Prisoner solidarity: festive edition

So, we’re approaching that time of year when most of us get a few days off work to spend with the people we care about. Whatever your thoughts on the holiday as a whole, it’s a thing that lots of people have good associations with, and connect to spending time with family or friends. For this reason, it can be a rough day to feel isolated, so it’s worth taking a moment to reach out to those who’ll be spending the day sitting in a cell.

Here in Europe, Jock Palfreeman (who’s just successfully sued the Bulgarian government) in Bulgaria and Joel and Olle in Sweden are still taking part in clashes with fascists and racists.

Over in the US, there are a lot of people inside for taking part in recent social movements – Red Fawn Fallis is still held awaiting trial for charges stemming from her role in the Standing Rock protests, and there are still a lot of people inside from the Ferguson uprising, as well as less high-profile cases like Ceebo, who played a vital role in organising around the police killing of Ezell Ford until he was silenced by a dodgy burglary conviction, or the jailed trade unionist Joseph Dougherty.*

There are also a lot of people who’ve been targetted for reprisals for their parts in the recent prison strike: Michigan comrades have put together a list of a few of those who’ve been moved to solitary as punishment for taking part in the uprising at Kinross, and special mention should also go to IWW/IWOC members Joshua “Zero” Cartrette and Scott Elam, currently in solitary confinement at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Insitution for their role in organising prisoners elsewhere, and Kinetik Justice/Robert Earl Council, a hugely important Free Alabama Movement organiser who launched a hunger strike after being moved to a different prison in retaliation.

You certainly don’t need to send cards to all these people, but even sending one or two might help keep them feeling connected to movements and people on the outside, and they’ll probably have to be sent in the next few days to get there on time.

* Most of these people should have their addresses listed at the links provided, or at the prisoner support page here, but to provide a few of the more obscure ones:

Damonte Shipp (Ceebo)
#AI-3342
California Institution for Men
14901 Central Avenue
Chino, CA 91710
USA

Joseph Dougherty 71243-066
FCI Allenwood Low
PO Box 1000
White Deer, PA
17887
USA

Scott Elam
16883095
Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution
2500 Westgate
Pendleton, OR 97801
USA

Robert Earl Council (Kinetik Justice)
181418
Limestone CF
28779 Nick Davis Rd
Harvest, AL 35749
USA