilayto for The Odessa Solidarity Campaign. Washington, DC - When we rang the doorbell at the Ukrainian Embassy to the United States in Washington, D.C., Ray McGovern and I heard a staff person ask “Who is it?” over the intercom. “We’re the Odessa Solidarity Campaign and we have a letter for President Petro Poroshenko,” we said. When the door opened, a bewildered-looking man was confronted by what must have seemed to him like a sea of reporters. Plus Ray and myself, with the letter. “We’re calling on President Poroshenko to release all political prisoners in Ukraine and end the repression against the relatives of the people who died at the House of Trade Unions on May 2, 2014,” we said. The staff member slowly took the letter as the TV cameras filmed. (The text of the letter appears below.)

Friday: Stand In Solidarity With Corean Activists

November 30, 2016 Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org , , ,
By Margaret Flowers for Popular Resistance. Washington, DC - Earlier this year, Popular Resistance took action in solidarity with a peace delegation from South Corea* that represents activists who are working to end the crackdown on progressive political parties and free speech, to free activists who are in prison and to end the Korean War. We demonstrated at the White House and at the Korean embassy. We learned about the May 18th Democracy Uprising in 1980 in which hundreds were killed. And we learned that the current president, Park Geun-hye, the daughter of the dictator Park Chung-hee who ruled in the 1970's, banned the Unified Progressive Party in violation of international law and has violated other rights.

Chelsea Manning Makes Appeal For Release Before Trump Takes Office

November 16, 2016 Ed Pilkington, www.theguardian.com , , ,
By Ed Pilkington for The Guardian - Former US soldier serving 35 years in prison for leaking state secrets asks Barack Obama to commute her sentence to time served. Chelsea Manning has made a last-ditch appeal to Barack Obama to commute her sentence for leaking state secrets to time served, calling on him to release her from military prison so that she can have her “first chance to live a real, meaningful life”.

Albert Woodfox: ‘I Choose To Use My Anger As A Means For Changing Things’

October 26, 2016 Rowan Moore, www.theguardian.com
By Rowan Moore for The Guardian - Everybody has fear,” says Albert Woodfox. “Fear is the soul telling the body that it’s in danger. Some people overcome that fear. I overcame it by having a cause. That’s what the party told me: always be honourable, always serve the people.” Woodfox, now a grizzled 69-year-old, has had more reasons to be afraid than most, and when he says that he has known “more pain and suffering than any human being should be asked to suffer”, he is not exaggerating.

Jeremy Hammond: Reflections From The SHU

October 19, 2016 Jeremy Hammond, www.freejeremy.net , ,
By Jeremy Hammond for Free Jeremy - “When are you going to start doing your time right?” one of the prison administrators tell me on their weekly rounds of the Special Housing Unit. I’m back in SHU again, this time for making hooch. I explain one or two disciplinary shots a year is really what you should expect out of a medium-security prisoner. Seems like all of my comrades behind bars are in solitary these days.

‘Guantánamo Diary’ Author Released After 14 Years Without Charge

October 18, 2016 Hina Shamsi, www.aclu.org ,
By Hina Shamsi for ACLU - After unlawfully imprisoning our client Mohamedou Ould Slahi at Guantánamo for 14 years without charge or trial, the U.S. government has finally released him. He is now home in his native Mauritania. We are overjoyed for Mohamedou and his loving family, who have been anxiously awaiting his return for so many years. His release brings the U.S. one man closer to ending the travesty that is Guantánamo. Mohamedou’s release comes after long legal battles and an outpouring of support worldwide

Yes, I’ll Get Gender Surgery. But May Still Be Punished For Suicide Attempt

September 21, 2016 Chelsea E Manning, www.theguardian.com , ,
By Chelsea E Manning for The Guardian - Last week I was given the “good news” that the Department of Defense will grant my request to see a surgeon for treatment related to my gender dysphoria. Although I don’t have anything in writing, I was shown a memorandum with my name on it that confirmed the military is moving forward with my request. Everything that they have presented to me leads me to believe that they are going to provide the care that has been recommended by my doctor. I have requested this for nearly a year. That same week, I was also given “bad news”: I may be punished for a suicide attempt in July.

Chelsea Ends Hunger Strike After Army Cooperates

September 14, 2016 Christina DiPasquale, www.chelseamanning.org ,
By Christina DiPasquale for Free Chelsea Manning - LEAVENWORTH, KS––Chelsea Manning has ended a hunger strike that she began five days ago, after the U.S. military has agreed to move forward with the recommended treatment for her gender dysphoria. However, the Army is continuing to threaten Chelsea with solitary confinement for charges directly related to her attempt to take her own life, even though it was the government’s own mistreatment of Chelsea that drove her to it.

Chelsea Manning Begins Hunger Strike Against Prison Conditions

September 12, 2016 Editor, www.countercurrents.org , ,
By Editor of Counter Current News - U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning announced she began a hunger strike in protest of her prison conditions as she serves a 35-year sentence for leaking classified documents. Advocacy group Fight for the Future shared a statement from the 28-year-old transgender woman as she demanded written assurances from the Army she will receive all of the medically prescribed recommendations for her gender dysphoria and that the “high tech bullying” will stop.

Update From Chelsea’s Legal Team

July 9, 2016 Staff, www.chelseamanning.org ,
Bt Staff of Free Chelsea Manning - The prison has notified us that Chelsea was hospitalized and remains under a doctor’s care. At this time her doctors are recommending against a call and we are respecting those recommendations but are in close touch with the facility and will continue to monitor her condition and hope to connect with her soon. To protect her privacy, that is all we can say at the moment. Please continue to send Chelsea your good thoughts and messages of support.

Political Prisoner Rev. Edward Pinkney Fears For His Life

June 13, 2016 Glen Ford, www.blackagendareport.com
By Glen Ford for Black Agenda Report - Rev. Edward Pinkney, the imprisoned community activist from the mostly Black town of Benton Harbor, Michigan, believes his life is in danger. Pinkney is serving a sentence of two and a half to ten years following his conviction by an all-white jury on the flimsiest of charges of tampering with an election recall petition. He told Kenneth Rhoades, a supporter on the outside, that he’s not afraid of the inmates, but fears the government is out to do him harm – and that they might get away with it because, in his words, “they cover everything up”...

With My Brother In Guantánamo Bay, The Heart Of My Family Is Missing

May 30, 2016 Yahdih Ould Salahi, www.theguardian.com ,
By Yahdih Ould Salahi for The Guardian - I was 19 years old when my brother disappeared, and I was 20 when I discovered he was in Guantánamo. I’m 33 now, and a German citizen living in Dusseldorf, where I work as a computer systems engineer. I have a productive and peaceful life because of my brother. We grew up in Mauritania, one of the world’s poorest countries. I am the youngest of 12 siblings. My father died not long after I was born, and Mohamedou became the heart of our family. He studied hard, winning a scholarship to study engineering in Germany.

Gary Tyler Freed From Angola After 42 Years, Sentence Illegal

May 6, 2016 Staff, www.nola.com , ,
By Staff of The Associated Press - After almost 42 years at Louisiana's maximum security prison, Gary Tyler is a free man. Tyler had been jailed at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola since he was 16, convicted of first-degree murder for the 1974 slaying of a fellow Destrehan High School student amid rising racial tensions surrounding school integration. Now 57, he was released Friday. Norris Henderson, a counselor working with Tyler to help ease his re-entry into society, said Tyler's first reaction after walking out of Angola was relief.

Macri’s Gov’t Dismisses Calls To Release Activist Milagro Sala

April 2, 2016 Staff, www.telesurtv.net ,
By Staff of Tele Sur - Human rights groups have dubbed Milagro Sala the "first political prisoner" of the right-wing Mauricio Macri administration. Argentina's Appeals Chamber of Jujuy rejected the release of Indigenous leader Milagro Sala, after rejecting the defense appeal filed by her lawyer. For the judges, the release of Sala could "hinder the normal process" against her and the Tupac Amaru neighborhood movement she leads.
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