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<font size=3>Please read below. Carlos is facing yet another level
of repression and right on the heels of being recommended for
parole!! Attached are two petitions that we have to collect and get
signed. Please fax them to the fax numbers you see on the
letters.<br>
<br>
Thanks. We need to flood their faxes with these letters and remind
them that people care about what happens to Carlos Alberto &
Oscar!<br><br>
-- <br>
Michelle Morales<br>
National Boricua Human Rights Network - Chicago Chapter<br>
<br>
************************************************<br>
</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3>Puerto Rican Political
Prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres: parole bid foiled by Bureau of
Prisons<br><br>
July 30, 2009<br><br>
In January, 2009, Puerto Rican political prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres
was scheduled for a parole hearing, after serving 29 years behind bars
for his commitment to the independence of Puerto Rico. On the eve of his
hearing, prison authorities falsely accused him and eight of his
cellmates of possessing knives which the tenth cellmate had hidden—
unbeknownst to them all— in the light fixture of the cell. Having
maintained an immaculate record for his 29 years in prison, why would
Carlos Alberto do something to jeopardize his parole on the eve of his
hearing?<br><br>
The January parole hearing was postponed, the false accusation was
ultimately expunged, and he proceeded to hearing in May.<br><br>
At the May hearing, the hearing examiner for the Parole Commission
recommended that he be paroled on April 3, 2010— by when Carlos Alberto
will have served exactly 30 years in prison— and advised that we could
expect the commission’s final decision within 21 days. However, in June,
prison authorities reinstated the false weapons possession charges
against Carlos Alberto and his eight cellmates. <br><br>
On July 28, the Parole Commission notified Carlos Alberto that they would
postpone their decision for at least 90 days, pending resolution of the
charges. <br><br>
Two days later, the prison disciplinary hearing officer held hearings on
the false weapons charges. Carlos Alberto’s defense consisted not merely
of his statement denying possession. The tenth cellmate appeared as a
witness, admitting that the knives were his, and his alone, and that
Carlos Alberto and none of the other cellmates knew he had hidden the
knives in the light fixture. The guilty party also provided a sworn
statement to this effect. Much to the surprise of Carlos Alberto and the
other eight cellmates, the disciplinary hearing officer nevertheless
found them guilty of possessing the hidden weapons. <br><br>
The finding of guilt will undoubtedly adversely affect the decision of
the Parole Commission. Indeed, one might suspect that the reinstatement
of the charges and the finding of guilt were calculated to adversely
affect the decision.<br><br>
The National Boricua Human Rights Network and the Comité Pro Derechos
Humanos de Puerto Rico are waging a phone and fax campaign to the Federal
Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Parole Commission, asking that the false
disciplinary charges be expunged and that Carlos Alberto be released from
prison. Sample letters and contact information are provided
below.<br><br>
<br><br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#008000">415 863-9977<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#0000FF">
<a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">
www.Freedomarchives.org</a></font><font size=3> </font></body>
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