Stephanie Tang, facing up to one year in jail and a thousand dollars in fines

On August 4, a partial hearing of Stephanie Tang took place in the Court of Alameda. Tang, a long time organizer for the World Can’t Wait, is facing up to one year in jail and a thousand dollars in fines, stemming from an ongoing effort by the WCW to shut down the Marine Recruiting Station in Berkeley. This specific charge is connected to a demonstration on Feb. 22, in which Tang (although assaulted by the Berkeley Police) was charged with the obstruction of an officer. The prosecution refused to drop the case, and a trial date has been set. During the hearing supporters of Tang filled the court room wearing orange, which symbolizes torture victims an issue that Tang and the World Cant Wait has been protesting.

Many people from the World Can’t Wait have been arrested at the Berkeley Marine Station, but all except for Tang had their charges dropped. Tang stated that “I am the only protestor actually facing any charges. I am known as a leader of the local World Can’t Wait movement by the community – and by the police – which may factor into the authorities’ approach to my case.”

The World Cant Wait is a national movement that has been organizing resistance to torture and demanding that Bush and others in his administration be impeached and put on trial for war crimes. In Berkeley the local chapter has been involved with putting pressure on and trying to shut down the Marine Recruiting Station. Currently the World Cant Wait is organizing people from the Bay Area and all over the U.S. to go to the Democratic National Convention to demonstrate against the Democrats. The WCW is accusing the democrats of supporting the War in Iraq, and authorizing torture and destruction of civil liberates.