From: BENJAMIN RAMOS <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: "STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN!" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 05 May 2001 22:41:38 -0700 COMMITTEE FOR THE RESCUE AND DEVELOPMENT OF VIEQUES P.O. Box 1424 Vieques, Puerto Rico 00765 787 741-0716 E mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] � 4 May, 2001 � PRESS RELEASE � NAVY HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR SECURITY OF VIEQUES PRISONERS � Several civil disobedients still in jail for their participation in pro Vieques protests are in danger in federal prison, according to spokespersons for the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques (CRDV). "The federal court and federal prison are appendages of the US Navy in Puerto Rico. We hold the Navy responsible for any harm done while jailed to Vieques leader, Ismael Guadalupe," expressed Robert Rabin, spokesman for the CRDV. The Viequenses also expressed concern for university professor, Carlos Al� Santiago, who maintains a hunger strike in jail, Rub�n Berr�os �president of the PR Independence Party � and four others who accompanied him to the bombing zone, and North American resident in Vieques, Pablo O�Leary. � The PIP members, O�Leary and Al� have refused to pay bail and do not recognize the jurisdiction of the Navy or the Federal Courts in the Vieques case. Guadalupe was sent to the federal prison in Guaynabo without right to bail because he is a long time leader of the disobedience campaign in Vieques. � Norma Torres, wife of Guadalupe, remembered that in 1979, Ismael was sent to the State Prison in Puerto Rico and several days later "kidnapped in the early morning hours", transported to Atlanta and later to the federal jail in Tallahassee, Florida, without informing family members. Torres also mentions that recent tests showed high levels of mercury in Guadalupe�s blood. The Vieques leader is currently under treatment y a neuphrologist for a renal condition that could be related to the high levels of this metal, product of military activity in Vieques. � Twenty two years ago, Angel Rodr�guez Crist�bal was assasinated in the Tallahassee federal prision where he was jailed for participating in a civil disobedience action in Vieques. Ismael Guadalupe participated in the same action here at Caracas Beach, inside military controlled lands and was sentenced to six months imprisonment that he did in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. � "These men are guilty only of loving their homeland and eager to defend the health and well being of their community," said Nilda Medina, leader of the Peace and Justice Camp and of the CRDV. "As Ismael himself said in his defense in 1979, he has been accused of the crime of stepping on the land where he was born," stated the Vieques leader. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
