Feature Archives

On October 26th, Gabriel Meyers was told that the DA's office can proceed with the felony criminal charge that Meyers attempted to lynch himself at the anti- G8 demonstration in July of 2005. Meyers said that he feels that the government is "railroading and scapegoating" him. Gabe's next court date will be Friday, December 15th in Department 22, 850 Bryant St. in SF, at 9am, and opening arguments in the trial will be held within 60 days. Gabe is the only person who faces criminal charges from the July 8th, 2005 anti-G8 protest in which an SFPD officer was injured. Gabe's report from 12/8 court date

On October 16th, New York attorney Lynne Stewart was sentenced to 28-months and is now free on bail, pending appeal. Stewart was convicted of releasing a statement by her client, Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, to the media. Her co-defendant Ahmed Abdel Sattar was sentenced to 24 years, while translator Mohamed Yousry received 20 months in prison and was also released on bail.

On Saturday October 21st, an indoor rally to call for freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal took place at the YWCA, at 1515 Webster St. in Oakland, from 2-4:30pm. This event was organized by the Partisan Defense Committee and Labor Black League for Social Defense. They say that Mumia's life is in danger, and now is the time to organize. Flyer

Sunday, October 22nd was the 11th National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation. Events were held in cities all over the country, with people wearing black and remembering the names of people who have been killed by law enforcement. An update to the book "Stolen Lives: Killed by Law Enforcement" was released on October 22nd. In San Francisco, a 2pm rally was held at Haight and Stanyan. Hundreds marched to Jefferson Square Park for a second rally. Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Video: 1 | 2 In San Jose, people whose lives have been directly impacted by police use of force and repression spoke out at an indoor event in the late afternoon. In Fresno, people marched from Justice Corner to N street and Mariposa for a rally and vigil. Photos

On October 3rd, Andrew Stepanian started a three-year prison term, becoming the first person to do time under the Animal Enterprise Protection Act. Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) activists were not accused of causing physical damage to property or people. They were convicted of targeting Huntingdon Life Sciences by maintaining a website which contained information that could potentially be used to commit a crime. Congress has been working to pass more laws offering special protection for businesses that profit from the use of animals and restricting the free speech of peaceful activists.

On Wednesday September 27th, the US House of Representatives approved HR 6166 by a margin of 253-168 and on September 28th, the US Senate approved its version of the bill, Senate Bill 3930, in a 65-34 vote. The bill will give President Bush extraordinary power to detain and try prisoners. The legislation strips detainees of the right to challenge their own detention and gives the President the power to detain them indefinitely. The bill also immunizes U.S. officials from prosecution for torturing detainees who the military and the CIA captured before the end of last year.

On September 28th, Act Against Torture protested in San Francisco against torture and indefinite detention at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, Abu Ghraib in Iraq, Bagram AFB in Afghanistan, and in secret prisons and other torture sites all over the world. Staff at Senator Diane Feinstein's downtown San Francisco office refused to even meet with the protesters. Photos: 1 | 2