Int'l Tribunal on Mumia Frameup id PAA26475; Sat, 4 Oct 1997 15:06:56 -0400 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the October 9, 1997 issue of Workers World newspaper ------------------------- PHILADELPHIA: INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL TO HEAR TESTIMONY ON MUMIA FRAMEUP By Monica Moorehead An international tribunal to demand justice for death-row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal will be held on Dec. 6 in Philadelphia, the city where he was arrested in 1981 on charges of murdering a police officer. The event is being initiated by the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Ad Hoc Coalition for a Peoples International Tribunal for Justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal. The tribunal will bring together a panel of prominent jurists, political leaders, labor and community activists, cultural figures, and others from around the world. They will hear testimony from credible witnesses to show that Mumia Abu-Jamal was railroaded to death row for a crime he did not commit. The tribunal will also hear testimony on the state's motivation in this case: that Mumia Abu-Jamal, a journalist and former member of the Black Panther Party, is in prison today because of his revolutionary beliefs and determination. Evidence will be presented to implicate prominent politicians and government officials in a criminal conspiracy to legally lynch Abu-Jamal. They include Pennsylvania Gov. Thomas Ridge, the state Supreme Court and attorney general, Philadelphia Mayor Edward Rendell, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Philadelphia Police Department, "Hanging Judge" Albert Sabo, City District Attorney Lynn Abraham and her predecessors, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) operation, and the United States Justice Department. The ruling establishment, including the media, will also be on trial for creating a lynch-mob spirit in Pennsylvania. `ATTEMPT TO SILENCE A PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE' In explaining why the above reactionary forces are being targeted, a public call for the tribunal reads in part: "The above have been charged with conspiracy to silence journalist and people's advocate Mumia Abu-Jamal using frameup charges, a fraudulent trial and brutal imprisonment and imposing the death penalty to silence him forever. "This conspiracy against Mumia Abu-Jamal is part of a larger pattern of police brutality and corruption; of racism, discrimination and disparity in sentencing of the poor; and the collaboration of different government departments with so-called `private institutions' to silence revolutionaries or anyone who fights for justice. Further, it is believed that the conspirators will not allow a new and fair trial, despite the demands of millions of supporters around the world." The tribunal will put virtually the entire U.S. judicial system on trial for its racism and class bias. Abu-Jamal's case will be tied in to the cases of other prominent political prisoners, such as Native warrior Leonard Peltier. Initial endorsers include former political prisoner Geronimo Ji Jaga; Julia Wright, writer and daughter of Richard Wright; David DuBois, the son of W.E.B. DuBois; Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general; the National People's Campaign; the MOVE organization; the Texas Coalition Against the Death Penalty; Leonard Peltier; the Jericho `98 march for Political Prisoners Coordinating Committee; the New Afrikan Liberation Front; Gamal Nkrumah, son of the late president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah; Refuse and Resist; and many more. The event will begin at 11 a.m. at the Blue Horizon, 1314 N. Broad St. in Philadelphia. Volunteers are needed to come to Philadelphia to help staff the tribunal office, make phone calls and get out leaflets and posters. Call (215) 476-8812 to get involved. To make a financial contribution, write checks to the Black United Fund, earmarked Mumia Tribunal, and send to Ad Hoc Coalition, P.O. Box 19709, Philadelphia, PA 19143. Organizations or individuals wanting to endorse the tribunal should fax their endorsement to Berta Joubert, in care of (215) 724-8513, or e-mail to bjoubert@compu serve.com. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted if source is cited. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@workers.org. For subscription info send message to: info@workers.org. Web: http://workers.org) ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-10.04.97-15:06:50-15455