Pushing Forward writes

Greetings,

Here is a follow up of what is happening to Ali, parts of it are similar to what we already released, however, this has more details, a few corrections, and also a sample letter with the appropriate addresses in hopes that people will raise their voices as an act of solidarity during our comrade's time of need.

Thanx for all your work,

-Todd

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, February 21, 2002

International Campaign to Free Ali Khalid Abdullah

c/o Pushing Forward

2716 SE 21st Street

Portland, OR 97202, USA

freeali@disinfo.net

(503) 232-5817 (ask for Todd)

www.angelfire.com/dc/freeali

Ali Khalid Abdullah, a New Afrikan political prisoner has been unjustly labelled a "suspected security threat" and "suspected terrorist" by the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC.)



These accusations came at the same time as Ali's sudden transfer from the Thumb Correctional Facility to another state-level prison.

Since his incarceration in 1990, Ali has devoted nearly all of his spare time to improving the lives of himself and those around him. Among other things, he has run an anti-drug program for fellow prisoners, earned a Bachelor's degree, and produced dozens of conscious pamphlets distributed the world over. Despite his many positive efforts, he has been denied parole
five times and subject to unfair treatment on numerous occasions.

The latest case of this unfair treatment began on February 12. A question arose in the prison mail room at the Thumb Correctional Facility, as to whether Ali should be allowed to receive a leaflet mailed from Puerto Rico containing slogans such as "Smash Sexism." It was eventually decided that he should be allowed to receive it.

Shortly after, he was subjected to an unusual and unexplained cell search, in which many of his letters, literature, and photographs where confiscated.

Later that evening, he was called to the Control Center at the prison and was given "a notice of intent to conduct an administrative hearing." The notice indicated what materials were confiscated and stated that Ali was "a suspected security threat, [indicated by] group literature and photographs
depicting possible terrorist activity, [and] uprising against institutions
and government [and] organized from several countries."

During this type of hearing, a prisoner is evaluated, and if deemed a threat to security, then she/he is reclassified to a higher prison level and is transferred to that level. In many cases, prisoners are transferred to federal prisons. Ali is at risk of being formally charged by the state, with the FBI headquarters and the US Justice Department being notified.

An hour after receiving this notice, Ali was told to "pack up and get ready to be transferred." The next day(February 13) he was moved to Kinross Correctional Facility, a state-run institution in Kincheloe, Michigan.

These events are highly disturbing and suspicious. They occurred shortly after Ali's 6th parole hearing on February 7, which had given him a level of optimism at first. Abdullah had a good record at the Thumb Correctional Facility, and prior to these incidents had no reason to believe that he had done anything to upset the authorities there.

These incidents are also, of course, being carried out within the context of the U.S. government's current "War on Terrorism", which in addition to bringing carnage on Afghanistan, is being used as a pretext for clamp-downs on human rights, and officially-sanctioned prejudice within the US. Shortly after September 11, Abdullah was interrogated on the basis of his name and his faith. Similarly, his treatment over the past week is likely a product of the bigoted attitudes and policies coming to light in recent months.

The International Campaign to Free Ali Khalid Abdullah is calling on all concerned people to support him as best as they can. All those who criticize the so-called "War on Terrorism," racism and the prison system have a chance to turn their words into concrete, productive actions by having Ali's back in this time of need.

Despite such unfair treatment, Ali has remained committed to his work for positive social change. Now, he needs your help to clear his name and get these charges dropped so he can move on to winning his freedom and continuing with his work.

At this point, we are asking everyone to write to the MDOC Officials listed
below; and those with steady jobs to send some financial aid to Ali (c/o the campaign). In addition to the usual legal and living expenses, his money is still at the previous jail and won't reach him for up to a month.

Attached is a form letter designed to help Ali fight these unfounded charges. Please edit it to fit your own circumstances, and mail it to the list of addresses below. This will show the prison officials that people around the world know the facts about Ali, and are driven to support him. We need the highest level of public attention on this case as possible, to prevent any further persecution of Ali.

All that said, please know that this is a very sensitive situation and we need to proceed carefully. This is NOT the time to be hostile and confrontational. The goal here is to prove that Ali is not a terrorist threat and to get him free, not to confront prison officials on their issues. Any anger or political rhetoric would only be used as further evidence against Ali.


"These moments are very precious & we are under determined pressure & peril by these people — thus to overcome this i’ll need maximum effort and support," says Ali. "State your complaint, concerted concern and push for clearing my name and this sudden suspicion off of me with tact!"

Letters or e-mails of support can be sent to Ali in care of the campaign:

International Campaign to Free Ali Khalid Abdullah

2716 SE 21st Street

Portland, OR 97202,

USA.

freeali@disinfo.net.

For reasons described above, please refrain from sending anything with "anarchy" or similar logos until this matter is corrected.



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ABOUT ALI KHALID ABDULLAH



Ali Khalid Abdullah is a New Afrikan Political Prisoner in Michigan, USA. He has been incarcerated since 1990. Ali has a Bachelor's degree from Spring Arbor College, ran the People Against Drugs program at Thumb Correctional Facility and is an internationally-published author. He is serving a 10-to-20-year sentence for "assault with intent to rob while armed." This trumped-up charge stems from action he took against a
high-level drug dealer, who allowed a runner to rape the 11-year-old daughter of a customer - as payment for the customer's drug debt.

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ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO FREE ALI KHALID ABDULLAH



The campaign was founded by Abdullah's friends and supporters around the world in December 2001. We are working to win his freedom through practical, tactful methods and to help distribute his writings. Contact us to get involved.

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FORM LETTER:

[ADDRESSEE]

[YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS]

[DATE]

Ms./Mr.------------,

I am writing in concerns to Mr. Ali Khalid Abdullah, inmate # 148130, a prisoner formerly at Thumb Correctional Facility who was recently transferred to the Kinross Correctional Facility. I learned of his case through an internet news service run by civil rights advocates.

I am concerned about Mr. Abdullah’s transfer, but more importantly, I am very concerned about the recent implication made by the Michigan Department of Corrections labeling Mr. Abdullah as a “suspected terrorist”. From my understanding this implication has been stemmed from an incident with the mailroom supervisor, Mary Henderson at Thumb Correctional Facility, and has been followed up with some strange events, which ultimately led to Mr. Abdullah's transfer.

Mr. Abdullah had a mail hearing on February 12, 2002 over some mail rejected by Mailroom Supervisor Henderson, which was decided by ARUS Leonard and Singer not to be threatening material. After this hearing Mr. Abdullah returned to his unit, around 11:05 am, where he was met by Officer Ross and
Officer Powell with "orders from Inspector Hutchins to pack up all letters, books, and printed materials and send [them] to him".

This concerned Mr. Abdullah and around 12:15 pm he placed calls to his mother and his friend Cynthia Ritsher to tell them what was happening. He asked them to call the Warden and the Director’s Office to inquire about the matter.

Later that day, around 5:08 pm, Lt. McDonald called Mr. Abdullah to the Control Center where he handed Mr. Abdullah a Notice of Intent to Conduct an Administrative Hearing. In the notice the following was stated:

"Suspected STG literature, photographs, depicting possible terrorist activity, uprising against the institution or government. Organized from several countries."

However, this I find strange as all of these materials now being deemed a possible threat to security or some kind of connection to a terrorist group(s) had already been approved by the mailroom supervisor as being acceptable and not a threat to security. And now, suddenly these same materials are being confiscated under suspicion to be linked to terrorist activity and/or groups? This seems a bit inconsistent and suspicious to me.

After receiving this notice from Lt. McDonald and receiving the rest of his property that was not confiscated, Mr. Abdullah returned to his unit once again. Approximately twenty minutes later Mr. Abdullah was told to "pack up -- you're being transferred in the morning."

Once again, this seems suspicious. Mr. Abdullah was having no problems with the authorities at Thumb, had no misconduct tickets, and had not even five days before attended his parole hearing which Mr. Abdullah described as being a positive experience. And then suddenly, all of the events, as described above, unfolded and Mr. Abdullah was transferred and under
suspicion of being a security threat and under suspicion of being connected to terrorist group(s).



This is not the only time that Mr. Abdullah has been falsely harassed under the guise of supposed terrorism. Following the horrible events September 11, Mr. Abdullah was interrogated because of his Muslim name. After which, friends of Mr. Abdullah contacted Arthur D. Stine at the Department of Human
Rights for the MDOC with their concerns.



I feel Mr. Abdullah is being unjustly labeled and is being punished under false allegations. These allegations could destroy Mr. Abdullah's possibility of obtaining parole in which he has worked so hard to obtain. Mr. Abdullah is not a terrorist, he is a very caring and hard working individual who believes that we can live better lives if we take the time to learn about the negativity in our society and work to change it. He has reached out to many people and extended only love and understanding and tries to help them with the very limited resources that he has to work with. Mr. Abdullah has also accomplished some amazing things while incarcerated, he has earned his Bachelor's degree from Spring Arbor College in Michigan and he ran an anti-drug program while at Thumb Correctional Facility called
"People Against Drugs". These are not acts of terrorism, but acts of self-improvement and compassion, something that should be rewarded of prisoners and not used to punish them further.

I thank you for your time in reading this and any for any efforts you may make to look into this situation.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

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PLEASE SEND TO:

Director [current director is resigning as of March 2nd.
thus, no name is necessary]

Department of Corrections

Grandview Plaza Building

P.O. Box 30003

Lansing, MI 48909

Mr. Dan Bolden, Deputy Directory

Correctional Facility Administration

Grandview Plaza Building

P. O. Box 30003

Lansing, MI 48909

Senator Joesph F. Young, Jr.

415 Farnum Building

Lansing, MI 48913

FAX: 517.373.9320

senjyoung@senate.state.mi.us

Senator Jackie Vaughn, III

920 Farnum Building

P. O. Box 30036

Lansing, MI 48909-7536

ACLU of Michigan

60 West Hancock

Detroit, MI 48201-1324
FAX: 313.578.6811