[Freethe SF8] Black Panthers under siege

[SF-8 case]

Black Panthers under siege

$3 million bail set for each man

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By Shirley Hawkins
OW Staff Writer

Kwaku Duren, 64, a Los Angeles-based attorney and chair of the New 
Panther Vanguard Movement, recently appeared at Eso Won books in 
Leimert Park to speak on behalf of eight former Black Panthers who 
are being held in a federal detention center in San Francisco.

The case, which has garnered national attention, has brought up 
issues of police abuse and harassment.
"I've been active in trying to make people in Los Angeles aware of 
the case," said Duren.

The eight men, some of whom were Black Panther members while others 
were supporters, are Richard Brown, 65; Richard O'Neil, 57; Ray 
Boudreaux, 64; Harold Taylor, 58; Hank Jones, 71; Francisco Torres, 
58; Herman Bell, 59; and Jalil Muntaqim, 55.
The eight men have professed that they are innocent of the murder of 
a police officer which occurred in 1971. The murder charge is 
considered count 1 of the complaint against them. Count 2 of the 
complaint contains numerous charges against the men from 1968 to 
1973, charges that have already been tried and adjudicated.

"Over a dozen black activists were arrested in New Orleans in 1973 
and several of these men were tortured by New Orleans police in 
conjunction with questioning with the participation of police 
officers from Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco as well as by 
FBI agents," said Marks.

"The grand juries, which had the case from 2003 to 2005, failed to 
hand down any indictments against the accused, but another complaint 
was filed by the state of California against these men in January of 
2007," said Claude Marks, director of The Freedom Archives, a 
educational nonprofit that produced "Legacy of Torture--the War 
Against the Black Liberation Movement which is about the San Franciso Eight.

The men were arrested January 23 in California, New York and Florida 
on charges related to the 1971 killing of the police officer. "It was 
a nationally coordinated police action," said Duren. He further 
stated that no new evidence in this case has been presented.

The eight men claim that they are the victims of COINTELPRO, which 
they say has persecuted the Black Panther Party, as well as other 
grassroots organizations, for 36 years.

"COINTELPRO targeted members of the Black Liberation Movement and the 
Black Panther Party and I think they (the eight men) were victims of 
unjust political targeting of the Black Panther Party and its 
supporters," said Duren. "They are incorrectly and erroneously 
determined to be a threat to the security of the United States 
because of their political status."

The San Francisco eight allege that COINTELPRO is trying to define 
the legacy of the Black Panthers as a "terrorist" movement and feel 
that they have been unjustly labeled as "criminals" and "wanton killers."

Bail is currently set for each man at $3 million each, but hearings 
set for August 6 will argue for bail reduction.

"In addition to being chained and shackled, the men are faced with an 
excessive number of armed sheriff's department officers throughout 
the court," said Marks. "One of the things that will be argued in the 
middle of the bail issue has to do with the level of security in the 
courthouse," he said.

The defense states that the government wants to use statements made 
under torture and duress, as well as criminal histories filled with 
factual inaccuracies dating back over 36 years, to give the 
impression that the men are a threat to public safety or are flight risks.

"People are expressing amazement that 30 years later, the government 
would attempt to charge these brothers with this murder after a San 
Francisco judge dismissed it. He specifically ruled that the evidence 
presented was the result of torture," said Duren. "This case really 
reflects the renewed effort to carry out the provision of COINTELPRO 
and to stop political dissent, especially among black and brown 
people in this country"

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