Nonviolent Resistance Acts

Who Is "Disorderly"?

Jeff Leys — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:47:18 -0500

Excerpt

May 9, 2008

Trial Statement, City Court, Syracuse, New York

Friends, members of the court, Judge Cecile,

As I am defending myself, my defense will be unencumbered with legal jargon and technicalities.

Given that the prosecution has failed to prove its case against me, at this juncture it might be appropriate to rest my case. But, quite frankly, my aim here goes beyond merely winning an acquittal.

Since intent is pivotal to the charge of “disorderly conduct,” I must explain why early on the afternoon of March 19 I was in one of Syracuse’s busiest streets, in one of Syracuse’s most public places – at a demonstration attended by hundreds, a demonstration featured on the front page – above the fold – of the March 20 Syracuse Post-Standard.

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May 9, 2008

Trial Statement, City Court, Syracuse, New York

Friends, members of the court, Judge Cecile,

As I am defending myself, my defense will be unencumbered with legal jargon and technicalities.

Given that the prosecution has failed to prove its case against me, at this juncture it might be appropriate to rest my case. But, quite frankly, my aim here goes beyond merely winning an acquittal.

I will show the irony of being charged with “disorderly conduct.”

And, more to the point, I’ll show the inappropriateness of being prosecuted for my action.

March 19, you’ll recall, was the beginning of yet another year of the illegal US invasion of Iraq.

[[Your honor, I’d like to introduce here exhibit A — a copy of a photo taken by Post-Standard photographer Mike Greenlar on March 19.]]

That’s me in the lower left corner covered by a “bloody” sheet as I lay facedown on the rain-washed pavement of Salina Street.

Role-playing an Iraqi corpse, for over an hour I didn’t open an eye, I didn’t utter a sound, I barely moved a muscle.

The entire time I was “mourned” by my partner in real life, Ann Tiffany, bending over me, silently, eyes downcast, shrouded in black.

Explaining this tableau, Ann had put an upright sign near my body; It said, “STREET SCENE IN BAGHDAD.”

Along with many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of others around the country on March 19 we were using our bodies to assert that, as long as this vile war goes on, there should be “no business as usual.”

Twenty-two of us were arrested here that day. For failure to produce identification, I spent a long, cold, bedless night in the local jail.

Judge Cecile, at my April 14 appearance in your court, perhaps you wondered why I refused your offer of “time served.”

Besides forcing me to plead guilty, accepting time served would have denied me this opportunity to address your court, this opportunity to, in an extremely cursory way, put the Iraq War itself on trial.

There are numerous charges to be leveled against the war criminals who launched the illegal Iraq war.

Because the court’s time is precious I shall quickly enumerate those charges:

~ In direct violation of international law, the invasion of Iraq was unprovoked. ~ Premised on lies and perpetuated with disinformation, the war is dishonest. ~ In contempt of virtually every spiritual tradition, the war is immoral. ~ The war is brutal, even barbaric. ~ Killing mostly civilians, often from the air, the war is cowardly. ~ The war is thieving and imperialistic. ~ The protracted occupation has led to a feeding frenzy of war profiteering. ~ Each year this travesty swindles US taxpayers out of hundreds of billions of dollars. ~ The war is reckless – reducing not only our standing, but our safety, in the world.

Further, the so-called War against Terror in Iraq is terroristic to the core.

I know first hand whereof I speak. As a human rights monitor I lived in Baghdad for five months in 2003. I was there before, during and after “shock and awe.” ~ I experienced the dread and terror of that naked aggression. ~ I visited bombed-out public markets. ~ I climbed over the rubble of pulverized homes. ~ In the hospitals I met civilian casualties of these US bombings. ~ With my own eyes I watched as much of Baghdad’s civilian infrastructure was destroyed. ~ On April 8, 2003 US forces shelled the hotel next door to ours, killing two international journalists, friends of friends of mine.

The criminality of the subsequent occupation also hit close to home. Shortly after I returned to the States ~ three friends were abducted in Baghdad; ~ my former housemate, Haythem Al-Jouburi, was detained in Abu Ghraib; ~ and my closest friend in Iraq, Ghareeb Ramadan, was killed in a crossfire while translating for an Italian journalist.

Thanks to “shock and awe” and thanks to over five years of US military occupation, ~ chaos and terror reign in Iraq; ~ the economy is a shambles; ~ ethnic and sectarian tensions have been inflamed; ~ several million Iraqis have become refugees both internally and externally; ~ much infrastructure – including health facilities – has been demolished; ~ the environment has been poisoned by the toxic and radioactive depleted uranium used in US weaponry; ~ US corporations are expropriating Iraq’s resources and devouring her now-privatized enterprises; these war profiteers make billions. ~ lastly, hundreds of thousands – mostly civilians, but also thousands of US soldiers and mercenaries – have been killed and maimed.

One more thing. So harrowing and so demoralizing is US military service in the Middle East that for every US soldier killed, several more commit suicide. [April 21, 2008, Associated Press] And those suicides will keep happening long after this heinous occupation ends and all our soldiers are back home.

Your honor, in closing I submit that my nation’s conduct in Iraq spawned and perpetuates Disorder – Disorder on an inconceivable scale.

In stark contrast, my thoughtful, disciplined and nonviolent effort to bring such Disorder to an end was the very opposite of “disorderly conduct.”

I now rest my case.

Judge James Cecile found Kinane guilty. Kinane was in Iraq with Voices in the Wilderness. Reach Ed at .

VCNV Author

Ed Kinane

Seven Memphians Arrested in Senator Corker's Offices

Dan Pearson — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:11:05 -0500

Short Information Teaser

Video, press release, Statement of Purpose

Excerpt

March 21, 2008

March 19, 2008

MEMPHIS—On Wednesday March 19, 2008 seven members of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center were arrested in the Memphis offices of Senator Bob Corker. Protestors had come to the office for a scheduled meeting in order to present Corker’s staff with 1,000 petition signatures and to ask that the Sentor hold a town hall meeting in Memphis on the Iraq war, which the Senator has not done since taking office. Protestors vowed not to leave the office until a signed letter from the Senator committing to a town hall meeting was recieved.

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March 21, 2008

At approximately 6:00pm Jacob Flowers, Dr. Peter Gathje, George Grider Jr., Ceylon Mooney, Jessica Buttermore, Kathleen Kruczek, and Denis Paden were taken into custody and charged with criminal trespassing in their own Senator’s offices. The arrestees issued the following statement (personal statements of purpose follow):

“Senator Corker has refused our requests. We are disappointed he would not agree to our demand, a town hall meeting. Corker continues to refuse to meet with those he purports to represent.

We still believe that we live in a democracy and that those who are elected by the people should listen to the people. After five years of war with no end in sight the Senator needs to learn to recognize that the people reject this war and reject the massive causalities of the war, over 600,00 Iraqi civilians and 4,990 soldiers not counting the wounded and the squandering of resources namely $3.1 trillion.

We will stay here until Senator Corker meets our reasonable demand to have a public forum to hear from Memphians our thoughts on the war.”

Statements of Purpose:

Jacob Flowers, Executive Director, Mid-South Peace and Justice Center

Homeowner and lifelong Memphian

“I am participating in today’s action because the past five years of occupation in Iraq have decimated the communities in that country and in our own. As each bomb explodes in Baghdad we hear it reverberate in Binghampton. As the children suffer in Fallujah we hear their cries in Frayser. We have spent over a half a trillion dollars on this illegal and immoral war, that is over $720 million dollars a day.”

Dr. Peter Gathje, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics, Memphis Theological Seminary

Homeowner and Memphian

“I am here today to say to say no to the war in Iraq, which is criminal and immoral. After years of death, lies, and an obscene amount of money apent, it is past time to say this war must end. Our cities and rural areas are devastated and need the monies wasted on this war.”

George Grider Jr., Chair, Mid-South Peace and Justice Center- Veterans for Peace

Homeowner and Memphian

“I am here today protesting the war in Iraq. The war was sold to us based on lies. Four thousand U.S. soldiers have died based on these lies. How many veterans have been mamed- physically and mentally. A half million innocent Iraqis are dead.

I swore an Oath of Allegiance as a naval officer to uphold the constitution. In this small way I feel that is what I am doing.”

Ceylon Mooney, Homeowner and Memphian

“Standing up against war and terror sometimes means laying down in the street. If the normal order of things is mass killing, then may our actions be abnormal.”

Dennis Paden, Veterans for Peace, Concerned Memphian

“The war in Iraq is a violation of common-sense, a violation of human decency, and a violation of any reasonable sense of common-law. The war in Iraq threatens the safety of the world community, the United States, and my family. It is murder.”

Jessica Buttermore, Concerned Memphian

“Direct action against war, the money spent on this war, the lives lost and resulting poor conditions here at home are the reasons I am here.”

March 20th Penny Poll action at Federal Bldg

Dan Pearson — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:35:27 -0500

Short Information Teaser

Photos: March 20th Penny Poll action at Federal Bldg

Excerpt

Chicago - March 20, 2008

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March 20, 2008

2. Don’t Buy Me War

3. The Penny Poll

4. In the federal bldg. lobby

6. blocking the door

March 20th AM lockdown at Rahm Emanuel's office

Dan Pearson — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:06:39 -0500

Short Information Teaser

March 20th 4 arrested after chaining themselves to the entrance of U.S. Congressman's office

Excerpt

March 20, 2008

Chicago - at 8:30am members of Christian Peacemaker Teams and Wellington Avenue UCC Gerald Paoli, John Volkening, Rev. Dan Dale and Sarah Shirk chained themselves to the entrance of U.S. Congressman Rahm Emanuel’s office at 3742 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago demanding that he “unchain us from this unjust and immoral war.” CPD arrived shortly after with no less than 10 squad cars and a wagon obstructing the busy street traffic for more than a half hour until a bolt cutter could be delivered to remove the 4 demonstrators.

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March 20, 2008

1. Early AM lockdown

2. Gerald, John, Dan, Sarah and Kathy

3. CPD abstructing traffic

4: Gerald Paoli, John Volkening, Rev. Dan Dale, Sarah Shirk, Kathy Kelly and Dan Corcoran

5. bolt cutter

6. cutting chain

7. detained

January 11th 2008 Witness Against Torture - Chicago

Dan Pearson — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:22:32 -0600

Short Information Teaser

10 arrested delivering a Citizens Indictment to the Federal Court

Excerpt

January 11th 2008 Witness Against Torture - Chicago

CHICAGO – January 11 2008— 10 arrests were made at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago.

A Citizens’ Indictment was delivered to Chief Judge Holderman seeking relief for violations of international and domestic law by the United States and the City of Chicago. Specifically, the Indictment cited the use of torture by the United States in the so-called “global war on terror” and by the City of Chicago Police Department for its systematic practice of torture between 1971 and 1993, and on-going abuse of individuals. 2

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January 11th 2008 Witness Against Torture - Chicago

CHICAGO – January 11 — 10 arrests were made at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago.

The arrests were made as those who presented the Citizens’ Indictment read the names of detainees held by the United States at Guantanamo and the names of survivors of torture at the hands of the Chicago Police Department.

The action was one of over 75 international actions which call for the closure of Guantanamo and other prisons used by the U.S. in the “war on terror” and which called for the granting of the “writ of habeas corpus” to those detained by the United States since September 11, 2001 in the so-called “global war on terror”.

Those arrested include: Kathy Kelly Laurie Hasbrook Gerald Paoli Jeff Leys Erin Cox Ron Durham Tony Hintze Andrew Shantz Will Tanzman Cassandra Dixon

The ten people were arrested by agents of U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the lobby of the federal courthouse in downtown Chicago—nine on a federal charge of failure to conform with directions. Ron Durham was turned over to the Chicago Police Department on a state charge of trespass after he declined to walk when placed under arrest.

More information on the International Days of Action can be found at the website of Witness Against Torture

Citizens Indictment of the United States for Torture and other International Law Violations

Jeff Leys — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 09:55:04 -0600

Short Information Teaser

This Citizens Indictment was delivered to the federal court in Chicago on January 11, 2008.

Excerpt

January 12, 2008

On January 11, 2008, this Citizens’ Indictment was delivered by hand to Chief Judge Holderman in the U.S. Federal court in Chicago and to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago. It was mailed to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

Following this hand delivery, the Citizens’ Indictment was read aloud in the lobby of the federal courthouse in Chicago. Participants dressed in orange jumpsuits and identified themselves as acting in behalf of those subject to torture and abuse at the hands of the United States and the City of Chicago. The ten people who signed this Indictment were arrested in the lobby of the federal courthouse—nine on a federal charge of failure to conform with directions and one on a state charge of trespass after he declined to walk when placed under arrest.

Download the Citizens’ Indictment in PDF form

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January 12, 2008

Download the Citizens’ Indictment in PDF form

CITIZENS’ INDICTMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ITS AGENTS

AND

OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO, CITY OF CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THEIR AGENTS

FOR VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DOMESTIC LAW PROHIBITING TORTURE AND CRUEL, INHUMANE AND DEGRADING TREATMENT

AND

FOR VIOLATIONS OF OTHER RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC LAW AND THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

PREFACE

On January 11, 2002 the United States imprisoned the first of the detainees held in the so-called “global war on terror” at Guantanamo. Since then, the U.S. and its agents have engaged in a consistent pattern of violations of international law and of the United States Constitution. These actions include: denial of the writ of habeas corpus to detainees; the use of torture at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and elsewhere; the holding of detainees in secret prisons; the operation of flights of extraordinary rendition; the return of detainees to countries in which the detainees face torture upon return; and other similar violations of international and domestic law. These conditions continue to this day.

From 1971 to 1993, members of the Chicago Police Department engaged in torture of individuals held by that department. This torture was protected and condoned by the Chicago Police Department; the Illinois State’s Attorney; the City of Chicago and its agents. To this day, those whom the Chicago police tortured wait for justice to be fulfilled-including payment of reparations for damages suffered during torture and its after effects and the holding accountable of those who engaged in and permitted the torture to occur.

RELIEF SOUGHT

This Citizens’ Indictment seeks the following relief to redress the use of torture and other significant violations of international and domestic law by the United States and its agents and by the City of Chicago and its agents:

Relief sought from the United States of America:

Restoration of habeas corpus
Repeal of the Military Commissions Act of 2006
Charge and try all detainees or immediately release detainees if not charged and tried
Clearly and unequivocally forbid torture and all other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by the United States and its agents, including but not limited to the military, the Central Intelligence Agency, prison guards, civilian contractors and all other agents.
Pay reparations to current and former detainees and to their families for violations of their human rights and for violations of international law.
Shut down the prisons and detention centers at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Bagram and all other U.S. prisons overseas used to hold detainees, including but not limited to secret detention facilities operated by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Relief sought in the matter of torture by the Chicago Police Department:

Compliance with the July 2006 recommendation of the United Nations Committee Against Torture regarding police torture in Areas 2 and 3 of the Chicago Police Department to include: “promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigate all allegations of acts of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by law-enforcement personnel and bring perpetrators to justice…”
Full investigation and prosecution of those in positions of authority (including but not limited to the Chicago Police Department, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office and the Chicago Mayor’s office) who had knowledge of police torture but interfered in or prevented investigations and prosecutions of those responsible from taking place.
Order, and assist in, the payment of reparations to victims of police torture and their families; including providing for the full health and mental care needed to recover from the trauma of being tortured.
New trials for the twenty-six Chicago Police torture victims who were convicted of crimes based on coerced confessions and remain incarcerated in the State of Illinois.
Implementation of legislation that explicitly prohibits the crime of torture as defined by Article I of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment and maintain no statute of limitations for the crime of torture.

This Citizens’ Indictment is therefore issued to the United States of America and its agents; to the City of Chicago Police Department and its agents; and to the City of Chicago and its agents for violations of international law, the U.S. Constitution and U.S. domestic law as set forth below.

SUPREMACY CLAUSE OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

The Constitution of the United States is the “supreme law of the land” and is binding upon all courts and jurisdictions in the United States. Treaties to which the United States is a party are also a central component of this “supreme law of the land” and are equally binding upon the United States and all government jurisdictions within the United States (including but not limited to states, counties and cities).

Article VI, Clause 2 of the Constitution states:

“This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.”

THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

Detainees held by the United States at Guantanamo and elsewhere are being denied the right to pursue the “writ of habeas corpus.” Essentially, the “writ of habeas corpus” is the right to be brought before a court of law and to be presented with the charges the government is pursuing against an individual. It is an essential right to protect people from the arbitrary and dictatorial abuse of power by the government.

The Writ of Habeas Corpus is an ancient right that predates even the Magna Carta. As enunciated in this foundational document of common law:

“…no free man shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or exiled or in any way destroyed except by the lawful judgment of their peers or by the law of the land.”

Habeas corpus is explicitly protected in the Constitution of the United States, which states in Article I, Section 9:

“The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.”

The U.S. has not been invaded nor does the U.S. government assert that the U.S. has been invaded when it sets forth its arguments for denying the writ of habeas corpus to detainees.

Yet in 2006, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Section 7 of this act explicitly denies habeas corpus to detainees:

”(e)(1) No court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an alien detained by the United States who has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination.

”(2) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 1005(e) of the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (10 U.S.C. 801 note), no court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider any other action against the United States or its agents relating to any aspect of the detention, transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions of confinement of an alien who is or was detained by the United States and has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination.”

This denial of habeas corpus to detainees in the so-called “global war on terror,” held at Guantanamo, in Afghanistan, in secret prisons and elsewhere, is a flagrant violation of the U.S. Constitution. It denies the detainees the right to challenge their detention by the United States and to raise issues of torture, inhumane treatment, violations of international law and related matters in the courts of the United States.

INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS

This treaty, to which the United States is a party, sets forth due process protections for those arrested and detained by a government. The United States is in violation of several aspects of this treaty, including failure to advise detainees of the charges against them; denial of the writ of habeas corpus to detainees; and denial of the right to redress wrongs committed against the detainee by the government and its agents.

Article 9 of this treaty states:

“1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.

“2. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him.

“3. Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial, at any other stage of the judicial proceedings, and, should occasion arise, for execution of the judgement.

“4. Anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order that court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his detention and order his release if the detention is not lawful.

“5. Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation.”

Each of these above enumerated rights are violated and denied to detainees under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and other U.S. laws, statutes, rules and regulations.

INTERNATIONAL LAW AND TORTURE: The Geneva Conventions; Convention Against Torture; and other International Law

Geneva Conventions

Following the outrages of World War II, the international community came together to strengthen international law. Prohibitions on torture and degrading treatment were strengthened. Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 specifically states:

“To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

“(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

“(b) taking of hostages;

“(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;

“(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.”

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states in Article 7 that:

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.”

CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT

The United States is a party to this treaty and is thus bound by its terms. The terms of this treaty are especially significant to the manner in which the United States and its agents are acting.

Definition of Torture - Article 1

“1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term “torture” means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.”

Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment Prohibited - Article 16

Each State Party shall undertake to prevent in any territory under its jurisdiction other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment which do not amount to torture as defined in article I, when such acts are committed by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. In particular, the obligations contained in articles 10, 11, 12 and 13 shall apply with the substitution for references to torture of references to other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Returning Detainees to Countries in Which Torture Occurs - Article 3

“1. No State Party shall expel, return (“refouler”) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”

Right to Redress of Grievances Following Torture - Articles 13 and 14

Article 13

“Each State Party shall ensure that any individual who alleges he has been subjected to torture in any territory under its jurisdiction has the right to complain to, and to have his case promptly and impartially examined by, its competent authorities. Steps shall be taken to ensure that the complainant and witnesses are protected against all ill-treatment or intimidation as a consequence of his complaint or any evidence given.”

Article 14

“1. Each State Party shall ensure in its legal system that the victim of an act of torture obtains redress and has an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation, including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. In the event of the death of the victim as a result of an act of torture, his dependants shall be entitled to compensation.”

The United States and its agents have violated these provisions of international law in numerous ways, including but not necessarily limited to:

The denial of the writ of habeas corpus to detainees, which precludes detainees access to the courts of the United States under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and other statutes, policies, procedures, rules and regulations.
The denial of access to the courts to detainees to seek redress of grievances after being subjected to torture and / or to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment.
The United States transfers detainees to countries in which torture occurs at the hands of the government. Detainees have in fact been tortured after being transferred to certain countries. Cases of torture and / or cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment following transfer to Russia is documented in “The Stamp of Guantanamo: The Story of Seven Men Betrayed by Russia’s Diplomatic Assurances to the United States” (Human Rights Watch, March 2007). The experience of detainees transferred to Tunisia by the United States is detailed in the report “Ill-Fated Homecomings: A Tunisian Study of Guantanamo Repatriations” (Human Rights Watch, September 2007).
The United States engages in torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo and elsewhere, as documented, for example in the report “Report on Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment of Prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba” (Center for Constitutional Rights, July 2006).
The United States utilizes secret prisons and flights of extraordinary rendition to transfer, hold and deny detainees their rights guaranteed by international law. For a discussion of flights of rendition and the Central Intelligence Agency’s network of secret prisons see “Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Rendition and Torture Program” by Stephen Grey.

SUBMITTED THIS 11TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2008 by Petitioners:

Kathy Kelly
Laurie Hasbrook
Gerald Paoli
Jeff Leys
Erin Cox
Ron Durham
Tony Hintze
Andrew Shantz
Will Tanzman
Cassandra Dixon

Protesters Arrested At Huckabee Office

Jeff Leys — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 08:11:36 -0600

Short Information Teaser

3 arrested at Mike Huckabee's campaign offices in Iowa

Excerpt

For more information and links to other articles about the December 31 SODaPOP action see the Des Moines Catholic Worker page

By David Pitt
Associated Press Staff Writer
CBS News story
December 31,2007

DES MOINES, Iowa, Dec. 31, 2007(AP) Three protesters seeking a commitment from Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee to end the Iraq war were arrested Monday for refusing to leave his office.

Police arrested Mona Shaw, 56, of Iowa City; Robert Braam, 51, Manhattan, Ill.; and Kathy Kelly, 55, of Chicago, around 1:20 p.m., Shaw said. They were charged with criminal trespass.

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For more information and links to other articles about the December 31 SODaPOP action see the Des Moines Catholic Worker page

By David Pitt
Associated Press Staff Writer
CBS News story
December 31,2007

DES MOINES, Iowa, Dec. 31, 2007(AP) Three protesters seeking a commitment from Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee to end the Iraq war were arrested Monday for refusing to leave his office.

Police arrested Mona Shaw, 56, of Iowa City; Robert Braam, 51, Manhattan, Ill.; and Kathy Kelly, 55, of Chicago, around 1:20 p.m., Shaw said. They were charged with criminal trespass.

Des Moines police spokesman Vince Valdez said the three were taken into custody without violence and released.

The protest was part of a campaign called Seasons of Discontent: A Presidential Occupation Project, which goes by the acronym SODaPOP. According to its Web site, the project was organized by the Illinois-based activist group Voices for Creative Nonviolence.

Shaw said the project had sent presidential candidates letters seeking commitments for an immediate end to the war in Iraq.

“We said if we didn’t hear back we would be visiting them and staying in their offices until we received that commitment,” Shaw said. “That was our plan in Gov. Huckabee’s office today.”

Eight members of the group held a banners that read “Who Would Jesus Bomb?” “End the Iraq War” and “No War with Iran.” Protesters sang “Auld Lang Syne,” which Shaw said was in remembrance of lives lost in the war.

Shaw said campaign staff members called police after she and the two other arrested protesters went inside the office and refused to leave until they spoke to Huckabee.

Huckabee’s bus arrived at the office during the protest, but Huckabee spokesman Eric Woolson said the bus took the candidate to another entrance in the building so he could keep a meeting with campaign volunteers. He said Huckabee disagrees with the group’s philosophy.

“The governor said the way to end the war is to win it,” Woolson said. “They clearly have a different position and their position is we ought to cut and run. … There’s a clear difference of opinion on that.”

The group said it will continue actions of civil disobedience through Jan. 3, the day of the Iowa caucuses.

On the Net:

SODaPOP: http://www.desmoinescatholicworker.org/sodapop.html

Project

The Occupation Project

Occupation Project Video: Young people against the war

voices — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 14:07:16 -0500

Project

The Occupation Project

Short Information Teaser

Video: Twelve courageous Iowa young people occupied the office of Senator Charles Grassley

Excerpt

October 13, 2007

On September 21st twelve courageous Iowa young people occupied the office of Senator Charles Grassley demanding that he take a strong stand to end the U.S. war in Iraq and to bring the troops home as soon as possible. To stop funding this illegal and immoral war being wages in our name. They called for all young people to stand for Peace!

More videos by soundslikesouth1

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October 13, 2007

More videos by soundslikesouth1

Our Bonhoeffer Moment

Jeff Leys — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:09:01 -0500

Short Information Teaser

Closing statement Jeff Leys prepared for a jury trial in Waukegan, Illinois.

Excerpt

Voices for Creative Nonviolence (Co-Coordinator)
October 2, 2007

The Bonhoeffer Moment of nonviolent civil resistance and disobedience to the world war being waged by the United States is clearly at hand. As Congress considers an additional $190 billion to fund the Iraq – Afghanistan war through September 2008 and as the threats of war against Iran become increasingly loud, it is time for us to learn lessons from the German resistance to Hitler, to the Nazi regime and to the war waged by the German nation-state. We must engage in the Long Resistance to this current world war, using every nonviolent means to bring about its end.

I was set to be tried on October 2 for an act of nonviolent civil resistance at the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command. The judge dismissed the charge the day of the trial. Following is the closing statement I prepared for the jury trial in Waukegan, Illinois.

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Voices for Creative Nonviolence (Co-Coordinator)
October 2, 2007

Our Bonhoeffer Moment:

In 1942, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran theologian engaged in resistance work to bring about an end to the Nazi regime, penned the following lines in his letter “After Ten Years”. He was in prison and under investigation when he wrote:

“We have been silent witnesses of evil deeds; we have been drenched by many storms; we have learnt the arts of equivocation and pretence; experience has made us suspicious of others and kept us from being truthful and open; intolerable conflicts have worn us down and even made us cynical. Are we still of any use? What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straightforward men. Will our inward power of resistance be strong enough, and our honesty with ourselves remorseless enough, for us to find our way back to simplicity and straightforwardness?”

Silence.

Silence is golden.

Silence is Death.

Silence in the face of our country waging a world war is complicity in the war; is complicity in the deaths of thousands of U.S. soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens; is complicity in a crime against humanity.

I chose to break the silence at the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM) on July 5, 2006. I choose to break the silence today.

I chose to act at MEPCOM last July for a number of reasons. MEPCOM is the command headquarters for the system of Military Entrance Processing Stations. Each person entering the military takes their oath of enlistment at one of these stations. MEPCOM, as the command headquarters of this system, is the focal point of injustice being done to those who serve in our country’s military.

I acted to oppose the injustice of stop-move orders which force service members to extend their tour of duty beyond its scheduled end date.

I acted to oppose the injustice of stop-loss orders which force service members to remain in the military beyond the agreed upon end of enlistment date.

I acted to demand that our country provide the highest quality health care for veterans and their families, as well as for all who live within the U.S.

I acted in solidarity with those members of the military who have chosen to risk prison for refusing to comply with orders to deploy to Iraq to fight in an unjust war.

I acted to demand that our country immediately withdraw from Iraq and recommit itself to rebuilding the Common Good in Iraq and in the United States—funding hospitals, health care clinics, schools, jobs programs and the like rather than funding war, death and destruction.

I acted to engage in a conspiracy of Life with Iraqi citizens suffering over these past 16 years of economic and military warfare and to act in a conspiracy of Life with U.S. soldiers, citizens and others who are engaged in nonviolent action to end the U.S. war in and occupation of Iraq.

Does this form of civilly disobedient action accomplish anything? I don’t know. I believe it does, but I simply don’t know within the context of a world war—the first world war begun by a democracy. For guidance, I look to those German citizens who engaged in resistance work to bring an end to the Nazi regime and to end the world war.

In 1943, German students formed the group the White Rose which advocated for the overthrow of the Nazi regime and for an end to the war. Their simple, yet profound, act was to distribute flyers advancing their positions calling for resistance to Hitler and his regime. Once discovered and arrested, they were executed by the German state. Yet 50 years later, everyone in Germany would come to know of Hans and Sophie Scholl and their comrades in the struggle to end the war and the regime.

In 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and many others were also executed by the German state for engaging in resistance activities to overthrow Hitler. Bonhoeffer, in 1939, had the option of remaining in the U.S. where he would have been able to ride out the war in the safety of academia. Instead he chose to return to Germany to participate in resistance work. Writing as a Christian theologian about his country in which the Church was a willing accomplice in crimes against humanity, Bonhoeffer stated his reason for returning:

“Christians in Germany will face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive, or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying our civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose; but I cannot make this choice in security.”

Bonhoeffer knew what choice he had to make, he made it, and he paid the price for it.

Let this be our Bonhoeffer Moment of resistance to our country’s world war in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere that the guns are being aimed.

The examples of Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl and Dietrich Bonhoeffer echo down through the years. In 1983, German judges and prosecutors recalled the example set by the German resistance efforts to Hitler and the Nazi regime and crimes against humanity and determined that it was their obligation to act to prevent nuclear genocide from occurring. German judges and prosecutors actively blockaded the U.S. military bases to which Pershing nuclear cruise missiles were being deployed. They acted to uphold international law even though that meant violating national law.

So does an act of entering the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command do any good? I don’t know. I do know that my action did not stand alone on that day. I do know that others are engaged in active nonviolent civil disobedience to end the Iraq war. Since February 5 of this year, over 700 people have been arrested across the U.S. in actions to end the Iraq war—with many more arrests to come.

I ask you today to join with us in this conspiracy of Life. You have the opportunity today to find me guilty or not guilty. If you believe that the war in Iraq is proper and just, you should find me guilty—regardless of what the law says. If you believe the war in Iraq must be brought to an end today, you should find me not guilty—regardless of what the law says.

The choice is clear and stark. Life or Death. Not guilty or guilty. The future of the war is in your hands today. I urge you to follow your conscience—regardless of the law.

Jeff Leys is Co-Coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence (http://www.vcnv.org) and a national organizer with Seasons of Discontent: A Presidential Occupation Project as well as the Occupation Project. He can be contacted via email, .

VCNV Author

Jeff Leys

Charges Dismissed in Illinois Antiwar Trial

voices — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:27:45 -0500

Short Information Teaser

Charges against Jeff Leys dismissed

Excerpt

October 2, 2007

WAUKEGAN —A judge in the 19th Circuit Court of Illinois today dismissed trespassing charges against an antiwar activist stemming from a civil disobedience demonstration last year at the nation’s command center for processing military recruits.

Before jurors were even picked in the trial of Jeff Leys, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, the Illinois State Attorney in the case moved for dismissal of the charge. Referring to yesterday’s bench trial before Judge Patrick Lawler which resulted in the acquittal of a reporter arrested at the July, 2006 demonstration with Leys, as well as the absence of the police officer who was the state’s key witness yesterday and presumably would have been today, the prosecutor moved the charge be dismissed. Judge Lawler granted the motion and Leys, prepared to represent himself “pro se,” walked out moments later.

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October 2, 2007

On July 5, 2006, at the end of a month-long, 320-mile walk from the Illinois capital of Springfield, to the Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM) at the Great Lakes Naval Base, Leys and two other protesters, Ceylon Mooney and Diane Hughes, walked onto the facility’s parking lot, knelt down and began reading a list of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed in the war. The three were taken into custody by military security officers and charged with trespass. Several court-ordered postponements in the case resulted in Leys’ trial being delayed until today.

Asked why he purposely got arrested last year, Leys said “We are living in a country that has initiated a world war and we need to use every means of non-violent opposition to end it.”

The 43 year-old former union organizer planned to represent himself, saying that “Ending the war is about getting ordinary people involved and we ought not have to rely on what experts have to say.”

Leys said his defense would have included a closing argument that included references to the legal theory of jury nullification, urging jurors to use the trial as an opportunity to oppose the war. “I would have asked the jury to find me guilty if they supported the war and to find me not guilty and if they opposed the war, regardless of the legal questions involved.”

Additionally, Leys said that if found guilty he was planning on informing the judge that he would not pay a fine and would have to be sent to jail. Echoing the words of Gandhi, Leys said, “If the judge agrees with the war he should give me the maximum sentence. If he opposes the war he should not only give me no sentence, but also follow the lead of a group of German judges who, in 1983, blockaded a military base about to deploy U.S. nuclear missiles.”

Earlier this year, Voices for Creative Nonviolence coordinated the Occupation Project which organized sit-downs in 39 local congressional offices by some 320 people around the country. Their next campaign is dubbed “Seasons of Discontent: A Presidential Occupation Project” (SODaPOP), which will kick off November 7 in Iowa, in advance of the presidential caucuses in that state.

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Mike Ferner is a freelance reporter from Ohio. www.mikeferner.org

VCNV Author

Mike Ferner