BRUTAL TREATMENT CONTINUES AGAINST JAILED PROTESTERS

  UNPRECEDENTED CRACKDOWN HIGHLIGHTS SYSTEMATIC ATTACK ON DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES OF PEACEFUL PROTEST & PEOPLE OF CONSCIENCE

  Philadelphia, PA August/4 ~ On the last day of the Republican National Convention, in Philadelphia, the cradle of democracy, police and federal authorities have demonstrated a determination to undermine both the US Constitution and people's basic human rights. Demonstrators continue to demand medical treatment, access to lawyers, access to phones, and timely release. Outside, solidarity actions continue, with rallies planned at Franklin Park at 7 p.m.

  Guards, police, and administrators continue to attack protestors in jail, seeking to demoralize and divide. Recently released prisoners have reported eyewitness accounts of widespread abuse that can only be described as torture. There are numerous accounts of arrestees who have been isolated, verbally abused, punched, kicked, thrown against walls, bloodied, and dragged naked across floors, in one instance through a "trash trough" containing refuse, spittle and urine. There has been a reported sexual assault by a female officer who pulled and twisted a prisoner's penis. Seven witnesses saw one woman dragged naked and bleeding. Diabetics and asthmatics continue to be denied medication. Trauma and psychological stress are evident.

  Paul Davis, from ACT UP Philadelphia, reports his eyewitness accounts of brutality inside the Philadelphia jail. "I saw a man handcuffed to his cell door in a crucifixion position. He groaned and bellowed for 20 minutes that they were using metal handcuffs to smash his hands. I heard women screaming and being dragged along the floor. I saw a woman screaming in pain as a police officer said, 'You want more?! You want more?!'"

  Arrestees have now been held for over 60 hours without arraignment, some without phone calls or contact with their lawyers. Detainees report missing paperwork, and arraignments with incomplete or slipshod records. Philadelphia continues to restrict R2K Legal Committee lawyers, allowing only a total of three lawyers access to all six detention sites, and hundreds of defendants. Prosecutors have set unprecedented high bail for non-violent civil disobedience. Most bails range from $15,000 to $30,000, while others are much higher. Two individuals have bail of $1,000,000, an amount typically reserved for serial killers, not community organizers, non-violence training facilitators artists and puppet makers charged with misdemeanors.

  "I consider this a civil rights catastrophe of the first order," R2K Legal Committee counsel Ron McGuire stated. "This is an attack on our 14th Amendment. An attack on due process and reasonable bail. This is a systematic political effort to undermine and destroy the momentum of a growing movement for social and environmental justice."

  R2K Legal has documented 381 confirmed arrests, not including members of the International Action Center and School of Americas Watch (15 more). Additionally, there are people we have not heard from (we estimate up to 30), but due to restrictions on protester's access to telephones, there is really no way to tell. Of these people, approximately 60 have accepted "Release on Own Recognizance" or "Signed On Bail." Prisoners are working together to agree on and communicate their demands. Solidarity tactics to demand their release include singing, chanting, and story telling, along with a 150-person-strong hunger strike. Some have been on hunger strike for as long as 56 hours. Three men have fasted without water for 28 hours. Supporters are asked to phone Mayor John Street at 215.686.2181 and demand the immediate release of these political prisoners.

  R2K & IMC post for information please visit www.r2kphilly.org or www.phillyimc.org