On 17 Mar 2002 at 0:32, matthew X wrote:
> UNCIVIL LIBERTIES
> Providence activist still faces felony in GOP protest
> BY STEVEN STYCOS
> Although criminal charges against hundreds of protesters at the 2000
> Republican National Convention have been dropped or thrown out, Providence
> activist Camilo Viveiros still faces felony charges for allegedly throwing
> a bicycle at Philadelphia police Commissioner John Timoney.
> In what critics describe as the largest violation of civil liberties since
> the Vietnam War, 420 people were arrested during non-violent protests as
> the Republicans nominated George W. Bush for president. Viveiros and many
> others were charged with felonies and jailed with bails high enough to
> guarantee that they would remain jailed until the convention was over (see
> "Liberty denied," News, January 18, 2001). Defense lawyer Larry Krasner
> calls the situation, "A sellout of democratic rights because the city had
> some notion that democracy is anti-tourism."
> Since August 2000, however, Philadelphia district attorney Lynne Abraham
> has had little success in making the charges stick. The conviction rate
> hasn't been "beyond fabulous," Krasner quips. All charges against one of
> his high-profile clients, Ruckus Society leader John Sellers, who had been
> charged with several felonies and whose bail was set at $1 million, were
> withdrawn minutes before his trial was due to begin. AIDS activist Kate
> Sorensen, another felony defendant whose bail was set at $1 million, was
> convicted only of one misdemeanor and fined $500, Krasner says. Overall,
> according to the umbrella defense group R2K Legal, no protester has been
> convicted of a felony and none have served jail time after their initial
> detention.
> Nevertheless, Abraham's spokeswoman, Cathie Abookire, defends all the
> arrests as "proper." Her boss, she says, keeps no statistics on conviction
> rates related to the protests at the GOP convention. "The district attorney
> doesn't believe in statistics," Abookire says. "She doesn't believe in
> justice by numbers."
> Viveiros, who denies that he assaulted Timoney, has a mixed record in
> court. In January, an appeals court reinstated a first-degree felony
> assault charge against him, but it rejected the prosecution's attempt to
> restore conspiracy charges. Viveiros predicts his case will not go to trial
> before late this year.
> The tenants' rights organizer is glad the charges against other defendants
> have been dropped, but he worries that the rising number of civil suits
> against Philadelphia police, for alleged civil rights violations, will spur
> Abraham to target him as a scapegoat. Convicting the Timoney Three, as
> Viveiros and his co-defendants are known, will enable city officials to
> show that extraordinary measures were necessary, he says, to protect the
> public safety.
> The post-September 11 atmosphere, adds Krasner, makes it more difficult to
> convince juries of police misconduct.
> While he waits for his trial, Viveiros continues to raise money for his
> legal expenses. Contributions can be sent to: Friends of Camilo, PO Box
> 58247, Philadelphia, PA 19102.
> FROM http://www.providencephoenix.com/archive/features/02/03/07/gop.html
