Freedom for Prisoners
As many of you may know, Freedom provides free subscriptions to anyone in prison. If you have friends or family in prison, or regularly write to a prisoner, if they are interested we will be happy to send them a free sample issue or sub. If you are a prisoner yourself we can provide subs to any of your fellow inmates if they so desire. Please also feel free to write to us with any news about your imprisonment, developments in your case, requests for penpals or anything else!
Mass Prison Break-out
Prisoners in the Nelspruit prison in South Africa rioted and eight hundred escaped after being left without food for more than 24 hours during a strike by warders. A rebellion in Barberton penitentiary had to be put down by a well-armed police and army task force, which also had to fight striking warders who refused to permit them to enter the jail.
Nelspruit detainees broke out of their cells and scaled prison walls, as police hastily assembled a riot squad of 150 cops, backed up by paramilitary police and the specialist ‘Reaction Unit’ flown in from another jail.
They attempted to block escapees into a field outside the walls, using police lines, tear gas and other crowd control tech-niques. Police claimed that they managed to stop most of them from getting away, and that the following day all the prisoners had been re-captured. Several were reported as injured, but the actual number is suspected to be far higher.
Toothache Riot
Over a hundred prisoners in Lewes rioted in solidarity with another inmate after he was denied painkillers last October, the local Crown Court was told last week. Steven Kelly, 31, had just had 21 teeth removed, and was in agonising pain when he was denied decent painkillers by prison staff.
He and a friend began smashing windows in protest, showering two guards in glass, and defended themselves when another tried to restrain them. As 120 other prisoners started to gather around this third guard he fled the scene, leaving the inmates in control.
They placed blankets over CCTV cameras and went on a rampage causing tens of thousands of pounds of damage.
Mr Kelly’s initial actions however were caught on film and he was jailed (again) for four months.
Failing Prisons
HMP Dumfries: Since Dumfries Prison changed from a Young Offenders’ Institute to a full adult prison last year conditions have gone from bad to worse, a preliminary inspection has found.
Inmate on inmate violence has risen and prisoner numbers keep increasing, while the number on the methadone programme has skyrocketed 600%. Weekend meal times are irregular and inspector Dr Andrew McLellan noted that prisoners with addiction problems were now being neglected as the Drug Strategy department has been downsized. The prison had not even introduced a basic drug awareness programme.
A full inspection is to be undertaken in December this year, although what effect it will have is doubtful, since recommendations from previous ones have been roundly ignored, as emphasis is not on the welfare of prisoners, or improvement of society but on social control and profits.
HMP The Mount: Overcrowding in the UK’s dirtiest jail, according to the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), is increasing as the prison is now 55 over its maximum capacity of 705 inmates.
There is inadequate provision of care for mentally ill prisoners and other inmates are being neglected as times out of cell have been reduced and lunch hours cut.
The training jail has been flooded by high risk offenders, transferred to the low risk facility to alleviate overcrowding.
Staff have reacted by turning a blind eye to in-house dealers effectively pacifying other prisoners with an illegal chemical cosh.
A watchdog report found that staff at The Mount prison in Hertfordshire have been tolerating widespread drug use by inmates as a way of preventing dissent.
Rob Los Ricos moved
US Anarchist prisoner Rob Thaxton, otherwise known as Rob Los Ricos, has been transferred. After five years at the Oregon State Penitentiary he was moved in the middle of the night to the following address: MCCF, Robert Thaxton 12112716, 4005 Aumsville Hwy, Salem, OR 97301, USA.
Rob, a long time anarchist organiser, publisher and writer, is one of the few from around the world who faced serious charges for the global day of action on 18th June 1999. When it kicked off in Eugene, Oregon Rob threw a rock at a cop who was charging at him in an effort to escape. He was arrested and sentenced to 88 months in all for Assault and Riot. He was clearly been used as scapegoat – the one that didn’t get away. He appreciates ’zines (send individually from a recognised distributor/publisher). Donations to and info from:
AAA
PO Box 50634
Eugene, OR
97405
USA.
