National Lawyers Guild Condemns Violence Against the Right to Protest in Miami
The National Lawyers Guild is astounded by the actions of law enforcement in Miami intended to silence political speech and the protests against the Free Trade Area of the Americas summit. We call upon all who value participatory democracy to stand against the violations of demonstrators' rights that are ongoing in Miami, and to join us in holding accountable those who would use violence, unjustified arrests, and other unconstitutional tactics in a strategy to silence free speech.
National Lawyers Guild members provide legal support to progressive demonstrations throughout the country, and well understand the nationwide trend towards increasingly repressive measures deployed against political protesters.
Our members in Miami have witnessed extreme and unconstitutional actions against protesters during the FTAA protests, including:
· Indiscriminate, excessive force against hundreds of nonviolent protesters with weapons including pepper spray, tear gas and concussion grenades, and rubber bullets;
· Singling out of NLG Legal Observers wearing highly visible neon green caps. We have confirmed reports that five Legal Observers were arrested, and four of those were assaulted by police officers;
· Police stopping and snatching protesters, seemingly at random, into unmarked vehicles;
· Police shooting protestors with rubber bullets and trapping them by police lines, resulting in major injuries. Police repeatedly refused to allow Medics into these areas to treat the injured.
"Such paramilitary tactics are ill-conceived and self-defeating and have no place in a democratic society," wrote Guild President Michael Avery in a letter today to Miami authorities.
The National Lawyers Guild calls upon Miami public officials to demonstrate their commitment to the First Amendment and reign in these unlawful attacks on the right to protest.
The National Lawyers Guild, founded in 1937, comprises over 6,000 members and activists in the service of the people, to the end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests.
National Lawyers Guild: http://nlg.org/default.htm
Additional Legal Advice: http://www.stopftaa.org/article.php?list=type&type=42
Photo: New Photos of Nikki Hartman Shot in the Back...
http://www.ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/1997.shtml
Related articles, followed by other eyewitness reports
NOT a Tale Between the Legs Ending:
http://www.ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/1980.shtml
Arresting The Future
By Tom Hayden, AlterNet:
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17246
MAD PRESS RELEASE: UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS OF POLICE:
http://www.ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/1978.shtml
What would Castro do: Hypocrisy in Miami
by Jane Stillwater
What would Castro do?
Leaders of the Cuban exile community of Miami clearly out-Castro-ed their former nemesis this week as Dade County tactical squads, under the leadership of elected Cuban-American politicians, brutally suppressed citizens' Constitutional rights -- to free speech, freedom of the press and free assembly -- with an abandon and verve that would have had even Fidel himself open-mouthed.
The Cuban exile community's holier-than-thou attitude toward human rights in Cuba is now a thing of the past. Under the direction of Cuban exiles and their allies, police in full riot gear tear-gassed, beat and jailed hundreds of peaceful demonstrators. Bones were broken and faces were smashed indiscriminately.
Tactical squads, using unprovoked and savage brutality on American citizens legally expressing their right to dissent against faulty government policies that will drive their jobs overseas, also threatened and/or jailed several members of the press who were reporting on the event as well as hundreds of non-violent demonstrators including a delegation of soccer moms wearing "Kucinich for President" T-shirts.
After this demonstration of unprovoked force, any further attempts by the Cuban exile community to criticize Castro can and will be labeled as hypocrisy of the first degree.
Before we "bring democracy" to Cuba, let's first try bringing it to Miami.
Jane Stillwater
The following was sent from a CU Sociology instructor. Miami is now returning to the days of brutalizing civil rights protesters, but Bush, not Kennedy runs the country. There are contact emails and phones at the end... Evan
Evan Ravitz
evan@vote.org
Vote for the National Initiative! http://www.vote.org
FORWARDED MESSAGE
------------
Things here in Miami are very bad. For those of you that do not know, I have been in Miami for the last two weeks organizing for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) meetings. I have been working at the welcome center for all the anti-FTAA activists, and the police here have been excruciatingly brutal. I myself was beaten and suffered a head injury on Thursday without reason, but others are much worse.
There are many people in jail that have been beaten and pepper sprayed at close range. The people of color from our mobilization have been specifically targeted and attacked. The people of color have been put in cells without bathroom facilities and had their shoes and other clothes that would keep them warm taken away, and they are hosed down with cold water every two hours with high powered water hoses. During the night one Hispanic male and an African American male were taken from the group and the Hispanic was beaten and pepper sprayed withing inches of his face for two hours then returned to the cell. He was beaten so badly that his skin split open. Another person of color had a head injury from the police before being taken to jail and was refused care
and they beat him again and he is hemorrhaging from the brain and in intensive care now. This is only a slight case of what is going on with the police and the jails here in Miami.
Two trans-gendered people have been sexually assaulted in jail, as well as reports of one woman being forced to give oral sex to an officer. Female protesters were separated and held by four officers who then cut off their clothes when taken to jail. Again this is only a slight bit of what is going on here. For more information on what has been going on check out: http://www.ftaaimc.org
I am appealing to ALL OF YOU to call Miami, call your representatives, send money for bail and anything else that you can think of doing to help out. Check out the www.StopFTAA.org website for where to send money and who to contact. The police state here in Miami is terrible and I am on the brink of breaking down. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD about what is going on here in Miami. This is TYPICAL of the police and jail here. We need help and support. I am sending this out because I do not know what else to do. The message is not getting out in the corporate press, so please write letters to your local papers and other news agencies to DEMAND coverage and accountablity. I am not in jail so I am going to be working here until my flight back home on Monday, but if anyone has the means to get here, help and reinforcements would be greatly appreciated.
This is not supposed to happen in this country, and if I was not already ashamed to be american, this would make me so. Please help out in the name of humanity...
Stephen
=====
"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of State and corporate power." – Benito Mussolini
=====
Urgent Call to Action: FTAA Protesters Brutalized in Miami!
This week thousands of protestors came to Miami to oppose the FTAA. The Free Trade Agreement of the Americas is an international trade agreement that aims to extend corporate control throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Prior to the mass action there was a calculated campaign on the part of the police to intimidate and harass protestors. One officer characterized this campaign by saying "You can beat the rap, but not the ride".
As we feared, our protests were met by a massive show of state repression, backed by $8.5 million in US Government funding. Miami Police Commissioner John Timoney oversaw a massive, paramilitary assault on our constitutional and human rights
Protestors were attacked by police wielding batons, tear gas, pepper spray, rubber, wooden, and plastic bullets and other chemical agents. Over 100 protestors were treated for injuries; 12 were hospitalized. Police dispersed large groups of peaceful protestors with tear gas, pepper spray and open fire. Small groups leaving the protests were harassed, arrested and beaten. This campaign of fear and intimidation culminated in the closure and militarization of downtown Miami. There were confirmed reports of military tanks patrolling the streets after dark on Thursday night.
Our legal team estimates more than 250 arrests. People have become political prisoners and are being held in jail. More than 50 of them were arrested while holding a peaceful vigil outside the jail in solidarity with those inside. They were surrounded by riot police and ordered to disperse. As they did, police opened fire and blocked the streets preventing many from leaving.
We are now receiving reports from people being released or calling from jail
that there is excessive brutality, sexual assault and torture going on inside. People of color, Queer and transgender prisoners are particularly being targeted. There is a confirmed report of one Latino man arrested along with 62 others outside Miami-Dade County Jail Friday, who is currently hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit for an injury he received after being beaten in the head with night stick by an arresting officer.
People have also been denied access to attorneys, visitation rights, vegetarian or vegan food, and access to essential medication and medical attention.
We call on people from around the globe to take action immediately to support our sisters and brothers who are being unfairly arrested and brutalized. We are calling for three immediate actions:
1) Call, fax, email elected officials with the demands listed below.
Contact information below.
2) Money is urgently needed to get people out of jail. They are making everyone post between $100 - $5000 I in bail. We are working with bail bondsmen, but this is not enough. Send money to cover legal and jail-support expenses including: bail, getting people rides back home and other legal costs. Please send money to: United for Peace and Justice. Online donations are possible at http://www.unitedforpeace.org/ftaadonate You can also mail a check or money order to:
United for
Peace and Justice/FTAA Fund
P.O. Box 607, Times Square Station,
New York, NY
10108.
Please specify Legal Fund in the memo field:
3) Global Day of Action on Monday at any time and any appropriate location.
This could be US Embassies, Departments of Justice or FBI offices
THESE ARE OUR DEMANDS:
Drop all charges.
Release all political prisoners.
Meet basic human needs: no more brutality,
provide appropriate food, access
to medicine and medical attention, warm clothing.
Provide access to attorneys and visitation rights.
Provide equitable treatment to all prisoners.
Do not share information collected with the INS.
Fire Chief Timoney
Many thanks for your support. It is urgently needed.
In solidarity,
Direct Action Contingency, Miami
To send a free fax:
http://www.citizen.org/fax/background.cfm?ID=245&source=19
PLEASE CALL AND WRITE:
MANUEL A. DIAZ, Mayor, City of Miami
305.250.5300
305.375.5071
mayor@miamidade.gov OR mannydiaz@ci.miami.fl.us
ALEX PENELAS, Mayor, Miami-Dade County
305.829.9336 home
305.375.5071 office
Chief of Staff: Francois Illas
Fillas@ci.miami.fl.us
KATHERINE FERNANDEZ RUNDLE
State Attorney
305.547.0100
JOHN TIMONEY
Chief of Police
305-673-7925
305-579-6565
OTHER NUMBERS
Local media has been grossly biased in their coverage. While this is somewhat to be expected, the following are numbers that people can call to voice frustration.
CBS4: 305-639-4551, 305-639-4601, 305-639-4426
WPLG channel 10: 305-576-6397
WSUN Fox: 954-524-0388 (Rosh Lowe)
Miami Jail Information: To track people in the system try:
http://www.miami-dadeclerk.com
Miami-Dade Jail (felonies)
Facility Supervisor: Captain E. Cambridge
Address: 1320 NW 13 Street Miami, FL. 33125
Facility Phone: (786) 263-4100
Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center
(misdemeanors)
Facility Supervisor: Captain M. Fernandez
Address: 7000 NW 41 Street Miami, Fl. 33166
Facility Phone:(305) 470-7600
Carlos Alvarez,
Director of Metropolitan Sheriff Department
Miami-Dade Police Department
9105 Northwest 25th Street
Miami, FL 33172-1500 USA
Telephone: +1-305-471-2100
Fax: +1-305-471-2163
OTHER CONTACT NUMBERS OF CITY OFFICIALS
ALEJANDRO VILARELLO
City Attorney
305-416-1800
JOHNNY WINTON, Miami City Commissioner
305.858.7344 home
305.250.5333 office
Commissioner Johnny L. Winton
E-mail: jwinton@ci.miami.fl.us
KATY SORENSON, Miami Dade County Commissioner
305.375.5218
305.378.6677
Commissioner Angel Gonzalez
E-mail: agonzalez@ci.miami.fl.us
Telephone: (305)250-5430
Commissioner Joe M. Sanchez
District 3
E-mail: jsanchez@ci.miami.fl.us
Telephone: (305)250-5380
Commissioner Tomas P. Regalado
District 4
E-mail: tr@ci.miami.fl.us
Telephone: (305)250-5420
Commissioner Arthur Teele, Jr.
District 5
E-mail: artteele@ci.miami.fl.us
Telephone: (305)250-5390
City Manager Joe Arriola E-mail:
jarriola@ci.miami.fl.us
Telephone: (305)250-5400
City Attorney Alejandro Vilarello
E-mail: law@ci.miami.fl.us
Telephone: (305)416-1800
City Attorney's Office
444 SW 2nd Avenue, Suite 945
Miami, Florida 33130
International Liaison Committee of Workers & Peoples (ILC)
P.O. Box 40009, San Francisco, CA 94140.
Tel. (415) 626-1175; fax: (415) 626-1217.
ilcinfo@earthlink.net
website: ILC section in http://www.owcinfo.org
----------
URGENT ACTION APPEAL FROM MIAMI!
Saturday, Nov. 22 - 10:50 a.m. PST
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
I received a few moments an emergency call from Robert Irminger, a delegate to the San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO) who has been in Miami over the past week at the anti-FTAA demonstrations.
Brother Irminger called from outside the Miami-Dade County Jail, where dozens of young protesters are being brutalized by the police and prison guards. This is the basic information provided by Brother Irminger, on the basis of reports from activists just released after posting bond and from some of the legal observers:
- There were approximately 250 people arrested on Thursday and Friday at the various anti-FTAA actions. All misdemeanor arrests were taken to the "PGK" jail (7000 NW 41st St.), while all felony arrests were taken to the Miami-Dade County Jail (1320 NW 13th St.)
-Among those arrested was a young African American man, who was pepper-sprayed directly in the eyes and not allowed to wash out his eyes at any time.
- A young Hispanic man was clubbed so badly by police batons he cannot raise his arms or feel any sensation in his fingers.
- The people arrested were all stripped of their clothes and blasted with pressure hoses every two hours.
- A young woman who was arrested was forced to perform fellatio on a police officer in the jail.
These are just some of the horror stories that are beginning to emerge from the Miami jails. No, this is not Baghdad under Saddam Hussein. It is the USofA under George Bush andJohn Ashcroft.
The arrested activists and their legal team are urging all supporters of democratic and labor rights to protest this unconscionable police brutality by the Miami authorities and to demand that all the charges be dropped.
Please contact the following two people with this protest message and this demand:
Mr. Alex Penelas
Mayor
Miami-Dade County
Office: 305-375-5071
Mr. Manuel Diaz
Mayor
Miami
Office: 305-250-5300
That is all the information available at this moment. People can call Brother Irminger directly to his cell phone no., which is : 415-637-3671.
Also, information on this police brutality should be posted shortly to the indymedia website.
Thanks for acting promptly in defense of our most basic democratic rights,
In Solidarity,
Alan Benjamin
OPEIU Local 3 delegate
to SF Labor Council
ILC Support Committee/USA
OWC CAMPAIGN NEWS - distributed by the Open World Conference in
Defense of Trade Union Independence & Democratic Rights, c/o S.F. Labor
Council, 1188 Franklin St., #203, San Francisco, CA 94109.
Visit our website at http://www.owcinfo.org
The National Lawyers Guild is astounded by the actions of law enforcement in Miami intended to silence political speech and the protests against the Free Trade Area of the Americas summit. We call upon all who value participatory democracy to stand against the violations of demonstrators' rights that are ongoing in Miami, and to join us in holding accountable those who would use violence, unjustified arrests, and other unconstitutional tactics in a strategy to silence free speech.
National Lawyers Guild members provide legal support to progressive demonstrations throughout the country, and well understand the nationwide trend towards increasingly repressive measures deployed against political protesters.
Our members in Miami have witnessed extreme and unconstitutional actions against protesters during the FTAA protests, including:
· Indiscriminate, excessive force against hundreds of nonviolent protesters with weapons including pepper spray, tear gas and concussion grenades, and rubber bullets;
· Singling out of NLG Legal Observers wearing highly visible neon green caps. We have confirmed reports that five Legal Observers were arrested, and four of those were assaulted by police officers;
· Police stopping and snatching protesters, seemingly at random, into unmarked vehicles;
· Police shooting protestors with rubber bullets and trapping them by police lines, resulting in major injuries. Police repeatedly refused to allow Medics into these areas to treat the injured.
"Such paramilitary tactics are ill-conceived and self-defeating and have no place in a democratic society," wrote Guild President Michael Avery in a letter today to Miami authorities.
The National Lawyers Guild calls upon Miami public officials to demonstrate their commitment to the First Amendment and reign in these unlawful attacks on the right to protest.
The National Lawyers Guild, founded in 1937, comprises over 6,000 members and activists in the service of the people, to the end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests.
National Lawyers Guild: http://nlg.org/default.htm
Additional Legal Advice: http://www.stopftaa.org/article.php?list=type&type=42
Photo: New Photos of Nikki Hartman Shot in the Back...
http://www.ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/1997.shtml
Related articles, followed by other eyewitness reports
NOT a Tale Between the Legs Ending:
http://www.ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/1980.shtml
Arresting The Future
By Tom Hayden, AlterNet:
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17246
MAD PRESS RELEASE: UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS OF POLICE:
http://www.ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/1978.shtml
What would Castro do: Hypocrisy in Miami
by Jane Stillwater
What would Castro do?
Leaders of the Cuban exile community of Miami clearly out-Castro-ed their former nemesis this week as Dade County tactical squads, under the leadership of elected Cuban-American politicians, brutally suppressed citizens' Constitutional rights -- to free speech, freedom of the press and free assembly -- with an abandon and verve that would have had even Fidel himself open-mouthed.
The Cuban exile community's holier-than-thou attitude toward human rights in Cuba is now a thing of the past. Under the direction of Cuban exiles and their allies, police in full riot gear tear-gassed, beat and jailed hundreds of peaceful demonstrators. Bones were broken and faces were smashed indiscriminately.
Tactical squads, using unprovoked and savage brutality on American citizens legally expressing their right to dissent against faulty government policies that will drive their jobs overseas, also threatened and/or jailed several members of the press who were reporting on the event as well as hundreds of non-violent demonstrators including a delegation of soccer moms wearing "Kucinich for President" T-shirts.
After this demonstration of unprovoked force, any further attempts by the Cuban exile community to criticize Castro can and will be labeled as hypocrisy of the first degree.
Before we "bring democracy" to Cuba, let's first try bringing it to Miami.
Jane Stillwater
The following was sent from a CU Sociology instructor. Miami is now returning to the days of brutalizing civil rights protesters, but Bush, not Kennedy runs the country. There are contact emails and phones at the end... Evan
Evan Ravitz
evan@vote.org
Vote for the National Initiative! http://www.vote.org
FORWARDED MESSAGE
------------
Things here in Miami are very bad. For those of you that do not know, I have been in Miami for the last two weeks organizing for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) meetings. I have been working at the welcome center for all the anti-FTAA activists, and the police here have been excruciatingly brutal. I myself was beaten and suffered a head injury on Thursday without reason, but others are much worse.
There are many people in jail that have been beaten and pepper sprayed at close range. The people of color from our mobilization have been specifically targeted and attacked. The people of color have been put in cells without bathroom facilities and had their shoes and other clothes that would keep them warm taken away, and they are hosed down with cold water every two hours with high powered water hoses. During the night one Hispanic male and an African American male were taken from the group and the Hispanic was beaten and pepper sprayed withing inches of his face for two hours then returned to the cell. He was beaten so badly that his skin split open. Another person of color had a head injury from the police before being taken to jail and was refused care
and they beat him again and he is hemorrhaging from the brain and in intensive care now. This is only a slight case of what is going on with the police and the jails here in Miami.
Two trans-gendered people have been sexually assaulted in jail, as well as reports of one woman being forced to give oral sex to an officer. Female protesters were separated and held by four officers who then cut off their clothes when taken to jail. Again this is only a slight bit of what is going on here. For more information on what has been going on check out: http://www.ftaaimc.org
I am appealing to ALL OF YOU to call Miami, call your representatives, send money for bail and anything else that you can think of doing to help out. Check out the www.StopFTAA.org website for where to send money and who to contact. The police state here in Miami is terrible and I am on the brink of breaking down. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD about what is going on here in Miami. This is TYPICAL of the police and jail here. We need help and support. I am sending this out because I do not know what else to do. The message is not getting out in the corporate press, so please write letters to your local papers and other news agencies to DEMAND coverage and accountablity. I am not in jail so I am going to be working here until my flight back home on Monday, but if anyone has the means to get here, help and reinforcements would be greatly appreciated.
This is not supposed to happen in this country, and if I was not already ashamed to be american, this would make me so. Please help out in the name of humanity...
Stephen
=====
"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of State and corporate power." – Benito Mussolini
=====
Urgent Call to Action: FTAA Protesters Brutalized in Miami!
This week thousands of protestors came to Miami to oppose the FTAA. The Free Trade Agreement of the Americas is an international trade agreement that aims to extend corporate control throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Prior to the mass action there was a calculated campaign on the part of the police to intimidate and harass protestors. One officer characterized this campaign by saying "You can beat the rap, but not the ride".
As we feared, our protests were met by a massive show of state repression, backed by $8.5 million in US Government funding. Miami Police Commissioner John Timoney oversaw a massive, paramilitary assault on our constitutional and human rights
Protestors were attacked by police wielding batons, tear gas, pepper spray, rubber, wooden, and plastic bullets and other chemical agents. Over 100 protestors were treated for injuries; 12 were hospitalized. Police dispersed large groups of peaceful protestors with tear gas, pepper spray and open fire. Small groups leaving the protests were harassed, arrested and beaten. This campaign of fear and intimidation culminated in the closure and militarization of downtown Miami. There were confirmed reports of military tanks patrolling the streets after dark on Thursday night.
Our legal team estimates more than 250 arrests. People have become political prisoners and are being held in jail. More than 50 of them were arrested while holding a peaceful vigil outside the jail in solidarity with those inside. They were surrounded by riot police and ordered to disperse. As they did, police opened fire and blocked the streets preventing many from leaving.
We are now receiving reports from people being released or calling from jail
that there is excessive brutality, sexual assault and torture going on inside. People of color, Queer and transgender prisoners are particularly being targeted. There is a confirmed report of one Latino man arrested along with 62 others outside Miami-Dade County Jail Friday, who is currently hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit for an injury he received after being beaten in the head with night stick by an arresting officer.
People have also been denied access to attorneys, visitation rights, vegetarian or vegan food, and access to essential medication and medical attention.
We call on people from around the globe to take action immediately to support our sisters and brothers who are being unfairly arrested and brutalized. We are calling for three immediate actions:
1) Call, fax, email elected officials with the demands listed below.
Contact information below.
2) Money is urgently needed to get people out of jail. They are making everyone post between $100 - $5000 I in bail. We are working with bail bondsmen, but this is not enough. Send money to cover legal and jail-support expenses including: bail, getting people rides back home and other legal costs. Please send money to: United for Peace and Justice. Online donations are possible at http://www.unitedforpeace.org/ftaadonate You can also mail a check or money order to:
United for
Peace and Justice/FTAA Fund
P.O. Box 607, Times Square Station,
New York, NY
10108.
Please specify Legal Fund in the memo field:
3) Global Day of Action on Monday at any time and any appropriate location.
This could be US Embassies, Departments of Justice or FBI offices
THESE ARE OUR DEMANDS:
Drop all charges.
Release all political prisoners.
Meet basic human needs: no more brutality,
provide appropriate food, access
to medicine and medical attention, warm clothing.
Provide access to attorneys and visitation rights.
Provide equitable treatment to all prisoners.
Do not share information collected with the INS.
Fire Chief Timoney
Many thanks for your support. It is urgently needed.
In solidarity,
Direct Action Contingency, Miami
To send a free fax:
http://www.citizen.org/fax/background.cfm?ID=245&source=19
PLEASE CALL AND WRITE:
MANUEL A. DIAZ, Mayor, City of Miami
305.250.5300
305.375.5071
mayor@miamidade.gov OR mannydiaz@ci.miami.fl.us
ALEX PENELAS, Mayor, Miami-Dade County
305.829.9336 home
305.375.5071 office
Chief of Staff: Francois Illas
Fillas@ci.miami.fl.us
KATHERINE FERNANDEZ RUNDLE
State Attorney
305.547.0100
JOHN TIMONEY
Chief of Police
305-673-7925
305-579-6565
OTHER NUMBERS
Local media has been grossly biased in their coverage. While this is somewhat to be expected, the following are numbers that people can call to voice frustration.
CBS4: 305-639-4551, 305-639-4601, 305-639-4426
WPLG channel 10: 305-576-6397
WSUN Fox: 954-524-0388 (Rosh Lowe)
Miami Jail Information: To track people in the system try:
http://www.miami-dadeclerk.com
Miami-Dade Jail (felonies)
Facility Supervisor: Captain E. Cambridge
Address: 1320 NW 13 Street Miami, FL. 33125
Facility Phone: (786) 263-4100
Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center
(misdemeanors)
Facility Supervisor: Captain M. Fernandez
Address: 7000 NW 41 Street Miami, Fl. 33166
Facility Phone:(305) 470-7600
Carlos Alvarez,
Director of Metropolitan Sheriff Department
Miami-Dade Police Department
9105 Northwest 25th Street
Miami, FL 33172-1500 USA
Telephone: +1-305-471-2100
Fax: +1-305-471-2163
OTHER CONTACT NUMBERS OF CITY OFFICIALS
ALEJANDRO VILARELLO
City Attorney
305-416-1800
JOHNNY WINTON, Miami City Commissioner
305.858.7344 home
305.250.5333 office
Commissioner Johnny L. Winton
E-mail: jwinton@ci.miami.fl.us
KATY SORENSON, Miami Dade County Commissioner
305.375.5218
305.378.6677
Commissioner Angel Gonzalez
E-mail: agonzalez@ci.miami.fl.us
Telephone: (305)250-5430
Commissioner Joe M. Sanchez
District 3
E-mail: jsanchez@ci.miami.fl.us
Telephone: (305)250-5380
Commissioner Tomas P. Regalado
District 4
E-mail: tr@ci.miami.fl.us
Telephone: (305)250-5420
Commissioner Arthur Teele, Jr.
District 5
E-mail: artteele@ci.miami.fl.us
Telephone: (305)250-5390
City Manager Joe Arriola E-mail:
jarriola@ci.miami.fl.us
Telephone: (305)250-5400
City Attorney Alejandro Vilarello
E-mail: law@ci.miami.fl.us
Telephone: (305)416-1800
City Attorney's Office
444 SW 2nd Avenue, Suite 945
Miami, Florida 33130
International Liaison Committee of Workers & Peoples (ILC)
P.O. Box 40009, San Francisco, CA 94140.
Tel. (415) 626-1175; fax: (415) 626-1217.
ilcinfo@earthlink.net
website: ILC section in http://www.owcinfo.org
----------
URGENT ACTION APPEAL FROM MIAMI!
Saturday, Nov. 22 - 10:50 a.m. PST
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
I received a few moments an emergency call from Robert Irminger, a delegate to the San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO) who has been in Miami over the past week at the anti-FTAA demonstrations.
Brother Irminger called from outside the Miami-Dade County Jail, where dozens of young protesters are being brutalized by the police and prison guards. This is the basic information provided by Brother Irminger, on the basis of reports from activists just released after posting bond and from some of the legal observers:
- There were approximately 250 people arrested on Thursday and Friday at the various anti-FTAA actions. All misdemeanor arrests were taken to the "PGK" jail (7000 NW 41st St.), while all felony arrests were taken to the Miami-Dade County Jail (1320 NW 13th St.)
-Among those arrested was a young African American man, who was pepper-sprayed directly in the eyes and not allowed to wash out his eyes at any time.
- A young Hispanic man was clubbed so badly by police batons he cannot raise his arms or feel any sensation in his fingers.
- The people arrested were all stripped of their clothes and blasted with pressure hoses every two hours.
- A young woman who was arrested was forced to perform fellatio on a police officer in the jail.
These are just some of the horror stories that are beginning to emerge from the Miami jails. No, this is not Baghdad under Saddam Hussein. It is the USofA under George Bush andJohn Ashcroft.
The arrested activists and their legal team are urging all supporters of democratic and labor rights to protest this unconscionable police brutality by the Miami authorities and to demand that all the charges be dropped.
Please contact the following two people with this protest message and this demand:
Mr. Alex Penelas
Mayor
Miami-Dade County
Office: 305-375-5071
Mr. Manuel Diaz
Mayor
Miami
Office: 305-250-5300
That is all the information available at this moment. People can call Brother Irminger directly to his cell phone no., which is : 415-637-3671.
Also, information on this police brutality should be posted shortly to the indymedia website.
Thanks for acting promptly in defense of our most basic democratic rights,
In Solidarity,
Alan Benjamin
OPEIU Local 3 delegate
to SF Labor Council
ILC Support Committee/USA
OWC CAMPAIGN NEWS - distributed by the Open World Conference in
Defense of Trade Union Independence & Democratic Rights, c/o S.F. Labor
Council, 1188 Franklin St., #203, San Francisco, CA 94109.
Visit our website at http://www.owcinfo.org