On the horizon of the future for which we fight—freedom—all the police and prison guards of the world stand ready to repress those who dare venture past the confines of domination. 

As the insurrectionary waves of youth in revolt continue to cross continents, tearing up city streets amidst the flames of a hopeless world, now more than ever must we push past the limits of what’s possible and refuse the impulse to retreat in the face of tear gas, withdraw in the face of arrests and possible time, or run away at the first police charge. 

When repression comes, if we don’t fight it as part of our wider fight for freedom, finding recourse to a defensive sense of non-existent safety, we’ll have failed before we even begun. 

Fighting repression is found in the streets, which the rebel youth throughout the world know well as they continue to tear it up into projectiles hurled at the defenders of domination. 

As some prisoners of the October 17 revolt in France recently wrote,

They’re trying to divide us, categorize us as protesters, rioters, looters, thugs, or ultra-left extremists. But they haven’t understood that we are all of those at once! We are united by our anger and our desire for revolution. A revolution that gives us back the chance to breathe and hope, to share in common. A revolution that finally allows us to decide the ways we want to live. This social rage that pushed us into the streets last Saturday is the same rage that we find in the cells and corridors of the prison we’re now locked up in. This rage also explains why so many other prisoners support and respect the October 17 insurgents. For all these reasons, we say this emphatically: we regret nothing!

For an end to the prison world…

Contents

Until All Are Free

Rebellions

Support the Hunger Strikers

International Insurrection

Turtle Island Liberation Front

Free The Prairieland Prisoners!

Minnesota 15

Michigan 12

Free All Antifa Prisoners

Palestine Action

Political Prisoners / POWs

George Floyd Uprising Prisoners

Repression in the So-Called US

ICE Watch

Fighting Detention Centers

Ongoing Cases

Palestinian Prisoners

International Political Prisoners / POWs

International Repression

Phone Zaps 

Media

Events

This Month in History

Political Prisoner Birthdays

Until All Are Free

Josh is Free, Free Them All!

Josh Williams was released after nearly 12 years in prison for his participation in the historic Ferguson uprising.

For the second time, the government attempted to keep Josh incarcerated past his outdate with a new criminal charge stemming from a bogus prison disciplinary infraction. Josh faces courtdates and other challenges from being released to a new world: please support the two fundraisers from the St. Louis Anti Imperialist Collective and Midwest Books to Prisoners to help smooth Josh’s transition. 

Ferguson was a flashpoint in the Black liberation struggle and liberation writ large. Twelve years later and police militarization has accelerated, genocide is shown barefaced, fascism continues to take hold, and prisons have grown even larger while continuing to be the primary mode of repression. We cannot forget nor forgive what the state, white supremacy, and capital have done, especially to those who resist. We will not leave Josh and his resistance behind.

A brief celebratory message from Josh:

Welcome back to America! I’m back, I thank God for everything y’all did for me while I was in there behind the bars and locked up. I appreciate all my supporters out there – everybody, from the youngest to the oldest. It’s time to turn up! Let’s do this! Thank y’all so much, love y’all.

Rebellions

South Carolina

An attempted takeover at the Cabarrus County juvenile detention center: two people allegedly attacked a guard, locked him in a room, destroyed his radio, took his keys and released others until more guards arrived and put an end to the rebellion. 

Scotland

In “the worst riot Scotland has seen in a decade,” over 30 prisoners participated in a “mass disorder” at a youth detention center HMP & YOI Polmont in September, leaving damage to the facility and injuring guards. Prison officials recruited guards from 4 other jails to retain control. As the number of people Scotland is cramming into prison is increasing well beyond capacity, overcrowding and infrastructural stress results, prompting officials to consider reforms and early release for low-level charges.

Mexico

On October 8, 2026, violent clashes broke out during visiting hours at Maztlán prison in Sinaloa. The riot, which was broken up with live rounds, left 10 people dead (nine prisoners and one visitor) as well as 16 wounded, all prisoners who were hospitalized. The National Guard intervened to enforce order in the prison, which houses around 1,800 prisoners.

Support the Hunger Strikers

Raymondville, Texas

A hunger strike at the El Valle Detention Center beginning on October 11th is still ongoing. As of October 31st, 3 women and 11 men remain on strike, protesting prolonged detention, harsh conditions, lack of medical care, and undrinkable filthy water. While most of the men were put into solitary confinement, some women did a “dry” strike, refusing even water. People inside are boiling the water to make it drinkable as guards are not providing bottled water and have been restricting commisary for the hunger strikers; another man reports that “the administration has been deliberately adding food odor into the ventilation as a form of torture”. On November 2nd, a man in El Valle attempted suicide, and is currently being held in disciplinary solitary confinement. On October 26th, seven members of Congress have sent a scathing letter to DHS about the situation at El Valle, documenting grievences and noting that a dozen hunger strikes have occurred in ICE detention centers this year, including at:

• Folkston D. Ray James ICE Processing Center (Folkston, Georgia) 
• El Valle Detention Facility (Raymondville, Texas) 
• Montgomery Processing Center (Conroe, Texas) 
• Moshannon Valley Processing Center (Clearfield County, Pennsylvania) 
• North Lake Processing Center (Baldwin, Michigan) 
• Torrance County Detention Facility (Estancia, New Mexico) 
• Delaney Hall (Newark, New Jersey) 
• Adelanto ICE Processing Center East, West, and Desert View Annex (Adelanto, California) 

Hunger strikers have asked that folks spread awareness about what is happening at El Valle, to contact their representatives and ask they open inquiries, inspect the facilities, and do whatever in their power to help their situations. Follow hungerstrike.now for updated information and action items about El Valle.

Folkston County, Georgia

Over 500 people went on hunger strike at the Folkston ICE processing center protesting facility conditions and violations of asylum protocols. Amidst the hunger strike, Luis Sandoval, a 48 year old man from El Salvador, was found dead at the Folkston facility, adding urgency on the need to shut the facility down. Status Coup talks with outside advocates how the prison staff has put communication restrictions on several of the strike participants for sharing statements exposing the situation via video visits. Hear from some of the strike participants:

“We are immigrants from all over the world who Trump is locking up in prison-like detentions, for nothing, and for a long time.”

“Most of us are asylum-seekers, those who came to the United States seeking protection from political persecution and violence in their home countries. Many fled out of fear becoming a political prisoners in those countries, and one might say we became political  prisoners in the United States simply because we are immigrants.”

“We have one to two hours of yard a day, and the rest of the day we are locked up in dorms. We’re strictly controlled and restricted in everything, what we can have, watch, and play, where we can eat, sleep, shower, and go to the toilet.”

“Honor, dignity, respect mean nothing here. The guards insult us, humiliate us, threaten us, and punish us when they want.”

Tacoma, Washington

Six members of the Union Kidnapped by ICE began the 22nd hunger strike at the Northwest Detention Center on November 3rd. Strikers report racism from GEO guards, medical negligence, bad food, poor conditions, and dehumanization; in October, prison staff had been telling people amidst a Tuberculosis outbreak to “gargle with salt water.” La Resistencia has posted phone zap info, held a virtual vigil, and posted video statements from strikers inside:

We really are kidnapped by ICE. Because supposedly they can hide their face when they detain us on the street they are wearing masks. They are killing people that are Latino. This detention center has terrible conditions. I am being held under terrible conditions for 17 months. And it’s not just me, it’s also the majority of my colleagues. [GEO] is racist to us, and we are treated as if we were a product for them to exchange from prison to prison to keep generating money – the same money we ourselves are bringing in, because we are contributors, instead of using it towards building schools and hospitals it’s being used to create detention centers. I want to raise my voice and we want a lot of people to support us to ABOLISH ICE and all that has to do with these immigration politics.

Phone Zap info:

CALL

Congresswoman Randall: 360-373-9725
Senator Murray: 253-572-3636
Senator Cantwell: 253-572-2281
GEO facility main telephone line: 253-779-6000

EMAIL

Congresswoman Randall randall.house.gov/contact/email-me
Senator Murray murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactme
Senator Cantwell Cantwell.senate.gov/contact/email

Perryville, Arizona

A group of women at Perryville went on hunger strike last February following systemic abuse that boiled over after a guard assaulted a young women during a cell search. This article at Prison Journalism Project from strike participant Shajiyah Iman breaks it down: “We Organized a Hunger Strike at an Arizona Women’s Prison. Here’s What We Gained”:

On Feb. 2, a group of women incarcerated at the Perryville state prison in Arizona went on a hunger strike following an alleged assault by a prison guard. A young woman in the Santa Cruz Unit, Sherry Shadle-Fryer, reported being violently held down on her bed during a cell search by the officer.

The alleged assault was a tipping point for those of us in the Santa Cruz Unit who felt that poor staff behavior and deteriorating conditions at Perryville had been repeatedly ignored by prison officials. 

In an email to a Prison Journalism Project editor, the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry said there was no hunger strike in February. 

The following account is based on my experience and what I witnessed, and the experiences and observations of others who participated in the strike. Multiple women incarcerated at Perryville independently confirmed to PJP that they participated in or witnessed the strike.

I and other organizers planned the hunger strike, hoping that a nonviolent protest against institutional violence would lead to meaningful change. Together, we drafted a list of what we called “Polite Requests” aimed at increasing our access to resources and redress.

The hunger strike lasted 18 days, during which time the prison’s administration tried to break the strike by separating me from the other hunger strikers. I was moved first to security watch and then to a mental health unit. 

Meanwhile, on the yard of Santa Cruz Unit, hunger strikers Crystal Carimbocas, Shayla Brattin, Anesha Bright, Ty Reed and Sherry Shadle-Fryer continued to interact with people outside the prison and fight for our Polite Requests to be met. Staff ignored their demonstrations and denied the strike’s existence, both to the outside world and to me.

On Day 18 of the hunger strike, Feb. 19, 2026, I asked to meet with Warden Kathleen Reyes for negotiations, fearing I would soon lose consciousness and my ability to make sound decisions. The prison administration agreed, but didn’t allow anyone else who participated in the strike to be part of the negotiations.

The warden committed to me that the prison would make changes in line with some of the Polite Requests, but said that systemic changes, such as reworkings of disciplinary policies or a raise to the minimum wage of 10 cents per hour, could only be made by the state Legislature. 

A state corrections agency spokesperson, who declined to identify themselves, told PJP that staff communicated with me about “specific needs and concerns” through administrative channels, and that this “has unfortunately led to unfounded rumors regarding the facility’s operations.” The spokesperson did not elaborate on the alleged rumors. 

We ended the hunger strike at sunset Feb. 19. 

Lasting results have been mixed.

For example, we gained access to over 18,000 academic articles about abolition on our JSTOR app and were put in touch with Arizona State Sen. Analise Ortiz, who is helping us work to get an increase to the prison minimum wage. 

Newly incarcerated women are also now immediately getting essentials such as a sheet, blanket, and clothes that fit, per policy, when they arrive at the yard. Before the strike, people were frequently given ill-fitting clothing and were going days without sheets and blankets. We had tried to hide some around the yard, but that was difficult. 

I and fellow hunger striker Brattin, who is a paralegal, were also permitted to advise new women on their cases during orientation without having to take a job with the institution. However, after only three weeks in the role, Brattin and I were barred from speaking at orientation on March 19. An officer told us that only incarcerated people who officially work for the corrections department were allowed to give advice to new arrivals, directly contradicting the warden’s promise. 

I have reached out to the warden to see if this will be corrected; as of July 2026, nothing has changed. We have reverted to handing out cards with the numbers of our cells, where women can visit us outside the class in case they want extra help. 

Meanwhile, the offense at the center of the strike remains unaddressed, leaving the women at Perryville vulnerable to continued abuse. In the month after the strike ended, a second assault allegation circulated against the same officer. A fellow incarcerated woman said the officer pushed her down the stairs in the administration area. She said she declined to file a report because she is being released soon and “didn’t want that smoke.”

I asked some of the women of Santa Cruz Unit how they felt about the strike since it ended. They focused on the collective power and clarity they gained by participating in the demonstration, but noted that it was frustrating that they had to go so far to be heard. Here’s what some of the participants and supporters of the strike had to say. Their answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Crystal Carimbocas: “The hunger strike we all participated in accomplished a lot and we are very proud of each other for being strong. We are honored to stand up for those who have not yet found their voice.”

Mama Joyce Lynch: “The strike served many purposes. It got across that we stand for each other, that we can fight injustice, and that we can make changes.”

Ebony Wilson: “We accomplished something wonderful.”

Maria Burboa: “It was very nice to experience a group peacefully making a difference in a place that can be so dark.”

Michelle Ware: “These changes were a long time coming. [The officials] force us to do things like the hunger strike to get simple things accomplished.”

Shayla Brattin: “Administration turned the hunger strike into a way to violate policy and human rights and used it to retaliate and cover up the abuses of a disgraced corrections officer.”

Juanica Land: “We shouldn’t have had to go through all this for such basic things to be noticed.”

Alexis: “We were successful as far as impact. Hopefully this will reach more people’s hearts and move more people to help us outside because we are all somebody.”

Anesha Bright: “I am happy to have been a part of something so powerful and I am excited to see the changes happening already.” 

Frankie: “It takes unity to make a change. So if more people come together, more change can happen.”

Kelly Randolf: “I believe that the hunger strike accomplished many things that we need in prison, and I’m thankful so many acted to do what was right.”

Sherry Shadle-Fryer: “The way I saw the whole world changed after I was assaulted … and I understood what my elders already knew: that no one is safe when cops are in control.”

Western Sahara

Secours Rouge reports:

On October 16, 2026, after 23 days of an indefinite hunger strike, the Sahrawi political prisoners from Gdeim Izik announced the suspension of their strike in response to commitments made by the Moroccan prison administration. The League for the Protection of Sahrawi Prisoners in Moroccan Prisons states that the authorities have committed to ending their dispersal by regrouping them in a single facility in Western Sahara, while promising improved detention conditions, access to healthcare, and respect for their fundamental rights.

This partial victory wrested from the Moroccan regime was overshadowed on October 12 by the violent crackdown in Rabat on a solidarity rally, which resulted in injuries and the arrest of Sahrawi activists and students. As restrictions continue—such as the denial of Claude Mangin’s right to visit her husband, Naâma Asfari—vigilance remains essential to prevent any security reprisals against the detainees.

These victories come after severe deterioration to the hunger strikers’ health, physical and psychological reprisals by the prison administration, and retaliation against the outside movement. 

Meanwhile,

In Morocco, prison authorities are heightening pressure on Sahrawi political prisoners from Gdeim Izik. Sidi Abdallahi Abbah, who has been arbitrarily detained for 16 years, was transferred on October 19 from a hospital in Rabat back to his cell at Tiflet 2 Prison, despite his health being deemed extremely critical following a 23-day hunger strike.

The activist received no appropriate medical care during his hospitalization. His family is warning of the deterioration of his physical condition and denouncing the ongoing denial of basic medical care.

Also, Sahrawi political prisoner Abdallah Lakhfaouni, a member of the Gdeim Izik group, launched another hunger strike in Kenitra Central Prison on October 28:

This action is intended to protest the ongoing mistreatment, solitary confinement, and arbitrary denial of fundamental rights imposed by the prison administration, including access to medical care, education, and outdoor exercise. The prisoner’s family has expressed extreme concern about the risk of physical reprisals.

Kurdistan

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported that at least 12 Kurdish prisoners being held at Bukan Prison for political and religious reasons began a hunger strike on October 5 to protest pressure exerted by Iranian regime forces in prisons. The prisoners announced in a letter to Bukan Prison authorities on 5 October that they had begun a hunger strike. They are reportedly protesting restrictions on their access to leave permits and the open-prison placement program, as well as restrictions imposed on them under prison conditions. The prisoners whose names have been identified as participating in the hunger strike are: Ardalan Mineh, Behrouz Barakhas, Esmail Atash-Mard, Kaveh Rahimi, Hamed Maroufi, Ali Mohammadi, Mahmoud Jafari, Ali Faroughi, Arsalan Minaei, Aziz Banehei, Ghader Salimi, and Mullah Davoud. It was reported that on the second day of the hunger strike, the 12 prisoners were transferred to the quarantine section on the orders of the director of Bukan Prison. Their phone calls and family visits are reportedly still being restricted.

Turkey

In Turkey, political prisoner Güzin Tolga ended her hunger strike on the 103rd day of her protest after securing her transfer from the Aliağa Women’s Prison in Izmir to the Bakırköy Correctional Facility in Istanbul. Aged 57, imprisoned for 11 years, and suffering from serious health problems (asthma and high blood pressure), she had joined this strike alongside other female prisoners to oppose the restrictive requirement to carry a “prisoner ID card” to leave their cells—a measure that had led to isolation and the suspension of visits from family members and lawyers. 

International Insurrection

France—Bismillah, c’est les ténèbres

Since October 17, an insurrectionary wave has been spreading across France, bringing hundreds of thousands of people into the streets to directly confront capital, the police, and the state. Beginning as a high-schooler-led protest movement against state austerity measures in education and wider disgust with a futureless world, it has become more and more incendiary in direct response to the state’s violent repressive measures. More background, analysis, and reporting on the events is available to read in Ill Will, Crimethinc, Endnotes, Unicorn Riot, and other sources. The state’s response has been overwhelming in brutality, but no signs are pointing to its success in extinguishing the flames of revolt. Onwards, barbarians! 

Fight the State, Fight State Repression

Contre Attaque provided a picture of state repression after October 17:

To obscure the historic success of the October 17 mobilization, which brought around 1 million people together without a strike or calls from the union, the media and the political classes launched an unprecedented disinformation campaign. In their words, repression has been insufficient and the police have been out-numbered. This has been the dominant narrative repeated on all channels for days. If you listen to these editorialists, October 17 was a day of violent riots, without almost any police presence. Rarely has the media lied as much and at such a massive scale.

We experienced, on the contrary, one of the most intense days of repression in the history of France. 2,300 arrests in total, 1,000 in Paris alone. This is worse than the peak of the Yellow Vests—Act 4, December 8, 2018—after the Arc de Triomphe was seized, when the entire Champs-Élysées was ravaged, when Macron had nearly been forced to flee, and when all of France was in a state of shock. At the time, the orders from above were to arrest as many people as possible in order to crush the movement. And the police arrested nearly 2,000 people, a collossal and unprecedented number at the time. On October 17, 2026, there were more arrests in a few hours than at the height of the Yellow Vests.

But that’s not all: we’ve surpassed 10,000 arrests in the past three weeks, including 8,000 arrests against the high-schooler movement alone, with an overwhelming majority being minors taken into custody. This figure is dizzying: it’s unique in the history of France, but also in the entire West. Neither the Italian far right under Meloni, nor Viktor Orban in Hungary, nor Trump have rounded up as many protesters in so little time. 

Sébastien Tixier shared a very telling graphic: he compared the number of arrests in the ongoing movement with the Yellow Vests. He mentions a “monstrous gap,” and, indeed, the graph of the ongoing repression rises almost vertically in relation to 2018-2019, which was considered the height of authoritarianism at the time. 

And despite the facts on the ground, the “left” has been parroting the media’s lies. Marine Tondelier speaks of “entire cities abandoned to rioters.” Raphaël Glucksmann demands a “firm response” from the government against “hordes of looters,” and asks why “the police response has been so limited.” They are thus repeating the far right’s narrative word for word. These figures believe that Macron’s regime is too soft on social struggles! What do they want? What would they do if they were in power? Summary executions in the streets? House raids by the tens of thousands against opponents? These people are dictators in training.

A “democratic” position—not even a left-wing and even less a revolutionary one, just a position respecting the right to protest—would be to demand the withdrawal of the police, a stop to mass arrests, and total amnesty for everyone arrested. We are a long way from this, and the political class is rotten to the core. 

October 24, the next insurrectionary day, was also harshly repressed, but saw perhaps even more fierce resistance to the cops, attacks on government buildings, and mass jubilation at experiencing a glimpse of freedom. From Secours Rouge:

In France, the total of arrests on the mass day of protest and resistance on Saturday, October 24, amounts to nearly 1,000 arrests throughout the country. In a context marked by the deployment of 70,000 police, regional restrictions on movement, preemptive house arrests of militants, the authorities maintained maximum security measures in the city centers.

Despite the executive government’s attempts to crush the movement and criminalize public gatherings, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to express their rejection of the government. This massive wave of arrests, in addition to the heavy repressive tolls of the prior weeks and many people seriously wounded, confirms the strategy of aggressive criminalization and outright repression chosen by the state to confront the mobilization.

October 31, Act 3 of the revolt, saw 565 arrests at the national scale:

The Saturday, October 31, day of action against the cost of living brought together at least 500,000 demonstrators. Faced with this strong show of force, the government deployed 70,000 police, bolstered by emergency measures like bans on marches and night-time curfews announced in many cities. 

Despite intense police pressure and massive preventative checkpoints—up to 40,000 throughout France, protests continued to maintain strong resistance to the government’s repressive strategies. The figures released by the Minister of the Interior report 565 arrests nationwide, illustrating the government’s efforts to criminalize the movement and the persistent determination of demonstrators in the streets.

Meanwhile, the November 5 act saw 448 arrests.

In a sign of where the repressive measures are heading, Secours Rouge shared on October 22 a report on expedited arraignments, trials, and sentencing of many of those arrested.

In France, during a visit to Marseilles, the Minister of Justice announced a new strategy of harsh repressive measures following days of action and clashes. Of the nearly 2,500 people arrested nationwide, 917 people were brought before a judge for immediate appearances, resulting in 174 immediate sentences (pre-trial sentences or prison sentences).

The executive government is using these unprecedented figures to instill a climate of terror, all while announcing the use of surveillance footage to arrest even more people. This repressive offensive also adds to a political campaign seeking to legitimize it, with the government describing protesters as “enemies of the Republic” and directly targeting the revolutionary left.  

An article in Le Monde also provided a glimpse into the emergency court strategy, with hasty trials leading to deportations, prison sentences, house arrests, ankle monitors, and loads of weak cases, dismissals, and suspended sentences.

The evening was already well underway. Next to the Palais de Justice, groups of young people waited for the gates to open and applauded the defendants as they were released, singing loudly the anthem of Restos du Cœur, a charity that provides food aid. “Today, we no longer have the right / To be hungry, or to be cold…” 

Open Letter from Prisoners of October 17, 2026 

In an incendiary sign of solidarity, a collective of prisoners released an open letter calling on the fight to intensify towards revolution:

“We call on you to reject all divisions among us and to proclaim loudly and clearly what we are fighting for: revolution.”

We are writing you from a prison in Île-de-France whose name we won’t disclose to protect ourselves from the risk of retaliation especially from the courts and the prison administration.

We are college students, high-school students, teachers, the unemployed, food service workers, small business owners, delivery drivers, gangsters, from every neighborhood and from every city in the region—Créteil, Bobigny, Belleville, Montreuil, Bagnolet, Noisy-le-Sec, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Paris. We are all ages, all skin colors, and all nationalities. We are Arabs, whites, Blacks, Romani, Turks, Germans, French. 

We have been charged—rightly or wrongly—with looting, acts of violence against the police, gathering illegally, covering our faces. It doesn’t ultimately matter what our situations are or what we’ve been accused of, because the courts complied with Macron’s orders to send us all to prison. Even if each prison is more unsanitary and over-populated than the next… As long as we can fill them all up!

This is just another reminder that what we call “justice” is in no way an independent institution, especially when the state and the bourgeoisie feel threatened.

In prison, we have the privilege of being able to numb our minds all day in front of screens playing BFMTV, CNEWS, and all the other channels run by the regime’s lapdogs. The ideological offensive being waged on these TV shows serves to bolster the repressive polices of those who think they govern us. This offensive is a direct response to the fear that has seized them since last Saturday [October 17]. That day was a genuine threat of revolution. Everywhere, they’re now trying to make us regret it, to make us back down, to deter us from doing it again. Everywhere’, they’re now silencing words of support, pride, and all those little messages we read and heard over the last week like “I wish I could have been there” or “make them pay.” They want to make us believe that our violence is at all comparable to the thousands of lives crushed by capitalism every day.  

If the lackeys of power in the media cannot pin down who the insurgents really are, it’s because we are the people who rose up—the people who are suffering and who are now fighting back to suffer no longer. They’re trying to divide us, categorize us as protesters, rioters, looters, thugs, or ultra-left extremists. But they haven’t understood that we are all of those at once! We are united by our anger and our desire for revolution. A revolution that gives us back the chance to breathe and hope, to share in common. A revolution that finally allows us to decide the ways we want to live. A revolution that puts an end to this humiliation that reeks of luxury. 

This social rage that pushed us into the streets last Saturday is the same rage that we find in the cells and corridors of the prison we’re now locked up in. This rage also explains why so many other prisoners support and respect the October 17 insurgents. We won’t accept being divided into political prisoners on the one side and common law prisoners on the other, because we have all been thrown into this regime’s prisons by the same unjust world. 

For all these reasons, we say this emphatically: we regret nothing! Nothing except that we didn’t sufficiently protect ourselves against the repressive violence that was about to be unleashed upon us. 
 
So we call everyone on the outside to continue to confront the state and to return to the streets every Saturday until the fall of Macron and his entire rotten world.  

We call on you to organize between each Saturday, to meet each other, to prepare, and to take your lives into your own hands from now on.

We call on you to support all prisoners like us and all insurgents here and elsewhere. 

We call on you to choose your targets and avoid small shops as much as you can, reminding everyone that our people’s justice targets the most powerful, the richest, the multinationals—those who have been stealing from us, suffocating us, and despising us for too long. 

We call on you to reject all divisions among us and to proclaim loudly and clearly what we are fighting for: revolution.

Loot the Stores, Destroy the Prisons!

Drawing on the above letter, an article in a Grenoble counter-info site traces some of the ways prisons have become a target of the growing insurrection—a target both of prisoners themselves and the wider struggle against prisons and their world:

Last Thursday, October 29, in the Grenoble-Varces prison yard, several dozen prisoners shook things up by refusing to return to their cells around 2 PM, before the ERIS (Équipes régionales d’intervention et de sécurité, the “elite” prison guard forces) forcibly removed them. One of the prisoners ended up in the hole. A few days later, on November 1, more than 70 prisoners did the same thing at Lyon-Corbas prison! In these times of revolt, events like these inspire us to send messages of solidarity to everyone who, behind the prison walls, wants to join in the festivities! And, amidst the looting and destruction this world of exploitation and authority so desperately deserves, this inspires us to bring the idea to life that, to end it all, all of this world’s prisons must be destroyed. During the October 31 demo in Grenoble a modest contribution to this idea was seen: graffiti saying “Strength to the Varces prison rebels” and “Long live the Varces prison revolt! Death to prison” spread across the city walls, but unfortunately were quickly erased by teams of painters paid by the city to eliminate all traces of subversion. 

Elsewhere in France, other prisons have been rocked with revolts over the past few weeks. At Talaudière prison in Saint-Etienne, as early as October 16, one day before the beautiful October 17 revolt, prisoners refused to leave the prison yard. The next day in Paris, several people took advantage of the widespread chaos to shoot off fireworks in front of La Santé prison. The same night, at the Lyon Saint-Exupéry Immigrant Detention Center (CRA / Centre de rétention administrative), prisoners set fire to parts of the building. Two cell blocks went up in flames and 48 people had to be transferred to other detention centers. Outside the walls, these prisons for immigrants were targeted by a few well-aimed acts of revolt: in Bordeaux, an official police building was redecorated with graffiti calling for police stations and detention centers to be burned, and in Nantes 8 police cars owned by Egis, a company contracted to build new immigrant detention centers and other prisons in France, were burned in a company parking lot.

Prison is one of the cornerstones of the State. It allows the state to impose its authority and has always been used, among other things, to crush revolts. Today, many are experiencing this first hand… From the start of the high-school movement and especially after October 17, the judicial machine, made up of judges, prosecutors, and other rotten scum, has been imprisoning people left and right who were arrested outside of stores after trying to scrape together whatever they could, or at home after the cops tracked them down using videos on social media… On November 2, the Minister of Justice proudly announced that 329 people have been imprisoned out of the more than 4,900 people who were arrested since October 17. This increases the disgusting figures of the number of prisoners in France, which was almost 91,000 people as of last October…

However, while prison is meant to instill fear, it does not necessarily extinguish the desire to revolt, as evidenced by this excerpt from a text written in a prison in the Île-de-France region by prisoners of October 17: “They’re trying to divide us, categorize us as protesters, rioters, looters, thugs, or ultra-left extremists. […] This social rage that pushed us into the streets last Saturday is the same rage that we find in the cells and corridors of the prison we’re now locked up in. This rage also explains why so many other prisoners support and respect the October 17 insurgents. We won’t accept being divided into political prisoners on the one side and common law prisoners on the other, because we have all been thrown into this regime’s prisons by the same unjust world. For all these reasons, we say this emphatically: we regret nothing!”

The Police Kill

Many people have been hospitalized after serious injuries caused by the police during clashes in the streets, and at least one person has died from a heart attack after complications from tear gas. Among the serious injuries, a protester in Toulouse was hospitalized with serious injuries to the hand that may have to be amputated. The protester’s sister told Contre Attaque, “Share his story, make noise. Silence isn’t an option. ACAB.” A protester in Nantes was hospitalized with serious lacerations to the thigh. While being evacuated by firefighters, she screamed to the crowd, “Keep up the fight!” A protester in Clermont-Ferrand lost several fingers after a flash grenade explosion. In Marseille, a protester was hospitalized after being shot by a tear gas grenade point-blank in the chest, risking heart complications. A protester in Grenoble recounts being shot by a tear gas canister: “It was pretty calm. We were mostly dancing in the back of a sound truck. The cops fired tear gas, and then all of a sudden I felt my foot get blown off—two explosions in quick succession,” one of the injured told us. A photo of his leg shows a hole left by the explosion with the shinbone exposed. He remains hospitalized after an initial surgery, awaiting a potential second operation.

The Only Terrorist Is the State!

In addition to deploying massive numbers of police, special units—including the so-called Sentinelle force, an anti-terrorist special unit first formed to combat Islamic groups—, curfews, bans on protests, bans on face coverings, and a mass media campaign against “rioters,” “looters,” “criminals,” and the “ultra-left,” the government is also beginning to use anti-terrorist laws to criminalize the movement, similar to strategies used by the US, UK, and other fascist states. Secours Rouge shares:

In France, as part of the October 31 mobilization, the Ministry of the Interior intensified its repressive strategy by making extensive use of individual administrative control and surveillance measures (MICAS / mesures individuelles de contrôle administratif et de surveillance). Dozens of political activists, environmentalists, and union members were thus placed under house arrest and barred from demonstrating, including Omar Alsoumi of Urgence Palestine and a union member from Sud Éducation in the Allier department. As early as October 24, anti-fascist, environmentalist, and anarchist activists had been targeted by such measures. Stemming from emergency provisions and now enshrined in ordinary law, this administrative arsenal allows for the imposition of measures restricting freedom without trial or prior judicial decision, based on opaque intelligence reports.

Likewise,

The Ministry of the Interior is invoking emergency provisions under anti-terrorism legislation to issue administrative bans on demonstrations against activists. In Nancy, several well-known figures in the protest marches were visited by police, who ordered them to report to the police station multiple times to sign in on days of national mobilization in order to prevent them from traveling. In Paris, anti-fascists faced the same measures, which restricted their right to demonstrate on October 24. These administrative orders, based on the characterization of “far-left groups threatening public safety,” aim to neutralize political opposition outside the judicial system under the guise of preventing unrest.

Additionally, a new law, the so-called “casseur-payeur” law—”if you riot, you’ll pay”—was passed in the French senate on October 27, significantly increasing repressive measures:

Driven by the executive branch’s desire to crush social protest, the bill aims to hold demonstrators collectively financially liable for damage caused during “violent gatherings,” paving the way for fines of up to 10,000 euros per person to be imposed on the parents of minors involved and for the seizure of social benefits such as the RSA or APL.

During the debates, the Senate voted on amendments expanding the repressive measures, including the deportation of foreign nationals convicted during protests, the widespread use of surveillance drones, and the introduction of a censorship mechanism allowing for the emergency blocking of social media platforms within twenty-four hours. Heavily criticized as an unprecedented attack on civil liberties, this tougher version must now be sent to the National Assembly.

Solidarity with the Youth in Revolt!

From captivity in SCI Mahoney, Black revolutionary prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal released an audio message of solidarity with the French rebels:

Mes chers frères et sœurs de Paris et de toute la France, en particulier les jeunes, les étudiants : ce que vous faites est remarquable et merveilleux, et cela me rappelle, dans les meilleurs moments, que lorsque les Français se rebellent, ils renouent avec leurs ancêtres révolutionnaires. Il y a une différence entre les Français et les Américains. Les Américains aiment garder leur révolution dans les musées, sous verre, intouchable dans de vastes salles froides, loin du peuple, mais les Français gardent leurs convictions révolutionnaires et leurs ancêtres dans leur cœur, dans leurs paroles, dans leur esprit et dans leurs actes ; et les jeunes, les jeunes d’aujourd’hui, me rappellent les jeunes de 1968, et c’est merveilleux. 

Je vous aime tous. 

Avec amour, sans peur.

My dear brothers and sisters in Paris and all of France, especially the youth, the students: what you are doing is beautiful and remarkable, and it reminds me, that in their best moments, when the French rebel, they reunite with their revolutionary ancestors. There’s a big difference between the French and Americans. Americans like to keep their revolution locked up in museums, behind class, forbidden to touch in vast, cold hallways, far from the people. But the French keep their revolutionary convictions and their ancestors in their hearts, in their words, in their spirits, and in their actions, and the youth, the young people today, remind me of the youth of 1968. It’s beautiful. 

I love you all. 

With love, without fear.

The French high-school revolt initially began in the colonies—Guadeloupe, Réunion, Guiana, Martinique, Tahiti. As an article in Tempest Magazine examines:

The high school student movement began on August 31 at the Lycée de la Cité du Nord in Mayotte and then spread across the entire island—with students and teachers acting together in most cases until the school break on October 10. The movement then spread to the Félix Eboué High School in French Guiana on September 7, followed by the Melkior-Garré Comprehensive High School and the Bertène-Jumine High School in French Guiana, and then—as in mainland France—to Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion, and Tahiti. Police violence was just as widespread overseas, but as with the high school strikes—and as is customary—not a single word was mentioned in the mainland French press, which remains deeply colonial in its outlook, regarding these events for several weeks.

The Insurrection Spreads: Resistance and Repression in Albania, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain…

Albania

A student, youth-led movement beginning on October 13th has engulfed the country in revolt against the state, due to decreasing education, cost of living, democratic backsliding and media control by the authoritarian rule of Edi Rama. At the capitol city Tirana, protesters went hard – first surrounding the Ministry of Education building, throwing stones and firecrackers, damaging the building, then storming the Tirana Municipallity building and setting it ablaze. Police responded with rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons, mass arrests. October 14th, protesters set more government buildings on fire including the Supreme Court as well as some banks. The student revolt is continued momentum from the Flamingo Revolution beginning in February against the corrupt development of luxury resorts on the Sazan Island, a site of protected coastal ecology. Edi Rama sold the island for 1.4 billion euros to a firm backed by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law who served formally and informally in the Trump administration, most shamefully as an architect of his Gaza “peace” plan, a plan of ethnic-cleansing and luxury real-estate development. On 22 June, Albanian protesters formalized five demands: Rama’s resignation; the formation of a 12-month non-partisan technical government; constitutional and electoral reforms, including a two-term lifetime limit for the prime minister; the repeal or reversal of disputed laws concerning strategic investments, protected areas, cultural heritage and mountain development; and a new social contract between citizens and the state.

Belgium

Weekly student-led protests occurring across the country in the month of October, against mass austerity and cuts to education.  Police respond with tear gas and water cannons, as students set fires to barricades., making nearly 200 arrests. A budget proposal, which would cut nearly 10 billion from social spending further enrages people and breaks down talks in government, prompting prime minister Bart de Wever to resign, but King Phillipe rejects his resignation!

Germany

Nov 1st — “Gen Z regelt” – “Gen Z Takes Charge” or “Gen Z has got this!” Tens of thousands take to the street in youth-led protests across Germany, in 34 cities including Frankfurt, Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg. Protesters express solidarity with France as fires are started, windows smashed, looting occurring, molotovs are thrown, against worsening schools, rising costs, increased military spending and potential compulsory service in the form of a new “voluntary service model aimed at boosting troop numbers, fearing a step towards bringing back conscription”. Instead of addressing concerns of protesters, officials blame infiltrators and left-wing extremists, and used police violence, including water cannons against those in the street.

Italy

Oct 30th — Following weeks of protests, unions and students launch nationwide strikes, mobilizing over a hundred thousand in dozens of cities, demanding higher pay, less military spending and more investment into education and social spending. Waving communist and Palestine flags, protesters blocked the ports in Genoa for hours, skirmished with police with water cannons in Turin, and even stormed the Colosseum in Rome on October 24th, making blockades with dumpster fires with plans for a tent encampment. This follows major nationwide uprisings on October 19th, where protesters clashed with police and looted luxury stores, over 300 people were detained. Protests are often described as youth-led and acting in solidarity with the French uprising, and feature members of the Capybara party, an anti-capitalist group whose politics are somewhere between memes and revolution, provocation and concrete proposal. Prime Minister Meloni of the far-right party(direct lineage to the Fascist party), after expressing support for peaceful protesters in France, condemned agitators in Italy, deploying 500 army troops in Milan and proposing harsher penalties for rioters, including their parents. 

Portugal

November 1 —  Police with shields and dogs unleash baton charges in raids on tent protest encampments following mass marches in Lisbon and Porto, arresting 13 and injuring dozens, confiscating at least 99 tents. Echoing other revolts throughout Europe, mobilization increases around a housing crisis primarily effecting youth, opposing a bill that would increase evictions and end rent-capping policies. Protesters unleashed fireworks, bottles and paint upon the police, and “three plainclothes officers monitoring the protesters were assaulted after being spotted by a group,” a fourth defending themself by brandishing a firearm. 

Spain

Tens of thousands take to the streets against a housing crisis, prompted by corruption and opulent luxury developments, as well as viral videos of the eviction of an 87 year old disabled women, who was carried out on a stretcher to a hospital by police After the backlash, the company eventually settled with her, but she died weeks later. In Madrid on November 5th weeks long encampment protest in the Puerta del Sol town square of Madrid ended in a pre-dawn raid by police forces, ending a flashpoint for mobilization against the dire economic and housing crisis, a “mini-city” of resistance which inspired other cities to set up encampments in Spain and Portugal. Organizers at Puerta del Sol claim some of the goals of the encampment have been achieved, having forced prime minister Pedro Sanchez to call for two housing decrees, which would rent-cap and pause evictions, which Parliament rejected, causing Sanchez to call for a snap election to be held on November 29th. Protesters are planning to focus on a general strike ⁠over ​housing rights and cost of living called for November ​11.

NSPM-7 Defendants Union

A union of those criminalized under NSPM-7 has formed to push back against the Trump Administration’s attempts to target social movements as terrorism:

The NSPM-7 Defendants Union is a volunteer collective of former, current, and future defendants. We spent the last decade in social movements: doing media work, organizing legal support, and fighting on the front lines.

We are indicted and un-indicted co-conspirators known and unknown to the grand jury.

We are people of conscience, committed steadfastly to the belief that another world is in reach.

We are here to help if: 

• You are a current political defendant
• You received a door-knock from local, state, or federal police in connection to protest
• You received a subpoena or court summons for an active political case
• You participated in the Tesla Takedown, Palestine solidarity, anti-ICE, anti-data center, land defense, abolitionist, or other resistance movement, or your organization was named in the State Department’s Cuba Report and expect you may be under surveillance
• You publicly oppose—online, at town hall, in the news, or at protests—the Trump agenda and want to support those facing repression for doing the same
• You believe—like us–that a better world is within our reach

Get in touch: nspm7union@proton.me

One part of the NDU is the “Defendant’s Pledge,” a commitment and set of principles for navigating collective solidarity in resistance to the system’s attempts to divide and break our movements. Anyone who has been arrested, visited by law enforcement, or otherwise experienced repression is encouraged to take the pledge and provide information for the repression tracker.

Read the commitments. Discuss them with your friends. Print them out and bring them to an organizing meeting. Make a plan to practice each one.  By taking this pledge, you are making a commitment to each other in the movement.

To Not Cooperate with Law Enforcement: I will not cooperate with any investigatory or prosecutorial arm of the state. If I am pressured to do so, I will refuse. I will go public and tell the movement if I am visited by law enforcement.

To Not Denounce Others in the Movement: I will not publicly denounce the tactical choices of anyone accused of actions I don’t personally agree with. 

To Go Public With My Case: I will not be quiet. I want as large an audience as possible to know about my case. 

To Collective Defense: I will prioritize legal strategies leveraging collective defense so that we all beat the charges, together. I will encourage my lawyer to communicate with my co-defendants’ lawyers and other elements of the movement. When possible, I will utilize joint-defense agreements with my co-defendants.

To Share Lessons Learned in Discovery: I will talk openly within the movement and to the public about the repressive strategies I learn about during the course of my case so that everyone can learn how the state is targeting activists. 

To Take the Offense: I will take an aggressive legal and media strategy to beat my case, call the state’s bluff, and politicize others. 

Anarchist Minnesota 15 defendant, Gus Van Sant, recently joined the NSPM-7 Defendants Union, sharing with The Intercept:

I can only speak for myself, but I don’t have any problem linking my case to the Prairieland cases. I think what happened to them was a travesty and a miscarriage of justice,” Sant said. “I think it’s very important that we stand in solidarity with people who are in that position, and especially with people who are getting railroaded even worse than we are.

Fear Will Not Shake Us: A Statement from the Non-Cooperating TILF Defendants

The non-cooperating defendants from the Turtle Island Liberation Front wrote this statement about TILF and the ongoing repression they’re experiencing:

Fear Will Not Shake Us

Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF) is a grassroots organization which champions indigenous sovereignty, worldwide decolonization, and community building. As such, we oppose all settler-colonial projects that continue to plague the world through the killing and suppression of native people in order to seize and exploit the land and resources that the native population resides on and stewards.

The government were quick to infiltrate our organization and accuse us of being terrorists, a term “that exists to justify settler-colonial and imperialist projects(Samidoun).” It is no coincidence that this happened soon after the NSPM-7 in which federal agencies were given unchecked authority to go after any person or group deemed to be an “enemy of capitalism.” Another non-coincidence is this happening when class consciousness is surging due to the U.S. regime starting another illegal war; continuing to fund the internationally recognized and condemned genocide of Palestinians; extrajudicial assassinations of Caribbean fishermen under the guise of stopping “narco-terrorism”; kidnapping the president of Venezuela and stealing their oil; and attacking the population of Turtle Island in order to fund the military-industrial complex necessary for their unquenchable thirst for world hegemony while everyday people starve and struggle for basic necessities.

We may be quick to say, “they are the real terrorists!” but let us remember that “terrorism” and who is deemed a “terrorist” are colonial constructs. In the work of decolonization, these designations must be abolished as they do not serve us. We must be specific in naming the problem “as Ibrahim Traore has recently reminded us, ‘it’s not terrorism, it’s imperialism’ (Samidoun).” They are imperialists and as such, their interests are antagonistic to our survival as well as that of people around the globe. People who want a better future, a future free from oppression. We of TILF understand that until all of us are free, none of us are.

Every struggle, ours and yours, all over the world is interconnected. From Afrika to India, Palestine to Indonesia, Turtle Island to the Pacific Islands, the people of the world share near identical desires: taking care of our families; contributing to our communities; respecting Mother Earth; and loving our neighbors. These are the same people the U.S. regime is quick to label as terrorists on the basis of being anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, and anti-fascist as if these are negative labels. Anyone who possesses basic logic and reasoning skills, and who has access to unadulterated, whole and honest history can deduce that the world is where it is now because of capitalist, colonial, fascist, imperialist and chauvinist power structures.

TILF activists are currently under state repression because our existence is deemed a threat to those in power. Anyone who fights for liberation, or even just believes in a decolonized Turtle Island, can be labeled a threat under NSPM-7, and consequently suffer severe and grossly unjust punishment as the state recently demonstrated with our Prairieland comrades.

While this repression is meant to put fear in our hearts, as well as yours, it has only made our resolve stronger. A resolve that is echoed in the UN resolution 1514(XV) of the 14th of December, 1960: ” …all peoples have a right to complete freedom, [to self-determination] (quoted from later in the resolution), the exercise of their sovereignty, and the integrity of their national territory.” A resolve that INCLUDES the first people of this beautiful land and their many national territories still under the continue occupation of the settler-colonial project known as the United States of America. A resolve that is built on love and refuses to be shaped by fear.

Let us all plant the seeds of a decolonized world in which future generations lounge in its shade, knowing nothing of the oppression of colonialism.

Solidarity forever.

Free The Prairieland Prisoners!

Prairieland defendant Elizabeth Soto recently spoke out in a video statement:

Hello, I am Elizabeth Soto. I am an anarchist in the DFW area. I inherited a printing press, & I’ve been part of the Emma Goldman Book Club for 11 years. The Book Club is a public event held once a month where people get together to read & discuss literature in the form of zines.

The government has used zines & a printing press to convict me. I am sentenced to 50 years in prison for participating in constitutionally protected activities. I believe it’s the government’s way of persecuting people who are willing to look at the world & imagine a different way of interacting with it.

Nothing that was presented at trial was illegal. This was said over and over again by the government’s own expert witnesses.

Because I have chosen to stand in solidarity with the people who have been separated from their loved ones & held in detention centers across this country, the government is using me as a warning by creating a fictitious narrative to criminalize people for protesting against this administration’s immigration policies.

My conviction is political, designed to create fear & squash dissent. I believe if more people were willing to pay attention from the beginning, that the government & mainstream media wouldn’t have been able to push their fictitious narrative.

We faced this prosecution without fear, knowing we were innocent, refusing to participate in an attempt to create new law to imprison people. If we had more people, lawyers & law students willing to stand with us & push back without fear of the political aspects of this case, we would not be in the position we are in now. The failure of these important factors let the government create a straw man used to convict us.

Every person convicted on these charges is innocent. I cannot express enough that the government’s narrative does not exist.

Now the appeal process begins. For this to be successful, we need to the full support of everyone to hold this government accountable. If this conviction stands, it will affect countless others in the future.

It does not end here. This trial, conviction, & sentencing was an experiment to lay the groundwork for future political prosecutions and convictions.

Champagne Song was also recently interviewed by The Final Straw Podcast. A transcript is available to read as well as zines to print and share:

Champagne’s reflections on their sentencing and the wider direction of state repression in the NSPM-7 era are quite striking:

TFSR: Can you talk a bit about the wider direction that you see the administration going? Clearly, if someone’s looking through the matter of the case, which I don’t want to get into in a lot of detail, because it’s still being brought up in court and everything, but the sentencing of 100 years is astounding. The focus specifically on people engaging in solidarity around immigration; there’s just been this whirlwind of different overlapping things with the fabrication of the Antifa organization and this conspiracy theory by the administration, the laying of that out across the country in all these different contexts, all these different at times radical, but often progressive, or social-justice, faith-based initiatives, acting in solidarity with immigrant neighbors. The country is in this escalated moment in terms of how we’re letting the government get away with ethnic cleansing. This is not the first time that it’s happened here. These are my words, but do you want to lay out your view of what’s happening in this country, and besides the tragedy of the convictions in this case, what people should see is going on? Does that make sense?

Champagne: Personally, I strongly see it through the lens of the imperial boomerang idea. I lay out in a poem I recorded for Prison Radio, 100,000 Kids Like Me. This is a reflection on the Iraq War, but all of these occupation techniques and technologies that were deployed in Iraq are really coming home to roost: from biometric tracking, cameras everywhere, facial recognition, fingerprinting, military presence patrols – those were all things that were being done to Iraqi civilians 20 years ago. When we see the large, heavily armed formations of paramilitary forces, namely ICE and Border Patrol, marching through cities with armored vehicles, this is something that you saw in Iraq for years and years with U.S. troops. With no particular mission, they would just do a military presence patrol, a show of force, and march around neighborhoods. All the way to the mass arrests, like you saw in my case, in the Prairieland case, they recall stories from Iraq where an entire cafe would be arrested to search for one guy. So I see what’s happening in this country with immigration enforcement really is the cover. Obviously, it is ethnic cleansing, but I also see it as a cover for establishing much stronger authoritarian control.

The outrageous sentences, in my case, 100 years, when an average sentence for murder in Texas is about 30 years. The 50 to 100 years that we saw were very transparently a show of force, trying to send a message. I believe Judge O’Connor actually explicitly said he’s trying to send a message to dissuade people from similar conduct. They are trying to break protesting civil disobedience, all kinds of resistance, because the policies of the administration, the policies of the ruling class, are becoming increasingly unpopular and indefensible. We can see with the grab for resources around data centers, the worsening climate crisis, and the installation of Flock cameras upsetting a very broad section of the population, that is probably not going to be placated, and therefore they’re turning to harder kinetic means of population control.

Prison Radio has also been continuously providing airspace for the Prairieland Defendants to share their thoughts, poems, and feelings. Hear their voices: https://www.prisonradio.org/special-collection/prairieland-defendants/.

A new zine, “A Presentation On New Precedents in Repression
& The Buildup to the Prairieland Case in the United States” in support of the Prairieland prisoners is available to print and share:

Every Letter a Little Jailbreak

Write to the non-cooperating Prairieland prisoners:

Autumn Hill

Johnson County Jail, TX
Cameron Arnold, 202502023
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Champagne Song

Johnson County Jail, TX
Benjamin Hanil Song, 202502108
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Des Revol

Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada
#95099-511
FCI Victorville Medium II
Federal Correctional Institution
PO Box 3850
Adelanto, CA 92301

Liz Soto

Johnson County Jail, TX
Elizabeth Soto, 202502014
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Ines Soto

Johnson County Jail, TX
Ines Soto, 202502008
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Joy Gibson

Johnson County Detention Center, TX
Joy Gibson, 202502016
PO Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Mari Rueda

Johnson County Jail, TX
Maricela Rueda, 202502018
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Rebecca Morgan

Johnson County Jail, TX
Rebecca Morgan, 202502109
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Savanna Batten

Johnson County Jail, TX
Savanna Batten, 202502020
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Zachary Evetts

Johnson County Jail, TX
Zachary Evetts, 202502013
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

As always, letter writing zines are available to print and share:

Minnesota 15

Unicorn Riot has been consistently sharing the words of Minnesota 15 defendants. Most recently, Emmett Doyle and Treasure Thoreson have shared their words of struggle.

The Minnesota 15 have been receiving broad, mass support in defiance of the state’s offensive against street-based resistance to ICE terror. The Intercept recently published an article detailing some of the union-based support for the 15:

[Treasure] Thoreson said she has received steady support from her teachers union since the indictment.

She and many other defendants believe the charges against them are a way of attacking Minnesota’s powerful labor movement. By the count of defendants who spoke to The Intercept, at least 11 of the 15 have been involved in union organizing.

The Internal Homeland Security Investigations files unearthed by the defense team lend credibility to this theory. Undercover agents attended an organizing meeting at the United Labor Centre, a building that houses multiple unions. HSI, the investigative wing of ICE, also subpoenaed the financial records of the SEIU and the Communications Workers of America as part of an overlapping probe into “domestic terror financing.”

Several defendants interviewed by The Intercept were amused at the idea that they were receiving funding from mainstream organizations. They have long lobbed critiques at the labor movement’s institutional core from its fringes.

After some initial hesitance, unions and nonprofit groups responded in force to the case. Days after the indictment, some labor groups signed onto a joint statement denouncing the charges. After a court filing from the defendants revealed the subpoenas of the unions’ financing, more labor organizations raised their voices.

“Generally speaking, the labor movement is awfully conservative — too conservative — on issues like this, and can sometimes be scared out of solidarity with people who are fighting back,” said Kieran Knutson, the president of CWA Local 7250 in Minneapolis.

More unions rallied, Knutson said, as it became clear that prosecutors could not point to examples of physical harm, as union locals pressured statewide organizations, and as the defendants themselves articulated why the case was important.

“These are active people in the labor movement, and I think in many ways people see them as an expression of the movement as a whole,” Knutson said. “And these charges were an attack on the movement as a whole.”

Knutson said he knows the value of solidarity: In 1993, he was charged with assaulting a man wearing neo-Nazi patches during an antiracist demonstration on the University of Minnesota campus, according to news reports from the time. He was acquitted with the help of attorney Keith Ellison, who later went on to win election as the state’s attorney general.

“I know what it’s like to have the weight of the charges just hanging over you,” Knutson said.

Community Is Not Conspiracy! Minnesota 15 Speaking Tour

The Minnesota 15 support crew has launched a nationwide speaking tour:

• November 13: New London, CT
• November 14: New Haven, CT
• November 14: Baltimore, MD
• November 15: Boston, MD
• November 21: Terre Haute, IN
• November 21, New York, NY
• December 5: Houston, TX
• December 5: New York, NY
• December 6: Milwaukee, WI
• December 12: Eugene, OR
• December 13: Portland, OR
• January TBD: Madison, WI
• January 16: Cincinnati, OH
• January 17: Pittsburgh, PA
• January 23: Chicago, IL
• January 23: Detroit, MI
• January 23: Seattle, WA
• January 24: Grand Rapids, MI
• February 6: Stevens Point, WI
• February 13: Bay Area, CA
• February 20: South Florida
• More dates to be announced.

Michigan 12

On June 10th, FBI agents and police arrested several pro-Palestine activists as part of a federal case targeting Palestine organizing at the University of Michigan. The eight defendants were indicted by the Justice Department on charges of “conspiracy,” including “conspiracy to transmit threats via foreign and interstate commerce.” The charges relate to alleged acts of property damage to the facilities of weapons developers, Zionist organizations, or to the homes and offices of University of Michigan officials who are complicit in the genocide in Palestine or in the repression of the Palestine movement. (The defendants, however, were not charged with “vandalism.”) Based on these several counts of “conspiracy” charges, the eight defendants now potentially face decades in prison. 

On October 29th, FBI agents charged four more people—two of whom were arrested—in the indictment. An emergency mobilization was called by the Michigan 12 defense committee:

Defend the Michigan 12’s statement:

On October 30, 2026, four additional defendants were added to the Michigan 8 case. An activist was mistakenly detained by law enforcement while in pursuit of one of the four newly indicted co-defendants. In addition, prosecutor Maggie Smith filed a motion to revoke the bond conditions of a co-defendant, attempting to jail her through duration of trial. 

At 3 PM on October 29, multiple FBI agents arrested one of the newly indicted defendants as he was leaving school for the day, where he works as a high school teacher. He was stopped by police pointing rifles at him, moved to the Detroit Detention Center and then to the Federal Court building on the 30th, where he was released on bond. The same afternoon, over 15 FBI agents searched his home and seized multiple devices and his car. 

Agents also mistakenly profiled, detained, and searched another activist in Ann Arbor before releasing them, realizing that they had detained the wrong person. The activist shared, “As I was walking to my car after class, multiple unmarked vehicles cornered me and about a dozen FBI agents proceeded to search and detain me. It wasn’t until minutes in that they asked me for my name, and only then did they realize I was not my sibling, who is several years older. By the time I was released, my car and backpack were already thrown apart. While the FBI continues to issue political charges to repress my sibling and others fighting for justice in Michigan, the University of Michigan continues to remain complicit in the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”

After learning of their arrest warrant, the second newly indicted defendant turned themselves in to the court on the morning of Friday, October 30, 2026. The bond conditions of these two defendants were set on Friday during a hearing in Detroit attended by friends, family, and community members. Bond conditions include travel restrictions, no-contact orders for co-defendants, and GPS ankle monitors. The additional two defendants are outside of the US and currently seeking legal advice. 

On November 2, prosecutor Maggie Smith filed an emergency motion to revoke the bond of one of the initial 8 defendants and hold her in detention all the way until trial. The motion comes out of a claim that the defendant tampered with evidence during a raid on a new defendant’s home. The hearing for the motion will be this Thursday, November 5 at 3:30 PM.

The state continues to escalate their repression of the pro-Palestine movement, convienently timing the superceding indictment with the US midterm elections in which Republican zionist and former FBI agent Mike Rogers is notably slipping in recent polling. As favor towards Israel slips and more people join the Palestine solidarity movement, the state’s desperation to chill pro-Palestine speech and repress the movement grows. 

We will not be intimidated.

We will hold the line. 

We will continue to defend Palestine solidarity activists criminalized by this genocidal government. 

And we will continue to fight for a free Palestine.

Free Palestine.

Stand with the Michigan 12.

Donate to the Michigan 12 legal fund here: https://chuffed.org/project/um-palestine-legalfund

Free All Antifa Prisoners

¡Henry Aulich Presente!

In Germany, Henry Aulich, charged in connection to the vast trial targeting “Antifa OST” held at Dresden Regional Court, has died after complications from a suicide attempt last August 15 in Leipzig. Targeted by the intelligence services and Saxon courts for more than 10 years (surveillance, wire-taps, and repeated raids), the militant suffered from acute psychological stress accentuated by the weight of the criminal proceedings.

Despite several medical alerts and an emergency psychiatric hospitalization, the judges refused to separate his case from other defendants in order to suspend his trial. They forced him to appear in court even under heavy medications before only agreeing to separate his charges after he fell into a coma.

Free Zaid!

On October 7, anti-fascist Zaid appeared before the Court of Appeals in Paris, set to review Hungary’s extradition request filed against him. Since February 2023, he has faced prosecution for his alleged participation in clashes with Neo-Nazis in Budapest for the so-called “Day of Honor,” a commemoration linked to the Waffen-SS and its Hungarian collaborators. 

A Syrian refugee who settled in Germany with his family, Zaid moved to France in 2025, after having been the target of a Hungarian arrest warrant. After several postponements, this hearing is the last stage of arguments before a decision about his extradition.

Free Gino!

Facing the threat of extradition approved by the French Court of Cassation, the anti-fascist militant Gino turned himself into German authorities in Hanover, surrounded by supporters and with his fist raised, before being immediately placed in detention. Wanted in the context of the so-called Budapest Affair for clashes against neo-Nazis in early 2023, the anti-fascist will be transferred to the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe to examine his case.

This arrest is part of a trans-national campaign of criminalization led conjointly by the German and Hungarian courts against the anti-fascist movement. Though the French courts initially rejected the extradition of Gino to Hungary due to the proven risks of inhumane prison conditions and torture in Hungary, the German federal court issued its own arrest warrant to circumvent this.

On October 16, Gino was transferred to Oldenbourg prison in Hanover. This imprisonment marks the implementation of a European arrest warrant upheld by France in late September, which authorizes yet another extradition as part of the targeted crackdown on anti-fascist actions against neo-Nazis in Budapest.

Faced with this, a solidarity network is organizing to support the political prisoner and denounce trans-national police cooperation. The support committees are calling on other to write to him, reminding supporters to follow strict guidelines (like using pseudonyms, avoiding discussing politics and mentioning personal information) to circumvent prison censorship and prevent the risk of being surveilled by intelligence services.

Write to Gino:

Monsieur ABAZAJ Rexhino
JVA Oldenburg
Cloppenburger Str. 400
26133 Oldenburg (Buchnummer 1127/26/7)

Free Maja!

Fundraiser to Cover the Court Costs of Anti-Fascist Prisoner Maja

In Germany, a solidarity effort is being organized to support non-binary anti-fascist prisoner Maja T., currently imprisoned in Hungary even though their extradition to the country was judged to be illegal by the German Federal Constitutional Court

A fundraising campaign is also being launched by their father in order to help with the massive court costs, estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars, needed to ensure her defense. Denouncing the complicity of German authorities and the inhumane prison conditions suffered by Maja, their supporters are demanding their immediate repatriation and call for international solidarity against the anti-fascist movement.

Donate here: https://whydonate.com/de/fundraising/prozesskosten-fur-maja-t

The situation of anti-fascist prisoner Maja, finally sentenced on September 30 to seven years in prison in Budapest, has significantly worsened after their transfer to Category 4 detention, one of the strictest in the Hungarian prison system. While the transfer process to Germany has been stalled for weeks, the Hungarian authorities have drastically restricted their rights to visits and phone calls, denying them the ability to wear personal clothes and limiting their ability to change from their only prison uniform to once every two weeks. 

In response to what Maja’s support group denounces as the passive abandonment and complicit silence of the German Minister of Foreign Affairs, they’ve launched an urgent call to put pressure on the German Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs to demand Maja’s immediate repatriation. Days of action across Europe are being organized for November 13 and 14, involving demonstrations in front of Hungarian embassies as well as a national protest on November 13 in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin.

Palestine Action

Filton 25: Trial 3

On November 4, the judge declared the trial of Qesser, Heba, Kamran, Liam, and Zahra as a mistrial and dismissed the whole jury.

More information is set to come, while the prosecution is looking to set a retrial.

Real Media UK has been continuing thorough coverage of the Filton trials, which you can read here: https://realmedia.press/3rd-filton-trial/.

The defendants have been sharing moving testimony about their leap into action. We share an excerpt below:

Next, Zuhrah was asked about her involvement with Palestine Action. “I was on Instagram one day and a post came up and it [said], ‘Take direct action, sign up to a training day’.” She began following the social media page associated with the post and “saw the stuff that they do.” She was shocked to learn that there were Israeli weapon factories in the UK, and that they were supplying the Israeli government during a genocide.  She said “That’s a war crime.”

Zuhrah told how in February 2024, she finally got the courage to sign up to a Palestine Action training day where she met her co-defendant Heba Muraisi and soon became friends. She also recognised someone who she’d seen before at national demos. It was some time later when Zuhrah met her other co-defendants – Kamran Ahmed, Liam Mullany, and Zahra Farouq.

At the training, Zuhrah heard testimonies from Palestinians describing their suffering. One Palestinian man explained that “it’s the drones, not the jets … that haunt them, that hunt them, that mutilate them.” She also learned about Elbit Systems – that it “was Israel’s largest weapons provider, providing 85% of land-based weaponry and … drones.”

Asked what she understood about Palestine Action’s activities, Zuhrah said: “it’s direct action.” Palestine Action “had a different philosophy” to many of the groups she had been involved with previously, on demos and other protests. “They said that if the weapons are here and they are going to go there, we have to stop [them].” She said “The focus was on destroying weapons that are going to kill people.” Asked whether Palestine Action’s intention was ever to harm anyone in pursuing this aim, she replied “No, never.”

Questioned about what she’d learnt about direct action, Zuhrah said “I don’t think people wake up and think, I’m going to go to a factory and destroy some weapons – it’s a process”.

She told how, on Instagram, she had seen Palestine Actionists “occupy [the] roof tops of factories and stay there for days, or blockade the factories so the workers can’t get in, or actions inside the factories”, which aimed to “find the weapons and destroy them.” She also learned about the group’s “covert” and “overt” actions.

Turning to the events of August 2024 at the Elbit Systems factory in Filton, Bristol, Zuhrah explained that “there was a red team and a black team. The red team were ‘overts’ – they knew they would be arrested. The black team didn’t want to risk arrest, but still wanted to help.” She reiterated that there was never any intention of using violence against individuals. “It undermines and distracts from the cause”, she said. “The media want a reason to villainise anything.” The use of violence would be “something clear” that would “undermine our cause”, she added.

After attending the training day, Zuhrah opted to be a ‘covert’, and she was told that she would be put in a group chat on Signal, where she would hear from a Palestine Action coordinator. The purpose of the group, she added, was to learn how to take action, and then would eventually be used to organise an action. After joining the group chat, communication was sparse, Zuhrah explained. She did not remember how many people were in the group chat, nor did she describe her coordinator as particularly proactive.

“In the beginning, I ended up initiating a lot of conversations myself”, Zuhrah said. “It was about getting to know people, their backgrounds, what brought them here.” She added that some people in the group were anxious and worried about the impact of taking direct action on their lives. “One person was a teacher, doing an important role.” The group knew that “the government could criminalise people who wanted to save lives.” She added: “case in point” – referring to the present trial.

Free the Filton 25 also shared quotes from trade unions who mobilized in support of the Filton 25 outside Woolwich Crown Court:

Eddie Dempsey, general secretary of RMT union, said to the crowd:

“I’m here with members of our London Transport Council because my union, the RMT, is becoming increasingly concerned about the roll-back of civil liberties in Britain. Many human rights organisations have pointed to the fact that the anti-terrorism legislation is so broad, that it is left wide open to misuse, and they have specifically – rightly in my view – cited the Filton cases as an example.

In recent years, we’ve seen the right to strike by railway workers being threatened, and we have also seen moves to do away with the right to a jury trial. This is against the backdrop of a deepening authoritarian turn, where the right to protest, the right to dissent is being criminalised in this country. That is a concern for every citizen, for every trade unionist, and anyone who believes in freedom.”

Ian Hodson, national president of the bakers and food workers’ union BFAWU said:

“Trade unionists know that rights are never handed down from above. They have been won because ordinary people were prepared to stand together, organise and challenge injustice. The right to protest is part of that history and we cannot allow it to be stripped away because the Government finds a particular cause inconvenient or uncomfortable.

What is happening here goes far beyond Palestine Action. It is about the kind of society we want to live in and whether people will still have the freedom to speak out against injustice, war and the actions of those in power.

Solidarity cannot be conditional on whether something is popular with politicians or the media. It matters most when people are under attack.

The trade union movement must continue to stand against the criminalisation of protest, against the use of terrorism legislation to silence political opposition and against any attempt to frighten people away from standing up for what they believe is right.

To everyone facing these prosecutions, and to their families, friends and supporters, you are not standing alone.”

Jo Grady, General Secretary of the UCU union which represents university and college workers sent a message to be read out to the crowd. She said:

“UCU sends solidarity to the Filton defendants and to everyone standing together today in defence of the right to protest. Our members have been impacted by measures aimed at silencing or punishing those who speak out in solidarity with Palestine.

The right to protest, to organise and to speak out against injustice is a fundamental democratic freedom, won through generations of struggle by trade unionists and working people. UCU stands with the Filton defendants, with trade unionists affected by the crackdown on protest, and with everyone defending the right to organise, protest and dissent.”

Barclays 5 

From Youth Front for Palestine:

On Friday, October 30, protesters gathered outside Preston Crown Court to support the Barclays 5 as they awaited sentencing for taking action against Barclays Bank in 2024. The actionists sprayed red paint on and smashed the windows of Barclay’s Burnley branch, causing over $200,000 worth of damage. This was due to the bank’s shameless investments in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, which creates the weapons Israel uses to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

In August 2026, the presiding Judge failed to add a terror link to their sentence. Today, four of the five actionists, Humayra, Mohammed, Brendon, and Amanda, have now been given 20-month suspended sentences. Alma, the fifth actionist, will be sentenced in December. 

It is unjust that those who take direct action should be charged or sentenced for their solidarity with Palestinians and their pursuit for effective change. Though there is relief in the absence of immediate jail time for these actionists, there is no justification for the repression they and otheres who have taken direct action have been, and continue to be, subjected to. 

We renew our commitment to solidarity with Palestine and highlighting the necessity for direct action as the most effective tool at our disposal here in Britain, against genocidal Israel. 

Ulm 5

Secours Rouge shared a report back on solidarity demonstrations for the Ulm 5 in Stuttgart on October 24:

In Germany, approximately 2,000 people marched through the streets of Stuttgart in response to a call from a broad coalition of organizations to support the Ulm 5. These are five activists (Crow, Daniel, Leandra, Vi, and Zo) who are currently incarcerated and on trial before the Stuttgart-Stammheim High Court for carrying out an act of direct sabotage by destroying computer and laboratory equipment at a site belonging to the Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems in Ulm.

A delegation from Secours Rouge International, having traveled from Brussels, Toulouse, Geneva, and Zurich, participated in a revolutionary bloc that used fireworks, paint-throwing, and confrontational slogans in response to police interventions that led to the arrest of about ten people. The demonstration dispersed at Rotebühlplatz after speeches, notably by members of the SRI, while other protest actions continued in the surrounding neighborhoods. The day concluded with a meeting to introduce the SRI and discuss the state of the mobilization in France.

As the political trial of the Ulm 5 continues under strict security measures, the protest aimed to denounce the German state’s complicity in the military-industrial complex as well as the systematic criminalization of solidarity with Palestine.

Czech Elbit 11

A support website for the Czech Elbit 11 has been launched: https://czechelbit.org/

Supporters also released the statement:

On 20th March 2026, a fire destroyed a warehouse facility in Pardubice, Czechia. This facility was owned by Czech arms manufacturer LPP Holding. According to their own words, LPP Holding had planned to use this site for a project with Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer. The police have since arrested eleven people for their alleged connection with this fire; six of them were arrested in Czechia, three in Poland, one in Slovakia, and one in Bulgaria – The Czech Elbit 11.

Eight of them are currently held in pre-trial detention in Czechia, many of them under harsh conditions. They can be legally held for up to 4 years without any conviction. The remaining three activists arrested in Poland spent nearly three months in jail and are for now being prosecuted at liberty.

The accused activists are being charged with two different crimes: taking part in a terrorist attack and membership in a terrorist organization. These charges carry a sentence of 12-20 years with the possibility of a life sentence

The Czech Elbit 11’s lawyers are being denied complete access to the evidence against their clients. This severely impacts their ability to prepare a strong legal defense.

Other local activists are continuing to face police intimidation and harassment, with their homes being raided and their devices confiscated indefinitely. Even those who are just witnesses are being taken off the streets and their devices are being confiscated without any indication as to when they might be returned.

Repression and unjust treatment of those who oppose genocide is not new. It joins the long string of arrests and remanding of those who oppose Zionism witnessed across the world (ELSC Index of Repression, UN Special Rapporteur, FIDH report).

LPP Holding is a prominent manufacturer of drones and other weapons technologies in Central Europe. In 2023, they announced plans for opening a production and training facility in collaboration with Elbit Systems. In subsequent interview, Amir Bettesh (VP of Marketing & Business – Elbit’s Unmanned Systems Division) stated that “[Elbit] chose LPP because we cooperated for years.” (CzT at 41:30) This is in stark contrast to their claims following the fire that the “cooperation with Elbit Systems has never materialized” (CzT at 4:00).

Meanwhile there have been over 75,200 violent deaths of Palestinians in Gaza between 7th October 2023 and 5 January 2025 with roughly 10,000 more still trapped under rubble. A total of 172,000 people were injured with 5,000 amputations of which roughly one fifth were on children. Between 7 October 2023 and 28 March 2026, 1,073 Palestinians — at least 233 of them children — were killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The Czech state’s strategy is clear: to leverage this moment in order to harass, criminalise, and silence broad swaths of the Palestine solidarity movement. This is mirrored across Europe, the UK, the U.S. and all of the West, where we are consistently seeing Zionism driving state policy and police practice towards authoritarianism. While this current surge in authoritarianism may have started through the targeting of Palestine solidarity activists, as history shows us again and again, it will not end there. 

This moment demands swift international opposition and solidarity across borders. We join with the CzechElbit11 and our fellow people of conscience against the use of arbitrary and undemocratic accusations of “terrorism” to silence opposition to genocide and rising authoritarianism.

As part of our ongoing demand to stop the Czech government’s participation in the genocide in Palestine, we demand:

• Immediate release on bail of all defendants of the Czech Elbit 11
• Reclassification of the fire in Pardubice from an act of terrorism to arson
• Access to all evidence and right to a fair trial – ensure the detainees’ basic civil rights
• An end to the police harassment and intimidation – no more arrests, being taking off the streets, house raids, interrogations or device confiscations
• An independent investigation into LPP’s participation in the war crimes committed by Elbit Systems, and immediate termination of their cooperation and divestment from Elbit Systems

Al Jazeera also provided an update on the imprisoned Palestine actionists:

Moursi, a humanities student at Charles University, said in a statement to Al Jazeera that “a group of armed and masked policemen smashed down [my] front door”, two days after the alleged attack, in which he denies any involvement.

He spent the first three months of his detention in solitary confinement, according to his lawyer. Today, he is allowed one hour outside his cell and 20 minutes on the phone a day, with visits from friends and family every two weeks.

“[There] is the psychological front being waged against us, where [the police] deliberately try to break us by putting some of us in solitary confinement for months, denying us visits, blocking correspondence, or spreading fear,” Moursi said. “Putting people in custody and prolonging it time and time again without direct evidence, mainly based on a mix of inclinations, activism, racism, and an attempted blurring of freedom of speech, is unacceptable.”

Moursi and his lawyer, Pavel Cizinsky, believe he has been targeted because of his involvement in pro-Palestine activism in Prague.

Cizinsky said part of the evidence police have against Moursi is that on the day after the fire, he posted advice for pro-Palestinian activists on social media, should they be approached by officers. Cizinsky called this “ridiculous.”

“If you put into Google what to do when interviewed by the police, the first advice is wait for your lawyer. But if you say it as a pro-Palestinian activist, if you write it to your friends, then it’s reason against you that you are guilty,” Cizinsky said.

At the beginning of the investigation, Cizinsky said he faced pressure from the authorities not to take the case. As a result, he was not present during the initial interrogation and house raid on Moursi’s flat.

“It is clear that there is extraordinary attention to this investigation by the police, and really great resources dedicated to this case,” Cizinsky said. “But the fact that he is already five months in prison is surely a breach of law.”

Under Czech law, individuals held in pre-trial detention who have not been convicted must have their detention reviewed by a court every three months. Moursi’s detention has so far been reviewed twice, with the court deciding each time that he must stay in prison.

His detention will be reviewed again in early December, and the trial is expected to start within a year.

One of the defendants, Anežka, spoke up after 6 months behind bars:

Recently I’ve read a book which contained this quote:

The very nature of harassment is the feeling that whatever you do, it will make things worse.

And I realized that I’ve been silencing my voice for this exact reason. To not make things worse not only for me but also for my family and community who suffered the most from the harassment of spectacle-seeking media and police that know no ethical limit.

I’ve been put through some truly traumatizing experiences during and after my arrest.

The image of my partner being held by police on the ground, shouted at, and having guns pointed at his head is constantly on my mind.

During the first few weeks, every time a door slammed, I experienced a panic attack, and in the cold darkness of my cell, I had to relive that absurdly violent police raid.

In the meantime, journalists were surrounding my family’s house, spamming my parents with phone calls and interview requests, harassing them at home and at work.

From the limited information they found about me, they’ve tried to compel an image of who I am and what I believe in, labeling me with the same names that are repeatedly used against the people of Palestine to dehumanize them and degrade their efforts for freedom.

But I refuse to be forced into silence and I’ll continue speaking up against the genocide and the persecution of its opponents even if that has to include myself.

I’ve stood against injustice ever since I can remember. At 15, I learned about the mass killing and ways of exploitation of non-human animals and the state of the destruction of the planet we share.

The realization that profit is valued more than life has led me to start learning more about the system of colonial violence on which the so-called “Western world” was created.

It has become the main focus of my education and activism. So when I found out about the oppression the Palestinians face, I was able to recognize it for what it was—a brutal form of settler colonialism and I could not stay silent.

The reality of colonialism which is one of bloody land theft, forced cultural assimilation, sexualized violence, slavery and exploitation, environmental destruction, racism and genocide, can’t be described within the limits of this text.

If you think that it is only a matter of the past or that we need not to be wary of colonial power structures here in the Czech Republic, I challenge you to think about this:

After 78 years of ethnic cleansing and occupation and almost 3 years of full-scale genocide, it is me who they criminalize.

After more than 73,000 people in Gaza and more than 1,000 in the West Bank were murdered by the israeli occupation forces, it is me they call a terrorist.

And after years of complicity of the Czech government and its military industry in all these crimes, it is me who sits in jail.

I’ve now experienced the prison system from within its walls and felt its violence on my body and soul. I no longer wish to use my innocence to challenge the rightness of my imprisonment because I don’t believe in the imprisonment of anyone—innocent or not. I do not wish to call myself a political prisoner for I’ve come to realize all prisoners as it is a political choice to lock people up and isolate them from the rest of the world.

Instead I wish to appeal to your humanity and ask you to say with me:

END THE GENOCIDE, STOP THE WARS! OPEN UP THE PRISON DOORS!

Thank you!

—A

Write to Anežka:

Anežka Brahová
Vazební věznice Praha
Ruzyně
P.O. Box 7
Praha 6, 161 00
Czech Republic

Political Prisoners / POWs

New York City Anarchist Black Cross

NYC ABC shared the latest version of the NYC ABC “Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War” and it’s available for viewing (and download). 

Casey Goonan

From Casey’s Support Committee:

Casey offers here their reflections on the recent book drive they organized for the prison library, its popularity with everyone locked up, as well as how it has since been blocked and how Casey subsequently was fired from their library job. Please share and repost.

Censorship in the Education Department at FCI Allenwood Medium

Casey Goonan – 10/26/26

AFFIRMATION

Thank you to everyone out in the so-called “free world” for contributing to our Summer Book Drive. On behalf of the Support Committee and every convict at FCI Allenwood Medium involved in this autonomous initiative, we send our revolutionary love and profound gratitude. From this self-organized prisoner initiative, we introduced a wide range of new, interesting, and relevant books into the prison’s official library collection. During my time as a library worker, many significant changes were made to the form and content of the library here at Allenwood Medium. Unfortunately, because of the Book Drive’s budding success and overwhelming popularity among the captives, i was fired from my job as librarian last week.

TERMINATION

On Thursday, October 1, i was fired as a library worker at FCI Allenwood Medium prison for no reason other than “ordering too many books” and “donating them directly into the library catalog” without the approval of the Education Department Supervisor, Mr. Williams. Although my boss, Ms. Ashton, knew about the plans for a mass donation and granted permission to do so, i was thrown under the bus once she learned her boss found out, and especially once she learned i was adding certain books into the catalog without her approval. There is nothing against policy within the books that were donated, even the ones i donated without Ms. Ashton’s knowledge. The Book Drive was successful in adding around one hundred brand new books to the library catalog, which transformed the library space from a realm of entertainment and distraction into one of pedagogy and critical study. By the first week of September, around seventy more books were delivered to the mailroom, yet staff deliberately let them pile up, before complaining to admin about the quantity of donations and returning them all back to sender. A few days later i learned of my termination.

It’s the overwhelming pettiness of the reaction that bothers me. There is no BOP policy that states we as prisoners cannot donate books into the library collection. There is an official process to do so however and i bypassed some of the red tape. Yet the only violation of policy i am “guilty” of is not showing my boss, Ms. Ashton, every single book that i was donating. My decision to not report donations wasn’t at all due to any intentional plot of deception. It was simply because whenever i gave my donations to Ms. Ashton, she would “never get around” to adding them into the catalog. They would just sit around and often disappear. I was frustrated by Ashton’s lack of enthusiasm regarding this rare opportunity to enhance the library collection, so i decided to just start marking, labeling, and cataloging the books myself. Basic direct action.

ACTION/REACTION

All who were involved in the Summer Book Drive (not only me as an individual) took direct action both to remedy the negligence of the correctional officers who oversee “education” operations at Allenwood Medium and to counter fascist anti-intellectualism, of which the official indifference to our depraved learning conditions is symptomatic. I am not exactly sure how the process occurred behind the scenes, but apparently a mailroom officer (who does not like me) contacted S.I.S. (the surveillance and investigative wing of the prison administration), who then contacted Mr. Williams, who in turn emailed Ms. Ashton ordering my termination as a library employee. I believe that the primary reason i was fired was politically motivated censorship, coupled with the fact that some of the COs already had an issue with me working in the library.

My termination as a library worker demonstrates how the administration at FCI Allenwood Medium will attempt to stifle any act of autonomous sufficiency and self-organization among us convicts, especially if activities aim to improve the conditions of life. The Summer Book Drive initiative was not only an attempt to counter the dehumanizing conditions of a neglectful Education Department but a demonstration of collective action to provide and (re)distribute resources in the face of (or rather in spite of) organized abandonment. Inadvertently, the initiative also illuminated a potential collective capacity that exists between concrete people across prison walls. Within a matter of weeks around 200 books were donated through a public wishlist. What other outcomes might result from a similar constellation of autonomous, informal organization? The purpose of this reportback, however, is not to address this question in particular. That must be the topic of discussion elsewhere. For now, i just want to catch everyone up to speed and explain just how the Summer Book Drive unfolded, and how our work in the library was demonstrably changing the atmosphere of learning in this prison.

REPORTBACK

When i arrived at FCI Allenwood Medium back in February, i was appalled by the lack of resources provided by the Education Department’s “library.” Barely any of the books were visible on the shelves. The shelves themselves were behind a desk, so no patrons could walk up and pull a book on their own. The content of the library catalog was almost entirely fiction, and none of the scarce non-fiction texts were visible at all. In fact, i was told by my boss Ms. Ashton that “this bunch are more of the fiction, fantasy kind of guys” — an assumption proven completely false once i conducted a survey and began offering fellow prisoners non-fiction books with social, cultural, and historical relevance. From what i’ve gathered, the library at Allenwood Medium is by far one of the worst libraries in the Federal BOP. The more time i spent in the library, i became intimately attentive to the inadequacies and intricacies of why this alleged library earned the reputation of “worst of the worst.”

In June 2026, when i was hired as a librarian, i began conducting a survey of each “car” in my unit and then across the entire compound, researching what the most popular books are among prisoners at Allenwood Medium. (For those who don’t know, “cars” are how we are collectively organized, prisoner-to-prisoner throughout the BOP; i.e. the Midwest Car, White Car, Gang Cars, Pennsylvania Car, and so on.) I made sure that all races and religious affiliations were considered in this survey, and i consolidated the results to a list of around 100 specific books, as well as dozens of authors, publishers, and topics of books that prisoners desired to read at this facility. From there my support committee and i created a wishlist derived from the survey findings and circulated the wishlist publicly using the incredible www dot bookshop dot org. The idea was to use the social platform that my support committee has worked so hard to maintain over the past two and a half years to organize a SUMMER BOOK DRIVE, where people on the outside can purchase the requested books from the public wishlist. The books then were to be delivered to me, which i would donate directly into the library collection.

As the Book Drive began, i was already involved in the process of rearranging the library stacks by subject and genre and had the support of Ms. Ashton to do this. In fact, she initially welcomed my consistency and enthusiasm. For FICTION i divided up the shelves to hold (with visible labels) ‘Fantasy’, ‘Western’, ‘Science Fiction’, ‘Thriller & Suspense’; ‘Mystery & Crime Drama’, ‘Deep State Fiction & Political Drama’, ‘Military Fiction’, ‘Historical Fiction (Modern)’, ‘Historical Fiction (Pre-Modern)’, ‘Historical Fiction (20th Century)’. As time went on my plan was to also create an section of the library for ‘Urban Novels’ and ‘African American Classics’. For NON-FICTION, i made the existing books in the library visible to patrons for the FIRST TIME EVER and then created various subject categories such as ‘US History (Pre-20th Century)’, ‘US History (20th-21st Century)’, ‘World History’, ‘Social Studies’, ‘Native Studies’, ‘Science & Nature’, ‘Geography’, ‘Music, Film, & Pop Culture’, ‘Sports’, ‘Health & Fitness’, ‘Business & Marketing’, ‘Self-Help’, ‘Survival & Uplift’, and ‘Resume & Job Search Resources’.

As i described above, around 100 books were successfully delivered to me. After receiving what books the mailroom *did* allow, i added those books into the library catalog. By “adding into the catalog,” i mean that my coworkers and i stamped, stickered, added check-out cards in the books, and shelved them. The feedback from fellow convicts regarding the Book Drive was wildly supportive and positive without a doubt. As the library collection progressed, regular patrons who entered the library would comment on how much better the selections were; how much easier it was to find books; how they felt more interested in going to the library; and most of all, i noticed a substantial interest in the non-fiction sections, especially Social Studies, US History, and Native Studies. The number of nonfiction books that patrons checked out increased markedly. Most importantly, in the days leading up to my termination, a new spirit of critical study and discussion seemed to be permeating the library and its users.

I have to remind myself that there is only so much you can do without greater organization of opposition to the prison regime from within and without. I am chalking this up as another experience, or maybe, rather, the marking of a new chapter in the Campaign Against Prison Censorship and Book Banning 
[ see https://trueleappress.wordpress.com/2023/04/13/new-zine-campaign-against-prison-censorship-and-book-banning/ ]. 
I’m not sure what my next moves will be, but one thing is for certain: There’s a growing number of convicts in this prison who desire a deeper grasp of the world beyond the false sense of “participation” shoved upon us by the TV screens, corporate newspapers, radio shows, remedial programs, and commercial-distraction novels sanctioned by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The Book Drive could be blocked but the information that such literature instills in our convict class is something that fascists can never return to sender. One idea that my celly had was to simply order books on anti-prison activism, abolition, and prisoner movement history for every prisoner at FCI Allenwood Medium. All of our information is public access on the BOP website. Just pick a name on the BOP “Inmate Locator” and order a book. Brilliant!

Ever more obvious is the substantial mass of people beyond the wall in the so-called “free world” who are impacted by the regime and continue to express a desire to participate in collective anti-prison resistance. These are people actively searching for opportunities to support their own loved ones and others in captivity.  As Ruth Wilson Gilmore writes in her 1999 article ‘You Have Dislodged a Boulder’, by “organizing surplus labor into cages,” the state pulls our loved ones, especially mothers and other caregivers, into its “spheres of operation.” The regime’s gravitational pull on our families and communities creates opportunities where our people can find each other and cooperate together *against* the state’s interests. Gilmore writes, “The magnitude of imprisonment suggests the magnitude of possibility”; and that magnitude “starts small, over and over again.” The scale and dynamic capacity of formal and informal prisoner-support structures put on display by the Summer Book Drive suggests the embryo of such possibility. I know if i were on the outside right now, i would be dreaming and scheming of where to take this collectivity next. I send my blessing for anyone reading this to do the same. After all, it’s one struggle at base.

Casey Support Committee
email: cscommittee@proton.me
instagram: @freecaseynow
donations: https://chuffed.org/project/supportcasey

#casey #goonan #prisonersupport #palestine

Write to Casey:

Casey Goonan #24611-511
FCI Allenwood Medium
PO BOX 2000
White Deer, PA 17887

Malik Muhammad

George Floyd Uprising prisoner Malik Muhammad shared a new essay on revolutionary prisoners:

Being targeted in prison is just part of the revolutionary life. As George Jackson said, “The revolutionary is an outlaw, a doomed man.” In prison specifically, this means you’re often kidnapped and taken to the hole, not for something you did, but for what the administration thinks you might do.

In my case, I’ve spent the last three years in the same pattern of being re-kidnapped, re-violated, re-dehumanized, and further isolated. Because that’s what going to the hole is — re-incarceration. A form of recidivism I dub “segstitutionalization.” You don’t need to be a revolutionary or activist to find that the prison within prison is a revolving door. You all know that people who go to prison once are likely to return, with more than a fifty percent recidivism rate nationwide. So it’s no surprise that the traumas and stigmas of re-incarceration play out in prison as well, which is, at the end of the day, a microcosm of society. It has the same pigs (correctional officers), same laws (rules), same president (warden/superintendent). And just like the outside, where any citizen can be held without charge for up to seventy two hours, you can be kidnapped to the hole and held for up to thirty days while the prison “gathers evidence.” But no charge doesn’t stop the sexual assault that is strip searches, the stealing of all your property, and the orange clothes you’re forced to wear inside your cage.

People who get out of the hole — like those getting out of prison — find getting a job next to impossible. Thanks to your recent sting in there, you are now identified as unmanageable and therefore unemployable. “Have you been to the hole?” “When was your last hole shot?” are common questions. You get out of the hole, and you’re branded with a red or green tag you must wear everywhere. So every cop you pass can freely stop and frisk you — and will — just based on the tag, as well as the fact that you’re likely Black.

Should you be a green tag — like myself — you’re labeled as affiliated, an organizer. Ungovernable! We get a probation officer, or Security Threat Manager (STM), who are all white men given the freedom to act with impunity because they are the prison’s supposed experts on gangs and other “trouble.” One of the STMs at Oregon State Penitentiary, among the several prisons I’ve been in, is a white christian rapper in his spare time. In his full time, he puts large groups of Muslims in the hole under investigation. These are our experts on everything minority.

So, just like those on the outside who always prepare to go back to prison for a variety of reasons — maybe they got more comfortable or even prefer it, or they’re aware they’re profiled — we who have been segstitutionalized do the same. We targeted carry our address books and envelopes on us because it’s the only property they’ll let you have. We stay prepared ourselves and prepare our loved ones for our eventual return to the hole.

This is the third year in a row in which I’m taken, under investigation, in February or March while the prison constructs their narrative of an “unauthorized organization,” “disturbance,” and this year, “disrespect.” Every year, I remain in my cement tomb until the following one, when I’m shipped to a different prison, often having to undertake hunger strikes to get basics and accountability from the administration. Then I’m out of the hole for a month, only for the pattern to repeat — and repeat.

This year, I was shipped to Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution (EOCI), and I made it to March third before being brought to the hole under investigation and then administrative segregation, a prison’s catch-all status for when they want you in the hole but can’t even concoct a halfway conceivable story for it. It’s an indefinite placement to disappear people, to retaliate, to destroy one’s ties with their community and the outside world.

Why? Now, first understand, the state is not a rational entity — no, far from it, so the why’s and how’s will always confuse those who seek a rationale for the state’s abhorrent actions. That being said, the reason EOCI gave is a doozy. They pulled a conversation my partner and I had on the phone in which we joked about “white genocide.” I also remarked on the prison state being run by “fascists” and “nazis” — which they are. Some fascists here were hurt by those words. The white male ego is a sensitive thing.

My real (alleged) “crime,” the thing I was doing that they wanted desperately to stop but couldn’t, was educating prisoners. I was bringing together people normally separated by race and affiliation, buying them books and studying the history of movement struggles, dissecting the greater systems of oppression which created one’s material conditions. What I was doing was waking people up. Assata once said that to break free, one must be acutely aware of being a slave. That’s why I prioritize education, to give oppressed people the tools with which to liberate themselves because you cannot fool a mind that knows itself.

However, our studies expose the truth that our modern overseers don’t want us to know — that prisons are plantations, and they are the overseers, and yes, there is a racial component. No crime happens in a vacuum, and poverty breeds criminality, and systems work as intended to incarcerate, repress, oppress, and execute a slow genocide while extracting labor. This, they don’t want people to see.

They’d rather we discuss drugs or debts, not systems of oppression, or that we discuss racial politics, as opposed to global politics and the intersectionality of oppression and movements. They’d prefer us stuck on TVs and talking about movies over us establishing long term relationships with people, relationships that will traverse these walls and include us in a movement that cares about prisoners.

No, they don’t want that. Drugs and gang beefs, they expect and can handle. Educating the people, the cornerstone of waking up to the pure fact that resistance is essence — that, the state cannot abide. So, here I reside in this dungeon for the third year in a row.

But I will never be counted among the broken. I will resist because resistance is essence, and I will leave prison with the same morals I came with. No matter the hole I am put in, I will not bow because there was a world before prisons, and there will be an after. No one is free until we all are free. Until every cage is empty and prisons are liberated, until kkkops, ice, the whole fascist police state and its systems of coercion, including the legal apparatus, are abolished. Until freedom, I struggle on.

Love, Rage, and Solidarity,
Malik

The essay is available to print and share in another installment of the Malik Speaks zine series:

Write to Malik:

Malik Muhammad #400523
Broad River Correctional Institute (Moultrie 1113a)
4460 Broad River Rd
Columbia, SC 29210

Khalfani Malik Kaldun

A Birthday Fundraiser & A Message from Khalfani:

From The Cell of Indiana’s Voice Of The Voiceless:

(Political prisoner Khalfani Malik Khaldun)

Revolutionary Salutations Comrades,

Peace and blessings to you all. On November 30, 2026 I was will be entering into my 57th birthday. By January 2027 I will have completed 40 years of my life confined to a prison cell. Isolated inside the Indiana Department of Corrections. The fight I have engaged in inside these wall to stay alive, survive, and allowing the natural process of personal growth and development to take place. I have faced many ups and downs, losses of family, and unfortunate health complications.

Inside these walls fighting to better the living conditions, and policies, procedures, or executives directives has sometime been a long distance journey. But when conditions get changed, because of the energy we give it, we all benefit from it. Comrade Che’ Guevera once said about the struggle and revolution should be inspired by a genuine love for the people who are affected by the oppression or repression. I have loved this work, and fight to help the helpless – be the voice of the voiceless, being willing to sacrifice it all – because it had been all inspired and motivated by love.

Doing so has always placed me on list to be monitored, and isolated in units that prevent me from being a symbol of resistance, brotherhood, leadership, and the protector of everyone and everything that Khalfani loves. True story.

My medical issues were forced upon me by some gestopo-minded ones who knew I was in a real death distress moment and they just listened and let me experience a dreadful moment in the back area of a prison transport vehicle. The lawsuit was recently thrown out for lack of medical documented proof coming up missing or simply never forwarded to the federal court. I would later experience renal failure, ruptured bladder, and a blown and damaged prostate.These injuries damaged my energy, slowed me down, and my work stopped for a while. Your love brought me back from a early grave. All praise be to Allah.You may read up on these moments on my blog on www.idocwatch.org

I will have 2 new writings released soon: “The Celebration of Women”; and “If I Shall Die Before I Wake”. If you are interested let us know. I am preparing to enter into a program called Recovery While Incarcerated :(RWI).The teaches us skills to combat drug addiction, and helps us be better in encouraging others who hurting how to better over come and cope.

I am genuinely hoping to be transitioning towards my completion of this 40 year journey by 2029 once I have earned my addition time credit. I am ready to be reunited with my remaining family, and become united in this struggle with those comrade who have held me down for years. Plus, I am ready to build with my new comrades. May everyone have a wonderful day. Be safe, stay strong, and ensure that your commitment as activist is inspired by love.

Islam can be summarized in three sentences. Be with the creator, without creation. Be  with creation, without ego. Wish for others what you wish for yourselves…….

The Struggle continues (A Luta Continua)!
Comrade Khalfani Malik Khaldun 874304#

Khalfani can receive letters and photos at the mail scanning service address below, and can receive electronic messages on Viapath 

Leonard McQuay #874304
Newcastle CF
PO Box 460
Phoenix, MD 21131

Books and zines can be mailed directly to the Newcastle prison:

Leonard Bernard McQuay
New Castle Corr Facility
P.O.Box A
New Castle, Indiana 47368

Khalif Miller

George Floyd Uprising prisoner Khalif Miller shared a message with The Final Straw Podcast! Final Straw also interviewed Jackson from the Human Rights Coalition with the latest on Khalif’s case.

My name is Khalif Miller, and I’m a North Philadelphia native. I’m currently incarcerated and have been for the last six years for protesting the brutal killing of George Floyd, an action that was needed to bring the government’s hitman, Derek Chauvin, to justice and face the consequences of his action. History has proven time and time again that without the community taking to the streets, the government is willing to sweep things under the rug. So I’m okay that I did not allow that to happen. During this incarceration, I’ve endured so much from attorney neglect to harassment, from correctional officers to even being stabbed 16 times. But through my determination and passion of wanting to better my community, I refuse to give up, and I’ve dedicated my time to fine-tuning my skills, which I’ll contribute to our cause upon my return. Currently, I may be beneath the mountain, but I’ll never compromise on our cause. I do it for my son. I do it for your kids. I do it for generations to come. Most importantly, I do it because it’s the right way to live.

Find ways to support Khalif on instagram @FreeKhalifPhilly on instagram or contribute to a fundraiser here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-khalif-miller

Write Khalif:

Smart Communications/PADOC
Khalif Miller #QQ9287
SCI Forest
PO Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733

Pendleton 2

A message and court update from Naeem Trotter of the Pendleton 2:

Dear P2 Committee/All Supporters of Freedom and Justice: I want to thank everyone who came out to support my October 29th hearing. It was very uplifting to see all the beautiful faces of the struggle in the courtroom. The show of support from the P2 Committee and supporters has somewhat helped keep the political lynching of the P2 in check. The state knows that they are being watched! We had final arguments which went good with the exception of me talking to much. 🙂 Thats a habit of mine when I’m really trying to drive a point home because I want it to stick! The battle is still ongoing and in the next 90 days I will submit my “Finding of Fact and Conclusions of Law,” and then the judge will make his ruling. I just wanted to personally thank everyone for their love and support. Please know that without the love and support of the people, I couldn’t have made it this far because its your love that continues to give me the courage and faith I need to keep on fighting for justice and freedom. Not only justice for the P2 but for all political prisoners and human souls held captive inside these prisons. I ask that people continue to please donate to the P2 Defense Committee so that we may continue the fight. Thanks to everyone!

Strong but human, 

Christopher Naeem Trotter

Write to Naeem! For books / zines:

Christopher Trotter #862556
6908 S Old US Highway 41
Carlisle, IN 47838

For mail:

Christopher Trotter #862556
Wabash Valley IDOC
PO Box 460
Phoenix, MD 21131

Michael Kimble

A birthday message from Michael:

As I approach my 61st birthday, I can only think about the years stolen from me, the family members, friends, and comrades lost during these past 41 years of captivity. I’ve never really thought about my birthday as something special to celebrate, but I was wrong. In the sense that I am special and that life, my life, should be celebrated and acknowledged. With this birthday I hope to find liberation soon, to join you all out there who have been holding me down for these many years and make a greater contribution to bring this monstrous behemoth to its knees. I would like to suggest that you make some noise in celebration of my birthday, and find joy in doing so. 

Send Michael some love on his birthday and beyond! He’s especially excited to receive art, news articles, and zines. All art and articles are scanned by a private third-party corporation and sent to Michael’s tablet. Letters can be 4 pages maximum; please be mindful that all corresponence is surveilled. 

For art, articles, and letters:

Michael Kimble #138017
P.O. Box 17339
San Antonio, TX 78217

For zines:

Michael Kimble #138017
Fountain Correctional Facility
M-Dorm
Foundtain 3800
Atmore, AL 36503-3800

Jacob Hoopes

Days before reporting to a federal penitentiary for a 900-day sentence, lifelong Quaker Jacob Hoopes joined Thee Quaker Podcast to talk about the escalating Portland ICE protest that led to his arrest and conviction. With incarceration looming, he examines the deep friction between his actions that afternoon, his commitment to justice, and the Quaker Peace Testimony. As Jacob faces the reality of federal prison, his father Tom shares how a stunned but resilient community is matching a 900-day sentence with 900 days of intentional action.

Visit https://www.900daysoflight.com/ for updates and information about Jacob. 

Write to Jacob:

Robert Jacob Hoopes 98782-511
FCI Sheridan
P.O. Box 5000
Sheridan, OR 97378

George Floyd Uprising Prisoners

As far as we are aware, these are the current addresses of the George Floyd Uprising prisoners. For more information on ways to support them as well as former prisoners from the nationwide uprisings, visit https://uprisingsupport.org/

Christopher Tindal #04392-509
USP Florence – High
U.S. Penitentiary
P.O. Box 7000
Florence, CO 81226

David Elmakayes #77782-066
USP Big Sandy
U.S. Penitentiary
P.O. Box 2068
Inez, KY 41224

Smart Communications/PADOC
Khalif Miller #QQ9287
SCI Forest
PO Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733

Malik Muhammed #400523 
Marion 183
Broad River Correctional Institution
4460 Broad River Road
Columbia, SC 29210

Matthew Rupert #55013-424
USP Big Sandy
US Penitentiary
P.O. Box 2068
Inez, KY 41224

Montez Lee #22429-041
FCI Petersburg Medium
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. BOX 1000
Petersburg, VA 23804

As always, a monthly-updated letter-writing zine is available to print and share for the 2020 prisoners:

Repression in the So-Called US

Abolish the Death Penalty

The botched execution of Christa Pike has brought the cruel unjust practice to national public consciousness and reinvogorated calls to abolish the death penalty. Outgoing Governor Lee halted the one remaining scheduled execution for the year but more action is needed to prevent future executions as newly elected Republican governor Marsha Blackburn has vowed to bring back the electric chair. Sign the petition and check out mercyforchrista.org for more ways to support. Prison Journalism Project has also published commentaries from inside on Christa’s case. 

Christa’s statement after surviving Tenessee’s botched execution attempt:

One month ago, I walked into the execution chamber at Riverbend men’s prison prepared to die. I had made my peace.

I had told the people who loved me, supported me and stood by me through the years I was grateful for them. I had also told the people in the room and who were there to witness my execution that I was leaving them in loving kindness.

Several days later I woke up alone in a hospital confused and in pain. There hasn’t been a moment since that night when I haven’t been in pain.

My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts. I still struggle to speak. And the pain isn’t just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul.

I had not contemplated life beyond that night, and I’m deeply hurt by the incompetence that has put so many people in this terrible position. I continue to think about my victim’s family and the terrible pain and loss they have endured.

I am recovering, and I know that I am getting stronger. But healing is not the same as being okay.

Since that night, I have been largely isolated in the prison’s medical ward, away from other people and the human connections that mean so much to me. That isolation brings its own kind of pain. I spent 28 years in solitary confinement and much of what I am experiencing today is a repeat of that condition.

I am searching for meaning in what happened to me.

One thing that has given me strength is the extraordinary love and support I have received from people around the world. To know that so many people care about me, that they see me as a human being whose life matters, is something I cannot fully put into words. It is humbling, and it has touched me more deeply than I can explain.

I also want to thank the first responders, doctors, nurses and everyone at the hospital who cared for me. They treated me with compassion, dignity and respect. I will never forget their kindness.

I also want to thank my attorneys and everyone who has fought for me, stood beside me and refused to give up on me.

I don’t know why I survived that night. I don’t know what comes next. Some days, finding hope is harder than others.

For now, I am trying to heal, one day at a time. And I am holding on to the love and kindness of so many people who have reminded me that I am not alone.

Supporters step up the campaign to free Keith LaMar with demands of Governor DeWine for a clemency hearing. On October 2nd Wrongful Conviction Day, Keith LaMar has submitted a request with Governor DeWine for a clemency hearing on October 2nd Wrongful Conviction Day; on November 9th, supporters came in person to deliver LaMar’s compelling application for clemency, including over 222 personal letters, a 2026 Nobel Peace Price nomination by over 100 university professors and students; 108 organizations, and nearly 300,000 petition signatures. 

The Trump Administration walked back it’s original fascistic bloodlust plans for the public execution of Nidal Hasan, convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. The livestream may have been cancelled, however the first firing squad execution since 1945 is still scheduled to proceed on December 3rd.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that the “disproportionality” of the death penalty cannot be reviewed for Michael Addison. Michael Addison, the only person on New Hampshire’s death row, was sentenced prior to the state repealing the death penalty in 2019. The DSA is circulating a petition calling on Governor Ayotte to commute Addison’s sentence. 

Outgoing Governor Newsome has commuted the death penalty of all 548 people in California, finalizing the shift away from capital punishment following a 2019 moratorium on executions. 

Grand Jury in New Hampshire

Sophie Ross and Bridget Shergalis were served with a Grand Jury subpoena. The two Palestine Action US activists were among the “Merrimack 4” sentenced to 60 days jailtime for defacing the Elbit Systems weapons manufacturing facility in New Hampshire. No information about the Grand Jury but supporters speculate it is related to the investigations against Fergie Chambers who is incarcerated in Spain fighting extradition to the US.

The two provided a statement on their commitment to refusing to cooperate:

Statement from Bridget Shergalis and Sophie Ross
October 29, 2026

This is our second statement in regards to the subpoenas we received on October 16th. Following the advice of numerous comrades as well as our own political instincts, we have decided to publicize our refusal to testify in this federal grand jury. Neither of us will ever testify, inform on, or expose another person to the state. We will be responding in solidarity with each other and with whoever we have been ordered to provide testimony on. When we arrive in court on November 4th, we will each give our names to the court, and respond to any additional questions by invoking our rights to remain silent according to the Fifth Amendment.

In the past, grand jury resisters have been imprisoned by the courts in order to coerce them into testifying. But the two of us once spent a year under the yoke of an invasive criminal investigation which threatened us with 37 years in prison. We did not cooperate under those conditions, and we see no benefit whatsoever to doing so now. We consider the possibility of imprisonment to be a very cheap price to pay for the defense of our movement, which is one small part of the global resistance against United States imperialism.

Both of us have signed the NSPM-7 Defendants Union Pledge and encourage every person approached by the state to do the same. It can sometimes feel counter-intuitive to go public when you are facing state surveillance and repression, but it can only benefit us to collectivize what we know regarding the state’s abilities and plans. An aggressive, politicized strategy offers us the best chance of defending both ourselves and whoever this grand jury is targeting. It also helps to protect and prepare the movement as a whole.

We should point out that the November 2023 action we participated in was affiliated with the U.S. branch of Palestine Action, which in August 2026 was designated a terrorist organization by the United States.

Terrorism designations exist to isolate political actors from international support networks, and to delegitimize the tactics they use. This is the ultimate hypocrisy, when the United States has done nothing but bring down slaughter and mass destruction onto Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, and the rest of the Third World. We stand by our past tactics, and in unconditional solidarity with whoever is being targeted by this grand jury, as well as with every other person currently undergoing similar investigations by the United States. Those of us on the outside of the prison have a permanent duty to defend them.

Bridget Shergalis
Sophie Ross

Land Defense Against The Border

Felony Charges Dropped – Statement from Land Defender Arrested for Gravel Truck Lockdown in Lochiel, AZ

On Tuesday morning (November 3) the federal prosecutor filed a motion to dimiss the case, and by the afternoon the judge had approved it. Border patrol has filed charges of felony assault and a misdemeanor for violating the closure order, but the case was dismissed before I was indicted by the grand jury. 

The motion was granted without prejudice, which means that the feds could still re-file the complaint. The statute of limitations is five years. My legal team has said it’s highly unlikely that they would re-file when the prosecutor voluntarily dismissed the case, but in this era of intensifying state repression against resistance, anything ispossible. There are still 25+ comrades facing charges, and the border wall is still being built. As much as I’m celebrating my freedom, I’m also preparing for the fight ahead. 

I believe that my charges were dropped because the feds had no case, and because they’re afraid of their own negligence and abuse being made public. They did crazy things to me on the back of that truck. One agent tried to break my arm to remove me from the lockdown device, another gave orders to turn the truck on and threatened to drive me to the middle of nowehere where no one could hear me scream. They put a security blanket over the truck to isolate me from my comrades and obscure their verbal and physical abuse. They hogtied me, suspending my legs in the air with a girth hitch (a constrictive tie) causing me to lose feeling in my feet, under the guise of my “safety” so they could move the truck. When I asked one agent why they were endangering my life and safety by moving the truck instead of waiting for the specialist team to remove me from the lockbox, he said, “They’re taking too long.” 

These are the people who would kill to ensure the border wall gets built. They already do. They murdered the grandmother trees, they murdered abuela, they’ve taken countless lives dragging this long ugly scar across turtle island. 

They’re afraid of their violence being witnessed. That’s why they put a security blanket over me, that’s why they dropped my charges, that’s why they hide their faces and turn off their body cams when they abuse protestors or abdduct and kill people trying to cross their imaginary borders. I was physically, emotionally, and spiritually violated for seven and a half hours on that truck and for two more days in border patrol detention and federal prison. I was subjected to the obscene violence of the carceral underworkings of u.s. empire and then thrust back into a “reality” that pretends this violence isn’t real. But it is real, and we all saw it, and we need to keep seeing it so that we know what we’re fighting for, and who we’re fighting against. It’s happening all the time, all around us. Don’t look away. Find a way to fight it. 

A lot of people have told me that I’m a hero or thanked me for my bravery. I think I was brave but I’m not a hero. I was scared but I did what I was called to do. I made a promise to protect the earth and I do my best to uphold it as fully as possible. Anyone can do more than they think possible when they have something to fight for. Besides, I didn’t do it alone. Every step of the way, I had my comrades with me. Even when I couldn’t see them through walls or emergency blankets, I felt their love and it made me strong. I felt the trees and the wind and the bugs fighting with me too. Thank you to everyone who stood by me that day, everyone on the jail support crew and legal team, all the friends and comrades who provided care and support afterwards. I couldn’t have done it without y’all, and I fight harder with you by my side. The state tried to break me but it made me stronger. Their attempts to blow out our fire only make it burn hotter. 

Other cases are still active and defendants need your support! Here is the legal defense fund: https://tinyurl.com/TLLEGAL

Halloween Takeovers

Police propaganda hype threat of teen takeovers to bring curfews and increased repression of youths battling for public space.

• Brockton, MA: Police attempt to disrupt gatherings of over 300 vehicles taking over city streets; two arrested on gun charges.
• Cleveland, OH: Police arrest 7 and deploy tear gas and pepper balls to disperse crowds. In Brockton MA: 
• Cincenatti, OH: Hundreds gathered at a Kroger and a BP; two arrested for allegedly assaulting police as they attempted to disrupt the gathering. 
• Los Angeles: Police targeted the “Bay to LA”, arresting 22, citing 74 and impounding 7 vehicles

Election Interference

The DHS has arrested 11 and charged 28 after conducting raids and visits with a target list of 20,000 people being investigated for supposed voter fraud in an attempt to intimidate and influence the midterm elections. A federal judge has since ruled against future ‘elections-related field operations’ in nine states for likely violating the Voting Rights Act.

The Trump Administration has targeted Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar with raids of her home and dozens of subpoenas to her family for supposed immigration violations amidst racist campaign to deport her and her family.

Virginia state senator and vocal Trump critic L Louis Lucas and six others  were indicted on federal drug racketeering and money laundering charges after an FBI raid of her hometown office and cannabis shop. 

Not Guilty

A judge throws out a lawsuit targeting PSL New Jersey and other pro-Palestinian organizations under the FACE Act.

An anti-ICE protester who was assaulted and arrested outside the ICE field office in San Francisco was found not guilty of all charges

A judge tossed Northwestern Prison Education Project graduate Abdul-Malik Muhammad‘s false conviction which held him in prison since 1999.

Palestine Legal beat back theft charges against Aydın from an incident last May when a zionist organization that was handing out free food called the cops on him for taking a can of free soda. 

The US Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration’s attempts to deny federal prisoners gender-affirming healthcare.

Roundup

Inique Hinton was arrested and denied pretrial release accused of throwing a lit molotov cocktail towards the Atlanta ICE building. He is currently being held at Irwin County Jail. 

Three roommates who had been doing migrawatch in the Huntsville Alabama area were arrested on firearm and threatening communication charges. The ATF was utilizing digital and physical surveillance, eventually stopping their car and searching their home supposedly finding body armor, 3d printed weapons, “indications of anarchist and antifascist ideology”, and online comments allegedly threatening to shoot ICE agents.

Chicago police attacked the Running Down The Walls marathon and generator show in front of the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center, seizing equipment and arresting four people on misdemeanor resisting charges. All four defendants have since had their charges dismissed.

More than 40 people packed the courtroom to support Raed Yousef who was denied pretrial release after being arrested on 19 federal charges for allegedly donating $46,000 to a French organization supposedly supporting Hamas.

A jury found D.J. Byrnes guilty of misdemeanor telecommunications harassment for sending Shrek memes to Republican senator Jerry Cirino  

Three Black South Alabama college students were arrested for allegedly threatening Trump in online comments to a TikTok post about an upcoming presidential visit.

Funds are requested to support five people who were arrested in September at an anti-ICE march on the Grant Rapids ICE field office.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee forced the feds to return the phone of Miami-based attorney Jalal “Jay” Shehadeh who was detained for four hours after returning to the US visiting family in Palestine.

CAIR is suing Florida governor Ron DeSantis over theor designation as a “domestic terrorist organization” under controversial new state law passed last April.

Legal Aid NYC is suing New York DOCCS for the illegal monitoring of confidential attorney-client phone calls.

ICE Watch

On October 8th, 27-year old Oscar Belgal was shot by ICE agent Kevin Brodowsky as he was in his vehicle with his 5 year old son. After being briefly brought to the New York Presbyterian Hospital, ICE agents scurried him away before doctors were able to remove the bullet; the NYPD protected ICE’s getaway by brutalizing protesters who pushed barricades and threw water bottles, arresting 5. Oscar has since been held in solitary confinement the federal MDC Brooklyn which has seen protests demanding his freedom. A judge denied him medical release and despite legal requests he has still not been taken to an outside hospital to remove the bullet in his neck. 

On October 6th, Martin Soto walked free after being detained for eight months at Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey! Soto was abducted by ICE while shopping for diapers for his two young children. Soto participated and organized the hunger/labor strike at Delaney Hall causing him to be thrown in solitary confinement. The strike was supported on the outside from protests organized by Soto’s wife Gabriela. Soto’s visa certification was verified the same week. In the video of Soto’s release he is met by his two children and wife running into his arms. He expressed his love and longing for his family during his detention as well as extending this to his supporters and especially his compañeros still in detention. Gabriala thanked everyone who helped her during Martin’s detention and through the lose of their child due to a miscarage, a death she attributes to ICE.

On Saturday October 17th 56-year old Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias was found dead in his cell in the federal immigration facility in Laredo where he was held since June after being arrested near the US-Mexico border. Andrade-Covarrubias is the seventh person to die this year in Texas under ICE detention and the second to die in the GEO-Group-run facility in Laredo this year. Prior to his death at Laredo, Andrade-Covarrubias was suffering from a heart condition, high blood pressure, and diabeties. Andrade-Covarrubias’s daughter informed the media that her father was denied his medication in custody, compounding his conditions with a chronic cough, possibly in relation to his hospitalization due to COVID-19 in 2021. The medical staff neglected engaging Andrade-Covarrubias after he brought his cough and tightness in his chest to their attention.

Aleksander Nilaj, who founded a food pantry in the Bronx, has been detained by ICE on October 13th. Nilaj was detained while attending immigration court. Nilaj is now detained at the Delaney Hall Detention Center. Nilaj founded the pantry in 2012 providng food deliveries, school supplies, and other community needs. Following the COVID-19 pandemic the pantry served ~7,000 people. Since Nilaj’s detention the food pantry has halted operations. Nilaj suffers from pre-equisting health conditions, including suffering from a bad back.

Trump Administration revoked over 300,000 visas in record crackdown. Since Trump took office in January 2025 his State Department lead by Marco Rubio has revoked 300,000 visas. This is more than 50,000 revocations to the reported number three weeks prior. This does not mean all of the 300,000 former visa holders have been deported, however the Trump administration has deported a staggering 980,000 in its first 18 months while also claiming a total of 3 million including self deportations. The acceleration of visa revocations under the second Trump adminstration demonstrates one of the multiple tactics Trump and his administration are utilizing to target immigrant communities. The increase in revocations sows uncertainty for migrants finding stability in their lives, specifically in the hapahazard execution of revocations not providing migrants with clear step forwards or clear reasons of revocation.

Marimar Martinez files lawsuit against the feds after surviving being shot by Border Patrol agents during Midway Blitz and beating bogus assault and impeding charges. Marimar Martinez, who survived being shot five times by Border Patrol agent Charles Exum, had assaulting, impeding and interfering with a federal law enforcement officer charges dropped by the US Attorney’s Office earlier this year. The charges were dropped due to bodycam footage contradicting Border Patrol’s claims. An excerpt from Block Club Chicago’s reporting on Martinez’s lawsuit:

The lawsuit follows a federal civil claim Martinez made earlier this year against the government and Exum, seeking monetary damages in the “tens of millions of dollars,” citing her physical injuries, emotional trauma and reputational harm. The tort claim is the first step toward suing the federal government.

The government had six months to review the claim before a lawsuit could be filed in federal court. The government did not respond to the claim, Martinez’s lawyers said Monday.

The lawsuit itself accuses the federal government of negligence, battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, false arrest and malicious prosecution.

“If I don’t, then who else?” Martinez said when asked what keeps her going. “Look at what happened to Renee [Good] and all these victims.… I have a voice, and I do matter, and I don’t want it to keep happening.”

On Monday, Martinez’s lawyers presented an animated reconstruction of the shooting based on evidence from the case that they say shows Exum was not in danger when he shot Martinez.

Martinez’s attorneys, from Cheronis & Parente LLC and Gallagher & Kosner Law, hired Jeremy Bauer, a forensic biomechanist and shooting reconstruction expert, to review the evidence, in addition to Martinez’s vehicle.

A reconstruction of the shooting was created based on Bauer’s analysis of Martinez’s car, bullet trajectories, surveillance video, body-camera footage, audio and Martinez’s injuries. Actual footage of the shooting does not exist because Exum failed to activate his body camera, as is required of all agents.

A Houston Grand Jury indicts ICE agent Mario Alberto Morales for aggrevated assault with a deadly weapon on October 30th. On October 10th, Morales ran over Miguel Parra Hernandez while Hernandez was driving to work. After Hernandez exited his car attempting to flee Morales drove his car into Hernandez stricking him and running over his legs. Hernandez is now in ICE detention which is excaterbated by the fact he is recovering from severe leg injuries, while Morales has yet to surrender himself to the indictment.

October 30th – A new federal lawsuit alleges human rights abuses in Miami Correctional Facility, an Indiana state prison that also contracts with DHS to imprison people detained by ICE. This prison, dubbed “Speedway Slammer” by regime media, routinely engages in denial of medication, beatings, cells flooded with human waste, and sexual assault, for the hundreds of immigrants detained there as well as those imprisoned for state crimes, a gross violation of civil and human rights. “Two people have died in immigration detention at the Miami facility since the start of 2026—59-year-old Lorth Sim in February and 55-year-old Tuan Van Bui in April”. Previous similar lawsuits has prompted a judge to force Broadview ICE Processing Center near Chicago to commit to several reforms, which an attorney for DHS argued would “effectively shut down operations there”. ICE continues to process those they kidnap at Broadview, and in 2025 Miami received $16 million to add an additional 1000 bed capacity for immigrant incarceration.

Protests outside a Boyle Heights hospital in Los Angeles as ICE agents take an injured person to seek treatment as they block the hospital’s emergency room entrance. The LAPD was called in to assist: federal agents peppersprayed people and arrested two.

Black Rose / Rose Nega anarchist federation published a new zine “Sanctuary as a Verb: Experiences and Directions from Transversal Organizing for Immigrant Defense”:

Unmasking ICE

DDOSecrets has posted a massive leak of names of 41,000 Homeland Security agents called “Icepick”. A group calling itself the “Department of Peace” claimed the leak and explained “they have our information, so it’s only fair that we have theirs.”

The ICE agent who shot Oscar Belgal has been identified as Kevin Brodowsky.

The ICE agent who murdered Lorenzo Salgado Araujo has been identified as Gregory Feathers.

The ICE agent who murdered David Brouillette last June has been identified as Joan Sebastián Durán.

The ICE agent who murdered Ruben Ray Martinez has been identified as Jack Stevens

The ICE agents who murdered Alex Pretti have been identified as Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez

Fighting Detention Centers

Protests and mutual aid vigils continue outside Delaney Hall immigrant detention center. On October 5th, federal agents attacked protestors, unprovoked, tackling them to the ground and arresting them. Two undercover agents were hanging amidst the vigils but scurried back into the jail once identified.

“It’s torture”: Trans people face abuse at Lousiana immigrant detention center. Three trans women have been detained at the Central Louisana Detention Center in Jena, a male-only detention center run by the GEO Group. The women have experienced quotidian physical violence and have been subjected to solitary confinement because of their identity for months, compunded with the already exacerbated and deadly conditions at ICE Detention Centers. The women report violent pat downs, including public stripping, self-harming due to isolation and precarity, as well as forced de-transitioning and medical neglect by Detention Center staff.

New ICE detention center for minors on top of toxic waste zone in Alexandria Louisiana. The new detention center is being built to specifically detain children and families at England Airpark in Alexandria. The groundwater at the airpark has been tested and records PFAS concentration 570,000 times higer than the federal drinking water limit. PFAS exposure to children is linked to reduced cognitive, motor, and language development, increased behavioral issues in childhood, as well as an increased risk for inflammatory bowel disease. The detention center will be run by the LaSalle Family Foundation, whose parent company LaSalle Corrections has a storied history of violence at their facilities in Lousiana including deaths, retalitory black outs, and indiscrimante pepper-spraying.

Contractor says Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller personally met with prospective prison contractors to discuss detention standards, explicitly pushing for cruel and inhumane conditions: “Miller himself had come to DHS and said that he did not want facilities that were comfortable. He did not want facilities that were humane. He wanted them to be difficult and painful because he wanted to make a point. Steve Miller certainly seemed to make that point to everyone that he wanted it to be cruel”

Sporadic video visits, phone calls and contraband cellphones continue to enable people inside expose the cruel realities living in immigrant detention centers from Adelanto to Folkston. A group at the CoreCivic-run Diamondback ICE Detention Center in Watonga OK have been attacked with pepperspray and tear gas for pointing out the worm-infested water to prison staff. Social media influencer Ed Choi has gone to El Valle to support the hunger strikers, amplify their struggle, and help fundraise for detainees and their families. 

Ongoing Cases

Spokane 3

From Support the Spokane 3:

What’s Going on with the Spokane 3?

On May 28, 2026, a jury found the Spokane 3 guilty of federal conspiracy charges. Clearly an unjust and politically motivated case, Jac, Justice, and Bajun face several years in federal prison. The Spokane 3 have a few options to continue to fight this case, although each option ads more time until the case can finally reach a close. Months have gone by and we, the Spokane 3 and supporters, are wondering, “What’s going on?!”

Here’s what we know…

In simple terms, a Rule 29 motion, if granted, would throw out the entire case due to legally insufficient evidence. The defendants would then be acquitted and charges would be dropped. After the guilty verdict, the defense and the prosecution are allotted an equal amount of time to submit, rebuttal, and respond to filings for a Rule 29 motion. By August 21, 2026, the defense had submitted all of their filings. By October 26, the prosecution had finally submitted their responses to the motions.

A Rule 33 motion, in this case, basically serves as a reset button. If approved, the Rule 33 would constitute a retrial. If the Rule 29 motion is denied, the judge will decide on the Rule 33 motion following that decision. While this isn’t ideal, it gives the Spokane 3 more time and an opportunity to prove their innocence to a new jury. Along with the Rule 29 motion, the Rule 33 motion and all arguments were submitted as well on or before August 21 and by the prosecution by October 29. And then, you guessed it, more waiting…

While we are relieved our beloved Spokane 3 have more chances at securing their freedom, we also feel for them in this time. Since the arrests in June and July of 2025, the Spokane 4 have been in limbo awaiting trials, hearings and ultimately their fate. One can only attempt to imagine the stress and anxiety of waiting to know if you will be ripped from your families and loved ones when you have committed no crime. This is a feeling our immigrant neighbors know all too well…

What can we do? A hearing to address the submissions of the Rule 29 and Rule 33 motions has been rescheduled for November 24, 2026. It is unclear at this time if any actual decisions will be made at this hearing, but we are almost certain we can expect more delays and waiting to follow. Until then and after, here are a couple of ways you can show your support:

Jac Archer: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-jac-archer

Justice Forral: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-justice-forral

Bajun Mavalwalla II: https://www.gofundme.com/f/qq96hr-support-bajun-mavalwalla-iis-legal-defense

For more information about the Spokane 3 visit https://pjals.org/spokane3/

Jakhi Isaiah

Jakhi’s state sentencing has been postponed, but will be rescheduled to Monday, November 9. Jakhi’s support crew is calling for court support! 

Jakhi recently shared an interview with The Spiral Times:

Jakhi set fire to 11 NYPD vehicles in Bushwick and became the subject of a six-week FBI manhunt in 2025. He joined me a year into his time on house arrest for this important show, where we talked about the affective experience of being on the run, the decision to turn himself in, the mental prep for entering prison, what it is to claim a New Afrikan identity as a young Black person in America in 2026. The show includes a short overview of the history of the efforts to found what was termed the New Afrikan Republic in the so-called Black belt of the southern U.S (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina) and how this connect/ed to indigenous justice movements. Jahki speaks about his time on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation staying with a Lakota elder who was part of the Wounded Knee armed resistance, and expounds on his concept of “the memory crater” created by COINTELPRO as it relates to how movements have responded to NSPM-7. We speak about Prairieland, about who is and is not a political prisoner and incarcerated collectivity from Attica to Palestine.

Turtle Island Liberation Front

One of the Turtle Island Liberation Front defendants, Dante James Anthony-Gaffield, pled guilty to “providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339A,” cooperating with the government against his co-defendants. In classic plea deal form, it confirms the state’s narrative and the participation of his other co-defendants. Support the non-cooperating defendants!

Three of the other TILF defendants have welcomed public support; you can write them at the below mailing addresses. Ashe and Tina are at MDC Los Angeles and can also receive books and zines. 

Ashe Kerrigan / Fae:

Zachary Page #30760-512
MDC Los Angeles
P.O. Box 531500
Los Angeles, CA 90053

Tina Lai:

Tina Lai #30768-512
MDC Los Angeles
P.O. Box 531500
Los Angeles, CA 90053

Sky:

Audrey Carroll DH1 #2500003486 M-88
Santa Ana Jail
PO Box 22003
Santa Ana, CA 92701

Fergie Chambers

Fergie has been imprisoned in Spain for six months as the US continues to demand his extradition to face federal money laundering charges related to his support of Palestine. His partner Stella Schnabel and others rallied at a Palestinian demonstration in Madrid demanding his release: videos of Palestinians also voicing their support for Fergie. It was revealed that Spanish authorities handed over Fergie’s phone to the FBI against assurances from the court; additionally, the US has altered the translation of the extradition request attempting to persuade Spanish courts with a fabricated and inaccurate depiction of the charges. Fergie faces an extradition hearing on November 13th: supporters are calling for a global call to action November 13-14 demanding Spain deny his extradition and grant him political asylum. 

Rodney Hinton Jr.

Rodney Hinton Jr was convicted of murder and other charges at trial and now faces 15 years to life imprisonment. Rodney Hinton was accused of killing a police deputy with his car just hours after watching the video of his son Ryan being murdered by Cincinatti police. His attorneys have filed motions for a new trial; Rodney faces sentencing on November 16th. 

Rodney Hinton Jr was also recently sentenced to 18 months after pleading guilty to three assault charges stemming from an incident at the Clermont County Jail where from bodycam footage it appears guards had roughed him up. 

Rodney Hinton Jr can be written to at the following address:

Rodney Hinton Jr. 20251306
Clermont County Jail
4700 East Filager Road
Batavia, OH 45103

Cameron Smith

After the appeals court last month vacated Cameron’s 25 year sentence challenging the bogus “terrorism enhancement”. he has since been transferred from FCI Englewood to  oterrorism enhancement of Cameron’s 25 year sentence,  tossed sentence, Cameron was transferred from FCI Englewood to Stutsman County Jail North Dakota to face resentencing. Cameron can be written to at the following address (no staples, no hardcovers):

Cameron Smith 
205 6th St SE Suite 201
Jamestown, ND 58401

Baldwin Park 3

AK of the the Baldwin Park 3 faces sentencing on November 16 having been convicted of stalking charges for livestreaming raid response community defense. rapid responders beat the conspiracy to dox ICE agent charges, but two were convicted of stalking. AK faces sentencing on November 16. From ice_out_ofla:

We’ve watched as Native activist AK of the Baldwin Park 3 has faced multiple Federal prosecutions under Operation Skipjack for crimes she did not commit. Held at MDC for over 2 months and on strict Home Confinement for a year! AK is one of the 1st people in US History to be convicted of Cyberstalking ICE for recording an ICE agent on a public street. Filming law enforcement in public is a right protected under the First Amendment. She currently has a pending Motion to Acquit, if it does not go through AK will be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison. Her sentencing is on Monday November 16th.

Palestinian Prisoners

Free Hassan Salameh and All Palestinian Prisoners!

“The mere fact of our existence and our steadfastness in our land, even in their prisons, is the greatest proof of the falsehood of their narrative. They fear this steadfastness, and that is why they use all their resources and tools to try to break it.” – Hassan Salameh

From Samidoun:

Imprisoned Palestinian leader Hassan Salameh was brutally attacked by occupation repressive forces on 15 September 2026 — the same day notorious fascist occupation Minister of Public Security Itamar Ben-Gvir invaded his cell and threatened him with execution on video. He was shot nine times after being beaten, in what his wife, Ghufran Zamel, classifies as an assassination attempt, a characterization reiterated by the National and Islamic Forces’ Prisoners Commission in Gaza.

In a post on Facebook, Zamel exposed the attack, which she learned about following a legal visit:

Since the video of the raid was broadcast, I have lived through days of fear, anxiety and anticipation, the full weight of which only God knows. I was anxiously awaiting every piece of news coming out of the isolation section at Ganot Prison, trying to find something among the reports that would reassure my heart about Hassan.

I repeatedly tried to submit a request to visit him, but September and October were a period of complete isolation, during which I received no news whatsoever to ease my anxiety.

Then came today’s visit, a visit I had long hoped would bring me news to calm the fear that had settled deep inside me. Instead, it revealed the extremely difficult conditions Hassan is enduring in isolation at Ganot Prison.

Repeated raids and relentless assaults.

On 13 September 2026, his cell was raided and he was beaten. Hassan describes this as one of the most brutal raids he has ever experienced.

On the day the video itself was filmed, 15 September 2026, the filming was preceded by a raid on the prison section, during which he was beaten and assaulted. Then, hours after the filming, they returned, raided his cell and fired shots at him. According to the information conveyed to me, he was shot nine times. To this moment, I do not know what kind of ammunition was used, whether they were pepper spray projectiles or rubber bullets.

Hassan came out for the visit in poor health, with visible signs of assault and bruises on his body. Despite his condition, he was denied any medical treatment and was given only painkillers.

During his confrontation with Ben-Gvir, Hassan’s response was clear and decisive. He told him:

“As a Palestinian, with my people living under occupation, I have the right to defend my people and my land. And you, after all the massacres you have committed in Gaza, dare to threaten me and hold me accountable?

“You, as a minister, appear to be wearing dark glasses through which you can see what happens to your people, but you cannot see the massacres committed against my people or what happened in Gaza.”

This is the news that today’s visit brought me. A visit I had awaited in the hope that it would reassure my heart, but instead it only made my heart heavier. The news was not what I had hoped for, and Hassan’s situation was not what I had wanted to hear about. Everything that reached me was yet another testimony to what he is enduring in isolation at Ganot Prison.

O Allah, I entrust Hassan to Your care. Protect him with Your protection and watch over him, and protect all his fellow prisoners, O Lord.”

The leadership of the prisoners, including Hassan Salameh, Ibrahim Hamed, Ahmad Sa’adat, Marwan Barghouti, Abbas al Sayyed, Jamal Abu al-Haija, Mohammed Arman and others, are targeted for isolation and torture on an ongoing basis. They are denied legal visits, beaten by occupation prison guards, and held with no oversight in solitary confinement.

Free Thamer Saba’aneh and all Palestinian prisoners!

From Samidoun:

This morning, 20 October 2026, Zionist occupation forces invaded Qabatiyeh, Jenin, and abducted Thamer Saba’aneh, Palestinian writer, educator and liberated prisoner, who has published multiple books and hundreds of articles about the experiences of Palestinian prisoners inside the occupation prisons. Over multiple arrests, he has spent over a decade inside Zionist jails; he has also been imprisoned on multiple occasions by the Palestinian Authority under “security coordination” with the occupation, most recently between January and March of 2026. He was last released from administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial, in 2024. Meanwhile, his son Watan has also been repeatedly arrested by occupation forces, was detained by the PA under “security coordination” for 50 days as he was graduating high school, and was just released one month ago — 15 September — from a year in Zionist administrative detention without charge or trial that had blocked him from beginning his next educational journey in college. 

Just days ago, on 16 October, he published an article at Quds News Network discussing the situation of liberated prisoners and the constant, systematic attacks they face, including field arrests, house raids, attacks on their family members, and re-arrest. As always, his writing and scholarship on Palestinian prisoners is informed by his own lengthy history of imprisonment and struggle.

An English translation of Thamer Saba’aneh’s article can be read in full here.

Liberated Prisoner Abdullah al-Zeitawi Assassinated by Zionist Occupation in Gaza

From Samidoun:

On Monday, 19 October, Zionist genocidal occupation forces continued the campaign of assassinations targeting liberated prisoners, especially those freed by the Resistance in prisoner exchanges. Abdullah Mohammed Mahmoud al-Zeitawi, liberated 15 years ago by the Resistance in the Wafa’ al-Ahrar exchange was assassinated today by a Zionist airstrike in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood north of Gaza City.

Al-Zeitawi is from the village of Jamma’in south of Nablus in the West Bank of occupied Palestine. He grew up during the great popular Intifada launched in 1987 and left school in 1991 to work as a driver. As the second, Al-Aqsa Intifada developed, he joined the struggle for the liberation of Palestine and the Izz el-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement. He worked together with a secret group that included his fellow strugglers, Mohammed Aziz and Ihsan al-Safadi.

“My love for freedom stems from being Palestinian. I love and cherish it. When I was fourteen, the First Intifada was raging, and I witnessed the destruction and killing perpetrated by the occupation against my land and my people, and my heart ached with pain,” he said in an interview with Quds Net upon his liberation. “With the start of the Second Intifada, stones were no longer enough because you wanted to defend your land, so the response became fire for fire, weapon for weapon. That’s when my love for Palestine began to grow even stronger.” 

He was arrested by the occupation on 23 August 2001 and sentenced to life imprisonment plus 15 years by a Zionist military court for his involvement in a resistance operation on 7 August 2001 that killed an occupation settler and retired military officer on the highway near the quarries outside Jamma’in. “When the prison doors closed, a person didn’t enter a prison; they entered a grave. It was over. The only thing you could see was a small glimpse on television—streets and people—but you couldn’t see or feel the hearts and feelings of the people affected by the prisoners,” he said.

Almost exactly 15 years later, occupation forces assassinated him as part of a policy of systematic targeting of liberated prisoners, intended to destroy Palestinian revolutionary leadership and continuity.

Palestinian Women Prisoners Under Attack

From Samidoun:

Bushra al-Tawil, 33, Palestinian journalist, has been held in isolation for approximately 50 consecutive days. She is jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention orders repeatedly renewed since February 2026 and was renewed for another four months just last week. Today, the Prisoners’ Media Office further documented that occupation forces have subjected women prisoners in Damon Prison to repeated violent invasions of their cells, using tear gas, stun grenades, physical assaults, forced removal of hijab, and solitary confinement as instruments of repression.

She was first arrested on 6 July 2011, when she was only 18 years old, and sentenced to 16 months in occupation prisons. After serving approximately five months, she was liberated on 18 December 2011 as part of the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange achieved by the Resistance, in which 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were freed in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Since that time, she has been repeatedly targeted by the occupation for arrest, particularly under administrative detention without charge or trial. On 2 July 2014, she was rearrested alongside other liberated prisoners from the Wafa al-Ahrar exchange. The occupation’s military courts reimposed the remainder of her previous sentence, forcing her to serve another ten and a half months in prison before her release on 17 May 2015. Dozens of prisoners released in the Wafa’ al-Ahrar exchange were subjected to this arbitrary reimposition of their sentences, with those with life sentences freed only in the Toufan al-Ahrar exchange of 2025.

Her journalism and work in support of Palestinian prisoners have been central to her persecution. Bushra has recounted that occupation intelligence officers explicitly objected to her reporting on prisoners and their families, telling her that her work drew attention to the prisoners’ cause. In 2019, an occupation officer reportedly told her father that the reason for her arrest was her “loud voice.” 

Bushra was finally released on 5 October 2021, following her father’s hunger strike. She later described their reunion inside the prison as a moment that carried the taste of victory, emphasizing the role of her father’s struggle in securing her liberation.

Yet her freedom was once again short-lived. She was rearrested in March 2022 and subjected to another 6 months in administrative detention. She was subsequently imprisoned again amid the occupation’s mass arrest campaigns following Al-Aqsa Flood in early 2024.

In January 2025, Bushra was once again liberated in the first stage of the Toufan al-Ahrar prisoner exchange between the Palestinian resistance and the occupation, alongside other Palestinian women prisoners. However, just over one year later, on 5 February 2026, occupation forces rearrested her at a military checkpoint near Ramallah. She was transferred to the Moskobiya interrogation center and subsequently to Damon Prison, where she was once again placed under administrative detention without charge or trial.

She has been transferred repeatedly between isolation facilities. Initially isolated in Damon Prison, she was subsequently transferred to isolation cells in Neve Tirza before being moved to the Ohalei Oz isolation cells in occupied Bir al-Saba, where she remains imprisoned.

She has been subjected to repeated assaults inside her isolation cell, including beatings, the spraying of gas, constant verbal abuse and round-the-clock camera surveillance. During the transfer, two jailers dragged her to the ground inside a room without cameras and beat her in the head with metal shackles, causing swelling on the right side of her head. She was left shackled for two hours after the assault, held in a very hot cell resembling a sauna, amid a deterioration in her psychological state.

Bushra is suffering from scabies and constant pain in her shoulder after being beaten during the repressive attack on the women in Damon prison on 17 August. She was also subjected to verbal abuse by notorious racist Zionist Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, while he was surrounded by heavily armed special occupation forces.

The repeated transfers have also obstructed access to legal representation. On 4 October, Bushra was made to sign documents indicating that she would be returned to Damon Prison, only to discover that she was instead being transferred to another isolation facility.

Her health has deteriorated severely. She suffers from dryness of the eyes, skin and hands, as well as numbness in her hands resulting from prolonged shackling. Before being placed in isolation, she had contracted scabies, a disease that has been deliberately allowed and encouraged to spread among Palestinian prisoners amid overcrowding, deprivation of hygiene supplies and systematic medical neglect.

Bushra has reported receiving insufficient food and being forced to drink discolored, yellowish tap water. She has been denied adequate clothing and the ability to wash her clothes. Her mattress and blanket are filthy and inadequate, leaving her feeling as though she is sleeping directly on the floor.

Despite her prolonged isolation and deteriorating health, the occupation renewed Bushra’s administrative detention for another four months in October, continuing her imprisonment without charge or trial.

Dr. Marwan al-Hams Beaten and Tortured in Zionist Prison in the Presence of Ben-Gvir

From Samidoun:

Palestinian physician Dr. Marwan al-Hams, director of field hospitals in Gaza and spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Health, was subjected to a brutal assault by occupation prison guards in the presence of Zionist “Minister of Public Security” Itamar Ben-Gvir on 7 October 2026.

On 13 October, Asra Media Office revealed that the attack had taken place inside Ganot Prison (formerly Nafha and Ramon prisons), where Dr. al-Hams is imprisoned alongside other Palestinians abducted from the Gaza Strip. Ben-Gvir entered Cell 5 of Section 2, singled out Dr. al-Hams by name and deliberately provoked him. Prison guards then restrained the Palestinian doctor, separated him from his fellow prisoners and violently beat him.

Despite the assault, Dr. al-Hams affirmed that he had carried out his professional and humanitarian duty as a physician treating the wounded and sick. Occupation soldiers reportedly accused him of killing an Israeli soldier who was subsequently returned alive in a prisoner exchange.

Dr. al-Hams reportedly suffered bone fractures and severe back pain as a result of the assault. His health has deteriorated significantly in detention, with his weight falling to approximately 65 kilograms. He urgently requires independent medical examination and treatment, which has been denied to him, part of the systematic policy of medical neglect and mistreatment targeting Palestinian prisoners in occupation jails.

The assault on Dr. al-Hams was part of a broader campaign of violent repression unleashed against Palestinian prisoners on 7 October 2026 as a form of “revenge” against the Palestinian prisoners, whose cause is at the heart of Al-Aqsa Flood. 

Mazen Al-Rantisi “Doctor of the Poor” Is Free!

From Free Palestinian Prisoners:

On October 25th, 2026, “Doctor of the Poor” Dr. Mazen Al-Rantisi was finally released from israeli prisons after more than 4 months of detention and torture. After his release, Dr Rantisi spoke on the deteriorating conditions of Palestinian prisoners and urges for “international bodies” to intervene.

Dr. Rantisi is best known as “Doctor of the Poor” due to his willingness to waive fees, supply medicine, and treat low-income Palestinians in Ramallah. After his release, marks of physical assault and beatings are visible on his body.

Over 90 healthcare professionals remain in israeli prisons, alongside the more than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners. Freedom for all Palestinian Prisoners! 

International Political Prisoners / POWs

Chile

Mauricio Hernández Norambuena, a communist militant and former leader of the Frente Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez (FPMR), an armed organization opposed to Pinochet’s dictatorship, is currently serving two 15 year sentences in Chile for his participation in the murder of Jaime Guzmán and the kidnapping of Cristián Edwards. He had also been convicted in Brazil for the kidnapping of businessman Washington Olivetto.

His family categorically denies the reports published by El Mercurio linking him to the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), one of Brazil’s leading transnational criminal organizations, which originated in the prisons of São Paulo and is notably involved in drug trafficking. They assert that there is no evidence establishing that Mauricio Hernández Norambuena belonged to or led this organization and denounce this as yet another attempt to criminalize his life story. The family fears that these accusations will be used to justify a tightening of his detention conditions, even though he has already endured long periods of solitary confinement in Brazil and the Inter-American courts have recognized the violations of his rights resulting from those conditions.

Germany

Subversive prisoner Andreas Krebs, who has been incarcerated for more than twenty years in various German prisons, reportedly suffered another stroke recently while incarcerated at Tegel Prison in Berlin. His supporters condemn his isolation and prison conditions, arguing that his confinement and separation from his loved ones are exacerbating his situation. Despite his health condition, Krebs continues his protest activities, notably through hunger strikes and public statements made from prison.

India

Panjabi Sikh Comrade Granted Bail after 9 Years of Detention by the Inian Apartheid Government

Jugtar Singh Johal, known by many as “Juggy”, was recently granted bail after serving 9 years behind bars in so-called “india”. Juggy is a diasporic Sikh activist based in Scotland who was unjustly detained by the indian government in November of 2017, just weeks after he had traveled to the country for his wedding held in eastern Panjab. The indian government initially arrested Juggy after alleging that the then 28 year old had ties to the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), a militant separatist organization that seeks to create a Sikh homeland in the modern day divided Panjab region, which is administered by muslim majority pakistan in the west and hindu majority india in the east. These allegations specifically stemmed from blog posts penned by Juggy that documented hindu nationalist violence and called for justice for Panjabi Sikhs, and it follows a long standing history of violent surveillance and state repression at the hands of the hindu fascist government against religious minorities in the country. Sikhs have been targets of genocide and enforced disappearances by the hindu nationalist government that seeks to squash their resistance against the occupation and exploitation of their native lands. 

After over 5 years of brutal torture and detention by the indian government and failed attempts by the UK government to return Juggy back to Scotland, a UN panel recognized his detention as arbitrary and illegal in 2022. Then in 2025, after 8 years of languishing in an indian prison without trial or due process, Juggy was finally acquitted of all charges related to his alleged financing of the KLF, a group designated as a terrorist organization by the indian government. After being denied bail multiple times throughout his 9 year detention, Juggy was finally granted bail in September of 2026 by the Delhi High Court. Although now free from indian prison after years of unjust detention, Juggy is still facing other several charges by the fascist hindutva (hindu nationalist) government of india and has a long way to go before he is free from state repression. Juggy risks potentially being put to death by the Indian government if found guilty of any of these charges. 

Iran

Ali Hemmati and Majid Nik-Andish were found guilty of participating in the January riots in the city of Machhad (North-East Iran). They were hanged early Wednesday morning, September 30, after the Supreme Court upheld their sentences. In late December, a protest movement that initially began as a response to the high cost of living quickly turned into widespread anti-government demonstrations, which peaked on January 8 and 9. The government has acknowledged more than 3,000 deaths, while the opposition puts the death toll at over 30,000.

On October 5, Iranian authorities executed Alireza Sepahi and Alireza Raisi in Isfahan; they had been arrested following the January 8, 2026, protests in Alikhani Square. They were part of a group of protesters accused by the authorities of being responsible for the deaths of four members of the security forces. In this case, at least twelve people were sentenced to death, while their supporters denounce rushed proceedings, confessions extracted under torture, and the absence of due process.

These executions are part of a crackdown targeting participants in the January protests: seven people convicted in the Alikhani Square case have now been executed. In Sepahi’s case, his request for a retrial had initially been accepted by the Supreme Court before being rejected without a hearing by a court in Isfahan. His mother and fiancée, who were also prosecuted in this case, are currently serving five-year prison sentences.

Italy

The Italian judicial system failed in its attempt to convict six anarchist activists on trial in Bologna for a series of direct actions carried out in solidarity with political prisoner Alfredo Cospito, who is being held under the 41-bis isolation regime. Judge Nicolina Polifroni published the grounds for their full acquittal, concluding that “it is not possible to judge intentions or mere ideological complicity” to make up for the lack of material evidence presented by the prosecution.

The prosecution had sought prison sentences, criminalizing a series of symbolic actions and acts of sabotage committed in 2022 as part of the national mobilization accompanying Cospito’s hunger strike: the arson of a cell tower in Monte Capra, the temporary occupation of a crane in Piazza della Mercanzia, and the disruption of a Mass using a megaphone at the Church of the Sacred Heart.

The court dismissed all charges, concluding either that there was a complete lack of evidence of involvement in the acts of sabotage and escalation, or that the action in the church did not constitute a criminal offense. This decision highlights the police authorities’ systematic attempt to criminalize all networks supporting political prisoners based on mere ideological suspicions.

Philippines

In the Philippines, the Quezon City courts pronounced the acquittal of union activist Juan Alexander “Bob” Reyes of fraudulent charges of possessing illegal explosives. Arrested on June 2, 2018, by police and subjected to a public harassment campaign because of his commitments in support of workers rights, he has spent more than 8 years behind bars as part of a completely fabricated case. 

Given that he had already been acquitted in the past in thirteen other fabricated cases, many voices have spoken out to demand that those responsible for this police and judicial conspiracy be held accountable, while calling for the immediate release of all political prisoners detained in the country.

Turkey

Abdülhalik Orak, imprisoned for five years and currently imprisoned in Kırıkkale Type F prison, is seriously ill: he is suffering from right-sided hemiplegia, three episodes of gastric hemorrhage, diabetes, hypertension, and cognitive impairments associated with Alzheimer’s disease. His family is calling for his release so that he can receive care at home, and they have also denounced difficulties and delays in his transfers to the hospital, which they claim have contributed to the deterioration of his condition. Sentenced to life in prison for “membership in a criminal organization” and “undermining the unity of the state and territorial integrity,” Orak was first arrested in 1993 and then again in 2006. Held far from his family in Kırıkkale Prison, he has received virtually no visitors for the past six years. His wife is calling for his transfer to a prison closer to home and for his release on medical grounds.

On October 10, 2026, the Human Rights Association (İHD) and the Initiative for the Freedom of Sick Prisoners took to the streets in Istanbul (750th week of protests) and Ankara (631st week) to denounce the slow killing of seriously ill political prisoners in Turkish prisons. Activists demanded the immediate release of Abdulhalik Orak (52, suffering from cerebral atrophy and paralysis) and Botan Karsu (diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma), both of whom are being deliberately denied access to urgent medical care and subjected to enhanced solitary confinement. This protest also highlighted the complicity of the Institute of Forensic Medicine (ATK), the regime’s enforcement arm, which produces numerous false medical reports by refuting hospital diagnoses in order to keep dying prisoners behind bars. 

Faced with his son’s rapidly deteriorating health, the father of Kurdish activist and journalist Ahmet Polad has issued an urgent public appeal to denounce the prison administration’s inaction. He warns that his son, who suffers from serious medical conditions that can no longer be treated in a standard prison cell, must be immediately transferred to an appropriate hospital, or he risks irreversible complications or death. This appeal highlights the systematic obstruction orchestrated by prison authorities, who refuse to refer sick inmates to outside hospitals. This deliberate medical negligence constitutes a weapon of slow annihilation against political opponents, used by the Turkish state apparatus to punish dissent and crush resistance within the prisons themselves.

From Kandıra Prison, where she is incarcerated, political prisoner Figen Yüksekdağ, former co-chair of the HDP, sent a message of solidarity to LGBTQIA+ prisoners, praising their resistance in the face of the Turkish state’s repressive measures.

In her statement, she highlights the convergence of struggles for emancipation and asserts that prison cannot extinguish the quest for freedom. She calls for strengthening the unity of social movements against the Turkish regime’s authoritarian oppression, concluding: “And I sincerely believe that those who refuse to let human dignity be trampled upon—those who fight for a life of equality, brotherhood, peace, and freedom—will emerge from this darkness to find the light again. Until we are free once more; always with hope and resistance.”

In Turkey, the prison administration at the Bakırköy Women’s Prison in Istanbul has imposed enhanced solitary confinement sanctions by banning political prisoners incarcerated in Block B-6 from visiting their families for one month. These repressive measures are intended to punish the protest movement led by the inmates to denounce the forced and arbitrary transfers to the Gebze facility that took place earlier this year.

This wave of sanctions, which notably affects committed activists and journalists such as Nadiye Gürbüz and leaders of the Socialist Women’s Assemblies (SKM), illustrates the Turkish government’s systematic policy of relentless persecution and silencing directed against the political opposition and imprisoned revolutionary voices.

International Repression

Argentina

On September 30, 2026, the Federal Police raided the homes in Rosario of Mariano Soria, a leader of Izquierda Socialista, and another activist from the same organization who is a member of the Frente de Izquierda. Computer equipment, phones, and documents were seized as part of an investigation aimed, in particular, at finding evidence that could be used to accuse them of “anti-Semitic” behavior in connection with their activities in support of Palestine. These raids constitute a measure of intimidation and persecution targeting activists because of their commitment to the Palestinian cause.

The case has sparked numerous expressions of solidarity. The two activists and their supporters deny the charges and are calling for continued mobilization against the raids and prosecutions, asserting that these measures are intended to hinder their commitment to the Palestinian cause.

Basque Country

On October 20, the investigating judge of the Audiencia Nacional ordered the pretrial detention on terrorism charges of Aratz Bilbao, head of the pro-independence organization Jardun Koordinadora, and its spokesperson, Malen Grunig. The two activists had gone to the Irún police station on October 17, following a routine nighttime check conducted by the Ertzaintza on September 26 in Escoriaza. During that search of their vehicle, the police had identified an Irish activist from the dissident republican group Saoradh traveling with them.

These charges are in fact based on a blatant political and police setup, orchestrated around allegations devoid of any factual basis. In particular, the proceedings exploit a video tutorial showing how to make paint-spray canisters to support the absurd charges of manufacturing explosives and belonging to a terrorist organization. Conducted under the influence of a media smear campaign and in clear violation of the rights of the defense, this legal offensive aims to use the specter of terrorism to criminalize all political activism in the Basque Country.

Costa Rica

Conservative President Laura Fernández inaugurated the High-Security Center Against Organized Crime (CACCO), a new prison complex located within the La Reforma compound in San Rafael de Alajuela, near the capital, San José. Directly modeled after the Terrorism Detention Center (CECOT) established in El Salvador by Nayib Bukele, this prison facility is designed to eventually house 5,100 prison under a strict isolation regime that includes a single hour of daily outdoor time and heightened security measures.

France

In Paris, the Court of Appeals ordered the immediate release of Ritchy Thibault on Friday, October 30, a prominent figure in social protests and the fight against anti-Roma discrimination, who had been incarcerated since his arrest during a roadblock on October 1. Held in pretrial detention pending his trial scheduled for December 9, the 22-year-old activist had also been subjected to disciplinary measures and preventive placement in solitary confinement at Fleury-Mérogis Prison for continuing his activism from his cell. Upon his release from prison, the young man attended the support rally that had originally been organized to celebrate his release and delivered a speech calling for the continuation and intensification of the movement initiated by high school students.

On September 29, the Court of Cassation upheld the decision to keep Ali—a Palestinian refugee and father—in detention, following the ruling by the Paris Court of Appeals. This decision is based on allegations made by Israeli authorities. Furthermore, this deprivation of liberty of a man presumed innocent was accompanied by the revocation of his refugee status following his incarceration.

French Polynesia

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced the construction of a new prison in Faa’a, as the Nuutania prison has reached 280% capacity. He condemned the detention conditions, which he described as “unacceptable,” particularly the severely dilapidated buildings and the fact that minors are being held with adults. A three-month assessment mission will identify a suitable site, with the goal of beginning construction by 2028. Pending the completion of this new prison, a short-term detention unit—intended primarily for minors—is to be built within about a year and a half. The government also plans to add ten prison guard positions in Faa’a by early 2028. This announcement reflects an increasingly harsh criminal justice policy that responds to prison overcrowding with… more prisons.

Iran

In Iran, women’s rights activist and labor movement leader Nahid Khodajoo is being held in the medical wing of Kachouei Prison in Fardis, after having been subjected to enforced disappearance for nearly two weeks. A historic figure in the labor movement within the Free Trade Union of Iranian Workers and a former political prisoner who endured persecution in the 1980s, her arbitrary arrest comes just a few weeks after her previous release.

Switzerland

On September 18 and 30, 2026, both chambers of the Swiss Parliament passed a motion to extend the period of police custody from 24 to 48 hours before a suspect is handed over to the public prosecutor’s office. Presented as a measure against violent extremism following clashes that occurred during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Bern in 2025, this decision underscores a tightening of security measures. The Federal Council must now specify the details of how the measure will be implemented, taking into account the requirements of the European Court of Human Rights.

In Switzerland, the judicial system is stepping up its efforts to criminalize liberation movements and international solidarity. In this context, Secours Rouge International (SRI) has issued a statement denouncing the political and judicial offensive launched by the Zurich courts against SRI co-secretary and revolutionary activist Andi, who is being prosecuted for her involvement in anti-fascist, anti-imperialist, and environmentalist struggles. The prosecution is seeking a 21-month prison sentence without probation for our comrade.

A Zurich court sentenced activist Andi, co-secretary of Secours Rouge International, to one year in prison without parole for “rioting” and “violence and threats against the authorities.” The court charged the activist with her involvement in the anti-fascist movement during the “Züri Nazifrei” demonstration in 2022, as well as her participation in a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people in the fall of 2024.

Refusing to appear in court to demonstrate her rejection of the judicial system, the activist gathered with about a hundred supporters outside the courthouse at the time of the hearing. This conviction illustrates the intensification of state prosecutions and criminalization targeting support networks and revolutionary organizations.

In its statement, the SRI emphasizes that “just as [it] is not merely a solidarity organization, the mobilization for Andi’s trial is not merely a demonstration of solidarity, but a moment in the revolutionary process.” This is why this mobilization connects the themes at the heart of the indictment: anti-fascism, war, climate change, and international solidarity. It is also for this reason that the mobilization is conceived as a continuation of these struggles. ”

While a solidarity meeting and rally are being organized in Zurich, solidarity actions are multiplying in France, Belgium, and Italy to demand the acquittal of our comrade on trial and to defend the revolutionary process.

Phone Zaps 

Shaka Shakur

A phone zap at Lunenberg after Shaka Shakur was put in solitary confinement following a bogus institutional charge of “refusing to obey a direct order”. Shaka was on hunger strike but has since come off it due to the potential of damage to his kidneys.

JUSTICE FOR SHAKA SHAKUR! PHONE ZAP FOR SHAKA!

On Oct. 27, Shaka was sent to isolated confinement in retaliation for exercising his rights and following VADOC protocols.

This was based on a false charge of “Refusing to Obey a Direct Order.” Neither the report nor the cameras show Shaka receiving a direct order. Instead, they indicate Shaka was merely “instructed” to take an action.

This is clearly a political attack meant to disrupt and distract Shaka from organizing but we won’t let that happen!

• Remove Shaka from Isolation & Segregation

• Return His Rollator & Other Medical Supplies/Medicines

• Stop Retaliation & Protect Shaka’s Civil Liberties

• Investigate Complaints Filed Against/ Conduct by Ronnie/Ricky Keiter, Sgt. Taylor, C.O. York, & Nurse Shepard for Harassment, PREA Violations, & More.

WHO TO CONTACT:

• Andrea Sapone (Ombudsman) 833-351-6640  ombudsman@osig.virginia.gov

• Mack Bailey (Lunenburg Warden) 434-696-2045 mack.bailey@vadoc.virginia.gov

• Joseph Walters (VADOC Director) 804-674-3000  joseph.walters@vadoc.virginia.gov

SCRIPT: “Hello, my name is __ and I’m calling to express my concern about the false charges against, ongoing harassment, and recent isolation of Shaka Shakur #1996207 at Lunenburg Correctional Center. Over the last several months, Shaka has filed numerous complaints about sexual harassment, the withholding of legal materials, and other matters by prison guards and staff.”

Free Loretta Pierre!

After Loretta Pierra was denied parole for the 15th time, Study & Struggle have organizing a phone and email zap to get her back on the parole docket before 2029 – the first week of each month. Check out the google docs toolkit as well as her fundraiser.

⚡ Phone and Email Zap for Loretta Pierre! ⚡
First Week of the Month, Wed-Fri
Loretta Pierre is a criminalized survivor and politicized prisoner who was denied parole for the 15th time in January 2026—more than any woman in Mississippi history! She was given a 3-year set-off (meaning she would not be eligible for parole again until 2029). 

WE ARE ASKING THAT SHE BE RECONSIDERED EARLY!
Below are 4 easy actions you and others can take to support Loretta 🖤
Please email US your experiences at FreeTheMS5@proton.me and fill out this form about your experiences!
4 actions to support Loretta 
💻 Send an email to the parole board and MDOC asking for early reconsideration in January 2027.
🗣️ Call the parole board and MDOC asking for early reconsideration in January 2027.
🫂 Donate and boost our fundraiser to raise money for Loretta’s commissary and travel/lodging so her loved ones can visit her.  
💌 Write Loretta a letter of love and support. Tips for writing a letter.
Loretta Pierre, #71843
DCF
3800 Co Rd 540
Greenwood, MS 38930

Logan Illinois

A phone zap organized by No New Prisons IL at Logan Correctional as cold temperatures arrive with no working heat in half the prison’s crumbling infrastructure as the prison has been ordered closed in 2024.

URGENT PHONE + EMAIL ZAP TO TURN THE HEAT ON FULLY IN LOGAN PRISON!

Half the units at Logan still don’t have heat while the main office spaces heat is working. People are having to wear many layers to bed as temps start to drop.

Please call 217-735-5581 or email DOC.Constituent.Services@illinois.gov and demand that the heat in the whole facility be turned on immediately.

Script: “Good afternoon, I am reaching out because my loved one at Logan is currently sleeping in her winter coat due to heat not being turned on. One counselor stated that heat does not get turned on until there are enough consecutive days of being cold. Another stated that heat is down in the South wing. Could you please let me know what the next steps are for resolving this issue and ensuring the heat is functioning? I greatly appreciate your time and assistance with this matter. Thank you”

Please e-mail nonewprisons.il@protonmail.com with what you hear back.

Media

Kevin Rashid Johnson has published a new book with Kersplebedeb: “The Art of People’s War: Selected Revolutionary Art and Poetry“

Art as resistance. Poetry as political education. A vision of liberation forged behind prison walls.

The Art of People’s War brings together selected revolutionary art and poetry by Kevin “Rashid” Johnson, author of Defying the Tomb and Panther Vision. Featuring more than 50 illustrations, many reproduced in colour, the collection draws on Rashid’s experiences of imprisonment and his commitment to revolutionary struggle to confront racism, capitalism, police violence, solitary confinement, patriarchy, and U.S. imperialism.

Organized thematically, the collection moves from Black liberation and the legacy of the Black Panther Party to women’s struggles, Palestinian resistance, love, and the possibilities carried by a new generation. Tributes to figures including Assata Shakur, Fred Hampton, and Huey P. Newton appear alongside pointed critiques of popular culture and the institutions that sustain oppression. Throughout, Rashid connects political analysis with the intimate costs of domination—and the solidarity needed to overcome it.

Featuring a preface by Jared Ball and an introduction by Joy James, The Art of People’s War presents art as an active part of collective struggle: a means of preserving memory, challenging power, and imagining a world beyond exploitation.

“Life Letter” by Michael Bell and Rachel McMillan won “Best Short Documentary” and played at the 3rd annual San Quintin Movie Festival attended by hundreds of people imprisoned at San Quintin last month.

The Final Straw Podcast posted new episodes including one with Khalif Miller’s support committee and one with Victoria Law on her book “Corridors of Contagion: How the Pandemic Exposed the Cruelties of Incarceration”.

Events

Prison Banned Books Week

Prison Banned Books Week was held October 19-25 bring attention to prison censorship through virtual panels and online fundraisers for Books to Prisoner groups. 

• A virtual panel on “Censorship and Resistance: A Prison Banned Book Week Conversation” with Stevie Wilson, Corene Kendrick, Moira Marquis, and Dana Blanchard 
• A FOIA Workshop on prison censorship with the Data Liberation Project, Muckrock, Prison Policy Initiative, the Marshall Project, and Moira Marquis
• “Mail Scanning Isolated Me From My Family” article by Robert Haas
• “Trying to Read Behind Bars” article by Moira Marquis 
• The Landscape of Prison Censorship in an Era of Increased Book Bans five year report by Book Riot
• MIMS posted prison censorship campaign updates including a Prison Banned Book Week issue of Under Lock and Key #96, launched an extensive dashboard with data on prison censorship policies, and held two events in Oakland

Kick Down the Walls

Triangle ABC has shared the full schedule of events for Kick Down the Walls, November 20-22 in Durham, North Carolina. Stay tuned for full descriptions of workshops and events.

FRIDAY 11/20:

• 5:00-6:30pm: Hold the Line: Arm the Spirit, a discussion and educational @ the Burrow
• 7:00pm: Art Build (banner painting for fight night) @ The Burrow
• 7:00pm: Open Mat and Warm up Space @ Revenant Combat Club *weekend fighters and coaches only*

SATURDAY 11/21:

• 10:00am-12:00pm: Coffee Meet and Greet and Roundtable @ The Burrow
• 1:00-3:00pm: Anarchy, Informality, and the Black Radical Tradition @ Shrine of the Black Star
• 5:00pm (doors) / 6:00pm (event): Kick Down the Walls Fight Night @ The Fruit
• 10:00pm-1:00am: Shake Down the Walls (after party) @ The Fruit

SUNDAY 11/22:

• 11:00am-1:00pm: Open Mat and Presentation on Ecological Methods and Radical Pedagogy, @ Revenant Combat Club
• 1:30pm: Cook-out @ The Burrow
• 7:30pm: Film Screening of Sirat (2025) @ Duke Park hosted by Triangle Guerrilla Cinema

This Month in History

October 1, 1968 — the Tlatelolco massacre took place in Mexico City when police murdered hundreds of students demonstrating peacefully, just prior to the start of the Olympic Games in the city.

October 3, 1952 — the so-called “Mau Mau” campaign against British colonialism in Kenya escalated when they killed the first white European victim of the uprising. The British media used the killings of whites to justify their repression of Kenyan poor people, of whom they killed tens of thousands and threw hundreds of thousands into concentration camps.

October 4, 1893 — Jewish anarchist immigrant Emma Goldman began her trial in New York City. The charges stemmed from a speech Goldman delivered on August 21. During a protest of up to 4,000 unemployed workers in Union Square, Goldman called on the unemployed to: “demonstrate before the palaces of the rich, demand work. If they do not give you work, demand bread. If they deny you both, take bread.” Found guilty of incitement to riot, she was sent back to the Tombs (Manhattan’s city prison) until October, when she was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment in Blackwell’s Island Penitentiary. 

October 5, 1934 — miners in the Asturias region of Spain launched an uprising, seizing military barracks and occupying the provincial capital. In the anarchist-dominated areas, worker and peasant assemblies took over, whereas in the areas under socialist control were run largely by union bureaucrats. The rising was savagely crushed by the army under Francisco Franco’s command in the following weeks, with 3,000 miners killed and 35,000 taken prisoner, but it was not in vain as less than two years later workers across the country launched a full-scale social revolution.

October 6, 1971 — prisoners at the New Mexico state penitentiary began a work and hunger strike in protest at increased restrictions in the prison. The next day a riot began and was quickly repressed.

October 7, 2023 — after decades of ethnic cleansing, illegal occupation, and apartheid, armed Palestinians, led by Hamas, broke out of Gaza and attacked Israel. Since 2007, Gaza had been subject to a blockade which destroyed its economy and left a million residents without enough food, while over 5,000 were killed in Israeli attacks. Over 1,500 Palestinians were also killed in the West Bank and Israel, and thousands of terrorist attacks by Israeli settlers took place. During the October 7 assault, the Israeli army gave the Hannibal directive, instructing troops to kill Israelis in order to stop them being taken hostage. By the time the attack was over, at least 314 Israeli soldiers and 809 civilians were dead, with 252 taken hostage, with the intention of exchanging them for some of the 2,500 Palestinian hostages held without charge in Israel. Israel immediately attacked Gaza, with officials indicating clear genocidal intent. The defence minister called Palestinians “human animals” and said that energy, food and water would be cut off from civilians. The deputy Knesset speaker said Israel should be “erasing the Gaza Strip from the face of the earth”, and the heritage minister said there were “no uninvolved civilians” so they should drop a nuclear bomb. Within just two years, over 236,000 Gazans have been killed or wounded, with 48% of those killed being children; 40% under 10 years old. The dead include at least 259 journalists, 1,722 health workers and 543 aid workers. With food cut off, 1/3 of young children are malnourished, while hundreds of people have died of malnutrition. 90% of the population has been displaced, 92% of residential buildings destroyed, along with every university, and 97% of schools and 94% of hospitals have been damaged or destroyed.

October 8, 1969 — the Weathermen group-inspired Days Of Rage against the Vietnam War began in Chicago with the motto “Bring the war home”. Over 300 people assembled in Chicago’s Lincoln Park and attacked 1,000 police, and local businesses. Six unarmed protesters were shot and over 60 arrested. 

October 9, 1967 — Argentinian doctor and revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, who had been wounded and captured, was summarily executed in Bolivia by the country’s special forces. He had travelled to the country with a small band of guerrillas in an unsuccessful attempt to export the revolution which he had helped lead in Cuba. His killing was ordered by the Bolivian president who directed his troops, who had been trained by the CIA, to shoot him repeatedly in the body rather than in the head, so that they could claim he was killed in a firefight.

October 10, 1800 — slave blacksmith and abolitionist Gabriel Prosser was executed in Virginia alongside his two brothers and 23 followers. They had planned a slave revolt in Richmond, but were betrayed and captured.

October 11, 1972 — approximately fifty people who were imprisoned in the Washington DC jail seized control of a cellblock and held twelve officials hostage. Protesters, who were mostly or all Black, told Washington Post journalist William Claiborne: “We want you to understand one thing very clearly. This is not a riot, it’s a revolution.” Conditions in the prison were notoriously bad, but the prisoners demanded their freedom rather than improvements. The Evening Star reported that one man said “We’re treated like animals, and we want out.” Following negotiations, the prisoners agreed to release their hostages in exchange for an amnesty for the protest, and the opportunity to make complaints about prison conditions to a federal judge. A key complaint was the jailing of children alongside adults, and the judge ordered children to be kept separate, as well as ordering that defence lawyers be made available to those who wanted them. Despite the protesters receiving a signed promise of no reprisals from the corrections director, the director was replaced and the attorney general later charged 14 of them, most of whom were convicted and given additional prison time of 1-10 years each.

October 13, 1970 — famous Black activist Angela Davis was arrested by the FBI in New York City at the age of 26. She had fled California after a warrant for her arrest was issued in August in connection with an attempted jailbreak. Notorious FBI director J. Edgar Hoover had listed Davis on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List, and with her arrest President Richard Nixon congratulated the FBI on its “capture of the dangerous terrorist.” In a sensational trial, Davis was subsequently acquitted of all charges. 

October 14, 1943 — 400 prisoners at the Sobibór death camp staged a mass breakout. They killed several guards quietly, planning to kill them all and open the gates, however one dead guard was discovered and they had to dash for freedom through a minefield under machine-gun fire. 150 ended up getting away, and many joined partisan units or the Red Army. The Jewish Red Army officer, Alexander Pechersky, who organised the breakout, later recalled to Thomas ‘Toivi’ Blatt, another escapee, that he felt they had no choice but to revolt: “Fighting back give us a chance, a very distant chance but still some hope.”

October 15, 1966 — in Oakland, California, Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton met and set up the Black Panther Party for Self Defence. The Party would exist, despite heavy repression, until 1982 and ran a variety of programmes from free breakfasts for school children and community health clinics to armed citizen patrols and monitoring of the police. The group advocated for revolutionary socialism, and for the liberation of Black and all other oppressed peoples. It was eventually broken by violent state repression, including being targeted by the FBI’s COINTELPRO operation, with many of its members killed or imprisoned

October 16, 1918 — the Immigration Act of 1918 (aka: Alien Anarchists Exclusion Act of 1918) was signed into US law by President Woodrow Wilson. It expanded upon the Anarchist Exclusion Act of 1903 to further target anarchists, antiwar protesters, and members of radical labour unions such as the Industrial Workers of the World. By 1925, 991 people had been deported under the act, including the likes of Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman.

October 17, 1949 — anti-fascist resistance fighter Josep Sabaté i Llopart was killed by police in Barcelona. Known as Pep, he had first fought in the civil war against the right-wing forces of Francisco Franco as part of the Young Eagles column. After the war Pep was arrested, and released on bail in 1948, after which he travelled to France to join his brother, Francesco, in the underground resistance. He then took part in numerous actions until one day he was betrayed. On October 17 two police officers intercepted him at a rendezvous on Carrer de Trafalgar. Pep shot and killed one of them, but the other shot and wounded him. He still attempted to escape but only made it as far as the nearby Carrer Sant Pere Més Baix. He then died en route to a nearby hospital.

October 18, 2019 — a series of large-scale protests known as Estallido Social (social uprising) began in Chile, one of the biggest uprisings in the country’s history that lasted until March 2020. While citizen demands focused on social inequality and the ravages of decades of neoliberal policies, the unrest began in the wake of a fare hike on the Santiago Metro on 6 October, after which hundreds of high school students jumped the turnstiles at various stations, calling for fare evasion. After days of clashes between students and police, on 18 October, the right-wing government of Sebastián Piñera announced charges under the state security law, which carries harsh sentences. In response, thousands of people took to the streets, also demanding various improvements to living conditions and an end to abuses by the political and business class. Barricades were built, and acts of arson and looting took place. The next day, the protests spread to all regions of Chile. State repression was extremely violent and included torture, sexual violence, mutilations and extrajudicial executions, as reports on human rights violations issued by various international organisations found. The actions of the police resulted in 34 deaths, more than 8,000 injuries and more than 400 cases of eye mutilation, including Gustavo Gatica and passer-by Fabiola Campillai, who both lost their eyes after direct attacks to the face. To date, only 0.1% of these complaints have resulted in convictions. After months of revolt, the demonstrations subsided following an agreement by politicians to organise a referendum on a new constitution, and the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, a plebiscite determined that the vast majority of the country wanted the abolition of the constitution from the dictatorship era. At the time of writing, a new constitution has still to be implemented.

October 19, 1989 — after 15 years in prison, a UK judge quashed the convictions of the Guildford Four calling them unreliable and based on confessions extracted by police through violence and threats against family members. The four innocent Irish people had been framed for bombings of two pubs in Guildford which had been carried out by the pro-independence Irish Republican Army, which killed four soldiers and a construction worker. They served nearly 14 years in prison before they were released. No police were punished for the torture or lies.

October 21, 1935 — in the evening, the prison in Kingstown, St Vincent, was stormed by demonstrators protesting against the high cost of living, and they liberated 10 prisoners. 

October 23, 1903 — English anarcho-communist John Turner, after giving a lecture in New York City, was arrested under the 1903 Anarchist Exclusion Act. A copy of Johann Most’s “Free Society,” and his lecture tour schedule, which included a memorial to the Haymarket Martyrs, was enough for immigration officers to order his deportation. Thus, Turner became the first person ordered to be deported from the United States for violation of the 1903 Anarchist Exclusion Act. After some months in prison Turner made bail, did a few more lectures, and then returned to England just two weeks before the Supreme Court decided to uphold his deportation orders.

October 24, 2023 — a garment worker was killed fighting for a minimum wage demand in Bangladesh. The week prior, garment workers had started demonstrations demanding a minimum wage. It was the seventh consecutive day of demonstrations by Readymade Garment (RMG) workers in Bangladesh on 30 October 2023. The workers blocked different points on the Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Tangail Highways in Gazipur, demanding a minimum monthly salary of Tk 23,000 (around $190). Rasel Hawlader, age 26, who worked as an electrician at Design Express Limited, participated in this protest. Police tried to stop the demonstrations and remove the blockade. At one stage, police opened fire to disperse them, workers alleged. Rasel died after suffering shotgun of police.

October 25, 1882 — German anarchist Johann Most was released from Clerkenwell Prison in London after spending a year and a half there doing forced labour. He was arrested and sentenced for praising the assassination of Tsar Alexander II by Russian revolutionaries in his journal Freiheit (Freedom), which appeared with a red border that proclaimed: “Hail to the slayers of the tyrant!” 

October 27, 2005 — two Black youths in a Parisian suburb were killed by electrocution while fleeing from police. Generalised fear and hatred of police violence and harassment, as well as poverty and racism, boiled over, and weeks of rioting broke out across the country.

October 28, 1967 — Black Panther Huey P. Newton was stopped by policeman John Frey who, realising he had stopped a leading Panther, called for back up. After backup arrived, shots were fired leaving all three wounded, officer Frey fatally. Newton was later handcuffed to his hospital bed and beaten by police and eventually convicted of voluntary manslaughter, a charge later overturned in 1970 after a mass campaign in his support around the world. 

October 30, 1831, the previously-enslaved rebel leader Nat Turner was captured in Virginia. Two months prior, Turner and six other men enslaved by the Travis-Moore family in Southampton County began a rebellion, killing the family while they slept. They proceeded to go from house-to-house, killing enslavers, taking horses and recruiting more rebel fighters. Eventually white authorities sent in armed militia as well as state and federal troops and succeeded in suppressing the uprising, but Turner escaped and went into hiding. After his arrest, Turner was tried, convicted, hanged and skinned. 54 other Black people were also executed, and up to 200 others murdered by white mobs in revenge attacks. However, other white people in the state began to advocate abolishing slavery, or repatriating all enslaved and free Black people to Liberia. In 1832 public pressure forced an abolitionist bill to be considered by the Virginia state legislature but it failed to get enough votes to pass, and instead harsh repressive laws were passed against free and enslaved Black people to limit their rights to associate and learn to read to try to prevent future rebellions.

October 31, 1894 — the Trial of the Thirty, a show trial with the aim of repressing the French anarchist movement and restricting the freedom of the press, ended in Paris. Starting on August 6, it put on trial 30 French and foreign anarchists on a charge of “criminal association.” Nearly all of the defendants were acquitted by the jury.

Political Prisoner Birthdays

Print and share monthly political prisoner birthday letter writing flyers!

Elizabeth Soto

Birthday: November 8

Elizabeth Soto was sentenced to 50 years for her participation in the noise demonstration outside the ICE detention center in Alvarado TX alongside her other codefendants known as the Prairieland defendants. She recently spoke out about her case in a video statement.

Elizabeth is still facing state charges and is currently incarcerated at the Johnson County Jail. She can be written to at the mail scanning address below as well as the electronic messaging service viapath.com. She’s interested in geology, botany, prairie ecology, and native plants.

Johnson County Jail, TX
Elizabeth Soto 202502014
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Dmitry Rezanovich

Birthday: November 12, 1989

Dmitry is an anarchist who was detained crossing the Belarus border and sentenced to 19 years for terrorism, firearms, and explosive charges. More information from ABC Belarus.

Mailing address:

Rezanovich Dmitry Grigorievich
Prison №1, ul. Kirova, 1, Grodno,
Belarus, 230023

Belarusian prisons will usually only accept letters in Belarusian or Russian, so if you don’t speak one of those languages your best bet is to email your message to belarus_abc at riseup.net or use this online form and they should be able to translate your greetings and pass them on

Khalfani Malik Khaldun

Birthday: November 30, 1969

Khalfani Malik Khaldun is a New Afrikan politican prisoner who has been incarcerated in Indiana since 1987. Enduring decades in solitary confinement, he was recently transferred out of the Westville Control Unit and is now at the Newcastle Correctional Facility run by the GEO Group. As his birthday is coming up on November 30, let’s share some letters and raise some funds for the comrade at his new spot!

IDOC Watch is collecting funds for Khalfani – CashApp to $focusltd, PayPal to idocwatch@idocwatch.org, and Venmo $MidwestSolidarity. Please make sure to write “Khalfani” in the note. 

Khalfani can receive food purchased from outside supporters via www.icaregifts.com. Make sure to order for Leonard McQuay #874304 cell 04_109 at Newcastle Correctional Facility: chicken and burger combo meals are preferred.

Khalfani can receive letters and photos at the mail scanning service address below, and can receive electronic messages on Viapath 

Leonard McQuay #874304
Newcastle CF
PO Box 460
Phoenix, MD 21131

Books and zines can be mailed directly to the Newcastle prison:

Leonard Bernard McQuay #874304
New Castle Corr Facility
P.O.Box A
New Castle, Indiana 47368

Khalfani has numerous recordings on PrisonRadio.com and the following zines are available on South Chicago ABC zine library:

• Epidemic of Control Units – Khalfani Khaldun (8 pages)
• Handbook on Surviving Solitary Confinement: A Guide for the Targeted Prisoner- Khalfani Malik Khaldun (14 pages)
• IDOC Guilty as Charge Arrogance Exposed (30 pages)
• Message to Black Women & Your Daughters (14 pages)
• My Refusal to Remain Silent PR from SHU (2 pages)
• Survival Tips and Ideas for the Ex Prisoner (4 pages)
• The Middle Passage (2 pages)

Fred “Muhammad” Burton

Birthday: December 15, 1946

Frederick Burton is an innocent man who has diligently attempted to prove his innocence to the courts for 47 years. Prior to his inprisonment, Fred worked for a phone company, was a well respected member of his community and his wife was preparing to have twins. In 1970, Fred was accused and then convicted of participating in the planning of the murder of Philadelphia police officers. While the alleged plan was to blow up a police station, instead a police officer was shot and killed by alleged members of a radical group called “the Revolutionaries.”

Write to Muhammad:

Smart Communications/PA DOC
Fred Burton AF3896
SCI Chester
Post Office Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida 33733