Dear friends,
Below is yesterday's press release from SOA Watch. Fr. Louie Vitale,
Nancy Gwin and Ken Hayes were sentenced to 6 months, continuing the
prison witness of more than 200 activists over the past 20 years to
close the
Louie began his sentence right away, and was taken to the Muscogee
support:
Louis Vitale
Muscogee
31901
It's possible he might be transferred anytime to another county jail
or a federal facility. If your letter to him is returned, you can
send it c/o The Nuclear Resister,
we will forward it to him.
Peace,
Felice and Jack
For Immediate Release: January 25th, 2010
Contact: Hendrik Voss, SOA Watch, 202-234-3440
Human Rights Advocates Given Maximum Federal Prison Sentences of Six
Months for Direct Action Opposing the School of the
(SOA/WHINSEC)
Judge Finds SOA Watch Activists Guilty for Carrying Protest against
the SOA/WHINSEC onto
Walli for Refusing to Appear for the Trial.
On Monday, January 25, 2010,
sentenced three human rights advocates to six months in federal
prison for carrying a protest against the School of the
the
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, is a
controversial
Father Roy Bourgeois, a Roman Catholic priest and the founder of SOA
Watch, the organization that works to close the School of the
to 6 months in federal prison for speaking the truth about the
SOA/WHINSEC. We are saddened by the court's continued blindness and
hardness of heart, but we are stronger than ever in solidarity. These
sentences are symbolic of our nation's misdirection, but they are
also great steps forward for our resistance movement. It is truer
today, than ever before, that although they jail the resisters they
have not, and cannot, jail the resistance!"
The "SOA 4" are:
Nancy Gwin, long-time activist from Syracuse,
six months in prison
Father Louie Vitale, veteran and priest from Oakland, CA - sentenced
to six months in prison
Ken Hayes, SOA Watch Council member from Austin, TX - sentenced to
six months in prison
Michael Walli, a member of the Catholic Worker movement from
told the court during his November arraignment that he would not pay
any bail and that he would not voluntarily return for the trial. "I
walk out and it's goodbye" Walli told Judge Mallon Faircloth. Michael
Walli made good on his promise and on Monday, Judge Mallon Faircloth
issued a warrant for Michael Walli's arrest.
The "SOA 4" were among the tens of thousands who gathered on November
20-22, 2009 outside the gates of
demand a change in
the SOA/WHINSEC. The group peacefully crossed onto
thousands stood vigil at the gates of the base in memory of those
killed by graduates of the institution.
The SOA/WHINSEC, a military training facility for Latin American
security personnel, made headlines in 1996 when the Pentagon released
training manuals used at the school that advocated torture, extortion
and execution.
###
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