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Friday, June 4, 2010

Fwd: [** MAOIST_REVOLUTION **] Peter Erlinder arrested by Rwandan government, call for his release [2 Attachments]



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Paul Wright <pwright@prisonlegalnews.org>
Date: Sun, May 30, 2010 at 8:30 PM
Subject: [** MAOIST_REVOLUTION **] Peter Erlinder arrested by Rwandan government, call for his release [2 Attachments]
To: MAOIST_REVOLUTION@yahoogroups.com


 
[Attachment(s) from Paul Wright included below]

For those who do not know, Peter has also represented Dr. Abimael Guzman, chairman of the Communist Party of Peru and currently represents surviving members of the 1992 prison massacres in Lima who are PCP POWs before the interamerican human rights court.

 

 

Peter Erlinder is a long time people's attorney and former president of the National Lawyers Guild. In addition to defending political prisoners here and abroad he also represents prisoners and the victims of police misconduct here in the US.

 

Peter has been arrested by the Rwandan government under that countries' genocide law for defending unpopular defendants. The NLG press release is attached. I am pasting it below in case the attachment is lost. Please take a minute to CALL the numbers below, especially the state department and the white house.

 

Please disseminate this information.

 

National Lawyers Guild Demands Immediate Release of Attorney Peter Erlinder

Vigorous Legal Advocate Arrested in Rwanda

For Immediate Release: May 28, 2010

Contact: David Gespass, 205-566-2530

              Heidi Boghosian, 917-239-4999

New York—The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) demands the immediate release of its former president, Professor Peter Erlinder, whom Rwandan Police arrested early today on charges of "genocide ideology." He had traveled to Rwanda's capital, Kigali, on May 23, to join the defense team of Rwandan presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza. Erlinder is reportedly being interrogated at the Rwandan Police Force's Kacyiru headquarters.

"Professor Erlinder has been acting in the best tradition of the legal profession and has been a vigorous advocate in his representation of Umuhoza. There can be no justice for anyone if the state can silence lawyers for defendants whom it dislikes and a government that seeks to prevent lawyers from being vigorous advocates for their clients cannot be trusted. The entire National Lawyers Guild is honored by his membership and his courageous advocacy," said David Gespass, the Guild's president.

Erlinder traveled to Kigali after attending the Second International Criminal Defense Lawyers' Conference in Brussels. Since his arrival in Kigali, the state-sponsored Rwandan media has been highly critical of Erlinder.

The Rwandan Parliament adopted the "Law Relating to the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Ideology" (Genocide Ideology Law), on July 23, 2008. It defines genocide ideology broadly, requires no link to any genocidal act, and can be used to include a wide range of legitimate forms of expression, prohibiting speech protected by international conventions such as the Genocide Convention of 1948 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966.

Sarah Erlinder, Arizona attorney and NLG member said, "My father has made a career defending unpopular people and unpopular speech—and is now being held because of his representation of unpopular clients and analysis of an historical narrative that the Kagame regime considers inconvenient. We can help defend his rights now by drawing U.S. government and media attention to his situation and holding the Rwandan government accountable for his well-being."

Before leaving for Brussels and then Kigali, Professor Erlinder notified the U.S. State Department, his Minnesota Congressional Representative Betty McCullom, Representative Keith Ellison, and Minnesota Senators Al Franken and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Professor Erlinder is a professor of law at the William Mitchell College of Law. He is a frequent litigator and consultant, often pro bono, in cases involving the death penalty, civil rights, claims of government and police misconduct, and criminal defense of political activists. He is also a frequent news commentator. Erlinder was president of the National Lawyers Guild from 1993-1997, and is a current board member of the NLG Foundation. He has been a defense attorney at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda since 2003.

The National Lawyers Guild, founded in 1937, is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.

 

Call and demand the immediate release of Professor Peter Erlinder:

Senator Al Franken

(202) 224-5641

Or send an email at http://franken.senate.gov/contact/

 

Senator Amy Klobuchar

202-224-3244

Fax: 202-228-2186

Or send an email at http://klobuchar.senate.gov/emailamy.cfm?contactForm=emailamy&submit=Go

 

Representative Keith Ellison

202-225-4755

Or send an email at http://forms.house.gov/ellison/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm

 

Representative Betty McCullom

(202) 225-6631

Fax: (202) 225-1968

Or send an email at http://forms.house.gov/mccollum/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm

 

 

 

Paul Wright, Editor

Prison Legal News

P.O. Box 2420

West Brattleboro, VT 05303

Phone: 802 579-1309

Fax: 866 735-7136

pwright@prisonlegalnews.org

www.prisonlegalnews.org

 

Effective March 5, 2010 our Seattle office is closed. All mail and calls should go to the above address.


From: KMJX@aol.com [mailto:KMJX@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 29, 2010 11:30
To: pwright@prisonlegalnews.org
Cc: mltf@nationallawyersguild.org
Subject: [MLTF] Fwd: [necdiscussion] Free Peter Erlinder--Keep the PressureOn!

 

Friends,

 

This is immediate and critical. Peter is in serious jeopardy in a Rwandan jail. The embassy and State Department insist all they can do is provide consular services and they cannot interfere in Rwanda's internal affairs. We cannot and must not allow them to slide on this nonsense. They have already been flooded with calls from NLG members and we need to keep it up. My apologies if you have already seen this, but it warrants being reminded.

 

David Gespass

 


From: director@nlg.org
To: KMJX@aol.com
CC: necdiscussion@nationallawyersguild.org
Sent: 5/29/2010 9:47:43 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: [necdiscussion] Free Peter Erlinder--Keep the Pressure On!

 

*The U.S. Embassy has **initially indicated that the case of Peter Erlinder,
former NLG president who was arrested this morning in Rwanda, is a "local
matter."*

We do not believe that this is an intractable position!

It is critical that we mobilize a large number of people to call and fax
urging Peter Erlinder's release. We know nothing about the conditions under
which he is being held.*

Please contact your local representatives* and (urge them to) demand they apply
pressure to the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda to release Peter immediately.

*Call the White House*:
202-456-1414

*Call Secretary of State Hillary Clinton*

Secy of State Hillary Clinton
(202) 647-9572

State Department Main Switchboard
202-647-4000
TTY:1-800-877-8339 (Federal Relay Service)

OTHER NUMBERS TO CALL:

Senator Al Franken: (202) 224-5641

Email  http://franken.senate.gov/contact/



Senator Amy Klobuchar: 202-224-3244

Fax: 202-228-2186

Email at
http://klobuchar.senate.gov/emailamy.cfm?contactForm=emailamy&submit=Go



Representative Keith Ellison: 202-225-4755

Email at http://forms.house.gov/ellison/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm



Representative Betty McCullom: (202) 225-6631

Fax: (202) 225-1968

Email at http://forms.house.gov/mccollum/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm


Hotline for American Travelers:
1-888-407-4747
Public Communication Division:
202-647-6575
Bureau of African affairs
202-647-4440

Main fax number for bureau of African affairs: Fax: 202-647-6301

Johnny Carson – Africa foreign relations committee
Phone: 202-647-2530
Fax: 202-647-0838

Rwanda embassy (NY):

Telephone: +1 212 679 9010 or 1 212 679 9023
Fax: +1 212 679 9133

Stephen J. Rapp war crimes ambassador
Phone: 202-647-6051
Fax: 202-736-4495

Susan Rice, US AMB to the UN
Accredited Journalists: 212-415-4050
Opinion & Comment line: 212-415-4062
Fax: 212-415-4053

Rwanda Mission to the UN in USA:
phone: +1 212 679 9010 or 1 212 679 9023
Fax: +1 212 679 9133


Amb. James Kimonyo
1714 New Hampshire NW
Washington, DC 20009
Tel: 202-232-2882

Fax: 202-232-4544

_________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe or modify your subscription options, please visit:
http://lists.nationallawyersguild.org/mailman/options/necdiscussion--1/kmjx%40aol.com

__._,_.___

Attachment(s) from Paul Wright

2 of 2 File(s)


--
Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/

No comments:

मैं नास्तिक क्यों हूं# Necessity of Atheism#!Genetics Bharat Teertha

হে মোর চিত্ত, Prey for Humanity!

मनुस्मृति नस्ली राजकाज राजनीति में OBC Trump Card और जयभीम कामरेड

Gorkhaland again?আত্মঘাতী বাঙালি আবার বিভাজন বিপর্যয়ের মুখোমুখি!

हिंदुत्व की राजनीति का मुकाबला हिंदुत्व की राजनीति से नहीं किया जा सकता।

In conversation with Palash Biswas

Palash Biswas On Unique Identity No1.mpg

Save the Universities!

RSS might replace Gandhi with Ambedkar on currency notes!

जैसे जर्मनी में सिर्फ हिटलर को बोलने की आजादी थी,आज सिर्फ मंकी बातों की आजादी है।

#BEEFGATEঅন্ধকার বৃত্তান্তঃ হত্যার রাজনীতি

अलविदा पत्रकारिता,अब कोई प्रतिक्रिया नहीं! पलाश विश्वास

ভালোবাসার মুখ,প্রতিবাদের মুখ মন্দাক্রান্তার পাশে আছি,যে মেয়েটি আজও লিখতে পারছেঃ আমাক ধর্ষণ করবে?

Palash Biswas on BAMCEF UNIFICATION!

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS ON NEPALI SENTIMENT, GORKHALAND, KUMAON AND GARHWAL ETC.and BAMCEF UNIFICATION! Published on Mar 19, 2013 The Himalayan Voice Cambridge, Massachusetts United States of America

BAMCEF UNIFICATION CONFERENCE 7

Published on 10 Mar 2013 ALL INDIA BAMCEF UNIFICATION CONFERENCE HELD AT Dr.B. R. AMBEDKAR BHAVAN,DADAR,MUMBAI ON 2ND AND 3RD MARCH 2013. Mr.PALASH BISWAS (JOURNALIST -KOLKATA) DELIVERING HER SPEECH. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLL-n6MrcoM http://youtu.be/oLL-n6MrcoM

Imminent Massive earthquake in the Himalayas

Palash Biswas on Citizenship Amendment Act

Mr. PALASH BISWAS DELIVERING SPEECH AT BAMCEF PROGRAM AT NAGPUR ON 17 & 18 SEPTEMBER 2003 Sub:- CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT 2003 http://youtu.be/zGDfsLzxTXo

Tweet Please

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