Solidarity Needed in Illinois
Hey, not sure if there are rules about this sort of reposting, but I figure if someone minds this, they'll let me know.
A message on one of my listservs let me know that Andy Stepanian, one of the SHAC 7, (The SHAC 7 are six activists who got some pretty harsh sentences for exercising their free speech rights. They were convicted of felonies for being of the opinion that HLS should shut down.) is being messed with, and could use support. I know there's some other Chicago folks on here who might know people, and Bloomington folks who might be able to help. And heck, its a small world - hopefully reposting this will do some good. Anyway:
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"dear friends,
Andy Stepanian, one of the SHAC 7 imprisoned unjustly for animal rights
activism (http://www.shac7.com/andy/index.htm), has just been transferred
from a prison in Butner, NC to a control unit in the federal penitentiary
in Marion, Illinois. Andy's partner Courtney, who traveled down from NYC
to North Carolina every couple of weeks to visit him, was sustained in
part by a support network in NC; however, now that Andy has been
relocated, she has to find supportive folks with whom she can stay in the
Marion area. In the Marion control unit, Andy will be in solitary
confinement 23 hours per day, and will only be allowed 4 hours of outside
visitor time per MONTH, in a cruel effort to isolate and demoralize
prisoners deemed dangerous by the state; as a result, it's especially
important that supporters of the SHAC campaign and political prisoners
generally do whatever we can to sustain his morale in the face of the
state's effort to silence him. So I'm writing to appeal to radical in
Illinois to see if anyone has any contacts for sympathetic folks in
southern Illinois (especially the Marion/Carbondale area). In particular
we're seeking folks who are sympathetic to animal rights/animal liberation
struggles and who might be willing to host Courtney once every month or
two when she comes to visit, or help transport her from an airport or to
the prison. It's crucial for us to help survivors of state repression
keep up their spirits- any contacts or help you could offer would be
gratefully appreciated."
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For obvious reasons, I don't want to repost the email address that this came from, but if you can help, either let the SHAC7 support group know (http://www.shac7.com) or let me know, and I'll put you in contact with them.
A message on one of my listservs let me know that Andy Stepanian, one of the SHAC 7, (The SHAC 7 are six activists who got some pretty harsh sentences for exercising their free speech rights. They were convicted of felonies for being of the opinion that HLS should shut down.) is being messed with, and could use support. I know there's some other Chicago folks on here who might know people, and Bloomington folks who might be able to help. And heck, its a small world - hopefully reposting this will do some good. Anyway:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"dear friends,
Andy Stepanian, one of the SHAC 7 imprisoned unjustly for animal rights
activism (http://www.shac7.com/andy/index.htm), has just been transferred
from a prison in Butner, NC to a control unit in the federal penitentiary
in Marion, Illinois. Andy's partner Courtney, who traveled down from NYC
to North Carolina every couple of weeks to visit him, was sustained in
part by a support network in NC; however, now that Andy has been
relocated, she has to find supportive folks with whom she can stay in the
Marion area. In the Marion control unit, Andy will be in solitary
confinement 23 hours per day, and will only be allowed 4 hours of outside
visitor time per MONTH, in a cruel effort to isolate and demoralize
prisoners deemed dangerous by the state; as a result, it's especially
important that supporters of the SHAC campaign and political prisoners
generally do whatever we can to sustain his morale in the face of the
state's effort to silence him. So I'm writing to appeal to radical in
Illinois to see if anyone has any contacts for sympathetic folks in
southern Illinois (especially the Marion/Carbondale area). In particular
we're seeking folks who are sympathetic to animal rights/animal liberation
struggles and who might be willing to host Courtney once every month or
two when she comes to visit, or help transport her from an airport or to
the prison. It's crucial for us to help survivors of state repression
keep up their spirits- any contacts or help you could offer would be
gratefully appreciated."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
For obvious reasons, I don't want to repost the email address that this came from, but if you can help, either let the SHAC7 support group know (http://www.shac7.com) or let me know, and I'll put you in contact with them.