Today's Topics:
1. awsm.nz: Queerphobia is a class issue (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. France, UCL AL #316 = Politics, Handicap, Allowance for
disabled adults: do not give up on individualization (ca, de, it,
fr, pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
disabled adults: do not give up on individualization (ca, de, it,
fr, pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. Czech, oafed: Anarchism is flourishing in Colombia
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. derry anarchists: Anti-authoritarian Voices in Uprising
against the Dictatorship (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
against the Dictatorship (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. Derry Anarchist Collective: Imprisoned Anti-Fascist Activist
Says Federal Guards Let White Supremacists Beat Him
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
(thanks to AWSM member Sarah for the article and art and Jordyn for agreeing to
the interview) ---- As we celebrate Pride this year it is important to remember
Pride's activist roots and set our sights on the fight ahead. While affluent
LGBTQIA+ people are doing fine and being paraded as tokens on television, the
rest of us still have unmet needs. Every single kind of queerphobia* is worse for
working class people. ---- Around 40% of unhoused people under the age of 25 are
LGBTQIA+ and who knows how many others stay closeted in unsafe family homes
because they can't afford to be kicked out? This is just one of many examples.
I interviewed my friend Jordyn about her experience with one of the most glaring
expressions of classist Lgbtqia+-phobia in New Zealand: barriers to trans
healthcare access.
Here is the transcript of our interview.
Me: So first of all, what has your overall experience accessing
transition-related healthcare been like?
Jordyn: Mostly fine, hormones took an appointment with my GP, then a psychologist
four weeks later and then an appointment with an endocrinologist about a month later.
My experience with surgery though has been terrible with NZ currently having
around a 20 year wait time for reassignment surgery.
Me:Dang, that's a ridiculously long period of time.
Is all of this through the public system or did you have to go private?
Jordyn: Yeah and for a lot of us surgery is a life saving treatment.
I was lucky enough that my insurance agreed to cover my endocrinologist costs on
a special basis, endocrinologists through the public system in Wellington have a
stated 3 month wait time, but a lot of people wait for around 6 months.
Now though all my hormones levels and dosages are managed by me with supervision
from my GP
Me: Yeah, that's far too important to have a 20 year wait time.
Is surgery more accessible to people who can pay out of pocket?
Jordyn: Yeah, we still only have one surgeon in NZ that can do it, but there's
really no wait list if you can pay for it yourself, I think only around 5 people
have paid for it themselves since the surgeon has been here.
It's also overwhelmingly expensive in NZ with quotes for private being minimum
$45000 whereas you can go to Thailand and get more modern techniques and
extremely experienced surgeons for between $15000-20000
This is for a vaginoplasty, trans male surgery is a lot more expensive but I
don't know much about it.
Me: Yeah, that's a terribly stark example of class disparity.
I don't know if there's anything else to ask.
Thanks for your help getting the facts straight.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Jordyn:
Uh I guess that 71% of trans people aged 15 or over have very high levels of
psychological distress compared to 8% of the general population, and that in 2019
56% of trans people had seriously considered suicide over the previous 12 months
compared to the worldwide average for trans people which I think is around 40%
(Source:https://nzfvc.org.nz/news/counting-ourselves-first-comprehensive-national-nz-survey-transgender-health-and-wellbeing)
The needs of trans people in NZ aren't being met and aside from a small amount of
funding the government isn't really doing much to address transgender issues in
regards to access to healthcare and especially surgery which is in an appalling
state compared to the rest of the world
Me:Yeah, that's awful.Seems like they're basically doing the absolute bare minimum.
-This concluded the interview-
Jordyn's experience clearly shows that transphobia is always reinforced by classism.
Both the data and our lived experiences leave no doubt - queerphobia is enforced
by the state and capital, and any coherent approach to LGBTQIA+ activism must be
opposed to both. This is why I am a queer anarchist.
*The word "queer" is a reclaimed slur, and my decision to use it does not reflect
the entire community's opinion on its use.
https://awsm.nz/?p=10543
------------------------------
Message: 2
Since January 2021, the fight for the separation of the income of the spouse,
civil union partner or cohabiting partner for the payment of the allowance for
disabled adults (AAH) has progressed well. If the adoption by the Senate of
dissociation is a great victory, because of the fierce opposition of the LREM
majority to this reform, the fight for autonomy is far from over. ---- It is
thanks to the absence of the members of the majority that the bill[for the
separation of the income of the spouse, pacsé or cohabitant for the payment of
the allowance for disabled adults ( AAH)]passed the National Assembly for the
first time.[...]It is not certain that LREM, however alone enough to defend the
maintenance of the current system, again deserts the Assembly and thus allows the
bill to pass during its second reading.[...]"The government[...]thus finds itself
alone to refuse the evolution of the legislation" and "the strong injustice felt
by the citizens in situation of handicap"as explained on March 5 the National
Union of Associations of Parents, People with Mental Disabilities and Their
Friends (Unapei). In order to support the deconjugalization measure of the AAH
calculation, it is therefore even more important to sign and massively share the
petition on the site petitions.assemblee-nationale.fr .[...]
Financial dependence and domestic violence
However, while the first petition had ended up collecting the 100,000 signatures
required, it is struggling to start and has, at the time of April 13, 2021, only
around 15,000 signatures. Although the site announces a deadline of June 22,
2022, it is not possible to wait any longer for this separation, which has been
requested for years by people with disabilities and disability associations.
As Senator LR Philippe Mouiller, rapporteur for the text, warned: "It will take a
strong mobilization of associations of disabled people for the text to be
definitively voted". It is therefore particularly important to relay and support
the initiatives of associations and disability activists to demand the
de-maritalization of the calculation of the AAH.
If a first victory was obtained in the Senate, it is imperative to continue and
even to intensify the mobilizations to give visibility to this demand. In
Tourcoing, Maxime Bouchet, an EÉLV activist with a disability, thus staged a
fictitious marriage with Katy Vuylsteker, EÉLV regional secretary, to denounce
the injustice of the current calculation.
[...]Women under 25 with disabilities are those who are most at risk of being
victims of domestic violence. The financial dependence imposed by the current
method of calculating the AAH in couples thus provides a favorable ground for
domestic violence.[...]Even with a new method of calculation, the AAH, like the
other social minima, remains still quite insufficient to live in suitable living
conditions in view of all the additional expenses implied by the handicap. It
will therefore be necessary both to seize the question of the deconjugalization
of all social minima but also to demand their increase !
More than ever, a balance of power with the government must be built to obtain
autonomy.
Libertarian Communist Union
This leaflet, published on April 22, 2021, can be found in its entirety on
Unioncommunistelibertaire.org
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Autonomie-ne-rien-lacher-pour-l-individualisation-de-l-AAH
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Allocation-aux-adultes-handicapes-ne-rien-lacher-sur-l-individualisation
------------------------------
Message: 3
We talked with Colombian anarcho-syndicalists from the Unión Libertaria
Estudiantil y del Trabajo (ULET) not only about the current protests against tax
reform, but also about the role of the United States in supporting paramilitary
governments and the role of anarchists. ---- 1) Colombia has been rioting unrest
against tax "reform" for the past two months. What exactly is its content? ----
The tax reform was introduced by the Colombian government, in particular former
Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla. ---- Since the inauguration of Ivan Duque,
two tax reforms have been implemented, the second of which is key. As part of
this reform, taxes were abolished for the country's richest families, large
companies and multinational companies, with the alleged goal of supporting job
creation, which today exceeds 16% and is still growing. However, these tax
advantages provided to large domestic and foreign capital assumed a widening of
the fiscal deficit by more than 9 billion Colombian pesos, ie more than 2 billion
euros, which the state would cease to receive as a result of this reform.
Due to this deficit, the government launched the third reform this year, which
caused a social storm and in which VAT was imposed to cover this deficit on the
entire basic family consumer basket, ie meat, eggs, bread, coffee, and also fuel.
In addition, it extended taxation to the middle class through income tax, without
renewing the contributions of the richest classes, companies and multinational
corporations.
In other words, the entire working class, both rural and urban, from the poorest
segment to the highest-income segment, would pay the deficit that the government
itself created in favor of the capitalist elite.
2) Police killed dozens of people and injured hundreds during demonstrations.
Does it have any political consequences? How does abroad react to this?
As of the date of this interview, 53 people have been killed by nationals, 22
people have been the victim of sexual violence by security forces, 47 people have
been attacked in front of their eyes, 1445 people have been illegally detained,
342 people have disappeared and more than 3402 people have been victims of police
violence .
There are almost no political consequences for the entire state structure, which
is committing violent repression. The level of impunity is absolute. The
parliamentary opposition initiated a motion of censure on Defense Minister Diego
Molan, which was not approved due to a blockade by the governing coalition
parties. Only human rights NGOs remained under the surveillance and recording of
elements of state terrorism unleashed by Ivan Duque.
The Human Rights Foundation has therefore called for the arrest of Ivan Duque for
crimes against humanity, but we see that we will not receive justice for the
victims of repression in the foreseeable future.
Abroad, they are trying to understand what is happening so that they can take a
clear stand on the government, even though international public opinion has
turned its attention to the crimes committed by the State of Israel against the
Palestinian people and forgotten the dire situation of the people in Myanmar and
Colombia.
3) President Iván Duque has several alternatives to deal with the situation. What
are they and which of them is likely?
Iván Duque Márquez was a politician chosen by Álvaro Uribe Vélez - known in
Colombia as Matarife - to pursue his far-right - fascist - neoliberal and
paramilitary policies. Obedience to a geopolitical agenda that is in line with US
interests.
For the Colombian people, therefore, Ivan Duque is Uribe's puppet, in every sense
of the word.
That is why Duque chose a policy of military and counter-terrorism to address the
crisis, opposed the recognition of the causes of social protests, delayed
dialogue with one of the bureaucratic sectors involved in social mobilization
through governors and mayors, and encouraged the use of weapons by armed civilians. .
This means that their plan was not absolute repression, but dialogue and
negotiation of the social concessions demanded by the people.
Most likely, the creation of new paramilitary groups as an irregular armed wing
of the state to suppress protests, while the Democratic Center government
reorganizes, overcomes its unpopularity and tries to find a new candidate for the
2022 presidential election without giving in to demands. lidu.
4) Will there be a planned football championship in connection with the riots?
In Colombia and Argentina, the South American football championship - Copa
America will not take place. He seems to be moving to Brazil, a country facing a
terrible tragedy over COVID19 and Jair Bolsonar's fascist policies. The result
could be a social explosion of Brazilians.
5) What is the position of the army regarding reform. Is it uniform?
The Colombian armed forces have been indoctrinated for decades in anti-communist,
counter-insurgency and fascist struggle, in line with the interests of the
country's ruling classes and the US.
That is why the army officially sided with Ivan Duque and Uribism, because it was
she who murdered the peasants for more than 10 years, then disguised them as
guerrillas and declared that they were victims of the fighting to justify
military aid. USA, and therefore more than 6402 people were killed. In Colombia
to this there is the term "crime of false victims".
6) According to some media, the situation is also affected by FARC insurgents. Is
it true?
Following the conclusion of peace agreements between the government of Juan
Manuel Santos and the FARC-EP, most of its military structures - more than 10,000
fighters - demobilized and went into civilian life. They became part of society
and returned to it.
However, some 3,000 men and women in arms have not demobilized and are still in
arms, but rather than ideology, they are linked to drug trafficking, illegal
logging and timber trafficking. As a result, the current disputes are not
absolutely directed against the state, but rather between the same structures and
other armed paramilitary groups and drug traffickers.
Today, the FARC - neither as a party nor as dissidents - has the logistics,
structures or weapons to decisively influence social protests. However, it should
be borne in mind that former FARC fighters are now part of the people again and,
thanks to their political education and combat experience, can contribute to
mobilization as individuals.
7) What is the role of anarchists?
Anarchists were directly involved in mobilizations, rallies, community
gatherings, and resistance zones. Organizations, collectives, and individuals who
call themselves anarchists are constantly working to spread various forms of
protest organization.
Our task is social work to raise awareness of various forms of
anti-authoritarian, horizontal and autonomous resistance, as well as
confrontation with the police in defense of peaceful mobilizations.
Anarchism is flourishing in Colombia.
8) Say something about the Unión Libertaria Estudiantil y del Trabajo (ULET)
itself, what is its history?
The Libertarian Student and Workers' Union was born more than ten years ago as a
proposal of an anarchist student trade union, which was updated over time and the
entry of its participants into the world of work and focused on this area.
We are currently building a local and regional federation and have joined the
International Workers' Association (IWA). We want anarcho-syndicalism as a tool
of organization, cohesion, and the social political struggle to defend the
working class and students against neoliberal policies that seek to precarize and
liquidate the historical gains of workers.
https://oafed.noblogs.org/post/2021/06/04/anarchismus-v-kolumbii-vzkveta/#more-894
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Message: 4
The former Soviet republic of Belarus exploded into angry protests last August in
the wake of contested presidential elections resulting in a totally implausible
landslide victory for long-ruling strongman Alexander Lukashenko. Police, riot
squads and army troops unleashed harsh repression, using rubber bullets,
flash-bang grenades and water-hoses against demonstrators who objected to the
results in the capital of Minsk and other cities. ---- Lukashenko, in power since
1994, was challenged in the election by opposition candidate Svetlana
Tikhanovskaya-a surprise replacement for her husband Sergei, a popular blogger
who was arrested after attempting to launch a presidential campaign. She held
large rallies in Minsk and other cities, riding a groundswell of popular
discontent with Lukashenko. After the vote, Tikhanovskaya was expelled by the
Belarusian KGB to Lithuania as spontaneous protests broke out. From exile,
Tikhanovskaya issued a call for continued protests to force Lukashenko from power.
Since then, protests have been held every weekend. Industrial strikes spread
across the country as sectors of the working class broke from the
regime-controlled labor unions to organize independently. Over the past months,
tens of thousands have been detained, and hundreds have been subjected to torture.
Anarchist Black Cross Belarus has been specifically monitoring repression against
anarchists and anti-fascists in the ongoing protest wave. One member of the
group, known as "Sonya," spoke with Fifth Estate via email.
Fifth Estate: What has been the role of anarchists in the current protest movement?
Sonya: Anarchists have been a small but active minority. At the beginning (August
9-12), anarchists were not identifying themselves with flags or slogans. There
were skirmishes with police and the army. The forces of Lukashenko's order were
extremely brutal, and it was important, in order to survive, to run fast and to
look like you just went out to buy some milk and had no relation to protests.
Later, in September and October, there were anarchist flags and slogans visible
at the bigger protests in Minsk, but even then a significant portion of
anarchists were participating in the protests without marking themselves
specifically as anarchists-again, in order to escape potential arrest.
At the same time, anarchists are very active in online agitation. Some anarchist
channels on the messaging app Telegram rose to prominence, such as the one of
Mikola Dziadok (FE note: see details below).
Direct action including the destruction of cops' property became widespread last
autumn, but it is hard to discern which part of it was performed by anarchists.
Certainly, some anarchists were involved in some such actions. Usually, no one
claims responsibility for them.
FE: What are your thoughts on Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and the opposition leadership?
S: They are politicians, like all other politicians. We do not think any of them
is in principle better than Macron or Biden. Anarchists believe that the change
of political regime will bring a window of opportunity to repeal the most
notorious anti-labor and anti-activist legislation, and to address certain
environmental and social issues. We are not for Tsikhanouskaya, we are against
Lukashenko.
FE: What is the state of the struggle at this moment, and what are the odds
Lukashenko will step down?
S: Right now, protests have calmed down, especially in provincial cities and
towns. There are several hundred political prisoners, and this number is
constantly on the rise. Trials are going on every day. Thousands of protesters,
perhaps several tens of thousands, have gone abroad. But many people await a new
wave of protests in the spring, since the conflict was suppressed, but not
resolved in any way. Authorities offered no trade-offs at all.
Lukashenko's regime is facing numerous economic and political challenges. Its
position is shakier than at any time since the 1990s. It is unclear how and how
soon the situation will resolve. Now, it is at a stalemate.
FE: How do you see the position of anarchists in a post-Lukashenko order?
S: Due to anarchist involvement in the protests, we likely will be seen by at
least some part of the political spectrum as legitimate participants in political
life. This will make it easier to hold political campaigns and sustain anarchist
media.
FE: How many anarchist comrades have been arrested or disappeared? What do we
know about their whereabouts, condition, and the charges they face?
S: All told, since the beginning of protests, nine anarchists and five
anti-fascists have been arrested in Belarus on criminal charges. One more
Belarusian anti-fascist was arrested in Moscow and awaits extradition on
protest-related charges. Some anarchists managed to escape abroad before they
could be arrested.
Fortunately, no anarchists have disappeared so far. Some were kidnapped, arrested
illegally, like Mikola Dziadok, who went underground in July, and was arrested on
Nov. 11. Cops tortured him all night long in order to get access to his computer,
Telegram, and other channels of communication. Unfortunately, they succeeded.
They only gave information about his detention to relatives and the lawyer after
the tortures ended.
Anarchists organized a series of attacks on symbols of the state violence, police
stations. They were caught near the Ukrainian border while trying to leave the
country.
Four anti-fascists face charges of fighting with police on Sept. 23 when Minsk
was loudly and massively protesting against Lukashenko's inauguration.
Several dozen anarchists and anti-fascists went through short-term detention of
several weeks long. Some, like Ivan Krasouski, are survivors of police torture
and had to spend time in hospital to treat injuries after their release.
FE: What kind of solidarity do you need from activists in the United States?
S: You can do solidarity actions such as in front of Belarusian embassies and
consulates, or simply at the central square of your town. Solidarity action days
happen periodically. You can follow our website for calls at abc-belarus.org. You
can spread the word about the Belarusian situation.
Solidarity with Belarusian refugees, including anarchists and anti-fascists, is
needed, although most refugees are in Europe.
Donations to ABC Belarus are always welcome, as we face mounting costs to support
prisoners and their families.
One can also support those Belarusian anarchists who are not in jail by donating
money to the same ABC (with a "streetfund" designation. Such money will be used
to cover expenses of Belarusian anarchists who had to go underground like paying
rent, purchasing equipment such as megaphones or medical first aid kits, printing
leaflets, etc.
Probably, the best support is inspiration. A popular insurrection in the States
would be quite helpful in this sense!
http://derryanarchists.blogspot.com/2021/06/anti-authoritarian-voices-in-uprising.html
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Message: 5
One morning in early 2018, Eric King was awoken at 5 a.m. and taken out of his
solitary confinement cell by prison guards at the federal United States
Penitentiary, McCreary, in Kentucky. King didn't know the correctional officers
by name, having been recently transferred to the facility for unexplained
reasons. ---- That morning, the guards had something to tell King, according to a
civil rights lawsuit filed this week on his behalf against the federal Bureau of
Prisons and over 40 of its correctional officers. Members of a national white
supremacist gang active in the prison had, the guards allegedly said, made
threats on his life.
King is a known anti-fascist activist and anarchist. He is serving a 10-year
federal sentence for throwing Molotov cocktails at an empty government office in
Kansas City, Missouri, in 2014. He said throwing the Molotov cocktails, which he
did not light, was in solidarity with the Ferguson rebellion that year, part of
the Black liberation struggle against police violence.
That day in 2018, in prison in Kentucky, the guards warned King that the white
supremacists wanted to gravely harm him. They asked him if he felt safe. King
chose the answer that he believed would come with fewest repercussions. "Yes, I
feel safe," he said, according to the lawsuit.
"At that point," the lawsuit claims, the correctional officers told King "he
could leave, but directed him to exit through a different door than the one
through which he entered." King walked through the door. "[H]e realized that,
rather than being in a hallway or a public space on his way back to his cell, he
had entered into an enclosed, locked outdoor area. Inside this room was a
prisoner known to be a member of the aforementioned gang."
The white supremacist - who dwarfed the 5-foot-7, slightly built King - attacked
the anti-fascist. The guards did nothing to intervene. King had, he felt, been
trapped by correctional officers colluding with white supremacist gang members.
Following the reported assault, King received a disciplinary citation for fighting.
King claims the incident was a part of an ongoing pattern of harassment and
violence that he has endured in recent years at the hands of the Bureau of
Prisons. The Civil Liberties Defense Center, a legal nonprofit organization,
filed the civil suit on his behalf, alleging that his "constitutional rights have
been continually violated since 2018 in retaliation for his political and
anti-racist actions while incarcerated."Join Our NewsletterOriginal reporting.
Fearless journalism. Delivered to you.I'm in
The Bureau of Prisons responded to questions relating to the case by stating that
it does "not comment on pending litigation or matters that are the subject of
legal proceedings." An agency representative added that "it is the mission of the
Bureau of Prisons to operate facilities that are safe, secure, and humane. The
BOP takes seriously our duty to protect the individuals entrusted in our custody,
as well as maintain the safety of correctional staff and the community."
King has been held at Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood in solitary
confinement, known officially as a Special Housing Unit, for over 1,000 days. He
is currently one of only 80 people in the federal system who have been held in
the unit for more than a year.
His attorneys say in the suit that he has faced no less than "torture" -
including at one point being shackled, "naked and exposed," in four-point
restraints for over eight hours. On another occasion, King claims a guard beat
his feet with a metal detector wand as he stood in his underwear in the shower;
the lawsuit claims that King was knocked to the ground, left with a concussion
and in need of six stitches.
Eric King is shown in 2016 at the Leavenworth Detention Center, a privately run
maximum-security prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, operated by the firm CoreCivic.
Photo: Courtesy of Eric King Support Committee
Following almost every incident of violence alleged by King, guards have issued
disciplinary complaints against him. He now faces a further 20 years in prison
for allegedly assaulting a federal officer; he claims he was trying to defend
himself as he was beaten by guards in a small storage area beyond the view of
prison cameras.
The incidents alleged in the lawsuit span numerous federal facilities and involve
dozens of officers. As such, the case resists the usual pro-law enforcement
talking point about "bad apples." Taken together, the accusations read as an
indictment of the entire federal prison system.
"Eric King has faced chronic, targeted harassment, as well as severe emotional
and physical torture, from BOP officers and known white supremacists working
together, for over two years while held in solitary confinement," Lauren Regan,
one of King's attorneys with the Civil Liberties Defense Center, said in a
statement. "We reasonably believe this treatment has been in retaliation for his
political views and First Amendment-protected activity."
A WHITE MAN in his mid-30s, King appears to embody the figure of anarchist
agitator so maligned by politicians across the political spectrum during last
summer's Black-led anti-racist uprisings. Though he was convicted of attempted
arson, King committed minor property destruction, specifically targeting a
congressional office that he knew to be empty at the time. No one was hurt.
Facing hefty federal charges, he took a plea deal to serve 10 years. At his
sentencing hearing, he made clear the motivation for his actions. "The government
in this country is disgusting," he said. "The way they treat poor people, the way
they treat brown people, the way they treat everyone that's not in the class of
white and male is disgusting, patriarchal, filthy, and racist."
Following the George Floyd rebellions, hundreds of anti-racist, anti-fascist
protesters now find themselves in a similar position to King: facing highly
politicized, overreaching federal charges and potentially long sentences in
federal facilities, where white supremacist violence is known to flourish. Over
300 federal indictments were handed down across the country from late May to late
September 2020, compared to an average of 10 such indictments in the summer
period in years prior."I've been treated deplorably. For the last two years I've
been stuck in a 6Ž x 9Ž cage, denied access to my family and my lawyers, and
subjected to physical and emotional torture."
King's allegations of consistent, targeted harassment by guards and white
supremacist gangs paint a chilling picture of the brutality these anti-fascists -
many of whom are not white - could face.
"I'm a human being with a family. I've been treated deplorably. For the last two
years I've been stuck in a 6Ž x 9Ž cage, denied access to my family and my
lawyers, and subjected to physical and emotional torture," said King in a
statement. "They've done this because of my beliefs, not because of my actions."
In 2019, a report by the House Subcommittee on National Security found the
federal prison system to be a hotbed of misconduct, sexual assault, and other
violence - committed by correctional officers both against incarcerated people
and female prison staff members. The report also pointed to the way officers
permit certain incarcerated people to carry out assaults too. "Misconduct in the
federal prison system is widespread, tolerated and routinely covered up or
ignored, including among senior officials," the New York Times reported, citing
the congressional investigation.
The civil rights lawyers who filed King's federal suit only learned the extent of
their client's suffering while building his defense for the hefty criminal
charges he faces for allegedly assaulting an officer. Regan, one of the
attorneys, described violence in the federal prison system as "like a mold, which
grows rampant when unchecked in a dark place."
Any litigation in which an incarcerated person is making claims against law
enforcement officers faces an uphill battle: King's word against that of officers
with badges. Yet the lawsuit, Regan hopes, will go some way to keep in check
Bureau of Prisons correctional officers' seemingly retaliatory violence against
King. "We feel it is the right thing to do, whether we win or not, to shed light
on this injustice," Regan told me. "We know there are hundreds of thousands of
other cases similar or even worse than this one throughout the criminal
punishment system."
Regan is under no illusions about the difficulty of winning a case alleging
widespread, state-sanctioned brutality. Even if a federal judge were to rule in
King's favor, no given legal victory can constitute justice within the inherent
violence of the carceral system. For King's attorneys, his case is nonetheless an
opportunity to expose institutional violence and white supremacist collusion. And
beyond this broader moral imperative, there is a deep concern for King's life.
The correctional officers "seem intent on killing him or allowing other people to
kill him," Regan told me. "We want to keep him alive until his release."
Source: Anarchist Black Cross Federati
TheFederal Correctional Institution, Englewood on Feb. 18, 2020, in Littleton, Colo.
Photo: Vic Moss/Getty Images
by Derry Anarchists
http://derryanarchists.blogspot.com/2021/06/imprisoned-anti-fascist-activist-says.html
------------------------------
Says Federal Guards Let White Supremacists Beat Him
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
(thanks to AWSM member Sarah for the article and art and Jordyn for agreeing to
the interview) ---- As we celebrate Pride this year it is important to remember
Pride's activist roots and set our sights on the fight ahead. While affluent
LGBTQIA+ people are doing fine and being paraded as tokens on television, the
rest of us still have unmet needs. Every single kind of queerphobia* is worse for
working class people. ---- Around 40% of unhoused people under the age of 25 are
LGBTQIA+ and who knows how many others stay closeted in unsafe family homes
because they can't afford to be kicked out? This is just one of many examples.
I interviewed my friend Jordyn about her experience with one of the most glaring
expressions of classist Lgbtqia+-phobia in New Zealand: barriers to trans
healthcare access.
Here is the transcript of our interview.
Me: So first of all, what has your overall experience accessing
transition-related healthcare been like?
Jordyn: Mostly fine, hormones took an appointment with my GP, then a psychologist
four weeks later and then an appointment with an endocrinologist about a month later.
My experience with surgery though has been terrible with NZ currently having
around a 20 year wait time for reassignment surgery.
Me:Dang, that's a ridiculously long period of time.
Is all of this through the public system or did you have to go private?
Jordyn: Yeah and for a lot of us surgery is a life saving treatment.
I was lucky enough that my insurance agreed to cover my endocrinologist costs on
a special basis, endocrinologists through the public system in Wellington have a
stated 3 month wait time, but a lot of people wait for around 6 months.
Now though all my hormones levels and dosages are managed by me with supervision
from my GP
Me: Yeah, that's far too important to have a 20 year wait time.
Is surgery more accessible to people who can pay out of pocket?
Jordyn: Yeah, we still only have one surgeon in NZ that can do it, but there's
really no wait list if you can pay for it yourself, I think only around 5 people
have paid for it themselves since the surgeon has been here.
It's also overwhelmingly expensive in NZ with quotes for private being minimum
$45000 whereas you can go to Thailand and get more modern techniques and
extremely experienced surgeons for between $15000-20000
This is for a vaginoplasty, trans male surgery is a lot more expensive but I
don't know much about it.
Me: Yeah, that's a terribly stark example of class disparity.
I don't know if there's anything else to ask.
Thanks for your help getting the facts straight.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Jordyn:
Uh I guess that 71% of trans people aged 15 or over have very high levels of
psychological distress compared to 8% of the general population, and that in 2019
56% of trans people had seriously considered suicide over the previous 12 months
compared to the worldwide average for trans people which I think is around 40%
(Source:https://nzfvc.org.nz/news/counting-ourselves-first-comprehensive-national-nz-survey-transgender-health-and-wellbeing)
The needs of trans people in NZ aren't being met and aside from a small amount of
funding the government isn't really doing much to address transgender issues in
regards to access to healthcare and especially surgery which is in an appalling
state compared to the rest of the world
Me:Yeah, that's awful.Seems like they're basically doing the absolute bare minimum.
-This concluded the interview-
Jordyn's experience clearly shows that transphobia is always reinforced by classism.
Both the data and our lived experiences leave no doubt - queerphobia is enforced
by the state and capital, and any coherent approach to LGBTQIA+ activism must be
opposed to both. This is why I am a queer anarchist.
*The word "queer" is a reclaimed slur, and my decision to use it does not reflect
the entire community's opinion on its use.
https://awsm.nz/?p=10543
------------------------------
Message: 2
Since January 2021, the fight for the separation of the income of the spouse,
civil union partner or cohabiting partner for the payment of the allowance for
disabled adults (AAH) has progressed well. If the adoption by the Senate of
dissociation is a great victory, because of the fierce opposition of the LREM
majority to this reform, the fight for autonomy is far from over. ---- It is
thanks to the absence of the members of the majority that the bill[for the
separation of the income of the spouse, pacsé or cohabitant for the payment of
the allowance for disabled adults ( AAH)]passed the National Assembly for the
first time.[...]It is not certain that LREM, however alone enough to defend the
maintenance of the current system, again deserts the Assembly and thus allows the
bill to pass during its second reading.[...]"The government[...]thus finds itself
alone to refuse the evolution of the legislation" and "the strong injustice felt
by the citizens in situation of handicap"as explained on March 5 the National
Union of Associations of Parents, People with Mental Disabilities and Their
Friends (Unapei). In order to support the deconjugalization measure of the AAH
calculation, it is therefore even more important to sign and massively share the
petition on the site petitions.assemblee-nationale.fr .[...]
Financial dependence and domestic violence
However, while the first petition had ended up collecting the 100,000 signatures
required, it is struggling to start and has, at the time of April 13, 2021, only
around 15,000 signatures. Although the site announces a deadline of June 22,
2022, it is not possible to wait any longer for this separation, which has been
requested for years by people with disabilities and disability associations.
As Senator LR Philippe Mouiller, rapporteur for the text, warned: "It will take a
strong mobilization of associations of disabled people for the text to be
definitively voted". It is therefore particularly important to relay and support
the initiatives of associations and disability activists to demand the
de-maritalization of the calculation of the AAH.
If a first victory was obtained in the Senate, it is imperative to continue and
even to intensify the mobilizations to give visibility to this demand. In
Tourcoing, Maxime Bouchet, an EÉLV activist with a disability, thus staged a
fictitious marriage with Katy Vuylsteker, EÉLV regional secretary, to denounce
the injustice of the current calculation.
[...]Women under 25 with disabilities are those who are most at risk of being
victims of domestic violence. The financial dependence imposed by the current
method of calculating the AAH in couples thus provides a favorable ground for
domestic violence.[...]Even with a new method of calculation, the AAH, like the
other social minima, remains still quite insufficient to live in suitable living
conditions in view of all the additional expenses implied by the handicap. It
will therefore be necessary both to seize the question of the deconjugalization
of all social minima but also to demand their increase !
More than ever, a balance of power with the government must be built to obtain
autonomy.
Libertarian Communist Union
This leaflet, published on April 22, 2021, can be found in its entirety on
Unioncommunistelibertaire.org
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Autonomie-ne-rien-lacher-pour-l-individualisation-de-l-AAH
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Allocation-aux-adultes-handicapes-ne-rien-lacher-sur-l-individualisation
------------------------------
Message: 3
We talked with Colombian anarcho-syndicalists from the Unión Libertaria
Estudiantil y del Trabajo (ULET) not only about the current protests against tax
reform, but also about the role of the United States in supporting paramilitary
governments and the role of anarchists. ---- 1) Colombia has been rioting unrest
against tax "reform" for the past two months. What exactly is its content? ----
The tax reform was introduced by the Colombian government, in particular former
Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla. ---- Since the inauguration of Ivan Duque,
two tax reforms have been implemented, the second of which is key. As part of
this reform, taxes were abolished for the country's richest families, large
companies and multinational companies, with the alleged goal of supporting job
creation, which today exceeds 16% and is still growing. However, these tax
advantages provided to large domestic and foreign capital assumed a widening of
the fiscal deficit by more than 9 billion Colombian pesos, ie more than 2 billion
euros, which the state would cease to receive as a result of this reform.
Due to this deficit, the government launched the third reform this year, which
caused a social storm and in which VAT was imposed to cover this deficit on the
entire basic family consumer basket, ie meat, eggs, bread, coffee, and also fuel.
In addition, it extended taxation to the middle class through income tax, without
renewing the contributions of the richest classes, companies and multinational
corporations.
In other words, the entire working class, both rural and urban, from the poorest
segment to the highest-income segment, would pay the deficit that the government
itself created in favor of the capitalist elite.
2) Police killed dozens of people and injured hundreds during demonstrations.
Does it have any political consequences? How does abroad react to this?
As of the date of this interview, 53 people have been killed by nationals, 22
people have been the victim of sexual violence by security forces, 47 people have
been attacked in front of their eyes, 1445 people have been illegally detained,
342 people have disappeared and more than 3402 people have been victims of police
violence .
There are almost no political consequences for the entire state structure, which
is committing violent repression. The level of impunity is absolute. The
parliamentary opposition initiated a motion of censure on Defense Minister Diego
Molan, which was not approved due to a blockade by the governing coalition
parties. Only human rights NGOs remained under the surveillance and recording of
elements of state terrorism unleashed by Ivan Duque.
The Human Rights Foundation has therefore called for the arrest of Ivan Duque for
crimes against humanity, but we see that we will not receive justice for the
victims of repression in the foreseeable future.
Abroad, they are trying to understand what is happening so that they can take a
clear stand on the government, even though international public opinion has
turned its attention to the crimes committed by the State of Israel against the
Palestinian people and forgotten the dire situation of the people in Myanmar and
Colombia.
3) President Iván Duque has several alternatives to deal with the situation. What
are they and which of them is likely?
Iván Duque Márquez was a politician chosen by Álvaro Uribe Vélez - known in
Colombia as Matarife - to pursue his far-right - fascist - neoliberal and
paramilitary policies. Obedience to a geopolitical agenda that is in line with US
interests.
For the Colombian people, therefore, Ivan Duque is Uribe's puppet, in every sense
of the word.
That is why Duque chose a policy of military and counter-terrorism to address the
crisis, opposed the recognition of the causes of social protests, delayed
dialogue with one of the bureaucratic sectors involved in social mobilization
through governors and mayors, and encouraged the use of weapons by armed civilians. .
This means that their plan was not absolute repression, but dialogue and
negotiation of the social concessions demanded by the people.
Most likely, the creation of new paramilitary groups as an irregular armed wing
of the state to suppress protests, while the Democratic Center government
reorganizes, overcomes its unpopularity and tries to find a new candidate for the
2022 presidential election without giving in to demands. lidu.
4) Will there be a planned football championship in connection with the riots?
In Colombia and Argentina, the South American football championship - Copa
America will not take place. He seems to be moving to Brazil, a country facing a
terrible tragedy over COVID19 and Jair Bolsonar's fascist policies. The result
could be a social explosion of Brazilians.
5) What is the position of the army regarding reform. Is it uniform?
The Colombian armed forces have been indoctrinated for decades in anti-communist,
counter-insurgency and fascist struggle, in line with the interests of the
country's ruling classes and the US.
That is why the army officially sided with Ivan Duque and Uribism, because it was
she who murdered the peasants for more than 10 years, then disguised them as
guerrillas and declared that they were victims of the fighting to justify
military aid. USA, and therefore more than 6402 people were killed. In Colombia
to this there is the term "crime of false victims".
6) According to some media, the situation is also affected by FARC insurgents. Is
it true?
Following the conclusion of peace agreements between the government of Juan
Manuel Santos and the FARC-EP, most of its military structures - more than 10,000
fighters - demobilized and went into civilian life. They became part of society
and returned to it.
However, some 3,000 men and women in arms have not demobilized and are still in
arms, but rather than ideology, they are linked to drug trafficking, illegal
logging and timber trafficking. As a result, the current disputes are not
absolutely directed against the state, but rather between the same structures and
other armed paramilitary groups and drug traffickers.
Today, the FARC - neither as a party nor as dissidents - has the logistics,
structures or weapons to decisively influence social protests. However, it should
be borne in mind that former FARC fighters are now part of the people again and,
thanks to their political education and combat experience, can contribute to
mobilization as individuals.
7) What is the role of anarchists?
Anarchists were directly involved in mobilizations, rallies, community
gatherings, and resistance zones. Organizations, collectives, and individuals who
call themselves anarchists are constantly working to spread various forms of
protest organization.
Our task is social work to raise awareness of various forms of
anti-authoritarian, horizontal and autonomous resistance, as well as
confrontation with the police in defense of peaceful mobilizations.
Anarchism is flourishing in Colombia.
8) Say something about the Unión Libertaria Estudiantil y del Trabajo (ULET)
itself, what is its history?
The Libertarian Student and Workers' Union was born more than ten years ago as a
proposal of an anarchist student trade union, which was updated over time and the
entry of its participants into the world of work and focused on this area.
We are currently building a local and regional federation and have joined the
International Workers' Association (IWA). We want anarcho-syndicalism as a tool
of organization, cohesion, and the social political struggle to defend the
working class and students against neoliberal policies that seek to precarize and
liquidate the historical gains of workers.
https://oafed.noblogs.org/post/2021/06/04/anarchismus-v-kolumbii-vzkveta/#more-894
------------------------------
Message: 4
The former Soviet republic of Belarus exploded into angry protests last August in
the wake of contested presidential elections resulting in a totally implausible
landslide victory for long-ruling strongman Alexander Lukashenko. Police, riot
squads and army troops unleashed harsh repression, using rubber bullets,
flash-bang grenades and water-hoses against demonstrators who objected to the
results in the capital of Minsk and other cities. ---- Lukashenko, in power since
1994, was challenged in the election by opposition candidate Svetlana
Tikhanovskaya-a surprise replacement for her husband Sergei, a popular blogger
who was arrested after attempting to launch a presidential campaign. She held
large rallies in Minsk and other cities, riding a groundswell of popular
discontent with Lukashenko. After the vote, Tikhanovskaya was expelled by the
Belarusian KGB to Lithuania as spontaneous protests broke out. From exile,
Tikhanovskaya issued a call for continued protests to force Lukashenko from power.
Since then, protests have been held every weekend. Industrial strikes spread
across the country as sectors of the working class broke from the
regime-controlled labor unions to organize independently. Over the past months,
tens of thousands have been detained, and hundreds have been subjected to torture.
Anarchist Black Cross Belarus has been specifically monitoring repression against
anarchists and anti-fascists in the ongoing protest wave. One member of the
group, known as "Sonya," spoke with Fifth Estate via email.
Fifth Estate: What has been the role of anarchists in the current protest movement?
Sonya: Anarchists have been a small but active minority. At the beginning (August
9-12), anarchists were not identifying themselves with flags or slogans. There
were skirmishes with police and the army. The forces of Lukashenko's order were
extremely brutal, and it was important, in order to survive, to run fast and to
look like you just went out to buy some milk and had no relation to protests.
Later, in September and October, there were anarchist flags and slogans visible
at the bigger protests in Minsk, but even then a significant portion of
anarchists were participating in the protests without marking themselves
specifically as anarchists-again, in order to escape potential arrest.
At the same time, anarchists are very active in online agitation. Some anarchist
channels on the messaging app Telegram rose to prominence, such as the one of
Mikola Dziadok (FE note: see details below).
Direct action including the destruction of cops' property became widespread last
autumn, but it is hard to discern which part of it was performed by anarchists.
Certainly, some anarchists were involved in some such actions. Usually, no one
claims responsibility for them.
FE: What are your thoughts on Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and the opposition leadership?
S: They are politicians, like all other politicians. We do not think any of them
is in principle better than Macron or Biden. Anarchists believe that the change
of political regime will bring a window of opportunity to repeal the most
notorious anti-labor and anti-activist legislation, and to address certain
environmental and social issues. We are not for Tsikhanouskaya, we are against
Lukashenko.
FE: What is the state of the struggle at this moment, and what are the odds
Lukashenko will step down?
S: Right now, protests have calmed down, especially in provincial cities and
towns. There are several hundred political prisoners, and this number is
constantly on the rise. Trials are going on every day. Thousands of protesters,
perhaps several tens of thousands, have gone abroad. But many people await a new
wave of protests in the spring, since the conflict was suppressed, but not
resolved in any way. Authorities offered no trade-offs at all.
Lukashenko's regime is facing numerous economic and political challenges. Its
position is shakier than at any time since the 1990s. It is unclear how and how
soon the situation will resolve. Now, it is at a stalemate.
FE: How do you see the position of anarchists in a post-Lukashenko order?
S: Due to anarchist involvement in the protests, we likely will be seen by at
least some part of the political spectrum as legitimate participants in political
life. This will make it easier to hold political campaigns and sustain anarchist
media.
FE: How many anarchist comrades have been arrested or disappeared? What do we
know about their whereabouts, condition, and the charges they face?
S: All told, since the beginning of protests, nine anarchists and five
anti-fascists have been arrested in Belarus on criminal charges. One more
Belarusian anti-fascist was arrested in Moscow and awaits extradition on
protest-related charges. Some anarchists managed to escape abroad before they
could be arrested.
Fortunately, no anarchists have disappeared so far. Some were kidnapped, arrested
illegally, like Mikola Dziadok, who went underground in July, and was arrested on
Nov. 11. Cops tortured him all night long in order to get access to his computer,
Telegram, and other channels of communication. Unfortunately, they succeeded.
They only gave information about his detention to relatives and the lawyer after
the tortures ended.
Anarchists organized a series of attacks on symbols of the state violence, police
stations. They were caught near the Ukrainian border while trying to leave the
country.
Four anti-fascists face charges of fighting with police on Sept. 23 when Minsk
was loudly and massively protesting against Lukashenko's inauguration.
Several dozen anarchists and anti-fascists went through short-term detention of
several weeks long. Some, like Ivan Krasouski, are survivors of police torture
and had to spend time in hospital to treat injuries after their release.
FE: What kind of solidarity do you need from activists in the United States?
S: You can do solidarity actions such as in front of Belarusian embassies and
consulates, or simply at the central square of your town. Solidarity action days
happen periodically. You can follow our website for calls at abc-belarus.org. You
can spread the word about the Belarusian situation.
Solidarity with Belarusian refugees, including anarchists and anti-fascists, is
needed, although most refugees are in Europe.
Donations to ABC Belarus are always welcome, as we face mounting costs to support
prisoners and their families.
One can also support those Belarusian anarchists who are not in jail by donating
money to the same ABC (with a "streetfund" designation. Such money will be used
to cover expenses of Belarusian anarchists who had to go underground like paying
rent, purchasing equipment such as megaphones or medical first aid kits, printing
leaflets, etc.
Probably, the best support is inspiration. A popular insurrection in the States
would be quite helpful in this sense!
http://derryanarchists.blogspot.com/2021/06/anti-authoritarian-voices-in-uprising.html
------------------------------
Message: 5
One morning in early 2018, Eric King was awoken at 5 a.m. and taken out of his
solitary confinement cell by prison guards at the federal United States
Penitentiary, McCreary, in Kentucky. King didn't know the correctional officers
by name, having been recently transferred to the facility for unexplained
reasons. ---- That morning, the guards had something to tell King, according to a
civil rights lawsuit filed this week on his behalf against the federal Bureau of
Prisons and over 40 of its correctional officers. Members of a national white
supremacist gang active in the prison had, the guards allegedly said, made
threats on his life.
King is a known anti-fascist activist and anarchist. He is serving a 10-year
federal sentence for throwing Molotov cocktails at an empty government office in
Kansas City, Missouri, in 2014. He said throwing the Molotov cocktails, which he
did not light, was in solidarity with the Ferguson rebellion that year, part of
the Black liberation struggle against police violence.
That day in 2018, in prison in Kentucky, the guards warned King that the white
supremacists wanted to gravely harm him. They asked him if he felt safe. King
chose the answer that he believed would come with fewest repercussions. "Yes, I
feel safe," he said, according to the lawsuit.
"At that point," the lawsuit claims, the correctional officers told King "he
could leave, but directed him to exit through a different door than the one
through which he entered." King walked through the door. "[H]e realized that,
rather than being in a hallway or a public space on his way back to his cell, he
had entered into an enclosed, locked outdoor area. Inside this room was a
prisoner known to be a member of the aforementioned gang."
The white supremacist - who dwarfed the 5-foot-7, slightly built King - attacked
the anti-fascist. The guards did nothing to intervene. King had, he felt, been
trapped by correctional officers colluding with white supremacist gang members.
Following the reported assault, King received a disciplinary citation for fighting.
King claims the incident was a part of an ongoing pattern of harassment and
violence that he has endured in recent years at the hands of the Bureau of
Prisons. The Civil Liberties Defense Center, a legal nonprofit organization,
filed the civil suit on his behalf, alleging that his "constitutional rights have
been continually violated since 2018 in retaliation for his political and
anti-racist actions while incarcerated."Join Our NewsletterOriginal reporting.
Fearless journalism. Delivered to you.I'm in
The Bureau of Prisons responded to questions relating to the case by stating that
it does "not comment on pending litigation or matters that are the subject of
legal proceedings." An agency representative added that "it is the mission of the
Bureau of Prisons to operate facilities that are safe, secure, and humane. The
BOP takes seriously our duty to protect the individuals entrusted in our custody,
as well as maintain the safety of correctional staff and the community."
King has been held at Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood in solitary
confinement, known officially as a Special Housing Unit, for over 1,000 days. He
is currently one of only 80 people in the federal system who have been held in
the unit for more than a year.
His attorneys say in the suit that he has faced no less than "torture" -
including at one point being shackled, "naked and exposed," in four-point
restraints for over eight hours. On another occasion, King claims a guard beat
his feet with a metal detector wand as he stood in his underwear in the shower;
the lawsuit claims that King was knocked to the ground, left with a concussion
and in need of six stitches.
Eric King is shown in 2016 at the Leavenworth Detention Center, a privately run
maximum-security prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, operated by the firm CoreCivic.
Photo: Courtesy of Eric King Support Committee
Following almost every incident of violence alleged by King, guards have issued
disciplinary complaints against him. He now faces a further 20 years in prison
for allegedly assaulting a federal officer; he claims he was trying to defend
himself as he was beaten by guards in a small storage area beyond the view of
prison cameras.
The incidents alleged in the lawsuit span numerous federal facilities and involve
dozens of officers. As such, the case resists the usual pro-law enforcement
talking point about "bad apples." Taken together, the accusations read as an
indictment of the entire federal prison system.
"Eric King has faced chronic, targeted harassment, as well as severe emotional
and physical torture, from BOP officers and known white supremacists working
together, for over two years while held in solitary confinement," Lauren Regan,
one of King's attorneys with the Civil Liberties Defense Center, said in a
statement. "We reasonably believe this treatment has been in retaliation for his
political views and First Amendment-protected activity."
A WHITE MAN in his mid-30s, King appears to embody the figure of anarchist
agitator so maligned by politicians across the political spectrum during last
summer's Black-led anti-racist uprisings. Though he was convicted of attempted
arson, King committed minor property destruction, specifically targeting a
congressional office that he knew to be empty at the time. No one was hurt.
Facing hefty federal charges, he took a plea deal to serve 10 years. At his
sentencing hearing, he made clear the motivation for his actions. "The government
in this country is disgusting," he said. "The way they treat poor people, the way
they treat brown people, the way they treat everyone that's not in the class of
white and male is disgusting, patriarchal, filthy, and racist."
Following the George Floyd rebellions, hundreds of anti-racist, anti-fascist
protesters now find themselves in a similar position to King: facing highly
politicized, overreaching federal charges and potentially long sentences in
federal facilities, where white supremacist violence is known to flourish. Over
300 federal indictments were handed down across the country from late May to late
September 2020, compared to an average of 10 such indictments in the summer
period in years prior."I've been treated deplorably. For the last two years I've
been stuck in a 6Ž x 9Ž cage, denied access to my family and my lawyers, and
subjected to physical and emotional torture."
King's allegations of consistent, targeted harassment by guards and white
supremacist gangs paint a chilling picture of the brutality these anti-fascists -
many of whom are not white - could face.
"I'm a human being with a family. I've been treated deplorably. For the last two
years I've been stuck in a 6Ž x 9Ž cage, denied access to my family and my
lawyers, and subjected to physical and emotional torture," said King in a
statement. "They've done this because of my beliefs, not because of my actions."
In 2019, a report by the House Subcommittee on National Security found the
federal prison system to be a hotbed of misconduct, sexual assault, and other
violence - committed by correctional officers both against incarcerated people
and female prison staff members. The report also pointed to the way officers
permit certain incarcerated people to carry out assaults too. "Misconduct in the
federal prison system is widespread, tolerated and routinely covered up or
ignored, including among senior officials," the New York Times reported, citing
the congressional investigation.
The civil rights lawyers who filed King's federal suit only learned the extent of
their client's suffering while building his defense for the hefty criminal
charges he faces for allegedly assaulting an officer. Regan, one of the
attorneys, described violence in the federal prison system as "like a mold, which
grows rampant when unchecked in a dark place."
Any litigation in which an incarcerated person is making claims against law
enforcement officers faces an uphill battle: King's word against that of officers
with badges. Yet the lawsuit, Regan hopes, will go some way to keep in check
Bureau of Prisons correctional officers' seemingly retaliatory violence against
King. "We feel it is the right thing to do, whether we win or not, to shed light
on this injustice," Regan told me. "We know there are hundreds of thousands of
other cases similar or even worse than this one throughout the criminal
punishment system."
Regan is under no illusions about the difficulty of winning a case alleging
widespread, state-sanctioned brutality. Even if a federal judge were to rule in
King's favor, no given legal victory can constitute justice within the inherent
violence of the carceral system. For King's attorneys, his case is nonetheless an
opportunity to expose institutional violence and white supremacist collusion. And
beyond this broader moral imperative, there is a deep concern for King's life.
The correctional officers "seem intent on killing him or allowing other people to
kill him," Regan told me. "We want to keep him alive until his release."
Source: Anarchist Black Cross Federati
TheFederal Correctional Institution, Englewood on Feb. 18, 2020, in Littleton, Colo.
Photo: Vic Moss/Getty Images
by Derry Anarchists
http://derryanarchists.blogspot.com/2021/06/imprisoned-anti-fascist-activist-says.html
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